Blog

This story from WATE highlights some of the recent successes of UT Knoxville’s Switch Your Thinking program, including a savings of more than $1 million in energy costs.

HBM has released version 6.0 of its leading Perception data acquisition software. Perception integrates multi-platform hardware control, live display, data acquisition, review, analysis, report generation and data export in one package. It has been designed from basic principles ensuring that it is easy to use while allowing control of both small and large-scale systems.

This latest version adds live FFT capabilities to the HBM Genesis HighSpeed product family, allowing users to visualize signals simultaneously both in the time and the frequency domain. Because it is PC-based, it is usable with any Perception-controlled DAQ system, such as the portable GEN5i, GEN7t or GEN16t rack mainframes, and LIBERTY.

FFT is particularly useful, especially for customers that are just starting out in frequency domain analysis, because of its ease of use and high flexibility. For example, FFT can be enabled for transferring signals currently shown in the time domain to the frequency domain with a single click. The basic FFT option al-lows a choice of window lengths of up to 1 million samples, four different weighting filters, and analysis functions such as FFT Spectrum, Auto Power Spectrum or Power Spectral Density. For critical settings the software includes readily-accessible help ensuring users make the right choice for the best results.

Perception also provides powerful customization tools. Customer-specific plug-ins created with the Cus-tomer Software Interface (CSI) are fully integrated in the Perception operator interface so that user-specific and automated tasks can be included in the workflow. Close integration with Microsoft Office allows the user to easily transfer tables, displays and results into Word or Excel.

HBM’s patented StatStream technology allows large data sets – even with Gigabytes of data – to be han-dled, reviewed and analyzed in just a few seconds. With StatStream, several parallel, reduced data streams are produced in real-time during the measurement, and saved with the raw data. If, for example, a 10-Gigabyte data set is displayed on-screen, this display is then generated from a reduced data set.

Perception is HBM´s high-end software to control the Genesis HighSpeed product family. This ranges from rugged data acquisition systems with sample rates of 100 kS/s to the top-end GEN DAQ series with sample rates up to 100 MS/s.

Someone seems to have walked up to the Square Enix counter, ordered an Adamantoise, and asked for a Supersize. It’s not the biggest news out there on the scene, but let’s face it, that thing is big. See for

Filed under: Concept Cars, LA Auto Show, Budget, Hatchback, Ford

While introducing the folks at the LA Auto Show to the American-market 2011 Ford Fiesta, Ford decided to go a step further. They didn’t just show the production sedan and hatchback, they also showed off the possibilities the platform presents as well. They had four customized Fiestas on display, done up by companies like H&R, 3dCarbon, FSWerks, and Steeda, as well as Ford’s in-house Racing and Custom Accessories team. And just for good measure, they also brought along that wicked Kenny Brack X-Games Rally Fiesta as well.

There’s a full press release after the jump, but here is a brief summary of the four featured vehicles:

Black Fiesta:

This car was put together by Ford Racing and Steeda Autosports. It features Steeda’s cold air intake, a Borla/Ford Racing Performance cat-back exhaust system, Steeda/Ford Racing suspension upgrades, Ford Racing multi-spoke Euro wheels and Brembo anchors.

Blue Fiesta:

The blue car was built by H&R Special Springs. Naturally, it received some suspension tuning with an H&R Street Performance monotube coil-over kit and a set of spiffy 18-inch OZ SuperTurismo GT wheels. It’s also the beneficiary of some Euro reverse-engineering via “Sticky Jewell custom graphics, custom Euro hood vents, stealthy blacked-out headlamps and a Ford Custom Accessories upper rear hatch spoiler.”

White Fiesta:

The white Fiesta (above) features Ford Custom Accessories, so it ought to be the easiest model the Average Joe to copy. Nearly every styling element can be purchased from the Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Licensed Accessories or Ford Racing Performance Parts catalogs. And get used to those graphics, because Ford has taken this opportunity to add a whole new line of them for the Fiesta. You can see the whole collection at fordfiestagraphics.com.

Red Fiesta:

Last, but certainly not least, is the red Fiesta by 3dCarbon and FSWerks. It’s the only one of the four that has some serious rejiggering underhood. It features an FSWerks Stage 2 intercooled turbo kit and 2.25-inch exhaust system. It also sports a 3dCarbon body kit with an “aggressive front air dam, aerodynamic side skirts and rear lower accent trim.”

We’d probably mix and match among these mods, perhaps the H&R suspension, the Brembos from the Steeda car, the OZ wheels and that FSWerks turbo setup. Or maybe we’d just take Brack’s car. Check out the gallery by clicking below and more details in the press release after the jump.

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Ford]

Continue reading LA 2009: Ford shows off some Fiesta possibilities

LA 2009: Ford shows off some Fiesta possibilities originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Most companies will be running some sort of campaign and promotion for the holiday season. Most companies also don’t want to actually give away anything, most will be just glorified Christmas-themed advertising campaigns. The Gmail team though may actually be on to something with an interesting campaign for the holidays. Apparently, they think that regular mail should be just as free and easy to send as email so its enabling users to send postcard to their families or friends by filling out an online form and, as an added bonus, you don’t even have to be a Gmail user.

“Sure, email is great, but there’s something uniquely heartwarming about the kind of card that comes in the actual mail — especially for folks who don’t hear from us as often as they should, simply because they aren’t online,” the page set up for the campaign reads. “So we’ve made it as easy to send snail-mail holiday cards as it is to send email. Simply fill out the form below and we’ll send one free holiday postcard on your behalf. Yes, through the mail and everything.”

If Google had its way, everyone would be online and people would send their best wishes through email (preferably Gmail). But we’re not quite there yet and, shockingly, not everyone uses the Internet, even in the US. So, if you have a grandma you’d like to send a card but don’t really want… (read more)

What, you thought David Rosenberg has been on the wrong side of the market? Think again, he says

THE DOW IS BACK IN A BEAR MARKET! 
That is correct.  While the market did make a new high in ‘deflated dollar’ terms
just a short two-days ago, in gold terms, the Dow actually peaked on August 27
and is down 13.5% since then.  As an aside — just to show that the gold story is
not JUST a weak U.S. dollar, bullion prices rose a further 1.6% yesterday to yet
another new high even in the face of a 19bps recovery in the greenback (all sorts
of talk now that the Bank of Japan is set to intervene).   

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• David Rosenberg: Buy The Gold Dips, Because It’s Only Going Higher
• Here’s Why The Mint Is Running Out Of Gold Coins
• The Nikkei Is Perfectly Aligned With The S&P 500 As Measured In Gold

Hanukkah starts at sundown on Friday, December 11th, so for those of you celebrating, the planning/cooking may have already begun. We think making these marshmallow dreidels would keep kids occupied even longer than playing with an actual dreidel. That is, until they eat them. Get the instructions below.

Read Full Post

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Truck, Government/Legal, Mitsubishi

According to a report from Automotive News, Mitsubishi’s North American CEO Shin Kurihara would like to bring over the Japanese automaker’s funky little Delica van (right) and Triton pickup (above), believing that the two work-ready models may fill a desirable niche here in the States. So, why not wave a magic wand and make that happen? In a word: Chickens.

Sorry, come again? What do chickens have to do with vans and pickups? It’s all a bit odd, but back in the early Sixties, the United States levied a 25% tax on potato starch, Dextrin, brandy, and light trucks in response to French and German tariffs on imported U.S. chicken. Yes, really.

As such, importing any light trucks from overseas into the States can be an expensive proposition, taking away pretty much any chance of profitability. There may be ways around the issue as Ford has found with its Turkey-built Transit Connect, and Mitsubishi is currently considering its options, which, we surmise, may include bringing the vehicles in only partially assembled and finishing them here in the U.S. We’ll see.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req’d]

A Game of Chicken: Mitsubishi wants to import Triton pickup and Delica van – but can it afford to? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Thanks to the graphical issues plaguing the PS3 version of Bayonetta, PS3 gamers are being saddled with an arguably worse version compared to the one their Xbox 360-owning counterparts are getting. Sega and Platinum Games are apparently working overtime

Service activities will mark Kansas Day for students at seven colleges in the state, the Kansas Campus Compact has announced. The projects are part of KsCC’s “Commemorate Kansas/Serve Kansas” program.

“These creative projects are an indication that students and faculty at Kansas colleges and universities are aware of the importance of connecting their education with civic purpose that serves all of Kansas’ citizens,” Matthew Lindsey, KsCC executive director, said.

»Read the entire article in The Topeka Capital-Journal.

2010 is almost here and we need to make sure the holidays don’t catch us unprepared. Well, the New Year is a month away and with the amount of ‘holiday cheer’, otherwise known as marketing, every company, site and organization worth its salt even castaways on remote islands have no chance of missing it. YouTube is doing its part with an Advent-style calendar celebrating, what else, the viral videos of the year.

“We’d give you chocolates with it if we could: This week marks the launch of our advent-style calendar counting down some of the most memorable videos of the year on YouTube,” Mark Day, Marketing Programs Manager, wrote. “Without giving too much away, you can expect to see some well-known YouTube videographers on the countdown, along with breakout viral videos and a selection of the year’s biggest pop-culture phenoms and memes.”

Most people would’ve probably taken the chocolate. On the other hand, everyone loves a savory Fred video or maybe the occasional sleepy kitty clip, when Solitaire and Minesweeper just won’t cut it anymore. YouTube says all sorts of clips will make it to the countdown and not necessarily the most viewed videos of the years. In fact, the site makes it clear that the videos selection is curated and it gets to pick the videos without a particularly … (read more)

If given the choice, which one would you choose yesterday or tomorrow and why? 
If given the choice, I would definitely choose tomorrow.  I already know what happened yesterday.  And, to tell the truth, it was very uneventful.  Even if yesterday was exciting I would still choose tomorrow.  I experience pain and fatigue every day of my life.  So, in all honesty, I know that tomorrow will be a bit of the same.  However, I cannot predict what tomorrow holds.  It could be a good day or it could be a bad day.  But, there’s always hope for a better tomorrow.
My yesterday was filled with pain.  The rain plummeted to earth and splashed back up to heaven to recycle itself.  I thought that the rain would never let up.  Rain=pain in my life.  Fibromyalgia reared its evil head and rammed me right in the (fill in your own blank).  However, it’s still a day that I’m alive and breathing.  I have a wonderful man at my side.  And, I have great children whom I love dearly no matter how much they aggravate me at times.  Therefore, I put my head down and leaned forward into the wind and kept on going.
My chore list had to be modified because of the pain and fatigue.  I did one load of laundry, loaded the dishwasher, and then sat down with my crocheting for a half hour.  I then proceeded to pick up where I left off on my chore list.  Next, clean the bird cages and sweep the floors.  I paced myself in 15 minute intervals alternating cleaning and resting. What normally takes me 2 hours to accomplish now became a 3 hour and 45 minute job. 
By noon I was totally exhausted and had to go back to bed.  As I slipped into bed and pulled the comforter up,  a warm hand reached out and touched my shoulders.  That was the last thing that I remember until 5:30 that evening.  Yes, I had slept for 5 1/2 hours.  After all that time, I was still exhausted.  I wanted to stay in bed until next year.  But, with the kids home from school and more chores and responsibilities to be attended to, that was not an option.
The evening followed the same path as yesterday:  feed the kids, make sure their homework is done, make sure they bathe and brush their teeth, and get them to bed before 10 pm.  With  a whisper of a prayer on my lips, all went well.  Once the kids were in bed, it was quiet time for mommy.  I could fall fast asleep with no worries.  Ha, ha, ya right.  Now is the time when I’m so exhausted that I can’t sleep.  So, I stay up half the night writing, reading, crocheting, or watching TV just praying to fall asleep again and hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.
The hope of a better day is why I would choose tomorrow as apposed to yesterday.  The reality of the unknown is exciting in itself.  Tomorrow may be a bad day or it may not.  “What if” is always in the back of my mind.  Okay, so it’s in the front of my mind too.  A new day is always better, for me, than the past.  We can’t go back and relive the past.  So, “what if” tomorrow is a better day?  “What if” I have less pain than today or yesterday?
Perhaps yesterday was a bad day and tomorrow is our chance to make a change for the better.  Maybe today will be a little bit better than yesterday and tomorrow will be twice as good.

If you’re familiar with Lotus Notes/Domino, I’m sure SharePoint, in many ways, feels like a déjà vu. But because we don’t cover the Notes client or the Domino server (well, not on its own, though we cover several IBM Lotus products that run on top of Domino), I’ve never really compared them head-to-head.

I was discussing this with my colleague Apoorv Durga today, and rather than focus on the resemblances, or the fact that IBM is slowly phasing out Domino in favor of newer platforms, we tried to think up the most essential differences. Of course, this is comparing apples to oranges; but if you’re willing to think of both as "grown in orchards" and "considered a fruit," you can, in fact, compare them:

• Notes/Domino comes with a mail server; with SharePoint, you need to add Exchange (but SharePoint and Exchange are much less integrated with each other than the Domino components, and in fact, they sometimes compete for the same collaborative scenarios.)
• A technically inclined person can quite easily build impressive forms-based processing in Notes/Domino. In SharePoint, you really need a .NET developer much more quickly than you’d think.
• But if you do start developing things, it’s hard to get your Domino applications past the initial "rapid prototyping" stage — most custom applications in Domino start out as something that’s quickly whipped up, and then keeps being modified. (They’re also notoriously difficult to maintain once the original creator has left your company.)
• SharePoint is much more developer friendly; Visual Studio is a very capable development environment, and though Notes/Domino does have development tools, they’re comparatively basic.
• And on a very technical level: the Lotus NSF "databases" are not relational. There is no way to do a JOIN with Lotus "tables" (they’re called "views" in Domino). Really. It’s impossible to do a look-up in a list field to another field in another list. If you think that’s some incredibly technical detail that’s not very crucial, well, try to create a view of all of your employees, with one field that displays their phone number (taken from another list). You can’t, and I’ve seen several Notes/Domino developers on the brink of a breakdown trying to get around this. By contrast, SharePoint stores everything in MS SQL; it’s really easy to do lookups within a list field.

This is just what we came up with in one afternoon, and by no means as comprehensive as the comparisons in our Evaluation Reports. So what do you think? I’d welcome any additions or corrections in the comments below. Lotus Notes/Domino may be yesterday’s news compared to SharePoint, but it’s still alive and well in many enterprises — and I have a nagging suspicion Apoorv and I are not the only ones comparing notes.

[Update: 07 December] Sorry about the comment on IBM phasing out Notes/Domino,
which obviously didn’t come across as it was intended. I’ve therefore
decided to delete it (or rather, for the sake of transparency, to
leave it there but to strike through.) My colleague Tony Byrne has added some more
thoughts about Lotus and SharePoint here.

Meanwhile, thanks to those who contributed technical insights in the comments. I have some follow-up questions that I’ll address there.

The mint that produces the gold American Eagle coins is running low. This chart, courtesy of Ed Steer, tells the whole story. Buyers are snapping them up at levels not seen in years.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• U.S. Mint Runs Out of Gold Coins
• Here’s The Real Peak In Gold
• Investors Are Going Nuts For Precious Metal ETFs

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Crossover, Kia, South Korea

Perhaps the most important fact about the all new Kia Sorento isn’t that it’s a “right-sized” compact CUV. If Kia’s boundless enthusiasm is any indication, the most important fact is that the 2011 Sorento is the first Kia designed and built in entirely in the USA. In fact, Kia claims that their all-new West Point, Georgia manufacturing plant will not only create 2,500 jobs (eventually – 1,200 for the moment), they say it is the most advanced Kia manufacturing facility in the world.

Then there’s the vehicle they just started building in Georgia sixteen days ago, the 2011 Sorento. Kia’s calling it “right-sized,” and pointing out that Americans are leaving their biggie SUVs in droves and moving to CUVs, specifically compact CUVs. But not that compact – the Sorento is designed to sit five adults comfortably or seven full-size persons “occasionally.” That’s our kind of euphemism! The Sorento, however, is not just a schlepper. It’s got a MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link suspension setup for the rear.

Coupled to a 276 horsepower V6 and an all-new built in-house six-speed automatic, the Sorento is able to get up and boogie a bit. Or at least as much as a top heavy CUV can boogie. Check out our First Drive of the Kia Sorento (a pre-production model from Korea) for more details. Long story short, a base Sorento will start at under $20,000 – about $1,500 less than the outgoing body-on-frame model.

Hyundai’s making a big media push, taking out a Sorento ad in Times Square that will be visible when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. They’re also put together a short commercial some of you may have seen in movie theaters over the weekend. This spot, featuring a young all-American boy on a bicycle, will be airing until January. Kia is also co-sponsoring the Chick-fil-A and the Outback college bowl games. As Kia mentioned repeatedly during the presentation, they feel the brand’s got some momentum going. If the Sorento drives and works anywhere close to where Kia says it will, they might be right.

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Jonny Lieberman / Weblogs, Inc.

LA 2009: Meet the “all-American” 2011 Kia Sorento originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

This new product is very hard to hear! The low noise coaxial-drive (Koaxdrive) KD 32 planetary gearhead from maxon motor is setting new standards in operating noise and torque levels. Measuring 32 mm in diameter and with a torque of 6.5 Nm, it is ideal for use in noise-sensitive, highly demanding applications.

The new Koaxdrive KD 32 combines the best of two proven gearing technologies, namely worm and planetary gearing. Special attention has been focused on the first gear stage, as this is where the greatest peripheral speeds occur and therefore noise. Our completely new, patent-protected design has enabled us to substantially reduce this noise. The, worm-formed motor pinion drives the three offset planetary wheels. These interlock with the internal gear which has straight cut teeth. The plastic planetary wheels are largely responsible for reducing noise levels.
All additional stages are set out as a completely “normal” straight-cut planetary gearhead. This unique torque conversion makes operation very quiet – even with high loads.

With an outer diameter of only 32 mm and a coaxial arrangement on the drive and output shaft, the Koaxdrive is designed for compact applications. A number of efficiency levels with the same reduction ratio increases the wide variety of applications: In the 11:1 to 1091:1 range, many reduction ratios are available as standard. maxon motor also offers high reduction ratios in one stage. A new, innovative coupling element is assembled on the motor side so that the motor shaft is not subjected to axial load. Maximum flexibility is created by the motor shaft diameter not being of primary importance. Input speeds of up to 8,000 RPM can easily be reached.

maxon’s modular system enables the Koaxdrive KD 32 to be assembled with various maxon motors. These low-noise combinations are ideal for hand tools and instruments that are used principally on or near patients in the medical technology sector.

SAI Hydraulics Canada Ltd. is located in the heart of Montreal, CN. SAI Hydr. Canada has provided sales and service to the Canadian marketplace since 1969. They are a full service subsidiary and are capable of providing products ranging from seal kits to complete units. SAI USA works in conjunction with SAI Hydraulics Canada Ltd. providing support for Canadian/U.S. company needs large and small. Some of the industries served in Canada are forestry, agriculture, and oil. They are continually looking for new emerging markets and working to better support existing customers. SAI Hydr. Canada Ltd. is an important component in providing quality support for SAI products throughout Canada. Their staff is always pleased to welcome new customers and projects into the SAI family of products. Please contact us with your requirements.

I think I never mention about the relationship between cytogenetics and cancer research in this blog. Cytogenetic studies are proven that can assist to define the diagnosis and deliver clear prognostic differences in cancer. There are many cytogenetic studies of malignancy have been gone through and most of them are related to hematologic disorders. However, those studies constitute only small percentage of all cancer malignancies.
 

Clinical Value of Cytogenetic Studies in Malignancy Cancer

Recently, there has been a significant progress in knowledge of the recurrent abnormalities in many of solid tumors as well as hematologic malignancies. Consequently, the clinical value of cytogenetic studies in cancer malignancy has been appreciated after the cytogenetic studies of some solid tumors moving out of cancer research environment.
 
Apart from this, there would be little clinical value in doing cytogenetic studies in cancer malignancy if all the patients with a particular cancer died. The researchers only manage to probe the origins of cancer for those patients. However, after researching in all tumors type by using cytogenetic technique, the presence or absence of many of the genetic abnormalities found has been related to different responses to treatment. Since that, the genetic and cytogenetic studies start to be recognized as important and one of the best choices of treatment for a cancer patient.
 

Cytogenetic Studies Helps Diagnostic Investigation in Malignancy Cancer

Consequently, cytogenetic analysis of cancer malignancy is considered to provide rapid, accurate and specific results to aid the clinical professionals. This can help to choose the most appropriate type of treatment to the cancer patient in shorter time. However, John Swansbury stated that the diagnosis of a malignancy can be traumatic, and an accurate and early indication of every patient’s prognosis is valuable.
 
In conclusion, a cytogenetic study remains an essential part of diagnostic investigations of every patient with hematologic malignancy and certain solid tumors without denying the valuable contributions made by other genetic assays.

Reference: Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 220: Cancer Cytogenetics: Methods and Protocols. Edited by: John Swansbury © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
 

Do you know more about cytogenetic studied on malignancy? Come and share with us.

SA44FVP76BKR

Cytogenetic Studies in Malignancy Cancer is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

Related Posts

• December 22, 2009 — Autosomal Aneuploidy – Cytogenetic Abnormalities (2)
• November 30, 2009 — Cancer Research on Natural Compound (Cancer Review) (0)
• January 22, 2010 — Human Genome Project – Find out Human Database (0)
• January 15, 2010 — Angelman Syndrome – Angel-like Genetic Disorder (2)