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The Free Library > Date > 2017 > May > 1 > Elektronika ir Elektrotechnika
Anomalous Behaviour of Cryptographic Elliptic Curves over Finite Field.
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Elliptic curves have been studied as a mathematical concept since the second century A.C., while the name "elliptic" was given in the nineteenth century [1]. However, the concept of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) has only been known about in the last 30 years. The first use of elliptic curves in cryptography was by H. W. Lenstra for elliptic curve factorization which was used as the fastest algorithm to find factors of large integers [2]. However, N. Koblitz and V. Miller are considered as the founders of ECC. In 1985 N. Koblitz [3] and V. Miller [4] independently proposed the use of a group of points on an elliptic curve defined over a finite field. Over the past 30 years, ECC has become a key part of many current cryptosystems, cryptographic schemes and algorithms, e.g., Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), Elliptic curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES), Elliptic curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA), Elliptic curve Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (ECMQV), and Elliptic curve Qu-Vanstone (ECQV). ECC is also recommended in different standards, e.g., by Standards for Efficient Cryptography Group (SECG) in SEC1 [5], SEC2 [6] and SEC4 [7]; by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 800-57 [8] and FIPS 186-2 [9]; by Accredited Standards Committee X9 in ANSI X9.62 [10] and ANSI X9.63 [11]; by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in IEEE 1363-2000 [12]; and by Wireless Application Forum in WTLS [13]. Furthermore, many real implementations use and provide ECC primitives and algorithms, e.g., Bouncy castle [14], TinyECC [15] Crypto++ [16], OpenSSL [17], and FlexiProvider [18].
The main advantage of ECC is reaching the same level of security by using a smaller key compared to classical asymmetric cryptographic schemes based on factoring modulus or a discrete logarithm. This reduces such factors as memory storage requirements, key transmission time, arithmetic computation power costs and the bandwidth [19], [20]. This key advantage is the reason why ECC is favoured in internet-based applications and preferred for constrained devices with low computational power and low memory storage, smart cards and cryptographic tokens. These constrained devices are portable, small, and lightweight and have low processing power, parameter storage and memory [21]. These areas might be summarized as limited devices, which are defined mainly by their low computational power and low memory storage capacity. This paper deals with the research of new effective methods for speed and memory optimization of ECC used in limited devices. Many current methods deal with ECC optimization by finding new effective methods. These solutions are hard to deploy and often require main system changes. On the other hand, we try to provide a solution which is comparably effective as more complex methods, but very easy to deploy.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II summarizes related works. Section III introduces our experimental environment. Further, in Section IV the main experimental measurements of ECC are provided. The discussion and comparison with other works is provided in Section IV. Finally, Section V summarizes our conclusions.
II. Current and Related Work
Due to new wireless technologies and other worldwide technological changes and progresses made, the modern concept of The Internet of Things (IoT) is attracting more attention. IoT is based on connecting even the simplest sensors (limited devices) with each other as well as connecting these to the global network infrastructure [22]. These connected devices have a wide use over many areas and should provide heightened amounts of information which might be used to increase the life quality of the citizens, ensure higher level of process automation, discover new options for optimization, general security purposes and even for saving lives in disasters [23]. The wide use of connected devices and objects also gives rise to new challenges in the areas of architecture, availability, reliability, mobility, performance, management, scalability, interoperability, security and privacy [24]. Basic security issues might be solved by encryption, authentication and authorization algorithms. However, due to the usage of limited devices, the implementation of these algorithms is a difficult task. ECC is nowadays used among others to solve these difficulties and it also provides secured solutions for limited devices [25].
Most of the current works that are focused on improving the efficiency of ECC algorithms are based on:
--developing new and more efficient algorithms i.e. for point multiplication [26]-[28],
--creating new and more efficient curves [29],
--using different unusual algorithms or more efficient mathematical fields forECC [30], [31].
In general, these methods are appropriate and they bring significant and efficient results, but they are also often very hard to deploy. However, if we take a closer look at the curve speed in different kinds of algorithms, methods and implementations, we can see significant speed differences even for curves of similar types. In the work [32] we showed our lightweight ECDH implementation with various curves, where curves of the same size had up to 50 % speed difference. Our previous work [33] already showed the differences between the efficiency of prime field based and field of characteristic 2 based elliptic curve systems in limited devices. The prime field based curves show a higher efficiency on limited devices than curves with field of characteristic 2 (by tens of percent). Based on these results we believe the efficiency might be improved not only with new algorithms or new curves, but also by choosing the right elliptic curve from the current ones. Our solution will be easier to deploy with similar effectiveness. Additionally, the in-depth research of current elliptic curves and their behaviour on specific limited hardware might also bring significant results for new algorithms or curves in the future.
This paper provides a new look at the efficiency of various cryptographic elliptic curves. We provide a clear description of elliptic curve parameterization. On this basis, we explain the links between computation speed and elliptic curve domain parameters. This new approach might be used for creating faster and memory friendly curves. Further, the experimental measurements which are showing the discovered anomalous behaviour of some elliptic curves are provided. This anomaly might be used for simple speed and memory optimization without additional needs.
III. Experimental Background and Pre-Sets
A. Network Model
We are developing a secure solution for the smart grid. Our network model helps us to develop solutions which might be rapidly implemented into real applications. The smart grid often uses limited devices i.e. for measuring consumption (water, gas, heat take-offs), failure states indicators, power quality monitors and many others. Fig. 1 shows our smart grid network model for this measurement where we can see the part with limited resources (limited devices) and also the part with non-limited resources.
The Intelligent Communication Unit is a limited device which connects even the simplest meters, sensors and indicators via a specific interface (i.e. PLC, RS485, USB) and communicate over access technology (i.e. PLC, Wireless) with a data concentrator. In this experiment, we consider a microcontroller MSP430 and a computer unit, the Raspberry Pi 2, for the non-limited area as a core of the communication unit for the limited area.
B. Experimental Measurements Pre-Sets
The MSP430 of the 5438A family is considered as a core for limited devices in our measurements. MSP430 is an ultra-low power micro-controller with power consumption in hundreds of [micro]A for the active mode and units of [micro]A for the standby/sleep mode. This microcontroller has 256 kB FLASH, 16 kB RAM, 32-bit multiplier, high/low frequency crystal (32 MHz/32 kHz) and allow 16-bit operations; more details about technical specification of MSP430 can be found in [35]. For MSP430, we used our lightweight implementation of elliptic curve primitives and ECDH algorithm.
The Raspberry Pi 2B is considered in our measurements as a core for non-limited devices. We included this unit in our measurement to obtain more data. The Raspberry Pi 2B is a simple computer unit based on the Broadcom BCM2836 processor. This device has a 900 MHz quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor and 1 GB LPDDR2 memory; more details about the technical specification of the Raspberry Pi 2B are in [36]. For the Raspberry Pi 2B, we used the OpenSSL library which implements elliptic curve primitives, curves of different standards and many different algorithms based on elliptic curves i.e. ECDH or ECDSA.
C. Elliptic Curve Cryptography Implementations
Our light-weight solution is precisely described in [32] and it is available on [37]. We have implemented more than 60 elliptic curves of different kinds of standards together with a big-number representation and basic and modular arithmetic. We use classical representation of elliptic curves by domain parameters which are pre-generated and defined by a standard. For point multiplication, the non-adjective form of multiplication w-NAF is used (Double-and-add variation, D&A) and Montgomery modular algorithms are used for other modulo operations. The operations are optimized for the low-power microcontroller MSP430 and ECDH algorithm.
The OpenSSL is a non-lightweight ready-to-use library for a wide range of applications. This solution brings all the necessities for implementing a system based on ECC. This library also contains all the necessities for the ECDH and ECDSA algorithms. A detailed description of this library is in [38] and it is available on [39].
IV. Impact of Elliptic Curve Domain Parameters on Speed Efficiency
Each elliptic curve is defined by the field and domain parameters. We will work with two different field types, field of characteristic 2 and prime field. The elliptic curves over finite field of characteristic 2 ([F.sub.2]m) have seven domain parameters (septuple)
[mathematical expression not reproducible] (1)
where m is an integer specifying [F.sub.2]m; f(x) is irreducible binary polynomial of degree m specifying the polynomial basis representation of [F.sub.2]m ; a, b are two elements of [F.sub.2]m (a, b [member of] [F.sub.2]m) specifying an elliptic curve E([F.sub.2]m) defined by
E: [y.sup.2] + xy = [x.sup.3] + [ax.sup.2] + b in [F.sub.2]m, (2)
where variable G is a base point G = ([x.sub.G], [y.sub.G]) on E([F.sub.2]m); prime n is order of G; and finally the integer h is the cofactor
h = # E ([F.sub.2]m)/n. (3)
The elliptic curves over finite prime field ([F.sub.p]) have six domain parameters (sextuple)
where p is an integer specifying [F.sub.p]; a, b are two elements of [F.sub.p] (a, b [member of] [F.sub.p]) specifying an elliptic curve E([F.sub.p]) defined by
E: [y.sup.2] [equivalent to] [x.sup.3] + ax + b (mod p), (5)
where variable G is a base point G = ([x.sub.G], [y.sub.G]) on E([F.sub.p]); prime n is order of G; and finally the integer h is the cofactor
h = # E ([F.sub.p])/n. (6)
There are three main mathematical operations with elliptic curves (or their points): point addition, point doubling and point (scalar) multiplication. These operations are the basis for all other mathematical algorithms for ECC i.e. the ECDH and ECDSA algorithms. The time consumption and computational difficulty of these basic operations with points of elliptic curves is obviously curve-size dependent. This means operations with curves of larger domain parameters should be slower than operations with curves of smaller domain parameters.
We independently measured more than 60 elliptic curves on two different software implementations (own and OpenSSL implementation) and two different hardware devices (the MSP430 limited-device and the Raspberry Pi 2B non-limited device). The size of domain parameters for each measured elliptic curve is in Appendix A (Table A-I, A-II). Table I and II summarize our main experimental results where curve name is the official elliptic curve name defined by the standard SEC (sect/secp elliptic curves), WTLS (wtls elliptic curves), ANSI (prime, c2pnb/tnb elliptic curves) or IPSec (ipsec elliptic curves). Field defines the [2.sup.m] of [F.sub.2]m (or p of [F.sub.p]). No. is the number of significantly smaller domain parameters than degree m (i.e. curve wtls1 with field F114 has domain parameters [m.sub.114b], [a.sub.1b], [b.sub.1b], [x.sub.113b], [y.sub.112b], [n.sub.112b] the No. is 2, because of a, b). Parameter to is time needed for curve ECDH key and ECDH parameters generation with the specific curve. The At is defined as a time difference between the fastest curve and the concrete curve and it is given as a percent (value 0.00 mark the fastest curve), where [DELTA][t.sub.1] is measurement on Raspberry Pi 2B and [DELTA][t.sub.2] is on MSP430.
Table I shows the results for measured elliptic curves over the field of characteristic 2 on the Raspberry Pi 2B with OpenSSL implementation. The results are as expected and more samples or other measurements on different platforms are not necessary. The curves with a higher degree are generally slower. Further, the curves of the same degree with small domain parameters (a, b, x, y) are generally faster than curves with normal sized domain parameters (same size as curve degree). Some higher degree curves with small domain parameters (ipsec3, [??]) are even comparably as fast as lower degree curves with non-small domain parameters (sect131r2, [??]). Figure 2 shows an example of a different curve speed for [mathematical expression not reproducible] on the Raspberry Pi 2B with OpenSSL implementation of elliptic curves. The white colour is for curves with four, grey is for curves with two and black is for curves with zero small domain parameters. As evident, the fastest curve is the curve with the smallest domain parameters.
The curves over the prime field shows a significant anomaly in behaviour. Table II shows the results for measured elliptic curves over the prime field on the Raspberry Pi 2B and also on the MSP430 (for a greater range of samples). The curves with a higher degree are generally slower. However, the curves of the same degree with small domain parameters (a, b, x, y) are not generally faster than curves with normal sized domain parameters (same size as curve degree). Conversely, the small domain parameters had no effect or made the curve even slower than the curves with the same sized domain parameters. Some higher degree curves with normal sized domain parameters (secp128r1, [F.sub.128]) are even comparably as fast as lower degree curves with smaller domain parameters (wtls8, [F.sub.112]). Figure 3 shows an example of a different curve speed for [F.sub.160] on the Raspberry Pi 2B with OpenSSL implementation of elliptic curves. The grey is for curves with two and black is for curves with zero small domain parameters. As we can see the slowest curve is the curve with the smallest domain parameters.
Figure 4 shows the same example as in Fig. 3, but on the MSP430 with our implementation of elliptic curves. The grey is for curves with two and black is for curves with zero small domain parameters. As we can see here also the slowest curve is the curve with the smallest domain parameters.
The results show that on the field of characteristic 2 we can reduce up to 5 % to 15 % of the time consumption on smaller degree curves (114-156 b) and up to 15 % of the time consumption on the higher degree curves (164-572 b) only by choosing the right curve with small domain parameters. On the prime field we can reduce the time consumption by 10 % to 50 % only by choosing the right curve with normal not-smaller domain parameters. The measurements reveal the anomalous behaviour of the prime field curves. This means that it cannot be clearly concluded whether the smaller domain parameters will have a positive effect on speed of elliptic curve operations. They result in reduced memory requirements, but not necessarily a reduction in speed.
V. Discussion
From our measurements we expect significant results which should help in choosing the right elliptic curve for a real application from the point of view of time and memory requirement. Our results prove that the size of domain parameters has a significant impact on computational complexity and time consumption of algorithms which work with elliptic curves. Further, we show that the time consumption of an elliptic curve algorithm can be significantly reduced only by choosing the right elliptic curve. Table III shows the results of chosen current and relevant works dealing with ECC optimization, new methods and algorithms or new curves. As we can see, the maximum speed reduction is about 50 %, but very often much smaller.
Our solution shows very close results to the more complex optimization methods by simply only choosing the right curve. This fact might be used for easy speed and memory optimization without any further needs of algorithm change.
VI. Conclusions
The Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is nowadays already a frequently used method for lightweight secured communication solution and it is spread over wide areas. We might see it also as a solution for future LPWAN, MANET, VANET and many others. We showed as an example the Smart Grid network (Fig. 1), in which the low-power devices are used to gather the sensitive customers or network data from sensors as well as crucial management data. For securing this communication, these devices with limited physical resources need a sufficiently secure and resource effective cryptographic solution. For this purpose, the AES cipher and ECC are often used together, the ECC being always more resources demanding.
Many current works focused on improving the efficiency of ECC are dealing with developing new efficient algorithms, creating new efficient curves or trying to implement or develop new primitives. However, this paper shows an efficient and easy deployable solution for the speed optimization of ECC algorithms without the need of changing current algorithms, primitives or protocols. Our solution is based on choosing the right elliptic curve with right domain parameters. We provide measurements of more than 60 elliptic curves (Section IV) on two different hardware devices (limited and not-limited) with two different software implementations (our software and OpenSSL). These measurements show a significant impact of the domain parameters on the speed of basic elliptic curve operations. Compared with other works (focused on new algorithms, curves or more efficient operations), we achieved comparable results by only choosing the right elliptic curve and with a deeper look at its domain parameters (up to 50 % time reduction). Further, section V shows that many other current works achieved same or smaller time reduction by using much more complex methods. Last but not least, these facts demonstrate that in-depth research of elliptic curve parameterization might bring valuable results.
Future work should investigate the relationship between the domain parameters and the common computational algorithms in greater detail (i.e. point multiplication algorithms). Mathematical analysis is required for a deeper understanding of the speed dependency. We believe this research will bring very significant and valuable information for future cryptosystems and new elliptic curves.
http://dx.doi.Org/10.5755/j01.eie.23.5.19248
Manuscript received 29 April, 2017; accepted 21 July, 2017.
Research described in this article was financed by the National Sustainability Program under grant LO1401. For the research, the infrastructure of the SIX Center was used.
TABLE A-I. LENGTH OF DOMAIN PARAMETERS FOR MEASURED
ELLIPTIC CURVES OVER FIELD OF CHARACTERISTIC 2.
Curve        m     a     b     x     y     n
name         [b]   [b]   [b]   [b]   [b]   [b]
GF([2.sup.114])
wtlsl        114   1     1     113   112   112
wtls4        114   110   112   112   112   113
sect113r1    114   110   112   112   112   113
sect113k1    114   110   112   112   112   113
GF([2.sup.132]) and GF([2.sup.156])
ipsec3       156   0     19    7     9     154
wtls3        164   1     1     162   162   163
sect163k1    164   1     1     162   162   163
c2pnb163v1   164   163   160   163   161   163
wtls10       234   0     1     233   233   232
wtlsll       234   1     231   232   233   233
sect233r1    234   1     231   232   233   233
c2tnb239v1   240   238   239   239   239   238
GF(2284)
sect283r1    284   0     1     283   281   281
sect409k1    410   1     406   409   407   409
TABLE A-II. LENGTH OF DOMAIN PARAMETERS FOR MEASURED
ELLIPTIC CURVES OVER PRIME FIELD.
Curve        p     a     b     x     y     n
GF(112) and GF(128)
wtls8        112   0     2     1     2     113
secp112r1    112   112   111   108   112   112
GF(160)
secp160k1    160   0     3     158   160   161
prime192v1   192   192   191   189   187   192
wtls12       224   224   224   224   224   224
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Radek Fujdiak (1), Petr Dzurenda (1), Petr Mlynek (1), Jiri Misurec (1), Milos Orgon (2), Bezzateev Sergey (3)
(1) Department of Telecommunications, Brno University of Technology, Technicka St. 12, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic
(2) Department of Telecommunications, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Ilkovicova St. 3, 812 19 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
(3) Technologies of Information Security, Saint-Petersburg University of Aerospace Instrumentation, Bolshaya Morskaya St. 67, 190 000 Saint Petersburg, Russia fujdiak@feec.vutbr.cz
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Caption: Fig. 1. Smart Grid network for remote data acquisition [34].
Caption: Fig. 2. Comparison of different curves over field of characteristic [mathematical expression not reproducible] on Raspberry with OpenSSL implementation.
Caption: Fig. 3. Comparison of different curves over prime field F160 on Raspberry with OpenSSL implementation.
Caption: Fig. 4. Comparison of different curves over prime field [F.sub.160] on MSP430 with our implementation of elliptic curves.
TABLE I. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR MEASURED ELLIPTIC
CURVES OVER FIELD OF CHARACTERISTIC 2 ON RASPBERRY.
Curve        Field         No.   tG1             At1
name                       [-]   [[micro]M]      [%]
wtlsl        [2.sup.114]   2     3,362         0.00
wtls4        [2.sup.114]   0     3,496         +3.99
sect113r1    [2.sup.114]   0     3,500         +4.10
sect113k1    [2.sup.114]   0     3,487         +3.72
sect131r1    [2.sup.132]   0     6,235         0.00
ipsec3       [2.sup.156]   4     6,417         +2.92
GF([2.sup.164]), ([2.sup.177]) and GF([2.sup.186])
wtls5        [2.sup.164]   0     8,815         +10.15
c2pnb163v1   [2.sup.164]   0     8,822         +10.23
c2pnb163v2   [2.sup.164]   0     8,795     +9.92
c2pnb163v3   [2.sup.164]   0     8,795         +9.90
ipsec4       [2.sup.186]   4     8,003         0.00
wtls10       [2.sup.234]   2     15,865        +0.23
wtlsll       [2.sup.234]   1     17,474        +10.40
sect233r1    [2.sup.234]   1     17,493        +10.52
sect233k1    [2.sup.234]   2     15,828        0.00
sect239k1    [2.sup.240]   2     16,244        +2.63
c2tnb239v1   [2.sup.240]   0     17,890        +13.03
sect571r1    [2.sup.572]   2     174,749       +14.86
sect571k1    [2.sup.572]   1     152,143       0.00
TABLE II. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR MEASURED ELLIPTIC
CURVES OVER PRIME FIELD ON RASPBERRY PI 2B AND MSP430.
Curve        Field   n     [t.       [DELTA]     [t.       [DELTA]
sub.G1]   [t.sub.1]   sub.G2]   [t.sub.2]
name                 [-]   [[mu]s]   [%]         [[mu]s]   [%]
wtls6        112     0     2,555     0.00        10,696    +8.68
wtls8        112     4     2,953     +15.58      10,897    +10.72
secp112r1    112     0     2,570     +0.59       9,842     0.00
secp112r2    112     0     2,599     +1.72       11,413    +15,96
secp128r1    128     0     2,825     +10.57      12,092    +22,86
wtls7        160     0     4,130     0.00        13,031    0.00
secp160r1    160     0     4,143     +0.31       13,050    +0.15
secp160k1    160     2     4,557     +10.34      15,080    +15.72
secp192k1    192     2     6,364     +11.92      23,674    7.57
prime192v1   192     0     5,716     +0.53       25,400    13.04
prime192v2   192     0     5,686     0.00        22,470    0.00
prime192v3   192     0     5,701     +0.26       24,171    5.36
wtls12       224     0     7,483     +0.09       26,631    0.00
secp224r1    224     0     7,476     0.00        27,020    1.46
secp224k1    224     2     8,388     +12.20      30,771    15.55
secp256k1    256     2     11,007    +12.28      --        --
prime256v1   256     0     9,803     0.00        --        --
TABLE III. COMPARISON OF SPEED REDUCTION WITH OTHER
CURRENT AND RELEVANT WORKS.
Short description                                   reduction   #Ref.
Work focused on the use of ECC in wireless          46-48 %
sensor networks. They present a new technique       (D&A)
to speed up the multiplication operation.           32-37 %     L26J
(wNAF)
Work focused on double-and-add algorithm for
point multiplication and application to the         no data     [27]
Fibonacci sequence. The work compares only
chain size, where they achieved up to 18 %
differences. But final speed tests are missing.
Another work focused on new more efficient
design of elliptic curve point multiplication       4-38 %      [28]
based on Montgomery modular multiplication.
The authors introduce the new curve 25519 with
significant speed efficiency on hardware. A final   no data     [29]
comparison of this curve on specific hardware
and with other curves is missing.
The work focused on ECC in the Internet of
Things. The authors implement their solution of
ECDSA on a small processor and gain                 50 %        [30]
significant speed results compared to the other
implementations by using FPGA acceleration.
Another work providing a new algorithm based
on modified traditional extended Euclidean          >50 %       [31]
Great Common Divisor (GCD).
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Telecommunications and Electronics
Fujdiak, Radek; Dzurenda, Petr; Mlynek, Petr; Misurec, Jiri; Orgon, Milos; Sergey, Bezzateev
Elektronika ir Elektrotechnika
Sensors and Signal Processing Methods for a Wearable Physiological Parameters Monitoring System.
Outage Probability Analysis of Co-Tier Interference in Heterogeneous Network.
Finite fields
Mathematical research


text:
Hey Portal, what's that Facebook device in my kitchen?
09 Oct 2018 3 Facebook, IoT, Privacy, Social networks
Previous: Google ramps up G Suite protections against government-backed attacks
Next: Don't fall for the Facebook '2nd friend request' hoax
There's nothing like losing control over 50 million users' data to screw up the product launch of a video camera-enabled smart device that tracks people in their homes and listens constantly.
Facebook was supposed to launch Portal, its four-microphone, always-listening-for-voice-triggers gadget, at its F8 developer conference in May. But then, oh well! Things happened.
Things like, for example, Cambridge Analytica-associated user privacy conniptions, or privacy regulators' sputtering over the data slurping that it entailed.
Never fear, though: Facebook's now back on track, fearlessly making a beeline for your kitchen counter or your living room or your anywhere.
The company announced on Monday that in the US, you can now pre-order the $199 Portal and the $349 Portal+, which has a bigger screen and a pivoting display, to
help you feel closer to the important people in your life and make video chats feel less like a call, and more like you're actually in the same room.
Friends on Messenger and Facebook may feel like they're in the same room, but this first-ever Facebook-manufactured hardware will actually be in the same room, which may or may not make you want to hide under your bed.
If you take a shine to the notion of a Facebook speaker squatting on your counter, you can look forward to Portal's artificial intelligence- (AI)-powered smart camera and smart sound keeping an eagle eye on you, swivelling, panning and zooming to watch you as you cook, or to include anybody who walks into the room, and minimizing background, kitchen gadget-y noises to boost the sound of whoever's talking, no matter where they go. Facebook:
It's like having your own cinematographer and sound crew direct your personal video calls.
Portal not only gives you hands-free voice control, enabling you to get its attention by saying "Hey, Portal," and then telling it who to call, but it's also impregnated with Amazon Alexa. That means you can check the weather, control smart home devices, order groceries, and hope that your speaker doesn't listen to commands hidden inside audio that's inaudible to puny human ears and thereby get tricked into dialing a phone number, accessing a potential malware-rigged website, or perhaps even buying something.
But what about voice-activated home speaker glitches recording everything they hear, even when their owners tell them not to, as happened with Google's Home Mini, you ask?
Facebook has emphasized that Portal was built "with Privacy + Security in Mind." That means that the camera and microphone can be disabled with a single tap, that it's got a built-in camera cover, and isn't grabbing the content of your calls to crunch on its servers:
Facebook doesn't listen to, view, or keep the contents of your Portal video calls. Your Portal conversations stay between you and the people you're calling. In addition, video calls on Portal are encrypted, so your calls are always secure.
So hey, Alexa, answer me this: what assurances do we have that Facebook won't listen to what we say?
Well, Facebook says that AI technology only runs locally on Portal, not on its servers. Nor is its camera using facial recognition, it says, and it doesn't identify who you are.
Facebook says that like other voice-enabled devices, Portal only sends voice commands to Facebook servers after you say, "Hey Portal." Plus, you can delete your Portal's voice history in your Facebook Activity Log at any time.
Regardless of being integrated with Alexa, it's clear that Portal is going to be in direct competition with Amazon's Echo.
How many shopping days left before Christmas? Enough to ponder whether you want the spawn of Facebook and always-listening, AI-powered, my-camera-eyes-are-following-you smart gadgetry in your home.
I'm guessing a lot of security researchers will be saying "yes".
3 comments on "Hey Portal, what's that Facebook device in my kitchen?"
Bentham says:
Another combination to add to the "never combines of modern life" (like "internet, pornography and creditcard"):
Facebook, Camera and microphone
I mean what could go wrong!
Matt Parkes says:
Words fail me!!!!
Hmm. No.
Also LOL at the way this was written, nicely done Lisa!
Instagram copyright infringment scams – don't get sucked in!
Cryptocurrency startup fails to subtract before adding, loses $31m
FTC threatens "legal action" over unpatched Log4j and other vulns

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Update On Josh Allen's Injury Status For Week 10
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is currently being monitored day-to-day due to a right elbow injury to his ulnar collateral ligament and related nerves, head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday (November 9) while confirming Allen would miss the day's practice, ESPN reports.
"We'll see," McDermott said when asked if Allen would be able to play in the Bills' Week 10 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday (November 13).
"We will see how he does," McDermott added via ESPN. "We use common sense and, obviously, we factor a lot of things in, a medical report being one of them and our doctor's wisdom and knowledge."
McDermott declined to reveal whether Allen had thrown the football since experiencing the injury late in last Sunday's (November 6) loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
The coach had previously told reporters that the team is continuing to evaluate Allen's injury and hopes to have more information later in the week.
"We're going through it," Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Monday (November 7) via the Athletic. "We're evaluating. We'll see where it goes. I'll probably be able to check in with you guys on Wednesday."
Allen threw for an uncharacteristic 205 yards and two touchdowns on 18 of 34 passing, while also recording 86 yards and two touchdowns on nine rushing attempts during Sunday's upset loss.


text:
De Rajasa-dynastie regeerde in de 14e eeuw over Singhasari en Majapahit, twee koninkrijken op Java.

De vijf vorsten van Singhasari
 Ken Arok 1222 - 1227
 Anoesapati 1227 - 1248
 Panji Tohjaya 1248
 Wisnoewardhana 1248 - 1268
 Kartanegara 1268 - 1292

De koningen en keizers van Majahapit
In de vrouwelijke lijn stammen deze heersers af van Ken Arok en Kartanegara.
 Raden Wijaya, ook Kertarajasa Jayawardhana genoemd (1294–1309)
 Kalagamet, ook Jayanagara genoemd  (1309–1328)
 Sri Gitarja, ook Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi genoemd  (1328–1350)
 Hayam Woeroek, ook Sri Rajasanagara genoemd  (1350–1389)
 Wikramawardhana (1389–1429)
 Soehita (1429–1447)
 Kertawijaya regeerde als Brawijaya I (1447–1451)
 Rajasawardhana, geboren als Bhre Pamotan regeerde als Brawijaya II (1451–1453)
 Interregnum (1453-1456)
 Bhre Wengker, ook wel Poerwawisesa of Girishawardhana genoemd, regeerde als Brawijaya III (1456–1466)
 Singhawikramawardhana, Pandanalas, of Soeraprabhawa genoemd, regeerde als Brawijaya IV (1466-1468 of 1478)
 Kertaboemi van Majahapit, regeerde als Brawijaya V (1468–1478)
 Girindrawardhana, regeerde als Brawijaya VI (1478–1498)

Zie ook

 De Lijst van Midden- en Oost-Javaanse heersers

Koningshuis
Java

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


IN a major advancement in nanomedicine, Arizona State University scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply.
design and targeted cancer therapy," said Hao Yan, director of the ASU Biodesign Institute's Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics and the Milton Glick Professor in the School of Molecular Sciences.
"Moreover, this technology is a strategy that can be used for many types of cancer, since all solid tumor-feeding blood vessels are essentially the same," Yan said.
The successful demonstration of the technology, the first-of-itskind study in mammals utilising breast-cancer, melanoma, ovarian and lung-cancer mouse models, was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
decades has developed atomicscale manufacturing to build more and more complex structures.
Philadelphia (CHOP). times smaller than the width of a human hair — in the hopes of one day revolutionising computing, electronics and medicine.
Until now, the challenge of advancing nanomedicine has been difficult because scientists wanted to design, build and carefully control nanorobots to actively seek and destroy cancerous tumors — while not harming any healthy cells.
strategy to very selectively seek and starve out a tumor.
This work was initiated about five years ago. The NCNST researchers first wanted to specifically cut off tumor blood supply by inducing blood coagulation with high therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles in multiple solid tumors using DNA-based nanocarriers. Yan's expertise has upgraded the nanomedicine design to be a fully programmable robotic system, able to perform its mission entirely on its own.
"These nanorobots can be programmed to transport molecular payloads and cause on-site tumor blood-supply blockages, which can lead to tissue death and shrink the tumor," said Baoquan Ding, a professor at the NCNST in Beijing.
To perform their study, the scientists took advantage of a well-known mouse tumor model, where human cancer cells are injected into a mouse to induce aggressive tumor growth.
Once the tumor was growing, the nanorobots were deployed to come to the rescue.
First, an average of four thrombin molecules was attached to a flat DNA scaffold. Next, the flat sheet was folded in on itself like a sheet of paper into a circle to make a hollow tube. They were injected with an IV into a mouse, then traveled through the bloodstream, homing in on the tumors.
target a protein, called nucleolin, that is made in high amounts only on the surface of tumor endothelial cells — and not found on the surface of healthy cells.
the tumor, exposing the thrombin.
Previous articleWhat creature can produce sound louder than a jet engine?


Located at the corner of Mt Buller road and Greenvale lane, Banjos is Mansfield closest accommodation to Mt Buller and the High Country.
Set on 5 acres at the edge of town with rural surrounds, Banjos of Mansfield is a relaxing property with accommodation to suit couples, families and groups.
Relax around or enjoy a swim in the solar heated swimming pool while Dad cooks up a storm at the nearby sheltered BBQ area. To fill in the time, challenge your mates to a game of tennis, slam-dunk a few goals at the basketball ring, or just sit under a shady tree with a good book while the children run and play, you will love it!
For the walkers, joggers and bike riders, Banjo's is located near one of Mansfield walking and bike riding trails.
You can have all of this within walking distance (2.5km) of Mansfield town centre.
Your hosts Glenn and Julie will make you feel most welcomed.


Made possible by Philips we bring you Beauty School. In this episode we discover how to remove unwanted facial hair using Intense Pulsed Light technology.
Not to be confused with laser, IPL is short for Intense Pulsed Light - a new technology that puts hair into resting phase in the comfort of your own home.


SanDisk's slotRadio is unlike most MP3 players.
It relies on cards preloaded with 1,000 songs, handpicked by music editors.
If you like to tailor your music completely to your liking, this isn't the player for you. You can skip songs you don't like, but that's about it.
Each card offers a variety of genre- or theme-based stations.
The player has a built-in belt clip to keep it close at hand.
For $99, you can get the slotRadio player, a variety of useful accessories, and a Billboard top hits card with 1,000 tracks.


Does Islam demand the segregation and seclusion of women?
Isn't the hijab oppressive to women? Why don't men wear it?
Why does Islam allow polygamy?
Why can't a woman marry more than one man in Islam?
Are Islamic inheritance laws unfair to women?
Why does the Quran talk about fighting non Muslims?
The wide spectrum of views propagated online make it all the more challenging for people to navigate a good answer about Islam from a misleading one. Navigate Islam videos answer common questions people have about Islamic teachings and clarify areas of common confusion among Muslim youth, new Muslims and non-Muslims searching for the truth. The search feature enables anyone to search for videos under a particular topic.
Most videos feature the content of the Train the Trainers Course in Da'wah and Dialogue (fondly known as the TTC), a course that was developed in Nigeria during the 1990s to facilitate a broader and more relevant understanding of Islam among Muslims. The TTC has received accolades worldwide, empowering young Muslims and professionals to defend Islam intellectually as well as overcome the factionalism that enables Muslim societies to be torn apart.
This site is not for profit and all videos are available for public use under a creative commons license. Please be sure to send us your feedback and suggestions for improvement. Happy traveling and may your journey be blessed!
To speak in the name of God!
Does the Quran (2:120) prohibit friendship with non Muslims?
Are all non Muslims infidels according to Islam?
Can Muslims have non Muslim friends?
Islam and Zakat (Alms-Giving) - Can it be given to non Muslims?
The Navigate Islam project is incredibly relevant to our increasingly digital world. The content is grounded in established programs that have been instrumental to inspiring and educating a new generation of thinking Muslims.
Navigate Islam is a project founded in Australia that aims to promote the voice of traditional Islamic scholarship. With the support of researchers and specialists on various topics, Navigate Islam seeks to enable people with the tools to navigate the challenges of finding the truth about Islam.


text:
Sd.Kfz. 2 (kleines Kettenkraftrad Sd.Kfz. 2, Kettenkrad lub NSU-Kettenkrad) – lekki pojazd wielozadaniowy (transport, holowanie dział, układanie kabli telefonicznych itp.) konstrukcji niemieckiej z okresu II wojny światowej.

Historia

W zakładach NSU Motorenwerke w Neckarsulm podjęto w 1938 r. decyzję o rozpoczęciu projektowania nowego typu pojazdu. Szansę na sukces komercyjny zauważono w podjęciu produkcji lekkiego, uniwersalnego ciągnika będącego w stanie zastąpić zaprzęgi konne w leśnictwie, rolnictwie i budownictwie. Z uwagi na dotychczasowe doświadczenia firmy w produkcji motocykli, miało to być swoistego rodzaju połączenie motocykla z ciągnikiem gąsienicowym. Pomysł nie był całkowicie nowy, ponieważ podobne eksperymenty były prowadzone już m.in. we Francji oraz Austrii (zakłady Austro-Daimler). W 1939 r. projekt uzyskał wsparcie Urzędu Uzbrojenia Wojsk Lądowych. Wojsko poszukiwało lekkiego holownika lub transportera mogącego przewozić zaopatrzenie w trudnych warunkach terenowych. Miał on także transportować różne rodzaje broni i sprzętu: karabiny maszynowe, moździerze, bębny z kablem telefonicznym. W 1940 r. powstał pierwszy prototyp takiego pojazdu. Nosił on oznaczenie wojskowe: kleiner Kettenkraftwagen, Vs. Kfz. 620. 5 czerwca 1941 wprowadzono nowe oznaczenie: kleines Kettenkraftrad, Sd.Kfz. 2. Pojazd został wtedy oficjalnie przyjęty do uzbrojenia Wehrmachtu. Powszechnie jednak, nawet w oficjalnych dokumentach, stosowano nazwę Kettenkrad lub NSU-Kettenkrad.

Pierwsze zamówienie na nowe pojazdy wpłynęło już w 1940 r. Między lipcem 1940 a końcem 1941 r. w zakładach NSU miało powstać 500 egzemplarzy tzw. serii zerowej. Zostało ono zrealizowane zgodnie z harmonogramem. Wkrótce napłynęły dalsze zamówienia. Nie tylko z Wojsk Lądowych, ale i Luftwaffe. Produkcja stale rosła. Od 1943 r. produkowane były na licencji w firmie Stoewer w Szczecinie. W ich wytwarzaniu uczestniczyło także kilka fabryk francuskich, w tym Simca.

W latach 1940–1945 armia niemiecka odebrała następującą liczbę egzemplarzy Kettenkradów:
 1940 – 142
 1941 – 419
 1942 – 967
 1943 – 2440
 1944 – 4155
 1945 – 288

W sumie dostarczono 8411 sztuk.

Kattenkrady były produkowane również po wojnie. W 1947 r., po uzyskaniu zezwolenia władz okupacyjnych, ze zgromadzonych części zamiennych i nieukończonych pojazdów zdołano skompletować 200 egzemplarzy. Do końca produkcji w 1948, udało się zmontować około 500 sztuk. Były one używane głównie w leśnictwie – do holowania ściętych drzew. Pewna liczba została dostosowana do pełnienia funkcji pojazdów straży pożarnej. Używała ich fabryczna straż pożarna w zakładach NSU.

Wersje pojazdu
 Sd.Kfz. 2 – podstawowa wersja produkcyjna. Wykorzystywana jako uniwersalny pojazd transportowy oraz holujący lekkie działa lub jednoosiową przyczepkę.
 Sd.Kfz. 2/1 – pojazd produkowany dla potrzeb oddziałów łączności. Nosił on oficjalne oznaczenie kleines Kettenkraftrad für Feldfernkabel (Sd.Kfz. 2/1). Był on przystosowany do przewożenia dwóch bębnów z kablem telefonicznym nad przedziałem silnikowym. Dwa kolejne bębny przewożono na specjalnej jednoosiowej przyczepce. Wymiary pojazdu były nieco większe niż wersji podstawowej. Długość wynosiła 3,15 m, szerokość 1,33 m, wysokość 1,71 m. Masa całkowita wynosiła 1675 kg.
 Sd.Kfz. 2/2 – druga wersja pojazdu produkowanego dla oddziałów łączności. Nosiła oficjalna nazwę kleines Kettenkraftrad für schweres Feldkabel (Sd.Kfz. 2/2). Od poprzedniej, różniła się ona rodzajem stosowanych bębnów z kablem telefonicznym, oraz ich usytuowaniem na pojeździe. Masa całkowita wynosiła 1590 kg.
 Sd.Kfz. 2/3 – oznaczenie stosowane w niektórych opracowaniach, dla wersji wyposażonej w pomocniczy dźwig. Była ona stosowana w niektórych kompaniach warsztatowych. Ramię dźwigu było umieszczone z przodu pojazdu. Z tyłu, na miejscu siedzeń, montowano przeciwwagę.
 Sicherungsfahrzeuge – uzbrojona wersja patrolowa. Pojazd był uzbrojony w jeden karabin maszynowy MG 34 kal. 7,92 mm. Usunięto w nim dwa tylne siedzenia. W zamian zamontowano tylko jedno, z prawej strony kadłuba. Było ono przeznaczone dla celowniczego karabinu. Siedział on twarzą do kierunku jazdy. Nad przedziałem silnikowym, zamontowany był zasobnik na amunicję.
 Uzbrojona wersja dla Luftwaffe przeznaczona dla oddziałów ochraniających lotniska. Stanowisko kierowcy było osłonięte, z przodu i z boków, płytami pancernymi. Obserwował on drogę przez dwie wąskie szczeliny w przednim pancerzu. Pojazd był uzbrojony w karabin maszynowy MG 15 kal. 7,92 mm. Wyprodukowano kilka modeli, różniących się usytuowaniem karabinu maszynowego.

Służba
Jednostki Wehrmachtu, pierwsze 70 egzemplarzy serii zerowej, otrzymały już w 1940. Nie wprowadzono ich jednak do normalnej eksploatacji. Poddano je szeregowi prób w najrozmaitszych warunkach terenowych. Na masową skalę znalazły się w oddziałach walczących w Afryce i na froncie wschodnim w 1942 r. 20 grudnia 1942 było ich w uzbrojeniu 1208 egzemplarzy.

Cieszyły się pozytywna opinią użytkowników. Ceniono ich świetne walory terenowe, oraz dużą prędkość jazdy po drodze. Do wad zaliczano dosyć skomplikowaną konstrukcję oraz brak osłony załogi przed czynnikami atmosferycznymi.

Podstawowym zastosowaniem Kettenkradów był transport zaopatrzenia i amunicji w trudnym terenie. Stosowano je również jako lekkie ciągniki artyleryjskie. W oddziałach powietrznodesantowych, holowały działa bezodrzutowe 10,5 cm Leichtgeschütz 40. W jednostkach górskich – działa górskie 7,5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 36. Stosowano je także jako pojazdy łącznikowe. Oddziały łączności wykorzystywały je do układania kabli telefonicznych. Używały je oddziały zwalczające partyzantkę na tyłach frontu wschodniego. Uzbrojone wersje, stosowane były przez Luftwaffe do ochrony lotnisk. Używano ich tam także do holowania samolotów.

Kettenkrady są uważane za jedne z najbardziej uniwersalnych pojazdów Wehrmachtu. Zdobyczne egzemplarze były także masowo wykorzystywane przez armie aliantów.

Bibliografia

Linki zewnętrzne
 Zdjęcia poszczególnych wersji pojazdu

Niemieckie pojazdy wojskowe


text:
Q: How to create np array random data on age vs time? How to create np array random data on age vs time?
My aim is to create a scatter plot representing random data on age vs. time spent watching TV.
from pylab import randn

X = randn(500)
Y = randn(500)
plt.scatter(X,Y)
plt.show()

I want age between 18 and 50 and time between 0 to 24 hours

A: You can try :
import random
import numpy as np
age=np.array(random.sample(list(range(18,51)),10))
time=np.array(random.sample(list(range(0,24)),10))

random.sample takes a list of elements as first argument and the number of samples you want as the second argument.
That gives :
age  : [47 45 37 19 23 34 39 24 32 42]
time : [18 12 13  1 15 21 23 22  3 17]

On plotting it :
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.scatter(age, time)
plt.show()

To recreate the same random numbers every time you run it, you can use random.seed()

A: It's super easy with numpy. You can use numpy library to do this:
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline

age = np.random.randint(18, 50, 20)
time = np.random.randint(0, 24, 20)

plt.scatter(age, time)
plt.show()

A: Column-wise multiplication in numpy
You can easily create custom-sized random arrays with numpy with the commands numpy.random.rand(d0, d1, …, dn) for uniform distributions or numpy.random.randn(d0, d1, …, dn) for normal distributions, where dn is the number of samples in the nth dimension. In your case you'll have d0=500 and d1=2.
However the values will be sampled from the interval [0, 1) in numpy.random.rand(d0, d1, …, dn). Or the standard normal distribution for numpy.random.randn(d0, d1, …, dn) (i.e. mean = 0 and variance = 1).
A nice turnaround for this is to sum and multiply the arrays column-wise to shilft the distributions to the desired values. To multiply in a column-wise fashion an array arr with a vector vec you can use this small snippet of code arr.dot(np.diag(vec)). Be careful, vec should have as much elements as arr has columns.
This snippet works by turning vec into a diagonal matrix (i.e. a matrix where everything is zero except the main diagonal) and the multiplying arr to the diagonal matrix.
For uniform distributions
Remeber that to turn a sample x from an uniform distribution [0, 1) to [min, max), you do new_x = (max - min) * x + min. So if you want an uniform distribution and you know the max and min limits for boths variables, you can do as use the following code:
import numpy as np

n_samples = 500
max_age, min_age = 80, 10
max_hours, min_hours = 10, 0

array = np.random.rand(n_samples, 2)  #returns samples from the uniform distribution
range_vector = np.array([max_age - min_age, max_hours - min_hours])
min_vector = np.array([min_age, min_hours])

sample = array.dot(np.diag(range_vector)) + np.ones(array.shape).dot(np.diag(min_vector))

Normal distributions
If you want a normal distribution and you know the mean and variances of both columns use the following code. Remeber that to shift a sample x from an standard normal distribution to a distribution with a different mean and standard deviation, you go new_x = deviation * x + mean.
import numpy as np

n_samples = 500
mean_age, deviation_age = 40, 20
mean_hours, deviation_hours = 5, 2

array = np.random.rand(n_samples, 2)  #returns samples from the standard normal distribution
deviation_vector = np.array([deviation_age, deviation_hours])
mean_vector = np.array([mean_age, mean_hours])

sample = array.dot(np.diag(deviation_vector)) + np.ones(array.shape).dot(np.diag(mean_vector))

Be careful however, with the normal distributions you can end up withg negative values.
You can also have a look at all the documentation numpy has on random variables: https://docs.scipy.org/doc/numpy/reference/routines.random.html
Finally please notice that column-wise multiplication only works when you want both samples to be independant.

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The activity starts at 7:30 am.
We loved this trip I would recommend this for first time in Venice. Our guide was phenomenal her name is Antonella. When I go back to Italy will definately book another trip to a different city.


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Incorporating HIV Screening With COVID-19 Testing in an Urban Emergency Department During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative consequences on HIV care and prevention programs, including routine HIV screening in healthcare settings. This has serious implications for the Ending the HIV Epidemic plan for the United States. Stanford, et al. (2021) report the results of incorporating phlebotomy for universal HIV screening into COVID-19 testing at The University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) emergency department (ED) for the purpose of maintaining screening volumes.
The researchers reviewed data from the Expanded HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Program, a collaboration between 13 healthcare centers on the south and west sides of Chicago, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sites include community health centers, community hospitals, and academic hospitals, including five EDs, all of which implemented opt-out HIV screening according to guidelines. Since 2016, sites perform combination HIV antigen-antibody testing and have processes for rapid linkage to care and antiretroviral initiation for patients with acute HIV infection (AHI). The ED at UCM designed a rapid COVID-19 testing area to seamlessly incorporate phlebotomy for HIV screening without any additional personnel. Responsibilities for test review, patient notification, and linkage to care were assigned to the HIV Care Program. Statistical analysis was an interrupted time series Poisson regression comparing the rate of AHI diagnoses per day for the 1461 days prior to January 1, 2020, and the 290 days between January 1 and October 16, 2020. Analyses were completed using SAS, version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc), and 2-sided P < .05 was considered statistically significant.
Most sites experienced significant reductions in HIV screens during the pandemic, and overall, the program saw a 49% reduction in testing events from January 1 to April 30, 2020. The ED at UCM, however, maintained HIV screening volumes throughout the pandemic and performed 19, 111 HIV screens (14 215 in the ED) between January 1 and October 16, 2020, along with 11,2 242 COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests (18 830 in the ED). Twelve patients were diagnosed with AHI after the first COVID-19 diagnosis in Cook County on January 24, 2020. The rate of AHI diagnoses per day was significantly higher during the pandemic compared with the prior four years (incidence rate ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.22-4.83; P = .01). Other EDs not incorporating HIV screening into COVID-19 testing saw a 25% decrease in AHI diagnoses (incidence rate ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.26-2.14; P = .59) that was not statistically significant.
Patients with AHI comprised 12 of 46 (26.1%) new diagnoses at UCM, the highest proportion on record. Included were 9 men (6 men who have sex with men, 2 heterosexual, and 1 undisclosed) and 3 cisgender women with a median (range) age of 25 (21-28) years. The median (range) viral load was 6 million (115 000 to >6 million) copies/mL. Eleven of 12 patients presented with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. One patient had COVID-19 infection and AHI. All were linked and initiated antiretroviral therapy by a median (range) of 1 (0-38) day from the time of PCR result but 3 (1-41) days from sample collection owing to delays in reflex PCR confirmatory testing, a result of high demands on laboratory personnel and scarcity of supplies (eg, amplification and testing trays) owing to COVID-19 testing volumes.
Reference: Stanford KA, et al. Incorporating HIV Screening With COVID-19 Testing in an Urban Emergency Department During the Pandemic. JAMA Intern Med. Published online April 12, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.0839
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Team spirit the key to success
Home » Basil Springer Column » Weekly Column » Team spirit the key to success
"A web definition of team spirit' is esprit de corps: the spirit of a group that makes the members want to succeed" www.cogsci.princeton.edu
Charles Randall, a cricket journalist who writes for The Daily Telegraph in England, filed an article on April 14 2005 about the Kent cricket team which I think is very instructive in the context of West Indies cricket today. He reported as follows: Captain David Fulton allowed his players' derision and doubt to wash over him when he instigated some Fame Academy pre-season team bonding for three days last month. With the assistance of the real-life Fame Academy choreographer Kevin Adams, the Kent squad were required to wise up on singing and dancing, stretching their limited show business talent for a couple of days at Sutton Valence School. This imaginative ordeal provided Graham Ford, Kent's new coach, with an opportunity to judge the character of his charges.
Fulton admitted that the players' initial reaction had ranged from scepticism to outright disbelief until the work began. "They really got into it and they responded well," he said. "It showed what could be done."
Kent had shown what could be done last season when they finished runners-up in the Frizzell County Championship, a surprise in the absence of their leading bowler, Martin Saggers, to injury for most of the summer. The batting top order shouldered the responsibility for achieving match-winning advantages, with Robert Key pummeling six centuries before joining the England team∑Ford, the former South Africa coach, has a reputation for good man-management and investing time with individuals. Fulton said: "He has impressed everyone hugely, and he isn't going to suddenly change everything." It was wise of Fulton, 33, to seek intensive coaching for himself in Australia over the winter ∑the captain has started scoring runs again as an opener ∑The Kent academy has completed the second winter at the St Lawrence Ground∑the Kent county team is entering a transitional period and will have to work hard to churn out the right results. The old lime tree within the boundary has gone and a sapling installed in its place. Randall concluded that the process of regeneration continues.
So much for those who think that success comes and goes in cycles without significant inputs from the science of management.
In my article last week, I called for strategic visioning for the WI cricket industry. My regular female respondent, Jocelyn, did not disappoint. She contributed the following food for thought: Basil, I support your suggestions contained in the final 3 paragraphs. I would add that job specs/descriptions should also be created and published for all players in addition to the captain, so that even young boys in primary schools can know what would be required to qualify for a play on the WI team. Qualifications could include, for example, probably 75% – 80% skill, a good 'team' player, deportment, behaviour, public speaking etc. Those who reach selection that have not met the full requirements could be allowed a time frame, with training, to see how they can match up. I'm simply tired of seeing bad behaved people trying to be sporting ambassadors∑My thinking is that if people know from early what is required they can work towards achieving and not suddenly find themselves on a WI team/national team with demands that are foreign to them…She concluded that skill can take you only thus far.
There was another comment from Malaysia. Dev is a former professional and cricketing colleague. We used to play on the same University team 35 years ago. He commented: Dear Basil – Greetings from this end. I have followed and read with interest your last few excellent writings with a focus on WI cricket. I fully agree with your analyses and the probe for corrective direction. Arising from these, you can obviously take credit for stirring up healthy wider public response. This probably is also linked to recognition of guiding principles that resulted in WICB`s stand to continue with Chanderpaul as captain, and the comments of Deryck Murray and Brian Davis ˆ with all of which I agree. WICB`s stand is especially commendable as principles, discipline and transparency together, will determine the make or break' outcome of the oncoming World Cup series in the West Indies.He concluded that: More particularly, your call for a one-day interactive dialogue or workshop to discuss issues including captaincy is most appropriate and very timely. Alas, I am not alone.
As Tony Cozier intimated in a TV interview following the latest WI defeat against South Africa: it is neither the captain, coach, selectors, players' representatives, veterans, youth, superstars, sponsors, supporters, pitches nor umpires. He concluded that we have had all these in varying combinations and we are still unable to achieve consistent performances. The problem is indiscipline and the lack of team spirit. The ball is in the court of the WICB to do something about it. We are gambling with the future of our cricketing industry. There is no short cut to a systematic approach of strategic visioning which will lead to a process of change where we set our priorities and establish and implement a plan. Let the WI squad wise up on singing and dancing, stretching their limited show business talent for a couple of days at Sutton Valence School or equivalent.
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For $150 (plus a little elbow grease on behalf of my boyfriend who moved it AND cleaned the upholstery with a steam cleaner), I think it's a major upgrade!
5 Responses to "New (old) couch."
Great find! I like the pillows too!
Very nice, especially for the price. And I adore the prints above the sofa.
That looks very similar to my couch! I love your color-coded book stacks and the artwork above the radiator. And I love the pillows on your new old couch. To continue with your upgrades, you might consider replacing one of the pillows with another pattern and lowering the artwork above your couch to about 6 inches above the back. Cute place!


Actor Simon Callow has helped commemorate an influential theatrical agent by unveiling a blue plaque.
Peggy Ramsay nurtured some of Britain's best acting talent and was one of the country's best known agents during the second half of the 20th Century.
Yesterday Mr Callow, star of hit film Four Weddings and a Funeral, unveiled a blue plaque at Peggy's former home in Kensington Place, Brighton.
Peggy, who was played by Vanessa Redgrave in the film Prick Up Your Ears about Joe Orton, also nurtured some of the best-known British stage writers.
Among her clients, which included Orton, were Alan Ayckbourne, Robert Bolt, David Hare, Stephen Poliakoff and JB Priestley.
Mr Callow has written a book about his own relationship with Peggy, who was born in 1908 and died in 1991, called Love Is Where it Falls.


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The Government has a three-pronged approach. It plans to allocate about $22 million to enforcement, $32 million to treatment, and $10 million for prevention (an awareness program).
Capitalism's Gravediggers wishes the Government good luck, because that is what it will take for that approach to succeed — a lot of good luck. Again capital is attempting to solve a problem by ignoring the cause.
The cause is quite simple: money. The drug problem is caused by the ability of drug producers and traffickers to extract a lot of money from the users. If there was no profit the flow of drugs would dry up. Without a ready supply of the dangerous drugs there would be, effectively, no new users. One cannot use something which is not available for use.
But under capitalism, which necessarily reveres profit, the drugs will continue to be produced. The more difficult it becomes to produce and traffic, the more those dangerous drugs will cost. So, if users steal to feed their addictions today, they will have to steal more tomorrow. The problem will get worse, even if the number of users is reduced.
In a society structured to satisfy human needs — a world which does not need money — the problem will simply vanish. The production and trafficking of dangerous drugs will stop because there will be no way to profit from the misery of others.
But instead of solving the problem, people will put their faith in the politicians who try the same old failed formulas over and over again, hoping that if they do the same thing enough times, the results will somehow be different.
The problems in today's society — capitalism — are severe. And the problems are not being solved by the politicians and their snake oil solutions. But don't blame the politicians. As long as people continue to vote for capitalism, the politicians will be limited to supposed solutions which are practical under capitalism. And that prevents solution.
Nobody is going to fix the world for you. You have to be part of the solution. You have to work to create a socialist society if you want to solve the problems of capitalism.


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Jason David Frank Leaves Behind 'Mighty' Strong Memories
Thanks to her dad, Vicky Satterwhite has fond memories of Jason David Frank.
Satterwhite, a Houston high school visual arts teacher, used to accompany her father Rob Lee to different comics conventions around Texas in the mid to late 2010s. Her old man had an amusing hobby: He would make his own Doctor Who props.
"He kind of retired and got real bored and decided that he could build all the things he always wanted when he was a kid," Satterwhite told the Texas Observer.
Their inventory included a Tardis (of course) and two Daleks, which she and her pops often rode around the convention floors. (Satterwhite said she and her family sold all the props last year after her father retired from the con circuit.) It's also at these conventions where she would bump into Frank. They'd often sit next to the California-born actor-turned-mixed martial artist (who lived in Houston and owned several martial gyms in the city) at cons in such locations as Dallas, Victoria, and Bell County. She knew Frank was a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers castmate—and that's it.
"Honestly, I don't care anything about Power Rangers because I'm just a little bit older than that whole group," she remembered. "So, I didn't grow up with them or have any of that nostalgia. But seeing, especially, little kids with that guy was amazing. He would bring out the karate boards and he would get the kids to kick them and hit them and show them how to break them—kind of build up their confidence and make them hold his props for photos and things like that. It was really charming."
On November 19, Frank's representative Justine Hunt confirmed that Frank took his own life at a Houston hotel. He was 49. Tammie, his second wife, told People that they were on a weekend getaway, repairing the 19-year marriage after Mrs. Frank filed for divorce last summer. Following a night of dancing and drinking, they adjourned to their separate rooms. (Jason was too much of a snorer.)
TMZ reported that the couple had two heated arguments—the last one led to Jason locking Tammie out of his room and Tammie making an early-morning call to the cops, concerned for his safety. But Tammie disputed the claims, saying the pair was just having loud fun. Authorities were eventually called to open up Jason's door when the knocks went unanswered. "The truth is, I had no idea that Jason was thinking of ending things," said Tammie, who also says she's been getting harassed online. "Yes, he had struggled with mental health issues and depression before, but I could never predict what would happen that night."
Jason David Frank, seen here at GalaxyCon Minneapolis 2019, was beloved at conventions nationwide. Flickr/Super Festivals, Creative Commons license
Between Frank's suicide and the recent passing of Kevin Conroy, who voiced the Caped Crusader in Batman: The Animated Series and other Dark Knight-related cartoon work, I'm sure those children of the '90s who watched these guys on Fox Kids every weekday after school have had a tough month. Yes, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had a notoriously campy rep, becoming a pop-culture sensation by crafting teen superhero adventures out of mostly stock footage from Japanese tokusatsu (read: genre) shows. However, as Tommy Oliver (aka the original Green Ranger), Frank was a much-beloved TV hero. He was a main character on Mighty Morphin and other incarnations, including Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and Power Rangers Dino Thunder (where he returned as a Power Ranger veteran). He also did time as the first evil ranger, almost beating down the other rangers while under the spell of Rita Repulsa. (Needless to say, he broke free of Repulsa's spell and got back together with his Rangers peoples.)
But in real life, Frank—who had two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, had to deal with losing several loved ones throughout the years. A year before his death, his stepdaughter Shayla committed suicide at age 26. He was also not the first Power Ranger to die tragically. Thuy Trang, who played original Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan, died after a horrific car accident in 2001, just a few days before 9/11. Frank couldn't make her funeral because he was still mourning the death of his older brother Erik (who played Tommy Oliver's long-lost older brother during the Zeo era), who died of an unspecified illness in April of that year.
Frank may have been hurting inside, but he never let it show according to Satterwhite.
"He was always really positive, which is kind of sad in hindsight," she said. "Like, incredibly positive, making people feel good about themselves and making them feel kind of empowered—you know, like he felt, I guess."
Even when he was almost the target of a heavily-armed gunman at a Phoenix Comicon in 2017, Frank continued to be there for his fans. Aimee McCurtain, chief strategy officer for Houston convention Comicpalooza, saw it when Frank did appearances in 2015 and 2017.
"Jason David Frank was beloved by many and always had a line of eager fans waiting to take photos with him or have their memorabilia autographed," McCurtain told the Observer. "He always knew how to take care of them and took time meeting his fans."
"He was always really positive, which is kind of sad in hindsight."
McCurtain says Comicpalooza has a community outreach program that gives philanthropic organizations the opportunity to educate attendees on their missions and various programs.
"As a group, we have discussed how Comicpalooza can educate and build awareness on a number of social topics, including suicide prevention," she said. "We believe that creating a place for connection and conversation will help those in need in a number of ways."
Satterwhite hopes Frank's unfortunate passing will incite those who may have thought of cutting their lives short to find some reasons to stick around.
"I've had multiple, really close students to me take their own lives, and there's always this guilt of not being able to do anything," she said. "I hope all his fans think about the time they spent with him and how he made them feel special and, hopefully, that'll help them get through it."
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National Aquarium | Manatees in Maryland!
Don't be alarmed if you happen to see a manatee in the local waters of Maryland!
Manatees are seasonal visitors to Maryland waters in the summer as they travel up the East Coast from Florida. Manatees feed on submerged aquatic grasses (SAVs) and a 2015 study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science found that SAV distribution in the Chesapeake Bay has increased by twenty one percent throughout 2014.
While there have not been any confirmed sightings in Maryland in 2016, Virginia has recorded at least five confirmed sightings since June. As temperatures drop in September and October, the manatees with head back to warmer waters along the southern Atlantic coast.
If you spot a manatee in Maryland, please call the Animal Rescue hotline at (410) 576-3880 to report it. Animal Rescue staff monitor the location of visiting manatees and work closely with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Fish & Wildlife Service to report cases and help ensure their safety.
Be on the lookout for manatees this September!


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El nou dòlar de Taiwan (en xinès 新臺幣 xintaibi) o, simplement, dòlar de Taiwan (臺幣 taibi) és la unitat monetària oficial de la República de la Xina, també coneguda com a Taiwan. El codi ISO 4217 és TWD i s'acostuma a abreujar amb el símbol del dòlar $, o bé NT$ per diferenciar-lo d'altres tipus de dòlars. Es divideix en 100 fen (分) i, tradicionalment, també en 10 jiao (角), fracció que, però, no es veu reflectida en cap moneda.

El nom comú utilitzat és yuan (en xinès tradicional 圓; en xinès simplificat 元), igual que el que es fa servir per a la moneda de la Xina continental, anomenada oficialment renminbi (人民幣), o "la moneda del poble". Per la seva banda, xintaibi significa "la nova moneda de Taiwan". Les fraccions són també les mateixes que usa el iuan o renminbi.

Història
El nou dòlar de Taiwan fou emès per primer cop pel Banc de Taiwan el 15 de juny del 1949 per substituir l'antic dòlar de Taiwan a raó de 40.000 dels antics per un de nou, per tal de posar fi a la hiperinflació que afectava tant Taiwan com la Xina continental a causa de la guerra civil. Al cap d'uns quants mesos, el govern de la República de la Xina sota el poder del Guomindang fou derrotat pels comunistes i es va retirar a l'illa de Taiwan.

Tot i que a partir d'aleshores el dòlar de Taiwan fou, de fet, la moneda de la República de la Xina, durant molts anys la moneda oficial n'era l'antic iuan de la Xina Nacionalista, també conegut com la moneda fiduciària (法幣 fabi) o el iuan d'argent (銀元 yinyuan), encara que durant la Segona Guerra Mundial va deixar d'estar lligat al valor de la plata. La taxa de canvi era de 3 nous dòlars per cada iuan d'argent, taxa que mai es va arribar a modificar malgrat les dècades d'inflació. Si bé el iuan d'argent era la principal moneda de curs legal, era impossible d'adquirir, de vendre o d'utilitzar, ja que en realitat no existia de cara a l'usuari.

El juliol de l'any 2000, finalment, el nou dòlar de Taiwan va esdevenir la moneda oficial de la República de la Xina i es van retirar de la circulació els antics bitllets emesos pel Banc de Taiwan, mentre que en començaven a circular les emissions del Banc Central.

Monedes i bitllets
Emès originàriament pel Banc de Taiwan (臺灣銀行 Taiwan Yinhang) i, des de l'any 2000, pel Banc Central de la República de la Xina (中央銀行 Zhongyang Yinhang), en circulen monedes de ½, 1, 5, 10, 20 i 50 nous dòlars, i bitllets de 100, 200, 500, 1.000 i 2.000 nous dòlars, aquest darrer poc utilitzat, igual com el bitllet de 200 i les monedes de mig dòlar i de 20.

Taxes de canvi
 1 EUR = 43,3951 TWD (4 de març del 2007)
 1 USD = 32,9150 TWD (4 de març del 2007)

Vegeu també
 Dòlar

Enllaços externs

 Banc Central de la República de la Xina

Monedes asiàtiques
República de la Xina


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Navigation structure: Your navigation structure should be simple, consistent and organized. This is critically important not only for SEO, but also for usability and conversion optimization. Can users and search engine robots easily navigate your site? It's no small matter.
Duplicate copy check: Duplicate copy can be SEO suicide. If you're repeating the same content on multiple pages, or if other sites are stealing your content, you must take action to remedy the problem as quickly as possible.
A/B & multivariate testing: If you want to get the most from your SEO campaign, it's important to test a variety of scenarios to determine to how to ensure the best possible coersion rate and achieve the best possible rankings. Targeted A/B testing and multivariate testing can provide you with real time results to help you determine the best course of action.
Backlink review: Backlinks are important, but it's important to keep tabs on the pages that link back to you, ensuring that the links are still active, and that the sites linking to you do not engage in questionable activities. Bad links can hurt your own SEO value. You should also review your competitor's backlinks to find new possible link partners and improve your search engine rankings.
Online traffic sources are constantly changing, and your online marketing professional needs to stay up to date. This is done by constantly researching new search engines and social media sites, researching and testing SEO methodologies, and reading up on important news.
Search engine optimization cannot be effectively implemented as a standalone service. To ensure that it's done right, our SEO technicians must also understand web design technologies, copywriting and social media marketing strategies. At Coalition Technologies, based in Los Angeles, CA, we take a cross-discipline approach to training all of our team members, ensuring that they have a broad and deep understanding of how the online marketplace works.
United Victory Technologies isn't just another SEO agency. Our team of Nagpur SEO experts works full-time to optimize every facet of our clients' websites, both onsite and off. Our SEO professionals are some of the most knowledgeable and experienced in the industry, and we deliver real results for our clients time and time again.
For instance, at United Victory, we don't simply follow the current SEO trends. Our team constantly researches the latest Google algorithm changes and conducts elaborate tests to determine the latest SEO developments. This allows us to constantly stay ahead the curve. We recognize that SEO is an ever-changing enterprise, and we're always ready to adapt to those changes.
Some SEO companies will work with hundreds of different clients and spend the minimum time on each one, but at Coalition, we actually get to know each client, understand their industry and get a clear and complete idea of their goals. We then devote our full time and attention to the needs of the clients, and remain completely transparent in our work, with bi-monthly detailed reports and constant, ongoing communication. You will never be left in the dark about the work we complete on your behalf.
If you would like to learn more about our SEO services, or if you would like to start reaping the benefits of having a truly knowledgeable and skilled Nagpur search engine optimization team on your side, Contact us today at 840 - 891 - 8623 to receive a free quote and find out how United Victory Technologies can help you take your business to the next level.


Ruckomechi Camp lies on the banks of the Zambezi, shaded by a large grove of acacia and mahogany trees and with a superb view of the mountains of Africa's Great Rift Valley across the river in Zambia.
Ruckomechi Camp accommodates guests in ten spacious en-suite tented units, including a honeymoon suite, all of which overlook the Zambezi River. Each tent has both indoor and outdoor showers, and the camp boasts a favourite amongst guests: its outdoor 'bath-with-a-view' in a secluded, scenic spot. The central dining, bar, library and lounge areas face the escarpment and are connected to the rest of the camp by low-level walkways that minimise our environmental impact. There is a separate deck with infinity pool for swimming and sun bathing, and an inviting, cushion-strewn star gazing deck.
The camp vegetation is dominated by broad canopied albida trees, much loved by elephants for their rich nutritious pods; these animals often join visitors in camp for a light meal.
The area is renowned for large numbers of elephant, buffalo, hippo and eland, especially in the winter when they concentrate along the river. Predators such as lion, leopard and wild dog are all found in the area. Birdlife is superb, particularly for both mopane woodland and riverine species with numerous local specials like Collared Palm-Thrush, Racket-tailed Roller, Purple-banded Sunbird and Black-throated Wattle-Eyes. Activities include wildlife viewing in open 4×4 vehicles, on motorised pontoon boats, on foot and in canoes.


1) the volume of 6m HCL needed to prepare 1 lit of 0.5m solution will be?
2)how many gms of a dibasic acid (mol wt 200) should be present in 100ml of its aqueous solution to give 0.1(N) strength?
1 L of 0.5 M HCl solution contain n(HCl) = c(HCl)*V(1 M HCl solution) = 1 L * 0.5 M = 0.5 mol of HCl.
The equivalence factor of a diprotic acid is 0.5.
2. if mass percent of X in XO2 was 80 percent, how much will be X mass percent in XO?


Part of Scandinavian NCC Group, Optiplan is an overall planning agency for architectural, structural, HEPAC and electrical design in new buildings and renovation projects. Their branch office took a bold step to test a new analysis tool to design the structures of a tall office building that will be built in Keilaniemi, the Silicon Valley of Finland.
Pinnacle Consulting Engineers has utilised Trimble's Tekla Structures on two impressive offshore projects, thanks to it being able to handle the most complex of structures, while creating accurate 3D models. In fact, one of the project's models was recognised in the Tekla UK Awards 2017 by winning the Small Projects category.
Efficient, accurate and reliable planning plays a key role in the success of concrete construction. US-based F.A. Wilhelm Construction trusts Tekla Structures as a tool for formwork and concrete pour planning.


Annie Mae Martin Carolina, 40, wife of Nelson Carolina, Jr., departed this earthly life on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at Tuomey Health Care System after a long term illness. Born in Sumter County on January 25, 1969, she was a daughter of Marion and Aleone Jenkins Martin, Sr.
She attended the public schools of Sumter County and was a graduate of Hillcrest High School, Dalzell, Class of 1988. She was employed with Gold Kist, Inc. for many years, later joined the Young's Food Stores, Inc., where she worked until her illness.
At an early age she joined Mt. Olive A. M. E. Church, Woodrow. She was a member of the Sumter Chapter National Federation of the Blind.
She leaves to cherish her precious memories: her husband of 13 years, Nelson Carolina, Jr.; one son, Tre'von Wheeler; one daughter, Faneishea Sumpter; two grandsons, Ty Jayus and Anthony Graham, Jr.; one granddaughter, Saniya Tylashia Wheeler, all of Sumter; her loving parents, Marion and Aleone Martin, Sr.; six sisters, Shirley Greenwood, Shirley Ann McMillian, Bertha L. Leonard, Janie Mae Martin, all of Sumter, Mary Jenkins of Alexandria, VA, Annie Mae Moore of Charlotte, N. C.; three brothers, Joe Jenkins, Marion Martin, Jr., and Timothy Abrams, all of Sumter; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
She was preceded in death by her grandmother, Bertha Abrams; grandfathers, Rochelle Martin, Sr., and Edward Delaine; and two aunts, Betty Lou Diggs and Susie Jenkins.
Funeral services will be held 3:30 p. m., Saturday, August 1, 2009 from The Mt. Olive A. M. E. Church 2738 Woodrow Road, Sumter, with Reverend Timothy A. Johnson, Sr., pastor, eulogist.
The family will receive friends at the family home 82 West Brewington Road, Sumter.
The funeral procession will leave from the family home at 3:00 p. m.
Pall Bearers will be cousins.
Burial will be in the Mt. Olive Memorial Garden, Sumter.