Advanced braking systems are becoming increasingly common in today's automobiles. Higher level systems and technology now being used in "brake assist systems" (BAS) in several European cars, have made it possible for more efficient and intelligent braking systems. A key functional application block found in these braking systems that has advanced with this technology surge, is the vacuum... More advanced systems such as Volvo's Collision Warning with Brake Support and Mercedes Brake Assist System Plus, use radar and or cameras to scan ahead of the car for moving and stationary hazards. If a potential collision is detected, audiovisual warnings are provided to the driver and the brakes are primed ready for maximum application.
Automatic Advanced Emergence Braking System and Parking System Automobile IEEE Project Topics, Design and Analysis, Thermal Engineering Base Paper Ideas, Synopsis, Abstract, Report, Figures, Full PDF, Fabrication, Working details for Automobile Engineering, Diploma, BTech, BE, MTech and MSc College Students.
brake wheel cylinder, 2) brake drum, 3) return spring, brake shoe, 4) friction plate and so on.When the car is in normal running, the brake drum rotates with the wheel.


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Great Crested Flycatchers
On a lovely morning in late June, I watched a pair of great crested flycatchers calling back and forth. One was in our side yard and the other in our front yard.
A great crested flycatcher in Missouri (Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren in Wikimedia, Creative Commons license)
Then both of them landed on a black walnut tree beside our driveway and appeared to be interested in a deserted woodpecker hole. Still, it seemed a bit late for them to be seeking a nest hole unless their first nesting attempt was foiled by a predator. Eventually, they flew away, still calling their raucous "wheep, wheep."
Flycatchers are not true songbirds but belong to a closely related line that have brains unable to imitate songs. They are born with genetically predetermined calls and voice boxes simpler than those of songbirds. Thus most of us hear only their "wheeps," "rasps," and a rapid series of "whits," the latter reminiscent of a policeman's whistle. A two-minute YouTube video shows a great crested flycatcher calling.
But W. John Smith and Anne Marie Smith studied the vocalizations of great crested flycatchers in southeastern Pennsylvania and discovered at least 12 different calls which related to their behavior during breeding and even on their wintering grounds in southern Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America. They found that the flycatchers were particularly adept at using their vocalizations to manage their social behavior. Mated pairs duetted and males defended their territories by vocalizing as they approached their shared territorial borders
Donald Kroodsma, who is an expert in birdsong, describes the dawn song of one great crested flycatcher male as "an emphatic 'wheeee-up,' followed by another, then a faint low, buzzy note, barely audible, the pattern repeating. I can hear how successive 'wheeee-up' songs are different, as he plays with duration, frequency, emphasis, tone quality, and more—like snowflakes, no two ever quite alike," he writes in his book Listening to a Continent Sing.
A great crested flycatcher in Florida (Photo by Andrea Westmoreland in Wikimedia, Creative Commons license)
One of nine breeding flycatchers in Pennsylvania, most, such as the eastern phoebe, eastern wood pewee, Acadian and least flycatchers, are variations on gray and white, and some are most easily identified by their distinctive calls. However, great crested flycatchers are not only noisier than the others but showier with lemon-yellow bellies, gray heads, throats and upper breasts, and long, reddish-brown tails that glow in the sunlight. When excited they erect their crown feathers to form crests, hence their common name.
Unlike other tyrant flycatchers, so-called because they pursue and capture prey in flight, great crested flycatchers also glean insects from vegetation. In addition, they are the only cavity-nesting flycatchers in eastern North America.
A great crested flycatcher using a nest box (Photo by vladeb on Flickr, Creative Commons license)
Those cavities include natural openings in trees, abandoned woodpecker holes, hollow posts, and even nesting boxes, as well as more bizarre choices such as a cannon at Gettysburg National Park, an old wooden pump, stove pipe or open gutter pipe, old boxes or tin cans. But a recent study of great crested flycatchers' nests in Florida found that the higher off the ground the nests were, the more likely they were to fledge young.
That study also reported that those flycatchers preferred to nest in abandoned woodpecker nests, particularly those of red-bellied woodpeckers. Of the 44 nests the Florida researchers surveyed, 20 were in old red-bellied woodpecker holes. Furthermore, contrary to earlier studies, those great crested flycatchers had less interest in nesting in naturally occurring hollows in live trees.
The great crested flycatcher likes to nest in a mixed deciduous forest (Photo by fishhawk on Flickr, Creative Commons license)
Great crested flycatchers are summer residents throughout eastern North America east of the Great Plains, from southern Canada to the Gulf States. They like to nest in mixed deciduous forests, but will make do in human-constructed places such as orchards, gardens, or golf courses.
Here on our mountain the males return from their wintering grounds in late April or early May, a week or more ahead of the females. Most of them return to the same area year after year and occasionally have the same mates. The males establish their territories by clashing with their competitors. Dr. Samuel Dicky, writing from the backwoods of West Virginia where he watched great crested flycatchers for more than 30 years, observed (as quoted by Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Flycatchers, Larks, Swallows, and Their Allies, p.107) that "males were seen to clash…where the natural habitats of pairs overlapped. They then would draw up close to one another…expand their wings, spread their tails, and dart rapidly at each other. Then they tore some feathers from breasts, held fast with their claws, and tossed and tumbled on the ground."
Once the females arrive, the males spend their time chasing and copulating with them. They also follow their mates closely during nest-building and egg-laying to make sure they are not cuckolded. Nests in Pennsylvania are built in May and early June. After pairs choose their nesting cavity, the female fills it with a wide variety of materials from leaves, seed pods, and grass to the hair of domestic and wild animals, feathers of native birds and poultry, and bits of bark, cloth, and paper, making them packrats of the avian world.
Almost every great crested flycatcher nest has a shed snakeskin, often left hanging outside the cavity, and lacking that, items of similar texture—cellophane, plastic wrappers, onion skins, or thin paper. Why they do this has been debated for years. Since not all nests have snakeskin, many researchers think the birds don't recognize what they have and like the texture. Others believe that they are used to deter nest predators, but surely not snakes because they are major predators on their eggs and nestlings especially black rat snakes.
Recently, researchers in Arkansas found that the presence of snakeskin in nest boxes deterred mammalian predators, particularly southern flying squirrels. And nest boxes without snakeskin were preyed on by those squirrels. That seems to settle the question, at least in Arkansas.
A yellow-throated vireo (Photo by Matt Tillett on Flickr, Creative Commons license)
Once the nest is built, both parents defend it and the surrounding area, attacking small mammals and most birds, which may be why I observed one May day a great crested flycatcher attack a singing, flying yellow-throated vireo in our yard, only my second sighting ever of that vireo species on our mountain. They tumbled earthward before the flycatcher flew one direction and the vireo the other.
Great crested flycatchers are feisty birds. Florida ornithologists watched them attack most birds near their nests from Carolina wrens to European starlings and even woodpeckers, including northern flickers. Once one even went after a black rat snake that had eaten its nestlings, yelling so loud that it attracted a northern mockingbird, blue jay, and northern cardinals that added their cries to those of the flycatcher.
The female great crested flycatcher incubates her four to eight, heavily splotched, yellowish or pinkish-white eggs while her mate continues to guard her and the nest. After 13 to 15 days, their eggs hatch and the young spend another two weeks in the nest. Both parents feed them, although the female is the primary breadwinner.
A great crested flycatcher preparing to feed an insect to its young in the cavity below (Photo by Bruce Bodjack on Flickr, Creative Commons license)
The nestlings eat the same variety of insects the adults do, namely butterflies, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, stinkbugs, flies, bees, wasps and dragonflies. But the parents will crush the larger insects in their mandibles before feeding them to their nestlings. They also give them spiders and small wild fruits.
When they fledge, at 13 to 15 days old, the family stays together for three more weeks. The parents continue to feed them with diminishing frequency. They also defend their fledglings.
By midsummer I no longer hear the strident calls of the great crested flycatchers. And in September they are heading south.
Because they are edge species and able to adapt to nest boxes, they are still common throughout their breeding range. Here they increased in southeastern Pennsylvania from the first breeding bird atlas, when they were detected in 73% of the atlasing blocks, to the second atlas when they were found in 89% of the blocks. Roy A. Ickes, writing in the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania, theorizes that the birds "may benefit from the increased number of dead trees and canopy gaps associated with adelgid infestation" that has killed most of the hemlocks.
But great crested flycatchers remain most abundant in the ridge and valley, lower Susquehanna Valley, and north western corner of the state. They also live in forested residential areas around lakes. But even though they are still widespread here with about 192,000 birds during the season, their population declined an estimated 32% in the two decades between the first (1983-1988) and second (2004-2009) breeding atlases.
We can only hope that this loudest and showiest member of the flycatcher family will continue to adapt in the future to the human-caused changes in their increasingly fragmented habitat.
Posted in great crested flycatcher.
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4 thoughts on "Great Crested Flycatchers"
Chrissy McClarren says:
Lovely, lovely piece. I got curious about where they nested this year and found out they were cavity nesters, too. I've been watching them carry nesting material to a 'place' in a tree, but have yet to find the cavity of these secretive beauties. Thanks for this piece and all your writings.
Marcia Bonta says:
Thank you and please let me know if you find the nest and have a chance to observe it. Good luck!
Dannielle Kroczynski says:
Once again, thank you for a lovely AND informative piece.
Glad you liked it, Dannielle. Thanks for your comment.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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About the pictures
CV express
Archeoplus
Saint-Saphorin (VD)
Perched on Lavaux slope, Saint-Saphorin village is quite old. The site is already occupied during the Roman period, with several constructions built at that time. A rectangular building, interpreted as a fanum, is discovered, and then destroyed at the XIXth century. Another Roman building has been discovered under the actual church. In 563 AD, a tidal wave, caused by the Tauredunum landslide, destroyed Glerula village. After this disaster, the village was rebuilt at its actual location.
Swiss national coordinates: 550'704, 147'059
Google Earth files:
Saint-Saphorin-en.kml
Saint-Saphorin-en.kmz
OpenStreetMap: http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/46.4751/6.7972
Old names:
Glerula
Glérolles
Eggenberger Peter, Auberson Laurent, Saint-Saphorin en Lavaux, le site gallo-romain et les édifices qui ont précédé l'église, Lausanne, Cahiers d'archéologie romande, 1992, 120 p.
Paquier Richard, Saint-Saphorin en Lavaux, Relais romain et bourg médiéval, Lausanne, 1981, 206 p.
Die Schweiz zur Römerzeit (see Bibliography), pp. 228-229
Patrimoine du Canton de Vaud: Epoque romaine: La villa de Saint-Saphorin: http://www.patrimoine.vd.ch/archeologie/sites-archeologiques/epoque-romaine-la-villa-de-saint-saphorin/
Saint-Saphorin : histoire et origines: http://www.saint-saphorin.ch/saint-saphorin/histoire-origines
Villa romaine de Saint-Saphorin: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_romaine_de_Saint-Saphorin
Others visible sites in the area
Lutry (VD): Menhirs, medieval town
Pully (VD): Roman villa
La Tour-de-Peilz (VD) : Medieval castle, museum
Tour de Gourze (VD): Medieval tower
Yvorne (VD): Roman mile stones
Saint-Symphorien church
Saint-Saphorin church, with its characteristic steeple, has a long history. This history is known with the excavations made in 1968 and 1969, followed by the investigations made in 1984, 1985 and 1991. A part of the remains of the oldest buildings are visible in a small archaeological crypt, made under the nave of the actual church and accessible with a stair from inside the church.
On the first century AD, a rectangular building is built in stonework. It is divided into two parallel rooms, and it remains several walls and vestiges of stonework floor. Then, a third room is built to the west of the northern room. The function of this Roman building is not sure because of the lack of evidences about its interpretation. It is possible that it was a mansio or a house.
Between the 4th and the 5th century, the building has several transformations (extension on the north, creation of a lowered transversal passageway in the northern room) and becomes a christian mausoleum. Between the 5th and the 7th century, a stair is built to access at the transversal passageway (the first access was from the southern room, lower than the northern room), as well as an extension at the west, which could be a portico continuing along the northern side of the mausoleum. The building becomes a memoria (commemorative funeral building).
At the 7th century, a semi-circular apse is built on the eastern side of the northern room, and the memoria becomes a church. Several graves are dug in the old northern room (which is the nave of this church) and in the northern portico. Three sculpted capitals, discovered during the excavations and dated of the 7th century are attributed to this first church.
The church has some transformations (displacement of the west facade wall, construction of a steeple on the south-west) before its complete destruction at the 16th century and the construction of the current church in 1520. The new church, in the Gothic style, has the same orientation of the old one and the surface is a little bit greater. It consists of three naves, and its steeple is built on the north-west.
Roman remains are also visible outside the archaeological crypt and inside the church. A mile stone, with an inscription dedicated to emperor Claudius and dated of 47 AD, is nowadays used as a pillar in the first bay. It has been discovered in the territory of the village, and it is one of the oldest mile stones fund in Switzerland. Another visible inscription is the altar dedicated to goddess Fortuna Redux. Probably reused during the construction of the first church, it is an evidence of a Roman sanctuary in the area.
OpenStreetMap: http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/359226131
West facade and steeple of the church
Inside view of the church
Overview of the archaeological crypt
Detail of a Roman wall
Detail of the Roman mile stone
Detail of the Roman altar
Archeoplus / Archaeology / Archaeological sites / Saint-Saphorin (VD)
© Sylvain Gailloud


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Hospital admission rates for meningitis and septicaemia caused by Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children in England over five decades: a population-based observational study.
Natalie G Martin, Manish Sadarangani, Andrew J Pollard, Michael J Goldacre
Lancet Infectious Diseases 2014 May
BACKGROUND: Infection with Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae causes substantial mortality and long-term morbidity in children. We know of no study to assess the long-term trends in hospital admission rates for meningitis and septicaemia caused by these pathogens in children in England. We aimed to do such a study using routinely reported data in England.
METHODS: In this population-based observational study, we used datasets that include routinely collected administrative statistics for hospital care: the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (data for England from 1968 to 1985), the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset (data for England from 1989 onwards), and the Oxford record linkage study (data for Oxfordshire and surrounding areas from 1963 to 2011). We analysed annual age-specific and age-standardised admission rates in children younger than 15 years with H influenzae, meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis, and septicaemia.
FINDINGS: We saw a reduction in hospital admission rates for childhood invasive bacterial disease after the introduction of conjugate vaccines against H influenzae, N meningitidis, and S pneumoniae in England. Annual incidence of H influenzae meningitis per 100,000 children decreased from 6·72 admissions (95% CI 6·18-7·26) in 1992 to 0·39 admissions (0·26-0·52) in 1994, after the introduction of routine H influenzae type b vaccination. We saw a small rise in admissions in the early 2000s, peaking at 1·24 admissions per 100,000 children (0·99-1·48) in 2003, which decreased to 0·28 per 100,000 children (0·17-0·39) by 2008 after the introduction of catch-up (2003) and routine (2006) booster programmes for young children. Meningococcal disease increased during the 1990s, reaching a peak in 1999, with 34·54 admissions (33·30-35·78) per 100,000 children. Hospital admissions decreased after the meningococcal serogroup C vaccine was introduced in 1999 and was 12·40 admissions (11·68-13·12) per 100,000 in 2011. Admissions for invasive pneumococcal disease increased from the 1990s reaching a peak in 2006 at 4·45 admissions for meningitis (95% CI 4·0-4·9) per 100,000 children and 2·81 admissions for septicaemia (2·45-3·17) per 100,000 children. A reduction in admissions occurred after the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in 2006: hospital admission rates in 2011 were 2·03 per 100,000 children for meningitis and 1·12 per 100,000 children for septicaemia.
INTERPRETATION: Vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial disease in children has decreased substantially in England in the past five decades, most notably with the advent of effective conjugate vaccines since the 1990s. Ongoing disease surveillance and continued development and implementation of vaccines against additional pneumococcal serotypes and serogroup B meningococcal disease are important.


Guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of Urban Crime Prevention.
Source: (1995) Resolution 1995/9. 24 July. United Nations Economic and Social Council. Downloaded 9 December 2005.
Resolution 1995/9. 24 July. United Nations Economic and Social Council. Downloaded 9 December 2005.


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Ayushi Atri, Silver Award holder from Jodhamal Public School, Jammu took up painting as her Skill. Ayushi shared some of her paintings with us. In her own words, Ayushi describes one of the paintings which she is sharing with the Award family.
This beautiful piece of art describes the scene after sunset..... when all the birds and other creatures are returning to their homes after the sunset....... this painting tells us the importance of home when all the creatures return to their homes after a full day of hard work for their family. Everyone feels a sense of safety in their home...... so this painting tells us the importance of shelter for every creature through a midnight scene after dusk when all the birds are flying back to their shelter, taking food or to meet their loved ones.
Click here to see more paintings
Labels: Award Journey, Award Programme Foundation, Ayushi, dofe, IAYP, Jammu, Jodhamal Public School, Oil Painting, Painting, Silver Award Holder, skills
Thank You, IAYP!
Tushar Gupta (Silver Level), Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana sharing his experience of his Award Journey.
IAYP is a fantastic amalgamation of adventure, fun and learning. I have evolved and matured with the IAYP from a free willed amateur to a mature and responsible citizen. Be it sports, community service or student empowerment, the IAYP through its plethora of activities has provided me various opportunities to develop the leader in me. It has nurtured my survival instincts, made me social and affable. Above all it has given me the freedom to express and feel and has kindled in me the fire to do something constructive for society and the community at large.
My journey during the session 2014-15 has been magical and enriching as I have been a part of various new initiatives to spread global awareness. Through the Rise and Vote campaign, I fervently asserted that it is everyone's duty to vote in the elections if they dream of a great India. How can I forget the Candle March to protest against the Gadhimai Festival where thousands of animals were brutally slaughtered to satiate the the thirst of ignorant villagers? I feel as a part of the community, the onus is on us to bring about an effective change. I remember vividly participating in the Swach Bharat Campaign wherein I, along with many passionate volunteers undertook the humongous task of bringing about an awareness among Ludhianavis to clean the Sidhwan Canal. Then, the Chail trip was an enlightening one where we saw the life of want and neglect and realised that we are gifted with so many amenities. I volunteered to teach, paint, cook and undertook such exhausting physical pursuits like flying fox, rappelling and trekking. I am thankful to the school and IAYP for showing us the panoramic view of life with all the technicolor images of good and bad and building core values like integrity, team spirit, reverence, tolerance and respect.
Labels: Award Journey, Awareness Campaign, community service, Gadhimai estival, Ludhiana, Sat Paul Mittal School, service, Swach Bharat Campaign
Raja Randhir Singh - Chief Guest at Gold Ceremony 2015
Randhir Singh, former Olympic-level trap and skeet shooter and now sports administrator, is currently the Honorary Member from India on the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1979 recipient of the Arjuna Award. He was educated in Yadavindra Public School, Patiala and earned a B.A. in History (Hon.) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
He comes from a family of sportsmen and sporting administrators. He made his competitive senior shooting debut as an 18-year-old when he was part of the winning trap shooting team at the Indian National Championships in 1964. His team defended the title the next year, and he won his first national individual title in 1967 in skeet. He went on to win multiple titles at the national level in both skeet and trap shooting. He represented India Internationally for 31 years from 1963 to 1994, which is the longest representation by any sportsman in India. He became the first Indian shooter to win continental gold at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok. On home soil four years later, he won team silver at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.
He represented India in six Olympic Games from 1964 to 1984 and he also competed in four Asian Games from 1978 to 1994, winning a medal of each colour. He also represented India at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games (1978) and won a Bronze Medal.
He is the winner of the Olympic Order (Silver) Award 2014 from the International Olympic Committee, Merit Award (2006) from Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC), Merit Award (2005) from Olympic Council of Asia and Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award (1979) from State Sports Award -- Government of Punjab. He was Founder Secretary General of the Afro-Asian Games Council (1998), and helped lead the organization of the only Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad in 2003.
He was involved in bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to India, and had been the Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee. He served the Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC) (2012-2014) as Vice President. He was the Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Association (1987-2014), Secretary General of Olympic Council of Asia since 1991, and member of the International Olympic Committee from 2001 - 2014, and member of the Association of National Olympic Committees Executive Board (2202-2012 and 2014). Recently he was re-elected for the sixth time as the Secretary General of the OCA. He has also served as member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Foundation Board (2003--2005) and on the following commissions: Olympic Games Study Commission (2002--2003); IOC Sport for All Commission (2004), IOC Women and Sport Commission (2006); IOC Coordination Commission 2010 - Ist Youth Summer Olympic Games, Singapore 2008; Foundation Board Olympic Truce Foundation (2006) and Wada Foundation Board (2003-2005). He was a member of the Governing Body, Sports Authority of India, Govt. of India (1987-2010).
In 2000 he was awarded a D.Litt. in sports science from Lakshmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, India.
Labels: Delhi, dofe, GOLD AWARD, Gold Award Ceremony, IAYP, IAYP INDIA, India, Olympian, Raja Randhir Singh
GOLD AWARD CEREMONY 2015 - July 16th
Achieving your Gold Award is a really big step in your young life. It shows that you have the ability, focus and determination to achieve. It shows you have done your share to achieve all-round development and at the same time are open to learn from what the future has in store for you. So it's only right that you get a proper celebration for your achievement. Our Gold Award Ceremony is designed to celebrate this achievement.
We are happy to announce that Raja Randhir Singh, former Olympic-level trap and skeet shooter, is the Chief Guest and will present the Gold Awards to the successful participants at the Annual Gold Award Ceremony on July 16, 2015 at India International Centre, New Delhi.
You can soon expect to receive an invite to GAC 2015 and your presence will make this event memorable. Ceremony details can be checked here.
Labels: Award Programme Foundation, dofe, GOLD AWARD, Gold Award Ceremony, IAYP INDIA
Bronze Level Adventure Camp at Wangini
The Bronze Level aspirants of Lodha World School, Thane went for an adventure camp to Wangini near Matheran. The purpose of the camp was to allow the participants to learn as well as to try their hand in adventure activities. The trip was scheduled for five days from the 7th to the 11th of April 2015.
The morning session for four days began at 07.00 am. Breakfast was followed by adventure activities which the participants looked forward to. During these four days the participants went through Rappelling, Rock Climbing, Hurdles, Jungle Gym, Raft building, Rowing, Flying Fox, Archery and Shooting.
The participants said that they found the experience thrilling and challenging. Some of them were very excited that they had managed to climb the 50 foot tower. They took great pleasure in aiming straight at the target and trying their hand at shooting. One of the participants remarked that 'Fear is like fire, it will burn till you fuel it', and these activities have helped them overcome some of their fears. 'When we made the rafts and went rowing we realized the amount of strength we have in our hands,' said one of the girls. They also remarked that they learned to work as a team.
Every day the participants returned to help in the kitchen. They took turns to prepare a dish under the guidance of the staff. The participants treated their classmates and teachers to a variety of tasty dishes such as pulav, mixed vegetable sabji, chole puri, etc. It was a proud moment for the participants when they showcased their culinary skills.
In the evening, the participants played a number of interesting games which required both skill and presence of mind. At night they were taken for a silent walk to the river bank for star gazing. Wangini is a place where astronomy camps generally come to carry out star gazing activities.
The participants enjoyed themselves thoroughly, lying on the rocks and reveling in the silent murmur of the river -- an experience which according to them will always remain etched in their memory, as it is not one which they could dream of experiencing in Mumbai.
The camp provided wholesome experiences, where participants learnt to work in a team, coordinating with each other and mutually sharing responsibilities. They continually kept motivating their friends who had certain fears. The activities like making their own raft and rowing taught them the need to work in a systematic and responsible manner. The culinary activities brought forth their ability to divide and delegate the different tasks, ensuring that they turned out excellent and tasty food. Surely the camp gave them opportunities to imbibe the values needed to become effective Leaders of Tomorrow in keeping with the motto of Lodha World School, Thane.
On the last night, before they started off for Thane, a bonfire and dance was organised. The participants enjoyed themselves thoroughly and the trip ended on a high note for all of them. They are sure to look forward to more such adventure trips. This will also motivate them to seek the Silver Level of the IAYP too. Click for pictures
Labels: Adventurous Journey, Archery, Award Programme, Bronze Award, climbing, dofe, Hurdles, IAYP INDIA, Jungle Gym, Lodha World School, Raft building, rafting, rappelling, Rock Climbing, Rowing, Shooting, Wangini
Kudos to Partap World School, Pathankot (YES Centre)
The Partap World School, Pathankot, Punjab (YES Centre) featured on the national news channel: ZEE NEWS. The school honoured a national level skater, Chandeep Singh, who is physically differently abled. Chandeep lost both his arms at the age of seven, when he suffered an electric shock. Partap World School supported Chandeep and his family with financial assistance and emotional support. On April 12, 2015, the school organised a skating competition on the occasion of their Chairman's birthday celebration. Chandeep Singh participated in the competition and inspired other students and players.
Talking to Chandeep, we discovered a determined young person, who says that physical inability cannot keep you from achieving the target. He shared his positive attitude towards life, motivating and inspiring other students.
We at NAA wish to congratulate Partap World School, Pathankot for connecting with society and imparting a sense of service among their students. See below the news coverage about Chandeep.
Labels: Award, dofe, IAYP INDIA, Physically Challenged, Punjab, service, Shooting, Special Ability
Raja Randhir Singh - Chief Guest at Gold Ceremony ...


text:
Q: Preprocessing images in transfer learning (Inception v3) I'm using Keras and importing the Inception model that was trained on the
Imagenet dataset.
from keras.applications.inception_v3 import InceptionV3
I'm importing my images in mini-batches and resizing them, but I am unsure about the correct way to preprocess them.
Do I just take the mean of each channel of each batch and subtract each pixel
from their respective channel mean, and then divide by their channel std?
Thank you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Philly Based Multitalented Artist Onarres Has Just the Perfect High Standard Visual Complement for the Single, "Own Lane"
Onarres is a phoenix rising star that is headed straight beyond superstardom and no one can stop her. This multitalented whizz is a gifted multi-genre musician, songwriter, model and entrepreneur all in one and she has a genuine superstar quality that is reflected in her authentic flair and how she has always remained unapologetically her from the time she started making music up until this moment. Inheriting her musical connection from her family and working tirelessly hard to create a brand for herself, this roller-coaster ride has finally led to this moment that is awe-inspiring with Onarres stepping into the big stage and delivering as easily as she imagined in her wildest dreams!
When she dropped the single, "Own Lane", she completely took over the airwaves from Philadelphia and beyond. Such a staggering display of diversity and innovation endeared itself to so many listeners who answered back by streaming this single in their numbers. This tune reflects her own versatility and innate ability to break easily between styles such as rap and pop.
Like a master of her own domain, this track really echoes her spirit and authenticity with her no-holds-barred and knife-edge lyrical wordplay mirrored in rap and that west coast inspired sing-song persona. She easily makes a banger of off those splendid and blazing beats with her show-stopping intricacy and straight-hitting bars.
The official music is something else entirely and you really might be forgiven for thinking that you stumbled on some multiverse cinema being previewed; only that this cinematographic presentation is the official visual compliment to this tune. It really grabs a viewer's attention from the first scene all the way and you really don't even know when the track is over, you are drawn into the exceptionally engineered and directed film featuring some otherworldly visuals. This is one of the best music videos I have ever watched, by a factor of a million!
The whole team really did outdo themselves here and I give them their flowers for that- this was breathtakingly done!
Follow the attached link, subscribe to Onarres' YouTube channel, and take some time to be acquainted with this ingenious body of work because there is no doubt you'll be glad that you did!
Catch Up With Onarres on:
Texas-Based Queen Marietta Grant Strikes Again With Another Epic Piece Dubbed "By the Ocean."


text:
Q: How does typecasting/polymorphism work with this nested, closure type in Swift? I know that (Int) -> Void can't be typecasted to (Any) -> Void:
let intHandler: (Int) -> Void = { i in
    print(i)
}
var anyHandler: (Any) -> Void = intHandler <<<< ERROR

This gives:

error: cannot convert value of type '(Int) -> Void' to specified type
  '(Any) -> Void'

Question: But I don't know why this work?
let intResolver: ((Int) -> Void) -> Void = { f in
    f(5)
}

let stringResolver: ((String) -> Void) -> Void = { f in
    f("wth")
}

var anyResolver: ((Any) -> Void) -> Void = intResolver

I messed around with the return type and it still works...:
let intResolver: ((Int) -> Void) -> String = { f in
    f(5)
    return "I want to return some string here."
}

let stringResolver: ((String) -> Void) -> Void = { f in
    f("wth")
}

var anyResolver: ((Any) -> Void) -> Any = intResolver (or stringResolver)

Sorry if this is asked before. I couldn't find this kind of question yet, maybe I don't know the keyword here.
Please enlighten me!
If you want to try: https://iswift.org/playground?wZgwi3&v=3

A: It's all about variance and Swift closures.
Swift is covariant in respect to closure return type, and contra-variant in respect to its arguments. This makes closures having the same return type or a more specific one, and same arguments or less specific, to be compatible.
Thus (Arg1) -> Res1 can be assigned to (Arg2) -> Res2 if Res1: Res2 and Arg2: Arg1.
To express this, let's tweak a little bit the first closure:
import Foundation

let nsErrorHandler: (CustomStringConvertible) -> NSError = { _ in
    return NSError(domain: "", code: 0, userInfo: nil)
}
var anyHandler: (Int) -> Error = nsErrorHandler

The above code works because Int conforms to CustomStringConvertible, while NSError conforms to Error. Any would've also work instead of Error as it's even more generic.
Now that we established that, let's see what happens in your two blocks of code.
The first block tries to assign a more specific argument closure to a less specific one, and this doesn't follow the variance rules, thus it doesn't compile.
How about the second block of code? We are in a similar scenario as in the first block: closures with one argument.

*

*we know that String, or Void, is more specific that Any, so we can use it as return value

*(Int) -> Void is more specific than (Any) -> Void (closure variance rules), so we can use it as argument

The closure variance is respected, thus intResolver and stringResolver are a compatible match for anyResolver. This sounds a little bit counter-intuitive, but still the compile rules are followed, and this allows the assignment.
Things complicate however if we want to use closures as generic arguments, the variance rules no longer apply, and this due to the fact that Swift generics (with few exceptions) are invariant in respect to their type: MyGenericType<B> can't be assigned to MyGenericType<A> even if B: A. The exceptions are standard library structs, like Optional and Array.

A: First, let's consider exactly why your first example is illegal:
let intHandler: (Int) -> Void = { i in
    print(i)
}
var anyHandler: (Any) -> Void = intHandler
// error: Cannot convert value of type '(Int) -> Void' to specified type '(Any) -> Void'

An (Any) -> Void is a function that can deal with any input; an (Int) -> Void is a function that can only deal with Int input. Therefore it follows that we cannot treat an Int-taking function as a function that can deal with anything, because it can't. What if we called anyHandler with a String?
What about the other way around? This is legal:
let anyHandler: (Any) -> Void = { i in
  print(i)
}
var intHandler: (Int) -> Void = anyHandler

Why? Because we can treat a function that deals with anything as a function that can deal with Int, because if it can deal with anything, by definition it must be able to deal with Int.
So we've established that we can treat an (Any) -> Void as an (Int) -> Void. Let's look at your second example:
let intResolver: ((Int) -> Void) -> Void = { f in
    f(5)
}

var anyResolver: ((Any) -> Void) -> Void = intResolver

Why can we treat a ((Int) -> Void) -> Void as an ((Any) -> Void) -> Void? In other words, why when calling anyResolver can we forward an (Any) -> Void argument onto an (Int) -> Void parameter? Well, as we've already found out, we can treat an (Any) -> Void as an (Int) -> Void, thus it's legal.
The same logic applies for your example with ((String) -> Void) -> Void:
let stringResolver: ((String) -> Void) -> Void = { f in
  f("wth")
}

var anyResolver: ((Any) -> Void) -> Void = stringResolver

When calling anyResolver, we can pass an (Any) -> Void to it, which then gets passed onto stringResolver which takes a (String) -> Void. And a function that can deal with anything is also a function that deals with strings, thus it's legal.
Playing about with the return types works:
let intResolver: ((Int) -> Void) -> String = { f in
  f(5)
  return "I want to return some string here."
}

var anyResolver: ((Any) -> Void) -> Any = intResolver

Because intResolver says it returns a String, and anyResolver says it returns Any; well a string is Any, so it's legal.


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For thirty years, the University of Oregon has trained students for professional careers in planning. Why do students choose the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) at the UO to pursue their goals?
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Blanca holds a degree in architecture from Del Valle de Mexico University. In her vast work experience, Blanca has worked with the National Institute of Fine Arts (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes Mexico) for over two decades. She also operates as a lighting designer, producing manager, set designer, tour manager and international technical director. Notable shows include Faust (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Hamlet (Cádiz, Spain), Woyzeck (Mexico City), Moliere (Medico, Barcelona, Columbia), and many more. Blanca continues her theatre studies and production techniques in light and design at the Banff Center in Canada. After her experience in New York, she decided to focus on more jobs in the United States. These productions include Broken Promises, Contigo Pan y Cebolla and El Muerto Vegabundo (El Milagro Theatre, Portland, OR) and País de Bicicletas (Aurora Theatre, Laurenceville, GA). Blanca is so happy to be working with Artists Rep!


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Charlotte Flair def. Peyton Royce to qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Never afraid to fuel the flames, The IIconics prepped for Peyton Royce's Women's Money in the Bank Qualifying Match against Charlotte Flair by delivering a pre-match address from the stage and ridiculing The Queen for losing her title match against SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella at WWE Backlash.
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The Queen looks to enter the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but she will have to deal with Peyton Royce of The IIconics to get there.
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Are the Bucks the best team in the East this season?
The Milwaukee Bucks have the best record in the NBA and one of the game's best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo. My question for you: Who is Milwaukee's second star?
Steve Aschburner: Khris Middleton, like it or not. You can make small-to-medium-sized cases for other Bucks such as Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon, each valuable in significant ways to the ensemble. But Middleton is the shooter, scorer and defender to best complement Giannis Antetokounmpo, a potential full-service sidekick ... who has disappeared at an alarming rate through the first half of 2018-19. Being able to bring it every night in support of the team's Kia MVP candidate is vital, especially given Milwaukee's salary-cap limitations. I can't see GM Jon Horst snagging an alternative No. 2 in the next couple weeks. So it's on Middleton to demonstrate his true worth from now through springtime.
Shaun Powell: It's Khris Middleton. However, this team is pretty close to being a shotgun-by-committee because of what Malcolm Brogdon and Drew, er, Eric Bledsoe and others bring almost on a nightly basis. And you could also make an argument that the second star is coach Mike Budenholzer. He changed the offense, introduced the 3-pointer and employs a solid defensive scheme.
John Schuhmann: If the Eastern Conference coaches need a suggest for a second All-Star from Milwaukee, Eric Bledsoe is the pick. He's been a more efficient scorer than Khris Middleton, more of a playmaker than Malcolm Brogdon, and an important on-the-ball defender for the league's No. 1 defense. But really, it doesn't matter who the Bucks' "second star" is, all of their starters have played important roles, and while Antetokounmpo is the MVP right now, he's got a terrific ensemble around him. What's interesting is that the team with the league's best pace-adjusted point differential by a wide margin has a starting lineup that ranks just 15th (at plus-4.3 points per 100 possessions) among the 26 lineups that have played at least 200 minutes together. The Milwaukee reserves have been critical to the team's success as well. What's even more interesting is that (assuming Middleton declines his player option) each of the other four starters will be free agents (and worthy of bigger contracts that they currently have) in July. No matter how things go in the postseason, the Bucks are going to have a very interesting summer.
Sekou Smith: I don't know if the Bucks have a legitimate "second star," though Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe do a fine job of playing that role at times. I'll be curious to see if the Bucks get two players on the All-Star team this season, and if so, who gets the nod. The beauty of what Mike Budenholzer has built (in short order) in Milwaukee is that it almost doesn't matter who the No. 2 guy is alongside Giannis. An assembly of high-quality players backing up "the Greek Freak" is more than sufficient for contention in the Eastern Conference this season. Crafting the right system to take advantage of all of these guys the way the Bucks have is just another example of Bud's perfect touch.


Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Place the squash cut-side up on a baking sheet, brush 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the tops and insides of the squash halves, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the onion, shallots, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, pecans, cranberries, and measured salt and pepper.
Divide the rice filling among the roasted squash halves (about 1/2 cup for each) and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of butter over top. Continue roasting until the squash is completely fork tender, the edges have started to brown, and the filling is heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes.


text:
Jocelyn Antiqua
Author Topic: Jocelyn Antiqua (Read 2339 times)
Name: Jocelyn Thyil Antiqua (Josie)
Age: 17, 6th of Huā
Species and Gender: Human Female
Occupation: First Year Beacon Academy Student, Apprentice Medic
Appearance: Standing 5'6", Jocelyn takes after her mother instead of her father, having inherited her purple irises, light, blonde, long hair that either cascades halfway down her back, or is tied in a single ponytail, and her caring smile. While relatively fit for a person who hasn't undertaken pre-academy training, Jocelyn doesn't put much emphasis on keeping in shape, quite lax for a girl in high school, only enough so she doesn't run out of breath easily. She is quite beautiful but prefers to be modest about it, with the odd blush now and then when complemented.
Although her Aura and eyes are purple, her color scheme leans more toward an Atlas-esque pattern, courtesy of her mother's roots: white and dark blue, with the odd touch of purple from her symbol here and there, in conjunction with her equipment. A short-sleeved white blouse with dark blue, circuit-like lines running down the length of the sides and intercrossing at the chest, a white skirt tinted with light blue lace trim edging the sides, a full first-aid kit and a magnetic belt bordered with light purple holding both ammunition and Dust for equipment round out her mission wear. A metal brooch with her symbol pins a heliotrope purple scarf to the left shoulder of her blouse, which has a tendency to unravel from around her neck by accident.
In combat, Jocelyn carries a sniper rifle and a jump pack: when the latter is active, she "sprouts" wings, giving her the appearance of an angel. Mind you, most people who see her that way are normally delirious, severely injured or both. Still, she doesn't really mind the comparison--it's not everyday someone gets called an angel. It's all part of the job.
Jocelyn's child history is identical to Setsuna's, being related. Hence the familiarity.
For a select unlucky few, having an older brother may have been a nuisance; the older bullying the young and so forth. Jocelyn Antiqua was lucky to not have a brother like that. In fact, quite the opposite.
Living a peaceful life in the island of Patch, Jocelyn spent her childhood growing up with her parents, Marina and Emile Antiqua, and her older brother Setsuna, with as close as an ordinary family life as could be attained in a war-ruined land called Remnant. With Emile and Marina both former Hunters, they kept the family safe from any stray Grimm that might have wandered by, and so neither Jocelyn nor her brother were forced to experience the horrifying reality that was war. Something, unfortunately, both their parents had had enough of a taste for. In a "silver lining" situation, however, that was how they had met: on a battlefield, with Emile severely injured and Marina being his saving grace. They fell in love and the rest is history. While it was obvious over time that Setsuna took after his father with their outgoing, boisterous and energetic personalities, Jocelyn inherited her traits from her mother: soft-spoken, self-conscious--a perfect balance for the other duo: each rounding out the other's personalities. They were the perfect family of four--whole, unbroken, together.
As with any story with a happy start, it had to end someday.
Jocelyn still keeps the story close to her heart. It was just another day in her childhood; they'd gone down together to the woods where they always played with their friends, more often mock fights than anything else. It was no different that day, with cheerful laughter ringing through the air. Children tussling and rolling on the ground, mocking and joking. Setsuna leapt right in, while Jocelyn stayed by herself by a tree stump, playing with her hair and admiring the scenery. It was a beautiful day--clear blue sky, with nary any clouds--she was engrossed enough with what she was doing that she failed to move out of the way of a battling duo, who pushed her off the stump. It was sudden enough that she stumbled and twisted her ankle upon landing. This did not go unnoticed by Setsuna, who started running her way to see if she was alright. But instead of apologising, the pair kept on fighting, ignoring the injured Jocelyn on the floor. An argument broke out between Setsuna and the boy, each of them getting angrier and angrier. There seemed to nothing that could stop a actual tussle breaking out.
The introduction of a Beowolf does wonders to break up a fight, it turned out. The ferocious howl emanating from the Grimm, attracted by all the negative emotions swirling like a tornado, sent all the children scattering, and Jocelyn turned to do the same. In the panic, she'd completely forgotten about her ankle, and only managed to land herself on the floor once again. It was inevitable that someone would be injured in the conflict. She just didn't expect it to be from a Beowolf, nor did she expect the injured person to be Setsuna. The boy crumpled and fell, blood staining the front of his shirt where three weeping gashes had flowered, in front of Jocelyn who had at that point fainted from pure fear. The Beowolf itself seemed confused, looking at its crimson-painted claws in some interest, before raising its claw for the killing blow. That would be the last thing it ever did, as a giant blade decapitated the Beowolf, before the owner hurriedly gathered up the two unconscious children and rushed for home.
Jocelyn would later wake up to a incandescent purple glow: her father had unlocked her Aura to speed up her healing process, and do the same to Setsuna. That night would forever embed itself into Jocelyn's mind: the Beowolf, Setsuna's valiant sacrifice, her Aura--all of those things she had only ever heard in stories. She had never expected that such events would ever come to pass. But in her jumbled thoughts, one thing was crystal clear--as clear as the tears running down her cheeks. Her brother had saved her life.
This series of events brought fresh meaning to Jocelyn's life. She realised she hated seeing anyone hurt, whether mentally or physically. She never wanted to see anyone in the same position as her, helpless to fight back against the creatures of Grimm. So when Setsuna brought up the idea of attending Beacon, a similar idea sprung to life in Jocelyn's mind. Except, when she confronted her parents about it (Setsuna had left to train at Signal at this point in time), her mother refused. As expected, Jocelyn was distraught by the news. Then Marina brought up an alternative: she would train Jocelyn herself. Having been through the equivalent of Signal in Atlas, she knew that they offered little in the way of healing and support. Marina, on the other hand, was both a qualified Huntress and an excellent medic, having saved many a person with her abilities. So while Setsuna was training at Signal, Jocelyn learned how to fight and how to be a medic at the age of 14; the age that after 4 years would allow her to enter Beacon Academy and see her brother again.
A former Atlas huntress, Marina was trained in the form of sniping enemies from afar, and she taught Jocelyn just that, with her own former rifle issued by the Atlas forces. She also brought her medic training to bear, using her Semblance as an example. However, with all the training, it was soon evident to the two Hunters' eyes that Jocelyn could not attain the level of combat prowess that Setsuna did with his father. Both Marina and Jocelyn accepted this reality, and instead doubled their efforts on medical training. It was during this period that Jocelyn discovered her semblance by accident; completely by random her shots started glowing when fired. After extensive practice and experimentation Jocelyn later managed to control her Semblance to her current point.
Yet, for a prestigious school like Beacon, Jocelyn's lack of skill with a weapon meant this still was not enough. Her lack of combat prowess needed to be backed up by something, or she would never get into Beacon. Thankfully, Marina once again came to the rescue and asked for help from one of her old teammates back in Atlas. Eventually, with some scraping by, they managed to afford the money required to buy the jump-pack custom-designed by Marina's old teammate. Only then did she barely meet the mark required. But still, Jocelyn was confident her skills as a medic would be in high demand. After passing on her well-used rifle to Jocelyn, she attempted the Enrolment Exam, doing well in the academic but only barely passing the rest thanks to her jump-pack.
Now, Jocelyn aims to continue her mother's role as both a Huntress and a medic, to uphold her duties as both, and ultimately, to repay that long-overdue debt to her brother.
Personality: Jocelyn's personality can be best described as a variation of her brother's. While both are caring to a fault, polite and kind, Jocelyn leans toward the more quiet side of the spectrum. Patient but soft-spoken, Jocelyn prefers learning over combat, and will commonly be seen away from any spar where people inevitably get hurt. Still, that does not mean she doesn't learn about combat itself; she is a eager learner. In addition, she is not without a sense of humor; so long as the jokes don't get too offensive she will join in on the banter. However, if the conversation gets cheeky, Jocelyn does also get flustered quite easily, resulting in one cute blushing girl.
As selfless as anyone could ever be, Jocelyn is also emotional--she hates seeing people get hurt, especially if that comes in the form of words--to her, she simply doesn't understand why people go out of their way to be cruel to others, especially Faunus, to whom this happens on a regular basis. With no hesitation, Jocelyn will put herself in harm's way if it means preventing others from being harmed. This has an unfortunate side effect, however--due to her memories of almost losing her brother because of her carelessness, if she somehow causes others harm in any shape or form, she will experience a high amount of guilt and regret at doing so, temporarily incapacitating her ability to function as a human being properly without support.
As a medic, Jocelyn works well even under pressure, does not lose her cool under fire, and does not hesitate to obey orders. She will, however, break off if she sees an opportunity to save/heal others under attack, but generally she is predictable and easy to get along with. Note that she is an apprentice medic who can save Aura-depleted lives, but cannot perform high skill-level tasks like amputation or surgery.
Jocelyn is particularly protective of her brother Setsuna and will always step up to defend him if any situation occurs--which is ironic considering she is both the younger of the two and her brother's ethos to life. She can be surprisingly courageous and brave, much more so than normal if her brother is with her. Past that point, she does feel sometimes that he may be a bit too protective at times, but has come to embrace it as who he is and has accepted it as a result.
Aura: Aura Color--Heliotrope Purple/#DF73FF
Jocelyn's aura is constantly taxed by her semblance, making it rare for her to be at full Aura. However, it's still as strong as any other person, but she is not capable of unlocking further abilities as of yet.
Semblance: Floral Healing--Jocelyn sacrifices a portion of her aura, which is directed into an object she is holding, turning it glowing purple. Upon impact with another living human/faunus, the object turns into purple aura and heals the person it made contact with. Jocelyn uses this semblance in conjunction with her sniper rifle, as she can heal her allies from a distance by simply shooting them in the back. The receiving person will feel varying sensations upon contact, from a slight reinvigorating sensation at low percentages to a completely renewed state at high percents.
Whoever Jocelyn shoots will receive the aura healing, no matter if it was the intended recipient or not. In addition, if the object hits a non-human/faunus being, like a tree or a Grimm, the object will just dissipate. Jocelyn cannot heal a person already healed by this semblance for 10 seconds afterwards. An important note is that Jocelyn cannot heal a person who does not have Aura unlocked, or has completely run out of aura. The object can remain charged with Jocelyn's semblance after one use. There are additional restrictions to her semblance, namely being a size limit (Nothing larger than her fist), and the object cannot be attached to anything.
What truly makes her semblance so powerful and double-edged is that Jocelyn can transfer up to 95% of her existing aura in one shot, with no time in-between uses. Distributing over 15% in one go will physically tax her body with the feeling of pain, with the side effect increasing in strength the more aura is transferred. Notably, Jocelyn can keep sharing her Aura until she herself is at 0%. The recipient will receive as much aura as sacrificed.
After experimentation and training with the help of Professor Budonoki, Jocelyn can now use her semblance in conjunction with elemental Dust crystals for additional secondary effects. This is done with the help of Dust ammunition. Alternatively, she can direct her Aura directly through a Dust crystal for similar effects, but the crystal has to be in contact with both her and the recipient. The side effects range from recovery and healing to assisted offensive capabilities, furthering Jocelyn's support prowess.
Dust Effects: ShowHide
Fire Dust: The recipient feels a comforting warm sensation. Warms the person's internal body temperature to optimal levels if recipient's temperature was lower than usual. Helps patients recover from cold-based symptoms like frostbite. When in effect, the patient's aura gains a light red tint.
Ice Dust: The recipient feels a soothing refreshing sensation. Cools the person's internal body to optimal levels if recipient's temperature was higher than usual. Helps patients recover from heat-based symptoms like fevers and heatstroke. When in effect, the patient's aura gains a light blue tint.
Electric Dust: Imbues the recipient with an electric current that cannot be felt by, and does not damage, the person. This also transfers to any conductors the person may be holding. Upon contact with anything, discharges the current and deals small electrical damage to the target. Alternatively acts as a buffer to prevent others from touching the person.
Earth Dust: "Grounds" the recipient, removing any and all electrical charges from the person. Any damage done to the person is instantly stopped.
Wind Dust: Grants the recipient a small boost in movement speed, gradually fades over a minute.
Combat Behavior: What with being an advocate of peace and her semblance, it's no surprise Jocelyn prefers to stay as far from any close-up tussle as possible, using her sniper rifle to shoot from long-distances and her jump pack to either gain the high ground or retreat. However, she specialises in support, specifically being a medic, and her Semblance helps her do just that. She will opt to heal her teammates over taking a clear shot at any enemy target, and will prefer to evacuate allies instead of eliminating threats, leaving that job to others.
Being compared to other snipers puts Jocelyn to shame; she is no crack shot and prefers to go for easier shots that guarantee hits instead of high-risk, high-reward snipes. Her rifle is shorter range than more recent, higher-tech variants, so she does not go for snipe-outs. Instead, from cover, she uses her semblance to heal any ally in combat, which does not require any precise aiming; all it requires is to hit the ally. She can choose to use her smokescreen and thermal scope in conjunction, provided she knows which is an ally and which is an enemy beforehand.
As a combat medic, while a incredibly helpful asset to a team, it leaves her vulnerable when going solo. She has no other combat option if engaged up close, so she is always forced to retreat if engaged in solo combat, using her jump pack and smokescreen to cloak her movements. Her lack of experience, single weapon mode and slow rate of fire results in a minuscule damage output compared to other Hunters. This is especially prominent when compared to other snipers in her year.
If on a battlefield with wounded, Jocelyn will aim to evacuate the heaviest injured first, or heal them if they still have Aura left. She will jump into the line of fire willingly to rescue other wounded, but will refrain from doing so if she is low on Aura herself. If the person has Aura left, she will use her Semblance; else-wise she uses her first-aid kit to patch up the wounded as best she can with her limited kit.
Jocelyn operates best when in a group; having others do the killing also works out in her best interests. When fighting as a team, Jocelyn stays far back from the group, normally as far as her sniper rifle range allows, and provides long-range cover fire, or distributes healing to people who need it most. If discovered, she drops a smoke cloud and jumps away to a new location, or closer to her teammates. However, in PvP, her Semblance becomes a double-edged blade--she can accidentally heal the opposing team. In single combat, it's a curbstomp--Jocelyn has no training with any other weapon barring a pistol, and has no melee training to speak of either. Get in close and victory is guaranteed.
Name: Hyacinth
Primary Form: Hyacinth is quite a simple weapon for a huntress, being a old Intervention sniper rifle with very little modifications and a white/dark blue paint scheme, originating from old Atlas armaments. Used during older wars, the gun packs a recoil-absorber stock, bolt-action reload, a 7-bullet magazine, a bipod, sling and a new thermal scope, added on by Jocelyn. The thermal scope is linked to her Scroll, showing the current Aura values of any other Hunter nearby, including herself. Apart from the visible wear and tear on the surface, it's a unremarkable old gun which has seen better days. Being a old model, its not the most suited for modern combat. Thankfully Jocelyn doesn't use it mainly for sniping.
Storage Form: Hyacinth's rifle barrel retracts so that the length of the rifle is akin to a assault rifle instead, and the bipod folds up under the main body of the rifle. The rifle is slung over Jocelyn's shoulder and rests at her right hip.
History: An old sniper rifle named and passed down from mother to daughter, Hyacinth was used during Marina's time at Atlas Academy and even a war before being transferred to Jocelyn's hands and acquiring a new thermal scope. Jocelyn prides it on "having saved more lives than taken".
Name: Steam Flower
Stand-by Form: Steam Flower, unlike Hyacinth, is a high-tech jump pack designed by an Atlas company that enables Jocelyn to gain high ground, cover long distances with one boost, or evacuate any wounded with a dash of speed. Steam Flower takes the shape of a leather harness with an oval-shaped device and a blue glass core in the middle for Dust, with two folded-up wings on each side. and two nozzles on the bottom for expelling the Dust. For propulsion, Steam Flower takes crystals of Kinetic Dust, and each full crystal propels Jocelyn up to a maximum of 10 meters. Note that it does not sustain flight, and cannot hover either: it is several small bursts or one long burst.
https://imgur.com/a/R9Og1
Active Form: Steam Flower's wings extend out 4 feet on either sides of the jump pack, revealing a hexagonal semi-transparent mesh--which only serves as visual effect. In this form, if Fire and Ice Dust is inserted, the wings release non-hot steam in a concentrated cylinder around Jocelyn for 15 seconds, giving her a temporary smoke screen. She can shut the steam off and leave it behind as a distraction. The steam acts like normal steam, rising into the air after 10 seconds. With support from wind updrafts, Jocelyn can glide for some distances if the wings are extended, though she cannot fly.
http://imgur.com/a/4wRYZ
History: Using the money saved from the tuition fee and any other bits and bobs, as well as calling in a favor from one of Marina's old teammates, Jocelyn managed to purchase this high-tech jump-pack to aid her in general combat as well as mobility. Compared to the old sniper rifle, the jump-pack looks like it's from an alternate dimension.
MISC.GEAR
First-Aid Kit: When on missions, Jocelyn prioritises taking her first-aid kit over her sniper rifle if given no other choice. Apart from the common items including basic tools, rolls of gauze, compresses, stitching thread/needles and disinfectant, there's also less common, more intense treatment kit like compression bandages (elastic wrap, pressure dressing, cotton pad), tourniquets, IVs, hemostats and a miniature defibrillator which uses Electric Dust. To round all the equipment off, there's a special section of more kit, but all Dust-infused. These range from Ice Dust-infused burn salve to Fire Dust-infused bandages acting as Deep Heat-replicas. Most of Jocelyn's kit is focused into healing on the move, quick patch-ups, and Dust-infused applications, stuff that takes care of what she cannot heal via her semblance. She has training in using all of the above equipment, but some of the less common stuff she has to buy from outside sources, including all the Dust-infused equipment. Each piece of Dust kit requires a short burst of Aura from any source to trigger the Dust before it takes effect.
« Last Edit: June 04, 2018, 07:10:30 AM by MonsterManic »
Kaliot
Re: Jocelyn Antiqua
How is a sniper round doing no damage on impact? Sounds like it'd be Heal - Damage unless firing blanks, but that'd mean she'd have to switch between them.
Characters: ShowHide
Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
Izumi Cremisi - Member of Obsidian Rose, Assassin, Thief, Arcade Enthusiast
Airi Fogden Bicardi - Second-Year Atlas Student, Family Heiress
Avery LeBlanc - Third-Year Atlas Student, Triplet, Duelist, Manipulator, Team SA[L]T | Threads [Team: ♚ ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
Suna Arevik - First-Year Shade Student, Scavenger-in-Training, Team S[S]MR
Mara Lev - Mercenary, de facto Leader of Siren
Worldbuilding: ShowHide
Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
Obsidian Rose - Valish Criminal Organization
The rounds do damage as normal unless semblance is activated, in which case the rounds turn into pure aura upon contact with a Aura-unlocked, living human/faunus.
What is the limit on viable objects? Could she hold a doorknob and have it vaporize as it gets absorbed by someone else? Or say, a safe or a bomb?
That's......the one thing I didn't think off. Good point.
I'll add that it has certain limits to size AND that it cannot be attached to anything else. This should negate both the size problem and removing objects from existence (to use the doorknob you'd have to break it off before it would work. Same with the safe and bomb). This also allows stuff like small rocks to be used. OR, I'll just state that she cannot phase random things out of existence.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2017, 03:40:52 PM by MonsterManic »
Throw rocks at people to heal them, please.
+1: ShowHide
Name: Jocelyn Thyil Antiqua
Symbol: A purple bauhinia carved into a white medical cross. The white cross is outlined with a faint red so the cross takes visual priority over the bauhinia.
Appearance: Standing 5'6", Jocelyn takes after her mother instead of her father, having inherited her purple irises, light, blonde, long hair that either cascades down halfway her back, or is tied in two pigtails, and her caring smile. While relatively fit for a person who hasn't undertaken pre-academy training, Jocelyn doesn't put much emphasis on keeping in shape, quite lax for a girl in high school, only enough so she doesn't run out of breath easily. She is quite beautiful but prefers to be modest about it, with the odd blush now and then when complemented.
Although her Aura and eyes are purple, her color scheme leans more toward an Atlas-esque pattern: white and dark blue, with the odd touch of purple from her symbol here and there, in conjunction with her equipment. A short-sleeved white blouse with dark blue, circuit-like lines running down the length of the sides and intercrossing at the chest, a white skirt tinted with light blue lace trim edging the sides, a full first-aid kit and a magnetic belt bordered with light purple holding both ammunition and Dust for equipment round out her mission wear. A metal brooch with her symbol pins a heliotrope purple scarf to the left shoulder of her blouse, which has a tendency to unravel from around her neck by accident.
History:[spoiler=Due to Length] [spoiler]Jocelyn's child history is identical to Setsuna's, being related. Hence the familiarity.
Living a peaceful life in the island of Patch, Jocelyn spent her childhood growing up with her parents, Marina and Emile Antiqua, and her older brother Setsuna, with as close as an ordinary family life as could be attained in a war-ruined land called Remnant. With Emile and Marina both former Hunters, they kept the family safe from any stray Grimm that might have wandered by, and so neither Jocelyn nor her brother were forced to experience the horrifying reality that was war. Something, unfortunately, both their parents had had enough of a taste for. In a "silver lining" situation, however, that was how they had met: on a battlefield, with Emile severely injured and Marina being his saving grace. They fell in love and the rest is history.
While it was obvious that Setsuna took after his father with their outgoing, boisterous and energetic personalities, Jocelyn inherited her traits from her mother: soft-spoken, self-conscious--a perfect balance for the other duo: each rounding out the other's personalities. They were the perfect family of four--whole, unbroken, together.
Jocelyn still keeps the story close to her heart. It was just another day in her childhood; they'd gone down together to the woods where they always played with their friends, more often mock fights than anything else. It was no different that day, with cheerful laughter ringing through the air. Children tussling and rolling on the ground, mocking and joking. Setsuna leapt right in, while Jocelyn stayed by herself by a tree stump, playing with her hair and admiring the scenery. It was a beautiful day...clear blue sky, with nary any clouds--
She was engrossed enough with what she was doing that she failed to move out of the way of a battling duo, who pushed her off the stump. It was sudden enough that she stumbled and twisted her ankle upon landing. This did not go unnoticed by Setsuna, who started running her way to see if she was alright. But instead of apologising, the pair kept on fighting, ignoring the injured Jocelyn on the floor. An argument broke out between Setsuna and the boy, each of them getting angrier and angrier. There seemed to nothing that could stop a actual tussle breaking out.
The introduction of a Beowolf does wonders to break up a fight, it turned out. The ferocious howl emanating from the Grimm, attracted by all the negative emotions swirling like a tornado, sent all the children scattering, and Jocelyn turned to do the same. In the panic, she'd completely forgotten about her ankle, and only managed to land herself on the floor once again. It was inevitable that someone would be injured in the conflict. She just didn't expect it to be from a Beowolf.
Nor did she expect the injured person to be Setsuna. The boy crumpled and fell, blood staining the front of his shirt where three weeping gashes had flowered, in front of Jocelyn who had at that point fainted from pure fear. The Beowolf itself seemed confused, looking at its crimson-painted claws in some interest, before raising its claw for the killing blow. That would be the last thing it ever did, as a giant blade decapitated the Beowolf, before the owner hurriedly gathered up the two unconscious children and rushed for home.
This series of events brought fresh meaning to Jocelyn's life. She realised she hated seeing anyone hurt, whether mentally or physically. She never wanted to see anyone in the same position as her, helpless to fight back against the creatures of Grimm. So when Setsuna brought up the idea of attending Beacon, a similar idea sprung to life in Jocelyn's mind. Except, when she confronted her parents about it (Setsuna had left to train at Signal at this point in time), her mother refused. Jocelyn was distraught by the news. Then Marina brought up an alternative.
She would train Jocelyn herself. Having been through the equivalent of Signal in Atlas, she knew that they offered little in the way of healing and support. Marina, on the other hand, was both a qualified Huntress and an excellent medic, having saved many a person with her abilities. So while Setsuna was training at Signal, Jocelyn learned how to fight and how to be a medic at the age of 14; the age that after 4 years would allow her to enter Beacon Academy and see her brother again.
This still was not enough. Jocelyn's lack of combat prowess needed to be backed up by something, or she would never get into Beacon Academy. Thankfully, Marina once again came to the rescue and asked for help from one of her old teammates back in Atlas. Eventually, with some scraping by, they managed to afford the money required to buy the jump-pack custom-designed by Marina's old teammate. Only then did she barely scrape the mark required. But still, Jocelyn was confident her skills as a medic would be in high demand. After passing on her well-used rifle to Jocelyn, she attempted the Enrolment Exam, doing well in the academic but only barely passing the rest thanks to her jump-pack.
Personality: Jocelyn's personality can be best described as a variation of her brother's. While both are caring to a fault, polite and kind, Jocelyn leans toward the more quiet side of the spectrum. Patient but soft-spoken, Jocelyn prefers learning over combat, and will commonly be seen away from any spar where people inevitably get hurt. Still, that does not mean she doesn't learn about combat itself; she is a eager learner.
One of Jocelyn's most important and distinctive traits about her is that she hates seeing people get hurt, or seeing people fight, no matter Grimm or other Hunters in spars. She goes out of her way to prevent fights from breaking out, making her a bona-fide peacekeeper, and will sacrifice her own health to help others. This is also reflected in her equipment and semblance: her sniper rifle is old and is weaker than other weapons, her jump pack allows her to avoid combat, and her semblance heals others at the cost of her own Aura.
Jocelyn is particularly protective of her brother Setsuna and will always step up to defend him if any situation occurs--which is ironic considering she is both the younger of the two and her brother's ethos to life. She is surprisingly courageous and brave, much more so than normal if her brother is with her.
Aura and Semblance: Aura Color--Heliotrope Purple/#DF73FF
Semblance: Floral Healing--Jocelyn sacrifices a portion of her aura, which is directed into an object she is holding, turning it glowing purple. Upon impact with another living human/faunus, the object turns into purple aura and heals the person it made contact with. Jocelyn uses this semblance in conjunction with her sniper rifle, as she can heal her allies from a distance by simply shooting them in the back. The receiving person does not feel any pain upon contact, only a slight reinvigorating sensation.
Whoever Jocelyn shoots will receive the aura healing, no matter if it was the intended recipient or not. In addition, if the object hits a non-human/faunus being, like a tree or a Grimm, the object will just dissipate. However, she cannot heal a person already healed by this semblance for 10 seconds afterwards. An important note is that Jocelyn cannot heal a person who does not have Aura unlocked, or has completely run out of aura. The object can remain charged with Jocelyn's semblance after one use. There are additional restrictions to her semblance, namely being a size limit (Nothing larger than her fist), and the object cannot be attached to anything.
Jocelyn can choose how much of her aura to sacrifice, up to a maximum of 15% at a time, with no time needed between each use. However, if she distributes over 10% in one go, she physically feels as if someone has hit her for that amount, including the feeling of pain, while the intensity increases as she sacrifices more Aura. Notably, Jocelyn can keep sharing her Aura until she herself is at 0%, which is incredibly dangerous. The recipient will receive as much aura as sacrificed. While it is not properly confirmed, Jocelyn has this gut feeling that her semblance has room for improvement, and hopes to be able to either heal more frequently or heal for more each use.
basically...: ShowHide
+ Heals people for as much aura as sacrificed, up to a max of 15%
- May accidentally heal opponents in PvP
- Overhealing physically taxes Jocelyn
- Size limit
Combat Behavior: What with being an advocate of peace and her semblance, it's no surprise Jocelyn prefers to stay as far from any close-up tussle as possible, using her sniper rifle to shoot from long-distance and her jump pack to either gain the high ground, or retreat. However, she specialises in support, specifically being a medic, and her Semblance helps her do just that. She will opt to heal her teammates over taking a clear shot at any enemy target, and will prefer to evacuate allies instead of eliminating threats, leaving that job to others.
As a combat medic, while a helpful asset to a team, leaves her vulnerable when going solo. She has no other combat option if engaged up close, so she is always forced to retreat if engaged in solo combat, using her jump pack and smokescreen to cloak her movements. Her lack of experience, single weapon mode and slow rate of fire results in a minuscule damage output compared to other Hunters. This is especially prominent when compared to other snipers in her year.
If on a battlefield with wounded, Jocelyn will aim to evacuate the heaviest wounded, or heal them if they still have Aura left. She will jump into the line of fire willingly to rescue other wounded, but will refrain from doing so if she is low on Aura herself. If the person has Aura left, she will use her Semblance; else-wise she uses her first-aid kit to patch up the wounded as best she can with her limited kit.
Active Form: Steam Flower's wings extend out 85 centimetres on either sides of the jump pack, revealing a hexagonal semi-transparent mesh--which only serves as visual effect. In this form, if Fire and Ice Dust is inserted, the wings release non-hot steam in a concentrated cylinder around Jocelyn for 15 seconds, giving her a temporary smoke screen. She can shut the steam off and leave it behind as a distraction. The steam acts like normal steam, rising into the air after 10 seconds. The wings do not support her weight, so she cannot glide in this mode. It does, however, balance her in the air somewhat.
First-Aid Kit: When on missions, Jocelyn prioritises taking her first-aid kit over her sniper rifle if given no other choice. Apart from the common items including basic tools, rolls of gauze, compresses, stitching thread/needles and disinfectant, there's also less common, more intense treatment kit like compression bandages (elastic wrap, pressure dressing, cotton pad), tourniquets, IVs and hemostats. To round all the equipment off, there's a special section of more kit, but all Dust-infused. These range from Ice Dust-infused burn salve to Fire Dust-infused bandages acting as Deep Heat-replicas.
Most of Jocelyn's kit is focused into healing on the move, quick patch-ups, and Dust-infused applications, stuff that takes care of what she cannot heal via her semblance. She has training in using all of the above equipment, but some of the less common stuff she has to buy from outside sources, including all the Dust-infused equipment. Each piece of Dust kit requires a short burst of Aura to trigger the Dust before it takes effect.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2017, 03:49:56 PM by Kaliot »
Dr. Gustave
The Nice Admin
+226/-226
Forgive me for what I must yabba dabba do
Approved, sorry for the wait.
Atlas: ShowHide
Mercenary: Kol Augur ~ The Judicator of Atlas
Speaking: #5C5054 Thinking: #EAC117
Mistral: ShowHide
Huntress-in-Training: Aca Roth ~ Member of Team RWND
Speaking: #E05260 Thinking: #EA857F
Huntress-in-Training: Brook Pallas ~ Member of Team CNBR
Speaking: #4863A0 Thinking: #98AFC7
Council Member: Phaedo Katsaros ~ Figurehead for Faunus/Human relations
Speaking: #667C26 Thinking: #B6CC76
Vacuo: ShowHide
40th Vytal Tournament Champion: Zabar Aga ~ Member of Team DAWN
Speaking: #CD7F32 Thinking: #EE9A4D
Vale: ShowHide
Huntress: Malina Nahualli-Roth ~ Leader of Team MCCA
Speaking: #993A64 Thinking: #8B0C44
Beacon Professor: Titania Printemps ~ Assistant Headmistress of Beacon Academy
Speaking: #4AA02C Thinking: #E55B3C
Drop-out: Durian Ghede ~ Former leader of team DFDL
Speaking: #E1BD27 Thinking: #AF8B00
Editing: ShowHide
- Object cannot be attached to anything (barring her hand)
Added symbol.
pre-edits: ShowHide
Most of Jocelyn's kit is focused into healing on the move, quick patch-ups, and Dust-infused applications, stuff that takes care of what she cannot heal via her semblance. She has training in using all of the above equipment, but some of the less common stuff she has to buy from outside sources, including all the Dust-infused equipment. Each piece of Dust kit requires a short burst of Aura to trigger the Dust before it takes effect.[/spoiler]
Edits:
-Semblance healing limit increased to 95% in one shot from 15%
-Semblance Catalyst Foci added w/effects
-Added description of healing sensation
-Minor formatting edits
Sorry for the delay, edits approved.
pre-edts: ShowHide
Appearance: Standing 5'6", Jocelyn takes after her mother instead of her father, having inherited her purple irises, light, blonde, long hair that either cascades halfway down her back, or is tied in two pigtails, and her caring smile. While relatively fit for a person who hasn't undertaken pre-academy training, Jocelyn doesn't put much emphasis on keeping in shape, quite lax for a girl in high school, only enough so she doesn't run out of breath easily. She is quite beautiful but prefers to be modest about it, with the odd blush now and then when complemented.
History: [spoiler]Jocelyn's child history is identical to Setsuna's, being related. Hence the familiarity.
Jocelyn is particularly protective of her brother Setsuna and will always step up to defend him if any situation occurs--which is ironic considering she is both the younger of the two and her brother's ethos to life. She can be surprisingly courageous and brave, much more so than normal if her brother is with her.
First-Aid Kit: When on missions, Jocelyn prioritises taking her first-aid kit over her sniper rifle if given no other choice. Apart from the common items including basic tools, rolls of gauze, compresses, stitching thread/needles and disinfectant, there's also less common, more intense treatment kit like compression bandages (elastic wrap, pressure dressing, cotton pad), tourniquets, IVs, hemostats and a miniature defibrillator which uses Electric Dust. To round all the equipment off, there's a special section of more kit, but all Dust-infused. These range from Ice Dust-infused burn salve to Fire Dust-infused bandages acting as Deep Heat-replicas. Most of Jocelyn's kit is focused into healing on the move, quick patch-ups, and Dust-infused applications, stuff that takes care of what she cannot heal via her semblance. She has training in using all of the above equipment, but some of the less common stuff she has to buy from outside sources, including all the Dust-infused equipment. Each piece of Dust kit requires a short burst of Aura from any source to trigger the Dust before it takes effect.[/spoiler]
In future can you post a summary but regardless edits approved.


text:
The use of dietary supplements among older persons in southern Germany - results from the KORA-age study
J Nutr Health Aging. 2014 May;18(5):510-9. doi: 10.1007/s12603-013-0418-8.
S Schwab 1 , M Heier, A Schneider, B Fischer, C Huth, A Peters, B Thorand
1 Dr. Barbara Thorand, MPH, E-mail: thorand@helmholtz-muenchen.de, Telephone: +49-89-3187-4480, Fax: +49-89-3187-3667.
Objectives: Current population-based surveys in Europe on the prevalence of dietary supplement (DS) use in older individuals are scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate patterns, prevalence and determinants of non-herbal DS use in aged subjects. Furthermore, the intake amounts of vitamins and minerals from supplements were assessed.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Data on supplement use were available from an age- and sex-stratified random sample of the German population-based KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg)-Age study.
Participants: 1,079 persons who were born in or before the year 1943.
Measurements: Use of dietary supplements and medications during the last seven days was recorded in a face-to-face interview in 2009. Participants were asked to bring all packages of ingested preparations to the study center. Not only vitamin/mineral supplements, but also non-vitamin non-mineral non-herbal supplements and drugs containing vitamins and minerals were coded as DS.
Results: The age-standardized prevalence of DS intake was 54.3% in women and 33.8% in men, respectively. The most commonly supplemented mineral and vitamin, respectively, was magnesium (31.9%) and vitamin D (21.5%) in women and magnesium (18.0%) and vitamin E (12.0%) in men. The highest intakes, compared to the German Dietary Reference Intakes, were reported for biotin, vitamin B6 and B1. Excessive intakes (equal or above the European Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL)) were observed especially for magnesium and vitamin E. 20.2% of the women and 32.5% of the men who took magnesium supplements regularly exceeded the UL for magnesium. In case of vitamin E this was true for 8.0% of the women and 13.6% of the men. Determinants of DS use were sex, education, smoking, physical activity, neurological diseases, and stroke.
Conclusion: A high proportion of the general population aged 65 years and older in Southern Germany uses DS, especially supplements containing vitamins/minerals. The supplementation of vitamin D can be regarded as favorable in this age group, whereas the excessive intakes of vitamin E might be a cause of concern.
Biotin / administration & dosage
Dietary Supplements / statistics & numerical data*
Interviews as Topic
Magnesium / administration & dosage
Thiamine / administration & dosage
Vitamin B 6 / administration & dosage
Vitamin D / administration & dosage
Vitamin E / administration & dosage
Vitamin B 6


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