Shipmates, during Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, it is important that we have a frank conversation about this difficult topic. And while we should talk about this subject year-round, it is important to me that we discuss this right now.
Let me be absolutely clear: sexual assault is an abhorrent crime that has no place in our Navy – or society – and inflicts unimaginable pain upon its victims. We all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out against it, as well as empower sexual assault survivors to seek support and assistance.
Respect. Protect. Empower. These are words to act on as we talk about sexual assault prevention and response.
To end destructive behaviors like sexual assault and sexual harassment, we must have a Culture of Excellence across our force. Respecting, protecting and empowering one another will help us do just that. The Navy must evolve beyond simply responding to incidents after they occur. We must, as a team, proactively prevent sexual assault from occurring in the first place.
This year’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month is an opportunity for every person to commit to being part of the solution.
And we must rededicate ourselves to being an organization where neither sexual assault nor sexual harassment are tolerated, where survivors are supported, and where all Sailors – active and reserve, uniformed and civilian – can live and work without fear.
Simply put, we ALL have a role in combating sexual assault. And while there is still much work to be done, this is something we MUST do. That’s the Navy of the future. Help us get there sooner. Respect, protect, and empower one another … so that we can bring an end to sexual assault for good.
Subject specific information for the media
Events or announcements of note for the media
Updates on sailors from around the Fleet
Given by Navy leadership
HASC, SASC and Congressional testimony


text:
When it comes time to decide whether to get vaccinated, some people turn to religion
There’s plenty of data and science about how vaccines for COVID-19 save lives. But for many people, science is not the first place they turn to when making decisions about whether or not to be vaccinated.
For some, the case for vaccination has to be a religious one. Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Grant Blankenship has more.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

domain: news


text:
A quick card today using a Tim Holtz stencil I just got.
I began by masking the edges of my cardstock with Painter's Tape to give a nice white border without adding all the layers. I used Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint Distress inks and an ink applicator to add the colour over the flowers of my stencil.
Using the same greens, I sponged the edges giving a nice defined border on the white cardstock.
Lastly, I stamped this great sentiment from Impression Obsession in the corner.
When I went to mount my stenciled piece onto a white card front it needed some colour and I didn't have any pink that matched so I used the Picked Raspberry again and inked all the edges of the white card front so when mounted it matches perfectly.
I am added my card to these challenges:
Addicted to Stamps- MAKE YOUR MARK
Craft Stamper- STAMP-ANYTHING GOES
Crafty Catz- SUMMERTIME
In the Pink- FLORALS
Penny's Paper Crafty- ANYTHING GOES
Have a great weekend and thanks for dropping by.
Supplies: stamp- Impression Obsession/ stencil- Tim Holtz/ Distress inks/Memento bl ink/ ink applicator

domain: hobby


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text:
Blueberry Almond Smoothie
This dreamy smoothie features blueberries and almond butter. You only need 4 to 5 simple ingredients! Enjoy it as a breakfast or sweet snack!
I love the combination of blueberries with almond butter. I know that might seem like an odd pairing but you’ll just have to trust me that it is so good.
I created this Blueberry Almond Smoothie to showcase that beautiful combo. When I first starting working on this I was making it every afternoon for three weeks I kid you not. Did it need that much testing? Heck no. Was it an absolute pleasure to drink daily on repeat? Yep!
We’ve got blueberries, spinach, almond butter, and milk. For extra sweetness add a bit of honey. That’s it!
Health Benefits of this Blueberry Almond Smoothie
Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants. This means they help protect your cells against free radicals which can contribute to aging and diseases like cancer. Blueberries are also nutrient-dense and a source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese.
Spinach is a great source of fiber. It also has lots of vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, folic acid, and calcium.
Almond butter is high in monounsaturated fats. They’re important because they help lower LDL cholesterol (considered bad cholesterol) and raise HDL (or good) cholesterol. Almond butter also has vitamin E which boots the immune system. In fact a single servings of almond butter has about 26% of your recommended daily allowance. Additionally you can count on almond butter for omega-3 fatty acids and L-arginine.
Can you use fresh blueberries?
I recommend using frozen blueberries because it results in that perfectly thick smoothie texture. If you’re desperate to make this using fresh blueberries you can do that and add ice. Just know that the texture will ultimately be a little icy and won’t be the same.
What milk is best in this smoothie?
You want to use a milk with minimal flavor. If you’re not dairy free, cow’s milk works great. If dairy free, I recommend unsweetened almond or oat milk.
What almond butter is best to use?
I like to use an unsweetened creamy almond butter. There are lots of brands I enjoy but generally I look for a short ingredient list (typically just almonds or perhaps almonds with oil). You’re welcome to use any almond butter you like though!
Can you add protein powder?
Yes! You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of your favorite protein powder. I recommend a vanilla flavored one so it doesn’t detract from the flavors of the smoothie.
Blueberry Almond Smoothie
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or cow's milk
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- handful fresh spinach
- Optional: honey for extra sweetness
- Add all ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.
- Taste and add honey for extra sweetness if you like. For a thinner texture you can add a little more milk. For a thicker texture add a little ice or more frozen blueberries.

domain: food


text:
Dear European Anti-Fraud Office,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
- Report on cross-border investigation OLAF concluded
in 2017 allegations related to the potential misuse of EU funds in 31 Research
and Development projects in Hungary, including the names of the two research
centres that had artificially set up regional offices in order to be eligible for regional EU-funded projects.
- Letter on the case and/or OLAF recommendation to the Hungarian judicial authorities.
OLAF’s investigation established that two research
centres had artificially set up regional offices in
order to be eligible for regional EU-funded projects.
Dear Ms Karáth,
Please find enclosed the reply to the above mentioned subject.
EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)
Directorate C: Investigation Support
Unit C.4 – Legal Advice

domain: law


text:
Places are optical 46 powerful before an election Held mail colleges must be consistent by your thesis statement no way than the day before Voting Day.Research Paper On Japanese Cultural Differences and Recommended Conduct.
How to Start a History Essay
This essay will critically examine the cultural and behavioural ...Sometimes, observations about cultural differences are based on scientific observation (see, for instance, Argyle,.I do not think many Americans have experienced French anything as much as I and they worry about having problems with communicating in French.
Follow the steps below and then discuss your findings in a 3- to 4-page paper.
Cultural Diversity BrochuresCultural Differences in Joint Ventures - ESSAY TOPIC (1):A joint venture is affected by the cultural distance between two partners.
Effective Communication Communication is an area that can be especially challenging for those uninformed about cultural differences.This is a 3-page essay using no sources which describe a cultural difference experienced that led to a conflict of values.Read over the following articles and describe how a different cultural context might play a role in attribution.Starting your cultural differences essay can be a challenging undertaking.
Academic Essay Writing ExamplesCultural Differences Paper Cultural Differences Paper Culture refers to a set of shared values, beliefs, and norms held by individuals of a group.Toreador pants last sample essay on cultural differences bump coldblooded creatures.A term paper is a kind of essay writing that is assigned by the termination of the semester or the whole studying year.Custom Cultural Differences essay paper writing service Buy Cultural Differences essay paper online.
Cultural DifferencesArticle marketing ought to without a doubt spit available the remuneration.
Argumentative Essay On Home Cooked Food
I agree up to the issue that a general awareness of cultural differences has increased (consider the new terms of CQ - Cultural Quotient, increased cross.

domain: sociology


text:
2000 ml plain lamb stock or clear stock
1700 g basmati rice, Faiza basmati preferred
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cardamom pods
2 g star anise
1 g cloves
175 ml ghee oil
200 ml olive oil
150 g onion, quartered
150 g tricoloured bell peppers
50 g green chilli, quartered
20 g coriander stem
100 g tomato, quartered
0.5 g saffron fibres
70 g chicken powder
40 g fine salt
600 g whole red tomato, quartered
100 g coriander leaf
40 g bird’s eye chilli
10 g garlic
20 g fine salt
1 pinch chicken powder
100 g fried sliced shallot
20 g coriander leaf
1. In a medium stock pot heat the olive oil with ghee oil.
2. Sauté the cinnamon stik, cardamom, star anise and clove until aromatic.
3. Add in the onion, tomato, bell pepper, coriander stem and green chilli. Sauté briefly.
4. After that add in the lamb stock and bring to boil for 4 minutes.
5. Wash the rice by pouring over boiling water three times.
6. Add the rice into the stock plus saffron and boil at high heat for 2 minutes.
7. Cover the stock with aluminum foil and lower the heat. Leave for 20 minutes.
8. Remove the cover and stir slowly. Check for desired texture before serving.
9. For the mandi sauce, combine all ingredients in food processor and blend roughly.
10. Adjust seasoning and keep refrigerated. The sauce must be served cold.
COMPOSITION AND PRESENTATION
1. Pile rice on serving platter and garnish with coriander leaf and slice fried onion.
2. This rice also can be served with roasted lamb or chicken.


text:
Residents weigh MAUSD issues
BRISTOL — A collection of 5 Town residents broke into groups of eight at Mount Abraham Union High School last Wednesday and discussed the educational values they shared and the future of the district.
The 165 people, who had gathered for a public forum organized by the Mount Abraham Unified School District’s Community Engagement Committee, talked about shared values including producing “socially and emotionally healthy kids,” the importance of teachers, academic excellence, varied and flexible programming, equity for all students, community connections with schools, student-led personalized learning, and the importance of town schools.
The exercise came amid falling enrollment in the district, increasing costs to taxpayers and possible school closures.
At one table in the Mount Abe cafeteria, six residents and facilitator Kim Callahan mixed hope and skepticism about what they heard.
Julie, a New Haven resident with several young children, and others wondered about the school-closure estimate.
“Does it account for transportation as well?” Julie said.
Diane from Bristol pointed to the overwhelming vote against school closures in the Addison Northwest School District.
“Closing a school in this district, it would be the same outcome,” Diane said. “Reducing costs, I think, is a more logical approach.”
Jeff from Bristol didn’t think MAUSD’s numbers-based approach would convince many residents.
“We all don’t know as much as the board and the administrators,” Jeff said. “(But) I’m not sure this quantitative technique will get us to where we want to go.”
Margaret from New Haven said she had learned from the community meetings to respect the feelings of those who wanted to retain their town schools.
“I’ve realized having a school in a community is more important,” she said.
She and district schoolteacher Katie were intrigued by the magnet school idea, although Katie said she was concerned about which schools might be chosen.
“I was surprised the magnet schools came out high for me. I think it would take a lot of training,” she said, although she and Julie also wondered if students could travel between them if they were interested in both art and science.
Travel time was also a reconfiguration issue: Margaret suggested, to wide agreement, that the board remember “the length of time a kid is on a bus.”
Several wondered why the Mount Abe facility’s expensive needs were not being included in the reconfiguration discussion.
“It’s not being addressed in here at all what it will cost to fix this facility,” said Erica, a Bristol mother of two.
Diane said a regional high school in tandem with Addison Northwest could be considered, and that the board must do more to reach out to low-income and elderly residents who do not attend the meetings. Those at the table suggested giving college or high school students the task of seeking out those residents for their input.
Leasing school space drew questions about security, but the table appreciated Katie’s idea of early childcare as a logical rental use “if we want young families to move into our area.”
Most agreed with the presentation that private-public partnerships could only go so far, and that note highlighted for some a frustrating element in the discussion.
“It’s all about the money,” Margaret said.
Julie didn’t rule out supporting reconfiguration, but said she didn’t want her and other children to lose what they had at Beeman Elementary.
“We absolutely love it,” Julie said. “I just want that community feeling no matter what happens. Community schools does not mean keeping five schools open. Community schools means feeling good.”
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at [email protected]
Gas tanker fire on Route 7 cuts internet in county
No one injured when natural gas tanker explodes near Dakin Farm in Ferrisburgh.
Homepage Featured News
Local barber caps happy 65 years of plying his trade
Joe DeGray on May 24 reluctantly hung up his barber scissors and shears at the tender age … (read more)
Middlebury College sends off 610 graduates
Clear blue skies, vibrant green foliage and a sea of black caps on Sunday made for a pictu … (read more)


|Publication number||US6429578 B1|
|Application number||US 09/236,596|
|Publication date||Aug 6, 2002|
|Filing date||Jan 26, 1999|
|Priority date||Jan 26, 1999|
|Also published as||US20020149305, WO2001059478A1|
|Publication number||09236596, 236596, US 6429578 B1, US 6429578B1, US-B1-6429578, US6429578 B1, US6429578B1|
|Inventors||Mats Danielsson, Anders Brahme|
|Original Assignee||Mats Danielsson, Anders Brahme|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (8), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (63), Classifications (12), Legal Events (10)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention relates to a general X-ray and electron imaging device, particularly useful for verification, control and optimization of radiation treatment of cancer as well as for applications like diagnostic X-rays, non-destructive testing and screening of containers and vehicles in airports and in customs. More particularly it relates to a detector system with high efficiency over a wide range of photon and electron energies, from diagnostic X-rays starting from the low energies of a few keV all the way up to a hundred MeV, i.e. energies that are of interest and used in radiation therapy or for imaging of large and/or dense objects.
Real time electronic detectors have during the last 30 years revolutionized many areas of X-ray imaging. This includes diagnostic modalities like computed tomography for detailed imaging of the human head and body as well as image intensifiers and video techniques for imaging of the cardiovascular system and for airport security. There are several advantages with real time electronic detectors including improved detection efficiency, wider dynamic range and instantaneous response. Digital images also allow immediate display, electronic storage, diagnosis through telecommunication and computer-aided detection, on-one image enhancement and diagnosis. In spite of the obvious advantages with digital imaging it has turned out to be very hard to replace current film-screen combinations in applications demanding high spatial resolution over large areas, in particular when constraints like high tolerance to radiation damage and reasonable cost are added. Despite its advantages film has a number of disadvantages such as low efficiency, limited dynamic range, noise and the need for chemical development.
The working principle of the present range of electronic detectors is that photons transmitted through the irradiated object are converted to electrons through electromagnetic interactions. Those electrons are in some devices collected directly by dedicated sensors or they are guided through some fluorescent material where secondary light is created and this light is in turn detected by a sensor like e.g. a CCD. In imaging devices for higher X-ray energies, a special converter is added in front of the detector to increase the probability for electromagnetic interaction of the X-rays. This is needed to increase the efficiency of the devices since higher energy X-rays are much more penetrating and would otherwise pass the detector undetected. The converter is usually made as a thin plate of some heavy metal like copper or iron, but molybdenum, chromiun or tungsten are equally suitable. In principle any material could be used, but the efficiency of the device will increase with increasing atomic number. Thus, an atomic number greater than 20 is preferable.
For the purpose of this application the term “electromagnetic interactions” should be taken to encompass all physical interactions between photons and matter that causes generation of at least an electron, i.e. via Compton effect, pair-production or photo electric effect.
The term “conversion” is meant to encompass any process involving a photon, wherein some or all of the energy of that photon is transferred to some other corpuscle and wherein a free electron is produced as a result of said energy transfer. Thus, a “converter” is any device capable of producing this effect. It could simply be a gas enclosed in a volume, wherein incident photons interact with the gas in the photo-electric effect to produce electrons. It can also be a sheet or other type of structure of a solid material, in which electrons are generated via the Compton effect or by pair production (electron—positron generation).
“Amplification” is to be construed as a process where one electron interacts with atoms or molecules of a gas thereby causing ionization thereof to produce a plurality of electrons and “holes” (positive gas ions). Thus, “amplification” is meant to encompass both primary ionization regardless of whether there is an electric field present or not, as well as the well known avalanche fenomenon that occurs in electric fields of the order of 104 V/m or more.
Thus, an “amplifier” will encompass any structure that causes such “amplification” it could e.g. simply be a gas enclosed in a volume where incident electrons will interact with the gas, or a more complex device where an electric field is generated.
Radiation therapy and surgery remain the main modalities for cancer cure in the industrialized world. Radiation therapy is used for more than half of the new cancers with permanent cradication of the tumor without severe complications in more than half of the cases. The radiation dose is delivered to the patient in different fractions, one fraction a day over a period of a couple of weeks. Alignment of the radiation field relative to the tumor is of paramount importance. The alignment has to be particularly accurate when intensity modulation is used and the tumor is close to sensitive organs like the spinal cord. Positioning errors should by no means exceed 2 to 5 mm depending on treatment site. Monitoring and controlling the treatment with a detector behind the patient is usually referred to as portal imaging. More recently, it has been shown that a correction of the patient set-up using the information from an Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) increases the probability of a complication free tumor cure in the order of 10%. However, as already indicated, film still remains the most common tool for verification and quality control of the treatment and is used in more than 90% of the cases. The EPID's has proven valuable since digital images allow electronic storage and processing of the data. They also in principle enable an on-line control and verification of the treatment even if this is difficult because of the low efficiency of the present EPID's and the corresponding relatively long times for data acquisition. They also facilitate an adaptive real time control during the course of delivery of the different fractions of the treatment. In portal imaging, it is obvious that the detectors need to be highly radiation tolerant and this is a severe constraint one has to take into account when designing the detector.
There are two main types of EPID systems available commercially today: One is a mirror-based video system and the second is an electronically scanned liquid-ionization chamber system. In both cases, the incident photons are converted to electrons with an efficiency of about 5%-8% through interactions in a metal plate, typically 1.5 mm of copper. If the metal is made thicker, scattering of the electrons in secondary reactions is becoming a problem and electrons will stop in the metal. The typical range for 1 MeV electrons in Cu is less than 0.7 mm. This range is approximately proportional to the energy of the electrons. This puts a fundamental limit on the obtainable efficiency for these devices. Both approaches have proven valuable in localizing the patient in the radiation field and verification of the radiation therapy. A major drawback is that the contrast and quality of the resulting images only makes the bone structure visible and not internal organs and the tumor itself, the exact position of these organs remains unknown. The only way of being sure about these positions would be diagnostic X-ray images taken with the patient in the actual treatment position, without movement of the patient and right before the actual treatment starts since any movement would cause change in position of the internal organs. Unfortunately existing EPID's are almost insensitive to X-rays of diagnostic energies.
The main specific drawback with the video system is its low efficiency due to loss of photons in the process of de-magnifying the fluorescent screen through a mirror, lens or fiber optic taper to the camera. This efficiency is in fact less than 0.01%. Another problem is the inherent bulkiness of the system that may hamper patient set-up and make them difficult to use in machines with beam stoppers to stop the radiation beam after passing the patient.
In the liquid-ionization chamber the pixels are scanned by a switched high voltage one row at a time and the currents from the pixels are read out by a row of 256 electrometers, the whole detector consist of an array of 256×256 pixels with a spacing of 1.27 mm. This generates a current of typically 50 pA and the noise is around 0.5 pA. The liquid is integrating the created charge for around 0.5 s and it takes around 5 s to get an image. The drop in efficiency due to the scanning is thus a factor 10. Limitations are long-time stability of the ultra-clean liquid and pick-up due to the high-voltage switching.
The most promising emerging EPID seems to be amorphous silicon arrays. They have been developed since around 1990 but are not yet a commercial product. Advantages compared to the video system are much better optical coupling (around 50%) between the fluorescent screen and the detector since the array is positioned in close proximity to the screen and there is no demagnification. Each pixel is controlled by an a-Si transistor, one row of pixels is gated at a time, and the accumulated charge is amplified by a row of preamplifiers and digitized by a 12 bit ADC. Amorphous silicon has the advantage that it can be deposited over large areas but is not ideal for fabrication of transistors; the ON resistance usually exceeds mega-ohms and this slows down the readout of the charge. In spite of enormous investments from the flat-panel display industry it is not trivial to manufacture large arrays without defects and the cost for a large instrumented a-Si array for X-ray imaging (˜25×25 cm2 size) is very high. The efficiency is also for this device limited by the fact that only 6%-8% of the incident photons interacts at all in the detector.
The trend in radiation therapy is towards conformal intensity modulated treatments and hyperfractionation that reduces the dose per treatment field. This increases the demands on the EPID in terms of efficiency, high quality image for alignment checks should be obtained at dose levels of 0.01 Gy corresponding to an image acquisition time of 0.25 s at a dose rate of 2 Gy per minute. For a total dose for the field of 1 Gy this means the treatment maybe aborted at radiation levels of less than 1% of the single field dose in case of misalignment. The intended set-up may be documented through either a simulator or a digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR), which has been reconstructed for a certain beam set-up using computed tomography. Potentially this will enable computer-aided on-line detection of misalignments of the radiation field.
If one compares the EPID to for example an upgrade in accelerator equipment for the treatment unit the cost for an EPID would be less than 0.15 M$ while a new accelerator would cost about 2 M$. Since a portal imager would have very significant impact on estimated benefits for the patient in terms of increased probability of eradicating the tumor, it is in reality a very cost-effective device compared to other investments. If the effect on the outcome of the treatment is 10%, this corresponds to about 1,5 million more patients saved in the U.S. per year.
Thus, there is still a strong need in this field for a detection means that allows an adaptive real time control during the course of delivery of radiation during treatment. In addition, it would be advantageous if the same detection system could be used for both low and high-energy photons, such that for quality control purposes in medical care, a high quality image could be obtained before therapeutic irradiation begins. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if there need be no physical shift or replacement of the detection unit between high and low energy detection, i.e. the detector units should not need to be moved or damaged due to exposure to high energy radiation.
These objects are achieved with a device, method and system as defined in the appended claims.
In particular the present invention in a preferred embodiment concerns detectors comprising a plurality of amplifier and converter stages.
The spatial resolution is determined by the pixel pitch, which will be around 1 mm in the prototype detector, but could be taylored to suit the application in question. This is not a very competitive resolution for diagnostic medical imaging but is sufficiently high for portal imaging. The portal imager according to the invention will also be used as a detector for diagnostic X-rays. It may not be the optimum detector for this task but it will provide valuable additional high-contrast images to correct for internal displacements of sensitive organs as well as the target with the patient in the actual treatment position. To use separate X-ray detectors for all these tasks is impractical. With some modifications the system can also be used for precision dosimetry and current mapping of therapeutic radiation fields. It can thus be used to optimize the dose delivery with different radiation treatment units and techniques.
A particular advantage with a preferred embodiment of the detection system according to the present invention is that it allows the contrast of images produced to be optimized to a high degree and also makes it possible to determine the elemental composition of different parts of the object. This is achieved by the provision of gain control for each individual amplifier in the stack, whereby detection of photons can be discriminated between high and low energies.
Further advantages with the invention are:
1) Possibility of an order of magnitude higher efficiency compared to present detectors for high energy X-rays due to use of multiple conversion layers in combination with efficient collection of the signals from each conversion layer. The integral signals from all the individual layers are detected by one single matrix of sensors.
2) A high signal to noise ratio due to the amplification of the signal in the gas.
3) High radiation resistant since no active electronics need to be directly exposed to the beam, if desired.
4) Very fast parallel read-out enabling acquisition of the whole image matrix in less than 3 ms, if desired.
5) The energy response of the detector can be changed simply by altering the potential on the different electrodes.
6) Rugged design where the amplification is geometrically stable but adjustable.
7) Highly efficient over a wide range of energies. This enables the combination of an detector for diagnostic and therapeutic X-rays in one single device by using a thin entrance window and gas volume on top of the first converter layer. If a diagnostic X-ray tube is inserted above the patient a high contrast diagnostic X-ray image could be obtained right before the treatment starts and thus the exact position of any organs and the tumor itself could be determined.
8) Energy sensitive if desired. This makes it possible to optimize the contrast for any given imaging task and also opens the possibility to determine the elemental composition of the object. This energy sensitivity also enables dual-energy imaging in the sense that it is possible to determine not only the X-ray attenuation in the object but also the different elements the object consist of by comparing images with different weighting of low and high energy X-rays.
9) The invention also offers the possibility to weight the information from X-rays of different energies in such a way that the contrast in the resulting image is optimized for the object of interest.
FIG. 1a is a perpective view of a basic embodiment of a detecor according to the invention;
FIG. 1b is a schematic top view of a charge collector according to the invention;
FIG. 1c is a schematic side view of a stack of converters on top of a charge collector;
FIG. 2a is a schematic view of a GEM structure suitable for use with the invention;
FIG. 2b shows equipotential lines for a biased structure as shown in FIG. 2a;
FIG. 3 is a schematic overview of a preferred embodiment of a detector unit according to the invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the detector comprising a mesh structure;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a charge collector according to the invention;
FIG. 6 schematically shows a set-up for radiation therapy;
FIG. 7a illustrates an alternative structure for a further embodiment of the detector according to the invention;
FIG. 7b shows schematically equipotential lines for biased structure of FIG. 7a;
FIG. 8 illustrates schematically a set-up for cargo screening; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic overview of still another preferred embodiment of a detector unit according to the invention.
The basic principle behind the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1a and b showing the most general embodiment of a detector according to the invention.
This figure shows an X-ray to e converter 100 in the form of a sheet 102 of a heavy metal, e.g. Cu, about 1.5 mm thick. Below this converter there is an air gap 104 of about 1 mm, and at the bottom there is a multi-layer PCB 106 (Printed Circuit Board) (described more in detail with reference to FIG. 5 below). Briefly it comprises pads 107 b, 1 mm2, distributed over the surface of a polymer board, and connected to ASIC inputs 108 positioned at the edges of the PCB (see FIG. 1b).
X-rays on the converter sheet 102 will generate electrons in the metal, exiting into the air gap 104. The negatively charged electrons will ionize the gas, and the electron signal will be amplified through an avalanche in the gas if the field in the gap 104 is 104 V/m or higher. The secondary electrons will be collected on the electrode pads at ground potential. If there is a gas volume above the converter sheet 102 and the top cover (not shown) is made essentially transparent to diagnostic X-ray energies, the device can be used as a detector for diagnostic purposes too. This requires that the converter 102 be perforated such that the electrons can be drifted through the holes 110. In addition to
If several converters are stacked the efficiency will be increased. This is shown schematically in FIG. 1c. By applying an appropriate voltage across the stack and by selecting the thickness and hole diameter appropriately for the converter sheets, it is possible to obtain avalanche amplification in the holes 110 in the perforated converter sheets 102.
Another way of achieving amplification is to provide a separate amplifier device. Several such devices are known, and one type is designated Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM).
Referring now to FIG. 2a there is shown the main component of such a GEM, generally designated 200. It is a thin composite mesh 202 acting as proportional avalanche amplifier in gas counters (U.S. patent pending, Sauli et al).
The mesh consists of a thin insulating foil 204, e.g. of Kapton®, which is metal-clad 206, 208 on both sides, a suitable metal being Cu, and perforated by a regular matrix of holes 210. The holes may be 100 μm wide. The insulating foil 204 may be 50 μm thick, the thickness of the metal cladding 206, 208 being 5 μm. This structure is located in a confinement containing a gas. This gas, when exposed to ionizing radiation of some kind, will dissociate into electrons with negative charge and corresponding ions with positive charge. If a potential difference (typically 500 V) is applied across the insulator/between the two metal clad sides of the composite mesh 202 structure, a dipole field F will develop in the holes 210, sec FIG. 2b (the lines shown are equipotential lines, and thus the filed lines are perpendicular to these lines). Electrons released by the ionization in the gas will drift towards the high field through the holes/channels 210, and will be focussed therein. The focussed electrons will then be amplified through avalanche multiplication of the electrons in the high electric field region. The amplified signal of electrons could be detected by e.g. a Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC), a Micro Strip Gas Chamber (MSGC) or a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). With a device like this amplification factors above 10000 have been reached. It is also known to combine two GEM's by arranging them in a cascade at some distance, or in electrical contact.
Devices of this kind were originally developed for the detection of ionizing radiation in high-energy physics experiments. However, as indicated previously, these known devices are also suitable for detecting X-rays of diagnostic energies up to around 100 keV through conversions in the gas. At higher energies, the probability for the X-rays to interact in the gas will decrease and the efficiency will drop towards zero.
Turning now to FIG. 3 there is shown schematically a preferred embodiment of the detector according to the invention generally designated 300.
It comprises a stack of alternating converters 302 and amplifiers 304. The entire stack is located inside a housing (not shown) containing a suitable gas, e.g. Xe, although there is a large spectrum of possible gases to choose from like other noble gases such as e.g. Ar, Ne. Also mixtures of gases are conceivable, in particular it is a standard technique to mix in a so called quencher that will make the avalanches more controllable and make the detector less prone to sparks and discharges. Examples would be CO2 or dimethylalcohol (DME). The gas or gas mixture may or may not be pressurized, or it could be provided at sub-atmospheric pressure. The higher the gas pressure, the more ionizations in the gas will take place per unit path length of a charged particle such as e.g. an electron.
The top cover 306 of the housing is preferably thin and light to maximize the number of low energy diagnostic X-rays reaching the gas volume at the top, i.e. as many of the X-ray photons as possible should be transmitted therethrough. A suitable material would be thin metal foil, e.g. Al, or the like. Other possible materials are polymers of various kinds, e.g. MYLAR®. Generally speaking materials with low atomic numbers are suitable. An at present preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention comprises as an amplifier device the above mentioned GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) (for simplicity the perforations of converters and amplifiers have been left out). At present it is believed that the use of GEM's is the best mode of operating the invention.
The other component, the converter 302, comprises a sheet of material having the ability to convert the incident photons into electrons through electromagnetic interactions. Preferably, a material with high cross-section for this reaction will be used. The converters have been positioned below each said GEM type structure. However the uppermost layer is an amplifier, for amplifing signals generated in the top gas volume 308, just below the top cover 306. In this volume low energy photons (diagnostic X-rays) will react and generate electrons.
The converter sheet 302 made of heavy metal is perforated (not shown in this figure), which are aligned with the holes (not shown) in said GEM structure. The converter sheet is preferably 0.1 mm to 1 mm thick depending on the field of application of the invention. The sheets may also be progressively thicker towards the bottom of the stack compared to the sheets in the top in order to match the higher occurrence of lower energy X-rays in the top layers relative to the bottom layers
These sheets are referred to as converter layers since the photons impinging in such a sheet will create charged particles (electrons and positrons) and the forward momentum of the photons will be transferred to the electrons, such that electrons will exit from the sheet into the gas volume 308 beneath the top cover 306. There the electrons will cause ionization of the gas and give rise to the order of 10 electron-ion pairs on average. Those electrons will be collected and multiplied in the first amplification stage 304 a. As indicated above, the amplifier in the structure may consist of said GEM type structure. The metal layers of the GEM's are biased with a voltage of typically 500 V etch. However, the voltage is variable in certain ranges such as from negative voltage (if you want to block the signal from above) up to 1000 V. By controlling the voltage certain beneficial effects are obtainable, which will be described below.
Each amplifier layer can be individually biased at a desired voltage/potential difference across the insulator with a suitable voltage source 310. This could most easily be provided by arranging a series of variable resistors 312, such that the voltage across each amplifier layer 304 simply is adjusted by adjusting the series resistance associated with that particular layer. Thus, each amplifier stage is coupled in a way such that it can be set at the desired potential by a common external voltage source. In the shown embodiment there is a resistor chain 312 a, 312 b . . . 312 o, coupled in series across the entire stack. The means for controlling the voltage across each amplifier is not critical and any other means that achieves the same result is useable within the scope of the invention. For example, each layer could of course be connected to an individual voltage source. In the shown example the external voltage across the entire stack is about 6000 V, and the voltage across each amplifier layer may be adjusted to between 0 and 1000 V.
For the top amplifier layer 304 a it is contemplated that the voltage bias for special purposes may be set to be reversed, i.e. in some cases the potential difference is set such that electrons scattered from the patient or other object and containing no relevant information, will not contribute to the signal.
GEM's would be only one possibility to achieve the desired charge collection and amplification that is needed in combination with the converter layers.
Another means of obtaining the desired charge collection and amplification would be to combine the converter layers (perforated with holes) with wire meshes 402 (see FIG. 4). The potential difference between the wire mesh 402 and the converter should be high enough to start avalanche multiplication.
This double layer structure of “converter and amplifier” can be repeated a number of times, where a practical number could be 5-8, but could also be higher, or lower, for specific applications.
At the bottom of the stack of converter and amplifier layers there is a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 314 for collecting charge and which is coupled to read-out electronics 316 that provide data to a control unit 318, e.g. a computer. The signals can be routed to the edge of the board through state of the art multi-layer PCB's (see FIG. 5 which is a schematic illustration of a charge collector according to the invention comprising a PCB), and the electronics sensitive to the radiation (such as diodes, transistors or other semiconductor devices) can thus, in accordance with the invention, be positioned at the edge outside the radiation field and can even be shielded to be protected against scattered radiation. As indicated such PCB's per se are state of the art and in FIG. 5 a PCB based charge collector 500 is shown in a perspective view.
It may comprise 20 layers of an insulator such as FR4. Between each layer there are metal conductors provided, each of which are connected to one charge collection pad 502 each through holes, metal plated on the inner circumference, said conductors extending towards the edges of the board. The pads are preferably made of Cu, Au or Al, although other metals are conceivable, and are about 0.8 mm wide and about 5 μm thick. They are made using conventional photolithografic techniques well known in the art. The pads are distributed so as to correspond to the geometry of the holes in the converter and amplifier matrices, i.e a center to center distance of about 1 mm.
The most important feature of the PCB is that there is a large number of pads 502 distributed over the board. Each pad must have its own connection to an input of e.g. an ASIC 504. If, as preferred, the ASIC's are mounted at the edges of the board, the PCB is made in a layered structure, wherein the leads connecting the pads with the electronics are drawn in respective layers. The optimum design of such a PCB is made by so called auto-routing, a standard technique well known to the skilled man in the field of printed circuit board design. Suitable software for auto-routing can be obtained from Cadence, under the trade name SPECTRA.
Other types of charge collecting means are conceivable in less radiation intense environments, e.g. an ordinary CCD. Most likely different tools to achieve the charge collection and avalanche amplification will be used for different applications, the essential idea according to the invention being the mixing of layers of converters with layers for amplification and charge collection means to achieve an efficient detector for high energy X-rays.
Instead of collecting the electrons with pads on a printed circuit board and measure the charge for each pads as the signal proportional to the number of x-ray photons (or fluence) in one pixel there are other possibilities to read out the signal for each pixel. One way is to convert the electrons to visible photons at the bottom of the detector and have the bottom transparent to those photons.
In an ordinary avalanche in the gas there is at least as many photons produced as electrons and thus the photons may be produced in an amplifier at the bottom of the detector. Another way of producing the photons is to have the electrons incident on a fluorescent screen at the bottom of the detector where the electrons will induce emission of photons in this screen The photons created in any of these ways will in turn be detected by a sensor sensitive to photons such as for example a CCD. The photons may be guided to the CCD sensor through suitable optics such as mirrors and lenses.
In FIG. 6, there is shown a schematic of a set-up 600 for radiation therapy with external X-ray photons or electrons. An accelerator (not shown) is situated in a neighboring room, and a beam of electrons B is directed through collimators towards the patient's body. If X-ray photons are desirable, a suitable target 602 is placed in the electron beam at appropriate location. If electrons are desired of course, no target is used. The beam (X-rays or electrons) is swept with a modulated intensity. A portal imager 604 according to the invention may be positioned either directly below the patient or below the treatment coach, as indicated in the figure. Also, there is provided a complementary diagnostic X-ray tube 606, which is positioned above the patient. When the patient is exposed to diagnostic X-rays, the portal imaging device will function as a detector for diagnostic X-rays in the 50 keV range.
The function of a portal imaging device according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will now be described with reference to the set-up of FIG. 6 and to FIG. 3. We assume operation with photons, i.e. X-rays. Thus, for the production of therapeutic radiation, a linear accelerator is provided. It produces electrons in the energy range 1-50 MeV. These electrons are directed via suitable optics into the space where a patient to be treated is placed. A target (e.g. Be) is positioned such that the electrons impinging thereon produces X-ray photons, which are collimated and directed to the area on the patient's body where therapy and/or diagnosis is to be performed.
For diagnostic purposes, a standard X-ray tube positioned above the patient is used. The energy of such photons is around 50 keV. The photons exiting beneath the patient will impinge on the gas volume 308 at the top of the detector unit, comprising the stack of amplifiers 304 and converters 302. A significant fraction of the diagnostic X-rays will interact in this gas volume 308, mainly through the photoelectric effect. The ionization in form of electrons created by the photoelectron will be collected and amplified by the uppermost amplification structure 304 a. Almost all diagnostic X-rays remaining after passing the gas volume 308 will be stopped in the first converter 302 (intended for high energy X-rays) and will create a negligible amount of detectable ionization. This first diagnostic image can be used for aligning the patient appropriately, e.g. if there should any risk of sensitive tissues being exposed to the highly energetic therapeutic X-rays that are to follow.
In the following moment the radiation therapy beam will be turned on, if there is no need to correct the position of the patient based on the information from the diagnostic X-ray image. The gas volume 308 will be more or less transparent to those high-energy X-rays. Since the gas volume 308 may still get hit by scattered electrons from the patient that does not contain much image information, it may be preferable to e.g. put the drift field to zero in the gas volume 308 to get rid of this background noise. The majority of these electrons will stop in the first converter layer 302 a. The high-energy photons will penetrate into the stack and the photons with lower energy will predominantly convert in the top layers 302 a, b, c while the photons with relatively higher energy will dominate in the bottom layers 302 n, n-1, n-2. Secondary Compton photons will also penetrate down the stack and depending on the angle through which they are deflected, this will smear the position resolution as you go down in the stack. Since the contrast is higher for low energy photons the information content will presumably be higher in the top layers. By tuning the voltage determining the amplification for each layer it is possible to weight the contribution from the different layers to obtain a maximum contrast. It is also possible by way of comparing two images where higher and lower energy photons are weighted differently to roughly estimate the energy of the incident X-rays. From this estimate it is possible to deduce an elemental composition of the object. This may in particular be of value for non-medical applications, e.g. When looking for explosives in screening for air port security.
The attenuation of the x-rays in the object will mainly depend on the density (rho) and the atomic number (Z) of the object. Those two quantities are usually not possible to distinguish from each other, but since the dependence for each quantity is different as a function of x-ray energy this is actually possible with a detector that gives an estimate of the energy of the incident x-rays. As an example one could imagine first obtaining an image with the photons converting in the first half of the stack of converters/amplifiers weighted much higher comparing to photons converting in the second half. This will be an image predominantly made up of lower energy photons. Secondly one could register an image with the photons converting in the second half of the stack of converters/amplifiers. This will be an image consisting predominantly of higher energy photons. The number of x-ray photons detected in the two images will depend on the elemental composition of the object. This difference can be measured for different test objects of known composition. It is thus possible to calibrate the expected response for different materials. One can also compare the measurements to computer simulations of the spectrum and record images with one multiple weightings of the x-ray spectrum and compare the results to get a more detailed estimate of the elemental composition.
In FIGS. 7a-b a preferred embodiment of an amplifier/converter structure according to the present invention is disclosed, generally designated 700.
FIG. 7a is a cross section of one perforated sheet 700, forming a composite layered dipole structure, comprising holes 702 through which electrons may move. The sheet is comprised of a first (or top) metal layer 704, about 5 μm thick. This metal layer 704 has been deposited on an insulating material forming a first insulating layer 706, similar to the known GEM structure described above with reference to FIG. 2. Underneath the insulating layer 706 there is a thick metal layer 708, which is at least one order of magnitude thicker than the top metal layer, in the shown embodiment it is 150 μm thick. Below the thick metal layer 708 there is a second insulating layer 710, on which there is deposited a second (bottom) metal layer 712. The layers 710 and 712 preferably have the same compositions and thicknesses as the layers 704 and 706. The entire sheet is made by suitable known depostion methods.
When the composite sheet has been made, the holes 702 are made by etching. Being an unisotropic process, the etching will have the effect of creating “funnel” like holes, as is clearly shown in FIG. 7a. Thus, the “entrance” opening 714 for electons has a smaller diameter that the “exit” opening 716. The actual slopes of the inner walls of the holes 702 is not necessarily as shown in the figure, but will vary depending on the materials selected for the layers and on the particular etching process employed. The known GEM structure shown in FIG. 2, having a much thinner overall thickness does not exhibit such outspoken funnel-like holes. This particular structure with such “funnel”-like holes 702 has certain benefits for the purpose of the invention, which will be described below.
The structure of FIG. 7a will function as a composite amplifier/converter. Thus, as shown schematically in FIG. 7b, which is an image obtained by simulation, a voltage is applied across the entire structure such that the first (top) metal layer 704 is at approximately +300 V, the thick converter layer 708 is at approximately 100 V, and the second (bottom) metal layer 712 is at −100 V. Of course these values can vary within relatively wide limits depending on where in the stack the actual structure is situated, and what one wants to achieve in the structure in question. The lines are equipotential lines, and thus the field has a direction perpendicular to the potential curves. As can be seen in FIG. 7b there will be an electric field inside the holes 702, the density of which is highest in the upper part of the holes 702, i.e. in the region of the first insulating layer 706. By virtue of the holes “flaring” out downfield, electrons passing through the holes 702 will have less probability of diffusing into the thick metal layer 708, and thereby the efficiency of the structure becomes higher. The bottom part of the structure comprising insulating layer 710 and bottom metal layer 712, does not function as an amplifier in the sense of the corresponding structure of layers 704 and 706. Rather the function is to provide enhanced guiding of the electrons out from the holes 702 and to further prevent the potential diffusion of electrons into the converter metal layer 708. Of course by suitable selection of voltage applied also the lower part of the structure could be used for amplification purposes.
These composite dipole layered structures 700 may be arranged in the same way as shown in FIG. 3, just substituting the alternating converters 302 n and amplifiers 304 n for such a composite structure 700. A set-up for use of the embodiment of the structure shown in FIG. 7 is disclosed in FIG. 9 and generally designated 900.
Thus, a plurality of composite layered structures 902 a-d, 904 a-d is stacked above each other enclosed in a housing (not shown). A top cover 906 is provided and a gas volume 908 is formed between the top cover and the first composite structure 902 a, 904 a. At the bottom of the stack there is provided a PCB 914 having read-out electrinocs 916 connected thereto, which in turn are coupled to a control unit.
The composite structures can be individually biased at a desired voltage/potential difference across the insulator with a suitable voltage source 910, similar to the embodiment in FIG. 3. This could most easily be provided by arranging a series of variable resistors 912 a-o, such that the voltage across each amplifier 904 in the composite structure simply is adjusted by adjusting the series resistance associated with that particular layer. Thus, each amplifier stage is coupled in a way such that it can be set at the desired potential by a common external voltage source. In the shown embodiment there is a resistor chain 912 a, 912 b . . . 912 o, coupled in series across the entire stack. The means for controlling the voltage across each amplifier is not critical and any other means that achieves the same result is usable within the scope of the invention. For example, each layer could of course be connected to an individual voltage source. In the shown example the external voltage across the entire stack is about 6000 V, and the voltage across each amplifier layer may be adjusted to between 0 and 1000 V.
In FIG. 8 an application of the invention for cargo screening is shown schematically in a top view. The set-up comprises a source of X-rays 800, in the energy range up to 50 MeV, e.g. a linear accelerator. Collimators 802 are provided for collimating the X-rays. There is provided an arrangement for scanning/sweeping the beam over a relatively large area, indicated schematically by arrows S. Furthermore there is provided a detector 804 according to the invention, arranged such there will be a space 806 between the radiation source 800, 802 and the detector 804, large enough for a large object, such as a lorry 808 to be positioned therebetween. Because the detector can be made only in a limited size, there is provided means for moving the detector in an X-Y plane such that when the radiation beam has scanned one area corresponding to the size of the detector, it can be moved so as to cover a previously unscanned area (the movement of the detector is indicated by arrows M). In operation of the system a large cargo carrying object, such as a container, truck, trailer etc, will be positioned in the space 806 between an X-ray source and a detector according to the invention. The radiation will be turned on and the interior of the object can be checked for its content, in relatively short time. As an alternative to move the detector, the entire object could be moved. A truck or other vehicle could e.g. be moved by its own engine.
The invention having thus been described, it should be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which is defined by the appended claims.
For example, the detector can be used to study dose distributions. This can be done in air or in a so called water phantom, which is a simulation of body tissue. For such applications the material in the detectors are selected to mimic body tissue, i.e. polymers having carbon and nitrogen contents similar to that of living tissue.
Also, it is conceivable to use the device for imaging during electron therapy. In such a case of course the converter would not be operable since the therapeutic electrons themselves are detected.
It is also to be understood that the detector may be optimized by a skilled man for other types of particles, such as neutrons, protons, atomic nuclei of various kinds etc.
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|U.S. Classification||313/105.0CM, 250/374, 250/385.1, 313/103.0CM|
|Cooperative Classification||H01J47/02, A61N2005/1054, G01T1/185, A61N5/1048|
|European Classification||A61N5/10E, G01T1/185, H01J47/02|
|Oct 1, 2004||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: RAY THERAPY IMAGING AB, SWEDEN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:DANIELSSON, MATS;BRAHME, ANDERS;REEL/FRAME:015201/0679
Effective date: 20040927
|Feb 22, 2006||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Aug 7, 2006||REIN||Reinstatement after maintenance fee payment confirmed|
|Oct 3, 2006||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20060806
|Dec 7, 2006||FPAY||Fee payment|
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Thanks. So if a suit is filed, THEN how quickly could this NC court act?
It is stunning to me that the legislature has zero respect for our system of government. The court absolutely has the right and duty to interpret the constitution as it has faithfully done here, but this body would instead substitute it's will for the proper judgment of the court. There seems to be no honor among these lawmakers. Just shameful.
Last edited by maestro pistolero; May 26, 2012 at 06:21 PM.


text:
In the beginning, there was a confirmation.
Shortly thereafter, a release date and gameplay details emerged from
The newly developed screens were joined by boxart for the Japanese version of the game, which sort of reminded us of Pokémon Trozei!'s box, and a Japanese release date: September 11th.
So goes the ongoing story of the evolution of Spore Creatures.
Gallery: Spore Creatures

domain: entertainment


text:
The intense, rich colors of this print are so compelling. This is a work of art you'll be proud to display in your home or office. Sold un-matted and unframed. Image is 18" W x 10" H and is suitable for framing. This a limited edition print of 50.
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection.

domain: artistic


text:
Spurs face battle with City, United, Chelsea and Liverpool for Portugal star Moutinho
A host of Premier League clubs are ready to do battle for the signature of Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho.
Prospective new Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas wants the 25-year-old to become his first White Hart Lane signing by replacing the outgoing Luka Modric.
Euro star: Moutinho impressed in Poland and Ukraine
But Villas-Boas, who signed Moutinho for Porto back in 2010, will have to convince the player to chose Spurs over Champions League trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Liverpool are also interested in the former Sporting Lisbon man, who impressed at Euro 2012 before Portugal's semi-final elimination at the hands of Spain.
Moutinho has a £40million buy-out clause in his contract, and Porto are thought to want around £32m for their star man.
Most watched Sport videos
- Nathan Redmond takes hilarious tumble in England training
- Canelo Alvarez clocked over 200mph in 'race to Monaco'
- Chelsea players train ahead of Europa League final
- Sterling on racism in soccer: 'Harder punishment is needed'
- Arsenal's Mezut Ozil shows seriously ill little boy around his home
- Mkhitaryan trains despite plans to miss Europa League final
- Carling reveals Townsend as winner of its 'goal of the season'
- Niki Lauda dies: Formula One stars pay tribute to three-time champion
- Nick Kyrgios posts bizarre rant over French Open on Instagram live
- Vincent Kompany and players celebrate season with trophy parade
- Manchester City players celebrate season with trophy parade
- UEFA release ticket prices ahead of Euro 2020 tournament

domain: sports


text:
Shatta Wale Narrates How Sarkodie Helped Him From Grass To Grace (Rhapperholic Concert
Friends Turned Foes Shatta Movement CEO Shatta Wale Narrates how former friend Sarkodie, Sarkcess Music boss to be the first artiste to give him opportunity to platfrom on a good stage.
In an interview titled Shatta Story – A Look into the life of the king of african dancehall Shatta Wale stated that he had a chance to perform on a good stage which gave him much attention
Watch the Video below
Still Shatta Wale went ahead to say Sarkodie endorsed him to the continent and people realized the name Shatta Wale
Watch Video underneath


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Global Healthy Living Foundation
515 North Midland Avenue
Upper Nyack, New York 10960 USA
+1 845 348 0400
+1 845 340 0210 fax
March 13, 2021 — The non–profit Global Healthy Living Foundation’s free COVID-19 Patient Support Program for people living with chronic disease(s) represents tens of thousands of members who have unique questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine and navigating the pandemic because of their underlying health issues and/or medications. Following the news that federal health agencies called for a pause in administering injections of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine due to rare, but serious side effects, we immediately heard from our members seeking advice and support.
GHLF continues to support and encourage COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
We believe that the actions taken by our federal agencies are an important reminder that the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and other safety measures are working as intended. It is important to track and study potential adverse events, even when they are rare. GHLF encourages everyone to keep their vaccination appointments in accordance with public health recommendations and to speak with their health care provider if they have specific questions about their health history and vaccination.
Vaccination protects individuals and our public health. Combined with the three Ws: Wearing a Mask, Watching Your Distance, and Washing Your Hands, vaccination helps us protect each other and will hasten the end of the devasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GHLF will monitor the review of Johnson & Johnson data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and continue to provide science-backed information and advice to chronic disease community to make sure they can make informed health care decisions. For more information about the GHLF CVOID-19 Patient Support Program, visit www.ghlf.org


Addis Ababa ENA July 23/2019 With the fast growing demand for its multipurpose services, The Ethio-Djibouti Railway Corporation is planning to double its freight and passenger service trips.
In an Exclusive interview with ENA, EDR Director-General, Engineer Tilahun Sarka said the railway is registering remarkable achievements both with the freighter and commuter services and will continuously scale it up.
He added that reducing the travel time both with the freighter and passenger trains is considered as an outstanding achievement of the country.
Ethio-Djibouti Railway targets to achieve Ethiopia’s 85 percent freighter facility, Engineer Tilahun stated, adding that “most of all transporting commodities on time and avoiding demurrage has paid off.”
“We are working to transport 40 to 50 percent of what is now being transported by trucks. That means we will have four freight train trips daily from Addis Ababa to Djibouti instead of two trips under current practice,” the Director-General pointed out.
He noted that the two freight train transports 212 containers in one trip only within 11 hours. The same amount was being transported using about 100 trucks and arriving in three days.
Mentioning statistics show that Ethiopia imports about 13 million tons of commodities through Djibouti, Tilahun stressed “this is of paramount importance and huge capacity building to the nation.”
Speaking of the passenger train, he said that EDR has transported about 150,000 commuters in 2018 and attained 700 million birr while planning to double it.
“We never consider it as another country when the train travels to Djibouti. Therefore, this can be taken as exemplary for the socio-economic and political relationships of both country,” Tilahun noted.
Djiboutian commuters appreciated the services rendered by Ethio-Djibouti Railway Corporation that commenced its standard gauge electrified railway operation back in January 1, 2018.
Haren Mohammed, who was traveling from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, lauded the train’s time efficiency helping him reach home sooner than what took him before.
“We think that the relationship between Ethiopia and Djiboutian is so good that the train is fast and I want to say thank you for this thing. Of course we are traveling with this train ….. We did not face any problems and it is safe of course,” he elaborated.
According to him, the train is providing a good opportunity in transporting commercial commodities in a faster time frame.
Another passenger who used the train to Djibouti for the third time, Moussa Abdi Hussein, said that the train is quite important as it provides good and relaxed accommodation while on journey.
“This train is a good chance for the peoples of the two nations to meet every now and then with in a cost effective way,” Moussa added.
Furthermore, he pointed out that he prefers traveling by the EDR train than by plane or bus because it feels safe in terms of security and with comfortable accommodations.
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway, which reduce traveling time between Addis Ababa and the capital Djibouti from three days to 12 hours, was built with an outlay of 4.2 billion USD.


Travis Scott made his first public performance Saturday night since the Astroworld tragedy in November.
La Flame headlined E11EVEN, where his set started around 3 a.m. He performed for about 45 minutes, including his hits, such as “Sicko Mode,” “Antidote,” “Pick Up The Phone,” and “Goosebumps.”
A TMZ report states that toward the end of the set, Travis brought Quavo out to perform for “Dubai Sh*t.”
Travis has performed since Astroworld, but only at private events up until this point. The rapper is set to perform at the Primavera Sound Festival, where he is slated to be one of the headliners.


Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL is Candybar, Touchscreen, Tablet PC Android Tablet PC from Asus which runs on Android OS, v7.1 (Nougat). Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL is available in Black color. Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL has 7.9 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display.
Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL is powered by Octa-core (4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4x1.4 GHz Cortex-A53) CPU, Qualcomm MSM8976 Snapdragon 652 (28 nm) Chipset and Adreno 510 GPU along with 64 GB Storage and 4 GB RAM or 32 GB Storage and 3 GB RAM.
Additional features of Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL are 24-bit/192kHz audio, DTS sound, DTS headphone X. Asus Zenpad 3s 8.0 Z582KL has GPRS, EDGE, 3G, WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS connectivity options on board.
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Resort Jobs in HI
Minimum of one year restaurant experience. Location: Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Join the team of dedicated employees at Four Seasons Resort Maui at…
Dive Master or higher scuba certification. The Dive Technician is an hourly role and will serve as primary support for all Animal Programs dive activities,…
*Are you looking for a fun place to work where you can meet people from across the US and the world in an upscale resort?*. *Are you responsible and reliable?*.
Must have minimum of 1 years cooking experience, preferably in hotel/resort setting. Location: Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
The resort, a Hawaiian classic beckons as a spectacular 50-acre ocean front resort, open courtyards, lush gardens and pristine pools. This is the Hyatt Touch.

domain: travel


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USL Exhibits at ASNT NDT of Composites
5th May 2017
Discuss the latest in automated NDT
Ultrasonic Sciences will be exhibiting at the upcoming ASNT NDT of Composites event taking place in Seattle from the 9th to the 10th May 2017 at the Doubletree Seattle Airport / Southcenter.
Paul Hillman will be on hand to discuss the latest in automated inspection of composite structures including robotic and cartesian based squirter systems. Come and discuss your applications with us.
Find out more about automated systems for aerospace inspection here.
To find out more about the ASNT event please click here.


Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
NBA star point guard Kyrie Irving decided on Monday to exercise his ‘player option’ and will stay with the Brooklyn Nets next season with an astronomical salary of $37 million dollars.
Irving, who had the interest of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks, decided to finally complete his four-year stint on the Netsaccording to “The Athletic”.
“Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different take us into the future. I made my decision to stay. see you in autumn“, assured Irving to the aforementioned medium.
Irving, 30, had until Wednesday to exercise his “player option.”
The base He barely played 29 games in the 2021-2022 regular season, as he refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and the health mandate then in force in New York to contain the spread of the pandemic prevented him from playing the games at home.
When he did compete, he averaged 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
Irving played only 103 games in his experience with the Nets, also due to a series of physical problems.
In his career, the point guard was an NBA champion in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and also played for the Boston Celtics.
– Puerto Rican JJ Barea will play his last game this Monday to retire from basketball after a 17-year career
– Kevin Durant to the Portland Trail Blazers? They reveal evidence of a latent transfer from Brooklyn [Foto]
– Bombshell in the NBA: Devin Booker would have ended his relationship with Kendall Jenner


Catalysts number 6Q0178AB/6Q0131701D are characterized by small size. Their length is only 26 cm, and the weight of the contribution is 0.64 kg. They have an extremely symmetrical construction. The middle part, filled with a ceramic insert, is the widest and has a round shape. On the sides are the inlet and outlet. This catalyst is used, among others, by the Škoda brand in the Fabia I model with the 1.4 engine from 2003.
Fabia is a small car produced by Škoda Auto. It was officially presented at the 58th Frankfurt Motor Show on September 14, 1999. Initially available as a five-door hatchback. The car was introduced as the successor of Škoda Felicia, despite the fact that both models were produced for a long time in parallel. Less than a year after the hatchback, the Fabia was introduced with a station wagon, and a sedan joined the body range in 2001. In 2007, the second generation of hatchback was presented at the Geneva Motor Show, ending production of its first generation. The second Combi series was introduced six months later. In the second generation, the production of the sedan was abandoned. The cars were produced in Mladá Boleslav. In April 2007, the production tape left the two-millionth Škoda Fabia, and in May 2012, a 3-millionth car. At the beginning of October 2014, the third generation was presented during the Paris Motor Show, and in 2018 a facelift was decided.
Škoda Fabia I
Sales began on the European market in December 1999. In 2000, it passed the Euro NCAP crash test, which resulted in four stars. The estate model was introduced in the autumn of 2000. A year later, a sedan appeared in Geneva. Already in 2004, a millionth copy was sold in April, and after a large success, in the summer of the same year, the sale of the sports version RS was launched. In August, the first facelift was carried out, as a result of which the car was equipped with a new front bumper with round fog lamps, “tails” on the rear lights, a third headrest and a three-point seat belt for the rear central seat. New steering wheels (from the second generation of Octavia) were also prepared, new seat covers and small parts modernized.
The sale of the first generation hatchback was completed on April 13, 2007, while the production of other versions of the body lasted for some time.
- Hatchback (from December 1999)
- Combi (from 2000)
- Sedan (from 2001)
- Praktic – utility vehicle
- Junior – the lowest level of equipment, introduced in 2001, offered with a hatchback body, the car had only one liter engine (later replaced by a 1.2-liter engine), thirteen-inch wheels, no power steering, and the characteristic feature was unpainted bumpers.
- Comfort – after facelift replaced by Ambiente
- RS – sport version
- Practic – a utility version of Fabia, which was created from a station wagon, introduced in January 2002. It had only two places behind which there was a grille. The rear windows were covered.
There are also limited versions:
Styl version – This edition was created in 2002. It was offered in both hatchback and combi versions, with 1.4 MPI (50 and 44 kW) engines and 1.9 SDI 47 kW engines. The edition tried to combine rich equipment with an affordable price. The interior was made in black onyx with mystic upholstery fabrics. Only for this version was offered a metallic color. The basic equipment included a chromed package (shift lever, handbrake fuse, interior door handles and door locks), rear split seats, Symphony CD radio, 8 speakers, rear door panels, central keylock and steel 15 “wheels, front fog lights, 2 front airbags, reclining headrests and even a tire maintenance spray!
Fresh edition – This model was based on the Junior model and was offered for all three bodies. He was characterized by varnished bumpers and power steering.
Marathon – the edition available only for the estate was sold in the summer of 2002. Compared to the original Classic version, it offered 2 front airbags, electric control of windshields, exterior mirrors painted in the color of the car, electric boot (12V), control of the fuel tank cover from the driver’s seat, central lock, radio with cassette player and eight loudspeakers , ABS system and on-board computer. The black interior has been decorated with a new red Starchip upholstery.
Attractive – the version was available only in metallic colors. In addition to the default equipment from the Classic version, there were 2 front airbags, electric controls for the windshields, exterior mirrors in the color of the car and warning lights in the door panels. The car also had built-in textile carpets, a Škoda radio with a cassette player and eight speakers, a central keylock, a chromed dashboard on-board computer, front fog lights and a tire repair spray.
Škoda Fabia RS
Škoda Fabia RS is a variant derived from the hatchback version. It premiered in March 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show. The car has a versatile external appearance in a slightly sporty style.
The front bumper with an integrated spoiler is moved forward and shaped in the WRC style. The Fabia RS had a powerful turbocharged 1.9 TDI-PD diesel engine (96 kW / 130 hp) with pump nozzle technology under the hood. In combination with a 6-speed manual transmission, it not only provides powerful drive, but also better operational efficiency. It was in production until 2007. 21 551 copies were introduced to the market.
The price of the model without promotion in our purchase can be found here.


Miami … no bueno. I borderline hate that place and it all stems from events having to do with courts. Back in 1995, a PR firm revealed via fax that my beloved New York Knickerbockers no longer had a head coach. He snuck out without holla’n at us, then he turns up as head coach of the Miami franchise, word?! Why?
Whatever, it’s on from now until whenever! We won many battles against them, but as history shows, the Heat got the better of the situation with two world championships with Pat Riley at the helm. In 2013, the pages have turn, betcha that. Go Melo!
Before that, we looked at Miami for incidents that were taking place in courts of law regarding rap music. Back in 1990, when hip-hop was coming into its own creatively, along comes the album “As Nasty as They Wanna Be,” from the Miami collective 2 Live Crew. A U.S. district judge deemed that album obscene and illegal to sell. Granted, the hip-hop community banned together for their right to get things off their chest, but to be honest, they were kinda wack … well, “kinda” is being generous.
Almost a quarter century later, here we go again in the form of the “Bawse” (pronounced “boss”), Rick Ross. Presently, he sits near the very top of the commercial rap hierarchy, and since he landed there, he’s had his share of challenges: shootings, health issuses, jail, rap feuds, court cases, et al.
Last week, a new twist was added to the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll lifestyle, as Ross was taken to task for a lyric of a song he guested on. Not lost behind the beat or flow were the words, “Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it. I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.”
“Molly” is a purer form of the drug ecstasy. Some view it as the ultimate aphrodisiac, but aside from stimulating amorous feelings, hallucinogenic effects also occur, meaning you’re horny and high. So in essence, he’s saying slipping an additive to have his way sexually with someone rendered defenseless is how he gets down and it’s cool to do. That has a dirty name.
Sadly, however, fans of rap music have grown numb to these lyrics, claiming to have heard worse. Meek Mills, an artist signed to Ross’ label, Maybach Music Group, defended his mentor recently by offering to a publication called the Urban Informer, “I don’t even care about nobody criticizing no lyrics. People rap about killing stuff all day. Biggie said, ‘Rape your kid. Throw her over the bridge.’ It was nothing, it was just hip-hop.”
Mills added, “It’s an imaginary visual. If a writer writes about somebody getting raped in a movie, that means he’s a rapist or he want girls to get raped? No, he just wrote about that in a movie.”
Ross compounded the situation by making a pair of two separate disingenuous, halfhearted apologies. He said to New Orleans radio station Q93, “I would never use the term ‘rape’ in my records, in my lyrics. And as far as my camp, hip-hop don’t condone that, the streets don’t condone that, nobody condones that.”
Ross also has a message for his female fans: “I just want to reach out to all my queens that are on my timeline, all the sexy ladies, the beautiful ladies that have been reaching out to me with the misunderstanding: We don’t condone rape, and I’m not with that.” A few days later via Twitter, he offered, “I don’t condone rape. Apologies for the lyric interpreted as rape. Apologies to my many business partners, who would never promote violence against women.”
One of those partners is Reebok. Last week, the group Ultraviolet delivered a petition of 72,000 to the Reebok NY flagship store calling for the brand to sever ties with Ross as a spokesperson. This week, the group increased the pressure by adding more than 150 survivors of sexual assault to the table in an open letter to Reebok demanding Ross’ removal for what they took as bragging about drugging and raping a woman and for his subsequent non-apologies that blamed everyone but himself for the controversy.
To accompany the new letter, Ultraviolet members have launched a combined phone, Twitter and online ad push targeting the company with upwards of 10,000 calls into Reebok (with over 8,500 already made), tweets to @Reebok (with more than 2,000 already sent) and a Facebook ad and comment campaign targeting Reebok customers.
“As a survivor of rape, I’m appalled with Reebok’s use of their brand to promote rape, and I am fed up with being told what counts or does not count as rape by both Reebok and Rick Ross,” said Wagatwe Wanjuke, the author of the letter who works on reproductive health issues in New York City. “We will not give up until Reebok drops Ross, and we urge them to issue an apology to their customers and to survivors of rape who have been hurt by their brand’s message.”
How ironic is it that his last CD was titled “God Forgives, I Don’t” and that the Teflon Don offered an apology? Looks like Reebok may have great arch support, but your Achilles heel, the almighty dollar, is exposed, my dude. Even bosses have a code.
Over and out. Holla next week. Until then, enjoy the nightlife.


text:
Massachusetts launches program to advance women
BOSTON (AP) -- The state is funding a program to provide at least a dozen yearlong graduate fellowships to place women in state managerial jobs with the aim of jump starting their careers.
The program, expected to cost about $1 million in its first year, follows recent studies that show Massachusetts isn’t keeping pace with other states when it comes to women in leadership posts.
Gov. Deval Patrick told The Boston Globe that in a compettive global economy it’s critical the state prepares everyone to contribute.
The fellowship, to be formally announced Wednesday, is being developed with Bentley University’s Center for Women in Business. Many details are still being worked out, but state officials hope to begin accepting applications by the end of April, and placing fellows in full salary jobs by September.
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domain: economics