Guide for a typewriter

The invention relates to accessories for typewriters, and more particularly to an improved guide for use in aligning a sheet of paper preparatory to an application of typed indicia to selected spaces. The device includes an aligning plate pivotally mounted on a line guide having formed therein a plurality of aligned apertures. The plate is so positioned that an aperture is positioned immediately above a target area for a type slug so that a slug will imprint a character in selected spaces

Where did Words Come from? A Linking Theory of Sound Symbolism and Natural Language Evolution

Where did words come from? The traditional view is that the relation between the sound of a word and its meaning is arbitrary. An alternative hypothesis, known as sound symbolism, holds that form-meaning correspondence is systematic. Numerous examples of sound symbolism exist across natural language phyla. Moreover, cross-linguistic similarities suggest that sound symbolism represents a language universal. For example, many unrelated languages affix an "ee" sound to words in order to emphasize size distinctions or express affection (e.g., look at the teeny weeny baby); other such phonetic universals are evident for object mass, color, brightness, and aggression. We hypothesize that sound symbolism reflects sensitivity to an ecological law (i.e., Hooke's Law) governing an inverse relation between object mass and acoustic resonance. In two experiments healthy adults showed high agreement in matching pure tones to color swatches and nonwords to novel objects as linear functions of frequency and luminance. These results support a degree of non-arbitrariness in integrating visual and auditory information. We discuss implications for sound symbolism as a factor underlying language evolution

Decontamination and Management of Contaminated Hair following a CBRN or HazMat Incident

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology.This in vitro study evaluated the “triple protocol” of dry decontamination, the ladder pipe system (a method for gross decontamination), and technical decontamination for the decontamination of hair following chemical contamination. First, we assessed the efficacy of the 3 protocols, alone or in combination, on excised porcine skin and human hair contaminated with either methyl salicylate (MS), phorate (PHR), sodium fluoroacetate (SFA), or potassium cyanide (KCN). A second experiment investigated the residual hair contamination following decontamination with the triple protocol at different intervals postexposure. In a third experiment, hair decontaminated after exposure to MS or PHR was evaluated for off-gassing. Though skin decontamination was highly effective, a substantial proportion (20%–40%) of the lipophilic compounds (MS and PHR) remained within the hair. The more water-soluble contaminants (SFA and KCN) tended to form much smaller reservoirs within the hair. Interestingly, substantial off-gassing of MS, a medium volatility chemical, was detectable from triple-decontaminated hair up to 5 days postexposure. Overall, the decontamination strategies investigated were effective for the decontamination of skin, but less so for hair. These findings highlight the importance of contaminated hair serving as a source of potential secondary contamination by contact or inhalation. Therefore, consideration should be given to the removal of contaminated hair following exposure to toxic chemicals.Peer reviewe

The comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market: a business history of the Swatch Group (1983-2010)

The objective of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market since the end of the 1980s. It focuses on the Swatch Group (SG), currently the world’s biggest watch company. In 1983, the merger of the largest watch group (SSIH) and of the trust controlling the production of parts and movements of watches (ASUAG) into SG was the main measure taken to overcome the Japanese competition. Managed since 1986 by Nicolas G. Hayek (1928-2010), SG experienced a high growth and recovered its competitiveness on the world market, becoming a driving force for the entire Swiss watch industry. This success is traditionally explained by the firm itself and by scholars as the result of the launch of a new product (Swatch, a cheap plastic quartz watch first marketed in 1983) and the persistence of an old technical culture in Switzerland which enabled this rebirth. This paper, based on SG annual reports, focuses on the strategy adopted by SG since 1983. It shows that, rather than product innovation (Swatch), it was the rationalization and globalization of the production system (concentration of strategic parts’ production in Switzerland; transfer of production facilities in Asia), together with a new marketing strategy (brand segmentation, distribution and retailing facilities, communication, etc.) which were the two main sources of the comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market. While Japanese still attach great attention to product innovation, SG largely established its competitiveness on non-technological innovation.Watch Industry; Switzerland; Swatch Group; Luxury Goods; Marketing Strategy

The Comeback of the Swiss Watch Industry on the World Market: A Business History of the Swatch Group (1983-2010)

The objective of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market since the end of the 1980s. It focuses on the Swatch Group (SG), currently the worldfs biggest watch company. In 1983, the merger of the largest watch group (SSIH) and of the trust controlling the production of parts and movements of watches (ASUAG) into SG was the main measure taken to overcome the Japanese competition. Managed since 1986 by Nicolas G. Hayek (1928-2010), SG experienced a high growth and recovered its competitiveness on the world market, becoming a driving force for the entire Swiss watch industry. This success is traditionally explained by the firm itself and by scholars as the result of the launch of a new product (Swatch, a cheap plastic quartz watch first marketed in 1983) and the persistence of an old technical culture in Switzerland which enabled this rebirth. This paper, based on SG annual reports, focuses on the strategy adopted by SG since 1983. It shows that, rather than product innovation (Swatch), it was the rationalization and globalization of the production system (concentration of strategic partsf production in Switzerland; transfer of production facilities in Asia), together with a new marketing strategy (brand segmentation, distribution and retailing facilities, communication, etc.) which were the two main sources of the comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market. While Japanese still attach great attention to product innovation, SG largely established its competitiveness on non-technological innovation.Watch Industry; Switzerland; Swatch Group; Luxury Goods; Marketing Strategy

Variable digital processor including a register for shifting and rotating bits in either direction Patent

Data processor with plural register stages for selectively interconnecting with each other to effect multiplicity of operation

Content, Purpose, or Both?

Most debates about the proper meaning of “transformativeness” in fair use are really about a larger shift towards more robust fair use. Part I of this short Article explores the copyright-restrictionist turn towards defending fair use, whereas in the past critics of copyright’s broad scope were more likely to argue that fair use was too fragile to protect free speech and creativity in the digital age. Part II looks at some of the major cases supporting that rhetorical and political shift. Although it hasn’t broken decisively with the past, current case law makes more salient the freedoms many types of uses and users have to proceed without copyright owners’ authorization. Part III discusses some of the strongest critics of liberal fair use interpretations, especially their arguments that transformative “purpose” is an illegitimate category. Part IV looks towards the future, suggesting that broad understandings of transformativeness are here to stay

Optimising multi-disciplinary contributions for the smart clothing development process

This research aims to introduce a strategic approach to overcome the creative boundaries and optimize multidisciplinary contributions in Smart Clothing development, since the former research results revealed that these issues are key to achieving fully integrated Smart Clothes. Therefore, this paper examines collaborative projects that are shown to break through the creative boundary and integrate multidisciplinary contributions, and identifies how individual designers overcome their creative constraints and collaborate with others, in order to identify a practical method. The research result indicates that a clear description of Smart Clothing’s context will provide a new framework for the developers to work on

Evaluation of fingerprint development reagents for biological stain detection

Some latent fingerprint development techniques rely on the reaction with amino acids within the fingerprint and then either change in color or fluoresce to help visualize this fingerprint. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are present in all biological fluid. Thus, these developers should be able to also locate biological stains. In a previous study, ninhydrin was shown to be able to locate biological stains. Two more latent fingerprint developers are introduced as possible universal biological stain detectors: 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO), and 1,2-indanedione (1,2-IND). Five biological stains were used to test these chemicals: 1:500 diluted blood, saliva, semen, sweat, and urine. A new heating method was also introduced for a more portable application. The hair dryer heating method was optimized for the three chemicals with two traditional oven heating methods: the oven setting at 70oC and the oven setting at 100oC. These chemicals were also examined for their effectiveness on aged samples. Samples aged for three different time intervals were used: 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. The hair dryer heating method was found to be viable for all three chemicals for each of the biological stains except the 1:500 diluted blood. With the application of the hair dryer for less than 3 minutes, most stains were visible for all three chemicals. 1,2-IND gave slightly different color changes for sweat and the other biological stains. This property can possibly be used to guide subsequent specific body fluids testing. All three chemicals lost their effectiveness as the stain became older. One-month-old stains still gave similar results as fresh stains, but after 2 months, the color became fainter and was barely visible after 4 months. The next stage of this study applied these chemicals as a guide for wearer DNA extraction from worn clothing. Sampling for wearer DNA has mostly been an educated guess with little guidance as to where an abundance of DNA is located. Fingerprint developers can react with amino acids, and cells contain abundant amino acids. Thus, these chemicals may react more to areas with abundant cells. Wearer DNA was extracted from collars of donated shirts before and after the chemical applications to determine the effectiveness of these chemicals as DNA detectors. Of the three collars tested, ninhydrin reacted completely with two of the collars, making any distinction between areas with abundant DNA and areas with no DNA difficult. In addition, the quantitation data of the ninhydrin samples showed no advantage in using ninhydrin as a wearer DNA locator. DFO was shown to have some detrimental effects on the DNA or the DNA extraction and quantitation process. The quantitation data for DFO also showed no advantage in using DFO as a wearer DNA locator. 1,2-IND showed promising results and was the most likely candidate as a wearer DNA locator. All areas that reacted with 1,2-IND produced at least one sample having higher than 0.01 nanograms per microliter of DNA and would be considered viable for DNA profiling