In a significant recent decision, the Federal Circuit reversed a $66 million judgment against L’Oreal USA, Inc. for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation asserted by Olaplex, Inc. The case arose as a result of L’Oreal and Olaplex entering into negotiations regarding a potential acquisition, pursuant to which Olaplex shared with L’Oreal its confidential information, including asserted trade secrets. L’Oreal subsequently walked away from the deal and launched competing products of its own. Though the parties’ negotiations were governed by a non-disclosure agreement, the Federal Circuit found Olaplex failed to prove that either its asserted trade secrets were actually trade secrets, or that L’Oreal had misappropriated them.

Olaplex claimed L’Oreal misappropriated four different categories of trade secrets: (i) information in an unpublished patent application regarding the use of maleic acid during hair bleaching; (ii) business information; (iii) testing and know how; and (iv) dead ends and trials and errors. The Federal Circuit first found that using maleic acid during bleaching was not a trade secret because Olaplex failed to prove that such use was not readily ascertainable through proper means. Olaplex’s asserted “testing and know how” and “dead ends and trials and errors” trade secrets likewise failed because the alleged trade secrets were described at such a high level of generality that it was impossible to say that L’Oreal had improperly used the trade secrets in the group, or what those trade secrets were. Lastly, the Court dismissed Olaplex’s claim that L’Oreal had misappropriated its “business information” by using it in a “Build v. Buy” analysis. The Court also found that, had any of Olaplex’s alleged trade secrets met the appropriate standard, the language in the NDA, under which L’Oreal agreed not to use Olaplex’s confidential information “for any purpose other than to evaluate negotiate and, if applicable, consummate a possible Transaction,” explicitly contemplated L’Oreal’s use of such information. Though this was clearly not Olaplex’s understanding or intent regarding the parties’ agreement, ambiguity in the NDA left it bound by the Court’s ruling.

Olaplex’s reversal of fortunes provides insight into how misappropriation of trade secret claims arising from unsuccessful intellectual property transactions can be anticipated and potentially mitigated by carefully drafting the NDA governing the exchange of information between the parties.  First, NDAs that clearly and unambiguously define what cogrinstitutes a “trade secret” may avoid subsequent litigation on that point. This is an especially important consideration for the disclosing party, as the putative plaintiff in a misappropriation of trade secret action bears the burden of proving the existence of a trade secret. Moreover, any asserted “trade secret” that is described in overly broad terms may be found to be unenforceable by a court (as the Federal Circuit found in Olaplex). These considerations pose problems for misappropriation of trade secret plaintiffs however, as trade secrets, by definition, lose trade secret status if they become generally known (or are readily ascertainable by proper means).  Thus, a plaintiff who shares information about its trade secrets in briefing to the court as necessary to support its misappropriation of trade secret claims may inadvertently lose trade secret protection by doing so. Separately defining what information counts as a “trade secret” within an NDA mitigates this problem by creating a detailed record that proves to the court both the existence of the trade secret and the receiving party’s agreement of its trade secret status, without requiring public disclosure.

Another consideration when drafting an NDA is how to define the obligations of the party receiving the confidential information, particularly with respect to how the receiving party may use the information. In the context of a potential acquisition, the parties typically contemplate that the receiving party will use the confidential information to conduct an economic analysis to determine whether to acquire the receiving party. However, without careful drafting, the terms of an NDA may allow the receiving party to subsequently use this information in developing its own competing product.

While this case presents only a small fraction of the issues that may emerge in trade secret litigation arising from unsuccessful IP transactions, it is a timely reminder that at least some potential problems may be anticipated through the careful use of NDAs.


NSK Americas is one of the premier suppliers of bearings and other motion and control technologies for the mining and quarrying industry. We wanted to learn their perspective on the industry as a whole, and how their products and services impact their customers’ operations. We spoke with Nadeem Bhatti, NSK Americas Senior Application Engineer, for his observations.

Q: Nadeem, what are the major pain points for mine and quarry operators today?

A: From our perspective, it is the diminishing degree of accumulated experience and expertise. This is not specific to the mining sector of course, but people with critical knowledge regarding machine operation, maintenance and repair are retiring in greater numbers, and not being replaced by equally skilled talent. This means a younger, less experienced workforce is left to contend with production interruptions due to mechanical failures, and those interruptions are very costly. And this manifests as an incorrect bearing specification, or an improper fitting, or utilising the wrong lubricant, and a general lack of bearing best practice knowledge.

Q: They don’t know what they don’t know.

A: Precisely. And those knowledge gaps mean operators must employ other resources to avoid potentially catastrophic losses due to unplanned downtime.

Q: How is the industry changing to address these challenges?

A: There are two trends we see, and the first is greater and greater reliance on their suppliers for key knowledge and field experience. NSK and other suppliers are being called on-site to address critical issues involving technology, maintenance, training, and site productivity.

The other trend is the increasing adoption of technology. Mining is an asset-intensive industry, and parts management and inventory optimization are critical to the organization’s success. Implementing IIoT – the Industrial Internet of Things – means having high stores visibility and availability of key parts at the right time and place, to minimize production interruptions as much as possible. Connected enterprise asset management systems can help automate these processes, and NSK is helping sites improve their stores management for more consistent machine uptime.

Q: Generally, what do operators look for from their suppliers, apart from their products?

A: There is an axiom in this industry that the purchase price of a component is a small fraction of the total operating costs of the equipment. Mine and quarry operators are looking for suppliers with services that directly and positively impact their total cost of ownership. In the case of NSK, our company and our products are structured around the very specific needs of mine operators. We have industry experts and Application Engineers who can impart their knowledge to less experienced field staff. Should that $12,000 bearing be replaced, or can it be reconditioned? Does a conveyor application require a carburized steel bearing, or something tougher? Our people have the answers to those questions. They have the knowledge and engineering depth to spearhead equipment optimization or modifications, to achieve higher machine efficiency, uptime, and operational savings.

Q: NSK has been in the industry for decades; what are some of the most impactful contributions the company has made?

A: Here’s one example. Just recently we saw results from a number of long-term trials at mine sites in Australia. They were experiencing bearing failure in conveyor pulleys after only 6 months or so. Keep in mind, that Australia is roughly the same size as the continental US mine sites are often in difficult or remote locations, and shutting down a conveyor for bearing replacement twice a year is extremely costly in both time and money.

At these sites, we installed unique sealed spherical roller bearings with removable seals. They employ long-life Tough Steel™ material technology engineering specifically to deliver considerably longer service life in contaminated operating environments. The removable seal is a game-changer. It provides a highly effective barrier to contaminant ingress, but also allows for accurate clearance measurement and accurate drive-up of the bearing during installation. And these are drop-in bearings, dimensionally interchangeable with standard ISO sizes.

Some of these trial bearings installed as long as two years ago remain in service today, running problem-free. So, these conveyors went from six-month service intervals to more than two years, an improvement by a factor of four. We’ve since supplied more than 1,600 of these bearings across the country.

Q: Apart from the bearings themselves, what other services does NSK provide?

A: Well, it goes back to the earlier point about loss of experienced talent, and our dedicated efforts to augment customer proficiency with our industry expertise. Part of that is training; NSK offers a series of training modules, everything from bearing basics to crusher and vibrating screen best practices, and these modules are acutely customized for each site and its needs. Another part is a value-add service called AIP – Asset Improvement Program. This is where NSK industry experts conduct on-site surveys, gathering data on equipment, inventories, bearing usage and technical skill levels. Based on an assessment of that information, we provide a series of recommendations for improving machine uptime and operational efficiency, including the expected resulting cost savings. We can assist with the implementation of this plan, and monitor performance to validate the gains being made. And what is discovered in this process can be applied to other sites and other applications.

When you consider the impact of this process improvement for, say, a limestone quarry operation with hundreds of sites, the value of the service becomes clear. Our job really isn’t limited to selling bearings. Our job is making a demonstrable difference to the customer’s operating efficiency and bottom line.


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Lectio Divina

"Lectio divina,"  a Latin term, means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio divina. There are various ways of practicing Lectio divina either individually or in groups but Guigo's description remains fundamental.

He said that the first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer, but the passage should not be too long.

lectiodivina01 980

These stages of Lectio divina are not fixed rules of procedure but simply guidelines as to how the prayer normally develops. Its natural movement is towards greater simplicity, with less and less talking and more listening. Gradually the words of Scripture begin to dissolve, and the Word is revealed before the eyes of our heart. How much time should be given to each stage depends very much on whether it is used individually or in a group. If Lectio divina is used for group prayer, obviously more structure is needed than for individual use. In group prayer, much will depend on the type of group. Lectio divina may involve discussing the implications of the Word of God for daily life but it cannot be reduced to this. The movement of the prayer is towards silence. If the group is comfortable with silence, more time could be spent resting in the Word.


Monday, December 05, 2022
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English Edition
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Berlin, Aug 11 (Prensa Latina) The euro rose on Thursday and reached .0350, following wholesale price inflation data in the United States.
Washington, Aug 1 (Prensa Latina) Gold has recovered some grounds on Monday, lifted by a retreat in the US dollar as the market toned down. Spot gold was up 0.03% at ,771 per ounce, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) reported Monday.


If you have rhetorical questions about hula hoop concerning your fitness game, here are honest Infinity Hoop reviews to let you know everything about the trendy piece of workout equipment.

Most people often overlook the hula hoop as nothing more than a beloved childhood toy. However, hula hoops are once again a hot commodity—heavy hula hoops, that is. Satisfied clients claim that a weighted hula hoop helps build a stronger core and trim body fat.

What is a weighted hula hoop?

Weighted hula hoops are hula hoops meant for exercising. They are similar to regular hula hoops but are filled with water or sand. You’ll also come across “smart” weighted hula hoops.

They are connected to other pieces of technology like AI-powered workout gear. They are not filled with anything and have a small weight attached to a cord that swings around the hoop as you move. They are also made of interlocking plastic pieces that you can adjust to your waist size, and it’s more comfortable for beginners who may have trouble keeping the device up around their waist.

Benefits of using a weighted hula hoop

One of the best benefits of hula hoops is that you’ll find it more enjoyable than other forms of exercise. If it gets you up and moving because you like it, it’s a worthwhile workout. It makes it suitable if you are looking for a low-impact alternative to running or jumping rope.

Weighted Infinity Hoop resist the motion of circling your hips; it strengthens your core. Adding a weighted hula hoop to the mix makes the hoop harder to maintain in place and encircles your midsection. Therefore, the extra resistance forces your muscles to work harder to perform the movement. It, in turn, amplifies the workout and its effectiveness.

Another advantage of a hula hoop is that it helps you develop balance and stability. With your hips and core circling but your feet steady, your body works to stabilize itself, and your body will work to stabilize you throughout the whole movement. Infinity Hoop is the experience you have been waiting for. It’s a fitness tool that helps you get and stay fit.

According to Infinity Hoop reviews, everything is covered concerning your shopping needs. Suppose you’re interested in giving a weighted hula hoop a spin or two, starting short and trying to hula hoop for 10-30 minutes, two-to-three times a week. The frequency of hula hoop usage varies depending on an individual’s preferences, fitness levels, and goals. Do not hesitate to join a satisfied community to enjoy your movement and move the way you enjoy.


Member for Barker Tony Pasin said that the Liberal National Government’s extra investment in the national network of headspace centres and the digital portal, eheadspace, means young people will have access to around 14,000 additional services, shorter wait times and extra clinical staff.

“Our Government understands the huge mental health challenge facing many Australians, particularly young Australians,” Mr Pasin said.

Around 560,000 children and adolescents are estimated to have mental illness, and one in four young Australians experience it in any given year.

“Our support for headspace gives young Australians a single entry point to friendly primary care that includes early intervention services and support for physical and mental wellbeing.

The funding injection for headspace  includes $39 million for services and staff while $12.8 million will ensure headspace National can continue to run eheadspace so young people can access support when they need it.

“This funding boost will help headspace meet the increasing demands for their services, today and in coming years including in the three headspace centres in Barker; Murray Bridge, Mount Gambier and Berri.”

“We’re committed to ensuring that Australians can get information, advice, understanding, counselling and treatment, when and where they need it,” said Mr Pasin.

“Our plan for a stronger economy means we can guarantee essential services like mental health support, with an unprecedented $4.7 billion investment being made in mental health this year alone.”

Contact: Charlotte Edmunds 8531 2466


1 large can of evaporated milk.
1 small jar of marshmallow fluff.
4 cups of sugar.
1 cup of chopped nuts.
2 tablespoons of butter.
1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Cook the sugar, butter and evaporated milk, stirring constantly, until a medium firm ball is formed when it is dropped in cold water (takes approximately 25 minutes).

Allow to cool slightly.

Add the marshmallow fluff and vanilla; then beat until creamy.

Pour into a buttered eight-inch square pan.

Refrigerate until the fudge has turned firm.


Thursday, July 8, 2021

Reshuffling of antitrust cases against Google Play Store: Epic and class action plaintiffs will file amended complaints, 36 states filed new lawsuit

In November, Google brought a motion to dismiss antitrust lawsuits Epic Games and class action plaintiffs had brought in the Northern District of California over the Google Play Store. There has been some back and forth since, and the motion-to-dismiss hearing (originally scheduled for a few months earlier) was finally going to take place in two weeks from today. Not so anymore: Judge James Donato has vacated that hearing and some other procedural deadlines. That's because Epic Games wasn't going to take any chances--a dismissal of the complaint would have been a major setback for the Fortnite and Unreal Engine company--and, therefore, informed all other parties (defendant Google, and the other plaintiffs) of its intent to amend its complaint "based on documents uncovered in discovery to date." The developer class-action plaintiffs then made the decision to do the same.

On July 2, Epic and the class-action plaintiffs informed the court (CourtListener PDF) that they would file their amended complaints on July 21--literally on the eve of the motion-to-dismiss hearing. In order for this not to appear more defensive than necessary, they said they were "prepared to proceed with oral argument on July 22, 2021, on their operative complaint, as they believe their current allegations are sufficient to overcome the pending motion to dismiss." However, a federal judge didn't just fall of a turnip truck. This initiative undoubtedly does mean that there was some concern over Google's motion to dismiss potentially succeeding.

That the plaintiffs in the related actions aren't 100% sure (who can ever be 100% sure ahead of a motion-to-dismiss hearing against a litigant like Google) is also evidenced by the statement that consumer plaintiffs (whose theories partly overlap with developers' theories, but are not identical) would rather go ahead with the motion-to-dismiss hearing and seek leave to amend their complaint should the motion be granted, but if the court preferred to adjudicate all those matters at the same time, the consumer plaintiffs, too, "reserve their right to seek leave to amend their complaint."

At 5 PM Pacific Time, Judge Donato then entered the following order to streamline the process:

"ORDER. In light of the Notice of Intent to Amend Complaints, MDL Dkt. No. 51, Epic Games, Inc. and the Developer Plaintiffs are directed to file their amended complaints by July 21, 2021. The July 22, 2021 motion to dismiss hearing is vacated, including for the Consumer Plaintiffs' complaint, and the pending motions to dismiss Epic's and the Developer Plaintiffs' complaints are terminated. Motions to dismiss the amended complaints should be briefed on a coordinated basis and noticed to be heard on the same day, together with the motion to dismiss the Consumer Plaintiffs' complaint. The parties should advise the Court and file a statement by July 15, 2021, if they would like to have a status conference on July 22, 2021. Signed by Judge James Donato on 7/7/2021."

It's unlikely that Google wouldn't move again to dismiss the complaints. But if Epic and the other plaintiffs had a successful fishing expedition so far, they may indeed be able to bring stronger factual allegations. And with the benefit of knowing Google's motion-to-dimiss theories, they might even optimize their legal arguments. Sure, they could have done so after a dismissal without prejudice. But Intel (& temporarily Apple) v. Fortress is an example of the quagmire you may get into after the first dismissal.

There is another development that will change everything, and all of this is no coincidence: in the late evening by local time, the attorneys-general of 36 U.S. states (led by Utah) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google over Google Play and its impact on consumer and developers (CourtListener PDF). I guess (though I can't be sure) there was some communication between certain state attorneys-general and Epic. That's not a conspiracy theory: there's nothing wrong with governmental and private entities coordinating litigation when tackling some of the same issues. The Federal Trade Commission and Apple had a Common Interest Agreement in place against Qualcomm, to give just one example. In that case, Qualcomm was represented by the attorneys now representing Epic Games against Apple and Google.

The fact that Epic's and the class-action plaintiffs' complaints are going to be amended, while 36 states take action as well (and in the same district, the Northern District of California), makes it likely that Judge Donato will consolidate all of those cases pretty soon. And then Google will have to take on not only Epic Games and the class-action plaintiffs but also 36 states at the motion-to-dismiss stage.

The damage that Google has been doing and continues to do to customer choice, competition, and innovation with its Google Play terms and policies becomes clearer and clearer. For example, the state AGs note that Google even tried to bully Samsung into giving up its Galaxy Store in the sense of just allowing Samsung to let it look like a Galaxy Store, while actually letting Google run it all (including in-app payments, of course). If Samsung had agreed to that "white-label" approach, Samsung's customers wouldn't have access to Fortnite now after Google threw it out of the Google Play Store last summer. The Galaxy Store in its current form, run by Samsung, is probably the #1 distribution channel for Fortnite Mobile as we speak.

Maybe the facts are so strong that Google will even give up on its motion to dismiss, or that the court will give it short shrift. That would be the ideal outcome.

I haven't blogged too much about the different app stores cases lately. Rest assured my position hasn't changed at all as I'm still pursing my own complaints against Apple and Google (which sometimes also counsels against blogging too much about the topic). In one jurisdiction, my company replied in May to both companies' responses to my original complaints (which I brought in January). I have to take a lot of different things and interests into consideration, and that's why I can't--at least at this stage--promise consistent and granular coverage of those app distribution antitrust matters. If I was going to cover those investigations and lawsuits in detail again, I might do so outside of FOSS Patents (with just occasionally linking to the app distribution stories from FOSS Patents). I'd like to keep FOSS Patents focused on what its name indicates--patents (which more often than not involves antitrust aspects as well, given that a lot of my commentary is about standard-essential patents). That's why I recently encouraged everyone to follow me on LinkedIn, where I sometimes comment on non-patent matters, at times even including sports-related antitrust law.

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The Significance of Turquise

One of the challenges and joys of working with natural materials are the unique imperfections that each piece of wood brings to the furniture piece. These are the marks of the natural world that these materials belong to. A craftsman can either work to hide these blemishes or highlight their beauty. Each piece and each situation calls for a different approach.

Turquoise InlayAt T. Scholl Fine Woodworks, one way Todd highlights these natural imperfections is by inlaying them with turquoise. This small embellishment adds just a touch of unique character to the piece and brings elegance to a detail that would have otherwise been considered a blemish.

Turquoise is a stone with a long tradition. It was used in ancient Persian, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures. However, in the United States, we most commonly associate turquoise with Native American traditions. Turquoise is mentioned in many different Native American creation stories. In many traditions it is closely connected with ideas of protection and power. The Navajo are particularly famous for crafting turquoise into beautiful jewelry using excellent silversmithing skills.

VOC-free-organic-plant-based-finishTurquoise is also often associated with the sky and water. Because of these elemental connections, it is ideal for natural or rustic decor. Turquoise has the power to transform something ordinary into something strong and beautiful.

“The Significance of Turquoise in Native American Culture” Turquoise Skies


Investigators with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Pipeline Safety Division believe that a gas leak that lead to the explosion of a House in the City of Camby was caused by an excavating crew that damaged an underground gas line.  The investigators believe that the service line going into the house was hit by a construction company digging and laying cable on the east side of the house.  The name of company that is responsible for damaging the gas line is still unknown at this time.  At about 10:40 A.M., on Monday November 13, 2017,  an explosion destroyed a two-story house, scorching neighboring houses in the process, in the Heartland Crossing housing.  No one in the family of the leveled house was injured, as they were not home at the time, however the family’s two dogs did not survive the explosion.  A neighbor confirmed that cable workers had been in the yard of the house before the explosion, however the neighbor was unable to identify the name of their company.  Plainfield Fire Chief Joel Thackery has stated that utility investigators will determine if anyone had permission to dig on the property of the house and if the gas lines had been compromised.

Fire Chief Thackery has stated that there are three ways that gas leaks can begin: old infrastructure, a gap or opening in the pipes, or work being done on the home and something strikes the gas line.  Thackery advises that if you smell natural gas you should evacuate your home and call 911.  If you or someone you know has their property damaged or destroyed by the negligence of a construction company, please contact the experienced legal team at Schiller Law Offices at 888-578-3100 or at to learn more about your potential right to compensation.


Solar Power System

What is solar power system?
    Solar power system is one set of energy convertion equipments that convert solar energy into electricity, and store it to meet people electricity needs on different time and whether.

The key parts cover:
    Solar panels which convert nature solar energy received from Sun into electricity. The technology involved in this process is about collecting the photovoltaic cells, then generate electricity through the photovoltaic effect, which is utilized for your home, industrial and commercial purpose.
    Charging Controller, it convert the voltage of solar panel to voltage of energy storage battery, to charge it full for store electricity.
    Energy Storage battery, it adjust the inbalance of supply and demand, make it being possibility of electricity supplying when have not enough Sun resources.
    Inverter, it convert battery voltage to the voltage of appliances/ equipments, make them working normally.

Acoording to different electricity supply methods, there are three types solar power systems:

Related products


Key parts to machine learning monitoring

Through this article, you will understand which are the key parts when it comes to monitoring machine learning solutions in a production environment.

Key parts to machine learning monitoring
Photo by Balázs Kétyi / Unsplash
"A baby learns to crawl, walk and then run. we are in the crawling stage when it comes into applying machine learning" ~ Dave Waters

Machine Learning monitoring is the final phase in the machine learning system lifecycle,  essential for making sure you have a healthy and useful model serving predictions to your users and can help you identify any issues with your model before it has a significant impact on your users.

Monitoring has a different meaning in different teams that are implementing machine learning projects. Data scientists may be generally interested in the statistical properties of the input data and generated predictions, and machine learning engineers and software engineers can be interested in operational monitoring.

Machine learning models are software, they do require testing, maintenance, and monitoring like other software operations before and after production. As a data scientist or machine learning engineer once you have deployed your machine learning model to production it rapidly becomes apparent that the work is not over. You have to watch the behavior of the model you deployed in production this will enable you to avoid the unexpected points of failure of your model also to ensure accurate and effective predictions.

On the ground level, monitoring is all about collecting noticed events and providing visualized information about their statistics over time. As a result of the monitoring, we should be able to define alerts on some values of the monitored metrics and actions that should be performed such as alert email or SMS messages.

What about the time customer behavior change, does your model still predict inappropriate manner?

Monitoring machine learning solutions is a complex and important task, taking into account that machine learning is a rapidly evolving field in terms of techniques and tools.

Common open-source tools for machine learning model monitoring are Prometheus, Grafana, Boxkite, etc

Key parts in monitoring ML in production

There are essential 3 key parts in monitoring machine learning models in production environment:-

  • Service Monitoring: here you are looking at the system services such as request throughput, error rate, but also on resource utilization like I/O, CPU utilization, and storage utilization. For service monitoring, tools like  New Relic can be used.
  • Input data Monitoring: looking at what kind of data coming into your machine learning model, from the nature of the incoming data will provide an indication at what time the model will be retrained due to the massive changes in terms of data distributions.
  • Prediction Monitoring: the process should begin by comparing prediction distribution with live data compared to the training data, but it should continue by monitoring model performance throughout its entire lifespan serving customers. If the model predictions using the live data are vastly different than the predictions from the training data, this is likely a good indicator that some discrepancies in data still exist in the live environment.

Final Thoughts

Monitoring systems can help to provide confidence to data scientists and machine learning engineers that systems are running smoothly and, in the event of a system failure, can quickly provide appropriate context when diagnosing the root cause.

When deploying machine learning models, we like to have confidence that our model is making useful predictions in production. But some points of failure may occur due to variation of data distributions compared to that used in model training and misconfiguration of a model in production etc.

Point to remember, All machine learning models are software we don't have to ignore the best practices of treating software before and after production.

Thank you for making the end of this article. If you find this article is informative feel free to share it with others.


Table of Contents

U.S. missile defenses, like nuclear forces, come in various forms, with different capabilities, objectives, costs, and reactions from allies and adversaries. The capabilities and footprint of U.S. missile defense have expanded continually over the past twenty years. Today, they have attained a global reach, increased technological capability, priority in defense budgets, and adoption by U.S. allies. (Appendix B contains a record of U.S. missile defense tests for Aegis and Ground-Based Midcourse Defense systems, perhaps the most relevant defensive systems to adversary nuclear postures.) Still, the technical functionality of missile defenses against modern missile forces is unknown. The United States has not used missile defenses against a nuclear-armed adversary. Nor have Israel’s vaunted air defenses been used against advanced cruise or ballistic missiles.

Forward-deployed missile defenses—interceptors based on land and on ships with warning and communications assets—play a role in regional deterrence, defending allies and partners, U.S. forces, and critical military and civilian installations on foreign territory. The United States uses basing arrangements and foreign military sales to encourage interoperability and information-sharing among allies to improve the effectiveness of their missile defenses.1 Missile defenses on and near U.S. territory are supposed to defend the U.S. homeland from ballistic missile attacks of the scale that North Korea might be able to launch. In both scenarios, U.S. missile defense can contribute to defeating and deterring conventionally and nuclear-armed missile attacks, whether targeted at American cities or U.S. nuclear and military forces. Because the focus of this review is nuclear policy, its analysis and recommendations focus on three conundrums that missile defenses could pose to managing and reducing nuclear threats.

U.S. regional missile defense arrangements include theater missile defense systems, such as Patriot and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), that are designed for terminal and “point” defense. These systems are better suited for protecting smaller areas where important military installations and critical infrastructure may be located. Longer-range systems, such as Aegis, also contribute to regional missile defense architectures, operating off the coasts of U.S. allies in Europe and Asia. In Europe, NATO allies host a radar site in Turkey, a command center in Germany, and an Aegis Ashore site where Aegis SM-3 interceptors are deployed on land in Romania with a planned second site in Poland, as part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach.2 In Asia, the United States has deployed THAAD radars and launchers in Guam, Hawaii, and South Korea.3 All of these systems are intended to protect U.S. allies as well as U.S. forces stationed on allied territories.

Notwithstanding the primary missions of deterring and countering North Korean and Iranian missile threats, U.S. military planners and contractors also envision these systems’ potential role in interdicting Russian or Chinese conventional and nuclear attacks on targets in Europe and East Asia. For instance, the 2019 Missile Defense Review (MDR) states that “missile defense is an element of the U.S. effort to counter A2/AD [antiaccess/area denial] strategies that seek to deter or prevent the United States from supporting allies in contested regions,” implicitly suggesting that missile defense will blunt Russian and Chinese attacks associated with their strategies for regional conflicts.4 The November 2020 test of the SM-3 against an ICBM target deepened Russia’s and China’s suspicions that U.S. missile defenses will be directed against them.5 As the presence of Aegis ships and land installations increase, Russia and China may further lose confidence in the efficacy of their ballistic missiles. In 2017, China reacted harshly (including an economic boycott) to the deployment of THAAD radars in South Korea, claiming the system could help target Chinese ICBMs.

These dynamics raise two conundrums at the regional level. First, the United States has insisted that regional defenses intended to deter or block North Korean or Iranian attacks do not pose threats to Russian and Chinese strategic nuclear deterrents. But Moscow and Beijing profess not to believe these statements. To the extent that Russia and/or China add offensive capabilities to counter such defenses, would the benefits of defenses against regional Iranian and/or North Korean missiles outweigh the costs?

Second, the United States also seeks increased capabilities to defend its forward-deployed forces and allies and partners from Russian and Chinese regional missiles. These capabilities are especially important in East Asia, where China has steadily increased its arsenal of short- to medium-range conventionally armed and dual-capable missiles. Here the major conundrum is that it is easier and cheaper for China to add missiles of this range than it is for the United States to add defenses to feasibly counter them. Moreover, kinetic and perhaps cyber capabilities to target Chinese missiles and their command and control systems could intentionally or inadvertently attack (or be perceived to attack) Chinese nuclear command and control. This could exacerbate risks of escalating a regional conventional war into a nuclear one. That concern notwithstanding, such antimissile capabilities also could strengthen deterrence.

The third set of conundrums involves U.S. homeland defenses against ballistic missiles, and the likelihood that they drive Russia and China to increase their arsenals of long-range missiles and warheads. When the United States withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in June 2002, the stated reason was the need to develop and deploy systems that could defend the U.S. homeland from attack by future North Korean and Iranian ballistic missiles. This reasoning remains the stated objective of homeland missile defenses. Although Iran still does not possess missiles that could reach the United States, North Korea has tested several types of missiles that could improve its capabilities.6 For its part, to potentially counter this threat, the United States still deploys only a little more than half the number of missile interceptors on its territory that it would have been allowed had it remained under the ABM Treaty’s maximum of 100.

The conundrum is whether the benefits of maintaining or adding to such defenses are greater than the costs of doing so, in terms of both expense and the increased likelihood that Russia and China would counter by greater numbers of and/or more capable missiles and countermeasures.

The Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System (GMD) centered on these interceptors in Alaska and California cannot singlehandedly defeat a concerted missile attack from Russia or China. The 2019 MDR acknowledges this fact, stating “the United States relies on deterrence to protect against large and technically sophisticated Russian and Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile threats to the U.S. homeland.”7 Yet the MDR also states “in the event of conflict, it [GMD] would defend, to the extent feasible, against a ballistic missile attack upon the U.S. homeland from any source.”8

Russia is already developing and deploying new long-range nuclear delivery systems to defeat current and expected future U.S. missile defense capabilities. A major question is whether Chinese leaders genuinely perceive such defenses to threaten the viability of their growing strategic deterrent force of around 180 missiles, after that force has been attacked by U.S. conventional or nuclear weapons. If the answer is “yes,” then the conundrum is whether the benefits of maintaining or adding to such defenses are greater than the costs of doing so, in terms of both expense and the increased likelihood that Russia and China would counter by greater numbers of and/or more capable missiles and countermeasures.

There are no clear or easy answers to these conundrums. Since its withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, the United States has acted as if the benefits of pursuing defenses outweigh the risks of arms racing with Russia and China and escalation of regional conflict. These posited benefits, which will vary based on the actual performance of defense systems, include strengthening deterrence, limiting the damage adversaries can inflict, and reassuring U.S. allies and partners in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia.

Advocates of missile defense do not fully acknowledge that their programs drive Russia and China to develop and deploy offensive countermeasures. Instead, they cite the modernization of Russian and Chinese offensive nuclear forces as justifications for development of even more modern U.S. missile defenses and offensive weapons, continuing the action-reaction cycle. However, the unintended consequences—especially those that impact U.S. nuclear deterrence relationships with each major adversary—are equally important to consider.

Many of the Russian and Chinese nuclear capabilities that U.S. nuclear policymakers and politicians decry are, in part, responses to U.S. missile defense programs and their future potential capabilities. Russia’s much-vaunted new hypersonic weapons, including the intercontinental-range Avangard HGV and the regional-range Kinzhal ALBM, are notable not for their speed but their maneuverability, which may more easily circumvent U.S. defenses than traditional ballistic missiles. Similarly, the “exotic” Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo could evade interception and reinforce Russia’s second-strike capabilities. Russian Iskander deployments in and near Europe, now more than ten years old, were in response to U.S. and NATO Aegis Ashore plans.

For its part, China has developed ballistic missiles capable of delivering multiple warheads and penetration aids, including its newest DF-41 ICBM and the still in-development JL-3 SLBM, and an HGV-equipped medium-range missile, the DF-17. China’s growing numbers of warheads and dual-capable (nuclear and conventional) missiles and development of hypersonic boost glide systems reflect a determination to improve the survivability of the country’s relatively small nuclear arsenal against U.S. offensive strikes and defensive interceptions.

Perhaps paradoxically, as Russia and China develop maneuverable hypersonic weapons and other capabilities to bypass U.S. homeland missile defenses, they may solve (at least partially) the deterrence and instability challenges that U.S. ballistic missile defenses pose. North Korea and Iran are not (yet) capable of deploying such sophisticated offensive systems. Thus, U.S. homeland defenses predicated on ballistic missiles of the number that North Korea (and perhaps someday Iran) could deploy would not threaten forces as maneuverable as Russia’s or China’s. However, Moscow and Beijing would still worry and plan against future U.S. defense technologies, especially space-based ones.

Current U.S. missile defense policy will suffice if policymakers believe that unconstrained competition in offensive and defensive weapons is preferable to potential agreements that would provide transparency and potentially some limits on U.S. missile defense in exchange for possible Russian and Chinese concessions. However, U.S. interests and those of allies and the rest of the world would be better served by exploring what possible trade-offs could be negotiated between transparency and potential limitations on some U.S. missile defense capabilities, on one hand, and Russia and Chinese reductions and/or constraints on some of their current and prospective offensive capabilities, on the other.

The most promising way to assess these possibilities would be to explore whether and how regional and/or homeland missile defenses could be designed and deployed to protect against a lesser scale of missile threats (such as those posed by Iran and North Korea) without creating the realistic prospect that the United States could successfully negate a Russian or Chinese deterrent of U.S. first strikes against either Russia or China.

1 John Vandiver, “THAAD Anti-Missile System to Deploy to Romania,” Stars and Stripes, April 11, 2019,; Paul McLeary, “Japan Goes Big on Missile Defense, Aircraft: China Blames Trump for Tensions,” Breaking Defense, August 31, 2018,; and Paul McLeary, “Poland Signals Russia With Huge Missile Defense Deal,” Breaking Defense, March 28, 2018,

2 Kingston Reif, “The European Phased Adaptive Approach at a Glance,” Arms Control Association, updated January 2019,

3 On the planned U.S. sale of Aegis Ashore to Japan, see Mike Yeo, “Japan Suspends Aegis Ashore Deployment, Pointing to Cost and Technical Issues,” Defense News, June 15, 2020,

4 2019 MDR, 29–30.

5 Paul Sonne, “U.S. Military Tests Downing an ICBM From a Warship for First Time,” Washington Post, November 17, 2020, In response, Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “The recent test directly confirms the falsity of American assurances that the U.S. global missile defense system is not directed against Russia.” She continued, “This is direct evidence of a concrete example of how Washington manipulated the public opinion of its country, lied to its international partners and justified its actions in the international arena with absolutely far-fetched pretexts.” See: Tom O’Connor, “Russia Says U.S. Missile Defense Test Proves It Lied About Global Missile Shield,” Newsweek, November 19, 2020,

6 Tests of the Taepo Dong 2, Hwasong-14, and Hwasong-15 missiles have demonstrated potential intercontinental-range, but it is unclear if these missiles are now deployed or how many the DPRK might possess. It continues to conduct tests, including two tests of missile engines in December 2019, to improve its capabilities. See David Sanger and Choe Sang-Hun, “North Korea Links 2nd ‘Crucial’ Test to Nuclear Weapons Program,” New York Times, December 14, 2019,; and Joby Warrick, “North Korea Never Halted Efforts to Build Powerful New Weapons, Experts Say,” Washington Post, December 24, 2019,

7 This statement is significant in that it was a much more explicit acknowledgment that the United States and China are mutually vulnerable to the others’ strategic arsenals than the United States had expressed up to that point.

8 2019 MDR, xii.


Beta User

Tricky questions on the fit interview

10 months ago
February 14, 2022
Fit interview
Hi everyone!
I've heard that consulting interviews often ask tricky questions. For instance:
  • What will you do if you don't get a job with us?
  • Let's say you're hired, and I'm your new boss. What will I write in your reference in a year?
  • Tell me what I should know about you?
And everything in so on. How to respond to them? Are there any successful tactics? It is clear that all people are unique, and there is not the only correct answer, but what approach should be used?
0 answers


Deutsche Märkte geschlossen

Transformation, Innovation and Citizenship: How Lenovo Is Building a Positive Future

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 31, 2022 / In our uncertain times, technology remains a positive force with the potential to break down digital divides and unlock new possibilities for people around the world. Lenovo leads the way with technology to transform the way we live and work, offering innovative end-to-end solutions to enrich workplaces, cities, and people's daily lives.

Lenovo's continued investment in innovation and increasing commitment to research and development is changing the way we live and work today and for years to come. Those innovations should progress in harmony with our planet and its people, and so we prioritize corporate citizenship from exploring net-zero emissions to global philanthropy. From cities studded with edge computing cabinets that help stop traffic accidents to a ‘Cyber Space' room where people interact with life-size objects on a transparent screen, our whole idea of computing is changing. The real and virtual worlds are colliding - not metaphorically, but in a very real way.

In the workplace, you might find new efficiencies through AI assistants, or collaborate in a virtual environment like the metaverse with enterprise-optimized extended reality. The object you manipulate might be both real AND virtual at the same time - for example, a digital twin of a turbine blade in a distant wind farm.

Lenovo's technical innovations upend expectations of where the ‘real' world ends and the ‘virtual' world begins, helping to reshape the way our customers work.

The explosion of data around us means that computing devices alone cannot meet the computing needs of customers - or of society as a whole. That's why Lenovo deploys technology at the edge to increase computational access, from sensors beside railway tracks to augmented reality glasses in glamorous shopping arcades.

Smarter cities

The ‘smart city' pilot project offers a vision of the future, powered by fast 5G connections and a network of ruggedised server cabinets dotted through the streets. Whereas normally devices speak to a data centre far away, the cabinets (built to withstand Barcelona's summer temperatures) enable rapid, localised services for everything from industry to education.

The ‘smart city' project illustrates how real innovation changes millions of lives - improving road safety, supercharging tourism, and paving the way for future innovation.

New ways to work

Lenovo's Cyber Space blurs the lines between the real and the virtual - and allows business leaders and teachers to deliver powerful messages anywhere.

Digital industries

In one city, Lenovo revolutionised track repairs, ensuring trains run on time - and it's been so successful, the technology could soon be exported around the world.

In industry, Lenovo's ‘digital twins' have already improved safety and productivity in a large Chinese steel plant, with cameras and sensors ensuring production goes according to plan and workers stay safe.

IoT and AI will shape the workplaces of the future - enabling engineers to visit sites remotely, teams to work more safely with more data and insights, and collaboratively alongside smart robots.

Sustainable vision

Technology and innovation should not exist solely to drive productivity and create economic value. All of us on this planet share a responsibility to make the world a more equitable, accessible place, and to preserve it for future generations - and it's a responsibility Lenovo takes seriously.

Around the world, Lenovo pioneers methods to improve sustainability - from using biofuels in our supply chain to environmentally friendly liquid cooling systems for computers such as the MareNostrum 5 in Barcelona, and breaking new ground when it comes to sustainable manufacturing.

Reshaping the future

Learn more about Tech World and watch the keynotes here

Lenovo, Monday, October 31, 2022, Press release picture
Lenovo, Monday, October 31, 2022, Press release picture

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Lenovo on

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Spokesperson: Lenovo

SOURCE: Lenovo

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Linguistic assimilation

Some opponents of open borders have argued that for large rates of immigration, it is possible for immigrants to interact solely among themselves and hence avoid acquiring fluency in the language of the country they are now in. This is particularly the case if there is large-scale immigration from a single country and the immigrants from that country are clustered together in enclaves.

To the extent that the problem is genuine, a keyhole solution to it is to impose linguistic and cultural fluency requirements as a precondition for migration.


Discover Hawaii

Each island in the Hawaiian chain has a unique personality and offers visitors different types of experiences. If you aren’t sure which island is right for you, explore the islands by the type of experience you’d like to have — whether it’s heart-pounding adventures, total relaxation or something in-between.

Kauai is Hawaii’s fourth largest island and is sometimes called the “Garden Island,” which is an entirely accurate description. The oldest and northernmost island in the Hawaiian chain is draped in emerald valleys, sharp mountain spires and jagged cliffs aged by time and the elements. Centuries of growth have formed tropical rainforests, forking rivers and cascading waterfalls! Some parts of Kauai are only accessible by sea or air, revealing views beyond your imagination. More than just dramatic beauty, the island is home to a variety of outdoor activities. You can kayak the Wailua River, snorkel on Poipu Beach, hike the trails of Kokee State Park, or go ziplining above Kauai’s lush valleys. But, it is the island’s laid-back atmosphere and rich culture found in its small towns that make it truly timeless. Explore the regions of Kauai and make your escape to discover the undeniable allure of the island.

Sometimes called “The Gathering Place,” Oahu certainly lives up to its name. The third largest Hawaiian island is home to the majority of Hawaii’s diverse population, a fusion of East and West cultures rooted in the values and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people. It’s this fundamental contrast between the ancient and the modern that makes discovering Oahu — from bustling city life to laidback surf towns — so enjoyable. You’ll find plenty of different options for exploring Oahu’s different regions, the island’s many activities, its eclectic restaurants and accommodations.

Island of Hawaii

Black-sand beaches, volcanic wonders and championship-caliber golf courses make the Island of Hawaii a dynamic and unforgettable destination.
The island of Hawaii is the youngest and largest island in the Hawaiian chain. Nearly twice as big as all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined (hence, its nickname, “Big Island”), its sheer size is awe-inspiring. You can travel through all but four of the world’s different climate zones here, ranging from Wet Tropical to Polar Tundra, a result of the shielding effect and elevations of the massive volcanoes Maunakea and Maunaloa. From the many geological features at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to the snow-capped heights of Maunakea; from the lush valleys of the Hilo and Hamakua Coasts to the jet-black sands of Punaluu Beach, the island of Hawaii is an unrivaled expression of the power of nature. However you decide to experience the island, it is sure to leave you humbled! Check out the island of Hawaii’s regions to explore this vast island.

Ready to Explore Hawaii?


Food Processing

CESIPC provides a variety of stainless steel touch industrial computers for food processing. CESIPC industrial computers have been used by world-leading companies and well-known companies in the meat, fish and dairy industries. The customer’s application environment and after-sales feedback have confirmed that our waterproof stainless steel industrial panel computers are in a variety of harsh environments. Reliable application under environmental conditions.

Automated Industry

Industrial automation technology is the use of control theory, instrumentation, computer and other information technology to realize the detection, control, optimization, scheduling, management and decision-making of industrial production processes to achieve the purpose of increasing output, improving quality, reducing consumption, and ensuring safety. The comprehensive high-tech, including industrial automation software, hardware and systems.

CESIPC industrial computer, with a variety of mature, advanced technology and flexible manufacturing mode, provides relatively leading differentiated product solutions for the industrial automation industry, and helps customers occupy an advantageous position in the market.

Smart Transportationg

The railway system has good convenience and extensive economic benefits. Self-driving and public transportation, subways, and high-speed rail have become the inevitable means of transportation for people’s daily travel.
The intelligent transportation of the Internet of Everything must have strong data as a guarantee. The total solution for data collection, collection, processing and storage is still relatively necessary. As a hardware manufacturer of intelligent transportation in the new era, CESIPC also poses major challenges to us on how to ensure the security, reliability, and real-time performance of data and networks.

Machine Vision

Machine vision is a comprehensive technology, including image processing, mechanical engineering technology, control, electric light source lighting, optical imaging, sensors, analog and digital video technology, computer software and hardware technology (image enhancement and analysis algorithms, image cards, I/O Card etc.). A typical machine vision application system includes image capture, light source system, image digitization module, digital image processing module, intelligent decision-making module and mechanical control execution module.

In the field of industrial control, industrial control computers are used more and more widely in machine vision. In order to cater to market demand, CESIPC has pushed out many styles of machine vision industrial computers, providing many solutions for the machine vision industry.

Environmental Monitoring

Environmental monitoring is the use of GIS technology to design the environmental monitoring network, and the information collected by environmental monitoring can be stored and displayed in a timely manner through GIS, and detailed site monitoring and analysis of the selected evaluation area. The Environmental Protection Agency is establishing an environmental monitoring point system, which is comprehensive, continuous and traceable. Real-time monitoring of carcinogenic, teratogenic, and sudden pollution sources, establishment of sites, sampling of waste water and waste gas, and real-time upload to the Environmental Protection Bureau system.
CESIPC has always attached great importance to environmental protection work for a long time. For environmental monitoring systems, Collard has launched a series of industrial computers for monitoring networks in the atmosphere, water environment, near rocky seas, ecology, pollution sources, acoustic environment, and sealed environment.

Contact Us

Headquarter (China)
Address: 4th Floor, Sanhe International Building, Dalang Street, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China, 518109
Phone: 86-138 2312 2141
Singapore Agent
Address: 67, Ayer Rajah Crescent, #02-18 Singapore 139950


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Monday, August 22, 2022

Google Tests AI Robotics in a Kitchen

Look forward to seeing this.  Kitchen has many tasks that could be automated, but usually not well positioned for broad application and integration.  Note here a number of hints at Google investment in the topic.  Ready to test.

Google Is Testing Its Latest AI-Powered Robot In a Kitchen  in ExtremeTech   By Adrianna Nine on August 17, 2022

Many robots are created to conduct highly-controlled jobs like frying potatoes, watering plants, or collecting litter. But a truly life-changing robot is one that can adapt to changing—and sometimes hectic—circumstances (ideally without losing its cool). That’s the line of thinking Google is following as it meshes its language-handling AI with a handy robot assistant.

Google’s Pathways Language Model (PaLM) is a relatively new 540-billion parameter network built to complete a variety of complex language-based tasks. It’s said to be intelligent enough to describe how it solved a math problem and annoy you by explaining your own jokes. Rather than focusing on one area of “expertise” and starting fresh every time it learns a new skill, PaLM can “stack” previously-learned knowledge to devise solutions to novel problems, similar to how humans assess new situations. This is important if a robot is meant to help humans in their jobs or day-to-day personal lives.

It just so happens that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has been working on a new robotics firm called Everyday Robots. As its name suggests, the firm’s goal is to build robots that learn on their own and take care of “time-consuming, everyday tasks.” Combined with PaLM, Everyday Robots’ SayCan robot becomes the PaLM-SayCan, a bot capable of assessing its own capabilities, its environment, and the task at hand, then breaking that task into smaller sub-tasks to achieve the desired goal. ... '

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I just published a suite of Vector tools on Nukepedia (Download and Quick description here).

In this post I will to run the more nerdy of you through the math involved, in part 2 I will include mini-tutorials of example usage of these tools.

The Tools Math

Basic understanding of vectors is necessary to follow the math involved, review it here: mathsisfun.com

Luma_to_Normals: Converts an image to normals (based on Luma). This one was one I really cared about for a long time. Back in 2014 I got really close to achieve good results, but I wasn’t able to obtain the Blue channel of a normal map properly. While there are tools on Nukepedia already that attempt to achieve this, I wasn’t entirely convinced by them. I didn’t want to publish a half-baked tool, so I got back in there a few days ago and I am pretty satisfied with the result.

After some research, it seemed that the first step of converting luma to normals would be to apply some sort of Filter. I decided to use a Sobel filter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobel_operator
In nuke, that meant adding 2 matrix nodes, one for an horizontal filter and one vertical. I would then shuffle these into R and G.

The image I will use to test the algorithm.

2016-04-09_16h44_06 2016-04-09_16h43_30

Result of the Sobel operations. The image contains negative values that are not visible on this screenshot.

That was already sufficient for running in an iDistort for example to fake a refraction or heat haze, etc.. That’s what I had been using for a long time. However, for a complete tool, I needed to get 3D vectors, not 2D.
As normal maps are vectors representing a direction, the magnitude of their vectors is normalized so that each magnitude is 1.
The math to calculate a vector magnitude is  MSP4671gfih99789d2674000002b56a425588h5acb.
Since I knew X and Y, and wanted a final magnitude of 1, I had to write the expression MSP9541gfih8c95b7d8hae00004bhb44b0f6e02g5f, which solves Z like this MSP9581gfih8c95b7d8hae000029gai8cgf6c97bc2.
I wrote the expression in Nuke. Now the problem is that if the magnitude of the 2D vector was already longer than 1, the expression would error and add a lot of “nan”. So I added an expression in order to return 0 in blue if the 2D vector was already 1 or longer.
By adding a grade node before the Sobel operation, it’s possible to control the overall magnitude of the 2D vectors, allowing to reduce the errors happening when calculating the 3D vector. I also added some extra controls, packed it in a group, and the tool was done.

The resulting normals (displayed in a 0-1 range)

UV_Map_Generator: This one was pretty straight forward. UV maps are ramps that go from 0 to 1 horizontally in R, and vertically in G.
The one little trick was that Nuke calculates the X and Y position of pixels from the bottom left corner of the pixel, while STMaps and other UV based tools calculate it from the center of the Pixel. I used to generate them with the expression r = x/width, g=y/height. To be correct I had to add 0.5 to x and y to center the value to the pixel. So the final expression is r = (x+.5)/width, g=(y+.5)/height.

UV_to_Vectors: By subtracting a distorted UV map and an original UV map, we obtain some sort of faint vectors corresponding to the distortion, however, to truly get the right magnitude, it’s necessary to multiply r by the width and g by the height.
So for the expression, onto a distorted map (in r and g), I need to re-generate an original UV to subtract to the distorted UV:
r = (r-((x+.5)/width))*width
g = (g-((y+.5)/height))*height
Which can be simplified to:
r = -x+r*width-0.5
g = -y+g*height-0.5
(I’m using http://www.wolframalpha.com to simplify my expressions, because I’m lazy)

Vectors_to_UV: Basically the opposite of above:
r = (r+x+0.5)/width
g = (g+y+0.5)/height

Vectors_Direction: I wanted a way to rotate 2D vectors. No need to re-invent the wheel, I googled the formula, and wrote it into a Nuke expression. Sadly I can’t cite my source anymore since I found it years a go and can’t recall where I found it from. The thing to be aware is that the formula expected angles in radians, so the first thing I did is define a variable, then use it into the expression.
angleRad = radians(parent.rotation)
r = r * cos(angleRad) – g * sin(angleRad)
g = r * sin(angleRad) + g * cos(angleRad)

Vector_Transform: Sometimes, you may want to transform some vectors in space, using nuke’s Transform node. However, since the direction and magnitude of the vectors are built into the color and not spatially, the default transform wouldn’t be able to rotate or scale vectors properly. Using the previous node (Vectors_Direction), a Multiply node (to multiply values according to scale) and a default transform, I was able to transform vectors properly.

Other Tools included:

vector3DMathExpression: A NoOp node with expressions to calculate a 3D vector between 2 3D points, as well as it’s magnitude.

Vectors_Magnitude: An utility to see the magnitude of motion vectors, usually simply as information for the artist.

Vectors_Normalize: Will scale every vector in a vector pass so that each vctor’s magnitude is 1, while keeping the direction. Works on 2D and 3D vectors.

In Part 2 of this article, I’ll be publishing a few mini-tutorials on how to use these tools in context.


Lender of Korea to ‘Appropriately’ Regulate Monetary Lodging in 2022

By Ronnie Harui

The Financial institution of Korea will “appropriately” modify monetary plan accommodation in line with improvement in financial disorders, in order for client price tag inflation to be stabilized at the focus on stage, the central lender mentioned in its report on monetary policy for 2022.

Buyer cost inflation is anticipated to tumble relatively to a amount close to the focus on stage of 2.%, the BOK explained in the report produced Friday. Core inflation is forecast to rise to a amount close to but underneath 2.%.

However, it really should be observed that inflationary pressures could be higher than anticipated, partly due to prolonged global provide bottlenecks, expanded demand from customers-aspect pressures and soaring inflation anticipations, the central lender claimed.

South Korea’s financial state is forecast to keep its pattern of good progress of around 3.%, the central lender stated. However, uncertainties bordering the long run development path are assessed to be higher. The key possible threat components for the upcoming expansion route are the advancement of the pandemic and the pace of easing in worldwide provide constraints, it said.

Financial and overseas exchange markets could see heightened volatility from time to time, depending on the developments of main danger components at dwelling and abroad, the BOK reported.

Whilst ensuring the steadiness of the monetary and international exchange markets, it will proceed attempts to reduce the risk of the establish-up of economic imbalances, the central lender said.

Write to Ronnie Harui at [email protected]


Somatics and Yoga

For many of you who have attended my yoga classes, you’ll likely recall a portion of the class is devoted to gentle movement patterns linking breathing in and out. The pattern would go as follows: engage a body part (like shrugging the shoulders) on the inhale, and then relax or do the opposite motion (lower the shoulders) on the exhale. These movement patterns, are always done slowly and with mindful attention to the body’s sensations. This is pattern of movement is known as somatics, and is very helpful to reducing chronic muscle tension, pain, and retraining the nervous system out of habitual holding patterns.

Somatics describes any practice that uses the mind-body connection to help you survey your internal self and listen to signals your body sends about areas of pain, discomfort, or imbalance. Somatics can be applied to many different movement practices such as yoga, tai chi, dancing, Pilates, etc. As these practices become more mindful through the somatic process, they allow you to access more information about the ways you hold on to your experiences in your body.

Thomas Hanna, an educator in the field, coined the term in 1970 to describe a number of techniques that share one important similarity: they help people increase body awareness through a combination of movement and relaxation, and specifically a process known as pandiculation. Pandiculation in it’s original definition means the act of stretching oneself, especially on waking (picture the yawn and stretch). Pandiculation is our innate response to the sensations of lack of movement and to tension building up in our muscles.

A somatic exercises is essentially a voluntary pandiculation exercise. The muscles are contracted and released in such a way that feedback loop in our nervous system, which regulates the level of tension in our muscles, is naturally reset. This resetting reduces muscular tension and restores conscious, voluntary control over our muscles. This prevents the buildup of tension and pain in our muscles is critical to maintaining healthy posture and movement.

Somatics are a great resource for nervous system regulation. Breaking the cycle of chronic and unconscious tensing patterns in the body it so important for both physical and emotional health restoration, and this is why body somatic exercises are offered in my classes and individual work.

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How Yoga Can Help Manage Chronic Stress & Burnout

Living during the time of a pandemic with worldly tensions around every corner, combined with constant societal pressure to be pushing, achieving, and being productive, and there’s no mystery why so many are teetering on the edge of burnout. Stress is a part of life; it is certainly not going away, and in order to thrive, we need to weather the storms. It is critical we learn ways to keep our nervous systems resilient so we can continue to “bounce back”, and yoga’s ability to improve nervous system flexibility can help manage chronic stress and even prevent burnout.

Chronic Stress & Burnout

Some of us are so used to being chronically stressed that our systems barely remember or know what it feels like to be restored and relaxed. Signs you are dealing with chronic stress are not being able to relax, finding it difficult to switch off from thinking or doing, irregular/rapid heart rate, panic attacks, insomnia, frequent bursts of irritation, rapid/shallow breathing, digestion problems, aches and pains from tense muscles and extreme tiredness.

It’s a very fine tipping point from chronic stress to burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It could be the compounding effect of one thing after another or it can be one big event like taking care of a sick loved one or losing a job or home. Burnout happens as a result of a complete overwhelm to the nervous system; it’s when our bodies literally force us to stop doing by shutting us down. In burnout, your nervous system shifts to a state of “freeze” (see dorsal vagal pathway in the polyvagal theory), which presents with symptoms of feeling frozen, numb, void of emotion, and having no motivation or energy.

Unfortunately, when dealing with high stress, we often make unhealthy lifestyle choices which heighten our risk for burnout, e.g. poor diet, too much caffeine, lack of sleep, no exercise, and numbing out or “leaving the body” by scrolling or binging on media. Unfortunately, these habits create a pattern where we are not replenishing our systems, nor are we processing anything – there is no emotional discharge, and our experiences can get stuck in the physical body.

We can interrupt and counteract this accumulation of internalized stress through yoga. Plenty of research is underway to understand this relationship better. The current research focusing on stress and burnout in healthcare workers, shows yoga is effective in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal and psychological issues, and in subjects who practiced yoga and mind-body meditation, sleep is improved and stress levels and burnout are consistently reduced.  The Use of Yoga to Manage Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review (

Below I highlight a few of the helpful ways in which yoga interrupts the compounding effect of stress and the shut down response of the body. It is important to note there are many different styles of yoga. For the purposes of this topic of stress and burnout, I am speaking about yoga of a slow and gentle nature, and practices which are intentional in its therapeutic application of pacing, posture choice, meditation, and breathing techniques.

Yoga Applications to Manage Stress and Burnout

Inner Body Sensing (Embodiment)
Yoga teaches us awareness skills of what’s happening within our bodies – noticing feelings, sensations, energy levels, body positioning, etc.  When we regularly practice tuning inwards to the senses of the body, we get more familiar, more comfortable, and more tolerant of that which we can receive, including experiences which are unpleasant. This helps be more proficient in digesting all the emotional-mental stress that is moving through us and we become more resilient to stressful and emotional times. In addition, by being more embodied, we are better able to attend to momentary muscular tension and this can awaken us from a shut-down response.

In my classes and in yoga therapy sessions, I often take the students through a mind-body check-in to heighten the skills of inner body sensing. Once this process is familiar, the check-in can be used throughout your day to keep the flow of body-based processing going and become more proficient at assessing your nervous system status, allowing you to intervene with therapeutic tools (breathing, meditations, gentle yoga) as needed. This helps to lower anxiety or awaken us from a shut-down response.

Try this quick mind-body check in to improve your embodiment skills (can be done in any posture and any time in the day):

  • Start by noticing where your body is grounding. If standing feel your feet to the ground; if sitting or leaning, feel the connection of ground through your seat, back and legs; if lying down, sense the back of your body and all the places it makes contact to surfaces beneath you.
  • Move your attention to sensing how you are holding yourself – posture, body tension, and notice any other sensations present with you in the moment.
  • Sense your breath and notice the rate and depth of your breath in this moment.
  • Reflect on anything else that seems to be present withing your internal body awareness – feelings, thoughts, energy levels, etc.

Mindful Breathing and Moving
Breathing properly is key to regulating our nervous systems and an important antidote to chronic stress and burnout. Breathing slowly, through the nose and with good movement in the diaphragm will help recovery. Be aware if you have a pattern of hyperventilation or upper chest breathing (it is very helpful to do regular checking of your breath throughout the day). Focus on long smooth breaths, breathing into to the lower lungs (expanding low ribs and belly on the inhale), and working towards a slightly longer exhalation, will help to engage the vagus nerve and parasympathetic division of the nervous system. Check out this information page for more information on how to do proper diaphragmatic breathing.

Mindful movement is about paying attention to what you feel as you move and making decisions of how much of a stretch or how long to hold a stretch based on what feels helpful in the moment. Many slow paced, gentle yoga classes are excellent to encourage the mindfulness aspect while moving; however, doing a few stretches on your own can be very effective as well. The process is accumulative – the more your body relaxes from the mindful movement, the more the mind relaxes and the nervous system regulates, and this pattern becomes more efficient with practice.

Try this short yoga class focusing on mindful movement. For more classes like this, try Stretch & Relax Yoga which is offered as a drop-in class at In Balance Yoga.

Intentional Rest (relaxing or restorative yoga postures and meditations)
When you take time to properly rest (not zone out on your phone), but enter a state in which you find a comfortable posture, close your eyes, and actively encourage a quieting of the mind and body, then your brain waves shift from the active thinking, known as Beta state, to the slower Alpha state where decompression happens. Brief periods of relaxed, alpha state in your day will assist the brain with waste removal, aid in the consolidation of new skills and knowledge, and serve as a way to balance the drive for productivity. After intentional rest in alpha state, your mind is more receptive, open, creative, and less critical, and this is important to restore the balance of stress and burnout.

Doing a restorative yoga pose or guided meditation, such as body scans and Yoga Nidras, will provide you with a moment in your day for intentional rest. Check out this blog highlighting a few yoga techniques and postures to stimulate the vagus nerve in relationship to regulating the nervous system. When possible, it is beneficial to close the eyes and use an eye pillow when resting. The light pressure on the eyeballs from the pillow stimulates the vagus nerve and oculocardiac reflex, facilitating the relaxation response.

If you want to learn more about how yoga can help you manage chronic stress or return you to a more regulated state in the case of burn out, consider connecting with a yoga therapist. With guidance and practice, you can develop better regulation skills for emotional resistance to stress and burnout.

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Yoga Techniques to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve plays a central role in your emotional and physical health. The vagus nerve travels from the brainstem down into your stomach and intestines, enervating your heart and lungs, and connecting your throat and facial muscles. Therefore, any yoga practices that stimulate these areas of the body can improve the tone of the vagus nerve. Stimulating the vagus nerve has a regulating effect on your body and mind, helping you regain balance if you are either ramped-up with anxiety or shut down with pain or fatigue.

You can learn how to regulate the functioning of your vagus nerve with these yoga techniques:

1. Diaphragmatic breathing – increases vagal tone and this can be accented by extending the length of the exhale to be longer than the inhale.
How To Do Diaphragmatic Breathing – YouTube

2. Body scan with progressive muscle relaxation – doing a scan of your body to identify where you are holding tension and then consciously releasing those areas of tension. (When short of time, focusing on releasing the tension around the eyes, face, jaw, and tops of the shoulder is especially helpful in to improve vagal tone).
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation – YouTube

3. Practicing yoga postures that open across your chest and throat – Examples: cow pose, shoulder extension stretch, sphynx pose, fish pose (active or supported)

4. Poses that release or stimulate the belly – Examples: cobra pose, prone lying over cushion, child’s pose with folded blanket connect to abdomen, back extension over bolster

5. Loving kindness meditation – this meditation helps to establish feelings of positive emotion and connection with others, as part of the social engagement properties of the vagus
Loving Kindness Mediation – YouTube

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Healing from Covid-19 and the Vagus Nerve

Feeling ill and not fitting into easily diagnosable conditions is frustrating. One ER doctor said it best when he told me,” I can see you are unwell, but the tests we have done don’t give us a hint of what direction to keep searching…” In the worst moments of my illness, I was so breathless and weak I could barely walk from my bedroom to the living room, yet the doctors listening to my lungs would hear clear breaths. Despite this, my symptoms were very real, and the best way I could describe it was like my body forgot how to breathe on its own.

In these last 4 months, living with long-haul Covid symptoms, I began to realize it felt like my body could no longer regulate—it felt hijacked in its ability to slow the heart rate, digest, or to breathe smoothly and relaxed. Current research on the virus still has not determined if the prolonged symptoms of Covid-19 are because the virus remains in the body for an extended period of time attacking different organs/systems, or if its the body’s own immune system creating havoc on the organs in attempt to fight off this very aggressive virus. Either way, much of what I experienced felt neurologically based, and I discovered many other people describing the same experiences on the Slack Body-Politic Covid-19 Support . I also found discussions on the possibility that some of the effects from the virus could be from damaging the autonomic nervous system, and specifically affecting the vagus nerve.

The autonomic nervous system affects functions we don’t consciously think about, such as digestion, breathing, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure, and is primarily controlled through the vagus nerve. When I described feeling, “Like my body forgot how to breathe on its own,” I could see how this could relate to an impairment of autonomic functioning. On the support group, I found a self-help exercise claiming to ‘reset’ the vagus nerve’. It was a simple exercise where you place your hands behind your head and move your eyes to the three o’clock position and wait until you experience a yawn or a swallow (link to exercise video). I was surprised that I actually found it helpful and this got me wanting to understand the functioning of the vagus nerve further.

The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body. It starts in the brain as a cranial nerve, descends down through the neck, then wanders around through to the heart, lungs, digestive system, liver, spleen, and pancreas. It is the main nerve controlling the regulation of all these organs through the parasympathetic nervous system (NS), (the rest and digest branch of the NS, opposite the excitatory, sympathetic NS of ‘fight, flight, or freeze’). For example when the heart rate goes up, it’s the vagus nerve which sends the signal to the heart to slow down.

The vagus nerve is also responsible for controlling the amount of inflammation in your body after an injury or illness. A certain amount of inflammation after injury or illness is normal, but an overabundance is linked to many very serious conditions, from sepsis to autoimmune diseases. A study done by a group of researchers in Amsterdam, showed when the vagus nerve is stimulated, inflammation in the body is greatly reduced. Therefore, the chronic inflammation of conditions where the body’s immune system is overactive, such as rheumatoid arthritis, can be reduced when the nerve is stimulated.

In the possible case Covid-19 does damage or affects the vagus nerve in some way, I wanted to learn how to stimulate the vagus nerve naturally. I learned the health and proper functioning of the vagus nerve is measured by its vagal tone, and the tone of the vagus nerve is key to activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Vagal tone is measured by tracking your heart-rate alongside your breathing rate. Your heart-rate speeds up a little when you breathe in, and slows down a little when you breathe out. The bigger the difference between your inhalation heart-rate and your exhalation heart-rate, the higher your vagal tone. Higher vagal tone is associated with better blood sugar regulation, reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, lowered blood pressure, improved digestion, and reduced migraines (not to mention better mood, less anxiety, and better stress resilience). Below are six techniques found to improve vagal tone.

Six ways to improve the vagal tone the vagus nerve:

1. Slow, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing—Breathing with good movement in your diaphragm, rather than shallowly from the top of the lungs, stimulates and tones the vagus nerve.

2. Humming/chanting/singing—Since the vagus nerve is connected to the vocal cords, humming mechanically stimulates it. You can hum (try Bhramari Breathing), or repeat the sound ‘OM’.

3. Washing your face with cold water—The mechanism here is not known, but cold water on your face stimulates the vagus nerve.

4. Meditation—Both mindfulness meditation, where we give full attention to the present moment, and loving kindness meditation, which invokes a feeling of social connection, have been shown to improve vagal tone.

5. Balancing the gut microbiome—The vagus nerve reads the gut microbiome and initiates a response to modulate inflammation based on whether or not it detects pathogenic versus non-pathogenic organisms. In this way, the gut microbiome can have an affect on your mood, stress levels and overall inflammation. Try using probiotics and working on your diet to optimize your gut microbiome (if unsure consult with a dietician or naturopath).

6. Yoga—Its relationship to its slow mindful movements and breathing make it an especially good exercise form to promote vagal tone.

My symptoms and daily functionality are improving, and I felt comfortable practicing these 6 generally safe and simple techniques. So if you are dealing with long-term effects of Covid, or any other chronic auto-immune condition, I hope they can help you too.

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A Fusion Pose For Posture And Calm

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The grim North

With John McGrath writing the script you can be pretty confident there will be a sensible political message and this thriller (well, generically it’s not quite clear, but thriller might be the best category) is both of its time and about a system that is still with us.

At the start, where Nicol Williamson’s protagonist (Marler) is having ‘rough sex’ with his wife to be followed by aggressive driving of his Jaguar, I thought we were in a gangster film. It has a similar look to the concurrent Performance (UK) and shares the time’s love of exaggerated zoom shots; both had major studio backing: Columbia and Warner Bros. respectively. However, it soon becomes clear he’s a go-getting executive (not so different from a gangster really). However, he has to return to his roots, a Liverpool that still has pre-war housing and bomb sites, as his father’s ill.

Unsurprisingly, for he’s been living in Virginia Water in a massive detached house, he finds Liverpool’s anti-establishment ethos gives him perspective. On his return south he gatecrashes his wife’s dinner party (it is in his own house), drunk, and tells the pinstriped tossers what he thinks of them. The class tensions remind us that although the 1960s were more egalitarian than the decades before, as McGrath makes clear, the ‘old order’ is still in charge.

Apart from the distracting zooms, Jack Gold‘s direction is confident. He shoots crowd scenes well and there’s a great moment at a wrestling match where the contestants suddenly realise that the audience has erupted into a riot. They stand together bemused, watching the mayhem. McGrath was born in Birkenhead which vouches for the authenticity of this portrayal of Liverpool.

Williamson’s career was ended by drink but he’s a formidable presence in the film, even if it is difficult to understand why he has such a ‘way with women’ (the misogynistic tones are of its time). Rachel Roberts is great as a ‘good time’ mother who clearheadedly knows what she wants and what she can get.

Apparently McGrath suggested that his script prefigured Thatcherism and it’s true that the ruthless corporate culture is still with us, evidenced by the CEO of Bet365 paying herself £217m in 2017.


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Systematic Reviews: Scoping Reviews

Collaborative support for researchers undertaking systematic reviews

What is a Scoping Review?

Our Systematic Review Service can also assist you and your team with Scoping Reviews.

A scoping review is a relatively new approach to evidence synthesis and differs from systematic reviews in its purpose and aims. The purpose of a scoping review is to provide an overview of the available research evidence without producing a summary answer to a guide clinical decision-making.

Scoping reviews are a form of knowledge synthesis, which incorporate a range of study designs to comprehensively summarize and synthesize evidence with the aim of informing practice, programs, and policy and providing direction to future research priorities.

The general purpose for conducting scoping reviews is to identify and map the available evidence.

Adapted from: Arksey H, O’Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Methodol. 2005 Feb;8(1):19–32.

Sucharew H, Macaluso, M. Methods for Research Evidence Synthesis: The Scoping Review Approach. J. Hosp. Med 2019;7;416-418.

How is this different from a Systematic Review?

  • Scoping reviews share a number of the same processes as systematic reviews, as they both use rigorous and transparent methods to comprehensively identify and analyze all the relevant literature pertaining to a research question.

  • The key differences between the two review methods can be attributed to their differing purposes and aims. The purpose of a scoping review is to map the body of literature on a topic area. The purpose of a systematic review is to sum up the best available research on a specific question

  • Scoping reviews identify key characteristics or factors related to a concept. They do not produce statements to guide decision-making.

  • A scoping review seeks to present an overview of a potentially large and diverse body of literature pertaining to a broad topic. A systematic review attempts to collate empirical evidence from a relatively smaller number of studies pertaining to a focused research question.

  • Scoping reviews aim to provide a descriptive overview of the reviewed material without critically appraising individual studies or synthesizing evidence from different studies (no risk of bias or meta-analysis/statistical pooling is performed). In contrast, systematic reviews aim to provide a synthesis of evidence from studies assessed for risk of bias.

Adapted from: Pham MT, Rajić A, Greig JD, Sargeant JM, Papadopoulos A, McEwen SA. A scoping review of scoping reviews: advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency. Res Synth Methods. 2014 Dec;5(4):371–85.

The PCC Question Development Framework

Because the aim of a scoping review differs from that of a systematic review, question development may not fit into the PICO (Patient/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome) framework. Therefore, PCC (Population/Concept/Context) may be a more useful framework.

Per JBI's Scoping Review Manual: "The 'PCC' mnemonic is recommended as a guide to construct a clear and meaningful title for a scoping review. The PCC mnemonic stands for the Population, Concept, and Context. There is no need for explicit outcomes, interventions or phenomena of interest to be stated for a scoping review; however elements of each of these may be implicit in the concept under examination."

Element Definition Example
P - Population

"Important characteristics of participants should be detailed, including age and other qualifying criteria that make them appropriate for the objectives of the scoping review and for the review question.

In some circumstances, participants per se are not a relevant inclusion criterion. For example, for a scoping review that is focused upon mapping the types and details of research designs that have been used in a particular field, it may not be useful or within scope to detail the types of participants involved in that research." (11.2.4)

Breast cancer patients
C - Concept "The core concept examined by the scoping review should be clearly articulated to guide the scope and breadth of the inquiry. This may include details that pertain to elements that would be detailed in a standard systematic review, such as the 'interventions' and/or 'phenomena of interest' and/or 'outcomes.'" (11.2.4.) Barriers to care

C -

"May include... cultural factors such as geographic location and/or specific racial or gender-based interests. In some cases, context may also encompass details about the specific setting." (11.2.4)  Low income countries

When do I perform a Systematic Review? When do I perform a Scoping Review?

  • When you have a specific clinical question that fits into the PICO framework or a hypothesis you are looking to test, you'll want to perform a systematic review.

  • If you are looking for a broad overview on a topic, with no hypothesis or specific clinical question, you'll want to perform a scoping review.
Indications for Systematic Reviews
Uncover the international evidence
Confirm current practice/ address any variation/ identify new practices
Identify and inform areas for future research
Identify and investigate conflicting results
Produce statements to guide decision-making
Indications for Scoping Reviews
To identify the types of available evidence in a given field
To clarify key concepts/ definitions in the literature
To examine how research is conducted on a certain topic or field
To identify key characteristics or factors related to a concept
As a precursor to a systematic review
To identify and analyze knowledge gaps

Adapted from: Munn Z, Peters MDJ, Stern C, Tufanaru C, McArthur A, Aromataris E. Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2018 Nov 19;18(1):143.

How are both Systematic and Scoping Reviews different from Traditional Literature Reviews?

Systematic and scoping reviews aim to be comprehensive, transparent, reproducible, and unbiased – this is not typically the case with a traditional literature review. With clear and explicit methodology, the reader knows exactly how the authors of a study came to their conclusions, rather than relying on expert opinion or subjective selection that is usually found in a literature review.

  Literature Review Systematic Review Scoping Review
Review question General discussion of topic Focused clinical question/hypothesis Broad overview of topic
A priori review protocol No Yes Yes
Registering protocol No Yes Sometimes, but not accepted in PROSPERO
Searching for relevant literature Not comprehensive, typically only include published literature Comprehensive search to locate all relevant published and unpublished studies Comprehensive search to locate all relevant published and unpublished studies
Deciding which studies include/exclude Undefined; typically only include studies that support claims Explicit description of what types of studies are to be included Explicit description of what types of studies are to be included
Standardized data extraction forms No Yes Yes
Risk of bias assessment (critical appraisal) No Yes Sometimes, but not required

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