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US Health Care System

The United States (US) has traditionally been considered as having one of the best healthcare systems in the world, both in terms of technical advances, healthcare quality, and overall health outcomes, though the relatively high prices have been a source of criticism. The US currently spends more per capita on health care than any other developed country in the world. With increasing globalization and information sharing, many have begun to question the US leadership role in health care by challenging the value (outcomes/price) of the health care that is delivered. Shocking awareness of patient safety, clinical efficiency, and overall quality of the US healthcare system, along with concerns about spiraling costs, increasing uninsured population, and the questionable sustainability of the overall system have created a vigorous healthcare debate within the US.

Currently within the US 6,000 and 7,000 physicians.

The US is alone among developed nations with the notable absence of a universal healthcare system. The US system is primarily one of private insurance, with governmental insurance provided for citizens on the healthcare fringe. Insurance is provided by large risk bearing corporate entities, who organize health care delivery by negotiating pricing and services with provider (physicians and hospitals) organizations. Beginning with World War II, most insurance was paid for by employers who offer health care benefits as a form of compensation to attract employees. However, with excessive inflation of healthcare costs (sometimes 2-3X consumer pricing index), many employers are being forced to reduce the health care related benefits. This has led to employees having to bear an increasing percentage of healthcare costs on their own. This has been a significant contributing factor in the rise of the people without health insurance in the US, currently estimated at 45 million or nearly 17% of the population. This has perpetuated a situation where those least able to pay actually pay more for their healthcare, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of zero-sum cost shifting.

In addition to private health care, the US system has several public funded components:
 * Medicare is a federally funded government program providing coverage for the elderly and disabled with a historical work record. Originally created in 1965 as part of the Social Security Act, the Medicare program consists of four parts, which provides for hospital, medical, and prescription drug benefits. The program is under heavy scrutiny, and heavily influencing the pricing of the private healthcare insurance program in the US.
 * Medicaid is a joint federal and state program providing tax-financed coverage to low-income and disabled persons (indigents). The care in both Medicare and Medicaid is generally provided by privately owned hospitals or physicians in private practice, but public hospitals are common in older cities.
 * Workers Compensation is a government mandated form of insurance to cover work related injuries. Wage replacement benefits vary considerably state-to-state and employers bear the cost of this insurance. Businesses with considerable risks, such as bridge-building, mining, or meat processing face far higher worker compensation insurance costs than do office based clerical businesses. This can create disequities and inefficiencies in the market place, with the ultimate cost of this program passed along to the consumer in the form of higher prices.
 * The Department of Veterans Affairs directly provides health care to injured U.S. military veterans and current servicemen and women through a nationwide network of government hospitals (non-injured veterans are often not covered). Using tax payer dollars, the US government built out the largest integrated network of hospitals and clinics in the country. The VA was also one of the first healthcare organizations to fully deploy an electronic health record system wide, complete with computerized physician order entry and bar code medications. These innovations have enabled the VA to become the leading provider of high quality care in the United States.
 * The Indian Health Service provides public funded care for Native Americans as part of the various settlements achieved in the early 20th century. With over 40 hospitals, and more 500 clinics conveniently located on or near reservations, the IHS serves a populations of nearly 3 million people. IHS is recognized throughout the healthcare industry as having developed some of the most innovative population based measurement and monitoring software that has improved health care outcomes.

Many believe that the US private health system is on the verge of collapse. Data to support this can be found in the patient safety, clinical efficiency, spiraling costs, and healthcare quality issues that plague the system. A few alarming statistics:

 * Nearly 100,000 people die each year from preventable medical disease.
 * 1 in 5 lab tests requested because prior results not available
 * 1 in 6 hospitalizations complicated by medication errors
 * 1 in 7 admissions because prior health history not accessible
 * 1 in 8 physician orders not executed as written
 * 1 in 20 outpatient prescriptions improperly processed
 * Nearly every encounter exhibits variations from best practices
 * Providers rewarded for reactive care not outcome-based care
 * Patients, providers, and payers are increasingly dissatisfied

The cost of medicines is frequently not covered by insurances and it is common for U.S. citizens to travel to Canada and Mexico for drug purchases at prices far below those in their home areas. The U. S. legal system, which has the highest number of attorneys per 100,000 population of any country in the world, is available to assist in proving liability and collecting the money for medical bills from such insurances.

There have been multiple reform proposals put forth in response to these challenges. Proposals for universal health coverage (mandated insurance for all), a single payer solution (all healthcare government financed), increased consumerism (consumers take a more active role in making healthcare decisions), and value-based competition on results (demanding increased transparency of pricing, quality, and outcome) have all been put forth as concepts to improve the current system. Several states have taken the lead by putting together comprehensive healthcare legislation that incorporates many of these ideas. The Massachusetts 2006 Health Reform Statute and the California 2007 Health Care Reform are leading examples of comprehensive attempts to address cost, quality, and access issues. The Presidential election of 2008 will feature health care as a central issue for continuing to have our economy prosper.

title: US Health Care System


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User:LipeFontoura

I, LipeFontoura, am a user of the Portuguese-language Wikibooks, Wiktionary and Wikipedia. If you want contact me, you please do it at my Portuguese-language Wiktionary discussion page. Messages sent here will hardly be seen in time, as I seldom check my discussion page here.

pt:Usuário:LipeFontoura

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User:LipeFontoura


text: Template:A-level Mathematics/Remember

title: Template:A-level Mathematics/Remember


text:
User:Fasten/Meta-schoolbook Writer's Guide/def

(def.)


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Scratch/Lessons/Resources

Resources for Scratch Projects

There are a number of places that you can go to seek resources for use within Scratch projects that you can add to your projects.

Perhaps most useful is the resources that are automatically installed with Scratch. For simply learning about Scratch, there is enough variety to create most of the basic projects that will be explained in this textbook. Still, there may be some ideas for things that you would want to try which go beyond these basic examples.

Image Files
The following are some suggested URLs that you can use to obtain images:

 * Wikimedia Commons - Has more than 1.5 million images and media files and the source of images within Wikimedia projects like Wikibooks and Wikipedia.

Image Manipulation Software
There are several image manipulation tools available to help create images or perhaps to modify some content that you have found elsewhere. These are some tools that you should consider on downloading or purchasing if you want to make some fine touch-ups on images before you import them into Scratch.

You should be aware that Scratch also has a simple image manipulation tool built into the design interface. This tool isn't that elaborate, and lacks some features that you would find in a full featured image manipulation tool, but it will take care of 90% of the issues you will have to deal with, and nearly everything that a child would want to do with an image.

 * https://www.gimp.org/ GNU Image Manipulation Program (aka the GIMP) - Available for multiple operating systems and stable in nearly all of them, including Windows, Linux, and Mac OS/X. This is a "professional" level tool that would not be recommended for younger children, but it is a good tool to look at as an adult if you want to try some more bleeding edge image effects.

 * https://www.inkscape.org/ Inkscape - A much easier tool that is designed more for image creation. This is mainly for the development of images saved in the "scaleable vector graphics" (*.svg) file format, however it can export images into the PNG file format, which can be read by Scratch.  Again, this is a more professional tool, and can be used to make more "polished" styles of images than the default Scratch editor.

Sound FX

 * https://freesound.org Freesound - Sound effects that are available under the same Creative Commons license that Scratch uses. You must become a "member" to download these sounds, but registration is free.

title: Scratch/Lessons/Resources


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Usenet Explorer User's Manual/Features

This chapter lists all features of Usenet Explorer. It describes them globally and refers to more details in other parts of this manual, for instance to the section that explains how to start using the feature, or to the section in the User Interface part.

Multiserver
TODO

Custom Collections
Custom Collections are ...

Indexing Service
* Multiserver, multi windows, multitasking newsreader for text and binaries

* Greatly exceeds binary downloaders in terms of both reliability and performance

* Capable of handling huge newsgroups easily

* Virtual groups - combining headers from many groups in one window

* Collections and files - convenient auto or custom grouping of binary and text posts in threaded view

* Automation through AutoHeaders/Watch/Scheduler; extensive header filtering options

* Processing nzb files and seamlessly integrating indexing services through an open interface

* Extremely low memory consumption and processor usage

* Flexible and extendable underlying framework, highly reliable and fault tolerant

* Fully autonomous, no verification server or phoning home except for optional check for updates

* Settings and database are contained in a single folder, doesn't use registry

* Powerful freeware binary/text poster included

* Built-in SSL support

* Win95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP/Vista compatible

title: Usenet Explorer User's Manual/Features


text:
Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Model a Silver Goblet cylinder

Preliminaries
This is a version of "Model a Silver Goblet" but starting from a cylinder rather than a cube.

Start Blender or start a new scene ( + ) and delete the default cube.

Change to Top view, make sure you're in Object mode and add a cylinder ( + Mesh > Cylinder): in the popup menu, change the number of vertices from 32 to 16, the Radius from 1.000 to 1.800, the Depth from 2.000 to 0.100 and leave "Cap Ends" as it is.

Change to Front view.

Description of the modeling steps
The steps in this tutorial are almost all made up of "extrude" and "scale": so, to avoid repeating key sequences every time,

For example, the following keystroke sequence extrudes by 1.5: , click and drag to make a rectangle around the top vertices;.
 * extrude : means
 * 1) make sure "Limit selection to visible" is off limit-selection-to-visible.png
 * 2) box select the top vertices of the cylinder: press, click and drag  to make a rectangle around the top vertices
 * 3) press, press  and type in the amount of the extrusion and press ; you can move the mouse instead but it is quicker and easier to type it in.
 * scale : scaling is by default restricted to the X-Y plane; although the numbers in the bottom left corner of the 3Dview show Z changing, in fact only X and Y change, and by equal amounts.

 * 1) press, type in the value and press  — you can use the mouse instead but it is quicker and easier to type in the number.

Creating the Goblet
This diagram shows the connection between the E-numbers and the goblet construction.

 * E1: Deselect all vertices, Box-select the top vertices (B-key), and extrude by 0.2: you may need to zoom in to do this as it's quite thin. Scale to 0.1.
 * E2: Extrude by 0.2, scale by 2.
 * E3: Extrude by 0.2, scale by 0.5 to make the lower knob.
 * E4: Extrude by 4 to make the stem.
 * E5: Extrude by 0.2, scale by 2.
 * E6: Extrude by 0.2, scale by 0.5 to make the upper knob.
 * E7: Extrude by 0.2, scale by 8 to make the base of the cup.
 * E8: Extrude by 4, if you wish to make a flared cup, you can scale by 1.5.
 * E9: Extrude by 0.0, scale by 0.9 to make the rim of the cup. (This will create a new ring of vertices and then move them in towards the centre.)
 * Now go into Wireframe mode so you can see inside to guide the next few steps.
 * E10: Extrude by -3.9, that is, downwards. and scale by 0.69: you can do this last scaling with the mouse, if you like, to get the edges of the inside of the cup and the outside parallel.
 * E11: Extrude by 0.0, scale by 0.0 to make the inside of the cup. Press Remove Doubles to merge the centre vertexes.

You now have a goblet, the base of the inside of the cup is the face of the last extrusion, is circular and flat as it derives from a cylinder.

If you haven't already saved your work-in-progress, now would be a good time.

Subsurfing and smoothing the goblet
The last step is to subsurf and smooth: go into Object mode and enable Solid mode again.

Select the Editing panel from the Buttons window and, in the "Modifiers" panel, click on "Add Modifier", select "Subdivision Surface" from the popup menu and, in the Subsurf display, increase "View subdivisions" from 1 to 2.

At the bottom right of the "Links and Materials" panel, click on the "Shading: Smooth" button. At the bottom of the cup you will see fluting — this is an artifact caused by smoothing and subsurfing triangles on a curved surface. Here it adds to the appearance, don't you think?

In Blender v2.78, the "Smooth" button is located in the "Tools" menu under the "Edit" tab.

Flattening the base of the goblet
The base of the goblet is curved due to the subsurfing, so needs to be flattened.

Go into Edit mode, deselect all, box-select the lowest set of vertices, then crease (remove the subsurfing) by pressing +  then.

The final result should look something like this:

Save the scene for use in the lighting tutorial. To jump to the relevant lighting section, go to Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Light a Silver Goblet


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A-level Chemistry/OCR (Salters)/Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. The hydrogen nucleus contains one proton.

Isotopes
Most hydrogen nuclei have no neutrons, and are called hydrogen-1 or protium, 1H. The two other isotopes are extremely rare: 2H (hydrogen-2, also known as deuterium, symbol D) accounts for 1 in every 6500 hydrogen nuclei and 3H (hydrogen-3, also known as tritium, symbol T) exists only in trace amounts.

Electron configuration
The electron configuration of the neutral hydrogen atom, H, is

$$1\mbox{s}^1 \,\!$$

Dihydrogen
In its standard elemental state, hydrogen exists as diatomic H2 molecules, sometimes referred to as dihydrogen.

Compounds
Hydrogen forms compounds with almost every other element in the periodic table.

Hydrides
In compounds with very electropositive elements, as in sodium hydride, NaH, hydrogen exists as the hydride ion, H−. H− does not exist in solution because it is exceptionally reactive. For example, if you try to dissolve NaH in water, the following reaction occurs:

 * H− + H2O(l) → H2(g) + OH−(aq)

In compounds with elements whose electronegativity is similar to or greater than hydrogen, such as hydrogen fluoride, HF, hydrogen is covalently bonded to the other element.

Organic compounds
Hydrogen is present in the vast majority of organic compounds. In fact, some sources define organic compounds as those with C-H bonds, but this definition is controversial because there are some organic compounds, such as oxalic acid, which are behave exactly like other organic compounds, yet lack C-H bonds.


text:
Talk:Lua Functional Programming

Hi just to drop a note that lua per se lacks macros in the lisp sense. There is a project to add it called metalua, look it up! LPenz

title: Talk:Lua Functional Programming


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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Ron Weasley

Overview
Ron Weasley remains unattached for the first three years of the series. He becomes infatuated with Fleur Delacour when she arrives for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. He eventually falls for the advances of Lavender Brown, with whom he has an intensely physical, but ultimately short-lived, relationship, punctuated by a love-potion induced passion for Romilda Vane. When the relationship with Lavender ends, he moves closer to Hermione, and by the start of the seventh book, they are somewhat more than "sort of together," according to Harry. Their relationship, though it is interrupted by Ron's departure near Christmas, matures over the course of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and is further strengthened by his return.

Philosophers' Stone
Ron is largely unattached through this book. He is impressed at times by Hermione's abilities, and he and Harry do join forces to rescue Hermione from a mountain troll, but there is no apparent romantic attachment.

Chamber of Secrets
The Monster in the Chamber of Secrets is released periodically and is Petrifying students. When Hermione is Petrified, Ron is apparently more deeply affected by seeing her in the Hospital Wing than Harry is. The only thing that has a greater effect on Ron is when his sister Ginny is taken into the Chamber.

Prisoner of Azkaban
Ron does not seem to show any particular romantic attachment in this book; in fact, for a long stretch he is estranged from Hermione after Harry's Firebolt is confiscated, and later because Scabbers, his pet rat, has apparently been killed by Crookshanks, Hermione's cat.

Goblet of Fire
Starting with the arrival of the Beauxbatons students at the end of October, Ron finds himself infatuated with Fleur Delacour, a Beauxbatons student and shortly the Beauxbatons Champion in the Triwizard Tournament. When she comes over to the Gryffindor table to ask if they want their bouillabaisse on their first night at Hogwarts, Ron is almost struck dumb. After she departs, Ron says that she must have some Veela in her ancestry. Hermione is rather nettled by this, and says that nobody else is acting that silly about her, but Harry notices that many other students seem similarly struck by her.

There is also a spot of byplay going on with Viktor Krum, who seems to appear in the library whenever Hermione is there. While this bothers both Ron and Hermione, it is not Viktor himself who is the problem, but the gaggle of girls who seem to follow him about, giggling and hoping for autographs. In fact, at this point, Viktor is still quite a hero to Ron, "the best Seeker in the entire world!"

Matters come to a head at the Yule Ball. Ron asks Fleur to the ball, but Fleur simply ignores him. Shattered, Ron returns to the Gryffindor common room. Harry tells him there that Fleur is one-quarter Veela, and likely had turned on the charm at that moment to snare Roger Davies, but Ron does not seem interested. It suddenly occurs to Ron that he can ask Hermione, but Hermione says that she has already accepted an invitation from someone else. Harry, acting more or less out of desperation, convinces Padma Patil to accompany Ron to the ball.

This is not a success; at the ball, Ron largely ignores Padma, either trying to avoid Fleur or glowering at Hermione as she dances with Viktor Krum. When Hermione comes over to talk to Ron and Harry, Ron accuses her of "consorting with the enemy". Hermione stalks off and is lost in the crowd. Ron and Harry then leave the dance floor to walk in the rose garden.

After the dance, Harry finds Ron and Hermione in a shouting match in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione tells Ron that if he does not like it then, "The next time there's a Ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" Hermione storms off to her dormitory. Ron, stunned, tells Harry that Hermione is quite clearly missing the point.

Even though Ron himself does not admit it, from this point in the story onwards he is quite plainly jealous of Krum, while still hoping to get attention from Fleur. He glowers at Krum, and tries to keep Hermione out of the library; this is often helped by Krum's admirers, who Hermione finds very irritating as they giggle at the sight of Krum.

In the Second Task, the merpeople are holding someone valuable to each of the Champions deep under the lake. When Ron and Harry return to the surface with Gabrielle, Fleur's sister, Fleur is overjoyed; she kisses Harry, and also Ron because he helped. Hermione is somewhat upset by this attention that Ron is getting, but is distracted by something Viktor says to her.

Shortly after this, Rita Skeeter writes a scurrilous article for Witch Weekly that suggests Hermione is keeping both Harry and Viktor as lovers. Hermione remarks that she wonders how Rita had known that Viktor had invited her to visit over the summer; Ron becomes very upset at hearing about this invitation.

As the Beauxbatons carriage is getting ready to leave, Fleur comes over to say goodbye to Harry; Ron is once again almost completely tongue-tied in her presence, earning himself a vexed look from Hermione. Ron is still feeling ambivalent about Viktor Krum, but he unbends enough to ask Krum for his autograph before they part.

Order of the Phoenix
While Ron does not appear to be involved in any particular relationship, he does seem quite annoyed when he finds, in mid-September, and then again near Christmas, Hermione writing long letters to Viktor Krum. Again, Hermione, Harry, and the readers can quite easily see Ron's jealousy, even though Ron appears quite unaware of it himself.

As Ron is leaving breakfast for the Quidditch pitch, on the morning of his first-ever Quidditch match, Hermione kisses him on the cheek. Ron seems bemused by this, rubbing the spot on his cheek as he leaves the Great Hall.

Half-Blood Prince
Ron is mildly miffed that Hermione, explaining to Harry that he is now once again something of a catch, does not seem to extend the same analysis to him. Ron is, however, a prefect, which does make him more attractive, and Lavender Brown does seem to be laughing excessively at his jokes at one point.

Harry and Ron, taking a short cut after Quidditch practice, run into Ginny snogging with Dean Thomas in the hall. Ron blows up at Dean, and Ginny accuses him of being jealous as he has only ever been kissed by Auntie Muriel. She says that Harry and Cho have been snogging, as have Hermione and Viktor Krum, and accuses Ron of being jealous because he's the only one who doesn't have anyone to snog with. Quite likely in reaction to this accusation, Ron starts responding to the advances of Lavender Brown. This is the start of an intensely physical relationship between Lavender and Ron. Harry at one point mentally compares the pair of them to a vertical wrestling match, and on another occasion wonders which of several hands he can see belongs to whom.

As intense as this relationship is, it is not without problems. At one point, Ron and Lavender seek an empty classroom to snog in. The room they find first is already occupied by Hermione, who had avoided the common room so she wouldn't have to see the two of them at it, and Harry, who wants to talk to her about it. Lavender immediately backs out, but Ron stays to speak with Hermione, and is rewarded by being attacked by a flock of birds Hermione has conjured.

At Christmas, Lavender sends Ron a necklace with gold letters that spells out "My Sweetheart". Ron is revolted, and wonders how she could have ever thought he would like that.

Returning to the school after Christmas, Ron does not seem particularly pleased at the prospect of reuniting with Lavender. He is barely within the Common Room when she has greeted him with a cry of "Won-won!" and dragged him off to a corner. Hermione tries to hide her displeasure behind a "tinkly little laugh," but nobody seems to be fooled by this show.

On his birthday, Ron finds a carton of chocolate cauldrons that had been given to Harry, and that Harry had set aside as being possibly spiked with love potion. Eating two of them, he becomes instantly infatuated with Romilda Vane. Harry takes him off to Professor Slughorn to get the potion reversed, in the process brushing past Lavender. Ron tells Lavender with great excitement that Harry is taking him to meet Romilda. Having cured him of the potion, Slughorn opens a bottle of mead to offer a birthday toast; the mead is poisoned, and Ron, saved by fast action on Harry's part, ends up in the Hospital Wing. Hermione stays by his bedside for most of his first day there. It is noteworthy that, having been silent all day, she finally answers a question, and Ron immediately says her name, and settles into an apparently less troubled sleep.

As Ron's recovery proceeds, Harry and Hermione visit him on several occasions. Lavender corners Harry and asks if he knows why Ron always seems to be sleeping when Lavender visits him. When Harry later asks him about this, Ron admits to feigning sleep so that he won't have to resume his relationship with her. When Ron is released from the hospital wing, Lavender is upset that she had not been told, and that Ron is talking to Hermione.

Hermione, angry at Ron, had been refusing to help him with his homework. When she finally relents, as it seems Ron's spell-checking quill has started making bizarre misspellings, Ron, with a sigh of relief, says he loves her. Hermione says Ron had better not let Lavender hear that. Ron replies that maybe he should, he has been looking for an excuse to break up with Lavender.

Harry, meanwhile, has been thinking about the vial of Felix Felicis tucked away in his trunk. He has been considering using it in the hopes of getting a love interest better matched to Ron, as well as a girlfriend for himself. Finally, having been given a mission to retrieve a memory from Professor Slughorn, Harry uses the Felix Felicis potion to make himself lucky. He, Hermione, and Ron return to the Common Room, but as Harry is under his Invisibility Cloak, Lavender can only see Hermione and Ron, and demands to know what the two of them have been doing up in the boys' dormitory.

This seems to be the precipitating incident that causes Lavender and Ron to break up. Ron, now no longer encumbered, starts paying attention to Hermione, and over the next short while, they quietly become "unofficially" romantically entangled. There is something of a double date atmosphere about an episode with Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. And at Dumbledore's funeral, Harry notices that Ron and Hermione are sitting side by side, comforting each other.

Deathly Hallows
On Harry's birthday, Ron privately gives him a book, saying that it is not something he wants his mother to see. Ron says that he'd gotten a copy of the book, entitled Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, from Fred and George earlier. Watching Ron later, Harry comes to the conclusion that Ron is definitely using this book in his interactions with Hermione, and with his mother as well.

While Hermione and Ron do not seem much closer than they have been, there are a few tell-tale signs that they are romantically entangled. They dance together at Bill and Fleur's wedding and when they escape to Grimmauld Place, Hermione chooses to sleep beside Ron, and according to Harry, falls asleep holding his hand. After the escape from the Ministry, Hermione is extremely worried about Ron, who has gotten Splinched. However, this is all fairly low-key until shortly before Christmas. Ron is aware of his feelings for Hermione but is, like so many in the early stages of romance, unsure of her feelings for him, uncertainty which we believe is further fueled by the actions of the Horcrux in the locket the Trio are carrying. Finally, fed up with the privations of living rough and suddenly becoming aware that Harry does not have a plan, Ron leaves the group. With Harry's concurrence, Hermione does not shift the campsite until as late in the day as she can manage, and then, knowing that Ron now cannot find them, weeps helplessly while Harry sets the defensive spells and pitches the tent.

When Ron returns some weeks later, Harry gives him the job of destroying the locket Horcrux, with the Sword of Gryffindor which Harry, with Ron's assistance, has retrieved from a frozen pond. In order to try and preserve itself, the Horcrux creates images of Harry and Hermione, and plays scenes of Harry and Hermione bad-mouthing Ron and kissing each other. Despite Harry's fear that Ron would turn on him, Ron instead destroys the Horcrux. When he and Harry then return to the tent, Hermione attacks Ron angrily, and refuses to listen to his story. He relates his story to Harry, however, and Hermione seems to accept it to a certain extent. Over the next while, Harry believes that Ron is quite deliberately taking Hermione's side in any disagreement.

When the Trio are trapped in Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix Lestrange singles out Hermione and tortures her to force her to reveal where she got the Sword of Gryffindor. While Hermione repeats that she had found it in the forest, Ron is a complete emotional wreck, screaming "HERMIONE!" repeatedly as he listens helplessly from the dungeons, hammering the wall in despair and helplessness. It is perhaps worth mention that, as they escape, Ron carries Hermione to Shell Cottage.

After arriving at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione vanish. We find later that Ron, having memorized the sound that Harry made to open the locket Horcrux, has opened the Chamber of Secrets, and he and Hermione have retrieved several Basilisk fangs. Hermione has used one of them to destroy the cup Horcrux. Ron now suggests that they should go to the kitchens and warn the House-elves that a war is coming so that they can escape to safety. Dropping her Basilisk fangs on the floor, Hermione sweeps Ron into a fierce embrace and the two share their first kiss.

Ron and Hermione fight side by side through the ensuing battles, and both survive.

In the Epilogue, we see that Ron and Hermione are happily married with two children, Rose and Hugo.

Notable Consequences
Ron's infatuation with Lavender causes several months of estrangement between Ron and Hermione. Ron does not seem to completely understand why this is happening. Harry does understand it, and with his insight into how rocky the relationship between Ron and Lavender is, occasionally tries to smooth things over between Ron and Hermione. One notable attempt ends with Hermione sending a flock of conjured birds to attack Ron.

When Ron departs and cannot find his way back to Hermione, the experience seems to change him. When he does finally return, he seems more secure in himself, more self-assured, and much more aware of his own feelings. We see him making a conscious if clumsy effort to placate Hermione. During his absence, he seems to have recognized, first that he truly misses Hermione when they are apart, though he may not yet be willing to accept that it is actually love that he feels for her; and second, that he has rather seriously wronged Hermione.

The eventual marriage of Ron and Hermione is, of course, a notable consequence as well.

Analysis
In pretty much every way, Ron's romantic relationships develop along a very realistic path. He is clearly somewhat immature relative to Harry and Hermione, and this lack of maturity does frustrate both Hermione and Harry in the first few books of the series. It is only after Ron is forced to live apart from Hermione, with Hermione quite likely in danger, that Ron gains the maturity to be able to deal properly with the relationship. Until that point, it seems that Ron's romantic life had been purely driven by others, despite the underlying and unacknowledged affection for Hermione. In particular, his infatuation with Fleur Delacour is driven by her Veela ancestry, and the affair with Lavender, started by Lavender herself, is triggered by the quarrel with Ginny, and maintained by Lavender almost exclusively. It is perhaps apparent, particularly in her choice of Christmas present, that Lavender has created an image of Ron and is infatuated with that image, rather than with the actual person; Lavender has taken no time to learn what Ron likes and dislikes. It is only when that relationship is terminated that Ron finally starts a relationship on a more equal footing, though again it is not Ron, but Hermione who is doing most of the driving of the relationship at that point.

Despite Ron's becoming more mature in the latter half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, one does question exactly how mature Ron is when we see in the Epilogue that he had to Confund a Muggle driving examiner in order to get his license. This use of magic to avoid consequences of one's actions does indicate a certain lack of maturity even almost twenty years after the end of the story. However, the jovial mood he demonstrates as he jokes around in the epilogue with the others, including Hermione, who is by now his wife and mother to their two children, shows that they are content with their relationship.

Greater Picture
Key to the enjoyment of any piece of fiction is belief in its characters; without believable characters, one simply does not care about the story. The author had plotted out this story to cover a span of nearly seven years, in the lives of characters starting the series at age 11. Knowing that her characters were going to go through adolescence, she also chose to write their relationships as an integral part of the story, rather than simply ignoring them in favour of the main quest, as is common in heroic fiction. The depiction of Ron's romantic life, while possibly not totally realistic (as the end of the relationship with Lavender is simply too convenient to be fully believed), is key to making Ron a character that we can believe in, and one we can like, rather than a cardboard cutout that we could, perhaps, admire. This same attention to life outside the main quest is present in many characters, even those not key to our story; in particular, the romance between the two minor characters Lupin and Tonks is completely extraneous to the main story but is critical in making these two into characters that the reader can empathize with. The author's treatment of Ron's relationships is thus part of a larger pattern, where we are allowed to see not just how the plot unfolds, but how the people driving the plot, or driven by it, mature and change through the 7-year story arc.


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Parkour/Exercises/The Burpee

The Burpee, also known as the squat thrust, is rumored to have developed in maximum security prisons. In such facilities, inmates are not allowed exercise equipment, and thus the burpee was developed by the prisoners to keep themselves in good physical condition.

Steps

 * 1) Stand straight up, with your hands at your sides.
 * 2) Bend your knees into a squat position, then fall forward, placing your hands on the ground, into the push-up position.
 * 3) Hop your feet backwards, and fall forward into a push-up position.
 * 4) Perform a push-up. At the highest point in the push-up, hop your feet back towards your hands and explode upwards in a jump, powered by your legs. Jump as high as possible.
 * 5) Clap your hands together over your head at the highest point in the jump.

The terms "burpee" and "squat thrust" are sometimes used interchangeably, however, squat thrusts lack the jumping component of burpees.

title: Parkour/Exercises/The Burpee


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Scratch/Lessons/Sharing Projects

Sharing Projects with the Scratch Community
In order to share projects with others within the Scratch community, you must first sign up for a user account on the Scratch development team website: https://scratch.mit.edu/join

If you are over 18, you are also asked to provide your current e-mail address. Keep in mind that this website is emphasizing appeal to older children, but adults (and parents especially!) are welcome to sign up for their own accounts.

Try to be truthful about the information that you use when creating this account, as it will help everybody when you are trying to work with the site moderators.

If you have developed a project using Scratch that you would like to share with the larger Scratch community, you can upload the project from within the Scratch design interface by pressing the "Share" button.

After you press the Share button, you will then be prompted with the following screen to share your project:

At this point you should try to offer references to where you obtained the images or other content, and give a brief description about what you have done with this project. What you type into this box will appear on the website as a part of the description of this project.

With version 1.4 of Scratch the "tagging" feature works. Try to enter the tags that will let people find your project.

If you want to replace one of your earlier versions with something more up to date, simply use the same project name and repeat this process. This may not work if the title of your project contains special characters like: ' * ! ) # % or anything else of a similar nature.

Remember, a project cannot be uploaded while you are using a proxy server and will fail to upload if it is over 10mbs. To lower your file size check the "Compress Sounds and Images" box in the bottom right corner of the upload screen.

When you press the "OK" button on the bottom, the following uploading box will appear:

followed by:

and finally:

If you click on the "scratch.mit.edu" part of the box in blue letters, it will automatically open your default web browser to the "home page" of your user account, that should look like this if you are just starting out with a project like this:

It should be noted that you don't have a "private area" of projects only you can see. If you have uploaded something to the scratch website, it is available to everybody with an internet connection. With thousands of Scratch projects which have been uploaded, you can have a small sense of anonymity, but somebody determined to look for everything can eventually find it.

There are other features of the website which will be covered in the next section.

title: Scratch/Lessons/Sharing Projects


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Parkour/Exercises/The Muscle-Up

A Muscle-Up is an excellent general conditioning exercise, which engages most of the arm, shoulder, back, and core musculature.

Instructions

 * 1) Find a horizontal bar or rail about a foot over your head.
 * 2) Grasp the rail, palms oriented away from you, and perform a pull-up
 * 3) At the highest extent of your pull-up, shift one of your arms up so that your palm is on top of the bar, facing downwards and your elbow is facing generally upwards.
 * 4) Shift your other arm into the same position, and straighten your arms.

title: Parkour/Exercises/The Muscle-Up


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User talk:Mcinerney7947

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.

Xania talk 23:13, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Mcinerney7947


text:
User talk:Foley0674

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.

Xania talk 23:14, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Foley0674


text:
User talk:Aaronjgardner

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.

Xania talk 23:14, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Aaronjgardner


text:
User talk:Williams 6953

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.

Xania talk 23:14, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Williams 6953


text:
User talk:Scotthsreeve

Come introduce yourself at the new users page. If you have any questions, you can ask there or contact me personally.

Xania talk 23:14, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:BP Measurement.gif
Thanks for uploading Image:BP Measurement.gif. The Wikimedia Foundation is very careful about the images included in Wikibooks because of copyright law, and requires that we maintain a strict copyright policy. The image that may soon be deleted unless we can determine the copyright holder and status.

The copyright holder is usually the creator, the creator's employer, or the last person who was transferred ownership rights. Copyright information on images is signified using copyright templates. The three basic license types on Wikibooks are open content, public domain, and fair use. Find the appropriate template in Image copyright tags and place it on the image page like this:.

Please signify the copyright information on any other images you have uploaded or will upload. Remember that images without this important information or giving false information can be deleted by an administrator. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or ask another Wikibookian at the help desk. Thank you.  – Mike.lifeguard  | talk 17:13, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

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The copyright holder is usually the creator, the creator's employer, or the last person who was transferred ownership rights. Copyright information on images is signified using copyright templates. The three basic license types on Wikibooks are open content, public domain, and fair use. Find the appropriate template in Image copyright tags and place it on the image page like this:.

Please signify the copyright information on any other images you have uploaded or will upload. Remember that images without this important information or giving false information can be deleted by an administrator. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or ask another Wikibookian at the help desk. Thank you.  – Mike.lifeguard  | talk 17:43, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

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Please do not upload this file again. If you do, it will be a candidate for speedy deletion, per policy, and may be protected from creation. As well, if you persist in uploading files without appropriate source and license information, you may be blocked. Please contribute constructively to Wikibooks. Happy editing! – Mike.lifeguard  | talk 03:37, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Scotthsreeve


text: Talk:Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Places/Honeyduke's Sweetshop


text:
Wikijunior:Gramma's Grammar/Sentence Diagrams/A Sentence Diagram with an Adjective

You draw a diagonal line down from the word you are describing and on that line, you write the adjective.


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User:Whiteknight/Ext3

 (|)
 * 1: The name of the project (optional, defaults to local)
 * 2: The name of the page (optional)
 * 3: The display name (optional)

title: User:Whiteknight/Ext3


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Music Theory/Fundamentals of Common Practice Music

/Notation/
This section is intended for those without any experience with Western music notation and its associated practices.

Humans with the ability to hear experience sound when delicate structures inside their ears detect waves of pressure traveling through the air (or any other medium to which they are mechanically coupled). When these waves are regular1 and oscillates at a constant speed, we recognize a tone or note. 2 Notes are the basic elements of Western music. They are the most common thing we hear in "songs," in almost every genre, period, or style of music in existence (in western society).

Before we talk about how musicians know what notes to "play," we need to determine one thing. With the exception of the human voice and electronic instruments, how many notes should a piano, for instance, play? How many notes should a violin play? These are important questions to answer because if one instrument can play, say, 15 notes, but another can only play 12, then the notes we hear are going to be different, which means musicians cannot collectively play the same notes of a given song. To find the optimal number, we need to balance "our wants versus our limits." In music, we want as many diverse notes as possible. However, instruments that we cannot make will never allow us to make any "organized sounds." Ergo, we want to follow this formula:

$$\text{limations of our instruments} \le \text{number of notes} \le \text{diversity of notes}$$

It turns out, unsurprisingly, we found our answer: 12 different tones. However, what does "different" mean in this context?

/Pitch/
What are "different notes"? To answer that, we need to look back at the definition of "notes". Looking carefully, we find that a note is simply a sound we hear after air molecules are vibrated. The air molecules are vibrated by sound waves. Ergo, we define a tone as a sound wave that oscillates some number of times per second at a constant rate. Let's call the number of oscillations per a given amount of time a frequency. What happens if we increase the frequency of a note? Well, we make it oscillate faster. However, since oscillations determine the note we hear, we, therefore, have a "different note." Eureka, a "different note" simply means a different frequency of a note. In fact, based on the following information, we can create a model:

 * A frequency determines the "sound" we hear from a "note." To measure a frequency, we use a unit called Hertz ($$\text{Hz}$$), which is equal to one oscillation per second. Let's define a "common note" at $$440 \text{ Hz}$$.3 Compacting the peaks of the wave, we find that the frequency increases or the number of oscillations per second, $$\text{Hz}$$, increases; we hear this "highness" of the original note of $$440 \text{ Hz}$$. Separating the peaks of the wave, the number of oscillations per second, $$\text{Hz}$$, decreases; the resulting sound we hear is of a "lower" note of the original $$440 \text{ Hz}$$.

A "low" note or a "high" is the number of Hertz that is either deducted or added onto the original note. The "lowness" or "highness" of a note is the pitch. Although this is not a rigorous definition, according to philosophy, for our purposes this is good enough.

The next time you hear a series of notes, think of all the science at play. When we hear series of higher and lower notes, either singly or in groups, perhaps spaced out at different points in time and of different durations, with the variation in their frequencies, spacing, and lengths patterned in ways that correspond to established rules, we recognize the sound of music.

/Writing and Analysis/
Written music is presented on one or more staves, which represent a set of notes that may be played in time across one or more instruments. Most contemporary music will consist of a pair of staves, as per this example, showing treble and bass clefs. Staves are divided into regular periods, known as measures or bars. The duration of a measure in a given piece of music is specified with a time signature, which is shown next to the clef. Contemporary music often uses 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures.

Sometimes, music written for fretted instruments such as guitars will be presented as a tablature rather than a standard musical notation on a staff. A tablature is a more direct way of showing how the instrument should be played, listing finger positions rather than notes. Keyboarded instruments such as the piano offer a simple translation from musical notes to finger positions, while stringed or valved instruments require the player to be able to translate notes into positions along strings, or specific valves that must be opened.


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Music Theory/Fundamentals of Common Practice Music/Notation

Pitch
Pitch is an indication of a sound's perceived frequency, from low to high. In Western music, we name musical pitches with the first seven letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

From A, if we continue increasing in pitch through all the letters to G, we start over again at A an octave higher.

The collection of all the pitches with the same name, say C and all of its octaves, both higher and lower, is called that pitch's pitch class.

The section below regarding the piano keyboard indicates where each of these seven pitch classes are located on the piano.

The Keyboard and Basic Intervals
Interestingly, music theory may be taught without reference to any instrument or even to actual sounds and repertoire. Although it is possible to learn in this way, it is uninteresting and doesn't facilitate solid understanding of the concepts of rhythm, harmony, and counterpoint.

Understanding the piano keyboard's layout and design allows one to easily grasp even the most difficult musical concepts. This is as true for those without any instrumental training whatsoever as it is for those with training on wind, string or percussion instruments.

On a keyboard, the white keys represent A through G, and back to A again. However, there are also black keys, which play intermediate notes that are known as sharp or flat notes. It is important to note that the interval between two successive keys is always the same; this distance is known a half-step. Naturally, two half-steps make a whole-step. To illustrate the difference, look at the image of the keyboard and consider the following:

The F key is a whole-step apart from the G key. This is readily apparent as there is another key residing between the two.

Conversely, the B and C keys are only a half-step apart, also apparent as there is no key between the two.

Half-steps and whole-steps may also be referred to as semitones and whole tones. Their meanings are precisely the same.

The Staff

The staff provides us with a backdrop onto which we can place music and musical symbols.

It is made of five lines, which create four spaces within the outermost two lines.

Music is notated upon the staff in a very logical way. A note increases in pitch as it moves up the staff, and therefore decreases in pitch as it is moved down the staff. A staff of music is read in the same way a line of text is read; from left to right. Therefore, notes on the left are played before notes to the right of it.

This might be compared to a two-dimensional plane in mathematics. Pitch is determined by the Y-Axis, while time is placed on the X-Axis.

As it is, much printed music contains a variety of pitches, many that would go beyond the staff, either above or below. When this happens, the pitch placed beyond the staff is marked with a horizontal line called a ledger line. Ledger lines temporarily extend the vertical length of the staff to accommodate pitches that would go beyond it.

Clefs
Clefs associate particular pitches with particular lines and spaces on a staff. It is always placed at the beginning of every line of music for this reason.

A note on a certain line in a staff (say, the middle line) will indicate an entirely different pitch if the clef is changed.

Though many exist and were used in the past, today only a few clefs are regularly used. These are:
 * Treble or G Clef : This is usually used for those relatively medium to high pitched instruments. Ex. Trumpet, violin, flute, xylophone, upper range of piano, etc. The notes from bottom line to top are E, G, B, D, and F, with the other notes in between.

 * Bass or F Clef : This is usually used for those relatively medium to low pitched instruments. Ex. Tuba, Cello, Bassoon, Timpani, lower range of piano, etc. The notes from bottom line to top are G, B, D, F, and A

 * Alto or C Clef : This is usually used for those instruments which sound pitches in the middle range and is by far the rarest of the three clefs in use today. It is mostly used by the viola, but also sometimes for the cello and bassoon with an occasional appearance in piano and vocal music. The notes for bottom line to top are F, A, C, E, and G

Another purpose of clefs is to reposition pitches within the staff so that excessive ledger lines don't clutter the music or confuse the reader.

The C Clef is especially versatile in this regard, although the other clefs may also be repositioned on the staff to associate a new line or space with the clef's defining pitch.

Exercise: name the eight notes shown.

 * [[Image:Music_ClefG.svg|46px]][[Image:Eighth_note_run.svg|150px]]

 * [[Image:Bass_clef.svg|53px]][[Image:Eighth_note_run.svg|150px]]

^need new images!

Accidentals (sharps and flats)

Let us again take a look at the keyboard. As was discussed earlier, the white keys represent A through G and starting again at A, while the black keys represent intermediate pitches. But what name would you give these pitches? How would you notate these pitches on a staff? The answer lies with a notational device called an accidental. An accidental can raise or lower the pitch of any given note. The direction in which a pitch is changed, and by how much a pitch will change (in terms of half or whole-steps) depends on the accidental being used.

When an accidental is being employed, it is always placed immediately before the note whose pitch is intended to be changed.

The flat is an indicator that a pitch is to be lowered one half-step. It looks a bit like a lowercase b. The sharp is an indicator that a pitch is to be raised one half-step. It looks a bit like the "pound sign" #.

Looking again at the keyboard, let's start with the G key. The black key to the right of the G sounds a pitch that is a half-step higher than a G. This pitch can be called a G-sharp. Conversely, the black key to the left of G will sound a pitch a half-step lower than G, which can be called a G-flat.

Following this reasoning to its logical conclusion, you will see that a G-sharp could also be called an A-flat. By which name should you rightfully call that key--G-sharp or A-flat? The answer is, either of them. In fact, all black keys have two note names assigned to them--they are the sharp of the key that precedes it and the flat of the key that follows it. This concept in music theory is called enharmonics. Enharmonic notes are simply two notes which are spelled differently but which have the exact same pitch.

Another way to think of it is to treat enharmonic notes like the American spellings of words versus their British counterparts--for example, American color versus the British colour. While the spelling differs, either spelling is accepted as "correct" and both words mean the exact same thing.

Key Signature
This shows which notes in the song are to be played sharp (the next higher note) or flat (the next lower note). When the sharp or flat symbol is directly to the left of a note, it only affects that note and all the rest of that pitch in that measure. Key signatures, like time signatures, can change throughout the song.

If a note would usually be sharp or flat, but should be natural in a specific case, a natural sign can be put next to the note.

Rhythmic Values
Notes on a staff represent several things, among them pitch and the relative temporal position of that note. A musical note will also indicate its duration.

Included here are rests. Rests are the opposite of notes. When a note is notated, it indicates the performance of a certain pitch of a certain length at a certain time. When a rest is notated, it indicates silence of a certain length at a certain time.

There are quite a few symbols to indicate the length of a note. The system is quite simple. Every symbol is two times the length of the symbol that follows it and is one half the duration of the symbol preceding it.

The further shortening of durations may be continued to sixty-fourth notes/rests, 128th notes/rests, 256th notes/rests, etc. All that need be done is to add one more flag onto the note or rest for each successive shortening. The practicality of doing so might become a concern as the values become shorter, but it is theoretically possible to continue ad infinitum.

A shorthand exists for long periods of rests. The following picture shows 10 measures of rest.

Also, sometimes a note is followed by one or two dots, meaning that the note is 150% or 175% of its usual length. The dotted quarter note shown, therefore, would be worth the value of a quarter note plus half that value, or an eighth note.

Or, the note may be a triplet, meaning it takes 2/3 of the normal length. The following picture shows three notes that take up two beats. Other "tuplets" may occur - duples represent two notes taking the span of three beats, for example. Any number of notes can be forced to take up the space of any number of beats, and if this cannot be written with the standard set of notes, tuplet notation will be used.

Time Signatures
Music is usually divided into measures, usually containing between 2 and 8 beats. The time signature is written next to the clef, but can change throughout a song.

The upper number shows how many beats are in a measure. The lower number determines what kind of note gets the beat (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note). Measures are separated by bar lines. A double bar line represents the end of a section, and an end bar line represents the end of a work of music.

Dynamics
Dynamics show how loudly or quietly to play the notes.

 * ppp - pianississimo (very, very soft)
 * pp - pianissimo (very soft)
 * p - piano (soft)
 * mp - mezzo-piano (moderately soft)
 * mf - mezzo-forte (moderately loud)
 * f - forte (loud)
 * ff - fortissimo (very loud)
 * fff - fortississimo (very, very loud)

There is no objective definition of "what is 'loud'". It is up to interpretation by the musician.

Other Dynamics

 * sfz - sforzando (a strong sudden accent)
 * crescendo - gradually getting louder [[Image:Music-crescendo.png|40px]]
 * decrescendo - gradually getting softer [[Image:Music-diminuendo.svg|40px]]

Final Exercise
Describe, using what you learned so far, the following excerpt from a piano piece.

This piece uses the treble and bass clef, and there are three flats by default, although a number of sharps and naturals are in the piece. There are 9 measures, 6 of which have whole rests on the bass clef. The length of notes ranges from quarter to sixteenth. As some notes extend past the staff, ledger lines are added for some notes.

More Analysis
Piano pieces nearly always use both the treble and bass clef, which are supposed to be played at the same time. Generally, the left hand plays the bass while the right hand plays the treble. Between the sixth and seventh measure, there is a line connecting two notes of the same pitch. This means that they are actually the same note, connected, creating a tie. When the notes are of different pitch, the notes are played smoothly, and it is called a slur.


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Music Theory/Fundamentals of Common Practice Music/Pitch

The interactions of various pitches are what allow music to be meaningfully interpreted by the human ear.

The Overtone Series
The pitch of sound is measured in Hz (Hertz), which is the number of vibrations per second. Young adults can generally hear from 20Hz-20,000Hz, while older people lose the top part of that range.

When instruments vibrate, they do so at specific intervals, usually at multiples of a whole number. For example, 55Hz, 110Hz, 165Hz, 220Hz, etc (which can be heard here)

Intervals
An interval is the measure of distance between two notes in pitch and in the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale is easy to play on the piano - just play every note, including black keys. It is best to print this page out so that the examples can be played on a piano or keyboard. Or, use the virtual keyboard at /link desn't work/ here's other virtual keyboard

 * 1) Perfect Unison - two notes, equal in pitch (0 half steps apart).
 * 2) Minor Second - two notes, 1 half step apart. e.g. C and D flat/C sharp
 * 3) Major Second - two notes, 2 half steps apart. They are a whole step apart. e.g. C and D
 * 4) Minor Third - two notes, 3 half steps apart. e.g. C and E flat/D sharp
 * 5) Major Third - two notes, 4 half steps apart. e.g. C and E
 * 6) Perfect Fourth - two notes, 5 half steps apart. e.g. C and F
 * 7) Augmented Fourth/Diminished Fifth - two notes, 6 half steps apart. This interval is also known as a Tritone because the notes are also 3 whole-tones/steps apart. e.g. C and F sharp/G flat
 * 8) Perfect Fifth - two notes, 7 half steps apart. e.g. C and G
 * 9) Minor Sixth - two notes, 8 half steps apart. e.g. C and G sharp/A flat
 * 10) Major Sixth - two notes, 9 half steps apart. e.g. C and A
 * 11) Minor Seventh - two notes, 10 half steps apart. e.g. C and A sharp/B flat
 * 12) Major Seventh - two notes, 11 half steps apart. e.g. C and B
 * 13) Perfect Octave two notes, of the same pitch class, one octave apart (12 half steps apart). e.g. C and the next highest C

Note that there are 12 different pitch classes within an octave (the octave is generally not counted because it is the same pitch class as the pitch used as the base for interval measurement, 12 half steps below/above it). This is equivalent to saying that the chromatic scale has 12 pitches with the octave being a repeat of the starting pitch.

Consonance/Dissonance
Consonance is a measure of harmony or lack thereof. There are many definitions, some of which are subjective. In historic Europe, the augmented fourth/diminished fifth was said to be the "Devil in music"! In general, consonant intervals include the octave, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth.


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Music Theory/Fundamentals of Common Practice Music/Tonality

Modes
Modes means 7 scales in a major scale.Its based on the Major scale chord structure which is called Tetra Chord Theory.The theory is :Major-Minor-Minor-Major Major-Minor-Diminished-Major:.Modes goes with the notes of the scale.The seven modes are -

Ionian Dorian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Aeolian Locrian

To be continued ....


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Music Theory/Fundamentals of Common Practice Music/Writing and Analysis

Basics of Voice-Leading
Voice leading primarily consists of four distinct voices on two staves (the treble and bass staves), which encompass the entire musical scale. The four voices are:

 * Soprano: This is the highest voice, sung by females.
 * Alto: The next highest voice, sung by females.
 * Tenor: Sung by males.
 * Bass: The lowest voice, sung by males.


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Talk:Beginner's Guide to Flash Professional 8/Video/Supported Video Codecs

Lossless means no loss of data.


text:
Template:GRE

 GRE Study Guides Bookshelf — About the Test — Quantitative — Verbal — Analytical Writing — Subject Tests — Resources — How to start preparing for GRE — Frequently asked questions about GRE Preparation — What should be GRE goals — How to approach professor for funding — Preparing for GRE while you are working — Frequently asked questions on VISA process — Some questions about Credit Card — GRE Aspirations with a 3 year Degree — Taking GRE the Second time — Rescheduling your GRE Exam

title: Template:GRE


text:
GRE/About the Test

Sign Up For The GRE
The test can be signed up for by going to the GRE website at GRE.com. The test typically costs $160 or more to take each time. There are certain designated testing centers for taking the GRE, and if there isn't one close to your location, you may be in for a long drive.

The GRE may be retaken as many times as you wish, and only your highest score needs to be reported. However, you may only take the GRE once per calendar month, and you may only take the GRE up to 5 times per year. Each time you retake the GRE, you must pay the same registration fee. If you do poorly therefore, it is a good idea to take some time off (a month or two) to study the exam materials, improve your essay writing and typing, and become more familiar with the concepts covered on the exam. Do not waste your money by rushing back to take it immediately, because you will make the same mistakes. Research has shown that on the GRE, test scores do not improve dramatically for retests.

The Test Format
There are two versions of the GRE test: the paper test and the computer test. People who live in the USA, US Territories, and Canada will take the computer test. The paper test is only reserved for geographic areas that have no computer or internet access. There is a 10-minute break provided if necessary, or you may choose to skip the break or end it prematurely.

The GRE has both a general test that all students take (with verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections), and optional subject tests that focus on particular subjects. Subject tests are registered for separately. It is important to check with each individual school to determine which tests are required for admission to different programs. Some programs don't require you to take any subject tests, and some programs may require one or (rarely) more subject tests to be considered for admission.

Like the SAT test, you are not penalized for providing an incorrect answer on the GRE general test. It is therefore not a good idea to ever leave a question blank on the test. If you do not know the answer to a particular question, eliminate some erroneous choices and make an educated guess.

As of August 1, 2011, ETS changed the format of the GRE. It is now a multi-stage test, or MST, and differs in some critical ways from the older versions.
 * Rather than the test adapting one question at a time, the test now adapts one section at a time.
 * You can return to previous questions within a section.
 * An on-screen calculator is provided for the Quantitative Reasoning sections.
 * There are Mark & Review buttons.
 * Previously the test was scored on a scale from 200-800; however, the test is now scored on a scale from 130-170.
 * The revised GRE is slightly longer, about 3 hours and 45 minutes.
 * You get a one-minute break between each section. The break is optional.
 * You can sign up for the GRE just two days before the test (although, this is not recommended).
 * The MST version of the revised GRE is offered all year long; however, you can only test every 21 days, up to a maximum of five times per rolling 12-month period (originally only once every 60 days).
 * You don't have to take it on the same day as a subject test.
 * It gives you your unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores immediately.

At any time during the test you may choose to leave the testing site. You will not get your money back so you may as well continue until the very end, even if you feel you are doing poorly. This way you can get a good understanding of the information that is on the GRE test, so you can better prepare for the next time you want to take it. Also, you may be doing much better than you think!

Permitted Materials
You may not bring your own calculator to the GRE test; there is an on-screen calculator provided as of August 1, 2011. Pencils will be provided by the testing center, along with scrap paper (however, taking the paper-based test, scrap paper is not permitted, you'll be instructed to work out any problems within the available space in your workbooks). You may not bring pens, pencils of your own (mechanical pencils are expressly forbidden), additional paper, books, or other materials into the testing center.

You may not have any form of food or drink in the testing area, though you can have access to this during your break or any time you leave while the time continues. You may also not bring in objects that can transmit or store voice or text, such as cell phones, pagers, PDAs, etc ...

The types of questions asked on the GRE are not generally conducive to cheating, so it is a waste of time to attempt to cheat on the test. Instead, use your time to study the relevant material, get good sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and be prepared to do your best on the test.

Multiple Choice
Both the computer test and the paper test have multiple-choice sections. With the introduction of the MST on the revised GRE, you can move about freely in a section. You can even mark questions you are struggling with so that you can return to them later. When you've reached the end of the section, you can hit a "Review" button that informs you of any questions you have marked or not answered so that you can return to them. On the paper test, you are also free to go back and change answers as you see fit.

Essays
In the paper test, the analytical essays must be written on the paper provided by the testing center. Additional paper can be requested, if needed. On the computer test, the essay must be typed into the text-box provided on the computer. This textbox has some common computer commands available (cut and paste), but not other (no "copy" command, no spell check, no grammar check, etc...) features. The text editor does not accept the common Ctrl+X or Ctrl+V commands to cut and paste: these operations must be performed by clicking the specified buttons with your mouse.

Scoring
The different sections are scored differently:

Sections:
 * Quantitative: 130–170, in 1 point increments
 * Verbal: 130-170 points, in 1 point increments
 * Writing 0-6, in half point increments

In the computer test, the quantitative and verbal sections will be scored immediately, and your answers to those 2 sections will be provided before you leave the testing facility. The writing exam will be graded by 2 separate graders each. The writing scores are averaged together, and rounded up to the nearest half point. The writing scores will not be available immediately, but will instead be mailed to the address you provide within 6–8 weeks.

In the paper test, all 3 sections need to be mailed off and graded by hand, so all scores will be mailed to your given address in 6–8 weeks. Test-takers may call for scores five weeks after your paper test.

Scores on the paper test have been found to be equivalent to scores on the computer test, so this difference should not be an issue. Students who are better typists (faster and more accurate) are shown to score higher on the essay portions of the computer test, however. It is therefore a good idea to practice your typing skills before the test.

Average scores
Average scores for the verbal section are in the range of 140-150, although students with majors that are intensive in using language (such as humanities) score over 155 points on average. Students who are applying to graduate school in an area that requires language skills (humanities, social sciences, education) should score in this range or higher.

Average scores in the quantitative section are often between 150-160, although students in science and engineering are expected to score between 165-170 on average. Students who are applying to graduate school in areas that require math (for mathematics, science, engineering, and economics) should have scores in this range or higher.

Average scores for the analytical Writing section for all majors are usually between 4.0-5.0. This is a good target range for students of all majors.

It is significantly tougher to get a higher verbal score than to get a higher quantitative score; 4% score a 170 on the Quantitative section, while less than 1% score a 169 or higher on the Verbal section.

Experimental Sections
The format of the GRE leaves open the possibility of adding additional sections to the test, although these sections will not count towards your score. One experimental section of the test will be announced, and participation in it is optional (although you should always do your best). Another experimental section might be included, but it will be unannounced and will be either verbal or quantitative (no additional essays, luckily). Scores in either experimental section will not be counted towards your final score. These scores will also not be reported to your target institutions.

It is not a good idea to try and identify the unannounced experimental section. You should do your best work on every section of the GRE, even though some of your hard work may not count towards the final score.

title: GRE/About the Test


text:
GRE/Quantitative

= Quantitative section = The quantitative section has 2 different types of questions: regular multiple-choice questions, and inequalities. The inequalities always use the following format:
 * you are given two columns with values, column A and column B.
 * you are to decide which column has the greater value.
 * if column A is larger, select option A
 * if column B is larger, select option B
 * if the two are equal, select option C
 * if there isn't enough information, select option D.

The paper test will have similar questions all in the same section, but the computer test will mix and match questions that it asks you. Make sure you read all the instructions for the question before answering.

Quantitative GRE questions will generally focus on subjects of geometry and algebra. Although a knowledge of trigonometry may be helpful for some problems that involve angles, circles, or triangles, it is not required. It is not necessary to know calculus or linear algebra to perform well on the quantitative section. It is important to note that unless it is explicitly stated in the question, you must assume that any images provided are not drawn to scale. It is therefore a bad idea to attempt to find an answer by graphical means. However, if you are an adept artist, you can attempt to draw your own figures to scale on the scrap paper, and attempt to find answers from those diagrams.

= Sample questions = (not from actual tests)

 * if column A is larger, select option A

 * if column B is larger, select option B

 * if the two are equal, select option C

 * if there isn't enough information, select option D.

= Applying algebra =

Algebra/Equalities_and_Inequalities

A > B
 * if column A is larger, select option A

A < B
 * if column B is larger, select option B

A = B
 * if the two are equal, select option C

'''A ??? B'''
 * if there isn't enough information, select option D.

title: GRE/Quantitative


text:
GRE/Verbal

The verbal section is divided up into questions on sentence completion and analogies. In the antonym questions, a word is provided, and you must select the answer that is mostly the opposite of the given word. This is a very difficult concept for some people, so it is important to become familiar with it before taking the test.

Some people have said that it is "impossible to study vocabulary", especially since the list of possible words that can appear on the test is gigantic. It does however help if you can study word roots, so that even if you don't know precisely what a word means, you can infer a general meaning from the way it is spelled. Remember, you should always answer every question, even if you have to guess. If you can make an informed guess based on the way the word is spelled, or the way it looks (good/bad, happy/angry, etc.), then you are giving yourself at least a small edge.

For GRE General Test happening after August 1st, 2011, ETS had implemented major change over in the exam's structure. Now in the verbal section of the revised GRE test, Antonyms and Analogies have been replaced by Reading comprehension. ETS believes that reading comprehension is superior to antonyms and other single-word questions as an assessment of verbal competence. More than half the revised GRE verbal section consists in paragraphs to read and questions based on those paragraphs.

title: GRE/Verbal


text:
GRE/Analytical Writing

The analytical writing section is divided up into 2 essays: a critique and an opinion piece. Part of the score is determined by how well you separate your personal opinions from analytical arguments, and how well you stay on topic.

The Opinion Essay: "Present Your Perspective"
The opinion essay provides you with two statements, one of which you must choose to answer. You are to give your personal opinion concerning the statement, agreeing with, disagreeing with, or qualifying the statement. You must not analyze the given statement, and you must not talk about other subjects. This is an important point, because this essay will be graded according to how well you stay on topic. If you don't stay on topic, you will lose points. Your skill in writing is not nearly as important as your ability to focus on the topic.

The Critique Essay: "Analyze an Argument"
The critique essay provides you with an argument, often of dubious quality. Your task is to read the given passage, and analyze the logic of the assertion within the essay. You may accept or deny that the position presented is well-reasoned, but you must support this. (It is usually easier to find and discuss any logical flaws than to demonstrate that the brief argument is sound.) You must not use your personal opinions when writing this essay, and you must not speculate. You may only discuss the information that is provided, and you can comment on additional information that should be included. Again, your ability to follow the rules is much more important to the judges than your ability to write beautiful sentences. The opinion essay asks you to express your opinions and not critique the argument, while this essay asks you to do exactly the opposite. Check your emotions and opinions at the door, because if you start to express your opinions, you will lose points. The most difficult aspect of this essay is to separate the logical facts of the argument from your personal feelings on the issue. If you can separate these well, you will get a good score.

Sample Essay Questions
The GRE website contains a large listing of sample essay questions. It is a good idea to read through this list, and get a good idea of what kinds of things the GRE is going to ask. Do not bother trying to memorize this list of questions, or to prepare essays ahead of time, unless you are just practicing. The phrasing of the questions may vary enough from the list to affect any prepared answers.

title: GRE/Analytical Writing


text:
GRE/Subject Tests

There are subject tests available in the following subjects:

 * Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology
 * Biology
 * Chemistry
 * Computer Science (Discontinued following April 2013)
 * Literature in English
 * Mathematics
 * Physics
 * Psychology

GRE Subject Tests are graded on a scale from 200 to 990, although the available score range for each test is usually smaller. Subject tests are graded independently, and therefore a score of 600 on the Mathematics test is not equivalent to a 600 on the Physics test. Subscores provided for certain subject tests are scored in the range of 20-99.

Subject scores are calculated by taking the number of correct answers, minus 1 fourth the number of incorrect answers. It is therefore a good idea not to guess on the subject tests if you don't know the correct answer!

The subject tests slowly change over time to stay relevant. For this reason, subject test scores are comparable between years. For instance, a Physics test score of 600 in 2005 is equivalent to a Physics test score of 600 from 1999. The exception to this is the Mathematics test that was rescaled in October 2001. Therefore, Mathematics scores before and after October 2001 are not comparable directly.

title: GRE/Subject Tests


text:
GRE/Resources

Online Test Preparation
To prepare for the GRE, there are several free, no-hassle websites and apps available which offer excellent content and practice materials.
 * MyGRETutor: A website solely for the preparation for the GRE. Similar in scope to Number2.com and the PowerPrep software, except there are more questions and additional full-length practice tests.
 * Magoosh GRE Blog: A blog with free GRE practice questions and advice.
 * Greenlight Test Prep - Greenlight Test Prep combines hundreds of high-quality GRE prep videos with a step-by-step study guide to make your GRE preparation as effortless as possible.
 * GRE4YOU.com This is a free online portal that provides web based training for the GRE test.
 * number2.com

title: GRE/Resources


text:
FOSS Network Infrastructure and Security

Table of Contents

 * /Foreword/
 * /List of Abbreviations/
 * /Introduction to FOSS and GNU/Linux/
 * /Network Concepts and Architectures/
 * /Major Networking Functions with FOSS/
 * /Security Functions with FOSS/
 * /Network Planning/
 * /Further References/
 * /Glossary/
 * /About the Author/
 * /Acknowledgements/
 * /About APDIP/
 * /About IOSN/

Information
This book is donated by the International Open Source Network and UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) to the community. The original publication by:

Author: Gaurab Raj Upadhaya

© UNDP-APDIP, Elsevier, 2007, 52 pages

ISBN 978-81-312-0421-4

ISBN 81-312-0421-9

is located at http://www.iosn.net/network/foss-network-primer/foss-network-infrastructure-and-security-covers.pdf

This wikibook is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons Attribution License 2.5


text:
Template:FOSS Network Infrastructure and Security

 FOSS Network Infrastructure and Security

Foreword — List of Abbreviations — Introduction to FOSS and GNU/Linux — Network Concepts and Architectures — Major Networking Functions with FOSS — Security Functions with FOSS — Network Planning — Further References — Glossary — About the Author — Acknowledgements — About APDIP — About IOSN


text:
User talk:203.10.121.85

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title: User talk:203.10.121.85


text:
User talk:61.88.131.156

Regarding edits made during May 29 2007
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2007 July
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title: User talk:61.88.131.156


text:
Radiation Oncology/Prostate/Screening and Prevention

Prostate Cancer Screening and Prevention

Screening
ASCO Clinical Opinion
 * 2012 PMID 22802323) -- "Screening for prostate cancer with prostate-specific antigen testing: american society of clinical oncology provisional clinical opinion." (Basch E, J Clin Oncol. 2012 Aug 20;30(24):3020-5. Epub 2012 Jul 16.)
 * In men with a life expectancy ≤ 10 years (Social Security Calculator), it is recommended that general screening for prostate cancer with toalPSA be discouraged, because harms seem to outweigh potential benefits
 * In men with a life expectancy >10 years, it is recommended that physicians discuss with their patients whether PSA testing for prostate cancer screening is appropriate for them. PSA testing may save lives but is associated with harms, including complications from unnecessary biopsy, surgery or radiation treatment
 * It is recommended that information written in lay language be available to clinicians and their patients to facilitate the discussion of the benefits and harms associated with PSA testing before the routine ordering of a PSA test

Randomized
 * Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Screening Trial (1993-2001) -- screening vs usual care
 * Randomized. 76,693 men at 10 U.S. centers. Arm 1) Annual PSA screening x6 years and DRE x4 years vs. Arm 2) usual care. Compliance in Arm 1 85% for PSA and 86% for DRE. Rate of control group screening ("contamination"): PSA screening 40-52% and DRE screening 41-46% by year
 * 2009 PMID 19297565 -- "Mortality results from a randomized prostate-cancer screening trial." (Andriole GL, N Engl J Med. 2009 Mar 26;360(13):1310-9. Epub 2009 Mar 18.)Median F/U 7 years
 * Outcome: PCA incidence screening group 116/10,000 vs control group 95/10,000 (RR 1.1, SS). Death from PCA 2/10,000 vs 1.7/10,000 (RR 1.13, NS)
 * Conclusion: After 7 years, rate of death from PCA is very low, and not different between groups
 * 2011 PMID 21041707 -- "Comorbidity and Mortality Results From a Randomized Prostate Cancer Screening Trial." (Crawford ED, J Clin Oncol. 2011 Feb 1;29(4):355-361 .)
 * f/u 10 yrs. 9565 deaths, 164 from PCA. In men with no or minimal comorbidity, the decrease in PCA-specific mortality associated with screening was significant (22 v 38 deaths)(NNTT = 5 pts to prevent 1 death at 10 years). In men with at least 1 significant comorbidity, no decrease in PCSM with screening. (62 v 42 deaths; AHR=1.43; p=0.08).
 * Conclusion: selective use of PSA screening in men with good health appears to reduce the risk of PCSM with minimal overtreatment.

 * European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) (1991-2003) -- screening vs no screening
 * Randomized. 162,387 men, different enrollment strategies in different countries. Age 55-69. Arm 1) PSA screening (DRE and other studies per country; interval per country) vs. Arm 2) no screening. Treated with watchful waiting (15%), surgery (28%), RT (17%), RT+ADT (10%), ADT alone (10%)
 * Lead Time Bias; 2003 PMID 12813170 -- "Lead times and overdetection due to prostate-specific antigen screening:estimates from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. (Draisma G, J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Jun 18;95(12):868-78.)
 * Model. 42,376 men enrolled at Rotterdam for ERSPC, with 1498 cases of PCA.
 * Outcome: Mean lead time bias depends on age at screening. At 55, mean lead time bias 12.3 years and overdetection rate of 27%. At 75, mean lead time bias 6.0 years and 56%. For a screening program with 4-year interval from age 55-67, estimated mean lead time 11.2 years with overdetection rate 48%. Lifetime prostate risk raised from 6% to 11%
 * Conclusion: Model-based lead-time estimates supports screening interval >1 year
 * 9-years; 2009 PMID 19297566 -- "Screening and prostate-cancer mortality in a randomized European study." (Schroder FH, N Engl J Med. 2009 Mar 26;360(13):1320-8. Epub 2009 Mar 18.) Median F/U 9 years
 * Outcome: PCA incidence screening 8% vs control 5%. Death from PCA 3.5/10,000 vs 4.1/10,000 (RR 0.8, SS), rates began to diverge after 8 years; absolute difference 0.07%. NNS 1410:1, NNT 48:1
 * Conclusion: PSA-based screening reduced PCA death by 20%, but was associated with a high risk of overdiagnosis
 * 12-years; 2012 (metastatic disease) PMID 22704366 PDF -- "Screening for prostate cancer decreases the risk of developing metastatic disease: findings from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC)." (Schröder FH, Eur Urol. 2012 Nov;62(5):745-52.)
 * M+ prostate cancer detected in 256 men screening group vs 410 controls; cumulative incidence of 0.67% vs 0.87% per 1000 men; relative reduction of 30% (intention to screen; 42% for those actually screened). Absolute risk reduction 3.1 per 1000 men screened (0.31%)
 * Conclusion: "PSA screening significantly reduces the risk of developing metastatic PCa."

 * Quebec LUPCSP (1988) -- Screening vs control
 * Randomized, 2:1. 46,486 men randomized, true screened 7,348 vs true unscreened 14,2341. Arm 1) annual screening (PSA and DRE) vs Arm 2) control
 * 2004 PMID 15042607 -- "Screening decreases prostate cancer mortality: 11-year follow-up of the 1988 Quebec prospective randomized controlled trial." (Labrie F, Prostate, 2004 May 15;59(3):311-8.). Median F/U 7.9 years
 * Outcome: PCA death screened 0.1% vs. unscreened 0.5% (RR 0.4, SS)
 * Conclusion: Screening showed a 62% reduction in cause-specific mortality, but the absolute benefit was small

Case-control

 * Veterans Affairs; 2006 PMID 16401808 — "The effectiveness of screening for prostate cancer: a nested case-control study." Concato J et al. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jan 9;166(1):38-43.
 * Case control study. 71,000 men in 10 VA hospitals. 501 pts dx with prostate cancer between 1991-95 and died by 1999. Compared with controls.
 * No difference in rate of a screening PSA +/- DRE between cases (14%) and controls (13%)
 * Conclusion: screen does not reduce mortality

Prevention

 * REDUCE Trial -- dutasteride vs placebo
 * Randomized. 6729 men, at increased risk for prostate cancer (50-75 years old, PSA 2.5-10.0, one negative biopsy within 6 months). Arm 1) dutasteride 0.5 mg vs Arm 2) placebo. Primary endpoint: PCA on biopsy at 2 and 4 years
 * 2010 PMID 20357281 -- "Effect of dutasteride on the risk of prostate cancer." (Andriole GL,N Engl J Med. 2010 Apr 1;362(13):1192-202.)
 * Outcome: incidence of cancer dutasteride 20% vs placebo 25% (SS, risk reduction 28%). No difference in GS 7-10; less GS 8-10 in dutasteride group. But during years 3 & 4, 12 tumors GS 8-10 the dutasteride group, only 1 in placebo group (SS).
 * Toxicity: dutasteride improved acute urinary retention (2% vs 7%, SS), but had higher cardiac failure (0.7% vs 0.4%, SS)
 * Conclusion: Dutasteride reduced risk of prostate cancer and improved BPH symptoms

 * SELECT Trial (2001-4) - Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial
 * 35,533 men, multinational North American (US, Canada, Puerto Rico) - enrolled men 55 yrs or older (or 50 if African American), no prior prostate cancer, PSA < 4, negative DRE. Randomized to selenium (200 µg/d from L-selenomethionine), vs vitamin E (400 IU/d), or both; placebo-controlled. F/U every 6 months; recommended annual PSA and DRE. Pt self-reported prostate cancer events.
 * Median age 62.
 * PMID 19066370, 2009 -- "Effect of selenium and vitamin E on risk of prostate cancer and other cancers: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT)." (Lippman SM, JAMA. 2009 Jan 7;301(1):39-51.)
 * Median f/u 5.5 yrs. No difference in rate of prostate cancer: 5 yr rate 4.43% (placebo), 4.56% (Se), 4.93% (E), 4.56% (Se+E).
 * Conclusion: Selenium, vitamin E, or both (at the tested doses and formulations) did not prevent prostate cancer

 * Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (1994-1997)
 * 18,882 men, multicenter - enrolled men age 55 or older with normal DRE, PSA < 3.0, no medical comorbidities, and AUA score < 20. Randomized to finasteride 5 mg/day vs placebo x 7 yrs (planned). Pts followed with annual DRE and annual PSA. Planned end of study biopsy (min. 6 cores). Biopsy also recommended if abnormal DRE or PSA > 4.
 * PSA values were adjusted for men in finasteride group (initially, adjusted PSA = 2.0 x PSA, but changed to 2.3 at man's fourth year); this was done to ensure a biopsy rate that is approximately equal between the groups.
 * PMID 12824459, 2003 — "The influence of finasteride on the development of prostate cancer." Thompson IM et al. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jul 17;349(3):215-24.
 * Study terminated early in 2003, 15 months before planned end of trial, due to study objective being met.
 * Analysis based on 86.3% of pts who completed 7 yrs by the termination date. Prostate cancer status known (i.e. end of study biopsy completed or interval prostate cancer diagnosis) in 9989 pts (59.6% fin, 63.0% placebo). 9060 pts included in final analysis (excluding pts who had end of study biopsy performed late).
 * Rate of prostate cancer diagnosis: 803(18.4%) F vs 1147(24.4%) P; risk reduction of 24.8%. 45-50% of prostate cancer was diagnosed at end of study biopsy rather than for increased PSA. High grade (Gleason score 7-10) in 280 of 757 graded tumors (37%) of F vs 237 of 1068 (22.2%) of P; RR = 1.67 for high grade.
 * Treatment temporarily discontinued due to side effects in 18.3% of men in F group (vs 9.9% for P).
 * Conclusion: Lowers the risk of prostate cancer by 24.8%. However, the finasteride group developed an increased proportion of patients with high grade tumors (Gleason 7-10).