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Looking at the light source itself through the diffusion we can clearly see how a combination of direct light and diffuse light creates a harder source (as in the Spun and Opal options). As the definition of the original light source becomes increasingly obfuscated by the diffusion material, the overall size of the source increases and the quality of light is softened substantially.

The Tough Spun has very interesting properties. As it is a fine pattern of thin threads, there are clear spots along the material where direct light can shine through. This means that it produces a combination of both hard and diffuse light. You can see this illustrated in the images of the geometric shapes from our test, as both the umbra and penumbra of the shadows are well-defined.

“Tough Spun doesn’t really change the shadow transfer value [from that of a hard-light source],” notes Williams. “The shadows are still sharp, with just a reduction in contrast. All three of the Tough Spun strengths have this same behavior. This effect is clearest in the heaviest of the three, Full Tough Spun, where the penumbra has a clean, hard line, and the umbra of the shadow, although diminished, is still clearly defined. The Light Opal, on the other hand — as minimal an effect as it might have — starts to produce a breakdown in the definition of the penumbra, denoting more softness to the light.

“It was very interesting to me that the Tough Spun lent a texture to the light, a lot like a cookie or a celo cookie,” Williams continues. “It’s subtle, but it does project a pattern onto the subject.” As with any projected pattern, the farther away the pattern-producing material is from the light source, the better-defined the pattern will be on the subject.

The amount of diffusion increases with 1⁄4 216, which, we can see, produces very similar effects in terms of shadow quality to 1⁄2 216 and 1⁄4 Grid Cloth. Full Grid Cloth and 216 also produce very similar effects to one another, although Full Grid Cloth offers more diffusion of the light, as can be seen in the more diffuse penumbra; the definition of the shape is almost completely gone.

To further understand how diffusion works, we need to take a look at the material itself and see our light source behind it. The quality of light is created by the size of the light source relative to the subject, but if our diffusion material isn’t wholly opaque and we can still see some of the original source behind that material, then the actual fixture — in addition to the “new” light source created by the diffusion — has an effect on the overall quality of light. This is how lighter diffusions, even at the same size and placed at the same distance to the subject, create light that is less soft than what results from heavier diffusions — because they effectively combine the scattered light of the new apparent light source with the direct light of the original source, which is farther away and smaller.

Before taking your blood pressure

• Find a quiet place.

• Check to be sure you have the correct size cuff. If you are not sure, or if you have questions, talk to your healthcare provider. (Avoid wrist and finger monitors to ensure an accurate blood pressure reading.)

• Roll up the sleeve on your left arm or remove any tight-sleeved clothing, if needed. (It's best to take your blood pressure from your left arm if you are right-handed. However, you can use the other arm if you have been told to do so by your healthcare provider.)

• Rest in a chair next to a table for 5 to 10 minutes. (Your left arm should rest comfortably at heart level.)

• Sit up straight with your back against the chair, legs uncrossed and on the ground.

• Rest your forearm on the table with the palm of your hand facing up.

• You should not talk, read the newspaper, or watch television during this process.

Taking your blood pressure

If you buy a manual or digital blood pressure monitor (sphygmomanometer), follow the instruction booklet carefully.

Record your blood pressure

If you have been asked to record your blood pressure and bring your readings to the office, please write down the date, time of day, systolic and diastolic numbers, heart rate, and which arm you took the reading on. If you are taking part in a program that has remote monitoring, your blood pressure readings are automatically shared with your medical provider. If you are unsure, please ask your provider.

This blog post is part of a new feature on AWRF where our members provide valuable insight into the industry.

Mishandling of workplace materials is the single largest cause of accidents in the workplace. Fortunately, most of these accidents are avoidable. With wire rope slings playing an important role with cranes, derricks, and hoists, it’s important to understand how to make a proper selection.

A wire rope sling is made of wire rope. It is composed of single wires that have been twisted into strands. These strands are then twisted to form a wire rope.

Here are 4 important characteristics to keep in mind when selecting a wire rope sling

1. Strength

The strength of a wire rope sling is a function of size, grade, and construction. It needs to accommodate the applied maximum load. The more a sling is used, both the design and the sling’s strength are reduced. A sling loaded beyond it strength will fail. For older slings it’s important to inspect often.

2. Fatigue

Wire rope slings must be able to take repeated bending without wires failing due to fatigue, sometimes called bending without failure. The best way to preventing fatigue failure is to use blocking or padding to increase the radius of bend.

3. Abrasive Wear

The ability of wire rope to withstand abrasion. It’s determined by size, number of wires, and construction of the rope. Remember that smaller wires bend easier and offer greater flexibility, which also means they are more susceptible to abrasion.

4. Abuse

The misuse of a wire rope will cause the sling to be unsafe well before any other reason. Kinking or bird caging will reduce the strength of a wire rope. Bird caging is forcibly untwisting the wire rope strands and they become spread outward. Be sure to keep up proper use per the manufacturer specifications.

These are just four factors to consider when determining the best wire rope slings for your application. Keep in mind that weight, size, flexibility, and shape of the loads being handled will also affect the life of a wire rope sling.

In the ongoing debate of air conditioners vs air coolers, we list down few important pointers that will offer a clear idea of why you should opt for an air cooler.
But first things first, should you buy an air cooler?
A cooler can be used by everyone, especially people living around hot and dry weather. One can choose from a dessert cooler, a window cooler or even a personal cooler, depending on the requirements.

Read on to know more about why to choose an air cooler over an air conditioner.

Have you ever wondered about how an AC or an air cooler functions and how does it affect the quality of air in your home?

An air conditioner circulates the internal air of the room over and over again, whereas an air cooler pulls fresh air from outside and then cools it down. Also, air cooler doesn’t make the air overly dry like an air conditioner. Because of the way it operates, an air cooler offers better quality of air for your room. So much so, that the air circulated from an air cooler is preferable for people with asthma or dust allergy.

When it comes to value for money, an air cooler definitely scores high over an AC. Even though both end up cooling the room, an AC can cost anything ranging from ₹30,000 to ₹60,000, whereas a cooler will be available from ₹5000 to ₹15,000. Also, apart from the initial cost of purchasing, even the operating cost of an air cooler is less than an AC. You can approximately expect 80% less electricity bill from a cooler as compared to an AC, making it economical in the long run.

Going green is something that concerns all of us, and air coolers trumps the card here as well. Air conditioners use CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) and HFC (hydro-chlorofluorocarbons) as their refrigerant, which is quite harmful to the environment. On the other hand, air coolers are eco-friendlier, since they use water as the refrigerant.

Air cooler requires no installation, which is a cumbersome task in the case of an air conditioner. Whether you have a window AC or a split AC, they require additional arrangements for installation. An air cooler, on the other hand, can be simply moved into your home as an appliance. Many of the air coolers also come with castors, making it more convenient to move them around from one room to another. As you can see that air coolers definitely have their own place in the world. Especially, since they come with such a host of features like silent operation, remote control, multiple speed settings and more. Moreover, nowadays coolers are digitally enhanced and aesthetically pleasing to fit right in.

Whether you call it landscaping fabric, weed block or weed barrier fabric, ask any landscaper or gardener how they feel about its use and they’ll probably have a strong opinion.

Landscape fabric is often promoted as the solution to the bane of every gardener’s existence – weeds. Not only does it supposedly block unwanted weed growth, but best of all, you don’t have to worry about weeding for what seems like years.

Unfortunately, and like with many advertised products, this isn’t exactly true.

Landscaping fabric definitely has its pros and cons when it comes to its use.

Pros of Landscape Fabric

Some of the benefits of using landscaping fabric include:

• Keeps inorganic mulches like rocks from sinking into the soil.

• Prevents weed seeds covered by fabric from sprouting.

• Reduces the need for herbicidal weed control.

• Works well on slopes where erosion is a problem.

• Helps the soil retain moisture.

Cons of Landscape Fabric

Some of the cons of using landscaping fabric include:

• Over time, decomposing particles of mulch and soil clog the perforations in the cloth, which keep adequate amounts of water and air from reaching the plant roots leading to the plant’s decline.

• Earthworms, which aerate the soil, don’t develop, leading to compacted and unhealthy soil.

• The fabric acts as a barrier to organic materials biodegrading in the soil, which lead to an unhealthier soil structure.

• Weeds can still grow in the mulch used to cover the fabric.

• Landscape fabric is time-consuming to install, especially around existing plantings.

Is Landscape Fabric the Right Choice for Your Project?

If used properly and in the best situations, landscaping fabric does have its benefits, but it does have its drawbacks.

Although it might work for a time in reducing weeds in an area, the unwanted growth eventually rears its ugly head despite the weed barrier.

Over time, you also end up with soil that isn’t as healthy, which can affect your plants and their health.

Something else worth noting: Landscape fabric won’t last forever.

Landscaping fabric generally works as a weed barrier for a year or less before its usefulness starts declining.

In fact, and according to the University of Florida, its long-term use can negatively affect soil and plant health and is best used where ornamental plants aren’t growing like pathways or around mailboxes.

If you travel to the mountains or snowy areas regularly, sooner or later you’re going to have to use tire chains. Start by getting the right set for your vehicle at your local Les Schwab.

Quick-fit chains are not your grandpa’s tire chains. They are MUCH simpler to put on and take off. Here are a video, step-by-step instructions, and driving safety tips for installing quick-fit tire chains on your vehicle.

When you need chains, driving conditions are nasty. Snow is coming down, passing traffic is spraying slush, dirty water is dripping off your wheel wells, the road is slick, and it may be dark. Don’t make this the first time you put on your chains.

1. Practice installing your new chains once BEFORE you travel. Take advantage of a dry garage or driveway to make sure your winter tire chains are the right size and you’re comfortable putting them on. If needed, the professionals at Les Schwab Tire Centers can help.

2. Put together a simple winter road trip safety kit with warm gloves, waterproof layers, and other items to make your winter driving more safe and comfortable. In the winter, always carry this emergency kit and tire chains in your vehicle.

Once you’re comfortable installing your chains, you’re ready to hit the snow.

1. Be Safe. If you’re on the road, pull off as far as possible onto a safe shoulder. Flip on your hazard lights. Put on your waterproof layers, hat, headlamp, and gloves from your winter road trip kit.

2. Identify the Correct Tires. If your vehicle is front-wheel drive, the chains go on the front. If it’s rear-wheel drive, chains go on the back. If it’s all-wheel drive, please check your owner’s manual. If you’re not sure, you can ask the experts at Les Schwab for help.

3. Pull Out Chains & Instructions. With your vehicle parked, open the bag and pull out your instructions and your first chain. Each bag comes with two chains. The plastic instruction mat that comes with your chains can be used as a barrier between you and the snow to keep you dry. Untangle Your Chains. Holding them from the plastic-covered cable, make sure everything is straight and the chains are not looped over one another. Hold up your chains so the yellow end is in your left hand and the blue end is in your right.

The mechanical seal is used in a pump, mixer and other mechanical engineering scenarios to contain the fluid within a vessel where a shaft rotates through a stationary (or rotating) housing.

Why is mechanical seal important in this situation? It is because the rotating shaft has to move in a wet environment, but there should not be the leakage of pressurized fluid. Hence, the role of a seal is quite critical.

Does it mean the seal stops the leakage completely? Well, on the practical grounds yes because there is no ‘visible leakage’.

There is a little leakage as the fluid vapors get released into the atmosphere from the faces of the seal, though. Since the quantity is hardly quantifiable, the seals are considered leak proof.

• The seals do not damage pump sleeve or shaft.

• Due to inboard springs that get adjusted as the seal faces wear, it is not required to do daily maintenance.

• Mechanical seals cause less power consumption than gland packing because of the lightly loaded faces.

• In mechanical seals, the lubricant doesn’t get washed out. Therefore, bearing contamination gets avoided in normal operational conditions.

• Plant equipment remains corrosion free.

• Relatively less maintenance and cleaning are required. It makes mechanical seals cost-effective.

• Oil seals prevent accumulation of dirt in the machine.

This modern Tensionless Relax Dryer is widely used for open and tubular width knit fabrics. This is provided to ensure advanced output with its easy to operate features and high durability. It comes with a fabrics infeed section having different features such as turbine-worm gear box, infeed box, axis roller, pneumatic tension device, etc. The overfeeding roller motility is designed to move frequently and reliably with its easy to operate features. This comes with the overfeeding motion that is precisely controlled by inverter.

Diamond saw blades are made with teeth that have been coated in a strong carbon grit mixture. These saw blades are designed to cut through materials that would wear away normal blades, including stone, clay, concrete and similar substances. Diamond blades are usually designed for these tough materials. Trying to cut wood with a diamond saw might not lead to good results.

Diamond Saw Damage

Diamond saws are designed to be the most durable blades for the most difficult saw projects. You will not need to worry about damaging the diamond saw blade itself. These blades are made to withstand stone materials. The soft fibers of wood boards will not hurt the blade itself. The danger is in how the diamond blade treats the wood itself.

General Purpose of Diamond Blades

General purpose dry diamond saw blades can be used for several materials, but reconsider before using them to cut wood. The harsh grit of the diamond blade can cut tile and masonry with straight lines. When applied to wood, however, the blades might create a rough cut, ripping apart fibers, or might make it too easy to create crooked cuts. In most cases, it is better to use a traditional steel blade for wood.

Wood Cutting Blades

Carbide-tipped saw blades are designed especially for wood. These are similar to diamond saw blades, but are designed with teeth and coatings that will make it easier to cut wood, especially hardwoods. If you do want to use a diamond saw blade, ensure that you use a carbide version that is specifically designed for wood.

Exceptions

Some exceptions exist to using diamond blades on boards. For example, fiber cement board comes in planks and might resemble wood, but it is actually made from cementitious materials. Do not assume that the board shape means it is made of wood. Diamond saws work well when cutting fiber cement and similar materials for construction products.

Concrete—most of us have a love-hate relationship with it. Love it when we need a permanent, heavy-duty, weather-resistant surface. Hate it when we gotta repair, replace or cut the stuff.

The prospect of cutting concrete can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Most of the battle can be won by simply selecting the right tools. Try a concrete saw. Following is a rundown of common concrete-cutting tasks—from dinky to monster-sized—and the best tools and techniques for handling them.

Blades made of corundum may be cheap, but on a per-cut basis, they’re more expensive than diamond-tipped blades. If you rent a diamond circular saw blade, many rental centers will measure its perimeter before and after and charge you by the 1/1,000th inch used.

You can make small rough cuts using a cold chisel and sledgehammer (Photos 2 and 3), but the better choice is a circular saw with a special blade.

Dry-cutting diamond blades most often have a serrated or toothed rim (Photo 1) to help cool the blade and eject waste. They work best when you make a series of gradually deeper cuts to avoid overheating the blade. The downside to dry-cutting masonry is the tornado of fine dust it creates. If you cut concrete indoors, seal off the area with plastic and duct tape. Seal all duct openings as well.

Wet-cutting diamond blades can have either teeth or a smooth, continuous perimeter. Water not only helps cool and lubricate the blade but also keeps the dust down. These cut the fastest and cleanest, but they require a special saw that can both distribute water and be safely used around it. As a make-do option, you can plug your saw into a GFCI-protected extension cord and have a helper carefully direct a small stream of water just in front of your saw as it cuts.

1. Good for the brain

Walnuts contain important phytochemicals, as well as high amounts of polyunsaturated fats that offer potential benefits for both brain health and function. Omega-3 fatty acids play a part by helping reduce oxidative stress in the brain but also by helping to improve brain signalling and neurogenesis, which is how new neurons are formed.

As well as high levels of beneficial fats, other important nutrients such as vitamin E, folate and the protective phytochemical, ellagic acid, are all found in walnuts, and contribute to its neuroprotective and memory enhancing properties.

Discover the 10 foods that can boost your brainpower.

2. Mood-boosting

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for the development and function of the central nervous system. Promising research and clinical evidence indicate omega-3 fatty acids could well play a role in certain mood disorders.

Although, a study specifically evaluating the effect of walnuts reported mixed findings, the inclusion of walnuts in the diet of non-depressed, young healthy males did appear to improve mood.

3. Heart healthy

The Journal of Nutrition reports that consumption of walnuts may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and that walnut oil provides more favourable benefits to endothelial function, which is the lining of the inside of our blood and lymphatic vessels. There has also been research into whole walnuts, and how they can improve cholesterol levels and markers for inflammation, which is also connected to a reduced risk of heart disease.

A study by the British Journal of Nutrition found that those who consumed nuts more than four times a week reduced their risk of coronary heart disease by as much as 37 per cent.

4. May support weight loss

There has been some evidence to demonstrate that consuming walnuts in the place of other foods does not cause weight gain, even though they are energy rich, offering a great snack alternative for those looking to manage their weight.

5. Support a healthy digestive system

A recent animal study has shown consuming walnuts can enrich the gut microbiota, the community of beneficial microbes which live in our intestines, and in particular increase strains of beneficial probiotic bacteria. This has been repeated in humans with reports of increases in beneficial strains and especially those which produce butyrate, a by-product which supports the health of the gut.