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Cuong Dang
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Cuong Dang
Oficial Waving Flag K´naan n David Bisbal Sudafrica 2010 Mundial
So great! I nearly move to tear with this video clip!
Hope that we will have a great successful World Cup 2010! All nations, people, all of beings will live together in peace and harmony! All of beings!
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Cuong Dang
World top pharmaceutical companies ranking in sales of 2008
According to Wikipedia, here are the top 3 pharmaceutical companies in sales in the world (2008).
1-Pfizer (US)
Short profile
It produces Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower blood cholesterol); the neuropathic pain/fibromyalgia drug Lyrica (pregabalin); the oral antifungal medication Diflucan (fluconazole), the antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin), Viagra (sildenafil) for erectile dysfunction, and the anti-inflammatory Celebrex (celecoxib) (also known as Celebra in some countries outside the USA and Canada, mainly in South America). Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
2-GlaxoSmithKline (UK)
GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE: GSK NYSE: GSK) is a British pharmaceutical, biological, and healthcare company. GSK is the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical company after Roche, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, by revenue[3]; and a research-based company with a wide portfolio of pharmaceutical products covering anti-infectives, central nervous system, respiratory, gastro-intestinal/metabolic, oncology, and vaccines products. It also has a Consumer Healthcare operation comprising leading oral healthcare products, nutritional drinks, and over the counter medicines. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
3-Novartis (Switzerland)
Novartis manufactures drugs such as clozapine (Clozaril), diclofenac (Voltaren), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valsartan (Diovan), imatinib mesylate (Gleevec / Glivec), ciclosporin (Neoral / Sandimmun), letrozole (Femara), methylphenidate (Ritalin), terbinafine (Lamisil), and others. Novartis owns Sandoz, a large manufacturer of generic drugs. The company formerly owned the Gerber Products Company, a major infant and baby products producer, but sold it to Nestlé on 1 September 2007.
The top 15 pharmaceutical companies by 2008 sales are:
Rank Company Sales ($M) Based/Headquartered in 1 Pfizer 43,363 US 2 GlaxoSmithKline 36,506 UK 3 Novartis 36,506 Switzerland 4 Sanofi-Aventis 35,642 France 5 AstraZeneca 32,516 UK/Sweden 6 Hoffmann–La Roche 30,336 Switzerland 7 Johnson & Johnson 29,425 US 8 Merck & Co. 26,191 US 9 Abbott 19,466 US 10 Eli Lilly and Company 19,140 US 11 Amgen 15,794 US 12 Wyeth 15,682 US 13 Teva 15,274 Israel 14 Bayer 15,660 Germany 15 Takeda 13,819 Japan Top 10 US and Global Products of 2008 (Click on the image for larger size)
Recommended further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Pharmaceutical_companies_by_country
Adapted from:
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- http://pharmexec.com
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Cuong Dang
Note about the new iPhone 4G – summer 2010
Environmental requirements
- Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F
(0° to 35° C) Vietnam???
- Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F
(-20° to 45° C) - Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
- Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
There are so many articles writing about this new phone these days! Hoho Steve Job should be happy about that!
Someone asked me that “Man, tell me, if you have a lot of money, will you buy an Iphone 4G next days when they are available in Vietnam or will you buy other stuff for yourself ?!”
Answer: No! I do not need it now! I have no money!
Yes, like many others, I love Apple products, but I will not buy such a so expensive device like this iPhone 4G (or other previous version 3GS, or 3G) . All of its functions I can find on other alternative phones which are cheaper than the iPhone 4G up to 5 times!
Then I said “If you have a lot of money and you do not know what to do with them, let you buy me a reading ebook device such as the iPad or the latest amazon kindle”
- Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F
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Cuong Dang
Video demonstration of space saving furniture
View a demonstration of unique space saving furniture. Awesome!!!
I love creative products like these! Wanna buy some of them!
Resource Furniture Website: http://www.resourcefurniture.com/
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Cuong Dang
Catch-all-email function for Google Apps Custom domain
A cool function of using Google Mail custom domain is the “Catch-all-email” function. If received email does not match any existing address on our custom domain, we can configure to forward those emails to an existing email address on our custom domain.
For example: We may use the email happy @ cuongdang.info, when we register account at a site named “happy”… or Steven Job @ cuongdang.info for sites related to Apple ^^…
But the most useful thing is that it helps us “catch” all emails sending to us, especially when those emails are really important, event the sender send to a wrong email address on our domain because of fast typing, spelling mistakes…
Test it!
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Cuong Dang
Accelerator mass spectrometry – and “3,000-year-old rice grains”
It has been come to my attention that recently, Vietnam scientist have found some “3,000-year-old rice grains”. And some of these rice grains have sprouted well.
I am so surprised with this news and wondering that it is true or not! I hope that it is not just another “science trick”. If this discovery is true, it should be one of the greatest discovery of the year 2010.
Now the bottom line is that how we will determine the age of these “3,000-year-old-rice grains”?
After asked Mr. Google, I see this one, a usable method for determining the age of stuff in archeology
Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) differs from other forms of mass spectrometry in that it accelerates ions to extraordinarily high kinetic energies before mass analysis. The special strength of AMS among the mass spectrometric methods is its power to separate a rare isotope from an abundant neighboring mass (“abundance sensitivity”, e.g. 14C from 12C).[1] The method suppresses molecular isobars completely and in many cases can separate atomic isobars (e.g. 14N from 14C) also. This makes possible the detection of naturally occurring, long-lived radio-isotopes such as 10Be, 36Cl, 26Al and 14C. Their typical isotopic abundance ranges from 10-12 to 10-18. AMS can outperform the competing technique of decay counting for all isotopes where the half life is long enough.[2]
Applications of AMS
The applications are many. AMS is most often employed to determine the concentration of 14C, e.g. by. Archaeologists for radiocarbon dating. An accelerator mass spectrometer is required, over other forms of mass spectrometry, because of their insufficient abundance sensitivity, and to resolve stable nitrogen-14 from radiocarbon. Due to the long half-life of 14C, decay counting requires significantly larger samples. 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl are used for surface exposure dating in geology. 3H, 14C, 36Cl, and 129I are used as hydrological tracer.
Accelerator mass spectrometry is widely used in biomedical research.[5][6][7]. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Currently, there are about 180 AMS facilities in the world (Wikipedia) – and there is no one in Vietnam
So now just hope that is true and wait for the analytic results coming from a foreign AMS facility.
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Cuong Dang
Theravada Buddhism – Uposatha Observance Days
2010′s calendar of Uposatha days
last quarter new moon first quarter full moon last quarter January 8 15 23 30 - February 7 13 21 28
Māgha Pūjā- March 8 15 23 30 - April 7 13 21 28 - May 6 13 21 28
Visākha Pūjā- June 5 11 19 26 - July 4 11 19 26
Āsaḷha Pūjā- August 3 10 18 25 - September 2 8 16 23 - October 1 8 16 23
Pavāraṇā Day31 November - 6 14 21
Ānāpānasati Day29 December - 6 14 21 29 Uposatha days are times of renewed dedication to Dhamma practice, observed by lay followers and monastics throughout the world of Theravada Buddhism.
For monastics, these are often days of more intensive reflection and meditation. In many monasteries physical labor (construction projects, repairs, etc.) is curtailed. On New Moon and Full Moon days the fortnightly confession and recitation of the Bhikkhu Patimokkha (monastic rules of conduct) takes place.
Lay people observe the Eight Precepts on Uposatha days, as a support for meditation practice and as a way to re-energize commitment to the Dhamma. Whenever possible, lay people use these days as an opportunity to visit the local monastery, in order to make special offerings to the Sangha, to listen to Dhamma, and to practice meditation with Dhamma companions late into the night. For those not closely affiliated with a local monastery, it can simply be an opportunity to step up one’s efforts in meditation, while drawing on the invisible support of millions of other practicing Buddhists around the world.
The calendar of Uposatha days is calculated using a complex traditional formula that is loosely based on the lunar calendar, with the result that the dates do not always coincide with the actual astronomical dates. To further complicate matters, each sect within Theravada Buddhism tends to follow a slightly different calendar.
Several full-moon Uposatha days hold special significance in the Buddhist calendar:
- Magha Puja (usually in February)
- This day, sometimes called “Sangha Day,” commemorates the spontaneous assembly of 1,250 arahants in the Buddha’s presence. One thousand of the gathered monks had previously achieved Awakening upon hearing the Buddha’s delivery of the Fire Sermon; the remaining 250 were followers of the elder monks Ven. Moggallana and Ven. Sariputta. To mark this auspicious gathering, the Buddha delivered the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha, a summary of the main points of the Dhamma, which the Buddha gave to the assembly before sending them out to proclaim the doctrine. [Suggested reading: "Dhamma for Everyone" by Ajaan Lee.]
- Visakha Puja (Vesak) (usually in May)
- This day, sometimes called “Buddha Day,” commemorates three key events in the Buddha’s life that took place on this full-moon day: his birth, Awakening, and final Unbinding (parinibbana). [Suggested reading: "Visakha Puja" by Ajaan Lee.]
- Asalha Puja (usually in July)
- This day, sometimes called “Dhamma Day,” commemorates the Buddha’s first discourse, which he gave to the group of five monks with whom he had practiced in the forest for many years. Upon hearing this discourse, one of the monks ( Ven. Kondañña) gained his first glimpse of Nibbana, thus giving birth to the Noble Sangha. The annual Rains retreat (vassa) begins the following day.
- Pavarana Day (usually in October).
- This day marks the end of the Rains retreat (vassa). In the following month, thekathina ceremony is held, during which the laity gather to make formal offerings of robe cloth and other requisites to the Sangha.
- Anapanasati Day (usually in November).
- At the end of one rains retreat (vassa), the Buddha was so pleased with the progress of the assembled monks that he encouraged them to extend their retreat for yet another month. On the full-moon day marking the end of that fourth month of retreat, he presented his instructions on mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati), which may be found in the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118) — The Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing.
Adapted from:
- “Uposatha Observance Days”, by John T. Bullitt. Access to Insight, June 7, 2009, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/uposatha.html.
- “Calendar of Uposatha Days: 2010 CE”, by John T. Bullitt.Access to Insight, January 26, 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/uposatha2010.html.
