Online clothes shoppers will be told exactly what size is best for them using new software which combines with their webcam(网络摄像头) or smart phone to form a 3D tape measure.

    Scientists from Surrey University and design experts from the London College of Fashion are developing a program which can take precise waist, hip, chest and other measurements from camera images.

    Using the person's height as a starting point, the software will be able to build up a 3D image and estimate their size at various different points on the body, based on their overall proportions. The result will be a more accurate sizing guide than previous systems based on waist size or a “small/medium/large” scale, which rely on limited measurements and the buyer's perception of their own body size.

    Shoppers and retailers(零售商) who choose to sign up for the project could save millions of pounds a year in postage costs by removing the need to order multiple sizes of the same garment and send back illfitting clothes, researchers claimed. The project, sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC), is expected to be brought to market within two years.

    After choosing an item, the shopper will activate the software, enter their height, stand in front of their webcam or smart phone in their underwear and take a photograph.

    The software will not store or transmit the image to the Internet, but will use it to judge the person's dimensions at various points on their body.

    Philip Delamore of the London College of Fashion said, “The potential benefits for the fashion industry and for shoppers are huge. Currently, it's common for online shoppers to order two or three different sizes of the same item of clothing at the same time, as they're unsure which one will fit best.”

How to enroll if you are in Midhaven…

    We invite you to visit us and see the school. After an assessment you will be able to reserve a place on the next available course. We have two centres in Midhaven.

    Pat O'Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands. Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly(大胆) up to the company and said to Lord Northwood, “Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?” Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his Mends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite(食欲) for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion(怀疑), he said, “but why are you out so early in the morning?” “Well, sir” said Pat, “I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite.” The whole crowed burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit(机智), and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.

    Guide to Stockholm University Library

    Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

    Zones

    The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

    Computers

    You can use your own computer to connect to the wifi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

    Group-study Places

    If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.

    There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.

    Storage of study material

    The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year's rental period.

    Rules to be followed

    Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

    Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

    Let's face it. No one drinks diet sodas for the taste. People drink diet sodas in the hope that it will help them lose weight or at least keep them from gaining it. Yet it seems to have exactly the opposite effect, according to a new study.

    Researchers from the University of Texas said those who drank two or more diet sodas a day had waist size increases that were six times greater than those who didn't drink diet sodas. "What we saw was that the more diet sodas a person drank, the more weight they were likely to gain," said Sharon Fowler.

    The study was based on data from 474 participants in a large, ongoing research project, where the participants were followed for nearly 10 years.

    While the findings are surprising, they also offer some explanations.

    Nutrition expert, Melanie Rogers, who works with overweight patients in New York, has found that when patients are switched from regular to diet sodas, they don't lose weight at all. "We weren't seeing weight loss necessarily, and that was confusing to us," said Rogers.

    So why would diet soda cause weight gain? No one knows for sure yet, but it could be that people think they can eat more if they drink diet sodas, and so over-compensate(补偿) for the missing calories.

    A related study found some sweeteners (甜味剂) raised blood sugar levels in some mice. "Data from this and other potential studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners may be risky," said Helen P. Hazuda, professor at the University of Texas's school of medicine. "They may be free of calories, but not of consequences."

    It is obvious that all of our childhood memories are not accidental. When you are a child, every scent, every sound, every move, every toy, the first day of school, the first kiss, the first step… Everything together makes what is the personality of a man. All these are pieces of one whole entity.

    I was about 6 years old. My mom's best friend left to another town and asked my mom to stay at her place with me for two days in order to look after her two sons. One was a little older than I was, and the second boy appeared to be super grown-up, for he was already fourteen. I always enjoyed staying at their place.

    I remember the second day we were supposed to have the come-back party for my mom's friend at her place. I woke up. Mom went to work and reminded me to be nice and clean by the time she came back. I stayed with Tony, the older of the boys and suddenly somebody called him and though he was not permitted to leave me alone-he left. He said it would not be long. But it took him forever. I realized that I was alone. I could not come out of the house, so I opened the window. I was so desperate. So lonely. So betrayed. At that moment I pulled the curtain so strongly that I fell on the floor. And there I was standing-one little criminal-desperate to escape and knowing that I would be punished for destroying the curtain that was not even ours.

But then something changed. I stopped weeping. I looked around and realized that I was in a safe place, and that mom would come back and kiss me no matter what I had done.

    This was a moment of pure happiness, not the happiness of getting a new toy or a dog, or going to the party of your best friend. It was the moment of clarity for me-the first time in my life when I realized that I was happy to have my mom and that I was safe. My eyes saw the world in different shades that moment. And by the way-I was not punished for the curtain. I fell asleep on my mom's knees.