SSF
The Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation (SSF) is a United States-based non-profit organization founded in 1983 to support individuals affected by Sjögren's syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disorder primarily manifesting as severe dryness in the eyes and mouth due to lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, often accompanied by systemic complications involving organs such as the lungs, kidneys, and joints.[1][2][3] The SSF advances its mission through funding research into disease mechanisms, diagnostics, and therapies; disseminating educational materials to patients and clinicians; and fostering awareness to improve early detection and management, which remains challenging given the syndrome's heterogeneous presentation and overlap with other autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.[1][4] Notable achievements include raising over $3 million in recent campaigns to support clinical studies and patient initiatives, establishing national registries for research data, and collaborating with medical professionals to develop consensus guidelines on symptom management, such as non-pharmacologic approaches for sicca symptoms alongside immunomodulatory treatments.[1][5] While the SSF has been instrumental in building a dedicated community for an underrecognized condition affecting an estimated 0.5-1% of the population—predominantly women—the foundation's efforts highlight ongoing causal challenges in autoimmune research, including limited effective disease-modifying therapies and diagnostic delays averaging years due to nonspecific symptoms and reliance on subjective criteria like the American-European Consensus Group classification.[3][6] No major controversies have marred the SSF's operations, though broader critiques of patient advocacy groups note potential overemphasis on awareness relative to rigorous, outcome-based research validation.[1]Gaming and Emulation
Super Smash Flash
Super Smash Flash is a free, non-profit crossover platform fighting video game developed by Gregory McLeod under the studio McLeodGaming and initially released as a browser-based Adobe Flash application on August 21, 2006.[7] Drawing direct inspiration from Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series, the game pits characters from diverse video game franchises—primarily Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom properties—against each other in battles where players accumulate damage percentages on opponents, then launch them off multi-tiered stages to score knockouts.[8] It supports up to four players in versus mode, with additional single-player options including Classic Mode, where fighters progress through AI opponents across themed stages, and a multiplayer-focused Adventure Mode variant. The game was distributed via McLeodGaming's website and portals like Newgrounds, achieving popularity among Flash gamers for its faithful recreation of Super Smash Bros. Melee-style mechanics using available web technologies.[9] Development began as a solo project by McLeod, a high school student at the time, who coded the game in Adobe Flash to emulate the fast-paced, item-assisted brawling of Super Smash Bros. without official licensing, relying on fan-made assets and sprite rips for authenticity. The core gameplay emphasizes directional influence on knockback, edge-guarding, and combo strings, though limited by Flash's performance constraints, resulting in simpler animations and hit detection compared to console counterparts. Stages draw from source materials, such as Mushroom Kingdom variants and Final Destination, with hazards like falling platforms adding strategic depth. Post-release, McLeod provided updates, including a standalone executable version for offline play on Windows and Mac, downloadable from the official site, to extend accessibility beyond browsers.[9] The roster comprises 28 characters, evenly split between starters like Mario, Link, and Sonic, and unlockables such as Samus, Fox, and Ryu, each with unique movesets adapted from their origins—e.g., Link's projectiles and sword combos mirroring The Legend of Zelda abilities.[8] Items like Bob-ombs and Link's bombs appear randomly, enhancing chaotic multiplayer sessions but absent in some single-player paths for focused duels. Reception positioned Super Smash Flash as a landmark fan game, praised for its technical ambition in delivering accessible Smash-like multiplayer without hardware requirements, earning descriptors like "award-winning" on developer pages for community acclaim.[8] Independent reviews highlighted solid controls and character variety despite graphical limitations, with one noting its role in bridging casual Flash audiences to competitive fighting game concepts.[10] Balance issues persisted, such as overpowered specials causing crashes or exploits in older builds, yet these were mitigated in executables, fostering a dedicated player base that influenced sequels like Super Smash Flash 2. The game's legacy endures through emulation post-Flash's 2020 discontinuation, with McLeodGaming maintaining downloads and emphasizing its non-commercial, hobbyist roots amid Nintendo's stricter IP enforcement on later fan projects.[9]SSF (Sega Saturn Emulator)
SSF is a software emulator for the Sega Saturn home video game console and the related Sega Titan Video (ST-V) arcade hardware, developed by Japanese programmer Shima. First publicly released in December 1999, it marked an early breakthrough in Saturn emulation by enabling direct playback of commercial games from CD-ROM media without prior image extraction.[11][12][13] The emulator operates primarily on Microsoft Windows and has been maintained as a solo project by Shima for over 25 years, with updates continuing into 2025.[14][15] Initially developed as closed-source software, SSF transitioned to an open-source model in 2021 via a GitHub repository, facilitating limited community involvement while Shima retained primary development control.[16] This longevity contrasts with the Saturn's technical challenges, including its dual SH-2 CPUs and complex graphics architecture, which historically deterred emulator development.[17] Recent releases, such as preview version R37 on October 22, 2025, emphasize stability enhancements and bug fixes for specific titles, reflecting ongoing refinement rather than major overhauls.[11][18] SSF distinguishes itself through cycle-accurate emulation, achieving high compatibility with a broad range of Saturn software, including Japan-region titles that often exhibit glitches in alternatives like Yabause.[19][20] It supports features such as internal BIOS emulation, eliminating the need for external firmware files in many cases, and configurable rendering up to 4K resolution via integration with frontend tools like RetroBat.[21] Core capabilities include full-speed execution on modern hardware, RAM cart simulation for backups, and peripheral emulation for devices like the RAM expansion unit, though it lacks native support for Saturn peripherals such as the mouse or 4MB RAM cartridge without manual configuration.[22] Compatibility remains a strength, with user-compiled lists indicating playable status for over 90% of tested titles, though some games require version-specific tweaks due to the emulator's evolution.[23] Historically superior to contemporaries in raw compatibility until the mid-2010s, SSF has faced competition from open-source options like Mednafen's Saturn core, which some users report as surpassing it in ISO handling and overall stability for certain libraries.[19][18] Despite this, SSF retains preference among enthusiasts for its precision in emulating Saturn's idiosyncratic hardware behaviors, such as VDP1 sprite handling, with minimal interpretive inaccuracies.[14][15]Solo Self-Found Mode
Solo Self-Found (SSF) is a league variant in Path of Exile that disables trading of items and currency with other players and prohibits partying, ensuring all gear, gems, and resources for a character must be acquired through personal drops, crafting, or vendor recipes. This mode enforces strict self-reliance, with no access to external player assistance, though global chat and visibility of other players in towns remain available.[24] Stash tabs are shared exclusively among the player's own SSF characters in the same league, preventing transfer of items from trade or standard leagues.[25] Originally a self-imposed challenge among players dissatisfied with reliance on trading, SSF gained official support in patch 2.6.0, released on March 3, 2017, as part of the Legacy league update.[26] Prior to this, enthusiasts like streamer ProjectPT popularized the mode by streaming solo play without trades, inspiring community adoption.[27] The implementation addressed demands for a structured environment to test build viability and loot dependency without market influences. SSF alters core gameplay by amplifying the importance of drop luck, efficient mapping, and in-game crafting systems like essence or harvest mechanics, often leading to slower endgame progression but heightened emphasis on adaptability.[28] Players must optimize builds around commonly available uniques or self-crafted rares, avoiding trade-dependent meta strategies, which can make league-start viability challenging for certain ascendancies.[28] Despite these hurdles, SSF fosters a sense of achievement through unassisted clears of pinnacle bosses like Uber Elder or Maven, with dedicated ladders tracking solo progression.[24] Characters in SSF can be migrated to trade or standard leagues via the character selection interface, relinquishing SSF status and enabling interactions, but migration is irreversible within the same league cycle.[29] In Path of Exile 2, SSF retains these core restrictions—no trading or grouping—while preserving social elements like player visibility in hubs, maintaining the mode's focus on individual agency amid the sequel's expanded mechanics.[30] Community feedback highlights SSF's appeal for replayability and skill-testing, though some advocate for adjusted drop rates to counter trade league disparities without compromising economy balance.[31]Finance
Single Stock Futures
Single stock futures (SSFs) are standardized, exchange-traded derivative contracts that obligate the buyer to purchase, and the seller to deliver, a specified quantity—typically 100 shares—of an underlying individual stock at a predetermined price on a future settlement date.[32] Unlike stock options, SSFs involve physical delivery of the shares upon expiration unless offset by an opposing trade, and they provide leverage through margin requirements often around 20% of the contract value, compared to higher requirements for direct stock ownership.[33] Trading occurs on futures exchanges with centralized clearing to mitigate counterparty risk, and contracts are marked-to-market daily to reflect price changes.[34] SSFs originated outside the United States, with the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) launching the first contracts in November 1997 on FTSE 100 constituents, marking a shift toward granular equity derivatives beyond broad indices.[35] In the U.S., a long-standing ban under the Shad-Johnson Accord of 1982 prohibited single-stock futures to avoid regulatory overlap between securities and commodities markets, but the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 lifted this restriction, enabling joint oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).[36] Trading commenced on November 18, 2002, via the OneChicago exchange, a joint venture involving CME, CBOE, and Philadelphia exchanges, initially covering about 120 stocks with contract sizes of 100 shares and quarterly expirations aligned to stock options cycles.[32] Despite initial optimism for enhanced hedging and speculation, U.S. volumes remained low—peaking at under 10% of comparable options activity—due to fragmented liquidity, higher transaction costs from dual SEC/CFTC rules, and competition from established equity options and ETFs.[35] Mechanically, SSFs allow investors to gain directional exposure to a stock's price without upfront ownership, facilitating short selling without share borrowing and enabling strategies like arbitrage between futures and spot prices or spreads across related securities.[33] Margin efficiency provides leverage advantages, with initial margins as low as 20% versus 50% for stocks under Regulation T, and maintenance margins adjusted daily via variation payments.[34] Upon expiration, physical delivery occurs, transferring shares and final cash settlement, though most positions are closed out prior to delivery to avoid ownership transfer.[37] Tax treatment in the U.S. prior to discontinuation favored SSFs with a 60/40 split on gains (60% long-term, 40% short-term capital gains rates), potentially lowering effective taxes compared to pure stock trading.[38] As security futures products, SSFs in the U.S. required brokers to register with both SEC and CFTC, imposing stricter reporting and position limits to prevent manipulation, with customer funds segregated and protected under commodity rules.[36] Globally, exchanges like Eurex continue offering SSFs on thousands of equities, emphasizing cross-margining with options for capital efficiency and central counterparty clearing via Deutsche Börse.[39] However, U.S. trading halted in September 2020 when OneChicago ceased operations amid persistently low volumes—averaging fewer than 5,000 contracts daily by 2019—and regulatory burdens, with no revival by 2025 due to superior liquidity in alternatives like total return swaps and CFDs.[32][35] Key advantages include amplified returns via leverage, ease of short positions without uptick rules or borrow fees, and utility for hedging concentrated portfolios against idiosyncratic risks.[33] Drawbacks encompass magnified losses from leverage, vulnerability to gaps in thinly traded contracts, and operational complexity in dual-regulated environments, which deterred retail participation.[35] Empirical data from the U.S. experience showed SSFs underperformed in adoption, with open interest rarely exceeding 50,000 contracts across all underlyings by 2008, underscoring liquidity as a structural barrier absent in broader futures markets.[32]Government and Politics
Separate Segregated Fund
A Separate Segregated Fund (SSF) is a political action committee (PAC) sponsored by a corporation, labor organization, trade association, or similar entity under U.S. federal election law, designed to collect voluntary contributions from a restricted class of individuals to support or oppose federal candidates.[40] These funds enable sponsoring organizations to participate in electoral activities without using prohibited general treasury money, as direct corporate or union contributions to federal candidates have been banned since the Tillman Act of 1907 and reinforced by subsequent legislation including the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971.[41][42] SSFs must maintain contributions in accounts physically and legally segregated from the sponsoring organization's operational funds, as mandated by 11 CFR § 114.5, to ensure compliance with bans on involuntary or treasury-derived political spending.[43] The restricted class for corporate SSFs includes stockholders, directors, executive branch officers, and their immediate families, while for labor SSFs it comprises union members; contributions from outside this class are impermissible.[40] Solicitations require explicit written authorization from contributors and prohibit any form of coercion, such as job discrimination threats or mandatory payroll deductions tied to employment.[43] Like other connected PACs, SSFs face federal contribution limits, including $5,000 per candidate per election for direct support, though they may make unlimited independent expenditures post-Citizens United v. FEC (2010) if structured accordingly.[44] They must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 10 days of establishment, file organizational statements detailing the sponsoring entity and solicitation plans, and submit regular reports on receipts, disbursements, and debts quarterly or semi-annually depending on activity levels.[45] Administrative costs, such as solicitation expenses, may be covered by the sponsoring organization but cannot involve general treasury funds for political advocacy.[43] Several states, including Michigan, Maine, and Ohio, recognize analogous SSF structures under their campaign finance laws, allowing connected organizations to form segregated funds for state-level elections while adhering to federal precedents where applicable.[46][47][48] SSFs differ from non-connected PACs, which can solicit broadly from the public, and super PACs, which forgo contribution limits in favor of independent spending only.[49] Noncompliance, such as improper solicitation or commingling of funds, can result in FEC enforcement actions, civil penalties, or criminal referrals under FECA provisions.[40]Geography
South San Francisco
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 10 miles south of downtown San Francisco. Incorporated on September 19, 1908, following approval by the County of San Mateo on September 3 of that year, the city covers about 9.6 square miles of land and had an estimated population of 64,487 residents as of 2023, with a median age of 42.4 years and a median household income of $135,909. The area was initially developed in the late 19th century, with the first house built at Grand and Cypress Avenues in November 1891, and early settlement tied to agricultural and industrial land use east of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. Geographically, the city features varied terrain, including the eastern foothills of San Bruno Mountain to the west, which rises to over 1,300 feet and serves as a natural boundary and ecological preserve, while the eastern flats extend toward the San Francisco Bay shoreline, encompassing Oyster Point and industrial waterfront zones. The city's boundaries include San Francisco to the north, Daly City and Colma to the northwest, Brisbane to the northeast, San Bruno to the south, and unincorporated areas of San Mateo County to the west. Much of the western upland is preserved as part of the San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, protecting habitats for endangered species like the mission blue butterfly amid urban development pressures. Eastern areas along the bay include restored wetlands and marinas, such as Oyster Point Marina, supporting recreational access to the water. Sign Hill, a prominent 400-foot elevation in the city's northeast, offers panoramic views of the bay and is marked by a large hillside sign reading "South San Francisco: The Industrial City," erected in 1923 to reflect early economic identity in meatpacking and manufacturing before the post-World War II shift to biotechnology. Climate in South San Francisco is characteristic of coastal Northern California, with mild temperatures averaging 57°F annually, minimal seasonal variation, and frequent fog influenced by Pacific Ocean currents; annual rainfall totals around 20 inches, concentrated from November to March. Proximity to major transportation infrastructure, including U.S. Highway 101, Interstate 280, Caltrain stations, and San Francisco International Airport nearby in San Bruno, enhances connectivity, though the city's geography funnels traffic and contributes to regional congestion. These features position South San Francisco as a transitional urban-industrial node between the dense core of San Francisco and the suburban expanses of the Peninsula.Technology and Science
Saturn Sound Format
The Saturn Sound Format (SSF) is a proprietary audio file format designed for preserving and replaying music extracted from Sega Saturn video games.[50] It functions as a subformat of the broader Portable Sound Format (PSF) family, which originated with the PlayStation Sound Format but expanded to console-specific variants like SSF for the Sega Saturn's hardware-emulated audio.[50][51] SSF files store sequenced music data generated in real-time by the Sega Saturn's SCSP (Sega Custom Sound Processor), including emulated game code for audio playback, sequence information such as notes and timing, and embedded samples.[50] This structure enables faithful reproduction of the console's original sound synthesis, which combines PCM, FM, and MIDI-like elements at up to 44.1 kHz sampling rate with 32 channels, while requiring significantly less storage space than uncompressed formats like WAV or lossy ones like MP3.[50][52] Unlike logging-based formats such as VGM, SSF embeds the necessary emulation data directly, making it suitable for Saturn-specific sequenced tracks but limited to that console's audio capabilities.[53] The format emerged as an older alternative for ripping Saturn game music from ROMs, using specialized scripts to capture and package audio assets without relying on emulator logging tools like MAME, whose SCSP emulation has known inaccuracies.[53] Examples of games with SSF-rippable tracks include Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei, NiGHTS into Dreams..., and Radiant Silvergun.[50] Ripping typically involves tools from developers like kingshriek, who provide SSF/DSF SDKs and scripts for extraction.[50][51] SSF playback requires software capable of emulating the Saturn's audio hardware, such as the Mednafen emulator, which handles SCSP output with configurable resampling quality (0-10 scale, default 4) for converting 44.1 kHz audio to host device rates and supports features like forced mono output or video scaling for visualization.[52] Other compatible players include Audio Overload for direct playback and conversion to WAV, foobar2000 with the SSF/DSF Decoder plugin, Winamp via the Chipamp plugin, and ZXTune.[50][51] These tools ensure accurate emulation, though variations in settings like resampler quality can affect synchronization in derived outputs.[52]Static Safety Factor
The static safety factor (SSF), in engineering design, quantifies the margin by which a structure, component, or material's load-bearing capacity exceeds the maximum anticipated static load, preventing yield, deformation, or failure under non-cyclic conditions. It is defined as the ratio of the material's or system's ultimate strength (or yield strength for ductile materials) to the maximum induced stress or load, typically expressed as SSF = strength / applied load. This approach accounts for uncertainties in material properties, loading estimates, fabrication tolerances, and environmental factors, ensuring reliability without overdesign.[54][55] For components like rolling bearings subjected to static loads—such as those in machinery at rest or under constant pressure—the SSF is computed as the basic static load rating (C₀, the load causing a permanent deformation of 0.0001 times the rolling element diameter) divided by the equivalent static load (P₀, combining radial and axial components via vector summation). The formula is SSF = C₀ / P₀, with recommended minimum values of 1.0 for precise positioning under vibration (to limit deformation to elastic range) up to 4.0 or higher for heavy shock or impact scenarios, as permanent indentation could impair dynamic performance.[56][57][58] In structural applications, such as retaining walls or foundations, SSF evaluates stability against sliding, overturning, or bearing failure under static conditions like soil pressure or dead loads. Building codes like the International Building Code (IBC) mandate a minimum SSF of 1.5 for retaining wall sliding and overturning, reducing to 1.1 when seismic loads are explicitly factored, derived from limit state analysis balancing ultimate capacity against design loads. Geotechnical contexts, including slope stability, employ SSF via methods like Bishop's or Janbu's, where SSF = resisting forces / driving forces, with targets of 1.3–1.5 for permanent slopes based on soil shear strength parameters.[59][60] Aviation standards, such as those from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), require an SSF of 1.5 for static buckling loads on aircraft wings, reflecting empirical data from testing and historical failure rates to accommodate variability in alloys like aluminum. In rope and rigging systems for hoisting, SSF = minimum breaking strength / maximum working load, often set at 5:1 or higher for static human-rated applications to mitigate knot inefficiencies and material degradation. These values stem from probabilistic risk assessments, where lower SSF (e.g., 1.1–1.5) suits well-characterized, low-variability systems, while higher factors (3–10) apply to brittle materials or uncertain environments.[61][62]| Application | Typical Minimum SSF | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Bearings (normal static) | 2.0 | Elastic deformation limit per ISO 76 standards |
| Retaining Walls (sliding/overturning) | 1.5 | IBC 2024 code for static soil loads |
| Aircraft Structures (buckling) | 1.5 | FAA static load requirements |
| Rope Hoisting (static, manned) | 5.0 | Breaking strength to working load ratio |