text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
|---|
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is one of the most commonly performed procedures by orthopaedic surgeons.^[@bibr14-2325967118772043]^ A postoperative infection, despite occurring in less than 1% of cases, causes significant morbidity, including repeat surgery, graft failure, arthrofibrosis, and potentially irreversible changes to the articular cartilage.^[@bibr8-2325967118772043],[@bibr17-2325967118772043]^ Contamination of the ACLR graft is possible; however, there is no current literature with regard to the rate of bacterial inoculation during graft preparation for ACLR. Multiple potential sources of contamination exist, including gloves, gowns, and knife blades, as demonstrated by Davis et al.^[@bibr3-2325967118772043]^ To date, the marking pen as a source of contamination has not been studied. Nakayama et al^[@bibr10-2325967118772043]^ demonstrated a 6% incidence of positive cultures, predominantly *Staphylococcus epidermidis*, obtained intraoperatively from the skin adjacent to the incision in ACLR. Based on these results, it is possible that a surgical pen could transfer *S epidermidis* and other skin flora from the colonized skin to the graft.
Marking pens are commonly used to mark skin incisions ([Figure 1A](#fig1-2325967118772043){ref-type="fig"}), not discarded, and then used to mark graft preparation sites ([Figure 1B](#fig1-2325967118772043){ref-type="fig"}). They are a potential source of graft contamination. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the sterile skin marking pen is a vector for contamination during ACLR. It was hypothesized that there would be a difference in the rate of culture-positive pens between control pens and the study pens used to delineate the proposed skin incision.
{#fig1-2325967118772043}
Methods {#section1-2325967118772043}
=======
Twenty alcohol-based solvent surgical marking pens (Devon Surgical Skin Marker, Regular Tip; Covidien) were collected prospectively from patients undergoing ACLR between March 2013 and March 2014. Ten consecutive patients were chosen initially. After initial analysis of culture results, it was felt that an additional 10 consecutive patients were needed to add power to the study. The inclusion criteria for the study were patients older than 18 years undergoing arthroscopic ACLR and no previous knee surgery.
A single sports medicine fellowship--trained orthopaedic surgeon (J.A.M.) performed outpatient arthroscopic ACLR at one academic outpatient surgery center with the use of a bone--patellar tendon--bone (BPTB) or hamstring autograft. All patients received intravenous cefazolin or clindamycin within 30 minutes of the incision. Before surgical site and incision marking, the patient's skin was cleaned with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate cloths (Sage Products) in the preoperative area, per standard hospital policy. DuraPrep Surgical Solution (3M) was then applied to the skin during preoperative preparation and was allowed to dry for 3 minutes before sterile draping. After draping, the patella and patellar tendon were outlined and arthroscopic portals marked with the sterile surgical marking pen. The mean length of total incisions marked was 8 cm. The pen tip was then immediately placed into a sterile culture and sent to a laboratory for a 5-day inoculation in broth and agar. All pens were removed from the surgical field before incision, and new marking pens were used when needed, per the senior author's (J.A.M.) standard operative technique.
Positive controls were obtained by similarly marking the skin before application of the DuraPrep Surgical Solution using sterile gloves and instruments. One positive control was obtained per day rather than for each operative case. Negative controls consisting of new unopened pens handled directly in the laboratory were also cultured. Additionally, blank culture dishes were observed during the growth process to confirm that growth did not occur during the incubation period. Results were reported as either growth or no growth. Positive cultures were further classified using standard laboratory tests.
This study was submitted and reviewed by our institutional review board and was determined to be exempt from further review under 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 46.102(d), as this work was judged to be a quality assurance activity. Further, cultures were not obtained from patients but from the marking pen itself. The senior author's current clinical practice is to dispose of the pen after skin marking in all surgical procedures. Therefore, this study represents the authors' current clinical practice, and because the cultures were obtained after removal of the pen from the field, no risk of contamination was present. All ethical standards of maintaining patient confidentiality have been employed, including those in accordance with the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). A typical sterile surgical marking pen costs US\$0.53 in our hospital system.
Results {#section2-2325967118772043}
=======
Twenty patients met the study inclusion criteria, with 12 positive controls, 8 negative controls, and 9 blank dishes, for a total of 49 cultures. Three of the 20 study pens (15%) demonstrated positive growth. All 3 contaminated pens grew species of *Staphylococcus*, and 1 study pen also grew a species of *Bacillus* ([Table 1](#table1-2325967118772043){ref-type="table"}). Six of the 12 (50%) positive controls showed growth, while none of the 8 negative controls or blank dishes exhibited growth. Organisms found in the positive control and study groups were predominantly *Staphylococcus* but also included *Bacillus* and *Aspergillus* ([Table 2](#table2-2325967118772043){ref-type="table"}). No patients clinically developed a postoperative infection.
######
Study Pen Culture Results From 20 Consecutive ACLR Patients^*a*^
Study Pen Growth (+/--) Organism
----------- --------------- ----------------------------
1 \+ *Staphylococcus*
2 \+ *Staphylococcus*
3 --
4 --
5 --
6 --
7 --
8 --
9 --
10 --
11 --
12 --
13 --
14 --
15 --
16 \+ *Staphylococcus, Bacillus*
17 --
18 --
19 --
20 --
*^a^*The study pen cultures were inoculated for 5 days in broth and agar. Three of the 20 (15%) cultures were positive for a *Staphylococcus* species. ACLR, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
######
Positive Control Culture Results of 12 Pens^*a*^
Positive Control Growth (+/--) Organism
------------------ --------------- ----------------------------
1 \+ *Staphylococcus*
2 --
3 \+ *Staphylococcus, Bacillus*
4 \+ *Aspergillus*
5 \+ *Staphylococcus*
6 --
7 \+ *Staphylococcus*
8 --
9 \+
10 \+
11 \+
12 \+ *Staphylococcus, Bacillus*
*^a^*Positive controls were obtained by marking the skin before application of the sterile preparation solution (DuraPrep Surgical Solution; 3M) using sterile gloves and instruments. Six of the 12 (50%) cultures were positive.
A post hoc power analysis was performed, assuming an alpha value of 0.05. This study failed to reach 80% power for study pens versus negative controls (*P* = .53; power = 0.0014), study pens versus positive controls (*P* = .05; power = 0.50), study pens and positive controls versus negative controls (*P* = .16; power = 0.49), or positive controls versus negative controls (*P* = .04; power = 0.61). Power reached exactly 80% for positive controls versus blank dishes.
Discussion {#section3-2325967118772043}
==========
The most important finding of this study was that 3 of 20 (15%) marking pens used on skin after application of a sterile preparation solution were found to be contaminated, specifically with *Staphylococcus* species. There was a difference in the rate of culture-positive pens between the control pens and study pens, confirming the study hypothesis; thus, surgical marking pens should be considered a potential source of contamination. Although not the primary aim of this study, there was a statistically significant difference in the inoculation rate of study pens versus positive controls and positive controls versus negative controls.
Causes of postoperative septic arthritis after ACLR more frequently include *S epidermidis* and *S aureus* but can also consist of less common organisms such as *Peptostreptococcus*, *Pseudomonas*, *Escherichia coli*, *Enterobacter aerogenes*, and *Propionibacteriaceae.* ^[@bibr2-2325967118772043],[@bibr5-2325967118772043][@bibr6-2325967118772043]--[@bibr7-2325967118772043],[@bibr9-2325967118772043],[@bibr13-2325967118772043],[@bibr15-2325967118772043],[@bibr16-2325967118772043],[@bibr18-2325967118772043]^ A study by Davis et al^[@bibr3-2325967118772043]^ found that 63 of 100 joint replacement procedures had some sort of field contamination by *S epidermidis*, as found on sucker tips, light handles, skin blades, gloves, gowns, and needles. Infections after arthroscopic surgery have been similarly linked to *S epidermidis* operative field contamination that is introduced into the joint through mechanisms such as preoperative razor shaving and use of contaminated inflow cannulas, graft boards, and suture clamps.^[@bibr1-2325967118772043],[@bibr13-2325967118772043],[@bibr15-2325967118772043]^ Studies have shown other risk factors for the development of postoperative septic arthritis after ACLR to include intra-articular corticosteroid joint injection, previous knee surgery, and meniscal repair.^[@bibr1-2325967118772043],[@bibr6-2325967118772043],[@bibr9-2325967118772043]^
The mechanism of surgical site inoculation with microorganisms, including *S epidermidis*, during ACLR is not always traceable, however. In one study of 1231 patients undergoing ACLR with 6 postoperative infections (0.5%), neither surgical instruments nor the technique could be identified as the source of the infection.^[@bibr2-2325967118772043]^ Another study of 1615 ACLR cases revealed that 8 of 11 postoperative septic arthritis infections were caused by *S epidermidis* from an unknown source, possibly from contamination during or after surgery.^[@bibr6-2325967118772043]^
The recent literature has attempted to resolve the uncertainty surrounding the unknown mechanisms and rate of contamination during ACLR by looking at the autograft preparation technique. A 2008 study by Hantes et al^[@bibr4-2325967118772043]^ of 60 patients undergoing ACLR examined the autograft preparation process (both BPTB and hamstring tendon) at 3 different time intervals and found a graft contamination rate of 12%. *S epidermidis* contaminants were first identified in each of the 3 different time intervals, but no reason was given for why a contaminant would first appear at a different time interval in graft preparation. This study did not find any statistically significant difference between autograft type and contamination rate. However, a more recent investigation demonstrated an 8 times higher infection rate with the use of hamstring autografts as compared with BPTB autografts.^[@bibr8-2325967118772043]^ One potential explanation is that the typical practice is to mark the hamstring grafts but not patellar tendon grafts. The graft itself may be a source of contamination before and/or after marking it with a sterile pen. Some authors have advocated soaking the grafts in antibiotics (ie, vancomycin sponges), which have demonstrated decreased infection rates.^[@bibr11-2325967118772043],[@bibr12-2325967118772043]^
To our knowledge, no previous study has evaluated the surgical marking pen as a possible fomite for intraoperative graft bacterial transmission during ACLR. During ACLR, the standard practice is for the surgeon to mark the prepared surgical site with a sterile surgical pen. This surgical pen is then used during the preparation process to mark the ACLR graft. Results of a 2012 study by Nakayama et al^[@bibr10-2325967118772043]^ support the suggestion that a surgical pen used on prepared skin may transfer microorganisms into the joint during ACLR. Their study of 50 patients undergoing ACLR revealed that 46% had preoperative bacterial colonization of the skin. After the skin was prepared intraoperatively, 6% still had positive skin colonization near the incision site, and 2% had positive graft colonization. The majority of this colonization (93%) was *S epidermidis*. Based on these results, it is possible that a surgical pen could have transferred *S epidermidis* from the colonized skin to the graft. Our study likely represents the best-case scenario, as the pens were processed immediately as opposed to letting them incubate and sit out exposed during the procedure.
Different types of sterile surgical marking pens have been analyzed for their capacity to resist bacterial colonization. As early as 2006, a laboratory study cultured skin markers of different solvent bases (eg, alcohol vs water) that had been contaminated with methicillin-resistant *S aureus* (MRSA); one marker type continued to produce positive MRSA cultures for up to 3 weeks after inoculation.^[@bibr19-2325967118772043]^ Alcohol- and ethanol-based markers seem to manifest rapid bactericidal action, usually within minutes. In our study, all pens were standardized and used an alcohol-based solvent.
Limitations {#section4-2325967118772043}
-----------
This study is not without its limitations. Cross-contamination from sterile gloves or instruments may have led to false-positive results in the study pens; however, no growth was observed for the negative controls or the blank dishes. Unexpectedly, 6 of the positive controls showed no growth. This is likely because of the use of Sage cloths preoperatively, which may have affected the test samples and may have led to underestimation of the contamination rates. ACLRs only, and not all knee arthroscopic procedures, were included. In addition to skin marking, ACLR involves markup of the graft during the procedure. Including only ACLR and not other procedures emphasized this further markup of the graft and helped to simplify the methodology of the study design. Last, the sample size used was small and underpowered. However, any evidence of contamination is concerning, especially considering the cost-effective and low-risk alternative of using a new sterile pen intraoperatively.
Conclusion {#section5-2325967118772043}
==========
After obtaining cultures of marking pens used to mark the sterile field, we found that the marking pens had a 15% rate of contamination. Infections are rare but may result in significant morbidity, and all measures to reduce these should be pursued. Surgeons performing ACLR should consider disposal of the surgical marking pen after skin marking and before intraoperative use such as graft markup. We recommend that surgeons use a fresh marking pen when marking the graft is required. This requires minimal cost and effort.
One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: A.J.K. has received research support from Aesculap/B. Braun, the Arthritis Foundation, Ceterix, and Histogenics; is a paid consultant for Arthrex, DePuy Orthopaedics, and Vericel; receives intellectual property royalties from Arthrex; has received honoraria from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation; and has received hospitality payments from Arthrex and the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation. J.A.M. is a consultant for Arthrex, Smith & Nephew, and Vericel; has received honoraria from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation; and has received in-kind materials from Gemini Medical.
Ethical approval for this study was waived by the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (study No. 1506M74861).
|
Richard did an excellent job optimizing the algorithm. I just take the low hanging fruit of adding one line to build the array for the frequency of numbers in the inner loop of Richard's repeat loop. Thus obviating the need to go through the data again for the frequency. Also I locked the screen.
-- This is an optimized version
on mouseUp
answer "This is a Greatly Optimized Version" & cr &\
"In order to see the optimization between the Load Matrix code you need to analyze at least 1000 Games"
put empty into field "tNums"
put empty into field "tRCount"
put empty into field "totNumsFtr"
if field "nums" is empty then
answer "You need to import Past Games in order in order to Anaylze Games"
exit mouseUp
end if
-- Bypass ask to use fixed value for timing:
ask "how Many Games do you want to Analyze"
# get 5000
put it into tGames2Analyze
-- Capture start time:
put the millisecs into t
--
-- Load Matrix
set itemdel to tab
set the cursor to watch
put field "nums" into vNums
put 1 into tCounter
lock screen -- added BN
-- New method using a template line which is filled in
-- each time through the loop to avoid item counts:
--
-- Load template line:
put empty into tTemplateLine
repeat 39
put space & tab after tTemplateLine
end repeat
-- Use a copy for each line, filling in appropriate columns
-- as it goes:
repeat for each line tRow in vNums
put tTemplateLine into tThisLine
repeat with tPicks = 6 to 10
put word tPicks of tRow into tColumn
add 1 to tA[tColumn] -- added BN
put "X" into byte (tColumn *2)-1 of tThisLine
end repeat
put tThisLine & cr after tMatrix
add 1 to tCounter
if tCounter >tGames2Analyze then
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
--
put tMatrix into field "tNums"
repeat with i = 1 to 39
put tA[i] &tab after tVals
end repeat
put tVals into fld "totNumsFtr"
--
-- Display elapsed time:
unlock screen -- added BN
answer " It took"&& the millisecs - t && " milliseconds to complete the analysis"
end mouseUp
Thanks Bernd,
It is always good to see other people involved in adding comments and code to samples that people provide.
I haven't added your code yet but did you see any improvement in the timing?
I will modify the code and check.
Thanks, any contributions are always welcome.
There are languages that can produce code that executes faster, but few that offer us as much choice between simple code or fast runtime.
Obviously it would be ideal if the engine could deliver both at the same time, but Computer Science suggests that won't be possible until the engine gets some deep AI, since optimization isn't just about the engine but the algorithms we ask it to perform. The more we think like developers using lower-level languages, the more we get performance on par with those.
But at least we have a choice. We can dive into a problem and get a useful result with minimal effort, solving the problem using very human-centric logic. And if we're working with large amounts of data where optimization can be useful, once we understand the problem well we can go back and think more like a computer to get a result that favors the processing limitations of computers.
This is one of the reasons I keep using LiveCode all these years: I can deliver a good result in minutes, and a great result in hours, but even then I'm usually spending less time coding than my friends using Java or C.
Richard Gaskin
Community volunteer LiveCode Community LiaisonLiveCode development, training, and consulting services: Fourth World Systems:http://FourthWorld.comLiveCode User Group on Facebook :http://FaceBook.com/groups/LiveCodeUsers/ |
He's been playing so sexy the past couple of years. With Pirlo and Hummels launching passes from deep and Reus and Ribery hovering around Lewa up to, this team would be so much fun to watch pass the ball.
__________________
BK
Quote:
Originally Posted by AcheTen
JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham
Quote:
Originally Posted by abaddon41_80
Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly.
Interested in hearing thoughts on the Fellaini pick in particular. I love him and he's having a great year, but I'm not sure if this is too early for him or not. Didn't love anyone else there, so I went for it.
__________________
sig by BK and avy by me
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Perfect Score
If a girl is sucking me off, and I look down and shes beating off a **** of her own, I am absolutely going to tell her to stop. 100% of the time. Explain that ****.
I actually think Marchisio's better for a box to box role while Fellaini's better playing in a more attacking role. His ability to flick on clearances has been huge for Everton's counter-game. Plus around the box he's more available for crosses.
That said a big part of picking Marchisio was his chemistry with Pirlo, those two have been playing side by side for Juve and the NT for a couple of years now and Marchisio does a great job of protecting and clearing space for Andrea.
__________________
BK
Quote:
Originally Posted by AcheTen
JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham
Quote:
Originally Posted by abaddon41_80
Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly.
Eh, he's having a great season, but he's not playing as a midfielder for Juve and he's not very proven at the highest level at that position. So no I wouldn't put him near Pirlo, Vidal or Marchisio's level as a central mid.
__________________
BK
Quote:
Originally Posted by AcheTen
JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham
Quote:
Originally Posted by abaddon41_80
Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly. |
An Iranian man who describes himself as an Islamic prophetic medicine healer has prescribed drinking camel urine as a treatment for the Chinese coronavirus, Radio Farda reported Monday.
In a video that has reportedly gone viral across social media, the Chairman of the Prophetic Medicine Society Medhi Sabili urged people to consume the urine when it is both “fresh and warm.” It was quickly ridiculed by Iranians, many of whom warned about the dangers of such treatment.
The consumption of camel urine, as well as camel meat and camel meat, is not uncommon across the Middle East. In some countries, including Saudi Arabia, many believe that it can cure a range of ailments.
داروی جدید ضد کرونا طبق روایات اسلامی: شاش شتر. pic.twitter.com/n6W2NDXgFx — رضا حقيقتنژاد (@rezahn56) April 19, 2020
Rather than curing the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) last year warned that camel urine was actually a transmitter of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus from the same family as the Chinese coronavirus causing the current pandemic.
The WHO noted at the time:
Although most of human cases of MERS-CoV infections have been attributed to human-to-human infections in health care settings, current scientific evidence suggests that dromedary camels are a major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and an animal source of MERS infection in humans. The origins of the virus are not fully understood but, according to the analysis of different virus genomes, it is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transmitted to camels sometime in the distant past.
The report did reaffirm the nutritional benefits of other camel products:
Camel meat and camel milk are nutritious products that can continue to be consumed after pasteurization, cooking, or other heat treatments. Until more is understood about MERS-CoV, people with diabetes, renal failure, chronic lung disease, and immunocompromised persons are considered to be at high risk of severe disease from MERS-CoV infection. These people should avoid contact with camels, drinking raw camel milk or camel urine, or eating meat that has not been properly cooked.
Iran remains one of the countries most badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, some Islamic doctors have attempted to come up with their own cures for the infection, with remedies including placing a cotton ball dipped in violet oil up one’s anus, or dropping bitter watermelon oil in ears and nose.
Many Iranians also believe in the effectiveness of Iranian traditional medicine, which largely centers around taking large doses of fruit and vegetables. These methods are so popular that the price of such products has risen since the outbreak began.
There are currently no known scientific cures for the Chinese coronavirus, nor has a vaccine been developed. Trials are currently taking place around the world, although there is currently no fixed date for its release. Many expect the vaccine to reach mass distribution as late as the second half of 2021.
According to recent data, Iran has so far recorded around 83,500 cases and 5,200 deaths from the coronavirus, making it the eighth-most affected country worldwide. Many doubt the accuracy of official Iranian statistics, however; some estimates say upwards of 30,000 have died of coronavirus infections in the country.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com. |
Willie Pless
Willie Pless (born February 21, 1964) is a former Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League. He played for the Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and Saskatchewan Roughriders, winning the 1993 Grey Cup with the Eskimos. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
College career
Pless played his college football at the University of Kansas. As a Jayhawk starter for only three years (1983 to 1985) he amassed an amazing 633 tackles. This is not recognized as a record, as the NCAA officially counted tackles starting in 2000, but the present leader (Rod Davis) has only 526. Being 5 feet 10 inches tall, 210 pounds, Pless was not drafted by the NFL. He would later (in 1990) try out for the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, but otherwise, his entire 14 year, 250 game, career was played in Canada. Willie was an All Big Eight Academic first team and was elected as the all-time best linebacker in the history of Big Eight after it became the Big Twelve.
Professional career
Willie Pless may be the best defensive player ever to play in the CFL. He played for 4 teams: Toronto Argonauts for 4 years (1986 to 1989), B.C. Lions for 1990, Edmonton Eskimos for (1991 to 1998) and finally the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1999). He holds the league record for most tackles (1,241). He also had 84 quarterback sacks, 39 interceptions, 39 fumble recoveries, played in 18 playoff games and three Grey Cups, winning one championship (the 81st Grey Cup game). He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award five times and was an all star 11 times.
Honours and awards
CFL outstanding defensive player: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
West Division outstanding defensive player: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
East Division outstanding rookie: 1986
CFL All-Star: 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998.
West Division All-Star: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
North Division All-Star: 1995
B.C. Lions outstanding player: 1990
Edmonton Eskimos outstanding player: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Toronto Argonauts outstanding defensive player: 1986, 1988
B.C. Lions outstanding defensive player: 1990
Edmonton Eskimos outstanding defensive player: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Saskatchewan Roughriders outstanding defensive player: 1999
Toronto Argonauts outstanding rookie: 1986
Grey Cup participation: 1987, 1993, 1996
Grey Cup victories: 1993
He is a member of the University of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005. In November, 2006, Willie Pless was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#16) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network The Sports Network/TSN.
Personal life
Pless has settled in Edmonton and runs a personal trainer business.
Notes
Category:1964 births
Category:Living people
Category:American players of Canadian football
Category:BC Lions players
Category:Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners
Category:Canadian football linebackers
Category:Edmonton Eskimos players
Category:Grey Cup champions
Category:Kansas Jayhawks football players
Category:Sportspeople from Anniston, Alabama
Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Category:Toronto Argonauts players
Category:University of Kansas alumni
Category:Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners |
#include <SFML/Graphics.hpp>
#include "game_state_start.hpp"
#include "game_state_editor.hpp"
#include "game_state.hpp"
void GameStateStart::draw(const float dt)
{
this->game->window.setView(this->view);
this->game->window.clear(sf::Color::Black);
this->game->window.draw(this->game->background);
return;
}
void GameStateStart::update(const float dt)
{
}
void GameStateStart::handleInput()
{
sf::Event event;
while(this->game->window.pollEvent(event))
{
switch(event.type)
{
/* Close the window */
case sf::Event::Closed:
{
game->window.close();
break;
}
/* Resize the window */
case sf::Event::Resized:
{
this->view.setSize(event.size.width, event.size.height);
this->game->background.setPosition(this->game->window.mapPixelToCoords(sf::Vector2i(0, 0)));
this->game->background.setScale(
float(event.size.width) / float(this->game->background.getTexture()->getSize().x),
float(event.size.height) / float(this->game->background.getTexture()->getSize().y));
break;
}
case sf::Event::KeyPressed:
{
if(event.key.code == sf::Keyboard::Escape) this->game->window.close();
else if(event.key.code == sf::Keyboard::Space) this->loadgame();
break;
}
default: break;
}
}
return;
}
void GameStateStart::loadgame()
{
this->game->pushState(new GameStateEditor(this->game));
return;
}
GameStateStart::GameStateStart(Game* game)
{
this->game = game;
sf::Vector2f pos = sf::Vector2f(this->game->window.getSize());
this->view.setSize(pos);
pos *= 0.5f;
this->view.setCenter(pos);
}
|
A left circum-aortic renal vein aneurysm.
A well-defined, slow-flowing vascular lesion was found incidentally by Doppler abdominal sonography in the left renal hilar region of a 36-year-old Taiwanese woman. Clinically, the physical examination and laboratory screening were unremarkable. A magnetic resonance angiography of the area near the renal hilum showed a saccular mass (3.5 x 3.1 x 2.5 cm) embracing the aorta by the anterior and posterior branch of the aneurysm originating from the left renal vein to the inferior vena cava. However, the patient refused further invasive intervention and has since been examined periodically by ultrasonography for 18 months without increasing size or symptoms. |
No way! You can not even get decent Red Beans and Rice or French Bread outside of New Orleans/Louisiana. YOU CAN NOT duplicate New Orleans. All I see is a businessman trying to make a fast buck on the backs of the people and culture of NOLA.
How stupid can you be to think that New Orleans will be somehow worse off by MTV filming here? If anything, it keeps New Orleans in the the public eye so everyone can see just how badly the city needs help rebuilding. It will also boost tourism and help to show people what a great culture we have. MTV is not on a mission to make the city look bad. MTV is simply a form of social media that will help to educate people about NOLA and our great culture! You naysayers should either celebrate the good things we have or just move someplace else and take your misery with you.
Take comfort in knowing there is a special place in Hell for the idiot(s) that shot and killed this innocent child. To know that her father had to hear this news while defending the freedom of these thugs is disgusting. God will have mercy on this family and they will eventually get through this tragedy. The shooter will eventually meet his maker on judgment day and pay the price for this crime. Peace out
There is a difference in the Democrats who BOOED Bush back then. They had good reason. George W Bush was an IDIOT that had been asleep at the wheel for EIGHT years while his big business cronies sucked America dry. Between corporate criminals and the huge debt for the war (compliments of his warmonger buddy Cheney) Americans never stood a chance. Bush never had a clue how to run this country. Just look at the list of his past failures even before he was elected. There is simply no comparison in the leadership PRESIDENT Obama has shown this country in just the first few months in office. All I can add is the minority Republican Right wing nutjobs like Joe Wilson need to get on board with healthcare reform or just get out of the way. Nuff said.......
Now think about this................Rush Limbaugh says that this kind of thing is PORK. Jindal is a Republican.What kind of message does that send that he ids trying to use Federal dollars to rebuild Louisiana? Darn that OBAMA. Let them eat cake!
I guess you just can't make some people happy like bostonteapar. bostonteapar must listen to the negative tripe Rush Limbaugh spews out everyday hoping Obama will fail. Stop living in the past and look to the future. If you don't like where you live, BE NICE OR LEAVE!
Whoooosh...........There goes my shoe. Another stupid mistake by Republican Bush before leaving office still looking out for big business again.
Bush needs to let the FAT CATS survive just like he did for the people of New Orleans.Sell your corporate jets you %#$tards.
Ranger71, I totally agree with your list. The only thing I would do is swap #5 up to #1. No doubt George Bush will go down in history as THE worst president ever. I'm sure he will pardon many loyal republicans and cronies before he leaves office.BTW, NEVER FORGET, How he has ignored NOLA after Katrina.
Well said Chris!
We have more in common than some politicians are trying to make us believe so don't listen to divisive, hateful campaign ads. We are about to vote in one of the most important presidential elections in history. Lets all keep focused on the real issues and help to bring this contry back together again. |
Stockton Chain Breaker And Rivet Tool Kit Resources Instructions (pdf)
Item #:
Stockton Chain Breaker And Rivet Tool Kit
The Stockton Tool Company Chain Breaker and Rivet Tool Kit has everything you need to work on your chain. Essential gear for the home mechanic, this kit is contained in its own thermomolded resin case to ensure the tools you need are always close at hand.
Features:
Equipped to handle chains from #35 to #630
Works on most cam chains
For light- to medium-duty chain maintenance
Kit Includes: |
Community Treatment Order: Identifying the need for more evidence based justification of its use in first episode psychosis patients.
Community Treatment Order (CTO) is a legal regime that obliges patients suffering mental disorder to adhere to treatment in the community and allows for a swift admission to hospital if necessary. Study aims were to: (i) determine CTO frequency in a large representative sample of first episode psychosis (FEP) patients; (ii) compare the characteristics of patients with or without CTO before entry, during treatment and at discharge from an early psychosis program. Information on 660 patients treated at the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) between 1998 and 2000 was collected from medical files. 19.2% of patients were under CTO at least once during treatment and they differed on most pre-treatment, baseline, treatment and service discharge variables. They were less educated, more likely to have a history of offending behavior, had lower pre-morbid functioning, longer duration of untreated psychosis, increased prevalence and more persistent substance use disorders, greater severity of symptoms, lower functioning, poorer insight at any time during treatment and were more likely to be admitted to hospital. CTO frequency was high, likely related to the representativeness of the cohort. Characteristics of patients on CTO are comparable to those with serious and persistent mental illness. Considering the absence of solid evidence regarding the effectiveness of this form of compulsion, it is crucial to study the use of CTO in FEP patients in order to explore its impact and identify patients for whom it may be beneficial. |
Eurosac Shoulder Bag - Natural
Bags & Pouches
$ 9
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Largest and strongest available on the market today
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Strength tested to 50 lbs
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Since 1989, SteppingStones has been providing organizations, schools, cooperatives, and stores with the highest quality 100% cotton and organic cotton shopping bags.SteppingStones is the manufacturer and direct distributor of the EcoSac line. We are proud to have been part of the renewable, sustainable movement well before green was once-again “in.” Today, as plastic bags are phased out in stores, cities, and counties, SteppingStones will provide a long-lasting, durable, truly green option for consumers. |
Background
==========
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by the presence of a chronic hyperglycemia due to defective insulin secretion and/or insulin action. It is also associated with dysfunctions in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism \[[@B1],[@B2]\]. Chronic hyperglycemia can lead to long-term complications and tissue damages such as retinopathy, nephropathy and/or neuropathy, often associated with serious diseases, which are devastating to the individual and very expensive to the health care services \[[@B3]\]. The worldwide prevalence of DM has risen dramatically over the past two decades at alarming rates. The global prevalence for 2010 was 6.4% and predicted to rise to 7.1% by the year 2030 \[[@B3],[@B4]\]. Several treatment strategies are currently used for managing DM and early intervention is needed in order to minimize the risk of macrovascular disease such as cardiovascular disorders \[[@B5]\]. Insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents as well as diet and exercise may be used in the management of DM. In spite of the introduction of hypoglycemic agents, diabetes and the related complications continue to be a major health problem worldwide \[[@B6]\].
Since time immemorial, plant extracts have been used to treat patients with DM in various parts of the world. Currently, especially in developing countries, many plants were listed to be used for the management of diabetes \[[@B7]-[@B10]\]. A large number of these plants or their preparation have been evaluated and confirmed to have hypoglycemic effects in animal models \[[@B11],[@B12]\]. Some have also been evaluated in human beings \[[@B13]-[@B15]\]. Most of these plants contain glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, and saponins, which are frequently implicated to having anti-diabetic effect \[[@B16],[@B17]\]. However, much is not known about the specific mechanism of action of these plants, although insulinomimetic activity has been proposed for some \[[@B18]\].
The practice of using plants for management of diabetes is also documented in Ethiopia just like other ailments. The leaves of *Caylusea abyssinica (fresen.) Fisch. & Mey.* (family, Resedaceae) have been used in the treatment of DM in Ethiopian folk-medicine without any scientific proof for safety and efficacy \[[@B19]\]. Thus, investigating the safety and efficacy of this plant in animal model could give valuable information to the public at large and also serves as baseline data for researchers engaged in search of medicinal plants with antidiabetic activity. The World Health Organization Expert Committee on diabetes recommended that traditional medicinal herbs be further investigated as they are frequently considered to be less toxic and free from side effects \[[@B20]\]. Therefore, search for safe and more effective agents has continued to be an important area of active research. The present study was therefore undertaken to investigate antidiabetic effects of the 80% methanolic leaf extract of *C. abyssinica* in rodents.
Method
======
Drugs and chemicals
-------------------
The following drugs and chemicals were used in the experiment: Streptozocin (Chengdu Yuyang High-tech Developing Co.,Ltd, China), glucose standard strip/kits (GLAB, Germany), glibenclamide (Sanofi-Aventis, USA), one touch glucometer (GLAB, Germany), Tween-80 (BDH Laboratory supplies Ltd, England), methanol absolute acetone free (ReAgent Chemical Services Ltd, UK), hydrochloric acid (BDH Ltd, England,) chloroform (ACS, ISO, Merck), sulfuric acid (Farm Italia Carrloerba, Italy), acetic anhydride (Techno Pharmchem, India), ferric chloride (FISHER Scientific Company, New Jersey), potassium ferrocyanide (BDH Ltd, England), ferric sulfate (BDH Ltd, England), lead acetate (BDH Ltd, England), and ethyl acetate (ACS, Merck).
Plant material
--------------
*C. abyssinica (fresen.)* Fisch. & Mey, was collected from Dirre, 55 km away from Addis Ababa (10 km on the roadway from Bishoftu to Ziquala) in November 2010. Taxonomic identification was done and a voucher specimen was deposited (voucher specimen number WT/001) at the National Herbarium, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University.
Experimental animals
--------------------
Healthy Male Swiss albino mice (weighing 20--30 g and age of 8--12 weeks) and Wistar rats (weighing 150--200 g and age of 3 months) were obtained from the animal house of Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute and School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University. Animals were housed in polypropylene cages (6--10 animals per cage), maintained under standard condition (12 h light and 12 h dark cycle; 25-30°C) and allowed free access to pellet diet and water *ad libtum*. After randomized grouping and before initiation of the experiment, animals were acclimatized to the laboratory conditions. All procedures complied with The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals \[[@B21]\] and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University.
Extraction
----------
Leaves of the plant material was thoroughly washed with distilled water to remove dirt and soil, and dried under shade and optimal ventilation. The plant material was then pulverized and the powdered plant material was macerated in 80% methanol for 72 h in three successive volumes. The resultant hydro-alcoholic extract was dried under reduced pressure. The dried extract was kept in a refrigerator until use.
Preliminary phytochemical screening
-----------------------------------
Standard screening tests of the extract were carried out for various plant constituents. The crude extract was screened for the presence or absence of secondary metabolites such as reducing sugars, alkaloids, steroidal compounds, phenolic compounds, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, and anthraquinones using standard procedures \[[@B22],[@B23]\].
Acute toxicity test
-------------------
Acute toxicity test was done based on the limit test recommendations of OECD 425 Guideline \[[@B24]\]. On day one, Swiss albino mouse fasted for 3--4 h was given 2000 mg/kg of the extract orally. The mouse was then kept under strict observation for physical or behavioral changes for 24 h, with special attention during the first 4 h. Following the results from the first mouse, other four mice were recruited and fasted for 3--4 h and administered a single dose of 2000 mg/kg and was observed in the same manner. These observations continued for further 14 days for any signs of overt toxicity.
Grouping and dosing of animals
------------------------------
Male animals were used for the hypoglycemic and antidiabetic studies based on the results of preliminary study which demonstrated a better percent induction of diabetes by streptozotocin in males than females. Besides, published reports indicate streptozotocin induces severe diabetes in females, with diminished survival rates and they are also less sensitive to insulin compared to male animals \[[@B25]\]. For oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), rats were used since they are preferable in such studies \[[@B26]\]. In all cases, group I received 2% Tween-80 in distilled water (TW80) and served as controls; Group II received a standard, 5 mg/kg of glibenclamide, (GL5); Group III-V received 100 mg/kg (CA 100), 200 mg/kg (CA 200) and 300 mg/kg (CA 300). of *C. abyssinica* extract, respectively.
The doses were selected based on the acute toxicity study. The middle dose was one tenth of the limit dose which was 200 mg/kg. Higher dose was calculated as twice the middle dose, which should have been 400 mg/kg. However; the data from preliminary study revealed that 400 mg/kg tended to raise blood glucose level (BGL) and CA 300 was thus taken as a higher dose level. The lower dose level was calculated by taking half of the middle dose, i.e. 100 mg/kg. Volume administered was determined based on OECD guideline that states 2 mL/100 g of body weight of the animal \[[@B24]\]. For the positive control, 5 mg/kg was selected based on earlier reports \[[@B27],[@B28]\]. As people traditionally use the preparations of the plant extract via oral route, the study was conducted using oral route of administration \[[@B19]\].
Hypoglycemic test in normal mice
--------------------------------
Mice were fasted for 4--6 h, but water was allowed *ad libtum,* and then randomly divided into five different groups (6 animals per group). The animals were treated according to their respective grouping. Using aseptic conditions, blood sample was then collected from tail veins of each animal to determine BGL at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h post-treatment. BGL was determined using GLAB strips and GLAB one-touch glucometer. Measurement of BGL was done in triplicate and the average value was taken.
Assessing antidiabetic activity
-------------------------------
Diabetes was induced using streptozocin. The drug was dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer (pH = 4.5). The solution was then administered intraperitonially at 150 mg/kg dose to mice that were fasted for 4--6 h prior to administration. Seventy-two hours later, animals were screened for diabetes. Mice which showed fasting BGL \> 200 mg/dL were included in the study \[[@B29]\]. Diabetic mice were kept for overnight, each group in a separate cage and were fasted for 4--6 h. The animals were then randomly divided into five groups (n = 9/group) and treated with the extract according to their respective group. Blood samples were collected from the tails of the animals to determine BGL at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h post-treatment.
Oral glucose tolerance test
---------------------------
Rats were fasted overnight for 12--14 h and assigned randomly into 5 groups (n = 6/group), each group in separate cage and baseline BGL was determined. Thirty minutes before extract treatment, all of the rats were loaded with 2 g/kg glucose solution and then orally treated according to their respective grouping. Blood samples were then collected to determine BGL prior to treatment and after 30, 60 and 120 min of treatment as described above.
Statistical analysis
--------------------
All data were expressed as mean ± SEM and percent changes. Between and within group analysis was carried out using one way ANOVA followed by Dunnet's post hoc test and level of significance was set at p \< 0.05. For data processing, SPSS data analysis software Version 19.0 was used.
Results
=======
Extraction
----------
The percentage yield of 80% methanolic extract of the dried leaves of *C. abyssinica* was found to be 18.5% (w/w). The extract was dark-brown semisolid at room temperature and solidified when stored in a refrigerator. Extract returned to semisolid state on re-exposure to room temperature.
Preliminary phytochemical screening
-----------------------------------
Phytochemical screening of the crude extract of *C. abyssinica* revealed the presence of various secondary metabolites (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, reducing sugars, steroidal compounds and phenolic compounds, tannins, saponins and flavonoids were detected in the crude extract.
######
**Phytochemical screening results of the 80% methanolic extract of the leaves of*Caylusea abyssinica***
**TEST** **RESULT**
-------------------------- ------------
Alkaloids **+**
Tannins **+**
Saponins **+**
Anthraquinone glycosides **-**
O-anthraquinones **-**
Cardiac glycosides **+**
Flavonoids **+**
Reducing sugars **+**
Phlabotannins **-**
Steroidal compounds **+**
Phenolic compounds **+**
**+** : present, **--** : absent.
Acute toxicity study
--------------------
Acute toxicity study of the hydroalcoholic extract of *C. abyssinica* did not reveal any behavioral, neurological, autonomic or physical changes such as alertness, motor activity, restlessness, convulsions, coma, diarrhea and lacrimation. Besides, the extract did not cause mortality in the animals at a dose of 2000 mg/kg during the observation time. Thus, the median lethal dose (LD50) of the plant extract is said to be greater than 2000 mg/kg, indicating a good safety margin.
Effects on normoglycemic mice
-----------------------------
Results of the effect of *C. abyssinica* on BGL of normal mice are presented in Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}. Within group analysis revealed that TW80 treated animals did not show significant reduction in BGL across all time points compared to the fasting (initial or baseline) level, although percent reduction tended to be higher at the 3^rd^ (30.9%) and 4^th^ (23.8%) h. Similarly, CA100 failed to show significant hypoglycemic effect at all-time points, though percent reduction appeared to be higher at the 3^rd^ (42.5%) and 4^th^ (42.1%) h. By contrast, CA200 produced a significant (p \< 0.05) reduction in BGL at the 2^nd^ (47%), 3^rd^ (49.4%) and 4^th^ (44%) h post treatment compared to the initial level. Likewise, GL5 brought about significant reduction at the 2^nd^ (p \< 0.05), 3^rd^ (p \< 0.01) and 4^th^ h (p \< 0.05), by about 37.3%, 42.8% and 29.9%, respectively. However, CA300 was noted to produce significant reduction (p \< 0.05, 53.5%) of BGL only at the 4^th^ h.
######
**Hypoglycemic effects of 80% methanolic leaf extract of*Caylusea abyssinica*on blood glucose levels in normal mice**
**Blood glucose level in mg/dL**
------- ---------------------------------- --------------- ------------------------- ---------------------- ----------------------
TW80 72.00 ± 9.77 66.00 ± 6.51 81.67 ± 10.83 50.33 ± 1.67 54.83 ± 2.97
GL5 85.33 ± 11.61 68.83 ± 9.22 53.5 ± 5.47^**a1,b1**^ 48.83 ± 2.44^**a2**^ 56.83 ± 6.2^**a1**^
CA100 79.17 ± 25.33 53.5 ± 3.82 58.67 ± 7.42 45.5 ± 3.21 45.83 ± 4.43
CA200 83.33 ± 16.76 54.17 ± 8.53 44.33 ± 6.38^**a1,b1**^ 42.17 ± 3.4^**a1**^ 46.83 ± 3.05^**a1**^
CA300 96.33 ± 21.44 75.00 ± 16.21 57.17 ± 5.91 50.5 ± 7.11 44.83 ± 3.12^**a1**^
n = 6; CA100 = *C. abyssinica* extract 100 mg/kg, CA200 = *C. abyssinica* extract 200 mg/kg, CA300 = *C. abyssinica* extract 300 mg/kg, TW80 = 2%Tween-80, GL5 = Glibenclamide 5 mg/kg; ^a^ compared with fasting blood glucose level (t = 0 h), ^b^ compared with negative control group; ^1^p \< 0.05, ^2^ p \< 0.01.
Between groups analysis, on the other hand, did not produce any significant difference in fasting BGL across groups. Significant hypoglycemia was, however, recorded for CA200 and GL5 at the 2^nd^ h (p \< 0.05 in both cases) when the groups were compared with TW80. Interestingly, no apparent difference was noted when the different doses of the extract were compared with each other as well as with the positive control at all-time points.
Effects on streptozocin-induced diabetic mice
---------------------------------------------
Seventy five mice were injected streptoztocin and 50 of them found to be diabetic, with a success rate of 66.7%. Out of the fifty mice, two died before the start of administration of the extract and all the rest survived until the end of the experiment. The effects of *C. abyssinica* on streptozotocin-induced diabetes are shown in Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}. Intra-group analysis demonstrated that TW80 had no effect on BGL at all-time points compared to the initial level. By contrast, treatment with the extract and glibenclamide did produce alterations in BGL compared to initial values. Accordingly, whilst CA100 (p \< 0.05 in both cases) and CA300 (p \< 0.01 in both cases) produced a significant reduction at the 3^rd^ and 4^th^ h; CA200 (p \< 0.001 in all instances) and GL5 (p \< 0.05, p \< 0.01, and p \< 0.001, for the time points, respectively) did show a significant reduction at the 2^nd^, 3^rd^ and 4^th^ h. Maximum reduction was attained at the 4^th^ h, with percent reduction for CA100, C200, C300, GL5 being 52.2%, 62.3%, 52.8%, and 63%, respectively.
######
**Antidiabetic effects of 80% methanolic leaf extract of*Caylusea abyssinica*on blood glucose levels in streptozotocin induced mice**
**Blood glucose level in mg/dL**
------- ---------------------------------- -------------------- ------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------
TW80 376.56 ± 39.02 432\. 78 ± 33.87 338.33 ± 24.22 331.45 ± 47.53 272.00 ± 38.58
GL5 342.44 ± 36.97 306.00 ± 40.97 223.78 ± 31.27^a1,\ b1^ 161.22 ± 27.69^a2,\ b2^ 126.56 ± 22.64^a\ 3,\ b2^
CA100 335.33 ± 48.12 269.56 ± 43.34^b1^ 215.11 ± 37.27^b1^ 179.89 ± 39.39^a1,\ b1^ 160.33 ± 36.98^a1,\ b1^
CA200 326.44 ± 43.78 268.33 ± 18.28^b1^ 167.89 ± 18.01^a3,\ b2^ 147\. 78 ± 19.61^a3,\ b2^ 123.00 ± 15.52 ^a3,\ b2^
CA300 352.11 ± 38.52 318.556 ± 40.49 229.22 ± 30.78^b1^ 187.44 ± 36.39 ^a2,\ b1^ 166.22 ± 34.29^a2^
n = 9-10; CA100 = *C. abyssinica* extract 100 mg/kg, CA200 = *C. abyssinica* extract 200 mg/kg, CA300 = *C. abyssinica* extract 300 mg/kg, TW80 = 2%Tween-80, GL5 = Glibenclamide 5 mg/kg; ^a^ compared with fasting blood glucose level (t = 0 h), ^b^ compared with negative control group; ^1^p \< 0.05, ^2^ p \< 0.01, and ^3^p \< 0.001.
In inter-group analysis, no detectable changes were noted between the fasting BGL of all groups. Subsequent analysis showed that CA100 (p \< 0.05 in all cases) and CA200 (p \< 0.05 at the 1^st^ h and p \< 0.01 for the rest) significantly decreased BGL at all-time points compared to TW80 animals. Likewise, GL5 produced a similar pattern, with p-values becoming very significant (p \< 0.01 or p \< 0.001) from the 2^nd^ h onwards. On the other hand, CA300 was capable of reducing BGL significantly (p \< 0.05) only at the 2^nd^ and 3^rd^ h (p \< 0.05 in both cases). No detectable changes in BGL were observed either amongst the extract or when extracts were compared with the positive control.
Effect on oral glucose tolerance test in rats
---------------------------------------------
Effects of the extract of *C. abyssinica* on OGTT are shown in Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"}. BGL of all groups prior to extract administration (0 min) showed no apparent difference compared to each other. All groups, however, showed significant increase by 20-40% (p \< 0.05 or p \< 0.01) in BGL 30 min following extract administration (one hour after oral glucose loading), confirming the induction of hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia with glucose challenge was not significantly brought down with TW80 at 60 min but significant difference was achieved at 120 min (p \< 0.01, 35.6%). Although CA100 failed to produce detectable changes at 60 min, it brought down glucose level by 45.4% (p \< 0.01) at 120 min compared to peak hyperglycemia. CA200, however, significantly improved oral glucose loading at 60 (p \< 0.001, 31.8%) and 120 min (p \< 0.001, 37.4%), respectively. Likewise, GL5 produced significant improvement of hyperglycemia at 60 (p \< 0.001, 40.6%) and 120 min (p \< 0.001, 42%). By contrast, CA300 failed to produce significant improvement in BGL following glucose challenge at all-time points.
######
**The effects of 80% methanolic leaf extract of*Caylusea abyssinica*on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test in rats**
**Blood glucose level in mg/dl**
------- ---------------------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
TW80 102.33 ± 3.20 140.50 ± 16.76^a1^ 126.83 ± 6.55^d3^ 90.50 ± 1.96 ^b2^
GL5 101.83 ± 6.29 125.17 ± 11.47 ^a2^ 74.33 ± 8.72^b3,c3^ 72.67 ± 8.79^b3^
CA100 116.83 ± 4.19 158.67 ± 15.34 ^a2^ 145.83 ± 7.03^d3^ 86.67 ± 5.82^b3^
CA200 104.00 ± 1.98 131.50 ± 8.68^a1^ 89.67 ± 4.90^b3,c2^ 82.33 ± 4.45^b3,e2^
CA300 103.50 ± 9.21 127.17 ± 13.34^a1^ 117.33 ± 9.06^d3^ 100.00 ± 12.03
n = 6; CA100 = *C. abyssinica* extract 100 mg/kg, CA200 = *C. abyssinica* extract 200 mg/kg, CA300 = *C. abyssinica* extract 300 mg/kg, TW80 = 2%Tween-80, GL5 = Glibenclamide 5 mg/kg; ^a^ compared to blood glucose levels (BGL) at 0 min, ^b^ compared with BGL after 30 min, ^c^ compared with the negative control, ^d^ compared with the positive control; ^1^p \< 0.05, ^2^ p \< 0.01 and ^3^ p \< 0.001. Time refers to time after extract administration.
Inter-group analysis, on the other hand, showed that GL5 and CA 200 were capable of reducing BGL significantly (p \< 0.001and p \< 0.01, respectively) at 60 min compared with TW80. However, BGL was not significantly different between GL5, CA200 and TW80 at 120 min. None of the three doses showed significant difference amongst each other at all-time points. In contrast, GL5 treated groups exhibited significant improvement (p \< 0.001) at 60 min compared to CA100.
Discussion
==========
Developing agents for management of DM that are devoid of adverse effects are still a challenge to the medical care system. Thus, research is increasingly done on medicinal plants with the hope of developing a relatively safe antidiabetic plant-based product alone or in combination with other agents \[[@B29]\]. In this study, no detectable changes were observed in baseline BGL across groups in both normal (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}) as well as diabetic animals (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}), however, significant reductions started to appear when the hydroalcoholic extract and the standard drug were administered, indicating that changes produced were attributed to treatments received. Therefore, the results of this study indicated that hydroalcoholic extract of *C. abyssinica* reduces BGL level in normal and diabetic mice as well as in glucose induced hyperglycemic rats.
Among the various doses of the extract, maximum activity was observed with CA200 in all tests. It is interesting to note that CA200 was capable of bringing down streptozocin-induced hyperglycemia close to TW80 and GL-5 values (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). The extract also brought the hyperglycemic state in OGTT down within 60 min in the same manner to that of glybenclamide (Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"}). Thus, it is plausible to assume that the plant extract and glibenclamide might produce hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects by a similar mechanism (i.e. by enhancing insulin release or insulin-like effect). Extracts of other plants, including *Cassia italic*\[[@B30]\] and *Vinca rosea*\[[@B27]\] have been reported to have similar mode of action with that of glibenclamide, lending evidence to this assertion.
It was observed that the extract exerted its action in a non-dose dependent manner, particularly the higher dose produced less activity. CA300 did produce a delayed but significant hypoglycemia and antidiabetic action, although it did not improve oral glucose tolerance. The highest dose determined was 400 mg/kg, however, this dose produced an increase in BGL during the preliminary analysis that led to its exclusion from the study. This observation suggests that activity might decrease with dose. BGL reduction, probably, is the net effect of the interplay between various constituents of the extract. It is likely that higher doses may activate non-specifically both BGL lowering and rising mechanisms. Indeed, it has been reported that the presence of interfering substances in plant extracts may diminish hypoglycemic effect \[[@B12],[@B31]-[@B35]\]. It is also likely that bigger doses could cause some toxic effect \[[@B35]\] to specific targets of glucose lowering mechanisms, which could have been the target for hypoglycemic agents.
On the other hand, the lower dose (100 mg/kg) of the extract appeared to be ineffective in reducing BGL in normal (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}) and glucose loaded animals (Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"}). This could be attributed to inability of the dose to overcome counter-regulatory physiological mechanisms \[[@B36]\], lesser concentration of the active principles to induce hypoglycemia or the small sample size employed that precluded statistical significance. On the other hand, CA100 produced antidiabetic action in streptozocin-induced mice, which might imply that the hypoglycemic nature of the lower dose would be apparent when there is an alteration in normal blood glucose regulatory systems by diabetes.
The results also showed that antidiabetic activity of the extract increased with time, as maximal effect was achieved at the 4^th^ h (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). This could mean that the active principles in the extract need time to reach sufficient concentration at the target site, as a similar pattern was observed with other plants displaying anti-diabetic activity \[[@B37]\]. The plant extract showed relatively faster antidiabetic onset of action than the standard drug. However, the doses of *C. abyssinica* extract exhibited a varied onset of action, which probably resulted from interference of other principles, particularly at higher doses. Constituents such as reducing sugars that have a higher glycemic index could give rise to free glucose after digestion and they may tend to raise BGL following absorption. The appearance of such an effect in the face of the hypoglycemic actions by the active agents could lead to a delay in appearance of the action, especially at higher doses where the extract may result in higher concentrations of such molecules.
Interestingly, in OGTT the hydroalcolic extract showed significant reduction in BGL from 60 min onwards except for the higher dose. This suggests that the extract is endowed with the ability to enhance glucose regulatory mechanisms, reflecting a potential advantage of the extract in minimizing hyperglycemia related complications of diabetes. This is true provided that the extract happens to demonstrate a similar action with repeated administration.
Preliminary phytochemical screening of the hydroalcoholic extract of *C. abyssinica* demonstrated the presence of secondary metabolites (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}), which are known to produce hypoglycemic effects in other plants by various mechanisms \[[@B18],[@B38],[@B39]\]. No previous phytochemical reports could be found in the literature concerning the genus Caylusea. However, other members of the family Resedaceae such as *Reseda muricata* and *Randonia africana* have been reported to contain flavonoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides and alkaloids \[[@B40]\], which are in line with the current findings. Thus, the antidiabetic, hypoglycemic and enhanced glucose utilization effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of *C. abyssinica* may be associated with the presence of these different secondary metabolites that act individually or synergistically.
Conclusion
==========
Taken together, the present study demonstrated that the 80% methanolic extract of *C. abyssinica* exhibited a significant antidiabetic effect in rodents, providing evidence for the traditional claim. The effective dose of the extract was found to be 200 mg/kg, although this dose was associated with the risk of hypoglycemia. Besides, the plant was found to have a greater safety margin, which is coupled with its activity making it a potential herb to develop plant-based products after further investigation.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
======================
All authors involved in the design and write up of the study, and WT -conducted the actual study and the statistical analysis. All authors approved the submitted version of the manuscript.
Pre-publication history
=======================
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:
<http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/12/151/prepub>
Acknowledgements
================
We are grateful to Addis Ababa University for funding this study.
|
974 F.Supp. 270 (1997)
MESSNER VETERE BERGER McNAMEE SCMETTERER EURO RSCG INC., Plaintiff,
v.
AEGIS GROUP PLC, Defendant.
No. 96 Civ. 3596(MGC).
United States District Court, S.D. New York.
August 1, 1997.
*271 Winston & Strawn by Daniel R. Murdock, New York City, for Plaintiff.
Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. by David H. Pikus, New York City, for Defendant.
OPINION
CEDARBAUM, District Judge.
Plaintiff Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer EURO RSCG Inc. ("Messner Vetere") alleges that defendant Aegis Group PLC orally agreed to assume the obligations under a lease which was entered into by a predecessor-in-interest of Messner Vetere. Messner Vetere seeks a declaratory judgment that Aegis assumed all the obligations under the lease as well as damages for breach of contract.
Aegis moves to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) on the ground that the claim is barred by New York's Statute of Frauds and pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 19 for failing to join an indispensable party. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted.
Allegations of the Complaint
The amended complaint (hereinafter simply the "complaint") provides a detailed account of the complex history between the parties. In the interest of clarity, the relevant allegations of the complaint are summarized below, without incorporating some of the corporate transformations which are not germane to this motion.
In 1979, Creamer Inc., an advertising agency, entered into a written lease agreement with MRI Broadway Rental, Inc. ("Landlord") pursuant to which Creamer rented the 27th floor and part of the 26th floor of the office building at 1633 Broadway in New York City. The lease runs from September 1, 1979 to August 31, 1999 at an annual rent of $775,450.00. After entering the lease, Creamer occupied the 27th floor and its subsidiary, CDB Inc., occupied the 26th floor. (Am.Compl.ś 10).
In July of 1986, Aegis purchased all the outstanding stock of Creamer. (Id. ś 7). In September of 1986, Aegis purchased all the outstanding stock of another advertising agency named Della Femina, Travisano & Partners, Inc. ("Della Femina"). In February of 1987, Creamer entered into a written sublease with an unrelated third party for all the leased space of the 26th floor through the end of the lease. The sublease was approved by the Landlord. (Id. ś 10). Later in 1987, Aegis moved essentially all of Creamer's advertising operations and personnel out of the 27th floor of 1633 Broadway and into the New York offices of Della Femina. The few administrative employees who were left at 1633 Broadway became employees of WCRS, Inc., Aegis's holding company for its non-advertising subsidiaries. Aegis and WCRS, Inc. occupied space on the 27th floor, along with CDB Inc., a non-advertising subsidiary that Aegis had removed from Creamer. It is at that time in late 1987, according to the complaint, that Aegis "assumed full responsibility for payment of the rent on the Leased Space." (Id. ś 11).
*272 In March of 1988, Aegis sold to Eurocom S.A. approximately 20% of the outstanding stock of WCRS Advertising Ltd., the holding company for Aegis's advertising subsidiaries which included Creamer. The use and occupancy of 1633 Broadway was not involved in this sale because Aegis controlled the leased space in 1633 Broadway through its non-advertising subsidiaries. Therefore, although Creamer technically remained the tenant named in the lease, Aegis had the holding company of its non-advertising companies, WCRS, Inc., "assume direct responsibility for all obligations under the Lease" and "hold Creamer ... and any successor-in-interest, harmless from any further financial exposure on the Lease." (Id. ś 12).
In October of 1989, Eurocom S.A. increased its share of WCRS Advertising Ltd. to 60%, and thereby gained control of Aegis's United States advertising subsidiaries, including Creamer. (Id. ś 13). On September 14, 1990, Aegis sold all of the outstanding shares of CDB Inc. to Eurocom S.A. With regard to the space CDB Inc. occupied at 1633 Broadway, the stock purchase agreement stated that:
CDB subleases, 19,675 square feet of office space at 1633 Broadway, New York, New York at a monthly rental of $44,184. There is no formal sublease with respect to these premises. The lessee under the lease is Creamer, Inc. (now DFM). The lease prohibits assignment without consent except under certain circumstances including assignment to a company under common control with lessee. As DFM and CDB are not at present under common control, the sublease to CDB is not permitted under the terms of the lease. CDB owes Aegis Group PLC $161,957.06 with respect to the renovation of the 27th floor. CDB is to pay $40,000 per month with payment in full [on] December 31, 1990.
(Id. ś 14).
In negotiating the sale of CDB Inc., Aegis's chief financial officer insisted that Eurocom S.A. commit to having CDB Inc. remain a subtenant at 1633 Broadway through the end of the lease. In return, Aegis agreed to share the proceeds from the space which CDB Inc. occupied in the event that it was marketed. In light of this agreement, Eurocom included the following commitments in the stock purchase agreement:
(i) Buyer will cause CDB to continue to pay its proportionate share of the rent payable for the space occupied on the 27th floor of 1633 Broadway during the remaining term of the lease;
(ii) Buyer will pay one-half the cost of any agreed partitioning for such space; and
(iii) In the event that an agreement is reached to market such space, Buyer will pay one-half of any costs involved and will receive one-half of any proceeds achieved in connection therewith.
(Id.) After Eurocom S.A. purchased CDB Inc., CDB Inc. paid rent for the space it occupies at 1633 Broadway to Aegis.
On December 3, 1992, Mark Silver, a group comptroller with Aegis, sent a memorandum to Bob Clark, the administrator of the lease for Aegis at the time. In the memorandum, which is on Aegis letterhead and attached to the complaint, Silver stated that:
We are currently preparing a list of our property liabilities around the Group. I believe that our only property in the U.S. is now Broadway and I would be grateful if you would send me a chapter and verse and the current amount of space occupied by each company/business on two floors. I believe the lease is still in the name of HBM Creamer but could you please confirm.
(Id. ś 17). The memorandum further confirmed that Aegis had sold a subsidiary, API Sponsorship Ltd. ("API"), which was also a subtenant at 1633 Broadway. Under that agreement, the purchaser of API agreed to continue API's occupancy of the leased space until December 31, 1994. (Id. ś 17).
From the time Aegis allegedly assumed the lease in 1987 to May 1, 1995, Aegis negotiated sublease agreements with third parties, collected sublease payments from third parties and its own subsidiaries, made all payments due to the Landlord, regularly filed commercial rent tax returns, and paid commercial rent tax to the City of New York. Such actions were taken without providing *273 notice to or consulting with Creamer or its successors. (Id. ś 15). Aegis continued to fulfill the obligations under the lease until May 1, 1995, even though in June of 1992, Aegis transferred its remaining interest in WCRS Advertising Ltd. to Eurocom S.A., thereby relinquishing all of its financial interest in Creamer. (Id. ś 16).
In February of 1994, Plaintiff Messner Vetere was merged into Della Femina, which had previously merged with Creamer in November of 1989. Messner Vetere thereby became the successor-in-interest to Creamer, the tenant named in the written lease. (Id. ś 6). By letter to Messner Vetere dated March 9, 1995, Aegis recognized that it had been fulfilling certain obligations under the lease and "would terminate all involvement with respect to the Lease as of April 30, 1995." (Id. ś 19).
Discussion
Aegis moves to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) on the ground that Messner Vetere's claims are barred by the Statute of Frauds. In appropriate circumstances, affirmative defenses may be raised in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Day v. Moscow, 955 F.2d 807, 811 (2d Cir.1992) (res judicata); Green v.. Maraio, 722 F.2d 1013, 1018-19 (2d Cir.1983) (qualified immunity). A motion to dismiss may be granted if, drawing all reasonable inferences from the complaint in favor of plaintiff, defendant has a valid Statute of Frauds defense to plaintiff's claims. See Levitin v. Griffin, No. 93 Civ. 4133(MGC), 1993 WL 497974 (S.D.N.Y. Nov.30, 1993), aff'd, 33 F.3d 49 (2d Cir.1994); O'Hearn v. Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children, Inc., 929 F.Supp. 136, 138 (S.D.N.Y.1996).
Under New York's Statute of Frauds, an interest in real property cannot be created or transferred except by a writing expressing the consideration, signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. See e.g., C&K Realty Co. v. ISFC Fabrics Corp., 66 A.D.2d 697, 411 N.Y.S.2d 257 (App. Div. 1st Dep't 1978). The section of New York's Statute of Frauds dealing with conveyances and contracts concerning real property, N.Y.Gen. Obligations Law § 5-703, provides in relevant part that:
1. An estate or interest in real property, other than a lease for a term not exceeding one year, or any trust or power, over or concerning real property, or in any manner relating thereto, cannot be created, granted, assigned, surrendered or declared ... unless by a deed or conveyance in writing, subscribed by the person creating, granting, assigning, surrendering or declaring the same, or by his lawful agent, thereunto authorized by writing....
2. A contract for the leasing for a longer period than one year, or for the sale of any real property, or an interest therein, is void unless the contract or some note or memorandum thereof, expressing the consideration, is in writing, subscribed by the party to be charged, or by his lawful agent thereunto authorized by writing.
Messner Vetere concedes that there is no written agreement complying with the Statute of Frauds. (Pl.'s Mem. in Opp'n to Motion at 10). Messner Vetere also concedes that its predecessor-in-interest, Creamer, is the tenant in the written lease. (Am.Compl. ś 10). However, Messner Vetere argues that the oral agreement by which Aegis assumed the obligations of the written lease is nonetheless enforceable because it falls under the part performance exception to the Statute of Frauds.[1]
The section of the Statute of Frauds dealing with real property contains a statutory part performance exception. Section 5-703(4) provides that "[n]othing in this section *274 abridges the powers of courts of equity to compel the specific performance of agreements in cases of part performance." N.Y.Gen. Obligations Law § 5-703(4). Accordingly, under certain circumstances, specific performance of an unwritten agreement can be compelled when there has been sufficient part performance which is unequivocally referable to the agreement. See McKinley v. Hessen, 202 N.Y. 24, 29-30, 95 N.E. 32, 33-34 (1911); Tuttle, Pendelton & Gelston, Inc. v. Dronart Realty Corp., 90 A.D.2d 830, 455 N.Y.S.2d 830 (1982); Fiske v. Fiske, 95 A.D.2d 929, 464 N.Y.S.2d 282 (1983).
In order to satisfy the part performance exception to the Statute of Frauds, the performance needs to be "unequivocally referable" to the alleged oral agreement. See Korff v. Pica Graphics, Inc., 121 A.D.2d 511, 504 N.Y.S.2d 17 (1986); Pallette Stone Corp. v. Mangino, 217 A.D.2d 738, 629 N.Y.S.2d 103 (1995). For performance to be unequivocally referable to the agreement, there must be no explanation for the parties' conduct other than performance of the alleged agreement. See Burns v. McCormick, 233 N.Y. 230, 232, 135 N.E. 273, 273 (1922) ("What is done must itself supply the key to what is promised. It is not enough that what is promised may give significance to what is done."); Onorato v. Lupoli, 135 A.D.2d 693, 522 N.Y.S.2d 593 (1987) (paying mortgage and taxes, making improvements, and occupying premises did not "unequivocally" refer to oral conveyance of property because other explanation was possible). "In order to take an oral agreement out of the Statute of Frauds, there must be evidence of such part performance as is `unequivocally referable' to the oral agreement so that no meaning can be given to such performance other than the existence of such agreement." Reisler v. 60 Gramercy Park North Corp., 88 A.D.2d 312, 316, 453 N.Y.S.2d 186, 189 (1982) (citing Burns v. McCormick, 233 N.Y. 230, 135 N.E. 273).
The complaint alleges that from 1987 to March of 1995, Aegis performed the oral agreement. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Aegis renovated the 27th floor, charged its tenants for a share of the costs, sublet various portions of the leased space, and filed tax returns covering the leased space. (Am.Compl.ś 15). These actions, Messner Vetere contends, constitute performance which is unequivocally referable to the oral agreement. The complaint does not provide a clear and precise statement of the terms of the alleged oral agreement. It merely alleges that "Aegis assumed all obligations under the Lease and agreed to hold Plaintiff and its predecessors harmless from any responsibility thereunder." (Am. Compl.ś 22).
The conduct of Aegis alleged in the complaint does not unequivocally refer to such a general and complete assumption of obligations under the lease. Considering the fact that Aegis owned Creamer, the tenant named in the written lease, from July of 1986 to June of 1992, and at different times owned subtenants of the leased property, performance of the tenant's obligations under the lease is not clearly and unequivocally referable to the oral agreement. Aegis's alleged performance before June of 1992 can be explained by Aegis's financial interest in Creamer. Furthermore, any performance alleged in the complaint after 1992 is consistent with Aegis' contention that due to the frequent and complicated corporate transformations, Aegis had mistakenly continued to perform Creamer's obligations under the lease. (Def.'s Reply Mem. at 5-6). Aegis's letter of March 9, 1995 by which it terminated any further performance of obligations under the lease is also consistent with mistaken performance. Mistake is as likely an explanation for the conduct of Aegis alleged in the complaint as is the existence of an oral agreement to assume all the obligations of the lease. Without conduct that is unequivocally referable to the agreement, the part performance exception cannot save the alleged oral agreement from the requirements of the Statute of Frauds.
In addition, Messner Vetere's invocation of the part performance exception distorts its purpose. The part performance exception to the Statute of Frauds, closely related in origin and nature to equitable estoppel, see Reisler v. 60 Gramercy Park North Corp., 88 A.D.2d 312, 316-17, 453 N.Y.S.2d 186, 189-90; Bon Temps Agency, *275 Ltd. v. Towers Org., Inc., 187 A.D.2d 376, 590 N.Y.S.2d 97 (1992), is meant to prevent fraud. McKinley v. Hessen, 202 N.Y. at 29-30, 95 N.E. at 34 ("The intervention of equity is asked to prevent the commission of fraud."). In accordance with this purpose, the exception generally provides equitable relief for a party that performed an oral agreement, not a party that merely benefited from the other party's performance.
[W]hen a parol agreement for the conveyance of real estate, void by the Statute of Frauds, has been proved and part performance has been shown by acts of the party seeking relief, which could have been done with no other design than that of performance, if an adequate action at law is not an adequate remedy, the agreement will be specifically enforced.
Id., 202 N.Y. at 30, 95 N.E. at 34 (emphasis added).
There are no allegations in the complaint that Messner Vetere performed any obligations under the alleged agreement with Aegis. In fact, the complaint does not allege that Messner Vetere had any obligations under the agreement. The complaint alleges only that Aegis benefited from the agreement by exercising control of the leased space including the authority to sublet it, (Am.Compl.ś 12), and that during the period Aegis allegedly performed the obligations of the tenant, Messner Vetere "took no action with respect to the Lease, including with respect to subleasing." (Am.Compl.ś 16). Thus there is no allegation that Messner Vetere performed or had any obligations under the agreement, or that Messner Vetere relied to its detriment on the alleged oral agreement. Imposing the oral agreement on Aegis on the basis of its own part performance and in the absence of any performance by Messner Vetere is not consistent with the purpose of the part performance exception to the Statute of Frauds.
In addition, Messner Vetere's second claim for relief in which it seeks damages for breach of contract falls outside the statutory part performance exception of § 5-703(4) because it is not an equitable claim. Section 5-703(4) empowers "courts of equity to compel the specific performance of agreements," but makes no provision for an award of money damages. See Mauala v. Milford Management Corp., 559 F.Supp. 1000, 1003-04 (S.D.N.Y.1983). Therefore, the statutory part performance exception of § 5-703(4) cannot rescue Messner Vetere's claim for damages from the Statute of Frauds.
Messner Vetere argues that § 5-701 of the Statute of Frauds applies, not § 5-703.[2] Section 5-701(a) of N.Y.Gen. Obligations Law provides in relevant part that:
Every agreement, promise or undertaking is void, unless it or some note or memorandum thereof be in writing, and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith, or by his lawful agent, if such agreement, promise or undertaking: (1) [b]y its terms is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof ... (2) [i]s a special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another person.
Although § 5-701 does not contain an express part performance exception, the New York courts have developed a part performance exception to § 5-701's writing requirement. See Anostario v. Vicinanzo, 59 N.Y.2d 662, 664, 463 N.Y.S.2d 409, 410, 450 N.E.2d 215, 216 (1983). The part performance exception to § 5-701 also requires that the performance be "unequivocally referable" to the oral agreement and applies where the party seeking to enforce the agreement performed the contract. See Songbird Jet Ltd., Inc. v. Amax Inc., 581 F.Supp. 912, 923 (S.D.N.Y.1984) ("When part performance is relied upon to excuse the failure to produce a signed writing, the actions of the party invoking the doctrine, standing alone, must be unintelligible or at least extraordinary[,] and unequivocally referable to the alleged oral agreement." (internal quotations omitted)); Royal Air Maroc v. Servair, Inc., 603 F.Supp. 836, 841-42 (S.D.N.Y.1985). Therefore, regardless of whether § 5-703 or § 5-701 *276 applies, Messner Vetere's claims are barred by New York's Statute of Frauds.
In support of its part performance argument, Messner Vetere relies on cases of significant performance by the party seeking to enforce the agreement, see e.g. Dietze v. Patterson, No. 84 Civ. 5682(MBM), 1989 WL 31483, *3 (S.D.N.Y. March 30, 1989) ("[T]he party seeking to enforce the contract, must show detrimental reliance through part performance"); Lamprecht v. Comte, No. 93 Civ. 7928(LMM), 1994 WL 260867 * 4 (S.D.N.Y. June 7, 1994), and conduct that could only be explained as performance of the oral agreement, see e.g. Dietze, 1989 WL 31483 at *2 (action consistent "only with" performance of agreement); Lamprecht, 1994 WL 260867 at *4 ("uncontroverted and otherwise unexplained part performance"). Moreover, the cases cited by Messner Vetere recognize that the part performance exception originated from judicial concern that failure to enforce such oral agreements would result in fraud. See e.g. Royal Air Maroc, 603 F.Supp. at 841. Unlike the cases cited by Messner Vetere, in this complaint, there is no allegation of performance by the party seeking to enforce the agreement, the conduct of Aegis alleged in the complaint is not unequivocally referable to the oral agreement, and nonenforcement of the alleged oral agreement will not result in fraud.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Aegis's motion to dismiss the complaint is granted.[3]
SO ORDERED.
NOTES
[1] Messner Vetere also argued initially that the Statute of Frauds did not apply at all because the "the law presumes that the lease was assigned to the occupier of the premises." (Pl.'s Mem. in Opp'n to Motion at 8) (quoting Relide Realty Co. v. Bernard Lang & Co., 182 A.D.2d 442, 581 N.Y.S.2d 350 (1992)). However, Messner Vetere appears to have backed away from this argument. (Pl.'s letter dated December 6, 1996 at 2) ("Plaintiff has relied from the outset upon the partial performance exception."). In any event, the complaint does not allege that Aegis has been in possession of the property since 1992, nor does it allege that prior to 1992, Aegis was in exclusive possession of the property. In fact, the complaint alleges that a significant portion of the leased space is now occupied by Messner Vetere's own affiliate, CDB Inc. (Am.Compl. ś 14).
[2] Although Messner Vetere initially responded to Aegis's motion by invoking the statutory part performance exception of § 5-703(4), (Pl.'s Mem. at 10-15), it later shifted gears and argued that the action is governed by § 5-701, (Pl.'s Supp. Mem. at 15-21).
[3] It is not necessary to reach Aegis's argument that the action should be dismissed for failure to join an indispensable party.
|
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After 31 highly successful seasons produced 369 victories as a collegiate men’s soccer head coach--216 of those, highlighted by the 2013 NCAA title, during the last 17 years in that role at the University of Notre Dame—the Bobby Clark coaching era has ended.
Clark announced his retirement today, nine days after his current Irish team saw its 2017 season come to a close in the second round of the NCAA Championship. That marked the 16th appearance for a Clark-coached Notre Dame side in the NCAA bracket in a season that saw the Irish reach the number-one ranking in the polls early in the year.
After 17 years & leading us to the 2013 National Championship, Bobby Clark says goodbye to the dear lads of @NDMenSoccer.
Thank you, "Boss"
RELEASE: https://t.co/P5qXVNjpPz pic.twitter.com/WjovqAJUgY — The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) November 28, 2017
“I just finished telling our team that this, my 17th season at Notre Dame, will be my last,” said Clark. “This has been possibly the hardest decision I have had to make in my time at Notre Dame. I have loved my time at this University and, although I have kept postponing retirement, with my 73rd birthday coming up next year I felt it was time to be in a position to spend quality time with Bette, my wife of almost 50 years, my children and importantly my seven grandchildren. I have always looked at my team as extended family, so the players will be greatly missed. If I stretch my collegiate coaching career back to when I began at Dartmouth back in 1985 then I really do have a lot of extended family.
“Giving up a dream job teaching the sport that I am addicted to has not been easy. Never a week goes by without one of my former players dropping me an email or making a call. The biggest part of being a teacher/coach is that you, and the sport you teach, help them grow up in a positive yet competitive environment. That has been very fulfilling, but doing it in the special environment that has been created around Notre Dame is very rewarding. I must thank the Notre Dame athletic department, which is superbly run, all my assistant coaches, trainers, administrators, fellow coaches in other sports, the support staff and everyone who has helped make this a very special 17 years of my life.”
MORE: Quarterfinals set for men's DI soccer |
After coming to Notre Dame in January 2001, Clark quickly set about putting the Irish back into the national collegiate soccer conversation on a consistent basis. In the two seasons prior to his arrival, the program suffered consecutive losing campaigns, but under Clark Notre Dame compiled a winning record every season en route to an impressive 216-93-55 (.669) mark. The Fighting Irish ranked in the final United Soccer Coaches poll in 14 of Clark's first 16 seasons and finished the 2017 regular season rated 12th. Each of his last six Notre Dame teams earned a top-16 NCAA seed.
Bobby Clark holding Notre Dame's 2013 Championship trophy
“Bobby Clark was born to teach, and the University of Notre Dame is very fortunate that for the last 17 years of a highly distinguished career his classroom was the Notre Dame men's soccer program,” said Notre Dame vice president and James E. Rohr director of athletics Jack Swarbrick.
“From Scotland to New Zealand to Zimbabwe to the United States Bobby has used soccer as a means for impacting the lives of young men, and because he has thousands of young men have benefitted. Bobby's focus on family, integrity and excellence made him a perfect match for Notre Dame. We will miss him greatly, and while Bobby is in many ways irreplaceable, his legacy is equally indelible.”
Notre Dame finished the national title-winning 2013 campaign with a remarkable 17-1-6 record while playing one of the most difficult schedules in the country. The Irish opened the season with a 13-game unbeaten streak, which catapulted them to number one in the national polls for the first time in program history. After suffering their lone loss of the season to Virginia, the Irish finished the campaign with a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1). The NCAA crown helped earn Clark the 2013 United Soccer Coaches Division I Coach of the Year honor.
Clark also led his Notre Dame squads to two BIG EAST Tournament titles (2003 and 2012), three BIG EAST regular-season crowns (2004, 2007 and 2008), a share of the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship (in the program's first season in that challenging league) and the outright 2014 ACC Coastal Division championship title. His Irish were the number-one overall seeds in the 2012 and 2014 NCAA brackets.
MORE: Tournament game-winning goals in Week 13
During Clark’s Notre Dame tenure, 15 Irish players were honorees on United Soccer Coaches All-America squads. Ten conference players of the year, including 2016 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Jon Gallagher, suited up for Notre Dame under Clark, along with 30 all-conference first-team selections, 11 CoSIDA Academic All-America recipients and 27 MLS SuperDraft choices (20 since 2008). Among his most recognized players have been 2006 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient Joseph Lapira and current U.S. National Team member Matt Besler.
Clark became Notre Dame's all-time wins leader during the 2011 campaign. For his dedication and commitment to the Irish men's soccer program, the Notre Dame Monogram Club awarded Clark an honorary monogram in June 2011.
Winning was synonymous with Clark wherever he coached. His 31-year collegiate resume produced a glossy .676 winning percentage and a 369-156-80 mark. Prior to becoming Notre Dame's fifth head coach, he had successful coaching stints at Dartmouth (82-42-13 record in 1985-93, two NCAA quarterfinal appearances) and Stanford (71-21-12 record in 1996-2000, 1998 NCAA runner-up spot and 18-3-1 mark and number-one ranking in 2000). His teams at Notre Dame, Stanford and Dartmouth made 22 combined NCAA appearances. He produced the most successful era in the history of the Cardinal program. When he arrived on the Palo Alto, California, campus, he inherited a team that had produced consecutive 5-12 campaigns and had not posted a winning record in four years.
Clark compiled an impressive international soccer background as both coach and player. From 1994-96, as head coach of the New Zealand National Team, he produced a 21-12-3 mark while working with the Senior National Team and the Olympic squad along with the U-20 and U-17 teams. Clark also coached in Africa and in his native Scotland. In Zimbabwe, he was director of coaching with the Bulawayo Highlanders in the Zimbabwean Super League for the 1983-84 season. In Scotland, he was the youth coach with Aberdeen F.C. in the Scottish Premier League. He was also one of the Scottish Football Association's staff coaches.
A Scottish treasure, one of the best coaches in the United States and a Notre Dame legend...Thank you for molding our program into all that it is today. Congratulations Boss, all the best in your well-earned retirement! https://t.co/H4ffQfNj3E — ND Men's Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) November 28, 2017
Prior to coaching, Clark enjoyed a distinguished professional playing career in the Scottish League. From 1962-82, he made more than 800 first-team appearances, 696 of which were with the Aberdeen Dons from 1965-1982. With the Dons, Clark won the 1970 Scottish Cup, the 1976 League Cup and the 1980 Premier League Championship. Clark, who represented Scotland at every level of professional soccer, was involved in three of Scotland's World Cup campaigns as a player in 1970, 1974 and 1978, contributing to the Scottish squad that advanced to the finals of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Clark graduated from Jordanhill College in 1967. Among his former assistants now holding head coaching positions are his youngest son, Jamie, now at Washington; Brian Wiese, currently head coach at Georgetown; Mike Avery at Valparaiso, and Chad Riley at Dartmouth. Castleton State (Vermont) coach John O'Connor worked under Clark at Dartmouth--as did Geoff Wheeler, who is coach at Wesleyan. |
A Texas police chief belittled an open carry activist who claimed there was an easy way to determine who was a “bad guy” with a gun.
Chris Hall spoke out last month during a rally at the statehouse organized by Come and Take It – Texas, saying there’s little reason to fear someone openly carrying a gun around in public.
“The easiest way to find out if it’s a bad guy is which direction it’s pointed,” said Hall, who was carrying a rifle over his shoulder at the time. “If it’s pointed at you, they’re a bad guy. If it’s not pointed at you, don’t worry about it.”
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But Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officer’s Union, dismissed the pro-gun activist’s comments as ridiculous.
“That person’s never been a police officer and never been shot at,” Hunt said. “That’s what I would have to say to that person.”
The Senate State Affairs Committee approved open carry and campus carry on Thursday, but one prominent pro-gun activist said it didn’t matter to him what lawmakers decided.
“Go against my God-given rights, I will continue to walk around with an AK-47,” said Kory Watkins, of Open Carry Tarrant County, who made news earlier this month for apparently threatening legislators in an online video.
Watkins would not be permitted to legally carry an unconcealed handgun if legislators require a permit, because he has multiple misdemeanor arrests and pleaded guilty in 2000 to stealing subwoofer speakers and dozens of CDs when he was 17.
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Hunt admitted that concealed carry did not create some of the problems that police feared, and he said officers would adjust if open carry is passed.
“It clearly is going to make our job different and more difficult, but not something that we can’t live with,” he said.
A recent survey showed 75 percent of Texas police chiefs opposed open carry, and 90 percent of them said openly carried handguns should require a license.
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Houston’s police chief said open carry would make police work even more dangerous.
“As a police chief trying to keep two and a half million people safe, I’m just opposed to inserting more guns into a situation that I feel like could cause more harm,” said Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland.
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That’s basically the same argument made by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which opposes open carry.
“Should we have to question what kind of training that person has had, whether they have common sense, whether they have a permit,” said Alexandra Chasse, a spokeswoman for the group.
Dave Gardner, a shooting range owner who supports open carry, said concealed carry offers a tactical advantage.
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“I don’t want to raise any alarm with anyone,” said Gardner, who owns Top Gun Shooting. “If there’s a bad guy in the room I don’t want him to know I’m the guy that’s armed, that I’m the guy he has to address first. I’d just assume be concealed. It gives me the drop.”
Watch this video report posted online by KHOU-TV: |
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Oklahoma Senate - Senate Members
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Address: 2300 N Lincoln Blvd., State Capitol Building, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Tom Adelson - District 33
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Edison High School; Stanford University, B.A.; Southern Methodist
University, J.D. (cum laude)
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Democratic
Senator Adelson is a native Tulsan. He attended Barnard elementary and Edison junior and senior high
schools. As Governor Henry’s Secretary of Health, he fought for and helped pass Oklahoma’s first clean air
legislation, and he worked to protect public health funding for 75,000 Oklahoma children who would have lost
health insurance coverage. Senator Adelson stepped in when schools in his district were losing their nurses
to help establish school-based comprehensive medical clinics at Eugene Field and Mark Twain elementary
schools.
Senator Adelson has been engaged in the practice of law since 1992 with experience in commercial litigation,
banking, and oil & gas. Prior to forming his own law practice in 1998, Senator Adelson operated a fourth
generation family oil and gas business where he held primary responsibility for the New Mexico and west
Texas regions, and he remains a partner in the firm.
Senator Adelson has been active in community service. He is a founding Board Member of the Tulsa
Coalition of Children’s Health, a group composed primarily of Tulsa pediatricians supporting consolidation of
health care services in the Tulsa Metropolitan area. He is a former president and past board member of the
Tulsa Mental Health Association. He is a member of the Community Hospital Authority in Tulsa and serves
on the O.U. Health Care Task Force. Mr. Adelson chaired the Health Subcommittee for Governor Henry’s
Transition Team.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Energy
Finance
General Government
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Tom Adelson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 527A
2448 E. 26th Pl.
Tulsa, OK 74114
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5551
adelson@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Leah Hicks
District Information: District 33
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Letter to the Editor in Response to Oklahoman Editorial on Rep. Kern
Senate Democrats thank Senator David Holt for his leadership in partnering with President Barack
Obama
04.20.11
Adelson responds to the Oklahoman
03.08.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Cliff A. Aldridge - District 42
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Farmer’s Insurance Agent
Education: Henryetta High School; Oklahoma Christian College, Edmond, OK
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Choctaw, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Cliff A. Aldridge grew up in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Hampshire as the son of a missionary. After
graduating from Henryetta High School in 1980, Cliff went on to attend Oklahoma Christian College in
Oklahoma City where he met his future wife, DeeAnn Swarb. In 1984, Cliff and DeeAnn married and
purchased a home in Midwest City, and Cliff began his career as an agent with Farmers Insurance Agency,
who he has been with for 20 years.
In November of 2002, Cliff was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate to represent Senate District 42 taking
the place of Senator Dave Herbert. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate General Government
Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee.
Together, Cliff and DeeAnn have three daughters, Cara, 20, Courtney, 18, and Chloe, 12 – They still live in
the Midwest City area. Cliff is an active member in the Choctaw Kiwanis, Midwest City Rotary, and Midwest
City Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Tinker Area Y.M.C.A.
Cliff enjoys playing golf and softball, antiquing, and spending time with his wife and daughters, and is actively
involved at the Del City Church of Christ.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Finance
General Government - Chair
Retirement and Insurance - Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Cliff A. Aldridge
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 511
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5584
P.O. Box 10946
Midwest City, OK 73140
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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aldridge@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Leah Maloy
District Information: District 42
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Mark Allen - District 4
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Energy
Redistricting - Eastern and Southeast Oklahoma Vice Chair
Transportation - Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Mark Allen
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 415
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5576
allen@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Suzanne Earnest
District Information: District #4
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Patrick Anderson - District 19
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney / Farmer
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S.; University of Oklahoma School of
Law, J.D.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Enid, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Patrick Anderson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5630
anderson@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Kathie Gasaway
P.O. Box 5589
Enid, OK 73702
District Information: District 19
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Garfield
Kingfisher
Logan
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006 | 2005
Anderson applauds decision not to pursue bond issue
05.18.11
Senate Gives Unanimous Approval to Workers’ Comp Reform
05.18.11
Anderson requests audit of state expenditures for American Indian Cultural Center
05.13.11
Workers Compensation Package Receives Full Senate Approval, 44-0
03.10.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Roger Ballenger - District 8
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Electrical Contractor in Tulsa Area and Operator/owner Small
Beefmaster Cattle Operation west of Okmulgee
Education: OSU Institute of Technology of Okmulgee
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Okmulgee, OK
Party: Democratic
Previous Occupations: Okmulgee County Commissioner for 16 years; Okmulgee City Council for 8
years; US Navy 1969-1973
Wife: Cimone
Daughter: Kimberly Fetgatter and Husband Scott
Son: Clay Ballenger and wife Jami
Step Daughter: Lindsay Marrow
4 Grandchildren: Meagan, Cody, Wyatt and Carrie
Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, golf, grandkids
In 2011, he was chosen to serve as Assistant Minority Floor Leader.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Finance
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services
General Government - Vice Chair
Public Safety
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Roger Ballenger
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 527B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5588
ballenger@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Susan Cochran
Use Capitol Address
District Information: District 8
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
McIntosh
Okfuskee
Okmulgee
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Don Barrington - District 31
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired
Education: Associates Degree
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Lawton, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Encouraged to run for the Oklahoma State Senate by friends, family and mentors, Senator Don Barrington
was elected to his first term of office on November 2, 2004 and to his second term on November 4, 2008 by
the voters of Senate District 31. He is proud to serve the citizens of Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson and
portions of Grady and Stephens Counties.
Don Barrington was born September 7, 1947 in Pryor, Oklahoma to Burt & Lura Barrington. He graduated
from Rexford High School in Rexford, Kansas in 1965. He enlisted in the United States Army and served
from 1966 through 1969; including an eighteen-month tour in Viet Nam where he received an Army
Commendation Medal.
Don’s professional career began as a rookie with the Lawton Fire Department in 1969. During his 32-year
tenure, he spent 26 years on shift at the fire station. He advanced through testing to the levels of Driver,
Lieutenant and Captain, and was then promoted to Deputy Chief. He received an Associates Degree in
Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City in 1993. He was appointed as
the Fire Chief of Lawton in 1996 and served until his retirement in 2002.
He married Jennifer (Morgan) Barrington on February 7, 1970 in Cache, Oklahoma. They have resided in
southwest Oklahoma for the past 40 years and have two children. Their daughter, Alicia (Barrington)
Rodgers, is an educator at Fort Gibson Public Schools. She and her husband, Gary, reside in Muskogee
with their two children, Kade and Kenady. Their son, Jaron Barrington, is a music minister at the Walnut
Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield. He and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Prarie, Texas with their children
Emma, Cole and Kate.
He is a member of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association, Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association,
Oklahoma Fire Chief’s Association, Lawton Salvation Army Advisory Board, and serves as the Co-Chair on
the Steering Committee for Law Enforcement and Public Safety through the Great Plains Technology
Center. He is an active member of the Lawton Chapter of Gideon’s International where he served as their
Secretary and Vice President. He also is a charter member of the First Baptist East in Lawton where he
serves as a Deacon.
Senator Barrington is in his third year of his second term. He spent two years serving as the Co-Chair for
Public Safety & Homeland Security, and is in his third year as the Chairman of Public Safety and
Homeland Security. In 2011, he was named Vice-Chair of Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety
and Judiciary. He also serves on the Agriculture and Rural Development, Tourism and Wildlife, and
Veterans and Military Affairs Committees. Barrington continues to use his fire service and public safety
experience for critical lawmaking decisions. He also is a key member of the Republican Rural Caucus
where significant agricultural producer’s issues are protected by those Senators whose districts are mainly
comprised of rural communities.
In 2011, he was also appointed to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Pensions to
address the more than $16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems. He was also
selected to be the Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee representing Western and southern
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Oklahoma.
He was named the 2008 ‘Legislator of the Year’ by the Oklahoma State Troopers Association, the 2008
‘Senator of the Year ‘ by the Oklahoma Veterans Council, and the 2009 ‘Senator of the Year’ by OCARTA.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary - Vice Chair
Public Safety - Chair
Redistricting - Western and southern OK Vice Chair
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Don Barrington
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 515
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5563
barrington@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sandra Shelton
4506 N.E. Highlander Cr.
Lawton, OK 73507
District Information: District 31
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Comanche
Cotton
Grady
Jefferson
Stephens
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Legislators pleased utility vehicle bill signed into law
05.05.11
Bill to protect victims of domestic violence awaits House consideration
03.15.11
Sales tax exemption for widows of disabled veterans heads to House
03.14.11
Sales tax exemption approved for widows of disabled vets
02.16.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Randy Bass - District 32
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Operates cattle and wheat farm
Education: Lawton High School. Attended Cameron University, Lawton,
Oklahoma
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Lawton, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Randy Bass had been serving his hometown as a City Councilman. He was elected councilman for Ward 1
in March of 2001 and was still serving when he was elected to represent District 32 as Senator in November
of 2004. He is a member of the Oklahoma Municipal League.
Senator Bass is an active member of his community where he is an Elder of Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
He is an associate member of Lawton Ambucs. He has coached girls softball, and worked as the Lawton
High School girls golf team coach from 2000 to 2003.
Randy Bass was born March 13, 1954 in Lawton, Oklahoma. He began a career in baseball in 1972 when
he was drafted from Lawton High School in the fourth round with the Minnesota Twins. He spent time with
several major league teams including the Kansas City Royals, the Montreal Expos, the San Diego Padres
and the Texas Rangers before being picked to play in Japan in 1982.
Randy became the first baseman and power hitter for the Hanshin Tigers from 1983 to 1988. He became
the greatest foreign hitter (of over 400) to ever step on Japanese shores. He currently holds eight national
records in Japan. He set the all time season batting average mark of .389 in 1986, he is the only player to
win back-to-back Triple Crowns, and hit 200 homers faster than any man in baseball history. Randy is a
baseball legend in Japan.
He was appointed embassador to Japan by Governor Nigh in 1986. His passion for baseball is kept alive by
being a member of the Major League Baseball Association and through trips to Japan where he plays
celebrity games and golf tournaments. He has also been employeed to commentate baseball games for
Minichi Broadcasting Systems in Japan. He worked as a scout for the Tokyo Giants from 1998 to 2003.
Randy also has a passion for golf. He enjoys spending time with his wife Kelley, his son Zach, daughters
Staci and Remi and his four grandchildren Levi, Hagen, Jayden and Randi.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee General Government and Transportation
Retirement and Insurance
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Randy Bass
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 528B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5567
bass@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Donna Ambler
2606 NW Lake Front Dr.
Lawton, OK 73505
District Information: District 32
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Comanche
Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Brian Bingman - District 12
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Oil and Gas
Education: University of Oklahoma, BBA in Petroleum Land Management
Legislative Experience: House Member 2004-2006; Senate Member, 2006 -
present
Hometown: Sapulpa, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Bingman was born on December 9, 1953, in Tulsa, OK. He received a BBA in Petroleum Land Management
from the University of Oklahoma in 1976. He is currently employed by Uplands Resources Inc. in Tulsa as
Vice-President of Land and Operations. Bingman served as Mayor of Sapulpa from 1992 -2004 and served in
the House of Representatives for District 30 from 2004-2006. He was elected to the State Senate in
November, 2006. He and his wife Paula, have three children, Annie, Blake and Rebecca. Bingman continues
active participation in the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, Tulsa Association of Petroleum
Landmen and the Oklahoma Independent Producers Association. He is a member of Creek Nation. He also
is a member of the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce. He is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church
of Sapulpa. His hobbies include playing golf, spending time with his family and his three grandchildren Blake,
Merritt, and Ellie.
Committee Membership
The President Pro Tempore is an Ex-Officio and voting member of all Senate committees.
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Brian Bingman
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 422
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5528
bingman@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Cheryl Boothe
Use Capitol Address
(918) 227-1856
District Information: District 12
Map
Population and Household
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Counties Represented
Creek
Okfuskee
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman released the following statement regarding the passing of
Representative Rusty Farley
07.05.11
Senate adjourns after session full of victories
05.20.11
Pro Tem Bingman Comments on Senate Passage of Government Agency Consolidation Bill
05.20.11
Pro-Tem Bingman Announces Interim Study on Bond Issues
05.18.11
Senate approves balanced budget
05.17.11
Senate remembers al-Qaida victims, honors efforts of presidents and troops in the War on Terror
05.02.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on the Killing of Osama bin Laden
05.02.11
May 3rd survivor learning about government through Senate internship; hopes to lobby for disabled
05.02.11
Pro Tem Bingman and Senator Newberry Comment on Passage of Government Consolidation Bill
04.27.11
Bingman says ‘walking the walk’ on Fiscal Accountability Includes Reducing the Size of Government
04.26.11
Senate calls for COLA funding; move will slash billions in unfunded liability
04.19.11
State Leaders: Agreement Reached on Oklahoma Health Insurance Private Enterprise Network
04.14.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on Joint Session to Honor Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry
Brigade
04.12.11
Bingman: Athlete Agents Need to Have Skin in the Game
04.05.11
Lawsuit Reform Measure Headed to Full Senate
03.23.11
Senate Finishes Business Ahead of Deadline, Bingman Comments on Budget Savings
03.16.11
No Sacred Cows Here; Senate Bill Will Allow Lawmakers to Share in Budget Cutbacks
03.15.11
Workers Compensation Package Receives Full Senate Approval, 44-0
03.10.11
First Joint Committee on Appropriations Bill Passes Senate; Marks the Beginning of a New Era of
Transparency
03.07.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Additional Lawsuit Reform Legislation Passes Full Senate
02.28.11
Legislative Leaders Pleased with OJA Efforts
02.24.11
Senate Approves Lawsuit Reform Legislation; Bill is a Part of Senate Republican Pro-Jobs Agenda
02.23.11
Senate Approves Board of Education Reform Measure
02.21.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on Governor Fallin’s State of the State Address
02.07.11
Senate Will Begin State Department of Education Reform Monday
02.04.11
President Pro Tem Bingman Responds to Actions Recently Taken Against Superintendent Janet
Barresi
01.27.11
President Pro Tempore Announces Don P. Murray, M.D. for Judicial Nominating Commission
01.07.11
Bingman Announces Remainder of Staff
01.06.11
Bingman Is Officially Elected President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate
01.04.11
President Pro-Tem Designate Bingman Announces Committee Assignments for the 2011-12 Session
01.03.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Cliff Branan - District 40
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Commercial Real Estate Broker
Education: University of Oklahoma, B.B.A. Finance
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Republican Caucus Whip, 2006
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Republican
State Senator Cliff Branan was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He graduated from Heritage
Hall High School and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma where he received his bachelors degree
in finance. He then began his distinguished career spanning the past 25 years in the commercial real estate
business with Coldwell Banker Commercial, now CB Richard Ellis Co. In 1995, he started Branan Property
Company, which specializes in the sale and leasing of office properties. In November 2002, Senator Branan
was elected to serve Senate District 40.
In 2010, Branan won his third and final election to the Oklahoma Senate from District 40. He was awarded
the American Royalty Council 2006 Legislative Excellence Award and was named the OPIA 2006 Legislator
of the Year.
In 2006, 2008 and 2010, Branan was elected by his caucus to serve as Majority Whip.
Senator Branan is proudly married to Connell, his lovely wife of 16 years. They have two children - a son,
Ford (14), and a daughter, Langley (11). In his spare time, the Senator enjoys traveling and spending time
with his family.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation - Vice Chair
Education
Energy - Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Cliff Branan
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417C
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5543
branan@oksenate.gov
7303 Lancet Lane
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
(405) 843-5064
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Executive Assistant: Kathy Lawrence
District Information: District 40
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Senate dedicates portrait of Admiral J.J. “Jocko” Clark
03.01.11
Senate honors 100th Anniversary of President Reagan’s birth
02.07.11
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Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Josh Brecheen - District 6
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Motivational Speaker
Education: Oklahoma State University - Agricultural Communications/Animal
Science
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Coalgate
Party: Republican
Oklahoma State Senator Josh Brecheen was elected to the State Senate in November 2010. He represents
District 6, consisting of Atoka, Coal, Bryan, Johnston and Marshall Counties.
Prior to his election to the Oklahoma legislature, Josh served almost six years as a field representative for
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. As a field representative, Brecheen was one of Senator Coburn’s “boots
on the ground,” working directly with constituents on issues, and evaluating government programs for
waste, fraud and abuse.
Josh owns a motivational speaking business, Brecheen Keynotes and Seminars. Since the inception of the
business, Brecheen has provided inspirational presentations to over 600,000 people in more than 600
school systems, conferences and universities in many states. Presentations provided from 2004-2010, were
provided free of charge to comply with U.S Senate Ethics rulings.
Josh is a two-time qualifier for the National Cutting Horse Association Eastern Championship Show, and
spends his spare time raising and training Quarter Horses.
Josh is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he earned a dual degree in agricultural
communications and animal science. Josh attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant until
his election as State FFA President in 1998, which necessitated his move to Stillwater (to be near the
Oklahoma State Career Technology headquarters). Josh also served the Oklahoma FFA Association as SE
District Vice-President in 1997.
Josh, a committed Christian, is married to Kacie Ann Brecheen and has two small step children (Micah and
Makayla). Additionally, the couple’s third child, Colt Justice was born on October 20, 2010. The family
resides in Coal County.
While in the State Senate, Josh will focus on job creation, low taxation, and reduction of government waste.
He wants to reduce needless government regulations, improve education, advocate for agricultural interests
and promote local control and constitutional rights. Josh is driven to foster a low tax business environment
which will encourage a vibrant private sector while ensuring funding for necessary government services.
Committee Membership
Education
Judiciary
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Josh Brecheen
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 513A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5586
brecheen@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Melissa Smith
District Information: District #6
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Atoka, Coal, Bryan, Johnston and Marshall Counties
Press Releases
Governor signs tax petition transparency bill
05.18.11
Legislators pleased utility vehicle bill signed into law
05.05.11
Sen. Brecheen pleased funeral picketing bill signed
04.19.11
Bill to remove Governor from parole process for nonviolent offenses heads to House
03.16.11
Funeral picketing bill clears Senate
03.01.11
Sen. Brecheen Wins Approval for Bill Strengthening Oklahoma’s Funeral Picketing Law
02.15.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brinkley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:59 PM]
Senator Rick Brinkley - District 34
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education: Langston University, Oral Roberts Unversity and Oklahoma State
University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Owasso
Party: Republican
Senator Rick Brinkley is proud to represent the citizens of District 34 in the Oklahoma State Senate,
serving portions of Owasso, Collinsville, Claremore, Catoosa, Sperry Skiatook, and Tulsa. Senator Brinkley
currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He grew up in Collinsville and now
makes his home in Owasso.
Rick was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2010 and brings a broad range of business and
consumer experience to the legislature. He has served as the President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau
serving Eastern Oklahoma since 1999, and in 2008 was honored with the BBB’s National Meritorious
Service Award in recognition of his “Call to Excellence”. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of
Directors of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus for six years as well as on its executive and
strategic planning committees.
Rick’s priorities in the Senate are to allow the economy to grow itself through making Oklahoma “job
friendly” and to protect the core conservative values of District 34. He believes there are very few problems
facing our state, which cannot be solved through successful job growth.
Professionally, for over ten years, Rick served as Pastor of The Community Church in Collinsville, and
since 1999 has served as President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Oklahoma.
Previously, Rick spent ten years as a television producer, investigative producer, writer, and on-air
personality. His work in television culminated with a National Emmy Award Nomination. In addition, he
serves as a leader in communications and personal impact for corporations, non-profits, and educators
Rick was the first person on either side of his family to attend college and is a graduate of both Langston
University and Oral Roberts University’s School of Theology and Missions and has completed some
doctoral work at Oklahoma State University’s College of Education.
Rick is an active member of First Christian Church in Owasso and serves on the Associate Board of Oasis
Adult Day Care Facility, the Board of Directors of The Petroleum Club of Tulsa, former President of the
Kiwanis Club, and is a supportive “Peepaw” for his grandson’s soccer team, ’98 Sheffield Eagles FC.
However, Rick’s greatest achievements are his son, John, and his grandson, Cristian.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Business and Commerce
Finance - Vice Chair
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brinkley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:59 PM]
Health and Human Services
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Rick Brinkley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 512
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5566
brinkley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jonathan Grable
District Information: District 34
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Brinkley wins approval for candidate ID bill
03.14.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brown_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:11 PM]
Senator Bill Brown - District 36
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Insurance
Education: Northeasten State University, Education, Education degree
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Broken Arrow, OK
Party: Republican
Senator Brown represents the citizens of Senate District 36.
In 2006, he was appointed by the President Pro-Tempore Morgan and Co-President Pro-Tempore Coffee to
serve as the Co-Chairman of the Retirement and Insurance Committee. Since 2008, he has served as
Chairman of that committee.
In 2011, he was also appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than
$16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems.
Senator Brown was born and raised in Henryetta Oklahoma. He attended Northeasten State University and
received a degree in Education. Bill taught school for 4 years, before going into the Insurance Business.
Sen. Brown also owns the Lake Eufala Marina
Senator Brown is a civic leader with a passion for service. He was president of the Broken Arrow Rotary
Club and is currently the president of Gatesway Foundation, an organization that helps the mentally and
physically disabled.
Senator Brown is married to Linda Brown, a longtime teacher at Park Lane Elementary School in Broken
Arrow. They have four children and nine grandchildren. As a Broken Arrow citizen for thirty years, Bill has
always held fast to his conservative principles. Faith is of utmost importance to Bill and his family.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
General Government
Retirement and Insurance - Chair
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Bill Brown
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 513A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5602
brownb@oksenate.gov
524 S. Elm
Broken Arrow, OK 74012
918-258-5526
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brown_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:11 PM]
Executive Assistant: Doris Sesock
District Information: District 36
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa, Wagoner
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Stricter Boating Under the Influence law in effect
05.11.11
Bill to make state’s waterways safer heads to Governor
05.04.11
Senate approves measure requiring display of Honor and Remember Flag
03.01.11
Brown wins approval for bill requiring display of Honor and Remember Flag
02.16.11
Sen. Brown says transparency bill will reduce medical cost for Oklahomans
01.26.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/burrage_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:25 PM]
Senator Sean Burrage - District 2
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney At Law
Education: BBA University of Oklahoma Accounting Degree, 1990; University of
Oklahoma, J.D., 1993
Legislative Experience: 2006 - present
Hometown: Claremore, OK
Party: Democratic
Sean Burrage was born in 1968 in Durant, Oklahoma. He is married to Carole and they have two sons,
Truman, age 13, and Carter, age 5. They make their home in Claremore.
Sean is the son of former United States District Judge Michael Burrage and Aletha Burrage, an elementary
school principal.
He graduated from Antlers High School in 1986 and from the University of Oklahoma with a BBA in
Accounting in 1990. He obtained a Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law
in 1993.
Sean served as Legislative Director to United States Senator David Boren in Washington, D. C., and later
as Special Assistant and Director of State and Federal Relations to President David Boren at the University
of Oklahoma.
He has served as a board member of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust at the OU Medical
Center.
Sean has played an active role in the communities of Rogers and Mayes Counties by serving on the Board
of Directors for Tri-County CASA and as President of Share the Spirit, a local charity that has helped many
families. He was named Tri-County CASA as Attorney of the Year in 2001 in recognition for his pro bono
representation of minor children in the juvenile court system.
He was named Assistant Democratic Leader of the Oklahoma Senate for the Fifty-second Oklahoma
Legislature, and as a member of the Joint Committee on Indian Tribal-State Relations. He has served as a
Delegate to the American Council of Young Political Leaders and also designated as Member of the 2008
Class of Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership.
In 2011, he was named Assistant Minority Floor Leader. Besides his standing committee assignments, he
was also appointed to serve as Minority Co-Vice Chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee. He also
was chosen to be a member of the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than $16 billion in
unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems.
In his spare time Sean enjoys coaching Truman in soccer, basketball and baseball.
The Burrages’ are members of the First United Methodist Church of Claremore.
Committee Membership
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/burrage_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:25 PM]
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
Energy
Health and Human Services - Vice Chair
Redistricting - Minority Co-Vice Chair
Transportation
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Sean Burrage
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 529B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5555
garlick@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Donna Garlick
Use Capitol Address
District Information: District 2
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Mayes
Rogers
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Burrage criticizes Barresi’s decision on National Board Certified Teachers
07.07.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/coates_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:42 PM]
Senator Harry E. Coates - District 28
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Harry E. Coates, Inc., a construction consulting firm
Education: Seminole State College; Oklahoma City Southwestern College;
University of Central Oklahoma; Southwest Technical Institute
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Seminole, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Harry Coates represents Senate District 28 which covers all or portions of Lincoln, Oklahoma,
Pottawatomie and Seminole Counties. He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in November 2002 and
re-elected without opposition in 2006.
During his time in the State Senate, he has authored numerous pieces of major legislation looking out for
Oklahoma’s children and seniors and protecting the rights of families and business owners.
In 2006, he was the Senate author of HB 2840, also known as the Kelsey Smith-Briggs Child
Protection Reform Act, designed to better protect children from child abuse. The law gives DHS and
judges the authority to request investigative resources from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. It
also establishes stronger review procedures allowing for greater input by those acting as advocates for a
child’s safety, health and welfare.
That same year, he also was the Senate author of the “Stand Your Ground” law (HB 2615), which
broadened the rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. The “Stand Your Ground” bill extended
some of the protections provided under the 1980's Oklahoma “Make My Day” law, which gave homeowners
the right to use deadly force, if necessary, to protect themselves and their families against intruders. Coates’
bill extended that protection to other locations, such as a vehicle in the case of a carjacking and a parent
using force to protect their child in the backseat. Coates believes Oklahomans have the right to protect
themselves and their property.
This year, he got SB 1289 approved and signed into law to better protect Oklahoma’s seniors. The bill closed
a loophole in state law aimed at restricting dangerous criminals from working in nursing homes, assisted
living centers or adult day care centers. Previously, the law didn’t address those individuals who pled guilty
or no contest, or were given a deferred sentence. SB 1289 closed that loophole to keep dangerous criminals
out of nursing homes and assisted living centers and away from our loved ones.
This session, he also successfully carried Senate Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee’s and the Republican
leadership’s Worker’s Comp bills (SB 1973, HB 1611, HB 2650 and HB 2652) in the Senate. Together, Sen.
Coates and Pro Tem Coffee crafted SB 1973. These major reforms to the state’s Worker’s Comp system will
help make Oklahoma more attractive for business and workers. The new laws will result in reduced costs for
employers and an improved and more effective worker’s compensation system for injured workers in
Oklahoma. It’s estimated that the new laws will save Oklahoma businesses at least $60.5 million.
During his time in the Senate, he has been honored by several groups with special achievement and
“legislator of the year” awards including the following, among others:
- 2006 Oklahoma Rifle Association Legislator of the Year
- 2008 Child Advocates Hall of Fame (recognized for outstanding efforts in reforming policy for the children
and youth of Oklahoma)
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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- 2008 State Chamber of Oklahoma’s Defender of Free Enterprise, Legislative Advocates for Business
- 2009 Seminole State College Alumni Hall of Fame inductee
- 2009 Distinguished Service Award, State Regents for Higher Education
Besides his role as a state Senator, Coates is also a construction consultant whose firm operates throughout
the United States and the Caribbean. He has worked in the construction industry for more than 40 years.
He is a member of several professional and civic organizations including the National and Oklahoma Rifle
Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is also a member of each of the Chambers of
Commerce located in his district. He is also the past president and a current board member of the Jasmine
Moran Children's Museum in Seminole.
Sen. Coates and Betty, his wife of 41 years, are members of the First Baptist Church of Seminole. They
have four children Jeremy, Heather, Eddie and Brandon.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
Business and Commerce
General Government
Tourism and Wildlife - Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Harry E. Coates
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 531
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5547
coates@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sherry Mitchell
US 377 N.
Seminole, OK 74868
(405) 382-7660
District Information: District 28
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Lincoln, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, Seminole
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/coates_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:42 PM]
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/crain_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:04 PM]
Senator Brian A. Crain - District 39
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Votes | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: University of Oklahoma, 1983, B.B.A. in Management; University of
Tulsa School of Law, 1991.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Crain pledged in his campaign to focus on the fundamentals of state government; education,
transportation, and small business development. Achievement in these areas is essential in making
Oklahoma the best state in the nation to work, to live and to raise a family. Senator Crain believes that small
businesses are the economic engine of this state and require good schools and good roads in order to grow
and develop.
Senator Crain was born at Andrews, AFB, Maryland, to Harold and Joan Crain. Moving to Oklahoma City
when he was three years old, Brian attended Putnam City Schools, graduating from Putnam City West
Senior High School in 1979. Following high school, Brian graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1983
with a B.B.A. in Management.
Upon graduation, Sen. Crain worked for a national distributor for electrical and electronic wiring. During the
next twelve years, he continued with the company, living throughout the southern and mid-Atlantic states
before moving to Tulsa in 1987. Brian remained in Tulsa, graduating from the University of Tulsa School of
Law in 1991. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Sen. Crain served as an Assistant District Attorney in 1996. In 1999, he left to pursue a law practice
focusing primarily on title and real property law. He now practices law with Hanson & Holmes, PLC, in Tulsa.
Brian married his wife, Lori, in 1990. They have two daughters, Sarah and Catherine. The Crains attend the
First Baptist Church of Tulsa. Brian is a member of the Tulsa County Bar Association, Tulsa Title and
Probate Lawyers, and Tulsa Lawyers Helping Children. Outside his practice, Brian is a member of
Leadership Tulsa, Tulsa Rotary and the Masonic Lodge.
In 2011, besides his normal standing committee assignments, he was also appointed to serve on the Select
Committee on Pensions to address the more than $16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension
systems.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Health and Human Services - Chair
Judiciary
Retirement and Insurance
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/crain_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:04 PM]
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Brian A. Crain
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5620
crain@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Katie Duvall
5305 E. 37th
Tulsa, OK 74135
District Information: District 39
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Votes
2006
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/david_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:15 PM]
Senator Kim David - District 18
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Vice Chair
Business and Commerce
Education
Finance
Redistricting - Congressional Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Kim David
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 520
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5590
david@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gayla Guinn
District Information: District #18
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/david_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:15 PM]
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bill allowing rural water districts to use GRDA controlled water awaits House consideration
03.22.11
Senate commends U.S. Marshals Service
03.08.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/eason_mcintyre_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:26 PM]
Senator Judy Eason McIntyre - District 11
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Senator; Retired from D.H.S.
Education: University of Oklahoma, B.S. and M.S. Degrees Social Work
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present; House Member,
2002-2004
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Judy Eason McIntyre is a native Oklahoman from Tulsa. She attended and graduated from Booker T.
Washington High School in Tulsa. She received a Bachelor’s and Master of Science Degree in Social Work
from the University of Oklahoma.
Judy Eason McIntyre was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate District 11 in 2004. She also was elected
and served in the House of Representatives for District 73 in the 49th Legislature from 2002-2004. She was
the first freshman appointed to the Speaker’s Leadership Team in the House of Representatives. In 2002,
she was one of sixteen black women from twelve states selected as a Fellow for the NOBEL/Women
(National Organization of Black Elected Legislators/Women) for the NOBEL/Women CAWP (Center for
American Women and Politics/Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University) Leadership Institute.
In 2011, she was chosen to serve as Democratic Whip. Besides her normal standing committee
assignments, she was appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than
$16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems. She was also chosen to serve on the
Senate Redistricting Committee.
She retired from the Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division after 31 years. She also served
on the Tulsa Public School Board for 16 years serving as President for two years.
She holds memberships in the following organizations: Member, Vernon AME Church; Chair of the Tulsa
County Democrat Lunch Club; 1921 Race Riot Design Committee; the Greenwood Re-Development
Authority; the NAACP; CWA (Communication Workers of America) Local #6086; Oklahoma Humanities
Council Board of Trustees; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also the President of the Jazz Hall
of Fame Board and a founding member of Soulful Survivors, Inc. (a breast cancer support group).
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Business and Commerce
Education
Judiciary
Redistricting
Rules
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/eason_mcintyre_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:26 PM]
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Judy Eason McIntyre
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 429
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5598
easonmcintyre@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Roxanne Blystone
P.O. Box 48548
Tulsa, OK 74148
District Information: District 11
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Osage
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Public invited to Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Capitol
04.29.11
Black Caucus Condemns Rep. Kern’s Remarks
04.28.11
Senate sings praises of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” as state gospel song
02.24.11
Opposition Grows Towards AEP’s Plan to Raise Rates
01.05.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ellis_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:36 PM]
Senator Jerry Ellis- District 5
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Valliant, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriation Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Business and Commerce
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife - Vice Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jerry Ellis
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 535
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5614
ellis@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jean McCurley
P.O. Box 317 Valliant, OK 74764
580.933.4930
District Information: District 5
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Atoka
Choctaw
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ellis_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:36 PM]
McCurtain
Pushmataha
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate approves ban on texting while driving
03.16.11
Senate passes legislation strengthening Public Competitive Act
03.01.11
Senate committee approves ban on texting while driving
02.17.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/fields_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:55 PM]
Senator Eddie Fields - District 10
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Cattle Rancher/Businessman
Education: B.S. in Agri-Business, Oklahoma State University
Legislative Experience: House Member 2008 - 2010; Senate Member 2010 -
present
Hometown: Wynona
Party: Republican
After serving two years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in House District 36, Senator Eddie Fields
was encouraged to run for the Oklahoma State Senate by friends, family and mentors. He was elected to his
first Senate term of office on November 2, 2010 by the voters of Senate District 10. He is proud to serve the
citizens of Osage and Pawnee Counties and portions of Kay, Payne, and Tulsa Counties.
Eddie was born January 21, 1967 in Monterey, California to Dennis and Jan Fields where his father was
stationed with the National Guard at Ford Ord. He graduated from Wynona High School in Wynona, Oklahoma
in 1985 and then received a Bachelor of Science in Agri-Business from Oklahoma State University in 1990. He
married Christina (Guthrie) Fields on May 12, 1990 in Vici, Oklahoma. They have made their home in
northeastern Oklahoma for over twenty-one years and have three daughters, Tailor, Jacie and Tristan.
Christina is a 4th grade teacher at Cleveland Public Schools and has served Oklahoma’s public school system
for sixteen years. They are members of the First Baptist Church of Wynona.
A third-generation Osage County native, cattle rancher and businessman, Eddie has served on the Osage
County Farm Bureau Board, as president of the Osage County Cattlemen’s Association and director of the
Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. He also served on the school board for Wynona Public Schools for
fourteen years. He is a member of the Osage County Farm Bureau, a life-time member of the Oklahoma
Cattlemen's Association and American Quarter Horse Association, and the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network.
Eddie is in his second year of his first term. During his tenure in the House, he served on the Agriculture,
Transportation, Wildlife, and Education Appropriation Committees. In 2011, he was named Chairman of the
Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Natural Resources and Regulatory Services. He also serves on the Tourism and Wildlife, Energy, and Rules
committees.
He continues to use his agriculture and ranching experience for critical lawmaking decisions. He is a key
member of the Republican Rural Caucus where significant agricultural producers' issues are protected by those
Senators whose districts are mainly comprised of rural communities. In 2011, Eddie was appointed by Senate
President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman to serve on the National Conference of State Legislature’s Agriculture
and Energy Committee and the Environment Committee. He will also serve the Southern Legislative
Conference on the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development - Chair
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources - Vice Chair
Energy
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/fields_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:55 PM]
Redistricting - Congressional Chair
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address
Senator Eddie Fields
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 514B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5581
efields@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Becky Welch
District Information: District 10
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Osage
Pawnee
Kay
Payne
Tulsa
Press Releases
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ford_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:09 PM]
Senator John W. Ford - District 29
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired - ConocoPhillips
Education: University of Tulsa, B.S. Business Administration - Management, 1968
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Bartlesville, OK
Party: Republican
Oklahoma State Senator John Ford was elected to the State Senate November, 2004, and re-elected without
opposition in 2008. Senator Ford represents District 29, consisting of Craig, Nowata, and Washington
Counties. Prior to his election to the State Senate, John had a 34-year career with Phillips Petroleum
Company. His tenure with Phillips gave him the opportunity to develop the skills of an effective public servant
such as business planning, prudent budgeting, valuable communication and thoughtful decision-making
practices.
Senator Ford has a business degree from the University of Tulsa. He has lived, worked and worshiped in the
area for over 40 years. John recognizes the importance of community service as exemplified by his
participation and involvement in various community organizations and city and chamber committees. He is a
founding member and past president of both the Bartlesville Area Friends of the Parks and the Daybreak
Rotary Club. His priority issues are education, tort reform, Workers’ Compensation and Highway 60 from
Ponca City to Vinita.
John has distinguished himself as a strong advocate for Oklahoma’s children and for excellence in education.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy listed Senator Ford as having earned an “A” voting record on
children’s issues in the 2008 session. John also annually visits local classrooms as part of the “Legislators
Back to School Program” which is a bipartisan national program to give children the opportunity to get to know
their elected officials. In addition, the Oklahoma Youth Services Association recognized John by presenting
him the “2008 Youth Advocate Award.”
During his first term in the State Senate, John was honored with the Senate “Legislator of the Year” award by
the Oklahoma Association for Home Care. John earned one of the highest scores possible in the “2008
Legislative Report on Aging Issues” published by the Oklahoma Aging Partnership (OAP). The report featured
legislation in the areas of financial security, long-term care issues and health care issues. The legislation and
issues rated of top concern are determined by OAP, a non-partisan coalition including AARP Oklahoma,
Oklahoma Alliance on Aging, Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature Alumni Association and the Oklahoma State
Council on Aging.
For the 2009-2010 sessions, Ford was chosen to serve as Majority Caucus Chair by his fellow members of
the Republican majority. He was also appointed Chairman of the Education Committee and Vice-Chairman of
the Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
Sen. Ford currently serves as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader. This year, the Pro Tem also appointed him
to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions.
His wife, Mary, is a past public school teacher. They have two married children, Jennifer and Jack and four
grandchildren. John and his wife reside in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and attend the Good Shepherd
Presbyterian Church.
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education - Vice Chair
Business and Commerce
Education - Chair
Finance
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator John W. Ford
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 424A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5634
fordj@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Debbie Thurmond
748 Brookhollow Lane
Bartlesville, OK 74006
District Information: District 29
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Craig, Nowata, Washington
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Senate approves bill to restore local control for termination of bad teachers
03.09.11
Senate approves legislation to improve graduation rates
02.28.11
Senate Approves Board of Education Reform Measure
02.21.11
Senate Education Panel Okays Second Measure to Restructure State Board of Education
02.14.11
Senate Education Committee votes to make Dept. of Education more accountable to citizens
02.07.11
Senate Will Begin State Department of Education Reform Monday
02.04.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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01.27.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Earl Garrison - District 9
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Rancher/Educator
Education: University of Oklahoma, Doctorate of Education
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Muskogee, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Education
Public Safety
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Earl Garrison
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5533
whitep@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Peggy White
3806 Club View Dr.
Muskogee, OK 74403
District Information: District 9
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Muskogee
Wagoner
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Senate approves bill prohibiting use of kids in lottery ads
02.23.11
Sen. Garrison wants more transparency in health insurance rate increases
01.27.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/halligan_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:46 PM]
Senator Jim Halligan - District 21
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: University Educator
Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering -- Iowa State University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Stillwater, OK
Party: Republican
James E. Halligan joined Oklahoma State University as its 16th President on August 1, 1994. As Chief
Executive Officer of the Oklahoma State University System and President of Oklahoma State University,
Halligan was responsible for OSU campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Okmulgee as well as
at OSU’s Center for Health Sciences and Medical School. The university offers programs through 100
distance learning sites in addition to research and extension activities in 83 locations worldwide.
At OSU, Halligan emphasized student success; increasing retention and graduation rates, encouraging the
development of national scholars and investing more than $200 million in facilities that include a Center for
Services to Students, a student leadership complex, multi-media classrooms and suite-style student housing.
Halligan and his wife, Ann, hosted thousands of students in their home each academic year and supported
student-run events such as Orange Peel, Homecoming, Varsity Review and Into the Streets.. During
Halligan’s tenure, OSU was named both “America’s Best College Buy” and a “Truman Honor Institution.”
Halligan also stressed the university’s role in research and economic development. Among $380-million in
new facilities brought online during the Halligan years are the Advanced Technology Research Center,
designed to host joint industry-university research, and the Food & Agricultural Products Research &
Technology Center, which offers pilot plant space to Oklahoma entrepreneurs. Halligan has focused OSU
research efforts on homeland security through sensor and laser applications. The university has 51 active
patents. OSU is a partner with the City of Stillwater and Meridian Technology Center in the Oklahoma
Technology and Research Park west of Stillwater.
Halligan’s efforts saw OSU’s first capitol campaign top $260 million – more than double the original goal.
And he helped raise the money to “Raise the Roof” on Gallagher-Iba Arena, named by CBS Sportsline as
the best college basketball venue in the nation.
Halligan has BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. His teaching,
research and administrative positions have taken him to Texas Tech, Arkansas, and New Mexico State
University where he served as President for ten years before coming to OSU.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education - Chair
Business and Commerce
Education
Finance
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jim Halligan
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 416
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5572
halligan@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Deborah Curry
6321 West Coventry
Stillwater, OK 74074
District Information: District 21
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Lincoln
Logan
Payne
Press Releases
Archives: 2009
Senate recognizes Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, award winning athletes
03.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/holt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:56 PM]
Senator David Holt - District 30
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Education: Juris Doctor, Oklahoma City University
B.A. George Washington University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3
State Senator David Holt represents the 30th District of Oklahoma, which includes portions of Northwest
Oklahoma City, Bethany, Warr Acres and The Village. David is a fourth-generation Oklahoman whose
conservative values, experience, and deep roots make him uniquely qualified to serve. He was elected on
July 27, 2010 with 64 percent of the vote in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general
election. He took office on November 16, 2010.
In the Senate, David serves in Leadership as Majority Caucus Vice-Chair. He serves as Vice-Chair of the
Senate Business and Commerce Committee, and Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee,
responsible for Central Oklahoma. He also serves on the Senate Education, Transportation, and Rules
committees, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
Senate Career
In his first session in 2011, David emerged as a vocal advocate for taxpayers, leading efforts to restore
taxpayer control over local government expenditures and to lower the Oklahoma income tax. David also
established a reputation as an effective legislator, successfully shepherding multiple pieces of legislation into
law.
David was the primary author of several pieces of legislation that were signed into law. Those included bills
to facilitate prosecution of sex offenders, to make grand prix racing possible in Oklahoma, to change the
2012 presidential primary to March, to reform the disposition of surplus county property, and to name the
Interstate 44 bridge over the Red River after President George W. Bush.
David also co-authored several pieces of legislation that became law, including bills to allow Oklahomans to
consider lowering their property tax, to reform the state education board, to reform workers compensation,
to encourage common education scholarships, to improve foster care, to encourage the aerospace industry,
to require grading of schools, and to eliminate the social promotion of third-graders that cannot read.
Background
David was raised in Northwest Oklahoma City, attending Putnam City Schools from kindergarten through
graduation. His path of public service led him first to the U.S. Capitol, where he served House Speaker
Dennis Hastert during 9/11. David then spent two years in the White House of President George W. Bush
before returning home as Oklahoma’s coordinator to re-elect the President in 2004.
David then served U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and Lt. Governor Mary Fallin before becoming Chief of Staff to
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett in 2006, where he served until his election to the Oklahoma State
Senate.
Community Involvement
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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A tireless volunteer, David has been a member of many organizations, including the following:
• Putnam City Schools Foundation Board of Directors
• Oklahoma County Republican Party Executive Committee
• Oklahoma Republican Party State Committee
• Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber Board of Directors
• Oklahoma State Chamber Congressional Activities Committee
• Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Foundation Board of Trustees
• Oklahoma Municipal League Legislative Committee
• Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park Board President
• Oklahoma City Downtown Club Board of Directors
• Quail Creek Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors
• Allied Arts Board of Directors
• Cultural Development Corporation of Central Oklahoma
• ACM@UCO Business Development Center Advisory Board
• Oklahoma City Zoo Trust
• Arts Commission of Oklahoma City
• Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority Board of Trustees
• Lake Atoka Reservation Association Managing Board
• McGee Creek Authority
• Oklahoma Olympic Engagement Committee
• Big 12 Basketball and Baseball Championships Host Committees
• Oklahoma Academy for State Goals
• Leadership Oklahoma City Alumni Association
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
• Council of State Governments
• National Conference of State Legislatures
David is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXVI. He was named "40 Under 40" by OKC
Business News in 2006 and an "Achiever Under 40" by The Journal Record in 2010. A longtime grassroots
Republican activist, David has attended two Republican National Conventions as a member of the
Oklahoma delegation.
Personal Life
David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from George Washington University, and a Juris Doctor
from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
David and his wife Rachel, a former Oklahoma County prosecutor, married in 2003. They have one son,
George, born in December, 2009. The Holts are members of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
David is a member of the Osage Nation.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Business and Commerce - Vice Chair
Education
Redistricting - Central Oklahoma Vice Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address
Senator David Holt
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 411A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5636
holt@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Dorynda Dusek
District Information: District 30
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010
Senator Holt says push for binding arbitration reform will continue
04.28.11
Legislation moving 2012 presidential primary heads to Governor
04.25.11
Bill naming Red River Bridge for Pres. Bush heads to Gov.
04.25.11
Sen. Holt calls on unions to stop exploiting OKC Bombing in TV ad
03.24.11
Senate approves binding arbitration reform bill
03.10.11
Bill moving Presidential Primary clears Senate
03.01.11
Senate Approves Bill Naming Red River Bridge for Pres. Bush
03.01.11
New Poll Shows Support for Sen. Holt’s Tax Cut Bill
02.08.11
Sen. Holt Calls for Repeal of 'Binding Arbitration'
01.21.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ivester_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:09 PM]
Senator Tom Ivester - District 26
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Texas Christian University; University of Oklahoma
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Sayre, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Energy
Finance
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Tom Ivester
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 529A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5545
ivester@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pam McLerran
P.O. Box 1950
Elk City, OK 73648
District Information: District 26
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Beckham, Caddo, Greer, Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman, Washita
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ivester_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:09 PM]
Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2007
Senate Democrats to join Gov. Fallin in fight for smaller budget cuts
03.29.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/johnsonc_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:31 PM]
Senator Constance N. Johnson - District 48
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Consultant
Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A. in French
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2005 - present; Senate Staff 1981-
2005
Hometown: Holdenville, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services
Public Safety
Transportation
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Constance N. Johnson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 534B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5531
(405) 521-5580 - Fax
johnsonc@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gwen Fields
P.O Box 61241
Oklahoma City, OK 73146
District Information: District 48
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Oklahoma County Senator proud to lead Legislative Black Caucus
05.18.11
Statement from Sen. Constance N. Johnson on her views about the Senate Redistricting Process and
decisions about the redrawing of Senate District 48, created in 1965 to ensure minority
representation pursuant to the Voting Rights Act
05.13.11
Black Caucus Condemns Rep. Kern’s Remarks
04.28.11
Veteran legislator files bill to allow use of medical marijuana with doctor’s recommendation
02.08.11
Bill will add domestic abusers to violent crime offenders registry
02.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Rob Johnson - District 22
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. Political Science;
University of Oklahoma, Juris Doctorate
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Rob Johnson, a Kingfisher native, was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in July of 2010. His election
helped Republicans strengthen their majority in the state senate. He is the current Chairman of the Rules
Committee and Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Johnson was first elected to the state house in 2004. During his tenure in the Legislature, Johnson has
proven to be a strong leader. After two brief years of service, Johnson was selected by then-Speaker
Lance Cargill to serve as Majority Whip, one of the highest ranking leadership positions in the House of
Representatives. As Majority Whip, Johnson has played a key role in shaping a wide range of policy
issues. He served as a member of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Agriculture and Commerce
Sub-Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Energy and Technology Committee, where he was
appointed as a freshman because of his expertise in federal and state energy issues.
In addition to being recognized by Speaker Cargill as an outstanding leader, Johnson was selected to
participate in many civic and legislative leadership groups, including Leadership Kingfisher County,
Leadership Oklahoma, and the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Johnson also served as the
Oklahoma Co-Chairman for the American Legislative Exchange Council and in 2005 was selected as one
of 50 legislators from around the country for the State Legislative Leadership Foundation’s Program for
Emerging Political Leaders.
Johnson was also considered one of the most pro-business legislators at the Capitol, scoring a cumulative
94 on the REID index, Oklahoma's premier indicator of pro-business voting patterns among legislators. In
addition, in 2007, Johnson was awarded the prestigious Legislator of the Year award from the Oklahoma
Independent Petroleum Association. He also served as one of two House members on the Energy
Council’s Executive Committee, a legislative organization made up of eleven energy producing states, and
was selected to represent Oklahoma and the US as a member of their delegation to China in 2007 to
discuss global energy needs.
Johnson has two daughters, Kensington and McKellyn where they reside in Kingfisher where five
generations of the Johnson family have made their home.
Johnson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University and a Juris
Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and is a member of both of alumni
associations. Prior to being elected to the State Legislature, Johnson served as a Legislative Assistant to
Congressman Wes Watkins and Legislative Director to Congressman Tom Cole. Johnson currently has a
law practice in Kingfisher.
Committee Membership
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Energy
Health and Human Services
Judiciary - Vice Chair
Rules - Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Rob Johnson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 413
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5592
johnsonr@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Haley Link
District Information: District 22
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Johnson applauds House passage of resolution to prohibit discrimination
04.28.11
Op-Ed: Eliminating discrimination in state government
03.17.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
Senator Clark Jolley - District 41
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma Baptist University, B.A. Political Science, 1992; Oklahoma
Baptist University, B.M.E., 1992; University of Oklahoma College of Law, J.D., 1995
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Edmond, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Clark Jolley was elected to the Oklahoma Senate on November 2, 2004 by the voters of Senate
District 41. His district includes large portions of Edmond, north Oklahoma City and southern Logan County. It
is home to the University of Central Oklahoma, downtown Edmond, Oak Tree Golf & Country Club, Lake
Arcadia and the Lazy E Arena.
He was elected by the Republican caucus to serve as Republican Whip during the 50th Oklahoma Legislature
and currently serves as Assistant Majority Floor Leader. After serving two years as Co-Chairman of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, he was named Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health &
Human Services in 2009.
In 2011, besides his standing committees, he was also chosen to serve as Co-Chair of the Senate
Redistricting Committee
Born in Oklahoma City, Senator Jolley attended Del City High School before earning Music Education and
Political Science degrees four years later from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He
graduated law school at the University of Oklahoma and established a private law practice upon graduation
from law school in 1995. During his legal career, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma
Department of Labor and was a Barrister member of the Robert J. Turner American Inn of Court.
Senator Jolley is an active leader in the Edmond community. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, he is a past
President of the Rotary Club of Edmond, who honored him as the 2006 recipient of the George Mikesell
Rotarian of the Year Award. An accomplished musician, Jolley serves at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in
Edmond, where he has been on the Worship & Arts team since October, 1990. Senator Jolley is a graduate
of both Leadership Oklahoma, Class XX and Leadership Edmond Class XVIII.
Senator Jolley serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, the
Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and also on the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research and
Development Board, which oversees the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
(OCAST). In 2009, he was selected to serve on the delegation to Korea for the American Council of Young
Political Leaders.
He married Verlyne Simmons, a Ponca City native in June, 1997. They have two children, Lauren and Alex,
both of whom attend Edmond Public Schools.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Vice Chair
Appropriation Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Chair
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Energy
Finance
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Clark Jolley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 425
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5622
jolley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gay Greeno
14000 Kirkland Ridge
Edmond, OK 73013
District Information: District 41
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Logan
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Jolley Praises Decision on Reading Program Funding
06.23.11
Governor signs Erin Swezey Act into law
05.26.11
Erin Swezey Act one step away from becoming law
05.19.11
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bills ending social promotion and creating report card for schools head to Governor Fallin
05.02.11
Sen. Jolley comments on House passage of ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’
04.27.11
Senate gives unanimous approval to Erin Swezey Act
03.15.11
Senate votes to end social promotion; second measure would give schools a letter grade
03.14.11
‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ heads to Senate floor
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
02.24.11
Parents hope ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ will save lives
02.23.11
Senate Committee on Redistricting Slates Public Hearings
02.15.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
01.27.11
Oral Arguments Set in State Question Lawsuit
01.07.11
Jolley Comments on Supreme Court Ruling
01.06.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Clark Jolley - District 41
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma Baptist University, B.A. Political Science, 1992; Oklahoma
Baptist University, B.M.E., 1992; University of Oklahoma College of Law, J.D., 1995
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Edmond, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Clark Jolley was elected to the Oklahoma Senate on November 2, 2004 by the voters of Senate
District 41. His district includes large portions of Edmond, north Oklahoma City and southern Logan County. It
is home to the University of Central Oklahoma, downtown Edmond, Oak Tree Golf & Country Club, Lake
Arcadia and the Lazy E Arena.
He was elected by the Republican caucus to serve as Republican Whip during the 50th Oklahoma Legislature
and currently serves as Assistant Majority Floor Leader. After serving two years as Co-Chairman of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, he was named Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health &
Human Services in 2009.
In 2011, besides his standing committees, he was also chosen to serve as Co-Chair of the Senate
Redistricting Committee
Born in Oklahoma City, Senator Jolley attended Del City High School before earning Music Education and
Political Science degrees four years later from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He
graduated law school at the University of Oklahoma and established a private law practice upon graduation
from law school in 1995. During his legal career, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma
Department of Labor and was a Barrister member of the Robert J. Turner American Inn of Court.
Senator Jolley is an active leader in the Edmond community. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, he is a past
President of the Rotary Club of Edmond, who honored him as the 2006 recipient of the George Mikesell
Rotarian of the Year Award. An accomplished musician, Jolley serves at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in
Edmond, where he has been on the Worship & Arts team since October, 1990. Senator Jolley is a graduate
of both Leadership Oklahoma, Class XX and Leadership Edmond Class XVIII.
Senator Jolley serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, the
Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and also on the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research and
Development Board, which oversees the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
(OCAST). In 2009, he was selected to serve on the delegation to Korea for the American Council of Young
Political Leaders.
He married Verlyne Simmons, a Ponca City native in June, 1997. They have two children, Lauren and Alex,
both of whom attend Edmond Public Schools.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Vice Chair
Appropriation Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Chair
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
Energy
Finance
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Clark Jolley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 425
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5622
jolley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gay Greeno
14000 Kirkland Ridge
Edmond, OK 73013
District Information: District 41
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Logan
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Jolley Praises Decision on Reading Program Funding
06.23.11
Governor signs Erin Swezey Act into law
05.26.11
Erin Swezey Act one step away from becoming law
05.19.11
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bills ending social promotion and creating report card for schools head to Governor Fallin
05.02.11
Sen. Jolley comments on House passage of ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’
04.27.11
Senate gives unanimous approval to Erin Swezey Act
03.15.11
Senate votes to end social promotion; second measure would give schools a letter grade
03.14.11
‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ heads to Senate floor
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
02.24.11
Parents hope ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ will save lives
02.23.11
Senate Committee on Redistricting Slates Public Hearings
02.15.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
01.27.11
Oral Arguments Set in State Question Lawsuit
01.07.11
Jolley Comments on Supreme Court Ruling
01.06.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/justice_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:06 PM]
Senator Ron Justice - District 23
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired O.S.U County Extension Agent
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. and Masters Degrees
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Chickasha, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development - Vice Chair
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources - Chair
Public Safety
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Ron Justice
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 423
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5537
justice@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Linda Terrill
2209 County Street 2880
Chickasha, OK 73018
District Information: District 23
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Blaine
Caddo
Canadian
Grady
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Republican Rural Caucus Chair pleased with signing of eminent domain bill to protect landowners
05.12.11
Senate Republican Rural Caucus Urge Rural Fire Departments to Seek Aid
04.26.11
Senator Justice lauds Senate’s unanimous approval of increase in military retiree income tax
exemption
03.10.11
Senate Republican Rural Caucus Announces Agenda
02.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/laster_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:22 PM]
Senator Charlie Laster - District 17
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma State University, 1976, B.S. Pre-Law; Oklahoma University,
1979, Juris Doctor
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2003 - present
Hometown: Shawnee, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Charlie Laster is the former Democratic Leader of the Senate. He is currently serving in his 9th session. He
was first elected in a special election in 2003 and reelected in 2004 and 2008.
Senator Laster is a life-long resident of Shawnee. He graduated from Shawnee High School in 1972,
Oklahoma State University (Pre-Law) 1976, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma
College of Law in 1979.
For the past 32 years, he has maintained a private law practice in Shawnee with an emphasis in small
business representation and family law. He is a member of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma
Bar Association, and OSU Alumni Association.
Senator Laster represents District 17, which includes most of Pottawatomie County, the Harrah-Newalla area
of Oklahoma County, and far northeastern Cleveland County.
Senator Laster and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 32 years and have two children, Kara, 17, and
Luke, age 14. His wife holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, has an active practice, and is a past Chairman and
current board member of Unity Hospital in Shawnee.
In his spare time, Charlie is an avid hunter. He is a former state and Big 8 Conference champion in tennis,
was an All-Oklahoma high school selection in basketball, and still is an active tennis player today.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Business and Commerce
Education
Judiciary
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Charlie Laster
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5539
102 E. Highland
Shawnee, OK 74801
(405) 273-2910
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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laster@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sharon Veazey
District Information: District 17
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Cleveland
Oklahoma
Pottawatomie
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Transportation intergovernmental cooperative bill signed into law
05.11.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/lerblance_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:37 PM]
Senator Richard C. Lerblance - District 7
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney At Law, Oil & Gas, Cattle, Race Horses
Education: Eastern Oklahoma State College, 1967, A.A.; University of
Oklahoma; Central State University (now UCO), 1970, B.A.; Oklahoma City
University School of Law, 1978, JD
Legislative Experience: House Member, 2002 - 2003; Senate Member, 2003
- present
Hometown: Hartshorne, OK
Party: Democratic
Richard C. Lerblance was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in August 2002. In June 2003,
Lerblance was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate for District 7.
Lerblance holds a degree in law from Oklahoma City University School of Law, and has practiced law in his
hometown of Hartshorne, Oklahoma, since graduating from law school in 1978. He served on the Hartshorne
City Council; the Hartshorne Board of Education; and retired as Fire Chief of the Hartshorne Fire Department.
He and his wife, Frances, are members of the Edgewood United Methodist Church in Hartshorne, Oklahoma.
He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Pittsburg County Bar Association, and Muscogee (Creek)
Nation Bar Association. He served twelve years on the Supreme Court of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Supreme court and three years as Chief Justice. He presently is a Justice on the Supreme Court of the
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Lerblance is an active cattleman and a member of the Latimer and Pittsburg County Cattlemen Associations,
Oklahoma Cattlemen Association, Little Dixie Limousin Association, Maine Anjou Association, and North
American Limousin Foundation. Therefore, he is very familiar with the needs and concerns of the agricultural
and farming community, and an active advocate for those associated with both.
Lerblance is married and a man of strong family values. He and his wife have three sons: David, John and
Rich. Son David and his wife Ashley have two children: Alexandria and Zachary. Son Rich and his wife
Pauline have a daughter named Raven. The strong family values are shown through Lerblance’s involvement
in his church activities and his memberships in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Boy Scouts of America as an
Eagle Scout, Hartshorne/Haileyville Lodge 122, 32 Degree Mason – Valley of McAlester, Bedouin Temple –
Muskogee, OK, McAlester Rotary Club, and McAlester, Wilburton and Hartshorne Chambers of Commerce.
Lerblance spends his recreational time hunting, boating and riding his Harley.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Education
Energy
Judiciary
Office Information
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/lerblance_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:37 PM]
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Richard C. Lerblance
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 535A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5604
lerblance@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Anita Bell
P O Box 1011
Hartshorne, OK 74547
(918) 297-2501
District Information: District 7
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Haskell
Latimer
Pittsburg
Sequoyah
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/marlatt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:55 PM]
Senator Bryce Marlatt - District 27
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Oil & Gas Services/ Real Estate
Education: Agriculture Business/NWOSU
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Woodward, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation - Chair
Energy - Vice Chair
General Government
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Bryce Marlatt
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 427
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5626
marlatt@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jodie McKee
P.O. Box 647
Woodward, OK 73802
District Information: District 27
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Beaver
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/marlatt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:55 PM]
Blaine
Cimarron
Harper
Major
Texas
Woods
Woodward
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Senate Honors 2010 Jim Thorpe Award Winner Patrick Peterson
02.07.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/mazzei_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:08 PM]
Senator Mike Mazzei - District 25
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Financial Planner
Education: George Mason University, BA in Government and Politics; College of
Financial Planning
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Mike Mazzei is proud to represent the citizens of District 25 in the Oklahoma State Senate, serving
portions of South Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. Senator Mazzei currently serves as Chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee.
Mike Mazzei was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2004 and brings a broad range of financial and
business experience to the legislature. In 2007, Senator Mazzei was named to serve as a Republican
Assistant Floor Leader in the Oklahoma State Senate. Also, he was named to serve as Co-Chairman of the
Finance Committee. In 2008, Mike was re-elected for a second term of office.
Mike's priorities for his legislative service are to confront the dangers that have been causing jobs,
corporations, teachers and successful retirees to leave Oklahoma. He believes we can pursue the
opportunities of successful job growth by reforming Oklahoma's tax policy to be more competitive in the 21st
century. He also believes that as we grow personal income, we will have more resources to invest in schools,
roads and health care.
In his personal profession, Mike Mazzei, CFP®, is the founder and president of The Financial Coach, Inc.,
which operates a branch of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC) on 71st Street in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. The creator of The Foundation Freedom Formula®, Mike develops strategic financial plans
for clients to help them protect and grow their money and realize their life and financial goals.
Senator Mazzei is a graduate of George Mason University and the College for Financial Planning, and is a
member of the Financial Planners Association. Mike belongs to Asbury United Methodist Church and serves
on the board for The Salvation Army.
Mike and his wife, Noel have five children; the eldest daughter, Maria, triplets Caleb, Carissa, and Mykela,
and youngest son, Jackson.
Please see www.mikemazzei.org for information about Senator Mazzei. (No public funds are used to support
this website. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the individual legislator and are not maintained or controlled
by the Oklahoma State Senate.)
Legislative Accomplishments
SB 909 (2009) - Enables new businesses in Oklahoma to benefit from both the Quality Jobs program and the
Investment Tax Credit program. Oklahoma has been losing business to other states because both programs
were not being offered to potential new employers. Among companies that will benefit from SB909 is the
Holly Corporation as they purchase a local refinery and keep over 400 jobs in Tulsa that would otherwise
have been lost.
SB 938 (2009) - The 21st Century Quality Jobs Act now gives Oklahoma the premier business incentive
program in the country. This bill provides greater performance rebates for jobs created which pay more than
three times the average county wage.
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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HB 2067 (2009) - An innovative program which allows local government entities to combine efforts and
resources for infrastructure, investments and economic development programs.
SB 1641 (2008) closes a loophole in the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System that costs
taxpayers millions of dollars by allowing certain elected officials with previous government service to collect
more money in retirement than they made in office.
SB 1943 (2008) provides financing for major destination development and stimulate tourism projects all
across Oklahoma at no cost to the taxpayer.
SB 2153 (2008) modifies various provisions relating to Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act to allow for two
significant Tulsa companies to participate in the program which will help them stay in Tulsa and add another
100 high paying jobs. The legislation also clarified the timing aspects of incentives earned by the performance
of EDS, one of our important local employers.
HB 3239 (2008) provides tax incentives to recruit engineering students for aerospace positions in Oklahoma’s
important aerospace industry.
SB 357 (2007) establishes a long-term solution to bring fiscal stability to the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement
System by raising employer contributions through the education budget. An annual infusion of an extra $60
million per year should help the woefully underfunded system improve from an unacceptable 50% funded
level to an 80% level around the year 2026.
SB 861 (2007) provides tax relief to hard-working Oklahomans by (1) accelerating the state income tax
reduction from 5.65% to 5.25% one year sooner; (2) establishes our first back-to-school sales tax holiday; (3)
eliminates the franchise tax for most small businesses; and (4) provides a tax credit for families with children.
SB 407 (2007) allows the Grand River Dam Authority to enter into derivative products and financial
instruments to manage interest rate costs in connection with issuing bonds. Also creates the Joint Legislative
Task Force on the Grand River Dam Authority to study its functions, policies, procedures and expenditures.
HB 2070 (2007) adds the Firefighters, Police and Law Enforcement Retirement Systems to the requirements
of the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act. This will ensure that legislation affecting these
systems will have to go through the Senate process of comprehensive cost analysis and funding for any
approved legislation.
SB 1771 (2006) creates the Oklahoma State University Medical Authority Act to ensure this hospital and
medical teaching university stays in Tulsa for the long-term.
SB 1894 (2006) creates the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, which requires all changes
to the retirement system go through a two-year process in the legislature. An in-depth fiscal analysis must be
performed on each proposed change once a bill has been introduced so that lawmakers have a true idea of
how the retirement system will be enacted.
SB 1020 (2005) helps protect soldier’s families by creating the Oklahoma Funeral Picketing Act and provides
for a specific time and distance protesters can use to picket at funerals.
HB 2538 (2005) streamlines the adoption process by allowing an easier process for terminating parental
rights. This bill also defined conduct that constitutes the crime of child trafficking.
SB 407 (2005) modified the Small Employer Quality Jobs Incentive Act to make the job creation reward
program more applicable to technology, research and bio-technology companies.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Finance - Chair
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Mike Mazzei
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 424
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5675
mazzei@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pam Hodges
PMB 394
6528 E. 101st Street, Suite D-1
Tulsa, OK 74133
or
1375 E. 71st Street
Tulsa, OK 74136
District Information: District 25
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Quick Action Closing Fund bill heads to Governor
05.18.11
Senate calls for COLA funding; move will slash billions in unfunded liability
04.19.11
‘Quick Action Closing Fund’ bill heads to full Senate"
04.05.11
Senate approves pension reform
03.16.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Senate Select Committee on Pensions holds first meeting; Lawmakers to address $16 Billion unfunded
liability
02.17.11
Senate Finance Committee Passes Legislation to Encourage Aerospace Industry Growth in Oklahoma
02.08.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/myers_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:20 PM]
Senator David F. Myers - District 20
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired Chemical Engineer and Independent Consultant for oil
industry
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. Chemical Engineering; Graduate
Studies, Louisiana State University; MBA Training-Darden School, University of
Virginia; Training Seminars-Conoco, Inc.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Ponca City, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator David F. Myers currently serves Senate District 20 which is comprised of all - or portions of - Alfalfa,
Garfield, Grant, Kay and Noble Counties.
He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in November, 2002.
He enjoys serving in the Oklahoma Legislature and is busy preparing for the 2009 legislative session by
researching and studying future legislation.
Senator Myers is a retired Chemical Engineer from ConocoPhillips in Ponca City, having worked in the oil
refining industry for 33 years. He is an independent consultant for the oil industry.
He is a member of several professional and civic organizations.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Chair
Agriculture and Rural Development
Energy
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator David F. Myers
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 519
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5628
ingraham@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Betsy Ingraham
2101 North 14th Street
Suite 132
Ponca City, OK 74601
580.767.9010
District Information: District 20
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Alfalfa
Garfield
Grant
Kay
Noble
2005 Legislation
Senator Myers' authored legislation:
To help keep children safe by keeping sex offenders out of their schools;
To double the ethanol production - helping Oklahoma farmers;
To help keep families safe in their homes in case of a fire;
To help fund and improve roads and bridges in Oklahoma;
To improve public safety by introducing juvenile drug courts.
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Sen. Myers says bill authorizing DOC to use existing funds will prevent bigger budget hole in July
03.07.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/newberry_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:31 PM]
Senator Dan Newberry - District 37
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Mortgage Banker
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Republican
Senator Dan Newberry was born on November 22, 1975. He is third generation Tulsan and is an active
member of Victory Christian Center. He has been a business professional business manager in the mortgage
banking industry for fourteen years. The Senator also is a member of the Sand Springs Chamber of
Commerce and the Rotary Club. He was elected to the State Senate in November, 2008. He and his wife,
Laura, have three daughters: Claire, Paige, and Eva.
He currently serves in the Republican Leadership as a Majority Whip and Chairman of the Business and
Commerce Committee. He also serves as a member of five standing committees: Appropriations, Health and
Human Services, Rules, and Transportation.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Business and Commerce - Chair
Health and Human Services
Redistricting - Northeast Oklahoma Vice Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Dan Newberry
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 414
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5600
newberry@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Holly Miller
Tulsa, OK 74107
District Information: District 37
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate advances measure to provide scholarships to low income students
05.05.11
House Passes Senate Bill to Allow Private Funds for Scholarships to Students in Need
04.27.11
Pro Tem Bingman and Senator Newberry Comment on Passage of Government Consolidation Bill
04.27.11
Newberry lauds agreement to establish Oklahoma Health Insurance Private Enterprise Network
04.14.11
Statement from Sen. Newberry on the closing of Lloyd E. Rader Center in Sand Springs
04.14.11
Senate passes bill to allow private funds for scholarships to students in need
03.16.11
Committee approves Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act
03.01.11
Newberry to join state leaders at farewell ceremony for 45th Infantry Brigade
02.15.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/nichols_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:43 PM]
Senator Jonathan Nichols - District 15
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: State Senator
Education: Northeastern State University, B.A. English; University of Oklahoma,
J.D.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2000 - present
Hometown: Norman, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary - Chair
Education
Energy
Judiciary
Redistricting - Judicial Vice Chair
Rules - Vice Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jonathan Nichols
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 428
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5535
nichols@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pauline Elmore
3901 Annalane Drive
Norman, OK 73072
District Information: District 15
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Cleveland
McClain
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senate Honors Sooner Football Team
02.23.11
Nichols Tapped for Leadership Role in Judicial Reapportionment
01.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Susan G. Paddack - District 13
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press | Podcasts
Occupation: Senator/Non-profit Consultant
Education: University of Colorado, B.S. Education; East Central University, M.E.
Secondary Education
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Ada, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Susan Paddack received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Colorado and a Master of
Education Degree in Secondary Education from East Central University. She earned a Certificate of Excellence
in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Susan was elected in November 2004 as the State Senator for District 13, which includes Pontotoc, Hughes,
portions of Garvin and Coal Counties. She serves as a Democratic Caucus Co-Chair. In addition, she serves
on the full Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Education Committee,
Energy Committee and Transportation Committee. She represents Oklahoma as a board member on the
Southern Regional Education Board. She has served as a member of the Annual Meeting Committee for the
Council of State Governments, a board member of the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust, a board
member on the Healthcare Workforce Resources Center Board, and on the Governor’s Elimination of Health
Disparities Task Force, the Task Force on Achieving Classroom Excellence, the State Coverage Initiative to
reform healthcare in Oklahoma, and the Governor’s Catastrophic Health Emergency Planning Task Force. In
the past, she has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of Education, Co-chair of Education Appropriations, and
Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
With a passion to promote both education and healthcare in Oklahoma, Senator Paddack has successfully
authored numerous pieces of landmark legislation in these areas, resulting in multiple honors for her efforts.
Susan was the principal author of the 2005 legislation, Rx Oklahoma, which expands the Prescription
Assistance Program to make it available statewide. That same year, she also authored legislation creating a
physician assistant scholarship program aimed at helping ensure rural communities have greater access to
medical care. She was also instrumental in passing legislation to create the Health Care Workforce Resource
Center to help identify shortages in nursing and allied health as well as developing strategies to address those
gaps. In addition, she authored laws to ensure that schools provide information about meningococcal meningitis
to parents of students in the sixth through twelfth grades and to require vision screenings for elementary
students. She also authored a bill which gives lawsuit protection to healthcare providers who provide charitable
medical services to medically indigent persons in a free medical clinic setting.
Susan’s honors for her legislation include being named the 2005 Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians
Patient Advocate of the Year as well as 2006 Legislator of the Year for the Rural Health Association of
Oklahoma. She was also named the Legislative Newcomer award recipient in 2005 by the Higher Education
Alumni Council of Oklahoma. In 2006, Susan was awarded the Oklahoma Nurses Association Friend of Nursing
award and the Legislative award from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. In 2007, she was
awarded the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Alumni Association “Amicus Medicinae” Award, and
the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma Friend of Higher Education Award. Also in 2007, she
received the Metropolitan Environmental Trust Legislator of the Year and the Oklahoma Professional Economic
Development Council Legislative Advocate of the Year. In 2008, she received the Oklahoma Academy
Exceptional Commitment Award and was inducted into the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s Child
Advocate Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians awarded her the 2008 Legislator of the
Year. She also received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Association of Career and
Technology Education, 2008 Legislator of the Year from the Oklahoma State Troopers Association-District 13.
In 2009 she received the Outstanding Member of a State Legislature, Dr. Nathan Davis Award, from the
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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American Medical Association and the Partners in Conservation Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
She also received the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association’s Legislative Award of Appreciation and the
Friend of Retired Educators from the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association. In 2010, she was presented the
Don J. Blair Friend of Medicine Award from the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
Prior to her election to the Senate, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence employed Susan for nine years as
their Director of Local Education Foundation Outreach. She traveled the state working with LEF boards and
tailored presentations and workshops based on each foundation’s specific need. During this tenure, the number
of local education foundations grew by 31% and over $22 million was awarded to schools by their LEFs since
their formation in the early 1980s. She also consulted with LEFs in states such as Missouri, Indiana, and
Arkansas. She was employed as a secondary science teacher in middle and junior high schools in Texas,
Colorado, and Oklahoma. She also served as an adjunct faculty member for East Central University’s Education
Department.
Susan serves in various capacities in local, state, and national volunteer organizations. She served as the
2000-2001 president of the American Medical Association Alliance, and traveled to 32 states as a part of their
Speakers’ Bureau. Susan served as a representative from the AMAA to the Commission for the Prevention of
Youth Violence, which was a call to action from medicine, nursing, and public health to address the epidemic of
youth violence in the nation. On the state level, she is a board member for the Jasmine Moran Children’s
Museum, a board member for the Oklahoma Academy, a board member for the Oklahoma Foundation for
Excellence where she was presented with an Honorary Circle of Excellence Award in 2003, and a board
member of the Oklahoma Arts Institute. Susan was a member of the Leadership Oklahoma Class XVI. She
was named among the 2004 and 2008 honorees for The Journal Record’s 50 Women Making a
Difference/Woman of the Year. She also was a board member of the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy,
was a board member of the Center for Nonprofit Management and was on the advisory board of governors for
the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma. Susan served as the 1991-92 president of the Oklahoma State
Medical Association Alliance.
On the local level, Susan served on the board of the Ada City Schools Foundation where she was previously
president, vice-president, and was grant review chair for ten years. She has also served as: president for the
Pontotoc County Medical Alliance, board member for the City of Ada’s Board of Adjustments, board member of
the Kiwanis Club of Ada and chairman of Young Children - Priority One, parent representative on the Ada City
Schools Professional Staff Development Committee, vice-president for the Ada Arts and Humanities Council,
the 1992 United Way fund drive chair and board president in 1993, a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Task
Force and steering committee on Economic Development, and a member of the 1991 Leadership Ada class.
She was named the Ada Education Association’s 1992 Friend of Education. Susan is an elder of First
Presbyterian Church of Ada.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Education
Energy
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Susan Paddack
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5541
500 S.E. County Rd.
Ada, OK 74820
)580) 332-7607
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/paddack_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:58 PM]
paddack@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Toni Doake
District Information: District 13
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Coal
Garvin
Hughes
Pontotoc
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Podcasts
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/reynolds_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:13 PM]
Senator Jim Reynolds - District 43
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: V.P. - Government Affairs, American Education
Corp.
Education: Southern Nazarene University, B.A.
Management/Human Resources
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2000 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Education
Finance
Public Safety
Veterans and Military Affairs - Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jim Reynolds
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 412
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5522
reynolds@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sonnie Winfree
9801 S. Harvey
Oklahoma City, OK 73139
District Information: District 43
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Cleveland
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/reynolds_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:13 PM]
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Reynolds prepares for new public service role
05.19.11
Senate supports vote on lower cap for property tax valuations
03.16.11
Senate honors life of last WWI Vet
03.09.11
Sen. Reynolds says state’s ad valorem system is ‘broken’; advises Oklahoma
County homeowners to appeal property taxes
03.02.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/rice_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:23 PM]
Senator Andrew Rice - District 46
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Non-profit director
Education: Colby College (Maine), Bachelor’s Degree, 1996; and Harvard
University Divinity School, Master’s Degree, 1999
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Democratic
Andrew Rice was born in Oklahoma City on April 23, 1973.
Andrew graduated in 1996 from Colby College (Waterville, Maine) with a Bachelor's Degree in Religious
Studies and a minor in African American Studies. After graduation, he was accepted to Harvard University
Divinity School, but deferred his admission for one year to work and travel in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
In Sri Lanka, he worked with the largest Grassroots NGO in Asia, helping with rural development in Village
life and in the conflict zone. In Thailand, Rice worked for the country's largest private AIDS hospice and in
India, he studied drug addiction problems and treatment in urban India.
Rice received his Masters in Theological Studies from the Harvard University Divinity School in 1999. While
in graduate school, Andrew produced a documentary in Bangalore, India entitled "From Ashes" which
focused on India’s AIDS pandemic.
After graduate school, Andrew worked as a freelance documentary producer and editor. He worked on
programs for the BBC and PBS, including segments for The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
Andrew's older brother, David Rice, was killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th, 2001 and due to the
tragedy, Andrew decided to rededicate his career to social justice work and political reforms. He worked for
the Texas Freedom Network, which counters the influence of religious extremism in public policy. He is the
founder of the Progressive Alliance Foundation which works throughout the state of Oklahoma advancing
progressive, fair-minded and constitutional solutions to public policy problems. He also launched the Red
River Democracy Project (RRDP) and is on the board of The People's Opinion Project.
Andrew is married to Dr. Apple Newman Rice who practices medicine in Oklahoma City. They have two
sons, Noah David, who was born on Dec. 7th, 2004, and Parker Harrison, who was born on February 17th,
2007.
He was elected by his caucus to serve
Oklahoma Senate - Senate Members
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Address: 2300 N Lincoln Blvd., State Capitol Building, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/adelson_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:43:34 PM]
Senator Tom Adelson - District 33
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Edison High School; Stanford University, B.A.; Southern Methodist
University, J.D. (cum laude)
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Democratic
Senator Adelson is a native Tulsan. He attended Barnard elementary and Edison junior and senior high
schools. As Governor Henry’s Secretary of Health, he fought for and helped pass Oklahoma’s first clean air
legislation, and he worked to protect public health funding for 75,000 Oklahoma children who would have lost
health insurance coverage. Senator Adelson stepped in when schools in his district were losing their nurses
to help establish school-based comprehensive medical clinics at Eugene Field and Mark Twain elementary
schools.
Senator Adelson has been engaged in the practice of law since 1992 with experience in commercial litigation,
banking, and oil & gas. Prior to forming his own law practice in 1998, Senator Adelson operated a fourth
generation family oil and gas business where he held primary responsibility for the New Mexico and west
Texas regions, and he remains a partner in the firm.
Senator Adelson has been active in community service. He is a founding Board Member of the Tulsa
Coalition of Children’s Health, a group composed primarily of Tulsa pediatricians supporting consolidation of
health care services in the Tulsa Metropolitan area. He is a former president and past board member of the
Tulsa Mental Health Association. He is a member of the Community Hospital Authority in Tulsa and serves
on the O.U. Health Care Task Force. Mr. Adelson chaired the Health Subcommittee for Governor Henry’s
Transition Team.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Energy
Finance
General Government
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Tom Adelson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 527A
2448 E. 26th Pl.
Tulsa, OK 74114
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/adelson_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:43:34 PM]
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5551
adelson@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Leah Hicks
District Information: District 33
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Letter to the Editor in Response to Oklahoman Editorial on Rep. Kern
Senate Democrats thank Senator David Holt for his leadership in partnering with President Barack
Obama
04.20.11
Adelson responds to the Oklahoman
03.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/aldridge_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:43:52 PM]
Senator Cliff A. Aldridge - District 42
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Farmer’s Insurance Agent
Education: Henryetta High School; Oklahoma Christian College, Edmond, OK
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Choctaw, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Cliff A. Aldridge grew up in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Hampshire as the son of a missionary. After
graduating from Henryetta High School in 1980, Cliff went on to attend Oklahoma Christian College in
Oklahoma City where he met his future wife, DeeAnn Swarb. In 1984, Cliff and DeeAnn married and
purchased a home in Midwest City, and Cliff began his career as an agent with Farmers Insurance Agency,
who he has been with for 20 years.
In November of 2002, Cliff was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate to represent Senate District 42 taking
the place of Senator Dave Herbert. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate General Government
Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee.
Together, Cliff and DeeAnn have three daughters, Cara, 20, Courtney, 18, and Chloe, 12 – They still live in
the Midwest City area. Cliff is an active member in the Choctaw Kiwanis, Midwest City Rotary, and Midwest
City Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Tinker Area Y.M.C.A.
Cliff enjoys playing golf and softball, antiquing, and spending time with his wife and daughters, and is actively
involved at the Del City Church of Christ.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Finance
General Government - Chair
Retirement and Insurance - Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Cliff A. Aldridge
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 511
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5584
P.O. Box 10946
Midwest City, OK 73140
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/aldridge_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:43:52 PM]
aldridge@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Leah Maloy
District Information: District 42
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/allen_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:09 PM]
Senator Mark Allen - District 4
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Energy
Redistricting - Eastern and Southeast Oklahoma Vice Chair
Transportation - Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Mark Allen
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 415
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5576
allen@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Suzanne Earnest
District Information: District #4
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/allen_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:09 PM]
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/anderson_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:25 PM]
Senator Patrick Anderson - District 19
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney / Farmer
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S.; University of Oklahoma School of
Law, J.D.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Enid, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Patrick Anderson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5630
anderson@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Kathie Gasaway
P.O. Box 5589
Enid, OK 73702
District Information: District 19
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Garfield
Kingfisher
Logan
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/anderson_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:25 PM]
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006 | 2005
Anderson applauds decision not to pursue bond issue
05.18.11
Senate Gives Unanimous Approval to Workers’ Comp Reform
05.18.11
Anderson requests audit of state expenditures for American Indian Cultural Center
05.13.11
Workers Compensation Package Receives Full Senate Approval, 44-0
03.10.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ballenger_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:39 PM]
Senator Roger Ballenger - District 8
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Electrical Contractor in Tulsa Area and Operator/owner Small
Beefmaster Cattle Operation west of Okmulgee
Education: OSU Institute of Technology of Okmulgee
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Okmulgee, OK
Party: Democratic
Previous Occupations: Okmulgee County Commissioner for 16 years; Okmulgee City Council for 8
years; US Navy 1969-1973
Wife: Cimone
Daughter: Kimberly Fetgatter and Husband Scott
Son: Clay Ballenger and wife Jami
Step Daughter: Lindsay Marrow
4 Grandchildren: Meagan, Cody, Wyatt and Carrie
Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, golf, grandkids
In 2011, he was chosen to serve as Assistant Minority Floor Leader.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Finance
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services
General Government - Vice Chair
Public Safety
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Roger Ballenger
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 527B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5588
ballenger@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Susan Cochran
Use Capitol Address
District Information: District 8
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ballenger_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:39 PM]
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
McIntosh
Okfuskee
Okmulgee
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/barrington_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:50 PM]
Senator Don Barrington - District 31
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired
Education: Associates Degree
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Lawton, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Encouraged to run for the Oklahoma State Senate by friends, family and mentors, Senator Don Barrington
was elected to his first term of office on November 2, 2004 and to his second term on November 4, 2008 by
the voters of Senate District 31. He is proud to serve the citizens of Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson and
portions of Grady and Stephens Counties.
Don Barrington was born September 7, 1947 in Pryor, Oklahoma to Burt & Lura Barrington. He graduated
from Rexford High School in Rexford, Kansas in 1965. He enlisted in the United States Army and served
from 1966 through 1969; including an eighteen-month tour in Viet Nam where he received an Army
Commendation Medal.
Don’s professional career began as a rookie with the Lawton Fire Department in 1969. During his 32-year
tenure, he spent 26 years on shift at the fire station. He advanced through testing to the levels of Driver,
Lieutenant and Captain, and was then promoted to Deputy Chief. He received an Associates Degree in
Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City in 1993. He was appointed as
the Fire Chief of Lawton in 1996 and served until his retirement in 2002.
He married Jennifer (Morgan) Barrington on February 7, 1970 in Cache, Oklahoma. They have resided in
southwest Oklahoma for the past 40 years and have two children. Their daughter, Alicia (Barrington)
Rodgers, is an educator at Fort Gibson Public Schools. She and her husband, Gary, reside in Muskogee
with their two children, Kade and Kenady. Their son, Jaron Barrington, is a music minister at the Walnut
Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield. He and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Prarie, Texas with their children
Emma, Cole and Kate.
He is a member of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association, Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association,
Oklahoma Fire Chief’s Association, Lawton Salvation Army Advisory Board, and serves as the Co-Chair on
the Steering Committee for Law Enforcement and Public Safety through the Great Plains Technology
Center. He is an active member of the Lawton Chapter of Gideon’s International where he served as their
Secretary and Vice President. He also is a charter member of the First Baptist East in Lawton where he
serves as a Deacon.
Senator Barrington is in his third year of his second term. He spent two years serving as the Co-Chair for
Public Safety & Homeland Security, and is in his third year as the Chairman of Public Safety and
Homeland Security. In 2011, he was named Vice-Chair of Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety
and Judiciary. He also serves on the Agriculture and Rural Development, Tourism and Wildlife, and
Veterans and Military Affairs Committees. Barrington continues to use his fire service and public safety
experience for critical lawmaking decisions. He also is a key member of the Republican Rural Caucus
where significant agricultural producer’s issues are protected by those Senators whose districts are mainly
comprised of rural communities.
In 2011, he was also appointed to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Pensions to
address the more than $16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems. He was also
selected to be the Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee representing Western and southern
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/barrington_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:50 PM]
Oklahoma.
He was named the 2008 ‘Legislator of the Year’ by the Oklahoma State Troopers Association, the 2008
‘Senator of the Year ‘ by the Oklahoma Veterans Council, and the 2009 ‘Senator of the Year’ by OCARTA.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary - Vice Chair
Public Safety - Chair
Redistricting - Western and southern OK Vice Chair
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Don Barrington
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 515
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5563
barrington@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sandra Shelton
4506 N.E. Highlander Cr.
Lawton, OK 73507
District Information: District 31
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Comanche
Cotton
Grady
Jefferson
Stephens
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/barrington_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:44:50 PM]
Legislators pleased utility vehicle bill signed into law
05.05.11
Bill to protect victims of domestic violence awaits House consideration
03.15.11
Sales tax exemption for widows of disabled veterans heads to House
03.14.11
Sales tax exemption approved for widows of disabled vets
02.16.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/bass_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:08 PM]
Senator Randy Bass - District 32
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Operates cattle and wheat farm
Education: Lawton High School. Attended Cameron University, Lawton,
Oklahoma
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Lawton, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Randy Bass had been serving his hometown as a City Councilman. He was elected councilman for Ward 1
in March of 2001 and was still serving when he was elected to represent District 32 as Senator in November
of 2004. He is a member of the Oklahoma Municipal League.
Senator Bass is an active member of his community where he is an Elder of Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
He is an associate member of Lawton Ambucs. He has coached girls softball, and worked as the Lawton
High School girls golf team coach from 2000 to 2003.
Randy Bass was born March 13, 1954 in Lawton, Oklahoma. He began a career in baseball in 1972 when
he was drafted from Lawton High School in the fourth round with the Minnesota Twins. He spent time with
several major league teams including the Kansas City Royals, the Montreal Expos, the San Diego Padres
and the Texas Rangers before being picked to play in Japan in 1982.
Randy became the first baseman and power hitter for the Hanshin Tigers from 1983 to 1988. He became
the greatest foreign hitter (of over 400) to ever step on Japanese shores. He currently holds eight national
records in Japan. He set the all time season batting average mark of .389 in 1986, he is the only player to
win back-to-back Triple Crowns, and hit 200 homers faster than any man in baseball history. Randy is a
baseball legend in Japan.
He was appointed embassador to Japan by Governor Nigh in 1986. His passion for baseball is kept alive by
being a member of the Major League Baseball Association and through trips to Japan where he plays
celebrity games and golf tournaments. He has also been employeed to commentate baseball games for
Minichi Broadcasting Systems in Japan. He worked as a scout for the Tokyo Giants from 1998 to 2003.
Randy also has a passion for golf. He enjoys spending time with his wife Kelley, his son Zach, daughters
Staci and Remi and his four grandchildren Levi, Hagen, Jayden and Randi.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations Subcommittee General Government and Transportation
Retirement and Insurance
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/bass_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:08 PM]
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Randy Bass
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 528B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5567
bass@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Donna Ambler
2606 NW Lake Front Dr.
Lawton, OK 73505
District Information: District 32
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Comanche
Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/bingman_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:22 PM]
Senator Brian Bingman - District 12
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Oil and Gas
Education: University of Oklahoma, BBA in Petroleum Land Management
Legislative Experience: House Member 2004-2006; Senate Member, 2006 -
present
Hometown: Sapulpa, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Bingman was born on December 9, 1953, in Tulsa, OK. He received a BBA in Petroleum Land Management
from the University of Oklahoma in 1976. He is currently employed by Uplands Resources Inc. in Tulsa as
Vice-President of Land and Operations. Bingman served as Mayor of Sapulpa from 1992 -2004 and served in
the House of Representatives for District 30 from 2004-2006. He was elected to the State Senate in
November, 2006. He and his wife Paula, have three children, Annie, Blake and Rebecca. Bingman continues
active participation in the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, Tulsa Association of Petroleum
Landmen and the Oklahoma Independent Producers Association. He is a member of Creek Nation. He also
is a member of the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce. He is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church
of Sapulpa. His hobbies include playing golf, spending time with his family and his three grandchildren Blake,
Merritt, and Ellie.
Committee Membership
The President Pro Tempore is an Ex-Officio and voting member of all Senate committees.
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Brian Bingman
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 422
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5528
bingman@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Cheryl Boothe
Use Capitol Address
(918) 227-1856
District Information: District 12
Map
Population and Household
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/bingman_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:22 PM]
Counties Represented
Creek
Okfuskee
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman released the following statement regarding the passing of
Representative Rusty Farley
07.05.11
Senate adjourns after session full of victories
05.20.11
Pro Tem Bingman Comments on Senate Passage of Government Agency Consolidation Bill
05.20.11
Pro-Tem Bingman Announces Interim Study on Bond Issues
05.18.11
Senate approves balanced budget
05.17.11
Senate remembers al-Qaida victims, honors efforts of presidents and troops in the War on Terror
05.02.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on the Killing of Osama bin Laden
05.02.11
May 3rd survivor learning about government through Senate internship; hopes to lobby for disabled
05.02.11
Pro Tem Bingman and Senator Newberry Comment on Passage of Government Consolidation Bill
04.27.11
Bingman says ‘walking the walk’ on Fiscal Accountability Includes Reducing the Size of Government
04.26.11
Senate calls for COLA funding; move will slash billions in unfunded liability
04.19.11
State Leaders: Agreement Reached on Oklahoma Health Insurance Private Enterprise Network
04.14.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on Joint Session to Honor Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry
Brigade
04.12.11
Bingman: Athlete Agents Need to Have Skin in the Game
04.05.11
Lawsuit Reform Measure Headed to Full Senate
03.23.11
Senate Finishes Business Ahead of Deadline, Bingman Comments on Budget Savings
03.16.11
No Sacred Cows Here; Senate Bill Will Allow Lawmakers to Share in Budget Cutbacks
03.15.11
Workers Compensation Package Receives Full Senate Approval, 44-0
03.10.11
First Joint Committee on Appropriations Bill Passes Senate; Marks the Beginning of a New Era of
Transparency
03.07.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/bingman_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:22 PM]
Additional Lawsuit Reform Legislation Passes Full Senate
02.28.11
Legislative Leaders Pleased with OJA Efforts
02.24.11
Senate Approves Lawsuit Reform Legislation; Bill is a Part of Senate Republican Pro-Jobs Agenda
02.23.11
Senate Approves Board of Education Reform Measure
02.21.11
President Pro Tempore Bingman Comments on Governor Fallin’s State of the State Address
02.07.11
Senate Will Begin State Department of Education Reform Monday
02.04.11
President Pro Tem Bingman Responds to Actions Recently Taken Against Superintendent Janet
Barresi
01.27.11
President Pro Tempore Announces Don P. Murray, M.D. for Judicial Nominating Commission
01.07.11
Bingman Announces Remainder of Staff
01.06.11
Bingman Is Officially Elected President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate
01.04.11
President Pro-Tem Designate Bingman Announces Committee Assignments for the 2011-12 Session
01.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/branan_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:34 PM]
Senator Cliff Branan - District 40
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Commercial Real Estate Broker
Education: University of Oklahoma, B.B.A. Finance
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Republican Caucus Whip, 2006
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Republican
State Senator Cliff Branan was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He graduated from Heritage
Hall High School and went on to attend the University of Oklahoma where he received his bachelors degree
in finance. He then began his distinguished career spanning the past 25 years in the commercial real estate
business with Coldwell Banker Commercial, now CB Richard Ellis Co. In 1995, he started Branan Property
Company, which specializes in the sale and leasing of office properties. In November 2002, Senator Branan
was elected to serve Senate District 40.
In 2010, Branan won his third and final election to the Oklahoma Senate from District 40. He was awarded
the American Royalty Council 2006 Legislative Excellence Award and was named the OPIA 2006 Legislator
of the Year.
In 2006, 2008 and 2010, Branan was elected by his caucus to serve as Majority Whip.
Senator Branan is proudly married to Connell, his lovely wife of 16 years. They have two children - a son,
Ford (14), and a daughter, Langley (11). In his spare time, the Senator enjoys traveling and spending time
with his family.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation - Vice Chair
Education
Energy - Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Cliff Branan
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417C
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5543
branan@oksenate.gov
7303 Lancet Lane
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
(405) 843-5064
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/branan_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:34 PM]
Executive Assistant: Kathy Lawrence
District Information: District 40
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Senate dedicates portrait of Admiral J.J. “Jocko” Clark
03.01.11
Senate honors 100th Anniversary of President Reagan’s birth
02.07.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brecheen_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:47 PM]
Senator Josh Brecheen - District 6
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Motivational Speaker
Education: Oklahoma State University - Agricultural Communications/Animal
Science
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Coalgate
Party: Republican
Oklahoma State Senator Josh Brecheen was elected to the State Senate in November 2010. He represents
District 6, consisting of Atoka, Coal, Bryan, Johnston and Marshall Counties.
Prior to his election to the Oklahoma legislature, Josh served almost six years as a field representative for
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. As a field representative, Brecheen was one of Senator Coburn’s “boots
on the ground,” working directly with constituents on issues, and evaluating government programs for
waste, fraud and abuse.
Josh owns a motivational speaking business, Brecheen Keynotes and Seminars. Since the inception of the
business, Brecheen has provided inspirational presentations to over 600,000 people in more than 600
school systems, conferences and universities in many states. Presentations provided from 2004-2010, were
provided free of charge to comply with U.S Senate Ethics rulings.
Josh is a two-time qualifier for the National Cutting Horse Association Eastern Championship Show, and
spends his spare time raising and training Quarter Horses.
Josh is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he earned a dual degree in agricultural
communications and animal science. Josh attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant until
his election as State FFA President in 1998, which necessitated his move to Stillwater (to be near the
Oklahoma State Career Technology headquarters). Josh also served the Oklahoma FFA Association as SE
District Vice-President in 1997.
Josh, a committed Christian, is married to Kacie Ann Brecheen and has two small step children (Micah and
Makayla). Additionally, the couple’s third child, Colt Justice was born on October 20, 2010. The family
resides in Coal County.
While in the State Senate, Josh will focus on job creation, low taxation, and reduction of government waste.
He wants to reduce needless government regulations, improve education, advocate for agricultural interests
and promote local control and constitutional rights. Josh is driven to foster a low tax business environment
which will encourage a vibrant private sector while ensuring funding for necessary government services.
Committee Membership
Education
Judiciary
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brecheen_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:47 PM]
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Josh Brecheen
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 513A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5586
brecheen@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Melissa Smith
District Information: District #6
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Atoka, Coal, Bryan, Johnston and Marshall Counties
Press Releases
Governor signs tax petition transparency bill
05.18.11
Legislators pleased utility vehicle bill signed into law
05.05.11
Sen. Brecheen pleased funeral picketing bill signed
04.19.11
Bill to remove Governor from parole process for nonviolent offenses heads to House
03.16.11
Funeral picketing bill clears Senate
03.01.11
Sen. Brecheen Wins Approval for Bill Strengthening Oklahoma’s Funeral Picketing Law
02.15.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brinkley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:59 PM]
Senator Rick Brinkley - District 34
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education: Langston University, Oral Roberts Unversity and Oklahoma State
University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Owasso
Party: Republican
Senator Rick Brinkley is proud to represent the citizens of District 34 in the Oklahoma State Senate,
serving portions of Owasso, Collinsville, Claremore, Catoosa, Sperry Skiatook, and Tulsa. Senator Brinkley
currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He grew up in Collinsville and now
makes his home in Owasso.
Rick was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2010 and brings a broad range of business and
consumer experience to the legislature. He has served as the President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau
serving Eastern Oklahoma since 1999, and in 2008 was honored with the BBB’s National Meritorious
Service Award in recognition of his “Call to Excellence”. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of
Directors of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus for six years as well as on its executive and
strategic planning committees.
Rick’s priorities in the Senate are to allow the economy to grow itself through making Oklahoma “job
friendly” and to protect the core conservative values of District 34. He believes there are very few problems
facing our state, which cannot be solved through successful job growth.
Professionally, for over ten years, Rick served as Pastor of The Community Church in Collinsville, and
since 1999 has served as President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Oklahoma.
Previously, Rick spent ten years as a television producer, investigative producer, writer, and on-air
personality. His work in television culminated with a National Emmy Award Nomination. In addition, he
serves as a leader in communications and personal impact for corporations, non-profits, and educators
Rick was the first person on either side of his family to attend college and is a graduate of both Langston
University and Oral Roberts University’s School of Theology and Missions and has completed some
doctoral work at Oklahoma State University’s College of Education.
Rick is an active member of First Christian Church in Owasso and serves on the Associate Board of Oasis
Adult Day Care Facility, the Board of Directors of The Petroleum Club of Tulsa, former President of the
Kiwanis Club, and is a supportive “Peepaw” for his grandson’s soccer team, ’98 Sheffield Eagles FC.
However, Rick’s greatest achievements are his son, John, and his grandson, Cristian.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Business and Commerce
Finance - Vice Chair
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brinkley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:45:59 PM]
Health and Human Services
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Rick Brinkley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 512
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5566
brinkley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jonathan Grable
District Information: District 34
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Brinkley wins approval for candidate ID bill
03.14.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brown_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:11 PM]
Senator Bill Brown - District 36
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Insurance
Education: Northeasten State University, Education, Education degree
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Broken Arrow, OK
Party: Republican
Senator Brown represents the citizens of Senate District 36.
In 2006, he was appointed by the President Pro-Tempore Morgan and Co-President Pro-Tempore Coffee to
serve as the Co-Chairman of the Retirement and Insurance Committee. Since 2008, he has served as
Chairman of that committee.
In 2011, he was also appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than
$16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems.
Senator Brown was born and raised in Henryetta Oklahoma. He attended Northeasten State University and
received a degree in Education. Bill taught school for 4 years, before going into the Insurance Business.
Sen. Brown also owns the Lake Eufala Marina
Senator Brown is a civic leader with a passion for service. He was president of the Broken Arrow Rotary
Club and is currently the president of Gatesway Foundation, an organization that helps the mentally and
physically disabled.
Senator Brown is married to Linda Brown, a longtime teacher at Park Lane Elementary School in Broken
Arrow. They have four children and nine grandchildren. As a Broken Arrow citizen for thirty years, Bill has
always held fast to his conservative principles. Faith is of utmost importance to Bill and his family.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
General Government
Retirement and Insurance - Chair
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Bill Brown
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 513A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5602
brownb@oksenate.gov
524 S. Elm
Broken Arrow, OK 74012
918-258-5526
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/brown_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:11 PM]
Executive Assistant: Doris Sesock
District Information: District 36
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa, Wagoner
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Stricter Boating Under the Influence law in effect
05.11.11
Bill to make state’s waterways safer heads to Governor
05.04.11
Senate approves measure requiring display of Honor and Remember Flag
03.01.11
Brown wins approval for bill requiring display of Honor and Remember Flag
02.16.11
Sen. Brown says transparency bill will reduce medical cost for Oklahomans
01.26.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/burrage_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:25 PM]
Senator Sean Burrage - District 2
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney At Law
Education: BBA University of Oklahoma Accounting Degree, 1990; University of
Oklahoma, J.D., 1993
Legislative Experience: 2006 - present
Hometown: Claremore, OK
Party: Democratic
Sean Burrage was born in 1968 in Durant, Oklahoma. He is married to Carole and they have two sons,
Truman, age 13, and Carter, age 5. They make their home in Claremore.
Sean is the son of former United States District Judge Michael Burrage and Aletha Burrage, an elementary
school principal.
He graduated from Antlers High School in 1986 and from the University of Oklahoma with a BBA in
Accounting in 1990. He obtained a Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law
in 1993.
Sean served as Legislative Director to United States Senator David Boren in Washington, D. C., and later
as Special Assistant and Director of State and Federal Relations to President David Boren at the University
of Oklahoma.
He has served as a board member of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust at the OU Medical
Center.
Sean has played an active role in the communities of Rogers and Mayes Counties by serving on the Board
of Directors for Tri-County CASA and as President of Share the Spirit, a local charity that has helped many
families. He was named Tri-County CASA as Attorney of the Year in 2001 in recognition for his pro bono
representation of minor children in the juvenile court system.
He was named Assistant Democratic Leader of the Oklahoma Senate for the Fifty-second Oklahoma
Legislature, and as a member of the Joint Committee on Indian Tribal-State Relations. He has served as a
Delegate to the American Council of Young Political Leaders and also designated as Member of the 2008
Class of Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership.
In 2011, he was named Assistant Minority Floor Leader. Besides his standing committee assignments, he
was also appointed to serve as Minority Co-Vice Chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee. He also
was chosen to be a member of the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than $16 billion in
unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems.
In his spare time Sean enjoys coaching Truman in soccer, basketball and baseball.
The Burrages’ are members of the First United Methodist Church of Claremore.
Committee Membership
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/burrage_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:25 PM]
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
Energy
Health and Human Services - Vice Chair
Redistricting - Minority Co-Vice Chair
Transportation
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Sean Burrage
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 529B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5555
garlick@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Donna Garlick
Use Capitol Address
District Information: District 2
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Mayes
Rogers
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Burrage criticizes Barresi’s decision on National Board Certified Teachers
07.07.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/coates_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:42 PM]
Senator Harry E. Coates - District 28
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Harry E. Coates, Inc., a construction consulting firm
Education: Seminole State College; Oklahoma City Southwestern College;
University of Central Oklahoma; Southwest Technical Institute
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Seminole, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Harry Coates represents Senate District 28 which covers all or portions of Lincoln, Oklahoma,
Pottawatomie and Seminole Counties. He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in November 2002 and
re-elected without opposition in 2006.
During his time in the State Senate, he has authored numerous pieces of major legislation looking out for
Oklahoma’s children and seniors and protecting the rights of families and business owners.
In 2006, he was the Senate author of HB 2840, also known as the Kelsey Smith-Briggs Child
Protection Reform Act, designed to better protect children from child abuse. The law gives DHS and
judges the authority to request investigative resources from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. It
also establishes stronger review procedures allowing for greater input by those acting as advocates for a
child’s safety, health and welfare.
That same year, he also was the Senate author of the “Stand Your Ground” law (HB 2615), which
broadened the rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. The “Stand Your Ground” bill extended
some of the protections provided under the 1980's Oklahoma “Make My Day” law, which gave homeowners
the right to use deadly force, if necessary, to protect themselves and their families against intruders. Coates’
bill extended that protection to other locations, such as a vehicle in the case of a carjacking and a parent
using force to protect their child in the backseat. Coates believes Oklahomans have the right to protect
themselves and their property.
This year, he got SB 1289 approved and signed into law to better protect Oklahoma’s seniors. The bill closed
a loophole in state law aimed at restricting dangerous criminals from working in nursing homes, assisted
living centers or adult day care centers. Previously, the law didn’t address those individuals who pled guilty
or no contest, or were given a deferred sentence. SB 1289 closed that loophole to keep dangerous criminals
out of nursing homes and assisted living centers and away from our loved ones.
This session, he also successfully carried Senate Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee’s and the Republican
leadership’s Worker’s Comp bills (SB 1973, HB 1611, HB 2650 and HB 2652) in the Senate. Together, Sen.
Coates and Pro Tem Coffee crafted SB 1973. These major reforms to the state’s Worker’s Comp system will
help make Oklahoma more attractive for business and workers. The new laws will result in reduced costs for
employers and an improved and more effective worker’s compensation system for injured workers in
Oklahoma. It’s estimated that the new laws will save Oklahoma businesses at least $60.5 million.
During his time in the Senate, he has been honored by several groups with special achievement and
“legislator of the year” awards including the following, among others:
- 2006 Oklahoma Rifle Association Legislator of the Year
- 2008 Child Advocates Hall of Fame (recognized for outstanding efforts in reforming policy for the children
and youth of Oklahoma)
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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- 2008 State Chamber of Oklahoma’s Defender of Free Enterprise, Legislative Advocates for Business
- 2009 Seminole State College Alumni Hall of Fame inductee
- 2009 Distinguished Service Award, State Regents for Higher Education
Besides his role as a state Senator, Coates is also a construction consultant whose firm operates throughout
the United States and the Caribbean. He has worked in the construction industry for more than 40 years.
He is a member of several professional and civic organizations including the National and Oklahoma Rifle
Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is also a member of each of the Chambers of
Commerce located in his district. He is also the past president and a current board member of the Jasmine
Moran Children's Museum in Seminole.
Sen. Coates and Betty, his wife of 41 years, are members of the First Baptist Church of Seminole. They
have four children Jeremy, Heather, Eddie and Brandon.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation
Business and Commerce
General Government
Tourism and Wildlife - Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Harry E. Coates
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 531
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5547
coates@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sherry Mitchell
US 377 N.
Seminole, OK 74868
(405) 382-7660
District Information: District 28
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Lincoln, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, Seminole
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/coates_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:46:42 PM]
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/crain_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:04 PM]
Senator Brian A. Crain - District 39
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Votes | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: University of Oklahoma, 1983, B.B.A. in Management; University of
Tulsa School of Law, 1991.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Crain pledged in his campaign to focus on the fundamentals of state government; education,
transportation, and small business development. Achievement in these areas is essential in making
Oklahoma the best state in the nation to work, to live and to raise a family. Senator Crain believes that small
businesses are the economic engine of this state and require good schools and good roads in order to grow
and develop.
Senator Crain was born at Andrews, AFB, Maryland, to Harold and Joan Crain. Moving to Oklahoma City
when he was three years old, Brian attended Putnam City Schools, graduating from Putnam City West
Senior High School in 1979. Following high school, Brian graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1983
with a B.B.A. in Management.
Upon graduation, Sen. Crain worked for a national distributor for electrical and electronic wiring. During the
next twelve years, he continued with the company, living throughout the southern and mid-Atlantic states
before moving to Tulsa in 1987. Brian remained in Tulsa, graduating from the University of Tulsa School of
Law in 1991. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Sen. Crain served as an Assistant District Attorney in 1996. In 1999, he left to pursue a law practice
focusing primarily on title and real property law. He now practices law with Hanson & Holmes, PLC, in Tulsa.
Brian married his wife, Lori, in 1990. They have two daughters, Sarah and Catherine. The Crains attend the
First Baptist Church of Tulsa. Brian is a member of the Tulsa County Bar Association, Tulsa Title and
Probate Lawyers, and Tulsa Lawyers Helping Children. Outside his practice, Brian is a member of
Leadership Tulsa, Tulsa Rotary and the Masonic Lodge.
In 2011, besides his normal standing committee assignments, he was also appointed to serve on the Select
Committee on Pensions to address the more than $16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension
systems.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Health and Human Services - Chair
Judiciary
Retirement and Insurance
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/crain_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:04 PM]
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Brian A. Crain
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 417B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5620
crain@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Katie Duvall
5305 E. 37th
Tulsa, OK 74135
District Information: District 39
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Votes
2006
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Health care law committee to begin work
08.03.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/david_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:15 PM]
Senator Kim David - District 18
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Vice Chair
Business and Commerce
Education
Finance
Redistricting - Congressional Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Kim David
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 520
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5590
david@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gayla Guinn
District Information: District #18
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/david_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:15 PM]
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bill allowing rural water districts to use GRDA controlled water awaits House consideration
03.22.11
Senate commends U.S. Marshals Service
03.08.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/eason_mcintyre_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:26 PM]
Senator Judy Eason McIntyre - District 11
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Senator; Retired from D.H.S.
Education: University of Oklahoma, B.S. and M.S. Degrees Social Work
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present; House Member,
2002-2004
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Judy Eason McIntyre is a native Oklahoman from Tulsa. She attended and graduated from Booker T.
Washington High School in Tulsa. She received a Bachelor’s and Master of Science Degree in Social Work
from the University of Oklahoma.
Judy Eason McIntyre was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate District 11 in 2004. She also was elected
and served in the House of Representatives for District 73 in the 49th Legislature from 2002-2004. She was
the first freshman appointed to the Speaker’s Leadership Team in the House of Representatives. In 2002,
she was one of sixteen black women from twelve states selected as a Fellow for the NOBEL/Women
(National Organization of Black Elected Legislators/Women) for the NOBEL/Women CAWP (Center for
American Women and Politics/Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University) Leadership Institute.
In 2011, she was chosen to serve as Democratic Whip. Besides her normal standing committee
assignments, she was appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions to address the more than
$16 billion in unfunded liabilities of the state's pension systems. She was also chosen to serve on the
Senate Redistricting Committee.
She retired from the Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division after 31 years. She also served
on the Tulsa Public School Board for 16 years serving as President for two years.
She holds memberships in the following organizations: Member, Vernon AME Church; Chair of the Tulsa
County Democrat Lunch Club; 1921 Race Riot Design Committee; the Greenwood Re-Development
Authority; the NAACP; CWA (Communication Workers of America) Local #6086; Oklahoma Humanities
Council Board of Trustees; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also the President of the Jazz Hall
of Fame Board and a founding member of Soulful Survivors, Inc. (a breast cancer support group).
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Business and Commerce
Education
Judiciary
Redistricting
Rules
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/eason_mcintyre_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:26 PM]
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Judy Eason McIntyre
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 429
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5598
easonmcintyre@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Roxanne Blystone
P.O. Box 48548
Tulsa, OK 74148
District Information: District 11
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Osage
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Public invited to Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Capitol
04.29.11
Black Caucus Condemns Rep. Kern’s Remarks
04.28.11
Senate sings praises of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” as state gospel song
02.24.11
Opposition Grows Towards AEP’s Plan to Raise Rates
01.05.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ellis_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:36 PM]
Senator Jerry Ellis- District 5
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation:
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Valliant, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriation Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Business and Commerce
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife - Vice Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jerry Ellis
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 535
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5614
ellis@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jean McCurley
P.O. Box 317 Valliant, OK 74764
580.933.4930
District Information: District 5
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Atoka
Choctaw
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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McCurtain
Pushmataha
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate approves ban on texting while driving
03.16.11
Senate passes legislation strengthening Public Competitive Act
03.01.11
Senate committee approves ban on texting while driving
02.17.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/fields_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:47:55 PM]
Senator Eddie Fields - District 10
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Cattle Rancher/Businessman
Education: B.S. in Agri-Business, Oklahoma State University
Legislative Experience: House Member 2008 - 2010; Senate Member 2010 -
present
Hometown: Wynona
Party: Republican
After serving two years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in House District 36, Senator Eddie Fields
was encouraged to run for the Oklahoma State Senate by friends, family and mentors. He was elected to his
first Senate term of office on November 2, 2010 by the voters of Senate District 10. He is proud to serve the
citizens of Osage and Pawnee Counties and portions of Kay, Payne, and Tulsa Counties.
Eddie was born January 21, 1967 in Monterey, California to Dennis and Jan Fields where his father was
stationed with the National Guard at Ford Ord. He graduated from Wynona High School in Wynona, Oklahoma
in 1985 and then received a Bachelor of Science in Agri-Business from Oklahoma State University in 1990. He
married Christina (Guthrie) Fields on May 12, 1990 in Vici, Oklahoma. They have made their home in
northeastern Oklahoma for over twenty-one years and have three daughters, Tailor, Jacie and Tristan.
Christina is a 4th grade teacher at Cleveland Public Schools and has served Oklahoma’s public school system
for sixteen years. They are members of the First Baptist Church of Wynona.
A third-generation Osage County native, cattle rancher and businessman, Eddie has served on the Osage
County Farm Bureau Board, as president of the Osage County Cattlemen’s Association and director of the
Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. He also served on the school board for Wynona Public Schools for
fourteen years. He is a member of the Osage County Farm Bureau, a life-time member of the Oklahoma
Cattlemen's Association and American Quarter Horse Association, and the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network.
Eddie is in his second year of his first term. During his tenure in the House, he served on the Agriculture,
Transportation, Wildlife, and Education Appropriation Committees. In 2011, he was named Chairman of the
Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Natural Resources and Regulatory Services. He also serves on the Tourism and Wildlife, Energy, and Rules
committees.
He continues to use his agriculture and ranching experience for critical lawmaking decisions. He is a key
member of the Republican Rural Caucus where significant agricultural producers' issues are protected by those
Senators whose districts are mainly comprised of rural communities. In 2011, Eddie was appointed by Senate
President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman to serve on the National Conference of State Legislature’s Agriculture
and Energy Committee and the Environment Committee. He will also serve the Southern Legislative
Conference on the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development - Chair
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources - Vice Chair
Energy
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Redistricting - Congressional Chair
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address
Senator Eddie Fields
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 514B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5581
efields@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Becky Welch
District Information: District 10
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Osage
Pawnee
Kay
Payne
Tulsa
Press Releases
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ford_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:09 PM]
Senator John W. Ford - District 29
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired - ConocoPhillips
Education: University of Tulsa, B.S. Business Administration - Management, 1968
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Bartlesville, OK
Party: Republican
Oklahoma State Senator John Ford was elected to the State Senate November, 2004, and re-elected without
opposition in 2008. Senator Ford represents District 29, consisting of Craig, Nowata, and Washington
Counties. Prior to his election to the State Senate, John had a 34-year career with Phillips Petroleum
Company. His tenure with Phillips gave him the opportunity to develop the skills of an effective public servant
such as business planning, prudent budgeting, valuable communication and thoughtful decision-making
practices.
Senator Ford has a business degree from the University of Tulsa. He has lived, worked and worshiped in the
area for over 40 years. John recognizes the importance of community service as exemplified by his
participation and involvement in various community organizations and city and chamber committees. He is a
founding member and past president of both the Bartlesville Area Friends of the Parks and the Daybreak
Rotary Club. His priority issues are education, tort reform, Workers’ Compensation and Highway 60 from
Ponca City to Vinita.
John has distinguished himself as a strong advocate for Oklahoma’s children and for excellence in education.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy listed Senator Ford as having earned an “A” voting record on
children’s issues in the 2008 session. John also annually visits local classrooms as part of the “Legislators
Back to School Program” which is a bipartisan national program to give children the opportunity to get to know
their elected officials. In addition, the Oklahoma Youth Services Association recognized John by presenting
him the “2008 Youth Advocate Award.”
During his first term in the State Senate, John was honored with the Senate “Legislator of the Year” award by
the Oklahoma Association for Home Care. John earned one of the highest scores possible in the “2008
Legislative Report on Aging Issues” published by the Oklahoma Aging Partnership (OAP). The report featured
legislation in the areas of financial security, long-term care issues and health care issues. The legislation and
issues rated of top concern are determined by OAP, a non-partisan coalition including AARP Oklahoma,
Oklahoma Alliance on Aging, Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature Alumni Association and the Oklahoma State
Council on Aging.
For the 2009-2010 sessions, Ford was chosen to serve as Majority Caucus Chair by his fellow members of
the Republican majority. He was also appointed Chairman of the Education Committee and Vice-Chairman of
the Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
Sen. Ford currently serves as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader. This year, the Pro Tem also appointed him
to serve on the Select Committee on Pensions.
His wife, Mary, is a past public school teacher. They have two married children, Jennifer and Jack and four
grandchildren. John and his wife reside in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and attend the Good Shepherd
Presbyterian Church.
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education - Vice Chair
Business and Commerce
Education - Chair
Finance
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator John W. Ford
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 424A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5634
fordj@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Debbie Thurmond
748 Brookhollow Lane
Bartlesville, OK 74006
District Information: District 29
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Craig, Nowata, Washington
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Senate approves bill to restore local control for termination of bad teachers
03.09.11
Senate approves legislation to improve graduation rates
02.28.11
Senate Approves Board of Education Reform Measure
02.21.11
Senate Education Panel Okays Second Measure to Restructure State Board of Education
02.14.11
Senate Education Committee votes to make Dept. of Education more accountable to citizens
02.07.11
Senate Will Begin State Department of Education Reform Monday
02.04.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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01.27.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Earl Garrison - District 9
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Rancher/Educator
Education: University of Oklahoma, Doctorate of Education
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Muskogee, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Education
Public Safety
Rules
Tourism and Wildlife
Veterans and Military Affairs
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Earl Garrison
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5533
whitep@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Peggy White
3806 Club View Dr.
Muskogee, OK 74403
District Information: District 9
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Muskogee
Wagoner
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
First student from Oklahoma School for the Blind pages at State Capitol
05.18.11
Senate approves bill prohibiting use of kids in lottery ads
02.23.11
Sen. Garrison wants more transparency in health insurance rate increases
01.27.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/halligan_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:46 PM]
Senator Jim Halligan - District 21
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: University Educator
Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering -- Iowa State University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Stillwater, OK
Party: Republican
James E. Halligan joined Oklahoma State University as its 16th President on August 1, 1994. As Chief
Executive Officer of the Oklahoma State University System and President of Oklahoma State University,
Halligan was responsible for OSU campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Okmulgee as well as
at OSU’s Center for Health Sciences and Medical School. The university offers programs through 100
distance learning sites in addition to research and extension activities in 83 locations worldwide.
At OSU, Halligan emphasized student success; increasing retention and graduation rates, encouraging the
development of national scholars and investing more than $200 million in facilities that include a Center for
Services to Students, a student leadership complex, multi-media classrooms and suite-style student housing.
Halligan and his wife, Ann, hosted thousands of students in their home each academic year and supported
student-run events such as Orange Peel, Homecoming, Varsity Review and Into the Streets.. During
Halligan’s tenure, OSU was named both “America’s Best College Buy” and a “Truman Honor Institution.”
Halligan also stressed the university’s role in research and economic development. Among $380-million in
new facilities brought online during the Halligan years are the Advanced Technology Research Center,
designed to host joint industry-university research, and the Food & Agricultural Products Research &
Technology Center, which offers pilot plant space to Oklahoma entrepreneurs. Halligan has focused OSU
research efforts on homeland security through sensor and laser applications. The university has 51 active
patents. OSU is a partner with the City of Stillwater and Meridian Technology Center in the Oklahoma
Technology and Research Park west of Stillwater.
Halligan’s efforts saw OSU’s first capitol campaign top $260 million – more than double the original goal.
And he helped raise the money to “Raise the Roof” on Gallagher-Iba Arena, named by CBS Sportsline as
the best college basketball venue in the nation.
Halligan has BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. His teaching,
research and administrative positions have taken him to Texas Tech, Arkansas, and New Mexico State
University where he served as President for ten years before coming to OSU.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education - Chair
Business and Commerce
Education
Finance
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jim Halligan
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 416
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5572
halligan@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Deborah Curry
6321 West Coventry
Stillwater, OK 74074
District Information: District 21
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Lincoln
Logan
Payne
Press Releases
Archives: 2009
Senate recognizes Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, award winning athletes
03.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/holt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:48:56 PM]
Senator David Holt - District 30
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Education: Juris Doctor, Oklahoma City University
B.A. George Washington University
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3
State Senator David Holt represents the 30th District of Oklahoma, which includes portions of Northwest
Oklahoma City, Bethany, Warr Acres and The Village. David is a fourth-generation Oklahoman whose
conservative values, experience, and deep roots make him uniquely qualified to serve. He was elected on
July 27, 2010 with 64 percent of the vote in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general
election. He took office on November 16, 2010.
In the Senate, David serves in Leadership as Majority Caucus Vice-Chair. He serves as Vice-Chair of the
Senate Business and Commerce Committee, and Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee,
responsible for Central Oklahoma. He also serves on the Senate Education, Transportation, and Rules
committees, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
Senate Career
In his first session in 2011, David emerged as a vocal advocate for taxpayers, leading efforts to restore
taxpayer control over local government expenditures and to lower the Oklahoma income tax. David also
established a reputation as an effective legislator, successfully shepherding multiple pieces of legislation into
law.
David was the primary author of several pieces of legislation that were signed into law. Those included bills
to facilitate prosecution of sex offenders, to make grand prix racing possible in Oklahoma, to change the
2012 presidential primary to March, to reform the disposition of surplus county property, and to name the
Interstate 44 bridge over the Red River after President George W. Bush.
David also co-authored several pieces of legislation that became law, including bills to allow Oklahomans to
consider lowering their property tax, to reform the state education board, to reform workers compensation,
to encourage common education scholarships, to improve foster care, to encourage the aerospace industry,
to require grading of schools, and to eliminate the social promotion of third-graders that cannot read.
Background
David was raised in Northwest Oklahoma City, attending Putnam City Schools from kindergarten through
graduation. His path of public service led him first to the U.S. Capitol, where he served House Speaker
Dennis Hastert during 9/11. David then spent two years in the White House of President George W. Bush
before returning home as Oklahoma’s coordinator to re-elect the President in 2004.
David then served U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and Lt. Governor Mary Fallin before becoming Chief of Staff to
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett in 2006, where he served until his election to the Oklahoma State
Senate.
Community Involvement
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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A tireless volunteer, David has been a member of many organizations, including the following:
• Putnam City Schools Foundation Board of Directors
• Oklahoma County Republican Party Executive Committee
• Oklahoma Republican Party State Committee
• Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber Board of Directors
• Oklahoma State Chamber Congressional Activities Committee
• Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Foundation Board of Trustees
• Oklahoma Municipal League Legislative Committee
• Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park Board President
• Oklahoma City Downtown Club Board of Directors
• Quail Creek Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors
• Allied Arts Board of Directors
• Cultural Development Corporation of Central Oklahoma
• ACM@UCO Business Development Center Advisory Board
• Oklahoma City Zoo Trust
• Arts Commission of Oklahoma City
• Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority Board of Trustees
• Lake Atoka Reservation Association Managing Board
• McGee Creek Authority
• Oklahoma Olympic Engagement Committee
• Big 12 Basketball and Baseball Championships Host Committees
• Oklahoma Academy for State Goals
• Leadership Oklahoma City Alumni Association
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
• Council of State Governments
• National Conference of State Legislatures
David is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXVI. He was named "40 Under 40" by OKC
Business News in 2006 and an "Achiever Under 40" by The Journal Record in 2010. A longtime grassroots
Republican activist, David has attended two Republican National Conventions as a member of the
Oklahoma delegation.
Personal Life
David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from George Washington University, and a Juris Doctor
from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
David and his wife Rachel, a former Oklahoma County prosecutor, married in 2003. They have one son,
George, born in December, 2009. The Holts are members of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
David is a member of the Osage Nation.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Business and Commerce - Vice Chair
Education
Redistricting - Central Oklahoma Vice Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address
Senator David Holt
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 411A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5636
holt@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Dorynda Dusek
District Information: District 30
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010
Senator Holt says push for binding arbitration reform will continue
04.28.11
Legislation moving 2012 presidential primary heads to Governor
04.25.11
Bill naming Red River Bridge for Pres. Bush heads to Gov.
04.25.11
Sen. Holt calls on unions to stop exploiting OKC Bombing in TV ad
03.24.11
Senate approves binding arbitration reform bill
03.10.11
Bill moving Presidential Primary clears Senate
03.01.11
Senate Approves Bill Naming Red River Bridge for Pres. Bush
03.01.11
New Poll Shows Support for Sen. Holt’s Tax Cut Bill
02.08.11
Sen. Holt Calls for Repeal of 'Binding Arbitration'
01.21.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/ivester_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:09 PM]
Senator Tom Ivester - District 26
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Texas Christian University; University of Oklahoma
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Sayre, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Energy
Finance
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Tom Ivester
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 529A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5545
ivester@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pam McLerran
P.O. Box 1950
Elk City, OK 73648
District Information: District 26
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Beckham, Caddo, Greer, Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman, Washita
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2007
Senate Democrats to join Gov. Fallin in fight for smaller budget cuts
03.29.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/johnsonc_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:31 PM]
Senator Constance N. Johnson - District 48
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Consultant
Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A. in French
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2005 - present; Senate Staff 1981-
2005
Hometown: Holdenville, OK
Party: Democratic
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services
Public Safety
Transportation
Veterans and Military Affairs
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Constance N. Johnson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 534B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5531
(405) 521-5580 - Fax
johnsonc@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gwen Fields
P.O Box 61241
Oklahoma City, OK 73146
District Information: District 48
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Oklahoma County Senator proud to lead Legislative Black Caucus
05.18.11
Statement from Sen. Constance N. Johnson on her views about the Senate Redistricting Process and
decisions about the redrawing of Senate District 48, created in 1965 to ensure minority
representation pursuant to the Voting Rights Act
05.13.11
Black Caucus Condemns Rep. Kern’s Remarks
04.28.11
Veteran legislator files bill to allow use of medical marijuana with doctor’s recommendation
02.08.11
Bill will add domestic abusers to violent crime offenders registry
02.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Rob Johnson - District 22
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. Political Science;
University of Oklahoma, Juris Doctorate
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2010 - present
Hometown:
Party: Republican
Rob Johnson, a Kingfisher native, was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in July of 2010. His election
helped Republicans strengthen their majority in the state senate. He is the current Chairman of the Rules
Committee and Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Johnson was first elected to the state house in 2004. During his tenure in the Legislature, Johnson has
proven to be a strong leader. After two brief years of service, Johnson was selected by then-Speaker
Lance Cargill to serve as Majority Whip, one of the highest ranking leadership positions in the House of
Representatives. As Majority Whip, Johnson has played a key role in shaping a wide range of policy
issues. He served as a member of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Agriculture and Commerce
Sub-Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Energy and Technology Committee, where he was
appointed as a freshman because of his expertise in federal and state energy issues.
In addition to being recognized by Speaker Cargill as an outstanding leader, Johnson was selected to
participate in many civic and legislative leadership groups, including Leadership Kingfisher County,
Leadership Oklahoma, and the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Johnson also served as the
Oklahoma Co-Chairman for the American Legislative Exchange Council and in 2005 was selected as one
of 50 legislators from around the country for the State Legislative Leadership Foundation’s Program for
Emerging Political Leaders.
Johnson was also considered one of the most pro-business legislators at the Capitol, scoring a cumulative
94 on the REID index, Oklahoma's premier indicator of pro-business voting patterns among legislators. In
addition, in 2007, Johnson was awarded the prestigious Legislator of the Year award from the Oklahoma
Independent Petroleum Association. He also served as one of two House members on the Energy
Council’s Executive Committee, a legislative organization made up of eleven energy producing states, and
was selected to represent Oklahoma and the US as a member of their delegation to China in 2007 to
discuss global energy needs.
Johnson has two daughters, Kensington and McKellyn where they reside in Kingfisher where five
generations of the Johnson family have made their home.
Johnson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University and a Juris
Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and is a member of both of alumni
associations. Prior to being elected to the State Legislature, Johnson served as a Legislative Assistant to
Congressman Wes Watkins and Legislative Director to Congressman Tom Cole. Johnson currently has a
law practice in Kingfisher.
Committee Membership
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources
Energy
Health and Human Services
Judiciary - Vice Chair
Rules - Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Rob Johnson
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 413
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5592
johnsonr@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Haley Link
District Information: District 22
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Press Releases
Johnson applauds House passage of resolution to prohibit discrimination
04.28.11
Op-Ed: Eliminating discrimination in state government
03.17.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Senator Clark Jolley - District 41
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma Baptist University, B.A. Political Science, 1992; Oklahoma
Baptist University, B.M.E., 1992; University of Oklahoma College of Law, J.D., 1995
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Edmond, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Clark Jolley was elected to the Oklahoma Senate on November 2, 2004 by the voters of Senate
District 41. His district includes large portions of Edmond, north Oklahoma City and southern Logan County. It
is home to the University of Central Oklahoma, downtown Edmond, Oak Tree Golf & Country Club, Lake
Arcadia and the Lazy E Arena.
He was elected by the Republican caucus to serve as Republican Whip during the 50th Oklahoma Legislature
and currently serves as Assistant Majority Floor Leader. After serving two years as Co-Chairman of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, he was named Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health &
Human Services in 2009.
In 2011, besides his standing committees, he was also chosen to serve as Co-Chair of the Senate
Redistricting Committee
Born in Oklahoma City, Senator Jolley attended Del City High School before earning Music Education and
Political Science degrees four years later from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He
graduated law school at the University of Oklahoma and established a private law practice upon graduation
from law school in 1995. During his legal career, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma
Department of Labor and was a Barrister member of the Robert J. Turner American Inn of Court.
Senator Jolley is an active leader in the Edmond community. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, he is a past
President of the Rotary Club of Edmond, who honored him as the 2006 recipient of the George Mikesell
Rotarian of the Year Award. An accomplished musician, Jolley serves at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in
Edmond, where he has been on the Worship & Arts team since October, 1990. Senator Jolley is a graduate
of both Leadership Oklahoma, Class XX and Leadership Edmond Class XVIII.
Senator Jolley serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, the
Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and also on the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research and
Development Board, which oversees the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
(OCAST). In 2009, he was selected to serve on the delegation to Korea for the American Council of Young
Political Leaders.
He married Verlyne Simmons, a Ponca City native in June, 1997. They have two children, Lauren and Alex,
both of whom attend Edmond Public Schools.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Vice Chair
Appropriation Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Chair
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
Energy
Finance
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Clark Jolley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 425
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5622
jolley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gay Greeno
14000 Kirkland Ridge
Edmond, OK 73013
District Information: District 41
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Logan
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Jolley Praises Decision on Reading Program Funding
06.23.11
Governor signs Erin Swezey Act into law
05.26.11
Erin Swezey Act one step away from becoming law
05.19.11
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bills ending social promotion and creating report card for schools head to Governor Fallin
05.02.11
Sen. Jolley comments on House passage of ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’
04.27.11
Senate gives unanimous approval to Erin Swezey Act
03.15.11
Senate votes to end social promotion; second measure would give schools a letter grade
03.14.11
‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ heads to Senate floor
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
02.24.11
Parents hope ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ will save lives
02.23.11
Senate Committee on Redistricting Slates Public Hearings
02.15.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
01.27.11
Oral Arguments Set in State Question Lawsuit
01.07.11
Jolley Comments on Supreme Court Ruling
01.06.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
Senator Clark Jolley - District 41
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma Baptist University, B.A. Political Science, 1992; Oklahoma
Baptist University, B.M.E., 1992; University of Oklahoma College of Law, J.D., 1995
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Edmond, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Clark Jolley was elected to the Oklahoma Senate on November 2, 2004 by the voters of Senate
District 41. His district includes large portions of Edmond, north Oklahoma City and southern Logan County. It
is home to the University of Central Oklahoma, downtown Edmond, Oak Tree Golf & Country Club, Lake
Arcadia and the Lazy E Arena.
He was elected by the Republican caucus to serve as Republican Whip during the 50th Oklahoma Legislature
and currently serves as Assistant Majority Floor Leader. After serving two years as Co-Chairman of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, he was named Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health &
Human Services in 2009.
In 2011, besides his standing committees, he was also chosen to serve as Co-Chair of the Senate
Redistricting Committee
Born in Oklahoma City, Senator Jolley attended Del City High School before earning Music Education and
Political Science degrees four years later from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He
graduated law school at the University of Oklahoma and established a private law practice upon graduation
from law school in 1995. During his legal career, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma
Department of Labor and was a Barrister member of the Robert J. Turner American Inn of Court.
Senator Jolley is an active leader in the Edmond community. A multiple Paul Harris Fellow, he is a past
President of the Rotary Club of Edmond, who honored him as the 2006 recipient of the George Mikesell
Rotarian of the Year Award. An accomplished musician, Jolley serves at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in
Edmond, where he has been on the Worship & Arts team since October, 1990. Senator Jolley is a graduate
of both Leadership Oklahoma, Class XX and Leadership Edmond Class XVIII.
Senator Jolley serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, the
Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and also on the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research and
Development Board, which oversees the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
(OCAST). In 2009, he was selected to serve on the delegation to Korea for the American Council of Young
Political Leaders.
He married Verlyne Simmons, a Ponca City native in June, 1997. They have two children, Lauren and Alex,
both of whom attend Edmond Public Schools.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Vice Chair
Appropriation Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Chair
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
Energy
Finance
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Rules
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Clark Jolley
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 425
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5622
jolley@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Gay Greeno
14000 Kirkland Ridge
Edmond, OK 73013
District Information: District 41
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Logan
Oklahoma
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Jolley Praises Decision on Reading Program Funding
06.23.11
Governor signs Erin Swezey Act into law
05.26.11
Erin Swezey Act one step away from becoming law
05.19.11
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Bills ending social promotion and creating report card for schools head to Governor Fallin
05.02.11
Sen. Jolley comments on House passage of ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’
04.27.11
Senate gives unanimous approval to Erin Swezey Act
03.15.11
Senate votes to end social promotion; second measure would give schools a letter grade
03.14.11
‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ heads to Senate floor
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/jolley_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:49:55 PM]
02.24.11
Parents hope ‘Erin Elizabeth Swezey Act’ will save lives
02.23.11
Senate Committee on Redistricting Slates Public Hearings
02.15.11
Sens. Ford and Jolley call for board member's resignation
01.27.11
Oral Arguments Set in State Question Lawsuit
01.07.11
Jolley Comments on Supreme Court Ruling
01.06.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/justice_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:06 PM]
Senator Ron Justice - District 23
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired O.S.U County Extension Agent
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. and Masters Degrees
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Chickasha, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Agriculture and Rural Development - Vice Chair
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources - Chair
Public Safety
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Ron Justice
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 423
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5537
justice@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Linda Terrill
2209 County Street 2880
Chickasha, OK 73018
District Information: District 23
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Blaine
Caddo
Canadian
Grady
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/justice_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:06 PM]
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
Republican Rural Caucus Chair pleased with signing of eminent domain bill to protect landowners
05.12.11
Senate Republican Rural Caucus Urge Rural Fire Departments to Seek Aid
04.26.11
Senator Justice lauds Senate’s unanimous approval of increase in military retiree income tax
exemption
03.10.11
Senate Republican Rural Caucus Announces Agenda
02.08.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/laster_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:22 PM]
Senator Charlie Laster - District 17
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Oklahoma State University, 1976, B.S. Pre-Law; Oklahoma University,
1979, Juris Doctor
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2003 - present
Hometown: Shawnee, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Charlie Laster is the former Democratic Leader of the Senate. He is currently serving in his 9th session. He
was first elected in a special election in 2003 and reelected in 2004 and 2008.
Senator Laster is a life-long resident of Shawnee. He graduated from Shawnee High School in 1972,
Oklahoma State University (Pre-Law) 1976, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma
College of Law in 1979.
For the past 32 years, he has maintained a private law practice in Shawnee with an emphasis in small
business representation and family law. He is a member of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma
Bar Association, and OSU Alumni Association.
Senator Laster represents District 17, which includes most of Pottawatomie County, the Harrah-Newalla area
of Oklahoma County, and far northeastern Cleveland County.
Senator Laster and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 32 years and have two children, Kara, 17, and
Luke, age 14. His wife holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, has an active practice, and is a past Chairman and
current board member of Unity Hospital in Shawnee.
In his spare time, Charlie is an avid hunter. He is a former state and Big 8 Conference champion in tennis,
was an All-Oklahoma high school selection in basketball, and still is an active tennis player today.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Business and Commerce
Education
Judiciary
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Charlie Laster
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533B
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5539
102 E. Highland
Shawnee, OK 74801
(405) 273-2910
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/laster_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:22 PM]
laster@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sharon Veazey
District Information: District 17
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented:
Cleveland
Oklahoma
Pottawatomie
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Transportation intergovernmental cooperative bill signed into law
05.11.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/lerblance_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:37 PM]
Senator Richard C. Lerblance - District 7
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Attorney At Law, Oil & Gas, Cattle, Race Horses
Education: Eastern Oklahoma State College, 1967, A.A.; University of
Oklahoma; Central State University (now UCO), 1970, B.A.; Oklahoma City
University School of Law, 1978, JD
Legislative Experience: House Member, 2002 - 2003; Senate Member, 2003
- present
Hometown: Hartshorne, OK
Party: Democratic
Richard C. Lerblance was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in August 2002. In June 2003,
Lerblance was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate for District 7.
Lerblance holds a degree in law from Oklahoma City University School of Law, and has practiced law in his
hometown of Hartshorne, Oklahoma, since graduating from law school in 1978. He served on the Hartshorne
City Council; the Hartshorne Board of Education; and retired as Fire Chief of the Hartshorne Fire Department.
He and his wife, Frances, are members of the Edgewood United Methodist Church in Hartshorne, Oklahoma.
He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Pittsburg County Bar Association, and Muscogee (Creek)
Nation Bar Association. He served twelve years on the Supreme Court of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Supreme court and three years as Chief Justice. He presently is a Justice on the Supreme Court of the
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
Lerblance is an active cattleman and a member of the Latimer and Pittsburg County Cattlemen Associations,
Oklahoma Cattlemen Association, Little Dixie Limousin Association, Maine Anjou Association, and North
American Limousin Foundation. Therefore, he is very familiar with the needs and concerns of the agricultural
and farming community, and an active advocate for those associated with both.
Lerblance is married and a man of strong family values. He and his wife have three sons: David, John and
Rich. Son David and his wife Ashley have two children: Alexandria and Zachary. Son Rich and his wife
Pauline have a daughter named Raven. The strong family values are shown through Lerblance’s involvement
in his church activities and his memberships in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Boy Scouts of America as an
Eagle Scout, Hartshorne/Haileyville Lodge 122, 32 Degree Mason – Valley of McAlester, Bedouin Temple –
Muskogee, OK, McAlester Rotary Club, and McAlester, Wilburton and Hartshorne Chambers of Commerce.
Lerblance spends his recreational time hunting, boating and riding his Harley.
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Education
Energy
Judiciary
Office Information
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/lerblance_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:37 PM]
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Richard C. Lerblance
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 535A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5604
lerblance@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Anita Bell
P O Box 1011
Hartshorne, OK 74547
(918) 297-2501
District Information: District 7
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Haskell
Latimer
Pittsburg
Sequoyah
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/marlatt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:55 PM]
Senator Bryce Marlatt - District 27
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Oil & Gas Services/ Real Estate
Education: Agriculture Business/NWOSU
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Woodward, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation - Chair
Energy - Vice Chair
General Government
Redistricting - Co-Chair
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Bryce Marlatt
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 427
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5626
marlatt@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Jodie McKee
P.O. Box 647
Woodward, OK 73802
District Information: District 27
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Beaver
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/marlatt_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:50:55 PM]
Blaine
Cimarron
Harper
Major
Texas
Woods
Woodward
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate approves redistricting bills
05.03.11
Senate Honors 2010 Jim Thorpe Award Winner Patrick Peterson
02.07.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/mazzei_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:08 PM]
Senator Mike Mazzei - District 25
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Financial Planner
Education: George Mason University, BA in Government and Politics; College of
Financial Planning
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator Mike Mazzei is proud to represent the citizens of District 25 in the Oklahoma State Senate, serving
portions of South Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. Senator Mazzei currently serves as Chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee.
Mike Mazzei was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2004 and brings a broad range of financial and
business experience to the legislature. In 2007, Senator Mazzei was named to serve as a Republican
Assistant Floor Leader in the Oklahoma State Senate. Also, he was named to serve as Co-Chairman of the
Finance Committee. In 2008, Mike was re-elected for a second term of office.
Mike's priorities for his legislative service are to confront the dangers that have been causing jobs,
corporations, teachers and successful retirees to leave Oklahoma. He believes we can pursue the
opportunities of successful job growth by reforming Oklahoma's tax policy to be more competitive in the 21st
century. He also believes that as we grow personal income, we will have more resources to invest in schools,
roads and health care.
In his personal profession, Mike Mazzei, CFP®, is the founder and president of The Financial Coach, Inc.,
which operates a branch of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC) on 71st Street in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. The creator of The Foundation Freedom Formula®, Mike develops strategic financial plans
for clients to help them protect and grow their money and realize their life and financial goals.
Senator Mazzei is a graduate of George Mason University and the College for Financial Planning, and is a
member of the Financial Planners Association. Mike belongs to Asbury United Methodist Church and serves
on the board for The Salvation Army.
Mike and his wife, Noel have five children; the eldest daughter, Maria, triplets Caleb, Carissa, and Mykela,
and youngest son, Jackson.
Please see www.mikemazzei.org for information about Senator Mazzei. (No public funds are used to support
this website. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the individual legislator and are not maintained or controlled
by the Oklahoma State Senate.)
Legislative Accomplishments
SB 909 (2009) - Enables new businesses in Oklahoma to benefit from both the Quality Jobs program and the
Investment Tax Credit program. Oklahoma has been losing business to other states because both programs
were not being offered to potential new employers. Among companies that will benefit from SB909 is the
Holly Corporation as they purchase a local refinery and keep over 400 jobs in Tulsa that would otherwise
have been lost.
SB 938 (2009) - The 21st Century Quality Jobs Act now gives Oklahoma the premier business incentive
program in the country. This bill provides greater performance rebates for jobs created which pay more than
three times the average county wage.
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/mazzei_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:08 PM]
HB 2067 (2009) - An innovative program which allows local government entities to combine efforts and
resources for infrastructure, investments and economic development programs.
SB 1641 (2008) closes a loophole in the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System that costs
taxpayers millions of dollars by allowing certain elected officials with previous government service to collect
more money in retirement than they made in office.
SB 1943 (2008) provides financing for major destination development and stimulate tourism projects all
across Oklahoma at no cost to the taxpayer.
SB 2153 (2008) modifies various provisions relating to Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act to allow for two
significant Tulsa companies to participate in the program which will help them stay in Tulsa and add another
100 high paying jobs. The legislation also clarified the timing aspects of incentives earned by the performance
of EDS, one of our important local employers.
HB 3239 (2008) provides tax incentives to recruit engineering students for aerospace positions in Oklahoma’s
important aerospace industry.
SB 357 (2007) establishes a long-term solution to bring fiscal stability to the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement
System by raising employer contributions through the education budget. An annual infusion of an extra $60
million per year should help the woefully underfunded system improve from an unacceptable 50% funded
level to an 80% level around the year 2026.
SB 861 (2007) provides tax relief to hard-working Oklahomans by (1) accelerating the state income tax
reduction from 5.65% to 5.25% one year sooner; (2) establishes our first back-to-school sales tax holiday; (3)
eliminates the franchise tax for most small businesses; and (4) provides a tax credit for families with children.
SB 407 (2007) allows the Grand River Dam Authority to enter into derivative products and financial
instruments to manage interest rate costs in connection with issuing bonds. Also creates the Joint Legislative
Task Force on the Grand River Dam Authority to study its functions, policies, procedures and expenditures.
HB 2070 (2007) adds the Firefighters, Police and Law Enforcement Retirement Systems to the requirements
of the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act. This will ensure that legislation affecting these
systems will have to go through the Senate process of comprehensive cost analysis and funding for any
approved legislation.
SB 1771 (2006) creates the Oklahoma State University Medical Authority Act to ensure this hospital and
medical teaching university stays in Tulsa for the long-term.
SB 1894 (2006) creates the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act, which requires all changes
to the retirement system go through a two-year process in the legislature. An in-depth fiscal analysis must be
performed on each proposed change once a bill has been introduced so that lawmakers have a true idea of
how the retirement system will be enacted.
SB 1020 (2005) helps protect soldier’s families by creating the Oklahoma Funeral Picketing Act and provides
for a specific time and distance protesters can use to picket at funerals.
HB 2538 (2005) streamlines the adoption process by allowing an easier process for terminating parental
rights. This bill also defined conduct that constitutes the crime of child trafficking.
SB 407 (2005) modified the Small Employer Quality Jobs Incentive Act to make the job creation reward
program more applicable to technology, research and bio-technology companies.
Committee Membership
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Education
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/mazzei_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:08 PM]
Finance - Chair
Retirement and Insurance
Rules
Offices
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Mike Mazzei
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 424
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5675
mazzei@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pam Hodges
PMB 394
6528 E. 101st Street, Suite D-1
Tulsa, OK 74133
or
1375 E. 71st Street
Tulsa, OK 74136
District Information: District 25
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Quick Action Closing Fund bill heads to Governor
05.18.11
Senate calls for COLA funding; move will slash billions in unfunded liability
04.19.11
‘Quick Action Closing Fund’ bill heads to full Senate"
04.05.11
Senate approves pension reform
03.16.11
Senate Pensions Committee Gains Bi-Partisan Support for Proposals; Endorses Major Reforms
Capable of Reducing the Unfunded Liability by Billions
03.03.11
Senate Select Committee on Pensions holds first meeting; Lawmakers to address $16 Billion unfunded
liability
02.17.11
Senate Finance Committee Passes Legislation to Encourage Aerospace Industry Growth in Oklahoma
02.08.11
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/myers_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:20 PM]
Senator David F. Myers - District 20
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Retired Chemical Engineer and Independent Consultant for oil
industry
Education: Oklahoma State University, B.S. Chemical Engineering; Graduate
Studies, Louisiana State University; MBA Training-Darden School, University of
Virginia; Training Seminars-Conoco, Inc.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2002 - present
Hometown: Ponca City, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Senator David F. Myers currently serves Senate District 20 which is comprised of all - or portions of - Alfalfa,
Garfield, Grant, Kay and Noble Counties.
He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in November, 2002.
He enjoys serving in the Oklahoma Legislature and is busy preparing for the 2009 legislative session by
researching and studying future legislation.
Senator Myers is a retired Chemical Engineer from ConocoPhillips in Ponca City, having worked in the oil
refining industry for 33 years. He is an independent consultant for the oil industry.
He is a member of several professional and civic organizations.
Committee Membership
Appropriations - Chair
Agriculture and Rural Development
Energy
Tourism and Wildlife
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator David F. Myers
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 519
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5628
ingraham@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Betsy Ingraham
2101 North 14th Street
Suite 132
Ponca City, OK 74601
580.767.9010
District Information: District 20
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/myers_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:20 PM]
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Alfalfa
Garfield
Grant
Kay
Noble
2005 Legislation
Senator Myers' authored legislation:
To help keep children safe by keeping sex offenders out of their schools;
To double the ethanol production - helping Oklahoma farmers;
To help keep families safe in their homes in case of a fire;
To help fund and improve roads and bridges in Oklahoma;
To improve public safety by introducing juvenile drug courts.
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Sen. Myers says bill authorizing DOC to use existing funds will prevent bigger budget hole in July
03.07.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/newberry_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:31 PM]
Senator Dan Newberry - District 37
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Mortgage Banker
Education:
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2008 - present
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Party: Republican
Senator Dan Newberry was born on November 22, 1975. He is third generation Tulsan and is an active
member of Victory Christian Center. He has been a business professional business manager in the mortgage
banking industry for fourteen years. The Senator also is a member of the Sand Springs Chamber of
Commerce and the Rotary Club. He was elected to the State Senate in November, 2008. He and his wife,
Laura, have three daughters: Claire, Paige, and Eva.
He currently serves in the Republican Leadership as a Majority Whip and Chairman of the Business and
Commerce Committee. He also serves as a member of five standing committees: Appropriations, Health and
Human Services, Rules, and Transportation.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services
Business and Commerce - Chair
Health and Human Services
Redistricting - Northeast Oklahoma Vice Chair
Rules
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Dan Newberry
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 414
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405.521.5600
newberry@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Holly Miller
Tulsa, OK 74107
District Information: District 37
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
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Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Tulsa
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009
Senate advances measure to provide scholarships to low income students
05.05.11
House Passes Senate Bill to Allow Private Funds for Scholarships to Students in Need
04.27.11
Pro Tem Bingman and Senator Newberry Comment on Passage of Government Consolidation Bill
04.27.11
Newberry lauds agreement to establish Oklahoma Health Insurance Private Enterprise Network
04.14.11
Statement from Sen. Newberry on the closing of Lloyd E. Rader Center in Sand Springs
04.14.11
Senate passes bill to allow private funds for scholarships to students in need
03.16.11
Committee approves Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act
03.01.11
Newberry to join state leaders at farewell ceremony for 45th Infantry Brigade
02.15.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/nichols_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:43 PM]
Senator Jonathan Nichols - District 15
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: State Senator
Education: Northeastern State University, B.A. English; University of Oklahoma,
J.D.
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2000 - present
Hometown: Norman, OK
Party: Republican
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary - Chair
Education
Energy
Judiciary
Redistricting - Judicial Vice Chair
Rules - Vice Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jonathan Nichols
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 428
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5535
nichols@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Pauline Elmore
3901 Annalane Drive
Norman, OK 73072
District Information: District 15
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/nichols_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:43 PM]
Cleveland
McClain
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senate Honors Sooner Football Team
02.23.11
Nichols Tapped for Leadership Role in Judicial Reapportionment
01.03.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/paddack_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:58 PM]
Senator Susan G. Paddack - District 13
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press | Podcasts
Occupation: Senator/Non-profit Consultant
Education: University of Colorado, B.S. Education; East Central University, M.E.
Secondary Education
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 - present
Hometown: Ada, OK
Party: Democratic
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Susan Paddack received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Colorado and a Master of
Education Degree in Secondary Education from East Central University. She earned a Certificate of Excellence
in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Susan was elected in November 2004 as the State Senator for District 13, which includes Pontotoc, Hughes,
portions of Garvin and Coal Counties. She serves as a Democratic Caucus Co-Chair. In addition, she serves
on the full Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Education Committee,
Energy Committee and Transportation Committee. She represents Oklahoma as a board member on the
Southern Regional Education Board. She has served as a member of the Annual Meeting Committee for the
Council of State Governments, a board member of the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust, a board
member on the Healthcare Workforce Resources Center Board, and on the Governor’s Elimination of Health
Disparities Task Force, the Task Force on Achieving Classroom Excellence, the State Coverage Initiative to
reform healthcare in Oklahoma, and the Governor’s Catastrophic Health Emergency Planning Task Force. In
the past, she has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of Education, Co-chair of Education Appropriations, and
Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
With a passion to promote both education and healthcare in Oklahoma, Senator Paddack has successfully
authored numerous pieces of landmark legislation in these areas, resulting in multiple honors for her efforts.
Susan was the principal author of the 2005 legislation, Rx Oklahoma, which expands the Prescription
Assistance Program to make it available statewide. That same year, she also authored legislation creating a
physician assistant scholarship program aimed at helping ensure rural communities have greater access to
medical care. She was also instrumental in passing legislation to create the Health Care Workforce Resource
Center to help identify shortages in nursing and allied health as well as developing strategies to address those
gaps. In addition, she authored laws to ensure that schools provide information about meningococcal meningitis
to parents of students in the sixth through twelfth grades and to require vision screenings for elementary
students. She also authored a bill which gives lawsuit protection to healthcare providers who provide charitable
medical services to medically indigent persons in a free medical clinic setting.
Susan’s honors for her legislation include being named the 2005 Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians
Patient Advocate of the Year as well as 2006 Legislator of the Year for the Rural Health Association of
Oklahoma. She was also named the Legislative Newcomer award recipient in 2005 by the Higher Education
Alumni Council of Oklahoma. In 2006, Susan was awarded the Oklahoma Nurses Association Friend of Nursing
award and the Legislative award from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. In 2007, she was
awarded the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Alumni Association “Amicus Medicinae” Award, and
the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma Friend of Higher Education Award. Also in 2007, she
received the Metropolitan Environmental Trust Legislator of the Year and the Oklahoma Professional Economic
Development Council Legislative Advocate of the Year. In 2008, she received the Oklahoma Academy
Exceptional Commitment Award and was inducted into the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s Child
Advocate Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians awarded her the 2008 Legislator of the
Year. She also received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Association of Career and
Technology Education, 2008 Legislator of the Year from the Oklahoma State Troopers Association-District 13.
In 2009 she received the Outstanding Member of a State Legislature, Dr. Nathan Davis Award, from the
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/paddack_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:58 PM]
American Medical Association and the Partners in Conservation Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
She also received the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association’s Legislative Award of Appreciation and the
Friend of Retired Educators from the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association. In 2010, she was presented the
Don J. Blair Friend of Medicine Award from the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
Prior to her election to the Senate, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence employed Susan for nine years as
their Director of Local Education Foundation Outreach. She traveled the state working with LEF boards and
tailored presentations and workshops based on each foundation’s specific need. During this tenure, the number
of local education foundations grew by 31% and over $22 million was awarded to schools by their LEFs since
their formation in the early 1980s. She also consulted with LEFs in states such as Missouri, Indiana, and
Arkansas. She was employed as a secondary science teacher in middle and junior high schools in Texas,
Colorado, and Oklahoma. She also served as an adjunct faculty member for East Central University’s Education
Department.
Susan serves in various capacities in local, state, and national volunteer organizations. She served as the
2000-2001 president of the American Medical Association Alliance, and traveled to 32 states as a part of their
Speakers’ Bureau. Susan served as a representative from the AMAA to the Commission for the Prevention of
Youth Violence, which was a call to action from medicine, nursing, and public health to address the epidemic of
youth violence in the nation. On the state level, she is a board member for the Jasmine Moran Children’s
Museum, a board member for the Oklahoma Academy, a board member for the Oklahoma Foundation for
Excellence where she was presented with an Honorary Circle of Excellence Award in 2003, and a board
member of the Oklahoma Arts Institute. Susan was a member of the Leadership Oklahoma Class XVI. She
was named among the 2004 and 2008 honorees for The Journal Record’s 50 Women Making a
Difference/Woman of the Year. She also was a board member of the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy,
was a board member of the Center for Nonprofit Management and was on the advisory board of governors for
the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma. Susan served as the 1991-92 president of the Oklahoma State
Medical Association Alliance.
On the local level, Susan served on the board of the Ada City Schools Foundation where she was previously
president, vice-president, and was grant review chair for ten years. She has also served as: president for the
Pontotoc County Medical Alliance, board member for the City of Ada’s Board of Adjustments, board member of
the Kiwanis Club of Ada and chairman of Young Children - Priority One, parent representative on the Ada City
Schools Professional Staff Development Committee, vice-president for the Ada Arts and Humanities Council,
the 1992 United Way fund drive chair and board president in 1993, a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Task
Force and steering committee on Economic Development, and a member of the 1991 Leadership Ada class.
She was named the Ada Education Association’s 1992 Friend of Education. Susan is an elder of First
Presbyterian Church of Ada.
Committee Membership
Appropriations
Appropriation Subcommittee on Education
Education
Energy
Transportation
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Susan Paddack
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 533A
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5541
500 S.E. County Rd.
Ada, OK 74820
)580) 332-7607
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/paddack_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:51:58 PM]
paddack@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Toni Doake
District Information: District 13
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Coal
Garvin
Hughes
Pontotoc
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Podcasts
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/reynolds_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:13 PM]
Senator Jim Reynolds - District 43
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: V.P. - Government Affairs, American Education
Corp.
Education: Southern Nazarene University, B.A.
Management/Human Resources
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2000 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Republican
Audio Message: mp3 / wav
Committee Membership
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Education
Finance
Public Safety
Veterans and Military Affairs - Chair
Office Information
Capitol Address District Address
Senator Jim Reynolds
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 412
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5522
reynolds@oksenate.gov
Executive Assistant: Sonnie Winfree
9801 S. Harvey
Oklahoma City, OK 73139
District Information: District 43
Map
Population and Household
Counties Represented
Cleveland
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/reynolds_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:13 PM]
Press Releases
Archives: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Senator Reynolds prepares for new public service role
05.19.11
Senate supports vote on lower cap for property tax valuations
03.16.11
Senate honors life of last WWI Vet
03.09.11
Sen. Reynolds says state’s ad valorem system is ‘broken’; advises Oklahoma
County homeowners to appeal property taxes
03.02.11
Top of page
Oklahoma State Senate - Senators
file:////maindc/users/gphillips/PDFs%2054/Senate%20Dir/rice_bio.html[8/4/2011 3:52:23 PM]
Senator Andrew Rice - District 46
Committees | Offices | District Information | Counties Represented | Press
Occupation: Non-profit director
Education: Colby College (Maine), Bachelor’s Degree, 1996; and Harvard
University Divinity School, Master’s Degree, 1999
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2006 - present
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Party: Democratic
Andrew Rice was born in Oklahoma City on April 23, 1973.
Andrew graduated in 1996 from Colby College (Waterville, Maine) with a Bachelor's Degree in Religious
Studies and a minor in African American Studies. After graduation, he was accepted to Harvard University
Divinity School, but deferred his admission for one year to work and travel in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
In Sri Lanka, he worked with the largest Grassroots NGO in Asia, helping with rural development in Village
life and in the conflict zone. In Thailand, Rice worked for the country's largest private AIDS hospice and in
India, he studied drug addiction problems and treatment in urban India.
Rice received his Masters in Theological Studies from the Harvard University Divinity School in 1999. While
in graduate school, Andrew produced a documentary in Bangalore, India entitled "From Ashes" which
focused on India’s AIDS pandemic.
After graduate school, Andrew worked as a freelance documentary producer and editor. He worked on
programs for the BBC and PBS, including segments for The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
Andrew's older brother, David Rice, was killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th, 2001 and due to the
tragedy, Andrew decided to rededicate his career to social justice work and political reforms. He worked for
the Texas Freedom Network, which counters the influence of religious extremism in public policy. He is the
founder of the Progressive Alliance Foundation which works throughout the state of Oklahoma advancing
progressive, fair-minded and constitutional solutions to public policy problems. He also launched the Red
River Democracy Project (RRDP) and is on the board of The People's Opinion Project.
Andrew is married to Dr. Apple Newman Rice who practices medicine in Oklahoma City. They have two
sons, Noah David, who was born on Dec. 7th, 2004, and Parker Harrison, who was born on February 17th,
2007.
He was elected by his caucus to serve |
Greg Hansen: 1997 Cats enjoyed a magic moment
Mike Bibby cuts down the net after the Wildcats defeated
Kentucky, their third # 1 seed that they knocked off during their
championship run. Photo By David Sanders.
In celebration of Arizona's centennial, the Star is
featuring our picks for the 100 best athletes, moments and teams.
Throughout the summer, we have been showcasing our list. Here is
the ninth of Greg Hansen's top 10.
1997 National Championship
In the final hours before Arizona was to meet No. 1 Kansas at
the 1997 Sweet 16, Lute Olson embraced the psychology and magnified
the burden of playing the 34-1 Jayhawks.
He looked into the TV lights and asked, defiantly, "Who is David
and who is Goliath?" which seemed to be coaching suicide. What
coach would provoke the Jayhawks, who had won 16 consecutive games
and were 10 1/2-point favorites?
At his team's shoot-around several hours before the game in
Birmingham, Ala., Olson tossed white towels to his interior
players, A.J. Bramlett, Donnell Harris, Gene Edgerson and Bennett
Davison.
"White towels," Olson said. "Surrender flags. Step up if you
want to surrender."
Edgerson threw his towel to the floor and stomped on it. The
others followed.
Arizona stunned KU, 85-82, and Olson announced that "the ghosts
are now gone."
No longer would he, nor his basketball program, be remembered
for stinging NCAA tournament exits against Santa Clara and East
Tennessee State, or for tears-inducing setbacks at the doorstep of
1988, 1989 and 1994 national championships.
Olson's 1997 team - with no seniors in the playing rotation -
finished fifth in the Pac-10, its worst finish in Olson's final 23
years at the school. And yet it became the defining team in the
history of UA and Arizona college sports.
After eliminating Kansas, the Wildcats survived an overtime game
against Providence and then swept the bluebloods of college
basketball, North Carolina and Kentucky, in a classic Final
Four.
"It was one of the all-time marches," said assistant coach Phil
Johnson, now an assistant coach at UTEP. "Beating Kansas was like a
national championship game to me. And then beating North Carolina
was like a national championship game, too. It's almost like we had
three national championship games. Every game was a mountain to
climb."
Arizona reached the summit when it was least expected. Southern
Arizona was engulfed by the madness. Remember?
• Driving to the airport for a flight to Indianapolis, I stopped
at the corner of Benson Highway and Park Avenue to chat with a man
at a makeshift souvenir stand.
"A guy from Willcox just stopped and bought 20 T-shirts," the
vendor said. "He said you couldn't get them in Willcox and that he
was sure he could sell 50 or 60 of them when he got home. But he
only had money for 20."
• On game day, workers at the Viscount Suites Hotel rolled out
eight big-screen TVs. Fans began to arrive at 12:30, seven hours
before tipoff. By 3 p.m., the capacity of 480 people had been
reached at O'Malley's tavern on North Fourth Avenue and the doors
locked.
• Later that day, the electronics department at the Park Mall
Sears was to close at 9 p.m. That's when the Kentucky-Arizona game
hit the homestretch. Scores of fans stood next to the 25 TV sets,
watching to the end. The store closed an hour late that night.
• After midnight, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden walked in the
lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Indianapolis. "This was Lute's
turn," he told reporters. "He's been maligned and it's not very
fair. I was very impressed."
• At 5:30 a.m., the morning after the game, I saw freshman guard
Mike Bibby walk out of the Steak N' Shake restaurant in downtown
Indianapolis. He was surrounded by fans, signing autographs in one
hand, chomping a hamburger - breakfast - in another.
• Olson slept for 25 minutes, arose, made himself presentable
and sat for a live shot on Good Morning America. "I didn't want to
sleep," he said. "I wasn't ready to let go."
About 50,000 people jammed into Arizona Stadium later that day,
capping a parade from the airport.
The '97 champs soon splintered, and not all of the splintering
was good or predictable.
MVP Miles Simon would sue the UA, accusing his school of leaking
academic transcripts to a Kansas City newspaper. Beloved sixth-man
Jason Terry, who slept in his jersey the night before the last four
tournament victories, would admit he took money illegally from an
agent. The NCAA forced Arizona to repay $45,000 from 1999 TV
revenues and decreed that Arizona could not retire Terry's
jersey.
Donnell Harris, who played so well as a reserve center in
victories against Providence and Kentucky, was kicked off the team
a year later for off-court issues. And, after returning intact for
1997-98, picked unanimously to win a second championship, the
Wildcats came apart in an embarrassing 25-point loss to Utah in the
'98 Elite Eight.
If nothing else, Arizona's national championship proved that the
magic is the moment. The future would never be as good as those six
unforgettable games in March and April 1997. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a component mounting structure for an electric vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle component mounting arrangement mounting for an air conditioning compressor.
2. Background Information
Electric vehicles often include an electric motor, an inverter, a converter and a compressor that are mounted in a motor room. One example of such an electric vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-310252. In the mounting arrangement of this publication, the converter and the inverter are vertically stacked above the motor in the motor room with the compressor being supported on the same component mounting frame member that supports the converter and the inverter. When a compressor is supported on a vehicle body, an anti-vibration structure is normally provided between the compressor and the vehicle body in order to prevented vibrations generated by the compressor when it runs from being transmitted to the vehicle body. |
Q:
Absolute script-file line-numbers in Vim-function errors
When Vim reports errors within a function it typically reports relative line numbers. For example:
Error detected while processing function Foo:
line 11:
E123: Blah blah
Here indicating the issue is at line 11 relative to start of function Foo. Guess this is a result of how Vim load functions etc. – but is there a way to make it report absolute line numbers? As in line-number of script-file holding the function.
A:
There was an RFC suggesting this, but there was no response from Bram at the time.
|
Best Answer:Ziipper is on back side length of suit garment bag; I puchased dress bag for a 6'4" male since his shirts were so long. I didn't take out of bag it was packaged in but I would assume the zipper is at least as long as the one in the suit bag. Wonderful product! I have purchased for our entire family and some friends. Is very lightweight, does not add any weight to have to carry. I have carried maybe a dozen items at a time; you would not think you could get that many in 4" of space but you can. |
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Data analytics and security company Palantir Technologies Inc must open its books to early investor Marc Abramowitz, who wants to investigate possible fraud and mismanagement at the highly valued private U.S. company, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Abramowitz sued the secretive firm, known for helping the U.S. government track down al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, after a 2015 falling out with Alexander Karp, the company’s chief executive officer.
The lawsuit alleged that Palantir wrongly barred Abramowitz and others from selling stock in the privately owned company, while permitting sales by Karp and Chairman Peter Thiel.
Judge Joseph Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that Abramowitz demonstrated “a proper purpose of investigating potential wrongdoing and a credible basis to justify further investigation.”
Palantir said in a statement it was pleased by the outcome, saying it denied Abramowitz’s requests “beyond limited company disclosures.”
Palantir does highly confidential work for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, helping them track down terrorists and uncover financial fraud.
The company raised $880 million in funding in 2015 and was estimated to have a valuation of about $20 billion at that time.
Abramowitz, through the KT4 Partners LLC fund he manages, invested an initial $100,000 in Palantir in 2003, which, after subsequent investments, is estimated to be worth $60 million, according to Slights’ 50-page opinion.
Abramowitz enjoyed a close relationship with Karp until 2015, when Karp “verbally abused” Abramowitz and accused the investor of stealing Palantir intellectual property, according to the opinion.
Soon after, Abramowitz tried to sell his Palantir stock, but he alleged that the company blocked the deal by offering the potential buyer newly issued stock instead, the ruling said.
Abramowitz began demanding information from Palantir as he considered suing the company for blocking the sale of his stock. In response, Palantir sued Abramowitz in September 2016 for allegedly stealing trade secrets, according to Slights.
Palantir said on Thursday it would continue to pursue the theft case against Abramowitz.
In March, Abramowitz brought his Delaware case.
Palantir had argued that Abramowitz should be denied information because he was likely to use it to build his lawsuit over the blocked sale.
Slights ruled that Abramowitz could investigate Palantir’s lack of annual meetings, corporate amendments that limited KT4’s rights and the company’s sales of stock. But the judge would not allow Abramowitz to probe Palantir’s valuation or Karp’s compensation. |
Sidi El Hari Mosque
Sidi El Hari Mosque () was a Tunisian mosque for Aissawa brotherhood located in the north-east of the medina of Tunis.
It does not exist anymore.
Localization
The mosque was located in Sidi El Hari Street, bear Bab Cartagena, one of the gates of the medina that got destroyed.
Etymology
It got its name from a saint, Sidi El Hari whose zaouia is a classified monument.
References
Category:Mosques in Tunis |
Blackwell Inn
The Blackwell Inn is an upscale hotel located on-campus at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It is located adjacent to The Max M. Fisher College of Business. The Blackwell Inn is named after Roger D. Blackwell, a marketing professor who pledged $7 million to the university in 2001. Management is run by The Office of Student Life. Dining includes Bistro 2110 on the ground floor and The Blackwell Lounge.
See also
The Ohio State University
Max M. Fisher College of Business
References
External links
http://www.theblackwell.com/
Ohio State University
Category:Hotels in Ohio
Category:University District, Columbus, Ohio |
Background
Although various annual reports on developing countries are published by international organisations, the African continent is seldom covered on a country-by-country comparative basis. One common concern of donors, private investors and local policy makers about African countries is the lack of consistent, reliable, and timely information on their economic, political and social developments. African countries show a high degree of diversity among themselves and across time and the need of periodic reviews of their situation and short-terms prospects is a necessary tool for good policy making and economic development. |
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# Copyright (c) 2014-2018 The Bitcoin Core developers
# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
# file COPYING or http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php.
"""Run regression test suite.
This module calls down into individual test cases via subprocess. It will
forward all unrecognized arguments onto the individual test scripts.
Functional tests are disabled on Windows by default. Use --force to run them anyway.
For a description of arguments recognized by test scripts, see
`test/functional/test_framework/test_framework.py:BitcoinTestFramework.main`.
"""
import argparse
from collections import deque
import configparser
import datetime
import os
import time
import shutil
import signal
import sys
import subprocess
import tempfile
import re
import logging
# Formatting. Default colors to empty strings.
BOLD, BLUE, RED, GREY = ("", ""), ("", ""), ("", ""), ("", "")
try:
# Make sure python thinks it can write unicode to its stdout
"\u2713".encode("utf_8").decode(sys.stdout.encoding)
TICK = "✓ "
CROSS = "✖ "
CIRCLE = "○ "
except UnicodeDecodeError:
TICK = "P "
CROSS = "x "
CIRCLE = "o "
if os.name == 'posix':
# primitive formatting on supported
# terminal via ANSI escape sequences:
BOLD = ('\033[0m', '\033[1m')
BLUE = ('\033[0m', '\033[0;34m')
RED = ('\033[0m', '\033[0;31m')
GREY = ('\033[0m', '\033[1;30m')
TEST_EXIT_PASSED = 0
TEST_EXIT_SKIPPED = 77
# 20 minutes represented in seconds
TRAVIS_TIMEOUT_DURATION = 20 * 60
BASE_SCRIPTS = [
# Scripts that are run by the travis build process.
# Longest test should go first, to favor running tests in parallel
'wallet_hd.py',
'wallet_backup.py',
# vv Tests less than 5m vv
'feature_block.py',
'rpc_fundrawtransaction.py',
'p2p_compactblocks.py',
'feature_segwit.py',
# vv Tests less than 2m vv
'wallet_basic.py',
'wallet_labels.py',
'p2p_segwit.py',
'wallet_dump.py',
'wallet_listtransactions.py',
# vv Tests less than 60s vv
'p2p_sendheaders.py',
'wallet_zapwallettxes.py',
'wallet_importmulti.py',
'mempool_limit.py',
'rpc_txoutproof.py',
'wallet_listreceivedby.py',
'wallet_abandonconflict.py',
'feature_csv_activation.py',
'rpc_rawtransaction.py',
'wallet_address_types.py',
'feature_reindex.py',
# vv Tests less than 30s vv
'wallet_keypool_topup.py',
'interface_zmq.py',
'interface_bitcoin_cli.py',
'mempool_resurrect.py',
'wallet_txn_doublespend.py --mineblock',
'wallet_txn_clone.py',
'wallet_txn_clone.py --segwit',
'rpc_getchaintips.py',
'interface_rest.py',
'mempool_spend_coinbase.py',
'mempool_reorg.py',
'mempool_persist.py',
'wallet_multiwallet.py',
'wallet_multiwallet.py --usecli',
'wallet_disableprivatekeys.py',
'wallet_disableprivatekeys.py --usecli',
'interface_http.py',
'rpc_psbt.py',
'rpc_users.py',
'feature_proxy.py',
'rpc_signrawtransaction.py',
'wallet_groups.py',
'p2p_disconnect_ban.py',
'rpc_decodescript.py',
'rpc_blockchain.py',
'rpc_deprecated.py',
'wallet_disable.py',
'rpc_net.py',
'wallet_keypool.py',
'p2p_mempool.py',
'mining_prioritisetransaction.py',
'p2p_invalid_locator.py',
'p2p_invalid_block.py',
'p2p_invalid_tx.py',
'rpc_createmultisig.py',
'feature_versionbits_warning.py',
'rpc_preciousblock.py',
'wallet_importprunedfunds.py',
'rpc_zmq.py',
'rpc_signmessage.py',
'wallet_balance.py',
'feature_nulldummy.py',
'mempool_accept.py',
'wallet_import_rescan.py',
'rpc_bind.py --ipv4',
'rpc_bind.py --ipv6',
'rpc_bind.py --nonloopback',
'mining_basic.py',
'wallet_bumpfee.py',
'rpc_named_arguments.py',
'wallet_listsinceblock.py',
'p2p_leak.py',
'wallet_encryption.py',
'wallet_scriptaddress2.py',
'feature_dersig.py',
'feature_cltv.py',
'rpc_uptime.py',
'wallet_resendwallettransactions.py',
'wallet_fallbackfee.py',
'feature_minchainwork.py',
'rpc_getblockstats.py',
'p2p_fingerprint.py',
'feature_uacomment.py',
'p2p_unrequested_blocks.py',
'feature_includeconf.py',
'rpc_scantxoutset.py',
'feature_logging.py',
'p2p_node_network_limited.py',
'feature_blocksdir.py',
'feature_config_args.py',
'rpc_help.py',
'feature_help.py',
# Don't append tests at the end to avoid merge conflicts
# Put them in a random line within the section that fits their approximate run-time
]
EXTENDED_SCRIPTS = [
# These tests are not run by the travis build process.
# Longest test should go first, to favor running tests in parallel
'feature_pruning.py',
# vv Tests less than 20m vv
'feature_fee_estimation.py',
# vv Tests less than 5m vv
'feature_maxuploadtarget.py',
'mempool_packages.py',
'feature_dbcrash.py',
# vv Tests less than 2m vv
'feature_bip68_sequence.py',
'mining_getblocktemplate_longpoll.py',
'p2p_timeouts.py',
# vv Tests less than 60s vv
'p2p_feefilter.py',
# vv Tests less than 30s vv
'feature_assumevalid.py',
'example_test.py',
'wallet_txn_doublespend.py',
'wallet_txn_clone.py --mineblock',
'feature_notifications.py',
'rpc_invalidateblock.py',
'feature_rbf.py',
]
# Place EXTENDED_SCRIPTS first since it has the 3 longest running tests
ALL_SCRIPTS = EXTENDED_SCRIPTS + BASE_SCRIPTS
NON_SCRIPTS = [
# These are python files that live in the functional tests directory, but are not test scripts.
"combine_logs.py",
"create_cache.py",
"test_runner.py",
]
def main():
# Parse arguments and pass through unrecognised args
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=False,
usage='%(prog)s [test_runner.py options] [script options] [scripts]',
description=__doc__,
epilog='''
Help text and arguments for individual test script:''',
formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter)
parser.add_argument('--combinedlogslen', '-c', type=int, default=0, help='print a combined log (of length n lines) from all test nodes and test framework to the console on failure.')
parser.add_argument('--coverage', action='store_true', help='generate a basic coverage report for the RPC interface')
parser.add_argument('--exclude', '-x', help='specify a comma-separated-list of scripts to exclude.')
parser.add_argument('--extended', action='store_true', help='run the extended test suite in addition to the basic tests')
parser.add_argument('--force', '-f', action='store_true', help='run tests even on platforms where they are disabled by default (e.g. windows).')
parser.add_argument('--help', '-h', '-?', action='store_true', help='print help text and exit')
parser.add_argument('--jobs', '-j', type=int, default=4, help='how many test scripts to run in parallel. Default=4.')
parser.add_argument('--keepcache', '-k', action='store_true', help='the default behavior is to flush the cache directory on startup. --keepcache retains the cache from the previous testrun.')
parser.add_argument('--quiet', '-q', action='store_true', help='only print results summary and failure logs')
parser.add_argument('--tmpdirprefix', '-t', default=tempfile.gettempdir(), help="Root directory for datadirs")
parser.add_argument('--failfast', action='store_true', help='stop execution after the first test failure')
args, unknown_args = parser.parse_known_args()
# args to be passed on always start with two dashes; tests are the remaining unknown args
tests = [arg for arg in unknown_args if arg[:2] != "--"]
passon_args = [arg for arg in unknown_args if arg[:2] == "--"]
# Read config generated by configure.
config = configparser.ConfigParser()
configfile = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__)) + "/../config.ini"
config.read_file(open(configfile, encoding="utf8"))
passon_args.append("--configfile=%s" % configfile)
# Set up logging
logging_level = logging.INFO if args.quiet else logging.DEBUG
logging.basicConfig(format='%(message)s', level=logging_level)
# Create base test directory
tmpdir = "%s/test_runner_Ł_🏃_%s" % (args.tmpdirprefix, datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S"))
os.makedirs(tmpdir)
logging.debug("Temporary test directory at %s" % tmpdir)
enable_bitcoind = config["components"].getboolean("ENABLE_BITCOIND")
if config["environment"]["EXEEXT"] == ".exe" and not args.force:
# https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/d52802551752140cf41f0d9a225a43e84404d3e9
# https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/5677#issuecomment-136646964
print("Tests currently disabled on Windows by default. Use --force option to enable")
sys.exit(0)
if not enable_bitcoind:
print("No functional tests to run.")
print("Rerun ./configure with --with-daemon and then make")
sys.exit(0)
# Build list of tests
test_list = []
if tests:
# Individual tests have been specified. Run specified tests that exist
# in the ALL_SCRIPTS list. Accept the name with or without .py extension.
tests = [re.sub("\.py$", "", test) + ".py" for test in tests]
for test in tests:
if test in ALL_SCRIPTS:
test_list.append(test)
else:
print("{}WARNING!{} Test '{}' not found in full test list.".format(BOLD[1], BOLD[0], test))
elif args.extended:
# Include extended tests
test_list += ALL_SCRIPTS
else:
# Run base tests only
test_list += BASE_SCRIPTS
# Remove the test cases that the user has explicitly asked to exclude.
if args.exclude:
exclude_tests = [re.sub("\.py$", "", test) + ".py" for test in args.exclude.split(',')]
for exclude_test in exclude_tests:
if exclude_test in test_list:
test_list.remove(exclude_test)
else:
print("{}WARNING!{} Test '{}' not found in current test list.".format(BOLD[1], BOLD[0], exclude_test))
if not test_list:
print("No valid test scripts specified. Check that your test is in one "
"of the test lists in test_runner.py, or run test_runner.py with no arguments to run all tests")
sys.exit(0)
if args.help:
# Print help for test_runner.py, then print help of the first script (with args removed) and exit.
parser.print_help()
subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, os.path.join(config["environment"]["SRCDIR"], 'test', 'functional', test_list[0].split()[0]), '-h'])
sys.exit(0)
check_script_list(config["environment"]["SRCDIR"])
check_script_prefixes()
if not args.keepcache:
shutil.rmtree("%s/test/cache" % config["environment"]["BUILDDIR"], ignore_errors=True)
run_tests(
test_list,
config["environment"]["SRCDIR"],
config["environment"]["BUILDDIR"],
tmpdir,
jobs=args.jobs,
enable_coverage=args.coverage,
args=passon_args,
combined_logs_len=args.combinedlogslen,
failfast=args.failfast,
)
def run_tests(test_list, src_dir, build_dir, tmpdir, jobs=1, enable_coverage=False, args=None, combined_logs_len=0, failfast=False):
args = args or []
# Warn if bitcoind is already running (unix only)
try:
if subprocess.check_output(["pidof", "monacoind"]) is not None:
print("%sWARNING!%s There is already a monacoind process running on this system. Tests may fail unexpectedly due to resource contention!" % (BOLD[1], BOLD[0]))
except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
pass
# Warn if there is a cache directory
cache_dir = "%s/test/cache" % build_dir
if os.path.isdir(cache_dir):
print("%sWARNING!%s There is a cache directory here: %s. If tests fail unexpectedly, try deleting the cache directory." % (BOLD[1], BOLD[0], cache_dir))
tests_dir = src_dir + '/test/functional/'
flags = ['--cachedir={}'.format(cache_dir)] + args
if enable_coverage:
coverage = RPCCoverage()
flags.append(coverage.flag)
logging.debug("Initializing coverage directory at %s" % coverage.dir)
else:
coverage = None
if len(test_list) > 1 and jobs > 1:
# Populate cache
try:
subprocess.check_output([sys.executable, tests_dir + 'create_cache.py'] + flags + ["--tmpdir=%s/cache" % tmpdir])
except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
sys.stdout.buffer.write(e.output)
raise
#Run Tests
job_queue = TestHandler(jobs, tests_dir, tmpdir, test_list, flags)
start_time = time.time()
test_results = []
max_len_name = len(max(test_list, key=len))
for _ in range(len(test_list)):
test_result, testdir, stdout, stderr = job_queue.get_next()
test_results.append(test_result)
if test_result.status == "Passed":
logging.debug("\n%s%s%s passed, Duration: %s s" % (BOLD[1], test_result.name, BOLD[0], test_result.time))
elif test_result.status == "Skipped":
logging.debug("\n%s%s%s skipped" % (BOLD[1], test_result.name, BOLD[0]))
else:
print("\n%s%s%s failed, Duration: %s s\n" % (BOLD[1], test_result.name, BOLD[0], test_result.time))
print(BOLD[1] + 'stdout:\n' + BOLD[0] + stdout + '\n')
print(BOLD[1] + 'stderr:\n' + BOLD[0] + stderr + '\n')
if combined_logs_len and os.path.isdir(testdir):
# Print the final `combinedlogslen` lines of the combined logs
print('{}Combine the logs and print the last {} lines ...{}'.format(BOLD[1], combined_logs_len, BOLD[0]))
print('\n============')
print('{}Combined log for {}:{}'.format(BOLD[1], testdir, BOLD[0]))
print('============\n')
combined_logs, _ = subprocess.Popen([sys.executable, os.path.join(tests_dir, 'combine_logs.py'), '-c', testdir], universal_newlines=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()
print("\n".join(deque(combined_logs.splitlines(), combined_logs_len)))
if failfast:
logging.debug("Early exiting after test failure")
break
print_results(test_results, max_len_name, (int(time.time() - start_time)))
if coverage:
coverage.report_rpc_coverage()
logging.debug("Cleaning up coverage data")
coverage.cleanup()
# Clear up the temp directory if all subdirectories are gone
if not os.listdir(tmpdir):
os.rmdir(tmpdir)
all_passed = all(map(lambda test_result: test_result.was_successful, test_results))
# This will be a no-op unless failfast is True in which case there may be dangling
# processes which need to be killed.
job_queue.kill_and_join()
sys.exit(not all_passed)
def print_results(test_results, max_len_name, runtime):
results = "\n" + BOLD[1] + "%s | %s | %s\n\n" % ("TEST".ljust(max_len_name), "STATUS ", "DURATION") + BOLD[0]
test_results.sort(key=TestResult.sort_key)
all_passed = True
time_sum = 0
for test_result in test_results:
all_passed = all_passed and test_result.was_successful
time_sum += test_result.time
test_result.padding = max_len_name
results += str(test_result)
status = TICK + "Passed" if all_passed else CROSS + "Failed"
if not all_passed:
results += RED[1]
results += BOLD[1] + "\n%s | %s | %s s (accumulated) \n" % ("ALL".ljust(max_len_name), status.ljust(9), time_sum) + BOLD[0]
if not all_passed:
results += RED[0]
results += "Runtime: %s s\n" % (runtime)
print(results)
class TestHandler:
"""
Trigger the test scripts passed in via the list.
"""
def __init__(self, num_tests_parallel, tests_dir, tmpdir, test_list=None, flags=None):
assert(num_tests_parallel >= 1)
self.num_jobs = num_tests_parallel
self.tests_dir = tests_dir
self.tmpdir = tmpdir
self.test_list = test_list
self.flags = flags
self.num_running = 0
self.jobs = []
def get_next(self):
while self.num_running < self.num_jobs and self.test_list:
# Add tests
self.num_running += 1
test = self.test_list.pop(0)
portseed = len(self.test_list)
portseed_arg = ["--portseed={}".format(portseed)]
log_stdout = tempfile.SpooledTemporaryFile(max_size=2**16)
log_stderr = tempfile.SpooledTemporaryFile(max_size=2**16)
test_argv = test.split()
testdir = "{}/{}_{}".format(self.tmpdir, re.sub(".py$", "", test_argv[0]), portseed)
tmpdir_arg = ["--tmpdir={}".format(testdir)]
self.jobs.append((test,
time.time(),
subprocess.Popen([sys.executable, self.tests_dir + test_argv[0]] + test_argv[1:] + self.flags + portseed_arg + tmpdir_arg,
universal_newlines=True,
stdout=log_stdout,
stderr=log_stderr),
testdir,
log_stdout,
log_stderr))
if not self.jobs:
raise IndexError('pop from empty list')
while True:
# Return first proc that finishes
time.sleep(.5)
for job in self.jobs:
(name, start_time, proc, testdir, log_out, log_err) = job
if os.getenv('TRAVIS') == 'true' and int(time.time() - start_time) > TRAVIS_TIMEOUT_DURATION:
# In travis, timeout individual tests (to stop tests hanging and not providing useful output).
proc.send_signal(signal.SIGINT)
if proc.poll() is not None:
log_out.seek(0), log_err.seek(0)
[stdout, stderr] = [log_file.read().decode('utf-8') for log_file in (log_out, log_err)]
log_out.close(), log_err.close()
if proc.returncode == TEST_EXIT_PASSED and stderr == "":
status = "Passed"
elif proc.returncode == TEST_EXIT_SKIPPED:
status = "Skipped"
else:
status = "Failed"
self.num_running -= 1
self.jobs.remove(job)
return TestResult(name, status, int(time.time() - start_time)), testdir, stdout, stderr
print('.', end='', flush=True)
def kill_and_join(self):
"""Send SIGKILL to all jobs and block until all have ended."""
procs = [i[2] for i in self.jobs]
for proc in procs:
proc.kill()
for proc in procs:
proc.wait()
class TestResult():
def __init__(self, name, status, time):
self.name = name
self.status = status
self.time = time
self.padding = 0
def sort_key(self):
if self.status == "Passed":
return 0, self.name.lower()
elif self.status == "Failed":
return 2, self.name.lower()
elif self.status == "Skipped":
return 1, self.name.lower()
def __repr__(self):
if self.status == "Passed":
color = BLUE
glyph = TICK
elif self.status == "Failed":
color = RED
glyph = CROSS
elif self.status == "Skipped":
color = GREY
glyph = CIRCLE
return color[1] + "%s | %s%s | %s s\n" % (self.name.ljust(self.padding), glyph, self.status.ljust(7), self.time) + color[0]
@property
def was_successful(self):
return self.status != "Failed"
def check_script_prefixes():
"""Check that test scripts start with one of the allowed name prefixes."""
good_prefixes_re = re.compile("(example|feature|interface|mempool|mining|p2p|rpc|wallet)_")
bad_script_names = [script for script in ALL_SCRIPTS if good_prefixes_re.match(script) is None]
if bad_script_names:
print("%sERROR:%s %d tests not meeting naming conventions:" % (BOLD[1], BOLD[0], len(bad_script_names)))
print(" %s" % ("\n ".join(sorted(bad_script_names))))
raise AssertionError("Some tests are not following naming convention!")
def check_script_list(src_dir):
"""Check scripts directory.
Check that there are no scripts in the functional tests directory which are
not being run by pull-tester.py."""
script_dir = src_dir + '/test/functional/'
python_files = set([test_file for test_file in os.listdir(script_dir) if test_file.endswith(".py")])
missed_tests = list(python_files - set(map(lambda x: x.split()[0], ALL_SCRIPTS + NON_SCRIPTS)))
if len(missed_tests) != 0:
print("%sWARNING!%s The following scripts are not being run: %s. Check the test lists in test_runner.py." % (BOLD[1], BOLD[0], str(missed_tests)))
if os.getenv('TRAVIS') == 'true':
# On travis this warning is an error to prevent merging incomplete commits into master
sys.exit(1)
class RPCCoverage():
"""
Coverage reporting utilities for test_runner.
Coverage calculation works by having each test script subprocess write
coverage files into a particular directory. These files contain the RPC
commands invoked during testing, as well as a complete listing of RPC
commands per `monacoin-cli help` (`rpc_interface.txt`).
After all tests complete, the commands run are combined and diff'd against
the complete list to calculate uncovered RPC commands.
See also: test/functional/test_framework/coverage.py
"""
def __init__(self):
self.dir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="coverage")
self.flag = '--coveragedir=%s' % self.dir
def report_rpc_coverage(self):
"""
Print out RPC commands that were unexercised by tests.
"""
uncovered = self._get_uncovered_rpc_commands()
if uncovered:
print("Uncovered RPC commands:")
print("".join((" - %s\n" % command) for command in sorted(uncovered)))
else:
print("All RPC commands covered.")
def cleanup(self):
return shutil.rmtree(self.dir)
def _get_uncovered_rpc_commands(self):
"""
Return a set of currently untested RPC commands.
"""
# This is shared from `test/functional/test-framework/coverage.py`
reference_filename = 'rpc_interface.txt'
coverage_file_prefix = 'coverage.'
coverage_ref_filename = os.path.join(self.dir, reference_filename)
coverage_filenames = set()
all_cmds = set()
covered_cmds = set()
if not os.path.isfile(coverage_ref_filename):
raise RuntimeError("No coverage reference found")
with open(coverage_ref_filename, 'r', encoding="utf8") as coverage_ref_file:
all_cmds.update([line.strip() for line in coverage_ref_file.readlines()])
for root, dirs, files in os.walk(self.dir):
for filename in files:
if filename.startswith(coverage_file_prefix):
coverage_filenames.add(os.path.join(root, filename))
for filename in coverage_filenames:
with open(filename, 'r', encoding="utf8") as coverage_file:
covered_cmds.update([line.strip() for line in coverage_file.readlines()])
return all_cmds - covered_cmds
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
|
Oh, man the Titans are in disarray.
Let’s see: Roy and Wally are gone and Dick Ric doesn’t know which way is up. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is marooned in space and Beast Boy and Miss Martian are at each other’s throats.
No wonder Donna’s so fed up.
Then again, it looks like there’s a green light at the end of the tunnel…
Check out this EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW of Titans #30 — brought to you by Dan Abnett, Minkyu Jung, John Dell, Adriano Lucas and the rest of the DC crew.
Out 11/28: |
/*
* Copyright (C) 2014 Stratio (http://stratio.com)
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package com.stratio.cassandra.lucene.search.condition.builder;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
import com.stratio.cassandra.lucene.search.condition.GeoBBoxCondition;
/**
* {@link ConditionBuilder} for building a new {@link GeoBBoxCondition}.
*
* @author Andres de la Pena {@literal <adelapena@stratio.com>}
*/
public class GeoBBoxConditionBuilder extends ConditionBuilder<GeoBBoxCondition, GeoBBoxConditionBuilder> {
/** The name of the field to be matched. */
@JsonProperty("field")
private final String field;
/** The minimum accepted latitude. */
@JsonProperty("min_latitude")
private final double minLatitude;
/** The maximum accepted latitude. */
@JsonProperty("max_latitude")
private final double maxLatitude;
/** The minimum accepted longitude. */
@JsonProperty("min_longitude")
private final double minLongitude;
/** The maximum accepted longitude. */
@JsonProperty("max_longitude")
private final double maxLongitude;
/**
* Returns a new {@link GeoBBoxConditionBuilder} with the specified field name and bounding box coordinates.
*
* @param field the name of the field to be matched
* @param minLatitude the minimum accepted latitude
* @param maxLatitude the maximum accepted latitude
* @param minLongitude the minimum accepted longitude
* @param maxLongitude the maximum accepted longitude
*/
@JsonCreator
public GeoBBoxConditionBuilder(@JsonProperty("field") String field,
@JsonProperty("min_latitude") double minLatitude,
@JsonProperty("max_latitude") double maxLatitude,
@JsonProperty("min_longitude") double minLongitude,
@JsonProperty("max_longitude") double maxLongitude) {
this.field = field;
this.minLongitude = minLongitude;
this.maxLongitude = maxLongitude;
this.minLatitude = minLatitude;
this.maxLatitude = maxLatitude;
}
/**
* Returns the {@link GeoBBoxCondition} represented by this builder.
*
* @return a new geo bounding box condition
*/
@Override
public GeoBBoxCondition build() {
return new GeoBBoxCondition(boost, field, minLatitude, maxLatitude, minLongitude, maxLongitude);
}
}
|
I'm a gamer, a reviewer on YouTube, and streamer on Twitch. I love games such as the Neptunia series, hack and slash games like Devil May Cry, JRPGs and action RPGs like Ys. Discovered CrossCode from one of my friends and I want to continue to support the game further. I'm gonna wait until the final product is up and ready since I have the early access. |
Thursday, July 02, 2009
My Former Self
This has been an interesting week.
Seth started camp. Both he and I are adjusting to this new schedule, since the bus comes a bit earlier than it did for school, and returns later. He's been totally loving it and coming home completely ravenous. He walks in the door and announces that he's hungry. Now that I expect it from him, I make sure to have dinner started so he can eat pronto.
We've almost made it through another week with the contractors. The basement is moving along. I've come to realize what a truly blind item it is when you hire workers and you have no knowledge of construction. You come to rely on them completely to do what is needed and best. And, that's as it should be. But, I find it funny when the head contractor calls me downstairs to look at their handywork and attempts to explain why certain pipes have been moved, etc. I listen politely, but don't completely grasp all that he is saying. Fortunately, I know in my gut that he's on top of things, and that's what counts in the long run.
My datebook has been chockful of things to do this week....much minutia, I must say. And, it can get overwhelming at times. I was speaking with my dad today, and he started rattling off all that is on his list. It made me realize that we all seem to be grappling with a laundry list of things that require time and attention. When did life get so perpetually full?! And, he said to me that he's only one person (my mom passed away), and I really felt for him. Life can be busy enough if you have a partner to share it with. And, add to that children, and there's much to juggle and attend to.
I received an email via Facebook this week from a gal I used to work with when I was a Vice President at a NYC public relations firm. It was a true blast from the past and a welcome one. It brought me back there right away to the days of my having an office, wearing panty hose (not that I liked them), ordering in a tuna salad lunch from this delivery place I loved, hanging with office mates, and challenging my creativity on a daily basis, which, though pressured, suited me well. I was in my element. I didn't adore all the powers that be at the firm, but ultimately it proved a great learning ground to build my confidence and have my own practice for a period of time.
I was single most of the time I worked there, and hearing from her reminded me of my dating days, socializing with friends in the city, etc. I didn't love the daily routine of commuting into Manhattan (I lived in Queens and then Long Island), but I did relish the energy when I was there.
Last night, Marc and I got a sitter for Seth, which we rarely do on a weeknight. We had gotten tickets to see the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, since Broadwaybox.com had a special running on a number of shows prior to 4th of July.
The show featured music from the 80s. It's been a long time since I've listened to groups like Quarterflash and Journey. (I still have my record album collection in the basement at my parent's house.) It was a lot of fun, and once again, reminded me of another chapter in my life. Though I wouldn't trade where I'm at presently, there are times I must admit that I miss the days when, despite the fact that I worked fulltime, somehow life didn't feel quite as incessantly busy.
Perhaps part of it is the advent of technology. As much as it has the power to connect, inform and enhance people's lives, it's yet one more thing to do. And, really not "one" thing...but many....since the internet never sleeps.
Speaking of sleep....I'm not getting as much as I'd like/need with all that is on my mind and To Do list. But, I'm so glad it's a holiday weekend. I cross my fingers that the weather holds up and we get to hang at the pool.
There, I am somehow better able to focus on the immediate experience, especially when I'm practicing the crawl stroke. I've ever been one who loved swimming with their head in the water, so this is a whole new arena for me, and I'm enjoying the challenge. When my face is submerged, the world takes on an entirely new perspective, and there's something very freeing about that. |
import React from 'react';
// eslint-disable-next-line react/prop-types
export const Tag = ({ title = 'Beta' }) => <div>{title}</div>;
export const component = Tag;
|
This proposed program project is to study a unique rat model of developmental learning disability that uses methods of developmental neurobiology, structural anatomy, and behavior to analyze the functions of three candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes (CDSGs). Neuropathologic studies in human dyslexic brains and previous animal models have underscored the importance of focal neuronal migration defects and developmental plasticity for some of the dyslexic deficits. The discovery of CDSGs challenges us to analyze the effects of this genetic variation on brain development, structure, and behavior with respect to learning disability. Using an in utero electroporation method developed in their laboratories, the investigators will transfect into young neurons in the ventricular zone short hairpin RNAs or overexpression constructs targeted against homologs in the rat of CDSG Dyx1c1, Kiaa0319, or Dcdc2. They have already seen that this procedure leads to abnormal neuronal migration, alters neuronal morphology, and causes secondary effects in untouched neighboring neurons, thus producing a picture reminiscent of dyslexic brains. Interesting behavioral alterations are also seen. Project I will analyze Dyx1c1's interaction with genes with known molecular pathways involved in process extension, nuclear movement, and cell adhesion, the domains on the Dyx1c1 critical to function. Project II will characterize anatomic changes (cortical architecture, cell identity, morphology, and connectivity) associated with knockdown or overexpression of CDSGs. Project III will uncover behavioral consequences of CDSG disruption (auditory processing and learning), and will attempt to ameliorate the effects of these genetic manipulations by behavioral interventions. The three interactive projects will be supported by an Administrative Core, an in utero Electroporation Core, and a Neurohistology, Morphometry, and Data Processing Core. A better understanding of the functions of CDSGs will shed a broader light on mechanisms of normal brain development and on the abnormalities seen in developmental dyslexia, but also offering the possibility of earlier detection, biologically-based subtyping, and improved treatment. RELEVANCE: Animal models of human disorders have traditionally been helpful for moving the field forward and leading to better diagnostic and treatment approaches. There are few animal models for learning disorders in general, and only one for dyslexia. Results from the proposed work are apt to help us understand human dyslexia more fully, diagnose it more accurately, and define better treatment modalities. |
Q:
can you guys help me to debug a simple c program with gcc and make it work? (student problems..)
Hello guys so my question is can you help me to debug a simple c program with gcc and make it work?
The teacher gave me this code and I should debug it and make it work, i tried but without any help I can't do It.
I compiled it with g++ -g double_free.c -o double_free
The program crashes.
this is the code:
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#define ARRAY_SIZE 100000
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
int i, test=5;
int* buf = new int[100000];
for (i=0; i< ARRAY_SIZE; i++){
buf[i] = i;
}
int result = 0;
delete []buf;
printf("result: %d\n", result);
delete[] buf;
printf("test %d\n", test);
return 0;
}
A:
Here's a laundry list of complaints I have about this code:
You delete buf twice. This is really the only item I can see that needs actual debugging. The fact that the name of the exercise is double_free is a dead giveaway to experienced coders that this is the issue.
On top of that:
You should either be a C coder or a C++ coder, not a C+ coder (that strange variant that doesn't appear to have fully made the transition). Other than code meant to compile in both C and C++ environments, there's no reason a C++ program should be using the legacy C headers and functions (such as stdio.h and printf).
You should use ARRAY_SIZE in all places where you need the size of that array, otherwise you risk changing it in one place and not the other.
Variables should be scoped as tightly as possible. In other words, get rid of the current i declaration and just use for (int i = ....
Neither result nor test are changed, nor is buf used for anything, so your entire program boils down to std::cout << "result: 0\ntest 5\n";.
There's little point to putting argv/c in your main declaration if you don't use them, just use int main().
It's a good idea to move away from raw pointers, and start using smart pointers - these can automagically deallocate themselves when they go out of scope, leading to easier memory management.
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Background {#Sec1}
==========
Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC) is relatively rare; it accounts for 1--2% of pancreatic malignancies \[[@CR1], [@CR2]\]. The histological presentation of PACC is quite unique. It is composed of relatively uniform tumor cells arranged in acinar, glandular, trabecular, and solid structures, without ductal formation that is seen in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) \[[@CR3]\]. The clinical prognoses of patients with PACC are usually much better than those of patients with PDAC, although approximately half the patients with PACC are metastatic at the time of diagnosis \[[@CR4]\].
Despite these differences between PACC and PDAC, the clinical management is usually same in both. Surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for primary PACC, and chemotherapy or radiotherapy has been performed for locally advanced or metastatic PACC \[[@CR5]\]. However, their therapeutic efficacies in metastatic PACC have not been established due to small sample sizes \[[@CR6]\].
Here, we report a case of PACC with unusual metachronal metastases in the liver and rectum after 24 and 28 months of the initial curative pancreatectomy, respectively. Metastases of PACC are commonly seen in the liver and lymph nodes, whereas colorectal metastasis is atypical and extremely rare. We chose surgical resection for both liver and rectal metastases with satisfactory outcomes.
Case presentation {#Sec2}
=================
A 67-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of loss of appetite and weight. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a pancreatic mass extending into the entire pancreas, splenic vein, and inferior mesenteric vein (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). The patient underwent total pancreatectomy. Macroscopically, a whitish tumor measuring 10 cm was found in the pancreatic tail and body. Microscopically, eosinophilic tumor cells were found in a trabecular acinar pattern. Immunohistochemical analysis was negative for synaptophysin, chromogranin A, CD56, and trypsin. Finally, we diagnosed it as PACC, T3N0M0 (TNM classification according to the Union for International Cancer Control). According to the protocol for advanced PDAC, adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 (Taiho Pharmaceutical, Tokyo, Japan) was administered for 11 months after pancreatectomy, and, subsequently, it was stopped due to the side effects (diarrhea, oral mucositis, fatigue, and hand-foot syndrome). Twenty-four months after the pancreatectomy, a solitary mass measuring 1.5 cm was found in segment 7 of the liver on CT (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). The patient underwent posterior liver segmentectomy with a histopathological diagnosis of liver metastasis of PACC. Twenty-eight months after the pancreatectomy, the patient developed melena. Colonoscopy revealed a type-2 tumor at the lower rectum (1 cm above the dentate line, Fig. [3a](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}), and biopsy revealed it to be rectal metastasis of PACC. CT and positron-emission tomography (PET) demonstrated the rectal tumor and an enlarged lymph node near the inferior mesenteric artery (Fig. [3b](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [c](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). The patient underwent laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection. Peritoneal dissemination was not found intraoperatively. Macroscopically, the tumor was 4 cm long, created polypoid elevation of its surface, contained nodular components and ulceration, and penetrated the rectal mucosa into the submucosa and muscularis propria (Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}). Histopathology showed severe nuclear atypia of the tumor cells, and immunohistochemical analysis using CDX2, cytokeratin (CK)7, CK19, and CK20 confirmed the same profile as that of the specimen from pancreatectomy (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}). One lymph node out of 32 contained metastases. Thus, the pathological diagnosis was rectal and lymph node metastasis of PACC. All three surgical operations resulted in no severe postoperative complications. Periodic radiological examinations showed no tumor recurrence at 40 months after the pancreatectomy without additional chemotherapy. Our clinical decision was approved by the cancer board that included surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, and pathologists at the University Hospital of Tsukuba. Informed consent was obtained from the patient.Fig. 1Episode 1: primary pancreatic tumor. Diffuse pancreatic mass in a 67-year-old man. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT, **a**) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, **b**) showed a hypovascular pancreatic mass located mainly in the pancreatic tail (arrows) and involving the entire pancreas (arrow head)Fig. 2Episode 2: hepatic metastasis. Twenty-four months after the pancreatectomy. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan showed a solitary 1.5-cm hypovascular nodule in segment 7 of the liver (arrow)Fig. 3Episode 3: rectal metastasis. Twenty-eight months after the pancreatectomy. **a** Colonoscopy showed type-2 tumor in the lower rectum, which was located 1 cm above the dentate line. Histopathological examination following biopsy revealed it to be metastasis of PACC. Arrow, rectal tumor; arrow head, dentate line. **b** Computed tomography (CT) scan showed that the rectal tumor was 2.6 cm in diameter and slightly enhanced with the contrast agent (arrow). **c** Positron-emission tomography (PET) showed abnormal uptake of nuclear agent at the rectal tumor (arrow)Fig. 4Gross features of the surgical specimen of the rectal tumor (**a**, frontal view). The cross-sectional loupe view demonstrated that the tumor created polypoid elevation of its surface, contained nodular components and ulceration, and penetrated the rectal mucosa into the submucosa and muscularis propria (**b**)Fig. 5Histological examination of the pancreatic tumor (**a**--**f**) and rectal tumor (**g**--**l**). Relatively uniform tumor cells were found arranged in an acinar and solid formation. Both specimens showed the same morphological and immunohistochemical pattern. **a**, **g** Hematoxylin-eosin stain (H&E). **b**, **h** Magnified H&E image. **c**, **i** Negative for CDX2. **d**, **j** Positive for CK7. **e**, **k** Positive for CK19. **f**, **l** Negative for CK20
Discussions and conclusions {#Sec3}
===========================
PACC, a rare pancreatic cancer, demonstrates different behaviors and outcomes in comparison with PDAC. PDAC is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and is fatal in almost all cases. Frequently, it extends and/or metastasizes to the vessels, perineural tissue, adjacent organs, lymph nodes, liver, lungs, bones, and adrenals \[[@CR7]--[@CR10]\]. In contrast, though PACC is also invasive, it is less aggressive than PDAC \[[@CR4], [@CR11]\]. Schmidt et al. compared 865 cases of PACC with 367,999 of PDAC and demonstrated that the stage-specific 5-year survival rate in PACC is better than that in PDAC (e.g., PACC 40.2% vs. PDAC 9.8% at stage II) \[[@CR12]\]. Wisnoski et al. showed that the median survival time in PACC was 47 months, whereas it was only 4 months in PDAC \[[@CR13]\]. As in PDAC, surgical resection should be performed in PACC with a goal of achieving R0 margins \[[@CR12]\]. For metastatic PACC, the chemotherapy protocol of PDAC has been used, which includes gemcitabine, 5-FU, oxaliplatin, CPT-11, and S-1, or their combinations \[[@CR14]--[@CR16]\]. A systematic review by Glazer et al. demonstrated that the disease control rate of chemotherapy was 55% and median survival time in metastatic PACC after chemotherapy was 17 months \[[@CR17]\]. However, the efficacies of various chemotherapies have not been studied in controlled, prospective studies, and there are no definitive guidelines for the treatment of metastatic PACC. Additionally, as Abraham et al. demonstrated, PACC shows different clinicopathological and genetic features from PDAC \[[@CR18]\]. Therefore, strategies other than chemotherapy may be considered for metastatic PACC.
Resection of metastases in PACC, as performed in this case, is not routinely performed \[[@CR17]\]. We chose resection of the liver metastases for two reasons. First, liver metastases are often multiple in PACC \[[@CR19]\]; however, in this case, it was solitary, slow growing, and relatively small even 24 months after the primary pancreatectomy. Second, additional chemotherapy was not favorable for this patient due to the severe side effects of the previous treatment with S-1. After resection of hepatic metastasis, the rectal metastasis including mesorectal lymph node metastasis was found, and we estimated that it could be removed completely with additional resection, which would also be effective in preventing rectal bleeding or obstruction. Would these surgical resections be widely applicable to other cases of PACC? Hartwig et al. surveyed six cases of metastatic PACC and presented the effectiveness of surgical resection in these cases with limited metastases \[[@CR20]\]. They studied the long-term survival of patients with synchronous or metachronous metastatic disease and non-metastatic disease who underwent resection and found no significant differences between the two groups with 2-year survival rates of 67% and 69%, respectively. We believe that potentially resectable metastases in PACC can be treated by surgical resection, as long as the surgery is associated with low morbidity.
The colon and rectum are quite rare sites of metastases from pancreatic cancer, as only a few such cases have been reported \[[@CR21]--[@CR23]\]. As an example, Ogu et al. reported a case of metachronous sigmoid colon metastasis of PDAC 24 months after pancreatectomy, which was treated by colectomy \[[@CR23]\]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no reports of colorectal metastasis in PACC. As suggested by earlier studies, we performed immunohistochemical analysis including testing for CK7 and CK20 to confirm that the rectal tumor showed the same profiles as those of the primary PACC and that it was different from other rectal malignancies \[[@CR23], [@CR24]\]. It should be noted that acinar cell carcinoma would primarily occur in the colon and rectum as reported in several studies, in which the patients did not have any pancreatic tumors \[[@CR25], [@CR26]\]. In our case, a large invasive pancreatic tumor had presented 28 months before the detection of the rectal tumor; therefore, we consider the rectal tumor as not a primary tumor but rather a metastasis of PACC. The possibility that this rectal tumor was secondary to peritoneal dissemination was rejected since the peritoneum including the Douglas pouch was clear, and the tumor was located mainly in the muscular and mucosal parts of the rectal wall while the adventitia was free from the tumor. We suspected that the colorectal metastasis might have developed via the hematogenous pathway due to severe vascular invasion of the primary pancreatic cancer followed by metastasis of the mesorectal lymph nodes; however, the true mechanism of rectal metastasis could not be demonstrated.
We presented a rare case of metachronous hepatic and rectal metastases of PACC treated with surgical resection. Our case indicates that aggressive and curative surgery can be an option in metastatic PACC. The therapeutic strategy against metastases from "less invasive" PACC should include surgical resection in addition to chemotherapy to improve the prognosis.
These datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are publicly available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
All authors substantially contributed to the manuscript. YOH, TO, TE, YD, YOW, YM, OS, and MK performed surgical resection and perioperative care. KH, YA, KO, and NO decided and approved the treatments. YOH and TO were major contributors in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
This study was approved by the ethics committee of University Hospital of Tsukuba. Written informed consent for this study was obtained from the patient.
The patient was informed about the intention to publish a report of his medical case. Written informed consent for this study was obtained from the patient.
All authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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**2 - 5*r + 5 + 5*r + 7*r. Determine n(-5).
-5
Suppose i + 2*l - 12 = 0, -3*i - i + 13 = l. Suppose 15 = -i*o + 5*o. Let p(r) = r**3 - 6*r**2 + 3*r. What is p(o)?
-10
Suppose -4*c + 36 = -8*c. Let j = 4 + c. Let a(h) = h**3 + 4*h**2 - 5*h + 1. Calculate a(j).
1
Let v(s) = 3*s**3 - 4*s**2 - 3. Let h(d) = -d**3 - d**2 + d + 1. Let y(z) = 2*h(z) + v(z). Suppose 4*u - 32 = -4*j, 4*j = -0*j + 8. Calculate y(u).
11
Let j = -4 + 8. Let c = j + -9. Let x(k) be the second derivative of -k**5/20 - k**4/2 - 2*k**3/3 - 2*k**2 + k. Determine x(c).
-9
Let s be (10/(-3))/(-3*(-6)/(-27)). Let a(w) = 5*w - 7. What is a(s)?
18
Let o(b) = -b + 1. Let i(a) = a**3 - 8*a**2 - 10*a + 12. Let p be i(9). Calculate o(p).
-2
Let s(d) be the first derivative of 3*d**3/2 + d**2/2 - 5*d - 2. Let l(z) be the first derivative of s(z). Calculate l(-1).
-8
Let a(y) = -4*y - 1. Let z(w) = w. Let g(v) = 2*a(v) + 9*z(v). Suppose 2*t = 2*i - 6, -3*i + 2*t = -1 - 6. Let o = -3 + i. Calculate g(o).
-4
Let g be (-2)/(-1)*(-63)/18. Let x = -12 - g. Let d(l) = l**3 + 5*l**2 - 2*l - 6. What is d(x)?
4
Let k(l) = l**2 + 3*l - 1. Let g be k(-2). Let p = -2 - g. Let q(w) be the third derivative of -7*w**5/60 + w**3/6 - w**2. What is q(p)?
-6
Let p(u) = u - 9. Let c be p(5). Let j(s) = 5*s**3 - 5*s**2 + 4*s + 5. Let o(x) = -6*x**3 + 5*x**2 - 4*x - 6. Let m(r) = c*o(r) - 5*j(r). Give m(4).
-1
Let p(l) = 7*l - 4. Let k(s) = -15*s + 9. Let d(g) = 6*k(g) + 13*p(g). Give d(-3).
-1
Let f = 37 + -35. Let m(x) = x**3 - 3*x + 2. Give m(f).
4
Let h(n) = -n + 1. Suppose 0 = -u - 2*u - 3. Let o(p) = p + 5. Let i(j) = u*o(j) + 4*h(j). Let t be (-25)/15 + 2/3. Determine i(t).
4
Let p(l) be the second derivative of l**4/12 - 3*l**3/2 + l**2 - 5*l - 3. Give p(7).
-12
Let v(b) = -b - 1. Let z(j) be the third derivative of j**4/8 - 7*j**3/3 + 7*j**2. Let p be z(6). Calculate v(p).
-5
Let p(m) = m**3 - 5*m**2 - 3*m - 2. Let w(l) = -l + 1. Let x be w(-5). Calculate p(x).
16
Suppose 3*r - 8 = 16. Suppose 0 = -5*o + 28 - r. Let t(y) be the first derivative of y**3/3 - 2*y**2 - 4*y + 1. Calculate t(o).
-4
Let p(q) be the first derivative of q**2/2 - 3*q - 18. Determine p(-8).
-11
Let m(x) = 5*x - 14 - x - 3*x. Determine m(6).
-8
Let d(i) be the first derivative of -i**2/2 - i - 3. Let l(h) = 15*h - 10. Let o(r) = 1. Let q(t) = l(t) + 30*o(t). Let s(u) = -20*d(u) - q(u). Determine s(2).
10
Let v = 58 - 55. Let z(r) be the third derivative of 0 - 1/3*r**3 - r**2 - 1/30*r**5 - 1/12*r**4 + 0*r + 1/120*r**6. Determine z(v).
1
Let k(r) be the second derivative of -r**3/6 - r**2 + r. Let z(g) be the first derivative of -g**2/2 + 4*g - 8. Let h be z(7). What is k(h)?
1
Let s(f) = -f**3 - 5*f**2 - 6*f. Suppose 5*u = a - 17, a + 4*u + 8 = -a. Suppose 5*n + 12 = a*n. Give s(n).
8
Let d be (3 - 25/10)*2. Let x(t) = -10*t**2 + t. Give x(d).
-9
Let t(q) = -3*q**2 - 8*q + 13. Let a(f) = 4*f**2 + 8*f - 14. Let y(h) = 4*a(h) + 5*t(h). Calculate y(6).
-3
Let d(a) = -a**2 + 7*a - 6. Suppose -48 = -3*o - 0*s + 4*s, 0 = -4*o + 2*s + 74. Suppose 2*z = 6*z - o. Determine d(z).
4
Let t(r) be the second derivative of r**3/2 - 9*r. Calculate t(7).
21
Let m(x) = x + 9. Let n be m(-7). Let b(v) = v**2 - v + 1. Let j(c) = 6*c**2 - 7*c + 6. Let w(s) = 5*b(s) - j(s). Give w(n).
-1
Let f(z) = z - 2. Suppose 0*w - 5*w - 2*l + 38 = 0, 4*w + 2*l - 32 = 0. Suppose q = -2*k - w, 2*q + 1 = 6*q + 3*k. What is f(q)?
2
Let u(v) be the second derivative of v**4/12 + 2*v**3/3 - 7*v**2/2 + 22*v. Give u(-6).
5
Let g(d) be the first derivative of -d**3/3 + 3*d**2 - 4*d + 4. What is g(5)?
1
Let v(q) = -3*q. Let b = 3 + 0. Let y be b/1 + -2 + 1. Give v(y).
-6
Suppose -5*g = 10 - 0. Let l be -1 + 0 - (-2 - g). Let o(z) = 123*z**2 - z - 1 - 60*z**2 - 61*z**2. Calculate o(l).
2
Let z = -3 - -3. Let n(w) = w - 1 - 4 + z*w + 3. Give n(3).
1
Let z = 253/6 + -42. Let v(t) be the second derivative of -z*t**3 + 1/12*t**4 + 1/20*t**5 + 3/2*t**2 + 0 + 2*t. What is v(0)?
3
Let u(b) = -b**2 + 2. Let s be u(0). Let n(z) be the first derivative of -1/3*z**3 + 3/2*z**s - z - 2. Give n(1).
1
Let o(b) be the second derivative of b - 1/2*b**3 + 0 + 1/12*b**4 + 1/2*b**2. Let q = -2 - -6. What is o(q)?
5
Suppose -3 - 1 = -s. Suppose -s*q = q - 70. Suppose 5*b - 3*v = 20, v + q = 5*b - 6. Let c(l) = l**2 - 3*l - 5. Determine c(b).
-1
Let w(q) = -q**3 + 4*q**2 + 7*q - 7. Let n be 21/(-5) - 4/(-20). Let f be 0 - (n/(-1) + -2). Let i be (-2 - -9) + f/1. Determine w(i).
3
Let c(w) = w**2 - 6*w + 2. Let i(z) = z**2 + 6*z - 1. Let g be i(-7). Calculate c(g).
2
Suppose 0 = 6*f + 121 - 85. Let c(r) = 3*r - 6*r + 5*r**2 + 6 - r + r**3. Determine c(f).
-6
Let x = -10 + 15. Let s(v) = v**3 - 3*v + 4*v + 6 + v - 4*v**2 - x*v. Let j be (-3)/((-3)/8*2). Determine s(j).
-6
Let s(r) be the third derivative of -r**5/60 + 5*r**4/12 + r**3/6 + 30*r**2. Determine s(10).
1
Let m(n) = n**3 - 6*n**2 + 7*n - 3. Let f be m(5). Let g = 13 - f. Suppose 3*q - q - g = 0. Let j(i) = i**3 - 3*i**2 - 2. What is j(q)?
-2
Let t(g) = -9*g**3 + 2*g - 1. Let y(l) = l - 1. Let v be y(2). Give t(v).
-8
Let j(n) = -2*n - 15. Let c(s) = -3*s - 14. Let d(g) = 3*c(g) - 4*j(g). Calculate d(8).
10
Let q(k) = k - 2. Let s(o) = -o**2 + 2*o + 3. Let n be s(3). Give q(n).
-2
Let z be (-2)/1 + (2 - 0). Let c(w) = 5*w**2 + z*w**2 + 5 - 4*w**2 - 4*w. Calculate c(4).
5
Let n be 9 - (1 + -1 + -1). Let p(i) = -i**3 + 2*i**2 + 5*i - 3. Let s be p(3). Suppose -s*x + x = -n. Let l(k) = 2*k - 4. What is l(x)?
6
Let s be 2 + -2 - (-2 + 2). Let r be (-1)/2*s/2. Let m be 1 - r/(-1 + -2). Let t(w) = 4*w**3 - w**2 + w. Calculate t(m).
4
Suppose 0 = -j + 3 - 1. Let v(f) = 2*f - 2. Let k be v(j). Let l(c) = -2 - 5*c + c**k + 0*c - 2*c**2. Give l(-5).
-2
Let p be 1/((-9)/(-6))*3. Let b be (5/4)/(2/16). Suppose -p - b = -3*l. Let a(m) = m**3 - 5*m**2 + 6*m - 4. Determine a(l).
4
Suppose -2*c - q + 4 = 0, 0*c - 2*q = 2*c - 4. Let u(o) = -o**3 + 2*o**2 + 3*o - 3. What is u(c)?
3
Let m(h) = h + 4. Let z = 6 - 4. Suppose z*u + 6 = -u. Let o = u + -1. Determine m(o).
1
Let x(j) be the first derivative of 9/2*j**2 - 9*j - 8 - 1/3*j**3. Give x(8).
-1
Let y(z) = z**2 + z. Let a(s) = s**3 + 10*s**2 + 4*s + 4. Let p(q) = a(q) - 4*y(q). Determine p(-6).
4
Let q(p) = 5 - 148*p + p**3 - 2*p**3 + 4*p**2 + 152*p. Give q(5).
0
Let x(j) = 2*j + 1 - 1. Let s be x(-1). Let d(q) = -4*q + q**2 - 12 - 2*q**2 + 9. Give d(s).
1
Let q(m) = 5*m - 8. Let b be q(2). Let f(l) = -l**3 + l**2 + 3*l - 3. What is f(b)?
-1
Suppose h - 4*w - 18 = 0, 0*h - 3*h + 15 = w. Let j(r) = -r**2 + 6*r. Calculate j(h).
0
Let x be (0 - (-3)/(-9))*-12. Let a(c) = 4*c**3 + 15*c**2 + 19*c + 0*c**3 + c**2. Let p(u) = u**3 + 5*u**2 + 6*u. Let y(d) = -2*a(d) + 7*p(d). Give y(x).
0
Let y(l) = 2*l**2 - 37 - 30 + 66 + 2*l. Calculate y(2).
11
Let m be (-2)/(-8) + (-10)/8. Let h be m/2 + 26/4. Let a(i) = 7*i + 1. Let l(t) = 10*t + 1. Let k(c) = 3*a(c) - 2*l(c). Give k(h).
7
Let n(v) be the third derivative of v**6/120 + v**5/15 + v**4/12 + 2*v**3/3 - 5*v**2. What is n(-3)?
7
Suppose 2*b = -3*b. Let t(p) be the third derivative of -p**4/24 + p**3/2 - 4*p**2. Give t(b).
3
Suppose -g - g + 5*u + 36 = 0, -16 = 4*u. Suppose -2*z - g = -4*t + 3*t, -4*t + 2*z = -20. Let c be 0 - t/6*3. Let k(a) = a**2 - 4*a - 3. Calculate k(c).
9
Let p(t) = 3*t + 1. Suppose -d - 25 = -5*j, -d - 4*j + 1 = -10. Let i(w) = -w**3 - 5*w**2 - 2*w - 7. Let q be i(d). Calculate p(q).
10
Let b(l) = l**3 - 5*l**2 + 5*l - 3. Let q(p) = -p**3 + 6*p**2 - 2*p - 12. Let x be q(5). Give b(x).
-6
Let z(c) = 2*c**3 + c**2 + 2*c + 1. Let l be z(-1). Let r be 4 + -3 - (-1 - 1). Let i(o) = 3*o**2 - r*o - 2*o**2 + o**3 - 3 + 0*o**2. Determine i(l).
-1
Let f(r) = r**3 - 5*r**2 + 6*r - 2. Suppose -2 + 26 = 6*j. Determine f(j).
6
Let b(q) = q**3 - 3*q**2 - 5*q. Suppose 0 = v - 0*v - 2*i, -22 = -4*v - 3*i. Calculate b(v).
-4
Suppose 3*k + 20 = 5*w + 5, 2*w = 3*k + 15. Let r(b) = -3*b - 7. Let u be r(-5). Let y = k + u. Let v(z) = z**3 - 3*z**2 + z + 4. Calculate v(y).
7
Let c = 1 + 0. Suppose c = -2*o - 5. Let i(l) = l**3 + 1. Let a(j) = -2*j**3 + 3*j**2 + 3*j - 7. Let z(s) = a(s) + 3*i(s). What is z(o)?
-13
Let f = 16 - 14. Suppose -2*p - 2*q = q + 21, -6 = 2*p - f*q. Let w(c) = c + 3. Determine w(p).
-3
Let z(l) = 1 + l + 4*l - 6*l - 3*l. Calculat |
Universal is kicking its marketing for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom into high gear, releasing a brand new TV spot that highlights the dangerous and sometimes lovable dinosaurs at the heart of the Jurassic Park sequel.
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom TV Spot
You can take the dinosaurs off the island, but you can’t take the island’s reputation for mass-murdering humans out of the dinosaurs.
It turns out death by dinosaur will no longer be limited to Isla Nublar in Jurassic World, as more trailers and TV spots have revealed that the majority of the film will take place off of the infamous island. Instead, many of the dinosaurs will escape certain extinction, only to terrorize a coastal town nearby instead. So be prepared for some imagery recalling producer Steven Spielberg‘s classic shark attack film, Jaws. Except, you know, dinosaur-sized.
Though early marketing for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom centered around Owen (Pratt) and Claire’s (Howard) attempts to save the dinosaurs from Isla Nublar’s erupting volcano, the more recent TV spots haven’t been secretive about the actual plot of the film: a conspiracy to create the most dangerous dinosaur yet for mass production. Naturally, things go horribly wrong and we’re left with a film that’s alternately a Gothic nightmare, a tropical survival film, and I think…a dinosaur heist? Though the plot and its many twists already sound confusing, there’s no question that the film looks utterly gorgeous, with each TV spot filled with striking shots and scenes.
Here is the synopsis for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom:
When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times. |
Methylmercury Biogeochemistry in Freshwater Ecosystems: A Review Focusing on DOM and Photodemethylation.
Mercury contamination is a growing concern for freshwater food webs in ecosystems without point sources of mercury. Methylmercury (MeHg) is of particular concern, as this is the form of mercury that crosses the blood-brain barrier and is neurotoxic to organisms. Wetlands and benthic sediments have high organic content and low oxygen availability. Anaerobic bacteria drive the metabolic function in these ecosystems and subsequently can methylate mercury. The bioavailability of MeHg is controlled by physicochemical characteristics such as pH, binding affinities, and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Similarly, photodemethylation is influenced by similar characteristics and thereby the two processes should be studied in tandem. The degradation of MeHg through photochemistry is an effective destruction mechanism in freshwater lakes. This review will highlight the uncertainties and known effects of DOM on subsequent photoreactions that lead to the occurrence of mercury photodemethylation and reduction in mercury bioavailability in freshwater ecosystems. |
Gamescom 2018: Claire and Birkin Face Off in New Resident Evil 2 Screenshots
Capcom has released some brand new Resident Evil 2 screenshots at Gamescom, giving us a better look at Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin. We now also have our first look at the new and grossly improved William Birkin. Didn’t anyone tell him not to touch a girl’s face?
Chief Irons, that jerk, can also be spotted in one the new screenshots. But forget that guy! William Birkin and his eye-catching monster-arm is what we care about. Poor Sherry, her dad is hideous. Take a look at all of the new screenshots below and awesome key art above. Expect Rourke to probably write a few pages about each of the images this week. Lord help us if a new Claire trailer also drops!
You can pre-order Resident Evil 2 on PS4, Xbox One, or Steam before its release on January 25, 2019. |
Comments
Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations is obviously one of the new ones, ’cause who would buy second hand one, when new one is so cheap. 🙂 And that means that the other Phoenix must be a second hand one. Speed Racer, never heard of it, so it must be a very cheap brand new purchase. And that leaves us with a second hand Puzzle Quest. Correct? |
Q:
Trying to make a user stats command in discord.py 1.0.1
#Returns User stats for the server
@client.command()
async def user(ctx, member:discord.User=None):
if member == None:
member = ctx.message.author
pronoun = "Your"
else:
pronoun = "Their"
name = f"{member.name}#{member.discriminator}"
status = member.Status
joined = member.joined_at
role = member.top_role
await ctx.channel.send(f"{pronoun} name is {name}, {pronoun} status is {status}, They joined at {joined}, {pronoun} rank is {role}")
Im trying to make a user stats command, it originally worked as an event on message but i want to make it a command so you can see another user's stats but i keep getting member object has no attribute status error in terminal, what am i doing wrong in this code?
A:
Your member object is actually of type User because you are using the User converter. Use the Member converter instead.
|
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Jim Prentice Thought Copyright Meant to Copy it Right. No Wonder He Was So Confused
When as Industry minister, Jim Prentice was trying to defend his Party's new 'Made in the U.S.' copyright legislation, he clearly had no clue.
Wikipedia:Prentice has promised to "put consumers first." claiming in an editorial that "(C-61) allows the recording of webcasts and TV and radio programs to be enjoyed at different times" while ignoring the fact that if the files are protected by digital rights management (DRM) it is illegal to break the DRM to make the recording.
Prentice has been hostile to Canadians who requested to consult with him regarding the issue. Prentice refused to discuss the issue with CBC Radio Canada despite the hundreds of questions that flooded in from concerned Canadians. He also refused to talk to a group of protesters who went to his office to express their concern.When Harper called an illegal election in September of 2008; to avoid dealing with the alleged fraud case dubbed the "In and Out", Prentice was spared further embarrassment on the issue. However, it's pretty clear the Conservatives simply don't understand what the term 'copyright' means, because they forgot to get permission to use the tape of Michael Ignatieff from a C-Span interview, before airing it everywhere in attack ads.
C-Span didn't sue because it never hurt them personally, though they did verify that no one asked for permission and they really didn't like the way it was used. But this wasn't the first or last time this Party has played fast and loose with prohibited material.
OTTAWA — An executive with the U.S. public affairs network C-SPAN says that while C-SPAN is not pleased to see its material used in the political advertising, the network is not planning to take any legal action against the Conservatives.
The C-SPAN clip appears in one of the Tories’ “Just visiting” attack ads currently playing on Canadian television. In it, a younger-looking Ignatieff says to camera, “You have to decide what kind of America you want, right? You have to decide. It’s your country, just as much as it is mine.”
The C-SPAN logo appears at the bottom right corner of the screen with the title of its program, Washington Journal. The name of Ignatieff’s 2004 book, The Lesser Evil, is keyed below him.
Collins says he was contacted by a lawyer who said he was representing the Liberals after the ad came out. “He wanted to know if we were aware if our video was being used in this way,” Collins said. “If our rights were being violated, he wanted us to enforce them.”
Collins said the network never gave the Tories permission to use the clip, but doesn’t see any point in pursuing a claim.
The Conservatives have run into copyright problems with their ads in the past.
During the last election, the Liberals complained to CTV about the use of its footage in Conservative ads attacking then-leader Stéphane Dion. The network asked the Tories to explain if CTV material was used but did not appear to pursue the issue further.
Similar difficulties arose in the campaign when the Tories' notaleader.ca website used what appeared to be footage from CBC, CTV and TV Ontario in an online feature that allowed users to create their own Dion ads from the clips. (They had a website on Dion as well? How twisted are these people?)
Also last year, the Tories used the theme song from the TV program The Apprentice in a video about Liberal spending promises.Warner Chappell Music noted that the video used its property, the 1974 track For the Love of Money, by The O’Jays, without permission. The video was introduced by then-Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who was also responsible for implementing the government’s reforms to copyright law. (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha). The party later reached a private agreement with the publisher to settle the matter.
So all the tapes in Harper's basement, what's up with that? Does he have an Ignatieff fetish? Does he download them to his Ipod and play them when he's feeling blue? Is his obsession normal? Is he seeing a shrink for this problem? I'm a little concerned and I think Mr. Ignatieff should be as well. He may have a stalker. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to prosthetic orthopedic implants, particularly to joint components such as for use with knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, toes, fingers, wrists, ankles, spinal discs and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of making a non-modular prosthetic joint component having a polymer, ceramic, or metal bearing component bonded to a polymer, ceramic, or metallic substrate having at least one porous surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthopedic implant devices known to those of skill in the art often comprise a backing component and bearing component attached thereto. Furthermore, it is often desirable for the metal backing component to comprise a porous structure or surface suitable for bone ingrowth after the prosthetic devise is implanted. For example, a typical prosthetic acetabular cup comprises a hemispherical metal backing having a porous convex exterior and a solid concave interior. A similarly hemispherical, but smaller, polymer bearing surface is inserted into to the concave interior of the backing. In another example, a typical tibial component for use during a knee arthroplasty comprises metal tibial plateau having a porous bone contacting surface and a polymer bearing component attached to an opposing surface.
In many instances, prosthetic joint devices are modular. A modular device comprises a backing component, generally comprising a biocompatible metal having a porous structure or surface, and a separate bearing surface component, generally comprising a polymer. For example, a modular acetabular cup comprises a metal backing component and a polymer bearing surface fixedly inserted therein. Such fixation may be achieved via any of one or more of a variety of known mechanical means, such as snap fitting the components, press fitting the components, threadably connecting the components, using a locking ring, etc.
Those of skill in the art recognized that these additional mechanical retaining means could be avoided by using non-modular (“monoblock”) joint components. Monoblock joint components comprise a metal backing such as a metal acetabular shell or a metal tibial plateau with the bearing surface integrally attached thereto. Unlike a modular component, the bearing surface of a monoblock is integral with the bearing component and need not be mechanically attached to the metal backing of an implant during an intraoperative step. There are several monoblock prosthetic devices presently available. These devices are generally produced by directly compression molding a thermoplastic polymer bearing component onto a backing component. However, this method of producing monoblock devices has disadvantages.
More recently, the bearing components of traditional monoblock prosthetic devices often comprise cross-linked ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (“UHMWPE”). Cross linking can be accomplished chemically, but it is usually accomplished via gamma or electron beam irradiation after the monoblock device is assembled. A problem with this process is that the metal component of the monoblock device can shield the bearing component from the electron beam radiation used to initiate cross linking, thereby making cross linking of the bearing component more difficult and time consuming or possibly having areas within the polymer remaining uncrosslinked.
Another problem with monoblock processes known in the art is that such processes do not accommodate using non moldable materials such as metals or ceramics for the bearing surface, as the same cannot be compression or injection molded onto a backing component.
Thus, a need exists for a method of making a monoblock orthopedic joint device, wherein the polymer component can be cross-linked separately from the backing component and subsequently connected to thereto to form a monoblock device.
A still further need exists for a method of making a monoblock orthopedic joint utilizing a metal, ceramic or other non-flowable material for the bearing surface. |
Plain edge or Partially serrated
This is a discussion on Plain edge or Partially serrated within the Defensive Knives & Other Weapons forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; I vote serrated, I haven't done any testing but I imagine it does more damage to a BG....
I have a couple of plain edge knives but most of the many knives I have are combo edge. I use my knives a lot at work in EMS therefore I think the combo edge is a better choice.
You definitely don't need to sharpen the serrations as frequently as a plain edge.
I keep a round tapered diamond knife sharpener for touching up the serrations when needed.
I also like a drop point, spear point or a modified sheeps foot blade design. Also a regular clip point is good as well.
I got away from tanto blades a while back because they just aren't very useful although the Benchmade Rift I'm currently using as a work knife has a "reverse" tanto which has more cutting edge than a standard tanto.
I preffer combo - it has more utility, and I have noticed (hunting) that it does a much better job of cutting through sinew and cartelidge than straight blades.
For a dedicated SD blade why do you need to have a knife that is easy to sharpen? how often are you using it to defend yourself, and how does it keep getting dull?
If you are using it as a utility blade the advantages of a combo are just obvious, yes you can cut the same things with a sharp straight edge, but why? when it is so much easier with a serrated edge?
Obviously knives are primarily tools, but you never know when that tool suddenly has to be used for SD. On top of this, you certainly don't want to be up the creek sans paddle already and then add that you're now using a your butter knife-equivalent EDC beater on your assailant. If you end up laying on top of your primary defensive blade or otherwise can't get to it because some guy is working very hard at pounding the sauce out of your tomato, that is not the time to find out that your tough-to-sharpen EDC blade isn't quite up to snuff or that the serrated section isn't doing anything but moving his jacket or other clothing around across his skin if that's the only place you get the blade on them.
Some people are 99%ers and some people are 1%ers with the same reality across the entire spectrum of life. If you're a 1%er who makes certain to sharpen those serrations every single time you sharpen your knife then kudos to you. If you're like the 99% of the rest of the knife-owning world, you won't and you just might get hosed for it. "Easy to sharpen" all too often translates into "Gets sharpened at all" in the real world so I find it a perfectly viable attribute to look for in a EDC or defensive blade.
If its a general purpose utility knife then sure, partially serrated. Great for cutting stuff.
If it's a dedicated SD knife then the plain edge is better. Great for cutting goblins.
Oh yeah, point. Prefer a normal point to the tanto. Tanto sure looks cool but.. not much else.
I find that serrations are great for multi-fiber materials like rope, sinew as mentioned above, and seatbelts. A well-maintained plain edge can do all of the above just dandy, however, and is around ten times easier to keep sharp. If you have the patience to run your round stick on each of those little crescents in turn, you have my respect, but please don't think less of me for not having the same drive.
Tanto tips are largely useless in my experience. They look cool, penetrate well, but I don't make it a habit to stab sheet metal or other materials where the extra tip toughness would be necessary with either my EDC or defensive blades. A tanto tip is also hard to sharpen correctly so that designed extra penetration might very well be nullified by the porkchopped resharpening job you did the last time you ran the knife over a stone. Not worth the hassle, IMO.
I use a sog trident as my go to knife for utility and everything, at least in one pocket, I used the razor sharp plain part to blow thru the hot water tank box today. The serrations were snagging and the plain edge glided thru like butter. I wasn't sawing so maybe that was why they snagged. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for performing the driving control of a vehicle by use of map data.
2. Description of the Related Art
On-board systems for performing the driving control of a vehicle by use of map data including attribute data of roads (information about the grade of each road, and the like) are conventionally known (for example, JP-A-7-192194). The on-board system disclosed in JP-A-7-192194 calculates a current position of a vehicle, and then estimates, from the calculated current position and map data, a road through which the vehicle is going to travel from now. The on-board system disclosed in JP-A-7-192194 uses estimated attribute data of the road to control the operation of elements such as an automatic transmission, an engine, and a suspension. Incidentally, there are various kinds of on-board systems that use map data. For example, there is an on-board system in which attribute data of each road includes data indicating a position of a temporary stop line on the road, and the attribute data is used to judge whether or not a vehicle has approached the temporary stop line, and then if it is judged that the vehicle has approached the temporary stop line, the speed of the vehicle is automatically reduced. In addition, there is also an on-board system in which, from information about a road shape included in map data, a judgment is made as to whether or not a vehicle has approached a railroad crossing, and if it is judged that the vehicle has approached the railroad crossing, the speed of the vehicle is automatically reduced. |
Dojo News: Dennis Hooker Passes Away
Posted 5/21/2014 6:05pm [from Jun Akiyama]
I have just been informed that Dennis Hooker (7th dan, Shindai Aikikai) has passed away.
The following is from Dan Linden: "It is with heavy heart that I need to inform one and all that Dennis Hooker passed away at his Winter Park home. He is survived by his wife Connie, his daughter Michelle and his son Dennis, along with their children.
"Dennis had recently retired after a long career with Metro Plan Orlando. He was a Viet Nam era veteran of the United States Army and was a 7th dan in Aikido (Aikikai). Dennis Hooker founded Shindai Aikikai."
On a personal note, Dennis was also a friend of mine who supported AikiWeb by being part of two AikiWeb Workshops. He also wrote at times on AikiWeb as well (e.g., http://www.aikiweb.com/training/hooker5.html). Lastly, here is an essay written about him for the "It Had To Be Felt" column series: http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22437.
My condolences go out to his family, friends, and loved ones. |
Q:
Recurrent neural network producing same predictions
I am trying to train a recurrent neural network that I built in keras on timeseries data to predict number of sales for next 10 days. For this, I've created my dataset as -
var(t) -> var(t+1)
var(t+1) -> var(t+2)
var(t+2) -> var(t+3)
var(t+3) -> var(t+4) and so on
I did Min-Max scaling on this data and the RNN code is as follows -
model = Sequential()
model.add(LSTM(20, input_shape=(1, look_back),activation='tanh',bias_initializer='ones'))
model.add(Dense(1, activation='linear',bias_initializer='ones'))
opt=adam(lr=0.1)
model.compile(loss='mean_squared_error',optimizer=opt)
model.fit(xtrain, ytrain, epochs=100, batch_size=1, verbose=2)
But the plot I am getting is when I did predictions on xtrain (green = ytrain, blue = ypred) -
The rnn isn't learning anything at all. Its producing same results for each dataset. I've tried adding hidden layers, increasing number of neurons, changing parameters (learning rate, momentum), optimizers (sgd, adam, adagrad, rmsprop), lstm activation fxn (tanh, softsign). I got little fluctuations in some cases in the graph. But the output is mostly constant.
Also, I've only 200 datasets.
Can someone please guide me what I am doing wrong here. What else I can try. Will small sized data not work using RNN at all ? If so, is there any other way to solve this problem (except ARIMA model) ?
EDIT - Increased batch size to 100 and epochs to 1000. Received some better results. Also, I did mean normalization [(x-mean)/std_dev] instead of MinMax scaling.
A:
Try increasing your batch size. If your batch size is small, the gradients are a rough approximation of the true gradients.
|
Health information systems (HIS) include a spectrum of data collection tools that support clinical decision--making; facilitate tracking of patients, drug stock, and disease trends; and inform policymaking \[[@R1]\]. As intermediaries between individual patient records and population--level data, health registers occupy a unique space in HIS. Health registers are "a collection of records containing data about aspects of the health of individual persons" \[[@R2]\].
Paper health registers can be books, folders, or forms that include individual--level data for a population. Paper registers are primarily used at the facility level, though they can serve as inputs to higher level reporting. Because they serve health providers, program administrators, and health management decision--makers, registers can sometimes fail to meet all stakeholder identified needs. Studies of paper registers frequently document data quality challenges which compromise efforts to deliver effective care.
Despite the global shift toward digital data collection, there remain low--resource settings that are unable to support the infrastructure required for electronic register systems. For these settings, strengthening paper health register systems can bolster evidence--based decision--making in patient encounters, program planning and policy, and serve as a first step toward improving quality data in HIS as they shift toward electronic systems.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING PAPER REGISTER SYSTEMS
===============================================
We developed case studies on innovations in paper health register systems in low--resource settings in Sub--Saharan Africa. The resulting studies were informed by 14 expert interviews (2--4 per study) and 101 documents, including peer--reviewed and non--peer--reviewed literature. Case studies are described in [**Table 1**](#T1){ref-type="table"}.
######
Summary of case studies\*
Ethiopia's Family Folder Ghana's Simplified Register South Africa's 3--Tiered strategy Uganda's tuberculosis registers
---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health domain Primary care Primary care HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis
Innovation Collects patient and household--level information in a folder system; services provided at the individual level are tracked by a tally system. Condenses all primary health registers into five SRs. Collects standard, reduced list of essential data elements from facilities using paper or electronic systems. Records and reports data elements for 22 TB indicators using WHO standardized registers.
Data collection Collected by health extension workers in the community and at health posts. Collected by frontline health workers in the community and at health posts. Collected from clinical stationery by data clerks. Collected by clinical staff, laboratory staff, and frontline health workers.
Data aggregation Data aggregated at the primary health unit, which encompasses five to ten health posts. Data aggregated at the district, regional, and national levels. Data aggregated at the district, regional, and national levels. Data aggregated at the district, regional, and national levels.
Integration into national systems As of February 2014, 75% of health posts in the country use the FF. MoTeCH implemented the SR in four regions. Established as national standard for HIV programs in December 2010 National standard since 1990; TB/HIV collaborative registers since 2005.
Decision-- making Data used to optimize decision--making at the local level and to prioritize doorstep care. Data informs patient care decision--making and defaulter tracking. Data used for regional and national decisions; district and facility--level decision--making is slowly growing Data used for national decision--making and international monitoring of TB indicators.
Plans for future sustainability (as of 2014) Scale--up is continuing. There is not yet a commitment for national adoption of the SR. All facilities plan to move from paper toward the electronic tiers over the next few years. TB/HIV collaborative activities will continue to be supported.
ART -- Antiretroviral treatment, FF -- Family Folder, MoTeCH -- Mobile Technology for Community Health, SR -- Simplified Register, TB -- Tuberculosis, WHO -- World Health Organization
\*All case studies are publicly available at: http://technet--21.org/en/forums/case--studies--on--paper--immunization--registers.
This commentary synthesizes lessons learned from these case studies, illuminating four successful strategies for optimizing paper health register systems: support local solutions, align with global standards; collect only essential data elements; foster data use and data quality improvement; and invest in strengthening human resources. Within these strategies we identify specific, actionable recommendations that could be applied by policymakers, facility managers, health workers, or others who are interested in strengthening paper health register systems. While these recommendations may be obvious to those who work in HIS, they are not yet well--documented in the literature.
SUPPORT LOCAL SOLUTIONS, ALIGN WITH GLOBAL STANDARDS
====================================================
Many of the challenges with registers occur when these systems are designed and implemented by outside stakeholders not aware of the needs and constraints of frontline register users or the HIS that are already in place. Externally--led efforts can take away a sense of ownership within the health system, result in duplicate data collection, and often increase system fatigue. Frontline health workers may not use registers they find unsatisfactory, and local health authorities may not endorse registers that fail to meet their needs. These case studies demonstrate that register systems inspired by grassroots solutions are often more accepted and more likely to be successfully scaled. Yet global and national standards are essential for consistent measurement and comparability of key health indicators \[[@R3],[@R4]\]. While the data points included in registers should be aligned with global standards, standard registers *designed* by global organizations may not satisfy local needs. Recommendations include:
• Once a problem with the register is identified, connect with frontline register users who encounter that problem for insight
• Invest in buy--in meetings during planning and implementation to bring multiple stakeholders together
• As the register matures, hold periodic stakeholder workshops to sustain support at all levels
COLLECT ONLY ESSENTIAL DATA ELEMENTS
====================================
Data proliferation is a challenge in all HIS but is magnified in paper registers. Efforts to improve efficiency should be undertaken with attention to the register's purpose and the broader HIS. An important first step in register design is to explicitly determine whether the register needs to inform clinical decision--making, reporting, or both. While stakeholders may generally accept that non--essential data elements should be trimmed, determining how to judge an element as non--essential requires compromise and can be a major challenge. For some health domains, international guidelines stipulate a minimum data set that can be used as a starting point. Integrating vertical health programs and their registers can consolidate the data points collected in a given register. Recommendations include:
• Consider using registers for either patient care or reporting needs (not both) if their dual purpose is detracting from data quality and use.
• Assess which data elements must be reported; define an essential data set.
• Look to internationally agreed upon case definitions and indicators to design a core set of data elements.
• Design official register systems or updates that complement each other for linked areas of care.
• Minimize indicator duplication across health domains.
• Optimize reporting mechanisms, not just content within reports.
• Use an alternative to traditional registers to link individual to aggregate data.
{#Fa}
FOSTER DATA USE AND DATA QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
============================================
The need to improve data quality was repeated by experts across all four case studies and is of central importance in strengthening register systems. Commitment to utilizing data for evidence--based decision--making is essential at all levels of a register system. When data are of high quality, it is more likely to be used by stakeholders at every level, and when data are considered to be useful it may be collected and aggregated more carefully. Designing registers to support flexible workflows may improve service delivery, register use, and data quality \[[@R5]\]. Efficient guidelines, trainings, and monitoring systems support the correct use of registers. Recommendations include:
• Format registers to support and inform patient care.
• Consider service delivery patterns, including location of service delivery, in register design.
• Allow for variations in register use to support workflows.
• Skip or abbreviate historical data capture for certain types of patients.
• Field--test the register to understand how the full product will be used.
• Include instructions for data collection and reporting on the register itself.
• Design an internal audit system to standardize data quality monitoring.
• Collect register usability data from frontline register users alongside other ongoing monitoring and evaluation efforts.
INVEST IN STRENGTHENING HUMAN RESOURCES
=======================================
People who initiated and sustained improvements within these four case studies had various combinations of passion for data, willingness to mentor, and creativity to think differently about register design. Political support at all levels improves the implementation process and contributes to the sustainability of the register system. Key informants across all four case studies identified human resource constraints as a major challenge to the implementation of health registers. These challenges include both lack of personnel and lack of proper training. Human resource interventions should facilitate engagement with register systems. Recommendations include:
• Use peer--to--peer training models
• Enlist influential public figures for training activities to increase worker buy--in
• Recruit key "change agents" to leadership positions within the register system, and encourage their professional growth
• Design staff positions that can easily task--shift as the register system matures
• Relieve the burden on health providers by allocating activities to data clerks
• Ensure that there is dedicated staff time to support the register system at the district or sub--district level
• Implement a supportive supervision model at the district-- and facility--level to encourage decision--making with data from the registers
LIMITATIONS
===========
Efforts were made to include experiences from different geographies, health domains, and stakeholders to best capture the common strengths and challenges faced by paper health registers. The recommendations revealed through these cases are influenced by the particular case studies that were selected and the sources that were most accessible to the researchers. Conclusions may not be generalizable to other contexts.
THE WAY FORWARD
===============
Paper health registers are important tools in HIS and will continue to occupy a critical role in health service provision, administration, and reporting in many low--resource settings. However, implementing changes to these systems requires commitment of time and resources, and must be approached strategically to avoid system fatigue. Thus, it is important to consider adjustments and updates to multiple aspects of the system. Additional costing studies or operational research could identify efficiencies and reallocate resources toward the most promising solutions. Documenting and sharing lessons learned in other existing HIS can provide additional knowledge to continue to improve these systems.
These cases reveal that there are numerous factors outside of a register's physical attributes that can be addressed to strengthen register systems, including innovative human resource models, policymaking, and implementation strategies. Many stakeholders---including funders, policymakers, public health officials, and health providers---can be a part of strengthening paper register systems to support accurate reporting, evidence--based decision--making, and improved patient care.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the numerous individuals who generously shared their time and expertise to inform the case studies: Dr K O Antwi--Agyei and A Hodgson, Ghana Health Services; Edward Adimazoya and Francis Yeji, Mobile Technology for Community Health; Allison Stone, Columbia University; Dr Stephen Okoboi, The AIDS Support Organisation----Uganda; Dr Ezekiel Mupere, Makerere University; Eric Wobudeya, Makerere University----Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration; Meg Osler, University of Cape Town; Catherine White, Clinton Health Access Initiative; Barbara Franken, Right to Care; Theunis Hurter, Anova Health Institute; Jenny Sequeira, John Snow, INC--Ethiopia; and Molly Abbruzzese and Tim Wood, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This project would not have been possible without their insight. The authors also thank colleagues on the Vaccine Delivery Team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their guidance and support throughout the project. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this commentary are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of key informants, thought partners, or reviewers.
**Funding:** This work was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) through a contract with the University of Washington Strategic Analysis, Research and Training (START) Center. SSG and TKR are employed by BMGF. EWW was previously an employee of Volt Workforce Solutions on assignment at the BMGF. GAMT was supported in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number T32ES015459.
**Ethical approval:** None required.
**Disclaimer:** The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.
**Authorship declaration:** SKG and TKR developed the research questions and provided input regarding the specific case studies and approach. EWW, SAG and GAMT conducted key informant interviews, reviewed the literature, and with input from SEH, wrote the individual case studies. EWW took primary responsibility for the writing of the manuscript. All authors provided critical input to drafts and the final version of the manuscript.
**Competing Interests:** All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form at [www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf](http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf) (available on request from the corresponding author). The authors declare no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 36 months; and no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work apart from that declared above in the Funding acknowledgement.
|
Q:
Weighted Linear Regression- R to Python - Statsmodels
I'm attempting to translate R code into Python and running into trouble trying to replicate the R lm{stats} function which contains 'weights', allowing for weights to be used in the fitting process.
My ultimate goal is to simply run a weighted linear regression in Python using the statsmodels library.
Searching through the Statsmodels issues I've located caseweights in linear models #743 and SUMM/ENH rare events, unbalanced sample, matching, weights #2701 which make me think this may not be possible with Statsmodels.
Is it possible to add weights to GLM models in Statsmodels or alternatively, is there a better way to run a weighted linear regression in python?
A:
WLS has weights for the linear model, where weights are interpreted as inverse variance for the result statistics.
http://www.statsmodels.org/stable/generated/statsmodels.regression.linear_model.WLS.html
The unreleased version of statsmodels has frequency weights for GLM, but no variance weights.
see freq_weights in http://www.statsmodels.org/dev/generated/statsmodels.genmod.generalized_linear_model.GLM.html
(There are many open issues to expand the types of weights and adding weights to other models, but those are not available yet.)
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Sympathetic reflex control of subcutaneous blood flow in patients with congestive heart failure.
Central and local regulation of forearm subcutaneous vascular resistance (FSVR) during postural changes were studied in congestive heart failure (CHF). Blood flow was measured by the local 133Xe-washout technique. Nine patients with severe CHF (baseline angiographic ejection fraction, 23 +/- 2%, mean +/- SEM; cardiac index, 2.2 +/- 0.2 litres min-1 m-2; increased left ventricular pressures and dimensions) were compared with seven control subjects who had normal cardiac performance. Baseline FSVR and plasma concentrations of noradrenaline and adrenaline were substantially higher in patients with CHF than control subjects. However, the patients, like control subjects, increased FSVR by 46 +/- 3% in response to increase in local venous transmural pressure and disclosed a normal response to decrease in forearm perfusion pressure. Both responses to changes in vascular transmural pressure were preserved after either proximal nervous blockade or local beta-receptor blockade. Central sympathetic stimulation was induced with use of 45 degrees upright tilt. Control subjects developed vasoconstriction (FSVR increased by 59 +/- 5%), which was completely abolished after proximal nerve blockade. Patients with CHF developed vasodilatation (FSVR decreased by 24 +/- 8%), which was not only abolished but reversed after proximal nerve blockade (FSVR increased by 22 +/- 7%), probably owing to the increased humoral vasoconstrictor activity. The paradoxical vasodilator response to central sympathetic stimulation in these patients was reversed after local beta-receptor blockade (FSVR increased by 19 +/- 9%). The local vasoconstrictor reflex responsiveness and intrinsic vascular reactivity were not affected by the augmented baseline sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity in patients with CHF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
These are consequential days for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Drivers in many U.S. cities are going on strike today, protesting low pay, and analysts expect Uber will likely earn billions when it goes public on Friday. (The two events are not unrelated.)
But amidst the economic discussions, at least we can all agree that it’s good news in terms of traffic, right? The more people rely on professional drivers to get around, the fewer individual cars will be clogging up the streets. It makes sense — but is it actually true?
A study today appearing in Science Advances says, basically, nope. By multiple measures, companies like Uber and Lyft make traffic worse, and led to more delays for travelers. As ride-sharing apps become more popular in urban centers, the findings could help city planners and policy makers figure out better approaches to deal with the changing transit landscape.
The Ride-Sharing Time Share
The team of authors from the University of Kentucky and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority looked specifically at traffic patterns in San Francisco from 2010 to 2016, an interval spanning the rise of ride-sharing apps, or transportation network companies (TNCs), like Uber and Lyft.
“We enter this debate to address the question,” they write, “do TNCs decrease or increase traffic congestion?”
While previous studies had tried to answer it, the authors say a lack of data has led to mixed results. So, this time they made sure to get tons of it: TNC volumes, pickups and drop-offs all over San Francisco, sorted by time of day, and scraped from the application programming interfaces of “the two largest TNCs” — presumably, Uber and Lyft. They also produced a model, based on known roadway conditions, demographic analyses and other data, that simulates what 2016 traffic would have looked like without ride sharing apps.
The results don’t look great for the companies. “Observed changes in travel time are worse than the background changes would predict,” the authors write. “Travel times get worse on roads with more TNC activity than on roads with less TNC activity after controlling for background traffic changes. This result supports the hypothesis that TNCs increase congestion, at least in San Francisco.”
The numbers are stark. One of the biggest differences was in travel times, which the team measured in terms of the amount of delay caused by traffic congestion, as opposed to free-flowing, smooth sailing traffic. The researchers say that ride-sharing services made delays 62 percent worse.
Meanwhile, in the researcher's simulated model of how much worse things would've gotten anyway without the ride-sharing, travel delays went up, but not nearly as much: 22 percent. The average speeds of cars on the roads also went down over time, decreasing 13 percent in real life, but only four percent in the model.
So in a world without Uber and Lyft, the highways would be less stuffed and average speeds would be higher. And travel time became less reliable overall, too. That pushed commuters to give themselves a buffer to make sure they’d arrive somewhere on time. Thanks to ride sharing services, commuters are now giving themselves about 15 percent more time to get somewhere. The researchers say the natural increase without Uber and Lyft would've seen people giving themselves about 6 percent more travel time.
Better Solutions
The authors even listed some reasons why ride-sharing might be making traffic worse. Most TNC trips actually add vehicles to the road, they found, as riders take the more convenient option instead of mass transit, walking, cycling or simply not going. And pickup/drop-offs proved distinctly disruptive to traffic flow, especially in the highest-density streets that need the most help alleviating congestion to begin with.
The authors concede that more work needs to be done, including studying these trends in other cities and non-urban areas to get a better overall picture of their effect. But, with TNCs making up 15 percent of all intra-San Francisco vehicle trips and ridership doubling in New York from 2014 to 2016, these ride-sharing trends show no signs of slowing down — unlike the congestion they create. The more we learn about how these companies actually affect traffic, the better we can incorporate them into our future transportation systems. |
Monday, May 2, 2016
Focus on Aminophylline
This is the second in a series of blogs that are focused on the specific
uses of natural substances and medications that are used in mesotherapy.Today’s blog is about Aminophylline, which is an mesotherapeuitic
injectable that is used to treat of localized fat deposits and cellulite.It is an injectable that is very popular with
mesotherapists treating their clients for aging.
What is Aminophylline?
Aminophuline facilitates weight loss.
Aminophylline is approved for use as a
bronchodilator, antiasthmatic medication and it is used to treat COPD.It is packaged in an injection solution of
theophylline and water. It is a substance that has beta-adrenergic effects,
which means it increases cellar metabolic activity and the lipoysis (the ridding
of fat from the body.) Weight loss and the dissolving of fat is a beneficial side-effect to a drug initially approved for use on the lungs.
The Benefits of Aminophylline
In mesotherapy aminophylline include:
*The dissolving of fat deposits (in which case the phosphatidycholine is
injected directly into the problem
*Maybe an improvement in the symptoms asthma and COPD (as an added bonus however this is more evident if it is inhaled through a vaporizer)
*Maybe weight loss (as the substance has an action that is very similar
to epeniphrine; the natural “speed” drug that causes weight loss)
The Side Effects of Aminophylline
This mesotherapy, although effective for fat dissolution,
can have side effects. Side effects can include:
*nausea*vomiting*diarrhea*insomnia*headaches*irritabilty*restlessness*flushing *fluttering or racing heart*rash*swelling and soreness at the injection site
Individuals that should not take Aminophylline
include individuals with seizure disorders and people with peptic ulcers. If
your patient is on an inhaler for asthma he or she should not take injections
of aminophylline.Injections should be
avoided if the patient is on certain drugs such as alopurinol, cimetidine,
ciprofoxacin, erythomycin, lithium carbonate, phenytoin and propanolol. People
on oral contraceptives should also dismiss aminophlline as a treatment.
If for some reason someone has a reaction toAminophylline, stop the injection immediately
and administer oxygen and intraveneous fluids to prevent hypotension.
For
more information about The Pinewood Institute for the Advancement of Natural
Medicine courses including course outlines, detailed descriptions of courses
and information about upcoming training sessions, please go www.pinewoodinstitute.com. In these courses you
will learn about the proper uses of injectable such asAminophylline. You can also
send us an email using our email form at
http://pinewoodinstitute.com/contact.aspx or call us at 416-656-8100. If you
prefer to fax the number is 416-656-8107. |
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to oleochemical raw materials and, more particularly, to unsaturated fatty alcohols which, through the presence of branches in the hydrocarbon chain, are distinguished from linear homologs by significantly improved properties, to a process for their production and to their use for the production of surface-active compositions.
Unsaturated fatty alcohols, which are largely obtained from beef tallow by hydrolysis of the triglycerides, roll-up separation of the fatty acids into the substantially saturated stearin fraction and the predominantly unsaturated olein fraction, esterification of the olein and subsequent hydrogenation of the methyl ester with the double bonds intact, are important raw materials both for the production of cosmetic preparations and for the production of laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents and cleaning compositions. Thus, the alcohols themselves are used for example as concrete parting agents, their derivatives, for example ethoxylates, sulfates and ether sulfates, are used as emulsifiers or surfactants in shampoos and liquid detergents and oleyl esters are frequently used as cosmetic oil components. The favorable properties of these substances are linked to the presence of the double bond in the molecule although this also presents problems because the unsaturated fatty alcohols readily fall victim to auto-oxidation which is associated with discoloration and unwanted chemical changes (for example formation of peroxides and hydroperoxides).
Accordingly, it is clear that there is a need on the market for unsaturated fatty alcohols with improved oxidation stability or suitable substitutes which possess at least equivalent performance properties. However, more or less pure isostearyl alcohols have hitherto been the only alternatives to unsaturated fatty alcohols. To produce them, oleic acid first has to be dimerized, the fraction of monomeric branched fatty acids separated off, hydrogenated and subjected to fractional crystallization, the liquid fraction accumulating, which is rich in isostearic acid, has to be removed and esterified with methanol and the esters obtained subsequently hydrogenated to form the alcohols.
The process described above is technically complicated by the two hydrogenation steps and, in the isostearyl alcohols, provides substitutes which can only replace the unsaturated fatty alcohols to a limited extent. Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide unsaturated fatty alcohols which would be distinguished by improved oxidation stability for at least comparable performance properties.
Description of the Invention
The present invention relates to branched, substantially unsaturated fatty alcohols which are obtainable by
(a) dimerizing unsaturated C16-22 fatty acids in known manner,
(b) removing the monomer fraction accumulating in the dimerization step,
(c) converting the branched, substantially unsaturated fatty acids present in this fraction into the corresponding fatty acid methyl esters and
(d) hydrogenating the branched, substantially unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters with the double bonds intact.
It has surprisingly been found that the branched, substantially unsaturated fatty alcohols have distinctly improved auto-oxidation stability compared with linear homologs having the same chain length and the same iodine value.
Production of the Substantially Unsaturated Fatty Alcohols
The present invention also relates to a process for the production of branched, substantially unsaturated fatty alcohols in which
(a) unsaturated C16-22 fatty acids are dimerized in known manner,
(b) the monomer fraction accumulating in the dimerization step is removed,
(c) the branched, substantially unsaturated fatty acids present in this fraction are converted into the corresponding fatty acid methyl esters and
(d) the branched, substantially unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters are hydrogenated with the double bonds intact.
The dimerization of fatty acids and the recovery of monomer fatty acids from the dimers is sufficiently well-known from the prior art, cf. for example the overviews by A. Behr et al. [Fat Sci. Technol. 93, 340 (1991)] and by H. Mxc3x6hring et al. [ibid. 94, 41 (1992) and 94, 241 (1992)]. The sequence of steps (a) to (d) gives branched, substantially unsaturated fatty alcohols with iodine values of 45 to 85 on the basis of dimerized, preferably monounsaturated C16-22 fatty acids, i.e. oleic acid, elaidic acid, petroselic acid, gadoleic acid and erucic acid and mixtures thereof. This is without doubt entirely adequate for a number of applications. However, in cases where fatty compounds with a relatively high content of unsaturated compounds are required, it is advisable to subject the monomer fraction accumulating in the dimerization step to fractional crystallization and then to subject the liquid phase obtained to esterification, optionally after distillation. The fatty acid obtained and its methyl esters represent an already fairly pure isooleic acid or isooleic acid methyl ester with iodine values of 75 to 95. In any event, it is advisable to subject the methyl esters and/or the fatty alcohols to distillation and/or fractional crystallization (xe2x80x9cwinterizingxe2x80x9d). The esterification of the fatty acids with methanol is carried out by known methods and is intended to produce methyl esters which are comparatively easy to hydrogenate. Instead of the methyl esters, other lower alkyl esters, for example ethyl, propyl or butyl esters, may of course also be produced and subsequently hydrogenated. The choice of the alcohol is basically not critical and is solely determined by economic criteria and availability. Instead of the methyl or lower alkyl esters, it is also possible in principle directly to esterify the fatty acids, although this does involve the use of special catalysts which do not form salts with the acids. In addition, the reactor material has to be corrosion-resistant. The hydrogenation of the unsaturated methyl esters to form the corresponding alcohols may also be carried out in known manner. Corresponding processes and catalysts, particularly those based on copper and zinc, are disclosed for example in the following documents: DE 43 357 81 C1, EP 0 602 108 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,586 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,520 (Henkel); reference is expressly made to the disclosures of these documents.
Commercial Applications
The new branched substantially unsaturated fatty alcohols are distinguished by particular stability to oxidation and are therefore suitable for the production of surface-active compositions, preferably laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, cleaners and softeners, and cosmetic and/or pharmaceutical preparations in which they may be present in quantities of 1 to 50% by weight, preferably 5 to 35% by weight and more preferably 10 to 25% by weight. |
Celecoxib activates PI-3K/Akt and mitochondrial redox signaling to enhance heme oxygenase-1-mediated anti-inflammatory activity in vascular endothelium.
Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) provide important control of pain and inflammation, they have been overshadowed by concerns regarding atherothrombotic complications. However, celecoxib seems to have a relatively good cardiovascular profile and may improve endothelial function in coronary heart disease. This led us to the hypothesis that celecoxib induces the vasculoprotective enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). In human umbilical vein and aortic endothelial cells, 24-48 h treatment with celecoxib induced HO-1 mRNA and protein expression and increased HO-1 enzyme activity. This effect was not seen with rofecoxib or indomethacin. Supplementation of culture medium with iloprost or prostaglandin E(2) failed to reverse celecoxib-mediated HO-1 induction, indicating a cyclooxygenase-independent mechanism. Rather, this action of celecoxib involved generation of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species, Akt phosphorylation, and nuclear translocation of the transcription factor Nrf2, with N-acetylcysteine, PI-3K antagonist LY290042, and dominant-negative Akt abrogating the effects. Furthermore, celecoxib-induced HO-1 was inhibited by dominant-negative Nrf2. The functional significance of HO-1 induction was revealed by celecoxib-mediated inhibition of VCAM-1 expression, a response reversed by the HO-1 antagonist zinc protoporphyrin. HO-1 induction provides a molecular mechanism for clinical observations indicating relative freedom from atherothrombotic complications in patients taking celecoxib compared to other NSAIDs with comparable anti-inflammatory activity. |
Q:
How do I connect my local DNS server to provider's?
I have bought a domain name from GoDaddy and I have my old PC acting as a server. I want to setup my DNS server that will be responsible for subdomains, whereas GoDaddy has its own DNS server responsible for my second-level domain name.
I have troubles "connecting" provider's DNS server to mine. What records do I need to put into GoDaddy's DNS management console and into my BIND config?
Here are entries at GoDaddy:
A @ 84.23.37.194 1 h
cname ftp @ 1 h
cname www @ 1 h
cname _domainconnect _domainconnect.gd.domaincontrol.com 1 h
ns @ ns31.domaincontrol.com 1 h
ns @ ns32.domaincontrol.com 1 h
I added one additional entry:
ns @ ns.xobotun.com 1 h
Here are my BIND settings:
• file \etc\bind\named.conf.local:
zone "xobotun.com" {
type master;
file "/etc/bind/db.xobotun.com";
};
• file \etc\bind\db.xobotun.com:
$TTL 604800
xobotun.com IN SOA ns31.domaincontrol.com. hostmaster.godaddy.com. (
2 ; Serial
604800 ; Refresh
86400 ; Retry
2419200 ; Expire
604800 ) ; Negative Cache TTL
xobotun.com. IN NS ns31.domaincontrol.com.
xobotun.com. IN NS ns32.domaincontrol.com.
xobotun.com. IN A 84.23.37.194
static IN A 84.23.37.194
cv IN A 84.23.37.194
ns IN A 84.23.37.194
I suppose that I should alter the line I added to GoDaddy DNS control panel, but it does not let me enter plain ip address and asks to enter DNS server address in nsXX.nameserver.tld format.
I've been fighting DNS server two days already and gave up. Of course, I can add a string like
A static @ 1h to GoDaddy control panel, but that is way too easy!
EDIT
I ran nmap and found a discrepancy: responding service was not BIND, but pdnsd. That lead me to an answer.
A:
There were several problems:
I had previously installed pdnsd as caching DNS server. Even though I have turned it off, it started its daemon every time I was launching service bind9 restart. And yes, it occupied 0.0.0.0 and seemed to respond instead of bind9, however not showing itself in netstat -tulpn. I figured it only after launching nmap from another PC.
There was anti-mitm-alike protection on: https://askubuntu.com/questions/768210/bind9-will-not-resolve.
Finally and mainly, after several iterations of editing \etc\bind\db.xobotun.com, I accidentally removed point .
xobotun.com IN SOA ns31.domaincontrol.com. hostmaster.godaddy.com. (
It should instead looked like
xobotun.com. IN SOA ns31.domaincontrol.com. hostmaster.godaddy.com. (
___________↑
It is working now, thanks!
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Karakal Love Heart Grip
Karakal Love Heart Grip
The Karakal Love Heart PU Super Grip is designed using Nano Technology. This Grip has an embossed surface and soft touch. It is non-slip, with super absorbent and nullifies vibrations. Karakal grips come in universal length, with a self-adhesive and sealing tape.
The Karakal Love Heart PU Super Grip is also suitable for the use on Tennis Rackets, Squash Rackets, Badminton Rackets and Hockey Sticks. Please note if your colour is not in stock then we may substitute with the nearest colour.
The Karakal Love Heart PU Super Grip is designed using Nano Technology. This Grip has an embossed surface and soft touch. It is non-slip, with super absorbent and nullifies vibrations. Karakal grips come in universal length, with a self-adhesive and sealing tape.
The Karakal Love Heart PU Super Grip is also suitable for the use on Tennis Rackets, Squash Rackets, Badminton Rackets and Hockey Sticks. Please note if your colour is not in stock then we may substitute with the nearest colour. |
An elite U.S. Coast Guard unit joined the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team on amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) to conduct counter-piracy and maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Deployed Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) are preparing to quit smoking as well as many other things, starting Dec. 28, and continuing through the ship's return to home port.
Sailors and Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) returned to the United States following a 10 1/2-month deployment when it pulled into Morehead City, N.C., Feb. 4. |
BLM Approves EA for West Antelope II South Coal Lease Modification
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) High Plains District Office (HPDO) announces the availability of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision Record (DR) for Antelope II South Coal Lease Modification. The Antelope Mine is located approximately 20 miles south/southeast of the city of Wright, Wyo.
Antelope Coal, LLC has applied to modify an existing lease (WYW-177903) in order to avoid a potential bypass of an estimated 15,751,000 tons of minable federal coal within an 856.61 acre tract in Converse County.
The project area was previously analyzed in the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the West Antelope II Coal Lease Application WYW-163340 (December 2008). This EA was prepared for the proposed action, and is tiered to the West Antelope II FEIS.
The BLM is responsible for the balanced use of the public lands and resources in a manner that best serves the long-term needs of current and future generations. Therefore, the BLM takes the necessary steps to ensure that federal coal lease modification applications are analyzed in accordance with Federal regulations (43 CFR 3432.2). These regulations provide for lease modifications when: 1) the modification serves the interests of the United States; (2) there is no competitive interest in the lands or deposits; and (3) the additional lands or deposits cannot be developed as part of another potential or existing independent operation.
The BLM has made the determination that the above criteria apply to this application. The BLM will receive fair market value from Antelope Coal, LLC for the lands added to the lease by the proposed modification.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands. |
Kunmimg University of Science and Technology
|
Fire in Vandergrift labeled suspicious
posted Nov 18, 2016, 9:56 PM by Joseph Gray
Vandergrift firefighters respond to a reported house fire at 213 Longfellow St. on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. Only a couch ended up being on fire inside the vacant building.Photo by Sydney Davis | Tribune-Review
As Matthew Bockhouse walked up Vandergrift's Longfellow Street with his dinner Thursday night, he smelled smoke and feared his apartment building was on fire.
Instead, the smoke was coming from a fire in the vacant building next door — just five doors down from two commercial buildings that were destroyed by a conflagration two weeks ago.
Bockhouse called 911 and alerted the other tenant in his building, which is just 4 feet from the 21⁄2-story, white-sided house that was on fire at 213 Longfellow St.
Vandergrift No. 2 fire Chief Steve Potoka said the flames were were traced to a couch in the front room. Potoka said there was only minor damage to the room because firefighters quickly extinguished the small fire.
He deemed the fire — reported just after 8 p.m. — suspicious and said a state police fire marshal will investigate. The building is not connected to utilities and has been vacant for years, Potoka said.
Neighbors said squatters have used the building.
Meanwhile, Bockhouse sat across the street in the parking lot of Byers Taxi Service and ate his sandwich, surrounded by the grocery bags he'd been carrying home from Sprankle's Market when he spotted the fire. He wasn't too worried about his food spoiling — the only perishable item was the frozen turkey he'd bought for Thanksgiving dinner. |
Multiple defects of the nerve growth factor receptor in human neuroblastomas.
Neuroblastoma is a tumor of postganglionic sympathetic origin, and nerve growth factor (NGF) is normally required for the survival and differentiation of sympathetic neuroblasts. Since the biological activity of NGF is mediated by the NGF receptor (NGFR), we hypothesized that defects in the NGF/NGFR pathway may play a role in maintenance of the undifferentiated state of neuroblastomas. To test this hypothesis, we examined the structure of the NGFR at the DNA, RNA, and protein levels in a panel of 10 neuroblastoma cell lines. In addition, we examined the function of the NGFR in these lines by analysis of NGF binding kinetics, as well as by the ability of NGF to induce c-fos expression and neurite outgrowth. Southern blot analysis showed that all 10 cell lines possess apparently normal NGFR genes. Northern blot and ligand binding/immunoprecipitation assays revealed four receptor-positive cell lines (NGP, NLF, SK-N-SH, and LA-N-6), with NGFR mRNA and protein of expected sizes (3.8 kilobases and Mr approximately 75,000, respectively). NGF binding assays and Scatchard analyses were performed on the four NGFR-positive lines. The NGP line possesses only low-affinity receptor (Kd approximately 3.5 x 10(-9)), whereas the other three lines express both low- and high-affinity forms (Kd approximately 10(-9) and Kd approximately 10(-11), respectively). However, none of the 10 lines exhibited a response to NGF treatment as assayed by c-fos mRNA induction and neurite extension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
Fuck This Site - onatm
http://www.fuckthissite.com/
======
mradmin
Ironic that I struggle to read the text on this page due to the horrendous
colour contrast. I give you the middle finger, fuckthissite.com.
------
deltamidway
As my little side project with a friend - glad to see not only did it get
reposted on HN but also the code fucked with :)
------
PavlovsCat
Seems broken/spammed. I doubt the homepage for some random local German soccer
team is annoying that many people.
|
Vancouver, British Columbia-based NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc. and the Council of the Haida Nation have formed a partnership in support of the development of Canada's first offshore wind energy project.
The NaiKun project is located in the traditional territory of the Haida Nation in British Columbia's Hecate Strait, between Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) and the mainland.
The partnership will be a commercial limited partnership, which will operate and maintain the NaiKun wind energy project after construction. The comprehensive limited partnership agreement provides revenue sharing, environmental stewardship, and employment and economic development opportunities for the Haida Nation.
The agreement formalizes the relationship between the Haida Nation and NaiKun, which has been ongoing since 2002, and builds on the memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties in May 2007.
The Haida Nation and NaiKun Wind Operating Inc., a subsidiary of NaiKun, will participate equally in the partnership, both in terms of ownership and economic value. NaiKun Wind Operating is the designated general partner.
The project is contingent upon receipt of environmental approvals from the Haida Nation and through the harmonized federal/provincial environmental assessment process and the award of an electricity purchase agreement from BC Hydro.
Training and recruiting for the project will begin immediately to ensure a qualified workforce is in place as activity ramps up for the start of construction in 2012, according to NaiKun. |
Q:
Properly positioning nested flexbox divs
I am trying to achieve a structure with flexboxes that looks like this:
But as of now what I have achieved looks like this:
That is, I can't get the text in the nested div to be displayed below the image with left-alignment;
Here's the relevant HTML :
<div class='page'>
/*Some more divs*/
<div class='section feature-1 ' >
<img src='image1.jpg' class='divToShowHide' height="30%"
width="50%"/>
<div class='section feature-1 feature-1-content'>
<h2>TEXT HERE !
</h2></div>
</div>
/*More similar divs here*/
</div>
And here's the relevant CSS:
.page {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
}
.section {
width: 100%;
height: 300px;
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
}
.feature-1 {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
background-color: #F5CF8E;
align-items: flex-start;
justify-content: flex-start;
}
.feature-1-content{
align-items: center;
}
.feature-1 img{
padding: 5px;
border-radius: 50%;
}
How can I get the Image and the text of the feature-1 div to be positioned as I want them to ?
A:
Change flex-direction: row in .feature-1 to flex-direction: column and they will stack vertically.
|
The girls displayed great technique throughout the tournament. Their dribbling, pace, long crosses were all spot on. It was an amazing performance against India despite our loss, we had some great chances throughout the game.
A couple of years ago Bangladesh girls team ended a game narrowly losing at 3-2 against the Australian girls team in an AFC tournament, and Australia is the #7 team in the Women's World Rankings. I do believe that our womens team has great potential to play in the World Cup within the next couple of decades if nurtured correctly (BFF has a really poor track record of doing that). |
Q:
What is y'' if $\sin y = y + 5x$?
I got $ 5\sin y / (\cos y - 1)^2$ as my answer, but the correct answer was given as $25\sin y / (\cos y - 1)^3$.
My thought process:
Derive the original equation to get $y'\cos y = y' +5$
$$y'(\cos y- 1 ) = 5$$
$$y' = 5/(\cos y - 1) = 5(\cos y - 1)^{-1}$$
$$y'' = 5\frac{\sin y }{ (\cos y - 1)^2}$$
Can anyone explain to me why this is wrong, and how to get the correct answer?
A:
We have $y=\sin y-5x$ so we differentiate : $y'=y'\cos y-5$ which gives $y'=\frac5{\cos y-1}$ and we differentiate again: $y''=\frac{5y'\sin y}{(\cos y-1)^2}=\frac{25\sin y}{(\cos y-1)^3}$.
|
Introduction {#s1}
============
Semantic priming is an experimental procedure in which exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus. Semantic priming has been the standard paradigm for evaluating the associations among concepts stored in semantic memory [@pone.0109139-Minzenberg1]. A 'priming effect' classically refers to a change in reaction time to answer a stimulus word after having been exposed to a previous related word (i.e. Cat-Dog versus Cat-Leg). In the recent years, a great amount of evidence has been accumulated to suggest that priming tasks can be used to induce a feeling of social affiliation and to facilitate cooperative behaviors between two individuals [@pone.0109139-Schrder1]. For example, Lakin and Chartrand [@pone.0109139-Lakin1] showed that prosocial primes elicit stronger unconscious mimicry during social interaction. Young children were found to help a person in need more often, and more spontaneously, when primed with photographs evoking affiliation than when primed with photographs evoking individuality [@pone.0109139-Over1]. These results suggest that promoting social behaviors by activating social goal representations (e.g. nonverbal behaviors) may have interesting applications in patients with severe interpersonal impairments. Social deficits are a feature of many mental disorders, such as schizophrenia [@pone.0109139-Sidlova1], characterized by a link between social functioning deficits and nonverbal expressiveness (spontaneous hand gestures and spontaneous smiles) [@pone.0109139-DelMonte1]. Classically, Social deficits in schizophrenia have to date been treated by means of cognitive remediation or social skills training therapy. The former of these interventions has shown limited benefits [@pone.0109139-Fiszdon1]--[@pone.0109139-Penads1] and, while the latter has shown effects on social cognition, relevant studies have been few [@pone.0109139-Pilling1], [@pone.0109139-Wykes2] and to our knowledge none of them have targeted nonverbal social behaviors.
Past studies investigating priming schizophrenia patients have shown conflicting results. In reaction time task toward a word target using a priming task, Rossell and David (2006) found a significant decrease in reaction time compared to healthy controls (hyperpriming) but some years before, the same authors found a significant increase in reaction time (hypopriming) [@pone.0109139-Rossell1]. Finally, other studies found a comparable reaction time in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. These studies taken together point out that schizophrenia patient were as sensitive to priming effects as healthy individuals [@pone.0109139-PomarolClotet1]. However, such studies only used the priming task to examine abnormal semantic network activation in schizophrenia and not as a therapeutic tool in this pathology.
Nevertheless, reductions in social motor behaviors play a role in social deficits in this pathology [@pone.0109139-DelMonte1]. Nonverbal behavior impairments are often characterized by a reduction in the number of spontaneous gestures [@pone.0109139-Trmeau1]--[@pone.0109139-Lavelle2]. In particular, a recent review of Lavelle et al. (2014) showed that schizophrenia patients displayed fewer hand gestures and less variability and flexible facial expressions during social interactions. Additionally, nonverbal behavior reductions, in schizophrenia, were linked with a decrease in social competences [@pone.0109139-Brne1] and social functioning [@pone.0109139-DelMonte1]. Given the social deficits observed in this disorder, it seems essential to investigate the effect of social priming on nonverbal behaviors in schizophrenia.
The main aim of the current study was to determine whether social priming could modulate nonverbal social behaviors of patients suffering from schizophrenia. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale (MASS) [@pone.0109139-Trmeau2] in order to compare the effect of three kinds of social priming (pro-social, non-social and anti-social) on schizophrenia patients. We expected that in the pro-social priming condition, the number of nonverbal social behaviours in schizophrenia participants would be significantly increased compared to the non-social and the anti-social social priming conditions.
Materials and Methods {#s2}
=====================
Participants {#s2a}
------------
Forty-five schizophrenia patients diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria participated in this study. Diagnoses were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-CV) [@pone.0109139-First1]. Patients were in the stable phase of the illness according to the current treating psychiatrist, and categorized, as had no hospitalizations or changes in housing in the month prior to entering the study. All individuals with schizophrenia were receiving antipsychotic medication at the time of participation and were recruited from the University Department of Adult Psychiatry in Montpellier. Exclusion criteria for both groups were: (a) known neurological disease, (b) developmental disability, or (c) substance abuse in the past month. All participants were proficient in the French language, had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and naïve as to the purpose of the study. Participants gave written consent to participate in this experiment. The capacity of the patients to provide informed consent was established through a structured interview, and was also confirmed by their treating psychiatrists. The local Ethics Committee approved the study (CPP Sud Méditérannée III, Montpellier, France AFSSAPS 2009-A00513-54 24, 07/22/2009) conforming to the Declaration of Helsinki.
One day before testing, neurologic soft signs and extrapyramidal symptoms were rated using the Neurological Soft Signs Scale (NSS) [@pone.0109139-Krebs1], the level of depressive symptoms was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory -- II (BDI-II) [@pone.0109139-Beck1], the premorbid IQ was evaluated using the French National Adult Reading Test (*f*NART) [@pone.0109139-Mackinnon1], and an indication of their social anxiety was obtained using the Liebowitz-Social-Anxiety-Scale (LSAS) [@pone.0109139-Liebowitz1]. Finally for schizophrenia patients, the severity of symptoms was assessed using the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) [@pone.0109139-Kay1] and social functioning was assessed by the modified prosocial subscale of the PANSS [@pone.0109139-Baran1] (see [Table 1](#pone-0109139-t001){ref-type="table"} for participants\' characteristics).
10.1371/journal.pone.0109139.t001
###### Means ± standard deviation of demographic and clinical characteristics of participants.
{#pone-0109139-t001-1}
SZ patients (n = 15) Pro-social priming SZ patients (n = 15) Anti-social priming SZ patients (n = 15) Non-social priming Statistics *p*
------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- ---------------- -------
Age (years) 35.33±11.30 35.66±11.10 32.06±8.37 *H* = 1.384 0.500
Sex ratio (M/F) 9/6 10/5 10/5 *X^2^* = 0.194 0.908
Education level (years) 12±3 12.53±2.64 11.20±3.16 *H* = 1.804 0.406
IQ premorbid (*f*NART) 105.80±8 107±7.60 107.26±10.29 *H* = 0.413 0.813
Depression level (BDI-II) 16.13±7.46 13.53±4.85 14.73±11.75 *H* = 1.172 0.557
Anxiety level (LSAS) 27.40±9.34 25.93±8.52 27.60±18.60 *H* = 0.035 0.983
Neurologic Soft Signs scores 9.26±4.78 12.10±6.04 12.63±5.26 *H* = 4.039 0.133
PANSS
• Total 71.06±14.30 70.80±13.15 72.60±11.31 *H* = 0.207 0.902
• Positive 16.53±4.34 16.66±6.86 18.40±7.60 *H* = 0.649 0.723
• Negative 17.06±5.86 18.33±6.55 18.13±3.83 *H* = 1.068 0.586
• Psychopathology 37.46±7.67 35.80±6.12 36.01±4.43 *H* = 0.131 0.937
• Prosocial PANSS items 10±3.98 11.53±4.82 11.20±3.29 *H* = 0.842 0.656
SZ: Schizophrenia, IQ: Intellectual Quotient, *f*NART: French version of the National Adult Reading Test, BDI-II: Beck Depression Inventory version-II, LSAS: Liebowitz-Social-Anxiety-Scale, PANSS: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.
*H*: Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test, *X^2^*: Chi-square parametric test.
Procedure {#s2b}
---------
Schizophrenia patients who were blind to the real goal of the experiment were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (pro-social, anti-social and non-social). Upon arrival at the laboratory, the participant had to complete one first task. The task was purportedly designed to examine the effect of color on the ability to form comprehensible sentences (priming task). A first experimenter, always the same for all patients and blind to the purpose of the study, verbally explained the instructions for each task. Participants were told that they should use four of the five words to make a complete sentence. They would have to say the sentence verbally and a new screen would appear with five different words in different colors.
Immediately after having completed the priming task (either the pro-social, anti-social or non-social condition), schizophrenia patients were tested for nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS by a second experimenter (always the same) blind to the specific conditions of priming to prevent any "un-blind experimenter effect" [@pone.0109139-Doyen1], [@pone.0109139-Shanks1].
Material {#s2c}
--------
### Social priming task: Scrambled-sentence Task {#s2c1}
Stimuli were presented on a computer screen (60 Hz,.45 m, 1280×800 pixels). Viewing was unrestrained at a distance of approximately.6 m. In the priming task, words were presented in color on a white background. Each trial showed five words arranged horizontally across the screen. Words were presented in Arial, font size 24 and the color of the words varied randomly over trials. They were presented in either green, blue, red, yellow or black ([Figure 1](#pone-0109139-g001){ref-type="fig"}). Three versions of the Scrambled-Sentence Task were constructed (see [@pone.0109139-Leighton1] for a similar procedure): One was intended to prime the pro-social attitude (affiliation), another the anti-social attitude (non-affiliation) and a third was intended to prime no attitude, the non-social priming condition. For all versions, 24 trials contained an adjective or a verb semantically related to the trait in question. For the pro-social version, the critical priming words were: *friendly, pleasant, states, altruist, friendship, friend, courteous, company, sociable, community, communicative, reunited, cooperative, dating, gathered, group, together, popularity, team, share, family, frequented, married, interaction*. For the anti-social version, the critical priming words were: *unique, individual, autonomous, lonesome, oneself, alone, separated, contained, disagreeable, seclusion, detached, uncooperative, divided, rebel, egocentric, selfish, personal, single, neglecting, unpopular, isolated, independent, locked, individually*. The non-social version consisted of the 24 non-social words. The non-social words were: *tomato, stone, box, branch, cloud, river, plank, light bulb, carpet, bag, button, fog, table, tree, wood, hill, spoon, radio, step, curtains, picture, wind, road, brick*.
{#pone-0109139-g001}
Prior to the experiment, a pre-test was carried out to verify the semantic relationship between the target words and the attitudes that we intended to prime. Two separate samples, not included in the main experiment, of 10 schizophrenia patients and 10 healthy controls were asked to rate each word in terms of how social they considered it to be on a 7-point scale (-3 = *very anti-social*, 3 = *very pro-social*). A Friedman test indicated significant differences between pro-social, non-social and anti-social words in their perceived relation to sociality (*p*\<.001). Results confirmed that the schizophrenia group and the healthy control group were equivalent in their judgments (pro-social words: *p* = .288; non-social words: *p* = .676 and anti-social words: *p* = .520) and that the stimulus words were strongly related to the attitudes that they were intended to prime.
### Nonverbal social behavior task {#s2c2}
Trémeau et al. (2008) developed the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale (MASS) for schizophrenia. The first part of this scale, the Motor Affective subscale of the MASS, assesses fundamental expressive deficits by evaluating spontaneous smiles, hand gestures, voluntary smiles and speech flow. The second part of the MASS assesses the lack of initiation (avolition) through motor retardation, personal hygiene, attendance at groups and verbal interaction. In our study, we used the first part of this scale to assess the social priming effect on nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. An interviewer/rater (always the same), blind to the conditions of priming, assessed nonverbal social behaviors.
During a structured interview, participants were asked three questions in the same order. First, participants were asked to report everything they did the day before (for 2 min). Second, they were asked to describe a movie from memory (for 1 min). Third, they were asked to imagine what they would do if given one million Euros (for 30 s). After the interview, participants were asked to make their "most beautiful smile", and pre-defined behavioral anchors were used to rate the posed smiling. Interviewers were instructed to ask the predefined questions each time the participant\'s speech flow stopped for 3 s. Four behaviors were recorded and rated: spontaneous smiles, spontaneous hand nonverbal gestures, speech flow and voluntary facial expression.
Smiles are defined as bilateral upper movements of both lip corners (contraction of the zygomatic muscle) with or without contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle. The rules to rate one smile were i) count one smile if you observe a clear smiling expression or an expression that gives you an impression of smiling (it is not always possible for the interviewer to identify the muscular movement accompanying a smiling expression during an interview), ii) do not consider intensity and iii) do not consider the communicative value of smiles (even a smile that appears to be sarcastic counts as one, if both lip corners move). The rules to count two distinct smiles were i) two smiles should be differentiated by a resting period of two seconds and ii) if smiling is continuous, count one new smile every three seconds.
Spontaneous hand gestures are defined as hand movements directly tied to speech to illustrate or stress what is being said (also called "illustrators") or to replace a word or a sentence, such as pointing with a finger or waving a hand to mean "no" (also called "emblems"). Nonverbal gestures should be differentiated from adaptors (non-communicative, self-stimulating, hand-to-body gestures, such as scratching, touching face with hand, hair playing, hand rubbing, playing with buttons) and from abnormal movements (tremors, dyskinesia, and dystonia). Rules to rate one nonverbal gesture were i) one gesture can involve hand movement only (at the wrist level) or arm movement with or without wrist movements. For movements of fingers only, rate emblematic movements only (such as movements of fingers to say "no", or to express numbers), ii) hand nonverbal gestures must be of enough amplitude to be clearly seen: small movements of wrists that are hardly visible should not be counted and iii) rate occurrences of unilateral or bilateral hand gestures indistinctively (bilateral hand movements that occur at the same time only count for one occurrence). Rules to count two distinct hand nonverbal gestures were i) if a resting period (hands on chair or body, or hands and arms kept in the same position for at least two seconds) is observed between two gestures, ii) if the same gesture continues for more than three seconds, count one gesture every three seconds and iii) if two gestures are tied to two different ideas or words: for example hand nonverbal gestures accompanying the following speech: "I went there, and then came back here" count as two gestures.
The number of questions or instructions coming from the interviewer assessed speech flow. Rules to count one question were i) do not rate interviewer\'s first instruction, questions or instructions irrelevant to the conversation theme (such as: "Could you speak louder?" "Could you take your hands out of your pockets?"), and comments (such as "You are doing well"), ii) if the subject shows looseness of associations or tangentiality, or does not answer your question, you should repeat the same question once (do not count it) and if necessary ask a different question (counts as a new question) and iii) if the subject\'s speech is very slow with pauses more than 5 seconds long between words or sentences, the interviewer should express back-channel verbal communication such as "and?", "yes?", "OK", "go ahead" and must count it as one question (this does not apply to the subject\'s first sentence, just after interviewer\'s instruction). Rules to count two distinct questions were i) the same question or instruction asked on two separate occasions during the interview counts twice; for example "Tell me more about this", "What else did you do this morning?".
Voluntary smile was defined as the voluntary action of smiling. The facial expression must give the impression of a smile (grimaces even involving the contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle should not be counted as a smile). A small smile can be defined as a smile in which each lip corner does not move up more than 2 mm from resting position. The contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle leads to the bulging of the inferior eyelid and to the squinting of the eye (Crow\'s feet). If the subject has wrinkles at the corner of his/her eyes, look for an increase in the eyes squinting.
Each occurrence of these behaviors was transferred on a Likert scale of 1--4. Total number of spontaneous smiles was rated as follows: i) 0 smile corresponded to a score of 1 on the Likert scale, ii) 1--2 smiles corresponded to a score of 2 on the Likert scale, iii) 3--5 smiles corresponded to a score of 3 on the Likert scale and iiii) 5 smiles and above corresponded to a score of 4 on the Likert scale. Total number of spontaneous hand nonverbal gestures was rated as follows: i) 0--3 hand gestures corresponded to a score of 1 on the Likert scale, ii) 4--9 hand gestures corresponded to a score of 2 on the Likert scale, iii) 10--20 hand gestures corresponded to a score of 3 on the Likert scale and iiii) 21 hand gestures and above corresponded to a score of 4 on the Likert scale. Total number of questions was rated as follows: i) 0--1 question corresponded to a score of 4 on the Likert scale, ii) 2--4 questions corresponded to a score of 2 on the Likert scale, iii) 5--7 questions corresponded to a score of 3 on the Likert scale and iiii) 8 questions and above corresponded to a score of 1 on the Likert scale. The quality of voluntary smile was rated as follows: i) « no expression OR smile only » corresponded to a score of 1 on the Likert scale, ii) « small smile and smiling for more than 4 seconds OR large smile only » corresponded to a score of 2 on the Likert scale, iii) « large smile and smiling for more than 4 seconds » corresponded to a score of 3 on the Likert scale and iiii) « large smile and smiling for more than 4 seconds and Crow\'s feet for more than 4 seconds » corresponded to a score of 4 on the Likert scale. The global measure was determined as the sum of scores for each item (max 16 on the Likert scale). A high score on the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS means fewer impairments of nonverbal social behaviors.
Statistical analysis {#s2d}
--------------------
Clinical ratings and nonverbal behavior displays were separately compared for the three groups with a non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. In order to compare the scores of schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming, anti-social priming, and non-social priming, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests were computed for each nonverbal social behavior performance. The level of significance was set to *p*\<.05.
Results {#s3}
=======
Demographic and clinical measures {#s3a}
---------------------------------
The results revealed no difference on the basic demographic and clinical information between schizophrenia groups (see [Table 1](#pone-0109139-t001){ref-type="table"}).
Nonverbal social behavior measures {#s3b}
----------------------------------
The Kruskal-Wallis test on the global nonverbal behaviors assessed by the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS revealed a significant main effect for priming conditions (*H* = 9.542, *p* = .008). Contrast comparisons revealed that schizophrenia patients primed with pro-social words showed significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients primed with anti-social priming words (*z* = −2.918, *p* = .004) and than schizophrenia patients primed with non-social priming words (*z* = −2.231, *p* = .026). Schizophrenia patients in non-social and anti-social priming conditions were not different (*p*\>.05, see [Figure 2](#pone-0109139-g002){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone-0109139-g002}
Results demonstrated that schizophrenia patients primed with non-social words and patients primed with anti-social words were equivalent on all four dimensions of the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS (spontaneous smiles, spontaneous hand gestures, speech flow and voluntary facial expression, all *p*\>.05, see [Figure 3](#pone-0109139-g003){ref-type="fig"}). However, pro-social priming affected the different nonverbal behaviors in schizophrenia patients. Compared to anti-social priming, pro-social priming significantly increased spontaneous hand gestures score (*z* = −2.253, *p* = .024), speech flow score (*z* = −2.356, *p* = .018) and marginally enhanced voluntary facial expression score (*z* = −1.824, *p* = .068). The spontaneous smile measure was equivalent between schizophrenia groups primed with pro-social and anti-social conditions. Schizophrenia patients in pro-social priming also had a higher score on voluntary facial expression than patients with non-social priming (*z* = −2.023, *p* = .043). They also exhibited a marginally greater score on the spontaneous smiles measure (*z* = −1.814, *p* = .070). Finally, spontaneous hand gestures and speech flow dimensions were equivalent between schizophrenia patients primed with pro-social and non-social priming conditions.
{#pone-0109139-g003}
Discussion {#s4}
==========
It was shown repeatedly that goals can be activated outside of awareness through semantic priming and then nonconsciously operate to increase goal-directed behavior [@pone.0109139-Bargh1]--[@pone.0109139-Wegner1]. Concerning social priming, the goal-activation theory of Bargh et al. (2001) predicts that social priming activates an affiliation goal representation, which then automatically leads to the pursuit of that goal. In their initial study, Bargh et al. (2001) showed that nonconscious social goal activation promoted not only goal-directed action but also increased and maintained the motivation over time to achieve the social goal behavior [@pone.0109139-Bargh3]. These results have been replicated in numerous studies [@pone.0109139-Schrder1]. Surprisingly, although nonverbal social behaviors are known to be strongly impaired in schizophrenia [@pone.0109139-Trmeau1]--[@pone.0109139-Lavelle2], no study has tested whether social priming might affect such deficits.
The main goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of social priming on nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. To this aim, we used the Scrambled-Sentence Task, inspired of Leighton et al. (2008) but initially developed by Srull and Wyer [@pone.0109139-Srull1], to socially prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions (i.e., pro-social, anti-social and non-social conditions). Nonverbal social behaviors in a subsequent interaction were then measured. As hypothesized, schizophrenia patients in the pro-social priming condition exhibited significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients primed with non-social and anti-social conditions and these two groups (non-social and anti-social conditions) were not statistically different. These results are in line with the literature [@pone.0109139-Leighton1], [@pone.0109139-Wang1] and confirm that schizophrenia patients are sensitive to the social priming effect [@pone.0109139-PomarolClotet1]. For the first time, results indicate that the production of nonverbal behaviors during social interaction, repeatedly shown as impaired in schizophrenia [@pone.0109139-Trmeau1]--[@pone.0109139-Lavelle2], can be significantly promoted using pro-social priming. More specifically, our results indicate that, in schizophrenia participants, pro-social priming significantly increased several dimensions (i.e. spontaneous hand gestures, speech flow and voluntary facial expression) of the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS compared to the anti-social priming condition. In addition, we found that pro-social priming increased significantly voluntary facial expressions and the number of spontaneous smiles compared to the non-social condition. Importantly, equivalence of demographical and psychological variables (i.e., depression, anxiety level, symptomatological level and social functioning) between our groups suggests that our results are not due to these potential confounding variables.
A large body of evidence demonstrated that nonverbal behaviors play a key role in interpersonal human communication [@pone.0109139-GoldinMeadow1]. In a recent study, we found that fewer nonverbal behaviors during social interaction as measured by the MASS were positively correlated with a poor social functioning in schizophrenia [@pone.0109139-DelMonte1]. Thus, social goal activation during therapeutic groups, such as social skills groups, could increase and help maintaining the acquisition of new social competencies by the patients. Mainly, the repetition of social priming task in schizophrenia may be used to automate this social goal activation during social interactions, and increase the achievement of social behaviors and thus, promote better social functioning in schizophrenia. Therefore, we think that this study shows that an experimental task such as a social priming task could have important clinical implications for patients. Although additional research is needed, our results suggest that social priming could be a powerful add-on clinical care tool in schizophrenia and probably in other mental disorders with severe social impairments such as social phobia or autism.
The present study has some limitations. First, the sample size for the groups was small, which may have influenced the representativeness of the samples as well as the power of the tests. Future research should confirm our findings using larger samples. A second limitation is that the Motor-Affective subscale of the MASS is limited by its item quantification on a Likert scale of 1--4, which limits the tool\'s sensitivity, and by the assessment of voluntary facial expression, which is quantified by only one item. A more sensitive tool could enable more accurate assessment of the global nonverbal social behaviors. A third limitation is that the second experimenter was not blind to the purpose of the study. Nevertheless it must be noted that as our study was an exploratory study without initial hypothesis that could have biased our results.
Conclusion {#s5}
==========
Schizophrenia patients have been characterized as having a reduced number of nonverbal gestures during social interactions. Nonverbal gesture reductions have been linked to an important reduction in social functioning. Specifically targeting nonverbal behavioral deficits in this pathology seems to be of great importance to promote better quality of life of patients. Our study reveals that a social priming task can help promote nonverbal expressive behaviors during social interactions in schizophrenia patients. Social priming tasks may be useful to activate social goal during therapeutic groups activities, such as social skills training, and help facilitate the acquisition of new social competencies in patients.
We are grateful to all of the patients who contributed to this study.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: JDM SR DC LM RNS RCS MV BGB JPB MCGN. Performed the experiments: JDM SR. Analyzed the data: JDM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JDM. Wrote the paper: JDM SR DC LM.
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The impossibility of intelligence explosion - yters
https://medium.com/@francois.chollet/the-impossibility-of-intelligence-explosion-5be4a9eda6ec
======
ravitation
Discussion of the original article on HN:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15788807](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15788807)
~~~
dang
We changed the url from [https://mindmatters.today/2018/11/software-pioneer-
says-gene...](https://mindmatters.today/2018/11/software-pioneer-says-general-
superhuman-artificial-intelligence-is-very-unlikely/), which simply copies
excerpts from this.
~~~
yters
If the original article is a year old, why was this killed as dupe? I've seen
old articles reposted on HN before. This repost seemed to be pretty popular.
Also, why is it considered blogspam for having excerpts from an original
article? I also see this occur frequently on HN. The article not only has
excerpts, but comments on the excerpts and links to related material. This
appears useful to an interested reader.
------
Rallerbabs
Quote: "An overwhelming amount of evidence points to this simple fact: a
single human brain, on its own, is not capable of designing a greater
intelligence than itself. This is a purely empirical statement: out of
billions of human brains that have come and gone, none has done so. Clearly,
the intelligence of a single human, over a single lifetime, cannot design
intelligence, or else, over billions of trials, it would have already
occurred."
What an incredibly inadequate argument. Obviously, none could have done so in
the past. Because the required resources simply weren't available.
Breakthroughs are being made right here in this era, with Jeff Hawkins' being
one of the latest.
This guy reminds me of Richard Smalley, who, against better judgment,
attempted to make irrational arguments against molecular nanotechnology, as
envisioned by Drexler.
Also, he can't be a software pioneer. He's too damn young.
~~~
Sharlin
Wow. That argument can be applied to _any_ invention or creation. There are
bad arguments and then there are ridiculous ones.
~~~
baddox
Yes. The argument is logically equivalent to "nothing can ever happen for the
first time."
------
fizx
"When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible,
he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he
is very probably wrong." ~Arthur C. Clarke
~~~
coldtea
Yeah. Here we are in those rare cases when he is right (though not necessarily
for the arguments he makes)
~~~
worldsayshi
So what are the right arguments?
~~~
coldtea
1) That the rise of AI has been predicted again as "coming soon" in the 60s
and 70s and nothing came out of it once already.
2) That current AI is just very primitive NNs, and all the hoopla is mostly
hype (like Big Data, Grid Computing, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Virtual
Reality, 3D Printing, and several other previous fads served as revolutionary
and the cure for everything)
3) That they are several orders of magnitude more primitive than a human
brain.
4) That we haven't had Moore-law style increases in CPU power for quite some
time.
5) That, never mind AI, we can't even make a good email app...
6) That all kind of peddler make good money by tooting AI (e.g. IBM selling BS
tech as "Watson")
~~~
wild_preference
If you can agree that intelligence is just an information processing challenge
instead of a magical god-given treasure, then general AI is inevitable.
Though note that you couldn't come up with an argument against the future of
AI development in six points. They were all independently irrelevant, like
denying future medical breakthroughs because doctors didn't wash their hands
100 years ago. Your points are all distracted, like suggesting Elon Musk's
tweeting habits today doom all future humans from ever reaching Mars.
~~~
coldtea
> _If you can agree that intelligence is just an information processing
> challenge instead of a magical god-given treasure, then general AI is
> inevitable._
As a scientist, I don't believe anything is "inevitable" (that's for religious
people to believe).
I can very much imagine scenarios where we're already on the steep end of a
technological curve, having exhausted most low hanging fruit, and failing to
make many more revolutionary breakthroughs (no matter the timeframe).
> _Though note that you couldn 't come up with an argument against the future
> of AI development in six points. They were all independently irrelevant,
> like denying future medical breakthroughs because doctors didn't wash their
> hands 100 years ago._
I didn't want to make an argument against the possibility or impossibility of
AI in abstracto (whether it's physically possible or not. Since our brain does
it, it is physically possible. That's boring, again left to religious people
to discuss, of which there's no shortage, even among the atheists). I wanted
to make one about its _actual_ possibility, given what we know of our
technological development, past claims, trends, etc.
------
dicroce
There is an estimated 100 billion nuerons in the human brain. We know from
information theory that DNA is not nearly long enough to describe all of those
connections. This means that most of the complexity of the brain is emergent.
I envision bundles of neurons that begin their existence mostly
disconnected... These bundles are described somewhere in DNA (but not their
ultimate learned configuration) and so is whatever learning algorithm drives
this process.
We will have AGI when we understand the underlying learning algorithm our
brain uses... Personally, I believe that algorithm involves fantasizing future
scenarios and learning from the fantasies.
~~~
onemoresoop
Fantasy is a mental computation as well. Fantasy AI ftw!
------
thrwaway22
"Feynman reported 126, James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, 124 — which is
exactly the same range as legions of mediocre scientists."
Can we stop the Feynman had an IQ of 126 narrative? Many people doubt his IQ
was in the 120 range. IQ scores, despite what people thing, are not always
accurate. Feynman is an example of such a case. Plus, you'd typically report a
range on IQ exams. Given a 5+/\- point range that could place him in the 131
category, which still feels too low for someone as brilliant as he was.
>"Feynman received the highest score in the country by a large margin on the
notoriously difficult Putnam mathematics competition exam, although he joined
the MIT team on short notice and did not prepare for the test." [0]
Someone that does that, most likely does not have a 126 IQ. Given his
accomplishments in Physics, it is likely he is more intelligent than any IQ
test gave him credit for.
[0] [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-the-next-
ein...](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-the-next-
einstein/201112/polymath-physicist-richard-feynmans-low-iq-and-finding-
another)
~~~
axus
IQ is just a number determined by a test, by definition. I don't think it's
possible for a person's IQ number to be independent from the IQ test.
Certainly he had more intelligent contributions to physics than expected from
126 IQ.
~~~
aetherson
IQ is valuable insofar as it is a proxy for g. I think that your parent poster
was suggesting that while IQ is in general correlated with g, there are cases
where it is not.
------
ravenstine
And yet general biological intelligence arose from unintelligent forces? Hm,
interesting.
I don't know enough about general artificial intelligence, but his claim seems
to hinge a lot on what we already know. There are things we may not know yet
that will lead to us generating general artificial intelligence. Although I
don't think it'd be required, it may turn out that the experience of
consciousness isn't something we can mechanically produce but is a property of
matter itself. Now, I can't prove that is so but it's a fun little hypothesis
I enjoy thinking about. None the less, there's no particular reason to
disbelieve why humans couldn't figure out similar knowledge and apply it to
creating better artificial intelligence.
Some of his reasoning is just flat out fallacious:
> An overwhelming amount of evidence points to this simple fact: a single
> human brain, on its own, is not capable of designing a greater intelligence
> than itself. This is a purely empirical statement: out of billions of human
> brains that have come and gone, none has done so.
Yet out of all those billions of brains, how many of them have tried
developing general artificial intelligence, let alone the "AI" of an if-then-
else statement? Probably 0.00001% of those billions of brains. Yes, I made
that number up, but it wouldn't be surprising for that number to be minuscule,
below a fraction of a fraction of a percent.
Evolution has had billions of years. We've only had computers for less than a
century. In that respect, it's not at all surprising that humans haven't
mastered what nature unintelligently developed for much longer.
> In particular, there is no such thing as “general” intelligence. On an
> abstract level, we know this for a fact via the “no free lunch” theorem —
> stating that no problem-solving algorithm can outperform random chance
> across all possible problems.
That depends on how you define the word "general". I don't think that
scientists and engineers working on intelligence are actually using the word
"general artificial intelligence" in the sense that such intelligence could
solve literally any problem. Humans are _generally_ intelligent within a set
of fixed domains, but that doesn't mean they don't have general intelligence
within certain constraints.
------
gameswithgo
Our brains already do it, likelihood is 100%. Nothing would stop transistor
based computers from doing it, though they might be very much slower at it.
~~~
yters
How do we know our brain creates our mind? That is a materialist assumption,
which is just an assumption.
~~~
yorwba
It's an assumption that has been tested many times. Humans can survive losing
parts of their brain, but it causes observable changes in their mind. That's
were those colorful maps of brain regions and their functions come from: by
recording what kind of brain damage caused what kind of function to
deteriorate.
Don't forget that people used to believe that the heart contained the mind and
the brain was just a cooler. There was real evidence that caused scientific
consensus to change.
~~~
yters
There are some interesting examples of very highly functioning individuals
with very little brain.
At any rate, correlation does not imply causation.
~~~
0xffff2
What's your proposed alternative? I'm trying not to be dismissive, but I'm
also having trouble coming up with a reasonable alternative hypothesis.
~~~
yters
I would say halting oracles are a possibility that have some degree of
mathematical traction:
[https://www.am-nat.org/site/halting-oracles-as-
intelligent-a...](https://www.am-nat.org/site/halting-oracles-as-intelligent-
agents/)
But, we shouldn't prefer an incorrect model to no model, and the brain = mind
model does not seem correct.
~~~
baddox
From that article:
> So, the objection that humans cannot solve every problem only shows that
> humans might not be complete halting oracles, but cannot show that humans
> are not partial halting oracles.
I don't get it. We can already easily making Turing machines that answer the
halting problem for certain infinite sets of Turing machines, so there's
nothing unique about the human brain in this regard.
~~~
yters
The previous sentence to the one you quote explains:
> We can even remove an infinite number of problems from the set and still
> have an infinite and undecidable set.
It is an undecidable set, so cannot be described by a TM.
~~~
baddox
Oh okay, I guess that entire paragraph is just a complicated way of rephrasing
their claim, which is that there is at least one TM for which no TM can
possibly answer the halting problem, but for which humans can.
So then, the claim is that it's at least conceivable that humans can do this,
because you can remove a finite or even infinite number of elements from an
infinite set and still be left with an infinite set. I still don't understand
how this is a remotely useful insight or in any way an indication that humans
may have super-Turing abilities.
~~~
yters
That's correct. It does not prove that humans have this capability. It just
shows that a common counter argument fails, and then the article goes on to
explain how it would make an empirical difference if humans are partial
halting oracles.
------
throw2016
It seems more likely more fundamental innovations are going to come from
academia with a culture of seriousness and decades of work without returns.
On this side there is a strong tendency to be blinded by hype, underestimate
problems or wish them away with naive desperation that things will just happen
based more on hope than reality.
We saw that with the self driving crowd underestimating the problems and
overestimating the existing technology, and now with the AI folks, who are
already guilty of perpetuating hype knowing fully well that their extremely
limited definition of 'AI' is nothing like what the world understands by AI.
All the privacy shenanigans, crypto disaster, self driving cars and AI leave
the reputation of tech community in a very bad place.
------
xutopia
I too have some resistance to the notion that we will see AGI at a higher
level than humans within 50 years. I don't think the arguments he has make any
sense. The technology simply did not exist and we're improving on so many
fronts mostly because we're now capable of yielding huge neural networks we
couldn't fathom having access to just a few years ago.
I don't think the technology required to build superhuman AGI exists yet at
least at a reasonable cost to humanity. I don't think we will reach this level
of massively parallel computing required for Superhuman AGI until maybe 2070
and that's only if we bring together all the world's supercomputers together
in one giant artificial brain.
~~~
ansible
I think we've seen the cross-over point for AGI in the last few years.
Just recently, within the last decade, we've seen incredible advances of the
_usefulness_ of existing ML/NN based approaches. We have phones and smart
speakers which have sufficiently reliable speech recognition. Ditto for vision
tasks.
What's different now compared to decades past is that businesses can see the
benefit of incremental improvements in existing systems. If Siri can easily be
demonstrated to be more useful than Cortana, that is a significant competitive
advantage, which will sell products and services.
The tech giants (and others) see this, so they will continue to invest. This
isn't like in past where we tried things here and there, they didn't work as
well as we had hoped, and then we stopped investing.
The pressure is on all the tech giants to keep investing, and applying that
research to more and more of their own businesses (like using ML to manage
power and cooling at a data center).
We're on a roller-coaster ride into the future, and nothing short of worldwide
disaster will stop it. For good or for bad.
------
iotb
To make an accurate projection or statement about something, it is generally
necessary that you have a sound understanding of it. This is just my general
intelligence speaking here. I see nothing of note that reflects that this
person has a fundamental understanding of General Intelligence or has even
been in the pursuit of it. Authoring an optimization algorithm suite doesn't
mean you have an understanding of General Intelligence. A non-read before even
clicking on the link. Two posts today about AGI. Seems the next hype train is
arriving right on schedule and its banner will be (AGI).
------
baq
the meat computer hidden in your head running on ~20W of power does it. why
wouldn't an electronic computer be incapable of the same feat is beyond me.
make it 20kW or 20MW if 20W sounds unreasonably low.
------
josquindesprez
> There is no evidence that a person with an IQ of 170 is in any way more
> likely to achieve a greater impact in their field than a person with an IQ
> of 130.
This feels disingenuous. If other things are bottlenecking human success than
intelligence (which isn't even entirely true), computers are generally better
at these things, especially in an era of massive low-cost computing resources.
------
overlords
We have an example AGI - the human brain.
We have an example superintelligence - humans working together in groups such
as corporations are a superintellgence.
So from that, the invention of a human-level AGI naturally leads to
superintelligence - lots of the AGIs cooperating.
The question then becomes of whether we're going to get to AGI. Evidence
points to yes. AGI (human intelligence) is a collection of abilities and the
machine learning community is steadily making progress on them. Speech,
vision, machine translation, question answering, summarization etc. are all
being worked on and steady progress, or in many cases - rapid progress, is
being made.
Unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning are the frontiers and both
have advancements in just the past couple of years (GANs, predictive learning,
inverse reinforcement learning, imitation learning, domain randomization).
Unsupervised learning in particular is likely the key to AGI and only recently
has significant progress been made on it - predictive learning (as Yann Lecun
calls it).
(Personal conjecture - the next couple of years when a larger number of people
investigate predictive learning might lead to AGI - in maybe just 2 years).
------
commandlinefan
I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but in 1979, Douglas Hofstadter
wrote in his book "Godel, Escher and Bach" something to the effect of: "It may
be that some day a computer can beat a human at chess, but when it happens, it
will be by the sort of computer that will say, 'no, I'm bored with chess, I
would rather talk about poetry'". If Hofstadter can be wrong about anything,
anybody can be wrong about anything.
~~~
the_af
Nice quote!
Wasn't there an assertion, mentioned several times here on HN, that
researchers have found that with AI the seemingly hard becomes easy (e.g.
playing chess) and the seemingly easy becomes hard (e.g. walking or...
becoming bored with chess)? It now seems qualitatively harder to design a
program capable of boredom than one capable of being a chess master.
~~~
baddox
That sounds like
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravec%27s_paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravec%27s_paradox)
|
Numerous types of cleaners have been devised, and most cleaners designed for cleaning hands are in a liquid or paste form. Liquid and paste cleaners are relatively heavy and thus expensive to ship, particularly compared to cellulose materials which provide both a scrubbing and absorbent action. Cellulose particles alone, however, do a poor job of cleaning grease and dirt from the hands, and surfactants in dry form which may be added to the cellulose particles do not tend to maintain a uniform consistency. Lighter cellulose particles may thus rise to the top of a container during shipment, while the heavier dry surfactants tend to drop toward the bottom of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,783 discloses a solid composition based on plants, wherein the plant particles are immersed in a solvent, and a liquid phase and solid phase are separated. This slurry is dried until about 90% of the aqueous solvents are removed, then a surfactant type absorption promoter is added with a suitable amount of liquid to form a paste. The paste is finally converted to a porous form by freezing and sublimation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,494 discloses a carpet cleaning composition which comprises an absorbent, water, and an organic solvent. The composition is substantially dry, but is also slightly moist.
Various dry and paste type cleaners have been devised. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,302 discloses a wood pulp composition suitable for cleaning a floor. A fluid bed drier heats the pulp to temperatures up to 800° F. U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,847 discloses an aqueous cleaning solution which is also available in powder form. Clay is used as the base, and the composition has a pH of 2 or less. U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,962 discloses a skin treatment composition which utilizes plant materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,047 discloses a home care concentrate with odor absorption and deodorization properties. U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,097 discloses a cleaner containing various oils and degreasers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,612 discloses a detergent composition with increased flowability. U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,752 discloses an aqueous surfactant composition. U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,723 discloses a liquid cleaning composition. U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,452 discloses a skin and hair care agent, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,957 discloses a skin care composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,197 discloses a dry powder cleaner with a water immiscible organic liquid of at least 1% by weight. U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,067 discloses a powdered cleaning composition containing a urea-formaldehyde polymeric material. A powder cleaning composition with organic fibers, a resin, surfactant, and water are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,661, 4,648,882 discloses a carpet cleaning composition containing surfactants, solvents, and zeolite. A flowable powder fabric dry cleaning formula is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,400, 6,432,429 discloses a hand cleaning formulation with absorbing substrate, esters, surfactants, and water. Publication 2003/0125223 discloses a hand cleaning composition with various solvents and water.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved dry cleaner, particularly suitable for hand cleaning, is hereinafter disclosed. |
Worldwide sales for Dragon Quest Builders have topped 1,100,000 units, Square Enix announced.
In North America and Europe, the game launched physically and digitally for PlayStation 4, and digitally for PS Vita. In Japan, the game was made available both physically and digitally across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita.
An “Ultimate Hits” version of the game was launched in Japan today.
Thanks, Gamer.ne.jp. |
Jacobs’ Office Responsible for 50% of County Surplus | News
Title (Max 100 Characters)
Says proud of role Clerk’s office plays to support critical services while keeping down taxes
Erie County, NY – Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs reported today that his office accounted for 50% of the overall county surplus. Jacobs’ is referring to the County Comptroller’s report released yesterday which shows an overall budget surplus of $4.27 Million, and “roughly 50% of the county’s entire operating surplus,” came from the County Clerk said the Erie County Comptroller in his budget close-out report.
“We were proud to report our over $2 million dollar surplus several months ago but the fact that we contributed such a large percentage to the County’s overall surplus is quite significant,” said Jacobs. The Clerk’s Office represents only 4% of the County’s work force but is responsible for one-half of the 2012 County’s surplus.
“We believe that reforms we have implemented in the Clerk’s Office are a major reason for this surplus,” said Jacobs. When Jacobs came into office he inherited major problems in the Land Records Division with months of unopened mail, un-deposited checks and unreturned legal documents. Jacobs created a “Re-Engineering Working Group” which came up with nearly 30 reforms to improve efficiency and customer service.
“We will continue to make this office a model of government operations,” added County Clerk Jacobs. “Efficiencies that drive revenue ultimately benefit the taxpayer.” |
Have you ever wanted to become an actor? Well a recent study shows your significant other has a bigger impact than you think.
It is easy to think that working as a team is better than working by yourself. Think about it, you have your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse to help you tackle any obstacle that comes your way.
But, think again, the reason why you haven’t made a budget in the last couple of months or, the reason why you quit your New Year’s Resolution after five months is your significant other’s fault (or yours).
Time has recently reported on a study out of Boston College. The study says, that despite your best intentions to complete any goal, your motivation level is dependent upon the person who has the lowest amount of inspiration.
“Self-control is essentially a social enterprise,” writes Hristina Dzhogleva, an assistant professor of marketing at Boston College and lead author of the new paper. In a series of experiments with both real couples and lab simulations, the researchers found that the people with higher self-control tend to cave and give into the more indulgent preferences of their partners in order to keep peace in the relationships.
The study shows that if you are a person that has a lot of self-control avoid partnering with someone who has low self control. “Higher self-control individuals should be wary of partnering with low self- control individuals,” adding it “may negate their innate advantages in pursuing long-term goals.”
So, if you are interested in becoming an actor, a businessman, or reaching your goals it would be best to find someone who is as driven as you are. If not they are just holding you back from achieving your dreams.
Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
|
india
Updated: Nov 28, 2019 13:42 IST
Former finance minister P Chidambaram wields substantial control over crucial witnesses who are afraid to testify against him, the Enforcement Directorate told the Supreme Court on Thursday in its pitch against releasing the 74-year-old politician from Tihar jail on bail.
Tushar Mehta, the Centre’s second most-senior law officer who is appearing for the investigating agency, told the top court that one witness refused to come face-to-face with Chidambaram “because he is too powerful”. Two other witnesses did not even turn up.
“It shows the fear which he evokes in the witnesses,” said Tushar Mehta.
Chidambaram, who has been in custody for 100 days in the INX Media case, was initially arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 21. The INX Media case relates to alleged irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to the group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 307 crore in 2007 during his tenure as the finance minister. Before he was granted bail in this case, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested him for offences under Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Chidambaram’s petition for bail was rejected by the high court. His appeal to the Supreme Court is being heard by a three-judge bench comprising R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy.
Kapil Sibal, who along with Abhishek Singhvi is appearing for Chidambaram, had yesterday pointed to the portion of the high court verdict that observed that Chidambaram should stay in jail else it would send a wrong message. Sibal said that observation made it sound as if he was like Ranga-Billa, the two men who had brutally killed two teenagers in Delhi that led to one of India’s biggest hunts for the two criminals in 1978. They were executed in 1982.
Tushar Mehta countered this argument as well before the three judges reserved their order. Mehta said economic crimes were serious offences. “The argument that he should be granted bail because he has not committed an offence like Ranga-Billa does not hold good,” he said.
The gravity of an offence has to been seen from the impact of the offence on the society. “We have to consider whether the society will lose faith in the establishment or not,” added Mehta.
On Chidambaram’s arguments that he wasn’t involved in any alleged wrongdoing in this case, Mehta said that shell companies had been used to park bribes collected on behalf of the former minister.
“Subsequently, shareholding pattern of the companies was changed, foreign bank accounts were closed and fake evidence was created by petitioner…. We have evidence which shows that Advantage Strategic is nothing but an alter ego of petitioner and his son Karti, Tushar Mehta submitted.
Before the court wound up the oral hearing, Kapil Sibal asked the court to look at the evidence that the Enforcement Directorate had produced to back up its many allegations.
“They have not given detail of one phone call, one meeting. If I created shell companies, whom did I call, whom did I meet, where did I meet. Nothing has been stated,” Sibal said. |
Blockchain and cryptocurrency innovator, DigitalX (ASX:DCC), has been appointed corporate advisor for the initial coin offerings (ICOs) of Shivom and Bankorus — both finalists in the Global Blockchain Competition.
Bankorus, which is registered with FIRA and SEC, is the world’s first private wealth management platform for high net worth investors powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and built on the blockchain. The Bankorus team built the first robo-advisor in China, now servicing more than 200,000 high net worth clients (HNW – that is, clients with over US$30 billion in assets).
Shivom, on the other hand, aims to become the largest genomic data-hub platform in the world. Shivom token holders own their genomic data, control the right to access it, and receive rewards if they choose to share it.
DCC CEO, Leigh Travers, said: “Shivom’s medical genomic ecosystem will offer an open web-marketplace for contributors and health providers to add their apps and services, alongside genomic data analytics and personalized medicine.”
Travers continued: “DigitalX continues to strengthen its reputation for ICO advisory services and is now working with the world’s most promising blockchain companies as they raise capital to deliver their vision.”
The global cryptocurrency market is now worth $500 billion. It’s dwarfed by the high-net-worth market, which is estimated to be worth more than $60 trillion.
“Demand for high quality ICOs is growing in 2018 and DigitalX is pleased to be working with companies that already have an established global market for their technology,” said Travers.
Both Bankorus and Shivom are at a pre-ICO stage — DCC will provide technical expertise, marketing and promotion services, as well as introductions to its expansive global network. A prospectus for these companies will be made available when the securities are offered and those who wish to receive the prospectus or acquire the securities must complete the application form on the respective companies’ websites.
For its work with Bankorus, DCC will be paid in a mix of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin/Ether) and native (BKT) tokens in the project. The company will update the market on the outcome.
For services rendered to date, DCC has received US$500,000 in Ether and will receive US$1 million in native (OMX) tokens in the Shivom project.
DCC will roadshow both Bankorus and Shivom to its Australian network this week.
Due to strong demand, DCC has organised a conference in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, in addition to one-on-one meetings with potential buyers and partners.
Last week, DCC reported record net profits of US$8 for the six months to 31 December, 2017, cementing its position as a pivotal global figure in the blockchain, crypto and ICO advisory space.
However, it’s worth noting that DCC is speculative at this stage and therefore investors should take all publicly available information into account and seek professional financial advice. |
The interaction between steroid hormones, human papillomavirus type 16, E6 oncogene expression, and cervical cancer.
Various risk factors have been implicated in the causation of cervical cancer including human papillomavirus (HPV), the early genes (E6 and E7 ) of which encode the main transforming proteins. Studies have suggested that steroid hormones may enhance the expression of these genes leading to loss of p53 gene-mediated cell apoptosis. A total of 120 cervical tissue samples were obtained from patients with proven cervical cancer. Patients who used depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate steroid contraception were recruited as part of the steroid arm. Only HPV DNA type 16 samples were used for the study. Controls included three cell lines (CaSki, SiHa, & C33A) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as an internal housekeeping gene. Of 120 patients, there were 111 patients with HPV type 16 identified. Of this number, RNA was present in 63 samples. There were 30 women (30/63) who used steroid contraception. In relation to patients who used contraception, HPV 16 E6 gene expression was present in 79% (n = 23) and 88% (n = 30) of steroid users compared to nonusers, respectively. In total there were 25 patients (40%) with expression of the HPV 16 E6*I gene and 30 patients with expression of the E6*II gene. There were 57% of steroid users (n = 17) who had expression of the E6*I/E6*II gene, compared to 52% (n = 17) of nonusers (P = 0.800). From a molecular level, this study does not confirm the role of injectable progesterones in cervical carcinogenesis. |
Nephrotic range proteinuria: rare manifestation of scleroderma renal crisis.
The nephrotic range of proteinuria is uncommon in scleroderma renal crisis. This 46-yr-old woman with a medical history of scleroderma presented with very high blood pressure, a sudden elevation of serum creatinine, and proteinuria in the nephrotic range. Renal biopsy revealed onion-skin type of arterial changes with necrosis, confirming the presence of scleroderma nephropathy. Electron microscopy showed diffuse fusion of foot processes. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) revealed increased expression in glomeruli of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR). These findings suggest that fusion of foot processes and activation of mammalian target of rapamycin-dependent pathways in podocytes are most likely responsible for the severe proteinuria in this patient with scleroderma nephropathy. |
157 F.3d 900
U.S.v.Thomas
NO. 97-10386
United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.
August 17, 1998
Appeal From: N.D.Tex. ,No.4:96-CR-80-E-1
1
Affirmed.
|
Fratello’s Fantasy Pick: Drew Gooden
10th–year, 6-10, 250-pound power forward Drew Gooden has stepped up with two strong 23-point performances while filling in for Milwaukee’s starting center Andrew Bogut. The 260-pound, 7-footer from Australia fractured his ankle in last week’s win over the Houston Rockets. Bogut’s injury could cost him the remainder of the season, and it could cost his teammates the postseason.
Bogut was third in scoring with 11.3 ppg, and the Bucks will sorely miss the 2010-11 block leader at the defensive end of the court as he led them in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game. This early season setback is a big blow to the Bucks, who conceded the eighth seed to the Pacers in last year’s Eastern Conference playoff race. Coach Scott Skiles has charged veteran reserve Drew Gooden with the task of filling Bogut’s shoes, and so far “The Truth” has delivered.
Former Kansas Jayhawk Andrew Melvin “Drew” Gooden (who joined fellow freshmen Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich for the 1999–2000 season) was named NABC Player of the Year for 2002. He began his NBA career in Memphis in the small forward role, but it soon became apparent that he was better suited for the power forward position. Gooden has worn as many jerseys as years he’s competed in the league. But his red, white and green shirt just might stick. The Bucks signed the big man to a five-year contract prior to the start of the 2010 season, adding much-needed depth to their frontcourt.
Gooden put up 23 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and dished 6 dimes in 36 minutes during Friday’s 107-100 loss to the Chicago Bulls. And he helped his shorthanded squad deliver the fourth straight road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with 23 points and 8 rebounds in Saturday’s 100-89 upset.
The Bucks will be looking for consistency in Gooden’s game. If he continues to produce, Gooden will get the majority of Bogut’s minutes, though 6-10, 4th-year forward Ersan Ilyasova from Turkey will chip in as well. This week Gooden will have four opportunities to prove his worth on the frontline and boost his value to fantasy owners. The Milwaukee Bucks begin a stretch of three road games with a match against their Central Division rivals the Detroit Pistons tonight at 8:00 PM EST. |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to manually actuated mechanical devices having a plurality of moving parts and the method of moving the moving parts, and refers more specifically to toy dinosaur structure having a head with a movable lower jaw, legs including suction cup foot and ankle portions, and a tail, all controlled from a hand held cable control through a plurality of selectively operable control cables.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, manually actuated structures such as model airplanes, wall crawling toys and the like have been known which have included control cables for actuating the movable portions thereof through a hand control and/or suction cup holding devices.
Such prior devices as are known have not included control cables extending through an axially rigid sheath which is transversely flexible, located between the devices and a hand control therefor, by which the control cables may be selectively tensioned and/or relaxed.
Thus, model airplane control has usually been accomplished by means of flexible lines or cables which are maintained in tension during operation of a model airplane. Such control lines normally operate by pivotal movement of a centrally pivoted lever having cables connected to each end thereof by which one cable is caused to appear lengthened and the other cable appear to be shortened at the model airplane. Such controls are limited in application, in the number of cables which a single individual can effectively control without overly complex controls, and generally restrict the movement of the model airplane to a circle with the operator of the model airplane in the center of the circle.
Wall climbing and walking toys of the past utilizing suction cup devices for attachment to smooth surfaces have often not provided means for specific breaking of the vacuum in the suction cups prior to movement of the parts of the devices to which the suction cups are secured. Such devices of the past have seldom provided specifically controlled multiple movements of a single part associated with the suction cup.
Tail movement or wagging structure of the past wherein an articulated tail is moved horizontally selectively over center are unknown. In particular, tails of toy animals which are constructed of a plurality of portions pivotally connected together for horizontal movement and which are biased into a straight line by a coil spring extending therethrough with weighted ends whereby movement of the tails past a straight position is accomplished through momentum of the weights and action of the coil springs on actuation of the tails, are not believed to be found in the prior att. |
The main aim of this work is the study of genetically controlled host defense mechanisms involved in protective immunity and recovery from Friend retrovirus complex (FV)-induced erythroleukemia in mice as a model for human retrovirus diseases such as AIDS and leukemia. We have continued previous studies of the influences of H-2 genotype on both FV-induced immunosuppression and protective immunity against FV. Initial results suggested that mice with a high susceptibility to retrovirus induced immunosuppression could not be protected by immunization with a vaccinia recombinant expressing the FV envelope gene product. However, use of H-2 recombinant mice indicated that protective immunity was influenced by the H-2K and I-A subregions, whereas immunosuppression was influenced by the H-2D subregion. Thus, protective immunity was induced even in mice with high susceptibility to FV-induced immunosuppression. These results suggest that humans who are genetically more susceptible to the immunosuppressive effects of HIV infection might still be protected from AIDS with appropriate vaccines. More recent studies on the mechanism of protection in this system indicate that vaccination induces FV-specific T lymphocyte priming. Subsequent exposure by challenge with FV induces cytotoxic T lymphocytes and a secondary humoral antiviral antibody response, both of which may be involved in recovery from disease. |
Q:
how do you create a hdfs data directory?
everytime my hadoop server reboots, I have to format the namenode to start the hadoop. This removes all of the files in my hadoop installation.
I need to move my hadoop hdfs location from /tmp file to permenant location where whenever the server reboots, I don't have to format the namenode etc.
I am very new to hadoop.
How do I create a hdfs file in another directory?
How do I reference this data directory in config file so that I don't have to format the namenode?
A:
These two properties of the hdfs-site.xml determine where local files are stored.
The defaults are under /tmp
dfs.namenode.name.dir
dfs.datanode.data.dir
You typically have to format a namenode only when the HDFS processes failed to terminate correctly (such as a power failure or forced shutdown). It is encouraged to run a standby Namenode to prevent these scenarios.
|
Q:
How to preview rails?
A website is shared to me on github. I'm working on it, but I can't do modifications on the actual site page yet. I need to see how the changes I make look like.
How can I have a live preview from rails? I was used to use xampp for the html/css stuff. Is there anything similar to that? If not, what are my choices?
A:
The usual workflow is to setup a development environment on your local machine. The tools you will need for this are roughly:
git, to clone the github repository to your local machine
ruby (what version you need depends on the project), preferably you use a version manager such as rvm or rbenv
the correct database (again depending on your project, e.g. mysql or postgresql)
Once you have a ruby version installed, the first step will be to run 'bundle' to install all dependent ruby libraries. If that was successful you can configure your database in a file that either exists already or should be added: config/database.yml in which you configure the database connection.
You would use the command 'rake db:create db:migrate' to setup the database according to the projects migrations (=> specifying the database layout).
You might want to make yourself a bit familiar with ruby on rails, by following some good beginners tutorial. In the official rails guides that would be: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html
It is not as 'out-of-the-box' as you might be used to from xampp , so there might be a bunch of pitfalls in the way (especially if you're running on windows and not linux / mac).
It is hard to give you a complete walkthrough without knowing the application and your system.
Depending on who's developing the application you might also ask them to provide you with a VM, e.g. using a tool called 'vagrant' to simplify the setup for you. You will still need to get more familiar with git, in case you aren't yet.
|
With less than 24 hours to go until Canadians cast their ballots, Neetu Garcha speaks with Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer to address the key issues affecting BC voters. |
[Initial results of a cryopreservation program for human ova and embryos].
A human egg and embryo freezing program for non fertilized eggs and spare embryos was established recently in our ib vitro fertilization clinic. The first results are reported. Two cryoprotectants, glycerol and dimethylsulfoxid (DMSO) were used in an automatic computerized freezing program. DMSO gave us better results in terms of a 55% survival of all blastomeres (from 6 normal and 5 pathologic 2- to 16-cell embryos) after thawing. Some of the thawed embryos continued cleavage in vitro. Four embryo replacements were performed with the 6 normal embryos, but none of them resulted in pregnancy. The rapid technique using glycerol gave us less good results in terms of blastomere survival (34%); however, from 3 embryo replacements one "biochemical pregnancy" was obtained from a thawed four-cell embryo. At first attempts to freeze and thaw unfertilized eggs, DMSO seemed also to give better results. The presented cryopreservation techniques which are modifications of those published by Trounson et al. and Zeilmaker et al. need further improvement although the first results are encouraging. |
Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial.
Ecological and observational studies suggest that male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV acquisition in men. Our aim was to investigate the effect of male circumcision on HIV incidence in men. 4996 uncircumcised, HIV-negative men aged 15-49 years who agreed to HIV testing and counselling were enrolled in this randomised trial in rural Rakai district, Uganda. Men were randomly assigned to receive immediate circumcision (n=2474) or circumcision delayed for 24 months (2522). HIV testing, physical examination, and interviews were repeated at 6, 12, and 24 month follow-up visits. The primary outcome was HIV incidence. Analyses were done on a modified intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, with the number NCT00425984. Baseline characteristics of the men in the intervention and control groups were much the same at enrollment. Retention rates were much the same in the two groups, with 90-92% of participants retained at all time points. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis, HIV incidence over 24 months was 0.66 cases per 100 person-years in the intervention group and 1.33 cases per 100 person-years in the control group (estimated efficacy of intervention 51%, 95% CI 16-72; p=0.006). The as-treated efficacy was 55% (95% CI 22-75; p=0.002); efficacy from the Kaplan-Meier time-to-HIV-detection as-treated analysis was 60% (30-77; p=0.003). HIV incidence was lower in the intervention group than it was in the control group in all sociodemographic, behavioural, and sexually transmitted disease symptom subgroups. Moderate or severe adverse events occurred in 84 (3.6%) circumcisions; all resolved with treatment. Behaviours were much the same in both groups during follow-up. Male circumcision reduced HIV incidence in men without behavioural disinhibition. Circumcision can be recommended for HIV prevention in men. |
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Holistic offshore wind farm control strategies to be put to the test
Friday, 8 December, 2017 - 10:00
Different methods of control will be used to optimise power production for the whole wind farm (Photo: Vattenfall / CC BY-ND)
The Carbon Trust has launched a new multimillion euro project as part of its Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme to investigate best use of Wind Farm Controls to maximise energy production from offshore wind farms whilst reducing turbine loads.
The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator announced a new €2.3 million project, Wind Farm Control Trials www.carbontrust.com/offshore-wind/owa/demonstration/wfct/ (WFCT) designed to demonstrate how effective implementation of control strategies can reduce the cost of offshore wind. Optimising control strategies to reduce wake effects will lower the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) by increasing the total wind energy yield and reducing fatigue, thus saving operational and maintenance costs. Additionally the introduction of control strategies can also increase availability and extend the lifetime of existing and future assets. During the project, different methods of control will be used to optimise power production for the whole wind farm rather than maximising production of individual turbines. The turbine control will be altered by adjusting the blade angle of attack and rotation of the nacelle.
Largest real-life demonstration
The WFCT study will be the largest and most comprehensive real-life demonstration of the impact of Wind Farm Control strategies on the overall performance of a wind farm. The project aims to build on previous simulation-based studies such as FP7 ClusterDesign, FLOW program, NREL activities and earlier studies by the OWA. Based on these previous studies and simulations undertaken, it is expected that adopting blade pitch or yaw-based WFC strategies would result in increase in energy yield of between 0.5 and 3.5 %. It is also expected to possibly enable load reductions of up to 50 % for some wind turbine components, meaning increased component life therefore reduced operation and maintenance costs.
The project will seek to verify and validate these theories by implementing WFC strategies at an operational wind farm. The first stage of the project involves analysis to determine the most suitable wind farm test site for the trials and an optimisation of the control strategies. The selected wind farm will have extensive measurement equipment installed as part of the validation process for the simulations; including eight nacelle mounted Windar Photonics LiDARs, a scanning LiDAR and load measurements installed on individual turbines.
The WFCT project is backed by EnBW, E.ON, innogy, Statoil and Vattenfall incorporating know-how from experts who have played a leading role in wind farm control concept generation and wind measurement, including DTU, ECN, Frazer-Nash Consultancy and Windar Photonics.
James Sinfield, Project Manager of the Wind Farm Control Trial at the Carbon Trust commented: “The project has the potential to have a significant impact on cost reduction with a win-win on improving annual energy production and at the same time reducing operational and maintenance costs.”
Stoyan Kanev, Senior Project Manager at ECN commented: “This project will be the first one to demonstrate the economic benefits from wake control in real-life experiments at a full-scale offshore wind farm. It will increase the maturity and acceptance of the technology, paving the way towards a large scale implementation.”The trials are expected to be undertaken in 2018 and full results are expected in 2019.
Similar Entries
Two wind turbines on a precast concrete floating platform: that, basically, is Nezzy2. This 18 metre tall, 1:10-scale prototype is being tested by EnBW and aerodyn engineering, a north German engineering company, in a flooded gravel pit near Bremerhaven. Next, this summer, Nezzy2 is to prove itself in wind and wave conditions in the Baltic Sea.
Renewable energy is gaining traction across the world, which is expected to encourage growth in the global Offshore Wind Power Market. This information was shared by Fortune Business Insights in a report, titled “Offshore Wind Power Market Size, Share and Global Trend by Installation, Capacity, Application and Geography Forecast till 2025.”
Dutch offshore contractor Heerema has been assigned to help build the first and largest commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. The prestigious 'Vineyard Wind LLC' project is the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind energy project. Situated 14 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, this project will generate clean, renewable, cost-competitive energy for over 400,000 homes and businesses, while reducing carbon emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year.
Windea Offshore, together with its partner WP Systems, has taken another step towards establishing the WINDEA Blade Service concept. Last week the operation of the working platform System terra was successfully demonstrated at a Siemens SWT-3.6 offshore test turbine in the German district of Nordfriesland.
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For further information or if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us |
Effects of discontinuing anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy during pregnancy on the course of inflammatory bowel disease and neonatal exposure.
We assessed the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among pregnant women who stopped taking anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents. We also analyzed levels of anti-TNF agents in cord blood samples. We followed 31 pregnancies in 28 women with IBD between April 2006 and April 2011 who were treated with anti-TNF agents (18 received infliximab, and 13 received adalimumab) during pregnancy. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure levels of anti-TNF agents in cord blood collected from 18 newborns (12 whose mothers took infliximab, and 6 whose mothers took adalimumab). Among the patients taking infliximab, 12 (71%) discontinued treatment before gestational week 30; all patients remained in remission. All the patients taking adalimumab discontinued treatment before gestational week 30; two patients had relapses of IBD. There were 28 live births, 1 miscarriage among patients taking infliximab (at gestational week 6), and 2 miscarriages among patients taking adalimumab (at weeks 6 and 8); there were no congenital malformations. The mean cord blood level of infliximab was 6.4 ± 1.6 μg/mL; it was significantly lower among women who received the drug 10 weeks or less before delivery (2.8 ± 1.1 μg/mL) than those who received infliximab closer to delivery (10 ± 2.3 μg/mL; P = .02). Adalimumab was detected in 5 samples of cord blood (mean concentration, 1.7 ± 0.4 μg/mL); 1 cord blood sample from a woman who discontinued the treatment at gestational week 22 had an undetectable level of the drug. Discontinuation of anti-TNF therapy appears to be safe for pregnant women with quiescent IBD. However, these drugs are still detected in cord blood samples. |
Q:
Arrangement in a row puzzle
In how many ways can the integers 0,0,1,2,3,4,5 be arranged in a row so that no integer is adjacent to 2 strictly larger integers ?
A:
Consider first the corresponding problem with just one $0$. Suppose that $a_1a_2\dots a_6$ is an acceptable arrangement. If $a_1>a_2$, then we must have $a_2>a_3$, which in turn implies that $a_3>a_4$, and so on; in fact, the arrangement must be $543210$.
If $a_1<a_2$, however, matters are a bit different: $a_3$ can be larger or smaller than $a_2$ without hurting the acceptability of the string. However, the analysis in the first paragraph shows that if at some point we have $a_k>a_{k+1}$, the string must decrease from there to the end. Thus, any string with exactly one peak is acceptable. How many single-peaked strings are there? The peak must be the $5$, and it can be in any of the six positions; suppose that $a_k=5$. Once we decide which $k-1$ of the integers $0,1,2,3$, and $4$ are to go to the left of $a_k$, there’s only one possible arrangement: those $k-1$ integers must be arranged in increasing order, and the $6-k$ remaining integers must be arranged in decreasing order to the right of $a_k$. For $k=1,\dots,6$ there are $\binom5{k-1}$ ways to choose the integers to the left of the $5$, so there are altogether
$$\sum_{k=1}^6\binom5{k-1}=\sum_{k=0}^5\binom5k=2^5=32$$
acceptable arrangements.
An easier way to arrive at the same result is simply to notice that once you’ve placed the $5$, you can run through the other five numbers and for each one decide whether to place it to the left or to the right of the peak at $5$: as already noted, once those decisions are made, exactly one arrangement is possible. That’s a two-way choice made $5$ times, so there are $2^5=32$ possible outcomes.
Now let’s add the second $0$ to the set. First we’ll count the acceptable strings in which the two zeroes are adjacent. In that case they behave just like the single $0$ in the simpler problem, and and we get $32$ arrangements. Now suppose that the zeroes are not adjacent. Whatever is between them is bigger than $0$, and there is nothing smaller than $0$, so if one of them were not at one end of the string, it would be adjacent to two strictly larger numbers. Thus, the zeroes must be at the ends of the string: we have $0a_1a_2a_3a_4a_50$, where $a_1a_2a_3a_4a_5$ is some permutation of $1,2,3,4$, and $5$. Clearly that permutation has to be single-peaked, and every single-peaked permutation is acceptable. Now just use the ideas of the second or third paragraph to compute the number of single-peaked permutations of $1,2,3,4$, and $5$.
|
#include "internal.h"
#include <c3d/renderqueue.h>
// Return bits per pixel
static inline size_t fmtSize(GPU_TEXCOLOR fmt)
{
switch (fmt)
{
case GPU_RGBA8:
return 32;
case GPU_RGB8:
return 24;
case GPU_RGBA5551:
case GPU_RGB565:
case GPU_RGBA4:
case GPU_LA8:
case GPU_HILO8:
return 16;
case GPU_L8:
case GPU_A8:
case GPU_LA4:
case GPU_ETC1A4:
return 8;
case GPU_L4:
case GPU_A4:
case GPU_ETC1:
return 4;
default:
return 0;
}
}
static inline bool addrIsVRAM(const void* addr)
{
u32 vaddr = (u32)addr;
return vaddr >= 0x1F000000 && vaddr < 0x1F600000;
}
static inline bool checkTexSize(u32 size)
{
if (size < 8 || size > 1024)
return false;
if (size & (size-1))
return false;
return true;
}
static inline void allocFree(void* addr)
{
if (addrIsVRAM(addr))
vramFree(addr);
else
linearFree(addr);
}
static void C3Di_TexCubeDelete(C3D_TexCube* cube)
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 6; i ++)
{
if (cube->data[i])
{
allocFree(cube->data[i]);
cube->data[i] = NULL;
}
}
}
bool C3D_TexInitWithParams(C3D_Tex* tex, C3D_TexCube* cube, C3D_TexInitParams p)
{
if (!checkTexSize(p.width) || !checkTexSize(p.height)) return false;
bool isCube = typeIsCube(p.type);
if (isCube && !cube) return false;
u32 size = fmtSize(p.format);
if (!size) return false;
size *= (u32)p.width * p.height / 8;
u32 total_size = C3D_TexCalcTotalSize(size, p.maxLevel);
if (!isCube)
{
tex->data = p.onVram ? vramAlloc(total_size) : linearAlloc(total_size);
if (!tex->data) return false;
} else
{
memset(cube, 0, sizeof(*cube));
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 6; i ++)
{
cube->data[i] = p.onVram ? vramAlloc(total_size) : linearAlloc(total_size);
if (!cube->data[i] ||
(i>0 && (((u32)cube->data[0] ^ (u32)cube->data[i])>>(3+22)))) // Check upper 6bits match with first face
{
C3Di_TexCubeDelete(cube);
return false;
}
}
tex->cube = cube;
}
tex->width = p.width;
tex->height = p.height;
tex->param = GPU_TEXTURE_MODE(p.type);
if (p.format == GPU_ETC1)
tex->param |= GPU_TEXTURE_ETC1_PARAM;
if (p.type == GPU_TEX_SHADOW_2D || p.type == GPU_TEX_SHADOW_CUBE)
tex->param |= GPU_TEXTURE_SHADOW_PARAM;
tex->fmt = p.format;
tex->size = size;
tex->border = 0;
tex->lodBias = 0;
tex->maxLevel = p.maxLevel;
tex->minLevel = 0;
return true;
}
void C3D_TexLoadImage(C3D_Tex* tex, const void* data, GPU_TEXFACE face, int level)
{
u32 size = 0;
void* out = C3D_TexGetImagePtr(tex,
C3Di_TexIs2D(tex) ? tex->data : tex->cube->data[face],
level, &size);
if (!addrIsVRAM(out))
memcpy(out, data, size);
else
C3D_SyncTextureCopy((u32*)data, 0, (u32*)out, 0, size, 8);
}
static void C3Di_DownscaleRGBA8(u32* dst, const u32* src[4])
{
u32 i, j;
for (i = 0; i < 64; i ++)
{
const u32* a = src[i>>4] + (i<<2 & 0x3F);
u32 dest = 0;
for (j = 0; j < 32; j += 8)
{
u32 val = (((a[0]>>j)&0xFF)+((a[1]>>j)&0xFF)+((a[2]>>j)&0xFF)+((a[3]>>j)&0xFF))>>2;
dest |= val<<j;
}
*dst++ = dest;
}
}
static void C3Di_DownscaleRGB8(u8* dst, const u8* src[4])
{
u32 i, j;
for (i = 0; i < 64; i ++)
{
const u8* a = src[i>>4] + 3*(i<<2 & 0x3F);
for (j = 0; j < 3; j ++)
{
*dst++ = ((u32)a[0] + a[3] + a[6] + a[9])>>2;
a++;
}
}
}
void C3D_TexGenerateMipmap(C3D_Tex* tex, GPU_TEXFACE face)
{
int fmt = tex->fmt;
size_t block_size = (8*8*fmtSize(fmt))/8;
/*
const u32 transfer_flags =
GX_TRANSFER_SCALING(GX_TRANSFER_SCALE_XY) | BIT(5) |
GX_TRANSFER_IN_FORMAT(tex->fmt) | GX_TRANSFER_OUT_FORMAT(tex->fmt);
*/
void* src = C3Di_TexIs2D(tex) ? tex->data : tex->cube->data[face];
if (addrIsVRAM(src))
return; // CPU can't write to VRAM
int i;
u32 level_size = tex->size;
u32 src_width = tex->width;
u32 src_height = tex->height;
for (i = 0; i < tex->maxLevel; i ++)
{
void* dst = (u8*)src + level_size;
u32 dst_width = src_width>>1;
u32 dst_height = src_height>>1;
/* Doesn't work due to size restriction bullshit
C3D_SyncDisplayTransfer(
(u32*)src, GX_BUFFER_DIM(src_width,src_height),
(u32*)dst, GX_BUFFER_DIM(dst_width,dst_height),
transfer_flags);
*/
u32 i,j;
u32 src_stride = src_width/8;
u32 dst_stride = dst_width/8;
for (j = 0; j < (dst_height/8); j ++)
{
for (i = 0; i < dst_stride; i ++)
{
void* dst_block = (u8*)dst + block_size*(i + j*dst_stride);
const void* src_blocks[4] =
{
(u8*)src + block_size*(2*i+0 + (2*j+0)*src_stride),
(u8*)src + block_size*(2*i+1 + (2*j+0)*src_stride),
(u8*)src + block_size*(2*i+0 + (2*j+1)*src_stride),
(u8*)src + block_size*(2*i+1 + (2*j+1)*src_stride),
};
switch (fmt)
{
case GPU_RGBA8:
C3Di_DownscaleRGBA8(dst_block, (const u32**)src_blocks);
break;
case GPU_RGB8:
C3Di_DownscaleRGB8(dst_block, (const u8**)src_blocks);
default:
break;
}
}
}
level_size >>= 2;
src = dst;
src_width = dst_width;
src_height = dst_height;
}
}
void C3D_TexBind(int unitId, C3D_Tex* tex)
{
C3D_Context* ctx = C3Di_GetContext();
if (!(ctx->flags & C3DiF_Active))
return;
if (unitId > 0 && C3D_TexGetType(tex) != GPU_TEX_2D)
return;
ctx->flags |= C3DiF_Tex(unitId);
ctx->tex[unitId] = tex;
}
void C3D_TexFlush(C3D_Tex* tex)
{
if (!addrIsVRAM(tex->data))
GSPGPU_FlushDataCache(tex->data, C3D_TexCalcTotalSize(tex->size, tex->maxLevel));
}
void C3D_TexDelete(C3D_Tex* tex)
{
if (C3Di_TexIs2D(tex))
allocFree(tex->data);
else
C3Di_TexCubeDelete(tex->cube);
}
void C3D_TexShadowParams(bool perspective, float bias)
{
C3D_Context* ctx = C3Di_GetContext();
if (!(ctx->flags & C3DiF_Active))
return;
u32 iBias = (u32)(fabs(bias) * BIT(24));
if (iBias >= BIT(24))
iBias = BIT(24)-1;
ctx->texShadow = (iBias &~ 1) | (perspective ? 0 : 1);
ctx->flags |= C3DiF_TexStatus;
}
void C3Di_SetTex(int unit, C3D_Tex* tex)
{
u32 reg[10];
u32 regcount = 5;
reg[0] = tex->border;
reg[1] = tex->dim;
reg[2] = tex->param;
reg[3] = tex->lodParam;
if (C3Di_TexIs2D(tex))
reg[4] = osConvertVirtToPhys(tex->data) >> 3;
else
{
int i;
C3D_TexCube* cube = tex->cube;
regcount = 10;
reg[4] = osConvertVirtToPhys(cube->data[0]) >> 3;
for (i = 1; i < 6; i ++)
reg[4+i] = (osConvertVirtToPhys(cube->data[i]) >> 3) & 0x3FFFFF;
}
switch (unit)
{
case 0:
GPUCMD_AddIncrementalWrites(GPUREG_TEXUNIT0_BORDER_COLOR, reg, regcount);
GPUCMD_AddWrite(GPUREG_TEXUNIT0_TYPE, tex->fmt);
break;
case 1:
GPUCMD_AddIncrementalWrites(GPUREG_TEXUNIT1_BORDER_COLOR, reg, 5);
GPUCMD_AddWrite(GPUREG_TEXUNIT1_TYPE, tex->fmt);
break;
case 2:
GPUCMD_AddIncrementalWrites(GPUREG_TEXUNIT2_BORDER_COLOR, reg, 5);
GPUCMD_AddWrite(GPUREG_TEXUNIT2_TYPE, tex->fmt);
break;
}
}
|
Acrylic non-objective abstract with lines, swirls, drips and dots. Life at the beach. She went to a few parties and this one was one of the best ever as it went well into the evening under the full moon. They all floated under the moonlight in the gentle ripples of the water. Part of the "Under The Moonlight Series" as shown in collections. |
Simply Smitten :: blanket scarf + black jeans
Friday, February 5, 2016
With Valentine's Day upon us, I wanted to style a themed look that could work for both day & night and wasn't too over-the-top festive. I settled on this outfit and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! In fact...I'm simply smitten :)
How amazing is this blanket scarf? I've seen identical styles EVERYWHERE this season. Seriously, This plaid pattern is THE trend of the moment. I love the colors and how they effortlessly pop against a neutral background - depending on your mood you can easily play up any of the bold hues. For Valentine's Day I decided to highlight the red by wearing red heels.
A cream sweater is one of the most versatile pieces you can own. I treat it as a blank canvas and just layer colorful pieces around it. It's SO easy to put together a fashion-forward look when you center it around a classic item like this.
Black jeans are universally chic. This pair is my favorite because of the distressed knees. I put on these pants and I instantly feel cool - in these pics I even have the sunglasses to prove it ;)
These are my power heels. I get loads of compliments whenever I wear them and as soon as I slip them on they make me feel super stylish and chic! This footwear may seem like a bold choice for such a casual outfit but that's what makes them fun. I'm all about those unexpected elements - THAT'S what makes a look original.
I have a wide array of sunglasses. There's the pair I turn to when I'm feeling chic and fabulous, a pair I wear when I'm in a boho mood, and even a retro pair that transports me to a different era. But my Ray-Bans are classic. I know I can turn to these babies for any occasion - there's just something so effortlessly cool about a sleek pair of Rays.
A gold bar necklace is the perfect understated accessory. It's also perfect for layering!
I went with gold eyeshadow and a bare lip for this look. The gold adds a warmth to my face and my lipstick is subtle yet impactful. I didn't want to be too dramatic with my makeup because this look needs to work during the day as well as during the evening.
Since this scarf is so colorful and fun, I couldn't resist bringing out some more of its beautiful hues. A cobalt purse is such an easy way to pack a powerful punch of color.
Tying scarves is not my forte. In fact, I really struggled trying to figure out a way to make this scarf look good. I ended up Googling "how to tie a blanket scarf" but gave up on that as well (I guess following directions isn't my forte either). So I turned to my fool-proof strategy - just doing the old fashioned loop around. It works like a charm every time. But the cool way to do it is to leave one side longer than the other of course!
This is my kind of everyday look. Lately I've been gravitating more towards pants and I've really learned to appreciate a flattering pair of jeans. But of course I had to add my own touch of style by pairing a regular weekend outfit with totally fabulous statement heels! Some things never change and that's okay too :)
SHOP ::
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Woow you are so braving the cold with the open toe heels! :)I am loving this look as it is kind of casual, but has this lovely romantic vibe around it which makes it perfect for the upcoming occasion! :)Love how you threw in the blue bag in the mix, it is surely a great statement piece!
What a coinydink I noticed a women in the subway to day wearing a blanket scarf and though it looked really cool and that I wanted to get one, just as long as it does not shed on black wool! You look great and be sure to pop in to the MK store in Soho it is a real treat. |
[A nonselective proximal end-to-side shunt between the gastric vein and the inferior vena cava (coronario-caval shunt). Indication, technic and results].
From 1976 to 1982, 104 patients with bleeding esophageal varices were treated surgically. In three patients a wide left gastric vein without portal flow was demonstrated by means of arterial splenoportography. Ascites estimated between 4 to 61 was observed in two patients. Anemia, leukopenia, platelet counts inferior to 85 X 10(9)/l were shown in all of them. Liver panangiography was done in the three patients. According to the absence of portal flow, the presence of intractable ascites and the demonstration of a wide left gastric vein, we dissect this vein disconnecting it from the stomach, and performing the anastomosis between the proximal end of this vessel and the inferior caval vena (proximal unselective left gastric caval shunt). Ascites and esophageal varices disappeared in the three patients between 1 and 3 weeks after the operation. The shunts were confirmed open between eight months to eight and a half years after operation. All the three patients are still living. |
A pilot study of EUS-guided through-the-needle forceps biopsy (with video).
In EUS-guided FNA (EUS-FNA), small-caliber needles are preferable for optimal cytologic yield, whereas large ones are preferable when histologic specimens are needed. Because of the rigidity and friction induced by its large caliber, however, technical limitation does exist in a 19-gauge FNA needle. Recent development of miniature biopsy forceps enables EUS-guided through-the-needle forceps biopsy (EUS-TTNFB). The aim of this study is to evaluate safety and efficacy of EUS-TTNFB. Eighteen sessions of EUS-TTNFB in 17 patients with solid lesions were performed by using a 0.75-mm biopsy forceps through a 19-gauge FNA needle. Technical feasibility, safety, and diagnostic yield of EUS-TTNFB were retrospectively studied. A total of 49 passes, a median of 3 passes per session, were performed, and the needle puncture, advancement and removal of the biopsy forceps, and subsequent EUS-FNA were technically successful in all patients. No adverse events were observed other than one case with hyperamylasemia without pancreatitis. Macroscopic histologic core by EUS-TTNFB was obtained at a rate of 71% per pass. The tissue acquisition rate by EUS-TTNFB alone was 67% per pass and 100% per session. When EUS-TTNFB and subsequent EUS-FNA were combined, the tissue acquisition rate was 94% per pass. The accuracy of combined EUS-TTNFB and EUS-FNA to diagnose malignancy was 88% per pass and 94% per session. With a single pass of EUS-TTNFB and EUS-FNA, the tissue acquisition rate was 89%, and the accuracy to diagnose malignancy was 83%. EUS-TTNFB was safe and technically feasible and provided additional tissue acquisition with a single puncture of a 19-gauge FNA needle. |
murder
In Splinter the Silence, Val McDermid explores the issue of internet trolling/hate mail/harassment/villification/abuse of women who put their heads above the parapet to speak about discrimination and injustice. In this fictional case, the public figures are apparently hounded to the point of suicide, although the reader knows from the outset that they are actually being murdered, each killing disguised to mimic the suicides of famous feminists. The murderer has his own reasons for objecting to women who step outside their domestic role and tell men what’s right or wrong.
Well, sadly, I know people in real life who would still tether women to the kitchen sink if they could. I have myself come in for criticism for being a woman and daring to voice and defend an opinion; for having ideas above my subservient station. Fortunately, positive responses have far, far outweighed the negative, so it hasn’t been that difficult to maintain perspective, but then, I’m not an A-list celebrity, so such pernicious or malicious activities don’t hit the headlines, the number of critics doesn’t reach stratospheric levels. Nevertheless, I can vouch for the discomfort of being on the receiving end of such unjust vitriol. It’s not as far fetched as you might imagine.
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the matter of standing up and being accountable, and about all the cases coming to public attention right now that lend themselves to strong column inches. I’ll itemise a few, but please note, I have no privileged access to information on any of them, so the facts I include are as subject to distortion and prejudice as any other media-generated stories.
OK, serious time, folks. And in every case multiply the questions many times over.
Ten days after legally completing his transition from female to male, a transgender man, TT, underwent intrauterine insemination, resulting in a pregnancy. He has now taken his case to the High Court in an effort to be the first to have no ‘mother’ registered on the birth certificate. Hello? ‘Cake’ and ‘eat’ instantly spring to mind. Expensive legal and parliamentary resources are to be deployed to look into the ramifications of the current laws governing fertility treatment.
One British doctor is reported as saying, now that it is medically possible to transplant a womb into biological males, it would be illegal to deny them access to this opportunity to carry a child to birth. What do you think? Would it?
What about the rights of the unborn child?
One author of a letter to the Telegraph outlined the scenario and concluded, ‘The lunatics truly have taken over the asylum.‘ Do you agree? Or is this a case of establishing the deep-seated needs of people who have struggled all their lives with their dysphoria?
Then there’s the issue of rights and dignity and bodily integrity and mental welfare of female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels? Renewed calls have been made for such women to be given drugs to lower their levels before they compete, or for them to be channelled into other categories such as intersex competition.
What about the effect on these sportswomen of the abuse and accusations levelled at them?
Is it a fair playing field?
Other scientists have cast serious doubt on the integrity of the research behind this latest demand; how many people either know of this or have the scientific or mental wherewithal to judge the issue fairly?
Exactly four years ago, on their half-term break, Shamima Begum and two school friends fled this country, aged only 15, to join Isil and become jihadi brides. In those years, Begum has borne three children, two of whom died of illness and malnourishment. She has told the world she doesn’t regret her actions, that she was unfazed by the sight of severed heads, that’s she’s into retaliation, but wants to bring baby number three back to her home country.
We have no way of knowing just how much coercion lies behind her public pronouncements, but her responses to interviewers chill the blood. The government have refused to jeopardise more lives by sending anyone to rescue her, but at first the lawyers told us, she’s a British citizen, she cannot be rendered stateless, so legally speaking, there is no choice; we must have her back. Then a couple of days later we hear that no, the government are not obliged to repatriate her … and indeed the Home Secretary has revoked her British citizenship … she has dual Bangladeshi nationality … the baby has a Dutch father …
What consequences should this girl’s actions have?
Whose rights take precedence?
What kind of a future lies in front of her or her baby son?
Who should assume responsibility?Is it a measure of our own more civilised behaviour that we rise above the terrorists’ creed and show compassion now towards this girl?
What of all the other people who’ve dabbled in terrorism but who now want to return?And a zillion other questions.
No wonder opinion is divided.
Retired accountant, 80-year-old Geoff Whaley, diagnosed with MND two years ago, decided that an agonising and undignified death was not for him; he would go to Dignitas in Switzerland for a controlled end to his life. But his careful planning was threatened days before his proposed departure by the appearance of police at his door, interviewing his wife of 52 years under caution, in response to an anonymous tip-off. It was this unwelcome intrusion, coupled with the laws of this country opposing assisted suicide, not his impending suicide, that engendered fear and anguish in this man, provoking him to protest to the BBC and MPs:‘The law in this country robbed me of control over my death. It forced me to seek solace in Switzerland. Then it sought to punish those attempting to help me get there. The hypocrisy and cruelty of this is astounding.’Put aside for a moment your personal views on assisted dying, and ask, what could possibly have motivated someone to blow the whistle in this way at the Whaley’s eleventh hour? Genuine concern, self-righteousness, extreme religious views, a sense of public duty, malice? Or what?
Should other people’s private scruples be allowed to control the rights of families in such tragic circumstances?
Imagine being born in war-ravaged Yemen, stranded in a hospital in a country where social, political, economic and health care systems have all collapsed, where about half of the 28 million inhabitants are living on the brink of famine. Now add to that the babies being conjoined twins. Their picture appeared in the British press; the Yemeni doctors appealing for help from the UN to get them to Saudi Arabia.
What should our response be?
What is our responsibility in such cases?
What chance did they realistically have?
At least 6,800 civilians have been killed and 10,700 injured in the war, according to UN statistics. Did these two extremely vulnerable boys warrant such an exceptional rescue mission?
In the event they died in their homeland, but the questions remain.
I have opinions on all these issues. You don’t have to listen to me. You are perfectly entitled to disagree with me – fundamentally and even vociferously. But you ought not to shut me up! Especially not in a threatening or damaging way.
Daniel Robbins has been on death row for nineteen years (half of his life) when the execution warrant arrives.
29 October 2004. One minute after midnight.
29 October is my birthday, so the date instantly hooked me in. When we’re young we count down the days – or sleeps! – to such dates; imagine counting down to your own death, or that of someone you love.
Robbins had a troubled upbringing, in and out of care, and there’s now no one in the outside world who’s in contact with him. But he remembers one thing his real mother taught him: Truth is not necessarily what people want to hear, and now he’s in prison because he failed to tell the truth – the truth about how, in 1985, he came to shoot dead 15-year-old Shep Stanley. Shep’s father is Deputy Sheriff Nathaniel Stanley (Nate), and it was he who found the fatally wounded boy. He cradled Shep while he bled to death, and his testimony helped put the 19-year-old shooter in the state penitentiary, and on death row.
Shep’s mother, Irene, is beside herself, depressed and suffocated by pain. Shep was the apple of her eye, her world. Even her daughter, Bliss, feels left out. Believing she couldn’t cope with hearing the truth about what really happened on the night of her son’s murder, Nate keeps the secret for nineteen years. Until, that is, he discovers his wife has been secretly writing to the condemned man for years … that she’s forgiven him. Incensed beyond control he blurts out the truth. The revelation catapults Irene into a frenzy of activity which takes her all the way to the window opposite her son’s killer.
The book, The Crying Tree ( a perfect title) is cleverly structured. The first section flips between the years leading up to the murder and its aftermath (1983-1990) – and the days immediately after the death warrant comes through (the first two days of October 2004). The second part picks up at 1995 and takes us up to 7 October 2004. The third and fourth sections inch us ominously through the remaining days of October 2004 as the condemned man counts down the rest of his mortal life.
I didn’t see the twist at the end of section 3 coming – always a thrill! – and Irene’s reaction to the truth Nate reveals is powerfully captured in some brilliant passages describing her whole life disintegrating (P247-8), beginning with ‘Irene drove south on Highway 3, speeding past river towns like Neunert and Grand Tower. Headlights made her squint, trains made her stop, and the words her husband had said made her shake with fury … she had no idea what to do with Nate’s confession.’
Alongside the story of the Stanleys’ life and tragedies, we walk beside the man responsible for masterminding the actual execution, Superintendent Tab Mason. He’s a damaged soul himself after years of terrible abuse. He feels the weight of his responsibility acutely – it’s not a job, it’s an ‘ordeal’ – and he has real issues with the notion of forgiveness. Execution is a rare occurrence in Oregon; the last one was seven years earlier, and this is Mason’s first case being ‘in the driving seat’. ‘We’re talking about a man’s life, and I won’t be tolerating any talk that may lead someone to believe we are in any way eager to take on this job.’ He’s determined that every man jack involved in any way, is prepared for this. ‘There are thresholds on the road to killing someone … everyone, from officer to cleanup crew, had to figure out whether or not he had it in him to cross over that line.’
But his careful planning and preparation is thrown into chaos when the murdered man’s mother writes to him … when she arrives seeking mercy … when her daughter supports her – a woman who is herself a criminal prosecutor who’s ‘probably put more men to death than he had sitting in his entire unit‘! It’s a ‘compellingly outrageous‘ situation to be in.
The author of this superb book, Naseem Rakha, an acclaimed journalist, doesn’t shirk the big questions either. The rightness of capital punishment. The Biblical understanding of Do Not Kill. Religion and homosexuality. The meaning and consequences of forgiveness. How grief affects people. Punishment and imprisonment. Nature versus nurture. Weighty questions all.
And her command of language is fabulous. I Iove the idea of
– a face ‘buttered with sympathy’ or ‘buffed of expression and the eyes drained of color’, of – a man running to ‘get as far away from himself as possible’. – the women in a backwater, ‘their long flannel shirts covering up what gravity had claimed’.– the people in the tavern ‘strung out on a line waiting for life to turn better’.
Her masterly handling of suspense and conflict, particularly in the chambers where the deed will be/is done, chills the spine. I experienced a CT procedure recently which necessitated everyone else leaving the room leaving me alone in the tunnel with an IV infusion to automatically shoot dye into my veins and thence into my heart, while a robotic disembodied voice warned me it was coming, and my body reacted strangely to the substance. It felt weirdly isolating. And I could see parallels. Only, in my case, I lived to recall the experience!
The Crying Tree is no run-of-the-mill miscarriage of justice story, no who-really-done-it. This is a tale that gets deep inside the heart of a family torn apart by the murder of a beloved and talented son, an act that forever changes the meaning and cohesion of their lives and relationships. Some of the attitudes and language make us cringe today in the UK, but this was the US in the 2000s, and it’s a salutary reminder of how prejudice, ignorance and intolerance can ruin lives. Shep’s mother ends up realising she failed her son, but ‘We all make mistakes … Every one of us. And we all pay. One way or another, we all pay.’
Remember last week I mentioned the cases of child abuse or mistreatment that go to court? That got me thinking.
I’ve been creeping uncomfortably close to this area in my current novel, Killing me Gently – the delicate relationship being built up in the early weeks and months following the birth of a new baby and mysterious things happening which perplex the professionals responsible for ensuring everyone’s safety. We know that some children can be very difficult to love; some appear to reject overtures of maternal affection; some parents struggle to bond with their child for assorted reasons; some parents actually harm and even kill their children. Cruelty and rejection can come in many guises (as I’ve had brought home to me recently in the experiences foster carer Cathy Glass recounts), but so sensitive and nuanced is this whole topic that primary care teams and social services can be unsure of how best to support such families, when to intervene, when indeed to remove the child from the biological family.
Perhaps it was this preoccupation in my writing life that reminded me of a recent news report that I filed away for reference purposes. At the beginning of August a serious case review found that professionals had missed a series of opportunities to save the life of a little girl, Elsie Scully-Hicks, in Cardiff. Pause for a moment and just look at that gorgeous little smiling face … And then take in the fact that this precious life was snuffed out before she even saw her second birthday.
Elsie had been placed with fitness instructor, Matthew Scully-Hicks, and his husband, Craig, at the age of 10 months, and following due process, formally adopted by them just two weeks before her death aged 18 months. The couple were described as well educated and articulate, and highly regarded by each of the involved agencies as good positive parents. They’d already successfully adopted an older child. Indeed, such was their standing that a catalogue of significant bruises and fractures were dismissed as normal childhood accidents (as Elsie’s adopted father alleged). There was indeed a conspicuous lack of professional curiosity about each of her many injuries.
In reality the stay-at-home dad was struggling with her care – he described her as ‘Satan in a babygro’. And when she was just 18 months old, he shook her so violently before throwing her to the floor, that he killed her. Last year he was jailed for life after being convicted of murder at Cardiff Crown Court.
The agencies concerned have promised to learn lessons from this review, but of course, nothing can bring little Elsie back. No one involved in this case will ever forget her. I rather suspect some professionals will never forgive themselves. I shudder to think what it’s like to live with these weighty responsibilities; just getting inside the skin of health visitors and social workers grappling with such judgements in my fictional world is more than enough for me – and I know the outcome! Pause for a moment and think of all those courageous people engaged in making these momentous decisions every day. And living with the consequences. I salute them.
What a week. The brutal murder of MP Jo Cox; Tim Peake‘s return to earth after six months in space; an historic referendum on the UK’s position in Europe; … I’ve counted down to my own author-event at Blackwell’s Bookshop this evening, not just in days-to-the-referendum, but in significant news flashes. And I want to pay my own small tribute to Jo Cox and her family who have epitomised dignity, humanity, unity and compassion. If only her legacy could continue to overrule the vitriol and power-struggling and falsehoods which have characterised this campaign.
I always knew it would be hard to do justice to this one without giving away a surprise but significant element which is only revealed at the end. So I had to explore various angles which might ‘sell’ the book to a live audience without containing spoilers. On this occasion I decided to concentrate on two points: body image and disappearance.
I suspect that only a tiny minority of people go through life perfectly content with their own body image; I’m certainly not among their number. All manner of hang-ups, me. All my life. And sobering statistics for suicide, mental health, eating disorders, self-harm, obsessions and addictions, cosmetic procedures, gender changes, all bear testament to a wider societal dissatisfaction. Small wonder, fueled as we are by the messages, overt and subliminal, from magazines and the internet; from social media; peer pressures; completely unrealistic expectations and cultural ideals. My book fits into this context, exploring what it means to live with unhappiness and troubled thoughts and unachievable goals.
One example will suffice: 15-year-old India Grayson looks in the mirror and perceives a size 3 body as grossly overweight. She aspires to have the courage to binge eat and deliberately vomit. Her mother can only stand on the sidelines, powerless to prevent her beloved daughter, on the very cusp of adulthood, starving herself to the point of collapse, forced to wait for medical intervention until the teenager is at death’s door or at imminent risk of significant deterioration. But India’s not seeking death; she’s seeking control. So how far should she be allowed to go along the path to self-destruction? What right has her mother to intervene?
Disappearance is the second recurring theme I chose to speak about. Three teenage girls vanish one after another. So does India’s beloved dad, leaving a neatly folded pile of clothes on a windy beach. Are these events connected? India’s mother has her niggling suspicions, doubts and fears but she’s suppressed them and certainly hasn’t shared them with a single soul. But now, eight years after his supposed suicide, India is convinced she heard her father’s voice on a crowded London station. She has to find him. The truth when it emerges is not what anyone expected; it challenges their notions of family and relationships, of image and identity. It makes us wonder, to what extent is it right to pursue our own goals and ambitions, when they conflict with the interests of others?
As part of my thinking about body image, I’ve been reading A Lot like Eve by Joanna Jepson. A newly ordained curate, Jepson came to fame in the early 2000s when she challenged the courts over cases of abortion for nothing more disabling than a hare lip and cleft palate. I remember her well – and her arguments. She was uniquely qualified to adopt this cause having herself been the victim of bullying and humiliation because of a facial disfigurement, and having also witnessed reaction to her brother who has Down’s Syndrome. What I didn’t know is how she has struggled with her faith and calling. This book is a moving exploration of her own battle to find acceptance and peace in her personal as well as her religious life. And who else would see their calling to be chaplain to the fashion industry?
This week I’ve been awed by the skill of crime writer Val McDermid in A Place of Execution. Written in 1999 it’s not new but it’s only just come to my attention, recommended unreservedly by a friend – thanks, Barbara.
The main story is set in the early 60s in Derbyshire around the time when the Moors murderers were perpetrating their deadly attacks on children in the Manchester area. The historical context, together with the unembellished matter-of-fact account of the investigation seen through the eyes and mind of a young detective in charge of his first major case, gives a sense of real-life happening to this fiction which got me off to a promising start.
When thirteen-year-old Alison Carter goes missing from the tiny hamlet of Scardale there are those who believe the events are linked. Law graduate, fast-tracked-for-promotion, Inspector George Bennett is not among them. His every instinct tells him the squire’s step-daughter has been abducted and murdered by a local person. But gathering evidence in a close-knit in-bred community, hostile to anyone from outside its ranks, is an uphill struggle. Each fragment of evidence comes at a price.
PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT. If you plan to read this book you might want to skip the rest of this post. It doesn’t reveal the most important facts but it does indicate the progress of the investigation, trial, outcome and subsequent findings.
A compelling case builds as George is guided towards his goal:
– two people swear to seeing a man walking the fields when he claims he was elsewhere;
– a fragment of wool, a smear of blood, a duffle toggle, and trampled vegetation suggest a struggle in nearby woodland;
– a disdainful old woman points them in the direction of a disused mine-working long forgotten by the locals but recorded in a book in the squire’s library;
George and his colleagues are so appalled by what they find, so convinced of the man’s guilt, that they pursue the criminal with all the resources at their disposal and at the expense of their own private lives. The fact that George is about to become a father for the first time adds zeal to his crusade. A compelling case is built for the murder of Alison Carter even in the absence of a body. But the rapist has powerful lawyers with formidable reputations on his defence team. George’s own motivation and integrity are dragged through the mire in the courts.
The evidence of the photographs, though, is powerful stuff; the jury are appalled by what they see and unanimous in their verdict. The first part of the book ends with a stroke-by-stroke account of the hanging of the perpetrator of this terrible violation and murder. As the man falls through the trapdoor and his neck is dislocated, George’s firstborn son enters the world. One life begins as another one ends.
But the reader is left with a sense of unease. Everything points to this man’s guilt but something isn’t right. The rest of the novel (146 of 549 pages) is devoted to events thirty-five years later. A journalist who grew up not far from Scardale and who was contemporaneous with Alison Carter, has finally persuaded George Bennett, now retired, to talk for the first time about his experience of the Carter case, for a book. He finds it unexpectedly cathartic. The manuscript is almost ready for submission to the publisher when George is persuaded to revisit Scardale. What he finds there so shocks him that he feels forced, without explanation, to withdraw permission for publication. So powerful is his reaction that he ends up in Intensive Care fighting for his life after a severe heart attack.
But the journalist is too close to the scoop of the century to back down so easily. She too visits Scardale. She too sees what George sees. What should she do? What will she do? If she agrees to withhold the book she will lose the opportunity of a lifetime; is she publishes she will ruin many other lives.
The truth about what actually happened in Scardale in 1963 is immensely more complex and unexpected and horrific than George ever dreamed of. Far more people suffered than he knew. But the fact that a man was hanged for a murder he did not commit because of his own actions will haunt him for the rest of his days.
This is a beautifully executed tour de force of a book with a subtlety and intricacy that mark McDermid out as a brilliant writer. I found it compelling reading and wanted to start all over again to seek out the cues I missed first time around. And it’s very rare for me to say that about any book.
Tony Nicklinson is 58. He’s paralysed from the neck down, can’t speak, and his only means of communication is by moving his eyes on a screen linked to a special computer. And yet his brain is so alive and intelligent that he can hold his own in arguments with twitters and QCs alike.
Prior to the stroke, Mr Nicklinson was a handsome, successful, fun-loving man, keen on extreme sports. He was in Greece on a business trip, when he suffered a catastrophic stroke in 2005. Now he is in a locked-in state, dependent on carers for his every need, with no hope of recovery. He considers his life as ‘miserable, demeaning and undignified‘. He ‘has no privacy or dignity left‘, and he rates it a state worse than death. He’s held that view since 2007; it’s no passing whim. It’s what’s described as a ‘voluntary, clear, settled and informed wish’ in legal parlance. Watching him on The Channel 4 documentary, Let Our Dad Die, surely no one could help but sympathise with his viewpoint. Even the Greek doctor who saved his life is appalled by the consequences of his actions, although no blame attaches to him.
In March Mr Nicklinson won the right to have his case heard by the High Court. The hearing took place last week (starting 19 June). There was considerable media interest in the run up to it. Lord Falconer visited the family at home. BBC’s Fergus Walsh went to see for himself what kind of a life a locked-in patient has. Channel 4 aired its documentary. Though he could communicate with these people in his own home, Mr Nicklinson was unable to attend the hearing in person, so he stated his arguments through emails and lawyers.
His case? Simply put, he is incapable of taking his own life, so he wants the judges to rule that, when he decides he wants to die, a doctor will be immune from prosecution if he/she helps him. Mr Nicklinson fully realises that the law as it stands prohibits anyone else taking his life; that would be murder. His defence rests on the view that he is being discriminated against, because of his disability. He is looking for assistance to do what he would do for himself were he able. Furthermore he adds poignantly, why should other people be allowed to condemn him to a life of increasing misery?
His barrister described it in more ponderous legal terms: ‘a serious interference of his common law and Convention rights of autonomy and dignity’.
It’s important to note that Mr Nicklinson is not seeking a change in the law. He is seeking two declarations from the court.
1. That in the circumstances of his case – and where an order has been sought from the court in advance – ‘the common law defence of necessity would be available to a doctor who, acting out of his professional and human duty, assisted him to die‘.
2. That the current law of assisted suicide and euthanasia is incompatible with his Article 8 rights of autonomy and dignity .
The QC acting for this family argues that a prior sanction by a court ‘would provide the strongest possible safeguard against abuse’. And furthermore ‘it would also provide a safeguard against the concern, often expressed by disabled opponents of legalisation, that a change in the law would lead to a change in people’s attitudes to disabled people, who they predict would come under subtle pressure to seek an assisted death through fear of being a “burden”.’
But any loosening of the limits frightens the legal fraternity. Speaking directly to Mr Nicklinson, Lord Falconer made it perfectly clear that in his judgement, modifying the law to accommodate such an act would be ‘crossing the Rubicon’. He was himself sympathetic to assisted suicide in cases of terrible disability with no prospect of improvement, where the patient expressed a sustained wish to put an end to their misery, but ending someone else’s life is murder and that must always be unacceptable.
Pause here for a moment and ask yourself: What answer would I give to Tony Nicklinson?
‘… the law isn’t about how we feel. The law isn’t about how you feel if you were once healthy and fit and happy, and now aren’t. The law, as Lord Falconer said on that Dispatches, is the same for everybody. “If people want to kill themselves,” he said, it’s an “entirely private matter”, but “they can’t kill somebody else”. The law, as the disability rights campaigner Kevin Fitzpatrick also said on the programme, is meant to offer protection. “When you develop a society where some people judge that other people’s lives are not worth living,” he said, “that’s the Rubicon.”‘
There can be no happy ending for the Nicklinsons, neither Tony, nor his wife, nor his daughters. But each time a tragic case like this comes to court, and I watch the family being forced to parade their lives in front of others, to expend dwindling energy on fighting their cause, I feel there has to be an alternative.
I can, of course, see the dangers inherent in a change to the law against taking life. The consequences could be inconceivably horrible. I accept too that these extreme cases make bad laws. But the fact remains, that these exceptional circumstances do present from time to time. And they seem to cry out for special judgements.
Would it be so terrible to openly acknowledge this fact, and to relieve these families of the necessity of taking their cases to the courts? Why not constitute a sort of Ombudscommittee – a gathering of carefully selected, experienced and wise folk, representing law, medicine, religion, ethics, patients – who could quietly, rationally, compassionately, debate the very few cases which fall into this terrible legal limbo, taking guidance from others as and when they need it? Not in such a way as to drive the debate underground, not to sweep the anomalies under the carpet, but to take individual cases away from the heat and distortion of media coverage, protecting and supporting those for whom this dilemma is a lived reality not a theoretical argument.
I haven’t ever seen this idea promoted, and it’s the first time I’ve aired my own view on this. So what do you think? Would you be in favour? Or can you see some glaring reason why this would not be an acceptable way forward?
Life chez nous is becoming very scrambled this spring. Three weddings and a couple of conferences all involving long car journeys (of the several-hundred-miles-in-one-hop variety) … looming literary appointments … elderly folk needing tlc … family commitments … amongst the usual hmdrum responsibilities. Which is a long-winded way of saying, not much time to sit writing novels.
As far as the current story (about a family whose lives are devastated by a car crash) goes, I know I need to lift the mood somewhat. And I’ve identified the way forward: another secondary narrative thread. But it requires a lot of concentration to hang on to which of my characters is doing what, where and in what time frame; to place enough cues strategically without losing pace or flow. So, with everything else going on, it’s left to the deep recesses of the night-time brain to develop this new storyline.
Which reminds me of the narrator in the fictional Diary of an Ex-Detective (1959): ‘When I am deeply perplexed it is my practice to go to bed, and lie there till I have solved my doubts and perplexities. With my eyes closed, but wide awake, and nothing to disturb me, I can work out my problems.’ quoted in the The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I’m doing a fair bit of problem-solving with my eyes closed these days, not just during the long watches of the night, but also on those aforementioned long journeys – not, I hasten to add, when I’m in the driving seat.
But for those of you who haven’t made the acquaintance of late great Mr Whicher, here’s a summary. One summer night in 1860 the well-to-do Kent family went to sleep in an elegant Georgian house in Wiltshire. Mr and the second Mrs Samuel Kent, their children, their domestic staff. Next morning their world is blown apart by the discovery of the gruesome murder of one of the children. What’s more it seems that the perpetrator of the crime must be someone within the household.
The celebrated detective Jack Whicher from Scotland Yard is brought in to investigate but his conclusions fly in the face of the verdicts of the local police and others. He believes the daughter of Samuel Kent’s first marriage is to blame, but almost everyone else comes into the frame at some stage. And so powerful are the voices raised in opposition that Mr Whicher’s mighty reputation crumbles and he fades into obscurity. The true story only evolves gradually over many years.
The book is a reconstruction of a real case but begins like a novel. Whatever its later shortcomings, hats off to Kate Summerscale for her meticulously detailed research. She weaves in the work of authors of the time, historical landmarks, other notorious cases, alongside her account of who said what, who did what, and when. Rather too many deviations, in my view, detracting from the pace of the main storyline. Probably why she needs to repeat points so often to remind the reader of the salient facts of this case. But in the process she brings into stark relief the harsh and capricious nature of the legal system of the day, with all its limitations. There’s no DNA evidence, no CCTV documentation, no sophisticated pathology result, to substantiate the circumstantial suspicions. The death penalty is meted out after short brutal trials. Public hangings are still a spectator sport.
And the class structure still divides. Whicher himself is seen by some as a greedy and inept working class fellow, meddling in middle class affairs. But by others as a fearless pursuer of the truth irrespective of class distinctions. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
His investigation certainly shines a light into a closed-up house, into the secretive world beneath the veneer of well-to-do respectability, into the divided loyalties above and below stairs, into the complex emotions of step-relations. Police procedure involves measuring breasts, examining night attire for bodily fluids, asking indelicate questions of nice young ladies – all in a context of Victorian prudery and secrecy. Sensational stuff for its age. It attracts huge media attention. And the echoes and repercussions go on for decades.
I enjoyed the clever piecing together of the fragments of a story from many sources. And the unravelling of a family’s life during that era. A clever idea adroitly executed. I wasn’t so keen on the time it took to tell the story and the repetitive elements. But it made me appreciate the fact that at least any false trails I might lay won’t lead to the gallows. |
1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to thin film transistor substrate and a method of manufacturing the thin film transistor. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a thin film transistor substrate including an oxide semiconductor, and a method of manufacturing the thin film transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thin film transistor is used for various electronic devices such as a flat panel display. The thin film transistor is used as a switching device or a driving element in the flat panel display including a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode display, an electrophoretic display or the like, for example.
The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode and a channel layer providing a channel between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The channel layer includes a semiconductor layer including amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicon, oxide semiconductor or the like.
Amorphous silicon has a relatively low electron mobility, which may be about 1 square centimeters per volt second (cm2/V·s) to about 10 cm2/V·s so that a thin film transistor including amorphous silicon has relatively low driving characteristics. In contrast, polycrystalline silicon has a relatively high electron mobility, which may be about 10 cm2/V·s to about hundreds cm2/V·s. However, a crystallization process is added for forming polycrystalline silicon. Thus, it is difficult to form a uniform polycrystalline silicon layer on a large-sized substrate and manufacturing costs are high.
Oxide semiconductor may be formed by a low-temperature process, and may be formed easily large-scaled, and has high electron mobility. Thus, the thin film transistor including the oxide semiconductor has been being researched and developed actively. |
Your Summer Beer Trip Planned: A Visit to Montauk Brewing Co.
“That’s myself and two buddies,” says Montauk Brewing Company’s Vaughan Cutillo, gesturing towards a framed black and white photograph leaning against the tasting room’s wall. “We started homebrewing in 2008 in my basement, about a mile from here. We just had a kegerator, had friends over, and eventually we kind of realized we were on to something.”
Cutillo, along with the aforementioned buddies Eric Moss and Joe Sullivan, was right to take the leap into professional brewing. Since its inception in 2012, Montauk Brewing Co. has grown from a passion project to a full-scale commercial brewery with a steadily growing distribution market and a devoted area clientele.
“We all grew up here,” says Cutillo of the sleepy Long Island beach town, known more as a favorite spot for summering Manhattanites than a place to build a year-round local business. “A lot of our other friends ended up moving out because, you know, other than trades, teaching, a lot of those kind of jobs, there’s not much here for people just out of college. We wanted to start something that allowed us to stay here. So we started this.”
Montauk Brewing Co. operates out of a former cabinet shop located just outside of the village’s quaint downtown strip, and with its deep red wood panel siding and green, grassy front yard, the building makes for a pretty picturesque brewery. In June of 2012, the guys obtained a liquor license and converted the front room, once the shop’s kitchen showroom, into a small, breezy taproom. The goal of the tasting room was to build their brand with both locals and tourists alike during Montauk’s busy summer months while they brewed, kegged and canned the majority of their beer on contract a few hours away in Massachusetts.
“I mean, we wanted to be brewing here, it just wasn’t in the cards at the time,” reflects Cutillo. “It was a way for us to get into the market and not lose three years to permits and build outs–it was a business decision, you know? So we brewed offsite and then had the tasting room as a way to at least let people sample the beers.
While contract brewing allowed Cutillo, Moss and Sullivan to grow their company at a speed that made the most business sense, keeping the tasting room open to the public solidified their position in the community.
“There’s a huge–I don’t know if it’s just about craft beer–but there’s a lot of local support for people who grew up here, trying to start a business and stay,” explains Cutillo. “So, any given Saturday, we’d be busy. People hang out with umbrellas outside, we have live music. There’s a nice little fish market next door that opens up in the summer, so people can sit out and eat and drink. It’s fun.”
Montauk’s about to get a whole lot more fun this summer, however. As of this month, the guys are putting the finishing touches on installing their very own commercial brewing facility at the brewery. Once up and running, the shiny new seven barrel brewing system will supply the company’s draft accounts with both experimental one-offs like seasonals, stouts and high-gravity brews, as well as their trusty core lineup of malty Driftwood Pale, a surprisingly full-bodied Session IPA and the ever-refreshing Summer Ale. The brewhouse will also be open for public tours and educational events during peak season.
Despite the avowed interest, Montauk Brewing Company’s road to hometown production wasn’t always an easy one to travel. The nearest small brewery–brewpub, really–is located a ways down the Island in Southampton, and the local government wasn’t very familiar with how to deal with such a development.
“It was a crash course in not just beer, but government and politics in general,” Cutillo laments. Though they wanted to support small business growth, the legislation worried that another alcohol-centric joint would attract some seedier elements to the town. A visit to Montauk Brewing Co.’s distinctly mellow tasting room, however, quickly quelled those fears.
“Now that we have the tasting room, the community has been pretty into it. I mean, we don’t open late–we’re closed by eight o’clock,” says Cutillo. “It’s really more of a community space. We don’t have a TV for a reason–we want people to actually talk to each other when they’re here. A lot of local photographers and artists and stuff show their work here, too. People aren’t here getting wasted. Most of the people coming through are young families with kids. It’s just a good environment.”
Can’t wait to get out to the Island see for yourself? As hordes of New Yorkers crawl their way down I-495’s congested lanes, a new and improved Montauk Brewing Co. is looking forward to a jam-packed summer, complete with expanded hours.
“I think we’ll be more of a destination this year because now people can see the brewery and take tours, really see how the beer is made back here. Before, when we were just the tasting room and that was great, but, I mean, that’s not all that exciting,” Cutillo says with a friendly smile. “And once we get everything finalized, we’ll be open seven days, 12PM- 8PM from summer through fall. So, we’ll see what happens.” |
Distinction between papillary thyroid hyperplasia and papillary thyroid carcinoma by immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin 19, galectin-3, and HBME-1.
The histopathology of papillary thyroid hyperplasia and papillary thyroid carcinoma is similar enough to cause a diagnostic dilemma in a few cases. Both lesions may have papillary fronds with fibrovascular cores, nuclear crowding, and nuclear anisocytosis. Formalin- fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 30 randomly selected patients with papillary thyroid hyperplasia and an equal number from patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma were analyzed for expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19), galectin-3, and HBME-1. Cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma had moderate to strong CK19, galectin-3, and HBME-1 reactivity although both CK19 and galectin-3 showed positive staining in a significant number of nonneoplastic thyroid cases. HBME-1 was uncommon in the nonneoplastic cases. These results indicate that HBME-1 may be useful in helping to distinguish papillary thyroid carcinoma from hyperplasia in diagnostically difficult cases. |
Q:
Groupby Multiple Columns using an input vector SparkR
I am using SparkR 2.1.0 for data manipulation
I want to group by multiple columns in a programmatic manner. I know I can group by multiple columns if I list them out individually, or reference their position from a vector... But I want to be able to pass the list of columns as a vector (this way, the function automatically adjusts to the number of arguments I pass it)
Dummy data:
cpny <- c("Fakeco1", "Fakeco2", "Fakeco3", "Fakeco4", "Fakeco5", "Fakeco6")
state <- c("CA", "NY", "WA", "CA", "CA", "NY")
public <- c("Y", "Y", "N", "N", "N", "N")
color <- c("White", "Red", "Green", "Green", "Green", "Red")
revs <- c(400, 200, 900, 500, 200, 120)
df <- data.frame(cpny, state, public, color, revs)
# Convert to SparkR dataframe
df_s <- as.DataFrame(df)
Works:
df_grouped <- df_s %>%
groupBy('state', 'public') %>%
summarize(sum_Revs = sum(df_s$revs))
Also works:
group_vars <- c('state', 'public')
df_grouped <- df_s %>%
groupBy(group_vars[[1]], group_vars[[2]]) %>%
summarize(sum_Revs = sum(df_s$revs))
Doesn't work:
group_vars <- c('state', 'public')
df_grouped <- df_s %>%
groupBy(group_vars) %>%
summarize(sum_Revs = sum(df_s$revs))
Any solutions or alternative thoughts?
A:
You can use do.call() https://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/R-devel/library/base/html/do.call.html and put your columns as well as the dataframe into a list. The following works for me:
cpny <- c("Fakeco1", "Fakeco2", "Fakeco3", "Fakeco4", "Fakeco5", "Fakeco6")
state <- c("CA", "NY", "WA", "CA", "CA", "NY")
public <- c("Y", "Y", "N", "N", "N", "N")
color <- c("White", "Red", "Green", "Green", "Green", "Red")
revs <- c(400, 200, 900, 500, 200, 120)
df <- data.frame(cpny, state, public, color, revs)
# Convert to SparkR dataframe
df_s <- as.DataFrame(df)
group_vars <- c('state', 'public')
function_params <- list(df_s)
for (i in range(1:length(group_vars))) {
function_params[[i+1]] <- group_vars[i]
}
summarized<- do.call(SparkR::groupBy, function_params) %>% SparkR::summarize(sum_Revs = sum(df_s$revs))
SparkR::head(summarized)
|
For the young Sarah Silverman, sleepovers were hell, school camp a nightmare. Why? Because until she was 16 she regularly wet the bed. The comedian writes of the shame, the soaked sheets and the plus-sized nappies that haunted her childhood
On 16 August, 1977, Elvis Presley saved my life. The previous afternoon, I played with my six-year-old peers in Heather Peters' backyard. I was blissfully helping myself to pizza and cake when Heather asked me where my sleeping bag was. Heather explained – because I had somehow missed, or perhaps wilfully ignored – that this party was a sleepover. Fuck me, this is a sleepover?
It's helpful to mention, at this point, that I was – and would be for many years to come – a chronic bedwetter. The word "sleepover" to a six-year-old bedwetter has roughly the same impact of, say, "liver cancer" to a 40-year-old alcoholic. The moment the word is spoken, gruesome images of your near future flood your mind. At least with liver cancer, people gather at your bedside instead of run from it.
I had one reliable means of escaping these situations. I'd explain that I needed my mother's permission to spend the night. I'd call her from somewhere with sufficient privacy, then rejoin my friend with the bad news that my mom wouldn't let me sleep over. But Heather eagerly stood next to me as I called Mom. Like a hostage with a gun at her temple, I put on an act to satisfy my captor. I "pleaded" with Mom to let me stay over, and, not detecting my insincerity, she granted permission. "Of course, Sweetie. Have fun."
Here's one tip to bedwetters or parents of bedwetters: have a codeword or phrase. So if your child calls and says, for example, "Your package from Zappos is on its way", or, "The man from Moldova wants more lemons", or just "fuzzy dice", you'll know your child is in danger of pissing herself in someone's house, and you should order her to come home at once.
I hung up, turned to Heather, and harnessed the momentum of my plummeting heart to sling it upward into a joyous, "She said yes!!" It was settled. I would be sleeping in the same living room as Heather and about eight other girls. By this age, I'd peed myself on numerous sleepovers, but here was a chance to do it with a substantial audience.
The anxiety of the impending night took over. I felt like a zombie, going through the motions of a child at play. I didn't bring my own pyjamas or linens, so Mrs Peters provided me a sleeping bag and a pair of Heather's way-too-sexy-for-a-six-year-old pyjamas. They were harem-girl bottoms with a short cropped matching top. The anxiety of being in Heather's stuff was stress-gravy on an already terror-filled plate. As the other girls drifted into their sweet little dreams, I pinched myself awake, constantly testing my bladder. "Do I need to go again? I'll stay up to go one more time …" Of course, if you battle against sleep this ferociously, when it finally conquers you, it takes you down hard.
The next morning, I'm the first to wake up. I am warm – which is a trick on people like me. I can stay in denial, lying perfectly still in the warmth, or test it, by moving just the tiniest bit. I venture, rocking my body just slightly to the right. Ice-cold air whooshes along my body and I freeze, heartbroken. I lie, motionless, in panic and urine, for what seems like hours before the other girls start to wake up. I do the only thing a terrified zombie can do: I pretend it didn't happen. I get up with the other girls, take off my PJs like the other girls, and change into my clothes. They're so lucky to be able to move through life so effortlessly. I know at six how lucky they are – they probably still don't know.
Mrs Peters walks into the room, and before she can say anything, steps right on to the pile of my sexy urine-soaked pyjamas. My heart stops as I watch her face burn red like a Disney villainess.
"Who did this!?!?!" she screams, with a look of pure fury. I stand there, quietly enduring the world's youngest heart attack, wishing for my fear to somehow transport me. Am I supposed to answer? Is the onus on six-year-old me to fill this silence? And that's when it happens – Mr Peters comes in and grabs his wife, "Elvis Presley died!!!"
The news of the King's death overtook Mrs Peters, and I was spared. Somehow I got home without the other kids knowing what had happened.
By eight years old, my urine showed no promise of abandoning its nightly march out of my urethra and on to my mattress. New Hampshire was running out of clean sheets. All the doctors could offer was a diagnosis of enuresis – meaning my bladder was too small. I was tiny for my age, there was no medical cure but to grow.
Girls were getting tits and periods, and I had seemingly plateaued, elementary-sized. My parents worried, but I also think there was something about me being so small that felt right to us. My dad would always say, "Keep passing the open windows." I didn't know what he meant until he explained that in John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire, there's a girl who never grows. She becomes a revered novelist but eventually kills herself by jumping out of a window. Until then I had never thought of open windows as the opportunities for suicide they truly are.
I realised I was going to be a bedwetter for the rest of my life. I supposed maybe someday this nightmare would end, but even so, you're always an alcoholic, right? Even if you're living dry? To still be a bedwetter in high school, to have a condition this deeply entrenched, is a pretty serious problem for a child.
I was elected student leader of our school's annual camping trip, which I was proud of but extremely nervous and anxious about for a couple of reasons: 1) I was a bedwetter. This is going to be tricky, and 2) did I mention I piss in my sleep?!
In the last month of my 12th year, my mother helped me hide three diapers in the bottom of my sleeping bag and sent me off to go lead my fellow students camping. We were loaded on to the bus and on our way. When we got there, we lifted our gigantic packs on to our backs and up the mountain we hiked, led by me. I don't even think it was an hour before I started sobbing. When the teachers asked why I was crying, I reached for a more stoic answer than the truth.
"I'm worried about my mother being alone without me."
"Aw, I'm sure your mom will be just fine," the teacher said.
"No, she won't! You don't understand," I said, figuring broad and nondescript might be the way to go with this.
As we set up our tents it started to pour, and after eating our smoky, fire-burned dinner, we went to sleep. Surrounded by my tentmates, I subtly reached to the bottom of my sleeping bag with my toes and took care of business without incident, probably because, in their wildest dreams – among the giggling and gossip and talking about boys – they would never guess that one of us was wearing Pampers.
Our bus pulled into the school parking lot after our long journey. The kids hopped off to be met by their parents. I saw my mother, waiting with the other moms, smiling. I was suddenly overwhelmed with shame. I was so embarrassed by my behaviour that first day of the trip, and seeing my mother made it real and permanent. This pain was compounded by the fact that with each step of the bus I descended, Mom was snapping pictures of me, the flash illuminating my shame from the inside out. I begged her to stop, but like a shuttering paparazzo she ignored me while continuing to take pictures. It's a bizarre way to be ignored.
As I walked to the car, enduring Mom's relentless camera flashes, a wave of… something… washed over me, and instantly transformed who I was. It happened as fast as a cloud covering the sun. It was at once devastatingly real and terrifyingly intangible. I felt helpless, but not in the familiar bedwetting sense. As quickly and casually as someone catches the flu, I caught depression, and it would last for the next three years.
Everything about who I was changed. Until then, I'd been hooked on telling jokes. Chasing laughs. When I was three years old my father had taught me to swear like he was teaching a "cursing as a second language" course for one. I soon learned that just saying "I love tampons" or any shocking non sequitur was rewarded with frenzied laughter. The approval made me dance like Snoopy. The feeling of pride made my arms itch. It fed this tyrant in me that just wanted more more more, push push push.
I had always been able to turn pain or discomfort into humour, but that trick was gone now. I couldn't relate to ever knowing it. I stopped being social. The thought of seeing my friends felt like a burden. All I could focus on was that I was alone in my body. That no one would ever see through the same eyes as me, not ever. It filled me with a loneliness that only deepened when I was not alone.
My parents sent me to a therapist. He was an old man whom my dad had seen give a lecture somewhere about working with kids dealing with divorce. Even though by this point my parents had been divorced for six years, my father figured my sudden depression was most likely a result of it. Who knows, maybe he was right? I walked into the therapist's office, and he had two chairs set up, facing each other. He had me stand with one foot on each chair, explaining that one represented my mother and the other, my dad. As I stood, he pulled the chairs farther and farther apart until I couldn't balance without jumping entirely to one chair or the other.
"I love them both!" I yelped, as I fell forward and off both chairs in defiance.
When Dad picked me up after the session, I told him what had happened, and it was back to the drawing board. The next therapist seemed to have more promise. He was a psychiatrist, and that's like a real doctor. I described how I felt and he said, "Sarah, I'm going to write a prescription for a medicine called Xanax, and I want you to take one whenever you feel sad." I was 13.
By the time I was 14, I was taking four Xanax four times a day. Sixteen Xanax per day total. Although I never said it out loud, in my heart I thought, This cannot be right, so I saved each empty prescription bottle in a shoebox in my room as evidence if anything happened to me.
In my first year of high school I missed three straight months in a row. I just couldn't go to school. I was paralysed with fear. It was unbearable to be among other kids who were just standing around being fine. It was one of the many inconveniences of this paradox I lived with – the more people I was surrounded by, the more frighteningly alone I felt.
My stepfather, John O'Hara, was the goodest man there was. He was not a man of many words, but of carefully chosen ones. He was the one parent who didn't try to fix me. One night I sat on his lap in his chair by the wood stove, sobbing. He just held me quietly and then asked only, "What does it feel like?" It was the first time I was prompted to articulate it. I thought about it, then said, "I feel homesick." That still feels like the most accurate description – I felt homesick, but I was home.
The thing about depression is that, if you're not the one who's suffering from it, there's very little you can do to be proactive. If someone in your family is depressed, all you can really do is send them to the shrink, get them their meds, be gentle, and wait. A persistent bedwetting problem, however, is a call to action. Surely there must be a way to stop a small amount of liquid from moving a short distance during a certain time of day. It's a very tangible, physical problem. A science project, really. Combating my depression was a job for an army of geniuses. But the solution to my bedwetting problem, Dad still believed, was within his grasp.
It really killed Dad that I couldn't stop wetting the bed. He was a bedwetter as a kid, too. And, his father, too. For a while I had to wear diapers to bed. That way there was no messy changing of the sheets. It was humiliating, but I got used to it. Plus, it was convenient. But it was just a Band-Aid, and Dad wasn't about to give up on me.
He put an electric pad under my sheet, designed to set off an alarm when moistened. Though "alarm" doesn't really do it justice, I'd call it more of a shocking, heart-attack-causing scream.
That first night of the screaming aluminium sheet was the last night I slept at my dad's house. I mean, I still spent the night as the joint-custody schedule dictated, but I didn't sleep. The horror of waking up to that stunning alarm kept me up most of the night, or until my body couldn't fight it any longer – and you know what happens then: total submission, and all it entails.
I was sent to another shrink. When I told him I was taking 16 Xanax a day, he was horrified. He called my mother in and told us that this was fucked-up shit (I'm paraphrasing) and that his very own brother died going off Xanax cold turkey. He explained that I would go off the Xanax gradually, a half a pill less each week. It was eight months before I was completely off meds – and the day I took that very last swallow of half a Xanax was the happiest day of my life to that point.
I finally grew, bladder and all. Around the time that I got my driver's licence, and the final traces of Xanax left my system, and the cloud of depression lifted, my enuresis went away. Just as the doctor had predicted, more than a decade before.
I was a late bloomer all around. My period came late, my ability not to go off like a fucking lawn sprinkler every night came late, and sex came late. Essentially, everything having to do with the general flow of traffic in my vagina came late. Ironically, I was this girl in high school through whom everyone came to learn about sex, though I, myself, had never gone past kissing a boy.
And then, in the summer before my last year of high school, I had my first experience of live comedy. I'd never been inside a comedy club before, and I was underage, but somehow I weaselled my way in. As I entered, I heard a woman's voice on the mike. It was Wendy Liebman, who at the time was an emerging talent but would go on to become a major comic. Each joke she told was funnier than the one before it. I was blown away. I found out when the next open mike was and signed up.
My first set was pretty successful. I told some jokes about high school and ended the gig with a song about being flat-chested, which at the time I was. I was not especially nervous. It might be that I'm one of those people who are naturally comfortable on a stage. Or maybe my lack of stage fright was the upside of years of nightly bedwetting. Maybe that daily shame had ground away at my psyche, like glaciers against the coastline, so that somewhere in my consciousness, I understood that bombing on stage could never be as humiliating. My early trauma was a gift, it turned out, in a vocation where your best headspace is feeling that you have nothing to lose .
• This is an edited extract from The Bedwetter, by Sarah Silverman, to be published by Faber & Faber on 2 September, priced £12.99. To order a copy for £11.99 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop. |
[Patient with massive hemothorax due to blunt trauma saved by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE)].
A 78-year-old man who fell from a step ladder was transported to our hospital by ambulance under the diagnosis of multiple rib fractures and right hemothorax. Since he was in shock on arrival, endotracheal intubation and tube thoracotomy were immediately performed. Though 2 liters of blood was evacuated, persistent hemorrhage was observed, requiring continuous rapid infusion and blood transfusion. Emergency thoracic arteriography revealed active bleeding from a branch of the right internal thoracic artery. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed using vascular embolization coils and porous gelatin particles. These procedures successfully controlled active hemorrhage from the chest. Intrathoracic hematoma was evacuated through the 2nd large chest tube. Chest tubes were removed on the 7th day. He was discharged on the 17th day without any complications. |
Weather and Traffic
FAU: Quarterbacks, defensive line to be focus of Owls’ spring finale
Jason Driskel (16), shown during a game last season against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium, will look to impress coaches Saturday during Florida Atlantic’s spring game at FAU Stadium. Driskel and De’Andre Johnson are battling for the starting quarterback positon. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
Posted: 8:11 a.m. Friday, April 21, 2017
BOCA RATON
—
To conclude their first spring camp under Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic will have its annual spring game 4 p.m. Saturday at FAU Stadium.
While Kiffin, who previously conducted spring games while coach at Tennessee and USC and was also the coach of the Oakland Raiders, isn’t overly excited about what he calls “really just the 15th practice,” FAU fans are enthused to see their new-look team in action — and the return of Kiffin’s trademark visor.
Here is what fans can expect:
The format: Kiffin confirmed on Thursday that the first half of Saturday’s game will be an offense vs. defense format rather than one team with one quarterback and a second team led by another quarterback. For 30 in-game minutes, the two sides will clash in a manner that Kiffin has experience dealing with.
“It’s something we’ve done before when our numbers were really low at USC because of the probation,” Kiffin said. “There’ll be a scoring system where the defense can score by three-and-outs, by stops, and by turnovers so it’ll still be competitive that way.”
Kiffin has not announced publicly the format that will be used for the final 30 minutes.
Who’s the quarterback? While quarterbacks will not be live — they can scramble, but cannot be tackled — both De’Andre Johnson and Jason Driskel will be receiving plenty of snaps on Saturday afternoon. Because the two aren’t necessarily competing directly against each other — Johnson isn’t leading a team against Driskel’s — fans should pay close attention to their decision making, and arm strength, especially with a much-improved receiving group.
“It’s as close to a game as you’re going to get in the spring, but it’s completely different than a game in September or October,” Driskel said on Thursday.
As for Johnson, who continues to dazzle in practice with a deep arm and blazing speed, the former high school Mr. Football has made a habit of improvising. Johnson, who began his college career at Florida State but was dismissed in July 2015 after a video was released showing him punching a woman at a Tallahassee bar, has impressed coaches with his attitude and how quickly he has grasped the offensive system.
“I think he continues to get better — this is a different system than many people run, so it’s different for how they drop and how the play actions are; it takes time to get used to it,” Kiffin said. “You can see he’s miles ahead of where he was day one.”
Dwyer graduate Daniel Parr will miss the spring game as he continues to recover from foot surgery. Upon his return, Parr figures to challenge Steven Frank for the third quarterback position.
A find on the line: Kiffin has openly called the defensive line “our most concerning position” after the losses of Trey Hendrickson and Shalom Ogbonda, but defensive end Damian Horton — who played his freshman year at West Hills Community College and spent last year working out with the Owls — has turned heads this spring.
“He’s done a really good job – a guy that stood out right from the beginning in drills,” Kiffin said of the Miami Killian Sr. graduate.
Horton also had one of the top defensive plays in Tuesday’s practice, snagging a Driskel pass behind the line of scrimmage and running it back for a touchdown. If the 250 pound defensive end can do something similar on Saturday, then fans in attendance are in for a treat
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