text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
|---|
Background {#Sec1}
==========
Adjuvant radiotherapy with neck dissection for the management of head and neck cancer might have a positive effect on disease-free survival; however, it might have a negative effect on the vascular bed in the radiotherapy field \[[@CR1]\]. In cases in which a patient develops a recurrent or second primary tumor after radiotherapy requiring reconstruction, the reconstructive surgeon faces particularly challenging problems. In such patients, local flaps are typically inadequate. Microvascular free tissue transfer is a standard reconstructive option; however, the outcome of this type of microvascular reconstruction is heavily dependent on the selection of the recipient vessel \[[@CR2],[@CR3]\]. When the bilateral recipient vessels of first choice in the head and neck are not available because of previous surgery or irradiation, finding suitable vessels for microvascular anastomosis might be difficult \[[@CR4],[@CR5]\]. Finding reliable recipient vessels is paramount to successful microvascular tissue transfer in patients who have undergone neck surgery, radiation therapy, or both.
The transverse cervical vessel (TCV) is occasionally described as a recipient vessel for head and neck reconstruction \[[@CR6],[@CR7]\]. Here, we describe the technique and evaluate the reliability of using TCVs as recipient vessels in re-operative oral and maxillofacial reconstruction in cases in which other local vessels are not available or inadequate.
Methods {#Sec2}
=======
Patients {#Sec3}
--------
Between January 2012 and August 2014, 156 cases of microsurgical oral and maxillofacial reconstruction were performed at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology of China Medical University. This research was approved by the ethics committee of the School of Stomatology of China Medical University. The TCVs were used for microsurgical head and neck reconstruction in eight patients who had previously undergone surgery and radiation therapy of the neck region (*n* = 5). Three patients were male, and five were female. The mean age at the time of operation was 51.8 years (range, 36 to 69 years). We performed selective neck dissections (SND, levels I to III) on the eight patients with clinically determined node-negative necks at the primary surgery. Among them, five patients underwent adjuvant radiotherapy, during which the field was confined to the operative region and did not extend to the non-dissected levels.
The prior surgeries included tumor resection, selective neck dissection (levels I to III), and flap reconstruction. An extensive description of the individual cases and the patients' demographics is presented in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}.Table 1**Patient characteristicsPatientAge/genderDiagnosisPrior operationSNDPrior RTFirst flapSecond flapHospitalization timeComplications**142/FSCC of the lower gingivaMaxillectomyuniYNoneALT9None236/FACC of FOM (recurrence)Resection ACC FOMbilYMSAPALT15Delayed wound healing359/MACC of the mandible (recurrence)Marginal resection of the mandiblebilNPlastymaFibula10None465/MSCC of the tongue (second primary cancer)Resection SCC of FOMbilYALTAMT10None560/FSCC of the lower gingiva (recurrence)HemimandibulectomyuniNFibulaALT + AMT19None649/FMouth opening limitedMaxillectomyuniNNoneALT18Fistula and delayed wound healing758/MSCC of buccal mucosa (recurrence)Resection SCC of buccal mucosauniYNoneALT9None869/FSCC of buccal mucosa (recurrence)Resection SCC of buccal mucosauniYNoneALT10NoneSND, selective neck dissection; RT, radiotherapy; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; uni, unilateral; ALT, anterolateral thigh flap; ACC, adenoid cystic carcinoma; FOM, floor of mouth; bil, bilateral; MSAP, medial sural artery perforator flap; AMT, anteromedial thigh flap; F, female; M, male.
Surgical procedure {#Sec4}
------------------
All of the procedures were performed with a two-team approach. A free fibula flap, an AMT flap, and five ALT flaps were harvested on the nondominant leg to reconstruct the defects following cancer ablation. In one procedure, a chimeric flap (ALT + AMT) was harvested to reconstruct a through-to-through cheek defect (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}).
Technical instructions for preparation of the recipient vessels
The technique to expose the transverse cervical vessels has been well documented \[[@CR7]\]. Briefly, the pulse of the transverse cervical artery (TCA) was detected preoperatively in the supraclavicular region using palpation and pencil Doppler. The defective side of the neck was selected as the surgical field. If this were the left side of the neck, the thoracic duct should not be injured. For the patients who had undergone previous surgery, the supraclavicular region (level V) was typically unexposed, and an additional incision was made 2 cm above and parallel to the clavicle. The external jugular vein should be marked and carefully dissected (Figure [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). After the sternocleidomastoid and omohyoid muscles were identified, the loose fatty tissue was carefully explored with blunt dissection in this triangle area. The TCA was easily found under the fatty tissue lateral to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Then, the TCA was traced proximally to obtain the vessels with larger diameters. Typically, vessels at least 2- to 4-cm long could be obtained to easily facilitate microsurgery. The transverse cervical vein normally was within the fatty tissue (Figure [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). In some cases, in which the vein was small, the external jugular vein or internal jugular vein should be explored and preserved.Figure 1Preoperatively marked recipient vessels and designed the transverse incision parallel to the clavicle to enable exploration of TCVs. SCM, sternocleidomastoid muscle; EJV, external jugular vein.Figure 2The right TCVs, located 2 cm above the clavicle and lateral to the SCM, were exposed. SCM, sternocleidomastoid muscle; EJV, external jugular vein.
For reconstruction in the oral and maxillofacial region, a long pedicle of the donor flap was normally required when the TCA served as the recipient site. The flap pedicle was brought from the defect to the recipient vessels through a wide subcutaneous tunnel with a clamp. Then, microsurgery was performed. Care should be taken to position the vessels and prevent any kinks in the vessels. Arterial and venous anastomoses were typically performed with interrupted 8-0 nylon sutures and coupler.
Results {#Sec5}
=======
At the time of the reoperation, the patients presented with an inaccessible or vessel-depleted neck. All of the procedures were uncomplicated; no flap was revised, and the flap failure rate was 0%. The results are schematically represented in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}. The time required to explore the transverse cervical vessels averaged approximately 18.3 min (12 to 24 min). The mean operating time for reconstruction was 161.3 min (133 to 195 min), and the mean flap ischemia time was 42 min (23 to 45 min). The mean pedicle length was 11.0 cm (7.5 to 15 cm), with a mean distance of 11.2 cm (8.2 to 15 cm) between the resection and the recipient vessel sites. The mean distance between the anastomosis site and the acceptor site was 8.6 cm (6.1 to 11 cm). No venous interposition grafts were needed because of the long flap pedicles. The mean hospitalization time was 12.5 days (range 9 to 19 days), and the mean postoperative follow-up was 11 months (range 1 to 23 months). One patient died after a follow-up of 18 months.Table 2**Role of the TCVsPatientAge/genderRecipient vessels (A/V)AnastomosisIschemia time (min)Time of vessel dissection (min)Operating time (min)Distance** ^**a**^ **(cm)Distance** ^**b**^ **(cm)Pedicle length (cm)**142/FTCA/TCVE-E38241728.86.19.7236/FTCA/IJVE-S33201358.26.310.3359/MTCA/TCVE-E422517011.38.17.5465/MTCA/TCVE-E351719311.29.310.1560/FTCA/EJVE-E451515710.28.510.8649/FTCA/TCVE-E231513312.19.411.5758/MTCA/TCVE-E7518135151015866/FTCA/TCVE-E451219512.41113^a^Distance refers to bridging distance between the acceptor site and recipient vessel site, ^b^Distance refers to bridging distance between the acceptor site and anastomosis site. F, female; M, male; E-E, end to end; E-S, end to side; TCA, transverse cervical artery; TCV, transverse cervical vein; IJV, internal jugular vein; EJV, external jugular vein.
A 65-year-old man presented with a primary tongue carcinoma after a marginal mandibulectomy, selective neck dissection (bil, levels I to III), and free ALT flap reconstruction for T4N0M0 gingiva cancer (patient 4 in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}, Figure [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). In the second reconstructive surgery, a hemiglossectomy (R) was performed, and an AMT perforator flap was used for the reconstruction of the defect. Because the bilateral neck vessels had been sacrificed during the previous neck dissection as well as severe scarring and fibrosis secondary to the postoperative radiotherapy, the right transverse cervical vessels were selected as the recipient vessels for the second reconstruction procedure. The donor site was primarily closed. The postoperative course was uneventful (Figure [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}).Figure 3Case presentation (patient 4): a second primary carcinoma occurred in the tongue (R) 18 months after the first reconstruction with an ALT flap.Figure 4Case presentation (patient 4): the healed flap on the tongue after the 6-month follow-up. AMT, anteromedial thigh flap; ALT, anterolateral thigh flap.
Discussion {#Sec6}
==========
The introduction of ablative surgery followed by radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or both has led to improved local and regional disease control with better disease-free survival and a lower rate of recurrence. There is an increasing demand for salvage surgery for treatment failure or treatment-related complications, such as fistulas after adjuvant therapy, recurrence or secondary malignancies, all of which are challenging for reconstructive surgeons \[[@CR6],[@CR8]-[@CR10]\].
The rich vascular network in the head and neck include branches of the external carotid artery, the internal jugular vein, and the external jugular vein. These vessels are normally used as donor vessels for microvascular reconstruction \[[@CR2],[@CR5],[@CR11]\]. However, in patients who have been previously treated in the neck region, the vessels might have been resected or compromised. In some patients, the vessels might not have been resected; however, dissection is difficult and unpredictable in tissues subject to fibrosis. There is some risk of damaging the surrounding tissues and inducing uncontrollable bleeding, which is one of the reasons that locating appropriate vessels for anastomosis is difficult. The surgeon must seek a safe and reliable alternative for micro-anastomosis.
Many options have been suggested for free tissue transfer in necks with few vessels suitable for surgery. These techniques include the use of internal mammary vessels \[[@CR4],[@CR12]\], the cephalic vein \[[@CR13]\] and thoracoacromial vascular system \[[@CR14]\], superficial temporal vessels \[[@CR15]\], vessels in the contralateral side of the previous neck dissection \[[@CR6]\], a never-before-transferred free flap pedicle \[[@CR16]\], and a wrist carrier flap \[[@CR17]\]. Although these methods might be effective in providing a recipient site for free tissue transfer in the head and neck, they require a more invasive approach or long vein graft, which might significantly complicate the overall surgical procedure and increase the risk of failure \[[@CR3],[@CR18]\]. In some cases, vessels in the contralateral side neck might be suitable, the TCVs should be evaluated for use in anastomosis to avoid the sacrifice of the later possibility for free flap reconstruction.
Variations in the anatomy of the transverse cervical arteries are frequently observed. The TCA originates from the thyrocervical trunk (77%); however, it could arise directly from the subclavian artery (21%) or the internal mammary artery (2%) \[[@CR19]\]. In these cases, the preferred method is to dissect the TCVs through a separate horizon incision, as discussed above. The dissection is fast and easily reproducible, requiring no more than 20 min in most cases. In this study, the artery was consistently found to be lateral to the sternocleidomastoid muscle and above the clavicle. The arterial diameter diminishes significantly as the vessel is dissected laterally. However, the quality and pressure are typically excellent. In our experience, the transverse cervical artery is generally available and of adequate size regardless of where it originates. It is simple to obtain 2 to 3 cm from the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid. The anastomosis site lies in the middle one third of the neck. When anastomoses to the transverse cervical vessels are performed in the supraclavicular region, the vascular pedicle typically has a straight course, which minimizes kinking of the pedicle.
The path of the transverse cervical vein is more variable. The transverse cervical vein might have a variable course as well, running deep (75%) or superficially (25%) to the omohyoid. It could drain into the external jugular vein or the subclavian vein \[[@CR6]\]. In Yu's report, only one vein was absent, and the diameter of the two veins was smaller than 2 mm in 33 sides \[[@CR7]\]. In our series, one transverse cervical vein was found to be absent, and one vein was found to be inadequate. In such cases, the external or internal jugular vein served as alternative vessels, preventing the need for vein grafting. Marking the external jugular vein preoperatively and dissecting the external and internal jugular vein meticulously are therefore safe methods.
For reconstruction of the mandible or oral cavity, a subcutaneous tunnel could be created to reach the TCVs without exposing the neck, and the vascular pedicle of the flap has a straight course after it is brought from the defect to the recipient vessel. The recipient vessels have a vertical anatomical position during microsurgery and remain in this position afterwards. By this method, the risk of kinking the vessel is almost nonexistent. In this series, the distance between the anastomosis site and the acceptor site is less than 10 cm, with a mean length of 7.9 cm. Because the mainstay free flaps, such as the radial forearm flap \[[@CR20]\], ALT \[[@CR21]\], and AMT \[[@CR22]\], typically having a long pedicle, they are adequate for reaching the TCVs; therefore, these flaps are preferred over flaps with short pedicles. For a fibula flap, the uses of the pedicle remain limited if a long bone is required, although the pedicle could be lengthened by using the distal portion of the fibula. In such cases, particular care should be taken. In this series, an ALT flap was used for palate reconstruction (scar release), without the need for vein grafting. The results are consistent with those found by Yu \[[@CR7]\]. If the defect is in the middle of the face or higher, the superficial temporal vessels are a good option for the recipient site \[[@CR15]\].
Over the previous few decades, the mainstay for neck dissection has shifted from radical surgery to a more conservative modality \[[@CR23]\]. The work of Bajwa *et al.* \[[@CR24]\] suggested that levels I to III selective neck dissection (SND) is effective management of the cN0 neck condition in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Additionally, the survival analysis of their case series showed that SND (levels I to III) might be equivalent to SND (levels I to IV) as a staging and therapeutic procedure. In our studies, the included patients presented with clinical N0 necks before they accepted primary surgeries. Thus, we performed the levels I to III SND under those circumstances. The supraclavicular regions and posterior cervical triangles were consistently reserved to ensure that these regions were available for preparation of the TCVs for anastomosis if the patient suffered from local recurrence. For the vessel-depleted-neck cases following comprehensive neck dissections, the external jugular veins or transverse cervical veins might not be available. The stumps of the internal jugular vein, internal mammary vessels, or vein graft would be expedient options, which is the limitation of our surgical technique.
The indications for the use of the transverse cervical vessels as recipient vessels in microsurgical oral and maxillofacial reconstruction are as follows: 1. for recurrent oral and maxillofacial cancer patients who had undergone an SND (levels I to III), 2. for defects located in the lower two thirds of the oral and maxillofacial region, and 3. as a second recipient vessel, in cases in which a double free flap transfer is planned.
Conclusion {#Sec7}
==========
The TCVs could be used safely as an alternative recipient site for patients whose vessels in the neck region are unavailable because of previous surgery or radiotherapy. In cases in which the transverse cervical vein is unavailable, the internal or external jugular vein should be dissected carefully and could serve as an alternative site for microvascular anastomosis.
Consent {#Sec8}
=======
Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this report and any accompanying images.
**Competing interests**
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
**Authors' contributions**
ZFX and CFS formulated the manuscript. WYD, YT, FYL, EJZ, and XXT participated in the design and the performance of operation. SB and YT collected data and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
We thank Professor Peirong Yu, M.D., of the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, for his help in teaching surgical techniques.
|
Max Baucus founded the Senate Small Brewers Caucus. | Alan McCormick/ Growlerfills.blogspot.com Pols raise a glass to craft beer
To your average Hill politician, a cold microbrew is something to enjoy after a long day’s work. But to Sens. Max Baucus and Mark Udall, it’s a rising industry that does exactly what this economy needs: creates jobs.
The Democrats from Montana and Colorado, respectively, have been raising a glass to independent craft brewers lately, highlighting the role such companies play in job creation and economic growth — while also calling for legislation that cuts taxes for small businesses.
Such boosterism comes with perks.
Baucus, who founded and serves as co-chairman of the bipartisan Senate Small Brewers Caucus, attended the Missoula Craft Beer Week in Montana earlier this month, where he milled local barley at Tamarack Brewery in Lakeside and spiced one of its beers, Wakeboard Wit — a hefeweizen, or unfiltered wheat beer.
At the Garden City Brewfest, meanwhile, Baucus poured beer for attendees while touting the state’s small brews.
“We want to be able to export our beers — Montana craft beers — anywhere in the United States,” he reportedly said, “because we have so many craft breweries and because it’s good beer and great brands, too.”
But it’s not all play. Baucus met last month with the Brewers Association, a trade group, to discuss challenges facing craft brewers.
“Small breweries are engines for our economy and use Montana’s world-class grains to create delicious beer and good-paying jobs,” he reportedly said afterward. “In Montana, we’re home to more small breweries per capita than almost anywhere in the nation, and it’s important to make sure they have the tools they need to thrive.”
Meanwhile, Udall — who introduced the Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2011, which calls for cuts to the per-barrel tax on beer —in January visited The Crabtree Brewing Co. of Greeley, Colo., where he and owner Jeff Crabtree discussed the challenges small businesses face in getting loans and how to boost brewing as a growing part of the state’s economy. And last week, he met with lobbyists from The Beer Institute to discuss job creation, the upcoming farm bill and the Simpson-Bowles plan.
“I would want to put Bowles-Simpson in place immediately,” he said Tuesday on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report,” adding that the legislation would cut spending and simplify the Tax Code, which would benefit small businesses.
OK, enough policy. Which craft brews are their favorites?
Baucus’s favorites include Miner’s Gold Hefeweizen from Lewis & Clark Brewing, Blackfoot IPA from Blackfoot River Brewing, and Bayern Pilsener from Bayern Brewing in Missoula. Udall cited New Belgium Brewing’s Fat Tire and Crabtree Brewing’s IPA.
POLITICO contacted other members of Congress who are strong supporters of craft brewers and found that some aren’t big beer drinkers. In fact, a few are teetotalers.
Rep. Jared Polis, a member of the House Small Brewers Caucus, famously shared a beer-bong of Coors Light with Stephen Colbert on his show in 2009, but according to a spokesman, he doesn’t drink. He prefers kombucha tea instead. (Still, Polis always serves beer at events, such as Fat Tire, Dale’s Pale Ale, Ranger IPA, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale and Denver Pale Ale, “although the selection is sadly limited when we’re buying out here [in D.C.],” his spokesman said.)
Sen. Mike Crapo, co-chairman of the Senate Small Brewers Caucus and co-sponsor of the Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief Act, drinks only one kind of beer, according to his spokesperson: root beer.
What about Sen. Jeanne Shaheen?
Last February, the New Hampshire Democrat made a Super Bowl bet with New York Sen. Chuck Schumer where the losing senator had to buy every member of the Senate a craft beer, Shaheen spokesman Mark Gordon recalled. Shaheen even trash-talked about it, saying, “The only thing sweeter than the taste of craft beer brewed in the Granite State will be the taste of victory when the Patriots beat the Giants.”
Shaheen lost that bet and had to pick up the tab for every senator on New York craft beer from Brooklyn Brewery, Blue Point Brewing, Saranac Matt Brewing, Captain Lawrence Brewing, Ithaca Beer and Brown’s Brewing.
Turns out Shaheen, despite her support for local breweries such as Smuttynose Brewing in New Hampshire, isn’t “that big of a beer drinker,” Gordon said.
This article tagged under: Politicians
Beer |
Sellotape
Sellotape - Shop for Sellotape and be confident that you're getting quality and durability. With top brands that you can trust, like Sellotape - you know that you're in good hands. In the DIY Superstore you'll find a wide range of Adhesives and Tapes. |
A mutation in the yeast mitochondrial core RNA polymerase, Rpo41, confers defects in both specificity factor interaction and promoter utilization.
The yeast mitochondrial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is composed of the core RNAP, Rpo41, and the mitochondrial transcription factor, Mtf1. Both are required for mitochondrial transcription, but how the two proteins interact to create a functional, promoter-selective holoenzyme is still unknown. Rpo41 is similar to the single polypeptide bacteriophage T7RNAP, which does not require additional factors for promoter-selective initiation but whose activity is modulated during infection by association with T7 lysozyme. In this study we used the co-crystal structure of T7RNAP and T7 lysozyme as a model to define a potential Mtf1 interaction surface on Rpo41, making site-directed mutations in Rpo41 at positions predicted to reside at the same location as the T7RNAP/T7 lysozyme interface. We identified Rpo41 mutant E1224A as having reduced interactions with Mtf1 in a two-hybrid assay and a temperature-sensitive petite phenotype in vivo. Although the E1224A mutant has full activity in a non-selective in vitro transcription assay, it is temperature-sensitive for selective transcription from linear DNA templates containing the 14S rRNA, COX2, and tRNAcys mitochondrial promoters. The tRNAcys promoter defect can be rescued by template supercoiling but not by addition of a dinucleotide primer. The fact that mutation of Rpo41 results in selective transcription defects indicates that the core RNAP, like T7RNAP, plays an important role in promoter utilization. |
TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-97-00731-CV
In the Matter of A. P.
FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, 98TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
NO. J-16,298, HONORABLE JEANNE MEURER, JUDGE PRESIDING
Appellant, a juvenile, was adjudicated delinquent in a bench trial for committing
the crime of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Based upon previous offenses and a consistent
failure to abide by the terms of his earlier probation, the district court of Travis County, sitting
as a juvenile court, ordered appellant placed in the care and custody of the Texas Youth
Commission (the "Commission") for an indeterminate time not to exceed the time when appellant
reaches twenty-one years of age. In two points of error, appellant challenges the factual
sufficiency supporting the trial court's finding of delinquency and the disposition ordering
appellant into the care of the Commission. We will affirm the order of the trial court.
Background
On the evening of September 9, 1997, Officer Donald Baker ("Baker") observed
a new Dodge van being driven by A.P., appellant. Noticing that appellant was not wearing a
seatbelt and believing appellant to be under the legal age to drive, Baker followed the van into the
parking lot of an apartment complex and initiated a stop. As Baker approached the vehicle, he
observed A.P. get out of the driver's seat and move towards the rear passenger area of the van.
Peering into the van, Baker noted three youths seated inside, including A.P., previously the driver
of the van, seated on the rear bench seat. When asked for insurance, A.P. informed the officer
that he did not know whether the van was insured, that he did not have a driver's license, and that
he was fourteen years old.
It is undisputed in the record that the van belonged to Advantage Rent-a-Car, that
there existed no rental contract on the van at the time of the stop, that A.P. operated the vehicle
prior to the stop, and that A.P. did not have consent from the rental company to drive the vehicle.
The record does, however, contain conflicting testimony regarding A.P.'s knowledge of the
alleged ownership of the vehicle as well as a dispute regarding the way in which he gained
possession. Baker testified that A.P. told him at the time of the stop that A.P. did not know who
owned the van. Later, A.P. told the officer that the van belonged to or was rented by a man
named Darnell, apparently the father of one of the other two boys in the van. The other occupants
of the van, both also below the legal age to drive, testified that A.P. picked them up in the van.
Both boys also testified that they did not know to whom the van belonged, though they knew the
van did not belong to A.P. Conversely, A.P. testified that the other two boys picked him up in
the van, that one of these boys had the keys because his father, the above mentioned Darnell, had
rented the van for his fourteen-year-old son, and that he, A.P., only drove the van because his
friend was operating the van in an unsafe manner.
Discussion
In his first point of error, appellant challenges the factual sufficiency supporting the
trial court's finding that he engaged in the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Specifically,
appellant contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew that he
lacked consent to drive the van. We review factual sufficiency points by considering all the
credible evidence without the prism of "in the light most favorable to the prosecution" and set
aside the verdict "if it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence as to be clearly
wrong and unjust." Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 129 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). In a factual
dispute as this one, however, the issue often turns on the credibility of testimony. The trial judge
in a bench trial is the sole trier of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be
given their testimony, and may accept all or any part of the testimony given by the witnesses.
Wright v. State, 603 S.W.2d 838, 840 (Tex. Crim. App. 1980). The trier of fact may believe or
disbelieve all or any part of a witness' testimony. Williams v. State, 692 S.W.2d 671, 676 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1984). And, the credibility of a witness is a matter for the trier of fact rather than the
court of appeals. Aquino v. State, 710 S.W.2d 747, 751 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1986,
pet. ref'd).
A person commits the offense of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle when he
intentionally or knowingly operates another's motor vehicle without the effective consent of the
owner. Tex. Penal Code Ann. §31.07(a) (West 1994). The culpable mental state must apply both
to the operation of the vehicle and the issue of effective consent. McQueen v. State, 781 S.W.2d
600, 603 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989). Appellant admits to knowingly operating the van. The
appellant challenges whether the evidence was factually sufficient to prove that he knew that he
was operating the van without effective consent. It remains undisputed that appellant did not have
the effective consent of the true owner, Advantage Rent-a-Car. An owner's testimony that a
defendant had no consent is generally sufficient in itself to prove defendant knew he had no
consent to operate the van. See McQueen, 781 S.W.2d at 604-05; see also White v. State, 844
S.W.2d 929, 932 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, pet. ref'd). Appellant, however, raises
the defense of mistake of fact. The evidence tending to support appellant's contention that he
believed he did have effective consent, namely that he believed the van was rented by Darnell for
the use of his fourteen-year-old son who then gave appellant permission to drive, comes solely
from the testimony of appellant. No other evidence corroborates appellant's version of the events.
Appellant's testimony conflicts with that of the other two boys and Baker. In making its
determination, the trial court apparently chose to disbelieve appellant or to believe as more
credible the testimony of Baker and the other two boys over appellant. Furthermore, appellant's
furtive conduct in getting out of the driver's seat as Baker approached the van, and his initial
admission that he did not know who owned the van, provides further evidence that appellant knew
he lacked effective consent to drive the van. We overrule appellant's first point of error.
In his second point of error, appellant challenges the factual sufficiency supporting
the trial court's disposition ordering appellant placed in the care and custody of the Commission.
Appellant complains that the unauthorized use of a vehicle is a state jail felony and that he should
therefore be assigned to sanction level three according to the progressive sanction guidelines in
the Juvenile Justice Code. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 59.003, .006 (West 1996). Sanction level
three recommends several possible punishments, including probation, community service, and
restitution, but falls short of recommending commitment to the Commission. Tex. Fam. Code
Ann. § 59.006 (West 1996). As guidelines, however, these sanction recommendations are
advisory rather than binding. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 59.003(e) (West 1996). When
committing a child into the care and custody of the Commission, a juvenile court must include in
its order the determination that (1) the disposition is in the child's best interest; (2) reasonable
efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need to place the child outside the home; and (3) the
child, in the child's home, cannot obtain the quality of care necessary to meet the conditions of
probation. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 54.04(i) (West 1996). The trial court included these findings
in the disposition order. Appellant complains that the court's order fails to recite evidentiary
support for its findings. Such documentation is not required by the Family Code. In re M.S., 940
S.W.2d 789, 792 (Tex. App.--Austin 1997, no writ). The Family Code requires only that the
court include in its order the determination that the statutory requirements are met. Id.
In reviewing the factual sufficiency supporting the disposition order, we consider
and weigh all of the evidence in the case, and, if the finding is so against the great weight and
preponderance of the evidence as to be manifestly unjust, we set aside the judgement and remand
for a new trial. See In re A.S., 954 S.W.2d 855, 861 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1997). Absent a
showing of an abuse of discretion, the juvenile court's findings will not be disturbed. M.S., 940
S.W.2d at 791.
We conclude that the record supports the disposition order of the court. The record
shows that appellant was already on ISP probation for assault, theft, and possession of marihuana
at the time of the instant offense. The record also reflects numerous incidents showing appellant's
disrespect for school authority and disrespect for the terms of his earlier probation. Appellant
skipped school and a scheduled visit with his probation officer the day he was stopped in the van
by Baker. Such flagrant disregard for the terms of a previous probation make it likely that any
new probation imposed would be treated with similar disdain. Under these conditions, we cannot
say that the court abused its discretion in going outside the progressive sanction guidelines and
ordering appellant into the care and custody of the Commission. We overrule appellant's second
point of error.
Conclusion
There exists sufficient evidence in the record to support the trial court's adjudication
of delinquency for the crime of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. And, appellant failed to
show the trial court abused its discretion because the record contains sufficient evidence supporting
the trial court's disposition ordering appellant into the care and custody of the Texas Youth
Commission. Having overruled appellant's two points of error, we affirm the order of the trial
court.
Mack Kidd, Justice
Before Justices Powers, Aboussie and Kidd
Affirmed
Filed: October 8, 1998
Do Not Publish
rthermore, appellant's
furtive conduct in getting out of the driver's seat as Baker approached the van, and his initial
admission that he did not know who owned the van, provides further evidence that appellant knew
he lacked effective consent to drive the van. We overrule appellant's first point of error.
In his second point of error, appellant challenges the factual sufficiency supporting
the trial court's disposition ordering appellant placed in the care and custody of the Commission.
Appellant complains that the unauthorized use of a vehicle is a state jail felony and that he should
therefore be assigned to sanction level three according to the progressive sanction guidelines in
the Juvenile Justice Code. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 59.003, .006 (West 1996). Sanction level
three recommends several possible punishments, including probation, community service, and
restitution, but falls short of recommending commitment to the Commission. Tex. Fam. Code
Ann. § 59.006 (West 1996). As guidelines, however, these sanction recommendations are
advisory rather than binding. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 59.003(e) (West 1996). When
committing a child into the care and custody of the Commission, a juvenile court must include in
its order the determination that (1) the disposition is in the child's best interest; (2) reasonable
efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need to place the child outside the home; and (3) the
child, in the child's home, cannot obtain the quality of care necessary to meet the conditions of
probation. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 54.04(i) (West 1996). The trial court included these findings
in the disposition order. Appellant complains that the court's order fails |
Anisakis (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) from Indonesia.
Despite Indonesia's high marine biodiversity, there is a lack of information regarding fish parasites in Indonesian waters. During a sampling of 136 teleost species from Indonesian waters, 22 of them were infected with larvae of Anisakis Dujardin, 1845, a genus with zoonotic potential. We genetically identified 118 worms, provide a revision of all available sequences of the ITS-1-5.8S-ITS-2 marker from Indonesian Anisakis in GenBank (n = 125), and establish 16 new host records. So far, 53 Indonesian teleosts harbour Anisakis spp., 32 of them with known sequence data, increasing the worldwide teleosts with genetically identified Anisakis from 155 to 177. Sequence analyses of this marker in the 243 Anisakis specimens identified 3 Anisakis sp. HC-2005 and 39 (16%) A. typica (sensu stricto). A. berlandi and A. pegreffii are reported for the first time from teleosts in the equatorial region and A. physeteris from the Pacific Ocean. The latter 3 species were exclusively found in the migratory scombrid Auxis rochei. Most common infection sites were the body cavity, with 299 (of 848) worms in the mesenteries surrounding the liver, and 129 unattached. Musculature infection was very low, demonstrating minor risk of anisakiasis for human consumers. A total of 193 worms (~79%) had a distinct genotype distinguished from A. typica by 4 positions in the ITS-1 region. This genotype is reported since 2008 as 'A. typica', 'sibling', 'Anisakis sp./type 1', 'sp. I', 'sp. 2' or 'sp. II'. To avoid further misleading identification, we hereby apply the subspecific entity Anisakis typica var. indonesiensis until description of the adults becomes available. |
Q:
Can you use Azure CDN without having to upload the files to Azure storage?
I have a website where I would like to cache the few images/stylesheets/javascript-files I have. Is it possible to have Azure CDN point directly on the files on my server, and then cache them, instead of having to upload them to an Azure storage?
A:
It's not possible. Azure will not allow you to configure arbitrary domain as origin domain to support origin content pull. The only available targets are existing azure website, cloudservice or storage account.
|
(that's my name)
government
I wanted to write this a long time ago, but had too much work. Anyway:
In order to understand this post, take exactly 10 seconds to gloss over each of the articles here, here, here, and here. Assuming you’ve done that…
To anyone who’s unfortunate enough to be subjected to Egyptian TV for a substantial amount of time, it’s not hard (even a little fun, if you don’t have problems with blood pressure) to see the undisguisedly smug Egyptian anchors’ perspective on global events that they don’t really quite understand. And for them, the star of the season has without a doubt been the Ferguson unrest.
After the US Dept of State called out the Egyptian administration for mowing down protesters in more than one occasion, particularly the infamous Raba’a massacre, loyalists of the current Egyptian regime seem more than happy to be giving Obama a cynical smile and amusedly watch as the US fails to practice what it preaches.
Pictured: The collective consciousness of Egyptian loyalists.
Except (surprise!) it’s not really like that.
Egyptian media tends to look at the Ferguson unrest from a perspective that is so thoroughly Egyptian that the reporting ends up being skewed and highly unrepresentative of the actual situation.
The main thing that they tend to get wrong is the system of command and leadership in the US government. It’s automatically assumed that, like in Egypt and other third world countries, there is oneguywhocallsalltheshots – a tradition that goes largely unquestioned in the mainstream of most Arab cultures, particularly in Egypt, and one that is (at least subconsciously) upheld even in the presence of laws and institutions put in place to deter it. Consequently, the lines between a nation and a state are often blurred, and everything remotely within the apparatus of government is condensed into the power of its leader.
However, in a state that is deeply rooted in the practice of democracy concepts such as decentralization, rule of law, and separation of powers are observed in all of the state’s actions – except in cases of corruption. Egyptian media doesn’t seem to think much about that, somehow lumping up the U.S. president, the police force in Ferguson, the U.S. Department of State, and to an extent American civil society in the same pack, holding them all responsible for the snafu that is the Ferguson unrest – which not only speaks of the level of professionalism of Egyptian media, but also implies tons about the crude nature of the Egyptian political environment.
I never thought too highly of Egyptian media, and I didn’t really think I could possibly hold them in lower regard than I already do. I was proven wrong. Their lack of concern about human life was something I’m accustomed to, and so was the nationalist posturing that accompanies every piece of news about pretty much any other part of the world. I guess just being reminded of how little hope Egypt has for a serious political reform (even though I’m kinda used to it by now) is as frustrating as it was the first time it hit me.
TV, the radio, newspapers, etc. is where most Egyptians look to confirm their biases, and that’s where they learn about new ideas and develop opinions about concepts they’re not yet familiar with. Media, basically, forms culture. And in Egypt it’s mostly controlled by, or aligned to, the new state. And it’s not like we have any serious alternative media either – most of the opposition to the state are Islamist conservatives, which leaves the Egyptian anti-authoritarian rally to a few satirists, bloggers (ohai) and columnists.
And, while it’s depressing to have to listen to the anchors’ opinions on the infallibility of the Father Knows Best state, it’s worse to know that this is what the collective mind of Egypt will look and think like, for the most part. |
We can do the right thing to create positive change within ourselves and the world around us! I have created this blog with the intention of keeping you informed of news that is affecting humanity and nature throughout the world! There is no better time than the present to become a global participant and not just an innocent bystander. I have provided you with several websites to help empower yourself and a list of global organizations that you can choose from to make a difference.
Approximately, China has 20 million-strong Muslim population, and the far-western region of Xinjiang is home to 10 million Uighur Muslims.
A Pakistan Ministry of Religious Affairs delegation has left for China to determine the reported reason for the Chinese authorities to ban fasting in Muslim-majority Xinjiang province during Ramazan.
A ministry official was quoted by the Express Tribune, as saying that Beijing has formally requested Islamabad to send a delegation to Xinjiang to ascertain the facts.
The delegation includes the Director General (Research), Noor Islam Shah, and Faisal Mosque chief cleric Ziaur Rehman. They will ascertain facts regarding the reported ban on fasting.
It was earlier reported that Chinese authorities had marked the start of Ramazan with a customary ban on civil servants, students and children in the mainly-Muslim region to fast, the report clearly rejected by Chinese government as baseless.
Chronology of major events [For those of you who don't know, Uyghur's are Muslims. Their list starts in 1992. If you'd like to read the entire list they've provided, please click HERE. (emphasis mine)]
Following is a partial list of events that have been described as terror attacks or attempted terror attacks by non-state actors in the People's Republic of China. Due to variations in the definitions and applications of the term, the characterization of some events as terrorist attacks may be disputed. Many incidents listed occurred in Xinjiang or Tibet—areas where foreign journalists have extremely limited access, and are closely monitored if and when they gain permission to report in the regions. As such, many reports of violence or terror attacks cannot be confirmed independently, and foreign reporting frequently relies on information released by the government of China or in the state-run press. In several instances, conflicting narratives of these have emerged from witnesses or from diaspora groups.
August 19, 2010: According to Chinese media reports, six ethnic Uyghur men were allegedly involved in loading a vehicle with explosives and driving into a group of security officers at a highway intersection near Aksu, Xinjiang. Seven people, including two attackers, were killed, according to police. In the wake of the attack, authorities in the region vowed to crack down "relentlessly" on criminal activity.
July 18, 2011: Chinese media reported that 18 people died when 18 young Uyghur men stormed a police station in the city of Hotan. The men were alleged to have stabbed a security guard and two female hostages, and killed another security guard with a bomb. The attack ended when security officers shot and killed 14 of the attackers. Chinese media initially referred to the attackers as rioters or thugs, though subsequent accounts called the event a terrorist attack. The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress provided a different accounts of event, saying that authorities provoked clashes by opening fire on Uyghurs participating in a non-violent protest against heavy-handed security crackdowns in the city. The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 30-31, 2011: At least 18 people died in a series of alleged terrorist attacks in the city of Kashgar. According to state-run media accounts, the violence began when two Uyghur men hijacked a truck, ran it into a crowded street, and started stabbing people, killing six. The attack ended when the assailants were overpowered by the crowd, which killed one attacker. On the second day, state-run media reported that a "group of armed terrorists" stormed a restaurant, killed the owner and a waiter, and set it ablaze. They then proceeded to indiscriminately kill four more civilians. Armed clashes then reportedly ensured, ending with police capturing or killing the attackers. The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack. One of the suspects appeared in a TIP video training in Pakistan.
June 29, 2012: Chinese official media reported that six men attempted to hijack Tianjin Airlines flight GS7554 from Hotan to Urumqi, Xinjiang. The men reportedly sought to gain access to cockpit ten minutes after takeoff, but were stopped by passengers and crew. A spokesperson for the Xinjiang government said the men were ethnic Uyghurs.[110] Xinhua reported at least 10 passengers and crew were injured when six hijackers tried to take control of the aircraft. The World Uyghur Congress contested the official account of events, claiming instead that a dispute over seating broke out between Uyghurs and ethnic Han. The WUC suggested the event was being used as a pretext to "reinforce repression" in Xinjiang.
April 24, 2013: It was an incident of ethnic clash that took place between Muslim Uighur and Han Chinese community.As reported by BBC nearly 21 people were killed in the incident including 15 police officers.
June 26, 2013: At least 35 people were killed in clashes between ethnic Uyghurs and police in the deadliest altercation in the region since 2009. Chinese official media reported that a group of 17 knife-wielding Uyghur men attacked a police station and government building. Chinese authorities pronounced the event a terrorist attack, and blamed separatists and overseas forces for fomenting tensions. The World Uyghur Congress blamed the event on "continued suppression and provocation" by Chinese authorities in the region. Foreign media outlets were prevented from visiting the area to investigate.
October 28, 2013: A fiery car blaze at Tiananmen Square that killed five and injured dozens was a premeditated terrorist attack, Chinese police said after making five arrests in connection with the case.
March 1, 2014: An unidentified group of knife-wielding men and women attacked people at the Kunming Railway Station.
September 18, 2015: An unidentified group of knife-wielding men attacked off-duty workers at a coalmine, killing 50, among them 5 police officers.
After the Paris attacks, China pledged to support the international fight against terrorism. But how?
On November 13, gunmen and bombers affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) attacked Batalcan Theater, cafes, restaurants, and the Stade de France in Paris, killing 129. A week later, armed gunmen took 170 hostages in the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako. In between, ISIS announced that it had executed two hostages, a Norwegian and a Chinese citizen.
Each of these events impacted China directly. One Chinese citizen was shot but survived the Paris attacks; three Chinese were killed in the Mali hotel attack; and hostage Fan Jinghui’s murder was confirmed by China’s Foreign Ministry.
After the events of the past two weeks, China has being facing more pressure – both domestically and internationally – to clarify its contributions to the fight against terrorism. Government officials, from ministry spokespeople to Xi Jinping himself, have been clear cut about China’s revulsion toward terrorism. The question is how China plans to fight it.
One thing is clear: an American-style “war on terror,” with military operations overseas designed to attack and overrun terrorist strongholds, is not in the cards for Beijing. China’s non-interventionist foreign policy wouldn’t necessarily prevent China from sending its military to help fight terrorist groups like ISIS, if (and only if) the host country requests it. But even countries that have openly asked for China’s aid, such as Iraq, have received only promises of personnel training and other support. China simply isn’t interested in placing boots on the ground (or missile in the air, for that matter) to fight international groups like ISIS. And given how little effect military strikes against ISIS have had so far (and the mixed results of the long-standing U.S. operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan), it’s easy to understand how Beijing reached that decision.
But the question remains: if China doesn’t subscribe to a literal war on terror, how does it propose to contribute to the global effort to eradicate terrorism, which Chinese leaders vocally supported over the past two weeks?
When asked to specify how China will work with the international community to fight terrorism, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei was predictably vague, but did offer some hints toward China’s next moves.
First, Hong said, “We call on all relevant parties to coordinate with each other and forge synergy under [the] UN framework.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has also spoken of the need to coordinate the global response to terrorism through the United Nations. “The UN’s leading role should be brought into full play to combat terrorism, and a united front in this regard should be formed,” he said on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Turkey, shortly after the Paris attacks.
Touting the UN as the overseer of global counter-terrorism operations meshes well with China’s interests. For one thing, China wants to see a UN-approved definition of terrorism – which would include China’s own issues with Uyghur separatist groups, thus ending once and for all what China sees as the West’s “double standard” toward terrorism. If the UN was recognized as the coordinator of counter-terrorist operations, it would also restrict U.S. military interventions in the name of fighting terror.
In fact, China’s vision for UN-led approach to counter-terrorism doesn’t seem to include military operations at all. As Hong told reporters on Monday, “The international community should implement relevant UN resolutions, and carry out more cooperation in blocking cross-border flow of terrorists, cutting off the secret financing channels for terrorism, and fighting cyber terrorism.” Tellingly, all of these are actions that can be accomplished through government-to-government meetings, sharing of best practices, and the other sort of achievements reached in high-level dialogues. Nowhere did Hong mention coordinating strikes or attacks on terrorists.
That’s keeping with China’s insistence that both the “root cause” and the “symptoms” of terrorism should be addressed together. In Beijing’s view the “war on terror” as exemplified by the United States focuses too much on the symptoms – eradicating militant activity – without addressing the conditions that led to terrorism.
A recent Xinhua piece outlined China’s vision for how to fight terrorism in Africa, and it had nothing to do with military operations against groups like Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and al-Mourabitoun (which claimed responsibility for the November 20 hotel attack in Mali). Instead the piece focused on supporting the affected states to fight their own battles against extremists, by providing “technological aid and intelligence sharing.” Xinhua also argued that, by arming rebels around the world, the West has made terrorist groups stronger, rather than weakening them.
In this light, China sees its economic outreach to Africa (and the Middle East) as steps forward in the fight against terrorism – ways to tackle terrorism at the root by eliminating poverty and providing employment for those who might otherwise be drawn to extremist groups.
Of course, China’s understanding of the “root causes” of terrorism can be called into question based on its actions in Xinjiang province, where heavy-handed security measures may actually be backfiring and increasing terrorist activity. China seems to cling to the belief that economic development can cure all ills, whether in Xinjiang, Mali, or Afghanistan — despite evidence to the contrary in China’s own far-western province. Still, Western military efforts haven’t proved much more successful either.
As China grows in prominence, and as its global interests are increasingly impacted by terrorist networks overseas, expect Beijing to become more vocal about its own strategy for fighting terror — without actually fighting.
No comments:
About Me
I love to travel and get away from it all whether it's 1st class, 2nd class or 3rd class makes no difference to me. I simply love to visit new places and meet new people. I really enjoy extreme sports. I started blogging ten years ago and love to be able to express and share thoughts with others.
Most recently a Mortgage Professional prior to implosion. Earned a living in my previous career as an Institutional Equity Trader (sell side). I have a bachelor's degree in finance with special emphasis in economics.
Ready to Defend! Are you?
❤ May my heart be kind, my mind fierce and my spirit brave. ❤
Hello WORLD and welcome
Thank you for visiting. I will do my best to keep you posted to global news affecting humanity and this planet as we know it today. I will bring you global news Monday through Friday adding my insight along the way. In between the non-sense, I will pepper in a little humor, random stuff and inspiration for balance and I will use the weekend to feed your spirit.
Excludes Firewall servers...
Please do not change this code for a perfect fonctionality of your counter
alternative mediacounter
What does Capitalism mean to me?
I've been asked many times if I still track the stock market. My answer is a resounding yes. The stock market is in my blood. I'm still tracking the markets, still doing research and still following economic news. This is the one industry that is the heart of global productivity. It is essential in pumping the necessary oxygen (capital) to corporations that in turn hire employees who will in turn produce the products and services that we all use. Capitalism is a very very important element to humanity. It is what fuels dreams, self-reliance and individualism!
T.E.A.= TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY! I am an INDEPENDENT/CENTRIST Former Democrat for 20 years
BLOG ARCHIVE: 2007 to Present
Connect With Me At These Social Networking Sites ♥ Click The Pics Below And Add Me As A Friend ♥
RAISE YOUR VOICE!
We don't need money to make a difference, although it does help. However, each signature is a RAISED voice demanding change! This is our contribution to the World. By saying ENOUGH is ENOUGH, together we truly CAN and WILL make a difference! Please sign a petition and help spread the word... Thank you!
Carousel
My Amazon Affiliate Account has been terminated due to a new California TAX LAW just passed. I'm keeping this display to continue promoting Miyazaki's wonderful animation that I love very much! Thank you for your support. ♥ |
Latest Expedition Journal
November 9: Day 38
A Captain's Reflections - by Jason Quilter
A ship at rest. The SSV Robert C. Seamans safely docked this morning in Honolulu, Hawaii at 0800. Docklines now tether the ship to a distant shore and her flags fly proudly in the steady northeast trade winds. The stunning backdrop of the Diamond Head volcanic crater silhouettes the tall masts of our ship as we conclude the final moments of our voyage. We mustered one last time on the ship’s quarterdeck to say goodbye to our shipmates and to reflect on our accomplishments.
We have completed the Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012, an historic, 2,600-nautical mile, 36-day journey. Through the teamwork and exceptional efforts by the entire ship’s crew of 38 people, we have successfully sailed the Robert C. Seamans from San Diego, CA through the North Pacific subtropical gyre and down to the Hawaiian Islands.
Our oceanographic research mission has been fulfilled by our dedicated scientists, researchers, and hardworking crew who spent countless hours deploying sampling equipment and tallying the plastic pieces retrieved in our nets. The ship was kept safe and running smoothly by the never ending vigilance and constant care from her devoted…
School Email Exchange
Beginning the week of October 7, Classroom Outreach Coordinator Pat Keoughan will be posting questions from our partner schools, which will be answered by the scientists and crew onboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans. Check back soon to learn what kids in grades 5-12 are asking and learning about science and life onboard a sailing research vessel in the Pacific Ocean! Click here...
Featured Biography
Emilee Monson - S-202
Today Portland, Oregon is where Ems calls home. When she’s not biking, painting, or watching her garden grow, she is the energy and the environment educator at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Ems has a biological sciences degree from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, holds a 100-ton…
Full bio...
Frequently Asked Questions
What have scientists learned about plastic and other marine debris in the ocean? What questions have yet to be answered? Click here...
Current SEA Research
An area of plastic debris was first observed in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early 1970s, but in recent years, a similar area of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean has received the most media attention. Sea Education Association (SEA) has been studying both debris fields – in the North Atlantic for the past 25 years, and in the North Pacific the past eight. Click here...
Expedition Map
Latest Video
About the Expedition
The Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012 is a scientific research expedition conducted by Sea Education Association (SEA) dedicated to the study of the effects of plastic marine debris in the ocean ecosystem. Plastics are versatile, durable and inexpensive materials that have become an important part of our daily lives. Because of their extensive use and slow degradation, plastics have also become a ubiquitous presence in the world’s oceans. In October 2012, 38 scientists, sailors and students will embark upon an expedition from San Diego, CA to Honolulu, HI to tackle tough questions about the impacts of plastic on the ocean ecosystem while also providing updated estimates of floating plastic concentrations in the region dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. Read More...
Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012 is funded by Sea Education Association, with funding from the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Foundation in support of the web-based and educational outreach programs. Additional support provided by Patagonia and Elemental Herbs. Crew gear provided by MO BIO. |
/* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
* License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
* file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
package InternalClassImpPublicInt{
namespace ns;
public interface PublicInt{
function pubFunc():Boolean; //attribute method
// ns function nsFunc(a="test"):int; //Namespace attribute method
}
internal class InternalClass implements PublicInt{
public function pubFunc():Boolean{ //Public method
return true;
}
ns function nsFunc(a="test"):int{ //Namespace method
return a.length;
}
}
class InternalsubClass extends InternalClass{
ns override function nsFunc(a="test"):int{ //Namespace method
return a.length;
}
}
public class IntsubExtIntClassImpPubInt extends InternalsubClass{
public function accnsFunc(a="test"){return ns::nsFunc(a);}
// access default function nsFunc
}
}
|
Effects of the intra-arterial injection of bradykinin into the limbs, upon the activity of mesencephalic reticular units.
The changes in firing rate of mesencephalic reticular units after intra-arterial injection into the limbs of a potent nociceptive agent, bradykinin, were studied in cats (unanesthetized, immobilized with flaxedil and hyperventilated). 30 per cent of the d35 studied cells were affected, 56 per cent were excited, 23 per cent inhibited and 5 per cent had mixed effects. Among the 75 excited cells, the activation of 16 of them seemed to related to the arousa- processes (group A); for 56 cells the increase seemed dire-tly dependent on the nociceptive stimulation itself (group B). The changes of firing rate were repruducible; their latencies and durations were of the same order as the latencies and duration of the nociceptive reactions and painful sensation s, which have been obtained in animals and men after bradykinin injections. The modifications induced by bradykinin administration were suppressed by Ketamin and Thiopental. |
public class Solution {
// 从判断两条线段是否有交点推广开来
public boolean isRectangleOverlap(int[] rec1, int[] rec2) {
boolean rowsOk = Math.max(rec1[0], rec2[0]) < Math.min(rec1[2], rec2[2]);
boolean colsOk = Math.max(rec1[1], rec2[1]) < Math.min(rec1[3], rec2[3]);
return rowsOk && colsOk;
}
}
|
nailstore6
nailstore6’s Contributions
08/14/13 Community Articles
There are 2 main kinds of workout. Anaeobic and aerobic exercise. Let's beginning with the first one. Aerobic actually implies with air. Cardiovascular physical exercise has an essential difference; it burns fat as its principal gas. Can anyone find an... |
Builders in state relieved as defect litigation bill dies
Building professionals are cautiously relieved after Assembly Bill 462 died in committee.
The bill would have dismantled reforms achieved during the 2015 Nevada Legislative Session to construction defect regulations, reducing what had become a paralyzing risk, according to the construction industry.
When AB 462 was heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, "we packed the room, even an overflow room," said Aaron West, CEO of Nevada Builders Alliance. "More than 100 folks showed up to oppose the bill" including representatives from the chambers, economic development organizations, and the construction industry.
Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton introduced the bill. Scott Canepa of the Nevada Justice Association presented the bill and several proposed amendments to the Judiciary Committee on April 11.
Even with amendments and the elimination of chunks of the original bill, it failed to move forward.
Rules for the 2017 Legislative Session require bills to be approved in committee by April 14 to stay alive.
Recommended Stories For You
By making litigation for construction defects too easy, the bill could have increased insurance premiums, risk and costs for housing construction, especially for affordable housing.
In an earlier interview with the NNBW, Mark Turner, a principal with CC Builders, said that, under pre-reform regulations, the likelihood of litigation for multifamily or workforce projects was so high that "Builders just opted to avoid that type of housing."
CC Builders broke ground in March on a 105-unit townhouse project in Carson City called Mills Landing, designed to help meet the need for less expensive housing options in the growing region.
Turner told the judiciary committee that his partners would not have considered starting the Mills Landing project under the old construction defect rules, which AB 462 would have returned to.
"We're trying to provide affordable housing for the workforce and we need all our options open to us," West said.
Although the bill was allowed to die in committee, West said the industry continues to be on alert as pieces of the legislation could be attached to other bills. |
Aprindine blocks the sodium current in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.
Aprindine is a class Ib antiarrhythmic agent. We studied effects of aprindine (3 mumol/l) on the Na+ current using whole cell voltage clamp (tip resistance = 0.5 M omega, [Na]i ando = 10 mmol/l at 18 degrees C). Aprindine revealed tonic block (Kdrest = 37.7 mumol/l, Kdi = 0.74 mumol/l; n = 4). Aprindine, shifted inactivation curve to hyperpolarizing direction by 11.4 +/- 3.5 mV (n = 4) without changes in slope factor. In the presence of 3 mumol/l aprindine, aprindine showed phasic block, i.e., duration-dependent block at 2 Hz (64% +/- 3% at 1.5 ms, 82% +/- 6% at 20 ms, 93% +/- 7% at 200 ms; n = 4). Short single prepulse also produced aprindine-induced phasic block (12% at 1.5 ms, 22% at 100 ms; n = 2). After removal of fast inactivation of Na+ current by 3 mmol/l tosylchloramide sodium, aprindine revealed phasic block, independent of holding potential. The recovery time constant from aprindine-induced phasic block was 4.8 s at holding potential = -100 mV and 5.0 s at holding potential = -140 mV. This use-dependent block of aprindine had pH dependency. Under acidic condition (pH 6.0), 3 mumol/l aprindine showed smaller use-dependent block (14% +/- 7% at 2 Hz; n = 4) comparing with either at pH 7.4 (68% +/- 13%; n = 4) or at pH 8.0 (90% +/- 12%; n = 4). The results suggest that aprindine could bind to the receptor via activation process through channel pore, resulting in decrease of Na+ current, and egress from the receptor through the lipid bilayer. These effects might be attenuated under acidic condition due to changes in intracellular ratio of charged to neutralized form of drug molecule. |
Q:
Hyperref form with RTL main language like Arabic
I would like to typeset an electronic form with Arabic as the main language and English as another language in the same document. I used the xetex engine without success, the layout was messy as you see in the below MWE:
MWE code
\documentclass[a4,pagesize=pdftex,DIV=16]{scrartcl}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{polyglossia}
\setmainlanguage[locale=mashriq,numerals=mashriq,abjadjimnotail=true]{arabic}
\setotherlanguages{english}
% User-defined commands
\newcommand{\AR}{\textarabic}
\newcommand{\EN}{\textenglish}
\newfontfamily\arabicfont[Script=Arabic,Scale=1,Ligatures=TeX,Mapping=arabicdigits]{Amiri}
\begin{document}
\begin{Form}
\centering
\LARGE\textbf{استمارة باللغة العربية}
\rule{\textwidth}{1pt}
\vskip 1cm
\TextField[backgroundcolor=white,borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30,maxlen=30,width=0.5\textwidth]{اسم الوثيقة:}
\TextField[mappingname=title,name=title,backgroundcolor=white,borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30,width=0.5\textwidth,multiline]{تعليق:}
\LARGE\textbf{نوع الاجراء المطلوب}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{اصدار وثيقة}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{تعديل وثيقة}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{حذف وثيقة}
\end{Form}
\end{document}
%%% Local Variables:
%%% mode: latex
%%% TeX-engine: xetex
%%% TeX-master: t
%%% End:
Output
As you can see the text boxes are not aligned well with text and actually not even placed as intended. Some text is hidden by the check-boxes, so how to get such forms right in this case? Your help would be much appreciated.
A:
First you need a recent version of bidi package which adapt a lot of packages for right to left writing, package polyglossia uses implicitly bidi for languages with right to left script.
Second for CheckBox the command \LayoutCheckField can be used to change check field layout
\documentclass[a4,pagesize=pdftex,DIV=16]{scrartcl}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{polyglossia}
\setmainlanguage[locale=mashriq,numerals=mashriq,abjadjimnotail=true]{arabic}
\setotherlanguages{english}
% User-defined commands
\newcommand{\AR}{\textarabic}
\newcommand{\EN}{\textenglish}
\newfontfamily\arabicfont[Script=Arabic,Scale=1,Ligatures=TeX,Mapping=arabicdigits]{Amiri}
\begin{document}
\begin{Form}
\centering
\LARGE\textbf{استمارة باللغة العربية}
\rule{\textwidth}{1pt}
\vskip 1cm
\TextField[backgroundcolor=white,borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30,maxlen=30,width=0.5\textwidth]{اسم الوثيقة:}
\TextField[mappingname=title,name=title,backgroundcolor=white,borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30,width=0.5\textwidth,multiline]{تعليق:}
\LARGE\textbf{نوع الاجراء المطلوب}
\def\LayoutCheckField#1#2{% label, field
#1 \hskip1.3em #2%
}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{اصدار وثيقة}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{تعديل وثيقة}
\CheckBox[backgroundcolor=white,radiosymbol=\ding{53},borderwidth=1,bordercolor=gray!30]{حذف وثيقة}
\end{Form}
\end{document}
|
Q:
OSGI: DS and component factories issues
What I need is to get new instance of service every time when some consumer needs this service + using CDI. I've read a lot of articles and I can't find the answer to 2 my questions.
If we use factories, why in service consumer we call factory (http://www.rpgnextgen.com/wiki/doku.php?id=component_factory ) and after that we get reference to service. I mean
// get factory
ComponentFactory factory = (ComponentFactory) context.getService(serviceReferences[0]);
// get instance
ComponentInstance instance = factory.newInstance(null);
Is there no way to set factory with certain interface and in service consumer call service when osgi inside calls the factory?
If in service consumer we call factory then why we mark service as component when de facto factory is component?
The problem is that without factory I do @Inject @OsgiService (javase) or@OSGiService (javaee) and I can use different filters and code is very clear. Using component factory I (as I understand) loose this ability.
A:
ComponentFactory exists for consumers that want to use a factory, because they want to control the lifecycle of the individual components. For example, if they want to create an instance of the component for every web request.
If you don't want to use ComponentFactory... then don't.
|
(d) 4
c
Which is the closest to 0.1? (a) -5 (b) -2/5 (c) -2 (d) 0.052
d
Which is the closest to -1/4? (a) 3 (b) 0.6 (c) 4 (d) -3/7 (e) -1/5
e
Which is the closest to -32? (a) 6 (b) 5 (c) 0.1 (d) 7 (e) 4
c
What is the nearest to -40.5 in 9, 6, -3/7?
-3/7
Which is the closest to 2? (a) -2/3 (b) -128/435 (c) -3 (d) 3/7
d
What is the closest to -1 in 3/16, 3, 16.4?
3/16
Which is the closest to 197/6? (a) 2/15 (b) 22/25 (c) 4
c
Which is the closest to 2? (a) 0.48 (b) 3 (c) 375 (d) -3 (e) -0.1
b
What is the nearest to -0.05 in -1344, 6/7, -2?
6/7
What is the nearest to 1 in -4, -0.3, -0.38, 253?
-0.3
What is the closest to -2 in 3, -0.3, 91, -1/3056?
-0.3
What is the nearest to 5 in 1/3, -3, -3/2, -42?
1/3
What is the closest to -1 in 13/23, 5, 39, 1/3, -5?
1/3
What is the closest to -0.2 in 1, -5.074, 2?
1
What is the closest to -60 in 0.3, -5, 11/2?
-5
Which is the closest to -1? (a) 5 (b) 4 (c) -1/3 (d) -14 (e) 1/2
c
What is the nearest to 5 in 9, -4, 1/19, -0.1, 1/3?
9
Which is the closest to 0.3? (a) -1/1671 (b) 0.2 (c) 1
b
What is the closest to 1 in -36/37, -1/2, -2/35, -2/11?
-2/35
What is the closest to 2 in 1/2, -2/7, -2511/2, -4/5?
1/2
What is the closest to -1 in 1/4, 163, 25, -2, -3/11?
-3/11
What is the closest to 2 in 44.3, -1/3, 0.1, 2?
2
Which is the nearest to -3/5? (a) 3/2 (b) -3 (c) -17 (d) 0.3 (e) 0.017
e
What is the closest to 27/13 in 2, 0.3, 53?
2
What is the nearest to 441 in -2, 1/5, -0.4, -9?
1/5
Which is the closest to -1? (a) -5/8 (b) 29 (c) 5 (d) 2/3
a
What is the nearest to 19/8 in -1293, 1/3, -2, 0.2?
1/3
What is the nearest to 219 in -3, 2, -0.196?
2
What is the closest to 2/7 in 33, -2, 0.1, 2.3?
0.1
What is the nearest to -64784 in -4, 0.4, -8, -3?
-8
What is the nearest to -1 in 2.06, 5, 2, -2/3?
-2/3
Which is the closest to -64? (a) 3/4 (b) -3 (c) -2.9
b
Which is the closest to 2? (a) -0.1 (b) 0.4 (c) 717 (d) 1/3
b
Which is the nearest to 0.1? (a) -3 (b) 1 (c) 16 (d) 2/31 (e) 0.6
d
Which is the nearest to 0.06? (a) -2/3 (b) 1/4 (c) 304
b
What is the closest to 2/3 in -0.8, 0.1836, -4?
0.1836
Which is the nearest to 1/3951? (a) -0.3 (b) 1 (c) 1/29
c
What is the nearest to 1 in 4.1, 0.07, -12/29?
0.07
What is the nearest to 0.2 in 3/8, -4, -8, -92?
3/8
Which is the nearest to 10? (a) 1 (b) -2/9 (c) -50 (d) 0.09 (e) -0.1
a
Which is the closest to 2/7? (a) -2 (b) -10 (c) 5 (d) 206 (e) -0.1
e
What is the closest to 0.5 in -2/5, 0, -57, -0.3, -20?
0
Which is the closest to -2/5? (a) -1 (b) -4 (c) 148 (d) -0.1 (e) -1/3
e
Which is the closest to -11/2? (a) 1 (b) 708 (c) 1/5 (d) 4
c
Which is the closest to -2? (a) 3 (b) -1/6 (c) 2/11 (d) 2/33 (e) 4
b
Which is the nearest to -2? (a) -5 (b) 0.1 (c) -1.19 (d) 1/38
c
What is the closest to 1 in 3, 17502, 4/5?
4/5
Which is the nearest to -5564? (a) -4 (b) 0.3 (c) 1/2
a
Which is the closest to -2? (a) 1360 (b) 2 (c) -8/3
c
Which is the nearest to 2/3? (a) -5/2 (b) -0.3 (c) -2/11 (d) 38/9 (e) -0.4
c
What is the nearest to 4 in -4/9, 0, 1/3, -658?
1/3
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) -11 (b) -275 (c) -4 (d) 4 (e) -0.086
e
Which is the closest to 0? (a) 4 (b) 6.144 (c) 5 (d) -0.5 (e) -1
d
Which is the closest to 2/5? (a) 1/7 (b) 42 (c) -743
a
Which is the closest to 2? (a) 0.1 (b) -17/4 (c) 12.8
a
What is the closest to -0.3 in 0.1, 1/5, 0.29?
0.1
Which is the closest to 2? (a) -2 (b) 0.314 (c) -0.5
b
What is the nearest to -2 in -0.5, 2, 0.05, -25.77?
-0.5
Which is the nearest to 0.2? (a) 2/7 (b) -5 (c) 15 (d) 2 (e) 39/10
a
Which is the nearest to 0.019? (a) 0.07 (b) -3 (c) 0.2 (d) -0.3
a
What is the closest to 1.8 in -5, -126, 0, 0.07?
0.07
What is the nearest to 57 in -2, -2/53, -3?
-2/53
Which is the closest to -2? (a) -1098/11 (b) 5/2 (c) 5 (d) -3/7
d
What is the nearest to -2/53 in 0, 11, 5?
0
Which is the nearest to -9? (a) 5 (b) -9821 (c) -0.4
c
Which is the nearest to 0.3? (a) 4/9 (b) -0.2 (c) -0.54 (d) -1/8
a
Which is the nearest to 0.6? (a) -2/67 (b) -4 (c) 4 (d) 1/8
d
What is the closest to -58.7 in 3, -2, -4?
-4
What is the nearest to 0 in -0.3, -5, 48884?
-0.3
Which is the nearest to 35? (a) -0.14 (b) 0 (c) -4
b
What is the closest to 1 in -11, -5, 2?
2
Which is the closest to -0.1? (a) -0.4 (b) -0.3 (c) 1 (d) 8590
b
Which is the nearest to 7? (a) 0 (b) -1.43 (c) 224
a
Which is the closest to -1/2? (a) 2/101 (b) 1/4 (c) -2/7
c
What is the nearest to -2/7 in -199, -2, 15, 0.1?
0.1
What is the closest to -2 in -0.2, 0.2, -4, 0.3, -1?
-1
What is the closest to -7 in -4, 2/17, 132, 0.2?
-4
What is the closest to 16 in 4/11, -1, 1/5, 0?
4/11
What is the closest to 0 in 4/7, -2, 0.5, 29?
0.5
Which is the closest to 18? (a) 3.5 (b) 2 (c) 3/8 (d) 0 (e) 55
a
What is the nearest to -0.3039 in 0, 3, 2/15?
0
Which is the closest to 1/4? (a) 0.2 (b) -0.054 (c) 4 (d) 95 (e) 0.5
a
What is the closest to 42 in -3, -35, -5?
-3
Which is the nearest to -2/5? (a) 110/21 (b) -4 (c) -2
c
What is the closest to -0.2 in -1.118, -2/5, 0.1?
-2/5
What is the closest to -43 in 0.3, 25, 2.4?
0.3
Which is the nearest to 0.1? (a) -187/19 (b) -6/5 (c) 0 (d) -3/4 (e) 0.5
c
What is the nearest to 0.12 in -3, 14, 3/2?
3/2
What is the closest to 6.2 in 2/7, -4, -3/7, 1/4, -5?
2/7
What is the closest to 4/5 in 1/8, 3/7, 38, 0, 1/4?
3/7
Which is the closest to -239? (a) 0.4 (b) -4 (c) 1 (d) -2
b
Which is the closest to 2? (a) -46/43 (b) 4 (c) 0.5
c
Which is the closest to -673? (a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 2/3 (d) 1
c
Which is the nearest to -9? (a) -13 (b) -3/7 (c) 15
a
Which is the closest to 0? (a) 1/8 (b) 2/9 (c) 26/73 (d) -2 (e) 3
a
What is the closest to -2/53 in -2/5, -0.04, -0.5, -5, 13?
-0.04
What is the closest to -139 in -9, 2, 5, 7?
-9
What is the closest to -0.1 in 2/9703, -2, 2/5?
2/9703
Which is the nearest to -326? (a) 0 (b) 22/3 (c) 2
a
What is the closest to 2/225 in 1, 2/13, 31?
2/13
What is the closest to -439 in 1, -0.1, -1, 0?
-1
Which is the closest to 9? (a) -1.1 (b) 2/33 (c) 5 (d) -5 (e) -3
c
Which is the closest to -0.2? (a) 2/3 (b) -48 (c) -299
a
What is the nearest to -1/4 in 31650, -5, 1, 0, -1?
0
What is the closest to 211/3 in 5, 963, -0.5?
5
Which is the closest to 0.06? (a) -0.2 (b) -25/3 (c) -0.5 (d) 5
a
Which is the nearest to -1/2? (a) 6 (b) -2 (c) 167 (d) 1/4
d
Which is the nearest to 2? (a) -2 (b) 0.3 (c) -116 (d) -1 (e) 1
e
What is the closest to 0.1 in -0.1, -4, 0.667, -2/5?
-0.1
What is the nearest to 1 in 0, 2693, 2/7?
2/7
What is the nearest to 15300 in 3, -0.1, -5?
3
What is the nearest to 1 in -1, 4, 10.75, 0.5?
0.5
What is the closest to -1 in 19, -107/5, -3, 0, -6?
0
What is the closest to -2/5 in 21, -4.02, 4?
-4.02
What is the nearest to -1/4 in -280, 21, -4, 1, 0.2?
0.2
What is the nearest to -26 in 2/11, 1/12, -1/4, -0.4, -11/3?
-11/3
What is the nearest to 536 in 1/22, 12, -5, -1?
12
Which is the closest to -1.1? (a) 4/27 (b) 6 (c) 0.3 (d) 2
a
Which is the closest to 1? (a) 4 (b) -0.3 (c) -0.0412 (d) 0
d
What is the nearest to -7 in 2/7, 49, 0.5, 2/11?
2/11
Which is the closest to 10/11? (a) -2/5 (b) -24 (c) 0.1
c
Which is the nearest to -4/5? (a) -0.13 (b) -1 (c) -84
b
What is the nearest to -415 in 0.1, -4, 0.102?
-4
What is the closest to 1 in -0.21592, -46, -4/5?
-0.21592
What is the closest to -7.5 in -0.3, -17, -40?
-0.3
Which is the nearest to -0.2? (a) -0.5 (b) -0.105 (c) -250/3 (d) -1/4
d
What is the nearest to -42 in 1.9, 1/2, 1, 2/9?
2/9
Which is the nearest to 0.3? (a) -72 (b) -2/5 (c) -5/3
b
Which is the nearest to -1? (a) -1 (b) -0.17 (c) -266 (d) 5
a
Which is the nearest to -3? (a) 7 (b) 4 (c) 1.4 (d) 10
c
Which is the nearest to 5? (a) 5/7 (b) -4/5 (c) 5 (d) 0.9
c
Which is the nearest to 1/4? (a) -4/5 (b) -3 (c) 5.9 (d) 7.4
a
Which is the closest to 1/2? (a) 2.2 (b) -3/4 (c) -1/7 (d) -0.1 (e) 138.9
d
What is the nearest to -2 in 1.9, -6, 0.2, 1/12?
1/12
Which is the nearest to 1.4? (a) -15 (b) 0.5 (c) -180
b
Which is the nearest to -5? (a) 2/3 (b) 2/5 (c) 5 (d) -2/3 (e) 10
d
What is the closest to 0.2 in 0.08, 0.4, 3, 1/10?
1/10
What is the closest to -0.4 in -1, 2/25, -0.3, 4/49?
-0 |
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a blade monitoring system. Specifically, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system for monitoring the health of compressor blades.
Compressors, such as gas turbine compressors, receive inlet air from an air source and compress that air so that it may be later combined with fuel in a combustion chamber. The gas created from combustion of the compressed air and fuel mixture is then used to force rotation of blades within the gas turbine, and correspondingly, perform mechanical work on a shaft coupled to those blades. Over time, portions of the gas turbine compressor may become damaged. Gas turbine compressor blades may become damaged, for example, by particles, foreign objects, and/or corrosive elements in the inlet air, as well as excessive high cycle and low-cycle fatigue during compressor operation. Damage to gas turbine compressor blades may cause inefficiencies in gas turbine operation and/or unwanted vibrations in the compressor. In some cases, compressor blade damage may cause liberation of one or more blades, resulting in catastrophic damage to the compressor. |
Evaluation of Folate Receptor-Mediated Cervical Dyeing as a Method for Detection of Cervical Lesions.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of a folate receptor-mediated tumor detection (FRD) assay for detection of cervical high-grade lesions. A total of 1504 patients with abnormal cytology and/or positive human papillomavirus (HPV) testing during primary screening from November 2014 to August 2015 were enrolled. The patients were recruited from the Peking University People's Hospital and 12 other hospitals. Folate receptor-mediated tumor detection was applied in all the patients before colposcopy to compare the detection rate, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and coincidence rate with HPV and cytology tests according to the pathologic diagnosis. In the total of 1504 patients, 503 patients were negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy, 440 patients were cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1, 254 patients were CIN 2, 257 patients were CIN 3, 46 patients were squamous cell carcinoma, and 4 patients were adenocarcinoma in situ. The sensitivity of FRD was 77.72%, which was less than cytology (80.39%) and HPV testing (95.54%). The specificity of FRD was 60.02%, which was greater than cytology (30.12%) and HPV testing (14.95%). The coincidence rate of FRD to the pathologic diagnosis (66.62%) was also significantly greater than atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance cytology and above (48.87%) and HPV testing (45.01%, p < .0001). The detection rate of FRD for all grades of lesions increased with the severity of lesions. Folate receptor-mediated tumor detection has a slightly lower sensitivity and a higher specificity than cytology and HPV testing for detection of CIN 2+. Simplicity of FRD requires less professional skill. Folate receptor-mediated tumor detection could be a candidate test for cervical cancer screening especially in low- and middle-income countries. However, FRD still needs more clinical trial data to demonstrate its ability in general screening population. |
This article is more than 1 year old
This article is more than 1 year old
Australia’s previous regime of last-resort medical evacuations of asylum seekers and refugees was “sociopathic”, “health destroying” and potentially a criminal breach of work health and safety laws, according to two lawyers.
High-profile barrister Robert Richter and work health and safety expert Max Costello make the claims in a submission to the review of the Coalition’s bill to repeal the medevac laws, which facilitate evacuations from offshore detention.
The intervention comes after the Coalition angered crossbench senator Jacqui Lambie – who has the casting vote on the repeal – by signalling it will push ahead with a vote on the bill in the next fortnight, without waiting for the review to conclude by 18 October.
Biloela Tamil family: our daughters are scared on Christmas Island, mother says Read more
Richter and Costello argue the WHS Act creates a duty to “pro-actively and preventatively ensure the physical and psychological health, and the safety, of both ‘workers’ and ‘other persons’ (such as [regional processing centre] residents)” in offshore detention.
The medevac inquiry, conducted by the legal and constitutional affairs committee, has heard from doctors responsible for health assessments that of 581 people in detention they have audited 97% have significant physical health issues and 91% have serious mental health issues.
Richter and Costello noted the pre-Medevac system was characterised by “systemic refusals or long delays of doctor-requested medical transfers” due to a home affairs department policy that requests for evacuation “will only be considered … where the person faces a life-threatening medical emergency that would otherwise result in their death or permanent, significant disability”.
“Decisions under that sociopathic policy were made by designated senior officers of Australian Border Force,” they said. “Such decisions, by putting the health of RPC residents at serious or even grave risk, were ipso facto criminal offence breaches of WHS Act duty provisions.”
The lawyers took aim at Comcare – which says it has investigated and never found any WHS Act breach – accusing it of failing to bring prosecutions because it is “captured” by the government.
Medevac provisions are “broadly compliant with WHS duty obligations” and their repeal would be “an anti-law and order measure” that would “restore the former regime, which, having no treating doctor primacy and no time limit on transfer decisions, was health-destroyingly and criminally law-breaking”, they said.
The lawyers noted the WHS Act does not cover former regional processing residents located in Nauru or Papua New Guinea but noted a common law duty of care may apply to people in PNG holding facilities.
Richter is a Victorian criminal barrister who told the inquiry he has a long-standing interest in human rights issues, including laws affecting asylum seekers, while Costello is a retired lawyer with two decades of legal experience, including five years as a prosecuting solicitor with WorkSafe Victoria.
Richter and Costello criticised Comcare for failing to properly investigate the preventable death of Hamid Kehazaei, who died after delays and errors caused when the home affairs department refused a medical transfer for his leg infection.
Comcare has told Senate estimates that it “has not observed any breach of the WHS Act” by the home affairs department, including in the Kehazaei case.
But Richter and Costello noted Comcare’s 2014 report made no mention of antibiotics not being kept in stock and disputed the conclusion that the airlift delay did not “contribute” to his death.
In August, Comcare wrote to Costello to advise that no charges had been laid by it over the Kehazaei case.
'The cruelty is the point': what's behind the treatment of the Biloela Tamil family Read more
“After assessing the coroner’s report into the death of [Mr Kehazaei] and considering the application of section 232 (1) (b) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), it did not appear to Comcare that an offence had been committed against the WHS Act,” it said.
The repeal of medevac provisions has been opposed by the overwhelming majority of stakeholders including the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the architect of the provisions, the former independent MP and GP Kerryn Phelps, and former home affairs departmental official Shaun Hanns.
The home affairs department has urged parliament to pass the bill, claiming medevac provisions undermine regional processing, impinge on the sovereignty of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, and could encourage asylum seekers to self-harm.
It has rejected claims by other submissions that under the previous system it had been “legally compelled to transfer persons from Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Australia to receive necessary healthcare”. |
# Copyright 1999-2016 Gentoo Foundation
# Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
EAPI=6
inherit eutils systemd toolchain-funcs user
DESCRIPTION="Cntlm is an NTLM/NTLMv2 authenticating HTTP proxy"
HOMEPAGE="http://cntlm.sourceforge.net/"
SRC_URI="http://ftp.awk.cz/pub/${P//_}.tar.gz"
LICENSE="GPL-2"
SLOT="0"
KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"
IUSE=""
DEPEND=""
RDEPEND=""
S="${WORKDIR}/${P//_}"
src_prepare() {
eapply -p0 "${FILESDIR}"/${P}-buildsystem.patch # 334647
default
}
src_configure() {
tc-export CC
econf
# Replace default config file path in Makefile
sed -i -e 's~SYSCONFDIR=/usr/local/etc~SYSCONFDIR=/etc~' \
"${S}"/Makefile || die "sed failed"
}
src_compile() {
emake V=1
}
src_install() {
dobin cntlm
dodoc COPYRIGHT README VERSION doc/cntlm.conf
doman doc/cntlm.1
newinitd "${FILESDIR}"/cntlm.initd cntlm
newconfd "${FILESDIR}"/cntlm.confd cntlm
systemd_dounit "${FILESDIR}"/cntlm.service
insinto /etc
insopts -m0600
doins doc/cntlm.conf
}
pkg_postinst() {
enewgroup cntlm
enewuser cntlm -1 -1 -1 cntlm
}
|
A year ago it seemed bitcoin could do no wrong.
On Dec. 17, 2017, the cryptocurrency hit its all-time-high of $20,000 on industry site CoinDesk's price index. Two financial exchanges opened bitcoin futures markets, a move hailed as a step toward legitimizing the currency in the eyes of Wall Street, and waves of amateur investors sought to buy into the frenzy.
In a particular show of optimism, one analyst predicted bitcoin prices would rise all the way to $100,000 in 2018.
That didn't happen. Instead, bitcoin and other digital coins plummeted this year, punishing portfolios and sowing doubt about the future of cryptocurrencies.
What happened? In short, the specter of regulation and investor skittishness rocked the market.
The price collapsed, wiping out billions
Bitcoin's price is famously volatile, often swinging thousands of dollars in either direction in a single day. But that didn't prepare investors for what happened after the peak. Bitcoin's price retreated for the rest of 2017 and ended the year at $12,993, according to CoinDesk.
Then came 2018. The currency lost 51 percent of its value between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, wiping out billions of dollars in market value.
Blockchain Intelligence Group president Shone Anstey attributed the steep drop to skittish investors who bought in during the price craze and then unloaded it as the price began to fall.
"The fear of missing out turned into the fear of losing," Anstey said. "You had a lot of fast money rushing in. Now we have fast money exiting out."
The launch of the futures markets, which allow investors to swap contracts to buy and sell bitcoin at a set price on a later date, also played a role in the price drop, Anstey said.
“It was a perfect opportunity for Wall Street to start shorting it,” Anstey said.
Government regulations also weighed on the currency. In January, bitcoin prices plunged 19 percent when South Korea’s finance minister said the country was considering shutting down virtual currency exchanges. In March, the currency fell below $10,000 after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the requirement that digital asset exchanges must register with the agency.
“The incremental regulation snapped energy from the whole cryptocurrency space,” DataTrek Research analyst Nick Colas said. “There was an expectation that we have this new technology and we have a new financial ecosystem. And regulators said not so fast.”
Bitcoin never regained its highs. It spent most of the rest of the year trading between $6,000 and $9,000. Then in late November, the bottom fell out, as bitcoin's price plummeted below $6,000.
All told, the currency lost 84 percent of its value between Dec. 18, 2017 and Tuesday. As of Dec. 18 at 4:30 p.m., it's valued at just $3,525.05, per Coindesk.
While those who bought at the start of 2017 saw staggering returns, investors who came in later have seen their portfolios dwindle.
One novice investor, Ryan Lackey, started buying cryptocurrencies in December. Lackey, who works as a project coordinator for a document scanning service in California, put $1,500 into alternative currencies Ripple, Tron, and Stellar beginning on Dec. 17, 2017.
At first, his portfolio rose as high as $5,000. But then Lackey converted his entire portfolio to bitcoin right as the price began falling.
"I sold it all into bitcoin because bitcoin's king and I've been writing it down ever since," Lackey said.
Through trades and dwindling currency prices, Lackey estimates his portfolio is down 90 percent since his initial investment.
Lackey said he views the year as a learning experience. He says he’s made friends in the bitcoin community, and he continues monitoring the market in the hope that the prices will rebound.
"I'm definitely in it for the long term," Lackey said. "I'm really hopeful that there's going to be another big bull run. I know I'll make money in a legit bull run."
Lackey considers himself lucky, saying that he could afford to lose his investment. But for those who couldn’t afford the losses, the crash was devastating. In South Korea, where more than two million investors took a chance on digital currencies, young people struggled to cope with the price crash.
And Saxo Bank's Kay Van-Petersen, the analyst who predicted bitcoin $100,000? He doesn’t talk about bitcoin anymore.
"Saxo has [a] policy of not commenting on Bitcoin/Crypto since [January] this year," Van-Petersen wrote in an email to NBC News.
General interest fizzled
As bitcoin's price fell, so did interest from the general public.
You can see the currency's fall from public interest at Grace News, a convenience store in New York City that has housed a bitcoin ATM for more than four years. The ATM, which is tucked away in a back corner of the shop, was heavily trafficked in late 2017, according to shop clerk Yeasim Rashid.
A Bitcoin ATM in the back of a store in New York City. Staff said visits to the ATM are less common since the cryptocurrency's price retreated from its 2017 highs. Nigel Chiwaya / NBC News
"Every five minutes people would come through, Rashid said. "As soon as I opened the door, people were waiting outside."
Now? Rashid estimates that maybe five or six customers stop by per day.
"It's cooled this year," Rashid said.
Demand for mining equipment drives up computer component prices
Bitcoin's price peak coincided with a surge in interest in “mining” cryptocurrencies. To mine bitcoin, computers compete to solve complex mathematical equations. Mining requires powerful computer hardware and miners bought them in droves, driving up prices.
Philip Carmichael, owner of PCPartPicker.com, a computer-builder enthusiast site, noted a spike in the price of computer motherboards and graphics cards that began in January 2018. The spike continued through March when Carmichael said prices usually come down.
"During the peak, it was hard to purchase a video card if you wanted to," Carmichael said.
"There were posts on our hardware forums of people buying one hundred graphics cards from a store," said PCPartPicker.com site technical specialist Ryan Marinelli.
The ICO bubble that burst
Bitcoin's big first quarter drop didn’t dampen the hype around initial coin offerings (ICOs), splashy opening sales of new cryptocurrencies typically used to raise money for start-ups. Investors, hoping either to find the next bitcoin or spend the currency on the start-up's product, spent $17 billion on ICOs in 2018, according to CoinDesk.
ICOs reached a fever pitch in the middle of the year when tech start-up Block.one raised $4 billion in the ICO for its coin, eos.
For the businesses offering the coins, ICOs were a quick way to make money. But it was a risky buy for investors. A Wall Street Journal analysis of 1,450 coin offerings found that nearly 20 percent showed signs of fraud, including plagiarized documents or false executive information.
"There were very credible reports of massive fraud in the ICO market," Colas said.
The SEC responded to the ICO boom by increasing scrutiny on coin offerings. In November, the agency levied $250,000 in penalties each to two cryptocurrency companies for failing to register their tokens with the agency. The agency also fined boxer Floyd Mayweather and musician DJ Khaled hundreds of thousands of dollars for failing to disclose money they were paid to promote ICOs.
"We're really seeing the death of the ICO," Anstey said. "It's no surprise that the SEC is going after them and is going after the promoters. They're creating a lack of confidence in the system."
Is bitcoin dead? Or will it bounce back?
While experts are positive about blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, they are divided about the future of the coin itself. Some, like Erik Finman, a teenager who became a millionaire by investing in bitcoin last year, are bearish. Finman told MarketWatch Bitcoin is doomed.
“Bitcoin is dead, it’s too fragmented, there’s tons of infighting I just don’t think it will last,” Finman said.
Others see a future, but not at last year's sky-high prices. In a December note to clients, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone predicted that bitcoin would return to $1,500, but that a decline in price volatility and a focus on stability had begun.
"Prices for bitcoin and others are likely to weaken to levels seen at the onset of the 2017 frenzy and remain on track toward becoming proper currencies, in our view," McGlone wrote.
Anstey said that bitcoin would continue to thrive, especially in countries dealing with low-value currencies or severe inflation.
"The volatility is relative. Think about it compared to Venezuela, Chile," Anstey said. "When we get out of our sandbox, we see it has a large future ahead of it."
CORRECTION (Dec. 19, 2018, 11:07 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a celebrity who was fined for failing to disclose that he had been paid to promote initial coin offerings. He is DJ Khaled, not DJ Kahled. |
A monolithic Fresnel bimirror for hard X-rays and its application for coherence measurements.
Experiments using a simple X-ray interferometer to measure the degree of spatial coherence of hard X-rays are reported. A monolithic Fresnel bimirror is used at small incidence angles to investigate synchrotron radiation in the energy interval 5-50 keV with monochromatic and white beam. The experimental set-up was equivalent to a Young's double-slit experiment for hard X-rays with slit dimensions in the micrometre range. From the high-contrast interference pattern the degree of coherence was determined. |
DHAKA (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen killed a Sufi minority spiritual leader and his house help in northern Bangladesh on Monday, police said, amid a surge in attacks on liberal activists, minority sects and other religious groups in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.
Police said Farhad Hossain Chowdhury, 55, and his teenage maid were shot and hacked to death at his home in the northern district of Dinajpur, 350 km (220 miles) from the capital, Dhaka.
“We are yet to ascertain who carried out the murder,” local police chief Arju Mohammad told Reuters, adding they were not ruling out links to Islamist militants.
No one claimed responsibility for the killing but the South Asian country of 160 million people has seen a string of deadly attacks in the past years, the most serious on July 1, when gunmen stormed a cafe killing 22 people, most of them foreigners.
Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings but the government has blamed domestic militant groups. |
The ActiveSmart refrigerator line from Fisher & Paykel Appliances has received an update, with new style, storage and lighting enhancements. The E22B ActiveSmart refrigerator line includes: seamless stainless steel styling with concealed hinges... |
Development and application of a thermal desorption method for the analysis of polar volatile organic compounds in workplace air.
The application of a newly developed thermal desorption method for the analysis of workplace air to the analysis of polar compounds is reported. The method was validated for both pumped and diffusive sampling of test gases containing polar volatile organic compounds (esters, alcohols, ketones or aldehydes) on adsorption tubes and subsequent analysis of these tubes. Carbosieve SIII, Carboxen 569, Carbopack B and Tenax TA were used as solid adsorbents. Analysis was performed by thermal desorption of the analytes from the adsorbent tubes followed by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID). It could be demonstrated that thermal desorption-GC-FID is feasible also for the analysis of polar compounds and that problems arising from the high concentration levels of some analytes in workplace air could be solved. |
Q:
Gerenciador de comandos de voz Siri
Sei que meu macbook tem o tts (text to speech) ao digitar comand say. Gostaria de saber se existe alguma API ou alguma biblioteca que trabalhe com isso em python. Ou teria que fazer manualmente?
Alguem recomenda algo? Obrigado.
A:
OS X Speech Synthesis Manager e um gerenciador de Speech do OSx. Da uma olhada nisso, acredito ser o que voce procura: https://ankiatts.appspot.com/services/say
|
Big Finish: The 6th Doctor gets a new companion.
It's not often I feel inspired to blog about a new Big Finish companion coming up, but this one is an exception.Lisa GreenwoodReprises her role of Philippa otherwise known as Flip. The character came to being in the Story "TheCrimes of Thomas Brewster" and quite easily stood out in the story itself. Revealed at the Big Finish Convention, currently taking place today (Sat.11th June 2011) in Barking. She is to star along side Colin Baker as his new companion in the next run of 6th Doctor Adventures for Big Finish.
It was revealed today at the Big Finish Day convention that Lisa
Greenwood is to play the Sixth Doctor's new audio companion in a
mini-series of three stories starting in January 2012.
Lisa plays
Flip (aka Philippa) Jackson, a young Essex girl who is whisked off into
time and space by the Doctor (Colin Baker). If the name sounds
familiar, then it's because Flip has already appeared in this year's The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, when she and mate Jarod took a tube ride to another planet.
"We worked with Lisa for one day on The Crimes of Thomas Brewster,"
says executive producer Nicholas Briggs, "and line producer David
Richardson and I were of the same mind. She was great, and she'd make a
perfect companion. Flip is young, brave, fun but she has a lot to learn -
and the Doctor takes on something of a Professor Higgins role in her
life."
"We knew Lisa was going to be a huge star," says
David,"and, of course, not long after we'd recorded the Brewster story
she was signed up for BBC2's new flagship drama series The Hour with Dominic West, which airs in a few weeks."
Titles for the three stories will be announced soon. The first will be scripted by Jonathan Morris, who created her for The Crimes of Thomas Brewster. |
Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed maps of chemicals found in jellyfish which could offer a new tool for conservation in British waters and fisheries. The maps will also be able to detect fraudulently labelled food in retail outlets by helping to trace the origins of seafood.
The Southampton based research team including Dr Clive Trueman, Dr Katie St. John Glew and Dr Laura Graham, built maps of the chemical variations in jellyfish caught in an area of approximately 1 million km2 of the UK shelf seas. These chemical signals vary according to where the fish has been feeding due to differences in the marine environment’s chemistry, biology and physical processes.
Dr Katie St John Glew explains “The chemical differences detected in the jellyfish are also present in other animals throughout the food chain, like seabirds, seals and fishes. This means that we can measure the same signals in, for example feathers from seabirds or fresh fish fillets, then match them back to the jellyfish map and work out where the birds have been feeding or where the fish was most likely caught.”
The developers hope that the maps will help policy makers at authorities such as the Marine Management Organisation and Marine Stewardship Council learn more about the movement of local marine animals and support conservation efforts. They could also provide a new way to trace the origin of fish sold in supermarkets and fishmongers which will also help detect food fraud occurring in products sourced from, or claiming to be sourced from, British waters.
This research is based on a well-established process for forensically analysing food produced on land such as meat, honey and wine but which has not yet been applied to seafood.
Dr Trueman said “In our changing political climate, it is likely that the authorities will need new ways to manage our waters so it will be critical to have a better understanding our local marine environment and those animals that live within it. Being able to verify where seafood products have been caught may also become essential for protecting our fisheries and combating food fraud in a future with more borders, boundaries and regulations.” |
Chia Almond Granola [Gluten Free]
This was not the recipe I planned on sharing today. This was the recipe I made while the recipe I planned to post was in the oven. This was like “well the oven is already preheated so I might as well play around” recipe, because you know once the oven is preheated you’ve gotta take advantage of it. Am I right?
But then when this came out of the oven, I couldn’t stop eating it. I eventually had to stuff it all in a mason jar and hide it from myself in the pantry so I didn’t keep eating eat. (I kept calling my name, but I managed to resist.) The thing is, I love crunchy granola. It’s all about the clusters. And the secret to clusters? Egg whites. Yes, really.
And even though this is chia almond granola, you can make it even if you don’t have chia seeds. It won’t be quite as cool & trendy as full of omega-3’s but it’ll still work. (I know, it’s hard to imagine someone not keeping their kitchen stocked with chia seeds.) So let’s get to that recipe.
Did you make this recipe?
I made a pretty small batch because I wasn’t sure if it would be good, but you can certainly double this if you want to make more. I’m kind of already wishing I’d made a double batch…
In other news, I’m thrilled it’s Friday! I feel like our to-do list has been getting a little out of control so I’m looking forward to tackling some house projects this weekend. My in-laws are coming next week (YAY!!) so I want to get a few things in order before they come for a visit. |
Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #21
"RPG Advocacy"
This file was created from reader submissions responding to
a Brief Word request in Issue #292. Your response was
incredible - thanks to everyone who wrote in! Please note,
while we tried to include all entries received, we omitted
entries that contained only duplicate links.
Thanks to Leslie Holm for organising and editing!
Cheers,
Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
http://www.roleplayingtips.com
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
0. Original Request
From: Brief Word, Issue #292
http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=292#brief_word
============================================================
I received a tricky help request from a young reader. His
parents won't let him play D&D because they feel it is evil
and he wants to know what he can do to convince them
otherwise. First off, I think it's great that the reader's
parents are taking interest in his life and hobbies, and
that they're setting boundaries they feel are in his best
interests. Without having met or chatted with the parents,
my best guess is they're basing their decision on
misinformation. There's a well-known webcomic, for example,
that outright says D&D is evil. And there are numerous
personal websites and press sites that call RPGs various
names. I'd like to supply our fellow gamer with links to
websites and articles he can forward to his parents so they
can learn more and make the best-informed decision as
possible concerning their son's request. If you have any
good advocacy or informational links, please forward them to
me. Also, if you have any tips or advice for young people
whose parents won't let them game because of possible
misconceptions about our hobby, I'd love to hear those as
well. Thanks!
1. RPG Advocacy Links & Resources
From: Chris Dyszelski
============================================================
Here is a list of advocacy resources that I have:
* CAR-PGa: http://members.aol.com/waltonwj/carpga.htm
* Role-playing Defense
http://www.hoboes.com/html/RPG/Defense.html
* Studies on Role-Playing Games:
http://www.rpgstudies.net/
* Source About Role-Playing Games:
http://www.rpg.net/sites/252/quellen/sources.html
* Ontario Religious Tolerance Group - useful for those
attacking from religious grounds:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/d_a_d.htm
Books:
* 'Shared Fantasy: Role-playing Games as Social Worlds', by
Gary Alan Fine (1983) - while out of date (and out of
print), it does show how gamers form communities and
presents a wide perspective on helping to understand what
roleplaying is. You might be able to track a copy down
through academic libraries.
* 'The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamers Bible 2nd Edition', by
Sean Fannon (2000). It explains the games, their history,
and has a bit of an outdated list of different games to help
parents choose games for their kids.
* 'The Fantasy Role-playing Game: A New Performing Art', by
Danile Mackay (2001) - A really dense book that looks at
games as a performing art. Definitely scholarly, but there
are parts in here that would help parents to understand
games, their history, and why they can be good. Any teen
that could read this book, and understand even some of it,
would show his parents that gaming isn't for the ignoramus.
Not to be self promoting, but if you have access to
university interlibrary loan...my Master's thesis is held at
Miami University. It's titled 'Re-visioning Role-Playing
Games: A Narrative Exploration of the Experiences of Role-
Playing Gamers', by Christopher Justin Dyszelski, Imprint
1998. If you can't access it that way, I can e-mail you a
copy of the documents...anything to help a fellow gamer.
I think the best thing young people can do is to TALK with
their parents, explain why they want to play, and provide
evidence that the hype saying all games are bad is bunk. If
they can, they should go together to a game store and watch
games being played. Most parents are just freaked out by the
"unknown factor." Once they see it's a just a bunch of
people having fun, they usually relax a bit. Often, even if
they don't understand the games or even are a little
concerned about the content, realizing their kid is
somewhere safe with people and not running the streets
committing real crimes, doing drugs, etc. is enough for them
to say "OK."
Another faction is the "games make people crazy" camp. While
there are some very poorly conducted and yet published
studies, the bulk of the decent research shows that games
don't do those things. There are also lots of good articles
(see those study links above) that debunk the myths or that
show the positives of games.
There are certainly factions of anti-gaming that are based
on religious convictions, and the chances of changing their
beliefs are often slim to none. They believe that anything
not of their doctrine is "Evil" or "wrong" or "from the
Devil." Changing the convictions of these parents will be
challenging. The best thing young people can do here is to
try to remain respectful and explain their viewpoints to
their parents in the hope that they will change their minds.
When they reach adulthood, they can do what as adults is
their right to do...play!
Sometimes, depending on one's political views, the anti-
censorship argument might come in handy, though that one can
be tough for youngsters to muster against parents, who have
the right to censor what their children see and have contact
with.
2. GAMA for RPG Advocacy
From: Jay A. Johnson
============================================================
As a former RPG retailer, I can tell you that some of the
best resources for fighting this sort of prejudice are
published by GAMA (the GAme Manufacturers Association). You
can find some of them at the GAMA website (see link above).
I believe they are now available in PDF as well as print
form.
* GAMA's Games in Education Program:
http://www.gama.org/programs/gie
* GAMA's Industry Watch- a direct contact to one of the
most knowledgeable sources of game advocacy Mike
Stackpole: http://www.gama.org/committees/industry_watch
I have used both the "Dealing with Parents" and the "Games
in Education" pieces and found them to be very effective.
3. Caution Is The Key Word
From: Mike
============================================================
I've got some serious... (reservations is too strong a term)
hesitations concerning the issue you raise in your editorial
concerning the young guy whose parents won't let him
roleplay. Specifically, we (the readers) don't know anywhere
near enough about the situation to judge it.
We don't know the reasons for the parent's refusal. While
one possible reason is because of mis-information, there are
a number of others:
* The boy might be psychologically fragile.
* Religious beliefs.
* The prohibition might be in response to discipline
problems.
* The parents might simply disapprove of roleplaying
without being misinformed as to the nature of the
activity. For example, they may disapprove of the violence
(however virtual) that is part and parcel of most games.
The only advice I would happily recommend in this situation
is to locate some articulate, educated, and employed role-
player living somewhere near the wants-to-be-a-roleplayer.
He can show the parents that the players are not harmed by
the activity and can directly assess any concerns.
Above all, remember that parents have the responsibility and
the right to restrict their son's activities until he is
legally adult, and to some extent these powers could even
extend beyond that date if the son continues to live under
their roof.
4. The Pulling Report
From: Dan "Ducky" Howard
============================================================
I know how the player feels - my parents bought into the D&D
is from the devil line too. I found a well written paper on
the subject not too long ago that helped. It was written by
Mike Stackpole, a well known author and a key writer for
many storylines, most notably Battletech and Star Wars
novels. He was commissioned to write a detailed defense of
gaming against an organization known as BADD (Bothered about
Dungeons and Dragons) That paper exposes the media lies and
the statistical twisting done to make us all look like devil
worshipers.
The Pulling Report - Mike Stackpole's rebuttal of the whole
anti-game nonsense from the 80's:
http://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html
This report helped me, but even if it doesn't help this
player, it's a very interesting piece of gamer history.
5. 5 Reasons Your Kids Should Play Dungeons and Dragons
From: The Duelist
============================================================
Here is an article from PVP Online titled, "5 Reasons Your
Kids Should Play Dungeons and Dragons."
http://www.pvponline.com/rants_dd.php3
6. Point To Childrens Books
From: Chris S.
============================================================
Hi there. You will probably get a lot of emails like this,
but I wanted to make sure my viewpoint was heard. My family
was exactly the same as you described. I was raised in a
very strict religious home, with Sunday School from early
memory until I moved out for college, and I attended
devotions almost daily. In fact, I wasn't able to start
playing until I went to college, but once I got to play it I
was able to explain it to them. The real reason that parents
are worried about this is because they don't understand the
idea behind it. D&D and most other games have the players
playing characters who are fighting the forces of evil. But
with titles like Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire it is very
easy to judge a book by its cover.
The biggest problem for my family was magic. They had the
idea that magic is 'from the devil' or just not right. I
find that the most interesting way to talk to parents about
that is to refer them to works like The Lion, Witch and the
Wardrobe, Lord of the Rings, or even Harry Potter, though he
last one is a little more controversial. In all of these
books there are instances of magic and all kinds of
characters fighting evil. My parents were big fans of C.S.
Lewis and my mother had read the books of Narnia and made me
read them as well. I think the point is really just helping
parents understand that roleplaying isn't intrinsically
evil. Most people simply don't know what goes on in
roleplaying games. Since there really is no screaming
advocacy for it, they only hear the negative, and most of
that is made up.
7. Read the Players Handbook
From: Janis Maggs
============================================================
Perhaps the simplest way for the parents of that young
reader to get over their misconceptions about D&D is for
them to actually sit down and read the Player's Handbook. If
they truly want to parent in an informed and not knee-jerk
manner, they will at least give it a try. Perhaps the reader
could borrow a copy of the PHB from a friend, or perhaps it
is worth a $30 investment on the part of the parents to buy
one.
My mother never really liked me playing D&D when I was
growing up. It would have meant a lot if she would have
educated herself about it instead of relying on hearsay.
8. Read Uncle Figgy
From: Joseph R.
============================================================
The absolute best site I have ever seen regarding the
"truth" about D&D is Uncle Figgy's Guide to Roleplaying for
Non-Roleplayers: A Manual for Parents, Friends and Gamers
at: http://www.dragondogpress.com/unclefiggy/rp4nrp/
My parents had seen (I believe it was) a Dateline: NBC
expose about D&D and were absolutely freaked out when I told
them that my friend showed me this great new game. (Ed.
note: see the article from AP regarding this report at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857016/ ). Fortunately, my dad
was level-headed enough to do a little research and take a
look at the books before coming to a judgment, and he gave
me the green-light to play.
The mother of a fellow gamer still doesn't like his playing
because she believes the game is related to satanic
practices (though he's now 20, so he's allowed to do his own
thing), but she took him to his church leader when he first
got into the game. The pastor sat down with all three core
books for a week, studied them, and was actually able to
tell my friend's mom that the game, as presented in the
literature, did not appear to be detrimental to the
Christian lifestyle in its own right (her main concern).
The article explains the game beautifully. The thing that
helped me most in convincing my mother was being completely
open. I offered her the books to read and even suggested
that my friends come to my house to play a game that she
could sit in on. After about 30 minutes of watching she got
bored and decided that we weren't doing anything harmful.
Another good source for information is the owners of gaming
stores that specialize in RPGs and wargaming.
Parents just worry their children are going to get hurt and,
just like everyone else, the less they know the worse the
things they imagine. Accurate information is often the best
cure against paranoia and fear of the unknown.
9. Wizards Of The Coast Provides Links
From: Howard Coons
============================================================
Here are links from Wizard's own website that might come in
handy (although, depending on what the kid's parents think;
perhaps Vin Diesel isn't exactly a role model).
* Fantasy: The Thirty Years War
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6471868/site/newsweek
* How 'Dungeons' changed the world
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/11/15/dungeons_and_dragons_we_love_you/
* D&D lives on, after all these years.
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200410151029.asp
* D&D History series part II:
http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/539/539197p1.html
(pg. 3 is especially interesting)
10. Parental Misconceptions
From: Breanna Nichole
============================================================
* Emphasize the Tolkien connection. Beliefs that fantasy is
evil often stem from the supernatural stuff that fantasy
includes, spells most particularly. Certain people have made
a crusade of convincing parents fantasy leads children to
Satanism and the occult, which in turn will destroy their
children's souls. However, D&D in particular and fantasy in
general owe a great deal to JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, who
both used the fantasy medium to communicate moral, and
indeed specifically Christian, values and lessons.
* Related to the above, people who hold these beliefs are
typically politically conservative, so they are likely to
appreciate this analogy: Fantasy doesn't lead people to
Satan, Satan leads people to Satan! As in, guns don't kill
people, people kill people. It's not the medium that is at
fault, it's what people do with it. Just as weapons can be
used for good or evil purposes, so can virtually everything
else in the world. So the stories you hear from people like
Jack Chick are not relevant.
* An excellent resource: The Christian Gamer's Guild. (Ed.
See link in Christian Gamers Responses). This series of
articles explores various theological aspects of gaming,
coming to the conclusion that, if done properly, gaming can
be quite a pious activity and, like Tolkien and Lewis, lead
to promotion of Christian values. Most gaming, unlike most
of the rest of the culture, emphasizes a battle between good
and evil, rather than the "shades of grey" relativism that
is so prominent in music, television, and movies.
* If parents are still nervous about the fantasy aspect of
gaming, try a non-fantasy RPG. Options have increased
dramatically since the first big D&D controversies. Try the
Star Wars RPG, D20 Modern, D20 Future, a superhero type game
(Heroes Unlimited is one). Check out 3rd party publishers
and other genres. Things like superheroes and Star Wars have
a great deal of popular acceptance, so parents may be more
comfortable with them - the parents were likely fans when
they were younger.
* Compare gaming to other leisure activities. Gaming is
active, social, creative, an intellectual challenge, and can
be a forum for moral development. Television is passive,
solitary, provides no opportunity for creative or
intellectual contribution, and is often saturated with
violent, sexual, and morally relativistic images and
lessons. Would you rather have your child suddenly develop a
burning curiosity about medieval armors, or sit in his room
singing along with the latest rap lyrics? If your kid is
gaming with a group of friends in the basement of your
house, he's not out partying and experimenting with who
knows what substance. Gaming is the pinnacle of "good clean
fun" for those with the intellectual capacity to enjoy it.
11. Roleplaying Has Benefits
From: Kasper van den Berg
============================================================
* It is important to listen to the parents and find out
their concerns about roleplaying. When you know their
objections, it is easier to provide information countering
them.
* Roleplaying (and especially being a game master) is
closely related to creative writing. You can find many
articles about this on websites about roleplaying, including
roleplayingtips.com. Most people have a positive attitude
towards creative writing. (Even when you do not aspire to
become a professional writer, creative writing is a good
skill to have.)
* Search for information about how teachers use roleplaying
games and what benefits they have found.
* Roleplaying teaches you to cooperate with other people.
* Roleplaying, especially being a game master, teaches you
to notice and respond to other people's emotions and
attitude.
* You probably know about Google's directory about
roleplaying in society:
http://www.google.com/Top/Games/Roleplaying/Roleplaying_in_Society/
This contains some advocacy articles and some opposing articles.
* The parents can become more familiar with roleplaying by
playing it with their son or by game mastering the game.
* Many roleplayers I know are computer scientists and none
of them is a Satanist (including the roleplayers who are not
computer scientists).
12. D&D Is "Evil"
From: Zelly
============================================================
I don't know if you, or your young reader have seen the
article about this on Planet ADnD, but here's a link:
http://www.planetadnd.com/dndsatan.php
I went through this a bit in my youth, and I know it can be
a very difficult situation. The best advice I can think of
would be for this person to collect as much information as
they can and sit and talk with their parents. If they can
avoid argument and listen to each other's sides without
passing immediate judgment, then perhaps they can come to an
understanding. A lot of parents just worry about their
children, and if they hear that something is bad and could
harm their child, the quickest solution seems to be to
forbid it.
I've learned from experience that it's better to research
some of these things a bit more deeply. Do you know if their
parents read or go to movies? I have family that is against
D&D, but loved The Lord of the Rings movies. If they could
get their parents to understand that D&D is just a creative
form of expression similar to those books and films, maybe
there would be a better chance of them coming to some sort
of understanding.
13. A Parent's Point of View
From: Christopher
============================================================
Speaking from a parent's point of view, you'll be hard
pressed to convince any adult otherwise who already has
their mind made up that D&D, or roleplaying games in
general, are evil and who isn't open to hearing opposing
arguments.
However, if a parent is open to hearing arguments to the
contrary, often the best measure is a direct and open line
of communication with others in the same position.
Being a parent myself, I would be hesitant, if not
completely skeptical, to hear arguments from some other teen
on the merits of any particular game. However, hearing the
same arguments, intelligently and coherently displayed from
another parent, would have much more weight and may convince
me to re-evaluate my views.
Granted, in this day and age, it's very easy to have ones
friends pose as concerned parents, thus invalidating any
points made by an e-mail, but that addresses a whole other
issue of trust and communication between the player and
parent.
14. Parents - Join Kids-RPG and Chat with Parents of
Gaming Kids
From: Johnn Four
============================================================
If you're a parent and are curious about RPGs, check out the
kids-rpg Yahoo! Group where real parents discuss why and how
to game with kids. Several games are chatted about,
including Dungeons & Dragons. The people on the list are
kind and generous and always willing to help.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kids-rpg/
15. Consider The Hasbro Factor
From: Colin Walmsley
============================================================
Parents worried about D&D being appropriate for kids might
consider that Hasbro owns D&D and publishes all the official
Dungeons & Dragons books. Hasbro is known around the world
as a children's game and entertainment company, and they
have an international reputation to maintain. If D&D were
"evil," rest assured that Hasbro would have nothing to do
with it, nor would the corporation's legion of voting
shareholders!
16. Article Of Note: Die-Cast Ignorance
From: Johnn Four
============================================================
Here's an interesting article about RPGs: "Die-Cast
Ignorance - Having Fun Never Hurt Anyone" by Isaac Calon:
http://www.roleplayingtips.com/articles/die-cast-ignorance.php
17. A Request For RPG Advocacy Resources
From: G.D.
============================================================
All kinds of people have criticized role-playing games and
gamers on all kinds of grounds, including (alleged) sheer
dorkishness, and encouragement of real-life violence,
traffic with evil spirits (occultism and witchcraft, if not
outright Satanism), and other irresponsibilities, to the
extent of publishing condemnations, and (at one point)
forming associations like Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons
(B.A.D.D.)
To refute them, see:
* Ubyssey Magazine's article, "Dungeons, dragons
and...dorks? A look at what lies beneath the stigma":
http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/20040924/article.shtml?%3C!--2--%3Efeature/untitled.html
* Some gamers have replied with mockery (well, admittedly
sometimes this has been pretty easy: see Jack Chick's Dark
Dungeons: http://www.humpin.org/mst3kdd/ )
* Others have responded to these concerns in informed and
considerate fashion, and a comprehensive collection of
"apologetics" on the subject (particularly from a Christian
perspective; but much discussion of the ethical aspects of
RPGs, both in-game and out-of-game, would be of interest to
non-Christians too) may be found at the Christian Gamer's
Guild (Ed. see link below in Christian Gamers Response) and
the references therein, such as "Confessions of a Dungeons &
Dragons Addict.".
* Another good article: "The Great Roleplaying Myths"
http://www.tabularasa.info/Roleplaying/RoleplayingMyths.html
18. Respect Each Other
From: Dave Lowry
============================================================
When I was younger, my parents were very cautious about AD&D
(2nd ed. back then!) and I've got some thoughts I'd like to
share, perhaps for the benefit of both parties. I've been
roleplaying for almost 15 years now.
As you know, roleplaying does occasionally get bad press,
from the story of a serial killer in the UK who murdered a
mother and child because a PBM game told him he had to
before he could advance to the next level. (Ed. Note:
extensive searching of the internet did not turn up any
links to this event) I forget the details, but it was an
event that sent shockwaves through the country. Parents,
perhaps justifiably, knee-jerked a reaction and labeled
anything roleplaying as evil. It's understandable in that
regard.
However, kids playing 'Doctors & Nurses' is roleplaying.
Playing 'Cops & Robbers' or 'Cowboys & Indians' is
roleplaying too. Even some business training courses
recommend 'playing a role' to experience a customer's point
of view for service matters. I think some parents may
misunderstand the greater aspect of it.
What I would recommend to the young reader is, if he feels
brave enough, ask one of his parents to sit in or listen to
a game in progress. The key is twofold: the parents to agree
to be open minded about what they see and hear, and the
child to respect their parents' wishes after they've made
their decision. Quite often, seeing it in motion is probably
a big relief to parents, as they can understand for
themselves what's going on. If the game is usually at a
friend's house, see if a special one-off session can be held
at his house. Parents can make some food and have
videos/DVDs on standby.
19. Communication Is The Key
From: Glen McNamara
============================================================
I have a couple of stories that come with tips for your
young gamer whose parents are concerned about D&D.
When I very first started gaming, we had a pretty big group
of enthusiastic kids, all of whom were excited about
starting to play D&D. We talked about it all the time, and I
developed a detailed campaign, and we finally came to the
day where we were to have our first session.
One person didn't show up. We called his house, and he said
that he wasn't allowed to play because his parents were
worried we might be starting a cult. So, we had our first
session without him and had a blast, but since he was my
brother's best friend, we really wanted him to come play
next time.
As the DM (and the eldest), the responsibility fell to me.
The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple. I went
and talked to his parents. I listened to their concerns, and
at the end, responded to them. Basically, all I had to do
was explain that it's really just a combination of
collective story-telling and Risk, that we weren't going out
into the woods with bows to shoot at each other, and that as
a twelve year old I wasn't ready to start a cult yet. They
were very nice about it, despite their concern, and I was
nice back, and in the end they trusted me enough to let the
kid come play with us. Problem solved.
The only other instance where I've heard of parents not
wanting a child to play was a girlfriend's dad not wanting
her little brother to do it because of religious concerns. I
heard this, felt I should intervene, and simply mentioned to
him that I had played in and run games for almost ten years.
He was interested and he trusted me, so I answered a couple
of simple questions and that was that.
Finally, I noticed that once the local gaming shop started
displaying D&D stuff in the front window (this was years
ago), it became more widely accepted around here. Even the
people who thought all D&D players had to be total weirdoes
played a few games. There's safety in numbers.
So, in summary:
* Solution 1: Get someone from the gaming group (usually the
DM) to talk to the kid's parents. Listen to their concerns,
and answer any questions honestly.
* Solution 2: Get someone older who's been playing for a
while and has some credibility to answer questions for the
parents. One of the local librarians here is an avid gamer,
and he's someone that any parent would trust.
* Solution 3: Let the kid himself point out that there is a
huge and diverse community of gamers. There are even some
famous people playing:
http://www.enworld.org/printthread.php?t=9632
RPGs are often depicted in popular culture as harmless (and
really fun) games.
20. Christian Gamers Responses
============================================================
Ed Note: We received so many responses relating to religion
and roleplaying, we put all the response together as
follows:
A. Christian Gamers Guild from Jon Thompson
* The Christian Gamers Guild, in their own words, "seek to
reclaim the imagination to be conformed to the image of
Christ through the use of gaming as a creative art form. You
can find the Index of Articles here:
http://www.geocities.com/christian_gamers_guild/chaplain/index.html
* Some of their best articles:
o Christians Playing D&D:
http://www.fansforchrist.org/phpBB2/articles/article03.htm
(make sure you click on the links to the next section
at the bottom of the page)
o Confessions of a D&D Addict:
http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.html
* Magic in RPGs: http://claymore.50megs.com/gamemagic.html
* And there are lots more on the index page. Most of them
are roleplaying based with the occasional Harry Potter or
Pokemon reference thrown in for flavor.
* And I can't resist posting a link to this. Every gamer who
thinks that Christians are narrow minded should read this.
It does a good job to point out that people are people, and
people make decisions based on ignorance and assumptions -
be they gamers, Christians or neither.
http://www.mysticages.com/christiangamer.html
B. A Christian Gamer's Perspective. From Lorele
* For a Christian gamer, here is a good resource:
http://www.compineduc.com/ryan/faith.html
I found it quite an interesting site, as the "Why Play?"
link matches up to his Faith Cheat Sheet.
C. 5 Tips for Explaining Roleplay from the Christian point
of view. From John Gallagher
Sigh. I've been gaming for 25 years, and I can't believe
we're still dealing with this issue. I went to Christian
schools all my life, including college, where several of my
friends were pre-seminary students. I have been gaming since
I was about 16 or so. And all along the way, I've had to
debate people who had the perception that gaming, DnD in
particular, was evil. Indeed, most of these people have ONLY
ever heard of DnD.
1) I've debated this issue with theology professors,
students, misinformed parents, and family. The single
constant throughout was this: not one had *ever* seen an RPG
played or even looked at the rules, beyond the book covers.
So the first thing I always do is invite them to come to a
game and watch it.
2) Most of them, as I said, can only point to one game, DnD,
which as we know, has demons, devils, magic, pagan priests,
etc., as part of the game. Somehow, these inclusions became
twisted to the common belief that we actually cast spells,
call on demons, etc. So, the second thing I do is point out
that early Christians were often perceived as evil, and
their worship was considered to contain unsavory and
horrific acts. Had anyone bothered to attend a service to
check it out, they could have discovered the truth.
3) The next thing I do is ask them if they ever played
Cowboys and Indians as a child, or cops and robbers, or any
of the hundreds of variants of "let's pretend" that we all
played as kids. If so, then they've played role playing
games themselves. Because RPGs are nothing more than
codified versions of Let's Pretend, with dice, maps, and
other props to fill in the blanks of our imaginations.
4) Then, I point out that there are other RPGs out there.
Boot Hill, Star Wars, Star Trek, Paranoia, Champions, and my
favorite myth buster, Pandemonium. None of these games deal
with those issues that parents fear. And how can anyone take
Pandemonium as anything but pure farce? It's a game about
reporters chasing Bigfoot, alien abduction and Elvis
sighting stories for a tabloid.
5) My last argument is what I call the Monopoly test. Any
game is a competition, at least any game non-RPG'ers are
familiar with. In chess, the idea is to defeat an opposing
army by destroying its soldiers and capturing its king. In
Monopoly, the idea is to drive everyone else bankrupt, etc..
Are ANY of these games displaying a healthy morality? No. So
let's ban them too. It's about at this point that the non-
gamer starts to get fidgety, and sometimes defensive. "Those
games are different", they say. And I ask "How are they
different?" And they usually have no answer but to fall all
the way back to point one: demons and devils. So I again
invite them to a game. But this time, it's more of a
challenge.
D. Meet a Model Roleplayer From: Greg Schwall
I saw your article on the young gamer whose parents have
problems with RPGs. The parents are likely most concerned
about the types of people their son would run into, since
everyone knows D&D is only played by druggies, psychos, and
Satanists. :) Probably the most reassuring thing for them
would be to meet a clean-cut and well adjusted roleplayer to
answer their questions face to face. If they happen to be
near Richmond, VA, I would gladly volunteer. Their heads
might spin when they meet a roleplayer who likes classical
music and was vice president of the Baptist Student Union. I
love your newsletter. Thanks for all the effort you put
forth.
E. Look to Tolkien and C.S. Lewis From: Alex Taylor
I noticed your request for RPG advocacy resources in the
latest Roleplaying Tips newsletter, and immediately started
trying to think of whatever helpful tidbits I could offer. I
never really had to deal personally with parental mistrust
of roleplaying and fantasy, but I've known others who have.
So I sympathize.
Although you didn't explicitly mention religion as a factor
in the attitude of your young reader's parents, I think it's
fairly safe to say that it often is, so my advice will all
be made with that assumption in mind.
I'm a born-again Christian myself, as well as a great lover
of all things mythopoeic, legendary, and folkloric (and, as
one might expect, of roleplaying and the fantasy genre in
general). I will say - most emphatically - that the two are
*not* mutually exclusive. In fact, since I feel so very
passionately about my faith *and* my fantasy, this issue is
extremely dear to my heart. Get ready for a soap-box rant.:-
)
I have a couple of things to say which might prove useful,
but I'll start with these links:
1) Religion and Roleplaying:
http://www.aquela.com/roleplaying/r&r/ written by James
Wyatt, a game-designer and former pastor. From what I
remember, some of his other writings are actually a bit
liberal for my own personal taste, but what he has to say on
that page is quite good. He offers a link to this book,
which I highly recommend.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0940895315/104-1223872-9599969\?n=283155>
2) Better still is this next link:
http://www.trhickman.com/essay.html
It's an essay by Tracy Hickman (Yes, /that/ Tracy Hickman),
who is (as you may or may not know), a Mormon (Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It's very in-depth, and
covers a lot of ground while remaining interesting to read.
I would *highly* recommend your young reader's parents read
the essay in its entirety. I really can't stress that enough
- Mr. Hickman says everything that needs to be said, and he
says it well.
3) Anyone struggling with the issue of the fantastic as it
relates to their faith could do no better than to look to
the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and George
MacDonald. The works of these literary titans continues to
inspire countless legions of imitators in the fantasy genre.
All three writers worked in different ways, but with the
same purpose in mind. They did *not*, as so many now
erroneously and pretentiously assume, strive to create
allegorical embodiments of Christian doctrines.
What they did do was to *tell stories*, and they did a
darned good job of it. The Christian themes that may be
found in their works are simply a natural outgrowth of their
personal beliefs. In other words, they didn't set to create
Christian Fantasy, but their stories had elements of
Christianity woven into their fabric at a very deep level
because it was, impossible for them to do otherwise.
George Lucas has described himself as a Buddhist Methodist.
He was raised in a conservative Methodist home and
assimilated bits and pieces of Buddhist philosophy later in
life. Naturally, the Star Wars films - and the rest of
Lucas' body of work -reflect that unique worldview. He's not
setting out to create "Buddhist Methodist" cinema. It just
happens because that's who he is.
Tolkien's seminal essay On Fairy Stories is readily
available in a number of published sources, and I could
recommend no better single source of information to
anyone asking the question "What good is fantasy?" It
really is definitive. George MacDonald's much shorter
essay, "The Fantastic Imagination" is also well worth
reading - it's included in the Penguin Classics edition
of his Complete Fairy Tales:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140437371/
As for Lewis, most of his relevant works written in the
defense and explanation of fantasy and his own very
particular brand of fiction writing may be found in the
anthology C.S. Lewis On Stories: And Other Essays on
Literature.
Particularly good are the titular On Stories, and the much
shorter Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be
Said.
In closing, I might add the final argument that roleplaying
and the fantasy genre as a whole do not create degenerate
social misfits; they simply attract them. On the other side
of the coin, they also attract a good many clean-cut,
mentally stable, morally upstanding people who simply enjoy
using their God-given sense of imagination - a pursuit for
which roleplaying is tailor-made.
F. Christian article. From: Charles
This is an article written by a D&D player who happens to be
a Christian. Perhaps it would help with the young man whose
parents won't let him play.
http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.html
21. A Site Devoted To RPG Advocacy
From: Leslie Holm
============================================================
Created by William Walton over 10 years ago, The Escapist
is, in his own words, "a web page devoted to the betterment
of role-playing games and the education of the public and
media of their benefits to society." In it you will find
links to advocacy articles, descriptions of what roleplaying
is - and isn't, articles debunking the mythos of 'evil' in
roleplaying, and forums for discussion. Visit it at:
http://www.theescapist.com/
22. Defending DnD
From: Galen Ciscell
============================================================
There's a great article at:
http://www.ntskeptics.org/1995/1995may/may1995.htm
23. Roleplaying as a Teaching Tool
From: Nicholas Bannister
============================================================
I am an English Teacher in Russia, and roleplaying is my
primary tool to teach my students to practice and use their
skills in speaking. For over 6 years I have been researching
and formulating systems and 'Concepts of the Roleplay
Environment' as a training and teaching tool for modern
Human Resources and business management.
This technique is growing and gaining popularity within
business environments. Training CEOs to 'think outside the
box' is important to their companies and has a relatively
unknown solution to the problem.
There are of course, weekend retreats, training seminars,
and sessions that brush the surface of CEO and staff
training, yet in-depth mental training is still an untouched
sphere.
If parents of a roleplaying gamer wish to ban such
Activities, they should first read some articles by
psychologists and teachers who explain in detail how
beneficial roleplay is. Some even cite increased mental
aptitude within scholastic environments, though if, like any
activity, it interferes or takes over the majority of the
participant's life, then like drugs, alcohol and gambling,
an 'evil' perception can be seen by outside watchers.
Sorry that I cannot reference my materials, as all my notes
and references are back in Australia, where I am not. Be not
dismayed, but do a web search on
Roleplay+Psychology+Teaching and you will come across many
citable instances.
(Note from Ed.: Out of curiosity, I did run a dogpile search
on the above, and came up with 73 links, but they were to
the form of roleplay that teaches you behavioral patterns in
the business world. Changing your search to roleplaying
games+psychology+teaching nets you 25 links such as:
* An article on Gaming and Education at:
http://www.rpg.net/sites/edu/3-1.html
* A reference to some psychological studies that have been
done on the effects of role-playing at:
http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/whatis/psychology.html
Note - not all of the articles listed here advocate
roleplaying.
* An essay entitled 'Playing Being Human' at:
http://www.sendcoffee.com/dog-o-matic/dogboard/barks/92.html
24. Educational Brochures
From: David Millians
============================================================
Good afternoon, Johnn. I always enjoy Roleplaying Tips
Weekly, and I thought I should write to you in response to
your request in the latest issue. Probably people have
already written to you about CAR-PGa and The Game Advocate
(http://www.theescapist.com/). Bill has put my GAMA games
and education brochures online:
http://www.gama.org/programs/gie
* Games In Education, Pamphlet 1 - Introduction, Nuts & Bolts (pdf)
http://www.gama.org/uploads/nS/XX/nSXX7lbqv9r-V1glq3UvQg/GinEBrochure1.pdf
* Games In Education, Pamphlet 2 - Language Arts & Literature (pdf)
http://www.gama.org/uploads/6G/uc/6GucakYBGXEzuTJ0krOLoA/GinEBrochure2.pdf
* Games In Education, Pamphlet 3 - History & Social Studies (pdf)
http://www.gama.org/uploads/7o/QK/7oQK4Kpo-3orVG2vivTWuA/GinEBrochure3.pdf
* Games In Education, Pamphlet 4 - Math (pdf)
http://www.gama.org/uploads/Nl/Xm/NlXm4un99OfTqFG-C_BFrw/GinEBrochure4.pdf
25. Research Papers On Roleplaying
From: Auke
============================================================
Johnn,
Unfortunately I don't have Internet links to the papers
below. The citations (to the paper version) are:
Carroll, J. & Carolin, P. (1989) Relationship Between Game
Playing and Personality. Psychological Reports, volume 64,
pp.705-706.
Carter, R. & Lester, D. (1998) Personalities of Players of
Dungeons and Dragons. Psychological Reports, volume 82,
p.182.
Dayan, D. (1986) Book Review: "Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing
Games As Social Worlds" American Journal of Sociology,
91(5), 1219-1228.
Derenard, La & Kline, Lm (1990) Alienation and the game
Dungeons and Dragons, Psychological Reports, volume 66,
pp.1219-1222.
Lancaster, K. (n.d.) Do Role-Playing Games Promote Crime,
Satanism and Suicide Among Players As Critics Claim? Journal
of Popular Culture, volume x , 67-79.
Rosenthal, G., Soper, B., Folse, E. & Whipple, G. (1998)
Role-Play Gamers and National Guardsmen Compared.
Psychological Reports, volume 82, 169-170.
Simon, A. (1987) Emotional Stability Pertaining to the Game
of Dungeons and Dragons. Psychology in the Schools, volume
24, pp. 329-332.
The journals "Psy Rep", "Am J Soc" and "Psy in the Schools"
are main-stream publications that should be available at any
university. The "Journal of Popular Culture" is a bit more
obscure, at least here in South Africa, presumably because
it deals mostly with American popular culture.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
End of Supplemental #21
Have more fun at every game!
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ |
Publication of leaked Lord Coe emails 'in the public interest' as judge dismisses hacking claim against Gilligan as 'extortion'
Share this
The High Court has thrown out a privacy action against the Evening Standard which centred on the baseless claim that journalist Andrew Gilligan hacked the emails of a businessman.
Mr Justice Tugendhat ruled that a former business associate of Lord Coe, Peter Abbey, was guilty of “extortion” for alleging that Gilligan hacked his emails – and he ruled that Gilligan’s reporting was in the public interest.
He also said that Abbey used the CFA (no win, no fee) system to argue that the Standard should settle his £100,000 damages claim on purely economic grounds because it would be cheaper for them than fighting it.
The claim stems from a story that appeared in the Evening Standard in September 2007 when it was owned by Associated Newspapers.
Gilligan reported that the company set up to control Lord Coe’s business interests, Complete Leisure Group, appeared to be in trouble. CLG was set up in the weeks after London won the Olympic bid in 2005 to invest in “media and leisure opportunities”.
It quoted from an email sent by one of the company’s directors, Peter Miller, to Lord Coe and the litigant Peter Abbey in which he said he was being threatened with legal action because the company had failed to file its accounts.
Abbey, who is a tax exile and former bankrupt, said in another email to an investor in the company in 2007 (also quoted by Gilligan):
“I am not hiding anything… The money, along with another 400,000 was pissed away… and if you want to come in and see me, I will tell you chapter and verse… I am not happy having this in writing for obvious reasons…this is about the worst situation I have had to deal with and we are trying to solve it quietly. DO NOT circulate this PLEASE!!!”
Today’s judgment states that the emails were sent to Gilligan by another journalist, Ed Howker, who had obtained them while working as assistant producer on a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary called “The Olympic Cash Machine”.
The programme was broadcast on 10 September, four days before the Gilligan article appeared.
Howker and Gilligan have declined to reveal the original sources of the emails – “as is their right”, Tugendhat notes.
Abbey’s claim is for breach of confidence and that the emails were taken or copied without his consent.
Associated Newspapers argued that publication was in the public interest because it “corrected a false picture put out in statements by Lord Coe” and “contributed to a debate of general public importance”.
In a judgment which is being seen by both the Standard and Associated as a significant victory for press freedom, Tugendhat says: “Where a person assumes a role of national importance, as Lord Coe did, and it is a role which requires a clear separation between it and his private business interests, then the public has an interest in knowing to whom he has entrusted matters relating to his private business interests.”
He added: “I have no doubt that Lord Coe’s decision to entrust matters to Mr Abbey in 2007 did call into question his own private and professional judgment.”
Tugenhat noted: “I make no finding as to whether or not the [Dispatches] programme or the Article contributed to Lord Coe’s decision to take matters in hand as he did. But it was not apparent at the time the Article was published that he had done so, and the public interest must be judged.”
In parts of the judgment, Tungendhat was stinging in his criticism of Abbey, who sued and made the hacking claims against the Standard four years after the event at a time when hacking was very much in the news.
He said: “What is troubling here is that Mr Abbey repeatedly alleged that the defendants had committed criminal offences which are serious, and which were of the kind which had led to the demise of the News of the World (followed by reports of payments of very large sums of money to persons whose phones had been hacked), but in circumstances where there was no evidence to support those allegations.
”The fact he never did report the matter to the police supports the inference I draw that he made the threats for the purpose of obtaining a settlement on terms which he did not expect to achieve on the merits of his claim for breach of confidence.
“I find that this was an attempt at extortion, and that it was an abuse of the process of the court to attempt to obtain settlement of this claim by that means.”
On his use of the CFA system in order to try to force a settlement, the judge said: “This is an example of a claim funded by a CFA which, as a result, put the defendants in a position where there was a strong economic incentive to them to settle the claim, even if they took the view, as they appear to have done, that it was wholly without merit.
“There is no doubt that in correspondence the solicitors for Mr Abbey invited them to settle for economic reasons on terms more favourable than the merits of the claim justified.”
In his conclusion the judge said: “The publication complained of was in the public interest.”
Press Gazette is now available on Google Currents. Currents is a social reading app that allows you to subscribe to a variety of publications and read a selection of their output online or offline. If you’re accessing this on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet, you can get Press Gazette on Currents here. Give it a try and let us know what you think. |
Ichigaya Station
is a railway station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Lines
The ground-level section of the station is managed by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and the underground sections are managed by Tokyo Metro and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei Subway). The station is served by the JR Chūō-Sōbu Line, Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line, Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, and Toei Shinjuku Line. Chūō Line (Rapid) services pass the station.
Ichigaya Station is numbered Y-14 on the Yurakucho Line, N-09 on the Namboku Line, and S-04 on the Shinjuku Line.
Platforms
JR East
Tokyo Metro
Toei Subway
History
The original JNR (now JR East) station opened on 6 March 1895. The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line station opened on 30 October 1974, and the Namboku Line station opened on 26 March 1996.
Surrounding area
The headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Japan and of the Japan Go Association are located in the vicinity of Ichigaya station. The headquarters of Creatures Inc. was also located.
References
External links
Ichigaya Station information (JR East)
Ichigaya Station information (Tokyo Metro)
Ichigaya Station information (Toei Subway)
Category:Chūō Main Line
Category:Chūō-Sōbu Line
Category:Stations of East Japan Railway Company
Category:Railway stations in Tokyo
Category:Tokyo Metro Namboku Line
Category:Railway stations opened in 1895
Category:1895 establishments in Japan |
Death, Real Estate, and Estate Tax
The topic of death is usually avoided, except when we remember our dearly departed on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. But with death, estate taxes must be settled, and this will be the main focus of my discussion in this blogpost.
On ordinary days, most try to avoid talking about death, maybe out of fear. It only becomes acceptable to talk about it when we’re jolted by the death of a close friend or relative. We must accept, though, that we will all die – it is just a matter of time, and even during times of death, we still need to pay taxes…
In times of death, we still need to pay taxes
When someone passes away, loved ones left behind are usually overwhelmed with emotions and are unable to do anything. I know this from experience.
But, there are certain things that need to be done, like making arrangements for the embalming, the wake, the casket, the interment or cremation, the burial plot (incidentally, there are a lot of foreclosed memorial lots for sale inside our database) and the gravestone, among others.
And of course, someone has to take care of the estate tax.
Note: For the rest of this article, we will use the terms “decedent” or “deceased person” to refer to the person who died.
What is Estate Tax?
Estate tax is imposed on the transfer of the net estate, which is the difference between the gross estate (as defined under Section 85 of the Tax Code) and allowable deductions (under Section 86) of the decedent. Estate tax rates are graduated and depend on the net estate amount.
Net Estate = Gross Estate – Deductions
Real property may not be transferred from the decedent to his or her heirs without the filing of the estate tax return and payment of the estate tax. Non-payment of estate tax is common and this brings about many problems when the properties need to be transferred to the names of buyers.
What to do when someone has died
Estate tax-wise, these are the things that need to be done:
File a Notice of Death with the Bureau of Internal Revenue within two months after the date of death. This is applicable when the gross value of the estate exceeds P20,000.00. This should be filed by the executor or administrator of the estate, or any of the legal heirs. It shall be filed with the RDO where the decedent was domiciled at the time of his death. There is no specific format.
Get a Tax Identification Number (TIN) for the Estate of the deceased person by using BIR Form No. 1901. Use this TIN when filing the Estate Tax Return (BIR Form No. 1801).
Prepare the list of assets and liabilities of the decedent. Get the fair market values of the properties at the time of death.
Prepare the supporting documents for the assets and liabilities, as well as the deductions you are going to take. You will need these for the estate tax computation and as attachments to the Estate Tax Return.
Certified true copy of the Death Certificate
Notice of Death duly received by the BIR, if gross estate exceeds P20,000 for deaths occurring on or after Jan. 1, 1998; or if the gross estate exceeds P3,000 for deaths occurring prior to January 1, 1998
Any of the following:
Deed of Extra-Judicial Settlement of the Estate, if the estate is settled extra judicially (sample forms may be found here and here).
Court Orders/Decision, if the estate is settled judicially;
Affidavit of Self-Adjudication (sample here) and Sworn Declaration of all properties of the Estate
A certified true copy of the schedule of partition of the estate and the order of the court approving the same, if applicable.
Certified true copy(ies) of the Transfer/Original/Condominium Certificate of Title(s) of real property(ies) (front and back pages), if applicable
Certified true copy of the latest Tax Declaration of real properties at the time of death, if applicable
“Certificate of No Improvement” issued by the Assessor’s Office declared properties have no declared improvement or Sworn Declaration/Affidavit of No Improvement by at least one (1) of the transferees
Certificate of Deposit/Investment/Indebtedness owned by the decedent and the surviving spouse, if applicable
Photocopy of Certificate of Registration of vehicles and other proofs showing the correct value of the same, if applicable
Photo copy of certificate of stocks, if applicable
Proof of valuation of shares of stocks at the time of death, if applicable
For listed stocks – newspaper clippings or certification from the Stock Exchange
For unlisted stocks – latest audited Financial Statement of issuing corporation with computation of book value per share
Proof of valuation of other types of personal property, if applicable
Proof of claimed tax credit, if applicable
CPA Statement on the itemized assets of the decedent, itemized deductions from gross estate and the amount due if the gross value of the estate exceeds two million pesos, if applicable
Certification of Barangay Captain for claimed Family Home
Duly notarized Promissory Note for “Claims against the Estate” arising from Contract of Loan
Accounting of the proceeds of loan contracted within three (3) years prior to death of the decedent
Proof of the claimed “Property Previously Taxed”
Proof of claimed “Transfer for Public Use”
Copy of Tax Debit Memo used as payment, if applicable
Compute the net estate and estate tax.
File the Estate Tax Return and pay the estate taxes.
Follow the procedure for transferring real properties to the name of the heirs (this will be discussed in a separate post).
Gross Estate
Gross estate is the value at the time of death of all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, wherever situated. In the case of a nonresident decedent who at the time of his death was not a citizen of the Philippines, only that part of the entire gross estate which is situated in the Philippines shall be included in his taxable estate.
The value of the properties shall be based on their fair market value (FMV) as of the time of death.
If the property is a real property, the FMV shall be the higher between the BIR zonal valuation and FMV per tax declaration (I paraphrased this).
Please also note that also included in the computation of the gross estate are interest or share in a property, transfers in contemplation of death, and revocable transfers.
The proceeds of life insurance are included in the gross estate unless the beneficiary is designated as irrevocable).
Deductions from gross estate
Expenses, Losses, Indebtedness, and Taxes (ELIT)
a. Funeral expenses – Lowest among:
Actual funeral expenses;
5% of the gross estate; and
P200,000.00.
b. Judicial expenses of the testamentary and intestate proceedings
c. Claims against the estate
At the time the indebtedness was incurred, the instrument was duly notarized; and
If the loan was contracted within three (3) years before the death of the decedent, the administrator or executor shall submit a statement showing the disposition of the proceeds of the loan
d. Claims of the deceased against insolvent persons
e. Unpaid mortgages, etc.
Property Previously Taxed (Vanishing deduction)
Transfers for Public Use
The amount of all bequests, legacies, devises or transfers to or for the use of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, or any political subdivision thereof, for exclusively public purposes.
Family Home
Fair Market Value of the Family Home or P1 million, whichever is lower.
As a condition for the exemption or deduction, said family home must have been the decedent’s family home as certified by the barangay captain of the locality.
Standard Deduction – P1 million (no substantiation needed)
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses incurred by the decedent within one (1) year prior to his death which shall be duly substantiated with receipts
Maximum: P500,000.00
Amount received by heirs under RA 4917 (retirement benefits of employees of private firms)
Share in the Conjugal Property
The net share of the surviving spouse in the conjugal partnership property as diminished by the obligations properly chargeable to such property
What are the Estate Tax rates?
The estate tax rates depend on the date of death. For those who died on January 1, 1998 and onwards, the following are the estate tax rates based on the net estate:
Over
But not over
The tax shall be
Plus
Of the excess over
0
200,000
Exempt
200,000
500,000
0
5%
200,000
500,000
2,000,000
15,000
8%
500,000
2,000,000
5,000,000
135,000
11%
2,000,000
5,000,000
10,000,000
465,000
15%
5,000,000
10,000,000
And Over
1,215,000
20%
10,000,000
Estate Tax Philippines Table 1: For decedents who died on January 1, 1998 and onwards
If the decedent died between July 28, 1992 to December 31, 1997, the following are the applicable estate tax rates based on the net estate amount:
Over
But not Over
The Tax Shall be
Plus
Of the Excess Over
P 200,00.00
0%
P200,000.00
500,000.00
5%
P 200,000.00
500,000.00
2,000,000.00
P 15,000.00
8%
500,000.00
2,000,000.00
5,000,000.00
135,000.00
12%
2,000,000.00
5,000,000.00
10,000,000.00
495,000.00
21%
5,000,000.00
10,000,000.00
1,545,000.00
35%
10,000,000.00
Estate Tax Philippines Table 2: For decedents who died between July 28, 1992 to December 31, 1997
If the decedent died between January 1, 1973 and July 27, 1992, the following are the applicable estate tax rates based on the net estate amount:
Over
But not Over
The Tax Shall be
Plus
Of the Excess Over
P 10,00.00
Exempt
P 10,000.00
50,000.00
3%
P 10,000.00
50,000.00
75,000.00
P 1,200.00
4%
50,000.00
750,000.00
100,000.00
2,200.00
5%
75,000.00
100,000.00
150,000.00
3,450.00
10%
100,000.00
150,000.00
200,000.00
8,450.00
15%
150,000.00
200,000.00
300,000.00
15,950.00
20%
200,000.00
300,000.00
400,000.00
35,950.00
25%
300,000.00
400,000.00
500,000.00
60,950.00
30%
400,000.00
500,000.00
625,000.00
90,950.00
35%
500,000.00
625,000.00
750,000.00
134,700.00
40%
625,000.00
750,000.00
875,000.00
184,700.00
45%
750,000.00
875,000.00
1,000,000.00
240,950.00
50%
875,000.00
1,000,000.00
2,000,000.00
303,450.00
53%
1,000,000.00
2,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
833,450.00
56%
2,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
1,393,450.00
60%
3,000,000.00
Estate Tax Philippines Table 3: For decedents who died between January 1, 1973 and July 27, 1992
If the decedent died between September 15, 1950 to December 31, 1972, the following are the applicable estate tax rates based on the net estate amount:
From
To
ESTATE
INHERITANCE
5,000.00
0
5,000.00
Exempt
Exempt
7,000.00
5,000.00
12,000.00
1.0%
2&
18,000.00
12,000.00
30,000.00
2.0%
4%
20,000.00
30,000.00
50,000.00
2.5%
6%
30,000.00
50,000.00
70,000.00
3.0%
8%
Estate Tax Philippines Table 4: For decedents who died between September 15, 1950 to December 31, 1972
Sample computations
When is an Estate Tax return required to be filed?
When the gross value of the estate exceeds P200,000 (though exempt from tax); or
Regardless of the gross value of the estate, where the said estate consists of registered or registrable property such as real property, motor vehicle, shares of stock, or other similar property for which a clearance from the BIR is required as a condition precedent for the transfer or ownership thereof in the name of the transferee
When to file and pay
Within six (6) months from the decedent’s death;
Unless an extension of time is requested in cases where the payment of the tax will result in undue hardship on the heirs
Not to exceed 5 years in case the estate is settled through the courts;
Not to exceed 2 years in case the estate is settled extrajudicially.
Penalties for late payment
The penalties shall include 25% surcharge and 20% interest per year (Under Secs. 248 and 249, respectively). If fraud is involved, the surcharge shall be 50%. You may also pay compromise penalties in lieu of imprisonment, which can be viewed at the BIR’s website through the following link: Schedule of compromise penalties.
BIR Form to be used
BIR Form No. 1801 (Estate Tax Return)
Where to file
The Authorized Agent Bank (AAB), Revenue District Officer (RDO) or duly authorized Treasurer of the city or municipality where the decedent was domiciled at the time of his death; or
If there be no legal residence in the Philippines, with the Office of the Commissioner. |
Auburn family to honor Maj. David Brodeur
Friday
Apr 19, 2013 at 6:00 AMApr 19, 2013 at 6:16 AM
By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Todd E. Brodeur believes that if his brother, U.S. Air Force Maj. David L. Brodeur, had survived an attack that took his life while serving in Aghanistan two years ago, chances are he would have needed special help with his traumatic injury or help in dealing with combat stress.
His brother was one of eight American service members gunned down April 27, 2011, by an Afghan military officer at Kabul International Airport.
To honor their brother, Todd, a partner in the law firm Fletcher Tilton; his sister, Amanda, a special education teacher in the Worcester public schools; and several other family members and friends will participate in the fourth annual Run/Walk to Home Base at Fenway Park May 4.
The event raises money for the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital to provide clinical care for veterans with combat stress and traumatic brain injury, and support services and counseling for the families of wounded veterans. During the first three years, the event has raised more than $7 million to help treat 500 veterans
In New England, an estimated 50,000 veterans, or one in three, who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are affected by traumatic brain injury or combat stress, according to event organizers.
“Sometimes there are difficult situations where traditional treatment is not enough for these folks. They need a different environment and different approach to their treatment and this provides that,” said Mr. Brodeur, who lives in Shrewsbury with his wife, Jo-Ellen, and three children.
“It struck me that just based on the incident that Dave went through, had he come back to us, I'm sure it would have been a very traumatic situation and very difficult to deal with. It just seems like a great fit for us to partake in this program and support it.”
Mr. Brodeur, 34, is the age of his older brother when he was killed. The siblings grew up in Auburn with their parents, Lawrence and Joyce Brodeur, who now live in Sutton.
“He was a typical older brother. He was very protective. He wanted to make sure my younger sister and I were taken care of. He was very caring. And he was a dedicated husband and father and he had a very strong faith,” Mr. Brodeur said.
Mr. Brodeur said his older brother wanted to be in the Air Force ever since he was a child. Several family members had military careers, including his grandfather, who served in World War II, and two uncles who served during the Vietnam era.
“He always enjoyed going to shows where the planes were flying and visiting aircraft carriers to check out the jets on deck. From a very early age he identified with that and he worked hard to get there,” Mr. Brodeur recalled during tears.
At Auburn High School, David Brodeur was a member of the varsity soccer team and captain of the track team. After graduating with honors in 1994, he got a congressional recommendation to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs after a year at Valley Forge (Pa.) Military Preparatory School. It was during his time at the Air Force Academy that he met his wife, Susan. The couple have two children, Elizabeth, 9; and David Jr., 6.
Auburn town and school officials and others have taken on several endeavors to honor the F-16 pilot, including the Major David Brodeur Memorial Foundation, which hosts a 5K race each fall to raise money for an annual scholarship for a graduating senior. Information can be obtained at www.brodeurfoundation.com. In February, the School Committee approved a plan for a memorial to Maj. Brodeur to be built near the rear entrance of the high school.
Last month, the class of 2016 at the U.S. Air Force Academy selected Maj. Brodeur as its Exemplar. A spokeswoman at the academy said an Exemplar is someone each class chooses to try to emulate, someone who has all the values the class considers an epitome of the academy.
The name of the team running in honor of David Brodeur is called Team Klepto, short for kleptomaniac. Klepto was the nickname David's military comrades gave him when he got his pilot wings. Mr. Brodeur said it was at his brother's wake that he learned the story behind the unusual nickname. Such names are usually based on some silly incident or something a person does out of the ordinary.
The story is that David was a big prankster. There was a lawn ornament at the home of an officer on base that David and his wife frequently walked past. One day, the ornament ended up in David's front yard and he was blamed for taking it. But no one ever really knew, said Mr. Brodeur.
“He never confessed. He liked to keep the mood light and put a smile on other people's faces, even when things were serious or difficult,” he said.
Asked what he misses most about his brother, Mr. Brodeur asks for a moment to compose himself.
“It's still difficult to talk about,” he explained, before continuing. “I saved one of the last emails he sent to me. It was just words of encouragement from him. He knew I was going through a hard time, trying to juggle responsibilities of life. He just said: 'Call me anytime, day or night.' ”
To donate to Team Klepto or any other runner or team in the Run/Walk to Home Base event go to www.runtohomebase.org.
Contact Elaine Thompson at ethompson@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @EThompsonTG
Never miss a story
Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery. |
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
www.tuttlepublishing.com
Copyright © 2009 by Editions Philippe Picquier
English-language translation copyright © 2011 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chavouet, Florent.
[Tokyo sanpo. English]
Tokyo on foot : travels in the city's most colorful neighborhoods/text and illustrations by Florent Chavouet.—1st English language ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0640-6 (ebook)
1. Tokyo (Japan)—Description and travel. 2. Chavouet, Florent—
Travel—Japan—Tokyo. 3. Tokyo (Japan)—Social life and customs.
4. City and town life—Japan—Tokyo. 5. Neighborhoods—Japan—Tokyo. 6.
Walking—Japan—Tokyo. 7. Cycling—Japan—Tokyo. 8. Tokyo (Japan)—Pictorial
works. 9. Tokyo (Japan)—Guidebooks. I. Title.
DS896.35.C4413 2011
915.2'135045—dc22
2010033405
Distributed by
North America, Latin America & Europe
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 U.S.A.
Tel: 1 (802) 773-8930; Fax: 1 (802) 773-6993
info@tuttlepublishing.com
www.tuttlepublishing.com
Japan
Tuttle Publishing
Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor
5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo 141 0032
Tel: (81) 3 5437-0171; Fax: (81) 3 5437-0755
sales@tuttle.co.jp
www.tuttle.co.jp
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12
Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 6280-1330; Fax: (65) 6280-6290
inquiries@periplus.com.sg
www.periplus.com
First English-language edition
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1104TW
Printed in Singapore
TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
|
Expectations should be low and walking away with nothing is better than signing a bad deal. The can is kicked down the road.My only real gripe is Trump's continued praise of Kim and stuff like this:He did the same thing with Putin. Saying stuff like this about Kim is really unnecessary:People will try to 'whatabout Obama' or setup a false dichotomy between him talking like this or nuclear war but I don't think it's unreasonable to demand better from our president.
I'm conflicted on that stuff. From the 30,000' view, I don't like it. Digging in deeper (these are questions/potential reasons whether I agree with them or not, vs excuses):
He might be buttering them up (a common business tactic for businessman Trump) for "the greater good".
On Kim, while the buck always stops at the top, it is conceivable he did not know what happened to Warmbier when it happened, just like our president wouldn't know immediately if some guy in Gitmo was about to be beaten half to death by an overzealous E-4. Kim and Trump both seemed to be very specific in the wording about what Kim "didn't know".
Obviously, giving Kim the benefit of the doubt isn't a good look on the face of it. We all know about deaths he has ordered and how those deaths were carried out. But again, the ethics question is on "the greater good" of an agreement that locks down Nork nukes. Is making Kim look good/innocent "on camera" during negotiations regarding one death worth potentially saving hundreds of thousands of lives? It's a philosophical debate, IMO, and again, I'm not sure where I stand on it with my limited information sitting in the nosebleed section of the geopolitical bleachers.
New development: It appears we're going to suspend military exercises with South Korea.
The right seems to be almost more up in arms over it than the left. Maybe someone with more expertise can explain it to me, but given it's a suspension versus permanent, I'm not sure how it's a major deal? Can't we still train on tactics, but just not on NK's doorstep? Maybe not ideal, but I would see this as a carrot for NK to return to the table and deal to our benefit.
President Trump abruptly announced Friday that he was withdrawing sanctions on North Korea, immediately after his own Treasury Department imposed them.
ôIt was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!ö Trump tweeted Friday afternoon. |
Taxes and Salaries
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the tax gains to taxpayers earning £25,529, £17,829, £20,249, £16,399, £14,749 and £12,549; and if he will list the size of wage increases necessary to give the same net increases in salaries. |
Overall, equity funds experienced negative one-month returns
in September, as growth concerns in the ex-U.S. markets produced a -4.1%
average return for international equity funds during the month. U.S. equity
funds also ended September lower, SI says, recording a -2.4% average one-month
return. Taxable bond funds were also negative, at -1.0% during the month, while
tax-free bond funds ended the month slightly higher with an average 0.2%
return.
Money market fund net deposits totaled $24.1 billion in September.
Information
on how to obtain research reports from Strategic Insight is available at www.sionline.com. |
Anti-Cellulite Cream
Availability: In stock
49.90€
Cellulite is an accumulation of excess fat in cells that results in fat nodules also known as ‘orange peel skin. It occurs in 95 percent of women and often negatively affects their self-confidence and body image.”MERSEA adds a new dimension to cellulite treatment by using Minerals from the Dead Sea, Natural oils and plant extracts. A unique combination of ingredients to help make skin appear firmer and smoother. Cinnamon oil stimulates the skin cells to help promote the removal of excess fluid. Olive oil rich in vitamins and lipids maintains the skin young and thigh. Arnica and horse chestnuts extracts help Improve skin's firmness and streamlines skin's appearance, so it looks more toned. Retinyl Palmitate stimulates skin renewal to make skin visibly firmer, smoother and more even. Dead Sea Minerals, are known for there properties.
Instructions: Apply a thin layer on the necessary area and massage gently until absorbed. Immediately as the cream will start penetrating the skin there will be a feeling of warmness and the area will turn red. This means that the cream is working. For best result apply 2/3 times a week on the effected area. |
The deckhand of the Aristocat 2 catamaran, Shayne Thomson, spotted this emu 10 metres from the water's edge at Western Australia's Monkey Mia Beach. (Video first published in 2018.)
Tourists at Western Australia's Monkey Mia Beach have been joined by an unexpected guest in the sea after an emu decided it needed a quick dip.
The deckhand of the Aristocat 2 catamaran, Shayne Thomson, spotted this emu 10 metres from the water's edge.
The bird seemed unperturbed by the presence of the humans nearby.
SCREENGRAB Tourists look on as an emu cools off.
Emus have been known to swim to cool off on hot summer days.
READ MORE:
* 'Holy shoot!': Orca encounter in Hauraki Gulf 'the coolest thing ever'
* 'Emotional support peacock' grounded |
Following the unveiling of legislation that may defund Planned Parenthood, democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday the move is “an attack women’s health.”
According to the Huffington Post, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fast-tracked the legislation Tuesday; the same day Republicans announced the measure.
“The attempt by Senate Republicans to cut off support for Planned Parenthood is an attack on women’s health,” Sanders said in a statement. “Stripping funding for Planned Parenthood would punish the 2.7 million Americans, especially low-income women, who rely on its clinics for affordable, quality health care services including cancer prevention, STI and HIV testing and general primary health care services.
“The current attempt to discredit Planned Parenthood is part of a long-term smear campaign by people who want to deny women in this country the right to control their own bodies,” Sanders said in a statement.
The move to defund Planned Parenthood comes the same week the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a restraining order against an anti-abortion group barring leaders from releasing damning videos that show the group allegedly (and illegally) selling fetal body parts. In a letter to Congress last week, a lawyer for Planned Parenthood said that the deceptively edited video is part of an ongoing harassment campaign by extremists designed to bring down the abortion rights group.
The website was downed using a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, a tactic used by hackers to flood a site with traffic and keep users from accessing the site, said Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president, in a statement issued Wednesday evening.
“This is a new low for anti-abortion extremists; 200,000 people a day count on Planned Parenthood’s website for accurate health information,” Laguens said. “Blocking people from accessing information on the full range of sexual and reproductive health — including birth control, sexually transmitted infections, healthy relationships, parenting and preventive care — only shows how far opponents of safe and legal abortion will go.”
Sanders, who added that federal funding for the group does not pay for abortions, isn’t the only presidential candidate to speak out against the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Hillary Clinton also pledged her support, despite saying the videos were “disturbing.” |
Upon hearing of the terrorist attacks in Paris and the massive loss of life, social media focused on sympathy and prayers for the victims. But some people were upset not over the massive loss of life, but because the attention they’d been getting for protests over perceived racial injustices on college campuses was now being directed toward the 160 innocent murder victims in the capital of France.
https://twitter.com/AsToldByBrina/status/665331036524417025
https://twitter.com/ilovethisnigga/status/665328293512478721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
People care about what's going on in Paris but ain't said shit about #Mizzou lol get y'all fake caring asses outta here — Amir Parish Crooks (@Amir2Real) November 14, 2015
The #Mizzou and #Paris aren't in competition of which is worse. They are both tragic. https://t.co/QKtIK3rT27 — Nani (@scorptini) November 14, 2015
I'm getting so many angry tweets from people offended that I chose to call attention to the terrorism at #Mizzou while #Paris is (cont.) — HAKIMAtheURBNMUSLIMA (@shegoldblooded) November 14, 2015
(cont.) experiencing its own terrorist threats. I find it ironic that terrorism is only valid when it is effecting non people of color. — HAKIMAtheURBNMUSLIMA (@shegoldblooded) November 14, 2015
Paris got more coverage than #Mizzou honestly. — Yung Massa (@albj__) November 14, 2015
At least some real niggas being honest. Fuck a Paris, what's the move ? — FOR SPARTA!!!!! (@R_H_U_E) November 14, 2015
First #mizzou now #Paris… Like what's wrong wit y'all why don't you guys respect life ? — Dee (@dannique_) November 14, 2015
My heart is so heavy today… From #Mizzou to #Paris to #Beirut and so many places in-between. — Ameena GhaffarKucher (@AmeenaGK) November 14, 2015 |
Important Note
Cast Aluminum Light Fixtures Feature:
Heat resistant procelain sockets - all medium based sockets are made of heat resistant porcelain, rather than phenolic or plastic which tend to melt and make re-lamping difficult, if not impossible. All medium based light fixtures are rated for 60 - 100 Watts maximum depending on the size of the fixture.
Finish - each cast aluminum lantern is treated with a durable powder coat finish for lasting beauty and minimal maintenance
Maintenance and care - for the longest lasting finish, lanterns should be periodically wiped clean with a soft dry or damp cloth to remove dust, debris, pollutants, etc.
The simple Cast Aluminum Straight Glass Outdoor Wall Sconce is functional and practical. It is a single light fixture that can be used near entry ways or exterior hall ways. Choose between multiple finishes to match your home. |
Adorable Capuchin monkeys (Pets & Animals - Other Pets)
Item ID 13163822 in Category: Pets & Animals - Other Pets
Adorable Capuchin monkeys
Adorable Capuchin monkeys ready for new loving homes. All vaccinated and vet checked and come with health papers. They are 14 weeks old.Home raised and very social. They are on diapers and bottled fed. Both male and female available and very affordable. contact US |
Q:
Set of functions parametrized by value
I want to build a set of related functions parametrized by a function variable (the function encapsulates a coordinate transformation). I.e., for some variable:
val transformation : float * float -> float * float
I want to build at runtime a set of functions based on this transformation. Now, in "mainstream" imperative languages, I'd normally go for some kind of object with methods. I know those are possible in OCaml too, but I've also read that in OCaml, it's generally preferable to use modules (i.e., a functor here, I presume).
Should I build an object with methods, or a module (via functor)? And if the latter, how should I code it? I plan to go with object, as I think I'd know how to write it; as to module, I'm confused and not sure if what I want is possible. But I'd love to learn "the better way" if you can help me with it. I want something like:
val make_set_of_functions : (float * float -> float * float) -> 'magic
where 'magic is a module (or object).
TIA!
A:
OCaml provides several mechanisms for generalization and abstraction. Sometimes it is not obvious which one to choose. In that case, I usually suggest to use the most lightweight mechanism available, in other words, do not use a mechanism that gives you more than you need (unless you anticipate that in the future you will need more).
So, you have the following choices:
Functor
Function
Class
Object
Functor
Functors provide the most powerful generalization mechanism. They use module types to specify abstractions and modules as implementations. This comes with a cost of course. Many people find, that functors are syntactically heavy.
module type Coordinates = sig
val transform : (int * int) -> (int * int)
end
module Canvas(Coord : Coordinates) = struct
let draw obj =
let x,y = Coord.transform obj.coords in
...
end
And here is the usage:
module Canvas = Canvas(Minimap)
Canvas.draw world
Function
A module is just a compound data structure, that can contain functions, types, and other modules. When it is compiled, the types and other ephemeral declarations are removed, so the module representation is actually the same as the representation of a record. A functor is actually compiled as a function, parameterized by a record. It looks like, that we're not trying to parametrize our "set of functions" with any types or modules, so we can just use Occam razor, and use a record directly, without module encapsulation, e.g.,
type canvas = {
draw : object -> unit;
...
}
let canvas xform = {
draw = (fun obj -> ... );
...
}
And usage:
let canvas = canvas xform
canvas.draw world
Class
Classes, like modules, also encapsulate several fields into one entity. They can contain methods (i.e., functions) and instance variables. They can't contain types, however. The main difference between classes and modules is that class functions bind to each other not at the compile time, but at runtime (so called late binding). It means, that whenever you call a class method, you're actually not calling a concrete function, but you're invoking a whatever function is currently written in the slot associated with the invoked method. Basically, that means, that a class is a set of mutually recursive functions, that can be mutated during runtime. In other words, the mutual recursion is open, i.e., a user of your class can change the implementation of any method, via the inheritance. Basically, for you, it means, that you can't trust your own methods and that the type of your object is not fixed, but is open. All these together makes reasoning about classes very hard, so if you don't need open recursing, then I would suggest keeping away from classes. To protect the idea of classes, I would like to notice that they are good for implementing AST visitors, interpreters, and other algorithms that work with data structures that are inherently recursive.
So here is the example:
class canvas xform = object
method draw : obj -> unit =
let x,y = xform obj.coords in
...
end
Usage
let canvas = new canvas xform
canvas#draw world
Objects
When you define a class, you're actually defining a blueprint, that describes how to create objects of that type. But in OCaml, it is not required for an object to be derived from a base class, or to be created using a class. For an object to be recognized as an instance of a class it must provide all methods, that are specified in this class (with matching method types of course). In other words, OCaml type system is not nominal, but structural -- if an object has all the methods, and all the types of methods are included in the required type, then the object is of that type. So, when you are expressing something as a class, then you're actually anticipating that someone will inherit your class, and change methods implementation. This puts an extra restriction on your implementation, and types of your methods. So, if you're not anticipating the inheritance, it is better just to use an object (however, if you're not anticipating an inheritance, then why to use classes at all). Here is the syntax example:
let canvas xform = object
method draw : obj -> unit =
let x,y = xform obj.coords in
...
end
Yep, just substitute class with let, and you will create a value, instead of a class. But this substitution will give you a big advantage in your quarrels with the type checker. Here comes the usage example:
let canvas = canvas xform
canvas#draw world
Summary
There are actually other mechanisms, that are more obscure, like using first class modules. But following the Occam razor principle, we will cut them of the posting. Of all the mechanisms, that I've shown so far, I would suggest you either functors or records. If you think, that at some point in time, you will abstract the coordinates representation, then I would suggest using functors. If you want to keep it simple and concrete, then use records. Don't use classes unless your functions are mutually recursive, and you want your users to hook into your methods.
|
Effect of the hydrophobic nature of triacetyl-beta-cyclodextrin on the complexation with nicardipine hydrochloride: physicochemical and dissolution properties of the kneaded and spray-dried complexes.
The inclusion ability of triacetyl-beta-cyclodextrin (TAbetaCD), a hydrophobic cyclodextrin (CD) derivative was examined, using nicardipine hydrochloride (NC) as model drug. The binary compounds were prepared in a 1 : 1 molar ratio by the kneading and the spray-drying techniques. In order to confirm the complexation between NC and TAbetaCD in the solid state, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transformation-infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were carried out and the results were compared with the corresponding physical mixture in the same molar ratio. The kneaded product presented only slight modifications on the drug physicochemical and morphological properties, which could mean that no complex formation occurred during this process. In contrast, spray-drying was found to produce inclusion complexes with amorphous nature. In vitro dissolution studies were carried out in simulated gastric (pH 1.2) and intestinal (pH 6.8) fluids, according to the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) basket method. The NC in vitro release from the kneaded and spray-dried products was markedly retarded in both dissolution media. However, this retarding effect was significantly more evident for the spray-dried compound. It was concluded that the formation of real inclusion complexes could only be achieved by the spray-drying method. |
Sodium bicarbonate administration during cardiac arrest. Effect on arterial pH PCO2, and osmolality.
Arterial pH, Pco2, and osmolality were determined serially during cardiac resuscitation in patients and in dogs, with and without administration of sodium bicarbonate. These studies demonstrate that (1) in the absence of preexisting acidosis, severe acidosis can be prevented by adequate ventilation alone; (2) sodium bicarbonate administration results in a significant rise in arterial Pco2, which parallels the rise in pH despite adequate ventilation; (3) during prolonged cardiac and resuscitation, there is a rise in arterial osmolality that is accentuated by sodium bicarbonate. These studies suggest that sodium bicarbonate should not be used during resuscitation (1) in the absence of effective hyperventilation or where carbon dioxide removal is inadequate despite adequate ventilation, (2) in repeated doses, without confirmation of substantial acidosis, or (3) when cardiac arrest has been of brief duration and preexisting acidosis is unlikely. These studies also point to the need for a reappraisal of other buffers that do not elevate the arterial Pco2. |
Talking With Interactive , a great product from Playskool happens to be adorable. The feature characteristics are talking and 17" tall. The UPC barcode for this is 076930712450. To see the low price I ran across, visit the market button.
Description:
Barney's Friend 9 from Lyons Group will probably be your child's best new toy doll. A summary of feature characteristics are a plush beanie doll, all ages and great fo kids. New Barney's Friend 9 . We would like for you to get the best price when buying a Barney toy, visit the shopping cart add to cart button. |
Characteristics of the binding of human and bovine high-density lipoproteins by bloodstream forms of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei brucei.
Bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei are unable to synthesize cholesterol but appear to bind and take up plasma low-density lipoproteins (LDL) from their host. Whether cholesterol homeostasis of this unicellular parasite also requires interactions with host high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles is unknown. Equilibrium binding of radioiodinated apolipoprotein E-depleted human HDL3 (d = 1.125-1.21 g/ml) and bovine HDL (d = 1.063-1.21 g/ml) by T.b.brucei was rapid (less than 30 min) at 4 degrees C and was characterized by a saturable, specific component. There were five times the number of high-affinity binding sites for human HDL3 as for bovine HDL (64,000 vs. 11,500 per trypanosome) and their binding affinity was greater with an equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of 157 nM compared to 315 nM for bovine HDL). Binding of rat and rabbit HDL3 was similar to bovine HDL. By contrast, equilibrium binding of human LDL was slower (approximately 6 h) and the number of high-affinity binding sites (Kd = 23 nM) was much lower for this ligand (660 per trypanosome). Total binding of HDL3 was independent of divalent cations and was only slightly inhibited by heparin, but when the trypanosomes were preincubated with trypsin or pronase the binding was markedly reduced. After 30 min at 37 degrees C, binding of bovine HDL and human HDL3 was 10-20% higher than at 4 degrees C; after 45 min trypanolysis occurred with human HDL3 but not with bovine HDL. Chemical modification of HDL3 by treatment with cyclohexanedione, by acetylation or by reductive alkylation had little effect on its ability to compete with [125I]labelled HDL3 for binding by the parasite. Nitrosylation of HDL3 with tetranitromethane increased its binding ability, suggesting that trypanosomes might possess scavenger receptors, and native HDL3 was less effective than nitrosylated HDL3 in displacing bound [125I]labelled nitrosylated HDL3. These findings suggest that, in addition to a receptor for LDL, T.b.brucei has other lipoprotein binding sites which separately recognize HDL from permissive host species such as bovine, trypanolytic HDL such as human HDL3, and more negatively charged HDL particles such as nitrosylated HDL3. |
Phil Vandersea
Phillip John Vandersea (born February 25, 1943) is a former American football player.
He was born in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school in Northbridge, Massachusetts, Vandersea played football for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, weighing in at 245 pounds and standing 6'3" tall. Vandersea played linebacker and defensive end.
He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 16th round (220th overall) of the 1965 NFL Draft and played for the 1965 NFL Champion Packers in 1966, and also the 1968 and 1969 seasons. While playing for the Packers, Phil wore jersey number 37. He spent the 1967 season with the New Orleans Saints. He played in 46 career games in the NFL.
References
External links
Phil Vandersea Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com
Category:1943 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Northbridge, Massachusetts
Category:Players of American football from Massachusetts
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:American football linebackers
Category:UMass Minutemen football players
Category:Green Bay Packers players
Category:New Orleans Saints players
Category:Super Bowl champions |
Batman and Robin have one of the most iconic partnerships in pop culture history, but what happens when one half of the dynamic duo wants to fly solo?
Loading
Brenton Thwaites' Dick Grayson (left) faces off with Curran Walters' Jason Todd (right) in DC Universe's Titans.
Titans Season 1 Photos 32 IMAGES
Loading
All the Times Batman and Robin Broke Up 16 IMAGES
DC Universe's Titans sees the original Robin, Dick Grayson, trying to escape the Shadow of the Bat and strike out on his own, and judging by the trailer that was released at Comic-Con (and one particularly memorable line that Dick mutters about his mentor ), it's safe to assume that things are a little strained between the Boy Wonder and the Dark Knight when the series kicks off.And that rift is likely to widen once Dick comes face to face with his replacement, Jason Todd (Curran Walters), who IGN can exclusively reveal in costume in our first look images below.This is Jason's first live-action appearance (and thus Dick and Jason's first live-action encounter) in any DC property, which is a pretty momentous development for fans of the Bat-Family; and if their body language is any indication, this isn't a particularly friendly meeting. (Which isn't surprising, since it looks like - just as in the comics - Batman has given his second Robin a pretty much identical costume to his prodigal son's. Ouch.)IGN caught up with Titans showrunner Greg Walker for some insight into the relationship between the dueling Robins when they eventually come face to face."What I really love about [Jason] as a character is the unbridled sense of self that he has - there’s a lack of... maybe self-awareness, but for sure self-consciousness in terms of how he comports himself and how he moves through the world," Walker explained. "He’s completely seemingly unaffected by darkness - he kind of embraces it or walks right through it. He’s a breath of fresh air and that’s what I love about him, he’s got a punk rock, no-holds-barred attitude that’s massively unburdened. There’s a lot of energy that comes with that."For Dick, that attitude probably adds insult to injury, which may be what contributes to the apparent antagonism between the two in our photos. "It’s kind of like one of those classic covers of the books, original versus number 2, and in many ways, you really see that [in the photos]. This encapsulates the tension, the energy between these two guys. It's like running into your ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, minus the sexual tension," Walker laughed. "You get to watch Dick Grayson struggle when he sees another Robin and how that Robin is different and has a different relationship with 'dad.' And the second child gets away with stuff the first child would never get away with in a family, and ours is really a family show."Rest assured, you can expect to see both Robins in action on Titans, which will emphasize the differences between Dick and Jason - and how each of them relates to Bruce. "The whole thing is a study in contrasts between the two Robins and the the ways that they were raised, or how the shadow - or lack of shadow - hangs over the two of them individually," Walker teased. "It’s so frustrating to see someone who isn’t bothered by someone else the way you are... like, 'how are you not bothered by that? Why doesn’t that screw you up?' There’s something confusing and challenging and unsettling about that for Dick."But how did Dick get to this place of estrangement from Bruce in the first place? In several iterations of their split, Batman unceremoniously fired his sidekick, but it sounds as if Titans will make Dick's distance more self-imposed. "Dick Grayson is in exile, trying to figure out who Dick Grayson is and who Robin is, and how both of them or either of them or neither of them relate to Batman," Walker said. "In many ways, like a lot of us have to deal with branching out on our own to set the course towards adulthood, he’s dealing with that and trying to understand the darkness that came with him - is it nature or nurture? Is it due to the horrible circumstances that drew him to be Bruce Wayne’s ward, or is it because of the actual raising and upbringing? So a lot of the story’s about that, and a lot of the trajectory of the character has to do with that struggle."As for whether we'll ever see the Caped Crusader in the flesh on Titans, Walker would only say, "Bruce looms large in our show - both Bruce and Batman, if you want to separate them, and the show does to some degree. We’re not a Batman show, and that’s for a number of reasons, but I think we definitely want to show the relationship between Bruce and Dick just simply as an origin story. If the show does anything, it sets up Dick’s thesis about who Bruce/Batman is and then attempts to question it along the way... Just as you or I might have a version of our parents and somebody comes along, a spouse or a friend, and says, 'from the outside, I’m not so sure you’re right,' we want to function that way too."And while some fans may have been shocked to see Dick's aggression during the fight scenes in the Titans trailer (which was always more of a Jason trait), Walker promised that the show will stay true to his character as he struggles to reconcile who he is as a hero without Batman."There’s only so much internal pressure a character can hold before he or she has to release, and he’s a kid dealing with trauma and grief and issues that need to have an external release, otherwise you’re having the kind of mopey, dark antihero that I certainly, as an audience member, have seen a lot of and am tired of," Walker explained. "I think we push the limits of where you go with that character, but he still plays by the same rules that Robin has played by in the past, which is that it’s justice-related. [It] certainly at times edges towards irrational and unexamined, but it’s an expression of that side of his struggle, the darkness inside him he’s trying to figure out how to deal with, and to not show it would be pulling punches and would be disingenuous."For more on what we think Jason Todd's inclusion could be, check out our speculation on what this could mean for Titans Titans premieres October 12 on DC Universe. What do you think of Jason's addition to the live-action DC roster? Share your reactions and predictions in the comments!
DC Universe: New Series Preview Gallery 19 IMAGES
Laura Prudom is the Executive TV Editor at IGN. You can talk to her on Twitter at @LauinLA |
Gram positive bacteria induce IL-6 and IL-8 production in human alveolar macrophages and epithelial cells.
Inhalation of dust from swine confinement buildings results in an acute inflammatory reaction in the respiratory tract. The dust has a high microbial content, dominated by Gram positive bacteria. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the significance of bacteria in the induction of IL-6 and IL-8 release from respiratory epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages. The results would give an indication to what extent the bacteria contribute to the toxic inflammation following exposure to swine dust. Epithelial cells from a human lung carcinoma cell line (A549) and human alveolar macrophages obtained from healthy subjects by bronchoalveolar lavage, were stimulated with swine dust, LPS, one Gram negative and four Gram positive bacteria strains. The dose-response release of IL-6 and IL-8 were studied. In addition, a bacteria-free supernatant was prepared from each strain and used for stimulation. With a few exceptions, a dose-dependent IL-6 and IL-8 release was demonstrated from both cell types after stimulation with bacteria. In epithelial cells, Escherichia coli was the most potent bacteria at the highest concentration of 400 bacteria/cell regarding secretion of both IL-6 and IL-8 (P < 0.001), followed by Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus lentus. In alveolar macrophages, S. lentus was the most potent strain (P < 0.001) in inducing cytokine release (P < 0.001), followed by S. hominis and E. coli concerning IL-6 secretion or Micrococcus luteus and E. coli with respect to IL-8 secretion (P < 0.001). Differences in potency between the various bacteria could be demonstrated, both within the two cell types as well as between the epithelial cells and macrophages. Bacteria-free supernatants were also able to induce cytokine release in both cell types. In macrophages the supernatants were even more potent stimuli than whole bacteria. The results indicate that bacteria or bacterial products could be an important contributing factor to the inflammatory reaction following exposure to swine dust. |
Dahlias
After consulting a few experts here are our tips on the best way to grow dahlias. Firstly Dahlia season in in summer, and flowers come in a range of colours from white through to deep reds, some small, some as big as dinner plates.
How to Grow Dahlias
Dahlia bulbs, tubers and plants are a favourite flower and varieties are readily available for sale online from specialist Dahlia Nurseries.
Dahlias are grown from Tubers or Bulbs and flowers come in many colors and forms. Dahlia Bulbs are simple to plant and grow and do well in many areas.
Many questions are asked about how to grow Dahlias, when to plant, location soil requirements and how to grow them from cuttings.
Dahlia flowers vary greatly from complex decorative types to simple varieties. A list of classifications appears to the right.
Dahlia Care
Planting Dahlia tubers
Dahlia tubers are best planted after the risk of frosts is over. With most varieties Dahlias will need staking, so stake first and then plant the tuber close to the stake, at around 4 inches (20cm) deep.
When you look at the tuber you will see the growing point or 'eye' at one end, this end should be a little higher. Do not apply fertilizer to the tuber directly, this can cause burning.
Dahlias can be planted in a cottage garden among other perennials if you wish
In wet areas we suggest raising the garden bed a little to ensure drainage is good. As for selecting tubers, big is not always better. Smaller tubers tend to develop more quickly than larger ones.
Watering
A drip irrigation system is ideal for large plantings, however in a well prepared soil with lots of water retentive material and protection from hot afternoon sun you will find Dahlias are fairly hardy. Water in the evening to give the plants a chance to recover from the heat and also prevent evaporation. Mulch is great....
Digging Dahlias
The reason we dig dahlias is to prevent the tubers rotting over winter. So technically if you can guarantee good drainage you may get away without digging. HOWEVER, if you do not dig and divide you will find that the plants become smaller and the flowers are fewer and smaller. Digging every year is best, every 2 years is essential.
When you do dig its time to divide the clump. Look for the new tubers and look for the 'eye' on the neck or stalk. Each division needs a tuber with neck and eyes. And leave the tail as well.
Dig, Divide and then Store.
We use trays, however many gardeners use polystyrene boxes lined with newspaper. The tubers are laid on the paper and covered with sawdust, potting soil or coco peat. You can do 2 - 3 layers. A cool dry position is needed over winter.
Some gardeners just divide them and place them in an onion sack and then in a canvas bag, a cheap recyclable shopping bag will do the job, again store in a cool dry dark place.
Basic Dahlia Care Summary
Water once a week, or more often in dry conditions.
Mulch well.
Liquid fertilise every 3-4 weeks and provide protection form snails (especially new shoots)
Pinch back growth to provide a more bushy form.
Remove spent dahlia flower heads.
For best results, dig and divide or separate dahlia tubers and store in a cool dry place over winter. (Although in well drained milder climates tubers may be left in the ground if desired)
Planting Summary
Dahlia Bulbs should be planted about 4 inches (20 cm) deep.
Dahlias prefer full sun to part shade to produce the best flowers.
Plant Dahlia Bulbs after the danger of frost has passed.
Plant Dahlia bulbs or tubers with the eye pointing upwards
With Tall Growing varieties place a stake in the ground before planting the Dahlia Tuber. This can help prevent damage to dahlia flowers when in bloom.
Water in well.
Separating Dahlia bulbs when dormant is fairly easy, simply use a garden fork to lift and seperate bulbs.
Where to plant Dahlias
Ideally you will find a position with good morning sun and dappled or filtered afternoon shade, this works well for most home gardeners.
For those looking to grow those exhibition quality flowers then a 50% shade cloth will be beneficial. This not only controls the light but will also protect flowers from any heavy rain.
Soil Preparation
Dahlias are actually fairly tolerant of soil conditions, as long as drainage is good. However a humus rich soil with added well rotted animal manure will certainly give better results.
Many grower sow a green manure crop and dig this back into the soil with extra manure in early spring before planting out the dahlia tubers.
Do Dahlias require any extra fertilizer ?
If you want big healthy plants, yes ! We suggest an application of a general garden fettilizer as soon as the first buds begin to appear. This should be a balanced fertilizer NOT a high nitrogen type, we are after flowers not leaf growth. An application of sulphate of potash when new growth first commences is also beneficial
Dahlia Varieties
Dahlias come in many flower forms and colors ranging from white through to deep red, forms or varieties include those listed below. The Watererlily variety pictured right is one of the best dahlia varieties of all. |
MODEM: a multi-agent hierarchical structure to model the human motor control system.
In this study, based on behavioral and neurophysiological facts, a new hierarchical multi-agent architecture is proposed to model the human motor control system. Performance of the proposed structure is investigated by simulating the control of sit to stand movement. To develop the model, concepts of mixture of experts, modular structure, and some aspects of equilibrium point hypothesis were brought together. We have called this architecture MODularized Experts Model (MODEM). Human motor system is modeled at the joint torque level and the role of the muscles has been embedded in the function of the joint compliance characteristics. The input to the motor system, i.e., the central command, is the reciprocal command. At the lower level, there are several experts to generate the central command to control the task according to the details of the movement. The number of experts depends on the task to be performed. At the higher level, a "gate selector" block selects the suitable subordinate expert considering the context of the task. Each expert consists of a main controller and a predictor as well as several auxiliary modules. The main controller of an expert learns to control the performance of a given task by generating appropriate central commands under given conditions and/or constraints. The auxiliary modules of this expert learn to scrutinize the generated central command by the main controller. Auxiliary modules increase their intervention to correct the central command if the movement error is increased due to an external disturbance. Each auxiliary module acts autonomously and can be interpreted as an agent. Each agent is responsible for one joint and, therefore, the number of the agents of each expert is equal to the number of joints. Our results indicate that this architecture is robust against external disturbances, signal-dependent noise in sensory information, and changes in the environment. We also discuss the neurophysiological and behavioral basis of the proposed model (MODEM). |
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Tuesday Top 10: Favorite Twilight Zone Episodes
You don't need me to tell you how important and how incredible The Twilight Zone is. And I'm talking about Rod Serling's original here, not that decidedly average 1980s incarnation, or the recent abortion hosted by Forrest Whittaker. The original 1950s/1960s program is arguably the finest science fiction series of all time, rivaled in my opinion only by the original Star Trek and the new Battlestar Galactica. Yet it was also a horror-themed show, and in that category, nothing EVER touched The Twilight Zone.
During its run of only five years, the show produced one unforgettable episode after another, and pinning down ten faves is no mean feat. But here are the ten I most look forward to during the much-anticipated Fourth of July marathons on TV. You might agree, you might disagree, but remember, these are only my personal favorites, amongst a sea of classic eps...
10. Kick the Can (2/19/62)In an episode recreated in inferior syrupy Speilberg fashion for the 1986 movie, a man in an old folks' home discovers a way for he and his friends to be young again. Their one bitter and cynical comrade ridicules them, and only realizes the error of his way when it's too late and he is left behind as an old man.
9. Living Doll (11/1/63)How can I forget the great Telly Savalas, as an insecure stepfather being tortured by a vindictive, evil little doll? Legendary Looney Tunes/Jay Ward voice actress June Foray provides the creepy voice of "Talky Tina".
8. It's a Good Life (11/3/61)Taken from an original short story by renowned sci-fi author Jerome Bixby, this is another one adapted in lesser fashion for the movie. Lost in Space's Billy Mumy plays the omnipotent little boy who wreaks havoc in a rural town. Has the distinction of being the only episode with a sequel, which appeared in the recent reboot series. Bixby also wrote several Star Trek eps, including "Mirror, Mirror".
7. To Serve Man (3/2/62)Pulp sci-fi workhorse Damon Knight penned this one, a classic that's still grim, despite being parodied to great effect in the movie Airplane. Aliens come to Earth with a book entitled "To Serve Man"--but unfortunately, "IT'S A COOKBOOK!!"
6. The Midnight Sun (11/17/61)Al Gore's worst nightmare, as the Earth begins to boil under the heat of an enlarging sun, moving closer in its orbit. The sense of claustrophobia is so palpable. And of course, we have one of the all-time classic twist endings, as our main character discovers she was only dreaming--in fact, the Earth is getting colder. Doh!
5. A World of Difference (3/11/60)I always had a soft spot for this installment, about a man who really believes he is the character he plays on a TV show. In one of the classic openers, we approach it from his perspective, as his normal daily life is interrupted by a film crew yelling, "CUT!" Great stuff, and definitely pre-figured things like The Truman Show.
4. The Hitch-Hiker (1/22/60)Adapted from a radio play originally performed by Orson Welles, this one always had a kind of Hitchcock feel to it for me. After a nasty car accident, a woman begins spotting the same mysterious hitch-hiker everywhere she drives. Turns out the hitcher is really Death, and the woman never survived the accident.
3. Eye of the Beholder (11/11/60)For many, the most iconic episode of the series. A beautiful woman turns out to actually be disfigured in a world in which everyone appears as what we would consider to be hideous monsters. Such a classic summation of what The Twilight Zone was all about. Have to love this one.
2. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (10/11/63)Bill Shatner plays a terrified passenger who discovers a monstrous gremlin on the wing of an airplane in this, maybe the series' most famous episode. It was adapted from Richard Matheson's first published horror story, and probably the only episode that was actually improved in adaptation for the 1986 Twilight Zone movie.
1. Time Enough at Last (11/20/59)Maybe it's because I have such a love for Burgess Meredith, or the fact that I always related to his character, being an avid reader mysef. This one will always be my favorite. Meredith's character is so sympathetic, and the horror of losing the one thing that would make the apocalypse bearable for him is truly gut-wrenching. There's something about the sad cruelty of it all that makes this episode stand out for me above all the others.
I thought the "Nightmare" sequence in the TZ film was the only one that even approached the original. Maybe because Miller didn't fiddle with the story.
I don't if I could pick a top 10 out of so many great episodes, including all the ones mentioned so far.
A few more:
"The Lonely" -- Ok, so I'm a sucker for a doomed romance, especially when it stars a young and very lovely Jean Marsh, and it's backed by a Bernard Herrmann score.
"Shadow Play" -- Nightmarish in the literal sense, with Dennis Weaver as a man who every night dreams the same dream: of his own execution.
"The Invaders" -- Agnes Moorehead as a lonely old woman living in a really rustic cabin, who one night gets some terrifying visitors. Talk about a one-woman show, and not a single line of dialogue, either.
"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" -- A nice slice of paranoia, served up by Serling in fine claustrophobic style. Loved that double-reverse-twist ending between John Hoyt and Barney Phillips.
Which horror film *should* be remade?
Like The Vault on Facebook
Welcome to the Vault....
I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember... |
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, a light guide plate and a method for producing a light guide plate. Particularly, it relates to a technique concerning a light guide plate in a back-lighting type or front-lighting type liquid crystal display device.
A portable computer called lap-top personal computer has been popularized with the advance of miniaturization of a personal computer in recent years. A liquid crystal display device is generally used as a display device in the lap-top personal computer. Color expression of the liquid crystal device has progressed in recent years. A so-called backlighting type liquid crystal display device in which an illuminating means is disposed on the back of a liquid crystal display panel so that a display surface is lit from the back holds the main current of such a liquid crystal display device. A back-lighting means in such a back-lighting type liquid crystal display device needs to light the whole flat surface of the liquid crystal display panel evenly with high and uniform luminance. It may be conceived that luminance of a light source is increased to improve back-lighting luminance. The increase of luminance of the light source is, however, self-limited because it causes increase of electric power consumption and temperature rise in the liquid crystal display device.
There are known various configurations for the back-lighting type liquid crystal display device. For example, the background art includes techniques disclosed in JP-A-4-162002, JP-A-6-67004, etc.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the configuration of the back-lighting means in the conventional back-lighting type liquid crystal display device using an edge-lighting system. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 1 designates a light source; 2, a light guide plate; 3, a diffusing sheet; 5, a first prism sheet; 5xe2x80x2, a second prism sheet; 6, a light scattering layer; and 7, a reflection sheet.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the light source 1 constituted by a lamp such as a cold cathode tube, a hot cathode tube, or the like, is disposed on an edge face of the light guide plate 2 made of a light-transmissible material so that illuminating light emitted from the light source 1 is led into the light guide plate 2. The diffusing sheet 3 made of a translucent white synthetic resin and having a light scattering effect for making luminance of an illuminating surface uniform over the whole surface is provided on an upper surface (light emitting surface) of the light guide plate 2. The first and second prism sheets 5 and 5xe2x80x2 for converging scattered light to a certain degree to enhance the frontal luminance of the liquid crystal display device are further disposed on an upper surface of the diffusing sheet 3.
On the other hand, the light scattering layer 6 is provided on a surface (rear surface) of the light guide plate 2 opposite to the light emitting surface of the light guide plate 2 so that light led into the light guide plate 2 is scattered in the direction toward the diffusing sheet 3. The reflection sheet 7 is further disposed on a lower surface of the light scattering layer 6.
The light scattering layer 6 is configured as follows. FIG. 3 is a view showing the configuration of the light scattering Layer 6 depicted in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the light scattering layer 6 is formed by printing a plurality of light diffusing substances using titanium oxide, glass beads, or the like, as a predetermined pattern on the rear surface of the light guide plate 2 by a technique of screen printing, or the like. Generally, the intensity of light emitted from the light source 1 decreases as the position of the light becomes farther from the light source 1. Therefore, the light scattering layer 6 is formed so that the pattern area of the light scattering layer 6 in the light guide plate 2 increases as the position becomes farther from the light source 1.
JP-A-7-294745 has proposed also a light guide plate in which grating grooves as an alternative to the aforementioned light scattering layer 6 are formed in a surface (rear surface) of the light guide plate opposite to the light emitting surface of the light guide plate so that light incident on the light guide plate is reflected at the grating grooves.
On the other hand, a reflection liquid crystal display device as described in xe2x80x9cApplied Physics; Vol. 67, No. 10, p.1159 (1998)xe2x80x9d is known as a technique for achieving a low power-driven liquid crystal display device without use of back-lighting. In such a reflection liquid crystal display device, room light or sunlight taken in is reflected at a layer formed on the back of a liquid crystal and having a reflecting function to thereby achieve elimination of back-lighting. The visibility of the reflection liquid crystal display device is, however, lowered in the dark place. To apply the refection liquid crystal display device to a wider working environment, it is necessary that a measure counter to the lowering of visibility is taken while the characteristic of the reflection liquid crystal display device is kept the best.
A front-lighting type liquid crystal display device as shown in FIG. 4 has been proposed to solve the aforementioned problem. FIG. 4 is a view showing the configuration of a (front-lighting type) reflection liquid crystal display device having a front-lighting means (hereinafter merely referred to as front-lighting type liquid crystal display device).
In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 2 designates a light guide plate; 6, a light scattering layer (formed by screen printing in the same manner as the light scattering layer in FIG. 3) formed on a surface (upper surface in FIG. 4) of the light guide plate 2 opposite to the light emitting surface of the light guide plate 2; and 1, a light source disposed on an edge face of the light guide plate 2. The light source 1 and the light guide plate 2 including the light scattering layer 6 constitute a front-lighting means. In the front-lighting type liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 4, the light source 1 is not turned on in the bright place and display is watched through the light guide plate 2 of high transparency. In the dark place, the light source 1 is switched on so that the front-lighting means operates in place of external light.
Little scattering, high transparency and smallness in the quantity of light exiting from the upper surface in FIG. 4 are required as performance of the light guide plate in the aforementioned front-lighting type liquid crystal display device. Also in the light guide plate used in the front-lighting type liquid crystal display device, there is known a configuration in which grating grooves as an alternative to the light scattering layer 6 in FIG. 4 are provided in a surface of the light guide plate 2 opposite to the light emitting surface of the light guide plate 2.
In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 31 designates an absorption film; 32, a reflection polarizer; 33, a diffusing film (diffuser); 34, a glass substrate; 35, a thin-film transistor (TFT); 36, a liquid crystal cell array; 37, an LCD electrode; 38, a color filter; 39, a glass substrate; 40, a diffusing film (diffuser); 41, a phase-contrast film; and 42, a polarizer. The detailed description of the respective parts will be omitted because such a front-lighting type liquid crystal display device (the reflection liquid crystal display device having the front-lighting means) configured as described above is commonly known.
The conventional back-lighting type liquid crystal display device as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 was configured so that light emitted from the light source 1 was led into the light guide plate 2 and scattered by the light scattering substances in the light scattering layer 6. A considerable part of the quantity of light incident on the light guide plate 2 was, however, reflected at the reflection sheet 7 to thereby cause an energy loss. Moreover, a considerable part of the quantity of light incident on the light guide plate 2 exited from the light guide plate 2 horizontally with respect to the liquid crystal display panel so as not to contribute to display. Hence, enhancement of luminance of the liquid crystal display device was limited. That is, there was a predetermined limit on the condition that light led into the light guide plate 2 could be efficiently utilized for display.
Moreover, the light scattering layer 6 was formed by printing light diffusing substances on the light guide plate 2. Hence, steps such as surface treatment (for improving printability of ink) using plasma treatment, screen printing, ultraviolet-curing treatment, etc. were required after injection molding of the light guide plate. A relatively great deal of labor was taken also for the production of the light guide plate 2.
On the other hand, in the conventional back-lighting type liquid crystal display device using the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein, enhancement of luminance was achieved but there was a problem that moirxc3xa9 was caused by interference between the regular pattern of light exiting from the light guide plate through the grating grooves and the regular pattern of a constituent member, such as a liquid crystal cell array, of the liquid crystal display unit. Hence, there was a disadvantage that a sheet for diffusing light strongly must be additionally used in order to solve the problem. As a result, sufficient enhancement of luminance could not be achieved. Moreover, the grating grooves parallel with the longitudinal direction of the light source were formed to have one and the same sectional shape so as to cross the light guide plate. Hence, in the case of the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein, it was difficult to obtain uniform luminance over the whole surface of the light guide plate. This was because it was difficult to adjust luminance in the direction parallel with the longitudinal direction of the light source though it was possible to adjust the number and depth of the grating grooves in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light source. Hence, luminance at edge portions of the light guide plate in the direction parallel with the longitudinal direction of the light source became lower than that at a center portion of the light guide plate. There was a problem that it was difficult to make luminance uniform over the whole panel. Moreover, in the case of the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein, the liquid crystal cell array itself was ununiform in in-plane transmittance. Hence, if the ununiformity of in-plane transmittance was required to be corrected on the light guide plate side, the distribution of back-lighting luminance in the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein could not be made ununiform intentionally to correct the ununiformity of in-plane transmittance of the liquid crystal cell array.
Moreover, the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein was produced by injection molding. The production of a mold for molding the light guide plate or the production of a master stamper for producing a stamper for molding the light guide plate was performed by forming the grating grooves one by one by a mechanical cutting operation. Hence, a great deal of time and labor was taken for the production of the mold or master stamper. As a result, this was a barrier to reduction of the cost of the light guide plate.
Further, in the front-lighting type liquid crystal display device, the required characteristics of the light guide plate for front-lighting are as follows.
(1) The haze (turbidity, cloudiness) of the light guide plate is low.
(2) The surface reflectance is low.
(3) The intensity of light exiting from the upper surface in FIG. 4 is small.
(4) The intensity of the vertical component of light exiting from the lower surface in FIG. 4 with respect to the light exiting direction is large.
In the light guide plate having the light scattering layer of the printed light-diffusing substances or in the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein, however, it was difficult to obtain the light guide plate satisfying the aforementioned characteristics simultaneously. Moreover, in the front-lighting type liquid crystal display device using the light guide plate having the light scattering layer of the printed light-diffusing substances or using the light guide plate provided with the grating grooves formed therein, there was the same problem as that in the aforementioned back-lighting type liquid crystal display device.
Therefore, a technical theme of the present invention is to solve the problems in the background art. An object of the present invention is to provide a light guide plate which can achieve enhancement of back-lighting or front-lighting luminance without increase of luminance of a light source, and a liquid crystal display device using such a light guide plate.
To achieve the foregoing object, the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention uses a light guide plate provided with a plurality of concave small dots so that the angle of light led into the light guide plate from a light source disposed on a side edge face of the light guide plate is changed efficiently to move the light to a light emitting surface of the light guide plate so that the light exits from the light emitting surface toward a liquid crystal cell array. The shape, shape arrangement, size, distribution, etc. of the concave small dots formed for changing the light travelling direction are made proper. For example, each of the concave small dots is shaped like a triangle with a sectional inclination angle of from 50 to 60xc2x0 in sectional view and shaped like an approximate rectangle or square in plan view in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the light guide plate and disposed so that a long side of the approximate rectangle or a side of the approximate square is approximately parallel with the longitudinal direction of the light source.
According to the aforementioned configuration, in the case of back-lighting, the quantity of light exiting from the lower surface of the light guide plate toward a reflection sheet is reduced while the quantity of light exiting from the upper surface of the light guide plate toward the liquid crystal cell array is increased. Moreover, the vertical component of the light exiting from the upper surface of the light guide plate toward the liquid crystal cell array is increased. Hence, the luminance of the liquid crystal display device can be enhanced without increase of luminance of the light source. Moreover, the luminance distribution of the liquid crystal display device can be made proper. Hence, visibility can be enhanced. On the other hand, in the case of front-lighting, the quantity of light exiting from the light guide plate directly toward an observer is reduced while light exiting from the light guide plate toward the liquid crystal cell array is increased. Moreover, the quantity of the vertical component of the light exiting from the light guide plate toward the liquid crystal cell array is increased. Hence, the luminance of the liquid crystal display device can be enhanced without increase of luminance of the light source. Moreover, the luminance distribution of the liquid crystal display device can be made proper. Hence, visibility can be enhanced |
A portrait of the Israeli people through food, “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” is a mouth-watering documentary that follows Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur behind the Philadelphia dining establishment Zahav, as he returns to his homeland to discuss his culinary heritage.The screening will be followed by a conversation with Solomonov and director Roger Sherman, moderated by the senior editor of New York Magazine’s Grub Street, Sierra Tishgart. After the talk, Solomonov will be signing his cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, during a separately ticketed book signing/reception featuring hummus by Dizengoff (and other tasty treats) and Israeli wine.Cost
$15 (film and post-film discussion)
$30 (film, post-film discussion, reception and book signing)
$60 (film, post-film discussion, reception, book signing and copy of the cookbook)
More after the jump.Inventing Our Lives: The Kibbutz Experiment, is Toby Perl Freilich’s 79-minute new film, which explores “the longest experiment in collective living,” says presenter Dr. Ranen Omer-Sherman, Professor of English and Jewish Studies of the University of Miami, and the “final word on the kibbutz movement has not been said.” Freilich’s film intersperses interviews with the three generations of kibbutzniks (kibbutz residents) with actual footage from the time.
At its peak, the kibbutz movement only comprised 5% of the population in Israel, but its influence has been far-reaching, with its radical proposals for change in social organization– parenting even, as children were raised in separate children’s quarters– and economic cooperation. It was said in the film that Israel’s defense forces and Knesset (parliamentary government) have both been affected, with many of its leaders coming out of the kibbutz movement. Indeed, the current consul general of Israel for the Mid-Atlantic region, Daniel Kutner, hails from Kibbutz Ein Shemer where his family landed when they first arrived to Israel.
Philosopher Avishai Margolit of Hebrew University was quoted in the film calling the kibbutz movement “a children’s crusade,” because the pioneers were young men and women who’d moved to the barren land that was Israel before the intensive efforts at re-forestation and drying out the swamps. They worked without older adult supervision and they taught themselves– many with an urban upbringing– how to work the land. In the film, a first-generation kibbutznik called her peers “children of nature.”
The population in Israel in 1948 was 600,000 and four years later, the population tripled, mostly from the influx of immigrants from Islamic countries. Alas, according to one person interviewed in the film, a major tragedy for the kibbutzim was that they did not try to integrate the newer immigrants.
The golden period was of the second-generation, who enjoyed the rewards of their pioneer parents– the kibbutzim now had running water and some even had swimming pools– while still proud that they were the heroes of a new country. Then, two outside forces greatly stressed the movement: In 1977, Begin’s Likud party of Oriental Jews gained power and rejected Labor’s Zionist ideals. And during the 1970’s, inflation rose to 400%, and many kibbutzim could not survive the economic pressures. The youth left and the remaining kibbutzniks were demoralized.
At the Prince Music Theatre, Professor Omer-Sherman noted that two groups that have faced re-identification in modern times are the Negev Bedouin and the kibbutzim members. Many kibbutzim experimented with privatization to lure new investments and new members. Now only 1% of the remaining 270 kibbutzim are still purely socialistic and egalitarian. Kibbutz Ein Shemer voted three times to reject a differential income plan; it passed on fourth try. Kibbutz Tamuz in Beit Shemesh is an urban kibbutz— another variation for bringing the original values to a contemporary society.
>Strangers No More is the 40-minute long documentary directed by Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon about the remarkable Bialik-Rogozin School in central Tel Aviv where students hail from 48 countries. This public school, encompassing Kindergarten through 12th grades, and in addition to the local citizens (mostly from the lowest socioeconomic sectors of Israeli society), it welcomes the children of migrant and refugee families, with and without legal status. Professor Omer-Sherman noted while Jews have long had the Biblical tradition of welcoming the stranger; for the first time, Israel has the opportunity to do so and it’s finally with the power to help others. But, does it have the will?
The staff and faculty of the Bialik-Rogozin School are shown as generous, patient, and kind, even visiting parents in their home when they cannot meet them at school for the regular student evaluations. Principal Karen Tal (and now superintendent) extended her school’s hours from 7 am to 7 pm, when she realized that her parents worked way beyond the average work day, because “We want to be like a home, and a home doesn’t close at 1 in the afternoon.
The film highlights one school year for three new students: 16-year-old Mohammed from Darfur who came to the school after witnessing the killing of both his grandmother and father; 12-year-old Johannes from Ethiopia and a Sudan refugee camp who had never attended school before entering Bialik-Rogozin; and Esther from South Africa who’d also witnessed her mother’s murder. Mohammed is an orphan who has to work to support himself, but he is so determined to succeed that he “made up four years [of study] in one year.” He wants to return to his own country and start a school modeled after the Bialik-Rogozin. Johannes is struggling with the language and formal study until the school fits him for prescription glasses and he can finally see the teachers’ writing. In just a few months, he is able to translate for a new boy in his native Tigrit. In another poignant– and ironic moment– Esther tells about her prized souvenir from her mother, a jewelry box for which “she must have paid a fortune” and the camera pans to show her layered plastic box.
The film does not detail the way that Tal financed her school, in order to provide her needy students with hot lunches, school books, and extracurricular enrichment (some lucky few get bicylces), but she reached out beyond Tel Aviv and Israel and has received financial assistance from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles (in cooperation with the Chais Family Foundation and the Rashi Foundation) and a committee that included support from high-tech companies and business leaders.
Afterwards, Professor Omer-Sherman reported on recent developments after the movie was released. On the day the film won its Oscar, Esther’s family was threatened with deportation. Last month, the Knesset approved “harsh new penalties on illegal migrants, a measure aimed at stopping the flow of African asylum seekers and economic migrants across Israel’s southern border with the Egyptian Sinai. The amendment, to the existing Law to Prevent Infiltration, makes it possible to detain illegal migrants and their children for up to three years without a trial. Anyone caught aiding illegal migrants found to be carrying weapons, or trafficking in humans or drugs, could face prison terms of 5 to 15 years.” [10 January 2012, New York Times] One angry audience member denounced this amendment and suggested diverting the money needed to enforce such measures to funding more schools like the Bialik-Rogozin , so that these children of circumstances beyond their control can become productive citizens and even serve in the Army. Consul General Kutner rebutted this view, saying that Israel has become a magnet for Africans, not just political refugees but also economic aspirants to “the Promised Land.” These government measures are a reluctant reaction to stem the tide of migrants, which totaled 400,000 40,000 last year. That’s a big burden on a small nation.
The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival concludes its “Documentaries and Dialogues” series with Eichmann’s End on February 6th at 7 pm. |
If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
[RESOLVED] StructInsert issue (n00b with Structures/Arrays)
Hello, all.
I'm new to working with Structures, and I'm getting an error message. I'm sure it's old-hat to most of you - I'm pretty sure this is a rookie mistake.
I'm trying to loop through form fields; I have hidden fields that contain the original value of displayed fields, to check and see which fields have been updated. For the fields that have a value different than the hidden, I'm adding to a structure for updating a database.
I'm getting the following error message:
You have attempted to dereference a scalar variable of type class java.lang.Boolean as a structure with members. |
Jeff Kao, a lawyer and data scientist in the San Francisco area who analyzed the e-mails and posted his research online, said that the FCC could have taken steps to weed out bogus comments as online companies such as Amazon and Yelp do. "It's disappointing that the process has been left to be a dumping ground for people with an agenda on the internet," he said. |
[Expression and significance of programmed cell death 5 in patients of branchial asthma].
To explore the expression and significance of serum programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) in patients with bronchial asthma. From June to December 2011, a total of 40 adults with bronchial asthma treated in Peking University Third Hospital were enrolled. Among them, the categories were acute phase (n = 12), chronic phase (n = 14) and remission phase (n = 14). Fifteen healthy adults were selected into the control group. The percentages of peripheral blood neutrophils and eosinophils were collected and detected for each patient. Serum PDCD5 was detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and asthma control test (ACT) questionnaire filled in. The relevant pulmonary functional indicators were analyzed with a pulmonary spirometer. Two-independent sample t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. No significant difference was found between two groups with regards to the percentages of peripheral blood eosinophils and neutrophils (all P > 0.05). Serum PDCD5 was significantly higher in the patient group ((47.7 ± 29.6) vs (19.3 ± 9.8) µg/L, P < 0.05). Patients of chronic and acute phases showed a significant higher expression in PDCD5 than the remission phase ((55.2 ± 24.5) & (68.5 ± 22.1) vs (16.0 ± 7.9) µg/L, both P < 0.05). Serum PDCD5 of asthmatics showed a negative correlation with FEV(1)%, FEV(1)/FVC ratio and ACT scores (r = -0.539 to -0.798, all P < 0.05). PDCD5 participates in the inflammatory process of asthmatic airway. Its abnormal expression may be associated with the uncontrolled state of asthmatics. It may serve as an indicator of assessing the levels of asthma control or a target for the treatment of asthma. |
Q:
gdb weird backtrace
My program is statically compiled with dietlibc. It is compiled on ubuntu x64 (compiled for x86 using the -m32 flag) and is run on a centos x86.
The compiled size is only about 100KB. I compile it with -ggdb3 and no optimization flags.
My program uses signal.h to handle a SIGSEGV signal and then calls abort().
The program runs without problems for days but sometimes segfaults. This is when I get weird backtraces that I do not understand:
username@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ gdb -c core.28569 program-name
GNU gdb (GDB) 7.2
Copyright (C) 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. Type "show copying"
and "show warranty" for details.
This GDB was configured as "--host=x86_64-linux-gnu --target=i386-linux-gnu".
For bug reporting instructions, please see:
...
Reading symbols from program-name...done.
[New Thread 28569]
Core was generated by `program-name'.
Program terminated with signal 6, Aborted.
#0 0x00914410 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
Setting up the environment for debugging gdb.
Function "internal_error" not defined.
Make breakpoint pending on future shared library load? (y or [n]) [answered N; input not from terminal]
Function "info_command" not defined.
Make breakpoint pending on future shared library load? (y or [n]) [answered N; input not from terminal]
.gdbinit:8: Error in sourced command file:
Argument required (one or more breakpoint numbers).
(gdb) bt
#0 0x00914410 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
During symbol reading, incomplete CFI data; unspecified registers (e.g., eax) at 0x914411.
#1 0x0804d7f4 in __unified_syscall ()
#2 0xbf8966c0 in ?? ()
#3
#4 0x2054454e in ?? ()
#5 0x20524c43 in ?? ()
#6 0x2e352e33 in ?? ()
#7 0x32373033 in ?? ()
#8 0x2e203b39 in ?? ()
#9 0x2054454e in ?? ()
#10 0x20524c43 in ?? ()
#11 0x2e302e33 in ?? ()
#12 0x32373033 in ?? ()
#13 0x4d203b39 in ?? ()
#14 0x61696465 in ?? ()
#15 0x6e654320 in ?? ()
#16 0x20726574 in ?? ()
#17 0x36204350 in ?? ()
#18 0x203b302e in ?? ()
#19 0x54454e2e in ?? ()
#20 0x43302e34 in ?? ()
#21 0x00000029 in ?? ()
#22 0xbf8989a8 in ?? ()
Backtrace stopped: previous frame inner to this frame (corrupt stack?)
(gdb) bt full
#0 0x00914410 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
No symbol table info available.
#1 0x0804d7f4 in __unified_syscall ()
No symbol table info available.
#2 0xbf8966c0 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#3
No symbol table info available.
#4 0x2054454e in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#5 0x20524c43 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#6 0x2e352e33 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#7 0x32373033 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#8 0x2e203b39 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#9 0x2054454e in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#10 0x20524c43 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#11 0x2e302e33 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#12 0x32373033 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#13 0x4d203b39 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#14 0x61696465 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#15 0x6e654320 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#16 0x20726574 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#17 0x36204350 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#18 0x203b302e in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#19 0x54454e2e in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#20 0x43302e34 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#21 0x00000029 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
#22 0xbf8989a8 in ?? ()
No symbol table info available.
Backtrace stopped: previous frame inner to this frame (corrupt stack?)
(gdb) quit
A:
It's a stack overrun.
#4 0x2054454e in ?? ()
That looks like text, " TEN" or "NET "
#5 0x20524c43 in ?? ()
" RLC" or "CLR "
And so on.
Treat the addresses as if they were text - see if you can identify where this text overwrites your stack.
A:
Your stack trace is actually very easy to understand:
You got SIGSEGV somewhere,
Your signal handler did whatever it does, then called abort()
Which issued raise(2) system call, by calling __unified_syscall()
The reason you get no stack trace in GDB is that
__unified_syscall is implemented in assembly, and
does not use frame pointer, and
does not have proper cfi directives to describe how to unwind from it.
I would consider this a bug in dietlibc, quite easy to fix, actually. See if this (untested) patch fixes it for you:
--- dietlibc-0.31/i386/unified.S.orig 2011-03-13 10:16:23.000000000 -0700
+++ dietlibc-0.31/i386/unified.S 2011-03-13 10:21:32.000000000 -0700
@@ -31,8 +31,14 @@ __unified_syscall:
movzbl %al, %eax
.L1:
push %edi
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (4)
+ cfi_rel_offset (edi, 0)
push %esi
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (4)
+ cfi_rel_offset (esi, 0)
push %ebx
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (4)
+ cfi_rel_offset (ebx, 0)
movl %esp,%edi
/* we use movl instead of pop because otherwise a signal would
destroy the stack frame and crash the program, although it
@@ -61,8 +67,11 @@ __unified_syscall:
#endif
.Lnoerror:
pop %ebx
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (-4)
pop %esi
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (-4)
pop %edi
+ cfi_adjust_cfa_offset (-4)
/* here we go and "reuse" the return for weak-void functions */
#include "dietuglyweaks.h"
If you can't rebuild dietlibc, or if the patch is incorrect, you may still be able to analyze the stack trace better. As far as I can tell, __unified_syscall does not touch %ebp. So you might be able to get a reasonable stack trace by doing this:
define xbt
set $xbp = (void **)$arg0
while 1
x/2a $xbp
set $xbp = (void **)$xbp[0]
end
end
xbt $ebp
Note: if the xbt works, it is likely to go into the weeds around the SIGSEGV signal frame (that frame does not use frame pointer either). This may result in complete garbage, or in a skipped frame or two (which would be exactly the frames where SIGSEGV happened).
So you really are much better off getting proper unwind descriptors into dietlibc.
|
The Don Jr email exchange with his Russian-connected friends could very well be the ever-expanding crack that crumbles the Trump house of lies. But while the brash stupidity of the exchange may have been surprising, the content, by this point, was not. And neither is anything else about the Trumps’ performance as First Family.
Everyone knew Trump was a con man who bent the rules and mixed with society’s dregs. People still voted for him. And many still love the Trumps. Putin didn’t do that.
No one can accuse Trump of being different as an elected official than he was during the campaign. In fact, his consistency in this regard could be unprecedented. As he has done since Jan 20, campaign Donald lowered the discourse, lied, offended, and slammed parents with a series of unwanted teachable moments. He was sexist, racist, and generally terrible. And more than 60 million people looked at that and said, yeah … Him! Putin didn’t do that.
Putin didn’t convince us to turn the Internet’s promise of a networked future into a nonstop rage-fest in which we all sling mud (and worse) at each other from our paranoid, self-righteous silos of homogeneity.
217 members of the House voted for a historically hateful health care bill that would cut my taxes while ripping coverage out of the hands of 24 million Americans. Guess who wasn’t one of those 217 people? Putin.
Putin didn't spend the last couple decades furthering his own political fortunes by humoring mouth-breathing imbeciles who want to teach evolution as a theory and who deny climate change and think science is part of the liberal elite’s plot to pull one over them.
I don’t remember Putin coming up with the disgusting Birther campaign that cut a few decades off the Civil Rights progress we thought we had made. He also didn't see Trump use that sick, prejudiced, anti-American garbage as a launching off point for a campaign filled with similar lies, xenophobia, and racist dog whistles — and then decide to vote for the guy.
Putin didn't create the tribal nature of our politics that has become so desperate that we’ll continue to root for our team members, regardless of what they do. Collusion with the Russians? That’s bad, but not as bad as those Democrats. Go team go!
Putin didn’t turn cable news into a series of idiotic panelists faux-fighting so we’d have something to throw handfuls of popcorn at after the evening’s last WWE match was over.
When, in a single month, Trump partnered with the Saudis against terrorism, tried to partner with the Russians against cyber attacks, and sent his son-in-law to create peace in the Middle East, Putin wasn't the one who sat back on his couch and thought, “Hey, he’s really starting to look pretty presidential.”
Guess who came up with the idea of banning people from several countries from entering the US even though no one who had come from any of those countries had committed any terrorist acts? Better yet. Guess who didn’t? (Hint: Putin.)
Putin didn’t pull America out of the climate treaty. Putin didn’t cede America’s leadership role in Europe. And that fake news and hacking? Yeah, he did all that. But none of it would have had any chance of working if we didn’t have millions of silly, hateful voters that were susceptible to believing all the nonsensical bullshit.
And Putin didn’t tell thousands of sane voters in key districts to take this year off from voting because the stakes of having an epically narcissistic ignoramus as POTUS just didn’t seem pressing enough to act.
This is not an attempt to play down Russia’s efforts. It’s a justifiably huge story. And I hope those Americans who did his bidding will face justice beyond their 15 minutes of cable news humiliation.
You can blame Putin for a lot. But Putin knew one thing that more than 60 million Americans couldn’t manage to see with their own red, white and blue eyes; that Trump would be a terrible president.
That’s the one time we should have paid attention to him.
Dave Pell Writes NextDraft: Real News Daily. |
;
; D. M. Ferguson: Parametrization and Evaluation of a Flexible Water Model
; J. Comp. Chem. 16(4), 501-511 (1995)
;
; Implementation in Gromacs by David van der Spoel
; 06 April 2000
;
[ defaults ]
; nbfunc comb-rule gen-pairs fudgeLJ fudgeQQ
1 1 no 1.0 1.0
[ atomtypes ]
;name mass charge ptype c6 c12
OW 15.99940 0.000 A 2.6171E-03 2.7196E-06
HW 1.00800 0.000 A 0 0
[ moleculetype ]
; molname nrexcl
SOL 2
[ atoms ]
; nr type resnr residue atom cgnr charge mass
1 OW 1 SOL OW 1 -0.826
2 HW 1 SOL HW1 1 0.413
3 HW 1 SOL HW2 1 0.413
[ bonds ]
;
; Original parameters are:
; kb = 547.5 kcal/mol/A^2
; kcub = -1.65 / A
;
; i j funct length kb kcub
1 2 4 0.1 229074 -16.5
1 3 4 0.1 229074 -16.5
[ angles ]
;
; Original parameters are:
; kt = 49.9 kcal/mol/rad^2 (x 2 for a different functional form)
;
; i j k funct angle force.c.
2 1 3 1 109.5 417.6
|
Golnick's Fortune
Marla Rossi was serving as part-time hostess at her father Don’s restaurant—Rossi’s: The Place for Steaks—during her winter break when she first met dishwasher Johnny “Tall Guy” Mondello. Rossi’s was one of only three red-starred steak joints in the Chicago Guide, a restaurant that featured expanded hours on evenings of Blackhawks games, when hockey fans filled the dining area and cocktail lounge even though Chicago Stadium was thirty minutes away. Every member of Marla’s family had worked at Rossi’s. Her twin brother Bobby and his pal-cum-lackey Randy Golnick, who’d had a crush on Marla since Hebrew school, had served as busboys; before he had left the States for McGill University in Montreal, her older brother Franklin had been a deliveryman; whenever a cook was ill, a bartender had been fired, or the Wednesday afternoon fashion show emcee was hung over, their mother Ethel Rossi subbed. During the annual holiday party, eight-year-old Sanford “Santino” Rossi played violin.
“Tall Guy” Mondello had gotten his nickname from Marla’s father, who had been born Donald Rossman but had an affinity for all things Italian and had changed his name upon entering the restaurant business. Don Rossi had a bad memory for names, so he referred to just about all his employees via some aspect of their appearance or ethnicity: Raul “Puerto Rican” Jimenez, Tom “Irishman” O’Malley, Lynne “Blondie Waitress” Dellens. “Tall Guy” was five years older than Marla, a St. Ignatius College Prep dropout with a drooping mustache and a mane of blonde curls that he shook free of his hair net whenever he left Rossi’s kitchen en route to his Kawasaki motorcycle, to whose handlebars was affixed a portable cassette player upon which he blasted Mountain, Steppenwolf, and Iron Butterfly. Hardly the sort with whom Marla typically associated.
For the first fourteen years of her life, Marla Rossi had been as much of a model daughter as Don and Ethel Rossi could have desired—homework always done on time, flute practice every night, E’s and G’s on every Daniel Boone Elementary report card. During her freshman year at Mather, her parents chaperoned the April “Straight A student” trip to Comiskey Park to see the White Sox. But half a year later, in the fall of 1970 when Franklin Rossi had begun applying to colleges in London and Canada to avoid Vietnam, Marla began fantasizing aloud at the dinner table about where she would attend college. She said she was torn between attending the University of Chicago or Northwestern, both of which would allow her to return home for weekends and holidays, or heading to one of the coasts. Unlike Franklin, who had hitchhiked to San Francisco with two other members of the Mather quiz-bowl team, Marla hadn’t seen much of the world. But on that autumn evening when all six Rossis had been seated around the dinner table, and Marla asked her father where she should attend college, Don only said, “College is expensive,” then stood up and made for the door.
The full impact of Don Rossi’s statement did not register until the following night’s dinner when Marla asked for her father’s opinion of Oberlin, at which point Don asked why his daughter was asking questions he had already answered; when he said college was expensive, that meant he wouldn’t pay for it. After Don left for the restaurant, Marla argued with her mother, who told her to accept the situation “because your father’s your father.” She assured Marla that Don would pay for college, just at a cheaper institution, say, Northeastern Illinois or Triton. Marla told her mother to “go to hell,” the first time Marla had ever sworn in the house on Farwell Avenue.
Marla had long been aware of disparities in the ways her parents were raising her and her brothers. Franklin and Bobby took any damn courses they pleased in high school, while Ethel and Don Rossi had insisted she register for Typing and Home Economics. She knew Don wanted Franklin to become a “medical doccer” and Bobby to eventually take over the restaurant. Her little brother Santino Rossi would become a musician or actor just like their mother wanted. But in her case, careers were never discussed, just the “nice Jewish fella” she’d eventually meet. Bobby routinely raided the liquor cabinet, smoked pot with Randy Golnick right on the front stoop, had sex with his girlfriends in Chippewa Park. And yet, the first time she had ever told anyone to go to hell, Marla was grounded for a week.
In the past, Marla’s response would have been to work that much harder, study that much more. But when she understood that her fate had been preordained, she wondered why she had been trying to change a system that was already rigged against her. If Ethel and Don actually wanted her to become a girl with no greater ambition than to attend the cheapest college possible, marry the first suitable Jewish guy, and move to Morton Grove where she would become mother to a family of five, then that’s exactly who she would become. She would become one of those girls who actually embraced the life for which Ethel and Don Rossi had been preparing her—a girl who took Regular instead of Honors, liked Garfunkel better than Simon, Paul McCartney better than John.
And, if Marla would occasionally take ludes to anesthetize herself from the depression triggered by the thought that she may have achieved her pinnacle at age fourteen, if she would argue with Bobby who would call her a “disgrace to the Rossi name,” if she would have to puncture little Santino’s universe by informing him that life on Farwell Avenue had been happier before he had been born, Marla would tell herself that she was only becoming the person her parents wanted her to be.
Now a senior at Mather and a C student who had already been accepted by Northeastern, Marla had reinvented herself in just about every aspect save for dating. The tough boys who had known her in her previous incarnation—the athletes, burnouts, and motorcycle riders—found her transformation implausible. The shy, overachieving Jewish boys with whom she had attended Hebrew school, such as Randy Golnick, found her new guise frightening; clearly, this was no longer someone they could take home to break the Yom Kippur fast.
Marla had been waiting in the Rossi’s parking lot for her mother to pick her up and drive her home when she espied “Tall Guy” Mondello under the Rossi’s sign with its blinking, pink, crisscrossed martini glasses. Johnny was unwrapping a bandage on his right hand; once it was off, he looked at the hand, closed his fist, opened it, winced. Marla saw deep cuts on his knuckles; she asked what was wrong. Johnny didn’t look at her, kept opening and closing his fist. He said he had done something stupid, but he would survive. What had happened, Marla asked. Nothing big, Johnny said, someone in the kitchen had said something that set him off; instead of punching the guy in the face, he’d punched the wall.
What had made Johnny so angry? Ahh, what difference did it make, Johnny said, he just didn’t like people talking prejudiced about their boss. Don Rossi had given them their jobs; if they had a problem with him, they could either tell him directly or quit. Calling him a “cheap Wop Kike” was a bogus way to air grievances. Who had said that, Marla asked. Johnny said he didn’t squeal; what really mattered was that his hand “hurt like a mother.” He asked if Marla could light his “square.”
Once, Marla had been terrified of everything—crossing streets, lighting matches, upsetting her parents. Now, she could not only light Tall Guy’s square, but when Johnny asked if she had “wheels” or if she wanted a ride home, she asked to bum a square, got on the back of his “horse,” and wrapped her arms around him as he revved the engine and pulled the Kawasaki onto Western Avenue, “Mississippi Queen” blasting loud. At the corner of California and Pratt, Johnny asked if Marla wanted to go home right now or “throw back a couple highballs” at some “dive.” Marla asked which dive Tall Guy had in mind.
Riding on the back of Johnny Mondello’s bike as it whipped past Roband’s Drug Store and the synagogues of California Avenue, Marla had the cold, focused aspect of one consigning herself to a fate. When Johnny swerved around a corner at Howard Street, she feared he might turn into some alley, punch her with a needle, shoot her full of dope. She did not deserve such a fate, she thought, but perhaps her parents did. This is what you’ve done to me, she would tell them.
But once they had entered the PM Club, where Johnny shook hands with bartender Willie Bennison, whom he introduced to Marla—the first time she had shaken hands with a black man—it took a highball and a half for Marla to realize that Johnny’s intentions, if not honorable, were certainly not violent. She was even sorry that, after Johnny drove her back home, he assayed no more than a bourbon-drenched and cigarette-infused open-mouthed kiss; felt sorriest that the house was empty and no one could have seen her kissing Tall Guy before he told her, “Take it easy but take it, dad,” then sped off.
Marla had been in her bedroom, listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival, the closest thing to Mountain in her collection, when she heard the front door open, then two sets of footsteps, one quicker than the other, heading toward her room. Bobby didn’t knock, just threw open the door and demanded where the hell his sister had been. Santino Rossi stood outside the doorway, taking it all in.
What did Bobby mean where the hell had she been—what was it his business? Marla asked. Mom was the one who was supposed to pick her up. No, Bobby said, Mom was with Grandpa at the nursing home; Dad was working late, so Mom had told Bobby to pick her up. When he’d finally gotten to the restaurant, she was already gone; he and Santino had spent the evening looking for her.
Well, Marla said, she had been waiting in the parking lot for nearly a half-hour until she’d decided to walk all the way home. But then, she said, inventing wildly, she had seen members of the Popes hanging out in front of Woolworth’s and they had called her “every vile name imaginable.” When they started chasing her, she flagged down a cop car. The cops had wanted her to press charges, but she couldn’t identify anybody; it was dark and she’d been running too fast.
Marla smelled like whiskey, Bobby said.
Of course, said Marla; once the cops had started driving her home, she was still shaking, so they bought her a highball at the PM Club. Bobby had felt certain Marla had been making her story up, but was no longer sure—he’d heard of the PM Club, knew cops hung out there.
Well, Bobby said, just don’t tell the story to Mom or Dad, all right? Of course not, Marla said, then fixed her stare on her younger brother. “And you don’t say a word either,” she said.
_____________
Marla had succeeded in fending off Bobby’s accusations; still, in the weeks that followed, she had difficulty in trying to re-create her evening with Johnny Mondello, or, she fantasized, besting it, capping it off with a more satisfying conclusion than a highball-and-cigarette kiss followed by “take it easy, dad” and a plume of tailpipe exhaust. Her father’s restaurant was hardly the place for intimate conversation. And after winter break when she was back at Mather, she came to the restaurant only to celebrate Santino’s ninth birthday. En route to the washroom, she passed through the kitchen and handed a slip of paper with her phone number on it to Tall Guy, who just stuffed the paper into a pocket without looking at it.
Weekday evenings at the Nortown Library, some Mather girls gathered in the reference section, purportedly to study but actually to serve as one another’s alibis when one would want to, say, score acid or take a long drive with a boy from Sullivan High. Judy Hirsch, who enjoyed Marla’s presence because she remembered the high-achieving student Marla had been back at Boone and delighted in the fact that Marla had descended to her level, offered advice about pursuing Tall Guy, advice that always seemed so wrongheaded Marla assumed Judy was setting her up to fail. Judy would advise Marla to burst into Rossi’s near closing time and “plant one on him”; to write a note on good stationery assuring Johnny they were destined to be together; to tell her father to act as matchmaker—“that way it’ll be all legit.”
Instead, on the Saturday afternoon when Judy was serving as Marla’s alibi, Marla rode the el south to the Wilson stop, then made her way to the pale yellow brick building at the end of Marshfield Avenue. In the apartment vestibule, she pushed the Mondello button, and when the buzzer sounded, she walked through the dim lobby past dented, dark green mailboxes, and rode the elevator up to five. The flared jeans and cowboy boots she had borrowed from Judy seemed fake to Marla, who wondered if Johnny might laugh at her. But Johnny, who wore jeans and an open leather vest, no shirt, merely greeted her with a gruff “Hey dad,” before asking if Marla wanted to go out or just “hang here.”
“Here” was one of the smallest dwellings Marla had ever seen, one that, had it been hers, she would have immediately apologized for. She would have apologized for the mattress on the floor, the dirty clothes scattered around the laundry basket, the acrid odor of sweat and smoke. She would have apologized for the glass ashtray stolen from Rossi’s steakhouse, full of butts. Were the roles reversed, she would never have posed the question of whether to remain here or go out; the answer would have been obvious. But going out would have meant that someone might see her. Why didn’t they hang here, Marla proposed, then sat at the edge of the mattress. Johnny asked if Marla was sure she was seventeen.
_____________
During the Saturday afternoons that Marla spent in Tall Guy’s apartment, she would ask probing questions to which his responses proved disheartening. When Marla said that Johnny probably had slews of girls coming to his apartment, he said no, usually he went to their apartments because they had more room. When she said that Johnny had probably had a lot of women in Vietnam, Johnny said yeah, but there were better things to spend money on. When Marla wondered aloud whether Johnny’s promiscuity might have given him some diseases, Johnny said yeah, but never too bad. He told Marla that he liked hanging out with her—other girls always wanted him to commit; he hated that.
Frequently, Marla would fantasize about methods by which she could spend more time with Johnny. Hoping to legitimize her relationship to her family, at the Rossi dinner table, she made references to Johnny so that her father might say something encouraging.
What did Don think of his dishwashers, she once asked, did he have a favorite?
Like who? Don Rossi asked.
Maybe that Johnny guy, Marla said, he seemed nice enough.
Who?
“Tall Guy.”
Don said he had no favorites; bosses were bosses and workers were workers; a boss’s job was to not have favorites. Sure, Tall Guy worked hard, but, tell the truth, he was too “free and easy with the ladies.”
Soon, Marla rarely discussed Johnny Mondello with anyone save for nine-year-old Santino when she was babysitting him and would describe the curves and crannies of Johnny’s body, the odor of soap and cigarettes that “drove her wild.” She told her little brother that one of her favorite things about Johnny was that he didn’t try to pretty up their relationship with “lovey-dovey” talk—that was so old-fashioned. She said she didn’t care about getting pregnant; when Johnny inevitably left her, at least she would have something to remember him by.
On a cold Saturday afternoon in late April, a knock came upon the door of Johnny Mondello’s apartment. Johnny was in bed, naked, reading Siddhartha, listening to Blind Faith; Marla was just getting out of the shower. Slipping on his jeans that he always wore without underwear, Johnny walked barefoot and shirtless to the door, and opened it.
“Can I help you, dad?” Johnny asked.
Bobby Rossi was dressed in a white button-down shirt, black slacks, and black shoes, as if en route to a religious service. His hands were poised at his sides, anticipating a fight.
“You’re a Rossi. Start acting like one. Get dressed and get downstairs now,” Bobby said to Marla. He reached into a pants pockets, pulled out an envelope, handed it to Johnny. “That’s your two weeks pay from ‘The Don.’”
Marla, quivering, hoped that Johnny would speak on her behalf, tell Bobby never to mess with his sister again. But Johnny only counted the bills inside the envelope, nodded as if he felt the arrangement to be satisfactory, then returned to bed. Marla turned to Johnny—wouldn’t he say something? No, Johnny said, Don Rossi had always been good to him; he wouldn’t interfere with family business.
“Five minutes,” Bobby told Marla, then headed downstairs.
Marla tried to maintain her cool. “When any chick starts running after me, that’s when I rev my engines,” Johnny had told her. She dropped her towel, slipped in beside Johnny, threw a bare leg over his jean-clad waist, and said with a laugh that she hoped next time Johnny wouldn’t answer the door. Johnny pushed her leg away. Get dressed, he said, her brother was waiting.
Marla figured she could make quick work of Bobby. She would appeal to the sense of family loyalty about which he’d been yammering ever since he’d seen The Godfather. If that didn’t work, she’d threaten to inform their parents of the joints he hid in Cuban cigar boxes Franklin brought home from Canada.
“See you soon, dad,” she told Johnny, who flashed her a peace sign as she prepared herself to confront Bobby in the vestibule. But Bobby wasn’t there, not on the sidewalk either. In front of Johnny’s building, there was Don Rossi’s white Lincoln, flashers blinking, motor running. Don was at the wheel of his car, her mother in the passenger seat, Bobby and Santino in back. A rear passenger door was open and there was an empty space beside her brothers. Santino Rossi was staring at his gym shoes, an admission, Marla presumed, of his guilt—how had she been so foolish, entrusting her secrets to a nine-year-old? Marla made as if to run back for Johnny’s building, but the door had already locked behind her. When she finally got inside the car and closed the door, Don Rossi stepped hard on the gas.
In the weeks that followed, Marla sensed that she had been not so much grounded as placed on a supervised prison-release program. Library study sessions were eliminated. Marla could not make phone calls from either the upstairs or basement touch-tones, only from the kitchen rotary dial. Though Mather was not much more than one mile away from her house, either Don or Ethel drove her there. She could only go out with her parents or one of her brothers. If only there were some method by which she could legitimize her relationship, Marla would think in her most desperate moments, then not only could she have a real affair with Johnny, but perhaps Don could give Johnny a real job, something to keep him in Chicago and make him feel beholden to her.
_____________
Going with Tall Guy Mondello to the Mather prom, the first prom the school would hold since 1968 when the student council had deemed it inappropriate to engage in frivolous celebrations when a nation was at war, stretched plausibility, but Marla could not stop thinking about it the moment after the idea occurred to her at the Carvel on Devon when she went there with her brother Bobby and Randy Golnick.
Randy, sole heir to his grandfather and caretaker Avram’s jockstrap fortune, had been Bobby’s sidekick ever since Camp Chi, when Randy, who had recently lost both parents, had been the only boy impressionable enough to perform the acts Bobby proposed. Under Bobby’s command, Randy embarked upon late-night panty raids of girls’ sleeping quarters, gathered salamanders and slipped them into this or that counselor’s milk, dropped his drawers, mooned the Aleph campers. Bobby had matured since those days, but Randy still tended to do Bobby’s bidding. Whenever the pair would go out for pizza at Al Forno, Bobby would “forget” his wallet. At Carvel or The Buffalo, Bobby would encourage Randy, forty pounds overweight, to order thick malts, then spend the rest of the evening mocking Randy’s girth.
On this particular evening, while Randy sucked down a chocolate shake, Marla spoke to the two young men of the injustice of the fact that she was still technically grounded even though she was being a “model citizen.” She felt frustrated that she had no incentive to change her behavior—even if she found some wonderful boy to ask her to prom, no way would Mom let her go. Bobby considered his sister’s plaint. Nah, he doubted that, he said, Mom wouldn’t be that strict.
Encouraged, Marla discussed the topic with her mother, who confirmed Bobby’s theory. Sure, grounded meant grounded, but prom was prom and girls were girls; she understood what prom meant to a girl—who did Marla think would ask her? Some nice Jewish boy?
Marla assumed that Johnny Mondello was hardly the type to attend prom when he was actually in high school, let alone seven years after dropping out of St. Ignatius and going to Vietnam. But whenever Marla called him from pay phones during lunchtime, his objections were more procedural or economic than substantive.
“That would be rich,” he asserted, but said he didn’t have enough scratch for a tuxedo.
On Marla’s next outing to Carvel, Bobby Rossi was drinking a Coke while Randy Golnick was sucking down a vanilla malt fast enough to give himself a head-freeze when Bobby asked if Marla had thought any further about prom. Marla said she had, but still felt nervous about whether any guy would please her family. True enough, Bobby said, Marla did need to go with a gentleman, someone who treated Rossis the way they were supposed to be treated. He then smiled and made a broad, open-palmed gesture in the direction of Randy.
Bobby clapped Randy on the shoulder. “Hey,” he said, “if you like the girl, why don’t you just ask her?”
Marla tensed. “Because she’d say no,” she said.
Randy took a breath, looked to Bobby, across the table to Marla, then down at his milkshake. He made as if to stand, but Bobby pushed him back down. What was the worst that could happen, Bobby asked, excusing himself to use the bathroom; what was the worst thing that Marla could do?
“She could say no,” Marla said again, this time not smiling, but Bobby was gone before she completed the sentence, and now, here she was, sitting across the table from the obese heir to Golnick Athletic Support Systems.
Look, Marla finally told Randy sympathetically, he didn’t have to do everything Bobby told him. She knew her brother was making him ask her to prom, knew how uncomfortable he must feel.
No, Randy said, this had been all his idea.
Oh Jesus, thought Marla. Not sure whether to feel more sorry for Randy or herself, she said she felt flattered, but thought of him only as a friend and, besides, would never interfere with his friendship with her brother. She wished Randy luck in finding a date, asserting that she was certain plenty of girls would want to go with him.
Randy lowered his voice and told Marla to wait. He said he had been thinking about her a lot lately; she was the only Rossi who treated him with respect. Bobby didn’t consider him an equal; he was just some fat, rich kid to do his dirty work and buy him stuff. Marla was his true friend.
Marla felt as if Randy was just waiting for her to destroy him. Did he actually think that she would go to the Hyatt House with him? Let all her friends see her with him? Dance with him to “Nights in White Satin”? Randy interrupted: Let him finish before she told him yes or no.
Randy said that normally, he knew someone as pretty and smart as Marla would never let herself be seen with him at Carvel, let alone the Lincolnwood Hyatt ballroom. But he wanted to be a true friend to her too. He knew all about Tall Guy Mondello, had heard about the family’s efforts to keep them apart. He felt upset they were acting so unfairly. Why didn’t she go with Randy? They could have dinner with Bobby and his new girlfriend Judy Hirsch, then go to the prom. After the first dance, she and Randy would walk out to his car, and he would drive her to Tall Guy’s apartment; Marla and Tall Guy could then have their own prom together. Randy would pick Marla up in the morning and drive her to Little Louie’s, where they would meet Bobby and Judy for breakfast.
Why would Randy ever do something like that, Marla asked, stunned.
Because that’s what real friends do for each other, said Randy.
Marla couldn’t recall anyone ever offering to do something so noble. What could she ever do to repay him? she asked. Nothing, Randy said. Marla stepped around the table and sat next to Randy, embraced his thick body, felt his soft, uncertain hands patting her back. When Bobby returned from the pay phone, he was grinning proudly. “How’re you kids doing?” he asked.
_____________
The Mather prom was held on the last Saturday in May. In the weeks that preceded it, Marla spent an inordinate amount of time with Randy, whose presence proved so disarming to both Don and Ethel Rossi that they immediately suspended Marla’s grounding. Randy became a fixture at Rossi Sunday dinners. He watched Cubs games on the Rossi TV, helped Ethel with dishes. On evenings when Johnny Mondello was working, Randy would treat Marla to dinners at Henrici’s and Flaming Sally’s. But on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons, Marla would skip down her front steps toward the MG in which Randy would spirit her south to Johnny Mondello’s.
Marla had fretted that friends might mock her for apparently dating Randy, but their responses were worse than mockery; they were now overly solicitous, invited Randy and Marla to parties, dinner, bowling. Oh, she was going to prom with Randy Golnick, they would say, that was so great, so open-minded, good looks didn’t mean that much, Randy was sweet and he had money too.
Johnny Mondello had proved surprisingly acquiescent about wearing a tuxedo, dining at the Pump Room, dancing at the 95th; he pocketed Marla’s last four allowances plus some of her savings for the Drake Hotel reservations and the tux rental. Soon, Marla thought, she would be attending Northeastern; maybe she could shack up with Johnny, maybe he was looking for the middle-class comfort she represented every bit as much as he represented the escape from West Rogers Park she had been seeking.
Dressed in a cream-colored evening gown, Marla didn’t eat much as she sat at a candlelit table in Ray Foley’s restaurant, most of whose tables were occupied by formally attired teens. She worried that ordering only a chef’s salad with oil and vinegar on the side might raise Bobby’s suspicions; he had ordered prime rib. But Bobby applauded Marla for showing solidarity with her dieting boyfriend; Randy had already lost ten pounds since they had started “dating.”
Upstairs in the Hyatt ballroom, couples were slow-dancing to “Colour My World.” Prom had instilled a new decorum. Girls who gossiped about each other’s guts in the locker room now hugged each other. Boys who had called Randy “Fat Boy” or fired spitballs at him in Debate now shook his hand. This was a rite of passage, a step forward into adulthood, college, the military, Dad’s company. Those who still saw prom as outdated—chess players, Dylan fans, peace protesters, women’s liberationists—hadn’t shown up anyway.
Randy imitated Bobby’s every move. When Bobby took Judy’s hand, he reached out for Marla’s; Bobby put a hand around his date’s waist, led her to the dance floor; Randy did so too. As far as Marla was concerned, a slow dance with Fat Boy was a small price to pay for a night and a morning with Tall Guy.
The two couples reached the dance floor as the band started to play “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” Marla let Randy hold her, rest his head on her shoulder, didn’t pull away when she felt his zipper poke her abdomen or when Randy whispered that he knew she was only here because of their deal, never would believe in a million years that she would love him, but if she ever changed her mind, he would always be there. When the song was over, she kissed Randy lightly on the lips; the look on his face almost broke her heart. Randy asked if she was ready to go.
In the car ride to Marshfield Avenue, nothing was said about the kiss Randy and Marla had shared. The momentary closeness had engendered a new, more permanent distance. Marla busied herself with a mirror, brushed hair that didn’t need to be brushed. Randy went over the plan they had discussed on countless previous occasions: He would drop her off on Marshfield, pick her up the following morning at the Drake, drive with her to Little Louie’s. For Marla, Randy’s speech passed in the same manner as the Perry Como music he played on his eight-track; noise to fill space and time.
When Marla stepped out of Randy’s MG, Randy said he’d see Marla the following morning at nine, and Marla said, “Yeah, nine,” then sprinted toward the front door of Johnny’s building, propped open by a broomstick as janitor Hans Schurfranz mopped the dim hallway with dirty water from a cracked gray bucket. Marla ran for the stairwell and zipped upward, two steps at a time.
Not until the third time Marla had knocked on Tall Guy’s door and received no response did she start becoming concerned. Johnny tended to show up late. But the fourth time she knocked, pounding hard with her fist, she did start feeling as though something had happened. She sat on the steps, knees to her chin, listening to the swish-swish-swish of Hans Schurfranz’s mop, to the elevator creak upward, then down, to the music emanating from other apartments, televisions, an out-of-tune piano playing Chopin. She knocked on Tall Guy’s door again. Tall Guy didn’t answer.
After more than a half-hour had passed and Hans Schurfranz had emerged onto Johnny’s floor with bucket and mop, Marla began suspecting that Johnny might not show up at all. But even then, she feared not her own hurt feelings, but the harm that might have come to Johnny. She thought of overdoses, street fights, motorcycle accidents. As Schurfranz dipped his mop into the gray-black water and slid it over the cracked linoleum floor, Marla asked if he had seen Johnny. Schurfranz gazed at Marla through filmy eyes as if through a layer of gauze.
That kid was gone, Schurfranz said, had left in the morning—was she here to see the apart-a-ment?
See the apart-a-ment. The words whooshed past Marla Rossi, at first meaningless before their horrifying significance registered. See the apart-a-ment. Yes, she thought, yes okay, yes, see the apart-a-ment. The door would open, she thought desperately, maybe Johnny would be in there, lying on the floor, perhaps, needle sticking out of his arm, perhaps, yes, she would see the apart-a-ment.
But save for an old gray onion in the refrigerator, a metal bed frame without a mattress, a detergent container by the kitchen sink, and a scouring pad on the shower floor, the apart-a-ment was empty. Where had he gone, Marla asked, trembling. Had he left any note or forwarding address?
Johnny had, in fact, left a note in an envelope in the apartment office, but the note was addressed to Hans Schurfranz, a half-sheet of notebook paper upon which was scrawled, “Take care of yourself, dad.” Johnny had enclosed a $20 bill, the surest sign he was truly gone.
Marla felt certain he had played her for a sucker, took what she had given him for the tux and hotel; he had even had twenty dollars to spare for the janitor. She didn’t know whether he had left without saying goodbye because he wanted to teach her a lesson, make her understand that no girl would ever tie him down, or because he had never given a damn about her.
But no, Marla thought as she held back tears and thanked Schurfranz for his trouble, no, she would not let Tall Guy defeat her. She was a Rossi and it was high time for her to be treated like one. She would call Randy at home, ask him to pick her up.
When Marla walked out of the building to find a pay phone, Randy’s MG was still parked outside. His seat was pushed back and he appeared to be sleeping, hands folded over his stomach. Marla rapped on his window and he opened his eyes. Marla was too grateful to wonder why he was still here. Randy didn’t seem to need to ask what had happened with Johnny and Marla didn’t tell him, but as he signaled a left onto Lake Shore Drive, she reached over and flipped off Randy’s turn signal and kept the steering wheel straight, leading the MG east toward the beach.
With the black lake visible out the windshield of the car whose radio played Perry Como, Marla put her arms around Randy, who was trying hard not to smile. She touched her lips to his, closed her eyes as she reached beneath his cummerbund, knowing that Randy was a boy who would not walk out on her, no, not in a million years. Never had Marla Rossi felt so in control. |
Rectangle Activity Tables with Wood Laminate Top
$90.95 - $163.95
Looking for new classroom activity tables? ECR4Kids' Rectangle Activity Table with Wood Top looks great, is durable and features adjustable legs to fit students of most any size. This adjustable activity table features a heavy-duty top with stain-resistant laminate on both sides for easy cleaning. The wobble-resistant steel legs come with your choice of nylon swivel glides (recommended for hard surfaces) or ball glides (best on carpeted surfaces). Select standard legs that adjust from 19" to 30" high, toddler legs that adjust from 15" to 23" high or extra-thick chunky legs that adjust from 15" to 24" high. Choose from 14 wood finish/T-molding combinations for the top. ECR4Kids' Rectangle Activity Table with Wood Top is GREENGUARD certified and comes backed by a 10-year limited warranty.
Allow our friendly sales team to assist you with an order or quote for ECR4Kids activity tables or any products. Give us a call at (877) 839-3330. |
TE heat pumps are well known and offer an efficient means for pumping or moving small amounts of heat, generally less than 200 watts. Well known uses include temperature controlling (cooling or heating) small enclosures that contain such items as food, wine, medicine or electronics, and direct temperature control of electronic chips and laser diode devices by direct placement of a TE heat pump on a device. A less well-known application for TE technology is to pump heat through the TE unit to produce electrical power, known as a TE generator.
A conventional TE device, chip, or module 20 is shown in FIG. 1 with the typical upper alumina substrate 14 removed. The module consists of an array of negatively (N) and positively (P) doped thermoelectric semiconductor elements, 10a and 10b, arranged in pairs or thermocouples with TE elements 10a and 10b connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The TE elements are connected electrically by copper connectors such as tabs or bus bars 12. The TE elements and their connectors are in turn sandwiched between the top alumina substrate 14 and a bottom alumina substrate 16. The substrates provide electrical insulation and mechanical support and protection for the TE elements 10a and 10b.
When DC electrical power is applied to such an array of thermocouples via the positive connection wire 18a and the negative connection wire 18b, heat is absorbed on one side (cold side), conducted through the elements by charge carriers, and deposited on the opposite side (hot side). Switching the direction of the DC current will reverse the hot and cold sides. Conversely, putting a temperature differential across the two sides will produce DC electrical power, often called a generator. In FIG. 1, for the current direction shown, substrate 14 is on the cold side of the module where heat is absorbed, and substrate 16 is on the hot side of the module from which heat is rejected.
FIGS. 2 and 2A show a perspective and a cross-sectional view of a typical TE assembly 22 incorporating TE module 20 from FIG. 1, found in a temperature controlled enclosure such as a cooled portable picnic box. One side is exposed to the interior air and the opposite side is exposed to the ambient air. On the interior side, generally called the cold side, a heat exchanger or cold sink 24 is attached to the top substrate or cold side 14 of module 20 to increase heat transfer to the cold side from the interior air. Similarly a heat exchanger or hot sink 26 is attached to the hot side 16 of the module to increase heat transfer between the hot side 16 and the exterior air. The heat exchangers are generally extended surfaces made of highly heat-conductive material, such as aluminum-finned heat sinks. The hot sink 26 is normally larger than the cold sink 24 as it transfers both the heat pumped from the cold side and the heat generated by the power input into module 20. A means of moving air or other heat-transferring fluid over or across cold sink 24 and especially hot sink 26, such as a fan (not shown) is typically used to improve thermal efficiency. A metal spacer 28 is often placed between the cold side 14 and cold sink 24 to increase the distance between the hot sink 26 and cold sink 24 and thereby reduce parasitic heat transfer between the hot and cold sinks. Insulating foam 30 is often placed or sprayed into this area around the spacer and module as shown to further reduce this unwanted heat transfer. The heat sinks 24 and 26 are generally held against the cold and hot sides or surfaces 14 and 16 of module 20 by use of stainless steel screws 32. A series of insulating, fastening, and Belleville washers 34, 36, 38 are used to insulate and keep the assembly under compression. Interface materials such as thermal grease or compliant thermal pads (not shown) are placed between cold side 14 and spacer 28, between hot side 16 and hot sink 26, and between spacer 28 and cold sink 24 to increase heat transfer by removing or filling small air gaps.
The assembly 22 is typically fit into a hole cut into the insulating walls 31 of the cooled enclosure.
While the above assembly works adequately, those skilled in the art recognize that it has a number of disadvantages.
One disadvantage is the use of the insulating substrates 14 and 16, typically alumina ceramic. The substrates are costly and reduce thermal efficiency by adding resistance to the flow of heat; this resistance to heat flow is called thermal resistance. The alumina substrates are still used in small-scale TE heat pumps for consumer appliances sold today, despite decades of trying to minimize thermal resistance by removing electrical insulators from the TE module and connecting the TE elements directly to the heat sinks and thereby combine the heat sink and electrical connector functions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,857 to Lindenblad (1959) discloses an extremely large TE heat pump, intended for regulating room temperature in homes, in which each thermoelectric pair of TE elements is bonded directly to an individual or discrete heat sink in the form of a large, generally U-shaped channel member on one side, and to individual, spaced cold sink plates on the other. Multiple channel members are then bolted together in series for increased heating and cooling capacity, and to define an elongated airflow path through the series-connected channels. The disadvantages to this design are that it does not lend itself to moisture sealing, has poor structural support for the huge hot sinks, and relies on flexible electrical connections between the spaced cold sink plates in each TE pair to protect the TE elements from thermal stresses. Lindenblad's assembly also appears to rely on an inadequate natural, fanless convection to remove heat from the interconnected hot sinks, possibly due to a widely held belief at the time that the efficiency of the TE materials would improve by orders of magnitude, which large improvement never occurred.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,514 to Roeder (1961) discloses an assembly that again bonds discrete heat sinks to the TE elements, but addresses the sealing and structural issues with expensive and thermally resistive spring contact members and impractical packaging of the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,051 to Haba (1963) discloses a different approach that minimizes the thermal resistance of the electrical insulator rather than eliminating it. Haba does this by making the alumina insulating layer extremely thin by means of anodized aluminum plates. One problem with this approach is that the aluminum has three to four times the thermal expansion of alumina ceramic and causes stress fractures of the solder bonds that connect the TE elements to the copper connectors upon heating and cooling.
Several types of structure for the so-called “Direct Transfer Method” have been proposed in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,213,630 to Mole (1963), U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,459 to Schicklin et al. (1988), the published article in International Thermoelectric Society proceedings entitled “Application of Thermoelectric Technology to Naval Submarine Cooling” by Blankenship et al. (1988), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,976 to Yamamura et al. (2002). The Direct Transfer Method bonds a heat sink to the TE elements utilizing the walls of metal conduits as the electrical connectors, while the conduit interior conducts heat transfer fluid. Although used successfully in large-scale applications such as the cooling of trains and submarines, this technique is prohibitively expensive and complex in small-scale applications, particularly in consumer products.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,994 to Yamada et al. (2001) also discloses a basic “double skeleton” thermoelectric structure without the conventional substrates. The structure consists of TE elements protruding through a partition, the connecting electrodes on one side having an inverted, fluid-cooled T-shape, the structure believed to be especially intended for use with liquid-cooled systems. This basic structure is believed to be relatively fragile and difficult to ship and handle for assembly. While Yamada et al. focuses on liquid-cooled arrangements, the less-detailed air-cooled embodiments replace the T-shaped electrodes with conventional flat electrodes bonded directly to a conventional unitary hot sink with a conventional insulating layer, similar to the Haba structure described above and believed to have similar stress problems. Sealing of the TE elements and their electrodes against moisture and corrosion is not adequately addressed. Air cooling is not believed to be practical with any of Yamada et al's disclosed structures, since the cooling flow path and electrode orientation would reduce efficiency by causing pressure drop, by raising the delta temperature of both the TE elements and their electrodes across the array, and by presenting an inefficient fan interface.
A second important disadvantage of known TE module construction is the corrosion and corresponding thermal performance degradation resulting from moisture condensing on the cold side elements. Water vapor is a relatively small molecule and permeates most module packaging materials other than glass or metal. As small voids or spaces around the cold-side surfaces cool, the water vapor in the spaces condenses to liquid water and lowers the vapor pressure. This creates a vapor pressure gradient where the high-pressure vapor on the exterior of the hot side of the module is pushed toward the lower pressure vapor on the cold side, and then condenses. Vapor thereby moves through interstitial areas in screw threads, connector wires, and insulation foams and condenses on the cold side. The liquid water is then trapped in the open spaces of the module, causing corrosion and parasitic heat losses.
One typical solution to the condensation/corrosion problem is to seal the perimeter of the TE module or its foam packaging assembly and all ingress points such as screws or wires with sealant materials such as epoxy or silicone. This solution is time-consuming, expensive, and prone to leaks. A second solution is to let the vapor in, but provide an exit for condensed water via weep holes or wicking materials. This solution is hard to implement with conventional TE modules, since the elements are close together and sandwiched between the two alumina substrates, such that surface tension tends to keep the water inside the module.
Another disadvantage with known TE module construction is the thermal expansion and contraction of materials. TE heat pump materials, like other electronic materials, have different rates of thermal expansion upon heating or cooling. This difference creates stresses that reduce the life of the module by breaking the solder bonds that connect the elements to the copper conductors. This problem is compounded by the fact that one side is heating and expanding while the other side is cooling and contracting. This difference in expansion and contraction is particularly troublesome in applications that experience wide and/or fast variations in temperature.
Yet another disadvantage with known TE module construction is that the process of combining the TE modules and heat sinks is time-consuming and error prone. Time-consuming procedures must be used to guarantee that uneven pressure from the screw assembly does not damage the brittle TE module. Processes must be implemented to insure the flatness and cleanliness of the mating surfaces, since the thermal performance is extremely sensitive to any dirt, dust, debris, bumps, irregularities, or non-flat areas on or between the mating surfaces of the TE module and heat sink. |
Influence of patient-related factors on clinical outcome of tibial tubercle transfer combined with medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction.
Tibial tubercle transfer is frequently used for treating patellar instability. This study aimed to analyze the clinical results following tibial tuberosity transfer with medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction in the treatment of patellar instability. Seventy-two cases presenting a lateralized tibial tubercle were treated with tibial tuberosity transfer and MPFL reconstruction. Pre-operative and postoperative pain levels and knee function were evaluated using common scoring systems. Cartilage status was assessed at the time of surgery, and the influence of patient-related factors was analyzed. Median and interquartile ranges were used to present the results. After a mean of 27.6 (12 -76) months, a re-dislocation rate of 4.2% and significant improvement in knee function from a median of 48.0 (33 -70) to 83.0 (68 -94) and a median of 44.0 (24 -62) to 85.0 (69 -93), based on Kujala (P ≤ 0.001) and Lysholm (P ≤ 0.001) scores were observed. The Tegner score significantly increased from a median of 3.0 (2 -4) to 4.0 (4 -5) (P ≤ 0.001), while the pain level decreased from a median of 5.0 (3 -8) to 2.0 (0 -3) (P ≤ 0.001). Cartilage lesions were found in 55/72 (76.4%) knees. The likelihood of finding II° cartilage lesions was six times higher in cases of ≥ two previous operations. Tibial tuberosity transfer with MPFL reconstruction allowed reliable patellar stabilization with a low re-dislocation rate. Patient age and unsuccessful attempts at surgical stabilization posed significant risk factors for cartilage lesions and may have limited postopertive outcomes. |
#include "MaximumBinaryTreeRadiusSum.h"
#include "../Util.h"
#include <algorithm>
#include <cassert>
#include <cstring>
BrsNode *MaximumBinaryTreeRadiusSumNew(int *value, int *left, int *right,
int n) {
BrsNode *t = new BrsNode[n + 1];
std::memset(t, 0, sizeof(BrsNode) * (n + 1));
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
t[i].index = i;
t[i].value = value[i];
t[i].left = &t[left[i]];
t[i].right = &t[right[i]];
t[left[i]].father = &t[i];
t[right[i]].father = &t[i];
}
}
void MaximumBinaryTreeRadiusSumFree(BrsNode *t) {
assert(t);
BrsNode *tb = (BrsNode *)((char *)t - sizeof(BrsNode));
delete[] tb;
}
static void UpForeach(BrsNode *e, int **f, int j, int n) {
if (e == NULL)
return;
}
static void Up(BrsNode *e, int **f, int j, int n) {
assert(e);
assert(f);
// PreOrder
}
static void Down(BrsNode *e, int **g, int j, int n) {
assert(g);
if (e == NULL) {
return;
}
}
static void Sum(BrsNode *e, int **h, int j, int n) {
assert(h);
if (e == NULL) {
return;
}
}
int MaximumBinaryTreeRadiusSum(BrsNode *t, int radius, int n) {
int **f = Array2DNew(n + 1, MAX);
int **g = Array2DNew(n + 1, MAX);
int **h = Array2DNew(n + 1, MAX);
// 初始化
for (int i = 0; i <= n; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j <= radius; j++) {
f[i][j] = 0;
g[i][j] = 0;
h[i][j] = 0;
}
}
// 分别向上/向下/求和
Up(t, f, radius, n);
Down(t, h, radius, n);
Sum(t, g, radius, n);
int result = 0;
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
result = std::max(h[i][radius], result);
}
Array2DFree(f, n + 1);
Array2DFree(g, n + 1);
Array2DFree(h, n + 1);
return result;
}
#pragma once
void traverse_down(tree_node *r, int **fdown, int level);
void traverse_up(tree_node *r, int **fdown, int **fup, int level);
void get_father(tree_node *r, tree_node *p, int **fdown, int **fup, int level,
int prev);
int traverse_max(tree_node *r, int **fdown, int **fup, int level);
int traverse_tree(
tree_node *r, int **fdown, int **fup,
int level) { // fdown[i][j]指代从第1层到第j层的向下权值之和
// fup[i][j]指代节点i向上第j层的最大权值 与fdown的意义是不同的
// fup[i][j]只指代第j层的权值之和
// fdown和fup初始化均为0
traverse_down(r, fdown, level);
traverse_up(r, fdown, fup, level);
return (traverse_max(r, fdown, fup, level));
}
void traverse_down(tree_node *r, int **fdown,
int level) { //从底向上递归的寻找树中每个节点的向下最大权值
//这个递归是向下level层的递归
//递归终止条件
//若当前节点r是叶子节点
if (r->t_cnt == 0) {
//如果r节点的孩子节点数量t_cnt为0 它是叶子节点
for (int i = 1; i <= level; ++i)
//它的向下从第1层到第level层的最大权值都是0
fdown[r->t_idx][i] = 0;
return;
}
//如果r节点既不是叶子节点
//它的孩子节点也没有得到各自的向下最大权值
for (int i = 0; i < r->t_cnt; ++i)
//继续遍历它的所有孩子节点i
traverse_down(r->t_child[i], fdown, level);
//遍历之后得到r的所有孩子节点的向下权值 再计算r的向下权值
for (int i = 1; i <= level; ++i) {
fdown[r->t_idx][i] = 0;
for (int j = 0; j < r->t_cnt; ++j)
fdown[r->t_idx][i] +=
fdown[r->t_child[j]->t_idx][i - 1] + r->t_child[j]->t_value;
}
}
void traverse_up(
tree_node *r, int **fdown, int **fup,
int level) { //用先序遍历树的方法遍历每个节点找出其向上的最大权值
//实际竞赛题目中 使用最简单的数组与下标来构建树 则也可以使用bfs
if (r != NULL) {
get_father(r, r, fdown, fup, level, 1);
for (int i = 0; i < r->t_cnt; ++i)
traverse_up(r->t_child[i], fdown, fup, level);
}
}
void get_father(tree_node *r, tree_node *p, int **fdown, int **fup, int level,
int prev = 1) { //递归的向上求出r到达 p 祖父节点那一层的最大权值
// p指代r向上第 prev-1 层的祖父节点
// prev == 1时 p即为r自己 p->t_fa为r的父节点
// prev > level时 已经超越了向上的最大层数level
//递归终止条件
//若p的父节点为空指针 即p已经为根节点
if (p->t_fa == NULL)
return;
// prev > level是递归结束条件
if (prev > level)
return;
if (prev == level) {
//到达最高的祖父节点时 不访问孩子子树
fup[r->t_idx][prev] = p->t_fa->t_value;
} else {
//其他祖父节点可以到达其孩子子树
for (int i = 0; i < p->t_fa->t_cnt; ++i)
//遍历p点的父节点的所有孩子节点 除过自己
//即遍历p点的所有兄弟节点
if (p->t_fa->t_child[i] != p) {
//累加父节点的向下权值时要除去p自己这一子树的分支
// r节点向上prev层的最大权值等于
//上面prev层的祖父节点的所有孩子节点的向下 level-prev-1 层的最大权值
//再加上孩子节点自己的权值
fup[r->t_idx][prev] +=
fdown[p->t_fa->t_child[i]->t_idx][level - prev - 1];
fup[r->t_idx][prev] += p->t_fa->t_child[i]->t_value;
}
//还要加上p的父节点的权值
fup[r->t_idx][prev] += p->t_fa->t_value;
}
//递归上一层父节点
get_father(r, p->t_fa, fdown, fup, level, prev + 1);
}
int traverse_max(tree_node *r, int **fdown, int **fup,
int level) { //第三次遍历寻找多叉树中最大权值的点 返回该点权值
//递归终止条件 空节点的权值为0
if (r == NULL)
return (0);
int fmax(0);
// fup[i][j]指代节点i向上第j层的那个祖父节点的所有孩子节点(除过自己这一分支)
//的向下 level-j-1 层的权值之和(所有孩子节点的权值之和)
//与fdown的意义是不同的 fdown[i][j]指代从第1层到第j层的向下权值之和
// r点的最大权值等于所有向下节点的权值之和
fmax += fdown[r->t_idx][level];
//再加所有向上节点的权值之和
for (int i = 1; i <= level; ++i)
fmax += fup[r->t_idx][i];
//再加自己的权值
fmax += r->t_value;
//再和所有其他的节点进行比较 选出最大的返回
for (int i = 0; i < r->t_cnt; ++i)
fmax = max(fmax, traverse_max(r->t_child[i], fdown, fup, level));
return (fmax);
}
|
Q:
How do I update my local refs when a remote branch has been renamed in Git?
If one developer on a team renames a remote branch that another developer also has checked out, what's the best way for that second developer to update their local repo so they don't accidentally push to the old branch name?
A:
As noted by your link, there is no "renaming a branch"; so what the first developer has done is to create a new branch, and then delete the old branch out from under others who were using it[1].
It's possible to update each local repo independently, by manually messing with branch-related config settings and such - or, even more dangerously, by directly hacking the metadata... But I prefer a solution like this:
Given that old-branch-name was deleted and new-branch-name was created to replace it:
1) Fetch and create the new branch locally.
git fetch -p
git checkout new-branch-name
Note the -p argument to fetch, which will cause the remote tracking ref for old-branch-name to go away (since old-branch-name is no longer on the remote).
Assuming new-branch-name wasn't already in use (either in the local repo, or in another of its configured remotes), this creates the new branch with appropriate tracking, and checks it out. Then
git reset --hard old-branch-name
git branch -D old-branch-name
Now, there are a lot of different scenarios that would lead up to this point, and we can walk through any or all of them that might seem concerning, but the bottom line is this makes it look as it would if the branch had always been new-branch-name.
For example if you previously had
x -- A <--(origin/old-branch-name)
\
B <--(old-branch-name)
and the origin copy of new-branch-name is still at A, then the fetch -p gives you
x -- A <--(origin/new-branch-name)
\
B <--(old-branch-name)
and after the checkout, reset, and branch -D you have
x -- A <--(origin/new-branch-name)
\
B <--(new-branch-name)
If the remote copy of new-branch-name had advanced (say, to C), then the fetch would've given you
x -- A -- C <--(origin/new-branch-name)
\
B <--(old-branch-name)
and finally you'd have
x -- A -- C <--(origin/new-branch-name)
\
B <--(new-branch-name)
which is no different than the normal case where your local branch is behind the remote.
Like I said, there are many scenarios, so if there's one of particular concern feel free to comment and I can add it. But in any case, this should effectively replace the old branch with the new one in whatever state of integration you'd have already had were there no "rename".
[1] This is not to say it's necessarily the wrong thing to do, if it's called for by the team's agreed-upon process; but it does mean that the person doing it should be accountable for communicating the change, with the natural consequence that someone will recreate the branch under its original name - and almost certainly create divergent branches - otherwise.
|
---
abstract: 'In a connected group of finite Morley rank in which, generically, elements belong to connected nilpotent subgroups, proper normalizing cosets of definable subgroups are not generous. We explain why this is true and what consequences this has on an abstract theory of Weyl groups in groups of finite Morley rank.'
author:
- Eric Jaligot
bibliography:
- 'biblio.bib'
title: 'Cosets, genericity, and the Weyl group'
---
The only known infinite simple groups of finite Morley rank are the simple algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields and this is a motivation, among many others, for a classification project of these groups. It borrows ideas and techniques from the Classification of the Finite Simple Groups but at the same time it may provide, sometimes, a kind of simplified version of the finite case. This is mostly due to the existence of well-behaved notions of genericity and connectivity in the infinite case, which unfortunately have no direct finite analogs.
The present note deals with a very specific and technical topic concerning such arguments based on genericity in the case of infinite groups of finite Morley rank, which serve here to bypass allegro potential complications of various nature, including finite combinatorics. As a result, we show similarities with algebraic groups in any case as far as a theory of Weyl groups is concerned, and naturally this applies also to non-algebraic configurations which are encountered throughout much of the current work in the area.
In a connected reductive algebraic group, maximal (algebraic) tori are conjugate and cover the group generically, with the Weyl group governing essentially the structure of the entire group. In the abstract context, we use the term “generous" to speak of a subset “whose union of conjugates is generic in the group", the typical property of tori in the classical algebraic case. There are at least two abstract versions of tori in groups of finite Morley rank, which coincide at least in the case of a reductive algebraic group, [*decent tori*]{} on the one hand and [*Carter subgroups*]{} on the other. The main caveat with these two more abstract notions for a seemingly complete analogy with algebraic groups is in both cases an unknown existence, more precisely the existence of a [*nontrivial*]{} decent torus on the one hand and the existence of a [*generous*]{} Carter subgroup on the other. Anyway, here we follow an approach resolutely adapted to the second notion.
With both notions there are conjugacy theorems, the conjugacy of maximal decent tori [@Cherlin05] and of generous Carter subgroups [@Jaligot06]. This gives a natural notion of Weyl group in each case, $N(T)/C{^\circ}(T)$ for some maximal decent torus $T$ or $N(Q)/Q$ for some generous Carter subgroup $Q$. In any case and whatever the Weyl group is, it is finite and, as with classical Weyl groups and algebraic tori in algebraic groups, its determination and its action on the underlying subgroup is fundamental in the abstract context.
As an element of the Weyl group is a coset in the ambient group, it is then useful to get a description of such cosets, even though recovering from such a description the structure and the action of the Weyl group is in general a particularly delicate task. This is mostly due to the fact that, in practice, one can only get a generic, and thus weak, description of the coset. In [@CherlinJaligot2004] such arguments were however developed intensively, and this was highly influenced by one of the most critical aspects of the early work, notably by Nesin, on the so-called “bad" groups of finite Morley rank ([@BorovikNesin(Book)94 Theorem 13.3]). In this paper, a pathological coset, whose representative is typically a Weyl element which should not exist, is usually shown to be both generous [*and*]{} nongenerous, and then the coset does not exist. This is the main protocol, sometimes refered to as “coset arguments", for the limitation of the size of the Weyl group. Generosity is usually obtained by unexpected commutations between the Weyl elements and the underlying subgroup, and in general this may depend on the specific configuration considered. It is certainly the pathological property in any case, and we shall prove here at a reasonable level of generality that the existing cosets should be nongenerous.
In particular, we rearrange as follows the protocol of [@CherlinJaligot2004] in the light of further developments of [@Jaligot06] concerning generosity.
\[TheoGenerixCosets\] Let $G$ be a connected group of finite Morley rank in which, generically, elements belong to connected nilpotent subgroups. Then the coset $wH$ is not generous for any definable subgroup $H$ and any element $w$ normalizing $H$ but not in $H$.
The assumption on the generic elements of $G$ in Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] can take several forms, and we will explain this shortly. The most typical case where Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] applies is however the case in which $H=Q$ is a generous Carter subgroup of $G$. In particular, the present paper is also an appendix of [@Jaligot06] on the structure of groups of finite Morley rank with such a generous Carter subgroup, and more precisely a follow-up to Section 3.3 in that paper.
The general idea of the protocol of [@CherlinJaligot2004] has been used repeatedly in various contexts, most notably to get a fine description of $p$-torsion in terms of connected nilpotent subgroups of bounded exponent and of decent tori [@BurdgesCherlinSemisimpleTorsion]. Applied to the most natural kind of Weyl groups, the protocol shows that centralizers of decent tori are connected in any connected group, implying in particular that the Weyl group $N(T)/C{^\circ}(T)$ attached to a decent torus $T$ acts faithfully on $T$. This corresponds to the most typical and smooth applications of the protocol in [@CherlinJaligot2004], generally a lemma expedited at the early stage of the analysis of each configuration considered there. With [@Cherlin05] and [@Jaligot06], and eventually the finiteness of conjugacy classes of uniformly definable families of decent tori of [@FreconJaligot07 Theorem 6.4], it became clear that, for that specific lemma, the protocol had implementations autonomous from these specific configurations. Proofs may have appeared in [@AltinelBurdgesBullShit; @Freconpseudotores], with a conceptually better and more general implementation in the second case but, regrettably, with no connection at all to [@CherlinJaligot2004] in both cases.
A much more delicate use of the protocol can be found in [@CherlinJaligot2004 Proposition 6.17]. It is proved there, still in a specific configuration, that the centralizer of a certain finite subgroup of a decent torus is connected, with then a much more restrictive faithful action of the Weyl group. As this special application of the protocol contains the main difficulty possibly inherent to the subject, we mostly refer to this example. As we will see below, the key point is that generosity is in general related to a finiteness property, as opposed to a uniqueness property, a delicate aspect treated “by hand" in [@CherlinJaligot2004 Proposition 6.17] and much more conceptually here.
Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] has general consequences on the action of the Weyl group on the underlying subgroup, again whatever these are. Back to the concrete example of a reductive algebraic group, the maximal algebraic torus is a divisible abelian subgroup, and the Weyl group acts faithfully on it. The main corollary of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] is a general form of this in the abstract context of groups of finite Morley rank.
\[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] Let $G$ be a connected group of finite Morley rank in which, generically, elements belong to connected nilpotent subgroups. Suppose that $H$ is a definable connected generous subgroup, that $w$ is an element normalizing $H$ but not in $H$, of finite order $n$ modulo $H$, and that $\{h^{n}~|~h\in H\}$ is generic in $H$. Then $C_{H}(w)<H$.
In the case of a connected reductive algebraic group, the subgroup $H$ in Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] is typically the maximal torus $T$ and $w$ a representative of a nontrivial element of order $n$ of the Weyl group. In the finite Morley rank case, $H$ may typically be a generous $n$-divisible Carter subgroup $Q$, and $w$ a representative of a nontrivial element of order $n$ of the Weyl group $N(Q)/Q$. One gets then, for instance if $Q$ is a divisible abelian generous Carter subgroup as in Corollary \[CorCarterAbelienGenerousDiv\] below, consequences qualitatively similar in the finite Morley rank case.
As for Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], the statement adopted in Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] is far more general than what it says about this typical case. Less typical applications can be found in [@DeloroJaligotI §4.2] in the context of connected [*locally${^\circ}$ solvable${^\circ}$*]{} groups, the smallest class of groups of finite Morley rank containing connected solvable groups and Chevalley groups of type ${\hbox{\rm PSL}\,}_{2}$ and ${\hbox{\rm SL}\,}_{2}$ over algebraically closed fields. Besides, the reader can find there a form of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], actually weaker, but which reformats uniformly and in a hopefully informative way the original arguments of [@CherlinJaligot2004] in this context of “small" groups.
Technicalities and environment
==============================
Before passing to the proofs, we review briefly the background needed, or surrounding.
Groups of finite Morley rank are equipped with a rudimentary notion of finite dimension on their definable sets, satisfying as axioms a few basic properties of the natural dimension of varieties in algebraic geometry over algebraically closed fields. By definable we mean definable by a first-order logic formula, possibly with parameters and possibly in quotients by definable equivalence relations. The dimension, or “rank", of a definable set $A$ is denoted by ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(A)$.
The finiteness of the rank implies the descending chain condition on definable subgroups, and this naturally gives abstract versions of classical notions of the theory of algebraic groups:
- The [*definable hull*]{} of an arbitrary subset of the ambient group is the smallest definable subgroup containing that set. It is contained in the Zariski closure in the case of an algebraic group.
- The [*connected component*]{} $G{^\circ}$ of a group $G$ of finite Morley rank is the smallest (normal) definable subgroup of finite index of $G$, and $G$ is [*connected*]{} when $G=G{^\circ}$.
A fundamental property of a connected group of finite Morley rank is that it cannot be partitioned into two definable [*generic*]{} subsets, that is two subsets of maximal rank [@Cherlin79]. Our arguments make full use of the following simpler properties.
\[FactGpConActingOnHModH0\]
- A connected group of finite Morley rank acting definably on a finite set must fix it pointwise.
- A connected group of finite Morley rank acting definably on a group $H$ of finite Morley rank induces a trivial action on $H/H{^\circ}$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}The first item is a well known application of connectedness: as elements of the base set have finite orbits, their (definable) stabilizers are of finite index, and hence cannot be proper. The second item is a special case of the first which does not seem to be specifically mentioned in the literature: as $H{^\circ}$ is definably characteristic in $H$, the acting group induces an action on $H/H{^\circ}$, and we are then in presence of the action of a connected group on a finite set. [ $\square$]{}
Following [@Jaligot06], we say that a definable subset of a group $G$ of finite Morley rank is [*generous*]{} in $G$ when the union of its $G$-conjugates is generic in $G$. In our proof of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], we are essentially going to reuse lines of arguments of [@Jaligot06] for dealing with generosity, both for characterizing it and for applying it. When working with generosity in very general contexts, one has to inspect closely each conjugacy class of each individual element of the set considered. The reader can find in [@Jaligot06 §2.2] such an analysis, done there for definable connected subgroups. Another approach for this analysis was mentioned to the author by Cherlin, with a more conceptual geometric proof, duale in some sense, giving also a few more rank equalities. We take here the opportunity to recast these computations in terms of permutation groups, not only because it generalizes naturally, but also as it certainly might be useful in this more general context.
Given a permutation group $(G,\Omega)$ and a subset $H$ of $\Omega$, we denote by $N(H)$ and by $C(H)$ the [*setwise*]{} and the [*pointwise*]{} stabilizer of $H$ respectively, that is $G_{\{H\}}$ and $G_{(H)}$ in a usual permutation group theory notation. We also denote by $H^{G}$ the set $\{h^{g}~|~(h,g)\in{H \times G}\}$, where $h^{g}$ denotes the image of $h$ under the action of $g$, as in the case of an action by conjugation. Subsets of the form $H^{g}$ for some $g$ in $G$ are also called [*$G$-conjugates*]{} of $H$. Notice that the set $H^{G}$ can be seen, alternatively, as the union of $G$-orbits of elements of $H$, or also as the union of $G$-conjugates of $H$. When considering the action of a group on itself by conjugation, as we will do below, all these terminologies and notations are the usual ones, with $N(H)$ and $C(H)$ the [*normalizer*]{} and the [*centralizer*]{} of $H$ respectively.
We note that in this paper we work only with “exact" normalizers $N(H)=\{g\in G~|~H^{g}=H\}$, or “stabilizers", as opposed to “generic stabilizers", where the equality $H^{g}=H$ is understood up to a symmetric difference of lower rank.
\[FaitRankComput\] [**[@Jaligot06 Proposition 2.9]**]{} Let $(G,\Omega)$ be a ranked permutation group, $H$ a definable subset of $\Omega$, and assume that for $r$ between $0$ and ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G/N(H))$ the definable subset $H_{r}$ of $H$, consisting of those elements of $H$ belonging to a set of $G$-conjugates of $H$ of rank exactly $r$, is nonempty. Then $${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}({H_{r}}^{G})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G)+{\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{r})-{\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))-r.$$
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}One may proceed exactly as in the geometric proof of [@Jaligot06 Proposition 2.9]. In the natural geometry associated to this computation, points are the elements of $\Omega$ which are $G$-conjugate to those of $H$ and lines are the $G$-conjugates of $H$. The set of flags is the set of couples (point,line) where the point belongs to the line, and one considers the subflag naturally associated to $H_{r}$. Projecting on the set of points one gets ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}({H_{r}}^{G})+r$ for the rank of this subflag, and similarly ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G/N(H))+{\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{r})$ by projecting on the set of lines. The equality follows.
In this proof we use essentially only two properties of the rank. The first one is a guarantee that the sets $H_{r}$ considered are definable. The second one is a guarantee of the two formulas as above for the rank of a set, as the sum of the rank of its image by a definable function and of the rank of the fibers of that function, when constant. These two properties correspond respectively to the [*definability*]{} and the [*additivity*]{} of the rank in the Borovik-Poizat axioms for ranked structures [@BorovikNesin(Book)94 §4]. [ $\square$]{}
In the context of a permutation group as in Fact \[FaitRankComput\], we may naturally say that the definable subset $H$ of $\Omega$ is [*generous*]{} when the subset $H^{G}$ of $\Omega$ is generic in $\Omega$. Of course, this matches with the usual definition in the case of the action of a group on itself by conjugation. Continuing in the general context of permutation groups, Fact \[FaitRankComput\] has the following corollary characterizing generosity.
\[CorHGenr=0\] Assume furthermore ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(\Omega)$ and ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)\leq {\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$ in Fact \[FaitRankComput\]. Then $H^{G}$ is generic in $\Omega$ if and only if ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{0})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$. In this case ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{0})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$, a generic element of $\Omega$ lies in only finitely many conjugates of $H$, and the same applies to a generic element of $H$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}If $H^{G}$ is generic in $\Omega$, then one has for some $r$ as in Fact \[FaitRankComput\] that ${H_{r}}^{G}$ is generic in $\Omega$, and then $$0\leq r ={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{r})-{\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))\leq {\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)-{\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))\leq 0,$$ showing that all these quantities are equal to $0$. In particular $r=0$, and ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{0})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$. Conversely, if ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{0})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$, then ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}({H_{0}}^{G})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(\Omega)$ by Fact \[FaitRankComput\].
For our last statement, we also see with the above inequalities that ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$, and as $H_{0}$ and $N(H)$ have the same rank it follows that ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H_{0})={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$. In particular the definable subset $H_{0}$ of $H$ is generic in $H$, and together with the genericity of ${H_{0}}^{G}$ in $\Omega$ this is exactly the meaning of our two last claims. [ $\square$]{}
We stress the fact that, under the circumptances of Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\], the generosity of $H$ is equivalent to the genericity of the [*definable*]{} sets $H_{0}$ and ${H_{0}}^{G}$ in $H$ and $\Omega$ respectively, so that working with these definable sets avoids troublesome saturation issues. At this point, it is also worth mentioning that there are uniform bounds on finite sets throughout. This is one of the Borovik-Poizat axioms, usually called [*elimination of infinite quantifiers*]{}, which gives uniform bounds on the cardinals of finite sets in uniformly definable families of sets. This is used on rather rare occasions, and could also be used here to see the definability of sets like $H_{0}$ in Fact \[FaitRankComput\] and Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]: $H_0$ is exactly the set of elements of $H$ contained in at most $m$ distinct conjugates of $H$, for some [*fixed*]{} finite $m$. We will not use it as the definability of the rank amply suffices here, but this aspect can of course be kept in mind.
A typical case in which Fact \[FaitRankComput\] and Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] apply is the case in which the permutation group $(G,\Omega)$ is interpretable in a group $G$ of finite Morley rank. In the rest of this paper we are only going to consider the action of a group of finite Morley rank on itself by conjugation, so Fact \[FaitRankComput\] and Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] will be applied freely.
As $G$ and $\Omega$ are the same is this case, the extra assumption ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(G)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(\Omega)$ is then automatically satisfied in the characteristion of generosity of Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. The second assumption ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)\leq {\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$ is not satisfied in general, but an interesting case in which it holds is the case in which $H$ has the form $x\Gamma$, where $\Gamma$ is a definable subgroup of $G$ and $x$ is an element of $G$ normalizing $\Gamma$: in this case $\Gamma \leq N(x\Gamma)$, and thus ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(x\Gamma)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(\Gamma)\leq {\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(x\Gamma))$. In fact, one sees in this case that $N(x\Gamma)$ is exactly the preimage in $N(\Gamma)$ of $C_{N(\Gamma)/\Gamma}(x\mbox{~mod~}\Gamma)$. All cosets considered in this paper are of this type, and we will make full use of Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] when considering the generosity of such cosets in the rest of the paper.
We insist again on the fact that the characterisation of Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] is in this case essentially the genericity of $H_{0}$ in $H$ (in addition to ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(H)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(H))$), and thus the fact that only finitely many conjugates of $H$ pass through a generic element of $H$. In general, and we would like to say with probability almost one, there is not uniqueness. It may be seen by considering the generic element $g$ of a connected reductive algebraic group. It lies in a maximal torus $T$, which lies in a generous Borel subgroup $B$; $T$ is the unique of its conjugates containing $g$ ([@Jaligot06 Corollary 3.8]), but there are several conjugates of $B$ containing $g$ (and permuted by the Weyl group $N(T)/T$).
That’s all about the background we will use. We do not use decent tori and Carter subgroups in the present work, Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] and Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\], but, as they correspond so closely to its most typical applications, it may be useful to recall their definitions and to place more precisely our results in context. A decent torus $T$ of a group of finite Morley rank is a definable (connected) divisible abelian subgroup which coincides with the definable hull of its (divisible abelian) torsion subgroup, and a Carter subgroup $Q$ is a definable connected nilpotent subgroup of finite index in its normalizer (and in particular it satisfies $Q=N{^\circ}(Q)$). Both types of subgroups exist in any group of finite Morley rank, which is trivial in the first case and follows in the second case from a graduated notion of unipotence on certain connected nilpotent subgroups, for which decent tori are precisely the first stones [@FreconJaligot07 §3.1]. By [@Cherlin05], maximal decent tori are conjugate in any group of finite Morley rank, which indeed follows from the fact that $C{^\circ}(T)$ is generous for any such decent torus $T$. By [@Jaligot06], generous Carter subgroups are conjugate in any group of finite Morley rank.
We take this opportunity to mention the following corelation between decent tori and generous Carter subgroups.
\[FactToreDescGenCarter\] If $Q$ is a generous Carter subgroup of a group of finite Morley rank, then $T\leq Q\leq C{^\circ}(T)$ for some maximal decent torus $T$, and $N(T)=C{^\circ}(T)\cdot N(Q)$.
Actually, we will prove something slightly more general than Fact \[FactToreDescGenCarter\], expanding a bit the existing theory of generous subgroups in passing.
Recall first that the existence of a generous Carter subgroup is, maybe, the main open question at the moment concerning groups of finite Morley rank. It is equivalent to the question to know whether any connected group of finite Morley rank containing no proper definable connected generous subgroup is nilpotent (see [@Jaligot06 Genericity Conjecture 4.1 b–$\beta$]). As in [@Jaligot06 §4.2], a minimal counterexample to the question of existence of a generous Carter subgroup in connected groups has tendency to be [*semisimple*]{}, i.e., with all its normal solvable subgroups trivial, and has no proper definable connected generous subgroups.
\[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank.
- If $Q$ is a definable nilpotent subgroup of $G$, then any definable subgroup of $Q$ generous in $G$ is of finite index in $Q$.
- If $Q$ and $H$ are definable subgroups of $G{^\circ}$ generous in $G$, with $Q$ nilpotent, then $Q{^\circ}\leq H{^\circ}$ up to conjugacy.
- If $Q$ is a generous Carter subgroup of $G$, then $Q$ is, up to conjugacy, the unique minimal definable subgroup of $G{^\circ}$ generous in $G$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}$(1)$. Assume $H$ is a definable subgroup of $Q$, generous in $G$. Then $H$ must be of finite index in its normalizer, by [@Jaligot06 Lemma 2.2] or more generally Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. Now by normalizer condition in infinite nilpotent groups of finite Morley rank, $H$ is of finite index in $Q$.
$(2)$. By Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] and connectedness of $G{^\circ}$, a generic element of $G{^\circ}$, say $g$, is in conjugates of $Q$ and $H$, say $Q$ and $H$, and in only finitely many such conjugates. Now by [@Jaligot06 Fundamental Lemma 3.3], $N{^\circ}(Q\cap H)\leq {N{^\circ}(Q)\cap N{^\circ}(H)}$, and as $N{^\circ}(Q)=Q{^\circ}$ and $N{^\circ}(H)=H{^\circ}$ by generosity of $Q$ and $H$ (using again [@Jaligot06 Lemma 2.2] or Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]), we get $N{^\circ}(Q\cap H)\leq (Q\cap H){^\circ}$. In particular $Q\cap H$ has finite index in its normalizer in $Q$, and is thus of finite index in $Q$ by normalizer condition in infinite nilpotent groups of finite Morley rank. In particular, $Q{^\circ}\leq H{^\circ}$.
$(3)$. By $(1)$ and connectedness of $Q$, $Q$ is minimal for the generosity of definable subgroups of $G{^\circ}$. By $(2)$, any definable generous subgroup $H$ of $G{^\circ}$ contains a conjugate of $Q$, i.e., $Q\leq H{^\circ}$ up to conjugacy. Hence item $(3)$ follows from the conjugacy of generous Carter subgroups of [@Jaligot06]. [ $\square$]{}
The core of the proof of Fact \[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] $(2)$ may seem to be somehow hidden in the use of [@Jaligot06 Fundamental Lemma 3.3], which essentially relies on Fact \[FactGpConActingOnHModH0\] $(1)$. Fortunately, our proof of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] below will reproduce the content of that lemma, with cosets instead of subgroups.
Fact \[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] $(3)$ provides a way to see generous Carter subgroups in the ostensibly wider class of [*minimal*]{} definable generous subgroups, where the problem of existence somehow shifts to the problem of conjugacy.
We now add decent tori into the picture.
\[FactArgFrattGen\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank.
- If $H$ is a definable generous subgroup of $G{^\circ}$, then $H{^\circ}$ contains a maximal decent torus $T$ of $G$.
- If $H$ is a definable connected generous subgroup of $G$, minimal with respect to this property, and $T$ is a maximal decent torus of $G$ in $H$, then $T\leq Z(H)$.
- If $T$ is a maximal decent torus and $C{^\circ}(T)$ contains a unique minimal definable generous subgroup up to conjugacy, say $H$, then $N(T)=C{^\circ}(T)\cdot N(H)$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}$(1)$. By [@Cherlin05], $C{^\circ}(T)$ is generous for any decent torus $T$ of $G$. Arguing as in the proof of Fact \[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] $(2)$, one finds a generic element in $C{^\circ}(T)\cap H$ and one deduces similarly that $N{^\circ}(C{^\circ}(T)\cap H)\leq {N{^\circ}(C{^\circ}(T))\cap N{^\circ}(H)}=
{C{^\circ}(T)\cap H{^\circ}}$. As $T$ is central in $C{^\circ}(T)$, this implies in particular that $T\leq H{^\circ}$.
$(2)$. By [@Cherlin05], $C{^\circ}_{H}(T)$ is generous in $H$. By transitivity of the generosity of definable subgroups [@Jaligot06 Lemma 3.9 a], one deduces that $C{^\circ}_{H}(T)$ is generous in $G$, and the minimality of $H$ forces $C{^\circ}_{H}(T)=H$, i.e., $T\leq Z(H)$.
$(3)$. We have $T\leq N{^\circ}_{C{^\circ}(T)}(H)=H{^\circ}$ by generosity of $H$ in $C{^\circ}(T)$, and thus $T\leq Z(H)$. In particular, $N(H)\leq N(T)$. Now a Frattini Argument gives the desired decomposition: if $w\in N(T)$, then $H$ and $H^{w}$ are two minimal definable generous subgroups of $C{^\circ}(T)$, $H^{w}=H^{\alpha}$ for some $\alpha$ in $C{^\circ}(T)$, and $w=w\alpha^{-1}\alpha \in N(H)\cdot C{^\circ}(T)$. Notice that $C{^\circ}(T)$ is normal in $N(T)$. [ $\square$]{}
Fact \[FactToreDescGenCarter\] follows from Facts \[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] and \[FactArgFrattGen\], together with the remark that the generous Carter subgroup $Q$ of $G$, containing the maximal decent torus $T$, must also be generous in $C{^\circ}(T)$ (by [@Jaligot06 Lemma 2.3] or Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]).
In presence of a [*nontrivial*]{} maximal decent torus $T$, the [*Weyl group*]{} of an arbitrary group of finite Morley rank is naturally defined as in [@CherlinJaligot2004 Theorem 1.8] as $N(T)/C{^\circ}(T)$, and in presence of a [*generous*]{} Carter subgroup $Q$, it is defined as in [@Jaligot06 §3.3] as $N(Q)/Q$. In the first case the original definition relied on a particular decent subtorus related to the prime $p=2$, but since the full proof of conjugacy of maximal decent tori of [@Cherlin05] it naturally takes this form. We also mention that the term “Weyl group" made his first appearance, beyond the classical algebraic case, in [@Nesin89-a] in the context of “bad" groups of Morley rank $3$, with all possible definitions equivalent in this case.
In Fact \[FactToreDescGenCarter\], we see that both notions of Weyl group essentially match, with however $$N(T)/C{^\circ}(T)\simeq (N(Q)/Q)/(N_{C{^\circ}(T)}(Q)/Q)$$ isomorphic to a possibly proper quotient of $N(Q)/Q$, and thus a sharper notion with the second definition. Hence when both definitions are possible we prefer the second one, though the question of equality in general is an interesting issue.
We note that everything said here with a decent torus $T$ can be stated similarly with a pseudo-torus $T$, a slightly more general notion of torus with practically the same properties [@Freconpseudotores].
Besides, we note that [@FreconConjCarter07] provides an analysis of non-generous Carter subgroups in very specific inductive contexts for groups of finite Morley rank. This yields the conjugacy of such non-generous Carter subgroups, and eventually gives in these specific cases the full conjugacy of Carter subgroups, in the non-generous case as well as in the generous case. In particular, this gives a notion of Weyl group in the most pathological situation in which all Carter subgroups would be non-generous, the line antipodal to the one pursed in [@Jaligot06] and, seemingly, here.
In Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] we assume that, [*generically*]{}, elements of the ambient group have a prescribed property: to be in a connected nilpotent subgroup. As this property has no first-order character, this can be interpreted in two possible ways. It means either that the group is saturated and that realizations of the generic type have that property, or, more strongly but with no saturation assumption, that the ambient group has a definable generic subset, all of whose elements have the property. This “generic property" is known to be true, in this second form, in the specific case of connected [*locally${^\circ}$ solvable*]{} of finite Morley rank, the smallest class containing connected solvable groups of finite Morley rank and Chevalley groups of type ${\hbox{\rm PSL}\,}_{2}$ over algebraically closed fields (see [@BorovikBurdgesCherlin07 Proposition 8.1], and [@DeloroJaligotI §5.3] for an account on this and related topics). In any case, the assumption in Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] is much weaker than that of the existence of a generous Carter subgroup, and as the former is known in contexts where the latter is not known, it seems relevant at present to state Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], and its consequences, under this weak assumption.
Cosets and generosity
=====================
In the present section we pass to the proof of the technical Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] on generous cosets, and in the next we will see its main corollary on Weyl groups.
In most applications of the general protocol for computing Weyl groups in groups of finite Morley rank, there is a uniqueness property, and then rank computations for generosity, or non-generosity, follow more or less immediately from the presence of [*disjoint*]{} unions. We refer for example to [@CherlinJaligot2004 3.3-3.4], which was essentially extracted from the original works on bad groups [@BorovikNesin(Book)94 Theorem 13.3, Claim (d)]. In general, one can use only finiteness instead of uniqueness for generosity, as explained and illustrated abundantly after Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. The reader can find in [@CherlinJaligot2004 Proposition 6.17] a concrete application of the protocol for Weyl groups which uses finiteness only (see actually the preparatory sequence 6.13-6.16, and more specifically 3.16, in that paper), and we give here a much more conceptual treatment of this aspect via Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\].
Recall that $G$ is a connected group of finite Morley rank in which, generically, elements belong to connected nilpotent subgroups, that $H$ is a definable subgroup of $G$ and $w$ is an element in $N(H)\setminus H$, and we want to show that $wH$ is not generous in $G$.
[**Proof of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\].**]{} Assume towards a contradiction $wH$ generous in $G$.
We may freely apply Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] to the coset $wH$, as remarked after that corollary. It follows that ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(wH)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(wH))$ on the one hand, and, on the other hand, that $wH$ has a definable generic subset, generous in $G$, all of whose elements can lie in only finitely many conjugates of $wH$. In this sense, a generic element $g$ of $G$ is, up to conjugacy, a generic element of $wH$, and contained in only finitely many conjugates of $wH$. Of course, $N(wH)\leq N(H)$, and in fact $N(wH)$ is the preimage in $N(H)$ of $C_{N(H)/H}(w\mbox{~mod~}H)$. As $H$, $wH$, and $N(wH)$ have the same rank, $$N{^\circ}(wH)=H{^\circ}.$$ In particular one sees also that $w$ has finite order modulo $H$.
By assumption, a generic element $g$ of $G$ also belongs to a connected nilpotent subgroup $Q$ and, as taking definable hulls does not affect connectedness and nilpotence of subgroups in group of finite Morley rank, we may assume $Q$ definable. (We note here that the generic property in $G$ holds either for the realizations of the generic type in case of saturation of $G$, or on all elements of a definable generic subset of $G$, if such a subset exists.)
Using the connectedness of $G$, one concludes from the two preceding paragraphs that a generic element $g$ of $G$ is, on the one hand, in $wH$ (up to conjugacy) and in only finitely many of its conjugates, and, on the other hand, in a definable connected nilpotent subgroup $Q$. We will get a contradiction from this position of tightrope walker of $g$.
As $g\in wH\cap Q$, we may also assume $w$ in $Q$, replacing the original representative $w$ of the coset $wH$ by a representative in $Q$ in necessary. This is possible as we may take $g$. Then $$wH\cap Q=w(H\cap Q).$$ Notice that $w$ still has finite order modulo $H\cap Q$, as the original $w$ had that property modulo $H$. The group ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$ is in particular definable, and $(H\cap Q){^\circ}$ is exactly its connected component. From now on we concentrate on the definable subgroup ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$ of $Q$, and to its normalizer in $Q$.
$N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q))$ acts by conjugation on the definable subgroup ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$. By Fact \[FactGpConActingOnHModH0\] $(2)$, it induces a trivial action on this group modulo its connected component, that is $(H\cap Q){^\circ}$. This means that it normalizes each coset of $(H\cap Q){^\circ}$ in ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$. In particular, $N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q))$ normalizes the (possibly larger) coset $w(H\cap Q)$.
At this point we use an argument similar to the one used in [@Jaligot06 Fundamental Lemma 3.3]. We denote by $X$ the set of elements of $w(H\cap Q)$ contained in only finitely many conjugates of $wH$. We note that the set $X$ is not empty, as it contains the generic element $g$. We also note that the subset $X$ of $wH$ can be contained in only finitely many conjugates of $wH$, as it contains the element $g$ which has this property. As $N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q))$ normalizes $w(H\cap Q)$, it also normalizes $X$, and thus it permutes by conjugation the conjugates of $wH$ containing $X$. We are now in presence of the definable action of a connected group on a finite set, and it follows from Fact \[FactGpConActingOnHModH0\] $(1)$ that it has a trivial action, or in other words that $N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q))$ normalizes each of these finitely many conjugates of $wH$ containing $X$. In particular, it normalizes $wH$.
Hence $$N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)) \leq N{^\circ}(wH)=H{^\circ},$$ as noticed earlier, and the definable connected subgroup $N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q))$ of $Q$ then satisfies $$N{^\circ}_{Q}({\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)) \leq (H{^\circ}\cap Q){^\circ}\leq (H\cap Q){^\circ}.$$ But as $(H\cap Q){^\circ}$ is exactly the connected component of ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$, this inclusion shows that ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$ has finite index in its normalizer in $Q$. Now definable subgroups of infinite index of nilpotent groups of finite Morley rank are of infinite index in their normalizers, by the classical finite Morley rank version of the normalizer condition in finite nilpotent groups. On finds thus that ${\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q)$ has finite index in $Q$, and by connectedness of the latter one gets $$Q={\langle}w{\rangle}(H\cap Q).$$ As $(H\cap Q)$ now has finite index in $Q$, one gets similarly $$Q=(H\cap Q).$$
At this point one gets a contradiction, either by noticing that $w$ has been pushed inside $H$, or that $g$ has been pushed outside $Q$. [ $\square$]{}
Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] has the following slightly more general form, where the connectedness of the ambient group is dropped and the possibly insinuated saturation assumption is slightly weakened. We note that in this corollary we do not require the elementary extension to be saturated itself, but simply that it is satisfies the same assumption as in Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\].
\[CorGnonConnonSat\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank having an elementary extension $G^{*}$ in which, generically, elements belong to connected nilpotent subgroups. Then the coset $wH$ is not generous in $G$ for any definable subgroup $H$ of $G{^\circ}$ and any element $w$ in $N_{G{^\circ}}(H)\setminus H$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}Assume towards a contradiction $wH$ generous in $G$. As $G$ is a finite union of translates of $G{^\circ}$, $wH$ is generous in $G{^\circ}$. As the rank can only go up when passing to an elementary extension, one then sees that the canonical extension $[wH]^{*}$ of $wH$, in $[G^{*}]{^\circ}=[G{^\circ}]^{*}$, is generous in $[G^{*}]{^\circ}$. Now one can apply Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] in $[G^{*}]{^\circ}$. [ $\square$]{}
Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] also has the following desirable application.
\[CorTheoGenHGenHoGen\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank as in Corollary \[CorGnonConnonSat\] and let $H$ be a definable subgroup of $G{^\circ}$. Then $H\setminus H{^\circ}$ is not generous in $G$ and, if $H$ is generous in $G$, then $H{^\circ}$ is generous in $G$, and in fact in any definable subgroup containing it.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}As $H\setminus H{^\circ}$ is a finite union of cosets of $H{^\circ}$ normalizing $H{^\circ}$, the first claim follows from Corollary \[CorGnonConnonSat\]. Now $H{^\circ}$ must be generous in $G$ whenever $H$ is, and our last claim is [@Jaligot06 Lemma 3.9] or Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. [ $\square$]{}
In particular, when Corollary \[CorTheoGenHGenHoGen\] applies in a connected group of finite Morley rank, then the notion of minimal definable generous subgroup, as in Facts \[FaitMinimaliteCarters\] or \[FactArgFrattGen\], is the same as the notion of minimal definable [*connected*]{} generous subgroup.
Cosets and action
=================
As stressed in the introduction, recovering the action of a Weyl group on its underlying subgroup from weak information on the elements of the corresponding cosets is a particularly delicate task. Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] is however a general result of faithfulness following merely from the nongenerosity provided by Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\]. The rest of this paper is devoted to the proof of Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\], or rather of what we see as the most interesting intermediary steps.
The most general situation is that of a definable connected generous subgroup $H$, and we want to examine the action of $N(H)/H$ on $H$, and much more generally the action on $H$ of elements $w$ in $N(H)$. Typically, $H$ may be a generous Carter subgroup, with then $N(H)/H$ the natural Weyl group, and $w$ a representative of any coset of $H$ in $N(H)$.
We note that a definable generous subgroup $H$ always satisfies $$N{^\circ}(H)=H{^\circ}$$ by Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\], and is in particular of finite index in its normalizer. We note also that there is a basic result of lifting of torsion in groups of finite Morley rank, implying in particular that any element of finite order of $N(H)/H$ lifts to an element of $N(H)$ of finite order (and where the primes involved in both primary decompositions are the same). In particular, choosing an element $w$ of finite order, for example as in Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\], is always a low cost possibility.
The following lemma is the natural continuation of [@CherlinJaligot2004 Lemma 3.4] with the present much better understanding of generosity as a finiteness property as opposed to a uniqueness property. It is the finest corelation one can get between generic elements of the coset $wH$ and generic elements of $H$ in the typical situation where the conclusion of Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] holds. It shows, we think, the real power of the method.
\[LemmaRelDefHull\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank, $H$ a definable generous subgroup of $G$, and $w$ an element in $N(H)\setminus H$ such that ${\langle}w{\rangle}H\setminus H$ is not generous. Then
- The coset $wH$ has a definable subset $[wH]_{\rm{gen}}$, whose complement is nongeneric in $wH$, and all of whose elements are in infinitely many conjugates of $wH$.
- The subgroup $H$ has a definable generic subset $H_{\rm{gen}}$ such that, for any $x$ in $[wH]_{\rm{gen}}$, the subgroup of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$ containing $x$ and defined as $$\bigcap_{g\in G,~x\in[wH]^{g}}[{\langle}w{\rangle}H]^{g}$$ has an empty intersection with $(H_{\rm{gen}})^G$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}As $N{^\circ}(H)=H{^\circ}$ by generosity of $H$ and Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\], ${\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(wH)={\hbox{\rm rk}\,}(N(wH))$, and the first claim follows from the nongenerosity of $wH$ by Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. Again we remark that the sets provided by Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] are definable.
Now one can apply Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] to ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$ also. The generosity of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$ (following that of $H$) then gives a definable subset $[{\langle}w{\rangle}H]_{0}$, generic in ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$, and all of whose elements can lie in only finitely many conjugates of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$. If that set had a nongeneric intersection with $H$, then it would have a generic intersection with one of the proper cosets of $H$ in ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$, say $w'H$. As all elements lying in this intersection would be contained in only finitely many conjugates of $w'H$, as contained in only finitely many conjugates of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$ and all normalizers are finite modulo $H{^\circ}$, Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\] would give the generosity of $w'H$, a contradiction to the assumption that ${\langle}w{\rangle}H\setminus H$ is not generous. One may thus consider a generic element of $H$ as an element of $H_{\rm{gen}}:=H\cap [{\langle}w{\rangle}H]_{0}$, and thus with the property that it is in only finitely many conjugates of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$.
Consider now $x$ generic in $wH$ in the sense of the first claim, i.e., such that $x$ is in infinitely many conjugates of $wH$. The intersection of subgroups considered in our second claim is a subgroup of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$. It is contained in infinitely many conjugates ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$, again as all normalizers are finite modulo $H{^\circ}$. Hence it contains no conjugates of an element in $H_{\rm{gen}}$, as such an element is contained in only finitely many conjugates of ${\langle}w{\rangle}H$. [ $\square$]{}
We mention, parenthetically, that the subgroup as in Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] $(2)$ containing the element $x$ of $wH$ is normalized by $C(x)$. It is definable by descending chain condition on definable subgroups, and in particular it contains the definable hull of $x$ as a (possibly smaller) subgroup.
In general, an element $x$ of a coset $wH$ has the form $x=wh$ for some $h$ in $H$ and taking powers one gets $$(wh)^{n}=w^{n}h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h$$ for any natural number $n$ (some useful formulas when considering torsion [@CherlinJaligot2004 §3.3]). Assuming additionally that the element $w$ of $N(H)$ has finite order $n$ modulo $H$, which can be done in a general way as explained above, one has $$(wh)^{n}=w^{n}h^{n}$$ in the easiest case in which $w$ and $h$ commute, with $w^{n}$ in $H$. This corelation between the element $wh$ of the coset $wH$ and the $n$-th power of the element $h$ of $H$ will be combined to the full force of the pure genericity argument of Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] in our proof of Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\].
To this end, our next main step is as follows.
\[LemmeGHw<H\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank, $H$ a definable connected generous subgroup, and $w$ an element in $N(H)$ such that ${\langle}w{\rangle}H\setminus H$ is not generous in $G$. Then $$\{h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h~|~h\in H\}$$ is not generic in $H$ for any multiple $n$ of the (necessarily finite) order of $w$ modulo $H$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}Assume towards a contradiction $\{h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h~|~h\in H\}$ generic in $H$. Let $\phi~:~wh\mapsto (wh)^{n}$ denotes the definable map, from $wH$ to $H$, consisting of taking $n$-powers. As $$\phi(wH)=w^{n}\cdot \{h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h~|~h\in H\},$$ our contradictory assumption forces that $\phi(wH)$ must be generic in $H$.
Let $H_{\rm{gen}}$ denote the definable generic subset of $H$ provided by Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] $(2)$. By connectedness of $H$, one gets that $H_{\rm{gen}}\cap \phi(wH)$ must be generic in $H$ as well. In particular, $\phi^{-1}(H_{\rm{gen}}\cap \phi(wH))$ must be generic in the coset $wH$, and one finds an element $x$ in this preimage and in the subset $[wH]_{\rm{gen}}$ provided by Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] $(1)$.
Now $\phi(x)\in H_{\rm{gen}}$, but as $\phi(x)=x^{n}$, one gets $$x^{n}\in H_{\rm{gen}}\cap {\langle}x{\rangle},$$ a contradiction to Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] $(2)$, as ${\langle}x{\rangle}$ is obviously a subgroup of the subgroup considered in Lemma \[LemmaRelDefHull\] $(2)$. [ $\square$]{}
Combined with Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], one gets the following.
\[Cor13\] Let $G$ be a group of finite Morley rank as in Corollary \[CorGnonConnonSat\], $H$ a definable connected generous subgroup of $G$, and $w$ an element of $G{^\circ}$ in $N(H)\setminus H$. Then $$\{h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h~|~h\in H\}$$ is not generic in $H$ for any multiple $n$ of the (necessarily finite) order of $w$ modulo $H$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}As usual, $H$ is of finite index in its normalizer by Corollary \[CorHGenr=0\]. By Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\], or rather its slightly more general form, Corollary \[CorGnonConnonSat\], Lemma \[LemmeGHw<H\] applies. [ $\square$]{}
If $w$ turned out to centralize $H$ in Lemma \[LemmeGHw<H\], then one would get $$\{h^{w^{n-1}}h^{w^{n-2}}\cdots h~|~h\in H\}=\{h^{n}~|~h\in H\}$$ and thus Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] follows similarly from Theorem \[TheoGenerixCosets\] and Lemma \[LemmeGHw<H\]. Again, Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\] could be stated identically in the slightly more general context of groups as in Corollary \[CorGnonConnonSat\], taking just care to pick up the element $w$ in $G{^\circ}$ as in Corollary \[Cor13\]. [ $\square$]{}
Not to come to an abrupt end, we mention the following special case of Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\], much typical of a connected reductive algebraic group, where the maximal torus corresponds to our abelian generous Carter subgroup. In this mere application, we do not conclude much more than the faithfulness of the action of the Weyl group, but state it in a form emphasizing various subgroups reminiscent of the $BN$-pair structure of a reductive algebraic group.
\[CorCarterAbelienGenerousDiv\] Let $G$ be a connected group of finite Morley rank with an abelian generous Carter subgroup $Q$, and assume $Q$ $p$-divisible for any prime $p$ dividing the order of $N(Q)/Q$. Then $Q$ has (finitely many) proper definable subgroups, corresponding to all subgroups of the form $C_{Q}(w)$ for $w$ varying in $N(Q)\setminus Q$, and with a canonical definition as the centers of proper cyclic extensions of $Q$ in $N(Q)$. In particular, $N(Q)/Q$ acts faithfully on $Q$.
[[**Proof.**]{} ]{}Let $w$ in $N(Q)\setminus Q$, of finite order $n$ modulo $Q$. As $Q$ is $p$-divisible for all primes $p$ dividing the order of $N(Q)/Q$, its is $n$-divisible, and in particular $Q^{n}=Q$. Now $C_{Q}(w)<Q$ by Corollary \[CorGenWeylGpFaithfull\]. We have shown that $C_{Q}(w)<Q$ for any element $w$ in $N(Q)\setminus Q$.
The fact that there are finitely many possibilities for such subgroups $C_{Q}(w)$ follows from their alternative definitions as $$C_{Q}(w)=Z({\langle}w{\rangle}Q)$$ and from the fact that $N(Q)/Q$ is finite. For a canonical definition of such subgroups, one may then take $Z({\langle}w{\rangle}Q)$, with $w$ varying in $N(Q)\setminus Q$. [ $\square$]{}
[**Acknowledgments.**]{} El autor aprovecha la oportunidad para agradecer a Nadia M. y su familia por una Navidad maravillosa en Galicia durante la cual fue concebido este artìculo.
|
Our private investigators utilize numerous surveillance methods to match your specific requirements. Prior to the start of your case, preliminary site reconnaissance is conducted to determine the best course of action. During this initial phase, our private investigators document the surroundings in detail to construct a well-organized and effective surveillance plan. Our investigators are highly trained in covert surveillance to avoid being detected.
We understand that surveillance is not only conducted within the confines of a vehicle. We have implemented alternative techniques in the event the subject travels to a location not accessible by vehicle. Below are the type of surveillances our agency offers.
Fixed Surveillance
The fixed surveillance, or “stakeout,” requires officers to surreptitiously observe people and places from a distance. Variations include the one- and two-person surveillance methods.
Two-Person Surveillance
Tw0-person surveillance methods are more complex to run, but provide two bonuses. Investigators can change positions more often, which greatly reduces the possibility of detection. This technique is also called the ABC Method, whose name refers to the investigators’ assigned roles. Person A stays behind the suspect, followed by the second investigator.
Undercover Operations
Undercover operations amount to another form of surveillance, but in this method the investigator plays an active role in revealing criminal or civil activities. For example, an undercover investigator might begin infiltrating the group by adopting the same hobbies or jobs as the suspects. This is a common practice when dealing with non-compete business related investigations or theft investigations. |
Frontal cortex as the site of action of physostigmine in nbM-lesioned rats.
The administration of a variety of cholinomimetic agents to nucleus basalis of Meynert-lesioned rats has been shown to alleviate their lesion-induced memory deficits. This experiment attempted to determine whether the frontal cortex was the site of the memory enhancing action of the cholinomimetic physostigmine. Different groups of rats received excitotoxic lesions of the basal forebrain, the frontal cortex or both. Immediately after one trial passive avoidance training, these rats were injected with either saline or a 0.06 mg/kg dose of physostigmine. Physostigmine enhanced the 72-hour retention test performance of sham-operated and basal forebrain-lesioned rats, but failed to affect the performance of rats with cortical lesions. These data were interpreted as consistent with the hypothesis that the memory-enhancing effects of physostigmine are at least partially mediated by the frontal cortex. |
Q:
Symfony2 form collection not calling addxxx and removexxx even if 'by_reference' => false
I have the Customer entity and two one-to-many relations CustomerPhone and CustomerAddress.
The Customer entity has addPhone/removePhone and addAddress/removeAddress "adders".
CustomerType collections options has 'by_reference' => false for both collections.
Entity functions addPhone/removePhone and addAddress/removeAddress not called after form submitted, so CustomerPhone and CustomerAddress have no parent id after persist.
Why could addPhone/removePhone and addAddress/removeAddress not called on form submit?
UPD 1.
After @Baig suggestion now I have addPhone/removePhone "adders" called, but addAddress/removeAddress not. Can't get why because they are identical.
# TestCustomerBundle/Entity/Customer.php
/**
* @var string
*
* @ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="CustomerPhone", mappedBy="customerId", cascade={"persist"}, orphanRemoval=true)
*/
private $phone;
/**
* @var string
*
* @ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="CustomerAddress", mappedBy="customerId", cascade={"persist"}, orphanRemoval=true)
*/
private $address;
Same file "adders"
# TestCustomerBundle/Entity/Customer.php
/**
* Add customer phone.
*
* @param Phone $phone
*/
public function addPhone(CustomerPhone $phone) {
$phone->setCustomerId($this);
$this->phone->add($phone);
return $this;
}
/**
* Remove customer phone.
*
* @param Phone $phone customer phone
*/
public function removePhone(CustomerPhone $phone) {
$this->phone->remove($phone);
}
/**
* Add customer address.
*
* @param Address $address
*/
public function addAddress(CustomerAddress $address) {
$address->setCustomerId($this);
$this->address->add($address);
return $this;
}
/**
* Remove customer address.
*
* @param Address $address customer address
*/
public function removeAddress(CustomerAddress $address) {
$this->address->remove($address);
}
Relations:
# TestCustomerBundle/Entity/CustomerPhone.php
/**
* @ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Customer", inversedBy="phone")
* @ORM\JoinColumn(name="customer_id", referencedColumnName="id")
**/
private $customerId;
#TestCustomerBundle/Entity/CustomerAddress.php
/**
* @ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Customer", inversedBy="address")
* @ORM\JoinColumn(name="customer_id", referencedColumnName="id")
**/
private $customerId;
CustomerType form:
public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
{
$builder
->add('name')
->add('phone', 'collection', array(
'type' => new CustomerPhoneType(),
'allow_add' => true,
'allow_delete' => true,
'by_reference' => false,
'options' => array('label' => false)
))
->add('address', 'collection', array(
'type' => new CustomerAddressType(),
'allow_add' => true,
'allow_delete' => true,
'by_reference' => false,
'options' => array('label' => false)
))
->add('submit', 'submit')
;
}
Controller.
# TestCustomerBundle/Controller/DefaultController.php
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$customer = new Customer();
// Create form.
$form = $this->createForm(new CustomerType(), $customer);
// Handle form to store customer obect with doctrine.
if ($request->getMethod() == 'POST')
{
$form->bind($request);
if ($form->isValid())
{
/*$em = $this->get('doctrine')->getEntityManager();
$em->persist($customer);
$em->flush();*/
$request->getSession()->getFlashBag()->add('success', 'New customer added');
}
}
// Display form.
return $this->render('DeliveryCrmBundle:Default:customer_form.html.twig', array(
'form' => $form->createView()
));
}
UPD 2.
Test if addAddress called.
/**
* Add customer address.
*
* @param Address $address
*/
public function addAddress(Address $address) {
jkkh; // Test for error if method called. Nothing throws.
$address->setCustomerId($this);
$this->address->add($address);
}
UPD 3.
CustomerAddressType.php
<?php
namespace Delivery\CrmBundle\Form;
use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilderInterface;
use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolverInterface;
class CustomerAddressType extends AbstractType
{
/**
* @param FormBuilderInterface $builder
* @param array $options
*/
public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
{
$builder
->add('street')
->add('house')
->add('building', 'text', ['required' => false])
->add('flat', 'text', ['required' => false])
;
}
/**
* @param OptionsResolverInterface $resolver
*/
public function setDefaultOptions(OptionsResolverInterface $resolver)
{
$resolver->setDefaults(array(
'data_class' => 'Delivery\CrmBundle\Entity\CustomerAddress'
));
}
/**
* @return string
*/
public function getName()
{
return 'delivery_crmbundle_customeraddress';
}
}
CustomerPhoneType.php
<?php
namespace Delivery\CrmBundle\Form;
use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilderInterface;
use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolverInterface;
class CustomerPhoneType extends AbstractType
{
/**
* @param FormBuilderInterface $builder
* @param array $options
*/
public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
{
$builder
->add('number')
;
}
/**
* @param OptionsResolverInterface $resolver
*/
public function setDefaultOptions(OptionsResolverInterface $resolver)
{
$resolver->setDefaults(array(
'data_class' => 'Delivery\CrmBundle\Entity\CustomerPhone'
));
}
/**
* @return string
*/
public function getName()
{
return 'phone';
}
}
A:
For me this was eventually solved by adding getXXX, which returns the collection to the PropertyAccessor. Without that you keep on wondering why addXXX or removeXXX aren't called.
So make sure that:
The option by_reference is set to false at the field,
You have both the adder and remover method on the owning side of the relationship,
The getter is accessible for the PropertyAccessor to check if by_reference can be used,
If you want to use the prototype to handle adding/removing via Javascript, make sure allow_add is set to true.
A:
This answer corresponds to Symfony 3, but I am sure this applies to Symfony 2 as well. Also this answer is more as a reference than addressing OP's issue in particular (which I am not to clear)
On ..Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/PropertyAccessor.php the method writeProperty is responsible for calling either setXXXXs or addXXX & removeXXXX methods.
So here is order on which it looks for the method:
If the entity is array or instance of Traversable (which ArrayCollection is) then pair of
addEntityNameSingular()
removeEntityNameSingular()
Source for reference:
if (is_array($value) || $value instanceof \Traversable) {
$methods = $this->findAdderAndRemover($reflClass, $singulars);
if (null !== $methods) {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_ADDER_AND_REMOVER;
$access[self::ACCESS_ADDER] = $methods[0];
$access[self::ACCESS_REMOVER] = $methods[1];
}
}
If not then:
setEntityName()
entityName()
__set()
$entity_name (Should be public)
__call()
Source for reference:
if (!isset($access[self::ACCESS_TYPE])) {
$setter = 'set'.$camelized;
$getsetter = lcfirst($camelized); // jQuery style, e.g. read: last(), write: last($item)
if ($this->isMethodAccessible($reflClass, $setter, 1)) {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_METHOD;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = $setter;
} elseif ($this->isMethodAccessible($reflClass, $getsetter, 1)) {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_METHOD;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = $getsetter;
} elseif ($this->isMethodAccessible($reflClass, '__set', 2)) {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_PROPERTY;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = $property;
} elseif ($access[self::ACCESS_HAS_PROPERTY] && $reflClass->getProperty($property)->isPublic()) {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_PROPERTY;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = $property;
} elseif ($this->magicCall && $this->isMethodAccessible($reflClass, '__call', 2)) {
// we call the getter and hope the __call do the job
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_MAGIC;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = $setter;
} else {
$access[self::ACCESS_TYPE] = self::ACCESS_TYPE_NOT_FOUND;
$access[self::ACCESS_NAME] = sprintf(
'Neither the property "%s" nor one of the methods %s"%s()", "%s()", '.
'"__set()" or "__call()" exist and have public access in class "%s".',
$property,
implode('', array_map(function ($singular) {
return '"add'.$singular.'()"/"remove'.$singular.'()", ';
}, $singulars)),
$setter,
$getsetter,
$reflClass->name
);
}
}
To answer OP's issue, based on the above mentioned information, the PropertyAccessor class of symfony is not able to read your addXX and removeXX method properly. The potential reason might be that is not identified as array or ArrayCollection which has to be done from the constructor of the entity
public function __construct() {
$this->address = new ArrayCollection();
// ....
}
|
81 B.R. 13 (1988)
In re Floyd Vincent WAGHER, Debtor.
Bankruptcy No. 87-81920.
United States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Illinois.
January 5, 1988.
*14 Barry M. Barash, Barash, Stoerzbach & Henson, Galesburg, Ill., for debtor.
Richard E. Barber, Galesburg, Ill., trustee.
OPINION AND ORDER
WILLIAM V. ALTENBERGER, Bankruptcy Judge.
The facts in this case are straightforward and not in dispute. The Debtor and his wife held property in joint tenancy. The wife died and title to the joint tenancy property passed to the Debtor. The Debtor then filed bankruptcy, and pursuant to Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 110½, Para. 15-1 (1985), claimed an exemption of $10,000.00 from the joint tenancy property.
The Debtor cites Matter of Sullivan, 680 F.2d 1131 (7th Cir.1982) for the proposition a debtor's exemptions are not limited to those found in Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 110, Para. 12-1001 (1985), but a debtor can rely on other chapters of the Illinois Revised Statutes as the basis for a claim of exemption. In the case before this Court, the Debtor is relying on Paragraph 15-1.
The trustee agrees the Debtor is not limited to the exemptions found in Paragraph 12-1001, but argues the Debtor does not fall within the scope of Paragraph 15-1 because Paragraph 15-1 is only applicable to property of the deceased wife's estate and title to the joint tenancy property passed automatically to the Debtor and did not become part of the deceased wife's estate.
Section 15-1(a) provides as follows:
"(a) The surviving spouse of a deceased resident of this State whose estate, whether testate or intestate, is administered in this State, shall be allowed as the surviving spouse's own property, free from execution, garnishment or attachment in the hands of the representative, such a sum of money as the court deems reasonable for the proper support of the surviving spouse for the period of 9 months after the death of the decedent in a manner suited to the condition in life of the surviving spouse and to the condition of the estate and such additional sum of money as the court deems reasonable for the proper support, during such period, of minor and adult dependent children of the decedent who reside with the surviving spouse at the time of decedent's death. The award may in no case be less than $5,000, together with an additional sum not less than $1,000 for each such child. The award shall be paid to the surviving spouse at such time or times, not exceeding 3 installments, as the court directs. If the surviving spouse dies before the award for his support is paid in full, the amount unpaid shall be paid to his estate. If the surviving spouse dies or abandons a child before the award for the support of a child is paid in full, the amount unpaid shall be paid for the benefit of the child to such person as the court directs.
The issue presently before this Court was not decided by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the Matter of Sullivan. In that case the court had before it the issue of whether the Bankruptcy Code section permitting states to "opt out" of the scheme of federal exemptions was constitutional. By way of preliminary analysis of the Illinois Exemption provisions, the court noted the primary state provisions were found in Paragraph 12-1001, but that other provisions of the Illinois Revised Statutes could also be applicable. In its analysis the court did not mention Paragraph 15-1 as being one of those provisions.
It has long been the law in the State of Illinois that property not a part of a decedent's estate is not subject to a surviving spouse's award. Hallbeck v. Stewart, 69 Ill.App. 255 (1897). It is also the law in the State of Illinois that a surviving joint tenant takes joint tenancy property under the instrument by which the tenancy was created and not under the laws of intestate succession, and thus the property does not *15 become part of the probate estate. In re Alpert's Estate, 102 Ill.App.3d 600, 58 Ill. Dec. 239, 430 N.E.2d 181 (1981). Therefore, inasmuch as the property from which the Debtor seeks to claim an exemption is not part of the deceased wife's estate it is not subject to a claim of exemption under Paragraph 15-1.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the trustee's objections to Debtor's "Motion for Allowance of Surviving Spouse's Award" be and the same is hereby ALLOWED.
|
Fill up your glass with British snobbery
Pairing television shows with booze is the latest craze. You may remember the line of beers meant to be enjoyed while watching Game of Thrones. Now, PBS is cashing in on the only hit series they have that wasn’t directed by Ken Burns. |
Good
News! Cost Plus
just ordered another 350 cases for both their Eastern U.S., and Western U.S warehouses.
Most Cost Plus World Market stores should have some Bulldog Root Beer in stock
soon, with more to follow.
A
big Thank You to everybody who wrote or called their local Cost
Plus store to ask for Bulldog Root Beer. Your calls and letters made a big difference,
and hopefully from now on, Cost Plus will keep Bulldog Root Beer in stock all
the time.
Cost Plus World
Market has a self-distribution warehouse in Stockton, California, and one in Windsor,
Virginia.
The
main suggestion I have (other than calling your local beverage managers), is that
you write to the two distribution centers and tell them which Cost Plus you shop
at (give the actual street address - found on this store locator - http://www.worldmarket.com/custserv/store_locator.jsp),
and that you would love to buy a case (or whatever quantity) as soon as they can
get some to that store. If your friends love Bulldog Root Beer too, have them
send letters as well. This might get some attention and get your root beer there
sooner. Here are the addresses: |
Une carte sur les enjeux géopolitiques de l’Inde dans son environnement régional, entre le géant chinois, le Pakistan et le Bangladesh.
© Christophe Chabert |
ATV Miss Asia Pageant 2011
ATV Miss Asia Pageant 2011, was the 23rd Miss Asia Pageant, which began on 19 January 2012. The pageant slogan was "Beauties, Gathered in the Water." For the first time, the organizers created a separate event for all contestants of Chinese descent from mainlain China, Hong Kong, Canada, the US, and Brazil into a semi-final, the results of whom competed with ten contestants of other Asian races. Michelle Feng of Beijing, China was the winner.
Background
The pageant was originally scheduled for fall 2011 but was delayed until early 2012 by the organizers. As in previous years, there was no upper age limit for the contestants. For the first time, the organizers created a separate event for all contestants of Chinese descent who represented different nations, ATV Miss Asia Pageant Greater China Finals 2011. It narrowed down the original 20 contestants to ten from China, Hong Kong, Canada, the US, and Brazil for another set of finals to compete with ten contestants of other Asian races.
Results
Special awards (Finals)
Miss Friendship: Vasinee Veeraphong (Thailand)
Miss Photogenic: Yi Joo Hong (Korea)
Gorgeous Award: Shuang Zhou (Hainan, China)
Perfect Figure Award: Michelle Feng (Beijing, China)
Fascinating Leggy Award: Shelly Inoue (Japan)
Special awards (Greater China Finals)
Greater China Miss Photogenic: Jolene Berube (Toronto, Canada)
Greater China Miss Cosmopolitan: Monica Lin (Taiwan)
Greater China Miss Goodwill: Samansa Hu (Brazil)
List of contestants
References
External links
ATV Miss Asia Pageant 2011 official site
Category:2011 beauty pageants
Category:Beauty pageants in Hong Kong |
// ClockTestDlg.cpp : implementation file
//
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "ClockTest.h"
#include "ClockTestDlg.h"
#ifdef _DEBUG
#define new DEBUG_NEW
#undef THIS_FILE
static char THIS_FILE[] = __FILE__;
#endif
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// CAboutDlg dialog used for App About
class CAboutDlg : public CDialog
{
public:
CAboutDlg();
// Dialog Data
//{{AFX_DATA(CAboutDlg)
enum { IDD = IDD_ABOUTBOX };
//}}AFX_DATA
// ClassWizard generated virtual function overrides
//{{AFX_VIRTUAL(CAboutDlg)
protected:
virtual void DoDataExchange(CDataExchange* pDX); // DDX/DDV support
//}}AFX_VIRTUAL
// Implementation
protected:
//{{AFX_MSG(CAboutDlg)
//}}AFX_MSG
DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
};
CAboutDlg::CAboutDlg() : CDialog(CAboutDlg::IDD)
{
//{{AFX_DATA_INIT(CAboutDlg)
//}}AFX_DATA_INIT
}
void CAboutDlg::DoDataExchange(CDataExchange* pDX)
{
CDialog::DoDataExchange(pDX);
//{{AFX_DATA_MAP(CAboutDlg)
//}}AFX_DATA_MAP
}
BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CAboutDlg, CDialog)
//{{AFX_MSG_MAP(CAboutDlg)
// No message handlers
//}}AFX_MSG_MAP
END_MESSAGE_MAP()
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// CClockTestDlg dialog
CClockTestDlg::CClockTestDlg(CWnd* pParent /*=NULL*/)
: CDialog(CClockTestDlg::IDD, pParent)
{
//{{AFX_DATA_INIT(CClockTestDlg)
// NOTE: the ClassWizard will add member initialization here
//}}AFX_DATA_INIT
// Note that LoadIcon does not require a subsequent DestroyIcon in Win32
m_hIcon = AfxGetApp()->LoadIcon(IDR_MAINFRAME);
}
void CClockTestDlg::DoDataExchange(CDataExchange* pDX)
{
CDialog::DoDataExchange(pDX);
//{{AFX_DATA_MAP(CClockTestDlg)
// NOTE: the ClassWizard will add DDX and DDV calls here
//}}AFX_DATA_MAP
}
BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CClockTestDlg, CDialog)
//{{AFX_MSG_MAP(CClockTestDlg)
ON_WM_SYSCOMMAND()
ON_WM_PAINT()
ON_WM_QUERYDRAGICON()
ON_BN_CLICKED(IDC_BUTTON1, OnButton1)
//}}AFX_MSG_MAP
END_MESSAGE_MAP()
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// CClockTestDlg message handlers
BOOL CClockTestDlg::OnInitDialog()
{
CDialog::OnInitDialog();
// Add "About..." menu item to system menu.
// IDM_ABOUTBOX must be in the system command range.
ASSERT((IDM_ABOUTBOX & 0xFFF0) == IDM_ABOUTBOX);
ASSERT(IDM_ABOUTBOX < 0xF000);
CMenu* pSysMenu = GetSystemMenu(FALSE);
if (pSysMenu != NULL)
{
CString strAboutMenu;
strAboutMenu.LoadString(IDS_ABOUTBOX);
if (!strAboutMenu.IsEmpty())
{
pSysMenu->AppendMenu(MF_SEPARATOR);
pSysMenu->AppendMenu(MF_STRING, IDM_ABOUTBOX, strAboutMenu);
}
}
// Set the icon for this dialog. The framework does this automatically
// when the application's main window is not a dialog
SetIcon(m_hIcon, TRUE); // Set big icon
SetIcon(m_hIcon, FALSE); // Set small icon
// TODO: Add extra initialization here
return TRUE; // return TRUE unless you set the focus to a control
}
void CClockTestDlg::OnSysCommand(UINT nID, LPARAM lParam)
{
if ((nID & 0xFFF0) == IDM_ABOUTBOX)
{
CAboutDlg dlgAbout;
dlgAbout.DoModal();
}
else
{
CDialog::OnSysCommand(nID, lParam);
}
}
// If you add a minimize button to your dialog, you will need the code below
// to draw the icon. For MFC applications using the document/view model,
// this is automatically done for you by the framework.
void CClockTestDlg::OnPaint()
{
if (IsIconic())
{
CPaintDC dc(this); // device context for painting
SendMessage(WM_ICONERASEBKGND, (WPARAM) dc.GetSafeHdc(), 0);
// Center icon in client rectangle
int cxIcon = GetSystemMetrics(SM_CXICON);
int cyIcon = GetSystemMetrics(SM_CYICON);
CRect rect;
GetClientRect(&rect);
int x = (rect.Width() - cxIcon + 1) / 2;
int y = (rect.Height() - cyIcon + 1) / 2;
// Draw the icon
dc.DrawIcon(x, y, m_hIcon);
}
else
{
CDialog::OnPaint();
}
}
// The system calls this to obtain the cursor to display while the user drags
// the minimized window.
HCURSOR CClockTestDlg::OnQueryDragIcon()
{
return (HCURSOR) m_hIcon;
}
void CClockTestDlg::OnButton1()
{
// TODO: Add your control notification handler code here
m_clock.Create("Clock",WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE,CRect(0,0,100,50),
this,123);
// m_clock.Hello();
m_clock.SetBackColor(RGB(0,0,255));
m_clock.SetForeColor(RGB(255,0,0));
}
BEGIN_EVENTSINK_MAP(CClockTestDlg, CDialog)
//{{AFX_EVENTSINK_MAP(CClockTestDlg)
ON_EVENT(CClockTestDlg, IDC_CLOCKCTRL1, -600 /* Click */, OnClickClockctrl1, VTS_NONE)
ON_EVENT(CClockTestDlg, IDC_CLOCKCTRL1, 1 /* NewMinute */, OnNewMinuteClockctrl1, VTS_NONE)
//}}AFX_EVENTSINK_MAP
END_EVENTSINK_MAP()
void CClockTestDlg::OnClickClockctrl1()
{
// TODO: Add your control notification handler code here
MessageBox("control is clicked!");
}
void CClockTestDlg::OnNewMinuteClockctrl1()
{
// TODO: Add your control notification handler code here
MessageBox("new minute!");
}
|
On-Air
Mega Millions Making BIG Changes
The Mega Millions game is making big changes in October. Lottery officials say the game is being revised to increase the number of prize winners for people who buy the $1 tickets. The minimum jackpot for Mega Millions is going from $12 million to $15 million. The change mean the new overall odds of winning a prize are one in fifteen. |
[Cloning and expression of thermostable secretory metalloproteinase genes from two Bacillus brevis strains in Bacillus subtilis cells].
Two closely related genes of thermostable Bac. brevis metalloproteases were cloned and expressed in Bac. subtilis cells. Their restriction maps and directions of transcription were determined. Thermostability and thermal optimum of proteolytic activity of cloned gene products are significantly lower than those of native enzymes. The authors believe that alteration of the enzymes' characteristics may be due to uncorrected folding of thermostable protein in case of its expression in mesophilic bacterial strains. |
Palumbanes
The Palumbanes or Palumbanes Islands, also known locally as “Parompong” (Porongpong), is a group of islands in the Philippine Sea located in the northern part of Caramoran, province of Catanduanes, Bicol Region, Philippines.
Palumbanes is accessible by motorboat and is less than an hour away or 13km away from the shoreline of the municipality of Caramoran. The islands are picture-perfect especially during summer. It has the view of a beautiful sunrise, green-contoured mountains, smiling children, and great off-white sand. It is considered as the fishing paradise of the north.
The group of island is composed of 3 islands named Parongpong Island, the largest followed by Tignob Island and Calabagio Island and rocks
Geography
Palumbanes is situated at a coordinate of .
See also
Caramoran, Catanduanes
Catanduanes, Philippines
Catanduanes State University
Notes
Palumbanes Islands - The Grand Adventure Nobody's Talking About
References
Category:Islands of Catanduanes |
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: or more commonly ; derived from Parel, meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch) and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is renowned for its haunting scenic beauty and deep viticulture and fruit-growing heritage.
Paarl is the seat of the Drakenstein Local Municipality; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within its economic catchment. Paarl is unusual in South Africa in that the name of the place is pronounced differently in English and Afrikaans. An unusual feature of the name of the town is that Afrikaners customarily attach the definite article to it: people say in die Paarl or in die Pêrel ("in the Paarl"), rather than in Paarl.
Paarl gained international attention when, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending 27 years of imprisonment and beginning the march to South Africa's post-apartheid era and multi-racial elections. Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison.
Paarl hosted a match from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The headquarters of Ceres Fruit Juices are located in the city, although its namesake and source of much of the fruit, Ceres Valley, is around one hour's drive to the northeast.
The district is particularly well known for its Pearl Mountain or "Paarl Rock". This huge granite rock is formed by three rounded outcrops that make up Paarl Mountain and has been compared in majesty to Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) in Australia. (However, they are not geologically similar. Paarl Rock consists of intrusive igneous rock, while Uluru is a sedimentary remnant).
History
The area that is now known as Paarl was first and is still inhabited by the Khoekhoe. The Peninsular Khoikhoi people and the Cochoqua people live in this area divided by the Berg River Valley. The Cochaqua were cattle-herding people and among the richest of the Khoi tribes. They had between 16,000-18,000 members and originally called Paarl Mountain, Tortoise Mountain.
The Dutch East India Company, under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck, established meat-trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on the Table Bay coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg" (Diamond and Pearl Mountain), from which Paarl is derived. Gabemma (often also spelled Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name, and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain.
In 1687, Governor Simon van der Stel gave title to the first colonial farms in the area to "free burghers". The following year, the French Huguenots arrived in the Western Cape and began to settle on farms in the area. The fertile soil and the Mediterranean-like climate of this region provided perfect conditions for farming. The settlers planted orchards, vegetable gardens and, above all, vineyards. Thus began Paarl's long and continuing history as a major wine- and fruit-producing area of South Africa.
In 1875 a congregation was formed out of a desire to be educated in their mother tongue. This was the result of a Reverend GWA van der Lingen idea who tried to motivate and convince people of his principles. The congregation would raise funds and begin construction of a church that would later be known as the "Toring Kerk" (Tower Church). Construction finished in 1905. The church contains materials imported from London and Egypt.
The arrival of the European settlers brought on conflict with the Khoikhoi people, as land and water resources began to be contested and the Khoi traditions of communal land use came in conflict with the settler's concept of private property. The Khoi peoples were defeated in local war and were further decimated by European diseases. The population scattered inland toward the Orange River or became laborers on settler farms.
Demographics
In the 2001 census Paarl's population was recorded as being 82,713 people in 20,138 households, in a land area of . 67.8% of the inhabitants described themselves as "Coloured", 21.2% as "White", 10.5% as "Black African", and 0.5% as "Indian or Asian". 85.5% spoke Afrikaans as their first language, 8.5% spoke Xhosa, and 5.2% spoke English.
Tourist attractions
Like many towns in the Cape Winelands, Paarl is home to a prosperous community, with many well maintained and attractive Cape Dutch houses, beautiful gardens and streets lined with old oak trees.
Paarl boasts a unique cultural attraction: it was here that the foundations of the Afrikaans language were laid by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners. The "Afrikaanse Taalmonument" (monument to the Afrikaans language) on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, the Language Museum (Taalmuseum) and the Afrikaans Language Route through Dal Josaphat are memorials to this achievement.
The former headquarters of the wine industry in South Africa is also situated here. This was the famous "Co-operative Wine Growers' Association" (better known by its Afrikaans initials KWV). KWV became a South African institution that has acquired an international reputation based on its unique achievements and its imprint of quality on the local wine industry. Over the past decade, however, KWV has been privatized and no longer has an administrative role in the South African wine industry. (KWV's main wine production and maturation facilities are on its Paarl premises, while its brandy production takes place in Worcester and grape juice concentrate production in Upington in the Northern Cape.)
The town and its surroundings attract many visitors with an array of activities and interests. There are magnificent Cape Dutch buildings (17-19th Century), scenic drives, hiking trails, excellent restaurants and the Paarl wine route, with its many wine tasting opportunities.
The old Spice Route Paarl, which was initiated in 1997 by Charles Back, the owner of this estate as well as of Fairview, provides an opportunity for visitors to appreciate and taste local delicacies from the Western Cape, like biltong, draft beer or red and white wines from the surrounding wine yards in Malmesbury and Darling. Back's vision was "to offer local and international tourists a selection of hand-picked artisanal producers who put as much thought, skill and passion into their products as Spice Route wine maker, Charl du Plessis, puts into his wines". Besides that a range of art galleries and the traditional way of organic dark chocolate production can be explored. The heritage of the Spice Route farm goes back to the historical marieners who used to trade Eastern spices to Europe along the "Spice Route" for spice trade in the 15th century.
The Paarl Rock itself is these days a popular Mecca for rock climbers. However, in the pioneering period of rock climbing in South Africa, the mountain was ignored or shunned because its steep faces were so smooth and unfissured that climbers could find no place to attach "runners" or anchor points for belays. The first climbing routes up the rock were pioneered in 1969 by J. W. Marchant and G. Athiros, the former from the University of Cape Town Mountain and Ski Club. Soon afterwards Marchant and John Knight established a few routes on which the rope was run out for or more with no protection whatsoever. This was in the days before bolting was possible, and these achievements are still held in high regard today. Nowadays protection is afforded by bolts in the granite, and there are on Paarl Rock a few dozen spectacular, beautiful and very hard routes that attract the best climbers of the current generation. (All of these climbs remain dangerous for the inexperienced.) A guidebook for these routes was written in 2006 by Stewart & Scott Noy, who lived at the foot of the mountain and were developing many of the new routes at the time.
Districts
Amongst the neighborhoods include De Zoete Inval (middle-class suburb in the south); Courtrai (a wealthy suburb in the southern part of town); Central Paarl (generally known as Upper-Paarl and also containing a lot of wealthy suburbs, popular area for local Jews); Lemoenkloof (a wealthy suburb between the central and northern parts of town); Northern Paarl (middle-class suburb, including the area of Groenvlei); Denneburg (in the south east of the town); Vrykyk (in the south) and areas in the eastern part of the town such as New Orleans, New York, Amstelhof, Lantana and Klein Nederburg.
There are also large gated communities developed towards the South of the town on the way to Franschhoek, such as Boschenmeer (golf estate), Val de Vie Estate (polo estate) and Pearl Valley (golf estate).
Education
The town boasts some of the best governmental academic high schools in the country including Paarl Gimnasium High School (est. 1858), La Rochelle Girls' High School (est.1860), Paarl Boys' High School (est.1868), Paulus Joubert High, New Orleans Secondary, Klein Nederburg Secondary and Paarl Girls' High. Paarl Girls' High was placed 17th in the National Senior Certificate's "Excellence in academic performance" awards in 2012. New Orleans Secondary is the school where the Miss South Africa (2018), Tamaryn Green, completed her secondary education. Independent schools such as Simond Private School (est. 1852) and Bridge House also feature in this region. Bridge House, listed as one of the most expensive independent schools in South Africa, offers boarding facilities. These schools offer the IEB examinations as distinct from the National Senior Certificate offered by government schools.
Climate
Notable residents
Kathleen Aerts - Belgian singer
Lynne Brown - former Premier of the Western Cape
Archie Crail - writer
Willem de Waal - rugby union player
Jean de Villiers - rugby union player
Peter de Villiers - former coach of the South Africa national rugby union team (Springboks)
Stephanus Jacobus du Toit - Taalstryder (language warrior)
Jacob Daniël du Toit (Totius) - (Born Paarl 1877) poet and Taalstryder
David James - actor
Wilmot James - former Member of Parliament
Elsa Joubert - author
Marius Charl Joubert - rugby union player
Wayne Julies - rugby union player
Margaret Lawder - botanist
Nelson Mandela - released from Victor Vester Prison in Paarl on 11 February 1990
Eugène Marais - author and poet
Deon Meyer - thriller novelist
Ryk Neethling - swimmer and Olympian
Justin Lee Ontong - cricketer Cape Cobras
Karel Schoeman - author
Gurthro Steenkamp - rugby union player
Louis Theodor Weichardt - founder and leader of the Greyshirts
Chester Mornay Williams - rugby union player
Coats of arms
Municipality (1) — On 18 July 1905, the municipal council accepted a coat of arms presented by . It was the arms of Hendrik van Reede van Drakenstein : a silver shield charged with two dancetty black bars and crowned with a golden coronet. The supporters were two golden gryphons. The motto was Pour le salut du peuple ("For the wellbeing of the people"). Sometimes, the arms were depicted as silver dancetty bars on a blue shield.
Municipality (2) — The arms were re-designed in 1950 by Colin Graham Botha, and granted by the College of Arms on 22 January 1951. They were published in the Cape Province's Official Gazette in 1955, re-granted by the provincial administrator in 1967, and certified by the Bureau of Heraldry in 1969.
In the new version, each of the dancetty bars on the shield displayed two pearls; the supporters were red with blue wings dotted with golden fleurs de lis; and the crest was a red demi-gryphon with blue wings holding a bunch of grapes.
Divisional Council — The divisional council was the local authority which administered the rural areas outside the town. It registered a coat of arms at the Bureau of Heraldry on 20 October 1978. Once again, the Van Reede shield formed the basis of the design. Down the middle of the shield was a red pale displaying a bunch of grapes between two pearls. The crest was a fleur de lis. The motto was Animus et fata ("Courage and fortune").
Mbekweni — The local authority for the Black township of Mbekweni registered arms at the Bureau on 5 May 1989. The shield is divided per chevron into red and green, with a golden chevron rompu across the centre and a silver cross pommy below it. Above the arms was a green mural crown decorated with a band of red edged in gold. The motto was uXolo neMpulelelo.
See also
List of heritage sites in Paarl
References
External links
Official Paarl Tourist information guide
Cape Winelands Tourism guide to Winelands accommodation, holiday and visitor information
Everything in Paarl
Paarl Directory
Category:Wine regions of South Africa
Category:Populated places in the Drakenstein Local Municipality
Category:Populated places established in 1657
Category:1657 establishments in the Dutch Empire
Category:Populated places established by the Dutch East India Company |
In the Senate:
Today the Senate passed out of committee SB18XX and is expected to pass the
bill out of the full Senate sometime today.
The bill would de-link 1) payment for bonds issued to repay General Fund
dollars used to buy power from 2) payment for power contracts signed by DWR.
The Senate has thus far failed to get its version of the "Edison MOU"
(SB78XX) out the necessary committees in order to get it to the floor for a
vote by the full Senate.
It is unclear at this point whether the Senate will try to vote the MOU bill
out of the Senate, or focus solely on SB18XX (de-linking bonds from DWR
contracts) prior to leaving for vacation.
Dunn got a resolution passed that permits his investigative committee to take
depositions of individuals.
In the Assembly:
The Assembly has thus far failed to get an "MOU" (82XX or 83XX) voted out of
the full Assembly, though expectations are that the Hertzberg bill (82XX)
will get voted out of the Assembly today. |
Seochon
Seochon (서촌) is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Jongno-gu in northern Seoul, South Korea. It translates as "West village" or "Western village" as it is west of the Gyeongbok Palace. It is also thought that the name could have derived from Mt Inwangsan as the mountain used to be called "Seosan" or "old mountain in the west." Seochon is traditionally associated with the Joseon dynasty and Korean literature.
Boundaries
Seochon is located west of the Gyeongbokgung Palace, at the base of Mt. Inwangsan. The Seoul City Wall and the Sajik and Jahamun subway tunnels are the boundaries of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is composed of fifteen smaller neighborhoods called "dong." Seochon is located at 36° 39' 25.794'' N 127° 24' 4.3848'' E with an average elevation of 33.141 m / 108.732 feet.
Culture and traditions
Korean literature is filled with references to Seochon neighborhoods. While few original landmarks remain intact, the neighborhood contains many historical signs and is the birthplace of King Sejong. Traditionally, the area is of great significance to shamanists and geomancy, partially due to its proximity to the Inwangsan mountain. The neighborhood also contains the Seoul Sajikdan and Jongmyo shrines, along with the Gyeongbok palace. Protected historical landmarks in the neighborhood also include a cluster of over 600 hanok, the Yi Sang and Yi Sangbeom Houses, and the Pak No-soo House in Ogin-dong, which was recently restored and opened as the Pak No-soo Art Museum.
Tongin Market
Located in Hyoja-dong, the Tongin Market dates back to 1941 when Korea was still under Japanese rule. After the Korean War, the market grew, and stalls in the market grew in demand. The market now contains over 70 stores, including several restaurants and a grocery store for tourists.
Landmarks
Sajik Park
Sajik Park was designed in the Choseon Dynasty era and opened to the public in 1922. It was built for worshiping the Earth and harvest gods and is one of the oldest parks in Seoul.
Tongui-dong
Tongui-dong is a neighbourhood in Seochon. During the Joseon Dynasty, High court officials walked through this place to go to work, and merchants and craftsmen set up shops there. It was also the home of several famous historical figures, including the painters Yi Jung-seop and Yi Sang-beom and the poets Yun Dongju and Yi Sang.
Daelim Contemporary Art Museum
The Daelim Contemporary Art Museum is located in the residential area of Tongui-dong, and is near the Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Daelim Museum began as a photography museum, eventually widening its scope to include design and a wide range of other art fields.
The National Palace Museum of Korea
The National Palace Museum of Korea has a large collection of art and objects from the palaces of the Joseon Dynasty era. The Museum attempts to raise the public's knowledge of the artistic and cultural legacy of the Joseon Dynasty through its various exhibitions and educational programs.
See also
Jongno District
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Tongui-dong
References
External links
Category:Jongno District
Category:Neighbourhoods of Seoul
Category:Tourist attractions in Seoul |
Ex-star quarterback found dead
(CNN)-- A former star college quarterback was found dead in northern Michigan on Tuesday night, two days after he went missing while on a fishing excursion, his former university said.
Grand Valley State University tweeted around 9:15 p.m. (10:15 p.m. ET) Tuesday that the body of Cullen Finnerty had been found near Baldwin, Michigan. This came after an intensive search by police, firefighters and ex-teammates on Tuesday.
"The Grand Valley community is saddened to learn of the death of former Laker quarterback Cullen Finnerty," theschool said.
Finnerty, who spent time with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, set off Sunday to fish in Lake County -- which is between Traverse City and Grand Rapids -- but hadn't been heard from since, Sheriff Robert Hilts said Tuesday.
A flier posted on MissingCases.com/Facebook indicated Finnerty was last heard from Sunday evening. The family of the ex-football standout has a cabin close to a campground near where he disappeared.
The only solid lead on Finnerty's whereabouts had been the discovery of a small pontoon boat he had been using in Bray Creek, near the Baldwin River, Hilts said. Video from CNN affiliate WTOM showed the boat perched on the waterway's rocky shore.
No foul play was suspected in the 30-year-old's disappearance, the sheriff said before Finnerty's body was found.
Searchers -- including members of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, area fire departments and state police -- worked with Finnerty's family to coordinate resources.
They were joined by alumni including former football players, current students and staff at Grand Valley State University, where Finnerty starred in football between 2003 and 2006. The school is just west of Grand Rapids.
Head football coach Matt Mitchell said Lakers players also joined the hunt on Tuesday.
After his graduation, hejoined the Ravens. Finnerty never got into a regular season game, though -- as theBaltimore Sunreported -- he was called up from the practice squad and put on the Ravens' active roster in December 2007. TheDenver Postreported Finnerty was briefly with the Denver Broncos the next year.
Finnerty was married with two young children, Grand Valley State assistant football coach Jim Schaak, who was among those taking part in Tuesday's search, told WTOM. |
Prisoner Pinochet
Prisoner Pinochet
Article excerpt
The arrest in London of ex-general, now Senator for Life, Augusto Pinochet, who only recently had been sipping tea in the home of Baroness Thatcher, fingering ties at Burberry's and reviewing missile plants, is a landmark moment for the world human rights movement. Unthinkable a decade ago, the detention of Pinochet, whose regime was responsible for the jailing, torture and murder of thousands, is a sign of increasing international cooperation on human rights. As with landmine eradication, unceasing pressure from citizen lobbies and NGOs has paid off.
Pinochet's arrest was the result of the courageous work of Spanish "Superjudge" Baltasar Garzon. Along with his colleague Manuel Garcia Castellon, Garzon has been doing what the Chilean courts wouldn't -- investigating Pinochet for his complicity in the murder and torture of civilians, some of them Spanish citizens. Credit must also be given to the Labor government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which executed the warrant in accord with the European Convention on Terrorism. If Spain and Britain now concur, Pinochet could be extradited to Madrid, put on trial and slammed into prison. The bagging of Pinochet rudely punctures the bubble of legal impunity that the dictator granted himself and his collaborators with a 1978 "amnesty" decree. It has also highlighted the cowardice of Chile's nominally center-left government, which sprang to Pinochet's defense, grotesquely arguing, pace the Nuremberg principles, that El Senador is shielded by diplomatic immunity. Chilean President Eduardo Frei proclaimed, "Chileans should be judged only by Chilean courts." But Socialist congressman Juan Pablo Letelier -- whose father, Orlando, was killed in 1976 in Washington, DC, by a car bomb set be Pinochet's secret police -- has answered by saying "immunity does not equal impunity. … |
The economic considerations and implications of the stratification of future oncology therapeutics.
Cancer accounts for approximately 13 % of all deaths worldwide. Development of stratification biomarkers, for cancer screening, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment optimization, is a vital concept to facilitate disease prevention and drug development. The advent of stratified medicine should result in the safer, more effective use of therapeutic drugs to treat cancer, and in reducing the cost associated with inappropriate therapeutic regimens; however, many barriers delay the use of biomarkers in drug development and clinical practice. Since the incorporation of biomarkers in clinical practice might have additional initial costs, the question arises regarding whether the improvement in outcomes is reached at a realistic additional cost. This review presents an overview of economic issues surrounding biomarkers in cancer treatment optimization. |
RINO: Republican In Name Only.
With Republican intra-party bickering reaching inane levels and the cuckservative slur gaining popularity as the insult du jour, I guess being tarred as a RINO isn't the worst thing that could happen to an incumbent House Republican -- unless of course your Tea Party challenger cuts an ad declaring she's "hunting RINOs" before she takes aim and fires off a shotgun.
Advertisement:
Mother Jones' Tim Murphy first uncovered this gem of a campaign ad by North Carolina conservative activist, Kay Daly, that aired in the Raleigh market during last week's GOP debate.
The 30-second jampacked ad is a doozy, complete with gratuitous swipes at feminists, same-sex couples, and undocumented immigrants but it's target is embattled North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers.
Elected to Congress during the 2010 Tea Party wave, Ellmers has been dogged by conservative furor since leading a group of mostly Republican women in blocking a 20-week abortion ban earlier this year. She also irked conservatives with her refusal to support a bill undoing President Obama's executive actions on immigration.
Advertisement:
Ellmers has faced tough primaries in the past, most recently in 2014, before going on to beat her conservative challenger and defeat "American Idol" winner Clay Aiken in the general election -- but this time her challenger is swinging for the fences.
The ad, narrated by a man who charges that "this feminist" (referring to Ellmers) is a RINO, is Daly's first ad of the 2016 campaign but makes quite the impression. The ad features a number of unflattering photos and screengrabs of Ellmers, while running down a litany of her alleged heresies.
Ellmers, the ad goes on to charge has “voted to let homosexuals pretend they are married” and “voted to fund Obamacare and to raise the debt ceiling twice to pay for abortions in D.C. and fund Planned Butcherhood." The ad also charges Ellmers “voted to let convicted child molesters stay in America.”
Advertisement:
At the end, Daly appears with a shotgun and turns to the camera to declare, “I’m hunting for RINOS” before asking, "care to join me?":
Daly, a former North Carolina GOP spokeswoman, seemingly has devoted her entire campaign website to bashing Ellmers' record as a conservative. But her website does mention that she counts Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Alito as “friends," along with noting endorsements from the likes of Alan Keyes and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.
Advertisement:
Daly is not Ellmers' only primary challenger. As Mother Jones notes, "Her top primary challenger, a former county GOP chair named Jim Duncan, is neck and neck with her in fundraising." |
A need exists for devices and methods to produce pellets from a low-viscosity plastic melt. Furthermore, a need exists for a device to produce pellets from a low-viscosity plastic melt that avoids foaming of the pellets and falling pellet droplets due to the volatile materials contained in the plastic melt.
A further need exists for methods and devices to produce pellets from a low-viscosity plastic melt that can maintain the pellets in a substantially spherical shape.
In addition, a need exists for methods and devices to produce pellets from a low-viscosity plastic melt that tend to prevent the sticking of the pellets.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures. |
Conception and the concept of harm.
In recent years, science and the courts have created new options whereby prospective parents can avoid the birth of a diseased or defective child. We can ascertain the likelihood that certain genetic diseases will be transmitted; we can detect a number of fetal abnormalities in utero; we have legal permission to abort for any reason, including fetal abnormality. With these new options come new questions concerning our moral obligations toward our prospective offspring. An important conceptual question concerns whether such congenital diseases and defects constitute harms to the children who bear them. In this essay I shall examine the prevailing analysis of harm, the "Otherwise-Condition" approach, which denies that we can predicate harm of such abnormalities. I will show first that this analysis is inadequate even to account for certain very ordinary, clear cases of harm. It thus is suspect regardless of its stance on congenital anomalies. Second, it sets up an ill-considered connection between harm and causation - a connection which renders its harm ascriptions slippery, arbitrary. Finally, this analysis cannot be squared with certain of our deeply entrenched moral intuitions. By thus rebutting this most influential definition of harm, I will have opened the door to the possibility of ascribing harm for congenital disease and defect. |
[Laparoscopic fine needle catheter jejunostomy].
Gastrostomy or jejunostomy allow a safe and effective long-term enteral nutritional support. In patients with stenosis of the upper gastrointestinal tract the percutaneous endoscopic route is frequently not feasible. In these cases a laparoscopic approach is proposed. In 18 patients (n = 18) mostly with recurrent tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract a laparoscopic catheter was placed into the jejunum without complications. Enteral feeding was started on the first day after catheter placement. One patient experienced a cathetersite infection. We describe a modified technique of laparoscopic jejunostomy the placement which is easy, effective and less invasive. |
Santos Laguna ousts Dynamo in CONCACAF Champions League
Recommended Video:
TORREON, Mexico — Given a weekend off by MLS to rest and prepare, the Dynamo fell short in their quest for a piece of league history on Wednesday.
Santos Laguna beat the Dynamo 3-0, getting two goals in a five-minute span of the first half as it advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
The Dynamo had opened the two-game aggregate series with a 1-0 win in Houston last week.
Can't match Seattle
The Dynamo were trying to make it a historic round of Champions League play for MLS teams after Seattle became the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican League opponent since the tournament switched to its current format in 2008.
"A historic night," Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning said. "We are the first, and that's a good thing."
Seattle advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over the Tigres UANL on Tuesday and will face Santos Laguna. The Sounders' Eddie Johnson scored the clinching goal in the 75th minute.
Bruin fails to connect
Warren Creavalle and the Dynamo failed to advance in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. Warren Creavalle and the Dynamo failed to advance in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. Photo: LUIS FUENTES, AFP/Getty Images Photo: LUIS FUENTES, AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Santos Laguna ousts Dynamo in CONCACAF Champions League 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
The Dynamo made an early push in the second half Wednesday, but Will Bruin was high and wide on a shot at the 56-minute mark. Santos put the game away at the 77-minute mark, when Marc Crosas produced his team's third goal off a corner kick.
The Dynamo had not played since their 1-0 victory over Santos last week at BBVA Compass Stadum. They will return to MLS action quickly, visiting FC Dallas on Sunday. |
Q:
Extracting parts of text between specific delimiters from a large text file with custom delimiters and writing it to another file using Python
I'm working on a project that involves creating a database of US federal code in a certain format. I've obtained the whole code form official source which is not structured well. I have managed to scrape the US Code in the below format into text files using some code on GITHUB.
-CITE-
13 USC Sec. 1 1/15/2013
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 1 - ADMINISTRATION
SUBCHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
-HEAD-
Sec. 1. Definitions
-STATUTE-
As used in this title, unless the context requires another
meaning or unless it is otherwise provided -
(1) "Bureau" means the Bureau of the Census;
(2) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce; and
(3) "respondent" includes a corporation, company, association,
firm, partnership, proprietorship, society, joint stock company,
individual, or other organization or entity which reported
information, or on behalf of which information was reported, in
response to a questionnaire, inquiry, or other request of the
Bureau.
-SOURCE-
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1012; Pub. L. 94-521, Sec. 1,
Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2459.)
-MISC1-
<some text>
-End-
-CITE-
13 USC Sec. 2 1/15/2013
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 1 - ADMINISTRATION
SUBCHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
-HEAD-
Sec. 2. Bureau of the Census
-STATUTE-
The Bureau is continued as an agency within, and under the
jurisdiction of, the Department of Commerce.
-SOURCE-
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1012.)
-MISC1-
<some text>
-End-
Each text file contains thousands of such blocks starting with a -CITE- tag and ending with an -END-.
Apart from these there are certain blocks which represent the start of a chapter or sub chapter and these do not contain a -STATUTE- tag.
E.g.
-CITE-
13 USC CHAPTER 3 - COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF
STATISTICS 1/15/2013
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 3 - COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF STATISTICS
-HEAD-
CHAPTER 3 - COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF STATISTICS
-MISC1-
SUBCHAPTER I - COTTON
Sec.
41. Collection and publication.
42. Contents of reports; number of bales of linter;
distribution; publication by Department of
Agriculture.
43. Records and reports of cotton ginners.
SUBCHAPTER II - OILSEEDS, NUTS, AND KERNELS; FATS, OILS, AND
GREASES
61. Collection and publication.
62. Additional statistics.
63. Duplicate collection of statistics prohibited; access
to available statistics.
SUBCHAPTER III - APPAREL AND TEXTILES
81. Statistics on apparel and textile industries.
SUBCHAPTER IV - QUARTERLY FINANCIAL STATISTICS
91. Collection and publication.
SUBCHAPTER V - MISCELLANEOUS
101. Defective, dependent, and delinquent classes; crime.
102. Religion.
103. Designation of reports.
AMENDMENTS
<some text>
-End-
I am interested only in those blocks that have a -STATUTE- tag.
Is there a way to extract only the blocks of text that have the -STATUTE- tag and write them to another text file?
I'm new to Python but I'm told this can be easily done in Python.
Appreciate if someone could guide me with this.
A:
I'd read the text line-by-line and parse it myself. This way you can handle large input as streams. There are nicer solutions using multiline regexps but those will always suffer from being not able to handle the input as a stream.
#!/usr/bin/env python
import sys, re
# states for our state machine:
OUTSIDE = 0
INSIDE = 1
INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE = 2
def eachCite(stream):
state = OUTSIDE
for lineNumber, line in enumerate(stream):
if state in (INSIDE, INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE):
capture += line
if re.match('^-CITE-', line):
if state == OUTSIDE:
state = INSIDE
capture = line
elif state in (INSIDE, INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE):
raise Exception("-CITE- in -CITE-??", lineNumber)
else:
raise NotImplementedError(state)
elif re.match('^-End-', line):
if state == OUTSIDE:
raise Exception("-End- without -CITE-??", lineNumber)
elif state == INSIDE:
yield False, capture
state = OUTSIDE
elif state == INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE:
yield True, capture
state = OUTSIDE
else:
raise NotImplementedError(state)
elif re.match('^-STATUTE-', line):
if state == OUTSIDE:
raise Exception("-STATUTE- without -CITE-??", lineNumber)
elif state == INSIDE:
state = INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE
elif state == INSIDE_AFTER_STATUTE:
raise Exception("-STATUTE- after -STATUTE-??", lineNumber)
else:
raise NotImplementedError(state)
if state != OUTSIDE:
raise Exception("EOF in -CITE-??")
for withStatute, cite in eachCite(sys.stdin):
if withStatute:
print "found cite with statute:"
print cite
In case you want to process not sys.stdin you can do it like this:
with open('myInputFileName') as myInputFile, \
open('myOutputFileName', 'w') as myOutputFile:
for withStatute, cite in eachCite(myInputFile):
if withStatute:
myOutputFile.write("found cite with statute:\n")
myOutputFile.write(cite)
|
Ubiquitin B: an essential mediator of trichostatin A-induced tumor-selective killing in human cancer cells.
Although histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) are emerging as a new class of anticancer agents, the mechanism of tumor-selective killing by HDACi is not well understood. We used suppression of mortality by antisense rescue technique (SMART) to screen the key genes responsible for the tumor-selective killing by trichostatin A (TSA). Twenty-four genes were identified, the most significant of which was ubiquitin B (UbB). The expression of UbB was selectively upregulated by TSA in tumor cells, but not non-malignant cells. Further observation indicated that TSA induced a substantial dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, and proteolytic cleavage of caspases-3/9 in HeLa cells, which was apparently mediated by ubiquitylation and the subsequent degradation of mitochondrial membrane proteins including BCL-2 and MCL-1. In contrast, knockdown of UbB expression inhibited the TSA-induced apoptotic cascade by abolishing TSA-induced ubiquitylation and the subsequent degradation of mitochondrial membrane proteins. Furthermore, apicidine, another HDACi, exhibited activity similar to that of TSA. Interestingly, TSA induced UbB-dependent proteasomal degradation of BCR-ABL fusion protein in K562 leukemic cells. Thus, our findings highlight the essential role of UbB and UbB-dependent proteasomal protein degradation in HDACi-induced tumor selectivity. The mechanism provides a novel starting point for dissecting the molecular mechanism underlying the tumor selectivity of HDACi. |
60% of Springettsbury township residents lived in the same house 5 years ago. Out of people who lived in different houses, 69% lived in this county. Out of people who lived in different counties, 47% lived in Pennsylvania.
Other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (5%)
Preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers (4%)
Retail sales workers except cashiers (4%)
Business operations specialists (3%)
Health technologists and technicians (3%)
Class of Workers
Most common first ancestries reported in Springettsbury township:
German (40.5%)
United States or American (9.3%)
English (8.4%)
Irish (7.7%)
Italian (6.2%)
Polish (2.5%)
Scotch-Irish (2.1%)
Most common places of birth for the foreign-born residents:
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan (18%)
United Kingdom (7%)
Korea (7%)
Germany (6%)
Vietnam (5%)
Ukraine (5%)
Italy (5%)
Means of transportation to work:
Drove a car alone: 9,989 (90%)
Carpooled: 587 (5%)
Bus or trolley bus: 38 (0%)
Railroad: 26 (0%)
Taxi: 6 (0%)
Motorcycle: 6 (0%)
Walked: 111 (1%)
Other means: 31 (0%)
Worked at home: 333 (3%)
Most commonly used house heating fuel:
Utility gas (80%)
Electricity (10%)
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc. (7%)
Bottled, tank, or LP gas (2%)
People in group quarters in Springettsbury township, Pennsylvania:
924 people in local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups)
581 people in nursing homes
461 people in federal prisons and detention centers
122 people in other noninstitutional group quarters
29 people in short-term care, detention or diagnostic centers for delinquent children
12 people in homes for the mentally retarded
5 people in religious group quarters
93.5% of residents of Springettsbury township speak English at home.
2.7% of residents speak Spanish at home (69% speak English very well, 16% speak English well, 10% speak English not well, 5% don't speak English at all).
2.0% of residents speak other Indo-European language at home (66% speak English very well, 21% speak English well, 13% speak English not well).
1.7% of residents speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home (34% speak English very well, 26% speak English well, 28% speak English not well, 12% don't speak English at all).
0.2% of residents speak other language at home (32% speak English very well, 43% speak English well, 26% speak English not well). |
fn main() {
let mut sum = 0;
for i in 1..1000 {
if i % 3 == 0 || i % 5 == 0 {
sum += i
}
}
println!("{}", sum);
}
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.