text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
|---|
Postoperative follow-up of patients with colorectal cancer: a combined evaluation of CT scan, colonoscopy and tumour markers.
The purpose of this study is to present the experience of our department regarding the importance of the systematic postoperative follow-up of patients with colorectal cancer, early diagnosis and treatment of the recurrence of the disease or a metachronous cancer. In a study that took place between October 2001 and February 2004 amongst 67 patients that were operated upon for colorectal cancer, 41 were systematically being followed up through CT scan, colonoscopy and tumour markers. In the 14th and 18th months postoperatively for 2 of the patients the CT scan showed hepatic metastasis, while the colonoscopy was negative. Regarding the tumour markers, one (CEA) was elevated in one patient while three were elevated in the others. For 2 out of the 41 patients the colonoscopy showed recurrence of the disease within one and two years respectively. The CT scan proved to be free of metastasis and the tumour markers were falling within the normal range for one of the patients while for the other CEA was elevated. Both patients underwent additional colectomy. Postoperative increase of the tumour markers was observed in 9 patients. The above patients had normal markers in the immediate postoperative period. For 4 out of the 9 patients recurrence or spread of the disease was observed while the rest of them are still being followed up. In conclusion, we believe that the systematic postoperative follow-up of the patients with colorectal cancer through CT, colonoscopy and the use of tumour markers contributes decisively to the early diagnosis and treatment of any possible recurrence of the cancer or a metachronous cancer or misdiagnosed concomitant cancer. |
Review Alexandru 2009-08-03
===========================
[X] configuration_ini_writer_test.php (and maybe other files) contains tab
characters instead of spaces as we use everywhere else
|
Google Incurs Fine Over Faulty Word Suggestions
Google France landed in trouble due to its automated search suggestions feature which added "escroc" meaning crook or swindler after the name of a French company and now it has been asked to pay €50,000 ($64,670) to a French company by a court of law.
The search engine giant was asked to pay the compensation after French insurance company Lyonnaise de Garantie initiated the lawsuit on the basis that the Google France suggests the word "escroc" as an addition to any query regarding this company.
A court in Paris opined that this addition of word by the search engine "was offensive towards the company". Also the court added that Google must be able to use "human control" on the operation of words which are suggested by the search giant, reported The Local.
On the other hand, Google Inc. commented that this auto-complete function was not "expression of a human thought", an "opinion" or a "value judgement or criticism", however, this was a result of their automatic algorithm.
The search engine includes Google Suggest which is an auto-complete system for suggesting rest of any phrase on the basis of initial few words or characters typed by the user. |
Emile Smith Rowe has signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal after impressing for the club during their pre-season campaign.
The teenager, who turned 18 last week, travelled with Unai Emery's first-team squad to Singapore and scored a stunning goal against Atletico Madrid in the International Champions Cup last week for his first senior strike.
Smith Rowe, part of England's FIFA U17 World Cup winning squad in India last year, made his first appearance for the first team against Boreham Wood in Emery's opening match in charge.
⚽️ Goal against @Atleti ✅
🅰️ Assist against @PSG_inside ✅
📝 And now, a new long-term contract ✅
It's been a pretty good week for @emilesmithrowe_ 👏 pic.twitter.com/1xztFcPLE8 — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) July 31, 2018
"To be honest it feels great for me," Smith Rowe told the club's official website.
"It's something I've always dreamt of since I was young, so to sign a new contract with Arsenal… I'm just so happy and it feels surreal at the moment."
The academy graduate first joined the club aged 10 and made 11 appearances for the U23s last season, while also being a regular for the U18s.
Smith Rowe scored his first senior goal for Arsenal against Atletico Madrid in Singapore
"I am pleased with Emile's contribution so far this pre-season," Emery said.
"He is working very hard and has lots of potential. I look forward to working with him and the other young players and helping them to develop as Arsenal players." |
Luxor 3 [2010] [Full] [Multilenguaje] | PC
LUXOR 3 takes you on an ethereal journey as you battle the power-hungry god of Chaos to free the essences of other Egyptian gods before they reach the pyramid at the end of their path. Utilize reflectors to make nearly impossible matches, make three matches in a row and release supernatural power-ups, and collect Ankh coins to use for purchasing important upgrades. Plus collect canopic jars to unlock bonus levels and hit elusive Golden Scarabs to discover hidden treasures!
Key Game Features:
* Seven challenging gameplay modes including five never before seen
* Over 140 nail-biting levels with new features including branching paths and reflectors
* Upgradable power-ups plus exciting ball sets and shooters to unlock |
The European Union and China are expected to formulate a joint political statement to the United States, seeking to protect free trade from the intended protectionism of the Trump’s administration. At the same time, the European Council adopted a conclusion document at the beginning of March stressing that “trade relations with China should be strengthened on the basis of a shared understanding of reciprocal and mutual benefits”.
Currently, the EU-China bilateral relations are governed by the hope that the Trump shock could lead to opportunities to improve the business environment for European companies operating in China. However, last year was a turning point for the worse in EU-China economic relations as two new trends gained importance in Europe that Beijing has not yet successfully addressed.
First, the European discourse on the EU-China trade is now dominated by the voices calling for screening incoming Chinese investment. They generally mirror concerns regarding Europe’s long-term economic development in face of the ambitious Chinese industrial plans. China’s direct investment in the old continent went up by 77 per cent last year to €35 billion (US$37.3 billion), including the acquisition of advanced technology assets. The current trend pushing for investment screening stems from the perception that there is not an even playing field when it comes to the investment environment in China.
Second, there is a growing concern in the EU regarding a possible linkage between Chinese investment and political influence. The question is still largely theoretical as no one knows how much influence Beijing is gaining in Central and Eastern Europe through its “16+1 framework” – created in 2012 by China and 16 countries in the two regions. The European Commission nevertheless stepped in the contract granted to a Chinese firm to upgrade the Belgrade-Budapest railway, thus sending a powerful signal that China needs to work with the EU.
The possible deterioration of the US-China relations and the possibility that China policy will no longer be on the agenda of the transatlantic dialogue present an opportunity to upgrade the EU-China economies relations. Donald Trump’s changes in US trade policy will likely make relations with Europe and Eurasia even more strategic for China. It is also an opportunity for Europe to act as the balancing power between the US and China in case the US trade policy will indeed become revisionist and/or if China becomes a status quo power in relation to the world trade.
‘Trump Trade Reset Gives China and Europe Opportunity to Rebalance Relations’ –
Commentary by Mathieu Duchâtel – European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
(The Commentary can be downloaded here) |
Why Super Bowl XLVIII is the best match-up in NFL history
Sunday's Super Bowl is the first in history to pit the league's best offense against the best defense. The Denver Broncos have just finished one of the most prolific season's to date, led by legendary quarterback Peyton Manning. Now they face the Seattle Seahawks, whose defense led by Richard Sherman sends chills down quarterbacks' spines |
Big match
POSTED BY: Mike Thee
PUBLISHED:
Thursday, September 08, 2011
The men's soccer team will face the 23rd ranked UW Huskies at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Championship Field. As always, tickets to home soccer matches are free for faculty and staff. Last week, SU's women's soccer team stunned Portland, which was then number eight in the country.
The men's soccer team will face the 23rd ranked UW Huskies at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Championship Field. As always, tickets to home soccer matches are free for faculty and staff. Last week, SU's women's soccer team stunned Portland, |
using AlbumCoverMatchGame.Models;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices.WindowsRuntime;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Windows.Foundation;
using Windows.Foundation.Collections;
using Windows.Storage;
using Windows.Storage.FileProperties;
using Windows.UI;
using Windows.UI.Xaml;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Primitives;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Data;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Input;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Media;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Media.Imaging;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Navigation;
// The Blank Page item template is documented at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=402352&clcid=0x409
namespace AlbumCoverMatchGame
{
/// <summary>
/// An empty page that can be used on its own or navigated to within a Frame.
/// </summary>
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
private ObservableCollection<Song> Songs;
private ObservableCollection<StorageFile> AllSongs;
bool _playingMusic = false;
int _round = 0;
int _totalScore = 0;
public MainPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
Songs = new ObservableCollection<Song>();
}
private async Task RetrieveFilesInFolders(
ObservableCollection<StorageFile> list,
StorageFolder parent)
{
foreach (var item in await parent.GetFilesAsync())
{
if (item.FileType == ".mp3")
list.Add(item);
}
foreach (var item in await parent.GetFoldersAsync())
{
await RetrieveFilesInFolders(list, item);
}
}
private async Task<List<StorageFile>> PickRandomSongs(ObservableCollection<StorageFile> allSongs)
{
Random random = new Random();
var songCount = allSongs.Count;
var randomSongs = new List<StorageFile>();
while (randomSongs.Count < 10)
{
var randomNumber = random.Next(songCount);
var randomSong = allSongs[randomNumber];
// Find random songs BUT:
// 1) Don't pick the same song twice!
// 2) Don't pick a song from an album that I've already picked.
MusicProperties randomSongMusicProperties =
await randomSong.Properties.GetMusicPropertiesAsync();
bool isDuplicate = false;
foreach (var song in randomSongs)
{
MusicProperties songMusicProperties = await song.Properties.GetMusicPropertiesAsync();
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(randomSongMusicProperties.Album)
|| randomSongMusicProperties.Album == songMusicProperties.Album)
isDuplicate = true;
}
if (!isDuplicate)
randomSongs.Add(randomSong);
}
return randomSongs;
}
private async Task PopulateSongList(List<StorageFile> files)
{
int id = 0;
foreach (var file in files)
{
MusicProperties songProperties = await file.Properties.GetMusicPropertiesAsync();
StorageItemThumbnail currentThumb = await file.GetThumbnailAsync(
ThumbnailMode.MusicView,
200,
ThumbnailOptions.UseCurrentScale);
var albumCover = new BitmapImage();
albumCover.SetSource(currentThumb);
var song = new Song();
song.Id = id;
song.Title = songProperties.Title;
song.Artist = songProperties.Artist;
song.Album = songProperties.Album;
song.AlbumCover = albumCover;
song.SongFile = file;
Songs.Add(song);
id++;
}
}
private async void SongGridView_ItemClick(object sender, ItemClickEventArgs e)
{
// Ignore clicks when we are in cooldown
if (!_playingMusic) return;
CountDown.Pause();
MyMediaElement.Stop();
var clickedSong = (Song)e.ClickedItem;
var correctSong = Songs.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Selected == true);
// Evaluate the user's selection
Uri uri;
int score;
if (clickedSong.Selected)
{
uri = new Uri("ms-appx:///Assets/correct.png");
score = (int)MyProgressBar.Value;
}
else
{
uri = new Uri("ms-appx:///Assets/incorrect.png");
score = ((int)MyProgressBar.Value) * -1;
}
StorageFile file = await StorageFile.GetFileFromApplicationUriAsync(uri);
var fileStream = await file.OpenAsync(FileAccessMode.Read);
await clickedSong.AlbumCover.SetSourceAsync(fileStream);
_totalScore += score;
_round++;
ResultTextBlock.Text = string.Format("Score: {0} Total Score after {1} Rounds: {2}", score, _round, _totalScore);
TitleTextBlock.Text = String.Format("Correct Song: {0}", correctSong.Title);
ArtistTextBlock.Text = string.Format("Performed by: {0}", correctSong.Artist);
AlbumTextBlock.Text = string.Format("On Album: {0}", correctSong.Album);
clickedSong.Used = true;
correctSong.Selected = false;
correctSong.Used = true;
if (_round >= 5)
{
InstructionTextBlock.Text = string.Format("Game over ... You scored: {0}", _totalScore);
PlayAgainButton.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
} else
{
StartCooldown();
}
}
private async void PlayAgainButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
await PrepareNewGame();
PlayAgainButton.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
}
private void Page_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
}
private async Task<ObservableCollection<StorageFile>> SetupMusicList()
{
// 1. Get access to Music library
StorageFolder folder = KnownFolders.MusicLibrary;
var allSongs = new ObservableCollection<StorageFile>();
await RetrieveFilesInFolders(allSongs, folder);
return allSongs;
}
private async Task PrepareNewGame()
{
Songs.Clear();
// Choose random songs from library
var randomSongs = await PickRandomSongs(AllSongs);
// Pluck off meta data from selected songs
await PopulateSongList(randomSongs);
StartCooldown();
// State management
InstructionTextBlock.Text = "Get ready ...";
ResultTextBlock.Text = "";
TitleTextBlock.Text = "";
ArtistTextBlock.Text = "";
AlbumTextBlock.Text = "";
_totalScore = 0;
_round = 0;
}
private async void Grid_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
StartupProgressRing.IsActive = true;
AllSongs = await SetupMusicList();
await PrepareNewGame();
StartupProgressRing.IsActive = false;
StartCooldown();
}
private void StartCooldown()
{
_playingMusic = false;
SolidColorBrush brush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Blue);
MyProgressBar.Foreground = brush;
InstructionTextBlock.Text = string.Format("Get ready for round {0} ...", _round + 1);
InstructionTextBlock.Foreground = brush;
CountDown.Begin();
}
private void StartCountdown()
{
_playingMusic = true;
SolidColorBrush brush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);
MyProgressBar.Foreground = brush;
InstructionTextBlock.Text = "GO!";
InstructionTextBlock.Foreground = brush;
CountDown.Begin();
}
private async void CountDown_Completed(object sender, object e)
{
if (!_playingMusic)
{
// Start playing music
var song = PickSong();
MyMediaElement.SetSource(
await song.SongFile.OpenAsync(FileAccessMode.Read),
song.SongFile.ContentType);
// Start countdown
StartCountdown();
}
}
private Song PickSong()
{
Random random = new Random();
var unusedSongs = Songs.Where(p => p.Used == false);
var randomNumber = random.Next(unusedSongs.Count());
var randomSong = unusedSongs.ElementAt(randomNumber);
randomSong.Selected = true;
return randomSong;
}
}
}
|
Tamil National Liberation Alliance
The Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) was a Sri Lankan political alliance representing the Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minority in the country. It was launched on 22 February 2010 as breakaway faction of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). In June 2011 the party was dissolved and its leaders rejoined Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and the TNA.
References
Category:Tamil Eelam
Category:Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka
Category:Political parties in Sri Lanka
Category:Defunct political party alliances in Sri Lanka |
Text Size: A- A+
The Narendra Modi government has presided over the weakening of several important institutions, including the council of ministers and RBI.
On the surface, it might appear to be paradoxical that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi once declared that the Constitution is a “holy book”, his government has presided over the weakening of several important institutions: the Council of Ministers is now fully subordinate to the PMO, and once relatively independent RBI, Central Information Commission and Election Commission have been weakened, not to mention the further deterioration of the CBI and CVC.
Furthermore, in many cases — for instance during the formation of the government in Goa and Karnataka — what governors did was quite different from what the Constitution required them to do. How is it that on the one hand we say the Constitution is our holy book, and on the other hand increasingly violate its letter and spirit?
Also Read: India’s Constitution makers Nehru, Patel & Ambedkar were divided on parliamentary system
Because, first of all, it is wrong to declare the Constitution of India a “holy book”. Second, the idea of a “holy book” is foreign to India’s largely Hindu culture. Finally, in India, symbolism is frequently used as a substitute for the substantial.
A holy book is generally a statement of the will and the words of God. It cannot be changed by human beings. That is why, in Judaism, Christianity and Islamists, fundamentalists want people to adhere as close to the literal words in their holy books. The word of God cannot be wrong, and hence cannot be challenged. Those who challenge it are challenging God and hence deserve punishment. Needless to say, the “correct” way to live is to live strictly in accordance to what is set down in the holy book.
Now, whether in the present or in the past, not all Jews, Christians and Muslims exactly followed what their books required them to. But still, it is the book that sets the benchmark to determine the extent of what is correct or wrong for the adherents to do. The historical path taken by the followers of these three Semitic religions has been different, and today a lot more Christians are able legitimately to deviate from what the Bible says, than their Muslim counterparts.
The Constitution of India is very different from the Old Testament, the Bible and the Koran. It is not divine, but a very human document. It makes no claims to perfection. Rather, it admits to its imperfections, to its compromises and therefore allows itself to be amended. It can be wrong, it can be out of date and it can be challenged. The people of India, through their elected representatives, can amend most of it except the basic structure, and the Supreme Court of India can interpret it. It doesn’t tell us of a correct way to live, but rather defines the rights, responsibilities and duties of citizens and the state. Instead of centralising power in an almighty God, it divides power among fallible humans. The Constitution is, ultimately, a product of Reason and a framework for us to conduct our affairs using Reason.
Also Read: With 3 pillars of democracy falling apart, it’s time to read the Constitution once again
Other than Sikhism, no religion that originated in India has a “holy book” or requires one. It was only when Hindus came into contact with Muslims and Christians that they felt the need for a holy book too. Some felt that the Bhagavad Gita is the Hindu holy book. Swami Vivekananda declared that “the Upanishads are the Bible of India. They occupy the same place as the New Testament does”. There are yet others that accord the status of the holy book to the Vedas. Yet, it is possible to be a devout Hindu without ever having read a sentence from any of these books! In fact, it is unlikely that a majority of Hindus — and Buddhists and Jains — have ever read more than a small fraction of their religious scriptures. How to live a good life, how to pray, what religious rituals to practice, what is right and wrong comes from a variety of traditions, practices and social norms rather than out of a book. In other words, a holy book is not essential for adherents of Indian religions to go about their life. Only the Sikhs are a little different in this respect, in that they consider the Granth Sahib their Guru, and perhaps because their religion originated after the subcontinent had centuries of experience of Islam.
In any case, most Indians have very relaxed attitude towards their so-called “holy book”. Perhaps as a result, we have a relaxed attitude towards our Constitution too. We can respect the book and what it says, but act according to what other people do.
This brings us to the third point. Just as we symbolically worship women as goddesses, and symbolically elect them as political leaders, while subordinating them in day-to-day life, we symbolically worship the Constitution while violating it in practice. Further, every year we celebrate Republic Day on 26 January without even knowing its significance. The military parade in New Delhi and similar parades in state capitals seem to be what it is all about. Far from being an occasion to pay our respects to the defence forces, Republic Day is when we celebrate the coming into force of our Constitution. More recently we have started commemorating 26 November as Constitution Day or Law Day. Will this prove any less symbolic than Republic Day?
Also Read: Dear Ravi Shankar Prasad, soul of Constitution resides not in images, but in its text
A holy book demands to be worshipped. The Constitution merely requires us to respect it. In fact, it would be against the spirit of the Constitution to worship it!
To respect the Constitution would be to act according to its letter and spirit. For constitutional authorities to respect their duties and play their proper role; to not overstep their boundaries; to refuse to be coerced by political considerations; to strengthen institutions and conduct public discourse with civility and decorum.
The author is director of the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy.
The Kannada version of this article has been published by Prajavani, a leading Kannada daily. This has been republished with permission
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Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it You are reading this because you value good, intelligent and objective journalism. We thank you for your time and your trust. You also know that the news media is facing an unprecedented crisis. It is likely that you are also hearing of the brutal layoffs and pay-cuts hitting the industry. There are many reasons why the media’s economics is broken. But a big one is that good people are not yet paying enough for good journalism. We have a newsroom filled with talented young reporters. We also have the country’s most robust editing and fact-checking team, finest news photographers and video professionals. We are building India’s most ambitious and energetic news platform. And have just turned three. At ThePrint, we invest in quality journalists. We pay them fairly. As you may have noticed, we do not flinch from spending whatever it takes to make sure our reporters reach where the story is. This comes with a sizable cost. For us to continue bringing quality journalism, we need readers like you to pay for it. If you think we deserve your support, do join us in this endeavour to strengthen fair, free, courageous and questioning journalism. Please click on the link below. Your support will define ThePrint’s future. Support Our Journalism
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[?php if ((isset($form[$name]) && $form[$name]->isHidden()) || (!isset($form[$name]) && $field->isReal())) continue ?]
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'name' => $name,
'attributes' => $field->getConfig('attributes', array()),
'label' => $field->getConfig('label'),
'help' => $field->getConfig('help'),
'form' => $form,
'field' => $field,
'class' => 'sf_admin_form_row sf_admin_'.strtolower($field->getType()).' sf_admin_form_field_'.$name,
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</fieldset>
|
/*
* Dexter Industries
* EV3 Sensor Firmware for the BrickPi.
*
* Firmware originally written by Matthew Richardson * matthewrichardson37<at>gmail.com * http://mattallen37.wordpress.com/
* Firmware updated by * Jaikrishna T S * t.s.jaikrishna<at>gmail.com
* Firmware updated by John Cole at Dexter Industries.
*
* Initial date: June 1, 2013
* Last updated: June 19, 2014
*
* You may use this code as you wish, provided you give credit where it's due.
*
* This program is Firmware for the BrickPi.
*
* EV3 DEVELOPMENT NOTE: The BrickPiM Library conflicts with the SoftwareSerial Library that is included in the BrickPiEV3 Library.
* Hence it is required to modify the default SoftwareSerial library that comes with Arduino.
* To do this, open Arduino/libraries/SoftwareSerial/SoftwareSerial.h and add this line - "#undef PCINT2_vect" before compiling the firmware.
*
*/
/* Tasks that would require constant updating: RCX rotation sensor, Motor speed/position regulation,
Could potentially use a timout of 2ms with UART_Read, and do the above in the main loop
*/
/*
message type 1 byte
if message type == MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE
sensor 1 type 1 byte
sensor 2 type 1 byte
for each sensor port
if sensor type is I2C
speed 8 bits
devices 3 bits
for devices
address 7 bits
settings 2 bits
if settngs & BIT_I2C_SAME
out bytes 4 bits
in bytes 4 bits
for out bytes
out array 8 bits
reply MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE 1 byte
if message type == MSG_TYPE_VALUES
for ports
if offset encoder 1 bit
offset length 5 bits
offset (offset length + 1)
for ports
motor control 10 bits
for sensor ports
if sensor port type == TYPE_SENSOR_I2C
for devices
if not same mode
out bytes 4 bits
in bytes 4 bits
for out bytes
out array 8 bits
reply
MSG_TYPE_VALUES 1 byte
for motor ports
encoder length 5 bits
for motor ports
encoder value (encoder length)
for sensor port
switch sensor type
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH:
sensor value 1 bit
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_CONT:
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_SS:
sensor value 8 bits
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL:
sensor value 3 bits
blank value 10 bits
red value 10 bits
green value 10 bits
blue value 10 bits
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C:
sensor value (success states) I2C_Devices bits
for I2C_Devices
if success
for in_byte
I2C_In_Array 8 bits
case TYPE_SENSOR_LIGHT_OFF:
case TYPE_SENSOR_LIGHT_ON:
case TYPE_SENSOR_RCX_LIGHT:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_RED:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_GREEN:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_BLUE:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_NONE:
sensor value 10 bits
*/
#include "EEPROM.h" // Arduino EEPROM library
#include "BrickPiUART.h" // BrickPi UART library
#include "BrickPiI2C.h" // BrickPi I2C library
#include "BrickPiA.h" // BrickPi Analog sensor library
#include "BrickPiUS.h" // BrickPi Ultrasonic sensor library
#include "BrickPiCS.h" // BrickPi Color sensor library
#include "BrickPiM.h" // BrickPi Motor library
#include "SoftwareSerial.h"
#include "BrickPiEV3.h"
#define VERSION 2 // This is version 2 firmware.
#define BYTE_MSG_TYPE 0 // MSG_TYPE is the first byte.
#define MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR 1 // Change the UART address.
#define MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE 2 // Change/set the sensor type.
#define MSG_TYPE_VALUES 3 // Set the motor speed and direction, and return the sesnors and encoders.
#define MSG_TYPE_E_STOP 4 // Float motors immediately.
#define MSG_TYPE_TIMEOUT_SETTINGS 5 // Set the timeout.
// RPi to BrickPi
// New UART address (MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR)
#define BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS 1
// Sensor setup (MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE)
#define BYTE_SENSOR_1_TYPE 1
#define BYTE_SENSOR_2_TYPE 2
// Timeout setup (MSG_TYPE_TIMEOUT_SETTINGS)
#define BYTE_TIMEOUT 1
//#define TYPE_SENSOR_RAW 0 // - 31
#define TYPE_SENSOR_LIGHT_OFF 0
#define TYPE_SENSOR_LIGHT_ON (MASK_D0_M | MASK_D0_S)
#define TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH 32
#define TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_CONT 33
#define TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_SS 34
#define TYPE_SENSOR_RCX_LIGHT 35 // tested minimally
#define TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL 36
#define TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_RED 37
#define TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_GREEN 38
#define TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_BLUE 39
#define TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_NONE 40
#define TYPE_SENSOR_I2C 41
#define TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V 42
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M0 43
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M1 44
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M2 45
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M3 46
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M4 47
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M5 48
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M6 49
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M0 50
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M1 51
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M2 52
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M3 53
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M4 54
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M5 55
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M0 56
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M1 57
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M2 58
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M3 59
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M4 60
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M0 61
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M1 62
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M2 63
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M3 64
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M4 65
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M5 66
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0 67
#define TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE 68 // EV3 Touch sensor, debounced.
#define TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE 69 // NXT Touch sensor, debounced.
#define RETURN_VERSION 70 // Returns firmware version.
#define BIT_I2C_MID 0x01 // defined for each device
#define BIT_I2C_SAME 0x02 // defined for each device
unsigned long COMM_TIMEOUT = 250; // How many ms since the last communication, before timing out (and floating the motors).
// Run this once on setup.
void setup(){
UART_Setup(500000); // Start UART
M_Setup(); // Motor Setup
A_Setup(); // Analog Setup
}
int8_t Result;
byte Bytes;
byte Array[128];
byte SensorType[2]; // Sensor type (raw ADC, touch, light off, light flash, light on, ultrasonic normal, ultrasonic ping, ultrasonic ping full)
byte SensorSettings[2][8]; // For specifying the I2C details
long ENC[2]; // For storing the encoder values
long SEN[2]; // For storing sensor values
long ENC_Offset[2];
uint8_t I2C_Speed [2]; // How fast to run the I2C bus.
uint8_t I2C_Devices [2]; // How many I2C devices are on each bus.
uint8_t I2C_Addr [2][8]; // The I2C address for each port. If non-same I2C mode, this could change constantly.
uint8_t I2C_Out_Bytes[2][8]; // How many bytes to write.
uint8_t I2C_In_Bytes [2][8]; // How many bytes to read.
uint8_t I2C_Out_Array[2][8][16]; // Data to write to I2C sensor 1 and 2.
uint8_t I2C_In_Array [2][8][16]; // Data read from I2C sensor 1 and 2.
byte debug_array[5] = {'d','e','b','u','g'};
unsigned long LastUpdate;
// This is a debug routine used by John Cole for developing the EV3 Touch sensor and testing EV3 sensor development.
void debug_funtions(){
/* DEBUG WORK - DON"T COMPILE. */
/*UART_Write_Debug(5, debug_array); // Marker for seeing where you are in logic analyzer data.
byte value [4] = {0,0,0,0};
value[3] = (byte) (SEN[0] & (0xFF));
value[2] = (byte) ((SEN[0] >> 8) & 0xFF);
value[1] = (byte) ((SEN[0] >> 16) & 0xFF);
value[0] = (byte) ((SEN[0] >> 24) & 0xFF);
// Print sensor values back
UART_Write_Debug(4, value);
value[3] = (byte) (SEN[1] & (0xFF));
value[2] = (byte) ((SEN[1] >> 8) & 0xFF);
value[1] = (byte) ((SEN[1] >> 16) & 0xFF);
value[0] = (byte) ((SEN[1] >> 24) & 0xFF);
// Print sensor values back
UART_Write_Debug(4, value);
// Print the word debug.
UART_Write_Debug(5, debug_array); // Marker for seeing where you are in logic analyzer data.
*/
//SensorType[0] = TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0;
//SensorType[1] = TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0;
Array[BYTE_SENSOR_1_TYPE] = TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0; // Set the value of Port_1 (or Port 3?)
Array[BYTE_SENSOR_2_TYPE] = TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0; // Set the value of Port_2 (or Port 4?)
// Alternate back and forth between setup and reading values.
if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE){
Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] = MSG_TYPE_VALUES;
} else {
Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] = MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE;
}
Result = 1;
// UART_Write_Debug(1, &Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE]);
/* DEBUG WORK - Delete when done. */
}
// Main loop runs over and over again.
void loop(){
Result = UART_ReadArray(Bytes, Array, 1); // Get an update from the Raspberry Pi.
/* if(Result != (-2)){
Serial.write(Result);
}*/
/* DEBUG WORK - Delete when done. */
// debug_funtions(); // John's Debug Functions.
/* DEBUG WORK - Delete when done. */
if(Result == 0){ //0 Destination address was BROADCAST
// This means that the Raspberry Pi sent a message to both Atmegas.
LastUpdate = millis();
// Emergency Stop code
if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_E_STOP){ // Float motors immediately.
M_Float(); // Float motors immediately.
}
// Reset firmware address (address stored in EEPROM) with a touch sensor.
else if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR && Bytes == 2){
A_Config(PORT_1, 0); // Setup PORT_1 for touch sensor
if(A_ReadRaw(PORT_1) < 250){ // Change address if touch sensor on port 1 is pressed.
if(Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS] != 0 && Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS] != 255){
UART_Set_Addr(Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS]); // Set new address
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR;
UART_WriteArray(1, Array);
}
}
SetupSensors(); // Change PORT_1 settings back
}
}
// else if(Result == 1){ //1 Destination address was mine
if(Result == 1){ //1 Destination address was mine
// This means the Raspberry Pi is talking to this atmega specifically.
LastUpdate = millis(); // Update the timeout clock.
// Stop all motors.
if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_E_STOP){
M_Float();
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_E_STOP;
UART_WriteArray(1, Array);
}
// Reset the chips address.
else if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR && Bytes == 2){
A_Config(PORT_1, 0); // Setup PORT_1 for touch sensor
if(A_ReadRaw(PORT_1) < 250){ // Change address if touch sensor on port 1 is pressed.
if(Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS] != 0 && Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS] != 255){
UART_Set_Addr(Array[BYTE_NEW_ADDRESS]); // Set new address
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_CHANGE_ADDR;
UART_WriteArray(1, Array);
}
}
SetupSensors(); // Implement sensor settings.
}
// Change/set the sensor type.
else if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE){
// UART_Write_Debug(5, debug_array);
ParseSensorSettings();
SetupSensors();
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_SENSOR_TYPE; // Send back what we received: a command to ste the sensor type.
UART_WriteArray(1, Array);
}
// Set the motor speed and direction, and return the sensors and encoders.
else if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_VALUES){
ParseHandleValues(); // Parse the values sent.
UpdateSensors(); // Update the sensors values.
M_Encoders(ENC[PORT_A], ENC[PORT_B]); // Get encoder values.
EncodeValues(); //
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_VALUES;
UART_WriteArray(Bytes, Array);
}
// Set the timeout
else if(Array[BYTE_MSG_TYPE] == MSG_TYPE_TIMEOUT_SETTINGS){
COMM_TIMEOUT = Array[BYTE_TIMEOUT] + (Array[(BYTE_TIMEOUT + 1)] * 256) + (Array[(BYTE_TIMEOUT + 2)] * 65536) + (Array[(BYTE_TIMEOUT + 3)] * 16777216);
Array[0] = MSG_TYPE_TIMEOUT_SETTINGS;
UART_WriteArray(1, Array);
}
}
// If nothing important was received, go ahead and check the timeout situation. Have we timed out since last communication?
// If we haven't, update the motor PWM.
/*if(COMM_TIMEOUT && (millis() > (LastUpdate + COMM_TIMEOUT))){ // If it timed out, float the motors
M_Float(); // Shutdown motors.
}
else{
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
M_PWM(port, GetBits(1, 0, 10)); // 8 bits of PWM, 1 bit dir, 1 bit enable
}
}*/
// In case of a timeout, shut motors down.
if(COMM_TIMEOUT && (millis() > (LastUpdate + COMM_TIMEOUT))){ // If it timed out, float the motors
M_Float(); // Shutdown motors.
}
// Keep the NXT Color Sensor Alive
byte i = 0;
while(i < 2){
if(SensorType[i] == TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL){
CS_KeepAlive(i); // Simulate reading the color sensor, so that it doesn't timeout.
}
i++;
}
}
unsigned int Bit_Offset = 0;
void AddBits(unsigned char byte_offset, unsigned char bit_offset, unsigned char bits, unsigned long value){
unsigned char i = 0;
while(i < bits){
if(value & 0x01){
Array[(byte_offset + ((bit_offset + Bit_Offset + i) / 8))] |= (0x01 << ((bit_offset + Bit_Offset + i) % 8));
}
value /= 2;
i++;
}
Bit_Offset += bits;
}
unsigned long GetBits(unsigned char byte_offset, unsigned char bit_offset, unsigned char bits){
unsigned long Result = 0;
char i = bits;
while(i){
Result *= 2;
Result |= ((Array[(byte_offset + ((bit_offset + Bit_Offset + (i - 1)) / 8))] >> ((bit_offset + Bit_Offset + (i - 1)) % 8)) & 0x01);
i--;
}
Bit_Offset += bits;
return Result;
}
unsigned char BitsNeeded(unsigned long value){
unsigned char i = 0;
while(i < 32){
if(!value)
return i;
value /= 2;
i++;
}
return 31;
}
void ParseSensorSettings(){
SensorType[PORT_1] = Array[BYTE_SENSOR_1_TYPE]; // Set the value of Port_1 (or Port 3?)
SensorType[PORT_2] = Array[BYTE_SENSOR_2_TYPE]; // Set the value of Port_2 (or Port 4?)
Bit_Offset = 0;
// Setup custom I2C sensors.
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
if(SensorType[port] == TYPE_SENSOR_I2C
|| SensorType[port] == TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V){
I2C_Speed[port] = GetBits(3, 0, 8);
I2C_Devices[port] = (GetBits(3, 0, 3) + 1);
for(byte device = 0; device < I2C_Devices[port]; device++){
I2C_Addr[port][device] = (GetBits(3, 0, 7) << 1);
SensorSettings[port][device] = GetBits(3, 0, 2);
if(SensorSettings[port][device] & BIT_I2C_SAME){
I2C_Out_Bytes[port][device] = GetBits(3, 0, 4);
I2C_In_Bytes[port][device] = GetBits(3, 0, 4);
for(byte out_byte = 0; out_byte < I2C_Out_Bytes[port][device]; out_byte++){
I2C_Out_Array[port][device][out_byte] = GetBits(3, 0, 8);
}
}
}
}
}
}
void EncodeValues(){
for(byte Byte = 0; Byte < 128; Byte++){
Array[Byte] = 0;
}
long Temp_Values[2];
unsigned char Temp_ENC_DIR[2] = {0, 0};
unsigned char Temp_BitsNeeded[2] = {0, 0};
Bit_Offset = 0;
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
Temp_Values[port] = ENC[port];
if(Temp_Values[port] < 0){
Temp_ENC_DIR[port] = 1;
Temp_Values[port] *= (-1);
}
Temp_BitsNeeded[port] = BitsNeeded(Temp_Values[port]);
if(Temp_BitsNeeded[port])
Temp_BitsNeeded[port]++;
AddBits(1, 0, 5, Temp_BitsNeeded[port]);
}
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
Temp_Values[port] *= 2;
Temp_Values[port] |= Temp_ENC_DIR[port];
AddBits(1, 0, Temp_BitsNeeded[port], Temp_Values[port]);
}
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
switch(SensorType[port]){
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH:
AddBits(1, 0, 1, SEN[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_CONT:
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_SS:
AddBits(1, 0, 8, SEN[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL:
AddBits(1, 0, 3, SEN[port]);
AddBits(1, 0, 10, CS_Values[port][BLANK_INDEX]);
AddBits(1, 0, 10, CS_Values[port][RED_INDEX ]);
AddBits(1, 0, 10, CS_Values[port][GREEN_INDEX]);
AddBits(1, 0, 10, CS_Values[port][BLUE_INDEX ]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C:
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V:
AddBits(1, 0, I2C_Devices[port], SEN[port]);
for(byte device = 0; device < I2C_Devices[port]; device++){
if((SEN[port] >> device) & 0x01){
for(byte in_byte = 0; in_byte < I2C_In_Bytes[port][device]; in_byte++){
AddBits(1, 0, 8, I2C_In_Array[port][device][in_byte]);
}
}
}
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M6 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M5 :
AddBits(1, 0, 16, SEN[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0 : // Send 16 bits or two bytes with the touch result.
AddBits(1, 0, 16, SEN[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M2 :
AddBits(1, 0, 32, SEN[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_RCX_LIGHT:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_RED:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_GREEN:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_BLUE:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_NONE:
default:
AddBits(1, 0, 10, SEN[port]);
}
}
Bytes = (1 + ((Bit_Offset + 7) / 8)); // How many bytes to send
}
void ParseHandleValues(){
Bit_Offset = 0;
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
if(GetBits(1, 0, 1)){
ENC_Offset[port] = GetBits(1, 0, (GetBits(1, 0, 5) + 1));
if(ENC_Offset[port] & 0x01){
ENC_Offset[port] *= (-1);
}
ENC_Offset[port] /= 2;
}
else{
ENC_Offset[port] = 0;
}
}
if(ENC_Offset[PORT_A] || ENC_Offset[PORT_B]){
M_EncodersSubtract(ENC_Offset[PORT_A], ENC_Offset[PORT_B]);
}
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
M_PWM(port, GetBits(1, 0, 10)); // 8 bits of PWM, 1 bit dir, 1 bit enable
}
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
if(SensorType[port] == TYPE_SENSOR_I2C
|| SensorType[port] == TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V){
for(byte device = 0; device < I2C_Devices[port]; device ++){
if(!(SensorSettings[port][device] & BIT_I2C_SAME)){ // not same
I2C_Out_Bytes[port][device] = GetBits(1, 0, 4);
I2C_In_Bytes [port][device] = GetBits(1, 0, 4);
for(byte ii = 0; ii < I2C_Out_Bytes[port][device]; ii++){
I2C_Out_Array[port][device][ii] = GetBits(1, 0, 8);
}
}
}
}
}
}
void SetupSensors(){
EV3_Reset(); // Resets EV3 sensors and flushes the line.
//
// byte test_case = (byte)SensorType[0]; // For debug purposes only
// UART_Write_Debug(1, &test_case);
// Setup the sensors for a certain configuration. Goes through each of the sensor ports,
// and configures them based on the array values "SensorType[port]"
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
switch(SensorType[port]){
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH:
A_Config(port, 0);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_CONT:
US_Setup(port);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_SS:
// FIXME add support for SS mode
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_RCX_LIGHT:
A_Config(port, MASK_9V);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL:
CS_Begin(port, TYPE_COLORFULL);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_RED:
CS_Begin(port, TYPE_COLORRED);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_GREEN:
CS_Begin(port, TYPE_COLORGREEN);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_BLUE:
CS_Begin(port, TYPE_COLORBLUE);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_NONE:
CS_Begin(port, TYPE_COLORNONE);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C:
A_Config(port, 0);
I2C_Setup(port, I2C_Addr[port][0], I2C_Speed[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V:
A_Config(port, MASK_9V);
I2C_Setup(port, I2C_Addr[port][0], I2C_Speed[port]);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M6 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M5 :
EV3_Setup(port, SensorType[port]); // For any EV3 this is called.
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0 :
EV3_Setup_Touch(port); // We setup the touch sensor different since it's an analog sensor.
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE:
EV3_Setup_Touch(port); // We're really doing whatever we're doing above for the touch.
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE: // NXT Sensor debounced.
A_Config(port, 0); // Same sort of setup as the TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH.
EV3_Setup_Touch(port); // We're really doing whatever we're doing above for the touch.
break;
default: // Default is analog value.
A_Config(port, SensorType[port]); // Almost everyone that's not defined above is setup this line.
}
}
}
void UpdateSensors(){
byte test_case = 0; // For debug purposes only
// UART_Write_Debug(1, &test_case);
for(byte port = 0; port < 2; port++){
switch(SensorType[port]){
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH:
if(A_ReadRaw(port) < 400) SEN[port] = 1;
else SEN[port] = 0;
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_CONT:
SEN[port] = US_ReadByte(port);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_ULTRASONIC_SS:
SEN[port] = 37; // FIXME add support for SS mode
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_RCX_LIGHT:
A_Config(port, 0);
delayMicroseconds(20);
SEN[port] = A_ReadRaw(port);
A_Config(port, MASK_9V);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_FULL:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_RED:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_GREEN:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_BLUE:
case TYPE_SENSOR_COLOR_NONE:
SEN[port] = CS_Update(port); // If the mode is FULL, the 4 raw values will be stored in CS_Values
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C:
case TYPE_SENSOR_I2C_9V:
SEN[port] = 0;
for(byte device = 0; device < I2C_Devices[port]; device++){
SEN[port] |= ((I2C_Transfer(port, I2C_Addr[port][device], I2C_Speed[port], (SensorSettings[port][device] & BIT_I2C_MID), I2C_Out_Bytes[port][device], I2C_Out_Array[port][device], I2C_In_Bytes[port][device], I2C_In_Array[port][device]) & 0x01) << device); // The success/failure result of the I2C transaction(s) is stored as 1 bit in SEN.
}
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_US_M6 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_COLOR_M5 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_GYRO_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M0 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M1 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M2 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M3 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M4 :
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_INFRARED_M5 :
SEN[port] = EV3_Update(port);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_0 :
SEN[port] = EV3_Update_Touch(port);
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_EV3_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE:
SEN[port] = EV3_Update_Touch_Debounce(port); // Returns a 1 or 0
break;
case TYPE_SENSOR_TOUCH_DEBOUNCE:
SEN[port] = A_ReadRaw_Debounce_Ch(port); //
break;
case RETURN_VERSION:
SEN[port] = VERSION; //
break;
default:
SEN[port] = A_ReadRaw(port);
}
}
}
|
Over 300 Black and Brown Belts from all over Britain took part in the KUGB's 29th Shotokan Cup on Saturday 18 September at Chesterfield.
This was an increased attendance from last year and it was good to see not only a great number of very experienced and seasoned competitors but a large number who were competing for the first time.
The standard, particularly in the finals, was exceptional and was a tribute to the very skilled and experienced instructors and the enthusiastic and committed competitors. Our congratulations to all who competed and to the following medal winners: |
34 So.3d 53 (2010)
TRG-BRICKELL POINT NE, LTD, etc., et al., Appellants,
v.
Michael and Marsha WAJSBLAT, et al., Appellees.
No. 3D09-2266.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
March 10, 2010.
Rehearing Denied May 18, 2010.
*54 Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Gary A. Woodfield, and C. Cory Mauro, West Palm Beach, for appellants.
Robert H. Cooper, Aventura; Philip D. Parrish, for appellees.
Before GERSTEN, SHEPHERD, and SUAREZ, JJ.
SHEPHERD, J.
This is a non-final appeal taken under Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(B) and 9.130(a)(3)(C)(ii) from an order entered at a non-evidentiary hearing on the court's uniform motion calendar, in the nature of a mandatory injunction, see Konover Realty Assocs. Ltd. v. Mladen, 511 So.2d 705, 706 n. 2 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), or an order of entitlement to immediate possession of property, see Malek v. Bright, 7 So.3d 598 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009). The plaintiffs, two hundred twenty-six in number, are the contract purchasers of one hundred eighty-seven condominium units in three condominium towers in Miami-Dade County. The defendants, TRG Brickell Point NE, Ltd., TRG Brickell Point SE, Ltd., and TRG Brickell Point West, Ltd., are each the developer of one of the towers.
The plaintiffs seek the return of the full amount of deposits on the condominium units in the ongoing litigation. The default provision of each purchase agreement states, "If Buyer defaults after fifteen percent (15%) of the Purchase Price, exclusive of interest, has been paid, Seller will refund to Buyer any amount which remains from payments Buyer made after subtracting fifteen percent (15%) of the Purchase Price, exclusive of interest." While not conceding lack of entitlement to the fifteen percent, the plaintiffs alleged in their unsworn Motion to Authorize Escrow Agent to Return Deposit Payments in Excess of 15% of the Purchase Price, that "Plaintiffs do not intend to close on their respective units and have either been called to close and have breached or will not close and will be in breach." The order under review reads as follows:
Second Amended Order on Plaintiff's Motion for Release of Escrow Funds
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the Motion be, and the same is hereby granted in part. As to Plaintiffs who have received a notice from defendant(s) that the plaintiff is in default, Defendant(s) shall return to set plaintiffs in the amount of the deposit in excess of 15% of the purchase price and the escrow agent shall effectuate the return of set amounts. The Defendants and Escrow Agent are ordered to comply with the provisions of this order within 14 *55 days of the date of the hearing. As to plaintiffs who were called to close and did not close, but were not advised by the defendant that they were in default, the court shall hold additional hearings. As to all other plaintiffs, denied.
There exists no sworn evidence in the record to support the motion. In fact, no defendant had answered the complaint before the order was entered.
We, of course, reverse the order under review. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c) (defining "summary judgment evidence" as "any affidavits, answers to interrogatories, admissions, depositions, and other materials as would be admissible in evidence"); Schrank v. Pearlman, 683 So.2d 559, 563 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (holding competent evidence must support a motion for summary judgment); Olin's Inc. v. Avis Rental Car System of Fla., Inc., 105 So.2d 497, 498 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958) ("When a trial court has for consideration a plaintiff's motion for summary judgment before the defendant has answered, the summary judgment should not be granted unless it is clear that an issue of material fact can not be presented."). The court may have been misguided by the fact that the developers admit, except for achieving certainty as to whom to write checks in some instances,[1] they have no defense to the return of deposit monies in excess of fifteen percent to these plaintiffs. See Terra-Adi Int'l Bayshore, LLC v. Georgarious, 20 So.3d 987, 987 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009) (affirming on summary judgment[2] an interlocutory order requiring return of deposits in excess of fifteen percent under identical contract language to that in the contracts before us). However inscrutable the full-court resistance exhibited by these developers to returning the deposit monies in excess of fifteen percent in this case, they are entitled to the due process of the law, meaning a properly supported motion for summary judgment. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c). On the other hand, it is apodictic that summary judgments may not be granted at any type of hearing, absent the existence of "summary judgment evidence" in the record. See Schrank, 683 So.2d at 563.[3] The trial court failed to adhere to this settled principle of jurisprudence in this case. For this reason, we reverse and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
NOTES
[1] Even here, the parties at oral argument advise they presently are working cooperatively to achieve deposit returns in excess of fifteen percent for the class of purchasers who received notices of default.
[2] We take judicial notice of our record in this recently decided case to confirm that the order under review was an order from a motion for summary judgment. See § 90.202(6)(2010), Fla. Stat.
[3] Nor was a motion for judgment on the pleadings available to the plaintiffs at this stage of the proceeding. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(c) (stating such motions may be brought only after the pleadings are closed).
|
mission heart
Whether it’s helping others in the school, serving in the community, or helping others on the world stage, our students have a heart for ministry. Our 8th graders are preparing for Mexico, an annual trip at which they build a home for a Mexican family in need in the town of Tecata. This year, they are being supported in the trip with folks from the Jesus Christ Salt and Light, and Shorewood Foursquare Churches.
But missions starts at home, and be as simple as helping another student in the school with something that’s kind of hard for them…or praying with each other in chapel…or serving out in our community. It is our mission to help students look beyond their own needs, to see the hardship in other’s lives, and learn to prayerfully help them. |
Maratha Empire Tales
In an alternative history, the Maratha Empire of India, which succeeded the Mughals, continued to survive and thrive to become a modern day great power, ruling a dominion stretching from the Middle East to South East Asia and from Central Asia to East Africa.
In this alternative world, most of the women of the empire veil in various different and interesting styles and exercise restriction in their arm movement and voice, using bondage implements.
The center piece of the empire is India and Bengal, where the most beautiful and exotic and influential veiling fashions are present. The capital Punyanagari (real world Pune) is both the political as well as the industrial capital of the empire, its women are reputed to be both beautiful and bold. Yet they hide their lion-like nature under the most sensuous of veiling and erotic restrictions. One way in which to keep the notoriously sexed up Marathan males at length.
Everyone is welcome to contribute with stories set in this world. Further inspiration can be found in the document linked below about veiling styles of the Maratha Empire. |
<!-- <!DOCTYPE appendix PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN"> -->
<appendix id="patches" xreflabel="Useful Patches and Utilities for Bugzilla">
<title>Useful Patches and Utilities for Bugzilla</title>
<para>Are you looking for a way to put your Bugzilla into overdrive? Catch
some of the niftiest tricks here in this section.</para>
<section id="rewrite" xreflabel="Apache mod_rewrite magic">
<title>Apache
<filename>mod_rewrite</filename>
magic</title>
<para>Apache's
<filename>mod_rewrite</filename>
module lets you do some truly amazing things with URL rewriting. Here are
a couple of examples of what you can do.</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Make it so if someone types
<computeroutput>http://www.foo.com/12345</computeroutput>
, Bugzilla spits back http://www.foo.com/show_bug.cgi?id=12345. Try
setting up your VirtualHost section for Bugzilla with a rule like
this:</para>
<programlisting><![CDATA[
<VirtualHost 12.34.56.78>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^/([0-9]+)$ http://foo.bar.com/show_bug.cgi?id=$1 [L,R]
</VirtualHost>
]]></programlisting>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>There are many, many more things you can do with mod_rewrite.
Please refer to the mod_rewrite documentation at
<ulink url="http://www.apache.org">http://www.apache.org</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
<section id="cmdline">
<title>Command-line Bugzilla Queries</title>
<para>There are a suite of Unix utilities for querying Bugzilla from the
command line. They live in the
<filename class="directory">contrib/cmdline</filename>
directory. However, they
have not yet been updated to work with 2.16 (post-templatisation.).
There are three files - <filename>query.conf</filename>,
<filename>buglist</filename> and <filename>bugs</filename>.</para>
<para><filename>query.conf</filename>
contains the mapping from options to field
names and comparison types. Quoted option names are "grepped" for, so it
should be easy to edit this file. Comments (#) have no effect; you must
make sure these lines do not contain any quoted "option".</para>
<para><filename>buglist</filename>
is a shell script which submits a Bugzilla query and writes
the resulting HTML page to stdout. It supports both short options, (such
as "-Afoo" or "-Rbar") and long options (such as "--assignedto=foo" or
"--reporter=bar"). If the first character of an option is not "-", it is
treated as if it were prefixed with "--default=".</para>
<para>The column list is taken from the COLUMNLIST environment variable.
This is equivalent to the "Change Columns" option when you list bugs in
buglist.cgi. If you have already used Bugzilla, grep for COLUMNLIST
in your cookies file to see your current COLUMNLIST setting.</para>
<para><filename>bugs</filename> is a simple shell script which calls
<filename>buglist</filename> and extracts the
bug numbers from the output. Adding the prefix
"http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_id=" turns the bug list into
a working link if any bugs are found. Counting bugs is easy. Pipe the
results through
<command>sed -e 's/,/ /g' | wc | awk '{printf $2 "\n"}'</command>
</para>
<para>Akkana Peck says she has good results piping
<filename>buglist</filename> output through
<command>w3m -T text/html -dump</command>
</para>
</section>
</appendix>
<!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file
Local variables:
mode: sgml
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sgml-omittag:t
sgml-parent-document:("Bugzilla-Guide.xml" "book" "chapter")
sgml-shorttag:t
sgml-tag-region-if-active:t
End:
-->
|
/*=========================================================================
nmjfish.h
Author: CRB
Created:
Project: Spongebob
Purpose:
Copyright (c) 2000 Climax Development Ltd
===========================================================================*/
#ifndef __ENEMY_NMJFISH_H__
#define __ENEMY_NMJFISH_H__
#ifndef __ENEMY_NBOSS_H__
#include "enemy\nboss.h"
#endif
#include "fx\fx.h"
#include "fx\fxjfish.h"
#define MJ_PINK ( 127 + ( 127 << 8 ) + ( 127 << 16 ) )
#define MJ_WHITE ( 255 + ( 255 << 8 ) + ( 255 << 16 ) )
class CNpcMotherJellyfishEnemy : public CNpcBossEnemy
{
public:
void postInit();
void render();
virtual void renderOnMapScreen( DVECTOR drawPos );
void shutdown();
void setupWaypoints( sThingActor *ThisActor );
bool alwaysThink();
u8 hasBeenAttacked();
protected:
void processClose( int _frames );
void processMovement( int _frames );
void processShot( int _frames );
void collidedWith(CThing *_thisThing);
//void spawnJellyfish( int _frames );
//virtual void processUserCollision( CThing *thisThing );
enum NPC_MOTHER_JELLYFISH_STATE
{
/*MOTHER_JELLYFISH_RETURN_TO_START_1 = 0,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_CYCLE_1 = 1,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_ATTACK_PLAYER_SPAWN_1,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_RETURN_TO_START_2,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_CYCLE_2,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_ATTACK_PLAYER_SPAWN_2,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_RETURN_TO_START_3,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_CYCLE_3,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_ATTACK_PLAYER_SHOCK,*/
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_CYCLE = 0,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_BEGIN_CIRCLE = 1,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_CIRCLE,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_EXIT,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_STRAFE_START,
MOTHER_JELLYFISH_STRAFE,
};
int m_jellyfishCount;
s32 m_spawnTimer;
s32 m_pulsateTimer;
s32 m_pauseTimer;
s32 m_maxPauseTimer;
s32 m_cycleWidth;
s32 m_halfCycleWidth;
s16 m_renderScale;
u8 m_attackCounter;
u8 m_patternNum;
u8 m_patternPoint;
DVECTOR m_pattern[3][4];
CFXJellyFishLegs *legs[4];
DVECTOR legsPos[4];
DVECTOR targetPos;
};
#endif |
1. Introduction {#sec0005}
===============
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is estimated to infect approximately 170 million people worldwide ([@bib0085]) and is the major causative agent of non-alcoholic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplants in the developed world. Although potent direct-acting antivirals have recently become available, the high cost of treatment and an unpredictable level of viral resistance, which may emerge following therapy on a wide scale, indicate that this virus will continue to exert a significant health and economic burden for the foreseeable future. Additionally, basic research upon HCV remains a priority as the primary focus gradually shifts towards vaccine development.
Until 2005, HCV research was significantly hampered by an inability to recapitulate the full infectious cycle of the virus in cell culture systems. However, identification and characterisation of the genotype 2a JFH-1 strain, which both efficiently replicates its genome and releases infectious viral particles, greatly accelerated laboratory research and subsequently allowed study of the entire viral life cycle ([@bib0140]). Since this initial report, molecular clones based upon genotype 1a and 2b isolates have been produced ([@bib0055; @bib0060; @bib0115; @bib0150]), as well as numerous intergenotypic chimaeric JFH-1 viral genomes ([@bib0030; @bib0050; @bib0125]); all of which are infectious in cell culture models.
Cell culture-derived HCV titres are generally measured in either focus-forming units per millilitre (FFU/mL) (reviewed in ([@bib0145])) or through calculation of the 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID~50~) ([@bib0120]). Unlike many viruses, HCV infection does not result in plaque formation, therefore infected cells are detected by indirect immunofluorescence using antibodies specific for virally-encoded proteins (for example, NS5A). For the majority of infectious HCV isolates developed to date, viral titres produced from the commonly used Huh-7 hepatoma cells rarely exceed 10^5^ FFU/mL. However there are extreme cases: titres of only 10^3^ FFU/mL are commonly achieved with the full-length genotype one clones, whereas the genotype 2a/2a chimaeric JC-1 virus often produces 10^6^ FFU/mL ([@bib0110]) and is therefore an attractive alternative to the prototypic JFH-1 strain (reviewed in [@bib0135]).
Although the measurement of viral titre in FFU remains an established method within RNA virology ([@bib0005]), in many cases advancements in technology have resulted in either automated processes or the use of surrogate markers, thereby increasing the accuracy and through put rate of the assay (for example, the virtual TCID~50~ method for HIV-1, which measures virion-associated reverse transcriptase activity ([@bib0025; @bib0075]); and the competitive virus assay for titration of bovine viral diarrhoea virus isolates ([@bib0095])). To our knowledge, approaches such as these have not been adopted for HCV; the currently used protocol therefore remains labour-intensive, low-throughput and susceptible to significant human error during data interpretation.
In this manuscript, we describe a novel method of measuring HCV titres in infectious units (IU/mL). The experimental protocol is an adaptation of the previously-described immunofluorescence-based approaches ([@bib0065; @bib0135; @bib0145]), whilst data analysis is a wholly novel technique utilising the IncuCyte ZOOM (Essen BioScience). The IncuCyte ZOOM instrument has been utilised previously in RNA virology for detection of fluorescent reporter genes during live-cell imaging ([@bib0010; @bib0130]), however to our knowledge this is the first application of this instrument to quantification of HCV. This method allows the accurate and precise measurement of HCV titres in a relatively high-throughput setting, thereby decreasing labour, reagent cost and human bias. The wide linear range of detection exhibited by this method also makes it highly amenable to future high-throughput screens of potential antiviral compounds.
2. Materials and methods {#sec0010}
========================
2.1. *In vitro* transcription of viral RNA {#sec0015}
------------------------------------------
The DNA construct encoding the JFH-1 viral genome (pJFH-1) and a replication-defective control mutant of this plasmid (termed pJFH-1-GND, possessing a GDD \> GND mutation within the RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase active site) has been described previously ([@bib0140]). The DNA construct encoding the chimaeric JC-1 virus (pJ6-JFH-1c3) has been described previously ([@bib0110]).
DNA constructs were linearised using *Xba*I, briefly treated with mungbean nuclease to degrade 3′ overhangs (New England Biolabs) and purified by neutral phenol-chloroform extraction. Linearised DNA was used as a template for *in vitro* transcription to produce full-length HCV genomic RNA (RiboMAX Express; Promega, as per the manufacturer\'s instructions). Following DNAse digestion, RNA transcripts were purified by acidic phenol-chloroform extraction and quantified by absorbance at 260 nm prior to transfection into mammalian cells.
2.2. Mammalian cell lines {#sec0020}
-------------------------
An immortalised human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, termed Huh-7 ([@bib0100]) was utilised for the production and titration of all virus stocks. Huh-7 cells were maintained in Dulbecco\'s modified Eagle\'s medium (DMEM; Sigma) supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 IU/mL penicillin, 100 ug/mL streptomycin, 25 mM HEPES and 1% (v/v) non-essential amino acids in a humidified incubator at 37 °C in 5% CO~2~.
2.3. Production of infectious HCV {#sec0025}
---------------------------------
For the production of virus stocks, 4.0 × 10^6^ Huh-7 cells were electroporated with 5 μg of viral RNA at 975 μF and 260 V for 25 ms. Cells were resuspended in complete medium and seeded into T75 flasks (Corning). Virus was harvested at 48 h post-electroporation, clarified by centrifugation (10 min, 1000 × *g*) and stored at −80 °C in 1 mL aliquots. This allowed independent experimental replicates to be performed from identical virus aliquots to assess data reproducibility.
2.4. Virus titration {#sec0030}
--------------------
An established method of HCV titre determination has been previously reported ([@bib0145; @bib0155]) and is generally used in a 96 well plate format (henceforth referred to as a standard titre plate). Briefly, naïve Huh-7 cells were seeded into 96 wellplates (8.0 × 10^3^ cells per well, 100 μL total volume) and allowed to adhere for 16 h. Clarified virus was serially diluted two-fold into the existing media (final volume 100 μL per well). Cells were incubated for 72 h post-infection before the detection of viral antigens by indirect immunofluorescence (Section [2.6](#sec0040){ref-type="sec"}). Virus-positive cells were counted manually and the titre (FFU/mL) was calculated from the wells of multiple virus dilutions.
2.5. Antiviral treatments {#sec0035}
-------------------------
Huh-7 cells were electroporated with JFH-1 viral RNA as described above and 2.5 × 10^4^ cells were seeded into 96-well plates. 6 h post-electroporation, indicated concentrations of Daclatasvir (SelleckChem) or Sofosbuvir (MedChem Express) were added in duplicate with 0.25% (v/v) standard final DMSO. 72 h post-electroporation, viral supernatant was harvested and a 1:4 dilution was used to infect each well of a 96 well plate of naïve Huh-7 cells (seeded 6 h prior). 48 h post-infection, these cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and viral antigens were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. The total number of virus-positive cells therefore reflects the degree of inhibition exerted by the compound upon the original producer cells, as measured in released infectious units. 50% effective concentration (EC~50~) values were calculated using Prism (GraphPad).
2.6. Immunofluorescence {#sec0040}
-----------------------
Infected cells were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min and extensively washed again with PBS. The fixed monolayer was permeabilised with 0.1% Triton-X100 in PBS (v/v), washed and incubated for \>2 h in primary antibody raised against a viral antigen. Anti-NS5A (polyclonal sheep serum -- [@bib0070]) and anti-core ([@bib0090]) (C7-50, Thermo Scientific) primary antibodies were used at 1:2000 dilutions (in PBS with 10% FBS), whereas anti-E2 ([@bib0105]) (AP33, Genentech) was used at 1:500. After further washing, cells were incubated with a fluorophore-conjugated secondary antibody (diluted 1:500 in PBS with 10% FBS) for 2 h and finally stored in PBS prior to visualisation and/or manual counting.
2.7. Use of the IncuCyte ZOOM {#sec0045}
-----------------------------
Following immunofluorescence staining for viral antigens, with either an AlexaFluor594-conjugated ("red") or 488-conjugated ("green") secondary antibody, microtitre plates were imaged with the IncuCyte ZOOMinstrument (Essen BioScience). The default software parameters for a 96 well plate (Corning) with a 10× objective were used for imaging. The IncuCyte software was used to calculate mean confluence from four non-overlapping bright phase images of each well. The mean number of "red" and/or "green" positive cells per image was calculated from four non-overlapping fluorescent images; this value was then extrapolated by the IncuCyte ZOOM software to calculate the total predicted number of virus-positive cells per well. Viral titres were obtained by multiplying the number of virus-positive cells per wells by the reciprocal of the corresponding dilution factor, corrected for input volume. As this method measures the absolute number of infected cells, rather than the number of foci of infected cells, the titre is represented as infectious units per mL (IU/mL).
3. Results {#sec0050}
==========
3.1. Optimisation of software parameters {#sec0055}
----------------------------------------
The standard virus titration protocol (described in Section [2.4](#sec0030){ref-type="sec"}) was used to manually determine the titres of JC-1, JFH-1 and JFH-1-GND stocks. Infected cells were fixed at 72 h post-infection and treated with a HCV NS5A-specific sheep polyclonal serum ([@bib0070]) and anti-sheep secondary antibody conjugated to the AlexaFluor 594 dye (Life Technologies). Plates were manually counted by three individuals and the average titres were calculated. Titres of 2.82 × 10^5^ (JC-1), 3.01 × 10^4^ (JFH-1) and 0.00 (JFH-1-GND) FFU/mL were determined ([Fig. 1](#fig0005){ref-type="fig"}).
This plate was then imaged with the IncuCyte ZOOM. The number of "red cells per well" was calculated multiple times using a variety of software parameter permutations ([Table 1](#tbl0005){ref-type="table"}). The optimal settings were determined to be a red calibrated unit (RCU) minimum threshold of 2.5, edge sensitivity of −30, and an area filter ranging from 300 to 4000 μm^2^ ([Fig. 1](#fig0005){ref-type="fig"}). The results from these parameters displayed maximum correlation with the manually determined titres. Most importantly, the JFH-1-GND (replication-defective) "titre" was minimal (\<100 red artefacts per ml), indicating that false positives and non-specific antibody binding events would not contribute significantly to the calculated titres of replication-competent virus. Equally, false negatives are unlikely to occur within these parameters: the RCU threshold of 2.5 prevents inclusion of cells which faintly stain for viral antigens; these are unlikely to have been infected from the initial inoculum 72 h prior to fixation, and therefore are more likely to represent new early infection events due to viral spread or background fluorescence. The exclusion of these cells would not affect accurate determination of the initial infectious viral titre.
3.2. Linear limitations of the dilution series {#sec0060}
----------------------------------------------
Following establishment of the optimal software parameters, we next wished to determine the linear range of dilutions across which the IncuCyte ZOOM could produce accurate titre calculations. JC-1 virus was used to infect naïve Huh-7 cells in a two-fold dilution series. 72 h post-infection, cells were fixed and stained for NS5A as described above. As expected, the number of virus-positive cells *versus* the dilution factor displayed a logarithmic trend ([Fig. 2](#fig0010){ref-type="fig"}A), and a linear range was observed for dilutions between 1:2^1^ and 1:2^5^([Fig. 2](#fig0010){ref-type="fig"}B). For this particular virus preparation, this equates to an average titre calculation of 1.14 × 10^5^ IU/mL. Realistically an accurate manual count of foci and/or virus-positive cells can only be obtained for one or two wells in a serial dilution series before the human error will impact upon the significance; thus this linear range is a significant improvement on the previously-used assay.
3.3. Optimisation of the titration protocol {#sec0065}
-------------------------------------------
The traditional method of HCV titration involved pre-seeding the cells 16--24 h before infection, which was then allowed to proceed for 48--72 h before fixation ([@bib0065; @bib0145; @bib0155]). Although a 72 h infection period may allow a degree of viral spread (thereby obscuring accurate measurement of the initial infectious inoculum) this extended time period was required to ensure sufficient levels of viral protein per infected cell; hence the strength of antibody staining was sufficiently high for visualisation of infected foci by eye.
We therefore investigated the optimal pre-seeding and infection time conditions for use with the IncuCyte ZOOM. Identical cell numbers were maintained from previous assays (100 μL of 8.0 × 10^3^ cells/mL per well). Cells were seeded 6 h or 16 h prior to infection, which was then allowed to proceed for 24, 48 or 72 h before monolayers were fixed and stained for the NS5A viral antigen. Plates were imaged and analysed with the optimised parameters described in [Fig. 1](#fig0005){ref-type="fig"}. The optimal conditions, producing low levels of false positives in the GND controls and a confluence of approximately 87%, were the combination of pre-seeding 6 h before infection and fixation at 48 h ([Fig. 3](#fig0015){ref-type="fig"}). This represents a significant increase in the rapidity of the assay compared to the previous protocol.
3.4. Assay flexibility {#sec0070}
----------------------
For the majority of experiments we utilised an in-house sheep polyclonal serum raised against HCV NS5A ([@bib0070]), in combination with an anti-sheep secondary antibody labelled with the AlexaFluor 594 dye (Life Technologies). However it is important that this assay may be adapted to utilise a range of commercially available primary and secondary antibodies. A virus titration assay was performed according to the optimised protocol (cells seeded 6 h prior to infection, and fixed 48 h post-infection). Fixed infected cells were then stained with commercially-available E2-specific ([@bib0105]) (AP33, Genentech) or core-specific mouse monoclonal antibodies ([@bib0090]) (C7-50, Thermo Scientific) ([Fig. 4](#fig0020){ref-type="fig"}). Both of these monoclonal antibodies recognise linear epitopes that are conserved across HCV genotypes and as such would be applicable to other, non-JFH-1-based virus titration assays. Anti-mouse secondary antibodies labelled with either the 488 (for E2 staining) or 594 dye (for core staining) were used. It must be noted that the 488-labelled secondary antibody displayed higher background staining and therefore the minimal green calibrated unit (GCU) threshold was increased to 4.5. Plates were imaged and analysed according to the optimised software parameters. Similar titres were obtained for both JFH-1 and JC-1 for all antibodies tested, although higher background staining of the GND control wells was observed for the E2-stained samples ([Fig. 4](#fig0020){ref-type="fig"}). These results demonstrate that this assay is amenable to a range of primary and secondary antibodies and is therefore readily accessible to other laboratories.
3.5. Validation of antiviral compound screening {#sec0075}
-----------------------------------------------
The increased-throughput measure of IU/mL for this assay may be particularly useful in the study of antivirals that target multiple stages of the virus lifecycle ([@bib0080]). Thus, an adapted protocol was used to calculate EC~50~ values for the direct acting antivirals Daclatasvir and Sofosbuvir, both of which are in clinical use for HCV therapy. Cells electroporated with JFH-1 RNA were incubated with a range of inhibitor concentrations, before naïve cells were infected using previously optimised dilutions within the accurate linear range (in this case, 1:2^2^ as displayed in [Fig. 3](#fig0015){ref-type="fig"}). Infected cells were stained for NS5A, imaged and analysed as described. The extrapolated IU/mL was then plotted to calculate the EC~50~ of each compound ([Fig. 5](#fig0025){ref-type="fig"}). The values reported (95.5 ± 27.9 nM for Sofosbuvir and 6.2 ± 3.9 pM for Daclatasvir) are within the published range for each antiviral compound, validating this approach for the screening of novel compounds in the future.
4. Discussion {#sec0080}
=============
In this paper, we have described the optimisation of a novel approach for analysing HCV infectious titres. The previously published protocols involve a 4-day assay followed by lengthy manual counting of infected cells; in contrast, our method requires only 3 days of cell incubation followed by fully automated data analysis. This represents a significant increase in processivity, as well as improved accuracy, precision and reproducibility. The linear range of detection that this method exhibits also means that dilution to an endpoint is not essential, in contrast to both the focus-forming unit and TCID~50~ methods. Therefore a reduced number of viral dilutions are required for each sample, significantly reducing the reagent cost per assay.
Alternatives to HCV titrations have been investigated previously but all possess significant caveats; for example, antigen-capture based techniques, such as core protein ELISAs, are high-throughput but neither differentiate between defective particles and infectious virions, nor antigen released from dead cells. Thus, such measurements are poor surrogates for infectious titre assays. Other assays rely upon the expression of reporter genes inserted into the viral genome; for example, luciferase or green fluorescent protein. However the quantification of a reporter gene relies upon assumption of a linear relationship between reporter expression levels and infectious units; a controversial assumption which would require validation for each novel clone produced. Equally concerning is the fact that insertion of a reporter gene tends to decrease viral fitness ([@bib0135]). As research is focussed increasingly upon the development of novel, non-JFH-1-based infectious clones, which are more relevant to clinical isolates but tend to display low infectious titres, insertion of a reporter is unlikely to represent a feasible option. To circumvent this, reporter-based cell lines have been described which facilitate the study of native virus ([@bib0035; @bib0040]). These offer an attractive method for the quantification of HCV titres that is genotype independent, but require the establishment of an appropriate cell line expressing the reporter of interest. For example, [@bib0040] describe a method in which a fluorescent reporter (either GFP or mCherry), is fused to both a nuclear localisation signal and the C-terminal 78 residues of the mitochondrial antiviral signalling protein (MAVS). This region contains both a mitochondrial targeting sequence and a cleavage site for NS3/4A. Upon infection, NS3/4A cleaves this reporter and the fluorescent protein is released from the mitochondria and translocates to the cell nucleus. The image processing required to distinguish between uninfected and infected cells using this approach is thus substantially more complex than that described here which simply enumerates positive cells identified by immunostaining. Our method may potentially be applicable to multiple infectious HCV isolates, given the successful use of various primary antibodies targeting conserved epitopes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first automated, high-throughput method of accurately analysing viral infectious titres, which does not rely upon expression of a reporter gene.
This method has applications for multiple areas of HCV research, as most require accurate measurements of viral release and infectivity. We predict the main use to be in the identification and validation of novel antiviral compounds. The reported EC~50~ for Sofosbuvir is 558 nM for a genotype 2a/2a chimaeric JFH-1-based infectious virus ([@bib0115]); in comparison, Daclatasvir exerts an EC~50~ of 28 pM ([@bib0020]). Therefore our reported calculations are within the expected range for infectious virus for both compounds ([Fig. 5](#fig0025){ref-type="fig"}); this validates the use of our assay for the accurate calculation of EC~50~ values. Equally, the measurement of neutralising antibody titres would benefit significantly from an adaptation of our protocol. A reduction in foci (caused by infectious virus following incubation with patient sera) is already commonly used as a method of assessing neutralising potential ([@bib0015]); the application of our optimised protocol would significantly enhance the throughput of these studies.
In conclusion, we have developed and optimised a novel method of measuring and analysing HCV infectious titres, which requires the use of the IncuCyte ZOOM instrument and associated software. This assay will prove useful for all basic research involving novel infectious HCV isolates and the identification of novel antivirals targeting multiple stages of the viral life cycle.
The authors wish to thank Takaji Wakita (National Institute of Infectious Disease, Japan) for kindly providing the pJFH-1 and pJFH-1-GND plasmids. The pJ6-JFH-1c3 construct was kindly provided by Ralf Bartenschlager (University of Heidelberg, Germany). This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award to M.H. (grant number 096670), and a Medical Research Council Confidence in Concept award to S.G. (grant number MC_PC_13066). J.S. and C.B. were funded by the Wellcome Trust Four Year PhD scheme entitled The Molecular Basis of Biological Mechanisms (grant numbers 093786 and 099759). The authors gratefully acknowledge Nicola Stonehouse for advice and access to the IncuCyte equipment, which was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant number BB/K003801/1).
{#fig0005}
{#fig0010}
{#fig0015}
{#fig0020}
{#fig0025}
######
Definitions of parameters used within the IncuCyte ZOOM software.
Parameter Function
------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RCU threshold A fixed threshold level (in red calibrated fluorescence units) is used across the image, so all objects below this level are classified as background and not included in calculations
Edge sensitivity Edge split sensitivity determines whether closely-spaced objects are separated, according to the weak signal points between them. A larger edge sensitivity number (*i.e.*, 0 compared to −30) results in more splits, producing a higher count
Area filter This function eliminates fluorescent objects that are outside the chosen size (in μm^2^)
|
Congruence relation
In abstract algebra, a congruence relation (or simply congruence) is an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure (such as a group, ring, or vector space) that is compatible with the structure in the sense that algebraic operations done with equivalent elements will yield equivalent elements. Every congruence relation has a corresponding quotient structure, whose elements are the equivalence classes (or congruence classes) for the relation.
Basic example
The prototypical example of a congruence relation is congruence modulo on the set of integers. For a given positive integer , two integers and are called congruent modulo , written
if is divisible by (or equivalently if and have the same remainder when divided by ).
For example, and are congruent modulo ,
since is a multiple of 10, or equivalently since both and have a remainder of when divided by .
Congruence modulo (for a fixed ) is compatible with both addition and multiplication on the integers. That is,
if
and
then
and
The corresponding addition and multiplication of equivalence classes is known as modular arithmetic. From the point of view of abstract algebra, congruence modulo is a congruence relation on the ring of integers, and arithmetic modulo occurs on the corresponding quotient ring.
Definition
The definition of a congruence depends on the type of algebraic structure under consideration. Particular definitions of congruence can be made for groups, rings, vector spaces, modules, semigroups, lattices, and so forth. The common theme is that a congruence is an equivalence relation on an algebraic object that is compatible with the algebraic structure, in the sense that the operations are well-defined on the equivalence classes.
For example, a group is an algebraic object consisting of a set together with a single binary operation, satisfying certain axioms. If is a group with operation , a congruence relation on is an equivalence relation on the elements of satisfying
and
for all , , , . For a congruence on a group, the equivalence class containing the identity element is always a normal subgroup, and the other equivalence classes are the cosets of this subgroup. Together, these equivalence classes are the elements of a quotient group.
When an algebraic structure includes more than one operation, congruence relations are required to be compatible with each operation. For example, a ring possesses both addition and multiplication, and a congruence relation on a ring must satisfy
whenever . For a congruence on a ring, the equivalence class containing 0 is always a two-sided ideal, and the two operations on the set of equivalence classes define the corresponding quotient ring.
The general notion of a congruence relation can be given a formal definition in the context of universal algebra, a field which studies ideas common to all algebraic structures. In this setting, a congruence relation is an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure that satisfies
for every -ary operation and all elements such that for each
Relation with homomorphisms
If is a homomorphism between two algebraic structures (such as homomorphism of groups, or a linear map between vector spaces), then the relation defined by
if and only if
is a congruence relation. By the first isomorphism theorem, the image of A under is a substructure of B isomorphic to the quotient of A by this congruence.
Congruences of groups, and normal subgroups and ideals
In the particular case of groups, congruence relations can be described in elementary terms as follows:
If G is a group (with identity element e and operation *) and ~ is a binary relation on G, then ~ is a congruence whenever:
Given any element a of G, a ~ a (reflexivity);
Given any elements a and b of G, if a ~ b, then b ~ a (symmetry);
Given any elements a, b, and c of G, if a ~ b and b ~ c, then a ~ c (transitivity);
Given any elements a, a' , b, and b' of G, if a ~ a' and b ~ b' , then a * b ~ a' * b' ;
Given any elements a and a' of G, if a ~ a' , then a−1 ~ a' −1 (this can actually be proven from the other four, so is strictly redundant).
Conditions 1, 2, and 3 say that ~ is an equivalence relation.
A congruence ~ is determined entirely by the set {a ∈ G : a ~ e} of those elements of G that are congruent to the identity element, and this set is a normal subgroup.
Specifically, a ~ b if and only if b−1 * a ~ e.
So instead of talking about congruences on groups, people usually speak in terms of normal subgroups of them; in fact, every congruence corresponds uniquely to some normal subgroup of G.
Ideals of rings and the general case
A similar trick allows one to speak of kernels in ring theory as ideals instead of congruence relations, and in module theory as submodules instead of congruence relations.
A more general situation where this trick is possible is with Omega-groups (in the general sense allowing operators with multiple arity). But this cannot be done with, for example, monoids, so the study of congruence relations plays a more central role in monoid theory.
Universal algebra
The idea is generalized in universal algebra:
A congruence relation on an algebra A is a subset of the direct product A × A that is both an equivalence relation on A and a subalgebra of A × A.
The kernel of a homomorphism is always a congruence. Indeed, every congruence arises as a kernel.
For a given congruence ~ on A, the set A/~ of equivalence classes can be given the structure of an algebra in a natural fashion, the quotient algebra.
The function that maps every element of A to its equivalence class is a homomorphism, and the kernel of this homomorphism is ~.
The lattice Con(A) of all congruence relations on an algebra A is algebraic.
John M. Howie described how semigroup theory illustrates congruence relations in universal algebra:
In a group a congruence is determined if we know a single congruence class, in particular if we know the normal subgroup which is the class containing the identity. Similarly, in a ring a congruence is determined if we know the ideal which is the congruence class containing the zero. In semigroups there is no such fortunate occurrence, and we are therefore faced with the necessity of studying congruences as such. More than anything else, it is this necessity that gives semigroup theory its characteristic flavour. Semigroups are in fact the first and simplest type of algebra to which the methods of universal algebra must be applied…
See also
Table of congruences
Linear congruence theorem
Congruence lattice problem
Notes
References
Horn and Johnson, Matrix Analysis, Cambridge University Press, 1985. . (Section 4.5 discusses congruency of matrices.)
Category:Modular arithmetic
Category:Algebra
Category:Binary relations
Category:Equivalence (mathematics) |
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington
The (JCCCW) is a registered nonprofit organization that was formed in 2003 after the merger of the Japanese Language School and the Nikkei Heritage Association of Washington. Its headquarters are located in the Little Saigon neighborhood of the Seattle International District, and offers a number of programs, events, and classes opened to the community. The organization's mission statement is "To build and grow a central gathering place for sharing and promoting Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage."
History
Founded in 2003 by Seattle community leaders such as TV Anchor Lori Matsukawa, Judge Ron Mamiya, and former state Representative Kip Tokuda, the JCCCW is dedicated to preserving, promoting and sharing Japanese and Japanese American history, heritage and culture.
History and heritage projects
Omoide Project
Omoide means "memories" and is a workshop and publication project developed to collect and share childhood recollections of Japanese Americans during World War II. These personnel accounts are intended to educate future generations to "encourage open dialog and discussions on constitutional rights, personal history, cultural development, immigrant experience in the US, family values, and multi-cultural issues."
Northwest Nikkei Museum
The Northwest Nikkei Museum are small exhibits dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of Nikkei from the Pacific Northwest. Exhibits have included:
Bases as Bridges: Baseball from Japan to Washington
Art Behind Barbed Wire: A Pacific Northwest Exploration of the Japanese American Arts and Crafts Created in World War II Incarceration Camps
Unsettled~Resettled: Seattle's Hunt Hostel
Genji Mihara: An Issei Pioneer (currently on display)
Also available are smaller items on display, but not part of a larger exhibit. Included are:
Coins from the Meiji, Edo, Tai Sho, and Showa period
Roger Shimomura Mural and grandmothers cabinet
Artwork by Aki Sugabe
Kintaro
Events and programs
Most events put on by the JCCCW are free and open to the public to encourage education and sharing of knowledge of Japanese and Japanese community and culture.
Events
Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day): Cultural event, free and open to the public. Focused on children and children's' activities to educate about Japanese culture
Kenjinkai Day: A gathering of local kenjinkai (lit. Prefectural peoples association) that people can join or learn about what makes each Japanese prefecture unique.
All Things Japanese Sale: An annual sale of gently used donated goods that help benefit the JCCCW.
Yukata and Kimono Sale: Annual sale of kimono, yukata, happi coats, and accessories in preparation for the summer Bon Odori and festival season
Bunka no Hi (Culture Day): Celebrate and learn about Japanese and Japanese American culture through performances, exhibits, and activities.
Yuji's Omusubi: An inaugural event held to bring Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals together to "facilitate international exchange and fellowship." This event was named after a former intern of the Hyogo Business & Cultural Center.
Tomodachi Gala: A fundraising event that honors the contributions of individuals or groups in the community that have promoted Japanese and Japanese American culture or worked to strengthen cultural ties between the US and Japan.
Seattle Mochitsuki: A collaboration with other community organizations to make mochi in celebration of Oshogatsu.
Summer Camp: A youth summer camp that offers an introduction to basic reading, writing, and conversational Japanese language skills as well as cultural activities.
Programs
The Seattle Japanese Language School: The original organization that owns the Cultural Center complex, it is now the premier program that offers Japanese language courses to children and adults.
Taiko: Home to four different Taiko groups: School of Taiko, Northwest Taiko, Kaze Daiko, and Inochi Taiko.
Martial Arts: Home to the Budokan Judo and Seattle Seido Karate dojos.
Hosekibako: A Japanese Resale Store - items for sale that are Japanese or Japanese-inspired. All items are re-sale, donated by the community. All proceeds go to supporting the JCCCW Programs, especially the free cultural events, Kodomo no Hi and Bunka no Hi
References
External links
Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington - official site
Category:Japanese-American culture in Washington (state)
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Seattle
Category:Museums in Seattle
Category:Ethnic museums in Washington (state)
Category:Museums of Japanese culture abroad in the United States |
Superparamagnetic maghemite nanorods: analysis by coupling field-flow fractionation and small-angle X-ray scattering.
We report on the online coupling of asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (A4F) with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for the detection of nanoparticles. The A4F was used to fractionate superparamagnetic maghemite nanoparticles, which were prepared continuously with a micromixer. The outlet of the A4F was directly coupled to a flow capillary of a SAXSess instrument (Kratky type of camera). SAXS curves were recorded in a 1 s time interval. This was possible by using intense synchrotron radiation. The radii of gyration of the nanoparticles, as determined from Guinier plots, increased from 2 to 6 nm with increasing fractionation time of the A4F. A more detailed analysis of the scattering curves revealed that the particles were cylindrical in shape (nanorods), which we attributed to the micromixing preparation technique. The radii of the nanorods increased only slightly from 1.2 to 1.7 nm with increasing fractionation time, while the lengths increased strongly from 7.0 to 30.0 nm. The volume distribution of the nanorods was determined and described by Schultz-Zimm and log-normal distributions. Nanorod volumes increased from 45 to 263 nm(3), corresponding to molar masses of 140 x 10(3) to 820 x 10(3) g mol(-1). We propose A4F-SAXS coupling as a new method for analysis of nanoparticles of complex composition in solution. It allows precise online determination of the particle's shape and size distributions. This method can be applied to mixtures of nanoparticles of arbitrary shapes and sizes (1-100 nm). Moreover, the total time needed for fractionation and online SAXS data recording is usually only 20 min. |
Thursday, March 01, 2012
On December 2, 1978, Tom Reeves of the Boston-Boise Committee convened a meeting called "Man/Boy Love and the Age of Consent." Approximately 150 people attended. At the meeting's conclusion, about thirty men and youths decided to form an organization which they called the North American Man/Boy Love Association, or NAMBLA for short.
Thirty four years later and NAMBLA is arguably still the most well known pro-pedophilia advocacy organization to ever exist; except today NAMBLA's founder is now dead.Tom Reeves life can best be described in a nutshell as a life long effort to legalize the sexual abuse of children, we've prepared a time-line chronicling Reeves life:
Even before the formation of NAMBLA, Reeves was openly describing himself as a "Boy lover."
21 April 1978:
Reeves, a history professor at Roxbury Community College, says he is the group's only "boy lover"
"I feel It is important to say it is possible to be a man and have a variety of relationships with adolescents, including sex, and still be an ethical, upstanding individual."
After the formation of NAMBLA, Reeves took on a very public role inside of NAMBLA as their national spokesman:
October 13 1982:
A male homosexual organization that supports sexual relations between men and boys held its annual national meeting in Philadelphia last weekend, despite opposition from a local coalition of youth-protection feminists and homosexual groups.
The North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which was founded in Boston in 1978 has a nationwide membership of only 600, was concerned about the opposition because it feared violence, not from these groups, but from anti-homosexuals.
"There is a tripe whammy against (the organization)," Thomas Reeves, a national spokesman for Boy Love, said in a telephone interview last week.
In the mid 90's Reeves was involved in NAMBLA as their strategist and as a contributor to the "NAMBLA Bulletin."
August 23 1994:
Tom Reeves, a leading strategist for the organization and contributor to its newsletter, "NAMBLA Bulletin," explains that a lot of people aren't aware of NAMBLA's mission. "Our purpose is not to get our hands on a bunch of 14-year-old boys," he says "The primary issue is political-to change laws about age of consent."
In the late 90's it was obvious that despite years of campaigning NAMBLA had nothing to show for their efforts. It was time for a new, more-moderate approach: a petition was formed titled "A Call to Safeguard Our Children and Our Liberties". The petition, which would later become known as the "Petition to Reform Sex Offender Laws," was first posted on the pedophile message board, BoyChat:
June 07, 1998:
Participants included women who are incest and sex abuse survivors, NAMBLA members, anti-censorship and civil liberties activists, feminists, gay and lesbian people, health-care workers, church activists, peace and social justice activists, academics, and those who work with prisoners.
SIGNED:Tom Reeves, social science professor;
That effort went nowhere fast. It appears not many people wanted to advocate for pedophiles calling themselves "NAMBLA members" and "Boylovers". In 2007 a new attempt was made. Using the old "Call to Safeguard Children" except any references to pedophiles were removed and suddenly they found their niche. Suddenly they found lots of people, mostly women who were more than willing to support pedophiles as long as they didn't call themselves "NAMBLA members" and "Boylovers". The sad fact is though that many of them knew. That is the true horror of it. They knew who they were working with.
Now thanks to this idiot, we can include another chapter of Toms life, one which we've suspected for quite some time. You may know him better as "Alex Marbury":
I am very saddened to inform you to our good friend Tom Reeves (aka Alex Marbury) died today in his hospital bed in Baltimore.
February 19, 2012:
Alex Marbury was the very heart and soul of RSOL during its formative years. He loved RSOL and its people and, in turn, was the recipient of much appreciation and affection. Hundreds of those now connected to RSOL were first welcomed into the organization by Alex in his role as email contact and member of the Admin Team.
Not only had the ReformSexOffenderLaws petition been created by pedophiles from NAMBLA, the ReformSexOffenderLaws organization was being run by the same person who had founded NAMBLA and has been one of NAMBLA's key figureheads.
Today the ReformSexOffenderLaws best kept secret has been made public in all it's deceitful glory. Obviously some members of the RSOL were already well aware of this ugly fact, but despite their knowledge of Reeves' history, continued to mislead others with claims that they weren't associated with pedophile activists:
RSOL does not condone sexual activity between adults and children in any way, nor does it condone any sexual activities that break laws in any state. RSOL is not affiliated with, nor do we support or condone, NAMBLA, Boychat, Girlchat, or any group with similar positions on age of consent or related behaviors.
It isn't that the RSOL is affiliated with NAMBLA, the RSOL IS NAMBLA. It is a side-branch. It is a NAMBLA project. It is succeeding at what NAMBLA itself always failed to do: get people who weren't pedophiles to advocate on behalf of pedophiles.
The RSOL was founded by the very same person who founded NAMBLA. He never renounced NAMBLA and remained involved with both organizations until his death.
On December 2, 1978, Tom Reeves of the Boston-Boise Committee convened a meeting called "Man/Boy Love and the Age of Consent." Approximately 150 people attended. At the meeting's conclusion, about thirty men and youths decided to form an organization which they called the North American Man/Boy Love Association, or NAMBLA for short.
Thirty four years later and NAMBLA is arguably still the most well known pro-pedophilia advocacy organization to ever exist; except today NAMBLA's founder is now dead.Tom Reeves life can best be described in a nutshell as a life long effort to legalize the sexual abuse of children, we've prepared a time-line chronicling Reeves life:
Even before the formation of NAMBLA, Reeves was openly describing himself as a "Boy lover."
21 April 1978:
Reeves, a history professor at Roxbury Community College, says he is the group's only "boy lover"
"I feel It is important to say it is possible to be a man and have a variety of relationships with adolescents, including sex, and still be an ethical, upstanding individual."
After the formation of NAMBLA, Reeves took on a very public role inside of NAMBLA as their national spokesman:
October 13 1982:
A male homosexual organization that supports sexual relations between men and boys held its annual national meeting in Philadelphia last weekend, despite opposition from a local coalition of youth-protection feminists and homosexual groups.
The North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which was founded in Boston in 1978 has a nationwide membership of only 600, was concerned about the opposition because it feared violence, not from these groups, but from anti-homosexuals.
"There is a tripe whammy against (the organization)," Thomas Reeves, a national spokesman for Boy Love, said in a telephone interview last week.
In the mid 90's Reeves was involved in NAMBLA as their strategist and as a contributor to the "NAMBLA Bulletin."
August 23 1994:
Tom Reeves, a leading strategist for the organization and contributor to its newsletter, "NAMBLA Bulletin," explains that a lot of people aren't aware of NAMBLA's mission. "Our purpose is not to get our hands on a bunch of 14-year-old boys," he says "The primary issue is political-to change laws about age of consent."
In the late 90's it was obvious that despite years of campaigning NAMBLA had nothing to show for their efforts. It was time for a new, more-moderate approach: a petition was formed titled "A Call to Safeguard Our Children and Our Liberties". The petition, which would later become known as the "Petition to Reform Sex Offender Laws," was first posted on the pedophile message board, BoyChat:
June 07, 1998:
Participants included women who are incest and sex abuse survivors, NAMBLA members, anti-censorship and civil liberties activists, feminists, gay and lesbian people, health-care workers, church activists, peace and social justice activists, academics, and those who work with prisoners.
SIGNED:Tom Reeves, social science professor;
That effort went nowhere fast. It appears not many people wanted to advocate for pedophiles calling themselves "NAMBLA members" and "Boylovers". In 2007 a new attempt was made. Using the old "Call to Safeguard Children" except any references to pedophiles were removed and suddenly they found their niche. Suddenly they found lots of people, mostly women who were more than willing to support pedophiles as long as they didn't call themselves "NAMBLA members" and "Boylovers". The sad fact is though that many of them knew. That is the true horror of it. They knew who they were working with.
Now thanks to this idiot, we can include another chapter of Toms life, one which we've suspected for quite some time. You may know him better as "Alex Marbury":
I am very saddened to inform you to our good friend Tom Reeves (aka Alex Marbury) died today in his hospital bed in Baltimore.
February 19, 2012:
Alex Marbury was the very heart and soul of RSOL during its formative years. He loved RSOL and its people and, in turn, was the recipient of much appreciation and affection. Hundreds of those now connected to RSOL were first welcomed into the organization by Alex in his role as email contact and member of the Admin Team.
Not only had the ReformSexOffenderLaws petition been created by pedophiles from NAMBLA, the ReformSexOffenderLaws organization was being run by the same person who had founded NAMBLA and has been one of NAMBLA's key figureheads.
Today the ReformSexOffenderLaws best kept secret has been made public in all it's deceitful glory. Obviously some members of the RSOL were already well aware of this ugly fact, but despite their knowledge of Reeves' history, continued to mislead others with claims that they weren't associated with pedophile activists:
RSOL does not condone sexual activity between adults and children in any way, nor does it condone any sexual activities that break laws in any state. RSOL is not affiliated with, nor do we support or condone, NAMBLA, Boychat, Girlchat, or any group with similar positions on age of consent or related behaviors.
It isn't that the RSOL is affiliated with NAMBLA, the RSOL IS NAMBLA. It is a side-branch. It is a NAMBLA project. It is succeeding at what NAMBLA itself always failed to do: get people who weren't pedophiles to advocate on behalf of pedophiles.
The RSOL was founded by the very same person who founded NAMBLA. He never renounced NAMBLA and remained involved with both organizations until his death.
About
A community of individuals pledged to fight paedophiles on the web. We are committed to the safety and emotional well-being of all children. This site will serve as a resource for those committed to our fight wherever you may be in the world. |
Q:
Pigeonhole Principle and Equivalence Classes
Let $A$ be a finite set with $n \geq 4$ elements and let $\rho$ be an equivalence relation on $A$. Suppose that there are exactly four equivalence classes: $C_1, C_2, C_3, C_4$. Moreover we know that $\mid C_1\mid = \mid C_2\mid = 1$. Let $a \in A$ be a fixed element that we know is in $C_3$.
What is the maximum number of ordered pairs $(x,y) \in \rho$ in which $a$ can occur $(a=x, a=y, a=x=y$)?
I'm iffy on equivalence classes, so in your answer could you help explain that as well. I'd appreciate the thought process behind solving this problem rather than just the answer since I want to learn how to do this.
A:
$\left|\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid x=a\right\} \right|=\left|\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid y=a\right\} \right|=|C_3|$
and $\left|\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid x=a\right\} \cap\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid y=a\right\} \right|=\left|\left\{ a,a\right\} \right|=1$
This leads to $\left|\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid x=a\vee y=a\right\} \right|=2|C_3|-1$
addendum:
Denoting $P=\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid x=a\right\} $ and
$Q=\left\{ \left(x,y\right)\in\rho\mid y=a\right\} $ you want to
find $\left|P\cup Q\right|$.
Note that $P\cap Q=\left\{ \left(a,a\right)\right\} $ so that $\left|P\cap Q\right|=1$
Note that $\left(x,y\right)\in P\iff x=a\wedge y\in C_{3}$ telling
us that $\left|P\right|=\left|C_{3}\right|$. Actually $P=\{a\}\times C_3$.
Note that $\left(x,y\right)\in Q\iff x\in C_{3}\wedge y=a$ telling
us that $\left|Q\right|=\left|C_{3}\right|$. Actually $Q=C_3\times\{a\}$.
So we end up with $\left|P\cup Q\right|=\left|P\right|+\left|Q\right|-\left|P\cap Q\right|=\left|C_{3}\right|+\left|C_{3}\right|-1=2\left|C_{3}\right|-1$
|
Get all information about education in this website
Social insight is the capacity to viably arrange interpersonal collaborations and complex social situations. It includes powerful relational abilities, the capacity to peruse non-verbal signs into how other individuals are feeling and temperances, for example, compassion and thought.
Preschool is a kid’s first raid into a social situation brimming with different chances to learn and hone social aptitudes. In any case, without grown-up intercession and displaying of proper conduct, it would be troublesome for kids to figure out how to approach the complex and regularly confounding universe of social collaborations.
This article gives a few tips to guardians, instructors and overseers for helping youngsters create gainful social aptitudes that will do them a lifetime of good. This is what you can do to help your tyke, understudy, niece/nephew or cousin turn out to be more compassionate, kind and positive about social settings.
*Model the conduct you’d like the kid to receive
Kids learn fitting practices by copying grown-ups. In the event that a family always contends with each other before the tyke, it is likely that the tyke would consider animosity as an adequate type of communicating one’s emotions. On the off chance that you reprimand your tyke cruelly when they decline to be tender with other youngsters, you are not demonstrating tenderness.
The least demanding approach to help your tyke learn qualities, for example, persistence, absolution, empathy, liberality and tenderness is to demonstrate these qualities in your everyday collaborations with other individuals. Youngsters continually watch and learn.
*Help the kid comprehend and mark their emotions
Mindfulness is the initial step to poise. That is the reason attempting to constrain your kid to stifle negative feelings, for example, outrage or trouble can really demonstrate unfavorable to their passionate wellbeing and social fitness.
In the event that you spot youngsters turning out to be verbally or physically forceful, mediate and express so everyone can hear a verbal depiction of the circumstance and the kids’ plausible feelings. For instance, you could say something like, “I see that you both might want to play on the slide. You both appear to be anxious.” Go on as far as possible, “You can’t push someone else off the slide. You should inquire as to whether you can have a go as well. On the off chance that they won’t, you should hold up calmly or go pick another movement to do.”
Sympathizing with a kid’s sentiments quiets them down. Test into how they are feeling amid or after the contention as that would help them comprehend and name their emotions.
*Allow kids to experience and resolve clashes
It is totally characteristic for preschoolers to experience clashes. Youngsters this age for the most part need to have things go their direction but then have other kids to play with. The capacity to arrange and trade off is sharpened through the contentions that emerge between little children.
Be close by yet don’t intercede in a contention until you feel that you totally need to. Notwithstanding when you do intercede, ensure that rather than essentially telling everybody what they ought to do, you help them sympathize with each other and comprehend why they ought to carry on especially.
At the point when individuals consider schools there are just two which strike a chord which are tuition based schools and state funded schools. However non-public schools have an assortment of various sorts also. Knowing which sort of tuition based school is useful for your tyke is completely essential. For example individuals realize that Private schools in Sharjah are an extraordinary decision for offspring of all ages. Here you can experience the most widely recognized sorts of tuition based schools.
Autonomous or tuition based schools
Non-public schools and free schools are by and large unique sorts of schools. They have similar components with regards to the financing. Both schools are supported by outside associations and individuals. Numerous tuition based schools can be a part of any religious request or different sorts of associations.
Tuition based school Grade Levels
Review level separation of any tuition based school is the most widely recognized sorts. Primary school is the school which offer evaluations from one to five. This is the beginning of the private tutoring. After this the center school covers grades from six to eight. This can likewise be known as the middle school since there are a ton of schools which calls the evaluations seven through nine as a middle school. In conclusion non-public schools from evaluations nine to twelve are called green beans completely through to seniors. School prep is additionally given by different tuition based schools like Private schools in Sharjah which takes into account the school going capacity to the tyke.
Day Schools/Country Day Schools
Nation day school is another sort of school which offers classes all during that time and the youngsters for the most part go home during the evening. These sorts of nation day schools are situated in suburbia or the nation.
Unique Needs Schools
Understudies who are incapacitated with any sort of learning or perusing handicaps can settle on such schools. There are additionally different sorts which concentrate on those understudies with passionate needs. Additionally understudies who wish to concentrate on one ability are welcome to such schools. They can sharpen the capacity of the understudy enormously. These schools tend to much lesser in number however.
Montessori Schools
This sort of school is just for extremely youthful kids and they help in fortifying the understudy’s engine aptitudes and faculties. They have a tendency to underline on different insights, additionally advance self coordinated learning, uniqueness and freedom. A portion of the youngsters are combined and have a tendency to be of different ages. This assistance in building relational abilities and different parts of eth kid.
Regardless of which kind of tuition based school you wish to send your kid to ensure that you have an all around created comprehension of what you need. On the off chance that you need general advancement then Private schools in Sharjah is an incredible choice.
For student in government funded schools that don’t require the utilization of outfits, the main day back is a day to awe and demonstrate their companions the amount they’ve changed or not changed over the mid year. The garments that a young person will wear on his/her first day back in school is as a rule since quite a while ago thought and arranged for. The majority of you presumably asked for shopping cash from their folks to have that impeccable, fancied search for THE main day back.
Here are a few tips for what to wear on your first day back in school. Wear easygoing garments that will permit you to move around. Dont go for anything high support like a solid pullover or a short dress. Amid that first day, you and your companions will presumably be hyperactive in your energy to see each other once more. There will be heaps of embraces, high fives, hopping and screeching, pounding on the back, etcetera.
Attempt to keep your look straightforward yet attractive. Wear brilliant, merry pastel hues to upgrade a cheerful manner. You can match your pants with a complimenting pullover for young ladies, and polo shirts for young men. Blacks and grays are okay the length of the texture is in great condition and the shading is not dull. Else, it will be ugly. One more update for young ladies. On the off chance that you need to wear a dress, ensure its not very short or youll have infringement records at the earliest reference point of the school year, which is not the way it ought to be.
Be aware of the climate as well. It is getting flighty as of late, however in the event that the pattern is going towards colder temperatures, then dont neglect to put on a coat. There are numerous in vogue coats and coats to look over in the market and online so there ought to be no stresses in selecting one.
Finish your arrangements by preparing yourself well. Ensure your nails are spotless and for the young ladies, have your nail trims done the day preceding school begins. Along these lines there’s no compelling reason to hastily correct a new layer of nail clean. This is especially vital if youll be wearing shoes, flip slumps or open shoes. Have a perfect face and enough hours of rest.
Before you go to bed the prior night first day of school, lay out the outfit you’ve chosen and set up your assets already. There’s no expectation to sound like your folks here, simply giving a helpful piece of counsel. It will spare you the bother of waking up right on time and assemble the things youll convey to class, or hunting your drawers down assistants to wear. That time will be better spent lackadaisical doing your hair or taking your breakfast.
For some students, taking test could be something so terrifying that they would rather skip school at all than having to face that moment. A lot of them take the test as a point where everything is down to that exact second. They feel as if their entire fate is hanging on whether they make it or not. Oftentimes, it is this state of frightened that drives them mad and eventually failing the test by the end of the day. Admittedly, it will never be an easy thing having to embark on a test with that big of baggage behind you. Every choice of answers you make needs to be calculated ones and has to be backed up by the kind of determination that is unshaken. Consequently, it is something with a lot of risks. Take one step wrong and the whole things would crumble down and you will regret having made that kind of answer in the first place. Arguably, you can simply buy an essay online to solve this problem but that will only work if and only if the task involved making an essay. If not, you would only be wasting your cash in the process. Another way to put this is that the online essay service should only be taken as the very last resort. Online essay service does help you out a lot but you need to understand that if you hang on to the easiest solution there is, you will not be able to learn anything.
Instead of that, you can prepare yourself way ahead of the moment the test comes. At the very first day of school, make sure that you have covered all of your bases. Take complete notes of anything the teachers say, do you homework, do not get distract during the class, and study all the materials thoroughly. Make sure also that you have the required time to study before the test. Do not allocate last-minute studying and hoping that what you have just read would stick—because, unless you have that kind of photographic memory, they absolutely would not.
If possible, please ask the teachers about what would be in the test: the emphasis, the subjects, the topics of the test. Of course, this requires special skills of communication that might enable you to pick your teachers’ mind. Do not skip meals before the test. It is understandable that you would feel so stressed out and nervous and all that, but you should never miss eating. And empty your bladder before the test. You wouldn’t want your time wasted on having to excuse yourself out of the room during the test. You need energy to go through all of this. In addition, try to show up at least 5 minutes before the test commences. Arriving early will subtly boost your confidence so you should feel that you can take on any kind of problems shows up in the test. Lastly, don’t sell short on the alarm clock. You might think that you will not miss the morning sleeping in but in reality, you most certainly will.
If you are planning to join a flight school in South Africa, then you will want to know few pointers which can help you. In South Africa there are many flight schools which offer their services. While most of them are genuine and have skilled trainers, some schools are not even certified, which is why, you will want to ensure that you are making the right decision.
Knowing certain pointers will help you make the right choice.
The reputation of the flight school
The reputation of the flight school in South Africa should be verified. This can be found out by what people are speaking about the flight school. Perhaps it is located in a town or city, which is popular or known because of the flight school based in there. When the locals have good things to say about it, then it is definitely worth a look.
The years of experience and certification of the flight school
The years of experience and certification of the aviation school should be checked. The fees and the course duration also have to be verified. That mainly depends on the kind of course you are planning to make use of. When you want to enroll in the beginner’s course, then the duration is usually for few months or less than 3 months.
The middle course is meant for pilots who like to drive small planes. Usually small plane owners like to learn how to drive them before they make their big purchase. The course duration is less than a year. The professional pilot course lasts for few years and can cost high. Hence the student should be prepared and know his/her purpose for the course and then join likewise.
Though all the details of the aviation school in South Africa are available on their website, you need to do yourself a favor and see things for yourself in the flight school. Visit them and meet the trainers. Riding a plane is no joke and unless the trainers are pilots who have years of experience to back them, you are taking a huge risk by joining in that school.
The license and certifications of a flight school are also important. Unless they have been registered by the proper government authorities and are based in the out skirts of the city or town, you know that you are dealing with a poorly organized flight school and are better off not joining there.
Check out the video below to give you some more information on aviation schools in South Africa:
Completing high school is something that everyone must do in light of the fact that it can open up new entryways for those that are endeavoring to urge business. While not having a high school endorsement, similar to a recognition or GED, an individual can see that they’re extremely limited in the sort of occupations that they’ll do after they are longing for work. Consequently, it’s recommended that everyone takes their high school courses and pass them all together that they’ll graduate. Along these lines, they’ll get livelihood by taking on the web high school courses the same number of parts need that an individual elements a high school training.
As a matter of reality, most of the roles within the United States, which pay something at all, are those for people who have graduated high school or a minimum of completed their high school courses. This is often why online high school courses can be of such a lot facilitates to a personal. During a room setting, there’s a lot to distract you. Someone gets the impression that it’s harder in high school than on the web. The web courses are the most effective choice for people who wish to require their high school categories and pass them likewise as for people who might produce other obligations that prevent them from attending school during an ancient setting.
Anyone who desires to finish high school will do therefore at an authorized web site on-line wherever they’ll get the courses that they have further because the probability to require their test in order that they’re going to be able to attain the equivalent of a high school sheepskin. While not this, someone is severely restricted on the kind of job that they’ll do. However, once someone has the high school sheepskin or GED, then they’ll proceed to higher learning additionally to having the ability to induce a stronger job that needs this sort of education.
Just because you will have had a difficult time in high school within the past is not any reason to feel like that you simply cannot pass your courses. If you attend an internet web site, there’s ample chance to achieve your education while not has to step into a schoolroom. This can be conjointly ideal for people who have had to go away ancient faculty for numerous reasons. Some don’t just like the high school setting, whereas others may need to have to go away attributed to some type of family obligation. Young mothers who might not have had the prospect to finish their high school education don’t have to feel like they can’t graduate and attain this type of feat. They’ll take the categories online and acquire a high school credential, or equivalent, once they take these online courses that are designed for people who need to finish their high school education.
High school training is critical to gain essential learning of different scholastic subjects. It is amid your high school days that you establish the frameworks of a lucrative vocation for driving a cheerful and effective life. Your high school training may appear to be really testing and tedious, however keep in mind that a high school confirmation loads numerous prizes upon you. In the event that you put in true endeavors and finish your high school graduation the prizes will be yours. Despite what might be expected, dropping out of high school denies you of these prizes.
Let your high school studies be great fun. Don’t allow it to make you feel bogged down. Of course you will have to attend to the usual academic work that goes on throughout the year. At times there may be pressures of completing assignments but don’t give up and never join the herd of dropouts. Getting into high school has been your important step towards a successful professional life. The qualities of hard work, patience and perseverance always pay off helping you to move ahead in life with a great sense of self-esteem.
The percentage of high school dropouts in the US has been very high. For varied reasons ranging from a feeling of insecurity in a school environment to being unable to cope with the academic work many students tend to drop out. They are the people who have no career goals or ambitions in life. They are just drifting in life. If you don’t want to be one among them, it is important that you set your career goals and always stick to it. Staying focused on your goals is key to successfully completing your high school graduation. You cannot expect high school to be as easy as middle school. Naturally you will have to invest more time and energy. You cannot take it easy and hope to come out with flying colors in the examinations.
If you carefully plan your daily schedule including all activities you can manage your high school studies very well. High school is not meant for only reading books; there are times for sports and various other extracurricular activities. You get the opportunity to learn foreign languages and pursue your interests and hobbies. A particular subject that you can pursue further in college and university may fascinate you. Similarly you get to draw and paint under the guidance of your art teacher. Do not let go of such wonderful opportunities by dropping out of high school.
To make things easier for yourself plan your schedule for the whole year breaking it into each month. Include even you holidays and vacations and plan all your activities accordingly. Vacations are good times for completing your projects and other lengthy assignments. Similarly make your weekly plan and don’t forget to include some fun-filled activities for the weekends. This will help you recharge your batteries after a busy academic schedule over the week and you can look forward to the next week with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Allocate enough time for rest and relaxation. However do not let yourself slacken the pace of work putting off what you had earlier decided to do. It may snowball into a real problem and upset your entire planned schedule.
Remember there is life outside the classroom. High school education encourages you to explore the life outside school. It provides you with opportunities to explore your hidden talents and potentials. If you find something that interests you, stick to it throughout the year. You may find yourself excelling in multiple areas. There are various events that schools and community organizations organize which you may involve yourself in. If you have time to spare then volunteer for some social activities or jobs, which can offer you a good experience along with your high school learning.
Aside from the capabilities, a basic educator should have the right demeanor for the occupation. Here are a few attributes to finding the privilege grade teacher.
Is it accurate to say that they will assume various parts? Being a elementary teacher obliges you to be touchy to youngsters. Meanwhile, you should be sufficiently strict with the goal that train can be ingrained. As it were, to be a powerful instructor, your part does not end at being a man who passes on learning. They are really a teacher, companion, instructor, good example, taskmaster, and surrogate parent.
Is the candidate willing to work extra hours? The day does not end when the bell rings.
There are other responsibilities they will need to fulfill like marking assignments, attending meetings, meeting parents, and waiting for students to go home safely.
Are they good in managing their time? As mentioned previously, there are lots of work to follow up on other than the teaching itself. Thus, it is important for a teacher to be able to organize their time table so that they will be able to do all the work assigned to them, while making sure that nothing clashes. This is also important as they are the role model for their students, so practicing good time management is an indirect way of teaching it. It also indicates good discipline.
Are they street smart? Being able to make quick, independent, yet practical decisions is important when they face sudden situations. For example, if something happened to a student during lessons, they will need to be able to be calm and take charge of the situation without creating anxiety among other students. Another example is being able to protect their students from harm’s way during field trips.
Do they have the perseverance? It is not enough that they fulfill the previously mentioned characteristics. Being able to persevere through tough situations is one of the most important characteristic, as without it, they will not be able to last through the job. As there are many people they will meet in their career, they would also face situations of all sorts. Not every day is a sunny day.
The quantity of guardians in this day and age that settle on self-teaching their youngsters is expanding because of the numerous points of interest that self-teaching offers. Wellbeing concerns, nature of training, participation issues, state of mind of instructors, needs of an individual kid that are not met in government funded schools and so forth; these are a portion of the elements that are keeping the guardians far from sending their kids to state funded schools. Self-teaching kids is coming up as a very remunerating choice to control your youngster and watching him develop with the fulfillment that the kid has the best establishment for an effective future ahead.
The fact that homeschooling is only meant for elementary levels is misleading. High school homeschooling is becoming equally popular. High school homeschooling option is more advisable as at the high school level not just the parents but also the student or the child is big enough to make sound decisions.
Adolescents or teenagers take the decision for homeschooling to ease out the pressures at school, like bullying, peer pressure or the pressure of keeping pace with the regular school curriculum. Some high schoolers also do not like to be tied down in the regular schools and may want to take internship programs, volunteering jobs or trainings that may give them hands on experience to prepare for the struggle outside school.
Home school high schoolers have the option of getting an accredited high school diploma from online schools that takes care of all the documentation like education verification letters and comprehensive official transcripts. Selecting the right curriculum and study material plays a very important role for high school studies. Internet is a powerful tool that can provide a lot of study material and support through networking. Homeschoolers interact with each other through chats, forums and message boards. Browsing through various subject sites on the Internet also enables a high school homeschooler to locate support groups in the subjects taken up.
Homeschooling for high school equips the teenager with a better judgment and decision making ability. This makes them more responsible as they actively take part in choosing the right curriculum and creating their own methods for studying. The students have the flexibility of choosing a variety of activities that provide them with a holistic development of their personality rather than forcing themselves to pursue a fixed school curriculum.
High school homeschoolers have the option of choosing from among various internship programs and practical training programs, depending upon the field they wish to follow. Some of the different courses that can be undertaken while completing their high school diploma side by side are, computer based trainings in trouble shooting and hardware, graphics, multimedia, database management and administration, web designing, software development etc. Training in these fields leads to a better position in the future job market.
A high school graduation endorsement gives you the possibility of improving life. Today, rivalry has gotten to be extreme, and one must be accomplished to hold an occupation with an OK pay. Numerous occasions happen where a business favors a fresher high school graduate than an accomplished individual with no graduation. Pitiful as it might appear, reality, without a high school graduation endorsement you stand no place in the occupation advertise.
So, if you had given up on your studies for any reason, worry not as you can still go ahead and complete your education for better prospects. You need to update to survive in this competitive world. Several opportunities may have come knocking at your door to offer you better things in life, but you were denied a job because you did not hold a high school graduation certificate. Sounds familiar, right? Fear not, for hope is not lost and it is never too late to graduate high school.
Vacancies exist that need to be filled in only by graduates. After high school graduation, you can apply for various companies across the nation and earn as per the region. If you are already working, you will see a promotion coming your way sooner no sooner you hold a job and have completed your high school graduation. It is the minimum that employers expect from employees to earn better salaries, and enjoy more perks.
Getting yourself a high school graduation certificate will be an added advantage to your resume. You will be glad to note that many employers would love to give you an opportunity to work in their organization, and a good salary. You can also continue to study further by applying to various colleges and universities. If you wish to work and then study, you can opt for a higher course from distance learning or online institutes. This way you can avail of better courses from the comforts of your home or office.
To make high school graduation easy, many schools have come up with online education that can help you study at any age. After completing your high school graduation, you get to enroll for higher studies and that too in your favorite subjects. Various courses need you to be a high school graduate. By enrolling for higher courses, you open up better career options as you get a chance to work on higher positions with a better salary. Moreover, a better salary surely offers you a better life.
In contrast with national midpoints, self-taught kids advance through their studies to accomplish the most elevated scholastic levels. Youngsters who are instructed at home beginning with rudimentary self-teaching frequently accomplish three or four review levels higher than kids who are most certainly not. It bodes well to begin self-teaching at a basic level.
It is very important to test your child in order to find out their current grade level before beginning to home school. Your child will take a series of tests that will show his strengths and weaknesses in order for you to pick the correct curriculum for your child’s grade level.
There is a wide range of curriculums available for elementary home schooling. Each curriculum has specific details that can aid in teaching what your child needs. For the elementary levels, there is a diverse range of course work available. Due to each state’s different regulations, it is important you choose one that conforms to those standards. Keeping the state standards in mind, it is also important to choose a program that is the best fit for your child’s individual needs.
Many home schooled families consider it vital to study particular subjects, such as Christian home schooling or languages, for example. Spend some time selecting the elementary home schooling program that is right for you. This will enable you to better understand it. Making sure that you know what the program includes is quite important, as is knowing which methods are used to teach it.
Starting with elementary home schooling seems deliver the most benefit for home schooled children. It is very rewarding for both parent and child to stay at home working together to accomplish an education designed for their unique needs and interests. Both can discover all the value that home schooling has to offer.
With regards to examining in high school, you ought to contemplate what subjects to concentrate on and how you consider. This will ensure that you will end up being a major accomplishment amid high school.
On the off chance that you recognize what you need to take at college, school or exchange school, you ought to take comparative subjects amid high school if conceivable. For instance, on the off chance that you need to take sciences or dialects at college, then take sciences or dialects in high school. Bodes well? Nonetheless, it is additionally valuable to top off whatever is left of your classes with an assortment of subjects keeping in mind the end goal to get a more extensive field of information.
There might be some mandatory subjects like algebra math that you will consider to be of no use in life. You might be sitting in the classroom wondering why the heck you’re learning this stuff anyway. I know I did! Then I realized years later that the purpose of taking these useless (but difficult) subjects was not to be able to use them in the real world. Their purpose was to teach you to think at higher levels. These subjects challenge your brains and help sharpen your minds. Think of these as mental exercise. A sharp mind will help you in a future career, plan for your investments or anything else that will require some brainpower.
As far as how to study, it’s great listening to music blasting away in your room but if your head isn’t absorbing the stuff you’re suppose to be studying and your grades are poor, then you need a change in study environment. This means turning off the tunes until your study session is done. Close the door and even consider not taking any telephone calls during your study session.
Can’t concentrate at home or friends are always interrupting? Then hit the library. Put in the time to study like it’s part of your duty. Some teachers might hassle you if your grades stink or if your assignments are late. At university, nobody is going to be on your case to study. This might sound good but if your study habits are lousy at university or college, you might end up failing out and many professors there won’t really care. It really pays to develop good study habits while you are still in high school because believe me, you will need them later during university or college.
I realized during my senior high school years that a main reason for even showing up for classes was to make sure that I get accepted into a school of higher education, whether it’s university or college. Since you usually need to get decent marks to get into one, especially the top places, grades are important.
Even if you would rather get a job or start a family full time right after high school graduation, it is still helpful to maximize your grades. This is because you may change your mind a few years down the road. Many decide to return to school when they realize they could get a higher paying job with higher education. Of course, you may never ever want to go for higher education but at least if you had decent grades during high school, you will have that option open to you in the future. Better to be safe than sorry because you never know.
Numerous families have acknowledged the idea of Home schooling as a favored approach to show kids as opposed to send them to government funded schools. It is helpful to those guardians who attempt to educate their wards at home, since it develops a bond among the families. As a rule it is the mother instructs the children. It is one of the best encounters to effectively assume the part of a mother, and also an educator.
. The first and most important thing is to be backed with a strong reason and then make a firm decision to home school. The reasons can be many like safety of the child, personal attention while learning, special needs of the child to be looked into, or even religious or other solid reasons. Why you undertake home schooling should be crystal clear and you have to believe in your decision.
. It is very important to update yourself with home schooling programs. This helps to execute the programs and guide your children the right way. You must also ensure that you find out the rules of your state and consult the local school authority to learn about the home schooling programs and get fresh updates about the home schooling rights and needs. There may be some state laws that require a specific curriculum and specific subjects to be covered.
. Mothers have to be patient and flexible as teachers. You want to give your children good quality education and expect them to excel, in whatever they do. Patience and perseverance is important when you are teaching.
. There can be other home schooling moms in your state or within your locality itself. You will find local groups of home schooling parents or communities, which could be a good opportunity to meet other parents. Home schooling moms can get together and share ideas openly and freely. This helps to understand various approaches or methods of teaching, which can be effective. You can have greater effect with new techniques and ideas for teaching. Moreover, it allows home schooling children to meet other kids too.
. Being organized and having a fixed schedule and place for studies is very important. If you have a specific area or place to study, which is well designed will keep your children interested and attentive and it helps a lot. It should preferably be a secluded place and away from distractions like the TV for the child to do the routine work. Having a fixed schedule also helps and ensures that the child develops value for time. This is necessary to make your teaching time productive.
. There are generally programs, which have various evaluation time slots. It normally includes oral tests, project work and tests that can help evaluate your child regularly and keep them updated.
. Avoid TV and video or computer games on school days. Try and find as many interesting books as possible from libraries and stores and your children will surely start loving them. If possible avoid doing any chores during study time or finish home chores before you start teaching.
. Do not be pressurized with others for what they have to say. You know what is best for your child and continue to do it. Make learning interesting by practical teachings. You can visit places to learn about them, or you can have outings like visits to museums, exhibitions etc which can be fun as well as to learn.
So you need to settle the right sort of elementary school for your kid? At that point the uplifting news is that you have now process river elementary school as your alternative which in certainty remains as the best choice to pick.
The best choice of getting educated is to make a wide research about the few potential schools around your area and consequently take your astute choice with respect to the same. Attempt to get a note pad where you would accumulate all the data with respect to your perception so you would not overlook the littlest things about which you have taken data of.
The different facilities
How the exterior and the interior of the school building looking? Is it well maintained, dilapidated, large, inviting or small? Take a look on the classrooms, the restrooms, the cafeteria and also the administrative rooms and offices. Although a building which is well equipped from all aspects does not mean that it needs to be a perfect place for your kids. In fact the above mentioned spaces need to be well looked out for as these are the places which are actually going to leave some good impact on your child. If all the rooms in the school have been well-maintained, then the number of students will likely be taking admission.
Being the parent you are also needed to check about the decorations of each room and how those are being equipped. Do you feel to spend a few hours in that room or just failing to come back home as soon as possible. And if the latter happens then quite likely your child would not want to spend their time inside the mill creek elementary Hamilton mill.
Playground
When they are at the playground either with their friends or teachers, they gets too many vital lessons out there. They are taught the various ways of making them engaged about the ways of getting involved in social relationships, they are being taught about the ways of swing, climb on some elevated structure of how to play bat and ball. This in fact is the place where they get forged for some lifelong friendships.
Does the place offer enough space to run around, play, and laugh their heart out or developing their gross skills? Does those equipments which they are using to play are safe to be at their leg or hand? Does all the students getting monitored by some teachers or monitors?
Cafeteria
What the menu list consists of for their healthy dietary? The food which will be served in the elementary school will be giving you an option about how they will be taking care of your kids. Are they taking proper nutrition cooked by the school staffs or they are running out of the right diet chart.
Numerous individuals incline toward self-teaching their children because of the weaknesses of state funded school. In any case, self-teaching accompanies its own particular arrangement of difficulties and issues to be fathomed. This article contains the data you have to know in case you’re going to self-teach your kids.
Recognize what your state requires of self-teaching programs. There are changed tenets and directions in various territories, and you need to tail them to make a fruitful school. Contingent upon where you live, you may need to make your own particular educational modules instead of tailing one gave by your state. You ought to endeavor to take after the school area’s date-book while arranging your self-teaching lessons for the year.
Set up excursions with other adjacent self-teaching families. You can have a great deal of fun while giving your children some social collaboration with their companions. Additionally, you can show signs of improvement gathering rates through this procedure, diminishing your costs.
Where will you instruct your children? Keep the territory in a place with minimal measure of diversions conceivable. You may require space for acting or moving alongside regions for composing and testing. This ought to be a place that is effortlessly seen too.
Craftsmanship ought to be utilized as a part of learning history, English and even math. Kids love to shading and paint pictures. Permit your youngster’s creative ability to be the guide in communicating considerations about the lesson in melody, move, verse, form, pasta workmanship and then some! Submersion in a lesson is the way to retaining the substance, so the more dynamic you get them while showing them, the better the outcomes at last.
Understand that self-teaching is not all good times. You will events when you must be the drill sergeant and get strict about completing the work. Streak cards is not generally fun, and an exhausting book is not pleasant. A savvy remunerate framework will energize the kids with positive criticism and a tiny bit of fun in the wake of finishing a hard undertaking.
Lay out your rationale for needing to self-teach on paper. Seeing thoughts on paper is an incredible approach to execute them. By working out a mindful and compact passage about your objectives, you will have an impeccable answer when you are addressed concerning why you decided to self-teach. This will settle on a ultimate choice much less demanding for you to reach.
Homeschooling is truly an escalating development about the nation and the whole world, amid which mothers and fathers instruct their little ones in the home instead of transmitting the law breakers to a traditional open or even individual school. People pick homeschooling for a wide range of causes, for example, dissatisfaction utilizing the instructional accessible alternatives, different non common ethics or even instructional methods of insight, and also the way that little ones aren’t becoming inside ordinary school structure.
The homeschooling movement commenced rising within the 1970s, whenever some popular authors as well as experts, for instance David Holt as well as Dorothy as well as Raymond Moore, started talking about instructional change, that they encouraged homeschooling as a substitute instructional alternative. Using the Nationwide Home Schooling Analysis Start, these days there are over two thousand little ones becoming homeschooled within U.S., using the percent rapidly growing by 7 % to 15 % every year. Homeschooling is actually appropriate in all of the 50 says as well as in most unusual countries.
Do you know the prerequisites?
Legitimate prerequisites for homeschooling within U.S., changes from place to place. A number of says possess handful of or even simply no prerequisites; other folks obtain account testimonials or even standardized tests on selected time intervals.
As outlined by Holt, creator on the best-selling book Train your own personal, it is important moms and dads ought for homeschooling their little ones is actually “to just like them, appreciate their organization, their actual occurrence, their energy, foolishness, as well as love. They must appreciate all their speak as well as concerns, and enjoy equally trying to answer individuals concerns. Inches For the majority associated with moms and dads whom home school, the only real requirement is the wish for this, and also devotion for the instructional method.
Home school materials is usually high-priced, affordable or even free. Take care to never invest a lot you can’t modify training course when you remember to prepare money. You can understand as well as producing modifications. Make the most of most of these chances to be lent materials as well as to find some good free provides straight up to your residence school.
Considers have demonstrated that the most critical time of a kid’s life is their initial five years. Youngsters are equipped for gaining from an early age, so it is perfect to open them to a supporting and instructive environment amid those years.
By giving a situation that is sensational, protected and fortifying, you can guarantee that your tyke gets off to an extraordinary begin.
While grown-ups normally consider play-time as a type of stimulation, it can really instruct your kid an awesome arrangement about themselves and their general surroundings.
Trust it or not, playing look a-boo is really advantageous for your kid. The prior a kid builds up these aptitudes, the more critical the long haul effect will be.
Self-regard, certainty, coordination, critical thinking abilities, and social aptitudes, are however a couple of cases of the advantages that can be increased through play.
Additionally Read: Learning through Play
Self regard can be upgraded by reacting warmly to your kid’s activities. Whether they coo, murmur, burp, cry or grin, giving your tyke a positive response and giving heaps of energy will have inconceivable advantages.
Physical coordination can be produced by changing your tyke’s position, and permitting him/her the chance to move about. Empower development and portability at an early age by setting toys and questions a short separation far from your youngster. Giving your tyke diverse toys with various shapes, surfaces and hues will support association and create physical coordination. There are numerous toys available particularly intended to fortify innovative thought and activity.
Playing find the stowaway can help your kid create critical thinking aptitudes. By setting a toy in the face of your good faith and urging your infant to discover it, you will give your tyke an early gratefulness for circumstances and end results. Likewise by giving an infant a shake, the infant will understand they can make commotion independent from anyone else on the off chance that they shake it. A comprehension of circumstances and end results will put your tyke on the right way to a lifetime of learning.
As your tyke becomes more seasoned, consider giving your tyke some family obligations or tasks. A tyke as youthful as two can begin the importance of obligation. Utilize “exceptional” much of the time and give them age-proper assignments, for example, giving out napkins during supper. Make certain to energize your tyke through positive assertion of his/her activities.
The accompanying are other general tips to improve the formative phases of your young tyke’s life, a couple of more exercises for early little child years to set the phase for life to come:
* Go to the library with your kid to choose a book, and afterward read it together.
* Encourage your kid to investigate expressions and specialties to build up her innovative side.
* The web is an incredible instructive apparatus for kids. There are some extraordinary destinations out there!
* Watch TV with your kid and discuss what she sees on screen.
* Buy them instructive toys, yet not in mass. Present one toy at once, else they will be overpowered.
For almost 100 years, the Harvard Graduate School of Education has arranged keen and enthusiastic people to end up transformative pioneers in training.
Established in 1920, the Harvard Graduate School of Education is an uncommon and synergistic group of personnel, understudies, and graduated class committed to enhancing lives and extending openings through the complete study and viable routine of training. Through graduate degree, doctoral degree, and expert training programs, HGSE develops creative pioneers and business visionaries, investigates the most critical inquiries in instruction, and shares energizing thoughts and best practices with the world.
All that we do at HGSE is grounded in the conviction that training is the most problem that is begging to be addressed of our time, and that exploration based instruction approach and practice have the ability to make an all the more just and prosperous society. HGSE staff, understudies, and graduated class deliver noteworthy research in fields as different as the ethical improvement of youngsters, global training arrangement, hierarchical authority, neuroscience and intellectual advancement, and the part of human expressions in schools.
Our master’s, doctoral, and proficient training programs mirror the uncommon differing qualities and profundity of staff research and understudy involvement with HGSE. Browse graduate degrees and expert advancement programs investigating each aspect of training, from pre-K through school, in school and after school, and over the human life expectancy. You will be instructed by famous specialists and encompassed by partners who are energetic about training and planning to end up transformative pioneers.
Harvard University is situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an energetic school town of cafés and book shops over the Charles River from noteworthy and element Boston. Boston is the origin of American state funded instruction, and home to several imaginative schools, not-for-profit associations, and training business people. Boston and Cambridge give the perfect scholarly and expert setting for the propelled investigation of training.
Harvard Graduate School of Education understudies have the advantage of being at one of the world’s incredible scholarly organizations, Harvard University. The college environment furnishes Ed School understudies with chances to enlist in classes at different schools, to think about with world-class researchers, to investigate the biggest college library framework on the planet, and to meet and gain from an uncommonly assorted understudy populace.
The HGSE workforce is an independently amazing gathering of researchers, specialists, experts, and policymakers effectively attempting to enhance the condition of instruction around the world. As a HGSE understudy, you will work with a staff that incorporates MacArthur Prize Fellows and Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers beneficiaries making unprecedented commitments to fields like early adolescence improvement, classroom innovation reconciliation, and school authority.
Envision taking a course on state training strategy instructed by the previous secretary of instruction for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; investigating approach mediations in creating countries with a World Bank market analyst; taking in various insights hypothesis or general plan from the general population who developed them; or examining school reasonableness with a presidentially designated individual from the National Board of Education Sciences. On the off chance that you need to make an enduring and positive effect in the lives of learners, you will discover able and empathetic coaches in the staff of HGSE.
In composing her late book, The Test, NPR’s lead training blogger Anya Kamenetz needed to follow high-stakes testing back to its underlying foundations in the trust of understanding where these tests originate from, how they are made, and how they are truly influencing.
You will probably plan to compose a few request out ahead of time. Make the request very simple – it’s not the substance we’re discovering, yet how you can impart request furthermore replies. You could contrast the issue of the worries in view of the age furthermore capacity level of your understudies. On the off chance that you are demonstrating a differing gathering of learners, you could even plan to target specific understudies with specific inquiries, e.g., offer the propelled understudies the harder concerns. You could make it significantly more agreeable manuallying out signals or chimes – the underlying individual to “ring in” achieves address the question. Simply ensure that everybody acquires a turn.
Pretend
Build up particular situations in your class, situations that your understudies will probably confront. Have one understudy arrange a pizza from an extra understudy. Have a student ask for bearings. On the other hand have one understudy welcome an extra understudy to a gathering. A few students will positively require your guide to acquire with the scene. Different understudies will surely be able to survive a scene without support. For cutting edge learners, there is enormous esteem in being the optional part player, e.g., the individual getting the pizza arrange or the gathering welcome.
Turn on the Subtitles!
Discover a TV program that is suitable for your course’ age and learning level. (Amusingness is a furthermore.) See the program with close inscribing. The students will absolutely hear the words, see the general population talking, and see the substance all in the meantime!
Play Word Organization
Have the understudies sit around. Start the amusement with a clear word and ask the person to your depended to express the underlying (English) word that enters your brain. After that, the person to his or her left should express the principal word that includes his/her brain. Make sure to stop infrequently to question and characterize any kind of enchanted words. A variation of this computer game is to have every understudy say a word that begins with the last letter of the past word, e.g., word, jackass, warble, nut case.
Play Word Lottery amusement
Before class, print out many direct things and verbs. Cut them directly into little slides of paper and set them into a cap or pack. Welcome every understudy to pull in two words from the cap (you could utilize a great deal more for cutting edge understudies). Give them each a moment ahead up with a sentence that uses those match of words, and in addition bodes well. After that welcome each of them to impart their sentence to the class. Amass the words and also go by and by. It’s okay to rehash words, as the rehashing
A top need for early adolescence instructors is to instruct youngsters to peruse. Utilizing formatively suitable practices (DAP) while consolidating foundational ideas into lessons help educators separate guideline, connect with understudies in the learning procedure, and increment accomplishment of all youngsters. While understudies are dealt with as remarkable people, all practices ought to be suitable to the tyke’s age and formative stage and expand on already educated ideas. The motivation behind this article is to investigate educators’ encounters as they execute DAP into their proficiency direction. It additionally looks at deterrents they confront as they execute their practices.
Early years instruction has turned out to be extremely famous in the most recent quite a long while and is by and large exceptionally recognized and perceived by instructive organizations. A lot of cash has been put into early instruction of late on account of the positive influences the projects are having on understudies’ future achievement in school . In early youth classrooms, the attention ought to be on DAP that fuses the physical, social, enthusiastic, and social advancement of the entire tyke with assorted populaces in connection to proficiency direction .
Proficiency is the center and establishment level of instructing. This permits kids to expand on fundamental abilities which begin in early learning classrooms. Instructors should viably arrange proficiency guideline, ponder formative phases of kids, the premiums of those kids, and permit them to participate in the learning and critical thinking process. Early youth experts that utilize a proficiency drawing in air where DAP is utilized demonstrate to have flourishing and effective understudies . At the point when DAP is utilized in classroom situations, lessons are more fruitful, exceptionally powerful, and all understudies advantage all through every learning space in connection to education guideline .
Executing formatively proper practices into classroom education guideline implies meeting the understudies at the formative stage they are right now and empowering them to achieve objectives that are set for them. DAP diminishes learning crevices, builds accomplishment for all youngsters, and permits understudies to share and take part in the learning procedure while they take care of their own issues as they learn new data . Formatively suitable practices are demonstrated in research to help youngsters succeed.
An instructor that executes DAP into his educating utilizes a bustling classroom where understudies are self-connected with, collaborating physically with articles and individuals, rationally handling, and developing information that expands on past learning . A DAP classroom has coordinate hands-on cooperation, is loaded with materials, exercises, and associations that prompt various types of information that youthful youngsters ought to secure amid the early years (Beaty 2009). As instructors we pick instructing methodologies that best fit our understudies by utilizing our insight into youngsters, tyke advancement, and learners and how they realize, how to arrange educational modules, understanding what the objectives are, and learning styles.
Social insight is the capacity to viably arrange interpersonal collaborations and complex social situations. It includes powerful relational abilities, the capacity to peruse non-verbal signs into Read More » |
IE Only, Cool Features, That Should Exist On Other Browsers Too - basdog22
http://jeez.eu/2009/10/16/ie-only-cool-features-that-should-exist-on-other-browsers-too/
======
dinkumator
wait... I thought you said "Cool Features" ? Since when is 1990s-style
photoshop effects a cool feature? These effects are akin to the marquee
element, I do NOT want my browser to have them. The only one that's nice is
the text shadow, which is very nicely implemented in CSS3 and a part of
Firefox. Not nearly as ugly as the one on this page...
~~~
basdog22
duh...
Q:What border : 1px solid silver; does on an image?
A:It adds a silver border to the image
Q: But doesn't Photoshop do this too? I don't want my browser to have this...
I hope you got it now
|
Q:
What are the plotX, plotY values of a point in HighCharts?
What are the plotX, plotY values of a point in HighCharts? I can't find them in the documentation. I read the values but couldn't make sense of them when using a pixel ruler on the graph.
A:
plotX and plotY are not part of API - just inner properties to get coordinates where plot point. Using them is shorthand for getting values from point:
http://api.highcharts.com/highcharts#Point.x
http://api.highcharts.com/highcharts#Point.y
And translating to position via:
http://api.highcharts.com/highcharts#Axis.toPixels()
|
Present methods for controlling the application of solder to printed circuit substrates by automatic solder printers require the presence of an operator to monitor the amount of solder paste applied to the printed circuit substrates. In the event that the solder printer is applying undesired amounts (i.e., too much or too little) of solder, the operator typically must stop the solder printer and correct the process. |
/* SIP grammar from RFC3261
*
* alphanum = ALPHA / DIGIT
*
* reserved = ";" / "/" / "?" / ":" / "@" / "&" / "=" / "+"
* / "$" / ","
* unreserved = alphanum / mark
* mark = "-" / "_" / "." / "!" / "~" / "*" / "'"
* / "(" / ")"
* escaped = "%" HEXDIG HEXDIG
*
* LWS = [*WSP CRLF] 1*WSP ; linear whitespace
* SWS = [LWS] ; sep whitespace
*
* HCOLON = *( SP / HTAB ) ":" SWS
*
* TEXT-UTF8-TRIM = 1*TEXT-UTF8char *(*LWS TEXT-UTF8char)
* TEXT-UTF8char = %x21-7E / UTF8-NONASCII
* UTF8-NONASCII = %xC0-DF 1UTF8-CONT
* / %xE0-EF 2UTF8-CONT
* / %xF0-F7 3UTF8-CONT
* / %xF8-Fb 4UTF8-CONT
* / %xFC-FD 5UTF8-CONT
* UTF8-CONT = %x80-BF
*
* LHEX = DIGIT / %x61-66 ;lowercase a-f
*
* token = 1*(alphanum / "-" / "." / "!" / "%" / "*"
* / "_" / "+" / "`" / "'" / "~" )
* separators = "(" / ")" / "<" / ">" / "@" /
* "," / ";" / ":" / "\" / DQUOTE /
* "/" / "[" / "]" / "?" / "=" /
* "{" / "}" / SP / HTAB
* word = 1*(alphanum / "-" / "." / "!" / "%" / "*" /
* "_" / "+" / "`" / "'" / "~" /
* "(" / ")" / "<" / ">" /
* ":" / "\" / DQUOTE /
* "/" / "[" / "]" / "?" /
* "{" / "}" )
*
* STAR = SWS "*" SWS ; asterisk
* SLASH = SWS "/" SWS ; slash
* EQUAL = SWS "=" SWS ; equal
* LPAREN = SWS "(" SWS ; left parenthesis
* RPAREN = SWS ")" SWS ; right parenthesis
* RAQUOT = ">" SWS ; right angle quote
* LAQUOT = SWS "<"; left angle quote
* COMMA = SWS "," SWS ; comma
* SEMI = SWS ";" SWS ; semicolon
* COLON = SWS ":" SWS ; colon
* LDQUOT = SWS DQUOTE; open double quotation mark
* RDQUOT = DQUOTE SWS ; close double quotation mark
*
* comment = LPAREN *(ctext / quoted-pair / comment) RPAREN
* ctext = %x21-27 / %x2A-5B / %x5D-7E / UTF8-NONASCII
* / LWS
*
* quoted-string = SWS DQUOTE *(qdtext / quoted-pair ) DQUOTE
* qdtext = LWS / %x21 / %x23-5B / %x5D-7E
* / UTF8-NONASCII
*
* quoted-pair = "\" (%x00-09 / %x0B-0C
* / %x0E-7F)
*
* SIP-URI = "sip:" [ userinfo ] hostport
* uri-parameters [ headers ]
* SIPS-URI = "sips:" [ userinfo ] hostport
* uri-parameters [ headers ]
* userinfo = ( user / telephone-subscriber ) [ ":" password ] "@"
* user = 1*( unreserved / escaped / user-unreserved )
* user-unreserved = "&" / "=" / "+" / "$" / "," / ";" / "?" / "/"
* password = *( unreserved / escaped /
* "&" / "=" / "+" / "$" / "," )
* hostport = host [ ":" port ]
* host = hostname / IPv4address / IPv6reference
* hostname = *( domainlabel "." ) toplabel [ "." ]
* domainlabel = alphanum
* / alphanum *( alphanum / "-" ) alphanum
* toplabel = ALPHA / ALPHA *( alphanum / "-" ) alphanum
* IPv4address = 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT
* IPv6reference = "[" IPv6address "]"
* IPv6address = hexpart [ ":" IPv4address ]
* hexpart = hexseq / hexseq "::" [ hexseq ] / "::" [ hexseq ]
* hexseq = hex4 *( ":" hex4)
* hex4 = 1*4HEXDIG
* port = 1*DIGIT
*
* uri-parameters = *( ";" uri-parameter)
* uri-parameter = transport-param / user-param / method-param
* / ttl-param / maddr-param / lr-param / other-param
* transport-param = "transport="
* ( "udp" / "tcp" / "sctp" / "tls"
* / other-transport)
* other-transport = token
* user-param = "user=" ( "phone" / "ip" / other-user)
* other-user = token
* method-param = "method=" Method
* ttl-param = "ttl=" ttl
* maddr-param = "maddr=" host
* lr-param = "lr"
* other-param = pname [ "=" pvalue ]
* pname = 1*paramchar
* pvalue = 1*paramchar
* paramchar = param-unreserved / unreserved / escaped
* param-unreserved = "[" / "]" / "/" / ":" / "&" / "+" / "$"
*
* headers = "?" header *( "&" header )
* header = hname "=" hvalue
* hname = 1*( hnv-unreserved / unreserved / escaped )
* hvalue = *( hnv-unreserved / unreserved / escaped )
* hnv-unreserved = "[" / "]" / "/" / "?" / ":" / "+" / "$"
*
* SIP-message = Request / Response
* Request = Request-Line
* *( message-header )
* CRLF
* [ message-body ]
* Request-Line = Method SP Request-URI SP SIP-Version CRLF
* Request-URI = SIP-URI / SIPS-URI / absoluteURI
* absoluteURI = scheme ":" ( hier-part / opaque-part )
* hier-part = ( net-path / abs-path ) [ "?" query ]
* net-path = "//" authority [ abs-path ]
* abs-path = "/" path-segments
* opaque-part = uric-no-slash *uric
* uric = reserved / unreserved / escaped
* uric-no-slash = unreserved / escaped / ";" / "?" / ":" / "@"
* / "&" / "=" / "+" / "$" / ","
* path-segments = segment *( "/" segment )
* segment = *pchar *( ";" param )
* param = *pchar
* pchar = unreserved / escaped /
* ":" / "@" / "&" / "=" / "+" / "$" / ","
* scheme = ALPHA *( ALPHA / DIGIT / "+" / "-" / "." )
* authority = srvr / reg-name
* srvr = [ [ userinfo "@" ] hostport ]
* reg-name = 1*( unreserved / escaped / "$" / ","
* / ";" / ":" / "@" / "&" / "=" / "+" )
* query = *uric
* SIP-Version = "SIP" "/" 1*DIGIT "." 1*DIGIT
*
* message-header = (Accept
* / Accept-Encoding
* / Accept-Language
* / Alert-Info
* / Allow
* / Authentication-Info
* / Authorization
* / Call-ID
* / Call-Info
* / Contact
* / Content-Disposition
* / Content-Encoding
* / Content-Language
* / Content-Length
* / Content-Type
* / CSeq
* / Date
* / Error-Info
* / Expires
* / From
* / In-Reply-To
* / Max-Forwards
* / MIME-Version
* / Min-Expires
* / Organization
* / Priority
* / Proxy-Authenticate
* / Proxy-Authorization
* / Proxy-Require
* / Record-Route
* / Reply-To
* / Require
* / Retry-After
* / Route
* / Server
* / Subject
* / Supported
* / Timestamp
* / To
* / Unsupported
* / User-Agent
* / Via
* / Warning
* / WWW-Authenticate
* / extension-header) CRLF
*
* INVITEm = %x49.4E.56.49.54.45 ; INVITE in caps
* ACKm = %x41.43.4B ; ACK in caps
* OPTIONSm = %x4F.50.54.49.4F.4E.53 ; OPTIONS in caps
* BYEm = %x42.59.45 ; BYE in caps
* CANCELm = %x43.41.4E.43.45.4C ; CANCEL in caps
* REGISTERm = %x52.45.47.49.53.54.45.52 ; REGISTER in caps
* Method = INVITEm / ACKm / OPTIONSm / BYEm
* / CANCELm / REGISTERm
* / extension-method
* extension-method = token
* Response = Status-Line
* *( message-header )
* CRLF
* [ message-body ]
*
* Status-Line = SIP-Version SP Status-Code SP Reason-Phrase CRLF
* Status-Code = Informational
* / Redirection
* / Success
* / Client-Error
* / Server-Error
* / Global-Failure
* / extension-code
* extension-code = 3DIGIT
* Reason-Phrase = *(reserved / unreserved / escaped
* / UTF8-NONASCII / UTF8-CONT / SP / HTAB)
*
* Informational = "100" ; Trying
* / "180" ; Ringing
* / "181" ; Call Is Being Forwarded
* / "182" ; Queued
* / "183" ; Session Progress
*
* Success = "200" ; OK
*
* Redirection = "300" ; Multiple Choices
* / "301" ; Moved Permanently
* / "302" ; Moved Temporarily
* / "305" ; Use Proxy
* / "380" ; Alternative Service
*
* Client-Error = "400" ; Bad Request
* / "401" ; Unauthorized
* / "402" ; Payment Required
* / "403" ; Forbidden
* / "404" ; Not Found
* / "405" ; Method Not Allowed
* / "406" ; Not Acceptable
* / "407" ; Proxy Authentication Required
* / "408" ; Request Timeout
* / "410" ; Gone
* / "413" ; Request Entity Too Large
* / "414" ; Request-URI Too Large
* / "415" ; Unsupported Media Type
* / "416" ; Unsupported URI Scheme
* / "420" ; Bad Extension
* / "421" ; Extension Required
* / "423" ; Interval Too Brief
* / "480" ; Temporarily not available
* / "481" ; Call Leg/Transaction Does Not Exist
* / "482" ; Loop Detected
* / "483" ; Too Many Hops
* / "484" ; Address Incomplete
* / "485" ; Ambiguous
* / "486" ; Busy Here
* / "487" ; Request Terminated
* / "488" ; Not Acceptable Here
* / "491" ; Request Pending
* / "493" ; Undecipherable
*
* Server-Error = "500" ; Internal Server Error
* / "501" ; Not Implemented
* / "502" ; Bad Gateway
* / "503" ; Service Unavailable
* / "504" ; Server Time-out
* / "505" ; SIP Version not supported
* / "513" ; Message Too Large
*
* Global-Failure = "600" ; Busy Everywhere
* / "603" ; Decline
* / "604" ; Does not exist anywhere
* / "606" ; Not Acceptable
*
* Accept = "Accept" HCOLON
* [ accept-range *(COMMA accept-range) ]
* accept-range = media-range *(SEMI accept-param)
* ; Why not SLASH ? //PPe
* media-range = ( "*" "/" "*"
* / ( m-type SLASH "*" )
* / ( m-type SLASH m-subtype )
* ) *( SEMI m-parameter )
* accept-param = ("q" EQUAL qvalue) / generic-param
* qvalue = ( "0" [ "." 0*3DIGIT ] )
* / ( "1" [ "." 0*3("0") ] )
* generic-param = token [ EQUAL gen-value ]
* gen-value = token / host / quoted-string
*
* Accept-Encoding = "Accept-Encoding" HCOLON
* [ encoding *(COMMA encoding) ]
* encoding = codings *(SEMI accept-param)
* codings = content-coding / "*"
* content-coding = token
*
* Accept-Language = "Accept-Language" HCOLON
* [ language *(COMMA language) ]
* language = language-range *(SEMI accept-param)
* language-range = ( ( 1*8ALPHA *( "-" 1*8ALPHA ) ) / "*" )
*
* Alert-Info = "Alert-Info" HCOLON alert-param *(COMMA alert-param)
* alert-param = LAQUOT absoluteURI RAQUOT *( SEMI generic-param )
*
* Allow = "Allow" HCOLON [Method *(COMMA Method)]
*
* Authorization = "Authorization" HCOLON credentials
* credentials = ("Digest" LWS digest-response)
* / other-response
* digest-response = dig-resp *(COMMA dig-resp)
* dig-resp = username / realm / nonce / digest-uri
* / dresponse / algorithm / cnonce
* / opaque / message-qop
* / nonce-count / auth-param
* username = "username" EQUAL username-value
* username-value = quoted-string
* digest-uri = "uri" EQUAL LDQUOT digest-uri-value RDQUOT
* digest-uri-value = rquest-uri ; Equal to request-uri as specified
* by HTTP/1.1
* message-qop = "qop" EQUAL qop-value
* cnonce = "cnonce" EQUAL cnonce-value
* cnonce-value = nonce-value
* nonce-count = "nc" EQUAL nc-value
* nc-value = 8LHEX
* dresponse = "response" EQUAL request-digest
* request-digest = LDQUOT 32LHEX RDQUOT
* auth-param = auth-param-name EQUAL
* ( token / quoted-string )
* auth-param-name = token
* other-response = auth-scheme LWS auth-param
* *(COMMA auth-param)
* auth-scheme = token
*
* Authentication-Info = "Authentication-Info" HCOLON ainfo
* *(COMMA ainfo)
* ainfo = nextnonce / message-qop
* / response-auth / cnonce
* / nonce-count
* nextnonce = "nextnonce" EQUAL nonce-value
* response-auth = "rspauth" EQUAL response-digest
* response-digest = LDQUOT *LHEX RDQUOT
*
* Call-ID = ( "Call-ID" / "i" ) HCOLON callid
* callid = word [ "@" word ]
*
* Call-Info = "Call-Info" HCOLON info *(COMMA info)
* info = LAQUOT absoluteURI RAQUOT *( SEMI info-param)
* info-param = ( "purpose" EQUAL ( "icon" / "info"
* / "card" / token ) ) / generic-param
*
* Contact = ("Contact" / "m" ) HCOLON
* ( STAR / (contact-param *(COMMA contact-param)))
* contact-param = (name-addr / addr-spec) *(SEMI contact-params)
* name-addr = [ display-name ] LAQUOT addr-spec RAQUOT
* addr-spec = SIP-URI / SIPS-URI / absoluteURI
* display-name = *(token LWS)/ quoted-string
*
* contact-params = c-p-q / c-p-expires
* / contact-extension
* c-p-q = "q" EQUAL qvalue
* c-p-expires = "expires" EQUAL delta-seconds
* contact-extension = generic-param
* delta-seconds = 1*DIGIT
*
* Content-Disposition = "Content-Disposition" HCOLON
* disp-type *( SEMI disp-param )
* disp-type = "render" / "session" / "icon" / "alert"
* / disp-extension-token
* disp-param = handling-param / generic-param
* handling-param = "handling" EQUAL
* ( "optional" / "required"
* / other-handling )
* other-handling = token
* disp-extension-token = token
*
* Content-Encoding = ( "Content-Encoding" / "e" ) HCOLON
* content-coding *(COMMA content-coding)
*
* Content-Language = "Content-Language" HCOLON
* language-tag *(COMMA language-tag)
* language-tag = primary-tag *( "-" subtag )
* primary-tag = 1*8ALPHA
* subtag = 1*8ALPHA
*
* Content-Length = ( "Content-Length" / "l" ) HCOLON 1*DIGIT
* Content-Type = ( "Content-Type" / "c" ) HCOLON media-type
* media-type = m-type SLASH m-subtype *(SEMI m-parameter)
* m-type = discrete-type / composite-type
* discrete-type = "text" / "image" / "audio" / "video"
* / "application" / extension-token
* composite-type = "message" / "multipart" / extension-token
* extension-token = ietf-token / x-token
* ietf-token = token
* x-token = "x-" token
* m-subtype = extension-token / iana-token
* iana-token = token
* m-parameter = m-attribute EQUAL m-value
* m-attribute = token
* m-value = token / quoted-string
*
* CSeq = "CSeq" HCOLON 1*DIGIT LWS Method
*
* Date = "Date" HCOLON SIP-date
* SIP-date = rfc1123-date
* rfc1123-date = wkday "," SP date1 SP time SP "GMT"
* date1 = 2DIGIT SP month SP 4DIGIT
* ; day month year (e.g., 02 Jun 1982)
* time = 2DIGIT ":" 2DIGIT ":" 2DIGIT
* ; 00:00:00 - 23:59:59
* wkday = "Mon" / "Tue" / "Wed"
* / "Thu" / "Fri" / "Sat" / "Sun"
* month = "Jan" / "Feb" / "Mar" / "Apr"
* / "May" / "Jun" / "Jul" / "Aug"
* / "Sep" / "Oct" / "Nov" / "Dec"
*
* Error-Info = "Error-Info" HCOLON error-uri *(COMMA error-uri)
* error-uri = LAQUOT absoluteURI RAQUOT *( SEMI generic-param )
*
* Expires = "Expires" HCOLON delta-seconds
* From = ( "From" / "f" ) HCOLON from-spec
* from-spec = ( name-addr / addr-spec )
* *( SEMI from-param )
* from-param = tag-param / generic-param
* tag-param = "tag" EQUAL token
*
* In-Reply-To = "In-Reply-To" HCOLON callid *(COMMA callid)
*
* Max-Forwards = "Max-Forwards" HCOLON 1*DIGIT
*
* MIME-Version = "MIME-Version" HCOLON 1*DIGIT "." 1*DIGIT
*
* Min-Expires = "Min-Expires" HCOLON delta-seconds
*
* Organization = "Organization" HCOLON [TEXT-UTF8-TRIM]
*
* Priority = "Priority" HCOLON priority-value
* priority-value = "emergency" / "urgent" / "normal"
* / "non-urgent" / other-priority
* other-priority = token
*
* Proxy-Authenticate = "Proxy-Authenticate" HCOLON challenge
* challenge = ("Digest" LWS digest-cln *(COMMA digest-cln))
* / other-challenge
* other-challenge = auth-scheme LWS auth-param
* *(COMMA auth-param)
* digest-cln = realm / domain / nonce
* / opaque / stale / algorithm
* / qop-options / auth-param
* realm = "realm" EQUAL realm-value
* realm-value = quoted-string
* domain = "domain" EQUAL LDQUOT URI
* *( 1*SP URI ) RDQUOT
* URI = absoluteURI / abs-path
* nonce = "nonce" EQUAL nonce-value
* nonce-value = quoted-string
* opaque = "opaque" EQUAL quoted-string
* stale = "stale" EQUAL ( "true" / "false" )
* algorithm = "algorithm" EQUAL ( "MD5" / "MD5-sess"
* / token )
* qop-options = "qop" EQUAL LDQUOT qop-value
* *("," qop-value) RDQUOT
* qop-value = "auth" / "auth-int" / token
*
* Proxy-Authorization = "Proxy-Authorization" HCOLON credentials
*
* Proxy-Require = "Proxy-Require" HCOLON option-tag
* *(COMMA option-tag)
* option-tag = token
*
* Record-Route = "Record-Route" HCOLON rec-route *(COMMA rec-route)
* rec-route = name-addr *( SEMI rr-param )
* rr-param = generic-param
*
* Reply-To = "Reply-To" HCOLON rplyto-spec
* rplyto-spec = ( name-addr / addr-spec )
* *( SEMI rplyto-param )
* rplyto-param = generic-param
* Require = "Require" HCOLON option-tag *(COMMA option-tag)
*
* Retry-After = "Retry-After" HCOLON delta-seconds
* [ comment ] *( SEMI retry-param )
*
* retry-param = ("duration" EQUAL delta-seconds)
* / generic-param
*
* Route = "Route" HCOLON route-param *(COMMA route-param)
* route-param = name-addr *( SEMI rr-param )
*
* Server = "Server" HCOLON server-val *(LWS server-val)
* server-val = product / comment
* product = token [SLASH product-version]
* product-version = token
*
* Subject = ( "Subject" / "s" ) HCOLON [TEXT-UTF8-TRIM]
*
* Supported = ( "Supported" / "k" ) HCOLON
* [option-tag *(COMMA option-tag)]
*
* Timestamp = "Timestamp" HCOLON 1*(DIGIT)
* [ "." *(DIGIT) ] [ LWS delay ]
* delay = *(DIGIT) [ "." *(DIGIT) ]
*
* To = ( "To" / "t" ) HCOLON ( name-addr
* / addr-spec ) *( SEMI to-param )
* to-param = tag-param / generic-param
*
* Unsupported = "Unsupported" HCOLON option-tag *(COMMA option-tag)
* User-Agent = "User-Agent" HCOLON server-val *(LWS server-val)
*
* Via = ( "Via" / "v" ) HCOLON via-parm *(COMMA via-parm)
* via-parm = sent-protocol LWS sent-by *( SEMI via-params )
* via-params = via-ttl / via-maddr
* / via-received / via-branch
* / via-extension
* via-ttl = "ttl" EQUAL ttl
* via-maddr = "maddr" EQUAL host
* via-received = "received" EQUAL (IPv4address / IPv6address)
* via-branch = "branch" EQUAL token
* via-extension = generic-param
* sent-protocol = protocol-name SLASH protocol-version
* SLASH transport
* protocol-name = "SIP" / token
* protocol-version = token
* transport = "UDP" / "TCP" / "TLS" / "SCTP"
* / other-transport
* sent-by = host [ COLON port ]
* ttl = 1*3DIGIT ; 0 to 255
*
* Warning = "Warning" HCOLON warning-value *(COMMA warning-value)
* warning-value = warn-code SP warn-agent SP warn-text
* warn-code = 3DIGIT
* warn-agent = hostport / pseudonym
* ; the name or pseudonym of the server adding
* ; the Warning header, for use in debugging
* warn-text = quoted-string
* pseudonym = token
*
* WWW-Authenticate = "WWW-Authenticate" HCOLON challenge
*
* extension-header = header-name HCOLON header-value
* header-name = token
* header-value = *(TEXT-UTF8char / UTF8-CONT / LWS)
* message-body = *OCTET
*/ |
Ustadgah
Ustadgah is a Hindustani music school located in New Delhi. It was started by noted Sufi singer, Zila Khan. The school also helps talented students from underprivileged background to hone their singing skills.
History
The school was conceptualised in 2008 to impart Hindustani music training to students. And it started functioning from March 2010.
References
External links
Official site
Category:Music schools in India
Category:New Delhi |
import { IoTEventsDataClient } from "./IoTEventsDataClient";
import {
BatchPutMessageCommand,
BatchPutMessageCommandInput,
BatchPutMessageCommandOutput,
} from "./commands/BatchPutMessageCommand";
import {
BatchUpdateDetectorCommand,
BatchUpdateDetectorCommandInput,
BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput,
} from "./commands/BatchUpdateDetectorCommand";
import {
DescribeDetectorCommand,
DescribeDetectorCommandInput,
DescribeDetectorCommandOutput,
} from "./commands/DescribeDetectorCommand";
import {
ListDetectorsCommand,
ListDetectorsCommandInput,
ListDetectorsCommandOutput,
} from "./commands/ListDetectorsCommand";
import { HttpHandlerOptions as __HttpHandlerOptions } from "@aws-sdk/types";
/**
* <p>AWS IoT Events monitors your equipment or device fleets for failures or changes in operation,
* and triggers actions when such events occur. AWS IoT Events Data API commands enable you to send
* inputs to detectors, list detectors, and view or update a detector's status.</p>
*/
export class IoTEventsData extends IoTEventsDataClient {
/**
* <p>Sends a set of messages to the AWS IoT Events system. Each message payload is transformed
* into the input you specify (<code>"inputName"</code>) and ingested into any detectors that monitor
* that input. If multiple messages are sent, the order in which the messages are processed isn't
* guaranteed. To guarantee ordering, you must send messages one at a time and wait for a successful
* response.</p>
*/
public batchPutMessage(
args: BatchPutMessageCommandInput,
options?: __HttpHandlerOptions
): Promise<BatchPutMessageCommandOutput>;
public batchPutMessage(
args: BatchPutMessageCommandInput,
cb: (err: any, data?: BatchPutMessageCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public batchPutMessage(
args: BatchPutMessageCommandInput,
options: __HttpHandlerOptions,
cb: (err: any, data?: BatchPutMessageCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public batchPutMessage(
args: BatchPutMessageCommandInput,
optionsOrCb?: __HttpHandlerOptions | ((err: any, data?: BatchPutMessageCommandOutput) => void),
cb?: (err: any, data?: BatchPutMessageCommandOutput) => void
): Promise<BatchPutMessageCommandOutput> | void {
const command = new BatchPutMessageCommand(args);
if (typeof optionsOrCb === "function") {
this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
} else if (typeof cb === "function") {
if (typeof optionsOrCb !== "object") throw new Error(`Expect http options but get ${typeof optionsOrCb}`);
this.send(command, optionsOrCb || {}, cb);
} else {
return this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
}
}
/**
* <p>Updates the state, variable values, and timer settings of one or more detectors (instances)
* of a specified detector model.</p>
*/
public batchUpdateDetector(
args: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandInput,
options?: __HttpHandlerOptions
): Promise<BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput>;
public batchUpdateDetector(
args: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandInput,
cb: (err: any, data?: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public batchUpdateDetector(
args: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandInput,
options: __HttpHandlerOptions,
cb: (err: any, data?: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public batchUpdateDetector(
args: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandInput,
optionsOrCb?: __HttpHandlerOptions | ((err: any, data?: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput) => void),
cb?: (err: any, data?: BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): Promise<BatchUpdateDetectorCommandOutput> | void {
const command = new BatchUpdateDetectorCommand(args);
if (typeof optionsOrCb === "function") {
this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
} else if (typeof cb === "function") {
if (typeof optionsOrCb !== "object") throw new Error(`Expect http options but get ${typeof optionsOrCb}`);
this.send(command, optionsOrCb || {}, cb);
} else {
return this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
}
}
/**
* <p>Returns information about the specified detector (instance).</p>
*/
public describeDetector(
args: DescribeDetectorCommandInput,
options?: __HttpHandlerOptions
): Promise<DescribeDetectorCommandOutput>;
public describeDetector(
args: DescribeDetectorCommandInput,
cb: (err: any, data?: DescribeDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public describeDetector(
args: DescribeDetectorCommandInput,
options: __HttpHandlerOptions,
cb: (err: any, data?: DescribeDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public describeDetector(
args: DescribeDetectorCommandInput,
optionsOrCb?: __HttpHandlerOptions | ((err: any, data?: DescribeDetectorCommandOutput) => void),
cb?: (err: any, data?: DescribeDetectorCommandOutput) => void
): Promise<DescribeDetectorCommandOutput> | void {
const command = new DescribeDetectorCommand(args);
if (typeof optionsOrCb === "function") {
this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
} else if (typeof cb === "function") {
if (typeof optionsOrCb !== "object") throw new Error(`Expect http options but get ${typeof optionsOrCb}`);
this.send(command, optionsOrCb || {}, cb);
} else {
return this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
}
}
/**
* <p>Lists detectors (the instances of a detector model).</p>
*/
public listDetectors(
args: ListDetectorsCommandInput,
options?: __HttpHandlerOptions
): Promise<ListDetectorsCommandOutput>;
public listDetectors(
args: ListDetectorsCommandInput,
cb: (err: any, data?: ListDetectorsCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public listDetectors(
args: ListDetectorsCommandInput,
options: __HttpHandlerOptions,
cb: (err: any, data?: ListDetectorsCommandOutput) => void
): void;
public listDetectors(
args: ListDetectorsCommandInput,
optionsOrCb?: __HttpHandlerOptions | ((err: any, data?: ListDetectorsCommandOutput) => void),
cb?: (err: any, data?: ListDetectorsCommandOutput) => void
): Promise<ListDetectorsCommandOutput> | void {
const command = new ListDetectorsCommand(args);
if (typeof optionsOrCb === "function") {
this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
} else if (typeof cb === "function") {
if (typeof optionsOrCb !== "object") throw new Error(`Expect http options but get ${typeof optionsOrCb}`);
this.send(command, optionsOrCb || {}, cb);
} else {
return this.send(command, optionsOrCb);
}
}
}
|
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is delighted to announce it has reached an agreement with Andrea Dovizioso for the 2012 MotoGP World Championship.
The 25-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the French-based Tech 3 Team having proven to be one of the fastest and most consistent performers on the grid since his MotoGP debut in 2008. Five podium finishes, including four second places in 2011, have put Dovizioso in a fantastic third place in the World Championship standings with just three races remaining. The Italian, who was 125cc World Champion in 2004 and twice runner-up in the 250cc class, will join Cal Crutchlow at Tech 3 for the hugely anticipated first season of the new 1000cc MotoGP era, which kicks off in Qatar on April 15, 2012.
Andrea Dovizioso
"I'm happy to have reached this agreement with Tech 3 for next year and I want to thank Hervé Poncharal for the opportunity he is giving me. I am excited to become part of Hervé's squad and to be teamed with Cal. I am sure this new challenge will be exciting, motivating and fun. Now that 2012 is sorted I want to focus on finishing the season in the best possible way."
Herve Poncharal, Team Manager (Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team)
“I am delighted that a rider of Andrea's stature has decided to commit his future to Tech 3 and Yamaha. He is without doubt one of the fastest riders in the world who has proven on a regular basis that he is capable of challenging for the podium in MotoGP. I am thrilled that he trusts the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to take his career to the next level and we can look forward to 2012 with high expectations. I am convinced that with Andrea and Cal we have one of the strongest line-ups on the grid in 2012 and both of them will demonstrate the potential of Yamaha's new 1000cc machine.”
Press release courtesy of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
Juan Rivera | Outfielder
Latest News
Recent News
Diamondbacks signed OF/1B Juan Rivera to a minor league contract.
It took Rivera a month to find a job after being released by the Yankees. The veteran will go to extended spring training for 7-10 days before heading to Triple-A Reno. He'll be an option for the D'Backs bench eventually. Tue, Apr 30, 2013 10:59:00 PM
Yankees released OF-1B Juan Rivera.
This opens things up at first base for Lyle Overbay, who will get the majority of starts until Mark Teixeira returns in late May or early June from his wrist injury. Rivera batted .244/.286/.375 with nine home runs and 47 RBI in 109 games last season for the Dodgers. Thu, Mar 28, 2013 03:31:00 PM
General manager Brian Cashman said last week that he views Rivera as "more of an outfielder" than a first baseman, but the club is obviously not dismissing the idea of using the 34-year-old at first. Rivera started at first base Sunday and went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Mon, Mar 11, 2013 11:48:00 AM
Juan Rivera went 3-for-4 and doubled in all three Yankees runs Sunday against the Blue Jays.
The Yankees see Rivera as more of a left fielder than a first baseman, which works out OK since both spots are open right now. It'd be a big surprise if he isn't in the starting lineup come Opening Day, and he should have a little value in AL-only leagues early on. Sun, Mar 10, 2013 04:43:00 PM
A.J. Pollock (groin) told Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale that he thought he was "going to feel much better" when he ran on Friday.
Pollock was hoping to make a late-season return from a strained groin that he suffered a little over two weeks ago, but this little setback should effectively end his campaign. "He wants to get back in there," Hale said, "and obviously we’re not going to let him run the bases or get in a game until he can run 100 percent without pain."
Rosenthal says of Greinke that the Diamondbacks "are not marketing him aggressively, in part because they are reluctant to eat salary." Greinke is owed $172.5 million over the next five seasons and would receive a $2 million assignment bonus if traded. He can also block a deal to 15 teams, is 33 and is coming off a season that saw him post a 4.37 ERA. The D'Backs would surely have to absorb a chunk of his contract in order to move him, but for now it sounds like they'll hang tight.
Taijuan Walker said Thursday that he was dealing with 10 bone spurs in his right foot this past season.
Ouch. Walker said that the bone spurs impacted his ability to push off and use lower body, which would certainly explain why he faded after getting off to a strong start. He finally had surgery in October to remove a bone fragment from his ankle. The Diamondbacks acquired him as the centerpiece of the Jean Segura trade last week and clearly believe in his potential. Interestingly, Walker noted Thursday that he would like to use his two-seamer more often, especially as he makes the move to Chase Field. Walker gave up 27 home runs in just 134 1/3 innings this past season.
The Diamondbacks are still waiting for the results. Chafin was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday but hasn't appeared in any games yet. He tweaked his shoulder while warming up Friday night, which prompted the MRI. The 26-year-old holds a 6.75 ERA over 32 relief outings this season. |
There was a time when headless dakinis prowled the Earth. (Some say they can still be found in certain environs.) They traveled surreptitiously, often helping those sincere practitioners who were (sometimes unbeknownst to themselves) at a pivotal place in their practice. The dakinis bestowed many wonderful gifts and were prized for their beauty, wisdom and intrigue. Some attained full Buddhahood. Others became fierce protectors of the Dharma. This site is dedicated to those fearless, headless, and courageous seekers of the transcendent. Of course, if you think YOU are a headless dakini, you're not.
New: Notice to Helpful Web Designers: Okay, we know this site is a design nightmare. But that's not the point. Besides, Google seems to like it just fine! Thank you for your advice, but, we have no technical expertise in the area of flash, PHP, live chat and streaming whatever. And we don't want to learn.Also, we believe the idea of tantric pornography is not a good one. No, we don't want to further monatize the site, and, again, we think it is already "search engine friendly." Louise and Lynnela |
Chemical carcinogenesis in the rat: common mode of action of carcinogens at the chromosome level.
The chromosomal distribution of chromosome aberrations (CA) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) induced by various chemical carcinogens such as 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, 7,8,12-trimethylbenz[a]anthracene, 1-butyl-1-nitrosourea, urethan, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide, 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide, and the antineoplastic compound mitomycin C was studied with the use of noninbred Long-Evans male rat bone marrow cells in vivo and in vitro. The CA and SCE induced by these structurally different chemicals were distributed in a similar pattern among and along chromosomes when the chemicals were given a short time (6 hr) before the metaphase cells were harvested. The specific distribution pattern of chemically induced CA and SCE along chromosomes was attributed to the late DNA replication of the vulnerable chromosome regions. Conversely, X-ray-induced CA were distributed more randomly. Thus the different chemical carcinogens were shown to exert a similar genetic effect at the chromosome level. |
Unai Emery, una vez finalizado el entrenamiento de este sábado por la tarde, dio a conocer la lista de convocados para el partido de este domingo en el Camp Nou ante el Barcelona a las 20:30. La principal novedad es la recuperación del canario Vitolo y el regreso del francés Tremoulinas. En cambio, se quedan fuera Llorente, Mariano y Fazio por decisión técnica; y Banega por sanción al cumplir un ciclo de amonestaciones.
La lista completa la forman: Sergio Rico, David Soria, Coke, Diogo, Kolo, Rami, Carriço, Escudero, Tremoulinas, Cristóforo, Iborra, N'Zonzi, Krohn-Dehli, Reyes, Konoplyanka, Vitolo, Gameiro y Juan Muñoz. |
Pages
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Cronut Craze!!!!
CRONUT... Crossiant + Donut!
One of the best food inventions in the WORLD!!!! The texture is flaky and buttery but in the shape of a donut ^_^ So.... since this craze has taken over the world (ok.. maybe not the world but the foodie world at least =p) I decided to give it a go! I must thank SORTED FOOD! as I saw their clip on Youtube and it looked achievable! Check out their video below:
CronutsRecipe adapted from SORTED FOODIngredients60ml milk65ml warm water1 packet dried yeast (7g)150g cold, diced butter125g plain flour125g strong flour30g caster sugar1/2 tsp saltbowl of caster sugarcreme patissiere (recipe found here)dark chocolate ganache (recipe found here)1. Whisk milk, water and yeast together in a bowl.2. Pulse cold butter and flours in food processor or rub between your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs (but still has a few lumps of butter).3. Stir the sugar and salt into flour mix and tip everything into the wet bowl.4. Stir together and then using your hands, bring it into a dough. Cover loosely with clingwrap and leave it to rest for 2 hours.5. Roll rested dough out on a floured surface to about 1cm thick, in a rectangle shape.6. Fold the dough into thirds so that the last third overlaps the other two. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll dough again into rectangle shape and repeat folding process twice more (I think if you wanted MORE layers, do this step a few more times).7. Cover with clingwrap and leave in the fridge to rest for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. Roll dough out once more to about 1/2 cm thickness and use cutters to shape your donuts. Lay them on floured tray and cover with clean tea towel at room temperature to rise for another 1 hour.
9. Fry them in a few cm of oil to 170oC for 2 minutes on each side until puffed up and golden. Drain on paper towel briefly then toss them in caster sugar before leaving to cool.
You should have seen me when I was frying them! Jumping for joy because the puffed up :D
sugar coated!
10. Inject crème patissiere into the cronuts at 4 or 5 points around the ring using a piping bag with small nozzle or syringe.
With squirts of crème patissiere
11. Drizzle chocolate ganache on top and decorate as you wish!
These weren't as puffed up as the original but I think that's due to the folding of layers. They were still deliciously sweet and buttery =D Definitely on my "to-do-again" list (if such list exists).. but yeah! Basically, don't be scared!! you can do it :D :D :D! |
Class-action complaint against Kissmetrics and others for use of Flash LSO [pdf] - podman
http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/complaint.pdf
======
axiak
Not just Kissmetrics in the defendents:
Space Pencil, Inc. D/B/A KissMetrics, Babypips.com, Involver.com, Moo, Inc.,
Sitening, LLC., Shoedazzle.com Inc., 8tracks Inc., About.me, Friend.ly, Giga
Omni Media Inc., Hasoffers.com, Kongregate Inc., Livemocha Inc., RocketTheme,
LLC, Fitness Keeper, Inc., Seomoz, Inc., Sharecash, LLC., Slideshare.net,
Spokeo, Inc., Spotify USA, Inc., Visual.ly, Conduit USA, FLite, Inc.,
Tangient, LLC, Etsy Inc, and iVilliage, Inc
~~~
nostromo
Getting sued sucks. Getting your customers sued... ouch.
------
rsingel
For the backstory: <http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/tracking-lawsuit/>
<http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/kissmetrics_reversal/>
<http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/>
[http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/12/zombie-cookie-
settlem...](http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/12/zombie-cookie-settlement/)
------
almightygod
the takeaway for me is respect privacy and other general laws of the country
you do business in
i personally believe kissmetrics had to fully know they had figured out a way
to bypass privacy settings and thought themselves clever for it. Most likely
they said the far too often: "It will only be a problem if we are successful
and then, hey we are successful"
~~~
phereford
And all of this may be moot anyway with the government trying to track
everything online anyway.
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20084939-281/house-
panel-a...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20084939-281/house-panel-
approves-broadened-isp-snooping-bill/)
Can a court really penalize KISSMetrics when the government asks ISPs to track
all of this information anyway? What's the difference between KISSMetrics
having this info or a random ISP like Sonic.net?
~~~
almightygod
There is an agreement between the user and their ISP, I for one have never
made any agreement with KISSMetrics though I've used sites where they have
tracked my information. Now I do make an agreement between a service like hulu
when I use the site (Terms of Use) but the kicker here is (from their privacy
policy):
_You have choices about the collection and use of your information by third
parties_
But in fact because of KissMetrics shenanigans, the user did not have the
choice which is probably why Hulu is in trouble. I suspect the other
defendants have similar clauses that were not followed
~~~
phereford
Fair enough. :)
I dont use KISSMetrics so I haven't read up on their ToS or PP. Makes sense
though.
------
ck2
This could backfire massively if the court says "no problem".
Better Privacy and Ghostery plugins are your friends, turn off local storage
in about:config -> dom.storage.enabled
Etags is rather clever though, not sure how to ignore those.
added: also remember to turn off third-party cookies in Firefox (it's there
but buried in Chrome)
Note to developers: please never, ever, rely on third-party cookies!
~~~
nikcub
solution to Etags is to block all third-party requests by default, and let the
user selectively allow for each site they use.
Working on a plugin to do that now:
<http://github.com/nikcub/parley>
(a bit inactive only because I haven't committed to gh since initial commit,
but I will be in the next few days)
the last-modified header can also be used to track - it accepts anything. I
described it in a comment on the last thread:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2825564>
~~~
pornel
Better solution to Etag and cache-based tracking in general would be to change
browser cache from:
cache[url] = data
to
cache[(url,origin)] = data
(origin is roughly the domain of the referrer)
This way you don't need to block all 3rd party requests and caching will still
work reasonably well for each site.
------
podman
While I don't disagree with some of the claims made, other claims, especially
those about the harm caused to the Plaintiffs and Class Members, are pretty
amusing. They're claiming that it caused economic loss because it resulted in
unauthorized use of bandwidth without payment and that it diminished the
performance of their computers and internet connectivity.
------
lazyeye
Best way to resolve this issue? Just add "kissmetrics.com" to your ADSL modem
router URL blocking filter (assuming your router/modem has this ability). Then
the problem is resolved for all your devices..wireless or otherwise.
------
beagledude
go here and see just how many companies drop flash cookies on you:
[http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplay...](http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html)
~~~
podman
Not all of them use flash local storage objects maliciously, however. Many of
them use local storage objects to actually track user preferences which is how
they are intended to be used.
~~~
benologist
They're also used extensively in games for a variety of reasons (saved games,
local scores, inventory, etc).
------
ericd
They're claiming 5 million in damages for using something that's cookie-like
that doesn't respect their browser's cookie settings?
~~~
olefoo
If someone is making an effort to avoid being tracked (as is their right) and
you figure out a way to track them anyway, you are at the very least costing
them the effort they put into avoiding being tracked. You are also costing
them whatever value the attach to not being tracked. Some people do put a high
price on their privacy and make strong efforts to protect it online.
~~~
ericd
Perhaps some people do value it that highly, but let's be honest, as with
almost every class action lawsuit, this is about a couple of lawyers who saw
an opportunity to make a lot of money by acting like a white knight for a lot
of people who don't know they are or want to be a part of a lawsuit. The vast
majority of those people that they're championing don't care one whit about
being tracked for the purposes of anonymized analytics (which is what
KissMetrics is all about).
Most of their arguments are a joke (with the exception of the browser controls
circumvention, which I would say is Adobe's fault, and KissMetrics' use of the
Adobe cookie to revive deleted cookies). All in all, I think this is a pure
abuse of the justice system with a thin veneer of plausibility.
~~~
noonat
While I don't disagree that many class action lawsuits are lawyers looking for
a pay day, I think there is still value in litigation like this.
Class action lawsuits help to ensure that defendants can't get away with doing
a small amount of damage to each plaintiff, but a very large amount of damage
as a whole. There simply would not be an incentive to bring this sort of
litigation if not for this, and companies would likely get away with these
kinds of only-slightly-harmful practices. By bringing this sort of class
action, the damages can be large enough that the defendant is forced to
rethink their actions and make a change in their behavior.
Without class action, the damages would be small enough that the company could
ignore it (because so few people were suing), or the legal system would be
flooded with an inordinate number of duplicate cases in order to bring an
appreciable amount of damage to the defendants.
That said, it would be nice to see some sort of restriction on legal fees, or
on who is allowed to bring class action suits (perhaps only consumer advocacy
groups, as is true elsewhere in the world).
~~~
ericd
I think that might be a good solution (to have consumer protection/advocacy
groups be the only ones who can bring forward class actions). As it is, many
of them are promoted and put together by lawyers who have no actual interest
in the case other than the large percentage of the settlement that they end up
with.
~~~
TorKlingberg
And why is that a problem? I don't mind lawyers making money when they are
doing something useful.
~~~
ericd
Because it means that they will pursue cases irrespective of its usefulness to
society, which means that many of these cases are actually net damaging to
society. That is a problem.
------
nostromo
I thought this would be related to the story last week about KissMetrics using
etags for tracking (<http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-
cookie/>) -- but it's not. Maybe that will bring another lawsuit entirely.
edit: corrected below, thanks!
~~~
rsingel
It is. The suit alleges both ETags and LSO.
------
kingofspain
I'm in the middle of a somewhat heated difference of opinion on whether we use
evercookie for a site I'm working on. This will help my arguments sound less
peace & love-y.
------
samarudge
This brings up an interesting point about tracking services. If a user selects
'Do Not Track' in their browser (Providing it supports it), does that mean do
not track them at all? Or do not track them as a unique user? May sites still
use software like Webalizer/AWStats or similar to track users, it would be
very complicated to set those up not to track users that send the 'do not
track' headers
------
bystander47
What does this all mean? How does it impact startups and anyone else that runs
a web site, and how can we avoid getting sued?
Is this a completely ridiculous lawsuit, considering how many websites use
Kissmetrics and other tools?
~~~
almightygod
For all startups in general, probably not much, for kiss clients? Probably a
lot. If I used kiss the first thing I'd be doing is removing their service
from my site
------
blauwbilgorgel
What I didn't understand about this lawsuit is the following angles:
> Plaintiffs believe their decisions to disclose or not disclose information
> is their decision to make.
> To avoid being tracked online Plaintiffs used and relied on their browser
> controls.
> It is contrary to standard practices to use DOM local storage instead of
> cookies.
If you are going to put down a practice as a "hack" or "repurposing" why not
quote the standard?
<http://dev.w3.org/html5/webstorage/#user-tracking>
Very clearly it states:
> A third-party advertiser (or any entity capable of getting content
> distributed to multiple sites) could use a unique identifier stored in its
> local storage area to track a user across multiple sessions, building a
> profile of the user's interests to allow for highly targeted advertising.
To me: any effort by plaintiffs to protect their privacy is moot, especially
attacking local storage practices, when it is known that it can be used for
tracking.
W3C puts the control and responsibility back in the user's hand:
> There are a number of techniques that can be used to mitigate the risk of
> user tracking, all involve user agent/browser settings.
So in my mind:
\- Plaintiffs (or their browsers) did not enough to protect their online
privacy.
\- Plaintiffs complain about the abuse of local storage practices, when
tracking through local storage is a very real option.
\- Plaintiffs can configure their user agent to not accept these cookies.
As for information sharing between sites: this I could see as bad, if proven.
But a KissMetrics-wide unique ID doesn't proof that such information is
shared.
Even with all security efforts in place, a user can still be tracked (By IP
and browser/system settings), and this data can still be shared. I do
e-commerce profiling, and while I don't really need a flash cookie, I also
don't really need your permission to scan my own servers logs: it was you who
made the decision to disclose that information to me.
> However, user tracking is to some extent possible even with no cooperation
> from the user agent whatsoever, for instance by using session identifiers in
> URLs, a technique already commonly used for innocuous purposes but easily
> repurposed for user tracking (even retroactively). This information can then
> be shared with other sites, using using visitors' IP addresses and other
> user-specific data (e.g. user-agent headers and configuration settings) to
> combine separate sessions into coherent user profiles.
------
benologist
Wonder why they single out Kiss, you can bet anything they're doing the entire
ad industry is doing too.
~~~
gcarswell
KISS is still independent and unlikely to be able to afford the legal fees to
fight it to the bitter end, increasing the trolls chances of getting quick
settlement dollars. I hope KISS pays them in pennies.
|
JOURNALISTS HELD BY PRO-RUSSIANS IN EASTERN UKRAINE
New York, April 22, 2014—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the safety of Simon Ostrovsky, a reporter with the U.S.-based global news channel VICE News, who is being held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk. Ostrovsky is in the custody of pro-Russian separatists led by self-proclaimed “people’s mayor” Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, according to news reports.
“We call on those holding Simon Ostrovsky to immediately release him and stop detaining, harassing, and obstructing journalists reporting on the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “If Vyacheslav Ponomaryov and his associates aspire to gain legitimacy, detaining journalists is counterproductive.”
VICE News said in a statement that it is working “to secure the safety and security of our friend and colleague.”
Sloviansk has become an increasingly dangerous place for journalists in recent days. Sergei Lefter, reporter for the Warsaw-based Open Dialogue Foundation, was reported missing in the city as of April 15. He is still unaccounted for. In a separate case in Sloviansk, on Monday, pro-Russian separatists captured Italian journalists Paul Gogo and Kossimo Attanasio and Belarusian reporter Dmitry Galko; the journalists were released later that day but their reporting equipment, money, and personal documents were confiscated, according to local press reports.
CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.
MORE>>>
VIENNA, 22 April 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed deep concern about new cases of detention and attacks on journalists in eastern Ukraine.
“I remain deeply concerned about the ongoing negative pattern in relation to journalists’ safety in Ukraine” Mijatović said. “I call on all those responsible to stop harassing and attacking journalists and let them do their job. Simon Ostrovsky should be released immediately.”
According to reports on 22 April Simon Ostrovsky, journalist with Vice News, was captured by unidentified people in uniform in Sloviansk. The detention has been announced by Vyacheslav Ponomarev, self-proclaimed "People's Mayor" of Sloviansk.
On 21 April Maxim Danilchenko, journalist with Tochka Opori magazine, was attacked by unidentified individuals and sustained several injuries while covering a protest in Luhansk. On the same day Dmitriy Galko, journalist with Belarusian Noviy Chas newspaper, and Italian and French journalists Paul Gogo and Kossimo Attanasio were reportedly detained by unidentified individuals in uniform in Sloviansk. They were released shortly after being detained.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on facebook.com/osce.rfom. |
How To Be 1990s
The period of my adolescence through my high school graduation tidily spanned the decade known as ‘the 1990s’, and being a ‘90s teen was pretty chill. The 80s embraced post-war decadence, totally ‘partying out’ via drugs, excess, things made of neon and rampant, obsessive consumerism, as if its citizens were trying to claw its way out of the horrors of the 60s and 70s, pretend they’d never happened, try to keep them from happening again.
The 90s are a little bit special, then. They might have been the only 20th-century generation to have the luxury of quiet identity crisis in the cultural fallow that followed social compensation for trauma. Prior generations had a 1980s-like period of virulent, driven self-indulgence that followed eras of great stress such as the Great Depression and the second world war – but the next disruption in the American fabric would always arrive before anyone had enough time to reflect.
Our music was terrible, our fashion was terrible, our movies were corny as fuck and no meaningful growth took place. Except the internet’s rapid adolescence. We had the privilege of enjoying our adolescence alongside it – privilege, because it seemed to reach maturation all of a sudden, like a clear sharp crack dividing 1999 from 2000, stranding those in their late twenties and early thirties on the far side of an impassable chasm between themselves and those in their late teens and early twenties.
[As an aside, those in their mid-twenties largely fell into that chasm, which is why so many 25 year-olds grope to find their career path, to reconcile what their four years in school have been for, and why mainstream publications write articles about ‘what is wrong with twenty-somethings.’]
Anyway, 1990s teenagers had no leisure to appreciate the luxury they were given; they were preoccupied with inflating minor existential crises, fixating on dark, romantic love-suicide imagery, and glamorizing drugs and mental illness. In short, we spent all our time being very emotional. After all, we had little else to do. Whereas our parents accepted the common ‘go to school and get a job’ maxim unquestioningly, we had the space to nurture the vague flicker of an idea that we might want some kind of creative employment, some ‘alternative’ to the manic march of the 1980s. Our mothers madly climbed gym equipment to nowhere; we decided we maybe just didn’t have the energy for goals we didn’t personally elect.
I mean, maybe. We weren’t sure. We didn’t really have much to go on. We were quite enamored of the idea that we were different than everyone who came before us and spent a lot of time wondering ‘who we were’ and lamenting that our parents didn’t ‘get’ us as if no one had ever done that before. Because while we knew we wanted to reject the status quo, we hadn’t really decided on what our generation’s ideas of ‘rebellion’ looked like. Even ‘rock n’ roll’, the old standard, felt kind of dated. We wanted ‘stuff of our own’, but we couldn’t choose. We wanted to Do Something Important, but we didn’t really know what. So chose lassitude. We chose nothing. The only thing we were really interested in was ourselves.
And so our counterculture was created and marketed to us carefully. MTV, the suburban mall, Hollywood and record labels saw us, interested in little but ourselves, our existential crises, our stringy-haired torment and black nail-biting, our sloppy flannel. So they sold us grunge music. They made ‘My So Called Life’ and ‘Reality Bites’ for us; they sold us ‘The Crow’ merchandise. They sold us an idea of ourselves as mallrats, as phone prankers, skateboarders, slackers, and it was agreeable to us. According to the older media, young adults in the 1990s were ‘slackers’, a word that at the time carried the same sort of complex and partially-misinformed shank as the word ‘hipster’ does today.
We weren’t actually as apathetic as we fronted. We cared a lot. We were really emotional. We knew that even our ‘counterculture’ was consumerist. It was distasteful even as we consumed it. We loved bands who boycotted awards shows thrown by the sparkly Big Corporates who had made them famous. Our milling about malls while buying nothing was a good representation of the way we were inert in a strange zone between embracing and rejecting capitalism. Nirvana sold millions of records containing songs about hating being famous. The dichotomy probably is what killed Kurt Cobain; the defining event for ‘millennials’ is probably 9-11. The defining event of my youth was nothing but the suicide of a rockstar, and it still feels like blasphemy to type ‘nothing’.
We wanted to suffer in that same zone of indecision, of ambivalence. The 1990s glamorized ‘heroin chic’ and anorexia; the ‘80s fantasy of madness was some kind of glam bacchanal; ours was dark and dramatic, and perfectly prescribed for us. Heroin and anorexia are both diseases that happen when a person says ‘the reality I am being given isn’t good enough, and so I will implode.’ That’s how we felt; we listened to songs called ‘Low’;’Sober’; ‘Loser’, ‘Clumsy’, ‘Far Behind’, by bands with names referencing addiction, chains, garbage and rage. The name of Nirvana almost seems like prescient irony by contrast.
It sounds horrible. But we were lucky; with no sense of relationship to where we came from or what lay ahead of us, we lived entirely in the now. Even the manufactured moments sold to us by television shows – the troubled girl has a drug overdose, the gay boy finds acceptance among the freaks, the aloof rockstar pauses to give you the time of day – we sought to capture them in our own lives, we played the movie soundtracks of the era, we understood ourselves as very much ‘of the moment’ creatures. The life of a 1990s teen was not about anything especially big, but of heartbreaking constellations of little things, explosions of stars for which we reached as if they’d help us find ourselves. You can laugh at us or feel sorry for us.
In the 1990s I remember that I wanted to ‘be 70s.’ I had a friend named Kaye who wore plaid pants and wallet chains and dyed her hair black and took T-shirts from the free box for homeless people. We would ask her Dad to drive us to the strip mall and we would ride bikes around the inside of the big box discount retailer, talking into toy voice recorders that were popularly sold at the time. We were like 15. I wore a dog chain as a necklace. We made duct tape wallets.
For some reason we thought Prince was hilarious. We didn’t understand that Prince is like a major dude with talent that some music people think is unparalleled. All we knew was Prince’s purple clothing and his sharp-ass collars. We wanted velvet pants suits. We bought ‘Pure Funk’ compilation CDs. Then we got into disco. Our big fantasy was to go to a massive vintage outlet closer to the city and buy all polyester. One day I wore a 70s polyester dress to high school and couldn’t endure the reaction of mainstreamers long enough to make it through the day without changing.
I asked my mom how to be ‘70s. She didn’t really remember, she knew more about being late 60s, since that was when she was in high school I think. I wish someone had been able to tell Kaye and I how to be 70s. Because it was important, what we were doing. We were mining the cultural artifacts that had helped create the environment in which we were coming of age.
It has been 20 years since 1990 (when I totally wasn’t in high school yet, but a few years later when I was, I consumed media about people who had been). People who are teenagers today, if they are smart, are becoming interested in the 90s. When I wore a polyester dress to school I wasn’t trying to be ironic. Teenagers who are wearing flannel and side ponytails today are not being ironic. They are trying on the uniform of their cultural predecessors. It’s an important thing to do. They want to know how we dealt with our times and they also want to know about the advantages they now have that we do not.
So, this is how to be 1990s: Yeah, you wear flannel. You wear black Converse, and fortunately modern alts can get away with doing this anyway. Same with black nail polish, but if you are trying to be 1990s, wear black nail polish even if you are male. Wear a wallet chain. Actually, don’t. You’re trying to be 90s, not ugly.
Don’t move out of your parents’ house; don’t worry about moving out of your parents’ house. Don’t talk to them much; they don’t understand you. Figure you will probably go to college but be plagued by the nagging sensation that it won’t be your choice. Listen to the radio; try to find a station run by some 28-35 year old trapped in the ‘90s hipster who will play grunge music. Wait, that probably doesn’t exist, because that would be a terribly embarrassing thing for them to do. Can you do me a favor and be currently a teenager and start a grunge music internet radio show because you can get away with it by being gleeful and ‘ironic’ about it? Thanks.
Oh, yeah. Ride a skateboard, but not in an ‘xtreme sports bro’ way (can you take the skateboarding thing back from the xtreme sports bros for me, please? Thanks). Ride it listlessly in the back parking lot of a suburban someplace. Do this for hours with your friends; go get pizza, and then one of you should go into the strip mall’s small town barber shop and get your hair cut just because. Everyone should think this is very funny.
Don’t cut your hair too much, though. Just kind of let it do what it wants unless you’re going to shave it underneath, because that will make it better. Put it in your eyes so you never have to make contact with anyone, especially someone of the opposite sex. Chew your hair.
Buy music magazines at the drugstore and cut out the pictures of your favorite musicians. Do this even if the pictures are unremarkable or small. Put them on your walls; put them on your walls until there is no more wall to be seen. Put the pictures of the attractive people closer to the head of your bed so you can look at them before you go to sleep.
Forget about vinyl. Forget about MP3s. Tape-record music from the radio. Buy CDs at the mall. You will go to the mall every day. This is your religion. You should steal some jewelry from ‘Claire’s’ or a place like it. You should do this even if you’re a boy, because then people will think you’re funny for wearing a heart charm, or smooth if you give it to a girl later. Don’t say anything, just kind of drop it in her hand or in her lap, wrapped in a piece of notebook paper haphazardly. She will never, never forget the moment in which you did that, because your lives are made of strings of moments.
Go to the roof of the mall. Try to smoke cigarettes. Try to smoke weed. Panic that you will be smelled. Always panic that you will be smelled. Carry drugstore perfume. Chew gum, crunch mints. If you are a girl every boy you ever kiss will smell and taste like smoke and mints. You will remember each one. You will remember your first everything.
Listen to songs on repeat until you cry and you’re not sure why. Feel very disturbed and be unsure why. Mouth off; talk back. They don’t understand you, no one understands you. No one ever will. Think about suicide while being quite sure you’re not actually suicidal. Kind of wish you were. Read about depression and practice its mannerisms. Have sudden fits, slam things, be defiant while all the while a little voice inside you knows you’re just being dramatic. Apologize later, preferably while running through the rain to the offended person’s house. Hug in the street.
Hear music playing in your head. Throughout your time as a 1990s teenager there will always be music playing in your head, as if your life had a screen-ready radio-friendly soundtrack just like you. When you grow up you’ll hear ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and no matter how cliché you know it is – everyone had the same soundtrack, stupid – the hair on your arms will still stand up. Every time.
Check out the author’s book “Breathing Machine: A Memoir of Computers” here.
I was a teenager of both the late 90s and early 2000s, which means something profound I'm sure, but I lack the writing skills to show it.
Great article Leigh, I was both touched and indifferent to it.
K86
OH MY GOD I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE GET ME
My favorite part is:”Forget about vinyl. Forget about MP3s. Tape-record music from the radio. Buy CDs at the mall. You will go to the mall every day. This is your religion. You should steal some jewelry from ‘Claire’s’ or a place like it. You should do this even if you’re a boy, because then people will think you’re funny for wearing a heart charm, or smooth if you give it to a girl later. Don’t say anything, just kind of drop it in her hand or in her lap, wrapped in a piece of notebook paper haphazardly. She will never, never forget the moment in which you did that, because your lives are made of strings of moments.”
Shawdy
I may have been 8-14 from 1993-1999 but in terms of maturity I felt culturally ahead of my peers, but maybe being held back had something to do with it. I spent a lot of time reading entertainment magazines, watching movies, VH1, MTV and sitting in front of the radio recording music on blank cassettes. Sure I watched the kiddie crap occasionally but I got bored with it quick and I get tired of my peers getting rose glasses over it. I'm the type of person to go to sites like the People Magazine archives to get that “nostalgia high”.
http://popserial.tumblr.com stephen
“Our music was terrible, our fashion was terrible, our movies were corny as fuck and no meaningful growth took place.”I agree
al
One of the best things I've read on TC… amazing, good job!
Dot90s
AMAZING. Thank you.
gucci mane tell em
as i got to the 'bittersweet symphony' part, the bittersweet symphony part on ridin' solo came up on my itunes. goosebumps b/c it was like symbolic of the 90s influence on everything- even 2009 radio pop music
http://twitter.com/EliArtichoke Eli Artichoke
“Think about suicide while being quite sure you’re not actually suicidal. Kind of wish you were. Read about depression and practice its mannerisms.” = awesome
90s girl
This is a cool essay. I often feel nostalgic for the 90s, when I was in high school and college. But, I do not agree that it was a meaningless time when little growth was occurring. I think it depended on whether you were in high school or college. To me, it seemed like a gay right movement was occurring, and multiculturalism was being discussed as a hot issue on college campuses. It was a very exciting time to me.
EJ
Painful losses characterized the dawn of my teen-years (1993). Looking back, I might have actually been depressed, but amongst everyone else pretending to be, I thought my feelings were normal at the time. I think we were into 1990's music, clothes, and subsequent piercing of every body part (which I was too scared to do) because we were trying to make ourselves impervious to pain.Great article! Totally nailed the mood of our adolescence – although to truly be a 1990's teen, you would have to disregard any advice given about how to be a 1990's teen ;)
http://twitter.com/elizabethshelby Elizabeth Shelby
Very well-written and funny. Since you were in your teens int he 90s and I was no older than 11 in the 90s, I'd love to read something similar about what childhood was like in the 90s. Ryan O'Connell? You listening?
all of the above while abusing your hair by crimping it and your feet by wearing jellies.
deec
everything you say us “millenias” should be doing, i've been doing for years. 90's FTW, i miss it even though i was just a kid during the decade. For some reaason, I think back to the 90s, to my childhood, and it all seems incredible, happy, simpler (not to mention the cartoons were so much better). I wish it was still like that now. When I see little kids playing with iPads and on the Internet, I cant help but feel as if they have no idea what it was like to be a kid. I always feel lucky to be a kid of the 90's.
Lolaposen
I'm pretty sure every kid of their generation thinks that. Times change but generational vanity never does.
http://kumquatparadise.tumblr.com aaron nicholas
good job
Chris
The dream of the 90's is alive in Portland.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bee-Goode/100001676566533 Bee Goode
while reading ur article i totally thought about the new Smith Westerns video “Weekend”. they are teens of today and it totally seems like they are 'trying to be 90's' as u describe. they even go to “claire's” and get jewelry. |
WAYNE, N.J. - A New Jersey diner is adding an 18 percent gratuity to the bills of children who go there without their parents.
Melissa Desch tells WCBS-TV she and her family have been eating at the Wayne Hills Diner and Restaurant for years, and she was surprised when her 11-year-old daughter sent her a photo showing a 90-cent tip was unknowingly added to her milkshake bill.
Desch doesn't think it's fair to treat minors different than adults.
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox
The diner's lawyer said kids have been showing up in groups of 20 or 30, staying for an hour or two, but most don't leave a tip. He says it's not fair to the waiters and waitresses.
He also said the menu clearly states "management reserves the right to add 18 percent gratuity."
Adding a mandatory tip to kids' tabs is yet another wrinkle in the ongoing and expanding debate about tipping. For instance, some West Coast restaurants are now have two lines for adding gratuities: one for the server and one for the chef. |
Reactive oxygen species in human semen in relation to leukocyte contamination.
Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in semen has been linked to male infertility. Main sources of ROS in male genital tract are immature and/or damaged spermatozoa and a subpopulation of leukocytes known as polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). Study group included male partners of infertile couples, 67 normospermic males (group B) and 98 males with sperm abnormalities in one or more parameters (group C), 36 fertile volunteers (group A) served as controls. Sperm parameters were determined according to WHO guidelines. The ROS production was measured by chemiluminiscence in sperm suspension in phosphate buffered saline. All fertile volunteers in the control group had seminal PMN concentrations below 0.5x10(6)/ml. Therefore study subjects, 67 normospermic and 98 men with sperm abnormalities, were further subdivided into two subgroups of PMN concentrations: (1) < 0.5x10(6)/ml and (2) 0.5 to 1.0x10(6)/ml. The ROS production in individuals varied greatly from 1.0x10(2) to 1.7 x10(7) RLU/min per 20x10(6) spermatozoa. The ROS production in both subgroups of normospermic men and the subgroup (1) of men with sperm abnormalities was not different from the ROS production in fertile controls. The ROS production in the subgroup (2) with sperm abnormalities was significantly higher than in controls (P = 0.00004). Our findings suggest that the contribution of PMN to the ROS production in semen is negligible only up to a concentration of 0.5x10(6)/ml. This suggests that the current WHO Guidelines threshold of 1.0x10(6) PMN per ml of semen is too high and might be re-evaluated. |
Three years ago, state engineers reported that none of the coastal hospitals would be functional after "The Big One." Since that time, some have rebuilt.
LINCOLN CITY, Ore. — We all know by now, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake could strike the Pacific Northwest at any time. One of the hardest hit areas will be the coast.
But the new Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City was built strong enough to withstand such a megaquake.
The $42 million building has a coastal forest design meant to relax patients and visitors, but it's what's behind its walls that should really put people at ease.
It's one of only a few hospitals on Oregon's coast that will be able to withstand a massive Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
Three years ago, state engineers reported that none of the coastal hospitals would be functional after "The Big One." Since that time, some have rebuilt.
Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital is the latest one.
The new hospital was built right next to the old one, which will eventually be demolished and replaced with a parking lot.
Along with the steel beams, bracings and 91 pilings secured to the bedrock, the structure itself was built in a way that will limit any damage from a quake.
"The walls aren't even connected," explained building engineer David Gray. "The whole ceiling can move and the walls will stay right where they're at."
The natural gas lines were also made to be flexible and remain intact despite intense shaking.
And once the shaking stops a generator will help keep the power on. The new hospital even has an emergency water connection, so if the building gets shut off from its outside water supply, staff can hook up a hose and pump in water from other sources like a fire truck or nearby Devils Lake.
"Maybe with the proper purification that could be a really long hose to the lake itself," said hospital CEO Dr. Lesley Ogden.
The hospital's goal is to be self-sufficient for up to four weeks following a megaquake. It's a goal administrators are still working on. But they know, once they get there, they'll be ready for anything.
"You can handle whatever comes your way if you're prepared for a Cascadia event," said Ogden.
Of course another big threat on the coast in the event of a Cascadia earthquake would be the tsunami.
The new Lincoln City hospital doesn't have to worry about that. |
An Indian Express Investigation in collaboration with Le Monde and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists An Indian Express Investigation in collaboration with Le Monde and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Here is the full #swissleaks list
1. UTTAMCHANDANI GOPALDAS WADHUMAL/family $54,573,535
2. MEHTA RIHAN HARSHAD/ family $53,631,788
3. THARANI MAHESH THIKAMDAS $40,615,288
4. GUPTA SHRAVAN $32,398,796
5. KOTHARI BHADRASHYAM HARSHAD/ family $31,555,874
6. SHAUNAK JITENDRA PARIKH/family $30,137,608
7. TANDON SANDEEP $26,838,488
8. AMBANI MUKESH DHIRUBHAI $26,654,991
9. AMBANI ANIL $26,654,991
10. KRISHNA BHAGWAN RAMCHAND $23,853,117
11. DOST PARIMAL PAL SINGH $21,110,345
12. GOYAL NARESH KUMAR $18,716,015
13. MEHTA RAVICHANDRA VADILAL $18,250,253
14. PATEL KANUBHAI ASHABHAI $16,059,129
15. SACHIV RAJESH MEHTA $12,341,074
16. ANURAG DALMIA/family $9,609,371
17. RAVICHANDRAN MEHTA BALKRISHNA $8,757,113
18. KUMUDCHANDRA SHANTILAL MEHTA/family $8,450,703
19. PATEL RAJESHKUMAR GOVINDLAL/family $6,908,661
20. HEMANT DHIRAJ $6,237,932
21. ANUP MEHTA/family $5,976,998
22. TANDON ANNU $5,728,042
23. SIDHARTH BURMAN $5,401,579
24. SALGOACAR DIPTI DATTARAJ $5,178,668
25. DABRIWALA SURBHIT/family $5,000,000
26. VAGHELA BALWANTKUMAR DULLABHAI $4,405,465
27. DILIPKUMAR DALPATLAL MEHTA $4,255,230
28. KULDIP & GURBACHAN SINGH DHINGRA $4,144,256
29. LAKHANI JAMNA THAKURDAS $4,123,673
30. RAJIV GUPTA $4,113,705
31. SAWHNEY ARMINDER SINGH $3,965,881
32. ISRANI LOVEEN GURUMUKHDAS $3,824,104
33. NATVARLAL BHIMBHAI DESAI/family $3,746,078
34. TULSIANI JAWAHARLAL GULABRAI/family $3,730,145
35. GUPTA RAJIV $3,545,416
36. JAISWAL LADLI PERSHAD $3,496,063
37. CARVAHLO ALOYSIUS JOSEPH $3,313,788
38. PRADIP BURMAN $3,199,875
39. TULSIANI SHAM GULABRAI/family $3,066,991
40. VITHALDAS JANAKI KISHORE $3,031,220
41. KUMAR VENU RAMAN $3,063,064
42. THAKKAR DILIP JAYANTILAL $2,989,534
43. TULSIANI PARTAB GULABRAI $2,901,435
44. ADENWALLA DHUN DORAB/family $2,863,271
45. BURMAN PRADIP $2,831,238
46. TULSIANI NARAINDAS GULBARI $2,818,300
47. DASOT PRAVEEN $2,801,634
48. PATEL LALITABEN CHIMANBHAI $2,741,488
49. CHATHA JOGINDER SINGH $2,732,838
50. SHYAM PRASAD MURARKA $2,546,516
51. DHURVENDRA PRAKASH GOEL $2,488,239
52. NANDA SURESH/family $2,303,713
53. GIDWANI ANAN NELUM $2,228,582
54. PRATAP CHHAGANLAL JOISHER/family $2,209,346
55. MEHTA DEVAUNSHI ANOOP $2,136,830
56. SHAW MOHAMMAD HASEEB/family $2,133,581
57. AHMED rizwan syed/family $2,125,644
58. VINITA SUNIL CHUGANI $2,085,158
59. SAWNEY BHUSHAN LAL $2,043,474
60. PARMINDER SINGH KALRA $2,042,180
61. CHOWDHURY RATAN SINGH $1,987,504
62. DHIRANI VIKRAM $1,915,148
63. NANDA SARDARILAL MATHRADAS $1,824,849
64. WILKINSON MARTHA $1,824,717
65. SAHNEY DEVINDER SINGH $1,763,835
66. TANEJA DHARAM VIR $1,748,541
67. DHINDSA KOMAL $1,597,425
68. CHATWANI TRIKAMJI/family $1,594,114
69. PITTIE MADHUSUDANLAL NARAYANLAL $1,462,594
70. BHARDWAJ ANIL $1,435,781
71. DIPENDU BAPALAL SHAH $1,362,441
72. BHARTIA ALOK $1,349,044
73. SINGH SHUBHA SUNIL $1,348,983
74. DANSINGHANI SHEWAK JIVATSING/family $1,267,743
75. KUMAR DAVINDER/family $1,231,088
76. JASDANWALLA ARSHAD HUSAIN ADAMSI/family $1,229,723
77. JHAVERI HARISH SHANTICHAND/ family $1,191,144
78. SINGHVI GANPAT $1,194,388
79. MILAN MEHTA/family $1,153,957
80. TUKSIANI ASHOK GULABRAI $1,140,890
81. MODI KRISHAN KUMAR $1,139,967
82. GARODIA BISHWANATH $1,071,858
83. JAGASIA ANURADHA ANIL $1,039,648
84. VITHALDAS KISHORE/family $1,020,028
85. CHANDRASHEKAR KADIRVELU BABU/family $1,007,357
86. GALANI DIPAK VARANDMA/family $940,191
87. SAWHNEY ARUN RAVINDRANATH $914,698
88. MERWAH CHANDER MOHAN $909,309
89. PATEL ATUL THAKORBHAI $813,295
90. NATHANI KUMAR SATURGUN $751,747
91. SATHE SUBHASH/family $749,370
92. SHAH ANIL PANNALAL/family $742,187
93. MADHIOK ROMESH $719,559
94. BHAVEN PREMATLAL JHAVERI $717,654
95. KINARIWALA KALPESH HARSHAD $713,340
96. GOKAL BHAVESH RAVINDRA $699,184
97. LAMBA SANJIV $644,923
98. SHOBHA BHARAT KUMAR ASHER $641,387
99. KATHORIA RAKESH KUMAR $589,753
100. BHANSALI ALKESH PRATAP CHANDRA $579,609
Also read: HSBC sheltered murky cash linked to dictators, arms dealers
http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/16702/syndication/tracking
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines
For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App. |
The invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an image sensor device.
CMOS image sensor devices are used in a wide variety of, applications, such as digital still camera (DSC) applications. These devices utilize an array of active pixels or image sensor cells, comprising photodiode elements, to collect photo energy for conversion of images to streams of digital data.
FIG. 1 is a cross section of a typical image sensor device. In FIG. 1, a typical image sensor device 100 is illustrated in cross section, comprising a semiconductor substrate 101 having an array of photodiodes 120 therein. Each photodiode 120 comprises, for example, an n-type region 124 in a p-type region 122. Each photodiode 120 is separated from other photodiodes by an array of isolation structures 110, such as shallow trench isolation (STI). Thus, an array of pixels is obtained. The pixels convert incoming light 160 from a light/image source to electrical signals via the photodiodes 124. The substrate 101 is covered by a series of dielectric layers 130, such as an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer and intermetal dielectric (IMD) layers. A color filter layer 140 overlying the substrate 101 comprises red regions 140a, green regions 140b and blue regions 140c.
FIG. 2 illustrates curves of wavelength versus transmittance of three major colors. In FIG. 2, the blue curve presents extremely low transmittance at a wavelength of about 580 Ř650 Å. Exposure apparatuses, such as steppers, typically use light with wavelength of 633 Å for alignment. Consequently, extremely low transmittance of the blue photoresist of the color filter is likely to cause alignment failure. |
Intense exercise can be fatal to racehorses, according to a new University of Guelph study.
Prof. Peter Physick-Sheard and a team of researchers examined 1,713 cases of racehorse deaths from 2003 to 2015, and found racing was connected to some of the deaths.
"The study reveals parallels between mortality and the intensity of the overall management of the horses, their lifestyle and the type of work they do," said Physick-Sheard, Department of Population Medicine. "Training and racing at top speed within a short amount of time and space is a health risk for horses, as it would be for any other species, including humans."
Most racing in North America involves intense exertion over a relatively short distance, he added.
Published recently in the Equine Veterinary Journal, the study is the first of its kind to compare mortality in three racing breeds, and represents the most complete data set on the issue so far.
With the support of Ontario's racing regulatory body, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission, researchers analyzed race and trial run data from the Ontario horse racing industry. A provincial registry of racehorse mortality requires mandatory reporting of all deaths occurring within 60 days of a race or trial run.
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"The industry is committed to using scientific research to mitigate health risks to animals, and this new research definitely holds insights that will help in that effort," said Physick-Sheard.
His study aimed to characterize and quantify exercise-associated mortality in racehorses and identify breed differences.
Physick-Sheard said breed differences provide deeper insights into strategies that could reduce mortality, improve the welfare of racehorses and reduce the costs of participation in the sport.
He discovered that thoroughbreds had the highest exercise-associated mortality rate and risk. Out of every 1,000 races, 2.27 deaths were exercise-associated. About one per cent of racing thoroughbreds die annually in association with racing or trial runs.
The mortality rate and risk were lowest for standardbreds, at 0.28 deaths per 1,000 race starts, and an annual death rate of 0.23 to 0.24 per cent. This breed is given more extensive training preparation and racing, said Physick-Sheard.
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Mortality related to high-intensity exercise in quarter horses was 1.49 deaths per 1,000 race starts, with an annual death rate of 0.60 to 0.69 per cent from the activity.
For all breeds, musculoskeletal injury was the major contributing cause of mortality.
Thoroughbreds and quarter horses also succumbed to dying suddenly and accidents.
"The industry has characteristics revealed by this data that point at mechanisms that could be used to significantly reduce mortality," said Physick-Sheard. "You can use carefully targeted strategies to reduce risk and increase the safety of the sport, something to which the Ontario and the global racing industries are devoting a lot of time and energy."
The study revealed that the sex of standardbreds strongly affects mortality risk, with young stallions at higher risk than mares or geldings. Among older horses, geldings have higher risk than males.
Thoroughbred stallions face higher risk than standardbred stallions.
Training strategies could be modified to address the animal welfare and economic implications, said Physick-Sheard.
"It is possible that the very behavioural attributes traditionally seen as conferring a competitive advantage may have an overall negative impact."
The findings allow the industry to monitor and assess changes in management and racing practices, he said. Structural factors within the horseracing industry can be addressed through rule changes, knowledge and education, Physick-Sheard added. But the characteristics of the individual horse breeds also play a significant role in mortality risks and need to be considered.
"We're starting to focus more on the things that are potentially inherent to the breeds of horse, as opposed to characteristics of the work they perform," Physick-Sheard said. "As we get more insight into those horse factors, we become more aware of other influences that are possible causes of increased mortality risk." |
Q:
Why won't trigger events work in my phantomjs script?
I am writing some automated ui tests for a single page wizard style form that I am building. I am trying to simulate a keyup on a particular input element but the .trigger jquery method doesn't seem to work. This is what I have.
var page = require('webpage').create();
console.log('The default user agent is ' + page.settings.userAgent);
page.settings.userAgent = 'SpecialAgent';
page.open('http://localhost:6543/signup', function (status) {
if (status !== 'success') {
console.log('Unable to access network');
}
else {
var test = page.evaluate(function () {
//entersnumber
$('#number').val('2223443');
//keyup triggers ajax call validating that number is not already in the db
$('#number').trigger('keyup');
//the radio button is clicked
$('input:radio[name=salesBroker]').filter('[value=0]').click();
});
page.render('thing.png')
}
phantom.exit();
});
The keyup is important because it will trigger an ajax call to check if the number exists. When I look at the thing.png image the validation error is not showing. This means that the keyup is not being triggered.
the image being saved:
If the keyup works there should be a validation error showing.
A:
It looks like one should use a slightly different approach for triggering keyboard-related events: first set focus at a specific input, then call page.sendEvent method with the relevant params:
page.evaluate(function() {
$('#number').val('2223443').focus();
});
page.sendEvent('keyup', someKey);
By the way, that's a fairly new feature - it debuted in version 1.7.
|
The present invention relates generally to vibration-damping, and more particularly to an improvement to a vibration-damping structural component of the type having viscoelastic material sandwiched between two outer structural layers of stiffness material.
Various load-bearing systems and structures, such as aircraft, experience vibrations during use which cause them to suffer from high-cycle and resonant fatigue and reduced service life. One means for reducing such vibrations is to use viscoelastic material, which converts vibrations into heat when strained. Often a free layer of viscoelastic material is fixed to the surface of the base structure. When the base structure is subjected to bending or flexural loads, the viscoelastic layer strains in tension and compression. An additional stiffness layer may also be fixed to the outer surface of the viscoelastic layer as a constraining layer. Under these circumstances, the bending or flexural loads deform the structure and the constraining layer, loading the viscoelastic material in shear, a more effective damping mode for viscoelastic materials.
Another approach to damping vibrations is to construct the structure itself from a vibration-damping laminated composite having two constraining layers of stiffness material and a damping layer of viscoelastic material sandwiched therebetween. Under bending loads the viscoelastic layer is loaded in shear to absorb the vibrational energy. Most of the shear of the viscoelastic layer occurs at the ends of the mode shapes of the dominant vibrational mode. At the peaks of the mode shape for the dominant mode there are "dead" areas of viscoelastic material which do not shear at all. Since maximum vibration damping takes place when maximum shearing occurs in the viscoelastic material, it is desirable to increase the rate or amount of shear straining therein. |
Posts Tagged ‘park’
The Staten Island Greenbelt is a large network of wooded trails situated in a what is undoubtedly the greenest borough in the city. Rather than being one cohesive park, it is comprised of patches of existing park and newly acquired parkland cobbled together by the Greenbelt Conservancy. Unlike regular parks in the city, this one includes a golf course and a country club, with numerous trails intersecting and running askew like a subway map. The shortest trail is 4 miles, while the longest is 12 miles one-way.
My initial reason for coming here was to visit the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. If it was anything like the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, we were in for a treat. Unfortunately, the only trail they have there was not well-maintained, with the vegetation at some point threatening to swallow us up. So we doubled-back and decided to do a different trail towards the ruin of a colonial-era home on Heyerdahl Hill. The woods in that area is supposed to be haunted with the 200-year old spirit of a child on a pale horse. We didn’t spot any ghosts, but we did find the ruin with a surprise geocache!
This was the first weekend with temperatures in the 60s, and we were quite happy to see signs of fall approaching.
There are a few areas that are designated swamps, but the two swamps that we passed by were more like open fields that showed their swampy nature only around the edges.
The Heyerdahl ruin is not too impressive, once you find it. I was more interested in the geocache that was hidden there. My first one! If you want to see this place, make sure you have a map with you – it is a detour off the red trail, so you need to keep your eye out for a very narrow and unmarked trail. Because the red trail is a loop, you can access the unmarked trail from two different points on opposite ends of the loop.
We then headed towards another part of the Greenbelt called High Rock Park. We saw a garter snake and several frogs.
The park borders a lake and two ponds – all very nice to walk by with no danger of mosquitoes at this time of year.
Because the Greenbelt is smack in the middle of Staten Island, the only way I would recommend getting here is by car. When I stopped off at the Nature Center, I overheard some poor woman say she took two subways, the ferry, and then a bus to get here. That is insane! Entrance to the park and parking is free. Dogs are welcome, but no bikes are allowed on the trails. Ticks are an issue, as many of the signs are happy to point out. Wear light-colored clothing and knee-high socks.
This relatively new park is dedicated to one of our great presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The “Four Freedoms” bears some explaining because most people alive today probably were not around when it was first introduced. In a nationwide speech that Roosevelt gave in 1941, he imagined a world based on the following four attributes – freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. It is sad that 72 years later, these freedoms are still lacking in much of the world.
Dropped onto the southern end of Roosevelt Island, the park has views of both Manhattan and Queens. Aside from the views, the park itself is what I would call “earnest,” with a symmetrical severity punctuated by cold concrete. The park was designed 38 years ago, when the city budget didn’t allow for it. Some might say it resembles a Soviet-era monument.
A nice view of Long Island City!
Despite all that open grass, you are not allowed to picnic on it. No food is allowed. It doesn’t really give off the vibe of a casual place to hang out. Given that, I would only recommend coming here if you happen to be on Roosevelt Island anyway. The park is a 15 minute walk from the train station if you’re coming by subway. If you’re driving, you will need to park near the station. (The only parking closer to the park is limited to visitors and staff of the nursing facility nearby.) The park is open from 9 to 7 every day except Tuesdays. No bikes or dogs are allowed.
I seem to find more and more places to explore in Long Island these days. I had never heard of this place until I caught sight of a sign while passing through Oyster Bay one weekend. Planting Fields is considered a State Historic Park, but definitely not a place that I would normally think of as a park. It is more of a horticultural center that happens to be on a vast tract of grassy fields, complete with a mansion to drool over. The property was founded by English tycoon William Robertson Coe, a maritime insurer whose company happened to do the insurance for the Titanic, among other ships. His wife was an heiress of the oil industry. Certainly, this kind of money allowed for a very impressive abode on the historic Gold Coast of Long Island.
The grounds are 409 acres, but much of what you want to see is a walkable distance from the estate. There are two greenhouses. The main one has various wings that lead you through a sensory overload of colorful vegetation.
The other greenhouse, called Camelia House, houses camellias, of course. Sadly, they are not in bloom this time of year so all you see are just the green parts of the plants.
Nearby, there are a number of gardens to stroll through. One garden that was particularly beautiful was the dahlia garden. They come in so many different colors – more than I would have imagined!
Coe Hall, the mansion on the property, is a stunner with a dark, gothic interior and beautiful plasterwork everywhere. The various kinds of glass panes on the windows are also worth noting from room to room. There are only two guided tours per day. We made do without a tour and wandered at leisure. In some of the rooms, a staffer kindly told us about the history of the items within.
Oh how I would love to live in a place where I can summon a butler (or maid) with the press of a button! These were in one of the bedrooms by the door.
The park is open from 9 to 5 every day. There are two separate fees – the entrance fee is $8 per car, while the fee for the house is $3.50 a person. Admission to the grounds is free in the winter. If music concerts are your thing, they host the occasional concert on the grounds – visit their events page for specific dates. No bikes are allowed.
This park used to be an illegal dumping ground before a group of artists and people from the community saved it and molded it into what it is today. While I wouldn’t call this a destination, this park has a few things going for it that merit a look if you’re in the area, say, picking up that 3 gallon jar of peanut butter at Costco or visiting the Noguchi Museum nearby. As you can guess by the name, the park has art. Large art. Installations come and go, and sometimes the art is fascinating, and other times it’s just weird and maybe a little uncomfortable. Regardless, there is plenty of lawn space to showcase the creative spirit with the Manhattan skyline as backdrop.
Some other things that weigh in its favor for a visit are the movie screenings in the summer and the greenmarket on Saturdays. There is also the occasional crafts fair. I don’t visit this park often, but stop by from time to time to see the changing exhibits. Here are a few pics from prior visits.
This unusual visitor in the water is not a piece of art – I’m not sure what he was looking for, but due to the park’s history, there may very well be buried treasure in the water!
Socrates Sculpture Park is at the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Broadway in Long Island City. You can take the N or Q to the Broadway stop and then walk 8 blocks west to the river. By bus, the Q103 and Q104 will drop you off at the entrance. The park is open every day from 10am to sunset.
Through much of the 19th century, Rockland Lake was a hub for ice harvesting. The spring-fed water was ideal for creating clean ice, and many ice houses lined the lake. Today, people enjoy the lake for other reasons. There is a 3-mile bike and jogging path that circles the lake, with multiple vantage points and benches from which to commune with nature. You can also go fishing or boating on the water. My main enjoyment came from spotting the various birds that migrate here – Canadian geese, swans, egrets, and your run-of-the-mill ducks.
Geese crossing
Beautiful birds by the Nature Center
The park is west of the Hudson River in Rockland County – about a 45 minute drive from Manhattan. Admission is $8 per car. Dogs are not allowed in the park during the warmer months.
Out of all the parks in Queens, Kissena Park is probably my favorite. I don’t think too many people know about it, and I’m including Queens residents in this count as well. It’s also hard to get to by public transportation, so that definitely factors into the equation. The park lays claim to a huge lake with ducks and turtles aplenty taking advantage of the water. There are wide expanses of lawn for a picnic or an afternoon siesta. For the sports-minded, there are also tennis courts, basketball courts, and even a golf course next door. The park in general seems to be more carefully maintained than other Queens parks. I wonder why? It’s a shame Flushing Meadow Park couldn’t be this nice.
The best way to get to Kissena Park is by car. It’s located in what I call “deep Flushing” – far enough away from the Main St # 7 subway station that you will need to catch the Q17 bus after you arrive by subway. The bus ride takes about 20 minutes down Kissena Boulevard. Dogs and bikes are welcome in the park. I suggest you bring a picnic blanket, grab some take-out at any number of Chinese restaurants in Main St, and have a picnic here!
Randall’s Island is a formidable chunk of land in the East River wedged between Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. It was opened up as a park in the 1930’s by Franklin Roosevelt. Since then, it has undergone many uses, the most current being a recreational area for a variety of sports. The concentration of sports fields in this park is unbelievable – well over 50! Name a sport and the park can probably accommodate your team. There is also a golf center, a tennis center, and a track and field stadium. Not to be remiss, bikers, joggers, and casual walkers get plenty of pavement along the shoreline. Fishermen can also be found lined up along the shore looking for a good catch.
The park recently hosted an arts and music exhibition called Flow.12, featuring the works of five artists. The pieces are site-specific and will be around all summer. This one, called Meters To The Center, is by Laura Kaufman.
This island is by no means the next Governors Island, but it does have expansive views of Manhattan, large fields of grass and trees for picnicking, and the East river rushing by on either side.
We shared a brief moment with this little fella.
For those of you who like bridges, the southern part of the island has not one, not two, but three vying for your attention! This is the footbridge that connects to Manhattan on 103rd Street.
Here is the Triboro Bridge (you will need to torture this diehard NYer before she uses the new name!)
…and in the distance you get a view of the Hell’s Gate Bridge.
There are many ways to get to the island. From Manhattan, you can walk or bike across on the newly opened footbridge at 103rd St. If you prefer public transportation, you can hop on the M35 bus at the NW corner of 125th Street and Lexington Ave. Folks from the Bronx can use the pedestrian ramp at Cypress Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard, which deposits you at the northern end of the island. The ramp in Queens is at Hoyt Avenue and 28th Street, adjacent to the Astoria Boulevard N/W station. It deposits you mid-island. By car, access is off the Triboro Bridge. Be aware that there is a $6.25 toll to enter the island.
This outdoor spot is not for the faint of heart. It is meant to challenge you – mind and body. Everyone knows the formula for an obstacle course. Lay out a course with a start and end point, then add in some obstacles to make it challenging along the way. At Catamount, the “adventure” comes in the form of multiple obstacle courses spread out in the treetops, with ropes and wooden walkways suspended over the air and tree platforms to hug for dear life in between. There are courses for all levels, from those afraid of heights to brazen warriors. To get the most out of this place though, you should not be completely scared of heights.
Photo credit: Laurie Husted
Sadly, I have none of my usual pictures for you, but the above shows you part of the layout.
So what is this place about? You are first strapped into a harness and given two ropes with hooks at the ends called caribiners. Then they provide instructions on how to use them so that you don’t become a foolish casualty. When you do the courses, no staffer is watching to make sure you are hooking and unhooking yourself to and from the proper lines, so you are pretty much on your own.
Each course is marked with a color that indicates its difficulty level. If you are somewhat scared of heights like me, you will probably get through maybe 3 of the 5 levels. The easiest course is only 10 feet off the ground, while the most difficult appears to be more than 30 feet high with the most precarious situations imaginable to test your balance. Almost all the courses have a zipline for you to practice your Tarzan holler.
I recommend this place for those of you who are looking for something challenging, gets the adrenaline going, and doesn’t necessarily require that you be in top shape. All you need is some agility and brain matter for problem-solving. Did I say it was fun? It was most definitely fun.
Catamount is about a 2.5 hour drive north of the city, at 2962 State Highway 23 in Hillsdale. You can find the directions here. Right now, it is open only on weekends and holidays, from 9:00 to 5:30. From June 16 to September 3, it will be open daily. In the fall, it goes back to being open only on weekends, plus Columbus Day. The park fee is $51 for adults 12 and older, $42 for kids 10 to 11, and $33 for kids 7 to 9. There is free parking onsite.
We visited New Hope this past weekend in hopes of seeing the start of some fall colors. We were lucky to have good weather and we did manage to see some changes in color. New Hope lies next to the Delaware River and is a small town that seems to know what a good thing it has going for it. It is surrounded by nature, most notably the huge Washington Crossing Park that is located on both the PA side and NJ side of the Delaware River. In PA, it is called Washington Crossing Historic Park. In NJ, it is called Washington Crossing State Park. For this post, I am treating them like they are one large park with the river running through it. As you can guess, George Washington crossed from one side of the river to the other in the vicinity.
If you are interested in making a day trip of it, you may want to strategize beforehand where you want to go in the park because there is a lot of ground to cover. The park on the NJ side is much larger, but the PA side has a tall tower called Bowman’s Hill Tower with amazing views of the surrounding area.
Before you cross over to the NJ side, take a pause by the bridge for a spectacular view of the Delaware River.
We did not do as much exploring as we would have liked on the NJ side because it was getting late. Here is one shot I managed to get before the sun set. This is a great place to have an afternoon picnic!
If you find yourself with some free time, you may be interested in doing a self-guided tour of the 12 covered bridges in the area around New Hope. We started to do the tour but ended up changing our minds. The Van Sant Bridge below is supposed to be haunted.
If you are interested in seeing New Hope, take a stroll down the canal towpath that parallels the river. It is normally a true canal with water flowing, but due to the hurricane, I believe they put in a dam upriver as they make their repairs. Still, it is something to do if you are in town. A lot of folks walk their dogs and bike down the path.
I do not recommend staying in New Hope overnight. The town itself is very touristy with shops that cater to those who like antiques or are into what I call travel shopping. It is also extremely crowded during this time of year with masses of people waiting to cross the street at every corner. We visited Lambertville on the NJ side as well and it is less touristy but still very crowded.
To get to Bowman’s Hill Tower, take I-95 to Exit 51. (This exit is between the Newtown/Yardley exit and the Trenton exit.) When exiting the ramp, turn onto Taylorsville Road toward New Hope. (From the south this will be a left turn and from the north a right turn.) Follow Taylorsville Road to Route 532. There will be a traffic light at this intersection. Proceed through the traffic light, remaining on Taylorsville Road. When Taylorsville Road ends, turn left onto Route 32. Proceed 2 miles to Lurgan Road to the tower. Travel time from NYC to New Hope is about 2 hours.
Fort Greene Park was the first designated park in Brooklyn. One can easily miss the significance of this given its more well-known sister Prospect Park to the south. As can be guessed by the name, Fort Greene was indeed a location for forts centuries ago. The forts were created for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Today, the park is a nice hilly 30-acre neighborhood oasis. If you happen to be in the area, you should also explore the streets to the east and south of the park. They are lined with gorgeous brownstones!
There are 6 tennis courts, but you will need a permit to play.
The park is easily accessible from almost all the subway lines: the B, D, N, Q, R on Dekalb Ave to the west, the 2,3,4,5 on Nevins St to the southwest, the G at Fulton St to the south, and the A, C on Lafayette Ave a little further south. Some other things to note: the park also has basketball courts and barbecue areas. If you like to support your local farmers, there is a year-round farmers market in the southeast corner of the park every Saturday. |
03 Jan 2012 8:48 am ||
SAP ABAP FAQs
Explain program flow of BADI?
Program flow of BADI is:
First, define the BADI with the help of transaction code SE18
Then declare the objects, classes and methods.
Then with the help of t-code SE19 Implement BADI
At last, defining the Classes and methods as per as requirements of the end user.
In which table the material master data is stored?
MARA and MARC are the tables from where you can get the data for Material Master.
Which commands are used for interactive reports?
The following commands can be used in interactive reporting:
HIDE can be used in order to create an array of all hidden variables.
SY-LSIND = LIST INDEX,
SY-LILLI = LINE NO.
When will we go for call transaction and when we will go for a session in BDC?
Call Transaction can be used when the DATA is minimal.
Sessions can be used to handle mass DATA or Voluminous DATA.
With What extension does an ABAP program gets saved?
SAP-ABAP saves all its programs internally in its database and not in external files like C, C++ and Java do. Hence there is no extension for a program in ABAP.
When the get cursor command used in interactive lists?
When the hidden information is not sufficient to uniquely identify the selected line, then the command GET CURSOR is used. The GET CURSOR command returns the name of the field at the cursor position in a field specified after the additional field, and the value of the selected field in a field specified after the value.
Do we have to migrate all SAPscript forms to Smart Forms?
There is no point in migrating all SAPscript forms already in use. Since SAPscript can still be used and will be available in the future, there is no need to. If you plan to migrate a SAPscript form, it is recommended that you check whether the benefit is worth the effort involved.
What is a method in ABAP?
Methods describe the functions of classes in ABAP objects. We can call methods using the call method statement.methods are introduced with the method statement & concluded with the end method statement.methods can only be defined in the implementation parts of classes.
How to copy table across clients?
Use Program RSCLTCOP
Which are the various Events in Application Server?
The various events in Application Server are:
OPEN DATA SET
READ DATA SET
CLOSE DATA SET.
What is the role of ‘Refresh’ in Internal Table?
'Refresh' is the keyword which is used to clear the contents of a body in an internal table.
How to find output type?
Use table Table TNAPR / NAST in order to find output type.
What is the Function module to popup contents in the internal table?
Function module POPUP_WITH_TABLE_DISPLAY
State the system field for the current date?
SY-DATUM
What is the keyword used to eliminate the leading zeros of a number field?
Use keyword 'NO-ZERO'.
Which are the various Events in Dialog Programs?
The various events in Dialog Programming are:
PBO-Process Before Output
PAI-Process AFter Input
POH-Process on Help Request
POV-Process on Value Request
What is some important characteristic of Recording Function?
The characteristic of recording function is:
To record transaction runs
To create batch input sessions with the help of recorded transaction runs.
To generate a batch input program with the help of recorded data.
How to find the attributes of a data object or data type?
DESCRIBE FIELD [LENGTH ] [TYPE [COMPONENTS ]] [OUTPUT-LENGTH ] [DECIMALS ] [EDIT MASK ].
How can we read selected lines of a database table into an internal table in packages of predefined size?
SELECT * FROM INTO TABLE PACKAGE SIZE . where 'n' is variable. Name the WILDCARD characters which can be used for comparing with character strings & numeric strings. '%' and '_'.
How can we determine the table to which a field belong to by knowing only field name?
Please follow the steps below:
First, use t-code SE84
Then navigate to R/3 Repository -> ABAP Dictionary -> Fields -> Table Fields
Now insert the field name and execute...
A list of table where the field is used is will be shown.
DATA DICTIONARY
What are the layers of data description in R/3?
The external layer.
The ABAP/4 layer.
The database layer.
Define external layer?
The external layer is the plane at which the user sees and interacts with the data, that is, the data format in the user interface. This data format is independent of the database system used.
Define ABAP/4 layer?
The ABAP/4 layer describes the data formats used by the ABAP/4 processor.
Define Database layer?
The database layer describes the data formats used in the database.
What is a Data Class?
The Data class determines in which table space the table is stored when it is created in the database.
What is a Size Category?
The Size category describes the probable space requirement of the table in the database.
How many types of size categories and data classes are there?
There are five size categories (0-4) and 11 data classes only three of which are appropriate for application tables:
APPL0- Master data (data frequently accessed but rarely updated).
APPL1- Transaction data (data that is changed frequently).
APPL2- Organizational data (customizing data that is entered when system is configured and then rarely changed).
The other two types are:
USR
USR1 – Intended for customer's own developments.
What are control tables?
The values specified for the size category and data class are mapped to database-specific values via control tables.
What is the function of the transport system and workbench organizer?
The function of the transport system and the Workbench Organizer is to manage any changes made to objects of the ABAP/4 Development Workbench and to transport these changes between different SAP systems.
What is a table pool?
A table pool (or pool) is used to combine several logical tables in the ABAP/4 Dictionary. The definition of a pool consists of at least two key fields and a long argument field (VARDATA).
What are pooled tables?
These are logical tables, which must be assigned to a table pool when they are defined. Pooled tables can be used to store control data (such as screen sequences or program parameters).
What is a table cluster?
A table cluster combines several logical tables in the ABAP/4 Dictionary. Several logical rows from different cluster tables are brought together in a single physical record. The records from the cluster tables assigned to a cluster are thus stored in a single common table in the database.
How can we access the correction and transport system?
Each time you create a new object or change an existing object in the ABAP/4 Dictionary, you branch automatically to the Workbench Organizer or correction and transport system.
Which objects are independent transport objects?
Domains, Data elements, Tables, Technical settings for tables, Secondary indexes for transparent tables, Structures, Views, Matchcode objects, Matchcode Ids, Lock objects.
How is conversion of data types done between ABAP/4 & DB layer?
Conversion between ABAP/4 data types and the database layer is done within the database interface.
How is conversion of data types done between ABAP/4 & external level?
Conversion between the external layer and the ABAP/4 layer is done in the SAP dialog manager DYNP.
What are the Data types of the external layer?
ACCP, Char, CLNT, CUKY, CURR, DATS, DESC, FLTP, INT1, INT2, INT4, LANG, LCHR, LRAW, NUMC, PREC, QUAN, RAW, TIMS, UNIT,VARC.
What are the Data types of the ABAP/4 layer?
Possible ABAP/4 data types:
C: Character.
D: Date, format YYYYMMDD.
F: Floating-point number in DOUBLE PRECISION (8 bytes).
I: Integer.
N: Numerical character string of arbitrary length.
P: Amount of counter field (packed; implementation depends on h/w platform).
S: Time Stamp YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
V: Character string of variable length, length is given in the first two bytes.
X: Hexadecimal (binary) storage.
How can we set the table spaces and extent sizes?
You can specify the extent sizes and the table space (physical storage area in the database) in which a transparent table is to be stored by setting the size category and data class.
What is the function of the correction system?
The correction system manages changes to internal system components. Such as objects of the ABAP/4 Dictionary.
What are local objects?
Local objects (Dev class$TMP) are independent of correction and transport system.
What is a Development class?
Related objects from the ABAP/4 repository are assigned to the same development class. This enables you to correct and transport related objects as a unit.
What is a data dictionary?
Data Dictionary is a central source of data in a data management system. Its main function is to support the creation and management of data definitions. It has details about
What data is contained?
What are the attributes of the data?
What is the relationship existing between the various data elements?
What functions does a data dictionary perform?
In a data management system, the principal functions performed by the data dictionary are
Management of data definitions.
Provision of information for evaluation.
Support for s/w development.
Support form documentation.
Ensuring that the data definitions are flexible and up-to-date.
What are the features of ABAP/4 Dictionary?
The most important features are:
Integrated to aABAP/4 Development Workbench.
Active in the runtime environment.
What are the uses of the information in the Data dictionary?
The following information is directly taken from the Data dictionary:
Information on fields displayed with F1 help.
Possible entries for fields displayed with F4 help.
Matchcode and help views search utilities.
What are the basic objects of the data dictionary?
Tables
Domains
Data elements
Structures
Foreign Keys
What are the aggregate objects in the data dictionary?
Views
Match codes
Lock objects.
In the ABAP/4 Dictionary Tables can be defined independent of the underlying database (T/F).
True.
ABAP/4 Dictionary contains the Logical definition of the table.
A field containing currency amounts (data type CURR) must be assigned to a reference table and a reference field. Explain.
As a reference table, a system containing all the valid currencies is assigned or any other table, which contains a field with the currency key format. This field is called as reference field. The assignment of the field containing currency amounts to the reference field is made at runtime. The value in the reference field determines the currency of the amount.
A field containing quantity amounts (data type QUAN) must be assigned to a reference table and a reference field. Explain?
As a reference table, a system table containing all the valid quantity units is assigned or any other table, which contains a field with the format or quantity units (data type UNIT). This field is called as reference field.
The assignment of the field containing quantity amounts to the reference field is made at runtime. The value in the reference field determines the quantity unit of the amount.
What is the significance of Technical settings (specified while creating a table in the data dictionary)?
By specifying technical settings we can control how database tables are created in the database. The technical settings allows us to
Optimize storage space requirements.
Table access behavior.
Buffering required.
Changes to entries logged.
What is a Table attribute?
The table's attributes determine who is responsible for maintaining a table and which types of access are allowed for the table. The most important table attributes are:
Delivery class.
Table maintenance allowed.
Activation type.
What is the significance of Delivery Class?
The delivery class controls the degree to which the SAP or the customer is responsible for table maintenance.
Whether SAP provides the table with or without contents.
Determines the table type.
Determines how the table behaves when it is first installed, at upgrade, when it is transported, and when a client copy is performed.
What is the max. no. Of structures that can be included in a table or structure.
Nine.
What are two methods of modifying SAP standard tables?
Append Structures and
Customizing Includes.
What is the difference between a Substructure and an Append Structure?
In case of a substructure, the reference originates in the table itself, in the form of a statement include….
In case of an append structure, the table itself remains unchanged and the reference originates in the append structure.
To how many tables can an append structure be assigned.
One.
If a table that is to be extended contains a long field, we cannot use append structures why?
Long fields in a table must always be located in the end, as the last field of the table. If a table has an append structure the append line must also be on the last field of the table.
Can we include customizing include or an append structure with Pooled or Cluster tables?
No.
What are the two ways for restricting the value range for a domain?
By specifying fixed values.
By stipulating a value table.
Structures can contain data only during the runtime of a program (T/F)
True.
What are the aggregate objects in the Dictionary?
Views
Match Code.
Lock Object.
What are base tables of an aggregate object?
The tables making up an aggregate object (primary and secondary) are called aggregate object.
The data of a view is not physically stored, but derived from one or more tables (T/F)
True.
What are the 2 other types of Views, which are not allowed in Release 3.0?
Structure Views.
Entity Views.
What is a Match Code?
Match code is a tool to help us to search for data records in the system. Match Codes are an efficient and user-friendly search aid where key of a record is unknown.
What are the two levels in defining a Match Code?
• Match Code Object.
• Match Code Id.
What is the max no of match code Id's that can be defined for one Match code object?
A match code Id is a one character ID that can be a letter or a number.
Can we define our own Match Code ID's for SAP Matchcodes?
Yes, the number 0 to 9 are reserved for us to create our own Match Code Ids for a SAP defined Matchcode object.
What is an Update type with reference to a Match code ID?
If the data in one of the base tables of a matchcode ID changes, the matchcode data has to be updated. The update type stipulates when the matchcode is to be updated and how it is to be done. The update type also specifies which method is to be used for Building matchcodes. You must specify the update type when you define a matchcode ID.
Can matchcode object contain Ids with different update types?
Yes.
What are the update types possible?
The following update types are possible:
Update type A: The matchcode data is updated asynchronously to database changes.
Update type S: The matchcode data is updated synchronously to database changes.
Update type P: The matchcode data is updated by the application program.
Update type I: Access to the matchcode data is managed using a database view.
Update type L: Access to the matchcode is achieved by calling a function module.
What are the two different ways of building a match code object?
A match code can be built in two different ways:
Logical structure: The matchcode data is set up temporarily at the moment when the match code is accessed. (Update type I, k).
Physical Structure: The match code data is physically stored in a separate table in the database. (Update type A, S, P).
What are the differences between a Database index and a match code?
Match code can contain fields from several tables whereas an index can contain fields from only one table.
Match code objects can be built on transparent tables and pooled and cluster tables.
What is the function of a Domain?
A domain describes the technical settings of a table field.
A domain defines a value range, which sets the permissible data values for the fields, which refers to this domain.
A single domain can be used as basis for any number of fields that are identical in structure.
Can you delete a domain, which is being used by data elements?
No.
What are conversion routines?
Non-standard conversions from display format to sap internal format and vice-versa are implemented with so called conversion routines.
What is the function of a data element?
A data element describes the role played by a domain in a technical context. A data element contains semantic information.
Can a domain, assigned to a data element be changed?
Yes. We can do so by just overwriting the entry in the field domain.
Can you delete data element, which is being used by table fields.
No.
Can you define a field without a data element?
Yes. If you want to specify no data element and therefore no domain for a field, you can enter data type and field length and a short text directly in the table maintenance.
What are null values?
If the value of a field in a table is undefined or unknown, it is called a null value.
What is the difference between a structure and a table?
Structures are constructed the almost the same way as tables, the only difference using that no database table is generated from them.
What is a view?
A view is a logical view on one or more tables. A view on one or more tables i.e., the data from a view is not actually physically stored instead being derived from one or more tables.
How many types of Views are there?
Database View
Help View
Projection View
Maintenance View
What is Locking?
When two users simultaneously attempt to access the same data record, this is synchronized by a lock mechanism.
What is database utility?
Database utility is the interface between the ABAP/4 Dictionary and the underlying the SAP system.
What are the basic functions of Database utility?
The basic functions of database utility are:
Create database objects.
Delete database objects.
Adjust database objects to changed ABAP/4 dictionary definition.
What is Repository Info. Systems?
It is a tool with which you can make data stored in the ABAP/4 Dictionary available.
REPORT GENERATION – FORMATTING
The alignment of a type 'c' field in a report is left Aligned.
In the statement Write:/15(10) Ofal-lifnr. what do the number 15 and 10 stand for15 stand for the offset on the screen and 10 stands for the field length displayed.
Specify the default alignment for the following field types:
'D' – Left, 'F'-Right, 'N'-Left, 'I'-Right, 'T'-Left.
If s_time has the value '123456' how would you get an output of 12:34:56 with a single 'Write:' statement.
Write:s_time using edit mask'--:--:--'.
In order to suppress the leading zeroes of a number field the keywords used are NO-ZERO.
The total no of date formats that can be used to display a date during output is MM/DD/YY, DD/MM/YY, DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY, MMDDYY, DDMMYY, YYMMDD.
The UNDER Command allows for vertical alignment of fields one below the other.
In order to concatenate strings only for output purposes the command NO-GAP can be used in conjunction with the 'Write' statement.
The no of decimal places for output can be defines within a write statement. (T/F).
TRUE. Write:/<f> decimals 2.
Data can be moved from one field to another using a 'Write:' Statement and stored in the desired format. (T/F).
TRUE. Write: Date_1 to Date_2 format DD/MM/YY.
In the statement Write:/15(10) lfa1-lifnr. The values 15 and 11 can also be defined by variables (T/F).
False.
Differentiate between the following two statements if any.
ULINE.
Write: sy-uline.
No-difference. Except that uline is used outside the 'Write' Statement.
In order to skip a single line the number of lines need not be given as an assignment (T/F)
TRUE.
The "SKIP TO LINE line number" is dependent on the LINE-COUNT statement included in the report statement of the program.
In order to skip columns the command used is POSITION <n>.
In order to have boldfaced text as output the command used is Write:<f>INTENSIFIED.
Background and foreground colors can be interchanged using the command Format Inverse.
In order to restore the system defaults for all changes made with the format statement is Format Reset.
Like ULINE the statement VLINE is used to insert vertical lines. (T/F).
False.
Suppressing the number signs (+/-) is carried out using the addition NO-SIGNS to the Write statement. (T/F).
False.
If SY-UZEIT has the value 6:34:45 it can be displayed as 063445 using No Edit Mask.
If the variable "Text" has the value 'ABCDEF' the output for the statement "Write:/Text+2(3)" will be "CDE"
The fields specified by select-options and parameters statement cannot be grouped together in the selection screen. (T/F).
False.
When calling an external report the parameters or select-options specified in the external report cannot be called. (T/F)
FALSE.
Selection Texts in the text elements of the program helps in changing the displayed names of variables in the parameters statement.
Type F datatype cannot be used to define parameters.
Rounding off of values can be carried out using the write statement. (T/F).
TRUE
How would you define the exponents for a type 'f' field?
Exponent <e>.
How would you format the output as left, centered or right-justified using the write statement.
Left-justified, Centered, Right-justified.
If the same formatting options were used for a WRITE statement that follows the FORMAT statement, which settings would take precedence.
The settings in the Write Statement.
For each new event, the system resets all formatting options to their default values (T/F)
TRUE.
All formatting options have the default value OFF. (T/F).
TRUE.
How would you set the formatting options statically and dynamically within a report? Statically: FORMAT <option1>[ON|OFF]….</option1>
Dynamically: FORMAT <option1> = <var1> <option2>=<var2>….
The page footer is defined using the statement END-OF-PAGE.
The processing block following END-OF-PAGE is processed only if you reserve lines for the footer in the LINE-COUNT option of the REPORT statement. (T/F)
TRUE.
To execute a page break under the condition that less than a certain number of lines is left on a page is achieved by RESERVE n lines.
The RESERVE statement only takes effect if output is written to the subsequent page. No blank pages are created and it defines a block of lines that must be output as a whole. (T/F).
TRUE.
To set the next output line to the first line of a block of lines defined with the RESERVE statement the statement BACK is used.
What is the limit for the length of a page if the page length is not specified in the report statement.
60,000 lines.
How would you start the printing process from within the program while creating a list?
NEW-PAGE PRINT ON.
You can change the width of pages within list levels triggered by page breaks. (T/F).
FALSE.
Hotspots are special areas of an output list used to trigger events. (T/F).
TRUE.
To designate fields as hotspots at runtime, use FORMAT HOTSPOT = <h>.
Horizontal lines created with ULINE and blank lines created with SKIP can be formatted as hotspots. (T/F).
FALSE.
How would you suppress the display of a parameter on the selection screen?
Parameters <p> ………..No-Display.
Can you assign a matchcode object to a parameter? If so how?
Yes. PARAMETERS <p>……..MATCHCODE OBJECT <obj>……..
For each SELECT-OPTIONS statement, the system creates a selection table. (T/F)
TRUE.
To position a set of parameters or comments on a single line on the selection screen, you must declare the elements in a block enclosed by
SELECTION-SCREEN BEGIN OF LINE. …….. SELECTION-SCREEN END OF LINE.
How can Symbols or R/3 icons be output on the screen?
WRITE <symbol-name> AS SYMBOL. WRITE <icon-name> AS ICON.
In the standard setting, you cannot create empty lines with the WRITE statement alone. (T/F).
TRUE.
REPORTING – GENERAL
The system field, which indicates success or failure of a SQL operation, is SY-SUBRC.
What is the syntax for specifying database table name at runtime in SELECT statement.
NAME = 'SPFL1'. SELECT * FROM (NAME). ………………. ………………. ENDSELECT.
How do you read selected lines of database table into an internal table in packages of predefined size.
SELECT * FROM <SPFLI>INTO TABLE <ITAB>PACKAGE SIZE<N> Where n is variable.
Name the WILDCARD characters which are used for comparisons with character strings & numeric strings. '%' and '-'.
In SELECT statements can you specify a variable in WHERE condition or a part of the condition, if so what is the syntax.
SELECT * FROM <table>WHERE <var1><condition><var or const>
Name the ABAP/4 key words, which are used to change the contents of database table.
UPDATE or MODIFY.
How to specify a client for database table processing.
TABLES SPFLI. SELECT * FROM SPFLI CLIENT SPECIFIED WHERE MANDT BETWEEN '001' AND '003'. …….. ENDSELECT.
How do you write a DATA object from ABAP/4 program to ABAP/4 memory and restore the same from memory to program.
EXPORT <f1> [FROM <g1>] <f2> [FROM <g2>] ... TO MEMORY ID <key>. The ID <key>, which can be up to 32 characters long, identifies the data in memory.
What are DATA CLUSTERS?
You can group any complex internal data objects of an ABAP/4 program together in data clusters and store them temporarily in ABAP/4 memory or for longer periods in databases. You can store data clusters in special databases of the ABAP/4 Dictionary. These databases are known as ABAP/4 cluster databases and have a predefined structure. Storing a data cluster is specific to ABAP/4. Although you can also access cluster databases using SQL statements, only ABAP/4 statements are able to decode the structure of the stored data cluster.
Statements used to delete data objects in ABAP/4 memory FREE MEMORY [ID <key>].
How will you create a file on application server.
Open dataset <dsn> for output.
ABAP/4 statement for opening a file on application server for reading Open dataset <dsn> for input.
How will you transfer data into a file in application server?</dsn>
Data fname(60) value 'mYFILE'. Data num type i. Open dataset fname for output. Do 10 times. Num = Num +1. Transfer num to fname. Enddo. …….etc.
Name the function modules to write data from an Internal Table to the Presentation Server.
DOWNLOAD and WS_DOWNLOAD.
Name the function module that can be used to give information about files on Presentation Server and about its Operating System.
WS_QUERY.
Name the ABAP/4 key word, which is used to clear the Headerline of an Internal Table.
CLEAR
<itab> .
Name the function modules to read data from Presentation Server into an Internal Table.
UPLOAD and WS_UPLOAD.
Name the ABAP/4 keywords to initialize an Internal Table with and without headerline.
REFRESH <itab>.
How to determine the attributes of an internal table?
DESCRIBE TABLE <itab>[LINES <lin>] [OCCURS <occ>].
Name the ABAP/4 key word for searching a string in an Internal Table.
SEARCH <itab> FOR <str> <options>. The different options ( <options>) for the search in an internal table are: ABBREVIATED Searches table<itab>for a word containing the character string specified in <str>, where other characters might separate the characters. The first letter of the word and the string <str> must be the same. STARTING AT <lin1> Searches table<itab> for <str>, starting at line <line1>. <lin1> can be a variable. ENDING AT<n2> Searches table <itab>for <str>upto line <lin2>. <lin2>can be a variable. AND MARK If the search string is found, all the characters in the search string (and all the characters in between when using ABBREVIATED) are converted to upper case.
What are the different attributes that can be assigned to a variant?
The different attributes that can be assigned to a variant are….
Description
Enter a short, meaningful description of the variant. This may be upto 30 characters long.
Background only
Specify whether you want to use the variant in background processing only, or in online environment as well.
Protected variant.
Mark the field if you want to protect your variant against being changed by other users.
Do not display variant.
Mark this field if you want the variant name to be displayed in the catalog only, but not in the F4 value list.
For the selections you cover in a variant, you can enter the following attributes:
Type
The system displays whether the field is a parameter or a select option.
Protected
Mark this field for each field on the selection screen you want to protect from being overwritten. Values that you mark this way are displayed to the users, but they cannot change them, that are they are not ready to accept input.
Invisible
If you mark this column, the system will not display the corresponding field on the selection screen the user sees when starting the report program.
Variable
Mark this column if you want to set the value for this field at runtime.
Is it possible to create new dynamic programs during runtime of an ABAP/4 program? If so how?
To create new dynamic programs during the runtime of an ABAP/4 program, you must use an internal table. For this purpose, you should create this internal table with one character type column and a line width of 72. You can use any method you like from Filling Internal Tables to write the code of your new program into the internal table. Especially, you can use internal fields in which contents are dependent on the flow of the program that you use to create a new one, to influence the coding of the new program dynamically. The following example shows how to proceed in principal:
DATA CODE (72) OCCURS 10. APPEND 'REPORT ZDYN1.' TO CODE. APPEND 'WRITE/"Hello, I am dynamically created!".' TO CODE.
Two lines of a very simple program are written into the internal table CODE.In the next step you have to put the new module, in the above example it is a report, into the library. For this purpose you can use the following statement:
Syntax
INSERT REPORT <prog>FROM <itab>.
The program <prog> is inserted in your present development class in the R/3 Repository. If a program with this name does not already exists, it is newly created with the following attributes:
Title: none,
Type: 1 (Reporting),
Application: S (Basis).
You can specify the name of the program <prog> explicitly within single quotation marks or you can write the name of a character field, which contains the program name. The name of the program must not necessarily be the same as given in the coding, but it is recommended to do so. <itab> is the internal table containing the source code. For the above example you could write:
INSERT REPORT 'ZDYN1' FROM CODE. Or DATA REP (8). REP = 'ZDYN1' INSERT REPORT REP FROM CODE.
Data types can be elementary or structured (T/F).
TRUE.
The amount of memory associated with a data type is ZERO.
Data objects are the physical units a program uses at runtime. (T/F).
TRUE.
The data object does not occupy any space in memory. (T/F)
FALSE.
What are the three hierarchical levels of data types and objects?
Program-independent data, defined in the ABAP/4 Dictionary.
Internal data used globally in one program.
Data used locally in a procedure (subroutine, function module)
How would you find the attributes of a data type or data object?
DESCRIBE FIELD <f> [LENGTH <l>] [TYPE <t> [COMPONENTS <n>]] [OUTPUT-LENGTH <o>] [DECIMALS <d>] [EDIT MASK <m>]. CONTROLS <ctrl> TYPE TABLEVIEW USING SCREEN <scr>
.
Differentiate between static and dynamic step loops.
Step loops fall into two classes: Static and Dynamic. Static step loops have a fixed size that cannot be changed at runtime. Dynamic step loops are variable in size. If the user re-sizes the window the system automatically increases or decreases the number of step loop blocks displayed. In any given screen you can define any number of static step loops but only a single dynamic one.
What are the two ways of producing a list within a transaction?
By submitting a separate report.
By using leave to list-processing.
What is the use of the statement Leave to List-processing?
Leave to List-processing statement is used to produce a list from a module pool. Leave to list processing statement allows to switch from dialog-mode to list-mode within a dialog program.
When will the current screen processing terminates?
A current screen processing terminates when control reaches either a Leave-screen or the end of PAI.
How is the command Suppress-Dialog useful?
Suppressing entire screens is possible using this command. This command allows us to perform screen processing "in the background". The system carries out all PBO and PAI logic, but does not display the screen to the user. Suppressing screens is useful when we are branching to list-mode from a transaction dialog step.
What happens if we use Leave to list-processing without using Suppress-Dialog?
If we don't use Suppress-Dialog to next screen will be displayed but as empty, when the user presses ENTER, the standard list output is displayed.
How the transaction that are programmed by the user can be protected?
By implementing an authority check.
What are the modes in which any update tasks work?
Synchronous and Asynchronous.
What is the difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous updates?
A program asks the system to perform a certain task, and then either waits or doesn't wait for the task to finish. In synchronous processing, the program waits: control returns to the program only when the task has been completed. In asynchronous processing, the program does not wait: the system returns control after merely logging the request for execution.
SAP system configuration incluedes Dialog tasks and Update tasks.
Dialog-task updates are Synchronous updates.
Update –task updates are Asynchronous updates.
What is the difference between Commit-work and Rollback-Work tasks?
Commit-Work statement "performs" many functions relevant to synchronized execution of tasks. Rollback-work statement "cancels: all reuests relevant to synchronized execution of tasks.
What are the different database integrities?
Semantic Integrity.
Relational Integrity.
Primary Key Integrity.
Value Set Integrity.
Foreign Key integrity and
Operational integrity.
All SAP Databases are Relational Databases.
What is SAP locking?
It is a mechanism for defining and applying logical locks to database objects.
What does a lock object involve?
The tables.
The lock argument.
What are the different kinds of lock modes?
Shared lock
Exclusive lock.
Extended exclusive list.
How can a lock object be called in the transaction?
By calling Enqueuelocklock objectlock and Dequeuelocklock objectlock in the transaction.
What are the events by which we can program "help texts" and display "possible value lists"?
-PROCESS ON HELP-REQUEST (POH).
-PROCESS ON VALUE-REQUEST (POV).
What is a matchcode?
A matchcode is an aid to finding records stored in the system whenever an object key is required in an input field but the user only knows other (non-key) information about the object.
In what ways we can get the context sensitive F1 help on a field?
Data element documentation.
Data element additional text in screen painter.
Using the process on help request event.
What is roll area?
A roll area contains the program's runtime context. In addition to the runtime stack and other structures, all local variables and any data known to the program are stored here.
How does the system handle roll areas for external program components?
Transactions run in their own roll areas.
Reports run in their own roll areas.
Dialog modules run in their own roll areas
Function modules run in the roll area of their callers.
Does the external program run in the same SAP LUW as the caller, or in a separate one?
Transactions run with a separate SAP LUW
Reports run with a separate SAP LUW.
Dialog modules run in the same SAP LUW as the caller
Function modules run in the same SAP LUW as the caller.
The only exceptions to the above rules are function modules called with IN UPDATE TASK (V2 function only) or IN BACKGROUND TASK (ALE applications). These always run in their own (separate) update transactions.
What are function modules?
Function modules are general-purpose library routines that are available system-wide.
What are the types of parameters in the function modules?
In general, function module can have four types of parameters:
EXPORTING: for passing data to the called function.
IMPORTING: for receiving data returned from the function module.
TABLES: for passing internal tables only, by reference (that is, by address).
CHANGING: for passing parameters to and from the function.
What is the difference between Leave Transaction and Call Transaction?
In contrast to LEAVE TO TRANSACTION, the CALL TRANSACTION statement causes the system to start a new SAP LUW. This second SAP LUW runs parallel to the SAP LUW for the calling transaction.
How can we pass selection and parameter data to a report?
There are three options for passing selection and parameter data to the report.
Using SUBMIT…WITH
Using a report variant.
Using a range table.
How to send a report to the printer instead of displaying it on the screen?
We can send a report to the printer instead of diplaying it on the screen. To do this, use the keywords TO SAP-SPOOL:
SUBMIT RSFLFIND…TO SAP-SPOOL DESTINATION 'LT50'.
How can we send data to external programs?
Using SPA/GPA parameters(SAP memory).
Using EXPORT/IMPORT data (ABAP/4 memory)
What are SPA/GPA parameters (SAP memory)
SPA/GPA parameters are field values saved globally in memory. There are two ways to use SPA/GPA parmeters:
By setting field attributes in the Screen Painter.
By using the SET PARAMETER or GET PARAMETER statements.
BDC
What is full form of BDC Session?
Batch Data Communication Session.
What are the steps in a BDC session?
The first step in a BDC session is to identify the screens of the transaction that the program will process. Next step is to write a program to build the BDC table that will be used to submit the data to SAP. The final step is to submit the BDC table to the system in the batch mode or as a single transaction by the CALL TRANSACTION command.
How do you find the information on the current screen?
The information on the current screen can be found by SYSTEM 􀃆 STATUS command from any menu.
How do you save data in BDC tables?
The data in BDC tables is saved by using the field name 'BDC_OKCODE' and field value of '/11'.
What is the last entry in all BDC tables?
In all BDC tables the last entry is to save the data by using the field name BDC_OKCODE and a field value of '/11'.
What is a multiple line field?
A multiple line field is a special kind of field which allows the user to enter multiple lines of data into it.
How do you populate data into a multiple line field?
To populate data into a multiple line field, an index is added to the field name to indicate which line is to be populated by the BDC session (Line index).
Write the BDC table structure.
BDC table structure FIELD TYPE DESCRIPTION Program CHAR (8) Program name of transaction. DynPro CHAR (4) Screen number of transaction. DynBegin CHAR (1) Indicator for new screen. Fnam CHAR (35) Name of database field from screen. Fval CHAR (80) Value to submit to field.
Does the CALL TRANSACTION method allow multiple transactions to be processed by SAP?
No. The CALL TRANSACTION method allows only a single transaction to be processed by SAP.
Does the BDC-INSERT function allow multiple transactions to be processed by SAP?
Yes.
What is the syntax for 'CALL TRANSACTION'?
CALL TRANSACTION trans [ using bdctab MODE mode ].
Three possible entries are there for MODE.
A - Show all screens.
E - Show only screens with errors.
N - Show no screens.
What do you mean by the term 'ABAP data dictionary'?
ABAP data dictionary is used for describing the logical structures of the objects which are utilized in the areas of application development. This is also used for displaying the underlying relational database in tables.
What are the various types of data dictionary objects?
Tables, structures, views, domains, data elements, lock objects, Matchcode objects.
Define Smartform?
SAP Smartforms can be used for creating and maintaining forms for mass printing in SAP Systems.
How would you define ABAP BDC?
Batch Data Communication (BDC) is a set of instruction which SAP can follow for executing a transaction without any intervention from the user. The instructions list the sequence in which a transaction's screens are processed and which fields have to be populated with data on which all screens.
In BDC, list down all the functional modules which are used in sequence?
By using BDC programming, there are 3 functional modules which are used in sequence for performing data transfer successfully. These are listed below:
BDC_OPEN_GROUP
BDC_INSERT
BDC_CLOSE_GROUP
List all the different the components of SAPscript?
The various components of the SAPScripts are as follows:
ABAP Print program
Layout set
Symbols
SAPscript Text,
Function modules such as open_form, close_From, Read_text etc.
What is Badi?
Business Add-In or BADI is referred to as a new SAP Object Oriented enhancement technique which is utilized for adding our own business functionality to the already pre-existing SAP standard functionality. BADI can also be inserted into the SAP System meant for accommodating the user requirements and these are very precise to be included in the standard delivery.
How would you describe the internal tables?
Internal tables are meant for serving the purpose of pulling the data from a fixed structure and preserving it in the working memory in ABAP. The data is preserved line by line in memory, and each line encompasses similar structure, and these data objects are all dynamic.
What is a Data Class?
Data classes have been categorized into the following classes:
System Data: The data is utilized by R/3 system itself
The data is utilized by R/3 system itself Master Data: The data here class seldom changes
The data here class seldom changes Organization Data: The data here is customized and is entered into the system once the system is configured, and is very rarely altered.
The data here is customized and is entered into the system once the system is configured, and is very rarely altered. Transaction Data: The data can be changed frequently in this class
How can we format the data prior to the write statement in the report?
The user can format the report output by using the loop event.
.at first
.at new
.at last
What is OO ABAP?
OO ABAP (ABAP Objects) is a superset of normal ABAP. It supports most normal ABAP statements (almost downward compatible) along with adding all object orientation language elements, providing for instance inheritance, class definitions and object instantiation.
In reports what are benefits of using ABAP objects?
ABAP objects serve as the root for all your program and reports.
ABAP Objects advantage are listed below:
Provide support for numerous instantiation
Better encapsulation
ABAP offers better techniques for reusing the code
The interfaces are better
The event concept is explicit.
Can the user create an ABAP program without using Y or Z?
All non Y or Z programs are standard SAP programs, therefore the user cannot create an ABAP program without using Y or Z.
What is a foreign key relationship?
A foreign key relationship can be referred to a relationship that can be defined between tables and should be clearly defined at field level. Foreign keys are utilized for ensuring consistency of data. The Data entered must be verified against existing data in order to clear out any contradiction. It must be ensured that while defining foreign key relationship cardinality should be very clearly specified.
Note: Cardinality lists the number of dependent records or how referenced records are achievable.
What are various types of ABAP report in SAP?
There are 7 types ABAP report in SAP are present in reports attributes screen. These are all listed below:
Executable program.
Interface pool.
Function groups.
Include.
Class pool.
Module pool.
Subroutine pool.
List the various steps involved for adding value help for the parameter in ABAP CDS Analytical Query?
First, create an ABAP CDS view for dictionary based on any dummy table
Then create an ABAP CDS cube with required logic
Now Creating an ABAP CDS analytical query with the required logic
At last result query in Analysis for Excel. Value help button exist
What is Predictive Search Helps?
An ABAP search provides type-ahead functionality primarily for the elementary search helps and are known as Predictive Search Helps.
How can the user add subtotal text in ABAP ALV Grid?
Listed below are the steps for adding the subtotal in the ABAP ALV grid:
By Creating an ABAP Program in SE38 transaction.
Create and ALV report by using the function module REUSE_ALV_GRID_DISPLAY.
Populate the SUBTOTAL_EVENT in IT_EVENTS parameter in the REUSE_ALV_GRID_DISPLAY.
List the benefits of using ABAP in eclipse over ABAP in SAP GUI?
There are various advantages of utilizing ABAP in IDE eclipse over ABAP editor:
The user can create CDS views and AMDP's which ultimately push down the code to database level and help in speedy access to records.
All the CDS views created in IDE are available in SE11 and user can utilize them in your programs in SE38.
User can make modifications in their program while debugging and activating your program while in debug mode and user can then proceed with debug along with the new changes.
User can create multiple projects and create your stuff inside it.
In WEB IDE, the User has the advantage of using advanced SQL.
Distinguish between READ TABLE <ITAB> WITH KEY and READ TABLE <ITAB> WITH TABLE KEY in SAP ABAP?
READ TABLE <ITAB> WITH KEY
For all table types, the search is linear. The runtime is in linear relation to the number of table lines.
READ TABLE <ITAB> WITH TABLE KEY
Listed below are the system searches for the relevant table types:
Standard tables: It is a linear search, where the runtime is in linear relation with the number of table entries.
It is a linear search, where the runtime is in linear relation with the number of table entries. Sorted tables: it is binary search where the runtime is in logarithmic relation to the number of table entries.
it is binary search where the runtime is in logarithmic relation to the number of table entries. Hashed tables: By using the hash algorithm of the internal table, the entry is found. The runtime is completely independent of the number of table entries.
Define field symbols in ABAP?
Field symbol points (known as pointers in C language) to something. That could be a table, a field or simply nothing. By nothing, I am referring to that structure of a field symbol which can be dynamically determined. A field symbol can be utilized in any operand position in this is visible and also matches the typing defined utilizing typing.
How many ABAP report types in SAP are available in reports attributes screen?
There are 7 ABAP report types available in SAP in the reports attributes screen.
Class pool
Function group (containing function modules)
Executable program.
Interface pool
Include Interface pool
Module pool
Subroutine pool
What is an ABAP/4 Query in SAP?
ABAP/4 Query is a very strong tool which is used for generating simple reports without any coding. The following 3 simple reports can be generated:
Basic List: This is the simple reports.
Statistics: entails reports with statistical functions such as percentages, Averages.
Ranked Lists: For analytical reports.
How can the user create ABAP/4 Query in SAP?
For creating an ABAP/4 Query, the programmer should create a user and a functional group. The functional group can be created by using with or without logical database table. Finally, assigning the user group to functional group. Finally, creating a query on the functional group generated.
What is the difference between se16 and table maintenance generator?
SE16 is a data browser and it is used to view the contents of the table and we cannot change or append new fields to the existing structure of the table as we cannot view the structure level display using the SE16.
Table Maintenance Generator (TMG) is a tool which is created using t-code SM30. TMG is used to create a equipment by which customized tables created by end users can be changed as required, such as making an entry to that table, deleting an entry etc.
How should the user tick an option in Standard Tcode like LB10 along with 'Partially Delivered'?
In case there is no additional condition meant for checking the 'Partially Delivery' checkbox, the user can then select the 'Partially Delivery' checkbox by using Transaction variant in SHD0 transaction.
Once the transaction variant has been created, then activating the variant and checking the LB10 transaction.
How can the user SUBMIT PROGRAM with Selection Screen For a SLIN T-code?
User can utilize the FM EXTENDED_PROGRAM_CHECK instead of SUBMIT REPORT. This will provide you similar results.
I am required to update equipment status as inactive & delete. So I am using function module STATUS_CHANGE_INTERN_VB & this is working fine, however, it doesn’t have exceptions for handling the error messages & even sy-subrc getting 0 if it fails also. Would request you to please suggest me how to handle this scenario? Is there any BAPI to update status in IE02?
This FM is an ‘update task’ FM, generally Open-SQL statements, not much check, so no to be called in customer development.
The best solution would be a BAPI (this is easy to find with any search tool) and when none is available or without required parameter some ‘dialog’ FM like STATUS_CHANGE_INTERN/EXTERN after analyzing the application behaviour and if BDC is also no longer suitable.
In ABAP can the user write select * in the loop?
This is not recommended, as it will cause a major performance issue. It will run the query every time it loops and you are using “Select * …” which means you are fetching all fields of that table, assuming if tables have millions of entries then in every iteration, your select query will go around millions of records in the table. Therefore, it could lead to serious performance issues.
Instead of this, it is advised that you use 'For all entries…' the statement, it will fulfil your requirement.
What is the difference between a singleton and a static class ABAP?
A singleton is a design pattern where the class is required to create objects. The class ensures that only one object exists for every internal session which is available to consumers. Therefore, when you create a singleton class it does not allow you to create multiple instances of the class, instead, a single instance will be created which behaves as a global access point to reference that class throughout the lifetime of the application component.
A class which only contains static components and no instance components is known as a static class. The user can directly access the components using the “=>” operator. A global static class is loaded once with its class pool into the current internal session. Like every ABAP program, it cannot be clearly deleted from the session. In subclasses, the static methods (declared using CLASS-METHODS) of a class cannot be redefined.
What are the two methods to declare input field as mandatory?
Two ways:
1.parameter: abc type xyz obligatory.
2.check:
if abc is initial.
message 'field abc is mandatory' type 'E'.
endif.
I have 100 records in a table, how can i simultaneously Delete the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th......records , write a code for it
1. loop at lt_tab into lw_tab.
lv_var = 0.
lv_var = lv_var + 1.
lv_var1 = lv_var mod 5.
if lv_var1 = 0.
"do nothing
else.
append lw_tab to lt_tab1.
endif.
clear: lv_var1, lw_tab.
endloop.
What is the use "Condense" keyword in ABAP?
Using condense keyword in string all consecutive blank spaces are converted into a single space.
What is the full form of CDO?
Full form of CDO is (Collateralized Debt Obligation), An investment-grade security backed by a pool of bonds, loans and other assets. CDOs do not specialize in one type of debt but are often non-mortgage loans or bonds.
What is the full form of CDOCOL?
CDOCOL means ClarifyCRM data Object Collection and the use of CDOCOL is: |
In order to ensure that visual images are properly displayed, systems have been developed to determine that the image and the visual display device onto which the image is projected are properly aligned. Proper alignment requires the comparison of reference points located or projected onto the viewing surface of the display device with similar points in an appropriate test pattern.
Previously known systems use modified slide projectors or slide projectors incorporating custom lenses and specially designed optical reticles. Alignment is achieved using either a laser theodolite or a removable clear plastic overlay template. Such a template may be installed on the face of a CRT, for example. The laser theodolite and the template may be used in conjunction to achieve the desired alignment of image and visual display device.
These previously known systems suffer from both installation and manufacturing tolerance problems. For example, back projections screens are free form blow molded. The curvature of screens produced by this process may vary from screen to screen. As a result of this variation in curvature resulting from the fabrication process, optical reticles may yield variations in tolerances from screen to screen during the alignment process.
Repeated attachments of the above-mentioned templates may lead to installation tolerance problems where the actual orientation of the template relative to the display device may vary slightly from one application to the next. As a result, attempts to evaluate alignment of image and the display device may lead to variations in tolerance when evaluations are repeated over a period of time.
The use of laser theodolites may prove expensive and very time-consuming to use in aligning images with visual display devices. Using a laser theodolite, which resembles the device used by surveyors to measure angles, the reference points are mapped on the viewing surface of the display device. The locations of the various reference points are given as coordinates, usually azimuth and elevation. However, when using a laser theodolite, each reference point must be mapped individually. Therefore, deviations from proper alignment are determined only when the map of reference points is completely constructed and the resulting map of reference points is compared with the test pattern.
Accordingly, corrections to the alignment of the display device and the test pattern due to orientation problems or distortion of the image can be made only after reconstruction of the entire array of reference points. Therefore, the use of laser theodolites is very time-consuming and expensive when determining whether an image is properly aligned with the visual display device.
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems in the previously known systems to provide a method and apparatus for efficiently aligning an image and a display device. |
Q:
INSERT in method rawQuery() does not work
I can not understand why I was trying to insert some records using the method rawQuery, for example:
db.rawQuery("INSERT INTO table (name, desc) VALUES ('Name1', 'Desc1');", null);
But this does not seem to work, in fact, trying with the insert() method works all:
ContentValues fields = new ContentValues();
fields.put("name", "Nome1");
fields.put("desc", "Desc1");
db.insert("table", null, fields);
And I wonder why this.
A:
rawQuery() is for SQL statements that return a result set. Use execSQL() for SQL statements, like INSERT, that do not return a result set.
|
Body image and its relation to obesity for Pacific minority ethnic groups in New Zealand: a critical analysis.
The stimulus behind most of the early investigations into Pacific or Polynesian peoples' body image, particularly those that looked to compare with Western or Westernised groups, is the assumption that Pacific peoples valued and therefore desired very large bodies, and in relation to obesity-risk, this is a problematic cultural feature to have. This may be driven by popular anecdotes which are captured in the title of one such study "Do Polynesians still believe that big is beautiful?" To the author's knowledge, no research in Pacific peoples' body image has been conducted in the New Zealand (NZ) context by Pacific researchers. This study makes a contribution to the literature gap and more importantly through an emic viewpoint. A critique of the current literature is provided below which calls into question the initial catalyst behind earlier investigations which have led to the perpetuation of particular types of body image research for Pacific groups. Using mixed-methods, the specific objective of this study was to describe the behaviours, beliefs and values of Pacific adolescents and their parents, that are related to body image. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to 2495 Pacific students who participated in the New Zealand arm of the Obesity Prevention In Communities (OPIC) project. Sixty-eight people (33 adolescents and 35 parents) from 30 Pacific households were interviewed in the qualitative phase of the study. This study found Pacific adolescents and their parents did not desire obesity-sized bodies but desired a range of average-sized bodies that met their Pacific-defined view of health. It is not clear whether body image research makes any meaningful contribution to obesity prevention for Pacific people, given the cultural-bounded nature of the concept "body image" which sits communication and understanding between obesity interventionists and all healthcare workers generally and Pacific communities. For obesity interventions to be acceptable and useful for Pacific people, they must be responsive to the beliefs and desires of these communities. |
Pitt starting center Artie Rowell will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee Friday.
Rowell, a redshirt junior who had started 15 straight games in the middle, was injured in the second quarter of the Panthers' 30-20 win at Boston College.
"I know I speak for our entire team in saying we are very disappointed for Artie," Pitt coach Paul Chryst said in a release. "I'm certain he will attack his rehabilitation with everything he has to get himself ready for next season."
Pitt had gotten off to a strong start running the ball through two games, tallying 712 yards and averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Their 712 rushing yards ranks third in the nation and is tops among Power 5 schools.
Redshirt sophomore Gabe Roberts replaced Rowell in Friday's win over the Eagles and figures to take over starting center duties.
Pitt plays at FIU at noon Saturday. |
Q:
Ionic2 project with Apache PHP REST service on localhost
I have a PHP REST service and a Ionic2 project that 'out of the box' runs on Node.js localhost:8100. The REST service runs on my computer on localhost:80. When I want to do calls from Ionic2 (Angular2) to my server on localhost I get this error in the browser console:
XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://localhost/app_dev.php/login.
Response to preflight request doesn't pass access control check:
No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource.
Origin 'http://localhost:8100' is therefore not allowed access.
The response had HTTP status code 404.
Wat I understand is that this is a CORS issue (Cross origin resource sharing). As I understand A way to solve this would be to change the build script in ionic to point to a front end distribution location in my Apache project and run the whole project from localhost:80. Another solution is to change the 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header.
What is the most simple straight forward solution for this problem?
A:
Checked the possible duplicates, and there was an potential ANSWER to which I want to add some more detail:
Since you are dealing with PHP, the following has worked for me by just adding on top of your php script the following:
<?php
header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *'); // this!
header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Content-Type'); // and this!
//more code here
?>
During development, you might very possibly need to enable CORS in your browser, here's an extension for CHROME
Hope this helps! :)
|
On Monday, the Capitals posted a video with behind-the-scenes footage from their victorious locker room. The most notable part of the nearly two-minute clip was the final 18 seconds. Jakub Vrana gives a tiny speech saluting Braden Holtby, before giving the Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender a light-up motorcycle helmet. |
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Keynes and Sticky Prices: Time to Think Outside the Box
Several recent excellent posts have appeared on Keynesian economics and sticky wages and prices. David Glasner points out that
...the sticky-wages explanation for unemployment was exactly the “classical” explanation that Keynes was railing against in the General Theory.
and quoting David again
it’s really quite astonishing — and amusing — to observe that, in the current upside-down world of modern macroeconomics, what differentiates New Classical from New Keynesian macroeconomists is that macroecoomists of the New Classical variety, dismissing wage stickiness as non-existent or empirically unimportant, assume that cyclical fluctuations in employment result from high rates of intertemporal substitution by labor in response to fluctuations in labor productivity, while macroeconomists of the New Keynesian variety argue that it is nominal-wage stickiness that prevents the steep cuts in nominal wages required to maintain employment in the face of exogenous shocks in aggregate demand or supply.
...even if you don’t think wage flexibility would help in our current situation (and like Keynes, I think it wouldn’t), Keynesians still need a sticky-wage story to make the facts consistent with involuntary unemployment. For if wages were flexible, an excess supply of labor should be reflected in ever-falling wages.
Lets look at some facts. In contrast to Simon's assertion; the evidence from the Great Depression is that wages and prices areremarkably flexible. During the first six years of the Great Depression, nominal wages and nominal prices fell by thirty percent. Here is a graph of the normalized CPI and a normalized wage index that I constructed using aggregate data on compensation to employees (the details are in my book Expectations Employment and Prices and you can download the data here)
Of course the fact that the CPI and the wage moved in lock step means that the real wage did not fall and that, I would guess, is the fact that Paul and Simon would point to. But that is very different from there being "overwhelming evidence" in favor of sticky prices.
The new-Keynesians have tried to discipline their models by looking at micro data on the frequency of price changes. Here again; the NK model falls short. Klenow and Malin find that prices in the micro data are simply not rigid enough to explain the aggregate data. Keynesians often cite Truman Bewley's 1999 study as evidence in favor of downwardly rigid nominal wages but a piece by Tomas Hirst (posted over at Pieria by Marco Nappolini) draws our attention to recent work by Elsby Shin and Solon which casts serious doubt on the relevance of Bewley's finding. ESS find, that in the US, the wage data
...show a surprisingly high frequency of nominal wage reductions.
and for the UK,
...like the authors of previous British studies of nominal wage change, [the authors] are struck by the apparent flexibility of British wages.
So lets get back to what's really important. High and persistent unemployment is a problem. But it has nothing to do with inflexible wages or sticky prices. Both Classical AND new-Keynesian models are broken. It's time to think outside the box!
"During the first six years of the Great Depression, nominal wages and nominal prices fell by thirty percent."
Given the severity of the depression, why did they not fall much faster? Share prices and FX rates can rise or fall by 30% or more in a matter of seconds. That's the kind of flexibility required by theories of the sort Lucas and Prescott would have us adopt.
Real wages did not drop as unemployment skyrocketed to over 20% which is pretty definitive proof of the stickiness of real wages. A better explanation of the 1929 to 1935 wage/price index chart is that real wages are highly responsive to inflation/deflation. Confirmation might come from the 1975 to 1984 period when inflation was high and wages moved up rapidly.
RobertA lot depends on what one means by "sticky". Modern new-Keynesians mean that there are 'frictions' that prevent wages and prices moving to clear markets. The 1930s data is a real challenge for that program since any reasonable definition of a friction has counterfactual implications for the micro data. In NK theory; the slope of the Phillips curve is not a free parameter. It is disciplined by micro data. And the micro data suggests that the sole of the Phillips curve should be much much larger than the time series evidence allows.
The problem with standard NK theory is its insistence that the 'natural rate of unemployment' is a meaningful concept. In contrast, my own work which is rooted in search theory, allows for any inflation rate to coincide with any unemployment rate.
I agree that the NK NRU is meaningless unless adjusted for exogenous shocks (oil doubles and employment levels may drop even as inflation skyrockets). Search theory? Do you have a link to a summary?
However, letting micro data refute macro observations is like denying gravity exists because you haven't worked out the GUT yet. Every businessman in the real world will tell you that all prices are sticky (meaning: hard to change faster than inflation/deflation) though they may have a variety of reasons why. If NK theory get into problems with explaining sticky prices then the theory is wrong.
Correction on my previous post: "real wages" in "real wages are highly responsive to inflation/deflation" should be "nominal wages". I am having trouble figuring out how the data does not show that prices are obviously sticky on a nominal and real basis - at least as a business man would define them.
Although I agree that macro does not need to assume a representative agent; there should be a link of some kind to micro foundations. In physics, for example, the gas laws do not model the behavior of individual particles, but the reason is explained using statistical mechanics. Werner Hildenbrand and Jean Michel Grandmont made a lot of progress with a similar idea in economics and that work, in my view, should be revisited.
That said, however, it is the new-Keynesians themselves who insist on disciplining the slope of the Phillips curve with cross-section evidence from micro studies.
As for "obviously sticky"; without a theory to interpret the data; 'stickiness' like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. While its true that prices and wages do not move in the way that they are predicted to move by classical theory; nor do they move in the way they are predicted to move by new-Keynesian the theory. Hence my call to "think outside the box".
Ben, Kevin and IgnimI think you are all saying pretty much the same thing. My reading of the data, both in the 1930s and now, is that nominal wage and price movements are essentially independent of any measure of excess capacity.
Kevin asks why wages and prices did not move much faster. I think the more salient question is: why didn't wages fall faster than prices? Since the percentage decline in wages was the same as the percentage decline in prices (at least using my wage series) the effect on the effective cost of labor was zero.
A second question, for those who would blame nominal rigidities for mass unemployment is; why did wages and prices start to climb again in 1933 when there was still 20% unemployment?
I agree that rising wages in 1933 are hard to reconcile with Keynes's theory. (But it is even harder to fit them into any Walrasian setup, short of a Casey Mulligan story of workers putting their feet up.)
Have any of you modelers taken into account the change in availability of credit for ordinary people resulting from FHA? Even after WWII the most common credit instrument for ordinary workers was a "layaway" plan. Consumer credit was mostly offered by the stores themselves. In the '50s, if you went on a trip you had to use a "buy now, pay later" plan known as traveler's checks. Now large purchases lock borrowers into long-term contracts. Even for a cell phone. No wonder wages are more sticky now than they may have been in the '30s.
DavidThere is quite a bit of recent work on the importance of credit, particularly the idea that sometimes some people are constrained in how much they can borrow. I don't think that anyone has used that to explain why wages and prices are, according to the new-Keynesians, 'sticky'. The behavior of nominal wages and prices is a logically separate issue in NK models and is used to transmit credit frictions into movements in unemployment (not very successfully in my view).
agreed. Alchian and Woodward’s 1987 ‘Reflections on a theory of the firm’ says:“… the notion of a quickly equilibrating market price is baffling save in a very few markets. Imagine an employer and an employee. Will they renegotiate price every hour, or with every perceived change in circumstances? If the employee is a waiter in a restaurant, would the waiter’s wage be renegotiated with every new customer? Would it be renegotiated to zero when no customers are present, and then back to a high level that would extract the entire customer value when a queue appears? … But what is the right interval for renegotiation or change in price? The usual answer ‘as soon as demand or supply changes’ is uninformative.”
Alchian and Woodward then go on to a long discussion of the role of protecting composite quasi-rents from dependent resources as the decider of the timing of wage and price revisions.
Alchian and Woodward explain unemployment to the side effect of the purpose of wage and price rigidity, which is the prevention of hold-ups over dependent assets. They note that unemployment cannot be understood until an adequate theory of the firm explains the type of contracts the members of a firm contract with one another.
For me the point about wages and prices during the first few years of the Great Depression (at least in the US) is exactly that real wages did not fall. The standard "story" is that declining *real* wages shift the short-run AS curve, thus allowing the economy to return to full employment.
But you're right. Something is seriously wrong with all (almost all?) the stories people are telling based on whatever model they're using.
Would you agree that wages and prices were more variable in the pre-WWII and pre Attlee economies? This would not only because macro-economic policy would be more able to target domestic variables (rather than a fixed exchange rate/gold standard with substantial international capital mobility - the latter factor not being a feature of the Bretton Woods period), but because of a new social contract that emerged during the wartime and Attlee periods?
I would imagine that since the miner:s strike and other events, some price and wage variability may have returned to the labour market, but is there not reason to doubt it would have returned to the levels of the Dickensian, pure capitalist, more "classical English PE" looking economy of the Victorian and even interwar eras? |
/*
* Scala classfile decoder (https://www.scala-lang.org)
*
* Copyright EPFL and Lightbend, Inc.
*
* Licensed under Apache License 2.0
* (http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
*
* See the NOTICE file distributed with this work for
* additional information regarding copyright ownership.
*/
package scala.tools.scalap
import scala.collection.mutable
import mutable.ListBuffer
object Arguments {
case class Parser(optionPrefix: Char) {
val options: mutable.Set[String] = new mutable.HashSet
val prefixes: mutable.Set[String] = new mutable.HashSet
val optionalArgs: mutable.Set[String] = new mutable.HashSet
val prefixedBindings: mutable.Map[String, Char] = new mutable.HashMap
val optionalBindings: mutable.Map[String, Char] = new mutable.HashMap
def argumentError(message: String): Unit = Console.println(message)
def withOption(option: String): Parser = {
options += option
this
}
def withOptionalArg(option: String): Parser = {
optionalArgs += option
this
}
def withOptionalBinding(option: String, separator: Char): Parser = {
optionalBindings(option) = separator
this
}
def withPrefixedArg(prefix: String): Parser = {
prefixes += prefix
this
}
def withPrefixedBinding(prefix: String, separator: Char): Parser = {
prefixedBindings(prefix) = separator
this
}
def parseBinding(str: String, separator: Char): (String, String) = (str indexOf separator) match {
case -1 => argumentError(s"missing '$separator' in binding '$str'") ; ("", "")
case idx => ((str take idx).trim, (str drop (idx + 1)).trim)
}
def parse(args: Array[String]): Arguments = {
val res = new Arguments
parse(args, res)
res
}
def parse(args: Array[String], res: Arguments): Unit = {
if (args != null) {
var i = 0
while (i < args.length)
if ((args(i) == null) || (args(i).length() == 0))
i += 1
else if (args(i).charAt(0) != optionPrefix) {
res.addOther(args(i))
i += 1
} else if (options(args(i))) {
res.addOption(args(i))
i += 1
} else if (optionalArgs contains args(i)) {
if ((i + 1) == args.length) {
argumentError(s"missing argument for '${args(i)}'")
i += 1
} else {
res.addArgument(args(i), args(i + 1))
i += 2
}
} else if (optionalBindings contains args(i)) {
if ((i + 1) == args.length) {
argumentError(s"missing argument for '${args(i)}'")
i += 1
} else {
res.addBinding(args(i),
parseBinding(args(i + 1), optionalBindings(args(i))))
i += 2
}
} else {
val iter = prefixes.iterator
val j = i
while ((i == j) && iter.hasNext) {
val prefix = iter.next
if (args(i) startsWith prefix) {
res.addPrefixed(prefix, args(i).substring(prefix.length()).trim())
i += 1
}
}
if (i == j) {
val iter = prefixedBindings.keysIterator
while ((i == j) && iter.hasNext) {
val prefix = iter.next
if (args(i) startsWith prefix) {
val arg = args(i).substring(prefix.length()).trim()
i = i + 1
res.addBinding(prefix,
parseBinding(arg, prefixedBindings(prefix)))
}
}
if (i == j) {
argumentError(s"unknown option '${args(i)}'")
i = i + 1
}
}
}
}
}
}
def parse(options: String*)(args: Array[String]): Arguments = {
val parser = new Parser('-')
options foreach parser.withOption
parser parse args
}
}
class Arguments {
private val options = new mutable.HashSet[String]
private val arguments = new mutable.HashMap[String, String]
private val prefixes = new mutable.HashMap[String, mutable.HashSet[String]]
private val bindings = new mutable.HashMap[String, mutable.HashMap[String, String]]
private val others = new ListBuffer[String]
def addOption(option: String): Unit = options += option
def addArgument(option: String, arg: String): Unit = arguments(option) = arg
def addPrefixed(prefix: String, arg: String): Unit =
prefixes.getOrElseUpdate(prefix, new mutable.HashSet) += arg
def addBinding(tag: String, key: String, value: String): Unit =
if (key.length > 0)
bindings.getOrElseUpdate(tag, new mutable.HashMap)(key) = value
def addBinding(tag: String, binding: (String, String)): Unit =
addBinding(tag, binding._1, binding._2)
def addOther(arg: String): Unit = others += arg
def contains(option: String): Boolean = options(option)
def getArgument(option: String): Option[String] = arguments get option
def getSuffixes(prefix: String): mutable.Set[String] =
prefixes.getOrElse(prefix, new mutable.HashSet)
def containsSuffix(prefix: String, suffix: String): Boolean =
prefixes get prefix exists (set => set(suffix))
def getBindings(tag: String): mutable.Map[String, String] =
bindings.getOrElse(tag, new mutable.HashMap)
def getBinding(option: String, key: String): Option[String] =
bindings get option flatMap (_ get key)
def getOthers: List[String] = others.toList
}
|
For Ali G, More Fame But Fewer Dupes
By JOEL TOPCIK
Published: July 23, 2005
Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedian behind ''Da Ali G Show'' on HBO, is a master put-on artist. Playing one or another earnest yet ill-informed inquisitor, Mr. Baron Cohen seeks out the unsuspecting -- politicians preferred -- and tests their patience and good humor with inane, often offensive questions.
But as ''Ali G's'' popularity has grown, fewer and fewer targets are so unsuspecting.
Take David All, for one. Last month, Mr. All, the communications director for Representative Jack Kingston, Republican of Georgia, received a call requesting an on-camera interview with the congressman for a documentary on American democracy. It struck him as odd when a ''scout'' with a mini-camera came to film the congressman's office -- even more so when the film crew panicked after a House vote forced a last-minute location change. But it was while Mr. All waited with the crew for the interviewer to arrive that everything became clear.
''The director mentioned that he was from Kazakhstan,'' Mr. All said.
As fans of Mr. Baron Cohen know -- and Mr. All counts himself one -- the intrepid Kazakh reporter was Borat Sagdiyev, one of Mr. Baron Cohen's alter egos on ''Da Ali G Show.''
''I said to the director, point blank, 'If this has anything to do with any kind of stunt or Ali G interview, we're not interested,''' Mr. All said. The crew quickly pulled the plug.
The episode is one of many recent Borat sightings as Mr. Baron Cohen travels the country conducting prank interviews for an upcoming Borat-centric movie. For a comedian whose work depends on the unwitting participation of the public, such exposure is an occupational hazard. When so many people are in on the joke, how long can it last?
Since he created the character of Ali G, a patois-speaking white boy with gangsta pretensions, in 1998 and began hoodwinking public officials on Britain's Channel 4, Mr. Baron Cohen has struggled to preserve the joke as his celebrity has grown. He grants few interviews and often declines to be photographed. (His spokesman declined an interview request.) Though his various characters (Bruno, an Austrian fashionista, is another) afford him a degree of cover, there are only so many public figures one can dupe before everyone starts to catch on.
Exporting ''Da Ali G Show'' to the United States in 2003 allowed Mr. Baron Cohen to fish new waters. Despite media buzz about his interviews with luminaries like Newt Gingrich and Ralph Nader in his first season on HBO, he still managed to lure Sam Donaldson and Pat Buchanan into second season sit-downs with Ali G to discuss Nixon's ''Waterworld'' scandal and the search for Iraq's ''B.L.T.'s.''
But the recent Capitol Hill incident may finally have poisoned the well in Washington. By the time an account appeared in the Hill newspaper Roll Call, Mr. All had sent e-mail messages to his fellow G.O.P. press secretaries (sorry, Democrats, you're on your own), warning that they might be contacted by Tim Schildberger, a producer identifying himself with One America Productions, which Mr. All termed a likely ''front'' for ''Da Ali G Show.''
To be sure, Mr. Baron Cohen has never limited himself to public figures. But even ordinary citizens are getting wise.
In January The Roanoke Times fingered Mr. Baron Cohen as the ''Middle Eastern man in an American-flag shirt and a cowboy hat'' who had angered the crowd at a rodeo in Salem, Va., by mangling the national anthem (''and your home in the grave!'') and calling on President Bush to ''drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.''
Mr. Baron Cohen has since been spotted as Borat at a gay pride parade in Washington and on the No. 4 train in Brooklyn.
Earlier this month, Mr. Baron Cohen and his crew visited a plantation house in Natchez, Miss., ostensibly to learn about Southern culture. In the course of a formal dinner with the owner, George Matthews Marshall IV, and his family, Borat disparaged Jews, gays and Yankees and inquired after his hosts' slaves. He was finally shown the door after he invited ''a friend'' -- an immodestly dressed black woman who showed up late, explaining that she ''worked nights'' -- and made as if to accompany her to the bathroom.
Probing prejudice is a motif for Mr. Baron Cohen, who is an observant Jew. In an episode broadcast on HBO last year, Borat's open-mic night performance at a Tucson bar inspired patrons to join in a chorus of ''Throw the Jew down the well!''
The Marshalls were not so accommodating. When Mr. Marshall recounted the evening to his daughter Heather, a documentary filmmaker, she became outraged and called several news outlets to alert others to the hoax. The New York Post published her account on Monday.
Matthew Labov, Mr. Baron Cohen's publicist, declined to comment on the incident. ''We're not actively seeking any press,'' Mr. Labov said in response to a question about the Borat film. ''If people are seeing him doing what he's doing, that's fine, but we're not going to comment on it.''
Variety has reported that 20th Century Fox is behind the project, but neither Mr. Labov nor Fox would confirm that a film is in production. An HBO spokesman, meanwhile, said that there were no plans for a third season of ''Da Ali G Show.''
Mr. Labov did acknowledge Mr. Baron Cohen's dilemma. ''The more times the press writes about this thing, the more it lowers the veil of secrecy,'' he said.
In those instances when the veil has slipped during filming, Mr. Baron Cohen appears to have taken it in stride, gamely posing for pictures with fans who then have posted them on their blogs. But when a Daily News photographer took a photograph of him with his fianc? Isla Fisher, at the premiere party last week for her film ''The Wedding Crashers,'' he lunged for the photographer with what The Daily News called a ''one-handed martial arts-style hold.''
Robert Katz, a writer and producer who worked on ''Ali G'' segments in Britain, dismissed the notion that Mr. Baron Cohen's joke had worn out either in Britain or the United States.
''He just becomes better at what he does,'' he said. ''He's got the ingenuity to do anything.''
In Washington, David All agreed.
''I think he enjoys the game as much as we all do,'' he said. ''He's a very bright guy. He'll find new avenues and new approaches. His show will go on.'' |
Q:
processing a list gives the error "list indices must be integers or slices, not tuple"
This code is meant to take a string as input, and then produce a 2d array of the frequency of letter appearing after each other. So for each iteration, it increases the value of the integer in the array (for example HI would be [h][i] =+ 1).
My issue is the error message
list indices must be integers or slices, not tuple
coming up whenever I run the below code. I have changed the way the array is created so it is now created as a list, which is confirmed when I enter debugging mode (letterArray becomes a list of lists.)
The reason i convert the letter to ASCII is so that I can compare it to other ASCII values to clean the string at the same time. I intend to convert the string to lower case later.
I have tried converting letterArray into a list, although this does not change anything as letterArray is a list. I cannot find any relavent infromation on a 2d array with the same issue.
inputString = 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat' #just a test string
inputStringArray = list(inputString) #break into char arrray
letterArray = []
posY = 28
x=0
for i in range(26): #create balnk list of 0s of size 26x26
letterArray.append([])
for j in range(26):
letterArray[i].append(0)
for letter in inputStringArray:
posX = ord(letter)-97 #-97 so that a = 0, z = 25
if posY is 28 and posX <= 26 and posX >= 0: #instantiate first instance of past letter
posY = posX
continue
if posX <= 26 and posX >= 0: #if the char is a letter
x = letterArray[posY,posX]
x +=1
letterArray[posY,posX] = x #increment the space in the array by 1
posY = posX
else:
continue
The exact error is:
Message=list indices must be integers or slices, not tuple
Source=C:\Users\me\source\repos\InputRecorder\InputRecorder\Recording.py
StackTrace:
File "C:\Users\me\source\repos\InputRecorder\InputRecorder\Recording.py", line 103, in KeysToArray
x = letterArray[posY,posX]
Any suggestions?
A:
You made the nested list which you can access by below syntax:
x = letterArray[posY][posX]
|
Indicators of oral health in diverse ethnic and age groups: findings from the International Collaborative Study of Oral Health Outcomes (ICS-II) USA research locations.
Racial-ethnic group differences are assessed using a standardized set of oral health indicators, as well as various predisposing, enabling and need characteristics collected in the International Collaborative Study of Oral Health Outcomes (ICS-II) USA research locations. The unique data set contains comparable data on African-American, Native American, Hispanic, primarily Mexican-American, and White adults. Age group differences in oral health indicators are also compared in two adult age cohorts (35-44 and 65-74 years). Since data were collected from geographically diverse regions of the United States, differences in oral health indicators are considered within the context of different dental care delivery systems and external environments. Results indicate that the gap in oral health between Whites and ethnic minority groups is pervasive across research locations and age cohorts. Variation in regional dental care delivery systems and the varying effects of race-ethnicity and age cohort suggest that alternative health promotion strategies will be needed for improving oral health in diverse populations. |
£830,000,000 – Nick Leeson and the Fall of the House of Barings
Inside Story Special: £830,000,000 – Nick Leeson and the Fall of the House of Barings, sometimes referred to as 25 Million Pounds, is a 1996 British television documentary by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It details the collapse of Barings Bank in the mid-1990s due to the machinations of Nick Leeson, who lost £827 million ($1.3 billion) primarily by speculating on futures contracts.
Summary
The film describes Barings as one of the oldest and most prestigious merchant banks in Britain, run by the same family for decades with extensive ties to Britain's elites. However, the Bank harboured a terrible secret. In the late 19th century Barings almost went bankrupt after investing heavily in South American bonds, including backing the construction of a sewer system in Buenos Aires. The bank was saved by The Bank of England, but Edward Baring, the head of the bank, was financially ruined and never recovered.
The documentary explores the culture of Barings and of the financial markets during the 1990s, and how Nick Leeson was able to cause another huge loss of money to the bank, this time bankrupting the company. He did this by claiming fictitious profits on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, SIMEX, and using money requested from London as margin payments on fictitious trades to finance his loss-making positions.
Leeson, the film suggests, had an "amazing ability to manipulate and deceive those around him" but also points out that Barings "willingly entered into a dream he wove, lured by the prospect of vast sums of money." Leeson, interviewed in jail, argues that he was only able to perpetrate such a massive fraud because many of the senior executives at Barings had no idea how the modern system of finance, which emerged in the 1980s, really worked.
The film details the fates of many of the people who were involved in the scandal, including Peter Baring who "has promised never to work in the City of London again." Hong Kong merchant banker Steven Clarke observes the class-based humour of the downfall of Barings: "For a boy from Watford to bring a grand firm down, I mean it was a social insult as well. It wasn't even one of their own kind."
References
External links
£830,000,000 – Nick Leeson and the Fall of the House of Barings at the Internet Movie Database
Category:1996 television films
Category:British documentary films
Category:Documentary films about business
Category:1990s documentary films
Category:Documentary films about crime
Category:BBC television documentaries |
Q:
Variable undefined when creating heredoc string
I am using the EOF function in my php code.
But I have a problem.
When I try to call a variable from another file, it simply ignores it.
I have a variable in another file(header.inc.php) that looks like this:
$site['url'] = "http://www.mydomainname.com";
Then I put the require function where the EOF code is:
require_once('../../inc/header.inc.php');
The file where the EOF code is , looks like this:
function getServices() {
$sCode .= <<<EOF
<a href="{$site['url']}" class="amenu">Home</a>
EOF;
return $sCode;
}
The variable $site['url'] is empty when I then call that function..
This is driving me crazy! Is there any reason why the EOF code should ignore that variable??
A:
Try global $site; as the first line in your function. Any global variables are not automatically visible in PHP unless you bring them into the function as globals.
|
/*
* Copyright (C) 2020 The Android Open Source Project
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package com.android.systemui.media
import android.animation.Animator
import android.animation.AnimatorListenerAdapter
import android.animation.ValueAnimator
import android.annotation.IntDef
import android.content.Context
import android.graphics.Rect
import android.util.MathUtils
import android.view.View
import android.view.ViewGroup
import android.view.ViewGroupOverlay
import com.android.systemui.Interpolators
import com.android.systemui.keyguard.WakefulnessLifecycle
import com.android.systemui.plugins.statusbar.StatusBarStateController
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.NotificationLockscreenUserManager
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.StatusBarState
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.SysuiStatusBarStateController
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.notification.stack.StackStateAnimator
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.phone.KeyguardBypassController
import com.android.systemui.statusbar.policy.KeyguardStateController
import com.android.systemui.util.animation.UniqueObjectHostView
import javax.inject.Inject
import javax.inject.Singleton
/**
* Similarly to isShown but also excludes views that have 0 alpha
*/
val View.isShownNotFaded: Boolean
get() {
var current: View = this
while (true) {
if (current.visibility != View.VISIBLE) {
return false
}
if (current.alpha == 0.0f) {
return false
}
val parent = current.parent ?: return false // We are not attached to the view root
if (parent !is View) {
// we reached the viewroot, hurray
return true
}
current = parent
}
}
/**
* This manager is responsible for placement of the unique media view between the different hosts
* and animate the positions of the views to achieve seamless transitions.
*/
@Singleton
class MediaHierarchyManager @Inject constructor(
private val context: Context,
private val statusBarStateController: SysuiStatusBarStateController,
private val keyguardStateController: KeyguardStateController,
private val bypassController: KeyguardBypassController,
private val mediaCarouselController: MediaCarouselController,
private val notifLockscreenUserManager: NotificationLockscreenUserManager,
wakefulnessLifecycle: WakefulnessLifecycle
) {
/**
* The root overlay of the hierarchy. This is where the media notification is attached to
* whenever the view is transitioning from one host to another. It also make sure that the
* view is always in its final state when it is attached to a view host.
*/
private var rootOverlay: ViewGroupOverlay? = null
private var rootView: View? = null
private var currentBounds = Rect()
private var animationStartBounds: Rect = Rect()
private var targetBounds: Rect = Rect()
private val mediaFrame
get() = mediaCarouselController.mediaFrame
private var statusbarState: Int = statusBarStateController.state
private var animator = ValueAnimator.ofFloat(0.0f, 1.0f).apply {
interpolator = Interpolators.FAST_OUT_SLOW_IN
addUpdateListener {
updateTargetState()
interpolateBounds(animationStartBounds, targetBounds, animatedFraction,
result = currentBounds)
applyState(currentBounds)
}
addListener(object : AnimatorListenerAdapter() {
private var cancelled: Boolean = false
override fun onAnimationCancel(animation: Animator?) {
cancelled = true
animationPending = false
rootView?.removeCallbacks(startAnimation)
}
override fun onAnimationEnd(animation: Animator?) {
if (!cancelled) {
applyTargetStateIfNotAnimating()
}
}
override fun onAnimationStart(animation: Animator?) {
cancelled = false
animationPending = false
}
})
}
private val mediaHosts = arrayOfNulls<MediaHost>(LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN + 1)
/**
* The last location where this view was at before going to the desired location. This is
* useful for guided transitions.
*/
@MediaLocation
private var previousLocation = -1
/**
* The desired location where the view will be at the end of the transition.
*/
@MediaLocation
private var desiredLocation = -1
/**
* The current attachment location where the view is currently attached.
* Usually this matches the desired location except for animations whenever a view moves
* to the new desired location, during which it is in [IN_OVERLAY].
*/
@MediaLocation
private var currentAttachmentLocation = -1
/**
* Are we currently waiting on an animation to start?
*/
private var animationPending: Boolean = false
private val startAnimation: Runnable = Runnable { animator.start() }
/**
* The expansion of quick settings
*/
var qsExpansion: Float = 0.0f
set(value) {
if (field != value) {
field = value
updateDesiredLocation()
if (getQSTransformationProgress() >= 0) {
updateTargetState()
applyTargetStateIfNotAnimating()
}
}
}
/**
* Is the shade currently collapsing from the expanded qs? If we're on the lockscreen and in qs,
* we wouldn't want to transition in that case.
*/
var collapsingShadeFromQS: Boolean = false
set(value) {
if (field != value) {
field = value
updateDesiredLocation(forceNoAnimation = true)
}
}
/**
* Are location changes currently blocked?
*/
private val blockLocationChanges: Boolean
get() {
return goingToSleep || dozeAnimationRunning
}
/**
* Are we currently going to sleep
*/
private var goingToSleep: Boolean = false
set(value) {
if (field != value) {
field = value
if (!value) {
updateDesiredLocation()
}
}
}
/**
* Are we currently fullyAwake
*/
private var fullyAwake: Boolean = false
set(value) {
if (field != value) {
field = value
if (value) {
updateDesiredLocation(forceNoAnimation = true)
}
}
}
/**
* Is the doze animation currently Running
*/
private var dozeAnimationRunning: Boolean = false
private set(value) {
if (field != value) {
field = value
if (!value) {
updateDesiredLocation()
}
}
}
init {
statusBarStateController.addCallback(object : StatusBarStateController.StateListener {
override fun onStatePreChange(oldState: Int, newState: Int) {
// We're updating the location before the state change happens, since we want the
// location of the previous state to still be up to date when the animation starts
statusbarState = newState
updateDesiredLocation()
}
override fun onStateChanged(newState: Int) {
updateTargetState()
}
override fun onDozeAmountChanged(linear: Float, eased: Float) {
dozeAnimationRunning = linear != 0.0f && linear != 1.0f
}
override fun onDozingChanged(isDozing: Boolean) {
if (!isDozing) {
dozeAnimationRunning = false
} else {
updateDesiredLocation()
}
}
})
wakefulnessLifecycle.addObserver(object : WakefulnessLifecycle.Observer {
override fun onFinishedGoingToSleep() {
goingToSleep = false
}
override fun onStartedGoingToSleep() {
goingToSleep = true
fullyAwake = false
}
override fun onFinishedWakingUp() {
goingToSleep = false
fullyAwake = true
}
override fun onStartedWakingUp() {
goingToSleep = false
}
})
}
/**
* Register a media host and create a view can be attached to a view hierarchy
* and where the players will be placed in when the host is the currently desired state.
*
* @return the hostView associated with this location
*/
fun register(mediaObject: MediaHost): UniqueObjectHostView {
val viewHost = createUniqueObjectHost()
mediaObject.hostView = viewHost
mediaObject.addVisibilityChangeListener {
// Never animate because of a visibility change, only state changes should do that
updateDesiredLocation(forceNoAnimation = true)
}
mediaHosts[mediaObject.location] = mediaObject
if (mediaObject.location == desiredLocation) {
// In case we are overriding a view that is already visible, make sure we attach it
// to this new host view in the below call
desiredLocation = -1
}
if (mediaObject.location == currentAttachmentLocation) {
currentAttachmentLocation = -1
}
updateDesiredLocation()
return viewHost
}
private fun createUniqueObjectHost(): UniqueObjectHostView {
val viewHost = UniqueObjectHostView(context)
viewHost.addOnAttachStateChangeListener(object : View.OnAttachStateChangeListener {
override fun onViewAttachedToWindow(p0: View?) {
if (rootOverlay == null) {
rootView = viewHost.viewRootImpl.view
rootOverlay = (rootView!!.overlay as ViewGroupOverlay)
}
viewHost.removeOnAttachStateChangeListener(this)
}
override fun onViewDetachedFromWindow(p0: View?) {
}
})
return viewHost
}
/**
* Updates the location that the view should be in. If it changes, an animation may be triggered
* going from the old desired location to the new one.
*
* @param forceNoAnimation optional parameter telling the system not to animate
*/
private fun updateDesiredLocation(forceNoAnimation: Boolean = false) {
val desiredLocation = calculateLocation()
if (desiredLocation != this.desiredLocation) {
if (this.desiredLocation >= 0) {
previousLocation = this.desiredLocation
}
val isNewView = this.desiredLocation == -1
this.desiredLocation = desiredLocation
// Let's perform a transition
val animate = !forceNoAnimation &&
shouldAnimateTransition(desiredLocation, previousLocation)
val (animDuration, delay) = getAnimationParams(previousLocation, desiredLocation)
val host = getHost(desiredLocation)
mediaCarouselController.onDesiredLocationChanged(desiredLocation, host, animate,
animDuration, delay)
performTransitionToNewLocation(isNewView, animate)
}
}
private fun performTransitionToNewLocation(isNewView: Boolean, animate: Boolean) {
if (previousLocation < 0 || isNewView) {
cancelAnimationAndApplyDesiredState()
return
}
val currentHost = getHost(desiredLocation)
val previousHost = getHost(previousLocation)
if (currentHost == null || previousHost == null) {
cancelAnimationAndApplyDesiredState()
return
}
updateTargetState()
if (isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation()) {
applyTargetStateIfNotAnimating()
} else if (animate) {
animator.cancel()
if (currentAttachmentLocation != previousLocation ||
!previousHost.hostView.isAttachedToWindow) {
// Let's animate to the new position, starting from the current position
// We also go in here in case the view was detached, since the bounds wouldn't
// be correct anymore
animationStartBounds.set(currentBounds)
} else {
// otherwise, let's take the freshest state, since the current one could
// be outdated
animationStartBounds.set(previousHost.currentBounds)
}
adjustAnimatorForTransition(desiredLocation, previousLocation)
if (!animationPending) {
rootView?.let {
// Let's delay the animation start until we finished laying out
animationPending = true
it.postOnAnimation(startAnimation)
}
}
} else {
cancelAnimationAndApplyDesiredState()
}
}
private fun shouldAnimateTransition(
@MediaLocation currentLocation: Int,
@MediaLocation previousLocation: Int
): Boolean {
if (isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation()) {
return false
}
if (currentLocation == LOCATION_QQS &&
previousLocation == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN &&
(statusBarStateController.leaveOpenOnKeyguardHide() ||
statusbarState == StatusBarState.SHADE_LOCKED)) {
// Usually listening to the isShown is enough to determine this, but there is some
// non-trivial reattaching logic happening that will make the view not-shown earlier
return true
}
return mediaFrame.isShownNotFaded || animator.isRunning || animationPending
}
private fun adjustAnimatorForTransition(desiredLocation: Int, previousLocation: Int) {
val (animDuration, delay) = getAnimationParams(previousLocation, desiredLocation)
animator.apply {
duration = animDuration
startDelay = delay
}
}
private fun getAnimationParams(previousLocation: Int, desiredLocation: Int): Pair<Long, Long> {
var animDuration = 200L
var delay = 0L
if (previousLocation == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN && desiredLocation == LOCATION_QQS) {
// Going to the full shade, let's adjust the animation duration
if (statusbarState == StatusBarState.SHADE &&
keyguardStateController.isKeyguardFadingAway) {
delay = keyguardStateController.keyguardFadingAwayDelay
}
animDuration = StackStateAnimator.ANIMATION_DURATION_GO_TO_FULL_SHADE.toLong()
} else if (previousLocation == LOCATION_QQS && desiredLocation == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN) {
animDuration = StackStateAnimator.ANIMATION_DURATION_APPEAR_DISAPPEAR.toLong()
}
return animDuration to delay
}
private fun applyTargetStateIfNotAnimating() {
if (!animator.isRunning) {
// Let's immediately apply the target state (which is interpolated) if there is
// no animation running. Otherwise the animation update will already update
// the location
applyState(targetBounds)
}
}
/**
* Updates the bounds that the view wants to be in at the end of the animation.
*/
private fun updateTargetState() {
if (isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation()) {
val progress = getTransformationProgress()
var endHost = getHost(desiredLocation)!!
var starthost = getHost(previousLocation)!!
// If either of the hosts are invisible, let's keep them at the other host location to
// have a nicer disappear animation. Otherwise the currentBounds of the state might
// be undefined
if (!endHost.visible) {
endHost = starthost
} else if (!starthost.visible) {
starthost = endHost
}
val newBounds = endHost.currentBounds
val previousBounds = starthost.currentBounds
targetBounds = interpolateBounds(previousBounds, newBounds, progress)
} else {
val bounds = getHost(desiredLocation)?.currentBounds ?: return
targetBounds.set(bounds)
}
}
private fun interpolateBounds(
startBounds: Rect,
endBounds: Rect,
progress: Float,
result: Rect? = null
): Rect {
val left = MathUtils.lerp(startBounds.left.toFloat(),
endBounds.left.toFloat(), progress).toInt()
val top = MathUtils.lerp(startBounds.top.toFloat(),
endBounds.top.toFloat(), progress).toInt()
val right = MathUtils.lerp(startBounds.right.toFloat(),
endBounds.right.toFloat(), progress).toInt()
val bottom = MathUtils.lerp(startBounds.bottom.toFloat(),
endBounds.bottom.toFloat(), progress).toInt()
val resultBounds = result ?: Rect()
resultBounds.set(left, top, right, bottom)
return resultBounds
}
/**
* @return true if this transformation is guided by an external progress like a finger
*/
private fun isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation(): Boolean {
return getTransformationProgress() >= 0
}
/**
* @return the current transformation progress if we're in a guided transformation and -1
* otherwise
*/
private fun getTransformationProgress(): Float {
val progress = getQSTransformationProgress()
if (progress >= 0) {
return progress
}
return -1.0f
}
private fun getQSTransformationProgress(): Float {
val currentHost = getHost(desiredLocation)
val previousHost = getHost(previousLocation)
if (currentHost?.location == LOCATION_QS) {
if (previousHost?.location == LOCATION_QQS) {
if (previousHost.visible || statusbarState != StatusBarState.KEYGUARD) {
return qsExpansion
}
}
}
return -1.0f
}
private fun getHost(@MediaLocation location: Int): MediaHost? {
if (location < 0) {
return null
}
return mediaHosts[location]
}
private fun cancelAnimationAndApplyDesiredState() {
animator.cancel()
getHost(desiredLocation)?.let {
applyState(it.currentBounds, immediately = true)
}
}
/**
* Apply the current state to the view, updating it's bounds and desired state
*/
private fun applyState(bounds: Rect, immediately: Boolean = false) {
currentBounds.set(bounds)
val currentlyInGuidedTransformation = isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation()
val startLocation = if (currentlyInGuidedTransformation) previousLocation else -1
val progress = if (currentlyInGuidedTransformation) getTransformationProgress() else 1.0f
val endLocation = desiredLocation
mediaCarouselController.setCurrentState(startLocation, endLocation, progress, immediately)
updateHostAttachment()
if (currentAttachmentLocation == IN_OVERLAY) {
mediaFrame.setLeftTopRightBottom(
currentBounds.left,
currentBounds.top,
currentBounds.right,
currentBounds.bottom)
}
}
private fun updateHostAttachment() {
val inOverlay = isTransitionRunning() && rootOverlay != null
val newLocation = if (inOverlay) IN_OVERLAY else desiredLocation
if (currentAttachmentLocation != newLocation) {
currentAttachmentLocation = newLocation
// Remove the carousel from the old host
(mediaFrame.parent as ViewGroup?)?.removeView(mediaFrame)
// Add it to the new one
val targetHost = getHost(desiredLocation)!!.hostView
if (inOverlay) {
rootOverlay!!.add(mediaFrame)
} else {
// When adding back to the host, let's make sure to reset the bounds.
// Usually adding the view will trigger a layout that does this automatically,
// but we sometimes suppress this.
targetHost.addView(mediaFrame)
val left = targetHost.paddingLeft
val top = targetHost.paddingTop
mediaFrame.setLeftTopRightBottom(
left,
top,
left + currentBounds.width(),
top + currentBounds.height())
}
}
}
private fun isTransitionRunning(): Boolean {
return isCurrentlyInGuidedTransformation() && getTransformationProgress() != 1.0f ||
animator.isRunning || animationPending
}
@MediaLocation
private fun calculateLocation(): Int {
if (blockLocationChanges) {
// Keep the current location until we're allowed to again
return desiredLocation
}
val onLockscreen = (!bypassController.bypassEnabled &&
(statusbarState == StatusBarState.KEYGUARD ||
statusbarState == StatusBarState.FULLSCREEN_USER_SWITCHER))
val allowedOnLockscreen = notifLockscreenUserManager.shouldShowLockscreenNotifications()
val location = when {
qsExpansion > 0.0f && !onLockscreen -> LOCATION_QS
qsExpansion > 0.4f && onLockscreen -> LOCATION_QS
onLockscreen && allowedOnLockscreen -> LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN
else -> LOCATION_QQS
}
// When we're on lock screen and the player is not active, we should keep it in QS.
// Otherwise it will try to animate a transition that doesn't make sense.
if (location == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN && getHost(location)?.visible != true &&
!statusBarStateController.isDozing) {
return LOCATION_QS
}
if (location == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN && desiredLocation == LOCATION_QS &&
collapsingShadeFromQS) {
// When collapsing on the lockscreen, we want to remain in QS
return LOCATION_QS
}
if (location != LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN && desiredLocation == LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN
&& !fullyAwake) {
// When unlocking from dozing / while waking up, the media shouldn't be transitioning
// in an animated way. Let's keep it in the lockscreen until we're fully awake and
// reattach it without an animation
return LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN
}
return location
}
companion object {
/**
* Attached in expanded quick settings
*/
const val LOCATION_QS = 0
/**
* Attached in the collapsed QS
*/
const val LOCATION_QQS = 1
/**
* Attached on the lock screen
*/
const val LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN = 2
/**
* Attached at the root of the hierarchy in an overlay
*/
const val IN_OVERLAY = -1000
}
}
@IntDef(prefix = ["LOCATION_"], value = [MediaHierarchyManager.LOCATION_QS,
MediaHierarchyManager.LOCATION_QQS, MediaHierarchyManager.LOCATION_LOCKSCREEN])
@Retention(AnnotationRetention.SOURCE)
annotation class MediaLocation |
Q:
how to split a list in two at the point where predicate is first False
I keep thinking there should be a function for this, but I've searched the likely places (google, itertools docs, list methods, other SO questions), but nowhere found quite what I was looking for.
Naive and working implementation:
def split_at_first_false(pred, seq):
first = []
second = []
true_so_far = True
for item in seq:
if true_so_far and pred(item):
first.append(item)
else:
true_so_far = False
second.append(item)
return first, second
print split_at_first_false(str.isalpha, "abc1a2b")
# (['a', 'b', 'c'], ['1', 'a', '2', 'b'])
It works, but it doesn't feel right. There should be a better way to do this!
EDIT: I ended up with using a slightly modified version of senderle's final suggestion after reviewing the answers:
from itertools import chain
def split_at_pred(pred, seq):
head = []
it = iter(seq)
for i in it:
if not pred(i):
head.append(i)
else:
return iter(head), chain([i], it)
return iter(head), iter([])
It's short and elegant, output is two iterators no matter the input (strings, lists, iterators), and as a bonus, it even works with the following input:
from itertools import count
split_at_pred(lambda x: x == 5, count())
The other solutions, those that work at all with iterators, will run out of memory with this input. (Note that this is just a bonus. Infinite iterators was something I hadn't even considered when I wrote this question)
A:
This seems like a job for itertools.
>>> first = list(itertools.takewhile(str.isalpha, l))
>>> second = list(itertools.dropwhile(str.isalpha, l))
>>> first
['a', 'b', 'c']
>>> second
['1', 'a', '2', 'b']
This needs to be altered if l is an iterator rather than a sequence.
>>> def bisect_iter(pred, i):
... i1, i2 = itertools.tee(i)
... return itertools.takewhile(pred, i1), itertools.dropwhile(pred, i2)
...
>>> i1, i2 = bisect_iter(str.isalpha, iter(l))
>>> list(i1)
['a', 'b', 'c']
>>> list(i2)
['1', 'a', '2', 'b']
The downside of tee is that the initial values are cached and tested twice (by both takewhile and dropwhile). That's wasteful. But caching values is unavoidable if you want to both accept and return iterators.
However, if you can return lists from an iterator, I can think of one solution that doesn't make extra copies or tests, and it's very close to yours:
>>> def bisect_iter_to_list(pred, it):
... l1 = []
... for i in it:
... if pred(i):
... l1.append(i)
... else:
... l2 = [i]
... l2.extend(it)
... return l1, l2
...
>>> bisect_iter_to_list(str.isalpha, iter(l))
(['a', 'b', 'c'], ['1', 'a', '2', 'b'])
The only sneaky bit is that where there would normally be a break statement (i.e. after the else clause), I've simply consumed the iterator, causing the for loop to terminate early.
Finally, if you still want to return iterators, but don't want to do extra tests, here's a variation on the above that I believe is optimal.
>>> def bisect_any_to_iter(pred, it):
... it = iter(it)
... head = []
... for i in it:
... if pred(i):
... head.append(i)
... else:
... tail = itertools.chain([i], it)
... break
... return iter(head), tail
...
>>> a, b = bisect_iter_to_iter(str.isalpha, iter(l))
>>> list(a)
['a', 'b', 'c']
>>> list(b)
['1', 'a', '2', 'b']
A:
How about this?
def split_at_first_false(pred, seq):
for i, item in enumerate(seq):
if not pred(item):
return seq[:i], seq[i:]
|
With cancer in remission Rep. Jim Wayne announces run for re-election in 2016
LOUISVILLE — After receiving a clean bill of health over the Thanksgiving holiday Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, says he will running for re-election for a 14th term in office.
Wayne, who was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and lymph nodes in May, endured 35 rounds of radiation and chemotherapy treatments in an effort to eradicate the cancer.
Speaking to supporters and gathered media at All Wool & A Yard Wide Democratic Club in Louisville on Thursday, Wayne announced his recovery and declared his candidacy for the seat he’s held since 1991.
“Debbie and I then had to sit down after this ordeal and say ‘what is our duty to our family, to each other, and to the community in terms of re-election?” Wayne said. “And we determined that yes, I would run for re-election.”
For Wayne the diagnosis and on-going rounds of treatment hardened his resolve to make sure his constituents, and fellow Kentuckians, have the same access to health insurance that saved his life.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a poor person with the diagnosis that I received on May 7th would be faced with two alternatives, and maybe a combination of both — death or bankruptcy,” he said. “The cost of treatment that I had was certainly something that a poor person without health insurance could have never of afforded.”
Wayne said Democrats need to convince Governor Matt Bevin to not transition away from the state’s health exchange, kynect, to the federal health exchange. During Tuesday’s inaugural address Bevin again promised to shift Medicaid enrollees to a new plan.
“All of us need to get behind Kentucky kynect, and make sure that Governor Bevin is enlightened and has a change of heart — a conversion of heart, so that he recognizes that poor people already have skin in the game,” Wayne said. “They’re working at minimum wage jobs and still can’t get health insurance. And they cannot afford co-payments, and they cannot afford major deductibles.”
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said Wayne should be celebrated for the message he brings forward through his own ordeal.
“We come here today not really to celebrate the re-election announcement of Jim Wayne, but to celebrate the health of Jim Wayne and the powerful message Jim Wayne brings for 500,000 people that he just spoke about,” Stumbo said.
“There are things left in America that are worth fighting for — middle class values, public education — the right to pull yourself up through the public education system. The right to healthcare,” Stumbo said.
Wayne had not had a challenge for the seat in 24 years until his 2014 re-election race. Wayne won that contest by more than 2,000 votes in the strongly Democratic district.
Nick Storm
Nick Storm is the Anchor and Managing Editor of Pure Politics available exclusively on Spectrum News. Pure Politics is the only nightly program dedicated to Kentucky politics. Nick covers all of the political heavyweights and his investigative work brings to light issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, like his coverage of the backlog of DNA rape kits waiting to be tested in Kentucky. Nick is also working on a feature length bio documentary Outlaw Poet: A documentary on Ron Whitehead. Pure Politics airs weeknight at 7 and 11:30 on Spectrum News. Follow Nick on Twitter @NStorm_Politics. Nick can be reached at 502-792-1107 or nicholas.storm@charter.com. |
Synopsis
The witching hour has arrived in bestselling author H. P. Mallory’s captivating and sexy new novel, starring the most dazzling denizen of the undead, Jolie Wilkins. Funny and feisty witch Jolie Wilkins is back—or rather, she’s back to her humble beginnings. Propelled into the past to her old Los Angeles fortune-telling shop, Jolie has no idea she possesses extraordinary powers, and she definitely doesn’t remember becoming Queen of the Underworld. But at least she has two incredibly sexy men vying for her affection: Rand Balfour, who looks very familiar, though Jolie can’t place his gorgeous face, and Sinjin Sinclair, who is tall, dark, and perfect . . . except for the fangs.
Yet despite her steamy love life, Jolie can’t shake the sense that something is not quite right—like she’s stuck in a déjà vu gone terribly awry. As both men race against time—and each other—to win Jolie’s heart, the fate of the Underworld hangs in the balance. And Jolie’s decision can either restore order or create an absolute, drop-dead disaster.
Excerpt
9780345531568|excerpt
Mallory / THE WITCH IS BACK
One
When the phone rang at ten minutes to seven, I wasn’t surprised. Nope, I figured that Sinjin Sinclair, the most handsome and charming man who had ever stepped into my life, had probably just come to his senses and realized he didn’t want to take me out for dinner after all. Maybe he’d suffered from a slight brain freeze the night before when he’d been awaiting roadside assistance at my tarot‑card‑reading shop, and that was why he’d asked me out.
So when he phoned to say he was lost, I was surprised—not so much that his navigational skills were lacking but that he actually wanted to go through with this. Okay, I know what you’re thinking—that I must look like a troll, or something equally heinous . . . Well, I’m not a troll by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m also not the girl who stands out in a crowd. I’m more the girl next door—or at least I live down the street from the girl next door.
Okay, I’m probably being a little too hard on myself because I have been told that I’m attractive and I know I’m smart and all that stuff, but I’m still nowhere near Sinjin Sinclair’s league.
But back to the phone call. After Sinjin said he would be at my door shortly, I hung up and then stood in the center of my living room for a few minutes like a space cadet, gazing at the wall until I’m sure I looked like a complete and total moron.
But while it might have appeared that nothing much was going on in that gray matter between my ears, appearances can be deceiving. Thoughts ramrodded my brain, slamming into one another as new ones were born . . . What am I doing? What am I thinking? What do I possibly have to talk about with a man as cultured and refined as Sinjin Sinclair? Moreover, how am I going to eat in front of him? What if I choke on an ice cube? Or I sneeze after taking a mouthful of salad and spray carrot chunks all over his expensive clothes?
Jolie Wilkins, calm down, I finally said to myself, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. You are going to go on this date because if you don’t, you’re never going to forgive yourself. And, furthermore, Christa will most definitely murder you.
I inhaled another deep breath and forced myself out of my self‑inflicted brain coma, starting toward the mirror as I took stock of myself for the umpteenth time in the last hour. Christa, my best friend and self‑proclaimed fashion advisor, had left twenty minutes ago after chastising me about my current getup. Yes, she’d tried to force me into what amounted to shrink‑wrapping, complete with stiletto heels that were so narrow, they could double as weapons. Then, after that attempt had failed, she’d tried to get me to go with a flame‑red corset dress that was so tight, I couldn’t walk—and breath- ing was out of the question. So yes, I’d defeated the raunchy‑clothing demon but I couldn’t say I felt very good about my victory.
I sighed as I took in my shoulder‑length blond hair and the fact that the curl Christa had wrestled into it only minutes before was already gone. It could be described as “limp” at best. My makeup was nice, though—Christa had managed to talk me into a smoky eye, which accented my baby blues, and she’d also covered the freckles that sprinkled the bridge of my nose while playing up my cheekbones with a shimmery apricot blush. She’d lined my decently plump lips in a light brown and filled them with bubble‑gum‑pink lipstick, finishing them with a pink gloss called “Baby Doll.”
There was a knock on my front door, and I felt my heart lurch into my throat. I took another deep breath and glanced at my reflection in the mirror again, trying not to focus on the fact that I was anything but sexy in a black amorphous skirt that ended just below my knees, black tights, and two‑inch heels. Even though my breasts are decently large, you couldn’t really tell in my gray turtleneck and black peacoat.
Maybe I should have listened to Christa . . .
Another quick knock on the door signaled the fact that I was dawdling. I pulled myself away from my reflection and, wrapping my hand around the doorknob, exhaled and opened it, pasting a smile on my face.
“Hello,” I said, hoping my voice sounded level and even‑keeled, because the sight of Sinjin standing there just about undid me. A tornado was rampaging through me, tearing at my guts and wreaking havoc with my nervous system.
“Good evening,” the deity before me spoke in his refined, baritone English accent. His eyes traveled from my eyes to my bust to my legs and back up again as a serpentine smile spread across his sumptuous lips.
“Um,” I managed, meaning to add a How are you? to the end of it, but somehow the words never emerged.
Sinjin arched a black brow and chuckled as I debated slamming the door shut and hiding out in my room for the next, oh, two years, at least.
“You look quite lovely,” he said, with that devilish smile as he pulled his arm forward and offered me a bouquet of red roses. “These pale in comparison.”
My hand was shaking and my brain was on vacation as I reached for the roses, but somehow I did manage to smile and say, “Thank you, they are really beautiful.”
The beauty of the roses didn’t even compute, though— my overwhelmed mind was still reeling from the presence of this man. Man didn’t even do him justice; he seemed so much more than that—either heaven‑sent or hell’s emissary.
He was wearing black, just as he had been the night before. His black slacks weren’t fitted, but neither were they loose—in fact, they seemed tailored to his incredibly long legs. And his black sweater perfectly showcased his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Even though his body and intimidating height would have been worth writing home about, it was his face that was so completely alluring.
Sinjin’s eyes should have been the eighth wonder of the world. They were the most peculiar color—an incredibly light blue, most similar to the blue‑green icebergs you might find in Alaska or the Alpine waters of Germany. They almost seemed to glow. His skin was flawless, neither too pale nor too tan, without the kiss of a freckle or mole.
His hair was midnight black, so dark that it almost appeared blue. Tonight it looked longer than I remembered. The ends curled up over his collar, which was strange considering I’d only met him the day before and I could have sworn he had short hair. But the strangest thing about this enigmatic man was that I couldn’t see his aura . . .
I’ve been able to see people’s auras for as long as I can remember. An aura is best described as a halo‑type thing that surrounds someone—it billows out of them in a foggy sort of haze. If someone is healthy, his or her aura is usually pink or violet. If someone is unwell in some way, yellow or orange predominates. I had never before met anyone who didn’t have an aura at all or whose aura I couldn’t see. And what surprised me even more was the fact that I hadn’t noticed his missing aura the first time I’d seen him . . . Of course I had been pretty overwhelmed by his mere presence—and that dazed feeling didn’t seem like it was going to go away anytime soon.
“May I escort you?” he asked as he gave me another winning smile and offered me his arm.
I gulped as I tentatively wrapped my hand around his arm, trying not to notice the fact that he was really . . . built. Good God . . .
“Thanks,” I said in a small voice as I allowed him to lead me outside.
“Are you forgetting something?” Sinjin asked as he glanced down at me.
“Um,” I started and dropped my attention to my feet, attempting to take stock of myself.
Shoes are on, purse is over my shoulder, nerves are present and accounted for . . . the only thing I’d forgotten was my confidence, which was currently hiding beneath my bed.
Sinjin stopped walking and turned around. I followed suit and noticed that the door to my modest little house was still open—gaping wide as though it was as shocked as he was that I’d forgotten to shut it.
“Oh my God.” I felt my cheeks color with embarrassment. It had to be pretty obvious I’d completely forgotten how to function in his presence. I separated myself from him and hurried back up my walkway, shaking my head at my inattention. Anxiety drumming through me, I closed and locked the door behind me.
“Shall we try this again?”
I jumped, shocked that he was suddenly right beside me. I shook the feeling off, figuring that he must have been trailing me all along. But still, there was something . . . uncanny about it, something that set off my “Spidey” senses. I blamed it on my already overwhelmed nerves.
“Yes,” I said with an anxious laugh as he offered his arm again and I, again, took it. This time we made it to the curb, where a black car awaited us. So angular it almost looked like a spaceship, it was the same vehicle he’d been driving the night before when he’d gotten a flat tire and had asked to use my phone. He opened the door for me and I gave him a smile of thanks as I seated myself, glancing over at the steering wheel where I recognized the emblem of a Ferrari.
A Ferrari . . . seriously?
I had to pinch myself. This just wasn’t real—it couldn’t be real! I mean, my life was composed of TV dinners and reruns of The Office. My only social outlet, really, was Christa. Men like Sinjin Sinclair with their impeccable clothes and stunning good looks, driving their Ferraris, just didn’t figure into the Jolie Wilkins equation. Not at all!
“I hope you do not mind that I made reservations at Costa Mare?” he asked with a boyish grin.
Costa Mare was renowned for its Italian food and even more renowned for the fact that it took months to get a reservation. “You were able to make a reservation there?” I asked in awe, my mouth gaping in response.
Sinjin shrugged. “As a rule, I never take no for an answer.” Then he chuckled as if he was making a joke. But you know what people say about jokes—there’s always an underlying element of truth to them. It would not at all have come as a surprise to me to learn that Sinjin Sinclair was accustomed to getting his way.
For the next fifteen minutes, we made small talk—discussing things like the weather, his flat tire, and the history of my friendship with Christa. Before I knew it, we’d pulled in front of Costa Mare and Sinjin was handing his keys to the valet. Sinjin shook his head at the doorman who attempted to open my door, insisting that he would do it himself. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had opened a car door for me. The guys in LA weren’t exactly gentlemen.
I took Sinjin’s proffered arm and allowed him to escort me into the restaurant, where the staff seemed to fuss over him like he was some great messiah. They led us through a weaving path of tables, sparkling marble flooring, and dim candlelight, finally designating us to an isolated table in a corner of the room. Potted bamboos acted as a screen from the rest of the restaurant.
“Where would you prefer to sit?” Sinjin asked me with a polished smile.
“It doesn’t matter,” I answered as I waited for him to pull out my chair. He chose the seat with the best view of the restaurant, but I hadn’t been lying—I really didn’t care.
The host, a rotund, short man, who was probably in his late forties, offered us our menus, placed our napkins on our laps, and left us to our own devices.
“A man should always choose his seat wisely,” Sinjin commented, glancing at me with a smirk.
“Why is that?” I asked, wondering what he was getting at.
He nodded as if he was about to divulge a long and interesting story. “In times long past, it could mean death if a man’s back was to his enemies.”
“And you’re still practicing that, I see?” I asked with a smile, suddenly feeling comfortable with him. It was strange because I wasn’t a person who was, in general, comfortable around anyone I didn’t know.
“It is my duty to ensure your safety, poppet.”
I wasn’t sure why, but the word poppet seemed so familiar to me, even though I was pretty sure I’d never heard it before. It was a sudden moment of déjà vu, of that feeling that somewhere, sometime, I’d experienced this exact moment. It made no sense, but I couldn’t help but feel haunted by it all the same.
“Well, I’m sure things are safer in this day and age,” I said, trying to shake off the weird feeling. It wouldn’t budge. There was just something so . . . familiar about all this. I took a deep breath and started perusing the menu, hoping to banish my wayward thoughts. Feeling as if Sinjin was staring at me, I glanced up and found his eyes fastened on me. He didn’t even try to hide the fact, and when I caught him, he smiled.
This one was smooth.
“Have you selected your supper?” he asked, his mouth spreading into a wide smile as if he was in on some inside joke that I wasn’t privy to.
I swallowed hard, suddenly more than aware that this whole date might just be the setup for a one‑night stand. That was when it struck me—that’s exactly what it was. Sinjin was traveling from Britain, and he probably wanted to taste everything the United States had to offer, including its women. Well, unluckily for him, I wasn’t on the menu. I felt my lips tightening into a line, and I tried to keep my cool. But inside I was fuming—mainly at my own idiocy. Had I really been out of the game so long that this hadn’t dawned on me from the get‑go?
“I think so,” I muttered and concealed myself with my menu.
“What is on your mind?” Sinjin asked as he pushed my menu down with his index finger, forcing me to look at him. I could feel my cheeks coloring. He had nerve . . .
“Nothing,” I answered and dropped my eyes.
“Please, Jolie, do not insult my intelligence.”
I took a deep breath. If he wanted to know what was on my mind, he was about to get an earful. “I’m not into one‑night stands,” I said stiffly.
Sinjin narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his lips revealed the fact that he was amused. “A wise policy.”
So he was still playing this game, was he? “Well, I think you should . . . be aware of that . . . in case you . . . in case you . . .”
“In case I what?”
I could feel sweat breaking out along the small of my back. He was forcing me into a corner, and that damn smile was still in full effect. “In case you . . . were, uh, looking for that . . . that sort of thing.”
He didn’t drop his attention from my face. If anything, his eyes were even more focused, challenging. “Is that what you imagined I was in search of?”
So he was going to make this tough on me, was he? He was going to make me spell it out for him and embarrass myself? Well, I might not be in his league, but I wouldn’t be made a fool of. I was way too smart for that. “Without a doubt.”
“And what, pray tell, gave you that impression, if I may be so bold as to inquire?”
Sinjin took a deep breath, and it seemed to take him forever to exhale it. “I see.”
“So, if you are . . . expecting that, you might as well take me home now . . . no harm done,” I finished and held his gaze for another three seconds before I picked up my ice water and began chugging it.
“Very well,” he answered, and his voice was tender.
I dropped the menu and reached for my purse, feeling something icy forming in my gut as I readied myself to leave. I wasn’t angry, no, but I was humiliated. Strangely enough, though, relief was beginning to suffuse me . . . relief at the fact that I could end this farce and lick my wounds in the comfort and serenity of my house. After collecting my things, I stood up and noticed that Sinjin hadn’t moved an inch.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Perhaps I should ask the same of you?”
I swallowed hard. “I thought we were leaving?”
“Why would we be leaving? We have not even ordered yet.”
“But I thought,” I started before my voice was swallowed up by the fact that I was at a complete loss.
Sinjin smiled up at me and shook his head, pulling out my chair. “Please have a seat, love,” he said. “You misunderstood my intentions.”
“But you said ‘very well,’ ” I started, even as I sat down and pulled myself to the table again.
“I was simply agreeing with your assessment of the fact that you are quite opposed to ‘one‑night stands,’ as you so fittingly termed them.” He smiled again, cocking his brow. “And while I find you to be quite a delectable package, poppet, I am afraid I quite agree with you regarding the more intimate side of our association . . . for the time being, at least.”
So he wasn’t looking for a one‑night stand? Or maybe he was so smooth, he was just faking it and he’d put his plan of attack into action once I was no longer suspicious. I took a deep breath and lifted my menu again, wishing I’d never agreed to this date in the first place. “Oh.”
“Would you be averse to the notion of . . . starting over?” he asked and leaned back into his chair as he studied me.
I felt an embarrassed smile pulling at my lips even though I still wasn’t sure what his intentions were. Well, either way, it took two to tango and my tango shoes were in a box in my closet, covered with dust. “No, that sounds good.”
“Very well,” he said again and called the waiter over. “Ms. Wilkins,” he started.
“Please, it’s Jolie.”
He smiled languidly. “Jolie, what would you care to drink?”
I faced the waiter and smiled. “Do you have any Rieslings?”
The waiter nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“A glass of that, then,” I finished.
“And you, sir,” the waiter asked, turning to face Sinjin.
“The same please,” he responded.
“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked us both, his pen poised above the pad of paper as if he were about to start a race or something.
Sinjin glanced at me and I nodded, having already figured out what I wanted. “I’d like the sea bass, please.”
The waiter scribbled down my order before facing Sinjin. “And you, sir?”
Sinjin shook his head. “Nothing for me, thank you.”
“Sinjin,” I started, shocked that he wasn’t ordering anything. “You aren’t going to make me eat alone, are you?”
He smiled. “I apologize, love, but my stomach is a bit finicky at the moment. Would you mind terribly?”
How was I going to say no to that? I shook my head and the waiter nodded, disappearing into the kitchen moments later.
“We can go if you aren’t feeling well,” I offered.
Sinjin waved away my concern with his long fingers. “I have a bit of a stomach condition, and it plagues me every now and again. Nothing to concern yourself with, love.” He studied me for a moment or two and smiled again. “Where were we?”
“Um, I think we had agreed to start over.”
He chuckled. “Ah, yes, starting over.” His voice trailed as he apparently searched for a new topic. “Tell me about your tarot‑reading business.”
I sighed and glanced down at my ice water. The ice had melted into tiny lumps, and I submerged each one with my straw as I thought about his question. “Well, as you know, I’m a psychic,” I said. Whether he even believed in that sort of thing was anyone’s guess—it wasn’t something we’d established the night before.
“Have you always known this about yourself?” he asked, just as the waiter returned with our wine. Sinjin raised his glass. “Prost!” he said and brought his glass to his lips as I downed a swallow of my bitterly sweet wine. Before he took a swig, he set his glass back on the table and glanced over at me again. “Well?”
I smiled. “Um, yeah, for as long as I can remember. I could always see things and I just seemed to know things about people. Stuff that I shouldn’t know.” I wondered if I’d said too much. Usually men didn’t react well to my day job—thinking I was either a charlatan or a nut job.
But there was no sign of judgment on Sinjin’s handsome face. Instead, he just nodded. I couldn’t tell if he thought I was full of it or not.
“I know the feeling.”
I faced him, my eyes wide, as I wondered what he was admitting. “Are you psychic?”
He shook his head. “No, but I have had my dealings with the otherworldly.”
So he didn’t think I was a liar or a Looney Tune. I breathed out a sigh of relief. And as the relief washed over me, a feeling of disappointment surfaced. Sinjin might understand me, but it wasn’t like he was going to stick around. I mean, he was traveling here on business or vacation or something.
“What about you,” I started. “You’re here for work?”
His eyes were still fixed on mine and there was something in their depths. Something untold, something hidden. I could tell that this man had his own skeletons hanging in his closet. “Yes, quite so.”
“What do you do?”
He shrugged and finally averted his eyes, lifting his glass of wine as he trailed the rim of the glass with his finger. “I own my own company.”
“Ah, what type of business?”
“Finance,” he said quickly, somewhat dismissively, and then leaned forward, seemingly uncomfortable about discussing the specifics.
“And you’re here for just a little while, then?” I hoped I didn’t sound apprehensive. Still, I was all too aware that this charade probably wouldn’t last longer than tonight. Not when he had a whole life waiting for him in Britain.
God, what if he’s married?
He didn’t respond right away, just continued looping his finger around the rim of his glass. “I am considering opening an American branch of my company. That is why I am currently here.” He stopped talking for a few seconds and then smiled at me. “Perhaps I will not return to Britain—for the foreseeable future, at any rate.”
I felt something happy burst within me even though it made no sense. If Sinjin decided to stay, that didn’t mean we’d necessarily see each other again. And if we did see each other once, twice, or even multiple times, he’d still have to return to Britain eventually. And where would that leave me?
I shook the feelings of elation right out of me. I was getting way ahead of myself. And truly, I was just being silly, setting myself up for disappointment.
About H. P. Mallory
H. P. Mallory is the author of the Jolie Wilkins series as well as the Dulcie O’Neil series. She began her writing career as a self-published author and after reaching a tremendous amount of success, decided to become a traditionally published author and hasn’t looked back since.
H. P. Mallory lives in Southern California with her husband and son, where she is at work on her next book.
The Witch Is Back (with bonus short story Be Witched) by H. P. Mallory |
Chelsea look to strengthen Premier League grip
29 September 2012 07:19
Viewed : 2,388
Chelsea will try to cement their position at the top of the Premier League by winning at London rivals Arsenal on Saturday in their first match since Blues skipper John Terry was banned for racist abuse.
Terry was given a four-game ban by the Football Association (FA) on Thursday after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand and fined £220,000 ($356,722, 276,000 euros) pending appeal.
Terry has 14 days from receiving the written reasons for the decision to lodge an appeal against a decision relating to an incident that took place during Chelsea's match away to QPR at Loftus Road on October 23 last year.
The ban -- which comes after the 31-year-old former England captain was acquitted of criminal charges relating to the same incident in July -- will not come into force until the appeals procedure is complete.
That means central defender Terry, who played in the 6-0 English League Cup rout of Wolves on Tuesday, is available for Chelsea's trip to Arsenal.
Before the hearing started, former England captain Terry dramatically retired from international football.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was taken back by the defender's decision to call time on his 78-cap England career but the Frenchman had no doubt Terry would be ready for Saturday's match if selected.
"Terry in the big games has experience and leadership qualities that can always be important," Wenger said.
Second-placed Manchester United face Tottenham at Old Trafford with England striker Wayne Rooney set to make his Premier League return after a gashed thigh.
Darren Fletcher, who also featured in the midweek League Cup win over Newcastle, is in line for a first league start in 10 months after being sidelined with a chronic bowel condition.
"It is fantastic to have them both back," said United midfielder Tom Cleverley.
"Darren Fletcher is a big game player and would bring positive things to any squad in the world. I am happy for him. Wayne came back and put in a good performance too, so we are getting stronger."
Reigning champions Manchester City, who have won just two of their five league games this season and conceded seven goals in the process, travel to in-form Fulham looking for victory and a shut-out for goalkeeper Joe Hart.
"If you want to win the Premier League, you have to be able to keep clean sheets," said City defender Kolo Toure.
Liverpool go in search of their first league win this term when they travel to Norwich, with manager Brendan Rodgers hoping refereeing decisions at last go in the Merseysiders' favour.
Anfield great John Barnes believes Liverpool are being punished because striker Luis Suarez has an undeserved reputation for diving.
The Uruguay forward was denied a penalty during last weekend's 2-1 home defeat by arch-rivals United after going down in the box.
But Barnes told ESPN: "The diving tag is unfair on him. He is no different to anyone else in world football who plays up front.
"In other countries players are not judged from a moral point of view, but that is the case in England because we are English and we are morally correct, we are the moral policemen of the world."
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew takes his side to bottom of the table Reading, buoyed by being given a new eight-year contract by the Magpies in a huge show of faith by the north-east club's owner, Mike Ashley.
Saturday's other matches see high-flyers Everton at home to Southampton, Stoke play Swansea and Sunderland face Wigan.
Aston Villa take on Midlands rivals West Brom on Sunday while Monday sees London rivals QPR and West Ham meet at Loftus Road. |
Multiple congenital anomalies, brain hypomyelination, and ocular albinism in a female with dup(X) (pter-->q24::q21.32-->qter) and random X inactivation.
We report on an 18-month-old girl with multiple congenital anomalies (prominence of the metopic suture, fine hair, club foot, absence of the 12th rib, brachydactyly) and severe mental retardation. The funduscopic examination showed diffuse retinal hypopigmentation. Brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) showed signs of diffuse hypomyelination. On cytogenetic and molecular evidence, the karyotype was 46,X,dirdup(X) (pter-->q24::q21.32-->qter). The duplication of the PLP gene, involved in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Both cytogenetic and molecular studies on the X chromosome inactivation status indicated a random pattern in lymphocytes and fibroblasts. This patient appears to be the first case of a female bearing a large duplication of Xq with a random X inactivation. The phenotype of this patient is compared to that of previously reported cases with Xq duplication. |
The wind power harvested by a wind turbine increases with wind speed and rotor diameter. A greater rotor diameter requires a greater nacelle height which entails the further advantage that wind speed typically increases with height above ground. Thus, with the desire for always greater rated wind turbine powers, there is a trend to higher wind turbine towers. As wind speeds and rotor diameters increase, so do the lateral loads on the tower. For this reason the average diameters of wind turbine towers have been increasing throughout the years.
Usually, wind turbine towers are fabricated from steel or concrete. The towers are produced in cylindrically or frustoconical sections which then are brought to the site where the wind turbine is to be erected. The dimensions of such sections of tall wind turbine towers are approaching limits set by the infrastructure of various countries. Such limiting aspects may include headroom under bridges, tunnel heights, maximum allowable weight or the radii of roundabouts.
The increasing number of wind power installations is also causing difficulties because the equipment needed for the transportation of the tower sections is not available in the required quantities. Thus, installation of new wind turbines may be delayed due to logistic problems. For this reason WO 01/07731 proposes constructing the wind turbine tower at the installation site of the wind turbine by using a slipforming technique. |
Q:
Having problems logging outside of current method
For some reason I get a zip code when I log it inside the brackets, but I get a (null) when I attempt to log outside of the brackets. I also declared "zip" inside of my header file. I'm sure that this is a no brainer. A little help?
locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
locationManager.distanceFilter = kCLDistanceFilterNone;
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyHundredMeters;
[locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
CLGeocoder *fgeo = [[CLGeocoder alloc] init];
[fgeo reverseGeocodeLocation:locationManager.location completionHandler:^(NSArray *placemarks, NSError *error) {
if (!error) {
CLPlacemark *placemark = [placemarks objectAtIndex:0];
self.zip = placemark.postalCode;
**NSLog(@"%@", _zip);**
}
}];
**NSLog(@"%@",self.zip);**
PROBLEM SOLVED
EDIT:
Okay after I was able to pass the block into my next method thanks to SIMON:
CLGeocoder *fgeo = [[CLGeocoder alloc] init];
[fgeo reverseGeocodeLocation:locationManager.location completionHandler:^(NSArray *placemarks, NSError *error) {
if (!error) {
CLPlacemark *placemark = [placemarks objectAtIndex:0];
self.zip = placemark.postalCode;
**NSLog(@"%@", _zip);**
[self someMethod];
I found that I ended up calling the same block over and over. So I was able to use the following code to stop my code from looping and crashing my app, I wrapped my block in the following:
static dispatch_once_t once;
and wrapped my code in this:
dispatch_once(&once,^{
});
It fixed the problem right up! Thanks everyone!
A:
The code inside the brackets(completionHandler aka callback) will be executed asynchronously.
you may want to split into two different methods.
- (void)someMethodYouCall {
locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
locationManager.distanceFilter = kCLDistanceFilterNone;
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyHundredMeters;
[locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
CLGeocoder *fgeo = [[CLGeocoder alloc] init];
[fgeo reverseGeocodeLocation:locationManager.location completionHandler:^(NSArray *placemarks, NSError *error) {
if (!error) {
CLPlacemark *placemark = [placemarks objectAtIndex:0];
self.zip = placemark.postalCode;
**NSLog(@"%@", _zip);**
[self secondPart];
}
}];
}
-(void) secondPart {
**NSLog(@"%@",self.zip);**
}
|
Does a policy of earlier induction affect labour outcomes in women induced for postmaturity? A retrospective analysis in a tertiary hospital in the North of England.
to investigate whether a change in the management of postmature pregnancy to earlier induction affects the length of labour and the induction process. Secondly, to assess the feasibility of the research process to inform a future larger study. a change in management of postmature pregnancy in an NHS hospital in October 2013, from induction at 42 weeks gestation to induction between 41-42 weeks, provided an opportunity to conduct a retrospective analysis. Pre-existing data from the maternity database and casenotes were collected and primary outcomes analysed using the Mann-Whitney test and the Hodges-Lehman confidence interval for differences in medians. a large city based tertiary referral hospital in the North of England. 125 women induced before the change in policy were compared with 309 women induced after the change. primary outcomes were length of 1st and 2nd stage of labour, overall length of labour, length of induction to established labour and length of induction to birth. the median overall length of labour for women induced at 42 weeks was 6.5hours, while for women induced at 41-42 weeks this was 5.2hours. The difference was not statistically significant (p=0.15, 95% CI for median difference -0.27 to 1.93hours) with a small effect size (Pearson's r=-0.08). The median length of induction to birth was 13.6hours for women induced at 42 weeks and 16.5hours for women induced at 41-42 weeks. This difference was also not statistically significant (p=0.14, 95% CI for median difference -7.25 to 1.20hours) with a small effect size (Pearson's r=-0.13). This study demonstrated no statistically significant differences in length of labour and induction following a change in the management of postmature pregnancy to earlier induction. A large study is needed to establish definitively the effects of earlier induction on labour outcomes. |
In what is the first ever conviction of its kind anywhere in the world, the former US President and seven key members of his administration were yesterday (Fri) found guilty of war crimes.
Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia.
The trial held in Kuala Lumpur heard harrowing witness accounts from victims of torture who suffered at the hands of US soldiers and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They included testimony from British man Moazzam Begg, an ex-Guantanamo detainee and Iraqi woman Jameelah Abbas Hameedi who was tortured in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
At the end of the week-long hearing, the five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered guilty verdicts against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their key legal advisors who were all convicted as war criminals for torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
Full transcripts of the charges, witness statements and other relevant material will now be sent to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.
The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission is also asking that the names of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Yoo, Bybee, Addington and Haynes be entered and included in the Commission’s Register of War Criminals for public record.
The tribunal is the initiative of Malaysia’s retired Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who staunchly opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He sat through the entire hearing as it took personal statements and testimonies of three witnesses namely Abbas Abid, Moazzam Begg and Jameelah Hameedi. The tribunal also heard two other Statutory Declarations of Iraqi citizen Ali Shalal and Rahul Ahmed, another British citizen.
After the guilty verdict reached by five senior judges was delivered, Mahathir Mohamad said: “Powerful countries are getting away with murder.”
War crimes expert and lawyer Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law in America, was part of the prosecution team.
After the case he said: “This is the first conviction of these people anywhere in the world.”
While the hearing is regarded by some as being purely symbolic, human rights activist Boyle said he was hopeful that Bush and Co could soon find themselves facing similar trials elsewhere in the world.
“We tried three times to get Bush in Canada but were thwarted by the Canadian Government, then we scared Bush out of going to Switzerland. The Spanish attempt failed because of the government there and the same happened in Germany.”
Boyle then referenced the Nuremberg Charter which was used as the format for the tribunal when asked about the credibility of the initiative in Malaysia. He quoted: “Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit war crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any person in execution of such a plan.”
The US is subject to customary international law and to the Principles of the Nuremberg Charter said Boyle who also believes the week-long trial was “almost certainly” being monitored closely by both Pentagon and White House officials.
Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, who headed the prosecution said: “The tribunal was very careful to adhere scrupulously to the regulations drawn up by the Nuremberg courts and the International Criminal Courts”.
He added that he was optimistic the tribunal would be followed up elsewhere in the world where “countries have a duty to try war criminals” and he cited the case of the former Chilean dictator Augustine Pinochet who was arrested in Britain to be extradited to Spain on charges of war crimes.
“Pinochet was only eight years out of his presidency when that happened.”
The Pinochet case was the first time that several European judges applied the principle of universal jurisdiction, declaring themselves competent to judge crimes committed by former heads of state, despite local amnesty laws.
Throughout the week the tribunal was packed with legal experts and law students as witnesses gave testimony and then cross examination by the defence led by lawyer Jason Kay Kit Leon.
The court heard how
Abbas Abid, a 48-year-old engineer from Fallujah in Iraq had his fingernails removed by pliers.
Ali Shalal was attached with bare electrical wires and electrocuted and hung from a wall.
Moazzam Begg was beaten, hooded and put in solitary confinement.
Jameelah was stripped and humiliated, and was used as a human shield whilst being transported by helicopter.
The witnesses also detailed how they have residual injuries till today.
Moazzam Begg, now working as a director for the London-based human rights group Cageprisoners said he was delighted with the verdict, but added: “When people talk about Nuremberg you have to remember those tried were all prosecuted after the war.
“Right now Guantanamo is still open, people are still being held there and are still being tortured there.”
In response to questions about the difference between the Bush and Obama Administrations, he added: “If President Bush was the President of extra-judicial torture then US President Barak Obama is the President of extra judicial killing through drone strikes. Our work has only just begun.”
The prosecution case rested on proving how the decision-makers at the highest level President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld, aided and abetted by the lawyers and the other commanders and CIA officials – all acted in concert. Torture was systematically applied and became an accepted norm.
According to the prosecution, the testimony of all the witnesses exposed a sustained perpetration of brutal, barbaric, cruel and dehumanising course of conduct against them.
These acts of crimes were applied cumulatively to inflict the worst possible pain and suffering, said lawyers.
The president of the tribunal Tan Sri Dato Lamin bin Haji Mohd Yunus Lamin, found that the prosecution had established beyond a “reasonable doubt that the accused persons, former President George Bush and his co-conspirators engaged in a web of instructions, memos, directives, legal advice and action that established a common plan and purpose, joint enterprise and/or conspiracy to commit the crimes of Torture and War Crimes, including and not limited to a common plan and purpose to commit the following crimes in relation to the “War on Terror” and the wars launched by the U.S. and others in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
President Lamin told a packed courtroom: “As a tribunal of conscience, the Tribunal is fully aware that its verdict is merely declaratory in nature. The tribunal has no power of enforcement, no power to impose any custodial sentence on any one or more of the 8 convicted persons. What we can do, under Article 31 of Chapter VI of Part 2 of the Charter is to recommend to the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission to submit this finding of conviction by the Tribunal, together with a record of these proceedings, to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.
“The Tribunal also recommends to the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission that the names of all the 8 convicted persons be entered and included in the Commission’s Register of War Criminals and be publicised accordingly.
“The Tribunal recommends to the War Crimes Commission to give the widest international publicity to this conviction and grant of reparations, as these are universal crimes for which there is a responsibility upon nations to institute prosecutions if any of these Accused persons may enter their jurisdictions”.
Comments are closed.
A Complaint has been filed with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales (the “Accused”) for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings.
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(Bloomberg) -- After finishing up his day job at a charter school, Sherwin Karunungan heads to a nondescript warehouse in San Francisco that serves as a shipment hub for Amazon.com Inc. In a windowless breakroom, Karunungan presses a single button on his phone, over and over, to request a gig through Amazon Flex. The program lets anyone sign up to shuttle packages for the world’s largest online store using their own cars and get paid by the delivery. But first, they need to score some actual work. On a recent Tuesday night, a crowd of other workers are hunched nearby with their phones, all furiously tapping and swiping to refresh a sparse page of job offers.
“Yes! Bayview,” Karunungan shouts. His assignment is about three miles away. “Less driving is good. So, more money for me,” he says. Because workers rely on their own vehicle, pay for their own gas and tolls, and sometimes need to return to the warehouse at the end of the day, a Flex job can feel a bit like playing the slots. And because they’re required to make the deliveries in a narrow window of time, Karunungan jumps up from his chair and hurries to retrieve his orders and load them into his car.
Amazon depends on a patchwork of government postal workers, international shipment operators like UPS and FedEx, local carriers and its own armada of warehouses, planes and trucks to deliver packages as quickly as possible to customers. Amazon Flex is one of the newest and largely unseen additions to this network, but it already has people in more than 50 U.S. cities handling packages in their spare time. The company’s sprawl and its relentless drive for efficiency—sometimes at the expense of its own labor force—make it a target for critics. Beating up on Amazon is one of the few bipartisan platforms in American politics, drawing the ire of both President Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders.
On Thursday, Amazon is raising the minimum wage for all U.S. employees to $15 an hour, a move that was seen as a response to political pressures. The company said it’s also giving raises to every operations and customer service employee in hourly jobs, including part-time and temps. Flex workers are not eligible because they’re contractors.
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Related Video: Amazon Cuts Some Pay Incentives As It Raises Minimum Wage
Amazon advertises an hourly rate of $18 to $25 for Flex. But interviews with Flex drivers and research by financial analysts at Bernstein indicate the net pay is much less when accounting for essential, on-the-job expenses. Actual earnings are $5 or $11 an hour, depending on what a worker chooses to deduct, Bernstein found. The calculation assumes a driver makes tips and records certain work-related costs, such as fuel and tolls. Two drivers say their pay fell within that range. Seven others who spoke to Bloomberg say they never bothered to do the math. “Most of these Flex drivers have no idea—they do not realize that they’re making considerably less and working considerably more than what Amazon quotes in the app,” says David Vernon, an analyst at Bernstein who worked on the report.
An Amazon spokeswoman disputed the findings by Bernstein, which the firm distributed to hedge funds and other clients in May. The study relies on “flawed assumptions and anecdotes versus real data,” the spokeswoman wrote in an email. “Their narrative does not accurately reflect the experience or earnings of the overwhelming majority of independent contractors who deliver packages with Amazon Flex.” She says the average driver makes more than $20 an hour but declined to provide an estimate that accounts for expenses.
When things go smoothly, Amazon Flex is a novel and enjoyable way to make some extra cash, drivers say. But they also describe the job as demanding and wildly inconsistent. The process for applying and acquiring assignments is time-consuming and some days results in no work at all. Telephone support representatives are tough to reach and often unhelpful. Package runs are timed, and workers are kicked off the system for missing delivery windows, which creates an incentive to run red lights, double-park and go over the speed limit, drivers say. After an assignment, Flex workers are sometimes required to bring goods they were unable to deliver back to the warehouse. The trip is unpaid and can take an hour or more but is necessary to stay in good standing with the company.
Amazon suggests it leaves drivers plenty of time to complete their routes safely. The company says more than half of Flex workers finish their assignments with at least an hour to spare, including those who need to return undelivered packages to the station.
While shuttling a parcel of laundry detergent, kale chips and LaCroix in his Honda Civic, Karunungan offers some tips he’s picked up from his time on the road. Amazon asks Flex drivers to deliver groceries from Whole Foods and meals from restaurants, but he usually picks orders from the warehouse because he says they pay more. Above all else, he says, Flex drivers need to move fast. “The delivery windows are really, really tight, so you have to hustle,” Karunungan says. “You’re not an Amazon driver if you haven’t run a stop sign.”
Amazon Flex arrives in a city practically overnight, with little notice or fanfare. When Karunungan found Flex—after his daughter’s interest in medical school inspired him to look for extra work—he was drawn to the prospect of making as much as $25 an hour. “It pays so well, and I don’t have to deal with passengers,” says the 49-year-old. “Packages don’t talk back. They don’t ask you to change the radio station. They don’t mess up your car.”
Applicants must download an app, submit to a background check and watch 19 instructional videos explaining what to do if you’re given an incorrect address or damaged package. Nowhere in the lengthy training does Amazon provide guidance on expenses or taxes, according to nine drivers who went through the curriculum. “It’s outrageous that a company like Amazon requires these contractors to sit, unpaid, to watch detailed videos on how to make deliveries, on how to scan packages at every step of the process, but does not give some simple guidance on how to account for expenses,” says Veena Dubal, an associate professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law who specializes in employment issues and the gig economy.
After a waiting period that can last weeks, Amazon emails a welcome letter to those who pass the test. Getting work is a whole other challenge. With Uber, Lyft or other on-demand services, drivers can log on and get to work right away or idle near home until a gig is available. Amazon asks Flex workers to pick the jobs that suit them from a list in the app and tap a button to refresh if the options aren’t to their liking. Oftentimes, the page is empty. So, they tap and swipe to refresh. And tap again.
Eric Carter Jr., an Amazon Flex driver from San Jose, California, says he has more luck during off hours. He wakes up at 3 a.m. to get ahead of the day’s shifts—or “blocks,” in Flex parlance, because Amazon pays per block of time. “Everyone else is trying to get blocks, too, so you have to tap a lot and just hope that you get one,” he says. “It’s very competitive.”
Many drivers say they suspect the odds of getting a shift are higher if they wait in the warehouse. Amazon can track their location using the phone’s GPS and should reward people ready to work, they reason. At Amazon’s San Francisco location, a wall close to where drivers hang out features a large mural of a tree with the phrase, “Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History. Amazon.” They’re not paid for time spent waiting for an assignment. Amazon says Flex workers in some cities can avoid trips to the warehouse by picking food or grocery orders.
When the Flex app finally returns job offers, Karunungan has to ignore some of them because the destinations are too far away or set at inconvenient times. He refers to this exercise as “fishing.” On a good day, he guesses his net hourly pay is $20 after expenses but admits to not keeping tabs on what he spends. This Monday, however, was not a good day. “There are times when you’re just staring at and refreshing your phone forever, just trying to get that shift,” Karunungan says. “We joke here that we’re going to get carpal tunnel tapping so much.”
Some drivers say they had to buy a second cell phone for Flex, so that they could communicate with family while also searching for work. Others have resorted to purchasing devices known as “block grabbers” or “tappers.” These crude mechanical tools, which resemble an earbud attached to a guitar tuner, attempt to mimic the tap of a finger on a smartphone screen. The Pro Flexer E is one of the more popular models. It promises 800 swipes per minute on a Samsung or iPhone and sells for about $199. The products can be found on EBay or specialty online stores that cater to Flex workers. They aren’t sold on Amazon.
Delivering packages is traditionally a pretty good way to make a living in America. United Parcel Service Inc. pays about $36 an hour on average, with transportation, gas and tolls covered, according to the Teamsters, a union that represents some 260,000 UPS workers. The American Postal Workers Union says employees make about $75,000 a year, well over the median U.S. income. Yet, even at the high end of Amazon’s advertised rate, Flex workers would make far less than that and get no employment benefits. Seven of the nine Flex drivers who spoke to Bloomberg estimate their net income at $20 to $25 an hour but say they don’t give much attention to expenses. The other two drivers, who say they do track spending, report earnings below minimum wage.
In its study, Bernstein found that most Flex jobs are at the bottom of the $18 to $25 pay range Amazon advertises and that drivers will occasionally receive tips from customers when making restaurant or grocery runs. (Tips aren’t available for standard package deliveries.) Vernon, the analyst, says his research was based on interviews with drivers, most of whom delivered boxes, as well as information collected from online chatrooms, forums and other posts.
The study says that within a four-hour block, workers can expect to spend more than an hour going back and forth to the warehouse picking up boxes or returning undelivered ones. This contrasts with other on-demand contract work like ride-hailing, where drivers start and stop the clock anytime and from practically anywhere. When factoring in this unpaid time with Amazon Flex, as well as the full gamut of expenses associated with the job, including vehicle depreciation, insurance, maintenance, mobile phone fees, fuel and tolls, net earnings can approach $5 an hour on average, Bernstein says. Only deducting for gas, tolls, and half their insurance and maintenance costs, hourly pay works out to $11, the study says.
Amazon says it covers Flex drivers who hold personal auto insurance under a commercial insurance policy. It also says most deliveries are completed on the first attempt and that less than a quarter of drivers are required to bring items back to the warehouse.
The acquisition of Whole Foods last year for $13.7 billion gave Amazon more than 470 additional stores from which it can stow, package and deliver goods to online shoppers. It has already begun to leverage parts of that logistics opportunity this year. Bernstein says Amazon is building infrastructure to route 5 percent to 15 percent of all packages through a Flex driver. The company declined to comment on the size of its contract workforce.
Stephen Anthony left his job as a data specialist for T-Mobile in Renton, Washington, for Amazon Flex because it allows him to spend more time with his daughter. He drops her off at his in-laws’ house on the way to the warehouse and works fewer hours than before. The financial costs of the work aren’t a major concern for him right now. “I think I’ll figure all that stuff out when I do my taxes,” Anthony says. “It definitely seems like you’re making more than you are. But if I really just concentrate on it and budget, then I’m sure it will all work out in the end. I hope.”
Most participants in the gig economy underestimate or ignore costs associated with their jobs, says David Weil, a former administrator for the U.S. Labor Department. “Countless studies and basic behavioral economics tell us that workers tend to gauge immediate gains more heavily than long-term costs,” says Weil, now the dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. “Our brains are wired to focus on the incoming amount, not the outgoing costs, and large companies using gig workers are taking advantage of that.”
Amazon pays Flex workers twice a week via direct deposit to their bank accounts. Jodi Lynn Reeves signed up for Amazon Flex in Kansas City, Missouri, after she left her job at a company that collects coins from laundromats and struggled to find steady employment. She says she’d get a buzz when the money from Amazon would appear in her checking account every few days. “Through Amazon, I felt so blessed,” she says. “More than the money, I loved seeing the sunsets while I was driving. I lost weight lifting all those heavy packages and getting my steps in looking for the doors.”
But after two months, Lynn Reeves realized she was earning just $5.50 an hour driving long distances and paying tolls to deliver packages in her Ford Expedition, which gets about 13 miles per gallon. She estimates her fuel and tolls cost $50 for a four-hour shift and pushed her net income well below the U.S. minimum wage for employees, which is $7.25. “I kept track of everything and realized it was all a loss in the end,” she says. “You work to make money, not to lose money.”
Many Flex workers say they have no better alternative. They’re willing to take risks to avoid getting kicked off the app. Some say they’ve parked illegally or ran red lights to make their deliveries in time. Drivers who develop a habit of being late are removed from the labor pool. Amazon may also take action against people who repeatedly fail to return undelivered packages, drivers say. Two workers say they’re asked to make returns to the warehouse every four or five shifts.
Bryan Sharp says he fell into a depression after Amazon kicked him off Flex for failing to make his shifts on time. He tried contacting the company to explain that he had misread the time he was expected to start working. In response, he got a form letter and remains blacklisted. “It shocked me for a couple of weeks,” he says. “I wish I had the job back, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Shauna Roeder, a 40-year-old Flex driver and mother of three in rural Pennsylvania, says Amazon is sometimes difficult to communicate with: “You’re kind of stranded out there on your own.” Roeder says she began more closely scrutinizing her relationship with Amazon in December after she noticed her bank account had less than she expected. She tallied her expenses and was surprised by what she discovered. “I came to realize I was making about $6 an hour,” she says.
Last winter, Roeder says she had to temporarily stop delivering for Amazon after she slipped on a patch of ice while carrying a package. “I hit the ground really hard in the middle of a delivery run,” she says. “Luckily, my dad came and found me, and he was able to take me to urgent care. But first, we brought the packages back to Amazon, so I didn’t get dinged.”
Despite all this, Roeder says she’s going to stick with Amazon. She hasn’t been able to find work elsewhere and likes that she can bring her children in the car when she can’t find a sitter. “I found something that I really, really, really like doing. I don’t have to deal with people. I’m by myself,” Roeder says. “I also like organizing all the packages in the car. It’s like a puzzle.” Something about the work makes her insistent on pleasing Amazon, she says: “You want to do a good job, so you just do whatever you can to make sure they get delivered—even if you’re not getting paid for it.”
To contact the author of this story: Olivia Zaleski in San Francisco at ozaleski@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2018 Bloomberg L.P. |
/*
* This file is part of the MicroPython project, http://micropython.org/
*
* The MIT License (MIT)
*
* Copyright (c) 2013, 2014 Damien P. George
*
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
* of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
* in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
* to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
* copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
* furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
*
* The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
* all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
*
* THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
* IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
* AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
* LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
* OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
* THE SOFTWARE.
*/
#include "py/mpconfig.h"
#include "py/misc.h"
#include "py/parsenumbase.h"
// find real radix base, and strip preceding '0x', '0o' and '0b'
// puts base in *base, and returns number of bytes to skip the prefix
size_t mp_parse_num_base(const char *str, size_t len, int *base) {
const byte *p = (const byte *)str;
if (len <= 1) {
goto no_prefix;
}
unichar c = *(p++);
if ((*base == 0 || *base == 16) && c == '0') {
c = *(p++);
if ((c | 32) == 'x') {
*base = 16;
} else if (*base == 0 && (c | 32) == 'o') {
*base = 8;
} else if (*base == 0 && (c | 32) == 'b') {
*base = 2;
} else {
if (*base == 0) {
*base = 10;
}
p -= 2;
}
} else if (*base == 8 && c == '0') {
c = *(p++);
if ((c | 32) != 'o') {
p -= 2;
}
} else if (*base == 2 && c == '0') {
c = *(p++);
if ((c | 32) != 'b') {
p -= 2;
}
} else {
p--;
no_prefix:
if (*base == 0) {
*base = 10;
}
}
return p - (const byte *)str;
}
|
Early last year, in an article in The New York Times Magazine, I defined what I called a “Megyn moment,” in a profile of the Fox News host Megyn Kelly:
“When you, a Fox guest — maybe a regular guest or even an official contributor — are pursuing a line of argument that seems perfectly congruent with the Fox worldview, only to have Kelly seize on some part of it and call it out as nonsense, maybe even turn it back on you.”
When I wrote that article, the Megyn moment was notable because it was so unusual.
Normally, if guests hewed close to Fox News’s prime-time perspective (President Obama, woefully incompetent or frighteningly efficient; Democrats, bad, especially Hillary Clinton; Republicans good, mostly all of them), they were pretty much safe from challenge.
In letting Ms. Kelly break from that orthodoxy here and there, the Fox News chief Roger Ailes seemed to be experimenting with ways to expand his channel’s audience, which was older, whiter and in danger of atrophying despite its longtime perch atop the cable news ratings. Ms. Kelly’s youth and divergent approach had the potential to draw in new viewers. The question at the time was, how far would he be willing to let these Megyn moments go? And what did that mean for Fox? |
It is common practice to merchandise many items such as containers of soft drinks, beer, and the like, in packages containing a number of similar containers with the package normally including a handle or other means to facilitate carrying of the package. One of the most common packages consists of a relatively-rigid, paperboard blank formed around a group of containers, generally six or eight, with the folded blank usually being interlocked with itself and with the containers in the package. Normally, the package provides partitions between individual containers to cushion the same against damage or breakage during shipment. However, these paperboard blank packages have not been entirely satisfactory in that they are relatively expensive and difficult to form and pack at the high speeds required by modern filling and packaging machines.
To overcome these deficiencies of the folded paperboard blank, metal cans have recently been packaged by assemblying the cans into a group with an apertured carrier formed from a sheet of resilient plastic material, with the beaded end of the cans being inserted through the apertures of the carrier. The periphery of the apertures grasp the sidewalls of the cans and is locked beneath the bead securely enough to permit carrying of the package by a handle attached to a central portion or finger holes in the plastic carrier. Previously, it was not considered practical to package bottles in this manner because the elongated neck or shoulder portion made existing methods and apparatus impractical for packaging bottles. Also, the need for tight retention of the individual bottles, and the need for providing cushioning partitions between the bottles for handling and shipment have made such apertured carriers of limited value for use with bottles per se.
Methods and apparatus for applying a band around a group of bottles and securely applying a resilient, apertured carrier to the banded group to form a package convenient for shipping and carrying have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,404,505 and 3,509,684, both of which are assigned to the same common assignee as the present application. Other types of stretchable and elastic packaging devices adapted to be stretch-mounted in grouping engagement with the bottles have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,478. |
[Efficacy of preventing ischemic heart disease and arterial hypertension at a factory manufacturing computer equipment].
The results of a prospective 5-year survey of workers and employees at a computer manufacturing enterprise were summed up. The true prevalence of CHD (11.7% of examinees), arterial hypertension (16.5%), and risk factors of these diseases were established. A scheme of controlled therapy of CHD and arterial hypertension was developed and tested. The annual economic effect of the survey was 4038 rub. per 1000 examinees. |
package tgt;
public class SimpleClass002 {
public static int toInt(String s) {
return Integer.parseInt(s);
}
public static String fromInt(int i) {
return Integer.toString(i);
}
}
|
Monday, May 26, 2014
Belgian Jews Blame Rampant Anti-Semitism for Shooting AttackIs Anti-Semitism becoming a distinctly European phenomenon?Locals say yes - and so does the ADL."Belgium's Jewish community is reeling from Saturday night's horrific shooting attack at the Jewish Museum, which left a museum employee and two Israeli tourists dead and other critically injured.Locals say that the attack, rather than a shock, is the direct outcome of growing tolerance for anti-Semitism in Belgium."Anti-Semitism has grown. We see it on TV, in the media and in our newspapers," Betty Dan, director of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in Belgium, told Walla! News Sunday."It is always against Israel and Jews," she lamented. "All the articles we see about what is happening in this country [to us] are always negative.""All the politicians now say this is a tragedy, but we are not naive," she continued, stating that politicians "have not done anything" to stop anti-Semitism."Read more: |
DESCRIPTION (adapted from the application) Objective and study aim: A novel steroid-free immunosuppression protocol has resulted in unprecedented success after islet transplantation alone at our center. While this experience has clearly established clinical islet transplantation as an effective and safe therapy for selected patients, a major draw-back has been the requirement of two cadaveric donor pancreata to achieve a stable insulin-free state. The objective of the current study is to evaluate in a rigorously controlled clinical study, the efficacy of anti-TNFalpha (Infliximab) mAb therapy to provide protection against injury-mediated islet graft loss in the immediate post-transplant period. The hypothesis is that the addition of anti-TNFalpha mAb will result in insulin-independence after single-donor transplantation. Reliable attainment of insulin-independence after single-donor islet transplantation will represent a major advance to the field, placing the procedure on a par with whole-pancreas transplantation in regards to donor utilization, but without the associated risk of major morbidity. Basis/rationale: Immediate loss of a substantial proportion of isolated islets occurs following embolization to an intrahepatic site, presumably resulting from non-immune injury incurred during pancreas procurement, isolation and purification, and exacerbated by cytokine-mediated activation of apoptotic pathways following islet deprivation of surrounding acinar and ductal elements. Many of these early inflammatory pathways implicate TNFalpha. Pre-treatment of the recipient with an anti-TNFalpha mAb (Infliximab) should minimize activation of these pathways, promoting islet engraftment, and thereby offering the possibility of insulin-independence after transplantation of islets derived from a single-donor. Protocol summary: A prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial will compare outcomes in type 1 diabetic patients undergoing solitary islet transplantation under the cover of Infliximab anti-TNFalpha mAb (5 mg/kg delivered via the portal vein immediately pre-transplant) (n=10 per group, 1:1 randomization), The primary end-point comparison will be the proportion of patients achieving insulin-independence after single-donor transplantation in each group. Secondary end-points will address a) evidence of improvement in islet engraftment (basal, stimulated insulin and C-peptide response, acute insulin response to arginine, correction of HbA1c), and b) comparison of peripheral TNFalpha and other cytokine, granzyme B and perforin activity in the Infliximab vs placebo treatment groups. |
Definitive WiFi Analyzer Guide Including the 20 Best Tools
What’s a Wifi Analyzer?
When it comes to wifi, signal fluctuation is incredibly common. The reason is that your wifi signal is constantly changing due to external conditions. Some days you’ll be able to browse without disconnecting, and others you’ll be in a battle just to stay online.
This is made even more difficult if you don’t have the tools to diagnose the problem. This is where a wifi analyzer can be useful. In a nutshell, a wifi analyzer app breaks down information from access points on your network and places it into a single screen.
A wifi analyzer generates a visual display of the network data of your surrounding channels. The app turns your computer or mobile device into an analytics program that allows you to identify what you need to do to optimize your network.
For example, with a wifi analyzer app like Microsoft Wifi Analyzer, you can look at other channels on your network and identify if they are faster than your current channel. Some providers will even allow you to draw up heat maps of signal distribution in your house or office to help you find the best location for your router.
Why You Need a Wifi Analyzer
The main reason why you need a wifi analyzer is to maintain your connection quality. Wifi signals are in a constant state of fluctuation. Your wifi connection can be performing well until something in the network changes and starts to impede its performance.
Troubleshooting a problem requires data collection and analysis. Without the source information on the normal operations of your network and the current behavior of the troubled system, your solution will be mere guesswork.
When your wifi starts to slow down or disconnect, a wifi analyzer will help you to identify the problem. By diagnosing the problem and addressing it, you ensure your connection stays up and running with minimal interference. A wifi analyzer enables you to run diagnostics on what is happening with your connection and provides you with the information needed to optimize your network.
For example. if your signal distribution around the house is poor, you’ll be able to use an analyzer to find this information out. That being said, wifi analyzers can be used for much more than troubleshooting your signal distribution. You can use a wifi analyzer to locate and use a less congested channel.
Sharing the same channel with nearby devices results in low connection speeds, interference, and disconnection. It’s not uncommon for channels to be shared amongst your neighbors (particularly if you live in an apartment). This is one of the most common reasons for poor connectivity and can be rectified via the use of a quality wifi analyzer.
Using a wifi analyzer can help improve your user experience, speed up browsing, and eliminate the hassle of trying to guess what factors are impeding your connection quality while troubleshooting. After all, it’s almost impossible to optimize your network if you lack the tools to be able to be able to see what’s going on.
Wifi Heatmap
Many advanced wifi analyzers will have an inbuilt heatmap function. As mentioned above a wifi heatmap will produce a visual display of the signal strength in your house. You’ll be able to see where your signal is strongest and choose the best location for your router.
Solar Winds allows the user to create custom wireless heat maps and displays ‘dead zones’ where connectivity is poor. The tool works by reading the signal strength of nearby access points and indicating the quality of your connection based on signal location.
What makes this tool so effective is that the wifi heat map can produce a physical image of an entire network site. This allows you to easily identify where your site is causing problems for your connection, and what needs to be done to address it. In short, a heat map makes it easier to improve your coverage and signal strength.
Here’s a List of The Best Wifi Analyzers for Windows
The SolarWind’s Wifi Analyzermodule that comes with the Network Performance Monitor (NPM) will keep your wireless networks ticking over faultlessly. This tool begins its service life with an autodiscovery phase. The AP detection system then continues running in order to give you live statuses on your wireless networks.
The inventory built up by the discovery phase automatically translates into a map of your wireless devices. You can even generate a wireless heat map by uploading a floorplan of your premises. This will show the signal footprint of all of your wireless APS and helps you see instantly where overlaps and gaps cause service problems.
The NPM tracks the statuses of all network equipment, not just wireless APs, so you will be able to see how your WiFi system fits into your wider network, including remote sites and Cloud services across the internet.
The support given by the WiFi Analyzer highlights Wi-Fi bandwidth issues and performance impairment so that you can quickly resolve problems and improve service. The screens of the monitor contain live status reports and also include an investigative tool, called PerfStack, which uses drag and drop access to let you lay performance charts on top of each other. This gives you a clear picture of what equipment is the root cause of any performance problems, which you will see ripple through the stack of charts.
An alternative performance monitor view in the tool is the NetPath screen. This shows you the transition points between all of the links in your network, letting you see the route that signals cross from and to your wireless networks. This is another opportunity to get a visual clue on where performance problems lie.
You can get the SolarWinds WiFi Analyzer module as part of the NPM. It installs on Windows Server and you can access the software on a 30-day free trial.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
SolarWinds WiFi Analysis with NPM: this tool takes our top spot thanks to its wide range of features that beginner and advanced users alike will appreciate.
Paessler PRTG will discover all of the network devices on your network including wifi routers. The discovery phase of the network monitor’s operations creates a network map. This shows which other devices on the network are connected to your routers.
PRTG uses three methods to monitor wifi routers. SNMP, which is the Simple Network Management Protocol, informs the central collector of a monitored router’s statuses. This information includes the throughput capacity and health of the router. The NetFlow messaging protocol is the second monitoring medium used by PRTG. This standard broadcasts network traffic metrics, which are picked up by the PRTG collector. The third monitoring system for wifi routers is the PRTG packet sniffer. This examines the headers of packets crossing your network. The tool only captures the headers of those packets, so your data privacy is preserved. The packet sniffer reports on traffic volumes by application, port number, and protocol.
The interface of PRTG interprets all of the data collected on your wifi networks, creating graphs of real-time data and also charts of historical data. Any problems arising in the router that could cause an interruption of service get reported to the monitor as soon as they arise. These alerts highlight overloading or equipment failure. You can set warning points so that the system will notify you if traffic approaches critical conditions. You can even create custom alerts that combine several different conditions.
Paessler PRTG installs on Windows or you can also opt to get the system as a cloud service. Paessler charges for PRTG according to the number of sensors that you activate. PRTG is free if you only want to monitor up to 100 sensors. PRTG comes with a 30-day free trial.
As mentioned above, NetSpot is one of the best programs on Windows and Mac because of its detailed heatmap. The user can upload a map of their location and run a survey with little complication. Once the survey has completed, the areas where your connection is strongest will be marked in red.
In NetSpot’s discover mode, you’ll be able to compile data from the surrounding wifi networks and convert it into a table. On the table, you’ll be able to access information on the SSID, Mac Address, Signal Information and Vendor.
Likewise, you can convert this data into a CSV file in order to create a paper record. The program’s combination of simplicity and technical detail make it suitable for both home users and network administrators.
Acrylic Wifi is a free wifi Analyzer designed for windows. The user can scan for local wireless access points and compile a table of the relevant details. All the core metrics are included in the table, such as MAC address, SSID, RSSI, channel and vendor.
In addition, the monitor mode allows the user to monitor network packets, which can be used to locate hidden networks. Unfortunately, Acrylic is only free for personal use, and business users will have to obtain the professional version.
The professional version can be obtained for a one-off fee of $47.99 (£34.52), which grants the user access to more detailed network information and report generation.
At $19.99 (£14.38), inSSIDer is one of the most competitively priced wifi analyzers on the market. The app breaks down all the relevant data about your nearby wireless networks whilst detailing a variety of information on your access points. Users are able to view information on everything from encryption type to signal strength and channel.
What makes inSSIDER stand out is its ease of use. In order to find more information about a network, you simply right click on it and you will be shown a menu of data to single out. You can click on SSID, signal, channel or network type to see more information on that category.
The simplicity of the user interface makes it ideal for less experienced users but network professionals will find the functions to be limited. For example, most versions of insider don’t offer GHz channel utilization or 5 GHz spectrum analysis.
WiFi Analyzer is Microsoft’s answer to poor connectivity. Users looking for an easy-to-use wifi analyzer should look no further. The app has been designed specifically for home users and transforms the user’s network into a visual display where they can clearly see their signal strength.
Like many other apps on this list, Wifi Analyzer is available in both a free and a pro version for $2.99 (£2.15). The free version provides you with all you need to produce graphical displays and identify problems within your network.
The pro version builds on this by providing an auditory beeper for signal strength and the ability to change signal strength borders. As a bonus, the user can also connect straight to a new network via the app.
The simplicity of the user interface and the visual display make this an ideal choice for those new to wifi analyzer tools. WiFi Analyzer makes it easy to look up available channels on your network and transition to the one that’s optimum.
If you’re looking to run wifi analytics on a budget, Vistumbler should be your first port of call. This free tool allows the user to locate nearby access points and collect data on their signal strength. When using the platform you can create a unique graph of every network in your vicinity.
Vistumber’s graphs make it easy to identify which networks are performing well, and what you can do to improve your own network performance. If you’re looking for more of a location-based approach, then you’ll need to add a GPS to your laptop.
If you do this you’ll be able to generate a wireless network map over a Google earth image. This means if Vistumbler finds a network it pinpoints it on the map with its accompanying information (name, encryption type, signal strength). The only problem with Vistumber is that it’s not easy to use.
Vistumbler was originally designed to enable users to search for wifi networks in moving vehicles, so it’s not tailored toward home or office users. However, once you get past the initial learning curve, it offers more than enough to optimize your network.
Finally, we have Wireshark. While technically packet analyzer and robust open source network analysis tool, Wireshark can also be used as a wifi analyzer tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This free program is tailored towards both professional and home users. Wireshark is a powerful network analyzer and has the strength to generate data on an entire office network.
The system offers live data capture so that you can see real-time network connection and look for connectivity issues. Likewise, you can also run decryption and VOIP analysis in order to improve the visibility of surrounding networks
The only problem with Wireshark is there’s not much in the way of external support. There’s an active community but little to no supporting documentation to help users with any problems that arise.
That being said, the diverse functionality of the platform offers more than enough to provide home and office users with an industry standard wifi analyzer suite.
Here’s a List of The Best WiFi Analyzers for Mac
When it comes to wifi analyzer apps for Mac, Netspot is one of the best offerings on the market. Netspot offers a detailed heat map that allows the user to identify signal strength in their surrounding location. The app collects data on everything from channel width, to MAC address, signal quality, and network encryption to provide more transparency over your local network.
Unlike many other analyzers, NetSpot allows you to assess WLAN interference as well. What really sets this app apart from the crowd is the depth of its reports, ease of use and network information. The program color codes areas of signal strength, with weak signals being highlighted by purple or blue.
The scalability of the heat map renders NetSpot ideal for both home and office users. The home version is available for $49 (£35.26) and the professional version for $149 (£107.21). However, the app provides another version where users can scan for local networks and view signal strength for free.
As one of the best mid-level tools on this list, WiFi Explorer is a solid alternative for beginners and experienced users alike. When a user launches WiFi Explorer they can start to locate local wireless networks immediately. Once this occurs, the user can flick through the networks identified via the use of the on-screen tabs.
Users can look through everything: network details, signal strength, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels. The signal strength tab is WiFi Explorer’s version of the heatmaps seen in other apps like Solarwinds.
You can simply set the app to measure signal strength and it will produce a graph as you walk around your building. The only drawback is that you won’t be able to detect hidden networks. This is because Apple doesn’t provide the necessary data in order to detect hidden wireless networks.
It’s worth mentioning that the app also provides a range of information to assist more experienced users looking for advanced functionality. You can identify information such as the SSID, BSSID, signal-to-noise ratio and signal quality after you’ve identified another network. Whether you’re looking to break down your network performance or locate a more efficient channel, WiFi Explorer has you covered.
AccessAgility’s WiFi Scanner is one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to wifi analyzers. This competitively priced tool retails at $14.99 (£10.79) allows users to analyze their networks download and upload speeds with simplicity. This makes it ideal for home users who don’t have a large budget.
The app breaks down access points in the surrounding area and provides information such as BSSID and Mac Addresses. Unlike many other tools on this list, WiFi Scanner also enables the user to detect unauthorized devices on the network through the use of an IP scanner. This makes it a great tool for overall network transparency.
Rather than opting for a visual display, iStumbler scans for wifi networks and puts them into a list. This list is updated in real time so you can click on any networks you see and view more detailed information like dBm values.
You’ll be able to see how much signal there is available, as well as any noise on a given channel. It’s worth mentioning that you can also break down Bluetooth, Bonjour and locations connections beyond your wifi signal.
Unfortunately, the free version bombards the user with endless popups encouraging them to upgrade. However, this can be avoided if you choose to upgrade to the $20 (£14.39) version. The depth of the signal data and the ease of use of the platform makes this a good choice for users who are new to the world of wifi analyzers.
KisMAC 2 is a formidable and technical open source wifi analyzer that supports a wide array of wifi analytics functions. Like other programs, all you need to do to start scanning your network is press start. You’ll then be able to break down your network signal strength, though KisMAC’s capabilities go far beyond that.
You can also analyze USB Wifi adapters, Kismets servers, and drones. In terms of more advanced features, KisMAC2 helps the user break down SSIDs whether they’re open, hidden or closed. Likewise, the platform supports Apple Airport Extreme, which helps to extend your network transparency even further.
The only limitation is that KisMAC is aimed at professional users and it can be very difficult for newer users to navigate.
Here’s a List of The Best WiFi Analyzers for Linux
Kismet is wifi analyzer or network analyzer designed to work with IEEEE802.11 Wifi cards. Kismet is often used by Linux users but can also be used on FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Mac OS as well. This tool is widely used because it offers support for a range of protocols including Bluetooth and RTL433.
The Kismet 2018 version is offering a number of features that enhance the basic functionality of the platform. Now when working with a large team you can conduct real-time live streaming of captures to share information with other colleagues on network activity. If you wish to customize your experience then you can make use of external tool APIs to add additional features.
Kismet has a number of plugins available to expand on the basic product including Kestrel, IoD – Screwdriver and Elkentaro’s Simplified Mobile Dashboard and ElKentaro’s Simplified Mobile Dashboard. Kismet can be downloaded for free.
wavemon is a free open source wifi analyzing tool that allows users to monitor devices on Linux. In order to use wavemon, you’ll need to enable wireless extensions. When using a kernel setup with CONFIG_CFG80211 you need to make sure that CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT package is activated. You will also want to make sure that you have the pkg-config package.
Once you’ve done this the user experience is quite straightforward. wavemon uses autoconf so that you can make your way through the setup process promptly. The program is kept updated on Github so that you can add updates regularly. wavemon is available as source code from GitHub via this link here.
Sparrow-WiFi Analyzer is a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wifi and Bluetooth analyzer for Linux. The sparrow-wifi platform has been positioned as a more GUI-friendly replacement for other tools like inSSIDer and linssid. When using this wifi analyzer you can conduct wifi SSID identification and track wifi sources.
The installation process for sparrow-wifi is very simple. On Debian, you will need qtchart and on Ubuntu and Linux you will need to enter a couple of commands to get running:
There is also the ability to use GPS to track SSID’s and Bluetooth devices. sparrow-wifi enables you to create Google maps that log these for you. If you need to further analyze your wifi results then you can also import and export data to CSV and JSON. If you’d like to download sparrow-wifi then you can do so from this link here.
Here’s a List of The Best Wifi Analyzers for Android
When it comes to wifi analyzers for Android devices, Wifi Analyzer is a name that keeps cropping up. With over 10,000,000 installs, this app is one of the most established wifi analyzers on the platform. Wifi Analyzer is adept at identifying nearby networks. The app will scan and create a visual representation of your wifi signal.
This visual image is great for providing an overview of your local channels. As soon as you load up Wifi Analyzer you’re shown an image of nearby signals that allow you to identify oversaturated channels. This makes it much easier to spot a less congested channel and move accordingly. This effective app is available for free although you will have to tolerate some on-screen advertisements.
OpenSignal is one of the most versatile apps on this list. You can see your wifi signal coverage on a virtual display and run speed and latency tests. What really sets OpenSignal apart is its detailed maps system. You can view a map of wifi hotspots and phone towers in order to see where connection quality is best. It’s worth noting that the phone towers shown, only pertain to your telephone provider.
OpenSignal is the best choice for users looking to monitor both their wifi and mobile signal coverage. Of course, you can still generate extensive wireless network information if you are looking to stick to the fundamentals. This app is also competitive in terms of price, being available for free with no onboard advertisements.
Microsoft’s WiFi Monitor has made a name for itself on Android for good reason. The app combines substance with a simple user interface. 4 tabs (Connection, Networks, Channels, Strength) allow the user to delve deep into their network parameters. The Networks tab breaks down all nearby wifi networks and the Channels tab shows how your wifi channels are distributed.
You can then use the strength chart to assess your signal strength and to identify where you have a weak signal. Under the speed chart, you’re provided with a detailed breakdown of all the data you’ve transmitted and received. If you’re looking for a free app that has core functions with depth, WiFi monitor should be your first choice.
Wifi Analyzers for iOS
The iOS operating system blocks access by apps to the wifi processes or connection hardware. That presents a big problem for the designers of wireless packet sniffers. However, some valiant software producers have taken a shot at producing wifi analyzers for iPhones and iPads. Check out the following options:
Network Analyzer – You have already been introduced to this analyzer from Techet. The company produces a free ad-supported version for iOS, which is called Network Analyzer Lite. If you don’t want to put up with the advertisements, you should opt for the paid Network Analyzer Pro. The Network Analyzer operates within the limitations of iOS and it can give you a list of wifi devices within range and the results of a series of network performance tests.
MasterAPP Wifi Analyzer – You would recognize the name of this IOS app from the Windows section of this guide. However, this is not the same product and it is produced by a different company. The MasterAPP Solutions Wifi Analyzer isn’t able to capture packets because of the operating system restrictions. However, it can perform a series of network tests to derive details on network performance.
Glossary
dBm – dBm stands for decibel-milliwatts. dBm is the measurement used to measure the strength of a wifi signal.
IP Address – A unique number punctuated with full stops used to identify a computer communicating via a wifi network.
MAC Address (Media Access Control Address) – A unique identifier used to refer to a network adapter over a network.
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) – A measurement used to identify the strength of a radio signal.
Signal to Noise Ratio – The ratio of an electrical signal’s strength compared to outside interference.
SSID (Service Set Identifier) – The technical name for a wifi network name.
Vendor – A wireless network provider.
Wifi Channels – A wifi channel is where wifi networks exchange data (Channels 6 and 11 are where most routers exchange data).
Wireless Access Point (WAP) – A hardware device or configured node on a local area network that allows wireless devices to connect through wifi and Bluetooth connections.
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) – A network that allows devices to connect, interact and communicate with each other wirelessly.
Get a Better Connection with a Wifi Analyzer
Whether you’re a home user or a battle-tested network administrator, a wifi analyzer is a vital tool for managing your network. If you want to maintain the speed and integrity of your wifi connection, then a wifi analyzer app should be a high priority.
There are plenty of different options available on the market. If you want to have full coverage it’s a good idea to look for a model with an inbuilt heat map, as this is the most effective way to see a real-time depiction of your local signal strength.
Ultimately you’re looking for an app that’s easy to use and offers the functionality needed to achieve your needs. A home user might be able to scrape by on a free program, but an entire department will need a more powerful solution.
Taking some time to research the right tool for your business will allow you to optimize your online experience much more effectively. Whether you’re a home or enterprise user, doing your research is the key to finding the wifi analyzer app that’s right for you. |
/* eslint-disable no-param-reassign */
'use strict';
const Projection = require('./projection.js');
const TTLList = require('./ttl-list.js');
module.exports = class UnleashClientMetrics {
constructor(clientMetricsStore) {
this.globalCount = 0;
this.apps = {};
this.lastHourProjection = new Projection();
this.lastMinuteProjection = new Projection();
this.lastHourList = new TTLList({
interval: 10000,
});
this.lastMinuteList = new TTLList({
interval: 10000,
expireType: 'minutes',
expireAmount: 1,
});
this.lastHourList.on('expire', toggles => {
Object.keys(toggles).forEach(toggleName => {
this.lastHourProjection.substract(
toggleName,
this.createCountObject(toggles[toggleName]),
);
});
});
this.lastMinuteList.on('expire', toggles => {
Object.keys(toggles).forEach(toggleName => {
this.lastMinuteProjection.substract(
toggleName,
this.createCountObject(toggles[toggleName]),
);
});
});
clientMetricsStore.on('metrics', m => this.addPayload(m));
}
getAppsWithToggles() {
const apps = [];
Object.keys(this.apps).forEach(appName => {
const seenToggles = Object.keys(this.apps[appName].seenToggles);
const metricsCount = this.apps[appName].count;
apps.push({ appName, seenToggles, metricsCount });
});
return apps;
}
getSeenTogglesByAppName(appName) {
return this.apps[appName]
? Object.keys(this.apps[appName].seenToggles)
: [];
}
getSeenAppsPerToggle() {
const toggles = {};
Object.keys(this.apps).forEach(appName => {
Object.keys(this.apps[appName].seenToggles).forEach(
seenToggleName => {
if (!toggles[seenToggleName]) {
toggles[seenToggleName] = [];
}
toggles[seenToggleName].push({ appName });
},
);
});
return toggles;
}
getTogglesMetrics() {
return {
lastHour: this.lastHourProjection.getProjection(),
lastMinute: this.lastMinuteProjection.getProjection(),
};
}
addPayload(data) {
const { appName, bucket } = data;
const app = this.getApp(appName);
this.addBucket(app, bucket);
}
getApp(appName) {
this.apps[appName] = this.apps[appName] || {
seenToggles: {},
count: 0,
};
return this.apps[appName];
}
createCountObject(entry) {
let yes = typeof entry.yes === 'number' ? entry.yes : 0;
let no = typeof entry.no === 'number' ? entry.no : 0;
if (entry.variants) {
Object.entries(entry.variants).forEach(([key, value]) => {
if (key === 'disabled') {
no += value;
} else {
yes += value;
}
});
}
return { yes, no };
}
addBucket(app, bucket) {
let count = 0;
// TODO stop should be createdAt
const { stop, toggles } = bucket;
const toggleNames = Object.keys(toggles);
toggleNames.forEach(n => {
const countObj = this.createCountObject(toggles[n]);
this.lastHourProjection.add(n, countObj);
this.lastMinuteProjection.add(n, countObj);
count += countObj.yes + countObj.no;
});
this.lastHourList.add(toggles, stop);
this.lastMinuteList.add(toggles, stop);
this.globalCount += count;
app.count += count;
this.addSeenToggles(app, toggleNames);
}
addSeenToggles(app, toggleNames) {
toggleNames.forEach(t => {
app.seenToggles[t] = true;
});
}
destroy() {
this.lastHourList.destroy();
this.lastMinuteList.destroy();
}
};
|
Tumble - Science Podcast for Kids
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble."- RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Exploring stories of science discovery, Tumble is a podcast created to be enjoyed by the entire family. Voted iTunes Best of the Year, Tumble is hosted & produced by science journalist Lindsay Patterson & teacher Marshall Escamilla. Visit SciencePodcastForKids.com for more. |
Stay Informed on Energy Issues
We all are concerned about energy and related issues. Clearly, we have an obligation to stay informed and make our opinions known to elected officials.
One of the most controversial topics in the energy industry today is fracking. For those unfamiliar with fracking—forget the politics for a moment—it is a drilling technique by which water (generally, process wastewater) is injected into a well under high pressure to induce hydraulic fracturing. This results in a significant increase in the well’s productivity. Proponents point to the large amount of otherwise unobtainable shale gas that can be recovered and the resulting economic and energy-independence benefits. Opponents object to environmental and health risks that have been associated with the technique.
So, perhaps the first question we should be asking is how important is shale gas to our overall energy strategy. According to the American Gas Association (AGA), shale gas is “clean, abundant and environmentally friendly.” On the other hand, Section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires that all new federal buildings and major renovations of existing federal buildings meet Architecture 2030’s 2030 Challenge targets. Those targets call for fossil-fuel—including shale-gas—reductions of 70 percent by 2015 and 100 percent (carbon neutrality) by 2030.
Not surprisingly, the AGA is lobbying for a repeal of Section 433, which would allow the United States to increase its use of shale gas. And equally unsurprising, Architecture 2030, which describes itself as non-profit, non-partisan, and independent, is leading the charge to keep it, even at the risk of having the Senate kill the bipartisan Shaheen-Portman energy-efficiency bill (repeal of Section 433 isn’t the only problematic amendment in the bill; there’s also the Keystone XL pipeline and ethanol).
Around the time the AGA was lining up support from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Alliance to Save Energy (in its preliminary analysis of Shaheen-Portman, ACEEE estimated it would save about 9.5 quadrillion Btu, or almost 10 percent of U.S. annual energy consumption, from 2014 to 2030), the journal Science reported large earthquakes around the world have been linked to smaller quakes at U.S. fracking sites.
We all are concerned about energy conservation, energy independence, and the environment. Such issues will continue to challenge us and our industry. Clearly, we have an obligation to stay informed and make our opinions known to elected officials.
By the way, as of this writing, the Commercial Building Modernization Act (S. 3591) I blogged about in June still has not been reintroduced, and existing commercial-building energy-efficiency tax deductions are set to expire on Dec. 31. |
Lola Benarroche Judoka
Lola Benarroche
Country:France
Born:15 March 1991 (27 years)
Popularity
French judoka Lola Benarroche won European Open in Madrid and in Rome in 2016. She took gold at the Grand Prix in Zagreb in 2016 and bronze at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi in 2016. In 2015 she won the European Cup in Belgrade in 2015. She took bronze at the African Open in 2016. She is European U23 champion in 2013 in Samokov. Benarroche won the Golden League with Red Star. She won the African Open in Tunis in 2017. In 2018 she took a bronze medal at the European Open in Rome. |
---
abstract: |
A $k$-ranking of a graph $G$ is a labeling of the vertices of $G$ with values from $\{1,\dots,k\}$ such that any path joining two vertices with the same label contains a vertex having a higher label. The tree-depth of $G$ is the smallest value of $k$ for which a $k$-ranking of $G$ exists. The graph $G$ is $k$-critical if it has tree-depth $k$ and any proper minor of $G$ has smaller tree-depth, and it is 1-unique if for every vertex $v$ in $G$, there exists an optimal ranking of $G$ in which $v$ is the unique vertex with label 1.
We present several classes of graphs that are both $k$-critical and $1$-unique, providing examples that satisfy conjectures on critical graphs discussed in \[M.D. Barrus and J. Sinkovic, Uniqueness and minimal obstructions for tree-depth, submitted\].
*Keywords:* Graph minors, tree-depth, vertex ranking
author:
- 'Michael D. Barrus[^1] and John Sinkovic[^2]'
bibliography:
- 'treedepth.bib'
title: 'Classes of critical graphs for tree-depth'
---
Introduction
============
The *tree-depth* of a graph $G$, denoted $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(G)$, is the smallest natural number $k$ such that each vertex of $G$ may be labeled with an element from $\{1,\dots,k\}$ so that every path joining two vertices with the same label contains a vertex having a larger label. A *$k$-ranking* of $G$ is such a labeling. We say that $G$ is ($k$-)*critical* if it has tree-depth $k$ and any proper minor of $G$ has smaller tree-depth, and it is *1-unique* if for every vertex $v$ in $G$, there exists an optimal ranking of $G$ in which $v$ is the unique vertex with label 1.
The definition of 1-uniqueness was introduced in [@BarrusSinkovic15], motivated in part by the following two conjectures:
\[conj: critical graph orders\] Every critical graph with tree-depth $k$ has at most $2^{k-1}$ vertices.
\[conj: max degree\] Every critical graph with tree-depth $k$ has maximum degree at most $k-1$.
The paper [@BarrusSinkovic15] presents the following additional conjecture and shows that it implies Conjecture \[conj: max degree\]:
\[conj: 1-unique\] All critical graphs are 1-unique.
Results in [@BarrusSinkovic15] also show how critical, 1-unique graphs may be used to inductively construct larger critical graphs with a prescribed tree-depth. In order to begin, it is necessary to have identified some critical, 1-unique graphs. The purpose of this note is to present a few classes of such graphs.
In the following, let $V(G)$ denote the vertex set of a graph $G$. The *order* of $G$ is given by $|V(G)|$. Given a vertex $v$ of $G$, let $G-v$ denote the graph resulting from the deletion of $v$. Similarly, given a set $S \subseteq V(G)$ or an edge $e$ of $G$, let $G-S$ and $G-e$ respectively denote the graph obtained by deleting all vertices in $S$ or by deleting edge $e$ from $G$. We indicate the disjoint union of graphs $G$ and $H$ by $G+H$, and we indicate a disjoint union of $k$ copies of $G$ by $kG$. We use $\langle p_1,\dots,p_k\rangle$ to denote a path from $p_1$ to $p_k$, with vertices listed in the order the path visits them; the *length* of such a path is $k-1$, the number of its edges. We use $K_n$, $P_n$, and $C_n$ to denote the complete graph, path, and cycle with $n$ vertices, respectively.
Families of $1$-unique Critical Graphs {#sec:families}
======================================
We now present some families of graphs that are both critical and $1$-unique. We recall a few results from [@BarrusSinkovic15], as well as facts about tree-depths of paths and cycles.
A vertex $v$ in a graph $G$ is *1-unique* if there exists an optimal ranking of $G$ where $v$ is the unique vertex with rank 1. If $v$ is any vertex in a graph $G$, a *star-clique transform at $v$* removes $v$ from $G$ and adds edges as necessary so that $N_G(v)$ becomes a clique.
\[thm:starclique\] Let $v$ be a vertex of a graph $G$, and let $H$ be the graph obtained through the star-clique transform at $v$ of $G$. Vertex $v$ is $1$-unique in $G$ if and only if $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(H)<\operatorname{\bf{td}}(G)$.
\[thm:conjecture\] If $G$ is 1-unique and has tree-depth $k$, and deleting any edge of $G$ results in a graph with a lower tree-depth, then $G$ is $k$-critical.
\[lem:pathscycles\] For $n \geq 1$, $$\operatorname{\bf{td}}(P_n)=\lfloor \log_2 n\rfloor +1,$$ and for $n \geq 3$, $$\operatorname{\bf{td}}(C_n)=\lfloor \log_2 (n-1)\rfloor +2.$$
\[lem:families\] For all integers $k \geq 1$, the graphs $K_k$, $C_{2^{k-2}+1}$, and $P_{2^{k-1}}$ are both $k$-critical and $1$-unique.
Fix a natural number $k$. It is easy to see that $K_k$ is $k$-critical. Since each vertex receives a different color in any ranking, by symmetry each vertex is $1$-unique.
Looking at the values of $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(P_n)$ and $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(C_n)$ in Lemma \[lem:pathscycles\], we see that deleting or contracting any edge of $C_{2^{k-2}+1}$ or $P_{2^{k-1}}$ lowers its tree-depth from $k$. It follows from Theorem \[thm:starclique\] that a vertex of degree 1 or 2 in a critical graph is $1$-unique. Thus $C_{2^{k-2}+1}$ and $P_{2^{k-1}}$ are $1$-unique.
We now present another family of 1-unique critical graphs. For each $k \geq 3$ and $t$ such that $0 \leq t \leq 2^{k-2}-2$, let $R_{k,t}$ be the graph obtained by taking a path with $2^{k-2}+1+t$ vertices and adding an edge between the two vertices at distance $t$ from the endpoints. As illustrated in Figure \[fig:Umt\], $R_{k,t}$ contains a cycle with $2^{k-2}+1-t$ vertices and two attached paths of length $t$; note that $R_{k,0}=C_{2^{k-2}+1}$.
For integers $k \geq 3$ and $t$ such that $0 \leq t \leq 2^{k-2}-2$, the graph $R_{k,t}$ is $k$-critical and $1$-unique.
Let $m=2^{k-2}+1-t$. Then $R_{k,t}$ can be thought as a cycle of order $m$ with two pendant paths of length $t$. By Lemma \[lem:families\] it suffices to assume that $t\geq 1$ and hence $m \leq 2^{k-2}$.
We show that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R_{k,t})\geq k$ by showing that deleting any vertex $x$ leaves a subgraph with tree-depth at least $k-1$. Now $R_{k,t}$ has a unique path of order $m+2t$. Denote its vertices $1,\ldots, m+2t$ in order. If $x$ is not a vertex of degree 2 on the cycle, then $x\in \{1,\ldots, t+1\}\cup\{m+t,\ldots, m+2t\}$. Thus $R_{k,t}-x$ has a path of order $t+m-1=2^{k-2}$, which has tree-depth $k-1$. Suppose henceforth that $t+1<x<m+t$. If $t+1\geq 2^{k-3}$, then $R_{k,t}-x$ contains a path of order $2(t+1)\geq 2^{k-2}$, so we also assume that $t+1<2^{k-3}$.
Let $p=1+\lfloor \log_2(t+1)\rfloor$; then $2^{p-1}\leq t+1<2^p$. We will exhibit a collection of $2^{k-2-p}$ paths of order $2^p$, none of which contain $x$, that together induce a tree with tree-depth $k-1$.
If $x\equiv a \mod 2^p$ where $1\leq a\leq t+1$, then we begin the collection with the two paths $\langle 1,\ldots, 2^p\rangle$ and $\langle m+2t-2^p+1. \dots, m+2t\rangle$. Suppose that we add to this collection $i$ paths of order $2^p$ covering vertices $2^p+1,\ldots, 2^p+i2^p$ and $2^{k-2-p}-2-i$ paths of order $2^p$ covering vertices $m+2t-2^p-(2^{k-2-p}-2-i)2^p+1,\ldots, m+2t-2^p$. Since $m+2t-2^p-(2^{k-2-p}-2-i)2^p+1 = t+2 + 2^p + i2^p$, the vertices of the cycle not covered by one of these paths are $1+(i+1)2^p, \ldots, t+1+(i+1)2^p$. Clearly we may choose $i$ so that $x$ is one of these uncovered vertices.
If $x\equiv a \mod 2^p$ where $t+2\leq a\leq 2^p$, then we begin our collection of paths of order $2^p$ with the path $\langle 1,\ldots, t+1, m+t, \ldots, m+2^p-2\rangle$. Suppose to the collection we add $i$ paths of order $2^p$ covering vertices $t+2,\ldots, t+1+i2^p$ and $2^{k-2-p}-1-i$ paths of order $2^p$ covering vertices $m+t-(2^{k-2-p}-1-i)2^p,\ldots, m+t-1$. Since $m+t-(2^{k-2-p}-1-i)2^p = 1+2^p+i2^p$, the vertices of the cycle not covered by one of these paths are $t+2+i2^p,\ldots, 2^p+i2^p$. Clearly we may choose $i$ so that $x$ is one of these uncovered vertices.
Let $\mathcal{C}$ denote our collection of $2^{k-2-p}$ paths of order $2^p$ that avoid $x$. By [@DGT Lemma 2], for any $t \geq 1$, adding a single edge joining two $t$-critical graphs creates a $(t+1)$-critical graph. Note that each path in $\mathcal{C}$ is joined to one or two other paths in $\mathcal{C}$ by edges of the cycle from $R_{k,t}$; let $\mathcal{E}$ denote the edges in $R_{k,t}-x$ that join vertices in distinct elements of $\mathcal{C}$. Since the cycle in $R_{k,t}$ is reduced to a path in $R_{k,t} - x$, these cycle edges naturally assign a linear order to the paths in $\mathcal{C}$. Joining the first two of these paths with the appropriate edge from $\mathcal{E}$ creates a tree with tree-depth $p+2$, as does joining the third and fourth, fifth and sixth, and so on. Further adding the edge from $\mathcal{E}$ joining the second and third (sixth and seventh, etc.) trees creates an induced subgraph with tree-depth $p+3$. Continuing in this way, because the number of paths in $\mathcal{C}$ is $2^{k-2-p}$, adding to the paths in $\mathcal{C}$ all edges from $\mathcal{E}$ results in an induced subgraph of $R_{k,t}-x$ with tree-depth $(p+1)+(k-2-p) = k-1$, as claimed. Thus $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R_{k,t}) \geq k$.
Deleting a vertex of degree 3 yields two paths of orders $m+t-1$ and $t$. By our assumptions on $m$ and the definition of $t$, we know that $m+t-1=2^{k-2}$ and $t\leq 2^{k-2}-2$, so these two paths have tree-depth less than or equal to $k-1$. Thus $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R_{k,t})\leq k$.
If $x$ is any vertex, then $x$ lies on a path of order $2^{k-2}$ when the farther vertex of degree 3 (call it $y$) is deleted. By Lemma \[lem:families\], there is a ranking of $P_{2^{k-2}}$ with $k-1$ colors such that vertex $x$ is the unique vertex with color 1. The other path in $R_{k,t}-x$ has tree-depth at most $k-2$, so it has a ranking using colors $2,\ldots, k-1$. Use the colors on these paths for the corresponding vertices of $R_{k,t}$, and assign color $k$ to the vertex $y$. The result is an optimal ranking of $R_{k,t}$ where $x$ is the unique vertex colored $1$. Hence $R_{k.t}$ is $1$-unique.
To show that $R_{k,t}$ is critical, by Theorem \[thm:conjecture\] it suffices to show that the tree-depth decreases when any edge is deleted. Deleting any edge $e$ on the cycle of $R_{k,t}$ leaves a tree. By [@DGT Theorem 2] and induction, all $k$-critical trees have order $2^{k-1}$. Since $R_{k,t}-e$ has order $m+2t=2^{k-1}+2-m$ and $m\geq 3$, $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R_{k,t}-e)<k$. Deleting an edge not on the cycle yields two components, each of which is a proper induced subgraph of $R_{k,t}$. Since $R_{k,t}$ is $1$-unique, deleting any vertex of $R_{k,t}$ results in a graph with a lower tree-depth (since we may obtain a $(k-1)$-ranking by taking a $k$-ranking where the chosen vertex is the unique vertex receiving label 1, deleting that vertex, and dropping the labels on all remaining vertices by 1). Hence any proper subgraph has tree-depth less than $k$; it follows that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R_{k,t}-e)<k$.
Before describing our final class of 1-unique critical graphs, we recall a theorem from [@BarrusSinkovic15] that will be used many times. Given a graph $G$ and a subset $S$ of its vertex set, let $G\langle S \rangle$ denote the graph with vertex set $S$ in which vertices $u$ and $v$ are adjacent if they are adjacent in $G$ or if some component of $G-S$ has a vertex adjacent to $u$ and a vertex adjacent to $v$.
\[thm:newbound\] If $G$ is a graph, then $$\operatorname{\bf{td}}(G) = \min_{S \subseteq V(G)} \left(\operatorname{\bf{td}}(G\langle S \rangle) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}(G-S)\right).$$ Furthermore, $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(G) = \operatorname{\bf{td}}(G\langle T \rangle) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}(G-T)$ if and only if there exists an optimal ranking of $G$ in which the vertices in $T$ receive higher colors than the vertices outside $T$.
Consider now a graph $Q$ constructed in the following way: Given $k \geq 1$ and $s \in \{1,\dots,k\}$, let $H_0$ be a complete graph with $s$ vertices, and for some $q \in \{1,\dots,s\}$, and let $H_1, \dots, H_q$ be vertex-disjoint complete graphs, each with $k-s$ vertices. Given a partition $\pi_1+\dots+\pi_q$ of $s$ into positive integers, choose a partition $B_1,\dots,B_q$ of the vertices of $H_0$ so that $|B_i|=\pi_i$ for all $i$, and form $Q$ by adding to the disjoint union $H_0+H_1+\dots+H_q$ all possible edges between vertices in $B_i$ and vertices of $H_i$, for all $i$.
Call the class of all graphs built in this way $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$. Note that $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$ has as many nonisomorphic graphs as there are integer partitions of $s$.
Since there are seven integer partitions of 5, the class $\mathcal{Q}_{7,5}$ contains seven graphs. We illustrate two of them in Figure \[fig:Q7,5\]. There the three pairs of outermost vertices in each graph comprise the vertex sets of $H_1, H_2, H_3$, while the five innermost vertices form $B_1\cup B_2\cup B_3$. For the graph on the left, $|B_1|=|B_2|=2$ and $|B_3|=1$. For the graph on the right, $|B_1|=|B_2|=1$ and $|B_3|=3$.
$ \Box$
We now show that, as in these examples, graphs in $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$ are critical.
Every graph in $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$ is $k$-critical and $1$-unique.
The claim was established for the case $s=k$ in Lemma \[lem:families\], so assume that $s<k$. We prove that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q) = k$ for every graph $Q$ in $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$ by induction on $k$. When $k = 2$, the only graph in $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$ is $K_2$, which by Lemma \[lem:families\] is $2$-critical and $1$-unique. Now suppose the claim is true for the families $\mathcal{Q}_{k',s'}$ for all values of $k'$ less than $k$. Let $Q$ be an arbitrary element of $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$. We show that $Q$ is $k$-critical and $1$-unique.
Let $q$ and $H_i,B_i$ ($1 \leq i \leq q$) be the parameter and sets involved in the construction of $Q$ as described above. To see that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q) \leq k$, we observe from Theorem \[thm:newbound\] that $$\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q) \leq \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(Q \left\langle \bigcup_i B_i \right\rangle\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(Q-\bigcup_i B_i\right) = \operatorname{\bf{td}}(K_s) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}(qK_{k-s}) = k.$$
To see that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q) \geq k$, we show that deleting any vertex from $Q$ leaves a graph having a subgraph with tree-depth at least $k-1$. If $v$ is a vertex from $H_j$ for some $j$, then let $Q'$ be the graph resulting from deleting a vertex from every clique $H_i$, with $v$ being the vertex deleted from $H_j$. Note that $Q'$ is a subgraph of $Q-v$ that belongs to $\mathcal{Q}_{r-1,s}$. If $v$ is a vertex from $B_j$, then $Q-v$ has a component $Q''$ that belongs to $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s-1}$ (or is $K_{k-1}$, if $s=1$). In both cases $Q'$ and $Q''$ have tree-depth $k-1$ by the induction hypothesis or Lemma \[lem:families\].
With $Q$ again representing an element of $\mathcal{Q}_{k,s}$, we now show that every vertex of $Q$ is $1$-unique. Let $v$ be a vertex of $Q$, and let $R$ be the graph resulting from a star-clique transform on $Q$ at $v$. We show that $\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R)<k$.
If $v$ belongs to some set $H_j$ in $Q$, then $R$ is isomorphic to $Q-v$. Let $w$ be a vertex in $B_j$. By Theorem \[thm:newbound\], $$\begin{gathered}
\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R) \leq \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(R \left\langle \bigcup_i B_i - \{w\} \right\rangle\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(R - \left(\bigcup_i B_i - \{w\}\right)\right)\\
= \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(K_{s-1}\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(qK_{k-s}\right) = k-1.\end{gathered}$$
If $v$ instead belongs to $B_j$ in $Q$, then in $R$ the vertex $v$ is deleted and all possible edges are added between $H_j$ and $B_i$ for $i=1,\dots,q$. By Theorem \[thm:newbound\], $$\begin{gathered}
\operatorname{\bf{td}}(R) \leq \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(R \left\langle \bigcup_{i \neq j} B_i\right\rangle\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(R - \left(\bigcup_{i \neq j} B_i\right)\right)\\
= \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(K_{s-|B_j|}\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(K_{|B_j|+k-s-1}+(q-1)K_{k-s}\right) = k-1.\end{gathered}$$
Thus $R$ has tree-depth at most $k-1$, and it follows from Theorem \[thm:starclique\] that $G$ is 1-unique. We complete the proof by showing that $Q$ is $k$-critical. By Theorem \[thm:conjecture\], it suffices to show that for any edge $e$ of $Q$, deleting $e$ lowers the tree-depth. Let $Q'=Q-e$.
If $e$ joins two vertices in $H_j \cup B_j$ for some $j$, then by Theorem \[thm:newbound\], $$\begin{gathered}
\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q') \leq \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(Q' \left\langle \bigcup_{i \neq j} B_i\right\rangle\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left( Q' - \bigcup_{i \neq j} B_i\right)\\
= \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(K_{s-|B_j|}\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left((K_{|B_j|+k-s}-e)+(q-1)K_{k-s}\right) = k-1.\end{gathered}$$
If $e=uv$ where $u$ and $v$ belong to distinct sets $B_j$ and $B_{j'}$, then by Theorem \[thm:newbound\], $$\begin{gathered}
\operatorname{\bf{td}}(Q') \leq \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(Q' \left\langle \bigcup_{i} B_i\right\rangle\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(Q' - \bigcup_{i \neq j} B_i\right)\\
= \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(K_{s}-e\right) + \operatorname{\bf{td}}\left(qK_{k-s}\right)
= k-1.\end{gathered}$$
[^1]: Department of Mathematics, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, United States; email: `barrus@uri.edu`
[^2]: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, United States; email: `johnsinkovic@gmail.com`
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Nemanja Nedović
Nemanja Nedović (; ; born 16 June 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represented the senior Serbian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he can play at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.
Player profile
Nedović's strong points are his ball handling skills and elite athleticism, as he proved to be one of the very best athletes in European basketball. He is known for an excellent first step and can play easily above the rim. He was labeled during the 2013 NBA draft as "The European Derrick Rose" by some ESPN analysts because of his athleticism, explosiveness, versatility, similar size, and ability to play both guard positions. After he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, the team coach, has said that Nedović "is a very good athlete with highly deceptive speed."
Professional career
Early years
Nedović began to train in Italy with Ascoli basketball when he was 11 years of age. He lived there because his father was playing professional handball locally with the Ascoli Piceno Handball. After that, he trained for two years in Nova Varoš. In 2005, he moved to Crvena zvezda at the age of 15. He had success in the junior competition, as in 2008, when he became champion with the junior team of Crvena zvezda.
After that, he moved to the first team where he finally made a breakthrough professionally. In his first season with the team, he was scoring in double digits, forcing the team management to extend a contract with him for one more season. He stayed in the club until June 2012.
Lietuvos rytas
In the summer of 2012, he signed a contract with the Lithuanian team Lietuvos rytas Vilnius. In his first EuroLeague season with Rytas he averaged 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Golden State Warriors
On 27 June 2013, Nedović was selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He was later traded to the Golden State Warriors on draft night. He is also the last draft pick called by David Stern in his career as a commissioner of the NBA. On 9 July 2013 he signed with the Warriors. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League.
In July 2014, Nedović joined the Warriors for the 2014 NBA Summer League where he averaged 9.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in five games. On 11 November 2014, he was waived by the Warriors.
Valencia
On 14 November 2014, Nedović signed a two-year deal with the Spanish team Valencia. Over five EuroLeague games he played for Valencia, he averaged 8 points and 3.6 assists per game. In July 2015, he parted ways with the team.
Unicaja
On July 2, 2015, the same day when he parted ways with Valencia, he signed a one-year contract with Unicaja. On May 30, 2016, he signed a new two-year contract with the team. In April 2017, he won the EuroCup with Unicaja after beating Valencia BC in the Finals.
On June 7, 2017, Nedović re-signed with Unicaja for the 2017–18 season.
On June 27, 2018, Nedović officially left Unicaja after 3 years.
Olimpia Milano
On June 27, 2018, Nedović signed a multi-year deal with the Italian club Olimpia Milano.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Golden State
| 24 || 0 || 5.9 || .205 || .167 || .875 || .6 || .5 || .0 || .0 || 1.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 24 || 0 || 5.9 || .205 || .167 || .875 || .6 || .5 || .0 || .0 || 1.1
Domestic leagues
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008-09
| style="text-align:left;"| KK Crvena zvezda
| style="text-align:left;"| ABA League
| 1 || 1.0 || - || - || - || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 2009-10
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| KK Crvena zvezda
| style="text-align:left;"| ABA League
| 15 || 8.3 || 42.9% || 16.7% || 81.8% || 0.7 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 2.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Basketball League of Serbia
| 16 || 16.4 || 45.7% || 26.8% || 77.9% || 1.5 || 1.9 || 1.5 || 0.7 || 5.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 2010-11
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| KK Crvena zvezda
| style="text-align:left;"| ABA League
| 25 || 23.0 || 42.4% || 28.6% || 67.4% || 1.6 || 2.5 || 1.4 || 0.1 || 10.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Basketball League of Serbia
| 14 || 28.1 || 47.8% || 34.7% || 91.3% || 1.9 || 4.0 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 16.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 2011-12
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| KK Crvena zvezda
| style="text-align:left;"| ABA League
| 22 || 17.4 || 45.8% || 21.6% || 76.9% || 1.4 || 1.5 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 6.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Basketball League of Serbia
| 19 || 13.7 || 41.8% || 30.5% || 68.0% || 0.9 || 1.2 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 6.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 2012-13
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| Lietuvos rytas
| style="text-align:left;"| VTB United League
| 17 || 21.6 || 44.3% || 42.4% || 77.8% || 2.4 || 2.5 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 10.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| LKL
| 17 || 22.1 || 49.5% || 38.7% || 78.4% || 2.5 || 4.0 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 11.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| 2013-14
| style="text-align:left;"| Golden State Warriors
| style="text-align:left;"| NBA
| 24 || 5.9 || 20.5% || 16.7% || 87.5% || 0.6 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Santa Cruz Warriors
| style="text-align:left;"| NBA Development League
| 15 || 28.5 || 40.0% || 29.9% || 85.7% || 2.5 || 4.2 || 0.9 || 0.3 || 14.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2014-15
| style="text-align:left;"| Valencia Basket
| style="text-align:left;"| Liga ACB
| 32 || 15.2 || 43.5% || 36.1% || 71.9% || 1.3 || 1.8 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 7.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2015-16
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| style="text-align:left;"| Liga ACB
| 35 || 18.6 || 42.6% || 36.4% || 82.4% || 1.1 || 2.6 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 11.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016-17
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| style="text-align:left;"| Liga ACB
| 31 || 20.6 || 52.0% || 42.4% || 84.9% || 1.5 || 3.4 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017-18
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| style="text-align:left;"| Liga ACB
| 34 || 21.8 || 41.6% || 36.3% || 84.6% || 1.4 || 3.8 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018-19
| style="text-align:left;"| AX Armani Exchange Milano
| style="text-align:left;"| Serie A
| 17 || 11.3 || 41.4% || 41.0% || 69.4% || 2.6 || 2.7 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 11.3
European Competitions
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 Eurocup Basketball
| style="text-align:left;"| Crvena Zvezda
| 2 || 0 || 4.9 || 33.3% || 100% || 50.0% || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 || 1.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 Eurocup Basketball
| style="text-align:left;"| Crvena Zvezda
| 5 || 0 || 3.2 || 50.0% || 0.0% || 50.0% || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 0.6 || 0.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13 Euroleague
| style="text-align:left;"| Lietuvos Rytas
| 10 || 5 || 23.2 || 36.7% || 34.3% || 70.0% || 2.5 || 2.1 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 9.8 || 6.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15 Euroleague
| style="text-align:left;"| Valencia
| 5 || 2 || 19.3 || 40.5% || 40.0% || 100% || 1.0 || 3.6 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 8.0 || 7.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16 Euroleague
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| 23 || 8 || 15.1 || 39.1% || 27.9% || 75.0% || 0.8 || 1.9 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 7.4 || 4.8
|- style="background:#AFE6BA;"
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17 EuroCup Basketball
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| 16 || 15 || 20.6 || 35.7% || 24.3% || 74.4% || 1.9 || 3.5 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 9.3 || 8.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 Euroleague
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| 24 || 18 || 25.1 || 42.9% || 35.8% || 84.5% || 2.0 || 4.8 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 16.8 || 16.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19 Euroleague
| style="text-align:left;"| AX Armani Exchange Milano
| 15 || 7 || 23.5 || 46.1% || 41.4% || 80.6% || 2.5 || 2.7 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 11.5 || 10.4
National team
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2013
| style="text-align:left;"| EuroBasket
| style="text-align:left;"| Serbia
| 11 || 6 || 26.2 || 35.3% || 27.5% || 60.9% || 2.6 || 2.4 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 8.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2015
| style="text-align:left;"| EuroBasket
| style="text-align:left;"| Serbia
| 9 || 0 || 19.4 || 33.3% || 31.8% || 89.5% || 2.6 || 2.4 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 8.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016
| style="text-align:left;"| Summer Olympic Games
| style="text-align:left;"| Serbia
| 8 || 1 || 13.0 || 42.5% || 43.8% || 80.0% || 1.1 || 1.6 || 0.9 || 0.1 || 5.6
Serbian national team
Nedović was member of U20 Serbia national basketball team in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. In 2012, he played with Serbia men's national basketball team at FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification. During Eurobasket 2013, Nedović's game saw many ups and downs as he led a very young and inexperienced, but nonetheless talented Serbia team, showing great performances against Lithuania and particularly France in a 77-65 blowout, in which he outplayed one of his role models, Tony Parker, scoring 17 points on 5/8 shooting for three. Serbia ended up being swept easily by Spain in quarterfinals as Nedović and the entire Serbia team struggled offensively.
He represented Serbia once again at the EuroBasket 2015 under head coach Aleksandar Đorđević, after missing the 2014 World Cup. In the first phase of the tournament, Serbia dominated in the toughest Group B with 5-0 record, and then eliminated Finland and Czech Republic in the round of 16 and quarterfinal game, respectively. However, they were stopped in the semifinal game by Lithuania with 67–64, and eventually lost to the host team France in the bronze-medal game with 81–68. Over 9 tournament games, Nedović averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on 52% shooting from the field.
Nedović also represented Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics where they won the silver medal, after losing to the United States in the final game with 96–66.
See also
List of Olympic medalists in basketball
List of Serbian NBA players
References
External links
Nemanja Nedović at abaliga.com
Nemanja Nedović at acb.com
Nemanja Nedović at draftexpress.com
Nemanja Nedović at eurobasket.com
Nemanja Nedović at euroleague.net
Category:1991 births
Category:Living people
Category:ABA League players
Category:Baloncesto Málaga players
Category:Basketball League of Serbia players
Category:Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Category:BC Rytas players
Category:Golden State Warriors players
Category:KK Crvena zvezda players
Category:Lega Basket Serie A players
Category:Liga ACB players
Category:Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Category:National Basketball Association players from Serbia
Category:NBA G League players from Serbia
Category:Olimpia Milano players
Category:Olympic basketball players of Serbia
Category:Olympic medalists in basketball
Category:Olympic silver medalists for Serbia
Category:People from Nova Varoš
Category:Phoenix Suns draft picks
Category:Point guards
Category:Santa Cruz Warriors players
Category:Serbia men's national basketball team players
Category:Serbian men's basketball players
Category:Serbian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
Category:Serbian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Category:Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Category:Shooting guards
Category:Valencia Basket players |
TECHNOLOGY ROCKS THE WORLD
Every day, there are new and awestrucking innovations in technology and one can indubitably say that technology has taken over the world. Various needs arise everywhere around the world; your needs, my needs, our needs. It is the urge to proffer a solution to these needs that provokes new technological innovations.
Looking back to so many years ago, the gradual yet amazing transformation in technology leaves one to wonder “How?”.
The computer we use today can be traced as far back as 1940 when the first generation computers were created. These computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry, while adopting the use of magnetic drums for memory. But, they posed a whole lot of problem as they were so big and enormous they could take up an entire room. It doesn’t end there. They were also extremely expensive to operate, consumed a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, and were very slow in performing operations.
But today, technology has taken a new shape and it definitely does rock the world. You can strap your computer system in a bag pack and walk around without being noticed. The super efficiency of google cannot also be swept under rug. Beautiful moments can be captured with just a pocket size mobile phone and stored on cloud for future purposes. The Visual Reality innovation has also brought a new feel to technology by connecting the virtual world to the real world. These are but to mention a few…
With the various technological innovations we see today, the future is sure a technological breakthrough waiting to happen! |
First of all, those opening credits! They perfectly establish the blend of elegance and viciousness this show is striving for, and in my opinion, is achieving.
Looks like my prayers are going to be answered as far as the stylish aesthetic is concerned. The icy beauty of every shot gives me plenty of screenshot options. And we get plenty of striking imagery in this episode. From Garrett Jacob Hobbs' cabin, to our killer of the week's mushroom garden and plenty of Will's hallucinations and dreams in between. Even if people don't like the plotting, characters or anything else, it'll be hard to argue that the show doesn't look superb.
But, how could they not like the plotting or the characters? I hope each episode can stay as structured as these first two. While they are part of a continuing story, they manage to deal with their own arcs and themes in very dynamic and satisfying ways, helping to retain the "mini-movie" feeling the pilot established. In this case, the focus is Will's inner conflict in regards to him gunning down Hobbs. The ending with Lecter and Will discussing whether or not God feels good when he strikes down humans is wonderfully dark territory for a network show to be treading, and it also gives us even more insight into each of our main characters.
We also get introduced to tabloid reporter Freddie Lounds, who Thomas Harris fans will notice has undergone a gender change since his original appearance in Red Dragon. I really like her! I wonder if this means the show is willing to deviate from our expectations completely, and if it will eventually get brave enough to rewrite all of the established canon. If so, I'm all for it. It means we'll have no idea what's lying in wait around the corner, which is what you want from any suspenseful storytelling.
I'm also pleased that the show is going to keep a wry bit of dark humor in its pocket every now and then. My favorite moment of the episode was when Lecter confronted Freddie for recording his and Will's therapy session and after saying, "You've been terribly rude. What's to be done about that?", we cut to a dinner plate full of meat with a suspiciously red sauce being poured over it. Haha! While it turns out it's not actually Ms. Lounds, it's a great use of the audiences knowledge about Lecter. If we get little bits of beastly fun like that once an episode, I'll be delighted.
And I am sold on Mads Mikkelsen's Lecter. Although he's still being kept on the sidelines for now, I eagerly anticipate our first Lecter-cetric episode. Mikkelsen's calm and almost surgeon-like demeanor makes him the most interesting of monsters: one with precision. It's also clear that he's having fun with the character, really selling it in the few scenes he and Hugh Dancy have together (expect to see lots of these scenes in Lecter's office). If there's any compliment I can give, it's that I have put any preconceptions about the character off to the side and am just taking in every sinister scene Mikkelsen gives me.
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Marshall Islands at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships
Marshall Islands competed at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China between July 16 and 31, 2011.
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Marshall Islands qualified 3 swimmers.
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Category:Nations at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships
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Category:Marshall Islands at the World Aquatics Championships |
Background {#Sec1}
==========
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an in vivo imaging technique that could rapidly acquire high resolution cross-section images of biological tissues microstructure \[[@CR1]\]. The most significant medical contribution of OCT is the ophthalmology area, as it could provide the retinal structure and functional images that no other noninvasive diagnosis method can perform. Several medical researchers used OCT to acquire retinal statistical characteristics and analyzed different kinds of fundus diseases, such as macular oedema caused by diabetic retinopathy \[[@CR2]\], drusen and drusenoid pigment epithelium detachment caused by non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration \[[@CR3]\], X-linked retinoschisis \[[@CR4]\], epiretinal membrane, macular hole, central serous chorioretinopathy \[[@CR5]\] et al. In addition, there are researches on statistical analysis of normal retinal thickness \[[@CR6]\].
Ophthalmologists diagnose the fundus diseases by analyzing the change of retinal features in OCT images; however, OCT instruments can produce large amounts of data in a short time, so it is difficult to analyze all data by manual method. In most cases, only a small number of selected images are analyzed, and this could cause the wasting of medical resources. Furthermore, manual analysis results are very depending on ophthalmologist's personal experience and there is also lack of uniform quantization and evaluation standards. Therefore, rapid, accurate, objective detection and quantification of retinal features is the key of medical OCT images research and diagnosis of ophthalmic diseases, and this study has important theoretical significance and practical value.
In order to achieve the retinal features detection and quantification, computer image processing and analysis technologies have been widely applied in the field of medical OCT images. Quellec et al. \[[@CR7]\] realized the automated identification of macular fluid-filled regions by analysis of retinal layer texture. Gregori et al. \[[@CR8]\], Iwama et al. \[[@CR9]\] and Chen et al. \[[@CR10]\] utilized different methods to segment retinal drusen and made the different levels quantification and evaluation. The upper studies are aimed at the known cases of illness, and extract the pathological areas in image. Liu et al. \[[@CR11], [@CR12]\] utilized retinal geometry, texture, shape features to identify the presence of normal macula and each of three types of macular pathologies, but without the analysis of pathological severity degree. Koprowski et al. \[[@CR13]\] described a method for automatic analysis of selected choroidal diseases by features definition and quantification. By using the feature data acquired from OCT, Koprowski et al. \[[@CR14]\] also proposed an automatic method for the analysis of OCT images in assessing the severity degree of glaucoma. Xu et al. \[[@CR15]\] segmented the nerve fiber layer and analyzed OCT data for glaucoma detection. These studies identified or classified the limited certain kinds of diseases according to the extracted pathologic features.
The upper studies are either for the extraction of pathological area in known cases of illness or for the features extraction and classification of limited certain kinds of diseases. In practical diagnostic process, the obtained retinal images are usually complex and the abnormal categories would not be limited within the scope of certain kinds of known cases. Furthermore, retinopathy is gradually evolved and the abnormal early detection and early diagnosis has great significance. Therefore, in order to realize computer automatic analysis of retinal status, it is also needed to rely on the ophthalmologists' practical diagnosis process to deal with different situations in reality.
When ophthalmologists interpret retinal OCT images, they focus on the locations of the lesions occur (macular areas, internal limiting membrane, retinal pigment epithelium, nerve fiber layer, etc) and the feature morphologies (retinal thickness, overall shape change, boundary smoothness, boundary continuity, etc) that are conducive to abnormal judgment. And they compare the specific tissue structure morphology with the known normal morphology. In the process of comparison, ophthalmologists do some extensive quantitatively analysis of the differences in morphology, such as retinal thickness (ratio) change, the morphological change of quantity, etc, and judge abnormal severity and lesion location. Finally ophthalmologists make the association between these morphological differences and corresponding disease categories, and give the diagnosis decision.
Based on the process of ophthalmologists' observation and analysis on fundus retinal morphology in OCT images, this paper computerized the analysis and decision-making process, and put forward a retinal status automatic analysis method. The ophthalmologists' analysis process and the proposed retinal status automatic analysis process diagram are shown in Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. In this paper, a normal retinal reference model is constructed to analogy the normal tissue structures that ophthalmologists are familiar with. Image processing methods such as boundary extraction, morphological characterization and features quantification are used to express of the ophthalmologists' diagnosis process. Finally, evaluation of the results are presented by the way of abnormal grading.Fig. 1The contrast between ophthalmologist's analysis process and computer automatic analysis process. The ophthalmologist's practical diagnosis process is denoted with the *dotted box* on the *left side* and the *dotted box* on the *right side* shows the proposed retinal status computer automatic analysis process. **a** Original image, **b** image after standardization, **c** image de-noising results, **d** image boundary extraction results, **e** normal retinal OCT reference model
Material {#Sec2}
========
This study analyzed 300 retinal OCT images, including 200 images judged as normal by ophthalmologists and the remaining 100 images with various abnormalities, such as drusen, macular epiretinal membrane, macular edema and macular hole, etc. These images are from 300 participants, aged from 18 to 78 years and they are acquired using Optovue Avanti RTVue XR (Optovue Corp., Fremont, CA) from the 306th Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Department of ophthalmology. This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Image analysis was carried out in Matlab.
Retina is a transparent film layer located in the inner wall of eye. At present, the most advanced OCT instrument can distinguish 12 normal retinal tissue layers, as shown in Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}a. In the posterior pole of the retina, there is a funnel-shaped depression pale, and that is the optical center of eye, known as the macular region, as shown in Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}b. The structure and physiological activity of retina in this region are special, and it is easy to be affected by internal and external pathogenic factors. Therefore, this paper focuses on the morphological changes of retina in macular region. Retinal macula can be subdivided into three anatomical zones: (1) fovea, the center of macular region, and it is about 1.5 mm in diameter, that is, a optic disc diameter. The center of fovea is called foveola and it is about 0.35 mm in diameter. (2) parafovea, a circular ring area about 0.5 mm outside the fovea, and it contains ganglion cells, inner nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer called Henle fiber. (3) perifovea, a circular ring area about 1.5 mm outside the parafovea.Fig. 2Diagram of normal retinal structure. **a** Normal retinal tissue layers image shot by OCT instrument. **b** Macular structure, including foveola, fovea, parafovea, perifovea regions
Methods {#Sec3}
=======
Image preprocessing and normal retinal reference model {#Sec4}
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### Image standardization and de-noising {#Sec5}
In the process of imaging, the OCT instrument auto focuses according to the size of the targets' shape, changes the axial resolution of the image, and the retina appears with different degree of tilt in the image. So first of all, OCT images should be standardized. The aims of image standardization are: (1) unify the image size and axial resolution; (2) focus on macular central area; (3) make the whole retina in a horizontal position, in order to ensure the unity of the follow-up feature extraction.
The typical retinal OCT image has these characteristics: edge unclear, fuzzy and low signal-to-noise ratio, and thus de-noising is needed in preprocessing. The de-noising methods in OCT images mainly include complex domain methods \[[@CR16], [@CR17]\] and magnitude domain methods, while magnitude domain methods are more widely used and these methods may be studied in raw images domain \[[@CR18]--[@CR23]\] and sparse representation \[[@CR24]--[@CR26]\].
Five de-noising methods are compared in this paper, including Bayesian least squares--Gaussian scale mixture approaches (BLS-GSM) \[[@CR18]\], non-local means (NL Means) \[[@CR19]\], nonlinear complex diffusion filter (NCDF)\[[@CR20]\], complex wavelet based dictionary learning methods (CWDL) \[[@CR24]\] and Block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D) \[[@CR21]\].
Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), texture preservation (TP), edge preservation (EP), and equivalent number of looks (ENL) were computed for each de-noising method to compare the performance of the de-noising algorithms. The mentioned values are computed based on methods discussed in \[[@CR27]\]. Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"} shows the value of the measurements for each de-noising method of 20 OCT images, and the overall effect of BM3D algorithm is better than others. So BM3D algorithm was utilized in this paper for OCT image de-noising processing.Table 1Value of the measurements for each de-noising methodBLS-GSMNL meansNCDFCWDLBM3DCNR14.05 ± 4.4617.48 ± 3.4519.34 ± 5.3225.68 ± 5.9531.79 ± 8.38EP0.88 ± 0.040.96 ± 0.040.77 ± 0.050.74 ± 0.080.75 ± 0.09TP0.58 ± 0.110.41 ± 0.290.19 ± 0.060.07 ± 0.050.03 ± 0.04ENL35.89 ± 14.79283.53 ± 116.5512.9 ± 4.8786.62 ± 25.27510.94 ± 402.32
### Normal retinal reference model {#Sec6}
In clinical practice, ophthalmologists compare the feature and morphology differences between specific targets and 'standard', and take the differences as symptom information. This paper built normal retinal reference model as 'standard' to compare differences in identifying specific targets and it is conducive to obtain quantitative features for medical diagnosis.
When the macular lesions occur, internal limiting membrane (ILM) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) have morphological variation, and that is an important criteria of illness judgment. ILM is the inner boundary membrane of retina and RPE lower boundary is the outer boundary membrane of retina. Retina is defined between these two boundary membranes in medicine and some OCT instruments also take the detection data between these two membranes as retinal thickness data. So this paper chose ILM and RPE lower boundary to build the normal retinal reference model.
This paper randomly selected 100 images from the 200 normal OCT images as the data base of references' models and the other 100 images are used to test the effectiveness of the reference model. ILM and RPE boundary extraction is the foundation for retinal reference model construction. There are many studies on retinal layers segmentation \[[@CR28]--[@CR34]\], and this paper used the relatively stable extraction method based on graph theory and dynamic programming from literature \[[@CR28]\]. The generalized schematic of the layer segmentation algorithm and the construction of reference model are shown in Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. On the basis of extracting ILM and RPE boundaries and unit conversion, take the average of unified boundaries as the normal retinal reference model, as shown the solid lines in Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}. The dotted lines in the figure are the variation range based on reference model standard deviation.Fig. 3The generalized layer segmentation algorithm schematic and the construction of reference model. The segmentation algorithm was based on graph theory and dynamic programming and the segmentation of retinal layer was achieved by finding the shortest path in the limited search region. The first segmented boundaries were in pixels and the unit was converted according to the axial resolution. The foveola locations in all images were unified and the averaged boundaries were reference modelFig. 4Normal retinal reference model. The solid lines are the average boundaries of normal retinal ILM and RPE, as the normal retinal reference model. The *dotted lines* are the variation range based on reference model standard deviation. The *horizontal axis* shows the distance to foveola center, and the numerical value is consistent with the Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}b. The *vertical axis* represents the axial distance, and the retina thickness changes around the macular regions can be seen
Duan et al. \[[@CR35]\] and Shen et al. \[[@CR36]\] measured the macular thickness in healthy Chinese, and used OCT instruments are Stratus OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Jena, Germany) and Spectralis SD-OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). Fast macular thickness scans were performed over macula within 6 mm in diameter, divided into 3 regions (central, inner, and outer, with a diameter of 1, 3 and 6 mm, respectively) and the specific metrical data are shown in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}, including fovea minimum, average thickness of central macula, inner and outer regions. The same metrical data obtained from the above reference model are also presented in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}. As the different data sources and thickness calculation methods, there are differences between the reference model and the numerical value in the literatures, but from the overall view, the thickness values of reference model are by a factor of about 1.25:1 larger than the values in literature \[[@CR35]\] and 1:1.1 smaller than the values in literature \[[@CR36]\]. The data showed that the reference model proposed in this paper is reliable.Table 2Normal macular measure thickness and reference model quantitative values ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\mu$$\end{document}$m; mean ± standard deviations)Thickness feature/sourceStratus OCTSpectralis SD-OCTReference modelFovea minimum150.3 ± 18.1215.4 ± 13.6202.6 ± 12.5Central (1-mm diameter)176.4 ± 17.5257.9 ± 19.2233.6 ± 15.0Inner region (3-mm diameter)255.3 ± 14.9339.2 ±14.6313.7 ±15.5Outer region (6-mm diameter)237.7 ± 12.4299.1 ± 14.3286.5 ± 21.9
Computerized quantification of retinal features {#Sec7}
-----------------------------------------------
In order to locate the position of lesion, the OCT image should be divided to regions before computation of quantification of retinal features. According to the anatomical definition of retina around macular regions, single OCT image is divided into five regions, namely, left perifovea (PE_L), left parafovea (PA_L), fovea (Fovea), right parafovea (PA_R), right perifovea (PE_R), as shown in Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}.Fig. 5Schematic diagram of medical macular regional division. The *green lines* represent the medical macular regional division, including foveola, fovea, parafovea and perifovea. The *red lines* represent the *upper* and *lower* *boundaries* of retina. The *white short line* is the center position of foveola
The retinal morphological change is the indispensable basis for fundus anomaly judgment. When ophthalmologists analyze the retinal morphological change in OCT images, they focus on the retinal thickness, boundary smoothness and continuity. Retinal thickness is an important criterion for fundus disease diagnosis, and the location and severity of lesion could be determined by the change of thickness features. The size of retinal thickness data is related to the real condition of retinal tissue, instruments and the actual operation of the instruments. The data does not have the characteristics of feature invariant, therefore the definition of thickness ratio features can be more detailed to describe the geometrical features and thickness of retina. The standard deviation can reflect the degree of dispersion of a data set and the correlation coefficient is used to reflect the correlation between the variables. In this paper, the standard deviation and correlation coefficients were used to determine the relative degree and continuity between the target boundary and reference model. The gradient feature represents the change rate of parameters, and the curvature is a measure of the geometric uneven degree. So, the gradient and curvature features were used to express the smoothness of the boundary. In conclusion, this paper put forward the following three kinds of quantitative feature sets, as shown in Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}, in order to realize the computerized quantification of medical features that ophthalmologists focus on.Table 3Computerized quantification of retinal features (*Regions* = \[PE_L, PA_L, Fovea, PA_R, PE_R\])Ophthalmologists focus featuresComputer quantitative featuresFeature typeRetinal thicknessThickness feature ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$T_{Foveola}$$\end{document}$,$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$T_{Regions}$$\end{document}$ ),Geometric featuresThickness ratio feature ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$TR_{Regions}$$\end{document}$)Boundary continuityStandard deviation ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\sigma _{ILM}$$\end{document}$, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\sigma _{RPE}$$\end{document}$),Morphological featuresCorrelation coefficient ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$r_{ILM}$$\end{document}$, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$r_{RPE}$$\end{document}$)Boundary smoothnessGradient ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y_{ILM}$$\end{document}$, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y_{RPE}$$\end{document}$),Morphological featuresCurvature ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$K_{ILM}$$\end{document}$, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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The thickness features are defined as the average retinal thickness of different regions in Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}, and the definition of thickness ratio feature is $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$TR_{Regions} = T_{Regions}/ T_{Foveola}$$\end{document}$. The morphological features are defined as follows:
Suppose *Y*(*i*) is the discrete data of ILM/RPE curve, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$i = 1,2,3\ldots ,W$$\end{document}$, *W* is the number of image horizontal pixels, namely, the width of image. Definition of *L* for the horizontal length of one area in *Regions*, $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$0<L\le W$$\end{document}$.
Definition of regional mean curvature:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\begin{aligned} K =\frac{\sum _{i=1}^L K(i)}{L},\quad K(i)=\frac{|Y''(i)|}{\sqrt{(1+Y'(i)^2)^3}} \end{aligned}$$\end{document}$$where $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$Y''(i)=Y'(i+1)-Y'(i)=Y(i+2)-Y(i)$$\end{document}$.
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\begin{document}$$\begin{aligned} \nabla Y=\frac{\sum _{i=1}^L \nabla Y(i)}{L}, \quad\nabla Y(i)= \frac{\alpha Y}{\alpha x}(i)=Y(i+1)-Y(i) \end{aligned}$$\end{document}$$Suppose $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$Y_{ref} (i)$$\end{document}$ is the discrete data of reference model ILM/RPE curve, and $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$Y_{tar} (i)$$\end{document}$ is the discrete data of target ILM/RPE curve.
Definition of correlation coefficient between target curve and the reference model in a certain area:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\begin{aligned} r=\frac{\sum _{i=1}^L (Y_{ref} (i)-\overline{Y}_{ref})(Y_{tar} (i)-\overline{Y}_{tar})}{\sqrt{\sum _{i=1}^L (Y_{ref} (i)-\overline{Y}_{ref})^2 \cdot \sum _{i=1}^L (Y_{tar} (i)-\overline{Y}_{tar})^2}} \end{aligned}$$\end{document}$$where $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\overline{Y}_{ref}$$\end{document}$ is the regional mean of $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$Y_{ref} (i)$$\end{document}$, and so is $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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Definition of standard deviation between target curve and the reference model in a certain area:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\begin{aligned} \sigma = \sqrt{\frac{1}{L} \sum _{i=1}^L (D(i)-\overline{D})^2}) \end{aligned}$$\end{document}$$where $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\overline{D}$$\end{document}$ is the regional mean of *D*(*i*).
Formulas ([1](#Equ1){ref-type=""})--([4](#Equ4){ref-type=""}) are unified expressions. According to the specific condition of ILM and RPE, these definitions can be respectively represented as $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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According to the 100 normal OCT images which are used to construct the reference model, after statistical analysis and calculation, the features data of retinal thickness and retinal thickness ratio are shown in Tables [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"} and [5](#Tab5){ref-type="table"}.Table 4Retinal thickness feature data ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\mu$$\end{document}$m; mean ± standard deviations)Computer quantitative feature namesRef model valueFoveola average thickness $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$T_{PE\_R}$$\end{document}$295.5 ± 20.1Table 5Retinal thickness ratio feature dataComputer quantitative feature namesDefinitionRef model valueFovea thickness ratio $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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Retinal abnormal grading decision-making {#Sec8}
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The retinal abnormal degree and lesion location could be identified by the diversity factor between the extracted ILM, RPE boundaries and reference model based on the feature parameters in Tables [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}, [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"} and [5](#Tab5){ref-type="table"} and the retinal feature value range around normal macula. Two kind of grading standard for evaluation of the abnormal degree, according to the different feature types, were proposed in this paper.
\(1\) Geometric features (thickness and thickness ratio) grading standard can be seen in Table [6](#Tab6){ref-type="table"} and Fig. [6](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}a, where $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$G_{ref}$$\end{document}$ represents the geometric features value of reference model. The normal or not of the target image geometric features is judged by the deviation from reference model. Either large or small are abnormal, and the degree of abnormality is judged by the deviation. The deviation scope was determined by grading ratio factor and reference model based on the practical diagnosis experience of ophthalmologists. This paper set up the grading ratio factor $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$b_{3}$$\end{document}$ = 1.5.Fig. 6Diagrams of retinal abnormal grading decision-making. **a** The grading diagram for geometric features, and the abnormal grade is determined by the comparison result between the geometric features value of target image $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$G_{ref}$$\end{document}$. **b**, **c** The diagrams for morphological features according to the different threshold setsFig. 7Diagrams of feature data processing. **a** The feature values from 50 training images. These feature values were divided into four groups and three thresholds were acquired. **b** The grading results of testing data by the acquired thresholds
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\(2\) Morphological features grading standard shows in (Table [7](#Tab7){ref-type="table"}; Fig. [6](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}b, c), where $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$Th3_j$$\end{document}$ represent the corresponding to three thresholds of feature *j*, and they are obtained by K-means clustering algorithm according to 50 training images with different abnormal severity selected by ophthalmologists. The basic clustering method divides the 50 data of each feature in each region into 4 groups. Where, the data of the region with similar feature, according to the symmetry, can be aggregated and clustered, such as PE_L and PE_R. Some features have the similar feature distribution in all five regions, and all data can be aggregated, such as $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$K_{RPE}$$\end{document}$ value points from 50 training images. These feature values were divided into four groups by clustering algorithm and the three thresholds were acquired. When we obtain new testing images, then we make the abnormal grading decision by the acquired thresholds, as shown in Fig. [7](#Fig7){ref-type="fig"}b. The standard is divided into two kinds of grading conditions according to the different threshold sets. Table [8](#Tab8){ref-type="table"} shows the reference thresholds for morphological features grading, where ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y_{ILM}$$\end{document}$ (P) \| PE_L) represents the ILM positive gradient feature in left perifovea (PE_L). Through the observation of normal retinal reference model, we can find that on the left side of foveola, ILM and RPE show negative gradient trend, and on the right side of foveola, ILM and RPE show positive gradient trend. So in this paper, the morphological abnormalities were determined by the positive gradient value ($\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y$$\end{document}$(N) \| Fovea).Table 7The grading decision-making of morphological featuresGrading conditions I\
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\begin{document}$$Th3_{j}< Th2_{j}< Th1_{j}$$\end{document}$Grading conditions II\
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Results {#Sec9}
=======
This paper showed the detailed analysis process by four retinal OCT images with different abnormal degrees. Figure [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"} shows the original images shot by OCT instrument, where image a displays the normal retinal morphology, the fovea in image b loses its normal form, and the RPE fluctuation is serious, the retinal surface of image c appears wrinkles, the pigment epithelium uplifts on the left side of fovea in image d.Fig. 8The original images shot by OCT instrument. **a** The normal retinal morphology, the fovea in **b** loses its normal form, and the RPE fluctuation is serious, the retinal surface of **c** appears wrinkles, the pigment epithelium uplifts on the *left side* of fovea in **d**
After image standardization and de-noising, the macular region is in the center of new image and the whole retina is in a horizontal position. For each image in Fig. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}, ILM and RPE boundary extraction results are shown in Fig. [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"}. The red lines represent the ILM and RPE boundaries and the green lines represent the medical macular regional division boundaries. Figure [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"} shows the curve comparison and morphological differences between reference model and extracted boundaries. The ILM and RPE boundaries in image a are very close to reference model and image b displays the large difference.Fig. 9The results of retinal boundary extraction in OCT images. After the preprocessing of standardization and de-noising, the ILM and RPE boundaries are extracted based on intensity features, as shown in the *red lines*. The *green lines* represent the medical macular regional division boundaries. **a**--**d** are respectively corresponding to the four original images in Fig. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 10The ILM and RPE boundaries comparison with reference model. It is more intuitive to display the morphological difference by the retinal boundaries comparison between target images and reference model. **a**--**d** are respectively corresponding to the four original images in Fig. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}Fig. 11The features quantitative calculation results. The rough abnormities from the boundaries comparison are shown in Fig. [7](#Fig7){ref-type="fig"} and more accurate judgment can be obtained by boundary structure quantification and data features. This figure shows the corresponding quantitative values in different regions and different features. **a**--**d** are respectively corresponding to the four original images in Fig. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}
The data features of five image regions, fovea (Fovea), left parafovea (PA_L), right parafovea (PA_R), left perifovea (PE_L), right perifovea (PE_R) are acquired based on ILM and RPE boundaries. The features quantitative calculation results of each standard RPE and ILM boundary membrane in Fig. [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"} are showed in Fig. [11](#Fig11){ref-type="fig"}. $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y_{ILM}$$\end{document}$(P) represents the positive gradient value of ILM and $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\nabla Y_{ILM}$$\end{document}$(N) represents the negative gradient value of ILM. RPE is in the same way.Fig. 12The grading results of quantitative data features. Through the quantitative data, combined with the reference model for abnormal grading, the regions and severity of abnormal can be more intuitive to display. As shown, **a** does not appear abnormal warning. While image **b** and **c** show larger abnormal grade and **d** shows abnormal in curvature and gradient features of RPE. P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 respectively correspond to PE_L, PA_L, Fovea, PA_R, PE_R regions
The data feature statistics results can be obtained by grading the quantitative data features. The corresponding evaluation grade of each image in different regions and different features can be get from Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}, and the abnormal situation of retina could be judged by evaluation grade.
From Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"} we can see that the image a does not contain abnormal warning and it is in line with the normal morphology. In image b, ILM and RPE have a higher level of abnormal grade in fovea area (P3), and RPE contains larger anomalies judged from the abnormal grade of RPE standard deviation and RPE mean curvature. In image c, the abnormal grade of thickness feature in fovea (P3) is level 1. Combined with the feature value, we can further judge that the fovea is thickened, resulting in the other areas (P1, P2, P4, P5) also appear anomalies in thickness ratio feature. In addition, the ILM gradient and the ILM mean curvature show a large abnormal grade, and the reason is that the ILM surface is uneven in image c. This kind of anomaly is mainly caused by epiretinal membrane. In image d, the RPE mean curvature appears abnormal numerical warning in left perifovea area (P1) and left parafovea area (P2), corresponding to the small uplift caused by drusen.
As mentioned before, this paper analyzed 300 retinal OCT images, including 200 images judged normal and 100 images judged abnormal. 100 normal images were used to construct the reference model and 50 abnormal images were utilized for the grading thresholds. So the remaining 100 normal images and 50 abnormal images were utilized to validate that this method was scientifically valid.
There are 10 features for grading in Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"} and we split these features into three groups, namely Geometric features, Morphological features ILM and Morphological features RPE. Then we summed the feature grade in each group and the features in each image were converted into a three dimensional data point. For example, image a--d can be represented as data points (0,0,0), (0,7,14), (5,16,0), (0,0,4). All the testing images were converted into three dimensional data points and the normal and abnormal images labeled by ophthalmologist were marked for different scatter points, as shown in Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}. The data points of normal images distributed in the vicinity of the point (0,0,0), and the higher degree of abnormal, the farther away from this point. In this paper, the testing images were judged normal or abnormal based on the 1/8 spherical surface in Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}. The points in the inner space of spherical surface were judged normal and the points in the outer space were judged abnormal. In this paper, the radius of the spherical surface is 3.Fig. 13The scatter plot of testing images. The features in each image were grouped and converted into a three dimensional data point. The normal and abnormal images labeled by ophthalmologist were marked for different *scatter points*. The testing images were judged normal or abnormal based on the 1/8 spherical surface in our algorithm. The points in the inner space of spherical surface were judged normal and the points in the outer space were judged abnormal. It can be seen from the image that the abnormal judgment method presented in this paper is basically consistent with the results of ophthalmologists
The simulation results of 100 normal and 50 abnormal OCT images showed that the sensitivity was 0.94 and the specificity was 0.92 (where Specificity = TN/(FP + TN), Sensitivity = TP/(TP + FN), TN-true negative, TP-true positive, FN-false negative, FP-false positive). Correlation coefficient was the mainly affects feature of normal image erroneously detected as abnormal. Because the normal fundus also appeared the morphologies different with the reference model, and this kind of situation was also affected by the shooting angle. The main reason of abnormal image erroneously detected as normal was that some small macular edema appeared on the top of RPE. This kind of abnormality has not yet affected the lower edge of RPE, so it has not been detected, which is the direction of further research in this paper.
Conclusions {#Sec10}
===========
With OCT data being generated in increasingly larger amounts and captured at higher resolution, there is a strong need for computer assisted analysis to support disease diagnosis and the automatic analysis of OCT images has remained an active field of research.
We presented an automatic analysis method of fundus retinal status, based on boundary extraction, morphological characterization, feature quantification and grade evaluation. First, a normal retinal reference model was presented on the base of extracted ILM and RPE boundaries. Then, this paper proposed a set of retinal features extraction and quantification methods, for providing numerical reference standard on inspection of retinal status by OCT images. After obtaining the retinal feature parameters, this paper judged the anomalies of target image combined with the reference model and formulated grading method, so as to conveniently and clearly judge the abnormal region and severity.
Different with former studies, like extraction of pathological area in known cases of illness or features extraction and classification of limited certain kinds of diseases, Our method would not limit the abnormal categories within the scope of certain kinds of known cases, because the retinal images are usually complex in practical diagnostic process. So the applicability and utility of our method is better in health screening and preliminary diagnosis of the retina.
This paper proposed a general framework for the realization of computerized medical diagnosis of retina and it is also a potentially valuable tool for remote diagnosis applications. In future research, we will refine the reference model and make use of more image features to realize the distinction between more ophthalmologies and identify different disease categories.
OCT
: optical coherence tomography
BLS-GSM
: Bayesian least squares--Gaussian scale mixture approaches
NL Means
: non-local means
NCDF
: nonlinear complex diffusion filter
CWDL
: complex wavelet based dictionary learning methods
BM3D
: block-matching and 3D filtering
CNR
: contrast-to-noise ratio
TP
: texture preservation
EP
: edge preservation
ENL
: equivalent number of looks
ILM
: internal limiting membrane
RPE
: retinal pigment epithelium
PA_L
: left parafovea
PA_R
: right parafovea
PE_L
: left perifovea
PE_R
: right perifovea
TR
: thickness ratio
DF carried out the study design, the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript. HT, SZ developed the algorithm, carried out the experiments and drafted the manuscript. LL, FG performed the acquisition of the OCT images and consulted the obtained results. JM helped in the results analysis and reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements {#d30e5130}
================
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61272358).
Competing interests {#d30e5135}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Availability of data and supporting materials {#d30e5140}
=============================================
The raw image data and software are easy to use and available freely at <https://zenodo.org/record/56515>. The raw database includes 200 retinal OCT images judged as normal by ophthalmologists and 100 images with various abnormalities. The software includes the main steps introduced in this paper and the four retinal OCT images for simulation. The software was carried out in Matlab.
|
Event
APHRODITE 2: An Erotic Comedy Mystery
Dr. Waldemar Hummer, an expert in robotics, creates an android female companion for his friend, Prof. Emanuel Gipfel, a nuclear physicist whose past three wives have died under questionable circumstances. The humanoid's designation, Aphrodite 2, suggests her erotic capabilities. But, in addition to physical beauty, she has a wise and lively intellect, with a vast array of knowledge on a variety of subjects.Hummer may have created her too perfectly. While her responses to her environment may be somewhat limited by her programming, she's advanced enough to possess a personality of her own. Created in a laboratory, can she be a complete woman? It turns out she has some desires of her own, and is not entirely under the control of either of the two men. Where will this lead?L. Flint Esquerra directs. The Artistic Director of The MET Theatre, his most recent directing credits include the well-received "On Holy Ground," "California Dreamin'," and "Head: The Brain That Wouldn't Die Musical."His cast for "Aphrodite 2" includes Fiona Bates, Joseph Beck and David Bickford, all of whom will be familiar to MET audiences.Playwright Cornelius Schnauber is Professor Emeritus of German at USC. A renowned scholar, historian, biographer and educator as well as playwright, his recently produced works in Los Angeles include "Irma and Emma," "Heydrich/Hitler/Holocaust" and "Richard and Felix: Twilight in Venice." The latter was one of the Ring Festival events concurrent with L.A. Opera's production of the Wagner Ring Cycle. |
IEA – storage, EVs, solar and onshore wind on track
IEA reports that three of 26 clean energy technologies monitored are on track to meet interim emission reduction targets.
Published: Wed 31 May 2017
Out of 26 clean energy technologies being monitored by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to meet the outcomes of the Paris agreement, only three are on track toward a sustainable energy transition, according to the latest Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2017.
These technologies currently represent only a small share of the total energy system, but they are rapidly scaling up and continue to strengthen their position as mainstream energy solutions, says the IEA.
Clean energy technologies
Both solar PV and onshore wind showed continued strong annual capacity growth in 2016, with record low long-term contract prices in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Prospects are bright over the medium term, driven by cost reductions and policy improvements in key markets.
A new historic record was reached in the electrification of passenger transportation, with over 750,000 electric vehicles (EVs) sold in 2016, raising the global stock to two million. Nevertheless, a slowdown in market growth of 40% in 2016 from 70% in 2015 raises risks toward the 2025 goal.
Storage technologies continued rapid scale-up in deployment, reaching almost 1GW in 2016. These advances were driven by favourable policy environments and reductions in battery prices. However, further policy action will be required to meet the projected 2DS level of a cumulative 21GW by 2025.
IEA 2DS
The IEA’s best guess for meeting the Paris agreement – given the difficulty in modelling something as complex as global temperature change – is what it calls its 2oC scenario (2DS). This “lays out an energy system pathway and a CO2 emissions trajectory consistent with at least a 50% chance of limiting the average global temperature increase to 2oC by 2100.”
Under the 2DS, annual energy-related CO2 emissions are reduced by 70% from today’s levels by 2060, with cumulative emissions of around 1,170Gt CO2 between 2015 and 2100 (including industrial process emissions).
The 2DS relies on the development and deployment of lower carbon and energy efficient technologies across the power generation, industry, transport and buildings sectors.
According to the IEA, the 2DS represents “a highly ambitious and challenging transformation of the global energy sector that relies on a substantially strengthened response compared to today’s efforts.”
Current progress of the technologies is monitored against interim 2025 benchmarks.
Technology lags
In most of the other 23 technologies, sufficient progress is not being delivered, according to the IEA.
Fifteen of the technologies are showing advances, with 10 of these recent improvements. Among technologies in this group are lighting appliances and equipment, natural gas-fired power, nuclear power, offshore wind and hydropower and renewable power.
However, the remaining eight are significantly off track, with only three of them showing recent improvements. Technologies in this group include bioenergy, ocean energy and geothermal, buildings, carbon capture and storage, coal-fired power and renewable heat.
According to the report, the ‘on track’ status of the three technologies, mature renewables, EVs and storage, depends on all other technologies also playing their part in the transition. If progress in the other technologies does not accelerate, these technologies may have to progress
even more ambitiously to overcompensate for lagging technology areas to ensure the overall energy transition is on track.
Clean energy innovation
In 2015 the total investment in clean energy RD&D is estimated to have been $27bn but is not yet rising globally. However, this needs to pick up to be on track toward a sustainable energy transition, says the IEA.
With two-thirds of the clean energy research, development and demonstration funding from public sources, significantly higher than the combined corporate expenditure and investment by venture capital funds into start-ups, implementation of complementary public and private pledges could serve as a springboard to boost innovation.
Related Webinar
Behind the meter renewables, behind the meter storage and grid optimisation and balancing - what impact is decentralised energy having on the grid? Engerati analysts and industry experts join in this live energy webinar to share their view of the grid edge. |
Q:
Named routes: why destroy_message_path doesn't work?
I am having a link like
<a href = '/messages/destroy/<%= @showmessage.id %>'>Delete Message</a>
I am rewriting this into
<%= link_to "Delete Message", destroy_message_path(:id => "1") %>
In my routes i have
map.resources :messages, :collection => { :destroy => :get }
And in my controller
def destroy
@message = Message.find(params[:id])
@message.destroy
redirect_to :action => 'index'
end
When I run the page, I am getting the error as:
undefined method `destroy_message_path' for #<ActionView::Base:0xb24a24c0>
How do I resolve this?
A:
I'm not sure if you mean to be fighting against the Rails conventions here, but its alot easier to go along with them, so if you are ok with that you can do the following:
Remove this from your routes:
map.resources :messages, :collection => { :destroy => :get }
Change it to:
map.resources :messages
And use this link format instead:
<%= link_to "Delete Message", message_path(:id => "1"), :method => 'delete' %>
The URL for the destructive action will look like /messages/1, but the "method" portion of that link_to method will make Rails create a hidden form and perform a simulated "DELETE" action against the URL. Which is far more RESTful, and follows along with what Rails is expecting you to do.
|
Accurate consent for insertion and later removal of grommets.
Each year in the UK over 30,000 patients undergo insertion of grommets. The grommet insertion may cause many problems like persistent otorrhoea, scarred drum, retraction pockets and retention. The grommets may be extruded from the middle ears by the normal epithelial migration mechanism once they have served their purpose. These may become infected and require removal. We have analysed the Department of Health Hospital Episode Statistics relating to the insertion and removal of grommets (ventilation tubes). We have shown that 7.6 per cent of patients who have grommets inserted will have grommets removed. |
Genetic analysis of macrophage characteristics as a tool to identify tumor susceptibility genes: mapping of three macrophage-associated risk inflammatory factors, marif1, marif2, and marif3.
Genetic predisposition to cancer is influenced by allelic variation in tumor susceptibility genes (TSGs) as present in the germline. We previously demonstrated in the mouse that TSGs frequently participate in genetic interactions, indicating that they represent molecular networks. Inflammation may constitute one of the molecular networks underlying susceptibility to cancer by influencing the tumor microenvironment. Because macrophages play a key role in inflammation and are often associated with tumors, we argue that a subset of TSGs can be identified by examining the genetics of macrophage characteristics. A panel of inflammation-related assays was established to phenotype mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages, which included stimulation with lipopolysaccharides followed by measurement of secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha and the p40 chain of interleukin-12 and of expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. This panel of assays was used for linkage analysis and applied to bone marrow-derived macrophages derived from individual mice of segregating crosses between inbred strain O20 and the highly related strains NTX-10 and NTX-20, which differed from O20 in only 10% of their genome, to reduce genetic complexity. Three macrophage-associated risk inflammatory factors were mapped-Marif1, Marif2, and Marif3-that each affected several inflammation-related assays, confirming that they function within molecular networks. Moreover, Marif1 and Marif2 were localized in regions with established linkage for both quantitative and qualitative aspects of lung cancer susceptibility. These studies provide a novel approach to investigate the genetics of microenvironmental influence on predisposition to tumorigenesis, thereby contributing to development of new strategies that aim to prevent or treat cancer. |
Solve 2*u - 5*u - x = 0 for u.
-4
Let t(u) be the third derivative of u**5/30 + u**4/12 - 2*u**3/3 - 2*u**2. Let w be t(-3). Let l = -76 - -91. Solve 0 = -w*c + 3*c + l for c.
3
Suppose -23*s = -0*s - 253. Solve -r = 7 - s for r.
4
Suppose 0 = -5*l + 3*j - 66 + 108, 3*j = 2*l - 24. Solve -1 = l*k - 7 for k.
1
Suppose 0*h - h + 2 = 0. Suppose 0 = h*v - 2. Suppose -3*u + 2*u + v = i, 4*u - 13 = 5*i. Solve 3*w = -u*w for w.
0
Suppose 4 = -2*x + 4*x. Suppose -2*q + 3 + 11 = x*y, 4*y = 4*q - 12. Solve 3*d = 4*d - y for d.
2
Suppose -6*r + 3*r = -3*f - 3, -3 = 3*r + 3*f. Solve r = 8*c - 19*c for c.
0
Suppose 0 = -16*q + 70 + 26. Solve z - q = -7 for z.
-1
Suppose 4*o + 171 = 3*h, -7*o + 4*o = 9. Solve -3*u = -h + 59 for u.
-2
Let b = 2 - 0. Let h be (14/(-4))/(14/(-28)). Suppose -4 = 4*p - 4*c, -4*c + h = -p + 3. Solve 2*z - b - 2 = p for z.
2
Suppose -5*t + 5*n = -25, 0*n = -2*t - n + 1. Solve c = -t*c - 15 for c.
-5
Let r(b) = -b + 5 - 3 + 2*b. Let g be r(0). Solve 0 = -g*c + 3*c for c.
0
Let x(l) be the second derivative of l**4/6 - 7*l**3/6 + 2*l**2 - 6*l. Let r be x(4). Solve h - r = -3*h for h.
2
Suppose -j - 2*a - 8 = 10, 4*j = 5*a - 72. Let m be (-27)/j*(-52)/(-6). Solve 1 = 4*v + m for v.
-3
Let w = 19 - 6. Suppose -w*q = -6*q - 49. Suppose -3*i - 11 = -77. Solve i - q = -3*c for c.
-5
Let t be 72/36 - (0 - 7). Solve -f = t - 4 for f.
-5
Suppose 19*a = 14*a + g + 56, a = 4*g - 4. Solve -5*w - 3 - a = 0 for w.
-3
Suppose -4*y = y + 960. Let o be y/(-20) - (-4)/10. Suppose -2*h - 2*j = -o, 2*j = -j. Solve -h*g + 11 = -4 for g.
3
Suppose -4*q + 0 = -5*b + 17, 3*q + 14 = 4*b. Let m be 3/(15/5)*4/2. Solve m*l - 5 = b for l.
5
Suppose 9*g + 20 = 74. Suppose 0 = -2*q + g*q. Solve -2*s + 0*s + 6 = q for s.
3
Let a = -8 - -8. Suppose 0*l - l + 5 = a. Suppose 4*g + 3*n + 3 = 0, l*g + 0*g - 5*n - 40 = 0. Solve -2*z - g*z - 20 = 0 for z.
-4
Suppose -4*a - 25 = a. Let t be 23/a - (-8)/(-20). Let m be (-36)/(-10) + 3/t. Solve -4*y = m + 5 for y.
-2
Let q = -1479 - -1533. Solve 98 = -11*d + q for d.
-4
Suppose -51*j = -4*j - 47. Solve 13 = 3*v + j for v.
4
Let i be (76/(-114))/((-5)/3 - -1). Solve 2*g - i = -1 for g.
0
Let d(f) = f**3 + 16*f**2 - f - 16. Let q be d(-16). Suppose -t = -3*t + 4. Solve -4*w + t + 10 = q for w.
3
Let m be 0 - (-1 + -2) - -3. Solve 0 = l - 4*l - m for l.
-2
Let v = 13 + -7. Suppose 8 + v = s. Suppose -6*i + 4*i + s = 0. Solve -2*r - i = -1 for r.
-3
Suppose -171 = -10*c + 1049. Solve 125*h = c*h - 6 for h.
-2
Suppose 3*f = 0, 12 = 2*u - 3*f + 2. Solve u*l = 2*l + 6 for l.
2
Suppose 3*t = 110 + 82. Suppose -5*f = -4*u - t, f - 10 + 1 = -3*u. Let q be (f/(-15))/((-10)/25). Solve q*s = s for s.
0
Let x(k) = 2*k**2 + 39*k + 70. Let g be x(-18). Solve -2*m - 2*m = -g for m.
4
Let j(g) = g**2 - 9*g - 1. Let f be j(8). Let d = -5 - f. Let s be (8/(-2))/((-8)/d). Solve t = s*t + 5 for t.
-5
Suppose 150 = -28*y + 486. Solve 2*u = -y + 4 for u.
-4
Let n be 1/(-2)*(-10 - 0). Suppose 6 = -n*b + 3*b. Let g(y) = y**3 + 2*y**2 - 3*y + 2. Let c be g(b). Solve -j - 2 = c for j.
-4
Let x(f) = 2*f**2 - 5*f - 16. Let y be x(-2). Suppose 28 = -0*w + 4*w + 4*h, -2*h - 1 = -3*w. Solve w*m - 2*m - y = 0 for m.
2
Suppose -45 = -4*j + 2*f - 1, 3*j = -4*f + 33. Let r be j + (-1)/2*6. Solve -a - a = -r for a.
4
Suppose -3*l + 24 = 21. Let o be (-3)/l + 14 + 1. Solve o = 2*d + d for d.
4
Suppose -3*c - x - 81 = -8*c, 0 = 3*c - 5*x - 53. Suppose 5*o + 2*k - 25 = 0, 2*o + 2*k = -0*o + c. Solve -6*y + 3*y = -o for y.
1
Let a = 345 - 331. Solve -2*c + a = 10 for c.
2
Let m = 41 + -62. Let x = 41 + m. Solve -5*n - x = -n for n.
-5
Let y(z) = -z. Let a(l) = 4*l**2 - 4*l - 5. Let n(x) = -a(x) + 6*y(x). Let d be n(-3). Let v = 27 + d. Solve -8 = v*t - 2 for t.
-3
Let x = 11 - -1. Let r be (-108)/16 - 3/x. Let u(b) = b + 11. Let o be u(r). Solve o*c + 5 = -7 for c.
-3
Let u be (3/1)/((-6)/(-80)). Let a be (2 - 1)/(8/u). Solve -a = -2*j + j for j.
5
Suppose -3*z = -2*x + 4, -x - 3*z = x - 4. Solve 29 - 21 = -x*o for o.
-4
Suppose 0*t - 30 = -5*t - 5*r, 5*r - 3 = -2*t. Solve -t*z + 24*z + 75 = 0 for z.
-5
Suppose -30 - 2 = -4*x - 2*v, 5*x = -2*v + 38. Suppose r = -x - 11. Let o = r - -27. Solve 0 = -t + 3*t - o for t.
5
Suppose -37*o - 6*o + 1032 = 0. Solve 13*t - o - 28 = 0 for t.
4
Suppose 38 = -4*q - 26. Let o = -14 - q. Solve t + 9 = -o*t for t.
-3
Let b = -8 - -12. Let a = -4 + b. Suppose -5*i + 10 + 10 = a. Solve 0 = -3*h + 7*h - i for h.
1
Suppose 2*b + 190 = 2*u, 0*b + 5*b = 0. Let t = u + -91. Solve 0 = t*w + 16 - 0 for w.
-4
Let j(g) = 3*g - 1. Let v(l) = -3*l. Let u be (1 - (0 - 0)) + 3. Let t(y) = u*v(y) + 5*j(y). Let d be t(5). Solve i = 3*i + d for i.
-5
Let f be 8/(-5)*5/(-2). Let r(g) = -4*g**3 - 4*g**2 + 8*g - 4. Let u(t) = t**3 - t - 1. Let x(s) = r(s) + 5*u(s). Let v be x(f). Solve -v*p - 3 = 3 for p.
-2
Let c = -20 - -22. Suppose -5*y + 55 = 2*h, 0 = h + c*y + y - 30. Solve r - 4*r = -h for r.
5
Let o(b) = b**3 - 2*b**2 - 3*b - 4. Let z be ((-5)/(-20))/(1/12). Let q be o(z). Let p be -3 - 32/(0 + q). Solve -3*x - p = 2*x for x.
-1
Suppose 4*s = -1 + 9. Suppose -2*k + 19 = q + 3*k, 5*k = s*q - 23. Suppose -q = n - 18. Solve 0 = -2*w + 2 - n for w.
-1
Suppose 0 = -9*a + 14*a - 35. Solve a*k - 10 = 4 for k.
2
Let h(a) be the second derivative of a**4/12 - 2*a**2 - 22*a. Let v be h(-2). Solve -2*i + i - 2 = v for i.
-2
Let i(s) = -73*s - 69. Let d be i(-1). Solve -d*o = -5*o + 2 for o.
2
Suppose -9 = -3*n - 2*m + 5*m, 5*m = -10. Suppose 2152 = -p + 2156. Solve -p = h - n for h.
-3
Let w be 16/(-6)*27/(-18). Solve -6*p - 28 = -w for p.
-4
Let h(o) = o**2 - 9*o - 1. Let c be h(8). Let x = c + 11. Suppose -x*j - j = -4*f + 103, 5*f - 128 = 3*j. Solve -4*i = i + f for i.
-5
Let y(l) = l**3 - 5*l**2. Let q be y(5). Suppose q = -z - 2*z + 15. Solve -z = 4*x + 7 for x.
-3
Let f = 288 - 277. Solve -26 = -5*x - f for x.
3
Let u be (-232)/(-48) + 2/12. Suppose 0*x - 9 = -3*x. Solve x*n = -1 - u for n.
-2
Let n(c) = 7*c**3 - 28*c**2 - 23*c - 36. Let y(i) = 4*i**3 - 14*i**2 - 11*i - 18. Let l(v) = -3*n(v) + 5*y(v). Let x be l(15). Solve 4*u = 23 - x for u.
5
Suppose -2*i + i + 2*r + 15 = 0, 4*i = 4*r + 40. Solve d - 9 = -i for d.
4
Suppose 0 = -2*x - 0 + 4. Let l be ((-4)/4)/(x/(-10)). Let q = -114 - -116. Solve -q + 12 = -l*d for d.
-2
Suppose -1 = 2*i - 31. Suppose 5*k - m = 98, 2*k - 3*k + m + 18 = 0. Let u = k - i. Solve -7 = -4*f + u for f.
3
Let i = -80 + 83. Suppose 6 = -i*n - 5*m, -5*n + 2 + 4 = 3*m. Solve x = n + 2 for x.
5
Let k = 31 - 6. Suppose k*w = 38*w - 78. Solve -8 + w = o for o.
-2
Let q be (-2)/(-3) + (-43)/(-3). Let b = 2229 + -2227. Solve -w = b*w + q for w.
-5
Suppose -13*q + 9*q = r - 8, 2*q + 14 = -5*r. Solve q*n = n - 13*n for n.
0
Let m = -780 - -792. Solve m*r = -0*r + 48 for r.
4
Let j(u) = u**2 + 15*u + 12. Let o be j(-13). Let z = o + 16. Solve z*i = -0*i - 6 for i.
-3
Let y be (5 - 13)*(-15 - -10). Solve -10*p = -0*p + y for p.
-4
Let x = -2 - -25. Let i = x - 20. Solve i*y + y = -20 for y.
-5
Suppose 4*p = 12, -2*p - p = -5*y - 9. Solve y = 18*z - 19*z + 3 for z.
3
Let z be -3 - 4/(8/(-22)). Suppose z*d - 12 = 12. Solve d = 4*l + 7 for l.
-1
Suppose -48 = -5*z + 62. Solve -z*x + 20 = -17*x for x.
4
Let p be 7554/51 + (-2)/17. Let o = 148 - p. Solve -2 = 2*y - o*y for y.
-1
Suppose 68*t = 39*t + 870. Solve 9*u = 3*u - t for u.
-5
Let u = 68 + -43. Solve 0 = 3*b + 2*b + u for b.
-5
Let d = 92 + -77. Solve -d = 5*t + 10 for t.
-5
Suppose -3*q - 4*p + 30 = 0, -4*q + 2*q + 21 = 3*p. Let l be 588/(-36) - 4/q. Let u = l - -17. Solve k + u*k = 0 for k.
0
Let p be (-15*(3 + -5))/1. Let i be 9*5/(p/4). Solve i = l + 11 for l.
-5
Suppose 3*k + 39 = 5*m, -2*m - 17 = 5*k - 45. Suppose 7*u = m*u. Solve u*x - 5*x = -5 for x.
1
Let p be 40/(-8) - 2 - -19. Solve 0 = 39*z - 36*z - p for z.
4
Suppose -11*y + 29 + 158 = 0. Let a = y - 15. Solve -z = -a*z for z.
0
Suppose -5*m = -44 - 1. Solve -4*x = -x + m for x.
-3
Let s(b) = -b + 4. Let q be s(0). Solve 3*z + 4 = q*z for z.
4
Let f be 8/12 - (-4)/(-6)*-47. Let h be (24/(-4) - -1)*-1. Solve -12 + f = h*m for m.
4
Let k(s) = s**3 + s**2 - s. Let g be k(0). Suppose g = o + 5*o. Solve o - 4 = -2*m for m.
2
Let t be 18 - 20 - (6 + 0). Let x = -8 - t. Let o = 41 + -16. Solve x = -v + 6*v - o for v.
|
CHP presidential candidate İnce says he might talk to Assad if elected
İpek Özbey - İSTANBUL
The presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Muharrem İnce, said he remained indifferent toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while adding that the Turkish government should not act in anger against him.
When asked if Assad is a “red line” for him, İnce said, “I don’t particularly feel sympathy or antipathy toward him. But there should be no room in the state administration to get angry [with anyone]. The one that rules Turkey should not act sentimentally.”
Syria’s territorial integrity should be preserved and a new constitution should be adopted, İnce said, stressing the necessity for elections under U.N. monitoring with the participation of Syrians abroad.
“Syrians living in Turkey will happily return home after this structure is established,” he said.
The former high school teacher also expressed that he does not want to spend $40 billion on Syrian refugees.
Speaking about relations with the U.S., İnce said both countries can increase cooperation again despite the current strain in bilateral ties. “In the past, we had great work in Kosovo and Bosnia. We can make it again. We can make peace and reconcile,” he said.
On ties with Russia, İnce recalled that Turkey did not break ties with Moscow even in the Cold War era. “When one plays for domestic politics, neither Russian tourists will come to Antalya [Mediterranean resort popular amongst Russians] nor the tomatoes of Antalya will be exported to Moscow,” he said.
If elected, İnce said he would tell the EU that they “should not surrender to anti-Turkey circles, as Turkey does not surrender to anti-EU people.”
“The EU is a secular body, thus needs Turkey,” İnce added.
When asked about his plans for a Kurdish peace process, the CHP candidate said parliament is the place to discuss the issue. “The place to discuss this is parliament, not Dolmabahçe or Oslo, places closed off to the nation. There is no red line. Let’s talk about it,” he said, referring to previous venues where the peace talks were held.
“The Kurdish issue is a democratization issue, a cultural and economic question. But at the same time it is a matter of political morality. Politicians have always abused it. They went to Diyarbakır [southeastern province] and spoke to please the Kurds; then they went to Trabzon [Black sea province] and Edirne [western province] and used nationalist discourses,” he said.
İnce is certain he will win the elections in the first round, with the help of Kurdish voters. |
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