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While activation of beige thermogenesis is a promising approach for treatment of obesity-associated diseases, there are currently no known pharmacological means of inducing beiging in humans. Intermittent fasting is an effective and natural strategy for weight control, but the mechanism for its efficacy is poorly understood. Here, we show that an every-other-day fasting (EODF) regimen selectively stimulates beige fat development within white adipose tissue and dramatically ameliorates obesity, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis. EODF treatment results in a shift in the gut microbiota composition leading to elevation of the fermentation products acetate and lactate and to the selective upregulation of monocarboxylate transporter 1 expression in beige cells. Microbiota-depleted mice are resistance to EODF-induced beiging, while transplantation of the microbiota from EODF-treated mice to microbiota-depleted mice activates beiging and improves metabolic homeostasis. These findings provide a new gut-microbiota-driven mechanism for activating adipose tissue browning and treating metabolic diseases.
Net run rate (runs per over scored less runs per over conceded, adjusting team batting first to overs of team batting second in rain rule matches, adjusting to team's full allocation if all out, and ignoring no result matches) (NetRR) Order in the table: Position of teams in the table is determined by: Total points Head-to-head result (if more than two teams level head-to-head only applies if all those teams have played the same number of matches against each other) Net run rate (runs per over scored less runs per over conceded, adjusting team batting first to overs of team batting second in rain rule matches, adjusting to team's full allocation if all out, and ignoring no result matches)
" what's wrong sweetie?" " you're always in jail at christmas." " I'm gonna do my best to stay out of jail this year." "We're gonna go on the cruise instead of going to jail." "I'll tell you what." "I got a great idea." "Why don't we have christmas today?" " really?" " to make up for all the christmas I was in jail." "We'll have real presents and everything." " cool!" " come on out." " you're not allowed doing that." "That's littering." " I've noticed that if you throw something into a water body like" "A lake or an ocean that the next day you come back and its gone." "So somehow it takes it away and filters" "It through and just cleans it up" "Like a garbage compactor or whatever." "So it's not really littering if you ask me." "That's fine." "The water's gonna wash it all away, sweetie." "Ah, shit!" "We're gonna have to borrow a tire from somebody, trin." "See, you have to count the number of bolts." "One, two, three, four, five." "And daddy's car has one, two, three, four, five." "So this tire will fit on daddy's car." "Here, try putting your foot up on there like this." "There you go." "See, you can do it." " I did it!" " ricky?" "Listen, how come you're not excited" "About going on this cruise?" " I am excited, bubbles." "You know, I think it's pretty awesome." "Julian planning this whole thing and it worked out." "He's a good fucking thinker." "I just don't want to leave trinity, man." "I'm going to miss her and I want this to be" "The best christmas ever." "I've got a lot of making up to do" "Cause I'm always in fucking jail at christmas." " come on, boys." "Let's pick up the cruise tickets." "Come on!" " bubbles, get in the back." "I'll mess up my hair in the convertible." " there's your tickets." " right on!" " wait, there's uh, one more right?" "Bonus ticket special - buy seven, get one free." "There's only seven tickets here." "There should be eight." " ricky was supposed to phone me back to confirm the free ticket." "I left him three messages and he never returned my calls." " if you want to get a hold of ricky," "You've got to go down to the car" "Or walk around the park looking for him, yelling for him." "You can't just phone him up." " there's only seven of us going anyway." "It's no big deal." " where's my ticket, ricky?" " julian, bubbles..." "Corey, trevor, lucy, sarah, erica?" "Erica?" "What the fuck, julian!" "Where's my ticket?" " julian never told anybody that he was going to use" "One of those for his new girlfriend." " relax, alright!" "We can still get the bonus ticket now, right?" " I'm sorry gentlemen." "That promotion ended last week." "It's too late now." "The ship sails at six." " now ricky doesn't have a fucking ticket." "Sometimes you can just hear the things" "Fucking shorting out in his brain." "I don't know what he's going to do." "And, we're going to try to make corey and trevor" "Come up with forty-two hundred dollars in about four hours." " it's kind of unfortunate that we've been paying" "In to the vacation pay" "With julian, but something, there was some kind of a mistake" "Or an accounting error and our, our money got lost." " corey and trevor are as stupid as fuck." "If this is going to happen," "I'm in charge of how we get the money," "Cause I'm not stupid." " oh, oh, julian." " the fastest way to get money is to steal a bank machine." "You just take a fucking chain, hook it up to a truck" "And yank the fucking bank machine out of the store." " the stupidest thing is the people that make the bank machines," "They don't even check with the people that make the doors." "All they have to do is make the door smaller than the bank machine," "You can't get the bank machine out." " dude, I don't care how we do it but we're going on a cruise, man." "It's all about the ladies, dude." "The ladies." " we're going to have to come back and get this" "Cause I still gotta do my laundry." " yeah, man, let's rob the laundry-mat." "Shit, they got quarters and loonies." "That's a dope idea." " do you have any tube socks?" "Fuck man, that's what I was looking for." " so, ricky?" " uh-huh?" " corey and trevor stealing a bank machine." "Do you think that's a good idea?" " I would have did it myself, bubbles, ut I'm not going back to jail." "Besides, julian's the one that screwed everything up." " ricky, I just want you and erica to get along with each other okay," "So could you please give her another chance?" " you've got chicken on your lip." " ricky..." "This doesn't look good." " oh-oh." " he was having christmas dinner with his family, with his daughter." "There was a lot of unnecessary enforcement and reinforcement," "And lahey comes in." " ricky." " what the fuck's going on here?" " I've been waiting a long time for this, boy." " for what?" " you know the lease" "You signed for your lot, rick?" " yeah." " it said if you made more than five sunnyvale by-law infractions," "You were out on your ass." " but I didn't, so fuck you." " oh yeah?" "Outstanding lot fees with written warnings," "Public drunkenness, trafficking,littering, excessive firearm discharge," "Environmental oil test results." "It's all there, officer." " well, when ricky first got out of jail, mr." "Lahey tricked him" "Into signing a legal thing saying that um," "He'd abide by the sunnyvale rules and regulations." "And, you know, maybe ricky thought he could do it, I don't know." " you know what?" "You think you're so big and important," "Showing off in front of the cops." "Hat's what's going on here." " just doing my job, ricky." "A real job." "Something you'll never have the pleasure or mental capacity to understand." " I could do your fucking job in a second." " not in a second." "Never." "You know why, rick?" " why?" " cause you're a loser." " at least he's not a drunk." " daddy's gotta go take care of some bullshit, alright?" "I'll be back in a bit and we'll finish celebrating christmas." "I'm sorry." "I love you pumpkin." "I'll be back in a bit." " ricky kind of freaked out and threw a turkey," "Which might have gone through a windshield of one of the cop cars," "They're saying." "But, it's like, anyone would have done that." " holy fuck!" "That was a perfectly good turkey." "Come here, fella." "Come here, buddy." "It's still good." " nah, no man should have to leave where he's from." "It shouldn't have happened." " you see this line?" "That's the freedom line, ricky." "You come back over that line and you go to jail." " lke what, like this?" "Like that?" "Am I going to jail now?" "If I had my choice, I probably wouldn't go back to jail," "But jail is not that bad." "I was getting pissed off" "At people here and the way I was being treated." "Sometimes, jail is better than this place." "Ah, once a criminal, always a criminal, huh?" "That's what everybody thinks?" "Cause if that's the case," "I may as well March my ass back to jail where it's nice and warm." "I'll spend the fucking winter getting drunk and stoned with good dope." " is that the end of the great sunnyvale trailer park eviction speech, ricky?" " actually it's not." "I hope you're fucking proud of yourself," "Cause the end of my speech is fuck you, fuck you," "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck everybody." " ricky, don't worry about this stuff, okay?" "Corey and trevor, they're going to get the money." "So smarten up, man, enough of this crazy shit, rick." " you just don't get it, do you?" " what?" " have fun on your little cop cruise, alright?" "Just remember what you gave up." "A fucking guy that you could get drunk with, get stoned with," "Didn't ask any fucking questions about nothing." "Just hang out and have a good fucking time." "Broke the law here and there, we made what we did to get by." "Just remember, you gave that up for a fucking girlfriend, buddy." "A fucking cop girlfriend." "I know I won't forget it." "Thanks a lot." "Sorry, buddy." "You have a good time on the cruise." "You deserve it." "Everybody else can fuck off." " that was a good speech, ricky." " you want to come visit me julian, I'll be in jail." "Thanks, buddy." "[bell rings] - oh fuck." "Excuse me, sir, can you please step twenty feet away" "From the pump and extinguish your cigarette?" " can you please fuck off?" "Thank you." " come on, ricky, put it out." "You got me fired from nine jobs" "Already this summer and I can't handle it." "I'm gonna call the cops." " go ahead, jacob." "Call the fucking cops." "I dare ya." "But you know what, you're not gonna call the cops are you?" "Cause you're scared." "Please call them." "I want to fucking go to jail anyway." "Dick!" " yeah, I'm calling them." "Yes,I'd like to report a robbery, please." " ah, fuck off, jacob!" " it's a black car with no door and a bunch of crap hanging off the back." "Some freak driving it." "Yeah, the gas station." "I can't believe this shit!" "[bell rings]" " did that guy steal something?" " he stole a bunch of shit." " did he tell you to call the cops?" " he was daring me to and I called them." "They're on their way." " look, my friend has psychological problems." "I want you to call the cops back and tell them you fucked up." " he stole about two hundred bucks worth of shit." "Like, I don't know." " here." "There's seventy bucks." "That should cover it." " uh." "I'm gonna get in shit with my boss." " and here's twenty bucks for calling the cops back." "Are we cool?" " yeah man, we're cool." " thanks, man." " hey, everybody, come on over here, please." "Just want you guys to know that I am drunk as fuck," "Driving around town drunk." "I'm on dope and I want you to call the police." "I want to go back to jail." "Please." "Not only that," "But I've got a loaded hand gun right here." "I'm gonna start firing this off." "So please call the cops." "[gunfire]" "What, you're not going to call the police?" "Fucking julian." "Great!" " you've got two options here, okay?" "One, go on this awesome cruise with all your friends," "All-inclusive, have a good time." "Or number two, go to jail." "This isn't a difficult decision, ricky." " I'm not going on the cruise if erica is." "So I guess I'm going the fuck back to jail." "Erica's just got this attitude like she's better than everybody else" "Just cause she's wearing a fucking badge and that's bullshit." "She's not better than me, we just have different occupations or whatever." "I'm just as good as she is." "You've changed man." " meet me back at the trailer park." " sure, julian." " I'm not joking here." " I'll meet you back there." "I'll be there in two minutes." "No problem." "You just wait for me." "I'll be right there, buddy." "Fuck that, we're going somewhere else." "Come with me, guys." "[brakes squealing]" " alright!" "Somebody come and fucking arrest me, please." " I need you to keep an eye on ricky for a little while, okay?" " I want to go to jail." " he won't listen to me." "I think he really wants to go back to jail." " "closed for renovations"!" "This is fucked!" " alright, julian." "I'll do it but..." "Don't you notice the look ricky has in his eye." "That crazy look." "I've seen that before and it scares me." "I don't want anything stupid to ruin this cruise on us." " hey, everybody!" "How you doing?" "This is my friend mr." "Gun." "My special guest smith wesson says get your ass down" "And give me some quarters." "This is a stick up, real deal," "Real gun, full cooperation and no one gets done." "Yeah, so listen to me cause that's what I say." " stop fucking rapping, this is the real thing." " down please, miss." "Down." "Down." "Alright, you just keep doing what you're doing." "Your cool." "That's alright." "Tall boy, get down!" "Don't make me fucking get up there." "Down!" " alright, we want your change." "Give us your change now." " dude, just take the fucking quarters." " please, get on the ground." "Look at these little things of detergent." "We should take these too." " thank you very much." "Thank you." " this thing's awesome, man!" " that's a little big." "I can't drive this shit." " I'll drive it." "Just get us in there, man." " so, what did you want to talk about?" " listen, we've got to work this whole ricky situation out." "I know you don't think too highly of him and everything," "But he's a good guy, he's my best friend." "I really want him to go on this cruise with us." " no offence, julian." "Ricky's a skid." "He belongs in jail." "When are you going to grow up and see that?" "Look, I know you guys go way back but," "This isn't junior high school anymore." "Lahey's right." "Ricky's a loser." "I really think it's time for you to get out of the park, julian." "The people you hang out with are fucked up." "[sound of change falling]" "Where'd you get the coins, boys?" " uh, we were gambling with trevor's grandmother." "But, we weren't gambling though." "We were just..." " why don't you call me when you're finished with your friends." " don't be pulling shit like that in front of erica again, you got it?" " sorry, dude." "But man, we got the money." "Eighteen hundred bucks in quarters." "Man, we're going on the trip." "A-rah!" " eighteen hundred bucks." "You know what?" "That's not enough." "Now roll that fucking coin up and go get some more money." "[glass smashing]" " I don't understand why you'd want to give up the finer things in life." "Like getting drunk and stoned with your friends." "Settle down for, well that's ridiculous." "And I want to go on this cruise, but I'm not going" "With julian and his police officer girlfriend." "Fuck that!" "All I know is when I'm seventy years old" "And I'm sitting on my front porch, still getting drunk and stoned" "With my friends, who's going to be happier, me or him?" "I guarantee you, it's going to be fucking me." " oh my god, ricky." "What have you done now?" "Come on, julian..." "Come on, answer..." "Julian, it's me." "You've got to get down to the liquor store." "Ricky's inside." "He's getting drunk and he's swearing." " bubbles, I see you out there." "I'm not stupid." "There's a fucking camera crew too." "Don't fucking film me." " he's whipping bottles at me, julian!" " bubbles, come and have a drink with me before I go to jail, buddy." " alright, I'll try to stall him but get down here." "Where's the tape on this thing?" "Come on, ricky." " my name's ricky from sunnyvale trailer park." "I want to go to fucking jail, alright?" "So come and get me." "Come and take me away." " ricky, what are you doing?" " what are you going to do, julian?" "Get drunk with the boys or hang out with the girlfriend?" " I've got half the money for your ticket." "Corey and trevor will be in third class." "You're gonna get a first class suite." " no, I'm not, cause I'm going back to jail in about ten minutes." " holy fuck, have you guys ever tried that dope flavoured rum?" " dope flavoured rum?" "Where?" " get him, julian!" "[making noises] - it's gonna be cool, ricky." " julian, I got the surveillance tape!" " good, you've got to drive, bubbles." " what if I get pulled over?" " stick to the speed limit, you won't get pulled over." "[sirens]" " oh no!" "Okay, ricky, just relax." "Don't worry, I can take care of this." "I've seen you do this a hundred times." "[making noises] - don't worry, I know what I'm doing." "Hi, officer, how are you doing today?" "I'll just step out." "I can't get my door open." "I'll get out this way." "Oh oh now, hang on now." "Oh oh." "Yup, this way is fine too." "I can get out that way." "That's not a problem." "Me and my buddy, there," "We're doing a kind of a university prank on him for initiation." "[making noises]" " I know." "Calm down please." "[making noises]" " what's going on?" " we lost the car, julian." " get in." " okay, boys." "Look what we got, randy." "Shit stormtroopers." " ricky, stay in the car." " good advice." " lift this gate up, lahey, I don't have time for this today." " ricky, you cross that line, you're going to jail boy!" " perfect, ass face, cause I want to go to jail." "Fuck off, randy!" " jim, we're just going to my trailer to talk." " randy, go call the cops." "Tell them we got an illegal alien trying to jump the border." " you wait here, ricky." "I'm going to go grab some mix and ice," "We'll go talk somewhere else." "Bubbles, keep an eye on him." "Make sure he doesn't cross the line." " ricky, ricky..." " come on, guys..." " you're not going back to jail." " I want to though." " what's the problem this time, boys?" " captain shit-acular is raising shit in sunnyvale again." " and when he called us and said this is what's happening," "You have to come out here and help, I have no choice." "I would say that ricky's a shit leopard that can't change it's spots." " please, take me away." "I want you to." "I want you to take me to jail." " look, I'm not going to play into your shit, okay?" " then you and your little boyfriend can live happy hour ever after," "Isn't that what you want?" " ricky, I'm really trying to like you." "You're not making it easy." " well maybe this will help." "Fuck off." " okay, that's it." "Bring him over here, bubbles." "This is a police emergency." "I'm going to have to take your cab." " I'm crossing your little fucking line, lahey!" " just take him out of the park, anywhere, I don't care." " don't fucking slam the door on me." "Tell julian it was nice knowing him" "Since elemental school, breaking the law" "With guns and dope and everything else!" " ricky told us just to hook everything up and tear the bank machine" "Out of the wall and then" "We could just make a withdrawal when we get it back to the park." " what's up, ricky?" " how's it going, boys?" "Where's the store clerk?" " tied him up out back, man." " he probably just wants to be a part of it with us." "It's an exciting job and he's been pretty cool as of late." " a lot of people like to work with people who are good at things" "And kind of job shadow them or whatever" "And I think it would be an awesome opportunity for ricky." " it's all secure?" " it's all set up." " get the fuck out, guys." "I'm taking over the job." "Get the fuck out." "Good job." " what?" "!" " get out!" "My name is ricky, I'm from the sunnyvale trailer park," "And I'm robbing your store." "I'm tearing this bank machine right the fuck out of here." " who are you talking to, ricky?" " are you guys fucking stupid?" "Look, you're on camera, you idiots, now get out." "[smash]" " wait up, ricky!" " thanks for the milk shake, julian, it's delicious." " I am drunk as fuck!" "Drunk as fuck!" " shit, is that ricky?" " I would say it is, julian." " my god, it's ricky!" "Yeah, we got a 10-72 at the sunnyvale trailer park." "Thank you very much." "Well, ricky, it looks like you- fuck you, fuck you, fuck your gate." " willful destruction of property, theft under a thousand dollars," "Trespassing, dangerous driving, you're going back to jail, boy." " did you call the cops yet?" " yeah, I did." " good, I want to go back to jail." " you wanna go?" " hey, trin." " hi." " where did you get this rim?" " I borrowed it, daddy." "Just like you taught me to." "Merry christmas." " like I taught you to." "What do you mean?" " apples don't fall far from the tree, do they, rick?" " lahey, I got a lot to deal with before I got back to jail." "I have no time for your shit so fuck off." " speaking of shit, rick, which we were," "When a shit apple falls from a tree and grows up in a field of shit," "It doesn't have any choice." "Just like trinity." "She's going to go up to be a shit apple tree." "Just like her father." "Have fun in jail, rick." " I want to go to jail." " trinity, don't ever say that again, okay?" "Don't joke around." " I want to go to jail." "Jail, jail, jail, jail." " trinity, stop it!" "I'm serious." "Don't ever joke about that." "You're never going to jail, okay?" " oh yes she is, rick." " no she's not, lahey, so fuck off." "What I started realizing about trinity is that now she's at this age" "Where it's gorilla see, gorilla do." "If I throw a bottle in the lake," "She's gonna throw a bottle in the lake, which is no big deal." "You are never going to jail, so you gotta do the right thing" "And take this rim back where you got it from." "She doesn't need to steal." "I could steal anything we need." "Why does she need to take it?" "It's better I got to jail than her." "Where'd you get this rim?" "At the mall?" " yup." " what's going on, ricky?" " it's a long story, boys." "I stole a bank machine." "It's all on video tape." "I'm fucked, I'm going back to jail." "Can't go on the cruise." " rick, you're not going back to jail." "Store surveillance tape." "I got it back." "Now let's go get the money from the bank machine and get out of here." " let's go ricky, cruise." " hold on a second, guys, hold on." " what?" " I can't go on the cruise even if I'm not going back to jail." "I can't." " well, why, ricky?" " I've got to stay and look after trinity." "She's starting to steal and that's not good." "I don't want her to grow up to be a shit apple like me." " here, hold that, honey." "I'll be back in a bit, boys." "I just gotta take this rim back and I'll drive you guys down to the ship." " I just gotta make a little withdrawal man." "It'll only take a second." " julian!" "How long do you think" "It'll take your little cop girlfriend to realize" "You can't change the spots on a shit leopard?" " fuck off with your shit talk, lahey." " randy, secure the evidence." " come on, julian." " get away from the evidence." "[shouting]" " holy fuck, she blew!" " julian, you are in trouble now, boy." " boys, you got police dye all over you." " julian, what the hell is going on here?" " stand back, ma'am." "This is official police matter." "[sirens] here they come, randy." " did ricky do this?" "You could go to jail for this." "Please tell me you weren't..." " I didn't have anything to do with this, okay." "Look it was randy and lahey, they have dye all over them." " dave, these two, they stole a bank machine." "Take them away." " what?" "!" " bubbles, leave without me." " I don't want to leave without you." " listen go, I'll meet you there, okay, buddy?" " you're not going to be there, are you, julian?" " have a good time." "Yes, I am." " well?" " listen, erica, I don't have any dye on me, okay?" " how could you ruin this with your criminal bullshit?" "I thought you were better than that." "I'm a cop..." "And he's a criminal." "And I swear I never meant to be." " either you love me for who I am or you arrest me right now." " you have the right to retain" "And instruct counsel in private without delay." "Dave, another one." "Could you stop filming, please?" "!" " going on that cruise would have been a good time and everything," "But I'm trying to keep my mind off it because well, you know, I'm in here." "I been doing a lot of reading on positive thinking again" "And it's helped me out." " hi, julian." " fuck off, randy." "So I've got eight months" "And that's not that bad." "I've done a lot longer time." " yeah, when I get out, I want to do three things:" "Fix up the park," "Have a little drink," "Just celebratory..." " yeah." " and uh..." "I want to kill ricky." " life's funny." "Never did I ever think I'd become trailer park supervisor," "But lahey and randy went to jail and the job came up." "I had experience so here I am." " mr." "Lahey is just joking about killing ricky, right mr." "Lahey?" " yup, just joking about that, you're right, randy." " and since I'm not going to jail," "We can even have christmas together, so life for me is perfect." " you did it, daddy!" " I did do it, didn't I?" "[all]: thanks, julian!" "Captioning by cnst,montreal"
Thursday, January 15, 2009 I read the obituary of Patrick McGoohan this morning. It brought back memories of how extraordinary it was for a misfit teenager to live through the year 1968. It was the year when many of my life's passions took hold: politics, science fiction, philosophy, the films of Stanley Kubrick, general geekiness. I always remember the day early in that year when I saw my mother's ashen face when she learned that her best friend's only son had been killed in Vietnam. I signed up to volunteer in the McCarthy campaign the next day. Then followed a few months of hope, only to have it crushed by the assassinations; riots throughout America's cities revealing the scope of the poverty and hopelessness that lay beneath the American Dream and shoving it in the faces of us middle class white kids who had been taught about some other America; the scenes of Soviet tanks rolling into Prague; the conventions, George Wallace making racism acceptable, the election of Richard Nixon - the gathering realization that American Democracy was a hoax and that America was not necessarily a force for good in the world. That summer, CBS ran a bizarre British television series called The Prisoner as a summer replacement. The timing could not have been more appropriate. If you have never seen The Prisoner, I won't try to tell you what it is about. In fact, most viewers, including me, have a hard time figuring out what it was about. Get it on DVD. McGoohan created and starred in the show. The great Leo McKern was also in it. It was about individuality and freedom, social control and social responsibility. It addresses revolution. Is rebellion simply an act that asserts individual freedom, or does the rebel have a responsibility to the community? The Prisoner may seem dated in a psychedelic, late '60s sort of way. Some of the episodes are way over the top. But so much of The Prisoner could not be more timely. The show is almost like a catalogue of the Bush Administration's "greatest hits": extraordinary rendition, torture, uncontrolled surveillance, rigged elections, imprisonment as the solution to all social ills, criminality and deceit in the highest levels of government. At the end of the day, however, there is hope. Freedom and individuality cannot be wiped out, and the human spirit can triumph. The power to resist oppression lies within each of us. Thinking about hope inevitably makes me think about what will happen next week. The horrors of 1968, or of the past eight years, have not been wiped out, and will not be wiped out when Obama takes the oath. But I can really see the possibility of something better. President Obama can be a success by tearing down prison walls. Guantanamo is a good start, but it is only a start. Maybe in a few years we can stop thinking of America as the country that has the highest rate of imprisonment in the world. Thank you Patrick McGoohan for having opened up the mind of this geek, and I suspect, many, many others. Be seeing you. Wednesday, January 7, 2009 The following is the conclusion of the essay I wrote in 2007 on the writings of Thomas Barnett. In Part I, I laid out some of Barnett's basic ideas, comparing them to my own ideas about "neo-Marxism" or "bourgeois Marxism." I then began to delve into some of my disagreements with Barnett, using American military actions in the Balkans and Iraq as case studies in the use of American military force in the post Cold War era. I acknowledged that Barnett's ideas worked extremely well in the Balkans, but appeared to break down in the case of Iraq. In Part II, I explore the reasons for the failure of Barnett's ideas in Iraq in more detail, and highlight the distinction between colonialism and globalization, which, I believe, is central to the distinction between the ideas of the neo-conservatives who dominated the Bush Administration, and who were responsible for the direction of the Iraq War, and the thinking of proponents of globalization such as Barnett (as well as myself). The distinction between colonialism and globalization also dovetails nicely with my thoughts about the Counterinsurgency Field Manual. When counterinsurgency doctrine is applied in the service of globalization, it can be a boon to humankind; but it is equally applicable in service of neo-colonialism, in which case it becomes a malignancy. The best solution to the problem is the one I highlight in the conclusion of this essay, namely, to reject U.S. unilateralism in Twenty-First Century warfare. This is the key to ensuring that in the future American military actions are engaged in the endeavor of promoting globalization, as opposed to neo-colonialism. Globalization and Colonialism In The Post Cold War Era (Conclusion) Barnett’s support for the Iraq War is not based on any of the purported justifications advanced by the Bush Administration. Rather, Barnett supported the Iraq War as an example of the sort of "shrink the Gap" type of conflict he wants the U.S. to pursue in the post-Cold War era. Barnett viewed Saddam Hussein’s government as a good example of a malignant Gap regime that was harmful to the Iraqi people and dangerous to Iraq’s neighbors, both of which were unquestionably true. Barnett’s view was that with the removal of this dysfunctional regime, Iraq would have an opportunity to re-build itself and get on the road to Core membership, speeding the penetration of globalization into the entire Middle East. In all, Barnett viewed the American invasion of Iraq as an event that would set off a "big bang" that would radically alter Middle Eastern politics, with the end result of enabling the entire region someday to join the Core.Barnett would have to agree that to date, things have not worked out very well in Iraq. Iraq today is more "Gap-like" than it was before the U.S. invaded. The Iraqi economy is not functioning, even at the extremely depressed levels at which it was functioning before the war. The country is torn by civil war. Reliable estimates put the Iraqi death toll at in excess of a half-million fatalities, both as a result of the American invasion and the ensuing civil war. Iraq has become a hotbed of terrorist activity. Religious fundamentalists hold far more influence in Iraq than they did before the war. The status of women in Iraqi society – as noted, something Barnett rightly identifies as a major indicator of a society’s compatibility with the culture of the Twenty-First Century globalized economy – has declined since the war.Barnett sees the failure of the Iraq War as fundamentally a failure of strategy. Specifically, Barnett faults the strategy pursued by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, which could be described as a strategy that was all Leviathan and no SysAdmin. The American Leviathan force did its job by quickly defeating the Iraqi army and deposing Saddam Hussein. However, there was no large SysAdmin force ready to occupy Iraq and rapidly undertake the task of re-building Iraqi society (that "nation-building" stuff that candidate Bush disliked so much back in 2000). As a result, Iraq descended into chaos in the days immediately following the invasion, the attempts to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure were ill-conceived and poorly executed, and the evolution of an Iraqi insurrection and ultimately a full-blown civil war flowed inexorably from the lack of any SysAdmin force and the flawed overall occupation strategy pursued by the United States.While there can hardly be any dispute that the U.S. conduct of the occupation of Iraq was poorly planned – and it appears to have been hardly planned at all – I do not agree that the failure in Iraq was solely attributable to a failure of execution. Even if the U.S. had pursued a different strategy in its occupation of Iraq, I seriously doubt that the result would have been much different. Indeed, there is really no point in debating the question of whether the outcome in Iraq could have been different if a true SysAdmin force had been brought into play, because the reality is that it simply was not possible for such a force to have been deployed in Iraq. Barnett concedes that the U.S. alone does not have sufficient forces to field a SysAdmin force of the magnitude that would have been required to do an effective job in Iraq. Thus, in order for the Iraq War to have been successful, the U.S. necessarily would have had to put together a much more substantial international coalition than the rather pathetic "coalition of the willing" that actually participated in the Iraq War. Barnett argues that the U.S. should have been accompanied into Iraq by large numbers of Indian, Russian, and Chinese troops, which would have supplied the numbers for a massive SysAdmin force that could have made the Iraqi occupation a success and could have staved off insurrection and civil war. Barnett argues that it was the failure of the unimaginative Bush Administration foreign policy team – Barnett has particularly strong criticism for Secretaries of State Powell and Rice – that was responsible for the inability to put together a significant international coalition for prosecuting the Iraq War, which again, resulted in the failure to field a large SysAdmin force capable of carrying out the occupation in a way that would have brought about the re-structuring of Iraqi society, laying the groundwork for Iraq’s eventual entry into the Core. Barnett says that such a program was done successfully in the Balkans, and if executed properly, there is no reason why the same strategy could not have succeeded in Iraq.Again, I do not agree with Barnett that the failure in Iraq can be written off as simply a failure of strategy, or an unfortunate consequence of incompetence in the leadership of the State Department. I believe that in order to understand the failure of the Bush Administration to achieve anything remotely resembling Barnett’s "blueprint" in Iraq, one has to look at the real reasons why the Bush Administration fought the war, which in turn explain why the Bush Administration fought the war unilaterally, and therefore failed to field an effective SysAdmin force. Just as I do not believe that the Bush Administration invaded Iraq because of a fear that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction or otherwise constituted a threat to the U.S., I do not believe that the Bush Administration invaded Iraq because it had the slightest interest in pursuing some version of Barnett’s "shrink the Gap" strategy. Rather, as I stated above, I believed at the outset of the Iraq War and continue to believe today, that the Bush Administration’s interest was in using military force to protect the dominant role of American oil companies in the region.One way of looking at this is to ask the question why most other nations of the Core did not join the "coalition of the willing" in the invasion of Iraq? If I am correct about the true motivations behind the war, then the answer is obvious: most nations did not participate in the Iraq War simply because they had no interest to be advanced by participating. Most nations of the world were not fooled by Bush’s stories of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction or Iraqi ties to terrorists. Most nations simply saw no reason to participate in a war that had no greater justification than the objective of advancing American (and to a lesser extent British) oil interests. This point is seen very clearly in the strong opposition to the war coming from France and Russia, as the oil businesses of those nations had enjoyed favorable positions vis-a-vis Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s regime and unlike the Bush Administration and its allies in the American petroleum industry, the governments of those countries saw nothing to be gained by regime change.In sum, I would define the Iraq War as fundamentally a "war of colonialism", namely, a war pursued by a stronger nation against a weaker nation in order to protect the stronger nation’s control of a natural resource located within the weaker nation. In contrast to wars of colonialism, I would define Barnett’s paradigm of post-Cold War warfare as "wars of globalization." The wars in the Balkans may be the only example we have to date of a war of globalization, but even using this small sample, we can describe some of the fundamental characteristics of a war of globalization. (I think that the war in Afghanistan may also have had many of the characteristics of a true war of globalization, but unfortunately, Afghanistan has become something of an after-thought following the Bush Administration’s initiation of the Iraq War). In terms of objectives, such wars have the goal of removing a regime that is acting as an impediment to the development of trade and investment with respect to the targeted country. This objective will also shape the manner in which wars of globalization are fought. Since such wars do not have the goal of serving the narrow national interests of any one country, but rather, are intended to advance the interests of the global capitalist economic system as a whole, such wars will almost inevitably be characterized by multilateralism and a high degree of international cooperation. Of course, that is exactly what we saw work so successfully in the Balkans, and it is exactly what has been missing in Iraq. In addition, since the goal of a war of globalization is the establishment within the targeted state of a stable economic system open to trade and investment, the process of "nation-building" will also be an inevitable and essential part of such a war; thus, Barnett’s SysAdmin force is an indispensable component of any successful war of globalization. Again, this is precisely what we have seen carried out successfully in the Balkans, but notably not in Iraq.These characteristics of a war of globalization can be contrasted with a war of colonialism. Since a war of colonialism has the objective of enhancing the narrow interests of the attacking country by enabling agents of the attacking country to exploit the natural resources of the targeted country, it is almost inevitable that such a war will be unilateral, not multilateral; this characteristic applies to the Iraq War. And, since a war of colonialism has the objective of exploiting the resources of the targeted country and is not concerned with otherwise opening the targeted country to trade and investment, the nation-building aspect of a war of colonialism is likely to be perfunctory at best, with the occupation of the attacked country being concerned solely with narrow objectives of maintaining a minimal degree of order in the targeted country and not with the re-building of the targeted country into a state capable of participating in the globalized economy. Obviously, these characteristics also apply to the Iraq War.This latter point is, I believe, crucial to understanding why Barnett’s program breaks down in the case of the Iraq War. The failure of the U.S. (and the pathetic and virtually non-existent "coalition of the willing") to insert a meaningful SysAdmin force into Iraq was not just the product of short-sighted or flawed strategic thinking on the part of Rumsfeld and the other decision-makers in the Bush Administration. Rather, there was no SysAdmin force in Iraq because the Bush Administration saw no need for such a force, given the true objectives of the Iraq War. The real goal of the Iraq War was not the re-building of Iraqi society and the integration of Iraq into the globalized economy. The goals of the Iraq War were simply the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime and the insertion of a substantial American military presence in the Middle East in order to promote and protect the interests of the American oil companies and their partners in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. No meaningful SysAdmin force was needed in order to achieve these goals.This is not to say that the powers-that-be in the Bush Administration are completely satisfied with the way that the Iraq War has turned out; however, I do not believe that they are entirely dissatisfied either. Slightly more than 3,000 Americans have died in a war that has now lasted almost four years. Viewing things from a cold-blooded perspective, that is an extraordinarily low fatality rate by any historical criteria. To be sure, the consequences of the war have been catastrophic for the Iraqis – deaths likely in excess of 500,000, destruction of much of the national infrastructure, rampant chaos and civil war, etc. If this had truly been a war of globalization in which the goal was the transformation of Iraqi society in order to enable it to be integrated into the globalized economy, these facts would unquestionably brand the war as an unmitigated disaster. However, accepting the conclusion that the Iraq War was a war of colonialism and not a war of globalization, these facts are of relatively little significance to the Bush Administration’s architects of the war. The U.S. now has a firmly-established military presence in the Middle East, the regimes of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf are safe and secure, and the American oil companies are in an excellent position to take the lead in developing more extensive oil production in Iraq.This leads me to a somewhat broader criticism of Barnett. Barnett occasionally is not sufficiently careful to draw the distinction between colonialism and globalization. As noted, I believe that this is the fundamental reason why Barnett was wrong about the Iraq War – he viewed it as a war of globalization whereas in reality it was a war of colonialism. At this point, it might be helpful for me to digress a bit and offer a clearer definition of these terms, as I am using them."Colonialism" is an economic system in which an industrialized capitalist country develops a relationship with a non-industrialized, largely pre-capitalist country that exploits the natural resources or agricultural products of the colonized country for the benefit of the capitalist organizations of the colonizing country. In a colonialist system, the agents of the colonizing power obtain access to the natural resources and agricultural products of the colonized state on terms that are highly favorable to the agents of the colonizing power. In addition, the colonized state becomes dependent upon the industrial products of the colonizing power, and the colonizing power is therefore able to force the colonized state to obtain those industrial products on terms that are highly favorable to the agents of the colonizing power. In the past, colonialism was generally promulgated by means of the exercise of military coercion on the part of the colonizing state against the inferior military forces of the colonized state. The combination of colonialism with military coercion is imperialism, which dominated the world up until the Second World War.However, it is important to emphasize that colonialism can exist without imperialism, i.e., without military coercion and without actual political control of the colonized country by the colonizing state. An excellent historical example of colonialism without imperialism can be seen in the case of the American South. Even though the American Revolution terminated political and military control over the United States by Britain (or any other European country), a colonialist economic relationship continued to exist between Britain and the South long after the U.S. became politically "independent" of Britain. (To some extent, a colonialist relationship between the South and the industrialized North also developed after the Civil War, although that relationship also had much to do with the exercise of military coercion by the North, e.g., Sherman’s march, etc.). British textile manufacturers obtained cheap, slave-produced Southern cotton, while the South became highly dependent upon British industrial products, which British manufacturers were able to sell to the South on highly favorable terms – a textbook colonialist relationship.There is a temptation to view the colonialist economic relationship too simplistically as one in which the colonizing power is the "exploiter" and the colonized country is the "victim." While that may be true in a broad sense, narrow interest groups within the colonized country can benefit greatly from the relationship. In fact, colonialism can be extremely lucrative for an elite group within the colonized country that happens to control the natural resource or agricultural product that is sought to be exploited by the agents of the colonizing power. Again using the ante bellum South as an example, Southern plantation owners became fabulously wealthy through the colonialist relationship that they enjoyed with British textile manufacturers. To be sure, the system was highly damaging to masses of the people of the South as a whole; the exploitation of black slaves was a self-evident evil, and the bulk of white Southerners also suffered under the system. Southerners were forced to pay exorbitant prices for British industrial products, and most Southerners could not afford to buy and maintain slaves and therefore could not compete with the plantation owners in the production of agricultural products. Again though, for the slave holders who controlled the Southern political system, colonialism was a pot of gold and they were willing to start one of the bloodiest civil wars in the history of the world in an attempt to keep the system intact.The relationship between colonialism and globalization is complex. Colonialism is frequently the pre-cursor to globalization. Barnett points out, echoing the views of numerous economists who have written about globalization, that globalization requires the free-flow of various factors of production, such as resources, labor, goods, information, and capital. While colonialism has its origins in an economic relationship in which the colonizing power simply seeks to exploit the natural resources of the colonized country, the relationship often leads to the development of these other flows that ultimately enables the former colony to join Barnett’s Core, i.e., participating membership in the globalized capitalist economy. J.A. Hobson, writing at the end of the 19th Century, noted that the driving economic force behind British imperialism was no longer the sector of the British economy that had benefitted from the exploitation of natural resources and agricultural products obtained from the colonies, but rather, the British financial community, which was looking for profitable investment opportunities throughout the world. Thus, while the British Raj may have started out as a classic colonial relationship in which British businesses sought to exploit Indian natural resources and agricultural products, India ultimately also became an important investment opportunity for British financiers. In addition to the movement of capital, British colonization of India also gave rise to flows of other factors of production (people, goods, language, knowledge) that would in recent years be critical to India’s ability to join the globalized capitalist economy.Notwithstanding this relationship between colonialism and globalization, it is important to emphasize that the two are not the same; in fact, they are really mutually exclusive. A nation cannot become a participating member of the globalized economic system while it is in a colonial relationship. The reasons for this are readily apparent. The economy of the colony is based entirely upon the sale of natural resources and agricultural products; it produces no goods or services to be traded in the global economy. Most importantly, it is in the interest of both the colonizing power and the elite in the colonized country to keep things that way. The colonizing power does not want the colony to develop a more diverse economy, because that would cause the colony to become less dependent upon the colonizing power as a source of industrial goods; in addition, if the colony had economic alternatives to selling off its natural resources, it would be in a stronger bargaining position in dealing with the colonizing state. The elite within the colony, which typically profits greatly from the colonial relationship, also does not want things to change; if the economy of the colony diversifies, the potential exists for the development of other power centers and with them other elites within the colony capable of challenging the position of the traditional elite.Thus, a nation cannot enter the Core unless it has broken free of colonialism. Writing back in the 1970s, Chomsky, in noting that Japan was then the only highly-developed capitalist society not controlled by people of European ancestry, pointed out that it was not a coincidence that Japan was also the only non-European nation that had not been colonized by Europeans. Indeed, the example of Japan is instructive in understanding the relationship between colonialism and the ability of a nation to enter Barnett’s Core. It is quite common for nations seeking to develop a modern economy to erect barriers to keep out potential colonizers, so that a nation can develop to the point where it is able to participate in the global economy on an equal footing, and thereby avoid being subjected to colonization. Japan is the most clear-cut historical example of a nation that pursued such an isolationist strategy openly and deliberately, with highly successful results. To some extent, the Communist regimes of Russia and China effectively performed similar historical functions in keeping out would-be colonizers, even if those regimes did not do so with the conscious purpose of enabling Russia and China someday to have functioning capitalist economies; I would argue that for the past 20-odd years, the Mullahs have also been performing this function in Iran, consciously or otherwise. The strategy of non-alignment followed Nehru in years following Indian independence is another example.Consideration of U.S. history is also relevant. While mythology would have it that the U.S. has always been the bastion of free enterprise and free trade, historical reality is quite different. In fact, there are many similarities in the path to Core status pursued by the U.S. and the Japan; for most of U.S. history, at least up until the New Deal, America followed a policy of rigid political and economic isolation, not totally unlike that pursued by Japan. High tariffs were the key to American historical economic development; it is hardly surprising that the tariff was almost invariably the flash-point of ante bellum conflict between the colonized South, which was already in the colonial grasp of the U.K. and whose leaders wanted to keep it that way, and the pre-industrialized North, which was seeking to protect its developing capitalist economy from falling prey to European colonizers. Of course, I should note that just because I am pointing out the role of high tariffs in promoting historical economic development in the U.S., that does not mean that I am a devotee of latter-day protectionists such as Pat Buchanan or Lou Dobbs. I recognize that free trade among Core nations is a good thing and that a policy of protectionism by a Core nation can be disastrous, as Smoot-Hawley aptly demonstrated; however, U.S. history illustrates the point that for a pre-capitalist society seeking to protect itself from colonialism so that it can develop an economy capable of full participation in the global economy, protectionism can be beneficial and, indeed, essential.In the contemporary world, the last major colonialist relationship that continues to exist is the relationship between the nations whose economies are primarily based on the sale of oil, mostly but not exclusively located in the Middle East, and the nations of the Core, especially the U.S. Not surprisingly, the nations whose economies largely rely upon the sale of oil are all located in the Gap; it is not a coincidence that South America’s biggest oil producer, Venezuela, has not made strides towards Core membership comparable to those made by Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, none of which is a significant oil producer. It is also not a coincidence that Venezuelan voters have been receptive to the anti-colonialist demagoguery of Hugo Chavez, and have not supported pro-free market politicians of the sort who have been so successful in the New Core states of South America.The paradigmatic oil-based colonialist relationship in the world today is that between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. At first blush, this seems counter-intuitive, because we in the U.S. have all been conditioned to believe that the Saudis and the other "oil sheikhs" have us "over a barrel" and are able to exercise inordinate control over the U.S. because we are so "dependent" upon their oil. However, cutting through such caricatures promoted by the U.S. media, the relationship is unquestionably one of classic colonialism. The Western oil companies, principally American, have access to Saudi oil on terms that are quite favorable. The Saudi elite – which is a classic parasitic colonialist class (like Southern slave holders) that does nothing other than claim ownership of the ground under which the oil is located – profits handsomely from the relationship. The Saudi elite does not, however, use those profits to invest in economic diversification within its own country. Notwithstanding the countless trillions of dollars that Western oil companies have paid to the Saudi royal family over the years, Saudi Arabia remains a country with absolutely no industry and virtually no economy that is based on anything other than oil; incredibly, it also remains a country in which poverty and all of the other attributes of Gap membership such as poor education, poor healthcare, barbaric justice, and inhuman treatment of women, remain widespread. That is the way the House of Saud wants to keep it, because economic diversification could lead to the empowerment of other elites who might undermine their hold on their country. That is also the way the oil companies want to keep things, because a Saudi Arabia that had an economy based on something other than oil would have a stronger bargaining position. So instead of investing in economic development in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi elite instead invests its money either in the Core (principally in the U.S.), expensive U.S.-produced weapons systems, or in consumable items such as luxury automobiles, yachts, private jets, maintaining a level of conspicuous consumption Thorstein Veblen could not even have imagined. The American oil companies and their allies in Washington want to make sure that these wastrels remain in power; the saga of Mohamad Mossadegh in Iran is not a promising harbinger of what can happen to the leader of an oil-producing state that expresses an interest in using his nation’s oil wealth to promote internal economic development.As wealthy as the members of the Saudi elite may be, however, they are really no different from the Southern slave holders – beneficiaries of a colonialist relationship that principally serves to benefit the agents of a stronger nation. Who is it that is really "over the barrel" in this relationship? Consider this scenario. Suppose some Dr. No/James Bond villain-type came along and made all of the oil in the world radioactive and unusable. The economy of the Core would be highly disrupted, but we would eventually pull through it by going on a crash program of conservation, building nuclear power plants, wind turbines, and solar panels, and dusting off those blueprints for electric cars. The economy of Saudi Arabia, however, would be wiped out without any possibility of repair; the country would literally be in the stone age. In short, it is the Saudis who are dependent upon the Core to buy their oil. For those of us in the Core, relatively cheap Saudi oil is a convenience that yields obscene profits for the oil companies and that enables Americans to drive around in SUVs, but if we had to do without it, we could make do. Ultimately, however, the Saudis do not have that choice because they have nothing to sell to the rest of the world but their oil.The anti-globalizing effects of colonialism are not limited to the harmful way in which it stunts the development of the economy of the colony. Society within the colonizing state is also affected in a way that tends to work against the progress of globalization. Some of these effects are addressed in Kevin Phillips’ recent excellent work, American Theocracy. Phillips identifies four characteristics that almost invariably develop within countries after they embark upon a program of colonialism: (1) a tendency towards jingoism and fanatical fundamentalist religion; (2) militarization of society and a growing influence of the military in the economic and political life of society, leading to the development of monopolistic enterprises that profit from the military and effectively operate as "joint ventures" between the government and private interests; (3) increasing dependence upon whatever natural resource is the object of the colonial relationship; and (4) growing importance of the financial, as opposed to the industrial, sector of the economy, accompanied by increasing levels of national debt. Phillips identifies these characteristics in past colonial empires (Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain), and he emphasizes the prominence of these characteristics in the contemporary U.S., particularly during the current Bush Administration.Phillips does not extensively discuss the relationship between these characteristics and globalization. Indeed, while I have criticized Barnett for a tendency to be insufficiently sensitive to the distinctions between colonialism and globalization, Phillips seems to ignore globalization altogether. Phillips does not have an evolutionary view of history in the Marxian (or neo-Marxian) mode; he tends to view history as cyclical, with the U.S. simply being the latest in the long line of colonial empires that inevitably fall prey to the foibles that will ultimately bring them down. Phillips does not see this process leading to the ultimate end of colonialism and its displacement by globalization; he seems to view history as a cycle in which some new colonial empire will arise, only to be brought down and replaced, and so on, ad infinitum. To this extent, I strongly disagree with Phillips. Nevertheless, I believe that his analysis of the impact of colonialism on the society of the colonizing state is right on the money, and his application of that analysis to the U.S. under the Bush Administration is entirely accurate.What I think is important for Barnett’s analysis is the fact that all of these developments within U.S. society that Phillips identifies as taking place during the current Bush Administration are ultimately antithetical to the interests of globalization. Barnett identifies the principal threat to globalization in the Gap. I would submit that an equally significant danger exists within the Core, namely, the ideologues driving the policies of the Bush Administration, who are manifestations of the characteristics Phillips identifies. They are often referred to as "neo-conservatives", but I believe that a more accurate label would be "neo-colonialists." These ideologues do not share Barnett’s vision of a "future worth creating", in which the nations of the Core will work together cooperatively to "shrink the Gap." The neo-colonialists are interested in pursuing a vision of a future based on American military hegemony. They do not talk about globalization as a cooperative process, in which the U.S. and Europe will ultimately be as much or more altered to resemble the rest of the world, as the rest of the world will be altered to resemble the U.S. and Europe. They talk of the U.S. as the "lone superpower", a "dangerous nation" and an "indispensable nation", freely and openly using its military superiority to enable the U.S. to gain control over the world’s dwindling oil resources and at the same time suppressing the rise of any potential competitor. They are prone to see the current world situation in apocalyptic terms, with the U.S. "alone" "standing tall" as the only power willing to protect Western Civilization from the dark, non-Christian forces that are threatening the essential values of the West. They are interested in international cooperation only on terms dictated by the U.S.; the rest of the world is welcomed as followers, but not as collaborators in the processes of globalization. They are not interested in mutual defense pacts with China, a key ingredient of Barnett’s strategy for building a workable joint military force capable of shrinking the Gap and spreading globalization. They are interested only in pursuing strategies designed to ensure that China does not become a "threat" to the military supremacy of the U.S.In sum, the current American neo-colonialists act pretty the same way that colonialists have always acted – unilateralists with no objective more noble than the achievement of hegemony. And so long as these neo-colonialists have the power in Washington to implement their visions, globalization will be hindered.It is interesting to note that some of Barnett’s critics have often compared him to pre-World War I historians and political philosophers, such as Norman Angell, who had suggested at the beginning of the Twentieth Century that the state of European civilization had reached a point in which warfare was so destructive and so illogical that wars between European states had become obsolete; today, descriptions of such visions are almost always accompanied by wise-cracks about "famous last words." Barnett does not reject the comparison to past visionaries of global peace such as Angell, but he points out that nuclear weapons change the equation significantly. Perhaps, but the battlefields of the Somme, the Marne, Verdun, etc. give one pause in considering the extent to which the pursuit of global hegemony by the leaders of supposedly "civilized" nations can yield horrific results that no sane person would ever contemplate. What is most important to recall is that what destroyed the optimistic vision of universal peace that was suggested at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was colonialism and the drive by certain European powers, principally Germany, to achieve global hegemony. The dangers to the achievement of a peaceful globalized economy posed by the hegemonists in Washington today are just as great.So, in moving towards a conclusion, this neo-Marxist will ask the question famously posed by the most notorious of the old Marxists: What is to be done? Again, I would turn to the teachings of my neo-Marxist mentor, Lee Benson, for the answer. The key element of the neo-Marxist approach is the recognition that Marx’s fixation with the class struggle as the engine of all social change was fundamentally wrong, at least as applied to capitalism. That conclusion applies to both ends of the economic spectrum, both the bottom and the top. Just as Marx’s idea of "class consciousness" fails when applied to the proletariat in modern capitalist society, so too does it fail when applied to the upper echelons of society, namely, the leaders of U.S. business and government. Not all of America’s business and political leaders are neo-conservatives or, as I would suggest they should be called, neo-colonialists. While traditional leftists are inclined to see the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration as being attributable to the service of a "corporate agenda" allegedly being perpetrated by the capitalist class in order to subjugate the workers of the world, I believe such claims to be unsubstantiated rubbish, outdated rhetoric having very little relationship to the reality of the Twenty-First Century global economy.In fact, the neo-conservative/neo-colonialist group that dominates decision making in the Bush Administration represents a relatively narrow segment of the American capitalist class; the neo-conservatives are those associated with the oil industry, those whose ideology or regional backgrounds incline them towards jingoism, nativism, or religious fanaticism, and a spectrum of the Jewish community (and a very narrow one at that) tied, either by finance or by ideology or perhaps both, to hard-liners within the Israeli government. I do not believe that this group represents anything close to a majority of the American business elite. In fact, I would wager that opposition to the Iraq War among the top income earners in the U.S. is at roughly the same levels as one would find within other economic strata of society. Changing the course of current American foreign policy will not require a class revolution. All that needs to be done is to replace the decision makers whose vision is based in colonialism and the fantasy of achieving U.S. military hegemony, with decision makers who understand that fulfilling the promise of globalization requires cooperation and multilateralism. Robert Rubin is among the wealthiest and most powerful capitalists in the world, but in my mind, that hardly disqualifies him from being recognized as a great visionary. When future historians write of our times, they will see Rubin, and many other business leaders, as among America’s most enlightened decision makers who helped make globalization work.At the end of the day, history is on the side of globalization, not colonialism. Even with respect to oil-based colonialism, we can see the handwriting on the wall. Not only is oil becoming scarce, but we do in fact have something going on that is akin to the "Dr. No" scenario I posited above in which oil becomes unusable. That scenario is working itself out through the phenomenon of global warming. International cooperation will be unavoidable if we are to move towards alternatives to fossil fuels, particularly in the nations of the New Core, where energy consumption is going to increase astronomically in the upcoming years. The demands of capitalist globalization dictate that the economies of these New Core states not be permitted to regress to a pre-capitalist state; if that is to be accomplished while recognizing the impact of global warming, multinational cooperation is essential and quests for hegemony must be abandoned.While the necessity for addressing global warming will inevitably promote multinational cooperation, the resulting process of change is also fraught with danger. As the world moves away from an oil-driven economy, there will inevitably be significant disruption in the oil-producing countries of the world, especially in the Middle East. On the one hand, such disruption can be an occasion for much positive change, as the world moves away from this last bastion of colonialism, and the countries of the Middle East will unavoidably begin to build diverse capitalist economies not dependent upon the sale of oil, bringing them into membership in Barnett’s Core. On the other hand, such disruption will also inevitably play into the hands of groups such as al Qaeda who resent and distrust the changes wrought by globalization In the long run, globalization will lead to peace and prosperity, but in the transitional phases leading there, the dangers of terrorism will continue to be very real.Such disruption in the Middle East will also inevitably increase the immigration of Muslims into Europe and the U.S. This process will have a far greater impact upon the lily-white nations of Europe than it will upon the U.S., which has vast historical experience in dealing with immigrants, even those whose skin is of a different hue or whose religion differs from that of the majority. I see a very high likelihood of increasing nativism and intolerance in the politics of Europe, straining the belief system of Europe’s current dominant left-leaning secularist culture. I don’t see this process as leading to anything apocalyptic in the long-run, but it will certainly bring about a very unpleasant transitional phase during which Europeans will finally have to come to grips with the fact that the world is not their own private oyster.In short, we must recognize that globalization has its enemies, and they present a danger to the rest of the world. But such dangerous actors are not limited to the members of terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda. I submit that they are also to be found in Washington, DC and elsewhere in the West, which is the principal point I have labored to make in this essay. Neo-conservatives committed to fantasies of American military hegemony and American neo-colonialist control over the world’s dwindling supplies of oil, and Euro-centrists trying to whip up hostilities by promoting visions of an apocalyptic "clash of civilizations", all pose just as great a danger to globalization as the most committed, fanatical Islamic (or other religious) terrorist.Barnett has produced an impressive body of work. He has helped establish a framework of analysis that can guide us through the perils of the current transitional era as humanity moves forward to a world of true economic globalization. Decision makers throughout the world should read Barnett’s writings. But a word of caution to Barnett: not everyone in Washington shares your vision of a future worth creating. And a word of caution to those neo-conservatives who believe that they have an ally in Barnett: Barnett’s vision of a future worth creating is not one that is consistent with a vision of American military hegemony.Globalization is about international cooperation, connectivity, and relative equality among participants. China, Southeast Asia, India, the European Union, Brazil, a future African union anchored in South Africa, and a Middle East not tied down to oil – all will shape the future world of globalization just as much as the United States will. And rightly so. But that may not be the world the neo-conservatives want to create. Failure to recognize the dangers to globalization that are posed by colonialism and the hegemonic schemes of neo-conservatives will lead us into more disasters such as the Iraq War, and will only move us away from the future that Barnett, as well as this bourgeois Marxist, look forward to creating. As I said in my first post on this blog, my interest in the writings of Thomas P.M. Barnett is one of the subjects that I intend to explore in my postings. Barnett is about to release a new book, Great Powers: America and The World After Bush, which should hit bookstores in February 2009. I am looking forward to reading his latest book, and I thought that this might be a good opportunity to post in more detail some of my ideas about Barnett's work. The following is an essay I wrote in 2007. I have edited it a bit to remove stuff that might seem embarrassingly wrong, but for the most part, it still reflects much of my thinking about Barnett's writings. I haven't tried to update the essay to include anything about the current economic crisis. While some pundits believe that this crisis signals the demise of global capitalism, that is certainly not my view. Taking the long view, Barnett's vision of the ramifications of globalization remain sound, and if anything, the current economic crisis makes it even more important to put recent events into perspective and to look at the broader sweep of the history of capitalist evolution. I suspect that Barnett would take strong objection to much of my analysis of the Iraq War, pointing out that conditions in Iraq have improved markedly since I originally wrote this essay. Even if one accepts the conclusion that conditions have improved in Iraq and that this improvement is not likely to deteriorate, there is still a big question as to whether this outcome would justify the horrendous costs of the war. In my view, the jury is still out as far as the ultimate outcome in Iraq is concerned, and I am highly skeptical that any long-term improvement of conditions in Iraq will take place unless the U.S. embarks on major diplomatic initiatives, particularly by engaging Iran. Fortunately, that may well be the direction in which the Obama Administration intends to steer American foreign policy. At the end of the day, the Iraq War could only be a success if it is truly internationalized, so that it is clearly a war of globalization, and not a war of American neo-colonialism, which is the basic point of my essay. Another motivation for my posting of this essay at this time is the fact that I am currently reading the Counterinsurgency Field Manual of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2007. The Field Manual is a remarkable and impressive piece of work. However, I find that my qualms about the Field Manual parallel some of my uncertainties about Barnett's writings, at least his writings so far. Specifically, these concerns can be summed up by the Manual's definition of an "insurgency": "an organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constitutedgovernment through the use of subversion and armed conflict." The key question therefore is, what is a "constituted government" and who has the authority to make that decision? Apply these definitions, for example, to the Vietnam War - were America's opponents in Vietnam really "insurgents"? After all, "South Vietnam" was nothing more than a "fake state", created and maintained by the military might of the United States. Moreover, South Vietnam existed only because the United States subverted the conduct of elections that had previously been agreed upon following the defeat of the French, since the elections inevitably would have resulted in widespread manifestation of popular support for a unified Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Weren't the United States and its South Vietnamese allies really the "insurgents", and not the supporters of Ho Chi Minh who overwhelmingly reflected the popular will of the Vietnamese people? These problems arise even more glaringly in the case of the Iraq War. The U.S. invaded Iraq and overthrew a "constituted" government, albeit a brutal and corrupt government. Why should the Iraqi forces who resisted the American invaders be deemed "insurgents" under the Manual's definition? By raising these questions, I do not mean to suggest that I support an isolationist foreign policy in which America must invariably refrain from invading other countries and displacing established governments. On the contrary, I believe that globalization may well mandate such actions by the U.S. on numerous occasions in the years ahead. However, what is needed is a new global political and legal architecture to provide guidance as to when such interventions may legitimately be conducted. Most importantly, American unilateralism in the conduct of future military adventures must be firmly rejected. My impression is that these are some of the questions Barnett will be addressing in his new book, particularly as applicable to his critique of the Bush Administration's foreign policy. Anyway, the following is what I thought about some of these things back in 2007. Globalization and Colonialism In The Post Cold War Era (Part I) I have become very interested in the writings of Thomas P.M. Barnett. Barnett is a defense theorist who writes about the future of the American military in the post-Cold War world of economic globalization. Until recently, he worked as a Professor at the Naval War College, and he now operates a consulting business called Enterra Solutions. He is the author of two books, ThePentagon’s New Map and Blueprint For Action, and writes a newspaper column that originates in the Knoxville Sentinel. He also maintains a website, http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/ , on which he posts a blog discussing various matters ranging from his personal comings and goings to his views on numerous current issues.At the outset, I should say that my views on Barnett’s writings are generally quite positive. This is somewhat surprising, even to me, because Barnett is an unlikely soulmate for someone of my ideological persuasions. I consider myself a person of the Left, whose views on international issues have in the past often found compatibility with the writings of Noam Chomsky. By contrast, Barnett is someone who is often described as a "neo-conservative" whose writings are often grouped together with those of Francis Fukuyama and Thomas Friedman. While I believe that the designation of Barnett as a neo-conservative is in error (and I understand that Barnett thinks so too), the fact remains that Barnett was an original supporter of the Iraq War; I, on the other hand, proudly point to the fact that I marched in at least three protest marches against the Iraq War, dragging my son along with me. So, how can I possibly find anything positive to say about Barnett?It might help to say something about how I first became exposed to Barnett’s ideas. One evening, I was nicely ensconced in the living room sofa, as I usually am, wielding the remote control to explore the evening’s televised fare. I happened to land on CSpan, as I often do, and started watching a lecture being delivered to what appeared to be a room full of Generals and Admirals by a man with a rather bizarre manner of speaking. At the time, I do not believe I even knew the name of the speaker, although he frequently made reference to something that he called "the Pentagon’s new map"; I subsequently googled this reference and learned that this was the name of a book written by Barnett. Barnett’s lecture was amusing and it featured a sophisticated PowerPoint presentation complete with sound effects, notably including strategic placement of the "dunh dunh" familiar to viewers of the "Law and Order" television series.My initial reaction to Barnett was that he was just a glib neo-con with a clever PowerPoint show. However, the more I listened, the more I realized that Barnett was saying many things that echoed my own views on international affairs. What particularly struck me was the fact that the focus of Barnett’s analysis was relentlessly economic; here was someone who truly grasped the centrality of global capitalism in shaping world events. This type of analysis is almost never heard these days, particularly in the U.S., and hardly ever coming from any source other than the far left. Unlike left-wing analysts, however, Barnett expressed a view of the nature and effects of Twenty-First Century global capitalism that was far more balanced and mature. Again, Barnett set forth much of the same analysis that has been rolling around in my own head for several years.My own analysis is something that I call "neo-Marxism", or as I sometimes like to call it, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, "bourgeois Marxism", in order to distinguish it from much of the claptrap that comes out of the left these days. This theory is not original with me; it is primarily derived from the teachings of my college mentor, Professor Lee Benson of the University of Pennsylvania. My thinking has also been heavily influenced by the writings of economist Joseph Schumpeter. I hope to be able to write a good deal more about neo-Marxism in the near future, but the following is a thumbnail sketch of the idea.Neo-Marxism starts off with the premise that Marx was the most important social scientist who has ever lived, primarily because he established a scientific approach to the study of history. However, Marx should be treated just that way – as a scientist – and his writings should be subjected to experimentation, analysis, criticism, and verification, and should not be treated as holy writ. Thus, a scientific historian could claim the label of "neo-Marxist" much the same way that a modern biologist might be referred to as a "neo-Darwinian" or a physicist could claim to be a "neo-Newtonian."Using that scientific approach, neo-Marxism posits the thesis that Marx, and the underrated Engels, were correct that the "mode of production" is the driving force in all human history; Marx’s development of this method for studying all human societies is his most important contribution to the scientific study of history. Marx’s mode of production consists of both the "means of production", i.e., the technology through which any human community produces the necessities of life, and the "relations of production", i.e., the legal, cultural, and religious framework that defines the relationships among the members of the community (somewhat analogous to what Barnett calls "rule sets"). Modes of production – both in terms of the means of production and the relations of production – are not static; conflicting elements exist within any mode of production, and the resolution of these conflicts leads to change, and this process of change is what we call "history." These historical processes led to the evolution of the capitalist mode of production in Europe at roughly the time of the Renaissance, replacing the feudal mode of production. Most of Marx’s writings, particularly his magnum opus, Capital, are devoted to an analysis of how the capitalist mode of production works, as well as offering prescriptions as to how to replace it and what it should be replaced with..Benson’s concept of neo-Marxism asserts that where Marx and Engels went wrong in promulgating a scientific theory of history, was in their analysis of "class struggles", and specifically, the impact of the evolution of capitalism upon class conflict. Marx and Engel theorized that conflicts between members of economic classes are what bring about changes in the mode of production. Marx and Engels further theorized that the evolution of capitalism would inevitably cause society to become polarized between two classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and the conflicts between these classes would inevitably lead to revolution. The resolution of this class conflict would bring about the end of the capitalist mode of production and usher in the beginning of the socialist mode of production, in which society would be rid of economic classes and all members of society would be free to realize their full potential by enjoying the fruits of their labors.While Marx’s theory of class conflict may or may not work as applied to pre-capitalist modes of production, in which members of different economic classes have differing legal and political status, Benson concluded that the theory breaks down completely when applied to capitalism, in which legal distinctions based upon membership in differing economic classes are almost entirely eliminated. Benson reached this conclusion through his studies of American political and social history, exemplified by his ground-breaking work, The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy: New York As A Test Case. Benson applied a meticulous social science methodology to the analysis of voting patterns in New York State during the so-called "Jacksonian Era", roughly 1820-1850. Benson concluded that "Jacksonian Democracy", i.e., the notion that the Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson represented the "little guy" against wealthy capitalists, was a myth; to simplify things, Benson found that wealthy voters were as likely to be Democrats as Whigs, and lower-class voters were as likely to be Whigs as Democrats. Benson found that party affiliations correlated most closely with factors such as ethno-religious identification, regionalism, and ideology, as opposed to economic class.In later writings such as Toward The Scientific Study of History, Benson attempted to extend his findings about American political history to a broader application, namely, to an understanding of the nature of group conflict and cohesion in capitalist society, and the implications of his findings about American history for traditional Marxist theory. Benson suggested that what was happening in America was really a microcosm of capitalism in general. The elimination of all legal distinctions based on economic class – something that was pursued very aggressively by virtually all U.S. political parties during the so-called "Jacksonian Era" – was endemic to capitalism; Marx himself had emphasized this point in identifying the pertinent factors that necessarily had to be accomplished in order to enable the bourgeoisie to supplant the landed gentry that had dominated society in feudal times. Moreover, America in the early 19th Century was characterized by extraordinary physical and social mobility, combined with unprecedented levels of mass immigration, resulting in the mixing of diverse ethnic and religious groups within a single country. As discussed below, such mobility is also something that is inherent in the evolution of capitalism. These forces seemed logically to produce the sorts of non-class based group conflict and cohesion that Benson had detected in American history through his studies of voting patterns. These same forces, however, derived directly from the nature of the capitalist mode of production. Thus, Benson suggested that while empirical evidence contradicted Marx’s theory that capitalism engendered group conflict and cohesion based upon economic class, empirical evidence nevertheless supported Marx’s more general theory that it is the mode of production that is the central factor in shaping social and political phenomena such as group conflict and cohesion, and ultimately, the processes of human history.This, then, is the central tenet of neo-Marxism. In a nutshell, Marx’s theory of class conflict as applied to capitalism is ultimately contradicted by Marx’s own theory that it is the mode of production that determines historical change. Capitalism is the most dynamic of all historical modes of production, as Marx correctly concluded, but as a consequence, capitalism cannot be analyzed in a static condition, as Marx attempted to do. Political economists up to Ricardo, who was the principal influence upon Marx’s analysis of capitalism, could not analyze economics in any way other than as a closed system operating within a single political unit, such as a single country. However, that is not how the capitalist mode of production works in the real world; capitalism is inexorably driven to expand and it will not be confined to a single community or even a single nation-state. As a result, capitalism leads directly to foreign investment, which in its initial phases was manifested in the global system of imperialism and colonialism (my definitions of these terms are discussed in more detail below), and which ultimately leads to globalization, namely, the globalized capitalist economic system that has been taking shape since World War II, and which has developed exponentially since the end of the Cold War (and which is the central focus of Barnett’s writings).At the beginning of the Twentieth Century both democratic socialists (J.A. Hobson and the Webbs) and authoritarian socialists (Lenin) recognized the connection between capitalism and imperialism. What these socialist theoreticians failed to recognize, however, was the relationship between capitalist globalization and class consciousness and class conflict. As capitalism "goes global", group conflicts tend more often to be based upon ethno-cultural, religious, national, and regional differences between members of different communities, since globalized capitalism inevitably increases the interactions among different communities, and as a result, group conflicts are less likely to be based upon conflicts between members of economic classes within a single community. Thus, contrary to what Marx and his followers thought, the evolution of the capitalist mode of production actually leads to decreasing levels of class consciousness and class conflict. As a result, the class-based revolution that Marx believed would bring about the end of capitalism and usher in the era of the socialist mode of production has not in fact occurred; the reality that it will never occur is becoming more obvious every day.Because Twentieth Century socialists did not appreciate the full significance of the relationship between capitalism and globalization, and the decreasing significance of class conflict due to the evolution of global capitalism, the experiments that Twentieth Century socialists pursued in imposing some version of "socialism" upon capitalist societies, either in a democratic form (Fabianism) or in an authoritarian form (Leninism), were doomed to failure. Capitalism will continue to grow and prosper until the process of globalization is complete – namely, when the entire world is linked in a functioning capitalist economy in which all of the world’s peoples are able to participate on a relatively equal footing. Only when global capitalism has then run its course will humanity be ready for an evolution into the next mode of production. I have no idea what the post-capitalist mode of production will look like (actually, I do have some theories on the subject but I’m not going to get into that now), but I am reasonably confident that it will not have much resemblance to Twentieth Century versions of "socialism". Nevertheless, I do believe that the post-capitalist mode of production – since it will be truly global and truly universal – will more closely embody the values that Marx and other socialists have always purported to espouse, namely, universal opportunity for individual creativity and general freedom from organized violence, than do either Twentieth Century socialism or Twentieth Century capitalism. Professor Benson used to posit that the "good society" would be one in which people are "kind and creative"; I think that capitalist globalization is a process that is moving us all in that direction.Now back to Barnett. Barnett’s central thesis is that in the post-Cold War era, the nations of the world can be divided into two groups: the "Core" and the "Gap." The Core, or what Barnett calls the "functioning core of globalization", refers to those nations that are linked to and participants in the global capitalist economic system. The Core, in turn, is divided into two sub-groups, the "Old Core" and the "New Core." The Old Core refers to the nations that have relatively mature capitalist systems that have been in place for many years (or even many centuries): Western and Southern Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The New Core consists of the nations that have more recently joined the global capitalist economy, generally having done so in the post-Cold War era: China, India, Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe (except the former Yugoslavia, but including Slovenia), South Korea, South Africa, and the growing free market economies of South America, namely Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.The rest of the world falls into Barnett’s "Gap" or "non-integrating gap" – the nations that do not yet have functioning capitalist economies linked to and capable of participating in the global economy. Barnett does identify a few "seam states", i.e., nations that border the Core but do not yet have fully functional capitalist economies (Mexico, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore) or that have developed capitalist economies but are prevented from full participation in globalization because of entanglement in local conflicts (Israel, Cyprus, Croatia). For the most part, however, Barnett’s Core/Gap dichotomy is fairly Manichean – a nation is either one or the other.Some commentators on Barnett’s writings say that the Core and the Gap are the equivalent of the "haves" and the "have nots." This is a serious misunderstanding of what Barnett is talking about. Wealth alone is not determinative of membership in the Core. Several nations in the Core, such as China and India, continue to have high levels of poverty and are on a per capita basis far less wealthy than other nations, notably Saudi Arabia and the other Persian Gulf states, which Barnett nevertheless includes in the Gap. For Barnett, what determines Core membership is the extent to which a nation is connected to the global economy. I would add that a Core nation must not only be connected to the global economy, it must also be capable of participating in the global economy as a capitalist "player", even if not necessarily as a player of equal stature with the Old Core nations. (I think that Barnett sometimes fails to pay sufficient attention to this point, which relates to some of my disagreements with Barnett, as I will discuss in more detail below). Thus, China, India, and Brazil, notwithstanding their high poverty levels, all compete with the U.S. and Western Europe in the global economy. Saudi Arabia, despite its wealth, is merely a source of a valuable natural resource and is not a competitor in the global economy. Barnett’s recognition of this distinction is one of the most important, and insightful, aspects of his analysis.Of course, Barnett would argue, correctly in my view, that membership in the Core does ultimately lead to substantial increases in national wealth and improvements in overall living standards. For all we may decry the existence of Chinese sweatshops – and I do not make light of them – there still can be little doubt that the economic benefits to the Chinese people that have come from participation in the global capitalist economy are enormous; Chinese economic growth over the past decade has been off the charts, and while the business cycle will inevitably bring about peaks and valleys in the performance of the Chinese economy, there can be little doubt that the overall upward trend will continue into the foreseeable future. Indeed, all of the New Core nations have in recent years benefitted from what may well be the most successful anti-poverty program in history, namely, the economic improvements attendant to participation in the global economy. Moreover, as President Lula da Silva of Brazil has demonstrated, an openness to globalization and free markets combined with enlightened social programs can result in truly extraordinary accomplishments in the eradication of poverty. I generally share the views of economists such as Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs that although globalization may have its "discontents", and attention needs to be paid to issues such as global warming and other environmental concerns, it is also a system that holds out the promise of the universal eradication of poverty and evolution towards a future in which all persons can lead lives free from want and free to make the most of their lives.As a defense theoretician, Barnett is primarily concerned with the security ramifications of the Core/Gap world view – hence the name of Barnett’s first book, The Pentagon’s New Map. In Barnett’s view, once a nation joins the Core, i.e., once it becomes connected to and a participant in the global capitalist economy, it becomes extremely unlikely that such a nation will go to war with another member of the Core. The benefits derived from participation in the global economy are so great that no nation enjoying those benefits would be willing to put them at risk by making war against another nation that is also enjoying those benefits. Moreover, the nations of the Core all either have nuclear weapons or could readily obtain them if they chose to do so (Japan, Germany, Brazil), meaning that a full-scale war between Core nations would be devastating. Accordingly, a very simple cost/benefit analysis precludes any possibility of warfare between the nations of the Core.Barnett argues that membership in the Core carries with it acceptance of the "rule sets" of the Core, and the most important of all of these rules is the rule that disputes between nations of the Core are not resolved through military force but are instead resolved by other means, such as diplomacy, trade agreements, and international law. Indeed, Barnett would say that one of the defining characteristics of a Core nation is its willingness to accept these "rule sets", which, not coincidentally, also happen to be the "rule sets" on which the global capitalist economy is based.As Barnett says, the world of economic globalization is based on the authority of rules, not rulers. The fact that warfare among Core nations is precluded has important significance for Barnett’s views on U.S. military planning. There is no need to plan for a "big war" with a nation of roughly equal military strength and, as such, there is no need for many of the expensive weapons systems developed during the Cold War, such as nuclear submarines and what Barnett rightly castigates as the most unnecessary boondoggle of them all, the "Star Wars" anti-missile system.Barnett argues, however, that it is a grave mistake to think that the U.S. can get out of the military business altogether just because Core vs. Core warfare is no longer a danger. This point was driven home by the events of September 11, 2001, which Barnett describes as a "system perturbation", i.e., a dramatic event that caused all participants in the global system to re-evaluate the nature of the system. The U.S. continues to have a need to be engaged militarily with the rest of the world, but those engagements now must focus upon the Gap, not the Core. Barnett points out that he originally hit upon his concept of "the Pentagon’s new map" by charting the locations of all major U.S. military engagements since World War II. The location of those conflicts is almost entirely coterminous with the Core/Gap distinction that is at the heart of Barnett’s analysis.Since the nations of the Gap are not connected to and, as I continually emphasize, are not participants in the global capitalist economy, the nations of the Gap do not accept the "rule sets" of the globalized economy, which are also the rule sets that define the relationships among the nations of the Core. So, the corollary to the conclusion that warfare among Core nations is no longer a possibility is the conclusion that warfare among Gap nations or between Gap nations and Core nations is very much a possibility. The watchwords that Barnett uses are "disconnectedness defines danger"; in other words, so long as a nation remains disconnected from the global economy, it is a source of danger not only to its neighbors, but ultimately, to the entire world.Indeed, Barnett argues that the processes of globalization make such conflicts inescapable; it is here that Barnett’s analysis intersects very directly with much of the neo-Marxist analysis. Globalization leads to more interactions among different national, ethnic, and religious groups, and in that process, certain groups will inevitably feel their status to be threatened by the processes of globalization. For example, one of the most significant consequences of globalization is the empowerment of women, as women are inevitably drawn into the workplace in the globalized economy. However, maintaining gender roles is one of the key aspects of virtually every traditional religious group. Thus, one can readily see how globalization inevitably engenders antagonism within such traditionalist groups, increasing the danger that such groups will come into conflict with other groups that are promoting globalization. Radical Islamic fundamentalists present a paradigmatic example of such a group that feels that its value system, and therefore its status in society, is threatened by globalization, and the manifestation of such religious fundamentalists in a terrorist organization such as al Qaeda is a demonstration of the danger that they can pose to the rest of the world, including the U.S. and the other nations of the Core.Because most of these traditionalist groups that are threatened by globalization are to be found in the Gap, Barnett argues that this is therefore the location in which U.S. military activities will inevitably be focused in the post-Cold War era. Indeed, Barnett argues that the U.S., as the leading nation of the Core, should take a proactive role in attempting to "shrink the gap" by using its military force to bring about change in the nations of the Gap, with the ultimate goal of enabling the nations of the Gap to become connected to the global economy. In other words, the U.S. should use its military strength not only for defensive purposes to fight terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, but also to attack and ultimately replace dysfunctional governments within the Gap that are an impediment to globalization and that thereby give direct or indirect support to terrorist organizations.In order to carry out these Gap-oriented conflicts, Barnett suggests a re-configuration of the U.S. military. First, he proposes a "Leviathan" force. This is, in most respects, the military that the U.S. already has. It is a lean and mean fighting machine, capable of striking quickly and decisively. It consists of stealth bombers, smart bombs, attack helicopters, and mobile, mechanized land forces capable of covering great distances with extraordinary speed and breathtaking lethality. It was the U.S. Leviathan force that was very much on display in the two Gulf wars. The Leviathan force would be used to accomplish regime change by rapidly and decisively defeating the armies of harmful Gap governments that are threatening the progress of globalization.The second component of Barnett’s new military is something he calls the "SysAdmin" force. The U.S. military has only begun to build a "SysAdmin" force, in large part in response to the sobering experiences of the disastrous Iraq War. (As discussed more below, although Barnett has supported the Iraq War, he acknowledges that the Bush Administration’s conduct of the war has been grossly mismanaged). The SysAdmin force would be larger and more labor-intensive than the Leviathan force. The SysAdmin force would be responsible for carrying out the various functions that Presidential candidate George W. Bush derided as "nation-building" during the 2000 campaign; Barnett labels these functions "military operations other than war." Following a regime change brought about by the Leviathan force, the SysAdmin force would be responsible for maintaining law and order and implementing civilian functions such as providing electricity, water, sanitation, food distribution, etc., in order to enable an occupied state to recuperate and install a new regime hospitable to the forces of globalization. In difficult cases, the SysAdmin force would also be called upon to carry out counter-insurgency fighting, although, if the SysAdmin force does its job well enough, it should be able to get a nation into a functioning condition on a fairly speedy basis so that insurgencies will not arise.Barnett does not see the SysAdmin force as being comprised exclusively or even predominantly of U.S. military personnel. Indeed, Barnett acknowledges that the U.S. military alone is not large enough to field both a Leviathan force and a meaningful SysAdmin force. Accordingly, Barnett recognizes that it is highly unlikely that the U.S. can carry out successful military operations in the Gap unilaterally, because it does not have sufficient troops to field an effective SysAdmin force, and such additional forces will therefore have to be drawn from other sources. The armies of the European Union are already eminently suited to performing SysAdmin functions. However, a key component of Barnett’s strategy is that the U.S. must think beyond its traditional alliances (NATO and Japan), and build new alliances based on the common interest in promoting globalization that unites all of the members of the Core. Thus, Barnett also sees the armies of the "New Core" nations, principally India, China, and Brazil, as excellent sources of personnel for the SysAdmin force. Barnett is skeptical that the U.N. is institutionally capable of directing such operations, since the U.N. as currently structured lacks the equivalent of an "executive branch" of government. Instead, Barnett proposes the creation of an expanded version of the current G-8 – expanded to something like the "G-20" to include the nations of the New Core – that will provide the political and diplomatic leadership for the coordination of future Gap-oriented military operations. Barnett’s second book, Blueprint For Action, is just that, a description of an ambitious program of action whereby the U.S. can act in conjunction with the other nations of the Core – and Barnett places particular emphasis on the potential benefits to be derived from U.S. alliances with the nations of the New Core, especially China – to pursue military ventures that will bring about political change within the Gap. For example, Barnett sees the Kim Jong Il regime in North Korea as a prime example of an oppressive, dysfunctional government that is impeding North Korea’s integration into the Core and that should be targeted for regime change. Using the Leviathan force to eliminate such malignant regimes in the nations of the Gap, and the SysAdmin force to rebuild these nations following the elimination of these regimes, Barnett sets forth a program to "shrink the Gap" by re-building these nations in a way that will permit them to be "plugged into" the globalized economy. Barnett would not have the U.S. do all of this unilaterally. Again taking the case of North Korea, Barnett emphasizes the common interest of the various Core states in the region – China, Japan, and South Korea – in working together with the U.S. to eliminate the disruptive North Korean regime, much as the U.S. worked together with the nations of Western Europe to bring about regime change in the former Yugoslavia (the example of the intervention in the Balkans is discussed in more detail below as a case study of how Barnett’s program might work).Barnett describes the end result of the pursuit of this strategy of "shrinking the Gap" as the achievement of "a future worth creating." At the end of the day, Barnett’s vision of the post-Cold War world is extraordinarily positive and optimistic. Barnett sees the forces of globalization as not only fundamentally benign, but as practically unstoppable. Barnett also believes that one way or the other, the nations of the Core will arrive at security arrangements that will make the shrinking of the Gap a reality, with the attendant elimination of most global poverty and with it, most significant military conflict.Some of Barnett’s detractors take issue with his extreme optimism, accusing him of having Pollyanna-ish tendencies. I do not think that this criticism is warranted. Because Barnett’s analysis is so firmly grounded in economics, I believe that his views cannot be described as anything other than realistic. For Barnett, the drive to shrink the Gap does not just come from altruism, it comes principally from the profit motive. The nations of the Core will be driven to shrink the Gap not just because it is moral and right to do so, but because it is good for business. As a neo-Marxist, I heartily concur in that analysis. The march to economic globalism comes from the unstoppable force of the universal desire of all persons to improve the material conditions of their lives. I share Barnett’s optimism that this road will lead a world of unprecedented peace and prosperity – a future worth creating.There are numerous parallels between neo-Marxism and Barnett’s ideas:• Both view the capitalist mode of production as the driving force shaping political events.• Both reject the idea that capitalist evolution leads to class consciousness and class-based revolution.• Both conclude that the globalization of capitalism leads to conflicts based on factors such as ethno-religious identification, rather than membership in economic classes.• Both share a predominantly optimistic historical outlook, viewing capitalist globalization as fundamentally a positive force leading to improvement in the quality of life for the world’s peoples, and a general reduction of organized violence.So, if Barnett is so smart, and if I agree with him so much, then why does Barnett do something so stupid as supporting the Iraq War, a war that I consider to be not just the ultimate in stupidity but a war that is so malignant as to be truly worthy of prosecution as an international war crime? I have wrestled with that problem at length, and have tried to analyze exactly where my views diverge from those of Barnett. In that analytical process, it has occurred to me that the aspect of Barnett’s writings with which I have the most visceral difficulty is in his prescription for future American military actions. When I first thought of this, it reminded me a bit of Marge Simpson’s comment that she really likes Woody Allen movies except for that annoying little guy with glasses who always appears in them. After all, Barnett is first and foremost a military theorist. Saying that you like everything about Barnett except for his military theories does seem quite a lot like Marge’s views on Woody Allen’s movies.Nevertheless, the more I teased out the ramifications of this idea, the more it seemed to me that I was getting close to the root of our disagreement. The problem that I was having with Barnett’s ideas was that I had difficulty seeing exactly how his proposed U.S. military adventures in the Gap would play out in the real world, and more particularly, what would prevent those adventures from becoming excuses for American imperialism. Recall that I said at the outset of this essay that I am someone who has often found much common ground with the writings of Noam Chomsky, and I do have a strong visceral suspicion of proposals to have the U.S. throw its military weight around the world.The problem that I have with Barnett’s prescription for future U.S. military actions is enhanced when one considers the issue from the perspective of the people in the nation that is subject to one of Barnett’s proposed attacks. In such a military action, the U.S. strikes a relatively weak and impoverished nation that is not a direct military threat to the U.S. with the full power of the Leviathan force, inevitably causing great loss of life and damage to property. Yet, the U.S. would have the nation under attack believe that it is being subjected to attack not because the U.S. has any ulterior motives, or has anything directly to gain from the attack, but simply because the U.S. wants to relieve the attacked nation of a bad government and thereby enable the nation to join the globalized economy. How likely is it that the attacked nation will accept such an altruistic explanation as the truth? More importantly, how likely is it that such an altruistic explanation would be the truth?Yet, I am not a pacifist and unlike Chomsky, I do not believe that the U.S. is always wrong or that the use of American military force is never appropriate. Part of me very definitely believes that Barnett is on to something.I think that the best way of sharpening the analysis and breaking this intellectual log-jam is to look at empirical examples of the use of American military force in the post-Cold War period, and analyze the questions of whether the use of military force has proven beneficial, and if so, why, and if not, why not. In order to do this analysis, I have considered two of the most significant uses of American military force in the post-Cold War era: (1) the military intervention in the former Yugoslavia; and (2) the war in Iraq. I opposed both of these military ventures; Barnett supported both of them. I would submit that I was wrong about Yugoslavia and right about Iraq, and that Barnett was right about Yugoslavia and wrong about Iraq. (We both have a .500 batting average, which isn’t so bad). Let’s take a closer look at these two case studies in the use of American military force, and try to understand exactly where Barnett and I went wrong; in doing so, I believe that I can identify with more precision my likes and dislikes about Barnett’s writings, and in the process, suggest some refinements to Barnett’s proposals that might ultimately make them more effective in achieving the goals that I do share with Barnett.Let’s first consider the war in the former Yugoslavia. I opposed American military intervention in the Balkans for two reasons. First, I did not believe that the U.S. had any national interests that were affected by the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and that it therefore did not make sense for the U.S. to expend lives and treasure in a military intervention in the region. Second, I did not accept the official justification for the war, namely, that the war was being fought for humanitarian reasons in order to put an end to violent "ethnic cleansing" involving Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, and Albanian Kosovars; I was very skeptical of the notion that the U.S. (or any other nation for that matter) would be willing to fight a war for purely humanitarian reasons. Rather, I believed that the war was being driven by the economic interests of the nations of the European Union, especially Germany, that had extensive economic investments in the Balkans, especially in Slovenia and Croatia, and that the nations of Western Europe wanted to use American military force to stabilize the region in order to protect those investments and open up the entirety of the region to further investments. What was the legitimacy of my concerns?As to my first concern – the lack of any direct American interest in the Balkans – I now believe that my concerns were short-sighted because I took too narrow a view of what constitutes the "national interest" of the U.S. I now agree whole-heartedly with Barnett that in the Twenty-First Century, it is unavoidable that the U.S. must be concerned with the global ramifications of what may appear to be regional or even local conflicts. I also agree with Barnett that this point was driven home by the events of September 11, 2001, which dramatically demonstrated the connections between U.S. security and conflicts springing up in far away places. Imagine if the conflicts in the Balkans had not been addressed and were ongoing to this day – the Muslim populations of Kosovo and Bosnia would provide fertile recruiting grounds for fundamentalist organizations such as al Qaeda, and if those areas had remained in the chaotic state that reigned prior to American intervention, they would have been prime launch pads for terrorist attacks against Europe and the U.S.Turning to my second concern, I still believe that I was fundamentally correct that economic interests and not humanitarian considerations drove the nations of the European Union to implore the U.S. to intervene militarily. However, my response to that point now would be, so what? The economic interest that the European Union was pursuing in the former Yugoslavia concerned trade and investment; the nations of the European Union were not seeking to exploit any natural resources in the region because there are virtually none of any importance. Promoting free trade and investment is, after all, what Barnett’s "shrink the Gap" strategy is all about, so the fact that the European Union enlisted U.S. military assistance in effecting regime change in the former Yugoslavia in order to make the region safe for trade and investment, simply makes the U.S. military intervention in the Balkans all the more justifiable.In hindsight, it is clear that the American military intervention in the former Yugoslavia was well worthwhile and highly successful. Indeed, the entire operation is virtually a showcase that Barnett can hold up as an example of what is supposed to happen in such a military venture (and he does so in Blueprint For Action). The American Leviathan force quickly put an end to aggressive actions by the Serbs in both Bosnia and Kosovo, and toppled the dangerous Milosevic regime. Thereafter, a large NATO-based SysAdmin force occupied the region and rapidly brought stability. Since the intervention, violence in the region has dropped dramatically, virtually to the point of disappearance. It is likely that several of the nations of the former Yugoslavia will be admitted to the European Union in the next few years; Slovenia is already in, Croatia and Macedonia have applied for membership, and probably the rest of the former Yugoslavia will join within a decade. Just recently, elections were held in Serbia and while the Serbian Nationalists continue to be the largest single party, their percentage of the overall vote was under 30%, with the overwhelming majority of public support going to parties highly sympathetic to the idea of European integration. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it will soon be appropriate to move all of the former Yugoslavia out of the Gap and into the Core – one small step towards the realization of Barnett’s future worth creating.Now let’s consider the Iraq War. I opposed the Iraq War because I did not believe that any of the Bush Administration’s proffered justifications for the war – the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction, the alleged connections between the Iraqi government and al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, and the alleged desire of the Bush Administration to "democratize" the region – was true. Rather, I believed that the true reason why the Bush Administration wanted to pursue the war was to establish a substantial American military presence in the Middle East for the purpose of protecting the interests of American and British oil companies. Such interests are located not only in Iraq itself – itself a major source of high-quality crude oil highly coveted by many U.S. oil companies – but even more importantly, in neighboring Saudi Arabia. U.S. oil companies share a highly lucrative relationship with the corrupt and dictatorial Saudi royal family (I discuss the U.S./Saudi relationship and its relationship to the Iraq War in more detail below). In exchange for giving open oil spigots to American companies, the corrupt House of Saud seeks, and obtains, both personal enrichment and the military protection of the U.S. However, because of religious sensitivities, the Saudi royals prefer not to have American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia itself. Thus, a large American army in neighboring Iraq suits the security needs of the Saudis very well. These oil-related considerations, I believe, are the true motivations underlying the Iraq War, and nothing has happened in the almost four years since the Bush Administration started the Iraq War that would change my analysis.
Indeed, these dis-information agents are obviously very twisted individuals. They are happy to take the side of child killers, this to me shows their worth. They are also cowards, very yellow. The proof for this is very simple, I wish someone would offer me a ppsition as a dis-information agent because I would accept and the tear the whole house of cards down from the inside regardless of the consequences to myself. But you wont see disinfo agents doing this, they be too frightened of big brother bogie man. originally posted by: anHairInTheSoup it's annoying how the reality of disinfo is denied all over this website although UNDENIABLE proofs like the persona management software to start with are proven here Anyone denying the widespread existence of disinfo agents on the web and on this site are either: originally posted by: TheMindWar Indeed, these dis-information agents are obviously very twisted individuals. They are happy to take the side of child killers, this to me shows their worth. They are also cowards, very yellow. The proof for this is very simple, I wish someone would offer me a ppsition as a dis-information agent because I would accept and the tear the whole house of cards down from the inside regardless of the consequences to myself. But you wont see disinfo agents doing this, they be too frightened of big brother bogie man. Disinfo agents are indeed the worst of mankind; they see it as a game, but by withholding vital information from their fellow man (for a paycheck) they are preventing mankind to thrive - and some say this is the only sin for which a soul will suffer. Anyone denying the widespread existence of disinfo agents on the web and on this site are either: a) very ignorant b) disinfo agents themselves Which is exactly why disinfo agents are always the first to accuse people who disagree with them of being disinfo agents! So you agree that there are many disinfo agents on the web and likely on here? Edit: I have no problem having a civilized discussion/disagreement with another poster, it is when it quickly degenerates into scorn, sarcasm, personal attacks, belittlement, pettiness etc all of which are just one form or another of emotional engagement/ego diminishment when you have to come to the conclusion that you are dealing with a severely dysfunctional person or just a classic disinfo technique. So you agree that there are many disinfo agents on the web and likely on here? If you mean do I think there are paid operatives of organizations, corporations and governments on the web, absolutely. In fact, that pretty much describes anything with a "dot com" in the address, doesn't it? So you agree that there are many disinfo agents on the web and likely on here? If you mean do I think there are paid operatives of organizations, corporations and governments on the web, absolutely. In fact, that pretty much describes anything with a "dot com" in the address, doesn't it? There are those who fight for the truth, those who attempt to cover it up and many in-between who don't care or just aren't aware. One candle can illuminate a dark room. If you never try you will never know if you can make a difference. I forget where I found it, but it pretty much says it all, doesn't it? And this is just one of 14 US intelligence agencies that we know about, not to mention the covert ops branches of the globalists which are sometimes unbeknownst to themselves one and the same. I would like ATS to connect only one account with our ip address. Everytime a troll posts, right after, there are like, 10 stars on it, which I feel certain, come fromn their 15 other sockpuppet accounts here. originally posted by: misschareesee2 I would like ATS to connect only one account with our ip address. Everytime a troll posts, right after, there are like, 10 stars on it, which I feel certain, come fromn their 15 other sockpuppet accounts here. IP addresses are easy to spoof, so it is ultimately impossible to use it to determine sock puppetry. Sock puppeteers usually reveal themselves through language, style or "thematics." So you agree that there are many disinfo agents on the web and likely on here? If you mean do I think there are paid operatives of organizations, corporations and governments on the web, absolutely. In fact, that pretty much describes anything with a "dot com" in the address, doesn't it? There are those who fight for the truth, those who attempt to cover it up and many in-between who don't care or just aren't aware. One candle can illuminate a dark room. If you never try you will never know if you can make a difference. well actually it's not very complicate, with a few firefox addon, linux+virtual box on a powerful latest pc, you can approach the same result (to be real efficient and work fast, you have to run multple virtual machine at once so you want very nice hardware that can be expensive but the software is 100% free there). so why do they pay millions for something not that trivial one may ask ? then i'd replied how much did they pay again for the obama care website ? So let me try to understand this. If someone disagrees with your opinion then they are paid government shills. If you say something utterly ridiculous like '14 US intelligence agencies I have discovered' and someone calls you a paranoid dysfunctional then they are paid millions by the government to point out the obvious truth. This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.
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Anti-Modi campaign intensifies, MLA asks for change of guard Last updated on: August 17, 2005 00:12 IST The campaign to oust Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday got some boost with at least 39 legislators, six members of Parliament and hundreds of party workers teaming up at the house of senior party leader Keshubhai Patel and one of them openly asking for 'a change in leadership'. The major show of strength for Keshubhai was scheduled on Tuesday as he just returned from the United States after his wife Leelaben underwent a heart surgery. MLA from Amreli district Bechar Badhani did not mince words when he told mediapersons waiting outside Keshubhai's house that, "We want a change in the political helm of affairs in Gujarat." However, even though Badhani did not say anything more, his words were almost echoed by another MLA Yogesh Patel of Vadodara who wrote a letter to Modi on Monday telling him that there were several 'unhappy' MLAs in Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party and that he (Modi) should look into their concerns. Keshubhai himself did not name anybody, but to a question if he had heard that some of his supporters were told not to come to his house (to inquire on his wife's health), he said that he had also heard of this and it just showed the narrow mind of those who attempted to dissuade his supporters. Giving more hints at the brewing dissent within the party, senior leader Kashiram Rana said, "MLAs have expressedtheir feelings (to Keshubhai) and discussion on the issue will be held in coming days. About 60 MLAs came insupport of Keshubhai and this number will increase." Incidentally among the MLAs who visited Keshubhai's house is Tapu Limbasiya, an MLA who was recently inducted into Modi's ministry. However, none of the MLAs of the Modi-faction or any of his cabinet colleagues came to Keshubhai's house to ask about his wife's health. Though the MLAs initially downplayed their visit to the former chief minister's house, they took the opportunity to appraise Keshubhai about the Gordhan Zadafiya issue and the developments in the party during his US visit. The dissidents are particularly sore over the timing that Modi chose to expand the cabinet -- when Patel, his staunch opponent was in US for personal reasons and hence, they were waiting anxiously for the arrival of Patel to decide their next move. Even a mandap was erected for the visiting MLAs, MPs and concerned party workers. time's dissident activity was triggered after Zadafiya, a known Modi critic and staunch supporter of Keshubhai, had openly refused a cabinet berth and also aired his view to the media following which he was issued a show cause notice by the party. This action was not welcomed by several senior party leaders including former chief minister Suresh Mehta, who in a written request to state party president Vaju Vala demanded withdrawal of the notice issued to Zadafiya. However, the state party remained adamant and after getting Zadafiya's reply said that the 'matter was over'. Speculation over the show of strength and the role of the Sangh Parivar in this matter ran high since early Tuesday morning with Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia also visiting Keshubhai's house. He however downplayed the purpose of his visit and said that he had gone only to inquire the health of Leelaben who was a motherly figure to him. Meanwhile, five MLAs Parsatambhai Bhajani, K T Bhil, Praveenbhai Rathod, Harshadbhai Vasava and Vajubhai Dodiya in a fax later made it clear that they were not among the rebel MLAs as mentioned by the media.
October 5, 1908 - Sox pitcher "Big" Ed Walsh wins his 40th game of the season, beating Detroit 6 - 1. Itís a team record that will never be broken. October 5, 1983 - Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt pitches a brilliant complete game, six hitter in beating the Orioles 2 - 1 in Game #1 of the A.L.C.S. Itís the first time since divisional playoffs started in 1969 that Baltimore ever lost the first game of a post season series. It would be the high water mark for the Sox in the next week. October 5, 1993 - Game #1 of the A.L.C.S. is a complete unmitigated disaster both on and off the field for the Sox. On the field, Toronto rips the Sox 7 - 3 but by the middle of the game, not one fan cares. Michael Jordan who threw out the ceremonial first pitch confirms reports that he is holding a press conference the next morning to announce his retirement from the Bulls. Fans at the game and around the city are in shock. Adding insult to injury, future Hall Of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk and Chicago native and former Sox pitcher Donn Pall are turned away by security guards when they attempt to wish the team "good luck" in the locker room before the game started. The White Sox claim the rules were set by Major League Baseball but no fan or media member is fooled by that comment. Most media members feel Fisk was turned away on explicit orders from Jerry Reinsdorf. Itís an insult Fisk never forgets. Reinsdorf then takes an unprecedented step of apologizing to the team in the clubhouse before the start of Game #2 saying he had no wish to take away their spotlight because of the Jordan situation. (Donn Pall describes what happened outside the locker room in his interview with White Sox Interactive.) October 5, 1993 - Game #1 of the A.L.C.S. is a complete unmitigated disaster both on and off the field for the Sox. On the field, Toronto rips the Sox 7 - 3 but by the middle of the game, not one fan cares. Michael Jordan who threw out the ceremonial first pitch confirms reports that he is holding a press conference the next morning to announce his retirement from the Bulls. Fans at the game and around the city are in shock. Lip One of the worst days in Chicago sports history. And the Sox fell to 0-2 in the playoffs less than 24 hours after MJ's opening pitch. Ugh BRDSR 10-04-2007, 02:49 PM October 5, 1908 - Sox pitcher "Big" Ed Walsh wins his 40th game of the season, beating Detroit 6 - 1. Itís a team record that will never be broken... ...That is, until just days less than a century later when Mark Buerhle won his 41st game of the season. The Sox had gone to a four-man rotation and Buerhle received the W in every single one of his starts. Garland lost two with a couple no decisions, Javy lost three with a couple no decisions, and the Sox retained Contreras who won three games and had an 14.00 ERA after his rumored 48th birthday. The Sox went 117-45, went to a three-man rotation for the playoffs, and won the World Series in only 11 games total. Also, I was 8 years old during the 1993 season and had just moved to Chicago about a year earlier. It was the year that turned me into a White Sox fan. I remember being devastated by the way those playoffs turned out, and I remember Michael Jordan retiring, but I don't remember the two events coinciding the way they did. Nor do I remember the Fisk incident at the time, but I was too young to know the history anyway. Weird how memories work. Britt Burns 10-04-2007, 05:01 PM October 5, 1983 - Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt pitches a brilliant complete game, six hitter in beating the Orioles 2 - 1 in Game #1 of the A.L.C.S. Itís the first time since divisional playoffs started in 1969 that Baltimore ever lost the first game of a post season series. It would be the high water mark for the Sox in the next week. Lip By that point in the season Hoyt was unhittable. I know after 24 years I should let this go, but if not for Dybber's boneheaded running and Tito **ing Landrum in Game 4, LaMarr would have pitched Game 5 (at home, I believe)...sigh... TheCommander 10-04-2007, 05:08 PM By that point in the season Hoyt was unhittable. I know after 24 years I should let this go, but if not for Dybber's boneheaded running and Tito **ing Landrum in Game 4, LaMarr would have pitched Game 5 (at home, I believe)...sigh...
Drew Barrymore has a new show coming to Netflix on February 3 called Santa Clarita Diet. Exactly what type of diet that title refers to had previous been a mystery. Now we know it refers to human flesh. USA Today reveals that the show is actually about Barrymore’s character dying and slowly developing a taste for human flesh, all while maintaining her relationship with her husband and daughter, and keeping up with her suburban Californian real estate business. But, this is not merely a horror show. Horror is just one aspect of it. “There’s a real optimism to the show,” Barrymore told the paper. “I don’t want to watch a show about a couple fighting and falling apart, I can’t handle it right now. It’s not heavy, but it’s not lacking in a sort of sweetness, if you will. But it’s also got bite and backbone and balls.” Timothy Olyphant (Justified) plays Barrymore’s husband, and Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) is a rival agent. The show was created by Victor Fresco, who also did the similarly offbeat Better Off Ted for ABC and Andy Richter Controls the Universe for Fox. A Drew Barrymore dark comedy in which she plays a zombie mother? That sounds pretty wonderful to us. Ten episodes of the Santa Clarita Diet will come to Netflix February 3. [USA Today]
Q: XMPP aSmack - How can I get the current user state (offline/online/away/etc.)? I am new to xmpp/asmack in android. Can anyone please help me in getting the presence of the user's friends ( roster list) I am using this : Presence availability = roster.getPresence(user); Mode userMode = availability.getMode(); What else should I do to get the availability status of each user listed in my roster. A: Just use like this : Presence availability = roster.getPresence(user); Mode userMode = availability.getMode(); retrieveState_mode(availability.getMode(),availability.isAvailable()); public static int retrieveState_mode(Mode userMode, boolean isOnline) { int userState = 0; /** 0 for offline, 1 for online, 2 for away,3 for busy*/ if(userMode == Mode.dnd) { userState = 3; } else if (userMode == Mode.away \|\| userMode == Mode.xa) { userState = 2; } else if (isOnline) { userState = 1; } return userState; } Let me know if you have any problem regarding xmpp/asmack A: use like this userFromServer = con.getRoster().getPresence(userID); userState = retrieveState(userFromServer.getMode(), userFromServer.isAvailable()); public int retrieveState(Mode userMode, boolean isOnline) { int userState = XmppFriend.OFFLINE; // default return value if (userMode == Mode.dnd) { userState = XmppFriend.BUSY; } else if (userMode == Mode.away \|\| userMode == Mode.xa) { userState = XmppFriend.AWAY; } else if (isOnline) { userState = XmppFriend.ONLINE; } return userState; }
Wallpaper: Cristiano Ronaldo 7 3 Comments Cristiano Please Please Please make all us Portuguese Proud, if you can score throught out your year with outside teams…Do it for us!!!!!! Please… you hold the love for the game and our proud home land in your hands.I believe in you from Canada…2nd generation Portuguese. thank you Dear cristiano ronaldo. wanted to tell you l watch every game on TV and you are one of the best actress fron. l am writing to you for one reason only because you’re a good player and l really want your autograph. l will continue to see your games and tell my family you’re a good player and l alwags Y ahudd you. guy levy.
Social Icons Tuesday, January 27, 2015 Ice Polish: Valentine's Duo and a Fun Spin on Mardi Gras Polishes Press Sample Good morning, dear readers! I hope you are having a wonderful day! The Jedi husband is out of town this week, so I'm wrangling my toddler by myself. I adore my little guy, but oh man, does he have a lot of energy! Thankfully he is content this morning so I can get this post written now instead of later! I am really excited to be sharing upcoming polishes from Ice Polish with you this morning! Erin, the creative mastermind behind the brand, will be releasing two polishes for Valentine's Day and an unusual but very fun polish for Mardi Gras. I'm going to start with the Valentine's Day duo. Let's do this! Do Ya Love Me? OMG! A penguin! The first thing I noticed about these polishes were the new Ice Polish labels with a penguin. They are adorable! Of course those of you in blizzardgedon right now probably don't want to think about anything linked to the cold right now. Now let's get to the polish! LOL! Do Ya Love Me? is a beautiful pink-leaning purple holographic polish. It's arguably my favorite family of purples, and I am thrilled to see it! The formula was really smooth and easy to work with; I used two easy coats plus top coat in these swatch photos. Shot Through the Heart over Do Ya Love Me? Shot Through the Heart is such a fun glitter topper! It has a fantastic assortment of shapes without going too crazy for my personal taste. From hexes to squares, stars, circles, and, of course, hearts, I really enjoy this combination. The application was really easy with a dab here and there. The glitters dispersed very easily for me. I did not have to dig around for any of the glitters, but there are fewer stars and hearts than other shapes in the bottle. I'm a fan of it the way it is, but if you want more stars or hearts on your nails, you may have to dig around a little bit since they are more limited. This topper is pretty dense with glitters, and I used roughly a coat and a half to get the density shown on my nails here. I also topped my nails with top coat to smooth them out. Now for Mardi Gras! I wasn't exactly sure what Erin came up with for Mardi Gras, but I expected to see gold, green, and purple since they are the traditional Mardi Gras colours. Imagine my surprise when the polish I received was a blue, purple, silver, and red glitter topper! But wait, there was an unusual shape hiding in the bottle! Is that..... a cat?!? Yes, dear readers, this isn't the more traditional Mardi Gras polish. Let me present to you..... Meow-di Gras! Meow-di Gras Over Bernadette Thompson Sky's the Limit Oh yes, she did! Even as I type this post, I can't help but giggle at the brilliant idea behind this polish. Don't get me wrong, dear readers, I do really like the traditional Mardi Gras colours, but this is such a fun spin and perfect for those that don't like the usual shades. Meow-di Gras is arguably the most brilliant use of the cat shaped glitters that I have seen, and I love that you can enjoy it any time of year. Meow-di Gras is a lovely glitter topper consisting of hexes, squares, circles, and cat faces is an assortment of blue, purple, silver, gold, red, and pink glitters. It applies really easily with a dab here and there, and the glitters disperse perfectly. I don't have to dig around for any glitters at all. This topper was a little less dense than Shot Through the Heart shown above, and I used closer to two coats for these swatch photos. I also added top coat to make my nails smooth. I am delighted to see these polishes! They are inspired and so much fun! The Valentine's Duo and Meow-di Gras will launch on the Ice Polish Etsy shop on January 29th (that's THIS Thursday) at noon CST. Even though they were created for Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, they are not limited edition and will be available at Erin's shop for the foreseeable future. The Valentine's polishes will be available both individually and listed together as a discounted duo. Don't miss out! You can follow Ice Polish on Facebook here and on Instagram here for more photos and shop announcements. Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day! XO! Disclaimer: The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products. I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual commentors. I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers. Greetings, and welcome to my blog! My name is Jen, and I am a scientist, beauty blogger, and mom to two wonderful little boys. I test and write about products so that you are better able to find products that work rather than wasting your money on things that don't. At the end of the day, I want YOU to feel as beautiful on the outside as you do on the inside.
Q: Create a multi page PDF from a dynamically created table (div) that is bigger than a single page I am dynamically creating a table using php and mysql into a containing div and then I print it using jsPDF. Its all good until the table exceeds a single page. Then all I get is the first page. I have spent weeks, hours of reading, trying and testing and just can't get it to print more than the first page. Here's what I have: <!-- jsPDF Scripts --> <script src="//mrrio.github.io/jsPDF/dist/jspdf.debug.js"></script> <script src="//html2canvas.hertzen.com/build/html2canvas.js"></script> $(document).ready(function() { $("#pdfDiv").click(function() { var pdf = new jsPDF('p','pt','letter'); pdf.addHTML($('#rentalListCan').first(), function() { pdf.save("rentals.pdf"); }); }); }); I have tried printing the page directly but the formatting doesn't hold. I have tried css using @page with page-break-inside: auto but it doesn't create the page breaks. Thanks for your help. A: To solve your problem, there are two approaches that I am aware of - Providing options to the page to split options = { pagesplit: true }; And then - pdf.addHTML($('#someDiv'), marginX, marginY, options, function() { pdf.save("doc.pdf"); }); Note that this can split your table badly (try it and u'll see)- one thing you can do is add blank space between the rows which get split just before printing the page as pdf. This happens because fromHTML() converts the table into canvas and then splits the canvas as per page size of the pdf. Using a plugin like this - https://github.com/Prashanth-Nelli/jsPdfTablePlugin But customizing the table in style is not supported here yet. But you can customize the font and colors. If you table is simple enough, it is a great and easy to use plugin. Hope this helps!
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Saudi Arabia: Iran Waited 12 Hours to Send Security to Sieged Embassy Iranian authorities waited at least 12 hours before sending reinforcements to help defend a Saudi Arabian embassy compound that had come under attack by protestors, according to a timeline of the incident released by the Saudi government.
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. Method:E. coli metabolites were analyzed by MALDI-MS and MALDI-IMS-oTOF MS. Results: E. coli metabolites were resolved using MALDI IMS-MS. The MALDI IMS-MS spectra shows the detection of ~800 E. coli metabolic features in the mass range of 50-3000 amu. In the mass range 50-500 amu, ~200 metabolic features were observed in the MALDI IMS-MS plot while only ~60 were observed in the MS plot. The E.coli metabolic features are resolved from the matrix in the MALDI IMS-MS spectra, whereas, the E. coli metabolic features are dominated by the matrix in the MS plot. The MALDI-IMS-MS is a fast separation technique that is applicable for complex biological samples such as the E. coli metabolome. INTRODUCTION This project utilizes the novel approach for the separation and detection of metabolites in a complex biological system, such as E.coli, by using a MALDI-IMS-oTOF MS. The MALDI-IMS-oTOF MS has the ability to resolve the metabolite peaks from the background along with simultaneously separating metabolite isomers. The MALDI-IMS-oTOF MS is a promising method for determination of the metabolome in complex biological systems. RESULTS EXPERIMENTAL METHOD E. coli metabolites were extracted using methanol and spiked with ribitol as an internal standard. 2,5-dihydroxybenzoicacid was the MALDI matrix. A Voyager DE-RP MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer instrument at Washington State University was used for the MALDI-MS experiments. The MALDI-IM-oTOF system and its supporting electronics were designed and constructed at Ionwerks Inc. (Houston, TX). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Health-Road Map Grant #DK070274
Researchers at the UConn Health Center have discovered a gene that causes adult onset primary open-angle glaucoma - the most common form of glaucoma. Mansoor Sarfarazi, director of the Molecular Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory and professor of human genetics in the Surgical Research Center, Department of Surgery, and graduate assistant Tayebeh Rezaie, published the work in the Feb. 8 issue of Science. Primary open-angle glaucoma affects 2.4 million Americans and more than 33 million people worldwide. After cataracts, it is the second largest cause of blindness. Although there is no cure, medication or surgery are effective treatments. The discovery of the gene causing primary open-angle glaucoma makes possible the development of precision testing for those who might have it, and target-specific therapies. "We're very excited about the discovery of this glaucoma gene," says Sarfarazi. "What's most significant is that now we have the ability to identify the disease and make a pre-symptomatic diagnosis. Decades before even the first signs of the disease have occurred, we will know who is at risk and can take preventive action." Peter J. Deckers, dean of the UConn School of Medicine and executive vice president of the Health Center, says Sarfarazi's discovery is a great example of the high quality scientific work now being done throughout the institution. "We're very proud of Dr. Sarfarazi and his team," says Dr. Deckers. "The discovery is a perfect example of the important accomplishments that can occur as a result of years of work, careful and thoughtful experimentation, and singular focus. Great discoveries do not happen overnight, they occur incrementally, through discipline and diligence." Sarfarazi in 1997 also discovered a major gene that causes primary congenital glaucoma, a less frequent but still common form of the disease. The current research took place over a number of years and involved a study of 54 families with inherited adult-onset glaucoma. In investigating the families' genetic material, the Health Center researchers noticed sequence alterations - mutations on a gene - were associated with 16.7 percent of them. The gene is conserved - nearly the same - along the evolutionary path from the mouse to the human. Essential genes, those vital to a function such as vision, change less than other, non-essential genes. When the researchers noticed the sequence alteration in the families with glaucoma, they knew they had pinpointed their gene. The gene is on chromosome 10p14 and was named by the researchers Optineurin, for "Optic Neuropathy Inducing" protein. They also called a protein associated with the gene optineurin. This protein, says Sarfarazi, is likely to play a neuro-protective role in normal vision. Researchers collaborating on the study included scholars from Yale, Toronto, Chicago, New York, and two institutions in the United Kingdom.
--- abstract: 'The Randall–Sundrum two-brane model admits the flat-brane Lorentz-invariant vacuum solution only if the branes have exactly opposite tensions. We pay attention to this condition and propose a generalization of this model in which two branes are described by actions of the same form and with the same matter content but [with opposite signs]{}. In this way, the relation between their tensions (which are their vacuum energy densities) is naturally accounted for. We study a simple example of such a model in detail. It represents the Randall–Sundrum model supplemented by the Einstein scalar-curvature terms in the actions for the branes. We show that this model is tachyon-free for sufficiently large negative values of the brane cosmological constant, that gravitational forces on the branes are of opposite signs, and that physically most reasonable model of this type is the one where the five-dimensional gravity is localized around the visible brane. The massive gravitational modes in this model have ghost-like character, and we discuss the significance of this fact for the quantum instability of the vacuum on the visible brane.' address: - \| Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics\ Kiev, 03143, Ukraine\ shtanov@bitp.kiev.ua - \| Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics\ Kiev, 03143, Ukraine\ viznyuk@bitp.kiev.ua author: - YURI SHTANOV - ALEXANDER VIZNYUK title: MIRROR BRANES --- Introduction: the model ======================= The original Randall–Sundrum (RS) two-brane model[@RS1] describes vacuum branes embedded in (or, equivalently, bounding) the five-dimensional AdS spacetime and has the action $$\label{rs-action} S_{\rm RS} = M^3 \!\! \int\limits_{\rm bulk}\!\! \left( {\cal R} - 2 \Lambda_{\rm b} \right) \ - \!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm brane1} \!\!\! 2 \sigma \ + \!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm brane2} \!\!\! 2 \sigma \, ,$$ in which we omit the obvious integration volume elements and the boundary terms with brane extrinsic curvature. Here, $M$ denotes the bulk Planck mass, $\Lambda_{\rm b}$ is the bulk cosmological constant, and the constant $\sigma$ is the vacuum energy density (brane tension) of one of the branes (brane1), which is exactly opposite to the brane tension of the other brane (brane2). The model admits the flat-brane Lorentz-invariant vacuum solution only under the constraint[@RS1; @RS2] $$\label{lambda-rs} \Lambda_{\rm RS} \equiv {\Lambda_{\rm b} \over 2} + {\sigma^2 \over 3 M^6} = 0 \, ,$$ which has to be postulated in the theory.[^1] The fact that two brane tensions are exactly equal by absolute value and opposite in sign is also of crucial importance for the existence of flat-brane solutions and requires explanation. In this paper, we generalize the Randall–Sundrum model (\[rs-action\]) in such a way that two branes are described by the same form of action with the same matter content but [with the opposite signs]{}. In this way, the symmetry relation between their vacuum energy densities is naturally accounted for. Thus, we propose to consider the generic action of the form $$\label{generic} S = \int\limits_{\rm bulk} {\cal L}_{\rm bulk} \left( g_{ab}, \Phi \right) \ + \!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm brane1} \!\!\! {\cal L} \left( h_{ab}, \phi_1 \right) \ - \!\!\!\int\limits_{\rm brane2} \!\!\! {\cal L} \left( h_{ab}, \phi_2 \right) \, ,$$ where $\Phi$ denotes the fields in the bulk other than the metric field $g_{ab}$. It is important to emphasize that the Lagrangians ${\cal L}$ have the same form for two branes, with the field contents $\{\phi_1\}$ and $\{\phi_2\}$ being equivalent. Therefore, their vacuum energy densities on the same metric background will be exactly the same. Were it not for the bulk part in action (\[generic\]), we would have totally decoupled actions for two non-interacting worlds. The relative signs between the actions in this case would not matter at all. The presence of the bulk means a complicated interaction between the branes and also breaks the equivalence symmetry between them since the physical constants in the bulk Lagrangian are of specific signs. The Lagrangian ${\cal L}$ in (\[generic\]) is assumed to be written in the “standard” form. In particular, the kinetic terms of the physical matter fields enter it with the conventional signs. The brane tension $\sigma$ is then unambiguously defined as the vacuum energy density of the “standard” Lagrangian ${\cal L}$, i.e., on the background of the flat metric $h_{ab} = \eta_{ab}$, $$\left\langle {\cal L} \left(\eta_{ab}, \phi \right) \right\rangle_{\rm vac} = - 2 \sigma \, .$$ A particular case of (\[generic\]) that we are going to consider in this paper is the generalization of the RS model (\[rs-action\]) by adding the matter Lagrangians and the Einstein scalar-curvature terms on the branes. In this case, we have the action (again omitting the boundary terms with brane extrinsic curvature) $$\label{action} S = M^3 \!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm bulk} \!\! \left( {\cal R} - 2 \Lambda_{\rm b} \right) + \!\!\!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm brane1} \!\!\! \left[ \zeta R - 2 \sigma + L \left( h_{ab}, \phi_1 \right) \right] - \!\!\!\!\! \int\limits_{\rm brane2} \!\!\! \left[ \zeta R - 2 \sigma + L \left( h_{ab}, \phi_2 \right) \right] \, ,$$ where we have explicitly introduced the vacuum energy density (brane tension) $\sigma$ so that $\left\langle L \left(\eta_{ab}, \phi \right) \right\rangle_{\rm vac} = 0$. The sign of the bulk Planck mass $M$ can be chosen arbitrarily by suitably choosing the overall sign in action (\[action\]). It is natural to choose $M$ to be positive. Then the brane which appears with positive sign in action (\[action\]) (which is brane1 in our case) can be called [positive brane]{}, and the one appearing with negative sign can be called [negative brane]{}. The scalar-curvature terms for the two branes enter the total action (\[action\]) with the same constant $\zeta$ but with opposite signs, according to our general principle expressed by action (\[generic\]). This can also be quite naturally explained if these terms are regarded as induced by the quantum corrections from the matter Lagrangians $L(h_{ab}, \phi)$. Since the matter actions on the branes have opposite signs but equivalent matter content, the effective gravitational actions that they induce on the respective branes are exactly of the same form but of opposite signs. Braneworld models with arbitrary relative signs of the brane gravitational actions were recently under consideration in Refs. . In this paper, we propose to consider perfect “mirror” symmetry between the actions for the branes, where both the gravitational and matter actions are exactly of the same form but of opposite sign. We repeat, however, that symmetry between the branes is, in general, broken by the presence of the bulk. We allow for positive as well as negative gravitational coupling $\zeta$ in (\[action\]) (its sign is defined with respect to the “standard” matter Lagrangian $L$). The brane tension $\sigma$ [a priori]{} can also be of any sign. First of all, we show that the brane cosmological constant $\lambda = \sigma / \zeta$ in the model (\[action\]) under consideration must be [negative]{} and sufficiently large by absolute value in order that tachyonic gravitational modes be absent in the theory. This will be the issue of the next section, in which we also consider the ghost-like character of the massless radion and massive gravitational modes. In Sec. \[linear\], we study the linearized gravity on the flat two-brane background. We will see that the gravitational forces exerted by matter have opposite signs on the two branes. This selects the brane with attractive gravity as the “visible” one, which turns out to be the negative brane (brane2) in the terminology introduced above. We will also see that it is physically preferable for the model to have positive gravitational constant $\zeta$, hence, negative tension $\sigma$. Thus, the five-dimensional gravity is localized around the physical brane, which makes it the “Planck” brane in the conventional terminology. In Sec. \[vacuum\], we discuss the quantum instability of the vacuum caused by the ghost-like character of matter on the hidden brane and of the massive gravitational modes. To resolve this problem, one can introduce an explicit Lorentz-violating ultraviolet cutoff as discussed in Refs. . In Sec. \[poten\], we present approximate expressions for the gravitational potential on the visible brane induced by a static source on the visible or hidden brane. In Sec. \[discuss\], we provide a general discussion of the model. Tachyonic modes and ghosts {#tachyon} ========================== Tachyonic modes were studied in our previous paper[@SV] in a model quite similar to (\[action\]), namely, where the matter and induced-gravity actions for two branes were not necessarily the same (the constants $\zeta$ and the Lagrangians $L$ could be different) but entered the total action with the [same]{} sign.[^2] The equations for the tachyonic modes in the present case can be derived in exactly the same way as it was done in Ref. (see also Ref. ). The background RS solution is described by the metric $$\label{metric} ds^2 = dy^2 + a^2(y) \eta_{\alpha\beta} dx^\alpha dx^\beta \, , \quad a(y) = \exp (- k y ) \, , \quad k = {\|\sigma\| \over 3 M^3} = \sqrt{-{\Lambda_{\rm b} \over 6}} \, ,$$ with the two branes located at $y = 0$ and $y = \rho > 0$, respectively. Thus, throughout the paper, we have $k > 0$ by definition so that the left brane (located at $y =0$) is the “Planck” brane (the one at which the massless graviton is localized), while the right brane (located at $y = \rho$) is the “TeV” brane in the commonly used terminology. Then, the “Planck” brane is positive (negative) if the brane tension $\sigma$ is positive (negative). Proceeding to the Fourier analysis in terms of the Lorentzian momenta $p^\alpha$ and being interested in the tachyonic case ($p^\alpha p_\alpha > 0$ for our signature convention), we introduce the dimensionless variables $$\label{variables} \mu = - {\zeta \sigma \over 3 M^6} \, , \quad \alpha = e^{k \rho} \, , \quad s = {\sqrt{p^\alpha p_\alpha} \over k}$$ and arrive at the following equation for the tachyonic modes (see Ref. ): $$\label{E} E(s) \equiv D_1(s) - \mu s \Bigl[ D(s) - \alpha D_(s) \Bigr] - \alpha \left( \mu s \right)^2 D_2 (s) = 0 \, ,$$ where $$\begin{array}{l} \label{ds} D_1(s) = I_1 (\alpha s) K_1 (s) - I_1 (s) K_1 (\alpha s) \, , \\ D(s) = I_2 (s) K_1 (\alpha s) + I_1 (\alpha s) K_2 (s) \, , \\ D_(s) = I_1 (s) K_2 (\alpha s) + I_2 (\alpha s) K_1 (s) \, , \\ D_2(s) = I_2 (\alpha s) K_2 (s) - I_2 (s) K_2 (\alpha s) \, . \end{array}$$ Since $\alpha > 1$ for $k > 0$, all four functions defined in (\[ds\]) are strictly positive for positive $s$. Then Eq. (\[E\]) implies that tachyonic modes are absent in the case $\mu = 0$ (which includes the RS model). Thus, we need to consider the case $\mu \ne 0$. The asymptotic limits of the function $E(s)$ in this case can easily be calculated: $$\label{limits} \lim_{s \to 0} E(s) = (1 - 2 \mu) \sinh \rho \, , \quad \lim_{s \to \infty} E(s) = - \infty \, , \quad \mu \ne 0 \, .$$ This immediately implies the existence of tachyonic modes for nonzero $\mu < 1/2$. Thus, for $\mu \ne 0$, one can expect tachyonic modes to be absent only if $\mu \ge 1/2$. We show that this condition is also sufficient. Employing the method used in Ref. , we introduce the function $$\bar E (s, t) = D_1(s) - t \Bigl[ D(s) - \alpha D_(s) \Bigr] - \alpha t^2 D_2 (s) \, , \quad s , t > 0 \, ,$$ so that $\bar E (s, \mu s) \equiv E(s)$ for positive $\mu$, which is now under consideration. Then, solving the equation $$\bar E (s, t) = 0$$ with respect to $t$, we obtain the expression for the single positive root: $$\bar t (s) = {\sqrt{ \Bigl[ D(s) - \alpha D_ (s) \Bigr]^2 + 4 \alpha D_1(s) D_2 (s)} - \Bigl[ D(s) - \alpha D_* (s) \Bigr] \over 2 \alpha D_2 (s) } \, .$$ It can be verified that this one-parameter function is convex upwards for all values of the parameter $\alpha > 1$, and its asymptotic behavior for small and large $s$ is given by $$\label{asympt} \bar t (s) = {s \over 2} + o ( s )\, , \quad s \to 0 \, ; \qquad \lim_{s \to \infty} \bar t (s) = 1 \, .$$ Solving Eq. (\[E\]) is equivalent to solving the equation $$\label{bart} \bar t (s) = \mu s \, ,$$ which, in view of (\[asympt\]), has a positive root for $s$ if and only if $0 < \mu < 1/2$. From the asymptotic limits (\[asympt\]) and from Eq. (\[bart\]) one can see what happens to the tachyon mode as the value of $\mu$ approaches the boundaries of the interval $\left(0, \frac12\right)$. In the limit $\mu \to 0$, the mass of the tachyon goes to infinity and, in the limit $\mu \to 1/2$, it goes to zero. We see that the value $\mu = 0$ is an isolated point of the theory, and one does not have a physically consistent model in its vicinity. Thus, model (\[action\]) has no tachyonic gravitational modes either if $\mu = 0$ (which is an isolated point) or if $\mu \ge 1/2$. However, as will be shown shortly, the theory is singular at $\mu = 1/2$; hence, this value should also be excluded. The physical condition $\mu > 1/2$ can be written as $$\label{notachyon} \zeta \sigma < {} - \frac 32 M^6 \, .$$ This constraint implies sufficiently large [negative]{} value of the brane cosmological constant $$\label{coco} \lambda \equiv {\sigma \over \zeta} < - {3 M^6 \over 2 \zeta^2} \, .$$ Below, we restrict our investigation to this case. The issue of ghosts in the gravitational sector of the complementary theory with positive value of $M$ but arbitrary signs of the brane gravitational constants was considered in Ref. , and we apply the results obtained therein to our case. First, we start with the radion. The radion degree of freedom in our formalism is connected with the possibility of brane bending in the bulk. After identifying the relevant physical degrees of freedom, one can obtain the effective action for the radion $\phi_{\rm r}$ in our model using the results of Ref. : $$S_{\rm rad} = {3 M^3 \left(e^{2 k \rho} - 1 \right) \over k (1 - 2 \mu) } \int \phi_{\rm r} \Box \phi_{\rm r} \, dx \, .$$ One can see that the radion effective action is singular in the case $\mu = 1/2$, which is one of the reasons why this value should be excluded,[^3] and, under the condition of absence of tachyonic modes $\mu > 1/2$, the radion field is a ghost from the viewpoint of the positive brane (brane1) and is not a ghost from the viewpoint of the negative brane (brane2). Now, following Refs. , one can show that the massive gravitational modes in the theory under investigation have ghost-like nature. For free metric perturbations described by the transverse traceless modes $\gamma_{\alpha\beta} (x, y)$ in the form $$\label{induced} h_{\alpha\beta} (x, y) = e^{-2 k y} \Bigl[ \eta_{\alpha\beta} + \gamma_{\alpha\beta} (x, y) \Bigr]\, ,$$ expanding the perturbation in the physical Fourier modes $\psi(m,y)$ such that $p_\alpha p^\alpha = - m^2$ with the corresponding boundary conditions, $$\label{Fourier} \gamma_{\alpha\beta} (x, y) = \sum_m \chi_{\alpha\beta} (m, x) \psi (m, y) \, ,$$ one arrives at the following quadratic effective action (cf. with Refs. ): $$\label{eff-action} S = \frac12 \sum_m C_m \int dx\, \chi^{\alpha\beta} (m, x) \left( \Box - m^2 \right) \chi_{\alpha\beta} (m, x) \, .$$ For the massless mode ($m = 0$), we have $\psi(0, y) \equiv {\rm const}$, and the constant $C_0$ is given by $$\label{c0} C_0 = {M^3 (1 - 2 \mu) \over 2k} \left( 1 - e^{-2k\rho} \right) [\psi (0, 0)]^2 \, ,$$ The case $\mu = 1/2$ was already excluded when considering the radion, and now we see that it can also be excluded by the requirement of the nonzero norm of the zero-mode graviton. Then, the norm of the zero-mode graviton is negative in the region $\mu > 1/2$, where tachyonic modes are absent in the theory. Thus, just as the massless radion, the massless graviton is a ghost from the viewpoint of the positive brane, and is not a ghost from the viewpoint of the negative brane. For the massive modes ($m \ne 0$), one obtains the expression $$\label{cm} C_m = {M^3 \over m^2} \int_0^\rho dy e^{-4ky} [\psi' (m, y)]^2 \, , \quad m \ne 0 \, ,$$ which means that the massive modes are ghosts from the viewpoint of the negative brane. It is worth noting that matter with ghost-like properties is currently being employed in the literature, although in a somewhat different context.[@ghost] Linearized gravity in the zero-mode approximation {#linear} ================================================= The zero-mode approximation developed in Ref. can be directly applied to the theory given by (\[action\]). Depending on the signs of the gravitational constant $\zeta$ and brane tension $\sigma$ \[which should be opposite, as follows from (\[notachyon\]) or (\[coco\])\], the components of the Einstein tensor in the zero-mode approximation on the positive ($G^+_{\alpha\beta}$) and negative ($G^-_{\alpha\beta}$) brane in the coordinates $x^\alpha$ are given by the following expressions: $$\begin{aligned} \label{Einstein1} G^\pm_{\alpha\beta} &=& 8 \pi G_{\rm N} \left[ T^{-}_{\alpha\beta} - \frac13 e^{\pm 2 k \rho} \left( h^\pm_{\alpha\beta} - {\partial_\alpha \partial_\beta \over \Box^\pm} \right) T^{-} \right] \nonumber \\ &-& 8 \pi G_{\rm N} e^{- 2 k \rho} \left[ T^{+}_{\alpha\beta} - \frac13 e^{\pm 2 k \rho} \left( h^\pm_{\alpha\beta} - {\partial_\alpha \partial_\beta \over \Box^\pm} \right) T^{+} \right] + \ldots \, , \\ \nonumber &{}& \zeta > 0 \, , \quad \sigma < 0 \, ,\end{aligned}$$ $$\begin{aligned} \label{Einstein2} G^\pm_{\alpha\beta} &=& 8 \pi G_{\rm N} e^{- 2 k \rho} \left[ T^{-}_{\alpha\beta} - \frac13 e^{\mp 2 k \rho} \left( h^\pm_{\alpha\beta} - {\partial_\alpha \partial_\beta \over \Box^\pm} \right) T^{-} \right] \nonumber \\ &-& 8 \pi G_{\rm N} \left[ T^{+}_{\alpha\beta} - \frac13 e^{\mp 2 k \rho} \left( h^\pm_{\alpha\beta} - {\partial_\alpha \partial_\beta \over \Box^\pm} \right) T^{+} \right] + \ldots \, , \\ &{}& \nonumber \zeta < 0 \, , \quad \sigma > 0 \, .\end{aligned}$$ Here we used the notation $$\label{Newton} 8 \pi G_{\rm N} = {2 k \over M^3 (2 \mu - 1) \left(1 - e^{- 2 k \rho} \right) } \, ;$$ $T^\pm_{\alpha\beta}$, $h^\pm_{\alpha\beta}$, and $\Box^\pm$ are the stress–energy tensors, flat induced metrics, and the corresponding D’Alembertians on the positive (“$+$”) and negative (“$-$”) branes, respectively, and $T^\pm$ are the traces of the corresponding stress–energy tensors. The dots in (\[Einstein1\]) and (\[Einstein2\]) denote the higher-derivative terms. The D’Alembertians in the denominators of (\[Einstein1\]) and (\[Einstein2\]) reflect the presence of the radion degree of freedom in the theory (see Ref. for more details). The gravitational constant (\[Newton\]) is naturally inversely proportional to the norm of the zero-mode graviton (\[c0\]). It can be seen from (\[Einstein1\]) and (\[Einstein2\]) that matter on the negative brane gravitates attractively, while that on the positive brane gravitates repulsively (in other terms, the low-mass gravitons behave as ghosts with respect to matter on the positive brane). It can also be seen that the general-relativistic part of gravity is stronger by a factor of $e^{2 k \rho}$ on the brane around which the five-dimensional gravity is localized, i.e., on the “Planck” brane (it is positive or negative brane according to the sign of $\sigma$), in agreement with the original result by Randall and Sundrum.[@RS1] Thus, in all cases, it is physically reasonable to consider the negative brane as “visible” (describing the observable world), and the positive one as “hidden”. In the case of positive constant $\zeta$ and negative $\sigma$, the effect of the hidden-brane matter is exponentially suppressed on the visible (negative) brane as a function of the distance between the branes. Hence, the case of negative $\sigma$ seems to be physically the most appealing. Quantum instability of the vacuum caused by ghosts {#vacuum} ================================================== The ghost-like character of the matter on the hidden brane and of the massive gravitons in the model under consideration is something to be worried about and requires further investigation. The ghost nature of hidden matter is connected with the fact that the matter Lagrangians enter action (\[generic\]) with opposite signs. In this respect, we can note that the gravitational influence of the hidden matter in the model (\[action\]) is exponentially suppressed by the factor $e^{-2 k \rho}$, which significantly alleviates this problem. The problem of the ghost nature of the massive gravitons is more serious and can lead to quantum instability of the vacuum. To avoid too strong instability of the vacuum caused by the ghosts, one can consider introducing an explicit Lorentz-violating ultraviolet cutoff in the theory (see Ref. for a recent discussion). As an example, in Fig. \[figure\], we show a typical diagram of the process in which a pair of matter particles $\phi$ are spontaneously created from the vacuum on the visible (“Planck”) brane together with a pair of massive gravitons $g$. The coupling of matter fields to massive gravitons in its vertices is determined by the effective action (\[eff-action\]) with the constants $C_m$ given by (\[cm\]). Thus, each vertex of the process contains the constant $\psi(m, 0) / \left\| C_m \right\|^{1/2}$, where $\psi (m, y)$ is the wave function of the massive graviton in (\[Fourier\]). Introducing also the momentum ultraviolet cutoff $\Lambda$ similarly to Ref. , we obtain the production rate for two graviton modes with absolute mass values $m_1$ and $m_2$ on dimensional grounds, $$\label{gamma} \displaystyle \Gamma_{m_1, m_2} \sim \left\|{ \psi^2 (m_1, 0) \psi^2 (m_2, 0) \over C_{m_1} C_{m_2}} \right\| \Lambda^8 \, .$$ The constant in (\[gamma\]) can be estimated by using the asymptotic expansions of the wave function in two mass regions as follows: $$\label{vertex} \left\| {\psi^2(m, 0) \over C_m} \right\| \simeq {1 \over \mu^2 \alpha M^3} \times \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} k^3 / m^2 \, , \quad &m \gsim k \, , \medskip \\ m \, , &m \lsim k \, . \end{array} \right.$$ The interval between the modes is roughly equal to $\Delta m \simeq \pi k / \alpha$ (see Ref. ); thus, summing expression (\[gamma\]) over the massive graviton modes, we estimate the total probability of particle production as $$\label{gammatot} \Gamma \sim {k^2 \Lambda^8 \over \mu^4 M^6 } \sim {\Lambda^8 \over (\zeta \mu)^2} \sim {\Lambda^8 \over M_{\rm P}^4 \mu^2} \, ,$$ where we have made the assumption that $(\mu - 1/2) \sim \mu$, i.e., that the value of $\mu$ is not too close to $1/2$, and took into account that $\zeta = M_{\rm P}^2$, where $M_{\rm P}$ is the effective Planck mass on the visible brane. Estimate (\[gammatot\]) differs from that of Ref. by the factor $\mu^2$ in the denominator. The particles $\phi$ spontaneously produced from the vacuum in the process in Fig. \[figure\] can, in particular, be photons. Hence, by the same reasoning as in Ref. , we can obtain the upper limit on the cutoff $\Lambda$. The spectral density of photons at $E \sim \Lambda$ created in the process of Fig. \[figure\] is roughly given by the expression $$\label{density} {d n \over d E} \sim {\Lambda^7 \over M_{\rm P}^4 \mu^2 } t_0 \, , \quad E \lsim \Lambda \, ,$$ where $t_0 \sim H_0^{-1}$ is the age of the universe. On the other hand, the spectrum of photons is constrained by observations of the diffuse gamma ray background by EGRET,[@egret] which has measured the differential photon flux to be $$\label{flux} {d F \over d E} = 7.3 \times 10^{-9} \left({E \over E_0} \right)^{- 2.1} \left(\mbox{cm$^2$ s sr MeV} \right)^{-1} \, ,$$ where $E_0 = 451$ MeV. Demanding that (\[density\]) does not exceed (\[flux\]) at $E \sim \Lambda$, we obtain the upper limit $$\label{limit} \Lambda \lsim 3 \mu^{q}\, \mbox{MeV} \, , \quad q \approx \frac{2}{9.1} \approx 0.22 \, .$$ This estimate differs from that of Ref. by the presence of the factor $\mu^{q}$. In principle, the value of $\mu$ is unbounded from above; hence, the cutoff upper limit (\[limit\]) can be made as large as possible. Of course, these estimates have a preliminary character and should be supported by the detailed analysis of the model. Nevertheless, they give some hope that the ghost character of the invisible matter and massive gravitational modes may not be so serious in the model under consideration. Gravitational potential {#poten} ======================= In this section, we present approximate expressions for the gravitational potential on the visible brane induced by a static source on the visible or hidden brane in the physically interesting case where the zero-mode graviton is localized at the visible brane (positive $\zeta$ and negative $\sigma$), i.e., that the visible brane is the “Planck” brane. In doing this, we use the results of our previous paper,[@SV] where the corresponding expressions are derived for a generic two-brane model. Matter source on the visible brane ---------------------------------- In this case, we obtain the following gravitational potential $V(r)$ induced by a static source of mass ${\cal M}$ on the visible brane: $$V(r) = - {G {\cal M} \over r} \, , \quad G = G_{\rm N} \left(1 + {1 \over 3 \alpha^2 } \right) \, , \quad kr \gg \alpha \, ,$$ $$V(r) = - {G {\cal M} \over r} \left( 1 - {2 \over 3 (2 \mu - 1) (kr)^2} \right) \, , \ \ G = G_{\rm N} \left( 1 - {1 \over \alpha^2} \right) \, , \ \ 1 \ll kr \ll \alpha \, ,$$ where $G_{\rm N}$ is defined in (\[Newton\]), and $\alpha$ in (\[variables\]). Note the correspondence with the structure of (\[Einstein1\]). For $kr \ll 1$, we have the expression $$\label{newpot} V (r) = - {G {\cal M} \over r} - {k {\cal M} \over 3 \pi^2 \zeta} \left({15 \over 8} - \frac1\mu \right) \log \left[\left({15 \over 8} - \frac1\mu \right) kr \right] \, , \ \ G = {(\mu - 2/3) \over 8 \pi \zeta (\mu -1/2)} \, ,$$ where $\mu$ is defined in (\[variables\]). As $\mu \to \infty$, we recover the Newton’s gravitational law with the standard four-dimensional gravitational coupling $G = 1 / 8 \pi \zeta$. Note that the Newtonian part of potential (\[newpot\]) is repulsive for $\mu$ in the narrow range $1/2 < \mu < 2/3$. The logarithmic correction to this potential is only valid if the expression $15/8 - 1 / \mu$ is not very small by absolute value. The gravitational law on small scales is four-dimensional \[$V(r) \propto r^{-1}$\] because the allowed values of the brane gravitational constant $\zeta$ are sufficiently large, so that $\mu > 1/2$. Matter source on the hidden brane --------------------------------- In a similar way one can consider the case where the stationary matter with mass ${\cal M}_$ resides on the hidden brane. We obtain the following expressions for the gravitational potential on the visible brane: $$V(r) \approx {4 G_{\rm N} {\cal M}_ \over 3 \alpha^2 r} \, , \quad kr \gg \alpha \, ,$$ $$\begin{array}{r} \label{mu} V (r) \approx \displaystyle {2 k^2 {\cal M}_* \over 3 \pi^2 M^3 (2 \mu - 1) \alpha^3 } \left[ \left( 1 + {c_1 \over \mu } - {c_2 \over \mu^2} \right) - \left( c_3 + {c_4 \over \mu} - {c_5 \over \mu^2} \right) \left( { kr \over \alpha } \right)^2 \right] \, , \medskip \\ kr \ll \alpha \, , \end{array}$$ where the constants $c_n$ take the following approximate values: $$c_1 \approx 1.3 \, , \quad c_2 \approx 0.35 \, , \quad c_3 \approx 0.06 \, , \quad c_4 \approx 1.12 \, , \quad c_5 \approx 0.24 \, .$$ Note that the approximate potential is repulsive and that it does not have Newtonian form for $kr \ll \alpha$. Discussion {#discuss} ========== The merit of generalization (\[generic\]) proposed in this paper is that it naturally takes into account the fact that two branes in the RS setup[@RS1] have exactly opposite tensions. We studied a particular version (\[action\]) of the generic model (\[generic\]) and have shown that it is tachyon-free if the brane cosmological constant $\lambda = \sigma / \zeta$ is negative and sufficiently large by absolute value, as given by Eq. (\[coco\]). In this case, the effective gravity is attractive on the negative brane (brane2) and is repulsive on the positive brane (brane1). Thus, a physically viable situation obtains if the visible brane is taken to be the negative brane (brane2) in action (\[action\]). If the gravitational constant $\zeta$ is positive (hence, brane tension $\sigma$ is negative), then the five-dimensional gravity is localized around the visible brane, where the effects of the hidden brane are exponentially suppressed as functions of the distance $\rho$ between the branes. The physical consequences of the repulsive gravity of matter of the hidden brane remain to be clarified. Reversing the overall sign of action (\[action\]), one can see that the preferable physical option from the viewpoint of the visible brane (brane2) looks like that of negative bulk gravitational constant, which case was discussed in our previous paper.[@SV] The negative sign of the bulk gravitational constant with respect to the visible brane is motivated by some braneworld models of dark energy, in particular, the braneworld model of [disappearing dark energy]{}.[@SS] In this model, the expanding universe, after the current period of acceleration, re-enters the matter-dominated regime continuing indefinitely in the future. The model requires negative tension of the visible brane, and the value of the bulk gravitational constant must then be negative for the five-dimensional gravity to be localized around the brane. Negative brane tension is required also for the existence of unusual “quiescent” singularities[@SS1] in the AdS-embedded braneworld models, which occur during the universe expansion and are characterized by the [finiteness]{} of the scale factor, Hubble parameter, and matter density. Another instance of an interesting cosmological behavior in the case of negative brane tension is the recently discussed “cosmic mimicry” in braneworld models.[@mimicry] The present model of “mirror branes” has also led us to the option of negative-tension visible brane around which the five-dimensional gravity is localized. The ghost-like character of the matter on the hidden brane and of the massive gravitational modes in the model under consideration is something to be worried about. The estimates obtained in Sec. \[vacuum\] show that the presence of ghosts may not be a very serious problem. This issue, however, requires further detailed investigation. Other versions of the generic type (\[generic\]) can be studied, among which models with curvature terms on the branes and with the additional Gauss–Bonnet term in the bulk,[@CD] models without the RS constraint (\[lambda-rs\]),[@Padilla] etc. We mention them as a subject for future investigations. [99]{} L. Randall and R. Sundrum, [Phys. Rev. Lett.]{} [83]{}, 3370 (1999). L. Randall and R. Sundrum, [Phys. Rev. Lett.]{} [83]{}, 4690 (1999). C. Csáki, J. Erlich, and C. Grojean, [Nucl. Phys.]{} [B604]{}, 312 (2001); C. Csáki, J. Erlich, and C. Grojean, [Gen. Rel. Grav.]{} [33]{}, 1921 (2001); Yu. Shtanov, [Phys. Lett.]{} [B543]{}, 121 (2002). C. Charmousis and J.-F. Dufaux, “Gauss–Bonnet gravity renders negative tension braneworlds unstable,” Report No. LPT-03-100, hep-th/0311267. A. Padilla, [Class. Quantum Grav.]{} [21]{}, 2899 (2004). M. N. Smolyakov, [Nucl. Phys.]{} [B695]{}, 301 (2004). S. M. Carroll, M. Hoffman, and M. Trodden, [Phys. Rev.]{} D [68]{}, 023509 (2003). J. M. Cline, S. Jeon, and G. D. Moore, [Phys. Rev.]{} D [70]{}, 043543 (2004). Yu. Shtanov and A. Viznyuk, [Class. Quantum Grav.]{} [22]{}, 987 (2005). N. Arkani-Hamed, H.-C. Cheng, M. A. Luty, and S. Mukohyama, [JHEP]{} [0405]{}, 074 (2004); N. Arkani-Hamed, P. Creminelli, S. Mukohyama, and M. Zaldarriaga, [JCAP]{} [0404]{}, 001 (2004); B. Holdom, [JHEP]{} [0407]{}, 063 (2004); F. Piazza and S. Tsujikawa, [JCAP]{} [0407]{}, 004 (2004). P. Srekumar [et al.]{}, [Astrophys. J.]{} [494]{}, 523 (1998). V. Sahni and Yu. Shtanov, [JCAP]{} [0311]{}, 014 (2003); U. Alam and V. Sahni, “Supernova constraints on braneworld dark energy,” astro-ph/0209443. Yu. Shtanov and V. Sahni, [Class. Quantum Grav.]{} [19]{}, L101 (2002). V. Sahni, Yu. Shtanov, and A. Viznyuk, “Cosmic Mimicry: Is LCDM a Braneworld in Disguise?” astro-ph/0505004. [^1]: Flat-brane vacuum solutions without Lorentz invariance of the bulk can be constructed without this constraint.[@notune] [^2]: The peculiar relation between the brane tensions was assumed to be the same as in the Randall–Sundrum model, since it is required to have the flat-brane solutions. [^3]: The gravitational part of model (\[action\]) with the additional relation $\mu = 1/2$ was recently under consideration in Ref. . It was observed that the braneworld theory becomes degenerate in this case, which was also previously noted in Ref. .
With just over two million inhabitants, the southern African kingdom of Lesotho is one of the world’s smallest countries. A low-income country that currently ranks 160 out of 187 on the UN’s Human Development Index, workers earn an average salary of US$570 per annum and some 42 per cent of its citizens are jobless. However, over the last eight years, its textile and garments manufacturing industry has grown to become one of Africa’s biggest. At its peak in 2008, Lesotho’s garment and textile exports totalled US$340 million. The introduction of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) by the United States government in 2000 provided Lesotho (and other participating countries) with preferential access to the US market. Fifteen years later and Lesotho’s garment industry contributes 20 per cent to the country’s GDP. In addition, 80 per cent of Lesotho’s garments are manufactured for US mega-brands such as Gap, Levi Strauss and Wal-Mart. As a result, the growth of Lesotho’s textile industry has brought various benefits to workers on the factory floor. Thirty-four-year-old Teboho Moeti is tasked with pressing steam irons over rows of casual denim shirts at Formosa Denim Mill in Maseru. For Teboho, who comes from a small village 200 miles away, his job is ‘precious’. “I didn’t go to school much but I earn US$420 every month ironing new shirts,” he tells Equal Times. Teboho’s salary, which includes bonuses and other benefits, is well above the sectoral minimum wage of US$92 a month, and demonstrates that in many ways, the conditions in Lesotho’s textiles industry are more favourable than those endured by garment workers in Asia. In factories from Cambodia to Bangladesh, garment workers face low wages, dangerous working conditions, few labour rights and, in extreme cases, forced labour and child labour. In Lesotho, 40,000 mainly female workers are employed in 40-odd modern factories, and are protected by a raft of labour laws. “Anyone under the age of 18 years is banned from working in the garment factories. They are not even allowed to scrub decks,” says Pilani Beletho, a factory inspector in Lesotho. Lesotho also has one of the world’s highest HIV infection rates (23.1 per cent of the adult population is HIV-positive), which has taken its toll on garment workers. But a number of initiatives, such as the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS, work on the prevention and holistic treatment of workers living with HIV/Aids. Maternity leave But unions point to a number of other issues regarding the country’s largest private sector employer. While Lesotho labour law makes provisions for holiday leave, sick pay, pensions and injury compensation, these rights are not always guaranteed. Thabo Tshabalala, a regional officer at IndustriAll-Africa points to the issue of maternity leave, which is a major concern given the industry’s young, mainly female workforce. “Pregnant workers frequently lose their jobs,” he says. Many garment workers have to stand for their entire nine-hour shift doing physically demanding work, and this often continues even when workers become pregnant. And while recent labour law changes now allow pregnant workers to take six weeks maternity leave, many people are unaware of these amendments and only take two weeks. Then there is the issue of wages. “Yes, we have a starting [sectoral] wage but US$92 is a shame. It is a poverty wage,” says Tshabalala. “Workers in China earn more than [they do in] Lesotho.” And while freedom of association is respected in theory, there are often serious obstacles with regards to union membership. Pepe [he refused to give his real name in case of reprisals] was representing a worker whose fingers were burnt by an industrial clothes press. “I was bluntly told [by my employers] to choose between my job and the trade union,” he told Equal Times. This kind of intimidation goes some way to explain why only 58 per cent of Basotho textiles workers are represented by unions, according to the Lesotho Amalgamated Clothing and Textiles Workers Union. Health and safety is also still a big issue in Lesotho’s garment factories. The country’s high altitude means that it can be very cold and workers frequently complain of not being warm enough on the factory floor. “We need jackets and wool fleeces in winter,” says Mzi Dakatho, a yarn cotton spinner. “But if we complain too much sometimes supervisors call us ‘devils’.” Labour inspectors have also recorded other major health and safety infractions: poor ventilation; not enough fire exits; the unsafe storage and use of chemicals and clothes dyes; and the under-supply of face masks (required to protect workers from dust, fumes and fibres). Better Work Lesotho Since 2010, Better Work Lesotho, an initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has been working to improve conditions for factory workers by monitoring adherence to core ILO labour standards and national labour laws, and improving the relationship between workers and factory management. To date, Better Work Lesotho has negotiated employee health and sanitation inspections with 22 garment factories in the country. Alex Jo Seng, from Taiwan, owns the Manuk Garment Embroidery Factory. He admits: “I didn’t know the importance of fire drills and steam boiler inspections until Better Work Lesotho visited. I have up to 300 workers. I want to expand safety provisions for my labourers. Even my technicians from Taiwan must be trained on ethics and employee safety.” But while factory owners accept the importance of adhering to safety standards in principle, they are very clear about their priorities. “Profits are uppermost in our minds. Nothing else,” says Zing Tor Weibo a factory exports manager from China. And with AGOA expiring later this year, these profits could be in serious jeopardy. Experts are worried that Lesotho will find it difficult to compete on the global market without the act, and like other AGOA beneficiaries, Lesotho is actively lobbying the US to extend the agreement by another 15 years. But AGOA is not a magic pill. Concerns have also been expressed that the trade generated by AGOA has been more beneficial to foreigners than it has been to locals. All of the Lesotho’s garment factories are owned by Chinese or Taiwanese migrants, leaving commentators to wonder how much genuine economic transformation these investments really bring to the country. “It’s a fragile success,” says Tshabalala. “If there is an economic downturn in Lesotho like what we saw in Greece, these factory owners could easily withdraw their money and jump ship back to their home countries.” But ultimately, the economic boost delivered by AGOA to Lesotho’s economy has been crucial, he says. Without it, the garment industry in this small African nation will struggle to survive. “Millions of dollars will be added as duty on shoes and textiles coming from Lesotho, making them expensive, if not unsellable. If AGOA is not renewed in September, jobs in Lesotho may crumble.”
Aluminum inhibits neurofilament assembly, cytoskeletal incorporation, and axonal transport. Dynamic nature of aluminum-induced perikaryal neurofilament accumulations as revealed by subunit turnover. The mechanism by which aluminum induces formation of perikaryal neurofilament (NF) inclusions remains unclear. Aluminum treatment inhibits: 1. The incorporation of newly synthesized NF subunits into Triton-insoluble cytoskeleton of axonal neurites; 2. Their degradation and dephosphorylation; 3. Their translocation into axonal neurites. It also fosters the accumulation of phosphorylated NFs within perikarya. In the present study, we addressed the relationship among these effects. Aluminum reduced the assembly of newly synthesized NF subunits into NFs. During examination of those subunits that did assemble in the presence of aluminum, it was revealed that aluminum also interfered with transport of newly assembled NFs into axonal neurites. Similarly, a delay in axonal transport of microinjected biotinylated NF-H was observed in aluminum-treated cells. Aluminum also inhibited the incorporation of newly synthesized and microinjected subunits into the Triton-insoluble cytoskeleton within both perikarya and neurites. Once incorporated into Triton-insoluble cytoskeletons, however, biotinylated subunits were retained within perikarya of aluminum-treated cells to a greater extent than within untreated cells. Notably, these subunits were depleted in the presence and absence of aluminum within 48 h, despite the persistence of the aluminum-induced perikaryal accumulation itself, suggesting that individual NF subunits undergo turnover even within aluminum-induced perikaryal accumulations. These findings demonstrate that aluminum interferes with multiple aspects of neurofilament dynamics and furthermore leaves open the possibility that aluminum-induced perikaryal NF whorls may not represent permanent structures, but rather may require continued recruitment of cytoskeletal constituents.
Oxygen transport and consumption during experimental cardiopulmonary bypass using oxyfluor. To evaluate a perfluorocarbon based oxygen carrier (Oxyfluor), a porcine model of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was implemented. Swine (30 kg) were subjected to 2 h of normothermic CPB using Oxyfluor (OF group, n = 8) or Ringer's lactate (RL group, n = 13) as the prime. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was kept at 50 mm Hg, flow rate at 80 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1), and PaCO2 at 35 mm Hg. Hemodynamic, hematologic, fluid balance, and blood gasimetry variables were measured. Total body oxygen delivery (DO2), consumption (VO2), and the fractional contribution to delivery (FCD) and to consumption (FCC) of the red blood cells (RBC), PFC, and plasma phases were calculated. Mixed venous PO2 (PvO2) was significantly higher at 30 min and 1 h on CPB in the OF group than in the RL group. FCCRBC was significantly lower at 30 min, 1 h, and 90 min on CPB in the OF group than in the RL group. PvjO2, Ca-vO2, Ca-vj O2, and VO2 were slightly higher in the OF group than in the RL group. Tissue fluid accumulation was not alleviated with Oxyfluor, and tissue and brain acidosis were significantly increased in the OF group. This study presented evidence that Oxyfluor improved tissue oxygenation and total body oxygen consumption during experimental CPB. In addition, Oxyfluor reduced FCCRBC, increasing oxygen transport reserve of the RBC phase, which can be useful to reduce hypoxic events during CPB. Further research should be conducted to optimize PFC-OCs for use in CPB and to reduce secondary effects.
Pela primeira vez, o Google revelou quanto o YouTube arrecada com propagandas dentro da plataforma de vídeos: US$ 15,1 bilhões apenas em 2019. A plataforma é vista há muito tempo como uma das joias do Google, com uma enorme participação no mercado de streaming de vídeo apoiado principalmente por anúncios. A companhia, que foi comprada pelo Google em 2006 por US$ 1,65 bilhão, vem crescendo de forma impressionante nos últimos anos. Segundo a CEO da Alphabet Inc., Ruth Porat, o YouTube conseguiu US$ 8,15 bilhões em 2017 com comerciais. No ano seguinte, US$ 11,5 bilhões. Ou seja, em apenas dois anos, a plataforma conseguiu quase dobrar a arrecadação com publicidade, o que é possível ter uma ideia do quão importante é ter uma imagem no YouTube. A Netflix, por comparação, teve receita de US$ 20,1 bilhões no ano fiscal de 2019, quase inteiramente de assinaturas.
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However, if you add GPL Version 2 code * and therefore, elected the GPL Version 2 license, then the option applies * only if the new code is made subject to such option by the copyright * holder. / // Portions Copyright [2018] Payara Foundation and/or affiliates package com.sun.enterprise.config.serverbeans; import com.sun.enterprise.config.serverbeans.customvalidators.; import org.glassfish.api.admin.RestRedirect; import org.glassfish.api.admin.RestRedirects; import org.glassfish.api.admin.config.PropertiesDesc; import org.glassfish.api.admin.config.PropertyDesc; import org.jvnet.hk2.config.; import org.jvnet.hk2.config.types.Property; import org.jvnet.hk2.config.types.PropertyBag; import static org.glassfish.config.support.Constants.NAME_REGEX; import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull; import javax.validation.constraints.Pattern; import java.beans.PropertyVetoException; import java.util.List; @Configured @FileRealmPropertyCheck @LDAPRealmPropertyCheck @JDBCRealmPropertyCheck @SolarisRealmPropertyCheck @RestRedirects({ @RestRedirect(opType = RestRedirect.OpType.POST, commandName = "create-auth-realm"), @RestRedirect(opType = RestRedirect.OpType.DELETE, commandName = "delete-auth-realm") }) /* * The auth-realm element defines and configures one authentication realm. * There must be at least one realm available for a server instance; * any number can be configured, as desired. * Authentication realms need provider-specific parameters which vary depending * on what a particular implementation needs; these are defined as properties * since they vary by provider and cannot be predicted for any custom or add-on * providers. * For the default file provider, the param used is: file / public interface AuthRealm extends ConfigBeanProxy, PropertyBag { /* * Gets the value of the name property. * Defines the name of this realm * @return possible object is * {@link String } / @Attribute(key=true) @NotNull @Pattern(regexp=NAME_REGEX) String getName(); /* * Sets the value of the name property. * * @param value allowed object is {@link String } * @throws java.beans.PropertyVetoException / void setName(String value) throws PropertyVetoException; /* * Gets the value of the classname property. * Defines the java class which implements this realm * @return possible object is * {@link String } / @Attribute @NotNull @JavaClassName String getClassname(); /* * Sets the value of the classname property. * * @param value allowed object is {@link String } * @throws PropertyVetoException / void setClassname(String value) throws PropertyVetoException; @DuckTyped String getGroupMapping(); class Duck { public static String getGroupMapping(AuthRealm me) { Property prop = me.getProperty("group-mapping"); //have to hard-code this, unfortunately :( if (prop != null) return prop.getValue(); return null; } } /* Properties. */ @PropertiesDesc( props={ @PropertyDesc(name="jaas-context", description="jaas-contextfile,jdbcSpecifies the JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) context"), @PropertyDesc(name="file", defaultValue="${com.sun.aas.instanceRoot}/config/keyfile", description="file realm. Specifies the file that stores user names, passwords, and group names."), @PropertyDesc(name="assign-groups", description="file, jdbc realms. Comma-separated list of group names."), @PropertyDesc(name="datasource-jndi", description="Specifies name of the jdbc-resource for the database"), @PropertyDesc(name="user-table", description="Specifies the name of the user table in the database"), @PropertyDesc(name="user-name-column", description="Specifies the name of the user name column in the database user table"), @PropertyDesc(name="password-column", description="Specifies the name of the password column in the database user table"), @PropertyDesc(name="group-table", description="Specifies the name of the group table in the database"), @PropertyDesc(name="group-name-column", description="Specifies the name of the group name column in the database user table"), @PropertyDesc(name="db-user", description="The database user name in the realm instead of that in the jdbc-connection-pool. " + "Prevents other applications from looking up the database, getting a connection, and browsing the user table"), @PropertyDesc(name="db-password", description="The database password in the realm instead of that in the jdbc-connection-pool. " + "Prevents other applications from looking up the database, getting a connection, and browsing the user table"), @PropertyDesc(name="digest-algorithm", defaultValue="MD5", values={"MD5", "none", "SHA"}, description="Any algorithm supported in the JDK"), @PropertyDesc(name="encoding", values={"Hex", "Base64"}, description="Specifies the encoding. If digest-algorithm is specified, the default is Hex, otherwise no encoding is specified"), @PropertyDesc(name="charset", description="Specifies the charset for the digest algorithm") } ) @Element @Override List<Property> getProperty(); }
When the apocalypse strikes, you probably won't have access to the Internet. That means no… Read more Read more If you can hang out in a self-sufficient rural community or get yourself adopted into a tribe of uncontacted people, then you can probably pull through several flavors of apocalyptic disaster. But here are a few specific locations that might improve your odds of survival, if you can get there in time: Utah: In the event of a run-of-the-mill infrastructural collapse, it wouldn't be a bad idea idea to hightail it to Utah and make friends with some stockpiling Mormons. The Church of Latter-Day Saints strongly recommends that its members keep at least a year's supply of food on hand at all times, as well as maintain some kind of basic food garden. It helps ensure that a family can remain self-sufficient if they fall on hard times, but all those preparations will also come in handy if the world goes to pot. Just remember to be polite and quit with the swearing. Pyongyang North Korea: It should be no surprise that a country that thrives on paranoia has made elaborate preparations in case of nuclear war. The Pyongyang metro tunnels, much like Moscow's, can supposedly double as a nuclear bunker, and residents head underground during regular air-raid drills. But that isn't the area's only nuclear shelter. According Hwang Jang-yop, a high-ranking North Korean defector, a separate network of underground railway tunnels connects the president's residence to a private bunker for then-president Kim Jong-Il, his family, and his top officials (and, perhaps, even to South Korea). Plus, Hwang has said that there are additional facilities and tunnels waiting beneath the streets of Pyongyang. The big question, though, is whether the government has stocked an adequate food and water supply. Pitcairn Islands: Anyone who's ever stared in frustration at Madagascar at the end of a game of Pandemic II knows that islands are a great escape from pathogen-born disasters. And the Pitcairn Islands, which sit out in the South Pacific with no airports or seaports, are remote enough to survive just about any apocalypse that doesn't change the climate. Plus, Pitcairn comes with the added bonus of fertile lands. Bananas, papayas, breadfruit, coconuts, citrus, taro, beans, and sweet potatoes are all plentiful, and edible fish and spiny lobsters abound. Just makes sure you get along with your neighbors; Pitcairn's population hovers around just 50 people. If you're looking for something even more remote with a slightly greater population, you might opt for Tristan da Cunha, which sits in the South Atlantic and counted a whopping 264 residents in its 2010 census. Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado: There are plenty of options for nuclear bunkers around the world: Germany's swanky doomsday palace, the decommissioned Congressional shelter beneath the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, even bomb-proof homes available on the real estate market. But the advantage of buying an active government bunker is that it comes pre-stocked, and all its parts kept in working order. The Cheyenne Mountain facility outside Colorado Springs is no longer home to NORAD, it's still kept on "warm standby" as a backup. Built into the mountain, the facility was built to withstand a multimegaton blast from 1.5 nautical miles away, has six diesel generators, its own natural water supply, and an air filtration system designed to filter out chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents. That's why it was the perfect setting for the post-apocalyptic TV show Jeremiah. But now you'll have to play out your WarGames fantasies at NORAD's main home at the Peterson Air Force Base. No word on whether they moved the Stargate. Here's where the West German political elite was planning to spend nuclear winter, drinking… Read more Read more London, England: Of course, it's even better if you don't have to drive to your shock-proof digs. If you find yourself in London when disaster strikes (and London isn't already a pile of ash), get thee down to Whitehall and find the entrance to Pindar, the military facility beneath the Ministry of Defence. Little is known about the bunker, which was constructed in the 1990s and is now used as a communications center and for war games. However, you can probably take a photographic tour in David Moore's The Last Things photo series, which likely documents Pindar's interior. Mount Yamantau, Mezhgorye, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia: While some countries stopped building nuclear shelters at the close of the Cold War, Russia was still putting the finishing touches on at least one of theirs. Most of the Soviet Union's super-secretive closed cities were opened up after the republic's collapse, but a few dozen remain in Russia and Kazakhstan, including Mezhgorye, which services the Mount Yamantau project in the Urals. In the late 1990s, tens of thousands of workers were sent to the area to work on Mount Yamantau, and foreigners were not allowed near the site, prompting fears that the facility housed a missile silo or a nuclear weapons production plant. But US Strategic Air Command has told members of the press that it is actually the wartime relocation facility for Russia's top political leadership. In 2000, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett claimed that the facility was the largest nuclear-secure project in the world, strong enough to resist half a dozen direct nuclear hits. It's also been claimed that it can house 60,000 people, with enough food and water on hand to keep its population alive for months. But if the reports are to be believed, Yamantau does have one small flaw: the mountain's quartz hampers radio transmissions, so the communications systems are outside the facility and could be damaged in an attack. Still, the important thing is, you'll be alive and well fed. Svalbard, Norway: If the apocalypse should wipe out most of the plant life on Earth, you'll want to be hanging out somewhere near the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago. After all, the seed bunker was designed to protect plant life in the event of a global catastrophe. You'll probably want to start with the plants that are native to Svalbard itself so that you (and the local wildlife) will have something to eat in the short-term. Some people may be put off by Svalbard's northern climate, but the islands are considerably warmer than other regions at the same latitude, thanks to the North Atlantic Current. Just be sure to pack your snowshoes; there are no roads connecting Svalbard's settlements. Western Australia: There's a reason Mad Max is set in Australia. Perth is one of the most remote cities in the world (some measures put it behind Honolulu and Auckland), and although it was first colonized by British settlers in 1829, it wasn't connected to the rest of Australia by train until 1917. And Western Australia's thriving economy is largely thanks to its rich resources. The region produces nearly half of Australia's live cattle exports, and thanks to the variety of climates and wide open spaces, it has a productive and diverse agricultural industry. It also exports large quantities of lamb, wool, lobsters, prawns, and pearls (and hence has oysters). On top of that, Western Australia features coal mines, crude oil, and extensive natural gas reserves. So maybe Mel Gibson really could have kept driving his Holden Monaro in the Australian post-apocalypse. Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland: Few cultures in the world revolve around hunting as their primary means of subsistence, but it's the occupation for most of the roughly 500 residents of the isolated Ittoqqortoormiit settlement. The area boasts a variety of fauna, and hunters bring home seals, walruses, narwhales, polar bears, and musk oxen for their fur, hides, and meat. And Ittoqqortoormiit isn't dependent on fossil fuels to catch its food. Dog sledding is still considered the best way to get across the snowy tundra. Memorize that spelling, in case there's a quiz before they let you into their hunting territory. Bugarach, France: What recommends this sleepy mountain town with a population of 200 for post-apocalyptic survival? To be honest, the residents aren't even sure. Bugarach sits at the base of Pic de Bugarach, which is often called the "upside-down mountain." According to geologists, the mountain exploded after its formation, and the top landed upside-down. Its unusual shape has inspired Jules Verne and Steven Spielberg, and attracted hippies and New Agers who believed it emitted special magnetic waves. More recently, rumors have started circulating on doomsday 2012 forums that the mountain is sacred and will be protected in the coming apocalypse. Some believe that there are aliens living under the mountain who rescue anyone living nearby on December 21st, 2012. We know that the 2012 doomsday is a myth, but if the cataclysm should hit on that date, the best case scenario is that well prepared survivalists will head for Bugarach. The worst case is that you'll witness a mass suicide commanded by the ancient aliens.
The Green Bay Packers overcame a 10-point fourth quarter from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scoring the game's final nine points in an overtime victory over the Bucs, 26-20. Rookie running back tandem of Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones shined for the Packers as QB Brett Hundley only completed 13 passes for 84 yards in the game. Williams ran the ball 21 times for 113 yards while Jones received his first carry on the game's last play, a 20-yard touchdown run to seal the victory. Bucs QB Jameis Winston's return to the lineup was spoiled, but he still carried the team when it mattered most, albeit some mistakes along the way. He completed 21-of-32 passes for 270 yards and two scores while running back Peyton Barber, who was filling in for the injured Doug Martin, registered 102 yards on 23 carries himself. With that, we give you our PFF-exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team. Top 5 Grades: DI Dean Lowry, 85.2 overall grade LB Jake Ryan, 84.8 overall grade CB Josh Hawkins, 84.7 overall grade Edge Nick Perry, 83.9 overall grade G Lane Taylor, 83.1 overall grade Performances of Note: RB Jamaal Williams, 81.3 overall grade Williams forced three missed tackles rushing and averaged 3.10 yards after contact per attempt, while he also had a “breakaway” run over 15 yards, and he finished with 113 yards on 21 carries. He was fun to watch as he ran behind Green Bay's mostly-zone blocking rushing attack mixed in with some downhill power runs that fit his style QB Brett Hundley, 63.7 overall grade Hundley finished 13-of-22 with two throwaways and two interceptions, finishing with just 84 yards passing. However, Hundly made plays with his legs as he kept a couple drives alive with his mobility. Green Bay's offensive script was relatively conservative, relying on the ground game and quick screens in the flat. DI Dean Lowry, 85.2 overall grade Lowry's biggest play came as he had the wherewithal to quickly catch a Jameis Winston fumble, and return it for a touchdown. He also had a sack, two pressures, and a run stop that contributed to probably the best game of his career. LB Jake Ryan, 84.8 overall grade Ryan played really well against the pass. He was targeted twice in the game, and both times managed to beat the screen blocker to make a quick tackle as both passes went for a combined two yards. He added two pressures as a pass-rusher, and three stops in run defense, for five defensive stops in the game overall. Top 5 Grades: S Justin Evans, 83.9 overall grade CB Ryan Smith, 82.8 overall grade HB Peyton Barber, 82.1 overall grade TE Cameron Brate, 81.1 overall grade LB Lavonte David, 77.5 overall grade Performances of Note: RB Peyton Barber, 82.1 overall grade Barber helped churn out long drives for Tampa's offense as he topped 100 rushing yards in Doug Martin's absence. Barber averaged three yards after contact per carry, with two-thirds of his rushing yards coming after the first hit. He also added another 41 yards on four catches through the air. TE Cameron Brate, 81.1 overall grade After a hot start to the year, Brate had been pretty quiet in the passing game. While he only had two catches in the game, it was his first multiple-catch game since Week 8, and both went for touchdowns for his first multi-TD game of the season. S Justin Evans, 83.9 overall grade Safety Justin Evans chipped in two stops in run defense, while yielding just one reception on two targets for 0 yards. Evans nearly had another stop on the last play of the game but slightly over pursued Packers running back Aaron Jones cutback on a designed run to the right that Jones brought back all the way to the left for the game-winning score. CB Ryan Smith, 82.8 overall grade Bucs cornerback Ryan Smith was solid on the day, yielding just one reception on three targets thrown into his coverage for all of five yards. Smith struggled stuffing the run at times but that was partly schematic as he was left to fill the void on runs that came his way while also having to respect the pass as well. All-in-all, Smith was solid in pass defense for the stingy Bucs defense today. PFF Game Ball: Dean Lowry, DI *Grades are subject to change upon review
Q: Construction of cut-off function I want to know the example of cut-off function. $\phi \in C^2 ([0,\infty))$ satisfies the followings : (1) $\phi(x) =1$ on $[0,r]$ (2) $\phi(x) =0$ on $ x > 2r$ (3) $- C r^{-1} \phi^{1/2}(x) \leq \phi ' (x) \leq 0$ on $r \leq x \leq 2r $ (4) $\| \phi '' (x) \| \leq C r^{-2}$ on $r \leq x \leq 2r$ Is there an explicit example about cut-off function ? Thank you in advance. A: Let $$f(x)=\begin{cases}\exp(-x^{-1})&x>0\\0&x\le 0\end{cases}$$ Then $f'(x)=x^{-2} f(x)$, $f''(x)=(-2x^{-3} + x^{-4}) f(x)$. Note that $f$ and all its derivatives are continuous also at $x=0$ because the exponential dominates the powers of $x$. Also note that $f$ is strictly increasing from 0 to 1 on $[0,1]$. Define $$\psi(x)=\frac{f(x)}{f(x)+f(1-x)}.$$ Note that $x>0$ or $1-x>0$, hene the denominator is positive $\psi(x)+\psi(1-x)=1$. $0\le \psi(x)\le 1$ If $x\le0$ then $\psi(x)=0$ and if $x\ge1$ then $\psi(x)=1$ $\phi$, $\phi'$, $\phi''$ are continuous. Since $\phi$ is constant on $(-\infty,0]\cup[1,\infty)$, they are also bounded. For $0<x<1$, we calculate $\psi'(x)=\frac{f'(x)(f(x)+f(1-x))- f(x)(f'(x)-f'(1-x))}{(f(x)+f(1-x))^2}=\frac{f'(x)f(1-x)- f(x)f'(1-x)}{(f(x)+f(1-x))^2}$. The numerator is $f'(x)f(1-x)- f(x)f'(1-x)=(x^{-2}+(1-x)^{-2})f(x)f(1-x)$. This is strictly positive, hence $\psi$ is strictly increasing on $[0,1]$. Finally for $x\ge0$ let $$\phi(x)=\psi^2\left(2-\frac xr\right).$$ Clearly, $\phi$ is continuous and conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied. For $r<x<2r$, we have $$\tag{i}\phi'(x)=-\frac1r\psi\left(1-\frac xr\right)\psi'\left(1-\frac xr\right).$$ Since $\psi'$ is bounded, we see that $\phi'(x)\ge -\frac1rC\sqrt{\phi\left(1-\frac xr\right)}$ for some constant $C$ (independent of $r$). And of course, the factors $\psi$ and $\psi'$ in $(i)$ are nonnegative, hence $\phi'(x)\le 0$. Moreover, $$\phi''(x) = \frac1{r^2} \psi'\left(1-\frac xr\right)^2+\frac1{r^2}\psi\left(1-\frac xr\right)\psi''\left(1-\frac xr\right)$$ and since $\phi$, $\phi'$, $\phi''$ are bounded, we have $\|\psi''(x)\|\le Cr^{-2}$ for some constant independent of $r$. Remark: Our $\phi$ is not only $\in C^2$, but in fact in $C^\infty$ (but not in $C^\omega$)
866 N.E.2d 350 (2007) James C. ABSHER, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. No. 22A01-0610-CR-483. Court of Appeals of Indiana. May 17, 2007. 352 J. Patrick Biggs, Chief Public Defender, New Albany, IN, Attorney for Appellant. Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, J.T. Whitehead, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee. OPINION FRIEDLANDER, Judge. James C. Absher appeals his convictions for three counts of Child Molesting,[1] two as class A felonies and one as a class C felony, arguing that the trial court erroneously allowed the State to amend its charging information after the omnibus date. We affirm. The facts most favorable to the verdict indicate that Absher was charged on May 28, 2004, with one count of child molesting as a class A felony. At the initial hearing, the trial court set the omnibus date for July 27, 2004. Trial was thereafter scheduled for August 9, 2004, but was rescheduled for June 12, 2006, following numerous continuances. On June 9, 2006, the State filed a motion to amend the charging information to add two additional counts of child molesting, one as a class A felony and one as a class C felony. Absher did not object to the State's motion to amend. On the same date, the State made a plea offer to Absher. On June 12, 2006, the day of trial, Absher moved to continue the trial. A hearing on Absher's motion, as well as a plea agreement hearing, was set for that same day. The parties subsequently agreed to continue the plea agreement hearing until the next day. On June 13, 2006, Absher refused the State's plea offer and the trial court granted the State's motion to amend. The trial court also granted Absher's request for a continuance in order to prepare his defense in light of the new charges against him. Trial was eventually commenced 353 on August 15, 2006. On August 18, 2006, the jury convicted Absher on all three counts of the amended information. This appeal ensued. Absher argues on appeal that the trial court erred in permitting the State to amend its charging information by adding two additional counts after the expiration of the time limit set forth in I.C. § 35-34-1-5 (West, PREMISE through 2006 Second Regular Session). We agree. Our Supreme Court recently clarified that a charging information may be amended at various stages of a prosecution, depending on whether the amendment is to the form or to the substance of the original information. Fajardo v. State, 859 N.E.2d 1201 (Ind.2007). Such amendments are governed by I.C. § 35-34-1-5. Subsection (a) of this statute permits an amendment at any time "because of any material defect," and lists nine examples. Similarly, I.C. § 35-34-1-5(c) permits "at any time before, during or after the trial, . . . an amendment to the indictment or information in respect to any defect, imperfection, or omission in form which does not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant." Id. In contrast, I.C. § 35-34-1-5(b) expressly limits the time for certain other amendments as follows: (b) The indictment or information may be amended in matters of substance or form, and the names of material witnesses may be added, by the prosecuting attorney, upon giving written notice to the defendant, at any time up to: (1) thirty (30) days if the defendant is charged with a felony; or (2) fifteen (15) days if the defendant is charged only with one (1) or more misdemeanors; before the omnibus date. (Emphasis supplied.) As our Supreme Court explained in Fajardo: This statutory language thus conditions the permissibility for amending a charging information upon whether the amendment falls into one of three classifications: (1) amendments correcting an immaterial defect, which may be made at any time, and in the case of an unenumerated immaterial defect, only if it does not prejudice the defendant's substantial rights; (2) amendments to matters of form, for which the statute is inconsistent, subsection (b) permitting them only prior to a prescribed period before the omnibus date, and subsection (c) permitting them at any time but requiring that they do not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant; and (3) amendments to matters of substance, which are permitted only if made more than thirty days before the omnibus date for felonies, and more than fifteen days in advance for misdemeanors. 859 N.E.2d at 1204-05 (emphasis in original). Thus, the first step in evaluating the permissibility of amending an indictment or information is to determine whether the amendment is addressed to a matter of substance, or one of form or immaterial defect. Fajardo v. State, 859 N.E.2d 1201. An amendment is one of form and not substance "if a defense under the original information would be equally available after the amendment and the accused's evidence would apply equally to the information in either form." Id. at 1205. An amendment is of substance only if it is essential to making a valid charge. Fajardo v. State, 859 N.E.2d 1201. The original charging information alleged Absher committed class A child molesting by performing sexual intercourse upon his five-year-old daughter, J.L. The amended information added one count of class A child molesting alleging Absher performed sexual deviate conduct on J.L. by placing his mouth on the sex organ of J.L., and 354 one count of class C felony child molesting by alleging Absher fondled or touched J.L. with the intent to arouse or satisfy his sexual desires. Applying the rule for distinguishing between amendments to matters of form and those of substance, we conclude that the addition of counts two and three, charging Absher with two new and separate offenses, constituted an amendment to substance. Absher's evidence addressed to disputing the occurrence of the original charge would not be equally applicable to dispute the specific conduct alleged in the separate additional charges sought to be added by the amendment. Additionally, because the amendment charged the commission of two additional separate crimes, the amendment was "unquestionably essential to making a valid charge of the crime, and thus it was not disqualified from being considered an amendment to a matter of substance." Id. at 1208. Because the challenged amendment in the present case sought to modify the original charging information as to matters of substance, it was only permissible up to thirty days before the omnibus date, which was July 24, 2004. See I.C. § 35-34-1-5(b)(1). The State's motion to amend the charging information, however, was not sought until June 9, 2006, almost two years after the omnibus date, and thus failed to comply with the statute. Consequently, the trial court should have denied the State's motion to amend. See Fajardo v. State, 859 N.E.2d 1201. The State asserts that because Absher failed to object to its motion to amend the charging information, he has failed to preserve this issue for appeal. Absher concedes that he did not contemporaneously object to the State's motion, and that such failure to object at trial customarily means that a party has not preserved any claim for appeal. He counters, however, that the fundamental error exception to this rule, which permits reversal when there has been a blatant violation of basic principles that denies a defendant fundamental due process, is applicable here. In Fajardo, our Supreme Court did not address the issues of waiver and fundamental error as they pertain to I.C. § 35-34-1-5, as the defendant there objected to the amendment, and a hearing was conducted thereon, thereby preserving the issue for appeal. See Fajardo, 859 N.E.2d 1201. In the case at bar, however, the State filed a written motion to amend on June 9, 2006, based on newly discovered evidence obtained during a deposition of J.L. On June 12, 2006, Absher requested and received a continuance to prepare his defense in light of the new charges contained in the amended information, but did not object to the State's motion itself.[2] Nor did Absher object to the State's motion to amend either in the subsequent hearing held on said motion on June 13, 2006, or at trial, which eventually commenced on August 15, 2006. Because Fajardo does not address the issue of whether failure to object to a substantive amendment made to the charging information after the omnibus date results in waiver, or whether such an amendment, ipso facto, constitutes fundamental error, we must look to other statutory and decisional law for guidance. First, we observe that "the purpose of the contemporaneous objection rule is to promote [a] fair trial by precluding a party 355 from sitting idly by and appearing to assent to an offer of evidence or ruling by the court only to cry foul when the outcome goes against him." Purifoy v. State, 821 N.E.2d 409, 412 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. Thus, failure to object at trial constitutes waiver of review unless an error is so fundamental that it denied the accused a fair trial. Mitchell v. State, 455 N.E.2d 1131 (Ind.1983). Our Supreme Court has recently reiterated, however, that the doctrine of fundamental error is only available in egregious circumstances. Brown v. State, 799 N.E.2d 1064 (Ind.2003). The mere fact that error occurred and that it was prejudicial will not satisfy the fundamental error rule. Purifoy v. State, 821 N.E.2d 409. Likewise, it is not enough, in order to invoke this doctrine, to urge that a constitutional right is implicated. Mitchell v. State, 455 N.E.2d 1131. To qualify as fundamental error, "an error must be so prejudicial to the rights of the defendant as to make a fair trial impossible" and must "constitute a blatant violation of basic principles, the harm or potential for harm must be substantial, and the resulting error must deny the defendant fundamental due process." Benson v. State, 762 N.E.2d 748, 755 (Ind.2002) (internal quotations and citations omitted). Absher's sole argument that he is entitled to relief based on fundamental error is as follows: It would be difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of basic principles than what occurred in this cause. The statute barring the counts that were added to the information could not be more clear, yet, because counsel failed to object to the motion to amend the information, [Absher] was sentenced to 50 years incarceration on the [c]lass A felony conviction and 8 years (although concurrent with the sentence for the two [c]lass A felonies) on the [c]lass C felony. This is fundamental error in that it deprives [Absher] of the right to effective assistance of counsel and the right to a fair trial, which are guaranteed by the United States and Indiana Constitutions. Appellant's Brief at 14. Absher makes this assertion of fundamental error, however, without providing any supporting argument or citation to authority. Simply asserting the legal conclusions that his trial was unfair and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, without any cogent argument or citation to authority, is not enough to prove fundamental error. See Canaan v. State, 683 N.E.2d 227, 232 (Ind.1997) (concluding that defendant waived appellate review of his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel where defendant made only a "conclusory statement" as to the effect of trial counsel's failure to object without providing supporting argument or authority), cert. denied; see also Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a) & (b) (providing that appellant's contentions regarding the issues presented on appeal must be supported by cogent reasoning and by citations to authorities and statutes). Absher has also failed to provide this Court with any evidence of prejudice suffered as a result of the State's tardy amendment, other than the fact he was convicted. The purpose of a charging information is to "advise the accused of the particular offense charged so that he can prepare a defense, and so that he can be protected from being twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense." Truax v. State, 856 N.E.2d 116, 123 (Ind.Ct.App. 2006). As stated earlier, to constitute fundamental error, the charging information must have so prejudiced Absher's rights that a fair trial was impossible. Id. *356 Absher does not assert that the charging information prevented him from knowing the nature of the charges against him, nor does he demonstrate how the charging information so prejudiced his rights that a fair trial was impossible. To the contrary, the record indicates Absher's clear awareness of the additional charges, thus negating any argument of unfair surprise or lack of notice. In fact, Absher asked for, and was granted, a continuance in order to prepare his defense in light of the new charges, with the trial ultimately commencing approximately two months after the information was amended, on August 15, 2006. This continuance provided Absher with sufficient time to prepare his defense. See Watson v. State, 776 N.E.2d 914 (Ind.Ct.App.2002) (concluding defendant had sufficient time to prepare defense for new habitual offender charge added almost two months before trial). Lastly, we note that Absher makes no assertion that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. In failing to provide even a single cogent argument or citation to authority supporting his ultimate conclusions that his trial was unfair and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, Absher's assertions on appeal must fail. See Haymaker v. State, 667 N.E.2d 1113 (Ind.1996) (finding no error occurred where defendant did not provide the court with any evidence that he was prejudiced by the late timing of the habitual offender amendment). As stated earlier, the fundamental error doctrine serves only in exceptional circumstances, and it is not enough, in order to invoke this doctrine, to simply urge that a constitutional right is implicated. Mitchell v. State, 455 N.E.2d 1131. Nor is the doctrine of fundamental error designed to be used as a safe harbor for a defendant who fails to raise a timely objection at trial. Sims v. State, 771 N.E.2d 734 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. Based on the foregoing, we conclude that while the trial court's decision to allow the State to amend its charging information was in contravention of I.C. § 35-34-1-5(b), Absher failed to preserve this issue for appeal. Additionally, in failing to provide a single cogent argument with citation to authority supporting his legal conclusions that his trial was fundamentally unfair and that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Absher also failed to successfully invoke the doctrine of fundamental error. Judgment affirmed. BAKER, C.J., and CRONE, J., concur. NOTES [1] Ind.Code Ann. § 35-42-4-3 (West, PREMISE through 2006 Second Regular Session). [2] In his Reply Brief, Absher suggested, for the first time, that he objected to the State's motion to amend; however, Absher failed to provide, nor, after a careful combing of the record, were we able to find any evidence that he ever did in fact object, either verbally or in writing, to the State's motion.
Q: SDL_Quit() causes SIGBUS error The following basic SDL2 code taken from a tutorial website is causing some strange trouble : #include <SDL2/SDL.h> #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <assert.h> #define SCREENH 768 #define SCREENW 1366 SDL_Window window = NULL; SDL_Surface screenSurface = NULL; SDL_Surface windowSurface = NULL; int init_SDL() { int success = 0; if(SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO) < 0) { printf("SDL could not initialize! "); printf("SDL_Error: %s\n",SDL_GetError()); success = -1; } else { window = SDL_CreateWindow("SDL2_Tutorial02",SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED,SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED,SCREENW,SCREENH,SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN); if(window == NULL) { printf("Window could not be created! "); printf("SDL Error: %s\n",SDL_GetError()); } else { screenSurface = SDL_GetWindowSurface(window); } } return success; } int loadMedia() { int success = 0; windowSurface = SDL_LoadBMP("Images/Hallo.bmp"); if(windowSurface == NULL) { printf("Unable to load image! "); printf("SDL Error: %s\n",SDL_GetError()); success = -1; } return success; } void close() { SDL_FreeSurface(windowSurface); windowSurface = NULL; SDL_DestroyWindow(window); window = NULL; SDL_Quit(); } int main(int argc,char argv[]) { assert(init_SDL() == 0); assert(loadMedia() == 0); SDL_BlitSurface(windowSurface,NULL,screenSurface,NULL); SDL_UpdateWindowSurface(window); SDL_Delay(3000); close(); exit(EXIT_SUCCESS); } As soon as SDL_Quit(), placed in close(), is invoked I receive a memory access error. Using GDB the following is revealed: 49 SDL_Quit(); (gdb) n Program received signal SIGBUS, Bus error. 0x00007ffff68a5895 in ?? () from /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libX11.so.6 (gdb) The strange about that is when I place SDL_Quit() outside of close() like this: void close() { SDL_FreeSurface(windowSurface); windowSurface = NULL; SDL_DestroyWindow(window); window = NULL; } int main(int argc,char *argv[]) { assert(init_SDL() == 0); assert(loadMedia() == 0); SDL_BlitSurface(windowSurface,NULL,screenSurface,NULL); SDL_UpdateWindowSurface(window); SDL_Delay(3000); close(); SDL_Quit(); exit(EXIT_SUCCESS); } all things are fine. SDL_Quit() works without error. Why does it cause a SIGBUS Error when I invoke SDL_Quit() in another function ? EDIT: This code was compiled on ubuntu 14.04 with gcc and the following compile command gcc -g3 -o tutorial tutorial.c `sdl2-config --cflags --libs` A: Your function close() is in conflict with an internal SDL function with the same name causing weird behavior (actually, it is the libc standard close() syscall called by SDL). Rename your function and it should be fine.
A soccer game played between neighbors in Argentina ended in bloodshed. A player shot and killed a referee and wounded another player Sunday in the Campo de la Ribera area of Cordoboa, Argentina, according to The Mirror’s Rita Sobot. Police say referee Cesar Flores, 48, showed the assailant a red card for making a heavy tackle on an opponent. The player, who is at large, then retrieved a gun from his bag and shot Flores three times. He also wounded another player, 25-year-old Walter Zarate, before fleeing the scene. “It all happened during the match,” a police spokesman said. “We don’t know what happened with the referee but the player was angry and went to get his gun and killed him.” The shooting appears to have taken place during an amateur game that the Argentina’s Football Federation might not have organized. If so, this looks like a case of social problems in the South American nation spilling onto the field of play, with tragic consequences. Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@FOXSportsArg
List of Old Shirburnians Sherborne is a British full boarding Public School located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset. This list comprises predominantly 20th century notable Old Shirburnians organised by profession. For information on earlier Old Shirburnians: Academia Alan Turing , mathematician, instrumental figure at Bletchley Park, father of Artificial Intelligence and the first modern computer. Alfred North Whitehead , mathematician and philosopher F. Sherwood Taylor chemist, Curator of the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford and Director of the Science Museum Francis John Lys, Provost of Worcester College, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford Harold Temperley, historian and former Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge John Newsom-Davis , FRCP FRS, FMedSci, neurologist Michael McCrum , former Headmaster of Eton College, former Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University until 2004. Richard Atkinson , prehistorian and archeologist Sir Colin Lucas, former Master of Balliol College and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University until 2001. Sir Derman Christopherson FRS FREng, former Vice-Chancellor of Durham University and Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge Sir Malcolm Pasley Bt , literary scholar The Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Swynnerton, historian Entertainment & the Arts Hugh Bonneville, actor, for example Downton Abbey Christopher Bowerbank, architect and raconteur Clive Carey, baritone singer and composer Charles Collingwood, actor Charlie Cox, actor Sir Richard Eyre CBE, film and theatre director, artistic director of the National Theatre 1988–97 Sir Michael Hopkins CBE, architect Jeremy Irons, actor, for example Brideshead Revisited and The Mission Rupert Maas English painting specialist & gallery owner Chris Martin, lead singer of rock band Coldplay Ian Messiter, creator of Just a Minute John Le Mesurier, actor, for example in Dad's Army Herbert Arnould Olivier, artist Lance Percival, actor Jon Pertwee, actor Jonathan Powell, Controller of BBC One (1987–1992) Albert Reginald Powys, architect and longtime Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings James Purefoy, actor Roland Young, actor Military Admiral Sir Horace Law RN, Commander in Chief Naval Home Command 1971-2 Admiral Sir James Perowne , Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1998–2002 Brigadier Hugh Bellamy , commander of 6th Airlanding Brigade during the Rhine Crossing and Operation Varsity, the famous airborne assault. Captain Keith Muspratt , World War One flying ace Field Marshal Sir Claud Jacob , WW1 Commander Flight Lieutenant Carl Raymond Davis RAF, Battle of Britain flying ace General Sir Charles Monro Bt , Commander in Chief India 1916–1920, Governor of Gibraltar 1923–1928 General Sir Jeremy Blacker , Master-General of the Ordnance 1991–1995 General Sir John Wilsey , Commander in Chief Land Command 1995–1996 General Sir Nicholas Parker , former Commander in Chief Land Command and former Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan Lieutenant Colonel Reginald Applin , developer of machine gun tactics and Conservative MP. Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Spicer , CEO of Aegis Defence Services Lieutenant General David Leakey , retired, former Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod 2010-18 Lieutenant General Sir Martin Garrod RM, former Commandant General Royal Marines 1987–90 Lieutenant General Sir Steuart Pringle Bt, RM, former Commandant General Royal Marines until 1984 Major General Julian Thompson , Commander of Royal Marines (3 Commando Brigade) in the Falklands War Major General Patrick Cordingley , Commander Desert Rats (and overall British Commander) in the Gulf War Major General Sir Iain Mackay-Dick , former Major-General Commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District Major General Sir Roy Redgrave , former Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong Major General Rupert Jones , Deputy Commander Operation Inherent Resolve 2016-17 Intelligence Sir Christopher Curwen , British Intelligence Officer & former Head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Sir David Spedding , former Head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Diplomacy and colonial administration Sir Alan Campbell , diplomat Sir Brian Barder KCMG, former UK High Commissioner to Australia Sir Donald MacGillivray , last British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir Hugh Norman-Walker , colonial administrator Sir John Weston , former UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sir Timothy Daunt , former UK Ambassador to Turkey and current Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The Right Honourable Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe and former Governor-General of New Zealand. Clergymen The Most Reverend Edwin Curtis, former Archbishop of the Indian Ocean The Reverend Rico Tice, priest and writer The Right Reverend and Right Honourable David Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool, well-known former Bishop of Liverpool and England cricketer The Right Reverend Forbes Horan, former Bishop of Tewkesbury The Right Reverend Geoffrey Lunt, former Bishop of Ripon The Right Reverend Henry Henn, former Bishop of Burnley The Right Reverend Henry Whitehead DD, former Bishop of Madras The Right Reverend Neville Lovett CBE, DD, former Bishop of Salisbury The Right Reverend Paul Barber, former Bishop of Brixworth The Right Reverend Peter Mumford former Bishop of Truro 1981-9 The Right Reverend Piers Holt Wilson, former Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness 1943–52 The Venerable Arthur William Upcott DD, MA, eminent priest and educationalist, and Archdeacon of Hastings 1920–22. The Very Reverend Benjamin Lewers, former Provost of Derby Cathedral The Very Reverend Frank Bennett, former Dean of Chester and eminent Anglican scholar Broadcasting Tom Bradby, TV journalist and ITV News Political Editor Alistair Bunkall, TV journalist and Sky News Defence Correspondent Simon McCoy, TV journalist and BBC News news presenter Nick Thorpe, TV, radio and print journalist, and BBC News Central Europe Correspondent (1996–); formerly BBC Budapest Correspondent Politics The Right Honourable William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury KG PC, 18th Century politician The Right Honourable Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton CH PC DL, Secretary of State for the Colonies 1954-9 Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford, peer The Right Honourable Sir Christopher Chataway, long distance runner and Education Minister 1962-4. The Right Honourable Thomas Buchanan, Under-Secretary of State for India 1908-9 Robert Key. Former Member of Parliament. Stanley Johnson, politician, writer, farmer and father of Boris Johnson Peter Oborne, journalist, author and political commentator Aidan Hartley, Kenya-born journalist, author and film-maker Michael Marsham, 7th Earl of Romney (1910-2004), hereditary peer who served in the House of Lords. Writers and poets Alec Waugh, author Anthony Lane, film critic Arthur Waugh, author, critic and publisher Cecil Day-Lewis CBE, poet David Cornwell, (a.k.a. John le Carré), writer, for example of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John Cowper Powys, author, lecturer and philosopher Jon Stock, journalist and author Robert McCrum, writer and editor Tim Heald, journalist and author Warren Chetham-Strode MC, author and playwright Sport James Adams, cricketer John Bain (1854–1929), England footballer and 1877 FA Cup Finalist Peter Donald, cricketer David Fursdon, cricketer and current Lord-Lieutenant of Devon Ted Glover, cricketer Nick Greenstock, former England Rugby Union centre Will Homer, rugby union Robin Kreyer, cricketer Sir Francis Lacey, cricketer and Secretary of the MCC Jeremy Quinlan, cricketer Ollie Sale, cricketer Sir Hugh Vincent, rugby player (Wales) Other Sir Nathaniel Highmore GBE KCB, Government barrister and civil servant Sir Alastair Pilkington, director of the Bank of England Sir Thomas Villiers, businessman and politician prominent in Ceylon Sir Geoffrey Briggs, Chief Justice of Brunei and of Hong Kong, 1973-9 Lieutenant Commander Peter Twiss first person to exceed 1000 miles per hour Charles Palmer CIE, engineer and survivor of the siege of Lucknow King Mswati III, king of Swaziland. Attended Sherborne International College His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar. Attended Sherborne International College Ronald Cunningham, (a.k.a. The Great Omani), escapologist Nigel Dempster, journalist Franklin Adin Simmonds FRCS, orthopaedic surgeon John Insall, American, orthopaedic surgeon Frederick Slessor, railway engineer Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim, regent and crown prince of Pahang, Malaysia Victoria Cross holders Five Old Shirburnians have been awarded the Victoria Cross, to whom a memorial plaque was commissioned, the unveiling of which took place in the School Chapel on 19 September 2004. Rear Admiral Henry James Raby VC CB.VC won in the Crimean War, when he was a Lieutenant in the Naval Brigade. Raby was the first man to actually receive the medal, with Queen Victoria pinning it onto him in the first investiture. Brigadier General Sir Arthur George Hammond VC, KCB DSOVC won in the Second Afghan War, when he was a Captain in the Bengal Staff Corps, Indian Army Major General Charles Edward Hudson VC, CB, DSO & Bar MCVC won in the First World War, when he was a Temporary Lieutenant Colonel in the Sherwood Foresters Major Edward Bamford VC, DSO, VC won in the First World War, when he was a Captain in the Royal Marine Light Infantry Captain John Hollington Grayburn VC, VC granted posthumously and he was gazetted Captain; won in the Second World War, as a Lieutenant in the Parachute Regiment References External links Sherborne School Old Shirburnian Society website Sherborne Old Shirburnians
/* * Copyright 2006-2009, 2017, 2020 United States Government, as represented by the * Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. * All rights reserved. * * The NASA World Wind Java (WWJ) platform is 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. * * NASA World Wind Java (WWJ) also contains the following 3rd party Open Source * software: * * Jackson Parser – Licensed under Apache 2.0 * GDAL – Licensed under MIT * JOGL – Licensed under Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) * Gluegen – Licensed under Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) * * A complete listing of 3rd Party software notices and licenses included in * NASA World Wind Java (WWJ) can be found in the WorldWindJava-v2.2 3rd-party * notices and licenses PDF found in code directory. / package gov.nasa.worldwind.ogc.kml.gx; import gov.nasa.worldwind.util.xml.XMLEventParserContext; import gov.nasa.worldwind.ogc.kml.; import javax.xml.stream.events.XMLEvent; import javax.xml.stream.XMLStreamException; /** * @author tag * @version $Id: GXFlyTo.java 1171 2013-02-11 21:45:02Z dcollins $ */ public class GXFlyTo extends GXAbstractTourPrimitive { public GXFlyTo(String namespaceURI) { super(namespaceURI); } @Override protected void doAddEventContent(Object o, XMLEventParserContext ctx, XMLEvent event, Object... args) throws XMLStreamException { if (o instanceof KMLAbstractView) this.setView((KMLAbstractView) o); else super.doAddEventContent(o, ctx, event, args); } public Double getDuration() { return (Double) this.getField("duration"); } public String getFlyToMode() { return (String) this.getField("flyToMode"); } public KMLAbstractView getView() { return (KMLAbstractView) this.getField("AbstractView"); } protected void setView(KMLAbstractView o) { this.setField("AbstractView", o); } }
/** * Sinon.JS 1.1.0, 2011/05/05 * * @author Christian Johansen (christian@cjohansen.no) * * (The BSD License) * * Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Christian Johansen, christian@cjohansen.no * All rights reserved. * * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, * are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: * * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation * and/or other materials provided with the distribution. * * Neither the name of Christian Johansen nor the names of his contributors * may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software * without specific prior written permission. * * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED * WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR * SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, * OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF * THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. / "use strict"; /jslint eqeqeq: false, plusplus: false, evil: true, onevar: false, browser: true, forin: false/ /global module, require, window/ /* * Fake timer API * setTimeout * setInterval * clearTimeout * clearInterval * tick * reset * Date * * Inspired by jsUnitMockTimeOut from JsUnit * * @author Christian Johansen (christian@cjohansen.no) * @license BSD * * Copyright (c) 2010-2011 Christian Johansen / if (typeof sinon == "undefined") { var sinon = {}; } sinon.clock = (function () { var id = 0; function addTimer(args, recurring) { if (args.length === 0) { throw new Error("Function requires at least 1 parameter"); } var toId = id++; var delay = args[1] \|\| 0; if (!this.timeouts) { this.timeouts = {}; } this.timeouts[toId] = { id: toId, func: args[0], callAt: this.now + delay }; if (recurring === true) { this.timeouts[toId].interval = delay; } return toId; } function parseTime(str) { if (!str) { return 0; } var strings = str.split(":"); var l = strings.length, i = l; var ms = 0, parsed; if (l > 3 \|\| !/^(\d\d:){0,2}\d\d?$/.test(str)) { throw new Error("tick only understands numbers and 'h:m:s'"); } while (i--) { parsed = parseInt(strings[i], 10); if (parsed >= 60) { throw new Error("Invalid time " + str); } ms += parsed Math.pow(60, (l - i - 1)); } return ms * 1000; } function createObject(object) { var newObject; if (Object.create) { newObject = Object.create(object); } else { var F = function () {}; F.prototype = object; newObject = new F(); } newObject.Date.clock = newObject; return newObject; } return { now: 0, create: function create(now) { var clock = createObject(this); if (typeof now == "number") { this.now = now; } return clock; }, setTimeout: function setTimeout(callback, timeout) { return addTimer.call(this, arguments, false); }, clearTimeout: function clearTimeout(timerId) { if (!this.timeouts) { this.timeouts = []; } delete this.timeouts[timerId]; }, setInterval: function setInterval(callback, timeout) { return addTimer.call(this, arguments, true); }, clearInterval: function clearInterval(timerId) { this.clearTimeout(timerId); }, tick: function tick(ms) { ms = typeof ms == "number" ? ms : parseTime(ms); var tickFrom = this.now, tickTo = this.now + ms, previous = this.now; var timer = this.firstTimerInRange(tickFrom, tickTo); while (timer && tickFrom <= tickTo) { if (this.timeouts[timer.id]) { tickFrom = this.now = timer.callAt; this.callTimer(timer); } timer = this.firstTimerInRange(previous, tickTo); previous = tickFrom; } this.now = tickTo; }, firstTimerInRange: function (from, to) { var timer, smallest, originalTimer; for (var id in this.timeouts) { if (this.timeouts.hasOwnProperty(id)) { if (this.timeouts[id].callAt < from \|\| this.timeouts[id].callAt > to) { continue; } if (!smallest \|\| this.timeouts[id].callAt < smallest) { originalTimer = this.timeouts[id]; smallest = this.timeouts[id].callAt; timer = { func: this.timeouts[id].func, callAt: this.timeouts[id].callAt, interval: this.timeouts[id].interval, id: this.timeouts[id].id }; } } } return timer \|\| null; }, callTimer: function (timer) { try { if (typeof timer.func == "function") { timer.func.call(null); } else { eval(timer.func); } } catch (e) {} if (!this.timeouts[timer.id]) { return; } if (typeof timer.interval == "number") { this.timeouts[timer.id].callAt += timer.interval; } else { delete this.timeouts[timer.id]; } }, reset: function reset() { this.timeouts = {}; }, Date: (function () { var NativeDate = Date; function ClockDate(year, month, date, hour, minute, second, ms) { // Defensive and verbose to avoid potential harm in passing // explicit undefined when user does not pass argument switch (arguments.length) { case 0: return new NativeDate(ClockDate.clock.now); case 1: return new NativeDate(year); case 2: return new NativeDate(year, month); case 3: return new NativeDate(year, month, date); case 4: return new NativeDate(year, month, date, hour); case 5: return new NativeDate(year, month, date, hour, minute); case 6: return new NativeDate(year, month, date, hour, minute, second); default: return new NativeDate(year, month, date, hour, minute, second, ms); } } if (NativeDate.now) { ClockDate.now = function now() { return ClockDate.clock.now; }; } if (NativeDate.toSource) { ClockDate.toSource = function toSource() { return NativeDate.toSource(); }; } ClockDate.toString = function toString() { return NativeDate.toString(); }; ClockDate.prototype = NativeDate.prototype; ClockDate.parse = NativeDate.parse; ClockDate.UTC = NativeDate.UTC; return ClockDate; }()) }; }()); sinon.timers = { setTimeout: setTimeout, clearTimeout: clearTimeout, setInterval: setInterval, clearInterval: clearInterval, Date: Date }; sinon.useFakeTimers = (function (global) { var methods = ["Date", "setTimeout", "setInterval", "clearTimeout", "clearInterval"]; function restore() { var method; for (var i = 0, l = this.methods.length; i < l; i++) { method = this.methods[i]; global[method] = this["_" + method]; } } function stubGlobal(method, clock) { clock["_" + method] = global[method]; global[method] = function () { return clock[method].apply(clock, arguments); }; for (var prop in clock[method]) { if (clock[method].hasOwnProperty(prop)) { global[method][prop] = clock[method][prop]; } } global[method].clock = clock; } return function useFakeTimers(now) { var clock = sinon.clock.create(now); clock.restore = restore; clock.methods = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, typeof now == "number" ? 1 : 0); if (clock.methods.length === 0) { clock.methods = methods; } for (var i = 0, l = clock.methods.length; i < l; i++) { stubGlobal(clock.methods[i], clock); } return clock; }; }(typeof global != "undefined" ? global : this)); if (typeof module == "object" && typeof require == "function") { module.exports = sinon; }
a queer reviews webcomics Monster Pop I really care about these characters! Which is critical for a character-driven drama like this. What needs work This story conflates monsters with race, uses a stale, store-bought trans narrative for Percy, and inserts black women celebrities as props. Sometimes, as I’ve written in the past, a comic doesn’t need to have a high concept or poignant message. Sometimes it’s enough for it to just be fun! But sometimes… sometimes fun just isn’t enough. (I went pretty deep on this one, and as a result, there’s some late-story spoilers ahead.) OT3… OT3… OT3! Monster Pop is fun. It’s a slice-of-life dramedy about monster (and a few human) college kids as they navigate romance and friendship, identity and society. The main characters are lifelong besties George, an extroverted and somewhat reckless cyclops, and Franny, a cool and serious “genius witch”. Supporting cast includes quiet human trans boy Percy, shy gorgon nerd Marina, gregarious argus-eyed nerd Sasha, and uh… Ben. I’ll get to Ben. There’s some cute gayness and also lots of angsty gayness if that’s more your thing and even some angsty straightness for the real freakazoids out there. For the most part it’s a goofy and colorful coming-of-adulthood story where most of the cast just happens to have magic powers and/or the wrong number of eyes. internally screaming The problems come in when Monster Pop tries to dig deeper into the social implications of a world where humans and monsters coexist, or rather, don’t. In this setting, humans live in human cities, monsters in monster cities, and never, until recently, the twain shall meet. Unity University is the first integrated post-secondary institution in the country, and lingering anti-monster stigma serves as the focus of the first chapter. As a segregation metaphor, let me tell ya, it sucks. George and Franny don magic disguises to crash a human party, where they meet Ben, a rich asshole bigot. George likes him for some reason, and continues to wear her disguise so she can pass as human in order to date him. There’s a LOT to unpack there, but that unpacking is unfortunately left as an exercise to the reader, as the chapter wraps predictably with Ben discovering the truth and rejecting George, a fairly trite message about being true to yourself or whatever, and Franny calling Ben “racist” a bunch of times. George is white. I’m so tired y’all. When you’re describing your own worldbuilding as “hackneyed” it’s time to take a step back. The pitfalls of using fantasy species as an analogue for race have been written about for years by many better minds than I, but when it shows up in a world a-step-to-the-left of our own, it’s especially galling. Race as we know it does exist in Monster Pop, but it’s apparently not the basis for racism, which is based only on monstrosity. At best, it’s tone deaf; at worst, it’s a flimsy excuse for a white author to play house with the trappings of the American Civil Rights era. i_just_googled_what_dysphoria_is.jpg Fortunately, after the first chapter this clumsy social commentary is abandoned in favor of more typical slice-of-life fare, like George being an obnoxious but endearing shithead and Franny and Percy’s agonizingly cute mutual crush. UNfortunately this also includes the just-plain-agonizing, extremely by-the-(cis)-numbers subplot about Percy being trans and semi-stealth. We see him talking to his professors before each first-day lecture, pretending the girls’ dorm he lives in is coed, etc. but he never actually comes out to his friends except by implication in the angst-soaked scene where he and Franny finally hook up. That’s not to say it’s not “realistic” or whatever, it’s just the exact same story I’ve seen a million times before and I’m sick and tired of it. I’m guessing “Percy” is one of those ironic nicknames, short for “Personality”. Monster Pop scrapes by on the strength of (some of) its central characters and their cute relationships. It’s easy, for instance, to get caught up in George’s crush on Marina, even when she handles it like a petulant toddler. George and Franny’s enduring friendship is nice to come back to, and Sasha is just… I love Sasha. Percy, on the other hand, doesn’t really have a character beyond “quiet and studious” and “trangst”, and Ben- oh right, Ben comes back. Same, George. The most recent arcs have been a remix of the uncomfortable elements of the first chapter. Ben is reintroduced as Sasha’s friend who’s trying his best to make amends for being a shitbag in the past, which should feel like a great example of how bigots can wake up and learn to be better people, but actually rings completely hollow because all of his growth happened off-page. I prefer to see his return less as a redemption arc for him than a way of examining the protagonists’ reactions to him: George is angry but eventually decides to give him a chance; Franny is not so forgiving. No. Stop. Franny’s got her own shit going on, though, in the form of her mom’s return from a 12-year space vacation. Her mom’s a star, while her dad and three little brothers are human. I admit that my guard was up when I realized this arc was an attempt at a metaphor for multiracial experience, but even after all the chapters that came before, I wasn’t expecting a scene where her parents literally tear her in two while fighting over the best way to raise her. It’s not completely out of line with the ways multiracial people I know describe growing up, but christ is it heavy-handed. anime closeup, musical sting Of course, heavy-handedness is Monster Pop’s signature. While this is often a symptom of weak writing, I get the sense that Kern is deliberately aiming for campy melodrama, in which case she’s hit the target. But when this style gets applied to social commentary, the end result is generally either A Very Special Episode or, ironically, pat and unremarkable. The rare moments where Monster Pop tries for subtlety end up undershooting, as in Percy’s literally unspoken coming-out scene. Just some regular college students. And then there’s the celebrity cameos. A side character introduced in chapter 2 is Tiny Minaj, a Barbie-sized version of Nicki who’s friends with George and Franny. In the latest chapter, we meet Seyoncé, a witch(?) version of Bey who’s attending a college holiday party. Their inclusion is apropos of absolutely nothing except maybe the cultural moment in which these comic pages are created, so it feels a bit like a cynical cash-in on the popularity of these successful black women, reducing them to mere mascots. So the bottom line is that yes, Monster Pop is fun. But the footnote underneath that line is that the fun is often undercut by awkward writing choices, clumsy messages, and general cluelessness. These faults make it fall short of its terrific potential – a potential that has kept me reading for years, hoping. I’ll keep waiting for that payoff, but I can’t recommend you do the same. i mean, not only the fact that monsters are supposed to represent poc is done badly but i always remember the part in which the shark girl eats a human and then i wonder why the hell is kern trying to equate it to real life situations and making it look like humans treat monsters in a bad way as “racism” when she herself is putting it out there that monsters are inherently more dangerous? (and it’s shown even more now w the new franny arc) perhaps it is that kern is trying to talk about issues she simply does not understand, being both cis and white and being those issues the ones that she precisely fails the most at
Tool tracks water usage by suburbs in Cape Town Tool tracks water usage by suburbs in Cape Town An interactive data visualisation tool using the latest available water consumption data has gone live to show where water is going in the city‚ which has strict water restrictions in place. The tool was launched on Monday by Eighty20‚ a company that works with and analyses data. “Our aim for the Water Tracker is to provide a platform that educates and informs people about the current water crisis by providing access to data that has‚ to date‚ not been provided in a suburb-level view. Our hope is that the Water Tracker helps facilitate fact-based discussions and ultimately makes people more aware about the current crisis and nudges their behaviour towards greater water savings‚” the company said on Monday. The tracker uses median data of household water usage from December 2017 and compares it against the December target of 10.5Kl per household (assuming 4 people per household at 87.5l per day). The tracker will be updated as new data becomes available. “The visualisation reveals that high-income areas with larger estates‚ such as Bishopscourt‚ Clifton‚ Camps Bay and Fresnaye tended to use more water‚ and were exceeding targets‚ despite having decreased their water usage dramatically from the beginning of 2017‚” said Eighty20. “Conversely‚ lower income areas along the N1 near the airport tended to have high water usage‚ including Manenberg and Gugulethu. However as data only includes free-standing houses‚ it doesn’t correctly account usage in informal housing. This means that the formal free-standing households were exceeding their water usage targets‚ but information about informal households is inaccessible. “Suburbs that reliably used far below target are those on the Cape Peninsula‚ including Muizenberg‚ Kalk Bay‚ Fish Hoek to Simon’s Town‚ as well as Kommetjie and Scarborough. Certain suburbs near the CBD are also below target‚ including Vredehoek and Tamboerskloof. The southern suburbs along Victoria road‚ stretching from Observatory to Diep River‚ also tend to keep water usage below target at a moderate level.” Suburbs with the best reduction in water consumption for December were Tamboerskloof‚ Meadowridge and Greenville Garden City. The tool also provides up-to-date dam-level data that shows the declining trend in Cape Town’s dam capacity since 2012.
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Petrarch's The Life of Solitude The reputation of Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) or Petrarch rests on his lyric poetry in the great transition from Latin to vernacular that characterized the Italian Renaissance. So it may be surprising to discover that Petrarch also wrote De Vita Solitaria ("On the Life of Solitude" or "On the Solitary Life"). This long essay marshals forth ancient and medieval authorities recommending retirement from the world. What is noteworthy in this work is that Petrarch justifies a secular and humanist viewpoint in addressing the topic of active versus contemplative life, up to this point a theme dominated by religious authors. For all that, De Vita Solitaria had little impact on contemporaries. Petrarch composed the work in 1346 but took twenty years to deliver it to the bishop of Cavaillon to whom it was dedicated. After favorable but modest circulation, the treatise was printed a few times but not widely translated, and thereafter largely ignored. Indeed, modern readers will find Petrarch's argument unoriginal, even tedious. As his English translator says: The De Vita Solitaria is an elaborate and redundant book. Its argument winds and wanders and sometimes forgets itself altogether. ... Petrarch's purpose in the De Vita Solitaria is to celebrate the beauty of a life of leisure, retired from crowded haunts and importunate cares and devoted to the enjoyment of reading, of literary creation, peaceful brooding, and the society of a few chosen friends. There is more in this attitude of Horace and Epicurus than of the moralist or Christian mystic. Of course, it is the last point that is the reason why Petrarch's essay is important. As to the structure and content of De Vita Solitaria, Petrarch admits: I intended to write a letter and I have written a book. Moreover, I ought not to have divided it, since a book on the solitary life ought appropriately to be composed as an unbroken unit. But it occurred to me that I was writing in praise of the kind of solitude which, while it avoided crowds, was not averse to a limited companionship. Petrarch rejects the medieval attempt to balance or reconcile the active and the contemplative. He rejects the active as moralist duty, and transforms the contemplative into a Greco-Roman-styled aesthetics. Solitude, he maintains , is not for the worship of God or the elimination of distractions as it would be for a monk but for a leisured retirement of a layperson. Solitude is not so much spiritual as introspective, with a nod to the Christian ascetics but in Petrarch's case with a country house and a servant. We can see a direct line from Petrarch to Montaigne and Rousseau to Thoreau; there is no one else taking up this theme over the centuries. This is clearly indicated in the important fact that De Vita Solitaria affords Petrarch a forum for revealing his personality in a way that no one had before but the format is understood and used by his successors named above. While Petrarch had already composed similar confessional revelations through his poems, dialogues, and letters, they were not so direct as in De Vita Solitaria. Petrarch brings classic writers -- Horace, Cicero, Seneca, Epicurus -- into the context of Christian tradition and Renaissance thinking as a representative humanist. Adding to this his personality and we find a new level of individuality in literature, a new sense of personal freedom from authority, a new stage in communication of self and self-analysis. Petrarch has a keen sense of the natural world. He introduces melancholy in a form not expressed by medieval or ancient writers. He quietly champions a sense of self-realization and introspection that is psychological rather than religious or even philosophical. Thus, Petrarch's recommended solitude is a vindication of personal freedom. There are no "rules for solitaries" in Petrarch's pursuit of artistic and personal freedom because it is a freedom necessary for any sensitive person, expressed differently in each person. De Vita Solitaria is a quiet anthem to the defense of solitude and personal autonomy. CONTENTS What follows is a summary of each section of De Vita Solitaria. The work was divided into tractates and sections or chapters by an early editor, along with elaborate section titles, none of which was in the original, which was only divided into two large sections: books 1 and 2. For convenience sake, the editor's sections were retained in subsequent editions and translations. For similar convenience, they are kept here, too. BOOK 1 1. Petrarch introduces the subject of the book by indicating what is necessary to the life of solitude. Note in this first line the several options he presents. I believe that a noble spirit will never find repose save in God, in whom is our end, or in himself and his private thoughts, or in some intellect united by a close sympathy with his own. Regardless of how this repose is sought, it behooves us to withdraw as far as may be from the haunts of men and crowded cities. 2. Petrarch's first criterion is to physically dwell away from cities in a rural setting. He contrasts the busy careworn urbanite with pious and care-free retired person who delights in the simple natural wonders of each day. These sections follow the two prototypes at the various hours of the day and night to contrast their lives and interests. Petrarch labels the urban dweller the "man of action" and his counterpart the "man of leisure." 3. The busy person is no different from the imprisoned, only that the latter's chain is gold while the prisoner's is iron. Pain and unhappiness is the busy person's only reward. The exceptional and noble may find service to others their calling but what the many do in the world cannot be called service. The majority of people never achieve a "sound mind" or inner peace because what they pursue in life cannot bring them that end. Even so, solitude does not guarantee this state of mind so much as promote it. Not only a serene environment but a clarity of mind are required for solitude, which can then be promoted by the new circumstances. Here quotations from Virgil, Juvenal, Cicero, Seneca, and Paul the Apostle mingle. 4. Cicero complains that solitude is a kind of death, but Petrarch maintains it is a death to the world and its busyness. Solitude can be embraced at any age, but older age is more likely and should not be despaired of as the right time. My counsel to others to take account of their condition is precisely what I have employed in arriving at an understanding of my own. I heartily embrace and cling to solitude and leisure ... as if they were ladders to the level toward which the mind strives to ascend, and I dread crowds and busy cares as though they were bolts and bars to my freedom. Petrarch uses the advice of Cicero and Quintilian to the student who must concentrate on study in a practical solitude not always available. "In the midst of crowds, on a journey, and even at festive meetings, let thought secure privacy for itself." This chapter is a length paean to solitude, which Petrarch presents as the equivalent of Wisdom in the Old Testament wisdom books. He also uses the four levels of virtue defined by Plotinus and Macrobius to place solitude in its hierarchy. Lowest is political virtue, pertaining to people who must spend their lives seeking their own welfare as functionaries. Next step above are the purgatorial virtues embraced by those who have renounced social desires and have physically withdrawn to become "followers of philosophy." The next higher stage is that of the virtues of perfection -- Petrarch notes that he does not know of any person at this stage -- exemplifying solitude. "The fourth and highest is the place of the exemplary virtues, which are above the reach of human beings and dwell, as it is said, in the mind of God alone." The hierarchy is relevant to the subject because it is necessary to persuade the active person of the practical value of solitude as a tool on this ascent. But having attempted to reconcile the active life, Petrarch extends solitude to the traditional Christian virtues, indicating that there are enough resources in religion to not require the testimony of the ancients. Ultimately Petrarch folds the twin sources of ancient and Christian writings together as complimentary sources for the study of solitude. 5. This section considers arguments against solitude, beginning with Seneca, who argues that solitude is for the mournful, the fearful, and the lonely. Petrarch responds that solitude is the result of careful introspection. Seeking out a benign rural setting is not rude or savage. Nor does solitude oppose friendship. On this last point, Petrarch confesses: It will never be my view that solitude is disturbed by the presence of a friend, but that it is enriched. If I had the choice of doing without one or the other, I should prefer to be deprived of solitude rather than of my friend. He pleads that he wants merely to avoid the "wicked, the idle, and the ignorant." His solitude is not absolute but flexible. Petrarch's solitude is an aestheticism, not properly an eremiticism, but imminently reasonable. 6. Petrarch launches a polemic against busy city dwellers. They are boring and stupid, with "no other purpose than to serve their gullet or belly." They live in a stupor revolving around food, drink, copulation, and sleep, being of "bestial habit," vice and dissipation. This depiction is necessarily exaggerated in order to contrast it with the solitary, though these passages are rhetorical, if not petty and elitist. In his country house, far from the teeming urban masses, Petrarch may unfortunately project the image of a Pharisee as much as a solitary. BOOK 2 1-9. Petrarch now shifts from his own path to solitude to a presentation of famous predecessors who have addressed or represented solitude. In the first section he uses the familiar device of admitting that he cannot cover every possible example: "I shall not speak of .." or "I shall not dwell on .." to explain omissions. He wants to offer a different set of examples having to do more with personal disposition and strengthened character due to periods of solitude. At the same time, Petrarch wants to rehabilitate a Christian path to solitude that is attainable by the lay person -- to balance his concentration on ancient Roman writers in Book One. Still, after visiting the religious figures in sections 2-5 -- with far-fetched arguments for the solitude of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Moses, plus figures such as Pope Sylvester, Ambrose, Augustine, and Charlemagne -- Petrarch returns to a catalog of European pagans (Celtic and mythological figures like Hercules) (6), ancient Greek, Hindu, and Roman figures (7-8), and even Roman emperors (9). 10. This concluding section returns to addressing the bishop to whom the book is dedicated. It recapitulates the arguments against city life and for the fruits of a life of solitude. The section is redundant, but a more precise summary is welcome, as in these concluding passages. Whether our desire is to serve God, which is the only freedom and the only felicity [hence including the bishop's vocation as priest], or by virtuous practices to develop our mind, which is the next best application of our labor, or through reflection and writing to leave our remembrance to posterity and so arrest the flight of the days and extend the all too brief duration of our life, or whether it is our aim to achieve all these things together, let us ... make our escape at length and spend in solitude what little time remains. ... It is indeed not reasonable to induce all men to lead one kind of life, particularly the life of solitude, and so I do not speak of everybody, but for you and myself, and for those few with whose dispositions agree. ... ¶ BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES De Vita Solitaria is translated into English as "The Life of Solitude" by Francis Petrarch, translated with introduction and notes by Jacob Zeitlin. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1924; reprinted Westport, CT: Hyperion Press, 1978.
Prosthetic replacement of a long segment of vein in the treatment of a lower limb injury. A patient who sustained exceptionally severe damage to the main blood vessels and to the collateral circulation of his left lower limb is reported. The femoropopliteal vein was replaced by a Dacron prosthesis which remained patent for 6 weeks until an adequate collateral circulation was established.
Sun Safety The weather is getting warmer and many of us will spend the next few months outside, whether it is by the pool, gardening, or just enjoying the outdoors. Being outside is great, but before you head outside, be sure to read the tips below on keeping safe in the sun! Always wear sunscreen. Apply sunscreen before you leave the house. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 30 or higher (1). Reapply sunscreen. Sunscreen should be reapplied throughout the day and 30 minutes before you go outside. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends reapplying every two hours and immediately after swimming and sweating (2). Stay away from tanning beds! Many people think that using a tanning bed to get a base tan will prevent you from burning or that it is safer than the sun. This is not true as there is no such thing as a healthy tan. According to Mayo Clinic, “..any change in skin color from tanning is a sign of damage from UV radiation.” Say NO to tanning beds (3)! Don’t believe the myths! Just because it’s cloudy and overcast outside, doesn’t mean that you won’t get burnt. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, “Up to 80% of UV rays that cause sun damage can penetrate the clouds (4).” Even on a cloudy day, be sure to wear sunscreen and protective clothing. Avoid the sun as much as possible. Try to stay out of the sun between 10am and 4pm, as these times are when the sun’s rays are the strongest. If you are going to be outside during that time make sure you put on sunscreen, as well as wear UV protected sunglasses and a hat (5).
Q: python curve fitting with results summary sorry I am still fairly new to python and hoping someone can help me with a curve fitting issue... I have a MxN dataframe "data" where M is number of samples and N is number of variables (10). I have a Mx1 dependent variable "Fractions" which are a fraction between 0 and 1 that correspond to each sample. I know how to easily run a multiple linear regression between the independent variables N and and dependent variable Fractions, however, I wrapped the regression in a sigmoid regression to keep responses between 0 and 1. I was able to perform this like so... def sigmoid(x,b0,b1,b2,b3,b4,b5,b6,b7,b8,b9,b10): y = 1 / (1 + np.exp(- (b0 + b1x[:,0] + b2x[:,1] + b3x[:,2] + b4x[:,3] + b5x[:,4] + b6 x[:,5] + b7x[:,6] + b8x[:,7] + b9x[:,8] + b10x[:,9]))) return y popt, pcov = curve_fit(sigmoid,data,fractions) '''use coefficients from curve_fit to estimate new fraction from new 1xN data''' newFraction = sigmoid(newData, popt) However, I would like to implement some sort of stepwise multiple regression for feature selection, preferably based on AIC. I have found these following methods using python... http://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.feature_selection.RFE.html https://planspace.org/20150423-forward_selection_with_statsmodels/ https://datascience.stackexchange.com/questions/24405/how-to-do-stepwise-regression-using-sklearn/24447#24447 But all of these methods rely on using a regression that involves a .fit() method. Is there a way to implement a model like above using a any of the .fit() methods like statsmodels or lmfit? I have also looked into Lasso-type methods, however, again can't figure out how to implement my function. A: I think you should be able to do something like this with lmfit (incomplete because your example is incomplete): from lmfit import Model def sigmoid(x,b0,b1,b2,b3,b4,b5,b6,b7,b8,b9,b10): y = 1 / (1 + np.exp(- (b0 + b1x[:,0] + b2x[:,1] + b3x[:,2] + b4x[:,3] + b5x[:,4] + b6 * x[:,5] + b7x[:,6] + b8x[:,7] + b9x[:,8] + b10x[:,9]))) return y smodel = Model(sigmoid) params = smodel.make_params(b0=1, b1=0, b2=0.1, b3=0.01, b4=0.01, b5=0.01, b6=0.01, b7=0.01, b8=0.01, b9=0.01, b10=0.01) result = smodel.fit(data, params, x=x) That will fit by minimizing chi-square. I believe that for any particular fit (for which there will be a fixed number of data points and a fixed number of variables) that minimizing chi-square will also minimize AIC (as chi-square is positive definite, and AIC = 2Nvarys + Ndata log(chi_square / Ndata)
Retschenbach Retschenbach is a river of Thuringia, Germany. It flows into the Effelder near Seltendorf. See also List of rivers of Thuringia Category:Rivers of Thuringia Category:Rivers of Germany
Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) will release its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT. The announcement will be followed by a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT during which management will discuss the company’s financial results and recent developments.
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Caller: “This is Lisa; I am calling from Dr. [Name]’s office. I need to call in a prescription for a patient.” Pharmacist: “Sure, what is the patient’s name?” Caller: “It is [Patient].” Pharmacist: “And the prescription?” Caller: “It’s [narcotic], 90 pills, three times a day.” Pharmacist: “Okay, thanks.” (The pharmacist hangs up and turns to me, frowning.) Pharmacist: “Do you know anything about this?” Me: “What? No, why?” (The pharmacist shows me the called-in prescription.) Me: “Oh! Lisa was fired months ago. You had better call the police.” (When Lisa came in to pick up the narcotic prescription for her boyfriend, the police were there to arrest her. The doctor she used to work for is my father; she was trying to use his license number to get pills from a dozen nearby pharmacies.) (The customer mumbles incoherently as he rests up against the door, touching himself very inappropriately. My coworker manages to talk him into getting into his underwear, as the cops arrive and arrest him.) Cop #1: “What’s your name, son?” Customer: “I AM GOD!” Cop #1: “Yeah, okay, son. Let’s go.” (The cops lead him out into the freezing air in only his underwear. Later in the day, they come back to explain why he did it.) Cop #1: “Apparently, he was on four hits of acid, and had just left a house party on campus!” (The customer came in the next day demanding that we return his iPhone that ‘we clearly stole’. We threw him out of the store.) (I am eight years old. My mother, father and I are all in the chemist to get some medication. My father has a rare spinal condition which is causing him to wobble when he walks, even with a frame. We’re waiting at the counter and hear a customer behind us make a remark under their breath; deliberately loud enough for us to hear.) Customer #1: “Drunk at 9AM; you should be ashamed.” (We try to ignore it.) Customer #1: “This is disgusting; you should be so embarrassed.” (I don’t like this person being rude to my father.) Me: “Watch your tone lady. If you’d bother to be polite and ask if my father is okay, you’d know he has a special illness that makes him this way. He’s not drunk; he’s my father, and I love him. Now apologize for being so mean about him.” (She goes red, stammers, and goes down an aisle. The pharmacist gives me a lollipop.) (I work as a receptionist in a doctor’s office. There are about 10 people who have been waiting for at least 90 minutes. It’s very quiet. A young man mumbles something. Some people look his way, but other than that no one pays much attention to him. He then starts singing, a little louder…)
I save the Carcass, Bones and Meat left over from Thanksgiving or anytime I roast a Turkey. I Freeze them and about a month later I make Turkey Stock and Soup. You can also substitute Chicken. I do not measure the ingredients,, depending on how many bones will help me determine how many vegetables to add. Add Vegetables to your choice.On the First Day I make the Stock:In a very Large Stock Pot put the amount of your choice:CeleryCarrotsOnionsPeppercorns (Optional.. my Husband likes peppercorns.. later on in the recipe I will be seasoning the Soup with Salt and Pepper)Turkey BonesFill pan with water. You do not have to completely cover the bones. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, keep covered with the lid slightly open for 2 Hours. The Stock will have a nice golden color. If you are using Raw Turkey you will have to cook the stock longer. Place a large Colander in the Sink.. using a large slotted Spoon remove everything from the Stock Pot to the Colander. Let it cool for a while as it is very hot.Discard all the Vegetables. Remove the Meat from the Bones and place in a Ziplock bag and place in the Refrigerator. I place the Stock in the Refrigerator over night. This helps to separate the Fat. On the Second Day I make the Soup:I skim off all the fat with a slotted spoon. The Stock will be a gelatin consistency. Warm it up slightly to liquify it. Use any vegetables of your choice. I used:Sliced MushroomsBaby CarrotsChopped CeleryChopped OnionDiced Plum Tomatoes, I removed the seed.. personal preferenceAdd the Vegetables to the Stock and simmer for about 1 hour. This is when I test to see if I need to add Salt and Pepper along with some Parsley Flakes. Add 1 Small sliced Green Cabbage. If you do not like Cabbage add any other Green vegetable of your choice. When the Vegetables are done add the meat. I wait until the end to add the meat because Turkey can dry out very easily. I do not add Pasta or Rice to my Soup. I use Cabbage instead. If you prefer to add Pasta or Rice,, I would cook them separately. Making sure to not over cook the Pasta. I would add the Rice or Pasta along with the Turkey. We like a hearty Soup,,, if you want extra Broth,,, add it to your liking.
[Surgical incidence of hydatidosis in the Sahel and Central Tunisia]. A retrospective hospital survey of patients having undergone surgery for hydatidosis was undertaken in order to evaluate hydatic endemicity in central Tunisia and the Sahel. The study made it possible to establish the following: an average prevalence of 22.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; a significant underregistration of the illness, only 51.5% of the cases being reported; certain high-risk rural areas are characterized by a prevalence exceeding 40 per 100,000 inhabitants; the disease is more frequent among women; surgical hydatidosis is not rare among the very young and the very old; among adults, the liver is the first organ affected, followed by the lungs; among children, it is the opposite. Hydatidosis thus represents a commonly-occurring disease that is frequently underestimated in official statistics. A preventive program must be conceived to control this scourge.
Pancreatic Duodenal Homeobox-1 de novo expression drives cholangiocyte neuroendocrine-like transdifferentiation. Reactive cholangiocytes acquire a neuroendocrine-like phenotype, with synthesis and local release of neuropeptides and hormones. The mechanism that drives such phenotypical changes is still undefined. Pancreatic Duodenal Homeobox-1 (PDX-1) is a transcription factor required for pancreatic development, that sustains pancreatic beta-cell response to injury and insulin synthesis. PDX-1 induces neuroendocrine-like transition of pancreatic ductal cells. Cholangiocyte response to injury is modulated by Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor (GLP-1R), which, in the pancreas, activates PDX-1. We wanted to verify whether PDX-1 plays any role in cholangiocyte neuroendocrine-like transdifferentiation in response to injury. PDX-1 expression was assessed in cholangiocytes from normal and one week bile duct ligated (BDL) rats. Changes in PDX-1 expression and activation upon GLP-1R activation were then assayed. The effects of the lack of PDX-1 in cholangiocytes were studied in vitro by siRNA and in vivo by the employment of PDX-1-deficient (+/-) mice. BDL but not normal cholangiocytes express PDX-1. GLP-1R activation elicits, in a PI3K-dependent fashion, PDX-1 expression, together with its nuclear translocation. In vitro, GLP-1R-induced increases in VEGF and IGF-1 mRNA expression were blunted in cells with PDX-1 siRNA. In vivo, the VEGF and IGF-1 mRNA expression in the liver after one week BDL was markedly reduced in PDX-1-deficient mice, together with reduced bile duct mass. In response to injury, reactive cholangiocytes de novo express PDX-1, the activation of which allows cholangiocytes to synthesize IGF-1 and VEGF. These findings suggest that PDX-1 drives the acquisition of the neuroendocrine-like phenotype by cholangiocytes in response to cholestatic injury.
% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand % Please edit documentation in R/tbl_json.R \name{json_get} \alias{json_get} \title{Get JSON from a tbl_json} \usage{ json_get(.data) } \arguments{ \item{.data}{A tbl_json object} } \value{ A nested list representing the JSON data } \description{ Extract the raw JSON from a tbl_json object. This is equivalent to reading the "..JSON" hidden column. But is a helper in case of future behavior changes. This replaces previous behavior, where the raw JSON was stored in an attribute. }
NuGEN Scientists Screen 400+ Genes for Fusion Events in Single Assay Scientists at NuGEN Technologies, Inc. have simultaneously surveyed RNA of more than 400 targeted genes in a single assay, using next generation sequencing (NGS) to detect fusions known to be key drivers of tumor growth in several cancer types. The scientists, who employed an innovative method of targeted sequence library preparation, also discovered low-frequency fusions that had not previously been reported. The new method, which allows the simultaneous interrogation of multiple, specific genes for RNA sequencing, significantly simplifies fusion detection when compared with standard RNA sequencing approaches. Based on NuGEN’s Single Primer Enrichment Technology (SPET), “This method can greatly enhance scientists’ ability to understand the underlying oncogenic impact on gene regulation,” according to Elizabeth Hutt, the NuGEN CEO. “Applications based on this exciting new technology promise to speed up cancer research and lead to more effective diagnoses and treatments, contributing to the realization of precision medicine.” The scientists used the new method to prepare cancerous and normal tissue samples for targeted RNA sequencing. The goal was to detect the presence of genes that had joined together or “fused”—resulting in changes in gene regulation. Through NGS, the scientists were able to identify multiple known and previously unreported fusions from fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. By targeting specific RNAs for sequencing, the scientists report, they were able to reduce the number of sequencing reads and increase the sensitivity of gene fusion detection, when compared with standard RNA-Seq methods. “Traditional methods require a much larger number of sequencing reads in order to detect fusion events in a background of some 20,000 transcripts,” said Douglas Amorese, NuGEN Vice President of Research and Development. “Other focused methods cannot survey the entire repertoire of previously recognized fusions; they are limited to detection of small numbers of potential events.” Additionally, the scientists write, “The SPET-based assay is easy to use, has low RNA input requirements and can be used with RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue, which is important for clinically relevant samples. The assay is fully customizable to target any gene or set of genes in any genome.” Dr. Bastiaan Tops, of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, reported recently at a major human genetics conference that his team used a NuGEN custom gene fusion panel to analyze specific gene-rearrangements in sarcomas —and discovered two previously unknown fusions. The team, based in the Laboratory of Tumor Genetics in the University’s pathology department, plans to look for those fusions in additional sarcoma samples. “Our eventual goal is to utilize such gene fusion panels in molecular diagnostic tests for sarcomas,” Tops said. The new technology is one in a suite of sample preparation products NuGEN continues to develop in light of new scientific understanding about the shared molecular mechanisms underlying cancers originating in different tissues, according to Amorese. While a tumor might appear to originate in a specific organ, the molecular mechanism or change involved may also play a role in cancers originating elsewhere. (For example, certain breast and ovarian cancers exhibit similar genetic changes). This means that therapeutics effective in treating one type of tumor may also be useful in treating other tumors exhibiting similar molecular changes. Offered in easy-to-use reagent kits, the new method will be used initially by researchers and clinical oncologists to discover the role of gene fusions in many more types of cancer and ultimately be used in molecular diagnostic products to guide treatment. It will also be used by pharmaceutical companies to develop, test and predict the efficacy of specific therapeutics for individual cancer patients. Amorese likened the new SPET method to “a microscope with greater power to detect fusions than has ever before been available. Now you can look for potential fusion events among hundreds of genes known to be associated with tumors just as easily as you can look at a single gene. Tests that narrowly focus on small subsets of potential fusions can be misleading and fail to take advantage of the power of next gen sequencing. Those tests are just scratching the surface as it relates to understanding what is happening in the cell,” Amorese said. RELATED ARTICLES Modern, sophisticated scans should be used in hospitals to pick out men whose prostate cancers have only spread to a limited number of sites, so they can be offered the chance of cure, a new assessment concludes. Despite decades of research, treatments that can target a common mutation in the most frequently diagnosed type of pancreatic cancer have remained elusive. Now, researchers report they have discovered a mechanism of resistance to a treatment they’d identified as promising.
Q: Compare quadratic term and norm $x^TPx$ and $\\|P\\|\\|x\\|^2$ with $P\succ 0$ How to compare the following: "$x^TPx$ and $\\|P\\|\\|x\\|^2$" with $P\succ 0$? I mean $$x^TPx \geq \\|P\\|\\|x\\|^2 \text{ or } x^TPx \leq \\|P\\|\\|x\\|^2, \forall x\ne 0, P\succ 0$$ I know that $$x^TPx = \langle P,X\rangle = \operatorname{tr}(PX)=\operatorname{tr}(Pxx^T)$$ But I still cannot figure out how to go to the step to compare both of them. A: When $P$ is positive it is in particular symmetric, whence diagonalizable in an orthonormal basis and having non-negative eigenvalues $\lambda_1\geq \lambda_2 \geq ... 0 $: $$ P = \sum_i \lambda_i e_i e_i^T $$ So you have (using 2-norm) $$x^T Px = \sum_i \lambda_i (x^T e_i)^2 \leq \lambda_1 \sum_i (x^T e_i)^2 = \lambda_1 \|x\|^2 \leq \\|P \\| \; \|x\|^2$$
Results of combined surgery on the superior oblique and horizontal rectus muscles for A-pattern horizontal strabismus. Results obtained in 32 patients with A-pattern horizontal strabismus and overacting superior oblique muscles treated with combined bilateral superior oblique tenotomies and bilateral symmetric surgery on the horizontal rectus muscles were analyzed retrospectively. The magnitude of reduction of the A-pattern correlated positively (r = 0.69) with the size of the preoperative A-pattern. Overall, 27 of the 32 patients (84%) had a satisfactory reduction in their A-pattern. Esodeviated patients received less correction in the primary position than exodeviated patients. Postoperative complications were minimal if the superior oblique tendon was hooked under direct visualization, and minimal dissection was performed on the surrounding tissue prior to transecting it near the nasal side of the superior rectus muscle.
Abstract Optical diagnostics, such as VISAR (VelocityInterferometer System for Any Reflector) or SOP (Streaked Optical Pyrometry), have become essential in shock timing experiments. Their high precision allows for accurate measurements of shock velocities, chronometry, and brightness temperature. However, in some instances, these measurements can be compromised. In planar shock coalescence experiments recently performed at the LULI facility [Baton et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 195002 (2012)], VISAR signal loss was observed. In these experiments, a strong shock launched by a high-intensity spike catches up with a previously shock launched by an earlier, low-intensity beam. The disappearance of the VISAR signal is attributed to a preheating of the coronal plasma by x-rays generated by the high intensity spike. The signal does not disappear if the high-intensity spike starts after VISAR probe beam begins to reflect off of the first shock. The VISAR diagnostic, modeled using an assessment of the optical index in quartz, compares favorably to experimental results. This provides evidence that x-ray preheating can cause blanking of the VISAR signal in quartz.
/* +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ \| PHP Version 5 \| +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ \| Copyright (c) 1997-2016 The PHP Group \| +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ \| This source file is subject to version 3.01 of the PHP license, \| \| that is bundled with this package in the file LICENSE, and is \| \| available through the world-wide-web at the following url: \| \| http://www.php.net/license/3_01.txt \| \| If you did not receive a copy of the PHP license and are unable to \| \| obtain it through the world-wide-web, please send a note to \| \| license@php.net so we can mail you a copy immediately. \| +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ \| Author: Stig Sæther Bakken <ssb@php.net> \| +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ / / $Id$ / #ifndef UNIQID_H #define UNIQID_H #ifdef HAVE_GETTIMEOFDAY PHP_FUNCTION(uniqid); #endif #endif / UNIQID_H */
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whichever one you like. Here is my Christmas gift to all of you reading. I hope you enjoy it. A wonderful battle starring our favorite Preceding Hero. As I may have mentioned before, descriptions aren’t exactly my forte. If there is anything confusing about the battle, feel free to comment and someone just might respond. Anyway, enjoy. And I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas. The Hero Appears Everyone, there exists bitter memories within people. “I don’t want to remember it”, that kind of memory should exist. I also have one. ……Three years ago, before I was summoned to this world, I also………. Once, I was a composing member of a Resistance, the “Sword of Twilight” that fought against an “organization” that tried to control the world that used ability-users. From the organization’s ability-users aiming for my life, my ability awakened and I was picked up by “Sword of Twilight”. Around the time I was genuinely fighting against the organization as a member of the “Sword of Twilight”, he appeared. Wearing a black overcoat furnished with a hood, the completely black clothed man whose hood concealed his eyes, “Darkness Executioner” Fighting with the man who was called the organization’s strongest slaughterer, although I was able to repel him, I then teetered between life and death. After safely returning alive, our countless battles continued, and at the time of our final conclusive battle, I discovered his identity. He, had the same face as me. He was my lifelong separated younger twin brother. He and I were family that was made to have a death match. However, it was already too late to save him. Because he had tied with me countless times, he was judged to be insufficient and there was a plot to strengthen him with the use of a strong drug. Due to the medicine, he……no, my younger brother’s life couldn’t be saved. However, the little brother made me, his brother, inherit his own power and, right there, his breathe died out. 「With this……I’ll always be with, Nii-san…」 Holding him who muttered that in his death in my arms, I swore. I wouldn’t forgive the organization that gave birth to such a tragedy……―――― That was the setting. If it were back in those days it would’ve been better, but for the me right now, they are severely embarrassing memories. Wearing my self-made black coat, in the middle of make-believing being the Darkness Executioner (alone), I was summoned to this other world. I didn’t want to remember that. That’s right, to me, Darkness Executioner is a synonym to Chuuni, a legacy of dark history, a trauma of the past. And yet, that damned Baba-chan………For her to perfectly remember the setting I reminisced……っ! On the Darkness Executioner’s overcoat, starting with the sleeves, there were red flames drawn on several places. In the setting, it was because I was supposed to use flames but……regretfully, these flames are just another concern that doubles the pitifulness. Even the hood was just an assassin-like garment that I thought was cool and that I liked in those days. Jeez, just about everything is coming and mentally killing me. I never thought that I would be tried to be killed by my past self. If you’re wondering why I’m wearing this despite that, it’s to defend myself from being discovered by the Six Blade Generals and the guys that would try to utilize the Preceding Hero. There is a Recognition Obstruction cast on this robe, so as long nothing considerably big happens, it seems that no one will recognize that it’s me. That’s why, 「Uhahahaha! A pretty interesting guy has appeared! Let me see, you, would you have a death match with me?」 the Ossan Terakio right in front of me doesn’t realize that it’s me. To be honest, I don’t have any big outer appearance-like characteristics. At most, it would be something like my peculiar hair that is called bed hair. Since that is also covered by the hood, I won’t get found out. Therefore, so long as I don’t demonstrate the stupidly strong power from wielding the Sacred Sword, strangers shouldn’t be able to recognize me, but……… Chira (Glance), 「…………」 This girl, this Imperial Princess-sama that had tears accumulating in her eyes from seeing me and looked like she would start crying at any time now was that, wasn’t she, she definitely recognized me, didn’t she? 「……W, why…are you…」 She did notice after all. 「……To come running when the princess is in a pinch is what Heroes do, right?」 Turning to face Sylvia, I raised my hood a bit and showed her my face. It’s a bit embarrassing. 「!……Yuu…!」 When I did, from her beautiful eyes, tears overflowed. Ah~, she started crying. …How should I say this…it’s awkward. But still, she sure has become an amazing beauty. No, she was pretty since long ago but now it’s, how should I put it, the seductiveness of an adult? She’s become that kind of beauty. …………With this, my motivation suddenly went up!! 「War General of the Rock Hammer, Terakio……」 I draw the two Magic Swords hanging from my waist. Since I’d be revealed if I used the Sacred Sword, the weapons I got to replace the Sacred Sword were forged by Jii-san. The raw materials were the excess raw materials of the Basilisks. 「I’ll cut you to pieces!」 Waving the pitiful overcoat, Darkness Executioner=me began to run. Hello everyone. This is your Chuuni aching Flame Enchanter, Sword of Sacrifice, Darkness Executioner, Yashiro Yuu –degozaimasu!! (TL note: The kanjis were “emotional scar”, read as “chuuni”, “disciple of flames”, read as “Flame Enchanter”, “sword’s Shinigami (God of Death)”, read as “Sword of Sacrifice”) Forcibly raising the originally declining tension, I appear!! 「You son of a bitch!!」「Nuu, for violence!!」 I made a continuous attack of sorrow with twin swords that looked like they were jade green and indigo blue crystals made into long swords. Though Terakio’s attack was heavy, overall it was slow. Probably because it abandoned its attack and defense status too much, so long as it doesn’t hit, it’s nothing worth mentioning. Therefore, I won’t let him attack. In the moment he makes the motion to attack, I’ll commence the attack to his vitals, and make him shift from offense to defense. (If I could complete the aria while defending against the rock hammer’s handle――――)、「Uhahahaha! Splendid. You have come to a splendid idea! But, in the end, it is just speed!!」 (……So he figured it out!) Giin! (Clang!) When the swung down sword struck Terakio, as if I had just tried to cut steel, it was repelled. ……But, because I, who could cut steel even without the Sacred Sword, was repelled, it means that he was even harder than steel. 「Hardening, huh…ッ」 He truly is like a rock. Now that it’s come to this situation, my attack with the plain sword has become useless. Strikes and magic attacks would be more effective than cutting but, since I don’t have any Maryoku, I can’t use most of the attack type magic. Which would mean, that I’ve ended up with striking him, but……… 「Uhahahaha! As expected, you cannot cut me! The only one to have cut me down while in this state, was the sole Preceding Hero! Uhahahahahahahaha!!」 He probably has a great amount of self-confidence. While Terakio showed off his side chest, he sultrily laughed. Actually, stop posing! The only one to cut him was me, huh. ……Haha, sorry Terakio, the me right now is the Sword of Sacrifice!! See ya setting that I thought up in the past, I’ll cut off anything! From today on, I’ll be casting aside that title! 「In these twin crystal swords, “Crystal Venom”, there exists two forms……」 Kukekeke, just burn already, burn. It’s already been foreseen that it would end up like this anyhow. In that case, I’ll just become Baba-chan’s toy right to the end, damn it~!! 「Putting emphasis in the attack speed, these twin blades. ……And then, putting emphasis on a single strike, an extending blade!」 When the pommels of the two colored twin swords were joined together and twisted, a Gachi (Click) sound rang, and they meshed together to become a single weapon. As they did, both the different colored left and right swords, as if they were absorbing blood, dyed red. 「This was the only one that I had decided that I should definitely not use, however, ………This is relatively urgent. ……Serpent Linked Twin Swords “Carbunculus”!!」 (TL note: I need help with the name of this. Written as真紅の刃 (Blade of Deep Crimson), read asカルブンクルス) A crystal sword dyed red like a ruby. The two golden jewels embedded in the sword guard looked as if it were glaring at the opponent just like a Basilisk would. 「This serpent sword that united them, sharpens the blade, and bisects all of creation―――」 ……Though I say that, this time, since this sword was handed to me as a test, I don’t know how much power it has. Since this was also the first time that they were linked together, I tried out the swinging sensation of it while it made a Vun vun sound. But, swinging it a few times, I understood. As expected of Jii-san, he’s got splendid skill. ―――But man, a double bladed sword is……really cool, isn’t it………―― Ha!? Wh, what did I just say………Guh, something inside of me is starting to rage…!! 「I, I won’t hang on much longer…We’re commencing the attack, Darkness Fairyon!」 (TL note: Written as 黒き妖精 (Dark Fairy), read as ダークネスフェアリオン (Darkness Fairyon).) 「Un!」 At this rate, my undesired memories will revive, and I’ll become who I once was. ………Before that, before I become a prisoner of madness, I’ll defeat him!! And though the speech in my mind had also become Chuuni, I called out to Lililuri who I had burdened on my “back”. 「It was slow at first, but it will rapidly become faster! “Slow Starter”!」 Lililuri, who wore the same overcoat as me, held her hand out to the sky. Ironically, the stupidly long aria was saved by the Chuuni-like explanation and Terakio Ossan’s posing, but………Well, let’s leave it at that. Now then………the preparations to bring him down are arranged. 「Battle, commence…―――」 ◇ ◇ Yashiro Yuu’s lowering of his stance in order to start running and Terakio’s materialization and raising of a rock hammer in front of Yuu, was almost simultaneous. Yuu was evaluated to be slow-witted but, that speed, in regards to ordinary people, was no different from teleportation. In the instant that Terakio vanished from his vision, he was about to be smashed by the rock hammer. In contrast to that, Yuu coped with slow movements that were enough to be a huge level down from Terakio’s. Catching the large rock hammer’s attack and not cutting it by subtly averting it, he daringly countered with a strike. Every time he struck, pain would run through his right arm. That was how it should be. He was receiving with “one hand” an attack that would easily smash and scatter a single person. 「Uhahahaha! Bisect all of creation is what you said but it would seem that it was just random nonsense!」「…………」 Even as Terakio, who did not notice that, laughed, Yuu didn’t reply at all. In order to make sure he didn’t miss the “chance”, he simply, repeated the sword play. 「……Nu?」 Feeling the strangeness of that, Terakio frowned. The pair of eyes that peeked out from the hood, did not overlook Terakio’s slightest actions, and made one think they were the eyes of a hawk. Several seconds after Yuu continued to receive them with the dual blade sword, he didn’t receive them, he began avoiding Terakio’s attacks. Seeing Yuu avoid most of the unleashed attacks from the gigantic rock hammer by turning his body half a step, Terakio was honestly interested. 「That physical strength to defend against my attacks, and that ability to avoid them with a paper-thin distance………You, you are a formidable enemy!」 If he were to take Terakio’s attacks, he wouldn’t be able to endure one. Being shown that attack that possessed such destructive power could be repelled, in the next instant, he began seeing through them. 「Show me your seriousness! Would you not let me enjoy myself more!!?」 Terakio began to enjoy the conflict. A fierce attack that was like a windstorm, attacked Yuu. 「………!」 Terakio’s movements that were obviously different, he did not overlook them. Smoothly avoiding the attack, it was there that he finally shifted to an attack. 「……Gunu?」 The black overcoat wearing man, disappeared from Terakio’s sight. Ton. If one thought that it was a light kick to the ground, he disappeared so quickly that it would make one think that was an illusion. And then, in the next moment, Terakio was blown away. 「Nuoh!?」 It wasn’t that he shouted from pain. It was from the surprise of the impact that was enough to make him float up and blow him away. And then, that surprise continued. Don (Bam). Making that sound, this time he was blown away towards the sky. He probably received the attack at the back. While Terakio received the attack, he embraced the interest in the attack that possessed enough might to launch him up. Maybe to respond to his demand, Yuu appeared even higher in the air than the launched up Terakio. 「I see, so it was that!」 Yuu fired the three short spears that he held in his left hand, and those short spears collided with Terakio altogether and, without going through his body, slammed Terakio into the ground as if they repelled him. 「……Tsk, he sure is hard.」 Thinking that he could give damage to Terakio’s hardened body if he gave an attack of a certain level, Yuu smacked his lips. There was a total of 11 short spears. Receiving the 11 spears that should have had more force packed into them compared to the ones fired at the Basilisks, Terakio stood up while laughing. 「Uhahahaha! That was splendid but, it that all you have!?」 Terakio waited for the naturally landing Yuu. 「……Rapid!」 In the air, pulling a short spear from the tool bag, Yuu started throwing. 「It is futile! I will not take the same move that many times!」「!?」 While echoing a thunderous roar, the short spear made impact. The spear, without hitting Terakio, collided with the ground. 「Uhahahaha! Show me that you can endure!」 Jumping into the air, Terakio swung the rock hammer downward as if he were trying to knock him down. Maybe because he didn’t catch his movements in the air, Yuu was repelled like a ball and was blown away towards the ground. 「Nu?……」 But Terakio looked at the swung rock hammer. It was probably because he couldn’t hear the push in the air and the force had waned, but even so, it should have been an attack that was enough to smash the earth. And yet, there was no sensation of resistance transmitted to the hand that held the rock hammer, and Yuu also, while sliding on the ground, got down and stood. A four legged standing motion. It was a movement where one goes on four legs like a beast. Yuu made use of this four legged standing motion. (Though, because one hand was occupied, it was actually three legs.) “Getting down” from the swung down rock hammer on three legs, flying as if he repelled himself on his own and controlling his posture in the air, he decended. (Getting to the state of being pushed away on the rock hammer, I messed up pretty badly……It’s still a distance I can reach, make it in time!!) Taking a stance with the dual blade sword, aiming at Terakio who had gotten down and stood, Yuu dashed like a hurricane. If one listened carefully, within the battlefield, Gin, the sound of a rock-cutting blade could probably be heard. 「……Nu?」 Becoming aware of that, Terakio was, bisected. 「…………With this, it’s once.」 Swinging the blade at a speed that it couldn’t be seen, Yuu muttered with Terakio behind him. 「Gunuoohh!?」 This time, Terakio groaned from a pain that was beyond imagine, and, while making a Gara gara (Crumbling) sound, Terakio’s body collapsed. In the next moment, Terakio appeared from the ground. 「………………!!」 Terakio said nothing. It’s because he sensed a warrior higher than himself. Given a large sword cut on his hardened body, furthermore, an opponent that “killed” him once. A reason to make light of him, there was none. 「Nuooooohh!!」 Together with a howl, what unfolded was a fierce attack that devoted itself to the limits of tyranny. Yuu avoided that fierce attack altogether. (Fast! It makes it seem like the movements earlier were a lie!!) He had movements slower than the slow-witted Terakio. However, as he was now, Yashiro Yuu’s movements greatly overtook Terakio’s and, without allowing Terakio to even counterattack, he killed him “one more time”. 「Gunu!?」 His head cut, his heart pierced, and moreover, scattered to pieces, Terakio once again crumbled down. 「………………Splendid. …This Terakio, cannot win against you.」 Once again appearing as if he were protruding out of the ground, Terakio, without possessing the rock hammer, just crossed his arms and muttered that. That long interval was probably the confliction of losing to a human but even so, fighting such a warrior. The pride as the summit of the Mazoku and the pride as a military man. And then, on top of the confliction, in his chest with the pride as a military man, he expressed the greatest compliment. That he could not win. The time since Terakio and Yuu started fighting was one minute. Terakio, “himself”, estimated that he couldn’t defeat him. 「……Yeah, there was no “reason” for me to lose. Sorry but, this time, it’s my win.」 Lowering both swords, at Yuu who showed no intention to attack, Terakio grinned and smiled showing his teeth. 「Uhahahaha! Well then, let us have a death match next time! I wish to endlessly fight against you!」 Jumping onto the cranium of the Earth Dragon while saying that, Terakio went and left towards the underground. And then, no one chased after the escaping Terakio. 「……I really am sorry, Ossan. As I am now, I’m only at this level.」 Glancing at the maiden he burdened on his back, Yuu made a small bitter smile.
Lethal cutaneous disease in transgenic mice conditionally expressing type I human T cell leukemia virus Tax. Type I human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I) is etiologically linked with adult T cell leukemia, an aggressive and usually fatal expansion of activated CD4+ T lymphocytes that frequently traffic to skin. T cell transformation induced by HTLV-I involves the action of the 40-kDa viral Tax transactivator protein. Tax both stimulates the HTLV-I long terminal repeat and deregulates the expression of select cellular genes by altering the activity of specific host transcription factors, including cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB)/activating transcription factor, NF-kappaB/Rel, and serum response factor. To study initiating events involved in HTLV-I Tax-induced T cell transformation, we generated "Tet-off" transgenic mice conditionally expressing in a lymphocyte-restricted manner (EmuSR alpha promoter-enhancer) either wild-type Tax or mutant forms of Tax that selectively compromise the NF-kappaB (M22) or CREB/activating transcription factor (M47) activation pathways. Wild-type Tax and M47 Tax-expressing mice, but not M22-Tax expressing mice, developed progressive alopecia, hyperkeratosis, and skin lesions containing profuse activated CD4 T cell infiltrates with evidence of deregulated inflammatory cytokine production. In addition, these animals displayed systemic lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. These findings suggest that Tax-mediated activation of NF-kappaB plays a key role in the development of this aggressive skin disease that shares several features in common with the skin disease occurring during the preleukemic stage in HTLV-I-infected patients. Of note, this skin disease completely resolved when Tax transgene expression was suppressed by administration of doxycycline, emphasizing the key role played by this viral oncoprotein in the observed pathology.
# 协程化Socket::recv和send 这篇文章，我们来协程化： ```cpp ssize_t recv(void buf, size_t len); ssize_t send(const void buf, size_t len); ``` 我们在文件`src/corotine/socket.cc`里面实现`recv`： ```cpp ssize_t Socket::recv(void buf, size_t len) { int ret; ret = stSocket_recv(sockfd, buf, len, 0); if (ret < 0 && errno == EAGAIN) { wait_event(ST_EVENT_READ); ret = stSocket_recv(sockfd, buf, len, 0); } return ret; } ``` 代码和协程化的`accept`的类似。先尝试着读取数据，如果不可以读取，那么就切换出这个协程。等到事件触发（也就是可读的时候），通过调度器`resume`这个协程，然后协程继续回到这个位置，然后执行第二次`recv`。类似的，我们实现一下`send`： ```cpp ssize_t Socket::send(const void buf, size_t len) { int ret; ret = stSocket_send(sockfd, buf, len, 0); if (ret < 0 && errno == EAGAIN) { wait_event(ST_EVENT_WRITE); ret = stSocket_send(sockfd, buf, len, 0); } return ret; } ``` 思路和`recv`一致，不多啰嗦。然后，我们重新编译、安装扩展： ```shell /root/codeDir/cppCode/study/src/coroutine/socket.cc:63:37: error: invalid conversion from 'const void' to 'void' [-fpermissive] ret = stSocket_send(sockfd, buf, len, 0); ``` 报错了。因为我们的参数类型不一致。我们需要修改`stSocket_send`函数的参数声明，在文件`include/socket.h`里面： ```cpp ssize_t stSocket_send(int sock, const void buf, size_t len, int flag); ``` 然后，在文件`src/socket.cc`里面也需要去修改为： ```cpp ssize_t stSocket_send(int sock, const void buf, size_t len, int flag) ``` 我们重新编译、安装扩展： ```shell ~/codeDir/cppCode/study # make clean ; make ; make install ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Build complete. Don't forget to run 'make test'. Installing shared extensions: /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731/ Installing header files: /usr/local/include/php/ ~/codeDir/cppCode/study # ``` 编译成功，符合预期。 [下一篇：实现coroutine::Socket::close](./《PHP扩展开发》-协程-实现coroutine::Socket::close.md)
Articles Search An award-winning cartoonist being held on Manus Island has been told he must return to Iran despite severe mental illness. The Guardian reports that Ali, an Iranian asylum-seeker who goes by the pen name Eaten Fish, has had his refugee claim rejected and been told he must return to Iran, despite severe mental illness and Iran refusing to accept asylum seekers who are forcibly repatriated. Visitor numbers and spending are on the rebound in Vanuatu according to a recent study. The country had seen a massive drop in visitor arrivals earlier in the year due to reduced flights arising from safety concerns about the runway at its international airport and following on from the devastation of cyclone Pam in 2015. Heavy rain in American Samoa has caused flooding in parts of the territory. One-point-eight inches of rain in two hours was recorded by the Weather Service early this morning as a South Pacific Convergence Zone continued to hover over the Samoan islands for a fourth day bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Marshall Islands access to the internet largely halted Wednesday night as repair work on a submarine fiber optic cable began. The National Telecommunications Authority in Majuro shifted all phone and Internet communications from the cable to satellites, reducing bandwidth available to this western Pacific nation by 97 percent. The Chairman of Vanuatu Free West Papua Organisation, Pastor Allan Nafuki, has expressed utter disappointment at leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group for not fulfilling their promise to push through West Papua’s application to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group this year. Pacific people have been recognised for services to their communities in the New Year Honours list, with two receiving the highest honour. New Zealand's double Olympic gold medallist shotputter, Valerie Adams, is now a Dame. A world-renowned shot putter, Dame Valerie has won four World Championship gold medals, two Olympic gold medals, three Commonwealth Games gold medals, and three World Indoor Championship gold medals. The chairman of Samoa's National Council of Churches says a move by the government to amend the Constitution and make Samoa a Christian State is unnecessary. Reverend Kasiano Leaupepe's remarks were in relation to a Constitutional amendment bill presented for its first reading by Prime minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi last week during the last sitting of parliament for 2016. Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.
This particular news item is nearly one year old, but since it is such a stunner, I felt it needed to be re-posted here. I only found this for the first time about a week ago. File it under news items so bizarre you wish you had not seen them. I would love to hear some sort of explanation, in fact, any sort of explanation that could even remotely justify why the Vatican felt a need to christen an optical addition to their Arizona telescope on Mount Graham “Lucifer.” Believe it or not, that’s how they christened it. I would love to know WHY. In the 3 part video series posted below, it’s broadcast in part 2 at about 5:38 minutes into part 2 that the new addition to the Vatican’s Mount Graham Telescope in Arizona was named “Lucifer” by the German team who built it. We are given ZERO explanation for why the “Father of Lies” is the namesake for this addition to the Vatican’s Arizona telescope. Here are the clips: Housed at Mt. Graham, critics wonder are the ‘evil ones’ planning a staged end times scenario By Greg Szymanski, JD April 23, 2010 The University of Arizona, together with the Vatican and Jesuit Order, announced today it named its newest high-powered telescopic instrument ‘Lucifer’. There has been a great deal of speculation, among Vatican critics, why in the first place the Jesuit Order was allowed to build a huge stellar observatory on Mt. Graham in Arizona – on holy Indian ground – in cooperation with the state-run University of Arizona. With the naming of Lucifer, critics claim the Vatican has showed its true colors, using God and Jesus as shills for their true master — Lucifer. According to an article in Popular Science by Rebecca Boyle the “new instrument with an evil-sounding name is helping scientists see how stars are born.” “And yes,” according to Popular Science, “it’s named for the Devil, whose name itself means “morning star.” However, according to a spokesman for the University of Arizona,it wasn’t meant to evoke any connotations of evil. Lucifer has three interchangeable cameras for imaging and spectroscopy in different resolutions. It has a large field of view and high-res capabilities, which allow a wide range of observations. Critics are now shaking their heads even more, wondering why the Vatican would have its own stellar observatory and why they would have the audacity to name a new telescope after the Devil himself. According to Mitch Battros some people believe “it is for the purpose to monitor a warning presented in the Bible. Could it be it is named “Wormwood” coming from the New Testament book of Revelation, saying: “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10, 11 – King James Bible). Battros added this reference to the end times as well as Mayan prophecy: “Is it possible the Vatican has the same information as the Mayans? Both speak of an event coming from the center of our galaxy Milky Way. Both indicate a powerful celestial event. But the most important question of all is “when”. “I do not believe any scientist or focused individual can argue that all of space science and cosmology appears to have a certain urgency for discovery. From galactic ‘charged particles’ to new found asteroids, there is a sense of ‘let’s find it as soon as we can’.” Here is an article that appeared in the Native American Roots web site, explaining how the Vatican violated Native American holy ground: The article continues here: when the vatican named their telescope lucifer it is because while they have been successful in decieving much of the world who the God is that they worship the truth will not be hidden. He is their commander in chief from the beginning. The big media outlets conveniently overlook many news items like this that “out” the real evil going on at the Vatican. How would they explain to American Catholics that the Vatican named their new telescope “Lucifer?” What could they possibly conjure by way of an excuse? Selective news coverage, and “blind eye” reporting is another ploy to keep Americans in the dark about the spiritual evil at work in high places. Pray for our country. According to prophecy this present Pope is the next to the last one. When the Vatican came out a few days ago calling for a global central bank, I knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that they really ARE part of the global Illuminati NWO cabal. Since when has it EVER been part of the Pope’s job to give advice on banking and currency issues? That moment was the dead giveaway for me. Nibiru exists. I know, its hard to believe that when no “official” people or governments have said anything or announced its existance. But you see, that’s the way they, the government/media wants it. They want to keep it a secret because of as right now, they’re not sure how close or how far away Nibiru will come to Earth.. so they don’t want to make any official reports to the public about the issue.. because they don’t want to be wrong. That’s what it boils down to. I worked for a certain branch of the U.S. Government.. and I’m telling you, it exists.. and I can also tell you that the other reason why the media doesn’t talk/cover the subject of Nibiru.. is because the U.S. Government slapped a ‘GAG order’ on the media.. meaning they can’t let any information about Nibiru out to the public until they have been noted otherwise. I was ‘let go’ from my position from within the U.S. Government simply because I didn’t agree with certain peoples ‘higher ups’ decisions on keeping this issue a secret.. and I was let go the very next day. I didn’t agree that something as dangerous as the issue of Nibiru and its moons heading towards our solar system/planet.. should be kept “Classified” until otherwise noted. The other major issue that we will have, and soon.. are major Solar Flares. When I say major.. I mean just that. I’m talking about Solar Flares of the likes that we’ve never seen before and if they were to hit Earth.. this massive high powered Solar Flares would and will take out the entire National Electric Grid. Meaning, we instantly go back to the stone-age era.. way of living. Lastly, do I expect anyone to believe any of this that I’m making public? Why no.. I don’t. Why? Simply because too many posers are connected to the internet these days. Too many kids/teens that didn’t have an “identity” before they got the internet. It’s different with me though.. because I have no reason too lie about this.. and unlike a lot of these ‘scare mongerers’, that get off by scaring others… I’m simply trying to let what I know out to the public.. in hopes of possibly getting some of you to open your eyes and see whats REALLY going on within the U.S. Government. My goal is to expose the lies that the U.S. Government throws at its people.. the citizens of this country, the United States of America. I could go on and on.. and even post some non-public data about Nibiru that I obtained through an anonymous source from a close friend that worked for the same branch of government, within the U.S. Government. But I think it might be best to come up with a plan to cover my own ass and my tracks before letting the data out of the cage. It’s a PDF file that contains signatures of some very important people within the U.S. Government.. as well as unpublished data/information about Nibiru.. as well as legit infared (I.R.) photos from the S.P.T. (South Pole Telescope; AKA ‘Nibiru Tracker’.) that clearly show Nibiru and its Moons. The file contains the Forward Velocity of Nibiru.. the current speed at the time the file was recorded.. etcetera. I may be getting ahead of myself here.. and I don’t want to accidently let out too much or too specific information.. until I find a way to let the data/information that is contained within the PDF file, out to the public.. yet still let me remain TOTALLY anonymous and not have to worry about ever being tracked/traced down. Give me time and maybe I’ll be able to figure out a way of doing it. Just know that whenever I figure out how to let this information out to the public without me having even a slit of a chance of being caught/prosecuted.. just know when that time comes, the file will be publisized on WikiLeaks. So be sure you keep an eye on WikiLeaks during this Summer and this coming Fall seasons. That’s all I know to say at this moment.. without getting too specific about things.. so this is where I’ll leave it. Just keep watching/checking WikiLeaks.. and I’m sure that even if you don’t, you’ll hear about this file being released as its going to totally EXPOSE the U.S. Governments knowledge and lies about Nibiru and where its headed. Thanks to those who took the time to read this.. and God Bless you all. Chase.. It is well you are preparing. I am too but if you read the book…One Second After… You will learn a lot about what to expect in that event. 90% population death in one year. Good book.. Forward by Newt Gingrich.. Blessings ! Oh yes, I well know. The Book of Revelations mentions that 1/3 of the world passes. In a pole shift scenario, all bets are off. Check the Coast to Coast Radio website for a show from the last week of Feb 2013 on Nibiru aka Planet X, a second sun visible in the sky worldwide, pole shift warning signs, [ giant sinkholes, unexplained groaning and booming noises from deep in the earth ] and listen to the entire show. Very informative. Blessings to you~ Chase If you want to see some more things that make you go “hmmm…” please research the Saturnalian Brotherhood and their use of a logo image of a half-fish, half-man being named Dagon. Also, there is a video on YouTube that ties into that regarding “The Veneration of Vectors”. If you want to keep looking and finding things that make you go “hmmm…” take a look at the “fish-like hat” that the pope wears and how it evolved from a more fish-like hat that the Ancient Sumerian priests used to wear. Then go on youtube and look for a video about a tribe in Africa called the “Dogon” tribe and learn about their folklore. Dogon is quite similar sounding to Dagon. The Dogon people claim a race of “Sky-Gods” visited them over 3000 years ago from Sirius-B. These aliens or Sky-gods are described by the Dogon to be half-man and half-fish. If you keep reading about these topics you will start scratching your head more and more. I’m right there with you Leafblade. I was commenting to a close friend the other evening about the odd elongated shape of the tall hats that the Vatican priesthood all wear, and that the shape of it actually parrots and pays tribute to the elongated shape of the ancient Annunaki skulls. There is a while line of investigation waiting when or if the Vatican ever opens their vaults and decides to come clean on why they have been hiding their knowledge and records dating to the times of the most ancient alien colonizers of this world more than 450,000 years ago. The Urantia Book contains a detailed account of what happened during those far ancient days and it’s worth a read. Hello, I am so glad you asked. Look up Exo Vaticano. It is a publication of the Vatican. Also see Lucis Trust New World Religion ; See the United Nations and the preparation of the coming of the Christ; Keep studying because the United Nations, the Vatican and the European Union are all forming a new world government and world religion at the head is Lucifer. see the video Lucifer trust new world religion.
Peptide mimotopes of complex carbohydrates in Salmonella enterica serovar typhi which react with both carbohydrate-specific monoclonal antibody and polyclonal sera from typhoid patients. Polyclonal sera from typhoid patients and a monoclonal antibody, mAb ATVi, which recognizes the capsular polysaccharide Vi antigen (ViCPS), were used to select for peptides that mimic the ViCPS by using a phage-displayed random 12-mer peptide library. Two major common mimotopes selected from the library carried the amino acid sequences TSHHDSHGLHRV and ENHSPVNIAHKL. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) showed that these peptides carry mimotopes to ViCPS. Phage clones that contained the 12-mer peptides were also tested against pooled/individual typhoid patients' sera and found to have 3 to 5 times higher binding compared to normal sera. By using Phage-ELISA assays, the derived synthetic peptides, TSHHDSHGLHRV and ENHSPVNIAHKL, were tested against a monoclonal antibody mAb ATVi and over 2-fold difference in binding was found between these peptides and a control unrelated peptide, CTLTTKLYC. Inhibition of the mAb's binding to ViCPS indicated that the synthetic peptides successfully competed with the capsular polysaccharide for antibody binding.
Accidental Anatomy Lesson I would have postponed our shopping trip, but we were out of many essentials and nearly out of many more, like bread, oatmeal, half and half, milk, etc. In fact, I mixed the last of the half and half with the last of the milk this morning for my girls to have something to drink with their breakfast. Anyway. We were out of lots of stuff. I had to go to the grocery store. Because of the crazy weather, it took me much longer than it normally does. Okay, truth is it was the weather plus the fact that I didn’t make a list so I had to double back to the same aisle at least three times because of forgetting something. My point? We had little time for school this morning. We did our calendar, sang our groundhog song (Groundhog Day is February 2!), read our groundhog books. And that was all we had time for. I was kind of bummed, but it happens and we roll with it. I have three days left to do the rest of our letter G and Groundhog Day activities. When Miss came down from her “rest time” (she no longer takes naps), she saw one of my husband’s professional books lying on the chair next to me. The book is titled “Atlas of Vascular Anatomy.” She wanted to look at it, her sisters were still sleeping, and I saw a golden opportunity. So we dove in. She was naturally more interested in the color illustrations in the book than the more frequently occurring black and white angiogram photos. She stopped on each and every page that had one of these color pictures, pointed at the things she saw, and asked me what they were. Now, obviously this book is totally over my head in its detail. However, I was able to tell her what each of the pictures were in basic terms (heart, spine, brain, lungs, arteries, veins, etc.). When I wasn’t sure about some of the specifics, I just looked at the captions. I pointed to the different parts of her body where the organs we were looking at are located. We got into some basic physiology too, like what the heart and lungs and brain do, the difference between arteries and veins, and so forth. She was so interested, so I just kept talking. She asked tons of questions. I was able to answer almost all of them. Incidentally, this was a lesson that lent itself to lots of tickling. We had so much fun! When the girls get older, my husband will definitely be able to give them much better anatomy and physiology (any type of science for that matter) lessons than I can. But for now, I can handle anatomy on a preschool level. Copyright All blog content copyright Motherhood and Miscellany unless otherwise noted. Copyright Motherhood and Miscellany 2009-2015. Images from this website may be pinned on Pinterest, but may not be used in any other form.
National Association of Professional Women Inducts Jennifer Atwell, Certified Life Coach at Organized Simplified Living, LLC, Into its VIP Woman of the Year Circle Share Article Jennifer Atwell selected for her outstanding leadership and commitment within her profession I’m pleased to recognize Jennifer with this important honor. Her perseverance, work ethic and leadership qualities are an inspiration to all women. Garden City, NY (PRWEB)August 11, 2015 The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) honors Jennifer Atwell as a 2015-2016 inductee into its VIP Woman of the Year Circle. She is recognized with this prestigious distinction for leadership in business. NAPW is the nation’s leading networking organization exclusively for professional women, boasting more than 700,000 members and over 200 operating Local Chapters. “I’m pleased to recognize Jennifer with this important honor,” said NAPW President Star Jones. “Her perseverance, work ethic and leadership qualities are an inspiration to all women.” Jennifer Atwell is both a Certified Life Coach and a Professional Organizer; she has found that these two professions are often codependent. Ms. Atwell envisions a world where there is a place for everything and everything in its place. A world built on helping others to organize their spaces, their places and their minds alike. A less stressful world to raise our children, thrive in our careers and grow old gracefully…all while maintaining order of space, place and mind. This is the reason why she created Organized Simplified Living and this is her life’s work in action. Ms. Atwell steps in to provide professional support to individuals overwhelmed and in need of support and guidance. Her main goal is to help her clients reduce their stress, give them back their valuable time and organize their spaces in order to make day-today life easier for them. Ms. Atwell has been both a classroom teacher and a school principal and administrator for more than 14 years. She completed her undergraduate studies at Smith College in Psychology and Neuroscience and graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston in Education. About NAPW NAPW’s mission is to provide an exclusive, highly advanced networking forum to successful women executives, professionals and entrepreneurs where they can aspire, connect and achieve. Through innovative resources, unique tools and progressive benefits, professional women interact, exchange ideas, advance their knowledge and empower each other.
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to apparatus for securing electronic devices into notebooks. Particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for releasably securing a hand-held electronic device to the rings of a binder-type notebook. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatus for securing a hand-held electronic device within the notebook of a time management or other planning-type organizer system. 2. Background of Related Art Due to the ever-decreasing size of electronic devices and the ever-increasing use of notebooks which include time management or other planning systems, various apparatus have been developed to make small electronic devices, such as calculators, readily accessible to the users of such notebooks and in conjunction with information contained within the notebook. Some of these apparatus secure a calculator to the rings of binder-type notebooks. These apparatus typically include integral calculators and small, circular apertures disposed along an edge thereof to facilitate securing of the apparatus to the rings of a binder. Since the calculators are an integral part of each of these apparatus, they may not be removed therefrom. Thus, the calculators of these apparatus cannot be accessed concurrently with information from any pages of the notebook that are not adjacent to these apparatus. Moreover, such apparatus may not be employed to secure more than one type of electronic device to a notebook. The small, circular apertures of these apparatus are also somewhat undesirable, as they may only be used in notebooks with specific numbers of rings that are laterally spaced apart discrete distances from one another. Apparatus exemplary of this configuration are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 345,757 ("the '757 patent"), which issued to Webb et al. on Apr. 5, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 343,187 ("the '187 patent"), which issued to Webb et al. on Jan. 11, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,592 ("the '592 patent"), which issued to Bedol on May 11, 1993. U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,632 ("the '632 patent"), which issued to York on Apr. 17, 1990, discloses a notebook-type computer that includes a housing that may be secured to the rings of a binder-type notebook. As with the calculators discussed above, the computer is integrated within the housing. Thus, the housing may not be used to secure other electronic devices to a notebook. The housing also includes small, circular apertures along the top of the computer for securing the electronic device to the rings of a binder-type notebook. Thus, the housing may only be secured to notebooks of a limited size and having a limited number of rings which are laterally-spaced discrete distances from one another. An apparatus that may be employed to secure a variety of hand-held electronic devices within a variety of binder-type notebooks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,256 ("the '256 patent"), which issued to Burton et al. on Jan. 28, 1997. The apparatus of the '256 patent is an insert that includes a flat member to which a hand-held electronic device, such as a calculator, may be secured by attaching one member of complementary hook and loop materials to the flat member and the other hook or loop material member to the back of the electronic device. The use of hook and loop materials to secure the electronic device to the flat member is, however, somewhat undesirable since, over time, the hook material tends to gather lint, which may reduce the affinity of the hook and loop materials for one another. Moreover, the mutual affinity with which the hook and loop materials secure the electronic device to the flat member may not be adequate to retain the electronic device on the flat member if the notebook that holds the insert is dropped. Another insert for securing hand-held electronic devices into binder-type notebooks is marketed by Franklin Covey Co., the assignee of the present invention. That insert removably retains the electronic device by means of small, rigid tabs disposed about the edges of a receptacle thereof. These tabs insert into a seam or indentation along the periphery of the housing of the electronic device. Due to potential variations in the size of the seams of the electronic device relative to the tab thickness required to adequately retain the electronic device within the receptacle of the insert, the dimensional tolerances of that insert are undesirably small. The retaining tabs of that insert are further undesirable in that they will only accommodate electronic devices of a very specific size and shape incorporating a seam or other indentation of a specific size and in a specific location. Moreover, when the hand-held electronic device is disposed within that insert, communication with any external electronic equipment is precluded, due to obstruction of communication ports on the electronic device by the insert body. Other apparatus secure calculators or other electronic devices to the rigid cover of a notebook or any other book by means of mounts, sleeves, or clamps. An exemplary apparatus of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,191 ("the '191 patent"), which issued to Gerver et al. on May 23, 1989. The apparatus of the '191 patent includes a sleeve that envelops a substantial portion of the rigid cover. A flap, which holds and exposes the display and keys of a calculator, is hingedly attached to the sleeve. The design of the device of the '191 patent is somewhat undesirable, however, in that the sleeve may slide along the rigid cover of the notebook and may, therefore, not adequately secure the calculator thereto. The sleeve may be further undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint, since it is exposed on the exterior of the rigid cover of a notebook or other book. U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,301 ("the '301 patent"), which issued to Bianco on Aug. 3, 1993, discloses a binder which includes an apparatus for securing an electronic device, such as a calculator, thereto. The apparatus is permanently secured to the cover of the binder by a mounting bracket. A frame, which is secured to the mounting bracket by a hinge, is rotatably mounted to a slipcase, in which the electronic device may be removably disposed. This arrangement facilitates use of the calculator while the binder is closed or open, as well as access to pages that are bound to the rings of the binder. The design of the apparatus of the '301 patent is somewhat undesirable, however, in that the electronic device must be removed therefrom in order to communicate with any external devices, such as printers, computers, or other electronic devices. Moreover, the mounting bracket of the mechanism of the '301 patent is partially exposed to the exterior of the binder cover, making it somewhat undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint. Furthermore, since the apparatus is permanently mounted to the binder, it may not be removed from the binder when removal is desired or used in conjunction with another notebook. Thus, an apparatus is needed for securing an electronic device to the retainer elements of loose-leaf support assemblies that securely, yet removably retains the electronic device, which is itself removable from the support assembly, and which facilitates communication between the electronic device and external equipment as the electronic device is retained by the support assembly. An apparatus is also needed which enables securement of electronic devices to a variety of support assemblies that have different numbers of retaining elements or retaining elements that are laterally spaced apart different distances from each other.
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NY Gov. Cuomo cracks down on nail-salon hazards Albany, NY – A series of eye-opening investigative reports in The New York Times has led to a harsh crackdown on the nail-salon industry by the state’s top politician. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) announced on May 11 the establishment of a multi-agency enforcement task force to hunt for unsafe working conditions and unlawful pay in the industry. Cuomo’s announcement came days after the Times’ two-part series that detailed the daily perils vulnerable nail-salon workers face, including dangerous chemicals and wage violations. The task force has been directed to immediately develop and implement several actions, including: Create workplace safety regulations that require nail salons to provide workers with personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks when appropriate. “Vigorously” enforce existing rules that allow nail-salon workers the right to request and wear PPE at any time. Develop new regulations mandating that each personal workstation include a fan.
Jacques Massu Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later denouncing their use of torture. Early life Jacques Massu was born in Châlons-sur-Marne to a family of military officers; his father was an artillery officer. He studied successively at Saint-Louis de Gonzague in Paris, the Free College of Gien (1919–1925) and Prytanée National Militaire (1926–1928). He then entered Saint-Cyr and graduated in 1930 as a second lieutenant in the promotion class "Marshal Foch" and chose the Colonial Infantry. Between October, 1930 and August, 1931, he served in the 16th Senegalese Tirailleur Regiment (16th RTS) in Cahors. He was sent to Morocco with the 5th RTS and took part in the fighting around Tafilalt where he earned his first citation. He was promoted to lieutenant in October 1932 and took part in the operations in High Atlas, earning a new citation. In 1934 Massu was transferred to 12th RTS at Saintes, Charente-Maritime. He served in Togo from January 1935 to February 1937 performing military and civilian duties in Komkombas. Then he was stationed in Lorraine with the 41st RMIC until June 1938, when he was sent to Chad to command the subdivision of Tibesti with headquarters in Zouar. World War II He was serving in Africa when World War II broke out, and joined the Free French Forces. He took part in the battle of Fezzan with the armoured troops of General Leclerc. In 1941, he was in charge of the bataillon de marche du Tchad. He served as a lieutenant-colonel in the 2nd Armored Division (2e DB) until the end of the war. Indochina In September 1945, he landed in Saigon and took part in the retaking of the city and of the South of Indochina. Massu took command of a mechanized infantry force of the 2e DB named Groupement Massu, comprising a reconnaissance squadron with M8 Greyhound armoured cars from 7e Escadron, 1er Régiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains; a squadron of M5A1 Stuart light tanks of 1e Compagnie, 501e Régiment de chars de combat; a provisional infantry force of the 4e Bataillon, Régiment de marche du Tchad and the French Navy’s Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins, with M3 Half-tracks; and engineer elements of the 71er Bataillon du Génie. This force was landed at Saigon between 10 and 15 October 1945, and was immediately deployed to recapture Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta from the Viet Minh. Egypt In 1956, the 10th Parachute Division was sent to Egypt to take back the Suez canal during the Suez crisis. The 10th Parachute Division landed at Raswa. Raswa imposed the problem of a small drop zone surrounded by water, but Massu assured Andre Beaufre that this was not an insolvable problem for his men. 500 heavily armed paratroopers of the French 2nd Colonial Parachute Regiment (2ème RPC), hastily redeployed from combat in Algeria, jumped over the al-Raswa bridges from Nord Noratlas 2501 transports of the Escadrille de Transport (ET) 1/61 and ET 3/61, together with some combat engineers of the Guards Independent Parachute Company. Despite the loss of two soldiers, the western bridge was swiftly secured by the paras, and F4U Corsairs of the Aéronavale 14.F and 15.F flew a series of close-air-support missions, destroying several SU-100 tank destroyers. F-84Fs also hit two large oil storage tanks in Port Said, which went up in flames and covered most of the city in a thick cloud of smoke for the next several days. Egyptian resistance varied, with some positions fighting back until destroyed, while others were abandoned with little resistance. The French paratroopers stormed and took Port Said's waterworks that morning, an important objective to control in a city in the desert. Chateau-Jobert followed up this success by beginning an attack on Port Fuad. Derek Varble, the American military historian, later wrote "Air support and fierce French assaults transformed the fighting at Port Fuad into a rout". During the fighting in the Canal Zone, the French paratroopers often practiced their "no-prisoners'" code and executed Egyptian POWs. Algeria A brigadier general in June 1955, Massu commanded the groupe parachutiste d'intervention and from 1956 the 10th Parachute Division. Massu's division to Algeria in response to a wave of armed attacks and terrorist bombings coordinated by Algerian FLN. Massu ultimately won the Battle of Algiers in 1957, during which French forces were able to identify and arrest the leadership of the FLN in Algiers through the successful application of coercive methods of interrogation and outright torture on members of subordinate cells. In July 1958, he was promoted to général de division and took the head of the army corps of Algiers, as well as functions of prefect for the region of Algiers. It was said of Massu that he willingly admitted to the use of torture on suspected members of the FLN. However, he insisted that he would never subject anyone to any treatment that he had not first tried out on himself. In Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 film The Battle of Algiers, a controversial depiction of the events in Algiers between 1954 and 1957 banned in France for five years after release for perceived pro-Algerian leanings, the principal French character Col. Mathieu is a composite based on Massu and several of his subordinates, likely including Roger Trinquier and Marcel Bigeard. 1958 coup d'état The Algiers putsch of 1958 began when the current government suggested that it would negotiate with the FLN, bringing the instability and ineffectiveness of the Fourth Republic to a head. On 13 May right-wing elements seized power in Algiers and called for a Government of Public Safety under General de Gaulle. Massu became chairman of the Public Safety Committee and one of the leaders of the revolt. The putschists threatened to conduct an assault on Paris, involving paratroopers and armoured forces based at Rambouillet, unless Charles de Gaulle was placed in charge of the Republic. De Gaulle did so under the precondition that a new constitution would be introduced creating a powerful presidency in which a sole executive, the first of which was to be de Gaulle, ruled for seven-year periods. These changes were introduced and the Fifth Republic was born. On 14 January 1960, Massu gave an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in which he declared: The Army has the power. It did not show it yet, because the opportunity did not arise. But the Army will use its power in one precise occasion (...) it encourages settlers to constitute paramilitary organisations and provides them weapons. Massu was immediately summoned to Paris where he was relieved of command and posted to Metz. He was replaced in Algeria by General Jean Crépin. Later life After his criticism of the policy of de Gaulle in 1960, Massu was fired from his position of military governor of Algiers. In 1962 he became military governor of Metz and of the Sixth military region in France. He was promoted to général de corps d'armée (4 stars) in 1963. In March 1966, he became général d'armée (5 stars) and was made chief of the French forces in Germany. On 29 May 1968, de Gaulle came to visit him at his headquarters in Baden-Baden during the events of May 68. Massu assured de Gaulle of his support, but according to some sources conditioned it upon an amnesty for French soldiers involved in the Organisation armée secrète who had opposed Algerian independence and attempted to assassinate de Gaulle on several occasions. Massu retired from military duty in July 1969 and spent the rest of his life in his home at Conflans-sur-Loing writing his memoirs. On 15 June 2000, Louisette Ighilahriz, a woman who had been a member of the FLN, accused Massu and Marcel Bigeard in an interview published in Le Monde newspaper of being present when she was tortured and raped by the French Army at a military prison in 1957. Ighilahriz had come forward with her story as she wanted to thank one "Richaud", an Army doctor at the prison, for saving her life, saying that Dr. Richaud was a most kindly man who always treated her injuries. In response, Massu told Le Monde that "torture had been part of a certain ambience in Algiers in 1957". Massu denied being present when Ighilahriz had been tortured and raped, saying he could not remember her, but expressed "regret" that the paras had engaged in torture and used rape as an interrogation tool, saying that there were things that had happened that he had wished had never happened in Algeria. Bigeard by contrast called Ighilahriz's story a "tissue of lies" designed to "destroy all that is decent in France", going on to say this "Richaud" had never existed. Bigeard was contradicted by Massu, who confirmed the existence of "Richaud", saying that Ighilahriz was referring to Dr. François Richaud who had been the doctor stationed at the prison in 1957. Massu died at Conflans-sur-Loing on 26 October 2002, aged 94. Decorations Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur Companion of the Liberation (14 July 1941) Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (8 citations) Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (3 citations) Croix de la Valeur Militaire (2 citations) Distinguished Service Order (UK) Grand Officer of the Ordre du Nichan El-Anouar Grand Officer of the Order of the Black Star Bundesverdienstkreuz (West Germany) Quotations "Give me two divisions and tomorrow, you can take your breakfast on the boulevard Saint Germain" (to De Gaulle, about May '68) "I am a soldier, I obey" Charles de Gaulle: "So, Massu, are you still stupid?" Jacques Massu's answer: "Still a Gaullist, General!" Footnotes Bibliography Codevilla, Angelo and Seabury, Paul. War: Ends and Means, Second Edition. Virginia: Potomac Books, 2006. Grando, Denis and Valynseele, Joseph. "À la découverte de leurs racines", L'Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, Paris, 1988. Further reading Aussaresses, General Paul, The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955-1957''. New York: Enigma Books, 2010. . External links Ordre de la Libération Category:1908 births Category:2002 deaths Category:People from Châlons-en-Champagne Category:École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Category:French military personnel of World War II Category:French military personnel of the First Indochina War Category:French military personnel of the Suez Crisis Category:French military personnel of the Algerian War Category:Torture in Algeria Category:French generals Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Category:Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Recipients of the Ordre du Nichan El-Anouar Category:Recipients of the Order of the Black Star Category:Companions of the Liberation Category:Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Category:Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Free French military personnel of World War II
The pattern recognition receptor Nod1 activates CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta signalling in lung epithelial cells. The innate immune receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain protein 1 (Nod1) recognises peptidoglycan containing meso-diaminopimelic acid found in all Gram-negative and some Gram-positive bacteria. Nod1 has been shown to activate nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of Nod1 in the lung, particularly in lung epithelial cells, and to investigate the activation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) transcription factors downstream of the Nod1 receptor in these cells. The expression of Nod1 in mouse lung was examined using immunohistochemistry. A tissue array was used to determine the expression pattern in the human lung. Signalling downstream of Nod1 was examined in the human lung epithelial cell type, BEAS-2B, by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and reporter gene activation. Nod1 expression was seen in various cell types in the lung, including epithelial cells. Activation of Nod1 in these cells resulted in modest activation of NF-kappaB, together with strong activation of the C/EBP transcription factors, particularly C/EBPbeta. This activation appears to be independent of de novo protein synthesis. The present study showed that nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain protein 1 is expressed in lung epithelial cells. The results demonstrate a novel pathway downstream of the nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain protein 1 receptor in these cells and suggest that C/EBPbeta may play a role in immune responses to meso-diaminopimelic acid-containing bacteria in the lung.
1. Introduction {#sec1-nutrients-12-00682} =============== Atherosclerosis, succinctly defined as arterial degeneration associated with increased fat accumulation in the arterial walls and an increased vascular stiffness \[[@B1-nutrients-12-00682]\], can result in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a severe cardiac disorder that is commonly associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) \[[@B2-nutrients-12-00682],[@B3-nutrients-12-00682]\]. AMI is the leading cause of fatality worldwide, responsible for more than nine million deaths yearly \[[@B4-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Oxidative stress participates in the pathogenesis of various diseases \[[@B5-nutrients-12-00682]\], including those of atherosclerotic origin. Damage caused to the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA), proteins, lipids, and the plasma membrane of the cell or the inner mitochondrial membrane and the nuclear envelope, are all implicated in an impaired circulatory and cardiac function \[[@B6-nutrients-12-00682],[@B7-nutrients-12-00682]\]. In this sense, strategies that decrease the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) should be used in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including atherosclerosis and ACS \[[@B2-nutrients-12-00682],[@B8-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Nutrients show antioxidant activities, especially vitamin E and phenolic compounds \[[@B9-nutrients-12-00682]\], with nuts standing out as a source of both \[[@B10-nutrients-12-00682]\]. In vitro studies \[[@B11-nutrients-12-00682],[@B12-nutrients-12-00682],[@B13-nutrients-12-00682],[@B14-nutrients-12-00682],[@B15-nutrients-12-00682],[@B16-nutrients-12-00682],[@B17-nutrients-12-00682],[@B18-nutrients-12-00682]\], animal models \[[@B19-nutrients-12-00682],[@B20-nutrients-12-00682],[@B21-nutrients-12-00682],[@B22-nutrients-12-00682],[@B23-nutrients-12-00682],[@B24-nutrients-12-00682]\], observational studies \[[@B25-nutrients-12-00682]\], and randomized trials \[[@B26-nutrients-12-00682],[@B27-nutrients-12-00682],[@B28-nutrients-12-00682],[@B29-nutrients-12-00682],[@B30-nutrients-12-00682],[@B31-nutrients-12-00682],[@B32-nutrients-12-00682]\] suggest the potential benefit of including different nuts in the diet to improve biomarkers of oxidative stress. This article has briefly discussed the role of oxidative stress in the genesis of atherosclerosis and ACS, and has assessed studies that have evaluated the effect of dietary nut supplementation on oxidative stress parameters in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. 2. The Role of Oxidative Stress in the Development of Atherosclerosis and ACS {#sec2-nutrients-12-00682} ============================================================================= Oxidative stress participates in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its risk factors (namely, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and smoking) and increases free radical production in the vascular wall \[[@B33-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The resulting accumulation of DNA damage is associated with aging and age-related diseases, as it promotes apoptosis and cell senescence \[[@B33-nutrients-12-00682],[@B34-nutrients-12-00682]\]. In addition, the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), which play an important role in atherosclerosis development, are activated by DNA damage and replication and secrete high levels of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors with inflammatory characteristics, capable of promoting pro-atherosclerotic conditions \[[@B34-nutrients-12-00682],[@B35-nutrients-12-00682]\] in the adjacent cells. Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. An increase in the plasma cholesterol levels results in an endothelial dysfunction that facilitates the migration of lipids, especially that of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), into the arterial wall, where it is modified by ROS molecules, such as NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase, enzymes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and by the decoupling of the endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase. Endothelial cells and VSMC express adhesion molecules and chemotactically recruit the circulating monocytes which migrate to the subendothelial space where they are transformed into macrophages and then foamy macrophages by an LDL-c oxidization; the degree of oxidation correlates with the severity of the disease. This process results in a cascade of vascular changes that have clinical sequelae, including the narrowing of vessels, causing associated clinical symptoms (angina pectoris), and ACS of different types based on the stability of the atherosclerotic plaque \[[@B36-nutrients-12-00682],[@B37-nutrients-12-00682],[@B38-nutrients-12-00682],[@B39-nutrients-12-00682]\]. ACS is a subcategory of coronary artery disease (CAD), which has characteristic symptoms and is often associated with AMI \[[@B2-nutrients-12-00682]\] ([Figure 1](#nutrients-12-00682-f001){ref-type="fig"}). In the context of atherosclerosis, some oxidative stress biomarkers and endogenous antioxidants have great clinical relevance, including the oxidized LDL-c (oxLDL), plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione (GHS). In addition, foods rich in exogenous antioxidants are closely related to having cardiovascular protective abilities. 3. Nuts and Their Antioxidant Properties {#sec3-nutrients-12-00682} ======================================== Nuts (tree nuts) and peanuts are rich sources of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and polyphenols. In addition, other characteristics of these foods support recommending their dietary inclusion in CVD prevention and treatment. Definition and Nutritional Composition of Different Nuts -------------------------------------------------------- Nuts are dry, thick fruits with thorny-covered seeds \[[@B41-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The best known are almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, walnuts, pecans, and pistachios. Peanuts and Baru almonds are edible seeds classified as legumes, not nuts since their grains are produced in pods \[[@B41-nutrients-12-00682],[@B42-nutrients-12-00682]\]. However, the characteristics and nutritional composition of peanuts are similar to those of nuts and they are considered as oleaginous fruits. Nuts are composed of macronutrients \[[@B43-nutrients-12-00682],[@B44-nutrients-12-00682]\], containing high levels of proteins and unsaturated fats, in addition to dietary fiber \[[@B44-nutrients-12-00682]\], micronutrients \[[@B44-nutrients-12-00682]\], fat-soluble bioactives \[[@B44-nutrients-12-00682],[@B45-nutrients-12-00682]\] which include polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and phytochemicals \[[@B46-nutrients-12-00682]\], such as phenolic compounds. These nutrients, in synergy, appear to be responsible for the beneficial effects of nuts on human health \[[@B46-nutrients-12-00682],[@B47-nutrients-12-00682],[@B48-nutrients-12-00682],[@B49-nutrients-12-00682],[@B50-nutrients-12-00682],[@B51-nutrients-12-00682],[@B52-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The lipid content of nuts, peanuts, and Baru almonds varies between 30%--60% of their approximate composition \[[@B52-nutrients-12-00682],[@B53-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Regarding the fatty acid profile of these foods, high levels of oleic (C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2) \[[@B53-nutrients-12-00682]\] fatty acids are notable. [Table 1](#nutrients-12-00682-t001){ref-type="table"} presents the fatty acid profile of the main nuts and edible seeds. Phytochemicals are considered non-nutrient antioxidants \[[@B54-nutrients-12-00682]\] present in high concentrations in nuts which are considered a major dietary source of these antioxidants \[[@B55-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Phytochemicals present in nuts have bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and hypocholesterolemic properties \[[@B56-nutrients-12-00682]\]. However, the phytochemical content can vary considerably according to nut type, genotype, pre- and post-harvest conditions, and storage conditions \[[@B46-nutrients-12-00682]\]. [Table 2](#nutrients-12-00682-t002){ref-type="table"} shows the phytochemical content of nuts and edible seeds. Edible nuts and seeds are also sources of nutrient antioxidants, such as selenium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, with emphasis on tocopherols \[[@B54-nutrients-12-00682],[@B57-nutrients-12-00682],[@B58-nutrients-12-00682]\] ([Table 3](#nutrients-12-00682-t003){ref-type="table"}). However, their metabolic effects seem to be dependent on the bioaccessibility in the gastrointestinal tract, which may be influenced by dietary fiber and MUFA content of the nut \[[@B59-nutrients-12-00682]\]. 4. Nuts, Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress: Studies In Vitro and in Animal Models {#sec4-nutrients-12-00682} ================================================================================= 4.1. Studies In Vitro {#sec4dot1-nutrients-12-00682} --------------------- An in vitro study with plasma and platelets incubated in proanthocyanidin fraction from Medemia argun nuts (0.5 μg/mL--50 μg/mL), demonstrated a decrease in oxidation of the thiol and the carbonyl groups, and a significant increase in GSH, compared to that observed with peroxynitrite (ONOO^-^) treatment only \[[@B11-nutrients-12-00682]\]. These polyphenols exert their antioxidant activity by DNA repair, lipid peroxidation prevention, modulation of the signaling pathways, and inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways through the suppression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathways \[[@B12-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Oocytes of secondary follicles from lambs maintained for 18 days in control medium containing polyphenol resveratrol (2 μM, 10 μM, or 30 μM) exhibited significant decreases in the intracellular GSH levels at 10 μM and 30 μM concentrations compared to 2 μM due to a decreased mitochondrial activity \[[@B13-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Different nuts (almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts, pistachios, and walnuts) showed that their supernatant fractions displayed antioxidant effects after being fermented in vitro \[[@B14-nutrients-12-00682]\]. An investigation into the antioxidant effect of pistachios in the macrophage/monocyte cell line, J774, found that pretreatment with pistachio shells or roasted and salted pistachios in different concentrations decreased the production of ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly (p \< 0.01) \[[@B15-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Walnut oil, in different concentrations (40 μL/mL--319 μL/mL) in U937 cells cultured for 24 h to 72 h, had positive effects on SOD activity, with the greatest induction (p ≤ 0.01) seen within 48 h of incubation \[[@B16-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Additionally, defatted walnut flour exerted good antioxidant activity on the peroxide-injured nerve cells through the elimination of the hydroxyl radical and reduction of ROS in the selected peptides \[[@B17-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The effects of walnut extracts rich in polyphenols on human plasma in vitro was compared to ellagic acid, with a reduction in LDL-c oxidation of 87% and 38% observed, respectively; the copper-mediated LDL-c oxidation was inhibited by 84% in the presence of the extract (compared to 14% by ellagic acid) \[[@B18-nutrients-12-00682]\]. 4.2. Studies in Animal Models {#sec4dot2-nutrients-12-00682} ----------------------------- Male Wistar rats were divided into six groups \[n: six per group: (1) control, (2) 75 mg of Brazil nut (BN), (3) 150 mg BN, (4) ischemia-reperfusion (IR), (5) IR with 75 mg BN, and (6) IR with 150 mg BN and submitted to BN daily seven days prior to surgery for IR, with animals sacrificed 48 h thereafter. Reduced oxidative stress---including elevated expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitrotyrosine renal expression, and plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), was observed in mice pretreated with BN (similar results with both doses) \[[@B19-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Male mice C57BL/6J fed either a common feed or fat-rich diet (45% or 21.5% energy from walnuts) for six weeks showed a decrease in MAPK changes and a reduction in lipid peroxidation \[[@B20-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Male mice fed with an atherogenic diet supplemented with mixed nuts (almonds, macadamias, peanuts, pistachios, cashews, Brazil nuts, and walnuts) or isolated pistachio showed significantly decreased concentrations of oxLDL as compared to that observed in the control knock-out mice (p = 0.044) \[[@B21-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Furthermore, apoE-deficient mice receiving supplementation (3%) of mixed nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts) showed significantly decreased levels of oxLDL (p \< 0.05) compared to the group receiving an isocaloric diet supplemented with palm oil \[[@B22-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Male rats fed with a high-fat diet supplemented with pecan oil, polyphenol extract, or part or whole pieces of nuts for nine weeks showed a greater increase in antioxidant enzyme activity (p \< 0.05), especially in the group supplemented with pecan oil \[[@B23-nutrients-12-00682]\]. Hyperlipidemic rats fed a fat-rich diet and pistachios for eight weeks showed a reduction of TBARS measured MDA (p \< 0.01), and, although not significant, an increase in SOD compared to that observed in the control \[[@B24-nutrients-12-00682]\]. 5. Nuts and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers: Studies in Primary Cardiovascular Prevention {#sec5-nutrients-12-00682} ===================================================================================== The current consensus indicates that the inclusion of nuts in the diet helps in the prevention of primary CVD \[[@B64-nutrients-12-00682],[@B65-nutrients-12-00682]\]. A review of major epidemiological studies, such as the Adventist Health Study \[[@B66-nutrients-12-00682]\], the Iowa Women's Health Study \[[@B67-nutrients-12-00682]\], the Nurses' Health Study \[[@B68-nutrients-12-00682]\], and the Physicians' Health Study \[[@B69-nutrients-12-00682]\] showed a 37% lower risk for CVD in individuals who consumed nuts more than four times a week compared to those who rarely or never consumed nuts; moreover, a reduction in risk of 8.3% was assigned to each weekly portion of nuts \[[@B25-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study \[[@B64-nutrients-12-00682]\] conducted in Spain enrolled 7447 individuals at high risk for CVD, who participated in one of three dietary interventions: The Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) supplemented with an extra-virgin olive oil (MeDiet + EVOO), the MeDiet supplemented with mixed nuts (MeDiet + MN), and the control diet (low-fat standard as per the American Heart Association \[AHA\]). After a median follow-up of 4.8 years, there was a 30% lower risk observed for AMI, stroke, and CVD-related mortality in the group allocated with the diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, while there was a 28% reduced risk in the group supplemented with mixed nuts, compared to that in the control diet. Subanalysis \[[@B70-nutrients-12-00682]\] of the PREDIMED study evaluated biomarkers related to oxidative stress, identifying greater SOD and catalase plasma activity (p \< 0.003 and p \< 0.004, respectively) and less plasma xanthine oxidase activity (p = 0.008) in individuals undergoing interventions (the MeDiet + EVOO and the MeDiet + MN). Another subanalysis \[[@B71-nutrients-12-00682]\] published by the same authors, detected an improvement in the plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC) levels after one year of intervention through increasing plasma levels of potential iron-reducing antioxidant (FRAP) in both interventions \[the MeDiet + EVOO: 72.0 µmol/L (95% CI, 34.2--109.9), and the MeDiet + MN: 48.9 µmol/L (24.3--73.5)\]. Specifically regarding nuts, a study that evaluated the acute effect of consumption of four different forms of walnut \[whole walnut (85 g), walnut oil (51 g), defatted walnut pulp (34 g), and walnut skin (5.6 g)\] in overweight or obese individuals with moderate hypercholesterolemia, identified an increase in the antioxidant marker FRAP at all meals (p \< 0.01), but this was less significant for defatted walnut pulp \[[@B72-nutrients-12-00682]\]. The nutritional intervention of one unit of Brazil nuts per day for three months in hemodialysis patients resulted in improved plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels and a reduction in the 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and in the 8-isoprostane levels (p \< 0.001) \[[@B73-nutrients-12-00682]\]. A placebo-controlled, parallel randomized clinical trial (RCT) \[[@B26-nutrients-12-00682]\] of 46 overweight and obese women, divided into two groups (normocaloric and isoenergetic diet + placebo \[PLA\] or normocaloric and isoenergetic diet + 20 g of Baru nuts \[BARU\]), found that after eight weeks of intervention, the BARU group showed a significant increase in the GPx activity in comparison to the PLA group (+0.08 U/mg, 95% CI 0.05--0.12; vs. −0.07 U/mg, 95% CI −0.12 to −0.03, p \< 0.01) accompanied by an increase in the plasma copper concentration (p = 0.037). However, no differences were observed in CAT, SOD activity or MDA concentration between groups. A further study \[[@B74-nutrients-12-00682]\] involving Baru nuts was divided into two periods of six weeks (four weeks of washing between periods) and conducted in 20 slightly hypercholesterolemic individuals. Participants were instructed to follow the supplementary diet of 20 g/day of Baru nuts or placebo, and at the end of the study, no changes were observed in the biomarkers of oxidative stress investigated. Three RCTs were conducted involving dietary intervention with Brazil nuts, with some positive effects observed in all three. A double-blind, controlled, crossover trial \[[@B28-nutrients-12-00682]\] included 91 hypertensive and dyslipidemic patients, who received an individualized diet + 13 g granulated and defatted Brazil nuts (DBN) or individualized diet + placebo (IDP), found a 24% increase in the GPx3 activity (112.66 nmol/min/mL ± 40.09 nmol/min/mL to 128.32 nmol/min/mL ± 38.31 nmol/min/mL, p \< 0.05) and 3.25% reduction in oxLDL (66.31 U/L ± 23.59 U/L to 60.68 U/L ± 20.88 U/L) in the DBN group at the end of 12 weeks. An inverse association between GPx3 and oxLDL was found, even after adjusting for sex, age, diabetes mellitus (DM) diagnosis, and body mass index (BMI) (β −0.298, p = 0.008). An increase in the GPx activity was also seen in the RCT \[[@B27-nutrients-12-00682]\] involving obese women who followed their usual diet and added one Brazil nut per day for two months when compared to the control (without any intervention) (p = 0.03). Obese adolescents, grouped to maintain their usual diets (control group) or a supplementary diet with 15 g--25 g of Brazil nuts per day (BNG group) for 16 weeks, showed a significant decrease in oxLDL in the BNG compared to the control group \[BNG: 622.4 (457.2--665.0) to 514.9 (440.3--624.6); vs. control: 648.8 (515.9--737.9) to 646.9 (595--883.5); p = 0.02\] \[[@B31-nutrients-12-00682]\]. In a study conducted with type-2 DM (T2DM) patients \[[@B75-nutrients-12-00682]\], duration of eight weeks and intervention with cashew nuts, 50 individuals were allocated to two groups: those with adjusted calories, receiving 10% of the total energy value (TEV) in cashew nuts (CNG); and those who followed their usual diets. At the end of the study, there was a greater increase in the activity of paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) in the CNG, but without significance. In another study \[[@B76-nutrients-12-00682]\], children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia (n = 60) were randomly assigned to three groups: the hazelnut group with skin, the hazelnut group without skin, and the control group. The amount of hazelnut varied from 15 g--30 g in both interventions and all followed dietary guidelines. There were no significant changes in oxLDL. Two RCTs \[[@B32-nutrients-12-00682],[@B77-nutrients-12-00682]\] were conducted in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) with the intervention of 30 g/day of mixed nuts (in different compositions). In one \[[@B77-nutrients-12-00682]\], 60 volunteers were included and distributed into two groups (nuts or control); the mixed nuts were composed of 15 g walnuts, 7.5 g pine nuts, and 7.5 g roasted peanuts, all following nutritional guidelines. No changes in the oxidative stress markers were identified after six weeks of intervention. In the other study \[[@B32-nutrients-12-00682]\], 50 patients, receiving a healthy diet prescription, were followed up for 12 weeks, after being divided into two groups (nuts or control); the mixed nuts were composed of 15 g walnuts, 7.5 g almonds, and 7.5 g hazelnuts; after intervention, urinary levels of the biomarker 8-oxo-dG were significantly reduced (p \< 0.001) in the walnut group. A study \[[@B29-nutrients-12-00682]\] with 60 individuals with MS, lasting 24 weeks, divided patients into two groups: the pistachio group (PG) and the control group (CG). All participants followed a specific diet and exercise program, with unsalted pistachios making up 20% of the TEV for the PG. At the end of the study, the PG showed a significant improvement in TBARS compared to that in the control (p = 0.01). Another study \[[@B30-nutrients-12-00682]\] involving almonds, recruited 20 patients with T2DM and mild hyperlipidemia and divided them into two groups: the almond group (AG) and the control group (CG). The AG received a calorie-adjusted diet with 20% of the TEV from unsalted roasted almonds, while the CG received a diet from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). After four weeks, AG showed a significant reduction in carbonyl protein and oxLDL (28%, p = 0.0003 and 6.9%, p ≤ 0.05, respectively). Studies previously described that evaluated the impact of different nuts on oxidative stress biomarkers in primary cardiovascular prevention are summarized in [Table 4](#nutrients-12-00682-t004){ref-type="table"}. 6. Nuts, Oxidative Stress Biomarkers, and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention {#sec6-nutrients-12-00682} ============================================================================= Regarding the oxidative stress biomarkers already mentioned, although evaluated in clinical trials conducted with individuals in primary prevention, there is little data available in the literature on the effect of supplementation of nuts and associated antioxidants in patients with documented CVD. The evaluation of such aspects in this population is more complex since such patients are usually on medications that can modulate inflammation and oxidative stress. For example, a crossover RCT \[[@B78-nutrients-12-00682]\] evaluated the effect of consumption of 85 g of almonds per day in 45 patients with documented CAD with 22 weeks of follow-up. It was observed in the group receiving intervention of almond nuts, that there was a 103% increase in the vitamin E intake, and a 10.3% increase in the serum levels of α-tocopherol and 17.5% in the urinary levels of NO compared to those observed in the control group (the NCEP diet), despite the short follow-up period and lack of statistical power to evaluate oxidative stress biomarkers. A non-RCT \[[@B79-nutrients-12-00682]\] evaluated the intake of nuts in secondary prevention in the context of the MeDiet, with patients receiving the MeDiet (n = 21) or diet of a low-fat type (n = 19). Forty men aged 45 years--65 years, with a history of coronary events for more than four months and less than two years and stable at the time of the study, with LDL-c \> 190 mg/dL, were followed for over three months. The recommendation for the MeDiet group was 10 g per day of nuts (Brazil nuts and/or almonds and/or walnuts). A reduction in the serum oxLDL in the low-fat diet group was observed, but the oxLDL:LDL-c ratio remained unchanged. This study also had a limited follow-up, beyond the inherent limitations of its design. Additionally, there are studies in the literature that link oxidative stress and secondary cardiovascular prevention. For example, in the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (CHAOS) study \[[@B80-nutrients-12-00682]\], nuts were not evaluated specifically, but there was supplementation with tocopherol---an important antioxidant present in nuts. This study randomized 2002 patients (mean age 61 years) with symptomatic CAD confirmed by angiography, to receive 400 IU--800 IU of daily vitamin E capsule, compared to that received by the placebo, followed up for approximately 510 days. There was a 47% reduction in the risk for non-fatal AMI, but no reduction in mortality. In another study \[[@B81-nutrients-12-00682]\], the use of α-tocopherol (50 mg/day), β-carotene, or both, in 1862 male smokers with a history of AMI, with a follow-up of 5.3 years, was evaluated through an RCT. An increased relative risk of 1.58 (95% CI 1.05--2.40) in cardiovascular-related death in the group that received β-carotene in combination with α-tocopherol was observed, but there was no significant difference in the group receiving only supplementation with α-tocopherol as compared to that received by the placebo. Aligned with these findings, the GISSI (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto miocardico)-Prevenzione study \[[@B82-nutrients-12-00682]\], a RCT that evaluated the effects of PUFA omega-3 supplementation (1 g/day, n = 2836), vitamin E (300 mg/day, n = 2830), or both (n = 2830) in patients with a recent AMI (\<3 months), found no beneficial effect of α-tocopherol supplementation on combined event of death, nonfatal MI, or stroke. In order to clarify the conflicting results regarding vitamin E supplementation and secondary prevention, a Mendelian randomization study of two samples was conducted in 2019 to investigate the causal association between vitamin E and coronary heart disease (CHD). Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were identified: rs964184, rs2108622, and rs11057830. The effect on CHD was assessed using vitamin E serum levels. Each 1 mg/L level increase was significantly associated with CAD among all participants \[odds ratio (OR) 1.5, 95% CI 1:03--1:06\] \[[@B83-nutrients-12-00682]\]. These results suggest that nuts may increase the plasma α-tocopherol and urinary NO levels even in polymedicated patients. However, the effects of vitamin E supplementation, not nut intake, on the outcomes in this population remain unclear. More robust data on the impact of nut consumption on oxidative stress markers and secondary cardiovascular prevention is needed. 7. Conclusions {#sec7-nutrients-12-00682} ============== An increase in oxidative stress favors atherosclerotic progression and is positively associated with ACS. The intake of antioxidant food sources and/or antioxidant supplements seem to contribute to the prevention and treatment of diseases through already-known mechanisms; nuts are a good example of such food sources due to their favorable palatability and dose-effect that allow their inclusion in the majority of diets. The effects of nut consumption on oxidative stress parameters in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention are promising, but remain unclear, especially in secondary prevention. The variability of the results can be attributed to factors such as: concentration of antioxidants in the food studied, the dosage used, duration of the intervention, and the characteristics of the study population. In this context, further studies on the impact of the consumption of different nuts on oxidative stress biomarkers, with clinical relevance in both primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, will be needed. J.L.d.S.; C.W.; S.B.G. wrote the manuscript, A.M. and A.S.d.Q. reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The authors declare that they did not receive any grants to support this research work. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. ![Representation of the atherosclerotic process adapted from Glaudemans et al. \[[@B40-nutrients-12-00682]\]. (1) Migration of LDL-c to the endothelial wall and its modification; (2) Uptake of the circulating monocytes by endothelial cells and VSMCs; (3) Transformation of monocytes into foamy macrophages from the uptake of LDL-c by scavenger receptors; (4) Increase of ROS and oxidation of LDL-c. Abbreviations: LDL-c: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL ox: Oxidized LDL-c; VSMC: Vascular smooth muscle cells; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; NO: Nitric oxide.](nutrients-12-00682-g001){#nutrients-12-00682-f001} nutrients-12-00682-t001_Table 1 ###### Fatty acid composition of nuts and edible seeds. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fatty Acids\ Nuts Edible Seeds (g/100g of Lipids) -------------------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Saturated 9.19 8.25 16.09 9.81 7.33 14.6 25.35 21.12 14.81 18.77 Palmitic C16:0 7.43 5.57 8.88 7.15 5.09 12.61 15.11 10.7 7.2 7.39 Stearic C18:0 1.7 2.5 4.26 2.55 2.02 1.42 9.51 9.33 1.84 4.62 Arachid C20:0 0.06 0.14 2.95 0.07 0.06 0.35 0.25 0.63 1.19 1.10 MUFA 65.89 80.62 58.51 16.30 54.26 56.28 29.04 61.68 43.93 51.07 Palmitoleic C16:1 0.66 0.15 18.69 0.09 0.07 1.18 0.29 0.54 0.07 \- Oleic C18:1 65.89 80.52 58.51 16.14 53.65 55.98 28.75 61.15 42.48 48.37 Gadoleic C20:1 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.16 0.61 0.3 \- \- 1.45 2.70 PUFA 23.95 10.57 4.39 72.79 37.95 27.11 45.61 17.19 37.81 32.35 Linoleic C18:2 23.85 10.43 1.81 60.23 37 26.55 45.43 16.88 37.52 30.13 Linolenic C 18:3 0.10 0.14 2.58 12.56 0.95 0.56 0.18 0.32 0.29 2.22 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbreviations: MUFA: monounsaturated fatty acid; PUFA: polyunsaturated fatty acid. Adapted from Freitas and Naves, 2010 \[[@B52-nutrients-12-00682]\]. nutrients-12-00682-t002_Table 2 ###### Phytochemical content of nuts. Phytochemical Nuts ----------------------------------------- -------- -------- ------- -------- --------- -------- -------- ------ Total phenolics (mg/100 g) 261 447 233 1602 1588 703 197 242 Proanthocyanidins (mg/100 g) 184.1 500.6 10 67.2 493.9 252.71 10 8.7 Flavonoids (mg/100 g) 25.01 13.21 137.9 0.54 2713.49 136.45 0.85 1.12 Phenolic acids and aldehydes (mg/100 g) 0.44 1.87 3.69 39.11 2052 1.27 11.35 \- Carotenoids (µg/100 g) 2 106 \- 21 55 22832 \- 31 Sterols (mg/100 g) 192.37 132.47 105.7 197.89 233.52 189.43 160.19 154 Adapted from Bolling et al., 2011 \[[@B46-nutrients-12-00682]\]. nutrients-12-00682-t003_Table 3 ###### Nutrient antioxidant concentration of different nuts and seeds per 100g. Cashew Nut \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Brazil Nut \[[@B57-nutrients-12-00682],[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Almond \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Walnut \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682],[@B61-nutrients-12-00682]\] Pecan \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Pistachio \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Macadamia \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682]\] Hazelnut \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682],[@B62-nutrients-12-00682]\] Peanut \[[@B60-nutrients-12-00682],[@B63-nutrients-12-00682]\] ------------------- ------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Selenium (µg) 19.9 1917 4.1 4.9 3.8 7 3.6 2.4 9.3 Zinc (mg) 5.78 4.06 3.12 3.09 4.53 2.2 1.3 2.45 2.77 Vitamin A (μg) 0 0 0 1 3 26 0 1 0 Vitamin C (mg) 0.5 0.7 0 1.3 1.1 5.6 1.2 6.3 0 α-tocopherol (mg) 0.9 5.65 25.63 0.7 1.4 2.86 0.54 15.03 4.93 β-tocopherol (mg) 0.03 \- 0.23 0.10 0.39 0 0 \- 0.33 γ-tocopherol (mg) 5.31 116.2 0.64 22.65 24.44 1.67 0 1.36 10.4 nutrients-12-00682-t004_Table 4 ###### Randomized clinical trials on nuts and oxidative stress biomarkers in primary cardiovascular prevention. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author; Location RCT Design Population\ Type of Nut Duration Intervention Control Biomarkers Main Results Conclusion (n: Intervention/Control) ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- de Souza RGM et al. \[[@B26-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Brazil Placebo-controlled Women overweight and obese (n: 24/22) Baru nut 8 weeks Normocaloric and isocaloric diet-based Guideline + 20g Baru/day Normocaloric and isocaloric diet-based Guideline MDA, catalase, GPx, SOD GPx intervention: +0.08; GPx control: -0.07.\ Baru nut supplementation increased GPx activity in women with excess of weight. p \<0.01 GBS Duarte et al. \[[@B27-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Brazil Controlled Women obese (n: 36/36) Brazil nut 2 months Usual diet + 1 unit Brazil nut/day Usual diet GPx1 GPx1 intervention: Δ8.5;\ Brazil nut supplementation increased GPx1 activity in obese women. GPx1 control: Δ 2.5.\ p =0.03 Darvish Damavandi R et al. \[[@B75-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Iran Controlled Individuals with T2DM (n: 22/21) Cashew nut 8 weeks Adjusted calorie diet with 10% of cashew and reduced consumption of visible fat Usual diet TAC and PON-1 Intervention vs control: TAC (p= 0.34); PON-1 (p= 0.41). Cashew nut did not improve TAC and PON-1 plasma activities in individuals with T2DM. Guaraldi F et al. \[[@B76-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Italy Controlled Children and adolescents with hyperlipidemia (n: 42/18) Hazelnut with or without skin 8 weeks Nutritional recommendations based on CHILD-1 + hazelnut with or out skin 15 to 30g/day Nutritional recommendations based on CHILD-1 oxLDL oxLDL intervention vs control: p= 0.462. Hazelnuts did not improve the oxLDL in children and adolescents with hyperlipidemia. Huguenin GV et al. \[[@B28-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Brazil Cross, double-blind, placebo-controlled Individuals hypertension and dyslipidemia (n: 52/48) Brazil nut partially defatted 12 weeks Nutritional counseling for dyslipidemia and hypertension + Brazil nut 13g/day Nutritional counseling for dyslipidemia and hypertension GPx3, TAC, 8-epi PGF2α, oxLDL GPx3 and oxLDL intervention: 128.32±38.31 60.68±20.88, respectively.\ Brazil nut intake increased GPx3 actitity and reduced oxLDL in individuals with hypertension and dyslipidemia. GPx3 and oxLDL control: 115.06±38.09 and 63.76 ±23.03, respectively.\ p \<0.05 Lee YJ et al. \[[@B77-nutrients-12-00682]\]; South Korea Controlled Individuals with MS (n: 30/30) Mixed nuts (walnut, peanuts, and pine nuts) 6 weeks Recommendations-based dietary guidelines + mix nuts 30g / day Recommendations-based dietary guidelines MDA, oxLDL Serum and urine MDA and oxLDL intervention vs control:\ Mixed nuts did not improve MDA and oxLDL in individuals with MS. p= 0.445, p= 0.394, and p= 0.885,\ respectively. Bento AP et al. \[[@B74-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Brazil Placebo-controlled, crossover Mildly hypercholesterolemic (n: 20/20) Baru nut 6 weeks Usual diet + Baru 20g /day Usual diet TBARS, SOD, FRAP TBARS, SOD, FRAP intervention vs control:\ Baru nuts did not improve TBARS, SOD and FRAP in mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals. p= 0.82, p =0.34, and p =0.33,\ respectively. Gulati S et al. \[[@B29-nutrients-12-00682]\]; India Controlled Asian Indian with MS (n: 33/35) Pistachio nut unsalted 24 weeks Guideline based on the standard diet with 20% of TEV in pistachio Guideline based on the standard diet TBARS TBARS intervention: 2.4±1.3; TBARS control: 3.1±1.3.\ Pistachio nut improved plasma TBARS in Asian Indian with MS. p= 0.01 Liu JF et al. \[[@B30-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Taiwan Cross and controlled Individuals with T2DM and mild hyperlipidemia (n: 20/10) Almond nut 12 weeks Diet for obtaining or maintaining weight with 20% of TEV in almond Diet for obtaining or maintaining weight carbonyl protein, oxLDL and MDA Carbonyl protein intervention: 1.59±0.16; carbonyl protein control: 2.16 ±0.23 (p= 0.0003).\ Almond reduced plasma carbonyl protein and oxLDL in individuals with T2DM and mild hyperlipidemia. oxLDL: reduced 6,9% with intervention as compared control.\ p ≤0.05 Maranhao PA et al. \[[@B31-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Brazil Controlled Obese adolescents (n: 8/9) Brazil nuts 16 weeks Usual diet + Brazil nut 15-25g/day Usual diet GPx3, oxLDL, 8-epi PGF2α oxLDL: reduced in intervention group (622.4 to 514.9). p=0.02 Brazil nuts improved oxLDL in adolescents with obesity. López-Uriarte P et al. \[[@B32-nutrients-12-00682]\]; Spain Controlled Individuals with MS (n: 25/25) Mixed nuts (walnut, almond and hazelnut) 12 weeks Nutritional guidelines + mix nuts 30g/day Nutritional guidelines plasma antioxidant capacity, oxLDL,8-oxo-dG, 8-isoprostane Mean difference in final 8-oxo-dG (intervention vs control): Δ -2.42; p ≤0.001 Mixed nuts improved urinary 8-oxo-dG in individuals with MS. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbreviations: RCT: Randomized clinical trial; MDA: Malondialdehyde; GPx: Glutathione peroxidase; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; GPx1: Glutathione peroxidase 1; GPx3: Glutathione peroxidase 3; T2DM: Type-2 diabetes mellitus; TAC: Total antioxidant capacity; PON-1: Paraoxonase 1; 8-epi PGF2α: 8-epi-prostaglandin F2 alpha; oxLDL: Oxidized LDL cholesterol; MS: Metabolic syndrome; TBARS: Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; FRAP: Ferric reducing antioxidant potential; 8-oxo-dG: 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2\'-deoxyguanosine.
Q: How do I delete this '# ... #' Emacs File? There is a file in my home directory that is called #snake#. I want to remove it but none of the regular remove commands will work. How can this "file" be removed without causing any damage, and what type of file is it? A: It's an autosave file, it's there in case your computer crashes. You can delete these from emacs quite conveniently. Open up dired (C-x d) and press # to select all of them in the directory. Then x for delete. Alternatively in a shell, just put the name in quotes, e.g. rm "#snake#"
T.C. Memo. 2002-209 UNITED STATES TAX COURT MICHAEL T. & LEONE CAREY, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent Docket No. 9014-01L. Filed August 20, 2002. Michael T. Carey, pro se. Jeremy L. McPherson, for respondent. MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION LARO, Judge: Petitioners petitioned the Court under section 6330(d) to review respondent’s determination as to a proposed levy. Respondent proposed the levy to collect Federal income tax (including an accuracy-related penalty and interest) that he determined petitioners owe for 1996. Respondent issued a - 2 - duplicate notice of deficiency to each petitioner for 1996, and neither petitioner petitioned the Court with respect thereto. We must decide whether respondent may proceed with the proposed levy. We hold he may. Section references are to the applicable versions of the Internal Revenue Code. Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. FINDINGS OF FACT Most facts were stipulated. We incorporate by this reference the parties’ stipulations of fact and the accompanying exhibits. We find those facts accordingly. Petitioners resided in California when the petition commencing this proceeding was filed. On August 4, 1997, respondent received petitioners’ joint 1996 Federal income tax return. Petitioners reported on that return that their home address was 2205 Hilltop Drive #147, Redding, California 96002 (Hilltop address). The Hilltop address was a private mailbox at which petitioners sometimes received mail. Since 1996, petitioners have also used a mailing address at 1137 B Hartnell Avenue in Bella Vista, California (Hartnell address). Respondent received petitioners’ 1998 Federal income tax return on October 20, 1999, petitioners’ amended 1998 Federal income tax return on February 4, 2000, and petitioners’ 1999 Federal income tax return on October 12, 2000. Petitioners - 3 - reported on each of those returns that their mailing address was 3041 Lawrence Road, Redding, California 96002 (Lawrence address). Petitioners lived at the Lawrence address before 1996 with Ms. Carey’s mother but did not live there in 1996 or in any subsequent year. In 1996, petitioners had converted the house at the Lawrence address into a care home for disabled adults. Mr. Carey was the administrator of the care home, which was named Sunshine Residential (Sunshine). Respondent’s revenue agent, Gil Akers, was assigned to audit petitioners’ 1995 and 1996 taxable years. He started auditing those years together but subsequently bifurcated the audit into its separate years. As to 1996, respondent issued a duplicate notice of deficiency to each petitioner on June 2, 2000. The notice determined that petitioners were liable for a $442,993 deficiency in income tax and a $88,598.60 accuracy-related penalty under section 6662(a). The basis of that determination was respondent’s disallowance of $455,224 in business deductions, his $648,443 increase in income stemming from four claimed trusts, and his $1,066 increase in interest income.1 The claimed trusts were named Home Health Services (Home Health), Residential Management Services (Residential), Rancho Residential Program 1 Respondent conceded in his brief that petitioners’ understatement of interest income was $1,065 rather than $1,066. We consider this concession to be immaterial to our decision. Accordingly, we do not require a Rule 155 computation to reflect this concession. - 4 - (Rancho), and Sunshine. In 1996, Mr. Carey had sole signatory authority on the bank accounts maintained for Home Health, Residential, Rancho, and Sunshine. Respondent mailed the subject notices of deficiency to petitioners at the Lawrence address by way of certified mail. The United States Postal Service (USPS) attempted unsuccessfully to deliver the notices to that address on Monday, June 5, 2000, and Tuesday, June 13, 2000, and returned the notices to respondent on July 20, 2000. The USPS noted on the certified envelopes that they were “unclaimed”. On October 30, 2000, respondent assessed the amount of the deficiency and accuracy- related penalty against petitioners. On January 8, 2001, respondent mailed to petitioners as to 1996 a Letter 1058, Final Notice, Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. Respondent mailed the letter to the Lawrence address. One week later, respondent mailed to petitioners as to 1996 a related Letter 3172, Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing under IRC 6320. That letter was also mailed to the Lawrence address. On or about January 16, 2001, petitioners responded to Letter 1058 by filing with the Commissioner a Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process Hearing. Petitioners listed on this form that their address was the Lawrence address and stated that they planned to challenge the amount of the unpaid taxes which - 5 - respondent alleged were owed. On or about February 20, 2001, petitioners responded to Letter 3172 by filing another Form 12153. Petitioners listed in that form that their address was the Hartnell address. Petitioners requested from respondent in both forms that he provide them with: (1) A copy of the record of assessment, (2) a copy of any record of any proceeding as to the notice of assessment, and (3) a copy of any record of any proceeding or administrative act, upon which respondent had relied to determine that petitioners were liable taxpayers. Before the instant judicial proceeding was commenced, respondent did not provide petitioners with any of the requested information. During this proceeding, respondent provided petitioners with the relevant Form 4340, Certificate of Assessments, Payments, and Other Specified Matter. On May 22, 2001, the Internal Revenue Service Office of Appeals held the requisite hearing with Mr. Carey under sections 6320 and 6330. During the hearing, Mr. Carey requested a copy of the notice of deficiency. The Appeals officer did not give Mr. Carey a copy of the notice of deficiency and did not allow Mr. Carey to discuss either the notice of deficiency or the deficiency itself. On June 8, 2001, respondent issued to petitioners a Notice of Determination Concerning Collection Action(s) under Section 6320 and/or 6330. Subsequently, in August 2001, petitioners - 6 - filed with the Commissioner a Form 8822, Change of Address, changing their address from the Lawrence address to the Hilltop address. OPINION In a proceeding commenced under section 6330(d), the Court applies a de novo standard to redetermine a taxpayer’s underlying tax liability, when and if at issue, and an abuse of discretion standard to review certain other administrative determinations of the Commissioner. Sego v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 604, 610 (2000). Section 6330(c)(2)(B) provides that a taxpayer’s underlying tax liability may be at issue only if he or she “did not receive any statutory notice of deficiency for such tax liability or did not otherwise have an opportunity to dispute such tax liability.” Here, petitioners argue that they did not receive a notice of deficiency for 1996 and that respondent never mailed a notice of deficiency to them for 1996 at their last known address. Petitioners allege that their last known address for purposes of the notice of deficiency at hand was the address of an enrolled agent named Tim Riley (Riley). Petitioners allege that they had filed with the Commissioner a writing designating Riley as their authorized representative to receive all of their correspondence from the Commissioner for 1995, 1996, and 1997. - 7 - We disagree with petitioners’ arguments and are unpersuaded by their allegations. The record establishes that petitioners’ last known address for purposes of the notice of deficiency was the Lawrence address. See United States v. Zolla, 724 F.2d 808, 810 (9th Cir. 1984) (taxpayer’s last known address is the address that appears on the taxpayer’s most recently filed Federal tax return, unless the Commissioner is given clear and concise notification of a different address); Abeles v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. 1019 (1988) (same); see also Lifter v. Commissioner, 59 T.C. 818, 821 (1973) (“taxpayer’s last known address may be his office rather than his residence”). See generally sec. 301.6212-1(a), Proced. & Admin. Regs. (Commissioner adopts the rule of Zolla and Abeles, effective Jan. 29, 2001). Given our finding that petitioners’ most recent Federal tax return before the issuance of the notice of deficiency listed their mailing address as the Lawrence address, we conclude that the Commissioner’s mailing of the notice of deficiency to that address was appropriate. As to petitioners’ allegations as to Riley, we find them unsubstantiated. The record includes neither a copy of Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, designating Mr. Riley as petitioners’ authorized representative for 1996, nor any other credible evidence establishing a clear and concise notification to the Commissioner that the Lawrence - 8 - address was not their mailing address for purposes of the notices of deficiency.2 In an attempt to establish that Riley was their authorized representative for purposes of receiving all of their correspondence from the Commissioner for 1996, petitioners rely upon a piece of evidence that includes an undated letter. In the letter, respondent acknowledges that Riley is an authorized representative for petitioners. The letter, however, does not indicate the year or years for which Riley is petitioners’ authorized representative or the time that any such representation began. Nor does the letter indicate that Riley is petitioners’ authorized representative for purposes of receiving all notices and other correspondence. Nor have petitioners persuaded us that they should not be treated for purposes of section 6330 as receiving the notices of deficiency. Contrary to petitioners’ suggestion, the mere fact that they never actually received a notice of deficiency for 1996 does not preclude the Court from concluding that the receipt requirement of section 6330 was met. In Sego v. Commissioner, supra, we held that the petitioning wife was precluded from challenging her underlying tax liability 2 Whereas petitioners did file a Form 8822 with respondent on or about August 2, 2001, changing their address from the Lawrence address to the Hilltop address, the notices of deficiency were mailed to them on June 2, 2000. - 9 - under section 6330 although she did not actually receive a notice of deficiency. On the basis of Erhard v. Commissioner, 87 F.3d 273 (9th Cir. 1996), affg. T.C. Memo. 1994-344, and Patmon & Young Profl. Corp. v. Commissioner, 55 F.3d 216, 218 (6th Cir. 1995), affg. T.C. Memo. 1993-143, we held that the conduct of the wife and her husband “constituted deliberate refusal of delivery and repudiation of their opportunity to contest the notices of deficiency in this Court”. Sego v. Commissioner, supra at 611; accord Baxter v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-300. We believe that the same principle applies here. Although Mr. Carey testified that he did not know that the Commissioner was attempting to deliver a notice of deficiency to him and his wife, the facts and circumstances of this case, coupled with our observation of Mr. Carey during his testimony, lead us to conclude that petitioners deliberately refused delivery of the notice. First, absent clear evidence to the contrary, employees of the USPS are presumed to properly discharge their official duties. United States v. Chem. Found., Inc., 272 U.S. 1, 14-15 (1926) (“The presumption of regularity supports the official acts of public officers and, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, courts presume that they have properly discharged their official duties.”). Petitioners have not rebutted this presumption as to the USPS’s attempted delivery of the notices of deficiency. Second, the Lawrence address housed a small business - 10 - for which Mr. Carey was the administrator. The USPS had attempted to deliver the notices of deficiency to that address on two separate business days, and Mr. Carey had received previous correspondence that the Commissioner had mailed to him at that address.3 Petitioners also argue that the proposed levy is invalid because the Commissioner failed to give them at the hearing the requested documents concerning the validity of the assessment. We disagree that any such failure by the Commissioner invalidates the proposed levy. As we recently observed in Nestor v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 162, 166 (2002): “Section 6330(c)(1) does not require the Appeals officer to give the taxpayer a copy of the verification that the requirements of any applicable law or administrative procedure have been met.” Moreover, although petitioners did not receive the Form 4340 at the hearing, they did receive it contemporaneously with their trial in this Court and have not established in this proceeding any irregularity in the assessment procedure that would raise a question about the 3 Even if petitioners’ underlying tax liability for 1996 was at issue, petitioners have failed to prove that respondent’s determination of their income tax liability was in error. In addition, respondent has introduced enough evidence to support his determination as to the accuracy-related penalty under sec. 6662(a), and petitioners have failed to disprove that determination. See also Residential Mgmt. Servs. Trust v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-297, wherein the Court held: (1) Income that petitioners reported and argued for 1995 was attributable to Residential was assignable to them, and (2) petitioners were liable for an accuracy-related penalty. - 11 - validity of the assessment. We conclude, as we did in Nestor v. Commissioner, supra at 167, that petitioners have suffered no prejudice by their receipt of the Form 4340 after the hearing. Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, we sustain the Commissioner’s proposed levy. We have considered all arguments made by petitioners, and those not discussed herein have been rejected as without merit. Decision will be entered for respondent.
The number of minority head coaches in the NFL is back up to an all-time high Prior to the 2017 NFL season, the Denver Broncos hired Vance Joseph and the Los Angeles Chargers hired Anthony Lynn to be their respective head coaches. Those two coaches were the latest additions to a growing number of minority coaches in the NFL. After the 2002 season, the NFL instituted the "Rooney Rule," requiring NFL teams to interview minority candidates for vacant head coaching positions. At the time, there was one minority head coach. Over the next eight years, that number grew, peaking in 2011 at eight. However, in recent years the number had been dropping again and there was a growing concern that the pipeline was drying up with the retirement of Tony Dungy (who had previously mentored a number of young, minority coaches) and with so few minority coordinators in the NFL, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But after dropping to just four minority coaches in 2013, the number is again rising, and is now once again back up to eight, including seven African-American coaches.
Q: Where do I report an iproute2 bug? I have a command in shell script: ip neigh flush dev eth0 192.168.1.21 which cause messages (syslog) to record the following error: Feb 2 15:53:03 rpiautomation kernel: [1324706.360319] netlink: 12 bytes leftover after parsing attributes in process `ip'. My Raspberry runs Jessie, updated and upgraded. The version of ip is: ip utility, iproute2-ss140804 I assume a bug exists, and wonder where can I report it? A: Iproute is specific to linux based systems and I believe developed in tandem with the kernel. In any case, it's a handled on a kernel mailing list, netdev, although whether or not they welcome bug reports there I don't know (see also here). You could instead start downstream with Debian; I think starting with Raspbian would be a waste of time unless it turns out to be non-reproducible on Debian.
Wisconsin Governor Walker launches website touting his changes October 24, 2011 The Associated Press (AP/File) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker has launched a new website touting the results of changes he pushed this year, including his proposal taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from state workers. The website launched Monday comes less than a month before his opponents say they will start a petition drive to force a recall election next year. Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate accuses Walker of using taxpayer money to launch what he calls a campaign website. Walker says he will use the website at www.reforms.wi.gov to provide information for people who have asked what results have come from the changes his administration backed earlier this year. The site includes testimonials from school officials talking about money they've saved from employees being required to pay more for their pensions and health care.
Open assessment of the effect of prazosin on plasma lipids. Seventeen patients with newly diagnosed hypertension, or with hypertension not optimally controlled by previous treatment, completed an open, noncomparative study on the effects of prazosin on plasma lipids. Patients with diabetes mellitus, raised triglycerides, or alcohol consumption of over 250 g/week, and patients on concomitant treatment with drugs known to affect lipid levels were excluded. Diastolic blood pressure varied between 90 and 115 mm Hg. Prazosin was given initially in a dose of 1 mg three times a day for the first 2 weeks. If the drug was well tolerated but the blood pressure response was not satisfactory, the dose was increased at fortnightly intervals to 2 mg t.i.d., 4 mg t.i.d., and to a maximum of 6 mg t.i.d. Patients were reviewed twice before the start of prazosin treatment, the intervals between visits being not less than 2 weeks, and after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks of prazosin treatment. Patients attended in the morning after an overnight fast of 12-16 h. Duplicate measurements of blood pressure and heart rate were recorded after 5 min lying down and after 2 min standing. Blood was taken for measurements of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, as well as other hematological and biochemical parameters. Prazosin reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly. There was a slight tendency to increase HDL and reduce total cholesterol, but in neither case were these changes statistically significant. Triglyceride levels did not change significantly either.
Q: Orthogonal complement of a Hilbert Space I have this problem: Let $S$ be a subset of a Hilbert $H$ and let $M$ be the closed subspace generated by $S$. Show that $M^{\perp} = S^{\perp}$ $M = (S^{\perp})^{\perp}$ if $V$ is a subspace of $H$, then $H = \overline{V}\oplus V^{\perp}$. I have some doubts, because $H$ don't have finite dimension. For example, for 1. its clear that $S \subseteq M$ and then $M^{\perp} \subseteq S^{\perp}$. Later, if $x\in S^{\perp}$ then $\langle x, a\rangle = 0$, for all $a\in S$. Now in finite dimension I know how justify that $\langle x, b\rangle = 0$, for all $b\in M$, but in a Hilbert I really don't know. Thanks in advance for your help A: Hint: Use the completeness assumption; that is, use a Cauchy sequence of finite linear combinations in $S$ approximating a given element in $M$. Some more elaboration: As you said, $M^{\perp} \subseteq S^{\perp}$. To show the reverse inclusion, we do the following: using your notation, $\langle x, a \rangle = 0$ for every $x \in S^{\perp}, a \in S$. Now we have to use the crucial assumption: $M$ is the closed subspace generated by $S$. This means that for every element $b \in M$, there exists a sequence $\{b_n\}$ of elements in the span of $S$ (e.g. linear combinations of elements of $S$) such that $\\|b_n - b\\| \rightarrow 0$. This is precisely the power of Hilbert spaces; they are complete, so you are allowed to take limits of Cauchy sequences and they will converge. Notice that $\langle x, b_n \rangle = 0$ for every $n$, since $b_n$ is just a finite sum of elements of $S$, each of which are orthogonal to $x$. Then $$ \|\langle x, b \rangle - \langle x, b_n \rangle \| = \| \langle x, b - b_n \rangle \| \le \\|x\\| \\|b - b_n \\| \rightarrow 0$$ so it follows that $\langle x, b \rangle = 0$, and hence $x \in M^{\perp}$, so $S^{\perp} \subseteq M^{\perp}$. A: M is the subspace generated by S so M is the smallest closed subspace containing S by definition. For the first question since $S\subset M$ then if $v\in M^{\perp}$ then $v$ is perpendicular to all elements in $M$. Hence is perpendicular to all elements in $S$. So $v\in S^{\perp}$. Since $M$ is the smallest closed subspace containing $S$ and the inner product in continuous in both components then if $v\in S^{\perp}$ then I claim that $v\in M^{\perp}$. For any vector $w\in S$ we have $<w,v>=0$. All other vectors in $M$ can be obtained by sequences in $S$. So if $w\in M$ but $w\notin S$ then we can find a sequence $\{w_n\}_{n\ge1}$ of elements in $S$ converging to $w$. But $<w,v>=lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}<w_n.v>=0$. So $S^{\perp}\subset M^{\perp}$. This give us the first question. I think that is what you were having trouble justifying. A: It should be well known that for a closed subspace $M$ of a Hilbert space $H$, $H = M \oplus M^{\perp}$. From $ S \subset M$ follows $M^\perp \subseteq S^\perp $ so $H = M^\perp \oplus M \subseteq S^\perp \oplus M $. Then $S^\perp $ cannot be a proper subset of $M^\perp $ so $S^\perp = M^\perp $. $M^\perp $ is closed (intersection of kernels of continuous $x \mapsto (m, x),m \in M $), so $ H = (M^\perp)^\perp \oplus M^\perp = M \oplus M^\perp $. $M$ cannot be proper subspace of $(M^\perp)^\perp$ so $M=(M^\perp)^\perp$. Therefore $M= (M^\perp)^\perp = (S^\perp)^\perp$. If $V$ is a closed subspace of $H$ then from $V \subset \overline V, V^\perp \supseteq {\overline V}^\perp $, so $ H = \overline V \oplus (\overline V)^\perp \subseteq \overline V \oplus V^\perp$ wherefrom $H= \overline V \oplus V^\perp$.
Q: Why do some sorbet recipes call for egg whites? Frozen sorbet recipes are generally simple, with only a few ingredients. For example: fruit puree water sugar egg white! Why is the egg white present? And why is this not consistent in the sorbet recipes from a single author; what would make you put egg white in one sorbet but not another? A: From a food blog: I often use egg whites to emulsify (smooth) my sorbets. I have also used lecithin and xanthan gum to great success when trying to not add extra liquid or worrying about someone who is allergic to egg whites. And another one: Others swear by whipped egg white for a creamy consistency So it seems it makes ice cream creamy. I guess there are other ways to create the same effect. And maybe you don't want to have the same effect across all recipes.
Combat Dental Anxiety thru Herbal Oral Sedation A lot of individuals today suffer from dental anxiety. This dental condition triggers fear and tension which affects anyone, including kids and elderly. Luckily, oral sedation is on board now! This dental treatment makes all anxious patients comfortable and relaxed while having their treatment. Oral sedation comes with several medication types. All in all, these fight dental anxiety and promote comfortable dental treatment. Oral sedation’s most profitable and in-demand type is herbal oral sedation. Herbal oral sedation is like the rest of anti-anxiety treatments. This makes anxious patients relaxed and calm from the very beginning of the treatment up to the end. Anxious patients consider this treatment prior to the therapy. This herbal medication produces sedative effect that can make you sleepy, unconscious and less fearful during the treatment. Basically, herbal oral sedation comes from natural chemicals of a certain plant. Without a doubt, conventional oral sedations are beneficial to us all. However, herbal alternatives offer higher health benefits compared to other forms of sedation. The fact that conventional oral sedation comes from chemicals inside the lab, possible health risks are feasible. This is why all conventional drugs undergo testing from the Food and Drug Administration first. Unlike conventional oral sedation, the herbal oral sedation products don’t need the FDA approval. They are easy to store and sell to the pharmacies. Not to mention, herbal oral sedations are safe and free of possible health problems and infections in the long run. Since herbal products, like herbal oral sedation doesn’t need the FDA’s approval, they no longer need thorough testing to ensure safety to consumers. And as you obtain these to the pharmacies, it doesn’t require prescription from your dentist. Herbal oral sedations come with different forms and types. Their most popular kind is kava. Kava is a natural alternative that fights dental anxiety and fear. It comes from natural ingredients extracted to create one remedy. Other forms of herbal oral sedations that fight and help you combat dental anxiety are valerian and passionflower. Kava, valerian and passionflower are safe. However, every patient should be cautious in their possible side effects. Studies show that in rare cases, herbal oral sedation may cause dizziness, headache and heart palpitations. Due to these reports, you should visit your dentist first before making a move.
[Value of urgent colonoscopy in diagnosis of severe acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with different bowel cleanliness]. To investigate the value of urgent colonoscopy in the diagnosis of severe acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding and the optimal bowel preparation before examination. The clinical data were collected from 188 patients undergoing wither urgent or elective colonoscopy for severe acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding in Nanfang Hospital. Univariate analysis was used to assess the effect of the timing of colonoscopy on the diagnostic rate of hemorrhage, and a multivariate model which stratified bowel cleanliness was used to analyze the impact of bowel cleanliness on the diagnostic rate of urgent colonoscopy. Of the 188 patients, 118 underwent urgent colonoscopy and 70 underwent elective colonoscopy examinations. The diagnostic rates were comparable between the two groups (44.1% vs 41.4%, P=0.724), but urgent colonoscopy resulted in a significantly higher diagnostic rate for identifying the bleeding source (32.2% vs 18.6%, P=0.041). The proportion of the patients taking oral laxatives was significantly lower in urgent colonoscopy group (P<0.001). Oral laxatives versus enema resulted in good, moderate, and poor bowel cleanliness in 63.6% vs 13.5%, 28.6% vs 24.3%, and 7.8% vs 62.2% of the patients (P<0.001). Univariate analysis indicated that good bowel cleanliness was associated with a significantly higher diagnostic rate of colonoscopy than poor bowel cleanliness (P=0.012). Multivariate analysis showed that with good bowel cleanliness, urgent colonoscopy yielded a significantly higher diagnostic rate than elective colonoscopy (P=0.030); subgroup analyses suggested that good bowel cleanliness improved the diagnostic rate of urgent colonoscopy as compared with poor bowel cleanliness (P=0.015). In patients with good bowel cleanliness, urgent colonoscopy yields a higher diagnostic rate than elective colonoscopy for severe acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Poor bowel cleanliness resulting from bowel preparation by enema significantly lowers the diagnostic performance of urgent colonoscopy. Oral laxatives are recommended over enemas for bowel preparation before urgent colonoscopy when the patients have stable hemodynamics.
<?php /** * Locale data for 'kaj'. * * This file is automatically generated by yiic cldr command. * * Copyright © 1991-2007 Unicode, Inc. All rights reserved. * Distributed under the Terms of Use in http://www.unicode.org/copyright.html. * * @copyright 2008-2013 Yii Software LLC (http://www.yiiframework.com/license/) */ return array ( 'version' => '5798', 'numberSymbols' => array ( 'alias' => '', 'decimal' => '.', 'group' => ',', 'list' => ';', 'percentSign' => '%', 'plusSign' => '+', 'minusSign' => '-', 'exponential' => 'E', 'perMille' => '‰', 'infinity' => '∞', 'nan' => 'NaN', ), 'decimalFormat' => '#,##0.###', 'scientificFormat' => '#E0', 'percentFormat' => '#,##0%', 'currencyFormat' => '¤ #,##0.00', 'currencySymbols' => array ( 'AUD' => 'AU$', 'BRL' => 'R$', 'CAD' => 'CA$', 'CNY' => 'CN¥', 'EUR' => '€', 'GBP' => '£', 'HKD' => 'HK$', 'ILS' => '₪', 'INR' => '₹', 'JPY' => 'JP¥', 'KRW' => '₩', 'MXN' => 'MX$', 'NZD' => 'NZ$', 'THB' => '฿', 'TWD' => 'NT$', 'USD' => 'US$', 'VND' => '₫', 'XAF' => 'FCFA', 'XCD' => 'EC$', 'XOF' => 'CFA', 'XPF' => 'CFPF', 'NGN' => '₦', ), 'monthNames' => array ( 'wide' => array ( 1 => 'Hywan A̱yrnig', 2 => 'Hywan A̱hwa', 3 => 'Hywan A̱tat', 4 => 'Hywan A̱naai', 5 => 'Hywan A̱pfwon', 6 => 'Hywan A̱kitat', 7 => 'Hywan A̱tyirin', 8 => 'Hywan A̱ninai', 9 => 'Hywan A̱kumviriyin', 10 => 'Hywan Swak', 11 => 'Hywan Swak B\'a̱yrnig', 12 => 'Hywan Swak B\'a̱hwa', ), 'abbreviated' => array ( 1 => 'A̱yr', 2 => 'A̱hw', 3 => 'A̱ta', 4 => 'A̱na', 5 => 'A̱pf', 6 => 'A̱ki', 7 => 'A̱ty', 8 => 'A̱ni', 9 => 'A̱ku', 10 => 'Swa', 11 => 'Sby', 12 => 'Sbh', ), ), 'monthNamesSA' => array ( 'narrow' => array ( 1 => '1', 2 => '2', 3 => '3', 4 => '4', 5 => '5', 6 => '6', 7 => '7', 8 => '8', 9 => '9', 10 => '10', 11 => '11', 12 => '12', ), ), 'weekDayNames' => array ( 'wide' => array ( 0 => 'Ladi', 1 => 'Lintani', 2 => 'Talata', 3 => 'Larba', 4 => 'Lamit', 5 => 'Juma', 6 => 'Asabar', ), 'abbreviated' => array ( 0 => 'Lad', 1 => 'Lin', 2 => 'Tal', 3 => 'Lar', 4 => 'Lam', 5 => 'Jum', 6 => 'Asa', ), ), 'weekDayNamesSA' => array ( 'narrow' => array ( 0 => '1', 1 => '2', 2 => '3', 3 => '4', 4 => '5', 5 => '6', 6 => '7', ), ), 'eraNames' => array ( 'abbreviated' => array ( 0 => 'G.M.', 1 => 'M.', ), 'wide' => array ( 0 => 'Gabanin Miladi', 1 => 'Miladi', ), 'narrow' => array ( 0 => 'G.M.', 1 => 'M.', ), ), 'dateFormats' => array ( 'full' => 'EEEE, y MMMM dd', 'long' => 'y MMMM d', 'medium' => 'y MMM d', 'short' => 'yy/MM/dd', ), 'timeFormats' => array ( 'full' => 'HH:mm:ss zzzz', 'long' => 'HH:mm:ss z', 'medium' => 'HH:mm:ss', 'short' => 'HH:mm', ), 'dateTimeFormat' => '{1} {0}', 'amName' => 'A.M.', 'pmName' => 'P.M.', 'orientation' => 'ltr', 'pluralRules' => array ( 0 => 'n==1', 1 => 'true', ), );
Hi everyone! As some of y’all might already know, I just received my Ewa Michalak order! The bras are absolutely AMAZING and I am completely smitten, but before I review the two sets I bought, I thought I’d do a quick overview of the custom ordering process. I’d read a ton of reviews of Ewa Michalak bras, and how to order custom sizes from them, but for some reason was still nervous about it! I just wasn’t sure exactly how things were supposed to work, and I have an extreme planning personality: I need to know exactly what is going to happen, and when it is going to happen or else I just start to get anxious and uncomfortable. So emailing EM to begin the custom order process was nerve wracking for me, and as a result, I’m going to describe how it went for me here, in as much detail as possible! First, I decided what I wanted from the website. I knew I was going to get a CH Karmelki and the matching thong, but I also really wanted a new bra in the PL style. Unfortunately, no other bras were appealing to me as much as the CHP Mak. So, thinking to myself, “how hard could it be for them to take a completely solid colored bra and cut it a different way?” I emailed them (at sklep@ewa-michalak.pl) and said: Hi! On the website, only the CHP style is listed with the Mak. Will a PL version ever be available, or could one be requested? I love the color but fit better in a plunge style. Thanks Robin They responded fairly promptly, simply asking what size I’d like the PL Mak in! I responded with the size, and then also asked to add the other items (CH Karmelki, Stringi Karmelki, Figi Mak) to the order. At this point, they asked me to create an account on their website, as I didn’t already have one. So I did, and then since I was unsure what to do I just emailed back saying “Hi! I created an account. What should I do next?” They requested that I repeat my order, as well as confirm that I knew that custom orders were not returnable/exchangable, so I wrote back: Hi, I understand that I can’t return or exchange my order. I’d like a PL Mak in a 28K, a CH Karmelki in a 28JJ, figi Mak in a 12 (40) (this one: http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/product-eng-304-Figi-Mak-.html) and stringi Karmelki in a 12 (40). Thanks Robin The next email they sent me said they had created the order for me, and included the price (in zlotys) that my order came to, as well as the order number. They said they would be sending a payment request soon, and I received one the next day. The payment request was through Paypal, but was unfortunately in Polish. I didn’t really deal with figuring out the Polish thing though, because I just forwarded it to my parents for them to pay (the order was my Christmas present from them). Once the order was paid for, I received an email saying that my order was placed on hold because some items weren’t in stock (I figure this is standard for custom orders). A few days later, I received an email saying that the order had started being processed, and then later the same day I got an email stating that it had been shipped. My package was shipped on December 20th, and I received it January 5th, so it took 13 business days from Poland to South Carolina. It might normally be faster than that, but I ordered right around the holidays, and we all know how much slower everything goes at that time of year! Overall my experience with Ewa Michalak was great, and I am much less hesitant and nervous to order from them in the future. The customer service was always prompt, usually responding to my emails by the next day, and they were very accommodating to my “extra special” request. The English wasn’t perfect, but it was always understandable, and the language “barrier” wasn’t really a barrier at all in the ordering process. I’m very thankful that they speak English, as I don’t know a lick of Polish (Actually not true! I learned that “mak” means “poppy-seed”! So I know one word of Polish!), and if I couldn’t order from them I would not be in bra heaven right now! I think the best thing you can do if you have a question about Ewa Michalak… is to just ask them! I wanted to know if I could get a PL Mak. I thought it would be a longshot, but I asked anyway, and it paid off! I am very excited to order from them again 🙂 Excuse my holiday tummy and the less than perfect lighting in these pictures, but I wanted to give y’all a look at what I got! Reviews to come soon 🙂
Singapore could soon reportedly fight “online falsehoods” through mandatory government “correction notices,” which would be made to run next to the “false” content. Content could even be removed if it contains any falsehoods. According to CNBC, “Singapore is close to passing a law that could force websites to run government ‘correction notices’ alongside content it deems false, and the new rules are likely to affect how big social media companies like Facebook and Twitter operate in the country.” “Under the law, called the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, the government will also be able to issue so-called ‘take down’ orders that require the removal of content posted by social media companies, news organizations or individuals,” CNBC reported, adding that the “bill was put before parliament on Monday evening local time,” and “could become law in the coming month or two.” Singapore’s Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, explained in a statement that the “legislation deals with false statements of fact,” and “doesn’t deal with opinions.” “It doesn’t deal with viewpoints. You can have whatever viewpoints however reasonable or unreasonable,” Shanmugam declared, claiming that false information “undermines free speech,” and “undermines democracy.” Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also explained that offenders would be made to “show corrections or display warnings about online falsehoods so that readers or viewers can see all sides and make up their own minds about the matter,” and in “extreme and urgent cases, the legislation will also require online news sources to take down fake news before irreparable damage is done.” Facebook has reportedly opposed the legislation.
Q: If a.i=4, then ,what is the value of (axj).(2j-3k) , where a is a vector This is a question I saw in a question paper of a competitive exam but I was unable to solve it. Can anyone please assist me with any sort of hint to solve this problem and any type of explanation if needed in the hint. Any help will be highly appreciated. A: $a\cdot i=4$ means that $a=4i+sj+tk$ where $s$ and $t$ are real, and so $a\times j=4k-ti$. Now take the dot product with $2j-3k$; I think that pesky $t$ will obligingly vanish.
Date : 28/11/2016 Venue : Stadio Giuseppe Meazza Competition : Serie A 2016/2017, Matchday 14 Inter took their first win with new manager Stefano Pioli after a fantastic start that saw them lead by a three goal difference before even the 20th minute mark and gave them the win, hiding at the same time many of the problems that the nerazzurri faced in their performance. With the match being primarily influenced by Inter’s coach defensive tactics, it would be wise to start with an explanation on how his team defended against Paulo Sousa’s. Inter’s defense Above you can see how Inter tried to defend against a Fiorentina side that builded-up in 3-4-2-1 formation. With the CBs being responsible for initiating the play, Banega’s and Icardi’s task was to apply pressure to the ball carrier in order to force him towards Fiorentina’s right side, while the nerazzurro captain also had the task of marking Astori, the most able CB the opposition had in terms of making penetrating passes and breaking the opposition lines, thus, never moving too far from the Italian defender. Kondogbia and Brozovic had to mark Borja Valero and Badelj that created the Fiorentina double pivot, in order to eliminate them as passing options, while Ivan Perisic was responsible for protecting the left inside channel in order to cut any passing lane in that area and leave as the only open option Tello, who was pressed by Ansaldi when receiving the ball. Candreva’s task was to man mark Milic and also cover Danilo D’Ambrosio who was following Bernardeschi’s movements, many of them centrally between Inter’s midfield and defensive line, consequently leaving big spaces at the right side of the field. Inter’s defensive problems Of course, with Pioli implementing such man-oriented defensive tactics, with a lot of man-marking also it was natural that Inter seemed at times out of structure and presented some noticeable problems. As it can be seen in the video above, Inter’s biggest defensive problem was a result of both CMs, Kondogbia and Brozovic moving up at the same time to mark Badelj and Borja Valero, leaving big spaces between them and a defensive line that exacerbated the problem by staying at times too deep. To counter this foreseen problem the Italian coach had ordered D’Ambrosio to follow Bernardeschi’s dropping movements in those spaces, something that of course created another problem as there were now spaces next to Ranocchia and behind the Italian RB. Spaces that Candreva had the task to cover, a task evidently too big for a winger that had to mark the opposition WB but also sprint in time in order to take part in Inter’s counterattacks. It was a problem that Kalinic took advantage of in order to score his team’s first goal of the night. As you can see above, Kalinic moves in the space created by the dropping movement of Bernardeschi that dragged D’Ambrosio out of position, and is not picked by neither Ranocchia nor Miranda, with Candreva being the Croat’s only direct opponent just before the goal. Another problem that Stefano Pioli faced, regarded Banega’s defending. The Argentinian was too slow to react, or wasn’t even making an attempt to, in cases when Kondogbia and Brozovic were passing their man to him in order to drop deeper and protect the defensive line, and as a result there were times when Borja Valero or Badelj were free to carry the ball and find the right penetrative pass. He was also not very helpful in situations when Icardi was found out of position and couldn’t mark Astori, not moving towards the Italian defender to mark him, leaving him free. Pioli responds Seeing Fiorentina score before halftime and his team unstable defensively, Pioli decided to substitute Kondogbia, who had a yellow card and considering the nature of the game it was very risky to continue, with J.Mario and make some tactical changes. Above you can see how Inter defended in the second half against the ten-man Fiorentina, after Stefano Pioli’s tactical changes. With the Fiorentina build-up starting from the CBs, it was now only Icardi’s job to apply pressure and force the ball towards the Viola RCB. As soon as the ball started to move towards the RCB (Salcedo), Banega had to leave his position covering one of the two opposition DMs and pressurize the Mexican, while Perisic had to take over centrally and mark Valero or Badelj. This tactical change of course left Inter’s left inside channel empty for passes to be made towards Ilicic but at the same time allowed Inter to have Brozovic as a DM in a role where he could assist with their defensive tasks both the defenders and the other two midfielders. With the match becoming anarchic as the time passed by due to Fiorentina’s willingness to attack on the counter, with Borja Valero also taking a more free role that created some confusion in the Inter midfield, and the nerazzurri more than content to respond in the same way in their attempt to take advantage of the spaces on either side of the Fiorentina CBs(created due to the absence of one of the two WBs after the red card), Pioli put Felipe Melo in the place of Ever Banega to defend the central areas better. Despite the fact, however, that this anarchy was favoring the team that was one man down, it was Inter that managed to score another goal, as Icardi made the score 4-2. Conclusion Inter took another win that keeps them alive for another week in the Champions league race by taking advantage of their incredible start, but leave the pitch with a lot of problems to be solved and a lot of area’s to be improved by Pioli and his staff. It will be very interesting to see how Pioli is going to set his team up for the upcoming match against Napoli, as the individual defending based and a lot of times structure-less Inter will probably face a lot of problems against Sarri’s very fluid and talented team. For more Inter and non-Inter related Tactical Analysis, you can find me on Twitter, @ThanosChelas.
This invention relates to a thin film semiconductor device for display and a method of producing same, and in particular to a thin film semiconductor device for display used in a large active matrix liquid crystal display with a built-in peripheral driving part and a method of producing same. First, a common construction of an active matrix liquid crystal display device will be briefly explained, with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, this active matrix liquid display device has a flat panel structure comprising a main substrate (101), a opposed substrate (102) and a spacer (103) affixing the main substrate (101) to the opposed substrate (102), and liquid crystal is held between the two substrates. On the surface of the main substrate are formed a display part (106) consisting of pixel electrodes (104) and switching devices (105) for driving the pixel electrodes (104) arranged in a matrix, and peripheral driving parts (107) connected to the display part (106). The switching devices (105) consist of thin film transistors. Thin film transistors are also formed in the peripheral driving parts (107) as circuit elements. The main substrate (101) having the above-described constitution will hereinafter be called a xe2x80x9cthin film semiconductor device for displayxe2x80x9d. In the field of thin film transistors (TFT) integratedly formed in thin film semiconductor devices for display, structures using semiconductor films made from polysilicon are now being developed intensively and have been applied to relatively small (a few inches) active matrix liquid display devices. However, because polysilicon TFTs are made by high temperature processes, quartz substrates, which have excellent heat resistance, have been used for them. On the other hand, for comparatively large active matrix liquid crystal display panels (ten or so inches to several tens of inches) quartz substrates are not suitable due to their high cost and consequently glass substrates are employed. When a glass substrate is used, because its heat resistance is inferior, amorphous silicon TFTs, which can be made by relatively low temperature processes, have been employed. However, amorphous silicon TFTs have low mobility and P-channel amorphous silicon TFTs cannot be made. As a result it is impossible to form a peripheral driving apart on the glass substrate, and an externally attached driver device is used and mounted by the TAB method or the like. Consequently the number of pixels is restricted by the size of the screen and mounting limits. There therefore is a limit on how high-density thin film semiconductor devices for display using amorphous silicon TFTs can be made. Moreover, because an amorphous silicon TFT has low mobility, to obtain a sufficient ON-current the transistor size inevitably becomes large. Consequently the area of the display part occupied by the amorphous silicon TFTs for switching becomes large, and this is a hindrance to the realization of a high aperture ratio. Recently, polysilicon TFTs with high mobilities which can be produced by low temperature processes have been being intensively developed. This technology involves converting an amorphous silicon film into a polysilicon film by locally heating the amorphous silicon film by annealing using an excimer laser. However, it is difficult for the processes other than the forming of the semiconductor films to be made low temperature processes and made performable with large substrates, and consequently this technology has not reached practical application. For example, one process which becomes problematic is that of forming the gate insulating layer. The gate insulating layers of current polysilicon TFTs are produced by thermally oxidizing polysilicon at approximately 1000xc2x0 C. When the above thermal oxidation is replaced by some other method in which the film-forming process is carried out at a low temperature, the gate insulating film lacks a sufficient withstand voltage. Also, in order to build the peripheral driving devices in, to simultaneously build N-channel TFTs and P-channel TFTs, ion implanting of an impurity has been carried out, but an ion implantation apparatus which can handle large substrates has not been realized, and difficult problems arise. Plasma vapor phase diffusion apparatuses for use in place of ion implantation apparatuses are now being developed, but impurity control is difficult and their practical use for mass production has not been realized. In addition to the above, the most difficult problem is that it has not been possible to produce TFTs having an LDD structure (hereinafter called LDD-TFTs) by low temperature processes and without using ion implantation. LDD-TFTs are indispensable as thin film transistors for switching, and are employed in small active matrix liquid crystal display devices to prevent pixel leakage. However, it is extremely difficult at present to form LDD-TFTs by low temperature processes and without using ion implantation. In view of the problems associated with the technology discussed above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an LDD-TFT structure and manufacturing method with which large thin film semiconductor devices for display can be made by low temperature processes. A second object is, in making larger displays, to achieve increases in the performance of polysilicon TFTs included in peripheral driving parts while maintaining the LDD-TFT structure of display parts, in order to enable the incorporation of peripheral driving parts. A third object of the present invention is, in making larger displays, to provide a method by which it is possible to produce a black mask and a color filter of on-chip construction in order to obtain high pixel density and a high aperture ratio. In order to solve the problems associated with the technology discussed above and achieve the objects of the invention, the following means were devised: As the basic structure of the thin film semiconductor device for display of the present invention, there are provided a display part and a peripheral driving part formed integrally on a glass substrate. Pixel electrodes and thin film transistors for switching are arranged in a matrix in the display part. Thin film transistors to constitute circuit elements are formed in the peripheral driving part. Each thin film transistor is a bottom gate type comprising a gate electrode, a polycrystalline semiconductor layer formed on an insulating layer on the gate electrode, and a high concentration impurity film constituting a source and a drain formed on the polycrystalline semiconductor layer. The thin film transistors for switching are characterized in that they have an LDD structure wherein a low concentration impurity film is interposed between the polycrystalline semiconductor layer and the high concentration impurity film. Preferably, the display part comprises an upper side part including the pixel electrodes, a lower side part including the thin film transistors for switching, and a color filter layer, a black mask layer and a planarization layer interposed between the two. In this case, the black mask layer contains a metal wiring pattern electrically connected to the high concentration impurity layer for the source and drain. Also, the pixel electrodes are electrically connected via the metal wiring pattern to the high concentration impurity film for the drain. A film semiconductor device for display having the above-described constitution can be manufactured by the following low temperature processes: First, gate electrodes are formed on a glass substrate. Next, a semiconductor thin film is formed on an insulating film on the gate electrodes and then the semiconductor thin film is transformed into a polycrystalline layer by laser annealing. A low concentration impurity layer is then selectively formed only on the polycrystalline semiconductor layer included in the display part. Further, a high concentration impurity layer for sources and drains is formed on the low concentration impurity film, and thin film transistors for switching having a stacked LDD structure are thereby formed. At the same time, thin film transistors to be circuit elements are formed by directly forming a high concentration impurity layer for sources and drains on the polycrystalline semiconductor layer included in the peripheral driving part. Preferably, additional laser annealing is selectively performed on the high concentration impurity layers included in the peripheral driving part in order to reduce the resistance of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer. According to this invention, after gate electrodes are formed on a glass substrate a semiconductor film is formed at low temperature on a gate insulating film on the gate electrodes. After that, the semiconductor thin film is transformed into a polycrystalline semiconductor layer by laser annealing. In this way it is possible to form a polycrystalline thin film transistor by low temperature processes. Because it is a bottom gate type, this structure does not readily suffer adverse influences from impurities such as sodium contained in the glass substrate. Also, because a polycrystalline semiconductor layer is used as the device region, it is possible to make the TFT small. In particular, in the thin film transistors for pixel switching, an LDD structure can be realized by forming a low concentration impurity layer and a high concentration impurity layer on the polycrystalline semiconductor layer by low temperature processes. In this way, pixel leakage and the like, which would be fatal defects in a display device, can be effectively prevented. In the thin film transistors constituting circuit elements of the peripheral driving part, on the other hand, N-channel TFTs and P-channel TFTs can be formed at the same time by superposing a high concentration impurity layer on the polycrystalline semiconductor layer by low temperature processes, and building-in of the driver is realized. At this time, additional laser annealing is selectively performed on the thin film transistors included in the peripheral driving part to increase the speed of these TFTs. In addition, by adopting an on-chip structure of a color filter layer, a black mask layer and a planarization layer, the invention contributes to higher pixel density and higher aperture rates.
How do you know if an animal is a totem? You could feel an affinity for it. I love pigeons! Even though there really aren't any around where I live. Some people call them flying rats and heap upon them the scorn normally reserved for cockroaches and mosquitoes. We recently went to an large, urban environment, which had pigeons. Why would I assume a pigeon was my totem? I saw the birds several times in one day. While sitting outside, a very persistent pigeon kept me company. He wasn't begging for food, but wasn't leaving either. What can I learn from a pigeon? Pigeons hang out in groups. They accept support from other pigeons. When I decided to share my popcorn with the pigeon, he shared it with his feathered friends. Pigeons are bold. They are willing to approach anyone, dodge out into traffic for a delicacy, and investigate anything out of the norm. Pigeons can remind you to find your way home or least to find the love you lost somewhere. Pigeons remind us of our roots, our foundations. * A pigeon represents home & family. His message could be as simple as appreciate your family. His message might be pay attention to a loved one. When you see an aniimal that could be a totem, ask how the animal's message could apply to something in your life. Often, the message isn't always clear immediately. Feel free to Google the totem meaning. Check several sites because they don't always agree. Trust yourself too. One of the pigeons I saw was black. I noticed the other pigeons didn't assocate with the different colored bird. The black pigeon looked a little shabby and ill. What I assumed was rejection because he was different could have been a protective measure, espcially if the black bird suffered from an avian disease. It could have been a lesson about being slower to judge too.
653 F.2d 1149 VILLAGE OF ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, etc., et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,v.REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, etc., et al., Defendants-Appellees. No. 80-2442. United States Court of Appeals,Seventh Circuit. Argued April 17, 1981.Decided July 9, 1981. Jack M. Siegel, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs-appellants. Howard J. Swibel, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, Ill., for defendants-appellees. Before SWYGERT,* Senior Circuit Judge, FAIRCHILD, Circuit Judge, and JAMESON, Senior District Judge.* SWYGERT, Circuit Judge. 1 This case concerns a constitutional attack upon an Illinois statute giving a public transportation authority power to levy unequal taxes among the geographic regions within its jurisdiction. The district court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm. 2 * Plaintiffs, the Villages of Arlington Heights, Northfield, and Palatine, the City of Evanston, and nine individuals, instituted this action against the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and its directors and the Illinois Department of Revenue and its director challenging the constitutionality of certain tax ordinances enacted by the RTA and the statute authorizing the enactment of those ordinances. The plaintiff-municipalities are all municipal corporations located in Cook County, Illinois within the territorial boundaries of the RTA. The individual plaintiffs are residents and taxpayers of Arlington Heights. The RTA, a corporation created by state statute, is responsible for providing public transportation within its geographic boundaries, which include the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. The Illinois Department of Revenue is responsible for collecting and disbursing RTA taxes. 3 The statute in question, Ill.Rev.Stat.1979, Ch. 1112/3, § 704.03, as amended, authorized the RTA to impose a "Retailers' Occupation Tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in the metropolitan region at a rate not to exceed 1% of the gross receipts from such sales made in the course of such business within the County of Cook and 1/4% of the gross receipts from such sales made in the course of such business within the Counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will."1 The statute further empowered the RTA to impose a Service Occupation Tax on the sales of services and a Use Tax, both at the same rate as the Retailers' Occupation Tax. On September 24, 1979, the Board of Directors of the RTA voted to impose the Retailers' Occupation, Service Occupation, and Use Taxes as authorized by the statute. 4 Plaintiffs instituted this action on November 2, 1979, alleging that the state statute and the RTA ordinance violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Illinois Constitution; they sought injunctive and declaratory relief. The complaint alleged that the transportation services available in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties are the same as those available to plaintiffs within Cook County but outside the City of Chicago, yet plaintiffs had to pay a sales tax 3/4% higher than the tax paid by others similarly situated in the surrounding counties. The district court held that as to the individual plaintiffs, 28 U.S.C. § 13412 prevented the federal court from entertaining jurisdiction over the action because "plaintiffs as the ultimate payers of the taxes challenged have a plain, speedy and efficient remedy in the state courts of Illinois." Regarding the plaintiff-municipalities, the court concluded that it had no jurisdiction over their federal claims because, as creatures of the state, they could not challenge the validity of a state statute under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Village of Arlington Heights, the City of Evanston, and the individual plaintiffs appeal. II 5 On appeal, the individual plaintiffs contend that section 1341 does not bar this action because they have no state court remedy; according to plaintiffs, Illinois law prohibits an action challenging a tax by a third party who does not directly pay the tax at issue.3 We cannot agree with plaintiffs' interpretation of the relevant Illinois cases. 6 In Getto v. City of Chicago, 77 Ill.2d 346, 33 Ill.Dec. 155, 396 N.E.2d 544 (1979), plaintiff, a consumer, filed a class action alleging that the City of Chicago and Illinois Bell Telephone Company had collected taxes in excess of the amount they were statutorily authorized to collect. The defendants argued that plaintiff lacked standing because the tax was passed on by Bell to its customers in the form of additional charges.4 The Illinois Supreme Court disagreed: "Clearly Bell's subscribers, who have fully borne the burden of the city's message tax, have 'a personal claim, status or right which is capable of being affected' ... and thus have standing to bring this action." Id. at 355-56, 33 Ill.Dec. at 159, 396 N.E.2d at 548 (quoting Underground Contractors Ass'n v. City of Chicago, 66 Ill.2d 371, 376, 5 Ill.Dec. 827, 830, 362 N.E.2d 298, 301 (1977)). Accord, Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Community Unit School District, 44 Ill.App.3d 665, 670, 3 Ill.Dec. 290, 293-94, 358 N.E.2d 688, 691-92 (1976) ("it is not necessary that a party must be the initial taxpayer in order to challenge the constitutionality of a tax"); Adler v. Illinois Commerce Commission, 52 Ill.App.3d 167, 172, 10 Ill.Dec. 14, 18, 367 N.E.2d 402, 406 (1977).5 See also Crane Construction Co. v. Symons Clamp & Mfg. Co., 25 Ill.2d 521, 185 N.E.2d 139 (1962). 7 It is clear in the case at bar that the individual plaintiffs, who ultimately bear the burden of the tax, have a real interest in the case and are adversely affected by the imposition of the sales tax. Under Illinois law, they would have standing to challenge the validity of the tax; thus, plaintiffs have a "plain, speedy and efficient remedy" in the Illinois courts. We therefore find that the district court correctly held that this action is barred by section 1341. III 8 The district court held that although the plaintiff-municipalities have no state court remedy, they cannot challenge the validity of a state statute under the Fourteenth Amendment because they are "creatures and instrumentalities of the state." The court relied on Williams v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 289 U.S. 36, 53 S.Ct. 431, 77 L.Ed. 1015 (1933), and City of Newark v. State of New Jersey, 262 U.S. 192, 43 S.Ct. 539, 67 L.Ed. 943 (1923). In City of Newark, the Supreme Court held that "(a) City cannot invoke the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment against the State." Id. at 196, 43 S.Ct. at 540. That principle is well established in the federal courts. See City of New York v. Richardson, 473 F.2d 923, 929 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 412 U.S. 950, 93 S.Ct. 3012, 37 L.Ed.2d 1002 (1973) ("Political subdivisions of a state may not challenge the validity of a state statute under the Fourteenth Amendment"); Lindsay v. Wyman, 372 F.Supp. 1360, 1366 (S.D.N.Y.), aff'd without opinion sub nom. Beame v. Lavine, 419 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 21, 42 L.Ed.2d 35 (1974); City of South Lake Tahoe v. California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 625 F.2d 231, 233 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 101 S.Ct. 619, 66 L.Ed.2d 502 (1980); Appling County v. Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, 621 F.2d 1301, 1308-09 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 101 S.Ct. 574, 66 L.Ed.2d 474 (1980); City of Safety Harbor v. Birchfield, 529 F.2d 1251, 1254-55 (5th Cir. 1976).6 9 The municipalities contend that under the home-rule provisions of the 1970 Illinois Constitution they are no longer creatures of the state legislature but derive their powers directly from the Constitution; therefore, they reason, the decisions holding that municipalities could not challenge the acts of their creator are not applicable. The Illinois courts that have considered the question, however, have held to the contrary. 10 In People v. Valentine, 50 Ill.App.3d 447, 8 Ill.Dec. 696, 365 N.E.2d 1082 (1977), the City of Carbondale, a home-rule municipality, challenged the constitutionality of a state statute. The Illinois Appellate Court recognized that "(w)hile the home rule provisions of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 have changed the relationship of the State to home rule municipalities ... in many respects ..., the State still retains the general power to control its political subdivisions." The court then discussed what it found to be "the settled law of Illinois": 11 It is a well established principle of constitutional law that restraints against state action under the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States do not apply against a State in its relationship to ... municipalities. The amendment states that no State shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Municipal governmental entities have never been held to be "persons" within the meaning of the amendment, which was intended to guard the liberty and property of natural persons and corporations.7 12 Id. at 452, 8 Ill.Dec. at 700, 365 N.E.2d at 1086. See also Village of Riverwoods v. Department of Transportation, 77 Ill.2d 130, 136, 32 Ill.Dec. 325, 328, 395 N.E.2d 555, 558 (1979) (holding that "a municipal corporation is not entitled to the protection of the due process clause against the State"); Franciscan Hospital v. Town of Canoe Creek, 79 Ill.App.3d 490, 496-97, 34 Ill.Dec. 738, 742, 398 N.E.2d 413, 417 (1979); Village of North Pekin v. Riviere, 73 Ill.App.3d 1032, 1033, 29 Ill.Dec. 882, 883, 392 N.E.2d 439, 439 (1979). 13 The municipalities then argue that the principle announced in Williams and City of Newark does not apply here because they are challenging the RTA ordinance rather than a state statute. This contention is also without merit. First, plaintiffs in their complaint stated that they sought a "declaration that certain provisions of the Illinois Revised Statutes contained in Senate Bill 889 and purporting to amend subsection 704.03 of the Regional Transportation Act are unconstitutional and invalid under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States." Further, under the Illinois Constitution, the RTA may exercise "only powers granted by law," Illinois Const., art. VII, § 8; therefore, any claim that an RTA ordinance enacted pursuant to a state statute is unconstitutional necessarily includes a claim that the authorizing statute is unconstitutional. Finally, the principle that a municipality may not challenge acts of the state under the Fourteenth Amendment applies "whether the defendant is the state itself or another of the state's political subdivisions." City of South Lake Tahoe, supra, 625 F.2d at 233 (citing New Orleans v. New Orleans Water Works, 142 U.S. 79, 12 S.Ct. 142, 35 L.Ed. 943 (1891)). Accord, Franciscan Hospital, supra, 79 Ill.App.3d at 497, 34 Ill.Dec. at 743, 398 N.E.2d at 418. 14 For the foregoing reasons, the judgment appealed from is AFFIRMED. * At the time of oral argument, Judge Swygert was a circuit judge in active service; he assumed senior status on July 1, 1981 At the time of oral argument, Judge Fairchild was chief judge of the circuit; he became circuit judge on July 1, 1981 * The Honorable William J. Jameson, United States Senior District Judge for the District of Montana, is sitting by designation 1 The statute expressly authorized the retailers upon whom the tax was imposed to pass the tax along to their customers as an additional charge 2 28 U.S.C. § 1341 provides: The district court shall not enjoin, suspend or restrain the assessment, levy or collection of any tax under State law where a plain, speedy and efficient remedy may be had in the courts of such state. 3 Plaintiffs cited Czajkowski v. State of Illinois, 460 F.Supp. 1265 (N.D.Ill.1977), aff'd without opinion, 588 F.2d 839 (7th Cir. 1978), in support of their position, but their reliance on that case is misplaced. There plaintiff, a retailer of cigarettes in Indiana, brought a class action challenging the validity of an Illinois statute that imposed a use tax on cigarettes. The tax was collected from persons who transported cigarettes purchased in another state to Illinois; these "transporters" were plaintiff's customers. The court held that section 1341 did not bar an action by the Indiana retailers because their standing to bring an action in the Illinois courts was doubtful. The district court discussed Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Community Unit School District, 44 Ill.App.3d 665, 3 Ill.Dec. 290, 358 N.E.2d 688 (1976), but concluded that it was distinguishable from the case of the retailers because "(t)he consumer (in Commonwealth Edison ) ultimately shouldered the challenged tax burden (but) the retailers here do not pay any tax bill." Id. at 1274 4 Illinois Bell was authorized by state statute to pass on a municipal tax imposed on it in the form of higher rates to its customers. Ill.Rev.Stat.1977, Ch. 1112/3, § 36 5 The courts in those cases recognized that when the initial taxpayer passes on a tax burden to his customers, "the courts in recent years have been more liberal in allowing persons indirectly affected to bring suit." Commonwealth Edison, supra, 44 Ill.App.3d at 670, 3 Ill.Dec. at 293, 358 N.E.2d at 691, quoted in Adler, supra, 52 Ill.App.3d at 172, 10 Ill.Dec. at 18, 367 N.E.2d at 406 6 This principle also operates to bar plaintiffs' claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because "s 1983 does not provide any substantive rights at all" but merely creates a remedy for the violation of substantive rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Organization, 441 U.S. 600, 617-18, 99 S.Ct. 1905, 1915-16, 60 L.Ed.2d 508 (1979) 7 In their reply brief, plaintiffs contend that under federal law, municipalities are considered to be persons, and they cite Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). As the court in Appling County, supra, recognized, however, "(t)he Monell decision does not call into question the principle that a city or county cannot challenge a state statute on federal constitutional grounds." 621 F.2d at 1308
Inhibition of serine proteases by peptidyl fluoromethyl ketones. We have synthesized peptidyl fluoromethyl ketones that are specific inhibitors of the serine proteases alpha-chymotrypsin and porcine pancreatic elastase. By analogy with the corresponding aldehydes it is assumed that the fluoromethyl ketones react with the gamma-OH group of the active site serine to form a stable hemiacetal [Lowe, G., & Nurse, D. (1977) J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 815; Chen, R., Gorenstein, D.G., Kennedy, W.P., Lowe, G., Nurse, D., & Schultz, R.M. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 921; Shah, D.O., Lai, K., & Gorenstein, D.G. (1984) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 106, 4272]. 19F NMR studies of the chymotrypsin-bound trifluoromethyl ketone inhibitors Ac-Leu-ambo-Phe-CF3 and Ac-ambo-Phe-CF3 clearly indicate that the carbonyl carbon is tetrahedral at the active site of the enzyme. The inhibitor is bound as either the stable hydrate or the hemiacetal, involving the active site serine. The effect of varying the number of amino acid residues in the peptidyl portion of the inhibitor and the number of fluorines in the fluoromethyl ketone moiety is examined. In the series of trifluoromethyl ketone elastase inhibitors, the lowering of Ki concomitant with the change from a dipeptide analogue to a tetrapeptide analogue (Ac-Pro-ambo-Ala-CF3, Ki = 3 X 10(-3) M; Ac-Ala-Ala-Pro-ambo-Ala-CF3, Ki = 0.34 X 10(-6) M) correlates well with the variation in V/K for hydrolysis of the corresponding amide substrates. This trend is indicative of the inhibitors acting as transition-state analogues [Bartlett, P.A., & Marlowe, C.K. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 4618; Thompson, R.C. (1973) Biochemistry 12, 47].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
IT’S REPORTED THAT Turkish authorities have arrested four suspected human traffickers over the deaths of 12 Syrian migrants in two boat sinkings, including the 3-year-old boy whose image became a viral symbol of the tragedy of refugees The four, all Syrian nationals aged between 30 and 41, are accused of “causing the death of more than one person” and “trafficking migrants”, the Dogan news agency reported. They are to appear in court later today. Source: Aylan Humanitude/YouTube The shocking images surfaced yesterday and were carried on the front pages of most Irish newspapers today. The pictures have ramped up the pressure on European leaders to address the growing catastrophe - putting a human face to the dangers faced by tens of thousands of desperate people risking life and limb to get to Europe. Wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts, toddler Aylan Kurdi is believed to be one of least 12 Syrians who died when their boat, overloaded with passengers, sank in an attempt to reach Greece. Aylan, named by Turkish media, is reportedly from the town of Kobani in Syria, which has seen heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces. He was travelling with his family on a tiny boat built for four people. The UK’s Independent reports that Aylan died alongside his five-year-old brother, Galip, and their mother, Rihan after the boat overturned in the middle of the night. Photos of happier times between the two brothers have emerged today, showing Aylan and Galip laughing while holding a teddy bear. With reporting from AFP.
/* * ForbiddenArea.java * This file is part of JaCoP. * <p> * JaCoP is a Java Constraint Programming solver. * <p> * Copyright (C) 2000-2008 Krzysztof Kuchcinski and Radoslaw Szymanek * <p> * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or * (at your option) any later version. * <p> * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * GNU Affero General Public License for more details. * <p> * Notwithstanding any other provision of this License, the copyright * owners of this work supplement the terms of this License with terms * prohibiting misrepresentation of the origin of this work and requiring * that modified versions of this work be marked in reasonable ways as * different from the original version. This supplement of the license * terms is in accordance with Section 7 of GNU Affero General Public * License version 3. * <p> * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License * along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. / package org.jacop.constraints.geost; import org.jacop.core.Var; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.Collection; /* * @author Marc-Olivier Fleury and Radoslaw Szymanek * @version 4.7 * <p> * The simplest possible internal constraint: DBox defining a set of points * with which no object can overlap. / public class ForbiddenArea extends InternalConstraint { //cache area, since it will make cardInfeasible() faster final int area; final int[] origin, length; final Geost geost; /* * It constructs an internal constraint forbidding an object to be * placed within this aread. * * @param geost the geost constraint in which this internal constraint exists. * @param origin the origin of the forbidden area. * @param length the length of the forbidden area. / public ForbiddenArea(Geost geost, int[] origin, int[] length) { this.origin = origin; this.length = length; this.geost = geost; int total = 1; for (int i = 0; i < origin.length; i++) { total = length[i]; } area = total; assert (checkInvariants() == null) : checkInvariants(); } /** * It checks whether the ForbiddenArea is consistent. * * @return It returns the string description of the problem, or null if no problem * with data structure consistency encountered. / public String checkInvariants() { if (origin.length != length.length) return "dimension mismatch"; for (int i = 0; i < length.length; i++) if (length[i] < 0) return "negative length on dimension " + i; return null; } @Override public DBox isFeasible(Geost.SweepDirection min, LexicographicalOrder order, GeostObject o, int currentShape, int[] c) { //avoid allocating new object if possible final int dimension = origin.length; DBox outBox = DBox.getAllocatedInstance(dimension + 1); int[] outOrigin = outBox.origin; int[] outLength = outBox.length; / * In the simplistic case where only d-boxes are considered, the only action needed * is to shift the forbidden area according to the object's size (and internal shift), * and adjust the size of the outbox * * the lexicographical order has no influence * the sweep direction has none either */ // TODO, are the dboxes within geost objects ordered according to its area? It may be useful as here we return // the first dbox which generates useful outbox. for (DBox constrainedPiece : geost.getShape(currentShape).boxes) { for (int i = 0; i < dimension; i++) { //shift origin outLength[i] = length[i] + constrainedPiece.length[i] - 1; //adjust size outOrigin[i] = origin[i] - (constrainedPiece.length[i] - 1) - constrainedPiece.origin[i]; } //the forbidden area is the same at any time, thus the box covers the whole space in that dimension // TODO, why -Integer.MAX_VALUE/2 and not Integer.MIN_VALUE for example? outOrigin[dimension] = -Integer.MAX_VALUE / 2; outLength[dimension] = Integer.MAX_VALUE; assert (outBox.checkInvariants() == null) : outBox.checkInvariants(); if (outBox.containsPoint(c)) return outBox; } return null; } @Override public int[] absInfeasible(Geost.SweepDirection minlex) { //avoid allocating new object if possible final int dimension = origin.length; DBox outBox = DBox.getAllocatedInstance(dimension + 1); int[] outOrigin = outBox.origin; if (minlex == Geost.SweepDirection.PRUNEMIN) { for (int i = 0; i < dimension; i++) outOrigin[i] = origin[i]; outOrigin[dimension] = Integer.MIN_VALUE; return outOrigin; } else { // SweepDirection.PRUNEMAX for (int i = 0; i < dimension; i++) outOrigin[i] = origin[i] + length[i]; outOrigin[dimension] = Integer.MAX_VALUE; return outOrigin; } } @Override public final int cardInfeasible() { return area; } @Override public Collection<Var> definingVariables() { return new ArrayList<Var>(0); } @Override public boolean isStatic() { return true; } @Override public boolean isSingleUse() { return false; } }
Stories Before Sept 2016 Police say former cop Christopher Droner is on a killing spree in the LA area and it appears that he is reaching out to the media. Droner posted a very long manifesto on Facebook and is also trying to get "his side" of the story out to many media outlets. That includes CNN's Anderson Cooper. Gawker writes that Dorner reportedly mailed a package to CNN's Anderson Cooper that arrived last week, on February 1. Cooper's assistant opened the package and found inside two smaller parcels: One was a souvenir medallion sometimes given out by LA Police Chief William Bratton. The medallion had been damaged by bullet holes and a note attached to it read, "Thanks but no thanks, Will Bratton." The second parcel was a DVD ostensibly containing an interview with Christopher Gettler, the schizophrenic man Dorner claimed a fellow officer kicked unnecessarily during an arrest in 2007. Dorner was later fired after an LAPD board ruled his allegations were false and refused to give weight to the ill Gettler's testimony. But in the manifesto he posted to Facebook earlier this week, Dorner wrote, "During this [LAPD Board of Rights] hearing a video was played for the ... panel where Christopher Gettler stated that he was indeed kicked by Officer Evans." On the DVD, Dorner had written, "Chris Dorner Exoneration." Dorner's manifesto said he sent packages to "multiple" news outlets. So expect more in the coming days. Dorner is still on the loose.
Q: Inconsistency while inserting documents in MongoDB, with MongoJS I am building a site with ExpressJS and MongoDB. I am using MongoJS for establishing the connection with the DB. Problem: Inconsistencies while try to insert documents in to the MongoDB. Roughly 1/3rd of insert requests fail. Code: function insertWorkouts(callback,new_workout){ var workout_date = new_workout['date']; db.latest_workout.insert(new_workout,{continueOnError: true, safe: true}, function(err, result) { console.log("DBconn insert!!"); if(err) { console.log(err); throw(err); } else { console.log(" DBConn Inserted workout"); // function invocation to insert workout dates } }); } Please suggest how I can ensure that all my inserts go through succesfully. Edit: MongoDb Connection: var db = mongojs('mongodb://{username}:{password}@ds025xxx.mlab.com:25973/{DB name}', ['users','trainer','client','athlete','workout','client_feedback','IntermediateWorkout_Template','latest_workout','workout_dates','response_dates','sent_dates','diet','payment']); PS: This is my first question here. Please ignore my mistake(s). A: So, I was able to figure out the problem, largely thanks to the comment by Patrick Roberts. I had missed out crucial callback(). If anyone ever encounters something similar, check your callbacks().
Standing vs. Sitting vs. Moving Mar 16th 2016 Standing desks have been hailed as a fad of Silicon Valley by many. Looking at the history of standing desks though, we discovered they were used by world leaders from Thomas Jefferson to Winston Churchill as well as by great authors from Charles Dickens to Ernest Hemmingway. It calls into question what is really the fad? Is standing at work something new or have we been lulled into believing that work was made easier by sitting? Ultimately our bodies were not designed to be sedentary. Our bodies, just like our minds, were developed to work and to move. Top 5 Reasons to Embrace Standing vs. Sitting 1.Higher Productivity: When people stand, they are simply more alert; more focused. A study done two years ago proved both empirically and antidotal that productivity in the workplace increased 10% when people stood instead of sat. The study goes on to speak to how to use sitting as a reward for task completion changing the way people work. It could eliminate multitasking in the work place; concentrating on task completion and end product rather than busy work. 2.Weight Loss: With over one-third of adults in America obese, could the answer really be as simple as standing and moving throughout the day? Studies have proven that we burn 36% more calories a minute while standing vs. sitting. If an average woman at 35 years old and 140 lbs. with a sedentary lifestyle burns approximately 1650 calories a day. Then standing and moving while working for just 4 hours, burns an approximately 100 more calories a day. Meaning without a change to diet or exercise, this say woman would lose up to 10lbs a year by simply standing for half her work day. Can you imagine being 10 lbs. lighter this time next year by simply adopting a standing desk and moving throughout your day? 3. Back Health: Standing basically and easily improves your posture. It is the simple way to engage the postural muscles. Slouching while sitting weakness the neck and shoulder muscles ultimately leading to slouching and back pain. Standing alone is not enough! One needs to move throughout the day while standing; increasing your overall metabolism and muscle structure. 4. Sleep Better: Restlessness at bedtime often comes from not getting enough energy out during the day. By standing and moving all day, your energy level will remain active and constant. Thus, leading to a more satisfied feeling of physical fulfillment at the days end lending itself to better sleeping habits. Think of the last time your last satisfying deep sleep. Did it come from sitting all day on your couch or at your desk? Or did it come from a day out, fun had all while moving? 5. Overall Wellbeing: The average person office worker sits about 10 hours a day according to the Washington Post. Meaning we all live a fairly inactive lifestyle which detrimental in the long-term. Being desk bound has been linked to risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic problems, cardiovascular disease and cancer (breast and colon). The simple of using your body the way it was intended will help lead to a lifetime of wellbeing.
A look back at the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills. A trip back to the days when 'style wars' were just that - violent confrontations about the clothes you wore. Spring 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills. Timeshift tells the story of how this led to violence, arrests and widespread concern about the state of British youth. But mods and rockers had more in common than was first obvious - they were the first generation of baby boomers to reach their teenage years at a time when greater prosperity and wider freedoms were transforming what it meant to be young.
1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to communication connectors, and particularly to a connector assembly that compensates for crosstalk among different signal paths conducted through the assembly. 2. Discussion of the Known Art There is a need for a durable, high frequency communication connector assembly that compensates for (i.e., cancels or reduces) crosstalk among and between different signal paths within the assembly. As broadly defined herein, crosstalk occurs when signals conducted over a first signal path, e.g., a pair of terminal contact wires associated with a communication connector, are partly transferred by inductive or capacitive coupling into a second signal path, e.g., another pair of terminal contact wires in the same connector. The transferred signals define "crosstalk" in the second signal path, and such crosstalk degrades any signals that are routed over the second path. For example, an industry type RJ-45 communication connector has four pairs of terminal wires defining four different signal paths. In typical RJ-45 plug and jack connectors, all four pairs of terminal wires extend closely parallel to one another over the lengths of the connector bodies. Thus, signal crosstalk may be induced between and among different pairs of terminal wires within the typical RJ-45 plug and jack connectors, particularly when the connectors are in a mated configuration. The amplitude of the crosstalk becomes stronger as the coupled signal frequencies or data rates increase. Applicable industry standards for rating the degree to which communication connectors exhibit crosstalk, do so in terms of so-called near end crosstalk or "NEXT". Moreover, NEXT ratings are typically specified for mated connector configurations, e.g., a type RJ-45 plug and jack combination, wherein the input terminals of the plug connector are used as a reference plane. Communication links using unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of copper wire are now expected to support data rates up to not only 100 MHz, or industry standard "Category 5" performance; but to meet "Category 6" performance levels which call for at least 46 dB crosstalk isolation at 250 MHz. U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,647 to Denkmann et al. (Feb. 16, 1993), which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and application, discloses an electrical connector for conducting high frequency signals. The connector has a pair of metallic lead frames mounted flush with a dielectric spring block, with connector terminals formed at opposite ends of the lead frames. The lead frames themselves include flat elongated conductors each of which includes a spring terminal contact wire at one end for contacting a corresponding terminal wire of a mating connector, and an insulation displacing connector terminal at the other end for connection with an outside insulated wire lead. The lead frames are placed over one another on the spring block, and three conductors of one lead frame have cross-over sections configured to overlap corresponding cross-over sections formed in three conductors of the other lead frame. All relevant portions of the mentioned '647 patent are incorporated by reference herein. U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,270 (Dec. 3, 1996) also discloses an electrical plug connector having crossed pairs of contact strips. Crosstalk compensation circuitry may also be provided on or within layers of a printed wire board, to which spring terminal contact wires of a communication jack are connected within the jack housing. See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/923,741 filed Sep. 29, 1997, and assigned to the assignee of the present application and invention. All relevant portions of the '741 application are incorporated by reference herein. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,956 (Apr. 5, 1994). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/264,506 filed Mar. 8, 1999, and assigned to the assignee of the present application and invention, discloses a communications connector assembly having co-planar terminal contact wires, wherein certain pairs of the contact wires have opposed cross-over sections to provide inductive crosstalk compensation. All relevant portions of the '506 application are also incorporated by reference herein. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,405 (Aug. 20, 1996) discloses an electrical connector having signal carrying contacts that are stamped as lead frames from a metal sheet. Certain contacts have integral lateral extensions that overlie enlarged adjacent portions of other contacts to provide capacitive coupling crosstalk compensation. A dielectric spacer is disposed between an extension of one contact and an enlarged adjacent portion of the other contact. Thus, the stamped lead frames for the connector of the '405 patent are complex, and are relatively difficult to manufacture and assemble precisely. There remains a need for a communication jack connector assembly which, when mated with a typical RJ-45 plug, provides both inductive and capacitive crosstalk compensation such that the mated connectors will meet or surpass Category 6 performance.
/* * Copyright 2015-2020 the original author or authors. * * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials are * made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v2.0 which * accompanies this distribution and is available at * * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v20.html / package org.junit.platform.launcher.core; import static java.util.stream.Collectors.toList; import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat; import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows; import static org.junit.platform.engine.discovery.DiscoverySelectors.selectClass; import static org.junit.platform.launcher.core.LauncherDiscoveryRequestBuilder.request; import java.net.URL; import java.net.URLClassLoader; import java.util.List; import java.util.Optional; import java.util.Set; import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag; import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test; import org.junit.jupiter.engine.JupiterTestEngine; import org.junit.platform.commons.PreconditionViolationException; import org.junit.platform.launcher.LauncherDiscoveryRequest; import org.junit.platform.launcher.TagFilter; import org.junit.platform.launcher.TestExecutionListener; import org.junit.platform.launcher.TestIdentifier; import org.junit.platform.launcher.TestPlan; import org.junit.platform.launcher.listeners.AnotherUnusedTestExecutionListener; import org.junit.platform.launcher.listeners.NoopTestExecutionListener; import org.junit.platform.launcher.listeners.UnusedTestExecutionListener; /* * @since 1.0 */ class LauncherFactoryTests { @Test void preconditions() { assertThrows(PreconditionViolationException.class, () -> LauncherFactory.create(null)); } @Test void noopTestExecutionListenerIsLoadedViaServiceApi() { DefaultLauncher launcher = (DefaultLauncher) LauncherFactory.create(); List<TestExecutionListener> listeners = launcher.getTestExecutionListenerRegistry().getTestExecutionListeners(); Optional<TestExecutionListener> listener = listeners.stream().filter( NoopTestExecutionListener.class::isInstance).findFirst(); assertThat(listener).isPresent(); } @Test void unusedTestExecutionListenerIsNotLoadedViaServiceApi() { DefaultLauncher launcher = (DefaultLauncher) LauncherFactory.create(); List<TestExecutionListener> listeners = launcher.getTestExecutionListenerRegistry().getTestExecutionListeners(); assertThat(listeners).filteredOn(AnotherUnusedTestExecutionListener.class::isInstance).isEmpty(); assertThat(listeners).filteredOn(UnusedTestExecutionListener.class::isInstance).isEmpty(); assertThat(listeners).filteredOn(NoopTestExecutionListener.class::isInstance).isNotEmpty(); } @Test void create() { LauncherDiscoveryRequest discoveryRequest = createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses(); TestPlan testPlan = LauncherFactory.create().discover(discoveryRequest); Set<TestIdentifier> roots = testPlan.getRoots(); assertThat(roots).hasSize(2); // @formatter:off List<String> ids = roots.stream() .map(TestIdentifier::getUniqueId) .collect(toList()); // @formatter:on assertThat(ids).containsOnly("[engine:junit-vintage]", "[engine:junit-jupiter]"); } @Test void createWithConfig() { LauncherDiscoveryRequest discoveryRequest = createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses(); LauncherConfig config = LauncherConfig.builder()// .enableTestEngineAutoRegistration(false)// .addTestEngines(new JupiterTestEngine())// .build(); TestPlan testPlan = LauncherFactory.create(config).discover(discoveryRequest); Set<TestIdentifier> roots = testPlan.getRoots(); assertThat(roots).hasSize(1); // @formatter:off List<String> ids = roots.stream() .map(TestIdentifier::getUniqueId) .collect(toList()); // @formatter:on assertThat(ids).containsOnly("[engine:junit-jupiter]"); } @Test void createWithPostDiscoveryFilters() { LauncherDiscoveryRequest discoveryRequest = createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses(); LauncherConfig config = LauncherConfig.builder()// .addPostDiscoveryFilters(TagFilter.includeTags("test-post-discovery")).build(); TestPlan testPlan = LauncherFactory.create(config).discover(discoveryRequest); final Set<TestIdentifier> vintage = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-vintage]"); assertThat(vintage).isEmpty(); final Set<TestIdentifier> jupiter = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-jupiter]"); assertThat(jupiter).hasSize(1); } @Test void applyPostDiscoveryFiltersViaServiceApi() { final ClassLoader current = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader(); try { URL url = getClass().getClassLoader().getResource("testservices/"); URLClassLoader classLoader = new URLClassLoader(new URL[] { url }, current); Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(classLoader); LauncherDiscoveryRequest discoveryRequest = createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses(); LauncherConfig config = LauncherConfig.builder()// .build(); TestPlan testPlan = LauncherFactory.create(config).discover(discoveryRequest); final Set<TestIdentifier> vintage = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-vintage]"); assertThat(vintage).isEmpty(); final Set<TestIdentifier> jupiter = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-jupiter]"); assertThat(jupiter).hasSize(1); } finally { Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(current); } } @Test void notApplyIfDisabledPostDiscoveryFiltersViaServiceApi() { final ClassLoader current = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader(); try { URL url = getClass().getClassLoader().getResource("testservices/"); URLClassLoader classLoader = new URLClassLoader(new URL[] { url }, current); Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(classLoader); LauncherDiscoveryRequest discoveryRequest = createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses(); LauncherConfig config = LauncherConfig.builder()// .enablePostDiscoveryFilterAutoRegistration(false).build(); TestPlan testPlan = LauncherFactory.create(config).discover(discoveryRequest); final Set<TestIdentifier> vintage = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-vintage]"); assertThat(vintage).hasSize(1); final Set<TestIdentifier> jupiter = testPlan.getChildren("[engine:junit-jupiter]"); assertThat(jupiter).hasSize(1); } finally { Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(current); } } private LauncherDiscoveryRequest createLauncherDiscoveryRequestForBothStandardEngineExampleClasses() { // @formatter:off return request() .selectors(selectClass(JUnit4Example.class)) .selectors(selectClass(JUnit5Example.class)) .build(); // @formatter:on } public static class JUnit4Example { @org.junit.Test public void testJ4() { } } static class JUnit5Example { @Tag("test-post-discovery") @Test void testJ5() { } } }
2)(3 + 3c - 6 + 8). -57c - 95 Expand (2y - 2y + y2 + (2y*2 + 0y*2 + 0y*2)(2 - 2 + 1) + 2y2 - 2y2 - y2)(-7y - 42 + 42) + (-2y + 7y + 20y)(4y2 - 4y*2 + 2y*2). 36y*3 Expand (1 - f + 2f + 0f)(-1 - 3f + 1) + (11 - 9 + 8)(3 + 3 + 0)(0f2 - f2 - f*2). -123f*2 - 3f Expand (1 + 0 - 2)(-284 - 1209j - 1209j + 2417j) + (0j - 3j + 0j)(4 - 4 - 3). 10j + 284 Expand (-4f - 4f + 7f)(6 - 126f*3 - 2f*2 - 21f*3 + 26f*3). 121f*4 + 2f*3 - 6f Expand (0b - b - 2b)(6 + 3 + 4)(2b - 4b + b) + 331b2 - 868 + 433 + 435. 370b*2 Expand (-3 - 5b + 0 + 3b)(-4 + 4 + 1)(-3b + 2 - 2 - 3 + 3 - 2b + (-b - 3b + 6b)(-3 + 5 - 3) - 3b + 23b - 5b). -16b*2 - 24b Expand ((0 - 2 + 3)(4x + 0x + 5x) + 14024 + 170x - 14024)(-x*4 + 0x*4 + 2x*4). 179x5 Expand x4 + x3 + x4 - x*4 - 12x*4 - 23x*4 - 26x*4 + (2x*3 - 2x*3 - 2x*3)(-5x + 5x + 6x). -72x4 + x3 Expand (-1 + 4 - 5)((-3v*3 + 2v*3 + 2v*3)(5v + 0v + 2v) + (-3v + 3v + 38v*3)(5v - 11v - 76v)). 6218v*4 Expand (-b + 24b2 + b2 + 15b2)(27b2 - 16b*2 - 16b*2) + 3b*4 - 3b4 + b4 + (-3b - 4b + 5b)(b3 + b3 - 3b3). -197b*4 + 5b*3 Expand -2k + 4 - 4 + (-2 + 2k + 2)(4 - 4 - 2) - k + 0k - k + 2k + k - 4k + (-2 + 0k + 2k - k)(4 + 5 - 17). -17k + 16 Expand ((4 - 2 - 1)(t + 0t - 3t) - 2 + 2 + t)(1 + 4 - 3 + 3 + 2 - 4 + (1 - 1 - 1)(-1 - 1 + 1) - 1 + 4 - 2 + 2 + 0 - 1). -6t Expand (j3 + 0j*3 + 0j*3 + (1 - 3 + 4)(j3 + j3 - 4j3) - 4j*3 + 1 - 1)(4j + 7j + j). -84j4 Expand (-23859 - 1675o*3 + 23859)(-o - 8 + 8). 1675o4 Expand 17 + 1992p - 331p - 246p + 2 - 295p - p + 4p - 2p - 2p + 3p - 3p + (2 - 2 - 2p)(1 - 3 + 0) - 2p + 5p - 2p + 0p + p + p. 1126p + 19 Expand (-2347x + 2347x + 3x*2 - 322x*5)(7 - 2 - 3 + (-1 - 1 - 2)(4 + 0 - 3) + 0 + 1 - 2 + (3 - 2 + 0)(4 + 1 - 3) + 0 - 4 + 2). 966x5 - 9x*2 Expand (9y*2 + 14y*2 + 32y*2 + (-4y + 5y - 3y)(-y - y + 0y))(-y2 - 4y*2 + 0y*2). -295y*4 Expand (-1 + 60 + 56)(3h - 1 + 0 - h). 230h - 115 Expand (2111 - 212 - 392)(-4 + 4 - 2h) + (2 - 1 + 0)(-4 + 4 - 2h). -3016h Expand 3f - 4f - 2f + (1 - 1 + 1)(10f - 5f - 17f) + (3 + 1 - 5)(-3f - 2f + f). -11f Expand (13 + k - 13)(-30 - 17 - 26) + 2k - 1 + 4 + 1. -71k + 4 Expand ((-6 + 17 - 6)(-3 - b + 3) + 18b - b + 28b)(2 - 1 + 4)(2b4 + 0b*4 - 4b*4). -400b*5 Expand (-9 - 4 - 9)(3y - 4y + 7y + (5 - 4 - 2)(y + 2 - 2) + 2 - y - 2 - 4 + y + 4 - 2y + 0y + 4y). -154y Expand (10g - 10 - 7g - 2g)(613g2 - 8270 + 8270). 613g*3 - 6130g*2 Expand (50 - 30 + 100)(1 + 2r - 1) + (-3 - 3 + 5)(-2r + 2r + r) - 15r - 31 + 31. 224r Expand (265 - 124c2 + 258c*2 - 132c*2)(3c + 2c - 3c). 4c*3 + 530c Expand -l3 + l3 + 2l3 + 2l + 3l3 - 2l + 49l3 + 22l*3 - 13l*3 + 0 + 0 - 2l*3 + (0l - 2l - l)(5 - l*2 - 5). 64l*3 Expand (-3949 - 1405 - 2y + 5347 + 6985y2)(-1 + 2 + 1). 13970y2 - 4y - 14 Expand (-1 + 0 - 1 + 1 - 2 + 9 + (-3 + 4 + 1)(2 + 1 - 1))(5z + 5 - 5)(-4 - 1 + 1)(-2z - 3 + 3)(3z - 4z - z). -800z*3 Expand (1 + 0 + 1)(q*2 + 3q*2 - 6q*2) - 3 + 11q*2 + 3 + (1 + 1 - 3)(-q*2 - 2q*2 + 2q*2) - 241q + 325q2 + 241q. 333q2 Expand (-980a - 1084a + 2344a)((2 - 1 + 0)(-3 + 1 + 0) - 1 + 4 - 2 - 1 + 0 + 0)(-2 - 1 + 1). 1120a Expand (7d - 3d - d + 65 - 19d - 65 + 4d - 6d - 2d + (0 - 1 + 3)(0 + 0 + d))(0 - 3 + 5). -36d Expand (-41 + 41 + 13j)(30j + 220 - 220) - 12 - 11j2 + 12. 379j*2 Expand (-103s*3 + 95s*3 - 88s*3)(-4s + 20s*2 - 32s*2 + 15s*2). -288s*5 + 384s*4 Expand (-1 + 3g + 1)(-2 + 6 + 2)(169 + 57 + 7). 4194g Expand (4l*2 - 2l*2 + 0l*2)(3 - 3 - l) + 10l3 - 12l*2 + 12l*2 - 6l*3 + 10 - 9 - 13l*3. -11l*3 + 1 Expand (41l*3 - 41l*3 + 30l*3)(-l + 2l2 + l) + l5 - 4l*5 + 6l*5. 63l*5 Expand 2l*3 - 10 + 31 + 2l*3 + (-3 - 2 + 4)(2l3 - 3l*3 + 0l*3). 5l*3 + 21 Expand (5w*2 + 0w*2 - 3w*2)(9652w - 4509w + 18974w). 48234w*3 Expand (6h + 3h - 5h)(h + 0h + 0h)(-883h3 + 1732h*3 - 995h*3 + (-4h*3 + 2h*3 + 4h*3)(-3 + 4 - 3)). -600h5 Expand (f - 5 + 44 + 184)(2f - 2f - f). -f*2 - 223f Expand v + 5v5 - v + (16965v - 16965v - 130v*5)(-2 - 2 + 3). 135v5 Expand (-4b*2 - 6 + 6)(-2b2 + 24b + 1 + 13b + 17b). 8b4 - 216b*3 - 4b*2 Expand (6f*3 - 3f*3 - 2f*3)(-2f + 4 - 4)(-526 + 941 - 631). 432f4 Expand (-23295 + 1362 - 3756 + 1835)(2g2 + 0g + 0g). -47708g2 Expand p2 - p*2 + 2p*3 + (-22p + 129p + 29p)(-7p - 5p2 + 7p). -678p3 Expand (6h - 5h + 3h)(-2 + h + 2) + 1 - 1 - h2 - 9 + 227h*2 + 10 - 48h*2. 182h*2 + 1 Expand (-39 - 41 + 90)(-v - v + 8v) + v - 6v + 4v. 59v Expand ((0l - l2 + 0l)(-1 + 1 - 1) - 3l*2 + 2l*2 - 2l*2)(-55l3 - 30l*3 + 3l*3). 164l*5 Expand (-67w*2 - 456w + 456w)(-60w - 23w + 114w). -2077w*3 Expand (-2 + 2 + y)((0y + 3y - y)(-y2 + 0y*2 + 3y*2) + 3y*3 - 33y*3 - 11y*3 + (-3y*2 + 0y + 0y)(0y + 2y + 7y) - 3y*3 + 5y3 - y3). -63y4 Expand (-2 + 1 - 2)(-152m4 + 71m*4 + 79m*4)(-1 + 1 + 7) - m*4 + 2m*4 - 2m*4. 41m*4 Expand (-2o*2 + o - o)(0 + 0 + 2o) + (6 - 47 + 5)(-6o2 + 3o - 3o)(4o + 2o - 4o) + 2o*3 - 5o*3 + 8o*3. 433o*3 Expand (0 - 1 + 2)(2n + 0 + 0) - 924n - 94n + 1996n. 980n Expand (2633 - 2633 + 1130w*4)(w - 4 + 4). 1130w5 Expand -2 - 4x*5 + 2 + (-3x*4 + 2x*4 - 2x*4)(-2x + 38 + 18 + 0x). 2x5 - 168x*4 Expand (-537 - 14087 - 3896 - 11638 - 3279)(0 - n + 0). 33437n Expand (-2 + 2 - 5j + (-j + 0 + 0)(-6 + 4 + 1))((15j - 32 + 32)(-4j + 3j - j) - 19j2 - 18j*2 + 3j*2). 256j*3 Expand (0 + 0 + 2r)(2r*2 + 2r*2 - 3r*2)(0 + 4 - 2) - 4r2 - 427r*3 + 4r*2. -423r*3 Expand (-1 - 3 + 2)(-3 + 2 + 4)(216299 - 3016o - 216299). 18096o Expand (31c - 16c + 10c)(-2 - 3 + 4 + 28c*2) - 3c*3 + 5c*3 - 3c*3. 699c*3 - 25c Expand (539 + 4q + 25q*2 - 539)(-4 + 20 + 5). 525q2 + 84q Expand (-2f + 3f2 - f2 - f*2 + 2f2 - f2 + f*2 + (-1 - 2 + 1)(-f*2 + 1 - 1))(-351f3 + 366f*3 + 508f*3). 2615f*5 - 1046f4 Expand (-t4 - 4t4 - 2t*4)(-569t - 1872 + 1872). 3983t*5 Expand (-n + 0 + 0)(-4n2 + 4n*2 + 12n*3)(34 - 30 - 55). 612n4 Expand -3 + 3 + 2s + (0s + s + s)(3 + 0 - 1) - 1695s - 1030s + 972s + (-2 + 3 - 3)(-2s - 4 + 4) + 2s - 2s + s - 2s + 3 - 3. -1744s Expand (35 + 779 + 125)(-1 - 2s + 1 + 3 + 2s - 3 - s - 2 + 2 + (2s + 0 + 0)(1 + 2 - 2) - 2s + 4s - s + 0 + 2s + 0). 3756s Expand (0 - 2v2 + 0)(0v2 + v2 + v2) + 424372v - 424372v + 1385v*4. 1381v*4 Expand ((-1 + 1 - a)((1 - 2a - 1)(4a - 2a + 0a) + a - 2a*2 - a - 42a*2 - 11a*2 - 36a*2) + 3a*3 + 0a + 0a)(-2a + 3a - 2a). -98a*4 Expand -4v*4 + 4v*4 + 2v*5 + (0v*2 + 0v*2 - 2v*4)(2v - 2v - v) + (2 + 2 - 2)(-2 - 2 + 6)(487v5 - 743v*5 - 1450v*5). -6820v5 Expand (-3 + a2 + 3)((2 - 2 - 2a)(449 + 497 - 407) - 2 + 2 - a + a + 0a - 3a). -1081a*3 Expand 196 - 401 - 3434j*2 + 205 - 2j + (1 - 1 + j*2)(1 - 1 + 2) - 2j2 - 4j*2 + 3j*2. -3435j*2 - 2j Expand (-15v2 + 35 - 35)(-226v - 632v - 124v). 14730v*3 Expand (0t + t - 2t)(0 + 1 + 1)(341t + 190t - 688t)(-2 + 1 - 3t + 8t). 1570t*3 - 314t*2 Expand (1 - 1 + c)(6c2 + 9544c + 1 + 28c3 + 9542c - 19085c). 28c*4 + 6c3 + c2 + c Expand (-5b + b - 10b)(4578 + 4585 - 4b - 9221). 56b2 + 812b Expand (3 - 4 + 5)(-124y*2 - 943y + 943y) + 4y*2 - 3y*2 + 11y*2. -484y*2 Expand (17l + 71 - 15l + 25)(0 + 6 - 1). 10l + 480 Expand (-5o + 5o - 4o)(-11o + 0o - 2o) - 2o2 - 2o*2 + 6o*2 + (1 - 2o - 1)(o + 0o - 2o) - 3o*2 - 2 + 2 - 9o2 + o2 - 5o2. 40o*2 Expand (41 + 14 - 12)(15u + 25u + 33u). 3139u Expand (69 - 128 - 151 + 25)(9u*2 - 21u*2 + 13u*2). -185u*2 Expand (-42n*3 + 26n*3 - 46n*3)(2n2 - 5 + 5) + 4n*5 + 2n*
My Features Appeal for Social Welfare All types of health information are provided by this site free of cost for social welfare if you like this; please share this site on your platform as like- Website, Blog, Your Social Media account and any other web portal. SUNLIGHT AND COLOR THERAPY All the animals, plants, creatures and living things are live on this earth only due to sunlight. The human also gets his physical strength from sunlight. We get sunlight in two forms. First, we get it directly with our naked body and second, it is obtained through trees, plants, animals, birds and diet. Trees and plants gets sunrays in the forms of protein, vitamin. Animals and birds get fat, color and vitamin from sunrays. Approximately 0.15% of total sunrays coming on the earth are obtained by plants and 90% energy of it is obtained by sea plants. In this way, only 0.15 % of total sunrays are obtained by earth plants. Sunrays are very beneficial for our body. Sunrays kill (destroy) harmful bacteria. Trees and plants observe sunrays and provide foods, medicines, herbs, oil, etc. to human. By the process of converting sun energy into chemical energy, the stocks of petrol, coal and oil can be formed on the earth. With the help of sunrays, water changes into vapor after evaporation and converted in to clouds that come on the earth in the form of rain. Weathers always depend on sunrays. The life of all living creatures on the earth depends directly or indirectly on sunrays. If we take sunrays with our naked body in the morning everyday, our body remains healthy naturally. It enhances resistance power of our body and the body becomes disease free.
Steady-state cleavage kinetics for dengue virus type 2 ns2b-ns3(pro) serine protease with synthetic peptides. The N-terminal part of the NS3 protein from dengue virus contains a trypsin-like serine protease responsible for processing the nonstructural region of the viral polyprotein. Enzymatic activity of the NS2B-NS3(pro) precursor incorporating a full-length NS2B cofactor of dengue virus type 2 was examined by using synthetic dodecamer peptide substrates encompassing native cleavage sequences of the NS2A/NS2B, NS2B/NS3, NS3/NS4A and NS4B/NS5 polyprotein junctions. Cleavage of the dansylated substrates was monitored by a HPLC-based assay and kinetic parameters for K(1M), k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m) were obtained. The data presented here show that NS2B-NS3(pro) expressed in recombinant E. coli can be renatured to an active protease which reacts in the absence of microsomal membranes with all 4 substrate peptides, albeit the molecule does not exhibit autoproteolytic processing at the NS2B/NS3 site. A marked difference in cleavage efficiency was found for the NS2B/NS3 substrate and the remaining 3 peptides based on the NS2A/NS2B, NS3/NS4A and NS4A/NS5 cleavage sites.
Two things about this curve. Most of graphs, statistics about the economy we see are all cooked up figures. 1. Do you remember how there were big graphs about booming US economy in 2007-2008? Then suddenly few months later, the Mega banks and fiancial institutions came begging on its knees to US congress to give Trillions of bailout money. Obviously, the earlier figures of booming economy and stock market were all fraudulent. America is the biggest spender on National defense. 2. How much of the US production in this curve is of Military and defense systems? Because building up Missiles and Machine guns simple does no good to American citizens. Its a wastage of money. Two things about this curve. Most of graphs, statistics about the economy we see are all cooked up figures. 1. Do you remember how there were big graphs about booming US economy in 2007-2008? Then suddenly few months later, the Mega banks and fiancial institutions came begging on its knees to US congress to give Trillions of bailout money. Obviously, the earlier figures of booming economy and stock market were all fraudulent. America is the biggest spender on National defense. 2. How much of the US production in this curve is of Military and defense systems? Because building up Missiles and Machine guns simple does no good to American citizens. Its a wastage of money. You are communicating to others on a message board made possible by US military spending. You are able to fly because of defense spending. You're able to use cool mapping features on the internet because of US defense spending (satellite, GPS). Bottomline, your quality of life would be less if it weren't for defense spending. That isn't saying that all of it adds to quality of life, but commercial spinouts from defense procurement and RDTE is very productive. As to how much it contributes to the US manufacturing output, between procurement and RDTE, you're looking at less than 10% over the past decade, and less prior to that. Bottomline, the US is still the leading manufacturer without defense spending. "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3 You are communicating to others on a message board made possible by US military spending. You are able to fly because of defense spending. You're able to use cool mapping features on the internet because of US defense spending (satellite, GPS). Bottomline, your quality of life would be less if it weren't for defense spending. So you are relating things indirectly to Military infrastructure to somehow show that Military spending is reason behind development of human society. I will not go into detail of argument of the stuff you have mentioned right now. I will pick these points at a later time. As this thread is completely different. Originally Posted by Shek Commercial spinouts from defense procurement and RDTE is very productive. Yeah, i know they are very productive. Thats why trillions of dollars (25% of your Pentagon budget) cannot be accounted for. I have created the topic about that. Originally Posted by Shek As to how much it contributes to the US manufacturing output, between procurement and RDTE, you're looking at less than 10% over the past decade, and less prior to that. Bottomline, the US is still the leading manufacturer without defense spending. I am not disputing the fact about US production figures. I have to do some research about it before making any specific conclusion. That may be so, but would I be right in guessing that U.S manufacturing is limited to low-labour high-mechanized factories, employing less people than say, labour intensive factories in China, and having less net economic impact ? Due to the fact that less people are employed, there is less injection of capital back into the economy. In addition, how much of U.S manufacturing is Chinese owned/financed ? That may be so, but would I be right in guessing that U.S manufacturing is limited to low-labour high-mechanized factories, employing less people than say, labour intensive factories in China, and having less net economic impact ? Due to the fact that less people are employed, there is less injection of capital back into the economy. In addition, how much of U.S manufacturing is Chinese owned/financed ? Lonekommie, Your argument is akin to saying that since the share of farmers has fallen from 50% to 3% in the United States over the past century, then clearly that must have less net economic impact, because that fall has occurred because of the invention of low-labor, high mechanization. However, the US moved from an agrarian society to an industrial one, and now its moved from an industrial one to a service-based one, where American ingenuity and intellect is earning the $$ more and more as opposed to American muscle. As an example, an iPod is assembled in China using Korean and Taiwanese parts. Who sees the biggest share of money from the iPod? Apple in the US, whose revenue stream from the iPod is approximately 25% of the price of the iPod, and yet, doesn't do anything in the manufacturing chain of one. Bottomline, the industrial sector of the US has declined as an employer of labor, freeing up labor to pursue other American comparative advantage jobs to grow and expand the US economy. As far as how much US manufacturing is Chinese owned/financed, I don't know the stats, but knowing the general trend of FDI flows, it would be very small, both in terms of Chinese FDI into the US and and in terms relative to US ownership/financing of Chinese manufacturing. "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3 So you are relating things indirectly to Military infrastructure to somehow show that Military spending is reason behind development of human society. I will not go into detail of argument of the stuff you have mentioned right now. I will pick these points at a later time. As this thread is completely different. My point is that some military spending has been extremely productive for society at large. India and China wouldn't have grown nearly as much in the past two decades had it not been for a little ARPA project. This is not to say that we should push even more money to military spending, as the government on average doesn't do as well as the private sector in sniffing out economic winners, but there are some projects/efforts that the private sector wouldn't undertake on its own, for example, developing a decentralized command and control system with redundancies to withstand a nuclear attack. "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3 So you are relating things indirectly to Military infrastructure to somehow show that Military spending is reason behind development of human society. I will not go into detail of argument of the stuff you have mentioned right now. I will pick these points at a later time. As this thread is completely different. Kevin: most modern technology is derived from R&D for military applications. Microwave, internet, computers, airplanes, jetliners, radar, infrared, lasers, virtually everything. Military R&D is not a waste of money, because it works its way back into the civilian economy. Hugely beneficial unintended consequences.
Autofocusing cameras typically use edge and contrast detection methods to autofocus on objects. Among others, Ide (U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,783), Nishida (U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,662), Koyanage et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,882, and Kaneda (U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,147), all incorporated by reference, discuss the edge and contrast detection methods. If the contrast detection methods of autofocusing cameras are applied to endoscopic systems, such systems may have difficulties focusing on an object at a target site under harsh conditions. For example, a fogged body cavity environment, fumes from electrosurgery or laser surgery or a low contrast content of the field of view in general can prevent appropriate autofocusing on the internal target object. The situation is aggravated by relatively large depths of focus of endoscopes, especially of small diameter scopes. Thus, generally, an operator of an endoscopic system focus on the internal target object manually. An apparatus and method according to the present invention allows for robust autofocusing operation regardless of contrast characteristics of the environment. One aspect of the invention is a method for maintaining a focused image viewed by an autofocusing endoscope having an optical system including determining an transition between an imaging area and a non-imaging area, focusing the optical system on the transition, and storing in a memory a position of the optical system focused on the edge. Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The method includes selecting at least a portion of the imaging area for focusing, determining a contrast value of at least the portion of the imaging area, comparing the contrast value of at least the portion of the imaging area with a preset value, moving the optical system to the position of the optical system stored in the memory to focus on the edge if the contrast value is below the preset value, and focusing the optical system on at least the portion of the imaging area if the contrast value is above the preset value. The contrast within the focusing zone can be checked at a predetermined frequency. In another aspect of the invention, an article including a machine-readable medium that stores machine-executable instructions causes an endoscopic apparatus to determine an transition between an imaging area and a non-imaging area, focus the optical system on the transition, and store in a memory a position of the optical system focused on the edge. The article can further cause the endoscopic apparatus to select at least a portion of the imaging area for focusing, determine a contrast value of at least the portion of the imaging area, compare the contrast value of at least the portion of the imaging area with a preset value, move the optical system to the position of the optical system stored in the memory to focus on the edge if the contrast value is below the preset value, and focus the optical system on at least the portion of the imaging area if the contrast value is above the preset value. The article can further cause the endoscopic apparatus to check the contrast within the focusing zone at a predetermined frequency. In still another aspect of the invention, an endoscopic apparatus includes an optical system, an autofocusing module for focusing the optical system on a selected focusing zone, and a memory component for storing a position of the optical system focused on the edge. The selected focusing zone includes a zone around an edge between an imaging area and a non-imaging area. The autofocusing module includes an image size detector for finding the edge between the imaging area and the non-imaging area, a zone selector for selecting the focusing zone including the zone around the edge, and an edge detector for focusing the optical system on the edge. The endoscopic apparatus can further include a driver for moving the optical system and a focus controller for controlling the driver. The focus controller can interact with the autofocusing module to focus the optical system on the edge. Also, the endoscopic apparatus can include a photosensitive device for converting an image transmitted from the optical system into video signals. The video signals are transmitted to the autofocusing module for signal processing. Among other advantages, the endoscopic apparatus and method of the present invention allow the optical system to focus on a field stop edgexe2x80x94the edge of a field of viewxe2x80x94and store default information of the apparatus focused on the edge. Later, if the apparatus fails to focus on an internal object during the course of normal operation, the apparatus recalls the default information from memory to focus the lens on the field stop edge. In the present invention, manual focusing is obviated. Thus, objects in front of the endoscopic apparatus are brought into reasonable focus for visualization automatically. The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Parental age difference and adverse perinatal outcomes in the United States. This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between paternal and maternal age differences and adverse perinatal outcomes in the United States. Data were obtained on singleton pregnancies delivering at >or=20 weeks gestation in the United States in 1995-97 from the National Center for Health Statistics data sets. Adverse perinatal outcomes that were evaluated included fetal death rate (>or=20 weeks), preterm delivery <37 weeks and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births (birthweight <10th centile for gestational age and corrected for sex). Age difference was defined as paternal minus maternal age. The analysis included 8995274 pregnancies (11.3% blacks, 88.7% whites). An increase in fetal death rate, preterm delivery and SGA births was noted among white women who were older than their male partners. For black mothers older than their partners, there was an increase in fetal death rate when the women were <20 years old, but a decrease in fetal death rate when >35 years old. Neither rates of preterm delivery nor SGA births were increased much for black women with varying parental age differences. This demonstrates that race and maternal age both contribute to the effects of parental age difference on adverse perinatal outcomes.
Healthcare and how it’s provided in the United States has been a hot-button issue for years. At times, people are left with few options or, worse, options they can’t afford. But there may be a solution out there that you haven’t heard of — and you haven’t heard of it because the insurance companies don’t want you to. It’s called concierge medicine, wherein a physician provides direct personal care without insurance. Many people are taking advantage of its benefits. What are concierge doctors? According to Dr. Sherika Newman, who runs the on-demand concierge medicine service Montgomery Medical Associates in Atlanta, concierge doctors provide services not covered by medical insurance by having the patient pay what’s essentially a retainer or “membership fee.” Patients typically receive more personalized care and hassle-free access to these doctors because they’re paying for it out of pocket — which, it’s important to note, can become quite costly if you’re going to the doctor frequently. “Examples of extra services include extended office visits, same-day appointments, calling patients with lab results, and making house calls,” says Dr. Newman, who completed her family medicine residency in 2008 and a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine at Broward Health the following year. Concierge doctors are able to do this because they’re not slaves to the insurance system, which, according to Health Journal, requires doctors to get patients in and out as quickly as possible in order to make a decent wage. In contrast, concierge doctors operate with smaller patient rolls — so they can spend more time with their patients. How do concierge doctors work? Patients join the practice as members and pay a membership fee. “This membership gives the patient access and services that are not usually covered by insurance programs,” Dr. Newman says. “The patient’s insurance will continue to pay for the services typically covered.” Anything outside of that, as treated by the concierge doctor, will be the patient’s full responsibility. “Your annual physical may include preventive procedures that insurance plans are not required to cover under the Affordable Care Act, such as an expanded blood panel and screening for Alzheimer’s disease. Louis Malinow, a Baltimore internist with a concierge practice, says that he is able to give patients quicker diagnoses. For example, he was able to order tests and read the results in a matter of days for a patient with possible metastatic cancer, then arrange a biopsy that showed the patient had a much less serious condition. The process would likely have taken weeks at his former practice — and left the patient anxiously waiting results for much longer.” How can concierge doctors benefit the patient? Have you ever called your primary care physician when you’re ill, but they can’t see for you for two months because they’re booked to the gills? It’s a very dark side of the insurance system — and as a result many patients don’t get the care they need when they need it. This, in turn, causes many people to wonder why they’re paying for expensive insurance premiums, and question if they’re really getting their money’s worth. According to Dr. Newman, most patient complaints are waiting too long for an appointment, too-brief doctor visits, and having to return to the office for lab results or charge for form completion. “This is all time-consuming for the typical busy American,” she says. “Being a concierge patient means getting the services and treatments we all desire from healthcare without the hassle or bureaucracy from an insurance company. I’ve found that patients are willing to pay for what they want.” Why don’t insurance companies want patients to know about them? It’s all about the money. While concierge practices accept insurance, the extra fee you pay provides an extended level of care, which means that concierge doctors can’t and won’t churn the oversized patient rolls that insurance-only physicians can — that resulting patient deficit represents a substantial loss to the insurance company. More than insurance companies, however, it’s the direct primary care (DPC) practices that want to keep you in the dark about the concierge option. “DPC is similar to concierge because members still pay a membership fee, but DPC offices don’t accept insurance,” Dr. Newman explains. “They cut out the middle man and deal directly with the patient. All DPC services are covered in the membership. The patient may still need insurance for specialty visits and hospitalizations.” My doctor is a concierge physician and he only takes 1 insurance….Blue Cross. If a member becomes eligible for Medicare he accepts that, however he doesn’t take new patients on Medicare. When I walk into his office, there are not 50 other people in the waiting room. Many appointments last an hour. My doctor is more about preventing me from getting sick instead of treating an ailment once it occurs. Sometimes this is actually annoying as he has more time to think about a course of action and is always encouraging (nagging) me to lose weight exercise more, eat different etc. On the other hand he responds to e-mails and has answered my call while he is on the ski slope on vacation. He is a better doctor than I am a patient. Disclaimer This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and the content herein should not be mistaken for professional financial advice. This website accepts advertising in the form of monetary and other compensation; as such, topics of discussion are occasionally influenced by these advertisers. Ultimately, you and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make in life, so please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your unique personal situation.

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