text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
|---|
Thus spake Vincent Renardias:
> % mips-linux-gcc -o pwgen pwgen.o -lm
> /usr/local/mips-linux/lib/libc.a: could not read symbols: Archive has no
> index; run ranlib to add one
>
> running mips-linux-ranlib on the given file does not change anything.
> (ie: still getting the same message)
Did you use mips-linux-ar to create the archive?
Many packages, I've discovered, don't listen to $AR in the
environment, and I used to get that error all the time.
Mike
--
#> Mike Shaver (shaver@ingenia.com) Ingenia Communications Corporation
#> Chief System Architect and Herder of Bits
#>
#> "Yoda say, `Just slap a little public key crypto into it' does not
#> a secure system make." -- Marcus J. Ranum (mjr@clark.net) |
News tagged with tungsten carbide
Transforming lead into gold is an impossible feat, but a similar type of "alchemy" is not only possible, but cost-effective too. Three Penn State researchers have shown that certain combinations of elemental ...
Tungsten is particularly suitable as material for highly stressed parts of the vessel enclosing a hot fusion plasma, it being the metal with the highest melting point. A disadvantage, however, is its brittleness, ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen is one of the most promising fuels of the future. Whether powered by wind or sun energy, electrolysis of water is the method of choice for producing hydrogen without emission of carbon ...
A new report from the American Cancer Society and other world-leading health groups identifies gaps in research for 20 suspected carcinogens whose potential to cause cancer is as yet unresolved. The report is designed to ...
Over the past three years VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been working with Finnish-based Exote Ltd to develop a new hard metal and the necessary manufacturing process. This material can be used to replace tungsten ... |
One more for you. Because you're special.
DG
---------------------- Forwarded by Darron C Giron/HOU/ECT on 11/07/2000
02:53 PM ---------------------------
Carrie Richardson@ENRON
11/07/2000 01:29 PM
To: Darron C Giron/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kam Keiser/HOU/ECT@ECT, William
Kelly/HOU/ECT@ECT, David Baumbach/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc: Sharon Smith/AA/Corp/Enron@ENRON
Subject: Curve Shift Request
Please provide us with the P&L top sheet as of October 31 for the following
books. Additionally, if P&L related to the books is primarily due to curve
shift, please provide the top pages and curve shift report for the top five
days.
East Intermonth
Central Intermonth
FT East
FT New York
FT CENT
Texas
MGMT-West
Executive Spec
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at extension 31951
or Sharon Smith at extension 57346.
Thank you,
Carrie Richardson |
ZX81: Small black box of computing desire - Peroni
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12703674
======
athom
Terry Pratchett told us a tale of making a crude vision system out of one of
these. If I recall correctly, he figured out the memory modules were light
sensitive, and if exposed to a focused image, the image could be 'read'
straight from memory. I THINK he mentioned part of this in his speech at
Penguicon 2.0 (Novi, MI -- 2003)... Actually, he DID!!! I just found a
recording of his speech:
[http://www.archive.org/details/Penguicon_2.0_Terry_Pratchett...](http://www.archive.org/details/Penguicon_2.0_Terry_Pratchett_Guest_of_Honor_Speech_2003)
He starts talking about playing with the ZX-81 about two and a half minutes
in, and at a little after five minutes, starts talking about making one "that
can see things." This so impressed fellow guest Eric S. Raymond, that he came
charging out of the banquet hall after the speeches to demand to hear more!
I had something of a front row seat to this conversation, as I'd already
approached Mr. Pratchett to ask about how he'd wound up too radioactive to
_enter_ a nuclear facility (also mentioned in the speech, but kind of glossed
over). So there I am on the inside of a crowd of onlookers as Terry's
elaborating on the radiation story, with a flabbergasted ESR staring in
disbelief, and each of us standing not much more than a meter from each other.
It was... an interesting experience.
I do wholeheartedly recommend that speech. Terry Pratchett is every bit as
funny at the podium as he is on paper. He had us rolling!
------
6ren
Boast: after writing a character scroll (trivial, just a block memory move -
one Z80 instruction, _LDIR_ ), I worked out how to do one using the quarter-
character "pixels", the heart of which was three bitwise boolean instructions.
I was delighted to later see in the source code for the ZX81 basic (by Steve
Vickers), that the line drawing routines using those pixels used identical
instructions.
Boast: at 15, I wrote a game for the ZX81 (in machine code), that had many
simultaneous sprites, all animated at once; a tiled scrolled background; a
massive ship explosion; and even different keyboard control selections. I
showed it to a game retailer, and they agreed to stock it! All I needed to do
was supply them with cassettes + covers...
Shame: I didn't do this.
A good effect was then when I next was running a business, I resolved to not
cop out on the difficult things (read: boring). It's important to recognize
mistakes as choices (and not things beyond your control, such as intrinsic
inability, "I can't"), because then you have the power to choose otherwise.
------
mrspeaker
"Micro Men" is a new (I think) comedy from the BBC about Clive Sinclair
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n5b92> The clips (needs proxy) look
hilarious - in a very weird, slow, dark, english-humour kind of way!
~~~
rwmj
It's more dramatic comedy than factual. On the other hand it is very
entertaining and well worth watching if you can get your hands on a copy.
(Also has Martin Freeman of The Office fame, and Alexander Armstrong who is a
well-known British comedian).
~~~
sambeau
While they compressed some events and characters nothing was made up. The
'Battle of the Baron of the Beef' (Where Clive Sinclair started a brawl with
Chris Curry) is a real event (and one well known to people in the Cambridge IT
industry).
Look out for a guest appearance by Sophie Wilson (previously Roger Wilson) as
the barmaid.
------
kingofspain
1K of RAM if you were a sucker :) My dad brought his home with the massive 16k
expansion brick. Playing with this (my first computer) and waiting for a game
called Rings Around Saturn to load was literally the most futuristic-feeling
experience of my life.
I remember nothing about the game itself, other than the kind of wistful
enchantment that so few things in life can inspire.
Where did it all go wrong?!
~~~
Isofarro
"Rings Around Saturn"
Interesting, haven't heard of it.
[http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/generated/tapeinfo/s/SuperP...](http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/generated/tapeinfo/s/SuperPrograms2.html)
\-- Listing and play it online.
~~~
kingofspain
Didn't even occur to me to look for it. Thanks for that!
Looks even simpler than I expected. I was looking for an idea for a simple iOS
game to get started. This may be it :)
------
lkozma
In most Eastern European countries (and in parts of South America, I heard)
whole industries grew out of building clones of these machines, usually with a
bit more memory but otherwise similar specs. I started programming on one of
these when I was 9: [http://www.old-
computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=632&s...](http://www.old-
computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=632&st=1)
------
bootload
_"... The Sinclair ZX81 was small, black with only 1K of memory ..."_
It was also small, white with 1k of memory if you bought the 8K ROM upgrade
chip (which I still have somewhere) for the zx80 ~
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157607718005837...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157607718005837/with/268165912/)
------
patrickod
It's articles like these that make me wish I was old enough to have
experienced computers before they became "fast". It was these machines that
formed the thinking of many of our greatest coders today and I can't relate to
that as I'm too young. Oh well
~~~
GeneralMaximus
You can still write code that stretches a modern machine to its limits. For
example, can you make a realtime raytracer? Can you crunch through 13GB of
StackOverflow data and extract useful statistics? Can you write an interpreter
for a subset of your favorite language? Can you make it fast enough? Can you
add a JIT? Can you take a genetic algorithm that takes hours to run and get
the time down to a few minutes? Can you write a multi-agent simulation that
will scale from ten to ten thousand agents on a MacBook Pro?
Nope. Computers aren't fast enough yet :p
~~~
slug
You can do all that, but programming one of these old computers or a modern
micro controller allows you to almost see the bits and bytes flowing (if you
program in asm).
Nowadays it's even hard to know how a pixel got to the monitor from your RAM
in the first place, with the massive amount of knowledge needed and countless
layers in between.
Just the datasheet of a memory controller is many times longer than the few
pages needed for the asm instruction set and simple schematics of those times.
Not to mention the M or G number of transistors on modern chips :)
~~~
GeneralMaximus
I can't argue with that. I've personally tried to write a toy OS on the x86
architecture. The amount of processor documentation you have to get through is
mind boggling, after which you're still left with documentation for the
plethora of peripheral device. I view this as a failure of the PC
architecture. There's no reason for things to be so complex.
OTOH, I know a few folks who work with all kinds of micros. Once these folks
were trying to interface a SD card reader with a tiny LCD screen that had an
onboard processor. They had ( _had to have_ , in fact) low-level access to the
card reader. You had to know the ins and outs of whatever filesystem the SD
card was formatted with because you only had raw access to the card. As in,
you could go to an address on the card and do something to the bytes stored
there, and that's it. After diddling the card reader interface for a while,
they eventually figured out how to get data on the card, but there was a
problem: sometimes the card reader wouldn't write the data to the card at all.
After trying to pinpoint and fix the issue in code, an entire night of hacking
later, the problem turned out to be a faulty power adapter.
It was a fun night. One that a "modern" computer couldn't afford you.
------
ianpurton
This was back in the day when programmers were real men and pixels were as big
as your fist.
~~~
rayboyd
Don't know about real men, I was just hitting 8 when I finally got my hands on
a hand-me-down zx81.
~~~
Uchikoma
Me neither, real man, I was around 9 when I got hands on a VC20.
------
Keyframe
Interestingly enough, I did this a few days ago for a project.
<http://www.vga.hr/pr/intro.mov> (22MBs - and this was an early WIP tests,
fonts aren't properly aligned, missing scanlines and stuff)
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="kr.pe.burt.android.diffuselight">
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
<activity android:name=".MainActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest> |
12.05.2005
Thoreau's Journal: 05-Dec-1856
My themes shall not be far-fetched. I will tell of homely every-day phenomena and adventures. Friends! Society! It seems to be that I have an abundance of it, there is so much that I rejoice and sympathize with, and men, too, that I never speak to but only know and think of. What you call bareness and poverty is to me simplicity. God could not be unkind to me if he should try. I love the winter, with its imprisonment and its cold, for it compels the prisoner to try new fields and resources. I love to have the river closed up for a season and a pause put to my boating, to be obliged to get my boat in. I shall launch it again in the spring with so much more pleasure. This is an advantage in point of abstinence and moderation compared with the seaside boating, where the boat ever lies on the shore. I love best to have each thing in its season only, and enjoy doing without it at all other times. It is the greatest of all advantages to enjoy no advantage at all. I find it invariably true, the poorer I am, the richer I am. What you consider my disadvantage, I consider my advantage. While you are pleased to get knowledge and culture in many ways, I am delighted to think that I am getting rid of them. I have never got over my surprise that I should have been born into the most estimable place in all the world, and in the very nick of time, too.
No comments:
"Free in this world as the birds in the air, disengaged from every kind of chains, those who practice the yoga gather in Brahma the certain fruits of their works.
Depend upon it that, rude and careless as I am, I would fain practice the yoga faithfully.
The yogi, absorbed in contemplation, contributes in his degree to creation; he breathes a divine perfume, he hears wonderful things. Divine forms traverse him without tearing him, and united to the nature which is proper to him, he goes, he acts as animating original matter.
To some extent, and at rare intervals, even I am a yogi."
unediting thoreau
complete journals at walden woods
on-line Journal Transcripts
from Davidson Library UCSB
HDT Journals Political
from The Picket Line
An Annotated Walden
from The Thoreau Reader
the simple print
The Blog of Henry David Thoreau and its volume compilation is copyright 2004-2011 Greg Perry.
The text is from The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, ed. Bradford Torrey and Francis Allen, 14 vols. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1906).
Each blog post is an excerpt from that day's entry in the Journal, and although not necessarily the complete entry, it is an integral and intact section thereof.
"It was a pleasure and a privilege to walk with him. He knew the country like a fox or a bird, and passed through it as freely by paths of his own.... One must submit abjectly to such a guide, and the reward was great." -Emerson
.
Henry's Companions
Walden Eye in the Sky
Walking with Henry
one of the native forces
“Thoreau was a surprising fellow—he is not easily grasped—is elusive: yet he is one of the native forces—stands for a fact, a movement, an upheaval: Thoreau belongs to America, to the transcendental, to the protesters: then he is an outdoor man: all outdoor men everything else being equal appeal to me. Thoreau was not so precious, tender, a personality as Emerson: but he was a force—he looms up bigger and bigger: his dying does not seem to have hurt him a bit: every year has added to his fame.” |
Q:
Can't run jar file on command line with Maven
I am trying to run a jar file that has been packaged by Maven. When I run java -jar target/java-prac-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar I get the following output:
no main manifest attribute, in target/java-prac-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
pom.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>localdomain.localhost.tutorial</groupId>
<artifactId>java-prac</artifactId>
<version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
<dependencies></dependencies>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.6</source>
<target>1.6</target>
<manifest>
<mainClass>localdomain.localhost.tutorial.Main</mainClass>
</manifest>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>
My MANIFEST.MF file looks like
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Main-Class: localdomain.localhost.tutorial.Main
The interesting thing is that when I run ls target/classes, the 'META-INF/' folder is listed. So the file seems to be in the jar file, java just can't find it for some reason.
A:
you can add this plugins into your pom.xml file
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<source>1.6</source>
<target>1.6</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<archive>
<manifest>
<addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
<!--add you main class-->
<mainClass>cn.lonecloud.RefDemo</mainClass>
</manifest>
</archive>
</configuration>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>copy</id>
<phase>install</phase>
<goals>
<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<outputDirectory>
${project.build.directory}
</outputDirectory>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<encoding>UTF-8</encoding>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
run this command
mvn compile package
run your jar file
java -jar target/java-prac-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
|
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light source apparatus, a driving method of a discharge lamp, and a projector.
2. Related Art
Discharge lamps such as a high-pressure mercury lamp and a metal halide lamp are currently employed as a light source of a projector.
Such discharge lamps are driven by supplying, for example, a high-frequency alternating current as the driving current. Such a driving method provides stabilized discharge performance and prevents blackening or devitrification of the discharge lamp main portion thereby suppressing degradation of the life span of the discharge lamp.
However, while the discharge lamp is turned on arc discharge takes place between a pair of electrodes, and the electrodes melt because of a high temperature and thus the clearance between the electrodes become wider. In the case where the discharge lamp is employed for a projector, it is preferable to maintain a narrow clearance between the electrodes so as to illuminate a smaller region, in order to achieve a higher utilization efficiency of the light, and the increase of the clearance between the electrodes is not desirable since it leads to lower utilization efficiency of the light. The increase of the clearance between the electrodes also incurs fluctuation of the impedance therebetween, and therefore although the discharge lamp provides high efficiency during an initial period of use, impedance mismatch occurs with the lapse of time, which leads to an increase in reactive power and degradation of efficiency.
On the other hand, a low-frequency alternating current that presents a rectangular waveform (square AC) is also employed as the driving current. With such a driving method, a projection is formed on each of the pair of electrodes with the use of the discharge lamp, which contributes to maintain the narrow clearance between the electrodes.
In this case, however, the discharge lamp main portion is prone to suffer blackening and devitrification, resulting in reduced life span of the discharge lamp.
JP-A-2007-115534 is an example of related art. |
Heestert Military Cemetery
Heestert Military Cemetery is a British military cemetery with casualties from the First World War, located in the Belgian village of Heestert in the Zwevegem municipality. The cemetery was designed by William Harrison Cowlishaw and is located between the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Assumption Church and the village cemetery. It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are 184 graves and a Cross of Sacrifice.
History
Heestert was held by the Germans from the start of the war. It was only taken by the British at the end of October 1918; almost all of the graves are of those who died in the period 21-25 October 1918. The cemetery was built around February 1919 by local farmers. They brought the British and German victims from the battlefield and their farms here to bury them under instruction from the mayor . The cemetery was reorganized in 1920, with the German graves being moved to the south parts of each row. Later that year three more British graves were transferred here from the cemetery at Moen.
184 victims are buried, including 127 Britons (of which 26 could not be identified) and 57 Germans (of which 39 could not be identified). Special memorials were set up for 8 Britons who were known or believed to be buried in the cemetery but whose actual plot was lost or destroyed.
This cemetery was protected as a monument in 2009.
Distinguished soldiers
Arthur Keith Harding, captain in the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). and Thistle Robinson, lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers and son of Richard Atkinson Robinson), were awarded the Military Cross (MC).
Corporals JG Young and Harry Shortman Peter Burridge and Privates F. Byrne , T. Grindle , FJ Boulton , TW Gelder , Harry Richard Foulger and Abraham Barker received the Military Medal (MM).
References
External links
Category:Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Belgium
Category:World War I cemeteries in Belgium
Category:Cemeteries and memorials in West Flanders |
The relationship between parental catastrophizing about child pain and distress in response to medical procedures in the context of childhood cancer treatment: a longitudinal analysis.
Children with leukemia frequently undergo invasive medical procedures, such as lumbar punctures (LPs) and bone marrow aspirations (BMAs). To date, cross-sectional evidence indicates that LP/BMA procedures continue to elicit distress over the course of treatment in children and parents. The current study used prospective analyses investigating in 28 children diagnosed with leukemia, the course of parental and child distress when confronted with consecutive LP/BMA procedures and potential moderation by catastrophic thinking. Parents' level of catastrophic thoughts was assessed before the first treatment-related LP/BMA, while child and parent distress was reported on after each LP/BMA procedure. Whereas parental distress decreased over time among low catastrophizing parents, LP/BMA procedures remained highly distressing for high catastrophizing parents. Child distress during LP/BMA procedures increased over time and was positively related with parental distress. These findings stress the importance of targeting child and parent distress as early as possible in treatment. |
Lang Realty Proud to be a Sponsor of Festival of the Arts Boca 2010
The fourth annual Festival of the Arts BOCA, to be held at The Schmidt Family Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida, will take place between March 5th and March 13th, 2010. “Lang Realty is proud to be a sponsor of this world class event taking place in Boca Raton. “states Scott Agran, President, Lang Realty.
Returning favorite and established Orchestra in Residence, The Russian National Orchestra, will performat the baton of renowned Grammy Award winning conductor, Patrick Summers and the world renowned Constantine Kitsopoulos. One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, Grammy Award winning Soprano Renée Fleming will perform an evening of opera arias. The principal stars of The American Ballet Theater recognized the world over for their regal style and hypnotic performances, Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky, will take the stage to live music performed by The Russian National Orchestra for a magical closing night of dance. Also featured is a literary line-up with authors of such magnitude as: New York Times columnist, David Brooks; famed Presidential historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin; former advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Richard Goodwin; celebrity Julia Child’s biographer, Noël Riley Fitch; gourmand, food historian Albert Sonnenfeld and much more. A number of free to the public events such as an afternoon “Film in the Park Series” with such recognized films as: Anastasia, From Russia with Love, and Doctor Zhivago will also be offered. For further information and to purchase tickets, visit www.FestivalOfTheArtsboca.org or call 1-866-571-2787.
Lang Realty is one of South Florida’s top independent residential real estate companies. For more information about Lang Realty, please contact 561.989.2100 or visitwww.langrealty.com. |
// Copyright 2018 ETH Zurich and University of Bologna.
// Copyright and related rights are licensed under the Solderpad Hardware
// License, Version 0.51 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
// compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
// http://solderpad.org/licenses/SHL-0.51. Unless required by applicable law
// or agreed to in writing, software, hardware and materials distributed under
// this 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.
//
// Author: Florian Zaruba, ETH Zurich
// Date: 08.02.2018
// Description: Ariane Instruction Fetch Frontend
//
// This module interfaces with the instruction cache, handles control
// change request from the back-end and does branch prediction.
module frontend import ariane_pkg::*; #(
parameter ariane_pkg::ariane_cfg_t ArianeCfg = ariane_pkg::ArianeDefaultConfig
) (
input logic clk_i, // Clock
input logic rst_ni, // Asynchronous reset active low
input logic flush_i, // flush request for PCGEN
input logic flush_bp_i, // flush branch prediction
input logic debug_mode_i,
// global input
input logic [63:0] boot_addr_i,
// Set a new PC
// mispredict
input bp_resolve_t resolved_branch_i, // from controller signaling a branch_predict -> update BTB
// from commit, when flushing the whole pipeline
input logic set_pc_commit_i, // Take the PC from commit stage
input logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] pc_commit_i, // PC of instruction in commit stage
// CSR input
input logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] epc_i, // exception PC which we need to return to
input logic eret_i, // return from exception
input logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] trap_vector_base_i, // base of trap vector
input logic ex_valid_i, // exception is valid - from commit
input logic set_debug_pc_i, // jump to debug address
// Instruction Fetch
output icache_dreq_i_t icache_dreq_o,
input icache_dreq_o_t icache_dreq_i,
// instruction output port -> to processor back-end
output fetch_entry_t fetch_entry_o, // fetch entry containing all relevant data for the ID stage
output logic fetch_entry_valid_o, // instruction in IF is valid
input logic fetch_entry_ready_i // ID acknowledged this instruction
);
// Instruction Cache Registers, from I$
logic [FETCH_WIDTH-1:0] icache_data_q;
logic icache_valid_q;
ariane_pkg::frontend_exception_t icache_ex_valid_q;
logic [63:0] icache_vaddr_q;
logic instr_queue_ready;
logic [ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] instr_queue_consumed;
// upper-most branch-prediction from last cycle
btb_prediction_t btb_q;
bht_prediction_t bht_q;
// instruction fetch is ready
logic if_ready;
logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] npc_d, npc_q; // next PC
// indicates whether we come out of reset (then we need to load boot_addr_i)
logic npc_rst_load_q;
logic replay;
logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] replay_addr;
// shift amount
logic [$clog2(ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH)-1:0] shamt;
// address will always be 16 bit aligned, make this explicit here
assign shamt = icache_dreq_i.vaddr[$clog2(ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH):1];
// -----------------------
// Ctrl Flow Speculation
// -----------------------
// RVI ctrl flow prediction
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] rvi_return, rvi_call, rvi_branch,
rvi_jalr, rvi_jump;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0][riscv::VLEN-1:0] rvi_imm;
// RVC branching
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] rvc_branch, rvc_jump, rvc_jr, rvc_return,
rvc_jalr, rvc_call;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0][riscv::VLEN-1:0] rvc_imm;
// re-aligned instruction and address (coming from cache - combinationally)
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0][31:0] instr;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0][riscv::VLEN-1:0] addr;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] instruction_valid;
// BHT, BTB and RAS prediction
bht_prediction_t [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] bht_prediction;
btb_prediction_t [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] btb_prediction;
bht_prediction_t [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] bht_prediction_shifted;
btb_prediction_t [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] btb_prediction_shifted;
ras_t ras_predict;
// branch-predict update
logic is_mispredict;
logic ras_push, ras_pop;
logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] ras_update;
// Instruction FIFO
logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] predict_address;
cf_t [ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] cf_type;
logic [ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] taken_rvi_cf;
logic [ariane_pkg::INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] taken_rvc_cf;
logic serving_unaligned;
// Re-align instructions
instr_realign i_instr_realign (
.clk_i ( clk_i ),
.rst_ni ( rst_ni ),
.flush_i ( icache_dreq_o.kill_s2 ),
.valid_i ( icache_valid_q ),
.serving_unaligned_o ( serving_unaligned ),
.address_i ( icache_vaddr_q ),
.data_i ( icache_data_q ),
.valid_o ( instruction_valid ),
.addr_o ( addr ),
.instr_o ( instr )
);
// --------------------
// Branch Prediction
// --------------------
// select the right branch prediction result
// in case we are serving an unaligned instruction in instr[0] we need to take
// the prediction we saved from the previous fetch
assign bht_prediction_shifted[0] = (serving_unaligned) ? bht_q : bht_prediction[0];
assign btb_prediction_shifted[0] = (serving_unaligned) ? btb_q : btb_prediction[0];
// for all other predictions we can use the generated address to index
// into the branch prediction data structures
for (genvar i = 1; i < INSTR_PER_FETCH; i++) begin : gen_prediction_address
assign bht_prediction_shifted[i] = bht_prediction[addr[i][$clog2(INSTR_PER_FETCH):1]];
assign btb_prediction_shifted[i] = btb_prediction[addr[i][$clog2(INSTR_PER_FETCH):1]];
end
// for the return address stack it doens't matter as we have the
// address of the call/return already
logic bp_valid;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] is_branch;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] is_call;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] is_jump;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] is_return;
logic [INSTR_PER_FETCH-1:0] is_jalr;
for (genvar i = 0; i < INSTR_PER_FETCH; i++) begin
// branch history table -> BHT
assign is_branch[i] = instruction_valid[i] & (rvi_branch[i] | rvc_branch[i]);
// function calls -> RAS
assign is_call[i] = instruction_valid[i] & (rvi_call[i] | rvc_call[i]);
// function return -> RAS
assign is_return[i] = instruction_valid[i] & (rvi_return[i] | rvc_return[i]);
// unconditional jumps with known target -> immediately resolved
assign is_jump[i] = instruction_valid[i] & (rvi_jump[i] | rvc_jump[i]);
// unconditional jumps with unknown target -> BTB
assign is_jalr[i] = instruction_valid[i] & ~is_return[i] & ~is_call[i] & (rvi_jalr[i] | rvc_jalr[i] | rvc_jr[i]);
end
// taken/not taken
always_comb begin
taken_rvi_cf = '0;
taken_rvc_cf = '0;
predict_address = '0;
for (int i = 0; i < INSTR_PER_FETCH; i++) cf_type[i] = ariane_pkg::NoCF;
ras_push = 1'b0;
ras_pop = 1'b0;
ras_update = '0;
// lower most prediction gets precedence
for (int i = INSTR_PER_FETCH - 1; i >= 0 ; i--) begin
unique case ({is_branch[i], is_return[i], is_jump[i], is_jalr[i]})
4'b0000:; // regular instruction e.g.: no branch
// unconditional jump to register, we need the BTB to resolve this
4'b0001: begin
ras_pop = 1'b0;
ras_push = 1'b0;
if (btb_prediction_shifted[i].valid) begin
predict_address = btb_prediction_shifted[i].target_address;
cf_type[i] = ariane_pkg::JumpR;
end
end
// its an unconditional jump to an immediate
4'b0010: begin
ras_pop = 1'b0;
ras_push = 1'b0;
taken_rvi_cf[i] = rvi_jump[i];
taken_rvc_cf[i] = rvc_jump[i];
cf_type[i] = ariane_pkg::Jump;
end
// return
4'b0100: begin
// make sure to only alter the RAS if we actually consumed the instruction
ras_pop = ras_predict.valid & instr_queue_consumed[i];
ras_push = 1'b0;
predict_address = ras_predict.ra;
cf_type[i] = ariane_pkg::Return;
end
// branch prediction
4'b1000: begin
ras_pop = 1'b0;
ras_push = 1'b0;
// if we have a valid dynamic prediction use it
if (bht_prediction_shifted[i].valid) begin
taken_rvi_cf[i] = rvi_branch[i] & bht_prediction_shifted[i].taken;
taken_rvc_cf[i] = rvc_branch[i] & bht_prediction_shifted[i].taken;
// otherwise default to static prediction
end else begin
// set if immediate is negative - static prediction
taken_rvi_cf[i] = rvi_branch[i] & rvi_imm[i][riscv::VLEN-1];
taken_rvc_cf[i] = rvc_branch[i] & rvc_imm[i][riscv::VLEN-1];
end
if (taken_rvi_cf[i] || taken_rvc_cf[i]) cf_type[i] = ariane_pkg::Branch;
end
default:;
// default: $error("Decoded more than one control flow");
endcase
// if this instruction, in addition, is a call, save the resulting address
// but only if we actually consumed the address
if (is_call[i]) begin
ras_push = instr_queue_consumed[i];
ras_update = addr[i] + (rvc_call[i] ? 2 : 4);
end
// calculate the jump target address
if (taken_rvc_cf[i] || taken_rvi_cf[i]) begin
predict_address = addr[i] + (taken_rvc_cf[i] ? rvc_imm[i] : rvi_imm[i]);
end
end
end
// or reduce struct
always_comb begin
bp_valid = 1'b0;
// BP cannot be valid if we have a return instruction and the RAS is not giving a valid address
// Check that we encountered a control flow and that for a return the RAS
// contains a valid prediction.
for (int i = 0; i < INSTR_PER_FETCH; i++) bp_valid |= ((cf_type[i] != NoCF & cf_type[i] != Return) | ((cf_type[i] == Return) & ras_predict.valid));
end
assign is_mispredict = resolved_branch_i.valid & resolved_branch_i.is_mispredict;
// Cache interface
assign icache_dreq_o.req = instr_queue_ready;
assign if_ready = icache_dreq_i.ready & instr_queue_ready;
// We need to flush the cache pipeline if:
// 1. We mispredicted
// 2. Want to flush the whole processor front-end
// 3. Need to replay an instruction because the fetch-fifo was full
assign icache_dreq_o.kill_s1 = is_mispredict | flush_i | replay;
// if we have a valid branch-prediction we need to only kill the last cache request
// also if we killed the first stage we also need to kill the second stage (inclusive flush)
assign icache_dreq_o.kill_s2 = icache_dreq_o.kill_s1 | bp_valid;
// Update Control Flow Predictions
bht_update_t bht_update;
btb_update_t btb_update;
assign bht_update.valid = resolved_branch_i.valid
& (resolved_branch_i.cf_type == ariane_pkg::Branch);
assign bht_update.pc = resolved_branch_i.pc;
assign bht_update.taken = resolved_branch_i.is_taken;
// only update mispredicted branches e.g. no returns from the RAS
assign btb_update.valid = resolved_branch_i.valid
& resolved_branch_i.is_mispredict
& (resolved_branch_i.cf_type == ariane_pkg::JumpR);
assign btb_update.pc = resolved_branch_i.pc;
assign btb_update.target_address = resolved_branch_i.target_address;
// -------------------
// Next PC
// -------------------
// next PC (NPC) can come from (in order of precedence):
// 0. Default assignment/replay instruction
// 1. Branch Predict taken
// 2. Control flow change request (misprediction)
// 3. Return from environment call
// 4. Exception/Interrupt
// 5. Pipeline Flush because of CSR side effects
// Mis-predict handling is a little bit different
// select PC a.k.a PC Gen
always_comb begin : npc_select
automatic logic [riscv::VLEN-1:0] fetch_address;
// check whether we come out of reset
// this is a workaround. some tools have issues
// having boot_addr_i in the asynchronous
// reset assignment to npc_q, even though
// boot_addr_i will be assigned a constant
// on the top-level.
if (npc_rst_load_q) begin
npc_d = boot_addr_i[riscv::VLEN-1:0];
fetch_address = boot_addr_i[riscv::VLEN-1:0];
end else begin
fetch_address = npc_q;
// keep stable by default
npc_d = npc_q;
end
// 0. Branch Prediction
if (bp_valid) begin
fetch_address = predict_address;
npc_d = predict_address;
end
// 1. Default assignment
if (if_ready) npc_d = {fetch_address[riscv::VLEN-1:2], 2'b0} + 'h4;
// 2. Replay instruction fetch
if (replay) npc_d = replay_addr;
// 3. Control flow change request
if (is_mispredict) npc_d = resolved_branch_i.target_address;
// 4. Return from environment call
if (eret_i) npc_d = epc_i;
// 5. Exception/Interrupt
if (ex_valid_i) npc_d = trap_vector_base_i;
// 6. Pipeline Flush because of CSR side effects
// On a pipeline flush start fetching from the next address
// of the instruction in the commit stage
// we came here from a flush request of a CSR instruction or AMO,
// as CSR or AMO instructions do not exist in a compressed form
// we can unconditionally do PC + 4 here
// TODO(zarubaf) This adder can at least be merged with the one in the csr_regfile stage
if (set_pc_commit_i) npc_d = pc_commit_i + {{riscv::VLEN-3{1'b0}}, 3'b100};
// 7. Debug
// enter debug on a hard-coded base-address
if (set_debug_pc_i) npc_d = ArianeCfg.DmBaseAddress[riscv::VLEN-1:0] + dm::HaltAddress[riscv::VLEN-1:0];
icache_dreq_o.vaddr = fetch_address;
end
logic [FETCH_WIDTH-1:0] icache_data;
// re-align the cache line
assign icache_data = icache_dreq_i.data >> {shamt, 4'b0};
always_ff @(posedge clk_i or negedge rst_ni) begin
if (!rst_ni) begin
npc_rst_load_q <= 1'b1;
npc_q <= '0;
icache_data_q <= '0;
icache_valid_q <= 1'b0;
icache_vaddr_q <= 'b0;
icache_ex_valid_q <= ariane_pkg::FE_NONE;
btb_q <= '0;
bht_q <= '0;
end else begin
npc_rst_load_q <= 1'b0;
npc_q <= npc_d;
icache_valid_q <= icache_dreq_i.valid;
if (icache_dreq_i.valid) begin
icache_data_q <= icache_data;
icache_vaddr_q <= icache_dreq_i.vaddr;
// Map the only three exceptions which can occur in the frontend to a two bit enum
if (icache_dreq_i.ex.cause == riscv::INSTR_PAGE_FAULT) begin
icache_ex_valid_q <= ariane_pkg::FE_INSTR_PAGE_FAULT;
end else if (icache_dreq_i.ex.cause == riscv::INSTR_ACCESS_FAULT) begin
icache_ex_valid_q <= ariane_pkg::FE_INSTR_ACCESS_FAULT;
end else icache_ex_valid_q <= ariane_pkg::FE_NONE;
// save the uppermost prediction
btb_q <= btb_prediction[INSTR_PER_FETCH-1];
bht_q <= bht_prediction[INSTR_PER_FETCH-1];
end
end
end
ras #(
.DEPTH ( ArianeCfg.RASDepth )
) i_ras (
.clk_i,
.rst_ni,
.flush_i( flush_bp_i ),
.push_i ( ras_push ),
.pop_i ( ras_pop ),
.data_i ( ras_update ),
.data_o ( ras_predict )
);
btb #(
.NR_ENTRIES ( ArianeCfg.BTBEntries )
) i_btb (
.clk_i,
.rst_ni,
.flush_i ( flush_bp_i ),
.debug_mode_i,
.vpc_i ( icache_vaddr_q ),
.btb_update_i ( btb_update ),
.btb_prediction_o ( btb_prediction )
);
bht #(
.NR_ENTRIES ( ArianeCfg.BHTEntries )
) i_bht (
.clk_i,
.rst_ni,
.flush_i ( flush_bp_i ),
.debug_mode_i,
.vpc_i ( icache_vaddr_q ),
.bht_update_i ( bht_update ),
.bht_prediction_o ( bht_prediction )
);
// we need to inspect up to INSTR_PER_FETCH instructions for branches
// and jumps
for (genvar i = 0; i < INSTR_PER_FETCH; i++) begin : gen_instr_scan
instr_scan i_instr_scan (
.instr_i ( instr[i] ),
.rvi_return_o ( rvi_return[i] ),
.rvi_call_o ( rvi_call[i] ),
.rvi_branch_o ( rvi_branch[i] ),
.rvi_jalr_o ( rvi_jalr[i] ),
.rvi_jump_o ( rvi_jump[i] ),
.rvi_imm_o ( rvi_imm[i] ),
.rvc_branch_o ( rvc_branch[i] ),
.rvc_jump_o ( rvc_jump[i] ),
.rvc_jr_o ( rvc_jr[i] ),
.rvc_return_o ( rvc_return[i] ),
.rvc_jalr_o ( rvc_jalr[i] ),
.rvc_call_o ( rvc_call[i] ),
.rvc_imm_o ( rvc_imm[i] )
);
end
instr_queue i_instr_queue (
.clk_i ( clk_i ),
.rst_ni ( rst_ni ),
.flush_i ( flush_i ),
.instr_i ( instr ), // from re-aligner
.addr_i ( addr ), // from re-aligner
.exception_i ( icache_ex_valid_q ), // from I$
.exception_addr_i ( icache_vaddr_q ),
.predict_address_i ( predict_address ),
.cf_type_i ( cf_type ),
.valid_i ( instruction_valid ), // from re-aligner
.consumed_o ( instr_queue_consumed ),
.ready_o ( instr_queue_ready ),
.replay_o ( replay ),
.replay_addr_o ( replay_addr ),
.fetch_entry_o ( fetch_entry_o ), // to back-end
.fetch_entry_valid_o ( fetch_entry_valid_o ), // to back-end
.fetch_entry_ready_i ( fetch_entry_ready_i ) // to back-end
);
// pragma translate_off
`ifndef VERILATOR
initial begin
assert (FETCH_WIDTH == 32 || FETCH_WIDTH == 64) else $fatal("[frontend] fetch width != not supported");
end
`endif
// pragma translate_on
endmodule
|
india
Updated: May 07, 2019 14:41 IST
The Delhi High Court quashed an FIR accusing AAP MLA Somnath Bharti of domestic violence.
Justice Chander Shekhar allowed Bharti’s plea to quash the criminal case after noting that Bharti and his wife Lipika Mitra are living happily together.
The court also noted that the woman has no objection if the FIR is quashed.
It had earlier allowed Bharti’s wife to withdraw her petition seeking cancellation of the bail granted to him in the domestic violence case in view of the settlement of their marital dispute.
Mitra had on June 10, 2015 filed a complaint against him with the Delhi Commission for Women and an FIR was lodged by the police on September 9, 2015 for allegedly subjecting her to domestic violence and trying to kill her. |
[Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of iatrogennic lesions of biliary tract during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Management of papila injury after invasive endoscopy. Part 1. Prevention and diagnosis of bile duct injuries].
Endoscopic invasive procedures in 70th and 80th years leaded to decrease reoperations on biliary tree. Iatrogenic injury of the biliary tract have increased in incidence in the first decade with the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Athough a number of factors have been identified with a high risk of injury ( and number of technical steps have been emphasized to avoid these injury, the incidence of the bile duct injury has reached at least double the rate observed with open cholecystectomy. Cholecystectomy is most frequently performed abdominal operation and the most serious complication associated with this procedure is accidental injury to the common bile duct (0.3-0.4%). This preventable technical error has tradicionally been thought to occur in one or more of three situations: 1. When the operator attempts to clip or ligate a bleeding cystic artery and also clips the common hepatic duct (Fig. 3a). 2. When too much traction has been exerted on the gallbladder so that the common bile duct has tented up into an albow, which was either tied off with ligature or clipped (Fig. 3b). 3. When anatomic anomalies were not recognized and the wrong structure is divided, for example, when the cystic duct winds anterior to the common bile duct and enters on the left side, or when the cystic duct joins the right hepatic duct rather than the junction of the common hepatic and the common bile ducts (Fig. 1, 2, 3cd). In anatomical incertain cases is discussed about cholangiography and cholecystocholangiography during laparoscopy cholecystectomy. Most patients sustained a bile duct injury are recognized in the weeks folloving laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Careful preoperative preparation should include control of sepsis by draining any bile collections or fistulas and komplete cholangiography. Long-term results are best achieved in specialized hepatobiliary centres performing biliary reconstruction with a Roux-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Success rates over 90% have been reported from several centres to date with intermediate follow-up. Papila injury increased with introduction of a invasive endoscopy. Risk of deadly retroperitoneal inflamation is very high. Injury require same surgery procedure as duodenum injury. In an article a review of experiences of the 1st surgery department of General hospital in Prague since 1971 in 1 017 reoperations on biliary tree was carried out. There was in 311 patients 164 hepatohepatostomies and 147 hepaticojejunostomies used (Tab. 1). By laparoscopic injuries were high hilar injuries (Bismuth IV) in last decade and hepaticojejunostomy was done in all cases. Died 6%, long term results are acceptable by injured patients with hepaticohepaticostomies in 70%, by hepaticojejunostomies in 90%. Reoperated were 10% patients (Tab. 1). Remnant patients were dilated endoscopicaly. Postoperatively morbidity was high, above 26%. In years 1995-2003 were 8 patients with papila injury and inflamation in retroperitoneum operated as a injured duodenum (Tab. 2). Better experiences with treatment of injured biliary tree and papila are in centres interested in hepatobilliary surgery which knowledge anatomy of hilus of liver and can make wide hepaticojejunostomy. Transfer of drained injured patient to centre is possible. |
This PEP proposes that the Installing Python Modules guide in Python 2.7, 3.3 and 3.4 be updated to officially recommend the use of pip as the default installer for Python packages, and that appropriate technical changes be made in Python 3.4 to provide pip by default in support of that recommendation.
There are two related, but distinct rationales for the proposal in this PEP. The first relates to the experience of new users, while the second relates to better enabling the evolution of the broader Python packaging ecosystem.
Improving the new user experience Currently, on systems without a platform package manager and repository, installing a third-party Python package into a freshly installed Python requires first identifying an appropriate package manager and then installing it. Even on systems that do have a platform package manager, it is unlikely to include every package that is available on the Python Package Index, and even when a desired third-party package is available, the correct name in the platform package manager may not be clear. This means that, to work effectively with the Python Package Index ecosystem, users must know which package manager to install, where to get it, and how to install it. The effect of this is that third-party Python projects are currently required to choose from a variety of undesirable alternatives: Assume the user already has a suitable cross-platform package manager installed.
Duplicate the instructions and tell their users how to install the package manager.
Completely forgo the use of dependencies to ease installation concerns for their users. All of these available options have significant drawbacks. If a project simply assumes a user already has the tooling then beginning users may get a confusing error message when the installation command doesn't work. Some operating systems may ease this pain by providing a global hook that looks for commands that don't exist and suggest an OS package they can install to make the command work, but that only works on systems with platform package managers that include a package that provides the relevant cross-platform installer command (such as many major Linux distributions). No such assistance is available for Windows and Mac OS X users, or more conservative Linux distributions. The challenges of dealing with this problem for beginners (who are often also completely new to programming, the use of command line tools and editing system environment variables) are a regular feature of feedback the core Python developers receive from professional educators and others introducing new users to Python. If a project chooses to duplicate the installation instructions and tell their users how to install the package manager before telling them how to install their own project then whenever these instructions need updates they need updating by every project that has duplicated them. This is particular problematic when there are multiple competing installation tools available, and different projects recommend different tools. This specific problem can be partially alleviated by strongly promoting pip as the default installer and recommending that other projects reference pip's own bootstrapping instructions rather than duplicating them. However the user experience created by this approach still isn't particularly good (although there is an effort under way to create a combined Windows installer for pip and its dependencies that should improve matters on that platform, and Mac OS X and *nix platforms generally have wget and hence the ability to easily download and run the bootstrap scripts from the command line). The projects that have decided to forgo dependencies altogether are forced to either duplicate the efforts of other projects by inventing their own solutions to problems or are required to simply include the other projects in their own source trees. Both of these options present their own problems either in duplicating maintenance work across the ecosystem or potentially leaving users vulnerable to security issues because the included code or duplicated efforts are not automatically updated when upstream releases a new version. By officially recommending and providing by default a specific cross-platform package manager it will be easier for users trying to install these third-party packages as well as easier for the people distributing them as they should now be able to safely assume that most users will have the appropriate installation tools available (or access to clear instructions on how to obtain them). This is expected to become more important in the future as the Wheel package format (deliberately) does not have a built in "installer" in the form of setup.py so users wishing to install from a wheel file will want an installer even in the simplest cases. Reducing the burden of actually installing a third-party package should also decrease the pressure to add every useful module to the standard library. This will allow additions to the standard library to focus more on why Python should have a particular tool out of the box, and why it is reasonable for that package to adopt the standard library's 18-24 month feature release cycle, instead of using the general difficulty of installing third-party packages as justification for inclusion. Providing a standard installation system also helps with bootstrapping alternate build and installer systems, such as zc.buildout , hashdist and conda . So long as pip install <tool> works, then a standard Python-specific installer provides a reasonably secure, cross platform mechanism to get access to these utilities.
Enabling the evolution of the broader Python packaging ecosystem As no new packaging standard can achieve widespread adoption without a transition strategy that covers the versions of Python that are in widespread current use (rather than merely future versions, like most language features), the change proposed in this PEP is considered a necessary step in the evolution of the Python packaging ecosystem The broader community has embraced the Python Package Index as a mechanism for distributing and installing Python software, but the different concerns of language evolution and secure software distribution mean that a faster feature release cycle that encompasses older versions is needed to properly support the latter. In addition, the core CPython development team have the luxury of dropping support for earlier Python versions well before the rest of the community, as downstream commercial redistributors pick up the task of providing support for those versions to users that still need it, while many third party libraries maintain compatibility with those versions as long as they remain in widespread use. This means that the current setup.py install based model for package installation poses serious difficulties for the development and adoption of new packaging standards, as, depending on how a project writes their setup.py file, the installation command (along with other operations) may end up invoking the standard library's distutils package. As an indicator of how this may cause problems for the broader ecosystem, consider that the feature set of distutils in Python 2.6 was frozen in June 2008 (with the release of Python 2.6b1), while the feature set of distutils in Python 2.7 was frozen in April 2010 (with the release of Python 2.7b1). By contrast, using a separate installer application like pip (which ensures that even setup.py files that invoke distutils directly still support the new packaging standards) makes it possible to support new packaging standards in older versions of Python, just by upgrading pip (which receives new feature releases roughly every 6 months). The situation on older versions of Python is further improved by making it easier for end users to install and upgrade newer build systems like setuptools or improved PyPI upload utilities like twine . It is not coincidental that this proposed model of using a separate installer program with more metadata heavy and less active distribution formats matches that used by most operating systems (including Windows since the introduction of the installer service and the MSI file format), as well as many other language specific installers. For Python 2.6, this compatibility issue is largely limited to various enterprise Linux distributions (and their downstream derivatives). These distributions often have even slower update cycles than CPython, so they offer full support for versions of Python that are considered "security fix only" versions upstream (and sometimes may even be to the point where the core development team no longer support them at all - you can still get commercial support for Python 2.3 if you really need it!). In practice, the fact that tools like wget and curl are readily available on Linux systems, that most users of Python on Linux are already familiar with the command line, and that most Linux distributions ship with a default configuration that makes running Python scripts easy, means that the existing pip bootstrapping instructions for any *nix system are already quite straightforward. Even if pip isn't provided by the system package manager, then using wget or curl to retrieve the bootstrap script from www.pip-installer.org and then running it is just a couple of shell commands that can easily be copied and pasted as necessary. Accordingly, for any version of Python on any *nix system, the need to bootstrap pip in older versions isn't considered a major barrier to adoption of new packaging standards, since it's just one more small speedbump encountered by users of these long term stable releases. For *nix systems, this PEP's formal endorsement of pip as the preferred default packaging tool is seen as more important than the underlying technical details involved in making pip available by default, since it shifts the nature of the conversation between the developers of pip and downstream repackagers of both pip and CPython. For Python 2.7, on the other hand, the compatibility issue for adopting new metadata standards is far more widespread, as it affects the python.org binary installers for Windows and Mac OS X, as well as even relatively fast moving *nix platforms. Firstly, and unlike Python 2.6, Python 2.7 is still a fully supported upstream version, and will remain so until the release of Python 2.7.9 (currently scheduled for May 2015), at which time it is expected to enter the usual "security fix only" mode. That means there are at least another 19 months where Python 2.7 is a deployment target for Python applications that enjoys full upstream support. Even after the core development team switches 2.7 to security release only mode in 2015, Python 2.7 will likely remain a commercially supported legacy target out beyond 2020. While Python 3 already presents a compelling alternative over Python 2 for new Python applications and deployments without an existing investment in Python 2 and without a dependency on specific Python 2 only third party modules (a set which is getting ever smaller over time), it is going to take longer to create compelling business cases to update existing Python 2.7 based infrastructure to Python 3, especially in situations where the culture of automated testing is weak (or nonexistent), making it difficult to effectively use the available migration utilities. While this PEP only proposes documentation changes for Python 2.7, once pip has a Windows installer available, a separate PEP will be created and submitted proposing the creation and distribution of aggregate installers for future CPython 2.7 maintenance releases that combine the CPython, pip and Python Launcher for Windows installers into a single download (the separate downloads would still remain available - the aggregate installers would be provided as a convenience, and as a clear indication of the recommended operating environment for Python in Windows systems). |
We will use the following priors:
Since the precision must be positive, but has no theoretical upper bound, we use a Gamma prior:
$$h \sim \text{Gamma}(\alpha_h, \beta_h)$$
to be specific, the density is written:
$$p(h) = \frac{\beta_h^{\alpha_h}}{\Gamma(\alpha)} h^{\alpha_h-1}e^{-\beta_h h}$$
and we set the hyperparameters as $\alpha_h = 2, \beta_h = 2$. In this case, we have $E(h) = \alpha_h / \beta_h = 1$ and also $E(h^{-1}) = E(\sigma_\varepsilon^2) = 1$.
Ratio of variances¶
Similarly, the ratio of variances must be positive, but has no theoretical upper bound, so we again use an (independent) Gamma prior:
$$q \sim \text{Gamma}(\alpha_q, \beta_q)$$
and we set the same hyperparameters, so $\alpha_q = 2, \beta_q = 2$. Since $E(q) = 1$, our prior is of equal variances. We then have $E(\sigma_\eta^2) = E(q h^{-1}) = E(q) E(h^{-1}) = 1$.
Initial state prior¶
As noted above, the Kalman filter must be initialized with $\mu_0 \sim N(m_0, P_0)$. We will use the following approximately diffuse prior:
$$\mu_0 \sim N(0, 10^6)$$ |
Principe
Attenuation of certain facial fine lines or scars, by applying chemical agents that eliminate the superficial layer of the skin.
Indications
Lion’s wrinkle
Wrinkles around the eyes
Facial wrinkles
Age spots
Scars
Contre indications
Deeply pigmented skins
Duree
Varies according to the product used
Anesthesie
Unnecessary for smaller areas
Arret De Travail
None
Premiere Consultation
The first consultation with the surgeon is absolutely fundamental and cannot be substituted with simple paperwork. This meeting serves as a special opportunity to build mutual trust and enables us to fully understand your need.
You'll learn about the pros and cons of the planned procedure, allowing you to make a fully informed decision.
To answer all of your questions, a second consultation will often be necessary before the surgical procedure.
Principe
Attenuation of certain facial fine lines or scars, by applying chemical agents that eliminate the superficial layer of the skin.
Indications
Lion’s wrinkle
Wrinkles around the eyes
Facial wrinkles
Age spots
Scars
Contre indications
Deeply pigmented skins
Duree
Varies according to the product used
Anesthesie
Unnecessary for smaller areas
Arret De Travail
None
Premiere Consultation
The first consultation with the surgeon is absolutely fundamental and cannot be substituted with simple paperwork. This meeting serves as a special opportunity to build mutual trust and enables us to fully understand your need.
You'll learn about the pros and cons of the planned procedure, allowing you to make a fully informed decision.
To answer all of your questions, a second consultation will often be necessary before the surgical procedure. |
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Monday, 11 February 2013
This invention seems practical, because you can heat the bread soon.The bread is on his point and also you don´t stain anything.Thanks to the toaster you can take a quick, healthy breakfast.The toaster´s function is release off heat to heat the bread, electromagnets driving through a resistor.The toaster was maked for the first time in U.S.A in 1909.In my opinion isn´t an invention that call a lot of attention, but everyone has one in their kitchens.Nuria A.D
There have been many amazing inventions in the last years old. In my opinion the best invention is the Twitter.
Thanks to the Twitter you can write with the people the of your city or other countries almost instantly.
In addiction you can go up photos, videos and can do twetcam( TC ), retweet ( RT ), follow and you follow, chose the favourite tweet and Trending Topic( TT )
The Twitter is the best social network invented.Is different the others.
An oven of microwave, it is a domestic appliance used in the kitchen to warm food that it works by means of the generation of electromagnetic waves in the frequency of the microwaves, of 2,5 GHz.
In 1946, he was the American doctor Percy Spencer the one that noticed that the effect of the microwaves could cook the food without the heat was perceptible around it. In 1947 the company Raytheon there began to commercialize the model called Radar Range but his big dimensions did that his diffusion was limited. Finally, in 1953, the article was distributed for the home produced by the Tappan Company to which he was still the model Hotpoint.
It seems to my me very likely that uses this useless device though the ecologists say that it should contaminate, because there is sure that they in his house have oneHelp is of great to the daily life because only in spite of the food introduces a few minutes inside already this one I list to eat and warm; of fact great show restraint (pizzas, lassagna, domestic soups ...) they come precooked and only putting them inside already are eatable. |
Q:
Flatten BigQuery nested field contents into new columns instead of rows
I have some BigQuery data in the following format:
"thing": [
{
"name": "gameLost",
"params": [
{
"key": "total_games",
"val": {
"str_val": "3",
"int_val": null
}
},
{
"key": "games_won",
"val": {
"str_val": "2",
"int_val": null
}
},
{
"key": "game_time",
"val": {
"str_val": "44",
"int_val": null
}
}
],
"dt_a": "1470625311138000",
"dt_b": "1470620345566000"
}
I'm aware of the FLATTEN() function that will result in an output of 3 rows like so:
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| thing.name | thing.dt_a | event_dim.dt_b | thing.params.key | thing.params.val.str_val | thing.params.val.int_val |
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| gameLost | 1470625311138000 | 1470620345566000 | total_games_played | 3 | null |
| | | | | | |
| gameLost | 1470625311138000 | 1470620345566000 | games_won | 2 | null |
| | | | | | |
| gameLost | 1470625311138000 | 1470620345566000 | game_time | 44 | null |
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+--------------------------+--------------------------+
where the higher level keys/values get repeated into new rows for each deeper level object.
However, I need to output the deeper key/values as entirely new columns, and not repeat fields so the results would look like this:
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
| thing.name | thing.dt_a | event_dim.dt_b | total_games_played | games_won | game_time |
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
| gameLost | 1470625311138000 | 1470620345566000 | 3 | 2 | 44 |
+------------+------------------+------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
How can I do this? Thanks!
A:
Standard SQL makes this easier to express (uncheck "Use Legacy SQL" under "Show Options"):
WITH T AS (
SELECT STRUCT(
"gameLost" AS name,
ARRAY<STRUCT<key STRING, val STRUCT<str_val STRING, int_val INT64>>>[
STRUCT("total_games", STRUCT("3", NULL)),
STRUCT("games_won", STRUCT("2", NULL)),
STRUCT("game_time", STRUCT("44", NULL))] AS params,
1470625311138000 AS dt_a,
1470620345566000 AS dt_b) AS thing
)
SELECT
(SELECT AS STRUCT thing.* EXCEPT (params)) AS thing,
thing.params[OFFSET(0)].val.str_val AS total_games_played,
thing.params[OFFSET(1)].val.str_val AS games_won,
thing.params[OFFSET(2)].val.str_val AS game_time
FROM T;
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
| thing | total_games_played | games_won | game_time |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
| {"name":"gameLost","dt_a":"1470625311138000","dt_b":"1470620345566000"} | 3 | 2 | 44 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------+-----------+-----------+
If you don't know the order of the keys in the array, you can use subselects to extract the relevant values:
WITH T AS (
SELECT STRUCT(
"gameLost" AS name,
ARRAY<STRUCT<key STRING, val STRUCT<str_val STRING, int_val INT64>>>[
STRUCT("total_games", STRUCT("3", NULL)),
STRUCT("games_won", STRUCT("2", NULL)),
STRUCT("game_time", STRUCT("44", NULL))] AS params,
1470625311138000 AS dt_a,
1470620345566000 AS dt_b) AS thing
)
SELECT
(SELECT AS STRUCT thing.* EXCEPT (params)) AS thing,
(SELECT val.str_val FROM UNNEST(thing.params) WHERE key = "total_games") AS total_games_played,
(SELECT val.str_val FROM UNNEST(thing.params) WHERE key = "games_won") AS games_won,
(SELECT val.str_val FROM UNNEST(thing.params) WHERE key = "game_time") AS game_time
FROM T;
|
Behavior and viability of spontaneous oxidative stress-resistant Lactococcus lactis mutants in experimental fermented milk processing.
Previously, we isolated two strains of spontaneous oxidative (SpOx2 and SpOx3) stress mutants of Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris. Herein, we compared these mutants to a parental wild-type strain (J60011) and a commercial starter in experimental fermented milk production. Total solid contents of milk and fermentation temperature both affected the acidification profile of the spontaneous oxidative stress-resistant L. lactis mutants during fermented milk production. Fermentation times to pH 4.7 ranged from 6.40 h (J60011) to 9.36 h (SpOx2); V(max) values were inversely proportional to fermentation time. Bacterial counts increased to above 8.50 log(10) cfu/mL. The counts of viable SpOx3 mutants were higher than those of the parental wild strain in all treatments. All fermented milk products showed post-fermentation acidification after 24 h of storage at 4 degrees C; they remained stable after one week of storage. |
---
abstract: 'We consider the $1+1$ dimensional ${\cal N} = (8,8)$ supersymmetric matrix field theory obtained from a dimensional reduction of ten dimensional ${\cal N} = 1$ super Yang-Mills. The gauge groups we consider are U($N$) and SU($N$), where $N$ is finite but arbitrary. We adopt light-cone coordinates, and choose to work in the light-cone gauge. Quantizing this theory via Discretized Light-Cone Quantization (DLCQ) introduces an integer, $K$, which restricts the light-cone momentum-fraction of constituent quanta to be integer multiples of $1/K$. Solutions to the DLCQ bound state equations are obtained for $K=2,3$ and $4$ by discretizing the light-cone super charges, which preserves supersymmetry manifestly. We discuss degeneracies in the massive spectrum that appear to be independent of the light-cone compactification, and are therefore expected to be present in the decompactified limit $K \rightarrow \infty$. Our numerical results also support the claim that the SU($N$) theory has a mass gap.'
---
OHSTPY-HEP-T-98-011\
hep-th/9806133
[The DLCQ Spectrum of ${\cal N} =(8,8)$ Super Yang-Mills ]{}\
\
.25in
Introduction
============
The non-perturbative properties of super Yang-Mills theories have received a lot of attention lately. In a seminal paper by Witten [@witt95], it was shown that the low energy dynamics of $N$ coincident D$p$-branes could be described by $p+1$ dimensional U($N$) super Yang-Mills. This insight was instrumental in motivating the M(atrix) theory conjecture [@bfss97], and also played a role in the AdS/CFT correspondence recently proposed by Maldacena [@mald97].
In summary, theorists are now grappling with the rather surprising fact that Yang-Mills theories seem to know more about the dynamics of string theory than previously conceived. Moreover, physics in many space-time dimensions may be described consistently by low dimensional Yang-Mills theories. There is therefore renewed interest in studying the non-perturbative properties of low dimensional super Yang-Mills theories.
Motivated by these developments, we consider the $1+1$ dimensional supersymmetric matrix field theory obtained from a dimensional reduction of ten dimensional ${\cal N} = 1$ super Yang-Mills, which results in a two dimensional gauge theory with ${\cal N} = (8,8)$ supersymmtery. The possible gauge groups are U($N$) and SU($N$), where $N$ is finite but arbitrary. A similar theory with ${\cal N} = (1,1)$ supersymmtery was studied recently in [@alp98].
After introducing light-cone coordinates, and adopting the light-cone gauge, it is a straightforward procedure to implement Discrete Light-Cone Quantization (DLCQ) in order to extract numerical bound state solutions [@pb85]. As was pointed out in the earlier work [@sakai95], exact supersymmtery may be preserved in the DLCQ spectrum if we choose to discretize the light-cone supercharges rather than the light-cone Hamiltonian.
The complexity of the ${\cal N} = (8,8)$ model far exceeds any other two dimensional theories studied in the context of DLCQ (see [@bpp98] for an extensive review), since there are now eight boson and eight fermion fields that propagate as physical modes. In practice, this means we can only probe the theory for rather crude discretizations ($K\leq 4$, where $1/K$ is the smallest unit of light-cone momentum). Despite this shortcoming, we are able to resolve some interesting features of the decompactified ($K \rightarrow \infty$) theory. In particular, we are able to count degeneracies of certain states in the massive spectrum, and establish evidence for the existence of a mass gap in the SU($N$) theory.
The organization of the paper may be summarized as follows; in Section \[dlcqformulation\] we introduce the $1+1$ dimensional ${\cal N} = (8,8)$ supersymmetric gauge theory, which we formulate in light-cone coordinates. Explicit expressions for the quantized light-cone supercharges are written down, followed by a discussion on the DLCQ formulation of the theory. In Section \[numericalresults\] we tabulate the results of our numerical DLCQ analysis, highlighting the degeneracies observed in the spectrum. We also argue why the numerical results are consistent with the existence of a mass gap; i.e. there are no [*normalizable*]{} massless states in the SU($N$) theory other than the light-cone vacuum. A summary of our observations, and further discussion, appears in Section \[conclusions\]. The formulation of ten-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory in light-cone coordinates is presented in Appendix \[ymills10\].
Light-Cone Quantization and DLCQ at Finite $N$ {#dlcqformulation}
==============================================
The two dimensional ${\cal N} = (8,8)$ supersymmetric gauge theory we are interested in may be formally obtained by dimensionally reducing $9+1$ dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ super Yang-Mills to $1+1$ dimensions. For the sake of completeness, we review the underlying ten dimensional light-cone Yang-Mills theory in Appendix \[ymills10\] – in perhaps more detail than is customary – although the ideas should be familiar to many readers.
Dimensional reduction of the ten dimensional Yang-Mills action (\[LCversion\]) given in Appendix \[ymills10\] is carried out by stipulating that all fields are independent of the (eight) transverse coordinates[^1] $x^I$, $I=1,\dots,8$. We may therefore assume that the fields depend only on the light-cone variables $\sigma^{\pm}
= \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(x^0 \pm x^9)$. The resulting two dimensional theory may be described by the action $$\begin{aligned}
S_{1+1}^{LC} & = & \int d\sigma^+ d\sigma^- \hspace{1mm}
\mbox{tr} \left( \frac{1}{2}D_\alpha X_I D^\alpha X_I + \frac{g^2}{4}
[X_I,X_J]^2 - \frac{1}{4} F_{\alpha \beta} F^{\alpha \beta}
\right. \nonumber \\
& & \hspace{20mm}
+ \hspace{1mm}
{\rm i} \theta_R^T D_+ \theta_R + {\rm i}\theta_L^T D_- \theta_L
- \sqrt{2}g\theta_L^T \gamma^I[X_I,\theta_R] \left. \frac{}{} \right),
\label{LCversionreduced}\end{aligned}$$ where the repeated indices $\alpha,\beta$ are summed over light-cone indices $\pm$, and $I,J$ are summed over transverse indices $1,\dots,8$. The eight scalar fields $X_I(\sigma^+,\sigma^-)$ represent $N \times N$ Hermitian matrix-valued fields, and are remnants of the transverse components of the ten dimensional gauge field $A_\mu$, while $A_{\pm}(\sigma^+,\sigma^-)$ are the light-cone gauge field components of the residual two dimensional U($N$) or SU($N$) gauge symmetry. The spinors $\theta_R$ and $\theta_L$ are remnants of the right-moving and left-moving projections of a sixteen component real spinor in the ten dimensional theory. The components of $\theta_R$ and $\theta_L$ transform in the adjoint representation of the gauge group. $F_{\alpha \beta} =
\partial_{\alpha} A_\beta - \partial_\beta A_\alpha
+{\rm i}g[A_\alpha, A_\beta]$ is the two dimensional gauge field curvature tensor, while $D_\alpha = \partial_\alpha + {\rm i}g[A_\alpha,\cdot]$ is the covariant derivative for the (adjoint) spinor fields. The eight $16 \times 16$ real symmetric matrices $\gamma^I$ are defined in Appendix \[ymills10\].
Since we are working in the light-cone frame, it is natural to adopt the light-cone gauge $A_- = 0$. With this gauge choice, the action (\[LCversionreduced\]) becomes $$\begin{aligned}
{\tilde S}_{1+1}^{LC}&=&
\int d\sigma^+d\sigma^- {\rm {tr}} \Bigg(\partial_+X_I\partial_-X_I +
{\rm i}
\theta_R^T\partial_+ \theta_R + {\rm i}\theta_L^T\partial_- \theta_L
\nonumber\\
&+&\frac{1}{2}(\partial_-A_+)^2 +gA_+J^+
-\sqrt{2}g \theta_L^T \gamma^I [X_I, \theta_R ]
+\frac{g^2}{4}[X_I, X_J ]^2\Bigg),
\label{EQ6}\end{aligned}$$ where $J^+ ={\rm i}[X_I, \partial_-X_I]+2\theta_R^T\theta_R$ is the longitudinal momentum current. The (Euler-Lagrange) equations of motion for the $A_+$ and $\theta_L$ fields are now $$\begin{aligned}
&&\partial_-^2A_+=gJ^+, \label{firstc}\\
&& \sqrt2 {\rm i}\partial_-\theta_L=g\gamma^I [X_I,\theta_R].
\label{secondc} \end{aligned}$$ These are evidently constraint equations, since they are independent of the light-cone time $\sigma^+$. The “zero mode” of the constraints above provide us with the conditions $$\int d\sigma^- J^+=0, \mbox{ and }
\int d\sigma^- \gamma^I [X_I,\theta_R] =0,
\label{EQ4}$$ which will be imposed on the Fock space to select the physical states in the quantum theory. The first constraint above is well known in the literature, and projects out the colorless states in the quantized theory[@dak93]. The second (fermionic) constraint is perhaps lesser well known, but certainly provides non-trivial relations governing the small-$x$ behavior of light-cone wave functions[^2] [@abd97].
At any rate, equations (\[firstc\]),(\[secondc\]) permit one to eliminate the non-dynamical fields $A_+$ and $\theta_L$ in the theory, which is a particular feature of light-cone gauge theories. There are no ghosts. We may therefore write down explicit expressions for the light-cone momentum $P^+$ and Hamiltonian $P^-$ in terms of the physical degrees of freedom of the theory, which are denoted by the eight scalars $X_I$, and right-moving spinor $\theta_R$: $$\begin{aligned}
P^+&=&\int d\sigma^- \hspace{1mm}
\mbox{tr}
\left( \partial_-X_I\partial_-X_I+{\rm i}
\theta_R^T \partial_-\theta_R \right), \label{P+}
\\
P^- &=&g^2
\int d\sigma^- {\rm {tr}}\Bigg(-\frac{1}{2} J^+\frac{1}{\partial_-^2}J^+
-\frac{1}{4}[X_I, X_J ]^2 \nonumber \\
&&\hspace{15mm}+\frac{{\rm i}}{2}
(\gamma^I [X_I, \theta_R])^T
\frac{1}{\partial_-} \gamma^J [X_J, \theta_R]\Bigg).
\label{P-}\end{aligned}$$ The light-cone Hamiltonian propagates a given field configuration in light-cone time $\sigma^+$, and contains all the non-trivial dynamics of the interacting field theory.
In the representation for the $\gamma^I$ matrices specified by (\[gamma9\]) in Appendix \[ymills10\], we may write $$\theta_R = { u \choose 0}, \label{spin8}$$ where $u$ is an eight component real spinor. In terms of their Fourier modes, the fields may be expanded at light-cone time $\sigma^+=0$ to give[^3] $$\begin{aligned}
&&X^I_{pq}(\sigma^-)= \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}
\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{dk^+}{\sqrt{2 k^+}}\Big(a^I_{pq}(k^+)
e^{-{\rm i}k^+\sigma^-}
+ {a^I_{qp}}^{\dagger}(k^+)e^{{\rm i}k^+\sigma^-}\Big),
\hspace{4mm} I=1,\dots,8; \hspace{3mm} \label{Xexp}\\
&&u^{\alpha}_{pq}(\sigma^-)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \pi}}\int_0^{\infty}
\frac{dk^+}{\sqrt{2}}
\Big(b^{\alpha}_{pq}(k^+)e^{-{\rm i}k^+\sigma^-}
+ {b^\alpha_{qp}}^{\dagger}(k^+)e^{{\rm i}k^+\sigma^-}\Big),
\hspace{4mm} \alpha=1,\dots,8. \label{uexp}\end{aligned}$$ For the gauge group U($N$), the (anti)commutation relations take the form $$\begin{aligned}
&&[a^I_{pq}(k^+), {a^J_{rs}}^{\dagger}(k'^+)]=
\delta^{IJ}\delta_{pr}\delta_{qs}
\delta(k^+- k'^+), \\
&&\{ b^{\alpha}_{pq}(k^+), {b^{\beta}_{rs}}^{\dagger}(k'^+)\}=
\delta^{\alpha\beta}
\delta_{pr}\delta_{qs}\delta(k^+- k'^+),\end{aligned}$$ while for SU($N$), we have the corresponding relations $$\begin{aligned}
&&[a^I_{pq}(k^+), {a^J_{rs}}^{\dagger}(k'^+)]=
\delta^{IJ}(\delta_{pr}\delta_{qs} - \frac{1}{N}\delta_{pq} \delta_{rs})
\delta(k^+- k'^+), \\
&&\{ b^{\alpha}_{pq}(k^+), {b^{\beta}_{rs}}^{\dagger}(k'^+)\}=
\delta^{\alpha\beta}
(\delta_{pr}\delta_{qs}
- \frac{1}{N}\delta_{pq} \delta_{rs})
\delta(k^+- k'^+).\end{aligned}$$ An important simplification of the light-cone quantization is that the light-cone vacuum is the Fock vacuum $\vert 0 \rangle$, defined by $$a^I_{pq}(k^+)\vert 0 \rangle =b^{\alpha}_{pq}(k^+)\vert 0 \rangle=0,$$ for all positive longitudinal momenta $k^+ > 0$. We therefore have $P^+\vert 0 \rangle= P^-\vert 0 \rangle=0$.
The “charge-neutrality” condition (first integral constraint from (\[EQ4\])) requires that all the color indices must be contracted for physical states. Thus physical states are formed by color traces of the boson and fermion creation operators ${a^I}^{\dagger},{b^{\alpha}}^{\dagger}$ acting on the light-cone vacuum. A single trace of these creation operators may be identified as a single closed string, where each creation operator (or ‘parton’), carrying some longitudinal momentum $k^+$, represents a ‘bit’ of the string. A product of traced operators is then a multiple string state, and the quantity $1/N$ is analogous to a string coupling constant.
At this point, we may determine explicit expressions for the quantized light-cone operators $P^{\pm}$ by substituting the mode expansions (\[Xexp\]),(\[uexp\]) into equations (\[P+\]),(\[P-\]). The mass operator $M^2 \equiv 2 P^+ P^-$ may then be diagonalized to solve for the bound state mass spectrum. However, as was pointed out in [@sakai95], it is more convenient to determine the quantized expressions for the supercharges, since this leads to a regularization prescription for $P^-$ that preserves supersymmetry even in the discretized theory.
In order to elaborate upon this last remark, first note that the continuum theory possesses sixteen supercharges, which may be derived from the dimensionally reduced form of the ten dimensional ${\cal N} = 1$ supercurrent: $$\begin{aligned}
Q^+_{\alpha} & = & 2^{1/4} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} d\sigma^- \hspace{1mm}
\mbox{tr} \left( \partial_- X_I \cdot \beta_{I \eta \alpha} \cdot u_{\eta}
\right) \label{Q+}\\
Q^-_{\alpha} & = & g \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} d\sigma^- \hspace{1mm}
\mbox{tr} \left( -2^{3/4} \cdot J^+ \frac{1}{\partial_-}
u_{\alpha} + 2^{-1/4} {\rm i} [X_I,X_J] \cdot
(\beta_I \beta_J^T)_{\alpha \beta} \cdot u_{\beta} \right),
\label{Q-}\end{aligned}$$ where $\alpha=1,\dots,8$, and repeated indices are summed. The eight $8 \times 8$ real matrices $\beta_I$ are discussed in Appendix \[ymills10\]. By explicit calculation or otherwise, these charges satisfy the following relations: $$\begin{aligned}
\{ Q^+_{\alpha}, Q^+_{\beta} \} & = &
\delta_{\alpha \beta} \cdot \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} P^+
\label{superQplus} \\
\{ Q^-_{\alpha}, Q^-_{\beta} \} & = &
\delta_{\alpha \beta} \cdot \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} P^- \label{superQminus}\end{aligned}$$ If we substitute the mode expansions (\[Xexp\]),(\[uexp\]) into equations (\[Q+\]),(\[Q-\]) for the light-cone supercharges $Q^{\pm}_{\alpha}$, we obtain the following ‘momentum representations’ for these charges: $$\begin{aligned}
Q^+_{\alpha} & = & 2^{-3/4} {\rm i} \int_0^{\infty}
dk \hspace{1mm} \sqrt{k} \cdot \beta_{I\eta \alpha} \cdot
\left( a^{\dagger}_{Iij}(k) b_{\eta ij}(k) -
b^{\dagger}_{\eta ij}(k) a_{I ij}(k) \right),
\label{Qplus}\end{aligned}$$ and $$\begin{aligned}
\lefteqn{ Q^-_{\alpha} = \frac{{\rm i} 2^{-1/4} g}{\sqrt{\pi}}
\int_0^{\infty} dk_1 dk_2 dk_3 \hspace{1mm}
\delta( k_1 + k_2 - k_3) \cdot \left\{ \frac{}{} \right. } & &
\nonumber \\
& &
\frac{1}{2\sqrt{k_1 k_2}} \left( \frac{k_2 - k_1}{k_3} \right)
\left[ b^{\dagger}_{\alpha i j}(k_3)a_{I i m}(k_1)a_{I m j}(k_2) -
a_{I i m}^{\dagger}(k_1)a_{I m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
b_{\alpha i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& + &
\frac{1}{2\sqrt{k_1 k_3}} \left( \frac{k_1 + k_3}{k_2} \right)
\left[ a^{\dagger}_{I i m}(k_1)b_{\alpha m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)a_{I i j}(k_3) -
a_{I i j}^{\dagger}(k_3)a_{I i m}(k_1)
b_{\alpha m j}(k_2) \right] \nonumber \\
& + &
\frac{1}{2\sqrt{k_2 k_3}} \left( \frac{k_2 + k_3}{k_1} \right)
\left[ a^{\dagger}_{I i j}(k_3)b_{\alpha i m}(k_1)a_{I m j}(k_2) -
b_{\alpha i m}^{\dagger}(k_1)a_{I m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
a_{I i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& - & \frac{1}{k_1} \left[
b^{\dagger}_{\beta i j}(k_3)b_{\alpha i m}(k_1)b_{\beta m j}(k_2) +
b_{\alpha i m}^{\dagger}(k_1) b_{\beta m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
b_{\beta i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& - &
\frac{1}{k_2} \left[
b^{\dagger}_{\beta i j}(k_3)b_{\beta i m}(k_1)b_{\alpha m j}(k_2) +
b_{\beta i m}^{\dagger}(k_1) b_{\alpha m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
b_{\beta i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& + &
\frac{1}{k_3} \left[
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha i j}(k_3)b_{\beta i m}(k_1)b_{\beta m j}(k_2) +
b_{\beta i m}^{\dagger}(k_1) b_{\beta m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
b_{\alpha i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& + & \hspace{8mm} (\beta_I \beta_J^T - \beta_J \beta_I^T )_{\alpha \beta}
\times \left( \frac{}{} \right. \nonumber \\
& & \frac{1}{4\sqrt{k_1 k_2}}
\left[ b^{\dagger}_{\beta i j}(k_3)a_{I i m}(k_1)a_{J m j}(k_2) +
a_{J i m}^{\dagger}(k_1)a_{I m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
b_{\beta i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& + &
\frac{1}{4\sqrt{k_2 k_3}}
\left[ a^{\dagger}_{J i j}(k_3)b_{\beta i m}(k_1)a_{I m j}(k_2) +
b_{\beta i m}^{\dagger}(k_1)a_{J m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
a_{I i j}(k_3) \right] \nonumber \\
& + &
\frac{1}{4\sqrt{k_3 k_1}}
\left[ a^{\dagger}_{I i j}(k_3)a_{J i m}(k_1)b_{\beta m j}(k_2) +
a_{I i m}^{\dagger}(k_1)b_{\beta m j}^{\dagger}(k_2)
a_{J i j}(k_3) \right] \left. \frac{}{} \right) \left. \frac{}{}
\right\}, \label{Qminus}\end{aligned}$$ where repeated indices are always summed: $\alpha,\beta = 1,\dots,8$ (SO(8) spinor indices), $I,J=1,\dots , 8$ (SO(8) vector indices), and $i,j,m=1,\dots , N$ (matrix indices).
In order to implement the DLCQ formulation[^4] of the bound state problem – which is tantamount to imposing periodic boundary conditions $\sigma^- \sim \sigma^- + 2 \pi R$ – we simply restrict the momentum variable(s) appearing in the expressions for $Q^{\pm}_{\alpha}$ (equations (\[Qplus\]),(\[Qminus\])) to the following discretized set of momenta: $\{ \frac{1}{K}P^+, \frac{2}{K}P^+, \frac{3}{K}P^+, \dots \}$. Here, $P^+$ denotes the total light-cone momentum of a state, and may be thought of as a fixed constant, since it is easy to form a Fock basis that is already diagonal with respect to the quantum operator $P^+$ [@pb85]. The integer $K$ is called the ‘harmonic resolution’, and $1/K$ measures the coarseness of our discretization – we recover the continuum by taking the limit $K \rightarrow \infty$. Physically, $1/K$ represents the smallest positive[^5] unit of longitudinal momentum-fraction allowed for each parton in a Fock state.
Of course, as soon as we implement the DLCQ procedure, which is specified unambiguously by the harmonic resolution $K$, the integrals appearing in the definitions for $Q^{\pm}_{\alpha}$ are replaced by finite sums, and the eigen-equation $2 P^+ P^- |\Psi \rangle = M^2 |\Psi \rangle$ is reduced to a finite matrix diagonalization problem. In this last step, we use the fact that $P^-$ is proportional to the square of any one of the eight supercharges $Q^-_{\alpha}$, $\alpha=1,\dots,8$ (equation (\[superQminus\])), and so the problem of diagonalizing $P^-$ is equivalent to diagonalizing any one of the eight supercharges $Q^-_{\alpha}$. As was pointed out in [@sakai95], this procedure yields a supersymmetric spectrum for any resolution $K$. In the present work, we are able to perform numerical diagonalizations for $K=2,3$ and $4$ with the help of Mathematica and a desktop PC.
The fact that we may choose any one of the eight supercharges to calculate the spectrum provides a strong test for the correctness of our computer program. As expected, we find that the spectrum we obtain by squaring the eigenvalues of any two different supercharges yields the [*same*]{} massive spectrum. Moreover, the spectrum turns out to be [*exactly supersymmetric*]{}, which is also what we require. Such tests are very convenient when studying complicated models; for example, in the expression for $Q^-_{\alpha}$ (eqn (\[Qminus\])), there are approximately 3500 terms.
DLCQ Bound State Solutions {#numericalresults}
==========================
We consider discretizing the light-cone supercharge $Q^-_{\alpha}$ for a particular $\alpha \in \{1,2,\dots,8\}$, and for the values $K=2,3,4$. For a given resolution $K$, the light-cone momenta of partons in a given Fock state must be some positive integer multiple of $P^+/K$, where $P^+$ is the total light-cone momentum of the state. For example, when $K=2$, there are precisely 256 Fock states in the U($N$) theory that are made up from two partons: $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{128 Bosons:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{2}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8;
\hspace{3mm} (\alpha \neq \beta); \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8;
\hspace{3mm} (\alpha \neq \beta);
\end{array}
\right. \\
& & \nonumber \\
\mbox{128 Fermions:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{2}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{2}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\end{array}
\right.\end{aligned}$$ Of course, there are an additional 16 single particle states: eight bosons of the form $\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(P^+)]|0\rangle$ and eight fermions of the form $\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(P^+)]|0\rangle$. This gives a total of $128+8$ bosons and $128+8$ fermions in the DLCQ Hilbert space for the U($N$) theory. If we calculate the matrix representation of $Q^-_{\alpha}$ (for any $\alpha$) with respect to this finite basis, we find that the masses $M^2 \sim (Q^-_{\alpha})^2$ of all these states are zero. In fact, this is what we expect. First of all, it can be shown that the the light-cone supercharge $Q^-_{\alpha}$ for the U($N$) gauge group is identical to the expression for the SU($N$) supercharge. This is tantamount to saying that the U(1) part of the U($N$) theory decouples completely as a free field theory, and is identically zero for the light-cone Hamiltonian. The U(1) states in the U($N$) DLCQ Fock space are readily identified; they are precisely those states that are made from a product of one-particle Fock states. The remaining states – consisting of 64 bosons and 64 fermions – belong to the SU($N$) Fock space, and must therefore be single-trace states of two partons. Since the supercharge changes the number of partons in a Fock state by one, it must annihilate any SU($N$) Fock state, which can only have two partons when $K=2$.
The decoupling of the U(1) degrees of freedom in the U($N$) theory provides trivial examples of massless states, and implies that all the non-trivial dynamics is contained in the SU($N$) gauge theory. In particular, investigating the existence (or not) of massless states in the SU($N$) theory is a highly non-trivial problem for $K \geq 3$. We will therefore restrict our attention to the SU($N$) gauge theory.
To begin, we list all two parton states in the SU($N$) gauge theory for $K=3$: $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{128 Bosons:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{3}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{2}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{2}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8;
\end{array}
\right. \\
& & \nonumber \\
\mbox{128 Fermions:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{3}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{2}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{2}{3}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{1}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8.
\end{array}
\right.\end{aligned}$$ Thus, there are 128 bosons and 128 fermions that consist of two partons. For three parton states, where the momentum is shared equally among each parton, the states take the following form: $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{688 Bosons:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{3}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{1}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8;
\end{array}
\right. \\
& & \nonumber \\
\mbox{688 Fermions:} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta,\gamma=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8.
\end{array}
\right.\end{aligned}$$ More specifically, there are 176 boson states of the form[^6] $\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{3}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{1}{3}P^+)]
|0\rangle$, and $8\times 8 \times 8 = 512$ states of the form $\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{3}P^+)
]|0\rangle$. Therefore, the SU($N$) $K=3$ DLCQ Hilbert space consists of 816 bosons and 816 fermions. It is indeed satisfying to find that our computer algorithm generates precisely this number of states. The results of our DLCQ numerical diagonalization of $(Q^-_{\alpha})^2$ is summarized in Table \[K3masses\]. To test our numerical algorithms, we diagonalize different supercharges, and find the same spectrum – which is consistent with supersymmetry.
[|c|c|]{}\
$M^2$ & Mass Degeneracy\
0 & $560+560$\
18 & $128+128$\
72 & $112+112$\
126 & $16+16$\
Let us now consider resolution $K=4$. For the sake of definiteness, we enumerate carefully the SU($N$) DLCQ Fock space. Firstly, bosonic Fock states with only two partons take the following form: $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{192 bosons (2 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{3}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{3}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{2}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{2}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8; \hspace{3mm}
(\alpha \neq \beta);
\end{array} \nonumber
\right.\end{aligned}$$ It is straightforward to verify that there are $64+64+36+28=192$ such states. Similarly, bosonic Fock states with three partons take the form $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{2048 bosons (3 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{2}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta=1,2,\dots,8,
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$ and it is easily shown that there are $4\times 8^3 = 2048$ such states. Enumerating all four parton bosonic Fock states requires additional effort. Firstly, we consider all single-trace bosonic Fock states with four partons; these are listed below:
$$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{8192 bosons (4 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_L(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K,L=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha,\beta=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha,\beta=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\delta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta,\gamma,\delta=1,\dots,8.
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$
The total number of such states is 8192, and decomposes as follows; there are 1044 states of the first type listed above[^7], $8\times 8\times 8\times 8 = 4096$ states of the second type, 2016 states of the third type[^8], and finally, 1036 states of the fourth type[^9].
The remaining four-parton bosonic Fock states are formed from a product of two two-parton Fock states:
$$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{4096 bosons (4 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_L(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K,L=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha,\beta=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha,\beta=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\delta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta,\gamma,\delta=1,\dots,8.
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$
Straightforward counting techniques yield 666 states of the first type listed above, 1008 states of the second type, 2016 states of the third type, and 406 states of the fourth type, giving a total of 4096 bosons.
We therefore conclude that there are 10432 single-trace bosonic Fock states, and 4096 double-trace bosonic Fock states, yielding 14528 bosons in total.
We now enumerate all the fermions, which turns out to be a much simpler calculation. To begin, all two-parton fermionic states have the form $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{192 fermions (2 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{3}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{3}{4}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{2}{4}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{2}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha=1,2,\dots,8,
\end{array} \nonumber
\right.\end{aligned}$$ and it is straightforward to check that there are $64+64+64=192$ such states. Note that this equals the number of two-parton bosonic states. The enumeration of all three-parton fermionic states is listed below: $$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{2048 fermions (3 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & \alpha,\beta, \gamma =1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha =1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_{J}(\frac{2}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,J,\alpha = 1,\dots,8,
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$ and it is easy to verify that there are $4\times 8^3=2048$ such states. Once again, this precisely matches the number of three-parton bosonic states. Four-parton fermionic states may consist of a single trace or a product of two traces. The single-trace Fock states take the form
$$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{8192 fermions (4 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
a^{\dagger}_K(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K,\alpha=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}
(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta, \gamma =1,\dots,8,
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$
and there are $2 \times 8^4 = 8192$ such states. This number agrees exactly with the number of single-trace bosonic states with four partons, although we recall that the counting of bosonic states was significantly more complicated.
Finally, four-parton fermionic states with two traces take the form
$$\begin{aligned}
\mbox{4096 fermions (4 partons):} & &
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_I(\frac{1}{4}P^+)a^{\dagger}_J(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{K}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
|0\rangle & I,J,K,\alpha=1,\dots,8; \\
\mbox{tr}[a^{\dagger}_{I}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\alpha}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)]
\mbox{tr}[b^{\dagger}_{\beta}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
b^{\dagger}_{\gamma}(\frac{1}{4}P^+)
]|0\rangle & I,\alpha,\beta,\gamma=1,\dots,8.
\end{array}
\right. \nonumber\end{aligned}$$
One may now verify that there are $36\times 64=2304$ states of the first type, and $64 \times 28=1792$ states of the second type, yielding 4096 states overall. This of course agrees with the number of double-trace bosonic states calculated earlier.
We have thus verified that there are precisely an equal number of bosons and fermions in the $K=4$ DLCQ Hilbert space of the SU($N$) theory. The total number of states is precisely $14528+14528 = 29056$. This reflects an important feature of DLCQ; namely, [*DLCQ preserves supersymmetry*]{}.
We remark here that the computer algorithm we use for constructing the DLCQ Fock states involves choosing an arbitrary set of input Fock states, and then repeatedly acting on this set by a preassigned number of supercharges until no new states are formed. These supercharges may then be diagonalized on this sub-space of Fock states. It is reassuring to find that this algorithm generates precisely the number of states that we counted above.
In order to determine the bound state spectrum, we need to diagonalize a particular supercharge $Q^-_{\alpha}$ on the DLCQ Hilbert space. Fortunately, because of the sixteen supersymmetries, we can reduce the problem of diagonalizing a $29056 \times 29056$ matrix to the problem of diagonalizing sixteen $1816 \times 1816$ block matrices. These block matrices may be reduced further; the double-trace states are already diagonal with respect to the mass-squared operator $M^2$, and are massless, so they decouple from the dynamics of single-trace Fock states. Therefore, the block matrix involving only single trace Fock states has dimensions $1304 \times 1304$, and is easily handled by a desk top PC.
The results of our numerical diagonalizations are presented in Table \[K4masses\]. Note that there are $4096+4096$ massive states; for $K=3$, there were $256+256$ massive bound states.
[|c|c|]{}\
$M^2$ & Mass Degeneracy\
0 & $10432+10432$\
24 & $560+560$\
29.668 & $128+128$\
32 & $432+432$\
$53.0605^{\ast}$ & $128+128$\
56 & $16+16$\
72 & $768+768$\
73.7982 & $16+16$\
80 & $768+768$\
88 & $336+336$\
$90.3875^{\ast}$ & $112 + 112$\
96 & $336+336$\
114.332 & $128+128$\
120 & $112+112$\
141.612 & $112 + 112$\
$151.091^{\ast}$ & $16+16$\
157.606 & $128+128$\
Discussion {#conclusions}
==========
It is evident from the DLCQ bound state masses summarized in Tables \[K3masses\] and \[K4masses\] that there are a large number of massless states. At first, this seems to be at odds with the claim that the SU($N$) gauge theory is expected to have a mass gap [@witt95]. However, to determine whether there is a mass gap or not, we need to investigate whether there are normalizable states with zero mass in the [*continuum limit*]{} $K \rightarrow \infty$. In our present study, we only considered the values $K=2,3$ and $4$, and so it would seem hopeless at first to make any statements about the continuum theory. It turns out, however, that there is already suggestive evidence of a mass gap which can be obtained at these low resolutions.
The crucial observation is that all the massless states in the DLCQ spectrum are made up of partons carrying the smallest positive unit of light-cone momentum allowed at the given resolution. For example, at $K=2$, we saw that the SU($N$) Hilbert space consisted of two-parton Fock states – 64 bosons and 64 fermions (all massless) – where each parton carried the smallest integer unit of light-cone momentum. For $K=3$, we find that all the massless states are a superposition of only three-parton Fock states, so each parton carries one unit of light-cone momentum. The states made from a superposition of two-parton Fock states, which were massless at $K=2$, acquire a mass at the higher resolution $K=3$. Similarly, after studying carefully the DLCQ bound states at resolution $K=4$, we find that the massless states are superpositions of only four-parton Fock states. Each parton in these Fock states carries precisely one unit of light-cone momentum. There are no massless states involving Fock states with two or three partons at $K=4$, so the massless states we observe at $K=2$ and $K=3$ have evidently acquired a mass at the higher resolution.
This pattern is very suggestive; namely, we expect that at a given resolution $K$, the massless states in the DLCQ spectrum will be a superposition of [*only*]{} $K$-parton Fock states, so that each parton carries a single unit of light-cone momentum. It is clear, then, that as we take the continuum limit $K \rightarrow \infty$, these massless states do not converge to any well-defined massless state in the continuum, which contrasts what is observed in a two dimensional supersymmetric model with $(1,1)$ supersymmetry [@alp98]. Of course, this assumption is not enough to establish the existence of a mass gap, since it is possible that lighter massive states may appear at higher resolutions, and possibly converge to zero in the limit $K \rightarrow \infty$ [@alp98]. However, we note that the lightest massive states at $K=4$ are heavier than the ones observed at $K=3$, and so increasing the resolution does not appear to introduce lighter massive states. Evidently, it would be desirable to probe larger values of $K$ to help clarify this issue, and we leave this for future work. Nevertheless, our results clearly support the existence of a mass gap in the continuum SU($N$) supersymmetric gauge theory.
There is also additional information about the continuum theory that emerges from our DLCQ results. First of all, the massive states observed at $K=3$ (see Table \[K3masses\]) are also observed at $K=4$ (Table \[K4masses\]) with the same mass degeneracy. We therefore expect these degeneracies to be preserved for all values of $K$, including the continuum limit $K \rightarrow \infty$. Our numerical results therefore indicate mass degeneracies that are expected to be present in the spectrum of the continuum theory.
We finally comment on possible connections between the DLCQ ${\cal N}=(8,8)$ model studied here and various string-related models. It has already been claimed that at resolution $K$ one finds massless states made up of $K$-parton Fock states, so that each parton carries precisely one unit of light-cone momentum. If one thinks of $K$ as being large but finite, then these states become string-like states made up of many ‘bits’. One also finds that the lightest massive states at $K=4$ are composed of mainly three and four-parton Fock states, and so, in general, one expects the low energy spectrum to be dominated by string-like states – a property that is in fact observed for two dimensional $(1,1)$ super Yang-Mills [@alp98]. This suggests that the DLCQ model studied here might be closely related to the ‘string-bit’ models originally proposed by Thorn [@thorn]. Perhaps more intriguing is the possible connection with matrix string theory [@dvv]. In the DLCQ model we compactify a light-like direction, while for matrix string theory, one works with the same Lagrangian, but chooses instead to compactify a space-like coordinate, which originates from the geometry of closed strings in Type IIA string theory. It would be very interesting to compare these two schemes, and possibly relate them. Perhaps understanding the origin of quantized electric flux in the context of light-cone quantized gauge theories [@pin97a; @mrp97] will pave the way to a better understanding of the significance of the DLCQ model studied here and the dynamics of non-perturbative string theory.
[**Acknowledgments**]{}
F.A. is grateful to Jungil Lee for assistance with computer work. S.T. is grateful for hospitality during his visit at Ohio State.
Appendix: Super Yang-Mills in Ten Dimensions {#ymills10}
============================================
Let’s start with ${\cal N}=1$ super Yang-Mills theory in 9+1 dimensions with gauge group U($N$): $$S_{9+1}=\int d^{10}x \hspace{1mm} \mbox{tr} \Bigg
(-\frac{1}{4} F_{\mu\nu}F^{ \mu\nu}+\frac{{\rm i}}{2}
\bar{\Psi}\Gamma^{\mu}D_{\mu}\Psi\Bigg) ,
\label{EQ1}$$ where $$\begin{aligned}
F_{\mu\nu}&=&\partial_{\mu}A_{\nu}-\partial_{\nu}A_{\mu}
+{\rm i}g[A_{\mu}, A_{\nu}] , \\
D_{\mu}\Psi &=& \partial_{\mu}\Psi+{\rm i}g[A_\mu, \Psi], \end{aligned}$$ and $\mu,\nu = 0,\dots,9$. The Majorana spinor $\Psi$ transforms in the adjoint representation of U($N$). The (flat) space-time metric $g_{\mu \nu}$ has signature $(+,-,\dots,-)$, and we adopt the normalization $\mbox{tr}(T^aT^b) = \delta^{a b}$ for the generators of the U($N$) gauge group.
In order to realize the ten dimensional Dirac algebra $\{\Gamma_\mu, \Gamma_\nu\}=2g_{\mu\nu}$ in terms of Majorana matrices, we use as building blocks the reducible ${\bf 8}_s + {\bf 8}_c$ representation of the spin(8) Clifford Algebra. In block form, we have $$\gamma^I=\left(\begin{array}{cc}
0 & \beta_I\\
\beta_I^T & 0
\end{array}\right), \hspace{7mm} I=1,\dots,8,$$ where the $8 \times 8$ real matrices, $\beta_I$, satisfy $\{\beta_I,\beta_J^T \} = 2\delta_{IJ}$. This automatically ensures the spin(8) algebra $\{\gamma^I,\gamma^J \} = 2\delta^{IJ}$ for the $16 \times 16$ real-symmetric matrices $\gamma^I$. An explicit representation for the $\beta_I$ algebra may be given in terms of a tensor product of Pauli matrices [@schwarz]. In the present context, we may choose a representation such that a ninth matrix, $\gamma^9 = \gamma^1 \gamma^2 \cdots \gamma^8$, which anti-commutes with the other eight $\gamma^I$’s, takes the explicit form $$\gamma^9=\left(\begin{array}{cc}
{\bf 1}_{8} & 0\\
0 & -{\bf 1}_{8} \end{array}\right). \label{gamma9}$$ We may now construct $32 \times 32$ pure imaginary (or Majorana) matrices $\Gamma^\mu$ which realize the Dirac algebra for the Lorentz group SO($9,1$): $$\begin{aligned}
&& \Gamma^0=\sigma_2 \otimes {\bf 1}_{16}, \\
&& \Gamma^I={\rm i}\sigma_1 \otimes \gamma^I, \hspace{6mm} I=1,\dots,8;\\
% && \Gamma_{11}= \Gamma^0 \cdots \Gamma^9=\sigma_3\otimes {\bf 1}_{16} .
&& \Gamma^9= {\rm i}\sigma_1 \otimes \gamma^9.\end{aligned}$$ The Majorana spinor therefore has 32 real components, and since it transforms in the adjoint representation of U($N$), each of these components may be viewed as an $N \times N$ Hermitian matrix.
An additional matrix $\Gamma_{11}=
\Gamma^0 \cdots \Gamma^9$, which is equal to $\sigma_3\otimes {\bf 1}_{16}$ in the representation specified by (\[gamma9\]), is easily seen to anti-commute with all other gamma matrices, and satisfies $(\Gamma_{11})^2 = 1$. It is also real, and so the Majorana spinor field $\Psi$ admits a chiral decomposition via the projection operators $\Lambda_{\pm} \equiv
\frac{1}{2}(1 \pm \Gamma_{11})$: $$\Psi = \Psi_+ + \Psi_-, \hspace{5mm} \Psi_{\pm} = \Lambda_{\pm} \Psi.$$ We will therefore consider only spinors with positive chirality $\Gamma_{11} \Psi = +\Psi$ (Majorana-Weyl): $$\Psi= 2^{1/4} { \psi \choose 0}, \label{spin16}$$ where $\psi$ is a sixteen component real spinor, and the numerical factor $2^{1/4}$ is introduced for later convenience.
Since $\gamma^9$ anti-commutes with the other eight $\gamma^I$’s, and satisfies $(\gamma^9)^2 = 1$, we may construct further projection operators $P_R \equiv \frac{1}{2}(1+\gamma^9)$ and $P_L \equiv \frac{1}{2}(1-\gamma^9)$ which project out, respectively, the right-moving and left-moving components of the sixteen component spinor $\psi$ defined in (\[spin16\]): $$\psi = \psi_R + \psi_L, \hspace{5mm} \psi_R = P_R \psi, \hspace{3mm}
\psi_L = P_L \psi.$$ This decomposition is particularly useful when working with light-cone coordinates, since in the light-cone gauge one can express the left-moving component $\psi_L$ in terms of the right-moving component $\psi_R$ by virtue of the fermion constraint equation. We will derive this result shortly. In terms of the usual ten dimensional Minkowski space-time coordinates, the light-cone coordinates are given by $$\begin{aligned}
x^+ & = & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(x^0 + x^9), \hspace{10mm}
\mbox{``time coordinate''} \\
x^- & = & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(x^0 - x^9), \hspace{10mm}
\mbox{``longitudinal space coordinate''} \\
{\bf x}^{\perp} & = & (x^1,\dots,x^8).
\hspace{13mm} \mbox{``transverse coordinates''} \end{aligned}$$ Note that the ‘raising’ and ‘lowering’ of the $\pm$ indices is given by the rule $x^{\pm} = x_{\mp}$, while $x^I = -x_I$ for $I=1,\dots,8$, as usual. It is now a routine task to demonstrate that the Yang-Mills action (\[EQ1\]) for the positive chirality spinor (\[spin16\]) is equivalent to $$\begin{aligned}
S_{9+1}^{LC} & = & \int dx^+ dx^- d{\bf x}^{\perp} \hspace{1mm}
\mbox{tr} \left( \frac{1}{2}F_{+-}^2 + F_{+I}F_{-I} - \frac{1}{4}F_{IJ}^2
\right. \nonumber \\
& & \hspace{20mm}
+ \hspace{1mm}
{\rm i} \psi_R^T D_+ \psi_R + {\rm i}\psi_L^T D_- \psi_L +
{\rm i}\sqrt{2}\psi_L^T \gamma^I D_I \psi_R \left.
\frac{}{} \right),
\label{LCversion}\end{aligned}$$ where the repeated indices $I,J$ are summed over $(1,\dots,8)$. Some surprising simplifications follow if we now choose to work in the [*light-cone gauge*]{} $A^+ = A_- = 0$. In this gauge $D_- \equiv \partial_-$, and so the (Euler-Lagrange) equation of motion for the left-moving field $\psi_L$ is simply $$\partial_- \psi_L = -\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\gamma^I D_I \psi_R,
\label{fermioncon}$$ which is evidently a non-dynamical constraint equation, since it is independent of the light-cone time. We may therefore eliminate any dependence on $\psi_L$ (representing unphysical degrees of freedom) in favor of $\psi_R$, which carries the eight physical fermionic degrees of freedom in the theory. In addition, the equation of motion for the $A_+$ field yields Gauss’ law: $$\partial_{-}^2 A_{+}=\partial_{-}\partial_{I}A_{I}+gJ^+
\label{apluscon}$$ where $J^+={\rm i}[A_{I},\partial_{-}A_{I}]+2\psi_{R}^T\psi_{R}$, and so the $A_+$ field may also be eliminated to leave the eight bosonic degrees of freedom $A_I$, $I=1,\dots,8$. Note that the eight fermionic degrees of freedom exactly match the eight bosonic degrees of freedom associated with the transverse polarization of a ten dimensional gauge field, which is of course consistent with the supersymmetry. We should emphasize that unlike the usual covariant formulation of Yang-Mills, the light-cone formulation here permits one to remove [*explicitly*]{} any unphysical degrees of freedom in the Lagrangian (or Hamiltonian); there are no ghosts.
[9999]{} E.Witten, [*Bound States Of Strings And $p$-Branes*]{}, [*Nucl.Phys.*]{} [**B460**]{}, (1996), 335-350, hep-th/9510135. T.Banks, W.Fischler, S.Shenker and L.Susskind, [*M Theory As A Matrix Model: A Conjecture*]{}, [*Phys.Rev.*]{} [**D55**]{}, (1997), 5112-5128, hep-th/9610043. Juan M. Maldacena, [*The Large N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity*]{}, hep-th/9711200. F.Antonuccio, O.Lunin, S.Pinsky, [*Non-Perturbative Spectrum of Two Dimensional (1,1) Super Yang-Mills at Finite and Large $N$*]{}, hep-th/9803170 (to appear in [*Phys.Rev.*]{} [**D**]{}); F.Antonuccio, O.Lunin, S.Pinsky, [*Bound States of Dimensionally Reduced $\mbox{SYM}_{2+1}$ at Finite $N$*]{}, hep-th/9803027, (To appear in [*Phys.Lett.*]{} [**B**]{}). H.-C. Pauli and S.J.Brodsky, [*Phys.Rev.*]{} [**D32**]{} (1985) 1993, 2001. Yoichiro Matsumura, Norisuke Sakai, Tadakatsu Sakai, [*Mass Spectra of Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories in $1 + 1$ Dimensions*]{}, hep-th/9504150, [*Phys. Rev.*]{} [**D52**]{} (1995) 2446. S.J. Brodsky, H.C. Pauli, and S.S. Pinsky, [*Quantum Chromodynamics and Other Field Theories on the Light Cone*]{} (To appear in Phys.Rept.), hep-ph/9705477. F.Antonuccio, S.Brodsky and S.Dalley, [*Light-cone Wavefunctions at Small $x$*]{}, [*Phys.Lett.*]{} [**B412**]{} (1997) 104-110. hep-ph/9705413. S.Dalley and I.Klebanov, [*String Spectrum of 1+1-Dimensional Large $N$ QCD with Adjoint Matter*]{}, hep-th/9209049, [*Phys. Rev.*]{} [**D47**]{} (1993) 2517-2527; G. Bhanot, K.Demeterfi and I. Klebanov, [*$1+1$-Dimensional Large $N$ QCD coupled to Adjoint Fermions*]{}, hep-th/9307111, [*Phys.Rev.*]{} [**D48**]{} (1993) 4980-4990. M.B.Green, J.H.Schwarz, and E.Witten, [ *Superstring Theory*]{}, Vol.1, CUP (1987). F. Antonuccio, S.S. Pinsky, [*Phys.Lett*]{} [**B397**]{}:42-50,1997, hep-th/9612021. S. Pinsky, [*“The Analog of the t’Hooft Pion with Adjoint Fermions”*]{} Invited talk at New Nonperturbative Methods and Quantization of the Light Cone, Les Houches. France, 24 Feb - 7 Mar 1997. hep-th/9705242 S. Pinsky, [*Phys.Rev*]{} [**D56**]{}:5040-5049,1997 hep-th/9612073 S. Pinsky and D. Robertson, [*Phys.Lett* ]{} [**B 379**]{} (1996) 169-178; G. McCartor, D. G. Robertson and S. Pinsky [*Phys.Rev*]{} [**D56**]{}:1035-1049,1997 hep-th/9612083 C.B.Thorn, [*Phys.Rev*]{} [**D19**]{} (1979) 639; C.B Thorn, [*Reformulating String Theory with the $1/N$ Expansion*]{}, hep-th/9405069. L.Motl, [*Proposals on Non-Perturbative Superstring Interactions*]{}, hep-th/9701025; T.Banks and N.Seiberg, [*Strings from Matrices*]{}, [*Nucl.Phys.*]{} [*B497*]{} (1997) 41, hep-th/9702187; R.Dijkgraaf, E.Verlinde, H.Verlinde, [*Matrix String Theory*]{}, [*Nucl.Phys.*]{} [**B500**]{} (1997) 43, hep-th/9703030.
[^1]: The space-time points in ten dimensional Minkowski space are parametrized by coordinates $(x^0,x^1,\dots,x^9)$.
[^2]: If we introduce a mass term, such relations become crucial in establishing finiteness conditions. See [@abd97], for example.
[^3]: The symbol $\dagger$ denotes quantum conjugation, and does not transpose matrix indices.
[^4]: It might be useful to consult [@sakai95; @dak93; @anp97; @pin97] for an elaboration of DLCQ in models with adjoint fermions.
[^5]: We exclude the zero mode $k^+=0$ in our analysis; the massive spectrum is not expected to be affected by this omission, but there are issues concerning the light-cone vacuum that involve $k^+=0$ modes [@pin97a; @mrp97].
[^6]: We use Polya Theory to count these states; we think of a necklace with three beads, where each bead may be colored in eight distinct ways. The permutation symmetry involving only rotations is ${\bf Z}_3$, and the ‘cyclic index polynomial’ is therefore $\frac{1}{3}[x_1^3 + 2x_3]$. Hence there are $\frac{1}{3}[8^3 + 2\cdot 8]=176$ distinct configurations modulo cyclic rotations.
[^7]: We use Polya theory as before: The cyclic permutation symmetry of a necklace with four beads, each of which can be colored in eight distinct ways, is ${\bf Z}_4$, and gives rise to the cyclic index polynomial $\frac{1}{4}[x_1^4+x_2^2+2x_4]$. Thus, there are $\frac{1}{4}[8^4+8^2+2\cdot 8]=1044$ distinct configurations
[^8]: The symmetry here is the subgroup ${\bf Z}_2$ of ${\bf Z}_4$, and the resulting cyclic index polynomial is $\frac{1}{2}[
x_1^4+x_2^2]$. Thus, there are $\frac{1}{2}[8^4+8^2]=
2080$ distinct states modulo cyclic permutations. However, 64 of these states have zero norm, and may be identified as those states for which $(I,\alpha)=(J,\beta)$. Subtracting these states, we are left with $2080-64=2016$ distinct states of the third type.
[^9]: The counting here is the same as in the first type because of the ${\bf Z}_4$ cyclic symmetry, but we must also subtract zero-norm states, which are precisely those states with $\alpha=\beta=\gamma=\delta$. There can only be 8 such states, and so we have $1044-8=1036$ distinct states overall.
|
Development
Three years ago, we published an article about Kyrö Distillery Company. A lot can happen in three years. In this case, what has taken place is considerable and wide-ranging development – although, since we’re talking about whiskies, “maturation” might be a more fitting term. In keeping with the first article, we will look at not only the maturation of the beverage but also that of the company itself.
On July 4th, our rye whisky was ready for bottling. As soon as one stepped onto the distillery’s premises, it was apparent that the company had come on in leaps and bounds. Employees wearing Kyrö Distillery Company t-shirts were milling around, greeting us cheerily. The increase in the number of people around spoke volumes about the development that had taken place since our last visit, but there was also something new and exciting in the atmosphere. All this paved the way for what Jouni Ritola, one of the owners, who is also responsible for sales, told us later on with passion clear in his voice. Everyone who has dealings with the distillery, whether as an employee or as a customer, becomes an informal ambassador for the company, helping to spread the word about its products.
Whereas in 2014, master distiller Kalle Valkonen, as the company’s only employee, filled our cask himself, the July 4 bottling operations involved Tea, Juulia, and Rami also. Juulia glued the labels on the bottles from our small batch with deftness gained when every label was affixed by hand. Since those days, such a time-consuming approach has become infeasible: 250,000 liters of the company’s hit product, Napue Gin, will be sold in 2017 alone.
This shows one of the main changes that have occurred over the past three years. When we first wrote about Kyrö Distillery Company, we introduced it as a whisky maker, but these days the company is known among most people for its gin. That said, Isokyrö’s whisky is now ready for what could be termed a comeback. In the first year of operations, 300 casks were filled with whisky and left to mature. Napue’s breakthrough was followed by a couple of busy years, during which the company was unable to give its full attention to whisky production. This year, however, will see the company distill 100,000 liters of whisky in all, and it plans to step up production up to 250,000 liters next year.
After our bottles had been filled and sent to a local licensed Alko store for picking up, as required by law, we headed for brunch with Jouni, who praised our bold decision to jump on board at such an early stage in the company’s operations. This is yet another sign of the way the company has embraced modern marketing practices. No other seller has thanked us for buying its product. Kyrö Distillery Company sells not only spirits but also a sense of community. Phrases such as “liquid to lips” and “winning hearts and minds” crop up frequently when Jouni talks about the company. Some of this is image marketing, familiar from Campari and Karhu beer adverts, but selling community spirit is where Jouni and his partners have excelled.
So what about that whisky? The clear liquid with a slight whiff of moonshine we saw last time has matured into a golden-brown beverage that carries aromas of rye and chocolate. The flavor has hints of toffee and oak. And does it taste good? The master distiller described this drink as “simply the best.” The laughter that followed this statement serves as an indication that there might be some image marketing in play here too. |
Q:
Put significance asterisks in the horizontal middle of each bar in a barplot
I wrote a class called Chi2Independence. With this class you can perform a Chi2 Test of Independence between two categorical variables. The class has also a method called test_residuals where the standardized residuals are tested for significance. Finally you can visualize the results using the method plot. Significant combinations of categories will be indicated by placing an asterisk above the respective bar. However in the current version the asterisks are not exactly in the middle of the bars but shifted slightly to the left. Here's a minimal example where a dummy data frame is created and then visualized using my plot function:
import seaborn as sns
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# create a the dataframe
chi2_df = pd.DataFrame({'survived':[0,0,0,1,1,1],
'class':['First','Second','Third','First','Second','Third'],
'Frequency':[80,97,372,136,87,119],
'sig':[True,True,True,True,True,True]})
# plot results
def plot(df_freq,x_var,hue_var,title,dst_dir=None):
stdres_sig_sorted = df_freq.sort_values(hue_var)['sig']
barplot = sns.barplot(x=x_var, y='Frequency', hue=hue_var,data=df_freq)
barplot.set_xticklabels(barplot.get_xticklabels(), rotation=45)
barplot.get_xticklabels()
barplot.set_title(title)
for p,sig in zip(barplot.patches,stdres_sig_sorted):
if sig == True:
barplot.annotate('*', (p.get_x() + p.get_width() / 2., p.get_height()),
ha='center', va='center', fontsize=11, color='gray', rotation=90, xytext=(0,10),
textcoords='offset points')
plt.legend(loc='center left', bbox_to_anchor=(1.0, 0.5), ncol=1)
plt.tight_layout()
plot(df_freq=chi2_df,x_var='class',hue_var='survived',title='Class | Survived')
This is the output barplot:
Does anyone know how to fix this problem so that the asterisks are exactly placed in the horizontal middle above each bar?
A:
I would simply use text to place the asterisks with a center horizontal alignment. The vertical lines are plotted just to visually double check that the asterisks are in the center.
for p, sig in zip(barplot.patches,stdres_sig_sorted):
if sig == True:
barplot.text(p.get_x() + p.get_width() / 2., p.get_height(),
'*', ha='center')
barplot.axvline(p.get_x() + p.get_width() / 2., lw=0.5)
|
Washington Post columnist Max Boot made a change to his column on Monday after coming under criticism for stating that the late ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was not a coward because “he blew himself up” over being captured by U.S. forces.
“An earlier version of this column included a sentence questioning whether Trump was right to call Baghdadi a coward because he blew himself up,” Boot wrote late Monday in explaining the change. “The line was removed because it unintentionally conveyed the impression that I considered Baghdadi courageous.”
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Boot also deleted a tweet in which he essentially made the same argument while also challenging President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE's unverified claim that al-Baghdadi was “whimpering and crying.”
Max Boot has deleted his tweet that said al-Baghdadi was not a coward because he blew himself up. pic.twitter.com/nXStIYNeLv — Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 28, 2019
Boot had come under criticism for his initial wording. Al-Baghdadi killed himself and three of his children when he triggered the explosion.
“The assertion that Baghdadi died as a coward was, in any case, contradicted by the fact that rather than be captured, he blew himself up,” he wrote.
So suicide is brave? And what of the three innocent children that died with him in the explosion? https://t.co/LaeaLP0Y3I — Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) October 28, 2019
I didn’t think we’d get a “actually, detonating yourself and your three small children is not cowardly” take today, yet here we are. https://t.co/f1OK6kfyL0 — (@BecketAdams) October 28, 2019
Trump broke Max Boot — Dan Bongino (@dbongino) October 29, 2019
How screwed up does your childhood have to have been for you to write this sentence? Get therapy, @MaxBoot. pic.twitter.com/uKnBtsy8XU — Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) October 28, 2019
When Trump Derangement Syndrome makes you defend the dying honor of
*checks notes*
The worlds worst terrorist
“The assertion that Baghdadi died as a coward was contradicted by the fact that rather than be captured he blew himself up.”
ISIS thanks you, @MaxBoot! https://t.co/TY44Kaz9qi — SETH WEATHERS (@sethweathers) October 28, 2019
Boot has been a staunch critic of Trump since the former real estate mogul announced his candidacy in June 2015. |
Category Vote projections
With the exception of the new counties that have extended early voting due to Hurricane Michael, early voting is over. As of now, 2.69 million, or 20.28% of registered voters in Florida, cast their ballot by early, in-person voting. Of those, 41.93% were Democrats, 38.74% where Republicans, and 19.33% where NPA or minor party voters. […]
As one party moves up, the other party also moves up. This has been the story of the 2018 general election in Florida. Days where it seems that Democrats have made gains, Republicans offset those gains, and vice versa. One thing is for sure, a polarized political climate turns voters out. And yes, this election […]
So, to start off, I have to admit something. I made a mistake yesterday. I accidentally took around 10,000 to 15,000 votes away from the Democrats in Lee County. An input error on my part. So, the Republican did not have as big of a swing as the model projected. They did have a swing […]
Another day of VBM and early voting in the books, and another day where the Republicans increase their lead. Yes, Democrats are turning out to vote, but so are Republicans. And even though Democrats may have the lead in pure turnout numbers, they still lag behind in turnout rate. There are two reasons Democrats are […]
First, the projection map has been updated. It has a lot more detail than previous maps, including turnout tabs. So, enjoy the new map. Also, there is going to be a new model with new methodology out (due to the changes in pre-Election Day polling). The old model will remain up, but the new model […]
Overnight, the margin went slightly in the Republican’s favor. However, the overall trends continue to show that this is going to be a close race. As I have mentioned in the last two posts, it is a turnout game now. But how that turnout is happening is quite interesting. Let’s take a look. Turnout Summary: […]
First, before I get into the analysis, I just want to say that we are still waiting for the early vote and vote by mail report from Palm Beach County to be submitted to the Division of Elections. You figured after the 2000 election that Palm Beach County would have gotten their act together, but […]
Since the World Series is going on, let’s use a baseball simile. It’s the bottom of the 9th, and the team that is losing is down by one run. They need to get a runner in scoring position, or at least on first base, tie up the game. Instead, the first batter goes three and […]
Bronough Street, we have a problem. That problem for Democrats is that Republicans have figured out early voting. The one “ace up the sleeve” for Democrats in Florida has been offset by an aggressive early voting campaign by Republicans. In fact, 7,152 more Republicans have voted early compared to Democrats. When Democrats make small gains […]
With the overnight numbers now in, Democrats actually saw a loss in projected vote. However, the Enthusiasm Gap didn’t have much of a swing. So what does that really mean? Does this help Democrats or Republicans? Let’s delve into the numbers. Turnout Summary: So far, 2,041,138 people have voted in this election, which is a […] |
List of parishes of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is an Exemption (church) diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. The patriarchate contains 64 parishes. The Patriarchate embraces territorial Israel (without territorial expansion after 1967), Jordan, the Palestinian territories, the Israeli administered territories in the West Bank, and Cyprus. (The Golan is not part of the patriarchate.)
Distribution of parishes by areas
The 64 parishes with 78,000 Catholics and 85 diocesan priests (as of 2010) are classified according to four areas of the diocese. These are in alphabetical order:
Israel (excluding Jerusalem), for which an episcopal vicar in Nazareth is ordered.
Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories directly into the jurisdiction of the Patriarch.
Jordan, for an episcopal vicar in Amman is appointed.
Cyprus, for an episcopal vicar in Nicosia is ordered.
The parish places and chaplaincies follow the instructions of the Latin Patriarchate.
Parishes and chaplaincies with church buildings and chapels
External links
http://en.lpj.org/the-diocese/the-parishes/
Category:Catholic Church in Cyprus
Category:Catholic Church in Israel
Category:Catholic Church in Jordan
Category:Catholic Church in the State of Palestine |
Reflections on the Spiritual Life
Pages
Bio
I am a son, husband, brother, and father. I am a friend. I am a pastor, chaplain, and educator. I am an agitator in all these lovely roles.
My wife married me in 2001. We’ve welcomed two boys into our home after nuanced and particular routes; they arrived and didn’t leave and they are beautiful black sons. We’re all born and raised on Chicago’s south side, the original context out of which all my musings come.
For work, I wrote Sunday School curriculum for ten years for the largest independent African-American Christian media company, Urban Ministries. I’ve served in two churches, one a black mega-church on the south side, the other a multi-ethnic church on the northwest side: Sweet Holy Spirit and New Community Covenant.
These days I lead retreats through the Evangelical Covenant Church around ways to pray, the spiritual disciplines, and listening as an inevitable skill in spiritual friendship. I teach as an adjunct faculty member at North Park Theological Seminary, used to at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (for 8 years until 2017). I am a chaplain and CPE supervisor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
I studied at the University of Illinois (BS in psychology), Wheaton College (MA in theology), and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (MDiv). I completed my CPE units at Urban CPE Consortium and NMH. These days I’m in a doctoral course of study in pastoral theology, personality, and culture at GETS.
Thank you for visiting my site and being interested. While I’m writing on this site now, I also have blogs archived about faith and relationships here and fatherhood here. To contact me, email Michael at michaelwashington dot org. |
Sequence-specific DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein.
Chromosomal translocation t(11;17)(q23;21) is associated with a retinoic acid-resistant form of acute promyelocytic leukemia. The translocation fuses the RARalpha gene to the PLZF gene, resulting in the formation of reciprocal fusion proteins, hypothesized to play prominent roles in leukemogenesis. Promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) encodes a transcription factor with nine Krüppel-like zinc fingers, seven of which are retained in the t(11;17) fusion protein RARalpha-PLZF. We identified a specific DNA-binding site for the PLZF protein and showed that PLZF binds to this site through its most carboxyl seven zinc fingers. In co-transfection experiments, PLZF repressed transcription through its cognate binding site. This repression function of PLZF was mapped to two regions on the protein, including the evolutionarily conserved POZ domain. In contrast, the RARalpha-PLZF protein activated transcription of a promoter containing a PLZF response element. These results suggest that RARalpha-PLZF, generated in acute promyelocytic leukemia, is an aberrant transcription factor that can deregulate the expression of PLZF target genes and contribute to leukemogenesis. |
March 6, 2015
Tokyo, Japan
You know that we talk a lot about the insane level of government interference in our lives. About what we can and cannot put in our bodies. The amount of interest we’re entitled to receive on our savings. Etc.
But I’m noticing now even more ridiculous trends of governments wanting to get involved in people’s sex lives.
Last year the Danish government promoted an initiative called “Do it for Denmark”, encouraging Danes to travel abroad and have sex while on holidays. They even have a pretty racy Youtube video featuring a scantily clad gorgeous blonde waiting to do her duty for her country and procreate.
Singapore as well has a catchy jingle about going out and making babies, brought to you by the same guys who did the Mentos theme song.
The Swedish government actually spent taxpayer money on its new genitals song, so it can start indoctrinating children early on how they can make babies.
Here in Japan, which has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, the government is desperate to find solutions to what it calls its libido crisis.
According to their data, Japanese men aren’t terribly interested in sex and the women find sex to be bothersome.
Japanese being expert process engineers are coming up with a government solution to reengineer sexual desire in their country.
(I have to imagine that if this solution reached US soil, the government option would include the smooth sounds of Barack Obama whispering some pillow talk: “C’mon, lemme give you this big tax cut, baby…”)
Easily the most ridiculous solution they came up with is to impose a ‘handsome tax’ on attractive men. I thought this was a headline from the Onion, the greatest news source in the world, but it turned out to be true.
The idea being that if you tax handsome men, then less attractive men would have more money and hence be able to attract women.
Zerohedge covered this in fantastic detail—I encourage you to check it out. This is not a joke.
The thing that many of these countries have in common, Japan, Denmark, etc., is a rapidly declining birthrate.
A declining birthrate is disastrous for an economy, particularly for an ageing place like Japan.
Ironically, the oldest person in the world turned 117 years old yesterday—and no surprise that she’s Japanese. In fact, Japan is home to one of the oldest populations in the world and has one of the longest life expectancies.
Curiously they also have one of the largest pension programs in the world. You put all that together and you have fewer and fewer young people paying more and more of their income to support a disproportionately large population of retirees who are living for decades after they stop working.
Each one of these governments is trying to find a solution to fix this unsustainable fiscal problem.
In Denmark they seem to think that people aren’t going on vacation enough. In Japan they think it’s a problem of sexual desire. But in actuality it has everything to do with cost of living.
Month to month, year to year, it’s hard to notice the subtle changes in costs of living and standards of living, but after a long period of time it’s easy to look back and remember how things used to be.
You used to be able to support a family on a single income. You used to be able to afford medical care and higher education.
It’s often said that the greatest expense that someone will have in their life is his or her home. That’s total nonsense.
Now, I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but the biggest expense most people will have is family, and particularly children.
And after years and years of suffering through pitiful, destructive policies that have chronically made people less prosperous, it’s no surprise that they’re coming to the conclusion—you know, we can’t really afford to have a child right now.
There are consequences to conjuring money out of thin air. There are consequences to destructive policies.
So destructive in fact that central bankers and politicians even have the power to make a population disappear.
How ironic that they try to fix their own problem by trying to introduce themselves into our bedrooms. |
Keystone PipeLIES Exposed (Duration: 23 minutes) This film, produced by the Center for Media and Democracy, debunks the claims of proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline regarding jobs, energy security, gas prices, safety, and climate change. More information about this film and research project, "Keystone PipeLIES Exposed," at pipeliesexposed.org.
My name is Anne Kennedy. I’m a farmer from Coonamble in north-west NSW, Australia. We had a big day here on Saturday March 22, 2014, with more than 630 people turning out to declare our entire district ‘Gasfield Free’. That’s an area of 1 million hectares!
Fractured Country — An Unconventional Invasion (Duration: 40 minutes) This is madness. This is sickening (and not just figuratively). It makes me feel ashamed to be a member of the human race. Please watch, and share widely. We must stop this….
The best way to feel hopeful for the future is to prepare for it. The best way to feel hopeful about our looming energy crisis is to get active now and prepare for living arrangements in a post-oil society. Out in the public arena, people frequently twang on me for being "Mister Gloom’n’doom," or for… Read more »
Coal Seam Gas (‘fracking’) in the Pillaga Forest, NSW, Australia It was revealed last week that groundwater has been poisoned with uranium and heavy metals from Santos’s coal seam gas development in the Pilliga forest (Map). Just two days after the Environmental Protection Agency gave a paltry $1,500 fine for the contamination spill, the NSW… Read more »
Local squash, like the ones pictured here, are frozen and consumed through the winter by Farm to Table Co-Packers. The families in my bioregion, the mid-Hudson Valley of New York (90 miles north of New York city), have been coping well with increasing food prices and sourcing food supplies as we face peak oil. This… Read more »
Originally published on TransitionNetwork.org It is a rare occurence that I disagree with David Holmgren. One of my heroes, and the co-founder of permaculture, I generally find his intellect formidable, his insights on permaculture revelatory, and his take on the wider patterns and scenarios unfolding around us to be deeply insightful. But while there is… Read more »
Only a few are willing to risk arrest for the sake of an utopian outcome. Ted ‘The Unabomber’ Kaczynski obviously occupies the upper right corner. Starhawk, Bill McKibben and David Graeber are not lighting any fuses but at least have what they think are better plans, or maybe just better processes. Our post stirred the… Read more »
Rather than spurning financial system terrorists, Holmgren urges activists to become “terra-ists”; to directly bring down the system by thousands of acts of economic disobedience. A ferment in the environmental movement, brewing for many years, has now bubbled up into the blogosphere. We are dipping our ladle in here to take a little taste of… Read more »
Meet Meghan Hammond, a sixth-generation Nebraskan farmer threatened by TransCanada. In an effort to save their land from a huge oil pipeline her community banned together to build a source of sustainable energy right in the path of the Keystone XL pipeline. These Nebraskans made a statement, but they need more hands and hearts on… Read more »
D. Lange “Mr. Dougherty and kid. Warm Springs, Malheur County, Oregon” October 1939 David Holmgren, for whom I have the utmost respect, is best known as one of the co-originators of the permaculture concept. Permaculture is an ecological design method for regenerative agriculture, where the principles of natural systems are employed in order to create… Read more » |
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The tobacco industry is like an intelligent and aggressive ever-evolving pathogen that accounts for one-third of all cancer and nearly two-thirds of heart disease among people under 55. To reduce this burden of disease requires understanding how the tobacco industry maintains a social and policy environment favorable to smoking. To understand a pathogen, one might study its genetic code.
Eastern Europe Center of Excellence for Nurses in Tobacco Control (EE-COE), is a collaboration between the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, UCSF & UCLA Schools of Nursing, and partners from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Romania. The EE-COE partners have developed, and are currently implementing educational activities in each of the five countries. The goal of this collaboration was to build capacity among nurses in general practice and in oncology to implement evidence-based interventions with all patients who smoke.
In this randomized trial at middle schools in Indonesia, we test the effectiveness of asking students to commit individually or in pairs to not smoking cigarettes. The study results will indicate whether a social penalty can motivate students to refrain from smoking; identify the magnitude of peer influence on students’ smoking behavior; and inform anti-tobacco policy in a high-prevalence setting.
Analysis of the tobacco industry efforts to interfere with implementation of the WHO FCTC, currently focused on the tobacco industry interference with implementation of the Protocol on the Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products. As part of the WHO Collaborating Center, provision of support and technical assistance to WHO on implementation of Article 5.3 and its guidelines, i.e. establishing measures to protect tobacco control against the tobacco industry interference. |
WHISTLEBLOWER MAGAZINEWorldNetDaily Exclusive
The ultimate special report on eligibility
With Barack Obama in the White House, millions of Americans are watching the news night after night in sheer shock, wondering out loud what the next unprecedented expansion of government power will be. Nationalizing entire industries with gigantic taxpayer bailouts; forcing taxpayers to fund abortion; releasing Gitmo prisoners onto U.S. streets; rapidly converting free-market, capitalist America into a government-run socialist state – every day seems to bring a new unconstitutional power-grab, critics say.
But arguably Obama’s most egregious, unconstitutional “power-grab” as president may have been his very first – being elected to the highest office in the land while steadfastly refusing to offer proof he is a “natural born citizen,” as required of all presidents by the U.S. Constitution.
This issue of Whistleblower “is not only the most complete and thorough exposé of the eligibility questions surrounding Barack Obama’s presidency,” says WND founder and CEO Joseph Farah, “it is an indictment of the process that put him in the White House Jan. 20 of this year.”
Although Article II section 1 of the Constitution clearly requires that all presidents be “natural born citizens,” the 2008 election proved, Farah points out, “that no controlling legal authority bothered to establish” that Obama was qualified for the Oval Office. “Everybody dropped the ball,” said Farah.
The biggest reason interest in the Obama eligibility issue continues to mount, with ever more legal actions being filed and more Americans demanding answers, says WND Managing Editor David Kupelian, is simple: “Barack Obama is hiding something. About that statement, there is no dispute. Despite dozens of lawsuits, with plaintiffs including a former presidential candidate, a former deputy attorney general, many legislators, active-duty U.S. military and other serious people, Obama simply refuses to release his original, long-form birth certificate. That’s the one that could actually prove he was born in Hawaii. What is posted on Obama’s ‘Fight the Smears’ website as well as the FactCheck.org website is the abbreviated short-form ‘certification of live birth’ that could have been issued for a child born overseas, and thus does not prove he was born in Hawaii. What is so difficult about this to understand?”
And while some of the many lawsuits challenging Obama on this issue have reached the eyes of U.S. Supreme Court justices, at least one former state Supreme Court chief justice – Alabama’s Roy Moore – now says the Obama eligibility issue should be adjudicated: “Why doesn’t the president have to show that he’s a natural born citizen? … We’ve had all kinds of suits filed, and the press doesn’t mention them and the courts continually reject them. … It’s troubling to me because we’ll suffer the consequences if we ignore our Constitution.”
“U.S. military officers demanding eligibility proof” by Bob Unruh, regarding which one plaintiff said, “In the worst case … it’s going to be revolution in the streets”
“What is ‘quo warranto'”
“Scalia: You need 4 votes for Obama eligibility case”
“Ex-chief justice: ‘If he’s not a natural born citizen, he’s not qualified'” in which former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore weighs in on the issue
“Was Obama born in Hawaii – or Kenya?” by Jerome R. Corsi, who interviews the private detective who investigated Honolulu hospitals claimed as Obama birthplace; also a report on eyewitnesses to Obama’s grandmother saying she witnessed his birth in Mombasa, Kenya
“Kenyan ambassador: ‘I don’t know’ if Obama was born in U.S.” by Chelsea Schilling – a revealing follow-up to the on-air “gaffe” by African official about president’s birth
“What congressmen say about Obama’s eligibility,” an extensive sampling of what lawmakers are telling constituents about where the president was born
“Obama team threatens plaintiffs” by Alan Keyes, the former Reagan diplomat and presidential candidate who rallies all involved in the eligibility battle to stand firm
“To me, this is a historic issue of Whistleblower magazine,” says Farah. “I do not pretend to know where the information you are about to read will lead. But I do know that it is explosive, profoundly important and represents much more than the future of the Barack Obama administration. No less than our Constitution – the foundation of our national liberties and the rule of law in America – is at stake.” |
Trending News
HAMMOND — Federal prosecutors are seeking to delay ex-East Chicago Councilman Robert "Coop" Battle's scheduled June 11 trial in which he's accused of murder and drug trafficking. In a Friday motion for a continuance, prosecutors stated both sides believe there ...
Is East Chicago the Next Flint?
published:26 Jun 2017
Is East Chicago the Next Flint?
Is East Chicago the Next Flint?
published:26 Jun 2017
views:8949
Demetra Turner and her family moved into the West Calumet Public Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana in May 2016. A month later, she found out she would have to evacuate her new home due to extremely elevated levels of lead and arsenic in the soil and water. It turned out the public housing complex was sitting on top of a Superfund site, one of the most toxic in the country. East Chicago is one of many low-income, majority black communities that disproportionately suffer from environmental harm across the country. “We’re going through the same thing Flint went through – neglect,” says resident and activist Sherry Hunter. “And it all has to do with poor black people.”
For more, read the story: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/living-on-lead/531534/...
Is East Chicago the Next Flint?
published:26 Jun 2017
views:8949
Demetra Turner and her family moved into the West Calumet Public Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana in May 2016. A month later, she found out she would have to evacuate her new home due to extremely elevated levels of lead and arsenic in the soil and water. It turned out the public housing complex was sitting on top of a Superfund site, one of the most toxic in the country. East Chicago is one of many low-income, majority black communities that disproportionately suffer from environmental harm across the country. “We’re going through the same thing Flint went through – neglect,” says resident and activist Sherry Hunter. “And it all has to do with poor black people.”
For more, read the story: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/living-on-lead/531534/...
Man's murder in 2016 was ordered by East Chicago street gang
Man's murder in 2016 was ordered by East Chicago street gang
Michigander - East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit)
published:16 May 2018
Michigander - East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit)
Michigander - East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit)
published:16 May 2018
views:768
Music video for East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit) performed by Michigander.
michiganderband.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-BIPO1Z1RcgvqufyncaQA
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michigander/id1096482927
Copyright (C) 2018 Michigander.
---
Powered by http://www.vydia.com
http://vevo.ly/6P2grH...
Michigander - East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit)
published:16 May 2018
views:768
Music video for East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit) performed by Michigander.
michiganderband.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-BIPO1Z1RcgvqufyncaQA
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michigander/id1096482927
Copyright (C) 2018 Michigander.
---
Powered by http://www.vydia.com
http://vevo.ly/6P2grH...
East Chicago Icy Roads
published:27 Dec 2008
East Chicago Icy Roads
East Chicago Icy Roads
published:27 Dec 2008
views:240101
Chicago-area drivers and pedestrians alike struggled to control their travel on the morning of December 26, 2008, after a \"flash freeze\" covered the area in a slick layer of ice. I shot this video at the intersection of Indianapolis Blvd. and 143rd Street in East Chicago, Indiana, between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
Normally I shoot stills exclusively during big news events, but this was one situation where video told the story a lot better.
By far my favorite subjects are the man and woman in the green car who start things off by getting stuck in the middle of the intersection. After failed requests for help from the car behind them (\"Tap us!\"), the driver exits the car *while it is still in drive* to throw salt under the wheels. Only in EC....
East Chicago Icy Roads
published:27 Dec 2008
views:240101
Chicago-area drivers and pedestrians alike struggled to control their travel on the morning of December 26, 2008, after a \"flash freeze\" covered the area in a slick layer of ice. I shot this video at the intersection of Indianapolis Blvd. and 143rd Street in East Chicago, Indiana, between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
Normally I shoot stills exclusively during big news events, but this was one situation where video told the story a lot better.
By far my favorite subjects are the man and woman in the green car who start things off by getting stuck in the middle of the intersection. After failed requests for help from the car behind them (\"Tap us!\"), the driver exits the car *while it is still in drive* to throw salt under the wheels. Only in EC....
Demetra Turner and her family moved into the West Calumet Public Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana in May 2016. A month later, she found out she would have to evacuate her new home due to extremely elevated levels of lead and arsenic in the soil and water. It turned out the public housing com
Music video for East Chicago, IN (Acoustic in Detroit) performed by Michigander.
michiganderband.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-BIPO1Z1RcgvqufyncaQA
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michigander/id1096482927
Copyright (C) 2018 Michigander.
---
Powered by http://www.vydia.com
http://vev
Chicago-area drivers and pedestrians alike struggled to control their travel on the morning of December 26, 2008, after a \"flash freeze\" covered the area in a slick layer of ice. I shot this video at the intersection of Indianapolis Blvd. and 143rd Street in East Chicago, Indiana, between the hours |
The Indian embassy in Kiev has asked all Indians in Ukraine to register on its website with all necessary details so that they could be contacted quickly in case of any eventuality.
“Indians in Ukraine, especially students, are strongly advised to register themselves on the embassy’s website and provide necessary contact details therein. This would facilitate embassy’s efforts in disseminating relevant information,” the embassy stated in a fresh advisory.
Altogether 3,839 Indian citizens received higher education in Ukraine, mostly in medical sciences, in 2012-13. The number of Indians presently studying in Ukraine is estimated to be close to 4,000.
Sources in New Delhi said that the government had not yet planned evacuation of the Indians from Ukraine, although the respective agencies had been instructed to be prepared for any eventuality. |
A strategy for oxygen conditioning at high altitude: comparison with air conditioning.
Large numbers of people live or work at high altitude, and many visit to trek or ski. The inevitable hypoxia impairs physical working capacity, and at higher altitudes there is also cognitive impairment. Twenty years ago oxygen enrichment of room air was introduced to reduce the hypoxia, and this is now used in dormitories, hotels, mines, and telescopes. However, recent advances in technology now allow large amounts of oxygen to be obtained from air or cryogenic oxygen sources. As a result it is now feasible to oxygenate large buildings and even institutions such as hospitals. An analogy can be drawn between air conditioning that has improved the living and working conditions of millions of people who live in hot climates and oxygen conditioning that can do the same at high altitude. Oxygen conditioning is similar to air conditioning except that instead of cooling the air, the oxygen concentration is raised, thus reducing the equivalent altitude. Oxygen conditioning on a large scale could transform living and working conditions at high altitude, where it could be valuable in homes, hospitals, schools, dormitories, company headquarters, banks, and legislative settings. |
Q:
static class member in c++
I have a question related to the static class member in C++. Based on my understanding of C++, the static class number is supposed to exist before the class's instance is created. It is possible to initialize the const static member variable, but for the non-const static member we cannot initialize it within the class. Therefore, my question is where we should initialize the non-const static class. It seems to me that the only stage for the non-const static class is before the main program is run as the following codes illustrate:
using namespace std;
class C
{
public:
static int Value;
};
int C::Value = 2;
int main()
{
// int C::Value = 2; //ERROR!
cout<<C::Value<<endl;
return 0;
}
Are there other ways to initialize it? Thanks!
A:
Non-local objects in C++ program can be initialized statically and dynamically. In simple terms, static initialization is trivial C-style initialization with constant expressions that is essentially performed at compile-time (and, therefore, generates no code). Meanwhile dynamic initialization is initialization that involves some non-trivial actions that have to be performed at run time.
You can assume that statically initialized objects begin their life in already initialized state. I.e. conceptually they are instantly initialized when your program starts.
When it comes to dynamic initialization time and order, static class members are treated the same way as any other namespace-scope object. The language does not guarantee that all objects with static storage duration are initialized before main. Instead, the language guarantees that such static objects are initialized sometime before the first use of any function or object defined in the same translation unit. Static objects defined in the same translation unit are initialized in the order of their definition. The rules of dynamic initialization allow for the already mentioned "initialization order fiasco".
In your example - an int object initialized by an integral constant expression - static initialization will be used. It is safe to assume that this int object begins its life in already initialized state.
|
Q:
How to make AltGr temporarily switch keyboard language?
I have a keyboard with English and Russian letters. Super+Space switches language.
I want also the right AltGr temporarily switch language while this key is pressed.
How to assign this function to AltGr?
Ubuntu 18.04.
A:
Yes, you can set such option.
You need to install GNOME Tweaks with
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
then launch it and:
Click on Keyboard & Mouse group
In Keyboard section click Additional Layout Options button
In opened window expand Switching to another layout
Check checkbox named Right Alt (while pressed):
Close Additional Layout Options window and exit GNOME Tweaks.
Note: keyboard layout indicator does not react on pressed RightAlt and constantly shows the first layout name. I reported this as bug 1779327 to launchpad.net.
|
If you are a genetic counselor supporting the Graham-Cassidy proposal to replace Obamacare, you are a rare bird. Most genetic counselors – most medical professionals – most Americans for that matter – are opposed to this bill, because it compromises our ability to provide basic, essential medical care for people in need. It is not in dispute that millions of American will lose health insurance under this bill. Those with health insurance will generally pay more for less. Many of the changes remove existing protections on which our patients are particularly reliant. Here are some examples:
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
The bill will allow states to eliminate regulations on pre-existing conditions, so that people will risk losing coverage if they change or lose their jobs. This is a disaster for individuals with chronic health problems including genetic conditions, and potentially a disaster for individuals who carry susceptibility genes. Although you might make the case that GINA should protect those individuals in theory, in practice it becomes hard to draw the line for what constitutes an existing disease in an at-risk individual. For instance, if a Lynch Syndrome carrier requires special screening and has polyps removed, are they preventing disease or symptomatic? Will a subsequent carrier argue that they already showed signs of Lynch and therefore are not covered for further screening or colon cancer? The fact is that Obamacare arrived before these questions got answered, and there is a very real risk that GINA protections will be eroded when the actual lines between pre-existing and manifest disease are drawn.
PRENATAL CARE
The new law allows policies to limit or even eliminate coverage for prenatal care. This logic of this abomination – the disgusting and perverse logic to be voted on by a collection of doddering old men who apparently were not of women born – is that pregnancy is not a disease but a choice, and affects only subset of women, so that others should not be asked to bear the costs. This decision abrogates the most fundamental obligation of civil society, which is to raise the next generation. You have one job, civilization. One job.
Every politician who argues that it is not fair to ask everyone to pay for insurance that covers prenatal care should be asked if they believe it is fair to ask women to pay for policies that cover prostate cancer care. Or who it is they believe will care for them in the nursing home, or fight for them in their wars, or protect their streets or teach their grandchildren or write their history books if not the next generation of Americans.
But you see here I am getting worked up, and the very righteousness of this anger masks another aspect of this change that has particular resonance for genetic counselors: limiting access to prenatal care limits access to prenatal testing, and limiting access to prenatal testing to those with more money will mean that those genetic diseases and conditions for which we can test will change the essential nature of genetic disease – no longer something that happens to everyone, it will become an affliction of vulnerable individuals. I wrote about this in a recent essay, calling it the Ghettoization of Genetic Disease, and this bill will help make that dystopian prediction a reality in the near term.
LIFETIME CAPS AND DISABILITY CARE
The Graham-Cassidy bill eliminates protections on lifetime caps, meaning that many individuals with chronic conditions, including genetic diseases, may end up without coverage. In addition, the cuts to Medicaid and other federally funded programs would radically reduce support for individuals with disabilities.
On the surface, flat out, this is heinous and cruel. Beyond that, for the genetics community, this undercuts the promise we make, by implication, to every woman or couple who decides to move forward with a pregnancy affected by or at risk for genetic disease. Supporting choice in reproductive decision-making is not a simple matter of holding someone’s hand through a difficult day. Supporting autonomous decision-making as a field means fighting for those individuals and families to be supported throughout the lifecycle. The choice to live in a world that offers no support or resources is no choice at all for most people.
LET’S TAKE A STAND
It is extremely unfortunate that healthcare, a subject of mutual concern and importance to all Americans, is now held hostage to the ignorant, pettiness of slogans on signs that angry partisans wave at campaign rallies. No professional organization wants to get embroiled in party politics. On the other hand, there are times when everything you believe in is threatened and you have to take a stand. I believe this is one of those times.
I’m hardly alone in this. The AMA released a statement yesterday opposing Graham-Cassidy. So have many other groups representing healthcare professionals and patients, a number of them listed here in Jimmy Kimmel’s eloquent denunciation of the bill (comedians must lead when politicians are clowns, I suppose, and what else can he do when our government is beyond satire?).
So please, NSGC, make us proud with a statement against this terrible bill. Let’s take a stand for our values and, more importantly, for our patients.
Follow me on twitter |
7. Michipicoten River (Wawa, 7km)
Your Host(s):Canada Post Wawa,
Phone: (705) 856-2885
Leave a Public Review
Pop. 237. In the geographic Ts. of Lendrum and Rabazo, Algoma Dist., 6 km SW of Wawa at the mouth of the Magpie R. and L. Superior. The name is Ojibwa for 'great bluff.' |
Abducted in Syria Extremist Rebels Target Journalists
Radical Islamists embedded among the rebels in Syria are reportedly targeting foreign journalists for abduction. Instead of holding them for ransom, however, they use them as trump cards in their power struggles with more moderate rebel groups. |
The Harmony Sea lives up to it's name as a peaceful expanse traversed by gentile trade winds. The royal ships of the king, often sail from the safe Port Of Randorhaven, towards the Eastern Continent in order to trade with the inhabitants on the other side of the globe. Home of the Berzerker Island and Orkas Island. |
Glossary
Accuracy
How close the results are to some standard, true, or known value. A highly accurate measuring device will provide measurements very close to the standard, true, or known value. Term can apply to both the measurement and the measuring instrument. See also “Bias.”
Acute Toxicity
Adverse effects that result from exposure(s) to a substance within a short time (usually less than 24 hours). The adverse effects should occur within 14 days of the administration of the substance. A subgroup under the Toxicity methods category in NEMI.
Analyte
The name assigned to a substance, chemical constituent, or feature that is subject to an analytical procedure. For example, in an immunoassay, the analyte may be a hormone or enzyme. Or, in fish community sampling, the analyte may be fish weight measurement.
Analyte Code
A unique tracking number for each analyte in the database. For organic chemicals, the code is equivalent to the CAS (Chemical Abstracts Society) Registry Number (RN). For anions, the code is derived from the CAS RN for common salts. For method-defined analytes (analytes that are not chemically distinct, such as "oil and grease" and "chemical oxygen demand"), the codes were taken from EPA's Environmental Monitoring Method Index codes. For some biological analytes, Integrated Taxonomic Information System (IT IS) Taxonomic Serial Numbers (TSN) are used.
Analyte Name
The name assigned to a substance or feature that describes it in terms of its molecular composition, taxonomic nomenclature or other characteristic.
Analytical Sample Amount
The quantity of sample worked up for analysis. Example units are:(mL), the quantity of sample worked up for analysis, measured in milliliters.(g), the quantity of sample converted into grams, with the assumed density of 1 for water-based samples.
Applicable Concentration Range
Range of concentrations over which analytes can be measured with typical use of the method. The range can be extended to higher or lower concentrations by using appropriate sample preparative techniques, such as by dilution, adjusting sample size, or concentration of extracts.
Assay
A procedure to determine the value of a quantity, in other words, to take a measurement. The entity being measured is called the analyte. See also "Bioassay", "Immunoassay", and "Toxicity Assay."
Bias
The systematic or persistent distortion of a measured value from its true value (this can occur during sampling design, the sampling process, or laboratory analysis). See also “Accuracy.”
In NEMI, the value "N/A" indicates bias data are not available or could not be found for the method.
Bioassay
A procedure for determining the concentration or biological activity of a substance (e.g. vitamin, hormone, antibiotic) by measuring its effect on an organism or tissue compared to a standard preparation (IUPAC, 2012). Also called biological assay.
Biological
Classification for a method in NEMI that involves an experiment on organisms.
Biotoxin
Classification for a method in NEMI that involves an experiment on organisms with a toxic substance of biological origin. A subgroup under the Toxicity methods category.
Blank
This is a sample container, often filled with distilled water, that travels unopened to the site with the empty sample containers and returns unopened to the laboratory with the samples. This is done to confirm that no contamination has been picked up during the “trip” to and from the sample location. If contamination is found in the trip blank, it means that the samples also may have been contaminated from a source outside the sample area. The trip blank should be non-detect (ND). If it isn’t, your sample results may not be accurate, and a new test should be run (Alaska DEC, 2009). Also called “trip blank.”
Blind
A selected sample whose composition is unknown except to the person submitting it; used to test the validity of the measurement process (McGraw-Hill, 2003). Also called “blind sample.”
Brief Method Summary
Method summaries provide general information on methods. This includes: determinative technique employed (e.g., colorimetry) and some summarized procedural information (e.g., "sample is treated with barium chloride to precipitate out barium sulfate, which is determined via colorimetry of turbimetry").
Calculated Waste Amount
The quantity of sample that is left over after analysis. Example units are:(g), the sum of the analytical sample and all chemicals used to treat the analytical sample measured in grams.
Category
A division for a record (or method) within NEMI. For example, a record may be assigned to the Physical, Chemical, Biological, Toxicity Assay, or Statistical categories. A record is further classified by its subcategory. See also “subcategory.” Also called “Method Category.”
Chemical
Classification for a method or protocol in NEMI dealing with chemistry (e.g., analysis of a substance by test method , good laboratory practices, or guidelines for a sample strategy or how to prepare a sample that will later undergo chemical analysis).
Citation
The published literature citation of the method, or volume from which the method comes. Ordering information is also included (if available).
Detection Level
The lowest "measurable" concentration for an analyte by the specified method. The DL for a specific analyte can be influenced by a number of factors, such as the sample matrix used in a DL study or the laboratory's experience with the method. Often a DL will be determined in reagent grade (very pure) water to demonstrate the optimal DL. In many cases, the reported DL will be generated by the method developer, which has considerable experience with the method. Therefore the reported DL may be much lower than that achievable by a laboratory using the method for the first time. Also, a reported DL may reflect single laboratory performance or the pooled performance of multiple laboratories (the latter providing a picture of overall method performance across the laboratory community). When comparing listed DLs it's important to take into consideration the kind of DLs in questions, and the variables (e.g., matrix) that can effect DLs. Available information on how DLs were determined for a paparticular method is given in the DL Notes fields. Reporting units are the units of measurement in the particular method.
Detection Level Type
The detection level type defines the Detection Level (DL) field. There are many names for DL types, but they fit into one of three main definitions: DL can be (1) the point where a substance will be detected, but not quantitated (e.g., Method Detection Limit; MDL); (2) the lowest concentration at which the analyte can be accuractely quantitated (e.g., Minimum Level; ML); the lowest level of an analyte that can be determined by an instrument ignoring the possibility of analyte loss/contamination through sample pretreatment procedures (e.g., Instrument Detection Limit; IDL), (3) the lowest level in the calibration range.
False Negative
The percent of samples analyzed that are reported not to contain an analyte, when all of the samples in the set actually contain the analyte. Often, the percent of false negatives is determined using samples in which the analyte is above its specified regulatory contaminant level.
False Positive
The percent of samples analyzed that are reported to contain an analyte, when none of the samples in the set actually contain the analyte. Often, the percent of false positives is determined using blank samples, or samples in which the analyte is below the lowest limit of quantitation, or below the detection limit.
Instrumentation
Key or major instrumentation needed to perform an analysis with the specified method. This is a reference to the determinative technique used by the method (e.g., colorimetry, GC-MS).
Interferences
Interferences are any items which can lead to erroneously high or low results in the analysis of a sample.
Matrix
Toxicity assays are designed to work in freshwater, saltwater, or both.
Maximum Holding Time
The maximum amount of time a sample may be held after it was collected and before it is analyzed.
Media
The categories of media are Water, Air, Soil/Sediment, Animal Tissue, and Other. The last category (Other) includes methods that are applicable to a unique medium (e.g., Steam), or to a variety of media (e.g., Water and Soil). Method summaries will specify applicable media and matrices (if available).
Method ID
The identification number assigned by the method publisher (e.g., EPA Method 1631 is known as "1631" in the NEMI database; ASTM Method D2036-98 is known as "D-2036-98", etc.).
Method Name
A brief, descriptive name given to quickly convey fundamentals of a method. This is not the same as the method's "official" name. This name is useful when a method's “official” name is long or not very descriptive. The name typically includes the analyte (e.g., "nitrate") or a class of analytes (eg "nutrients"), the media (e.g., "in water"), and the instrument used in the analysis (e.g., "using colorimetry").
Method Source
The name, address, and Internet web site of the organization that published the method.
Method Subcategory
A secondary group division that a NEMI method is assigned to under a method category. This typically refers to the class of analytes that are measured by the method. Subcategories include, but are not limited to, Microbiological, Acute Toxicity, Sampling/Preparation, Statistical Data Analysis, Radiochemical, and Organic. E.g., "organics" is a subcategory of the "chemical" category.”
Method Type
This field of information is designed to convey the application of the method. The following options are available:
Sample analysis
Sample collection
Statistical technique
Sample processing/preparation
Toxicity test procedure
Non-detect (ND)
The contaminant was not detected above the method detection limit (MDL).
Official Method Name
The title of a method given by the organization or author that published or provides it.
Precision
An expression of the reproducibility of measurements. Analytical precision is the measurement of the variability associated with two or more replicate analyses.
"N/A" indicates precision data are not available or could not be found for the method.
Quality Control Requirements
A general description or listing of key quality control elements that are in the method (e.g., matrix spikes, reagent blanks).
Relative Cost
Relative cost per procedure of a typical analytical measurement using the specified methods (i.e., the cost of analyzing a single sample). Additional considerations affect total project costs (e.g., labor and equipment/supplies for a typical sample preparation, QA/QC requirements to validate results reported, number of samples being analyzed, etc.). |
Delayed rectifier potassium channels are involved in SO2 derivative-induced hippocampal neuronal injury.
Recent studies implicate the possible neurotoxicity of SO(2), however, its mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated SO(2) derivative-induced effect on delayed rectifier potassium channels (I(K)) and cellular death/apoptosis in primary cultured hippocampal neurons. The results demonstrate that SO(2) derivatives (NaHSO(3) and Na(2)SO(3), 3:1M/M) effectively augmented I(K) and promoted the activation of delayed rectifier potassium channels. Also, SO(2) derivatives increased neuronal death percentage and contributed to the formation of DNA ladder in concentration-dependent manners. Interestingly, the neuronal death and DNA ladder formation, caused by SO(2) derivatives, could be attenuated by the delayed rectifier potassium channel blocker (tetraethylammonium, TEA), but not by the transient outward potassium channel blocker (4-aminopyridine, 4-AP). It implies that stimulating delayed rectifier potassium channels were involved in SO(2) derivative-caused hippocampal neuronal insults, and blocking these channels might be one of the possibly clinical treatment for SO(2)-caused neuronal dysfunction. |
Q:
Group Policy Management of Environment Variables - Update vs. Replace
I'm using the Group Policy Management Editor to add an environment variable to our Group Policy. In general, this environment variable shouldn't already exist on the host machines, but if it does, I'd like the Group Policy setting to completely replace whatever was set on the host machine.
The Environment Variable editor gives me two similar options -- Update and Replace. The help text for both is nearly identical, both saying that it will replace the variable in the specified environment.
What is the difference between these two options? Which one should I choose to accomplish what I want?
A:
Update; Will create the variable if it doesn't exist, or update it if it is already there, however it will only update properties you have specified in the Group Policy Preference (GPP).
Replace; Will also create the variable if it doesn't exist, but will always delete it first and recreate it if it does already exist.
The advantage of Update therefore is more applicable to 'user visible' settings/preferences such as Printer Mappings or Mapped Drives, whereby a user could specify additional settings (Such as their Default Printer for example) that they may want to retain - Using Update would allow the user to hold on to these additional settings if they're not otherwise defined in the GPP.
(For more context, see the following Techent article about mapped drives; https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askds/2009/01/07/using-group-policy-preferences-to-map-drives-based-on-group-membership/)
|
// Scilab ( http://www.scilab.org/ ) - This file is part of Scilab
// Copyright (C) 2008 - INRIA - Laurent VAYLET
//
// Copyright (C) 2012 - 2016 - Scilab Enterprises
//
// This file is hereby licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL v2.0,
// pursuant to article 5.3.4 of the CeCILL v.2.1.
// This file was originally licensed under the terms of the CeCILL v2.1,
// and continues to be available under such terms.
// For more information, see the COPYING file which you should have received
// along with this program.
function scs_m = renameIO(scs_m, idxBlock, newName)
// Description:
//
// Modify input or output filename of a block whose index in scs_m is known
//
// Input argument(s):
//
// scs_m - MANDATORY - structure
// Diagram structure, such as obtained after a 'load' instruction
//
// idxBlock - MANDATORY - single integer
// Index of the block, such as obtained after a 'findIOblocks' instruction
//
// newName - MANDATORY - string
// New output filename
//
// Output argument(s):
//
// scs_m - MANDATORY - structure
// Updated diagram structure
//
// Usage:
//
// [idxWrite, idxRead] = findIOblocks(scs_m)
// scs_m = renameIO(scs_m, idxWrite, newName)
//
// Algorithm: (grep "^\s*//--" renameIO.sci | awk -F "//-- " '{print "// " $1 $2}')
//
// Set new filename ...
// ... and new filename length
// VERY IMPORTANT: Do not forget to modify dialog box settings !!
//
// Notes:
//
// It is assumed that the diagram contains only one "Write to File" block
//
// According to modules/scicos_blocks/src/fortran/writef.f and
// modules/scicos_blocks/src/fortran/readf.f :
// ipar(1) = lfil ............. filename length
// ipar(4) = N ................ buffer length
// ipar(5:4+lfil) ............. character codes for filename
//
// 2008/03/31 Laurent Vaylet Creation
// YYYY/MM/DD ??? Modification: ???
//
iparIO = scs_m.objs(idxBlock).model.ipar;
lfil = iparIO(1);
lfmt = iparIO(2);
//-- Set new filename ...
iparIO = [iparIO(1:4) ; _str2code(newName) ; iparIO(5+lfil:$)];
//-- ... and new filename length
iparIO(1) = length(newName);
scs_m.objs(idxBlock).model.ipar = iparIO;
//-- VERY IMPORTANT: Do not forget to modify dialog box settings !!
// Otherwise, these saved strings are considered defaults values when calling
// scicos_simulate->do_eval->set->setvalue (a temporary alias for "getvalue")
// Item to be modified here is graphics.exprs(2) for "Write to File" blocks or
// graphics.exprs(3) for "Read from File" blocks
if scs_m.objs(idxBlock).model.sim == "writef"
scs_m.objs(idxBlock).graphics.exprs(2) = newName
else
scs_m.objs(idxBlock).graphics.exprs(3) = newName
end
endfunction
|
Company Matches
Brexit's broken promises: Health care, immigration and the economy
So much for all those promises. Leading politicians in the campaign to pull the U.K. out of the European Union are back-pedaling fast on a number of pledges, particularly over extra money for health care.
The retreat has prompted howls of outrage, from politicians who wanted Britain to stay in the EU as well as some Leave voters who say they feel "cheated."
Cornwall, in southwest England, voted in favor of leaving the EU. Local officials are already seeking confirmation from the government that the county won't be worse off as a result.
Campaign promise #2: We'll take control of the UK's borders
During the campaign, Brexiteers attacked the U.K. government for missing its target to cut net migration to tens of thousands (it was 333,000 last year), saying that only by leaving the EU could Britain control immigration.
Many voters say they backed Brexit because they expected immigration to fall.
Leave campaigner and lawmaker Nigel Evans told BBC radio that there had been "some misunderstanding" over the Leave campaign's position on reducing immigration.
When asked if the number of people coming into the country would fall significantly, Evans said that a new Australian-style points system for EU migrants meant the U.K. would be able to control immigration-- but he didn't say it would fall.
Brexit voters have another problem: Negotiations on the terms of Britain's exit haven't even begun. The U.K. may have to keep its borders open to EU workers if it wants to trade freely with the rest of Europe-- a view articulated on Fridayby Daniel Hannan, another leading voice in the Leave campaign.
"Don't care what you said Mr Hannan. We just voted to stop mass immigration. Now deliver for us," tweeted Vote Leave Derbyshire.
Boris Johnson, a leading Leave campaigner and frontrunner to be next prime minister, wrote on Sunday that British citizens will still have access to the EU single market.
"British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study; to buy homes; and to settle down," he wrote for the Telegraph.
The problem, of course, is that such continued freedom of movement for Brits will require freedom of movement for Europeans.
Campaign promise #3: The economy will be fine
The U.K. government and just about every independent forecaster, including the International Monetary Fund, said that a vote for Brexit would trigger financial and economic turmoil.
Those warnings were dubbed "Project Fear" by Brexiteers, who said the U.K. would thrive outside the EU.
Consider this: Since the results of the vote became known early Friday, the pound has crashed 12% against the U.S. dollar to its lowest level in decades, U.K. bank stocks have collapsed, and growth forecasts for the British economy have been slashed.
Companies are putting investments on hold, and warning of lower profits. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Monday the economy and government finances will suffer, but an emergency budget won't happen until a new prime minister is chosen in October.
Business says it can't wait that long. Banks are already thinking about moving staff out of London.
"What we need is a plan," said CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn. "The government must act with urgency to minimize the uncertainties that affect investment decisions and slow job creation."
Analysts say the contrast between promises and results will cause huge headaches for the new prime minister.
"He (or she) won't be able to deliver the Brexiteers' promises of saving £350 million by leaving the EU, enjoying favorable trade agreements, 'taking control' of immigration while avoiding any significant economic setback at the same time," wrote Holger Schmieding at Berenberg bank. |
IHS Pharmacists
IHS Locations
All IHS pharmacists practice in a variety of settings throughout the United States, many surrounded by spectacular natural beauty. Each of our 12 Areas offers its own unique career experiences and provides you with the opportunity to live and work in diverse Native American or Alaska Native communities that are rich with their own traditions.
Aberdeen Area
The Aberdeen Area is a rolling prairie divided in the western portion of the Dakotas by awe-inspiring mountains including the Badlands, the Black Hills, and Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Residents of this unspoiled region enjoy numerous opportunities to hunt, fish, ice skate, ski, and hike. Agriculture provides a steady economic base, and hydroelectric developments on the Missouri River have spurred growth. Through its Service Units, the Aberdeen Area provides health care to American Indians on reservations located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. The two largest reservations, Pine Ridge and Rosebud, are in southwestern South Dakota. Aberdeen Area facilities include hospitals, health centers, health stations and satellite clinics. The area features a comprehensive health care delivery system, including inpatient and outpatient care, preventive clinics, research, and community-based projects.
Alaska Area
Alaska's practice locations provide easy access to the natural wonders of this vast, unspoiled state, from tiny Annette Island at the southern tip of the panhandle to urban Fairbanks to rural Kotzebue, 260 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The Alaska Area Native Health Service provides comprehensive health services to Alaska Native people, Eskimos, Aleuts, Indians, and non-natives in remote locales through fee-for-service care. Health professionals working in Alaska experience first-hand the various cultures and traditions of Native Alaskans. Members of several tribes have historically lived in well-defined regions with little mixing of ethnic groups. As a result, each group retains many of its original customs and beliefs. The Alaska Area Service Units include hospitals, ambulatory health care centers, and community health aide clinics.
Albuquerque Area
The terrain of the Albuquerque area ranges from high altitude mountain ranges to sprawling deserts to spectacular canyons. The opportunities for outdoor sports and recreation are as varied as they are abundant. The Albuquerque Area provides health services to American Indians in numerous tribal groups on reservations in New Mexico and Colorado. Each tribe has its own history, language and culture. In addition, IHS facilities serve numerous Indians who live, work, or attend school in the urban centers of the Albuquerque Area. The Albuquerque Area is divided into service units that provide an array of in-patient and out-patient services through hospitals, health care centers, field clinics and health stations. These health care facilities offer a broad range of curative, preventive, environmental and educational services to the tribes in the area.
Bemidji Area
This northern IHS lake area covers the lush, fertile states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, all named and celebrated for their predominant life giving resource: water. The abundance of lakes and unspoiled acres of land provide many opportunities for recreation. The Bemidji Area administers several Service Units which provide care through IHS practitioners. It also administers federally recognized tribal and urban programs which deliver services through health care providers hired directly by the tribes. Many tribal members are geographically isolated from the urban facilities and community health centers and must rely on a team approach of IHS, tribal, and contract providers for their health care needs. Facilities range from community health stations and walk-in first-aid centers to fully staffed hospitals and clinics. Preventive education and health screening are stressed in an effort to control some of the Area's chronic health problems.
Billings Area
The Billings Area embodies the scenic open space and big sky country of Montana and Wyoming. It serves members of Plains tribes on reservations and in surrounding communities. Many of the tribes' traditional activities and language remain intact. This area is famous for their fresh air and outdoor activities. Montana and Wyoming contain more than 17 million acres of national forest, over 3 million acres of wilderness, and many national and state parks. The Billings Area provides comprehensive health care services to Indian people through service units which include hospitals and clinics, preventive health and outreach services, alcohol treatment centers, dental and eye care facilities, and air and ground emergency transportation. Outdoor activities and fresh air complement the health promotion and disease prevention activities which have been initiated through reservation-based Community Fitness Centers.
California Area
While Indian tribes in most parts of the country are still gradually acquiring authority from the IHS to operate health facilities, California tribes already exercise responsibility for the development and operation of health care facilities. Many of the facilities are operated by tribal consortiums which provide comprehensive health care services to members and are supported by State and Federal funding, as well as private and public grants. All California Indian health facilities are managed by the Indian people themselves. Thus, IHS provides no staffing to support the California clinics, even though they serve the largest population of Native Americans of all the reservation states. Employment is arranged directly through each facility and requires that the health care provider hold a California license. The area has both rural tribal health programs and urban Indian health programs serving American Indian patients.
Nashville Area
Although the Nashville Area is the largest of the twelve IHS regions geographically, it does not service the largest populate of Indian people. Many of the beneficiaries utilize the services of tribally run clinics. The Nashville Area serves members of tribes scattered across states mostly east of the Mississippi River. The Area covers the greatest number of square miles in the IHS in the "Lower-48", extending from Maine to Texas. The Area is richly endowed with the traditional cultures of many tribes. The beautiful crafts made by the tribes are highly prized by collectors. Participants at celebrations and pow-wows enjoy the chance to sample delightful traditional foods. Health care facilities are located near beautiful settings such as the Atlantic Ocean, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Great Lakes. Most professionals in the area's facilities are employed by the tribes, but may also belong to one of the government's personnel systems, the civil service or the Commissioned Corps.
Navajo Area
The Navajo Area serves the largest Indian tribe in the United States, the Navajo Nation. Comprehensive health care is provided to Navajo people throughout this vast reservation. Inpatient, outpatient, contract and community health programs are centered around the Navajo Area's hospitals, health centers, health stations, school clinics and Navajo tribal health programs. The vast range of facilities offers health care professionals a choice in the scale and style of health care they wish to practice. Health care professionals are also drawn to this area by the special connections made with the Navajo people and their traditions, by the appreciation of the natural beauty, and by the opportunity to see the results of the essential health care they provide to American Indians in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Oklahoma Area
A clean environment, lakes, small mountain ranges, and prairies characterize this area. Health professionals live and work in rural areas, small college towns, or large cities in Oklahoma and Kansas. For them, the lifestyle is quiet, unhurried, sociable, inexpensive, and focused upon the basics: good school systems, outdoor recreation, and cultural events. Service Units of the Oklahoma City Area provide care to the largest IHS service population in the U.S. with the majority of patients residing in urban settings. Hospitals and outpatient health centers and clinics provide inpatient and outpatient care. Many of the facilities are quite large with a diverse staff. State-of-the-art equipment is used in modern facilities staffed by IHS and tribally hired professionals and paraprofessionals.
Phoenix Area
Spilling across the state lines of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, the Phoenix Area serves American Indians from many culturally diverse tribes. The Area's terrain and climate vary from desert to mesa country to alpine meadows to rugged national parks. Recreational opportunities include hiking, camping, backpacking, skiing, and water sports. Outdoor activities are popular among the Phoenix Area staff, whether stationed in desert areas, mountainous terrain, or along the Colorado River. The area's Service Units include IHS hospitals, clinics, health centers and health stations. The IHS facilities combine modern technology, western medicine, and traditional healing. Medical Center facilities provide multi-service and specialty care to patients and conduct research under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health.
Portland Area
The terrain of the Pacific Northwest is as varied as it is beautiful. The Northwest is famous for its varied recreational opportunities, and most Indian reservations are located among its prime recreational areas. The Portland Area oversees the delivery of health care to Indian people who reside on reservations in the States of Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The IHS operates both health centers and health stations in this area. An increasing number of health care facilities throughout the Portland Area are being operated by tribes. Facility locations vary from remote rural and coastal reservations to large metropolitan areas. Local practitioners enjoy a great deal of autonomy in their practices, whether in the clinic, lab, or pharmacy.
Tucson Area
Dramatic scenery characterizes the Tucson Area, where elevations range from 1,400 feet in the Santa Rosa Valley to nearly 8,000 feet on Baboquivari Mountain. Popular recreational activities include camping and backpacking in nearby desert and national forests and wintertime skiing in the White Mountains or on Mount Lemmon. The Tucson Area is the smallest in the IHS, serving the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Health service for the Tohono O'odham is centered in Sells, Arizona, capital of the Tohono O'odham Reservation and hub of reservation life. Health care in the Sells Service Unit is a joint effort between IHS and the Tohono O'odham Health Department. The Yaqui Service Unit is jointly managed by IHS and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Services are rendered directly and indirectly through a non-traditional, innovative system of subcontracts.
The Aberdeen Area is a rolling prairie divided in the western portion of the Dakotas by awe-inspiring natural attractions and landmarks such as Badlands National Park, the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Residents of this unspoiled region enjoy numerous opportunities to hunt, fish, ice skate, ski and hike. Agriculture provides a steady economic base and hydroelectric developments on the Missouri River have spurred growth.
Through its service units, the Aberdeen Area provides health care to American Indians on reservations located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. The two largest reservations, Pine Ridge and Rosebud, are in southwestern South Dakota. The Aberdeen Area features a comprehensive health care delivery system. Facilities include hospitals, health centers, health stations and satellite clinics.
The Alaska Area's service units are situated among the natural wonders of this vast, unspoiled state, from tiny Annette Island at the southern tip of the panhandle to urban Fairbanks to rural Kotzebue, 260 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Nature lovers and outdoor types will find myriad opportunities to explore these landscapes and enjoy their majestic beauty.
The Alaska Area Native Health Service facilities provide comprehensive health services to Alaska Native people, Eskimos, Aleuts, Indians and non-Natives in remote locales through fee- for-service care. Health professionals working in Alaska experience firsthand the various cultures and traditions of Native Alaskans. Members of several Tribes have historically lived in well-defined regions with little mixing of ethnic groups. As a result, each group retains many of its original customs and beliefs. The Alaska Area's service units include hospitals, ambulatory health care centers and community health aide clinics.
From high-altitude mountain ranges to sprawling deserts to spectacular canyons, the Albuquerque Area facility sites offer adventuresome individuals opportunities for outdoor sports and recreation that are as varied as they are abundant.
The Albuquerque Area provides health services to American Indians in numerous Tribal groups - each with their own history, language and culture - on reservations in New Mexico and Colorado. The IHS facilities also serve numerous American Indians who live, work or attend school in the urban centers of the Albuquerque Area. Divided into service units that provide inpatient and outpatient services through hospitals, health care centers, field clinics and health stations, the Albuquerque Area offers a broad range of curative, preventive, environmental and educational services to the local Tribes.
This northern IHS lake area covers the lush, fertile states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, all named and celebrated for their predominant life-giving resource: water. The abundance of lakes and unspoiled acres of land provide many opportunities for recreation.
The Bemidji Area administers several service units which provide care through IHS practitioners. It also administers federally recognized Tribal and Urban programs which deliver services through health care providers hired directly by the Tribes. Many Tribal members are geographically isolated from the urban facilities and community health centers and must rely on a team approach of IHS, Tribal and contract providers for their health care needs. Facilities range from community health stations and walk-in first-aid centers to fully staffed hospitals and clinics. Preventive education and health screening are stressed in an effort to control some of the Area's chronic health problems.
The Billings Area embodies the scenic open space and "Big Sky" country of Montana and Wyoming. It serves members of the Plains Tribes on reservations and in surrounding communities. Many of the Tribes' traditional activities and language remain intact. This area is famous for its fresh air and outdoor activities. Montana and Wyoming contain more than 17 million acres of national forest, over three million acres of wilderness and many national and state parks.
The Billings Area provides comprehensive health care services to American Indian people through service units which include hospitals and clinics, preventive health and outreach services, alcohol treatment centers, dental and eye care facilities and air and ground emergency transportation. Reservation-based community fitness centers help promote and enable healthy lifestyles and encourage disease prevention activities.
Tribes in the California Area are responsible for the development and operation of their own health care facilities. Many of the facilities are operated by Tribal consortiums, which provide comprehensive health care services to members and are supported by state and federal funding as well as private and public grants. All California Indian health facilities are managed by the Indian people themselves. Thus, IHS provides no staffing to support the California clinics, even though they serve the largest population of Native Americans of all the reservation states. Employment is arranged directly through each facility and requires that the health care provider hold a California license. The Area has both rural Tribal health programs and Urban Indian health programs serving American Indian patients.
Geographically, the Nashville Area is the largest of the 12 IHS Areas, covering the greatest number of square miles in the "lower 48" and extending from Maine to Texas. The Area is richly endowed with the traditional cultures and artifacts of many Tribes, from beautiful crafts prized by collectors to traditional foods served at celebrations and pow-wows.
The Nashville Area serves members of Tribes scattered across states mostly east of the Mississippi River. Many of the beneficiaries use Tribal operated clinics, located near the Atlantic Ocean, the Great Smoky Mountains and the Great Lakes. Most professionals in the Area's facilities are employed by the Tribes, but they may also belong to one of the government's personnel systems, the civil service or the USPHS Commissioned Corps.
The Navajo Area serves the Navajo Nation - the largest Indian Tribe in the United States, spread throughout Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Health care professionals are drawn to this Area by the special connections made with the Navajo people and their traditions and the opportunity to appreciate awe-inspiring natural beauty.
The Navajo Area provides comprehensive health care to the Navajo people throughout this vast reservation. Inpatient, outpatient, contract and community health programs are centered around the Navajo Area's hospitals, health centers, health stations, school clinics and Navajo Tribal health programs. The vast range of facilities offers health care professionals a choice in the scale and style of health care they wish to practice.
A clean environment, lakes, small mountain ranges and prairies characterize the Oklahoma City Area. Health professionals live and work in rural areas, small college towns or large cities in Kansas and Oklahoma. For them, the lifestyle is quiet, unhurried, sociable, inexpensive focus on the basics: good school systems, outdoor recreation and cultural events.
The Oklahoma City Area's service units provide care to the largest IHS service population in the United States with the majority of patients residing in urban settings. Hospitals and outpatient health centers and clinics provide inpatient and outpatient care. Many of the facilities are quite large and hire a diverse staff. The IHS staff and Tribal hired professionals and paraprofessionals work using state-of-the-art equipment in modern facilities.
The Phoenix Area serves American Indians from many culturally diverse Tribes throughout Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The Area's terrain and climate vary from desert and mesa country to alpine meadows and rugged national parks. Recreational opportunities include hiking, camping, backpacking, skiing and water sports. Outdoor activities are popular among the Phoenix Area staff, whether they are stationed in desert areas, mountainous terrain or along the Colorado River.
The Area's service units include IHS hospitals, clinics, health centers and health stations. The IHS facilities combine modern technology, western medicine and traditional healing. Medical Center facilities provide multi-service and specialty care to patients and conduct research under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health.
The terrain of the Pacific Northwest is as varied as it is beautiful. The Northwest is famous for its abundant recreational opportunities and most Indian reservations are located among these prime spots.
The Portland Area oversees the delivery of health care to Indian people who reside on reservations in the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The IHS operates both health centers and health stations in this Area. The Tribes operate an increasing number of health care facilities throughout the Portland Area. Facility locations vary from remote, rural and coastal reservations to large metropolitan areas. Local practitioners enjoy a great deal of autonomy in their practices, whether in the clinic, lab or pharmacy.
Dramatic scenery characterizes the Tucson Area, where elevations range from 1,400 feet in the Santa Rosa Valley to nearly 8,000 feet on Baboquivari Mountain. Popular recreational activities include camping and backpacking in the nearby desert and national forests and skiing on the White Mountains or Mount Lemmon.
The Tucson Area is the smallest of all IHS Areas, serving the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Health service for the Tohono O'odham is centered in Sells, AZ, which is the capital of the Tohono O'odham Reservation and hub of reservation life. Health care in the Sells Service Unit is a joint effort between IHS and the Tohono O'odham Health Department. The Yaqui Service Unit is jointly managed by IHS and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Services are rendered directly and indirectly through a non-traditional, innovative system of subcontracts. |
This invention relates to a method for driving an image display device including scan electrodes arranged in a matrix-like manner and a unit therefor, and more particularly to such a method and a unit which are suitably applied to an image display device having field-emission cathodes incorporated therein.
When an electric field which is set to be about 10.sup.9 (V/m) is applied to a surface of a metal material or that of a semiconductor material, a tunnel effect permits electrons to pass through a barrier, resulting in the electrons being discharged to a vacuum even at a normal temperature. Such a phenomenon is referred to as "field emission" and a cathode constructed so as to emit electrons based on such a principle is referred to as "field emission cathode".
Recent development of semiconductor processing techniques permits a field emission cathode elements of a size as small as microns to be produced. This results in a field emission cathode of the surface emission type being made of an array of the field emission cathode elements thus produced, so that research and development of an image display device using the field emission cathode have been made.
Now, a field emission cathode (hereinafter also referred to as "FEC") commonly called a Spindt-type prepared by semiconductor processing techniques will be described hereinafter as an example of a conventional field emission cathode with reference to FIG. 4. The conventional field emission cathode includes a substrate 100 made of glass or the like, on which cathode electrodes 102 are formed of metal such as aluminum or the like by deposition. The cathode electrodes 102 each are formed thereon with emitters 104 of a conical shape, each of which may be made of metal such as molybdenum or the like.
The cathode electrodes 102 each are formed on a portion thereof which is not provided with the emitters 104 with a film 106 of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), which is then formed thereon with a gate 108. The gate 108 and SiO.sub.2 film 106 are formed with a plurality of through-holes 110 of a circular shape in cross section in a manner to be common to both.
Such construction results in the emitters 104 being arranged so as to be exposed via the through-holes 110 while being supported on the cathode electrode 102, respectively.
The emitters 104 of a conical shape are arranged so as to be spaced from each other at pitches as small as 10 microns or less, so that a large number of emitters or tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of emitters may be mounted on one substrate. Also, the conventional field emission cathode permits a distance between the gate and a distal end of each of the emitters to be as small as less than 1 micron, so that application of a voltage V.sub.GC as low as only tens of volts between the gate 108 and the emitters 104 may permit the emitters to field-emit electrons therefrom. The electrons thus field-emitted from the emitters 104 are captured by an anode 112 arranged at a predetermined interval above the gate 108 and having a positive voltage V.sub.A applied thereto.
Characteristics between an anode current Ia of the conventional FEC thus constructed and a gate-cathode voltage V.sub.GC thereof are shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, as the gate-cathode voltage V.sub.GC is gradually increased, the anode current I.sub.a starts to flow to the anode 112. The voltage V.sub.GC at which the anode current Ia starts to flow thereto is referred to as a threshold voltage V.sub.TH, which causes an electric field between the gate 108 and the cathode 102 to be about 10.sup.9 V/m, resulting in electrons starting to be emitted from the emitters 104, so that the anode current Ia starts to flow to the anode 112. In general, a voltage of about V.sub.OP shown in FIG. 5 which is considerably higher than the threshold voltage V.sub.TH is applied between the gate 108 and the cathode 102, during which the anode current I.sub.OP is permitted to flow to the anode 112.
The anode current derived from each one of the emitters 104 of a conical shape is at a micro-level. In view of the fact, the conventional FEC arranges a plurality of emitters in a manner like an array, to thereby increase the anode current to a desired level.
In this instance, formation of phosphors on the anode 112 results in electrons field-emitted from the emitters 104 impinging on the phosphors during capture of the electrons by the anode, leading to luminescence of the phosphors. Application of such a principle to a display device leads to realization of an image display device having an FEC incorporated therein (hereinafter also referred to as "FED").
Such an FED may be driven by such a drive unit constructed as shown in FIG. 6 by way of example and adapted to carry out operation as shown in FIG. 2.
More particularly, the drive unit, as shown in FIG. 6, includes a shift register 20 which has gate data and clocks (CLK) for shift inputted thereto. The shift register 20 then feeds the gate data to gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n in order. The gate data applied to the gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n have such sequence pulses as indicated at GT1 to GTn in FIG. 2, which are generated at a cycle nT, wherein T indicates a pulse width of each of the pulses.
Each of the gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n may be constructed of a driver IC or the like and has transistors Tr1 and Tr2 connected thereto to provide a push-pull circuit, so that gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n each may be driven at an increased speed. The transistor Tr1 has a drive power supply V.sub.G connected to a terminal of a source thereof, and the transistor Tr2 has a bias power supply V.sub.S connected to a terminal of a source thereof so that each of the gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n may be driven at a reduced swing voltage.
The gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n each are formed into a stripe-like manner, wherein the gate driver 21-1 is adapted to drive the gate electrode 22-1, the gate driver 21-2 drives the gate electrode 22-2,--and subsequently the last gate driver 21-n drives the last gate electrode 22-n. Thus, supposing that gate data are applied to the gate driver 21-1, resulting in the gate driver 21-1 being selected, the transistor Tr1 of the gate driver 21-1 is caused to be turned on to apply the voltages V.sub.G +V.sub.S to the gate electrode 22-1, leading to the driving of the gate electrode 22-1.
Then, when the gate data are transferred from the gate driver 21-1 to the next gate driver 21-2 to render the gate driver 21-1 nonselected, the transistors Tr1 and Tr2 of the gate driver 21-1 are turned off and turned on, respectively, so that the gate electrode 22-1 may be kept at a bias voltage V.sub.S.
The bias voltage V.sub.S is set at a level of the threshold voltage V.sub.TH between the gate and the cathode or below.
A shift register 23 has serial cathode data inputted thereto, which are converted into parallel cathode data in the register 23 and then latched in a latch circuit 24. For this purpose, the shift register 23 has clocks (CLK) for shift inputted thereto. The cathode data thus latched in the latch circuit 24 are fed to cathode drivers 25-1 to 25-m, respectively. The cathode data fed to the cathode drivers 25-1 to 25-m serve as such image data of a cycle T as indicated at C1 to Cm to FIG. 2.
Cathode electrodes 26-1 to 26-m each are formed into a stripe-like shape and driven by the cathode drivers 25-1 to 25-m in order, respectively.
The gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n and cathode electrodes 26-1 to 26-m are arranged so as to define a matrix by cooperation with each other. The cathode electrodes 26-1 to 26-m are provided on portions thereof positionally corresponding to intersections between the gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n and the cathode electrodes 26-1 to 26-m with emitter arrays E.sub.11, E.sub.12, - - - , E.sub.21, E.sub.22, - - - , E.sub.nm, which constitute picture cells for the image display device.
Thus, when the gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n are selected in order and the gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n are driven in order, a voltage of a predetermined level is applied between the gate electrodes and the cathode electrodes to permit electrons to be emitted from the emitter arrays, which electrons are then captured by the anode arranged apart upwardly from the the gate electrodes 22-1 to 22-n.
Then, the electrons thus emitted from the emitter arrays are caused to impinge on the phosphors deposited on the anode, leading to luminescence of the phosphors. At this time, the image data are kept applied to the cathode electrodes 26-1 to 26-m as described above, so that luminescence of the phosphors is carried out depending on the image data, to thereby provide a desired image display.
As described above, the gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n of the drive unit for the image display device have a bias voltage V.sub.S applied thereto in order to minimize the swing voltage. For example, when the gate data are transferred from the gate electrode 22-1 to the gate electrode 22-2 to render the gate driver 21-1 nonselected, the bias voltage V.sub.S is applied to the gate electrode 22-1.
However, application of the bias voltage V.sub.S to the gate electrode when the gate driver is kept nonselected causes a gate voltage charged in the gate electrode to be discharged from the gate drive power supply V.sub.G and cathode drive power supply V.sub.C, leading to occurrence of a reactive power.
In view of the problem, it is proposed to ground each of the gate electrodes once during non-selection of each of the gate drivers and then keep the gate electrode at an increased impedance, leading to electrical isolation of the gate electrode.
In this instance, the transistors Tr1 and Tr2 of each of the gate drivers 21-1 to 21-n shown in FIG. 6 are driven independently from each other and, for example, the terminal of the source of the transistor Tr2 is grounded.
Thus, when a scan pulse is applied to, for example, the gate driver 21-1 as shown in (a) of FIG. 7, the transistors Tr1 and Tr2 of the gate driver 21-1 are turned on and turned off, respectively, so that the gate electrode 22-1 is applied thereto a voltage Vg, resulting in being driven.
Then, when the scan pulse is transferred from the gate driver 21-1 to the gate driver 21-2 to render the gate driver 21-2 nonselected, the transistor Tr1 of the gate driver 21-1 is turned off and the transistor Tr2 of the gate driver 21-1 is applied thereto a reset pulse for a predetermined period of time T as shown in (b) of FIG. 7, resulting in the gate electrode 22-1 being grounded as indicated at GND in FIG. 7. Then, the transistor Tr2 is turned off to keep the gate electrode 22-1 at a high impedance as indicated at Z in FIG. 7.
In this instance, the gate electrode is grounded once during a period of time (one-frame period) before it is selected again and kept at the high impedance Z during the remaining period of time, so that a current path is formed during only the period R for which the resent pulse is applied, to thereby reduce a reactive current. However, this, as shown in (c) of FIG. 7, causes an off-state voltage (.DELTA.V) of the gate electrode to be gradually increased due to leakage of a voltage from the cathode electrode during the high impedance period. An increase in off-state voltage above the threshold voltage V.sub.TH causes luminescent spots to occur on an image plane, to thereby deteriorate quality of display of the image display device.
Further, the conventional image display device is constructed so as not to apply the bias voltage V.sub.S to each of the gate drivers, to thereby provide a margin for the leakage voltage. Unfortunately, this causes the gate voltage to be equal to the swing voltage, to thereby cause the swing voltage to be increased by about 20 to 30 volts as compared with application of bias voltage V.sub.S, leading to an increase in power consumption. |
Another Sentosa Cove unit atTurquoisecame in third, in a transaction that made a loss of more than $3.3 million in June.
Statistics from property portalSRXshow that sales of condo units with losses of more than $1 million each rose substantially this year, with 48 such transactions, compared with 31 in 2015.
Most of these luxury homes were bought during the property boom years of 2007, 2011 and 2013. Up to November this year, more than 800 transactions involving non-landed private properties wereloss-making, double the figure in 2015.
There were nearly 6,000 resale non-landed private property transactions in the first three-quarters of this year, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) statistics show.
Analysts told The New Paper that "unprofitable" deals are common in a cyclical downturn where market sentiment and employment prospects are poor.
Expectations of a US Fed rate hike by the end of the year, which would increase interest rates here, are also driving these loss-making sales.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said: "It is easy to advise people to avoid buying when there is a property bubble but in reality, people tend to avoid buying property only when there is a slump because they lack confidence."
The high-end property market, buoyed by luxury home collectors in the mid to late 2000s, is losing its appeal because of the sluggish market, he added.
Interested parties now are cash-rich buyers from developing Asian countries who would usually avoid splurging on the luxury market but are now looking for a good deal.
Mr Ong said: "In the past, these properties were a status symbol. The more expensive it was, the higher its value. (Their losses) can be justified by the enjoyment and prestige of occupying these properties for the past couple of years.
"Besides, they would have paid a certain price if they had rented them."
Mr Desmond Sim, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia, thinks some of these "bold" multi-million losses are paper losses, which are mitigated by foreign exchange in light of the strong Sing dollar.
"A $2-million loss could also be considered 'manageable' if it means they can unlock $10 million in a more profitable investment elsewhere," he added.
The top-10 loss-making properties are in two affluent neighbourhoods, Sentosa Cove and the Central area.
All of them were bought during the property boom years in 2007, 2011 and 2013. Seven were bought in 2007.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said: "Interest in the high-end segment was at the peak then because of the exciting plans that were announced at that time - such as the integrated resorts, plans to transform the Central Business District - which attracted many foreigners to have a stake in the hype."
Massive loss-making property deals have made the headlines in recent years.
Last year, a Japanese tycoon made an eye-popping S$15.8 million loss on a penthouse unit atSt Regis Residences.The Monetary Authority of Singapore, in its Financial Stability Review released last month, warned property investors to be aware of rising vacancy rates, declining rentals and impending interest rate increases.
These factors mean they may not always be able to rely on rental income to service their investment property loans.
CBRE's head of research Desmond Sim said: "The slew of government policies (such as the Total Debt Servicing Ratio andAdditional Buyer's Stamp Duty)are put in place to ensure investors don't bite off more than they can chew, or they will choke.
"Those who made such huge losses are not in need of a Heimlich manoeuvre, but they are spitting it out now." |
1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to apparatus having independent wheeled sections that are connected to opposite ends of a load to permit shipment by what is known as a Schnabel-type vehicle. The apparatus includes a longitudinal carrier beam that facilitates shipment and storage together with a rocker assembly and lifting link whereby the load may be readily transported to its assembly site and then moved from a horizontal into a vertical position.
2. Description of Prior Art
In apparatus of the type herein defined, a load to be transported is connected at opposite ends thereof to each of the bottom sections of independent cars in the manner shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,061 and 3,744,434. In these patents a heavy load is carried between wheeled railway cars whereby the load itself becomes an integral part of the vehicle that is subjected to massive tensile and compressive forces. Furthermore, the load is entirely unsupported during handling procedures or during shipment on an oceangoing barge so that it is subjected to constant bending forces. Moreover, "upending" and installation procedures are slowed significantly and made more difficult in the usual type apparatus by the absence of auxiliary handling structure. |
Q:
Adding items to a list by checking if the index exists, and then updating
this is a question I have from one of my review packages and I'm pretty stumped. This is the description
"Return a list of m strings, where m is the length of a longest string
in strlist, if strlist is not empty, and the i-th string returned
consists of the i-th symbol from each string in strlist, but only from
strings that have an i-th symbol, in the order corresponding to the
order of the strings in strlist.
Return [] if strlist contains no nonempty strings."
This is the example
transpose(['transpose', '', 'list', 'of', 'strings'])
['tlos', 'rift', 'asr', 'nti', 'sn', 'pg', 'os', 's', 'e']
And this is the given format/style you gotta follow
# create an empty list to use as a result
# loop through every element in the input list
# loop through each character in the string
# 2 cases to deal with here:
# case 1: the result list has a string at the correct index,
# just add this character to the end of that string
# case 2: the result list doesn't have enough elements,
# need to create a new element to store this character
I got upto the "2 cases to deal with here:" part and then I got stuck, this is what I have so far
result = []
for index in strlist:
for char in range (len(index)):
A:
this should work:
def transpose(strlist):
# create an empty list to use as a result
result = []
# loop through every element in the input list
for i in range(len(strlist)):
# loop through each character in the string
for j in range(len(strlist[i])):
# 2 cases to deal with here:
if len(result) > j:
# case 1: the result list has a string at the correct index,
# just add this character to the end of that string
result[j] = result[j] + strlist[i][j]
else:
# case 2: the result list doesn't have enough elements,
# need to create a new element to store this character
result.append(strlist[i][j])
return result
print(transpose(['transpose', '', 'list', 'of', 'strings']))
it outputs: ['tlos', 'rift', 'asr', 'nti', 'sn', 'pg', 'os', 's', 'e']
there are more pythonic ways to achieve it, but the shown code matches your given format/style
|
Removal of stigmasterol from Kraft mill effluent by aerobic biological treatment with steroidal metabolite detection.
Stigmasterol is a phytosterol contained in Kraft mill effluent that is able to increase over 100% after aerobic biological treatment. This compound can act as an endocrine disrupter as its structure is similar to that of cholesterol. The aim of this study was to evaluate the removal of stigmasterol from Kraft mill effluents treated by a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with steroidal metabolite detection. The MBBR was operated for 145 days, with a hydraulic retention time of 2 days. Stigmasterol and steroidal metabolites were detected by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector during MBBR operation. The results show that the MBBR removed 87.4% of biological oxygen demand (BOD5), 61.5% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 24.5% of phenol and 31.5% of lignin, expressed in average values. The MBBR system successfully removed 100% of the stigmasterol contained in the influent (33 µg L(-1)) after 5 weeks of operation. In that case, the organic load rate was 0.343 kg COD m(-3) d(-1). Furthermore, different steroidal compounds (e.g., testosterone propionate, stigmast-4-en-3-one, 5α-pregnan-12-one-20α-hydroxy, 5α-pregnane-3,11,20-trione and 3α-hydroxy-5α-androstane-11,17-dione were detected in the Kraft mill effluent as potential products of phytosterol biotransformation. |
The PSA test is “not a perfect blood test, but it is the best method for finding men who might have prostate cancer.
2. What is the grade of my cancer?
Tumor grades come in low, medium and high, in order of aggressiveness. In prostate cancer, the Gleason score measures the grade on a scale of six to 10.
3. How much cancer do I have?
During a typical biopsy, the doctor takes 12 to 14 cell samples. How many of those samples showed prostate cancer, and how much is important. If the samples contain many cancer cells, you might get further tests – an MRI and bone scan – to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond the prostate.
4. Are cancer stage and grade related?
The two tend to correlate. More aggressive cancers usually are associated with higher-grade cancers. Conversely, the less aggressive the cancer, the lower the stage is likely to be.
5. Does my cancer need to be treated?
You can choose to follow an active surveillance of the cancer : If you have low-grade, low-stage cancer, you may elect to do nothing.
6. What are my treatment options?
There are a number of treatment options such as radiation or surgery. Surgery falls into two categories as well: open or minimally invasive, which includes laparoscopic and robotic. Check your options.
7. What are the side effects of my treatments?
There’s no treatment option that doesn’t have potential for side effects. |
Plant Focus
Starhill Forest Arboretum
By IOS Site Admini... | April 28, 2012
A private arboretum located on 48 acres in southern Menard County, Illinois, Starhill was founded by Guy Sternberg, past president and board member of the oak society. Starhill Forest is now the official Arboretum of Illinois College, the oldest college in Illinois. |
Thomas E. Ackerman
Thomas Edward Ackerman (born September 14, 1948) name="iec">Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers: Thomas Ackerman. URL last accessed 2012-10-29.</ref>) is an American cinematographer.
Filmography
Night of the Living Deb (2015)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)
Mardi Gras: Spring Break (2011)
Infestation (2009)
Fired Up! (2009)
Superhero Movie (2008)
Balls of Fury (2007)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
The Benchwarmers (2006)
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2006)
Are We There Yet? (2005)
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
CinéMagique (2002)
Snow Dogs (2002)
Rat Race (2001)
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)
Beautiful Joe (2000)
The Muse (1999)
My Favorite Martian (1999)
The Eighteenth Angel (1997)
George of the Jungle (1997)
Jumanji (1995)
Baby's Day Out (1994)
Dennis the Menace (1993)
True Identity (1991)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Moonwalker (1988)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Stevie Nicks: Live at Red Rocks (1987)
Back to School (1986)
Roadhouse 66 (1985)
Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
Frankenweenie (1984)
Foxfire Light (1982)
New Year's Evil (1980)
References
External links
International Cinematographer's Guild: Member Spotlight: Thomas Ackerman, ASC, with extensive interview with lots of biographical details.
Category:Living people
Category:American cinematographers
Category:Artists from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Category:1948 births
Category:American Society of Cinematographers members |
Q:
monthly payment and single payment in the same place
Good morning, I'm doing a payment area, where the user can buy a monthly product and a single purchase product, the project owner demands that the payment be the same for both forms, it can be on credit card or Bank slip. But it does not make sense to pay a product that is paid every month in installments with a single purchase. Would anyone have any suggestions?
A:
Good day, I think here should be a another process (with identical UI Design and logic, differing in a few variables getting from the api (in this case, the price and subscription period).
In step back you should ask the user (for example, radio button) which version of the subscription he wants to use.
Of course this UI wireframe is only example, when you spent time on this, i'm certain You find better & easier solution.
|
Q:
Rails 3: ActionMailer Default Layout with Inline Attachments
I have a number of mailers in my Rails 3.2 application, and I would like all of them to use the same email layout. That layout includes a header and footer, which includes images to be used inline. I'd like to follow the DRY principle of Rails, but I'm not entirely sure what the best practices are for this.
As this answer points out, I can use AbstractController::Callbacks to create a before_filter to add inline attachments. But how do I do this as well as set the layout in one module that I can then include in the mailers?
Ideas I have at the moment are to create a new mailer class called DefaultMailer, then have all mailers that I want to use the layout inherit from that class. Or to create a concern that would handle these tasks. Before attempting to hack something together using one of those techniques, I thought I would ask here to see if anyone had done this successfully before to help guide me.
A:
AFAIK there are some issues when inheriting from other mailers (ie. not inheriting the settings).
Common solution is to create a mailer base module. This is a snippet from existing project:
module MailerBase
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
included do
helper :application
layout 'mailer'
default from: "#{AppConfig.application_name} <#{AppConfig.mailer_sender}>"
end
end
You can combine this with your callbacks, although including remote images is more common and arguably better solution.
|
TORONTO, July 27, 2018 /CNW/ - Pure Global Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: PURE) (OTC: PRCNF) (the "Company" or "PURE") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PureSinse Inc. ("PureSinse") has signed definitive Supply Agreements with The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. ("Supreme") (TSXV: FIRE) and two other reputable Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR") Licensed Producers, from whom PureSinse has purchased various quantities of premium quality medical cannabis that meet the high-quality standard requirements of PURE.
These Agreements represent a significant milestone for PureSinse, as it has now received the necessary product required to obtain a Sales License under the ACMPR which is expected in Q3 2018.
Pure Global President & CEO Malay Panchal stated: "Procuring adequate supply of quality cannabis is an important milestone for PURE as we approach our full market launch for serving medical cannabis patients across Canada within the next several months." "We will continue to work with Supreme and several other premium quality ACMPR producers to execute Phase I of our business model to initiate revenue generation as soon as possible," Panchal added.
About Pure Global Cannabis
Pure Global Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: PURE) (OTC: PRCNF) is a vertically integrated growth-oriented life sciences cannabis company led by experienced pharma-industry, horticultural, and supply chain experts. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, PureSinse, is a licensed producer under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR") focused on producing premium-quality cannabis products for medical, wellness, and future legal adult recreational use. The Company is launching Canada's first multi-ponic cannabis farm – a patent-pending system that is expected to produce several fold greater yields over traditional methods while reducing cost and eliminating pesticide and herbicide use.
About Supreme Cannabis
The Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSXV: FIRE) is a Canadian publicly traded company committed to providing premium brands and products that proudly reflect its consumers, people and uniquely innovative culture. The Company's portfolio includes its wholly-owned subsidiary and flagship brand 7ACRES.
7ACRES is a federally licensed producer of medical cannabis operating inside a 342,000-square-foot facility in Kincardine, Ontario. 7ACRES is dedicated to providing consumers with a premium-quality product that recognizes its customers are informed, discerning and value a brand and culture that aligns with their principles. 7ACRES brand success has been reflected in provincial supply agreements, where 7ACRES' product is consistently listed in the highest brand category available to recreational consumers.
To register to Pure Global's mailing list, please visit www.pureglobal.com. Follow @pureglobalcanna on Twitter and Facebook and @pureglobalcannabis on Instagram.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about Pure Global's future plans and intentions. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Pure Global cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and Pure Global assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Pure Global Cannabis Inc.
For further information: regarding Pure Global, please contact: Stephen Pynn, VP Corporate Development, Telephone: 1-866-899-PURE (7873), E-mail: [email protected]; Malay (Mel) Panchal, President & CEO, Telephone: 1-866-899-PURE (7873), E-mail: [email protected] |
OPTIONS
All these options obviously only make sense if enforced by the server side.
They have been implemented to resemble the git-daemon(1) options as
closely as possible.
--base-path <path>
Prepend path to requested CVSROOT
--strict-paths
Don’t allow recursing into subdirectories
--export-all
Don’t check for gitcvs.enabled in config. You also have to specify a list
of allowed directories (see below) if you want to use this option.
-V
--version
Print version information and exit
-h
-H
--help
Print usage information and exit
<directory>
You can specify a list of allowed directories. If no directories
are given, all are allowed. This is an additional restriction, gitcvs
access still needs to be enabled by the gitcvs.enabled config option
unless --export-all was given, too.
DESCRIPTION
This application is a CVS emulation layer for Git.
It is highly functional. However, not all methods are implemented,
and for those methods that are implemented,
not all switches are implemented.
Testing has been done using both the CLI CVS client, and the Eclipse CVS
plugin. Most functionality works fine with both of these clients.
LIMITATIONS
CVS clients cannot tag, branch or perform Git merges.
git-cvsserver maps Git branches to CVS modules. This is very different
from what most CVS users would expect since in CVS modules usually represent
one or more directories.
INSTALLATION
If you are going to offer CVS access via pserver, add a line in
/etc/inetd.conf like
cvspserver stream tcp nowait nobody git-cvsserver pserver
Note: Some inetd servers let you specify the name of the executable
independently of the value of argv[0] (i.e. the name the program assumes
it was executed with). In this case the correct line in /etc/inetd.conf
looks like
Only anonymous access is provided by pserve by default. To commit you
will have to create pserver accounts, simply add a gitcvs.authdb
setting in the config file of the repositories you want the cvsserver
to allow writes to, for example:
[gitcvs]
authdb = /etc/cvsserver/passwd
The format of these files is username followed by the encrypted password,
for example:
myuser:$1Oyx5r9mdGZ2
myuser:$1$BA)@$vbnMJMDym7tA32AamXrm./
You can use the htpasswd facility that comes with Apache to make these
files, but Apache’s MD5 crypt method differs from the one used by most C
library’s crypt() function, so don’t use the -m option.
Alternatively you can produce the password with perl’s crypt() operator:
This has the advantage that it will be saved in your CVS/Root files and
you don’t need to worry about always setting the correct environment
variable. SSH users restricted to git-shell don’t need to override the default
with CVS_SERVER (and shouldn’t) as git-shell understands cvs to mean
git-cvsserver and pretends that the other end runs the real cvs better.
For each repo that you want accessible from CVS you need to edit config in
the repo and add the following section.
[gitcvs]
enabled=1
# optional for debugging
logFile=/path/to/logfile
Note: you need to ensure each user that is going to invoke git-cvsserver has
write access to the log file and to the database (see
Database Backend. If you want to offer write access over
SSH, the users of course also need write access to the Git repository itself.
You also need to ensure that each repository is "bare" (without a Git index
file) for cvs commit to work. See gitcvs-migration(7).
All configuration variables can also be overridden for a specific method of
access. Valid method names are "ext" (for SSH access) and "pserver". The
following example configuration would disable pserver access while still
allowing access over SSH.
[gitcvs]
enabled=0
[gitcvs "ext"]
enabled=1
If you didn’t specify the CVSROOT/CVS_SERVER directly in the checkout command,
automatically saving it in your CVS/Root files, then you need to set them
explicitly in your environment. CVSROOT should be set as per normal, but the
directory should point at the appropriate Git repo. As above, for SSH clients
not restricted to git-shell, CVS_SERVER should be set to git-cvsserver.
For SSH clients that will make commits, make sure their server-side
.ssh/environment files (or .bashrc, etc., according to their specific shell)
export appropriate values for GIT_AUTHOR_NAME, GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL,
GIT_COMMITTER_NAME, and GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL. For SSH clients whose login
shell is bash, .bashrc may be a reasonable alternative.
Clients should now be able to check out the project. Use the CVS module
name to indicate what Git head you want to check out. This also sets the
name of your newly checked-out directory, unless you tell it otherwise with
-d <dir_name>. For example, this checks out master branch to the
project-master directory:
cvs co -d project-master master
Database Backend
git-cvsserver uses one database per Git head (i.e. CVS module) to
store information about the repository to maintain consistent
CVS revision numbers. The database needs to be
updated (i.e. written to) after every commit.
If the commit is done directly by using git (as opposed to
using git-cvsserver) the update will need to happen on the
next repository access by git-cvsserver, independent of
access method and requested operation.
That means that even if you offer only read access (e.g. by using
the pserver method), git-cvsserver should have write access to
the database to work reliably (otherwise you need to make sure
that the database is up-to-date any time git-cvsserver is executed).
By default it uses SQLite databases in the Git directory, named
gitcvs.<module_name>.sqlite. Note that the SQLite backend creates
temporary files in the same directory as the database file on
write so it might not be enough to grant the users using
git-cvsserver write access to the database file without granting
them write access to the directory, too.
The database can not be reliably regenerated in a
consistent form after the branch it is tracking has changed.
Example: For merged branches, git-cvsserver only tracks
one branch of development, and after a git merge an
incrementally updated database may track a different branch
than a database regenerated from scratch, causing inconsistent
CVS revision numbers. git-cvsserver has no way of knowing which
branch it would have picked if it had been run incrementally
pre-merge. So if you have to fully or partially (from old
backup) regenerate the database, you should be suspicious
of pre-existing CVS sandboxes.
You can configure the database backend with the following
configuration variables:
Configuring database backend
git-cvsserver uses the Perl DBI module. Please also read
its documentation if changing these variables, especially
about DBI->connect().
gitcvs.dbName
Database name. The exact meaning depends on the
selected database driver, for SQLite this is a filename.
Supports variable substitution (see below). May
not contain semicolons (;).
Default: %Ggitcvs.%m.sqlite
gitcvs.dbDriver
Used DBI driver. You can specify any available driver
for this here, but it might not work. cvsserver is tested
with DBD::SQLite, reported to work with
DBD::Pg, and reported not to work with DBD::mysql.
Please regard this as an experimental feature. May not
contain colons (:).
Default: SQLite
gitcvs.dbuser
Database user. Only useful if setting dbDriver, since
SQLite has no concept of database users. Supports variable
substitution (see below).
gitcvs.dbPass
Database password. Only useful if setting dbDriver, since
SQLite has no concept of database passwords.
Variable substitution
Git directory name, where all characters except for
alpha-numeric ones, ., and - are replaced with
_ (this should make it easier to use the directory
name in a filename if wanted)
%m
CVS module/Git head name
%a
access method (one of "ext" or "pserver")
%u
Name of the user running git-cvsserver.
If no name can be determined, the
numeric uid is used.
ENVIRONMENT
These variables obviate the need for command-line options in some
circumstances, allowing easier restricted usage through git-shell.
GIT_CVSSERVER_BASE_PATH takes the place of the argument to --base-path.
GIT_CVSSERVER_ROOT specifies a single-directory whitelist. The
repository must still be configured to allow access through
git-cvsserver, as described above.
When these environment variables are set, the corresponding
command-line arguments may not be used.
Eclipse CVS Client Notes
To get a checkout with the Eclipse CVS client:
Select "Create a new project → From CVS checkout"
Create a new location. See the notes below for details on how to choose the
right protocol.
Browse the modules available. It will give you a list of the heads in
the repository. You will not be able to browse the tree from there. Only
the heads.
Pick HEAD when it asks what branch/tag to check out. Untick the
"launch commit wizard" to avoid committing the .project file.
Protocol notes: If you are using anonymous access via pserver, just select that.
Those using SSH access should choose the ext protocol, and configure ext
access on the Preferences→Team→CVS→ExtConnection pane. Set CVS_SERVER to
"git cvsserver". Note that password support is not good when using ext,
you will definitely want to have SSH keys setup.
Alternatively, you can just use the non-standard extssh protocol that Eclipse
offer. In that case CVS_SERVER is ignored, and you will have to replace
the cvs utility on the server with git-cvsserver or manipulate your .bashrc
so that calling cvs effectively calls git-cvsserver.
Clients known to work
CVS 1.12.9 on Debian
CVS 1.11.17 on MacOSX (from Fink package)
Eclipse 3.0, 3.1.2 on MacOSX (see Eclipse CVS Client Notes)
TortoiseCVS
Operations supported
All the operations required for normal use are supported, including
checkout, diff, status, update, log, add, remove, commit.
Most CVS command arguments that read CVS tags or revision numbers
(typically -r) work, and also support any git refspec
(tag, branch, commit ID, etc).
However, CVS revision numbers for non-default branches are not well
emulated, and cvs log does not show tags or branches at
all. (Non-main-branch CVS revision numbers superficially resemble CVS
revision numbers, but they actually encode a git commit ID directly,
rather than represent the number of revisions since the branch point.)
Note that there are two ways to checkout a particular branch.
As described elsewhere on this page, the "module" parameter
of cvs checkout is interpreted as a branch name, and it becomes
the main branch. It remains the main branch for a given sandbox
even if you temporarily make another branch sticky with
cvs update -r. Alternatively, the -r argument can indicate
some other branch to actually checkout, even though the module
is still the "main" branch. Tradeoffs (as currently
implemented): Each new "module" creates a new database on disk with
a history for the given module, and after the database is created,
operations against that main branch are fast. Or alternatively,
-r doesn’t take any extra disk space, but may be significantly slower for
many operations, like cvs update.
If you want to refer to a git refspec that has characters that are
not allowed by CVS, you have two options. First, it may just work
to supply the git refspec directly to the appropriate CVS -r argument;
some CVS clients don’t seem to do much sanity checking of the argument.
Second, if that fails, you can use a special character escape mechanism
that only uses characters that are valid in CVS tags. A sequence
of 4 or 5 characters of the form (underscore ("_"), dash ("-"),
one or two characters, and dash ("-")) can encode various characters based
on the one or two letters: "s" for slash ("/"), "p" for
period ("."), "u" for underscore ("_"), or two hexadecimal digits
for any byte value at all (typically an ASCII number, or perhaps a part
of a UTF-8 encoded character).
Legacy monitoring operations are not supported (edit, watch and related).
Exports and tagging (tags and branches) are not supported at this stage.
CRLF Line Ending Conversions
By default the server leaves the -k mode blank for all files,
which causes the CVS client to treat them as a text files, subject
to end-of-line conversion on some platforms.
You can make the server use the end-of-line conversion attributes to
set the -k modes for files by setting the gitcvs.usecrlfattr
config variable. See gitattributes(5) for more information
about end-of-line conversion.
Alternatively, if gitcvs.usecrlfattr config is not enabled
or the attributes do not allow automatic detection for a filename, then
the server uses the gitcvs.allBinary config for the default setting.
If gitcvs.allBinary is set, then file not otherwise
specified will default to -kb mode. Otherwise the -k mode
is left blank. But if gitcvs.allBinary is set to "guess", then
the correct -k mode will be guessed based on the contents of
the file.
For best consistency with cvs, it is probably best to override the
defaults by setting gitcvs.usecrlfattr to true,
and gitcvs.allBinary to "guess". |
Matrix Morpheus
what if i told you
no one is forcing you to see the movie |
"""Rules for verifying textproto indexer output"""
# copied from proto_verifier_test.bzl.
# TODO(justbuchanan): refactor
# Copyright 2019 The Kythe Authors. All rights reserved.
#
# 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.
load("@bazel_skylib//lib:paths.bzl", "paths")
load(
"@io_kythe//tools/build_rules/verifier_test:verifier_test.bzl",
"KytheVerifierSources",
"extract",
"index_compilation",
"verifier_test",
)
load("//kythe/cxx/indexer/proto/testdata:proto_verifier_test.bzl", "get_proto_files_and_proto_paths", "proto_extract_kzip")
def _invoke(rulefn, name, **kwargs):
"""Invoke rulefn with name and kwargs, returning the label of the rule."""
rulefn(name = name, **kwargs)
return "//{}:{}".format(native.package_name(), name)
def _textproto_extract_kzip_impl(ctx):
toplevel_proto_srcs, all_proto_srcs, pathopt = get_proto_files_and_proto_paths(ctx.attr.protos)
args = ctx.actions.args()
args.add("--")
args.add_all(ctx.attr.opts)
args.add_all(pathopt, before_each = "--proto_path")
extract(
srcs = ctx.files.srcs,
ctx = ctx,
extractor = ctx.executable.extractor,
kzip = ctx.outputs.kzip,
mnemonic = "TextprotoExtractKZip",
opts = args,
vnames_config = ctx.file.vnames_config,
deps = all_proto_srcs,
)
return [KytheVerifierSources(files = depset(ctx.files.srcs))]
textproto_extract_kzip = rule(
attrs = {
"srcs": attr.label_list(
mandatory = True,
allow_empty = False,
allow_files = True,
providers = [ProtoInfo],
),
"protos": attr.label_list(mandatory = True, allow_empty = False, allow_files = False),
"extractor": attr.label(
default = Label("//kythe/cxx/extractor/textproto:textproto_extractor"),
executable = True,
cfg = "host",
),
"opts": attr.string_list(),
"vnames_config": attr.label(
default = Label("//external:vnames_config"),
allow_single_file = True,
),
},
outputs = {"kzip": "%{name}.kzip"},
implementation = _textproto_extract_kzip_impl,
)
def textproto_verifier_test(
name,
textprotos,
protos,
size = "small",
tags = [],
indexer_opts = [],
verifier_opts = [],
convert_marked_source = False,
vnames_config = None,
visibility = None):
"""Extract, analyze, and verify a textproto compilation.
Args:
name: Name of the test
textprotos: Textproto files being tested
protos: Proto libraries that define the textproto's schema
size: Test size
tags: Test tags
indexer_opts: List of options passed to the textproto indexer
verifier_opts: List of options passed to the verifier tool
convert_marked_source: Whether the verifier should convert marked source.
vnames_config: Optional path to a VName configuration file
visibility: Visibility of underlying build targets
Returns:
Name of the test rule
"""
# extract and index each textproto
textproto_entries = []
for textproto in textprotos:
rule_prefix = name + "_" + paths.replace_extension(textproto, "")
# extract textproto
textproto_kzip = _invoke(
textproto_extract_kzip,
name = rule_prefix + "_kzip",
testonly = True,
srcs = [textproto],
tags = tags,
visibility = visibility,
vnames_config = vnames_config,
protos = protos,
)
# index textproto
entries = _invoke(
index_compilation,
name = rule_prefix + "_entries",
testonly = True,
indexer = "//kythe/cxx/indexer/textproto:textproto_indexer",
opts = indexer_opts + ["--index_file"],
tags = tags,
visibility = visibility,
deps = [textproto_kzip],
)
textproto_entries += [entries]
# extract proto(s)
proto_kzip = _invoke(
proto_extract_kzip,
name = name + "_protos_kzip",
testonly = True,
srcs = protos,
tags = tags,
visibility = visibility,
vnames_config = vnames_config,
)
# index proto(s)
proto_entries = _invoke(
index_compilation,
name = name + "_proto_entries",
testonly = True,
indexer = "//kythe/cxx/indexer/proto:indexer",
opts = ["--index_file"],
tags = tags,
visibility = visibility,
deps = [proto_kzip],
)
vopts = verifier_opts + ["--ignore_dups", "--show_goals", "--goal_regex=\"\s*(?:#|//)-(.*)\""]
if convert_marked_source:
vopts += ["--convert_marked_source"]
return _invoke(
verifier_test,
name = name,
size = size,
srcs = textproto_entries + [proto_entries],
opts = vopts,
tags = tags,
visibility = visibility,
deps = textproto_entries + [proto_entries],
)
|
The blog of D. Linda Garcia, PhD
Tag Archives: Super Pacs
Life, of course, is full of ironies, but what strikes me most recently as such is the coincidence between FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski‘s decision on August 22, 2011 to eliminate the Fairness Doctrine and the raging debate about Super Pacs brought on in part by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Communication Commission. This game-changing Supreme Court decision allows groups of people, including corporations, to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of a candidate, so long as there is no coordination with the candidate.
Free speech, it now seems, is no longer a constitutional right; but a matter of money. Those without, are in effect silenced. Scratching my head, I have to ask myself: What’s fair about that? Thanks to Stephen Colbert, the situation was brought into stark, as well as comic, relief when he parodied the new campaign finance rules, setting up his own Super Pac, Definitely Not Coordinated with Stephen Colbert Super Pac, and transferred it to his alter ego Jon Stewart.
Not that the Fairness Doctrine has been active over the past 20+ years. Put into place in 1949, the Doctrine was intended to assure that broadcasters not only made room for issues of public importance, but also aired contrasting perspectives. The rational behind the Government’s involvement in broadcasting–notwithstanding the Constitutional guarantee of free speech–was the industry’s use of scarce, public airwaves–a rationale that was upheld by the Supreme Court in its 1969 decision Red Lion Broadcasting Co. vs FCC.
Televisions are Not Toasters (courtesy of ancient jars.com)
The subsequent expansion of media venues gradually weakened this rationale. In 1987, FCC Chairman Mark Fowler--famous for equating televisions with toasters–repealed the Fairness Doctrine, although it remained on the books until Chairman Genachowski’s recent decision to effectively eliminate it.
Paradoxically, today, while media outlets are plentiful, opportunities to raise one’s voice and be heard are becoming increasingly scarce. For, as Tim Wu has argued in The Master Switch, growth in media has led, time and time again, to vertical integration and greater industry concentration. Likewise, in his book The Myth of Digital Democracy, Michael Hindman illustrates how, as the number of outlets on the Internet grow, they become more and more concentrated in accordance with a power law. Hence, to gain a platform for expression under these circumstances requires having money, and lots of it.
To appreciate the full impact of this situation, one need only consider the frantic scrambling in the Republican Primary, not so much for votes but for dollars. As the contest shifts from backyard barbecues to the national media, and from policy pronouncements to negative advertising, the candidates chances of success are measured increasingly by the size of their Super PAC’S war chests. In fact, pointing to the $30.2 million that his Super Pac, Restore our Future, has raised, Mitt Romney has triumphantly predicted his own final victory.
Fierce competition, they say, is good for democracy, not just the market. Recent events make me question whether this is always the case. At the very least, this spending spree is wasteful: I can’t help thinking that the amount of money raised by the SuperPacs to promote–what more often than not is–false information far exceeds the meagre $23 million annual budget of the former Office of Technology Assessment, a Congressional agency tasked to seek out the truth, and one that Newt Gringrich, when Speaker of the House, helped to destroy. In his thoroughly engaging bookThe Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition and the Common Good,Robert H. Frank cautions against unbridled competition on more theoretical grounds. Employing Darwin as his frame of reference, he argues that such contests are likely to lead to an arms race, in which the winner may benefit in the short run, but the society will lose overall.
Sadly Frank’s scenario sounds all too familiar. With money now a proxy for speech, dialogue has become more and more vacuous, even as speech is no longer free. Could it be time for a new Fairness Doctrine? |
Q:
Alamofire + Decodable - how turn responseJSON to NSData
I'm pretty sure that my problem is easy solving, but I can't find any solution.
So I have Alamofire request and have a trouble with handling data types. I have so many 'printing out' just to check what data I've got step by step.
Alamofire.request(URL, method: .get, headers: headers).responseJSON { response in
switch responseJSON.result {
case .success(let value):
print(type(of: value)) //__NSDictionaryI
print(value)
print(type(of:responseJSON)) //DataResponse<Any>
print(responseJSON) . //SUCCESS: {"billing_addresses" = (...
print(responseJSON.value as Any) . //Optional({...
//print(responseJSON.value as! [[String:Any]]) . //Could not cast value of type '__NSDictionaryI' (0x10b9fb508) to 'NSArray' (0x10b9fb008).
do {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let model = try decoder.decode(Info.self, from: value as! Data) //Decode JSON Response Data
print(model.id)
} catch let parsingError {
print("Error", parsingError)
}
Now I have an error: **Could not cast value of type '__NSSingleEntryDictionaryI' (0x10d240f78) to 'NSData' (0x10d241090).**
value of responseJSON is:
(I'm not sure that this value is correct, because when I've check in Postman all strings is doublequoted, and value of "is_default" is true/false, not 0/1. But in the Xcode I've got this in the console. So maybe problem in the responseJSON?..)
And there could be zero address, or several ones.
{
"id": 40128,
"username": "test6",
"email": "test6@on.com",
"billing_addresses": [
{
"address_name": null,
"country_code": "US",
"first_name": "Ted",
"last_name": "Qqqq",
"company_name": "",
"address_line1": "308 Sea Lane",
"address_line2": "",
"city": "QQQQ",
"state": "FL",
"postcode": "32000",
"email_address": "test6@on.com",
"phone_number": "11111111",
"is_default_for_billing": true
}
],
"shipping_addresses": [
{
"address_name": null,
"country_code": "US",
"first_name": "Ted",
"last_name": "Qqqq",
"company_name": "",
"address_line1": "308 Sea Lane",
"address_line2": "",
"city": "QQQQ",
"state": "FL",
"postcode": "32000",
"is_default_for_shipping": true
}
]
}
And here is model
struct Info : Decodable {
let id: Int
let email: String
let username: String
let billing_addresses: Billings
let shipping_addresses: Shippings
}
struct Billings: Decodable{
let address_name: String
let country_code: String
let first_name: String
let last_name: String
let company_name: String
let address_line1: String
let address_line2: String
let city: String
let state: String
let postcode: String
let email_address: String
let phone_number: String
let is_default_for_billing: Bool
}
struct Shippings:Decodable{
let address_name: String
let country_code: String
let first_name: String
let last_name: String
let company_name: String
let address_line1: String
let address_line2: String
let city: String
let state: String
let postcode: String
let is_default_for_shipping: Bool
}
If I try to use SwiftyJSON with value as parameter I have an error that Any couldn't be Data and I really don't know what should I do.
A:
responseJSON.result.value returns the deserialized collection type, in your case a dictionary [String:Any]
To use JSONDecoder you need the raw data which is in response.data
let model = try decoder.decode(Info.self, from: response.data) //Decode JSON Response Data
Consider that you will run into decoding errors: billing_addresses and shipping_addresses are arrays
let billing_addresses: [Billings]
let shipping_addresses: [Shippings] // better name both structs in singular form (Billing, Shipping)
and a few values could be numbers rather than strings.
Anyway it's recommended to use the convertFromSnakeCase key decoding strategy to get rid of the ugly snake_case names.
Edit:
Here are your structs with camelCased names and singular forms, you have to add
decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = .convertFromSnakeCase
struct Info : Decodable {
let id: Int
let email: String
let username: String
let billingAddresses: [Billing]
let shippingAddresses: [Shipping]
}
struct Billing : Decodable {
let addressName: String?
let countryCode, firstName, lastName, companyName: String
let addressLine1, addressLine2, city, state, postcode: String
let emailAddress, phoneNumber: String
let isDefaultForBilling: Bool
}
struct Shipping : Decodable {
let addressName: String?
let countryCode, firstName, lastName, companyName: String
let addressLine1, addressLine2, city, state, postcode: String
let isDefaultForShipping: Bool
}
|
State think tank Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to issue clearer instructions to elementary schools to stop allowing non-readers to graduate.
The recommendation was contained in the study conducted by the PIDS scrutinizing pressures bearing down on public school teachers and how these impact the quality of basic education in the country posted in its website.
The report titled “Pressures on Public School Teachers and Implications on Quality” said Grade 7 students who could not understand what they read were among the “perverse effects” of the performance evaluation and incentive system of the DepEd, which pushes for a “zero dropout” target.
Under the system, the dropout rate in the class forms a part of the bases for assessing the teacher’s performance and is also used in determining his or her performance-based bonus, the annual incentive for government personnel adjudged to have met targets.
“In the absence of other clearer student performance-based measure that can be traced back to quality of teaching, dropout rates become the metric for teacher quality. This sends a problematic incentive signal to teachers as they are evaluated based on zero dropout rates and not on actual quality of learning of students,” the report said.
The PIDS said the insistence on the dropout rate as determinant of performance and incentive had led to the practice of “mass promotion,” “wherein even students who failed exams and skipped half of the year’s school days can be promoted.”
“Some of these students will end up in seventh grade without knowing how to read for comprehension,” the PIDS report said.
While acknowledging the difficulty of “striking a balance between ensuring completion and securing good quality education,” the PIDS insisted that limits should be observed, one of which is to forbid passing on to high school pupils who could not read.
“Sending non-readers to high school should be actively discouraged and elementary schools that allow this require close monitoring and supervision. Even without sanctions, the signalling from DepEd that such action is poor practice needs to be stronger,” the PIDS said.
The DepEd has yet to comment on the report and call of the PIDS, and has been largely mum on the issue on non-readers.
Declining NAT results
In his call for measures to improve basic education in connection with the Senate Committee On Education’s review of the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum made in March, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian cited as one proof of the deteriorating quality of education the low scores in the National Achievement Test (NAT) in 2016 and 2017.
Gatchalian did not go into details, but in 2016 — compared with the 2015 average mean percentage score (MPS) of 70.88 — the Grade 6 NAT performance plummeted to 42.03 or by 28.85 points. This is unprecedented because from 2006 to 2015, the highest MPS margin from one year to the next in Grade 6 was 4.87, which occurred in 2008.
All the regions incurred two-digit MPS losses, the least being the 12.73 points of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the most being the 39.80 points of the Caraga Region. The reductions represented 21.92 percent of the 58.05 previous MPS of NCR and 50.01 percent of the 79.58 MPS of Caraga in 2015, and had the effect of catapulting NCR from No. 16 to No. 3 and sinking the perennial No. 1 Caraga to No. 14 in the rankings.
Also, the 39.40 and 43.38 MPS for Grade 6 and Grade 10, respectively, in 2017 were the lowest in the history of the standardized test, a conclusion based on the published statement of former Education secretary Armin Luistro in May 2011 that the achievement levels of elementary and high school students were declining “based on NAT results from 2005 to 2010.”
Luistro had mentioned that for 2010, the high school NAT average MPS was 46.30, while negligible gains were attained in the elementary NAT average, such that the 64.81 MPS in 2008 inched up to 69.21 by 2010.
The earliest Grade 6 NAT result online was that of 2006, which was 55.16; and that of 2005 for Grade 10, which was 46.80.
This correspondent had requested the DepEd for the entire results data of the NAT, but all it provided were the results from 2013 to 2017.
In emails on March 16, this correspondent asked the DepEd regional directors of NCR, Caraga, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Regions 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 for reaction to Gatchalian’s assumption that NAT scores reflected the prevailing quality of education.
Like Caraga, Regions 9, 12, 8 and 11, which were also consistent frontrunners in the NAT, were but a shadow of their old selves in 2016, losing nearly half of their 2015 scores at 36.60, 36.34, 35.13 and 30.83, respectively.
Because of the setbacks, Region 9 tumbled from No. 5 to No. 17 with 36.60 MPS, Region 12 from No. 3 to No. 15 with 36.34 MPS, Region 8 from No. 2 to No. 8 with 41.93 MPS, and Region 11 from No. 7 to No. 11 with 41.40 MPS.
In 2017, the four regions lost more ground — Region 11 by 3.40 points, Region 9 by 2.94 points, Caraga by 2.88 points and Region 12 by 1.49 points.
On the other extreme, ARMM, CAR and Region 7 incurred losses below the national average of 28.85 MPS at 14.70, 21.89 and 25.88, respectively, based on their 2015 scores. This resulted to drastic changes in their rankings, with CAR assuming the top position from No. 13 with 47.90 MPS; Region 7 jumping from No. 11 to No. 2 with 46.27 MPS; and ARMM moving up from No. 15 to No. 4 with 44.94 MPS. |
Effects of altering dosing on cationic liposome-mediated gene transfer to the respiratory epithelium.
Liposome-mediated gene transfer is currently sub-optimal with respect to both the extent and duration of transgene expression. We investigated whether simple changes in DNA dosing could enhance either of these outcomes. Increasing DNA doses produced highest transgene expression at an intermediate dose with toxicity observed at higher doses, thereby likely limiting expression. Adminis- tering an equivalent DNA dose in aliquots over a 1-3 day period resulted in significantly lower gene expression and did not increase the duration of expression. Administration at different times of the day (and hence wake/sleep cycles of the animals) did not alter gene expression. We conclude that such simple changes in dosing regimes are unlikely to contribute to improvements in gene transfer efficiency. |
//
// Generated by class-dump 3.5 (64 bit).
//
// class-dump is Copyright (C) 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2015 by Steve Nygard.
//
#import <PlugInKit/NSObject-Protocol.h>
@class NSBundle;
@protocol PKModularService, PKSubsystemServicePersonality;
@protocol PKModularService <NSObject>
+ (id <PKModularService>)initForPlugInKit;
@optional
- (void)communicationsFailed:(id <PKSubsystemServicePersonality>)arg1;
- (void)endUsing:(id <PKSubsystemServicePersonality>)arg1;
- (void)beginUsing:(id <PKSubsystemServicePersonality>)arg1 withBundle:(NSBundle *)arg2;
@end
|
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Q:
Need help with the Merge statement
I want to update a table called Sorels_ext from a table called Sorels. The link between them is the fkey_id of Sorels_ext equals the identity_column of the Sorels table. This is my first attempt at a Merge statement and I'm trying to learn the syntax.
MERGE Sorels_ext AS SORe
USING (select SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END from Sorels AS SOR)
ON (SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column)
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column, SORe.Color = select SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (SORe.fkey_id, SORe.Color) VALUES (SOR.identity_column, SORe.Color = select SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END);
When I run this, I get the following error:
Error 10/22/2009 1:38:51 PM 0:00:00.000 SQL Server Database Error: Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'ON'. 46 0
*** ADDED INFO ******
After the first fix suggested, the code is as follows:
MERGE Sorels_ext AS SORe
USING (select SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END from Sorels) AS SOR
ON (SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column)
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column, SORe.Color = CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (SORe.fkey_id, SORe.Color) VALUES (SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END);
Now I get the following error:
Error 10/22/2009 2:03:29 PM 0:00:00.000 SQL Server Database Error: The insert column list used in the MERGE statement cannot contain multi-part identifiers. Use single part identifiers instead. 55 0
******* ADDED MORE INFO ******
After adjustments from suggestions, I have the following:
MERGE Sorels_ext AS SORe
USING (select SOR1.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR1.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR1.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END as colors from Sorels as SOR1 ) as SOR
ON (SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column)
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column, SORe.Color = CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (fkey_id, Color) VALUES (SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END);
I get the error:
Error 10/22/2009 2:46:51 PM 0:00:00.000 SQL Server Database Error: Invalid column name 'FPARTNO'. 56 0
What am I doing wrong?
**** I GOT IT!!! *****
MERGE Sorels_ext AS SORe
USING (select SOR.identity_column, CASE
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL' THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD' THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END as colors from Sorels as SOR) SOR1
ON (SORe.fkey_id = SOR1.identity_column)
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET SORe.fkey_id = SOR1.identity_column, SORe.Color = SOR1.colors
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (fkey_id, Color) VALUES (SOR1.identity_column, SOR1.colors);
A:
INSERT (SORe.fkey_id, SORe.Color)
should read:
INSERT (fkey_id, Color)
Columns in the insert list can only refer to the target table. The parser doesn't expect to see a table alias there, and doesn't know how to resolve it.
If it sees "column1", it knows it belongs to the target table. It sees "table1.column1", it doesn't know what "table1" means, since "table1" as a token is out of scope.
A:
I believe you have to alias your your source data like so:
USING (select SOR.identity_column,
CASE WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'BL'
THEN 'Blue'
WHEN left(SOR.FPARTNO, 2) = 'RD'
THEN 'Red'
ELSE 'White'
END from Sorels AS SOR) **AS SOR** ON (SORe.fkey_id = SOR.identity_column)
|
Prince Andrew steps back from royal duties after BBC interview In an unprecedented statement, Prince Andrew said he would "step back" from public duties for the foreseeable future. It comes just 72 hours after an interview with the BBC about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Imtiaz Tyab reports. |
Introduction {#s1}
============
Aortic diseases derived from injury, degeneration or congenital deformation, including aortic aneurysm (AA) and aortic dissection (AD), endanger the lives of patients. The traditional treatment of true AA and AD is open surgery, which has definite curative effects [@pone.0071012-Cronenwett1]. Endovascular stent-graft treatment was developed in the 1990s. In 1991, Parodi et al. [@pone.0071012-Parodi1] first reported the application of an endovascular repair technique for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). In 1994, Dake et al. [@pone.0071012-Dake1] used transluminal stent-graft placement to treat thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). In 1999, Dake et al. [@pone.0071012-Dake2] and Nienaber et al. [@pone.0071012-Nienaber1] separately reported that endovascular stent-graft placement was successfully used to treat Stanford type B aortic dissection (type B AD). In addition, Sueda et al. [@pone.0071012-Sueda1] and Mizunoa et al. [@pone.0071012-Mizuno1] developed stented elephant-trunk transplantation procedures for the endovascular treatment of Stanford type A aortic dissections in 1999 and 2002, respectively (type A AD). In 2002, Kato et al. [@pone.0071012-Kato1] developed another new method, total arch graft implantation with open-style stent-graft placement. In addition, in China, Jing et al. [@pone.0071012-Jing1] reported endovascular graft exclusion applied to the treatment of AAA in 1998. In the next year, Wang et al. [@pone.0071012-Wang1] and Jing et al. [@pone.0071012-Jing2] separately reported the earliest endovascular stent-graft placements in type B AD patients in China. In 2002, Sun et al. [@pone.0071012-Sun1] reported the application of the stented elephant trunk procedure in type A AD treatment. Currently, endovascular treatment is widely applied to treat large-artery diseases and is being performed in many medical centers in China. In this review, based on the pre-defined inclusion criteria, we have attempted to summarize all published studies conducted in China (not including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) for endovascular treatment of patients with aortic diseases, including the evaluation of patient characteristics, clinical success, complications and outcomes. Finally, we analyzed and compared the short-term effects of endovascular treatment between AAA, TAA, type A AD and type B AD patients. Based on our comprehensive analysis, we conclude that endovascular stent-graft is a feasible and safe treatment for these aortic diseases in Chinese patients.
Materials and Methods {#s2}
=====================
Data Sources {#s2a}
------------
*Aortic dissection*, *stent* and *endovascular* or *transluminal* were the keywords used in our search of the PUBMED, MEDLINE, CBMdisc (Chinese Biomedical Database) and CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases for articles in the English and Chinese literature on the endovascular treatment of aortic dissection involving case studies performed in China with Chinese patients from January 1996 to November 2010. *Aortic aneurysm*, *stent* and *endovascular* or *transluminal* were the keywords used in our search for articles on endovascular treatment for aortic aneurysm from January 1999 to November 2010.
Several criteria were applied to determine whether articles would qualify for analysis: (i) articles including patients with AAA or TAA or aortic dissection (type A or type B); (ii) articles about AAA and TAA with cases ≥2, articles about type A aortic dissection with cases ≥2, and articles about type B aortic dissection with cases ≥6; (iii) if the same center reported a series of cases repeatedly, we selected the newest and most detailed article that included the most cases and the most variables, especially 30-day perioperative data; (iv) if the same center reported different cases in different years, we integrated all cases; (v) articles demonstrating sufficient data; (vi) if an article included one or more types of aortic diseases, we analyzed that article separately; and (vii) if the articles could not be clearly classified into the four types of aortic diseases or if the articles did not present most data, we did not include them for analysis ([Figure 1](#pone-0071012-g001){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone-0071012-g001}
Definitions {#s2b}
-----------
This review is on aortic diseases, including AD, AAA and TAA. AD was classified into type A and type B AD according to the Stanford classification system. Pulmonary diseases included COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pulmonary emphysema, pulmonary embolism and pneumonia. Renal diseases included disorders of renal function, renal failure, kidney infarction, nephritis and renal calculus. Cerebral vessel diseases included stroke, TIA (transient ischemic attack) and cerebral hemorrhage. Procedural success was defined as procedures in which the stent was anchored in the target location in the aortic lumen. Endoleaks occurring after the first completion of the procedure were reported as outcome data. Procedure-related complications included graft response syndrome, hoarseness, surgical wound infection or injury and other postoperative complications. Overall neurologic complications consisted of stroke (cerebral, cerebellar or brain stem infarction) and ischemia of the spinal cord resulting in numbness and asthenia of limbs. Cardiac complications included myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, pericardial tamponade, arrhythmia, heart failure and cardiac arrest. Renal complications involved disorders of renal function, renal failure, renal ischemia and kidney infarction. Pulmonary complications involved pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, respiratory failure, COPD and pulmonary atelectasis. Visceral complications included bleeding ulcer, intestinal ischemic necrosis, intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation and unknown abdominal pain.
Data Extraction {#s2c}
---------------
Two standardized protocols were used for data extraction: one for articles referring to aortic dissection as introduced by Eggebrecht et al. [@pone.0071012-Eggebrecht1] and one for articles referring to abdominal aortic aneurysm as introduced by Lovegrove et al. [@pone.0071012-Lovegrove1]. Considering all four types of aortic diseases, a modified standardized protocol, which included pre-defined variables regarding clinical characteristics, procedural data, perioperative (30 days) complications and survival data, was used to analyze each article in this review. The authors independently performed data extraction. Consensus was achieved with further discussion when discrepancies occurred. Unspecified information was classified as not available so articles without these data could not be included when analyzing a specific variable; thus the patient numbers (denominator) varied with the specific variables.
Statistical Analysis {#s2d}
--------------------
The standardized protocol used for statistical analysis followed the method introduced by Eggebrecht et al. [@pone.0071012-Eggebrecht1]. The rates of events were calculated as the number of events divided by the number of treated patients with available data. The results are presented as the means ± standard deviations or medians and ranges, as appropriate. Comparisons between the patients with different aortic diseases were made using a two-sided χ^2^ test for categorical variables and a two-sided Student's t-test for continuous variables. A P-value of \<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The Kaplan-Meier non-parametric method was used to estimate mortality, which was compared using the log-rank test. The statistical software SPSS 17.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) was used for all statistical analyses.
Results {#s3}
=======
Overview of Studies {#s3a}
-------------------
We analyzed 935 published series on retrograde endovascular treatment for aortic diseases in China. Based on the inclusion criteria, 159 studies involving a total of 5531 patients were included to compare short-term curative effects. Among these studies, 36 studies (1105 patients) were about AAA, 10 studies (113 patients) were about TAA, 19 studies (343 patients) were about type A AD, and 94 studies (3770 patients) were about type B AD. All clinical characteristics, procedural data and perioperative data are illustrated in [Tables 1](#pone-0071012-t001){ref-type="table"}, [2](#pone-0071012-t002){ref-type="table"} and [3](#pone-0071012-t003){ref-type="table"}.
10.1371/journal.pone.0071012.t001
###### Characteristics of patients with aortic diseases.
{#pone-0071012-t001-1}
Variables AAA (F1, %) TAA (F2, %) Type A AD (F3, %) Type B AD (F4, %) P~Total~
------------------------- ---------------------- --------------------- ---------------------- ------------------------ -------------
Mean age (years) 70.85 64.54 47.95 53.37
Male ratio 89.21±8.08 (843/945) 56.34±13.51 (40/71) 80.52±2.88 (186/231) 84.97±1.19 (2545/2995) 0.000\<0.01
Smoker 55.68±9.19 (103/185) -- 42.86±14.14 (15/35) 54.46±5.79 (183/336) 0.371
Hypertension 59.83±4.57 (557/931) 75.00±20.15 (42/56) 67.57±2.76 (150/222) 85.74±1.38 (2922/3408) 0.000\<0.01
Coronary heart disease 27.36±2.24 (255/932) 16.67±6.12 (9/54) 17.24±3.59 (10/58) 13.64±0.60 (269/1972) 0.000\<0.01
Diabetes 10.78±1.14 (80/742) 16.67±6.12 (9/54) 9.46±2.03 (7/74) 14.17±0.92 (236/1666) 0.093
Pulmonary disease 15.71±1.55 (123/783) 11.11±3.55 (6/54) -- 6.60±0.29 (88/1334) 0.000\<0.01
Renal disease 6.68±0.50 (25/374) 7.41±2.14 (4/54) 10±1.67 (6/60) 7.75±0.25 (165/2130) 0.807
Cerebral vessel disease 9.06±0.66 (31/342) -- 8.62±1.22 (5/58) 4.19±0.29 (58/1384) 0.002\<0.01
Rupture 1.27±0.57 (1/79) 4.65±0.00 (2/43) 8.00±3.06 (4/50) 8.93±1.92 (31/347) 0.043\<0.05
Male ratio: F1\>F2 (P = 0.000); F1\>F3 (P = 0.000); F1\>F4 (P = 0.001); F2\<F3 (P = 0.000); F2\<F4 (P = 0.000); F3 vs. F4: no significant differences. Hypertension: F1\<F2 (P = 0.024); F1\<F3 (P = 0.033); F1\<F4 (P = 0.000); F2\<F4 (P = 0.023); F3\<F4 (P = 0.000); F2 vs. F3: no significant differences. Coronary heart diseases: F1\>F4 (P = 0.000); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Pulmonary diseases: F1\>F4 (P = 0.000); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Cerebral vessel diseases: F1\>F4 (P = 0.000); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Rupture: F1\<F4 (P = 0.020); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. ("--" stands for no available data for specific variables in the literature).
10.1371/journal.pone.0071012.t002
###### Procedural data of patients with aortic diseases.
{#pone-0071012-t002-2}
Variable AAA (F1, %) TAA (F2, %) Type A AD (F3, %) Type B AD (F4, %) P~total~
-------------------------------------- ------------------------ ----------------------- ------------------- ------------------------ -------------
Procedural success 99.73±6.57 (1102/1105) 98.23±11.23 (111/113) 100±15.35 (78/78) 99.56±1.40 (3753/3770) 0.127
Elective procedures 98.85±11.57 (774/783) 68.52±20.48 (37/54) 100±13.54 (47/47) 86.80±11.54 (296/341) 0.000\<0.01
Emergency procedures 1.15±0.22 (9/783) 31.48±18.18 (17/54) 0 (0/47) 13.20±2.25 (45/341) 0.000\<0.01
General anesthesia 55.84±4.97 (220/394) 60.47±36.18 (26/43) 100 (25/25) 79.50±1.93 (1268/1595) 0.000\<0.01
Need for emergent surgicalconversion 0.29±0.03 (3/1025) 0 (0/113) 0 (0/78) 0.05±0.04 (2/3601) 0.293
Elective procedure:F1\>F2 (P = 0.000); F1\>F4 (P = 0.000); F2\<F3 (P = 0.000); F3\>F4 (P = 0.000); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Emergency procedures: F1\<F2 (P = 0.000); F1\<F4 (P = 0.000); F2\>F3 (P = 0.000); F3\<F4 (P = 0.000); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. General anesthesia: F1\<F3 (P = 0.000); F1\<F4 (P = 0.000); F2\<F3 (P = 0.000); F2\<F4 (P = 0.002); F3\>F4 (P = 0.011); F1 vs. F2: No significant differences.
10.1371/journal.pone.0071012.t003
###### 30-day perioperative data of patients with aortic diseases.
{#pone-0071012-t003-3}
Variable AAA (F1, %) TAA (F2, %) Type A AD (F3, %) Type B AD (F4, %) P~total~
---------------------------------- ----------------------- --------------------- ------------------- ----------------------- ---------------
Procedure-related complications 6.41±0.49 (64/999) 2.44±1.09 (2/82) 4 (1/25) 13.96±0.81 (255/1826) 0.000\<0.01
Overall neurologic complications 0.31±0.04 (3/980) 4.50±0.91 (5/111) 6.67±0.00 (2/30) 1.66±0.03 (53/3202) 0.000\<0.01
Stroke 0.11±0.02 (1/938) 1.96±0.43 (2/102) 6.67±0.00 (2/30) 0.82±0.02 (25/3052) 0.002\<0.01
Paraplegia 0.20±0.03 (2/1021) 0 (0/113) 0 (0/47) 0.06±0.01 (2/3540) 0.630
Post-procedural endoleak 10.08±0.52 (110/1091) 19.27±5.74 (21/109) 19.15±1.50 (9/47) 9.39±0.25 (342/3642) 0.004\<0.01
Cardiac complications 0.95±0.09 (9/948) 1.22±0.55 (1/82) 10.34±2.44 (3/29) 1.76±0.14 (16/908) 0.025\<0.05
Renal complications 1.12±0.17 (10/893) 2.44±1.09 (2/82) 13.79±4.88 (4/29) 2.91±0.15 (43/1476) 0.001\<0.01
Pulmonary complications 0.77±0.08 (7/906) 0 (0/82) 10.34±2.44 (3/29) 1.64±0.12 (15/916) 0.005\<0.01
Visceral complications 0.92±0.10 (8/868) 0 (0/82) 10.34±2.44 (3/29) 2.78±0.43 (22/791) 0.001\<0.01
30-day mortality 2.44±0.20 (27/1105) 3.54±0.62 (4/113) 7.69±1.67 (6/78) 2.36±0.04 (89/3770) 0.023\*\<0.05
Aorta-related mortality 0.47±0.04 (5/1062) 0.98±0.33 (1/102) 1.28±0.02 (1/78) 0.83±0.02 (27/3269) 0.607
Non-aorta related mortality 1.89±0.20 (20/1062) 2.94±0.69 (3/102) 6.41±1.57 (5/78) 1.53±0.04 (50/3259) 0.008\<0.01
Procedure-related complications: F2\<F4 (P = 0.003); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Overall neurologic complications: F1\<F2 (P = 0.000); F1\<F3 (P = 0.008); F1\<F4 (P = 0.001); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Stroke: F1\<F2 (P = 0.027); F1\<F3 (P = 0.003); F1\<F4 (P = 0.018); F3\>F4 (P = 0.028); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Post-procedural endoleak: F1\<F2 (P = 0.003); F1\<F3 (P = 0.047); F2\>F4 (P = 0.001); F3\>F4 (P = 0.044); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Cardiac complications: F1\<F3 (P = 0.000); F2\>F3 (P = 0.000); F3\>F4 (P = 0.019); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Renal complications: F1\<F3 (P = 0.000); F1\<F4 (P = 0.004); F2\<F3 (P = 0.005); F3\>F4 (P = 0.011); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Pulmonary complications: F1\<F3 (P = 0.000); F2\<F3 (P = 0.016); F3\>F4 (P = 0.016); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Visceral complications: F1\<F3 (P = 0.000); F2\<F3 (P = 0.016); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. 30-day mortality: F1\<F3 (P = 0.018); F3\>F4 (P = 0.003); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons. Aorta-related mortality: F1\<F3 (P = 0.025); F3\>F4 (P = 0.004); No significant differences in other two-group comparisons (\*Log rank test).
Patient Characteristics ([Table 1](#pone-0071012-t001){ref-type="table"}) {#s3b}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The mean age of the AAA patients was the highest (70.85 years) among all groups, and the mean age of the type A AD patients was the lowest (47.85 years). No significant differences were identified between the male-to-female ratios of the type A AD and type B AD patients (P\>0.05), but there were significant differences in the other two-group comparisons (P\<0.01). No significant differences were identified in the incidence of hypertension between the type A AD patients and TAA patients (P\>0.05), but significant differences were noted for the other two-group comparisons (P\<0.01). The incidence of coronary heart disease in the AAA patients (27.36±2.24%) was higher than that in the other groups (P\<0.01). The percentages of patients with preoperative aneurysm rupture were similar between the type A AD and type B AD patients (P\>0.05). However, there were significant differences when these two groups were compared with the other two groups separately (P\<0.01). The type B AD group had the lowest rate of cerebral vessel diseases, which was significantly different from the rates of the AAA and type A AD groups (P\<0.01). However, no significant differences in the rates of cerebral vessel disease were noted between the AAA and type A AD groups (P\>0.05). There were also no significant differences identified for smoking rates and incidences of diabetes and renal diseases among the four patient groups ([Table 1](#pone-0071012-t001){ref-type="table"}).
Procedural Data ([Table 2](#pone-0071012-t002){ref-type="table"}) {#s3c}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No significant differences were identified between the aortic disease groups in terms of procedural success (P\>0.05). However, significant differences were identified among these four groups in the rates of elective procedures and emergency procedures and in the rates of general anesthesia (P\<0.05). The elective procedure rates were all higher and the rates of emergency procedures were all lower in the AAA and type A AD groups than those in the other groups (P\<0.01). The type A AD group had the highest rate of general anesthesia (100%), and it was significantly different from those in the other three groups (P\<0.01). No significant differences were identified for the rates of emergent surgical conversion among these four groups (P\>0.05).
Perioperative Data ([Table 3](#pone-0071012-t003){ref-type="table"}) {#s3d}
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The highest procedure-related complications rate was identified in the type B AD patients (13.96±0.81%), and it was significantly different from that in the TAA patients (p\<0.01). However, no significant differences were found for the other two-group comparisons (P\>0.05). Except for the procedure-related complications, paraplegia and endoleak, the type A AD group had the highest incidence of every type of 30-day post-operative complication compared with the other three groups (P\<0.01). The rate of overall neurologic complications was significantly different in all two-group comparisons (P\<0.01), and the AAA patients had the lowest rate (0.31±0.04%). Stroke incidence was significantly different in all two-group comparisons (P\<0.01), except for the comparison between the TAA and type B AD groups, which had similar incidences (P\>0.05). The incidences of paraplegia were low among the four groups and similar between groups (P\>0.05). No cases of paraplegia were observed in the TAA and type A AD groups. Significant differences were noted between groups for cardiac, renal, pulmonary and visceral complications. The rates of these complications were higher in the type A AD patients than those in the other three groups (P\<0.01). However, except for the type B AD patients, who had higher numbers of renal complications than did the AAA patients (P\<0.01), the other three groups had similar results for these complications (P\>0.05). The post-procedural endoleak rate was the highest for the TAA patients (19.27±5.74%) and was similar to that for the type A AD patients (P\>0.05). Significant differences were identified for post-procedural endoleak rates between these two groups and the other groups (P\<0.01). Significant differences in 30-day mortality were also noted among the type A AD, AAA and type B AD (P\<0.05) patients, but no significant differences were found in the other two-group comparisons (P\>0.05). No significant differences in aorta-related mortality were noted among the four groups (P\>0.05). The type A AD group had the highest non-aorta-related mortality, and it was significantly different from that of the AAA group and type B AD group (P\<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the other two-group comparisons (P\>0.05).
Discussion {#s4}
==========
Although operative technique, anesthesia and pharmacologic therapy have been greatly developed during the past few decades, patients receiving open surgical treatment still face tremendous risks related to intra-operative or post-operative complications. To avoid these disadvantages of open operations, minimally invasive endovascular treatments have been developed for large-artery diseases and have been applied worldwide since the first endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) was applied to treat AAA in 1991. Endovascular treatment in large-artery diseases has displayed good short-term and mid-term outcomes. Lovegrove et al. [@pone.0071012-Lovegrove1] conducted a meta-analysis to compare outcomes after open surgery and EVAR for treating AAA and demonstrated that the incidences of post-procedural complications, 30-day mortality and long-term mortality were lower in the endovascular group. Other international clinical case-control studies have also reported similar results [@pone.0071012-Prinssen1]--[@pone.0071012-Katzen1].
According to our results and patient characteristics, the mean age was highest for the AAA patients among the four groups in this study; the patients with type A AD had the lowest mean age. Greenhalgh et al. [@pone.0071012-Greenhalgh1] reported a mean age of 74.0 years for patients treated with EVAR, and Ius et al. [@pone.0071012-Ius1] reported a mean age of 64 years for patients with type A AD receiving endovascular treatment. All of these results suggest that the mean ages of AAA and TAA patients are higher and that endovascular treatment for true aneurysms is a more mature technique with an easy operative procedure and low risks, allowing it to be applied even to older adults (aged \>65 years); however, the type A AD lesion is complicated, and stent implantation is difficult. Therefore, endovascular treatment for type A AD involves longer operative times and has been applied primarily to younger patients (mean age 47.95 years old) in China.
In China in our study, more than 50% of the patients with aortic diseases had hypertension; the incidence was highest in the type B AD patients. The incidence of coronary heart disease was highest in the AAA group, but the incidence of cerebral vessel disease was lowest in the type B AD group. Marin et al. [@pone.0071012-Marin1] reported the statistical results of 817 patients with AAA and TAA, and the incidence of preoperative complications was as follows: 75% with hypertension, 67% with coronary heart diseases, 13% with cerebral vessel diseases, 25% with renal diseases, 13% with diabetes and 17% with pulmonary diseases; additionally, 47% were smokers. These results suggest that the preoperative complications of aortic aneurysm patients from international studies are similar to those reported for Chinese patients. Zipfel et al. [@pone.0071012-Zipfel1] analyzed and summarized the incidences of preoperative complications in type A AD and type B AD patients as follows: 85% with hypertension, 36% with coronary heart diseases, and 31% with pulmonary diseases; additionally, 43% were smokers. Compared with the data from Chinese patients, the incidences of hypertension and smoking were similar, but the incidences of coronary heart diseases and pulmonary diseases were higher in the Zipfel study [@pone.0071012-Zipfel1].
The procedural success rates in the four aortic disease groups were all more than 98%, and no significant differences were identified among these four groups in China. The procedural success rates for endovascular treatment reported in international studies [@pone.0071012-Eggebrecht1], [@pone.0071012-Greenhalgh1]--[@pone.0071012-Zipfel1] are almost all above 90%. These results indicate that the endovascular technique can be considered a successful treatment for aortic diseases.
Except for procedure-related complications, paraplegia and endoleak, the type A AD group had the highest incidences of 30-day postoperative complications. In an international study [@pone.0071012-Ius1], the incidences of perioperative complications in patients with type A AD were as follows: 25% with overall neurologic complications, 4% with stroke, 21% with renal complications, 18% with cardiac complications and 4% with visceral complications. In the present study, except for the incidence of stroke, which was similar to international data, and the incidence of visceral complications, which was lower in international study results, the incidences of most other complications were higher in type A AD patients. One explanation for result this is the exceptionally complicated anatomic configuration of the ascending aorta and aortic arch in which the type A AD lesion is located. In addition, the lesion is usually associated with the large vessels branching from the aortic arch. Therefore, these anatomical factors may severely affect the blood supply for critical organs after endovascular treatment, which may lead to a higher incidence of post-operative complications. The incidences of all complications in the AAA patient group, except for endoleak, were the lowest among the four groups reviewed. In an international study, Makaroun et al. [@pone.0071012-Makaroun1] reported the incidences of post-operative complications in the AAA group as follows: 8.7% with cardiac complications, 4.7% with renal complications, 4% with vessel complications (including cerebral vessel complications and visceral vessel complications) and 4% with pulmonary complications. That study indicated that endovascular treatment for AAA was the safest. Moreover, because the rate of general anesthesia in the AAA group was the lowest, anesthesia-related complications were correspondingly decreased.
Post-procedural endoleak was still the major complication of endovascular treatment. The rate of post-procedural endoleak was the highest in the TAA patients, and the rate was similar in the type A AD patients. This result can be explained as follows: the anatomic configuration of the aortic arch curves between the ascending aorta and descending aorta, and in this region, the velocity of blood flow is fast, and the blood pressure is high. Consequently, the aortic arch shifts widely along with the heartbeat. In addition, aneurysm is a degenerative process and may accentuate the curving of the aortic arch. Together, these factors can lead to great difficulties in stent anchoring and can result in more frequent post-procedural complications such as endoleak, stent migration and other problems. Therefore, post-procedural endoleak can become the most critical problem for EVAR treatment [@pone.0071012-Corbillon1]. The results reported by Leurs et al. [@pone.0071012-Leurs1] indicated that the rate of post-procedural endoleak in TAA patients was 9.2%. Van Marrewijk et al. [@pone.0071012-vanMarrewijk1] reported that the rate of post-procedural endoleak in a clinical study of AAA was 6.9%. The rates of endoleak reported in Chinese studies were higher than those from international study data. The Chinese results indicate that endoleak is still the major complication, which requires greater attention from surgeons to be resolved, especially because this endovascular procedure is conducted at most clinical centers to treat aortic diseases.
The 30-day mortality was highest for the type A AD patients in the studies reviewed for this report; the non-aorta-related mortality was also the highest in the type A AD group. Ohki et al. [@pone.0071012-Ohki1] reported a 30-day mortality of 8.5% in AAA patients with endovascular treatment. Leurs et al. [@pone.0071012-Corbillon1] reported a 30-day mortality of 10% in TAA cases, of which 28% of deaths were associated with emergency surgery and 5.3% were associated with elective procedures. Ius et al. [@pone.0071012-Ius1] reported that hospital mortality in type A AD patients was 7%. These results all indicate that type A AD patients have the highest mortality after endovascular treatment, which can be explained as tearing of the ascending aorta or aortic arch in type A AD easily resulting in the rupture of the dissection. In addition, the tearing occurs in the proximal descending aorta, resulting in retrograde tears of the ascending aorta, which may lead to a second intimal tear in the ascending aorta and aortic arch or other severe complications such as pericardial effusion or retrograde rupture.
Conclusions {#s4a}
-----------
Endovascular stent-graft is a feasible and safe treatment with high procedural success, low incidence of post-procedural complications and low short-term mortality. Our results demonstrate that endovascular treatment for AAA and type B AD is more efficient than it is for type A AD and TAA, especially considering that type A AD patients receiving endovascular treatment have higher incidences of post-procedural complications and mortality. Post-procedural endoleak remains the most critical problem related to endovascular treatment, and solutions are urgently needed in China.
Supporting Information {#s5}
======================
######
(DOC)
######
Click here for additional data file.
I would like to thank all of teachers and physicians in the Department of Vascular Surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, especially Huang Xueling, Lin Ying and Ye Caisheng for their encouragement and support.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist
[^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: Siwen Wang Shenming Wang. Performed the experiments: Siwen Wang PL. Analyzed the data: Siwen Wang JW ZL. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: Siwen Wang PL CY GC XL. Wrote the paper: Siwen Wang JW.
|
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This invention relates in general to low-pressure arc discharge lamps and more particularly to compact fluorescent lamps having an increased voltage drop thereacross.
It is often desirable to substantially increase the voltage drop in a low-pressure mercury discharge lamp without decreasing the efficiency of the discharge in producing UV radiation. This is especially true when it is desirable to keep the arc length of the lamp as short as possible and consequently minimize the overall physical dimensions of the lamp while maintaining the same light output. This is especially important in the case of compact fluorescent lamps in which effort is made to obtain the maximum possible light output from the smallest possible volume.
The positive column of a typical low-pressure discharge, such as the mercury argon discharge that forms the basis for the fluorescent lamp, is characterized by the fact that the properties of the plasma are independent of Z, the dimension along the arc length axis. The electron density, the electric field, and the electron energy distribution are all constant and independent of Z. Thus, if positive column length were to be increased at constant discharge current, the only properties of the lamp that would change would be total operating voltage (i.e., arc drop), total power, and total light output, all of which would increase linearly with increasing length, since every incremental length of the positive column is the same as every other.
There are three important processes that occur within the plasma discharge in every discharge lamp: (1) the gain of energy by the electrons in the plasma from the axial electric field established when a predetermined voltage is applied across the electrodes, and its redistribution among the electrons to establish an electron energy distribution: (2) the energy losses to the mercury and the starting gas (e.g. argon) by these electrons in a manner such that only the high-energy fraction (>4.66 ev) is capable of creating excited atoms that will generate useful radiation, while all electrons (low energy as well as high) can lose energy via useless elastic collisions with gas and mercury atoms, wasted in the form of heat; and finally, (3) the escape of energy of excited atoms in the form of radiation, which in the case of the preferred ultraviolet radiations requires multiple emissions and reabsorptions before the radiation reaches the wall. It can be seen that the fraction of high-energy electrons in the distribution controls the balance between useful energy loss (creation of excited atoms) and wasted energy loss (elastic collisions).
In prior art lamps because of the essential equivalence of every increment of length of the positive column, all three of these processes occur simultaneously in every increment of volume of the column. Moreover, it is well known that since these three processes are not simultaneously optimized by the same choices of discharge parameters, the design of all such discharge lamps is inevitably a compromise balancing favorable changes in one process against unfavorable changes is either or both of the others. It is desirable, then to provide a means of separating at least one of these three discharge processes spatially from the other two, and causing it to take place in a different portion within the discharge envelope, so that the conditions for energy input and energy dissipation may be independently optimized.
The advantages of this separation of functions so far as practical lamps are concerned are two fold, especially with regard to compact fluorescent lamps. First they permit the achievement of relatively high arc drops in limited length of tube, without requiring very small diameter tubes. High efficiency requires that the positive column component of the discharge voltage be large in comparison to the electrode loss, a condition relatively easily achieved with multiply constricted lamps fabricated according to the preferred dimensional ratios outlined hereinafter. The achievement of electron energy distributions having a much enhanced fraction of high energy electrons also permits operation of the lamps at much higher power input per unit volume while still remaining in the approximately linear domain of output versus current. This means that high specific light levels can be reached in small volume lamps at good efficiency, an extremely important consideration for compact lamps. Also, under comparable conditions of high loading, lamps according to the present invention become substantially more efficacious than their straight tubular counterparts.
Major limitations in the prior art discharges result from the fact that the energy distribution of the electrons in a discharge optimized to the best degree hitherto possible is approximately a Maxwellian EQU f(E)=(2/kT.sqroot..pi.).epsilon..sup.1/2 e.sup.-.epsilon. ; .epsilon.=E/kT
where
E=electron energy PA1 k=Boltzmann's constant PA1 T=electron temperature.
At the typical electron temperature in a prior art fluorescent lamp, it is a characteristic of the Maxwellian distribution that only approximately one percent of the electrons have energy enough to create an excited atom, whereas all of them can make wasteful elastic collisions with gas atoms. It is possible, of course, to arrange conditions such that the electron temperature of the distribution is higher, in order to have a higher fraction of the electrons with energies greater than 4.66 ev. This is accomplished, however, only by reducing the diameter, or decreasing the gas filling pressure, both of which result in more rapid loss of high-energy electrons to the walls, thereby adversely affecting the efficiency. Finally, in actual lamp conditions, the losses of high-energy electrons from the distribution (either as a result of excitation of mercury or as a result of losses to the walls) are sufficiently rapid that the high-energy tail of a Maxwellian distribution cannot be fully populated by energy input processes; in short, the already small fraction of electrons that are able to do useful work is reduced still further.
A further disadvantage of this deficiency results from the fact that low-energy electrons can collide with excited mercury atoms and remove their energy, creating high-energy electrons and atoms in the lowest or ground state from which they cannot radiate. In the limit of very large collision rate (i.e., high electron density), it is plain that the fraction of atoms that can be in the excited state and emit radiation is dependent only on the fraction of high-energy electrons versus the fraction of low-energy electrons, and becomes independent of the total number density of electrons, and therefore independent of discharge current density. In this domain, useful output becomes a constant, while losses continue to increase, so that efficiency declines drastically with increasing current density.
As a consequence of this effect, if current density is increased from low values toward high in a fluorescent lamp, the number of excited atoms (and consequently the radiation output) increases linearly at low currents, and approaches a constant value essentially independent of current at high values of current density. The only mechanism hitherto available to the lamp designer to ameliorate this condition has been to reduce tube diameter and gas pressure to permit higher electron temperature and consequent higher fraction of high energy electrons, with the disadvantages already outlined above.
Fluorescent lamps have been made in the past which attempt to increase the voltage drop across the lamp by means of indentations or grooves in the envelope. Examples of such lamps having a plurality of individual indentations formed in a periodic manner along the envelope to increase the effective arc stream length are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,916,645; 2,973,447; and 3,098,945. These configurated lamps which have elongated tubular envelopes with non-circular cross-sections are generally complicated and consequently rather expensive to manufacture.
Another lamp is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,633 in which a plurality of separate and continuous grooves are used to increase the radiation of the lamp by altering the wall recombination rate of the plasma ions with the phosphor. The additional voltage generated in this type of lamp is not substantial i.e., much less than 0.25 volts per groove.
The prior art did not recognize the importance of minimizing the thickness of the constricted portion and of having as sharp a transition as possible, the more closely to approach the condition of a step-function change in potential in a very short distance. |
Google Fiber Is Coming to San Antonio - JaakkoP
https://fiber.google.com/cities/sanantonio/
======
angrybits
This is a good thing even for those outside of San Antonio proper. I was able
to upgrade to 1 Gbps on a small-time ISP this weekend, and it's because Google
is coming to the large city near me. Competition is a wonderful thing.
~~~
JaakkoP
Yeah I bet that the incumbents are immediately going to offer better rates to
lock in the customers most likely to change providers.
~~~
josephjrobison
In Austin - offered 50mb from Time Warner for $35/mo - then automatically
upgraded to 200mb. The fiberhood is coming in a month so yes they're getting
generous.
~~~
jrockway
To be fair, Time Warner also upgraded us in NYC from 50Mbps to 300Mbps for the
same price, and we don't have Google Fiber in NYC.
~~~
josephjrobison
Ahh gotcha - correlation without causation then, I suppose?
------
new2
Can someone explain what it takes for Google Fiber to come to a city ?
Do they buy an existing fiber company in the city ? Do they buy dark fiber ?
Do they lay new fiber ?
I'm trying to understand how the process works.
Side note : Is anyone laying new fiber anymore ? I was reading this (
[http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/verizon-nears-the-
en...](http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/verizon-nears-the-end-of-fios-
builds/) )
~~~
platinum1
The actual new/old fiber itself isn't really what makes it possible to get
Google Fiber, it's more about having a regulatory framework that allows Fiber
to be cost effective.
From: [http://www.broadbandforamerica.com/blog/regulatory-
concessio...](http://www.broadbandforamerica.com/blog/regulatory-concessions-
paved-way-google-fiber)
"Municipalities across the U.S., nearly 1,100 of them, competed vigorously to
be chosen as the site for the project, but too few had a regulatory
environment conducive to the investment that was required."
I believe Salt Lake City sold their unused fiber infrastructure to Google for
$1, which I'm sure helped (in return Google ).
------
caseysoftware
Still waiting for it to "come" to Austin.
But on the plus side, TWC, ATT, and Grande (my favorite) all upgraded their
networks in Austin in the year+ after Google's announcement. Even though
coverage still isn't complete, we have all of them fighting it out.
~~~
simplyluke
Seriously.
Have any cities without large pre-existing fiber networks actually seen
widespread google fiber adoption?
I was singing its praises multiple years ago when Austin was announced, but
excluding a couple of small neighborhoods in south-central Austin, the city
has seen relatively little in the way of google fiber. AT&T, and Grande have
actually been expanding much faster from what I can see.
Major business areas still haven't seen Gbps speeds.
~~~
nulltype
It sure would be clever if Google realized they don't have to build out the
fiber, just threaten to.
~~~
freehunter
Problem is, if you promise the dog treats and never deliver, they'll
eventually stop doing the trick.
------
therobot24
I'm curious if you look at the list of Google Fiber cities and their
population density
([http://i.imgur.com/8mpVm73.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/8mpVm73.jpg)) you'll see
a trend, and maybe predict the next set of potential cities. I mean it makes
sense that they wouldn't roll out in NYC/LA/Chicago immediately, however,
there is most likely some ratio of density to total population that they may
be aiming for. I dunno, just a thought.
~~~
raldi
No, I think it's just that some cities have insane bureaucracies that make it
a nightmare to get anything done, and others don't.
See, for example, AT&T's eleven-years-and-counting ordeal to roll out U-Verse
across San Francisco.
~~~
therobot24
You're definitely right that many cities are crossed off due to bureaucracy,
though I'm specifically curious at how Google is picking cities to look into
in the first place. That's where I think density/population come into play.
~~~
yessql
I think there is a sweet spot in high enough population density and low enough
bureaucracy (or enough local gov cooperation).
~~~
therobot24
maybe we should be looking at this in the opposite direction, if you want to
live in a good sized city that has low bureaucracy government then look at
where Google is looking to put fiber
~~~
rayiner
Eh. Atlanta is a relatively low bureaucracy city that's getting fiber. It's
also a police state that puts black people in jail for failing to pay car
registration fees on time.
~~~
therobot24
fair enough
------
Animats
Google Fiber is mostly vaporware. Google has been announcing "coming to" for
various cities for five years now. Actual installation is about half of Provo,
Utah, one side of Kansas City, and part of Austin, TX. That's all.
It seems to be more of a PR stunt than an actual business.
~~~
brianpan
The business serving ads. The business importance is improving access that
users have and reducing costs of delivering bytes. Making money being in the
business of being an ISP is probably not a business goal. If data rates
magically improve when Google makes these announcements, that's has a positive
impact (more than just gaining a little PR).
------
Texasian
It's worth noting that San Antonio has had a fiber network in the ground for
years that it's municipally owned utility company put in.
The only reason it isn't open is because the state government passed a law
forbidding municipal ISPs.
~~~
Obi_Juan_Kenobi
Is that being fought in light of the FCC ruling on municipal broadband?
------
hipsterrific
I will disregard said posts until Google Fiber announces they're coming to
Minnesota.
On that note, can Google Fiber come to Minnesota? :(
~~~
destitude
Many places in Minnesota already offer gigabit fiber. What is strange is it is
in many of the rural areas (see most of Northern Minnesota).. See Paul Bunyan
Communications for instance.
~~~
seanf
My former employer has an expanding fiber network in Minneapolis:
[http://fiber.usinternet.com/](http://fiber.usinternet.com/)
------
msh
Just curious, what are people doing with the connections (if they are really
using the gigabit connection)?
Its not to discount the value of gigabit internet, but I curretly have 100/100
megabit and cant imagine what I would use faster speed to do. Most stuff dont
max out my current connection event with multiple users.
~~~
travelton
I'm just hoping for a low latency, stable connection. I feel Google's
networking infrastructure is likely a notch above the rest.
------
roflchoppa
Lemme just say as someone who lives in the Bay Area, often referred to as one
of the Tech Capitals of the US. We have crappy internet providers here.
and by crappy i mean Comcast / AT&T.
Oh the irony of living here and getting screwed over on ISPs.
------
devinus
This would be exciting if it was even rolled out in Austin yet.
------
JaakkoP
Here's also their blog post about the announcement.
[http://googlefiberblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/san-antonio-
fibe...](http://googlefiberblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/san-antonio-fiber.html)
------
agumonkey
Funny even though it seems a steady growing project, it's now a lot more
frustrating since it appear potentially mainstream rather than a one shot
experiment.
------
fideloper
Exciting news for me here in SA. Just moved here from CT ~9 months ago!
I'd rather pay evil Google over evil Time Warner.
------
sandworm101
All welland good, but will this come in time to swing Texas in the next
election?
~~~
saryant
Considering how _hilariously, astoundingly bad_ the last Democrat did in a
Texas gubernatorial election (and the fact that fiber != swings in political
sentiment), I'm going to chalk this up to a pipe dream.
~~~
pnut
Well to be fair, her only claim to fame was a single filibuster.
And even when the voting rolls turn purple/blue in Texas, that's just a green
flag for the entrenched Republican elements in TX to break out their book of
dirty tricks to stall the inevitable. They're not going to cede power without
a ruthless, billion dollar oil money fight.
~~~
saryant
I honestly think Davis' campaign set the Democrats in Texas back by ten years.
------
NoMoreNicksLeft
Goddammit, bring it to Lubbock. I beg you, Divine Google, show mercy on me.
------
sillygeese
Great news! Now San Antonians can have _everything_ they do online data-mined
by Google!
I'm being snarky, but does anyone doubt Google will snoop the shit out of you
once you're on a connection of theirs? That's the main reason they got into
the ISP business.
It's not like they started snooping only recently either. Remember when their
Street View cars just _" accidentally"_ happened to capture nearby WiFi
traffic?
~~~
nulltype
Yeah I totally trust Comcast to not do that too.
~~~
nadams
Sandvine anyone? When they said they weren't using it. Then we proved they
were and still denied it. Then I believe they were fined by the FCC and I
think to this day they still deny using it...
|
Following the molecular mechanism for the NH3 + LiH → LiNH2 + H2 chemical reaction: a study based on the joint use of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and noncovalent interaction (NCI) index.
The molecular mechanism for the NH3 + LiH → LiNH2 + H2 reaction has been elucidated by the combined use of quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and noncovalent interactions (NCI) index. The topology of the electron density, obtained by QTAIM/NCI, is able to identify the evolution of strong and weak interactions, recovering the bonding patterns along the reaction pathway. Thus, the combination of these two techniques is a useful and powerful tool in the study of chemical events, providing new strategies to understand and visualize the molecular mechanisms of chemical rearrangements. Also, for the first time, the topology of the reduced density gradient has been analyzed, taking into account saddle points for the construction of bifurcation trees. This approach has demonstrated the ability of NCI to account for delocalized interactions, very often characteristic of transitions states. |
package com.vpaliy.melophile.playback.service;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.media.MediaBrowserCompat;
import android.support.v4.media.MediaBrowserServiceCompat;
import java.util.List;
import android.support.v4.media.MediaMetadataCompat;
import android.support.v4.media.session.MediaButtonReceiver;
import android.support.v4.media.session.MediaSessionCompat;
import android.support.v4.media.session.PlaybackStateCompat;
import com.vpaliy.melophile.App;
import com.vpaliy.melophile.playback.PlaybackManager;
import com.vpaliy.melophile.ui.track.TrackActivity;
import static com.vpaliy.melophile.playback.MediaHelper.MEDIA_ID_EMPTY_ROOT;
import static com.vpaliy.melophile.playback.MediaHelper.MEDIA_ID_ROOT;
import android.support.annotation.NonNull;
import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
import javax.inject.Inject;
public class MusicPlaybackService extends MediaBrowserServiceCompat
implements PlaybackManager.PlaybackServiceCallback,
PlaybackManager.MetadataUpdateListener {
private static final String TAG = MusicPlaybackService.class.getSimpleName();
private MediaSessionCompat mediaSession;
private TrackNotification notification;
@Inject
protected PlaybackManager playbackManager;
public MusicPlaybackService() {
App.appInstance().playerComponent().inject(this);
}
@Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
playbackManager.setServiceCallback(this);
playbackManager.setUpdateListener(this);
mediaSession = new MediaSessionCompat(getApplicationContext(), TAG);
mediaSession.setCallback(playbackManager.getMediaSessionCallback());
mediaSession.setFlags(MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS |
MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS);
setSessionToken(mediaSession.getSessionToken());
Context context = getApplicationContext();
Intent intent = new Intent(context, TrackActivity.class);
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getActivity(context, 99,
intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
mediaSession.setSessionActivity(pi);
notification = new TrackNotification(this);
playbackManager.updatePlaybackState(PlaybackStateCompat.STATE_NONE);
}
@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent startIntent, int flags, int startId) {
if (startIntent != null) {
String action = startIntent.getAction();
if (action != null) {
if (action.equals(MediaTasks.ACTION_STOP)) {
stopSelf();
} else {
MediaTasks.executeTask(playbackManager, action);
}
}
MediaButtonReceiver.handleIntent(mediaSession, startIntent);
}
return START_NOT_STICKY;
}
@Override
public void onMetadataChanged(MediaMetadataCompat metadata) {
mediaSession.setMetadata(metadata);
notification.updateMetadata(metadata);
}
@Override
public void onMetadataRetrieveError() {
}
@Override
public void onPlaybackStart() {
mediaSession.setActive(true);
Intent intent = new Intent(this, MusicPlaybackService.class);
startService(intent);
}
@Override
public void onPlaybackStop() {
mediaSession.setActive(false);
notification.pauseNotification();
}
@Override
public void onPlaybackStateUpdated(PlaybackStateCompat stateCompat) {
mediaSession.setPlaybackState(stateCompat);
notification.updatePlaybackState(stateCompat);
}
@Override
public void onNotificationRequired() {
notification.startNotification();
}
@Override
public void onDestroy() {
mediaSession.release();
stopForeground(true);
super.onDestroy();
}
@Nullable
@Override
public BrowserRoot onGetRoot(@NonNull String clientPackageName, int clientUid, @Nullable Bundle rootHints) {
if (!clientPackageName.equals(getPackageName())) {
return new BrowserRoot(MEDIA_ID_ROOT, null);
}
return new BrowserRoot(MEDIA_ID_EMPTY_ROOT, null);
}
@Override
public void onLoadChildren(@NonNull String parentId, @NonNull Result<List<MediaBrowserCompat.MediaItem>> result) {
}
} |
Q:
Self-Executing JS Function
I am doing the Codecademy JS training as a review for a course I'm taking soon. I hit the creditCheck function exercise which basically just wants a function that evaluates an integer and returns one value for above 100, and one for below. I thought that the code below should work, but it is running without being called. Why is this happening?
creditCheck = function(income)
{
income *= 1; // one way to convert the variable income into a number.
if (income>100)
{
console.log("You earn a lot of money! You qualify for a credit card.");
return true; // this is an actual return value, console.log() always returns "undefined"
}
else
{
console.log("Alas you do not qualify for a credit card. Capitalism is cruel like that.");
return false;
}
};
console.log("If the log is executing in the function def then this should print second. Otherwise it's probably being executed by the coding script itself.\n\n")
RESOLUTION (Maybe):
So I just tested the script in a console off of the Codecademy site. It doesn't self execute anywhere except on that site. This leads me to believe that there is something funky going on with that page.
More Resolution (also Maybe):
I also added that last line above to test when the function was being called. Since it's the last line in the program, my assumption is that if the execution is in the function body itself, that that last line would print last. This leads me to believe that the grading script is calling the function on its own accord which means that when I add in the actual function calls, it's messing it up.
A:
You have to call the function you have defined.
var creditCheck = function(income)
{
if (income>100)
{
return(console.log("You earn a lot of money! You qualify for a credit card."));
}
else
{
return(console.log("Alas you do not qualify for a credit card. Capitalism is cruel like that."));
}
}; creditCheck(111);
A:
The actual solution had to do with me calling my own function in the submitted code and the way that the grading function interpreted this. Additionally, the script was expecting some other arrangement of console.log(#whatever) so that was complicating it when I didn't call my own function.
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108 So.2d 111 (1958)
236 La. 521
Wilfrid S. ROBERTS, d/b/a Robert's Esso Service Station, et al.
v.
CITY OF BATON ROUGE et al.
No. 43832.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
May 26, 1958.
On Rehearing November 10, 1958.
Rehearing Denied December 15, 1958.
*112 Durrett, Hardin, Hunter, Dameron & Fritchie; Cadwallader & Perkins, Baton Rouge, for plaintiffs.
William L. Murdock, City Atty., Robert E. Eatman, Asst. City Atty., Shreveport, Frank H. Peterman, City Atty., Alexandria, Haynes Harkey, Jr., City Atty., Monroe, A. R. Le Compte, City Atty., De Ridder, Arthur C. Watson, City Atty., Natchitoches, Alvin J. Liska, City Atty., Ernest L. Salatich and Dominic C. Grieshaber, Asst. City Attys., New Orleans, amici curiae.
R. Gordon Kean, J., Parish Attorney, John V. Parker, Asst. Parish Atty., Baton Rouge, for defendants-appellees.
SIMON, Justice.
The Court of Appeal, 1st Circuit, has certified questions of law to us for instructions, and under Sec. 4 of Rule XIII of this Court, the Court of Appeal has certified its findings of fact on which the said questions of law are predicated. Rather than submit our instructions on the questions of law certified and remand the case to the Court of Appeal for decision, *113 we exercise the privilege accorded us by Sec. 25 of Art. VII of our Constitution, LSA, of considering and disposing of the whole matter in controversy as though it had been appealed directly to this Court[1].
We consider the findings of fact of the Court of Appeal pertinent to the issues here involved are as follows:
"This is a declaratory judgment action brought by certain service station operators against the City of Baton Rouge and its treasurer. Plaintiffs seek judgment interpreting Section 62, Title 9 of the Baton Rouge City Code[2], in the light of Section 24.1 of Article XIV of the Louisiana [LSA-] Constitution, and decreeing that plaintiffs are entitled to occupational licenses to operate service station without including in the computation of the occupational license taxes due by them to the City, their gross sales of gasoline, motor oils and other motor fuels.
"The city ordinance in question affecting the occupational license tax owed by all businesses within the corporate limits including plaintiffs, provides that:
"`The amount of the license tax levied herein in each case is hereby fixed, determined and ordained to be the same as that fixed, levied and collectible by the State of Louisiana under, and shall be graded in accordance with, the provisions of Louisiana [LSA-] Revised Statutes, Title 47, Sections 341-405, both inclusive, as amended, and all other applicable laws of Louisiana, all of which for the purposes of this ordinance are made a part hereof by reference as fully as if written herein in extenso.'
"The authority for the State and for local subdivisions to impose occupational license taxes is found in Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution of 1921, and which pertinently provides as follows:
"`License taxes may be levied on such classes or persons, associations of persons and corporations pursuing any trade, business, occupation, vocation or profession, as the Legislature may deem proper * * * No political subdivision shall impose a greater license tax than is imposed for State purposes * * *'
"The State occupational license tax upon retail gasoline dealers such as plaintiffs provides that the gross sales by which it is measured shall include gasoline sales. LSA-R.S. 47:353.
"The City Treasurer of the City of Baton Rouge therefore requires plaintiffs-appellants to include in their gross sales (by which their city occupational license tax is measured) their sales of gasoline products, just as is done for the purpose of measuring the State occupational license tax due.
"Plaintiffs urge that the inclusion of their sales of gasoline products used in the generation of motive power violates the constitutional provisions found in Section 24.1 of Article XIV of the Constitution, which provides:
"`No parish, municipality or other political subdivision, shall levy an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline, kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power; provided that nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to limit the right of the Legislature to levy State *114 taxes on gasoline, benzine, naphtha and other motor fuels.'"
The district court, in rendering judgment in favor of the defendant City held:
(1) that an occupational license tax measured by the gross sales of gasoline in the generation of motive power is not an "excise, license or privilege tax" on gasoline such as is prohibited by Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV of the Louisiana Constitution, and
(2) in concluding that parish, municipal, and other local political subdivisions are not prohibited by said section and article from requiring the inclusion by service station operators of sales of gasoline products in the gross sales by which their local occupational license tax is measured.
On the basis of the conclusions reached by the district court and the factual findings submitted by the Court of Appeal, as aforesaid, the issue presented for our determination is whether an occupational license tax measured by the gross sales of gasoline used in the generation of motive power is an "excise, license or privilege tax" on gasoline such as is prohibited by Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV of the Louisiana Constitution.
Art. X, Sec. 8 of the Louisiana Constitution delegates to the Legislature the power to provide for the levying of license taxes upon certain trades, businesses and occupations, the pertinent part of which reads as follows:
"License taxes may be levied on such classes of persons, associations of persons and corporations pursuing any trade, business, occupation, vocation or profession, as the Legislature may deem proper * * *"
Art. X, Sec. 8 of the Constitution was last amended by Act 77 of 1934, and adopted by the electorate on November 6, 1934, which will be hereinafter referred to. Subsequent to this last amendment of Article X, Sec. 8 of the Constitution, Article XIV, Sec. 24.1 of the Constitution was amended by Act 395 of 1940 and adopted by the electorate on November 5, 1940, to provide as follows:
"No parish, municipality or other political subdivision, shall levy an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline, kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power; provided that nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to limit the right of the Legislature to levy State taxes on gasoline, benzine, naphtha and other motor fuels."
The Legislature has acted under the authority of Art. X, Sec. 8 of the Constitution to levy a State occupational license tax and to provide that municipalities may levy similar taxes, provided that the said taxes conform to the State Occupational License Tax Laws. Pursuant thereto, Legislature adopted LSA-R.S. 47:341 and LSA-R.S. 47:397.
LSA-R.S. 47:341 provides: "In addition to all other license and excise taxes imposed in other chapters of this Title or in other laws, there is hereby levied an annual license tax upon each person pursuing any trade, profession, vocation, calling or business in this state subject to license under Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution of 1921, which annual license tax shall be classified and graded as set out in the following Sections of this Chapter."
LSA-R.S. 47:397 provides: "Any municipal or parochial corporation shall have the right to impose a license tax on any business, occupation or profession herein enumerated, provided that all such license taxes shall conform to the provisions of Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution."
LSA-R.S. 47:353 provides for the calculations of the occupational license tax due by retail dealers on the basis of their dollar amount of gross annual sales.
*115 The City Council of the City of Baton Rouge imposed and levied the occupational license tax herein opposed upon "* * * each person who may be subject to such license tax under the Constitution and Laws of Louisiana, pursuing and conducting any business within the corporate limits of the City." The amount of the said occupational license tax is provided for as abovestated, and as follows:
"The amount of the license tax levied herein in each case is hereby fixed, determined and ordained to be the same as that fixed levied and collectible by the State of Louisiana under, and shall be graded in accordance with, the provisions of Louisiana [LSA-] Revised Statutes, Title 47, Sections 341-405, as amended, and all other applicable laws of Louisiana, all of which for the purposes of this ordinance are made a part hereof by reference as if written herein in extenso." (Sec. 62, Title 9, Baton Rouge City Code.)
Plaintiff contends that Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV of the Constitution, as amended by Act 395 to 1940, prohibits any political subdivisions of the State from levying any tax on gasoline or other motor fuels which is either an excise tax, a license tax or a privilege tax; that once the amendment of 1940 became effective the Constitution of Louisiana authorizes the Legislature to permit the levying of license taxes by political subdivisions of the State, under authority of Art. X, Sec. 8, only if the license tax is not an excise, license or privilege tax on gasoline or other motor fuels, the levying of which is prohibited by Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV; that therefore the attempt on the part of the City of Baton Rouge to collect an occupational license tax from these plaintiffs is unconstitutional insofar as it attempts to tax plaintiffs' gross receipts from sales of gasoline and other motor fuels.
On the other hand, the City of Baton Rouge contends that the tax imposed by the ordinance in question is a tax, under the authority of Art. X, Sec. 8 of the Constitution, on the privilege of pursuing a trade, occupation, vocation or profession and is not a tax upon the sale of gasoline and other motor fuels; that it is a separate and distinct tax from one directly imposed on the merchandise or other property sold in the conduct of any such trade, business or occupation, the volume of business as evidenced by gross sales being merely the basis upon which the tax is graduated.
At the outset it may be stated that the issue here presented does not involve the validity of the ordinance vel non, but only its specific application to one phase of business, the sale of gasoline and other motor fuels by service station operators.
A direct tax is defined in Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 1930 Ed., supplemented to 1954, p. 378 as: "A capitation tax or a tax on real or personal property by reason of its ownership whether based on its value or not."
In defining an indirect tax, Ballentine's Law Dictionary, pp. 635 and 636, draws a clear distinction between a direct and an indirect tax as follows:
"All taxes, other than polls, are either direct or indirect. A direct tax is one that is imposed directly on property according to its value. It is generally spoken of as a property tax, or an ad valorem tax. An indirect tax is a tax upon some right or privilege, and it is also called an excise or occupation tax."
The definition and discussion of an excise tax found in Ballentine's Law Dictionary, supra, p. 460 is as follows:
"In its original sense, an excise was something cut off from the price paid on a sale of goods, as a contribution to the support of the government, but in its broader meaning it now includes every form of taxation which is not a burden levied directly upon persons or property, every form of charge imposed by public authority for the purpose of *116 raising revenue upon the performance of an act, the enjoyment of a privilege, or the engaging in an occupation."
Although an excise tax may partake of the nature of a license tax, the former has a wider and more comprehensive meaning. We find the term license tax is defined and discussed in Ballentine's Law Dictionary, supra, p. 756:
"The term implies a burden on that which is not property, but results from the enjoyment or the conduct of the business or calling, or on a civil right and privilege.
"It is a tax imposed on the privilege of exercising certain callings, professions or vocations, that, when collected, goes into the public treasury. Such taxes are levied for both revenue and regulation."
The term "privilege tax" is defined in Ballentine's Law Dictionary, supra, p. 1018:
"The term is synonymous with the term `excise tax' and the two are often used synonymously. Taxation of the privilege is upon the occupation or activity carried on amid the social, economic and industrial environment, under the protection of the state."
From the foregoing it is manifest that the terms "excise tax", "license tax" and "privilege tax" are synonymous and are used interchangeably to the extent that they are all "indirect taxes" which are imposed upon the acts of persons, whereas a "direct tax" is one which is imposed upon the persons themselves or upon the property owned by them. It is equally manifest that an "excise" or "privilege" tax may be a tax on any act of a person, whereas a "license tax" is generally taken to have the limited meaning of a tax upon a person's business or occupation.
These well-settled distinctions between direct taxes such as excise, license and privilege taxes, and direct personal and property taxes have met with full acceptance in our jurisprudence.
In the case of State ex rel. Guillot v. Central Bank & Trust Co., 143 La. 1053, 79 So. 857, 358, this Court said:
"A license may be defined as a permit granted by the sovereign, generally for a consideration, to a person, firm, or corporation to pursue some occupation or to carry on some business which is subject to regulation under the police power of the government."
The early case of Merriam v. City of New Orleans, 14 La.Ann. 318, involved an attack on a municipal ordinance levying a license tax on every keeper of a billiard table, the amount of the tax being measured by the number of tables. Plaintiff contended that the tax was a property tax on the tables and not a license or privilege tax for the use of the tables in the taxpayer's business, and hence the ordinance was unconstitutional. We held this contention untenable and that the clear intention of the Legislature was to impose a license tax upon the particular calling or business of operating a billiard table for public use, and not a tax upon the table itself.
The case of Hodgson v. City of New Orleans, 21 La.Ann. 301, wherein the Merriam case was cited and quoted with approval, a municipal ordinance levied a tax on every keeper of a warehouse where produce, goods, wares or merchandise were received for storage. We held that the tax was a license tax upon the particular calling or business of keeping a warehouse and not a tax upon the warehouse itself.
The case of State v. Heymann, 178 La. 479, 151 So. 901, involved the levying of a license tax on the business of operating an office building. We held that the tax was not a direct tax upon the property but a license tax upon the business in which the property was used or employed.
The case of State ex rel. Porterie v. H. L. Hunt, Inc., 182 La. 1073, 162 So. 777, *117 779, 103 A.L.R. 9, involved the interpretation of a statute levying an "excise, license, or privilege" tax on the use of electrical and mechanical power, and in the creation thereof through the operations of machines. The defendant contended that the tax in reality was not upon the business or occupation of the user of the machines but was a direct tax upon the only thing of value in the machines, their use, and hence was a property tax. We held the tax so levied to be not a property tax but an exercise tax, saying:
"The distinction between a property tax and an excise tax is set forth in Cooley on Taxation * * *, as follows, viz:
"`* * * If the tax is directly on property itself, the tax is a property tax; but a tax is an excise tax rather than a property tax where it is not a tax on property as such, but upon certain kinds of property, having reference to their origin and their intended use. Another thing to be noted, it has been said, is that the obligation to pay an excise tax is based upon the voluntary action of the person taxed in performing the act, enjoying the privilege, or engaging in the occupation which is the subject of the excise, and the element of absolute and unavoidable demand, as in the case of a property tax, is lacking.'"
The phrase "license tax" implies a burden on that which is not property, but results from its enjoyment or the conduct of the business or calling, or on a civil right and privilege. 17 R.C.L., p. 474.
In the case of Mouledoux v. Maestri, 197 La. 525, 2 So.2d 11, 18, we had before us a question as to whether a sales tax was an excise tax or a license tax and distinguished between the two taxes as follows:
"The license tax is paid by the party granted the privilege of pursuing a business, trade, vocation, calling, occupation or profession."
In that case we concluded that a sales tax was an excise tax rather than a license tax and in that respect we said:
"Some of the other prominent elements of difference between a `license' and a `sales' tax are that the former is levied on the gross annual sales of the dealer, whereas, the latter is levied on each transaction of the purchaser, user or lessee; * * *"
We also definitely found and concluded in the Mouledoux case that the term "license tax" has a well-defined legal meaning in this State, i.e., a license tax.
It is too plain for discussion that the license taxes authorized under the provisions of Art. X, Sec. 8 of the Louisiana Constitution are confined and limited to those classes of persons, associations of persons and corporations pursuing any trade, business, occupation, vocation or profession. When a license tax is levied on such occupations or businesses, it is a tax levied on the activity or occupation of selling or otherwise dealing in or with certain property and perforce becomes a license, excise or privilege tax on the activity or occupation and not a direct tax on the property. It must be conceded that neither our general law nor our well-known jurisprudence recognizes an "excise", "license" or "privilege" tax on property. It therefore becomes apparent that the tax levied by the Baton Rouge City Ordinance is not upon the gasoline itself as a property but is an excise, license or privilege tax levied upon the activity or occupation of selling at retail prices or otherwise dealing with gasoline or other motor fuels, i.e., an occupational license, excise or privilege tax which unmistakably means a tax upon the privilege of pursuing the said vocation or business or calling. Such an occupational tax has none of the attributes of an ad valorem tax. The tax does not fall upon the owner merely because *118 of ownership. It is not measured by the value of gasoline and is not laid directly upon the property itself. The value of the gasoline may fluctuate at will by the amount per gallon but the tax remains constant.
It is the contention of counsel for the City of Baton Rouge that an excise tax upon gasoline and an occupational license tax upon the privilege of engaging in the service station business based upon gross sales, including gross sales from gasoline, are not the same, submitting that the City is prohibited from doing the one but not the other. As previously observed, when an excise tax is imposed it is not a tax levied upon property but a tax levied upon the privilege of engaging in the activity or occupation of pursuing a trade, business or vocation. If a tax is levied on gasoline itself of necessity it becomes a direct property tax and not a tax on the activity of selling or otherwise dealing in gasoline.
Patently, Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV of the Louisiana Constitution prohibits taxation by political subdivisions of the activity or occupation of dealing in motor fuels. Its prohibition against "excise, license or privilege" taxes covers the entire field of indirect taxes which may be levied on said activity or occupation. As previously observed, these three forms of indirect taxes, though used interchangeably, refer to and mean a tax levied upon the activity, occupation or privilege of selling or otherwise dealing in gasoline or other motor fuels.
Were we to construe the provisions of Sec. 24.1 of Art. XIV to mean something other than a prohibition against the levying of an excise, license or privilege tax on the activity or occupation of selling or otherwise dealing in gasoline, kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power, it would be tantamount to charging the Legislature with heedlessness and inattentiveness in the enactment of proposed changes in our organic law. However, we will not presume that the Legislature intended absurd consequences and will not give this constitutional article a construction which will lead to absurdities. It is axiomatic that in the construction and interpretation of statutes all of its parts, each words, each phrase and each clause is intended to have a meaning and that none contained therein is inserted by mere inadvertence. State v. Texas Co., 205 La. 417, 17 So.2d 569.
Furthermore, to construe the Constitutional provision as contended for by the City of Baton Rouge would in effect read out of its provisions the words "excise, license or privilege" and thus do violence to the principle that all of the words of a statute should be given effect.
We conclude that Art. XIV, Sec. 24.1 clearly prohibits the imposition by political subdivisions of excise, license and privilege taxes on the occupation of selling or otherwise dealing in motor fuels; and since the occupational license, privilege or excise tax sought to be levied by the City of Baton Rouge is clearly a tax on the privilege of pursuing the activity or occupation of selling or otherwise dealing on gasoline or other motor fuels said tax is in direct conflict with the prohibition contained in Art. XIV, Sec. 24.1. Thus it follows that the City may not impose an occupational license on that part of plaintiffs' business which consists of selling or otherwise dealing in gasoline or other motor fuels, and any tax levied upon plaintiffs' gross receipts must exclude the proceeds of sales of gasoline, kerosene or other motor fuels in computing the license, privilege or excise tax levied by the ordinance herein.
Accordingly, for the reasons assigned, the judgment of the district court is hereby reversed, annulled and set aside and it is now ordered, adjudged and decreed that there be judgment in favor of plaintiffs and against defendant decreeing that plaintiffs are entitled to occupational licenses to operate service stations in the City of Baton Rouge, without the necessity of including. *119 in their gross sales the sales of gasoline and other fuels used in the generation of motive power, in the computation of said occupational license tax. All costs herein are to be borne by the defendants.
HAMITER, J., concurs in the decree.
McCALEB, J., dissents with written reasons.
MOISE, J., absent.
McCALEB, Justice (dissenting).
I am in accord with the conclusion of the district judge and that of the Court of Appeal for the Parish of Orleans in Cosse v. City of New Orleans, 99 So.2d 508, wherein the identical question here involved was presented for determination. The views I entertain probably stem from a different process of reasoning but the result reached is the same, i.e., that the amendment of 1940 to Section 24.1 of Article 14 of the Constitution, denying to municipalities and other political subdivisions the power to levy excise, license or privilege taxes upon gasoline, etc., was never intended to curtail or restrict the power of these political subdivisions, specially granted by Section 8 of Article 10 of the Constitution, to levy occupational license taxes upon retail dealers in gasoline and other motor fuels.
The pertinent language of the amendment is that "No parish, municipality or other political subdivision, shall levy an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline, * * *". If this provision is applied as written without the aid of judicial interpretation, there could be hardly any doubt that it would not govern this case since the tax levied by the City of Baton Rouge is an occupational license on plaintiff as a retail dealer, the amount of which is based on his gross sales, including sales of gasoline and, therefore, is not in any sense a tax on the gasoline itself. However, in view of the use of the words "excise, license or privilege" in describing the kind of tax which may not be levied on gasoline or other motor fuel by a municipality or political subdivision, the amendment indicates that the prohibition was not intended to be levelled against the assessment of a direct or ad valorem tax on gasoline or motor fuel itself, as literally stated, but, rather, as the majority opinion so aptly points out, a prohibition against the assessment of an indirect tax or excise on the privilege of selling, using, consuming, etc., of gasoline or motor fuel. To thus conclude requires construction; the law cannot be enforced according to its letter.
Accordingly, it follows that, due to the inaccuracy of the language used in Section 24.1 of Article 14, the provision cannot be regarded as free from ambiguity and must be construed and interpreted in order to ascertain its true meaning. When this is done, it becomes manifest that the provision was never intended as a restriction upon the right of political subdivisions to impose occupational license taxes on retailers of gasoline based on their gross sales of the fuel.
It is provided by Article 18 of our Civil Code that:
"The universal and most effectual way of discovering the true meaning of a law, when its expressions are dubious, is by considering the reason and spirit of it, or the cause which induced the Legislature to enact it."
This Court has employed this article on numerous occasions in its interpretation of legislative acts and constitutional provisions. In one of the comparatively recent cases, State v. Alden Mills, 202 La. 416, 12 So.2d 204, the Court, relying on Article 18 as the basis for its decision, construed, as retrospective in its operation, an amendment to Section 19 of Article 19 of the Constitution providing that all taxes and licenses prescribed in three years from their due date.
*120 Application of this principle of construction to the case at bar leaves no doubt whatever that the purpose of Section 24.1 of Article 14 of the Constitution, as last amended by Act 395 of 1940, was to withdraw from the City of New Orleans and other political subdivisions the right which the City and the parishes had previously enjoyed of levying an excise tax, similar to that of the State, on gasoline and other motor fuels sold by dealers to the consumer.
The history of Section 24.1 of Article 14 makes this self evident. The original legislation, authorizing the levy of a motor fuel tax by any municipality was Act 180 of 1924. This law, which was adopted on November 4, 1924 as an amendment to Section 24 of Article 14 of the Constitution, created a special paving fund for the City of New Orleans dedicated to the city's proportion of the cost of pavement of streets and roadways and authorized the levy of a one cent per gallon tax on all gasoline or other motor fuel sold in the city for the maintenance of said fund. Thereafter, by Act 15 of the Extra Session of 1928 (which was amended by Act 72 of 1934; Act 21 of the First Extra Session of 1934 and Act 32 of the Second Extra Session of 1934) and Act 31 of the Second Extra Session of 1934, the police juries of each parish, as well as the City of New Orleans, were empowered to levy a one cent motor fuel tax.
In 1936, by Act 87 thereof, Act 15 of the Extra Session of 1928 and Act 31 of the Second Extra Session of 1934 were repealed and thus the power delegated to the parishes and the City of New Orleans to levy motor fuel excise taxes was withdrawn and a motor fuel tax to be levied by the State was substituted therefor. Notwithstanding this, the City of New Orleans was successful in having a constitutional amendment (proposed by Act 341 of 1936) adopted on November 3, 1936, as a supplement to Section 24 of Article 14 of the Constitution, authorizing it to levy a tax of two cents per gallon on all gasoline or motor fuels sold, used or consumed in the City.
It is indisputable that it was because of the existence of this constitutional amendment that the Legislature found it necessary in 1940 to submit a proposal (Act 395 of 1940) to again amend Section 24.1 of Article 14 by substituting therefor the present provision that no excise, license or privilege tax may be levied by any municipality or public subdivision on gasoline or other motor fuel. This was carried out conformably with the legislative policy, signified for the first time by Act 87 of 1936, of having all excise taxes on motor fuels levied and collected by the State itself to the exclusion of its municipalities and political subdivisions.
Since it appears that the sole and only purpose for the adoption of the constitutional provision now relied on by plaintiff was to withdraw from municipalities and other subdivisions the right to levy taxes on the sale, use and consumption of motor fuel, it is equally evident that the 1940 amendment did not and was never intended to affect the power delegated to these bodies to collect the occupational license taxes from retail dealers in gasoline, based on the computation of their gross sales.
Finally, plaintiff's counsel lay stress on the circumstance that the constitutional prohibition is against the levying of a "license" as well as an excise tax and from this it is argued that the amendment necessarily includes a prohibition against the levying of an occupational license tax based on the gross sales of gasoline.
The majority opinion gives efficacy to this proposition but I find little merit in it. The word "license", when used in connection with "excise" or "privilege" taxes in legislation of this sort is generally employed interchangeably in describing an indirect tax without particular significance as to its nature. See Lionel's Cigar Store v. McFarland, 162 La. 956, 111 So. 341; Louisiana *121 State Dept. of Agriculture v. Sibille, 207 La. 877, 22 So.2d 202 and Giamalva v. Cooper, 217 La. 979, 47 So.2d 790, 793.
In the last cited case, contention was made that, since the statute imposed an occupational license tax on the slot machine business, the tax was illegal because it conferred a privilege on the taxpayer to engage in the gambling business in violation of the Constitution. But we rejected this argument, stating that "The fact that the excise is denominated a license is of no importance in determining the true nature of the tax. * * * In final analysis, they are excises as distinguished from property taxes." So, in this case, the use of the word "license" affords no good ground for attributing a legislative intent to prohibit the levy of an occupational license tax on retail dealers of gasoline computed on their gross sales.
I respectfully dissent.
On Rehearing.
TATE, Justice.
As more fully set forth in our original opinion herein, the issue in this declaratory judgment action against the City of Baton Rouge and its Treasurer is whether the City's statutory requirement that gasoline retailers include the sales of gasoline and other motor fuels in computing their gross sales by which their annual local occupational license tax is measured violates the prohibition found in Article XIV, Section 24.1, La.Constitution, LSA.:
"No parish, municipality or other political subdivision, shall levy an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline * * *"[1] (Italics ours.)
In our original opinion we held that the constitutional prohibition did extend to a municipal occupational license tax measured by the sale of gasoline because such a tax, not being upon gasoline itself but upon the activity of occupation of retailing gasoline, was by definition an excise, license, or privilege tax.
On rehearing, conceding that the local tax in question is an excise, license, or privilege tax relating to gasoline, the City contends that nevertheless such contested levy is not within the scope and intent of the constitutional prohibition found in Section 24.1, Article XIV, La.Constitution, which the City now admits to be ambiguous and imprecise in description.
With exceptions and distinctions not here material, "excise taxes" are "taxes laid upon the manufacture, sale or consumption of commodities within the country, upon licenses to pursue certain occupations, and upon corporate privileges," 1 Cooley Taxation (4th ed. 1924) 42 at p. 127, as contrasted with "property taxes" or "poll taxes" which are levied directly upon property itself or upon persons themselves. 1 Cooley, Sections 38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 50. That is, as stated in our original opinion, "the terms `excise tax', `license tax' and `privilege tax' are synonymous and are used interchangeably[2] to the extent that they are all `indirect taxes' which are imposed upon the acts of persons, whereas a `direct tax' is one which is imposed upon the persons themselves or upon the property owned by them."
Properly speaking, the term "excise, license, or privilege tax upon gasoline" *122 has no meaning, since such taxes are those which are levied upon acts or activities and not upon things (such as gasoline) themselves. It therefore becomes a proper subject of judicial inquiry to ascertain the legislative intent as to just what acts or activities relating to gasoline were or were not removed from the purview of local taxing authority by the constitutional provision in question.
For although a court may not disregard the letter of an unambiguous law by a resort to the legislative intent (LSA-C.C. Art. 13), on the other hand when the application of a law is uncertain because of dubious or imprecise expressions therein, its true meaning may properly be ascertained by examination of its terms with reference to the legislative and constitutional intent and in their context with relation to other legislative and constitutional enactments pertaining to the same subject matter. LSA-C.C. Arts. 16, 17, 18; Melancon v. Mizell, 216 La. 711, 44 So.2d 826; State ex rel. Thompson v. Department of City Civil Service, 214 La. 683, 38 So.2d 385; Mills v. City of Baton Rouge, 210 La. 830, 28 So.2d 447; Curatorship of Parks, 210 La. 63, 26 So.2d 289, 173 A.L.R. 1056; Meyers v. Flournoy, 209 La. 812, 25 So.2d 601; State v. Alden Mills, 202 La. 416, 12 So.2d 204; Gremillion v. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 186 La. 295, 172 So. 163.
Section 24.1 of Article XIV was first added to our Constitution, after approval by the people, by Act No. 180 of 1924. This amendment created a "Special Paving Fund for the City of New Orleans" and provided that the fund was to be derived from (a) a tax of one cent (1¢) per gallon "On gasoline, when sold or purchased for consumption in the Parish of Orleans" and (b) a tax "On all kerosene, or other explosives used for the generation of motive power", both taxes "to be collected as provided by law for the collection of the State tax on gasoline or other motor fuel sold in the State of Louisiana."[3]
This constitutional section was amended and reenacted by approval of the people of Act No. 341 of 1936, which contained further provisions regulating what was now denoted as the "Special Paving and Permanent Public Improvement Fund for the City of New Orleans"[4] to be derived from taxes (or the funding thereof) levied by the Commission Council of New Orleans (a) of two cents (2¢) per gallon "On gasoline, benzine, naptha and other motor fuels as defined by the laws of the State levying State taxes upon such commodities, *123 when sold, used, consumed or purchased for consumption in the City of New Orleans," (b) "On all kerosene", and (c) "On all other explosives used in the generation of motive power". This version further provided that such taxes were "to be collected in the same manner as provided by Act No. 15 of the Extra. Session of 1928", which latter statutory enactment authorized parishes through governing bodies "to levy a tax * * * not to exceed, in any one year, one (1) cent per gallon on gasoline or other motor fuel sold, used or consumed within the territorial limits of such parish."[5]
It is of interest to note that in opinions of this Court and of the Attorney General, prior to the repeal of these versions of Section 24.1 by Act 395 of 1940 (which sets forth the present version of the constitutional provision), the type of excise tax on gasoline contemplated therein and by Act No. 15 of the Extra. Session of 1928 was referred to as a "tax on gasoline"[6] or as a "one cent per gallon tax on gasoline and motor fuel",[7] without the qualification that said excise tax was upon gasoline sold or consumed and not upon the gasoline itself.
Act 395 of 1940, when ratified by the people, repealed the earlier versions of Section 24.1 and provided the present text.[8] As previously noted, the meaning of the prohibition therein that no local government "shall levy an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline, kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power" cannot be ascertained solely by reference to the constitutional enactment because an excise, license or privilege tax is not upon a thing (gasoline) but upon some activity or occupation with respect thereto. Thus, strictly speaking, an occupational license tax is not "an excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline"; but *124 to end our inquiry there (as the City would have us do) we would in contravention of the presumption of validity and meaning to constitutional and legislative enactments conclude that the legislature had submitted and the people had ratified a meaningless provision, since neither can there be any other "excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline." Our inquiry must therefore be directed to just what excise, license or privilege taxes relating to gasoline are by the constitutional enactment prohibited to local governments; or, more precisely, to whether the constitutional prohibition includes within its orbit municipal occupational license taxes measured by the amount of gross sales which, insofar as they apply to gasoline retailers, include gross sales of gasoline.
LSA-Civil Code, Article 18 provides:
"The universal and most effectual way of discovering the true meaning of a law, when its expressions are dubious, is by considering the reason and spirit of it, or the cause which induced the Legislature to enact it."[9]
In determining the meaning and legislative intent of an enactment, it is proper to resort to the established policy of the legislature as disclosed by the general course of legislation relating to the subject matter of the enactment and the legislative history thereof. Melancon v. Mizell, 216 La. 711, 44 So.2d 826; Malone v. Cannon, 215 La. 939, 41 So.2d 837. The earlier versions of Section 24.1 and related legislation were concerned solely with an excise tax on gasoline and other motor fuels sold by the dealer to the consumer, which indeed was sometimes officially described as a "tax on gasoline." From this circumstance we conclude that the "excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline" prohibited to local governments by the Constitutional enactment before us were intended to include taxes directly upon the sale or consumption of gasoline and were not intended to include non-discriminatory occupational license taxes measured by the sale of gasoline such as that levied by the present municipal ordinance.
Appellant retailers' contention that the constitutional exemption of gasoline from excise, license or privilege taxes should be regarded as having the legislative intent to exempt all activities relating to gasoline from any excise taxation whatsoever, fails to find support in the legislative history of the enactment and further overlooks the well recognized doctrine of statutory construction that an exemption from taxation is strictly construed and must be clearly and unequivocally and affirmatively established. State ex rel. Kemp v. City of Baton Rouge, 215 La. 315, 40 So. 2d 477; Meyers v. Flournoy, 209 La. 812, 25 So.2d 601; State v. Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory, 203 La. 147, 13 So.2d 710; Standard Oil Co. of Louisiana v. Fontenot, 198 La. 644, 4 So.2d 634.
Further, where (and of course only where) the construction or application of a statute is doubtful, great weight in the judicial interpretation thereof should be given to the construction consistently given a statute by those charged with applying it administratively. Hester v. Louisiana Tax Commission, 227 La. 1022, 81 So.2d 381; Conley v. City of Shreveport, 216 La. 78, 43 So.2d 223; Jackson v. Coxe, 208 La. 715, 23 So.2d 312; State v. Standard Oil Co., 190 La. 338, 182 So. 531. And we are reinforced in our conclusion that the constitutional exemption of gasoline from local excise taxation was not intended to exempt gasoline retailers from a local occupational license tax by the contemporaneous and subsequent construction accorded by the executive departments of our State and local governments to such *125 tax enactments and the exemption provision.
Occupational license taxes by the State and by local governments are authorized by Article X, Section 8, La.Constitution (which has remained unchanged since 1934), which also provides that "No political subdivision shall impose a greater license tax than is imposed for State purposes." Pursuant thereto, the State's occupational license tax upon retail dealers has consistently been measured by gross salesin the case of gasoline retailers, including of gasoline. LSA-R.S. 47:353.
It is conceded that insofar as gasoline retailers were concerned, the municipal and parochial occupational license taxes authorized by LSA-R.S. 47:397 and its predcessors have, until the present, been similarly measured. Cf. also, Opinions of Attorney General 1956-1958, p. 865. For instance, an opinion of the Attorney General held that the gallonage taxes collected by the retailer must be included in the gross receipts from the sale of gasoline which measure the local occupational license tax of filling stations (Opinions of Attorney General 1944-1946, p. 995); whereas, had the construction contended for by appellants been in effect, not only the gallonage taxes upon gasoline sold, but the entire proceeds received by the retailer from the sale of gasoline should have been excluded from the gross receipts used to measure the local occupational license tax.[10]
Finally, appellants urge that, under the rule of construction that all provisions of and terms used in a statute should if possible be given effect since all are presumed to have some legislative meaning and none to be inserted by inadvertence (State v. Texas Co., 205 La. 417, 17 So.2d 569), the constitutional prohibition against "license taxes" upon gasoline must include an intent to prohibit local license taxes because the principal if not only type of license tax per se relating to gasoline is an occupational license tax such as the present municipal levy.
Conceding the forcefulness of this argument, we nevertheless conclude that in view of the legislative history of the enactment the inclusion of the term "license" in the descriptive phrase "excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline" must be viewed as a usage of these sometimes synonymous terms simply to describe generically excise or indirect taxes[11] relating to the sale or use of gasoline, rather than an attempt to specify different types of taxes prohibited.
Having thus found that the "excise, license or privilege tax upon gasoline" prohibited to local governments by Article XIV, Section 24.1, La.Constitution, do not include non-discriminatory occupational license taxes measured by the sale of gasoline, our original decree herein is recalled and set aside; and the judgment of the District Court dismissing plaintiffs' suit is affirmed.
Affirmed.
SIMON, J., dissents and adheres in the original opinion rendered May 26, 1958.
NOTES
[1] This procedure was adopted in Louisiana Wholesale Distributors Ass'n, Inc., v. Rosenzweig, 214 La. 1, 36 So.2d 403; Burton v. Lester, 227 La. 347, 79 So.2d 333, and Lacy v. Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Co. of Wisconsin, 233 La. 712, 98 So.2d 162.
[2] This ordinance is clearly stated as City Ordinance #588 adopted by the City Council of the City of Baton Rouge on December 12, 1956.
[1] This prohibition also applies to "kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power." For simplicity in discussion in this opinion, wherever appropriate, reference to taxes on "gasoline" shall include also taxes upon the other motor fuels falling within the prohibition.
[2] Cf., 1 Cooley, Sec. 45 at pp. 129-130: "An excise tax, using the term in its broad meaning as opposed to a property tax, includes taxes sometimes designated by statute or referred to as privilege taxes, license taxes, occupation taxes, or business taxes. There is no clear line of demarcation between so-called `license', `occupation', and `privilege' "taxes."
[3] The title of said Act 180 of 1924 is as follows: "Joint Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana providing for the creation of a Special Paving Fund for the City of New Orleans and dedicating said Fund to the payment of the City's proportion of the cost of pavement of streets and roadways, including sub-surface drainage, as now or may hereafter be provided by law and for the maintenance and repair of streets, and providing the sources from which said Fund shall be derived."
[4] The title of said Act No. 341 of 1936 is as follows: "A Joint Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, by amending and re-enacting the provisions of Act No. 180 of 1924, adopted as an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, (Dart's Section 24.1 of Article XIV) providing for the creation of a Special Paving and Permanent Public Improvement Fund for the City of New Orleans and dedicating said Fund to the payment of the City's proportion of the cost of paving, repaying, surfacing and resurfacing of streets, as such terms now are or may hereafter be defined in the Charter of the City of New Orleans, and for the maintenance and repair of streets and for permanent public improvements, providing the taxes from which said Fund shall be derived, and authorizing the City of New Orleans to fund said taxes into bonds, notes, certificates or other evidences of debt, and providing for the submission of said amendment to the electors of the State for their approval or rejection."
[5] Act 15 of the Extra.Session of 1928 was amended by Acts 72 of 1934, Act 21 of the First Extra.Sess. of 1934 (which permitted the City of New Orleans also to levy such a tax), and Act 32 of the Second Extra.Sess. of 1934. Both this enactment as amended and Act 31 of the Second Extra.Sess. of 1934 (permitting the parishes and the City of New Orleans to levy an additional tax of one cent per gallon), were repealed by Act 87 of 1936, which provided that in lieu of the taxes heretofore levied by virtue of these enactments, there should be a tax collected by the State of two cents per gallon "on all gasoline or motor fuel, sold, used or consumed in the State of Louisiana."
[6] City of New Orleans v. Paciera, 180 La. 869, 873, 158 So. 1, 2; Cf. Weixel & Janssen v. City of New Orleans, 184 La. 651, 167 So. 179, 180, wherein the similar imposition upon the sale or consumption of kerosene is spoken of several times as a "tax on kerosene" in the majority and dissenting opinions.
[7] Opinions of the Attorney General 1936-1938, p. 1040. Cf. Opinions of Attorney General 1932-1934, p. 935, where said tax is referred to as a "gasoline tax."
[8] The title of said Act No. 395 of 1940 is as follows: "A Joint Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Louisiana by repealing and striking therefrom the Section added by the provisions of Act 180 of 1924, adopted as an amendment to the Constitution of Louisiana on November 4, 1924, as amended by the provisions of Act 341 of 1936, adopted as an amendment to the Constitution of Louisiana on November 3, 1936, providing for the creation of a Special Paving Fund for the City of New Orleans and dedicating said fund to the payment of the city's proportion of the cost of paving streets and roadways including sub-surface drainage as now or may hereafter be provided by law, and for the maintenance and repair of streets and providing the sources from which said funds shall be derived and authorizing the City of New Orleans to fund said taxes into bonds, notes, certificates or other evidences of debt, by substituting therefor a new section to be designated as Article XIV, Section 24.1, providing that no parish, municipality or other political subdivision shall levy any tax upon gasoline, kerosene or other combustibles used in the generation of motive power and that nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to limit the right of the Legislature to levy state taxes on the same."
[9] Constitutional provisions are construed and interpreted by the same rules as are other laws. State ex rel. Kemp v. City of Baton Rouge, 215 La. 315, 40 So. 2d 477.
[10] In response to this ruling by the Attorney General (apparently indicating concurrence to the extent that the sales price, less taxes, of gasoline should be included in the gross receipts for the purpose of measuring the State and local occupational license taxes), the next Legislature immediately enacted as the last paragraph to Act 18 of 1946 (now found as the last paragraph of LSA-R.S. 47:353) the proviso that gasoline retailers should exclude in calculating gross sales an amount equal to any State and Federal "license, privilege or excise tax."
[11] See, e.g., City of New Orleans v. Christian, 229 La. 855, 87 So.2d 6; Giamalva v. Cooper, 217 La. 979, 47 So.2d 790, and cases therein cited; State ex rel. Porterie v. H. L. Hunt, Inc., 182 La. 1073, 162 So. 777, 103 A.L.R. 9.
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Hyperbaric oxygen reduces edema and necrosis of skeletal muscle in compartment syndromes associated with hemorrhagic hypotension.
This study examined the effect of exposures to hyperbaric oxygen on the development of the edema and necrosis of muscle that are associated with compartment syndromes that are complicated by hemorrhagic hypotension. A compartment syndrome (twenty millimeters of mercury for six hours) was induced by infusion of autologous plasma in the anterolateral compartment of the left hind limb of seven anesthetized dogs while the mean arterial blood pressure was maintained at sixty-five millimeters of mercury after 30 per cent loss of blood volume. These dogs were treated with hyperbaric oxygen (two atmospheres of pure oxygen) and were compared with six dogs that had an identical compartment syndrome and hypotensive condition but were not exposed to hyperbaric oxygen. Forty-eight hours later, edema was quantified by measuring the weights of the muscles (the pressurized muscle compared with the contralateral muscle), and necrosis of muscle was evaluated by measuring the uptake of technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate. The ratio for edema was significantly (p = 0.01) greater in dogs that had not been exposed to hyperbaric oxygen (1.15 +/- 0.01) than in the dogs that had been treated with hyperbaric oxygen (1.01 +/- 0.03), and the ratio for necrosis of muscle was also significantly (p = 0.04) greater in dogs that had not had hyperbaric oxygen (1.96 +/- 0.41) than in those that had been treated with hyperbaric oxygen (1.05 +/- 0.11). Comparisons were also made with the muscles of four normal control dogs and separately with the muscles of six normotensive dogs that had an identical compartment syndrome and normal blood pressure and were not treated with hyperbaric oxygen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
A commentary on the use of cut-scores to increase the emphasis of non-cognitive variables in medical school admissions.
The academic performance consequences of relying solely on non-cognitive factors for selecting applicants above a GPA and MCAT threshold have not been fully considered in the literature. This commentary considers the impact of using a "threshold approach" on academic performance as assessed with the USMLE Step 1. |
THE HUB NETWORK UNVEILS 2013-‘14 PROGRAM SLATE Ashley Tisdale, Russell T Davies, Stan Lee and Christopher Pike
LOS ANGELES - The Hub Network today announced a slate of new programming for the 2013-'14 television season that includes four new series, two Hub Original Family Movies, and nine returning series. Set to debut starting this summer, the lineup continues the network's strategy of building a schedule with programs based on well-known brands featuring popular and respected names in the entertainment space. The announcement was made today by Margaret Loesch, President and CEO of The Hub, the fastest growing children's cable network.
"The Hub is in a tremendous growth stage with triple-digit ratings increases, a major bump in distribution, and quality programming that appeals to both children and their parents," said Ms. Loesch. "This slate of new and returning programs will capitalize on and sustain that momentum as we head into next season and continue to exponentially grow our presence in the kids space."
Two new live-action series are set to debut on the network including the new Hub Original Series "Spooksville" which is based on the popular tween book series from Christopher Pike. Additionally, the popular U.K. adventure-fantasy series "Wizards vs Aliens" from Executive Producer Russell T Davies ("Doctor. Who," "Torchwood") will make its U.S. debut this summer on The Hub.
The new programming lineup will also include two animated series: the new Hub Original Series, "Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch," starring Ashley Tisdale ("High School Musical") as the iconic teen character re-imagined for a new generation; and an acquired series called "SheZow," which features 12-year-old Guy, a thrill-seeking dude trying to cultivate a macho image who inherits the superhero persona of his deceased aunt - the kick-butt, FEMALE superhero SheZow!
In addition, The Hub will have two animated Hub Original Family Movies, including "Stan Lee's Mighty 7," starring the legendary superhero creator himself, as well as an all-star lineup of voice actors; and "Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising," which wraps up the series' final chapter revealing the fate of Cybertron.
A comprehensive list of The Hub's 2013-'14 programming slate is as follows:
Summer 2013
"Wizards vs Aliens" (Hub Acquired Series - Live Action)
Created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford - the creative forces behind "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" - the series follows the adventures of two 16-year-old school boys, Tom and Benny, who battle to save Earth from the Nekross, an alien race. While Tom lives a seemingly ordinary life with his dad and grandmother, he hides a deep secret: his family members are wizards. Following the tremendous success of season one in the UK, "Wizards vs Aliens" will make its American debut on The Hub. The series is produced by BBC Cymru Wales and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment.
"SheZow" (Hub Acquired Series - Animated)
Twelve-year-old Guy Hamdon is a natural cut-up who fancies himself an extreme dude with his own catch phrase, "It's a GUY thing." Guy lives the dream of every rough-and-tumble boy when he discovers an awesome power ring belonging to his deceased aunt, which transforms him into a mighty superhero SheZow! There's just one tiny catch - the ring that gives Guy his amazing super powers was only meant to be worn by a girl and the result is absolutely she-larious! Guy must use his super powers to battle mega-villains while sporting an outrageous female superhero costume, which actually ends up helping him tremendously on his own personal journey toward becoming one heck of a super man. The series is produced by Moody Street Kids & Kickstart Productions Inc.
Fall 2013
"Spooksville" (Hub Original Series - Live Action)
Based on the acclaimed book series by author Christopher Pike, the new kid in town discovers that he holds the key to a battle between good and evil that has been taking place for centuries in a bizarre small town that plays host to a wide array of supernatural and unexplained occurrences. The half-hour series is produced by Front Street Pictures and Springville Productions in association with Jane Startz Productions.
"Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch" (Hub Original Series - Animated)
The pop culture phenomenon SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH will return to television in the all-new original animated series with "High School Musical" star Ashley Tisdale, who lends her voice to the lead character of Sabrina. The series features the iconic teen character re-imagined for a new generation. The series is produced by Moonscoop; Archie Comic Publications, Inc.; DSK Group, India; Laughing Lion; and Telegael Teoranta.
"Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising" (Hub Original Family Movie - Animated)
The eagerly anticipated conclusion of the CG animated Daytime Emmy® Award winning series will make its network television premiere as a Hub Original Family Movie. A 90-minute epilogue to the final season wraps up the series that chronicles the epic battle between the Decepticons and the Autobots in their mission to defend Earth and one day restore their home planet of Cybertron. The Hub Original Family Movie is produced by Hasbro Studios. The final season of "Transformers Prime Beast Hunters" begins on Friday, March 22, 7:30 p.m. ET.
Early 2014
"Stan Lee's Mighty 7" (Hub Original Family Movie - Animated)
Stan Lee executive produces and stars in this Hub Original Family Movie as an animated version of himself, a legendary superhero creator teaching a crew of alien prisoners and their jailers, who have crash-landed on Earth, how to work together and use their powers to be superheroes. The series features brand new characters voiced by an all-star cast. The Hub Original Family Movie, which is produced by A2 Entertainment, Archie Comic Publications, Inc., and Stan Lee's POW Entertainment, will serve as a springboard for a potential future television series.
Returning Hub Original Series/Specials with new episodes (in chronological order)
"The Aquabats! Super Show!" (Season two premiering this summer produced by BatMagic)
(Season two premiering this summer produced by BatMagic) "Pound Puppies" (Season three premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios)
(Season three premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios) "Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters" (Season two "Clash of the Duel Masters" premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios)
(Season two "Clash of the Duel Masters" premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios) "Family Game Night" (Season four premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios and Zoo Productions)
(Season four premiering this summer produced by Hasbro Studios and Zoo Productions) "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series" (Season four premiering this fall produced by Front Street Pictures in association with The Hatchery, LLC)
(Season four premiering this fall produced by Front Street Pictures in association with The Hatchery, LLC) "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" (Season four premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios)
(Season four premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios) "Littlest Pet Shop" (Season two premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios)
(Season two premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios) "Transformers Rescue Bots" (Season two premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios)
(Season two premiering this winter produced by Hasbro Studios) "Secret Millionaires Club" (22 all-new specials produced by A Squared Entertainment to run monthly on The Hub)
About The Hub Network
THE HUB is a multi-platform joint venture between Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) and Hasbro, Inc., (NASDAQ: HAS) with a goal of entertaining, enlightening, empowering and educating children and their families. The cable and satellite television network features original programming as well as content from Discovery's library of award-winning children's educational programming; from Hasbro's rich portfolio of entertainment and educational properties built during the past 90 years; and from leading third-party producers worldwide. The Hub lineup includes animated and live-action series, as well as specials, game shows, and family-favorite movies. The network extends its content through a robust and engaging online presence at www.hubworld.com. The Hub rebranded from Discovery Kids on October 10, 2010, and is available in nearly 72 million U.S. households. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.
Visit The Hub on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hubtvnetwork
Note: For artwork, visit www.press.discovery.com |
Intrinsic and extrinsic work orientations as moderators of the effect of annual income on subjective well-being: a longitudinal study.
Income is only weakly associated with both subjective well-being (SWB) and job satisfaction in the United States, a surprising finding in light of the importance placed on financial status in capitalistic societies. To explore this further, the authors examined intrinsic and extrinsic work orientations as potential moderators of the effects of financial compensation on SWB and job satisfaction. Master's of business administration students (N = 124) completed measures of work orientation and, 4 to 9 years later, reported their current salary, SWB, and job satisfaction. As predicted, individuals high in extrinsic orientation experienced higher SWB and job satisfaction to the degree that they earned more money, whereas those high in intrinsic orientation were lower on SWB at higher income levels. These findings are discussed in terms of the Values as Moderators Perspective of SWB and Cognitive Evaluation Theory. |
All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Introduction {#sec001}
============
Cell culture substrates patterned with extracellular matrix (ECM) are widely used to mimic the spatial organization and rigidity of the *in vivo* cell microenvironment *in vitro*. These cell culture platforms enable reductionist studies of the mechanobiology of healthy and diseased tissues under physiological stiffness conditions \[[@pone.0189901.ref001]\]. Specifically, polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels are commonly used because these substrates can be functionalized with ECM proteins and tuned in their mechanical properties to replicate different tissue stiffness ranging from \~0.1 kPa to \~40 kPa \[[@pone.0189901.ref002]\]. Yet techniques for patterning proteins on PAAm have lacked quantitative assessment, which is critical for developing and comparing protocols to reliably restrict cells to user-defined shapes. The spatial resolution and accuracy of the protein patterns will directly impact the cellular response which is of particular importance for mechanobiological studies on the organization and force transduction within the actin cytoskeleton \[[@pone.0189901.ref003]\] and cellular adhesions \[[@pone.0189901.ref004]\].
Broadly, two main strategies exist to pattern ECM on PAAm gels (reviewed in \[[@pone.0189901.ref005]\]): i) selective activation of the gels for covalent attachment of proteins to activated regions (e.g. direct surface functionalization using UV-reactive sulfo-SANPAH crosslinkers \[[@pone.0189901.ref002]\] or polymerizing N-hydroxyacrylamide into the hydrogel surface \[[@pone.0189901.ref006]\]) and ii) co-polymerization of ECM proteins into the gels during gelation through direct contact of the acrylamide precursor mix with a protein-patterned coverslip. The first method, direct surface functionalization, uses expensive functionalization reagents and also depends on reagent quality and reaction time as the chemicals are unstable in aqueous media and in the presence of oxygen \[[@pone.0189901.ref005]\]. The method of co-polymerizing ECM proteins relies on patterning glass coverslips with protein and placing them in direct contact with the hydrogel during polymerization. Although the detailed molecular mechanism of protein incorporation into the polymerizing gel is unknown, this method has successfully been applied to functionalize hydrogels with a variety of ECM proteins \[[@pone.0189901.ref007]--[@pone.0189901.ref009]\].
Protein patterns on glass coverslips are often created by microcontact printing (μCP) using elastomeric 'stamps' \[[@pone.0189901.ref010]\]. μCP involves casting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on microfabricated master structures created by photolithography to create stamps by replica molding \[[@pone.0189901.ref011]\]. Most groups use μCP since PDMS casting and contact printing protocols are straightforward once the master structures on silicon wafers are made \[[@pone.0189901.ref007], [@pone.0189901.ref012], [@pone.0189901.ref013]\]. However, μCP relies on the transfer of dried proteins from a deformable PDMS stamp and thus the accuracy, resolution, and pattern design are limited and critically depend on the PDMS stamp preparation and handling \[[@pone.0189901.ref014]--[@pone.0189901.ref016]\]. PDMS can also be micromachined to create a stencil which can be used to selectively adsorb proteins to specific regions of the glass coverslip and keep proteins hydrated throughout the process \[[@pone.0189901.ref017], [@pone.0189901.ref018]\], but the fabrication of a high-resolution stencil requires reactive ion etching which is not available to all laboratories \[[@pone.0189901.ref019]\] and stencil alignment and conformal contact with the substrate is required for successful protein patterning. A technique similar to μCP called "stamp-off" allows for proteins to first be adsorbed on a surface and then selectively being removed by a PDMS stamp placed in contact with the substrate \[[@pone.0189901.ref020]\]. While stamp-off can enable patterning multiple proteins, it still suffers from the same lateral size limitations as μCP. To improve the accuracy of μCP, alternative nanopatterning methods have been developed for patterning proteins on substrates (reviewed in \[[@pone.0189901.ref021]\]). For example, dip-pen nanolithography, AFM-based patterning, and nanografting enable direct writing of proteins on flat, solid substrates with nanometer precision \[[@pone.0189901.ref022]\]. However, these nanopatterning methods are serial and have not been used to directly functionalize hydrogels.
The challenge of serial patterning can be overcome using approaches to pattern protein features over large areas in parallel using a molecular adlayer to define biopassive regions and backfilling exposed regions with protein. Biopassive, 'non-fouling' Poly(l-lysine)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL-g-PEG) copolymers can be used to control protein adsorption to engineered substrates \[[@pone.0189901.ref023], [@pone.0189901.ref024]\]. To pattern proteins on glass, PLL-g-PEG can then be selectively oxidized by deep UV irradiation through a photomask or via projection lithography \[[@pone.0189901.ref025], [@pone.0189901.ref026]\]. Such patterns can subsequently be transferred to a hydrogel \[[@pone.0189901.ref009]\] thereby decoupling pattern generation from hydrogel functionalization. Those methods however require either access to a collimated deep UV light source or a UV projection system, which are not readily available in most laboratories. Further, the PLL-g-PEG layer must either be dried prior to the UV irradiation, which requires a rehydration step prior to protein incubation \[[@pone.0189901.ref025]\], or a photoinitiator must be added during the UV exposure step that has to be removed completely to re-establish the biopassive properties of the adlayer \[[@pone.0189901.ref026]\]. Another method using PLL-g-PEG involves creating a sacrificial mask on glass and uncovering the protected regions for later incubation steps. In combination with reactive ion etching, Falconnet and colleagues nanoimprinted a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film on a glass coverslip, incubated the substrate with a biotinylated PLL-g-PEG copolymer to facilitate the selective binding of avidin-functionalized proteins, and lifted off the nanoimprinted film prior to backfill with biopassive PLL-g-PEG to achieve 100 nm features \[[@pone.0189901.ref027]\]. Nanoimprinting and reactive ion etching can thus be used in tandem with blocking of nonspecific protein adsorption using biopassive polymers, e.g. PLL-g-PEG, to produce nanometer-scale features on large areas but the process is complex and requires microfabrication equipment not readily available in many laboratories.
In this work, we present a photoresist lift-off patterning (LOP) method to control the shape of cells on PAAm hydrogels with high fidelity. Our method integrates advances in: i) contact photolithography and photoresist lift-off widely used in the semiconductor and microfabrication industry \[[@pone.0189901.ref028]\], ii) the molecular assembly and patterning of biopassive PLL-g-PEG coatings on glass\[[@pone.0189901.ref029]--[@pone.0189901.ref031]\], and iii) the protein transfer from glass to PAAm hydrogels \[[@pone.0189901.ref012]\].
We create protein-patterned glass coverslips by photoresist lift-off-assisted patterning of PLL-g-PEG and transfer the protein pattern to PAAm gel surfaces by co-polymerization. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we successfully controlled the shape of MDCK cells cultured on patterned hydrogels and followed the cells' cytoskeletal and membrane dynamics. We benchmark the LOP technique to the widely used μCP across a range of physiologically relevant hydrogel stiffness (5 kPa, 10 kPa and 25 kPa) and analyze the pattern accuracy and transfer efficiency from the glass to the PAAm gel. We find that the LOP protocol improves both the pattern transfer efficiency and the pattern accuracy, thereby reducing the pattern variability and increasing the predictability of the engineered *in vitro* cell culture models.
Materials and methods {#sec002}
=====================
Photoresist lift-off assisted patterning of ECM proteins (LOP) {#sec003}
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ECM patterned glass coverslips were fabricated by photoresist lift-off (see process flow in [Fig 1](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}, full protocol in [S1 Text](#pone.0189901.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). We cleaned coverslips with acetone, isopropanol, and water, followed by thoroughly drying them on a hot plate. We then spin-coated S1818 photoresist (Microchem) on coverslips using standard contact photolithography and photopatterned the 2μm thick resist layer (40--50 mJ/cm^2^ at 365 nm, OAI Instruments) ([Fig 1A and 1B](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}). Following plasma activation, we incubated the S1818 patterned glass coverslips with 0.1 mg/ml (poly(l-lysine)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL(20)-g\[3.5\]-PEG(2), SuSoS AG) in PBS (pH 7.4) for one hour to allow for self-assembly of the densely packed, biopassive PLL-g-PEG polymeric brush adlayer on the exposed surface areas of the glass substrate. The PLL(20)-g\[3.5\]-PEG(2) copolymer comprises of linear PEG chains (M~w~ = 2 kDa) grafted to a PLL backbone (M~w~ = 20 kDa) at a grafting ratio g = 3.5 \[[@pone.0189901.ref023]\]. Non-adsorbed PLL-g-PEG was removed by washing in PBS (pH 7.4). After photoresist lift-off in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP, Sigma 328634), we backfilled the PLL-g-PEG patterns with 100 μg/ml of Oregon Green-488 or Alexa Fluor 568-labeled gelatin solution in PBS pH 7.4 for 1 hour in the dark (Thermo Scientific, G13186, A10238) ([Fig 1C--1E](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}). The slides were washed thoroughly with DI water and excess liquid was removed by blotting on filter paper immediately prior to gel transfer. We chose gelatin, hydrolyzed collagen I, as a model ECM protein to mimic the epithelial basement membrane because the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence that is critical for cell adhesion, migration and proliferation is preserved \[[@pone.0189901.ref032]\]. Gelatin, in contrast to collagen I, is available commercially with fluorescent labels or can be functionalized with standard protein labeling kits.
![LOP fabrication of protein patterns on polyacrylamide gels.\
(A,B) Photoresist patterns are fabricated by standard contact photolithography on glass coverslips. Inset at right shows array of S1818 photoresist features after development. (C) Unspecific protein adhesion to the resist-patterned coverslip is blocked by incubating with biopassive PLL(20)-g\[3.5\]-PEG(2) copolymer. (D,E) Following photoresist lift-off, the resulting PLL-g-PEG pattern is backfilled with the ECM protein of interest. Inset at right shows a fluorescence micrograph of labeled gelatin on glass after backfill. (F) To transfer the protein pattern to the PAAm gel, the gel is polymerized between the protein patterned glass coverslip and a silanized coverslip. (G) After gel polymerization, the top coverslip is removed from the PAAm gel. Inset at right shows a fluorescence micrograph of a labeled protein transferred to a PAAm gel. (H) Inset at right shows pairs of epithelial cells on the patterned PAAm gel restricting the geometry of the protein functionalized regions.](pone.0189901.g001){#pone.0189901.g001}
Microcontact printing of ECM proteins (μCP) {#sec004}
-------------------------------------------
We prepared PDMS stamps by casting Sylgard 184 PDMS (10:1 base to curing agent, Dow Corning) in a 9 μm deep mold microfabricated by standard photolithography using SU-8 negative resist \[[@pone.0189901.ref011]\]. We incubated the PDMS stamps (1 cm^2^ squared stamps with 45 μm^2^ patterns with 80 μm spacing) with 100 μg/ml fluorescently labeled gelatin solution for one hour in the dark. Following protein incubation, we aspirated excess protein solution and dried the stamps gently using low nitrogen gas flow. Prior to μCP, we cleaned glass coverslips with 2% v/v Hellmanex solution (Hellma Analytics) in DI water for at least 30 minutes. We then rinsed the coverslips 5 times with DI water and dried them with compressed air prior to stamping. We put the PDMS stamps in contact with the cleaned coverslips for 5 minutes and removed the stamps by carefully forcing a tweezer between the coverslip and the edge of the stamp.
Preparation of ECM patterned polyacrylamide gels {#sec005}
------------------------------------------------
We transferred the protein patterns from the glass coverslip to the surface of PAAm gel for both the LOP and μCP protocols by co-polymerization ([Fig 1F--1H](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}). Polyacrylamide gels of varying stiffness were polymerized between the protein patterned glass coverslip and a silanized bottom coverslip. The bottom coverslip was silanized to ensure covalent bonding of gels to this bottom glass layer, following a method by Guo and colleagues \[[@pone.0189901.ref033]\]. Briefly, 30 μL of working solution (3 μl bind-silane (3-methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane, Sigma-Aldrich, M6514), 950 μL 95% ethanol, and 50 μL of glacial acetic acid) were applied to the coverslip, allowed to incubate for 5 min, and then rinsed with ethanol and dried in a desiccator.
Polyacrylamide gels of three different stiffness were used for experiments: 5 kPa, 10 kPa, and 25 kPa as determined by Tse and Engler \[[@pone.0189901.ref002]\]. MilliQ water, acrylamide (0.5 g/mL stock, Sigma-Aldrich, 01696 FLUKA, 71.08g/mol), and bis-acrylamide (0.025 g/mL stock, Sigma-Aldrich, 146072, 154.17 g/mol) were combined to yield 5% w/v acrylamide and 0.15% w/v bis-acrylamide for 5 kPa gels, 10% w/v acrylamide and 0.1% w/v bis-acrylamide for 10 kPa gels, and 10% w/v acrylamide and 0.25% w/v bis-acrylamide for 25 kPa gels. The precursor solution was degassed in a vacuum desiccator for 1 hr. To initiate gelation, 5 μL of 10% w/v ammonium persulfate (APS, Sigma-Aldrich, A9164) was added to \~995 μL of gel precursor solution followed by 0.5 μL of N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethylethylenediamine accelerator (TEMED, Sigma-Aldrich, 411019). We mixed the solutions by gentle pipetting, dispersed 50 μL of the solution on the activated coverslip, and then placed the protein-functionalized coverslip on top, creating a sandwich ([Fig 1F](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}). Gels were left undisturbed at room temperature for 30 minutes to polymerize. After polymerization, the gels were immersed in PBS for at least 1 hour and the glass coverslip was removed from the top of the gels ([Fig 1G](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}).
Analysis of pattern transfer efficiency {#sec006}
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To assess the protein transfer efficiency from the patterned glass coverslip onto the PAAm gel, we imaged the coverslips before transfer and compared it to the resulting patterns on the PAAm gel surface after gelation and coverslip removal using the same microscope image acquisition parameters (1 second exposure, images of 1 series acquired at the same day to avoid variability in lamp power). Prior to imaging, we avoided photobleaching by keeping samples in the dark. Our patterns were arranged in labelled arrays so we decreased photobleaching by exposing each area to light only when focusing the image and during image capture. All acquired images were processed by ImageJ software (<http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/>). We analyzed 150 individual patterned features by measuring the difference between the same feature on the coverslip before and after transfer, using the cvMatch_Template ImageJ plugin \[[@pone.0189901.ref034]\]. The average background signal was determined outside the protein pattern and subtracted for each image. We measured the average pixel intensity within a region of interest defined as our theoretical patterning shape and calculated the transfer efficiency as the average intensity of the protein pattern on the gel image divided by the average intensity of the pattern on the coverslip.
Analysis of the geometric accuracy of protein patterning {#sec007}
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To compare the accuracy of patterns generated by LOP and μCP, we calculated the cross-correlation coefficient between the theoretical pattern shape and the binarized patterned features using the *corr2* function in Matlab (R2014b, Mathworks). The binarized stacks (n = 150 patterns) were created with ImageJ by de-noising the images using the built-in despeckle function followed by automated binarization of each pattern using Otsu thresholding. Profile column average plots were analyzed from the binarized pattern stacks using ImageJ. To perform yield analysis, we selected around 389--416 features for each gel stiffness type, created a montage, and then used cross correlation with a threshold of 0.84 to find acceptable features. We divided the number of acceptable features by the total number of features analyzed for each gel stiffness to calculate the yield.
Analysis of surface energy using water contact angle {#sec008}
----------------------------------------------------
We used a contact angle goniometer (Rame-Hart 290) to measure the hydrophilicity of substrates used in LOP and μCP. We dispensed 4 μl of deionized water on the surface, equilibrated for 1 minute at room temperature before taking a photograph of the water contact angle to standardize between measurements and ensure equal evaporation of the liquid. We evaluated the water contact angle of PLL-g-PEG coated glass coverslips before and after polymerization of 25 kPa PAAm gels. Polymerized gels were incubated with PBS overnight at 4°C before dissociating the top coverslip and performing the water contact angle measurements. We calculated the contact angle using the DropShape ImageJ plugin \[[@pone.0189901.ref035]\]. Water contact angle measurements are a direct read-out of the surface energy and thus can provide insights of the conformation states of the proteins during both patterning processes.
Cell culture {#sec009}
------------
Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) type II G cells were transfected with LifeAct-GFP (ibidi, 60101) using the Amaxa Biosystem Nucleofector II system and transfection kit (Lonza, VCA-1005). The LifeAct-GFP MDCK cells were maintained in low glucose DMEM (Invitrogen, 11885) containing 1 g/l sodium bicarbonate, 1% Penicillin-Streptomycin (PenStrep, ThermoFisher, 15140122), 0.5 mg/ml G418 selection reagent (Sigma-Aldrich, G418-RO Roche), and supplemented with 10% (vol/vol) fetal bovine serum (FBS). 25 kPa PAAm gels patterned with 100 μg/ml collagen I (Gibco, A1048301) mixed with 20 μg/ml Alexa Fluor 568 labeled gelatin were cast into Mattek dishes (14 mm glass, Mattek P35G-0.170-14-C). MDCK cells were trypsinized and seeded on the PAAm gels for 16 hours before imaging experiments. Prior to imaging, the media was replaced to low glucose DMEM with no phenol red (ThermoFisher, 11054001) and supplemented with 1% PenStrep, 10% FBS, and 25 mM HEPES buffer. Cells were imaged on a Leica DMI6000B microscope with heated incubation unit at 5 minute intervals using a 40x air objective, NA = 0.6.
Results {#sec010}
=======
We compare the LOP and μCP methods by analyzing the efficiency of protein transfer from the surface of coverslips onto the surface of PAAm gels ([Fig 2](#pone.0189901.g002){ref-type="fig"}) and the geometrical accuracy of the created patterns ([Fig 3](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}). We use a square 'frame' pattern shape to compare how both protocols resolve corners and edges of a complex shape. We show pattern arrays of glass and PAAm samples normalized for contrast to aid visual comparison of the transfer efficiency for LOP and μCP techniques in [Fig 2A and 2B](#pone.0189901.g002){ref-type="fig"}.
{#pone.0189901.g002}
{#pone.0189901.g003}
Protein patterns created by the LOP method are transferred more efficiently from the coverslips to gels for all gel stiffness we tested ([Fig 2C](#pone.0189901.g002){ref-type="fig"}). We find significant differences in transfer efficiency between LOP and μCP when comparing both protocols at each stiffness (p-value \< 2.2E-16 using the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon to compare the 5 kPa, 10 kPa, and 25 kPa PAAm gel samples). However, the protein transfer efficiency in both methods is considerably lower for 5 kPa when compared to 10 kPa and 25 kPa PAAm gels. To explain this observation, we analyzed and compared the size properties of gelatin and polyacrylamide gel formulations used in this study to those commonly used in mechanobiology and electrophoresis (see [S1 Text](#pone.0189901.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The 10 kPa and 25 kPa gel formulations we use contain 10% total polymer which is twice that of the 5 kPa gel formulation (5%). Due to the lower total polymer content, we hypothesize that fewer sites are available for protein integration during polymerization in the 5 kPa gels. This effect is independent of the patterning technique and thus can be a limiting factor for the protein functionalization of soft polyacrylamide gels.
To evaluate the accuracy of the features transferred to PAAm gels, we compare the corners of the square frame patterns for both protocols ([Fig 3A](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}) and show the difference between the actual and theoretical shape ([Fig 3B](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Protein patterns created by LOP exhibit greater definition in the pattern edges and corners than protein patterns created by μCP. Cross-correlation analysis of the patterns compared to the theoretical pattern shape on the photomask shows that LOP results in patterns that more accurately recapitulate the theoretical shape. Correlation coefficients are as follows (n = 150 patterns; mean +/- standard deviation): μCP (5, 10, 25 kPa): 0.84±0.05; 0.87±0.02; 0.89±0.02; LOP (5, 10, 25 kPa): 0.91±0.04; 0.94±0.02; 0.93±0.01). The higher fidelity of the pattern edges becomes evident when we compare profile scans across the average of 150 patterns for both methods to the theoretical pattern shape ([Fig 3C and 3D](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}; similar to methods by Vignaud and colleagues \[[@pone.0189901.ref009]\]). The variation in the protein signal at the pattern edges is strongly reduced in the LOP patterns. These results are also supported by a cross-correlation analysis where we tested the variability and yield of acceptable features across about 400 total feature samples for each gel formulation. We applied a correlation coefficient threshold for acceptable features of 0.84 to match the lowest correlation coefficient in our analysis above. LOP resulted in a greater number of acceptable features than μCP and acceptable feature yield varied from 59% to 98% for LOP and from 4% to 72% for μCP for different gel formulations (see [S2 Fig](#pone.0189901.s005){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and [S2 Table](#pone.0189901.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for summary of data).
We demonstrate that single cells as well as pairs of cells attach exclusively to the ECM patterned areas of PAAm gels patterned using the LOP method ([Fig 4A and 4B](#pone.0189901.g004){ref-type="fig"}; [S1](#pone.0189901.s008){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and [S2](#pone.0189901.s009){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Movies). Areas between patterns exhibit anti-adhesive properties and prevent cells from binding outside the protein features. To test if the cytoskeletal architecture and remodeling are different for cells attached to patterns created by LOP or μCP, we followed the actin dynamics of LifeAct-GFP transfected MDCK cells using live cell fluorescence microscopy on 25 kPa substrates. We chose to conduct our analysis on gels with a 25 kPa elastic modulus because this value is close to the measured stiffness of a MDCK monolayer by micro-indentation: 33 ± 3 kPa \[[@pone.0189901.ref036]\]. Consistent with previous literature reports \[[@pone.0189901.ref037]\], we found that cell doublets on the frame patterns rotated around each other ([Fig 4B and 4D](#pone.0189901.g004){ref-type="fig"}; [S2](#pone.0189901.s009){ref-type="supplementary-material"}--[S4](#pone.0189901.s011){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Movies). While this was observed independent of the patterning method used, the cell edges were more clearly defined for cells adhering to patterns created by LOP than gels patterned by μCP ([Fig 5](#pone.0189901.g005){ref-type="fig"}), which was consistent with the higher pattern accuracy ([Fig 3](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0189901.g004}
{ref-type="supplementary-material"} and [S6](#pone.0189901.s013){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Movies). Kymographs show cells depicted in bottom row of panel A and B. Regions of interest are straightened and distorted regions at the pattern corners are cleared.](pone.0189901.g005){#pone.0189901.g005}
Discussion {#sec011}
==========
In this work, we introduce a photoresist-based LOP technique to pattern ECM proteins on polyacrylamide hydrogels to control the shape of cells with high-fidelity and compare it with the widely used μCP protocol. We found the LOP method to be more efficient and accurate in reproducing complex micrometer-sized patterns (Figs [2](#pone.0189901.g002){ref-type="fig"} and [3](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}). To illustrate that the improved fidelity of LOP patterns translates to greater control over cell shape, we cultured MDCK epithelial cells on patterned 25 kPa gels for up to 16 hours. The shape of single cells and cell pairs on LOP pattern reflected the theoretical shape with greater accuracy as compared to cells on μCP patterns (Figs [4](#pone.0189901.g004){ref-type="fig"} and [5](#pone.0189901.g005){ref-type="fig"}; [S1](#pone.0189901.s008){ref-type="supplementary-material"}--[S4](#pone.0189901.s011){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Movies).
The difference between μCP and LOP protein transfer efficiency is most likely arising from how the two methods change substrate surface energy to facilitate protein adsorption. Protein transfer in μCP is based on surface energy differences between the PDMS stamp and the glass substrate \[[@pone.0189901.ref038]\]. PDMS is hydrophobic with low free energy (water contact angle 91--111°) while plasma-treated or Hellmanex-cleaned glass is a high-energy hydrophilic surface (contact angle of 0°) ([S3 Fig](#pone.0189901.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The hydrophobicity of PDMS causes proteins to denature and lose their conformation thereby decreasing the μCP protein transfer to the glass and to the polyacrylamide gel. In contrast, LOP does not depend on a surface energy gradient and none of the substrates involved in LOP are hydrophobic. We found that the glass had hydrophilic properties at all stages of the LOP protocol with water contact angle of 29--36° (see [S3 Fig](#pone.0189901.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
Another difference between the protocols which can lead to differences in protein transfer to the PAAm gels is the drying of the PDMS stamp after protein incubation in the μCP protocol. Drying the protein-inked stamp is essential for μCP to be successful to maintain the gradient in surface energy to increase affinity of the adsorbed protein for the hydrophilic glass and to ensure accurate patterning without blurring by diffusion \[[@pone.0189901.ref038]\]. Yet, drying the protein leads to changes in protein conformation, causing some protein to irreversibly adsorb to the substrate \[[@pone.0189901.ref039]\]. Experiments which increased the hydrophilicity of PDMS stamps found that the quality of μCP protein transfer decreased due to the presence of polar functional groups attracting the protein to the PDMS rather than the desired glass substrate \[[@pone.0189901.ref040]\].
The differences in pattern fidelity on the hydrogels stem from methodological differences in the patterning of the glass coverslips. LOP relies on the direct molecular assembly of the biopassive PLL-g-PEG copolymer on the S1818 photoresist-patterned glass substrates while μCP involves PDMS replica molding from SU-8 master structures and stamping of the protein to the coverslip. The ideal spatial resolution that is achievable by contact photolithography to prepare both the S1818 patterns for LOP and the SU-8 master for μCP can be estimated using the following relation between the ideal spatial resolution (*R*), exposure wavelength (*λ*) and the photoresist thickness (*z*) \[[@pone.0189901.ref041]\]: $$R~ = ~1.5*\sqrt{\lambda\frac{z}{2}}$$
Thus, differences in resist thickness substantially contributes to a decrease in pattern accuracy. We use a 2 μm positive S1818 resist layer for LOP and a 9 μm negative SU-8 resist layer for the fabrication of the PDMS μCP master structures because the resists serve different purposes for each method. The thin positive resist in LOP can be removed by NMP lift-off while keeping the adsorbed PLL-g-PEG as a patterned, biopassive adlayer on the glass coverslip. 9 μm thick negative resist was chosen to yield PDMS feature heights that comply with μCP design rules by Qin and colleagues \[[@pone.0189901.ref042]\] who suggest that the aspect ratio of a 10:1 Sylgard 184 PDMS stamp must be 0.5 \< H/L\< 5 and H/D \> 0.05, where H is the height of PDMS features, L is the critical feature dimension (line width L = 9 μm for 45μm^2^ frame pattern used in this study), and D is the longest distance between features (D = 120 μm, diagonal distance between frame pattern corners). Those design rules avoid lateral pairing and buckling of stamp features, as well as stamp roof collapse to yield successful protein transfer. In contrast to μCP, LOP enables the design and fabrication of arbitrary pattern geometry and spatial organization (e.g. large pattern-to-pattern distance) as it circumvents the PDMS stamping. Additional sources for error in μCP can arise from non-uniform contact of the stamp with the glass coverslip.
In addition to the resist layer thickness, the type of resist used in both protocols further contributes to pattern fidelity. Positive resist has a higher contrast (γ = 2.2) as compared to negative resist (γ = 1.5) \[[@pone.0189901.ref043]\]. This difference contributes to positive resist usually yielding higher resolution features with less distortion than negative resist. The negative SU8 resist used in μCP to create the PDMS mold is also typically under-developed and thus resolving the edges of features is a challenge (see [S1 Fig](#pone.0189901.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) which explains why μCP results in features which are smaller than the theoretical specifications (see [Fig 3A](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}). LOP uses the positive S1818 resist which tends to be over-developed and thus features fabricated by this method tend to be larger than theoretical specifications but with better-resolved corners (see [Fig 3A](#pone.0189901.g003){ref-type="fig"}).
We found the lamellipodia of MDCK cells to be more exploratory and dynamic on LOP than μCP substrates, extending up to 5 μm outside of the protein pattern ([Fig 5](#pone.0189901.g005){ref-type="fig"}). Epithelial cells have been shown to extend lamellipodia for several micrometers past areas with ECM during wound healing and cell migration \[[@pone.0189901.ref044], [@pone.0189901.ref045]\]. Our observations of lamellipodia extending up to 5 μm beyond adhesive regions and the pronounced actin bundles at the pattern edges match well with the spatio-temporal organization of the cytoskeleton and focal adhesions at the leading edge of migrating cells \[[@pone.0189901.ref046]\]. Recently, it was shown that epithelial cells migrating from clusters respond to geometrical constraints by altering their speed and that the acto-myosin contractile ring structures of leader cells differ at near sharp corners to help polarize and guide the direction of migration \[[@pone.0189901.ref047]\]. We were interested to note the dynamic way cells explored LOP patterns due to the increased pattern fidelity on the pattern edges and sharp corners. We thus expect the LOP method to enable future studies on the role of ECM organization on cell migration and lamellipodia extension during embryonic development and cancer metastasis.
An open question for patterns created by LOP is whether the PLL-g-PEG blocking agent on the glass coverslips is transferred to the PAAm gel. In control experiments, we used TRITC-labeled PLL-g-PEG and we were not able to trace fluorescently labeled PLL-g-PEG transferring to the gels nor did we record any loss of TRITC-labeled PLL-g-PEG on the glass coverslip after using it for gel polymerization (see [S4 Fig](#pone.0189901.s007){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Additionally, the water contact angle for PLL-g-PEG coated glass before and after gel polymerization remained constant. This data strongly suggests that the PLL-g-PEG does not transfer from the glass to the gel during gel polymerization. Yet, it remains open if any interactions of PLL-g-PEG copolymer and polyacrylamide occur during gel polymerization. Further molecular level studies are needed to directly test this hypothesis and are outside the scope of this work. Regardless of PLL-g-PEG transfer to the PAAm surface, LOP results in functionalized PAAm gels with non-adhesive regions between protein patterns. We noted that removing the glass coverslips from polymerized gels was easier for samples created by LOP than for μCP ([Fig 1G](#pone.0189901.g001){ref-type="fig"}) and we hypothesize that this effect is due to the high water content of the PLL-g-PEG adlayer on the coverslips \[[@pone.0189901.ref048]\] (see also contact angle data in [S3](#pone.0189901.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and [S4](#pone.0189901.s007){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Figs).
Conclusions {#sec012}
===========
In summary, our LOP method facilitates advanced cell culture techniques that require precise patterning of single or multiple cells into shapes of arbitrary geometry on PAAm hydrogel substrates of varied stiffness. High pattern accuracy and defined ECM density within the protein patterns are essential to compare cell phenotypes on different patterns and reduce the systematic error of pooled measurements. This is of particular importance for studies focusing on complex, multivariate cell-ECM signaling pathways and the cytoskeletal response to different cell geometries and substrate stiffness \[[@pone.0189901.ref049]\]. Overall, local ECM density, cell shape, and substrate stiffness have been shown to regulate the structural organization of focal adhesion complexes \[[@pone.0189901.ref050], [@pone.0189901.ref051]\], the force balance between cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesions \[[@pone.0189901.ref004]\], the nuclear lamina \[[@pone.0189901.ref052]\], mesenchymal stem cell stiffness \[[@pone.0189901.ref053]\], stem cell fate \[[@pone.0189901.ref012], [@pone.0189901.ref054]\], leader cells during collective migration \[[@pone.0189901.ref047]\], and the contractile properties of cardiomyocytes \[[@pone.0189901.ref055]\].
Supporting information {#sec013}
======================
###### Polyacrylamide gel formulations used in this study.
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Acceptable feature yield results.
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### File with detailed protocols for the microcontact printing and lift-off methods.
We also include comparisons between polyacrylamide pore size and gelatin protein molecular size to aid discussion of protein transfer efficiency.
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Overview of the SU8 master and PDMS stamps used for microcontact printing.
The photolithography mold (A) and PDMS stamp cast from this mold (B) show rounded corners where the edges of the pattern meet, both in the inner and outer regions of the pattern. The height of the SU8 mold (\~9 μm) may be limiting the pattern accuracy achievable with microcontact printing.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### LOP results in higher yield of acceptable features than μCP.
By setting a threshold of a 0.84 correlation coefficient, the LOP protocol resulted in more acceptable features than μCP (highlighted in green). We selected 389--416 features for each gel sample and then performed cross correlation analysis on the collected feature montage. Acceptable feature yield varied from 59% to 98% for LOP and from 4% to 72% for μCP for different gel formulations. See [S2 Table](#pone.0189901.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for summary of data.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### μCP depends on surface energy differences while substrates used for LOP have similar surface energies.
The water contact angle of substrates used in μCP differs substantially from average of 111° for PDMS (n = 12 measurements) to approximately 0° for Hellmanex-cleaned glass (the substrate used for μCP). The Hellmanex treated glass sample was super hydrophilic making an exact measurement of the low water contact angle difficult. Untreated glass is shown as comparison with an average water contact angle 75° (n = 8 measurements). The substrates used for LOP varied little in water contact angle. The "UV-exposed" sample corresponds to glass cleaned with acetone-isopropanol-water, coated with S1818 resist, flood-exposed to UV, developed, and processed with NMP for lift-off. In the LOP protocol, areas that adsorb the PLL-g-PEG adlayer have been treated with the same procedure. The "masked" sample corresponds to glass cleaned with acetone-isopropanol-water, coated with S1818 resist, no UV exposure, developed, and processed with NMP for lift-off. This substrate thus replicates the surface areas that adsorb protein in the LOP protocol. See insets from our LOP protocol and mask design for clarification. We recorded average water contact angles of 36° for glass cleaned in a series of acetone-isopropanol-water (n = 48 measurements), 34° for "UV exposed" samples (n = 38 measurements), and 29° for "masked" samples (n = 12 measurements). For μCP, protein must be transferred from the hydrophobic PDMS to the hydrophilic Hellmanex-cleaned glass. For LOP, protein would be adsorbed to the areas masked by S1818 after those areas are exposed by lift-off and we found these areas to be hydrophilic. Insets show examples of water droplets on the corresponding substrates.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### PLL-g-PEG remains on the glass slide after gel polymerization due to similar water contact angle before and after gel polymerization and using a fluorescent PLL-g-PEG.
A.) We measured the contact angle of PLL-g-PEG coated glass before and after polymerizing a polyacrylamide gel. The average water contact angle is similar with 27° for PLL-g-PEG glass (n = 46 measurements) and 23° for PLL-g-PEG glass after gel polymerization (n = 42 measurements). B.) We also used TRITC-labeled PLL-g-PEG on the LOP patterned glass and measured the intensity of the fluorescent signal before and after gel polymerization on the same coverslip. We show a representative image showing the PLL-g-PEG-TRITC signal outside of the protein features (dark frames in image). We subtracted the signal within the protein pattern areas and divided the average PLL-g-PEG-TRITC signal 'after' gel polymerization by the 'before' signal. Within the limits of the measurement, no loss in PLL-g-PEG-TRITC intensity on the glass coverslip was observed (average 98% ± 2.6% of the initial signal remains on the glass after gel polymerization, n = 80 regions analyzed). We were also unable to detect PLL-g-PEG on the surface of the resulting polyacrylamide gels. Together, our water contact angle and fluorescence imaging data strongly suggest that PLL-g-PEG is not transferred to the PAAm gel during LOP.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Single MDCK on LOP gel.
Three separate time-lapse acquisitions (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) of single MDCK cells on LOP-functionalized 25 kPa PAAm gels. Three channels are shown (gelatin for protein patterning, phase for cell outline, and LifeAct-GFP for actin structures). Scale bar is 45 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Doublet MDCK cell pairs on LOP gel.
Three separate time-lapse acquisitions (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) doublet MDCK cell pairs on LOP-functionalized 25 kPa PAAm gels. Three channels are shown (gelatin for protein patterning, phase for cell outline, and LifeAct-GFP for actin structures). Scale bar is 45 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Single MDCK on μCP gel.
Three separate time-lapse acquisitions (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) of single MDCK cells on μCP-functionalized 25 kPa PAAm gels. Three channels are shown (gelatin for protein patterning, phase for cell outline, and LifeAct-GFP for actin structures). Scale bar is 45 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Doublet MDCK cell pairs on μCP gel.
Three separate time-lapse acquisitions (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) doublet MDCK cell pairs on μCP-functionalized 25 kPa PAAm gels. Three channels are shown (gelatin for protein patterning, phase for cell outline, and LifeAct-GFP for actin structures). Scale bar is 45 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Lamellipodia beyond pattern edge for a cell on LOP gel.
A time-lapse acquisition (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) of an MDCK cell lamellipodia extending past the protein pattern region created by LOP. The image is a 'straightened' path along the cell edge (on bottom) extending 10 μm past the protein pattern (away from the cell). Scale bar is 10 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Lamellipodia beyond pattern edge for a cell on μCP gel.
A time-lapse acquisition (5 minute increments, time shown at upper left) of an MDCK cell lamellipodia extending past the protein pattern region created by μCP. The image is a 'straightened' path along the cell edge (on bottom) extending 10 μm past the protein pattern (away from the cell). Scale bar is 10 μm wide.
(MP4)
######
Click here for additional data file.
The authors thank Pruitt lab members for helpful discussion of results and Dr. Jeffrey Tok from the Stanford Soft and Hybrid Materials Facility for his advice on characterizing substrates using the contact angle goniometer.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
|
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile terminal, and in particular, to a user interfacing method in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aside from the traditional voice call function, a portable phone includes a phone book function by which 100 or more names and their phone numbers are memorized, a scheduling function that allows the user to make and manage a calendar of events, and an SMS (Short Message Service) function. As the developmental work of mobile terminals is undertaken toward composite wireless terminals with an emphasis on multimedia service, mobile terminals capable of processing pictures have recently emerged.
One of the ways to optimize the call service and various additional services for a mobile terminal is to provide an active convenient user interface. User interfacing is implemented via a keypad and a display under the control of a controller in a typical mobile terminal. The keypad is comprised of digit keys and function keys and the display displays messages and images under the control of the controller.
As compared to a PC (Personal Computer), the mobile terminal has a smaller display window. Therefore, there is trouble with displaying a full list of menu items in the display window at one time. When the user selects Menu using a specific key, the mobile terminal displays a main menu list on the display. Then, upon user selection of a main menu item using a directional key or/and a function key designated for sub-menu selection, the mobile terminal displays a sub-menu list under the main menu on the display.
Multiple key pressings are required for the user to check the status information of the terminal or the status information of his intended menu item. For example, the user must go through sub-menus one by one under the menu item using function keys such as a Menu key, a Send key, and directional keys. If the user wants to select another menu item, the user must exit to the previous higher menu level, shift to the higher menu level of his target menu item, select it, and then come down to the target menu item.
Such menu surfing is confusing and troublesome to the user and causes an increase in power dissipation. |
Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a channel access method for shared medium (usually radio) networks. TDMA allows several users to share the same frequency channel by allocating unique timeslots to each user within the frequency channel. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using his allocated timeslot. This allows multiple terminals to share the same transmission medium (e.g. radio frequency channel) while using only part of its bandwidth. Access is controlled using a frame-based approach, and precise system timing is necessary to allow multiple users access to the bandwidth (i.e. time slot access) necessary to transmit information in a multiplexed fashion on the return channel.
TDMA is used in the digital 2G cellular systems, such as, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), IS-136, Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), and in the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard for portable telephones. TDMA is also used extensively in satellite communications systems, such as Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) systems, and in combat-net radio systems.
In general, the majority of timeslots in a TDMA communications system are allocated to different communication units by a resource controller (also referred to as a base station, satellite, repeater, controlling node, and the like). This is done so that two or more communication units do not transmit at the same time. The remaining timeslots are designated as random access timeslots by the resource controller. Any of the communication units can transmit in the random access timeslots without previous consultation with the other communication units.
Because the random access timeslots are not assigned to a particular communication unit, multiple communication units may transmit at the same time. When messages sent by any two communication units overlap, a collision occurs, and the message packets that were transmitted are lost. The communication units listen for acknowledgements of their transmissions. If an acknowledgement is not received in response to a message packet transmission, a collision is presumed to have occurred. In response to the presumed collision, the communication units may retransmit in a future random access timeslot. Commonly, when doing such retransmissions, each communication unit waits a random length of time before retransmission so that their retransmissions do not collide a second time.
A well known method of random access to a shared resource is the ALOHA protocol. The standard ALOHA protocol has a maximum throughput of approximately 18.4%. That is, approximately 81.6% of the total available bandwidth is essentially wasted usually due to losses from packet collisions. An improvement to the ALOHA protocol is slotted ALOHA. The slotted ALOHA protocol coordinates and arbitrates random-access to a shared communication channel using TDMA timeslots to reduce collisions. The resource controller emits a signal at the start of each timeslot to let all other communication units know when the timeslot is available. Each timeslot is available to all communication units on a random access basis, and a communication unit can transmit only at the beginning of a timeslot.
The slotted ALOHA protocol has a performance advantage over standard ALOHA, with maximum throughput increasing to approximately 36.8%. A characteristic of a standard slotted ALOHA system is that all of the random-access timeslots are equally available to all communication units. Additionally, all of the random-access timeslots use the same transmission rate and timeslot size. Therefore, a standard slotted ALOHA random-access technique may consider each timeslot to have equal availability and desirability. Because of this, the TDMA timeslots are not utilized efficiently for communication units having different transmission rate capabilities and message packet sizes, thus limiting data throughput.
Therefore, what is needed is a technique for improving bandwidth utilization of random access timeslots of a TDMA system to better accommodate transmissions from communication units having different transmission rate capabilities and message packet sizes. |
Alterations of DNA mismatch repair proteins and microsatellite instability levels in gastric cancer cell lines.
Alterations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins result in microsatellite instability (MSI), increased mutation accumulation at target genes and cancer development. About one-third of gastric cancers display high-level microsatellite instability (MSI-High) and low-level microsatellite instability (MSI-Low) is frequently detected. To determine whether variations in the levels of MMR proteins or mutations in the main DNA MMR genes are associated with MSI-Low and MSI-High in gastric cancer cell lines, the MSI status (MSI-High, MSI-Low or MS-Stable (MSS)) of 14 gastric cancer lines was determined using multiple clone analysis with a panel of five microsatellite markers. Protein levels of hMLH1, hMSH2, hMSH6, hPMS2 and hPMS1 were determined by Western blot. Sequence analysis of hMLH1 and hMSH2 was performed and the methylation status of the hMLH1 promoter was examined. The cell lines SNU1 and SNU638 showed MSI-High, decreased to essentially absent hMLH1 and hPMS2 and reduced hPMS1 and hMSH6 protein levels. The hMLH1 promoter region was hypermethylated in SNU638 cells. The MKN28, MKN87, KATOIII and SNU601 cell lines showed MSI-Low. The MMR protein levels of cells with MSI-Low status was similar to the levels detected in MSS cells. A marked decrease in the expression levels of MutL MMR proteins (hMLH1, hPMS2 and hPMS1) is associated with high levels of MSI mutations in gastric cancer cells. Gastric cancer cell lines with MSI-Low status do not show significant changes in the levels of the main DNA MMR proteins or mutations in the DNA mismatch repair genes hMSH2 and hMLH1. These well-characterized gastric cancer cell lines are a valuable resource to further our understanding of DNA MMR deficiency in cancer development, progression and prognosis. |
Fallin' For Floral Tunic
sold out
Fallin' For Floral Tunic
15.0026.00
This cutie will give your cutie the warm shoulder all day long. With an off the shoulder ruffle sleeve, mesh lining on top and a sweet empire cut - it takes the simple slip tunic/dress to a whole new level. The all-over floral pattern is just icing on the cake. Perfect for that warm weather weekend getaway or a tea party with all her friends (even if they're just stuffed animals). |
1. Introduction {#sec1-nutrients-11-01555}
===============
Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) encompass heterogeneous conditions, including motor neuron diseases, neuropathies, disorders of the neuromuscular junction, and myopathies. The most common motor disability in childhood is represented by cerebral palsy (CP) \[[@B1-nutrients-11-01555]\], defined as a group of the motor, cognitive, and perceptive impairments secondary to a non-progressive defect or lesion of the developing brain \[[@B2-nutrients-11-01555]\]. Immobility and muscular weakness are underlying features of all these disorders, which predispose the sufferers to nutritional and infective complications \[[@B3-nutrients-11-01555]\].
In particular, reduced nutritional intake due to oropharyngeal dysfunction \[[@B4-nutrients-11-01555]\], temporo-mandibular joint contractions, and sensory impairment leads to malnutrition in most of the cases, with severe motor dysfunction \[[@B4-nutrients-11-01555],[@B5-nutrients-11-01555]\].
Furthermore, the impaired ability to coordinate swallowing with ventilation predisposes sufferers to food aspiration. Recurrent aspiration pneumonia episodes lead to progressive lung parenchymal damage \[[@B6-nutrients-11-01555]\], worsened by compromised airway defense mechanisms, and may cause death by reflux aspiration.
To prevent malnutrition and food aspiration in a functional gastrointestinal tract, enteral nutrition (EN) support is recommended \[[@B7-nutrients-11-01555]\]. In particular, gastrostomy can provide long-term enteral nutrition (EN) in chronically ill children \[[@B8-nutrients-11-01555]\] with neuromuscular problems \[[@B9-nutrients-11-01555]\].
While some studies have evaluated the efficacy and side effects of gastrostomy from surgical or medical perspectives, still limited data are available on both aspects in the same series and on a long-term follow-up \[[@B10-nutrients-11-01555],[@B11-nutrients-11-01555],[@B12-nutrients-11-01555]\]. To our knowledge, no data are available about the incidence of a serious complication such as dumping syndrome, and limited data are available about the eventual need for a fundoplication procedure in a cohort of children all previously evaluated before gastrostomy positioning for gastro-esophageal reflux, as in this study.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term follow-up of gastrostomy in children with neuromuscular disorders (NMDs), in particular in children with cerebral palsy (CP), focusing both on surgical complications and on their effects on the improvement of nutritional status and prevention of pulmonary infections.
2. Materials and Methods {#sec2-nutrients-11-01555}
========================
2.1. Patients and Methods {#sec2dot1-nutrients-11-01555}
-------------------------
This is a retrospective study conducted in the Institute for Maternal and Child Health Burlo Garofolo of Trieste, Italy.
We included retrospectively all patients who had a gastrostomy-tube placed at our Institution between January 2003 and December 2017.
The primary outcome was the percentage of patients that suffered one or more complications. The secondary outcome was the effect of gastrostomy in terms of nutritional status, number and severity of respiratory infections, type, and duration of meals. We finally evaluated patients' and families' opinions about the gastrostomy.
All of the included children's parents provided written, informed consent to access medical records for research purposes.
Data were collected from the clinical records of Gastroenterology and Clinic Nutrition Unit and Pediatric Surgery and Urology Unit.
For each enrolled patient, the following variables were collected: gender, date of birth, and if present, date of death, the degree of intellectual disability if present, and the diagnosis.
Four main indications for gastrostomy were identified: malnutrition, severe dysphagia, risk of inhalation, and intractable food aversion. Malnutrition was defined as a weight inferior to the 10th percentile on disease-specific centiles when available \[[@B13-nutrients-11-01555]\], or as the impossibility to gain or maintain weight. Severe dysphagia was defined by barium swallow x-ray with concomitant inability to meet 60% to 80% of individual requirements or total feeding, or time longer than six hours per day \[[@B14-nutrients-11-01555]\]. Risk of inhalation was defined as the occurrence of pneumonia related to reflux aspiration. Intractable food aversion was defined as a persistent food refusal reflected in significant failure to gain weight or significant weight loss (\>1 month), in absence of obvious organic disease, with pathological feeding or anticipatory gagging \[[@B15-nutrients-11-01555]\].
We registered the type of placement as endoscopic or surgical (laparoscopic or open). The procedure was surgically performed when associated with another surgery (i.e., fundoplication) or if the transillumination was judged inadequate and a laparo-assisted procedure was considered safer. All the endoscopic placements were performed under general anesthesia in the operating room with endotracheal intubation by a team consisting of an attending pediatric gastroenterologist, a gastroenterology nurse, a pediatric surgeon, and a pediatric anesthesiologist. All patients received a preoperative dose of antibiotics (generally cephalosporin) immediately before PEG followed by two other subsequent doses.
We recorded the type of surgery and intra-operative or post-operative complications distinguishing them in early (occurred during the first 30 days after gastrostomy placement) and late (occurred 30 days or more after PEG placement) phases. We considered major complications, such as gastric bleeding, aspiration pneumonia, massive pneumoperitoneum, gastrocolic fistula, cutaneous necrosis, or need for surgical closure of the gastro-cutaneous fistula after g-tube removal and dumping syndrome. Minor complications were local problems, such as erythema, granuloma, local infections, leakage, and dislocation.
Presence of gastro-esophageal reflux disease was routinely evaluated before and after g-tube placement. We also recorded the occurrence of other medical problems (such as dumping syndrome) after gastrostomy and the need for a subsequent fundoplication.
We registered data of patients three times: at the placement of the gastrostomy (T0); at the nutritional evaluation after one year since the gastrostomy (T1); and at the last nutritional follow-up visit available (T2).
At each time, nutritional status and lung infections were recorded. Nutritional data include weight and weight percentile. For children aged 2--18 years with neurocognitive impairment, we used specific growth charts for the weight (weight for age percentile) related to motor function using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS level 5) \[[@B13-nutrients-11-01555]\]. For those between 0 and 2 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts standard were used (weight for age) \[[@B16-nutrients-11-01555]\]. The number and the severity of respiratory infections were registered and we distinguished four categories: (A) Children without significant lower respiratory infections requiring antibiotic treatment; (B) children who presented from 1 to 4 episodes of mild respiratory infections requiring antibiotics; (C) more than 5 episodes of respiratory infections requiring antibiotics; (D) children with severe respiratory infections that required hospitalization.
At T2 we registered dietetic information, in particular, type (pureed food or high-calorie formula) and volume of food, and time spent feeding.
At T2 parents were asked to judge their experience with the gastrostomy procedure by a single Number Rating Scale (NRS) from 0 to 10. A score below 7 was arbitrarily considered as a negative judgment. Moreover, we queried parents about their personal comments on g-tube.
An attending surgeon recorded surgical complications, while a gastroenterologist collected medical and nutritional information. Exclusion criteria: children whose parents refused consensus for data use and children undergoing jejunal tube positioning were not included in the study.
2.2. Statistical Analysis {#sec2dot2-nutrients-11-01555}
-------------------------
For the primary outcome, we reported the absolute number of complications and the percentage of patients that presented one or more of these complications on the total number of patients. The absolute number of minor complications was also reported, as well as the percentage of patients that presented one or more of these; the same applied for each discrete variable and dichotomic ones. We reported the absolute number and the percentage of patients with malnutrition and pulmonary infections at each reevaluation T0, T1, and T2, and evaluated the impact of the intervention using the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test to compare T0 and T2 in terms of class of pulmonary infections and decile of weight.
3. Results {#sec3-nutrients-11-01555}
==========
Between 2003 and 2017, 84 gastrostomies were placed in our Institution. Based on medical records, a register of patients with gastrostomy was created.
Of 84 patients, 35 were female (41.6%) and 49 were male (58.3%). The median age at the time of gastrostomy was 4.5 years, the mean was 7.1 years, the range was 1 month to 29 years, the first quartile was 1 year, and the third quartile was 13 years. The median age at the last follow-up was 12.5 years, the mean was 13.2 years, the range was 13 months to 29 years, the first quartile was 9 years, and the third quartile was 35 years.
Seventy-seven patients have severe neurocognitive impairment (GMFCS 5) (see [Table 1](#nutrients-11-01555-t001){ref-type="table"}). The other seven (8.3%) are children with normal neurocognitive development (six children with operated esophageal atresia, and one child with spinal muscular atrophy). The principal indication for gastrostomy is severe dysphagia (53.3%); frequencies for each indication are shown in [Table 1](#nutrients-11-01555-t001){ref-type="table"}.
An endoscopic gastrostomy was performed in 63 patients (75% of patients), with a standard "pull" technique in 59 cases and a push technique for the other 4 patients; a surgical approach was used for the remaining 21 patients (25% of patients). Out of this 21 who underwent a surgical open or laparoscopic gastrostomy, sixteen (76.2%) had a concurrent fundoplication during the same procedure. Twenty-one children (23.8% of the total, 33.3% of the remaining) needed a subsequent fundoplication, while 5 children underwent fundoplication before gastrostomy; one of them needed a surgical revision of the fundoplication after the gastrostomy.
Five patients (5.9%) presented early complications (intraoperative), of which three were considered major complications (intestinal perforation, liver injury, massive pneumoperitoneum requiring exploration for suspected perforation) and two were minor (omental leakage from surgical wound, mild and self-limiting pneumoperitoneum in one case). There was no gastrostomy-related death. Late complications (postoperative) were observed in 15 of 84 (17.8%) patients (see [Table 2](#nutrients-11-01555-t002){ref-type="table"}).
Twenty-two patients out of 84 underwent fundoplication at the same time of g-tube placement. Of the remaining 62, twenty-two (35.5%) developed gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) after g-tube placement. Of them, 19 underwent a subsequent fundoplication. One case underwent a reintervention on the previous fundoplication. Another patient that underwent fundoplication with g-tube placement developed a subsequent GERD that was not responsive to medical treatment.
Five patients out of 84 developed a dumping syndrome (5.95%) with repeated episodes of severe symptomatic hypoglycemia.
During follow-up, 14 children died. No death was related to gastrostomy placement. In six children, death was attributed to reflux inhalation; all of them had a fundoplication and were fed by g-tube exclusively. Two patients were reported to have died from acute severe dehydration episodes, two from untreatable epileptic status, four from heart failure, and two due to respiratory failure.
Out of 84 patients, only 45 were considered for the nutritional analysis, due to incomplete nutritional data at follow-up in the others. The mean weight gain was + 5.15 kg at T1 (standard deviation SD 4.42), and +12.6 kg at T2 (SD 9.7). Based on growth charts (for age and motor function), of 45 patients, 15 children 33.3% were malnourished (weight percentile \< 10°) at time of gastrostomy placement. As shown in [Figure 1](#nutrients-11-01555-f001){ref-type="fig"}, the number of malnourished children decreased progressively at T1 and T2, and increased the number of children with a weight above the 25° percentile. The increase in decile of weight between T0 and T2 is highly statistically significant (*p* \< 0.0001 using Wilcoxon signed-ranks test).
Two children did not show any improvement: one was a boy with congenital cardiomyopathy in Vici's syndrome who died 6 months after gastrostomy placement; the second one underwent gastrostomy placement at the age of 16 months, when he weighed 13.5 kg, and with a total weight gain of +4.6 Kg in 3.8 years.
The leading indications for g-tube for children with weight percentile over the 25° percentile were dysphagia and risk of inhalation. All of them maintained or improved their nutritional status.
Immediately after g-tube placement, hypercaloric formula (1kcal/mL) was the main food in 28 out of 45 patients (62.2%), while at the last follow-up, 24 patients used it out of 32 patients that were still alimented through gastrostomy (75%). Two patients exclusively received self-prepared food, while 6 received a combination of self-prepared foods and hypercaloric formula; every patient was fed through a gastrostomy.
The reported average time spent in feeding the children was 2.8 h (SD +/− 1.5) a day, comprising time spent on orally tasting food flavor in three patients.
At the last follow-up of this subset of patients, 37 patients were still alive. Five patients out of 37 (13.5%) removed the g-tube: in four patients this was due to a satisfying oral intake, and for one patient due to the occurrence of a cutaneous-gastric fistula.
At T0, the presence of respiratory infection was considered determinant for the decision to perform gastrostomy for 12 patients, with 10 of them requiring repeated hospitalization and 5 of them having undergone fundoplication previously.
At T1, respiratory infections were reported as rare or not relevant in 42 patients, and only two patients required hospitalization at T1 for such a condition. The occurrence of respiratory infections is displayed in [Table 3](#nutrients-11-01555-t003){ref-type="table"}.
The reduction of the class of respiratory infection was statistically significant (0.00037 using Wilcoxon signed-ranks test).
Thirty-six parents out of 45 answered that the average NRS score was 8 (SD 1.5). Of these, five reported that they were not satisfied (score \< 7; negative judgment), one because of the leakage of formula and gastric contents, two other families reported that the button did not hold well, and two others because of frequent dislocation.
4. Discussion {#sec4-nutrients-11-01555}
=============
This study shows that g-tube positioning is effective in improving nutritional status and reducing lung infections in children with cerebral palsy or dysphagia related to other conditions, with a low rate of major complications and an average of high parental satisfaction.
Our population is comparable to other similar case series for main characteristics, such as gender, diagnosis, indication for gastrostomy, and age of g-placement.
According to the literature, we observed high mortality during the study period (sixteen patients, 19% of patients' cases), however not linked in any case to the insertion of the gastrostomy. In all cases, the causes of death are related to the underlying pathology and its complications, reflecting that many children who need gastrostomy have severe underlying disease with reduced life expectancies.
As far as surgical complications are concerned, the complication rate in literature is various. Comparing with Fortunato and colleagues \[[@B17-nutrients-11-01555]\], who reported the largest series of such patients (760 patients), our population has a comparable rate of early complications (5.9% in our population, versus 4%) and no death related to the surgical procedure was reported. Despite a longer follow-up in our experience, the rate of late complications is similar (17.8% versus 20%).
Comparing with more recent literature on 326 patients who underwent PEG positioning (Lalanne 2014) \[[@B18-nutrients-11-01555]\], the rate of late complications is lower (17.8% versus 56%), with a comparable duration of follow-up.
Despite the lack of recommendations in the literature \[[@B19-nutrients-11-01555],[@B20-nutrients-11-01555]\], in our institute, we routinely evaluate the presence of GERD and its severity through esophageal pH-monitoring before and after gastrostomy and perform fundoplication only if the reflux is symptomatic. Altogether, GERD involved half of the patients, a quarter of which were identified before placement and a quarter after placement, meaning that a routine fundoplication would result in 50% unneeded surgical procedures.
Due to the retrospective nature of the study, we are not able to define if GERD is a g-tube complication or a complication related to the underlying disease \[[@B21-nutrients-11-01555]\].
Nevertheless, our results seem to support the need for appropriate evaluation and re-evaluation for GERD and fundoplication case-by-case due to the relatively high incidence of GERD after gastrostomy.
We reported a 6% incidence of dumping syndrome. In the literature, there are small case series of dumping syndrome following Nissen fundoplication \[[@B22-nutrients-11-01555]\]. To the best of our knowledge, we could not find references to its prevalence in children who performed a gastrostomy. Dumping syndrome with hypoglycemia is a severe complication, which may be difficult to recognize and misdiagnosed resulting in worsening of epilepsy when present \[[@B22-nutrients-11-01555]\]. When suspected and recognized, it can be easily managed, and our results suggest that it should be considered as a somewhat common complication of enteral nutrition by a g-tube.
As far as nutrition status is concerned, in accord with the literature \[[@B18-nutrients-11-01555],[@B19-nutrients-11-01555]\], we also observed a satisfying improvement of nutritional status.
According to the literature, our results confirm that the gastrostomy placement (either endoscopic either surgical) does not increase the risk for aspiration pneumonia. In addition to literature, we found a positive impact on respiratory infection rate leading to a minor need for hospitalization and improvement of quality of life.
This study has some limitations---it is retrospective, and we reported a high number of patients with incomplete data or lost at the gastroenterological follow-up. Furthermore, the evaluation of nutritional status is limited by the lack of triceps skinfold evaluation.
The main point of strength of our study is that this is one of the few studies considering all of the different issues, such as surgical complications, nutritional status, infection rate, and parent satisfaction in a homogenous population at a reasonable length of follow-up.
5. Conclusions {#sec5-nutrients-11-01555}
==============
This study confirms the positive nutritional outcomes of PEG with a small risk of early and late surgical complications and a reduction in the number of respiratory infections, with parents scoring their experience as positive.
We hope that a more detailed knowledge of gastrostomy outcome can help pediatricians and families in the decision-making process of g-tube placement.
Conceptualization, G.D.L., P.P., J.S., and D.C.; data curation, P.P. and K.H.; formal analysis, S.G.; investigation, K.H. and A.T.; methodology, G.D.L. and D.C.; resources, D.C.; software, S.G.; supervision, J.S. and E.B.; validation, G.D.L., S.G., and D.C.; writing---original draft, G.D.L., P.P., and A.T.; writing---review and editing, S.G., E.B., and D.C.
No funding or grants to declare.
All the authors declare no conflict of interest.
{#nutrients-11-01555-f001}
nutrients-11-01555-t001_Table 1
######
Indication for g-tube placement related to patients' diagnosis.
Diagnosis Number (%) Indications for Gastrostomy-Tube
---------------------- ---------------------------------- ----- ----- ---- -----
Cerebral palsy 56 (66.7%) 11 8 37 \--
Genetic disorder 13 (15.5%) 5 \-- 7 1
Metabolic or other 9 (10.7%) 2 1 5 1
Esophageal atresia 6 (7.1%) \-- \-- 2 4
nutrients-11-01555-t002_Table 2
######
Late complications of gastrostomy tube placement.
Late Complications
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------
surgical revision 3 (3.6%)occlusion 2 (2.4%)buried bumper syndrome 2 (2.4%)dumping Syndrome 5 (5.9%) dislocation 10 (11.9%)granuloma or skin infection 7 (8.3%)
nutrients-11-01555-t003_Table 3
######
Patients subdivided by number and severity of respiratory infections at T0 and T2.
T0 T2
----------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ----
Patients with infection related hospitalization (D) 10 1
Patients with more than 5 episodes of respiratory infection (C) 2 1
Patients with 1 to 4 episodes of mild respiratory infection (B) 16 16
Patients without significant respiratory infection (A) 17 27
|
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Kenya: Thousands flee fatal clashes in Moyale
At least six people have been killed in a fresh wave of fighting between two rival groups near the northern Kenya town of Moyale, prompting thousands to flee their homes, aid agencies and residents told IRIN.
The latest clashes between the Borana and Gabra communities, which follow weeks of unrest in December, began on 3 January and continued into the following day.
The fighting reportedly broke out after a disagreement between youths at a peace meeting degenerated first into an exchange of stones, then gunfire.
The Kenya Red Cross Society said six people had so far been confirmed dead, three of them children, and dozens of houses had been burnt. Three other people were reported to have sustained serious injuries.
Difficulties in accessing the affected villages of Odha, Kanisa, Masille, Iladu and Hellu led officials to believe the final toll could rise significantly,
Some 1,700 children from these villages have been unable to attend school because they fled with their families to Moyale town, according to one education official.
Reacting to complaints of government inaction, Regional Commissioner Issah Nakoru said: “Our people must be assured that the government has deployed more than 1,000 security officers in Moyale and Isiolo [about 500km to the southwest].”
Residents “have a role to play. Tell us those who among them are engaged in the fight and those who are inciting the communities to fight,” he said. |
The lawyer Richmond’s Regional Animal Protection Society is in the running to be named one of Canadian Lawyer magazine’s top 25 most influential lawyers of 2019.
Rebeka Breder was nominated for her work fighting for animal rights in Canada. Recently, she’s taken up a groundbreaking case for the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition suing the federal government over how it transports horses to slaughter.
article continues below
On top of taking cases for non-profits like RAPS, she also organizes conferences and gives lectures on animal law. She co-founded an animal law course at the University of British Columbia and founded the first animal law section of the Canadian Bar Association.
“I’ve always been, literally since I was a little girl growing up in Montreal, involved in animal rights movement,” Breder told the Richmond News. “I believe animals deserve protection and rights.”
In 2001, she went into law with the goal of becoming a lawyer to help animals.
Now, in her private practice, she represents dog owners whose pets have been labelled aggressive by the city; deals with pet custody issues after couples split up; works on disputes with strata councils or issues with veterinarians and acts as counsel for the BC SPCA.
She worked with RAPS to open their new animal hospital, and believes their work is important.
“I chose to work with RAPS because I really believe in their mission and their vision, which is to help as many animals as they can in the community.”
Eyal Lichtmann, CEO of RAPS, hopes Breder's mention will bring more recognition to the growing field of animal law.
“She’s doing something that’s pretty unique,” he said.
“We’re not aware of anyone local that has her depth of experience. She’s advocating for a population that can’t advocate for itself. That’s huge.”
Lawyer-MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jagmeet Singh were also nominated to be among this year’s most influential lawyers.
Several other B.C. lawyers are also in the running, including Michael Feder for his work helping people with disabilities; Paul Doroshenko for his political and legal advocacy over problems with roadside alcohol detecting devices; Victoria Shroff for her work with animal law; Kay Scorer for her work on immigration and LGBTQ+ issues; Joe Arvay for his work on landmark cases surrounding safe injection sites, assisted suicide and the Trans Mountain pipeline; criminal lawyer Kyla Lee; Robyn Task with the BC Teacher’s Federation and Scott T. Johnston for his work with business law.
The top 25 lawyers are chosen via online voting. You can vote for your picks on Canadian Lawyer’s website until May 14, 2019. Breder is nominated in the Changemakers category. |
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“Hardball” host Chris Matthews reacts to the Iowa Democratic caucus debacle – 2/3/2020. Screen grab via MSNBC.
As my RedState colleague Bonchie wrote earlier, the Iowa Democratic caucuses were an absolute disaster last night.
I have to admit I had not planned on staying online to find out the results but as the night went on and the problems grew, I couldn’t help but marvel as the chaos unfolded, especially considering how Iowa Democrats had painted themselves as models of democracy just hours before the caucuses started.
Many people – including Democrats – have for years complained about the caucus process as antiquated, outdated, and unreliable. And after watching what unfolded last night, it’s safe to say that truer words were never spoken:
Iowa is charming and everything but let’s all admit that if we saw this sloppy, chaotic, slap-dash voting system employed in another country we’d call for UN election monitoring. — Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) February 4, 2020
Along with the stark reality that the Iowa Democratic caucuses were a cluster **** of epic proportions yesterday comes the intentionally and unintentionally hilarious reactions from journalists, commentators on the left and right, and random Twitter users who were monitoring things from afar.
Let’s start with MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews, who looked like he was one conniption fit away from throwing things and storming off set. Here was his reaction as the wheels fell of the caucus train last night:
“The guy in the White House is chuckling all night here, showing the Democrats can’t even get a three car funeral organized or whatever you want to call it. I would say to the people of Iowa, ‘Will the last person leaving Des Moines please turn out the lights?’ This has not been a success.”
Watch:
MSNBC's Chris Matthews: Trump a winner of Democrat caucus, “Democrats can't even get a 3 car funeral organized”https://t.co/J84By1GMXQ pic.twitter.com/Iqamk5tSfZ — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 4, 2020
On the other hand, Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume kinda spoke for a lot of us with his actions in the midst of a live segment during the Iowa caucuses. If you listen closely, you can hear him remove his mic as though preparing to leave as the broadcast continued on. Anchor Bret Baier joked that even though a studio next to them had already shut down for the night that Hume couldn’t leave just yet:
Video: @BritHume is all of us as he packed up in the middle of a live segment on Fox News and he's ready to go to bed pic.twitter.com/hCcHpK4Mek — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 4, 2020
Here are some other hot takes that had me doubled over in laughter last night:
Same person that launched Obamacare website that crashed must have designed the Iowa app! — Gary Flesher (@ggf57) February 4, 2020
Tens of thousands of ballots all for Joe Biden being shipped to Iowa from Broward County Florida as we speak. “Don’t worry folks we got this covered” DNC operatives. #IowaCaucuses — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 4, 2020
BREAKING: Beto O'Rourke declares himself the winner of the #IowaCaucuses — Carpe Donktum🔹 (@CarpeDonktum) February 4, 2020
Iowa Democratic Party when it realized Bernie won the most delegates #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/cI0nWU6EtC — afro-arabs for kylo ren (@Navvai) February 4, 2020
The ballots have arrived. pic.twitter.com/IB6G9AfLDj — I Hate The Media 🇺🇸 (@ihatethemedia) February 4, 2020
The Democrat "quality control" team has arrived pic.twitter.com/UPTDnk7406 — I Shame Liberals (@NotAPajamaBoy) February 4, 2020
The Iowa DNC Headquarters be like: “That very clearly says ‘Biden’ on it.”#IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/ehlzIZwHSS — Geek (@G33KDad) February 4, 2020
Warren is going to speak now, apparently, based on no results. Which is sort of what she did with her DNA test, come to think about it. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 4, 2020
It’s only a matter of time before we find out Hunter Biden was on the board of the company that made the app — Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) February 4, 2020
And honorable mention goes to…. yours truly (yes, I crack myself up sometimes!):
Adam Schiff, totally regretting not mentioning in his closing impeachment trial speech that Trump would figure out a way to sabotage the Democratic #IowaCaucuses if acquitted…. pic.twitter.com/AWtnhnHTxG — Sister Toldjah 😁 (@sistertoldjah) February 4, 2020
After all, I mean if Trump could sell Alaska to the Russians, surely he could pull of turning the Iowa Democratic caucuses into a fiasco, right? 😉 |
Determination of conjugated linoleic acid in human plasma by fast gas chromatography.
A new method for the determination of the main isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in human and animal plasma was developed by gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The new method introduces three main advantages in comparison to the current available methodologies: firstly it does not require previous lipid extraction, secondly the chromatographic separation of CLA isomers was performed on an Rtx-2330 column significantly shorter and thinner than the typical long highly polar capillary columns in use that allows a faster analysis than in current methodologies, and thirdly the amount of sample needed to perform the analyses was substantially lower than the amount used in current routine methodologies. Its application to human plasma and rat plasma showed to be robust and reliable for quick and correct identification of the main CLA isomers in particular, and the total fatty acid profile in general, in routine analysis. |
Location and characterization of two functions on RP1 that inhibit the fertility of the IncW plasmid R388.
Two fertility-inhibition functions which reduce R388 (IncW) transfer were detected on RP1 (60 kb, IncP). The respective genes, fiwA and fiwB, were mapped by transposon insertion mutagenesis to the regions between coordinates 32.8 to 31.7 kb (fiwA), and 59.8 to 0.8 kb (fiwB). The fiwA function occurs in a non-essential region of RP1 whereas fiwB is straddled by essential plasmid-maintenance and host-range determinants and apparently coincides (or overlaps) with the gene for tellurite-resistance. |
1. Introduction {#sec1-behavsci-08-00107}
===============
Social and educational mobility has major implications for individuals' health and well-being \[[@B1-behavsci-08-00107],[@B2-behavsci-08-00107],[@B3-behavsci-08-00107]\]. High socioeconomic status and access to more social resources reduce exposure to stress \[[@B4-behavsci-08-00107]\] and enhance one's social network \[[@B5-behavsci-08-00107]\], health behaviors \[[@B3-behavsci-08-00107]\], materialistic and human resources \[[@B6-behavsci-08-00107],[@B7-behavsci-08-00107]\], and access to social power \[[@B8-behavsci-08-00107],[@B9-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Individuals and groups that are located at the top of the society face less risk factors and have better access to a wide range of social and economic buffers that can be relied on when the risk occurs \[[@B10-behavsci-08-00107]\]. High status SES boosts sense of control over life, self-efficacy, and sense of mastery \[[@B10-behavsci-08-00107]\] which are protective for the health and well-being of the individuals \[[@B11-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Through all these mechanisms, our relative position in the social hierarchy (in economic terms) has major implications for several health and well-being outcomes \[[@B12-behavsci-08-00107]\], as well explained in the "social gradient in health" \[[@B13-behavsci-08-00107]\] and "fundamental cause theory" \[[@B14-behavsci-08-00107],[@B15-behavsci-08-00107]\].
Empirical evidence has documented subgroup (e.g., groups based on race, gender, and their intersections) variations in the effects of social status and socioeconomic and human resources on health \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107],[@B18-behavsci-08-00107]\]. This is in part because social mobility may entail differential processes for racial and race by gender groups \[[@B19-behavsci-08-00107],[@B20-behavsci-08-00107]\]. According to the Minorities' Diminished Return theory \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\], upward social mobility as well as socioeconomic resources have smaller effects on the health and well-being of African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities compared to Whites. Educational upward mobility differently influences the lives of Whites and African Americans, with social mobility altering exposure of Whites to social stress, however, for African Americans, exposure to stress is persistently high, regardless of intergenerational mobility \[[@B20-behavsci-08-00107]\]. For African Americans, high social status increases likelihood of contact with Whites at the workplace, neighborhood, and school, which in turn increases perceived discrimination \[[@B21-behavsci-08-00107],[@B22-behavsci-08-00107],[@B23-behavsci-08-00107],[@B24-behavsci-08-00107]\]. As a result, the effects of education attainment of parent \[[@B25-behavsci-08-00107]\] and self \[[@B26-behavsci-08-00107]\] on stress \[[@B27-behavsci-08-00107]\], quality of life \[[@B28-behavsci-08-00107]\], well-being \[[@B29-behavsci-08-00107]\], subjective health \[[@B30-behavsci-08-00107]\], life satisfaction \[[@B31-behavsci-08-00107]\], mental distress \[[@B32-behavsci-08-00107],[@B33-behavsci-08-00107]\], obesity \[[@B34-behavsci-08-00107],[@B35-behavsci-08-00107],[@B36-behavsci-08-00107]\], chronic disease \[[@B27-behavsci-08-00107]\], and mortality \[[@B37-behavsci-08-00107]\] are systemically smaller for African Americans in comparison to Whites \[[@B38-behavsci-08-00107],[@B39-behavsci-08-00107]\].
The processes and outcomes of social and educational mobility, however, are not exclusively shaped by race as they are also influenced by other social identities such as gender \[[@B18-behavsci-08-00107],[@B19-behavsci-08-00107]\]. In a study on a national sample of African Americans, education attainment showed a protective effect against psychological distress for females but not males \[[@B18-behavsci-08-00107]\]. In another study by Chetty et al., \[[@B19-behavsci-08-00107]\] it was not race/ethnicity but the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender that altered likelihood of social mobility in the US. In their study, African American males were the group with least likelihood to be upwardly mobile and most likely to experience downward social mobility \[[@B19-behavsci-08-00107]\]. This is probably because racism does differently block chances for upward social mobility of African American males and females with African American males at a relative disadvantage in comparison to African American females when it comes to racism and discrimination \[[@B40-behavsci-08-00107]\]. This is also supported by the considerable evidence suggesting that high SES (e.g., high education attainment and income) operate as a vulnerability factor for African American males but not females \[[@B21-behavsci-08-00107],[@B22-behavsci-08-00107],[@B41-behavsci-08-00107],[@B42-behavsci-08-00107],[@B43-behavsci-08-00107]\].
Aims {#sec1dot1-behavsci-08-00107}
----
The current study used a nationally representative sample of American adults to investigate the effects of race/ethnicity and parental education attainment on intergenerational educational mobility (net algebraic difference between parent and own education attainment) of Americans. We are particularly interested in the multiplicative rather than additive effects of race/ethnicity and parental education attainment on own education attainment (intergenerational educational mobility). We also explored gender differences in these effects.
We argue that the processes involved with intergenerational upward educational mobility are not universal but specific to each racial and ethnic group. At the same time, SES and social mobility have different implications for the well-being of diverse groups. We specifically hypothesize that intergenerational educational mobility is not the result of algebraic sum of race/ethnicity and resources (e.g., parental education) but their interactive and multiplicative effects. Although we expect parent education to boost respondent education attainment of the offspring, we expect this boosting effect to be smaller for African Americans than Whites, in line with the Minorities' Diminished Returns \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\] and also the empirical evidence on transgenerational transition of human and materialistic resources \[[@B44-behavsci-08-00107],[@B45-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Guided by the results by Chetty et al., \[[@B19-behavsci-08-00107]\] and other research \[[@B18-behavsci-08-00107]\], we also expect considerable gender differences in these effects. To be more specific, we expect race by parent education interaction for African American males but not females \[[@B19-behavsci-08-00107]\].
The results are expected to help us with understanding why social mobility, social status, and SES resources are far less protective for African Americans compared to Whites \[[@B46-behavsci-08-00107],[@B47-behavsci-08-00107],[@B48-behavsci-08-00107],[@B49-behavsci-08-00107]\], as described in the Minorities' Diminished Returns theory \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\]. The results may also shed light on why upward educational mobility and high education attainment may increase vulnerability of African Americans, particularly men \[[@B43-behavsci-08-00107]\].
2. Methods {#sec2-behavsci-08-00107}
==========
2.1. Design and Settings {#sec2dot1-behavsci-08-00107}
------------------------
The National Survey of American Life (NSAL) is a landmark cross-sectional mental health survey of African American adults and a non-Hispanic White control group in the US \[[@B50-behavsci-08-00107],[@B51-behavsci-08-00107],[@B52-behavsci-08-00107]\]. We briefly describe the study design and methods, however, more details on this regard are available elsewhere \[[@B50-behavsci-08-00107],[@B51-behavsci-08-00107],[@B52-behavsci-08-00107]\].
2.2. Participants and Sampling {#sec2dot2-behavsci-08-00107}
------------------------------
The NSAL study used a household probability sample to generate a nationally representative sample of American adults. In the NSAL study, African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites were drawn from rural areas, large cities, and urban areas \[[@B50-behavsci-08-00107],[@B51-behavsci-08-00107],[@B52-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Using a multistage sampling design, the NSAL enrolled African Americans and Whites if they were (1) adults (age 18 years and older), (2) resided in the coterminous US (i.e., 48 states), (3) noninstitutionalized individuals, and (4) able to conduct a structured interview in English. Exclusion criteria included residing in nursing homes, long-term medical care settings, prisons, and jails or not speaking English \[[@B50-behavsci-08-00107],[@B51-behavsci-08-00107],[@B52-behavsci-08-00107]\]. The analytical sample for this paper included 4461 adults (891 non-Hispanic Whites and 3570 African Americans).
2.3. Data Collection and Procesures {#sec2dot3-behavsci-08-00107}
-----------------------------------
Data were collected using structured interviews. All interviews were conducted in English. The interviewee and interviewers were matched on race. Most (82%) of all NSAL interviews were conducted as face-to-face and only 14% of them were conducted by telephone. Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) was used for the face-to-face interviews. In CAPI, computers are used to assist participants answer lengthy questionnaires with complex skip patterns. Some evidence suggests that CAPI enhances data quality particularly for long and complex surveys \[[@B53-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Interviews took 140 min on average to complete. The response rate was 71% and 70% for African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites, respectively.
2.4. Measures and Variables {#sec2dot4-behavsci-08-00107}
---------------------------
The study constructs used for the current analysis included race/ethnicity (measured), gender (measured), age (measured), parental education attainment (measured), respondent's education attainment (measured), and intergenerational upward educational mobility (calculated).
*Race/Ethnicity.* Race/ethnicity was measured as self-identified. Participants self-reported their race either as African American or White Americans. African Americans were defined as Blacks who do not have ancestral ties to any Caribbean countries.
*Education Attainment.* Years of schooling (education) were measured using self-reported data. This variable was treated as a continuous measure which could potentially range from 4 to 17. Separate variables measured maternal education attainment, paternal education attainment, and respondent's education attainment, all being self-reported. That is, participants were asked to report the number of years of schooling of their own and their parents' including their mothers (or the women who raised them) and fathers (or the men who raised them). In cases where education information was only available for one parent, that parent's education attainment was considered as highest parental education. When education information was reported for both parents, the highest level of education was considered as parental educational attainment.
*Intergenerational Educational Upward Mobility.* Intergenerational educational mobility was conceptualized as the algebraic difference between respondent's and their parents' years of education. A positive score was indicative of an upward intergenerational educational mobility (individual who have higher education attainment than their parents), a score of zero was indicative of no intergenerational educational mobility (respondents with similar education attainment compared to their parents), and a negative score was indicative of a downward intergenerational educational mobility (respondents who have less education than their parents). This variable was operationalized as an interval variable \[[@B54-behavsci-08-00107]\].
2.5. Statistical Analysis {#sec2dot5-behavsci-08-00107}
-------------------------
Given the complex sampling design of the NSAL, we used sampling weights for data analysis. We used Stata 15.0 (Stata Corp; College Station, TX, USA) for univariate, bivariate, and multivariable data analysis. We used Taylor series linearization for recalculation of the design-based standard errors (SEs), thus all the inferences reported here are representative to the US adult population. Given that we were only interested in comparing Whites and African Americans, we used sub-pop survey commands. We performed all of our analyses for the pooled sample as well as specific to each race/ethnic group.
For descriptive purposes, we used survey mean and proportions (%). For bivariate analysis that compares Whites and African Americans, we applied independent samples test as well as Pearson Chi-square test. For multivariable analysis, we used four linear regression models. From our regression analyses, we reported unstandardized (adjusted) regression coefficients (b), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), z, and *p* levels.
Four linear regression models were fitted to the data. To operationalize intergenerational educational mobility as the outcome, we considered parental education attainment as the independent variable and own education attainment as the dependent variable. Due to this operationalization, outcome is in fact the own education after controlling for parental education, which is intergenerational educational mobility. Age was the covariate. Race/ethnicity and gender were the focal moderators. The first two linear regression models were estimated in the pooled sample that included both Whites and African Americans. Model 1-a did not include any interaction term. Model 2-a also included a race by parental education interaction term. Model 3-a and Model 4-a were conducted for each racial/ethnic group. That is Model 3-a for Whites and Model 4-a for African Americans only. We also ran similar models for males (Model 1-b to Model 4-b) and females (Model 1-c to Model 4-c).
3. Results {#sec3-behavsci-08-00107}
==========
3.1. Descriptive Statistics {#sec3dot1-behavsci-08-00107}
---------------------------
This study included a total number of 4461 American adults who were non-Hispanic Whites (*n* = 891) or African Americans (*n* = 3570). [Table 1](#behavsci-08-00107-t001){ref-type="table"} provides the summary of the descriptive statistics in the pooled sample and by race/ethnicity. African Americans had lower parental and own education attainment compared to Whites, however, they had higher intergenerational educational mobility than Whites (*p* \< 0.05). African Americans and Whites also differed in age and gender, with African Americans being younger and being more composed of women, compared to Whites.
3.2. Linear Regressions for Both Genders {#sec3dot2-behavsci-08-00107}
----------------------------------------
[Table 2](#behavsci-08-00107-t002){ref-type="table"} summarizes the results of four linear regression models with parental educational attainment as the main predictor of interest and own education attainment as the main outcome. Model 1-a and Model 2-a were in the pooled sample. Model 3-a and Model 4-a were for White Americans and for African Americans. Model 1-a, which only included the main effects, showed a significant positive association between parental education attainment on intergenerational educational mobility, net of race, age, and gender. Model 2-a showed a significant interaction between race/ethnicity and parental education on intergenerational educational mobility, showing a smaller effect of parental education on intergenerational educational mobility for African Americans compared to Whites.
3.3. Linear Regressions for Males {#sec3dot3-behavsci-08-00107}
---------------------------------
[Table 3](#behavsci-08-00107-t003){ref-type="table"} summarizes the results of four other linear regression models for males (Model 1-b to Model 4-b). The interaction between race and parental education attainment could not be found for males.
3.4. Linear Regressions for Females {#sec3dot4-behavsci-08-00107}
-----------------------------------
[Table 4](#behavsci-08-00107-t004){ref-type="table"} summarizes of the results of four other linear regression models for females (Model 1-c to Model 4-c). Our further analysis showed that the interaction between race and parental education attainment could be found for females.
4. Discussion {#sec4-behavsci-08-00107}
=============
Using a nationally representative sample of White and African American adults, the current study showed three findings. First, overall, race was not associated with intergenerational educational mobility (i.e., the difference between respondent's and parents' education attainment). Second, having higher parental education attainment was positively associated with intergenerational educational mobility. Third, the effect of highest parental education attainment on respondent education attainment was larger for Whites than African Americans. Forth, this race difference (smaller effect of parental education attainment on intergenerational upward educational mobility) could be only found for females but not males.
Race did not have a main effect on the intergenerational educational mobility in our multivariable analysis, however, our bivariate analysis showed a larger net difference between respondents' and parents' education for African Americans comparison to Whites. The bivariate effect may be due to ceiling effects for Whites/floor effects for Blacks \[[@B55-behavsci-08-00107],[@B56-behavsci-08-00107]\], given that in previous generations, African Americans had disproportionately lower education attainment than Whites \[[@B57-behavsci-08-00107],[@B58-behavsci-08-00107]\]. The historical gap in education attainment of races would mean more room for improvement for Blacks than Whites. Filling such historical cap would require multiple generations to narrow and close. As a result, we expected more improvement for the new generations of African Americans to surpass education attainment of their parents, compared to Whites. Although civil right movement enhanced African Americans' education opportunities \[[@B59-behavsci-08-00107]\], such social changes occur with some considerable time lag, which may be decades and generations \[[@B60-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Race not impacting intergenerational educational mobility in US suggests that the historical gap in education attainment between African Americans and Whites is not narrowing rapidly.
Parental education attainment boosted the educational mobility of the offspring. This effect is probably due to the positive effect of parental education on the academic success of their children \[[@B61-behavsci-08-00107],[@B62-behavsci-08-00107],[@B63-behavsci-08-00107]\] as well as the education orientated mind set and value system of families in whom parents are educated \[[@B64-behavsci-08-00107],[@B65-behavsci-08-00107],[@B66-behavsci-08-00107]\]. A considerable education literature has well-established the role of parental education attainment as a robust driver of academic success and attainment of the children \[[@B61-behavsci-08-00107],[@B62-behavsci-08-00107],[@B63-behavsci-08-00107]\]. It is considerably more difficult to attain high education attainment for children if their parents are not able to educationally support them, probably due to their low education \[[@B67-behavsci-08-00107]\].
We found smaller effects of parental education attainment on educational mobility of offspring for African Americans compared to Whites, which is in line with the Minorities' Diminished Return theory \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107],[@B38-behavsci-08-00107],[@B39-behavsci-08-00107]\]. A number of intergenerational and cross-generational studies have documented similar racial differences in the returns of parental education on child outcomes. In the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) 2003--2004 that included 86,537 families with children 0--17 years old, major racial differences were found in the effects of parental education on family's poverty risk. Although overall, higher parental education was associated with lower risk of poverty; this effect was considerably smaller for African American compared to White families \[[@B48-behavsci-08-00107]\]. The second study used the MIDUS data, with 10 years of follow-up and showed that education attainment at baseline predicted future increase in income for White but not African American families \[[@B68-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Three other studies used 15 years follow-up data of 1781 families from birth of their child to age 15 in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) \[[@B44-behavsci-08-00107],[@B45-behavsci-08-00107],[@B69-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Although overall, maternal education at birth was protective against obesity \[[@B44-behavsci-08-00107]\], poor mental health \[[@B69-behavsci-08-00107]\], and impulsivity \[[@B45-behavsci-08-00107]\] of youth at 15 years of age; all these effects were systemically smaller for African American than White families. In one FFCWS, the same education level of parents had a larger effect on the child GPA than African American families \[[@B70-behavsci-08-00107]\]. In all these studies, race has interacted with maternal education at birth on future youth outcome, and African American families have always gained less than White families, regardless of the type of outcome. These findings are explained as the Diminished Returns of Minorities \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\].
Thus, it is not "race or class" but "race and class" that generate racial inequalities in the US \[[@B71-behavsci-08-00107]\]. This argument is well explained by Williams \[[@B72-behavsci-08-00107],[@B73-behavsci-08-00107],[@B74-behavsci-08-00107]\], Navarro \[[@B71-behavsci-08-00107]\], Shapiro \[[@B75-behavsci-08-00107]\], and Ferraro \[[@B38-behavsci-08-00107]\] among others. Racial disparities persist even at the top of the society (highest SES levels) \[[@B76-behavsci-08-00107],[@B39-behavsci-08-00107]\]. As a result, eliminating racial differences in class and SES will not be enough for elimination of the racial differences in outcomes. Policies that merely address equal opportunity will not result in equal outcomes across racial groups \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\].
In the current political climate where racism, White supremacy, and explicit racism is back in the everyday life of Americans, race and ethnic minority groups do not have equal chance for upward social mobility in the US. Even after successfully climbing the social ladder, subgroups of the society differ in how much tangible gains they receive from their parental and their own SES resources. As shown in this study, maternal education is one of the human resources that fails to generate equal tangible outcomes (respondent's education attainment) for African Americans and Whites \[[@B44-behavsci-08-00107],[@B45-behavsci-08-00107],[@B48-behavsci-08-00107],[@B49-behavsci-08-00107],[@B69-behavsci-08-00107]\].
Upward social mobility and high SES bring smaller changes to the lives of African Americans as well as other race and ethnic minority groups who have lived a life full of oppression and adversity. At each level of SES, African Americans' lives are not comparable to those of Whites, most of whom live a privileged life \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\]. As race/ethnicity is a proxy of how a group and an individual is treated by the society, and race (i.e., skin color) shapes our access to the opportunity structure \[[@B77-behavsci-08-00107],[@B78-behavsci-08-00107]\], African Americans still need to fight an uphill battle, as their social mobility cannot "buy them Whiteness" \[[@B79-behavsci-08-00107]\]. As a result, despite successfully climbing the social ladder, they still gain far less than their White Americans.
The group differences observed in this study are not likely attributable to the different choices that different groups make, but the different treatment that groups receive by the society. As a result of unfair social encounters, African Americans face many constrains in their access to the opportunity structure and social power due to pervasive structural and institutional racism. Across domains and at each level of SES, society has a preference toward Whites to non-Whites, thus upwardly social mobile African Americans will still face unfair treatment by the society, which results in SES consistently generate diminished returns for non-Whites \[[@B38-behavsci-08-00107]\]. The relative disadvantage of African Americans to Whites is largely due to racism and discrimination \[[@B21-behavsci-08-00107],[@B22-behavsci-08-00107],[@B43-behavsci-08-00107]\] that are rampant across levels and institutions.
These group differences cannot be reduced to cultural differences (e.g., culture of poverty) \[[@B80-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Instead of finding a solution, society should stop blaming the victims (e.g., African Americans) \[[@B81-behavsci-08-00107]\]. In the same lines, these differences should not be interpreted as innate group differences in intelligence or that one group is more efficient in translating their resources to outcomes than other \[[@B82-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Even if racial and ethnic minority groups have a higher tendency to use psychologically taxing coping styles, the root cause is not their maladaptive coping but the rampant stress due to persistent racism \[[@B83-behavsci-08-00107],[@B84-behavsci-08-00107],[@B85-behavsci-08-00107]\].
Although residential segregation and education quality can explain diminished returns of parental education on offspring education in African Americans than White Americans, however, they cannot explain the observed gender differences in the relevance of race and parental education on upward social mobility of African Americans \[[@B86-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Due to residential segregation, opportunities are scarcer in urban places where African Americans live compared to suburban areas where Whites predominantly reside \[[@B87-behavsci-08-00107],[@B88-behavsci-08-00107],[@B89-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Lower education quality and resources in predominantly African American communities adversely impact children educational success even when parents are motivated and educated \[[@B90-behavsci-08-00107],[@B91-behavsci-08-00107]\]. In addition, highly educated African American families stay at higher risk of poverty compared to their White counterparts \[[@B48-behavsci-08-00107]\], which means survival needs may become priority and education of the offspring may become secondary. Several other economic, societal, and psychological processes such as stressful life events \[[@B20-behavsci-08-00107]\], discrimination \[[@B43-behavsci-08-00107]\], and social mobility stress \[[@B92-behavsci-08-00107]\] can explain the diminished returns of parental education attainment for African American families relative to Whites. For example, due to structural racism, the labor market \[[@B93-behavsci-08-00107]\] and education system \[[@B48-behavsci-08-00107],[@B49-behavsci-08-00107]\] treat African Americans unfairly, thus education attainment generates smaller tangible outcomes for African Americans than Whites \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107]\].
There are also some sociological processes and psychological mechanisms (e.g., structural racism and interpersonal discrimination) that may result in gender differences in the effects of race and racism \[[@B21-behavsci-08-00107],[@B22-behavsci-08-00107],[@B43-behavsci-08-00107],[@B55-behavsci-08-00107]\]. That means, some of the processes involved in racism may differ for males and females. For instance, discrimination by the education system \[[@B94-behavsci-08-00107]\], labor market \[[@B95-behavsci-08-00107],[@B96-behavsci-08-00107],[@B97-behavsci-08-00107],[@B98-behavsci-08-00107],[@B99-behavsci-08-00107]\], police, and correctional setting \[[@B100-behavsci-08-00107],[@B101-behavsci-08-00107],[@B102-behavsci-08-00107]\] may be worse for males than females. These may explain why experience and vulnerability to discrimination is worse for African American males than females \[[@B40-behavsci-08-00107]\], why high SES increases vulnerability to discrimination \[[@B103-behavsci-08-00107]\], why education attainment protects female but not male African Americans \[[@B18-behavsci-08-00107]\], and why high SES African American men and boys but not women and girls are more depressed \[[@B42-behavsci-08-00107],[@B83-behavsci-08-00107],[@B104-behavsci-08-00107],[@B105-behavsci-08-00107],[@B106-behavsci-08-00107],[@B107-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Understanding race by gender variation in these processes are essential for an understanding of the diminished returns of African American men \[[@B43-behavsci-08-00107]\].
The results help us understand why parent education does not generate as many health benefits for African American offspring \[[@B44-behavsci-08-00107],[@B45-behavsci-08-00107],[@B69-behavsci-08-00107]\], and why SES fails to reduce poor mental health \[[@B59-behavsci-08-00107]\], discrimination \[[@B91-behavsci-08-00107]\], stress \[[@B20-behavsci-08-00107]\], and SES-related stress \[[@B92-behavsci-08-00107]\] for African Americans as Whites. Less information is available on why mental health particularly depression is worse among high SES African Americans, particularly for high SES African American males \[[@B42-behavsci-08-00107],[@B83-behavsci-08-00107],[@B104-behavsci-08-00107],[@B105-behavsci-08-00107],[@B106-behavsci-08-00107],[@B107-behavsci-08-00107]\]. All this information helps us understand the results by Steele \[[@B108-behavsci-08-00107]\], Hudson \[[@B106-behavsci-08-00107],[@B107-behavsci-08-00107],[@B109-behavsci-08-00107]\], and Fuller-Rowell \[[@B110-behavsci-08-00107]\] who have shown smaller health gain from upward social mobility in African Americans than Whites. The effects of education attainment of parent \[[@B25-behavsci-08-00107]\] and self \[[@B26-behavsci-08-00107]\] on stress \[[@B27-behavsci-08-00107]\], quality of life \[[@B28-behavsci-08-00107]\], well-being \[[@B29-behavsci-08-00107]\], subjective health \[[@B30-behavsci-08-00107]\], life satisfaction \[[@B31-behavsci-08-00107]\], mental distress \[[@B32-behavsci-08-00107]\], obesity \[[@B34-behavsci-08-00107],[@B35-behavsci-08-00107],[@B36-behavsci-08-00107]\], chronic disease \[[@B27-behavsci-08-00107]\], and mortality \[[@B37-behavsci-08-00107]\] are smaller for African Americans relative to Whites, as explained by the Minorities' Diminished Return theory \[[@B16-behavsci-08-00107],[@B17-behavsci-08-00107],[@B38-behavsci-08-00107],[@B39-behavsci-08-00107]\].
The current results extend the exiting literature on the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender/sex, and SES/class on mental health. The results advocate for taking an intersectionality approach to study the effects of race, gender, and class \[[@B111-behavsci-08-00107],[@B112-behavsci-08-00107],[@B113-behavsci-08-00107],[@B114-behavsci-08-00107],[@B115-behavsci-08-00107]\]. Using this framework, the profile and situation of each intersectionality group is not the algebraic sum of the identities that make the intersection, but the multiplicative effects of such social identities.
4.1. Study Limitations {#sec4dot1-behavsci-08-00107}
----------------------
Our study is not without limitations. First, due to cross-sectional design, the current results are indicative of association rather than causation. Thus by the term effect, we refer to statistical rather than causal effects. While race and parental education are likely to impact offspring educational outcomes, reverse causality is not likely. Still, future research should use a longitudinal design and follow families and individuals over time and use repeated observations of education, health, and well-being. Second, the current study controlled for a limited number of confounders. More research is needed while a more inclusive list of covariates are included (i.e., childhood SES, area level SES, and contextual factors such as racial composition). Third, this study relied on self-report of parental education which is prone to measurement bias. Forth, the data were old, as the NSAL was conducted between 2001 and 2003. Despite these methodological limitations, this study contributes to the existing knowledge on racial differences in the process of intergenerational social mobility \[[@B42-behavsci-08-00107],[@B77-behavsci-08-00107],[@B78-behavsci-08-00107],[@B84-behavsci-08-00107],[@B116-behavsci-08-00107],[@B117-behavsci-08-00107]\].
4.2. Future Research {#sec4dot2-behavsci-08-00107}
--------------------
The existing knowledge is very limited regarding how the intersections of race/ethnicity, class, and gender shape inequalities and disparities, and how the effects of one's social identity (e.g., race) depend on other social identities (e.g., gender). By taking an intersectionality approach, future research should study the nonlinear nature of interactions between various social identities that jointly operate and shape the health and well-being of subgroups of populations. To date, most of the research has focused on separate rather than combined and linear rather than nonlinear effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and class. In addition, more focus is given to lack of resources (e.g., poverty) rather than diminished return of available resources (e.g., educated and middle class families). It is also unknown what role contextual and individual factors such as discrimination, stress, segregation, neighborhood resources, labor market preferences, and poor quality of schooling in urban areas play in explaining the differences between African Americans and Whites in upward social mobility and gaining health from it. It is also not clear what role early exposure during childhood plays and what percentage of these racial heterogeneities are due to the disadvantage that accumulates over the life course. Future research may also define social mobility in terms of occupation, income, and wealth. Finally, more research is needed across cohorts and age groups on differences between Whites and African Americans in gaining tangible outcomes from upward social mobility. There is a need for test of replication of our results using more recent data, particularly on other markers of class and social mobility (e.g., income, wealth, and occupation).
5. Conclusions {#sec5-behavsci-08-00107}
==============
To conclude, our findings suggest that the effect of parental education attainment on intergenerational educational upward mobility is diminished for African American females compared to White females. As the effect of racism on social mobility is not the same for males and females, we advocate for application of an intersectionality approach for future research on race, gender, and social mobility/class.
Ethics
------
The University of Michigan (UM) Institute Review Board (IRB) approved the NSAL study protocol. Written informed consent was received from all the participants. Respondents received financial compensation for their time.
The NSAL (including NSAL-A) was mostly supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, with grant U01-MH57716 to James S. Jackson. Other support came from the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Michigan. This work was partially supported by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (MD006932) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH115344). The author wishes to thank Hamid Helmi for his input to this paper.
Shervin Assari is in part supported by the grants 4P60MD006923-05 (National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; NIMHD; PI = Vickie Mays), D084526-03 (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; NICHD), CA201415 02 (the National Cancer Institute; NCI; Co-PI = Ritesh Mistry), and DA035811-05 (National Institute on Drug Abuse; NIDA; PI = Marc Zimmerman). Special thanks to Hamid Helmi, Wayne State University, for his input to this paper.
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
behavsci-08-00107-t001_Table 1
######
Descriptive statistics in the pooled sample and by race/ethnicity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All\ African American\ Non-Hispanic White\
(*n* = 4461) (*n* = 891) (*n* = 891)
------------------------------ --------------- ------------------- --------------------- -------------- ----------------- --------------
Gender
Male 45.69 (0.01) 43.43--47.97 44.03 (0.01) 42.35--45.72 47.26 (0.02) 42.89--51.66
Female 54.31 (0.01) 52.03--56.57 55.97 (0.01) \* 54.28--57.65 52.74 (0.02) 48.34--57.11
**Mean (SE)** **95% CI** **Mean (SE)** **95% CI** **Mean (SE)** **95% CI**
Age 43.54 (0.71) 42.11--44.97 42.07(0.53) 40.98--43.16 44.90 (1.31) \* 42.10--47.70
Parental Education (Years) 12.08 (0.18) 11.71--12.44 11.30(0.11) 11.08--11.53 12.75 (0.29) \* 12.13--13.36
Own Education (Years) 13.13 (0.15) 12.83--13.43 12.69 (0.09) 12.51--12.87 13.51 (0.27) \* 12.94--14.08
Educational Mobility (Years) 1.06 (0.13) 0.81--1.31 1.39 (0.08) \* 1.22--1.56 0.76 (0.21) 0.31--1.22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: Standard Error (SE), Confidence Interval (CI), \* *p* \< 0.05.
behavsci-08-00107-t002_Table 2
######
Linear regressions between race, parental education attainment, and upward educational mobility.
b(SE) 95% CI t *p*
-------------------------------------------- ------------- -------------- ------- -------
***Model 1-a***
Race (African Americans) −0.29(0.22) −0.72--0.15 −1.32 0.192
Gender (Female) −0.16(0.15) −0.47--0.15 −1.05 0.299
Parental Education (Years) 0.34(0.02) 0.30--0.39 16.13 0.000
Age 0.01(0.00) 0.01--0.02 3.28 0.002
Intercept 8.57(0.44) 7.69--9.45 19.61 0.000
***Model 2-a (Model 1-a + Interactions)***
Race (African Americans) 1.25(0.46) 0.31--2.18 2.68 0.010
Gender (Female) −0.15(0.16) −0.46--0.17 −0.94 0.351
Parental Education (Years) 0.41(0.04) 0.33--0.48 11.00 0.000
Age 0.01(0.00) 0.01--0.02 3.36 0.002
Race × Parental Education (Years) −0.13(0.04) −0.21--−0.05 −3.18 0.003
Intercept 7.76(0.54) 6.67--8.85 14.30 0.000
***Model 3-a (White Americans)***
Gender (Female) −0.19(0.29) −0.79--0.42 −0.65 0.523
Age 0.40(0.04) 0.32--0.48 10.29 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.01(0.01) 0.00--0.03 1.73 0.103
Intercept 7.95(0.71) 6.44--9.46 11.20 0.000
***Model 4-a (African Americans)***
Gender (Female) −0.10(0.09) −0.29--0.09 −1.08 0.286
Age 0.29(0.02) 0.25--0.32 15.06 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.02(0.00) 0.01--0.03 4.05 0.000
Intercept 8.77(0.34) 8.07--9.47 25.46 0.000
Outcome: Own Education Attainment.
behavsci-08-00107-t003_Table 3
######
Linear regressions between race, parental education attainment, and upward educational mobility in males.
b(SE) 95% CI t *p*
-------------------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ------- -------
***Model 1-c***
Race (African Americans) −0.24(0.29) −0.82--0.35 −0.81 0.420
Parental Education (Years) 0.34(0.04) 0.26--0.43 8.16 0.000
Age 0.02(0.01) 0.00--0.03 2.36 0.023
Intercept 8.34(0.64) 7.06--9.63 13.03 0.000
***Model 2-c (Model 1-c + Interactions)***
Race (African Americans) 0.01(0.01) 0.00--0.03 2.26 0.028
Parental Education (Years) 0.35(0.05) 0.26--0.44 7.72 0.000
Age 0.00 (-)
Race × Parental Education (Years) −0.03(0.02) −0.07--0.02 −1.13 0.262
Intercept 8.30(0.61) 7.08--9.52 13.66 0.000
***Model 3-c (White Americans)***
Parental Education (Years) 0.40(0.07) 0.25--0.55 5.61 0.000
Age 0.02(0.01) −0.01--0.04 1.48 0.158
Intercept 7.62(1.08) 5.32--9.91 7.08 0.000
***Model 4-c (African Americans)***
Parental Education (Years) 0.28(0.03) 0.21--0.35 8.17 0.000
Age 0.01(0.01) 0.00--0.03 2.73 0.010
Intercept 8.89(0.01) 7.87--9.92 17.57 0.000
Outcome: Own Education Attainment.
behavsci-08-00107-t004_Table 4
######
Linear regressions between race, parental education attainment, and upward educational mobility in females.
b(SE) 95% CI t *p*
-------------------------------------------- ------------- -------------- ------- -------
***Model 1-b***
Race (African Americans) −0.33(0.21) −0.75--0.10 −1.55 0.128
Age 0.34(0.03) 0.29--0.40 12.56 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.01(0.00) 0.01--0.02 3.22 0.002
Intercept 8.62(0.46) 7.69--9.56 18.55 0.000
***Model 2-b (Model 1-b + Interactions)***
Race (African Americans) 1.35(0.62) 0.11--2.60 2.19 0.034
Age 0.42(0.05) 0.31--0.52 8.18 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.01(0.00) 0.01--0.02 3.36 0.002
Race × Parental Education (Years) −0.14(0.05) −0.25--−0.03 −2.58 0.013
Intercept 7.66(0.65) 6.35--8.97 11.74 0.000
***Model 3-b (White Americans)***
Age 0.41(0.05) 0.30--0.52 7.82 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.01(0.01) 0.00--0.02 1.48 0.159
Intercept 8.00(0.74) 6.42--9.57 10.83 0.000
***Model 4-b (African Americans)***
Age 0.29(0.02) 0.24--0.34 12.41 0.000
Parental Education (Years) 0.02(0.01) 0.01--0.03 3.52 0.001
Intercept 8.60(0.46) 7.67--9.52 18.86 0.000
Outcome: Own Education Attainment.
|
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Chris Vaught - May 10, 2020
Not Alone - Mother's Day 2020
God’s nature is rightfully most often described in the context of Father. Those attributes are seen in the way that He protects, supports, judges, or even counsels. But as we honor mom’s this Mother's Day, there are some aspects of God’s nature that are undoubtedly mothering. He is tender, full of mercy, loving, and nurturing. And it is this part of God’s nature that is stating that you are "Not Alone".
Share a Link to this Message
Chris Vaught - May 10, 2020
Not Alone - Mother's Day 2020
God’s nature is rightfully most often described in the context of Father. Those attributes are seen in the way that He protects, supports, judges, or even counsels. But as we honor mom’s this Mother's Day, there are some aspects of God’s nature that are undoubtedly mothering. He is tender, full of mercy, loving, and nurturing. And it is this part of God’s nature that is stating that you are "Not Alone". |
// Copyright 2001-2019 Crytek GmbH / Crytek Group. All rights reserved.
#pragma once
#include "CrySchematyc2/Prerequisites.h"
#include <CrySchematyc2/TemplateUtils/TemplateUtils_Delegate.h>
#include <CrySchematyc2/TemplateUtils/TemplateUtils_Signalv2.h>
#include "CrySchematyc2/BasicTypes.h"
#include "CrySchematyc2/GUID.h"
#include "CrySchematyc2/Script/IScriptFile.h"
namespace Schematyc2
{
struct IScriptClass;
struct IScriptEnumeration;
struct IScriptFunction;
struct IScriptModule;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (IScriptFile&)> ScriptFileVisitor;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (const IScriptFile&)> ScriptFileConstVisitor;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (IScriptElement&)> ScriptElementVisitor;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (const IScriptElement&)> ScriptElementConstVisitor;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (INewScriptFile&)> NewScriptFileVisitor;
typedef TemplateUtils::CDelegate<EVisitStatus (const INewScriptFile&)> NewScriptFileConstVisitor;
enum class EScriptRegistryChange
{
ElementAdded,
ElementRemoved
};
typedef TemplateUtils::CSignalv2<void (EScriptRegistryChange, IScriptElement*)> ScriptRegistryChangeSignal;
struct SScriptRegistrySignals
{
ScriptRegistryChangeSignal change;
};
struct IScriptRegistry
{
virtual ~IScriptRegistry() {}
// Compatibility interface.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
virtual IScriptFile* LoadFile(const char* szFileName) = 0;
virtual IScriptFile* CreateFile(const char* szFileName, EScriptFileFlags flags = EScriptFileFlags::None) = 0;
virtual IScriptFile* GetFile(const SGUID& guid) = 0;
virtual IScriptFile* GetFile(const char* szFileName) = 0;
virtual void VisitFiles(const ScriptFileVisitor& visitor, const char* szFilePath = nullptr) = 0;
virtual void VisitFiles(const ScriptFileConstVisitor& visitor, const char* szFilePath = nullptr) const = 0;
virtual void RefreshFiles(const SScriptRefreshParams& params) = 0;
virtual bool Load() = 0;
virtual void Save(bool bAlwaysSave = false) = 0;
// New interface.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
virtual IScriptModule* AddModule(const char* szName, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr) = 0;
virtual IScriptEnumeration* AddEnumeration(const char* szName, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr) = 0;
virtual IScriptFunction* AddFunction(const char* szName, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr) = 0;
virtual IScriptClass* AddClass(const char* szName, const SGUID& foundationGUID, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr) = 0;
virtual IScriptElement* GetElement(const SGUID& guid) = 0;
virtual void RemoveElement(const SGUID& guid) = 0;
virtual EVisitStatus VisitElements(const ScriptElementVisitor& visitor, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr, EVisitFlags flags = EVisitFlags::None) = 0;
virtual EVisitStatus VisitElements(const ScriptElementConstVisitor& visitor, const IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr, EVisitFlags flags = EVisitFlags::None) const = 0;
virtual bool IsElementNameUnique(const char* szName, IScriptElement* pScope = nullptr) const = 0; // #SchematycTODO : Should we also validate the name here?
virtual SScriptRegistrySignals& Signals() = 0;
};
}
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- This past weekend, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, seemed to throw cold water on President Bush's hopes for major Social Security change. And recent polls have shown that the public is also cool to the idea of private accounts, arguably the central element of President Bush's Social Security plan.
But as the Social Security debate continues to unfold, do not underestimate President Bush's ability to still get his ideas enacted. Indeed, even without broad Congressional or public support, President Bush just may have an ace up his sleeve. How might he enact his private accounts idea without such support, you may ask? By executive order.
Indeed, the Constitution has long provided the president with a certain amount of unilateral power to make policy. And from George Washington to George W. Bush, that power has frequently been used when presidents have felt stymied by Congress or the courts. Among some of the notable presidential directives (a broader category of unilateral presidential power that includes executive orders, proclamations, pardons, national security directives and more) are: the Louisiana Purchase, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Japanese Internment Camps.
When President Clinton failed to get his health care plan passed in the mid-1990s, he experimented with portions of his program via executive order.
Similarly, if President Bush ultimately fails to persuade Congress (especially centrist Senators) to back his private account plan, he may sign an executive order for a smaller version of his plan, such as allowing federal employees to experiment with a heavily regulated form of private accounts. It clearly would not be his first choice.
He'd rather enact a broad national plan, passed by Congress and signed by him. But if he cannot get Congressional passage of an overall Social Security change plan (or even just the private account portion), President Bush just may use the executive order route to ensure that a test version is put into effect.
And while President Clinton was sometimes criticized for his bold use of executive orders, he had to be at least somewhat politically cautious because of the risk that Congress or the courts might overturn him. President Bush has less risk in that regard because of Republican dominance in both arenas. And thus, he may indeed be more aggressive in using the executive order to implement private accounts if his legislative efforts fail.
By the way, if President Bush uses the tool to change Social Security, it will be the fourth major arena in which he has meaningfully advanced policy using presidential directives. Indeed, he has almost single-handedly created his multi-billion dollar faith-based initiative through executive orders, allowing churches and religious institutions access to taxpayer money for drug treatment, mentoring and other social service programs.
Second, as The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh and others have reported, presidential directives have guided much of the covert war on terrorism. Third, President Bush has significantly relaxed regulations and oversight of a number of large business industries via executive order.
Critics of executive orders note that Congress and the courts rarely overturn such directives, thereby raising the specter of unchecked, un-reviewed and potentially even presidential abuse of power. Indeed, the Supreme Court has only overturned an executive order twice and Congress a mere four times in the past century. Perhaps in part because of this leeway, Harvard political scientist William Howell estimates that since FDR, presidents have increased use of unilateral power in significant areas by a factor of four.
So this fall, whether the issue is Social Security or what to do in the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, keep your eyes on the ace up President Bush's sleeve. |
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Nationally mandated social distancing efforts have been implemented throughout the world during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the health and safety of the public. In response to the pandemic, research institutions have enacted strict changes to permitted research operations, requiring scientists to abide by social distancing guidelines in the laboratory, facility closures, and ramped down laboratory activities. While scientists at all stages in their careers have been impacted by these changes to the research environment, early career scientists such as postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty are particularly vulnerable during these unconventional times. Because early career scientists are in the process of establishing independence during times of restricted research activities, we believe that they are particularly susceptible to the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 crisis. While not all researchers will be equally affected by COVID-19 research restrictions, we believe that the impact of such restrictions will be significant and long-lasting. In this piece, we discuss how changes enacted over the past 3 months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted early career scientists that are members of wet laboratories. We will emphasize how changes in research productivity, the job market, and funding will impact early career scientists in the immediate and late phases of their career. Meanwhile, we will discuss how continued social distancing and limited domestic and international travel will influence early career scientists and, ultimately, the scientific landscape as a whole.
Research productivity {#Sec1}
=====================
With a reduction of personnel in laboratories and social distancing measures in place, the traditional laboratory dynamic limits collaborative research that relies on multiple team members working simultaneously. Furthermore, social distancing reduces the natural exchange of ideas that occurs through informal conversations in the laboratory. Depleted of this valuable information sharing channel, junior scientists may not benefit as greatly from the rich training environment offered by a traditional laboratory. To circumvent this loss, we suggest that research advisors sustain scientific creativity and knowledge sharing by holding virtual lab meetings and journal clubs, which can build a sense of community and routine among group members and support research productivity.
Beyond meetings focused on research, we suggest that advisors also hold informal meetings such as social hours to enable scientists to connect in a casual setting, which will further strengthen the team morale that may have been lost during quarantine. Hosting informal meetings can help reduce the stress and anxiety that early career scientists may experience during these uncertain times. We also suggest that early career scientists hold virtual meetings with colleagues and collaborators to update them about their research projects and use this as an opportunity for informal feedback and conceptualization of subsequent studies. As international travel will not be possible in the immediate future, it is necessary for researchers to continue to foster ongoing collaborations using virtual platforms. While virtual interactions may not replace the in-person environment of a laboratory, we are optimistic that digital interactions can still support collaborative research productivity.
During times of social distancing, scientists have reduced access to the laboratory resources needed to move their research forward. While scientists who are capable of working remotely may not experience as strong of an interruption to research productivity, those requiring lab space, core facility support, and specialized equipment may be unable to perform necessary experiments to support their research program. To mitigate this, scientists may consider adapting the direction of their research to take advantage of resources that they do have access to. This may range from seeking training in bioinformatics, computational biology, or molecular modeling to learning how to utilize new analysis software platforms. Some universities are already hosting online courses and workshops on using bioinformatics tools and learning coding languages.
In many cases, it may not be possible to change research direction due to timeline or funding restrictions. We suggest that postdoctoral fellows meet with their research advisors to identify the best mechanisms for maintaining productivity during quarantine and lab distancing, while also taking responsibility for their own productivity. For example, it may be best to use time away from the bench for analyzing data, generating figures, and writing manuscripts. We suggest that postdocs generate specific and achievable goals that they can revisit during subsequent meetings with their advisor. For example, your goals may be to create an outline for a manuscript in preparation, or to generate a specific panel for a figure. By establishing and revising their goals, postdocs can hold themselves accountable for progress and also identify barriers that may exist preventing them from achieving their goals. Finally, time away from the bench can be utilized to apply for funding, from postdoctoral fellowships, career transition awards (NIH K01, K08, K99 mechanisms), or short-term research grants in collaboration with the laboratory head (NIH R03, R21 mechanisms). Acquisition of funding can thus help bridge the gap before fellows apply for independent positions by providing resources to extend fellowship time.
Timeline {#Sec2}
========
Depending on the nature of the project, time away from the bench will have varying impact on researchers. For example, some scientists may have many of their materials frozen and stored such that they can pick up where they left off when the laboratory re-opens. Meanwhile, in the event that an experiment was terminated prematurely due to research restrictions, the researcher will lose the time that their experiment was incubating in addition to the time spent away from the bench, which can add up to over a year in some cases. Along these lines, it is possible that after re-opening, researchers may have to again ramp down their research programs, leading many to question whether it is appropriate to begin long-term projects. We suggest that researchers think creatively prior to initiating a long-term study to identify concrete stopping points at which a project can be paused or terminated, while still enabling scientists to obtain meaningful data. As such, we believe that the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the research timeline will be case specific, although all scientists will experience setbacks while working to rebuild their research programs.
Additionally, the restrictions imposed on researchers may extend the publication timeline by preventing submission or resubmission of manuscripts due to incomplete experiments, which may lead to tenure applicants being viewed as less productive than expected. This may have long-term consequences on tenure decisions for a generation of scientists, and we may see increased departure of the academic workforce if they are held to pre-pandemic standards. To circumvent this change in productivity, many departments have provided junior faculty with an extension in their tenure application timelines.
For postdoctoral fellows, first-author publications are a crucial metric for future employment. If fellows are unable to publish as planned, they may be perceived as unproductive by future employers and, thus, a generation of untapped talent be excluded from research landscape. One solution to this problem is to extend the postdoctoral timeline, but contract extension may not be possible for scientists with funding restrictions or for international scientists on strict VISA timelines. We suggest that research advisors meet with their fellows to discuss potential strategies to support alternative employment possibilities, such as contract extension or in some cases, promotion to project scientist or research/adjunct professor. Additionally, advisors may consider supporting non-traditional publication mechanisms, such as Registered Reports, depositing the manuscript on a preprint server to bring the study to the attention of the community before publication in a journal, or adapting a larger story to a brief reports format. Journals are critical intermediaries in the publication process, and some of them have already adopted measures to support the publication process, such as extending the submission deadlines and working with researchers on revision plans to take into account the challenges of this restricted time. For example, journals of Springer Nature, Elsevier, Cell Press, EMBO Press, eLife, and many others have publicized practices to support the dissemination of research findings during the COVID-19 crisis. Keeping the lines of communication open is essential, and we would prompt researchers to be proactive in their discussions with the editorial staff about these challenges.
Funding {#Sec3}
=======
Along these same lines, scientific productivity is used as a metric for funding decisions across the world. Given the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on research productivity, it is unlikely that the rising generation of scientists will be able to compete for funding resources if scientists are to be held to the pre-pandemic standards. Without sufficient funding, early-stage investigators may be unable to continue their research programs as planned, thereby preventing their scholarly contributions from being realized. We suggest that grant reviewers consider how changes induced by COVID-19 may have impacted researchers. More specifically, funding agencies may consider allowing scientists to write an addendum to their application to describe how their research program and institution were impacted by COVID-19. This may provide researchers with an opportunity to explain that timepoints were omitted from an analysis because they did not have access to the laboratory, or that experiments were performed with an alternative animal strain because researchers were unable to order animals from outside vendors. This would give researchers an opportunity to acknowledge the shortcomings of studies while explaining that certain unconventional choices were made during a time of restricted resources.
Networking {#Sec4}
==========
Networking represents a crucial opportunity to support the career development of scientists at all stages in their career and is particularly important for early-stage scientists working to build their scientific community. A majority of networking interactions occur via in-person interactions at conferences, seminars, and other events whether through formal meetings or informal introductions. To comply with social distancing restrictions, many societies have postponed or canceled their scientific events, significantly changing the mechanisms by which networking can occur \[[@CR1]\]. We suggest that researchers can still take advantage of scientific networking at virtual meetings by reaching out to scientists in the audience through follow-up emails. Social media involvement using Twitter and LinkedIn also represent powerful mechanisms to promote networking with the international scientific community. Additionally, several Slack channels have been generated that allow researchers with common interests to engage in discussions at their own liberty, which will help scientists generate new connections with researchers around the world.
With reduced in-person interactions, early career scientists also have limited opportunities to promote their science and research vision, which may prevent them from reaching larger audiences to disseminate their results. In fact, however, it seems that virtual seminars or conferences may actually reach a larger audience because scientists do not have to travel to attend and the conference fees are sometimes reduced. However, we do not yet understand how presenting our work in the digital realm may impact situations in which keeping results confidential or without sharing is preferred. As early-stage scientists are at particularly vulnerable stages in our careers, scientists should carefully consider what information to share publicly as participants may have digitized access to sensitive information or novel ideas. However, participation in virtual presentations can also be incredibly beneficial by facilitating collaborations that may not have been forged previously.
Job market {#Sec5}
==========
The job market has been significantly modified by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many open searches being put on hold indefinitely, leaving a generation of fellows unable to transition to the next stage in their career. For postdocs nearing the end of their contracts, it may be necessary to seek employment in non-academic sectors before entering the job market or face unemployment. Working outside of academia may equip researchers with new perspectives and expertise, and we are hopeful that employers and funding agencies will recognize this and not penalize fellows looking to re-enter academia. Furthermore, in the event that job searches are continuing, most interviews are taking place using virtual platforms, which can be an unfamiliar experience for interviewees to navigate. We strongly suggest that postdoctoral fellows utilize time away from the bench to practice key job skills such as interviewing and presentation skills for seminars and chalk talks using digital platforms such as Zoom. By using this time to refine these skillsets, applicants will be better prepared for the interview process when the time comes.
Additionally, we hope that hiring committees will take into consideration the impact of the pandemic on the publication record of applicants from specific fields to ensure representation is given to fields that have been more drastically affected by laboratory limitations. Again, a solution to this problem may be to generate a short narrative to include in the application packet to how restrictions incurred from the COVID-19 pandemic specifically impacted the applicant to ensure that a diverse group of scientists remains in the scientific community. For recently hired junior faculty, university-mandated hiring freezes will likely limit the ability to bring in necessary staff and trainees to support the research vision of your laboratory. However, it may be necessary to communicate your staffing needs to your Department Chair, who may advocate to decision-makers to enable hiring, which will ultimately support the research of junior faculty.
Conclusions and outlook {#Sec6}
=======================
The scientific community as a whole will be even more drastically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic if early career scientists are not supported. Early career researchers represent the next generation of leaders in scientific research, bringing with them unique expertise, creativity, and ideas for the future of biological research. To ensure that a generation of scientists is not lost, we encourage advisors, colleagues, and collaborators to offer help and support. We also encourage early career researchers to lean on their community for support and guidance. Whether it be through virtual mentoring sessions, online seminars, or informal meetings between scholars, we believe that discussing our unique experiences and concerns for the future will help scientists persevere and grow during and following the pandemic.
**Publisher's Note**
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This work was funded by the Damon Runyon Cancer Foundation (DRG-2327-18, C.M.T.), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program (\#1018686, C.M.T.) and the University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (C.M.T.) and the American Society for Cell Biology Faculty Research Education Development (FRED) Mentoring Program (NSF Faculty Research and Education Development Program Grant \#1340395, C.M.T. and D.T. are FRED participants).
Article conceptualization was by C.M.T.; C.M.T. and D.T. wrote and edited the manuscript. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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