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Wednesday Skull Session
Sabino to play Saturday? Rumors swirled on Tuesday afternoon that Etienne Sabino could burn his redshirt and play against Minnesota. That notion seems confirmed after Chimdi Chekwa told various media types that Sabino will indeed be suited up and ready to roll in the Twin Cities. This revelation caused even more speculation such as Homan potentially being more banged than originally thought and Dorian Bell possibly being done for the season though Tressel seemed to indicate today that he'd be back after the bye week. This might sound like a silly way to burn a redshirt nine games in but I can't help but wonder if the primary reason he could see the field is to help out our struggling special teams coverage units with a secondary focus on providing LB depth. In his presser, Tressel went out of his way to talk about all the game changing special teams plays at the college and pro levels this past weekend. This news also makes me wonder if something might be up with Newsome. Time will tell. Paul Haynes will certainly be asked about this development tonight during his scheduled media session.
What's in a name? Our friends at Big Ten headquarters are still struggling to come up with names for the two new divisions, the championship game and the actual trophy itself. According to the article, some officials have even scoured message boards looking for ideas.
Obviously, their intent is to come up with meaningful names that will be memorable and sound good when discussed by fans and media alike. As you may recall when Delaney unveiled the divisional alignment back on September 1st, he indicated a hope to have the whole naming fiasco resolved in roughly 90 days. So, the conference still has time but what's taking so long?
Maybe they'll take the honest approach and call the divisions "Paper" and "Cheddar" while naming the championship game "The Big Ten Championship presented by the Highest Bidder"? Anyway, since there's a chance we've got the eyes of the conference honchos on us today, throw out your best ideas for the divisions, the championship game and the winning trophy. Delaney needs you.
Kurt Coleman gets it. This might be old news to some but Coleman was recently spotlighted in The Lantern for being the founding member of OSU's chapter of Uplifting Athletes. The organization is non-profit and focuses on raising money to fight rare diseases. Coleman's motivation came from both his father and roomate's father (fellow founder and OSU fullback Matt Daniels) being diagnosed with cancer.
Coleman organized an event last year to raise awareness for CMT, a disease that both Terrelle Pryor's father and aunt are forced to deal with. The football team has also gotten involved and Donnie Evege currently serves as chapter president. Good stuff.
Notre Dame football is still junk. Fresh off a 35-17 pimp hand delivered by none other than Navy, Brian Kelly is openly wishing to play in any bowl game whatsoever which clearly makes sense as this group needs plenty of practice time. The loss dropped ND to 4-4 on the season and the embarrasment hasn't slowed down. In the aftermath of Navy's rushing clinic emerged video showing Irish senior LB Kerry Neal delivering an atomic stomp to the gut of Midshipman John Howell:
Adding insult to injury, a letter to the Notre Dame school newspaper editor crafted by senior student Matthew McManus was published yesterday. In it, McManus suggests senior students should rush the field following a (potential) loss to Utah on November 13 because, assuming ND beats Tulsa this weekend, a defeat would mean the Irish footballers will have broken the record for losses in a four year period, currently held by the Class of 1964. Ouch. A pretty tasteless letter but since it takes a shot at Notre Dame, we'll allow it.
Switching to the hardwood (you said hard wood)...the wolves are already out waiting for Evan Turner to fail. The Villain averaged just 7.7 points on 31% shooting in the preseason to go along with 5.9 boards and 3.7 assists in 29 minutes per game. Doug Collins is saying all the right things but the fact Turner isn't really sure what position he plays has to be somewhat of a concern for Philly fans. Personally, I'm still saying ET won't be a superstar that justifies a #2 pick but that he will be a productive NBA player for many years. I think it's just going to take some time for him to find his way. Turner seems to agree:
"I understand how I am. I understand that I'm still trying to find my way. If people are worried, they're worried. I'm not really worried because I know what's in me. I never really express worry openly because I know what's in me. I know I start off slow, and I end up dominating. I understand people want to rush me. I'm an impatient person myself."
Turner kicks off his season tonight as the Sixers host the Heat at 7pm. Rip it up, Villain.
Smorgasbored. Some other random links for your perusal include...Joe Pa may be ripe for another public dookie with the news that Denard Robinson is healthy and is expected to start in State College. Rich Rod (see this sign yet?) needs Robinson to halt a two game losing streak before Michigan (5-2) closes the season with Illinois, @Purdue, Wisconsin and @Ohio State. Somebody smell 6-6? Or will they pull off 7-5?...Lost Letterman presents the Top 10 Steve Spurrier Jabs at Tennessee Football. "You can't spell Citrus without UT" will always be classic.
Comments
I think TTUN might become bowl eligible this weekend after the PSU game. PSU sucks this year.
I still like the "Great Plains" and "Great Lakes" Divisions. I know it may not be entirely correct, geographically, but what the hell? Has a nice ring to it, I think. I don't think the "Bo" and "Woody" Divisions would fly because of protests from teams not named Ohio State and Misheegoon.
I think maybe the "Schembechler" and "Hayes" divisions might have a shot -- it sounds like tradition, which the conference just loves to sell, and the nature of that rivalry could instill a certain pride to the different divisions that would give the championship game more drama/weight. Still would be tough to get past the other teams in the conference, but if they want to go with tradition, it'll be somebody with an attachment to one school, so why not the most famous coaching rivalry in history?
i think it's pretty obvious that in keeping with big ten tradition, the championship trophy needs to be some kind of huge obnoxious farmer's tool, like a tractor steering wheel or a bigass wheelbarrow or something
“There’s one thing I have learned through all my adventures and conquests - it’s that some people are just wired for success. I had no choice when it came to being great - I just am great.” – Kenny Powers
what happens when they play each other? Or teams like the Dolphins where that QB from TSUN has to throw the ball to Hartline? Or when Holmes goes against Clements or Winfield? Or Beanie has to run against the Saints with the Fresh Prince of Columbus and Jenkins? What do you do then because it confuses me.....
Henne is no longer the enemy and if he throws well to Brian, great. I think it is great when they have to play against each other. I am sure Tone loves to beat Nate and Antoine and I imagine they love to chase him. Watching the NFL without a dog in the fight is fun.
“There’s one thing I have learned through all my adventures and conquests - it’s that some people are just wired for success. I had no choice when it came to being great - I just am great.” – Kenny Powers
Having played OL with bum ankles at the tackle position is extremely difficult and it causes your technique to fail because you get in the mode of having to guess / anticipate what the DL is going to do. You will notice that Shugarts gets exposed after he has his ankle is rolled into or where DL does 2 or 3 moves on the previous play causing Shugarts to absorb DL blows and shift his wait around. The following play is where the guessing starts to occur after he establishes a neutral position waiting to react to the DL first or second move. However, as the pain increases, the OL will start guessing on the first move and this was where Shugarts was being burned. It is easier to run block with bad ankles because most of the time you know where you need to be and moving forward is a lot easier than moving laterally. In pass blocking for a tackle position, the first move for the OL is typically a lateral-backwards movement, which can hurt, especially if the bad ankle is on the outside leg. Once the first move is complete, there can be a moment of hesitation as the OL gets into his technique. This hesitation can be exploited with a speed rush.
Shugarts either needs to be honest about his pain or stop cheating the system in practice so he looks more capable of playing at higher level than he actually is capable of playing. If it is Shugart’s Right Ankle, the coaching staff may need to replace him or move to the other side of the formation.
“There’s one thing I have learned through all my adventures and conquests - it’s that some people are just wired for success. I had no choice when it came to being great - I just am great.” – Kenny Powers
Since the Ro-tel division winner will be playing the winner of the Velveeta division the championship game should be called the "Queso Cup" and they should be playing for the Haas Avocado trophy. Which would be a big brass avocado, of course.
Turner kicks off his season tonight as the Sixers host the Heat at 7pm. Rip it up, Villain
I'm afraid to watch as the Heat will be playing all out after failing in Boston. ET has a special place in my Buckeye heart after being a strong character kid and beating Michigan with that half court buzzer beater. I thought Thad was going to punch Beilein in the face. I really want him to do well to avoid the harshness of the Philly fanbase.
As for divisions, I would prefer "great lakes" and "Heartland" or "Plains". Woody and Bo seems a little weird, even for this Buckeyes fan. Certainly the great lakes are a distinguishing feature of our area of the country, and is an appropriate label.
If not, I agree with the previous poster that directional divisions (north/south) is next best, even if the geopgraphy is a little off. Hell, math never mattered for the name of the conference to begin with, so why would having correct geography matter?
They really don't need to overthink this or get too cute. Divisions have existed in many sports for many years, there are plenty of examples to choose from.
As for the Title game trophy, I say the league hands out large gold pants
For divisions I like "The Tundra" (northern schools) and "The Tillage" (farmland schools).
The trophy should be a 2-3 foot (like the size of a beer keg) long golden or silver Cider Cask (I like the nostalgia provided here by the strong history and popularity of hard cider during pre-Prohibition America; plus the cider connection helps to throw off any criticism from would be teetotalers, who might object to a beer cask). I think some SEC schools used to have a beer keg trophy, but this would be much classier. You could even call it something unrelated to alcohol if need be "The Golden Barrel".
Every player who wins the trophy should have his name inscribed on it, like the Stanley Cup. When the cask is fully inscribed and there is no more room, you would be able to remove a stave and replace it with a blank one (again, like the Stanley Cup).
Maybe you could work in some sort of reward with the staves too. Like if there are 10 years per stave, and your school won the most championships during those 10 years, then when that stave comes off, your school get's to keep the Golden Stave in their trophy case. Obviously you could set-up tie breakers to determine who gets it if no one team has an outright lead. Or, if there is the eventual genesis of a centrally located BigTen hall of fame, the staves could go there for display.
Sabino burning a redshirt intrigues me a bit. On special teams, he was crucial to our success. Didn't think he was bad at OLB either. I like the move, if it indeed happens. These injuries are starting to take a toll on everyone in the B10. |
4th Person Charged In Clerk Killing
No More Arrests Expected, Police Say
April 14, 1994|By PATTI ROSENBERG Daily Press
JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — A 17-year-old girl has become the fourth person charged in the robbery and murder of a Lightfoot 7-Eleven clerk. The investigation will continue up to the trial, but this is expected to be the last arrest, said Capt. Ken Middlebrook of the James City County police.
The James City teen, whom police would not name because she is a juvenile, was charged with first-degree murder and robbery on Tuesday, Middlebrook said. The girl was arrested at a school, Middlebrook said, declining to identify the school or say whether the girl was a student at the school.
Middlebrook also would not say what role the girl is believed to have played in the crime. "She was a participant, and that's about it" in terms of the information police are releasing, Middlebrook said. "Through investigation, we were able to obtain enough evidence to bring charges."
Vicki Michelle Jones, 20, of the 9600 block of Barnetts Road in Charles City, was arrested on the same charges last week. Brothers Ricky Coles, 17, and Marcell Coles, 13, were charged with murder and robbery early April 2, within about an hour of the crime being reported to police.
Jones, who is Ricky Coles' girlfriend, drove the boys to the 7-Eleven in the 6600 block of Richmond Road and knew about the robbery plan, police said.
The Coles robbed Robert P. Morris, 57, of less than $10 cash and his car keys before shooting him in the head and fleeing in his Ford Explorer, according to police.
They were arrested at home on Wilcox Neck Road in Charles City after the Ford Explorer was spotted parked nearby. |
Other News Releases Related to Case 18-OOD-309
Witness Assistance
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into the death of a 41-year-old woman last month in Cambridge.
In the early morning hours of October 21, 2018, a man called 911 from a motel room and informed that his girlfriend had gone into medical distress. While on the phone with the communicator, the man administered naloxone to his girlfriend. Soon after, Waterloo Regional Police officers attended the Hespeler Road motel. One officer commenced CPR on the woman, and another officer administered naloxone to her. Upon arriving, Emergency Medical Services took over care of the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence establishes that the woman was probably deceased before the officers arrived on scene and that their actions in no way contributed to her death. Accordingly, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must
consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid |
Farmers get Rs 10, Rs 215 as loan waiver in UP
lucknow
Updated: Sep 12, 2017 09:19 IST
In a rude shock, farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur were allegedly given loan waiver certificates of Rs Rs 10 and Rs 215 at a function held with much fanfare and presided by state’s labour and employment exchanges minister Mannu Kori.
Shanti Devi of Umri village got a loan waiver of just Rs 10.37 against a loan of Rs 1.55 lakh.
Munni Lal of Maudaha village was given a loan waiver certificate of Rs 215 against his loan of Rs 40,000.
The loan waiver certificates came as a rude shock for the farmers who had been promised waiver on loans up to Rs 1 lakh, and questioned the parameters the government had set.
The Yogi Adityanath government had launched the ‘Krishi Rin Mochan Yojna’ (farm loan waiver scheme) last month and had announced Rs 1 lakh as the upper ceiling for waivers. The scheme was planned to benefit 87 lakh farmers in the state and cost the exchequer Rs 36,000 crore.
A farmer named Shivpal, who had taken a loan of Rs 93,000 from a bank, said the government had waived off merely Rs 20,271, much below his expectations.
There were dozens like him at the function held with much fanfare.
Minister Mannu Kori, who had given away the certificates, termed it as a printing mistake. As the number of complainants grew, he said he would get the matter looked into properly.
“The loan waivers have been given as per rules. If there are discrepancies, we will get it inquired into and act against those responsible,” said Kori, who is minister of labour and employment exchanges.
In a quick tweet, Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam hit out at the BJP government, calling the loan waiver a sham and mockery of farmers. “Waiver of Rs 10 is a blatant mockery,” he said. |
N',2-diphenylquinoline-4-carbohydrazide based NK3 receptor antagonists II.
Introduction of selected amine containing side chains into the 3-position of N',2-diphenylquinoline-4-carbohydrazide based NK3 antagonists abolishes unwanted hPXR activation. Introduction of a fluorine at the 8-position is necessary to minimize unwanted hI(Kr) affinity and a piperazine N-tert-butyl group is necessary for metabolic stability. The lead compound (8m) occupies receptors within the CNS following oral dosing (Occ(90) 7 mg/kg po; plasma Occ(90) 0.4 microM) and has good selectivity and excellent PK properties. |
Q:
Responsive divs with and image in each
I am trying to done is have a responsive div with 2 pictures centered, one in each div.
What I am want it is to drop down, when the screen is small and not big enought to display them side by side.
At the moment with the below when the screen is smaller it pushes the images into each other.
<style>
.container{width:100%}
.inner_container{float:left;width:50%;}
.img_container{width:250px;margin:0 auto:padding-bottom:5px;}
</style>
<div class="container">
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.co.uk"><img src="left_img.png" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0"></a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.com"><img src="right_img.png" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0"></a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
A:
You're using the wrong styles to do what you're trying to do. Mainly, you've set a fixed width of 250px to your img_container div which is why the images aren't getting scaled down. This the correct way to achieve what you want:
.container {
width: 100%
}
.inner_container {
width: 49%;
display: inline-block;
}
.img_container {
width: 100%;
}
.img_container a img {
width: 100%;
}
<div class="container">
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.co.uk">
<img src="http://lorempixel.com/400/200/" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0">
</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.com">
<img src="http://lorempixel.com/400/200/" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0">
</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
With the above code, the images keep on getting scaled down and stay on the same line until the window size is reduced to very small. If you would want them to appear on two separate lines after a particular width, you will need to use media-queries like this:
.container{width:100%}
.inner_container { width: 49%; display: inline-block; }
.img_container { width: 100%; }
.img_container a img { width: 100%; }
@media (max-width: 650px) {
.inner_container { width: 100%; display: block; }
}
<div class="container">
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.co.uk"><img src="http://lorempixel.com/400/200/" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0"></a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="inner_container">
<div class="img_container">
<a href="http://www.google.com"><img src="http://lorempixel.com/400/200/" width="250" height="70" alt="" border="0"></a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
|
Black Rock RV Village
Description
Arizona camping at its best can be found at the beautiful Black Rock RV Village. Situated in Brenda-Salmone off Interstate 10 and Highway 60 in La Paz County, we have the largest campground sites in the Quartzsite and Salome areas. With views of the Harquahala and Harcuvar mountain ranges coupled with the desert sunsets, Black Rock RV Village makes for the perfect Arizona campsite setting.
Besides enjoying the majestic views, we offer a variety of options sure to please everyone. From our convenient online reservations system to our 400 RV sites (some offering Wi-Fi Internet service, cable and telephone service) to our onsite café which serves all breakfast, lunch and diner, our campground is a home away from home. Enjoy barbecuing, a round of 18-hole miniature golf, billiards, or a game of darts. Or stop in at our recreation hall where you can find nightly games, entertainment and events.
There's also a variety of water recreational activities available including jet skiing, boating, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and wave running. For some desert fun, explore the numerous off-road trails in the area or visit one of our old mines or local ghost towns. You can also check out the popular Quartzsite RV Show which has winter gem, mineral and RV shows throughout the year. Your next camping adventure is waiting for you at Black Rock RV Village.
408 Total Sites
25 Pull Thru Sites
403 Sites width 50 Amp
45' Max Campsite or RV Site Length
Directions:
From Quartzsite: Take I-10 East towards Phoenix. Take Exit 31, turn right onto Hwy. 60 and drive four miles to the village of Brenda. The campground is located on the north side of Hwy. 60, a half mile past the Country Store.
From Phoenix: Take I-10 West towards Quartzsite. Take Exit 31, turn right onto Hwy. 60 and drive four miles to the village of Brenda. The campground is located on the north side of Hwy. 60, half a mile past the Country Store. |
Dear Col. Haze;
I am attempting to learn why the Installation Action Plan (IAP) for
Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (SFAAP) only includes funds for the clean
up of Solid Waste Managements Units (SWMU's).
I am a member of the SFAAP Restoration Advisory Board (RAB).
Does funding for the clean up of SFAAP come under your command? If so
would you take the below listed letter dated, 05 Dec 2000, for action?
I base my request on the fact that your Mr. Dennis Karns, Corps of
Engineers, Kansas City District, is a member of the SFAAP RAB and was a
contributor to the IAP as also listed below.
Mr. "Ralph Burns" <Ralph_Burns@ATK.COM>, "Tom Stutz, Army Representative"
<Thomas_Stutz@atk.com> have not answered my questions.
Thanks.
Jim Oyler
>>>>>>
http://www.ioc.army.mil/ib/ib-er/pillars/restoration/iap's/sfaap_iap/sfaap_i
ap.htm
http://www.ioc.army.mil/ib/ib-r/pillars/restoration/iap's/sfaap_iap/SFAAP_In
tro.pdf
CONTRIBUTORS TO THE SFAAP INSTALLATION ACTION PLAN (IAP).
Ralph Burns Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant
Randy Carlson Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Gerald Cooper City of DeSoto
Tim Davis Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant - ATK
David Garrett Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII
George Gricius Forces Command
Blaine Hastings General Services Agency (GSA)
Dennis Karns Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Joe King Army Environmental Center
Johnna Lingle Johnson County Commissioner - RAB Co-Chair
Rich Mendoza HQ, IOC, Environmental Restoration
Tom Stutz Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant - Installation
Manager
Katie Watson Forces Command Support
Phil Wittek Johnson County Environmental Department
Steve Whitfield Burns and McDonnell, Inc.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 11:21:53 -0600
To: "Tom Stutz, Army Representative" <Thomas_Stutz@atk.com>,
"Ralph Burns" <Ralph_Burns@ATK.COM>
From: UTOSI <UTOSI-Hdqrs@kc.rr.com>
Subject: Question on the different clean up funds being used at SFAAP
Cc: "UTOSI" <UTOSI-Hdqrs@kc.rr.com>
Dear Tom and Ralph:
Please help me understand what federal law[s] govern[s] and allocates
different funds for the total environmental clean up of Sunflower Army
Ammunition Plant (SFAAP).
At the last RAB meeting when I asked why the IAP did not include the total
clean up fund requirements for SFAAP, you all stated the 65 Solid Waste
Managements Units (SWMU's), (Contaminated sites) and the 20 Areas of
Concern (AOC's), that may become SWMU's are under one fund by federal law
and the IAP is limited to just the SWMU's.
What law is that and who is responsible for the fund allocation?
You all also stated the clean up funds for the 3,000 plus building to be
burned, their foundations, the 50,000 lineal feet of above ground asbestos
covered steam piping and the 50,000+ lineal feet of sewer pipes (below
ground) that contain powder, came from a different fund.
What federal law is that and who is responsible for the fund allocation?
I am trying to understand how the funds for the total clean up of SFAAP are
not in one package or included in the IAP.
I am also trying to understand why the RAB's concern for the total clean up
of SFAAP is limited to just the SWMU's.
What federal law limits the RAB's concern for the clean up of SFAAP to just
the SWMU's?
Thanks.
Jim Oyler
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Tag Archives: australian economy
GBP/AUD rates are trading around 1.78 on the exchange this morning, with the AUD seemingly finding support around this level.
The Pound has found a foothold above 1.75 over recent weeks, with investor confidence seemingly returning to the Pound despite the on-going uncertainty around Brexit.
Whilst the Pound has made positive inroads of late, the current trend may not be sustainable as we head into a key phase of the Brexit talks.
Poor UK Manufacturing data yesterday did little to further boost Sterling’s value, with the Pound struggling to make any impact above 1.78 against the AUD.
With the global markets seemingly improving , there is also an argument to say that investors risk appetite will improve alongside it. Usually this means than they will move funds from the safer haven currencies such as the USD & CHF, into more risky and potentially higher yielding currencies such as the AUD or NZD.
It is interesting to note that the USD has declined of late in line with this theory and it could be that the AUD is in line for a positive run over the coming weeks.
Whilst the currency markets are extremely difficult to dissect, particularly in times of uncertainty, I am not convinced that Sterling will continue on an upwards aggressive curve.
The Australian economy continues to perform well and being a commodity based economy, relies heavily on the export of its vast supply of raw materials. With its largest trading partner China showing no signs of an economic slowdown, this is likely to help support the Australian economy and ultimately the AUD over the coming months.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will not want to see the AUD’s value soar, of fear of alienating their trade partners but this undertone is likely to be offset by the on-going concerns surrounding Brexit and its outcome.
These concerns were laid bare by a leaked Government report earlier this week, which indicated that the UK will be worse off after Brexit. The report covered all three Brexit scenarios, including a free trade agreement, access to the single market, or the worst case scenario of no deal being reached at all.
The Government were quick to react and said the findings were only a preliminary assessment but the news is hardly likely to inspire confidence amongst investors.
Therefore despite the Pounds positive run further pressure over the coming days and weeks is a distinct possibility, as Brexit talks starting to dominate the headlines once more.
If you have an upcoming GBP or AUD currency transfers to make, you can contact me directly on 01494 787 478. We can help guide you through this turbulent market and as a company we have over eighteen years’ experience, in helping our clients achieve the very best exchange rates on any given market.
Our award inning rates can be accessed very easily over the phone and I can keep you posted with key market developments ahead of any prospective exchange you need to make.
Feel free to email me directly on mtv@currencies.co.uk to find out all the options available to you ahead of your currency transfer.
This evening the Federal Reserve (United States Central Bank) will release their latest interest rate decision and for the last time Chairlady of the FED Janet Yellen will give her last press conference as Chair. For clients that are buying or selling Australian dollar it’s important to understand that decisions made in the US have a direct impact on Australian dollar exchange rates.
In recent weeks most major currencies have benefited from the demise in the US. President Donald Trump at present is trying to pull the US out of NAFTA which is the trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada. These negotiations are on going and could take 12 months. Nevertheless the US dollar has lost value and the Australian dollar has benefited.
The FED decision tonight could indicate whether the UK will raise interest 3 times this like predicted at the beginning of the year or if forecasts have changed. Personally I expect this release to weaken the US dollar further which could benefit most G10 currencies. Later in the week Non farm payroll numbers, which is the amount of jobs created in the US will be released at 1.30pm and this release could also have an impact on exchange rates.
The next key data release to look out for in regards to the Australian economy is the interest rate decision on the 6th. Inflation numbers showed a slight improvement in January, however the Reserve Bank of Australia are unlikely to hint towards any rate hike anytime sooner. Therefore I don’t expect this event to help provide strength for the Australian dollar.
If you are buying or selling Australian dollar in the upcoming weeks, months or years feel free to email me with the reason for your conversion (company invoice, buying a property) and the timescales you are working to and I will email you with my forecast and the process of using our company drl@currencies.co.uk.
** If you are already using a brokerage and would like to know if you are receiving the best rates possible email me with the exact figures and I will reply with our live price. This will take you minutes and in the past I have saved clients thousands! **
We have seen some very positive retail sales figures from down under of late, which had caused GBP/AUD to drop as low as 1.71. I am of the opinion the increase in retail sales was an anomaly due to Black Friday and the release of Apple’s iphone X. I would expect a significant drop on the next release.
Sterling has rebounded however, following a very optimistic outlook from Lord Jim O’Neill, economist and former chairman of Goldman Sachs. He has the firm belief that the UK economic back bone is strong and will recover from Brexit in a quick fashion. There has also been news from the Dutch and Spanish finance minsters that they are keen to have a close relationship with the UK post Brexit. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor made similar comments, but this had a more significant effect on GBP/AUD as Germany is considered the engine room of the EU and they are heavily reliant on the UK for their imports.
The US Treasury secretary, Stephen Mnuchin also has stated the US will be forthcoming with a trade deal. Be wary of thinking the pound will continue to make gains against the Aussie however with phase two of Brexit talks shortly to commence the pound could well take a hit. Talks are set to be elongated and problematic. Both Davis and Barnier are at logger heads on several issues and this does not bode well for the pound.
If you have a currency requirement I will be happy to assist. It is crucial to be in touch with an experienced broker if you wish to maximise your return. If you let me know the details of your trade I will endeavour to produce a free, no obligation trading strategy for you. If you have a trade to perform I will also happily provide a free quote and I am confident our rates are among the best in the industry. I would be willing to demonstrate this in form of a comparison with any competitor. You can trade in safety knowing you are dealing with company FCA registered and one that has been trading for 16yrs. Foreign Currency Direct PLC. If you would like my assistance I can be contacted at dcj@currencies.co.uk. Thank you for reading. Daniel Johnson
Sterling’s positive run continued throughout Wednesday’s trading, moving back above 1.76 against the AUD.
The Pound has been well supported across the board, bringing with it some much needed optimism ahead of the next round of Brexit talks.
The AUD has found it difficult to make any real impact, with the Pound now likely to find plenty of support between 1.70-1.75.
Whilst the current rates may still not look overly attractive based on historical levels, the Pound has certainly seemed to gain something of a foothold over recent weeks. We must continually remind ourselves that the goals posts have shifted since the Brexit decision. As a result I feel that the current spike offers some value to those clients looking to exchange GBP/AUD positions.
This week’s positive move is even more surprising when you consider how poor the UK Retail Sales figures were on Friday and clients have been asking what the catalyst was behind this positive spike.
Whilst it’s impossible to give a universal answer, the upturn at least in some part could be attributed, at least in some part, due to a report by the former Conservative Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill.
Despite being a vigorous Remain campaigner, he argued that Britain “should prepare for a much more economically optimistically 2018”, citing better than predicated global growth as the reason.
He believes that Britain’s growth forecasts will be upgraded, due to China, the US and Europe showing increased economic activity.
Whilst this view is unlikely to be shared by all, the Pound seems to have benefited as a result.
Looking at the Australian economy and early year financial reports have indicated that the Australian economy is set to continue to grow in 2018. If this prediction comes to fruition it will be Australia’s 27th year of uninterrupted growth.
This in itself is an impressive statistic, especially when you consider there have been at least three major global recessions during this period.
Whilst the Australian economy is of course not impenetrable, it continues to benefit from high levels of skilled immigration and a booming mining industry, which helps to support their continued growth.
If you have an upcoming GBP or AUD currency transfer to make you can contact me directly on 01494 787 478. We can help guide you through this turbulent market and as a company we have over eighteen years’ experience, in helping our clients achieve the very best exchange rates on any given market.
Our award inning rates can be accessed very easily over the phone and I can keep you posted with key market developments ahead of any prospective exchange you need to make.
Feel free to email me directly on mtv@currencies.co.uk to find out all the options available to you ahead of your currency transfer.
GBP/AUD rates have remained flat over the past week, with Sterling struggling to make any impact above 1.73.
Despite the resistance its facing around this threshold, the current levels are still attractive levels based on the recent history of the pair.
The EU referendum result has changed the landscape indefinitely, with GBP/AUD rates trading between 1.5960 & 1.7950 since the Brexit vote.
The current buy prices are far closer to the high than low of this period and this should be considered by any clients holding Sterling and in need of an AUD purchase over the coming weeks.
Whilst I do not anticipate the Pound to put pressure on 1.75 under current market conditions, it has at least gained a foothold above 1.70 and I personally would be tempted to protect any currency positions above this level. The markets seem to be waiting for the next key driving factor to surface and this could ultimately be linked
To the on-going Brexit negotiations, with phase two talks set to get underway shortly. These will run until October, so personally I don’t expect to see any major breakthroughs anytime soon.
Considering how prolonged and arduous phase one talks were, I am not partially confident as we head into the next round of negotiations.
Looking at the Australian economy and early year financial reports have indicated that the Australian economy is set to continue to grow in 2018. If this prediction comes to fruition it will be Australia’s 27th year of uninterrupted growth.
This in itself is an impressive statistic, especially when you consider there have been at least three major global recessions during this period.
Whilst the Australian economy is of course not impenetrable, it continues to benefit from high levels of skilled immigration and a booming mining industry, which helps to support their continued growth.
If you have an upcoming GBP or AUD currency transfer to make you can contact me directly on 01494 787 478. We can help guide you through this turbulent market and as a company we have over eighteen years’ experience, in helping our clients achieve the very best exchange rates on any given market.
Our award inning rates can be accessed very easily over the phone and I can keep you posted with key market developments ahead of any prospective exchange you need to make.
Feel free to email me directly on mtv@currencies.co.uk to find out all the options available to you ahead of your currency transfer.
For clients that converted Australian dollars into sterling or sterling into Australian dollars last week, both sets of clients were provided opportunity which many of clients took advantage of.
Thursday morning Retail Sales numbers were released for Australia and the numbers exceeded expectation which provided an extra cent for clients holding Australian dollars and purchasing sterling. Furthermore the tides turned Friday afternoon when reports were suggesting the Spanish and Dutch finance ministers had agreed that they seek the softest Brexit deal as possible, which is good news for the UK economy and consequently sterling.
This week the first key release which will impact GBPAUD exchange rates is the UK inflation numbers Tuesday morning. Forecasts are suggesting a slight rise to 3.2%. If this occurs more questions will be asked of the Bank of England, and consequently I expect this could provide a boost for the pound. However medium term forecasts are suggesting that inflation will drop over the next 6 months below 3% so I don’t expect a reaction from the central bank.
Later in the week (Thursday morning) Australia release Employment change, Unemployment rate and Participation rate numbers. Forecasts are suggesting all three releases are close to previous therefore if this is the case this could be a non event. However regular readers will be aware that Unemployment rate numbers can have a major impact on future monetary policy therefore keep a close eye on this release.
GBPAUD exchange rates have fluctuated 8 cents in 6 weeks, and with Brexit negotiations on going, many leading forecasters having a difference of opinion in regards to the future of the Australian dollar, I expect exchange rates will continue to fluctuate. Therefore if I were converting GBPAUD exchange rates I would look to use a limit order, which allows you to set a target rate and if the market spikes to that rate our automatic system will buy the currency on your behalf.
For more information on how I can help you save money on your currency transfer feel free to email me on drl@currencies.co.uk.
GBP/AUD rates have spiked overnight, with the Pound hitting 1.7262 at the high.
The pair has remained extremely range bound of late, with little indication that the Pound will make any sustainable move up to, or through 1.75.
Similarly, it seems to be finding plenty of support above 1.70 as the markets wait for the next key driving factor to show itself. This could well be linked to any media reports regarding Brexit negotiations, with phase two talks set to get underway shortly. These will run until October, so personally I don’t expect to see any major breakthroughs anytime soon.
Considering how prolonged and arduous phase one talks were, I am not partially confident as we head into the next round of negotiations.
This could put pressure back on the pound and it may be wise to protect any short-term GBP/AUD positions ahead of these talks.
Looking at the Australian economy and early year financial reports have indicated that the Australian economy is set to continue to grow in 2018. If this prediction comes to fruition it will be Australia’s 27th year of uninterrupted growth.
This in itself is a quite staggering statistic, especially when you consider there have been at least three major global recessions during this period.
Whilst the Australian economy is of course not impenetrable, it is clear they are benefiting from high levels of skilled immigration and a booming mining industry, which helps to support their continued growth.
The issues they could face are rising house prices in both Sydney & Melbourne, which are becoming are becoming unsustainable. This is making them unaffordable for the majority of residents, which in turn could have a negative impact on the Australian economy and ultimately the AUD in the coming months.
If you have an upcoming GBP or AUD currency transfer to make you can contact me directly on 01494 787 478. We can help guide you through this turbulent market and as a company we have over eighteen years’ experience, in helping our clients achieve the very best exchange rates on any given market.
Our award inning rates can be accessed very easily over the phone and I can keep you posted with key market developments ahead of any prospective exchange you need to make.
Feel free to email me directly on mtv@currencies.co.uk to find out all the options available to you ahead of your currency transfer.
We recently witnessed a sharp fall in retail sales down under. It was the sharpest fall in four years and alarm bells were ringing. There was a serious problem with housing affordability and wage growth. The housing bubble in Australia is common knowledge with foreign investors willing to pay the inflated house prices. The natives are struggling and are being forced to spend their money on necessities rather than luxury products.
Last month bucked the trend however. We saw a huge rise above the expectations of 0.4% to 1.2% in retail sales. The question is will this growth continue?
I would say the answer to this is sadly no. Having looked into the situation in more detail it looks as though consumers’ obsession with Apple could be the cause along with a spending frenzy on Black Friday. The launch of the iPhone X was the phone that everyone wanted.
If I was an Australian Dollar seller I would be looking to take advantage of current levels. I am of the opinion the data release was an anomaly and I think we will see a sharp fall next month. Take into account that GBP/AUD hit 1.79 recently, so current levels are very favorable.
There is unemployment figures next Thursday and it will be interesting to see if the monster run of form can continue. The last figures were the most impressive since February 2013. I would not however hang on for this release if I was selling the Aussie, a lot can happen in a week.
If you have a currency requirement I would be happy to assist. You need to have an experienced broker on board in order to take advantage of rates when a brief spike occurs, especially in the current climate. If you have a currency provider already in place I am prepared to perform a comparison against them. It will take minutes and could potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds. I can be contacted at dcj@currencies.co.uk.
Sterling sellers have seen a boost to the exchange rates available to them today, after the Pound is up across the board of major currency pairs even if only slightly.
This comes on a day that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has reshuffled her cabinet, with most moves being predictable according to political analysts.
Brexit related news is of course likely to continue to be one of the main drivers of Sterling price movements, although there are reports that the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is beginning to fade. Sterling volatility is expected to wane in the short term future after a market gauge that measures expected volatility was trading at a three-year low earlier today, which means that analysts aren’t expecting to see any market swings in the upcoming months for Sterling exchange rates.
Since the Brexit GBP/AUD has lost quite a lot of value, but the pair are currently trading towards the top end of the recent trend despite GBP losing some value recently as the Aussie Dollar strengthened.
Market predictors are one thing, but I personally wouldn’t rule out a big move in either direction for GBP to AUD exchange rates in the event of a major breakthrough or stumbling block being made public in regards to the second round of Brexit negotiations.
If you have a large currency exchange to carry out in the coming days, weeks or months then you are more than welcome to speak with me directly as I will be more than happy to help you both with trying to time a transaction and getting you the top market rate when you do come to buy your currency. A small improvement in a rate of exchange can make a huge difference so for the sake of taking two minutes to email me you may find you save yourself hundreds if not thousands of Pounds. You can email me (Joseph Wright) on jxw@currencies.co.uk and I will endeavour to get back to you as soon as I can.
The Australian dollar has had a fantastic run against most of the G10 currencies is recent weeks as the Reserve Bank of Australia changed their tune in regards to interest rates. For example, AUDGBP exchange rates have increased from 0.5570 to 0.5805 in just over 4 weeks.
Looking ahead, experts seem to be disagree whether the Australian dollar will continue to surge against the G10 currencies or fall in value throughout 2018 and there are strong arguments either way.
Economists from Commonwealth Bank, UBS and optimistic that it will be a good year for the Australian dollar as they believe now is the start of a considerable downward trend for the US dollar which will help the value of the Australian dollar. Furthermore the Commonwealth Bank and UBS believe commodity prices will do well this year which will continue to help the Aussie and an interest rate hike for the RBA will occur at some point in quarter 1 or 2.
However on the other hand Morgan Stanley expect the complete opposite. They predict that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates however the RBA won’t raise rates until 2019 which will mean a major sell off of Australian dollars in order to buy US dollars will occur. Furthermore Morgan Stanley and Westpac disagree with the forecasts that commodity prices will have a good year. They are predicting a major slow down for China which in turn will mean iron ore prices will fall.
It is quite clear to see that it is impossible to predict the Australian dollars future at present as we are unsure if the RBA will raise interest rates and when this will occur and also the future of commodity prices. Therefore if I were exposed to Australian dollar conversions for the time being I would continue to monitor these developments and also look into the other currency that you would be converting. For example Brexit negations will drive GBPAUD exchange rates and Donald Trumps twitter account coupled with the Feds stance will dictated USDAUD exchange rates.
If you are buying or selling Australian dollars in the future, I would strongly recommend getting in contact to discuss your situation. The company I work offers a proactive service to offering economic information whilst having the ability to offer award winning exchange rates. Feel free to email me with the currency pair you are converting, your requirements along with the timescales you are working to and I will respond with my forecast and the process of using our company drl@currencies.co.uk.
Disclaimer
The contents of this site are for information purposes only, and represent the personal views of the authors.It is not intended in any way as a recommendation to trade, nor does it construe advice whether to buy or sell. No responsibility can be held arising from any loss following consideration of this information.
Disclaimer: The contents of this site are for information purposes only, and represent the personal views of the authors.It is not intended in any way as a recommendation to trade, nor does it construe advice whether to buy or sell. No responsibility can be held arising from any loss following consideration of this information. |
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CBC to Obama: Don't forget us
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Judge Judith W. Rogers (right), from the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, administered the ceremonial oath of office to members of the Congressional Black Caucus in January.
AP Photo
When the first African-American president holds his first meeting with 42 veteran black lawmakers Thursday, it will be a mountaintop moment for all involved.
But members of the Congressional Black Caucus will also be sending the president a subtle message.
“Don’t take us for granted,” said one House Democratic aide.
The meeting between President Barack Obama and the CBC, scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, has been in the works for several weeks, but the timing is, in part, “the result of member concerns about certain things,” said an aide to a senior member of the caucus.
Caucus members are pleased, by and large, with the size and composition of the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier this month.
But in the lead-up to the final stimulus vote, many grumbled that party leaders, including the president, buckled by allowing the GOP to strip out nearly $60 billion in aid to states to make way for an alternative minimum tax extension that will largely benefit the middle class.
Moreover, many members, including CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), are still bothered by Obama’s selection of New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as commerce secretary — an appointment that ended with Gregg’s voluntary withdrawal over ideological differences with the White House.
Lee and other members successfully pushed the White House to remove the Census Bureau from the commerce secretary’s direct control after raising concerns about Gregg’s longtime opposition to the use of sampling — as opposed to door-to-door counting — as a means of determining the population in hard-to-count urban areas.
At the time, Lee called for “thorough scrutiny” of Gregg, saying his “record of previously voting to abolish the Commerce Department and his attempts to block President Bill Clinton’s efforts to secure adequate funding for the 2000 census raise troubling concerns.”
Some members, including Lee and outspoken Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), have privately expressed concerns that Obama hasn’t hired enough blacks for his administration, especially in the increasingly powerful Treasury Department.
“CBC actually got what they wanted in the recovery package; I don’t think they were upset in the end,” said another top aide to a senior caucus member. “I think they were more upset by the Judd Gregg nomination and the all-white Treasury Department.”
Another aide said that members are putting together a list of a half-dozen areas of policy concerns on which to quiz Obama, including the targeting of anti-foreclosure programs in low-income neighborhoods, reforming the rules regulating credit cards and the 14,000-troop increase in Afghanistan, which Lee and Waters view as a potentially dangerous escalation.
“We don’t want to substitute Afghanistan for Iraq,” Waters said on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” Friday night. “We don’t want to continue to send our young people off to war without really understanding what we’re doing.”
Waters acknowledged the difficult balance Obama faces by following through with a pledge to remove troops from Iraq while expanding the troop presence in Afghanistan.
“He wants to show that we’re strong; we’re not weak,” Waters said. “He’s trying to do this balancing act.”
15) The stimulus bill is the single largest spending bill in the history of humankind and yet, Obama is running around telling everyone how he's going to cut the deficit in a few years. Obama claiming to be a deficit hawk -- that's like getting a lecture on honesty from Bill Clinton.
14) ACORN, which engaged in large scale voter fraud during the 2008 election that won't be seriously investigated because Obama is in the White House, is now unapologetically breaking into houses across the country and encouraging squatters. Apparently, if you're a liberal group, you are above the law as long as the Obama administration is in the White House.
13) Despite the fact that America just conclusively proved it's not a racist nation by electing the first black President, race hustling bottom feeders like Al Sharpton and Julian Bond are making ridiculous charges of racism over an obviously non-racial cartoon. I thought the implicit promise of the Left was that electing Obama would put the race hustlers out of business?
12) Despite all the doomsday talk that we're hearing about how only European style socialism can save us from another depression, this recession isn't even close to being as bad as the one we endured in the early eighties. The utter lack of perspective about this topic is disturbing.
11) Barack Obama has already broken more campaign promises in a month than George Bush did in eight years. He's a living, breathing example of everything people hate about politics. He's habitually dishonest, will say anything if it benefits him politically, and he has already doled out more taxpayer money to his supporters via the stimulus bill than any politician in history.
10) Many of the same moderate Republicans who helped destroy the party over the last 4 years by pushing big spending, big government, pro-illegal immigration policies, and worst of all, John McCain, are once again declaring that the solution to our problems is to pursue many of the same policies that allowed the Democrats to take almost total control of D.C. "Thanks, but no thanks" for the "helpful" advice.
9) It's grotesque to see the worshipful treatment Obama is getting. It seems like his face is on the cover of half the magazines in the country, the press treats him with kid gloves, and they're naming schools after him. Meanwhile, he's just another sleazy politician who has yet to show an aptitude for much of anything other than reading off of a teleprompter.
8) In what is sure to be the first of many betrayals, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins sold the Republican Party and the American people down the river on the stimulus package. The amazing thing was not that they caved, since it has come to be expected from those three, but that they prostituted themselves to the Democrats so cheaply. Had they simply held out for another week or two, they could have given the GOP much more leverage, shaved at least another hundred billion off the stimulus package, and could have acquired tens of millions more in goodies for their constituents.
7) The Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, is a tax cheat. Let me repeat that: Timothy Geithner, the guy who is the head honcho of the IRS, is a tax cheat. One more time, Tim Geithner, the guy who will be in charge when the Obama administration institutes what will probably be the single largest tax increase in American history, later in Obama's first term, is a tax cheat.
6) Despite the fact that the Big 3 automakers have been so thoroughly destroyed by the unions that work for them that they have to come begging for billions per month just to survive, the Democratic Party is getting ready to try to ram a card check bill through the Senate that would expand the presence of unions all across the country. That's like finding a turd in the punch bowl and just tossing it into the lemonade.
5) The single most successful program of the Clinton years, welfare reform, has already been essentially repealed with no debate via the stimulus package. It's part of Obama's attempt to radically transform the country before the American people fully realize what's happening. So far, judging by the lack of discussion over welfare reform, it seems to be working.
4) The very same government that destroyed the banking industry by forcing it to make loans to people who couldn't pay them back is now using the very crisis it created to try to nationalize the banking industry. This is like making an arsonist the new fire chief after he burned down the fire station and 3-4 city blocks surrounding it.
3) Barack Obama is like Jimmy Carter on speed. In anticipation of the American people vomiting at the mere mention of his name in the future, he's trying to cram every single thing on the liberal wish list through so fast that our legislators don't even have time to read the bills that they're voting on.
2) We're literally going to spend hundreds of billions of dollars rewarding people for failing to pay their mortgages. Granted, they're not going to admit to that, but when people who pay their mortgages on time get nothing while people who aren't paying their mortgages get a break, courtesy of their fellow citizens' tax dollars, what else can it be called other than a reward for irresponsibility?
1) Prior to the stimulus bill being passed, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the recession we're in would be over by the 2nd half of 2009. In other words, we're going to spend 1.2 trillion dollars on a stimulus bill and best case scenario, it could pull us out of a recession 3-6 months early. Of course, it seems more likely that all the government interference and massive increases in debt could extend, rather than shorten the length of the recession. If we're not out of it by 2010, we know who deserves the blame.
Since our current Attorney General has called us a "nation of cowards," let me spark the debate by asking a question that I think is on the minds of many Americans:
Why do we have a black caucus in the Congress?
Why should we have a division in the Congress that votes and creates legislation along clear racial lines? A Congressional white caucus would be unthinkable to everyone.
I tend to think that groups that define their purpose along racial lines have a tendency to create a greater racial divide. Martin Luther King advocated that our society should strive to not be divided along racial lines, and we should seek to see and judge each other without care or consideration the color of someone's skin.
When people hear of legislation being proposed by the CBC, or the CBC voting as block, I think it has some effect of causing others to think they don't have the interest of all Americans at heart - they are more concerned with the interests of black Americans. This inevitably sparks concern and even some backlash from other voters, and may even prevent some voters (and even members of Congress) from supporting legislation due to its racial design.
In my humble opinion, while this organization was extremely influential and important for minorities, I have to think that if we're ever to achieve a post-racial world such organizations will have to become a thing of the past.
I'm so sorry for the conservative voices on this post that have such a bad feeling regards the Obama administration, now you have a small clue on how many of us felt after 8 years of the Bush fiasco! Enjoy the ride for a change! Oh and by the way, the mess this country is in is due to the Bush years and the attempt by his gang of theives to strip this country of any wealth in the hands of the middle and lower classes.
How can they be upset because there aren't enough black folks in the Treasury Dept? Who works there besides Geithner and his Chief of staff. If you go to the Treasury Department's website Geithner is the only one listed under treasury officials. No under secretaries. Besides the AG is Black. So is the head of the EPA, as well as the director for Domestic policy, and U.S. trade representative, and a senior advisor. The bulk of the school funding in the Stim goes to Tier-1 schools that will provide extreme assistance to schools in black neighborhoods.
Leave it to a Socialist, Racist Black woman in a RACIALLY divided Caucus to decry foul, there aren't enough Blacks.
Sit down and shut up already! I WANT TO SEE AN ALL WHITE CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS! Ya see, the blacks have been spewing forth their hatred of the White Man for keeping them oppressed for years. Demanding Equality. etc. Now? ALL BLACK college funds, colleges, tv stations, shows, caucuses, funding for homes they never could pay for, lower test scores on the SAME entry exams for certain schools???? WHAT Can you call yourselves stupid any louder?
Now this loud mouth Moron from the CBC is at it again. We will never, eveeeeerrrrrr be equal until we have the same ALL WHITE allowances that the Blacks have. Until then? That is segregation, sponsored by the U.S. GVT.
I'm so sorry for the conservative voices on this post that have such a bad feeling regards the Obama administration, now you have a small clue on how many of us felt after 8 years of the Bush fiasco! Enjoy the ride for a change! Oh and by the way, the mess this country is in is due to the Bush years and the attempt by his gang of theives to strip this country of any wealth in the hands of the middle and lower classes.
That's a typical liberal response that keeps playing over and over in these comment sections. Try coming up with a better argument. And oh, you forgot to mention Rush and Hannity too. If you're going to do this, do it right please.
I am really sick of the race card; this administration has really set race relations back by throwing it in our face constantly. In our home, race has never been an issue; that's how we raised our kids - we just never made a big deal out of anybody's ancestry - they knew they could always bring any of their friends home. As a result, they are now young adults with a variety of friends from all different backgrounds, as it should be.
As is the case for ALL of us, Obama would do well to keep considerable distance between himself and the Congressional Black Caucus, the racist & traitorous cabal within the very walls of the U.S. Capitol.
The CBC message can be summarized as "don't forget your brothas and sistahs and your duty to give them some serious payback, like by manipulating the census to use mathematical models to beef up their numbers rather than simply counting their nappy (or chemically straightened or cornrowed) heads." |
466 F.Supp. 945 (1979)
Edward SAHATJIAN, Plaintiff,
v.
WOODLETS, INC., Defendant.
Civ. A. No. 78-86-C.
United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.
March 16, 1979.
*946 Norman J. Richards, Lexington, Mass., for plaintiff.
Laurence M. Johnson, Palmer & Dodge, Boston, Mass., for defendant; Thomas F. Segalla, Saperston, Day & Radler, Buffalo, N. Y., of counsel.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
CAFFREY, Chief Judge.
This is a contract action brought by plaintiff, Edward Sahatjian, against defendant, *947 Woodlets, Inc. Plaintiff is a Massachusetts resident. Defendant is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Buffalo, New York. Jurisdiction is invoked under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332.
Defendant has moved to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction. Both parties have submitted affidavits which are relevant to the question of the Court's jurisdiction and which, therefore, may be considered. Jackson v. Sargent, 394 F.Supp. 162, 165 n.1 (D.Mass.1975). For the purposes of this motion, the following facts are not in substantial dispute.
Sahatjian and Woodlets negotiated an employment agreement in New York. Woodlets then executed this Sales Representation Agreement in New York and mailed it to plaintiff at his residence in Massachusetts for execution by him. By that agreement, plaintiff became a Regional Manager for Woodlets in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The agreement provided that plaintiff would solicit sales from customers in his territory and submit those orders to Woodlets for rejection or acceptance in New York. Deliveries were to be direct to customers and payment by customers was to be direct to Woodlets' office in New York. Plaintiff would receive draws against actual commissions earned. Woodlets promised not to employ anyone else to render similar services in plaintiff's territory, to refer to plaintiff all inquiries, orders and correspondence it received, which originated in plaintiff's territory, and to credit plaintiff's account with any orders received by Woodlets from plaintiff's territory. The agreement could be terminated by either party by mailing written notice.
From January 1, 1970 until February, 1977, plaintiff solicited sales from customers located in Massachusetts and the other states in his territory. On or about January 1, 1977, Woodlets decided to change its sales methods from the use of salesmen to the use of independent sales agents. On February 15, 1977, Woodlets terminated plaintiff's employment, effective March 31, 1977.
Plaintiff alleges in his complaint that Woodlets failed to terminate his employment in accordance with the employment agreement. He further alleges that, from 1970 to the time of filing this suit, Woodlets employed other salesmen and made direct sales in his territory, and that Woodlets failed to credit those sales to his account with Woodlets, all in violation of its agreement with plaintiff.
The law is well-settled that the law of the forum state determines the amenability of a foreign corporation to suit in a diversity action in federal court. E. g., Caso v. Lafayette Radio Electronics Corp., 370 F.2d 707 (1st Cir. 1966). The Massachusetts long-arm statute, Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 223A, § 3(a), provides a Massachusetts court "may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action . . . arising from the person's (a) transacting any business in this commonwealth; . . ."
Defendant contends that Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 223A, § 3(a) does not afford this Court with in personam jurisdiction since plaintiff's cause of action arises out of his employment contract with Woodlets, and not out of Woodlets transacting any business in Massachusetts.
The function of the long-arm statute is to permit Massachusetts to assert jurisdiction over the person to limits allowed by the Constitution of the United States. Automatic Sprinkler Corp. of America v. Seneca Foods Corp., 361 Mass. 441, 443, 280 N.E.2d 423 (1972). In International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945), and its progeny, the United States Supreme Court has defined those limits to require "certain minimum contacts with [the state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend `traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.'" Id. at 316, 280 N.E.2d at 425 (quoting in part from Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)). That is to say, there must be "some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting *948 activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws." Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 1240, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958).
The facts stated in the affidavits as to Woodlets' contacts with Massachusetts are not disputed. Woodlets has not appointed an agent for the acceptance of service of process within Massachusetts, nor has it obtained authorization to do business in Massachusetts. Woodlets has no place of business in Massachusetts, has no telephone listing in Massachusetts, and owns no real or personal property in Massachusetts.
Woodlets did, however, solicit sales of various products from customers located within Massachusetts. For approximately seven years, Woodlets sent plaintiff into Massachusetts to solicit sales for Woodlets in accordance with their employment contract. It is clear that under that contract Woodlets retained sufficient control to make plaintiff its agent. Acting through its agent, Woodlets affirmatively sought business in Massachusetts. It follows, therefore, that Woodlets' contacts with Massachusetts were sufficiently voluntary to meet the Hanson standard. See Vencedor Manufacturing Co., Inc. v. Gougler Industries, 557 F.2d 886, 891 (1st Cir. 1977).
I note, parenthetically, that by purposefully availing itself of the privilege of conducting activities within Massachusetts, Woodlets should have known that it might be subject to suit in Massachusetts for claims arising from those activities. If plaintiff had failed to meet its obligations under the contract, Woodlets could have sued in Massachusetts courts, and, in so doing, obtain "[t]he primary benefit that any nonresident corporation seeks from the law of a foreign state . . . [that is] enforcement of the contracts it has made with that state's residents." Vencedor Manufacturing Co. v. Gougler Industries, supra at 892.
Within the constitutional framework, a court must also consider the connection between the contacts and the cause of action. Whittaker Corp. v. United Aircraft Corp., 482 F.2d 1079, 1083 (1st Cir. 1973); Singer v. Piaggio & Co., 420 F.2d 679, 681 (1st Cir. 1970). The Massachusetts longarm statute specifically requires that the cause of action must arise out of the transacting of any business within Massachusetts before a court can acquire in personam jurisdiction over a foreign corporation. Singer v. Piaggio & Co., supra.
In determining whether plaintiff's claim is connected to Woodlets' activities within Massachusetts, I am mindful that the plaintiff has the burden of establishing the facts upon which the question of personal jurisdiction over a defendant is to be determined. See, e. g., KVOS, Inc. v. Associated Press, 299 U.S. 269, 57 S.Ct. 197, 81 L.Ed. 183 (1936); Aro Manufacturing v. Automobile Body Research Corp., 352 F.2d 400 (1st Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 383 U.S. 947, 86 S.Ct. 1190, 16 L.Ed.2d 210 (1966).
The facts set forth in the affidavits relating to this issue are unclear and disputed. Plaintiff avers in a very conclusory manner that the alleged breach occurred in part when Woodlets employed other salesmen in Massachusetts and failed to credit his account with these sales. Defendant states that it did not employ any other salesmen between 1970 and 1976, but, in answers to interrogatories propounded by plaintiff to defendant, Woodlets states that it employed two sales agents in 1977 and that these agents received commissions. These agents were either employed by or authorized by Woodlets to sell the same products as sold by plaintiff in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Insofar as the record fails to establish whether these agents were employed prior to termination of plaintiff's contract, the operative facts of the controversy may be connected to defendant's transacting business through agents other than plaintiff, and, therefore, plaintiff appears to state a cause of action arising from Woodlets transacting business in Massachusetts.
*949 Plaintiff also appears to claim that Woodlets breached its contract with plaintiff by making direct sales via Pharmasol Corporation, a Massachusetts corporation. Defendant states in its answers to plaintiff's interrogatories that Pharmasol is a supplier of defendant and distributed products to at least eighteen places of business in Massachusetts. I cannot say, on the basis of the record thus far developed, that Woodlets' relationship with Pharmasol is not a consequential act having no legal significance in plaintiff's contract action.
Some of the obligations of the parties under the employment agreement required performance in Massachusetts. It is those activities of defendant in Massachusetts that plaintiff claims violated defendant's obligation under that contract. The contentions raised in plaintiff's complaint bring into question issues of fact and law pertaining to the dealings of Woodlets in Massachusetts. Accordingly, the contract sued upon was sufficiently connected with the forum to permit the exercise of jurisdiction over the defendant.
In so ruling, I make no determination under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1404(a) as to whether this district is an appropriate forum as that issue is not raised or considered here.
Because I find jurisdiction over Woodlets under Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 223A, § 3(a), it is unnecessary to consider plaintiff's contention that Woodlets is subject to suit under Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 223A, § 3(b).
The motion to dismiss is denied.
|
First successful antegrade single-balloon enteroscopy in a 3-year-old with occult GI bleeding.
Balloon enteroscopy is an emerging technique to allow access to the small intestine for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. To date, there have been few published data documenting the safety and efficacy of balloon enteroscopy in small children. To describe our experience with single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) in a 37-month-old toddler with occult GI bleeding. A single case report. A free-standing, academic children's hospital in Denver, Colorado. The patient was a 37-month-old, 13.5-kg toddler with persistent heme-positive stools, severe microcytic anemia, and hypoalbuminemia. Previous workup was significant for eosinophilic inflammation in the antrum and a video capsule study showing erythematous lesions in the small bowel. An antegrade SBE was performed with the child under general endotracheal anesthesia, with biopsy specimens obtained from identified lesions in the jejunum and ileum. Complications and successful treatment of symptoms were the primary endpoints. The procedure was performed successfully in 85 minutes, passing an estimated 200 cm beyond the pylorus, without complications. Identification of the lesions as consistent with eosinophilic enteropathy led to successful treatment with an elimination diet and corticosteroids. The primary limitation of this study is that it is a single case report. Therefore, it is difficult to make a generalized statement regarding the safety and efficacy of balloon enteroscopy in toddlers of this size. Antegrade SBE can be a well-tolerated and effective procedure to evaluate occult GI bleeding in children as young as 3 years of age. Further study is needed to better establish safety parameters for balloon enteroscopy in small pediatric patients. |
23 February 2010
16 February 2010
Adding to an alreadybountiful set of crustacean conferences around the globe, the close of the year will see a conference on freshwater decapod crustaceans in Frankfurt, Germany. The organizers cite an “upsurge of interest in recent years” and that “significant numbers of species around the world are threatened with extinction” as reasons for this conference.
09 February 2010
04 February 2010
The sensory abilities of vertebrates and invertebrates are generally more similar than they are different: both groups can detect light, sound, pressure, and so on. One of the few cases of a sensory ability that seemed to be the domain of vertebrates alone was the ability to detect electrical signals: electroreception. Several fish have it, and use electrical signals to communicate. Platypus have it. Electric signaling in fish is a classic examples of behaviour understood at the neural level.
For a long time, people argued that invertebrates don’t have electroreception, for reasons that were perhaps a bit idiosyncratic. One explanation I heard given was that something like a crayfish was too small.
A few years ago, a couple of papers came out that started to pick apart that idea, and showed that crayfish could respond to electrical signals. This new paper by Patullo and Macmillan* pushes the state of the art forward in a couple of ways.
First, it expands the number of species. The authors used Cherax destructor, which they’d used in a previous study, and also tested Cherax quadricarinatus (pictured). Both species decreased their activity in the presence of electric fields, at about the same intensity levels.
The intensity levels were the second way this paper pushed things forward: it showed that crayfish were responding to much lower levels of electricity than previous studies – about ten times lower. Because neurons run on electricity, if you give an intense enough signal, animals will respond, even if they have no specialized sensory apparatus for detecting electical fields. This paper goes further towards suggesting that crayfish can respond to a biologically relevant electrical signal. And, indeed, one of the key features is that the electrical signal played to the crayfish was derived from a swimming tadpole, which crayfish will prey upon.
These experiments seem rather tricky to pull off and calibrate. Behavioural analysis is complicated by there not be any particular behaviour identified (yet!) that is reliably and consistently evoked by an electrical signal. This is going to make the next stage of this research, locating the neurons responsible for crayfish electroreception, a challenge.
*Full disclosure: I have worked with both authors on this paper, so I think of them as Blair and David.
02 February 2010
Ireland is worried about its crayfish, according to this nice pamphlet. And with good reason. It's the only place in Europe that doesn’t have any known populations of non-native crayfish species.
Yet.
The brochure is mainly about crayfish plague, which has hit the native Irish crayfish populations occasionally. (The Irish, after all, have some experience with fungal pathogens.) It says this of Marmorkrebs:
Perhaps the most dangerous is the ‘Marmokrebs’ or Marbled Crayfish, an Orconectes clone which is parthenogenetic, i.e. it can reproduce without mating, and produces large numbers of offspring. These have already been dumped into the wild in two European countries, and a bucket of them was recently intercepted in UK.
I have no idea where the idea that Marmorkrebs are related to Orconectes came from. Absolutely every scientific paper has placed them in the genus Procambarus. (I emailed them about it, so they know for the brochure reprint, though. Please don’t hassle them any more.)
Marmorkrebs are parthenogenetic marbled crayfish whose origins are unknown. They have potential to be a model organism for biological research because they are genetically uniform, and to be an invasive pest species. Maintaining self-sustaining breeding colonies is a key element of most successful model organisms. We tried to find the best conditions for establishing and maintaining a Marmorkrebs breeding colony for research. Marmorkrebs can be bred in a compact tank system originally designed for zebrafish. Occasional use of live food (Artemia nauplii) did not significantly enhance growth of Marmorkrebs compared to an Artemia replacement. The presence of shelters did not affect growth of Marmorkrebs. High juvenile mortality poses the most significant obstacle to establishing a self-sustaining research colony of Marmorkrebs, although relatively few adults would be needed to supply many viable embryos for developmental research. |
The histone deacetylase inhibitor LBH589 inhibits expression of mitotic genes causing G2/M arrest and cell death in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma represents a complex set of neoplasms arising in diverse anatomical locations. The site and stage of the cancer determine whether patients will be treated with single or multi-modality therapy. The HDAC inhibitor LBH589 is effective in treating some haematological neoplasms and shows promise for certain epithelial neoplasms. As with other human cancer cell lines, LBH589 causes up-regulation of p21, G2/M cell cycle arrest, and cell death of human HNSCC cell lines, as measured using flow cytometry and cDNA microarrays. Global RNA expression studies following treatment of the HNSCC cell line FaDu with LBH589 reveal down-regulation of genes required for chromosome congression and segregation (SMC2L1), sister chromatid cohesion (DDX11), and kinetochore structure (CENP-A, CENP-F, and CENP-M); these LBH589-induced changes in gene expression coupled with the down-regulation of MYC and BIRC5 (survivin) provide a plausible explanation for the early mitotic arrest and cell death observed. When LBH589-induced changes in gene expression were compared with gene expression profiles of 41 primary HNSCC samples, many of the genes that were down-regulated by LBH589 showed increased expression in primary HNSCC, suggesting that some patients with HNSCC may respond to treatment with LBH589. |
Before Edward Snowden showed up, 2013 was shaping up as the year of reckoning for the much criticized federal anti-hacking statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). The suicide of Aaron Swartz in January 2013 brought the CFAA into mainstream consciousness, so Congress held hearings about the case, and legislative fixes were introduced to change the law.
>Recognizing the powerful capabilities of modern computing and networking has resulted in 'cyber panic' in legislatures and prosecutor offices across the country.
Finally, there seemed to be a newfound scrutiny of CFAA prosecutions and punishment for accessing computer data without or in excess of “authorization” – which affected everyone from Chelsea Manning to Jeremy Hammond to Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer (disclosure: I'm one of his lawyers on appeal). Not to mention less illustrious personalities and everyday users, such as people who delete cookies from their browsers.
But unfortunately, not much has changed; if anything, the growing recognition of the powerful capabilities of modern computing and networking has resulted in a “cyber panic” in legislatures and prosecutor offices across the country. Instead of reexamination, we’ve seen aggressive charges and excessive punishment.
This cyber panic isn’t just a CFAA problem. In the zeal to crack down on cyberbullying, legislatures have passed overbroad laws criminalizing speech clearly protected by the First Amendment. This comes after one effort to use the CFAA to criminalize cyberbullying – built on the premise that *violating a website’s terms of service *was unauthorized access, or the equivalent of hacking – was thrown out as unconstitutionally vague.
The panic has even spread to how crime is investigated. To prevent digital contraband from coming into the United States, border officials can now search electronic devices without any suspicion of wrongdoing. To get to illicit files on a seized computer, the government can force you to decrypt your computer and threaten you with jail for noncompliance. To get information about one customer, the FBI can demand a service provider turn over the key that unlocks communications from all of the service’s customers. And let's not even get started on what the NSA has been up to.
The Problem of Excessive Punishment ———————————–
There’s no doubt that there are good intentions here: to catch bad guys, keep people safe, and preserve some order in a chaotic and changing world. But this “cyber panic,” particularly with the excessive and aggressive use of the CFAA, comes with a real consequence: locking up people in prison for years.
Take the case of Matthew Keys, a former social media editor at Reuters, charged with violating the CFAA in federal court in Sacramento. He allegedly turned over the username and password of a server belonging to the Tribune Company to members of Anonymous, who made changes to the article of a headline in a Los Angeles Times story online. Among other changes, the headline was changed from “Pressure builds in House to pass tax-cut package” to “Pressure builds in House to elect CHIPPY 1337.” It seems like a clear-cut case of vandalism, a prank that caused some damage but little other harm.
Under California law, physical vandalism – like spray painting graffiti on a building – can be punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony, with probation available for both types of charges. If probation is granted, the longest sentence a defendant can serve as a condition of probation is one year in county jail.
But look at the punishment awaiting Keys. He didn’t get charged with a misdemeanor; he got indicted on three felony charges, for which he faces a harsh prison sentence. No, he won’t get anything close to the 10-year maximum. But a cursory calculation of his potential sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines suggest he’s looking at a sentence between 21 and 27 months – about three years of his life – if he decides to go to trial and loses.
Here are more details on how such sentencing works:
...Federal sentencing is based on two things: the seriousness of a crime and the person’s criminal history. The two factors are plotted on a table, with the y-axis a scale of 1 to 43 “levels” that determines the seriousness of a crime, and the x-axis a scale of I to VI that measures criminal history. At sentencing, the judge must determine both scores, plot them on the table, and determine the sentencing range in months, which the court can follow or disregard at its own discretion. ...Someone like Keys, who has no criminal history, is in criminal history category I. The starting point for most CFAA crimes is level 6, which is low on the scale but can quickly increase. ...Assuming the allegations in Key’s search warrant are correct, the Tribune company spent $17,650.40 to fix the damage, resulting in an increase of 4 levels for causing more than $10,000 and less than $30,000 in damage. Because Keys is charged with causing damage to a computer, he receives another 4 level increase. And because he likely abused a position of trust, he receives another 2 level increase, for a total offense level of 16 – which has a sentencing range between 21 and 27 months for a person in criminal history category I. (That places Keys in “Zone C” of the Sentencing Table, which means the Guidelines don’t authorize a grant of probation, though the judge could impose probation if she wanted to.)
As a country and a criminal justice system, we’ve been down this road of excessive punishment before: with drugs. Prosecutors and lawmakers need to take a step back and think long and hard about whether we’re going down the same road with their zeal towards computer crimes.
[#contributor: /contributors/593272c82a990b06268aaae1]|||Hanni Fakhoury is a former federal public defender and a current Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) who focuses on criminal law, privacy, and free speech litigation and advocacy. Follow him on Twitter [@hannifakhoury](https://twitter.com/HanniFakhoury).|||
For many years, there was a radical disparity in how federal law treated crack and powder cocaine. A person who possessed 5 grams of crack cocaine could be charged with a felony. But it took 500 grams of powder cocaine to get the same felony punishment. This 100-to-1 ratio was born in the 1980s, when Congress was concerned that crack – predominantly used in urban areas by people of color – was becoming an epidemic and a violent one at that.
This extreme disparity only ensured that a disproportionate amount of people of color ended up in prison. Receiving little rehabilitation while incarcerated and struggling to find work or otherwise reintegrate into society once released, convicts would return to crime, get caught, and be sentenced as a recidivist. That meant a longer jail sentence and the continuation of a destructive cycle.
But over the last few years, there has been significant progress towards narrowing this gap. In 2010, Congress passed – and President Obama signed – legislation that reduced the 100-to-1 ratio down to 18-to-1. Attorney General Eric Holder upped the ante this past summer, announcing a series of broader policy reforms that would work to reduce harsh drug sentences by giving prosecutors flexibility to avoid charging a defendant with crimes that carry mandatory minimum prison sentences. And at the end of last year, President Obama pardoned thirteen people and commuted the sentences of eight prisoners who were sentenced under the old ratio and were therefore serving long sentences for crack cocaine convictions.
These reforms took over 20 years. But as technology marches faster than the slow pace of legal change, we don’t have that kind of time to apply the lessons learned from the failed "war on drugs" experiment to the growing wave of computer crime prosecutions.
And It Doesn't Even Work ————————
The government’s mindset is that technology and the internet can wreak havoc. Disseminating the login credentials of a powerful media company to vandalize a few websites, for example, has the potential to cause more damage than spray-painting graffiti on a highway sign.
That is undoubtedly true. But will aggressive, excessive punishment really deter others here? This country's experience with the war on drugs suggests the answer is a resounding no.
>We shouldn’t let the government’s fear of computers justify disproportionate punishment.
The problem is pronounced with much of the politically motivated online crime that has splashed the headlines. As a generation of people who grew up plugged in and online realized there is no way to voice their complaints within the mainstream political establishment, they decided to take their protests to the medium they know best. Harsh punishment is only going to reinforce and harden that generation’s pessimism towards the government.
This is not to say that “anything goes” online or that crimes should go unpunished. But we need to question whether locking people up for long periods of time – without addressing the root concerns about concentrated political power, civil liberties abuses, and transparency – will have the effect of deterrence or worse yet, a hardened cynicism that perpetuates the endless cycle of punishment. That’s true of even non-politically motivated cybercrime, or really, all crime ... whether it involves a computer or not.
* * *
There may be hope yet.
Recently, 11 members of the “PayPal 14,” a group of individuals affiliated with Anonymous who DDoS’d PayPal in 2010 to protest its refusal to process donations to Wikileaks, pleaded guilty to felony CFAA charges in federal court. But their sentences were put off for one year (rather than receiving tough prison sentences). If the defendants stay out of trouble during that time, the felony convictions will be dropped when they come back to court, and they’ll be sentenced to misdemeanors instead. Most of the defendants will avoid jail time, and will have to pay $5,600 to PayPal in restitution.
But for most of these defendants, the experience of going through a federal criminal prosecution is going to be enough to deter them from doing something similar again. Not to mention the financial penalties and misdemeanor convictions. And for those who aren’t deterred? The punishment will appropriately increase the next time. There’s just no need to excessively punish all wrongdoers.
We shouldn’t let the government’s fear of computers justify disproportionate punishment. The type of graduated punishment in the Paypal 14 case is routine in low-level, physical-world criminal cases brought in state courts throughout the country; it can work with computer crime too.
It’s time for the government to learn from its failed 20th century experiment over-punishing drugs and start making sensible decisions about high-tech punishment in the 21st century. It can’t afford to be behind when it comes to tech, especially as the impacts of "cyber-panic" on users – beyond hackers – are very real.
Editor: Sonal Chokshi @smc90 |
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For California residents, click here to view the full version of the California Consumer Privacy Notice.
3 steps to roll over your 401(k) to a traditional IRA
When you leave your job, your 401(k) plan balance can come with you. You may be tempted to keep some or all of the money instead of rolling it over, but that may not be the best option. If you cash out your 401(k) plan balance, you generally pay the income taxes due on the entire amount withdrawn, as well as a 10% penalty tax, unless you are at least 59 1/2 or unless you are retiring from your employer at age 55 or older.
If, however, you want to keep the money in place for retirement, a good strategy to consider is rolling the funds over into an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA.
The process is simple:
Find an IRA investment appropriate for you (such as an annuity, a bank CD, or a mutual fund). You will have to do some research or talk to someone in the financial industries to find out which options are right for you.
Contact the administrator of your former employer's plan and arrange the direct rollover to the custodian of your new IRA. The exact procedure may vary a little from company to company, but don't worry - they've all dealt with this request before.
Sign documents to directly rollover funds to your new account. The funds will then arrive in your IRA for investment as you chose in step 1.
A word of caution: You can receive a distribution of your account balance from the plan instead of arranging for a direct rollover. This might not be the best idea. If you take a distribution, the plan administrator will have to withhold 20% of the distributable amount for federal income taxes. That is a credit toward taxes that may be due when you do your income tax return. When you do this indirect rollover, you can increase the rollover amount, from your own funds, equal to the 20% withholding amount.
Doing a direct rollover, however, avoids this negative consequence. If you roll over the amount of the check you receive without adding that 20% back, then the amount withheld will be treated as a taxable distribution. You will generally have to pay income taxes on that amount as well as a 10% penalty tax if you are younger than 59 1/2.
Neither State Farm® nor its agents provide tax or legal advice.
Prior to rolling over assets from an employer-sponsored retirement plan into an IRA, it's important that customers understand their options and do a full comparison on the differences in the guarantees and protections offered by each respective type of account as well as the differences in liquidity/loans, types of investments, fees, and any potential penalties. |
A 22-year-old performer, performing on stage in a marriage function was shot dead in cold blood in a marriage hall in Bhatinda for reportedly snubbing a man who demanded she danced with him.
A 22-year-old dancer was shot dead on stage allegedly by a drunk man after he was not allowed to dance with her troupe in Punjab's Bhatinda.
The incident happened last night during the marriage function of a local commission agent's son in Maur, Bhatinda where the deceased, identified as Kulwinder Kaur, was performing with her dance troupe.
A group of the groom's friends, who were allegedly drunk, were firing in the air and tried to come on to the stage to join the dancers, police said.
On being prevented from dancing on stage, one of the men from the group, Billa, allegedly opened fire with his .12 bore gun, hitting Kulwinder in her head.
Video footage of the incident shows the victim being shot at from close range and collapsing to the ground.
"She died on the way to hospital," Bhatinda DSP (Maur) Davinder Singh said.
A case of murder has been registered against four persons, including Billa, police said, adding that they are absconding.
The other three are yet to be identified and investigation is underway, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bhatinda said that the accused was in an inebriated state and a case has been registered against four people.
Accused was under the influence of alcohol. Case registered against 4 people (Accused, his 2 friends & owner of banquet hall): SSP Bhatinda — ANI (@ANI_news) December 4, 2016
National Commission for Women (NCW) Chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam told Times Now that "nobody present in the hall is willing to talk on the issue but nobody can get away with murder."
With inputs from PTI |
Functional Decoy: Security Camera Birdfeeder
The Security Camera Birdfeeder lets you be nice to birds and have something hanging outside your home to deter criminals and hoodlums from attempting to do something that they shouldn’t. Granted, it obviously doesn’t look real during the day, but only the foolish (or the most foolishly daring) would choose to attempt a break-in in broad daylight.
The birdfeeder is ready to hang and can hold up to 2 cups of seed for your avian buddies.
You know what would be cool, though? If you installed an actual security camera (a smaller one, obviously) on or close to the birdfeeder.
The Security Camera Birdfeeder is available from ThinkGeek for $19.99.
OhGizmo! is a frequently updated blog that focuses on covering items that will appeal to a very specific and often very passionate audience: the geek. Aside from the fare of innovative consumer electronic products, the reader can expect to find news about geek culture, absurd inventions, awe inspiring technology, and an ever growing assortment of articles that we like to think fit within our view of what we’re calling the Geek Lifestyle.
OhGizmo occasionally works with advertisers to monetize some of the pages on this website. That means that some, not all of the links on our pages earn us a small commission when you make a purchase after reading our in-depth content. However, OhGizmo’s content will always remain independent regardless of advertiser money or incentives, allowing you to purchase products with confidence, knowing they’ve been evaluated with complete objectivity. |
Weekly Class
Relaxation & Meditation
Meditation and Relaxation classes begin with 30 minutes of stress release, through breathing, light stretching and use of the Chiball, which is used as a support and massage tool for the neck and back. The final 30 minutes is dedicated to a gentle, mindfulness, Guided Meditation.
Enjoy a full one hour class where you can release and let go. Relax and enjoy pure peace, enhanced by the blissful sounds of Tibetan crystal healing bowls during meditation.
Level: Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
What do you bring to a weekly class?Mats, pillows and blankets are provided in our weekly classes.
Feel free to bring a bottle of water, but also try to be hydrated
before your class.
Weekly Class
Mind & Body Fusion with ChiBall™
Our Mind and Body Fusion class is an enjoyable combination of TaiChi and Qigong, blending gentle rhythmic moves of Pilates, Yoga and Feldenkrais, finishing with some Relaxation and Meditation. A Chiball, incorporated into the relaxation part of the class, is used in this class as a support and massage tool. A wonderful class for energising, toning, losing weight and finding balance!
Level: Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
Movements can be modified to match each individual’s requirements.
What do you bring to a weekly class?Mats, pillows and blankets are provided in our weekly classes.
Bring a bottle of water and towel. Try to be hydrated before class.
Monthly
Sunday Meditation
Our Monthly Sunday Meditation and relaxation class is a gentle way to clear the mind and keep the body balanced. Relax and enjoy a beautiful 1.5 hours of guided self-nurturing and peaceful feels!
Bliss out to a gentle fusion of mindfulness breathing and meditation techniques to release stress and anxiety. Experience a gorgeous healing sound bath with crystal bowls and chimes. Before floating away, a healthy afternoon tea will be provided along with a light group discussion.
Level: Suitable for all ages.
For your own comfort, there are options to sit or lie down.
What to bringPillow and blanket. (Some provide, but limited).
Wear comfortable clothes. Feel free to bring a bottle of water.
Seasonal
Mini Booster
If you’ve enjoyed a Full Day Retreat and wanted a ‘boost’ or if you prefer a half-day pamper treat, the seasonal Mini Booster’s are a great summarised version of the Full Day Retreats. Aimed at maintaining balance, increase energies and staying happy and healthy throughout the year. |
Q:
How to label old photographs?
I found about 400 old family photographs in a box, most of the displayed relatives can't be identified. I created a spreadsheet where every image will get a line, I’ll add the studio then, the size, the approx. year, the paper that was used, the place of creation, captions, clues and names given to me by other relatives. This will help me to bring images together where I see no link so far (by sorting the columns).
Before I can do this, I want to number the images. Writing on the back wouldn’t work in all cases, because the backsides are partly black (or artworks themselves). I thought about putting adhesive paper dots with numbers written on them on the backs.
How would you make individual images identifiable and sortable for my workflow described above? What is your solution of choice? Do you put every image in a plastic sleeves that is labeled?
Thank you for your answers.
A:
Don't write on the pictures! Maybe I just feel this way because I'm a historian and abhor the altercation of historical objects, especially those with significant value. However, writing on them, even the backside, could cause bleeding through to the front side on old photos, or deterioration.
Your best course of action would be to
Scan every photograph, front and back. Make sure you note which front goes with which back.
Make written note of every watermark or such, especially if it's not visible in the scan.
Put each photo in its own plastic sleeve and store it out of the sun. Be sure not to store it to a humid or dry environment. Label each sleeve and be sure to return each photo to its respective sleeve if you ever remove them.
To prevent damage from handling, remove the photos from their sleeves as little as possible. Prefer to use the digital scans.
You will be able to preserve the originals for years to come.
Related questions that might be of use to you:
What is an effective way to record a photo's annotations?
What is the best way to clean old photographs?
Do photocopiers deteriorate photos and documents worse than scanners?
A:
An ideal way to organize photos is:
Sort photos into families
Store photos into albums that are dedicated to each family which contain acid-free archival plastic sheets
Label the plastic for each photo with an identifier (family-number works well, such as ELLIOTT-141.png)
Scan the front and back of each photo and store with the same identifier in a safe place (Dropbox, flickr, etc)
Attach copies of these photos to people in your trees and name these copies in any form you wish (but leave in a reference to the original identifier somewhere)
The reason I suggest that you sort and store first is that generally people have hundreds of photos. The scanning process will take considerable time, and it makes sense to get these photos put into a sane and safe place immediately. You also benefit from establishing the identifier during the organization process so that it is convenient for when you scan each photo.
This also lets you scan and archive in batches, so that you don't need to do it in one batch. Meanwhile, your photos are available in organized books that you can bring with you to visit family should you need for a scheduled family interview.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for printing an image selected by a user.
2. Related Background Art
Currently, digital cameras become widespread, and various applications which aims to simply perform beautifully printing are developed in order to response demand how the required image is simply printed.
These applications basically include the following three processes. 1. Selection of the image to be subjected to printing 2. Setting of printing paper 3. Setting of a layoutFurther, in the applications, an idea that user operability is improved by using GUI is made (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-293857). In the applications, what image is selected can be easily confirmed in such a manner that the image which is to be subjected to a printing is displayed in a thumbnail (reduced display) and the thumbnail is selected by a user. When the printing layout is selected, in many cases, the user can easily imagine a printing result by a preview display using the image actually selected as the printing subject.
However, in the conventional printing applications, only one page of the layout result is displayed, and there is no application which performs reduced displays of all the pages to overview the printing result.
In order to overview a printing preview in which the layout has been performed, there is also the application which can display a preview image by only one page. However, it is impossible to easily overview which image is printed at which page, so that there is a drawback that the user is required to perform the printing while imagining the printing result.
Further, an idea for more quickly providing the printing result at the same time when the printing is performed by simple operation has not been sufficiently made. |
The Blog of International Judicial Assistance | By Ted Folkman of Pierce Bainbridge
Posts tagged “Pakistan”
The case of the day is United States v. Hayat (E.D. Cal. 2017). In 2005, the government indicted Hamid Hayat for providing material support to terrorists and lying to the FBI. A jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment in 2013, and Hayat brought a collateral attack on his sentence, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel. The claim was that Hayat’s trial lawyer failed to investigate alibi witnesses.
The case of the day is Amirit Technologies, Inc. v. HTN Wireless, Inc. (D.N.J. 2017). Amirit, a New Jersey telecommunications firm, sued HTN and one of Amirit’s former employees, Syed Muneeb Arshad. Amirit sought to serve process on Arshad in Connecticut unsuccessfully. HTN’s counsel told Amirit that Arshad was living in Pakistan. His address, though, was unknown. Amirit sought leave to serve process by email under FRCP 4(f)(3).
Readers, I over-promised on the Goldhaber review: it’s not ready today. Instead … The case of the day is Trade well International v. United Central Bank (W.D. Wis. 2014). Trade Well, a Pakistani corporation represented by a lawyer named Maurice J. Salem, sued UCB alleging conversion of hotel furnishings. UCB, the owner of the hotel, was in the process of selling the building when Mr. Salem “filed an unlawful lien on the building, ostensibly to preserve Trade Well’s claim (although it in fact had no claim on the hotel itself.” The lien filing interfered with the impending sale. The court sanctioned Salem and revoked his admission to practice pro hac vice. The judge also invited UCB to assert counterclaims, and UCB counterclaimed for a… |
Q:
Js Chat Controller
I'm new to Javascript(the pure javascript), I'm tryiong to create a chat controller app that does the below.
User enters content.
There is a post call done to my Knowledge Base.
The server responds the message.
Currently, I'm unable to get this post block executed though I click the button.
Below is my code.
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport"
content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1" />
<meta name="description" content="" />
<meta name="author" content="" />
<link rel="stylesheet"
href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<script
src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script
src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<!--[if IE]>
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1">
<![endif]-->
<title>Bootstrap Chat Box Example</title>
<!-- BOOTSTRAP CORE STYLE CSS -->
<link href="assets/css/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<!-- FONT AWESOME CSS -->
<link href="assets/css/font-awesome.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<!-- CUSTOM STYLE CSS -->
<link href="assets/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/js/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// jQuery Document
$(document).keypress(function(e) {
if (e.which == 13) {
$("#submitmsg").click();
}
});
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#submitmsg').bind('click', function() {
var message = $('#usermsg').val();
$('#chatbox').append('<p>' + message + '</p>');
$('#usermsg').val('');
//alert(message);
});
});
function serverResponse(message) {
$('#chatbox').append('<p>Server: ' + message + '</p>');
}
$("#submitmsg")
.click(
function() {
alert("Hi");
var inputtedText = $("#usermsg").val();
var params = {};
var controllerUrl = 'https://westus.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/qnamaker/v1.0/knowledgebases/bde3c190-58bd-40d8-9ff1-c35eb18588be/generateAnswer';
$.ajax({
url : controllerUrl,
type : 'POST',
data : {
"question" : inputtedText
},
beforeSend : function(xhrObj) {
// Request headers
xhrObj.setRequestHeader(
"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key", "MyKey");
xhrObj.setRequestHeader('Content-Type',
'application/json; charset=UTF-8');
},
success : function(data) {
var dataObj = data;
alert('Data:' + JSON.stringify(dataObj));
$('#resultvalue').html(data);
serverResponse(JSON.stringify(dataObj));
alert(data);
}
});
});
</script>
</head>
<body>
<nav class="menu">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<div class="back">
<img src="acn.jpg" draggable="false" />
</div>
<div class="name">Accenture Compliance</div>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right">
<li><a href="#"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-user"></span>
User Name</a></li>
<li><a href="#"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-log-out"></span>
Logout</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="container">
<div class="row pad-top pad-bottom">
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3">
<div class="chat-box-new-div">
<div class="chat-box-new-head">Compliance Avatar</div>
<div class="panel-body chat-box-new">
<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class=" col-lg-6 col-md-6 col-sm-6">
<div class="chat-box-div">
<div class="chat-box-head">
CHAT HISTORY
<div class="btn-group pull-right">
<button type="button" class="btn btn-info dropdown-toggle"
data-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
<span class="fa fa-cogs"></span> <span class="sr-only">Toggle
Dropdown</span>
</button>
<ul class="dropdown-menu" role="menu">
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="panel-body chat-box-main">
<div class="chat-box-left">Hello, Welcome!. You can ask me
questions on Compliance Policy ..</div>
<div class="chat-box-name-left">
<img src="compiler-bot-static.gif"
alt="bootstrap Chat box user image" class="img-circle" /> - Bot
</div>
<hr class="hr-clas" />
<div class="chat-box-right" id="chatbox"></div>
<div class="chat-box-name-right">
<img src="smiley.jpg" alt="bootstrap Chat box user image"
class="img-circle" /> - You
</div>
</div>
<div class="chat-box-footer">
<div class="input-group">
<input type="text" class="form-control"
placeholder="Enter Text Here..." id="usermsg"> <span
class="input-group-btn">
<button class="btn btn-info" type="button" id="submitmsg">SEND</button>
</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-sm-3">
<div class="chat-box-new-div">
<div class="chat-box-new-head">Frequently Asked Questions ..
</div>
<div class="panel-body chat-box-new">
<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
<br /> <br /> <br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- USING SCRIPTS BELOW TO REDUCE THE LOAD TIME -->
<!-- CORE JQUERY SCRIPTS FILE -->
<script src="assets/js/jquery-1.11.1.js"></script>
<!-- CORE BOOTSTRAP SCRIPTS FILE -->
<script src="assets/js/bootstrap.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
To check if the function is actually called or not, I've added an alert inside of ("#submitmsg").click(function() {..., to my surprise, it is not alerting anything, that means that this is not getting called.
please let me know where am I going wrong and how can I fix this.
Thanks
A:
Your problem is caused by timing that add click event listener.
Before document trigger ready event, DOM element is loaded not yet.
For this reason js(jquery selector) can not find "submitmsg" element for adding event listener
Check following link & code
https://jsfiddle.net/f6fv1xvw/
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// maybe alerted [length = 0] because dom element loaded not yet
alert("before ready : " + $("#submitmsg").length);
$(document).ready(function() {
// maybe alerted [length = 1] because dom element loaded completly
alert("after ready : " + $("#submitmsg").length);
// need to add event listener this timing(after ready)
$("#submitmsg").click(function() {
alert("Hi");
});
});
</script>
And then check again your source why load jquery 3 times.
// called 1 time in head
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
// called 2 time before body
<script type="text/javascript" src="assets/js/jquery.min.js"></script>
// called 3 time in body
<script src="assets/js/jquery-1.11.1.js"></script>
|
The reading was followed by two minutes of silence at 12:51 p.m., the minute the magnitude-6.1 quake struck. It destroyed thousands of homes and much of downtown Christchurch, causing 30 billion dollars ($25 billion) in damage by the government's estimate.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told the crowd that the city would never be the same again. He said people disagree about how the city should be rebuilt, but that one day it will again be a great place to live and work. Read the full story.
Martin Hunter / Getty Images
A boy carries a bear as families arrive at Latimer Square ahead of the anniversary memorial. |
dir="${MAGISK_PATH}/system/vendor/etc"
if [[ -f "$dir/thermal-engine.current.ini" ]]; then
# 旧版
mode=`cat "$dir/thermal-engine.current.ini"`
elif [[ -f "$dir/thermal.current.ini" ]]; then
# 新版
mode=`cat "$dir/thermal.current.ini"`
else
mode=''
fi
echo $mode |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a capacitor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for forming a stack capacitor by selective etching and static drying.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In dynamic random access memory (DRAM), two types of capacitors are conventionally used. One of the two is called the stack capacitor. In the process of forming the stack capacitor, first the rough shape of the capacitor is formed by dry etching. Then the sacrificial material filled in the capacitor is removed by a wet etching. Last, the remaining fluid is removed by spin-drying.
Under the trend of reducing the critical dimension, the aforementioned method encounters a lot of problems. First, the reduced critical dimension makes the capacitors closer, and the effective area on the capacitor structure is reduced. Second, as shown in FIG. 1, in the process of forming the rough capacitor by dry etching, a bulged part 100 appears at the collar of the capacitor column due to the characteristics of the reactive ion etching (RIE), this is called “bowing issue.” The bowing issue along with the smaller capacitor pitch makes the capacitor columns collapse and suffer damages easily during the spin-drying.
So it is necessary to provide a novel process for forming the stack capacitors to solve the problems. |
Conventionally, inkjet printers configured to perform inkjet printing are extensively used. As known inks used with the inkjet printers, metallic inks having metallic luster are known. Examples of the metallic inks that have been put to practical use are solvent inks containing metallic pigments in the form of scaly particles (Patent Literature 1). |
DNA-based subtypes and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae isolated from different tonsillar sites of children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy.
We did a comparative analysis between DNA-based subtypes and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles on Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae, isolated from multiple tonsillar sites per individual from patients with chronic recurrent tonsillitis and/or tonsillar idiopathic hypertrophy and undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy. A total of eighty-eight Haemophilus isolates were obtained aseptically from the surface and core of tonsils and/or adenoids of 32 out of 60 patients and identified at the species level by the X and V factors and the API NH Kit. The H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae isolates as well as ATCC strains were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a panel of antimicrobial agents. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was done on extracted DNA from all Haemophilus isolates and ATCC strains, using one 10 mer and one 18 mer primers to subtype the two species. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing data have shown a variation in generated susceptibility patterns to tested antimicrobial agents among H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae isolates. This variation was demonstrated too among isolates obtained from different tonsillar sites (core and surface) in a single patient. RAPD analysis identified 58/88 (66%) different RAPD patterns. Variations in RAPD patterns among H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae were also observed in isolates obtained from different tonsillar sites of the same individual. A correlation between RAPD patterns and antimicrobial susceptibility data, have shown: 1) the predominance of one strain (RAPD pattern) of either Haemophilus species among isolated organisms per patient, and exhibiting different antimicrobial susceptibility profiles or 2) the existence of multiple strains (RAPD patterns) of either Haemophilis species per patient, and showing either a single or multiple antimicrobial susceptibility profile(s). These observations question the validity of swab cultures obtained from a single tonsillar site per patient, for detection, identification and determination of antimicrobial profiles of the etiology of tonsillitis, since swab specimens taken from only one site may or may not reflect the etiology of infection. |
Q:
Does NSView have anything analogous to UIView's setNeedsLayout/layoutSubviews methods?
Do I put such things into the display method? Or is there something analogous?
A:
As of OSX 10.7:
- (void)layout is equivalent to layoutSubviews
There is now an identical setNeedsLayout.
Override this method if your custom view needs to perform custom layout not expressible using the constraint-based layout system. In this case you are responsible for calling setNeedsLayout: when something that impacts your custom layout changes.
You may not invalidate any constraints as part of your layout phase, nor invalidate the layout of your superview or views outside of your view hierarchy. You also may not invoke a drawing pass as part of layout.
You must call [super layout] as part of your implementation.
A:
Analogous to layoutSubviews is the resizeSubviewsWithOldSize: method of NSView. I guess, analogous to setNeedsLayout would be calling resizeSubviewsWithOldSize:[self frame].size directly.
|
Q:
How is a one position shift of an interferometer fringe pattern defined?
When Michelson and Morley conducted their 1887 interferometer experiment, they were expecting a fringe pattern shift of 0.4 (see the chart at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson-Morley_experiment). I understand that fringe patterns are represented as series of alternating dark and light bands, but I don't understand what exactly one fringe is. In particular, would a fringe shift of 1.0 be defined as a dark band moving (shifting) to where its adjacent dark band had previously been?
To check my understanding:
If so, then if a laser with a 532 nanometer wavelength were used as the light source in a Michelson-Morley style interferometer, would adjusting the position of the movable mirror a total of 266 nanometers (266 rather than 532 because the beam reflects back off the mirror) result in a 1.0 fringe shift as previously defined?
Or, since light waves are sinusoidal, would the dark bands occur at every crossing of the x-axis (and the light bands at the peaks and valleys), such that the 1.0 fringe shift would occur after moving the mirror only 133 nanometers - rather than the 266 nanometers of the previous question?
A:
The electromagnetic field of a single-wavelength beam (e.g. that of a laser) is sinusoidal with period $\lambda$.
e.g. for one dimension E field can be described as follows (ignoring time evolution):
$$ E = \cos\left(\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}z\right) $$
If you have a second beam that is mutually coherent with the first, the two E-fields can be described as follows:
$$ E_1 = \cos\left(\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}z\right) = \frac{e^{2\pi i z/\lambda} + e^{-2\pi i z/\lambda }}{2}$$
$$ E_2 = \cos\left(\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}z + \phi \right) = \frac{e^{i(2\pi z/\lambda + \phi)} + e^{-i(2\pi z/\lambda + \phi)}}{2}$$
The combined electric field is thus
$$ E = E_1 + E_2 = \frac{e^{2\pi i z/\lambda} + e^{-2\pi i z/\lambda }}{2} + \frac{e^{2\pi i z/\lambda}e^{+i\phi} + e^{-2\pi i z/\lambda }e^{-i\phi}}{2} $$
This can be regrouped as
$$ E = \frac{1}{2} \left(e^{2\pi i z/\lambda} (1+e^{i\phi}) + e^{-2\pi i z/\lambda}(1+e^{-i\phi}) \right) $$
In this last form, it is evident that if your phase shift is $\pi$ you will have $E = 0$ ($e^{i\pi} = -1$). If your phase shift is $2\pi$ the magnitude of the $E$ field will be that of the combined $E$ fields ($e^{2\pi i} = 1$).
In the above formulation, $\phi$ represents a phase difference between the two beams, which results from a path length difference. It is this phase difference that you care about.
The phase difference is a direct function of the path length difference $\Delta z$:
$$ \phi = \frac{2\pi\Delta z}{\lambda} $$
A phase difference of $\phi = 2 \pi$ (resulting from $\Delta z = \lambda $ will be the same as if $\Delta z = 0$. Thus, a path length difference of $\lambda$ will result in a full cycle of your fringe pattern: starting bright, then dark, then bright again at $2\pi$.
In summary, a shift of one wavelength will correspond to one fringe.
Michelson and Morley used both partially monochromatic interferometry (using Sodium lines) as well as white-light interferometry. Things become tricky with white-light interferometry because each wavelength of the spectrum will have a difference fringe spacing (because $\lambda$ is different).
|
psychology
Image: Unsplash – Abigail Keenan [Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager] “I felt angry! I was frustrated with everything! Nothing would fill in the hole I had inside of me; I just wanted to get back into the game as soon as possible.” Those are the words Jaide Garcia used when … |
Survey of current pre-discharge home visiting practices of occupational therapists.
Discharge planning frequently involves occupational therapy pre-discharge home visiting as one component of intervention. Pre-discharge home visits aim to maximise a person's functional performance within the context of their home and community environment, bridging the transition between hospital and home. The aim of this study was to describe the pre-discharge home visiting practices of occupational therapy departments. This descriptive study used a postal survey which was sent to occupational therapists in 215 public and privately funded hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. The survey enquired about the number of pre-discharge home visits completed per month, who went on visits and time spent on visits. Descriptive statistics were used in analyses. Surveys were returned by occupational therapists from 53 departments, representing a response rate of 25%. Respondents estimated that they conducted approximately 13 pre-discharge home visits per month (range: 1-60). Visits were estimated to take an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes (excluding travel time). Approximately one-quarter of respondents felt that there was pressure to reduce the number of pre-discharge home visits conducted. Using their local hospital records, nine hospital departments estimated that the number of home visits completed per month had reduced by 50% compared with the number of home visits five years previously. Findings suggest a wide variation in current pre-discharge home visiting practice. There is a need for well-designed clinical trials that investigate the effectiveness of these costly and time-consuming visits on functional performance. |
(function(){
'use strict';
angular
.module('app.shared')
.factory('FriendsResource', FriendsResource)
.factory('BlocksResource', BlocksResource);
function FriendsResource(resourceExtension) {
return resourceExtension('friends/:id', { id: '@id' });
}
function BlocksResource(resourceExtension) {
return resourceExtension('blocked/:id', { id: '@id' });
}
})();
|
Q:
How to find an email address from the below elements?
How to find an email address using regex and considering mailto: as a flag. I tried with an expression but it only parses a small portion.
import re
html_content='''
<p><a href="mailto:info@mohindraroto.com">info@mohindraroto.com</a></p>
'''
row = re.findall(r'mailto:(\w*.)',html_content)[0]
print(row)
It gives me:
info@
Any help to modify my existing expression or create a new one for the sake of finding email will be highly appreciated.
A:
For your example, I would suggest matching a pattern that starts with mailto: followed by any character but double quotes:-
row = re.findall(r'mailto:([^"]*)',html_content)
print(row)
A:
This (?:.*mailto:)([^"]*)" will work as well. it uses a non-capturing group to find the "mailto: and catptures the text after until the closing " which is not captured.
|
<%@ Page
Language="C#"
EnableViewState="False"
Debug="True"
%>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Text" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.IO" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Linq" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="Ionic.Zip" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Collections.Generic" %>
<script language="C#" runat="server">
private void GiveListOfFiles(string fodderPath)
{
// display the list of files
var allFiles = new List<String>
(Array.ConvertAll
(Directory.GetFiles(fodderPath),
(p) => Path.GetFileName(p) ));
FileListView.DataSource = allFiles;
FileListView.DataBind();
}
public void Page_Load (Object sender, EventArgs e)
{
String fodderPath= Server.MapPath(".");
string filename = Request.QueryString["file"];
if (filename != null)
{
string qualifiedFname = Path.Combine(fodderPath, filename);
if (File.Exists(qualifiedFname))
{
Response.Clear();
Response.BufferOutput= false;
System.Web.HttpContext c= System.Web.HttpContext.Current;
String ReadmeText= String.Format("README.TXT\n\nHello!\n\n" +
"This is a zip file that was dynamically generated at {0}\n" +
"by an ASP.NET Page running on the machine named '{1}'.\n",
System.DateTime.Now.ToString("G"),
System.Environment.MachineName );
string archiveName= String.Format("archive-{0}.zip", DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MMM-dd-HHmmss"));
Response.ContentType = "application/zip";
Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "inline; filename=\"" + archiveName + "\"");
using (ZipFile zip = new ZipFile())
{
zip.AddEntry("Readme.txt", ReadmeText, Encoding.Default);
zip.AddFile(qualifiedFname, "");
zip.Save(Response.OutputStream);
}
// Response.Close();
Response.End();
}
}
GiveListOfFiles(fodderPath);
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style/basic.css">
</head>
<body>
<form id="Form" runat="server">
<h3> <span id="Title" runat="server" />Zip Files from ASP.NET </h3>
<p>This page uses the .NET Zip library (see <a
href="http:///DotNetZip.codeplex.com">http://DotNetZip.codeplex.com</a>)
to dynamically create a zip archive, and then send it to the
browser through Response.OutputStream. </p>
<span style="color:red" id="ErrorMessage" runat="server"/>
<br/>
<p>To generate a zip file,
specify a fodder file in the "file" parameter of the query
string. Choose from one of these: </p>
<br/>
<br/>
<asp:ListView ID="FileListView" runat="server">
<LayoutTemplate>
<table>
<tr ID="itemPlaceholder" runat="server" />
</table>
</LayoutTemplate>
<ItemTemplate>
<tr>
<td><asp:Checkbox ID="include" runat="server"/></td>
<td><asp:Label id="label" runat="server" Text="<%# Container.DataItem %>" /></td>
</tr>
</ItemTemplate>
<EmptyDataTemplate>
<div>Nothing to see here...</div>
</EmptyDataTemplate>
</asp:ListView>
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
April blizzards bring spring lizards
T.S. Eliot wrote in 1922 that “April is the cruelist month.” If he had been writing from Colorado’s Wet Mountains rather than Great Britain he may have employed harsher language.
We’ve had it all today: rain, groppel, thunder, lightning, sunshine, driving blizzard-like conditions, big flakes. And now it looks like a real cold night is in store. The uninitiated may be inclined to ask how much snow we got, expecting an answer in inches. The answer is something around 15, but such numbers are irrelevant.
Here’s what’s important. Over at Bear Bones Ranch I refill a 100-gallon stock tank for seven horses daily; usually it’s about half-empty. The oval tank is roughly 3 feet by 5 feet. Horses on average each drink 6 to 8 gallons of water daily. Today the tank was only down about two inches from the top. I’ll leave the math to you because frankly I’m not any good at it, but that’s a lot of water. And, no, the tank is not situated where it can catch any runoff from a roof.
This storm brought to memory two essays. One called “The Struggle” was penned one winter when money was short. And “The Arrival of Harrison Jake” tells of a late-April storm that came shortly after the birth of my son, whose 5th birthday is Monday. Both might be entertaining for readers who find themselves inside this snowy April weekend. |
Influence of prenatal and postnatal acclimation on nervous and peripheral thermoregulation.
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether prenatal and postnatal adaptation to different ambient temperatures affects the autonomic (heat production, heat loss, rectal or colonic temperature), behavioral (preferred ambient temperature) and nervous mechanisms (neuronal thermosensitivity of the preoptical area of the anterior hypothalamus) of thermoregulation. The experiments were carried out in postnatal, differently acclimated adult rabbits (60 days at 6-7, 20 and 30 degrees C) and adult rats (3 to 6 weeks at 5 and 21 degrees C) and in differently incubated 1- to 10-day-old Muscovy ducklings and turkeys (last week of incubation at 34.5, 37.5 and 38.5 degrees C). The results of the experiments are summarized as follows: (1) Postnatal acclimation changes the threshold ambient temperature of heat loss and heat production. For example, cold-acclimated rabbits have a lower threshold temperature for evaporative heat loss and thermoregulatory heat production than heat-acclimated ones. (2) Prenatal acclimation changes postnatal thermoregulatory behavior as well as autonomic thermoregulatory mechanisms. Birds incubated at higher (38.5 degrees C) or lower (34.5 degrees C) temperatures than the usual 37.5 degrees C for the last week of embryonic development have higher or lower preferred ambient temperatures during the first 10 days post hatching. Besides this, cold-incubated birds have a higher heat/ production and clonic temperature in the first days post hatching than normally/ incubated or heat-incubated ones. (3) Extracellular recordings from hypothalamic neurons in brain slices from differently acclimated rats have shown that adaptation to different ambient temperatures changes firstly the temperature sensitivity of the hypothalamic neurons and secondly the modulatory action of the neuropeptides bombesin and thyrotropin releasing hormone. |
Various techniques are known for dispersing hydrophobic photographically useful compounds such as photographic couplers into photographic element layer coating compositions comprising hydrophilic colloids.
Photographic dye forming couplers, as well as other hydrophobic photographically useful compounds, are typically incorporated into a hydrophilic colloid layer of a photographic element by first forming an aqueous dispersion of the couplers and then mixing such dispersion with the layer coating solution. An organic solvent is typically used to dissolve the coupler, and the resulting organic solution is then dispersed in an aqueous medium to form the aqueous dispersion.
The organic phase of these dispersions frequently includes high boiling or permanent organic solvents, either alone or with low boiling or water miscible solvents which are removed after dispersion formation. Permanent high boiling solvents have a boiling point sufficiently high, generally above 150° C. at atmospheric pressure, such that they are not evaporated under normal dispersion making and photographic layer coating procedures. Permanent high boiling coupler solvents are primarily used in the conventional “oil-protection” dispersion method whereby the organic solvent remains in the dispersion, and thereby is incorporated into the emulsion layer coating solution and ultimately into the photographic element.
The conventional “oil in water” dispersion method for incorporating hydrophobic couplers is described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 2,322,027 by Jelly and Vittum. In such conventional process, the coupler is dissolved in a high boiling water immiscible solvent, mixed with aqueous gelatin, and dispersed using a colloid mill or homogenizer. The presence of the high boiling solvent provides a stable environment for the hydrophobic coupler, as well as generally increasing the reactivity of the coupler upon photographic processing. The presence of high levels of permanent solvent in photographic elements, however, may adversely impact the physical integrity of such elements.
Photographic dispersions and layers of photographic elements that contain relatively low levels of permanent solvent or essentially no coupler solvent at all are known in the art. Dispersions of photographic compounds made without permanent solvent are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,170. Co-dispersions of yellow dye forming couplers and yellow dye light stabilizers made with no coupler solvent to improve light stability are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,613. Yellow coupler dispersions featuring high coupler reactivity in a no solvent environment to facilitate layer thinning and to improve light stability are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,867. In general, however, coupler dispersions containing little or no permanent solvent have lower coupler reactivity than solvent-rich dispersions, which is undesirable since higher material laydowns are required resulting in higher manufacturing cost. This is especially true with dispersions of cyan dye forming couplers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,729 describes a photographic material containing a cyan naptholic coupler and a high-boiling solvent present in a weight ratio with respect to the coupler in the layer of not more than 0.3. Low solvent dispersions of cyan dye forming couplers to provide high coupler reactivity and enable reduced coated dry thickness are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,175. Use of cyan coupler dispersions with reduced levels of a saturated alcoholic high boiling solvent as permanent solvent to improve scratch resistance while maintaining high coupler reactivity are described in commonly assigned, copending U.S. Ser. No. 11/261,047, filed Oct. 28, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
It is also known in the art to use various lubricants in the outermost layer of photographic elements to reduce friction and to improve their abrasion resistance. It is understood that the addition of such lubricants lowers the contact friction between the imaging element and potentially damaging surfaces as the two surfaces slide past one another in intimate contact. Examples of lubricants used to lower contact friction include silicone fluids as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,567 and wax esters of fatty acids or alcohols contained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,060. Materials known to reduce sliding friction of silver halide containing photographic elements include dimethylsilicones and specific surfactants disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,522, GB 1,143,118, and JP-A-51-14163. A surface layer having improved antistatic properties and lubricity is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,614. The combination of a silicone copolymer and colloidal silica in the outermost protective layer of a photographic element having a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.35 or less is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,139. Use of some of these lubricants may suffer the disadvantage of creating light scatter, which may reduce the maximum achievable densities in the imaging layers. Also, some of such lubricants have a propensity to transfer from the protective overcoat layer to the backside of the photographic element, or they may be partially removed during photographic processing thereby reducing their effectiveness.
Methods for providing lubricant droplets having narrow particle size distributions using a limited coalescence process to improve the lubricating properties of photographic elements are given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,048 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,957. The use of fluoro-containing compounds as lubricants for imaging elements is also known in the art. The incorporation of sub-micron particles of fluoroethylene polymers into a transparent magnetic layer on photographic film, e.g., is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,661. A lubricant layer comprising a fluoropolymer resin coated on a transparent magnetic layer by vapor deposition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,570. The use of tetrafluoroethylene telomers for improving the lubricity and abrasion resistance of photographic films is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,860. A method of forming polymer particles containing a fluorinated lubricant for use in the overcoat layer of an imaging element is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,702. Lubricant particles having a mean size greater than 1 micron employed in the protective overcoat of a photographic paper is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,503. A photographic element with improved scratch resistance containing lubricant particles having a narrow size distribution and a droplet size related to the thickness of the overcoat layer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,891. Photographic elements comprising highly lubricated protective outermost layers in combination with both relatively low Tg crosslinked elastomeric matte particles and higher Tg permanent matte particles to provide good manufacturability of the imaging element while also maintaining wear and other desired film performance properties are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,874. |
Dendrite complexity of the posterior cingulate cortex as a substrate for recovery from post-stroke depression: A pilot study.
The neural basis of recovery from a depressive state remains poorly understood. The main purpose of this study was to determine the neural basis of vulnerability/resilience to depression in stroke patients in terms of changes in regional microstructure. The study included 20 individuals with acute ischaemic stroke. Symptoms of depression were assessed, and the intraneurite volume fraction and neurite orientation-dispersion index (ODI) were evaluated by a multi-shell diffusion imaging and neurite-orientation dispersion and density imaging model. Patients underwent follow-up examinations after 2 months and were classified into depression improvement and depression deterioration groups. A significant interaction effect of group × time on the ODI was shown by voxel-based analysis in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The ODI change in the PCC was negatively correlated with the change in the depression scale scores at the 2-month time point. The increase in ODI in the PCC that occurred during the 2-month interval was thought to be associated with decreased depressive symptom scores. As the ODI represents the pattern of sprawling dendrite progression, our findings indicate that the dendritic complexity of the PCC is a substrate for recovery in individuals who experienced post-stroke psychosocial and biological stress. |
[Evaluation of chemotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma with liver cirrhosis].
The present paper discusses the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy in 46 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. In most of patients, Adriamycin (20-40 mg) or Mitomycin C (20 mg) was given by one shot injection via the hepatic artery and followed by serial administration of anticancer agents such as 5-fluorouracil (300-750 mg/day), Adriamycin and Toyomycin. Results were as follows: 1) The complete response was not seen. 2) The partial response (more than 50% decrease of the tumor size) was observed in 6 of 46 patients (13%) for 34 to 457 days. 3) Absence of tumor thrombi in the portal vein which was observed by hepatic angiography, CT and ultrasonography, was closely correlated in the partial response and the prolongation of survival time. 4) There were no significant differences with the therapeutic response or survival time among 3 groups (E2: tumor occupation rate (TOR) 20-40%, E3: TOR 40-60%, E4: TOR above 60%). 5) Obstinate abdominal pain and abnormal liver function remarkably were improved during the chemotherapy in 11 of 18 cases (61%), and 6 of 46 cases (13 %), respectively. 6) Major causes of death were hepatic failure (45.7%), gastrointestinal bleeding (30.4%) and intra-abdominal rupture of the tumor (14.7%). 7) As side effect, some extent of hematopoietic suppression was observed in 25% of the patients treated. |
Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by sustained muscle contractions, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements, or abnormal postures. Despite the recent progress in understanding how movements are controlled, the neural mechanisms of dystonia remain largely a mystery, and an adequate model is currently lacking. Potential mechanisms include abnormalities in dopamine metabolism, cholinergic function, and striatal dopamine/glutamate interactions. Mutations of the TOR1A gene cause DYT1 dystonia, a common early onset dystonia. This gene encodes torsinA, a member of the "AAA+" proteins. In studies conducted under the previous period of support, we have found that the mRNA for torsinA is expressed by neurons in several regions of normal adult human brain, including the dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta. The expression of the encoded protein is widespread, but is found in presynaptic, putatively dopaminergic terminals in the striatum. In postmortem tissue from individuals with the DYT1 mutation, there are abnormalities of dopamine metabolism suggestive of a defect in dopamine release. We seek funding to extend our anatomical studies, and to investigate the localization and function of torsinA in genetically engineered rodent models. This data is essential to the construction of mechanistic models of the dysfunction, which produces dystonia in general, and DYT1 dystonia in particular. |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman is set to make his long-awaited debut for Somerset on Wednesday.
Rehman, 32, agreed to join the Taunton club as their overseas player on 1 July but issues with visa clearance have delayed his arrival.
But he has now been given the go-ahead to face Nottinghamshire in their County Championship clash.
"I expect him to get runs as well as wickets," director of cricket Brian Rose told the club website. external-link
"The great thing about having someone like Rehman is that world-class spinners can take wickets on any surface, especially when it comes to bowling out the tail.
"But he is a very useful lower-order batsman and it will be good to have a left-hander going in around number eight."
It will be Rehman's first foray in English county cricket and he brings with him a wealth of international experience, having played 17 Tests, 23 one-day games and seven T20 matches for his country. |
Q:
Saving photo in Android to sd card and show them in bitmap in other intent
I need a help with this Android application!
I'm at very beginning in developing on Android and for a school's project I have to create an App that scan qr's codes and shoot photo.
I have a problem on shooting photo, I'd like to shoot the photo, confirm it pressing "tick button", open a new intent that allow you to add a comment on Image, and then through another button I'll ad inside an ArrayAdapter.
I'll try to show you the parts of the code that have problem, if anything more is needed just ask!
The method TakePhoto is inside a Fragment that launch the camera intent pressing a button.
public void TakePhoto() {
Intent intent = new Intent(android.provider.MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
int imageNum = 0;
File imagesFolder = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory(),"aMuse");
imagesFolder.mkdirs();
String fileName = "image_" + String.valueOf(imageNum) + ".jpg";
File output = new File(imagesFolder, fileName);
while (output.exists()){
imageNum++;
fileName = "image_" + String.valueOf(imageNum) + ".jpg";
output = new File(imagesFolder, fileName);
}
Uri uriSavedImage = Uri.fromFile(output);
intent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, uriSavedImage);
getActivity().startActivityForResult(intent, 100);
}
The onActivityResult is inside a FragmentActivity that contains 2 more Fragment, and I'll need to pass the image shooted to another intent (imageResult) that will show the photo shooted and permit to add comment through an EditText.
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent intent) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, intent);
IntentResult scanResult = IntentIntegrator.parseActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, intent);
if (scanResult != null) {
Intent qrResult = new Intent(this, QrResult.class);
String resultString = scanResult.getContents();
qrResult.putExtra(EXTRA_MESSAGE, resultString);
startActivity(qrResult);
}
else{
switch (requestCode) {
case 100:
if (resultCode == Activity.RESULT_OK) {
Intent imageResult = new Intent(this, ImagePreview.class);
startActivity(imageResult);
}
}
}
In this situation the app (as I understood) save the photo inside SD/aMuse with name image_nn.jpg. What I need to do is get this photo and set inside imageResult as bitmap. I tried passing the uri through .putExtra method but it crash giving "null pointer exception" error.
A:
I think that this blog post I wrote on this matter can be really helpful to you:
Guide: Android: Use Camera Activity for Thumbnail and Full Size Image
The titles explains the content. Go over it and tell me if you have a problem after reading it.
what important to you is the full size image part.
UPDATE:
The problem you are facing right now:
FAILED BINDER TRANSACTION ERROR
is not related to the way you get your image, but to the image it self, quoting android developer:
The most common reason for this error is a too large IPC
source: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/android-developers/KKEyW6XdDvg/discussion
IPC (stand for: Inter-Process Communication) is basically the way proccesses in android comunicated, you can read more here:
http://www.slideshare.net/jserv/android-internals-30176596
And the problem you are facing derived most probably baecase your image is too big.
Back to the guide I posted, you have there this peace of code:
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data)
{
//Check that request code matches ours:
if (requestCode == CAPTURE_IMAGE_FULLSIZE_ACTIVITY_REQUEST_CODE)
{
//Get our saved file into a bitmap object:
File file = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()+File.separator + "image.jpg");
Bitmap bitmap = decodeSampledBitmapFromFile(file.getAbsolutePath(), 1000, 700);
}
}
for this line of code:
Bitmap bitmap = decodeSampledBitmapFromFile(file.getAbsolutePath(), 1000, 700);
try to provide a smaller dimmensions, some thing like:
Bitmap bitmap = decodeSampledBitmapFromFile(file.getAbsolutePath(), 100, 70);
see if this fixes your problem, and then you can play with those parameters to get your best result.
|
Direct measurement of nucleoside monophosphate delivery from a phosphoramidate pronucleotide by stable isotope labeling and LC-ESI(-)-MS/MS.
Amino acid phosphoramidates of nucleosides have been shown to be potent antiviral and anticancer agents with the potential to act as nucleoside monophosphate prodrugs. To access their ability to deliver 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) 5'-monophosphate to cells, the decomposition pathway of an 18O-labeled AZT amino acid phosphoramidate was investigated by capillary reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography interfaced with negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI(-)-MS/MS). 18O-labeled L-AZT tryptophan phosphoramidate methyl ester ([18O]2) was synthesized with an 18O/16O relative ratio of 1.22 +/- 0.18. For CEM cells, a human T-lymphoblast leukemia cell line, incubated with [18O]2, values of 1.55 +/- 0.37, 0.34, and 0.13 were found for the 18O/16O relative ratio of intracellular AZT-MP for time intervals of 0.5, 4, and 20 h, respectively. The decrease in the level of labeled AZT-MP in CEM cells corresponded to a rapid increase in the amount of intracellular AZT presumably by dephosphorylation of AZT-MP. In contrast, for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the 18O/16O relative ratio values of intracellular AZT-MP were 1.43, 1.06, and 0.61 for time intervals of 0.5, 4, and 20 h, respectively. Intracellular AZT in PBMCs was nearly undetectable for each time interval. Taken together, these results are consistent with the detection of direct P-N bond cleavage by CEM cells and PBMCs. However, AZT phosphoramidates are able to more effectively deliver AZT-MP to PBMCs than to CEM cells. Differential expression of 5'-nucleotidase in CEM cells relative to PBMCs is likely the reason for this discrepancy. Although applied to a phosphoramidate pronucleotide, the judicious use of 18O labeling and LC-MS is a general approach that could be applied to the investigation of the intracellular fate of other pronucleotides. |
Q:
Asp.net mvc application deployment / security issues
I'll start with appologies; I wasn't sure if this was best posted here of Server Fault so if its in the wrong place then please move :-)
Basic information
I have written the first module of a new application at work. This is written using Visual Studio 2010, targetting .net 3.5 (at the moment) and asp.net mvc 2. This has been working fine during development running on the built in Development server from VS but however does not work once deployed to IIS 7/7.5.
To deploy the application, I have built it in release mode and created a deployment package by right clicking on the project in the solution explorer (this will be done with an automated build in tfs once upgrade from the beta). This has then been imported into IIS on the server.
The application is using windows/domain authentication.
Issue #1
I can fire up internet explorer and browse to the application from a client computer as well as on a remote desktop connection. I can execute the code which reads/stores data in Session fine from the IE instance on the remote desktop but if I browse to it from the client pc it seems to lose the session state. I click on the form submit and the page refreshes and doesn't execute the required code. I've tried setting with; InProc, SQLServer and StateServer. but with no luck :-(
Issue #2
As part of the application it views PDF and Tiff documents on the fly which are on a network share on the office network and creates thumbnails if the document hasn't been viewed before. This works if running on the machine the application is deployed to; however when browsing from a client pc I get an error saying:
Access to the path '\\fileserver\folder\file.tif' is denied
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details: System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path '\\fileserver\folder\file.TIF' is denied.
ASP.NET is not authorized to access the requested resource. Consider granting access rights to the resource to the ASP.NET request identity. ASP.NET has a base process identity (typically {MACHINE}\ASPNET on IIS 5 or Network Service on IIS 6) that is used if the application is not impersonating. If the application is impersonating via , the identity will be the anonymous user (typically IUSR_MACHINENAME) or the authenticated request user.
As this is on a different server the user is not accessible. To get round this I have tried:
1 - setting the application pool to run as domain administrator (I know this is a security risk, but I'm just trying to get it to work at the moment!)
2 - to set the log on account for World Wide Web Publishing service to be the domain admin . When trying to restart the service I get ...
Windows could not start the World Wide Web Publishing Service service on the Local Computer.
Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified fro the other services running in the same process.
Any pointers/help would be much appriciated as I'm pulling my hair out (of what little I have left).
Update
I've been using this funky little tool I found -
DelegConfig v2 beta (Delegation / Kerberos Configuration Tool). This has been really usefull. So I've got the accessing of the file share working (there is a test page which will read the files) so now I've just got the issue of passing through the users credentials through to the SQL Server (wans't my choice to do it this way!!) to execute the queries etc. but I can't get it to log on as the user. It tries to access it as "NT Authority\Network Service" which doesn't have a sql login (as should be the logged on user).
My connection string is:
<add name="User" connectionString="Data Source=.;Integrated Security=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
No initial catalog is specified as the system is over multiple dbs (also wasn't my choice!!).
I really appriciate all the help so far! :-)
Any further hints?!
A:
Finally last thing on Friday I got it working ...
As I said in the update, the tool for sorting out the delegation of credentials was very handy and helped no end to setting the correct SPN records.
I found I also had to set it up for SQL as I was passing through the credentials into the server. The other thing I found stopping the connections was some of the inbound windows firewall settings where causing problems.
For the connection string; I had to update to:
<add name="ConnectionStringName" connectionString="Data Source=.;Integrated Security=SSPI;Trusted_Connection=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
Links I found useful:
Kerberos Authentication and SQL Server
DelegConfig
And even tho it mainly talks about Sharepoint ... this was also useful.
Hope this helps people in the future.
|
Throughout the natural world, organisms have responded to predators, inadequate resources, or inclement conditions by forming ongoing mutually beneficial partnerships--or symbioses--with different species. Symbiosis is the foundation for major evolutionary events, such as the emergence of eukaryotes and plant eating among vertebrates, and is also a crucial factor in shaping many ecological communities. The Symbiotic Habit provides an accessible and authoritative introduction to symbiosis, describing how symbioses are established, function, and persist in evolutionary and ecological time.
Angela Douglas explains the evolutionary origins and development of symbiosis, and illustrates the principles of symbiosis using a variety of examples of symbiotic relationships as well as nonsymbiotic ones, such as parasitic or fleeting mutualistic associations. Although the reciprocal exchange of benefit is the key feature of symbioses, the benefits are often costly to provide, causing conflict among the partners. Douglas shows how these conflicts can be managed by a single controlling organism that may selectively reward cooperative partners, control partner transmission, and employ recognition mechanisms that discriminate between beneficial and potentially harmful or ineffective partners.
The Symbiotic Habit reveals the broad uniformity of symbiotic process across many different symbioses among organisms with diverse evolutionary histories, and demonstrates how symbioses can be used to manage ecosystems, enhance food production, and promote human health.
Angela E. Douglas is the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor of Insect Physiology and Toxicology at Cornell University. She is the author of Symbiotic Interactions and the coauthor of The Biology of Symbiosis.
Reviews:
"Douglas, an established symbiosis authority, revisits the subject with new research data on the evolutionary origins of the well-studied mutualistic symbioses. . . . She convincingly illustrates the impact of symbiosis on evolutionary diversification, coevolution and cospeciation, and speciation. The book correctly highlights harnessing symbioses for human benefits including novel bioactive compounds and strategies for pest control management; it also discusses the role of microbiota in human health."--Choice
"In The Symbiotic Habit, the reader will find an authoritative glimpse into the fascinating world of symbiosis and the concepts that are emerging from recent advances."--John J. Stachowicz, BioScience
"The Symbiotic Habit is a masterpiece of decisive empirical studies covering a wide range of symbioses. . . . The beauty of the Symbiotic Habit is that the book focuses on big questions, even if the answers are not yet clear. . . . Douglas' newest book is helping to create a research environment that asks all the right questions."--Toby Kiers, Ecology
"Angela Douglas raises questions and issues which are common to all or nearly all symbioses and so her book should be read by symbiologists and also by those interested in ecology or evolution. The wide range of topics discussed should provoke researchers in all these fields to look at their own pet system in a new light."--D. H. S. Richardson, Symbiosis
"I would recommend The Symbiotic Habit to any ecologist wanting to widen their understanding of the complexity of species interactions and the ecosystems, which are made up of these interdependent species."--Sapphire McMullan-Fisher, Austral Ecology
"I would recommend this book as a very good summary of modern symbiosis research."--Klaus Hövemeyer, Basic and Applied Ecology |
Design!
Tape clothes can be stylish, wacky or practical. You can create a tape copy of your favorite sweatshirt, or design and make a completely original outfit. Go all out and add zippers, buttons, or anything else that gives your clothing a finishing touch. |
Q:
Periodically resizing large array
I have a simple socket.io server written in node. Everything is working just fine, however I am curious whether what I am doing is acceptable.
I am especially interested in this line
listOfMessages = listOfMessages.slice(-1000);
Essentially what I am doing is each time a new user connects, I resize the array and send the newly connected user the last 1000 messages.
I do not want to let the array grow without bounds since the server can stay running indefinitely.
var listOfMessages = [];
io.on('connection', function(socket){
console.log('a user connected (id=' + socket.id + ').');
// This way list of messages doesn't grow larger than 1000...
listOfMessages = listOfMessages.slice(-1000);
// Loop over the list of messages and send them to the new connections
for (index = 0; index < listOfMessages.length; index++) {
socket.emit('chat message', listOfMessages[index]);
}
// When we recieve a message
socket.on('chat message', function(msg){
console.log('message: ' + msg + ' from client (id=' + socket.id + ').');
socket.broadcast.emit('chat message', msg);
listOfMessages.push(msg);
});
});
Some feedback on whether this is acceptable or good practice is what I'm looking for.
A:
From what I understand, your code only keeps at most 1000 messages. First, you need to move out 1000 to a variable and away from your logic. That way, it's visible and easily configured.
Next, there is a possibility that your list of messages will grow greater than a thousand because you only slice it off when a connection is made. What if people kept chatting, but nobody new connected? Your array will continually grow. I suggest you move that check to the "chat message" event.
Another way to do it is to just separate this slicing logic into something periodic, like run on intervals. That way, you don't have to slice every time. The drawback to this, though, is when people chat faster than you can slice off.
Now for the logic that keeps your history in check. slice is expensive because it does a shallow copy of your array. Having a full 1000 messages in the list, if a person connects, you'd have 2 arrays of length 1000 at one moment. I suggest you use shift when the count runs over 1000. Assuming this system is only a single process, pushing in the 1001th message should immediately shift off the oldest one. Still an expensive process, but it's a lesser evil.
Lastly, to get the latest 1000 messages, it's an overhead to send 1000 events down the line to the new user individually. I suggest you create a new event that sends all 1000 at once instead of individually.
Let's try optimizing your logic:
var listOfMessages = [];
var MAX_HISTORY_LENGTH = 1000;
io.on('connection', function(socket){
// Send down all old messages at once to this connection.
socket.emit('new messages', listOfMessages);
// When we recieve a message
socket.on('chat message', function(msg){
socket.broadcast.emit('chat message', msg);
listOfMessages.push(msg);
// Only splice when we need to
if(listOfMessages.length > MAX_HISTORY_LENGTH) listOfMessages.shift();
});
});
|
Implementing psychiatric advance directives: service provider issues and answers.
Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are an emerging method for adults with serious and persistent mental illness to document treatment preferences in advance of periods of incapacity. This article presents and responds to issues most frequently raised by service providers when planning for implementation of PADs. Issues discussed include access to PADs; competency to execute PADs; the relationship of PADs to standards of care, resource availability, and involuntary treatment; roles of service providers and others in execution of PADs; timeliness and redundancy of PAD information; consumer expectations of PADs; complexity of PADs; revocation and "activation"; legal enforceability of PADs; the role and powers of agents; liability for honoring and not honoring PADs; and use of PADs to consent for release of health care information. Recommendations are made for training staff and consumers, consideration of statute development, and methods to reduce logistical, attitudinal, and system barriers to effective use of PADs. |
Mindful Jewel - Neckpiece - A
SKU:
£245.00
£245.00
Unavailable
A unique handmade neckpiece from the Mindful Jewels collection.
These jewels are created to be beautiful and wearable in their own right, but also to be particularly tactile and specifically made to fit in the hand, to be held and touched, to ground and centre the wearer, or to encourage a mindful awareness. Some are worn as neck pieces, some can be hung from a belt, so they are always easily accessible, and their hanging weight will be a reminder or their presence.
They can be held and used as a form of worry bead or comforter, or they can be used to meditate - mindfulness is primarily about becoming more aware of the present moment, without judgement and without thinking about past or future problems - many meditation exercises focus on the body or the breath, but these jewels offer an alternative focus - for taking time out to calmly be aware of their shape, their feel, their weight and the different textures and temperatures of the different materials. This will then enable the wearer to return to their daily activities refreshed.
Created from a combination of soft soapstone, and solid metal, as these pieces are held, worn and used over time, their shapes will change and adapt to how their wearer uses them. If they are repeatedly held, they will gradually change shape, they will start to show a story of their life. |
AVV De Volewijckers
AVV De Volewijckers was a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
History
De Volewijckers was one of a number of Dutch football clubs that were successful in post-war leagues before being forced to merge to cope with the popularity of bigger teams such as Ajax and Feyenoord. In 1942, they were promoted to the top tier of Dutch football to become the biggest club in Amsterdam. They played their home games at Mosveld in Amsterdam-Noord but moved to Ajax' Stadion de Meer during the Second World War after Mosveld was bombed. In 1944, they were crowned Dutch league champions. Formerly amateur, they became a professional club in 1954 and played in the Eredivisie from 1961 through 1963. They were forced to leave Mosveld in 1964 and were moved to a new complex in Buiksloterbanne.
In 1974, the club merged with Blauw Wit and DWS to form FC Amsterdam. De Volewijckers continued as an amateur club. It merged with DWV to form DVC Buiksloot in summer 2013.
References
External links
Official website of De Volewijckers
Category:Sport in Amsterdam
Category:Defunct football clubs in the Netherlands
Category:Football clubs in Amsterdam
Category:Association football clubs established in 1920
Category:1920 establishments in the Netherlands
Category:AVV De Volewijckers |
HULC functions as an oncogene in ovarian carcinoma cells by negatively modulating miR-125a-3p.
The aberrant expression of highly upregulated in liver cancer (HULC) has been reported to participate in ovarian cancer development. A recent research has revealed that HULC-modulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumorigenesis. To confirm the functions of HULC on tumorigenesis of ovarian, we explored the effects of HULC expression on ovarian cancer cell development, as well as the underlying mechanism. We transfected SKOV3 cells with pEX-HULC, sh-HULC, and miR-125a-3p mimic as well as their corresponding negative controls (pEX-3, sh-NC, and NC) to alter the expression of HULC and miR-125a-3p, which were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Expression of proteins associated with cell cycle, apoptosis, and signaling pathways was determined by Western blot assay. The proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were explored by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay, Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) method, and transwell migration and invasion assays, respectively. HULC overexpression promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion, while inhibited apoptosis of SKOV3 cells. In addition, HULC negatively regulated the expression of miR-125a-3p. Besides, miR-125a-3p mimic reversed the effects of HULC on proliferation, migration, and invasion as well as apoptosis of SKOV3 cells. Moreover, we found that HULC enhanced phosphorylated expression of regulatory factors in phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian targets of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) signaling pathway by downregulating expression of miR-125a-3p. Overexpression of HULC promoted ovarian carcinoma development by activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway via downregulating miR-125a-3p. |
The role of cytokine DNAs as vaccine adjuvants for optimizing cellular immune responses.
Cytokines represent a diverse group of immunologic effector and regulatory proteins that are critical components of the host response to invading pathogens. They have also been utilized as adjuvants to enhance immune responses to vaccines. In particular, plasmid cytokines have been studied extensively as candidate adjuvants for DNA vaccines in preclinical models and are now entering early-phase clinical trials. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of cytokine biology, T-lymphocyte differentiation, and potential applications of plasmid cytokines in the rational design of improved vaccines. |
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a compressor, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for controlling a compressor and expanding an operation range of the compressor to improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, exhaust regulations and fuel efficiency regulations have become more stringent to retard progress of global warming and to mitigation potential depletion of petroleum resources. To enhance fuel efficiency, improvement of auxiliary machinery such as an air conditioning system is required. The air conditioning system includes a compressor, an evaporator, and a condenser. The compressor is configured to compress a refrigerant that flows in from the evaporator, and then discharge the compressed refrigerant to the condenser. The compressor is further configured to receive power of an engine.
According the related art, the compressor is operated by a heater controller based on an external air temperature of a vehicle. Since a substantial amount of power of the engine is consumed when a position value of an accelerator pedal is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, an engine controller stops operation of the compressor. In other words, the engine controller has a priority related to a stopping operation of the compressor.
According to the related art, even when the external air temperature is high, the compressor may be stopped, and thus cooling performance of the air conditioning system may deteriorate. In addition, when the position value of the accelerator pedal is less than the predetermined value, the heater controller is configured to operate the compressor based only the external air temperature without considering the position value of the accelerator pedal, and thus power of the engine for driving the vehicle may become insufficient.
The above information disclosed in this section is merely for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. |
Records Tumble At Brilliant Bournemouth
Records fell before the Bournemouth Marathon Festival even started as an unprecedented 13,000 runners signed up to compete in the six-race weekend programme. Bournemouth’s strapline is, ‘running as it should be’, a sentiment that is impossible to argue with given the beautiful seafront course, excellent facilities and wonderful crowd support. Even the weather was as it should be.
Racing commenced on Saturday afternoon (1 October), with two events on the promenade for hundreds of eager young athletes. The sun shone as the 1.5k for ages 6-8 was won by 8-year-old Jon Pepin (New Forest Juniors) in a new course record (5:20). Ruby Moroney, also eight, won the girls race (7:01). Then it was the turn of the 9-12 year olds over 2k. Finn Pardy (11), of Poole AC, was first home (7:00) and Southampton AC’s Megan Hulbert (11) was first girl (7:49).
The Supersonic 10K was next up and resulted in victory for Genci Pepaj (Redway Runners, 34:42) from Gary O’Brien (Swindon, 35:50) and William Stanley (Colchester, 36:09). Christina Squire (Zoom Tri Bournemouth, 42:10) was followed by Camilla Bishop (Brighton, 42:50) and Holly Weir (Victoria Park, 42:57) in the women’s race.
The Glow in the Dark Supernova 5K concluded Saturday’s action as dusk fell. All runners wear fluorescent gear and a head torch, creating a breathtaking image on the seafront. The top three men were Bayley Massey (Cambridge Harriers, 17:07), Michael Johnson (Wimborne, 17:42) and Cameron Telford (Poole, 17:57). Lara Atkinson (18:51) ensured a Cambridge Harriers double in the women’s race, successfully defending her title from last year. The runners-up were Abbie Lovering (Wimbourne, 19:01) and Sarah Cleland (Hart, 19:35).
Sunday’s half marathon was held in brilliant sunshine and the top three men were Alex Wall-Clarke (Southampton, 1:11:04), Peter Thompson (Bournemouth, 1:11:49) and Tom Griffiths (Guildford, 1:13:28). The women’s race was won by Bournemouth local, Emma Dews, who set a new record (1:21:26) while passing her house twice on the route! Emma was chased home by Rose Penfold (Fulham, 1:22:47) and Katy Ward (Haslemere, 1:23:05).
The full marathon concluded a superb weekend of racing, starting in King's Park before making its way down to the seafront. The route passes popular spectator points at Boscombe Pier and Bournemouth Pier before the Lower Gardens finish. Kenyan athlete, Stanley Bett (2:17:59), was the clear winner from Moroccan runner Abdelhadi El Mouaziz (2:20:45) and Kenya’s Julius Korir (2:25:44). The leading women were Kenya’s Eddah Jepkosgei (2:40:38) and Hildah Cheboi (2:45:39) from Billericay Striders’ Emma Prideaux (3:01:15). |
A community that disbanded its police department after an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed black teen seems to be regretting its decision after crime has steadily increased, leaving the community questioning how to handle it. On Monday, the community gathered to determine how they can fix the violent crime spike and lack of police presence.
On November 13, 2018, the East Pittsburgh Borough Council voted to disband the East Pittsburgh Police Department after one of their officers shot and killed Antwon Rose, a suspect who allegedly committed a drive-by shooting moments before he was killed by an officer, Blue Lives Matter reported.
East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, the officer who killed Rose, was accused of racism. Afterwards, 80 plus residents surrounded his home to obtain retribution.
In an effort to calm the public, the city council disbanded the police department and claimed they would launch a multi-community police force that would cover the area, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
Eight months have passed since the disbandment, but residents now seem to be regretting the impetuous decision they made as violent crimes have been on the rise again in the community. East Pittsburg residents expressed their frustrations on Facebook but found barely anyone feeling sorry for them.
“They drove their own police force out,” Paul Albright commented. “Now they want to complain because it takes longer to have the State Police respond to calls. They should thank God that any police are still willing to come into their Community. After the way they behaved last year.”
Pennsylvania State Police have tried to assist, but they already warned residents they would not be able to spend much time in the area due to the large area they now are forced to cover.
“We’re required by law that if an area does not have police services, to come in and provide full-time police services,” Trooper Melinda Bondarenka explained. “We have no idea how long we’re going to be there. Or if [East Pittsburgh officials] are going to try to negotiate with another department nearby. We’re just there for however long they need us.”
Depending on call volume, Pennsylvania State Police will often have to call on neighboring police departments to respond to urgent 911 calls if they are too far away.
“If we need backup or depending on our call volume and our location, if the trooper is already on something else, we might request a neighboring agency to come in until we get there,” Trooper Bondarenka said. “Just like if we have a crash on the Parkway, and there is another crash, we’ll ask a nearby department to get there, render aid and do whatever needs to be done.”
In March, Officer Rosfeld was found not guilty of all charges. He was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter, The New York Times reported. |
A GH3-like gene, CcGH3, isolated from Capsicum chinense L. fruit is regulated by auxin and ethylene.
Auxin, which has been implicated in multiple biochemical and physiological processes, elicits three classes of genes (Aux/IAAs, SAURs and GH3s) that have been characterized by their early or primary responses to the hormone. A new GH3-like gene was identified from a suppressive subtraction hybridization (SSH) library of pungent pepper (Capsicum chinense L.) cDNAs. This gene, CcGH3, possessed several auxin- and ethylene-inducible elements in the putative promoter region. Upon further investigation, CcGH3 was shown to be auxin-inducible in shoots, flower buds, sepals, petals and most notably ripening and mature pericarp and placenta. Paradoxically, this gene was expressed in fruit when auxin levels were decreasing, consistent with ethylene-inducibility. Further experiments demonstrated that CcGH3 was induced by endogenous ethylene, and that transcript accumulation was inhibited by 1-methylcyclopropene, an inhibitor of ethylene perception. When over-expressed in tomato, CcGH3 hastened ripening of ethylene-treated fruit. These results implicate CcGH3 as a factor in auxin and ethylene regulation of fruit ripening and suggest that it may be a point of intersection in the signaling by these two hormones. |
Giant right atrial aneurysm.
Only a handful of congenital aneurysms of the right atrium have been reported in the literature. They are most commonly found in the third decade of life, and the differential diagnosis depends on the patient's age profile. They are associated with 5% risk of sudden cardiac death. Once diagnosed, they should be surgically removed even in the absence of symptoms. |
Poor Man’s Potatoes (Patatas a lo Pobre)
This recipe for patatas a lo pobre, or poor man’s potatoes, is simple and really easy to make but full of flavour and textures. A traditional Spanish tapa recipe, this dish also makes a great light lunch or side.
Usually fried in a copious amount of oil, my poor man’s potatoes recipe is lightened up by steaming the potatoes in vegetable stock then flavouring them with smoked Spanish paprika, red wine vinegar and fresh herbs.
Poor man’s potatoes is one of those recipes that starts off simple, but can be tweaked and added to in innumerable ways. Most basic recipes call for potatoes, green pepper, onion and oil. Lots of oil.
I’ve seen recipes that call for more than a cup of olive oil so if you don’t live in an olive oil producing country, these would be more appropriately titled rich man’s potatoes. Or fat man’s potatoes.
My spin on poor man’s potatoes is to do them almost oil-free. I’ve been making a conscious effort to reduce my consumption of oil after reading The China Study.
The authors recommend minimizing intake of added vegetable oils – including olive oil, which seems to fly in the face of everything we’ve been told about the Mediterranean diet being so healthy because of olive oil.
Long story short, the myth of the Mediterranean diet stems from research in the 1960s which found that people on the island of Crete, who ate a primarily vegetarian diet with small amounts of fish and olive oil, were exceptionally healthy.
The media latched onto the idea that olive oil was good for your heart (I guess it’s easier to convince consumers to switch from vegetable to olive oil rather than to adopt a plant-based diet).
Later research has since found that olive oil does not have heart-protecting qualities and the people of Crete were healthy because of their nearly vegetarian diet in spite of the olive oil rather than because of it.
To be honest, however, I don’t think I could ever give up oil completely. Indian food is some of my favorite and many dishes start by infusing oil with a mix of spices (like in this yellow lentil dal recipe).
I’d have to get pretty creative to get the same kinds of flavours from an oil-free recipe so maybe I’ll keep my tempered spices for now and try to reduce the oil in dishes where it’s totally unnecessary like these Spanish poor man’s potatoes!
Rather than cook my poor man’s potatoes in a cup of oil, I simmered them in a quarter cup of vegetable stock, tossed in a selection of Mediterranean fruits and sprinkled them with paprika. Man, are they ever tasty!
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side/appetizer
Poor Man’s Potatoes
This recipe for patatas a lo pobre, or poor man's potatoes, is simple and really easy to make but full of flavour and textures. A traditional Spanish tapa recipe, this dish also makes a great light lunch or side.
5 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time
Save Recipe
Print Recipe
Ingredients
500 grams (1.1 pound) baby potatoes, halved (I didn’t peel them)
¼ cup vegetable stock
10 pearl onions, peeled and halved
5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and smashed with the side of your knife
Half a green pepper, sliced into strips
4 or 5 artichoke hearts, quartered
4 or 5 sundried tomatoes, sliced
20 – 25 olives, black and/or green (I didn’t bother to pit them)
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (shouldn’t be spicy)
1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or basil or cilantro
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes.
Drain and transfer, cut side down, to a large frying pan over low heat. Pour in the vegetable stock and tuck the pearl onions and garlic cloves between the potatoes. Sprinkle over the green pepper, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and olives. Sprinkle over salt and pepper.
Cover and cook until the potatoes, onions and peppers are softened through – about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle over the paprika, red wine vinegar and chopped herb of your choice. Serve immediately.
Get the 14-day meal plan!
3 Comments
Trish
January 10, 2017 at 12:38 am
This was incredibly tasty! So I have to admit I didn't think this was going to be good judging by the looks of my one-pot meal this evening. One bite, however, made me proud to have served this at the table tonight. Wowza this was good! Definitely making this on a regular basis. Thank you so much for once again providing a delicious dish! Simply Excellent! |
The SlackBuilds.org project is maintained by a small group of people, but we want the scripts in our repository to be representative of the entire Slackware user community. There's no way that the few of us can possibly write scripts for all of the extra applications that users want to have, so we depend on YOU to help us out. If there's some application that you use, and we don't have it in our repository already, please consider writing a build script for it and submitting it to us for possible inclusion - see the Submissions page.
One of the frequent criticisms of Slackware is the lack of official packages available. While the official package set provides a good, stable, and flexible operating system (and is quite adequate for many individuals), the fact remains that many users want/need quite a few additional applications in order for it to meet their needs. There are a few well-known third party package repositories, but many users justifiably do not want to install untrusted packages on their systems. For those users, the traditional solution has been to download the source code for desired applications and compile them manually. This works, but introduces another set of problems associated with managing those applications; version updates and such require more of the admin's time than precompiled packages, and lack of notes will often mean that the admin forgot which configure flags were used earlier (as well as any other special issues encountered).
In our opinion, the best solution to this problem is for the admin to automate the compile process using a SlackBuild script. Patrick Volkerding, the maintainer of Slackware, uses SlackBuild scripts to compile the official packages, so it makes sense for us to use the same idea for extra applications we want to add.
Our goal is to have the largest collection of SlackBuild scripts available while still ensuring that they are of the highest quality - we test every submission prior to inclusion in the repository. We do not now nor will we ever provide precompiled packages for any of the applications for which we have SlackBuild scripts - instead, we want the system administrator (that's you) to be responsible for building the packages. |
Re/Max too has seen an uptick in supply.
While using data from a larger area than that used by the Realtors, Re/Max Georgia sees parallel movement in the market, according to John Rainey, Re/Max regional vice president.
The price rise is a direct result of “very low inventory,” Rainey said. “While greater Atlanta is moving towards a balanced market, low inventory and affordability are slowing down the much needed balancing of supply and demand.”
That has meant a deceleration in the pace of price increases.
Home prices have risen steadily for more than six years, hitting a median of $268,000 last month. Much of the rise was driven by a scarcity of homes for sale. That was good for sellers, but sparked concerns about affordability since prices were rising much than most wages.
According to calculations by Attom Data Solutions, in 2018:
Fulton's median home price was up 6.9 percent while wages were up 1.8 percent.
Cobb's home price was up 7.1 percent while the weekly wage was roughly flat.
Gwinnett's median home price jumped 9.3 percent last year, while wages inched up 0.2 percent.
DeKalb home prices rose 11.7 percent on average last year. Wages edged up 2.2 percent.
Clayton last year saw home prices soar 20.5 percent, but the county was hit harder than most areas by the housing bust, so it still has the lowest-priced homes of the core counties. Clayton wages last year grew 5.8 percent.
Currently, Georgia ranks 20th nationally for affordability, according to Bestneighborhood.com, a Utah-based start-up that offers local housing information.
Decades of growth in Atlanta and Georgia have been pegged to relatively lower prices. And after plunging during the recession, prices have surged,with a roughly 25 percent climb in the past three years.
"That can't go on forever," said Daryl Fairweather chief economist of Redfin, a national real estate broker. "Now that price growth has slowed down and more homes are sitting on the market, buyers will have the upper hand in 2019."
The number of homes for sale in December was up 12.7 percent from the levels of a year ago, according to the association.
The more homes for sale, the less of an auction-like atmosphere, agents say.
"What we are seeing is that the day of the multi-offer, bidding war craze of last summer, those days are gone," said Jessica Houghton, an Atlanta realtor with Compass. "I think there's been some volatility in interest rates in the third quarter last year that made for some hesitancy about buying."
Number of homes sold in December
Cobb: 607
DeKalb: 506
Fulton: 671
Gwinnett: 764
Source: Atlanta Realtors Association
Metro Atlanta housing, compared to a year ago
Total sales: -21.3 percent
Median sales price: up 7.6 percent
Source: Atlanta Realtors Association
Affordability
Percent of wages needed to buy a home with 3 percent down
Fulton: 36.1 percent
Cobb: 38.8 percent
Gwinnett: 40.6 percent
DeKalb: 32.3 percent
Clayton: 16.1 percent
Note: Calculation using median wages, median home prices
Source: Attom Data Solutions |
using Abp.Collections;
namespace Abp.Configuration.Startup
{
/// <summary>
/// Used to configure setting system.
/// </summary>
public interface ISettingsConfiguration
{
/// <summary>
/// List of settings providers.
/// </summary>
ITypeList<SettingProvider> Providers { get; }
/// <summary>
/// Setting encryption configuration
/// </summary>
SettingEncryptionConfiguration SettingEncryptionConfiguration { get; }
}
}
|
What It Does
Quattro BIND l LITE is the bargain binder that’s better. It is specially formulated for use as a conventional light-duty soil tackifier on 3:1 or flatter slopes, invariably in tandem with mulch fibers, where wind erosion and water run-off are not dominant factors. It binds seed, soil and mulch fibers together where cost-effective, minimal soil erosion protection is required.
What It Is
Quattro BIND l LITE is a technologically enhanced formula of special gelling agents and natural bentonite clay-based powder tackifier. It is non-UV sensitive, safe and easy to use.
Where to Use It
Use BIND l LITE as a light-duty soil stabilizer for reclamation seeding or golf course turf establishment. It also acts as a fiber mulch lubricant and binder for hydro-sprigging and hydro-seeding, as a tackifier for hay and straw, and as a superior dust control agent. |
Q:
How do I generate an array from a string representation of that array?
I want to generate the array $result_array. There is no error at the page, but not works!
that not works !
//BOF: Result Array
$result_array = '';
$result_array .= '"messages" => "' . $errors .'",';
$result_array .= '"this_addr_type" => "' . (int)$_REQUEST['edit'] .'",';
if (ACCOUNT_GENDER == 'true') {
$result_array .= '"gender_male" => "' . $male .'",';
$result_array .= '"gender_female" => "' . $female .'",';
}
$result_array .= '"firstname" => "' . $entry['entry_firstname'] .'",';
$result_array .= '"lastname" => "' . $entry['entry_lastname'] .'",';
if (ACCOUNT_COMPANY == 'true') {
$result_array .= '"company" => "' . $entry['entry_company'] .'",';
}
$result_array .= '"street_address" => "' . $entry['entry_street_address'] .'",';
if (ACCOUNT_SUBURB == 'true') {
$result_array .= '"suburb" => "' . $entry['entry_suburb'] .'",';
}
$result_array .= '"postcode" => "' . $entry['entry_postcode'] .'",';
$result_array .= '"city" => "' . $entry['entry_city'] .'",';
if (ACCOUNT_STATE == 'true') {
$result_array .= '"state" => "' . $entry['entry_state'] .'",';
}
$result_array .= '"country" => "' . $entry['entry_country_id'] .'"';
//EOF: Result Array
$_RESULT = array($result_array);
that works
$_RESULT = array(
"this_addr_type" => (int)$_REQUEST['edit'],
"gender_male" => $male,
"gender_female" => $female,
"firstname" => $entry["entry_firstname"],
"lastname" => $entry["entry_lastname"],
"company" => $entry["entry_company"],
"street_address" => $entry["entry_street_address"],
"suburb" => $entry["entry_suburb"],
"postcode" => $entry["entry_postcode"],
"city" => $entry["entry_city"],
"state" => $entry["entry_state"],
"country" => $entry["entry_country_id"]
);
A:
Because you're trying to get PHP to treat a string as code. My question would be "why" - but if you MUST do it, you're looking for eval : http://php.net/manual/en/function.eval.php
// untested
$_RESULT = eval("return " . "array($result_array)" . ";");
Will probably give you the result you're loking for.
The real qusetion is why aren't you just doing this:
if (ACCOUNT_GENDER == 'true') {
$result_array['gender_male'] = $male;
$result_array['gender_female'] = $female;
}
|
Science fiction writer Douglas Adams once broke down the human reaction to technology thusly: Anything that's existed for as long as you have is normal; anything invented while you're between the ages of 15 and 35 is something you can profit from; anything invented after you've turned 35 is "against the natural order of things."
Historically, the men and women who regulate America's roadways almost always fall into the third category. Take Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose office released a report last month encouraging automakers to dumb down their dashboard consoles and in-car electronics. The recommendations are almost comical in their concern and specificity, going so far as to suggest the maximum amount of time a driver should spend looking for and then pressing a button (two seconds), the maximum number of intermittent two-second glances required to complete an entire task (6, for 12 seconds total), and the maximum amount of digital text a driver can see while the car is moving (no more than 30 characters, "not counting puncuation marks").
LaHood's latest attempt to revise the rules of the road in response to hysterical fears about in-car technology is nothing new. The proliferation of the cellular phone in the late 1990s was met with a similar response, as was the advent of the car phone in the preceding decade. In fact, the state's attempt to engineer the ideal driving experience—during which the automobilist's hands are always at 10 and 2, his eyes glued to the road, his ears pricked only for the sounds of emergency vehicles and the laughter of children bouncing their balls too close to the street—dates back to 1930s Massachusetts, and a man named George A. Parker.
Parker was appointed Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles in 1928. That same year, he earned the ire of Massachusetts fishermen by printing new license plates with the likeness of a cod that "resembled an oversized guppy," and looked as if it was swimming away from the state's likeness. A bad season ensued, and the fishermen called for Parker's head. So Massachusetts quickly designed and released a new plate that featured a more cod-like creature swimming toward the state outline.
By 1929, Parker had graduated to social engineering. That year he testified before a Massachusetts state senate committee that "when a person has driven an automobile for 10 years or more, he begins to lose his ability to operate the car." Parker had always believed this, and told the committee that he had recently come across "research" that confirmed his hunch.
Two state senators were more than happy to empower Parker, according to an Associated Press report from the hearing. Senator James C. Moran offered legislation that would enlist "neighbors of an applicant" to "sign affidavits as to the driver's moral fitness"; Senator William E. Weeks sponsored a bill that would "require a physician's certificate for an applicant for a driver's license."
The Automobile Legal Association, an industry lobbying group, objected to both pieces of legislation, on the grounds that "speeding and indifferent driving"—two of the biggest causes of accidents—"could not be eliminated by tests."
Predictably, the legislation failed, so Parker turned his attention to an even more dangerous culprit: "distracting" car radios.
If Massachusetts could pass a car radio ban, Parker claimed, the rest of the country would likely follow. "Several states were only 'hanging on the fence,'" he told the Christian Science Monitor, "waiting action by someone else before taking it themselves." (St. Louis was also hard at work on passing one.)
There was only one problem. Massachusetts residents, like most Americans, were enamored with the radio. They liked them in their homes, and they wanted them in their cars. They wanted them despite the fact that they were expensive ($130, compared to the $600 they paid for a new car), and prone to starting fires if they were not properly wired. (Motorola founder Paul Galvin, for example, installed a radio in his banker's car in 1930 in order to convince the man that car radios were a safe bet; several blocks from the bank, the loan officer's car burst into flames. According to the June 1972 issue of Special-Interest Autos, Galvin got the loan anyway, and Motorola's radio became the first mass-market car radio in the world.)
Massachusetts residents wanted their car radios so badly that several hundred of them besieged Parker's office in late February 1930 to protest his policy.
"Pictures were drawn before the Department of Public Works depicting the automobilist on a long trip soothed by the swing of a serenade pouring from the mouth of a loud speaker, while the 'back seat' driver clamored vainly for an audience," reported the Christian Science Monitor. Also featured: "The habitual speedster, crawling at a snail's pace along the highway, lest he lose the last minutes of 'Amons 'n' Andy'" and the driver "who usually falls asleep at the wheel, pictured wide awake keeping time to the strains of the 'Beautiful Blue Danube.'"
Clarence E. Colby, a lobbyist for the Radio Manufacturers Association, told the crowd that the companies he represented had invested nearly $5 million in car radio R&D and that insurance companies offered coverage to drivers with car radios. After the speeches, an informal poll of more than 100 people who had gathered at the Public Works office that day found only five who backed Parker's prohibition proposal.
Colby rebutted Parker again in May of 1930, this time in the pages of The Washington Post. His list of defenses holds true today: Radio is not in "the class with the back seat driver with his or her irritating remarks, nor can the radio set carry on an argument with the driver." The radio knob is as easy to use as "a choke handle." Driving without even the slightest distraction can be monotonous and sleep-inducing. Insurance companies—"always quick to sense a risk or liability"—"see nothing unsafe in motor car radio."
Parker gave up his crusade against car radios that year in favor of chasing drunk drivers. Thanks to the Volstead Act, he had much more success.
Ray LaHood could learn a thing or two from Parker's failures. For starters, American drivers are no more willing to part with their in-car technology in 2012 than they were in 1930. Banning cell phones has only moved their usage from steering wheel level—where one could divide his attention between the phone screen and the road—to the driver's lap, increasing the distance one's eyes must travel from text message to tarmac. The other lesson, of course, is that technology is here to help. GPS simplifies the driving experience by eliminating the need for solo automobilists to reference paper maps while driving. And those textureless (and therefore "distracting") touch-screen buttons that were so pervasive in 2011 baseline models? Come next year, or maybe the year after, their functions will likely be handled by voice activation technology (or maybe, the cars will drive themselves).
Until then, American drivers will continue to adjust to in-car features, just as they learned, almost a century ago, to hunt down Amos 'n' Andy on the AM dial while chugging along in their Studebaker Phaeton's and Ford Model As—without crashing.
Mike Riggs is an associate editor at Reason magazine. Follow him on Twitter. |
What's the best occasion of starting a good 2017 other than showing two new videos about the QLC+ 5 development status ?
2016 has been a very busy year for me, with almost 2 jobs and 8 QLC+ 4 releases. That didn't leave me the time I wanted to work on QLC+ 5.
But here it is at last, with a blasting number of new features that I hope you will appreciate.
Everything I'm doing is toward an easier usability and a faster workflow.
As usual, everything you see is a work in progress, and there is nothing more than what I showed in the videos, so please don't
start asking about this and that.
I've got so many more giant features to implement and it is only a matter of time before they land upstream.
Speaking about time, the QLC+ 5 development is ongoing already since almost 2 years, and, if you're wondering
about a release date, that gives an indication of how slowly it is proceeding.
The good news is that I think I have consolidated some "under the hood" things that will allow QLC+ to run properly on a large number of computers and devices with different screen resolutions.
I can't believe you're doing all this along the whole maintaining and bug-fixing stuff.
Nearly the whole time of the videos I thought "Is this also working... Could it... Yes it is!". Only one question about a feature I couldn't spot so far: Is it also possible to select multiple widgets/fixtures and drag them around together?
It really makes me happy to see development is going on. Thanks for all and keep up the good work. If I can support you in any way please let me know!
Great great Work
Cant wait for release . Ive learned so much about lightning with the help of the community from qlc and the programm itself. Ive even tried expensive Programms like sunlite first c and others. But for our work qlc is the best Programm to connect al lot of different applications like resolume , enttec pixelmapper and abelton live for our shows.
I earnestly want to say THANK YOU four your great work!!!
Och Men, it looks excelent.
I cant wait for officiale releace.
It woluld be nice if I get this software to the end of April 2017.
I have wedding bang and this software is excelent form me. I tried Freestyler and other software, but QLC+ is the best.
Below You can see how it work for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjTAzpbotKc
I have an idea, If this program is full working version.
Mabye its be good to release current version of QLC+5 as a test version (just like you releace new version of 4.10.6 or like microsoft release new vwersion of windows).
Person which will testing this new QLC give you some ideas how to improve software at the begin. |
---
abstract: 'After [@HP] the shellability of multicomplexes $\Gamma$ is given in terms of some special faces of $\Gamma$ called facets. Here we give a criterion for the shellability in terms of maximal facets. Multigraded pretty clean filtration is the algebraic counterpart of a shellable multicomplex. We give also a criterion for the existence of a multigraded pretty clean filtration.'
address: 'Dorin Popescu, Institute of Mathematics “Simion Stoilow”, University of Bucharest, P.O.Box 1-764, Bucharest 014700, Romania'
author:
- Dorin Popescu
title: Criterions for shellable multicomplexes
---
[^1]
Introduction {#introduction .unnumbered}
============
Cleanness is the algebraic counterpart of shellability for simplicial complexes after [@D]. A kind of multigraded “sequentially” cleaness the so called pretty cleaness was introduced in [@HP]. Multigraded pretty cleaness implies sequentially Cohen-Macaulay which remind us a well known result of Stanley [@St] saying that shellable simplicial complexes are sequentially Cohen-Macaulay. Pretty cleaness is the algebraic counterpart of shellability of the so called multicomplexes (see [@HP]). The aim of this paper is to find easy criterions for multigraded pretty cleaness (see Theorem \[pret\]) or for the shellability of multicomplexes (see Theorem \[multi4\]). The Proposition \[facet\] is important in the proof of [@HP Proposition (10.1)], where it was a consequence of some results concerning standard pairs given in [@STV]. Here we give an independent proof. Many useful examples are included. For instance in \[dim\] it is given a shellable multicomplex which has a shelling $a_1,\ldots, a_r$ which does not satisfy the condition $\dim S_1\geq \ldots \geq \dim S_r$ from [@HP Corollary (10.7)] or here \[!\] though certainly there is another shelling for which it holds. Example \[bb\] shows that there are shellable multicomplexes which are not maximal shellable.
We express our thanks to J. Herzog especially for some discussions around Theorem \[multi4\].
Preliminaries on pretty clean modules and multicomplexes
========================================================
Let $R$ be a Noetherian ring, and $M$ a finitely generated $R$-module. Then it is well known that there exists a so called [*prime filtration*]{} $$\mathcal{F}\: 0=M_0\subset M_1\subset \cdots \subset M_{r-1}
\subset M_r=M$$ that is such that $M_i/M_{i-1}\iso R/P_i$ for some $P_i\in \Supp(M)$. We denote $\Supp(\mathcal{F})=\{P_1,\ldots, P_r\}$ and $r$ is called the length of $\mathcal{F}$. It follows that $$\Ass(M)\subset \Supp(\mathcal{F})\subset \Supp(M).$$ If $\Supp(\mathcal{F})\subset \Min(M)$ then $\mathcal{F}$ is called [*clean*]{}. $M$ is called [*clean*]{}, if $M$ admits a clean filtration. $R$ is [*clean*]{} if it is a clean module over itself. In particular, if $M$ is clean then $\Ass(M)= \Min(M)$. Let $\Delta$ be a simplicial complex on the vertex $\{1,\ldots,n\}$, $K$ a field and $K[\Delta]$ the Stanley-Reisner ring.
\[dr\] $\Delta$ is a (non-pure) shellable simplicial complex if and only if $K[\Delta]$ is a clean ring.
A pure shellable simplicial complex is Cohen-Macaulay. So if $I$ is a reduced monomial ideal of $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_n]$ such that $S/I$ is clean equidimensional then $S/I$ is Cohen-Macaulay. This result is extended in [@HP] in a more general frame as we explain bellow.
A prime filtration ${\mathcal F}\: 0=M_0\subset M_1\subset \ldots
\subset M_{r-1}\subset M_r=M$ of $M$ with $M_i/M_{i-1}=R/P_i$ is called [*pretty clean*]{}, if for all $i<j$ for which $P_i\subset
P_j$ it follows that $P_i=P_j$. This means, roughly speaking, that a proper inclusion $P_i\subset P_j$ is only possible if $i>j$. $M$ is called [*pretty clean*]{}, if it has a pretty clean filtration. A ring is called pretty clean if it is a pretty clean module over itself. If ${\mathcal F}$ is pretty clean then $\Supp({\mathcal
F})=\Ass(M)$.
[*Let $S=K[x,y]$ be the polynomial ring over the field $K$, $I\subset S$ the ideal $I=(x^2,xy)$ and $R=S/I$. Then $R$ is pretty clean but not clean. Indeed, $0\subset (x)\subset R$ is a pretty clean filtration of $R$ with $(x)=R/(x,y)$, so that $P_1=(x,y)$ and $P_2=(x)$. $R$ is not clean since $\Ass(R)\neq
\Min(R)$. Note $R$ has a different prime filtration, namely, ${\mathcal G}: 0\subset (y)\subset (x,y)\subset R$ with factors $(y)=R/(x)$ and $(x,y)/(y)=R/(x,y)$. Hence this filtration is not pretty clean, even though $\Supp({\mathcal G})=\Ass(M)$.* ]{}
\[ex1\]
*Let $R$ be a UFD ring and $t_1,\ldots, t_s$ be some irreducible elements in $R$, even equally some of them. Let $P$ be a prime ideal of $R$. Then $M:=R/I$, $I:=t_1\cdots t_s P$ is a pretty clean module, even clean if $P$ does not contain any of $(t_i)$. Indeed, consider the following filtration on $M$*
$$M=M_{s+1}\supset M_s\supset \ldots \supset M_1\supset M_0=(0),$$ where $M_r:=(t_r\cdots t_s)/I$ for $1\leq r\leq s$. We have $$M_r/M_{r-1}\cong (t_r\cdots t_s)/(t_{r-1}\cdots t_s)\cong
R/(t_{r-1}).$$ and $M_1\cong R/P$. A special type of this example is given by $R=K[x,y]$ and $I=(x^2,xy)$.
\[allthesame\] Let $M$ be a pretty clean module. Then all pretty clean filtrations of $M$ have the same length, namely their common length equals
$\sum_{\pp\in\Ass(M)}$length$_M(H_{\pp}^0(M_{\pp}))$, that is this number is bounded by the arithmetic degree of $M$, which is $\sum_{\pp\in\Ass(M)}$length$_M(H_{\pp}^0(M_{\pp}))deg(R/\pp).$
$M$ is called [*sequentially Cohen-Macaulay*]{} if it a has filtration $$0=C_0\subset C_1\subset C_2\subset\ldots\subset C_s=M$$ such that $C_i/C_{i-1}$ is Cohen-Macaulay, and $$\dim (C_1/C_0)<\dim(C_2/C_1)<\ldots <\dim(C_r/C_{r-1}).$$
\[sequentially\] Let $R$ be a local CM ring admitting a canonical module $\omega_R$, and let $M$ be a pretty clean $R$-module such that $R/P$ is Cohen-Macaulay for all $P\in \Ass M$. Then $M$ is sequentially Cohen-Macaulay. Moreover, if $\dim R/P=\dim
M$ for all $P\in\Ass(M)$, then $M$ is clean and Cohen-Macaulay.
Schenzel introduced in [@Sc] the so called [*dimension filtration*]{} $${\mathcal F}\: 0\subset D_0(M)\subset D_1(M)\subset \cdots \subset
D_{d-1}(M)\subset D_d(M)=M$$ of $M$, which is defined by the property that $D_i(M)$ is the largest submodule of $M$ with $\dim D_i(M)\leq i$ for $i=0,\ldots,d=\dim M$.
\[seq\] $M$ is sequentially CM, if and only if the factors in the dimension filtration of $M$ are either 0 or CM.
\[sequentially\] Let $R$ be a local CM ring admitting a canonical module $\omega_R$, and let $M$ be a finitely generated $R$-module such that $R/P$ is Cohen-Macaulay for all $P\in \Ass M$. Then $M$ is pretty clean if and only if $D_i(M)/D_{i-1}(M)$ is clean for all $1\leq i\leq \dim M$.
So in the above assumptions we may say that pretty clean means sequentially clean. Now we pass to the multigraded case.
\[tot\] Let $I\subset S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_n]$ be a monomial ideal such that $\Ass S/I$ is totally ordered by inclusion. Then $S/I$ is pretty clean.
A monomial ideal $I$ is called of [*Borel type*]{} if $I:(x_1,\ldots,x_j)^{\infty}=I:x_j^{\infty}$ for all $1\leq j\leq
n$.
\[bor\] If the ideal $I\subset S$ is of Borel type then $S/I$ is pretty clean and in particular sequentially CM.
Let $\Delta$ be a non-pure shellable simplicial complex on the vertex set $\{1,\ldots,n\}$ and $F_1,\ldots, F_r$ its shelling on the facets of $\Delta$. For $i\geq 2$ we denote by $a_i$ the number of facets of $\langle F_1,\ldots, F_{i-1}\rangle\sect \langle
F_i\rangle$, and set $a_1=0$. Let $P_i=(\{x_j\}_{j\not \in F_i})$ be the prime ideal associated to the facet $F_i$.
\[shelling numbers\] The filtration $(0)=M_0\subset
M_1\subset\cdots\cdots M_{r-1}\subset M_r=K[\Delta]$ with $$M_i=\Sect_{j=1}^{r-i}P_{j}\quad \text{and}\quad M_i/M_{i-1}\iso
S/P_{r-i+1}(-a_{r-i+1})$$ is a clean filtration of $S/I_{\Delta}$.
Simplicial complexes correspond to the reduced monomial ideals of $S$. What about general monomial ideals of $S$?
Let $\NN_\infty=\NN\union \{\infty\}$. For a subset $\Gamma\subset\NN_\infty$ denote by ${\mathcal M}(\Gamma)$ the set of all maximal elements of $\Gamma$. Let $a\in\Gamma$. Then $$\ip
a=\{i\:a(i)=\infty\}$$ is called the [*infinite part*]{} of $a$. A subset $\Gamma\subset \NN^n_\infty$ is called a [*multicomplex*]{} if
1. for all $a\in\Gamma$ and all $b\in\NN^n_\infty$ with $b\leq a$ it follows that $b\in\Gamma$;
2. for each $a\in\Gamma$ there exists $m\in{\mathcal M}(\Gamma)$ with $a\leq m$.
The elements of a multicomplex are called [*faces*]{} and the elements of ${\mathcal M}(\Gamma)$ are called [*maximal facets*]{}. A face $a\in \Gamma$ is called [*facet*]{} if for any $m\in
{\mathcal M}(\Gamma)$ with $a\leq m$ it holds $\ip a=\ip m$.
Consider for example the multicomplex $\Gamma\in\NN^2_\infty$ with faces $$\{a\: a\leq (0,\infty )\; \text{or}\; a\leq (2,0)\}.$$ Then ${\mathcal M}(\Gamma)=\{(0, \infty), (2,0)\}$ and ${\mathcal
F}(\Gamma)=\{(0,\infty), (2,0), (1,0)\}$. Besides its facets, $\Gamma$ admits the infinitely many faces $(0,i)$ with $i\in \NN$.
\[finite\] Each multicomplex has a finite number of facets.
Let $\Gamma$ be a multicomplex, and let $I(\Gamma)$ be the $K$-subspace in $S$ spanned by all monomials $x^a$ such that $a\not\in \Gamma$. This is an ideal in $S$ and the correspondence $\Gamma\to I(\Gamma)$ gives a bijection between the multicomplexes $\Gamma$ of $\NN^n_\infty$ and the monomial ideals $I$ of $S$.
Let $a\in \NN^n$, $m\in \NN^n_\infty$ with $m(i)\in\{0,\infty\}$ and $\Gamma(m)$ the multicomplex generated by $m$, that is the set of all $u\in \NN^n_\infty$ with $u\leq m$. Actually given $m_1.\ldots,m_r\in \NN^n$ we denote by $\Gamma(m_1,\ldots,m_r)$ the set of all $u\in \NN^n$ with $u\leq m_i$ for some $i$. The sets of the form $S=a+S^*$, where $S^*=\Gamma(m)$, are called [*Stanley sets*]{}. The [*dimension of S*]{} is defined to be the dimension of $S^*$. A multicomplex $\Gamma$ is [*shellable*]{} if the facets of $\Gamma$ can be ordered $a_1,\ldots, a_r$ such that
1. $S_i= \Gamma(a_i)\setminus\Gamma(a_1,\ldots, a_{i-1})$ is a Stanley set for $i=1,\ldots,r$, and
2. whenever $S_i^*\subset S_j^*$, then $S_i^*=S_j^*$ or $i>j$.
\[multi2\] The multicomplex $\Gamma$ is shellable if and only if $S/I(\Gamma)$ is a multigraded pretty clean ring.
Note that in the above example the shelling could be $\{(0,\infty),(1,0),(2,0)\}$ and so the first Stanley set is given by the axe $\{(0,s):s\in \NN\}$ and the second Stanley set, respectively the third one are the points $(1,0)$, $(2,0)$.
\[!\] A multicomplex $\Gamma$ is shellable if and only if there exists an order $a_1,\ldots,a_r$ of the facests such that for $i=1,\ldots,r$ the sets $S_i=\Gamma(a_i)\setminus
\Gamma(a_1,\ldots,a_{i-1})$ are Stanley sets with $\dim S_1\geq \dim
S_2\geq\ldots \geq\dim S_r$.
Pretty clean modules
====================
Let $R$ be a Noetherian ring, and $M$ a finitely generated $R$-module.
Let $${\mathcal M}: M_0=0\subset M_1\subset \ldots \subset M_s=M$$ be a filtration of $M$. Inspired by [@D] we call ${\mathcal M}$ [*almost clean*]{} if for all $1\leq i\leq s$ there exists a prime ideal $P\in \Ass_R(M) $ such that $P=(M_{i-1}:x)$ for all $x\in M_i\setminus M_{i-1}$.
\[almost\] Every finitely generated $R$-module $M$ has an almost clean filtration.
Let $\Ass_R(M)=\{P_1,\ldots,P_t \}$ and $(0)=
\cap_{i=1}^t N_{i}$ be an irredundant primary decomposition of $(0)$ in $M$, where $N_i$ is a $P_i$-primary submodule of $M$. We may suppose the notation such that for all $i<j$ such that $P_i\subset P_j$ it follows $P_i=P_j$. Set $U_j=\cap_{i=1}^j N_{i}$. We get a filtration
$$(0)=U_t\subset \ldots \subset U_1\subset U_0=M$$
such that $U_{i-1}/U_i\cong U_{i-1}+N_{i}/ N_{i} \subset
M/N_{i}$. But $U_{i-1}\not = U_i$ because the primary decomposition is irredundant. Then $\{P_i\}=\Ass_R(M/N_{i})=\Ass_R(U_{i-1}/U_i)\not=\emptyset$ and so $\Ass_R(U_{i-1}/U_i)=\{P_i\}$. Thus we reduce to the case $T=U_{i-1}/U_i$. In this case set $V_k=P_i^kT_{P_i}\cap T$ for $k\geq 0$. We get a filtration $$(0)\subset \ldots \subset V_1\subset V_0=T$$ such that there exists an injection $V_{j-1}/V_j\to
P_i^{j-1} T_{P_i}/P_i^j T_{P_i}$, the last module being a linear space over the fraction field of $R/P_i$. Thus $V_{j-1}/V_j$ is torsionless over $R/P_i$, which is enough.
\[reg\] If $R/P$ is regular of dimension $\leq 1$ for all $P\in
\Ass_R(M)$ then $M$ is pretty clean.
For the proof note only that the quotients $V_{j-1}/V_j$ from the above proof are in this case free and so clean.
Next proposition is an extension of [@HP Proposition (5.1)]. Let $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_n]$ and $I\subset S$ a monomial ideal. For every $P\in \Ass(S/I)$ let $J_P\subset \{1,\ldots,n\}$ be the subset of all $j$ such that $x_j\in P$. Clearly $P$ is monomial and so $\height(P)=|J_P|$ and $\dim P=n-|J_P|$.
\[pret\] Suppose that for all integer $d>0$ such that $\Ass^d(S/I)\not =\emptyset$ it holds $|\bigcup_{P\in \Ass^d(S/I)}
J_P|\leq n-d+1$. Then $S/I$ is pretty clean.
We follow the proof of Proposition \[tot\] given in [@HP]. Let $I=\bigcap_{P\in \Ass(S/I)} Q_P$ be the irredundant primary monomial decomposition of $I$, where $Q_P$ is $P$-primary. Set $d_P=\dim P$ and for $d_1<\ldots <d_r$ be the integers which appear really among $(d_P)$. Set $U_i=\bigcap_{P\in \cup_{j>d_i}\Ass^j(S/I)}\ Q_P$. By [@Sc] the dimension filtration is given by $D_{d_i}(S/I)=U_i/I$. Using Theorem \[sequentially\] it is enough to show that $U_i/U_{i-1}$ is clean. Let $S'$ be the polynomial ring over $K$ in the variables $x_j$ with $j\in\bigcup_{P\in \Ass^{d_i}(S/I)}$ and set $P'=P\cap S'$, $Q_{P'}=Q_P\cap S'$ for $P\in \Ass^{d_i}(S/I)$. We have $P=P'S$, $Q_P=Q_{P'}S$ and $U_i=U'_iS$ for $U'_i=U_i\cap
S'$.. But $U'_i/U'_{i-1}$ is clean by Corollary \[reg\] since $\dim S' =n-d_i+1$ by assumption (that is $\dim S/P\leq 1$ for all $P\in \Ass^{d_i}(S/I)$). Then by base change $U_I/U_{i-1}\iso
U'_i/U'_{i-1}\otimes_{S'}S$ is a clean module.
\[?\] [*Let $I=(x_1^2,x_1x_2^2x_3,x_1x_3^2,x_2^2x_4^2,x_2x_3^2x_4)\subset
S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_4]$. We have $$I=(x_1,x_2)\cap (x_1,x_4)\cap
(x_1^2,x_2^2,x_3^2)\cap (x_1^2,x_1x_3,x_3^2,x_4^2)$$ and so $\Ass(S/I)=\{(x_1,x_2),(x_1,x_4),(x_1,x_2,x_3),(x_1,x_3,x_4)\}$. An algorithm to find a monomial primary decomposition is given in [@Vi]. Then $S/I$ is pretty clean by Theorem \[pret\].*]{}
In [@HP] is given an example of $R$-module $M$ which is not pretty clean but has a prime filtration $\mathcal F$ with $\Supp({\mathcal F})=\Ass_R(M)$. The following shows that there are $R$-modules $M$ for which there exist no prime filtration ${\mathcal
F}$ with $\Supp({\mathcal F})=\Ass_R(M)$. Modules which has a filtration $\mathcal F$ with $\Supp({\mathcal F})=\Ass_R(M)$ are studied in different papers (see e.g. [@Li]) after Eisenbud’s question from [@E].
[*Let $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_4]$, $I=P_1\cap P_2$ for $P_1 =(x_1,x_2)$, $P_2=(x_3,x_4)$ and $M=S/I$. Suppose that there exists a filtration $\mathcal F$ of $M$ such that $\Supp({\mathcal
F})=\Ass_S(M)$. Then $\mathcal F$ is a clean filtration of $M$ because $\Ass_S(M)=\Min(M)=\{P_1,P_2\}$. Note that $P_i$ could appear in $\mathcal F$ only of $1=\length_{S_{P_i}}(M_{P_i})$-times. Thus $\mathcal F$ has the form $(0)\subset N\subset M$, where we may suppose that $M/N\iso S/P_1$ and $N\iso S/P_2$. But this is not possible because then $N=P_1/I$ is not cyclic. Thus $M$ has no filtration $\mathcal F$ with $\Supp(\mathcal F)=\Ass_S(M)$. Note that the hypothesis of Theorem \[pret\] do not hold in this frame.*]{}
Multicomplexes
==============
The following proposition is stated in the proof of [@HP Proposition (10.1)] using the standard pairs of [@STV]. We think that this result deserves a direct proof which we give bellow.
\[facet\] Let $\Gamma $ be a multicomplex. The arithmetic degree of $S/I(\Gamma)$ is exactly the number of the facets ${\mathcal
F}(\Gamma)$ of $\Gamma$.
Let $\phi$ be the map from $\Gamma$ to the monomial $K$-basis of $S/I(\Gamma)$, given by $u\rightarrow x^{\tilde u}$, where ${\tilde
u}(j)=u(j)$ if $j\not \in \ip(u)$ and ${\tilde u}(j)=0$ otherwise. Let $P\in \Ass(S/I(\Gamma))$ and ${\mathcal F}(\Gamma,P)=\{u\in
{\mathcal F}(\Gamma):P_u=P\}$. We claim that the restriction of $\phi$ to ${\mathcal F}(\Gamma,P)$ is injective. Indeed, suppose that we have ${\tilde u}={\tilde v}$ for some $u,v\in {\mathcal
F}(\Gamma ,P)$. We have $\ip(u)=\ip(v)$ since $P_u=P_v=P$ and so it follows $u=v$.
Now let $u<v$ be two faces of $\Gamma$. Then $\ip(u)\subset \ip(v)$ and we have equality if and only if $(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde u})$ is a $P_u$-primary ideal. Indeed if $\ip(u)=\ip(v)$ then $(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde u})=(\{x_k^{{\tilde v}(k)-{\tilde u}(k)+1}:
k\not\in \ip(u)\})$, that is a $P_u$-primary ideal. Conversely, for every $k\not\in \ip(u)$ suppose that a power $x_k^{\alpha_k}\in
(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde u})$. Thus $x_k^{\alpha_k} x^{\tilde u}\in
I(\Gamma(v))$, that is ${\tilde u}+\alpha_k \epsilon_k\not\in
\Gamma(v)$, where $\epsilon_k$ is the $k$-unitary vector. Then $u(k)+\alpha_k>v(k)$, that is $k\not\in\ip(v)$.
We claim that given a face $u\in\Gamma$ it holds $u\in {\mathcal
F}(\Gamma)$ if and only if $\phi(u)\in
H_{P_uS_{P_u}}^0((S/I(\Gamma))_{P_u})$. Indeed, let $u$ be a facet, then for each maximal facet $v$ with $u\leq v$ it holds $\ip(u)=\ip(v)$. This happens if $(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde u})$ is a $P_u$-primary ideal for any maximal facet $v\geq u$. It follows $$\Sect_{v\in {\mathcal M}(\Gamma), u\leq v}(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde
u})$$ is a $P_u$-primary ideal. The converse is also true because $$P_u=\sqrt{(\Sect_{v\in {\mathcal M}(\Gamma), u\leq v}(I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde
u})}\subset \sqrt{I(\Gamma(v)):x^{\tilde u})}=P_v,$$ that is $\ip(u)=\ip(v)$. So $u$ is a facet if and only if $(I(\Gamma)S_{P_u}:x^{\tilde u})$ is $P_uS_{P_u}$-primary ideal and it follows that there exist exactly $dim(H_{PS_{P}}^0((S/I(\Gamma))_{P})$-facets $u$ in $\Gamma$ with $P_u=P$.
Let $\Gamma\subset \NN_{\infty}^n$ be a multicomplex and $a,b\in
\Gamma$. We call $a$ a [*lower neighbour*]{} of $b$ if there exists an integer $k$, $1\leq k\leq n$ such that
1. $a(i)=b(i)$ for $i\neq k$,
2. either $a(k)+1=b(k)<\infty$, or $a(k)<\infty$ and $b(k)=\infty$.
It is easy to see that the multicomplex $\Gamma$ is [*shellable*]{} if the facets of $\Gamma$ can be ordered $a_1,\ldots, a_r$ such that
1. $a_1\in \{0,\infty\}^n,$
2. for $i=2,\ldots,r$ the maximal facets of $\langle a_1,\ldots,a_{i-1}\rangle\cap\langle a_i \rangle$ are lower neighbours of $a_i$;
3. for each $k\not\in \supp\ a_i$, $1\leq k\leq n$ such that $a_i(k)>0$ there exists a maximal facet $w$ of $\Gamma(a_1,\ldots,a_{i-1})\cap\Gamma(a_i)$ such that $w(k)<a_i(k).$
4. for all $1\leq j<i\leq r$ such that $\supp a_j\subset
\supp a_i$, it follows that $\supp a_j=\supp a_i$.
Actually $\Gamma$ satisfies (a) above for any $i>1$ if and only if it satisfies (2),(3) above, and it satisfies (a) for $i=1$ if and only if (1) holds. Also $\Gamma$ satisfies (b) above if and only if it satisfies (4) above. There are orders of the facets of some shellable multicomplexes which satisfy (1)-(3) but not (4) as shows the following:
\[(4)\][*Let $a=(\infty,0,\infty,\infty)$, $b=(1,1,\infty,0)$,$c=(0,2,\infty,\infty)$ and $\Gamma=\langle
a,b,c\rangle$. Then ${\mathcal
F}(\Gamma)=\{a,b,c,(o,1,\infty,\infty)\}$. We may order these facets in the following way $u_1=a$,$u_2=(0,1,\infty,\infty)$, $u_3=b$, $u_4=c$. Note that $\langle u_1\rangle \cap\langle u_2\rangle$ has just one maximal facet $(0,0,\infty,\infty)$ which is a neighbour of $u_2$. Also $\langle u_1,u_2\rangle \cap \langle u_3\rangle$ has two maximal facets $(1,0,\infty,0)$, $(0,1,\infty,0)$, both being neighbours of $u_3$. Finally note that $\langle
u_1,u_2,u_3\rangle\cap \langle u_4\rangle$ has just one maximal facet $u_2$ which is a neighbour of $u_4$. So it is easy to see that this order satisfies (1)-(3), but not (4) because $P_{u_3}=(x_1,x_2,x_4)\supset (x_1,x_2)=P_{u_4}$. Actually, $\Gamma$ is shellable because of Theorem \[pret\] or [@HP Proposition 5.1].*]{}
Also there are shellable multicomplexes $\Gamma$ which have shellings $u_1,\ldots u_r$ for which the Stanley sets $S_i=\Gamma(a_i)\setminus\Gamma(a_1,\ldots, a_{i-1})$ does not satisfy $\dim S_1\geq \dim S_2\geq \ldots\geq \dim S_r$ as shows the following:
\[dim\][*Let $a=(0,\infty,1,\infty)$, $b=(0,0,2,\infty)$, $c=(\infty,\infty,1,0)$ and $\Gamma=\langle a,b,c\rangle$. $\Gamma$ has apart of the maximal faces $a,b,c$ and the following facets: $d=(\infty,\infty,0,0)$, $e=(0,\infty,0,\infty)$. Choose the order $u_1=d$, $u_2=e$, $u_3=a$, $u_4=b$, $u_5=c$. Note that $\langle u_1\rangle \cap\langle u_2\rangle$ has just one maximal facet $(0,\infty,0,0)$ which is a neighbour of $u_2$ and $\langle
u_1,u_2\rangle \cap \langle u_3\rangle$ has one maximal facet $(0,\infty,0,\infty)$ a neighbour of $u_3$. Also note that $\langle
u_1,u_2,u_3\rangle\cap \langle u_4\rangle$ has just one maximal facet $(0,0,1,\infty)$ which is a neighbour of $u_4$ and $\langle
u_1,u_2,u_3,u_4\rangle\cap \langle u_5\rangle$ has two maximal facets $(\infty,\infty,0,0)$, $(0,\infty,1,0)$ both being neighbours of $u_5$. We have $P_{u_1}=(x_3,x_4)=P_{u_5}$, $P_{u_2}=(x_1,x_3)=P_{u_3}$, $P_{u_4}=(x_1,x_2,x_3)$. Since $\dim
P_{u_5}>\dim P_{u_4}$ the filtration does not satisfy the dimension condition above though it is pretty clean.*]{}
Let $\Gamma\subset \NN_{\infty}^n$ be a multicomplex and $u_1,\ldots,u_r$ its maximal facets so $\Gamma=\langle u_1,\ldots,u_r\rangle$.
\[basechange\] If $\ip u_j=\ip u_1$ for all $j\geq 1$, that is $I(\Gamma)$ is primary ideal, then $\Gamma$ is shellable and $S/I(\Gamma)$ is clean.
This lemma is a consequence of Theorem \[pret\] or of [@HP Proposition 5.1] but we prefer to give here the proof since it is elementary. Note that a monomial primary ideal $Q$ can be seen as the extension of a primary ideal $Q'$ associated to a maximal ideal in a polynomial ring $S'$ in fewer variables which enter really in the generators of $Q$. Then $S'/Q'$ is a clean module and so by base change $S/Q$ is too.
$\Gamma$ is [*maximal shellable*]{} if the maximal facets of $\Gamma$ can be ordered $u_1,\ldots, u_r$ and there exists $s$, $1\leq s\leq r$ such that
1. $\ip u_1=\ip u_j,$ for all $1\leq j\leq s$
2. for $i=s+1,\ldots,r$ the maximal facets of $\langle u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1}\rangle\cap \langle u_i\rangle$ differ from $u_i,$ only in one component,
3. for all $s\leq j<i\leq r$ such that $\ip\ u_j\subset \ip\ u_i$ it follows $\ip\ u_j=\ip\ u_i$.
Suppose $\Gamma$ satisfies the above conditions, so it is maximal shellable. Fix an $i=s+1,\ldots r$ and let $w_{i1},\ldots,w_{ic}$ be the maximal facets of $\Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1})\cap\Gamma(u_i)$. Thus for each $1\leq j\leq c$ there exists just one $\lambda_j$, $1\leq\lambda_j\leq n$ such that $w_{ij}(\lambda_j)<u_i(\lambda_j)$ and so $w_{ij}(\lambda_j)\in \NN$. Set $f_i=\Pi_{j=1,w_{ij}(\lambda_j)<\infty}^c\
x^{w_{ij}(\lambda_j)+1}_{\lambda_j}.$ We claim that
$$\Sect_{s=1}^{i-1} I(\Gamma(u_s))+I(\Gamma(u_i)) =I(\Gamma(u_i))+(f_i).$$ The monomial $f_i$ has the form $f_i=x^{t_i}$ for some $t_i\in
\NN^n$. By definition of $f_i$ we have $t_i\leq u_i$, that is $t_i\in \Gamma(u_i)$ and $t_i\not\in \Gamma(w_{ij})$ for all $1\leq
j\leq c$. Thus $t_i\in
\Gamma(u_i)\setminus\Gamma(w_{i1},\ldots,w_{ic})$. Since $\Gamma(w_{i1},\ldots,w_{ic})=\Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1})\cap
\Gamma(u_i)$ it follows $t_i\not\in \Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1})$, that is
$$f_i=x^{t_i}\in I(\Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1}))=\Sect_{s=1}^{i-1}
I(\Gamma(u_s)).$$
Conversely, let $x^q\in
I(\Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1}))\setminus I(\Gamma(u_i))$, that is $q\not\in \Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_{i-1})$ and $q\in \Gamma(u_i)$. Then $q\not \in \Gamma(w_{i1},\ldots,w_{ic})=\cup_{j=1}^c \Gamma(w_{ij})$ and $q\leq u_i$. Thus $u_i(k)\geq q(k)>w_{ij}(k)$ for at least one $k$ and so $k=\lambda_j$ and it follows that $x^q\in (f_i)$.
Set $a_i=deg\ f_i$ for $i>1$ and $a_1=0$. We obtain the following isomorphisms of grade $S$-modules
$$(\Sect_{s=1}^{i-1} I(\Gamma(u_s)))/(\Sect_{s=1}^{i} I(\Gamma(u_s)))\iso (\Sect_{s=1}^{i-1} I(\Gamma(u_s)))+ I(\Gamma(u_i))) /I(\Gamma(u_i)) =$$ $$(I(\Gamma(u_i))+(f_i))/I(\Gamma(u_i))\iso (f_i)/f_iI(\Gamma(u_i))\iso S/(I(\Gamma(u_i)):f_i)(-a_i).$$
By construction of $f_i$ we see that $x_{\lambda_j}^{u_i(\lambda_j)-w_{ij}(\lambda_j)}f_i\in
I(\Gamma(u_i))$ if $\lambda_j\not \in \ip u_i$. If $0\leq
u_i(k)<\infty$ and $k$ is not a $\lambda_j$ then $x_k$ does not enter in $f_i$ and so $x_k$ enters in $(I(\Gamma(u_i)):f_i)$ only at the power he had in $I(\Gamma(u_i))$. However we see that $(I(\Gamma):f_i)$ is a irreducible $P_{u_i}$-primary ideal. Finally note that the condition (3) says that for all $i>j$ such that $P_{u_i}\subset P_{u_j}$ it follows $P_{u_i}=P_{u_j}$. Thus we have shown:
\[multi3\] Let $\Gamma\subset \NN_{\infty}^n$ be a maximal shellable multicomplex and $u_1,\ldots,u_r$ its shelling. Then there exists a filtration of $S/I(\Gamma)$
$(0)=M_0\subset M_1\subset\cdots\cdots M_{r-s}\subset M_{r-s+1}=S/I(\Gamma)$ with $$M_i=\Sect_{j=1}^{r-i}I(\Gamma(u_j))\quad \text{and}\quad M_i/M_{i-1}\iso S/J_i(-a_{r-i+1})$$ for some irreducible ideals $J_i$ associated to $P_{u_{r+1-i}}$, for $i\leq r-s$ and the primary ideal $J_{r-s+1}=I(\Gamma(u_1,\ldots,u_s))$.
\[multi4\] If the multicomplex $\Gamma\subset \NN_{\infty}^n$ is maximal shellable then $\Gamma$ is shellable in particular $S/I(\Gamma)$ is a pretty clean ring.
By the above proposition it is enough to see that that the factors from the above filtration are clean. This follows by the Lemma \[basechange\].
We end this section with some examples.
*Let $J=(x_1^2,x_2^2,x_3,x_4)\cap
(x_1,x_2,x_3^2,x_4^2)$ and $T= (x_1,x_2,x_5^2,x_6^2)$ be primary ideals in $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_6]$. Set $I=J\cap T$. Then $S/I$ is not Cohen-Macaulay since from the exact sequence*
$$0\to S/I\to S/J\oplus S/T\to S/J+T\to 0$$
we get $\depth (S/I)=1$. It follows that $S/I$ is not pretty clean too and so $\Gamma(I)$ cannot be maximal shellable. This indeed is the case since one can take $s=2,r=3$, $u_1=(1,1,0,0,\infty,\infty)$, $u_2=(0,0,1,1,\infty,\infty)$ and $u_3=(0,0,\infty,\infty,1,1)$. For this order one can see that $\Gamma(u_1,u_2,u_3)$ is not maximal shellable since the condition (2) does not hold.
The following example shows that there exist shellable multicomplexes which are not maximal shellable.
\[bb\][*Let $J=(x_1^2,x_2^2,x_3,x_4)\cap
(x_1,x_2,x_3^2,x_4^2)$ and $L= (x_1^2,x_2,x_3,x_5^2)$ be primary ideals in $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_5]$. Set $I=J\cap L$. Then $S/I$ is Cohen-Macaulay but $\Gamma(I)$ is not maximal shellable. This indeed is the case since one can take $s=2,r=3$, $u_1=(1,1,0,0,\infty)$, $u_2=(0,0,1,1,\infty)$ and $u_3=(1,0,0,\infty,1)$. The maximal facets of $\Gamma(u_1,u_2)\cap\Gamma(u_3)$ are $w_1=(1,0,0,0,1)$ and $w_2=
(0,0,0,1,1)$. Clearly $w_1$ satisfies the condition (2) but $w_2$ not. Also note that $J=I+Sx_4^2$ and so the factors of the filtration $(0)\subset J/I\subset S/I$ are all cyclic given by primary ideals. By Lemma \[basechange\] we see that $S/I$ is pretty clean and so shellable.* ]{}
[*Let $J=(x_1^2,x_2^2,x_3,x_4)\cap
(x_1,x_2,x_3^2,x_4^2)$ and $T= (x_1,x_2,x_3,x_5^2)$ be primary ideals in $S=K[x_1,\ldots,x_5]$. Set $I=J\cap T$. Then $S/I$ is Cohen-Macaulay because $\Gamma(I)$ is maximal shellable. This indeed is the case since one can take $s=2,r=3$, $u_1=(1,1,0,0,\infty)$, $u_2=(0,0,1,1,\infty)$ and $u_3=(0,0,0,\infty,1)$. The only maximal facet of $\Gamma(u_1,u_2)\cap\Gamma(u_3)$ is $w=(0,0,0,1,1)$. Clearly $w$ satisfies the condition (2).*]{}
[1]{}
W. Bruns, J. Herzog, [*Cohen-Macaulay rings*]{}, Revised Edition, Cambridge, 1996.
A. Dress, A new algebraic criterion for shellability, Beitrage zur Alg. und Geom., [**340**]{}(1), (1993),45–55.
D. Eisenbud, [*Commutative algebra , with a view toward geometry*]{}, Graduate Texts Math. Springer, 1995, page 93.
J. Herzog, D. Popescu, Finite filtrations of modules and shellable multicomplexes, Preprint IMAR no 4/2005, Bucharest, 2005.
J. Herzog, D. Popescu, M. Vladoiu, On the Ext-modules of ideals of Borel type, Contemporary Math. [**331**]{} (2003), 171-186.
A. Li, Associated prime filtrations of finitely generated modules over noetherian rings, Communications in Alg., [**23(4)**]{}, (1995), 1511-1526.
P. Schenzel, On the dimension filtration and Cohen-Macaulay filtered modules, Proceed. of the Ferrara meeting in honour of Mario Fiorentini, ed. F. Van Oystaeyen, Marcel Dekker, New-York, 1999.
R. P. Stanley, [*Combinatorics and Commutative Algebra*]{}, Birkhäuser, 1983.
B. Sturmfels, N. V. Trung, W. Vogel, Bounds on Degrees of Projective Schemes, Math. Ann. [**302**]{} (1995), 417–432.
R. H. Villarreal, [*Monomial Algebras*]{}, Dekker, New York, NY, 2001.
[^1]: The author was mainly supported by Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships MEIF-CT-2003-501046 and partially supported by the Ceres program 4-131/2004 of the Romanian Ministery of Education and Research
|
With dramatic increase of enterprise digital data, a scale-up approach of improving performance and capacity of a system by upgrading hardware has not been able to meet increasing demands of customers due to limitations of a hardware update speed. Therefore, there is proposed a scale-out approach of dynamically upgrading the system by increasing the number of physical or virtual devices. The term “physical device” used herein refers to a physical entity such as a workstation, a blade, a mainframe, a desktop computer or a portable computer. The term “virtual device” refers to a logical device, such as a virtual machine, running on the physical entity through virtualization technologies. Compared with the scale-up approach, advantages of the scaling out are very apparent in timeliness.
In the scale-out approach, for example, a cluster composed of a plurality of physical devices may be used in place of a single physical device to provide services. Then, further improvement of the performance, the capacity and the like may be enabled by adding new devices into the cluster. However, such a cluster composed of physical devices currently lacks core cluster architecture features for cluster management, such as cluster membership management, messaging, failover and the like.
In addition to the scaling out of the physical devices, there is also provided scaling out of virtual devices. For example, a common software definition data center (SDDC) is usually deployed on a type of virtual machines (VMs). In the context of the present disclosure, a type of VMs refers to VMs based on a type of virtualization platform and framework and associated with a type of virtual machine hypervisors. Correspondingly, different types of VMs are based on different virtualization platforms and frameworks and associated with different virtual machine hypervisors. When a system needs to be upgraded, this type of VMs may be added to the SDDC to implement the scaling out. However, in such a system, the physical devices running the VMs are usually separated. Data cannot move between different physical devices and therefore cannot implement load balance. In addition, when a certain VM is failed, another VM can be restarted only on a certain physical machine, which causes interruption of services in a longer period of time. |
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If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to
revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED
January 22, 2019
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v No. 341416
Bay Circuit Court
STEVEN EDWARD HOWELL, LC No. 16-010702-FH
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: BOONSTRA, P.J., and SAWYER and TUKEL, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of domestic violence, third offense, MCL
750.81(5), and was sentenced to 300 days in jail with credit for 139 days served and 65 days
deferred, as well as three years of probation. He subsequently violated the terms of his probation
and was sentenced to 38 to 60 months in prison. Defendant sought resentencing, arguing that
offense variable (OV) 9, OV 10, and OV 12 were improperly scored; the trial court denied the
motion. Defendant now appeals by delayed leave granted.1 Because we conclude that 10 points
were improperly assessed for OV 10, and because the subtraction of 10 points lowers
defendant’s minimum sentencing guidelines range, we vacate the sentence of the trial court and
remand for resentencing.
On October 11, 2016, police officers responded to reports of a fight. A participant in the
altercation, Amber Sagar, told police officers that defendant and Misty Mazurowski got into a
fight outside of Sagar’s home. Sagar grabbed a baton and began hitting defendant in the ribs,
while TW, Mazurowski’s 12-year-old daughter and defendant’s “stepdaughter,” also attempted
to intervene. Defendant grabbed TW by the hair and punched her in the head twice. TW gave a
similar account to the police and at a preliminary examination.
1
People v Howell, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered February 11, 2018
(Docket No. 341416).
Defendant was charged with two counts of domestic violence, one for assaulting
Mazurowski and one for assaulting TW, but the charge pertaining to Mazurowski was dismissed
before bindover. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement and was
sentenced to jail time and probation. He violated a condition of his probation by contacting
Mazurowski later that day. He pleaded guilty to violating his probation and was sentenced to 38
months to 60 months in prison. The trial court later denied defendant’s motion for resentencing.
Defendant first contends that he is entitled to resentencing because OV 9, OV 10, and OV
12 were improperly scored. Although we conclude that OV 9 and OV 12 were properly scored,
we remand for resentencing because 10 points were improperly scored for OV 10.
The trial court may consider all record evidence in calculating the sentencing guidelines,
including the contents of the PSIR. People v Johnson, 298 Mich App 128, 131; 826 NW2d 170
(2012). The trial court’s factual determinations must be supported by a preponderance of the
evidence, and this Court reviews those findings for clear error. People v Hardy, 494 Mich 430,
438; 835 NW2d 340 (2013). “Whether the facts, as found, are adequate to satisfy the scoring
conditions prescribed by statute, i.e., the application of the facts to the law, is a question of
statutory interpretation, which an appellate court reviews de novo.” Id.
OV 9 relates to the number of victims. MCL 777.39. Ten points should be scored for
OV 9 when “[t]here were 2 to 9 victims who were placed in danger of physical injury or death.”
MCL 777.39(1)(c). A person may be considered a victim “even if he or she did not suffer actual
harm; a close proximity to a physically threatening situation may suffice to count the person as a
victim.” People v Gratsch, 299 Mich App 604, 624; 831 NW2d 462 (2013), vacated in part on
other grounds 495 Mich 876 (2013). OV 9 “cannot be scored using uncharged acts that did not
occur during the same criminal transaction as the sentencing offense,” and “a defendant’s
conduct after an offense is completed does not relate back to the sentencing offense for purposes
of scoring [OVs] unless a variable specifically instructs otherwise.” People v McGraw, 484
Mich 120, 122; 771 NW2d 655 (2009).
Defendant argues that the assault against TW and the assault against Mazurowski were
separate and cannot be aggregated. This is contrary to the record. Defendant’s own written
description of the events in the PSIR indicated that he was fighting with Mazurowski when TW
stepped in, and that he immediately “went after” her because he believed she was hitting him
with a baton. Mazurowski told the police that she and defendant were fighting and that she was
assaulted. TW also reported that defendant assaulted Mazurowski, as did another witness.
Accordingly, the trial court’s finding that there were two victims was supported by the
preponderance of the evidence and was not clearly erroneous.
Defendant next argues that five points were improperly scored for OV 12. OV 12
contemplates felonious criminal acts that occur contemporaneously with the sentencing offense.
MCL 777.42. A score of five points is appropriate if the trial court finds that “one
contemporaneous felonious criminal act involving a crime against a person was committed[.]”
MCL 777.42(1)(d). A felonious criminal act is contemporaneous if “[t]he act occurred within 24
hours of the sentencing offense” and “[t]he act has not and will not result in a separate
conviction.” MCL 777.42(2)(a).
-2-
As with OV 9, the trial court scored OV 12 on the basis of information in the PSIR
indicating that defendant assaulted Mazurowski immediately before assaulting TW. Defendant
does not contest that the altercation with Mazurowski took place within 24 hours of the
sentencing offense. Instead, he argues that that there is no evidence that the incident involving
Mazurowski “will not result in a separate conviction” in the future. MCL 777.42(2)(a)(ii). We
disagree. It appears that the domestic violence charge involving Mazurowski was dismissed
because she refused to testify against defendant. The trial court found that Mazurowski was a
“hostile witness” and that it was “unreasonable to expect that . . . charge would ever be brought
back again.” This is consistent with statements made by the prosecutor at defendant’s
sentencing, and with Mazurowski’s statements in the PSIR that she would not be pressing
charges against defendant. Therefore, a preponderance of the evidence supported the finding.
Hardy, 494 Mich at 438. Accordingly, the trial court did not clearly err in concluding that
defendant had not been and would not be convicted for the domestic violence altercation
involving Mazurowski, MCL 777.42(2)(a), and in assessing five points for OV 12.
Defendant next challenges the assessment of 10 points for OV 10. OV 10 refers to a
defendant’s “exploitation of a vulnerable victim.” MCL 777.40. An assessment of 10 points for
the exploitation of a vulnerable victim is warranted when “[t]he offender exploited a victim’s
physical disability, mental disability, youth or agedness, or a domestic relationship, or the
offender abused his or her authority status[.]” MCL 777.40(1)(b). The statute defines “exploit”
as “to manipulate a victim for selfish or unethical purposes.” MCL 777.40(3)(b). A victim is
“vulnerable” if it is readily apparent that he or she is susceptible to “injury, physical restraint,
persuasion, or temptation.” MCL 777.40(3)(c).
The trial court found that defendant “took advantage” of TW’s youth and his domestic
relationship and authority status over her. However, “[t]he mere existence” of youth, a domestic
relationship with the defendant, or the defendant’s authority status “does not automatically
equate with victim vulnerability.” MCL 777.40(2). Despite TW’s youth, there was nothing to
suggest that she was readily susceptible to injury or physical restraint. Indeed, TW willingly
intervened in the altercation, which undermines a finding that she was a “vulnerable victim.”
Furthermore, there is no indication that defendant “exploited” TW for “selfish or unethical
purposes” as required by the statute. MCL 777.40(3)(b). Rather, the uncontested evidence
indicates that when TW intervened in defendant’s altercation with Mazurowski in an attempt to
come to her mother’s aid, defendant simply reacted, without regard to whether the victim of his
ire was young, subject to his authority, or otherwise vulnerable. Accordingly, we hold that the
trial court clearly erred in assessing 10 points for OV 10. Because a score of zero points for OV
10 results in a decrease in his minimum sentencing guidelines range,2 defendant is entitled to be
resentenced. See People v Francisco, 474 Mich 82, 89-90; 711 NW2d 44 (2006) (“It would be
2
Defendant’s minimum sentencing guidelines range was calculated at 19 months to 38 months.
With OV 10 properly scored at zero points, it reduces defendant’s total OV score to 25 instead of
35 points. This lower OV score results in a new minimum sentencing range of 14 months to 29
months. See MCL 777.66.
-3-
in derogation of the law, and fundamentally unfair, to deny a defendant . . . the opportunity to be
resentenced on the basis of accurate information.”).
In light of our conclusion that defendant should be resentenced, we decline to address his
claim that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at sentencing. See People v Phelps,
288 Mich App 123, 142; 791 NW2d 732 (2010), overruled on other grounds by Hardy, 494 Mich
at 438 n 18.
We vacate defendant’s sentence and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
We do not retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Mark T. Boonstra
/s/ David H. Sawyer
/s/ Jonathan Tukel
-4-
|
Rotating residents' impressions of an ED managed by career emergency physicians.
Rotating residents (RRs) were surveyed to determine their impressions of an emergency department (ED) run by career emergency physicians (EPs), in the hope of generating insights into controversies that occur between the ED and other hospital departments. A questionnaire was distributed to RRs at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in September 1993. The questionnaire inquired about basic data, workload, and ED training and teaching, and also asked respondents for their overall evaluation of emergency medicine and EPs. Of 117 questionnaires issued to residents who had rotated in the ED during the previous 5 years, 60 respondents from the departments of internal medicine, family medicine, chest medicine, neurology, and respiratory therapy completed and returned the questionnaires. Ninety percent believed the workload of the ED to be heavy, and 87% considered two to three months to be an appropriate ED training time. Only 40% were willing to extend their ED training time to achieve a more reasonable workload, and 83% considered their ED residency stressful, with too many patients and long working hours cited as the leading sources of stress. Fear of malpractice suits and difficult interaction with patients and patients' families were also cited as stressful factors. All RRs considered ED training important; self-learning and the accumulation of ED experience, as well as the conference on emergency pitfalls, were the two aspects of training most favored, garnering approval by 92% and 80%, respectively. The overall impression of the RRs on emergency medicine and the performance of EPs was favorable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
Twittern
According to UNICEF, more than 5.5 million children are in urgent need of help across the Syrian region. The Federal Emergency Programme allows for the temporary admission of 55,000 children up to 17 years of age, given that a financial sponsor or foster family can be provided. We cannot help all the people in Syria who deserve aid. But as a society we can help one in a hundred children.
The government of the Federal Republic of Germany presented draft law 18/1333 to the Bundestag on 8 May 2014 setting the legal framework for the admission of especially vulnerable children from Syria. The following persons are deemed especially vulnerable: children whose parents were or are in prison, orphans, older boys in danger of arrest and children able to provide evidence of their families’ homelessness or financial hardship. The programme allows for the temporary admission of 55,000 children of up to 17 years of age given that a financial sponsor or foster family can be provided. Their admission is based on Section 23 (2) and (3) together with Section 24 of the German Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz). Children are to be separated from their parents on a purely temporary basis.
As trustee, the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (hereafter: BMFSFJ) can only provide a general guarantee for a maximum of 500 children at a time. New guarantees are issued once one of these children finds a private guarantor (or sponsor).
Bearing in mind that private accommodation in foster families amounts to only a third of costs for accommodation in a children’s home, the federal government prefers children to be placed in family-like accommodation. To that end, the BMFSFJ was instructed to launch its “1 in a 100” campaign in order to identify potential German foster homes. The campaign is first and foremost directed at stress-resilient couples and experienced adults with a mixed cultural background. Foster families and family-like foster homes accustomed to dealing with feelings of alienation are primarily targeted. Foster parents will be in charge of providing a secure and caring environment for their foster children for a limited amount of time. Likewise, psychological stress is to be reduced to a minimum in order to ensure children are able to return home upon termination of the conflict. The federal government intends to only separate infants from their relatives in cases of emergency, i.e. when they are not able to leave the country together with their families.
The government’s aim of placing 55,000 children in temporary full-time care is one of the most ambitious projects in recent German history. The federal government hopes to send a signal to other countries flagging the importance of ensuring the refugee crisis is no longer ignored. The aim is to see similar initiatives be put into place in all EU member states in order to relieve directly adjacent states of their pressure. According to UNICEF, more than 5.5 million children are in need of help across the region. For this reason, the protection and admission of Syrian children is a major concern for the federal government.
The „1 in a 100“ campaign will approach potential foster parents and provide comprehensive information on incentives and opportunities linked to their participation in the programme. A nation-wide appeal by Federal Minister of Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig was published in a selected number of national newspapers.
In order for the programme to be implemented in due course, the BMFSFJ supports all Länder and local authorities in offering comprehensive care for those children who cannot be placed in foster families. The federal government will provide up to EUR 40 million by the end of 2015 for the funding of additional places in children’s homes. The same legal provisions as for all foreign minors with tolerated residence titles apply (according to Section 12 (2) and (4) of the German Law on Residence). The children’s residence area is limited to their foster parents’ place of residence. Children may be granted permission to temporarily leave their tolerated area of residence to allow for participation in city trips, sports events and excursions. Permission must be applied for with the Minister of the Interior in the respective Land. Draft law 18/1333 explicitly excludes the possibility to apply for asylum. |
Background
==========
DPSCs are ASCs and were first described in 2000 \[[@B1]\]. DPSCs share similar characteristics with bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BMSCs) \[[@B1]-[@B4]\]. DPSCs have been differentiated into neuronal cells under the guidance of neurogenic factors \[[@B5]-[@B10]\]. Additionally, DPSCs may also be therapeutic by providing trophic support \[[@B4],[@B11]\] or recruiting endogenous cells for repair \[[@B4],[@B12]\].
Most studies involving ASCs are derived from healthy donors, and studies involving DPSCs have, in general, been limited. Due to the advantages of using one\'s own cells for therapy \[[@B13],[@B14]\], plus their potential use in the central nervous system (CNS) \[[@B4]-[@B9],[@B15],[@B16]\], we are interested in characterizing DPSCs derived from individuals with HD and determined if HD-DPSCs retain comparable stem cell properties to those derived from a healthy individual.
HD is a dominant genetic disorder caused by a mutation resulting in the expansion of polyglutamine (CAG) repeats in exon 1 of the IT15 gene encoding for htt. CAG repeat lengths over 39 results in pathological HD. A negative correlation has been shown between repeat length and age of onset \[[@B17]\] and lifespan \[[@B18]\]. The hallmark of HD is neurodegeneration, predominantly in the striatum and cortex \[[@B19]\]. Many HD patients do suffer from tooth decay; however this decay is due to medication and lack of motor skills to perform teeth maintenance procedures \[[@B20],[@B21]\]. Here we have used transgenic HD monkeys \[[@B22]\] as a model for investigating the effect of mutant htt on the properties of DPSCs.
Results
=======
Establishment of DPSCs from HD monkeys
--------------------------------------
We have isolated and established DPSCs from the teeth buds of three double-transgenic HD/G monkeys (rHD11, rHD17 and rHD18) and one transgenic GFP monkey (rGFP). rHD17 and rHD18 died shortly after birth at full term. Both rHD17 and rHD18 demonstrated HD phenotypes including severe dystonia and chorea \[[@B22]\]. rHD11 and rGFP were miscarried monkeys, born at four months of gestation. rHD/G-DPSCs have distinctive morphology including long and spindle shaped (Figure [1A](#F1){ref-type="fig"}) which were similar to published reports of rBMSCs \[[@B23]\], rhesus monkey DPSCs (rDPSCs) \[[@B4]\], Chimpanzee DPSCs (ChDPSCs) \[[@B2]\], hBMSCs and hDPSCs \[[@B3],[@B24],[@B25]\]. There were no overt differences in cellular characteristics of DPSCs derived from different individuals. All cell lines expressed GFP (Figure [1A](#F1){ref-type="fig"}) and were capable of self-renewal.
{#F1}
Expression of stem cell specific transcription factors in rHD/G-DPSCs
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To further evaluate stem cell properties of rHD/G-DPSCs with various degree of mutant htt, quantitative measurement of stemness factors (Oct-4, Nanog and Rex-1; Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}) was performed by Q-PCR. There was no different in the expression pattern of stemness factors between canine and molar derived DPSCs. However, variations in expression levels were observed among individuals (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). rHD17 and rHD18 have lower expression compared to rHD11 and rGFP.
{#F2}
Differentiation competence of rHD/GFP-DPSCs
-------------------------------------------
One of the defining characteristics of ASCs is multipotent differentiation capability. All rHD/G-DPSCs were capable of differentiating into osteogenic (Figure [1B](#F1){ref-type="fig"}), adipogenic (Figure [1C](#F1){ref-type="fig"}) and chondrogenic lineages (Figure [1D](#F1){ref-type="fig"}), which are trademark events of ASCs \[[@B24],[@B26]\] and DPSCs \[[@B3],[@B4]\]. The multipotent differentiation capability of rHD/G-DPSCs and r/G-DPSCs were similar to published reports of rhesus macaques \[[@B4],[@B23]\], chimpanzee \[[@B2]\] and humans \[[@B3],[@B24]\] ASCs. Similar to previous studies, the fat droplets in DPSCs were relatively smaller and less intense than that of BMSCs \[[@B2],[@B4]\].
The effect of mutant htt on the differentiation capacity of HD-DPSCs was further determined by quantitative measurement on the expression of lineage specific markers including osteopontin (osteogenic marker), lipoprotein lipase (adipogenic marker) and collagen II (chondrogenic marker) by Q-PCR (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). There was no detectable expression of lipoprotein lipase and collagen II prior to induction. On the other hand, osteopontin was expressed before induction and was increased in some of the DPSC lines after induction. Variations among cell lines were also observed (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F3}
Cell surface antigen profile
----------------------------
The expression profile of cell surface antigens is another method for determining the similarity between cell types and is often used to isolate ASCs. A total of 13 cell surface antigens were examined and compared to published reports. rHD/G-DPSCs were positive for CD29^+^, CD73^+^, CD90^+^, CD166^+^, CD59^+^, CD44^+^and CD105^+^, all of which are BMSC markers (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). However, markers specific for hematopoietic cells, including CD14, CD34, and CD45, were not detected (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). rHD/G-DPSCs were also negative for CD18, CD24 and CD150 (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). These results were comparable to the expression profiles of the rG-DPSCs and other higher primates (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}) \[[@B2],[@B4],[@B23],[@B24],[@B27]\]
######
Cell surface antigen profiles of ASCs derived from monkey, chimpanzee and human
rHD/G-DPSCs rDPSCs hBMSCs **ChDPSCs**\[[@B2]\] **rBMSCs**\[[@B23]\] **hDPSCs**\[[@B3]\] **hBMSCs**\[[@B24]\]
--------- -------------- --------- --------- ----------------------- ----------------------- ---------------------- -----------------------
CD14\* \- \- \- \- \- \- \-
CD18 \- \- \- \- ND ND \-
CD24 \- \- \- \- ND ND \-
CD29 \+ \+ \+ \+ \+ \+ \+
CD34\* \- \- \- \- \- \- \-
CD44 \+ \+ \+ \+ ND \+ \+
CD45\* \- \- \- \- \- \- \-
CD59 \+ \+ \+ \+ ND ND \+
CD73\* \+ \+ \+ \+ ND ND \+
CD90\* \+ \+ \+ \+ \+ ND \+
CD105\* \+ \+ \+ \+ ND ND \+
CD150 \- \- \- \- ND \- \-
CD166 \+ \+ \+ \+ \+ \+ \+
\*Important markers for hBMSCs
ND-Not Determine
Expression of mutant htt in rHD/G-DPSCs
---------------------------------------
In order to determine the effect of mutant htt on the properties of rHD/G-DPSCs, the expression of mutant htt and the formation of oligomeric htt were evaluated. Expression of mutant htt was significantly increased in all HD-DPSCs determined by Q-PCR (Figure [4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Among HD-DPSC lines, rHD17 had the highest expression of mutant *htt*, while rHD11 has the lowest (Figure [4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The formation of mutant htt aggregate was revealed by using western blotting analysis (Figure [4B](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) and immunostaining (Figure [4C](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) using mEM48, a monoclonal antibody that binds to human htt enhanced with a polyQ expansion. Nuclear inclusions and mutant htt aggregates were observed in all rHD/G-DPSCs, but not in rG-DPSCs (Figure [4C](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Among the three HD monkeys, rHD17 had the most extensive intranuclear inclusions and cytoplasmic mutant htt aggregates compared to rHD11 and rDH18. Western blotting analysis further confirmed the presence of oligomeric htt at a high molecular weight (\> 250 kD) in the upper portion of a gradient polyacrylamide gel (Figure [4C](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) in all HD-DPSC cell lines. Again, rHD17 had a more intense band than rHD11 and rHD18, suggesting the presence of more oligomeric htt. The observation of htt by immunostaining of rHD/G-DPSCs was consistent with the expression level of mutant htt determined by Q-PCR and the extent of oligomeric htt demonstrated by Western blot analysis.
{#F4}
Discussion
==========
Latest advancements in therapeutic applications of ASC have driven our interest in evaluating a patient\'s own DPSCs as an alternative source for cell therapy. Although recent studies have demonstrated the differentiation potential of DPSCs toward neuronal lineage \[[@B5],[@B6]\], in-depth characterization such as biofunctions *in vivo*will further determine the therapeutic potential of DPSC derived neural cells. While therapeutic applications of DPSCs in cell replacement therapy are at preliminary stage, continued development in differentiation protocol and *in vivo*validation are important steps. Unlike cell replacement, endogenous stem cells are expected to divide and differentiate under the influence of the DPSC graft and the microenvironment \[[@B4],[@B5],[@B12]\].
In this study, HD-DPSCs were derived from teeth buds of miscarried HD monkeys and HD monkeys that died soon after birth. While the biofunctions of HD-DPSCs may vary from those derived from adult individuals, our findings suggested rHD/G-DPSCs retain properties comparable to ASCs \[[@B3],[@B4],[@B24],[@B27]\]. Additionally, the impact of age on the biofunctions of DPSCs has not been fully addressed and it is important for determining future applications of DPSCs derived from individuals at different ages. Although we speculate the biofunctions of DPSCs will not be impacted significantly by age, the derivation efficiency of DPSCs may vary due to the number of stem cells existed in the dental pulps. While the present study is aimed to determine if DPSCs with inherited genetic defect retain ASC properties, our future goal is to determine if DPSCs derived from living HD monkeys or patients can be used to derive neuronal cell types for replacement therapy. Moreover, genetic correction of HD-DPSCs may be considered prior cell transplantation because HD-DPSCs may not have longevity and may not function in the same way as DPSCs derived from normal animals.
Multipotent differentiation capability was evaluated by *in vitro*differentiation into osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages. Differentiation into these three lineages is considered one of the basic requirements for BMSCs, which is widely applied in ASCs \[[@B24]\]. All rHD/G-DPSCs differentiated to osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages, which were comparable to rG-DPSCs and published reports (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@B2]-[@B4],[@B27],[@B28]\]. Recent studies have suggested that DPSCs are also capable of differentiating into neurons \[[@B5],[@B6],[@B8],[@B29]\]. Although the current paradigm of ASC therapy is primarily based on the homing nature of ASCs \[[@B12],[@B30],[@B31]\] and their capability of eliciting a local repair response \[[@B4],[@B12],[@B30],[@B32]\], their ability to differentiate into multiple cell types including neurons may be therapeutically relevant. While all tested cell lines were capable of differentiating into three different lineages, quantitative studies on specific lineage markers suggested variations in differentiation capacity among DPSC cell lines exists. Therefore, whether DPSCs derived from HD monkeys or normal rhesus monkeys have more preferred lineages upon differentiation cannot be concluded.
Conclusions
===========
Our results suggested that DPSCs derived from HD monkeys retain ASC properties, thus one may consider that these cells also retain biofunctions comparable to those derived from healthy individuals \[[@B4]\]. This study supports the potential future therapeutic application of DPSCs from patients with genetic disorders such as HD. We demonstrated that DPSCs from HD monkeys are comparable in all aspects that define ASCs. Thus DPSCs derived from patients with inherited genetics diseases hold great promise as an alternative source for personal cell therapy.
Methods
=======
All transgenic HD monkeys were housed under the guideline of the IACUC approved procedures and the support of the Division of Animal Resources at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC). All procedures were approved by YNPRC/Emory Animal Care and Biosafety Committees.
Generation of transgenic monkeys \[[@B22]\]
-------------------------------------------
Transgenic Huntington\'s monkeys were generated as described by Yang and colleagues \[[@B22]\]. In brief, lentiviruses carrying the Exon 1 of the htt gene containing expanded CAGs under the control of ubiquitin promoter were used to infect metaphase II arrested rhesus monkey oocytes followed by fertilization and embryo transfer into surrogate females.
Isolation and culture of DPSCs \[[@B4],[@B25]\]
-----------------------------------------------
The teeth germs/buds were recovered from monkeys miscarried at four months gestation (rHD11 and rGFP) and died soon after birth (rHD17 and rHD18). The teeth germs/buds were then digested in 3 mg/ml collagenase type I and 4 mg/ml dispase (Invitrogen, Inc) for one hour at 37°C. Single cell suspension was filtered through a 70 μm cell strainer and was then cultured in DPSC culture medium (α-MEM (Invitrogen, Inc) supplemented with 20% FBS (Atlanta Biologicals, Inc), 2 mM glutamine, 100 units/ml penicillin and 100 μg/ml streptomycin (Invitrogen, Inc.)) at 37°C with 5%CO~2~.
Adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation \[[@B2],[@B4],[@B25]\]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*For adipogenic differentiation*, cells were seeded at 400 cells/35 mm tissue culture dish and cultured for 11 days in DPSC medium. On day 11, the medium was supplemented with 5.0 μg/ml insulin, 50 μM indomethacin, 1 μM dexamethasone, and 0.5 μM IBMX, which was replaced every 3-4 days for a total of three weeks. The culture was then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) and stained with 0.0125% Oil-Red-O in isopropanol for 20 minutes at RT followed by a thorough wash and microscopic examination.
*For osteogenic differentiation*, cells were prepared as described for adipogenic differentiation until day 11. On day 11, the medium was supplemented with 1 nM dexamethasone, 50 uM L-Ascorbic acid 2-phosphate sesquimagnesium salt, 20 mM β-glycerolphosphate, and 50 ng/ml L-thyroxine sodium pentahydrate, and was replaced every 3-4 days for a total of three weeks. The culture was then fixed in 4% PFA and stained with 1% Alizarin Red S, pH 4.1 for 20 minutes at RT followed by a thorough wash and microscopic examination.
*For chondrogenic differentiation*, 2.5 × 10^5^DPSCs were centrifuged in a 15 ml conical tube at 1,000 rpm for five minutes. The pellet was maintained in a DPSC medium supplemented with ITS-plus premix (BD Biosciences) to a final concentration of 6.25 ug/ml insulin, 6.25 ug/ml transferrin, and 6.25 ng/ml selenious acid. Additionally, 5.35 ug/ml linoleic acid, 1.25 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 50 μg/ml Ascorbate 2-phosphate, 40 μg/ml L-proline, 100 μg/ml Sodium pyruvate, 100 nM Dexamethasone, 100 units/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin and 10 ng/ml TGF-β3 (R&D Systems) were also supplemented. Medium was replaced every 3-4 days for a total of four weeks. The pellets were then fixed in 4% PFA overnight. The paraffin-embedded sections (4-5 μm) were stained with 1% Alcian blue in 10% sulphuric acid solution for 15 minutes followed by a thorough wash and microscopic examination.
Quantitative Real-Time PCR (Q-PCR)
----------------------------------
RNA from cell samples was prepared using RNeasy Mini kit (Qiagen). An equal amount of total RNA was used to synthesize cDNA followed by Q-PCR using iQ5 Real-Time PCR Detection System (Bio-Rad). Specific-qPCR primer sets targeting stem cell and differentiation markers were used (Additional file [1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
Immunocytochemistry and fluorescent microscopy \[[@B22]\]
---------------------------------------------------------
Cell samples were fixed using 4% PFA, permeabilized and blocked. The expression of mutant htt was then incubated with mEM48. The mEM48 (1:200) immunoreactive product was visualized with the avidin-biotin complex kit (Vector ABC Elite). For fluorescent microscopy, the samples were examined with an Olympus BX51 epifluorescent microscope.
Western Blotting \[[@B22]\]
---------------------------
Total protein was extracted and concentrated for analysis using the Bradford Assay (Bio-Rad, Inc.). Equal amounts of the protein were boiled prior to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the proteins were transferred onto a PVDF membrane (Millipore Immobion P, Millipore, Inc.) using Bio-Rad\'s transblot. The membrane was then blocked, incubated with primary antibody, secondary antibody, and detected using Amersham\'s ECL kit (Amersham, Inc.). The amount of protein was quantified using a densitometer.
Flow cytometry analysis \[[@B2],[@B4]\]
---------------------------------------
Cell samples at 2 × 10^5^cells/tube were stained with FITC or PE-conjugated anti-CD14, -CD45, -CD59, -CD73, -CD90, -CD150, -CD166, -IgG1k, -IgG2ak (BD Pharmingen), or anti-CD18, -CD24, -CD29, -CD34, -CD44 (BD Biosciences), or anti-CD105 (eBioscience). After incubating 20 minutes at RT in the dark, cells were washed with 2 mL FACS wash solution (dPBS+1%BSA+0.1%NaN~3~) and centrifuged five minutes at 230 × g. Supernatant was removed and cells were fixed with 1% formaldehyde. All data was acquired using a FACS Calibur (Becton Dickinson) and analyzed using CellQuest (Becton Dickinson) and Flowjo software (Treestar, Inc.).
Statistical analysis
--------------------
Data analyses were carried out using the *Student*t-test.
Authors\' contributions
=======================
BRS, PHC: DPSCs culture, in vitro differentiation, molecular analysis; JJY: DPSCs derivation and culture; SHY: Histological analysis; AHCH: DPSCs derivation and conceptual design; AWSC: DPSCs derivation, *in vitro*differentiation, conceptual design, preparation and approval of manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Additional file 1
**Supplemental Methods**. Primer sets for stemness and differentiation markers.
######
Click here for file
Acknowledgements
================
We thank Dimitri Fillos and Dr. Chris C. Ibegbu for their assistance in flow cytometry analysis. We also thank Dr. X.J Li for mEM48. All protocols involving animal care and handling were approved by Emory University\'s IACUC. Yerkes National Primate Research Center is supported by the base grant No.RR-00165 awarded by the NCRR/NIH. This study is supported by grant awarded by the NCRR/NIH (RR018827-04). The authors have no commercial association that might create a conflict of interest in connection with submitted manuscript.
|
Gigatent Sand Castle Tent The Gigatent Sand Castle Tent is different than most other kids tents It is similar to a cabana and has all of the features of a great summertime hangout It is the perfect child play tent for the summertime however it is not just for children as it will work for adults too It is a great accessory to have for vacations as it includes a carry bag The Gigatent Sand Castle Tent is great for cookouts and family barbecues as it inludes pegs for use on grass or dirt more ...
Discontinued
Features
Gigatent Sand Castle Tent The Gigatent Sand Castle Tent is different than most other kids tents. It is similar to a cabana and has all of the features of a great summertime hangout. It is the perfect child play tent for the summertime however it is not just for children as it will work for adults too. It is a great accessory to have for vacations as it includes a carry bag. The door of the kid tent when open acts an extended floor area which is great for the beach or the lake where sand is a problem. Three mesh windows help keep air flowing through on those really hot summer days. The kids tent also includes pockets for small things perfect for storing sunscreens and lotions. The Gigatent Sand Castle Tent is great for cookouts and family barbecues as it inludes pegs for use on grass or dirt.
Features
3 Mesh windows in the walls of the kids tent to provide circulation
6 Five in. steel pegs are included
Doubles as a great changing room
Floor of the kid tent is made of polyethylene
Kid play tent can be closed with 2 zippers on the sides of the door
Pockets for small things are also attached to prevent cluttering
Sand pockets are included separating it from other versions of kids tents
Simple 3 pole cabana
Simple 3 pole cabana~Kid play tent can be closed with 2 zippers on the sides of the door
Stakes are also provided with this kid play tent for grass or dirt use
Wall and fly fabric of the child play tent are made of polyester
Dimensions: 84 x 48 x 42 in.~Weight: 5 lbs
When the door of the child play tent is open it can double as an extended floor area |
Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 1 Moral Normative Force and Clinical Ethics Expertise Brummett and Salter propose a useful and timely taxonomy of clinical ethics expertise (2019). As the field becomes further "professionalized" this taxonomy is important, and the core of it is right. It needs some refinement around the edges, however. In their conclusion, Brummett and Salter rightly point out that there is a significant difference between the ethicist whose recommendations are procedureand process-heavy, consensus-driven, and dialogical and the authoritarian ethicist whose recommendations flow from "private moral views" (Brummett and Salter, 2019). This admission doesn't go far enough. Brummett and Salter's taxonomy fails to capture the notion that offering recommendations whose normative force is moral is different in kind from recommendations whose normative force is non-moral, such as those recommendations that are free of moral content or justified by convention. The difference is in kind, not scale. I argue further that clinical ethics expertise, if possible, consists at least in offering recommendations whose normative force is moral. These two claims imply that the taxonomy fails to cut clinical ethics expertise at the joints: the ethicist who offers justified nonmoral normative recommendations is a different kind of ethicist from the one who offers justified moral normative recommendations, yet both are categorized as clinical ethics experts. I finish by offering a refinement of the taxonomy that more precisely categorizes clinical ethicists. Brummett and Salter's taxonomy starts by answering the question, "Can clinical ethicists offer justified normative recommendations in active patient cases?" At a general level, we can make a distinction between conventional norms and moral norms. What separates moral norms from conventional norms is that, unlike conventional norms such as norms associated with etiquette, moral norms exhibit distinctive features such as universal applicability and independence from authority (Nichols, 2004; Huebner, Lee, and Hauser, 2010). Children begin Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 2 making the distinction between the conventional and the moral very early in their development (Nichols, 2004). Importantly, these are not the same type of norm on either ends of a scale. The norm that one ought to not burp in public is different in kind from the norm that one ought to not harm another person. Conventional norms are of course prevalent in medicine generally and hospitals specifically. Norms relating to the building of consensus arguably are conventional, as there is no logical relation between agreement among a group of people and morally right action (except the relation of inequality). But there are also multiple types of normativity that might be involved in making clinical recommendations. Clinical ethicists often make recommendations embedding epistemic normativity, such as prescriptions for what the team ought to believe given the evidence or prescriptions for what evidence ought to be gathered. For examples, ethicists might recommend that the patient's decisional capacity should be assessed or that the treating team should take no irreversible action until the patient's condition "declares" itself. Ethicists might also make recommendations embedding political prescriptions, such as those prescriptions that hospital policies generate. Prescriptions might also be merely practical. Or, they might be moral: withdrawal of treatment is permissible because it's permissible to withhold treatment and withdrawal and withholding are morally equivalent; the physician is obligated to stop CPR because it will only harm the patient; the physician may not compel treatment for a patient who is competently and capably refusing that treatment. These are all different kinds of normativity. The moral/conventional distinction offers one way to distinguish them; unlike conventional norms, moral norms are universally applicable and authority-independent. But there are other differences. Epistemic, political, and practical prescriptions are all goal-oriented: if you want to achieve some aim (e.g., having true beliefs, following hospital policy, discharging the patient), then you should do this or do that. But moral Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 3 prescriptions may not be necessarily goal-oriented. Furthermore, moral prescriptions, but not other kinds of prescriptions, embed terms relating to or derived from fundamental moral values such as pleasures, pains, harms, benefits, duties, virtues, boo and yay. But other prescriptions need not embed moral values at all. Given that there are different kinds of normativity, recommendations have different normative force. Recommendations that one ought to believe something or gather evidence have epistemic normative force; recommendations to have a family meeting have practical normative force; recommendations to refuse a patient's request for ECMO have moral normative force. Although all of these recommendations are in the proper domain of a clinical ethicist, only those recommendations whose normative force is moral are the mark of the ethicist. If what 'clinical ethicist' refers to is any different than what 'clinical proceduralist' or 'clinical consensus builder' refers to, it must refer to the person who makes clinical recommendations whose normative force is moral. The notions that there are different kinds of normativity and that clinical ethicists are those people who make clinical recommendations whose normative force is moral highlight an incompleteness of Brummett and Salter's taxonomy. Consider a person whose recommendations are entirely procedure-focused, consensus-dominated, process-heavy, justified by conventional norms, and communicated dialogically. The normative force of the recommendation is conventional, stemming from hospital policies and how they are followed. Indeed, given that the recommendation is dominated by consensus, it's a stretch to say that it is even the ethicist's recommendation rather the other parties to consensus or the authors of the policy. This is not the profile of an expert in clinical ethics. Anyone suitably situated in the hospital hierarchy with good knowledge of hospital policy and open channels of communication can make such recommendations. That is, it could be a nurse manager, risk manager, a social worker with years Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 4 of experience, a physician with no additional training in ethics, or any number of people who have never heard of Kant or Mill (much less Timmons), the Belmont Report, or the ASBH's HEC-Cs. But such a person would count as an expert clinical ethicist, according to Brummett and Salter's taxonomy. Contrast this person with the person who takes in a consult, gathers all of the relevant information from the relevant people, writes a note in the patient's chart detailing a recommended course of action based on how the medical facts interact with moral philosophy, then communicates that recommendation to the treatment team. This is a different kind of recommendation-a different kind of expertise-and the difference lies in the normative force of the recommendation. A proper taxonomy ought to account for this difference in kind. Brummett and Salter's taxonomy is close to properly parsing clinical ethics expertise. There are multiple ways the taxonomy might be revised. The first distinction in their taxonomy is whether clinical ethicists can make justified normative recommendations at all. My suggestion is to parse ethicists by kind of normative force at the next level of distinction. If one answers 'Yes' to the first question, branching out to the Positive Views, the second question ought to be, "Can the person make recommendations whose normative force is moral?" If the answer is 'Yes', then it may be appropriate to consider the person a clinical ethics expert and categorize them further according to Brummett and Salter's existing taxonomy. If the answer to that second question is 'No,' then although the person ought not be considered a clinical ethics expert, they still may make justified normative recommendations. It is possible that the answer to the second question will always be 'No,' in which case there would be no experts in clinical ethics, but still people who can make justified normative recommendations. Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 5 However, a negative answer to this second question does not imply a negative answer to the first question. While some people might not be able to offer justified clinical recommendations with moral normative force, they might still be able to offer justified clinical recommendations whose normative force is non-moral, such as those people who make recommendations with purely epistemic, political, or conventional normative force. One might agree that there are some justified normative recommendations, which branches out to the Positive View, but that the normative force of these recommendations is non-moral, which is a branch distinct from those ethicists whose recommendations have moral normative force. In other words, there ought to be two branches out of the Positive Views, one branch that includes those people whose recommendations have moral normative force (experts) and one branch that includes those people whose recommendations have non-moral normative force. Being able to make recommendations whose normative force is moral is necessary for being an expert in clinical ethics, though it is not sufficient. As any clinical ethicist can attest, doing clinical ethics involves a much wider range of skills. And as the field becomes further professionalized, it is equally important to note that although obtaining the HEC-C may suffice for clinical ethics competence, obtaining the HEC-C does not impart upon one the ability to make recommendations whose normative force is moral. Thus, obtaining the HEC-C does not suffice for expertise in clinical ethics. It is a further question whether being able to make recommendations whose normative force is moral is also necessary for competence in clinical ethics. References Brummett A. and Salter E. 2019. Taxonomizing Views of Clinical Ethics Expertise. American Journal of Bioethics. Huebner B, Lee J, and Hauser M. 2010. The Moral-Conventional Distinction in Mature Moral Competence. Journal of Cognition and Culture 10 (1–2): 1–26. Penultimate draft: Please cite final version in American Journal of Bioethics 6 Nichols S. 2004. Sentimental Rules: On the Natural Foundations of Moral Judgment. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
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HIRSCHAUER: The Apocalypse That Never Comes
Christ insisted that “no one knows the day or hour” when the Son of Man shall return to call history to a close. Easy for Him to say; He could have never foreseen the nomination of an Originalist to the Supreme Court.
Much has been written about the cataclysmic fantasies of the American Left, and Mitch McConnell spoke of such fatalism on the floor of the Senate last Monday, noting how “the apocalypse” Democrats inevitably warn about “never comes.” Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court by a duly elected President was automatically branded a threat to thousands of lives and even the republic itself; Yale law students and alumni proclaimed in an open letter that “Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination presents an emergency — for democratic life, for our safety and freedom, for the future of our country.”
It is the apocalypse, forerun by the possible reversal of an erroneous Supreme Court decision — a First World cataclysm if there ever was one. And if Armageddon’s harbinger is the removal of a judicially constructed “right” to kill an unborn child, count me among the horsemen.
To a political movement that asserts that free speech is violence, the reversal of Progress™ is an act of war. Mere opposition to the Left’s promised utopia is, in its eyes, indistinguishable from actual, physical violence. Jimmy Kimmel Live writer Bess Kalb made this quite clear when she stated that the “Federalist Society is currently a bigger threat to the basic safety of Americans than MS-13.”
MS-13 is, of course, a criminal gang of mostly illegal aliens whose numerous homicides throughout the country routinely involve unspeakable acts of sadism and torture. But in Kalb’s calculation, a non-profit group committed to upholding the Constitution as written is a bigger threat to the lives of Americans than an organized gang of criminal aliens willing rip a man’s heart from his decapitated body and toss it into his open grave.
The presumed “threat” posed by a judicial Originalist is, among other things, to the fate of a hypothetical woman seeking to kill her unborn child in a red state following the reversal of the legally indefensible decision made in Roe. Will it be difficult or dangerous for such a woman to kill her child in this hypothetically post-apocalyptic North Dakota? Perhaps. But I’m hardly willing to proclaim the imminence of Judgment Day on that basis, and indeed suggest we bring ourselves closer to it should we continue to allow the state-sanctioned slaughter of unborn children.
This iteration of doomsday-mongering from progressive prophets is no different than the last “apocalypse” when taxes on working families were reduced, or decades ago when the now-beloved Anthony Kennedy was nominated. “No one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself,” or even Chuck Schumer. |
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A Game Of Dominoes
Firemen Falling Fast
Land lines are ringing, cell phones are singing, e-mail boxes are full! Can you smell it? The delectable aroma of the Winter Meetings is wafting towards us. Monday, is the first official day of the grand pow-wow in Dallas and with another bottle of beer falling off the wall seemingly every other day, one of the main questions for general managers (GMs) is, will there be any closers left on the market by then? While front offices all around the league continue to engage in chess matches, poker faces are starting to crack and the game of the week is Dominoes. Over the past seven days we have seen four firemen vanish from the "available" list. The Mets’ signing of Billy Wagner and the Jays’ signing of B.J. Ryan has established the top end of the closer market. On the heels of those two mega-deals, the Yankees pounced on Kyle Farnsworthafter the Phillies pursuaded Tom Gordon to leave the Big Apple for Cheesesteak Land. That leaves four teams in dire need of an end-game solution and only three established firemen to choose from.
The Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians, the Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres are playing the part of the Missing Closers Bureau. Trevor Hoffman,Todd JonesandBob Wickmanare the last three solid closer options available and all of them are now overvalued. The options after those three are not particularly appetizing—Jose Mesa’sdays as a closer are near the end and he seems to have crossed into Uggie Urbina territory, a set-up man who is still considered a closer only because of past deeds. Speaking of Ugueth Urbina, he is available again but there is a reason for that. His perennial free-agent status speaks volumes about his reliability. Being charged with attempted murder doesn’t help his marketability. Braden Loopercan be had, but as any Mets’ fan can tell you, he’s only a closer because of attrition. No, the closer market is rail thin and extremely expensive. Small market teams like the Pirates, Reds and Royals will most likely fill their closer role from within because of the sky rocketing prices. Making matters more dire is the great lack of set-up men on the market. The Yankees have already given Farnsworth almost $18 million to set-up for Mariano. A lot of teams who missed out on him might fill their set-up roles with the remaining closers. The Rangers, Tigers, Mariners, Cardinals, Rockies, Red Sox and Giants are all looking for substantial set-up options and will compete with the Missing Closers Bureau for their services. Let’s take a look now at the possible destinations of the remaining firemen and where some teams might place down the stretch in the 2006 Closer Derby.
Trevor Hoffman
Hoffman is by far the best of the remaining fireman. Tough he is 38 years old, Trevor has shown no signs of diminishing skills (thanks to the best changeup in baseball). He actually tied his career high for saves (43) last year and has saved over 40 games in five of his last six full seasons. San Diego has been virtually the only home Hoffman has known in his illustrious career, but it will be difficult for the Pads to hold onto him unless they add a third year to their latest offer. The Indians have been San Diego’s main competitor so far and GM Mark Shapiro has shown he wants to add veteran leadership to his young Tribes’ roster. The Atlanta Braves have also kept an eye on Hoffman and would probably intensify their interest if they fail to re-sign Rafael Furcal.
Cabbie PickCleveland IndiansI think Shapiro knows how close his Indians are to winning the American League (AL) Central. He also knows that Trevor is not a power pitcher, so age shouldn’t be a deterrent. Then there is the extra allure of Hoffman’s pursuit to pass Lee Smith as the all-time saves leader (only 42 saves behind). Cleveland’s attendance figures would spike as Hoffman approaches the record. So, I predict Shapiro outbids San Diego in a move that could make the Cleveland Indians the favorites in their division.
Todd Jones
Last season Jones revisited his Detroit days and was one of the top closers in baseball. Though he saved 40 games, many teams are looking at him for a set-up role. The Tigers, Rangers and Cardinals have shown the most interest and all have established closers. The Orioles, Reds, Braves, Yankees and Indians have also inquired about his services. So, the chances of Jones closing next year are about 60/40. The problem with Jones is he doesn’t have a dominating pitch, he will be 38 years old when the season begins and until last season he hadn’t had an earned run average (ERA) under four since 2000. He is probably going to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the exploding closer market.
Cabbie PickAtlanta BravesTough call! He probably won’t sign until after Hoffman and he should have the spotlight on him at the Winter Meetings. I’m going to make the Braves the frontrunners here. Since I think they’ll miss out on Trevor, I’m guessing that GM John Schuerholz gets aggressive and makes sure the Atlanta Braves cover one of their biggest needs. The Cardinals are committed to upgrading their bullpen and have been in close contact with Jones’ agent, so don’t be surprised if they snag him to set-up for Jason Isringhausen. The Reds, Tigers and Orioles are also very much in play as destinations for Mr. Jones.
Bob Wickman
Just when you think the flame is going out on Wick, he reemerges. Wickman had his best season ever and led the AL with 45 saves in 2005 (tied with Francico Rodriquez). He is two years younger than Hoffman and Jones and has been one of the best ground ball specialists in the game for the past 13 seasons. Some teams are skeptical of Wickman’s health, but he is now over two years removed from Tommy John surgery and his elbow certainly held up well last season. There has been very little Wickman banter through the grapevine, but that should change in Dallas this week. The Indians are still interested in bringing him back, but their interest seems to wane with every new Hoffman rumor.
Cabbie PickBaltimore OriolesOther than some talks with the Indians, there is really very little insight into where Wickman could go. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees turn nostalgic and make a go at him—they have shown a penchant for bringing relievers back before (Mike Stanton, Jeff Nelson…). The Cardinals should enter the fray, and Texas is seemingly interested in every reliever out there. But, my pick is that he signs with the Baltimore Orioles. This seems like a perfect fit. Wickman’s sinking fastball would help temper the threat of late-inning homeruns in the Baltimore bandbox, Camden Yards.
Jose Mesa, Ugueth Urbina, Braden Looper
Personally, I don’t think any of them will end up as a closer this season. Urbina has the most talent of the three and is still only 31 years old, but I doubt a team is willing to hand over the closer job to him until his legal problems are straightened out and by that time it might be too late. Mesa and Looper are two names that continually show up on the Rangers’ radar. Both will probably be signed as middle relievers and should be the last two of the potential closers to sign.
Cabbie PickWho Knows!Someone will sign Urbina in the Spring if he is not convicted, but as of now it’s impossible to say who. I say the Rangers sign Mesa if they don’t get Jones. As for Looper, I’m just hoping Omar Minaya doesn’t bring him back to Flushing. |
#include <stdio.h>
#include "protos.h"
#include "protos_kpp.h"
#include "kpp_data.h"
int
change_chem_Makefile ( )
{
knode_t * p1, * p2, * pm1;
FILE * ch_Makefile, * t_Makefile;
char inln[NAMELEN];
char kname[NAMELEN];
char * org_Mf = "chem/Makefile_org";
char * t_Mf = "chem/Makefile.temp";
char * Mf = "chem/Makefile";
char cp_command[NAMELEN];
char sub_string[NAMELEN];
char *p_string;
int slen;
int nchem_opts = 0;
int chem_opts_cnt;
ch_Makefile = fopen(org_Mf, "r" );
t_Makefile = fopen(t_Mf, "w" );
sprintf( cp_command,"cp %s %s",t_Mf,Mf);
fprintf(t_Makefile,"# \n");
fprintf(t_Makefile,"# MANUAL CHANGES TO THIS FILE WILL BE LOST \n");
fprintf(t_Makefile,"# ... EDIT Makefile_org INSTEAD ...\n");
fprintf(t_Makefile,"# this file was written by gen_kpp.c \n\n");
/* loop over lines in chem/Makefile */
while ( fgets ( inln , NAMELEN , ch_Makefile ) != NULL ){
/* printf("%s ", inln ); */
fprintf(t_Makefile, inln);
/* if ( strncmp(inln, "MODULES",6) == 0){ */
if ( strncmp(inln, " module_data_sorgam_vbs",29) == 0){
for ( p1 = KPP_packs ; p1 != NULL ; p1 = p1->next ) {
p2 = p1->assoc_wrf_pack;
if ( p2 ) {
strcpy( kname, p1->name );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_Integr.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_Precision.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_Jacobian.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_JacobianSP.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_Update_Rconst.o \\\n",kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_kpp_%s_interface.o \\\n",kname );
}
}
fprintf(t_Makefile, " module_wkppc_constants.o \\\n");
}
if ( strncmp(inln, "# DEPENDENCIES",14) == 0){
for ( p1 = KPP_packs ; p1 != NULL ; p1 = p1->next,nchem_opts++ ) {
p2 = p1->assoc_wrf_pack;
if ( p2 ) {
strcpy( kname, p1->name );
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o: module_kpp_%s_Precision.o \n\n",kname, kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_kpp_%s_Update_Rconst.o: module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o \n\n",kname, kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_kpp_%s_Jacobian.o: module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o module_kpp_%s_JacobianSP.o \n\n",kname, kname, kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_kpp_%s_Integr.o: module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o module_kpp_%s_Jacobian.o module_kpp_%s_JacobianSP.o module_kpp_%s_Update_Rconst.o module_wkppc_constants.o \n\n",kname, kname, kname, kname, kname );
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_kpp_%s_interface.o: module_kpp_%s_Parameters.o module_kpp_%s_Precision.o module_kpp_%s_Integr.o module_kpp_%s_Update_Rconst.o module_wkppc_constants.o \n\n",kname, kname, kname, kname, kname );
}
}
fprintf(t_Makefile, "module_wkkpc_constants.o:\n\n");
p_string = sub_string;
chem_opts_cnt = 0;
sprintf( sub_string,"kpp_mechanism_driver.o: " );
for ( p1 = KPP_packs ; p1 != NULL ; p1 = p1->next ) {
p2 = p1->assoc_wrf_pack;
if ( p2 ) {
chem_opts_cnt++;
strcpy( kname, p1->name );
slen = strlen( sub_string );
sprintf( p_string+slen,"module_kpp_%s_interface.o ",kname );
slen = strlen( sub_string );
if( slen > 90 ) {
if( chem_opts_cnt < nchem_opts ) sprintf( p_string+slen,"\\");
fprintf(t_Makefile, "%s\n", sub_string );
sprintf( sub_string,"\t" );
}
}
}
slen = strlen( sub_string );
if( slen > 1 ) fprintf(t_Makefile, "%s\n\n", sub_string );
}
if ( strncmp(inln, "OBJS",3) == 0){
fprintf(t_Makefile, "\tkpp_mechanism_driver.o \\\n");
}
}
fclose( t_Makefile );
fclose( ch_Makefile );
system(cp_command);
}
|
629 F.3d 213 (2010)
In re INTERBANK FUNDING CORP. SECURITIES LITIGATION,
Monica Belizan, and All Others Similarly Situated, et al., Appellants
v.
Radin Glass & Co, LLP, Appellee.
No. 09-7167.
United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.
Argued September 24, 2010.
Decided December 28, 2010.
*214 Michael G. McLellan argued the cause for appellants. With him on the briefs were Burton H. Finkelstein, Donald J. Enright, and Tracy D. Rezvani.
Michael L. Martinez argued the cause and filed the brief for appellee.
Before: KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judge, EDWARDS and SILBERMAN, Senior Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge EDWARDS.
EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge:
In 2002, plaintiff-appellant Monica Belizan, on behalf of herself and a class of similarly situated persons, filed a complaint against, inter alia, defendant-appellee Radin Glass & Co., LLP ("Radin"). Belizan alleged that she purchased securities of InterBank Funding Corporation ("Interbank"), and, in doing so, relied on materially false misrepresentations and *215 omissions by Radin, Interbank's auditor, made in violation of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. After Belizan consolidated her action with a related action in 2003, the District Court granted a motion to dismiss filed by Radin and then-defendant CIBC World Markets Corp. ("CIBC"). In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 329 F.Supp.2d 84 (D.D.C.2004). This court vacated the District Court's order of dismissal, because the District Court failed to adequately explain why it dismissed the appellants' complaint with prejudice. Belizan v. Hershon ("Belizan I"), 434 F.3d 579 (D.C.Cir.2006). On remand, the District Court again dismissed the appellants' suit, because there was no indication that appellants would be able to cure the deficiencies in their pleadings. In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 432 F.Supp.2d 51, 55 (D.D.C.2006). On appeal, this court again vacated in part and remanded the section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 claims for the District Court to re-evaluate the appellants' allegations of scienter. Belizan v. Hershon ("Belizan II"), 495 F.3d 686, 691-92 (D.C.Cir.2007).
Before the District Court for the third time, appellants moved for leave to amend their complaint against Radin pursuant to FED.R.CIV.P. 15(a). The District Court denied the motion and again dismissed appellants' suit with prejudice. In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 668 F.Supp.2d 44 (D.D.C.2009). The District Court held that the appellants' proposed amendment was futile because the draft complaint failed to adequately plead the reliance element of a securities fraud claimi.e., "the causal link between the defendant's misconduct and the plaintiff[s'] decision to buy... securities," Emergent Capital Inv. Mgmt., LLC. v. Stonepath Grp., Inc., 343 F.3d 189, 197 (2d Cir.2003). Appellants argue that the District Court erred in its decision not to apply the "Affiliated Ute presumption" of reliance. See Affiliated Ute Citizens v. United States, 406 U.S. 128, 153, 92 S.Ct. 1456, 31 L.Ed.2d 741 (1972). Had the District Court found the presumption applicable, appellants' amended complaint would have properly pled all elements of a cause of action under SEC Rule 10b-5.
We agree with the District Court that the Affiliated Ute presumption is inapplicable here. In Affiliated Ute, the Supreme Court applied a presumption of reliance in a situation "involving primarily a failure to disclose." 406 U.S. at 153, 92 S.Ct. 1456. Appellants contend that because their action primarily relies on Radin's alleged omissions, they should benefit from a presumption of reliance. We disagree. The complaint is focused on appellants' claim that Interbank's financial statements, which Radin attested were accurate and in accord with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), did not reveal Interbank's alleged "Ponzi scheme." Thus, the gravamen of the appellants' complaint is that, by certifying Interbank's materially false financial statements, Radin affirmatively misrepresented Interbank's financial situation. Because, as appellants concede, the Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance does not apply to affirmative misrepresentations, appellants' proposed amendment to their complaint would be futile. We therefore affirm the District Court's order denying appellants' motion for leave to amend.
I. BACKGROUND
"[A] district court has discretion to deny a motion to amend on grounds of futility where the proposed pleading would not survive a motion to dismiss." Nat'l Wrestling Coaches Ass'n v. Dep't of Educ., 366 F.3d 930, 945 (D.C.Cir.2004). Consequently "our review in this instance is, for *216 practical purposes, identical to review of a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal based on the allegations in the amended complaint." Platten v. HG Bermuda Exempted Ltd., 437 F.3d 118, 132 (1st Cir.2006). On review of a motion to dismiss, we "treat the complaint's factual allegations as true ... and must grant [appellants] the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged." Holy Land Found. for Relief & Dev. v. Ashcroft, 333 F.3d 156, 165 (D.C.Cir.2003) (ellipsis in original) (citation and quotation omitted). Therefore, the facts recited below are drawn from appellants' proposed amended complaint.
Interbank was formed in 1996 with the purpose of buying distressed loans and restructuring or rehabilitating those loans for a profit. Proposed Second Consolidated Am. Class Action Compl. for Violation of the Fed. Securities Laws ¶ 26 ("Second Amended Complaint"), No. 1:02-cv-01490 (D.D.C. Oct. 20, 2008), reprinted in Appendix ("App.") 62. Between 1996 and 1999, Interbank formed a succession of wholly-owned funds that offered private placement notes to investors. Id. ¶ 19, App. 60. These were five-year notes that bore interest between eight and twelve percent annually, plus a share of the fund's gross profits. Id. Shortly after the first fund commenced operations, Interbank established a "related party transaction policy," under which Interbank itself purchased a loan from a fund if there was a question about whether the loan would be collected before the fund's scheduled liquidation. Id. ¶ 42, App. 65-66. With respect to these transactions, Interbank paid the fund the full amount outstanding on an acquired loan even if the loan was uncollectable. Id. ¶ 43, App. 66. As a result, the fact that a loan had gone bad was not disclosed to prospective investors to the Interbank fund that sold the loan, id. ¶ 44, App. 66, and Interbank was able to tap fresh offering proceeds to pay off earlier noteholders, id. ¶ 46, App. 66-67.
Although Radin publicly attested to the accuracy of Interbank's balance sheets and private placement memoranda on many occasionstypically averring that these documents were "in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles," id. ¶¶ 52-71, App. 68-77Radin did not comply with GAAP or Generally Accepted Auditing Standards ("GAAS") in its audits. For example, Radin endorsed financial statements that did not disclose Interbank's related-party transfers, id. ¶ 82, App. 80; Radin reviewed financial documents that did not disclose specific amounts of one of the funds' loan losses, id. ¶ 91-94, App. 82; and the audited financial statements did not state that some of the Interbank funds were co-obligors with Interbank on a line of credit, id. ¶ 115, App. 86. Appellants' complaint also alleges that "superimposed over each of these misrepresentations is a single constant omission: the class members were not informed they were investing in a Ponzi scheme." Id. ¶ 76, App. 79.
Belizan first filed a complaint against Radin and numerous other defendants in July 2002, alleging violations of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5 ("Section 10 claims"). Compl. for Violation of the Fed. Securities Laws, No. 1:02-cv-01490 (D.D.C. July 26, 2002). Belizan's complaint was consolidated with a related action, and, in September 2003, the named plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against, inter alia, Radin and broker-dealer CIBC. In addition to the Section 10 claims, this complaint alleged violations of section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Section 11 claims"), 15 U.S.C. § 77k, against Radin for filing a series of materially false and misleading registration statements. Consolidated Am. Class Action Compl. for Violation of the Fed. Securities Laws, No. 1:02-cv-01490 (D.D.C. Sept. 29, 2003).
*217 The District Court granted Radin and CIBC's motion to dismiss all of the appellants' claims with prejudice. In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 329 F.Supp.2d 84 (D.D.C.2004). In particular, the District Court disposed of appellants' Section 10 claims on the grounds that they failed to adequately plead scienter or causation, and did not plead with the particularity required by FED.R.CIV.P. 9(b) and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Id. at 94. The court also dismissed the Section 11 claims. Id. at 94-95. This court vacated the District Court's order of dismissal and remanded because the District Court "fail[ed] adequately to explain... why it dismissed Belizan's complaint with prejudice." Belizan I, 434 F.3d at 584 (emphasis added).
On remand, the District Court again dismissed all claims against Radin and CIBCexplaining that it was dismissing the claims with prejudice because "there was no indication that plaintiffs were capable of making additional allegations, consistent with their prior pleadings, that would cure the deficiencies in the claims against CIBC and Radin." In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 432 F.Supp.2d 51, 55 (D.D.C.2006). Back before this court on appeal, we vacated the District Court's order in part. We affirmed the District Court's dismissal of the Section 11 claims. Belizan II, 495 F.3d at 692-93. With respect to the Section 10 claims, however, we noted that the allegations in appellants' proposed complaint concerning scienter "specifically allege[d] that CIBC and Radin had access to particular pieces of information that would have revealed [Interbank]'s allegedly fraudulent and GAAP violating inter-fund transfers." Id. at 692 (quotation omitted). We therefore remanded for the District Court to evaluate appellants' pleading in light of Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007), in which the Supreme Court held that a "`strong inference' of scienter ... `must be more than merely plausible or reasonableit must be cogent and at least as compelling as any opposing inference of nonfraudulent intent.'" Belizan II, 495 F.3d at 691 (quoting Tellabs, 551 U.S. at 314, 127 S.Ct. 2499).
Following our remand, the District Court approved a settlement agreement between appellants and CIBC, leaving Radin as the lone remaining defendant. In the meantime, appellants moved to file a proposed amended complaint against Radin under FED.R.CIV.P. 15(a). The proposed complaint alleged only Section 10 claims. The District Court denied the motion on the ground that the proposed amendment would be futile because it did not adequately plead reliance. In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 668 F.Supp.2d 44 (D.D.C.2009). The appellants proffered three legal theories as to why they had sufficiently alleged reliance: (1) they had properly pled direct reliance; (2) they were entitled to a presumption of reliance under Affiliated Ute; and (3) they were entitled to a presumption of reliance through the "fraud-created-the-market" theory.
The District Court rejected all three arguments. The trial court easily disposed of appellants' allegations of direct reliance, noting that appellants did not seriously contest this point. Id. at 49 & n. 5. The District Court then pointed out that the Affiliated Ute presumption applies when reliance is impossible to prove, a situation not present in this case:
Reliance is not "impossible to prove" in this case because Radin did offer positive statements: Radin repeatedly declared that Interbank's financial disclosures were materially fair and in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles. Indeed, plaintiffs' proposed amended complaint lists *218 at least eighteen separate affirmative statements by Radin certifying the Interbank funds' balance sheets.
Id. at 51. The District Court also noted that the Affiliated Ute presumption does not apply "[w]here positive statements form a central part of the alleged fraud such that the evidentiary problems inherent in proving reliance on a nondisclosure are not present." Id. (brackets in original) (quotation omitted). Finally, the District Court refused to apply the fraud-created-the-market presumption of reliance, finding that, even assuming the validity of the fraud-created-the-market theorywhich some circuits have applied "to those cases in which the securities were not qualified legally to be issued, and ... there was a scheme to defraud or act to defraud," e.g., T.J. Raney & Sons, Inc. v. Fort Cobb, 717 F.2d 1330, 1333 (10th Cir.1983)appellants did not connect Radin's alleged fraud to the securities' unmarketability. In re Interbank Funding Corp. Sec. Litig., 668 F.Supp.2d at 52-53.
Appellants timely appealed the District Court's decision to deny their motion, contesting only the District Court's refusal to invoke the Affiliated Ute presumption.
II. ANALYSIS
Rule 15(a)(2) instructs district courts to "freely give leave [to amend a pleading] when justice so requires." FED. R.CIV.P. 15(a)(2). "When the district court denies a motion for leave to amend under Rule 15(a), we review its decision for abuse of discretion bearing in mind that the rule is to be construed liberally." Belizan I, 434 F.3d at 582 (citation omitted). However, a district court may properly deny a motion to amend if the amended pleading would not survive a motion to dismiss. See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962) (noting that "futility of amendment" is permissible justification for denying Rule 15(a) motion); see also Platten v. HG Bermuda Exempted Ltd., 437 F.3d 118, 132 (1st Cir.2006) (noting that review in a case of this sort is akin "to review of a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal based on the allegations in [an] amended complaint"). In these circumstances, the standard of review is de novo. See Gonzalez-Vera v. Townley, 595 F.3d 379, 381 (D.C.Cir.2010) (standard of review for motion to dismiss).
"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citation and quotation omitted). For legal conclusions, however, "the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable." Id.
Appellants, on appeal, seek reversal of the District Court's denial of their Rule 15(a) motion on the ground that they properly pled all elements of a cause of action under SEC Rule 10b-5. Rule 10b-5 makes it unlawful for any person, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security:
(a) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud,
(b) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or
(c) To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.
*219 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. To prevail under Rule 10b-5, the appellants here must demonstrate, in connection with their purchase of Interbank securities, that (1) a material misrepresentation or omission was made "with an intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud"; (2) they reasonably relied on that misrepresentation or omission; and (3) they suffered an economic loss as a result. Media Gen., Inc. v. Tomlin, 532 F.3d 854, 858 (D.C.Cir.2008) (quotation omitted). Only the reliance prong of this test is at issue in this appeal.
In Affiliated Ute, the Supreme Court permitted the plaintiffs to benefit from a presumption of reliance. Affiliated Ute involved a bank that served as the transfer agent for all shares of a stock that had been issued to each "mixed-blood" member of the Ute Indian Tribe. The stock represented, inter alia, "all unadjudicated or unliquidated claims against the United States" and "all gas, oil, and mineral rights of every kind ... to which the mixed-blood members of the said tribe [were entitled]." 406 U.S. at 136, 92 S.Ct. 1456. Two assistant managers of the bank devised a scheme to purchase shares from mixed-bloods for themselves and other non-Indians for less than fair market value. Id. at 148, 92 S.Ct. 1456. The Court held that the managers possessed an affirmative duty, under SEC Rule 10b-5, to disclose to the mixed-blood sellers that they had a financial interest in the transactions. Id. at 153, 92 S.Ct. 1456. The Court explained:
It is no answer to urge that, as to some of the petitioners, these defendants may have made no positive representation or recommendation. The defendants may not stand mute while they facilitate the mixed-bloods' sales to those seeking to profit in the non-Indian market the defendants had developed and encouraged and with which they were fully familiar. The sellers had the right to know that the defendants were in a position to gain financially from their sales and that their shares were selling for a higher price in that market.
Id. The Court then held that "[u]nder the circumstances of this case, involving primarily a failure to disclose, positive proof of reliance is not a prerequisite to recovery." Id.
The Third Circuit has applied the Affiliated Ute presumption in a case involving (1) failures to disclose, i.e., "pure omissions"; and (2) failures to clarify "true but misleading statements" relating to investment research, i.e., "half-truths, which, although analytically closer to lies than to nondisclosure, are obviously closer to omissions than are pure misrepresentations." Hoxworth v. Blinder, Robinson & Co., 903 F.2d 186, 202 (3d Cir.1990) (citation, ellipsis, and internal quotation marks omitted). The Second and Tenth Circuits likewise have not followed a formulaic approach in these mixed cases, applying the presumption when reliance on a negative would be practically impossible to prove. Joseph v. Wiles, 223 F.3d 1155, 1162 (10th Cir.2000); Wilson v. Comtech Telecomms. Corp., 648 F.2d 88, 93 (2d Cir.1981). On the other hand, the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have applied the Affiliated Ute presumption more restrictively. Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Credit Suisse First Boston (USA), Inc., 482 F.3d 372, 384 (5th Cir.2007) ("primarily based on omissions"); Binder v. Gillespie, 184 F.3d 1059, 1064 (9th Cir.1999) ("cases that primarily allege omissions"); Cox v. Collins, 7 F.3d 394, 396 (4th Cir.1993) ("only nondisclosure"); Cavalier Carpets, Inc. v. Caylor, 746 F.2d 749, 756 (11th Cir.1984) ("primarily omission cases").
No court of appeals has applied the Affiliated Ute presumption in a case involving a claim that primarily alleges affirmative misrepresentations. See, e.g., Johnston v. HBO Film Mgmt., Inc., 265 *220 F.3d 178, 192 (3d Cir.2001) ("[N]o presumption arises in cases of alleged misrepresentations."); Joseph, 223 F.3d at 1162 ("Affiliated Ute's holding is limited to omissions as opposed to affirmative misrepresentations."); Akin v. Q-L Invs., Inc., 959 F.2d 521, 529 (5th Cir.1992) ("The Ute presumption, however, operates only in omissions cases, not where plaintiffs assert positive misrepresentations of material information."). Indeed, appellants concede that they would not be entitled to a presumption of reliance in a case in which they merely alleged that the defendants did not disclose that their affirmative misrepresentations were false. Appellants' Reply Br. at 6.
Appellants argue that their claims are instead premised on Radin's alleged omission of the fact that Interbank operated as a Ponzi scheme in Interbank's financial statements, which Radin audited. Most of these financial statements were balance sheets. Second Amended Complaint ¶¶ 52-71, App. 68-77. A balance sheet reflects a company's financial position at a particular point in time by showing assets (resources controlled by the company), liabilities (creditors' claims on the company's resources), and stockholders' equity (stockholders' claims on the company's resources). The accounting model of a balance sheet can be represented by the following equation:
Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders'
Equity.
See FRED PHILLIPS ET AL., FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING 12-13 (3d ed.2011). The balance sheets of a profitable company would show increasing assets and concomitant increases in stockholders' equity over time as the company's investments gained value. By contrast, the balance sheets of a Ponzi schemewhich "generally describes a pyramid-type investment scheme where investors are paid profits from newly attracted investors promised large returns on their principal investments," In re Fin. Federated Title & Trust, Inc., 309 F.3d 1325, 1327 n. 2 (11th Cir.2002)would show decreasing assets as available cash is depleted to pay out promised rates of return to investors. Because the Ponzi scheme's liabilities would not decrease as new investors continued to contribute capital, the balance sheets would show decreasing stockholders' equity as the scheme paid out rates of return. Consequently, appellants' characterization of Radin's failure to disclose the Ponzi scheme as an omission is off the mark. The label "Ponzi scheme" is simply a popular characterization of a fraudulent business practice that an accurate representation of the balance sheets would reveal. In order to operate as a Ponzi scheme, Interbank's financial statements necessarily misrepresented the company's financial position in order to attract new investors, and Radin affirmatively misrepresented the accuracy of these statements by stating that they fairly presented Interbank's financial position and conformed with GAAP.
Even aside from the allegation that Radin failed to disclose the operation of a Ponzi scheme, other sections of the complaint confirm that the crux of appellants' claims are Radin's affirmative misrepresentations of Interbank's financial statements. For example, the complaint alleges that Radin publicly attested to the accuracy of numerous Interbank balance sheets as well as the fact that the balance sheets conformed with GAAP. Second Amended Complaint ¶¶ 52-71, App. 68-77. The District Court correctly considered these attestations "positive statements," 668 F.Supp.2d at 51, which encompassed Radin's other alleged misdeeds pertaining to the nondisclosure of Interbank's inter-fund transfers, loan losses, and lines of credit secured by a lien on some of the funds' assets. Appellants portray these errors as failures to *221 disclose, but "the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions," Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949, so we need not accept this characterization. Had the financial statements not included Radin's express certification, Radin's silence about these errors might have been akin to the silence of the bank managers in Affiliated Ute, 406 U.S. at 153, 92 S.Ct. 1456. But Radin did make express attestations, which were affirmative misrepresentations that encompassed the alleged omissions cited in the appellants' complaint. The Affiliated Ute presumption is therefore inapplicable.
This analysis is not inconsistent with the Fifth Circuit's decision in Akin v. Q-L Investments, Inc., 959 F.2d 521 (5th Cir. 1992), on which appellants heavily rely. Appellants' Br. at 16 & n. 6. In Akin, the plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to the Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance for both (1) start-up balance sheets and (2) corporate balance sheets, with respect to which the defendant accounting firm had furnished reports. The start-up balance sheets merely indicated the initial capitalization of the company at issue, along with a brief statement that the company intended to acquire an apartment complex and offer partnership interests for sale in the future. Id. at 527. The corporate balance sheets, by contrast, "included a statement of assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity, a statement of revenue, expenses, and retained earnings, and a statement of source and application of funds, along with extensive notes." Id. at 528. The Fifth Circuit held that plaintiffs could rely on the Affiliated Ute presumption for the start-up balance sheets but not for the corporate balance sheets, because the latter "disclosed considerable information about the relationship" between the different entities at issue. Id. at 529-30. Here, the Interbank financial documents, as described in appellants' complaint, are more similar to Akin's corporate balance sheets than its start-up balance sheets, because they included a significant amount of useful information to investors. E.g., Second Amended Complaint ¶ 69, App. 76 (noting that, in addition to balance sheets for Interbank fund, Radin audited "related statement of operations, changes in stockholders' equity, and cash flow for each of the years then ended"). To quote the Akin court: "Any wrong lies in ignoring accounting principles and distorting the numbers underlying the net worth of [the Interbank funds]. This is the stuff of misrepresentation and does not entitle plaintiffs to the Ute presumption." 959 F.2d at 530.
Finally, appellants press two additional arguments for why their complaint primarily alleges omissions. First, they contend that because Radin's non-disclosure of this Ponzi scheme was of "primary importance" to their case, they can rely on the Affiliated Ute presumption. Appellants' Br. at 17; see also Oral Arg. Recording 4:27-4:35. But the fact that a fraud is significant is irrelevant to whether the fraud stems from misrepresentations or omissions, which is the dispositive inquiry in determining the availability of the Affiliated Ute presumption. Second, appellants rely on several district court opinions, which they characterize as holding that the Affiliated Ute presumption applies if a defendant fails to notify plaintiffs that they invested in a Ponzi scheme: Katz v. MRT Holdings, LLC, No. 07-61438-CIV, 2008 WL 4725284 (S.D.Fla. Oct.24, 2008); Getty v. Harmon, No. C98-178, 1998 WL 919368 (W.D.Wash. Oct.23, 1998); Walco Invs., Inc. v. Thenen, 168 F.R.D. 315 (S.D.Fla. 1996); In re Home-Stake Prod. Co. Sec. Litig., 76 F.R.D. 351 (N.D.Okla.1977). To the extent that these cases are contrary to the foregoing analysis, we do not find them persuasive.
*222 III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons indicated in the foregoing opinion, the judgment of the District Court is affirmed.
|
Course info
Rating
(3153)
Level
Intermediate
Updated
Sep 26, 2017
Duration
5h 11m
Description
Python Fundamentals gets you started with Python, a dynamic language popular for web development, big data, science, and scripting. What’s so great about Python? Python is powerful. The Python language is expressive and productive, it comes with a great standard library, and it’s the center of a huge universe of wonderful third-party libraries. With Python you can build everything from simple scripts to complex applications, you can do it quickly, and you can do it with fewer lines of code than you might think possible. But for many people those reasons take back-seat to something more important: Python is fun! Python’s readable style, quick edit-and-run development cycle, and “batteries included” philosophy mean that you can sit down and enjoy writing code rather than fighting compilers and thorny syntax. As your experiments become prototypes and your prototypes become products, Python makes the experience of writing software not just easier but truly enjoyable. In the words of Randall Munroe, "Come join us! Programming is fun again!"
About the author
Austin is a founding director of Sixty North, a software consulting,
training, and application development company. He's a native of Texas
but currently lives in Norway where he writes software, runs a local
software interest group, and presents and teaches whenever he can.
More from the author
About the author
Robert Smallshire is a founding director of Sixty North, a software product and consulting business in based in Norway. He has held several senior software architecture and technical management roles, and he is a regular conference speaker. Python is his weapon of choice.
More from the author
Section Introduction Transcripts
Introduction to the Python Fundamentals CourseWelcome to Python Fundamentals. My name is Austin Bingham and over the coming modules myself and Robert Smallshire will guide you through the basics of the Python programming language. Python is a big language, and a single course can't possibly cover everything there is to know, but this course will serve you well as a solid foundation for becoming productive with Python. Python Fundamentals is the first in our trilogy of three Pluralsight courses which cover the core Python language. This course serves as the foundation for our Python - Beyond the Basics and Advanced Python courses. Our courses follow a thoughtfully designed spiral curriculum. We visit the same or closely related topics several times in increasing depth, sometimes multiple times in the same course. For example, later in Python Fundamentals, we will cover classes and single inheritance. In Python - Beyond the Basics, we cover multiple class inheritance. In the Advanced Python course, we cover what amounts to a type of virtual inheritance using Python's sophisticated abstract base class mechanism. In Python Fundamentals, we'll cover basic techniques you'll use constantly on your journey with Python. Starting in this module, we'll give a high-level overview of the Python language, what it is, and what's so great about it. We'll also give a bird's-eye view of the rest of this course so that you'll have an idea of what's to come.
Strings and CollectionsHi. My name is Austin Bingham. Welcome to the second module of the Python Fundamentals course, which is about strings, collections, and iteration with for-loops. Python includes a rich selection of collection types, which are often completely sufficient for even quite intricate programs without resorting to defining our own data structures. We'll give enough of an overview of some fundamental collection types now, enough to allow us to write some interesting code. We'll also be revisiting each of these collection types together with a few additional ones later in the course. Let's start with these types str, bytes, list, and dict. Along the way we'll also cover Python's for-loops.
ModularityHello. My name is Robert Smallshire. Welcome to the third module of the Python Fundamentals course, which is about the structure and organization, or modularity, of Python programs. Modularity is an important property for anything but trivial software systems as it gives us the power to make self-contained, reusable pieces, which can be combined in new ways to solve different problems. As with most programming languages, the most fine-grained modularization facility is the definition of reusable functions. Collections of related functions are typically grouped into source code files called modules. Modules can be used from other modules, so long as we take care not to introduce a circular dependency. As we have seen already, we can import modules into the REPL, and we'll show you how modules can be executed directly as programs or scripts. Along the way, we'll investigate the Python execution model to ensure you have a good understanding of exactly when code is evaluated and executed. We'll round off by showing you how to use command line arguments to get basic configuration data into your program and make your program executable. To illustrate this module, we'll be taking the code snippet for retrieving words from a web-hosted text document we developed at the end of the previous session and organizing it into a fully-fledged Python module.
CollectionsHi. My name is Robert Smallshire. Welcome to the fifth module of the Python Fundamentals course where we look in more depth at the built-in collection types of the Python language and explore the various protocols that unite them. In this module we'll revisit some collection types we've already explored: Str or string, the immutable sequence of Unicode codepoints; list, the mutable sequence of objects; and dict, the mutable mapping from immutable keys to mutable objects. We'll also cover some new ones: Tuple, the immutable sequence of objects; range for arithmetic progressions of integers; and set, a mutable collection of unique immutable objects. We won't cover the bytes type further here. We've already discussed its essential differences with str, and most of what we learned about str can also be applied to bytes. This is not an exhaustive list of Python collection types, but it's completely sufficient for the overwhelming majority of Python 3 programs you'll encounter in the wild or are likely to write yourself. In this module we'll be covering these collections in this order, and then round off with an overview of the protocols that unite these collections, which allow them to be used in consistent and predictable ways. First up is tuple.
Handling exceptionsHello. My name is Austin Bingham. Welcome to the sixth module of the Python Fundamentals course where we introduce exception handling techniques. Exception handling is a mechanism for stopping normal program flow and continuing at some surrounding context or code block. The event of interrupting normal flow is called the act of raising an exception. In some enclosing context the raise exception must be handled upon which control flow if transferred to the exception handler. If an exception propagates up the call stack to the start of the program, then an unhandled exception will cause the program to terminate. And exception object containing information about where and why an exceptional event occurred is transported from the point at which the exception was raised to the exception handler so that the handler can interrogate the exception object and take appropriate action. If you've used exceptions in other popular imperative languages like C++ or Java, then you've already got a good idea of how exceptions work in Python. There have been long and tiresome debates over exactly what constitutes an exceptional event, the core issue being that exceptionality is in reality a matter of degree, some things are more exceptional than others, whereas programming languages impose a false dichotomy by insisting that an event is entirely exceptional or not at all exceptional. The Python philosophy is at the liberal end of the spectrum when it comes to the use of exceptions. Exceptions are ubiquitous in Python, and it's crucial to understand how to handle them.
IterablesHello. My name is Robert Smallshire. Welcome to the seventh module of the Python Fundamentals course where we'll cover comprehensions, iterable objects and iterators, lazy evaluation with generators, and various tools included with Python for working with iterable objects.
ClassesHello. My name is Austin Bingham. Welcome to the eighth module of the Python Fundamentals course. Here we'll cover classes, Python's tools for creating new types. You can get a long way in Python using the built-in scaler and collection types. For many problems, the built-in types and those available in the Python Standard library are completely sufficient. Sometimes though they aren't quite what's required, and the ability to create custom types is where classes come in. As we've seen, all objects in Python have a type, and when we report that type using the type built-in function, the result is couched in terms of class. Classes are a means of defining the structure and behavior of objects at the time we create the object. Generally speaking, the type of an object is fixed throughout its lifetime. As such, classes act as a sort of template or pattern according to which new objects are constructed. The class of an object controls its initialization in which attributes and methods are available through the object. For example, on a string object the methods we can use on that object such as split are defined in the str class. Classes are a key piece of machinery for object-oriented programming, and although it's often true that OOP is useful for making complex problems more tractable, it also commonly has the effect of making the solution to simple problems unnecessarily complex. A great thing about Python is that it's highly object oriented without forcing you to deal with classes until you really need them. This sets the language starkly apart from Java and C#. |
Internal polling in key 2020 congressional districts shows the majority of voters do not view President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an impeachable offense.
That spells trouble for Democrats, who used the conversation as a catalyst for their impeachment efforts.
Public Opinion Strategies conducted an internal poll in key congressional districts for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and Team McCarthy, isolating 40 Republican-held House seats that the party intends to defend in 2020 and 55 Democrat-held seats that the GOP hopes to flip. The poll – taken October 1-3, 2019 – found the majority of voters do no view Trump’s phone call with Zelensky as an impeachable offense.
Respondents were asked:
Thinking just about this specific case of the President’s phone call with the Ukraine President, do you believe that what President Trump did was appropriate, the same as other Presidents have probably done, inappropriate, but not impeachable, or an impeachable offense?
The poll shows the majority, 59 percent, do not view the conversation as an impeachable offense, while 37 percent view it as impeachable. While opinions on impeachment are largely divided on party lines, the majority of independents– 57 percent – do not view the conversation itself as impeachable.
The survey spelled trouble for Democrats who hold seats in Trump-won districts. The vast majority – 62 percent – consider the conversation between the two leaders was “appropriate.” Only 33 percent considered it impeachable. Furthermore, Republican candidates in Trump districts represented by Democrats hold a “double-digit advantage” over impeachment-supporting Democrats.
Respondents were asked:
And, thinking ahead to the next election, would you be more willing to vote for: A Democratic candidate for Congress who believes that President Trump should be impeached and removed from office…or… A Republican candidate for Congress who believes that President Trump’s actions do not rise to an impeachable offense and that voters should be allowed to decide for themselves in next year’s elections.
Fifty-four percent of voters in those Trump-won, Democrat-held districts said they would be more willing to vote for a Republican. Only 38 percent chose a Democrat, giving Republicans a 16-point advantage.
Additionally, the majority of voters in these districts – 58 percent – say Democrats have not accomplished much since taking the House, and 62 percent believe that the impeachment inquiry will continue to distract them from achieving promised policy goals.
Over two-thirds of voters in these key districts say that the impeachment effort is “all about politics”– not a genuine concern of wrongdoing by the president, the survey found.
The poll’s margin of error is +/- 3.46 percent.
The results of the internal findings were summed up in a memo. The bottom line concluded that “voters clearly believe impeachment is sidetracking the country and Congress, will keep Congress from getting anything else done, and cause even deeper partisan divisions in the country.
The memo added:
Congressional Democrats who represent Trump districts appear to be in a precarious position here, as their voters clearly side against impeachment and are much more willing to vote for a GOP candidate opposing impeachment than a Democrat supporting it.
The polling suggests that Democrats in key congressional districts are in vulnerable positions, which could explain why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held off the impeachment inquiry for so long.
“The public isn’t there on impeachment. It’s your voice and constituency, but give me the leverage I need to make sure that we’re ready and it is as strong as it can be,” Pelosi told Democrats in a caucus-wide call in August.
Democrat leaders have been strategizing on how to successfully back Democrats in swing districts and sway public opinion in their favor. They plan to drive the impeachment narrative, in part, by utilizing repetition, repeating keywords and phrases such as “betrayal,” “abuse of power,” and “national security.”
Given the poll’s findings and a continued lack of evidence of wrongdoing by the president, Republican lawmakers are not expected to modify their position on impeachment. |
Q:
How do you convert a string of ints to an array in Go?
I haven't been able to find this anywhere (or I just don't understand it). I'm reading in a list of numbers from a file separated by spaces. I.e. the file looks like "1 4 0 0 2 5 ...etc", and I want it in the form of an array (or, preferably, a 2 dimensional array where each new line is separated as well). How might I go about doing this?
This is the code I have so far - a lot of it is taken from tutorials I found, so I don't fully understand all of it. It reads in a file just fine, and returns a string.
Side question: when I print the string, I get this at the end of the output: %!(EXTRA )
Does anyone know how to fix that? I'm assuming it's putting the last nil character in the return string, but I don't know how to fix that.
package main
import (
"fmt"
"os"
)
func read_file(filename string) (string, os.Error) {
f, err := os.Open(filename)
if err != nil {
return "", err
}
defer f.Close() // f.Close will run when we're finished.
var result []byte
buf := make([]byte, 100)
for {
n, err := f.Read(buf[0:])
result = append(result, buf[0:n]...) // append is discussed later.
if err != nil {
if err == os.EOF {
break
}
return "", err // f will be closed if we return here.
}
}
return string(result), nil // f will be closed if we return here.
}
func print_board() {
}
func main() {
fmt.Printf(read_file("sudoku1.txt")) // this outputs the file exactly,
// but with %!(EXTRA <nil>) at the end.
// I do not know why exactly
}
Thank you very much for any help you can offer.
-W
A:
You can use the strings package to convert the string to a 2 dimensional array of ints. Explaining some of the language constructs used here is a bit outside the scope of this question, but feel free to ask for clarification on anything.
// read_file also returns an error!
s, err := read_file("sudoku1.txt")
if err != nil {
panic(err.String())
}
// split into rows at newlines
rows := strings.Split(s, "\n")
board := make([][]int, len(rows))
for i, row := range rows {
// extract all whitespace separated fields
elems := strings.Fields(row)
board[i] = make([]int, len(elems))
for j, elem := range elems {
var err os.Error
// convert each element to an integer
board[i][j], err = strconv.Atoi(elem)
if err != nil {
panic(err.String())
}
}
}
fmt.Println(board)
The reason for the %(!EXTRA <nil>) is that read_file returns two values, the second being an error (which is nil in this case). Printf tries to match that second value to a slot in the string. Since the string doesn't contain any formatting slots (%v, %d, %s...), Printf determines that it is an extra parameter, and says that in the output.
Note that the package ioutil already provides a ReadFile function, which will give you a []byte instead of a string, but is otherwise identical in function to your read_file.
|
Q:
counting the occurrences of a number and when it occurred in R data.frame and data.table
I have newly started to learn R, so my question may be utterly ridiculous. I have a data frame
data<- data.frame('number'=1:11, 'col1'=sample(10:20),'col2'=sample(10:20),'col3'=sample(10:20),'col4'=sample(10:20),'col5'=sample(10:20), 'date'= c('12-12-2014','12-11-2014','12-10-2014','12-09-2014', '12-08-2014','12-07-2014','12-06-2014','12-05-2014','12-04-2014', '12-04-2014', '12-03-2014') )
The number column is an 'id' column and the last column is a date.
I want to count the number of times that each number occurs across (not per column, but the whole data frame containing data) the columns 2:6 and when they occurred.
I am stuck on the first part having tried the following using data.table:
count <- function(){
i = 1
DT <-data.table(data[2:6])
for (i in 10:20){
DT[, .N, by =i]
i = i + 1
}
}
which gives an error that I don't begin to understand
Error in `[.data.table`(DT, , .N, by = i) :
The items in the 'by' or 'keyby' list are length (1). Each must be same length as rows in x or number of rows returned by i (11)
Can someone help, please. Also with the second part that I have not even attempted yet i.e. associating a date or a row number with each occurrence of a number
A:
Perhaps you may want this
library(reshape2)
table(melt(data[,-1], id.var='date')[,-2])
# value
#date 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
# 12-03-2014 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0
# 12-04-2014 2 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 1 1
# 12-05-2014 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1
# 12-06-2014 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
# 12-07-2014 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
# 12-08-2014 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
# 12-09-2014 0 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
# 12-10-2014 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
# 12-11-2014 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
# 12-12-2014 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Or if you need a data.table solution (from @Arun's comments)
library(data.table)
dcast.data.table(melt(setDT(data),
id="date", measure=2:6), date ~ value)
|
-- BLOCK select_exam
SELECT
a.id
FROM
assessments AS a
JOIN assessment_sets AS aset ON (aset.id = a.assessment_set_id)
WHERE
a.course_instance_id = 1
AND aset.abbreviation = 'E'
AND a.number = $number;
|
Low back schools. A critical review.
The purpose of this article is to review and evaluate the empirical literature concerning low back schools. Although the low back school is a popular method of dealing with the growing number of patients with back pain, a general lack of studies exists of the effectiveness of this intervention technique. The studies that have been conducted, moreover, often lack control conditions and appropriate measurement techniques. The goal of most schools is to increase "self-care" behaviors and thereby decrease other related problems, such as pain intensity and absenteeism. The literature, however, provides limited support for the idea that a low back school can influence variables such as the number of health care contacts, sick leave, work status, pain intensity or duration, activity level, or medication consumption. Whether the patient's level of knowledge improves as a result of attending the low back school is unclear. Some evidence suggests that patients' attitudes toward back care do change. We conclude, therefore, that more information is needed about the effects of low back schools so that they may be improved. A central concept of low back school programs that should be examined is patient compliance. How well patients comprehend the material presented in the low back school or whether the school results in behavioral changes in the participants remains to be determined. |
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padding: 50px 0;
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width: 1200px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
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margin: 0;
color: #fff;
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letter-spacing: 0.77px;
line-clamp: 72px;
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margin-top: 8px;
color: #fff;
font-weight: 700;
font-size: 24px;
line-height: 30px;
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margin-top: 70px;
}
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position: relative;
margin-top: 20px;
overflow: hidden;
cursor: pointer;
};
.avatar {
display: block;
// vertical-align: top;
width: 100%;
};
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position: absolute;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
width: 100%;
height: 70%;
background-image: linear-gradient(-179deg,transparent 1%,#000);
opacity: .75;
transition: opacity .3s ease-in-out;
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position: absolute;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
width: 100%;
height: 4px;
background: #236cff;
}
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position: absolute;
bottom: 20px;
left: 0;
padding: 0 5%;
overflow: hidden;
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overflow: hidden;
color: #fff;
font-weight: 700;
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overflow: hidden;
color: #fff;
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line-height: 18px;
}
|
---
abstract: 'The $k$-batch greedy strategy is an approximate algorithm to solve optimization problems where the optimal solution is hard to obtain. Starting with the empty set, the $k$-batch greedy strategy adds a batch of $k$ elements to the current solution set with the largest gain in the objective function while satisfying the constraints. In this paper, we bound the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy with respect to the optimal strategy by defining the total curvature $\alpha_k$. We show that when the objective function is nondecreasing and submodular, the $k$-batch greedy strategy satisfies a harmonic bound $1/(1+\alpha_k)$ for a general matroid constraint and an exponential bound $\left(1-(1-{\alpha}_k/{t})^t\right)/{\alpha}_k$ for a uniform matroid constraint, where $k$ divides the cardinality of the maximal set in the general matroid, $t=K/k$ is an integer, and $K$ is the rank of the uniform matroid. We also compare the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy with that of the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy when $k_1$ divides $k$. Specifically, we prove that when the objective function is nondecreasing and submodular, the $k$-batch greedy strategy has better harmonic and exponential bounds in terms of the total curvature. Finally, we illustrate our results by considering a task-assignment problem.'
author:
- 'Yajing Liu, Zhenliang Zhang, Edwin K. P. Chong, and Ali Pezeshki [^1][^2][^3] [^4]'
title: |
**Performance Bounds for the $k$-Batch Greedy Strategy\
in Optimization Problems with Curvature**
---
Introduction
============
A variety of combinatorial optimization problems such as generalized assignment (see, e.g., [@streeter2008online] and ), max $k$-cover (see, e.g., [@K-cover1998] and [@Feige1998]), maximum coverage location (see, e.g., [@Fisher1977] and [@Location]), and sensor placement (see, e.g., [@LiC12] and [@SensorPlacement]) can be formulated in the following way:
$$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:1}
\begin{array}{l}
\text{maximize} \ \ f(M) \\
\text{subject to} \ \ M\in \mathcal{I}
\end{array}\end{aligned}$$
where $\mathcal{I}$ is a non-empty collection of subsets of a finite set $X$, and $f$ is a real-valued set function defined on the power set $2^X$ of $X$. The set function $f$ is said to be *submodular* if it has the diminishing-return property [@Edmonds]. The pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is called a *matroid* if the collection $\mathcal{I}$ is hereditary and has the augmentation property [@Tutte]. When $\mathcal{I}=\{S\subseteq \mathcal{I}: |S|\leq K\}$ for a given $K$, the pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is said to be a *uniform matroid* of rank $K$, where $|S|$ denotes the cardinality of the set $S$. These definitions will be discussed in more detail in Section II.
Finding the optimal solution to problem (\[eqn:1\]) in general is NP-hard. The $1$-batch greedy strategy provides a computationally feasible solution, which starts with the empty set, and then adds one element to the current solution set with the largest gain in the objective function while satisfying the constraints. This scheme is a special case of the *$k$-batch greedy strategy* (with $k\geq 1$), which starts with the empty set but adds to the current solution set $k$ elements with the largest gain in the objective function under the constraints. The performance of the $1$-batch greedy strategy in optimization problems has been extensively investigated, while the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy for general $k$ has received little attention, notable exceptions being Nemhauser et al. [@nemhauser19781] and Hausmann et al. [@hausmann1980], which we will review in the following subsection.
Review of Previous Work
-----------------------
Nemhauser et al. [@nemhauser19781], [@nemhauser1978] proved that when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function satisfying $f(\emptyset)=0$, the $1$-batch greedy strategy yields at least a $1/2$-approximation for a general matroid and a $(1-1/e)$-approximation for a uniform matroid. By introducing the total curvature $\alpha$, Conforti and Cornu[é]{}jols [@conforti1984submodular] showed that when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function, the $1$-batch greedy strategy achieves at least a $1/(1+\alpha)$-approximation for a general matroid and a $(1-e^{-\alpha})/{\alpha}$-approximation for a uniform matroid, where the total curvature $\alpha$ is defined as $$\alpha=\max\limits_{j\in X^*}\left\{1-\frac{f(X)-f(X\setminus\{j\})}{f(\{j\})-f(\emptyset)}\right\}$$ and $X^*=\{j\in X: f(\{j\})>0\}$. For a nondecreasing submodular set function $f$, the total curvature $\alpha$ takes values on the interval $ [0,1]$. In this case, we have $1/(1+\alpha)\geq1/2$ and $(1-e^{-\alpha})/\alpha\geq (1-1/e)$, which implies the bounds $1/(1+\alpha)$ and $(1-e^{-\alpha})/\alpha$ are stronger than the bounds $1/2$ and $(1-1/e)$ in [@nemhauser1978] and [@nemhauser19781], respectively. Vondr[á]{}k [@vondrak2010submodularity] proved that when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function, the continuous $1$-batch greedy strategy gives at least a $(1-e^{-\alpha})/\alpha$-approximation for any matroid.
Nemhauser et al. [@nemhauser19781] proved that when $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a uniform matroid and $K=ks-p$ ($s$ and $p$ are integers and $0\leq p\leq k-1$), the $k$-batch greedy strategy achieves at least a $(1-(1-\lambda/s)(1-1/s)^{s-1})$-approximation, where $\lambda=1-p/k$. Hausmann et al. [@hausmann1980] showed that when $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is an independence system, then the $k$-batch greedy strategy achieves at least a $q(X,\mathcal{I})$-approximation, where $q(X,\mathcal{I})$ is the rank quotient defined in [@hausmann1980]. Although Nemhauser et al. [@nemhauser19781] and Hausmann et al. [@hausmann1980] investigated the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy, they only considered uniform matroid constraints and independence system constraints, respectively. This prompts us to investigate the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy more comprehensively.
Main Results and Contribution
-----------------------------
In this paper, by defining the total curvature $\alpha_k$ of the objective function, we derive bounds for the performance of the $k$-batch greedy strategy for a general matroid and a uniform matroid, respectively. By comparing the values of $\alpha_k$ for different $k$ and investigating the monotoneity of the bounds, we can compare the performance for different $k$-batch greedy strategies.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In Section II, we review the harmonic and exponential bounds in terms of the total curvature $\alpha$ from [@conforti1984submodular] for a general matroid and a uniform matroid, respectively. In Section III, we introduce the total curvature $\alpha_k$, and prove that when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function, the $k$-batch greedy strategy achieves a $1/(1+\alpha_k)$-approximation for a general matroid constraint and a $\left(1-(1-{\alpha}_k/{t})^t\right)/{\alpha}_k$-approximation for a uniform matroid constraint, where $k$ divides the cardinality of the maximal set in the general matroid, $t=K/k$ is an integer, and $K$ is the rank of the uniform matroid. We also prove that $\alpha_{k}\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function and $k_1$ divides $k$, which implies that the $k$-batch greedy strategy provides tighter harmonic and exponential bounds compared to the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy. In Section IV, we present an application to demonstrate our conclusions. In Section V, we provide a summary of our work and main contribution.
Preliminaries {#sc:II}
=============
In this section, we first introduce some definitions related to sets and curvature. We then review the harmonic and exponential bounds in terms of the total curvature $\alpha$ from [@conforti1984submodular].
Sets and Curvature
------------------
Let $X$ be a finite set, and $\mathcal{I}$ be a non-empty collection of subsets of $X$. The pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is called a *matroid* if
- For all $B\in\mathcal{I}$, any set $A\subseteq B$ is also in $\mathcal{I}$.
- For any $A,B\in \mathcal{I}$, if the cardinality of $B$ is greater than that of $A$, then there exists $j\in B\setminus A$ such that $A\cup\{j\}\in\mathcal{I}$.
The collection $\mathcal{I}$ is said to be *hereditary* and has the *augmentation* property if it satisfies properties i and ii, respectively. The pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is called a *uniform matroid* when $\mathcal{I}=\{S\subseteq \mathcal{I}: |S|\leq K\}$ for a given $K$, called the *rank*.
Let $2^X$ denote the power set of $X$, and define the set function $f$: $2^X\rightarrow \mathbb{R^+}$. The set function $f$ is said to be *nondecreasing* and *submodular* if it satisfies properties 1 and 2 below, respectively:
- For any $A\subseteq B\subseteq X$, $f(A)\leq f(B)$.
- For any $A\subseteq B\subseteq X$ and $j\in X\setminus B$, $f(A\cup\{j\})-f(A)\geq f(B\cup\{j\})-f(B)$.
Property 2 means that the additional value accruing from an extra action decreases as the size of the input set increases, and is also called the *diminishing-return* property in economics. Property 2 implies that for any $A\subseteq B\subseteq X$ and $T\subseteq X\setminus B$, $$\label{eqn:submodularimplies}
f(A\cup T)-f(A)\geq f(B\cup T)-f(B).$$ For convenience, we denote the incremental value of adding set $T$ to the set $A\subseteq X$ as $\varrho_T(A)=f(A\cup T)-f(A)$ (following the notation of [@conforti1984submodular]).
The *total curvature* of a set function $f$ is defined as [@conforti1984submodular] $$\alpha=\max_{j\in X^*}\left\{1-\frac{\varrho_j({X\setminus\{j\}})}{\varrho_j(\emptyset)}\right\}$$ where $X^*=\{j\in X: \varrho_j(\emptyset)>0\}$. Note that $0\leq \alpha\leq 1$ when $f$ is nondecreasing and submodular, and $\alpha=0$ if and only if $f$ is additive, i.e., $f(X)=f(X\setminus\{j\})+f(\{j\})$ for all $j\in X^*$.
Harmonic and Exponential Bounds in Terms of the Total Curvature
---------------------------------------------------------------
In this section, we review the theorems from [@conforti1984submodular] bounding the performance of the $1$-batch greedy strategy using the total curvature $\alpha$ for general matroid constraints and uniform matroid constraints.
\[Theorem2.1\] Assume that $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a matroid and $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function with $f(\emptyset)=0$ and total curvature $\alpha$. Then the $1$-batch greedy solution $G$ satisfies $$f(G)\geq \frac{1}{1+\alpha}f(O),$$ where $O$ is the optimal solution of problem (\[eqn:1\]).
When $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function, we have $\alpha\in[0,1]$, so $1/(1+\alpha)\in[1/2,1]$. Theorem \[Theorem2.1\] applies to any matroid, which means the bound ${1}/(1+\alpha)$ holds for a uniform matroid too. Theorem \[Theorem2.2\] will present a tighter bound when $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a uniform matroid.
\[Theorem2.2\] Assume that $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a uniform matroid and $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function with $f(\emptyset)=0$ and total curvature $\alpha$. Then the $1$-batch greedy solution $G_K$ satisfies $$\begin{aligned}
f(G_K)&\geq\frac{1}{\alpha}\left(1-(1-{\alpha}/{K})^K\right)f(O_K)\\
&\geq \frac{1}{\alpha}(1-e^{-\alpha})f(O_K).\end{aligned}$$
The function $(1-e^{-\alpha})/\alpha$ is a nonincreasing function of $\alpha$, so $(1-e^{-\alpha})/\alpha\in[1-e^{-1},1]$ when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function. Also it is easy to check $(1-e^{-\alpha})/{\alpha}\geq 1/(1+\alpha)$ for $\alpha\in[0,1]$, which implies that the bound $(1-e^{-\alpha})/{\alpha}$ is stronger than the bound $1/(1+\alpha)$ in Theorem \[Theorem2.1\].
Main Results {#sc:III}
============
In this section, first we define the $k$-batch greedy strategy and the corresponding curvatures that will be used for deriving the harmonic and exponential bounds. Then we derive the performance bounds of the $k$-batch greedy strategy in terms of $\alpha_k$ for general matroid constraints and uniform matroid constraints, respectively. Moreover, we compare the performance bounds for different $k$-batch greedy strategies.
Strategy Formulation and Curvatures
-----------------------------------
When $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a general matroid, assume that the cardinality $K$ of the the maximal set in $\mathcal{I}$ is such that $k$ divides $K$. The $k$-batch greedy strategy is as follows:
Step 1: Let $S^0=\emptyset$ and $t=0$.
Step 2: Select $J_{t+1}\subseteq X\setminus S^t$ for which $|J_{t+1}|=k$, $S^t\cup J_{t+1}\in\mathcal{I}$, and $$\begin{aligned}
f(S^t\cup J_{t+1})=\max\limits_{J\subseteq X\setminus S^t\ \text{and}\ |J|=k }f(S^t\cup J),\end{aligned}$$ then set $S^{t+1}=S^t\cup J_{t+1}$.
Step 3: If $f(S^{t+1})-f(S^t)>0$, set $t=t+1$, repeat step 2; otherwise, stop.
When $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a uniform matroid with rank $K$, without loss of generality, assume that $k$ divides $K$. Then the $k$-batch greedy strategy is as follows:
Step 1: Let $S^0=\emptyset$ and $t=0$.
Step 2: Select $J_{t+1}\subseteq X\setminus S^t$ for which $|J_{t+1}|=k$, and $$\begin{aligned}
f(S^t\cup J_{t+1})=\max\limits_{J\subseteq X\setminus S^t\ \text{and}\ |J|=k }f(S^t\cup J),\end{aligned}$$ then set $S^{t+1}=S^t\cup J_{t+1}$.
Step 3: If $t+1<K/k$, set $t=t+1$ and repeat step 2; otherwise, stop.
Similar to the definition of the total curvature $\alpha$ in [@conforti1984submodular], we define the total curvature $\alpha_k$ for a given $k$ as $$\alpha_k=\max\limits_{J\in \hat{X}}\left\{1-\frac{\varrho_J(X\setminus J)}{\varrho_J(\emptyset)}\right\}$$ where $\hat{X}=\{J\subseteq X: f(J)>0 \ \text{and}\ |J|=k\}$.
Consider a set $T\subseteq X$ and an ordered set $S=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i\subseteq X$, where $J_i\subseteq X$ and $|J_i|=k$. We define $S^0=\emptyset$, $S^i=\bigcup_{l=1}^iJ_l$ for $1\leq i\leq t$, and the curvature $$\bar{\alpha}_k=\max\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S^*}\left\{\frac{\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})-\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1}\cup T)}{\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})}\right\}，$$ where $S^*=\{J_i\subseteq S-T: |J_i|=k \ \text{and} \ \varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})>0\}.$ It is easy to check that $f(S)=\sum_{i=1}^t\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})$ and $\bar{\alpha}_k\leq \alpha_k$.
For a uniform matroid with rank $K$, we use $S_K=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i$ to denote the $k$-batch greedy solution, where $J_i$ is the set selected by the $k$-batch greedy strategy at stage $i$. Assume that $O_K$ is the optimal solution to Problem 1. We define the curvature $\hat{\alpha}_k$ with respect to the optimal solution as $$\hat{\alpha}_k=\max\limits_{1\leq j \leq t}\left\{1-\frac{\varrho_{S^j}(O_K)}{\varrho_{S^j}(\emptyset)}\right\}.$$ It is easy to prove that $\hat{\alpha}_k\leq \alpha_k$ when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function.
Harmonic Bound and Exponential Bound in Terms of the Total Curvature
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The following proposition will be applied to derive the performance bounds for both general matroid constraints and uniform matroid constraints.
\[Pro1\] If $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function on $X$, $S$ and $T$ are subsets of $X$, and $\{T_1,\ldots, T_r\}$ is a partition of $T\setminus S$, then $$\label{eqn:Prop1}
f(T\cup S)\leq f(S)+\sum\limits_{i:T_i\subseteq T\setminus S}\varrho_{T_i}(S).$$
By the assumption that $\{T_1,\ldots, T_r\}$ is a partition of $T\setminus S$ and inequality \[eqn:submodularimplies\], we have $$\begin{aligned}
f(T\cup S)-f(S)&=f(S\cup \bigcup_{l=1}^r T_l)-f(S)\\
&=\sum\limits_{j=1}^r \varrho_{T_j}(S\cup\bigcup_{l=1}^{j-1}T_l)\\
&\leq \sum\limits_{j:T_j\subseteq T\setminus S}\varrho_{T_j}(S).
\end{aligned}$$
The following proposition will be applied to derive the performance bound for general matroid constraints.
\[Pro2\] Assume that $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function on $X$ with $f(\emptyset)=0$. Given a set $T\subseteq X$, a partition $\{T_1,\ldots, T_r\}$ of $T\setminus S$, and an ordered set $S=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i\subseteq X$ with $|J_i|=k$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{ineq:prop2}
f(T)\leq \bar{\alpha}_k\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus T}&\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})+\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq T\cap S}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})\nonumber\\
&+\sum\limits_{i:T_i\subseteq T\setminus S}\varrho_{T_i}(S).
\end{aligned}$$
By the definition of the curvature $\bar{\alpha}_k$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
f(T\cup S)-f(T)&=\sum\limits_{i=1}^t\varrho_{J_i}(T\cup S^{i-1})\\
&=\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus T}\varrho_{J_i}(T\cup S^{i-1})\\
&\geq (1-\bar{\alpha}_k)\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus T}\varrho_{J_i}( S^{i-1}).
\end{aligned}$$
By Proposition \[Pro1\], we have $$f(T\cup S)\leq f(S)+\sum\limits_{i:T_i\subseteq T\setminus S}\varrho_{T_i}(S).$$
Combining the inequalities above and using the identity $$f(S)=\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus T}\varrho_{J_i}( S^{i-1})+\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq T\cap S}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1}),$$ we get the inequality (\[ineq:prop2\]).
Recall that when $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a general matroid, we assume that $k$ divides the cardinality $K$ of the maximal set in $\mathcal{I}$. By the augmentation property of a general matroid, any greedy solution and optimal solution can be augmented to a set of length $K$, respectively. Let $S=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i$ be the $k$-batch greedy solution, where $J_i$ is the set selected by the $k$-batch greedy strategy at the $i$th step for $1\leq i\leq t$. Let $O=\{o_1,\ldots, o_K\}$ be the optimal solution. We prove that the following lemma holds.
\[lemma1\] The optimal solution $O=\{o_1,\ldots, o_K\}$ can be ordered as $O=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i'$ such that $\varrho_{J_i'}(S^{i-1})\leq \varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})$, where ${J_1',\ldots,J_t'}$ is a partition of $O$ and $|J_i'|=k$ for $1\leq i\leq t$. Furthermore, if $J_i'\subseteq O\cap S$, then $J_i'=J_i$.
Similar to the proof in [@nemhauser19781], we will prove this lemma by backward induction on $i$ for $i=t, t-1,\ldots, 1$. Assume that $J_l'$ satisfies the inequality $\varrho_{J_l'}(S^{l-1})\leq \varrho_{J_l}(S^{l-1})$ for $l>i$, and let $O^i=O\setminus \bigcup_{l>i} J_l'$. Consider the sets $S^{i-1}$ and $O^i$. By definition, $|S^{i-1}|=(i-1) k$ and $|O^i|=i k$. Using the augmentation property of a general matroid, we have that there exists one element $o_{i_1}\in O^i\setminus S^{i-1}$ such that $S^{i-1}\cup\{o_{i_1}\}\in\mathcal{I}$. Next consider $S^{i-1}\cup\{o_{i_1}\}$ and $O^i$. Using the augmentation property again, there exists one element $o_{i_2}\in O^i\setminus S^{i-1}\setminus\{o_{i_1}\}$ such that $S^{i-1}\cup\{o_{i_1}, o_{i_2}\}\in\mathcal{I}$. Similar to the process above, using the augmentation property $(k-2)$ more times, finally we have that there exists $J_i'=\{o_{i_1},\ldots,o_{i_k}\}\subseteq O^i\setminus S^{i-1}$ such that $S^{i-1}\cup J_i'\in \mathcal{I}$. By the $k$-batch greedy strategy, we have that $\varrho_{J_i'}(S^{i-1})\leq \varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})$. Furthermore, if $J_i\subseteq O^i$, we can set $J_i'=J_i$.
The following two theorems present our performance bounds in terms of the total curvature $\alpha_k$ for the $k$-batch greedy strategy under a general matroid constraint and a uniform matroid, respectively.
\[Theorem3.3\] Assume that $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function with $f(\emptyset)=0$, the pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a general matroid, and $k$ divides the cardinality $K$ of the maximal set in $\mathcal{I}$. Then the $k$-batch greedy strategy $S=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i$ satisfies $$\label{ineq:generalbound}
f(S)\geq \frac{1}{1+\alpha_k}f(O).$$
By Lemma \[lemma1\], we have that the optimal solution $O$ can be ordered as $O=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i'$ such that $\varrho_{J_i'}(S^{i-1})\leq \varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})$, where $\{J_l'\}_{l=1}^t$ is a partition of $O$ and $|J_l'|=k$ for $1\leq l\leq t$.
By Proposition \[Pro2\], we have $$\begin{aligned}
f(O)\leq \bar{\alpha}_k\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus O}&\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})+\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq O\cap S}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})\\
&+\sum\limits_{i:J_i'\subseteq O\setminus S}\varrho_{J_i'}(S).\end{aligned}$$
By inequality (\[eqn:submodularimplies\]), we have $$\varrho_{J_i'}(S)\leq \varrho_{J_i'}(S^{i-1})\leq \varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1}).$$ Then $$\begin{aligned}
f(O)&\leq \bar{\alpha}_k\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq S\setminus O}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})+\sum\limits_{i:J_i\subseteq O\cap S}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})\\
&\quad\quad\quad+\sum\limits_{i:J_i'\subseteq O\setminus S}\varrho_{J_i}(S^{i-1})\\
&\leq {\alpha}_kf(S)+f(S),\end{aligned}$$ which implies that $f(S)\geq \frac{1}{1+\alpha_k}f(O)$.
*Remarks*
- The harmonic bound $1/(1+\alpha_k)$ for the $k$-batch greedy strategy holds for *any* matroid. However, for uniform matroids, a better bound is given in Theorem \[Theorem3.4\].
- The function $g(x)=1/(1+x)$ is nonincreasing in $x$ on the interval $[0,1]$.
\[Theorem3.4\] Assume that $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function with $f(\emptyset)=0$, the pair $(X,\mathcal{I})$ is a uniform matroid with rank $K$, and $k$ divides $K$. Then the $k$-batch greedy solution $S_K=\bigcup_{i=1}^tJ_i$ satisfies $$\begin{aligned}
\label{k-batchuniformbound}
f(S_K)&\geq \frac{1}{{\alpha}_k}\left(1-(1-\frac{{\alpha}_k}{t})^t\right)f(O_K)\nonumber\\
&\geq\frac{1}{{\alpha}_k}(1-e^{-\alpha_k})f(O_K).\end{aligned}$$
Taking $T$ to be the optimal solution $O_K$ and $S$ to be the set $S^j$ generated by the $k$-batch greedy strategy over the first $j$ stages in Proposition \[Pro1\] results in $$f(O_K\cup S^j)\leq f(S^j)+\sum\limits_{i:T_i\subseteq O_K\setminus S^j}\varrho_{T_i}(S^j),$$ where $|T_i|=k$.
By the $k$-batch greedy strategy, we have that for $T_i\subseteq O_K\setminus S^j$, $$\varrho_{T_i}(S^j)\leq \varrho_{J_{j+1}}(S^j),$$ which implies that $$\label{ineq:relation}
f(O_K\cup S^j)\leq f(S^j)+t\varrho_{J_{j+1}}(S^j).$$ By the definition of $\hat{\alpha}_k$, we have
$$f(O_K)+(1-\hat{\alpha}_k)f(S^j)\leq f(O_K\cup S^j).$$ Combining the inequality above and (\[ineq:relation\]), we have $$\label{ineq:iteration}
f(S^{j+1})\geq \frac{1}{t}f(O_K)+(1-\frac{\hat{\alpha}_k}{t})f(S^j).$$ Taking $j=0,1,\ldots, t-1$ in (\[ineq:iteration\]), we have $$\begin{aligned}
f(S_K)=f(S^t)&\geq \frac{1}{t}f(O_K)+(1-\frac{\hat{\alpha}_k}{t})f(S^{t-1})\\
&\geq \frac{1}{t}f(O_K)\sum\limits_{l=0}^{t-1}(1-\frac{\hat{\alpha}_k}{t})\\
&=\frac{1}{\hat{\alpha}_k}\left(1-(1-\frac{\hat{\alpha}_k}{t})^t\right)f(O_K),\end{aligned}$$ which implies $$\begin{aligned}
f(S_K)&\geq \frac{1}{{\alpha}_k}\left(1-(1-\frac{{\alpha}_k}{t})^t\right)f(O_K)\\
&\geq\frac{1}{{\alpha}_k}(1-e^{-\alpha_k})f(O_K).\end{aligned}$$
*Remarks*
- When $\alpha_k=1$, the bound $(1-(1-\alpha_k/t)^t)/\alpha_k$ becomes $1-(1-1/t)^t$, which is the bound in [@nemhauser19781] when $p=0$.
- Let $h(x,y)=\left(1-(1-{x}/{y}\right)^y)/{x}$. The function $h(x,y)$ is nonincreasing in $x$ on the interval $[0,1]$ for any positive integer $y$. Also $h(x,y)$ is nonincreasing in $y$ when $x$ is a constant on the interval $[0,1]$.
- The function $l(x)=(1-e^{-x})/{x}$ is nonincreasing in $x$, so $(1-e^{-\alpha_k})/{\alpha_k}\in[1-e^{-1}, 1]$.
- The monotoneiety of $g(x)$ and $h(x,y)$ implies that the $k$-batch greedy strategy has better harmonic and exponential bounds than the $1$-batch greedy strategy if $\alpha_k\leq \alpha$ .
The following theorem establishes that indeed $\alpha_k\leq \alpha$.
\[Theorem3.5\] Assume that $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function satisfying $f(\emptyset)=0$. Then $\alpha_k\leq \alpha.$
By the definition of $\alpha_k$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\alpha_k&=\max_{J_k\subseteq \hat{X}}\left\{1-\frac{\varrho_{J_k}({X\setminus J_k})}{\varrho_{J_k}(\emptyset)}\right\}\\
&=1-\min_{J_k\subseteq \hat{X}}\left\{\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus J_l)}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(J_{l-1})}\right\},\end{aligned}$$ where $J_l=\{j_1,\ldots, j_l\}$ for $1\leq l\leq k$.
By the assumption that $f$ is a submodular set function, we have, for $1\leq l\leq k$, $$\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus J_l)\geq \varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus\{j_l\})
\ \text{and}\ \varrho_{j_l}(J_{l-1})\leq \varrho_{j_l}(\emptyset),$$ which imply that $$\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus J_l)}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(J_{l-1})}\geq\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus\{j_l\})}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(\emptyset)}.$$ Then, we have $$\label{Inequality2}
\alpha_k\leq 1-\min_{{j_1,\ldots,j_k}\in \hat{X}}\left\{\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus\{j_l\})}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^k\varrho_{j_l}(\emptyset)}\right\}.$$
By the definition of $\alpha$, we have for $1\leq l\leq k$, $$\varrho_{j_l}(X\setminus\{j_l\})\geq (1-\alpha)\varrho_{j_l}(\emptyset).$$
Combining the inequality above and (\[Inequality2\]), we have $$\alpha_k\leq 1-(1-\alpha)=\alpha.$$
The following theorem states that if $k_1$ divides $k$, then the total curvature $\alpha_{k}$ for the $k$-batch greedy is smaller than the total curvature $\alpha_{k_1}$ for the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy.
\[Theorem3.6\] Assume that $f$ is a submodular set function satisfying $f(\emptyset)=0$. Then $\alpha_{k}\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ when $k_1$ divides $k$.
Suppose that $k=k_1k_2$ ($k_1$ and $k_2$ are integers). Write $$\begin{aligned}
\varrho_{J_k}&(X\setminus J_k)=\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{lk_1}\setminus J_{(l-1)k_1}}(X\setminus J_{l {k_1}})\end{aligned}$$ and $$\varrho_{J_k}(\emptyset)=
\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(J_{(l-1) k_1}).$$
By inequality (\[eqn:submodularimplies\]), we have for $1\leq l\leq k_2$, $$\begin{aligned}
&\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(X\setminus J_{l k_1})\geq\\
&\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(X\setminus (J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}))\end{aligned}$$ and$$\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(J_{(l-1) k_1})
\leq \varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(\emptyset).$$
From the inequalities above and by the definition of $\alpha_k$, we have
$$\begin{aligned}
\alpha_k&=\max_{J_k\subseteq \hat{X}}\left\{1-\frac{\varrho_{J_k}({X\setminus J_k})}{\varrho_{J_k}(\emptyset)}\right\}\\
&=1-\min_{J_k\subseteq \hat{X}}\left\{\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(X\setminus J_{l k_1})}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(J_{(l-1) k_1})}\right\}\\
&\leq 1-\min_{J_k\subseteq\hat{X}}\\
&\tiny{\left\{\frac{\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(X\setminus (J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}))}{\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k_2}\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(\emptyset)}
\right\}}.\end{aligned}$$
By the definition of $\alpha_{k_1}$, we have for $1\leq l\leq k_2$, $$\begin{aligned}
\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(X\setminus (J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}))\\
\geq (1-\alpha_{k_1})\varrho_{J_{l k_1}\setminus J_{(l-1) k_1}}(\emptyset).\end{aligned}$$
Using the inequalities above, we have $$\alpha_k\leq 1-(1-\alpha_{k_1})=\alpha_{k_1}.$$
One would also expect the following generalization of Theorem \[Theorem3.6\] to hold: if $k_1\leq k$, then $\alpha_k\leq\alpha_{k_1}$, leading to better bounds for the $k$-batch greedy strategy than for the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy. We have a proof for this claim using Lemmas 1.1 and 1.2 in [@vondrak2010], but the proof is more involved and is omitted for the sake of brevity. We will illustrate the validity of this claim in Section IV.
Application: Task Assignment
============================
In this section, we consider a task assignment problem to demonstrate that the $k$-batch greedy strategy has better performance than the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function.
As a canonical example for problem (\[eqn:1\]), we consider the task assignment problem posed in [@streeter2008online], which was also analyzed in [@ZhC13J] and [@YJ2015]. In this problem, there are $n$ subtasks and a set $X$ of $N$ agents $a_j$ $(j=1,\ldots, N).$ At each stage, a subtask $i$ is assigned to an agent $a_j$, who accomplishes the task with probability $p_i(a_j)$. Let $X_i({a_1,a_2,\ldots, a_k})$ denote the random variable that describes whether or not subtask $i$ has been accomplished after performing the sequence of actions ${a_1,a_2,\ldots, a_k}$ over $k$ stages. Then $\frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n X_i(a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_k)$ is the fraction of subtasks accomplished after $k$ stages by employing agents $a_1,a_2,\ldots, a_k$. The objective function $f$ for this problem is the expected value of this fraction, which can be written as
$$f(\{a_1,\ldots,a_k\})=\frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n\left(1-\prod_{j=1}^k(1-p_i(a_j))\right).$$
Assume that $p_i(a)>0$ for any $a\in X$. Then it is easy to check that $f$ is nondecreasing. Therefore, when $\mathcal{I}=\{S\subseteq X: |S|\leq K\}$, the solution to this problem should be of length $K$. Also, it is easy to check that $f$ has the diminishing-return property.
For convenience, we only consider the special case $n=1$; our analysis can be generalized to any $n\geq 2$. For $n=1$, we have $$f(\{a_1,\ldots,a_k\})=1-\prod_{j=1}^k(1-p(a_j))$$ where $p(\cdot)=p_1(\cdot)$.
Assume that $0<p(a_1)\leq p(a_2)\leq \cdots\leq p(a_N)\leq 1$. Then by the definition of the total curvature $\alpha_k$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\alpha_k&=\max\limits_{j_1,\ldots,j_k\in {X}}\left\{1-\frac{f(X)-f(X\setminus\{j_1,\ldots,j_k\})}{f(\{j_1,\ldots, j_k\})-f(\emptyset)}\right\}\\
&=1-\prod_{l=k+1}^K(1-p(a_l)).\end{aligned}$$
From the form of $\alpha_k$, we have $\alpha_k\in[0,1]$, which is consistent with our conclusion that when $f$ is a nondecreasing submodular set function, then $\alpha_k \in[0,1]$. Also we have $\alpha_k\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ when $k_1$ divides $k$. Even if $k_1$ does not divide $k$, we still have $\alpha_k\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ in this example, which is consistent with our claim.
Conclusion
==========
In this paper, we derived performance bounds for the $k$-batch greedy strategy, $k\geq 1$, in terms of a total curvature $\alpha_k$. We showed that when the objective function is nondecreasing and submodular, the $k$-batch greedy strategy satisfies a harmonic bound $1/(1+\alpha_k)$ for a general matroid and an exponential bound $(1-e^{-\alpha_k})/\alpha_k$ for a uniform matroid, where $k$ divides the cardinality of the maximal set in the general matroid and the rank of the uniform matroid, respectively. We proved that, for a submodular objective function, $\alpha_k\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ when $k_1$ divides $k$. Consequently, for a nondecreasing submodular objective function, the $k$-batch greedy strategy has better performance bounds than the $k_1$-batch greedy strategy in such a case. This is true even when $k_1\leq k$ does not divide $k$, but it follows a more involved proof that we have left out. We demonstrated our results by considering a task-assignment problem, which also corroborated our claim that if $k_1\leq k$, then $\alpha_{k}\leq \alpha_{k_1}$ even if $k_1$ does not divide $k$.
[10]{}
M. Streeter and D. Golovin, “An online algorithm for maximizing submodular functions,” in *Proc. [NIPS: Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 21]{}*, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 2008, pp. 67–74. U. Feige and J. Vondr[á]{}k, “Approximation algorithms for allocation problems: Improving the factor of $1-1/e$,” in *Proc. IEEE. FOCS*, Berkeley, CA, USA, Oct. 2006, pp. 667–676. D. S. Hochbaum and A. Pathria, “Analysis of the greedy approach in problems of maximum $k$-coverage,” *Naval Research Logistics*, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 615–627, Dec. 1998. U. Feige, “A threshold of ln $n$ for approximating set cover,” *Journal of the ACM*, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 634–652, Jul. 1998. G. Cornu[é]{}jols, M. L. Fisher, and G. L. Nemhauser, “Location of bank accounts to optimize float: An analytic study of exact and approximate algorithms,” *Management Science*, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 789–810, Apr. 1977. N. Megiddo, E. Zemel, and S. L. Hakimi, “The maximum coverage location problem,” *SIAM Journal of Algebraic Discrete Methods*, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 253–261, Jun. 1983. E. Liu, E. K. P. Chong, and L. L. Scharf, “Greedy adaptive linear compression in signal-plus-noise models,” *IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory*, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 2269–2280, Apr. 2014. A. Krause, A. Singh, and C. Guestrin, “Near-Optimal sensor placement in Gaussian processes: Theory, efficient algorithms and empirical studies,” *Journal of Machine Learning Research*, vol. 9, pp. 235–284, Feb. 2008. J. Edmonds, “Submodular functions, matroids and certain polyhedra,” in *Combinatorial Structures and Their Applications*, Gordon and Breach, New York, USA, 1970, pp. 69–87.
W. Tutte, “Lecture on matroids,” *Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards Section B*, vol. 69, no. 468, pp. 1–47, 1965.
G. L. Nemhauser, L. A. Wolsey, and M. L. Fisher, “An analysis of approximations for maximizing submodular set functions-[I]{},” *Mathematical Programming Study*, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 265–294, 1978.
D. Hausmann, B. Korte, and T. Jenkyns, “Worst case analysis of greedy type algorithms for independence systems,” *Mathematical Programming Study*, vol. 12, pp. 120–131, 1980. M. L. Fisher, G. L. Nemhauser, and L. A. Wolsey, “An analysis of approximations for maximizing submodular set functions-[II]{},” *Mathematical Programming Study*, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 73–87, 1978.
M. Conforti and G. Cornu[é]{}jols, “Submodular set functions, matroids and the greedy algorithm: [T]{}ight worst-case bounds and some generalizations of the [R]{}ado-[E]{}dmonds theorem,” *Discrete Applied Mathematics*, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 251–274, 1984.
J. Vondr[á]{}k, “Submodularity and curvature: The optimal algorithm,” *RIMS K$\hat{o}$ky$\hat{u}$roku Bessatsu B23*, Kyoto, 2010, pp. 253–266.
Z. Zhang, E. K. P. Chong, A. Pezeshki, and W. Moran, “String submodular functions with curvature constraints,” *IEEE Trans. Autom. Control*, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 601–616, Mar. 2016. Y. Liu, E. K. P. Chong, and A. Pezeshki, “Bounding the greedy strategy in finite-horizon string optimization,” in *Proc. IEEE 54th Annual Conf. Decision Control*, Osaka, Japan, Dec. 2015, pp. 3900–3905. J. Lee, M. Sviridenko, and J. Vondr[á]{}k, “Submodular maximization over multiple matroids via generalized exchange properties,” *Mathematics of Operations Research*, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 795–806, Nov. 2010.
[^1]: This work is supported in part by NSF under award CCF-1422658, and by the CSU Information Science and Technology Center (ISTeC).
[^2]: Y. Liu is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA [yajing.liu@ymail.com]{}
[^3]: Z. Zhang is with Qualcomm Flarion Technology, Bridgewater, NJ 08873, USA. He was with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA [zzl.csu@gmail.com]{}
[^4]: E. K. P. Chong and A. Pezeshki are with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Mathematics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA [Edwin.Chong,Ali.Pezeshki@Colostate.Edu]{}
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Q:
only display value if input value is greater than 0
So I have hit a wall. I am trying to avoid displaying all the color options from a form in a "review order" page.
So they would enter desired quantity in the form for each color and submit to review.php page.
I'm just not sure if I need a PHP loop or a javascript loop or how to accomplish this.
Any help is really appreciated!
Form
<form action="review.php" method="post" name="form1" id="form1">
<p>12x12<br>
c000x12 <input type="text" name="c000x12"><br>
c010x12 <input type="text" name="c010x12"><br>
c020x12 <input type="text" name="c020x12"><br>
c019x12 <input type="text" name="c019x12"><br>
c021x12 <input type="text" name="c021x12"><br>
</p>
<p>12x24<br>
c000x24 <input type="text" name="c000x24"><br>
c010x24 <input type="text" name="c010x24"><br>
c020x24 <input type="text" name="c020x24"><br>
c019x24 <input type="text" name="c019x24"><br>
c021x24 <input type="text" name="c021x24">
</p>
<p><input type="submit" name="submit" id="submit" value="Submit"></p>
</form>
Then on the review page I have the following...
And I would like to only display the values that are greater than 0.
PHP
<?PHP
// x12
$c000x12= $_POST["c000x12"];
$c010x12= $_POST["c010x12"];
$c020x12= $_POST["c020x12"];
$c019x12= $_POST["c019x12"];
$c021x12= $_POST["c021x12"];
// x24
$c000x24= $_POST["c000x24"];
$c010x24= $_POST["c010x24"];
$c020x24= $_POST["c020x24"];
$c019x24= $_POST["c019x24"];
$c021x24= $_POST["c021x24"];
?>
HTML
<p>12x12<br>
<? echo "000 Transparent=".$c000x12 ."<br/>".
"010 White=".$c010x12 ."<br/>".
"020 Golden yellow=".$c020x12 ."<br/>".
"019 Signal yellow=".$c019x12 ."<br/>".
"021 Yellow=".$c021x12 ."<br/>" ; ?>
</p>
<p>12x24<br>
<? echo "000 Transparent=".$c000x24 ."<br/>".
"010 White=".$c010x24 ."<br/>".
"020 Golden yellow=".$c020x24 ."<br/>".
"019 Signal yellow=".$c019x24 ."<br/>".
"021 Yellow=".$c021x24 ."<br/>" ; ?>
</p>
A:
I would like to only display the values that are greater than 0.
The solution using array_filter and implode functions:
PHP:
$c12x12 = array_filter([$c000x12, $c010x12, $c019x12, $c020x12, $c021x12], function ($v) {
return (int) $v > 0;
});
$c12x24 = array_filter([$c000x24, $c010x24, $c020x24, $c019x24, $c021x24], function ($v) {
return (int) $v > 0;
});
HTML:
<p>12x12<br>
<?php echo implode('<br>', $c12x12); ?>
</p>
<p>12x24<br>
<?php echo implode('<br>', $c12x24); ?>
</p>
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Integrated circuits (IC's) are typically assembled into packages by physically and electrically coupling them to a substrate made of organic or ceramic material. One or more IC packages can be physically and electrically coupled to a printed circuit board (PCB) to form an “electronic assembly”. The “electronic assembly” can be part of an “electronic system”. An “electronic system” is broadly defined herein as any product comprising an “electronic assembly”. Examples of electronic systems include computers (e.g., desktop, laptop, hand-held, server, etc.), wireless communications devices (e.g., cellular phones, cordless phones, pagers, etc.), computer-related peripherals (e.g., printers, scanners, monitors, etc.), entertainment devices (e.g., televisions, radios, stereos, tape and compact disc players, video cassette recorders, MP3 (Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3) players, etc.), and the like.
In the field of electronic systems there is an incessant competitive pressure among manufacturers to drive the performance of their equipment up while driving down production costs. This is particularly true regarding forming electronic devices such as transistors in IC's, where each new generation of IC must provide increased performance, particularly in terms of an increased number of devices and higher clock frequencies, while generally being smaller or more compact in size. As the density and clock frequency of IC's increase, they accordingly generate a greater amount of heat. However, the performance and reliability of IC's are known to diminish as the temperature to which they are subjected increases, so it becomes increasingly important to adequately dissipate heat from IC environments.
An IC is fabricated on a substrate that may comprise a number of metal layers selectively patterned to provide metal interconnect lines (referred to herein as “traces”), and one or more electronic devices attached in or on one or more surfaces of the substrate. The electronic device or devices are functionally connected to other elements of an electronic system through a hierarchy of electrically conductive paths that include the substrate traces. The substrate traces typically carry signals that are transmitted between the electronic devices, such as transistors, of the IC. Some IC's have a relatively large number of input/output (I/O) terminals (also called “lands”), as well as a large number of power and ground terminals or lands.
As the internal circuitry of IC's, such as processors, operates at higher and higher clock frequencies, and as IC's operate at higher and higher power levels, the amount of heat generated by such IC's can increase their operating temperature to unacceptable levels. Thermal management of IC's refers to the ability to keep temperature-sensitive elements in an IC within a prescribed operating temperature. Thermal management has evolved to address the increased temperatures created within such electronic devices as a result of increased processing speed/power of the electronic devices.
With the advent of high performance processors, electronic devices have required more innovative thermal management. For example, in the last several years processing speeds of computer systems have climbed from 25 MHZ to over 1000 MHZ. Each of these increases in processing speed and power generally carry with it a “cost” of increased heat that must be dissipated. Corresponding improvements in thermal management such as improved heat sinks or heat pipes have accompanied such technological improvements. Further improvements in thermal management are needed to keep pace with ever increasing processor speeds and the desire to reduce manufacturing costs. |
Silymarin inhibits endothelial progenitor cells' senescence and protects against the antiproliferative activity of rapamycin: preliminary study.
Rapamycin, an antiproliferative agent used on drug-eluting stents, induces endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) senescence through telomerase inactivation and may impair the reendothelization of an injured arterial wall, leading to thrombosis. We examined whether silymarin, a complex of flavonolignans with hepatoprotective and antioxidative properties, can protect EPCs against rapamycin-induced senescence. Mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood of healthy volunteers. EPCs were cultured in endothelial cell growth medium-2 in the presence or absence of rapamycin (0.1 ng/mL) and/or silymarin (12.5–50 μg/mL). EPCs senescence–associated b-galactosidase activity, telomerase activity, and prolifertive activity were measured. The influence on tubular-like structure formation in vitro was investigated, and colony-forming assay on methylcellulose plates was performed. Silymarin increased telomerase activity 3-fold, reduced the number of senescent cells, and increased EPC proliferative activity (up to 64%) in comparison with cells cultured with rapamycin alone. Moreover, silymarin partially prevented impairment of tubular-like structure formation in Matrigel by rapamycin. These findings suggest that silymarin counteracts the inhibitory effects of rapamycin in EPCs. Silymarin may protect EPCs against the antiproliferative effects of rapamycin and restore their reconstructive ability. |
A Malayali cultural organisation staged a silent protest in Frankfurt after being told to remove beef from their menu at the Indien Fest held on Saturday.
The incident happened during the Indien Fest organised by the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt on August 31. According to the Kerala Samajam Frankfurt (KSF) Facebook page, Indian organisations participating in the fest were asked to serve delicacies from their state, with the only restriction being alcohol.
The Kerala Samajam group had prepared the items on their menu, which included beef curry. However, on the day of the fest, people with “vested interests” objected to the food item being served at the KSF stall. Those objecting to the menu stated that serving cow meat was a “direct attack on Indian culture”.
The Consulate General of India requested KSF to remove the food item from their menu so as to avoid a scene at the fest. The Kerala Samajam group wrote on Facebook that they complied to the request to “maintain peace and harmony and above all, to uplift the core value of India―Unity in Diversity”.
Menu posted by KSF on their FB page
Donny George, one of participants from KSF group, posted on Facebook that the group staged a silent protest against fascism. Members of the group are seen holding cards that read “unity in diversity” and “we decide what we eat” in the images posted on social media.
George posted that members of the community are against cowardice in the name of religion and depicting India as intolerant. He added that the group was “dejected” with such acts that questioned an individual's freedom of choice. “We feel it’s time we showed our dissent publicly,” he wrote.
George posted a link to a petition for “secularism and peace” as well. It called for showing solidarity and representing India as a tolerant country in the international community.
The KSF and George further clarified that there was no ruckus as reported by some news portals, and the group simply staged a silent protest after they succumbed to the pressure put on by those who objected. |
On Tuesday, Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) delivered the Democratic Party's response to President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE's first formal State of the Union address.
Speaking from Fall River, Mass., Kennedy — the grandson of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy — hit the Trump administration on its policies and vision for America.
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RELATED STORIES FROM THE HILL
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Watch the full speech above. A full transcript is below:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is an absolute privilege to join you all tonight. We are here in Fall River, Massachusetts, a proud American city, an American city built by immigrants.
From textiles to robots, this is a place that knows how to make great things. The students who are with us here this evening from the auto tech program at Diman Regional Technical School, carry on that rich legacy.
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Like many American hometowns, Fall River has faced its share of storms. The people here are tough. They fight for each other, they pull for their city. It is a fitting place to gather as our nation reflects on the state of our union. This is a difficult task. Many have spent the last year, anxious, angry, afraid, we all feel the fractured faultlines across our country. We hear the voices of Americans who are forgot in and for sake and — forgotten and for sake and — forsaken. Corporate profits fall but fail to give their workers their fair share. A government that struggles to keep itself open. Russia, knee deep in our democracy. An all out war on environmental protection. A justice department rolling back civil rights by the day. Hatred and supremacy proudly marching in our streets. Bullets tearing through our classrooms, concerts and congregations, targeting our sake — safest and sacred places. This nagging and thinking feeling, no matter your political beliefs, this is not right, this is not who we are.
Folks, it would be easy to dismiss this past years chaos. Partisanship as politics, but it is far, far bigger than that. This administration is not just targeting the laws that protect us, they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection. For them, dignity is not something you are born with, but something you measure by your net worth, your celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size. Not to mention, the gender of your spouse, the country of your birth, the color of your skin, the God of your prayers. their record has rebuked our highest American ideals, the belief that we are all or the, we are all equal, that we all count in the eyes of our laws, our leaders, our God, and our government. That is the American promise.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, today that promise is being broken by in administration that decides who makes the cut and who can be bargained away. they are turning American lives into a zero-sum game. For one to win, a nether must lose. We can guarantee America's safety if we slash our safety net. Where we can extend health care in Mississippi if we get it in Massachusetts. — gut it in Massachusetts. We can cut taxes if we raise them on families to model. We can take care of sick kids if we sacrificed rumors. We are bombarded with one false choice after another. Coal miners or single moms, rural communities are inner cities. The coast or the heart line. The daycare worker in Birmingham, bitter rights rather than mutual casualties of a system forcefully rigged towards those at the top. The parent who lies awake terrified that their transgender son or daughter will be beaten and bullied at school. Nothing is more shattering been a daughter in the grips of an opioid addiction. Here is an answer that Democrats offer tonight. We choose both.
The fight for both, because the greatest, strongest, richest nation in the world should not have to leave anyone behind.
We choose the better deal for all who call our country home. We choose a living wage and a paid leave, affordable tried your — a formal childcare that your family needs to survive. Trade tax that are fair, roads and bridges that will not rust away. A good education that you can afford, a health care system that offers you mercy whether you suffer from cancer, or depression, or a addiction. We choose an economy strong enough to post record stock prices, and brave enough to admit that top CEOs making 300 times their average worker is not right.
We choose Fall River. We choose that thousands of Americans communities whose roads are not paid with power or privilege, but with an honest effort of good faith, and the results to build something better for your kids. That is our story. It began the day our Founding Fathers and mothers set sail for a new world fleeing oppression and intolerance. He continued with every word of our independence, the audacity to declare that all men are created equal. An imperfect promise for a nation struggling to become a more perfect union. It grew with every suffrage at step, every freedom writers voice, with every weary soul we welcome to our shores. To all the dreamers watching tonight, let me be absolutely clear, you are part of our story, we will fight for you and we will not walk away— we will not walk away.
America, we carry that story on our shoulders. You swarmed to Washington last year to ensure that no parent has to worry if they can afford to save their child's life. you probably marched together last weekend, thousands on the streets of las vegas, philadelphia and nashville. You set high atop your mom's shoulder and held a sign that read "build a wall in my generation will tear it down."
You bravely say, "me too." you steadfastly say, "black lives matter." you wade through floodwaters, battle hurricanes, brave wildfires and mudslides to save a stranger. You battle your own quiet battles every single day. You drag your weary bodies to that extra shift so that your families will not feel the sting of scarcity. You leave loved ones at home to defend our country overseas, patrol our neighborhoods at night. You serve, you rescue, you help, you heal. That, more than any law or leader, debate work disagreement, that is what drives us towards progress. It may leave a mark — bullies may punch and it may leave a mark, but they have never managed to match the strength of stash strength and spirit of the people united— strength and spirit of the people united.
Politicians can be cheered for the promises they make. Our country will be judged by the promises we keep.
That is the measure of our character. That is who we are. Out of many, one. Ladies and gentlemen, have faith. Have faith. The state of our union is hopeful, resilient, and enduring. God bless you. God bless your family's. And May God bless the United States of America. Thank you. |
Q:
HTTP over TCP using Telnet/Hercules/Raw socket/
I'm connecting to real-time data on a remote server as a client. I want to send the following to a server and keep the connection open. This is a 'push' protocol.
http://server.domain.com:80/protocol/dosomething.txt?POSTDATA=thePostData
I can call this in a browser and it's fine. However, if I try to use telnet directly in a windows command prompt, the prompt just exits.
GET protocol/dosomething.txt?POSTDATA=thePostData
The same is the case if I use Putty.exe and select Telnet as the protocol. I can't see a way to do this with Hercules at all, as I don't think the server will interpret the GET
Is there any way I can do this?
Thanks.
A:
You have to match the HTTP protocol (RFC2616) to the letter if you want to use telnet. Try something like:
shell$ telnet www.google.com 80
Trying 173.194.43.50...
Connected to www.google.com (173.194.43.50).
Escape character is '^]'.
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.google.com:80
Connection: close
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:09:51 GMT
...
You need to type the following lines including an "empty line" following the "Connection" line.
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.google.com:80
Connection: close
|
Q:
Different Iitems in GridView
I'm trying to implement the following "start screen" interface for my Windows Store App.
I've figured a Gridview would be the component to use.
How do i display different type of items in a GridView?
Is this a good approach:
<GridView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<ContentControl Content="{Binding Converter={StaticResource local:ContentTypeToControlConverter}}" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</GridView.ItemTemplate>
And Class
public class ContentTypeToControlConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, string language)
{
if (value != null)
{
if (value is MenuItem)
{
return new MenuItemControl();
}
else if (value is RecentViewItem)
{
return new RecentItemControl();
}
}
return null;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, string language)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
A:
If you are targeting Windows 8.1 or higher - you could use the Hub control. That way you can avoid having to specify groups of items for your GridView, but implementing a DataTemplateSelector and setting it as a ItemTemplateSelector property of the GridView is the way to have items based on different templates.
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Background
==========
The severity of HIV/AIDS pandemic linked to injecting drug use is one of the most worrying medical and social problems throughout the world in recent years. Asia is by no means immune to this phenomenon where HIV is spreading early and rapidly among this group of people. In parts of northern Myanmar and several urban areas of Thailand, the prevalence of HIV infection up to levels of 40 to 80 percent has been recorded among injecting drug users (IDU) \[[@B1]\]. Although the prevalence of HIV levels are still very low in the Asia-Pacific region, the potential risk of spread of HIV infection among injecting drug users and the risk of spread of infection from them to others is worrisome.
IDUs form one of the major risk groups for HIV transmission in Myanmar. Myanmar has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV among the IDUs in the region with 37.5% of the IDU population infected with HIV \[[@B2]\]. In Myanmar, people who are addicted to illicit drugs are required by law to register at the government drug treatment centres. Records show that 66,838 drug users were registered as of June 2003, of which 20% were injecting drugs. These IDU\'s were particularly vulnerable to HIV \[[@B3]\]. The actual numbers of drug users in Myanmar are still unknown as it is expected that most drug users do not register. The population size of IDUs in Myanmar generated during the estimation workshop held in Myanmar in 2004 ranged from 12,000-60,000. Other sources have quoted higher ranges from 150,000 to 250,000 \[[@B4]\] and 90,000 to 300,000 \[[@B4]\].
The objective of the study was to determine the risk behaviours among HIV positive injecting drug users in Myanmar.
Methods
=======
Background place of study
-------------------------
The study was conducted in Shan state, near the Myanmar and Thailand border which has a high prevalence of IDU\'s in Myanmar. The centre where the programme is run has 22 staffs including medical doctors, nurses, counsellors, administrative staffs and outreach workers. The centre helps to implement harm reduction programmes in this part of Myanmar. This centre has collaborations with other Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and local health authorities to prevent HIV transmission in the area. Besides syringe exchange, primary health care, referral of necessary cases, free condoms, treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI), abscess dressing, hair dressing, bathing facilities, food supplies, socioeconomic support and income generation supports are provided by the center. The center also provides regular counseling and health education to IDUs. Outreach workers from the centre regularly go to the field to encourage drug addicts to utilize the services of the center, provide health education, exchange needle and syringes and search for new IDUs. Screening for HIV is provided free of cost through the referral network with the National AIDS Programme.
Study design
------------
A non matched case-control study design (the controls were not matched with the cases) was chosen to achieve the objective of the study. The study was conducted from January to March 2009 with the assistance of other NGOs operating in this area such as MSI and TOP.
Sampling
--------
The participants were recruited from among those attending the harm reduction programme run by a non governmental organization in Shan State. All IDUs who were registered at this centre were eligible to participate. Respondents who reported injecting drugs from six months to the time of the study were designated as \"current IDUs\".
HIV positive IDU\'s were recruited as cases and those IDUs who were not diagnosed as HIV were recruited as controls. Recruitment of the respondents was done with the help of the NGO which helped select respondents who attended the centre. The potential respondents were informed of the study via announcements made at the centre. The cases were defined as consenting IDU, aged 15 and above, diagnosed as HIV positive when screened using a HIV rapid test and confirmed by the second HIV rapid test (UNIGOLD). The controls were defined as consenting IDU, age 15 and above, diagnosed as HIV negative by HIV rapid test and those from the same community as the cases. The inclusion criteria included those who consented to participate and the exclusion criteria included those who refused to participate and were below the age of 15 years old.
Tools
-----
A quantitative questionnaire was developed and field tested prior to the actual study. The questionnaire had questions on demography, drug use history, daily drug expenditure, reuse and sharing of syringes, detoxification history and awareness about HIV. Interviews were conducted by volunteers who were expert in local languages. They were trained for three days and two days of field practice was conducted for them. The interviews were conducted in private settings.
Laboratory Methods
------------------
The blood samples were taken from respondents after the interview and sent to site laboratories of the National AIDS Programme STI/AIDS Teams to perform HIV antibody tests. At the site laboratory, serum specimens were screened using a HIV rapid test kit (mostly Determine) and the reactive specimens were further confirmed by a second HIV rapid test kit (UNIGOLD) according to WHO testing strategy II.
Ethics
------
This study was ethically conducted. A verbal consent was taken from each respondent before starting the interview and collecting the blood sample. The confidentiality of these patients was totally assured.
Research Analysis
-----------------
Data analysis was done using SPSS version 13.0. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulation were done. Chi square test was applied and the odds ratio was calculated.
Results
=======
All of the 217 registered injecting drug users responded to the study, giving the response rate as 100%. Seventy eight respondents were HIV positive and 139 were not. As shown in table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}, there were 211 male registered IDU\'s compared to 11 female registered IDUs. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 54 years old with the mean age of 32.8 years. There were more HIV positive IDUs among those within the age group of 35 years and below (p = 0.02). Among the HIV positive IDUs there were more married respondents followed by singles and divorcees as compared with non HIV IDUs where most of the respondents were single followed by married and divorcees (p = 0.02). There is a two fold greater odds of having HIV when the IDU is illiterate. Majority of those with HIV positive IDUs were Shan followed by other races and Myanmar compared to non HIV IDUs where the majority were Myanmar followed by other races and Shans (p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the religion among the HIV positive and non HIV IDUs. There was an almost three fold greater odds of having HIV when the IDU was from the rural area.
######
Demographics
Variable HIV N (%) Chi squared P value Odds ratio 95% CI
--------------- ------------ ------------ ------------- --------- ------------ -------- -----------
**Sex** Male 75 (96.1%) 136 (97.8%)
Female 3 (3.9%) 3 (2.2%)
**Age** \<=35 42 (53.9%) 96 (69.1%) 4.99 0.03
\>=36 36 (46.1%) 43 (30.9%)
**Marital** Single 24 (30.8%) 69 (49.6%) 9.00 0.03
Married 37 (47.4%) 55 (39.6%)
Divorce 15 (19.2%) 13 (9.5%)
Widow 2 (2.6%) 2 (1.4%)
**Education** Illiterate 18 (23.1%) 16 (11.5%) 5.06 0.02 2.31 1.09;4.83
Literate 60 (76.9%) 123 (88.5%)
**Race** Myanmar 19 (24.4%) 57 (41.1%) 8.14 0.02
Shan 30 (38.4%) 32 (23.0%)
Other 29 (37.2%) 50 (35.9%)
**Religion** Buddhist 62 (79.5%) 110 (79.1%)
Christian 11 (14.1%) 15 (10.8%)
Muslim 5 (6.4%) 12 (8.6%)
Spiritual 0 (0%) 2 (1.4%)
**Location** Rural 51 (65.4%) 61 (43.9%) 9.25 0.00 2.42 1.36;4.29
Urban 27 (34.6%) 78 (56.1%)
Patterns of drug usage among Injecting Drug Users (table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"})
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
######
Patterns of Drug Usage among IDUs
Variable HIV n (%) Chi squared p value Odds ratio 95% CI
-------------------------------- --------------- ------------ ------------- --------- ------------ -------- --
**First drug use experience** Friends 62 (79.5%) 116 (83.5%)
Family 1 (1.3%) 0 (0%)
Sex worker 2 (2.6%) 0 (0%)
Other 13 (16.7%) 23 (16.5%)
**First drug used \#** Opium 28 (31.5%) 32 (19.3%)
Heroin 46 (51.7%) 90 (54.2%)
Cough mixture 4 (4.5%) 6 (3.6%)
Diazepam 6 (6.7%) 11 (6.6%)
Marijuana 5 (5.6%) 27 (16.3%)
**Present Drugs used \#** Opium 9 (9.8%) 9 (5.2%)
Heroin 71 (77.2%) 131 (76.2%)
Cough mixture 4 (4.4%) 2 (1.2%)
Diazepam 3 (3.3%) 15 (8.7%)
Marijuana 5 (5.4%) 15 (8.7%)
**Age first used drugs** \<=21 45 (57.7%) 97 (69.8%) 3.23 0.05
=\>22 33 (42.3%) 42 (30.2%)
**Drug use frequency per day** \<=2 13 (16.7%) 26 (18.7%)
2-4 62 (79.5%) 106 (76.3%)
\>=5 3 (3.9%) 7 (5.0%)
**Drug use expenditure** \<=3000 38 (55.9%) 56 (40.3%) 3.55 0.05
3001-8000 20 (29.4%) 49 (35.3%)
\>=8001 10 (14.8%) 34 (24.5%)
**Reason for drug use** Like 9 (11.5%) 24 (17.3%) 4.46 0.04
Experiment 21 (26.9%) 49 (35.3%)
Relaxation 3 (3.8%) 4 (2.9%)
Peer press 35 (44.9%) 49 (35.3%)
Upset 5 (6.4%) 11 (7.9%)
Other 5 (6.4%) 2 (1.4%)
\# Multiple response
For most of the responders, the first experience in using drugs was with friends. Heroin was the most common drug used for the first time and it was also the most common drug being used at the time of the study. The age range the responders first started using drugs was from 13 to 44, and the mean age was 20. The most common age for the first drug use was when they were 21 years old and below (p = 0.05). Most of the IDUs use drugs 2-4 times per day. The expenditure incurred for drug per day ranged from 88 to 70000 Myanmar Kyats (1000 Kyats = 1 US\$) with the mean of 6591 (Kyats). Most of the IDUs spent less than 3001 Kyats. There were more HIV positive IDUs who spent less than 3001 Kyats but there were more non HIV IDUs who spent more than 3000 Kyats (p = 0.05). The most common reason for drug use was peer pressure and experimentation (p = 0.00).
Trend of injecting drug (table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"})
----------------------------------------------------------
######
Trend of Injecting drugs
Variable HIV Chi squared p value Odds ratio 95% CI
---------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------- --------- ------------ -----------
**Method of Drug intake \#** Injection 78 (74.3%) 139 (46.6%)
Inhalation 15 (14.3%) 31 (10.4%)
Sniffing 4 (3.8%) 6 (2.0%)
Oral 8 (7.6%) 22 (7.4%)
Other 0 (0%) 100 (33.6%)
**Age first IV** \<=21 23 (29.5%) 65 (46.8%) 6.189 0.02
=\>22 55 (70.5%) 74 (53.2%)
**IV location \#** Arm 41 (34.8%) 53 (31.55%)
Forearm 45 (38.1%) 96 (57.1%)
Finger 1 (0.9%) 1 (0.6%)
Thigh 8 (6.8%) 1 (0.6%)
Calf 5 (4.2%) 1 (0.6%)
Hand 15 (12.7%) 15 (8.9%)
Other 3 (2.5%) 1 (0.6%)
**Type of syringe first use** Used 44 (56.4%) 28 (20.1%) 26.64 0.00 5.13 2.79;9.44
Disposable 34 (43.6%) 111 (79.9%)
**Type of syringe used now** Used 5 (6.4%) 3 (2.2%)
Disposable 73 (93.6%) 136 (97.8%)
**Sharing Syringe at first injection** Yes 47 (60.3%) 35 (25.2%) 26.15 0.00 4.50 2.49;8.16
No 31 (39.7%) 104 (74.8%)
**Sharing syringe now** Yes 5 (6.4%) 7 (5.0%)
No 73 (93.6%) 132 (95%)
\# Multiple response
Injecting was the most common method of drug abuse. More HIV positive respondents started injecting when they were 22 years and above (p = 0.02). The common injecting sites were forearm, arm and hand. Those using used syringes were five fold greater risk of getting HIV as compared to those using disposable syringes for the first time. Those who share syringes were almost five times more likely to developed HIV compared with those who do not share syringes for the first time. The usage of used syringes as well as sharing syringes had reduced at the time the study was conducted.
Knowledge and practice of prevention programmes (table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"})
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
######
Knowledge and practice of prevention programmes
Variable HIV Chi squared p Odds ratio 95% CI
-------------------------------------------- ----- ------------ -------------- ------------- ------ ------------ ------------
**Knowledge of Prevention programmes** Yes 77 (98.7%) 137 (98.56%)
No 1 (1.3%) 2 (1.4%)
**Easy to get syringe** Yes 76 (97.4%) 136 (97.8%)
No 2 (2.6%) 3 (2.2%)
**Will use more drugs with free syringes** Yes 7 (9.0%) 15 (10.8%)
No 71 (91.0%) 124 (89.2%)
**Returning the used syringe** Yes 67 (85.9%) 90 (64.8%) 11.17 0.00 3.32 1.01;6.86
No 11 (14.1%) 49 (35.3%)
**Had Drug treatment** Yes 73 (93.6%) 104 (74.8%) 11.19 0.00 4.91 1.84;13.14
No 5 (6.4%) 35 (25.2%)
Most of the respondents know about the Needle and Syringe Exchange Programme and they find it easy to get the syringes from the programme and most claim that they would not be inclined to use more drugs if they are given free syringes. HIV positive IDUs were three times more likely to return used syringes. Those with history of having unsuccessfully gone through drug treatment were almost five times more likely to be HIV positive.
Discussion
==========
**Sharing contaminated injecting equipment**is the primary mode of HIV transmission in many countries throughout Europe and Asia and it is now a major risk factor for the AIDS pandemic \[[@B5]\]. In this study we found that those who utilized used syringes for the first time were five times more likely be HIV positive and similarly those who shared syringe for the first time were five times more likely to be HIV positive. Evidence from other studies has shown the prevalence of HIV was highest among IDUs who reported daily injection and sharing syringes consistently \[[@B6]\].
This study also found that responders who were illiterate and those who lived in rural areas were twice likely to be HIV positive and most of the HIV positive responders were of the minority race. Similar findings were found in studies conducted elsewhere which found a higher prevalence of HIV among those with low education levels \[[@B7]\] and among the aborigines who lived in rural areas \[[@B8]\]. **A**mong the minority population in Myanmar most of them live in rural areas which have poor access to education system and harm reduction programmes provided by the government and NGO\'s. Report from the National AIDS programme showed a higher HIV prevalence among ethnic minorities. This could probably be because of the easy access to heroin in and around the permeable borders which has resulted in an increase in the injection mode of heroin or raw opium use especially among the ethnic minority populations \[[@B9]\]. As a result of increased use of injection mode of drug abuse there has been a rapid increase in the rate of HIV transmission among drug users in the border areas and northeast parts of Myanmar.
In this study most HIV positive responders were 35 years and below and most were married. A study conducted by Celentano \[[@B10]\] showed that those below the age of 39 years old had more than twice the incidence of HIV as did those aged 40 years and above \[[@B10]\]. Similarly, Myanmar HIV Sero-sentinel Survey conducted in 2008 reported that majority of HIV positive IDUs in Myanmar were 35 years and below \[[@B11]\]. A study by Jia \[[@B12]\] revealed that married IDUs have a greater risk of getting HIV than single or divorced IDUs.
This study also showed that HIV positive IDUs were more likely to return used syringes and those with a history of unsuccessful drug treatment were more likely to be HIV positive. There is substantial evidence that syringe exchange programs are effective in preventing HIV risk behaviour and HIV sero-conversion among IDUs \[[@B13]-[@B15]\]. The reduction of the HIV incidence and prevalence among the IDUs has successfully been achieved by the change of the high risk behaviours as a result of harm reduction programmes \[[@B15]-[@B17]\].
Limitations
-----------
There are a number of limitations in this study. The total number of study participants was less than optimal and the study is limited by its non matched case control design.
Conclusions
===========
Illiterates and the minority IDU\'s are at a higher risk of being HIV positive. Health intervention programmes should focus on these vulnerable groups with the emphasis on the harmful effects of sharing needles.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors\' contributions
=======================
LAS performed the field work and the data collection, whereas LAS and KKN planned the write up of the article. Data was analysed by ARK.
The authors have read and approved the manuscript.
Acknowledgements
================
The authors would like to thank the government counterparts, staffs of the NGO for organizing the data collection and other non-governmental organizations for their continuous efforts and support in our efforts to advance IDU research.
|
Coin Center today filed an amicus curiae brief in federal court opposing the IRS’s overbroad and indiscriminate request for Coinbase customer financial records. If enforced, the IRS’s “John Doe” summons would set a dangerous precedent with implications that go far beyond Bitcoin user privacy. We explain in the brief:
The burden falls to the IRS to make make a prima facie showing that its John Doe summons was issued in good faith. The Supreme Court has held that the IRS must begin by demonstrating that the summons “was issued pursuant to a ‘legitimate purpose.’” The Court has insisted that it is the duty of a district court to evaluate that demonstration of purpose and ensure that its own processes for enforcing administrative summonses are not being abused.
Improper purposes include “‘fishing expeditions’ into the private affairs of taxpayers.” and “research projects or inquiries, absent an investigation of taxpayers or individuals and corporations from whom information is sought.” The IRS has provided two declarations thus far in which it attempts to demonstrate that its purposes are legitimate in this investigation. In the more recent declaration, the purpose of the investigation is said to be to “determine the identity and correct federal income tax liability of United States persons who conducted transactions in a convertible virtual currency . . . for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014, and 2015.”
There is no obvious reason why the IRS could not freely substitute “convertible virtual currency” with any valuable item (e.g. cash, rare books, artwork, or baseball cards) in order to mount investigations seeking the “identity and correct federal income tax liability” for all U.S. persons trading or dealing in those items. If such a simple and sweeping statement of purpose is sufficient to qualify as a legitimate purpose, there would be no meaningful judicial check in place to stop the IRS from using the John Doe summons process to collect the personal records of every person who had bought or sold stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, art within a given time period from Sotheby’s, or rare books from City Lights Booksellers, or made cash deposits or withdrawals at Bank of America.
Fishing expeditions like this are totally unacceptable and outrageous. You can read the full brief here. Coin Center will continue to help digital currency users fight back against these types of improper requests.
The cryptocurrency policy briefing from Coin Center.
Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency and public policy in one entertaining read.
Based in Washington, D.C., Coin Center is the leading non-profit research and advocacy center focused on the public policy issues facing cryptocurrency and decentralized computing technologies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Our mission is to build a better understanding of these technologies and to promote a regulatory climate that preserves the freedom to innovate using permissionless blockchain technologies. |
U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,804 discloses organic aerogels produced from resorcinol-formaldehyde, hydroquinone-resorcinol-formaldehyde, phloroglucinol-resorcinol-formaldehyde and catechol-resorcinol-formaldehyde. This process forms macroscopic shaped bodies whose volume is determined by the reactor geometry.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,341 discloses a process for producing organic aerogels, wherein an aqueous organic phase is stirred in mineral oil until the organic phase polymerizes to a gel. The organic aerogels thus obtained have a particle size of 1 μm to 3 mm.
WO 02/12380 discloses porous resins which are carbonized to mesoporous carbon with a particle size of 2 μm to 2 mm.
WO 01/19904, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,737,445 (B2), 6,297,293 (B1), US2002065333 (A1) disclose processes for producing monolithic polymer or carbon structures with defined mesoporosity.
Barral (Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 225, p. 46-50, 1998), Wu and Fu (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, Vol. 96, p. 115-120, 2006) and Wu et al. (Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 351 (2005) 915-921) disclose that monolithic polymer or carbon structures with defined porosity can be produced by a two-stage process (pH shift instead of constant pH). |
Q:
Program that passes STDIN to STDOUT with color codes stripped?
I have a command that produces output in color, and I would like to pipe it into a file with the color codes stripped out. Is there a command that works like cat except that it strips color codes? I plan to do something like this:
$ command-that-produces-colored-output | stripcolorcodes > outfile
A:
You'd think there'd be a utility for that, but I couldn't find it. However, this Perl one-liner should do the trick:
perl -pe 's/\e\[?.*?[\@-~]//g'
Example:
$ command-that-produces-colored-output | perl -pe 's/\e\[?.*?[\@-~]//g' > outfile
Or, if you want a script you can save as stripcolorcodes:
#! /usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
while (<>) {
s/\e\[?.*?[\@-~]//g; # Strip ANSI escape codes
print;
}
If you want to strip only color codes, and leave any other ANSI codes (like cursor movement) alone, use
s/\e\[[\d;]*m//g;
instead of the substitution I used above (which removes all ANSI escape codes).
A:
Remove color codes (special characters) with GNU sed
sed -r "s/\x1B\[([0-9]{1,2}(;[0-9]{1,2})?)?[m|K]//g"
Or
Strip ANSI escape sequences in Python
Install colorama python package (pip install colorama). Put into stripcolorcodes:
#!/usr/bin/env python
import colorama, fileinput, sys;
colorama.init(strip=True);
for line in fileinput.input():
sys.stdout.write(line)
Run chmod +x stripcolorcodes.
A:
If you can install the Term::ANSIColor module, this perl script works:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
use Term::ANSIColor qw(colorstrip);
print colorstrip $_ while <>;
|
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