text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
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% File src/library/base/man/Hyperbolic.Rd
% Part of the R package, https://www.R-project.org
% Copyright 1995-2011 R Core Team
% Distributed under GPL 2 or later
\name{Hyperbolic}
\title{Hyperbolic Functions}
\usage{
cosh(x)
sinh(x)
tanh(x)
acosh(x)
asinh(x)
atanh(x)
}
\alias{cosh}
\alias{sinh}
\alias{tanh}
\alias{acosh}
\alias{asinh}
\alias{atanh}
\description{
These functions give the obvious hyperbolic functions. They
respectively compute the hyperbolic cosine, sine, tangent, and their
inverses, arc-cosine, arc-sine, arc-tangent (or \sQuote{\emph{area cosine}},
etc).
}
\arguments{
\item{x}{a numeric or complex vector}
}
\details{
These are \link{internal generic} \link{primitive} functions: methods
can be defined for them individually or via the
\code{\link[=S3groupGeneric]{Math}} group generic.
Branch cuts are consistent with the inverse trigonometric functions
\code{asin} \emph{et seq}, and agree with those defined in Abramowitz
and Stegun, figure 4.7, page 86. The behaviour actually on the cuts
follows the C99 standard which requires continuity coming round the
endpoint in a counter-clockwise direction.
}
\section{S4 methods}{
All are S4 generic functions: methods can be defined
for them individually or via the
\code{\link[=S4groupGeneric]{Math}} group generic.
}
\seealso{
The trigonometric functions, \code{\link{cos}}, \code{\link{sin}},
\code{\link{tan}}, and their inverses
\code{\link{acos}}, \code{\link{asin}}, \code{\link{atan}}.
The logistic distribution function \code{\link{plogis}} is a shifted
version of \code{tanh()} for numeric \code{x}.
}
\references{
Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A. (1972)
\emph{Handbook of Mathematical Functions.} New York: Dover.\cr
Chapter 4. Elementary Transcendental Functions: Logarithmic,
Exponential, Circular and Hyperbolic Functions
}
\keyword{math}
|
Release Name: Serbis 2008 VOSTFR DVDRiP XViD-FENUA
Source: DVDRIP
Size: 699 MB
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 90 min
Resolution: 656 X 352
Video Codec: XVID
Audio Codec: Lame MP3
IMDB Rating: 6,8 (awaiting 186 votes)
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1225296/
Awards: 2 wins & 3 nominations.
Directed by: BRILLANTE MENDOZA, who won the prize of BEST DIRECTOR IN CANNES FESTIVAL 2009, by your new movie "Kinatay".
Starring: Gina Pareño ... Nanay Flor
Dan Alvaro ... Jerome
Mercedes Cabral ... Merly
Julio Diaz ... Lando
Bobby Jerome Go
Roxanne Jordan ... Jewel
Jacklyn Jose ... Nayda
Kristoffer King ... Ronald
Coco Martin ... Alan
Andy Picache ... Edwin
Synopis: A drama that follows the travails of the Pineda family in the Filipino city of Angeles. Bigamy, unwanted pregnancy, possible incest and bothersome skin irritations are all part of their daily challenges, but the real "star" of the show is an enormous, dilapidated movie theater that doubles as family business and living space. At one time a prestige establishment, the theater now runs porn double bills and serves as a meeting ground for hustlers of every conceivable persuasion. The film captures the sordid, fetid atmosphere, interweaving various family subplots with the comings and goings of customers, thieves and even a runaway goat while enveloping the viewer in a maelstrom of sound, noise and continuous motion.
Speak in Tagalog (Filipin language) with subtitles in French.
SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH:
http://www.opensubtitles.org/pt/subtitles/3608778/serbis-en
SUBTITLES IN SPANISH:
http://www.opensubtitles.org/pt/subtitles/3608781/serbis-es
SUBTITLES IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE:
http://www.opensubtitles.org/pt/subtitles/3580676/serbis-pb
Thanks to those helping me seed. Leechers remember, the community depends on you. If nobody shares, the freebies go away. Remember, the only reason you can download this free movie is because others are generous enough to keep sharing it with you. If nobody shares, everybody loses, so even if its for an extra hour or two after you get it, remember, others want to see it too, and they can't without you.
SEE MY OTHERS UPLOADS:
http://thepiratebay.se/user/noriegaRJ
Thanks to those helping me seed. Leechers remember, the community depends on you. If nobody shares, the freebies go away. Remember, the only reason you can download this free movie is because others are generous enough to keep sharing it with you. If nobody shares, everybody loses, so even if its for an extra hour or two after you get it, remember, others want to see it too, and they can't without you. |
Exhaust systems are used in combustion engines to manage exhaust gas produced through combustion operation in engine cylinders. The exhaust systems may include exhaust manifolds, emission control devices, mufflers, etc. However, vehicle designs may impose packaging constraints on the exhaust system to achieve a desired vehicle profile or compactness. However, these packaging constraints may be at odds with various functional characteristics of the exhaust system such as emission control device operation, turbine operation, back pressure generation, etc. For example, shortening an exhaust manifold may lead to increased back pressure generation and/or create uneven flow distribution for downstream components such as a catalyst. Therefore, trade-offs may be made between vehicle compactness and the functional characteristics of the exhaust system.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,071 discloses an exhaust flow distribution device positioned in a muffler upstream of an integrated exhaust aftertreatment device, such as a catalyst or diesel particulate filter. The flow distribution device disrupts the exhaust gas flow travelling through the muffler.
The Inventors have recognized several drawbacks with the exhaust flow distribution device discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,071. For example, the flow distribution device may not uniformly distribute exhaust gas. For instance, wakes may be generated behind the deflectors in the flow distribution device, thereby decreasing velocity distribution of the exhaust gas directly behind the flow distribution device. Furthermore, this device is suited to exhaust flows that are centrally discharged into a symmetric catalyst inlet cone, and not a compact exhaust manifold.
The inventors herein have recognized the above issues and developed an exhaust system for an engine. The exhaust system includes an emission control device and an exhaust manifold having a plurality of runners merging at a confluence section positioned upstream of the emission control device. The exhaust system further includes a mixer plate positioned in the confluence section, the mixer plate including a central opening and a plurality of louvered vents positioned axially around the central opening, the louvered vents having angled openings facing a common rotational direction.
The mixer plate may enable the exhaust gas flow provided to the downstream emission control device to be more evenly distributed. As a result, emission control device operation may be improved. Specifically, in one example, the tangential exhaust gas flow generated via the exhaust runners works in conjunction with the angled louvered vents to decrease velocity variability in the exhaust gas. As a result, the gas flow from the individual runners of the compact exhaust manifold are less likely to use separate zones of the catalyst brick, thereby improving the conversion efficiency of the emission control device. This is especially true when the air-fuel ratio from each cylinder is not stichiometric. Further, it will be appreciated that the mixer plate may not significantly increase backpressure in the exhaust manifold, which may degrade high load performance (e.g., full load performance), due to the central opening in the mixer plate. As a result, a compact exhaust manifold may be used in the exhaust system, if desired, without significantly increasing backpressure or decreasing the exhaust gas conversion efficiency in the emission control device. Thus, traditional trade-offs between desired characteristics in the exhaust system discussed above may be circumvented.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure. Additionally, the above issues have been recognized by the inventors herein, and are not admitted to be known. |
Jarl Hemmer
Jarl Robert Hemmer (18 September 1893 – 6 December 1944) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature eight times.
Life
He was born into a wealthy family, from Vaasa, Finland. His first collection of poems was called Rösterna (The Voices) and it was published in 1914. He made his breakthrough in 1922 with another collection of epic poetry called Rågens rike (Realm of the Rye). He got The Great Nordic Novel Prize (Stora Nordiska Romanpriset) for En man och hans samvete (A Fool of Faith), a book about the Finnish Civil War, published in 1931. Inwardly troubled, he experienced several religious crises and alcoholism and finally committed suicide.
Following the murder of Kaj Munk on 4 January 1944 the Danish resistance newspaper De frie Danske brought condemning reactions from influential Scandinavians, including Hemmer.
Works in English
The Voices 1914.
Realm of the Rye Helsingfors : Akademiska Bokhandeln, 1938.
Fool of faith. New York : Liveright Pub. Corp., 1935,
References
Category:1893 births
Category:1944 deaths
Category:People from Vaasa
Category:People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
Category:Finnish writers in Swedish
Category:Finnish poets in Swedish
Category:Writers from Ostrobothnia (region)
Category:Swedish male writers who committed suicide
Category:20th-century poets
Category:Suicides in Finland |
Q:
How to add css files using PHP inside the tag?
Ok, let me explain:
I have a some files, something basic like this:
index.php
<html>
<head>
<title>Simple page</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php include 'home.php'; ?>
</body>
</html>
home.php
<div class="thisWillBeBlue">Still not blue</div>
style.css
.thisWillBeBlue {background: blue}
Now the question: Using php I want to insert the style.css inside the head tag, calling it from the file home.php. Well, I came out with a solution, but it was not very effective:
index.php
<?php $css = array();
$css[] = 'linktothecss.css'
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Simple page</title>
<?php
foreach($css as $item){
echo "<link rel='stylesheet' href='".$item."' />";
}
?>
</head>
<body>
<?php include 'home.php'; ?>
</body>
</html>
But the problem it is, If I call the css from home.php it will be added to the array later, therefore it will not be echoed inside the head tag. Any ideas?
A:
You could do it using ob_start() and ob_end_flush() functions
e.g.
index.php
<?php
$csspage = "default.css";
function loadCSS($buffer) {
global $csspage;
return (str_replace('{{ css }}', $csspage, $buffer));
}
ob_start("loadCSS"); ?>
<html>
<head>
<!-- the string {{ css }} is just a placeholder that will be replaced
with the new value of $csspage defined later in the code, otherwise
it will replaced with its initial value (default.css)
-->
<link href="{{ css }}" />
</head>
<body>
<?php include 'home.php'; ?>
</body>
</html>
<?php ob_end_flush(); ?>
home.php
<?php $csspage = "custom_style.css"; ?>
<div class="thisWillBeBlue">blue</div>
Further reference: http://it1.php.net/ob_start
|
This invention relates generally to air conditioning systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for reducing liquid carry over from an evaporator.
In a refrigeration circuit, wherein refrigerant vapor passes from the evaporator to the compressor, to the extent that the refrigerant isn""t completely evaporated, liquid refrigerant may be passed on to the compressor as liquid carry over, which affects both the performance and the life of the compressor.
There are generally two types of evaporator applications in which liquid carry over is a particular problem: flooded evaporators and falling film evaporators. In a flooded evaporator, wherein liquid refrigerant is introduced in the lower part of the evaporator shell, liquid droplets tend to be entrained in the refrigerant vapor flow leaving at the top of the heat exchanger tube bank. Similarly, in a falling film evaporator arrangement, wherein two phase refrigerant is introduced at the top of the tube bank, there tends to be a significant amount of liquid refrigerant that is entrained into the compressor suction.
One approach to solving this problem is to provide a liquid/vapor separator, either internally or externally of the evaporator. While these are effective, they add substantial expense to the system.
Another approach has been to provide sufficient vertical space between the top of the tube bank and the suction nozzle at the top of the shell such that droplets will be caused to flow downwardly by the force of gravity before they reach the suction nozzle. This, of course, requires the use of a larger shell, which in turn is costly because of the added materials and space that it occupies.
Yet another approach has been to provide a so called xe2x80x9celiminatorxe2x80x9d in the form of a wire mesh, between the top of the tube bank and the compressor suction. Such an eliminator tends to interrupt the flow of the liquid droplets, allowing them to collect on the eliminator and to eventually fall by the force of gravity. This approach is somewhat effective in controlling liquid carry over and, while it requires less space then the approach described hereinabove, it does require some additional space for the eliminator and also involves the cost of the eliminator. Further it is recognized as being passive in the sense that it simply turns back the droplets which, again, will tend to be entrained in the flow of refrigerant vapor as before.
In addition to the commonly used flooded evaporator and falling film evaporator applications discussed hereinabove, the present invention may be applicable to increase the system efficiency such that other applications become feasible. For example, in air conditioning systems in which the refrigerant is driven by reciprocating or scroll compressors, direct expansion evaporators, rather then flooded evaporators, are used because flooded evaporators do not provide sufficient suction super heat for use with such compressors. However, the use of flooded evaporators would be preferred if this problem can be overcome.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved evaporator arrangement for reducing liquid carry over.
Another object of the present invention is the provision in an evaporator for effectively using the space within the evaporator shell.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision for using a flooded evaporator in a system with reciprocating or scroll compressors.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision for an evaporator that is efficient and effective in use.
These objects and other features and advantages become more readily apparent in reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.
Briefly, in accordance with one aspect to the invention, a baffle is located above the tube banks for interrupting the upward flow of liquid refrigerant droplets that would otherwise tend to flow to the compressor along with the refrigerant vapor. Heat is added to the baffle to cause an evaporation of the liquid droplets such that the resulting vapor passes to the compressor.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the baffle structure comprises a heat exchange having a fluid flowing therethrough, with a temperature of the fluid being warmer that the refrigerant such that sufficient heat is transferred to the refrigerant droplets to bring about the desired vaporization.
By yet another aspect of the invention, the fluid passing through the baffle heat exchanger can be warm water diverted from the entering the first pass of the cooler or it may be liquid refrigerant leaving the condenser before entering the expansion device.
In the drawings it is hereinafter described, a preferred embodiment is depicted; however, various other modifications and alternate constructions can be made thereto without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. |
Back in June this year, there were rumors that the next year’s Assassin’s Creed game will be set in the ancient Egypt. Some websites also covered the rumor while the word seems to be spreading really fast.
According to the reports, the next installment in the series is called as Assassin’s Creed Empire, set in the ancient Egypt and will be released in 2017. Earlier this year, Ubisoft decided to break the cycle of new Assassin’s Creed game every year, which they had been following since past couple of years.
The game is known for having good taste in the history of several countries. According to the details mentioned in the reports, the game will have a new lead character who used to be a slave once. The character seems to calm, rarely speaks and will have an eagle with him that will help the protagonist discover the map and surroundings.
While the map in the game is said to be three times larger than the fourth major installment in the franchise, AC IV Black Flag. Ubisoft was reportedly considering a city of Greece as the location, but the studio decided to shift to Egypt due to map scaling issues. These leaks were provided by a man claims to be an Ubisoft employee at 4Chan forums.
Ubisoft has not made any comments related to the leaks or new Assassin’s Creed game, except breaking the cycle of annual release earlier this year. What are your thoughts regarding the new AC setting in Ancient Egypt? Let us know below in the comment section! |
This application is based upon and claims priority from prior French Patent Application No. 00 12826, filed on Oct. 6, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an asynchronous circuit with a micro-pipeline type execution structure for detecting and correcting soft error in digital integrated circuits. It also relates to an implementation method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In integrated logic circuits a soft error is a non-recurring event that disturbs the signal at a particular time. This type of disturbance, which is of extremely short duration, causes unwanted changes in the signal emitted by one or more logic gates of the digital integrated circuit. Such disturbances are caused particularly by alpha particles radiation. A logic circuit affected by alpha particles undergoes a sudden change in the logic status of its output terminal. Soft error can be also caused by events such as electromagnetic phenomena, etc.
It has hitherto been known in the art to detect and treat soft error on the output of a logic calculation unit of synchronous circuits in which the operation is governed by the appearance of a particular event such as a clock signal. A variety of methods have been used to ensure that the signal output by a logic calculation unit is not affected by soft error.
One of these methods consists in using a majority logic circuit in which the input terminals are connected to the output terminal of the logic calculation unit via a sampling circuit. The output signal of the logic calculation unit is sampled at three different times: t, t+d and t+2d. The time needed to perform the three samplings must be greater than at least twice the maximum duration of a potential soft error in order to be sure of producing a correct output signal. The three sampled signals are applied to the input terminals of the majority logic circuit. This majority logic circuit selects the logic signal with the greatest probability of being correct when one of the sampled signals provides a signal that is different from the two others and can thereby be used to check the operation of the logic calculation unit.
If the three input terminals of the majority logic circuit have the same status it is highly unlikely that the logic calculation unit has committed an error during the time taken to effect the three samples. The output of the majority logic circuit thus has the same status as that of the three inputs and thus transmits the logic signal supplied by the logic calculation unit.
If, on the other hand, any two of the inputs of the majority logic circuit have the same logic status and the third input has a different logic status, it is unlikely that the logic calculation unit has committed the same error twice during the time taken to effect the three samples and that it has functioned correctly for the sampled output applied to the third input of the majority logic circuit. The samples with the same logic status are thus in the majority and consequently the output of the majority logic circuit adopts the same logic status to transmit the signal.
This method, which combines a circuit that samples a signal output by a logic calculation unit with a majority logic circuit, uses a temporal redundancy to process the soft error in synchronous integrated circuits. This method is based on the fact that the duration of the soft error is known.
Other methods for processing soft error are used in synchronous circuits. One such method, rather than using a temporal redundancy, uses a total or partial hardware redundancy by adding another logic calculation unit in addition to that to be checked and compares their output signals.
Nevertheless, there are a certain number of drawbacks to these methods for checking soft error in synchronous circuits.
Firstly, methods which use a hardware redundancy involve increases in costs that are unacceptable when such products are intended for industry producing mass consumer electronics.
There are also drawbacks to methods for checking soft error based on temporal redundancy. On the one hand, they increase the time required to pass through the logic path by adding a duration greater than twice the duration of the soft error.
On the other, when the logic calculation unit is performing a large number of logic operations the duration of the soft error may not be easy to establish. An error that disturbs the signal output by the logic calculation unit with a maximum duration that is normally of the order of a few hundred picoseconds then propagates and its impact at the end of a long logic path may transform a pulse measuring one hundred picoseconds into a pulse measuring one nanosecond due to the different propagation times of the different electrical paths. Therefore when large logic calculation units are used, methods for correcting soft error in synchronous circuits based on the type of temporal redundancy described above are difficult to implement, particularly where sampling is concerned, because the duration of the soft error may be variable.
Lastly, it is not possible in synchronous circuits to recalculate the correct value output by the logic calculation unit on the fly. When an error is detected in the signal on output of a logic calculation unit the entire instruction must be performed, which wastes time.
Until now soft error was only detected and processed in synchronous circuits. Asynchronous circuits operating as micro-pipelines were not protected against soft error because such circuits are still very little used in integrated circuits. In pipeline-asynchronous operating modes the lack of a clock signal to time the performance of instructions, the performance of instructions is broken down more than in synchronous operating modes.
FIG. 1 shows a succession of logic stages E0, E1, E2 of a micro-pipeline type asynchronous circuit of the prior art. Each logic stage E0, E1, E2 has the same structure. Thus logic stages E0, E1, E2 each include a logic calculation unit respectively numbered 9, 1 and 5, storage means composed of a latch circuit respectively numbered 10, 2 and 6, a control unit respectively numbered 11, 3 and 7, and a delay line respectively numbered 12, 4 and 8. The description states that a logic stage of an asynchronous circuit of the prior art will be considered with reference to FIG. 2.
The control unit 3 of logic stage E1 receives a signal Aout sent by control unit 7 of the next logic stage E2, together with a signal Rin sent by control unit 11 of the previous stage E0, both received via delay line 12. Control unit 3 of logic stage E1 is also provided to transmit a signal Rout to control unit 7 of the next logic stage E2, together with a signal Ain to control unit 11 of the previous stage E0.
Logic stages E0, E1 and E2 communicate using a local check. The operation of asynchronous circuits is based on the propagation of data and the use of a communication protocol that is used with request and acknowledgement signals. Thus logic stages E0, E1 and E2, and more particularly their respective control units 11, 3 and 7, interact by means of signals Rin and Rout, known as request signals, and signals Ain and Aout, known as acknowledgement signals.
FIG. 2 shows a standard micro-pipeline type asynchronous architecture of the prior art and particularly shows the logic stage El of FIG. 1. The same references are used for components already described with reference to FIG. 1.
Logic calculation unit 1 supplies an output signal Din that is applied to the input terminal of the storage means consisting of latch circuit 2. Latch circuit 2 transmits an output signal Dout that is applied to the logic calculation unit 5 of the next logic stage E2. Latch circuit 2 is controlled by control unit 3 using a data capture signal Lt. Control unit 3 receives the signals Rin and Aout and transmits signals Rout and Ain. Signal Rout is applied to a delay line 4 that delays transmission of signal Rout.
Signal Rin is a request signal transmitted to control unit 3 to trigger capture of the data output by logic calculation unit 1. Data capture begins as soon as signal Aout is received by control unit 3 indicating that the calculation performed by the next logic stage E2 is complete, i.e., that the next stage E2 is ready to receive data. Reception by control unit 3 of signals Rin and Aout causes data capture signal Lt to be sent to latch circuit 2. This data capture signal Lt controls latch circuit 2 to record the state of signal Din at instant Lt. Latch circuit 2 may, for example, be a bistable circuit that temporarily stores binary data Din on output of logic circuit 1, thereby constituting a buffer memory. The request signal Rout is immediately sent by control unit 3 to the control unit of the next logic stage E2 to trigger capture of the data on output of logic calculation unit 5. On the output terminal of latch circuit 2 the signal Dout is transmitted to logic calculation unit 5. Latch circuit 2 is again set to store binary data Din. Launch of the operation to trigger capture of data on output of logic calculation unit 5 belonging to the next logic stage E2 by means of signal Rout may be delayed by means of delay line 4. Finally control unit 3 sends the previous logic stage an acknowledgement signal Ain signifying that logic stage E1 is ready to receive data.
However, this type of asynchronous circuit of the prior art is not designed to manage calculation errors caused by soft error.
Accordingly, there exists a need for overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art as discussed above.
A main aim of the present invention is to overcome malfunctions due to soft error in micro-pipeline type asynchronous logic circuits to provide asynchronous logic circuits that are protected against soft error.
Another aim of the invention is to implement a method for detecting and correcting soft error in asynchronous circuits designed to be applied to any micro-pipeline type asynchronous circuit in order to execute instructions.
The invention relates to an asynchronous circuit with a micro-pipeline type method of executing instructions suitable for detecting and correcting soft error in digital integrated circuits, comprising at least one logic stage, each logic stage comprising a logic calculation unit whose output terminal transmits an output signal, a first recording means one of the input terminals of which is connected to the output terminal of the logic calculation unit, a control unit one of whose three output terminals transmits a first data capture signal applied to the second input terminal of the first recording means, the other two output terminals of the control unit being respectively connected to an input terminal of the control unit of the previous logic stage, and to an input terminal of the control unit of the next logic stage by means of a delay line, wherein said asynchronous circuit also comprises a second recording means one of whose input terminals is connected to the output terminal of the logic calculation unit, means in the control unit for delaying the first data capture signal and providing a second data capture signal that is applied to the second recording means, a comparer circuit one of whose input terminals is connected to the output terminal of the first recording means and whose other input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the second recording means, said comparer circuit supplying an output signal that indicates in a first status that no soft error is present and in a second status that a soft error is present, and a programmable delay line whose first input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the comparer circuit, a second input terminal being connected to the output terminal of the delay line via a first delayed path and a last input terminal being connected to the output terminal of the delay line via a second non-delayed path.
The invention also relates to a method for detecting and correcting a soft error in micro-pipeline type asynchronous circuits consisting of at least one logic stage, wherein it can be applied to each logic stage and comprises the following stages:
a) recording in a first recording means the status of a signal output by a calculation unit;
b) recording in a second recording means the status of the said signal output by the said logic calculation unit with a delay longer than the pulse duration of a soft error;
c) comparing the recorded signals in a comparer circuit to transmit a signal carrying either information corresponding to a first status in which the compared signals are identical or information corresponding to a second status in which the compared signals are different, and
for the first status:
d1) providing a request signal for the control unit of the next logic stage without any delay,
or for the second status:
d2) recording the status of the signal output by the logic calculation unit a second time after another delay that is longer than the pulse duration of an error, and then sending a request signal to the control unit of the next logic stage with a delay twice as long as the pulse duration of a soft error. |
Q:
Infinitely many non-isomorphic degree 8, dimension zero schemes in the plane
In Geometry of Schemes by Eisenbud and Harris, it is claimed in Exercise II-19 that:
There are infinitely many isomorphism types of degree 7 subschemes
supported at the origin in 3-space, and infinitely many types of
degree 8 subschemes supported at the origin in the plane.
However, this exercise is marked "For those with some familiarity with curves," and I do not seem to have the necessary familiarity, because no ideas come to mind.
How could one use curve theory to approach this problem? We work over $\mathbb C$.
A:
I will describe one of the standard arguments, using linear algebra and let us do this for 3-space. Consider the ring $R=R_0\oplus R_1\oplus R_2$, where $R_i$ is the vector space of forms of degree $i$. This is ten dimensional and any subspace $V\subset R_2$ of dimension 3 gives, by quotienting, a ring of dimension 7 as you seek. Such vector spaces form a 9 dimensional family ($\dim Gr(3,6)$) and if two of these quotients are isomorphic, one can show that there is an automorphism of $R_1$ which induces this. (This requires a small argument). But the dimension of these automorphisms is 9 ($Gl(3)$) and the scalar matrices acts trivially. So, we have at least one dimensional family of non-isomorphic such rings.
|
1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to golf clubs. More particularly, the present invention relates to putters and the design of the head of the putter.
2. Prior Art Statement
Golf is a game that is played by millions of people worldwide. The rules that govern the game of golf are codified by the golf associations of the various sovereign countries in which it is played. Most all countries adapt rules that are consistent with those of the Royal And Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland.
In the United States, the rules of golf are written by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Among many other rules, the USGA has rules that limit the number of golf clubs a player can carry in their bag and the physical structure of the clubs that can be carried.
Since players can only carry a limited number of clubs, golf clubs have been designed that are highly versatile and can be adapted for different uses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,285 to Turner, entitled Golf Putter, shows a golf putter having a face that is angled with different lofts in different areas. U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,450 to Stuff, entitled Golf Club Heads With Means For Imparting Corrective Action, shows a golf club with varied face grooves to provide a golf ball with different spins depending upon how the golf ball is struck.
A problem associated with making clubs multi-functional is that there exist many rules exist that prohibit different types of versatile club designs. For example, under the rules of the USGA, a golf club can only have a single striking surface on one side of a club. As such, a golf club with separate striking areas, such as those found in the above-referenced Stuff patent, would be illegal. The USGA rules also prohibit golf clubs that are mechanically adjustable, or have concave striking surfaces. As such, the ability for a golf club designer to produce a golf club that is both versatile and legal is limited.
In an attempt to create a golf club that has a striking face that is both versatile and legal, golf club designers have created golf clubs having a striking face that is twisted. A striking face that is twisted provides a striking surface that varies from point-to-point yet presents only a single striking surface. Such a prior art golf club design is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,103 to MacKeil, entitled Fixed Compensating Loft Golf Club Head. A problem associated with twisting the striking surface of a golf club is that the twisted shape produces a concave region on the striking surface. Concave surfaces are illegal. So in order to keep the golf club within the rules, the twisted striking face is also bowed. This produces a twisted and bowed surface, such as that shown in the above-cited MacKeil patent. If the striking surface of the MacKeil patent were applied to the face of a putter, the ability of a golfer to put a golf ball accurately would be limited. As such, although the golf club is versatile and legal, it is not of much practical use on a putter, because golfers cannot use the golf club accurately. The same problem occurs when golf putters are produced with striking surfaces that are curved spherically, cylindrically, torically or elliptically. Such striking surfaces are versatile, however, the ability for a golfer to accurately strike a golf ball with the exact desired point of a golf putter is highly limited. This makes the overall putter inaccurate and not useful to the player.
A need therefore exists in the art for a golf putter having a face that is versatile in use, is legal to use, yet can be accurately used by the average golfer. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below. |
Data will be archived and made available to readers in the online data repository DRYAD.
Introduction {#sec001}
============
Long-distance migration is found in all major animal groups \[[@pone.0201563.ref001]\]. Animals likely evolved long-distance migration to track seasonal resources (reviewed in \[[@pone.0201563.ref002]\]), avoid harsh environmental conditions, and/or reduce predation risk \[[@pone.0201563.ref003]\]. Regardless of their evolutionary origins, long-distance migrations influence the physiology, behavior, and fitness of migratory animals throughout their annual cycles, and fundamentally alter their interactions with pathogens and parasites. As migratory animals move seasonally across the landscape, entirely new spatial and temporal dynamics emerge with respect to host-parasite interactions. This adds complexity to our theoretical frameworks and empirical characterizations of critically important topics in both disease ecology and host-parasite coevolution. In the present study, we leveraged intra-specific variation in migratory strategies to examine how the migratory behavior of animal hosts relates to the prevalence, intensity, and diversity of their parasites, and to the timing of parasite life cycles.
Several non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forth to predict the association between long-distance host migratory behavior and the dynamics of parasite infections, including their prevalence, diversity, and virulence (reviewed in \[[@pone.0201563.ref004]\]). According to the migratory culling hypothesis, heavily infected animals are less likely to survive the physiological stresses of long-distance migration \[[@pone.0201563.ref005]\]. Consequently, infected animals are predicted to be culled from host populations via natural selection. The migratory escape hypothesis posits that long-distance migration allows host populations to seasonally escape areas that have become heavily infested with parasites \[[@pone.0201563.ref006]\]. Hence the migratory culling hypothesis and the migratory escape hypothesis both predict that parasite prevalence should be higher in sedentary host populations than in closely related migratory host populations. This prediction has received some empirical support from studies on both migratory vertebrates and invertebrates \[[@pone.0201563.ref007]--[@pone.0201563.ref009]\].
On the other hand, the migratory exposure hypothesis postulates that migrating through multiple different habitats increases parasite exposure in migratory animals. Migratory animals may be exposed to different parasites at their breeding grounds, stopover sites, and wintering grounds, and consequently accumulate a higher prevalence and diversity of parasites than sedentary animals \[[@pone.0201563.ref010]\]. Furthermore, the migratory susceptibility hypothesis suggests that trade-offs between migration and immunity could increase the susceptibility of migrants to acquiring new infections during the course of migration, leading to an even higher prevalence of parasites in migrants relative to sedentary animals (reviewed in \[[@pone.0201563.ref011]\]). See [Table 1](#pone.0201563.t001){ref-type="table"} for a summary of hypotheses and predictions about how long-distance host migration should be associated with parasite prevalence.
10.1371/journal.pone.0201563.t001
###### A summary of the hypotheses and predictions discussed in the present study.
{#pone.0201563.t001g}
Hypothesis Predicted parasite prevalence and diversity
------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
**Migratory culling** **Sedentary prevalence \> Migrant prevalence**
**Migratory escape** **Sedentary prevalence \> Migrant prevalence**
**Migratory exposure/Migratory susceptibility** **Migrant prevalence \> Sedentary prevalence**
**Migratory exposure/Migratory susceptibility** **Migrant parasite diversity \> Sedentary parasite diversity**
In support of the migratory exposure hypothesis, several studies have found that migratory species of birds harbor a higher diversity of parasites relative to non-migratory species \[[@pone.0201563.ref012]--[@pone.0201563.ref015]\]. While such among-species comparisons suggest that host migration may increase exposure to parasites and infection risk, fewer studies have made comparisons within vertebrate species, where the interpretive challenges of phylogenetic history and host-specificity should be minimized. In the only published study that we are aware of comparing parasite prevalence with migratory propensity *within* a vertebrate host species, Kelly, MacGillivray \[[@pone.0201563.ref016]\] found a higher prevalence of haematozoan parasite infections in adult long-distance migrant song sparrows *Melospiza melodia* relative to conspecifics that migrated shorter distances. More research is needed to assess how migratory behavior is associated with parasitism among closely related populations *within* vertebrate species. In the present study, we compared haemosporidian parasite infections in a sedentary songbird population versus a closely related conspecific migrant population. Haemosporidians are protozoan parasites that infect vertebrate red blood cells and are transmitted by dipteran insect vectors. Haemosporidians include the malaria-causing genus *Plasmodium*. Avian haemosporidian parasites can be pathogenic in wild populations (e.g. \[[@pone.0201563.ref017]--[@pone.0201563.ref019]\]). Haemosporidian parasites have been studied extensively in avian populations, and serve as a model for the study of ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions (reviewed in \[[@pone.0201563.ref017]\]). We assess how host migratory strategies are associated with the prevalence and intensity (objective 1), and the timing of seasonal dormancy (objective 2) of haemosporidian parasites.
Objective 1: Association between host migration and infection prevalence and parasitemia {#sec002}
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Our first objective was to explore how variation in host migratory behavior is associated with the prevalence and parasitemia of a widespread and diverse class of parasites, the haemosporidia, that infect a common songbird host, the dark-eyed junco (*Junco hyemalis*). Specifically, we compared haemosporidian parasite infections in the bloodstream, during seasonal sympatry, between a sedentary junco population and a closely related migrant junco population that share wintering grounds in Virginia, USA. Based on the migratory culling hypothesis and the migratory escape hypothesis, we predicted that the prevalence and/or parasitemia of haemosporidian parasite infections would be higher in the sedentary junco population than in the migrant population ([Table 1](#pone.0201563.t001){ref-type="table"}). Alternatively, based on the migratory exposure hypothesis and the migratory susceptibility hypothesis, we predicted that the prevalence and/or parasitemia of haemosporidian parasites would be higher in the migrant population than the sedentary population ([Table 1](#pone.0201563.t001){ref-type="table"}).
Objective 2: Measuring seasonality in the parasite lifecycle {#sec003}
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In temperate climates, some avian haemosporidian parasites alternate between an active stage in the spring and summer, during which the parasites grow and replicate and produce transmissible life stages in the bloodstream of their host, and a dormant stage in the winter during which the parasites sequester in the host organs (reviewed in \[[@pone.0201563.ref017]\]). Thus, our second objective was to examine whether haemosporidian parasites in our study system exhibit this seasonal pattern. We predicted that prevalence and parasitemia of parasites detectable in the host blood stream would be lower during the winter (when parasites were dormant in the host organs) and would increase in the spring (when parasites re-emerged and started replicating in the host blood stream). We tested these predictions by measuring haemosporidian prevalence and parasitemia in blood samples collected from juncos from both populations during the winter (December) and spring (early March and late March).
Materials and methods {#sec004}
=====================
Study system {#sec005}
------------
We compared haemosporidian parasite infections between two populations of dark-eyed junco hosts that share wintering habitat at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, VA (37.37°N, 80.52°W). Juncos in one of the populations (the sedentary population, *Junco hyemalis carolinensis*) are generally year-round residents, breeding in Virginia during the spring and summer, with most individuals remaining near their territories during the non-breeding season \[[@pone.0201563.ref020]\]. In contrast, the other population (the migrant population, *Junco hyemalis hyemalis*) co-occurs with *J*. *h*. *carolinensis* in Virginia during the non-breeding season, but migrates northwards (≥ 900 km to Canada, Northern New England, and/or Alaska) to breed \[[@pone.0201563.ref020], [@pone.0201563.ref021]\]. The sedentary and migrant junco subspecies are thought to have diverged within the last 15,000 years, since the last major glaciation \[[@pone.0201563.ref022]\]. Our field site in Virginia lies far South of the breeding range of the migratory subspecies \[[@pone.0201563.ref020]\], and the sedentary and migrant junco subspecies have never been observed to hybridize at our field site, despite extensive, long-term monitoring efforts.
Bird capture, and sampling in the field {#sec006}
---------------------------------------
The details of the capture and housing methods used in this study have been described previously \[[@pone.0201563.ref023]\]. Briefly, sedentary (*Junco hyemalis carolinensis*, *n = 19*) and migrant (*Junco hyemalis hyemalis*, *n = 18*) male juncos were captured from 4--12 December 2013, at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Giles County, Virginia (37.37°N, 80.52°W). Juncos were captured in mist-nets and potter traps baited with cracked corn and millet. Population status (sedentary or migrant) was determined based on bill coloration, plumage, and wing chord \[[@pone.0201563.ref020]\]. Age class was determined for each bird based on wing plumage color \[[@pone.0201563.ref020]\], and the distribution of ages of the juncos in this study were selected to be balanced across populations. At the time of capture, a blood sample was collected by pricking the brachial vein with a sterile needle. For blood DNA samples collected in the field in December, about 150 μl of blood was collected into a microcapillary tube and was stored in a buffer preservative (Longmire's solution) at 4°C until the DNA was extracted.
Housing and sampling of birds during the captivity experiment {#sec007}
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After capture, birds were housed briefly (1--10 days) in identical outdoor aviaries at the Mountain Lake Biological Station. On December 14, birds were transported to Bloomington, Indiana, where they were brought into an indoor aviary environment until they were resampled in early and late March. The purpose of resampling the juncos in captivity in the spring was to test the hypothesis that haemosporidian parasites go dormant in the host organs during the winter and re-emerge and start replicating in the host bloodstream during the spring. Because haemosporidian parasites are obligately vector-transmitted, and because there were no vectors in our indoor aviary environment, we assume that there was no transmission of haemosporidian parasites among juncos while they were in captivity.
In the indoor aviary environment, birds were fed *ad libitum*, and maintained on a photoperiod that was advanced every three days to match the natural photoperiod at their capture site (Mountain Lake Biological Station, VA, 37.37°N, 80.52°W). They were housed in all-male, mixed-population flocks with equal numbers of migrants and sedentary birds until February 27, when they were individually housed in cages in seven replicate rooms. Each room housed 3 migrants and 3 sedentary birds. The temperature was maintained at 16° ± 2° C \[[@pone.0201563.ref023]\]. Blood DNA samples for measuring haemosporidian parasites were collected again from each bird in early March (March 4--5), and again in late March (March 25--27). After collection of blood from the birds in captivity, plasma was separated from the red blood cells by centrifugation, the plasma (supernatant) was removed from the tube with a sterile Hamilton syringe, and the red blood cells were stored at -20° C until the DNA was extracted.
Metyrapone implant treatments {#sec008}
-----------------------------
For the purposes of another experiment (unpublished), unrelated to the research goals of the present study, we implanted half the birds with metyrapone, a drug that blocks the production of glucocorticoids. Our first two parasite sampling time points (December and early March) were prior to metyrapone treatment, while our final parasite sampling time point (late March) was post-metyrapone treatment. We found no effect of metyrapone on haemosporidian prevalence, or on any physiological parameter we measured, so we pooled metyrapone implant treatment birds with control birds for all analyses presented in this study (see Supporting Information for details on metyrapone treatment).
Measuring haemosporidian parasite infection {#sec009}
-------------------------------------------
### DNA extractions {#sec010}
Genomic DNA (gDNA) was extracted from blood, using IBI Scientific MINI Genomic DNA kits (IB46701). For the December samples, about 100 μL of avian blood/Longmire's solution from each sample was used for the DNA extractions. For the early March and late March samples, about 32.5 μl of red blood cells (after plasma had been removed) was used for the DNA extractions. gDNA was measured with a NanoDrop spectrophotometer (Take 3) and samples with insufficient quality or concentration of DNA were re-extracted prior to measuring haemosporidian infections.
### Quantitative PCR to determine parasitemia and prevalence {#sec011}
We used a quantitative PCR (qPCR) to estimate the prevalence of haemosporidian parasite infections in the host populations, and the relative abundance (parasitemia) of haemosporidian parasites in the blood samples of infected birds \[[@pone.0201563.ref024]\]. Parasitemia levels may be predictive of the degree of pathology haemosporidian parasites are likely to cause in birds, as wild birds with higher parasitemias of some haemosporidian parasite lineages have been shown to experience greater reproductive and survival costs relative to birds with lower parasitemias \[[@pone.0201563.ref025]\]. We used the primers L9 `5’-AAA-CAATTCCTAACAAAACAGC-3’` and NewR `5’ACATCCAATCCATAATAAAGCA-3’` \[[@pone.0201563.ref024]\], which target a 188-bp region of the cytochrome b (cyt b) gene. qPCR estimates of parasitemia using these primers were previously shown to be strongly positively correlated with *Plasmodium* infection status determined by a restriction enzyme-based assay \[[@pone.0201563.ref024], [@pone.0201563.ref026]\]. Our primers L9 and NewR are reported to be *Plasmodium-*specific, and in a previous study showed no association with *Leucocytozoon* diagnosis based on microscopy \[[@pone.0201563.ref024]\]. As far as we are aware, the sensitivity of L9 and NewR to *Haemoproteus* has not been tested.
To create the template for the standard curve, the full length haemosporidian cyt b gene from a positive sample was amplified using the primers DW2 `5’-TAATGCCTAGACGTATTCCTGATTATCCAG-3’` and DW4 `5’-TGTTTGCTTGGGAGCTGTAATCATAATGTG-3`' \[[@pone.0201563.ref027]\]. The amplicon (1356 bp) was purified, quantified, and the copy number was estimated. Serial dilutions over six orders of magnitude of this DNA were then used on each qPCR plate to create a standard curve.
DNA for qPCR was quantified using Qubit® 2.0 Fluorometer and diluted to a working concentration of 2ng/μl (10 ng of DNA was used per reaction). The qPCR absolute quantification experiment was done on Applied Biosystems® 7500 Real-Time PCR system (Life Technologies, CA, USA) using Power SYBR® Green PCR Master Mix (Life Technologies, CA, USA).
Each reaction was run in triplicate and parasite number (i.e. the number of haemosporidian cyt b gene copies per 10 ng of total DNA (host + parasite)) was estimated by calculating the mean value for the triplicate. Our qPCR estimates were not used to estimate the absolute number of parasites per bird. However, we did use our qPCR estimates to compare the relative parasitemias of haemosporidian parasites among samples. All dissociation curves were examined for the presence of nonspecific amplification or primer dimer formation. None was detected.
For the purposes of determining infection prevalence, we scored each bird with a qPCR haemosporidian copy estimate of zero as uninfected, and we scored any bird with a positive (non-zero) haemosporidian copy estimate as infected. Infection prevalence was also estimated using nested PCR (see below). Here we report both the infection prevalence results based on qPCR and the infection prevalence results based on nested PCR. Our prevalence estimates based on both methods were qualitatively similar. We only included birds for which we had parasitemia data at all three sampling time points in our analyses (i.e. we did not include birds with missing data). There were 18 migrant juncos and 19 sedentary juncos included in our statistical analyses of prevalence and parasitemia.
### Nested PCR and sequencing to determine parasite infection prevalence, and parasite identities and evolutionary relationships {#sec012}
The concentration of DNA in the final extracted samples used for nested PCR ranged from 20.6--255.3 ng/μl. Haemosporidian infection was determined by amplifying the haemosporidian parasite cyt b gene using published nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols \[[@pone.0201563.ref028]\]. Each gDNA sample was screened for the presence of *Plasmodium* and *Haemoproteus* parasites using the external PCR primers HAEMNF and HAEMNR2 followed by the nested or internal primers HAEMF and HAEMR2 (Waldenström et al. 2004). To verify infection status of each sample, PCR was independently run twice per sample, followed by gel electrophoresis of the PCR products. A negative control (water and PCR reagents with no DNA template) was also run to confirm that there was no contamination of haemosporidian DNA in the PCR reagents. Gels were scored treatment blind by RDM and SPS to determine haemosporidian infection status and infection prevalence within each population. A sample was considered positive (infected) if there was a visible band (at 478bp) on at least one of the gel runs. Nested PCR products from positive samples were sequenced using Sanger sequencing at the Western South Dakota DNA Core Facility at Black Hills State University (BigDye v3.1 Cycle Sequencing; ABI3130 series Genetic Analyzer). Using Sequencher v5.4.6 software, the forward and reverse sequences were manually trimmed at 5' and 3' ends for poor quality base calls and assembled automatically to form a contiguous sequence for each sample's PCR product. Any remaining ambiguous base calls were resolved manually. Ten sequences did not have good quality complimentary sequences on the ends and could not form contigs. These were trimmed at the ends in Sequencher to include in the project with the aligned sequences.
### Reconstructing parasite phylogenies from parasite sequence data {#sec013}
Haemosporidian parasite sequences were aligned in Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 7.0 (MEGA7) \[[@pone.0201563.ref029]\] using the ClustalW method. Following alignment, sequences were trimmed manually. The phylogeny of the parasites was inferred in MEGA using the Maximum Likelihood method based on the Tamura-Nei model \[[@pone.0201563.ref030]\]. Initially, a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the parasite sequences from all the infected juncos in the present study as well as parasite sequences from all of the described haemosporidian morphospecies on the MalAvi database \[[@pone.0201563.ref031]\]. Subsequently, we removed the sequences of all the morphospecies in the MalAvi database, except for the morphospecies which most closely matched the parasite sequences from the juncos in our study, which we retained for phylogenetic reference. The tree with the highest log likelihood (-907.1152) is shown ([Fig 1](#pone.0201563.g001){ref-type="fig"}). Initial tree(s) for the heuristic search were obtained automatically by applying Neighbor-Join and BioNJ algorithms to a matrix of pairwise distances estimated using the Maximum Composite Likelihood (MCL) approach, and then selecting the topology with superior log likelihood value. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. The analysis involved 31 nucleotide sequences. Codon positions included were 1st+2nd+3rd. All positions containing missing data were eliminated. There was a total of 320 positions in the final dataset.
{#pone.0201563.g001}
Statistical methods {#sec014}
-------------------
95% binomial confidence intervals around infection prevalence estimates, for visualization on our figures, were computed using the online statistical calculator JavaStat <http://statpages.info/confint.html>. Phylogenetic analyses were performed in MEGA7. All other statistical tests were run in SPSS version 24.
### Comparing haemosporidian prevalence between populations (objective 1) and among sampling time points (objective 2) {#sec015}
We used a generalized estimating equation (GEE) with United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) bird band number (i.e. individual identity) as a subject variable, time point (December, early March, or late March) as a within-subject's variable, population (sedentary or migrant) and age class (first year or after first year) as between-subjects variables. In one analysis, we used qPCR infection status (positive or negative) as our dependent variable. In a separate analysis, we used nested PCR infection status (positive or negative) as our dependent variable. We used a robust estimator for the covariance matrix with an exchangeable working correlation matrix structure, and we used a binary logistic regression for the type of model. We found no significant effect of age on haemosporidian infection status (in the qPCR analysis *P* = 0.175, in the nested PCR analysis *P =* 0.118), so we removed age from the model and report the results from analyses in which age was not included in the model. In the qPCR analysis goodness of fit QIC = 138.1. In the nested PCR analysis goodness of fit QIC = 134.2.
### Post hoc tests {#sec016}
Because we found significant effects of population and of sampling time point on haemosporidian infection prevalence in the overall GEE models, we used post-hoc tests in the GEE models to assess whether there was a significant difference between infection prevalence in the sedentary versus migrant populations within each of the three sampling time points, and to test for differences in haemosporidian infection prevalence across all time point pairwise comparisons.
### Comparing haemosporidian parasitemias between populations (objective 1) {#sec017}
We used a Mann-Whitney U test to determine whether average parasitemias differed between the sedentary and the migrant junco populations. For this analysis, we averaged the parasitemia score for each bird across the three sampling time points. Because we wanted to assess whether population was associated with parasitemias *within infected birds*, we excluded all the birds from both populations that were uninfected throughout the entire study from this analysis (i.e. we excluded all the birds with an average parasitemia of zero). By excluding uninfected birds, we reduced the sample size for this analysis from 19 sedentary juncos and 18 migrant juncos (all the juncos in the study) to 17 sedentary juncos and 9 migrant juncos (only the infected juncos in the study).
Research ethics statement {#sec018}
-------------------------
All procedures involving live animals were approved by the Indiana University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and conducted under scientific collecting permits issued by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (permit 47553) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (permit MB093279).
Results {#sec019}
=======
Comparisons of parasite prevalence between populations (objective 1) and sampling time points (objective 2) {#sec020}
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In the qPCR analysis, in the model including all three time points, haemosporidian infection prevalence was significantly higher in the sedentary population than in the migrant population (Generalized Estimating Equation, Wald Chi-Square~1~ = 8.666, *P* = 0.003, [Fig 2A](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). We also found a significant effect of time point on infection prevalence (Wald Chi-Square~2~ = 7.562, *P* = 0.023, [Fig 2A](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). We found no significant interactions between sampling time point and population (Wald Chi-Square~2~ = 0.953, *P* = 0.621). Post hoc tests analyzing infection data from each time point individually revealed that the sedentary population exhibited a significantly higher infection prevalence than the migrant population at each of the three sampling time points: December (*P* = 0.007), early March (*P* = 0.001), and late March (*P* = 0.007) ([Fig 2A](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Furthermore, post hoc tests also revealed that infection prevalence did not significantly change from December to early March in the sedentary population (*P* = 0.135) or the migrant population (*P* = 0.560). There was a significant decrease in infection prevalence from early March to late March in the sedentary population (*P* = 0.024) and a marginally significant decrease in infection prevalence from early March to late March in the migrant population (*P* = 0.058) ([Fig 2A](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Overall, the infection prevalence did not change significantly from the beginning of the study (December) to the end of the study (late March) in the sedentary (*P* = 0.304) or the migrant (*P* = 0.303) population.
{#pone.0201563.g002}
In the nested PCR analysis, in the model including all three time points, haemosporidian infection prevalence was significantly higher in the sedentary population than in the migrant population (Generalized Estimating Equation, Wald Chi-Square~1~ = 4.364, *P* = 0.037, [Fig 2B](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). We found no significant effect of time point on infection prevalence (Wald Chi-Square~2~ = 4.560, *P* = 0.102, [Fig 2B](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). We found a marginally significant interaction between sampling time point and population (Wald Chi-Square~2~ = 6.210, *P* = 0.045). Post hoc tests analyzing infection data from each time point individually revealed that the sedentary population exhibited a significantly higher infection prevalence than the migrant population in December (*P* = 0.004) and early March (*P* = 0.007), but there was no difference in infection prevalence between the two populations in late March (*P* = 0.633) ([Fig 2B](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Furthermore, post hoc tests also revealed that infection prevalence did not significantly change from December to early March in the sedentary population (*P* = 0.135) or the migrant population (*P* = 0.134). There was no significant change in infection prevalence from early March to late March in the sedentary population (*P* = 1.0) but there was a significant increase in infection prevalence from early March to late March in the migrant population (*P* = 0.003) ([Fig 2B](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Overall, the infection prevalence did not change significantly from the beginning of the study (December) to the end of the study (late March) in the sedentary population (*P* = 0.135) but did significantly increase in the migrant population (*P* = 0.023). The parasitemias of individual juncos over time can be visualized in [Fig 3](#pone.0201563.g003){ref-type="fig"}.
{#pone.0201563.g003}
Relationship between host population and parasitemias of infected birds {#sec021}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When considering only birds that were infected during at least one sampling time point during the study (average parasitemia \> 0), we found no difference between the medians of the average parasitemia (averaged across the three sampling time points in the study) in the sedentary versus the migrant population (*U* = 77, *z* = 0.027, *p* = 1.0, [Fig 4](#pone.0201563.g004){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0201563.g004}
Community composition of the haemosporidian parasites {#sec022}
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We considered parasite cyt b sequences to belong to different lineages when they differed by at least one base pair. We detected five distinct haemosporidian parasite lineages (sequenced from 17 infected birds) in the sedentary population. We detected four distinct haemosporidian lineages (sequenced from eight infected birds) in the migrant population. One lineage (SEIAUR01; *Plasmodium cathemerium*) was detected in both populations and was also the most prevalent lineage detected within each population. All of the lineages detected within the sedentary population belonged to the genus *Plasmodium*. The genera *Plasmodium*, *Haemoproteus*, and *Leucocytozoon* were all detected in the migrant population.
Discussion {#sec023}
==========
Objective 1: Association between host migration and infection prevalence and parasitemia {#sec024}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We found that a sedentary population of dark-eyed juncos maintains a higher prevalence of haemosporidian parasite infections, relative to a closely related conspecific migrant population, both when sampled during seasonal sympatry on shared wintering grounds in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia (December), and again at two early spring time points (early March and late March) during study in a captive common environment. Among infected juncos, we found no difference between the parasitemias circulating in the bloodstream of sedentary versus migrant juncos. These results are consistent with the migratory culling hypothesis and with the migratory escape hypothesis and suggest that long-distance migration may reduce the prevalence of haemosporidian parasites in birds. The higher prevalence of parasites that we observed in sedentary hosts is also consistent with previous empirical research showing that migration is associated with reduced parasitism in monarch butterflies \[[@pone.0201563.ref008], [@pone.0201563.ref009]\] and galaxiid fishes \[[@pone.0201563.ref007]\].
On the other hand, previous research in another avian blood-parasite system demonstrated a very different relationship between host migration and parasitism. Kelly, MacGillivray \[[@pone.0201563.ref016]\] found that longer-distance adult song sparrow migrants were *more* likely, on average, to be infected with blood-borne parasites (primarily *Plasmodium*, *Haemoproteus*, and *Leucocytozoon*) than sparrows that migrated shorter distances. It is unclear why we found that long-distance migration is associated with reduced parasitism in juncos, while Kelly, MacGillivray \[[@pone.0201563.ref016]\] found the opposite pattern in a closely related host. Future research should investigate why the association between long-distance migration and parasitism differs across study systems and ecological contexts.
Migratory culling and migratory escape are non-mutually exclusive mechanisms that each could explain the reduced prevalence of haemosporidian parasites that we observed in migrant juncos. Within our data set, it is not possible to eliminate either of these potential mechanisms. Future research should assess the possible contributions of each mechanism to the population difference that we observed by testing additional predictions made by the migratory culling and migratory escape hypotheses. For example, the migratory culling hypothesis predicts that parasites reduce flight performance and/or increase the costs of long-distance flight. This prediction has received support in butterflies infected with a protozoan parasite \[[@pone.0201563.ref005]\], but did not receive support in a study of great reed warblers infected with *Plasmodium* parasites \[[@pone.0201563.ref032]\]. A comparison of the seasonal density profiles of (infected) vectors at the breeding site for sedentary juncos (Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia) versus at breeding sites for migrant juncos (in Alaska, Canada, and/or Northern New England) could provide a more direct test for the migratory escape hypothesis, as the migratory escape hypothesis predicts that migrant birds should experience reduced haemosporidian parasite exposure at their breeding grounds relative to sedentary birds.
We reject migratory exposure and migratory susceptibility as primary drivers of variation in infection prevalence between our study populations. The migratory exposure hypothesis and the migratory susceptibility hypothesis predict that sedentary host populations should exhibit *lower* parasite infection prevalence relative to closely related migrant populations. Therefore, our observation that a sedentary host population exhibited a *higher* prevalence of haemosporidian parasite infections directly contradicts a key prediction of these hypotheses.
Our analysis of infection prevalence based on qPCR produced qualitatively similar results in December and early March to our analysis based on nested PCR ([Fig 2](#pone.0201563.g002){ref-type="fig"}). In both analyses sedentary birds exhibited higher infection prevalence than migratory birds in December and early March. However, our analyses of infection prevalence produced qualitatively different results in late March. Our qPCR results suggest that the sedentary population maintained a significantly higher haemosporidian infection prevalence than the migratory population in late March. However, our nested PCR results suggest that the infection prevalence in the migratory population increased between early March and late March, resulting in no significant population difference in infection prevalence in late March. We do not know why our metrics of infection prevalence produced different results in late March. Perhaps differences in the sensitivity and/or specificity of the qPCR and nested PCR primers could explain this discrepancy in our results. The nested PCR primers we used are sensitive for detecting both *Haemoproteus* and *Plasmodium* infections in avian blood \[[@pone.0201563.ref033]\]. The qPCR primers that we used are sensitive for detecting *Plasmodium* but not *Leucocytozoon* infections, and the sensitivity of our qPCR primers to *Haemoproteus* is unknown \[[@pone.0201563.ref024]\]. Overall, taking data from all three time points together, both methods (qPCR and nested PCR) provided support for the prediction that sedentary juncos exhibit higher haemosporidian infection prevalence relative to migratory juncos at our study site.
Community composition of the haemosporidian parasites {#sec025}
-----------------------------------------------------
While five distinct haemosporidian lineages were detected in the sedentary population and four distinct haemosporidian lineages were detected in the migrant population, one haemosporidian lineage (SEIAUR01; *Plasmodium cathemerium*) was dominant in both our sedentary and migrant populations. This dominance of the same parasite lineage in both populations suggests that haemosporidian transmission may occur between the sedentary and migrant populations. Alternatively, it is possible that *Plasmodium cathemerium* was dominant in both populations because it is a common and widespread lineage that was encountered and acquired independently by the sedentary and migrant populations at their respective breeding grounds. Sharing of haemosporidian parasite lineages between seasonally sympatric sedentary and migratory host populations has been previously observed in other avian systems. Clark, Clegg \[[@pone.0201563.ref034]\] found that some haemosporidian parasite lineages were shared between wintering migrant and resident wading birds in Australia at their shared wintering grounds, suggesting active transmission between migrants and residents. Ricklefs, Medeiros \[[@pone.0201563.ref035]\] found that parasite lineage sharing was more likely to occur between sedentary and migrant birds sharing habitat when the sedentary and migrant birds were more taxonomically similar.
Objective 2: Examining seasonality in the parasite lifecycle {#sec026}
------------------------------------------------------------
Contrary to our expectations, we found no evidence for winter dormancy of the haemosporidian parasites. A substantial prevalence of haemosporidian parasite infections was detectable (via qPCR and nested PCR methodology) in the blood stream in midwinter (December) in both host populations, suggesting that haemosporidian parasites do not markedly sequester and go dormant in the host organs in our study system. We found mixed evidence for a spring re-emergence of haemosporidian parasites from the host organs into the host bloodstream in the early or late March sampling points, as neither the prevalence nor parasitemia of haemosporidian infections increased over the course of the study in either population in our qPCR analysis, however, in our nested PCR analysis infection prevalence increased over the course of the study in the migrant but not in the sedentary population.
We propose three possible explanations for why we did not observe a detectable increase in the prevalence or parasitemia of haemosporidian parasites in the bloodstream from December to late March in our qPCR analysis, and for why we only detected an increased infection prevalence in the migrant but not in the sedentary population in our nested PCR analysis. First, it is possible that the pattern of dormancy in the organs during the winter, followed by replication in the bloodstream during the spring and summer, may not occur in our study populations. The evidence for winter dormancy of haemosporidian parasites in temperate avian populations is mixed. Some previous studies have found a pattern of high levels of haemosporidians circulating in the avian blood stream during the spring and summer, with low or undetectable parasite levels during the winter \[[@pone.0201563.ref036]--[@pone.0201563.ref038]\], suggesting a pattern of winter dormancy. On the other hand, another study found a high haemosporidian prevalence detectable in the bloodstream of rusty blackbirds (*Euphagus carolinus*) during the winter in Mississippi and Arkansas, suggesting that winter dormancy of haemosporidian parasites may not occur in those populations \[[@pone.0201563.ref039]\]. Consistent with the Barnard, Mettke-Hofmann \[[@pone.0201563.ref039]\] study, our results suggest that winter dormancy in the host organs may not occur in some temperate avian haemosporidian populations.
Alternatively, while the high prevalence of infections that we measured in December clearly demonstrates that haemosporidians are still circulating in the blood stream during the winter, and are not completely sequestered in the host organs, it is still possible that haemosporidians in our study system exhibit partial dormancy and sequestration in the organs. Therefore, we propose that a second possible explanation for why we did not observe a stronger pattern of seasonal increase in parasite prevalence or parasitemia over the course of our study is that not all of the seasonal environmental cues required to induce spring re-emergence of haemosporidians into the host bloodstream were present in the indoor aviary environment where the juncos were housed in our study. The juncos in our study experienced a lengthening photoperiod, set to match the natural photoperiod at their capture site in Virginia. This lengthening photoperiod of the common aviary environment was previously shown to be a sufficient cue of seasonal change to induce reproductive (physiological and behavioral) development in the sedentary population \[[@pone.0201563.ref023]\]. However, a longer photoperiod than the birds experienced in late March (the end of our study) may be required to induce the re-emergence of haemosporidians into the blood stream. Alternatively, lengthening photoperiod may not be a sufficient environmental cue, on its own, to induce parasites to re-emerge from dormancy in the host organs and to start replicating in the bloodstream. In addition to photoperiodic cues, the activity and replication of avian haemosporidian parasites may respond plastically to supplemental cues such as changes in temperature, food availability, or exposure to vectors \[[@pone.0201563.ref040]\].
Finally, the effect of maintaining birds in an indoor aviary environment on haemosporidian parasite infections is unknown. It is possible that the stress of being maintained in an indoor aviary environment could lead to year-round chronic infection. To our knowledge, no previous studies have measured seasonal activity of avian haemosporidian parasites in a controlled indoor aviary environment. Future research should manipulate photoperiod in combination with manipulations in supplemental cues in a controlled indoor aviary environment to assess whether lengthening photoperiod, supplemental cues, or a combination of lengthening photoperiod and supplemental cues can induce the re-emergence and replication of dormant haemosporidian parasites.
Conclusions {#sec027}
===========
In the present study, we provide evidence that sedentary juncos maintain a higher prevalence (but not parasitemia) of haemosporidian parasite infections throughout the winter and early spring relative to migrant juncos in a seasonally sympatric population. Our results suggest that long-distance migration may reduce the prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites, although since we only compared 2 populations (one migratory and one sedentary) we cannot rule out the possibility that ecological differences between the populations other than migration (e.g. stochastic variation in abundance of parasites and/or vectors at the allopatric breeding grounds) could explain the observed population differences in parasite prevalence. Migratory culling and migratory escape are non-mutually exclusive alternative mechanisms that could potentially explain the observed lower infection prevalence in migrants. We are unable to eliminate either of these as potential mechanisms. We reject migratory exposure and migratory susceptibility as primary mechanisms explaining differences in haemosporidian infection prevalence between our study populations. Also, we found no evidence that haemosporidian parasites in our study system exhibit dormancy and sequestration in the host organs during the winter. Future research should compare haemosporidian infections across more sedentary and migrant populations within a vertebrate host species, to assess whether migrant populations consistently exhibit a lower infection prevalence, as we observed. Additionally, future research should compare the diversity of parasites infecting sedentary versus migrant conspecific host populations to test the Migratory Exposure hypothesis' prediction that migrant host populations accumulate more diverse parasite communities. Additionally, future research should measure the density of (infected) vectors across the breeding and non-breeding ranges of sedentary and migrant populations to assess how long-distance migration affects exposure to haemosporidian parasites. Finally, future research should assess whether female juncos, and juvenile juncos, exhibit the same relationship between long-distance migration and parasitism that we observed in adult males. Overall, our research suggests that long-distance migration may reduce parasitism in migrating hosts.
Supporting information {#sec028}
======================
######
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
######
(TIFF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
We thank J. Jones and T. McNamara for logistical support at the Mountain Lake Biological Station. We thank M. Abolins-Abols, J. Graham, R. Hanauer, A. Kimmitt, K. Rosvall, and C. Taylor for help collecting junco blood samples in the aviary, and A. Brothers and E. Snadjr for helping collect birds in the field. We thank the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) at Indiana University for use of their space and facilities for DNA extractions, and CISAB lab manager Christy Bergeon Burns for providing technical support for the DNA extractions. We thank Nathan Fletcher for animal care at the Kent Farm aviary. We thank Bingyue Li, Michael Frisby, Gabriel Carspecken, Chuwen Li, and the Indiana Statistical Consulting Center for feedback and suggestions on our statistical analyses. We thank members of the Ketterson lab for their feedback on our study design and analysis. We thank Farrah Bashey, Erik Ragsdale, and Curt Lively for help analyzing the haemosporidian parasite sequence data. We thank two anonymous reviewers for feedback on the manuscript.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: Current address: Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
|
Hitherto, an Sn—Pb solder alloy has often been used for soldering various apparatuses because it has advantages such that a melting point is low, wettability is good even in an oxidizing atmosphere, and the like. However, since lead has toxicity, in recent years, the realization of a lead-free solder has rapidly been progressed from the viewpoint of prevention of environmental pollution in association with a disposing process or the like of electronic apparatuses. However, since a lead-free solder alloy is inferior to the conventional Sn—Pb solder alloy in terms of the wettability, melting point, costs, and the like, it is not developed yet at present as a perfect substitute.
In a trend such that importance is attached to the environment, the realization of a lead-free solder is an emergency subject also in reflow soldering as one of mounting steps of electronic circuit devices. Therefore, hitherto, an Sn—Zn solder alloy containing about 9 wt % zinc (eutectic composition) has been proposed as a lead-free solder material which is expected to be put into practical use for reflow soldering. Further, an Sn—Zn solder alloy containing about 8 wt % zinc and 1 to 3 wt % bismuth has been also proposed. Those Sn—Zn solder alloys have advantages such that a eutectic temperature of an Sn—Zn alloy is equal to 199° C. closest to a eutectic point of an Sn—Pb alloy among Sn—based lead-free solder alloys, and costs of raw materials of them are lower than that of the other lead-free solder alloys.
Generally, solder paste which is used for the reflow soldering is made of a mixture of solder particle and flux. An activator to clean the surface of a soldering target and improve the wettability of the solder during soldering, has been added to the flux. Therefore, in the Sn—Zn solder alloy which is inferior to the conventional Sn—Pb solder alloy in terms of the wettability, it cannot help enhancing the activator particularly in order to improve the wettability of the solder. Moreover, in the Sn—Zn solder alloy, zinc-riched phases exist on the surface and the inside of the manufactured solder particle.
Therefore, in the conventional Sn—Zn lead-free solder alloy, there are problems such that since zinc is an active element, while the solder paste which is made by mixing the solder particle with the flux is preserved under refrigeration, zinc on the surface of the solder particle reacts easily on the activator in the flux, so that viscosity of the solder paste is rapidly and remarkably increased by its reactive product more than the conventional Sn—Pb solder alloy, and when such a solder paste is used, for example, it is impossible to print onto a printed wiring board, and the like, that is, the preservation stability is low. Furthermore, there is a problem such that when the solder paste is preserved under an environment at a room temperature or higher which is severer than the environment of the refrigeration preservation, since zinc reacts further easily on the activator, the viscosity increases remarkably and the preservation stability further deteriorates.
There is also a problem such that if an activity or an amount of the activator is suppressed in order to prevent an increase in viscosity of the solder paste, a zinc oxide which is produced during soldering cannot be reduced, so that wettability of the solder deteriorates. As mentioned above, hitherto, it is extremely difficult to reconcile the wettability and preservation stability of the solder, and that causes non-spread of the lead-free solder paste which is effective to protect the environment.
As mentioned above, there is an Sn—Zn solder alloy containing bismuth as conventional lead-free solder alloys. In such a kind of solder alloy, there is a tendency such that metallic gloss on the surface of the solder after solidification becomes dim. Therefore, besides the reconcilation between the wettability and the preservation stability, it is also demanded to solve the problem on the external appearance.
Therefore, hitherto, a method of adding another element, for example, aluminum has been disclosed as means for solving the above problems (International Publication No. WO02/34969A1). However, since the method of adding aluminum has a problem of occurrence of an unmelted solder as will be explained hereinlater, if aluminum or the like is solely added, all of the above conventional problems cannot be solved.
In consideration of the conventional problems as mentioned above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an Sn—Zn lead-free solder alloy and a soldered bond using the same in which wettability of solder is improved and preservation stability of solder paste under refrigeration and at a room temperature or higher is also excellent, and also to improve surface gloss after solidification in the case of an Sn—Zn solder containing bismuth. |
TecShell
TecSHELL™ fabrics are light, packable and highly wind resistant. Their densely woven construction means they are durable and extremely down-proof. TecSHELL™ fabrics also have a DWR coating for added water resistance making them ideal in changeable conditions. |
Jones in June
Adam Jones has an eight-game hitting streak right now and is hitting .424 (14-for-33) over that stretch with four homers, nine RBIs and nine runs scored.
Jones doubled to drive in a run as part of the Orioles three-run fifth, but if you dig deeper into the stats it appears Jones has been markedly better this month.
He is batting .315 (29-for-92) in 24 June games, with seven homers and 18 RBIs. He had five homers and 15 RBIs combined in his first 50 games this season.
I asked him yesterday after he hit a solo homer to start the Orioles’ five-run rally, what the difference is. Is he being more patient? Not pressing as much?
“I’m just hitting, really,” Jones said. “I’m not trying to think a lot. I’m just going up there and putting a good swing on the ball. I’m still going to swing hard, people ask why I swing hard, that’s just the way I play. I’m just trying to drive the ball rather than just put the ball in play.”
So far, so good. Jones has raised his average from a season-low .203 up to .271 and is starting to show why he was such a highly regarded young talent.
It’ll be interesting to see if he can continue to consistently put up good ABs heading into the All-Star break. While I don’t think a late-surge is enough to warrant him going to the ASG, I do know that he’s well-thought of around the league and –outside of maybe Nick Markakis — has the most name recognition for the Orioles.
Categories
The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions. |
Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica lays out the one major reason why the casual gamer—the guy who plays only once every few weeks for a half hour at a time—would prefer the Xbox over the PS3. Firmware. Updates.
There are a couple compounding issues here, but they can all be lumped into the update/download scheme that Sony's set up for the PS3.
First, you've got regular system updates that add minor features every few weeks, instead of the major system updates (at most) twice a year that Microsoft does. Even with the major updates, Microsoft manages to push them out so both the download and the update process is fast. Not so with the PS3, which leads to the second point Kuchera makes.
The other problem is the download speed. By Kuchera's tests, you're only getting 2.5Mbps, which is on the low-end of DSL speeds. These slow downloads, combined with the constant updates on the system level as well as the individual game level (which are fast on the Xbox 360), treat you to a 30 to 60 minute download-and-install wait every time you want to play a game.
But, ho! Sony has found a solution: PlayStation Plus. For $50 a year, you get these firmware updates and game patches pushed to you, instead of you having to sit through the wait every time you want to play a game.
A real fix would have to come in two parts: less frequent mandatory system updates that don't add significantly new features, and much, much faster pipes to deliver updates through. [Ars Technica] |
Q:
Spark: Concatenating lists?
How to concatenate all lists in:
org.apache.spark.rdd.RDD[List[Record]]
to get a single collection:
val values: org.apache.spark.rdd.RDD[Record]
Any ideas?
A:
flatMap that!
val rdd : org.apache.spark.rdd.RDD[List[Record]] = ???
val flattened = rdd.flatMap(identity)
Where identity is the identity function f(x) => x
|
Silica induced scleroderma--clinical and experimental aspects.
Clinical and experimental data concerning silica induced systemic sclerosis (SSc) are discussed in comparison to current knowledge of the pathophysiology of idiopathic SSc. About 280 patients with SSc after longterm silica dust exposure, some with associated silicosis, have been reported; 111 of them were analyzed as the largest cohort in our department. Based on clinical and laboratory data, silica induced and idiopathic SSc show similar pathophysiology and similar markers of the disease including vascular involvement, immunological abnormalities, and dysregulation of extracellular matrix metabolism. Experimental studies show that silica dust is able to activate microvascular endothelial cells, mononuclear cells from peripheral blood, and dermal fibroblasts in vitro in a fashion in common with pathophysiological events known from idiopathic SSc. |
/**
* Copyright Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
* SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0.
*/
#include <aws/ec2/model/VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode.h>
#include <aws/core/utils/HashingUtils.h>
#include <aws/core/Globals.h>
#include <aws/core/utils/EnumParseOverflowContainer.h>
using namespace Aws::Utils;
namespace Aws
{
namespace EC2
{
namespace Model
{
namespace VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCodeMapper
{
static const int initiating_request_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("initiating-request");
static const int pending_acceptance_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("pending-acceptance");
static const int active_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("active");
static const int deleted_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("deleted");
static const int rejected_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("rejected");
static const int failed_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("failed");
static const int expired_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("expired");
static const int provisioning_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("provisioning");
static const int deleting_HASH = HashingUtils::HashString("deleting");
VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode GetVpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCodeForName(const Aws::String& name)
{
int hashCode = HashingUtils::HashString(name.c_str());
if (hashCode == initiating_request_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::initiating_request;
}
else if (hashCode == pending_acceptance_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::pending_acceptance;
}
else if (hashCode == active_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::active;
}
else if (hashCode == deleted_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::deleted;
}
else if (hashCode == rejected_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::rejected;
}
else if (hashCode == failed_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::failed;
}
else if (hashCode == expired_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::expired;
}
else if (hashCode == provisioning_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::provisioning;
}
else if (hashCode == deleting_HASH)
{
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::deleting;
}
EnumParseOverflowContainer* overflowContainer = Aws::GetEnumOverflowContainer();
if(overflowContainer)
{
overflowContainer->StoreOverflow(hashCode, name);
return static_cast<VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode>(hashCode);
}
return VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::NOT_SET;
}
Aws::String GetNameForVpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode(VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode enumValue)
{
switch(enumValue)
{
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::initiating_request:
return "initiating-request";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::pending_acceptance:
return "pending-acceptance";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::active:
return "active";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::deleted:
return "deleted";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::rejected:
return "rejected";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::failed:
return "failed";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::expired:
return "expired";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::provisioning:
return "provisioning";
case VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCode::deleting:
return "deleting";
default:
EnumParseOverflowContainer* overflowContainer = Aws::GetEnumOverflowContainer();
if(overflowContainer)
{
return overflowContainer->RetrieveOverflow(static_cast<int>(enumValue));
}
return {};
}
}
} // namespace VpcPeeringConnectionStateReasonCodeMapper
} // namespace Model
} // namespace EC2
} // namespace Aws
|
Yousef Al-Salem
Yousef Mansoor Al-Salem (, born 4 May 1985) is a Saudi football player. He currently plays as a Striker. His nickname is (F16 - Scorpion).
Club career statistics
International goals
Under-23
Senior
Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first.
Honours
With Al-Shabab
King Cup of Champions: 2009
With Al-Hilal
King Cup of Champions: 2015
Saudi Super Cup: 2015
Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2016
With Saudi Arabia U-23
Gulf Cup of Nations Under 23: 2008
References
External links
Category:1985 births
Category:Living people
Category:Saudi Arabian footballers
Category:Al-Qadsiah FC players
Category:Al-Shabab FC (Riyadh) players
Category:Ettifaq FC players
Category:Al Hilal SFC players
Category:Saudi Arabia international footballers
Category:Saudi Professional League players
Category:Association football forwards |
Ultrasonography and echo-guided fine-needle biopsy in the diagnosis of focal fatty liver change.
The usefulness of ultrasound and echo-guided fine-needle biopsy (FNB) in the diagnosis of focal fatty liver change (FFLC) is stressed, on the basis of a retrospective series of 21 patients (8 of whom with a past history of primary cancer), followed-up for a mean period of 13.7 months. FFLC presented with various echographic patterns, shapes, dimensions and localizations. In 17 patients the diagnosis of FFLC was made by FNB, yielding cytologic and/or histological samples with steatotic, but also normal, hepatocytes. In another 4 patients the diagnosis was made by echographic follow-up. In all patients, clinical, hematological and echographic follow-up excluded the onset of neoplastic disease, confirming the high specificity of FNB in diagnosing FFLC. The possibility of changing appearance over time, and the inconstant correlation of FFLC with known causes of hepatic steatosis are discussed, as well as the hypothesis that the focal defect seen with ultrasound, could be an area of normal hepatic tissue in a fatty liver. The authors affirm the necessity to perform FNB on each doubtful lesion, but certainly when the patient has a history of malignancy. |
This paper investigates the sources of macrofinancial fluctuations and turbulence within
the framework of an approximate linear dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of
the world economy, augmented with stru...
This paper investigates the sources of macrofinancial fluctuations and turbulence within
the framework of an approximate linear dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of
the world economy, augmented with stru... |
BOSCAWEN, N.H. -- A New Hampshire man has been charged with resisting arrest and biting a police dog. Police said the man unsuccessfully tried to hide under a pile of clothes to evade arrest over the weekend and then put the police dog in a chokehold and bit it on the head.
State police were asked to help deal with a shooting on Sunday in Boscawen, a town of about 4,000 residents. They said two men in a home were wanted on outstanding warrants and both resisted arrest before one exchanged bites with the dog, whose name is Veda.
Police haven't released the men's names. They say the man who bit the dog faces charges including resisting arrest, interfering with a police dog and assaulting an officer.
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox
"Both of them resisted arrest and one very strongly resisted arrest. He bit the dog, the dog bit him, he ended up getting Tasered," Lt. Jason Killary of the Boscawen Police Department told Reuters news agency. "If you get into a biting competition with a police dog, you're not going to win. They're pretty good at that."
The New Hampshire Canine Trooper's Association posted an image of Veda on Facebook and said the dog has been cleared medically to return to duty. |
package com.epam.indigo.uploader;
import java.io.BufferedInputStream;
import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.Scanner;
public class SdfIterator implements Iterable<SdfIterator.SDItem> {
static SDItem createItem(String str) {
return new SDItem(str);
}
private final Scanner _molScanner;
private String _nextElement;
public Iterable<String> delimIter() {
return new Iterable<String>() {
@Override
public Iterator<String> iterator() {
_readNextElement();
return new Iterator<String>() {
@Override
public boolean hasNext() {
return (_nextElement != null);
}
@Override
public String next() {
String result = _nextElement;
_readNextElement();
return result;
}
@Override
public void remove() {
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
};
}
};
}
public static class SDItem {
public String mol = "";
public Properties props = new Properties();
public static final String SD_PROPERTIES = "\\Q\n>\\E.*\\Q<\\E";
public byte[] buf;
public Object jsonObject;
private SDItem(String mol) {
try (Scanner pScanner = new Scanner(new ByteArrayInputStream(mol.getBytes()))) {
pScanner.useDelimiter(SD_PROPERTIES);
/*
* Read molfile
*/
if (pScanner.hasNext()) {
this.mol = pScanner.next();
}
/*
* Read properties
*/
while (pScanner.hasNext()) {
String propList = pScanner.next().trim();
String p_name, p_val = "";
if(propList.length() > 0) {
int key_idx = propList.indexOf("\n");
if(key_idx == -1) {
key_idx = propList.length();
}
p_name = propList.substring(0, key_idx);
int k_idx = p_name.lastIndexOf(">");
if(k_idx > 0 ) {
p_name = p_name.substring(0, k_idx);
}
if(key_idx < propList.length() - 1) {
p_val = propList.substring(key_idx+1);
}
props.setProperty(p_name, p_val);
}
}
}
}
}
public SdfIterator(InputStream str) {
_molScanner = new Scanner(new BufferedInputStream(str));
_molScanner.useDelimiter(java.util.regex.Pattern.quote("$$$$") + "((\\r\\n)|(\\n))");
}
void _readNextElement() {
_nextElement = null;
if(_molScanner.hasNext()) {
String mol = _molScanner.next();
if(mol.trim().length() > 0) {
_nextElement = mol;
}
}
}
@Override
public Iterator<SdfIterator.SDItem> iterator() {
_readNextElement();
return new Iterator() {
@Override
public boolean hasNext() {
return (_nextElement != null);
}
@Override
public SDItem next() {
String result = _nextElement;
_readNextElement();
if(result != null)
return new SDItem(result);
return null;
}
@Override
public void remove() {
throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
}
};
}
}
|
“Hamilton” Goes Off-Script for Mike Pence Ambush
Hamilton had a post-show speech for Mike Pence. Donald Trump tweeted his disapproval.
Hamilton Cast Ambushes VP-Elect Pence After Curtain Call
Actor Brandon Victor Dixon Publicly Lectures Pence
This past Friday night, November 18, 2016, the recently elected Vice President to be, Mike Pence, attended Hamilton on Broadway. The Vice President elect wasn't warmly welcomed by most of the crowd when he turned up on with his children and their young cousins to see the wildly popular show. Rather than being courteous and civil, the Broadway crowd mostly booed him and showed unabashed displeasure at his arrival. The poor man is not even in the Oval Office yet and already the Liberal New York crowd are showing their lack of restraint and were acting quite boorish, something that Michelle Obama often cited as the high road, was nowhere to be seen on Friday night at Hamilton. As the show concluded, the actor who plays Vice President Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon, piled on and stepped forward to deliver a statement that he and his fellow cast members had hastily put together to embarrass Pence in front of his family.
Dixons Ham-Handed Negative Rhetoric
At the end of the show, Dixon began by acknowledging that Mike Pence was in the audience that night, thanked him for attending, and then asked him to hear him out for a brief moment. Dixon did not take the opportunity to congratulate Pence on his recent political success, indicating the Dixon was intending to go dark. While Mr. Pence had gotten out of his seat already and was in the hallway ready to exit the theatre, having been tipped off that there was to be an ambush by the cast, it was reported that he remained in the hallway and heard the entirety of the remarks. As some of the audience continued to boo at Pence, Dixon continued, “There’s nothing to boo, ladies and gentleman, we’re all here sharing a story of love.” But what followed contained no love. Dixon introduced the cast as the “diverse America” who are “alarmed and anxious” that the new administration will not protect them and he continued to lecture the hapless Pence for another three minutes. Dixon continued that he hoped the show has inspired Pence to uphold our American values and work on behalf of “all of us.” He then repeated, to emphasize, “all of us.” It is unclear who he was referring to, but it could be something to do with President Trump's plan to deport criminal illegal immigrants. Dixon continued by thanking Pence once again for sharing the show with the audience, taking part in this “diverse story told by men and women of diverse colors, creeds, and orientations.” The heavily liberal audience cheered loudly as this was clearly a political jab at Pence's previous agenda, while he was 50th Governor of Indiana, which many liberal elites have accused of being anti-gay.
Dixon has gone on to say that "conversation is not harassment”, but what he did Friday night was not a conversation at all, it was a lecture from a bully pulpit, a theatrical ambush as it were. Dixon has also invited President-Elect Donald Trump to see the show, but one wonders how Manuel-Miranda and Dixon intend to dishonor him, ideally in front of their children too.
Lin Manuel Miranda May Have Lost Control
Distracted by the versions of the show opening in Chicago and London, Lin Manuel Miranda may have made a big in mistake in allowing his cast to begin publicly calling out well-known figures that are in the audience to see the show. Dixon may have set the new low standard that says a show can now harass members of the audience if the cast doesn't like their politics, or anything else about them. Miranda, Dixon and the rest of the show cast have made no secret of their love of Obama and Hillary Clinton (and all her potential illegal acts) and this move sets a new low-bar on Broadway, that may keep many celebrities at bay, fearful that they may be ridiculed. What's next? Public humiliation of Bill Cosby before he is found guilty? Jibes at Tom Cruise about Scientology? Will Mel Gibson be dragged onto the stage and whipped for his anti-Semitic comments? Will the cast now ask people who voted for Trump and ridicule them? With Hamilton now being the most popular show ever on Broadway, the public humiliation from their bully pulpit (of an elected official who should deserve some degree of respect) continues to show the out-of-control arrogance that this production has now sunk to. Hamilton is now so popular that they believe that they can do anything they want. They are just one step away from John Lennon's "More popular than Jesus" statement.
Media critics have jokingly glibbed that for the insult and embarrassment to Pence and his family, Pence should have challenged Dixon to a duel, Aaron Burr style. Sam Rudy, the PR rep for Hamilton, attempted to paste over the cracks from this PR nightmare, but Rudy is no stranger to dishing out insults himself and so he had no comment for this piece. Playbill, which is in LMM's back pocket, will probably publish an anti-Pence story, to indicate that it was Pence's fault for coming to the show in the first place. It is expected that Sam Rudy actually supplied the tickets to Pence and his entourage, so we can assume that he was the one who tipped off the production for the ambush. There was a window of opportunity for Miranda and Dixon to build bridges with the new Republican government, but instead, he has encouraged deeper division through his ham-handed negative rhetoric, indicating he has learned nothing from the very show he stars in. Just like Aaron Burr himself, Dixon may well end up going to Europe to find his fortune, although it may just be on the London Hamilton stage, where LMM may have better control.
Trump Condemned the Speech in Tweets; Embarrassed Pence Reportedly Not Offended, But Questioned The Motive and Delivery
In response to this post-show speech, Trump was reportedly angry. He wrote a tweet that Mike Pence was “harassed” at Hamilton, and continued, “This should not happen!” In a second tweet, he stated that the theatre “must always be a safe and special place,” stated that the cast was “very rude” to Mike Pence, and then, in a single word, commanded, “Apologize!” In addition to the coverage of the event, spurred on by many audience iPhones that captured the moment, this response from Trump has elicited uproar from Americans, both those who do and don’t support the President elect. While some have acknowledged that it is a bad precedent to set for the cast of a Broadway show to single out an audience member, others are appalled that the President elect would respond in a way that demonstrates his lack of support for dissent, which many would argue is a First Amendment right. But Pence wasn't given an opportunity to respond, he was just yelled at by a a big mouth actor. Less than two weeks after the election, the growing divide in the country is beginning to show a continual string of public demonstrations of discontent and disagreement from liberals who cannot seem to accept that they lost the Presidential election. Nevertheless, Mike Pence took the high road and told Fox News on Sunday that he is “not offended” by the Hamilton cast’s speech. He reiterated that Donald Trump is preparing to be the President for all citizens of the United States of America, in line with Brandon Victor Dixon’s plea. No doubt, criminal illegal aliens will still be deported, something that even Alexander Hamilton could have got behind.
Hamilton is the most successful new musical in years. The show has constantly been breaking box office records, tickets are unobtainable for many months in advance, and the rush ticket lines (especially when the show’s creator and original star Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the cast) have often been around the block. Furthermore, the show garnered international attention when it won the support of not only entertainment industry celebrities, but political celebrities as well. President Barack Obama has famously attended to show multiple times, along with his family, and Hillary Clinton is also a big fan of the show. It’s not only Democrats who have embraced the musical, which tells the story of America’s founding fathers through a retelling incorporating a diverse cast of African American and Latino individuals. Republicans such as Dick Cheney have also been reportedly great fans of the show, but the cast was not told of his attendance and they did not have an opportunity to harass him.
Hamilton in Chicago Interrupted
In the start of a public backlash, the Chicago version of Hamilton was interrupted on Sunday night by a Trump supporter, but in a most undemocratic way, the show did not give him the same opportunity to speak as Dixon did. The gentleman was escorted out of the theatre and arrested. No word yet of people's plans to picket the New York Broadway show, but this may well be the turning point of the show's success, after all 50% of the US population voted for Trump-Pence, so this act may well have turned Republican voters away from the show, something that many of the Hamilton investors will not be pleased to hear. #BoycottHamilton is starting to gather some steam, but it remains to be seen if it takes hold. When you take politician bashing to a new level, you should be very careful of any possible public retaliation, especially when its 50% of Americans who you just insulted. |
A conventional apparatus operating a hydraulic actuator for opening and closing a valve has employed a hydraulic power pack.
However, in the valve opening/closing system which uses the hydraulic power pack for operating the hydraulic actuator for opening and closing the valve, when power is cut off by a stoppage of power supply and the like, the hydraulic actuator for opening and closing the valve can not be operated. Further, there is a disadvantage that a separate power supplying device should be provided to operate the hydraulic actuator. |
A case of primary hyperparathyroidism, primary hyperaldosteronism and Cushing's disease.
The rare association of parathyroid adenoma with primary hyperaldosteronism, occurring in each of 2 patients, was recently reported from this unit. The present communication records the subsequent development, in one of these patients, of Cushing's syndrome with an anterior pituitary adenoma. Screening for other endocrine abnormalities was negative. A literature search failed to produce any other cases of the association of these three conditions in one patient. |
We are NOT authorized by Govt of India for Yellow Fever Vaccination
Friday, August 29, 2014
As per our discussion group in International Society of Travel medicine, here are the latest figures for the Ebola cases in DRCOriginal Message:Sent: 28-08-2014 16:31From: Barry WeckerSubject: Ebola in the DRCongo
I just received word from the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo that the Ebola situation in the DRC is as follows:Equateur -- 68 cases of haemorrhagic fever, 8 confirmed Ebola serologies, 55 patients quarantined and 13 deaths.Lubumbashi -- 113 cases of haemorrhagic fever, 3 confirmed serologies, 104 patients being quarantined and 9 deathsNorth Kivu -- 16 cases of haemorrhagic fever, no confirmed serologies, 15 patients quarantined and 1 death.
All immigration and customs officers at points of entry are required to glove and mask and all persons arriving in the DRC regardless of country of origin must submit to a temperature evaluation and will be refused entry if they have a fever.
International aid organizations, already stretched to the limit by the biggest Ebola outbreak on record, are facing a second, probably unrelated cluster of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). DRC’s Ministry of Health yesterday notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of the outbreak in the north of the country. It said 13 of the 24 people suspected to have contracted Ebola have died.
“At this time, it is believed that the outbreak in DRC is unrelated to the ongoing outbreak in West Africa,” says a WHO statement issued today. None of the patients had traveled to the regions in West Africa where Ebola is now spreading or had contact with persons from those regions. Early results from a lab in DRC also indicate that the disease was not caused by Ebola-Zaire, the virus species causing the outbreak in West Africa. Since December, Ebola-Zaire has sickened at least 2615 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Nigeria and killed 1427 them. It is the biggest Ebola outbreak on record.
While that outbreak is the first in that region, the new outbreak in DRC comes in a region more used to dealing with the virus. “This is the country that has the most experience of dealing with the virus and that gives me some hope,” says Stephan Günther, a virologist at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany, who is currently working in a mobile lab in Nigeria. DRC (formerly Zaire) has seen seven outbreaks including the first one on record in 1976.
“It is important to understand that this outbreak has come to the attention of the government quite early and is being dealt with by a group of people who know how to control an Ebola outbreak,” says David Heymann, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. At the same time, Heymann adds, “It’s impossible to know at this point what the country will request and what they can do on their own.”
According to WHO, the index case of the new outbreak was a pregnant woman in the Ikanamongo Village in northern DRC. She was probably infected when she butchered a bush animal given to her by her husband. Jonathan Epstein, a veterinary epidemiologist at EcoHealth Alliance in New York City, calls it “almost a classic case.” It is known that chimpanzees, bats, and other animals can carry the deadly Ebola virus, and the pathogen often spills over into the human population when people eat infected animals. The new outbreak shows “that we also need to pay attention to the broader situation,” Epstein says. “There is a need for more outreach and education.” Reducing risky behavior like eating bushmeat is an important public health goal, Heymann agrees. “It’s a sign that we need to really look seriously at how to prevent these outbreaks from occurring,” he says.
The infected woman was treated in a private clinic in Isaka Village and died on 11 August. A doctor and two nurses who treated the woman, as well as the hygienist and a ward attendant, infected themselves at the hospital and all later died. “Other deaths have been recorded among the relatives who attended the index case, individuals who were in contact with the clinic staff, and those who handled the bodies of the deceased during funerals,” the WHO statement notes. Some 80 people who have had contact with the patients are being monitored, and more contacts are being traced.
Samples from the current outbreak in DRC are being tested at a WHO collaborating center in Gabon and the results are expected later today, according to a WHO representative. Apart fromZaire ebolavirus, there are four other species of Ebolavirus: Sudan, Reston, Bundibugyo, and Taï Forest.
Of those four, Sudan is by far the most common. Reston virus infection has been documented in humans without causing illness, and the only case of Taï Forest virus infection in a human is a scientist who had conducted an autopsy on an infected chimpanzee. Sudan ebolavirus, on the other hand, has caused several outbreaks and sickened close to 800 people since it was discovered after an outbreak in Sudan in 1976. About half the patients died.
The only other Ebola virus that has caused large outbreaks is Bundibugyo ebolavirus. It was first discovered in an outbreak in Uganda that started in December 2007 and killed 37 people. Two years ago, it caused an outbreak in DRC.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Three doctors in Liberia with Ebola who started taking an experimental drug last Thursday are showing remarkable signs of improvement, a minister says.
ZMapp was first given earlier this month to two US aid workers, who were flown home for treatment from Liberia.
Ebola has no cure but the World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled that untested drugs can be used in light of the scale of outbreak in West Africa.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,229 people have died of the virus.
It is transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas such as eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can cause organ failure.
The outbreak began in Guinea and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Health officials in Guinea say the country has suffered a setback in its fight against the epidemic, seeing a resurgence of cases in the town of Macenta.
The BBC’s Alhassan Sillah in Guinea says the town had not had any cases for two months, and the authorities had dismantled all Ebola facilities in that area.
Public awareness campaigns are being stepped up across the region as some people believe Ebola is a hoax
The health authorities believe that Guineans returning from neighbouring Liberia are carrying the virus.
In Liberia, Information Minister Lewis Brown said the government only received a small number of ZMapp doses and gave them to one Nigerian and two Liberian doctors who had caught Ebola whilst helping save the lives of other victims of the virus.
Two US missionaries who received doses of the medicine are also reportedly recovering, but a 75-year-old Spanish priest who contracted Ebola in Liberia died in Spain last week despite being given the drug.
The US pharmaceutical company that makes the drug says it has for now run out of it, so the only way to stop the current outbreak is to isolate the victims and those who have come into contact with them.
Mr Brown also said 17 suspected Ebola patients who went missing after a health centre in the capital was attacked have been found.
In Nigeria, which has had four fatal Ebola cases, health officials say five people have now recovered from the virus and have been discharged from hospital in Lagos. Another three are still being treated.
Since the outbreak spread to Nigeria in July, when a person infected with Ebola flew from Liberia to Lagos, several airlines have stopped flights to the worst-affected countries.
Kenya’s ban on people from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone entering the East African nation comes into force on Wednesday – and Cameroon has closed its land, sea and air borders with Nigeria.
At least 25 people were bitten by a rabies-infected dog at South Goa's Cansaulim village, 30 km [18.6 mi] from [Panaji] following which they were hospitalised, sources said today [18 Aug 2014]. The incident occurred last evening [17 Aug 2014] when the stray dog went on a rampage, biting passers-by. The canine was later killed by villagers.
Sources in Goa Medical College (GMC) said that 15 people were administered anti-rabies injection in their hospital while rest were treated at cottage hospital Chicalim and Hospicio hospital at Margao.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
KOLKATA: As the spreading of Ebola virus grows the sex workers of Sonagachi are cautioned regarding choosing of customers. In an advice sent to the sex workers in the largest red-light area in Kolkata, it has been said that the sex workers need to be careful while choosing about choosing their customers from Africa, who are regular visitors to the place.
Durbar Mahila Samannay Committee — the NGO that works with nearly 13,000 sex workers of the area are closely monitoring the situation and are training the girls so that they can understand the symptoms, problems and threat of this disease. "We have requested the sex workers not to entertain people from African nations as it can be a life risk for them if they get infected by the highly contagious Ebola virus which is causing havoc in some West African countries," a member of DMSC said.
Ebola virus (EBOV, formerly designated Zaire ebolavirus) is the sole member of the Zaire ebolavirus species, and the most dangerous of the five known viruses within the genus Ebolavirus. Four of the five known ebolaviruses cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, known as Ebola virus disease. "Though the disease yet to reach Kolkata but this is an easy way through which the disease be spread and so we are taking all steps to check all measures so that it can be checked before it arrives," the member said. Samarjit Jana of DMSC is presently engaged in training and providing lessons to sex workers to identify the signs of the Ebola disease. According to WHO guidelines, transmission of the virus requires close contact with body fluids such as sweat, saliva and the cough of an infected person, and also body contact. "So we are training the sex workers on how to identify the symptoms," the member said.Source
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Liberian born US
national Patrick Sawyer who died in Lagos on July 25, 2014 was the first Ebola
casualty in Nigeria and also outside Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in this
year’s outbreak, in which 1700 people have been infected and over 900 have died
since March. The World Health Organization, after a two day emergency meeting
in Geneva, Switzerland, has declared the spread of Ebola in West Africa an International
Health Emergency.
2. In
Nigeria, there have been 7 confirmed cases of
Ebola as on date including late Sawyer. 6 others are Nigerian
doctors, nurses and airport staff. One nurse died three days ago. There are 70
primary and secondary contacts including 48 passengers who landed in Lagos and
airport & immigration personnel and hospital staff who attended on late
Sawyer are under surveillance.
3. At
a briefing given to the diplomatic corps in Abuja b y the Nigerian Minister for
Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, (i) Nigeria has declared Ebola outbreak a national emergency and is taking steps to
contain its spread, (ii) All State governments are to take proactive measures
including training of medical personnel to mitigate possible complications, (iii)
A centre has been set up in Lagos comprising a six-member inter-agency team
drawn from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the US CDC (Centre for Disease Control), WHO,
UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work on Ebola in Nigeria,
(iii) Authorities emphasize personal
hygiene at homes and outside as an important precautionary measure. (iv) Isolation wards have
been provided in hospitals in all States and Federal Capital Territory. (v) Government has not yet decided to close its borders with
neighboring countries but considers the situation in Nigeria as ‘not yet
critical’, but one of alert. (vi) Ministry of Health has launched a website – www.ebolaalert.org and
a 24&7 toll free number - 0800EBOLAHELPto provide information on Ebola. (vii) Authorities have
conveyed that if advance information can be provided to them of incoming
delegations, special care will be taken of such delegations. -
4. The Mission would advise all Indian
residents in Nigeria and those planning to undertake unavoidable travel to
Nigeria to adhere to the dos and don’ts
circulated by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, government of India
(Annexure). As the disease is not airborne and is transmitted only through
contact with body fluids of the affected, personal hygiene is a critical
preventive measure. For any assistance, following officials of the High
Commission of India in Nigeria may be contacted:
Monday, August 11, 2014
Here are a few things that we need to remember while immunizing people who have had a splenectomy
Introduction
Approximately 4% of patients undergoing splenectomy develop OPSI and in 1.7% of these patients death will follow. Therefore, the administration of appropriate vaccinations, in conjunction with other therapeutic interventions, is critical to improve survival postsplenectomy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed vaccination recommendations for asplenic patients. For those patients undergoing an elective splenectomy, the CDC recommends vaccination with both the pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines. These vaccines should be administered at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled surgery. The pneumococcal vaccine should be readmininstered once after ≥ 5 years have elapsed since the initial vaccination. Although the CDC does not recommend the routine administration of theHaemophilus influenza B vaccine prior to splenectomy, many providers will administer this vaccine as well. An annual influenza vaccine is also recommended for asplenic patients. In the event of an emergent splenectomy, it is recommended to administer the needed vaccinations after 2 weeks following the surgery.
The CDC recommends that asplenic travelers contact an international health clinic or the CDC (www.cdc.gov) to obtain information on disease risks within the intended country of travel. Asplenic travelers should be advised of the increased risk for Meningococcal meningitis and recommendation of the A and C vaccine for all asplenic individuals traveling to sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Nepal.
Asplenic patients are susceptible to overwhelming sepsis with encapsulated bacterial pathogens. Although response to vaccines may be less than in people with a functioning spleen, many clinical guidelines recommend immunization against meningococcal, pneumococcal, and Haemophilus influenzae disease in these patients, regardless of travel plans.
Limited data show that vaccine response in people who have had a splenectomy was more impaired if splenectomy was performed because of hematologic malignancy rather than for splenic trauma.
The meningococcal A/C/Y/W-135 conjugate vaccine is indicated for both pediatric and adult populations at risk.
The polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine against disease due to H. influenzae type b (Hib conjugate vaccine) appears to elicit an increased immune response and duration of protection in vaccine recipients, and many experienced clinicians recommend a single dose for splenectomized patients.
Adults with specified immunocompromising conditions who are eligible for pneumococcal vaccine should be vaccinated with PCV13 during their next pneumococcal vaccination opportunity.
Pneumococcal vaccine-naïve persons. ACIP recommends that adults aged ≥19 years with immunocompromising conditions, functional or anatomic asplenia, CSF leaks, or cochlear implants, and who have not previously received PCV13 or PPSV23, should receive a dose of PCV13 first, followed by a dose of PPSV23 at least 8 weeks later (Table). Subsequent doses of PPSV23 should follow current PPSV23 recommendations for adults at high risk. Specifically, a second PPSV23 dose is recommended 5 years after the first PPSV23 dose for persons aged 19–64 years with functional or anatomic asplenia and for persons with immunocompromising conditions. Additionally, those who received PPSV23 before age 65 years for any indication should receive another dose of the vaccine at age 65 years, or later if at least 5 years have elapsed since their previous PPSV23 dose.
Previous vaccination with PPSV23. Adults aged ≥19 years with immunocompromising conditions, functional or anatomic asplenia, CSF leaks, or cochlear implants, who previously have received ≥1 doses of PPSV23 should be given a PCV13 dose ≥1 year after the last PPSV23 dose was received. For those who require additional doses of PPSV23, the first such dose should be given no sooner than 8 weeks after PCV13 and at least 5 years after the most recent dose of PPSV23.
Abbreviations: X, Contraindicated (per the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP]); U, Use as indicated for normal hosts; R, Recommended for all in this patient category; P, Precaution (per ACIP); W, Warning—medical conditions for which no data regarding YF vaccine exist but for which varying degrees of immune deficit might be present and could increase the risk of serious adverse events following vaccination; providers should carefully weigh vaccine risks and benefits before deciding to vaccinate such patients; C, Consider; PCV13, 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; PPSV23, 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.1MMR vaccination should be considered for all symptomatic HIV-infected patients with CD4 counts ≥200/mm3 without evidence of measles immunity. Immune globulin may be administered for short-term protection of those facing high risk of measles and for whom MMR vaccine is contraindicated.2Varicella vaccine should not be administered to people who have cellular immunodeficiencies, but people with impaired humoral immunity (including congenital or acquired hypoglobulinemia or dysglobulinemia) may be vaccinated. Immunocompromised hosts should receive 2 doses of vaccine spaced at 3-month intervals.3See details in Chapter 3, Yellow Fever. YF vaccination is a precaution for asymptomatic HIV-infected people with CD4 cell counts of 200–499/mm3. YF vaccination is not a precaution for people with asymptomatic HIV infection and CD4 cell counts ≥500. YF vaccine is also considered contraindicated by ACIP for symptomatic HIV patients without AIDS and with CD4 counts ≥200/mm3.4Also contraindicated by ACIP for symptomatic HIV patients without AIDS and with CD4 counts ≥200/mm3.5Decision should be based on consideration of the individual patient’s risk of Hib disease and the effectiveness of the vaccine for that person. In some settings, the incidence of Hib disease may be higher among HIV-infected adults than among HIV-uninfected adults, and the disease can be severe in these patients.6Routinely indicated for all men who have sex with men, people with multiple sexual partners, hemophiliacs, patients with chronic hepatitis, and injection drug users.7Test for antibodies to hepatitis B virus surface antigen serum titer after vaccination, and revaccinate if initial antibody response is absent or suboptimal (<10 500="" a="" cd4="" cell="" counts="" course="" hiv-infected="" if="" may="" miu="" ml="" mm="" nonresponders="" react="" rise="" span="" style="bottom: 0.33em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 3px 0px 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;" subsequent="" to="" vaccine="">310>
after institution of highly active antiretroviral therapy. See text for discussion of other immunocompromised groups.8Use special double-dose vaccine formulation. Test for antibodies to hepatitis B virus surface antigen after vaccination and revaccinate if initial antibody response is absent or suboptimal (<10 br="" miu="" ml="" nbsp="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">9As with most inactivated vaccines, no safety or efficacy data exist regarding the use of Ixiaro in immunocompromised people. Immunocompromised people may have a diminished immune response to Ixiaro.10Two doses ≥2 months apart for asplenic and HIV-infected patients.11Previously unimmunized asplenic, HIV-infected, or immunocompromised adults aged ≥19 years should receive 1 dose of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) followed by 1 dose of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) ≥8 weeks later. People with these conditions previously immunized with PPSV23 should follow catch-up guidelines per ACIP.10>
About Me
I am a pediatrician based at Mohali, a suburb of chandigarh, North India. I have my own virtual office at www.charakclinics.com; I have been a pediatrician since 1994. I hope to make ths blog a regular feature with tonnes of relevant info for parents, especially in India, because i feel that "informed parents are better parents". My interests include research in OPD practice, specifically new vaccines and travel medicine. I am a member of American Academy of Pediatrics, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, and various travel organizations like International Society for Travel Medicine (ISTM), American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH), International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT), and British & Global Travel Health Association (BGTHA) |
Prone position ventilation in the Role 2 Afloat environment.
Prone position ventilation is a life-saving technique for the management of hypoxic respiratory failure in ventilated patients. It has particular application in the isolated Role 2 Afloat (R2A) environment where both human and material resources are limited. It can be achieved with minimal training. This article describes the rationale behind prone position ventilation and equips the reader with the knowledge base that will allow the technique to be instigated. |
A Mom's Guide to Natural Family Life
The above drawing was done by my spunky little girl. I asked her if she would draw me a picture of the tooth fairy and she drew a picture of her “personal” tooth fairy… because there are many don’t ya know? There would have to be to make sure that tooth coverage is extended to every child on earth. Ginger here covers my daughter’s room apparently and I hear she pays pretty well too.
I am going to enter this lovely fairy in the Tom’s of Maine Be a Tooth Fairy Hero Sweepstakes. The idea behind this initiative is to help increase access to oral care for those families in your area who need it most. I worked for a couple years at a dental office that had a large pediatric customer base and I saw personally how much dental care is needed in my own community. While I personally believe that nutrition is not played up nearly enough (or at all) in regards to healing dental problems and avoiding dental problems in the first place there is only so much you can do where education is concerned. Access to the dental help you is of great importance and sadly there are many without means.
The Dental Health for All™ program is celebrating over 1 million dollars that has been donated to community dental clinics over the past 10 years. They are dedicated to providing more families with regular screenings and check-ups and to date the company’s funding has helped make more than 200,000 additional patient visits possible.
The Be a Tooth Fairy Hero sweepstakes is getting kids involved in the process. Just have the child(ren) in your life grab their crayons and some paper and have them draw the Tooth Fairy hero who needs to help those smiles in need. You can also use the coloring page provided at the link above. Then attach it to the entry form and you are entered into the sweepstakes. Ten entries will be randomly selected with Tom’s of Maine awarding a $10,000 donation on each winner’s behalf to a dental clinic, plus providing toothpaste for the child’s school. |
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 7-[D(-)-.alpha.-amino-.alpha.-(p-hydroxyphenyl)acetamido]-3-methyl-3-cephe m-4-carboxylic acid monohydrate.
7-[D(-)-.alpha.-amino-.alpha.-(p-hydroxyphenyl)acetamido]-3-methyl-3-cephem -4-carboxylic acid is an orally active semisynthetic cephalosporin known by its international non-proprietary name (INN) as "cefadroxil". Belgian patent No. 853,974 discloses the monohydrate of 7-[D(-)-.alpha.-amino-.alpha.-(p-hydroxyphenyl)acetamido]-3-methyl-3-cephe m-4-carboxylic acid, hereinafter designated "cefadroxil monohydrate", having the formula: ##STR1## Cefadroxil monohydrate has the advantage of being a stable form of cefadroxil particularly useful in pharmaceutical formulations.
According to the Belgian patent, cefadroxil monohydrate is prepared by a process comprising:
(a) silylating 7-amino-3-desacetoxycephalosporanic acid in a substantially anhydrous aprotic solvent; PA1 (b) acylating the thus obtained silylated 7-amino-3-desacetotoxycephalosporanic acid with D(-)-.alpha.-amino-.alpha.-(p-hydroxyphenyl)acetylchloride hydrochloride in a substantially anhydrous aprotic solvent in the presence of an acid acceptor; PA1 (c) removing the silyl radicals by hydrolysis or alcoholysis of the acylation product of step (b); and PA1 (d) forming the desired monohydrate I either by bringing the solution pH to a higher value and forming a solvate with dimethylformamide, from which cefadroxil monohydrate is thereafter isolated; or (2) or by raising the pH of the solution and isolating the product by treatment with water. PA1 (a) 7-[D(-)-.alpha.-benzyloxycarbonylamino-.alpha.-(p-hydroxyphenyl)acetamido] -3-methyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid of the formula: ##STR2## is solubilized in an organic solvent, in which no solvates are formed with cefadroxil, through silylation or salification with an organic base; PA1 (b) the thus obtained solution is subjected to catalytic hydrogenolysis; and, after removal of the catalyst, PA1 (c) the cefadroxil monohydrate is isolated through precipitation with water at a pH of about 4, and filtration. |
Brain activation during fast driving in a driving simulator: the role of the lateral prefrontal cortex.
Little is currently known about the neural underpinnings of the cognitive control of driving behavior in realistic situations and of the driver's speeding behavior in particular. In this study, participants drove in realistic scenarios presented in a high-end driving simulator. Scalp-recorded EEG oscillations in the alpha-band (8-13 Hz) with a 30-electrode montage were recorded while the participants drove under different conditions: (i) excessively fast (Fast), (ii) in a controlled manner at a safe speed (Correct), and (iii) impatiently in the context of testing traffic conditions (Impatient). Intracerebral sources of alpha-band activation were estimated using low resolution electrical tomography. Given that previous studies have shown a strong negative correlation between the Bold response in the frontal cortex and the alpha-band power, we used alpha-band-related activity as an estimation of frontal activation. Statistical analysis revealed more alpha-band-related activity (i.e. less neuronal activation) in the right lateral prefrontal cortex, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, during fast driving. Those participants who speeded most and exhibited greater risk-taking behavior demonstrated stronger alpha-related activity (i.e. less neuronal activation) in the left anterior lateral prefrontal cortex. These findings are discussed in the context of current theories about the role of the lateral prefrontal cortex in controlling risk-taking behavior, task switching, and multitasking. |
The Devil in the Details
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The Christian is engaged in a three-front war. The Bible, replete with martial language, bears this out. The great evil trinity against which we fight is the world, the flesh, and the Devil. In our day we have made friends with the world, and we have reduced our flesh down to a few psychological crossed wires. We have lost sight of these two battlefields precisely because we have lost sight of the third. In other words, we miss that we are at war with the world and our flesh because the Devil has defeated us in battle — we have forgotten that he exists.
C.S. Lewis, in the preface to his great work The Screwtape Letters, posits this nugget of wisdom: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” As wise as Lewis and this particular quote may be, I do have a quibble. No doubt the Devil is able to accomplish a great deal of mischief among those who see him as some sort of evil god, those with a morbid interest in him and his minions. That said, I would suggest that he is able to cause far greater damage among those who give him no thought at all. That is to say, both the materialist and the magician are bad, but the materialist is worse.
We have much the same problem within the Christian subculture, and for much the same reasons. On one side of the spectrum are the extreme wing of the charismatic movement. These folks claim to see a demon behind every bush. They don’t catch colds; they are under attack by the sniffle demon. They don’t have wandering eyes, but are at war with the lust demon. Often those in this camp are looking for demons behind every bush, because they can prove quite useful for excusing our sin — as Flip Wilson used to say, “The Devil made me do it.”
This is not the danger we face in Reformed circles. We are on the other side of the spectrum. Unlike the materialist, we do indeed believe in the demonic realm. The Bible, after all, talks about such things. But we tend to believe that demons exited the human stage at the same time that miracles ceased. Demons exist, we are willing to confess, but they have been sitting on the celestial sidelines since the apostolic age. What drives this, I’m afraid, is less a careful exegetical study of the matter, and more an embracing of the modernist worldview. We look down our noses at our brothers who pay attention to the spiritual realm not because we find such to be unbiblical, but because we find it unsophisticated. We think Martin Luther’s habit of shouting at the Devil, of throwing his ink well at him, is a sign that Martin was on the psychological brink, when perhaps we ought instead to conclude that he exhibited here the same wisdom that led him to declare, “Here I stand!” It may be that Luther mined the truth that our God is a mighty fortress from the same source where he discerned that this world is with devils filled, namely, the Bible.
That we rarely give the Devil a thought, let alone his due, ought to confirm for us this important spiritual reality — that the Devil is sitting on our shoulder, whispering folly into our ears. He is active not only in the dark corners of Africa, but in the dark corners of our hearts and minds. If we would seek first the kingdom of God, we will have to come to grips with the reality that he is trying to stop us.
His forces, we ought also to remember, are not only arrayed in the political and cultural battlefields. He does not have his hand in the Democratic National Committee only, nor does he work his magic only in Hollywood. He is also about the business of growing in us his diabolical fruit. He is at work when we are filled with envy, malice, fear, selfishness. He is waging war when he encourages us to spend our energies not pursuing the kingdom, but pursuing personal peace and affluence. He is practicing his dark magic when he encourages us to defend not the honor of Christ, but our own reputation and dignity. He is at work in the details of our lives, how we speak to our children, how we listen to our spouse. And sadly, he is winning great victories.
The war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman is not the exact same thing as the culture war. They intersect, but they are not one. Instead, the war between the seed and the serpent is the same thing as our war with the world, the flesh, and the Devil. May God give us the grace to win great victories in the little battles we fight each day. May He grant us the eyes to see the epoch-changing battles in our very ordinary lives.
Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. has served previously as a pastor, professor, and teacher. He is author of numerous books, including Tearing Down Strongholds and A Call to Wonder. |
Hackers gain entry into U.S., European energy sector, Symantec warns
Advanced hackers have targeted U.S. and European energy companies, in a cyber-espionage campaign that has in some cases successfully broken into the core-systems that control the companies’ operations, according to researchers at the security firm Symantec.
Malicious email campaigns have been used to gain entry into organisations in the U.S., Turkey and Switzerland, and likely other countries well, Symantec said in a report published on Wednesday.
The cyber attacks, which began in late 2015 but increased in frequency in April this year, are probably the work of a foreign government.
The attacks bear the hallmarks of a hacking group known as Dragonfly, Eric Chien, a cyber security researcher at Symantec, said in an interview.
The research adds to concerns that industrial firms, including power providers and other utilities are susceptible to cyber attacks that could be leveraged for destructive purposes in the event of a major geo-political conflict.
In June, the U.S. Government warned industrial firms about a hacking campaign targeting the nuclear and energy sectors, saying in an alert that hackers sent phishing emails to harvest credentials in order to gain access to targeted networks.
Chien said he believed that the alert likely referenced the same campaign Symantec has been tracking.
He said dozens of companies had been targeted and that a handful of them, including in the U.S., had been compromised on the operational level.
“That level of access meant that motivation was “the only step left” preventing “sabotage of the power grid,” Chien said.
However, other researchers cast some doubt on the findings.
“While concerning, the attacks were “far from the level of being able to turn off the lights, so there’s no alarmism needed,” said Robert M. Lee.
Lee is founder of U.S. critical infrastructure security firm Dragos Inc, who read the report.
Lee called the connection to Dragonfly “loose.”
Dragonfly was previously active from around to 2011 to 2014, when it appeared to go dormant after several cyber firms published research exposing its attacks.
The group, also known as Energetic Bear or Koala, was widely believed by security experts to be tied to the Russian government.
Symantec did not name Russia in its report but noted that the attackers used code strings that were in Russian.
Other codes used French, Symantec said, suggesting the attackers may be attempting to make it more difficult to identify them. |
Thought about it
"I don't believe in god
because I've thought about it."
— Sean Lock
— You can support me by wearing one of my Atheism Shirts!
— Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
Done |
Q:
What does "volume" mean in "signed volume"?
I've read that the determinant of a matrix gives the signed volume of the parallelotope spanned by the matrix column vectors. I can see how that works for Cartesian coordinates using standard unit basis vectors, but how does it work if, for example, the basis vectors aren't unit and are skewed, as in this example:
The determinant of the two vectors $\mathbf{w}=1e_{1}+3e_{2}$ and $\mathbf{v}=3e_{1}+2e_{2}$ gives the area of the big parallelogram as $\pm7$ of the little parallelograms spanned by $e_{1}$ and $e_{2}$. But that isn't the true area (in units of square something or other) of the parallelogram. So does the "volume" in "signed volume" only refer to Cartesian coordinates and standard unit basis vectors?
A:
I know that it is a very popular way to introduce determinants, and it definitely has its merits for forging basic intuition, but I always deplore how much emphasis is put in basic courses on the "volume aspect" of the determinant. The determinant is much more fundamental than a notion of volume. It makes perfect sense for real vector spaces with no euclidean structure, and most of all makes perfect sense over arbitrary fields (even commutative rings), which makes the volume analogy shaky at best.
I have two ways to answer your question:
First, do not interpret the determinant of a matrix by the volume of the parallelotope spanned by its column vectors. Because a matrix is, at heart, the representation of a linear transformation, not of a family of vectors. Interpret the determinant as the "expansion factor" of the matrix, in the sense that for any (say) parallelotope $X$ of volume $V$, applying the matrix $A$ to $X$ gives a parallelotope $AX$ of volume $|\det(A)|V$. This is something that is unit-independent: for any volume unit you want to use, the "expansion factor" of the matrix is the same.
If you really want to use the volume of the parallelotope interpretation, then it all comes down to a choice of unit. Because then you are really using the definition of the determinant of a family of vectors (here the column vectors). But this is not well-defined in itself. It is only defined with respect to a fixed basis, which basically amounts to saying that you can't give a volume without first fixing a unit. In your example, if the volume unit you fix is this small parallelogram spanned by $e_1$ and $e_2$, then indeed the volume you are looking for is $7$. The confusion comes from the fact that since you are working in $\mathbb{R}^n$ and not an abstract vector space, you have for free a canonical euclidean structure, and thus a notion of "actual" volume (for instance given by Lebesgue measure). This amounts to saying that in a euclidean space, there are some bases that are "better" than others: the orthonormal ones. So if you want to relate the determinant to the "actual" volume in euclidean space, it's simple: make the correct choice of units, and pick an orthonormal basis instead of an arbitrary basis. But it's the same result. Just in different units.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Vogelsong had his well known glare going a full day before his return to the Cactus League, and on Wednesday he found familiar results against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Making his first appearance for the Giants since March 4, Vogelsong pitched six shutout innings at Scottsdale Stadium. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out seven. After a stint with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Vogelsong didn't have any trouble adjusting to the laid back atmosphere of spring baseball.
"I try to treat them all the same, honestly," he said. "I know how important it is to make sure you're ready to go when the bell rings."
Vogelsong threw 82 pitches (60 strikes) and is on track to slot into the No. 5 spot in the rotation when the regular season kicks off on April 1. While representing his country, Vogelsong said he closely watched the results of his rotation mates. He thinks the other four starters are ready, too.
Matt Cain threw five shutout innings in his last start and Madison Bumgarner followed the next day with the same line. Barry Zito struck out seven on Tuesday night and said he feels he is rounding into form. Only Tim Lincecum has yet to find optimal results, in large part because he missed time with a blister.
"It seems that things are falling into place for all of us," Vogelsong said. "It's better to be that way than fighting the other way."
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Vogelsong was perfect the first time through the lineup on Wednesday and ended three of his five innings with looking strikeouts. He said he struggled with his changeup a bit, but otherwise there was little to worry about.
"I was just trying to throw quality pitches and pound the zone," he said. "I feel pretty good."
Vogelsong has hit his regular season form on the mound, and he said he is also already in a routine off the field. Tuesday night's meal was, of course, a plate of enchiladas.
"Always," Vogelsong said. "Always."
Left-hander Jose Mijares faced Hector Sanchez and Kensuke Tanaka on Wednesday morning on a back field at Scottsdale Stadium. Mijares is recovering from a left elbow impingement and was facing hitters for the first time since February 27. The Giants believe Mijares still has time to get back to full strength in time for opening day.
In the other half of a split-squad day, infielder Brock Bond was pulled because of an abdominal strain. |
Q:
Why does bitcoind not recognize the uncompressed version of my address?
I have an address representing a compressed public address, which bitcoind is recognizing as "ismine":
compressed_address = n2HCyN8GWPuc8CrwbiiBASCS7iWku3Ke8S
compressed_key = 03c6debc01d8cf1c7eae826b8acb0ba6ff5d37b8d840b2bfc5244cdebab83a6781
> bitcoind -testnet validateaddress n2HCyN8GWPuc8CrwbiiBASCS7iWku3Ke8S
{
"isvalid" : true,
"address" : "n2HCyN8GWPuc8CrwbiiBASCS7iWku3Ke8S",
"ismine" : true,
"isscript" : false,
"pubkey" : "03c6debc01d8cf1c7eae826b8acb0ba6ff5d37b8d840b2bfc5244cdebab83a6781",
"iscompressed" : true,
"account" : ""
}
I extract the y value from the compressed public keys, and create an address from that (with the same function I wrote for compressed keys):
decompressed_key = 04c6debc01d8cf1c7eae826b8acb0ba6ff5d37b8d840b2bfc5244cdebab83a6781a8b69757635c64ce32eed71115b68174d7241c716b1f76d317c6440635d8bc01
decompressed_address = mfjsW5m8CL5EazGBvjutZ4dgJwd6AjHM11
The address is valid since if satisfies the curve equation... x, y values are as follows:
x = 89951481645973345162937095289811840492311042685266238084455665220379660150657
y = 76311169247456070080081989221882104208438035444189442719121845261776897752065
y * y = 107822876231389859288843816887520488062823501023166616425651229464214081607136
x * x * x - 7 = 107822876231389859288843816887520488062823501023166616425651229464214081607136
However, bitcoind does not recognize the decompressed address as "ismine".
> bitcoind -testnet validateaddress mfjsW5m8CL5EazGBvjutZ4dgJwd6AjHM11
{
"isvalid" : true,
"address" : "mfjsW5m8CL5EazGBvjutZ4dgJwd6AjHM11",
"ismine" : false
}
I don't understand... the only difference between the two is that one key is compressed to save 32 bytes... the private key should be the same! Shouldn't they be interchangeable? Does this mean I won't be able to spend to spend coins send to the de/uncompressed address?
A:
Compressed and uncompressed keys are treated completely separately. Funds sent to the compressed point address will not be available to a client that has the uncompressed key in their wallet.
That is to say, although mfjsW5m8CL5EazGBvjutZ4dgJwd6AjHM11 and n2HCyN8GWPuc8CrwbiiBASCS7iWku3Ke8S have the same private key, they are treated as completely separate to the Bitcoin network. Ideally they would be treated the same, but compressed ECDSA keys just weren't considered by Satoshi originally, it's only a more recent addition (sipa's, probably) to the client.
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1992 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1992 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 1992 to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections for the Democrats and the Republicans were held on June 9. Four incumbents were re-elected, but incumbent Democrat Liz J. Patterson of the 4th congressional district was defeated for re-election by Republican Bob Inglis. The open seat in the 6th congressional district remained with the Democrats and the composition of the state delegation after the elections was even at three Republicans and three Democrats.
1st Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congressman Arthur Ravenel, Jr. of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1987, defeated Democratic challenger Bill Oberst, Jr.
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Republican hold
|-
2nd Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congressman Floyd Spence of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1971, defeated Libertarian challenger Gebhard Sommer.
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Republican hold
|-
3rd Congressional District
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Butler Derrick of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1975, defeated Republican challenger Jim Bland.
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
|-
4th Congressional District
Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Liz J. Patterson of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1987, was defeated for re-election by Republican challenger Bob Inglis.
Republican primary
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Republican gain from Democratic
|-
5th Congressional District
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John M. Spratt, Jr. of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1983, defeated Republican challenger Bill Horne.
Republican primary
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
|-
6th Congressional District
South Carolina's congressional districts were redrawn following the 1990 census. The Republicans joined forces with the black Democrats in the state legislature to form a black-majority district; this gave the substantial minority the chance to elect candidates they favored. It also made the other districts predominately majority white by a greater margin, and these conservative voters had been favoring Republicans for some time.
The boundaries of the 6th congressional district were shifted from its previous northeast position in the state to the central part of the state and defined to include many black majority counties, as well as black precincts of Charleston and Columbia. Incumbent Democratic Congressman Robin Tallon opted to retire rather than run in a district that he considered unfavorable to a white candidate. Jim Clyburn won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican John Chase in the general election to succeed Tallon in office.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election results
|-
| colspan=5 |Democratic hold
|-
See also
United States House elections, 1992
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1992
South Carolina's congressional districts
1992
South Carolina
Category:1992 South Carolina elections |
Summer sucks. It’s hot, sweaty, stinky, and worst of all, there’s no good hockey news out. Oh, sure, if you’re big on legal shenanigans, you’re probably in heaven: we’ve got the never-ending Kovalchuk saga and the can of worms that could potentially open, Khabibulin’s DUI, the Blackhawks’ cap crunch, Tom Hicks’ financial woes, and if you’re really feeling nostalgic for 2009, some more Phoenix Coyotes ownership malarkey. For those of us who hate the business end of the game, though, it’s been another dreary summer. So, I decided to take some time out and write an article or two about the history of the game, and for my first topic, I naturally picked a subject near and dear to my heart: the Edmonton Oilers. Or at least, that’s what I had intended.
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See, when I started writing this article many weeks ago, I thought it would be interesting to trace back the history of the dynasty Oilers, not so much through the NHL period – everyone knows that story – but in their origins with the World Hockey Association and more specifically, the profound influence of the Winnipeg Jets of the latter half of the 1970s. But as I was writing it up, I kept coming back to not just the specific details of the Jets and their dominance, but the way the WHA did business as a whole, and how it planted the seeds for the way the NHL does business today. Many of the changes wrought in the NHL through the ‘70s, ‘80s, and early ‘90s had their origins in things the WHA did to try to get an edge on the NHL (or later, blackmail them into a merger deal), with the 1980s Oilers being the most prominent symbol of those changes. So, I’ve refocused a bit on the larger story of the World Hockey Association, and how a small, crazy, but determined league, with more dollars than sense (and not that many dollars to begin with) managed to change professional hockey forever.
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The Golden Jet
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The WHA was borne out of the same era that gave us the American Football League and the American Basketball Association, two rebel leagues that changed the faces of their respective sports through the 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, the WHA was founded by some of the same businessmen who had founded the ABA some years earlier, with a similar goal in mind. The problem was, they didn’t know a hell of a lot about hockey, and didn’t have many contacts in the hockey world. Enter “Wild Bill†Hunter, a junior hockey owner in Edmonton who’d made his reputation as an anti-authoritarian by founding the Western Canada Hockey League (now the WHL) in the late ‘60s against the express wishes of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, stealing the best teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba out of their respective provincial junior leagues in order to provide better overall competition for Western teams1. Hunter helped put league brass in touch with a number of other hockey men, many of them NHL expansion rejectees or old buddies from the WCHL, and the WHA was set to drop the puck with a slate of twelve teams in the fall of 1972.
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In the beginning, it was pretty easy to sign players. NHLers and AHLers alike were woefully underpaid compared to their brethren in other sports, thanks to a couple of unfortunate circumstances of that period. One was their weak union, led by the conniving and thieving Alan Eagleson, who posed as the players’ best friend while acting as the NHL’s puppet ruler. The other was to the reserve clause, a restrictive and illegal bit of language that allowed NHL teams to keep their players in perpetuity, and intimidate anyone who got uppity with the threat of being traded to a league also-ran or simply shipped down to the minors. The WHA used this to their advantage, deciding early on that they would not use the reserve clause, and offering two to three times more money than whatever the player had previously been making. For minor leaguers in particular, this was a pretty sweet deal: $12,000 per year in the AHL, or $30,000 in the WHA? Not much of a choice.
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But while the new league had money and ideals, they didn’t have a marquee player, a legitimate star who would lend them instant credibility. After considering and dismissing recently retired Detroit star Gordie Howe – who’d eventually spend six years in the WHA with Houston and New England – they settled on Chicago ’s Bobby Hull, and decided that the Winnipeg Jets, one of the more well-heeled teams in the new league, should sign him. His contract was up in 1972, which was perfectly timed, and he’d recently come off a bitter public feud with Bill Wirtz and the Black Hawks organization over that same deal. The Jets made their first overtures in the fall of 1971, and were greeted with a polite thanks-but-no-thanks. Hull ’s agent was intrigued, though, and kept pushing for a deal. Eventually, Hull said he’d agree to play in Winnipeg for a million dollars – “to get rid of them,†he’d later admit – but despite the absurdity of his demand, the Jets came through. In the summer of ‘72, Bobby Hull became the Golden Jet, the face of the WHA, signing for five years and $2.75M, which included that crazy $1M signing bonus.
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The NHL had not taken the WHA very seriously to this point, and with good reason: the new league had already seen five franchise relocations before a game had even been played, and hadn’t really signed away anyone of consequence. In response, the NHL expanded to Long Island and Atlanta for ’72 and announced plans for more expansion in ’74, to cut off potential expansion sites for the WHA, and also declined the new league’s challenge for the Stanley Cup2. Moreover, there were two WHA teams – the New England Whalers in Boston and the Raiders in New York – challenging long-established NHL teams (and the most recent Stanley Cup finalists) in their own buildings! Little wonder, then, that NHL president Clarence Campbell wasn’t convinced that the newcomers posed a real long-term threat: the whole thing read like a flash in the pan, a bunch of crazy moves to drum up publicity based around an unsustainable financial model. By signing Hull , however, the WHA had crossed the line: they’d not only signed away one of the NHL’s best players, but in the weeks that followed, dozens more NHLers, this time of a somewhat higher calibre than before. Boston , Toronto , Chicago , California , and the expansion Islanders had been particularly hard-hit, and many other teams, most notably the Rangers, had to pay through the nose, relatively speaking, to keep their stars in the fold.
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The NHL’s response this time was swift and predictable: they filed injunctions against Bobby Hull and every NHLer who had followed him. While all the other injunctions were thrown out immediately, the NHL won the one that mattered, against Hull in Chicago , setting up an appeal that would drag into the WHA’s inaugural season. Fortunately for the Jets and the WHA, however, the appeals judge was not terribly impressed by the NHL’s arguments citing the reserve clause: he slammed the NHL’s business practices as monopolistic, conspiratorial, and illegal, struck down the injunction, and made it clear that any future injunctions based on the reserve clause would be stillborn, essentially killing that, too. Of all the crazy moves they made in their early years, it was the WHA’s craziest move of all that changed everything. Not only were Hull and the others to play in the WHA, but the foundation had also been laid for the modern free-agency system, though thanks again to Eagleson and his intentionally toothless NHLPA, true unrestricted free agency didn’t come to the NHL until the 1990s.
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European Invasion
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Of course, the new league may have had Bobby Hull, and later Gordie Howe, but that was really about it. Even the NHLers who followed Hull , capable as they were, weren’t the sort of players that put bums in seats, and there were a lot of has-beens and never-weres in the mix, thanks to those rich contracts to minor-leaguers. Hull was getting frustrated with the lack of help, and was on the verge of retirement. To placate the league’s meal ticket, the Jets made one of the most forward-thinking and unusual moves in hockey to that date: since they weren’t exactly going to be plucking Stan Mikita out of Chicago for Hull to play with, they decided to try their luck overseas3. Through a friend of chief scout Billy Robinson, they got in touch with winger Anders Hedberg and centre Ulf Nilsson, who would join Hull in forming the greatest line in WHA history, the Hot Line. With them came smooth-skating defenceman and future captain Lars-Erik Sjöberg, whose skillset reads not unlike that of Scott Niedermayer.
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When the three Swedes signed in the summer of ’74, they agreed that they would try to influence the Jets towards a more European style of play. This meant much more east-west movement and changing of positions as holes opened up, as opposed to the traditional north-south, stay-in-your-lanes game that the NHL and WHA had played to that point. It was a beautiful, flowing game that would require significant skill, great skating, and above-average hockey sense, but all three could bring it, and most importantly, Hull had been keen to play in that style since before leaving Chicago . After just one practice, the Hot Line was ready to take the league by storm, which is precisely what they did. That first year, Hull set the WHA record at 77 goals, while Nilsson finished second in assists with 94. Granted, the Jets still missed the playoffs in 1975, but it wasn’t due to any failings on the part of their Europeans, who now numbered seven or eight, and included a couple of Finns in addition to the many Swedes they’d recruited. In fact, the Jets found their Canadians to typically be the ones lacking, and turfed some of them in favour of more Swedes!
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As you might expect, the Jets’ European contingent proved to be popular targets, especially the two on the Hull line. Euros were “soft,†and easy to intimidate, so the theory went: scare off the Swedes, lock down Hull , and call it a night. Problem was the Swedes didn’t scare that easily. They took their lumps, played through the abuse, and frustrated their opponents by dominating them, anyway, particularly on the many power plays they earned. From 1975-79, the Jets played in all four Avco Cup Finals, winning three of them; they beat the Soviet Red Army 5-3, two years after the Habs tied them, with the Hot Line outscoring the Kharlamov line 5-04; they even challenged the Canadiens to an exhibition series, which was sadly never played. They were the dynasty of the WHA, and there didn’t seem to be much anyone could do to stop them. WHA veteran Dennis Sobchuk summarizes the experience of “defending†against Hull , Nilsson, and Hedberg:
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“They’d do all these criss-crosses and drop passes, and the puck would just be sitting there between the dots while you took your man to the net. Then you’d look up and see Bobby going a hundred miles an hour with his stick over his head. You’d just close your eyes and you wouldn’t open them until you heard the puck hit the glass or the crowd react to the goal. It was one of the scariest sights you could imagine.â€
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Slats and Gretz
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The nigh-unstoppability of the Jets was a source of frustration for most, but for journeyman winger Glen Sather, in the twilight of his career as captain of the Edmonton Oilers in 1976-77, they were a source of inspiration. Sather saw the magic up close and personal, playing twelve games against the Jets and seeing his team go 4-8 (0-6 in Winnipeg ) and get outscored 72-33, including 61-15 in the eight losses. No, that’s not a typo. He witnessed firsthand how they frustrated defences, and realized that understanding and emulating them would be the key to beating them (or at least staunching the bleeding). So, when head coach Bep Guidolin stepped down late in the season and handed the reins of the team to his captain, Slats immediately changed the game plan. Amazingly, the Oilers, who had gone 11 games under .500 to that point, finished the year 9-7-2 and snuck into a playoff berth on the final weekend of the year. They followed that up with a one-game-below-.500 performance the next season and another low playoff seed. Granted, they got pasted 4-1 in the playoffs both years by league powers Houston and New England , respectively, but it was a step in the right direction, which the fans appreciated, if nothing else. Still, Sather wanted to challenge the Jets, and in order to do that, the Oilers would need a major infusion of talent, which serendipity would provide in 1978.
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To give a bit of background, during the ‘70s, the NHL draft age was 20, meaning that no matter how talented you were, you weren’t making the NHL until at least then. The WHA felt this, too, was an unfair and illegal practice, and eventually got the courts to see their way on this topic, as well.5 After merger talks fell through in 1977 thanks to three of the old-guard owners the WHA had wronged five years earlier – in Toronto, Boston, and Chicago – the rebel league decided to step up the pace on signing kids, reasoning that eventually, the NHL would have to accept a merger, just to gain the rights to those players. Among the players who got their start in the WHA as teenagers were longtime NHLers Ken Linseman, Rick Vaive, Craig Hartsburg, Rob Ramage, and Michel Goulet, as well as future Hall of Famers Mark Messier and Mike Gartner. The biggest prize of all, though, was the 17-year-old kid from Brantford who’d just lit junior hockey on fire, scoring three points per game and setting an OHA record with 70 goals as a 16-year-old in 1977-78, leaving little to prove at that level despite not being draft-eligible until 1981. Wayne Gretzky was ready to turn pro; the only question was, with whom.
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It turns out that it wasn’t originally supposed to be with Edmonton : while he’d later be the perfect cornerstone for Glen Sather’s European-by-way-of-Winnipeg system, he was first courted by the Birmingham Bulls at the 1978 World Juniors, declining then because his father insisted that he finish his junior season. By the time Gretzky came available, the Bulls had no room for him, opening the door for Nelson Skalbania, former Oilers owner and future Flames owner, to sign him as the star attraction of his revitalized Indianapolis Racers, much as Sidney Crosby would be in Pittsburgh more than 25 years later. Unfortunately, Indy didn’t have the hockey history or appetite that the Steel City did, and moreover, the pressure seemed to be getting to the young prodigy, who had failed to impress in his early games. He finally broke out of his slump and showed his phenomenal gifts during a home game against the Oilers, scoring his first two professional goals against Sather’s club that night in a mere eight seconds, no doubt leaving an impression on the young bench boss. When Skalbania decided the experiment was over and started shopping Gretzky to make ends meet, it became a match made in heaven. While the Jets themselves made a competitive offer, they couldn’t afford to match Peter Pocklington’s pure-cash deal6. Gretzky, Peter Driscoll, and Eddie Mio became Oilers for $850,000, giving the Oilers the foundation for a dynasty; Indy, despite the cash infusion, bled out before Christmas.
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Wayne flourished in his new environment, surrounded by veterans who could show him the ropes and support him through his early growing pains, and placed into a system that gave him free reign to take offensive chances when he saw the opportunity. Even at 17, he was making those signature two-moves-ahead plays that left opponents wondering just how he knew a guy would be there, or how he found the back of the net. He finished third in league scoring, won rookie of the year in what one would assume to be a landslide, and then paced the Oilers with 15 points en route to a seven-game victory over the Whalers in the semi-finals. Waiting for them in the Avco Cup Finals was their old nemesis, the Winnipeg Jets, setting up a showdown between master and apprentice. On paper, the Oilers were the superior team, having finished in first place by a double-digit point total while Winnipeg barely managed .5007, but when the teams hit the ice, the result rather resembled that of the initial meeting between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader: disaster for the upstarts. The Jets had now lost the Hot Line to the NHL and retirement, but found scoring from all over the roster, and were able to hold Gretzky off the scoresheet in the opening set in Edmonton, stealing a 2-0 series lead and all but ending things right there. While the Oilers would win a couple of blowouts, and outscore Winnipeg in the series altogether, it was the Jets who emerged victorious in game six, the last game in WHA history, by a 7-3 tally, with a late and meaningless Dave Semenko goal serving as the league’s last.
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The Legacy of the WHA
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It can be fairly said that the WHA is to some degree responsible for hockey being the high-stakes business it is today. Gretzky and company were a big hit even playing out of remote Edmonton in the ‘80s; having Gretzky in L.A. and Messier et al. in New York in the early ‘90s, though, was a massive coup for the NHL. The former grew the game in non-traditional markets, paving the way for the Pacific and Southeast Divisions to, well, exist, while the latter brought the Cup to the NHL’s biggest media market for the first time since World War II, ending the longest drought in League history. While the lockout and the trap era sapped a lot of the NHL’s momentum from that period, the impact of those moves is unquestionably felt to this day: the WHA itself may have brought hockey to Arizona and Texas 20-plus years before the NHL did, but it was WHA alumnus Wayne Gretzky and his profile in the Sun Belt that made it possible for it to survive. It’s all very ironic, really, coming from a league that lived paycheque to paycheque for much of its existence: WHA history is littered with league cash calls, franchises moving in the middle of the night and folding mid-season, of missed paydays and envelopes of cash being divvied into stipends by coaches on airplanes. Even before all of that, though, the pressure the WHA put on the NHL forced salaries upward, firmly into the six-figure range for high-end players, and the death of the reserve clause made life at least a little easier on players, in terms of free agency, especially during the WHA period, when they had the leverage of another league to play in. Even after that, contract holdouts – which could almost never happen before – were now enough of a weapon that players could finally be well-compensated. The money Bruce McNall gave Gretzky in 1988 probably didn’t hurt that upward trend at all, either.
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The WHA also brought a stylistic change to the game of hockey: the bubble-hockey game of yesteryear was on its way out, thanks in large part to the dominance of the Oilers, and the tendency of others to mimic their successful formula just as surely as the Oilers had imitated the Jets years earlier. Today, the North American and European games have hybridized each other to a degree: while there are still some clear stylistic differences, owing to different rules and rink dimensions, European hockey is much more North American in style than it was 30 years ago, and vice versa. The WHA also pioneered making European players integral to the roster of a North American team: Lars-Erik Sjöberg was the first European captain of a WHA and NHL team with the Jets, and was the first European captain to hoist a North American pro hockey trophy, in the 1976 and 1978 Avco Cups. The 1970s Jets were, at their peak, about half-European and half-North American, well before the Red Wings enjoyed success with the Russian Five in the ‘90s, or their ample complement of Swedes in the 2000s.
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The other underrated impact of the WHA was the reintroduction of the 18-year-old draft. Steve Stamkos scored 51 goals in his 19-year-old season this past year: in the old system, he’d still be in Sarnia . Steve Yzerman scored 176 points his first two seasons, years he would’ve spent in Peterborough otherwise. I could go on down the list of high selections and see guys who’ve made immediate impacts in the NHL who wouldn’t have even been considered prior to 1979. Of lesser note, but still worth mentioning, is that the new Entry Draft – replacing the Amateur Draft of years past – allowed teams to select draft-aged pros. While it was targeted at allowing the NHL to snag 18- and 19-year-olds who had played in the WHA, it also allowed, for example, Boston to choose Sergei Samsonov out of the IHL in 1997.
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Most immediately, though, there are the teams. Unfortunately, Quebec, Winnipeg, and Hartford all wound up finding new homes, as the fall of the dollar and the rise of the large market – as noted above, another indirect WHA legacy – took their toll through the ‘90s, and Edmonton was only saved by some last-minute intervention on the part of a massive number of local businessmen. Then again, former WHA teams account for eight Stanley Cups and eleven Finals appearances since the merger in 1979. Gretzky’s Oilers, of course, went on that legendary run in the ‘80s, while Colorado ( Quebec ) was a League power through the late ‘90s and early 2000s, winning two Cups, and Carolina ( Hartford ) won the first post-lockout Cup, and the first all-WHA Final, against Edmonton in 2006. Former WHA teams have made a tremendous impact on the League, but the funny thing is, none of them might have been there at all if not for Canada ’s love of beer.
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Epilogue: The Beer Boycott
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The WHA always was a little…different. Aside from the perpetual off-ice eye-poking of the NHL, there were a lot of things that happened in the WHA that you’d never have seen in the senior loop: the short-lived blue puck, rat-killing competitions in musty old dressing rooms, players smuggled out of road cities in equipment bags, guys jumping into hotel pools in full gear, drunken fans challenging entire dressing rooms to a brawl (and subsequently being chased down by a dozen half- or fully-naked hockey players, fresh from the showers), and so on. So it’s only appropriate that things ended the way they did.
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Back in 1977, the proposed merger would’ve seen six WHA teams – the four ultimate survivors, plus Cincinnati and Houston – join the NHL intact and play in their own division, slowly integrating with the rest of the League over the course of five years. With the defeat of that merger, and the subsequent collapse of several more teams, the NHL mostly had the WHA over a barrel. Despite their bravado, the WHA was forced to sign the terms of their surrender in 1979: the four surviving clubs would be allowed to protect just two skaters and two goalies, with the rest either reclaimed by their NHL clubs or sent to the draft pool8; the other two teams, Cincinnati and Birmingham, would be paid by the survivors to go away; and the WHA teams selected from the bottom of the draft, instead of the top, as most expansion teams would. Oh, and they each had to pay a $6M expansion fee for the privilege. Great deal.
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Despite the overwhelmingly pro-NHL terms, the hardliners held strong, and defeated the measure by only voting 12-5 in favour, with LA, Boston , and the three Canadian teams in dissent. (One presumes that they didn’t want to lose half of their Hockey Night in Canada royalties to the three new Canadian teams.) That might have been it, but for Canadian beer drinkers. The Montreal Canadiens, then as now, were owned by the Molson family, of Molson Breweries. The people of Edmonton , Winnipeg , and Quebec City started a boycott of Molson products and, in short order, made their message heard: the Habs and Canucks changed their votes, allowing the WHA merger to go through, much to the fury of Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard (pissing him off was a side benefit of the whole affair). The course of hockey history was changed, and the WHA’s legacy was preserved, all because of beer, which really goes to show that the stereotypes are, to some degree, true: we may love our brews up here, but nothing, not even beer, will come between us and our hockey teams.
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Special thanks to Ed Willes, whose marvelous book The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association furnished many of the facts, quotes, and stories in this essay, and Oilers blogger Bruce McCurdy, who held season tickets from 1977-93, and shared his first-hand observations of those late-‘70s and early-‘80s teams with me.
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1 Hunter would take one more opportunity to piss off the Establishment in 1983, when he attempted to buy the St. Louis Blues and move them to Saskatoon . Not surprisingly, the NHL kicked up a fuss and blocked the bid at the end of the season. For more on that situation, including how the Blues missed the 1983 draft because of it, check out this great post on St. Louis Game Time: it’s a story worth reading. Given Hunter’s life and contributions to the sport – the creation of the WHL, the creation of the WHA and the Oilers, and the long-reaching effects of those manoeuvres – it boggles my mind that he’s not in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.
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2 While the challenge format was effectively terminated in 1915, in favour of various pre-arranged interleague (and later, NHL-only) series and tournaments, the Stanley Cup is still technically a challenge trophy. The initial rules set forward by the Trustees of the Cup in 1893 specify that the Cup defaults to the champion of the previous winner’s League, and that any challenges from there would have to come from the champion of another “senior hockey association,†which in the modern understanding, could conceivably have included the WHA. However, the NHL was granted the authority to determine the conditions of Stanley Cup competition and qualification of future challengers in a 1947 agreement with the Trustees of the Cup: because of this, the Trustees have rejected all challenges since its inception, even in 2005, when the NHL wasn’t actually playing for it. In 2006, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that, should the same thing happen again, the Cup could be awarded to a non-NHL team.
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3 Of course, this wasn’t an entirely unusual move for the WHA. The Calgary Broncos, before closing up shop and moving to Cleveland , had drafted a large number of Eastern Europeans, including future Summit Series stars Valeri Kharlamov and Alexander Maltsev. The Toronto Toros signed Vaclav Nedomansky out of Czechoslovakia around the same time the Jets went shopping in Scandinavia . Hell, even the NHL was getting in on the act, with the Leafs signing Börje Salming and Inge Hammarström out of Sweden in 1973. Still, the Jets were far and away the most aggressive and successful participants in the first wave of European recruitment.
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4 Strangely enough, the games between WHA teams and international all-star teams counted in the standings during the league’s last couple of years. This was done primarily to make teams and fans alike take the game seriously, rather than treat it as an exhibition, though I suspect it may have been done in part to paper over holes created in the schedule by the numerous franchise collapses in that later period. If nothing else, it gave the hybrid-style teams, Winnipeg and Edmonton , loads of practice against European squads.
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5 I don’t know if this was their intent, but they certainly got this by barring Ken Linseman from playing as an underager in Birmingham in 1977, despite signing away other underagers in prior years; Linseman filed an injunction and won the right to play. If that really was their gambit, it worked out brilliantly.
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6 No truth to the rumour that a game of backgammon actually decided the thing: the Jets offered less money and a stake in the franchise, and with no guarantee of an NHL merger and the Racers losing money at an alarming rate, the Oilers’ up-front cash was the obvious choice. A game was, in fact, offered but ultimately rejected.
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7 A point worth making regarding the matchup is that Sjöberg missed most of the regular season with injury. Certainly, one would think that with their Niedermayer healthy for the whole year, the Jets would’ve finished much better than they did.
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8 The reclamation draft was a disaster for the WHA clubs, with most of the good players from that league being spread throughout the NHL, forcing the WHA teams to pay through the nose in a trade or burn expansion-draft picks in order to keep more than a couple of them. Even when the WHA teams played by the rules, they got screwed: the Oilers initially claimed Wayne Gretzky and Bengt-Åke Gustafsson as their two protected skaters, but lost Gustafsson to the Capitals anyway, and likely only kept Gretzky because he’d signed a 21-year personal services contract with Peter Pocklington directly. |
Jack has what every man would want: a beautiful and successful wife, two smart and pretty daughters, a big house and a great job. He also has a secret that has been eating him alive for most of his life: he’s chosen the path of “normalcy” to the American Dream rather than face the fact he’s attracted to men. He tries to be the faithful husband and good father until one night he can’t do it anymore. A chance encounter at a party leads him straight to the man who will upend everything Jack has built. Will what was supposed to be a one-night-stand turns into a once-in-a-lifetime love for both of them?
(Darryl Stephens) is just a guy in Philadelphia who happens to have a history of getting involved with closeted married men. His father and his soon-to-be step mom are on him to find someone who’s actually available and to settle down. Instead, he starts an affair with a man named Jack (Scott Bailey) who is fifteen years into a perfect marriage with two beautiful children and an enviable wife. Their affair sparks something in Jack, and he starts confiding in those close to him that he’s gay, and developing feelings for Peter. The problem is that his coming out is overshadowed by Peter falling in love with somebody else, leaving Jack to stay in the closet, something which has disastrous consequences for the domestic bliss of both parties. Also starring Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy).
Q & A with Scott Bailey and Ann Walker, moderated by Del Shores
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#!/bin/bash
# To return a failure if any commands inside fail
set -e
MINICONDA_URL="http://repo.continuum.io/miniconda"
if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" == "osx" ]; then
MINICONDA_FILE=Miniconda-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh
export PATH=/Users/travis/miniconda2/bin:$PATH
else
MINICONDA_FILE=Miniconda-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
export PATH=/home/travis/miniconda2/bin:$PATH
fi
wget $MINICONDA_URL/$MINICONDA_FILE -O miniconda.sh
chmod +x miniconda.sh
./miniconda.sh -b
# Workaround for https://github.com/travis-ci/travis-ci/issues/6522
# Turn off exit on failure.
set +e
|
Big Data
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Transcript of Big Data
Introduction to Big DataBig DataLarge corpuses of data coming togetherSensors collecting information through web logs, security flows, and monitoring information.Need of Big DataAround terabytes and petabytes of data being generated.Sensors, web logs, imagery and data streaming from devices – is growing.Dimensions of Big DataBig Data spans six dimensions :Classification of Big DataOn the basis of nature Big Data can be classified as follows:Unstructured DataSemi-Structured DataStructured DataData at restImportance of Big DataBig Data plays an important roles in various domains such as :
VolumeVelocityData in motionVarietyData in many formsVeracityData in doubtDecision MakingVariabilityData in many waysComplexityIntermingling of dataStudies have shown that businesses which have adopted Big Data strategies earlier and enabled data driven decision making were able to achieve 5% to 6% greater productivity.
This has helped in many sectors such as Telecom sector, Retail sector, Manufacturing sector etc.
Business IntelligenceUnstructured DataNo identifiable structureConsists of mainly loosely structured dataThis kind of data is inconsistent and always unique.Ex- media files, word files, pdf files, ppt presentationsIn Business Intelligence, data is analyzed for many purposes such as to perform system log analytics and social media analytics for risk assessment, customer relation, brand management etc.
Big data analytics helps to do real time analysis of data thus providing an help to Business Intelligence tools.Semi-Structured DataNo fixed schemaAlso known as 'self-describing' dataContains information about the schema of the data contained in it.Social DevelopmentStructured DataIndustries like Healthcare, surveys done by government agencies like NSSO, NGOs collect data from a mixture of people. This information is helpful in studying general social and economic condition of people and thus helps in planning developmental projects.This type of data is grouped into relational schema and can be analyzed with the help of simple queries. This type of data is grouped into relational schema and can be analyzed with the help of simple queries.Heterogeneity and IncompletenessChallenges faced during Big Data analysisThe analysis of Big Data involves multiple distinct phases as shown in the figure below, each of which introduces challenges.The top challenge cited are: the rate data growth and the cost and effort required to contain or store it. The various challenges faced are:Unlike humans, computers cannot understand heterogeneous data. Machine analysis algorithms expect homogeneous data. Therefore, data is required to be structured prior to data analysis. To cope up with this challenge Google applies MapReduce to all the complex heterogeneous data it gathers from internets.ScaleThis refers to the sheer volume of data being accumulated. (terabytes)To work with this volume of data requires distributing parts of the problem to multiple machines to handle in parallel.TimelinessPreferably known as the acquisition and processing rate based upon the volume of data. Consider a fraudulent credit card transaction. It is ideally required to stop the process before the transaction takes place at all. To cope up with this scenario we need a proper result at proper time. Hence, velocity is a major challenge being faced.PrivacyManaging the privacy of data is a major concern for all kinds of organizations. It is an important part of data analysis to protect the privacy of people.
SecurityLacking security may lead to steal sensitive information assets – intellectual property, credit card numbers, customer databases – commit fraud, or otherwise damage the enterprise. Many Big Data security solutions have emerged in market like Gazzang, Ncrypt™.Access and SharingIt refers to the need of proper accessibility rights. There is a large amount of data that is closely held by the corporations and is not accessible in public because there exists a culture of secrecy.Human CollaborationThere is a great value of human input at all stages of the analysis pipeline. In spite of great advancements in computational analysis and Big Data the importance of Human Collaboration is not reduced.Technology OutlookThis section would elaborate the technology being selected for storing, managing and analyzing Big Data. HadoopIts an open source framework that allows distributed storage and processing of large data sets over clusters of computers. Hadoop has become the de facto standard for storing, processing and analyzing hundreds of terabytes, and even petabytes of data.The Hadoop libraries itself are designed to detect and handle failures at the application layer, hence enabling it to deliver high-availability service.Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS)HDFS is a file system used by Hadoop which is ideal for storing data of size terabytes and petabytes. HDFS lets you connect nodes contained within clusters over which data files are distributed. One can then access and store the data files as one seamless file system. Data in Hadoop cluster is broken down into smaller pieces called blocks and distributed throughout the clusters. The default block size for Hadoop is 64 MB.Map Reduce MapReduce is a framework for performing distributed data processing using the Map-Reduce programming paradigm. The important innovation of MapReduce is the ability to take a query over a dataset, divide it, and run it in parallel over multiple nodes. Distributing the computation solves the issue of data too large to fit onto a single machine.Job TrackerIt is the master of the system which manages the jobs and resources in the cluster. If any of the job fails, it reallocates the job to another node.Task TrackerThese are the slaves that are deployed on each machine.TaskTracker also constantly sends a message to JobTracker, which helps JobTracker to decide whether to delegate a new task to this particular node or not. Job History ServerIt is a process for serving up information about historically completed applications so that the JobTracker does not need to track them.Hadoop Based Search Engine Q-SearchDescription of ProjectThe major issue involved in this project was the type of data in which searching is be done. The type which we have chosen is highly unstructured containing a large amount of data. The files contain a large amount of pictures and different types of tags and formatting elements which need to be removed for effective searching. The second major issue involved is to ensure that searching is done in optimum time and gives a reliable output, to do this we have used various methods like caching, etc. We have also sorted the displayed results on the basis of number of hits. To improve the user experience we have done pagination of results to be displayed.Use Case DiagramWorking of ProjectUser enters a Search StringCaching Module Checks in CacheThis module would be the first one to be invoked which involves searching into the cache for the search query entered by the user. It redirects the flow to the Display Result module in case of success, else invokes the Create File List module.Create File ListThe module gets invoked when the required results are not present in the cache hence, leading to the generation of the file list. The file list is obtained by browsing through the file system.HDFS SearchIt searches for the key in all files mentioned in the file list (which is being obtained from the Create File List module). For each type of file, the required driver is identified and processed so as to call their respective Mappers and Reducers, which are responsible for generating results and storing them in temporary files.Update CacheThe temporary files generated are read and stored in the cache for faster retrieval of results the next time it searches for the same word. Each output file is read and the results are then stored into the cache database. Delete Temporary Files Once the output results are stored into the cache database, this module deletes the temporary files being generated hence, releasing the memory being shared by them.Manage CacheFor every new result that is being added to the cache, this module clears the cache when distinct search keys stored in cache exceeds over a fixed limit (5000). If the number of distinct search keys is greater than the primitive fixed limit, it deletes the Least Frequently Used result from the cache hence, updating the counter of the currently searched key.Display ContentThis module can also be directly invoked by the Caching Module if the required results are found through the same. It displays the results in decreasing order of the number of hits. The module also grants access to the corresponding file through separate links provided for that file.Various Phases in Big Data ProcessingData Collection and StorageBest Practices for Harnessing Big DataUse sandboxingDimensionalize the dataEmbed Analytics into operational workflow/routineGather business requirements before gathering dataOpportunities in Big Data Quantum ComputingMachine LearningHealthcareTHANK YOU !!!Data Filtering, Aggregation and RepresentationData Modeling and AnalysisQuery Processing and Information ExtractionInterpretation and Visualization of Big DataThis phase must support acquisition of data through low, predictable latency in both capturing data and executing short, simple queries.Large corpuses of data are kept on the same original location (disk) rather than moving data from one disk to another. Hadoop is the new tool developed that helps in organizing and integrating data on the original storage cluster.The infrastructure should be able to deliver fast, scale to extreme data volumes and enhance response times and decision making.The data is needed to be analyzed in context of the old to provide new perspectives and solutions on old problems.Big Data is generally noisy and not trustworthy but still, valuable to extract.This phase extracts useful information from 'raw' data through predictive modelling.When considering data visualization, one of the best ways is to present the data graphically by extracting important information so as to communicate the meaning of data.This is required so as to spot values that are generally not obtained while observing raw values, and making the data more user-interpretableTechnology OutlookResult Display |
Women are being advised to cut out caffeine during the first three months of pregnancy, to help reduce their risk of having a miscarriage.
The warning follows a study that found pregnant women who consumed two or more mugs of coffee a day were twice as likely to miscarry than those who abstained from caffeine completely.
The study of 1,063 pregnant women showed that those who had at least 200mg of caffeine each day had a 25% risk of miscarriage compared with a 12% risk for women who avoided all caffeine, including in tea, soft drinks and chocolate.
The advice, from doctors at one of America's largest private health organisations, goes further than guidelines introduced by British government health officials in 2001.
These recommend that pregnant women limit their daily intake to 300mg.
The government advice was based on a Food Standards Agency review of the scientific literature, which found an increased risk where caffeine intake was highter than 300mg a day - or three cups of instant coffee - in the first 15 weeks. Fresh coffee is typically stronger than instant, and a cup of tea has around 40mg.
"It appears that 200mg a day is already a high enough dose to increase the risk of miscarriage," said Dr De-Kun Li, a perinatal epidemiologist who led the study at Kaiser Permanente, a California-based non-profit health foundation that runs 32 hospitals. He advised women to consider not consuming caffeine or at least limiting their intake to less than 200mg during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The women were asked what they had eaten and drunk until the 20th week of gestation: 635 had up to 200mg a day; 164 women had 200mg or more daily; and 264 had none.
The doctors accounted for other factors known to affect miscarriage rates, including age, income, a history of miscarriages, smoking and alcohol consumption. Overall, 172 women miscarried, 95% within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The results suggested that even moderate amounts of caffeine increased the risk, but this was only confirmed in women who consumed 200mg or more a day. It made no difference whether the caffeine came from coffee, tea, chocolate or cola drinks. Li called on GPs to encourage patients to reduce or give up caffeine during early pregnancy.
It is unclear why caffeine should affect early pregnancy, although it is known that pregnant women take longer to process caffeine and it can cross the placenta into a baby's bloodstream.
The latest study, in the current online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, accounted for this "pregnancy-related caffeine aversion" - which Li said had hampered previous studies - by following women who did not change their drinking habits.
High levels of caffeine have previously been linked to increased risk of premature birth and small babies. But a Danish study last year found no difference where mothers had drunk only moderate amounts of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Tracy Flanagan, director of women's health at Kaiser Permanente in northern California, advised pregnant women to consider switching to decaffeinated drinks, and natural energy boosts, such as a brisk walk, yoga or dried fruit.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We are constantly reviewing and updating our advice, but at this time, our guideline limit of 300mg of caffeine remains." The guidelines also suggest pregnant women try decaffeinated drinks where possible.
The effects
Caffeine occurs naturally in a range of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and is added to soft drinks such as Red Bull. Cold remedies and antihistamines use it to counter the drowsy effects of other ingredients. Caffeine raises the heart rate and metabolism. It is a diuretic that causes the body to lose water, other fluids and calcium. Tea hinders the ability to absorb iron if drunk near a meal. Babies find it hard to excrete. |
Life Insurance Corporation of India
Amulya Jeevan-I
LIC is the oldest and largest life insurance Company of India which introduced various Life Insurance products for Individuals as well as for Group. LIC is the pioneer to start insurance products with savings component. LIC is the most trusted brand in India. LIC not only helped people to save their savings for the future needs but also helped a lot in the development of the country. Major bridges, highways, airports and other major infrastructure projects are funded by the LIC. LIC till date has issued higher number of traditional plans as compared to unit linked insurance plans. Not only this LIC plans emphasized more on long-term plans for customers, but gradually analysing the requirements of investors, LIC also started with ULIP plans which are market linked insurance plans. LIC has recently stated that it can invest approx Rs. 50,000 crores every year in the stock market and therefore asked for relaxation on holding more than 10% in single company. LIC is no.1 life insurance Company both in terms of number of LIC policies sold and premium collected every year. The claim ratio is also higher as compared to all life insurance companies in India.
LIC policies are segregated into different categories:
Few Traditional Plans - Children's Education and Marriage:
i) Jeevan Anurag: LIC's Jeevan Anurag is designed to fulfill the education needs of the children. It is basically a traditional plan where investment is done as per the directives of the insurance act where returns are normally safe. The main benefit of the plan is that it covers the parent's life, implying that plan will provide immediate payment of basic sum assured amount on death of the life assured during the term of the policy.
ii) Komal Jeevan: LIC's Komal Jeevan is a Money Back plan which provides regular income on a fixed interval after child becomes major. This gives financial support during the child's education period. It has both survival benefits and maturity benefits. In case of death of the proposer, future premiums are waived of and all other benefits are paid as it is.
iii) Marriage Endowment Or Educational Annuity Plan: Every parent would like to invest for the future of children's either for children's higher education or marriage. LIC has introduced this plan just to meet the marriage or for education expenses of the child.
1) Few Endowment plans:
Jeevan Anand : LIC's Jeevan Anand Plan is a combination of Endowment plan and whole-life plan. The plan is again a mixture of insurance and investment. As this plan is a whole-life plan, risk cover continues after the maturity value is paid on the completion of the term. It will provide protection against the death throughout the life of the assured.
Jeevan Saral : LIC's Jeevan Saral plan is one such plan which provides higher cover, smooth return, liquidity and lot of flexibility. Plan is a variable insurance plan which is a combination of traditional plan and unit linked insurance plan. The life cover under the plan is offered 250 times of the monthly premium. The first bonus will be declared after completion of 10 years. This plan will cater to those who perceive insurance more as a means of financial protection and wish to make provision for future contingencies. On completion of the term it will provide sum assured plus loyalty addition.
Amulya Jeevan : LIC's Amulya Jeevan is a term plan in which the premium is very low. There is no maturity value in the plan and the sum assured is paid in case of early death of insured person during the term of the policy. The plan is also not eligible for the bonus as there is no savings component attached in the plan. The plan covers risk of early death and is becoming more and more popular now a days.
2) LIC's Moneyback plans:
There are many Money back plans having different names. Most important benefit of having Money back plan is that it gives financial pay out during regular intervals over a period of term of the policy year. And at the end of the term it gives the balance of the Sum assured plus loyalty addition. It is gernerally taken on the life of the parents. It also has benefit where premium can be continued even after the death of the any of parent.
ULIP Plans
i) Endowment Plus : LIC's Endowment plan is unit linked insurance plan where the risk is borne by the investor. Here the investor has different options for investment like Bond Fund , Secured Fund , Balanced Fund and Growth Fund etc. Investor can also switch his amount into these mentioned funds at any time as per the market conditions. It gives flexibility to the investor. At the end the maturity, Fund value linked with the market performance will be given to the investor. It also has policy admin charges , premium allocation charges and fund managment charges.
LIC is having having pan India presence has a agent force comprising of 15 lakhs agents. LIC policies are more traditional in nature which include Insurance and investment component both. |
Advances in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has become a therapeutic option for an increasing number of patients with otherwise incurable leukemias, solid tumors, immunodeficiencies, hemoglobinopathies and metabolic diseases. For patients requiring an allogeneic transplant, the addition of unrelated cord blood units and partially matched family member donors as alternate stem cell sources has increased the chances that an appropriate donor can be identified. In addition, new approaches to stem cell graft engineering are yielding insights into potential cellular immune therapies, which may decrease the adverse effects of HSCT such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and harness the alloimmune graft-versus-leukemia effect. Novel conditioning regimens, primarily reduced intensity and non-myeloablative regimens, allow patients with significant co-morbidities to undergo transplantation with reduced morbidity and mortality. Combinations of immune-modulatory cytokines and monoclonal antibodies with autologous and allogeneic transplantation are among the advances being explored in contemporary HSCT. |
of course noah didn't take every species of animal on the ark he took two each of the general versions of every animal. all other types of animals evolved from those that were on the ark
7,882 shares |
Establishment of a clinical engineering department in a Venezuelan national reference hospital.
Since 1976, Clinical Engineering (CE) has been studied at the Simón Bolívar University (USB) as part of the Bioengineering Studies program developed at that University. However, it was not until 1996 that Clinical Engineering activities were established in a Venezuelan hospital. This paper describes how the USB, using its own human resources, has achieved the establishment of a Clinical Engineering Department in a national reference hospital for the first time. |
17 November 2009
The upgrade to Kubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" threw me back to the glorious 90s, when installing Linux would invariably require long battles with the infamous XFree config files. Hours and hours wasted trying out magic incantations in order to escape the brutal world of command-line interfaces. !FUN
Anyway, here's a bit background: basically, ATI stopped releasing proprietary Linux drivers for their old cards. So you can either use the old drivers, or move to the open-source ones (a complete rewrite, which only recently got good enough for real use). But here's the problem: the version of (KDE window manager) KWin shipped with Karmic crashes horribly with the old ATI drivers, and recent Xorg releases don't really work well with them anyway. So you haven't much of a choice: move to the free drivers and thank Stallman for inventing the cure to the annoying problem of manufacturers dropping support for products after less than five years.
The problem with the open-source drivers, however, is that running with default parameters will give you shockingly bad perfomance, especially for 2D (weird). I was forced to delve into xorg.conf and turn on all the "turbo-boost" switches I could find. At the moment, I'm getting decent result with the following parameters:
Note AccelMethod being set to XAA. In the future that will probably be EXA (which apparently is a newer algorithm), but my experiments with it included too many crashes for my taste.
There are a few other parameters that I scavenged from Google and man radeon, but they mostly resulted in crashes on my machine (tbh, I'm not sure they were always the guilty party, but better safe than sorry):
"AGPSize" "128" -- from what I understand, this should just be the amount of video RAM you have.
"EXAOptimizeMigration" "on" -- relevant only if you use EXA
"XAANoOffscreenPixmaps" "on" -- no idea what this is, but my card doesn't like it
"BIOSHotkeys" "on" -- my screen-related Fn-* hotkeys work anyway, even without this parameter
"AGPFastWrite" "on" -- this hangs X on my laptop (Rock Pegasus Ti)
I put this here so I may remember to search my blog next time instead of wasting time going through random forum threads, but I hope it may be of help to fellow Radeon linuxers. All in all, KDE 4.3 is lovely, but it kinda reminded me that five years is quite a long lifespan for a laptop. |
Q:
SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0 at JSON.parse () - AngularJS
I am quite certain that all the arguments I passed into register() have values. This is the js code.
$scope.register = function(
$reg_code, $prov_code, $citymun_code, $brgy_code, $street,
$user_name, $user_email, $user_contact, $user_password
) {
//displays the arguments
alert("region: " + $reg_code + ", province: " + $prov_code + ", citymun: " + $citymun_code + ", barangay: "
+ $brgy_code + ", street: " + $street + ", user_name: " + $user_name + ", user_email: " + $user_email + ", user_contact: "
+ $user_contact + ", user_password: " + $user_password);
$http({
method: "POST",
url: "http://" + host + "/mobile/register.php",
data: JSON.stringify({
user_password_reg: $user_password,
user_email_reg: $user_email,
user_contact_reg: $user_contact,
user_name_reg: $user_name,
region: $reg_code,
province: $prov_code,
citymun: $citymun_code,
barangay: $brgy_code,
street: $street,
echo: "1",
success: "0",
user_acc_type: "log account"
}),
headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'}
}).then(function(res) {
alert("success1: " + res.data.success1 + ", success2: " + res.data.success2 + ", success3: " + res.data.success3);
});
}
This is the php script
<?php
header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *');
header('Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8');
//converts data to post
$postData = file_get_contents("php://input");
$post = json_decode($postData);
$echo = array();
$echo["success1"] = 0;
$echo["success2"] = 0;
$echo["success3"] = 0;
if(isset($post["region"]) &&
isset($post["province"]) &&
isset($post["citymun"]) &&
isset($post["barangay"]) &&
isset($post["street"]) &&
isset($post["user_password_reg"]) &&
isset($post["user_name_reg"]) &&
isset($post["user_email_reg"]) &&
isset($post["user_contact_reg"])
) {
$echo["success1"] = 1;
$echo["success2"] = 1;
$echo["success3"] = 1;
} else {
$echo["success1"] = 2;
$echo["success2"] = 2;
$echo["success3"] = 2;
}
echo json_encode($echo);
?>
This programs is still not complete. I first wanted to make sure that the php is getting all the right parameters from post and returns or echoes a right value. However, in these code I get this error in the console.
SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0
at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
at fromJson (ionic.bundle.js:9892)
at defaultHttpResponseTransform (ionic.bundle.js:17406)
at ionic.bundle.js:17491
at forEach (ionic.bundle.js:9150)
at transformData (ionic.bundle.js:17490)
at transformResponse (ionic.bundle.js:18216)
at processQueue (ionic.bundle.js:22016)
at ionic.bundle.js:22032
at Scope.$eval (ionic.bundle.js:23228)
if < is read in the json output of the php, that means there was an error on the part of the php code. It's quite hard for me to debug the php code since the AngularJS automatically parses the data from the php. Hence, I cannot see the details of the error. And besides I really doubt that this simple php script would have an error.
Thanks in advance.
A:
Your PHP code is probably triggering an error resulting in an HTML response.
This is most likely due to the fact you're attempting to access object properties as array indices, triggering something like
Fatal error: Cannot use object of type stdClass as array
Change your code to
$post = json_decode($postData, true);
See http://php.net/manual/function.json-decode.php#refsect1-function.json-decode-parameters
I also assume you're using Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded to keep the request simple. I would recommend text/plain instead as your data is certainly not URL encoded.
$http.post("http://" + host + "/mobile/register.php", {
user_password_reg: $user_password,
user_email_reg: $user_email,
user_contact_reg: $user_contact,
user_name_reg: $user_name,
region: $reg_code,
province: $prov_code,
citymun: $citymun_code,
barangay: $brgy_code,
street: $street,
echo: "1",
success: "0",
user_acc_type: "log account"
}, {
headers: { 'Content-type': 'text/plain' }
})
|
Tag Archives: Cook
When we hear someone say, “comfort food” thoughts drift to dinners from childhood imagining something warm, full of carbs, or sweetly satisfying. We dream of flavors and textures to feed our emotional funk or exhaustive schedule to quench and satisfy. The focus is inward, self-gratifying.
What if our focus shifted outward instead?
This is not intended to make you feel guilty about surrounding yourself with good food or savoring a favorite meal, simply to think about comfort food differently. Food not only soothes our moods and maladies, it brings comfort to those hurting, recovering, or overwhelmed. Of course, it fills a practical need, but so do restaurants and pizza delivery. Taking a meal to someone invests in community with a personal touch that goes far beyond the food itself.
When someone notices our need and offers to lift our burden for a moment we feel valued, encouraged, and less alone.
Our family has been the beneficiary of meals arriving at our door after a major car accident, sudden illness, and crisis. The concern and kindness of friends, as well as others we didn’t even know, created emotional margin and physical relief when doctor appointments, decision-making, and grief consumed daily routine. They were life-givers, every one, with encouraging words and reassurance they were there to do whatever they could … taking care of one of the basic needs like dinner or groceries was a vital part of the help we needed.
According to 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. When we serve others, it is a blessing no matter how big or small the gesture. It doesn’t have to be a whole meal, if you bake amazing bread, make an extra loaf to give away. I believe good food is one of the various forms of God’s grace we can use to meet someone’s need—real comfort food.
So what does that really look like?
You can start by responding to needs in your own sphere of influence at church, school, work, club, or neighborhood. It doesn’t have to be someone in crisis, it can be a single mom with a maxed schedule, a college student missing home, or a co-worker trying to finish a big project who would be grateful to know you care. Yes, it might feel weird to be the first one to do something like this, but caring for others is worth feeling a little awkward.
10 Tips for Stirring a Pot and Feeding a Soul:
1. Simple food is best. Make what you know and do well; this is not the time to try new recipes. Check for allergies and strong dislikes. For food sensitivities and allergies, think outside the casserole. Casseroles are great comfort food for many, but are more apt to contain common food allergens like corn, wheat, milk, or soy. Braised meats, steamed vegetables, soups, and salads easily accommodate those with food restrictions or strong dislikes of certain foods.
2. Use disposable containers. Unless it is a neighbor or someone you see regularly, deliver meals in containers that do not need to be returned. Keep it as simple as possible for those you are trying to bless.
3. Deliver the meal at dinnertime, if possible. If not, make it as close to ready with clear instructions. If delivering food to a family with a new baby, don’t ring the door bell. Arrange a specific time and arrive with a gentle knock at the door in case the baby is sleeping.
4. Consider everyone in a family. Crisis, surgery, new babies, grief, affects everyone within a family. Try to include at least one thing everyone will like with the meal. If the family has small children, make sure you show up with ice cream or something specifically for them if you can.
5. Customize the meal for the event/purpose. Bereavement, nursing mothers, recovering from surgery or illness can each pose a different need.
New moms, especially nursing moms, eat often so snacks and easy breakfast foods are great too. Avoiding spicy, acidic food is helpful to prevent adverse reactions from the baby.
Surgery is hard on the body, when someone undergoes general anesthesia the entire digestive system shuts down. Provide a gentle and nourishing meal like chicken soup made from homemade bone broth. Consider foods that are soft, nourishing, and easy to digest. If you know they like smoothies, provide a few pre-packaged frozen smoothies easily assembled at home.
6. Offer to coordinate the meals. Major crisis, trauma, accidents can be overwhelming and having an infant with the phone constantly ringing is no picnic either. Having one person collect primary information and receive questions regarding meals is truly helpful. Organizing a handful of suppers for a friend is pretty straight forward, but when a larger group or longer-term need is part of the equation, there are services to help.
7. Providing a meal is not the time to impose your nutritional agenda on someone else or “teach” them how to eat. Try to understand what would bring comfort to them, even well-meaning advice can be overwhelming when someone is stressed.
8. Include the recipe. This can be especially helpful for those with food sensitivities or allergies too—they can have a little more confidence when they can review the recipe.
9. Include a note of encouragement, which mentions what you brought. This is helpful when a number of meals are provided. It can be difficult to remember and sort out who brought what when writing thank you cards. (Yes, I know, you didn’t do it to be thanked.)
10. Even if you don’t cook or have time to prepare a meal, you can help. Offer to run errands, clean, babysit, carpool kids, or provide a gift card for take-out.
What is comfort food to you?
Have you comforted others with food or received this kind of comfort food from someone? If so, what was your experience?
THIS is cool!
An interactive map from Epicurious showing what is fresh and grown locally in your area, by month. Ever wonder when you can expect local strawberries or winter squash? Want to be more purposeful about buying locally, but not sure what is available? Just click on a state and there it is, along with ingredient descriptions, shopping guides, recipes, and tips. Pretty neat, huh?! Well, I liked it, though on Fridays I can be easily entertained. 😀 Enjoy!
As our One-Pot Blogger Party ends, we conclude with a hearty pot of Tuscan White Bean Soup—with soup, there is always enough for everyone. Thank you for joining me over the last three weeks in reviewing Emeril’s newest collection of recipes in Simmering Skillets and Other One Pot Wonders. I am honored Savoring Today was chosen to be part of this project it has been a privilege.
Now for the final stirring of the pot…
Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe is one of the recipes we are allowed to share in full, so I couldn’t pass up making a pot at home too. In a house full of carnivores it was hard to imagine making bean soup without ham or smoked turkey, but I wanted to stay as close to the original as possible. Uncertain as I was about the lemon component of this soup, it worked! It subtly blended into the background of the broth brightening other savories as well as the broccoli just a bit.
With the absence of meat, it seemed only appropriate to serve it with Bacon Irish Soda Bread, which proved a worthy companion. I highly recommend cannellini beans—a larger, plump white bean with a creamy texture—and as with any soup, homemade stock is ideal for the base. I hope you’ve been saving your Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rinds (I have extra if you live close-by) it is a wonderful flavor boost. Of course, shaved Parmesan to top it off is good too!
Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe
Emeril's Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe
This is a comforting, hearty soup with flavors reminiscent of northern Italy. We used baby lima beans because we just love their tender, creamy consistency, although in Italy it would likely be made with cannellini beans or great Northern beans. Use whichever beans you love or have on hand; just take note that the cooking time will vary slightly.
1. Heat the olive oil in an 8-quart soup pot or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, dried Italian herbs, and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock, beans, Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and water and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to simmer gently and cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, 45 to 60 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about 1 cup of the beans from the pot to a small bowl and mash them with the back of a spoon. Return the mashed beans to the soup and add the remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and continue to cook, uncovered, until the broth thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining black pepper, the broccoli rabe, and rosemary sprig and continue to cook until the broccoli rabe is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Remove the Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and rosemary sprig and discard them. Serve the soup in wide, shallow bowls, garnished with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Meet Emeril at “Sizzling Skillets” book tour! Check Emeril’s Newsroom for details and cities. Also, check out ‘EMERIL’S TABLE’ on the Hallmark Channel. He describes it this way, “Food brings us all a little closer together and I hope that as we’re gathering around my table each day everyone will invite us in to their kitchens and be inspired to cook along.” I couldn’t agree more!
Disclosure: For my participation in The Secret Ingredient’s One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party, I received a copy of Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders, a jar of Emeril’s Essence seasoning, and a set of Emeril – by zak! Table Art 7-piece. Once the party concludes, upon my successful completion, I will receive a $50 grocery reimbursement and a set of Emeril’s cookbooks.
I read a plethora of magazines, cookbooks, newspaper articles, and blogs about food, so there has to be some way to keep tabs on what I hope to create in my next kitchen adventure. For cookbooks or magazines, there is always a stack of post-it notes nearby to mark pages. Emeril’s new cookbook, Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders is flagged all over; each pot has a fantastic recipe waiting to fill it. On this occasion, it was the casserole dish doing its rotation with Turkey Club Casserole.
When reviewing the recipe, I immediately thought of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner leftovers. Many families prepare both turkey and ham during the holidays and this recipe incorporates both. Imagine the layers of a turkey club sandwich—bread, turkey, bacon, cheese, ham—layered in a deep dish, covered in an egg royale, and baked golden brown. The egg-soaked bread forms a crust over the oozing cheese and meats, reminiscent of the favorite lunchtime club sandwich, yet warm and satisfying.
We went one step further to make it gluten-free so our daughter could enjoy it too. A good loaf of brown rice bread, sweet rice flour for the Béchamel sauce, gluten-free meats, and the recipe easily converted to a gluten-free meal. One daughter who was absent from dinner, enjoyed the leftovers so much the next day, she came into the office to proclaim, “I don’t know what you made last night, but it was GOOD!” I told her it was Emeril’s Turkey Club Casserole, which didn’t mean much to her, she just knew it was delicious. Ah, music to our ears, the unsolicited delight of those we serve.
Turkey Club Casserole with Roasted Asparagus
Click on the Photo for Pre-order Info
Order a copy of Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets so you too can enjoy this and more than 130 other delectable recipes!
Disclosure: For my participation in The Secret Ingredient’s One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party, I received a copy of Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders, a jar of Emeril’s Essence seasoning, and a set of Emeril – by zak! Table Art 7-piece. Once the party concludes, upon my successful completion, I will receive a $50 grocery reimbursement and a set of Emeril’s cookbooks.
Luncheon, appetizer, or light summer dinner, Curry Chicken Salad is refreshingly simple. The original recipe calls for halved grapes, which are wonderful and juicy, but easier to eat with a fork. Serving this classic salad with dried fruit in crisp lettuce boats eliminates the need for heavy breads or unwieldy utensils.
I prefer the contrast in color of dried cranberries, though currants and golden raisins are a great change-up. Romaine hearts or Belgian endive can be used for the boats—Romaine hearts are less expensive, endive is a little more elegant. Perfect for casual gatherings, baby or bridal showers, guests can easily mingle while noshing. A beautiful presentation, simple to make, deliciously light—this appetizer sails!
Trim the end from the Romaine head and wash and dry the leaves. Use the smaller leaves in the middle first as they are already close to the size and shape needed to make the “boats”. For additional boats, trim the larger leaves to approximate size of the smaller ones (see photo).
Prepare meat, fruit, nuts, and vegetables as indicated; toss gently in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients until well blended. Add to the chicken mixture to coat. Salt to taste.
Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of salad into the lettuce boats and arrange on a tray. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTE: This is a great way to use leftover roasted or grilled chicken. Boats can be prepared several hours in advance and refrigerated.
When Colorado weather hits the 60’s in January, it is time to take a break from the comfort foods of winter and grill a steak. Inspired to take it up a notch, I decided to accent the steaks with Shrimp Scampi—AMAZING! Grilled first then finished in the pan of scampi, the butter, wine, and garlic was the perfect accent to the smoky, tender beef. I love surprising my family with a special dinner on an average Friday night; we savored every bite!
If you are still wondering what to do for Valentine’s Day, treat your Valentine with a romantic dinner for two at your own chef’s table. Set out the linens, light the candles, and serve this exquisite dish. Your sweetheart will appreciate the fuss you make over them; you will both appreciate the more intimate setting. Create a meal together to make the afternoon and evening that much better!
Scampi-Style Tenderloin Steak
Pour marinade over steaks and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Light charcoal. While coals are getting hot, prepare Scampi recipe up to the point of cooking the shrimp. With the sauce ready, the meal will finish quickly once the steaks are done.
Once coals are ready, arrange the coals to one side of the grill to allow for indirect heat, this will enable you to cook the steaks based on preference—rare, med, or well done. It is important to put the steaks directly over the coals to sear the meat initially. Sear each side for 2-3 minutes, then arrange the steaks over less direct heat until just about done—the steaks can finish in the scampi sauce. Check out this site for help with how to tell when steak is done.
When the steaks are removed from the grill, bring the scampi sauce up to a simmer in a large skillet and place shrimp in the sauce along with the steaks. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side and finish the remaining steps of the Scampi recipe. Serve steak with 2-3 shrimp and sauce drizzled on top. |
Q:
Nice exercise with Rouche theorem
let $P_n(z) = 1 + z/1! + z^2/2! + ... + z^n/n!$
prove that for all $R>0$ sufficiently large, there exists $N\in \mathbb N$ such that for all $n \ge N$, all the roots of $P_n$ lie in $D(0,R)$
I know this has to do with Rouche's theorem.
since $P_n$ converges uniformly to $e^z = f(z)$ for all $\epsilon > 0$ there exists $N$ such that for $n \ge N$: $\sup |P_n(z) - f(z)| < \epsilon$
I want the bound $|P_n(z) - f(z)| < |f(z)$ somewhere to deduce that $P_n$ has the same number of roots (=zero) as $f$ inside $D(0,R)$
I am not sure how to make an argument and i don't have a clear idea about how to proceed
please help and try to give as much details as possible because I am having trouble doing arguments
thanks
A:
I think this result, as stated, is false. However, we can prove, using Rouche, a sort of "opposite" of the result you are looking for, namely:
For all $R>0$, there is $N$ s.t. for all $n\geq N$, all the zeros of $P_n$ lie outside of $D(0,R)$.
Proof:
We know $|f(z)|=|e^{x+iy}|=e^x$.
Let $n\in \mathbb{N}$ and $z\in \partial{D}(0,R)$. We know
$$
|f(z)|=|e^{x+iy}|=e^x\geq e^{-R}
$$
Also, note that
$$
|f(z)-P_n(z)|=\left|\sum_{k>n}\frac{z^k}{k!}\right|\leq \sum_{k>n}\frac{|z|^k}{k!}= \sum_{k>n}\frac{R^k}{k!}
$$
and since $\sum_{k=0}^n \frac{R^k}{k!}\to e^R$, the "residual" $\sum_{k>n}\frac{R^k}{k!}$ becomes as small as we want. Hence, there is $N$ s.t. for all $n\geq N$, $\sum_{k>n}\frac{R^k}{k!}<e^{-R}$, which implies, for all $z\in \partial{D}(0,R)$,
$$
|f(z)-P_n(z)|\leq \sum_{k>n}\frac{R^k}{k!}\leq e^{-R}\leq |f(z)|
$$
and by Rouche we conclude $P_n$ has no zeros in $D(0,R)$ for $n\geq N$.
|
We were asked by Doug Young, a British citizen who lives in the Czech Republic, if British citizens who live in the European Union (EU) will have NHS health care when visiting the UK, after the UK leaves the EU.
UK citizens resident in another EU country currently get their medical care in that EU country. They need their Ehic to access free treatment when they are in the UK.
Will that change after Brexit?
The short answer to Doug's question is: some British citizens in the EU will get free NHS health care - and some will not.
Transition
During the transition - the period between Brexit and 31 December 2020 - the rights of UK citizens in the EU will not change.
There are around 1.3 million UK-born people living in the EU, as workers and their dependants, pensioners, students and others. All of them are entitled to state-provided health care in the country they live in, on the same terms as the nationals of that country.
They are also all entitled to a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic), which enables them to use state-provided emergency medical treatment if they travel to another EU country (or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, where the scheme also applies). The Ehic covers pre-existing medical conditions and routine maternity care as well.
UK citizens permanently resident in the EU need this card to access NHS treatment for free.
There are exemptions to this though:
UK pensioners living in the EU
UK students in the EU (for example, doing a year abroad)
"posted workers" - UK workers sent by their UK employer to work in the EU
These groups don't need an Ehic for free NHS treatment in the UK.
Image copyright PA Image caption The Ehic covers routine maternity service and pre-existing conditions as well as emergencies
What will happen after the transition?
What happens to the Ehic in the future will be decided as part of the negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship.
The UK government said it was "seeking agreements with countries on health-care arrangements for UK nationals".
In September last year, the UK government's detailed country by country advice in the event that there is no deal to continue with Ehic, recommended to those travelling to buy travel insurance to cover health care.
How many UK citizens rely on Ehic to access NHS?
There's no official breakdown of the 1.3 million figure.
Estimates suggest about 250,000 are over the age of 65 and about 50,000 are posted workers.
More than 15,000 UK students go to the EU as part of the Erasmus scheme every year and thousands more do a degree in another EU country.
This suggests most UK citizens resident in the EU need an Ehic to access the NHS while visiting friends and relatives back home.
Image copyright Getty Images
What about Britons who return from the EU to the UK?
Some UK citizens might decide to return to the UK after Brexit.
The government says if they return to the UK permanently and meet the ordinary residence test, they will be able to access NHS care without charge.
The government website says: "Ordinary residence means, broadly, living in the UK on a lawful, voluntary and properly settled basis for the time being."
What about UK citizens living in non-EU countries?
If you are a British national but long-term resident in a non-EU country, you and your dependants are already ineligible for free NHS health care.
The UK has reciprocal health insurance deals with a few non-EU countries, including Australia and New Zealand, under which visitors can receive urgent treatment at a reduced cost or for free.
These reciprocal deals will be unaffected by Brexit or future UK-EU negotiations.
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* If you're playing Gold, it's completely standalone from Philip, so deleting your copy of Philip from Steam isn't going to affect Gold.* There seems to be a problem with Steam not removing the demo when you purchase the full version. I've emailed Steam about it, and I'm pretty sure it was just a minor oversight, so it'll probably be fixed shortly. |
What were you thinking about a second ago? Or, to cut to the chase, how were you thinking about it? It’s a deceptively tricky question to answer.
Maybe you were internally speaking the words you were reading, seeing a related image in your mind’s eye, or having an emotional response. It’s also possible you had a combination of these thoughts, and others, going on in your head at once… or that you were thinking of something else, in some other way, entirely.
Whatever was happening, it’s likely that your true inner experience – what you were thinking about just before you started trying to figure out what you were thinking about – is now lost to the mists of time.
Interrogating what’s going on inside our own minds doesn’t seem like it should be a difficult task. But by trying to shine a light on those thoughts, we’re disturbing the very thing we want to measure in the first place. Or as American philosopher William James put it in 1890: “The attempt at introspective analysis… is in fact like seizing a spinning top to catch its motion, or trying to turn up the gas quickly enough to see how the darkness looks.”
You might also like:
• The attack that turned a man into a maths genius
• How to live with 100 voices inside your head
• The power of extreme influencers
Psychologist Russell Hurlburt at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has spent the last few decades training people to see inside their own minds more clearly in an attempt to learn something about our inner experiences at large. Though many individual studies on inner speech include only a small number of participants, making it hard to know whether their results apply more widely, Hurlburt estimates he’s been able to peek inside the minds of hundreds of people since he began his research. What he’s found suggests that the thoughts running through our heads are a lot more varied than we might suppose.
For one, words don’t seem to feature as heavily in our day-to-day thoughts as many of us think they do. “Most people think that they think in words, but many people are mistaken about that,” he says. |
it("should handle the css loader correctly", function() {
expect(require("!css-loader!../_css/stylesheet.css") + "").toContain(
".rule-direct"
);
expect(require("!css-loader!../_css/stylesheet.css") + "").toContain(
".rule-import1"
);
expect(require("!css-loader!../_css/stylesheet.css") + "").toContain(
".rule-import2"
);
});
|
// 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 System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using NuGet.Configuration;
using NuGet.ProjectModel;
using NuGet.Test.Utility;
using Xunit;
namespace NuGet.Commands.Test
{
public class MinClientVersionTests
{
[Fact]
public async Task MinClientVersion_DependencyVersionTooHighAsync()
{
// Arrange
var sources = new List<PackageSource>();
var project1Json = @"
{
""version"": ""1.0.0"",
""description"": """",
""authors"": [ ""author"" ],
""tags"": [ """" ],
""projectUrl"": """",
""licenseUrl"": """",
""frameworks"": {
""netstandard1.3"": {
""dependencies"": {
""packageA"": ""1.0.0""
}
}
}
}";
using (var workingDir = TestDirectory.Create())
{
var packagesDir = new DirectoryInfo(Path.Combine(workingDir, "globalPackages"));
var packageSource = new DirectoryInfo(Path.Combine(workingDir, "packageSource"));
var project1 = new DirectoryInfo(Path.Combine(workingDir, "projects", "project1"));
packagesDir.Create();
packageSource.Create();
project1.Create();
sources.Add(new PackageSource(packageSource.FullName));
File.WriteAllText(Path.Combine(project1.FullName, "project.json"), project1Json);
var specPath1 = Path.Combine(project1.FullName, "project.json");
var spec1 = JsonPackageSpecReader.GetPackageSpec(project1Json, "project1", specPath1);
var logger = new TestLogger();
var request = new TestRestoreRequest(spec1, sources, packagesDir.FullName, logger)
{
LockFilePath = Path.Combine(project1.FullName, "project.lock.json")
};
var packageBContext = new SimpleTestPackageContext()
{
Id = "packageB",
Version = "1.0.0",
MinClientVersion = "9.0.0"
};
var packageAContext = new SimpleTestPackageContext()
{
Id = "packageA",
Version = "1.0.0",
MinClientVersion = "1.0.0",
Dependencies = new List<SimpleTestPackageContext>() { packageBContext }
};
await SimpleTestPackageUtility.CreatePackagesAsync(packageSource.FullName, packageAContext, packageBContext);
Exception ex = null;
// Act
var command = new RestoreCommand(request);
try
{
var result = await command.ExecuteAsync();
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
ex = exception;
}
// Assert
Assert.Contains("The 'packageB 1.0.0' package requires NuGet client version '9.0.0' or above, but the current NuGet version is", ex.Message);
}
}
}
}
|
DeFazio collected 28 original cosponsors for the bill. He believes a 0.2 percent tax on oil futures transactions could raise $190 billion in six years to help fund a proposed $450 billion authorization bill currently being considered in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. |
In “Underground Tape Railroad,” a 1998 ad-parody sketch that appeared during the final season of “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” eager college kids swap underground tapes of amazing real-life scenes—a kidnapping ransom call, an angry drunk guy giving directions, “a guy who falls out of an airplane onto two elephants who are fucking.” In a voice-over, Bob Odenkirk, as a pitchman, says, “But you always have to know someone to get them!” The Underground Tape Railroad is the solution: a college student hand-delivers gems like “Train Hits Dumbass” and “Wyckyd Sceptre Party Tape” to your dorm room every month.
In the eighteen years since it débuted on HBO, “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” created by Odenkirk and David Cross, has been like those underground tapes. Jarring, daring, and freewheeling, “Mr. Show” had sketches about shaming rapists and cloning Hitler, but also about novelty-song monster parties and a teen-age, Kiss-loving Dalai Lama. It hit a certain mark so definitively that you had to tell your friends about it and thrust it into their hands. Fans who had HBO taped “Mr. Show” for people who didn’t—and many didn’t, because they were in college, or in their twenties. After “Mr. Show” went off the air, people still swapped tapes. DVDs came out in the early two-thousands, but the show has disappeared from HBO, and it isn’t available on demand. Now the show’s Underground Tape Railroad is YouTube, and new and old fans watch it there.
Cross and Odenkirk met in Los Angeles in the early nineties. They worked together on “The Ben Stiller Show,” and realized later that they had a similar standup sensibility—darkness, playfulness, theatricality, an interest in taking things apart. Their early club act “The 3 Goofballz” (opening: Bob pops out of one cardboard box, David pops out of another, and nobody pops out of a third; that Goofball had died) caught the attention of the legendary Bernie Brillstein, who championed them to HBO, which gave them a pilot. “Mr. Show” ran on HBO for four seasons and featured, in addition to Odenkirk and Cross, a cast that included John Ennis, Brian Posehn, Jill Talley, Jay Johnston, and Tom Kenny.
Since then, Cross and Odenkirk (and much of the show’s cast) have become famous for other things. Cross is widely adored for his standup, and for his performance as Tobias Fünke, the repressed, never-nude Blue Man wannabe, on “Arrested Development”; Odenkirk is equally beloved for playing the tragicomic sleazeball Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad.” He has many of the show’s best lines—“If you’re committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it”—and saves “Breaking Bad” from utter bleakness.
Still, there’s a hunger, among fans, to celebrate Odenkirk and Cross as Bob and David, of “Mr. Show.” On September 12th, thousands of them did. The pair, with Brian Posehn, performed two “Mr. Show”-style shows at Town Hall, to celebrate the release of their new book, “Hollywood Said No!: Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show,” as well as its audiobook, performed by “Mr. Show” cast members. Though Cross and Odenkirk had collaborated on another effort for HBO in 2008 (it never aired), they haven’t performed together much since “Mr. Show” ended; with Posehn, they’re taking this show to several cities around the country.
Before the second performance, fans of many ages filed into Town Hall. Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan, of Yo La Tengo, looking content, were among them. “That’s Yo La Tengo,” a guy said to his girlfriend. She turned her head to look.
On TV, “Mr. Show” began with a camera swooping over an audience, and a delightfully menacing theme song: a rocking yet old-timey melody, with whistling, that said that mischief was coming. Bob and David would come onstage, looking incongruous—Odenkirk, in a suit, resembled a Midwestern businessman; Cross, in black-framed glasses, a T-shirt, and shorts, looked like a conspiracy theorist. They were chipper, and in cahoots. Their voices were bright and musical, like those of the bickering school-board members in “The Music Man,” right before Harold Hill turns them into a barbershop quartet. They’d introduce some scenario, like an O.J.-style Popemobile highway chase, or a bloopers episode, or a Scientology-type initiation, and the show would progress in a series of scenes linked together like a game of exquisite corpse.
Thursday’s late show began much the same way. Odenkirk, to wild applause, came onstage in a suit. (Sartorially, the crowd contained many more Davids than Bobs.) His hair was a bit looser and fluffier than it had been in the nineties. “Save your applause,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard about the first show tonight—it was a debacle!” he said. People cheered. Part of Odenkirk’s charm comes from the fact that he seems like a friendly square who’s constantly foiled by the world around him: one of his signature lines is “God damn it!” He held up his hands. “Please turn off your cell phones, please turn off your PC tablets.”
A weird howling voice came from the audience, like the wah-wah-wah of an adult on a Charlie Brown special.
“Is someone crying?” Odenkirk asked. “Is a cat being stepped on? What is that?”
Cross bounded down the aisle, wearing a bright-yellow T-shirt and a rainbow-print beanie, and carrying a bunch of colorful helium balloons. His T-shirt read “Hollywood Good Time.” He joined Odenkirk onstage and yelled, “Wow!”
“You’re obviously a New Yorker,” Odenkirk said. “Can I ask you why you were crying when I asked to turn off our cell phones?”
More noises.
“Take a chance on the real world, not the world on your screen,” Odenkirk said. “Well, it’s as fascinating as anything in cyberspace … the place we call—reality!”
They left the stage, and circus-style organ music played; Posehn, an unwieldy six feet seven, entered from stage left, wearing a hooked, carrot-like false nose and scooting in circles on a tiny red tricycle, while whooping. This went on for a while. “Hey, everybody! It’s Bob and David!” he said.
Then: that whistling, wonderful “Mr. Show” theme, mostly drowned out by the crowd. Odenkirk and Cross reappeared. “We haven’t had time to catch up,” Odenkirk said. “What’s been going on with you since the show?” The crowd roared: they knew what he’d been up to. He was Tobias, he made some movies, he wrote a book, he made a show, he married Amber Tamblyn.
“Well, after the show ended, I went home and I had a peach iced tea,” Cross said. “And I joined a Tea Party theatre group.”
“I had a family, had some kids. And my great-grandfather came out of the closet,” Odenkirk said.
“I know that you would like to see ‘Mr. Show’ scenes,” Odenkirk said to the audience.
“We don’t own the rights to ‘Mr. Show,’ ” Cross said. “After we finished the show, HBO had a rummage sale, and the Koch brothers came by and bought them. It’s now a touring theatrical experience in Romania.”
“We can’t appear as ourselves—we have to wear these family-friendly puppetainment foam noggins,” Odenkirk said. They produced giant puppet versions of their heads, which they slipped on, deep-sea diver style, as well as puppet hands, which they put over their real hands. |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Marc Emery and his wife Jodie were greeted by supporters in Windsor, Canada on Tuesday
Canadian Marc Emery's arrest in 2005 was hailed by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as a significant blow to the legalisation movement. Now, after a five-year stint in a US jail, Canada's "Prince of Pot" returns to a completely different cannabis landscape.
Marc Emery's voice is filled with an inescapable joy the day after he returned home to his native Canada after spending nearly five years in a US federal prison.
"The transition was surreal - I was in leg irons with a chain iron around my stomach, driving 12 hours from the jail in Louisiana," says Mr Emery, 56, speaking to the BBC from Toronto.
"Then, all of a sudden you're released and you're choosing your own food - it's a lovely feeling."
In 2005 Mr Emery was arrested and in 2010 he was extradited to the US for selling nearly $3m (£1.8m) worth of marijuana plant seeds from his cannabis store to US buyers.
Most of that money, Mr Emery says - nearly $2.1m of it - was donated to legalisation efforts in the US.
That was why, at the time of his arrest, the DEA crowed that jailing him would halt efforts to legalise marijuana in the US and Canada.
"Drug legalisation lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on," the DEA said at the time.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Emery speaks to supporters at a legalisation rally in 2005, just before his arrest
Now, visibly paler and with a few more grey hairs, Mr Emery says he was heartened to find out that the millions of dollars he had donated to legalisation efforts in the US had an impact.
But, what he calls the "rich irony" of his situation - for instance, the Washington State prosecutor who put him in jail later ended up working with Mr Emery's wife, Jodie, to write Washington's recreational marijuana laws - has not escaped him.
"The silence is deafening in Canada and the cowardice not to discuss marijuana legalisation is really peculiar," he says, especially given how a refusal to legalise cannabis could be hurting the once vibrant British Columbian weed, or "BC Bud", economy.
Role reversal
For some, it is more than just peculiar.
In a reversal that few would have predicted, in the nearly five years that Mr Emery has been in jail, the US has taken the lead in the effort to legalise cannabis, stunning many observers who had long believed that Canada would be first.
"It's ironic isn't it?" says Robert Gordon, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
"We used to be bleating here in Canada that our drug policy was being regulated by the US and that the DEA and other US agencies would never allow Canada to shift to a more liberal regime in terms of drug regulation.
"Then, all of a sudden in the matter of a year, the roles reversed and certain states in the US are adopting the liberal regulation that many of us wanted in Canada," he says.
Canada's cannabis laws
Image copyright Getty Images
Cannabis is a Schedule II drug - that means growing, possessing, distributing and selling it is illegal
Possession can result in up to five years in jail
Production can result in up to seven years in jail
Trafficking can result in life imprisonment
Using cannabis for medicinal reasons is legal everywhere in Canada and run by a federal agency, Health Canada
According to recent statistics, 37,884 Canadians are authorised to possess dried cannabis
Unlike in the US, where a piecemeal approach to legalisation has resulted in several successes for legalisation advocates, in Canada - where medicinal marijuana is regulated on the federal, not provincial, level - legalisation efforts have stalled and, in some cases, got more strict.
Many have said that this is a result of the current Canadian government - controlled by the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has said marijuana should remain illegal to keep it away from children.
"In Canada, you've seen a significant increase in terms of marijuana possession arrests - they've been really aggressive on this," says Clayton Mosher, a professor at Washington State University, who notes that the arrests have not been evenly distributed.
But there has been a silver lining: in keeping marijuana legislation at a federal level, investors have been more keen to invest in medicinal marijuana growers in Canada, where at least the laws are more black and white.
'Winning the lottery'
And further south, the tightening in Canada has has been a boon to those hoping to cash in on the "green rush".
John Evich says he was convinced to invest in Top Shelf Cannabis, one of the first legal recreational marijuana stores to open in Bellingham, Washington, after running into a friend at the post office who asked him if he would join him in business if he "won the lotto" for a cannabis store licence.
Image caption John Evich ended up becoming an investor in Top Shelf after a chance run-in at the post office
Now, Mr Evich says he has barely slept since the store opened on 6 July to hundreds of customers - over 10% of whom were Canadians who drove just an hour south to see what was happening.
Demand was so strong in the first few days - and supply so scarce - that Mr Evich and his business partners were forced on several occasions to temporarily close the shop and turn away customers,
Now Mr Evich has been reduced to stalking potential legal suppliers, looking for a few dozen pounds here, a few pounds there - all in order to keep up with demand, which was once directed northwards, at the estimated $4bn "BC Bud" industry.
"It's odd to me to see the huge change - there were thousands of pounds [of marijuana] a month coming down from BC to here and now we're getting all of them [the Canadians] coming down here," he says.
Image caption Top Shelf has sometimes been forced to close due to a limited cannabis supply in the area
Need for green
Mr Emery says that he hopes his return to Vancouver will help restart the legalisation debate in Canada.
His wife Jodie has said she plans to run for elected office as part of Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party, which has stated support for legalisation efforts, in the next nationwide elections, expected sometime in 2015.
Image caption Top Shelf Cannabis says that it hopes to attract weekend customers from Canada
But for Mr Emery, the matter is more than political: he is returning to his business, the Cannabis Culture store.
"We need to earn some money - I owe back taxes," he says.
In some ways, like almost every other Canadian cannabis-related business, Mr Emery is now struggling to keep customers in Canada. |
How do you drink your coffee? Black or with…
By Walter Broeckx
Yesterday there was a story doing the rounds about a practical joke that was perpetrated while Arsenal were travelling in the USA.
The story was that Flamini, Gibbs and Szczesny replaced the cup of coffee that Wenger was going to drink and put a cup of gravy in the place. The story that did the rounds was that Wenger was not amused by it and almost sent the 3 players back to London.
And it also was suddenly linked with a story about Wenger suddenly doubting Szczesny and thinking that he still wasn’t mature enough to be the Arsenal goalkeeper. And was it a coincidence but hours later the rumour mill about Casillas coming to Arsenal was put in gear again for the umpteenth time this summer.
Now before we start talking about players behaviour I must tell you that on his official facebook page our Polish goalkeeper send out this message:
Wojciech SzczesnySwapping coffee for gravy sounds like decent banter but wouldn’t have the balls to do it to the boss. Story isn’t true… Unfortunately.
So there is no truth in it as Szczesny states. And in his typical Szczesny style he can see the funny side of the joke a bit. That will probably be his inner child speaking. As he is a guy that usually can see the funny side of things. I think he would be a great Brickfields character at Arsenal. But that role is probably reserved for Podolski.
What you can read between the lines is the big respect that he (and probably most players) have for Wenger. Swapping the coffee of another player with gravy might be considered. But not to the boss.
The most important message however is that how one person can start a rumour and then it gets spread around the internet and gets repeated and repeated and repeated and then repeated some more. And after let us say one hour of repeating it gets picked up by some serious media outlet (the word serious is used very loosely) and suddenly and before you know it, it becomes ‘fact’. Or FACT as some like to write when they talk about their opinion.
It is frightening to see how when I first heard about it, it seemed to be a real story. And I must admit that for a moment I worried about it. Our pre-season is already disrupted enough by the world cup and the fall out from it, so no need to get the team shaken up some more by a silly joke. A joke that you can expect from teenagers but not really from adults. Well I never was a real practical joker so I wouldn’t even think about such things.
But this is the world we live in today. One person thinks about something, writes it down, starts spreading it amongst friends, they start spreading it amongst their friends and before you know it, it goes around the world and people accept it as the truth as ‘it has been reported’.
Just as all the transfer talk ‘has been reported’ by someone. Probably the same person who came up with the coffee-gravy story. Someone good at inventing stories.
My first reassurance about the story not really being real was when I saw Wenger and Szczesny sitting next to each other at the press conference in New York. I did notice that Wenger didn’t drink coffee (aha) but they were sitting next to each other rather relaxed and I didn’t have the impression that Wenger was worried about his drinks that stood in front of him.
But I can imagine that Szczesny being away in New York didn’t know about the reports until very late and then felt the need to deny the story. If he had been in his natural environment he probably would have reacted quicker then he now could and did. Thus giving the story the time and opportunity to being spread more.
Now one can wonder who does such things? Who is the person finding it funny to invent stories like that? What is he getting out of it? Kicks? Clicks? As it goes with things like this just as with the transfer rumours it is hard to find out who came out with the story first. So the person who invented it will know that his story was suddenly main news and maybe will feel a bit important about it.
Or is it a bit more sinister? Is it not just the odd silly person sitting behind his computer who has no life himself and tries to make himself important. But is it a person that is having an agenda in setting up bad news about Arsenal and so trying to undermine the club and the players? Or is it the same person(s?) that invents the transfer rumours about Arsenal?
Anyway, I usually drink tea and not coffee. And I drink my tea in a glass cup. So the gravy trick wouldn’t work with me. Which reminds me that I am getting thirsty. Off to drink one in my glass cup. Cheers. And don’t let the rumours and invented stories ruin your day. Let us just rely on who we can really trust.
it’s hardly an issue (true or false) though is it. I mean is news so scarce that a coffee/gravy tale becomes a leading news item. In answer to your question…yes who would be so pathetic as to invent such a meaningless unnewsworthy story.
So it must be true!
Was the author trying to show that three players were still very immature, or was he trying to show that AW did not have a sense of humour, or was it just a silly anti Arsenal story?
Who knows – but it another example of the anti Arsenal rubbish that media/blogs spew out daily.
I do think AW does have a good sense of humour – and he can be very witty at times – this is important – a sense of humour is a great asset for all of us – if we have one – and especially essential for someone in the upper reaches of management.
I too drink my tea in a glass cup,tastes much better.I have been trying to tell people for years,standard mugs make a terrible tasting tea,anyone who came to my house always said,dam,thats a nice cup of tea,because its in a glass cup i always tell them.
@bjtgooner,
In the midst of courting Mrs N in 1947, she let it be known that not only did she not drink tea, she was unable to bear the smell of a brew!
Full of love and raging hormones at the time, I readily agreed to alter allegiance from tea to coffee.
For the last 66 years therefore, only percolated coffee has been the accepted family beverage Chez N.
And to date we have used no less than 2248 percolators. 😉
From the Daily Telegraph we have these Henry links. I have not checked them so don’t know how well they work.
Thierry Henry: 10 YouTube moments 1. Thierry Henry, Nike Joga Bonito Ad – “Play Beautiful”.
Watch YouTube
2. An assortment of Thierry’s skills, goals, and celebrations, put together from the beginning of his career at Monaco through to his Arsenal days.
Watch YouTube
3. Henry is unveiled at Barcelona.
Watch YouTube
4. Henry’s debut for Barcelona in pre-season friendly at Dundee Utd.
Watch YouTube
5. Thierry misses a penalty but makes the rebound count to score his first goal for Barca.
Watch YouTube
6. Henry’s first hat-trick for Barcelona in 4-1 win at La Liga rivals Levante.
Watch YouTube
7. Thierry Henry talks about his game, his style, and his music in another promo advert – this time for Reebok (his latest sponsor).
Watch YouTube
8. Henry condemns Brazil to a quarter-final exit with his winning goal for eventual finalists France, at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Watch YouTube
9. Henry proves he is a hit all over the world, this time on ‘Reckless Challenge’, the most popular comedy variety show in South Korea, which he guest starred on June 9, 2007.
Watch YouTube
10. Henry’s Arsenal farewell montage featuring his best goals and tricks at the club.
Watch YouTube
Well we have something in common. Mrs bjt also will not take tea, she used not to take coffee, but later started to enjoy a mild coffee, followed gradually by a richer brew – but she’s all heart – she will make a pot of tea from time to time!
We would both share your enjoyment of percolated coffee – something which fewer and fewer people seem to spend the time and effort on.
@bjtgooner,
If only more folk would use percolated coffee.
At 5 a.m. each morning, I stagger into the kitchen with eyes still closed and switch on the already prepared percolator.
After mini ablutions the coffee is ready to pour.
Imagine all the various stages to obtain a cup of instant coffee…..all with eyes shut. Frightening 🙂
Sounds a versatile player bjt, cannot say I know much about him but a young utility player does not sound a bad thing. What is it with Southampton backs….think everyone out for the next version of the second best Welsh player!
Wonder if there is anything in this one
I don’t know about you guys but this transfer window has left me a bit .. I don’t know… feeling a bit strange. All of a sudden, we’re just buying players left and right in every position. Why is nothing coming through the youth team at all?
I know that sounds strange – but I’d have love it to be just Sanchez and Ospina in – and we go with the same squad. Now even if we win the league next year, to me, it feels like we bought a lot and did it.
It’ll still be awesome as it is a result of a lot of hard work over the years – but I don’t know, having watched Arsene work his magic with young kids all these years – it feels strange to see him buying a lot of ready made talent. Leaves me a little… shall I say wistfull for the old days.
Bad news for Jenkinson.Chambers is regarded as the future RB of the England team so when you compare the fee to Luke Shaw…He was superb at St Marys against us last season while Luke Shaw struggled in the second half. Great homegrown signing.
I think the transfer dealing this season is excellent. Three top performers for former clubs and in World Cup. The DM position is still secure with Arteta, Flamini, Coquelin and now, Wilshere. The case with Wilshere is similar with Pirlo. Not fast, not strong but sound technically. Can’t play in the wings, AM or CM. If Wilshere is serious about his profession, he will be successful in that DM position, just need a bit of understanding, practice and encouragement. Dennis Wise and Makelele was shorter but they were legendary DMs. Arsene already said a year ago that he prefer Wilshere to play in that deep playmaking position. He actually played him there in few games last season, though not brilliant, was competent enough for further improvement. His dribbling and passing skills added with his toughness and will to win should come handy. If every Tom, Dick and Harry nowadays talk like they invented football therefore a footballing brain, don’t you think a seasonal pro like Wilshere will have one too?
Walter , that , ” I think he( Szczesny ) would be a great Brickfields character at Arsenal. But that role is probably reserved for Podolski.” , brought tears to me eyes !
It has always been a dream of mine to have my name chanted by the Arsenal crowd !
And the Coffee , Tea or… misleading newspaper headlines was a real hoot ! Well done guys !
As for me my breakfast would be a slice of wheat bread (or two), with butter , a slice of cheese and a boiled or fried egg, to be washed down with a mug of White coffee.
This comes in 2in 1 ,or 3 in 1 packets and is quite famous here in Malaysia and a few places abroad .
Try it if you get a chance .
And talking about cheese and pizza and connoisseurs of the good stuff and how they are now being prepared , do have a look at this . It was sent to me as an e-mail today.
What has it to do with football ? Well , as some your politicians and ‘experts’ are complain that the foreigners are despoiling the EPL , in other fields they are sought after.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frOl9mO7q6o
Just remember this when you enjoy ,play with ,hurl or pelt your food !
In reality we need 8 back players in our squad
Kibbs Monreal? Kos, Pers, Debuchy(anywhere across B4 +DFM), Chambers(RB or CH), Jenkinson(surely moving to CH),
Assuming Verm is going that leaves at least one more position/possibly two – Bellerin and Miquel from the ranks (my question is whether it is a bit right sided?)
But Mick, Arvind hold on
Up front Zelalem,Campbell,Willock,Gnabry all strongly rumoured not forgetting where Wilshere came from.
plenty of good youth and experience and a superb squad
In fact I cannot ever remember being more optimistic about this
Roll on Arsene |
Zvíkov Castle
Zvíkov (, ), often called "the king of Czech castles", is a castle at the junction of the Vltava and Otava rivers, some north of Písek, in the South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic, next to the village of Zvíkovské Podhradí. It stands on a difficult-to-access and steep promontory above the confluence of the Vltava and Otava rivers. The castle is one of the most important early-Gothic castles in Czech lands.
The area was inhabited as early as prehistoric times, when the Celts built a fort here in the 1st century AD. The current castle was built in the first half of the 13th century, most probably on the orders of King Přemysl Otakar I, but the exact date is not known. The first written mention of the castle comes from year 1234 and owned by the Kings of Bohemia.
History
Originally a small complex, the castle was continuously extended until 1278. After the Přemyslid dynasty died out in 1306, Zvíkov became property of the Rožmberk family. After 1337 the settlement under the castle has been fortified, as a part of thorough repairs. Its fortifications were so strong that even the Hussites, during the Hussite Wars, besieged it for four months in 1429, but found it a tough nut to crack and failed to take it. To protect against heavy artillery its walls were further strengthened.
Although Emperor Charles IV placed it on a list of royal castles not to be pawned, his successors ignored his decree and by 1431 it was in the possession of the Rožmberk dynasty. At the start of Thirty Years' War Zvíkov was owned by a rebellious Protestant nobleman whose garrison of 140 men successfully defended the castle against 4,000 Habsburg troops in 1618. The defendants agreed to capitulate to the Emperor's forces only in October 1622. Subsequently, it was looted and devastated. During the 1640s the Švanberks modified the palace and extended it in Renaissance style.
After the damaged inflicted by the war, Zvíkov was restored, but its glory was long gone and the castle served only for farming purposes. A fire accelerated the deterioration of its buildings in 1751. Thus a once-important seat of Czech kings it had become an almost ruin by the 1840s, at which time the Schwarzenbergs, owners of the ruin, invested huge sums in a thorough reconstruction, which restored the heart of the castle to its former glory.
At the end of 17th century it ceased to have military value and was used as granary. The decline continued and in 1751 fire damaged a large part of the palace. In 1780 the chapel was deconsecrated. The facade of the palace collapsed in 1829 and between 1880 and 1902 the castle was reconstructed, only to be confiscated by the state in 1947.
The Orlík Dam, which was built between 1954 and 1962 and named after Orlík Castle, deluged the castle downtown and made Zvíkov easily accessible. Major restorations between 1970 and 1980 concentrated on the palace.
Description
The oldest part of Zvíkov is a massive prismatic residential tower named Hlízová with palace buildings built on its sides. During the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, a palace named Královský (King's Own) was built and this ground plan has been preserved until today. The new palace was built in lavish style and its parts were connected by monumental arcade.
After 1473, Bohuslav of Svamberk commissioned mural decorations in the Chapel of St. Wenceslaus, which belongs to the masterpieces of early-gothic Czech architecture. The walls display the patron saints of Bohemia, the Virgin Mary the Protector, the Suffering Christ and the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus. The fortification was extended with Hláska, large high tower (bergfrit) on the south side. The castle has two gates.
The castle has its own ghost, Zvíkov's imp, and had inspired several painters and writers like the theatrical comedy Zvíkovský rarášek by Ladislav Stroupežnický. Today, Zvíkov (opened from Spring to Autumn) is hiking attraction and serves as a place of art exhibitions and stage plays.
See also
Orlík Castle
References
External links
Zvíkovské Podhradí Website
Pruvodce Website
Zamky-Hrady Website
Category:Písek District
Category:Castles in the South Bohemian Region
Category:Tourist attractions in the South Bohemian Region
Category:National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic
Category:Reportedly haunted locations |
Finding an exterior painting service around Boston has another caveat that other areas may not have; extreme cold temperatures. We are all too familiar with how cold our winters here can be, so cold in fact that paint can freeze before it sets. When that happens, it can turn into a blob that slides right off! Because of the seasonal window to offer exterior home painting services, some companies simply don’t offer it at all.
With that said, here's the reality of that particular scenario. Painters do put water in the paint, but not for reasons you would think. Some materials need to have their viscosity manipulated in order to slow drying time, allowing gravity to 'smooth' out the product for a better finish. It also prevents 'drags' and 'sausages'. I personally try not to do it too often, but from time to time I have to. I want my client to have a proper finish.
Joe Jackson arrives for the screening of 'Sicario' during the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France on May 19, 2015. Joe Jackson, the man who fathered Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 and deployed an iron will to turn his supremely gifted children into a culture-shifting music powerhouse, died early June 27, 2018. He was 89. Franck Robichon, EPA
O'Neil patches shallow holes and divots with Ready Patch because it dries fast, sands smooth, and stays flexible. Deep cracks and rotten spots are best repaired with two-step epoxies, such as those made by Advanced Repair Technology. (For a step-by-step instructions, see Repairing Rot with Epoxy.) The days of using polyester auto-body fillers on wood are over. "They cure too hard," says Portland, Oregon–based painting contractor Kathleen George. "They look good at first, but then they peel away."
A fresh paint job has the power to totally transform the look of your house in less time and for less cash than any other remodeling project. That thin skin of resin and pigment also protects your investment, shielding it from sun, wind, and rain—until the paint begins to crack and peel, that is. Then it's time to button up with a couple of new coats. Properly applied, new paint should last for a good 15 years, provided you use top-quality materials, apply them with care (and with an eye on the weather), and, most important, clean and sand every surface first. Here's what you need to know to get a first-class finish on your home's exterior.
For particularly heavy deposits of paint, heat may be more effective than muscle. One way to apply heat is with an electric paint remover, which is a device with a platelike heating element that "cooks" the paint and has a built-in scraper to pull it off. Wearing heavy gloves, hold the heating element against the surface until the paint sizzles. Pull the remover firmly over the surface. The attached scraper will pull off the cooked paint as you go.
In this Nov. 30, 2000, file photo, former pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino, 65, poses with a painting of him in his pro wrestling prime weighing 275 pounds in 1965 at age 35, in his Pittsburgh home. Bruno Sammartino, professional wrestling's "Living Legend" and one of its longest-reigning champions, has died. Sammartino was 82. Family friend and former wrestling announcer Christoper Crusie said Sammartino died Wednesday morning, April 18, 2018, and had been hospitalized for two months. Gene J. Puskar, AP
"Modern paints dry too quickly, and are difficult to brush out," says Dixon, who uses paint additives, such as Floetrol for latex paints and Penetrol for alkyds. "Adding a few ounces per gallon slows drying time and makes the paint more workable," he says. Another problem is bridging. "Latex paints form a skin," says Dixon. "Removing painted tape can tear the skin, resulting in a ragged rather than a sharp line." Lastly, taping takes time. "Learning how to cut in with a brush takes practice, but if you can do it, you'll leave most tapers in the dust," Dixon says. (Cutting in is painting just the surface you want, not the surface adjacent to it — for example, where a wall meets the ceiling.) Although there are mildewcide additives, our pros prefer using bathroom and kitchen paints that have built-in mildew fighters. "These paints will prevent mildew from forming, but they won't kill mildew that's already there," Dixon points out. Because leftover mold spores can live beneath the paint and eventually work their way through to the surface, you should also prep bath and kitchen surfaces. First, wash down the walls with a bleach solution (3/4 cup of bleach per gallon of water) then seal with a stain-blocking primer, such as Zinsser's Bulls Eye 1-2-3 or Kilz's Total One.
They painted our home exterior about 12 years ago and did the interior about 9 years ago as part of a major remodel. As it was time to re-paint the exterior again, we used James Lee again, and were very glad we did. In walking around to find 'punch list' corrections after they were done, there was pretty much nothing to find - they did a great job. They even used Henry's roof patch to fill in a gap on the roof. Kept everything clean and no over painting - great job.
Even the exterior of the building speaks to what goes on inside of those walls. We collaborated with TONO to make sure the building kept the integrity and character of its pre-existing structure and history, but still reflects TONO’s innovative brand. An example of this effort is the building’s exterior, which we put through a number of treatments in order to get it to its new dark gray hue -- garnished with TONO’s logo, some of which is painted directly on the brick.
At Distinct Painting Company we focus on Quality, Integrity, Honesty and taking Pride in your project. When you hire us you get unbeatable customer service which ensures that the job is done right every time. When you hire Distinct Painting Company to take care of your painting/finishing project you get a team of professionals who care about your job the way you do. From the start of the project to the end, we will communicate the process clear and concise to ensure that your expectations are being met. During the prep phase, we thoroughly go over the entire house, prime all necessary areas, repair rotted wood and siding, re-seal the house, fix nail pop-outs and get the house ready for paint. The Prep Phase is one of the most important stages of any painting project and one many contractors fail to do thoroughly. If you are looking for a Quality paint/ finish job to protect your home for many years to come, then you have found the right company.
Started out funny, got kind of hapless, but at least one painter became sucessful. Actually John's dry sense of humor was present throughout the book, but just not as much as in the beginning. I am just about to start a painting and minor maintenance business and I must say, this book does not make me want to go rushing into it enthusiastically, but I am going to do it anyway as my business model is sole proprietorship and not a bunch of painting employees working together in one company. Lots of great painting tips in the book, but nothing compared to the wealth of information on John's website.
Climate is another factor to consider. Sunlight, wind, rain and salty weather can all wear out exterior paint. Oil-based paint is durable against wind, rain and temperature changes, but sunlight tends to degrade it. Alkyd paint chalks and sheds very thin layers when it begins to wear. Latex paint is the more durable option for very sun-drenched and relatively dry climate areas. Latex paint with high vinyl content should be avoided, however. Acrylic resin is by far the more durable binder for outdoor latex paint.
For bigger houses or for faster work on smaller ones, rent a high-pressure spray cleaner. This device attaches to your home's water-supply system and puts out a jet of water at a pressure of about 600 pounds per square inch. It is equipped with a handheld wand tipped with a trigger-activated nozzle. The pressure is high enough to dislodge not only stubborn dirt, mildew, stains, and dried-on sea-spray salt, it's enough to remove peeling paint. In fact, if the jet nozzle is held too close to the surface it can even peel off perfectly sound paint, split open shingles, and drill a hole in siding. So follow the manufacturer's directions and wear goggles and protective clothing.
Even if you think you'll probably do the job yourself, it's good preparation to seek estimates from professional home painters, whether your painting the exterior or interior of your home. Then you'll have a financial point of comparison and you may benefit from what a home painting contractor has to say about the condition of your home, color choices and types of paint available. Let the painter make his pitch for a professional job before you decide what to do. You can still opt to do it yourself while having learned something worthwhile.
Color is always the first consideration when painting a home. Most paint manufacturers offer samples to try that can allow you to make a more informed decision. Because light within a room may vary from wall to wall as well as from day to night, try painting a large piece of poster board in the color or colors you are considering. Move the board from wall to wall and look at it for a minimum of 24 hours at a time in each space to make sure you like the color before committing.
To solidify this response, we have been in business for over 30 years as a painting contractor. We didn't just paint a couple of houses 25 or 30 years ago, we paint approximately 900-1000 painting jobs per year and operate with 40 professional painters doing commercial, residential and industrial painting. This article on behalf of Angie's List is totally asinine! I was under the impression Angie's List was only carrying "legitimate" contractors with established reputations. This article written is primarily referring to bottom feeding, one man band operations, trying to hustle for a paycheck.
If you don’t have any of those things, the customer needs to write the final payment to you. It does no good if it’s written out to your non-existent business. If it’s that small, you probably don’t even need to report it. But yes, end of year ask your accountant. This is probably not considered a home based business, but I don’t know for sure the definitions. I also don’t have information on remodeling businesses.
Actress Margot Kidder poses for a portrait in 1985 in Los Angeles, Calif. Kidder, who starred as Lois Lane in the “Superman” film franchise of the late 1970s and early 1980s, has died. Franzen-Davis Funeral Home in Livingston, Montana posted a notice on its website saying Kidder died Sunday, May 13, 2918, at her home there. She was 69. Harry Langdon, Getty Images
This September 1955 file photo provided by the Roland Giduz Photographic Collection/The Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill, shows from left, LeRoy Frasier, John Lewis Brandon and Ralph Frasier on the steps of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. Brandon, who along with brothers Ralph and LeRoy Frasier was among the first African-American undergraduate students to successfully challenge racial segregation at North Carolina's flagship public university, died of complications from cancer on Jan. 23, 2018. He was 80. Roland Giduz Photographic Collection/The Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill via AP
You've got me very afraid now, I've been taken in a couple of times since I moved here. They take advantage of me because I am a single woman, not exaggerating! From gardeners to inside work. Wouldn't have house painted but I know my HOA will be after me soon, garage door is peeling and stucco needs repair. Got the $1500.00 deal, but paying more for extra work they say I need.
We are Toronto's Best Professional Painters Interior & Exterior Painting,and Staircase refinishing. We are experts in residential homes and commercial offices. We do complete Home Renovations and we are licenced General Contractor all in one. We are Perfect Painter, Perfect Handyman & Affinity Home Renovations & Power Electrical are our Brands. We are the only company in Toronto and GTA market that provides Full Services on almost all aspects of Home Renovations within one Team. We have award winning customer service and pride on making everything right. Having one team that is responsible for all aspects or a home or commercial renovation has great value both from quality and accountability. From Design and build and to as little as our 3 hour handyman repair service.
When selecting a color scheme for the home’s exterior homeowners can choose color options that will correct flaws that they may feel exist with their home and property. Some examples include utilizing two shades of a single color to make a home appear appropriately sized when the home may be too large or too tall. To accomplish this effect individuals will want to place the darker tone on the upper level of the home’s exterior. Smaller windows can appear more proportionately sized by trimming them in a lighter tone of paint. Darker colors make a space or feature appear smaller. The same effect can be obtained for homes positioned further away from a curb. By using lighter tones the home will not feel camouflaged.
I bought this because an excerpt was included at the end of another Orbit book I was reading, and I have to say I feel like I'm reading bad Buffy fanfic. At least two thirds of the characters even share names with Whedon characters, and when I got to the bits about the character called "the Aurelian," I think I actually groaned out loud on the commuter train. Come on, at least name your own characters!
Our services include commercial painting (Melbourne-based business), décor and design consulting, as well as colour-matching and colour selection support. We also pride ourselves on attention to detail. As not all types of paint are the same, not all painters are the same. Our distinguished reputation has been established due to the skill that we apply to all areas of the surface, each and every detail of your home or business is coated with precision and care.
State Contractors LIC # 388334 , Carry Workers Compensation Insurance, Liablity Insurance , 36 Years In Painting Business, Over 650 A+ Review in Angie' s List . We make it a point to never cut corners - keeping you informed throughout the entire project, we are dedicated to understanding and meeting your specific needs for each job. With over 30 years of experience, we are experts at every stage of the process -- from choosing the right paints to the finishing touches.
Home Painters Ottawa is one of the leading painting contractors in Ottawa. Since 1991, we have been providing interior and exterior painting, as well as handyman services, for residential and commercial spaces. Our proven 25-year track record has been sustained by our thousands of satisfied customers! Please feel free to Call (613) 699 6062 or Email us at [email protected] for a FREE quote for your project today!
The article and comments were great information to have before deciding how to go about getting a painting job done. I think the important point is that there are several key choices (who to do the work; color, sheen, quality, of paint; how many coats; amount of prep/repairs to be done and by whom, how long the job will take, provisions for changes, how detailed the contract needs to be; advanced deposit/progress payments/final payment; final inspection, etc.) that need to be made and it requires advanced research and planning in order to become well enough informed to make the right choices. Then it requires spending sufficient time to check materials and inspect the quality of the work while it is on-going, raher than waiting to do it all at the end. President Reagan's philosophy of "Trust, but verify." applies.
The Coordinator. This person will care for the needs of the rest of the workforce, fetch drinks, make sandwiches, make runs to the store for last-minute needs, cook (or arrange) lunch and dinner, make phone calls, get directions, wash brushes, etc. Don't underestimate the need for this key person! When not gainfully employed, he or she can do some rolling.
My husband has been a professional painter over 30 years. He prides himself in his high level of work ethic and customer satisfaction. He stays up to date on techniques and finishes. He gives Very detail and accurate appraisals with contracts. At an alarming rate, as he starts to finish the last day or the day before, the client starts nit picking and being disrespectful towards his work when every day prior to that, they were very pleased, as he request ongoing satisfaction throughout the job. Then they don't to want pay remaining balance, bicker about final cost, or stop payment. He has a crew he has to pay whether the customer does or doesn't honor the contract as well as our own household expenses. Wasted time ,labor, money and effort lost. Now how do we fix this? Remind yourself and clients that a contract is based on honor.
Bob Dorough, musician and composer, 94, died April 23, 2018 of natural causes at his home in Mount Bethel, Dorough wrote for Schoolhouse Rock and wrote all of the music and lyrics for the Multiplication Rock math series and two of the best-known Grammar Rock numbers, Conjunction Junction and Lolly, Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here. HERITAGE IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES
O'Neil patches shallow holes and divots with Ready Patch because it dries fast, sands smooth, and stays flexible. Deep cracks and rotten spots are best repaired with two-step epoxies, such as those made by Advanced Repair Technology. (For a step-by-step instructions, see Repairing Rot with Epoxy.) The days of using polyester auto-body fillers on wood are over. "They cure too hard," says Portland, Oregon–based painting contractor Kathleen George. "They look good at first, but then they peel away."
As a former professional painter, something that drives me crazy is when I see painters cut in around wall plates. First of all, the amount of time that it takes to cut in is usually much longer than the amount of time that it takes to simply remove the wall plate. Secondly it does not look nearly as clean as it does when the wall plate is removed and thirdly it can invariably leave paint on the wall plate itself which also looks sloppy. Make sure the painter takes them off and then reinstalls them. It's less time.
State Contractors LIC # 388334 , Carry Workers Compensation Insurance, Liablity Insurance , 36 Years In Painting Business, Over 650 A+ Review in Angie' s List .We paint all types of projects -- interior and exterior residential, commercial, public, and industrial buildings. We are dedicated to providing our clients with prompt, professional, quality work. For over 36 years, we have provided friendly service at affordable rates. Our goal at House Painting Inc. is to instill confidence in our ability to meet all your expectations so that you know you are always our number one focus.
High yield annuities offer interest rates, on average, that are anywhere from a half a point to two points higher than those offered through bank CDs. The same spread exists between high yield annuities and regular fixed yield annuities. Those types of interest rate differences can translate into a substantial advantage in accumulated earnings over time.
Use a roller to paint the rest of the wall. A good method to use is the 'W method'. You start by painting a large 3 foot (0.91 m) square W on the wall. Then, without lifting the roller, you fill in the W. You can paint a wall section-by-section, and do the walls one at a time for best results. It's generally a good idea to use an extension pole for your roller instead of standing on a ladder. Make sure that neither the extension pole nor the roller has plastic handles, as plastic handles are flexible and this makes it difficult to control the painting.
Reliable, diligent. The work was done well and very professionally. Didn’t give 5 stars only because there was a bit of a mess left - not just in the area but for example, paint drippings on the windows and window sills, water mixed with paint drips on the laundry room floor by the sink where the paint trays were rinsed. Very happy with the work itself though
This is so much different than Kristen’s other work. She’s one of my favorite authors. I had read House Of The Rising Sun before this one and was told that that trilogy would be enjoyed even more, hard to get any better than it was, if I read this Comarre series first. They tie in together but don’t have to be read in order. This first book has a lot of telling but I feel like that is necessary because this is a big world so it needs that world building. I loved all the main characters. I really liked the uniqueness of Crysabell (spelling?) needing to be bled or have a vampire feed from her or she would be like blood drunk. It’s her purpose to feed her vampire.
When painting a carpeted room, keep in mind that paint will soak through drop cloths. This is especially true of the cheaper, lightweight cloths. It helps to tape masking paper to all of the base boards before laying the drop cloths. Tuck the edges of the cloth under the paper--this will help keep it clean. You might want to invest in a hand-held masking machine--they make the job go much faster. Even after taking these precautions make sure to clean big drops or spills before they soak through and before you step on them!
Once you have removed all the loose paint, you should apply an appropriate primer to some of the distressed areas, especially if your paint-removal system has exposed raw wood or bare metal. The kind of primer you use depends on the kind of paint you'll be using later. For latex paint, use latex primers; for solvent-thinned paints, use solvent-base primers; and for metals, use metal primers. Not only do these coatings provide extra protection against the elements, they also form a firm foundation for finishing paints. Also, priming is always required when you're working on new wood.
Finding an exterior painting service around Boston has another caveat that other areas may not have; extreme cold temperatures. We are all too familiar with how cold our winters here can be, so cold in fact that paint can freeze before it sets. When that happens, it can turn into a blob that slides right off! Because of the seasonal window to offer exterior home painting services, some companies simply don’t offer it at all.
For the best work, hire a painter who is licensed. And make sure he/she is bonded and insured, with up-to-date, adequate workmen's compensation and liability insurance. There are (at least) two good arguments against hiring unlicensed house painters: 1) even if you sign a contract with them, it may be legally unenforceable, and 2) your homeowner's insurance might not cover against accidents or theft.
Recently I had the outside of my home painted. The contractor wrote a good contract, but I failed to realize that some things were not in it. It reminds me of the car dealer who offered a good price on a new car but failed to mention that it did not include tires. My contractor failed to specify that lattice under a porch was included. So the painters did not paint it. To his credit, he did instruct them to paint it when I brought it to his attention. If I had the job to do over again I would look for an individual who came with referrals from happy customers rather than a franchise owner..
Paint will be your next-biggest cost, at anywhere from $20 to $70 or more per gallon, depending on the sheen, the grade you’ve chosen and any special features. Some paints, for instance, are mold resistant. Others suppress smells or require fewer coats. Some have a lifetime warranty. Paints with warranties, however, may not be worth a higher price. In Consumer Reports tests approximating nine years of wear, only a few exterior paints and stains with lifetime warranties held up well. But “you’ll grow tired of the color long before a good-quality paint wears out,” Bancroft says.
Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator Charles Krauthammer gives a press conference prior to speaking in the Junior League of York's "In the Spotlight" Speaker Series on Feb. 26, 2014, at the Yorktowne Hotel in York, Pa. The conservative writer and pundit Krauthammer has died. His death was announced Thursday, June 21, 2018, by two media organizations that employed him, Fox News Channel and The Washington Post. He was 68. Chris Dunn, Daily Record/Sunday News
My bf wants to start a house painting business. He had been working for his father’s family business for over 8 years, and you know how stressful it can be to work with family, so he wants to do it on his own. We are in upstate N.Y. (Dutchess County). Do we need a licence, dba, llc formation? Can we simply file a dba and get e&o insurance? Please help there is little on the internet I can find for this area. Thank you kindly.
Climate is another factor to consider. Sunlight, wind, rain and salty weather can all wear out exterior paint. Oil-based paint is durable against wind, rain and temperature changes, but sunlight tends to degrade it. Alkyd paint chalks and sheds very thin layers when it begins to wear. Latex paint is the more durable option for very sun-drenched and relatively dry climate areas. Latex paint with high vinyl content should be avoided, however. Acrylic resin is by far the more durable binder for outdoor latex paint. |
Pathological laughter as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon.
Pathological laughter has been known to occur in organic and functional psychotic disorders and is sometimes seen in hysteria. Though it is an important phenomenon, its significance in other psychiatric disorders has been negligible. This case report highlights the phenomenology of pathological laughter as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon in an adolescent girl. The girl was brought by her parents with a history of laughing without reason, but on detail evaluation, it was found that her laughing was an irrational and ego-dystonic phenomenon. She also showed resistance to her symptom. A family history of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the parental grandfather, the habit of smiling in her father and her childhood emotional trauma and sexual abuse could have contributed to the formation of the symptom. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs and behavior therapy showed good improvement in this case. Pathological laughter, though common in organic and psychotic disorders, can present primarily as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon as well. This case suggests that each and every patient with a history of pathological laughter in a psychiatry clinic should not be labeled as psychotic unless he or she is assessed in detail. |
TGF-β1 induced up-regulation of B1 kinin receptor promotes antifibrotic activity in rat cardiac myofibroblasts.
Cardiac myofibroblast (CMF) are non-muscle cardiac cells that play a crucial role in wound healing and in pathological remodeling. These cells are mainly derived of cardiac fibroblast (CF) differentiation mediated by TGF-β1. Evidence suggests that bradykinin (BK) regulates cardiac fibroblast function in the heart. Both B1 and B2 kinin receptors (B1R and B2R, respectively) mediate the biological effects of kinins. We recently showed that both receptors are expressed in CMF and its stimulation decreases collagen secretion. Whether TGF-β1 regulates B1R and B2R expression, and how these receptors control antifibrotic activity in CMF remains poorly understood. In this work, we sought to study, the regulation of B1R expression in cultured CMF mediated by TGF-β1, and the molecular mechanisms involved in B1R activation on CMF intracellular collagen type-I levels. Cardiac fibroblast-primary culture was obtained from neonatal rats. Hearts were digested and CFs were attached to dishes and separated from cardiomyoctes. CMF were obtained from CF differentiation with TGF-β1 5 ng/mL. CF and CMF were treated with B1R and B2R agonists and with TGF-β1 at different times and concentrations, in the presence or absence of chemical inhibitors, to evaluate signaling pathways involved in B1R expression, collagen type-I and prostacyclin levels. B1R and collagen type-I levels were evaluated by western blot. Prostacyclin levels were quantified by an ELISA kit. TGF-β1 increased B1R expression via TGFβ type I receptor kinase (ALK5) activation and its subsequent signaling pathways involving Smad2, p38, JNK and ERK1/2 activation. Moreover, in CMF, the activation of B1R and B2R by their respective agonists, reduced collagen synthesis. This effect was mediated by the canonical signaling pathway; phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase C (PKC), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), COX-2 activation and PGI2 secretion and its autocrine effect. TGF-β1 through ALK5, Smad2, p38, JNK and ERK1/2 increases B1R expression; whereas in CMF, B1R and B2R activation share common signaling pathways for reducing collagen synthesis. |
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BARI, Italy (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors are investigating derivative trades made by five of the country's biggest banks, judicial sources said on Friday, as part of an investigation that began at least a year ago before the current Monte dei Paschi scandal erupted.
Monte dei Paschi, UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, BNL and Credem are being investigated by a court in Trani, a small town on the southeastern coast of Italy, over derivative trades, judicial sources told Reuters.
Intesa said the probe dated back to 2010 and concerned its Banco di Napoli unit. It said the deals involved were "negligible" and had no material impact on group financials.
The probe is unrelated to a scandal that broke last week involving Siena's Monte dei Paschi, the world's oldest bank, after it was revealed that opaque derivatives contracts left the lender facing losses of 720 million euros.
Since last week, prosecutors from three cities have launched investigations into possible fraud or lack of oversight at Monte dei Paschi, sparking concern by President Giorgio Napolitano, who warned on Friday that the national interest was at stake.
The Trani probe was opened at least as much as a year ago following a complaint by a client, but the names of three of the banks involved were revealed only on Friday.
The investigation is also looking at possible fixing of Euribor, the euro-priced counterpart of Libor, hit by a fixing scandal last year when derivatives traders at Barclays were found to have attempted to rig the key London lending rate.
Dozens of people are being investigated for suspected usury and fraud, the sources said.
Regional prosecutors in Italy often launch their own investigations in response to complaints from local individuals or institutions affected by alleged wrongdoings that have taken place elsewhere in the country.
"At the moment, we are not aware of any probes in Trani," an UniCredit spokesman said.
The Monte dei Paschi scandal has jumped to the top of the political agenda only weeks before Italians go to the polls in a general election on February 24-25, in part because it is depending on state aid to lift its capital.
Trani prosecutors opened a separate probe on Wednesday investigating if the central bank and equities market watchdog Consob failed to properly oversee Monte dei Paschi after a consumer group requested that magistrates look into the affair.
As proof of the growing alarm over the damage which the Monte Paschi case could cause to the country's image with international investors, Napolitano warned that the national interests were at stake in an interview in Friday's edition of business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
He also defended the Bank of Italy regulation of Monte dei Paschi.
"It scrupulously documented how, from the very beginning and with its traditional rigour, the Bank of Italy exercised its supervisory functions within the limits of the powers given to it by the law," he told the newspaper.
The president said that it was necessary to bring clarity to the affair while adding that all sides "should be aware of the national interest".
(Additional reporting by Vincenzo Damiani in Bari, Steve Scherer and Naomi O'Leary in Rome, Gianluca Semeraro and Danilo Masoni in Milan.; Writing by Steve Scherer and James Mackenzie. Editing by John Stonestreet and Sophie Walker) |
For journalists, danger lurking in your email
This week, Morgan Marquis-Boire and Bill
Marczak of the University of
Toronto's Citizen Lab provided a disturbing
look into the likely use of a commercial surveillance program, FinFisher,
to remotely invade and control the computers of Bahraini activists. After the
software installs itself onto unsuspecting users' computer, it can record and
relay emails, screenshots, and Skype audio conversations. It was deployed
against Bahraini users after being concealed in seemingly innocent emails.
In one example decoded by Marquis-Boire's team, the message was
crafted to appear to be from Melissa Chan,
a journalist working for Al-Jazeera English. The attackers were using Chan's
reputation as a journalist to trick their victims into opening the document.
Chan now works for Al-Jazeera in Jerusalem, but when she was
a correspondent in China she was the target
of email attacks herself. In an attempt to take control of her real Gmail
address, a message was sent to her from someone implying they were connected to
China's "Jasmine revolution." The independent Bahraini newspaper Al-Wasat said it has been targeted with fake
messages from sources as well--not to deliver malware, but to trick
it into running false stories the government then used to try to discredit the
paper.
Fake email sources are relatively easy to imitate. The
"From" address used in the Bahraini attack was not Chan's own email
address, but a throwaway Gmail account that looked like an address
("[email protected]") Chan might conceivably use.
Broad caution with unknown correspondents is a defense: If
you don't download attachments and don't click on links in strange emails, you
aren't vulnerable to the hacking attacks these emails are designed to allow.
When I spoke to Chan about the attacks in her name, she noted that "many
people do not look at the email address, but just the 'Last Name, First Name.' ...
There were one or two times when I wasn't sure about the sender and I wrote
back asking them to identify themselves in a way I'd know was definitely
him/her."
That's a good technique, but it's even better if you can use
an alternative medium for your fact-checking. Use a phone call or instant
messaging to confirm a message before opening any attachment. If an attacker
has already used malware to take control of another users' computer, they may
have access to private information. They can also act as a "man in the
middle" online, relaying email questions and answers between two
unsuspecting correspondents--but able to spy or add their own fabrications. A
live phone call is harder to fake.
In terms of sophistication, it's hard to know what to think
of the Bahraini espionage revealed by Citizen Lab. In some ways, the masquerade
was clumsy--but, then, if it had been more convincing, it may have gone
unnoticed. We only see the results of unsuccessful espionage. Still, even that is
enough to see the damage being caused to the reputations of journalists and the
safety of their communications. Security services faking messages from real
journalists in order to spy on activists is a grave danger to press freedom.
Citizen Lab's analysis demonstrates that spyware supposedly
made for law enforcement purposes by the UK company Gamma International is
now being used in ways that no democratic society can tolerate. Gamma should
immediately reveal whether they have been selling this technology to the
Bahraini authorities and what it intends to do to prevent abuses from recurring.
San Francisco-based CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator Danny O’Brien has worked globally as a journalist and activist covering technology and digital rights. Follow him on Twitter @danny_at_cpj. |
Algeria Economic Outlook
September 3, 2019
Annual growth decelerated to 1.5% in the first quarter, down from the 2.3% expansion recorded in Q4 2018, as protests that erupted in February and weakness in the hydrocarbon sector, which contracted for the seventh quarter in a row in Q1, dragged on the economy. Available information for Q2 is not any rosier: The trade deficit rose 12% in the first half of the year compared to the previous period, while international reserves continue to steadily decline as authorities attempt to shore up the dinar. As a consequence of the current political impasse, the interim government decided to halt planned economic reforms on fears that reducing government subsidies, a new hydrocarbons law and fiscal consolidation could all reignite protests.
Algeria Economic Growth
Economic growth will remain subdued this year due to heightened political unrest and low prices for oil and gas. Moreover, production for the two commodities, which account for 90% of the country’s exports and 60% of the budget, remains stagnant. Key downside risks are escalating political tensions and weak global growth, which could trim demand for oil and gas. FocusEconomics panelists expect growth of 1.6% in 2019, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast, and 1.7% in 2020.
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Q:
How the best way to create unique code invoice
I learned to create code invoices using the value from the combobox to fill in the textbox.
this is my code
string GenerateCode()
{
int plus = 1;
string no = "0000";
string front = no + plus;
string mid = sCode;
string last = DateTime.Now.ToString("/MM/yyyy");
string fullcode = front.Substring(front.Length-4,4)+ "/" + mid + last;
if(tDAL.CheckCode (fullcode))
{
plus = plus + 1;
front = no + plus;
fullcode = front.Substring(front.Length - 4, 4)+"/"+ mid + last;
}
return fullcode;
}
this my code for to display the created code
tb_invoice.text = fullcode;
this is my form_load
private void PurchaseandSalesFm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
LoadCode();
tb_invoice.Text = GenerateCode();
}
this is the result so far
Output : 0001/XXL-35/02/2019
Is there any suggestion for me? or the better code?
because I still have doubt with my code
And also still looking for ways to change month numbers to Roman's letter
Sorry if I asking to much but I really appreciate your help.
A:
Trt set DataSource after ValueMember.
cb_codetrans.DisplayMember = "title";
cb_codetrans.ValueMember = "title";
cb_codetrans.DataSource = codetransDT;
This because set DataSource will trigger SelectedIndexChanged event.
|
Assembly Republicans Throw Women Under the Bus to Iowa
MADISON –Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) released the following statement in response to Assembly passage of SB179, which will ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“Today, Assembly Republicans threw women squarely under the bus to Iowa, passing a dangerous and cruel abortion ban at the behest of Governor Walker to further his case with right-wing voters on the campaign trail.
Abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy are rare and often involve serious complications that threaten the life or health of a woman or severe fetal abnormalities that cannot be detected before the 20th week. It is unconscionable that Republicans are taking medical choices away from women facing the most tragic circumstances.
Today’s vote makes it crystal clear: Democrats believe personal medical decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor, while Republicans will go to great lengths to take away our liberty to make personal medical decisions privately, without interference from politicians.
Passing this blatantly unconstitutional abortion ban is yet another attempt by Republican legislators to help Scott Walker cement votes from the far right in a presidential primary and to provide a distraction from the catastrophe of a budget Republicans passed early this morning.
It bears repeating: Republicans have thrown women squarely under the bus to Iowa. I urge the Governor and legislative Republicans to stop playing politics with women’s health and safety.” |
2002–03 Irish Cup
The 2002–03 Irish Cup was the 123rd edition of Northern Ireland's premier football knock-out cup competition. It concluded on 3 May 2003 with the final.
Linfield were the defending champions, winning their 36th Irish Cup last season after a 2–1 win over Portadown in the 2002 final. This season Linfield reached the quarter-finals, but went out to Omagh Town. Coleraine were the eventual winners, in what was their first appearance in the final in 17 years. The last time they had done so was in 1986, when they were defeated 2–1 by Glentoran. It was the same opposition but a different outcome this time. A 1–0 victory over the Glens, who were appearing in the final for the fifth time in eight years, was enough to seal Coleraine's first Irish Cup win in 26 years. The last time they had won the competition was in 1977.
Fifth round
Larne received a bye into the sixth round.
|}
Replays
|}
Sixth round
|}
Replay
|}
Quarter-finals
|}
Semi-finals
|}
Final
References
2002–03
Category:2002–03 domestic association football cups
Cup |
Q:
How do I create a confirmation dialog in jQuery Mobile?
I want to have a confirmation dialog (not plain javascript) show when the user clicks a button, but I'd rather have it embeded instead of referencing another page.
How do I embed a dialog for use on a jQuery Mobile page?
A:
You have 2 options really - if you want it to popup and fill the page, you can create a JQM dialog page (even dynamicaly), and switch to it. JQM dialogs are explained more in detail here:
http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.0b1/docs/pages/docs-dialogs.html
It is quite possible to append a new dialog to the same page (simple append it to the container above the one with data-role="page") and switch to it with $.changePage(...)
Another option, if you want it to popup "over" the existing content (modal mode from UI dialog), this plugin will do that:
http://dev.jtsage.com/jQM-SimpleDialog/
Full disclosure: I wrote the second one, so I am biased. However, it does employ a bit of option 1 above, and you are of course welcome to rip the code apart to see how it works if you'd rather roll your own.
Edit:
Another option is to use the builtin popup interface, added in the last major version (1.2.0 I think). It can be found here, and is included in the default:
http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.2.0/docs/pages/popup/index.html
|
Tirupati Balaji Temple is one of the most visited temple of India and this temple is also of greater significance in the country. The Tirupati Balaji Temple is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage centre that is mainly linked up with Hindu mythologies, the temple is famous for its historic shrine of lord Venkateswar.
This temple is located on the Venkatam Hill and the temple is one of the richest temples of the country. The main deity worshiped at the temple is lord Venkateswar or lord Balaji, who is believed to be the incarnation of lord Vishnu, one of the most revered Hindu god.
The architectural style adds more importance in the temple's glory. The 10 feet high standing figure of lord Venkateswar on a lotus pedestal embodies the best sculptural work. Worshiping before the holy figure of lord Venkateswar lets one witness the rich South Indian culture and rich traditions.
There are also several other temples like Papavinasanam, Vaikuntha Tirtham and Tumburu Tirtham famous for sightseeing. Come and make a wish. |
Before diving into the code, let’s discuss first what an autoencoder is.
Autoencoder
We deal with huge amount of data in machine learning which naturally leads to more computations. However, we can also just pick the parts of the data that contribute the most to a model’s learning, thus leading to less computations. The process of choosing the important parts of the data is known as feature selection, which is among the number of use cases for an autoencoder.
But what exactly is an autoencoder? Well, let’s first recall that a neural network is a computational model that is used for finding a function describing the relationship between data features x and its values (a regression task) or labels (a classification task) y, i.e. y = f(x).
Now, an autoencoder is also a neural network. But instead of finding the function mapping the features x to their corresponding values or labels y, it aims to find the function mapping the features x to itself x. Wait, what? Why would we do that?
Well, what’s interesting is what happens inside the autoencoder. Let’s bring up a graphical illustration of an autoencoder for an even better understanding.
Illustrated using NN-SVG. An autoencoder is an artificial neural network that aims to learn how to reconstruct a data.
From the illustration above, an autoencoder consists of two components: (1) an encoder which learns the data representation, i.e. the important features z of the data, and (2) a decoder which reconstructs the data based on its idea z of how it is structured.
Going back, we established that an autoencoder wants to find the function that maps x to x. It does so through its components. Mathematically,
z is the learned data representation by the encoder from input data x.
x-hat is the reconstructed data by the decoder based on the learned representation z.
The encoder h-sub-e learns the data representation z from the input features x, then the said representation serves as the input to the decoder h-sub-d in order to reconstruct the original data x.
We shall further dissect this model below.
Encoder
The first component, the encoder, is similar to a conventional feed-forward network. However, it is not tasked on predicting values or labels. Instead, it is tasked to learn how the data is structured, i.e. data representation z.
Illustrated using NN-SVG. The encoder learns the representation of a given data.
The encoding is done by passing data input x to the encoder’s hidden layer h in order to learn the data representation z = f(h(x)). We can implement the Encoder layer as follows,
The encoder layer of the autoencoder written in TensorFlow 2.0 subclassing API.
We first define an Encoder class that inherits the tf.keras.layers.Layer to define it as a layer instead of a model. Why a layer instead of a model? Recall that the encoder is a component of the autoencoder model.
Going through the code, the Encoder layer is defined to have a single hidden layer of neurons ( self.hidden_layer ) to learn the activation of the input features. Then, we connect the hidden layer to a layer ( self.output_layer ) that encodes the data representation to a lower dimension, which consists of what it thinks as important features. Hence, the “output” of the Encoder layer is the learned data representation z for the input data x.
Decoder
The second component, the decoder, is also similar to a feed-forward network. However, instead of reducing data to a lower dimension, it reconstructs the data from its lower dimension representation z to its original dimension x.
Illustrated using NN-SVG. The decoder learns to reconstruct the data from its lower dimension representation.
The decoding is done by passing the lower dimension representation z to the decoder’s hidden layer h in order to reconstruct the data to its original dimension x = f(h(z)). We can implement the decoder layer as follows,
The decoder layer of the autoencoder written in TensorFlow 2.0 subclassing API.
We define a Decoder class that also inherits the tf.keras.layers.Layer .
The Decoder layer is also defined to have a single hidden layer of neurons to reconstruct the input features from the learned representation by the encoder. Then, we connect its hidden layer to a layer that decodes the data representation from a lower dimension to its original dimension. Hence, the “output” of the decoder layer is the reconstructed data x from the data representation z. Ultimately, the output of the decoder is the autoencoder’s output.
Now that we have defined the components of our autoencoder, we can finally build the model.
Building the Autoencoder model
We can now build the autoencoder model by instantiating the Encoder and the Decoder layers.
The autoencoder model written in TensorFlow 2.0 subclassing API.
As we discussed above, we use the output of the encoder layer as the input to the decoder layer. So, that’s it? No, not exactly.
To this point, we have only discussed the components of an autoencoder and how to build it, but we have not yet talked about how it actually learns. All we know to this point is the flow of data; from the input layer to the encoder layer which learns the data representation, and use that representation as input to the decoder layer that reconstructs the original data.
Like other neural networks, an autoencoder learns through backpropagation. However, instead of comparing the values or labels of the model, we compare the reconstructed data x-hat and the original data x. Let’s call this comparison the reconstruction error function, and it is given by the following equation,
The reconstruction error in this case is the mean-squared error function that you’re likely to be familiar with.
In TensorFlow, the above equation could be expressed as follows,
Reconstruction error written using TensorFlow core operations.
Are we there yet? Close enough. Just a few more things to add. Now that we have our error function defined, we can finally write the training function for our model.
Training function written in TensorFlow 2.0 following the paradigm of writing the forward pass imperatively through the use of GradientTape.
This way of implementing backpropagation affords us with more freedom by enabling us to keep track of the gradients, and the application of an optimization algorithm to them.
Are we done now? Let’s see.
Define an encoder layer. Checked.
layer. Checked. Define a decoder layer. Checked.
layer. Checked. Build the autoencoder using the encoder and decoder layers. Checked.
using the and layers. Checked. Define the reconstruction error function. Checked.
Define the training function. Checked.
Yes! We’re done here! We can finally train our model!
But before doing so, let’s instantiate an Autoencoder class that we defined before, and an optimization algorithm to use. Then, let’s load the data we want to reconstruct. For this post, let’s use the unforgettable MNIST handwritten digit dataset.
We can visualize our training results by using TensorBoard, and to do so, we need to define a summary file writer for the results by using tf.summary.create_file_writer .
Instantiating the autoencoder model, and the optimization function. Loading the MNIST dataset. Finally, the training loop for our autoencoder model.
Next, we use the defined summary file writer, and record the training summaries using tf.summary.record_if .
We can finally (for real now) train our model by feeding it with mini-batches of data, and compute its loss and gradients per iteration through our previously-defined train function, which accepts the defined error function, the autoencoder model, the optimization algorithm, and the mini-batch of data.
After each iteration of training the model, the computed reconstruction error should be decreasing to see if it the model is actually learning (just like in other neural networks). Lastly, to record the training summaries in TensorBoard, we use the tf.summary.scalar for recording the reconstruction error values, and the tf.summary.image for recording the mini-batch of the original data and reconstructed data.
After some epochs, we can start to see a relatively good reconstruction of the MNIST images.
Plotted using matplotlib. Results on MNIST handwritten digit dataset. Images at the top row are the original ones while images at the bottom row are the reconstructed ones.
The reconstructed images might be good enough but they are quite blurry. A number of things could be done to improve this result, e.g. adding more layers and/or neurons, or using a convolutional neural network architecture as the basis of the autoencoder model, or use a different kind of autoencoder.
Closing remarks
Autoencoders are quite useful for dimensionality reduction. But it could also be used for data denoising, and for learning the distribution of a dataset. I hope we have covered enough in this article to make you excited to learn more about autoencoders! |
Generation of progenitor-cell precursors in long-term bone-marrow cultures after marrow purging with ether lipids.
Alkyl-lysophospholipid derivates (ALP) are currently being tested as bone marrow (BM) purging agents prior to autologous BM transplantation in different malignancies. We evaluated the toxicity of the ALP ET-18-OCH3 (ET-18; Edelfosine, 1-0-octadecyl-2-0-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine) towards early hematopoietic precursors by testing progenitor regeneration of non-purged and ET-18-purged BM (75 mu g and 125 mu g ET-18/ml/2x10(7) BM cells) in autologous long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC) from 3 different patients in complete remission. LTBMC feeder layers were irradiated with 875 rad for complete elimination of hematopoietic progenitors and recharged with cryopreserved purged and non-purged BM. In weekly intervals, adherent layer and supernatant LTBMC cells were completely removed and evaluated in colony forming unit (CFU)-assays. We have seen sufficient CFU-regeneration out of ET-18-purged BM up to 8 weeks of LTBMC (>40 CFU/flask). Total CFU-counts from LTBMC with purged BM were slightly reduced compared to non-purged control. High dose purging with 125 mu g ET-18/ml partly inhibited initial CFU-proliferation, but demonstrated elevated CFU-counts after 4 and 8 weeks of LTBMC compared to control. In conclusion, in our LTBMC series ET-18-purging yielded tolerable toxicity towards committed BM-progenitors, but no remarkable decline of early hematopoietic precursors regenerating CFU-progenitors for up to 8 weeks of culture. |
The Stolen Child
· A metaphor for the return to innocence, which is characterised by childhood
· Yeats desired to write poetry of ‘longing and complaint’ – not story of being taken from the ‘real’ world but escape to faeryland
· The dichotomy (contrast) of a ‘fantasy’ world and the world of reality
o Represents dissatisfaction with the real world
o Nationalism/Irish concerns – link to ‘The Fisherman’/’September 1913’ – dissatisfaction with contemporary Ireland and the values of the people in comparison to the ideals and values of the Romantic nationalists and the nationalist heroes
o‘wandering water gushes’ – images of freedom of the faeryland/Ireland?
o ‘the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand’, ‘To and fro we leap / And chase the frothy bubbles, While the world is full of troubles / And is anxious in its sleep’ – contrast between the real world and the faeryland
o The change in the final refrain makes it almost accusatory, 2nd person used to emphasise innocence/obliviousness of the child. ‘a world more full of weeping than he can understand.’
· The comparison of natural/romantic Ireland and the faeryland
o Not quite sure which he is talking about at points
o‘Where dips the rocky highland / Of Sleuth Wood in the lake’, ‘leafy… |
Unless you have barely existed in poverty, seen your children go without for weeks or months at a time, been hungry because you can’t afford food, faced eviction or been evicted, or had no heat, electricity or phone because of poverty, there is simply no way you can understand the constant fear, desperation and depression of the millions of Americans who deal with this reality every waking day of their lives.
No way. Period.
Sadly, these same Americans living at or well below the poverty line, are seen as nothing more than cheap pawns to be exploited by most politicians on both sides of the aisle who regularly put the needs of special interests, their political party and their reelection well before the needs of their constituents. Poor or otherwise.
For me, poverty has never been academic. As a child, I grew up in abject poverty and was often homeless. By the time I was seventeen years of age, my family had been evicted thirty-four times. Most of the homes we were thrown out of having no heat or electricity.
As I grew older, I – temporarily – morphed into a Republican because at least on paper, their messages of personal responsibility, accountability, and smaller government made the most sense to me at the time.
Based on – at the time – brutal real-world experience, I knew that government handouts were not the answer to me escaping the humanity-destroying cycle of poverty. As that child, and as I observed what poverty was doing to my family and those trapped on the same sinking ship around us, I knew that government handouts were nothing more than an addictive Band-Aid which barely allowed the poor to exist but never escape the shackles of poverty.
For me, I started shining shoes at nine years of age to try and help my family, and then took on every odd job I could find after that. By that age, I knew that – in the macro sense – no one really cared about me or my plight and that if I were going to make it out, I was going to have to do it on my own.
I realized that nothing was free in the world and that someone had to work, someone had to pay the bills, someone had to pay taxes and that someone had to be responsible.
In the years since, I have mentioned to groups and individuals – most especially those living in poverty – that it’s never easy being “the responsible one.” It’s never fun. It’s always a grind. But it’s the price to be paid if we are to survive and hopefully carve out at least a comfortable life for ourselves and our children.
Poverty is not a partisan issue and yet, both political parties, the mainstream media, academia and the entertainment community cheapen this American tragedy on a regular basis for their own selfish needs.
A recent and sad example of this was the openly President Trump-hating Washington Post speaking down to the unwashed masses from their elitist Ivory Tower to proclaim: “If You’re a Poor person in America, Trump’s Budget is not for you.”
Even while understanding that The Washington Post – along with The New York Times, NBC News, and a number of other liberal media outlets – has come completely unhinged when it comes to President Trump and has cast aside most ethics and professional and journalistic conduct to smear him at any cost, the headline and accompanying article are laughable partisan propaganda.
As a megaphone for the Democratic Party and the far-left factions allied with that Party, The Washington Post – along with virtually all liberal media outlets – failed to hold former President Obama to their same standards.
Had they done so, they could have published headline after headline for eight years on how – under President Obama’s “leadership” – poverty in America got dramatically worse. Most especially for minority America.
Or, as The Washington Post does love big-government Nanny-State entitlements, they could have run headline after headline pointing out that the public-employee pensions and health-care plans which are destroying the economies of a growing number of cities, counties, states and our nation, are robbing much needed tax-dollars for the desperately poor.
Or, The Washington Post –and every other liberal media outlet – could have run headline after headline declaring that the Democratic Party and its allies are deliberately sacrificing the well-being and very futures of millions of poor inner-city public school children so they can appease the leadership of the teachers unions.
Poverty is not partisan. It’s tragic.
Two months into his presidency, Donald Trump is talking about hard work, personal responsibility, better job training and stopping the exploitation of inner-city public school children.
Former President Obama failed the poor. Now it’s President Trump’s turn to actually try and help them.
Is that what really scares the liberals and the far-left? That President Trump might succeed where they failed?
MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the memoir “Rolling Pennies in the Dark.” (Simon & Schuster, 2012) |
/*
Copyright IBM Corp. 2016 All Rights Reserved.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
*/
package util
import (
"github.com/golang/protobuf/proto"
)
// Buffer provides a wrapper on top of proto.Buffer.
// The purpose of this wrapper is to get to know the current position in the []byte
type Buffer struct {
buf *proto.Buffer
position int
}
// NewBuffer constructs a new instance of Buffer
func NewBuffer(b []byte) *Buffer {
return &Buffer{proto.NewBuffer(b), 0}
}
// DecodeVarint wraps the actual method and updates the position
func (b *Buffer) DecodeVarint() (uint64, error) {
val, err := b.buf.DecodeVarint()
if err == nil {
b.position += proto.SizeVarint(val)
}
return val, err
}
// DecodeRawBytes wraps the actual method and updates the position
func (b *Buffer) DecodeRawBytes(alloc bool) ([]byte, error) {
val, err := b.buf.DecodeRawBytes(alloc)
if err == nil {
b.position += proto.SizeVarint(uint64(len(val))) + len(val)
}
return val, err
}
// GetBytesConsumed returns the offset of the current position in the underlying []byte
func (b *Buffer) GetBytesConsumed() int {
return b.position
}
|
OROFINO, Idaho — Alexis Coomer's house isn't located in a remote area, at least not compared with many of her fellow Nez Perce tribe members on this reservation in north-central Idaho. She lives in the 3,000-person town of Orofino, the go-to place on the reservation where people load up on groceries and other supplies.
But when she needs to type an email, or help her daughter with homework, she drives 6 miles down the road, along the Clearwater River, and pulls into the Teweepuu Community Center, where she works as an administrative and events aide. There, she sits down in front of the computer she uses for work, which has the broadband hookup she lacks at home.
“It’s not that far, but I just hate having to leave my house,” Coomer said. “I’d rather just stay home.”
As broadband internet becomes more and more important in the U.S. — the way Americans do everything from apply for jobs to chatting with their relatives to watching TV — one gap has become more glaring: the difference between those who have broadband and those who don't. An estimated 24 million people, about 8 percent of Americans, still have no home access to high-speed internet service, defined by the Federal Communications Commission as a download speed of 25 megabits per second. (That's what the FCC says allows telecommuting or streaming high-definition video.) The overwhelming majority of those people live in rural areas, like farms or in big, poorly served areas like this one.
The shorthand for fixing this problem is “closing the digital divide," and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says it's his top priority. But it has been a high-priority problem for years and remained persistently out of reach for reasons rooted in the structure of our telecommunications system itself. Internet access in the U.S. depends almost entirely on private companies; unlike other crucial services like postal delivery or electric power, it isn't considered the government's job, and isn't regulated as a public utility. But the limits of that system have become painfully apparent: Companies can't make money by running expensive wires to few customers, and a complex tangle of incentives offered by the government hasn't solved the problem in towns like Orofino.
Nowhere is the lack of broadband access more acute than in places like this: Rural Indian reservations have lower rates of coverage than anywhere else in the nation. About 35 percent of Americans living in tribal lands lack broadband access, according to the most recent report by the FCC. In Idaho, the FCC estimates that 83 percent of the tribal population lacks broadband, making the Nez Perce tribe among the least-connected groups in the country.
“It seems like everybody has the internet, but not in my neighborhood,” Coomer said.
The problem has been tackled by three FCC chairmen, by phone and satellite companies, and by the Nez Perce themselves, who launched a bootstrapped internet service in 2010 that currently supplies the libraries and other tribal buildings with a high-speed broadband connection. But service to most houses is still slow and expensive, if it's available at all. A local cable company offers a 15 Mbps connection for $80 a month, which Coomer says is too slow and unaffordable. Cellphones help fill the gap, but have severe limitations: Data plans are expensive and it’s hard to do homework on a phone.
Around the world, access to high-speed internet is increasingly seen not just as a convenience, but even a kind of human right, the main tool people increasingly rely on to interact with the government, the economy and each other. Yet according to the FCC, more than 30 years after the U.S. government adopted the protocols that became the internet, 8 percent of Americans still can’t connect to it.
If Pai and the FCC are going to find a way to bring quality internet to those Americans, they're going to have to figure out just how to solve the kind of problems that converge on this tiny salmon-fishing town, where residents look at the world they can see on their patchy connections and wonder if they'll ever catch up.
“They could be doing some of the programming they have on the computer, advancing on their own, and they can’t," said Coomer of her four children, who use computers at school, but rely on less-useful smartphone connections when they're home. "They don’t have the convenience of just getting on the computer and looking something up.”
TOP: Fog drifts above the Clearwater River on the Nez Perce reservation near Orofino, Idaho. Weather conditions like fog impact the tribe's broadband service, which relies on line-of-sight towers. BOTTOM LEFT: An internet "dead zone" on the reservation, with electric lines running overhead. BOTTOM RIGHT: A worker at the Nez Perce's salmon hatchery demonstrating the facility's slow connection, which often means data doesn't transmit properly and must be reloaded multiple times. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
RURAL BROADBAND MIGHT not be a headline political issue, but it's been on and off the Washington policy radar since at least 2010. That’s when the FCC decided to tackle it on a broad scale and issued a National Broadband Plan. The idea was that companies needed a federal boost to make it feasible to serve rural customers.
The plan has several parts including something called the Connect America Fund, which in 2015 awarded $9 billion over six years to 10 telecom companies that agreed to deploy broadband in rural areas across the country. In Idaho, a national telecom provider called CenturyLink is getting $6.3 million a year for six years to expand rural broadband service in the state. Century Link has pledged to bring service to 12,000 state residents; so far, about 500 homes on Nez Perce lands have benefited. A second company, Frontier Communications, is getting $5.2 million per year for six years to connect 10,000 residents in Idaho. But it’s not clear if either company will hit their goals or how much of the reservation will eventually benefit, and at what speed; any connection at least 10 Mbps counts, even though that’s less than the FCC’s own 25 Mbps standard.
What’s more, reservation residents can’t be sure if either company will eventually reach their neighborhoods. Broadband companies have some flexibility to choose which areas make the most sense to connect, so it won’t be clear until the program ends in 2020 just which communities will be left out.
The confusion isn’t helped by the FCC’s broadband maps, which are supposed to show which areas have broadband and which don’t. But the agency acknowledges the maps have limitations. For instance, the FCC maps broadband according to census blocks, and considers a block "served" if a company offers broadband to at least one subscriber in the area, even if their neighbors can’t get it.
The FCC maps show splotches of high-speed broadband available in parts of Orofino, but Coomer’s house is in an area colored blue — meaning there might be some providers in the area, but none that reach the FCC’s benchmark speed. According to the FCC’s 2016 broadband report, 7,793 out of 8,369 residents in Clearwater County, where Orofino is located, lack that kind of broadband access — about 93 percent.
"What you have is a problem where some customers are stranded, so to speak," said Carol Mattey, a former FCC deputy bureau chief in the Obama administration, who helped develop broadband funding programs. "It's considered served, even though a pocket of it may not be served."
TOP: One of the line-of-sight towers used by the Nez Perce Systems internet service. Hills, trees and other geographic features make it hard to reach much of the reservation. BOTTOM: The Teweepuu Community Center in Orofino, where residents can go to access the tribe's broadband. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
THE NEZ PERCE aren't just waiting for help to arrive from Washington, or from telecom companies: Frustrated by the lack of connection, the tribe has cobbled together its own alternative internet service.
It was originally inspired, of all things, by river otters. River otters are a bellwether for the health of the Clearwater River and the salmon who live in it. The Nez Perce are on a mission to restore the salmon populations in tributaries to the Columbia River, and in 2000, Danae Wilson, manager of the Nez Perce tribe’s information technology department, realized that they needed internet service to do it.
For one, the tribal government needed to be able to communicate with some of the far-flung offices monitoring the rivers. Second, the Nez Perce had received a grant to study the health of river otters, but one of the conditions was that they had to send data back over the internet to be validated.
At the time, the local companies offering internet services charged a fortune for slow connections. Undeterred, Wilson set out to connect the tribal buildings by going for “every single grant you could think of.” Eventually, through grants from the state of Idaho and the Department of Agriculture, the tribe built out its own wireless broadband system using microwave towers, and then connected tribal buildings to it using fiber. Then Wilson realized they could extend that internet service to residents.
The tribe still runs the service, but Wilson is the first to tell you it’s not exactly speedy. Nez Perce Tribe Wireless offers 3 Mbps for $25 a month, 6 Mbps for $45, and 9 Mbps for $65. Even the fastest of these speeds isn't close to the FCC's broadband benchmark of 25 Mbps. In nearby Lewiston, a town off the reservation, a cable provider offers service that’s 11 times as fast for less: 100 Mbps for $55 a month.
Most residential customers using the tribe’s service are on the 3 Mbps package, Wilson said. The tribe’s community centers and the public schools use a direct fiber hookup, which is faster.
For many residents, the slow speeds offered by the providers in the area, including sluggish satellite and DSL connections, aren’t worth the cost, so they rely on public Wi-Fi instead. For Ken and Betty Bergman, this means walking several times a day to the tribe’s KIYE radio station in the tiny town of Kamiah and sitting at a picnic table to use the station’s Wi-Fi. Bergman does this to connect to the Idaho state website to file for his unemployment insurance. “It’s really a pain, but you can get it done.” Betty gets on the WiFi to check in with family members in California, including a sick sister.
The Bergmans said they don’t have the money for internet service at home or to pay for a cellular data plan. Wi-Fi is their only internet link to the world outside Kamiah.
“We probably go two to three times a day so I can check messages,” Betty Bergman said. “It’s too cold to sit here, so I go to the house and then come back out here. No matter rain, shine or snow, we come walking in it. I like to keep in touch with my family. This is the way I can keep in contact with my family.”
Residents sit outside a community library in Orofino to access WiFi even after closing. About 93 percent of the residents of Clearwater County, where Orofino is located, lack access to residential broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
The tribe's service has some severe limits that affect home customers. The towers rely on a line-of-sight connection to the end user. Speeds are affected by trees, rock bluffs and an otherwise challenging terrain. A rainy day with fog obscuring the pines along the unforgiving hills means it’s a “slow internet day,” Wilson said. A customer herself, Wilson said her signal shoots over two hills from a tower that’s close to 6 miles away.
“I’m paying for 9 megs, and if I get 5, I’m really lucky,” Wilson said. “To watch streaming media, I will log on and download a movie, and then cook dinner and then we can sit down. It takes time.”
And there are pockets of residents scattered throughout the reservation the tribe’s service can’t reach at all.
One of them is D’Lisa Penney, principal of Lapwai High School, who gets her home internet service from HughesNet, a satellite provider, a sluggish connection that involves a satellite dish and line drilled through the logs of her cabin. It’s better than nothing, but not enough for her to work from home or for her teenage son to take online classes — an important tool for rural residents who want to beef up credentials or take advantage of educational opportunities that otherwise would be out of reach. Penney is fortunate that she has a high-speed connection at work, and she and her son put in long hours at the high school after hours, to take online classes or watch video of a lecture or even open a Google document.
“There are things at school I can do superquick, but at home, it’s a dinosaur,” Penney said.
Efforts to restore salmon to Columbia River tributaries were a major impetus for the Nez Perce to build their own internet network. TOP: A worker cleans bins for salmon hatchings. BOTTOM: A jar with salmon hatchlings, left. Right, hatchery manager Aaron Penney, who says workers have to record data by hand because their internet connection is too slow. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
Her brother, Aaron Penney, runs the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery, which is working to restore the decimated salmon population. The hatchery collects data on the thousands of fish it spawns and tracks, including genetics, scales and length. It has a line-of-sight connection to the tip of one of the tribe’s towers, which means some internet service, but the slow speeds mean the workers can’t just log the data as they collect it. Instead, they need to write it down by hand and slowly upload it into a shared database later.
“I’d like to see high-speed internet capability here,” Aaron Penney said. “It’s been a long time coming, I would say.”
Wilson wants to improve the tribe’s service for the hatcheries — there are four on the reservation — as well as residents who are thwarted by the topography. But that means building new towers, and that takes money the tribe doesn’t have.
“You really feel like you’re leaving people behind,” Wilson said.
AS THE NEZ PERCE experience suggests, one of the biggest problems with wiring rural America is that every area has its own collection of issues: A sparsely populated landscape full of ridges and creeks is far harder to wire than an urban apartment building or a cookie-cutter suburb. One-size-fits-all solutions just don't fit very well.
The FCC chairman says things are changing under his watch. Pai has reworked subsidy programs to redirect funding to rural areas that still lack service and has modernized rules in an effort to encourage companies to invest.
“I think we’re at the dawn of some really great innovations in terms of our stewardship of public funds as well as private sector initiatives,” Pai said in an interview. “We just need more time to let those initiatives blossom and to see how far they go in reducing that percentage of the unserved.”
However slowly, the federal efforts are making some progress at the national level: A report released earlier this month said that in 2016, 35 percent of residents of tribal areas lacked access to broadband, down from 41 percent in 2014. Providers using Connect America subsidies say they have built out broadband connections to 1.5 million locations.
Pai acknowledges the commission’s mapping problem, and said the agency is updating the way it collects information from providers in an attempt to more accurately understand which areas of the country really have broadband. He described it as an ongoing process that is extremely labor-intensive.
He also believes things could improve with a new idea the FCC is trying: a "reverse auction" being held this summer in which providers will compete for subsidies to fund broadband in parts of the country that lack speedy service, including areas on the Nez Perce reservation. The agency plans to award up to $2 billion over the next decade to companies to deploy broadband in areas that aren’t being served through the private sector or by other subsidized companies. (The "reverse" means that companies will compete to offer the lowest bids for the best service.) Pai said the agency took pains to ensure that a range of companies can participate, including some of the country’s rural electric cooperatives, which have expressed interest in adding internet to the electric services they already provide to remote regions. The cooperatives have historically focused on their core business, but see opportunities to add broadband to their services because they are already laying fiber connections for smart grid management, and it’s a service their customers are increasingly demanding.
Tucker Doherty/POLITICO
For the chairman, success will mean that when he travels throughout the country — Pai is fond of road trips to rural areas — residents will have the same ability to use the internet as their urban counterparts. “There’s no numerical threshold, but I have a feeling we’ll know it when we see it,” Pai said.
Mattey understands the frustrations of people who are still waiting for service – she worked on the funding program for seven years — but cautions that it’s too early to be pessimistic. She compared bringing broadband to rural America to the construction of the interstate highway system or rural electrification. “In each case, it took 10 or 20 years to get it completely done,” she said. “It’s unrealistic for people to think it’s going to happen in a year.”
Blair Levin, a former FCC official who worked on the national broadband plan, says policymakers confronting the rural broadband problem need to start thinking of it as an investment in public infrastructure that will yield larger social benefits.
“America is very good at certain things and very bad at certain things,” Levin said. “We’re not so good at investing in the common good… We can see common benefits, but the political forces don’t align to fund them.”
For the tribe’s part, the Nez Perce are planning to compete in the upcoming auction themselves to go after funding to extend broadband to areas, like the hatcheries, that lack access. They don’t feel like they can count on private companies to ever get around to them.
“If we’re not doing it ourselves," Wilson said, "it just isn’t getting done.”
Margaret Harding McGill is a technology reporter for POLITICO Pro.
Authors: |
Europe
Ukrainian officials are tightening security at the border with Russia, amid continued clashes with pro-Russian separatists. Even at places on the border far from the fighting, trenches have been dug and other preparations made to defend against a feared Russian onslaught. VOA’s Anita Powell recently visited one of these remote border posts and has this report.
Tensions Build at Remote Ukrainian Border Post
Anita Powell
Published July 15, 2014
Ukrainian officials are tightening security at the border with Russia, amid continued clashes with pro-Russian separatists. Even at places on the border far from the fighting, trenches have been dug and other preparations made to defend against a feared Russian onslaught. VOA’s Anita Powell recently visited one of these remote border posts and has this report. |
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WhatsApp is an intriguing business. But not because it cost a whopping $19bn
The past few days have been filled with spluttering pundits comparing the WhatsApp acquisition by Facebook to some sort of end times. "$19 billion!" they cry. "For what?! They don't even take advertising!" Indeed, they don't.
Russell Davies
February 27, 2014
How long?
2-3 minutes
This is a company that has a blog post that starts by quoting Tyler Durden from Fight Club: "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need."
It then says: "When we sat down to start our own thing three years ago, we wanted to make something that wasn’t just another ad clearing house. We wanted to spend our time building a service people wanted to use because it worked and saved them money and made their lives better in a small way. We knew we could charge people directly if we could do all those things. We knew we could do what most people aim to do every day: avoid ads."
They’re also interesting about the overhead advertising brings: "At every company that sells ads, a significant portion of their engineering team spends their day tuning data mining, writing better code to collect all your personal data, upgrading the servers that hold all the data and making sure it’s all being logged and collated and sliced and packaged and shipped out… The result of it all is a slightly different advertising banner in your browser or on your mobile screen." (The fact that they’ve sold themselves to a large ad clearing house is unavoidable.)
What's most puzzling to mass-media types is you've got a company with a vast reach that doesn't need ads
But what seems most puzzling to mass-media types is that you’ve got a company with a vast reach that simply doesn’t need advertising. It has hundreds of millions of users, it charges everyone $1 a year, it has 55 employees – that’s a decent business. It might not be worth $19 billion; it might only be worth it if you can, somehow, convert those users to eyeballs, but the existence of WhatsApp is not remarkable. I remember the same conversation about Craigslist. We’ll be having it again.
The other thing that’s fascinating about WhatsApp – it’s the first product to make this sort of exit that has not grown up in "our" backyard. More than any other similar service, its growth has occurred outside the West. It fitted circumstances and behaviours among a global youth audience that wasn’t well-served by traditional telcos. Indeed, in many ways, it just routed round the telcos.
The noise will all be about the $19 billion. The interesting thing is that this a new kind of mass-media business – serving huge numbers of people a small and focused service just isn’t that hard any more.
Russell Davies is a creative director at Government Digital Service@undermanager |
High-resolution cw CARS spectra of liquid nitrogen dissolved in liquefied Ar, Kr, O(2), CO, and CH(4).
The high-resolution cw CARS technique has revealed solvent-induced alterations in linewidth and position of the 2326.5-cm(-1) Raman line of liquid, nitrogen, which becomes strongly broadened when Kr or CH(4) is added and is almost unaltered in solutions with CO and O(2). The interpretation is given in terms of motional narrowing and vibrational dephasing theory. |
The Smithsonian Channel has released a new clip from their upcoming documentary, Building Star Trek. This clip features Star Trek Beyond’s Simon Pegg, along with Professor John Howell of the University of Rochester, and it explores the Romulans' cloaking device and how scientists may have discovered a way to turn this sci-fi technology into a reality. Check it out below.
Red Alert! Beam in the latest Star Trek updates! Email Sign Up By subscribing to the Star Trek newsletter, which may include personalized offers from our advertising partners, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data collection and usage practices outlined in our Privacy Policy.
Building Star Trek features a star-studded lineup of astronauts, engineers, writers, innovators and actors who celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show that inspired the space age. The documentary will premiere on-air and stream for free on www.smithsonianchannel.com on September 4, 8PM ET/PT. |
A CORKMAN WHO is stranded in the Philippines is waiting for a knock on the door to bring him to jail for a crime he says he is innocent of.
Éanna Ó Cochláin was sentenced to 12 years in prison for smuggling 0.38 grams of cannabis through Laoag International Airport in July 2013.
The 56-year-old was searched by authorities three times when passing through the Philippines with his wife Jho, after settling the estate of her father who had recently passed away.
During the third search, two dry sticks of cannabis were found in his pocket in a box of Marlboros.
The psychiatric nurse, who lived in London with his wife and daughter, denies any knowledge of the drugs and says they were planted on him.
Source: Patrick Coughlan
Three years ago the court case took place and he was sentenced to 12 years. He served a week in prison before appealing the case.
Éanna is now currently waiting to be arrested after losing his second appeal of the sentence.
Private investigator Eamonn Gavin is representing Ó Cochláin, he told TheJournal.ie that the Philippines has a known problem of “tanim bala”, a term used to describe when bullets or drugs are planting on unsuspecting travelers.
This practice is currently under attack by the new President of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is pursuing a massive crackdown on drugs and drug pushers – even ordering the killings of people on the streets.
He recently stated that he’d be ”happy to slaughter” millions of drug addicts, comparing his country’s drug war to the Holocaust.
Discussing what this could mean for Ó Cochláin, Gavin said, ”I don’t think he’s nervous that anything will happen him.
You can be ultra careful but still find a bullet in your luggage, or as Éanna found, in his pocket.
Whoops! We couldn't find this Tweet
‘Irish politicians are not interested’
Gavin criticised Irish politicians saying they have not taken any interest in the case, “our Irish politicians are not interested”.
To be fairly brutal, nobody has given a damn. He (Éanna) cannot see why the Irish government won’t try and help.
Ó Cochláin’s wife Jho told George Hook on Newstalk:
In June last year I met Noirin O’Sullivan. They said they will do all they can to support and help us but nothing has happened so far.
TheJournal.ie contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about the case. It said it is “aware of the case and providing consular assistance” but did not have details about what action was being taken.
However, Gavin added that Éanna is starting to get support from elsewhere:
Very experienced investigators in the US have taken up his case because they feel an injustice is being done.
“Since his latest appeal was turned down in August – his only option now is to go to the Supreme Court, which he is prepared to do.”
Éanna has lost his mother and a brother and sister in the last three years while he has been held in the Philippines and was not able to get back to Ireland to attend their funerals.
Gavin also added that Ó Cochláin has an excellent CV as a psychiatric nurse and has worked for the royal family in Saudi Arabia and has even lectured against drugs.
An online petition that was set up has over 10,500 signatures. |
Q:
Java - process image while reading it
I'm designing a server-side application that takes an image from a user, processes it, and sends it back over the network. Since the network connection might be quite slow, I'd like to speed things up by starting to process parts of the image while it is still being sent over the network and send parts of the processed image back to the client while other parts are still being processed.
Is this possible, preferably using the javax.imageio classes?
EDIT: I am mostly interested in writing PNGfiles. Wikipedia says: "IDAT contains the image, which may be split among multiple IDAT chunks. Doing so increases filesize slightly, but makes it possible to generate a PNG in a streaming manner."
A:
This strongly depends on the encoding of the image. Some image formats require the whole file to be available before you can decode it. Others - like GIF and some PNG encodings (as far as I remember) decode to indvidual blocks which can then be processed.
You most likely need to write custom decoders, which may be quite a bit of work if you are not intimately familiar with the formats, and you need to support several.
I think you perhaps should work on an upload bar instead?
|
<system>
<name>K2-213</name>
<name>EPIC 220341183</name>
<rightascension>00 52 33.6770</rightascension>
<declination>+03 30 27.9318</declination>
<distance errorminus="57.190" errorplus="152.000">336.100</distance>
<star>
<name>K2-213</name>
<name>EPIC 220341183</name>
<name>TYC 15-1059-1</name>
<name>2MASS J00523368+0330277</name>
<name>Gaia DR2 2551651031310145024</name>
<magB errorminus="0.331" errorplus="0.331">12.721</magB>
<magV errorminus="0.204" errorplus="0.204">11.803</magV>
<magJ errorminus="0.026" errorplus="0.026">11.034</magJ>
<magH errorminus="0.022" errorplus="0.022">10.729</magH>
<magK errorminus="0.021" errorplus="0.021">10.656</magK>
<metallicity errorminus="0.08" errorplus="0.08">0.25</metallicity>
<mass errorminus="0.038" errorplus="0.055">1.070</mass>
<radius errorminus="0.13" errorplus="0.17">1.20</radius>
<planet>
<name>K2-213 b</name>
<name>EPIC 220341183 b</name>
<name>EPIC 220341183.01</name>
<name>Gaia DR2 2551651031310145024 b</name>
<name>TYC 15-1059-1 b</name>
<period errorminus="0.0018" errorplus="0.0018">8.1309</period>
<transittime errorminus="0.0076" errorplus="0.0066" unit="BJD">2457399.0026</transittime>
<inclination errorminus="3.7" errorplus="1.6">87.9</inclination>
<radius errorminus="0.0187" errorplus="0.0268">0.1347</radius>
<istransiting>1</istransiting>
<discoverymethod>transit</discoverymethod>
<discoveryyear>2018</discoveryyear>
<description>This planet was announced as part of a batch of 149 validated planets from the K2 mission.</description>
<lastupdate>18/07/24</lastupdate>
<list>Confirmed planets</list>
</planet>
</star>
</system>
|
Q:
Format change for Date in Jquery
I have a textbox and a button when pressed clones the textbox.
so first textbox is correct and displays the date: 21-03-2014
and when the other textbox of date which is cloned, displays date:03/21/2014
So in order to save into database, i wanted to have date format like 21-03-2014.
Can i have some help?
Thank you
A:
Please try below code. Hope it should helpful for you. Thanks
HTML:
<input type="text" id="datepicker"/>
JS:
$(function() {
$('#datepicker').datepicker({ dateFormat: 'dd-mm-yy' }).val();
});
Demo
|
Successful Treatment of Severe Immune Thrombocytopenia After Orthotopic Liver Transplant.
Here, we report a case of severe immune thrombocytopenia that occurred after orthotopic liver transplant. On day 16 after transplant, the patient was readmitted to our hospital with a platelet count of 0 cells/mL, with the count remaining at a low level of 1000 to 10 000 cells/mL for 46 days. A diagnosis was made, after exclusion of other causes, of thrombocytopenia. Platelet blood transfusion and high-dose prednisone (1mg/kg/d) combined with intravenous immunoglobulin (0.5g/kg/d) were administered with no improvement. After additional treatments, which included altered use of immunosuppressive agents, changing adefovir to lamivudine and continuous steroid therapy, the patient was discharged with a platelet count of 55 000 cells/mL. Both liver and renal functions generally stayed well during hospitalization. The patient was discharged uneventfully and achieved remission during 10-month follow-up after discharge. |
Dr. Michael S. Malka10 N. Wood Ave Suite BLinden, New Jersey
Call: (908)862-2020Dentist Linden, New Jersey
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our website and our practice. Our office in Linden, New Jersey, is a state of the art, modern dental office that will provide you a warm and caring staff to treat your dental needs. We strive to care for our patients in the most comfortable environment. Additionally, constant upgrading and continuing education provide our patients a most technologically advanced practice.
Our staff is committed to treat each and every patient with compassion and integrity. We love to see our patients smile.
Please feel free to call Marcy to schedule a consultation or office visit today: at 908-862-2020 |
Substance dependence and Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are known to be frequently co-occurring in clinical populations. Their coexistence may lead to higher relapse rates, difficulties in treatment compliance, and poor treatment outcome. However, little research has been conducted about how the treatment of PTSD may be altered by the presence of active substance dependence disorders, nor have integrated treatments of the two disorders (outside the realm of military trauma) been articulated or systematically examined. The specific aims of this Phase I treatment development study are (1) to evaluate the comparative efficiency of self-reported measures to detect PTSD among opiate dependent subjects; (2) to develop individual therapy manual for the treatment of comorbid substance dependence and noncombat- related PTSD (SDPT), using a carefully structured two-phase sequence of relapse prevention and stress inoculation; (3) to develop training materials and train therapists to conduct SDTP; (4) to develop and implement SDPT competence and adherence rating scales, and (5) to conduct a pilot study of the SDPT manual, which will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of SDPT in comparison with drug counseling with 30 methadone-maintained opiate addicts. |
Emotional communication in the context of joint attention for food stimuli: effects on attentional and affective processing.
Guided by distinct theoretical frameworks (the embodiment theories, shared-signal hypothesis, and appraisal theories), we examined the effects of gaze direction and emotional expressions (joy, disgust, and neutral) of virtual characters on attention orienting and affective reactivity of participants while they were engaged in joint attention for food stimuli contrasted by preference (disliked, moderately liked, and liked). The participants were exposed to videos of avatars looking at food and displaying facial expressions with their gaze directed either toward the food only or toward the food and participants consecutively. We recorded eye-tracking responses, heart rate, facial electromyography (zygomatic, corrugator, and levator labii regions), and food wanting/liking. The avatars' joy faces increased the participants' zygomatic reactions and food liking, with mutual eye contact boosting attentional responses. Eye contact also fostered disgust reactions to disliked food, regardless of the avatars' expressions. The findings show that joint attention for food accompanied by face-to-face emotional communication elicits differential attentional and affective responses. The findings appear consistent with the appraisal theories of emotion. |
Let j(n) = 45*n**3 - 18637*n**2 + 2894*n + 1643. Give j(414).
-13
Let t(o) = o**3 - 70*o**2 + 1142*o + 7. Give t(33).
-2600
Let k(l) = -5924*l + 1001087. Give k(169).
-69
Let y(o) = o**3 + 29*o**2 + 110*o + 6720. Determine y(-32).
128
Let m(d) = 2*d**3 + 3*d**2 + 710*d - 714. Calculate m(1).
1
Let c(u) = -6*u**2 - 496*u + 11743. Give c(23).
-2839
Let r(j) = 27*j - 6778. Give r(260).
242
Let q(k) = -25203*k - 277252. Determine q(-11).
-19
Let q(y) = 80*y**2 - 35923*y + 1354. Determine q(449).
7
Let q(y) = -2*y**3 - 435*y**2 - 668*y - 4283. Calculate q(-216).
37
Let m(s) = 49*s**3 - 3*s + 6. Give m(2).
392
Let t(i) = -2471*i - 36917. Calculate t(-15).
148
Let j(f) = -119*f**3 - 829*f**2 + 78*f + 342. What is j(-7)?
-8
Let y(h) = h**2 - 62*h - 36. Calculate y(59).
-213
Let b(w) = -7297*w - 58720. Give b(-8).
-344
Let r(j) = 2*j**2 + 34*j - 43895. Calculate r(139).
-527
Let o(s) = s**2 - 899*s + 23648. Calculate o(27).
104
Let i(q) = 30*q**2 - 2076*q + 2315. What is i(68)?
-133
Let k(q) = -23055*q - 69133. What is k(-3)?
32
Let a(p) = -9523*p + 65222. Determine a(7).
-1439
Let b(a) = -587*a + 60347. Give b(103).
-114
Let y(g) = 121573*g + 364722. Calculate y(-3).
3
Let k(v) = 2*v**3 - 6*v**2 - 174*v + 709. Determine k(4).
45
Let u(a) = -134*a - 3866. What is u(-32)?
422
Let x(o) = 19620*o - 117760. Determine x(6).
-40
Let f(j) = -j**3 - 64*j**2 + 14845*j - 1113. Determine f(-158).
-7
Let c(o) = 2639*o - 18649. Give c(7).
-176
Let i(a) = 15*a**3 - 33*a**2 - 636*a + 1287. What is i(2)?
3
Let z(w) = 3*w**3 + 85*w**2 + 132*w + 2886. Determine z(-28).
-26
Let z(x) = 1070*x + 239675. Determine z(-224).
-5
Let u(p) = -p**3 + 33*p**2 + 44*p + 5. Determine u(-1).
-5
Let m(x) = 21*x**3 - x**2 + 306*x - 601. Calculate m(2).
175
Let a(x) = -3*x**3 + 26*x**2 - 119*x + 59. Give a(7).
-529
Let g(o) = 218*o + 9629. Give g(-43).
255
Let j(z) = -z**3 + 155*z**2 - 1830*z - 173. Give j(13).
35
Let r(z) = 316*z + 114285. What is r(-362)?
-107
Let y(q) = 5*q**3 + 110*q**2 + 71*q + 1341. Determine y(-22).
-221
Let s(v) = -v**3 - 21*v**2 + 1560*v + 29143. Determine s(-18).
91
Let h(r) = -r**3 + 69*r**2 - 1070*r - 243. Give h(24).
-3
Let p(k) = -k**3 - 56*k**2 + 855*k + 49. What is p(14)?
-1701
Let w(r) = 421*r + 103941. Determine w(-247).
-46
Let q(x) = -3*x**2 + 9025*x - 677134. Give q(77).
4
Let o(k) = 2*k**2 + 3505*k - 10516. Determine o(3).
17
Let i(a) = -9820*a + 157125. Calculate i(16).
5
Let f(u) = 237*u**2 - 10420*u - 309. What is f(44)?
43
Let w(d) = 3458*d - 836900. Calculate w(242).
-64
Let g(r) = 9014*r - 6372904. What is g(707)?
-6
Let h(q) = 1045125*q - 7315872. Give h(7).
3
Let n(s) = 2*s**3 - 118*s**2 - 329*s + 1549. What is n(-5)?
-6
Let d(r) = -9932*r**2 - 506528*r + 209. What is d(-51)?
5
Let p(a) = -751*a - 35345. Determine p(-47).
-48
Let p(y) = -y**2 - 2785*y - 22224. Calculate p(-8).
-8
Let d(t) = -7034*t - 21083. Give d(-3).
19
Let d(x) = -x**3 + 8*x**2 + 1370*x - 1964. Give d(-34).
8
Let q(y) = 894*y - 5585. Determine q(9).
2461
Let p(b) = -2223*b**2 - 35581*b - 111. What is p(-16)?
97
Let n(z) = 81991*z - 573947. What is n(7)?
-10
Let j(a) = a**3 + 22*a**2 + 93*a + 522. Determine j(-9).
738
Let l(i) = 15*i**3 - 27*i**2 - 4392*i + 35. Give l(18).
-289
Let b(l) = 4*l**2 - 88*l + 501. What is b(7)?
81
Let n(c) = 17*c**2 + 461*c - 379. Give n(-28).
41
Let w(p) = -18*p**2 - 16077*p + 32162. Determine w(2).
-64
Let o(r) = -7*r**2 + 21*r + 4. Calculate o(4).
-24
Let l(c) = 4644*c + 69214. Give l(-15).
-446
Let l(p) = -2*p**2 + 59*p + 47. Determine l(4).
251
Let u(c) = -17361*c - 104229. Give u(-6).
-63
Let f(o) = -494898*o - 1979591. Determine f(-4).
1
Let m(w) = -w**2 - 76*w - 1050. Give m(-18).
-6
Let t(y) = -1648*y + 51032. Give t(31).
-56
Let z(p) = 10*p**2 + 10*p - 72. Determine z(-5).
128
Let n(t) = 273*t - 22851. Give n(90).
1719
Let b(p) = 19*p + 352. What is b(-33)?
-275
Let y(q) = q**3 - 295*q**2 - 833*q + 581132. Determine y(291).
5
Let f(h) = h**3 - 1824*h**2 - 16697*h + 366590. What is f(1833)?
-10
Let v(b) = -137*b**2 + 7812*b - 107. Give v(57).
64
Let v(s) = 386*s - 4167. What is v(14)?
1237
Let h(f) = 3*f**2 - 4967*f - 24799. What is h(-5)?
111
Let f(q) = 601*q - 23487. Give f(40).
553
Let f(p) = 434*p + 18269. Determine f(-42).
41
Let w(j) = -524*j**3 - 59*j**2 + 2*j. What is w(-1)?
463
Let t(h) = -50*h + 4152. Determine t(85).
-98
Let o(x) = -115*x**2 + 647*x + 8. Determine o(6).
-250
Let i(x) = -2*x**3 + 32*x**2 - 655*x + 11705. Give i(17).
-8
Let p(h) = h**3 - 107*h**2 - 668*h - 878. Calculate p(113).
252
Let j(d) = 25*d**2 - 562*d - 1575. Calculate j(25).
0
Let x(j) = -377*j + 9121. What is x(29)?
-1812
Let h(k) = -1094*k + 550. Give h(2).
-1638
Let f(o) = -646*o - 58539. What is f(-91)?
247
Let r(d) = 36*d + 991. What is r(-25)?
91
Let t(w) = 3*w**3 - 57*w**2 + 21*w - 167. Determine t(12).
-2939
Let r(d) = 2*d**2 - 2549*d + 79968. What is r(31)?
2871
Let j(l) = 8189*l + 65492. Give j(-8).
-20
Let h(s) = 5155*s - 9026. Determine h(2).
1284
Let v(k) = -2*k**3 - 151*k**2 - 2. Determine v(0).
-2
Let l(m) = -7*m + 376. Give l(-13).
467
Let j(c) = 451*c - 17526. Determine j(39).
63
Let a(p) = -3945*p + 68850. What is a(17)?
1785
Let a(h) = -h**3 - 334*h**2 + 8983*h + 2883. What is a(-359)?
11
Let o(q) = -q**2 + 97*q + 583. Give o(103).
-35
Let n(k) = -6*k**3 - 593*k**2 + 94*k - 368. Give n(-99).
127
Let c(k) = -91*k + 3780. Calculate c(55).
-1225
Let c(p) = -p**3 - 42*p**2 + 128*p + 3647. Determine c(-43).
-8
Let z(d) = -108*d - 21048. Determine z(-199).
444
Let r(b) = -25*b**2 + 1325*b - 61. Calculate r(0).
-61
Let k(g) = -929*g - 3262. Determine k(-4).
454
Let k(q) = -45*q - 3136. What is k(-61)?
-391
Let i(q) = -2476*q + 51968. Give i(21).
-28
Let u(i) = 1465*i - 5966. Determine u(5).
1359
Let r(u) = -u**3 - 300*u**2 - 1796*u + 1793. Calculate r(-7).
8
Let k(a) = 39*a**3 + 898*a**2 + 11*a - 52. Calculate k(-23).
224
Let f(m) = 2278*m + 207125. Give f(-91).
-173
Let n(t) = -62*t**2 + 22707*t - 161200. Calculate n(359).
-9
Let f(x) = -24209*x - 242067. What is f(-10)?
23
Let c(h) = 93*h + 7839. Give c(-90).
-531
Let b(k) = k**3 - 6*k**2 - 13*k + 52. Determine b(13).
1066
Let k(r) = -22*r**2 + 2136*r + 18245. What is k(105)?
-25
Let b(u) = -756*u - 119437. Calculate b(-158).
11
Let h(q) = -q**3 + 131*q**2 - 141*q + 1433. Give h(130).
3
Let j(a) = a**2 - 137*a + 3198. What is j(118)?
956
Let a(g) = 4554*g + 296058. What is a(-65)?
48
Let d(a) = -57222*a - 572230. Calculate d(-10).
-10
Let h(b) = 296*b + 2862. What is h(-12)?
-690
Let k(c) = -c**3 + 452*c**2 + 5560*c - 95. What is k(-12)?
1
Let u(d) = 4*d**2 + 153*d + 1265. Calculate u(-27).
50
Let n(d) = 188*d + 1060. Calculate n(-8).
-444
Let n(x) = -3*x**2 + 15394*x + 216115. Determine n(-14).
11
Let u(n) = 572*n - 2697. Determine u(5).
163
Let x(o) = o**3 + 90*o**2 + 1753*o + 257. Give x(-31).
2613
Let o(j) = -12995*j + 103948. Calculate o(8).
-12
Let l(a) = a**3 + 24*a**2 - 379*a - 8853. What is l(-26)?
-351
Let x(l) = 103*l**3 - 3*l**2 - 6*l - 10. Determine x(-2).
-834
Let c(q) = 12*q - 876. Give c(110).
444
Let o(u) = u**3 + u**2 - 3*u - 255. Calculate o(0).
-255
Let y(c) = -5*c**3 - 27*c**2 + 53*c - 3. Give y(2).
-45
Let i(q) = -23830*q + 23833. What is i(1)?
3
Let v(g) = 840*g - 231833. What is v(276)?
7
Let r(z) = -3*z**2 - 2642*z - 56623. Give r(-22).
49
Let q(m) = 382*m - 16769. Give q(44).
39
Let q(i) = 7*i**3 + 78*i**2 + 111*i - 201. Give q(-10).
-511
Let i(o) = 16055*o + 96189. What is i(-6)?
-141
Let m(b) = 6*b**2 - 56*b - 630. What is m(-6)?
-78
Let z(c) = -c**3 + 93*c**2 + 1617*c + 131. Give z(-15).
176
Let i(m) = 3004*m - 45120. What is i(15)?
-60
Let d(b) = 152*b - 3432. Determine d(14).
-1304
Let n(q) = -1844*q**2 + 9221*q - 25. Calculate n(5).
-20
Let q(i) = 282*i**3 - 5367*i**2 + 166*i + 55. What is q(19)?
-40
Let g(x) = x**3 - 48*x**2 - 36*x - 320. Give g(48).
-2048
Let v(k) = -3*k**3 - 97*k**2 - 819*k - 25177. Determine v(-32).
7
Let k(a) = -711*a**2 - 278713*a - 485. Calculate k(-392).
-93
Let v(o) = -o**2 - 297*o + 16919. Determine v(49).
-35
Let m(r) = -6*r**2 - 1231*r - 46055. Determine m(-49).
-142
Let b(n) = -990*n + 13563. What is b(12)?
1683
Let r(p) = 9*p**3 + 191*p**2 + 36*p - 157. Calculate r(-21).
-31
Let w(s) = s**2 - 13100*s - 104869. What is w |
Incorporation of phospholipids in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.
Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EATC) were incubated with unilamellar vesicles (UV) or multilamellar vesicles (MV). UV and MV were incorporated differently into EATC. The increase in 32P-phospholipid in EATC in the presence of UV was 12% in 300 min. Absorption of phospholipid from MV could account for only 3%. About 50% of the UV incorporation of 32P was by endocytosis and/or fusion. |
all stainless Movado, i bought it 10 years ago while in college and it still is elegant and keeps great time, have replaced crystal numerous times due to scratches, I wear it always and everywhere. recently bought a Baume & Mercier Capeland, but still mostly use movado |
A parent who is overly devoted, micromanaging the lives of their children, from the food they ingest to the activities they participate in. Sanctimommies look down their noses at those who are more liberal in their parenting approach.
My mother is a sanctimommy because she won't let me eat any food with partially hydrogenated oil in it. She says it's like eating plastic. |
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic and impairing condition affecting as many as 3-5% of children. It is now widely suspected that the diagnostic category of ADHD encompasses children with a range of etiologies and possibly with distinct pathophysiologies. Thus, the field has sought improved intermediate phenotypes that can be used as targets for assessment, gene finding, mechanism, and to improve characterization of heterogeneity. Reaction time (RT) speed and variability are considered highly promising as low-cost cognitive endophenotypes for ADHD, and also show promise as trans-diagnostic phenotypes that could be applied to a range of psychiatric disorders. However, modest effect sizes remain a fundamental obstacle to the power of even these leading endophenotypes. These modest effect sizes result from at least two problems. First, traditional analyses of RT variables fail to accurately measure the specific mechanisms that drive group differences. Effect sizes remain modest because they continue to reflect the effects of multiple processes, only some of which differ between groups. Second, it is unclear whether one of these mechanisms accounts for slow, variable RTs for all children with ADHD or whether different sub-groups of children have distinct profiles. If subgroups exist, power to use RT variables as an endophenotype will be muted until these groups are identified. These problems are not tractable with the models of RTs typically applied because they do not disentangle the multiple processes impacting the final RT. The current project seeks to solve this problem and to isolate the reason for slow, variable responding in ADHD, to enable better conclusions about its endophenotype promise and, ultimately, to better characterize heterogeneity within the disorder. To do so the applicant will apply a neurally-informed model of speeded decision-making, called a drift diffusion model. Using two large, independent datasets, she will evaluate which mechanisms account for group-level differences in RT variables between ADHD and non-ADHD youth (Aim 1). The applicant will also evaluate the familiality of the effects by comparing parents and siblings of children with ADHD to those of non- ADHD controls (Aim 2). Finally, she will use latent transition analyses applied to a longitudinal datase, to determine whether one mechanism accounts for slow, variable RTs for all children with ADHD or different sub- groups exist (Aim 3). The stability of subgroups across time will also be assessed and compared to the stability of diagnostically-defined subgroups. There is already evidence that cognitive heterogeneity is related to individual differences in impairment for those with ADHD. Successful identification of a more homogenous and interpretable cognitive endophenotype for ADHD will provide a new, easily disseminated target for genetic studies and for potential re-assessment of heterogeneity. Results will also inform future efforts at refining nosology using trans-diagnostic phenotypes, thus addressing aims of the NIH Research Domain Criteria initiative. |
Prevalence of the hospitalisation of mentally ill offenders in the Forensic Unit of the Clinic of Psychiatry in Pristina over a three-year period and long-term strategy implications for the management of the Forensic Mental Health System Service.
As a new field in our country, forensic psychiatry needs strategies for management and rehabilitation programmes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics of psychiatrically diagnosed inpatients who were hospitalised in the three years from January 2009 to December 2011 and the prevalence of such diagnoses. The specific objectives of this study were to use our results to identify rehabilitation programmes for the treatment of patients and to identify the specific training needs of mental-health professionals. In this retrospective study, we collected data about the sociodemographics and violent behaviour of all forensic inpatients who underwent court-ordered psychiatric forensic evaluation and assessment. We reviewed and studied the documented diagnoses based on the following criteria and sources: the ICD-10 criteria for mental disorders, the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID), recidivism rates, criminal data, court records and other hetero-anamnesis data. The data were analysed using a descriptive approach. The subjects were referred for forensic psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis and treatment either directly from prison (23.2%) or from the court (76.8%). The majority of the offenders (85.7%) were currently on trial, and charges of physically threatening others were more common than charges of domestic violence or murder. The prevalence of psychiatric diagnosis was 94.6%, and the most common diagnosis was psychosis (69.1%). Drug abuse and personality disorders, including high-risk behaviours, were also common. The overall relapse rate for aggressive behaviour was 48.9%. Rehabilitation programmes for treatment and management are needed that specifically focus on psychotic disorders, severe personality disorders and drug abuse. |
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tree of Life Day 51: Matthew 5-7
Disclaimer: I absolutely love this passage of the Scripture. If I could encourage you to memorize a passage in the Bible, this would be the one. I once preached a series on this - a series that lasted a mere 37 weeks. Three chapters. 37 weeks. It was life-changing for me and for many who tolerated it.
Of all the things I love about what is typically called the Sermon on the Mount, this is my favorite: it's relevance. Jesus' teaching is simply bursting with it.
Anger. Lust. Marriage. Language. Spiritual growth. Religious phonies. Worry. Discernment. Relationships. Looking ahead. And on and on I could go - in fact I did, for 37 weeks.
I think most people read the Sermon like it's a religious treatise on morality from a guy who lived a long time ago. They have no idea of the relevance that is right before them if they will simply take Jesus seriously and at His Word.
After all, He did say that He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it. And for those of us with Jesus living on the inside, that same kind of Law-fulfilling impulse is in us. And that is the path along which transformed people walk - a walk they make with their everyday, run of the mill, standard issue lives, not the lives they wish they were living or they portray to be living. Real life. But it all begins with taking Him seriously. |
Hypersexuality after right pallidotomy for Parkinson's disease.
The authors describe hypersexuality following atypical right pallidotomy for intractable Parkinson's Disease (PD). This patient and literature review suggest important roles for the pallidum in sexual behavior and dopamine in sexual arousal. |
Effect of noise on the development of induced sclerotic processes in the rat aorta.
The authors studied the effect of 95 and 85 dB noise on the aortic wall of white rats fed for a period of 6 weeks an atherogenic diet (cholesterol + cholic acid + vitamin D2). Noise alone did not cause significant changes in the metabolism and structure of the aorta. The atherogenic diet alone caused segmental enlargement of the intercellular substance, disorganization of tissue elements, and destruction of smooth-muscle cells with marked activation of anaerobic processes, an increase in collagen content and a decrease in globular proteins and elastin. Simultaneous action of noise and of the atherogenic diet produced more pronounced biochemical and morphological alterations in the aortic wall than the diet alone. Noise not only contributes to the development of sclerotic processes but causes also complicated lesions of the aortic wall. |
Q:
Replace Image with Text
I would like to know if it is possible to replace an image with a simplte text string when the image isn't displaying and how can I do it on vb.net.
A:
I found the answer i needed and that worked for me here in stack overflow in another topic.
The link to the answer that solved my issue is: Answer
If you wish to see the code directly without browsing to the link, here it is:
Dim input As String = "test<img>" ' your data here
Dim imgRegex As New Regex("<img[^>]*>", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase)
Dim output As String = imgRegex.Replace(input, "")
|
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