text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
|---|
SHINING VICTORIES SPECIAL EDITION
Product Title: Shining Victories Special Edition Product Type: Special Edition Box Launch Date: 6/17/2016 Konami Tournament Legal Date: 6/17/2016 MSRP: $9.99 per box
The saga of the Blue-Eyes continues in this high value box set, Shining Victories Special Edition! Packed with 3 Shining Victories booster packs, each Special Edition also contains 1 of 2variant cards, Ebon Illusion Magician or Elemental HERO Core, PLUS 1 of 2 foil preview cards of non-foil cards, Magician’s Robe or Scapeghost, from the next booster set - making Shining Victories Special Edition a great value for all Duelists!
Shining Victories introduces new themes to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME such as Lunalight, Digital Bug, and the devastating Amorphage Dragons, the living embodiments of the seven deadly sins! Duelists will also be excited to add Kozmo Dark Planet or Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix along with other newly added cards like Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon or Red-Eyes Toon Dragon to buff their current arsenal.
Shining Victories Special Edition is an incredible way for Duelists to power up their current Deck, or build a whole new Deck, for less than it would cost to buy 3 individual booster packs! |
#ifndef PLAYER_H
#define PLAYER_H
#include <stdio.h>
#include <ctype.h>
#ifndef STDTYPES_H
#include "stdtypes.h"
#endif
#ifndef ERRCODES_H
#include "errcodes.h"
#endif
#ifndef PJBASICS_H
#include "pjbasics.h"
#endif
#ifndef RASTCALL_H
#include "rastcall.h"
#endif
#ifndef FLI_H
#include "fli.h"
#endif
#ifndef REQLIB_H
#include "reqlib.h"
#endif
#ifndef TIMESELS_H
#include "timesels.h"
#endif
enum abort_keys {
AKEY_REPLAY = '\b',
};
enum main_codes {
PRET_DOMENU = Success,
PRET_QUIT,
PRET_RESIZE_SCREEN,
PRET_DOSCRIPT,
};
/* structure for a ram fli */
typedef struct ramframe {
void *next;
LONG doff; /* disk offset of this frame if negative we have a ram record
* if positive then frame data must be read from disk and
* the ram frame doesnot include data area beyond doff */
Fli_frame frame; /* actual fli frame data read in from disk */
Chunk_id first_chunk; /* for reader/loader to bypass pstamp chunks */
} Ramframe;
typedef struct ramfli {
void *next;
char *name; /* pointer to name */
Fli_head *fhead; /* copy of the flis header if disk file un-needed
* otherwise frames are missing and file must be
* opened */
Ramframe *frames; /* frame data */
LONG cbuf_size; /* compression buffer size needed for this fli */
LONG speed; /* speed from fli for script scanning */
LONG minspeed; /* minimum speed scanned in script */
USHORT flags; /* see RF_??? below */
char nbuf[1]; /* where name lives */
} Ramfli;
#define RF_LOAD_FIRST 0x0001 /* first frame desired in ram */
#define RF_LOAD_RING 0x0002 /* ring frame needed for play */
#define RF_ONE_FRAME 0x0004 /* source fli is one frame */
#define RF_LOAD_ASKED 0x0008 /* load has been asked for */
#define RF_PLAY_ASKED 0x0010 /* a play has been asked for */
#define RF_FREE_ASKED 0x0020 /* we have asked for a free */
#define RF_ON_FLOPPY 0x0040 /* source fli is on a floppy */
/* structure for "Atom" recursion stack */
typedef struct atom {
void *parent;
SHORT type;
} Atom;
/* atom types */
enum {
LOOP_ATOM = 0,
CHOICE_ATOM = 1,
GOSUB_ATOM = 2,
};
typedef struct loop_atom {
Atom hdr;
LONG top_oset; /* offset to loop start position */
SHORT code_line; /* line of code of loop top */
SHORT count; /* number of times to loop */
} Loop_atom;
typedef struct choice_atom {
Atom hdr;
LONG end_oset; /* just after endchoice for choice */
SHORT end_line;
} Choice_atom;
typedef struct gosub_atom {
Atom hdr;
LONG ret_oset;
SHORT ret_line;
} Gosub_atom;
typedef struct label {
void *next;
char *name;
LONG oset;
SHORT line;
char nbuf[1];
} Label;
/* structure allocated for every script called */
typedef struct callnode {
struct callnode *parent; /* what called this NULL if entry point */
char scr_path[PATH_SIZE]; /* script file path */
LONG fpos; /* file position to re-open file to */
LONG line; /* line number for error reporting */
Label *labels; /* subroutine labels */
Atom *atom; /* bottom of atom stack, NULL if empty */
char *anext; /* next available atom on astack */
char *amax; /* one byte beyond end of astack */
USHORT flags; /* for scanner */
char astack[24 * sizeof(Loop_atom)];
} Cnode;
#define SCAN_IN_SUB 0x0001
typedef struct playcb {
char *vd_path; /* video driver path */
SHORT vd_mode; /* driver mode */
SHORT script_mode; /* we are playing a script */
SHORT lock_key; /* key input locked out during script play (actual value
* of key used to lock input */
SHORT scr_scroll_top; /* top name for file selector */
char scr_root[PATH_SIZE]; /* path for entry point script */
char scr_wild[WILD_SIZE]; /* wildcard for file selector */
Cnode *cn; /* pnode script stack list for call stack */
FILE *scr_file; /* script file pointer */
int toklen; /* length of token in token */
char token[128]; /* actual token from file */
int reuse_tok; /* flag to reuse token set to toklen of token if to be
* reused by get_token() */
Ramfli *ramflis; /* list of loaded ram flis */
Fli_frame *cbuf; /* compression buffer for fli */
/* display cel data, the cel is maintained the same size as the current image
* file and is a virtual cel to the screen */
Rectangle osize; /* saved size for comparison */
Rcel virtual; /* virtual for making dcel */
Rcel *dcel; /* display cel for current fli */
/**** current fli play description ****/
char loadpdr[FILE_NAME_SIZE]; /* pdr to load image file with from script */
char fliname[PATH_SIZE]; /* current fli path from script */
LONG fliline; /* line number fli name found on */
LONG flioset; /* file offset fli name found on */
Flifile flif; /* current fli file and header */
Ramfli *rfli; /* synchronous ram fli if a ram fli is open */
Ramframe *rframe; /* current ram frame for the ram fli */
LONG next_frame_oset; /* for fli frame seeker */
SHORT frame_ix; /* current frame index */
SHORT abort_key; /* the key that produced the last Err_abort */
/* fli play control items from the script control the play loop */
LONG speed; /* frame speed in 1000ths of a sec */
int sspeed; /* scripted speed in 1000ths of a sec use if not -1 */
int loops; /* scripted number of loops to play fli 0 == forever */
int pause; /* scripted pause in 1000ths of a sec -1 == default
* 0 == pause forever */
int fadein; /* fade in time in 1/1000 sec */
int fadeout; /* fade out time in 1/1000 sec */
Rgb3 in_from; /* color to fade in from */
Rgb3 out_to; /* color to fade out to */
LONG cktime; /* time for speed check in play loop */
/* stuff for choice key monitoring during choice play */
char *choices; /* string of key choices */
LONG *choice_osets; /* offsets to choices in script */
LONG *choice_lines; /* line numbers for offsets */
int choice; /* the actual key hit for the choice */
/* script scanning stuff */
Names *scan_calls;
LONG max_cbuf_size; /* gathered from script scan */
} Playcb;
extern Playcb pcb;
extern Menuhdr player_menu;
typedef struct scan_data {
int sub_level;
} Scan_data;
typedef struct wordfunc {
void *next;
char *word;
Errcode (*func)(Scan_data *sd);
Errcode (*scanfunc)(Scan_data *sd);
} Wordfunc;
#define INIT_WF(ix,func,scanfunc,word) \
{ ix>0?&(WTAB[ix-1]):NULL, word, func, scanfunc }
void close_curfli();
Errcode open_curfli(Boolean load_colors,Boolean force_ram);
Errcode open_curpic(Boolean load_colors);
Errcode play_fli();
Errcode play_picture();
Boolean player_do_keys();
Errcode load_picture(char *pdr_name,char *picname,Boolean load_colors);
Ramfli *find_ramfli(char *local_path);
Errcode add_ramfli(char *name, Ramfli **prf);
extern Minitime_data playfli_data;
Errcode script_error(Errcode err,char *key,...);
/* tokenizer things */
int get_token();
void reuse_token();
Errcode scan_number(char type, void *pnum);
Errcode get_number(char type, void *pnum);
Errcode getuint(int *pint);
#endif /* PLAYER_H Leave at end of file */
|
//
// Generated by class-dump 3.5 (64 bit) (Debug version compiled Jun 9 2015 22:53:21).
//
// class-dump is Copyright (C) 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2014 by Steve Nygard.
//
#import "TScriptableWindowController.h"
#import "NSComboBoxDataSource-Protocol.h"
#import "NSComboBoxDelegate-Protocol.h"
#import "NSWindowDelegate-Protocol.h"
@class NSComboBox, NSString, NSWindow, TProgressIndicator;
@protocol TGoToWindowDelegate;
@interface TGotoWindowController : TScriptableWindowController <NSComboBoxDelegate, NSComboBoxDataSource, NSWindowDelegate>
{
NSComboBox *_pathComboBox;
TProgressIndicator *_progress;
NSString *_errorMsgText;
_Bool _isGoingToFolder;
_Bool _isAutoCompleting;
_Bool _isAutoCompleteUIVisible;
_Bool _changingStringOrSelection;
struct TFENode _relativeToNode;
struct TGoToPathToAutoCompleteHelper _autoCompleteHelper;
struct TriStateBool _isTabAutoCompleting;
struct TNSRef<TGoToAutoCompletionController, void> _autoCompletionController;
struct TNSRef<TGoToFieldEditor, void> _fieldEditor;
id <TGoToWindowDelegate> _delegate;
NSWindow *_parentWindow;
_Bool _allowLeftoverLastPathComponent;
_Bool _selectionChangedDuringAutoCompletion;
function_52422bbc _completionHandler;
TNSWeakPtr_34793079 _autoCompleteNowToken;
struct TNotificationCenterObserver _textDidChangeObserver;
struct TNotificationCenterObserver _didChangeSelectionObserver;
struct TNSRef<NSTouchBar, void> _goAndCancelButtonsTouchBar;
struct TKeyValueBinder _goTouchBarButtonBinder;
}
+ (struct TGoToPathToAutoCompleteHelper)calcPathToAutoComplete:(struct TString *)arg1 relativeToNode:(struct TFENode *)arg2 delegate:(id)arg3;
+ (id)keyPathsForValuesAffectingShowProgress;
+ (id)keyPathsForValuesAffectingEnablePathComboBox;
+ (id)keyPathsForValuesAffectingEnableGoBtn;
+ (id)gotoWindowController;
+ (void)showGoToWindowForUnitTests;
+ (id)showGoToWindowRelativeToNode:(const struct TFENode *)arg1 parentWindow:(id)arg2 initialPath:(const struct TString *)arg3 allowLeftoverLastPathComponent:(_Bool)arg4 completionHandler:(const function_52422bbc *)arg5;
@property(nonatomic) id <TGoToWindowDelegate> delegate; // @synthesize delegate=_delegate;
@property(nonatomic) _Bool allowLeftoverLastPathComponent; // @synthesize allowLeftoverLastPathComponent=_allowLeftoverLastPathComponent;
@property(nonatomic) NSWindow *parentWindow; // @synthesize parentWindow=_parentWindow;
@property(nonatomic) _Bool isAutoCompleteUIVisible; // @synthesize isAutoCompleteUIVisible=_isAutoCompleteUIVisible;
@property(nonatomic) _Bool isAutoCompleting; // @synthesize isAutoCompleting=_isAutoCompleting;
@property(nonatomic) _Bool isGoingToFolder; // @synthesize isGoingToFolder=_isGoingToFolder;
@property(retain, nonatomic) NSString *errorMsgText; // @synthesize errorMsgText=_errorMsgText;
- (id).cxx_construct;
- (void).cxx_destruct;
- (id)makeTouchBar;
- (id)comboBox:(id)arg1 objectValueForItemAtIndex:(long long)arg2;
- (long long)numberOfItemsInComboBox:(id)arg1;
- (id)control:(id)arg1 textView:(id)arg2 completions:(id)arg3 forPartialWordRange:(struct _NSRange)arg4 indexOfSelectedItem:(long long *)arg5;
- (void)cancel:(id)arg1;
- (void)go:(id)arg1;
- (void)completionHandler:(const struct TFENode *)arg1 leftoverLastPathComponent:(const struct TString *)arg2;
- (void)autoCompleteWithSingleCompletionName:(const struct TString *)arg1;
- (struct TString)autoCompleteHandler:(const struct TString *)arg1;
- (_Bool)updateOrigAutoCompletePath:(const struct TString *)arg1 withAdjustedAutoCompletePath:(const struct TString *)arg2 adjustedPathIsValid:(_Bool)arg3;
- (void)updatePathHandler;
- (void)autoCompleteNowAndValidate:(_Bool)arg1;
- (void)autoCompleteNow;
- (void)autoCompleteSoon;
- (void)moveSelectionToEnd;
- (void)moveSelectionTo:(struct _NSRange)arg1;
- (struct TString)uiPath;
- (id)windowWillReturnFieldEditor:(id)arg1 toObject:(id)arg2;
- (BOOL)control:(id)arg1 textView:(id)arg2 doCommandBySelector:(SEL)arg3;
- (void)aboutToTearDown;
- (void)setCompletionHandler:(const function_52422bbc *)arg1;
@property(readonly, nonatomic) _Bool showProgress; // @dynamic showProgress;
@property(readonly, nonatomic) _Bool enablePathComboBox; // @dynamic enablePathComboBox;
- (void)updateEnableGoBtn;
@property(readonly, nonatomic) _Bool enableGoBtn; // @dynamic enableGoBtn;
- (void)windowWillClose:(id)arg1;
- (void)windowDidLoad;
- (id)_initWithRelativeToNode:(const struct TFENode *)arg1 parentWindow:(id)arg2 initialPath:(const struct TString *)arg3 allowLeftoverLastPathComponent:(_Bool)arg4 completionHandler:(const function_52422bbc *)arg5;
// Remaining properties
@property(readonly, copy) NSString *debugDescription;
@property(readonly, copy) NSString *description;
@property(readonly) unsigned long long hash;
@property(readonly) Class superclass;
@end
|
Doctor Glas (1942 film)
Doctor Glas is a 1942 Swedish drama film, based on the novel of the same name.
Plot
Dr. Glas, an austere and well-respected physician, is in love with Helga Gregorius, one of his patients. When she confides in him that her husband’s sexual attentions disgust her but that, despite this, he will not leave her alone, the doctor begins to plot to rid her of him.
Cast
Georg Rydeberg as Dr. Glas
Irma Christenson as Helga Gregorius
Rune Carlsten as Rev. Gregorius
Hilda Borgström as Kristin
Gösta Cederlund as Markel
Gabriel Alw as Martin Birck
Sven Bergvall as Lowenius (as Sven Bergwall)
Gösta Grip as Klas Recke
Guje Lagerwall as Eva Mertens (as Guje Sjöström)
Sven d'Ailly as Holm
Reception
The reviews at the time of the film's release were positive. "The camera work, depicting enchanting views over the city of Stockholm was especially noted and praised."
Nordic National Cinemas calls it "one of the most successful productions [of the wartime]" and notes that Georg Rydeberg "splendidly portrays the itinerant loner Glas".
References
Category:1942 films
Category:Swedish black-and-white films
Category:Swedish films
Category:Swedish drama films
Category:1940s drama films |
ORANGE – City officials have sent letters to 73 registered sex offenders in Orange reminding them of a law prohibiting them from answering their doors to trick-or-treating children on Halloween.
The law is the first of its kind in Orange County.
Enacted by the City Council in February, the law also:
• Requires sex offenders to post a sign at their home stating that no candy or treats are available on Halloween.
• Makes sex offenders leave off all exterior lights of their homes during the Halloween evening.
• Keeps sex offenders from decorating their residences with Halloween decorations.
City Attorney David DeBerry said only the registered sex offenders who committed crimes against minors would be affected by the law. Councilman Jon Dumitru, who helped get the law on the books in the city, said three offenders objected to the new law, calling the City Attorney’s Office.
“I’m sure they are going to be in compliance with the law,” Dumitru said.
Violators face a $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail.
DeBerry would not say how the law would be enforced on Halloween night. “If somebody violates this ordinance, we will be very aggressive in prosecution,” he said.
The number of registered sex offenders the Halloween law affects has risen by seven since it was passed in February.
Dumitru said the new law is a companion to one that the Orange council passed in 2008. That law restricts how many registered sex offenders can live in a hotel and bans them from loitering near places where children gather.
“We enacted these two ordinances to protect children,” he said. “Imagine how many would have been placed here if we had not enacted them.”
Dumitru said the law is the first of its kind in the county.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3704 or efields@ocregister.com |
Q:
Traversing a tree during compile time, with visiting actions
To make a preorder traversal of a nested pack of types (i.e. a tree of types), and then carry out an action at each leaf, I've worked out an algorithm already (and tested to work correctly):
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename, typename> struct Merge;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Ts, typename... Us>
struct Merge<P1<Ts...>, P2<Us...>> {
using type = P1<Ts..., Us...>;
};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every leaf in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
// As a simple example, the leaf action is appending its type to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {}; // Having visited First, now visit Rest...
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> : Visit<typename Merge<First, P1<Rest...>>::type, P2<Visited...>> {};
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
My "leaf action" here is simply storing the type of each leaf visited, as my test shows:
template <typename...> struct Pack {};
template <typename...> struct Group {};
template <typename...> struct Wrap {};
struct Object {};
int main() {
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
Visit<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>, Pack<>>::type,
Pack<int, Object, double, bool, char, int, double, char, char, long, short, int, Object, char, double, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
But my problem now is: What if there is to be an action carried out at each non-leaf, and such "non-leaf action" is carried out AFTER the children are visited? How to remember the non-leaf?
Here is an example task which would require this:
Referring to my Visit program above, after each child of a node is visited (but not before), append the first type in the non-leaf pack to the P<Visited...> pack. If a leaf is visited, append its type to the P<Visited...> pack, as in the original program. Due to this specific order, Visit<Pack<Types...>>::type will have a specific order as well. Solve this, and the original question is solved.
Here is the simple solution if that non-leaf action is carried out BEFORE visiting its children:
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename, typename> struct Merge;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Ts, typename... Us>
struct Merge<P1<Ts...>, P2<Us...>> {
using type = P1<Ts..., Us...>;
};
template <typename> struct FirstType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct FirstType<P<First, Rest...>> {
using type = First;
};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every leaf in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {};
template <typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPrevisit;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPrevisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
Visit<typename Merge<First, P1<Rest...>>::type, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>> {};
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which visit Rest..., but before doing so carry out the non-leaf action in the inherited struct.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> :
NonLeafActionPrevisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {}; // *** The simple solution here.
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out. In this case, it is appended to P<Visited...> as a simple example.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack {};
template <typename...> struct Group {};
template <typename...> struct Wrap {};
struct Object {};
int main() {
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>::result,
Pack<int, int, Object, double, bool, char, char, int, int, double, char, char, char, char, long, short, int, Object, char, double, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
Now what is the solution if that non-leaf action is to be carried out AFTER visiting the children?
In this case, the output would be different, namely:
Pack<int, Object, double, int, bool, char, int, double, char, char, long, short, char, int, Object, int, char, char, double, long>
Idea: Get the last child from First. Store that last child and First somewhere (but where???). When that last child is visited, carry out the non-leaf action on First. Something like:
template <typename, typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... ChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename... ChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every leaf in the tree visited.
using type = P3<Visited...>;
};
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... ChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, true> :
Visit<typename Merge<First, P2<Rest...>>::type, P2<ChildAndParent...,
typename LastType<First>::type, First>, P3<Visited...>> {};
// Idea: Get the last child from First. Store that last child and First here. When that last child is visited, carry out the non-leaf action on First.
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out. In this case, it is appended to P<Visited...> as a simple example.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... ChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, false> :
Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<ChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited..., First>> {};
Now the tough part would be to make use of P2<ChildAndParent...> properly, assuming the idea will work at all.
Update (12 hours later): Well, I tried my best. Here's what I came up with, which compiles, but it escapes me why I still get the wrong result. Perhaps someone can shed some light on this.
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename, typename> struct Merge;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Ts, typename... Us>
struct Merge<P1<Ts...>, P2<Us...>> {
using type = P1<Ts..., Us...>;
};
template <typename> struct FirstType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct FirstType<P<First, Rest...>> {
using type = First;
};
template <typename> struct LastType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename Last>
struct LastType<P<Last>> {
using type = Last;
};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct LastType<P<First, Rest...>> : LastType<P<Rest...>> {};
template <typename, typename...> struct ExistsInPack;
template <typename T, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct ExistsInPack<T, First, Rest...> : ExistsInPack<T, Rest...> {};
template <typename T, typename... Rest>
struct ExistsInPack<T, T, Rest...> : std::true_type {};
template <typename T>
struct ExistsInPack<T> : std::false_type {};
template <typename Child, typename First, typename Second, typename... Rest>
struct GetParent : GetParent<Child, Rest...> {};
template <typename Child, typename Parent, typename... Rest>
struct GetParent<Child, Child, Parent, Rest...> {
using type = Parent;
};
template <typename, typename, typename> struct RemoveChildAndParentHelper;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename Child, typename First, typename Second, typename... Rest, typename... Accumulated>
struct RemoveChildAndParentHelper<Child, P<First, Second, Rest...>, P<Accumulated...>> : RemoveChildAndParentHelper<Child, P<Rest...>, P<Accumulated..., First, Second>> {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename Child, typename Parent, typename... Rest, typename... Accumulated>
struct RemoveChildAndParentHelper<Child, P<Child, Parent, Rest...>, P<Accumulated...>> {
using type = P<Accumulated..., Rest...>;
};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename Child, typename... Accumulated>
struct RemoveChildAndParentHelper<Child, P<>, P<Accumulated...>> {
using type = P<Accumulated...>;
};
template <typename, typename> struct RemoveChildAndParent;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename Child, typename... LastChildAndParent>
struct RemoveChildAndParent<Child, P<LastChildAndParent...>> : RemoveChildAndParentHelper<Child, P<LastChildAndParent...>, P<>> {};
template <typename, typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <typename, typename, typename, bool> struct CheckIfLastChild;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every leaf in the tree visited.
using result = P3<Visited...>;
using storage = P2<LastChildAndParent...>; // just for checking (remove later)
};
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which visit Rest...
// Get the last child from First. Store that last child and First here. When that last child is visited later on, carry out the non-leaf action on First.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, true> :
Visit<typename Merge<First, P2<Rest...>>::type, P2<LastChildAndParent..., typename LastType<First>::type, First>, P3<Visited...>> {};
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out. In this case, it is appended to P<Visited...>.
// Check if First is a last child. If so the non-leaf action of its parent is to be carried out immediately after First's action is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, false> :
CheckIfLastChild<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, ExistsInPack<First, LastChildAndParent...>::value> {};
// First is a last child (and is a leaf), so append First to P3<Visited...> (the leaf action), and then append the first type of its parent to P3<Visited...> after it (the non-leaf action).
// First and its parent must be removed from P2<LastChildAndParent...> at this point.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct CheckIfLastChild<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, true> :
Visit<P1<Rest...>, typename RemoveChildAndParent<First, P2<LastChildAndParent...>>::type, P3<Visited..., First, typename FirstType<typename GetParent<First, LastChildAndParent...>::type>::type>> {};
// First is not a last child (but is a leaf), so append First to P3<Visited...> (the leaf action) and proceed with visiting the next type in P1<Rest...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, template <typename...> class P3, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... LastChildAndParent, typename... Visited>
struct CheckIfLastChild<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited...>, false> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<LastChildAndParent...>, P3<Visited..., First>> {};
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack;
template <typename Last>
struct Pack<Last> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(Last).name() << std::endl;}
};
template <typename First, typename... Rest>
struct Pack<First, Rest...> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(First).name() << ' '; Pack<Rest...>::print();}
};
template <>
struct Pack<> {
static void print() {std::cout << "empty" << std::endl;}
};
template <typename...> struct Group {};
template <typename...> struct Wrap {};
struct Object {};
int main() {
using Tree = VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>;
Tree::result::print(); // int Object double int bool char int double char char int char long short int Object char char double long
Tree::storage::print(); // empty
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
Tree::result,
Pack<int, Object, double, int, bool, char, int, double, char, char, long, short, char, int, Object, char, char, int, char, double, long>
>::value << std::endl; // false
}
In case you are wondering, here is my motivation for this:
Consider this loop (which is obviously carried out during run-time):
template <int N>
void Graph<N>::topologicalSortHelper (int v, std::array<bool, N>& visited, std::stack<int>& stack) {
visited[v] = true; // Mark the current node as visited.
for (int x : adjacentVertices[v]) // Repeat for all the vertices adjacent to this vertex.
if (!visited[x])
topologicalSortHelper (x, visited, stack);
stack.push(v); // Push current vertex to 'stack' which stores the result.
}
There are 2 "non-leaf actions" here. visited[v] = true; is carried out before visiting the children, so that is no problem (just make the change in the inheritance), but the real problem is stack.push(v);, which is carried out after the children are visited. Ultimately, in the end, I want Graph<6, 5,2, 5,0, 4,0, 4,1, 2,3, 3,1>::topological_sort to be the compile-time result index_sequence<5,4,2,3,1,0>, where 6 is the number of vertices, and 5,2, 5,0, 4,0, 4,1, 2,3, 3,1 describe the edges of the graph. That's the real project I'm working on, which I'm almost finished. Solve the above generic problem, and I will have this problem solved.
Update: I spotted the error in my logic. The line:
Visit<typename Merge<First, P2<Rest...>>::type, P2<LastChildAndParent..., typename LastType<First>::type, First>, P3<Visited...>>
does not uniquely identify where the last child is because there may be other leaves in the tree that are of type First. This suggests that either:
The original tree must be redesigned with unique serial numbers for each node (the last resort, since that forces the client code to change), or
The algorithm should assign unique serial IDs to each node in the tree as it traverses it. This second idea is ideal since the original tree needs not be redesigned, but it is a lot more challenging. For example, what will be the ID number for a child that is known to exist but has not been visited in the traversal yet? It looks like branch numbers will have to serve to ID each node.
Incidentally, I managed to solve my original problem of a compile-time topological sort for a graph:
http://ideone.com/9DKh4s
It uses the pattern being worked out in this thread, and I'm lucky that every vertex has unique node values. But I still want to know the general solution in the event that the nodes of the tree do not have unique values, without adjoining unique serial IDs to each node of the original tree (which seriously uglifies the design of the original tree), i.e. carry out solution #2 described above, or something like that).
Update (after some days of thought). Now working on a new idea, which may inspire anyone who is interested in this problem:
template <typename, typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPostvisit;
// As a simple example, the postvisit non-leaf action is appending the first type of the pack to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename ChildrenVisits, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPostvisit<ChildrenVisits, P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>> {};
// Postvisit:
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which carry out the postvisit non-leaf action, and then visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> :
NonLeafActionPostvisit<Visit<First, P2<Visited...>>, P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out. In this case, it is appended to P<Visited...> as a simple example.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> :
LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
It doesn't give the correct results yet though, but if it works in the end, it seems much more elegant than the ideas I've sketched already.
A:
Done!
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename> struct FirstType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct FirstType<P<First, Rest...>> {
using type = First;
};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
template <typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPostVisit;
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every node in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
// Here First has children, so visit its children now, then carry out the "post-visit non-leaf action", and then visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> :
NonLeafActionPostVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, typename Visit<First, P2<Visited...>>::result> {};
// *** The key! Pass typename Visit<First, P2<Visited...>>::result into NonLeafActionPostVisit.
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// As a simple example, the leaf action shall simply be appending its type to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {};
// As a simple example, the post-visit non-leaf action shall be appending the first type of the pack to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPostVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>> {};
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack;
template <typename Last>
struct Pack<Last> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(Last).name() << std::endl;}
};
template <typename First, typename... Rest>
struct Pack<First, Rest...> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(First).name() << ' '; Pack<Rest...>::print();}
};
template <typename...> struct Group;
template <typename...> struct Wrap;
struct Object {};
int main() {
VisitTree<
Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>
>::result::print(); // i Object d i b c i d c c l s c i Object c c i d c l
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>::result,
Pack<int, Object, double, int, bool, char, int, double, char, char, long, short, char, int, Object, char, char, int, double, char, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
Good amount of thinking practice I got here. Other solutions are welcomed of course (the bounty is still available to anyone giving an alternate solution).
This solution also made me realize that Merge is not even needed anymore. So I now revise my solutions to the other cases even better:
Visit actions at the leaves only:
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
// Here the role of P2<Visited...> is simply to allow LeafAction to carry out its function. It is not native to the tree structure itself.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every node in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
// Here First has children, so visit its children, after which visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, typename Visit<First, P2<Visited...>>::result> {}; // Visit the "subtree" First, and then after that visit Rest... Need to use ::result so that when visiting Rest..., the latest value of the P2<Visited...> pack is used.
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// As a simple example, the leaf action shall simply be appending its type to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {}; // Having visited First, now visit Rest...
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack;
template <typename Last>
struct Pack<Last> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(Last).name() << std::endl;}
};
template <typename First, typename... Rest>
struct Pack<First, Rest...> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(First).name() << ' '; Pack<Rest...>::print();}
};
template <typename...> struct Group;
template <typename...> struct Wrap;
struct Object {};
int main() {
VisitTree<
Pack<Pack<int, Object, double>, bool, Pack<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Pack<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>
>::result::print(); // int Object double bool char int double char char long short int Object char double long
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>::result,
Pack<int, Object, double, bool, char, int, double, char, char, long, short, int, Object, char, double, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
Visit actions at the nodes before visiting the children of the nodes:
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename> struct FirstType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct FirstType<P<First, Rest...>> {
using type = First;
};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
template <typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPreVisit;
// Here the role of P2<Visited...> is simply to allow LeafAction to carry out its function. It is not native to the tree structure itself.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every node in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
// Here First has children, so carry out the "non-leaf pre-visit action", then visit the children, and then visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> : NonLeafActionPreVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// As a simple example, the leaf action shall simply be appending its type to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {};
// As a simple example, the non-leaf pre-visit action shall simply be appending the first type of the pack to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPreVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
Visit<P1<Rest...>, typename Visit<First, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>>::result> {}; // typename FirstType<First>::type is appended to P2<Visited...> (the non-leaf pre-visit action), then Visit<First, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>> is carried out (which is visiting all the children), and then Rest... is visited using ::result of that visiting of the children.
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack;
template <typename...> struct Group;
template <typename...> struct Wrap;
struct Object;
int main() {
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>::result,
Pack<int, int, Object, double, bool, char, char, int, int, double, char, char, char, char, long, short, int, Object, char, double, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
And finally, we close this chapter with all three actions together.
Actions at the leaves, at the nodes before visiting the children, and at the nodes after visiting the children:
#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <typeinfo>
template <typename T>
struct HasChildren : std::false_type {};
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct HasChildren<P<Types...>> : std::true_type {};
template <typename> struct FirstType;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename First, typename... Rest>
struct FirstType<P<First, Rest...>> {
using type = First;
};
template <typename, typename> struct Visit;
template <typename, typename, bool> struct VisitHelper;
template <typename, typename> struct LeafAction;
template <typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPreVisit;
template <typename, typename> struct NonLeafActionPostVisit;
// Here the role of P2<Visited...> is simply to allow LeafAction, NonLeafActionPreVisit, and NonLeafActionPostVisit to carry out their functions. It is not native to the tree structure itself.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, HasChildren<First>::value> {};
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename... Visited>
struct Visit<P1<>, P2<Visited...>> { // End of recursion. Every node in the tree visited.
using result = P2<Visited...>;
};
// Here First has children, so carry out the pre-visit non-leaf action, then visit its children, then carry out the post-visit non-leaf action, and then visit Rest...
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, true> :
NonLeafActionPreVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// Here First has no children, so the "leaf action" is carried out.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct VisitHelper<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>, false> : LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> {};
// As a simple example, the leaf action shall simply be appending its type to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct LeafAction<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., First>> {};
// As a simple example, the pre-visit non-leaf action shall be appending the first type of the pack to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPreVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> :
NonLeafActionPostVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, typename Visit<First, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>>::result> {};
// As a simple example, the post-visit non-leaf action shall be appending the first type of the pack to P<Visited...>.
template <template <typename...> class P1, template <typename...> class P2, typename First, typename... Rest, typename... Visited>
struct NonLeafActionPostVisit<P1<First, Rest...>, P2<Visited...>> : Visit<P1<Rest...>, P2<Visited..., typename FirstType<First>::type>> {};
template <typename> struct VisitTree;
template <template <typename...> class P, typename... Types>
struct VisitTree<P<Types...>> : Visit<P<Types...>, P<>> {};
// ---------------------------- Testing ----------------------------
template <typename...> struct Pack;
template <typename Last>
struct Pack<Last> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(Last).name() << std::endl;}
};
template <typename First, typename... Rest>
struct Pack<First, Rest...> {
static void print() {std::cout << typeid(First).name() << ' '; Pack<Rest...>::print();}
};
template <typename...> struct Group {};
template <typename...> struct Wrap {};
struct Object {};
int main() {
VisitTree<
Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>
>::result::print(); // i i Object d i b c c i i d c c c c l s c i Object c c i d c l
std::cout << std::boolalpha << std::is_same<
VisitTree<Pack<Wrap<int, Object, double>, bool, Group<char, Pack<int, double, Pack<char, Wrap<char, long, short>, int, Object>, char>, double>, long>>::result,
Pack<int, int, Object, double, int, bool, char, char, int, int, double, char, char, char, char, long, short, char, int, Object, char, char, int, double, char, long>
>::value << std::endl; // true
}
Lastly, I would like to share my solution to the original problem of getting a compile-time topological sort of a directed acyclic graph using this new method (which is what motivated all this in the first place):
http://ideone.com/U1bbRM
|
Q:
If a function is compactly supported, then its Fourier series converge?
Suppose that $f$ is continuous on $\mathbb{R}$. Show that $f$ and the Fourier transform $\hat{f}$ cannot both be compactly supported unless $f=0$.
Hint: Assume $f$ is supported in $[0,1/2]$. Expand $f$ in a Fourier series in the interval $[0,1]$, and note that as a result, $f$ is a trigonometric polynomial.
I tried to solve this following the hint. Assume both $f$ and $\hat{f}$ are compactly supported, then if we follow the hint we get $$f(x)=\sum_{n=-\infty}^\infty \hat{f}(n)e^{2\pi inx}.$$ But since $\hat{f}$ is compactly supported, for large $n$, $\hat{f}(n)=0$, and we get that $f$ is a trigonometric polynomial, which is not compactly supported. However, my question is, for this to work out, we need the identity in the above, which is not guaranteed unless, say $f$ is $C^1$, but we only have that $f$ is continuous, so how can I get the result? I would greatly appreciate any help.
I've seen other solutions from this website based on the fact that $\hat{f}$ is not holomorphic, but in this book, holomorphic functions are not yet introduced. So I'm wondering if perhaps compactly supported guarantees the convergence of the Fourier series?
A:
If you have learned about $L^2$ convergence of Fourier series then you have that $f(x)=\sum_n c_n e^{2\pi i n x}$ in $L^2([0,1]$ (and only finitely many terms in the sum). But both sides are continuous and agree on a set of full measure. They are therefore identical. Since $f$ is identical zero on $[\frac12,1]$ both must be zero. Without $L^2$ (or holomorphic), I am not sure how to argue.
|
This relates to a system for facilitating spatial positioning including a work space or work site, such as for example a construction site or elsewhere. For example, when the interior of a building is being finished, there is a need to determine the location of various interior features, such as the proper location of walls, windows, and doors. There are a large number of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC components that must be properly sited. Further, beams, joists, ceilings, tiles, shelves, cabinets, and other similar components that must be accurately positioned. After the construction of the interior of the building begins, positioning of various components must be accomplished quickly and with some precision with respect to the surrounding walls, ceilings and floors as they are roughed in. Typically, it has required a significant amount of labor to lay out construction points at a construction site. Teams of workers have been needed to measure and mark various locations. It will be appreciated that this process has been subject to errors, both from measurement mistakes and from accumulated errors which compound as measurements are made from one intermediate point to another. A number of tools have been developed to facilitate this process, although many of these tools are somewhat complicated to use, and require careful attention to achieve the desired accuracy.
Ranging radios offer an excellent alternative to GPS receivers for positioning applications where GPS reception is not available, such as inside a building, or where use of GPS receivers is not reliable. For example, GPS receivers require line-of-sight access to multiple satellites in order to function properly. This may not be possible in some operational settings, such as when work is being performed indoors, underground, or in cluttered environments.
Ranging radios, operating at ultra wideband (UWB) frequencies, provide very accurate measurement of distances between the radios, using time-of-flight analysis. When ranging is accomplished from multiple fixed position radios to a target radio, the relative, three-dimensional position of the target radio is accomplished through trilateration. To perform a range measurement, an originating ranging radio transmits a packet consisting of a synchronization preamble and a header. The header contains the range command with the address of the destination radio that is requested to respond to the packet. The originating radio resets its main counter at the time of this transmission, establishing a local time-zero reference. When the destination ranging radio receives the range request addressed to it, it records the time of receipt, and replies with its own packet, including the time of receipt and the time of the responding transmission in the header. The originating radio receives the ranging packet back from the destination radio, records its time of receipt and latches its main counter. The range value is then calculated and recorded, utilizing the time information to compensate for the differences in the timing clocks at the two radios.
It is desirable to provide an improved system using ranging radios to determine various positions at a work site. A difficulty arises, however, in that a ranging radio may not operate properly throughout a work site, especially if positioned close to a metal surface or beam, or completely or partially shielded from the fixed, reference ranging radios. Further, it is sometimes desirable to be able to determine the position of a point that is not easily accessible. |
Healthy Diets Make Healthy Teeth
We all know that we need to brush our teeth twice a day, floss twice a day and visit the dentist every six months. These are “must dos” for good dental hygiene. What you may not realize is that a healthy diet can have a huge impact on the health of your teeth. Eat well and enjoy strong teeth and gums.
Must Dos!
These are the absolute minimum requirements for healthy teeth. They are essential “must do” behaviors that will help keep your teeth from decaying.
Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day. Morning and night.
Floss Your Teeth Twice a Day. Morning and night.
Visit the Dentist every Six Months.
Regular check ups can catch issues before they turn into big problems. A good cleaning can help maintain strong teeth.
Healthy Diet Tips for Teeth
Eating healthy isn’t just important for our body, it is also important for our teeth. The foods we eat has an impact in how strong our teeth are and can make the difference in their overall health. Follow these healthy eating tips to get strong teeth and gums:
Eat Calcium. Our teeth and gums are made up of calcium, which means we need to eat calcium to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Calcium can be found in dairy products. Make sure to eat enough cheese, milk, and yogurt to get the right amount of calcium.
Get Your Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb the calcium we eat. Unless we get enough vitamin D, then eating calcium isn’t enough to keep our teeth strong. We get most of our vitamin D from the sun, so get outside and soak up some rays.
Don’t Forget Vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to dental problems like loose teeth and bleeding gums. Make sure to keep gums and teeth strong by getting the proper amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits. Drink some orange juice or eat a bit of grapefruit.
Avoid Sugar. Sugar can easily lead to tooth decay, so it is best to avoid sugar whenever possible. A diet high in sugary foods is a bad choice for teeth. Skip the candy and grab some fruit instead.
Drink Water. Drinking water increases saliva production which in turn can help battle bacteria. Water also dilutes sugar and cleans out your mouth.
Rinse Your Mouth. Quickly rinsing your mouth between meals will remove sugar from your teeth and prevent tooth decay. If you can use mouthwash to kill germs between meals that is great. If not, rinse with water, which still cleans out your mouth and can prevent cavities.
Eating Right for Strong Teeth
We only get one set of adult teeth that need to last the rest of our lives. Making good choices to protect our dental health will make it so that we can enjoy our teeth for a long time to come. Protecting our teeth isn’t just about brushing them twice a day. We can also maintain dental health by eating foods that will keep our teeth strong. Remember to eat healthy for a healthy smile.
Idaho Falls Dentistry for Healthy Teeth
Proper teeth brushing, flossing and healthy eating habits are vital for maintaining dental health. Regular checkups at our Idaho Falls dentistry are also important. Even with best efforts, we all get cavities. We can take care of any problems that arise, so that you can smile without worry. Call today at (208) 524-1700 to set up an appointment. |
The present invention relates to a heat-resistant cast steel suitable for exhaust equipment members for automobiles, etc., and more particularly to a heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel having excellent high-temperature strength and machinability, and an exhaust equipment member made of such a heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel.
Some of conventional heat-resistant cast iron and heat-resistant cast steel have compositions shown in Table 3 as Comparative Examples. In exhaust equipment members such as exhaust manifolds, turbine housings, etc. for automobiles, heat-resistant cast iron such as high-Si spheroidal graphite cast iron, heat-resistant cast steel such as ferritic cast steel, NI-RESIST cast iron (Ni-Cr-Cu austenitic cast iron) shown in Table 3, etc. are employed because their operating conditions are extremely severe at high temperatures.
Further, attempts have been made to propose various heat-resistant, austenitic cast steels. For instance, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-87852 discloses a heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel consisting essentially of C, Si, Mn, N, Ni, Cr, V, Nb, Ti, B, W and Fe showing improved creep strength and yield strength. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-177352 discloses a heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel consisting essentially of C, Si, Mn, Cr, Ni, Al, Ti, B, Nb and Fe having improved high-temperature and room-temperature properties by choosing particular oxygen content and index of cleanliness of steel. Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-8183 discloses a heat-resistant, austenitic cast Fe-Ni-Cr steel having increased carbon content and containing Nb and Co, thereby showing improved high-temperature strength without suffering from the decrease in high-temperature oxidation resistance.
Among these conventional heat-resistant cast irons and heat-resistant cast steels, for instance, the high-Si spheroidal graphite cast iron is relatively good in a room-temperature strength, but it is poor in a high-temperature strength and an oxidation resistance. Heat-resistant, ferritic cast steel is extremely poor in a high-temperature yield strength at 900.degree. C. or higher. The NI-RESIST cast iron is relatively good in a high-temperature strength up to 900.degree. C., but it is poor in durability at 900.degree. C. or higher. Also, it is expensive because of high Ni content.
Since the heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-87852 has a relatively low C content of 0.15 weight % or less, it shows an insufficient high-temperature strength at 900.degree. C. or higher. In addition, since it contains 0.002-0.5 weight % of Ti, harmful non-metallic inclusions may be formed by melting in the atmosphere.
In addition, since the heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-177352 contains a large amount of Ni, it may suffer from cracks when used in an atmosphere containing sulfur (S) at a high temperature.
Further, since the heat-resistant, austenitic cast steel disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-8183 has a high carbon (C) content, it may become brittle when operated at a high temperature for a long period of time. |
Adnan Hussain Wiki, Age, Bio, Height, Worth, Assets
Adnan Hussain, is a 12-year old contestant from Mumbai, who has participated in ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs 2017’ and has made it to the Top 15 contestants. He has mesmerised judges and jury with his beautiful and melodious singing voice. His audition and performance videos are going viral over the internet world and he has already captured million of hearts with his talent.
Adnan Hussain, has performed the song ‘Sabri, Bhar do Jholi’ in the audition and has captured the hearts of the judges and jury members. His interest in singing began in the very early age and he wanted to showcase his talent before the world. For which, the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs’ stage has helped and also enhanced his skills further.
The judges Himesh Reshamiya, Neha Kakkar and Javed Ali, along with 30 jury members are testing the talent and skills of these young contestant. Even though, Adnan Hussain has made it to the Top 15, we have to further wait for his other performances and decision of judges and scores of jury, to know if he wins the competition.
Adnan Hussain Biography:
Name: Adnan Hussain
Nick name: Adnan
Age: 12 years
Schooling: Don Bosco High School
Place: Mumbai, India
Debut Appearance: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, 2017
We will update you with more personal details about the contestant. Stay Tuned! |
<?php
return array(
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Debugbar Settings
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Debugbar is enabled by default, when debug is set to true in app.php.
| You can override the value by setting enable to true or false instead of null.
|
*/
'enabled' => null,
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Storage settings
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| DebugBar stores data for session/ajax requests.
| You can disable this, so the debugbar stores data in headers/session,
| but this can cause problems with large data collectors.
| By default, file storage (in the storage folder) is used. Redis and PDO
| can also be used. For PDO, run the package migrations first.
|
*/
'storage' => array(
'enabled' => true,
'driver' => 'file', // redis, file, pdo
'path' => storage_path() . '/debugbar', // For file driver
'connection' => null, // Leave null for default connection (Redis/PDO)
),
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Vendors
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Vendor files are included by default, but can be set to false.
| This can also be set to 'js' or 'css', to only include javascript or css vendor files.
| Vendor files are for css: font-awesome (including fonts) and highlight.js (css files)
| and for js: jquery and and highlight.js
| So if you want syntax highlighting, set it to true.
| jQuery is set to not conflict with existing jQuery scripts.
|
*/
'include_vendors' => true,
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Capture Ajax Requests
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| The Debugbar can capture Ajax requests and display them. If you don't want this (ie. because of errors),
| you can use this option to disable sending the data through the headers.
|
*/
'capture_ajax' => true,
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Clockwork integration
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| The Debugbar can emulate the Clockwork headers, so you can use the Chrome
| Extension, without the server-side code. It uses Debugbar collectors instead.
|
*/
'clockwork' => true,
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| DataCollectors
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Enable/disable DataCollectors
|
*/
'collectors' => array(
'phpinfo' => true, // Php version
'messages' => true, // Messages
'time' => true, // Time Datalogger
'memory' => true, // Memory usage
'exceptions' => true, // Exception displayer
'log' => true, // Logs from Monolog (merged in messages if enabled)
'db' => true, // Show database (PDO) queries and bindings
'views' => true, // Views with their data
'route' => true, // Current route information
'laravel' => true, // Laravel version and environment
'events' => true, // All events fired
'default_request' => false, // Regular or special Symfony request logger
'symfony_request' => true, // Only one can be enabled..
'mail' => true, // Catch mail messages
'logs' => true, // Add the latest log messages
'files' => true, // Show the included files
'config' => false, // Display config settings
'auth' => true, // Display Laravel authentication status
'gate' => true, // Display Laravel Gate checks
'session' => true, // Display session data
),
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Extra options
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Configure some DataCollectors
|
*/
'options' => array(
'auth' => array(
'show_name' => false, // Also show the users name/email in the debugbar
),
'db' => array(
'with_params' => true, // Render SQL with the parameters substituted
'timeline' => true, // Add the queries to the timeline
'backtrace' => true, // EXPERIMENTAL: Use a backtrace to find the origin of the query in your files.
'explain' => array( // EXPERIMENTAL: Show EXPLAIN output on queries
'enabled' => false,
'types' => array('SELECT'), // array('SELECT', 'INSERT', 'UPDATE', 'DELETE'); for MySQL 5.6.3+
),
'hints' => true, // Show hints for common mistakes
),
'mail' => array(
'full_log' => false
),
'views' => array(
'data' => false, //Note: Can slow down the application, because the data can be quite large..
),
'route' => array(
'label' => true // show complete route on bar
),
'logs' => array(
'file' => null
),
),
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Inject Debugbar in Response
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Usually, the debugbar is added just before <body>, by listening to the
| Response after the App is done. If you disable this, you have to add them
| in your template yourself. See http://phpdebugbar.com/docs/rendering.html
|
*/
'inject' => true,
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| DebugBar route prefix
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Sometimes you want to set route prefix to be used by DebugBar to load
| its resources from. Usually the need comes from misconfigured web server or
| from trying to overcome bugs like this: http://trac.nginx.org/nginx/ticket/97
|
*/
'route_prefix' => '_debugbar',
);
|
G894T and 4a/b polymorphisms of NOS3 gene are not associated with cancer risk: a meta-analysis.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS or NOS3) produces nitric oxide and genetic polymorphisms of NOS3 gene play significant roles in various processes of carcinogenesis. The results from published studies on the association between NOS3 G894T and NOS3 intron 4 (4a/b) polymorphisms and cancer risk are conflicting and inconclusive. However, i n order to assess this relationship more precisely, a meta-analysis was performed with PubMed (Medline), EMBASE and Google web searches until February 2014 to select all published case- control and cohort studies. Genotype distribution data were collected to calculate the pooled odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the strength of association. A total of 10,546 cancer cases and 10,550 controls were included from twenty four case-control studies for the NOS3 G894T polymorphism. The results indicated no significant association with cancer risk as observed in allelic (T vs G: OR=1.024, 95%CI=0.954 to 1.099, p=0.508), homozygous (TT vs GG: OR=1.137, 95%CI=0.944 to 1.370, p=0.176), heterozygous (GT vs GG: OR=0.993, 95%CI=0.932 to 1.059, p=0.835), recessive (TT vs GG+GT: OR=1.100, 95%CI=0.936 to 1.293, p=0.249) and dominant (TT+GT vs GG: OR=1.012, 95%CI=0.927 to 1.105, p=0.789) genetic models. Similarly, a total of 3,449 cancer cases and 3,691 controls were recruited from fourteen case-control studies for NOS3 4a/b polymorphism. Pooled results indicated no significant association under allelic (A vs B: OR=0.981, 95%CI=0.725 to 1.329, p=0.902), homozygous (AA vs BB: OR=1.166, 95%CI=0.524 to 2.593, p=0.707), heterozygous (BA vs BB: OR=1.129, 95%CI=0.896 to 1.422, p=0.305), dominant (AA+BA vs BB: OR=1.046, 95%CI=0.779 to 1.405, p=0.763) and recessive (AA vs BB+BA: OR=1.196, 95%CI=0.587 to 2.439, p=0.622) genetic contrast models. This meta-analysis suggests that G894T and 4a/b polymorphisms of NOS3 gene are not associated with increased or decreased risk of overall cancer. |
Q:
Angular 2 in LAMP Stack
I come from a PHP background and I have used traditional JS frameworks like Jquery and Angular 1 to some extent.
I just started learning Angular 2.
I have gone through multiple sites and demos, code generators like angular-cli, vulgar etc.
and all of them work as expected. No problems till now.
I work on windows. So whenever I need to run any angular 2 demo application, I need to run at least 2 or 3 commands on different command prompts and they all need to be continuously running like ng serve, npm start, gulp etc..
Suppose I want to create a simple php application with 3 php files. Page 1 is where the angular2 app should be running. Within Page 1, there will be links to page 2 and page 3 php files along with additional routes that with be shown using angular2 routes.
Now since all demos I have seen use typescript, how should I do it in php?
I have used angular1 with PHP and it was as simple as importing a script file.
Can I just import some script files and have the angular2 app running within a php page? Do I have to run all those(npm,ng,gulp) commands to have the angular2 app running on a php page?
A:
Concerning the TypeScript part:
Now since all demos I have seen use typescript, how should I use it in php?
...remember that TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript, and transpiles to JavaScript. So you might have a process that transpiles your TypeScript app code to JavaScript before you load your page, and runs it in the browser as JavaScript. Or, you can also run TypeScript in the browser (see this Stack Answer for more info).
When you run through the Angular 2 tutorials, you will see that as you are writing TypeScript, it creates JavaScript files for you. The app that runs in the Tutorial (using Node.js) is serving JavaScript, not TypeScript. So, as you mentioned:
I have used angular1 with PHP and it was as simple as importing a
script file.
Nothing will change there. The only additional step is getting the TypeScript transpiled to JavaScript. For that you can checkout SystemJS (that's what the Angular 2 turotials use) or WebPack (which the Angular 2 also has docs on here, which both have plugins/bundlers for doing that for you.
|
#02a466 hex color
#02a466 Color Information
In a RGB color space, hex #02a466 is composed of 0.8% red, 64.3% green and 40% blue.
Whereas in a CMYK color space, it is composed of 98.8% cyan, 0% magenta, 37.8% yellow and 35.7% black.
It has a hue angle of 157 degrees, a saturation of 97.6% and a lightness of 32.5%.
#02a466 color hex could be obtained by blending #04ffcc with #004900.
Closest websafe color is: #009966. |
Yoiver González
Yoiver González Mosquera (born 22 November 1989 in Puerto Tejada), camouflaged by the Equatoguinean official press as Zeiver Gonzales Ondo, is a Colombian-born Equatoguinean-naturalised football defender, who currently plays for Deportivo Pereira.
Gonzales is a product of the Millonarios youth system and played with the Millonarios first team since November, 2007.
International career
During his loan in Fortaleza, González was partner of Rolan de la Cruz, a Colombian footballer who was already naturalized to play for Equatorial Guinea, who invited him and helped him to join the Equatoguinean team.
Then, González made an appearance with Equatorial Guinea, in a friendly non-recognized by FIFA, against a Beninese national team composed of local players on 21 March 2013, because that country's senior team was conducting a preparatory stage in Marseille (France), ahead of their match against Algeria. He was also called up to face Cape Verde Islands as part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, but did not enter in the match by an ankle problem.
References
External links
Yoiver González at BDFA.com.ar
Category:1989 births
Category:Living people
Category:Equatoguinean footballers
Category:Equatorial Guinea international footballers
Category:Colombian footballers
Category:Categoría Primera A players
Category:Millonarios F.C. footballers
Category:Fortaleza C.E.I.F. footballers
Category:América de Cali footballers
Category:Deportivo Pasto footballers
Category:Gaziantepspor footballers
Category:Deportivo Pereira footballers
Category:Colombian expatriate footballers
Category:Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Category:Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Category:Equatoguinean people of Colombian descent
Category:Association football defenders |
Today when did stool there I saw little blood on toilet paper. I feel no pain, but for 1-2 days I fell itching in my anal region. I think I have hemorrhoids without pain only itching sometimes.
Hello dear lybrate-user, hi
Warm welcome to Lybrate.com
I have evaluated your query thoroughly.* This needs diagnostic confirmation with proctoscopy examination by consultant surgeon.* Primary working guidelines till that time: Drink plenty of liquids. Prefer soft, light diet with more of green leafy veg, whole grains, cereals,pulses, legumes,organic fresh fruits. Avoid all types of oily, spicy,non veg, hot beverages, junk foods, dairy fat. Manage to have smooth bowel passage with the help of bulk forming laxativesas Ispaghula husk with lukewarm drinking water. Tab. Ibuprofen (400 mg) after meals for control of pain, burning if no history ofdrug sensitivity. Xylocaine (5 %)jelly application over the anal part gives soothing action. Sitz bath (sitting in a tub filled with lukewarm water 5 minutes each 3 times a
day and additionally after passing stools) helps.Avoid long drives, sitting prolong on hard surfaces. Control of blood sugar, cholesterol,body weight. Avoid smoking, alcohol if consuming. Hope this clears your query. Wishing you fine recovery. Welcome for any further assistance. Regards take care.
You found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Thank you for your feedback.
YES
Somewhat
No
Suggestions offered by doctors on Lybrate are of advisory nature i.e., for educational and informational purposes only. Content posted on, created for, or compiled by Lybrate is not intended or designed to replace your doctor's independent judgment about any symptom, condition, or the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or treatment for a given person. |
Q:
How can I block requests for a file or directory unless it comes from a specified file?
In my .htaccess file I have the following RewriteRules:
RewriteRule ^content/(.*)\.(txt|md|mdown)$ error [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^site/(.*) error [R=301,L]
These work well for blocking direct access to txt|md|mdown file types and the entire site/ directory.
That said, I'm working on building out an .appcache file to cache my site for offline viewing and need to be able to access these files and directories from the .appcache file. I have the .appcache file set up and I'm getting the following error in the browser:
Application Cache Error event: Resource fetch failed (-1) http://website.com/site/panel/blueprints/home.php
Is it possible to update the RewriteRule to allow for access from this file?
A:
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?yoursite.com.br/.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(pdf|cdr|indd|psd|jpg|jpeg|ai|zip|rar|7z)$ - [F]
just replace yoursite.com for your site and .*$ for the specific file that you need.
|
Otto Kerner
Chicago Tribune
Former Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner gets in an elevator at the Federal Building in downtown Chicago on Jan. 17, 1973, where he was undergoing a trial on charges of accepting race track stock while governor as a bribe from Arlington Park officials, in exchange for choice racing dates. Kerner was convicted on 17 counts of bribery, conspiracy and perjury, and was sentenced to three years in a federal prison. He was released early, after it was determined that he was suffering from terminal cancer. Kerner died in 1976.
Former Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner gets in an elevator at the Federal Building in downtown Chicago on Jan. 17, 1973, where he was undergoing a trial on charges of accepting race track stock while governor as a bribe from Arlington Park officials, in exchange for choice racing dates. Kerner was convicted on 17 counts of bribery, conspiracy and perjury, and was sentenced to three years in a federal prison. He was released early, after it was determined that he was suffering from terminal cancer. Kerner died in 1976. |
discard """
output: '''10
10
1
1
true'''
"""
# bug #1344
var expected: int
var x: range[1..10] = 10
try:
x += 1
echo x
except OverflowDefect, RangeDefect:
expected += 1
echo x
try:
inc x
echo x
except OverflowDefect, RangeDefect:
expected += 1
echo x
x = 1
try:
x -= 1
echo x
except OverflowDefect, RangeDefect:
expected += 1
echo x
try:
dec x
echo x
except OverflowDefect, RangeDefect:
expected += 1
echo x
echo expected == 4
# bug #13698
var
x45 = "hello".cstring
p = x45.len.int32
|
24 Cal.App.3d 46 (1972)
100 Cal. Rptr. 779
LEON E. SEATON et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents,
v.
MARJORIE E. CLIFFORD et al., Defendants and Appellants.
Docket No. 38906.
Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Two.
March 15, 1972.
*48 COUNSEL
George B. Prentice for Defendants and Appellants.
Fourt & Schechter and Walter J. Fourt for Plaintiffs and Respondents.
OPINION
COMPTON, J.
In an action filed January 22, 1971, plaintiffs sought an injunction and declaratory relief for the enforcement of certain restrictions and protective covenants applicable to a tract housing development known as Montalvo Heights in Ventura County. Plaintiffs are homeowners in the tract.
The thrust of the restrictions sought to be enforced was that the tract be limited to single family dwellings for residential use.
It was alleged that defendants in violation of said restrictions were maintaining, in a house in the tract, a business establishment in the nature of a facility for the care of the mentally retarded. Defendant Marjorie Clifford is the owner of the property; defendant Kathryn Runyan merely assisted Clifford in the enterprise and all further references are to defendant Clifford.
On May 21, 1971, the superior court granted an order for summary *49 judgment and permanently enjoined defendants from "[o]perating any business or commercial establishment or any facility for the care of the mentally retarded, mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons, ..." on the property in question. Defendants appeal.
In her declaration in opposition to summary judgment defendant Clifford admitted operating a home for the mentally retarded: "... I operate a home for mentally retarded male persons at 6902 Norton Drive, Montalvo, Ventura, California; ... I have no more than six (6) such persons in the said home at any given time; ... I do receive a certain financial consideration for the residence of the said persons on my said property ... what I am operating is in essence a small boarding house. I am licensed by the State of California to have a home for the mentally retarded at the said [address].... [W]hen I purchased said property, I was not aware of ... the wording in the ... Declaration of Restrictions...." (Italics added.)
Defendant is fourth in the chain of title to the property beginning with the subdividers Ramelli & Associates. In 1955 the latter recorded a document entitled, "Reservations, Restrictions and Protective Covenants" applicable to Montalvo Heights Unit #4, Ventura County, California. Subsequent deeds to the individual parcel in question carried reference to the restrictions which insofar as is germane to this case provide, "That all of the lots in said tract are restricted to residential purposes." The restrictive document further recited that these "conditions shall operate as a covenant running with the land."
The deed by which defendant Clifford obtained title from her immediate predecessor made no reference to the said restrictions.
Defendant's contentions on appeal are (1) she was not bound by the restrictions because of the lack of reference thereto in her deed, (2) her conduct did not violate the restrictions, and (3) the restrictions are unenforceable as being contrary to the public policy and statutory law of the State of California.
We have concluded that none of defendant's contentions have merit.
(1) First, the lack of reference to the restrictions in the deed did not, as defendant contends, serve to extinguish those restrictions. Defendant's reliance on Murry v. Lovell, 132 Cal. App.2d 30 [281 P.2d 316], is misplaced. In that case the original subdividers, after recording the declaration of restrictive covenants, failed to include reference to such declaration in the first conveyances which severed title to the parcels. There the court held that because of such failure the equitable servitudes were never *50 created. The following language from Werner v. Graham, 181 Cal. 174, 183-184 [183 P. 945], is controlling here: "It is undoubted that when the owner of a subdivided tract conveys the various parcels in the tract by deeds containing appropriate language imposing restrictions on each parcel as part of a general plan of restrictions common to all the parcels and designed for their mutual benefit, mutual equitable servitudes are thereby created in favor of each parcel as against all the others.... In such a case the mutual servitudes spring into existence as between the first parcel conveyed and the balance of the parcels at the time of the first conveyance. As each conveyance follows, the burden and the benefit of the mutual restrictions imposed by preceding conveyances as between the particular parcel conveyed and those previously conveyed pass as an incident of the ownership of the parcel, and similar restrictions are created by the conveyance as between the lot conveyed and the lots still retained by the original owner...." (Italics added.)
The first conveyance from the subdividers Ramelli & Associates to the first grantee predecessors of defendant Clifford clearly recited that it was "Subject to: (1) Covenants, conditions, restrictions and easements of record." Thus, following the rule of Werner, the servitudes came into existence and were not subject to being extinguished by failure to include a similar clause in the subsequent deeds. The recorded document of restrictions was adequate notice to future grantees including defendant here.
(2) In determining whether the defendant's activity violated the restrictions, the trial court had available to it, in addition to the declaration mentioned above, defendant Clifford's deposition. In that deposition she admitted that she received $1,392 per month as compensation for the care of six handicapped individuals. Each of the said individuals received $232 per month from the State of California under the Aid to Totally Disabled program. This money was in turn paid to defendant Clifford. Clifford had two paid employees who were covered by Workmen's Compensation Insurance.
It can hardly be contended that the license, employees and income are other than the indicia of a business enterprise. Clearly the defendant's activity violated the restriction that the property be used only for residential purposes.
"[T]he primary object in construing restrictive covenants, as in construing all contracts, should be to effectuate the legitimate desires of the covenanting parties." (Hannula v. Hacienda Homes, 34 Cal.2d 442, 444-445 [211 P.2d 302, 19 A.L.R.2d 1268].)
Each of the plaintiffs here declared that they purchased their homes in *51 reliance on the restrictions and were keenly desirous of maintaining the residential character of the area. This is a laudable and understandable desire.
Without delineating the complete dimensions of the phrase "residential purposes" it is certain that in this context "business" is the antonym of "residential."
(3) Said another way the maintenance of a commercial "boarding house," to use defendant's own terminology, which in essence is providing "residence" to paying customers, is not synonymous with "residential purposes" as that latter phrase is commonly interpreted in reference to property use. In this regard, except for size, we see little distinction between defendant's business and that of a motel, inn, rest home or any of a myriad of other types of establishments where shelter is the essential commodity being marketed.
Not an insignificant factor in placing defendant's business outside the ambit of "residential purposes" is the apparent transient nature of her clientele. We infer from her declaration that she has "no more than six ... persons ... at any given time" on the premises, that the "residents" of her establishment are a changing group.
(4) Lastly, defendant directs our attention to Welfare and Institutions Code sections 5115 and 5116.
Section 5115 reads in pertinent part: "(b) In order to achieve uniform statewide implementation of the policies of this act and those of the Lanterman Mental Retardation Act of 1969, it is necessary to establish the statewide policy that the use of property for the care of six or fewer mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons is a residential use of such property for the purposes of zoning."
Section 5116 reads in pertinent part: "Pursuant to the policy stated in Section 5115, a state-authorized, certified, or licensed family care, foster home, or group home serving six or fewer mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons, shall be considered a residential use of property for the purposes of zoning."
Defendant argues that since the State of California "accepts a responsibility for its mentally retarded citizens and an obligation to them which it must discharge" (Health & Saf. Code, § 38001) (1) the Legislature intended Welfare and Institutions Code section 5115 and 5116 to apply to deed restrictions as well as zoning, and (2) the enforcement of the *52 restrictions is contrary to public policy citing Burkhardt v. Lofton, 63 Cal. App.2d 230 [146 P.2d 720] (dealing with restrictions on race).
She suggests that unless sections 5115 and 5116 are permitted to override the restrictions, people in all residential tracts could jointly agree to restrictions that would make it impossible for a mentally retarded home to operate anywhere in the state. That may well be, but the solution to such an eventuality lies in the state's exercise of the power of eminent domain to provide the necessary facilities for the mentally retarded. In that way private property rights would not be impaired without just compensation.
In an unbroken line of cases, California courts have held that a change in the zoning restrictions in an area does not impair the enforceability of existing deed restrictions. (See Wilkman v. Banks, 124 Cal. App.2d 451 [269 P.2d 33]; Mullally v. Ojai Hotel Co., 266 Cal. App.2d 9 [71 Cal. Rptr. 882].)
In other words, while re-zoning makes possible a change in the character of an area, it cannot in and of itself create the change.
Here there has been no zone change. The zone remains residential. The state, for zoning purposes, has decreed that a home for the care of six or less persons is within the definition of residential zoning. The principle is the same, however. While Welfare and Institutions Code sections 5115 and 5116 may operate as a shield to the operator of such a facility as against the attempted enforcement of its zoning regulations by a municipality, such an artificial and arbitrary attempt by the state at redefinition of terms cannot impair private contractual and property rights. (U.S. Const., art. I, § 10; Cal. Const., art. I, § 16.)
(5) The enforcement of the restrictions here does not violate public policy nor does it unconstitutionally discriminate against any group of persons. The restrictions are not aimed at the mentally retarded they are aimed at the commercial aspects of defendant's activity. This enforcement does nothing more than satisfy the reasonable expectancy of the other homeowners that the residential character of the neighborhood will be preserved.
The judgment is affirmed.
Roth, P.J., and Herndon, J., concurred.
|
The streets of Rio de Janeiro will be patrolled next year by special teams of sharpshooters who will operate with a "license to kill" in a bid to crack down on violent crime in Brazil's second-largest city, Bloomberg News reported Saturday.
Flavio Pacca, a security adviser to Rio Governor-elect Wilson Witzel, told reporters earlier this month that the teams' assignment would be to "immediately neutralize, slaughter anyone who has a rifle."
"Whoever has a rifle isn’t worried about other people’s lives, they’re ready to eliminate anyone who crosses their path, " Pacca said. "This is a grave problem, not just in Rio de Janeiro, but also in other states."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Rio de Janeiro, which hosted the World Cup final in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016, has plunged into a raft of violence that led Brazil's outgoing president, Michel Temer, to put the military in charge of the state's security. Temer made the move after muggings and beatings were captured on camera during the city's world-famous Carnival celebrations.
Human rights groups have criticized the intervention, saying it's disproportionately impacting people, particularly blacks, in poor neighborhoods.
Homicides in Rio spiked to an eight-year high of 5,346 last year, while robberies and muggings have more than doubled since 2011, Bloomberg News reported. That spike has mirrored a rise in violence throughout Brazil. According to the Brazilian Forum for Public Security, 63,880 people were murdered in the country in 2017. That's a three percent rise from the previous year and gives Brazil a murder rate of 30.8 per 100,000 people. By comparison, Mexico had a homicide rate of 25 per 100,000 in 2015. The U.S. had five homicides per 100,000 people in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
TRUMP INVITES BRAZIL PRESIDENT-ELECT BOLSONARO TO VISIT US
Most crime in Rio unfolds in the favelas, slums which are under the sway of rival drug gangs. Pacca told Bloomberg News the marksmen will work in pairs, with one wielding a weapon to kill and another serving as a kind of scout who will also record each killing to prove it was justified.
Pacca's policy also echoes the platform of Brazil's right-wing president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who ran for office on a platform of being tough on crime and vowed that cops who kill people would be shielded from prosecution.
Click for more from Bloomberg News. |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THE PROTECT DEMOCRACY PROJECT,
INC.,
Plaintiff,
Civil Action No. 17-1000 (CKK)
v.
U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY,
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
(March 23, 2020)
This lawsuit arises from a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request that Plaintiff The
Protect Democracy Project, Inc. (the “Project”) made to Defendant United States National Security
Agency (“NSA”) in 2017. Pending before the Court are Defendant’s Motion for Summary
Judgment, ECF No. 34, and Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 35.
NSA has withheld a responsive document referred to as the Ledgett Memorandum, which
was drafted by Rick Ledgett, the former Deputy Director of the NSA. NSA primarily argues that
the Ledgett Memorandum was appropriately withheld under FOIA Exemption 5 because it is
protected by the presidential communications privilege. It further argues that FOIA Exemptions
1, 3, and 6 also justify withholding specific portions of the Memorandum. In response, the Project
argues that the presidential communications privilege does not extend to the Ledgett Memorandum
and, moreover, that NSA has officially disclosed the information requested here. The Project also
contests NSA’s withholding of information under Exemptions 1, 3, and 6.
The Court agrees with NSA that the Ledgett Memorandum was appropriately withheld
under FOIA Exemption 5. The Court has further determined, after in camera review of the Ledgett
Memorandum, that the information officially disclosed to the public does not satisfy the strict test
1
for official acknowledgement or disclosure. Accordingly, upon consideration of the briefing, 1 the
relevant legal authorities, the withheld document, and the record as it currently stands, the Court
GRANTS NSA’s Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES the Project’s Cross-Motion for
Summary Judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
The Project first sent a FOIA request to NSA seeking several categories of documents
relating to contacts between NSA and others relating to potential Russian involvement in the 2016
national election. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 50; Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 1. In particular, one category of documents
sought was:
All records, including but not limited to emails, notes, and memoranda, reflecting,
discussing, or otherwise relating to communications between the National Security
Agency and the Executive Office of the President regarding contacts between
individuals connected with the Russian government and individuals connected with
the Trump campaign or the Trump administration, and/or Russian involvement
with, or attempts to influence or interfere with, the national election of November
2016.
Pl.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 50–51; Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 1.
1
The Court’s consideration has focused on the following:
• Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J. and Def.’s Mem. of P. & A. in Supp. of Its Mot. for Summ. J.
(“Def.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 34;
• Def.’s Stmt. of Material Facts as to Which There Is No Genuine Issue (“Def.’s Stmt.”),
ECF No. 34;
• Decl. of Linda M. Kiyosaki (“Kiyosaki Decl.”), ECF No. 34-1;
• Pl.’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J. and Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pl.’s Mot.”), ECF
No. 35;
• Pl.’s Stmt. of Undisputed Material Facts in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pl.’s Stmt.”), ECF
No. 35-1;
• Def.’s Reply in Supp. of Its Mot. for Summ. J. and Opp’n to Pl.’s Cross-Mot. for Summ.
J. (“Def.’s Reply”), ECF No. 37;
• Decl. of Steven E. Thompson (“Thompson Decl.”), ECF No. 37-1; and
• Pl.’s Reply Brief in Supp. of Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pl.’s Reply”), ECF No. 39.
In an exercise of its discretion, the Court finds that holding oral argument would not be of
assistance in rendering a decision. See LCvR 7(f).
2
Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit on May 24, 2017. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 52 (citing Compl, ECF
No. 1); Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 4. Plaintiff amended its Complaint on August 7, 2017. Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 5;
Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 53. Plaintiff thereafter narrowed its request in early 2018 to “memoranda,” and any
associated documents, that were “written by senior NSA officials” and “documenting a
conversation between White House personnel, including the President, and NSA senior officials,
including Adm. Rogers, in which the White House asked the NSA to publicly dispute any
suggestion of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.” Def.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 8–9; Pl.’s
Stmt.¶¶ 55–57. NSA provided a final response to this request on March 20, 2018, which included
a Glomar response in which the agency declined to confirm or deny the existence of responsive
records pursuant to FOIA Exemption 3. Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 9; Pl.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 57–59. The parties later
briefed cross-motions for summary judgment relating to the Glomar response. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 60–
65; Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 10; see also ECF Nos. 23–28 (original summary judgment briefing).
Before the Court could rule on those motions, however, the Department of Justice released
a partially redacted report drafted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller (the “Mueller Report”).
Def.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 11–12; Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 66. Volume II of the Mueller Report described a document
that appeared to be responsive to the Project’s Second Amended FOIA Request. Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 13;
Pl.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 45–48. The relevant portion of the Report reads:
On March 26, 2017, the day after the President called [Director of National
Intelligence Daniel] Coats, the President called NSA Director Admiral Michael
Rogers. The President expressed frustration with the Russia investigation, saying
that it made relations with the Russians difficult. The President told Rogers “the
thing with the Russians [wa]s messing up” his ability to get things done with Russia.
The President also said that the news stories linking him with Russia were not true
and asked Rogers if he could do anything to refute the stories. Deputy Director of
the NSA Richard Ledgett, who was present for the call, said it was the most unusual
thing he had experienced in 40 years of government service. After the call
concluded, Ledgett prepared a memorandum that he and Rogers both signed
documenting the content of the conversation and the President’s request, and
they placed the memorandum in a safe. But Rogers did not perceive the
3
President’s request to be an order, and the President did not ask Rogers to push
back on the Russia investigation itself. Rogers later testified in a congressional
hearing that as NSA Director he had “never been directed to do anything [he]
believe[d] to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate” and did “not recall
ever feeling pressured to do so.”
Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, available
at https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf, at 268–69 (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted). 2
Following the release of the Mueller Report, NSA withdrew its Glomar response. Def.’s
Stmt. ¶ 16; Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 68; Notice of Withdrawal of Glomar Response, ECF No. 31. NSA
disclosed that it had located one responsive record that it had withheld under FOIA Exemption 5
as well as FOIA Exemptions 1, 3, and 6. Pl.’s Stmt. ¶ 69 (citing Joint Status Report, ECF No. 32);
Def.’s Stmt. ¶ 18 (citing same). The parties then submitted cross-motions for summary judgment
with respect to NSA’s withholding of the Ledgett Memorandum. Upon review of the briefing and
record, the Court previously determined in its March 6, 2020 Memorandum Opinion and
accompanying Order, which it incorporates and makes a part of its opinion here, that in camera
review was required for a responsible de novo determination on the claims of exemption. See Mar.
6, 2020 Order, ECF No. 41; Mar. 6, 2020 Mem. Op., ECF No. 42. The Court has since reviewed
the Ledgett Memorandum in camera.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Congress passed FOIA to “‘open[] up the workings of government to public scrutiny’
through the disclosure of government records.” Stern v. Fed. Bureau of Investigation, 737 F.2d
84, 88 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (quoting McGehee v. Cent. Intelligence Agency, 697 F.2d 1095, 1108 (D.C.
Cir. 1983)). Congress, however, also recognized “that there are some government records for
2
The page numbers referenced here are the page numbers of the entire report, which is in Portable
Document Format (“PDF”) and is not consecutively paginated. This quotation is found on pages
56–57 of Volume II.
4
which public disclosure would be so intrusive—either to private parties or to certain important
government functions—that FOIA disclosure would be inappropriate.” Id. To that end, FOIA
“mandates that an agency disclose records on request, unless they fall within one of nine
exemptions.” Milner v. Dep’t of Navy, 562 U.S. 562, 565 (2011). Despite these exemptions,
“disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of the Act.” Dep’t of Air Force v. Rose,
425 U.S. 352, 361 (1976). The exemptions are therefore “‘explicitly made exclusive’ and must be
‘narrowly construed.’” Milner, 562 U.S. at 565 (citations omitted) (quoting Envtl. Prot. Agency
v. Mink, 410 U.S. 73, 79 (1973); Fed. Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson, 456 U.S. 615, 630
(1982)).
When presented with a motion for summary judgment in this context, the court must
conduct a de novo review of the record. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). This requires the court to
“ascertain whether the agency has sustained its burden of demonstrating the documents requested
are . . . exempt from disclosure under the FOIA.” Multi Ag Media LLC v. Dep’t of Agric., 515 F.3d
1224, 1227 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). “An agency may sustain its
burden by means of affidavits, but only ‘if they contain reasonable specificity of detail rather than
merely conclusory statements, and if they are not called into question by contradictory evidence
in the record or by evidence of agency bad faith.’” Id. at 1227 (quoting Gallant v. Nat’l Labor
Relations Bd., 26 F.3d 168, 171 (D.C. Cir. 1994)). “If an agency’s affidavit describes the
justifications for withholding the information with specific detail, demonstrates that the
information withheld logically falls within the claimed exemption, and is not contradicted by
contrary evidence in the record or by evidence of the agency’s bad faith, then summary judgment
is warranted on the basis of the affidavit alone.” Am. Civil Liberties Union v. U.S. Dep’t of
Defense, 628 F.3d 612, 619 (D.C. Cir. 2011). “Uncontradicted, plausible affidavits showing
5
reasonable specificity and a logical relation to the exemption are likely to prevail.” Ancient Coin
Collectors Guild v. U.S. Dep’t of State, 641 F.3d 504, 509 (D.C. Cir. 2011).
Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, the discovery materials on file, and any
affidavits or declarations “show[] that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the
movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
III. DISCUSSION
NSA first argues that the Ledgett Memorandum was properly withheld under FOIA
Exemption 5, which incorporates the presidential communications privilege. In response, the
Project argues that the presidential communications privilege does not extend to the Memorandum
for three main reasons. 3 First, it argues that the Memorandum does not reflect presidential
decision-making because its purpose “was to document a conversation in which the President made
an inappropriate attempt to enlist the NSA Director to publicly undermine the FBI’s ongoing
investigation of the President’s campaign and administration.” Pl.’s Mot. at 12. Second, it argues
that disclosure is warranted due to the serious allegations of wrongdoing by the President. Lastly,
it contends that the disclosure of the information in the Ledgett Memorandum in the Mueller
Report precludes invocation of the privilege. The Court considers each of these arguments in
turn. 4
3
The Project also argued that the government failed to adequately justify its assertion of the
presidential communications privilege in the affidavits it submitted. See Pl.’s Mot. at 18–20. That
argument, however, focused primarily on the assertions in the declarations and suggested that the
Court review the Ledgett Memorandum in camera. As the Court has done just that, and as it bases
its decision not only on the briefing and submissions by the parties but also on its in camera review
of the Memorandum, the Court does not dwell on this argument here.
4
Because the Court determines that the Ledgett Memorandum was properly withheld under FOIA
Exemption 5, it does not reach the parties’ arguments with respect to other FOIA exemptions
except to address some concerns related to the inclusion of classified information in the
Memorandum.
6
A. The Presidential Communications Privilege and Presidential Decision-Making
The chief determination to be made is whether the Ledgett Memorandum qualifies for the
presidential communications privilege under FOIA Exemption 5. Exemption 5 applies to “inter-
agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other
than an agency in litigation with the agency.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). “To qualify [for this
exemption], a document must thus satisfy two conditions: its source must be a Government agency,
and it must fall within the ambit of a privilege against discovery under judicial standards that would
govern litigation against the agency that holds it.” Dep’t of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users
Protective Ass’n, 532 U.S. 1, 8 (2001). Over the years, it has been construed as protecting “those
documents, and only those documents, normally privileged in the civil discovery context.” Nat’l
Labor Relations Bd. v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. 132, 149 (1975). Available privileges
include the presidential communications privilege. Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Defense
(Judicial Watch II), 913 F.3d 1106, 1109 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
That privilege ensures that the President can receive “frank and informed opinions from
his senior advisers” who may otherwise “‘be unwilling to express [those views] except privately.’”
Id. at 1110 (quoting United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 708 (1974)). The shelter of this privilege
is “properly invoked with respect to ‘documents or other materials that reflect presidential
decisionmaking and deliberations and that the President believes should remain confidential.’” Id.
at 1111 (quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729, 744 (D.C. Cir. 1997)). And it can be invoked
by not only the President, but also his advisors, to insulate their communications “‘in the course
of preparing advice for the President . . . even when these communications are not made directly
to the President.’” Id. (alteration in original) (quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 751–52).
The standard is whether the documents were “‘solicited and received’ by the President or his
7
immediate White House advisers who have ‘broad and significant responsibility for investigating
and formulating the advice to be given the President.’” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice
(Judicial Watch I), 365 F.3d 1108, 1114 (D.C. Cir. 2004) (quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at
752). This privilege “‘should be construed as narrowly as is consistent with ensuring that the
confidentiality of the President’s decision-making process is adequately protected.’” Id. at 1116
(quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 752).
“Unlike the deliberative process privilege . . . the presidential communications
privilege . . . ‘applies to documents in their entirety, and covers final and post-decisional materials
as well as pre-deliberative ones.’” Id. at 1113–14 (quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 745).
Moreover, “[a]lthough the presidential communications privilege is a qualified privilege, subject
to an adequate showing of need, FOIA requests cannot overcome the privilege because ‘the
particular purpose for which a FOIA plaintiff seeks information is not relevant in determining
whether FOIA requires disclosure.’” Judicial Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1112 (quoting Loving v. Dep’t
of Def., 550 F.3d 32, 40 (D.C. Cir. 2008)).
The Project does not dispute that the Ledgett Memorandum memorializes a conversation
between the former NSA Director and the President. See, e.g., Pl.’s Stmt. ¶¶ 45–48 (outlining
Mueller Report’s description of relevant call and resulting memorandum). Instead, the Project
asserts that the privilege “only applies to communications intended to advise the President on some
aspect of his decision-making,” and not when “the government is attempting to hide evidence of
wrongdoing by a President that was so substantial the Special Counsel highlighted it as an example
of potential obstruction of justice.” Pl.’s Mot. at 13. In short, it contends that there is no connection
between the Ledgett Memorandum and direct decision-making by the President. See, e.g., id. at
15.
8
In support of its withholding, NSA advances that the subject of the telephone call was “a
conversation regarding foreign affairs and national security, implicating potential Presidential
decision-making.” Kiyosaki Decl. ¶ 27; see Def.’s Mot. at 10–11. The second declaration
submitted by the agency explains that “Admiral Rogers provided the President with information
and analysis based on specific NSA intelligence—and on his expertise as the director of an
intelligence agency and as a senior military officer—in the context of a conversation related to
national security and foreign affairs.” Thompson Decl. ¶ 13. Accordingly, NSA argues, the
memoranda memorializes a conversation that was “generated in the course of advising the
President in the exercise of” his powers relating to foreign relations and intelligence-gathering
activities. Def.’s Mot. at 12 (internal quotation marks omitted).
The Project’s argument that “[t]here is no plausible nexus between the Ledgett
Memorandum” and direct presidential decision-making, Pl.’s Mot. at 15, is unsupported by the
Court’s in camera review of the document.
However, the Court notes a seeming discrepancy between the declarations submitted by
the Government and the Ledgett Memorandum itself. The declarations submitted by the
Government suggest that the Memorandum concerns multiple distinct topics related to foreign
relations and national security. See, e.g., Kiyosaki Decl. ¶ 27; Thompson Decl. ¶ 12. That is not
the case. While the Memorandum concerns several topics, all are directly related to a central set
of interrelated issues. Without in camera review of the Memorandum, the Court would have held
a distinctly different impression of what the Memorandum contained. This discrepancy is
concerning, especially as courts routinely rely upon declarations in the FOIA context to determine
whether documents were properly withheld.
9
Regardless, the Court’s in camera review of the Ledgett Memorandum demonstrates that
the conversation memorialized in the Memorandum involved advice solicited by, and provided to,
the President that directly related to presidential decision-making with respect to foreign relations
and intelligence-gathering activities. Such decisions are important presidential functions, and
deliberations about these decisions and activities are among those principally protected by the
presidential communications privilege. See, e.g., Nixon v. Adm’r of Gen. Servs., 433 U.S. 425,
447 (1977) (describing President’s “more particularized and less qualified privilege relating to the
need to protect military, diplomatic, or sensitive national security secrets” (internal quotation
marks omitted)). At bottom, the Ledgett Memorandum is a document “that reflect[s]
presidential . . . deliberations and that the President believes should remain confidential.” Judicial
Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1113 (internal quotation marks omitted). “Disclosure of the [Ledgett
Memorandum] would reveal the President’s deliberations.” Id.
Indeed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”)
has previously found that similar notes and memoranda memorializing meetings and telephone
calls with a nexus to presidential decision-making are protected from disclosure by the presidential
communications privilege. In In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729 (D.C. Cir. 1997), for example, the
D.C. Circuit found that documents “authored by the White House Counsel, Deputy White House
Counsel, Chief of Staff and Press Secretary” that “were communications connected to an official
matter on which they were directly advising the President” were protected by the privilege. Id. at
758. Also protected were notes taken at meetings attended by the advisers and connected to
presidential decision-making, as the “notes reflect[ed] these advisers’ communications.” Id.
The D.C. Circuit also considered a similar document in its recent opinion in Judicial Watch
II. There, the D.C. Circuit considered, among other things, the withholding of “information related
10
to memoranda regarding the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011,” including five
memoranda authored by various presidential advisers. Judicial Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1109. The
Court found that these documents were protected from disclosure, as the decision at issue required
the President to exercise his informed judgment as Commander in Chief “on a highly sensitive
subject with serious direct and collateral consequences for foreign relations that required a high
degree of protection for ‘the President’s confidentiality and the candor of his immediate White
House advisors.’” Id. at 1111 (quoting Judicial Watch I, 365 F.3d at 1123). The court further
rejected the argument that because the documents were memoranda memorializing analysis and
advice provided to the President, and were therefore likely “prepared after the briefing,” they were
not protected. See id. at 1112–13. The memoranda at issue here, drafted by the former Deputy
Director of the NSA and memorializing a conversation between the then-Director of the NSA and
the President involving advice and deliberations regarding national security and intelligence-
gathering decisions, is similarly protected by the privilege.
At various points in its briefing, the Project suggests that the Court should consider whether
portions of the Ledgett Memorandum that were possibly unrelated to presidential decision-making
can be withheld under FOIA Exemption 5. In general, the presidential communications privilege
extends to documents in their entirety. See Judicial Watch I, 365 F.3d at 1113–14. The Project
first suggested in its cross-motion that the Court may perform a segregability analysis under In re
Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729 (D.C. Cir. 1997). Pl.’s Mot. at 16. Moreover, in its Reply, the Project
also suggested that the general principle of non-segregability in this context should not hold true
when some of the contents of a withheld document have been officially acknowledged or
disclosed. See, e.g., Pl.’s Reply at 5 n.2 (arguing that construing presidential communications
privilege narrowly when part of document has been acknowledged means that privilege cannot
11
extend to entire document). The Court considers this argument both in the context of the privilege
more generally and, below, in the context of the disclosure doctrine.
To begin with, In re Sealed Case does not support that a segregability analysis is
appropriate for documents otherwise protected by the presidential communications privilege in the
FOIA context. In that case, which involved efforts to compel performance of a subpoena duces
tecum, the D.C. Circuit explained that the presidential communications privilege “is qualified, not
absolute, and can be overcome by an adequate showing of need.” 121 F.3d at 745. It further stated
that “[i]f a court believes that an adequate showing of need has been demonstrated, it should then
proceed to review the documents in camera to excise non-relevant material. The remaining
relevant material should be released.” Id. The Project, in its cross-motion, suggests that the need
is great here. See Pl.’s Mot. at 16–17. This argument overlooks, however, that the D.C. Circuit
has specifically explained that the need can never be great enough in FOIA cases:
Although the presidential communications privilege is a qualified privilege, subject
to an adequate showing of need, FOIA requests cannot overcome the privilege
because “the particular purpose for which a FOIA plaintiff seeks information is not
relevant in determining whether FOIA requires disclosure,” Loving, 550 F.3d at 40
(quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 737 n.5).
Judicial Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1112 (emphasis added). The analysis in In re Sealed Case is
therefore unhelpful for the Project here.
Moreover, the D.C. Circuit has consistently explained that “[o]nce the privilege applies,
the entirety of the document is protected.” Id. at 1111; see also, e.g., Loving, 550 F.3d at 37–38
(“The privilege covers documents reflecting presidential decisionmaking and deliberations,
regardless of whether the documents are predecisional or not, and it covers the documents in their
entirety.” (internal quotation marks omitted)); In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 745 (“In addition,
unlike the deliberative process privilege, the presidential communications privilege applies to
12
documents in their entirety, and covers final and post-decisional materials as well as pre-
deliberative ones.”). As the Court found above, the Ledgett Memorandum contains information
protected by the presidential communications privilege. The Court understands—and shares—the
Project’s concern that otherwise responsive and unprotected materials may be incorporated into a
document with materials protected by the presidential communications privilege, thus rendering
the entire document protected from disclosure. 5 But, as the doctrine currently stands, the entire
Memorandum here is protected from disclosure under the presidential communications privilege.
B. Government Misconduct
The Project also appears to argue, in a short portion of its brief, that the Ledgett
Memorandum cannot be withheld because it qualifies for a government wrongdoing or misconduct
exception. See Pl.’s Mot. at 17–18; see also, e.g., Pl.’s Reply at 2 (“Simply put, this is a case about
an extreme assertion of executive privilege intended to shield clear evidence of presidential
wrongdoing that, according to the Special Counsel, would have been considered in normal
circumstances to be evidence of possible obstruction of justice.”). Yet it is far from clear that any
such exception may be properly invoked in a FOIA Exemption 5 case involving the presidential
communications privilege.
The Project cites to National Archives and Records Administration v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157
(2004), and related cases to support this argument. That case, however, involved “privacy
concerns addressed by Exemption 7(c)” of FOIA. Id. at 172. The Supreme Court there found that
when a FOIA requester demonstrates a public interest that is sufficient to overcome the privacy
interest at stake in such cases, the government may be required to disclose the information. See
5
The Court ventures no opinion as to whether the portions of the Ledgett Memorandum directly
referenced in the Mueller Report and primarily sought by the Project would, on their own, be
protected by the presidential communications privilege if a segregability analysis were conducted.
13
id. In those cases, the requester must (1) “show that the public interest sought to be advanced is a
significant one, an interest more specific than having the information for its own sake,” and (2)
“must show the information is likely to advance that interest.” Id. The Project also cites to Roth
v. U.S. Department of Justice, 642 F.3d 1161 (D.C. Cir. 2011), which applies Favish in the same
FOIA Exemption 7(c) context, see id. at 1178. The privacy concerns underlying Exemption 7(c)
undoubtedly differ from those underlying Exemption 5 and the presidential communications
privilege.
While the D.C. Circuit has yet to recognize such an exception in the Exemption 5 context,
other courts in this circuit have found a government misconduct exception in the context of the
deliberative process privilege. See, e.g., Reinhard v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., No. 18-cv-1449
(JEB), 2019 WL 3037827, at *11 (D.D.C. July 11, 2019) (referencing “government-misconduct
exception to the deliberative-process privilege” and explaining that “any potential impropriety”
must “rise[] to the level of ‘extreme government wrongdoing’ necessary to override this privilege”
(quoting Wisdom v. U.S. Tr. Program, 266 F. Supp. 3d 93, 106 (D.D.C. 2017))); Nat’l
Whistleblower Ctr. v. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., 903 F. Supp. 2d 59, 67 (D.D.C. 2012)
(“Consistent with these cases, the Court here finds that the government-misconduct exception may
be invoked to overcome the deliberative-process privilege in a FOIA suit.”); Judicial Watch of
Fla., Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 102 F. Supp. 2d 6, 15 (D.D.C. 2000) (“It is true that ‘where there
is reason to believe the documents sought may shed light on government misconduct, the
[deliberative process] privilege is routinely denied, on the grounds that shielding internal
government deliberations in this context does not serve the public’s interest in honest, effective
government.’” (quoting In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at 738)); cf. In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d at
738 (explaining that deliberative process privilege is routinely denied “where there is reason to
14
believe the documents sought may shed light on government misconduct” outside of FOIA
context). But see Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of State, 241 F. Supp. 3d 174, 183 (D.D.C.
2017) (“Thus, the Court finds that the only applicable Circuit authority militates against
recognizing a government misconduct exception in a FOIA case[.]”), amended on other grounds
on reconsideration by 282 F. Supp. 3d 338 (D.D.C. 2017).
The Project has not cited to any of these cases, although it did cite to a Seventh Circuit case
suggesting that such an exception may exist in the context of the deliberative process privilege.
See, e.g., Enviro Tech Int’l, Inc. v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency., 371 F.3d 370, 376 (7th Cir. 2004)
(noting in dicta that “internal discussions about a course of agency action that would be nefarious,
if not illegal, likewise would not be protected by the deliberative process privilege”). Nor has the
Project cited to any case that specifically applies this exception in the context of the presidential
communications privilege—or explained why the Court should recognize such an exception here,
in a completely different context. See Pl.’s Mot. at 17–18.
In fact, D.C. Circuit precedent suggests that extension of the privilege to this context may
be inappropriate. Most notably, in In re Sealed Case, the D.C. Circuit discussed briefly the
government misconduct exception with respect to both the deliberative process privilege and the
presidential communications privilege, albeit outside of the FOIA context. See 121 F.3d at 738,
746. At one point, the D.C. Circuit stated that:
[W]hile both the deliberative process privilege and the presidential privilege are
qualified privileges, the Nixon cases suggest that the presidential communications
privilege is more difficult to surmount. In regard to both, courts must balance the
public interests at stake in determining whether the privilege should yield in a
particular case, and must specifically consider the need of the party seeking
privileged evidence. But this balancing is more ad hoc in the context of the
deliberative process privilege, and includes consideration of additional factors such
as whether the government is a party to the litigation. Moreover, the privilege
disappears altogether when there is any reason to believe government
misconduct occurred.
15
On the other hand, a party seeking to overcome the presidential privilege
seemingly must always provide a focused demonstration of need, even when
there are allegations of misconduct by high-level officials. In holding that the
Watergate Special Prosecutor had provided a sufficient showing of evidentiary
need to obtain tapes of President Nixon’s conversations, the Supreme Court made
no mention of the fact that the tapes were sought for use in a trial of former
presidential assistants charged with engaging in a criminal conspiracy while in
office. Accord Senate Committee, 498 F.2d at 731 (noting that presidential
privilege is not intended to shield governmental misconduct but arguing that
showing of need turns on extent to which subpoenaed evidence is necessary for
government institution to fulfill its responsibilities, not on type of conduct evidence
may reveal); contra 26A Wright & Graham, supra, § 5673, at 53–54 (quoting
Senate Committee’s not-a-shield language and arguing that allegations of
misconduct qualify the privilege, but not addressing Senate Committee’s comment
that need showing turns on function for which evidence is sought and not on
conduct revealed by evidence).
Id. at 746 (formatting altered, emphasis added, and footnote omitted); see also id. at 751 (“The
risk of a chill increases, however, as the possibility of disclosure rises, especially if there are
situations in which the privilege may virtually disappear, such as when government misconduct is
alleged. Nor does it suffice to respond that the public interest in honest and accountable
government is stymied if presidential advisers are allowed even a qualified privilege when
government misconduct is charged.”).
There are several takeaways from this discussion. First, the “differences between the
presidential communications privilege and the deliberative privilege demonstrate that the
presidential privilege affords greater protection against disclosure.” Id. at 746. Moreover, while
the D.C. Circuit suggested that (outside the FOIA context) the deliberative process privilege
“disappears altogether” if “there is any reason to believe government misconduct occurred,” it did
not say the same in the context of the presidential communications privilege. See id. Instead, it
focused on the requirement for showing an adequate need for the withheld documents, even when
there are allegations of misconduct. See id. This focus, and the subsequent discussion and
16
citations, appear to suggest that any government misconduct exception does not apply in the same
form—or with the same force—to the presidential communications privilege; it is instead part of
the determination of whether there is a need sufficient to overcome the privilege. However, as
noted above, the D.C. Circuit has found that no need can overcome the presidential
communications privilege in the FOIA context “because the particular purpose for which a FOIA
plaintiff seeks information is not relevant in determining whether FOIA requires disclosure.”
Judicial Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1112 (internal quotation marks omitted). Together, these
discussions suggest that it would be inappropriate to extend the government misconduct exception
to the presidential communications privilege in a FOIA Exemption 5 context.
At bottom, in light of precedent (and the lack thereof), the Project’s brief invocations of
this exception without further explanation is insufficient to convince the Court that extending any
potential government misconduct exception to this context is appropriate. Although the Court
recognizes the Project’s concern that withholding of documents may be used to shield government
wrongdoing, the Court declines to extend the exception here. 6
C. Official Disclosure or Acknowledgement
Lastly, the Project argues that the Ledgett Memorandum cannot be withheld under
Exemption 5 because the information contained in it—or at least some of that information—has
already been officially disclosed. See Pl.’s Mot. at 20–21. In particular, the Project contends that
it “plainly the case here” that “the information sought by [the Project] matches the information
already made public and is as specific as the information that has been made public to date.” Id.
at 20–21. The Project points to the description of the phone call between the President and the
6
The Court therefore does not address whether, if a government misconduct exception did apply
in this specific context, the wrongdoing alleged here would be sufficient to overcome the
presidential communications privilege.
17
Director of the NSA in the Mueller Report and argues that official disclosure precludes NSA from
withholding the Memorandum in full. See id.
In response, NSA argues that the Mueller Report is not specific enough to constitute
disclosure because “it does not quote from or otherwise divulge the full contents of the
communications between the President and Admiral Rogers.” Def.’s Mot. at 13. The declarations
submitted by NSA supported this assertion. See Kiyosaki Decl. ¶ 28; Thompson Decl. ¶ 12.
Because the Mueller Report “describes only vaguely and only in part the contents of the Ledgett
Memo,” NSA contends, the Memorandum was not officially disclosed in full. Def.’s Mot. at 15.
The Court agrees with NSA that the strict requirements of the official disclosure test are not
satisfied here.
“If the government has officially acknowledged information, a FOIA plaintiff may compel
disclosure of that information even over an agency’s otherwise valid exemption claim.” Am. Civil
Liberties Union v. U.S. Dep’t of Def., 628 F.3d 612, 620 (D.C. Cir. 2011). Information must satisfy
three criteria to qualify as officially acknowledged: “(1) the information requested must be as
specific as the information previously released; (2) the information requested must match the
information previously disclosed; and (3) the information requested must already have been made
public through an official and documented disclosure.” Id. at 620–21. But “the fact that
information exists in some form in the public domain does not necessarily mean that official
disclosure will not cause harm cognizable under a FOIA exemption.” Wolf v. C.I.A., 473 F.3d
370, 378 (D.C. Cir. 2007). “Prior disclosure of similar information does not suffice; instead, the
specific information sought by the plaintiff must already be in the public domain by official
disclosure.” Id. (emphasis in original). “The insistence on exactitude recognizes the
18
Government’s vital interest in information relating to national security and foreign affairs.” Id.
(internal quotation marks omitted).
These requirements are not met here. As for the first and second requirements, the Project
requests the Ledgett Memorandum either in full or in part. As the Court noted above, however,
documents properly withheld under the presidential communications privilege are generally
withheld or released in full. To address this hurdle in its request for only a portion of the
Memorandum, the Project argues that the D.C. Circuit’s language indicating that this privilege
“must be construed as narrowly as is consistent with ensuring that the confidentiality of the
President’s decisionmaking process is adequately protected,” Judicial Watch II, 913 F.3d at 1111
(internal quotation marks omitted), must be squared with the official disclosure doctrine. This is
done, the Project suggests, by allowing disclosure of a portion of the document. See Pl.’s Reply
at 5 n.2. However, as the Court discussed at length above, this ignores consistent precedent.
Accordingly, the Court rejects the Project’s argument that part of the Ledgett Memorandum can
be released via a segregability analysis.
The Court consequently considers the Project’s request for the Ledgett Memorandum in
full. As noted above, precedent on this topic indicates that there must be a close match between
the information requested and the information disclosed in recognition of “the Government’s vital
interest in information relating to national security and foreign affairs.” Wolf, 473 F.3d at 378
(internal quotation marks omitted). Indeed, in cases where disclosure of information is at issue,
“the inquiry turns on the match between the information requested and the content of the prior
disclosure.” Id. In Military Audit Project v. Casey, 656 F.2d 724 (D.C. Cir. 1981), for instance,
the D.C. Circuit rejected the argument that disclosure of some information, which overlapped with
the information sought, rendered all the information sought officially disclosed or acknowledged,
19
see id. at 752–53. And in Fitzgibbon v. C.I.A., 911 F.2d 755 (D.C. Cir. 1990), the D.C. Circuit
reversed the district court’s finding that information about a particular CIA station should be
disclosed as the information disclosed was about a different time period (in 1960 to 1961) than the
time period in the request (dating back to 1956), see id. at 765–66.
In light of this precedent and the Court’s in camera review of the Ledgett Memorandum,
the information disclosed and released in the Mueller Report is not sufficiently specific. In other
words, the information requested by the Project—the Ledgett Memorandum—is not as specific as
the information previously disclosed and released in the Report. The Mueller Report’s description
of the phone call and resulting Memorandum is not as comprehensive as the Ledgett Memorandum
itself; the Memorandum contains a significant amount of information that was not included in the
Mueller Report. Even with respect to the information included in the Mueller Report, the Ledgett
Memorandum contains more details. 7 The first and second requirements are therefore not met
here. The Court thus rejects the Project’s argument that the Ledgett Memorandum cannot be
withheld on this basis.
IV. CONCLUSION
The Court finds that the Ledgett Memorandum was properly withheld under the
presidential communications privilege pursuant to FOIA Exemption 5. Accordingly, the Court
GRANTS NSA’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 34, and DENIES the Project’s Cross-
Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 35. An appropriate Order accompanies this
7
While the Court does not address the parties’ arguments with respect to classified information in
depth, based on the Court’s in camera review, release of the Ledgett Memorandum in full would
also present concerns with respect to classified information. See also Kiyosaki Decl. ¶¶ 16–20;
Thompson Decl. ¶¶ 9–10.
20
Memorandum Opinion. There are no claims remaining and therefore this case shall be
DISMISSED.
Date: March 23, 2020 /s/
COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY
United States District Judge
21
|
Redman wins fifth straight as Royals win sixth of seven
The left-hander pitched seven sharp innings to win his fifth
straight start and the Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 Sunday for their sixth victory in seven games.
Redman, who began the year 0-4 in his first seven starts, is 5-0
with a 3.74 ERA since coming off the bereavement list after his
father had successful heart surgery.
He is the first Kansas City pitcher to win five consecutive
starts since Darrell May from June 27 to July 19, 2003. Redman's
five wins in June match his victory total last season with
Pittsburgh.
"I missed spring training," said Redman, who had surgery on
his left knee in March. "I don't think the knee is an issue, just
the fact I threw only two innings in spring training. I got a late
start and came back quick from my surgery and back in the big
leagues after just two rehab starts.
"In April, I was still getting my feet wet, it was like it was
my spring training," he said. "In May, I was just trying to find
my arm slot, comfort level and a good release point. Here in June,
you've got some innings under your belt and getting on a good roll
and just roll with it."
Redman (5-4) gave up six hits, walked two and struck out one.
"That's the way I pitch a lot -- to contact, try to make them
hit my pitch and keep the ball down," Redman said. "As the game
went on, I got a lot more groundballs than fly balls. That's a key.
I never go for strikeouts."
"We're starting to see a little steamroll effect,"
Mientkiewicz said after the Royals won for the eighth time in 11
games. "The bottom line is our pitching has been better."
Redman, who improved to 6-2 with a 2.49 ERA in eight career
starts against the Brewers, was replaced by Joel Peralta after
giving up a double to Rickie Weeks leading off the eighth.
"There are two losses in there," Redman said. "They got my
number a couple of times. I've pitched a good ballgame a couple of
times against them. They are a lot different team in the past when
I got of lot of those wins. They are a solid baseball team. You
definitely have to make your pitches on them."
Jimmy Gobble got four outs for his first career save, striking
out two.
"I didn't realize it was a save until later," said Gobble, who
got the game ball. "I'm not a closer, not even close."
Brewers right-hander Rick Helling, making his second start of
the season after spending two months on the disabled list with a
sprained right elbow, was pulled after 63 pitches and three
innings. He allowed one run, three hits and three walks.
"He was just laboring from the first pitch on," Brewers
manager Ned Yost said. "He was pitching with a lot of heart. When
he got up to 60 pitches in three innings, the way Redman is on us,
I didn't want to take a chance they'd throw two or three quick runs
on us."
Yost said he is "probably going to move" Helling back to long
relief and insert Carlos Villanueva into the rotation.
"I threw a lot of pitches for three innings, but I've thrown a
lot of games where I've thrown a lot of pitches early and I always
want to stay in," Helling said. "The manager and pitching coach
make the decision when I come out. I've got no problem with that."
As far as going to the bullpen, Helling said, "I'll do whatever
they want me to do."
David DeJesus led off the third with a double, advanced to third
on a wild pitch and scored on Mientkiewicz's sacrifice fly for the
only run off Helling (0-2).
The Royals scored another run in the fifth off Villanueva. Joey Gathright opened the inning with a walk, went to third on DeJesus'
single and scored on Graffanino's grounder.
That gave Redman a cushion.
"It is easy to pitch when things are going your way," he said.
"You have a confidence level and just go out and try to repeat it
each five days. June typically is a pretty good month for me."
Mientkiewicz doubled in the seventh off Brian Shouse to score
Graffanino, who walked.
The Royals added three more runs in the eighth. Mientkiewicz,
Graffanino and Matt Stairs each drove in one.
The Brewers got only one runner to third base in the first seven
innings. Corey Koskie doubled with one out and went to third on
Brady Clark's infield single. Redman got out of that jam by
retiring Chad Moeller on a fly to center.
Game notes
Brewers SS Bill Hall, who left Saturday's game with an
upset stomach, did not start. ... Mientkiewicz made a diving stop
of Prince Fielder's hard smash down the first-base line to rob him
of a hit in the fourth. ... The Brewers dropped to 12-22 on the
road. |
{
"state": {
"_": {
"off": "Sl\u00f6kkt",
"on": "\u00cd gangi"
}
},
"title": "Vifta"
} |
Q:
Removing 'default' annotation on storageclass AKS does not persist
I'm trying to set a new default storage class in our Azure Kubernetes Service. (1.15.10). I've tried a few things but the behavior is strange to me.
I've created a new storage class custom, set it to be the default storage class and then I remove the is-default-class from the default storageclass.
default-storage-class.yml:
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
name: custom
parameters:
cachingmode: ReadOnly
kind: Managed
storageaccounttype: Standard_LRS
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-disk
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: Immediate
and the commands:
# create new storage class "custom"
kubectl apply -f ./default-storage-class.yml
# set storageclass as new default
kubectl patch storageclass custom -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"true"}}}'
# remove default storage class from default
kubectl patch storageclass default -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"false"}}}'
At first, it seems to be working fine:
$kubectl get sc
custom (default) kubernetes.io/azure-disk 6d23h
default kubernetes.io/azure-disk 14m
But within a minute, without changing anything:
$kubectl get sc
custom (default) kubernetes.io/azure-disk 6d23h
default (default) kubernetes.io/azure-disk 16m
I'm probably missing something here, but no idea what.
If I do a kubectl describe sc default in the minute it hasn't changed back :
storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class=false,storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class=false
And a moment later:
storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class=true,storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class=false
A:
After a lot of testing, found the only way to make the default to be not default was by updating not only the storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class annotation but kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration annotation as well.
kubectl patch storageclass default -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"false", "kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration": "{\"allowVolumeExpansion\":true,\"apiVersion\":\"storage.k8s.io/v1beta1\",\"kind\":\"StorageClass\",\"metadata\":{\"annotations\":{\"storageclass.beta.kubernetes.io/is-default-class\":\"false\"},\"labels\":{\"kubernetes.io/cluster-service\":\"true\"},\"name\":\"default\"},\"parameters\":{\"cachingmode\":\"ReadOnly\",\"kind\":\"Managed\",\"storageaccounttype\":\"StandardSSD_LRS\"},\"provisioner\":\"kubernetes.io/azure-disk\"}"}}}'
After applying this, default StorageClass stayed non-default.
|
Human beings, I love ya, but man are we disgusting. This video by Aaron Rogers lists and animates all the scientific grossness of being a human and it gets pretty gnarly. Like how many hot tubs our saliva can fill and what our eye boogers are made from and all the other nasty stuff that comes with our human body. It's an eye opener. [Vimeo] |
Erythrocephalum
Erythrocephalum is a genus of African flowering plants in the daisy family.
Species
References
Category:Asteraceae genera
Category:Mutisieae
Category:Flora of Africa |
Topguest Founder Geoff Lewis Joins Founders Fund as Principal
Mr. Lewis has gone to the dark side. Here's what he's looking for.
Topguest, a loyalty program that relies on social media check-ins, was acquired by Switchfly in December. It took about six months before the two companies were fully integrated, which is when Topguest founder Geoff Lewis waved goodbye. Mr. Lewis, a New Yorker by way of Canada and San Francisco, joined Founders Fund—one of Topguest’s investors—as a principal last month.
“For me it was less a decision to move to the investor side broadly, and more of a decision to join Founders Fund in particular,” Mr. Lewis told Betabeat in an email. “I’m proud of what we built with Topguest, but it’s not the type of product that will dramatically change the world for the better. Coming off of Topguest, the question for me was how can I help to make a much bigger impact in a way that’s well leveraged?”
A much bigger impact in a way that’s well-leveraged. That’s entrepreneur-speak for you. At Founders Fund, Mr. Lewis will focused on consumer Internet startups with the potential to be the next Facebook or Spotify, but he’s looking for world-changing companies in any space, at any stage, with any product, and in any region, he said.
“Founders who cannot imagine doing anything other than what they’re working on right now should get in touch,” he said. He’s at Geoff@foundersfund.com or @justglew.
Founders Fund was attractive because the firm’s partners are “deeply committed to backing transformational companies that if successful, will change the world alongside becoming multi-billion dollar businesses,” he said. The fund is invested in SpaceX, for example.
“It’s no secret that being a VC is much, much easier than being an entrepreneur, yet you still get to contribute – albeit in a small way – to the creation of meaningful companies,” he said. He’s wary of the hype cycle that comes with consumer products, though, where good investments are hard to find. “I’m the lucky guy who gets to try,” he said.
“When we were seeking financing for Topguest, I was struck by how few VCs had actually co-founded and led startups themselves. That’s a problem I want to help solve,” he said.
Betabeat is now the newly launched Innovation section of the Observer. All your favorite features and columns—as well as exciting new areas of tech coverage—can now be found at Observer.com/Innovation.
Don't miss the latest and best writing on technology and the future of business innovation. Add the Innovation section to your RSS feed and follow the Observer on Twitter and Facebook. |
Long-term follow-up of endurance and safety outcomes during enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis VI: Final results of three clinical studies of recombinant human N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term clinical benefits and safety of recombinant human arylsulfatase B (rhASB) treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI: Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome), a lysosomal storage disease. Fifty-six patients derived from 3 clinical studies were followed in open-label extension studies for a total period of 97-260 Weeks. All patients received weekly infusions of rhASB at 1 mg/kg. Efficacy was evaluated by (1) distance walked in a 12-minute walk test (12MWT) or 6-minute walk test (6MWT), (2) stairs climbed in the 3-minute stair climb (3MSC), and (3) reduction in urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG). Safety was evaluated by compliance, adverse event (AE) reporting and adherence to treatment. A significant reduction in urinary GAG (71-79%) was sustained. For the 12MWT, subjects in Phase 2 showed improvement of 255+/-191 m (mean+/-SD) at Week 144; those in Phase 3 Extension demonstrated improvement from study baseline of 183+/-26 m (mean+/- SE) in the rhASB/rhASB group at Week 96 and from treatment baseline (Week 24) of 117+/-25 m in the placebo/rhASB group. The Phase 1/2 6MWT and the 3MSC from Phase 2 and 3 also showed sustained improvements through the final study measurements. Compliance was 98% overall. Only 560 of 4121 reported AEs (14%) were related to treatment with only 10 of 560 (2%) described as severe. rhASB treatment up to 5 years results in sustained improvements in endurance and has an acceptable safety profile. |
Q:
Why doesn't exist birthday claim on Google provider authentication?
App: .Net Core 3 with Identity.
When app authenticates with Google it gets photo, locale, usersurname, username...
But I can't get birthdays. I have searched in internet for two days but didn't get a solution.
Startup.cs
services.AddAuthentication()
.AddGoogle(options =>
{
IConfigurationSection googleAuthNSection =
Configuration.GetSection("Authentication:Google");
options.ClientId = googleAuthNSection["ClientId"];
options.ClientSecret = googleAuthNSection["ClientSecret"];
// scope for birthday
options.Scope.Add("https://www.googleapis.com/auth/user.birthday.read");
options.AuthorizationEndpoint += "?prompt=consent";
options.AccessType = "offline";
options.ClaimActions.MapJsonKey("avatar", "picture", "url");
options.ClaimActions.MapJsonKey("locale", "locale", "string");
// all they don't work:
//options.ClaimActions.MapJsonKey("birthday", "birthday", ClaimValueTypes.String);
//options.ClaimActions.MapJsonKey(ClaimTypes.DateOfBirth, "birthdays");
options.ClaimActions.MapJsonKey(ClaimTypes.DateOfBirth, "birthdays", ClaimValueTypes.String);
options.SaveTokens = true;
options.Events.OnCreatingTicket = ctx =>
{
List<AuthenticationToken> tokens = ctx.Properties.GetTokens().ToList();
tokens.Add(new AuthenticationToken()
{
Name = "TicketCreated",
Value = DateTime.UtcNow.ToString()
});
ctx.Properties.StoreTokens(tokens);
return Task.CompletedTask;
};
});
Account/ExternalLoginModel.cs
public async Task<IActionResult> OnGetCallbackAsync(string returnUrl = null, string remoteError = null)
{
//....
var info = await _signInManager.GetExternalLoginInfoAsync();
// Sign in the user with this external login provider if the user already has a login.
var result = await _signInManager.ExternalLoginSignInAsync(info.LoginProvider, info.ProviderKey, isPersistent: false, bypassTwoFactor: true);
foreach (var i in info.Principal.Claims)
{
// get all claims from Google, except birthday.
Console.WriteLine(i.Type + " " + i.Value);
}
}
Google OAuth consent screen
On https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people/get I get birthday:
"birthdays": [
{
"metadata": {
"primary": true,
"source": {
"type": "PROFILE",
"id": "11"
}
},
"date": {
"year": 1930,
"month": 12,
"day": 26
}...
How I can get in .Net Core birthday claim?
A:
I faced the same issue. also I tried to use Google OpenId Connect REST APIs and data required not returned even if I add "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/user.birthday.read" scope to auth request.
As per my search, fields like "Gender" and "birthdays" is not part of the standard and you need to access the provider APIs to get such information.
For me I'm using IdentityServer4 so I added blow code in ProfileService to get the required claims and add them to user claims:
// Create Credentials required from access token
// PeopleServiceService nuget:Google.Apis.PeopleService.v1
var cred = GoogleCredential.FromAccessToken("ACCESS_TOKEN");
var peopleServiceService = new PeopleServiceService(
new BaseClientService.Initializer() { HttpClientInitializer = cred });
// use people/me to access data for the current authenticated user
var personRequest = peopleServiceService.People.Get("people/me");
personRequest.PersonFields = "birthdays,genders";
Person person = peopleRequest.Execute();
// you can access now
// person.Genders, person.Birthdays
In your case you may add the claims when 'OnCreatingTicket' executed:
// options.Events.OnCreatingTicket = ctx => { -->
Person person = peopleRequest.Execute();
var genderValue = person.Genders?.FirstOrDefault()?.FormattedValue;
var claimsIdentity = ctx.Principal.Identities.First();
claimsIdentity.AddClaim(new Claim("Gender", genderValue));
tokens.Add(new AuthenticationToken()
{
Name = "TicketCreated",
Value = DateTime.UtcNow.ToString()
});
People API documentation:
https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people/get
|
Britain's newspapers rallied behind their French counterparts on Thursday following the horrific terror attack on magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead.
Britain's newspapers rallied behind their French counterparts on Thursday following the horrific terror attack on magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead, urging them not to restrain their renowned spirit of provocation.
But they also called for a measured response, fearing the rise of Islamophobia and the far right.
Both the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph ran with the frontpage headline "The War on Freedom" along with a photograph of the attack showing two attackers pointing their guns at a policeman lying on the pavement.
In the same vein, The Times led with "Attack on Freedom" on its front page while the Guardian called it an "Assault on Democracy."
The Guardian lept to the defence of the controversial magazine, which angered Muslims by publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, saying there was something "distinctly French about the form of offensiveness that Charlie Hebdo revelled in."
"Radicals, as the murdered journalists assuredly saw themselves, have always mocked Christian humbug, just as Charlie Hebdo did, and never seen any principled reason to show more deference to other faiths," said its editorial.
The Financial Times earlier fended off criticism after publishing an opinion piece by Europe Editor Tony Barber, which called Charlie Hebdo's provocation of Muslims "stupid" and "foolish".
But its editorial insisted that journalists must speak their minds, regardless of whom it may offend.
"Charlie Hebdo may be a very different publication to our own, but the courage of its journalists -- and their right to publish -- cannot be placed in doubt. A free press is worth nothing if its practitioners do not feel free to speak."
The Times also defended the right to criticise Islamists, saying they were prime targets "precisely because of their unconscionable threats and spurious claim to special status."
But it warned that French President Francois Hollande may find himself under pressure from the far right to "fight fire with fire". "If France can fight it with unity instead, he will not have to," it said. "We are all Charlie now."
The Daily Telegraph's editorial also feared the fallout of the attack. "A new book by the French author Michel Houellebecq, which provided the front cover for this week's Charlie Hebdo, envisages an election in which France's mainstream parties join forces to back a Muslim candidate to stop (Front National leader) Marine Le Pen becoming president," it said.
"In the event, the new head of state introduces Sharia law to France. Such paranoia can easily be stoked by the murders in Paris. It needs to be resisted, otherwise the terrorists really will have won."
AFP |
Posts Tagged 'Code'
How many languages can you speak (sorry, fellow geeks; I mean human languages, not programming)?
Every day people across the globe depend more and more on the Internet for their day-to-day activities, increasing the need for software to support multiple languages to accommodate the growing diversity of its users. If you work developing software, this means it is only a matter of time before you get tasked to translate your applications.
Wouldn't it be great if you could learn something with just a few key strokes? Just like Neo in The Matrix when he learns kung fu. Well, wish no more! I'll show you how to teach your applications to speak in multiple languages with just a few key strokes using Watson’s Language Translation service, available through Bluemix. It provides on-the-fly translation between many languages. You pay only for what you use and it’s consumable through web services, which means pretty much any application can connect to it—and it's platform and technology agnostic!
I'll show you how easy it is to create a PHP program with language translation capabilities using Watson's service.
Step 1: The client.
You can write your own code to interact with Watson’s Translation API, but why should you? The work is already done for you. You can pull in the client via Composer, the de-facto dependency manager for PHP. Make sure you have Composer installed, then create a composer.json file with the following contents:
We will now ask Composer to install our dependency. Execute one of the following commands from your CLI:
After the command finishes, you should have a 'vendor' directory created.
Step 2: The credentials.
From Bluemix, add the Language Translation service to your application and retrieve its credentials from the application's dashboard (shown below).
Step 3: Put everything together.
At the same level where the composer.json file was created in Step 1, create a PHP file named test.php with the following contents:
Many companies today are leveraging new tools to automate deployments and handle configuration management. Ansible is a great tool that offers flexibility when creating and managing your environments.
SoftLayer has components built within the Ansible codebase, which means continued support for new features as the Ansible project expands. You can conveniently pull your SoftLayer inventory and work with your chosen virtual servers using the Core Ansible Library along with the SoftLayer Inventory Module. Within your inventory list, your virtual servers are grouped by various traits, such as “all virtual servers with 32GB of RAM,” or “all virtual servers with a domain name of softlayer.com.” The inventory list provides different categorized groups that can be expanded upon. With the latest updates to the SoftLayer Inventory Module, you can now get a list of virtual servers by tags, as well as work with private virtual servers. You can then use each of the categories provided by the inventory list within your playbooks.
So, how can you work with the new categories (such as tags) if you don’t yet have any inventory or a deployed infrastructure within SoftLayer? You can use the new SoftLayer module that’s been added to the Ansible Extras Project. This module provides the ability to provision virtual servers within a playbook. All you have to do is supply the build detail information for your virtual server(s) within your playbook and go.
Let’s look at an example playbook. You’ll want to specify a hostname along with a domain name when defining the parameters for your virtual server(s). The hostname can have an incremental number appended at the end of it if you’re provisioning more than one virtual server; e.g., Hostname-1, Hostname-2, and so on. You just need to specify a value True for the parameter increment. Incremental naming offers the ability to uniquely name virtual servers within your playbook, but is also optional in the case where you want similar hostnames. Notice that you can also specify tags for your virtual servers, which is handy when working with your inventory in future playbooks.
Following is a sample playbook for building Ubuntu virtual servers on SoftLayer:
By default, your playbook will pause until each of your virtual servers completes provisioning before moving onto the next plays within your playbook. You can specify the wait parameter to False if you choose not to wait for the virtual servers to complete provisioning. The wait parameter is helpful for when you want to build many virtual servers, but some have different characteristics such as RAM or tag naming. You can also set the maximum time you want to wait on the virtual servers by setting the wait_timeout parameter, which takes an integer defining the number of seconds to wait.
Once you’re finished using your virtual servers, canceling them is as easy as creating them. Just specify a new playbook step with a state of absent, as well as specifying the virtual server ID or tags to know which virtual servers to cancel.
The following example will cancel all virtual servers on the account with a tag of tomcat-test:
New features are being developed with the core inventory library to bring additional functionality to Ansible on SoftLayer. These new developments can be found by following the Core Ansible Project hosted on Github. You can also follow the Ansible Extras Project for updates to the SoftLayer module.
As of this blog post, the new SoftLayer module is still pending inclusion into the Ansible Extras Project. Click here to check out the current pull request for the latest code and samples.
I highly recommend reading part one of the series. I outlined many HTML5 techniques that had never been possible with anything but Flash or jQuery before. In this blog I’ll continue with additional techniques that I couldn’t fit into the first blog.
I stand by my previous statement that if we forget what we’ve done and scripted for over two decades with previous versions of HTML and return to the basics with HTML5, we can re-learn a whole new foundation that is sure to make us stronger developers and smarter engineers.
IV. No More Declaring Types!
The sole purpose to develop better scripting and tagging languages is to improve efficiency. I think we can all agree that a smarter language should be able to detect certain attributes and tags automatically . . . well now, HTML5 has taken a huge step toward this.
Now <scripts> and <links> can be FREE of the type attribute!
Instead of:
<link type=”text/css” rel=”stylesheet” href=”css/stylesheet.css” />
Or
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”js/javascript.js”></script>
We can now just simply declare:
<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”css/stylesheet.css” />
And
<script src=”js/javascript.js”></script>
Something so little . . . yet so awesome!
V. SEMANTICS! Well . . . partial semantics anyway!
HTML5 supports some semantic tags—the most popular being the header and footers.
Whoo! That’s an AWESOME change. Of course there could be a LOT more semantic changes, but we all know those will be coming soon! Until then, we can enjoy what we have.
VI. Video Support without Third-Party Plugins
Many browsers are jumping on board with providing support for the <video> tag, which allows native playback of videos. Gone are the days of having to use javascript/jQuery or *shudder* Flash to embed videos into your pages.
You’ll notice there are TWO <source> tags; this is because browsers like IE and Safari have already started supporting advanced video formats such as mp4. Firefox and Chrome are still in the process, but for now we still need to provide ogv/ogg videos. It’s only a matter of time before all the browsers will support mp4, but this is definitely a huge step forward from third-party plugins!
You should also notice there are two attributes listed in the <video> tag: controls and preload. Controls embed native video playback controls in the video player while preload allows the video to be preloaded, which is GREAT if you have a page just dedicated to viewing the video.
Thanks for tuning in, and let us know what YOUR favorite new features of HTML5 are! And if you’re interested in a gaming series with HTML5, holla at us, and I’ll get on it! I’ve been dying to write a blog series dedicated to teaching HTML5 gaming with the <canvas> tag!
If you guys have read any of my other blogs, I’m sure you’ll notice a pattern: rather than discussing opinions or news of new technologies, more often than not, I like to write more in the form of tutorials and hands-on exercises that demonstrate either fundamentals or new tips and tricks that I have learned.
In this blog, I’d like to discuss HTML5. I know, I know, it’s not exactly a subject that’s brand new. However, with as many HTML5 implementations as there are out there, and throughout many discussions, I’ve realized that many of the most talented Web developers have had to return to the basics of HTML5 features and techniques in order to redesign projects the same way they developed them.
Simply put: If we forget what we’ve done and scripted for over two decades with previous HTML versions and return to the basics, we can re-learn a new foundation that is sure to make us stronger developers and smarter engineers.
I. Declaration of Independence … or at least a declaration you don’t have to spend hours memorizing!
One of the most raved about features of HTML5 (and yet one of the simplest new features) is the new Doctype. How many of you had to Google the standard Doctype every single time you started a new project? Or perhaps you kept the tag in a code bin for easy copy/pasting? Well, no more!
Of course the actual strict/transitional or html/xhtml would vary depending on your page, but they pretty much worked the same way.
The new HTML5 way:
<!DOCTYPE html>
Done. I know it seems like such a simple thing, but returning to the foundation of what we learned so many years ago and re-learning them in the new HTML5 way will not only strengthen our sites, but it will also build a brand new foundation of flexibility and efficiency. Technology evolves at such a rapid pace that if we don’t keep up, we’re going to be left chasing the wagon of the future.
II. Editable content WITHOUT JavaScript!
HTML5 has added so many advanced features that our need for jQuery can be cut by nearly a third (depending on our requirements of course), which in turn greatly reduces the overhead of the browser’s need to process a ton of jQuery functions. If we utilize just a few of HTML5’s awesome new jQuery-like features, we can speed up our site and keep our .js scripts smaller!
Just for giggles (if you’re not familiar with HTML5’s editable content), give this a try:
Put that into an .html file, and open it up in your favorite browser. You’ll see what should look like this:
A simple list of course. In the years of your career I’m sure you’ve made tens of thousands of these. What’s cool about this list, if you’re not familiar with all of HTML5’s neat little tricks, is that this list is editable. Go ahead and try clicking on the list item and replace the names; even add your own name!
As you can see, I didn’t have the heart to remove any of our most frequent bloggers, so I just appended my name to Mark Quigley (of course, that’s not my true SoftLayer Blog ranking, but one day soon … it shall be!)
This feature may not save the user’s edits, but if you add in some nifty HTML5 storage abilities (local or session), you could have yourself a pretty robust application!
III. Beautiful placeholders to hold a place for my heart.
One of my biggest gripes every time I’d either design or program a user interface (registration, account functionality) was the fact that I would have to integrate a jQuery function just to add a little bit of extra help with the text boxes. Placeholders never worked as they should. Sometimes we just didn’t have enough real estate on the page for the amount of instruction as we needed, which meant another placeholder maker for jQuery.
HTML5 now comes equipped with beautiful support for placeholder text (well, I suppose it depends on your POV on designing/developing forms. If you do it as much as I do, the new placeholders are the holy grail of usable forms!). A very simple preview of what HTML form life was like before HTML5 (without the jQuery function to add text to just one input box):
The fact is: Sometimes we don’t always have the real estate that we would like to provide the user enough instructions to clarify what needs to be done!
This simple form could end up being very confusing for the user. It’s so simple, yet there are several ways to enter a phone number, and depending on the backend, it may only accept one format.
Just by adding the simple placeholder attribute, we have now cleared up exactly what format we need the phone number! Now let’s have a look:
It’s funny how a simple, light-colored demonstration of acceptable input can really beautify a form and increase usability. With the placeholder attribute in place in this example, I’m not even sure it’s necessary to have the instruction text on the right, as we can clearly see we need 10 digits, with parenthesis and dashes.
Well my friends, looking at the word count of this document, it looks like this blog is coming to a close, and I’ve only gone over three of my favorite foundational features of HTML5, so you know what that means … Part 2!
If you guys have read any of my past blogs, you know how much I LOVE jQuery, but every good developer knows that if there’s an easier or more efficient way of doing something: DO IT. With all the new developments with CSS3, HTML5, etc. etc., sometimes we have to get back to basics to relearn how to do things more efficiently, so here it goes!
Nearly every website has some form of 2.0/dynamic/generated content nowadays, and if your site doesn’t… well, it probably should catch up! I’ll show you how with some new CSS tricks and how it can reduce a lot of overhead of including the entire jQuery library (which would save you approximately 84kb per page load, assuming you have no other asynchronous/client side functionality you need).
I’ll start off with an easy example, since I know most of you take these examples and let your creativity run wild for your own projects. (Note to self: start a “Code Gone Wild” series.)
Usually this is the part where I say “First, let’s include the jQuery library as always.” Not this time, let’s break the rules!
FIRST, start off your document like any other (with the basic structure, set your DOCTYPE appropriately, i.e. strict vs transitional):
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
Wow, you can already tell this generated content’s going to be a TON easier than using jQuery (for those of you whom aren’t already jQuery fans).
Now let’s add in a div there; every time we hover over that div, we’re going to display our generated content with CSS. Inside of our div, we’re going to place a simple span, like so:
As you can see, the span content contains a simple question and the data-title attribute contains the answer to that question.
Now let’s just make this div a little bit prettier before we get into the fancy stuff.
Add some style to the <head> section of our document:
<style>
.slisawesome {
/* Will TOTALLY be making another blog about the cool CSS gradients soon */
background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #8dd2d9 , #58c0c7);
padding: 20px; /* give the box some room to breathe */
width: 125px; /* give it a fixed width since we know how wide it should be */
margin: 100px auto; /* move it away from the top of the screen AND center it */
border: 1px solid black; /* this is just a little border */
position: relative; /* this is to help with our generated content positioning */
}
</style>
Now you should have something that looks like this:
This is good; this is what you should have. Now let’s make the magic happen and add the rest of our CSS3:
<style>
.slisawesome {
/* Will TOTALLY be making another blog about the cool CSS gradients soon */
background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #8dd2d9 , #58c0c7);
padding: 20px; /* give the box some room to breathe */
width: 125px; /* give it a fixed width since we know how wide it should be */
margin: 100px auto; /* move it away from the top of the screen AND center it */
border: 1px solid black; /* this is just a little border */
position: relative; /* this is to help with our generated content positioning */
}
.slisawesome span::before {
content:attr(data-title); /* assigning the data-title attribute value to the content */
opacity: 0; /* hiding data-title until we hover over it */
position: absolute; /* positioning our data-title content */
margin-top: 50px; /* putting more space between our question and answer */
/* Fancy transitions for our data-title when we hover over our question */
/* which I’m TOTALLY going to write another blog for ;) If you guys want, of course */
-webkit-transition:opacity 0.4s; /* determines the speed of the transition */
transition:opacity 0.4s; /* determines the speed of the transition */
}
</style>
Despite my anticlimactic adding of “the magic,” we just added a :hover that will show full opacity when we hover, so refresh your page and try it out! You should see something like this when you hover over THE QUESTION:
Of course you could REALLY start getting fancy with this by adding some php variables for the logged in user, or perhaps make it dynamic to location, time, etc. The possibilities are endless, so go… go and expand on this awesome generated content technique!
"What is SoftLayer doing with OpenStack?" I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been asked that question over the last few years. In response, I'll usually explain how we've built our object storage platform on top of OpenStack Swift, or I'll give a few examples of how our customers have used SoftLayer infrastructure to build and scale their own OpenStack environments. Our virtual and bare metal cloud servers provide a powerful and flexible foundation for any OpenStack deployment, and our unique three-tiered network integrates perfectly with OpenStack's Compute and Network node architecture, so it's high time we make it easier to build an OpenStack environment on SoftLayer infrastructure.
To streamline and simplify OpenStack deployment for the open source community, we've published Opscode Chef recipes for both OpenStack Grizzly and OpenStack Havana on GitHub: SoftLayer Chef-Openstack. With Chef and SoftLayer, your own OpenStack cloud is a cookbook away. These recipes were designed with the needs of growth and scalability in mind. Let's take a deeper look into what exactly that means.
OpenStack has adopted a three-node design whereby a controller, compute, and network node make up its architecture:
Looking more closely at any one node reveal the services it provides. Scaling the infrastructure beyond a few dozen nodes, using this model, could create bottlenecks in services such as your block store, OpenStack Cinder, and image store, OpenStack Glance, since they are traditionally located on the controller node. Infrastructure requirements change from service to service as well. For example OpenStack Neutron, the networking service, does not need much disk I/O while the Cinder storage service might heavily rely on a node's hard disk. Our cookbook allows you to choose how and where to deploy the services, and it even lets you break apart the MySQL backend to further improve platform performance.
Quick Start: Local Demo Environment
To make it easy to get started, we've created a rapid prototype and sandbox script for use with Vagrant and Virtual Box. With Vagrant, you can easily spin up a demo environment of Chef Server and OpenStack in about 15 minutes on moderately good laptops or desktops. Check it out here. This demo environment is an all-in-one installation of our Chef OpenStack deployment. It also installs a basic Chef server as a sandbox to help you see how the SoftLayer recipes were deployed.
Creating a Custom OpenStack Deployment
The thee-node OpenStack model does well in small scale and meets the needs of many consumers; however, control and customizability are the tenants for the design of the SoftLayer OpenStack Chef cookbook. In our model, you have full control over the configuration and location of eleven different components in your deployed environment:
Our Chef recipes will take care of populating the configuration files with the necessary information so you won't have to. When deploying, you merely add the role for the matching service to a hardware or virtual server node, and Chef will deploy the service to it with all the configuration done automatically, including adding multiple Neutron, Nova, and Cinder nodes. This approach allows you to tailor the needs of each service to the hardware it will be deployed to--you might put your Neutron hardware node on a server with 10-gigabit network interfaces and configure your Cinder hardware node with RAID 1+0 15k SAS drives.
OpenStack is a fast growing project for the implementation of IaaS in public and private clouds, but its deployment and configuration can be overwhelming. We created this cookbook to make the process of deploying a full OpenStack environment on SoftLayer quick and straightforward. With the simple configuration of eleven Chef roles, your OpenStack cloud can be deployed onto as little as one node and scaled up to many as hundreds (or thousands).
To follow this project, visit SoftLayer on GitHub. Check out some of our other projects on GitHub, and let us know if you need any help or want to contribute.
Ever have a bunch of files to rename or a large set of files to move to different directories? Ever find yourself copy/pasting nearly identical commands a few hundred times to get a job done? A system administrator's life is full of tedious tasks that can be eliminated or simplified with the proper tools. That's right ... Those tedious tasks don't have to be executed manually! I'd like to introduce you to one of the simplest tools to automate time-consuming repetitive processes in Bash — the for loop.
Whether you have been programming for a few weeks or a few decades, you should be able to quickly pick up on how the for loop works and what it can do for you. To get started, let's take a look at a few simple examples of what the for loop looks like. For these exercises, it's always best to use a temporary directory while you're learning and practicing for loops. The command is very powerful, and we wouldn't want you to damage your system while you're still learning.
How did that simple command populate the directory with all of the letters in the alphabet? Let's break it down.
for cats_are_cool in{a..z}
The for is the command we are running, which is built into the Bash shell. cats_are_cool is a variable we are declaring. The specific name of the variable can be whatever you want it to be. Traditionally people often use f, but the variable we're using is a little more fun. Hereafter, our variable will be referred to as $cats_are_cool (or $f if you used the more boring "f" variable). Aside: You may be familiar with declaring a variable without the $ sign, and then using the $sign to invoke it when declaring environment variables.
When our command is executed, the variable we declared in {a..z}, will assume each of the values of a to z. Next, we use the semicolon to indicate we are done with the first phase of our for loop. The next part starts with do, which say for each of a–z, do <some thing>. In this case, we are creating files by touching them via touch $cats_are_cool. The first time through the loop, the command creates a, the second time through b and so forth. We complete that command with a semicolon, then we declare we are finished with the loop with "done".
This might be a great time to experiment with the command above, making small changes, if you wish. Let's do a little more. I just realized that I made a mistake. I meant to give the files a .txt extension. This is how we'd make that happen:
for dogs_are_ok_too in{a..z}; domv$dogs_are_ok_too$dogs_are_ok_too.txt; done;Note: It would be perfectly okay to re-use $cats_are_cool here. The variables are not persistent between executions.
As you can see, I updated the command so that a would be renamed a.txt, b would be renamed b.txt and so forth. Why would I want to do that manually, 26 times? If we check our directory, we see that everything was completed in that single command:
Now we have files, but we don't want them to be empty. Let's put some text in them:
for f in`ls`; docat/etc/passwd>$f; done
Note the backticks around ls. In Bash, backticks mean, "execute this and return the results," so it's like you executed ls and fed the results to the for loop! Next, cat /etc/passwd is redirecting the results to $f, in filenames a.txt, b.txt, etc. Still with me?
So now I've got a bunch of files with copies of /etc/passwd in them. What if I never wanted files for a, g, or h? First, I'd get a list of just the files I want to get rid of:
rasto@lmlatham:~/temp$ ls|egrep'a|g|h'
a.txt
g.txt
h.txt
Then I could plug that command into the for loop (using backticks again) and do the removal of those files:
for f in`ls|egrep'a|g|h'`; dorm$f; done
I know these examples don't seem very complex, but they give you a great first-look at the kind of functionality made possible by the for loop in Bash. Give it a whirl. Once you start smartly incorporating it in your day-to-day operations, you'll save yourself massive amounts of time ... Especially when you come across thousands or tens of thousands of very similar tasks.
Linux admins often encounter rogue processes that die without explanation, go haywire without any meaningful log data or fail in other interesting ways without providing useful information that can help troubleshoot the problem. Have you ever wished you could just see what the program is trying to do behind the scenes? Well, you can — strace (system trace) is very often the answer. It is included with most distros' package managers, and the syntax should be pretty much identical on any Linux platform.
First, let's get rid of a misconception: strace is not a "debugger," and it isn't a programmer's tool. It's a system administrator's tool for monitoring system calls and signals. It doesn't involve any sophisticated configurations, and you don't have to learn any new commands ... In fact, the most common uses of strace involve the bash commands you learned the early on:
read
write
open
close
stat
fork
execute (execve)
chmod
chown
You simply "attach" strace to the process, and it will display all the system calls and signals resulting from that process. Instead of executing the command's built-in logic, strace just makes the process's normal calls to the system and returns the results of the command with any errors it encountered. And that's where the magic lies.
Let's look an example to show that behavior in action. First, become root — you'll need to be root for strace to function properly. Second, make a simple text file called 'test.txt' with these two lines in it:
# cat test.txt
Hi I'm a text file
there are only these two lines in me.
Now that return may look really arcane, but if you study it a little bit, you'll see that it includes lots of information that even an ordinary admin can easily understand. The first line returned includes the execve system call where we'd execute /bin/cat with the parameter of test.txt. After that, you'll see the cat binary attempt to open some system libraries, and the brk and mmap2 calls to allocate memory. That stuff isn't usually particularly useful in the context we're working in here, but it's important to understand what's going on. What we're most interested in are often open calls:
open("test.txt", O_RDONLY|O_LARGEFILE) = 3
It looks like when we run cat test.txt, it will be opening "test.txt", doesn't it? In this situation, that information is not very surprising, but imagine if you are in a situation were you don't know what files a given file is trying to open ... strace immediately makes life easier. In this particular example, you'll see that "= 3" at the end, which is a temporary sort of "handle" for this particular file within the strace output. If you see a "read" call with '3' as the first parameter after this, you know it's reading from that file:
read(3, "Hi I'm a text file\nthere are onl"..., 4096) = 57
Pretty interesting, huh? strace defaults to just showing the first 32 or so characters in a read, but it also lets us know that there are 57 characters (including special characters) in the file! After the text is read into memory, we see it writing it to the screen, and delivering the actual output of the text file. Now that's a relatively simplified example, but it helps us understand what's going on behind the scenes.
Real World Example: Finding Log Files
Let's look at a real world example where we'll use strace for a specific purpose: You can't figure out where your Apache logs are being written, and you're too lazy to read the config file (or perhaps you can't find it). Wouldn't it be nice to follow everything Apache is doing when it starts up, including opening all its log files? Well you can:
strace-Ff-o output.txt -e open /etc/init.d/httpd restart
We are executing strace and telling it to follow all forks (-Ff), but this time we'll output to a file (-o output.txt) and only look for 'open' system calls to keep some of the chaff out of the output (-e open), and execute '/etc/init.d/httpd restart'. This will create a file called "output.txt" which we can use to find references to our log files:
The log files jump out at you don't they? Because we know that Apache will want to open its log files when it starts, all we have to do is we follow all the system calls it makes when it starts, and we'll find all of those files. Easy, right?
Real World Example: Locating Errors and Failures
Another valuable use of strace involves looking for errors. If a program fails when it makes a system call, you'll want to be able pinpoint any errors that might have caused that failure as you troubleshoot. In all cases where a system call fails, strace will return a line with "= -1" in the output, followed by an explanation. Note: The space before -1 is very important, and you'll see why in a moment.
For this example, let's say Apache isn't starting for some reason, and the logs aren't telling ua anything about why. Let's run strace:
strace-Ff-o output.txt -e open /etc/init.d/httpd start
Apache will attempt to restart, and when it fails, we can grep our output.txt for '= -1' to see any system calls that failed:
With experience, you'll come to understand which errors matter and which ones don't. Most often, the last error is the most significant. The first few lines show the program trying different libraries to see if they are available, so they don't really matter to us in our pursuit of what's going wrong with our Apache restart, so we scan down and find that the last line:
Our error couldn't be found in the log file because Apache couldn't open it! You can imagine how long it might take to figure out this particular problem without strace, but with this useful tool, the cause can be found in minutes.
Go and Try It!
All major Linux distros have strace available — just type strace at the command line for the basic usage. If the command is not found, install it via your distribution's package manager. Get in there and try it yourself!
For a fun first exercise, bring up a text editor in one terminal, then strace the editor process in another with the -p flag (strace -p <process_id>) since we want to look at an already-running process. When you go back and type in the text editor, the system calls will be shown in strace as you type ... You see what's happening in real time!
Whether you're new to software development or you've been a coder since the punchcard days, at some point, you've probably come across horrendous performance problems with your website or scripts. From the most advanced users — creating scripts so complex that their databases flooded with complex JOINs — to the novice users — putting SQL calls in loops — database queries can be your worst nightmare as a developer. I hate to admit it, but I've experienced some these nightmares first-hand as a result of some less-than-optimal coding practices when writing some of my own scripts. Luckily, I've learned how to use memcached to make life a little easier.
What is Memcached?
Memcached is a free and open source distributed memory object caching system that allows the developer to store any sort of data in a temporary cache for later use, so they don't have to re-query it. By using memcached, a tremendous performance load can be decreased to almost nil. One of the most noteworthy features of the system is that it doesn't cache EVERYTHING on your site/script; it only caches data that is sure to be queried often. Originally developed in 2003 by Brad Fitzpatrick to improve the site performance of LiveJournal.com, memcached has grown tremendously in popularity, with some of the worlds biggest sites — Wikipedia, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube and Craigslist — taking advantage of the functionality.
How Do I Use Memcache?
After installing the memcached library on your server (available at http://memcached.org/), it's relatively simple to get started:
<?php// Set up connection to Memcached$memcache=new Memcached();$memcache->connect('host',11211) or die("Could not connect");// Connect to database here// Check the cache for your query$key=md5("SELECT * FROM memcached_test WHERE id=1");$results=$memcache->get($key);// if the data exists in the cache, get it!if($results){echo$results['id'];echo'Got it from the cache!';}else{// data didn't exist in the cache$query="SELECT * FROM memcached_test WHERE id=1");$results=mysql_query($query);$row=mysql_fetch_array($results);print_r($row);// though we didn't find the data this time, cache it for next time!$memcache->set($key,$row,TRUE,30);// Stores the result of the query for 30 secondsecho'In the cache now!';}?>
Querying the cache is very similar to querying any table in your database, and if that data isn't cached, you'll run a database query to get the information you're looking for, and you can add that information to the cache for the next query. If another query for the data doesn't come within 30 seconds (or whatever window you specify), memcached will clear it from the cache, and the data will be pulled from the database.
So come on developers! Support memcached and faster load times! What other tools and tricks do you use to make your applications run more efficiently?
Many of us remember when Flash was the "only" way to enhance user experience and create rich media interactivity. It was a bittersweet integration, though ... Many users didn't have the browser compatibility to use it, so some portion of your visitors were left in the dark. Until recently, that user base was relatively small — the purists who didn't want Flash or the people whose hardware/software couldn't support it. When Apple decided it wouldn't enable Flash on the iPhone/iPad, web developers around the world groaned. A HUGE user base (that's growing exponentially) couldn't access the rich media and interactive content.
In the last year or so, Adobe released Flash Media Server to circumvent the Apple-imposed restrictions, but the larger web community has responded with a platform that will be both compatible and phenomenally functional: HTML5.
HTML5 allows us to do things we've never been able to do before (at least without the hassle of plugins, installations and frustration). Gone are the limitations that resigned HTML to serving as a simple framework for webpages ... Now developers can push the limits of what they thought possible. As the platform has matured, some developers have even taken it upon themselves to prototype exactly where this generation of scripting is heading by creating Flash-free browser games.
Yes, you read that right: Games you can actually play on your browser, WITHOUT plugins.
From simple Pong clones that use browser windows as the paddles and ball to adventure-based Zelda-like massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) like BrowserQuest, it's pretty unbelievable to see the tip of the iceberg of possibilities enabled by HTML5 ... Though it does seem a bit ironic to say that a Pong clone is such a great example of the potential of the HTML5 platform. Click on the screenshot below to check out BrowserQuest and tell me it doesn't amaze you:
With an ingenious combination of CSS, JavaScript and HTML5, developers of BrowserQuest have been able to accomplish something that no one has ever seen (nor would ever even have thought possible). Developers are now able to generate dynamic content by injecting JavaScript into their HTML5 canvasses:
Look familiar? The game-making process (not syntax!) appears eerily similar to that of any other popular language. The only difference: You don't need to install this game ... You just open your browser and enjoy.
Using a popular port of Box2D, a physics simulator, making pure browser-based games is as simple as "Make. Include. Create." Here's a snippit:
We may be a few years away from building full-scale WoW-level MMORPGs with HTML5, but I think seeing this functionality in native HTML will be a sigh of relief to those that've missed out on so much Flash goodness. While developers are building out the next generation of games and apps that will use HTML5, you can keep yourself entertained (and waste hours of time) with the HTML5 port of Angry Birds!
HTML5 is not immune to some browser compatibility issues with older versions, but as it matures and becomes the standard platform for web development, we're going to see what's to come in our technology's immediate future: Pure and simple compatibility for all. |
New Year’s Eve could have turned into a tragic story when a man entered a church in North Carolina with a gun, intending to commit a terrible crime, but instead he ended up giving his life to Christ.
The Land Outreach Ministries in Fayetteville, North Carolina, led by Pastor Larry Wright, was confronted by a man with a gun and Wright says his first instinct was to tackle the man and prevent harm to others.
“I’m the first person to see him and when I saw him, I thought it was a dummy gun, but then I saw the bullet clip in his hand and the bullets were shining,” he said. Instead, Wright stayed calm and told the local paper, the Fayetteville Observer, that he walked up to the man and said, “Can I help you?”
Wright told the newspaper that if the man was antagonistic, he was going to use his 6-foot-2, 230-pound, retired Army sergeant body to tackle the armed visitor.
The man asked the pastor if he’d pray for him and the night turned into a testimony of salvation instead of night of bloodshed. This would-be shooter ended up listening to the rest of Wright’s sermon. Wright took the man’s weapon and handed it to a deacon.
“I finished the message, I did the altar call and he stood right up, came up to the altar, and gave his life to Christ,” Wright said. “I came down and prayed with him and we embraced. It was like a father embracing a son.”
The unidentified man said he had come to the church intending to do harm, but God had spoken to him, telling him to seek prayer instead.
The man had recently gotten out of prison and was trying to start his life over.
“It’s so hard to describe, to explain the excitement and love of God in the room,” said Wright. “This man came in to do harm and he has given his life to Christ.”
He told the pastor he had just gotten out of prison, had a new job and a new bride. The man looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, Wright said.
Sylvester Loving, a 67-year-old deacon, told the Fayetteville newspaper that the church was talking about gun violence when the man entered.
“I think that night the spirit of God was definitely in the place,” Loving told the Observer.
Submit a Tip
UEA Copyright Info
UEA Android App
UEA DONATION PAYPAL LINK
UEA Provides Emergency Incident Notification Services 24 Hrs a day, 7 Days a Week, and Best of all, Our Services are FREE, BUt.... our operating Budget is Not. Any Donations you would be able to contrubute, would be greatly Appreciated. All Funds are used for Monthly CAD/Website Hosting Fees, Domain Registrations etc... |
define(['knockout','jquery','jquery.ui'],function(ko,$){
ko.bindingHandlers.slider = {
//wrapper for jquery ui slider
init: function(el, valueAccessor,allBindingsAccessor) {
var options = allBindingsAccessor().sliderOptions || {};
//initialize the control
$(el).slider(options);
//handle the value changing in the UI
var observable = valueAccessor();
var setObservable = function(){
var sliderValue = $(el).slider("value");
var step = options.step;
if(Math.round(sliderValue/step) != Math.round(observable()/step))
observable(sliderValue);
}
if(options.liveUpdate)
ko.utils.registerEventHandler(el, "slide", _.throttle(setObservable,50));
ko.utils.registerEventHandler(el, "slidechange", setObservable);
if(options.pauseable){
ko.utils.registerEventHandler(el, "slidestart", function(){
observable.pause();
});
ko.utils.registerEventHandler(el, "slidestop", function(){
setTimeout(function(){
observable.resume();
},0);
});
}
//handle disposal (if KO removes by the template binding)
ko.utils.domNodeDisposal.addDisposeCallback(el, function() {
$(el).slider("destroy");
});
},
//handle the model value changing
update: function(el, valueAccessor) {
var value = valueAccessor();
$(el).slider("value",ko.utils.unwrapObservable(value));
}
};
return ko;
});
|
Intermediate shafts are typically comprised of two main components: a tubular sub-assembly and a solid shaft sub-assembly. This combination allows for telescoping of the intermediate shaft so that it may be installed in a car, and potentially collapse during a crash scenario.
The solid shaft sub-assembly is traditionally made by an interference fit between a solid shaft and a yoke. The interference is typically created by forming a serration on the yoke, and forming a complimenting but slightly different serration on the solid shaft. These slightly differing serrations create an overlap of the serration flanks on the yoke to the serration flanks on the shaft. This connection holds together the yoke and shaft so that they may form the solid shaft sub-assembly.
Some solid shaft sub-assemblies may undergo a “staking” operation to add an axial retention feature after the yoke and shaft are pressed together. This feature or “stake” is a small patch of metal on the solid shaft that is deformed past the original outer diameter.
However, with some known solid shaft sub-assemblies, the serrations may be difficult to design, difficult to manufacture, and may be easily damaged. Additionally, the interference connection may be limited in the axial retention force it can withstand before failing. Because of this limited retention force, a redundant axial retention feature is required. Traditional solid shaft sub-assemblies may also encounter difficulties during assembly. For example, the required load to press the two components together may be too high or too low, the components may not press together on a parallel path, the serrations of the components may not connect as desired, or the components may not press together for the desired distance. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved solid shaft sub-assembly. |
To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu.
-----------------------------------------------
This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,
located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.
-----------------------------------------------
Appeared on: Friday, September 30, 2005
First 100 Gb/s Transmission of Ethernet-over-optical
In two papers presented to the European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communication (ECOC) in Scotland Wednesday, Lucent Technologies Bell Labs announced the first reported transmissions of 100 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) Ethernet over optical.
"This work is a major first. We have broken through the ceiling in transmission rates and described two techniques that could help implement 100G Ethernet over optical systems," said Martin Zirngibl, director, Bell Labs. "With more and more enterprises moving to 10Gb/s transmission, carriers are looking to implement 100Gb/s Ethernet in the Metro Area Network (MAN) as a way to efficiently multiplex and transmit high amounts of data in its native Ethernet format."
The Bell Labs research team was able to deliver a 107 Gb/s optical data stream, representing 100 Gb/s of data transmission plus a standard 7 percent overhead for error correction, using the following two technological approaches:
- Duobinary Signaling: This technique uses three electrical signal levels, - positive, negative and zero - to represent a binary signal for communications transmission. Duobinary signals require less bandwidth than traditional NRZ (non-return to zero) signals. The application of this bandwidth-compressing format enabled the creation of an optical 107-Gb/s serial data stream using a commercially available optical modulator (rated for 40 Gb/s).
- Single-Chip Optical Equalizer: Integrated optical equalizers invented by Bell Labs researchers two years ago, can compensate for transmission impairments and also for the limited modulator bandwidth in a commercially available NRZ system. NRZ is the least complex optical data format to generate. In order to demonstrate an optical 107-Gb/s NRZ signal, Bell Labs designed a single chip optical equalizer that compensated for almost all inter-symbol interference arising from modulator bandwidth limitations in an optical 107 Gb/s NRZ electronic time division multiplexing (ETDM) transmitter.
As with the duobinary approach, Bell Labs researchers used a commercially available 40-Gb/s optical modulator in combination with the optical equalizer to generate a 107-Gb/s optical NRZ data stream.
The ECOC-submitted papers on both of these approaches are available upon request by sending an e-mail to pbenedict@lucent.com. |
968 A.2d 396 (2009)
291 Conn. 307
Roy SASTROM
v.
PSYCHIATRIC SECURITY REVIEW BOARD.
Guy Levine
v.
Psychiatric Security Review Board.
Nos. 17908, 17909.
Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Argued September 17, 2008.
Decided April 28, 2009.
*400 Richard E. Condon, Jr., assistant public defender, for the appellant in each case (plaintiff in each case).
Patrick B. Kwanashie, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, were Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, and Richard J. Lynch, assistant attorney general, for the appellee in each case (defendant in each case).
ROGERS, C.J., and NORCOTT, KATZ, PALMER and VERTEFEUILLE, Js.
ROGERS, C.J.
In these certified appeals, we must determine whether the Superior Court has subject matter jurisdiction to decide the appeals brought by the plaintiffs, Roy Sastrom and Guy Levine,[1] from the declaratory rulings by the defendant, the psychiatric security review board (board), in which the board concluded that § 17a-581-44 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies[2] is valid because it does not conflict with General Statutes § 17a-599.[3] The Appellate Court concluded that the board's rulings are not among the final decisions that may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA), General Statutes § 4-166 et seq., and affirmed the judgments of the trial court dismissing the plaintiffs' administrative appeals. We reverse the judgments of the Appellate Court because we conclude that the Superior Court did have jurisdiction over the administrative appeals from the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of § 17a-581-44 of the regulations. We further conclude, however, that judgments should be rendered in favor of the board on the merits of the plaintiffs' administrative appeals because § 17a-581-44 of the regulations does not conflict with § 17a-599.
The relevant facts and procedural histories are set forth in the decisions of the Appellate Court and are not in dispute. Sastrom, the plaintiff in the first case, was committed on July 11, 1994, "to the jurisdiction of the [board] for a period of time not to exceed forty years after he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect of the charges of two counts of harassment in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-182b(a), *401 four counts of threatening in violation of General Statutes § 53a-62(a)(2), and two counts of attempt to commit larceny in the fifth degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 and 53a-125a. [Sastrom] initially was confined at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital (Whiting), a maximum security mental health facility, but subsequently was transferred to the less restrictive setting of the Dutcher Enhanced Security Service of Connecticut Valley Hospital (Dutcher). While at Dutcher, he was moved from South 2, the enhanced treatment unit, to North 3, a community transition unit.
"On June 21, 2002, the treatment team granted [Sastrom's] request for `Level 4' privileges, which included one hour per day on the grounds without supervision. On July 4, 2002, [Sastrom] signed himself out at 9 a.m., and was declared absent without leave when he was not present one hour later. [Sastrom] had wandered to a. . . wooded area near the hospital and fallen asleep. The next morning, as he was walking back to Dutcher, several staff members reported seeing him on a road. When a state police trooper arrived, [Sastrom] hid in some bushes. After several hours, the troopers, with the aid of a police dog, located [Sastrom] and returned him to the custody of the [board].
"Following his apprehension, [Sastrom] was returned to Whiting. The [board] held a hearing on July 12 and September 20, 2002, regarding the proper placement of [Sastrom]. In a memorandum of decision dated October 28, 2002, the [board] ordered that [Sastrom] remain confined at Whiting for the purposes of care, custody and treatment under maximum security conditions.
"In a petition for a declaratory [ruling] dated March 30, 2004, [Sastrom] sought a determination of whether his confinement in maximum security was appropriate and whether § 17a-581-44 [of the regulations] was invalid in light of the specific violence requirement of § 17a-599. After a hearing, the [board] issued a decision on September 30, 2004. The [board] noted [Sastrom's] clinical progress and found that, on the basis of the hospital treatment team's recommendation, he could be treated in the less restrictive conditions at Dutcher.[4]
"The [board] concluded that [Sastrom] could not prevail with respect to his claim that § 17a-581-44 [of the regulations] was invalid because it conflicted with § 17a-599. The [board] determined that `nothing in the statute suggests that its intent is to mandate actual violence as a prerequisite for placing acquittees[5] in maximum security settings. Rather, the statute evinces a concern that acquittees be placed in settings appropriate to the type of danger that they pose to themselves and others. Thus, far from being in conflict with the statute . . . § 17a-581-44 complements *402 it.'" Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 100 Conn.App. 212, 214-16, 918 A.2d 902 (2007).
The plaintiff in the second case, Levine, was committed on March 6, 1992, "to the custody of the [board] for a period of time not to exceed 100 years after he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect of two counts of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a. [Levine] was confined at [Whiting]. . . .
"On July 18, 2004, [Levine] petitioned the [board] for a declaratory ruling pursuant to General Statutes § 4-176 and § 17a-581-58 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Specifically, [Levine] sought a ruling on whether he met the statutory standard for confinement in a maximum security setting and whether § 17a-581-44 was invalid in light of the specific violence requirement of § 17a-599. On October 1, 2004, the [board] held a hearing on the petition. On November 29, 2004, the [board] issued its declaratory ruling and found that [Levine], because he was so violent or so dangerous, could safely be treated only in the maximum security setting at Whiting." Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 100 Conn.App. 224, 225-26, 918 A.2d 900 (2007).
The board again concluded that "nothing in the statute suggests that its intent is to mandate actual violence as a prerequisite for placing acquittees in maximum security settings. Rather, the statute evinces a concern that acquittees be placed in settings appropriate to the type of danger that they pose to themselves and others. Thus, far from being in conflict with the statute . . . § 17a-581-44 complements it." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 226, 918 A.2d 900.
The plaintiffs appealed from the board's declaratory rulings to the Superior Court.[6] The board argued that there was no statutory right to appeal from its declaratory rulings, and, therefore, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court agreed with the board and concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the decisions being appealed were not within the exclusive list of appealable orders set forth in General Statutes § 17a-597. Accordingly, it dismissed the appeals. Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 216, 918 A.2d 902; see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 227, 918 A.2d 900.
The plaintiffs appealed from the trial court's judgments of dismissal to the Appellate Court, which concluded that the UAPA does not permit "appeal[s] for every declaratory ruling, but only for those that meet the conditions of [General Statutes] § 4-183, as restricted by [General Statutes] §§ 4-186(f) and 17a-597." Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 223, 918 A.2d 902; see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn. App. at 227, 918 A.2d 900. We granted certification in each case to determine whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that the Superior Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' appeals from the declaratory rulings issued by the board. Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 282 Conn. 920, 920-21, 925 A.2d 1101 (2007); see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 282 Conn. 921, 925 A.2d 1101 (2007).[7] We reverse the judgments of the Appellate Court.
*403 I
Our resolution of the certified question is guided by our well settled standard of review. "We have long held that because [a] determination regarding a trial court's subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law, our review is plenary. . . . Subject matter jurisdiction involves the authority of the court to adjudicate the type of controversy presented by the action before it. . . . [A] court lacks discretion to consider the merits of a case over which it is without jurisdiction. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Ferguson Mechanical Co. v. Dept. of Public Works, 282 Conn. 764, 770-71, 924 A.2d 846 (2007). This case raises two jurisdictional issues, which we address in turn.
A
"We have declared that [t]here is no absolute right of appeal to the courts from a decision of an administrative agency. . . . Appeals to the courts from administrative [agencies] exist only under statutory authority. . . . Appellate jurisdiction is derived from the . . . statutory provisions by which it is created . . . and can be acquired and exercised only in the manner prescribed. . . . In the absence of statutory authority, therefore, there is no right of appeal from [an agency's] decision. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Fullerton v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act, 280 Conn. 745, 760, 911 A.2d 736 (2006).
In the cases before us, we must determine whether the UAPA authorizes the Superior Court to assume jurisdiction over appeals from the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of § 17a-581-44 of the regulations. The plaintiffs claim that the Appellate Court improperly affirmed the judgments of the trial court dismissing their administrative appeals. Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that the legal question presented in these cases is inherently a judicial matter and should not be left to the discretion of administrative bodies. In support of this assertion, the plaintiffs quote from our holding in Dyous v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 264 Conn. 766, 777, 826 A.2d 138 (2003), that the decision to confine an acquittee under conditions of maximum security is "best left to the professional discretion of the board, whose mandate is the protection of the general public," because of its expertise regarding matters of mental health. They argue that, because the board does not have similar expertise in the law, the legislature clearly did not establish the board as the final arbiter of the validity of its own regulations. They further maintain that the conclusions of the trial court and the Appellate Court effectively grant the board exclusive authority and jurisdiction to determine the validity of its own regulations, requiring complete deference to the board's legal conclusions while affording only substantial deference to certain findings of fact, which they claim is an absurd and unworkable result.
The construction of the UAPA, as with other statutes, presents a question of law subject to plenary review. Stiffler v. Continental Ins. Co., 288 Conn. 38, 42, 950 A.2d 1270 (2008). "When construing a statute, [o]ur fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature. . . . In other words, we seek to determine, in a reasoned manner, the meaning of the statutory language *404 as applied to the facts of [the] case, including the question of whether the language actually does apply. . . . In seeking to determine the meaning, General Statutes § 1-2z directs us first to consider the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered. . . . When a statute is not plain and unambiguous, we also look for interpretive guidance to the legislative history and circumstances surrounding its enactment, to the legislative policy it was designed to implement, and to its relationship to existing legislation and common law principles governing the same general subject matter. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 43, 950 A.2d 1270.
We begin with the text of the UAPA. Section 4-183(a) provides in relevant part: "A person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision may appeal to the Superior Court. . . ." A "`[f]inal decision,'" as defined by § 4-166(3)(B), includes a "declaratory ruling issued by an agency pursuant to section 4-176. . . ."[8] It is clear from the language of § 4-183(a) that, in general, persons who are aggrieved by a declaratory ruling of an agency may appeal that ruling to the Superior Court after exhausting their administrative remedies. See Bailey v. Medical Examining Board for State Employee Disability Retirement, 75 Conn.App. 215, 220-21, 815 A.2d 281 (2003) (acknowledging general right to appeal declaratory rulings).
The Superior Court's jurisdiction over administrative appeals from final decisions of the various agencies is not, however, unlimited. General Statutes § 4-185(b) provides in relevant part that "this chapter shall apply to all agencies and agency proceedings not expressly exempted in this chapter." (Emphasis added.) The legislature has expressed one such exemption in § 4-186(f), which provides in relevant part: "The provisions of section 4-183 shall apply to the [board] in the manner described in section 17a-597. . . ." Accordingly, appeals from final decisions, including declaratory rulings, of the board are governed by § 17a-597, which sets forth respective lists of appealable and nonappealable decisions of the board.
Specifically, § 17a-597(a) provides that orders of the board entered pursuant to General Statutes § 17a-584 (2) or (3),[9] or General Statutes § 17a-587,[10]may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to § 4-183, whereas § 17a-597(b) provides *405 that a decision by the board that an acquittee should be discharged made pursuant to § 17a-584(1),[11] or General Statutes § 17a-592[12] or § 17a-593(d),[13]shall not be subject to judicial review pursuant to § 4-183.[14] Thus, the language of § 17a-597 provides a right of appeal from a decision of the board ordering an acquittee's confinement, conditional release or temporary leave, but expressly exempts from judicial review decisions recommending to the court that an acquittee be discharged from the board's jurisdiction.
Section 17a-597, however, does not state expressly whether declaratory rulings as to the validity of regulations issued by the board pursuant to § 4-176(a) are appealable. Simply put, it does not identify the board's declaratory rulings under § 4-176(a) among either the list of appealable decisions set forth in § 17a-597(a) or the list of nonappealable decisions set forth in § 17a-597(b). Accordingly, we conclude that the language of § 4-186(f) is ambiguous with respect to the board's declaratory rulings. We therefore must look beyond the text of the statute to discern whether the legislature intended to subject the board's declaratory rulings to judicial review.[15] See Stiffler v. Continental Ins. Co., supra, 288 Conn. at 43, 950 A.2d 1270.
*406 Our review of the history and statutory framework of the UAPA, as well as relevant case law, leads us to conclude that, although the legislature intended to limit judicial scrutiny of certain factual determinations made by the board, it expressed no intention to prevent courts from scrutinizing the board's legal conclusions as to whether a regulation is valid or ultra vires. Prior to July 1, 1989, the UAPA generally permitted appeals from declaratory rulings as to the validity of a regulation, but only in contested cases. See General Statutes (Rev. to 1987) §§ 4-176[16] and 4-183(a);[17]Ratick Combustion, Inc. v. State Heating, Piping & Cooling Work Examining Board, 34 Conn. App. 123, 127-28, 640 A.2d 152 (1994); Shearson American Express, Inc. v. Banking Commissioner, 39 Conn.Supp. 462, 464, 466 A.2d 800 (1983). The UAPA also permitted aggrieved persons to petition the courts directly for declaratory judgments with respect to an agency's rulings on the validity of its regulations in noncontested cases, subject to the exhaustion of their administrative remedies. See General *407 Statutes (Rev. to 1987) § 4-175;[18]Ratick Combustion, Inc. v. State Heating, Piping & Cooling Work Examining Board, supra, at 127, 640 A.2d 152; Shearson American Express, Inc. v. Banking Commissioner, supra, at 466, 466 A.2d 800; see also Commission on Hospitals & Health Care v. Stamford Hospital, 208 Conn. 663, 672, 546 A.2d 257 (1988). Thus, all agency determinations regarding the validity of regulations were subject to judicial scrutiny under the UAPA, either by way of an administrative appeal or in a direct action for a declaratory judgment.[19] Nothing in the UAPA exempted the board from this statutory framework. See General Statutes (Rev. to 1987) §§ 4-185 and 4-186; see also 28 S. Proc., Pt. 15, 1985 Sess., pp. 4912-13, remarks of Senator Richard Johnston; Conn. Joint Standing Committee Hearings, Judiciary, Pt. 5,1985 Sess., pp. 1439-40.
In 1988, the legislature passed No. 88-317 of the 1988 Public Acts (P.A. 88-317), which substantially revised the UAPA. See Vernon Village, Inc. v. Carothers, 217 Conn. 130, 131, 585 A.2d 76 (1991). The purpose of this revision, in part, was to "simplify the [circumstances] that require appeal [from declaratory rulings] as oppose[d] to independent action." Conn. Joint Standing Committee Hearings, Judiciary, Pt. 1, 1988 Sess., p. 188; see also Conn. Joint Standing Committee Hearings, Judiciary, Pt. 2, 1988 Sess., p. 380. Accordingly, the legislature subjected declaratory rulings on the validity of regulations, in both contested and noncontested cases, to judicial review by way of appeal; see General Statutes § § 4-176(a), 4-183(a) and 4-166(3); and limited direct petitions to the Superior Court for declaratory judgments to those circumstances wherein the petitioner first had requested a declaratory ruling from the agency, but did not receive one. See General Statutes §§ 4-176(e)[20] and 4-175(a);[21]LoPresto v. *408 State Employees Retirement Commission, 234 Conn. 424, 432 n. 15, 662 A.2d 738 (1995) (declaratory ruling constitutes final decision for purposes of appeal under § 4-183); Hill v. State Employees Retirement Commission, 83 Conn.App. 599, 605, 851 A.2d 320 (trial court had jurisdiction to entertain administrative appeal because declaratory ruling is appealable regardless of whether it arises in contested case), cert. denied, 271 Conn. 909, 859 A.2d 561 (2004). Therefore, once an agency has opined on the validity of its regulations, an aggrieved party may no longer bring an independent action in the Superior Court for a declaratory judgment, but must instead rely on the record before the agency in seeking a review of the agency's legal conclusions in an administrative appeal. See Vincenzo v. Chairman, Board of Parole, 64 Conn.App. 258, 263, 779 A.2d 843 (2001); see also General Statutes §§ 4-175(a) and 4-183(i) and (j).[22] We conclude from this history that the legislature, in enacting P.A. 88-317, indicated its intent to continue allowing for judicial review of all declaratory rulings by the various state agencies, in both contested and noncontested cases, by including declaratory rulings among the list of final decisions that may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to § 4-183. Nothing in this history expresses a legislative intent to limit that broad grant of jurisdiction. See General Statutes § 4-185(b).
Our conclusion that the legislature did not intend to restrict judicial review of the board's declaratory rulings regarding the validity of its regulations finds further support in Hill v. State Employees Retirement Commission, supra, 83 Conn.App. at 601, 610-11, 851 A.2d 320, wherein the Appellate Court held that an applicant for a disability retirement pension who had received an adverse decision from the state medical examining board (medical board) was not entitled to review of that board's decision by the state employee's retirement commission, but could seek the commission's review of the medical board's legal conclusion that it was collaterally estopped from making an independent determination of whether the applicant's injury was service connected in light of previous workers' compensation proceedings arising out of the same facts. In Hill, the Appellate Court observed, and we agree, that "[i]t is logical to assume that the legislature intended to designate the medical board as the sole arbiter of medical eligibility for disability retirement pension benefits so as to take advantage of the *409 board's medical expertise. See Briggs v. State Employees Retirement Commission, [210 Conn. 214, 219, 554 A.2d 292 (1989)]. . . . [I]t is not logical to assume that the legislature also intended to mandate the same deference with respect to eligibility as a matter of law." (Emphasis added.) Hill v. State Employees Retirement Commission, supra, at 610, 851 A.2d 320.
Likewise, it is logical that the decision to confine an acquittee under conditions of maximum security would be "best left to the professional discretion of the board, whose mandate is the protection of the general public," because of its expertise regarding matters of mental health. Dyous v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 264 Conn. at 777, 826 A.2d 138. The board's expertise in matters of mental health, however, does not provide a sound basis for the conclusion that the legislature intended to defer to the board's legal analysis as to the validity of its regulations. Cf. Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. Groton, 262 Conn. 45, 64, 808 A.2d 1107 (2002) (declining to relegate to zoning board responsibility of constitutional fact-finding in absence of expertise).
We conclude, on the basis of its language and history, that the UAPA clearly provides for judicial oversight with respect to the validity of the regulations promulgated by the various agencies, including the board. We further conclude that the list of fact based determinations excluded from judicial review in § 17a-597 does not express a legislative intent, pursuant to § § 4-185(b) and 4-186(f), to limit appellate review of the board's legal conclusions as to the validity of its own regulations. If the legislature had intended to include the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of its regulations among the exemptions expressed in § 17a-597, it easily could have expressed that intent. See In re Darlene C., 247 Conn. 1, 11, 717 A.2d 1242 (1998). Accordingly, the Appellate Court improperly concluded that the Superior Court lacks jurisdiction over administrative appeals from the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of its regulations.
B
Our conclusion that the UAPA allows the court to assume jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' administrative appeals does not end our discussion. We next must address the board's argument that the courts lack jurisdiction in the present cases because the plaintiffs are not aggrieved by the board's declaratory rulings. As we noted previously in this opinion, § 4-183(a) permits a person who has exhausted all available administrative remedies and who is aggrieved by a final decision to appeal to the Superior Court. The board argues that the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate either statutory or classical aggrievement and, therefore, do not have standing to appeal the board's rulings. We disagree.
"It is . . . fundamental that, in order to have standing to bring an administrative appeal, a person must be aggrieved.. . . Standing . . . is not a technical rule intended to keep aggrieved parties out of court; nor is it a test of substantive rights. Rather it is a practical concept designed to ensure that courts and parties are not vexed by suits brought to vindicate nonjusticiable interests and that judicial decisions which may affect the rights of others are forged in hot controversy, with each view fairly and vigorously represented." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Bongiorno Supermarket, Inc. v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 266 Conn. 531, 538, 833 A.2d 883 (2003). "Aggrievement is established if there is a possibility, as distinguished from a certainty, that some legally protected interest . . . *410 has been adversely affected." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Alvord Investment, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 282 Conn. 393, 400, 920 A.2d 1000 (2007). "If a party is found to lack [aggrievement], the court is without subject matter jurisdiction to determine the cause." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Bingham v. Dept. of Public Works, 286 Conn. 698, 701, 945 A.2d 927 (2008).
"Two broad yet distinct categories of aggrievement exist, classical and statutory. . . . Statutory aggrievement exists by legislative fiat, not by judicial analysis of the particular facts of the case. In other words, in cases of statutory aggrievement, particular legislation grants standing to those who claim injury to an interest protected by that legislation." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 702, 945 A.2d 927.
In this case, the plaintiffs have not identified, and we do not find, any legislation, either in the board's enabling act, General Statutes § 17a-580 et seq., or elsewhere in the General Statutes, that confers standing on the plaintiffs. See id., at 703-705, 945 A.2d 927. Accordingly, we conclude that they are not statutorily aggrieved.
With respect to classical aggrievement under the UAPA, the plaintiffs must make a two part showing. "First, [they] must demonstrate a specific, personal and legal interest in the subject matter of the [controversy], as opposed to a general interest that all members of the community share. . . . Second, [they] must also show that the [alleged conduct] has specially and injuriously affected that specific personal or legal interest." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 702, 945 A.2d 927. Moreover, the plaintiffs must demonstrate a relation to the action of the board beyond "the fact that they were the petitioners. If this in and of itself were sufficient to appeal the adverse declaratory ruling to the Superior Court, the provisions of § 4-183 requiring aggrievement would be meaningless." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 705-706, 945 A.2d 927; id., at 706, 945 A.2d 927 (expansive right to petition for declaratory ruling under § 4-176 does not confer automatic right to appeal under § 4-183).
The plaintiffs in this case have asserted a legal interest in the conditions of their confinement. Specifically, the plaintiffs have asserted that, pursuant to § 17a-599, they are entitled to be confined in a less restrictive setting if the board finds that they are not "so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security." The plaintiffs' asserted interest clearly is personal to them because, unlike members of the general public, an improper application of § 17a-599 might subject them to stricter conditions of confinement than the conditions to which they otherwise would be entitled. Further, the plaintiffs allege that the board's interpretation of § 17a-581-44 of the regulations improperly broadens the scope of § 17a-599, subjecting them to conditions of maximum security confinement that the statute otherwise would not allow. Accordingly, we conclude that the plaintiffs are classically aggrieved because there is a possibility, as distinguished from a certainty, that the board's declaratory rulings have affected their alleged interest in being confined under conditions that are less than maximum security conditions.[23]*411 The Appellate Court, therefore, improperly affirmed the judgments of the trial court dismissing the plaintiffs' administrative appeals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
II
Because the Appellate Court and the trial court both concluded that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' administrative appeals, neither court reached the merits of the plaintiffs' claims. Ordinarily under these circumstances, we would remand the case to the trial court for a review of the plaintiffs' claims. Subsequent to oral argument in this case, however, we ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefs addressing the following questions: "(1) Does § 17a-581-44 of the [regulations] . . . conflict with . . . § 17a-599?" and "(2) If the answer to question one is yes, should the regulation be declared invalid?" The record on appeal therefore is adequate for our review of the merits of the plaintiffs' claims because: (1) all parties have briefed their claims to this court; and their claims present issues of law that are subject to plenary review by this court. See Testa v. Geressy, 286 Conn. 291, 313-14, 943 A.2d 1075 (2008) (reviewing merits of plaintiff's claims after concluding that trial court improperly declined to review claims). In light of this record, and because this issue is one of first impression and a question of law over which we exercise plenary review; Farmers Texas County Mutual v. Hertz Corp., 282 Conn. 535, 541, 923 A.2d 673 (2007); see also Stiffler v. Continental Ins. Co., supra, 288 Conn. at 42, 950 A.2d 1270; we conclude that a final resolution of the plaintiffs' administrative appeals by this court will best serve the interests of judicial economy. See Testa v. Geressy, supra, at 314, 943 A.2d 1075, quoting Connecticut Light & Power Co. v. Dept. of Public Utility Control, 216 Conn. 627, 639, 583 A.2d 906 (1990) ("because the administrative record before us on appeal is identical to that which was before the trial court, the interests of judicial economy would not be served by a remand in this case"). Accordingly, we address the plaintiffs' claim that § 17a-581-44 of the regulations conflicts with § 17a-599 and, therefore, is invalid.
The plaintiffs first claim that § 17a-581-44 of the regulations conflicts with § 17a-599 because the regulation subjects an acquittee to maximum security confinement under a more inclusive standard than the standard set forth in the statute. Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that § 17a-581-44 of the regulations, which subjects an acquittee who "poses a danger to self or others" to the possibility of maximum security confinement, bestows upon the board broader discretion than the legislature had intended when it enacted § 17a-599, which subjects acquittees to maximum security confinement if they are found to be "so violent as to require [such] confinement. . . ." The plaintiffs' argument necessarily is premised on an assumption that § 17a-599 does not allow the board discretion to commit to maximum security confinement acquittees whom the board does not find to be "so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security. . . ." We disagree with this premise.
The text of § 17a-599 provides in relevant part: "At any time the court or the board determines that the acquittee is a *412 person who should be confined, it shall make a further determination of whether the acquittee is so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security. Any acquittee found so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security shall not be confined in any hospital for psychiatric disabilities. . . unless such hospital . . . has the trained and equipped staff, facilities or security to accommodate such acquittee." The second sentence of the statute clearly expresses a legislative intent to prohibit the placement of an acquittee in a security setting that is less than maximum if that acquittee is determined to be so violent as to require maximum security confinement. Contrary to the plaintiffs' position, however, nothing in the statute limits the board's discretion with respect to the placement of acquittees who are not found to be so violent as to require maximum security confinement. Thus, § 17a-599 does not contemplate that only "so violent" acquittees may be confined under conditions of maximum security.
This interpretation of § 17a-599 is buttressed by a review of the statutory scheme of which § 17a-599 is a part. Section 17a-584 specifically provides that the board's "primary concern" in considering the confinement of acquittees "is the protection of society. . . ." In addition, § 17a-584(3) provides that "[i]f the board finds that the acquittee is a person who should be confined, the board shall order the person confined in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities . . . for custody, care and treatment." Thus, while the board's consideration of an acquittee's placement must focus first on the interests of society, the board also must facilitate the care and treatment needs of the acquittee. Confinement under conditions of maximum security reasonably could further both purposes. See General Statutes § 17a-561 (listing purposes served by Whiting). As we stated in Dyous v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 264 Conn. at 777, 826 A.2d 138, decisions with respect to the danger the acquittee poses to others and the appropriateness and type of treatment are best left to the professional discretion of the board. Those concerns would be served better when the board has greater, not less, discretion to determine the placement of acquittees consistent with the requirements of due process.[24]
Thus, in deferring to the professional judgment of the board in determining the placement of acquittees who are not found so violent as to require maximum security confinement, our legislature has struck a proper balance between the plaintiffs' liberty interests and the board's legitimate interest in protecting public safety. Accordingly, we reject the plaintiffs' contention that the legislature has limited the board's discretion as to which acquittees under its jurisdiction may be confined in maximum security settings. Having rejected the plaintiffs' predicate assumption that § 17a-599 limits the board's discretion, we further reject the plaintiffs' ultimate claim that § 17a-581-44 of the regulations conflicts with § 17a-599 in that it *413 improperly expands the board's authority under the statute.
The judgments of the Appellate Court are reversed and the cases are remanded to that court with direction to reverse the judgments of the trial court and to remand the cases to the trial court with direction to affirm the decisions of the psychiatric security review board.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
NOTES
[1] We refer to Sastrom and Levine individually by name where necessary and collectively as the plaintiffs.
[2] Section 17a-581-44 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies provides: "The [b]oard may order a person confined in a maximum security setting if the [b]oard finds that the acquittee poses a danger to self or others such that a maximum security setting is required."
Section 17a-581-2(a)(6) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies defines danger to self or to others as "the risk of imminent physical injury to others or self, and also includes the risk of loss or destruction of the property of others."
[3] General Statutes § 17a-599 provides in relevant part: "At any time the court or the board determines that the acquittee is a person who should be confined, it shall make a further determination of whether the acquittee is so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security. Any acquittee found so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security shall not be confined in any hospital for psychiatric disabilities . . . unless such hospital. . . has the trained and equipped staff, facilities or security to accommodate such acquittee."
[4] The board found that Sastrom "remains an individual who needs confinement because of a psychiatric disability to the extent that his discharge or conditional release would constitute a danger to himself or others. However, as a result of sustained clinical gains, engagement in treatment and insight into his escape from [Dutcher] in July, 2002, he is no longer so dangerous that he requires confinement in a maximum security hospital setting. Accordingly, the answer to the first question in his petition for a declaratory ruling is no. He is neither so violent nor so dangerous at this time as to require maximum security confinement and may be transferred to the less restrictive treatment environment of Dutcher." Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 215 n. 3, 918 A.2d 902.
[5] An "`[a]cquittee'" is a person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to General Statutes § 53a-13. General Statutes § 17a-580(1).
[6] Sastrom did not appeal from the board's decision with respect to his placement in Dutcher, and Levine did not appeal from his placement in Whiting.
[7] We granted the plaintiffs' petitions for certification to appeal limited to the following issue: "Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide the plaintiff's appeal from the declaratory ruling issued by the [board]?" Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 282 Conn. at 920-21, 925 A.2d 1101; see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 282 Conn. at 921, 925 A.2d 1101.
[8] General Statutes § 4-176 provides in relevant part: "(a) Any person may petition an agency, or an agency may on its own motion initiate a proceeding, for a declaratory ruling as to the validity of any regulation. . . ."
[9] General Statutes § 17a-584 provides in relevant part: "At any hearing before the board considering the discharge, conditional release or confinement of the acquittee, except a hearing pursuant to section 17a-592 or subsection (d) of section 17a-593, the board shall make a finding as to the mental condition of the acquittee and, considering that its primary concern is the protection of society, shall do one of the following . . .
"(2) If the board finds that the acquittee is a person who should be conditionally released, the board shall order the acquittee conditionally released subject to such conditions as are necessary to prevent the acquittee from constituting a danger to himself or others.
"(3) If the board finds that the acquittee is a person who should be confined, the board shall order the person confined in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities . . . for custody, care and treatment."
[10] General Statutes § 17a-587 provides in relevant part: "If at any time after the confinement of an acquittee in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities . . . pursuant to order of the board, the superintendent of such hospital. . . is of the opinion that the acquittee's psychiatric supervision and treatment would be advanced by permitting the acquittee to leave such hospital . . . temporarily, the superintendent. . . shall apply to the board for an order authorizing temporary leaves. . . . The board shall grant the application if it concludes that the acquittee's temporary leave, under the conditions specified, would not constitute a danger to himself or others.. . ."
[11] Pursuant to § 17a-584(1), if the board, after a hearing pertaining to an acquittee's discharge, conditional release or confinement, "finds that the acquittee is a person who should be discharged, it shall recommend such discharge to the court pursuant to section 17a-593."
[12] General Statutes § 17a-592 provides in relevant part: "(a) The superintendent of any hospital for psychiatric disabilities in which an acquittee has been confined . . . pursuant to an order of the board or any person or agency responsible for the supervision or treatment of a conditionally released acquittee may request the board to recommend to the court discharge of the acquittee from custody.. . .
"(b) The board may, on its own motion, consider whether to recommend discharge of the acquittee from custody. . . .
"(c) If the board decides to recommend discharge of the acquittee, the board shall make such recommendation pursuant to section 17a-593."
[13] General Statutes § 17a-593(d) provides in relevant part: "The court shall forward any application for discharge received from the acquittee and any petition for continued commitment of the acquittee to the board. The board shall, within ninety days of its receipt of the application or petition, file a report with the court, and send a copy thereof to the state's attorney and counsel for the acquittee, setting forth its findings and conclusions as to whether the acquittee is a person who should be discharged. . . ."
[14] General Statutes § 17a-597 provides in relevant part: "(a) Any order of the board entered pursuant to subdivision (2) or (3) of section 17a-584 or pursuant to section 17a-587 may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to section 4-183. . . .
"(b) A decision by the board that the acquittee is a person who should be discharged made pursuant to subdivision (1) of section 17a-584, section 17a-592 or subsection (d) of section 17a-593 shall not be subject to judicial review pursuant to section 4-183."
[15] The board, relying on our construction of § 17a-599 in Dyous, claims that the board's declaratory rulings are exempt from the provisions of § 4-183, as limited by §§ 4-186(f) and 17a-597. We disagree.
Section 17a-599 provides in relevant part that "[a]t any time the court or the board determines that the acquittee is a person who should be confined, it shall make a further determination of whether the acquittee is so violent as to require confinement under conditions of maximum security. . . ." In Dyous v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 264 Conn. at 775-76, 826 A.2d 138, we invoked the canon of statutory construction known as expressio unius est exclusio alterius the expression of one thing is the exclusion of anotherand concluded that § 17a-597 sets forth an exclusive list of appealable decisions of the board. Because that list includes only "`[a]ny order of the board entered pursuant to subdivision (2) or (3) of section 17a-584 or pursuant to section 17a-587'"; id., at 775, 826 A.2d 138; we further concluded that the legislature expressly limited judicial review to the board's orders to confine, conditionally release or grant temporary leave to an acquittee. Id., at 774-76, 826 A.2d 138. Orders regarding the conditions of an acquittee's confinement, therefore, were excluded. Id., at 777, 826 A.2d 138. Accordingly, we concluded that the courts have no jurisdiction to hear an administrative appeal from an order by the board to confine an acquittee under conditions of maximum security pursuant to § 17a-599. Id., at 778, 826 A.2d 138.
The maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius has force, however, "only when the items expressed are members of an associated group or series, justifying the inference that the items not mentioned were excluded by deliberate choice." See 2A N. Singer & J. Singer, Sutherland Statutory Construction (7th Ed. 2007) § 47:23, p. 405-12. Dyous properly applied this rule because the factual determination of whether an acquittee should be confined is readily identified with a factual determination regarding the conditions of confinement. Unlike the fact based determinations presented in Dyous, the board's legal conclusions as to the validity of its regulations are clearly distinguishable from the group of factual determinations set forth in § 17a-597(a). Invocation of the canon is, therefore, not appropriate in this case. Accordingly, Dyous does not answer the question before us.
[16] General Statutes (Rev. to 1987) § 4-176 provides in relevant part: "Each agency may, in its discretion, issue declaratory rulings as to the applicability of any statutory provision or of any regulation or order of the agency, and each agency shall provide by regulation for the filing and prompt disposition of petitions seeking such rulings. If the agency issues an adverse ruling, the remedy for an aggrieved person shall be an action for declaratory judgment under section 4-175 unless the agency conducted a hearing pursuant to sections 4-177 and 4-178 for the purpose of finding facts as a basis for such ruling, in which case the remedy for an aggrieved person shall be an appeal pursuant to section 4-183. If the agency fails to exercise its discretion to issue such a ruling, such failure shall be deemed a sufficient request by the plaintiff for the purposes of section 4-175. . . ."
[17] General Statutes (Rev. to 1987) § 4-183(a) provides in relevant part: "A person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review by way of appeal under this chapter. . . ."
[18] General Statutes (Rev. to 1987) § 4-175 provides in relevant part: "The validity or applicability of a regulation or order of an agency may be determined in an action for declaratory judgment brought in the superior court . . . if the regulation or order, or its threatened application interferes with or impairs, or threatens to interfere with or impair, the legal rights or privileges of the plaintiff.. . . A declaratory judgment may not be rendered unless the plaintiff has requested the agency to pass upon the validity or applicability of the regulation or order in question, pursuant to section 4-176, and the agency has either so acted or has declined to exercise its discretion thereunder."
[19] Under this earlier scheme, the nature of the action, administrative appeal or declaratory judgment, dictated the level of scrutiny applied by the court. See Ratick Combustion, Inc. v. State Heating, Piping & Cooling Work Examining Board, supra, 34 Conn.App. at 128-29, 640 A.2d 152 (judicial review in administrative appeal confined to record whereas declaratory judgment actions required evidentiary hearing; further, UAPA explicitly provided for remand to agency in administrative appeal, but such disposition not permissible in declaratory judgment action).
[20] General Statutes § 4-176(e) provides: "Within sixty days after receipt of a petition for a declaratory ruling, an agency in writing shall: (1) Issue a ruling declaring the validity of a regulation or the applicability of the provision of the general statutes, the regulation, or the final decision in question to the specified circumstances, (2) order the matter set for specified proceedings, (3) agree to issue a declaratory ruling by a specified date, (4) decide not to issue a declaratory ruling and initiate regulation-making proceedings, under section 4-168, on the subject, or (5) decide not to issue a declaratory ruling, stating the reasons for its action."
[21] General Statutes § 4-175(a) provides in relevant part: "If a provision of the general statutes, a regulation or a final decision, or its threatened application, interferes with or impairs, or threatens to interfere with or impair, the legal rights or privileges of the plaintiff and if an agency (1) does not take an action required by subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (e) of section 4-176, within sixty days of the filing of a petition for a declaratory ruling, (2) decides not to issue a declaratory ruling under subdivision (4) or (5) of subsection (e) of said section 4-176, or (3) is deemed to have decided not to issue a declaratory ruling under subsection (i) of said section 4-176, the petitioner may seek in the Superior Court a declaratory judgment as to the validity of the regulation in question or the applicability of the provision of the general statutes, the regulation or the final decision in question to specified circumstances. . . ."
[22] General Statutes § 4-183 provides in relevant part: "(i) The appeal shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall be confined to the record. . . .
"(j) The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court shall affirm the decision of the agency unless the court finds that substantial rights of the person appealing have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are: (1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (3) made upon unlawful procedure; (4) affected by other error of law; (5) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (6) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. . . ."
[23] Although Sastrom no longer is confined under conditions of maximum security, we conclude that his claim is not moot because he remains under the jurisdiction of the board and subject to the board's biennial review of both his status as a person who should be confined and the conditions of his confinement. See General Statutes § 17a-585. Accordingly, a determination that § 17a-581-44 of the regulations is invalid would result in practical relief to Sastrom because, at his next biennial review and thereafter, the board no longer could apply the § 17a-581-44 standard for determining the conditions of his confinement.
[24] Legislative deference to the board with respect to decisions concerning the conditions of an acquittee's confinement is consistent with due process. In Youngberg v. Romeo, 457 U.S. 307, 321-22, 102 S.Ct. 2452, 73 L.Ed.2d 28 (1982), the United States Supreme Court held that, in balancing the liberty interests of involuntarily committed individuals against the legitimate interests of the state, due process requires only that government actors exercise professional judgment as to the needs of such individuals and the safety of others in making decisions regarding the conditions of the individual's confinement. Further, such decisions by professional personnel are entitled to a presumption of correctness. Id., at 323, 102 S.Ct. 2452.
|
import numpy as np
import random
import json
import os
import cv2
import itertools
from scipy.misc import imread, imresize
import tensorflow as tf
from data_utils import (annotation_jitter, annotation_to_h5)
from utils.annolist import AnnotationLib as al
from rect import Rect
def rescale_boxes(current_shape, anno, target_height, target_width):
x_scale = target_width / float(current_shape[1])
y_scale = target_height / float(current_shape[0])
for r in anno.rects:
assert r.x1 < r.x2
r.x1 *= x_scale
r.x2 *= x_scale
assert r.x1 < r.x2
r.y1 *= y_scale
r.y2 *= y_scale
return anno
def load_idl_tf(idlfile, H, jitter):
"""Take the idlfile and net configuration and create a generator
that outputs a jittered version of a random image from the annolist
that is mean corrected."""
annolist = al.parse(idlfile)
annos = []
for anno in annolist:
anno.imageName = os.path.join(
os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(idlfile)), anno.imageName)
annos.append(anno)
random.seed(0)
if H['data']['truncate_data']:
annos = annos[:10]
for epoch in itertools.count():
random.shuffle(annos)
for anno in annos:
I = imread(anno.imageName)
if I.shape[2] == 4:
I = I[:, :, :3]
if I.shape[0] != H["image_height"] or I.shape[1] != H["image_width"]:
if epoch == 0:
anno = rescale_boxes(I.shape, anno, H["image_height"], H["image_width"])
I = imresize(I, (H["image_height"], H["image_width"]), interp='cubic')
if jitter:
jitter_scale_min=0.9
jitter_scale_max=1.1
jitter_offset=16
I, anno = annotation_jitter(I,
anno, target_width=H["image_width"],
target_height=H["image_height"],
jitter_scale_min=jitter_scale_min,
jitter_scale_max=jitter_scale_max,
jitter_offset=jitter_offset)
boxes, flags = annotation_to_h5(H,
anno,
H["grid_width"],
H["grid_height"],
H["rnn_len"])
yield {"image": I, "boxes": boxes, "flags": flags}
def make_sparse(n, d):
v = np.zeros((d,), dtype=np.float32)
v[n] = 1.
return v
def load_data_gen(H, phase, jitter):
grid_size = H['grid_width'] * H['grid_height']
data = load_idl_tf(H["data"]['%s_idl' % phase], H, jitter={'train': jitter, 'test': False}[phase])
for d in data:
output = {}
rnn_len = H["rnn_len"]
flags = d['flags'][0, :, 0, 0:rnn_len, 0]
boxes = np.transpose(d['boxes'][0, :, :, 0:rnn_len, 0], (0, 2, 1))
assert(flags.shape == (grid_size, rnn_len))
assert(boxes.shape == (grid_size, rnn_len, 4))
output['image'] = d['image']
output['confs'] = np.array([[make_sparse(int(detection), d=H['num_classes']) for detection in cell] for cell in flags])
output['boxes'] = boxes
output['flags'] = flags
yield output
def add_rectangles(H, orig_image, confidences, boxes, use_stitching=False, rnn_len=1, min_conf=0.1, show_removed=True, tau=0.25):
image = np.copy(orig_image[0])
num_cells = H["grid_height"] * H["grid_width"]
boxes_r = np.reshape(boxes, (-1,
H["grid_height"],
H["grid_width"],
rnn_len,
4))
confidences_r = np.reshape(confidences, (-1,
H["grid_height"],
H["grid_width"],
rnn_len,
H['num_classes']))
cell_pix_size = H['region_size']
all_rects = [[[] for _ in range(H["grid_width"])] for _ in range(H["grid_height"])]
for n in range(rnn_len):
for y in range(H["grid_height"]):
for x in range(H["grid_width"]):
bbox = boxes_r[0, y, x, n, :]
abs_cx = int(bbox[0]) + cell_pix_size/2 + cell_pix_size * x
abs_cy = int(bbox[1]) + cell_pix_size/2 + cell_pix_size * y
w = bbox[2]
h = bbox[3]
conf = np.max(confidences_r[0, y, x, n, 1:])
all_rects[y][x].append(Rect(abs_cx,abs_cy,w,h,conf))
all_rects_r = [r for row in all_rects for cell in row for r in cell]
if use_stitching:
from stitch_wrapper import stitch_rects
acc_rects = stitch_rects(all_rects, tau)
else:
acc_rects = all_rects_r
pairs = [(all_rects_r, (255, 0, 0)), (acc_rects, (0, 255, 0))]
for rect_set, color in pairs:
for rect in rect_set:
if rect.confidence > min_conf:
cv2.rectangle(image,
(rect.cx-int(rect.width/2), rect.cy-int(rect.height/2)),
(rect.cx+int(rect.width/2), rect.cy+int(rect.height/2)),
color,
2)
rects = []
for rect in acc_rects:
r = al.AnnoRect()
r.x1 = rect.cx - rect.width/2.
r.x2 = rect.cx + rect.width/2.
r.y1 = rect.cy - rect.height/2.
r.y2 = rect.cy + rect.height/2.
r.score = rect.true_confidence
rects.append(r)
return image, rects
def to_x1y1x2y2(box):
w = tf.maximum(box[:, 2:3], 1)
h = tf.maximum(box[:, 3:4], 1)
x1 = box[:, 0:1] - w / 2
x2 = box[:, 0:1] + w / 2
y1 = box[:, 1:2] - h / 2
y2 = box[:, 1:2] + h / 2
return tf.concat(1, [x1, y1, x2, y2])
def intersection(box1, box2):
x1_max = tf.maximum(box1[:, 0], box2[:, 0])
y1_max = tf.maximum(box1[:, 1], box2[:, 1])
x2_min = tf.minimum(box1[:, 2], box2[:, 2])
y2_min = tf.minimum(box1[:, 3], box2[:, 3])
x_diff = tf.maximum(x2_min - x1_max, 0)
y_diff = tf.maximum(y2_min - y1_max, 0)
return x_diff * y_diff
def area(box):
x_diff = tf.maximum(box[:, 2] - box[:, 0], 0)
y_diff = tf.maximum(box[:, 3] - box[:, 1], 0)
return x_diff * y_diff
def union(box1, box2):
return area(box1) + area(box2) - intersection(box1, box2)
def iou(box1, box2):
return intersection(box1, box2) / union(box1, box2)
def to_idx(vec, w_shape):
'''
vec = (idn, idh, idw)
w_shape = [n, h, w, c]
'''
return vec[:, 2] + w_shape[2] * (vec[:, 1] + w_shape[1] * vec[:, 0])
def interp(w, i, channel_dim):
'''
Input:
w: A 4D block tensor of shape (n, h, w, c)
i: A list of 3-tuples [(x_1, y_1, z_1), (x_2, y_2, z_2), ...],
each having type (int, float, float)
The 4D block represents a batch of 3D image feature volumes with c channels.
The input i is a list of points to index into w via interpolation. Direct
indexing is not possible due to y_1 and z_1 being float values.
Output:
A list of the values: [
w[x_1, y_1, z_1, :]
w[x_2, y_2, z_2, :]
...
w[x_k, y_k, z_k, :]
]
of the same length == len(i)
'''
w_as_vector = tf.reshape(w, [-1, channel_dim]) # gather expects w to be 1-d
if(int(tf.__version__.split(".")[1])<13 and int(tf.__version__.split(".")[0])<2): ### for tf version < 13
upper_l = tf.to_int32(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.floor(i[:, 1:2]), tf.floor(i[:, 2:3])]))
upper_r = tf.to_int32(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.floor(i[:, 1:2]), tf.ceil(i[:, 2:3])]))
lower_l = tf.to_int32(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.ceil(i[:, 1:2]), tf.floor(i[:, 2:3])]))
lower_r = tf.to_int32(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.ceil(i[:, 1:2]), tf.ceil(i[:, 2:3])]))
else: ### for tf version >= 13
upper_l = tf.cast(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.floor(i[:, 1:2]), tf.floor(i[:, 2:3])]),tf.int32)
upper_r = tf.cast(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.floor(i[:, 1:2]), tf.ceil(i[:, 2:3])]),tf.int32)
lower_l = tf.cast(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.ceil(i[:, 1:2]), tf.floor(i[:, 2:3])]),tf.int32)
lower_r = tf.cast(tf.concat(1, [i[:, 0:1], tf.ceil(i[:, 1:2]), tf.ceil(i[:, 2:3])]),tf.int32)
upper_l_idx = to_idx(upper_l, tf.shape(w))
upper_r_idx = to_idx(upper_r, tf.shape(w))
lower_l_idx = to_idx(lower_l, tf.shape(w))
lower_r_idx = to_idx(lower_r, tf.shape(w))
upper_l_value = tf.gather(w_as_vector, upper_l_idx)
upper_r_value = tf.gather(w_as_vector, upper_r_idx)
lower_l_value = tf.gather(w_as_vector, lower_l_idx)
lower_r_value = tf.gather(w_as_vector, lower_r_idx)
alpha_lr = tf.expand_dims(i[:, 2] - tf.floor(i[:, 2]), 1)
alpha_ud = tf.expand_dims(i[:, 1] - tf.floor(i[:, 1]), 1)
upper_value = (1 - alpha_lr) * upper_l_value + (alpha_lr) * upper_r_value
lower_value = (1 - alpha_lr) * lower_l_value + (alpha_lr) * lower_r_value
value = (1 - alpha_ud) * upper_value + (alpha_ud) * lower_value
return value
def bilinear_select(H, pred_boxes, early_feat, early_feat_channels, w_offset, h_offset):
'''
Function used for rezooming high level feature maps. Uses bilinear interpolation
to select all channels at index (x, y) for a high level feature map, where x and y are floats.
'''
grid_size = H['grid_width'] * H['grid_height']
outer_size = grid_size * H['batch_size']
fine_stride = 8. # pixels per 60x80 grid cell in 480x640 image
coarse_stride = H['region_size'] # pixels per 15x20 grid cell in 480x640 image
batch_ids = []
x_offsets = []
y_offsets = []
for n in range(H['batch_size']):
for i in range(H['grid_height']):
for j in range(H['grid_width']):
for k in range(H['rnn_len']):
batch_ids.append([n])
x_offsets.append([coarse_stride / 2. + coarse_stride * j])
y_offsets.append([coarse_stride / 2. + coarse_stride * i])
batch_ids = tf.constant(batch_ids)
x_offsets = tf.constant(x_offsets)
y_offsets = tf.constant(y_offsets)
pred_boxes_r = tf.reshape(pred_boxes, [outer_size * H['rnn_len'], 4])
scale_factor = coarse_stride / fine_stride # scale difference between 15x20 and 60x80 features
pred_x_center = (pred_boxes_r[:, 0:1] + w_offset * pred_boxes_r[:, 2:3] + x_offsets) / fine_stride
pred_x_center_clip = tf.clip_by_value(pred_x_center,
0,
scale_factor * H['grid_width'] - 1)
pred_y_center = (pred_boxes_r[:, 1:2] + h_offset * pred_boxes_r[:, 3:4] + y_offsets) / fine_stride
pred_y_center_clip = tf.clip_by_value(pred_y_center,
0,
scale_factor * H['grid_height'] - 1)
if(int(tf.__version__.split(".")[1])<13 and int(tf.__version__.split(".")[0])<2): ### for tf version < 1.13
interp_indices = tf.concat(1, [tf.to_float(batch_ids), pred_y_center_clip, pred_x_center_clip])
else: ### for tf version >= 1.13.0
interp_indices = tf.concat(1, [tf.cast(batch_ids,tf.float32), pred_y_center_clip, pred_x_center_clip])
return interp_indices
|
Halls at Powell
Halls at Powell
http://www.wbir.com/video/2738413660001/1/Halls-at-Powellhttp://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/wbir/brightcove/29913744001/201310/2932/29913744001_2738440533001_th-5258d2e9e4b08cab5075313b-1592194044001.jpg?pubId=29913744001Halls at PowellHalls at Powellwbirsportshss_sports00:29 |
Q:
Does Jupiter really improve battery power?
I installed Jupiter on Ubuntu 11.10 and set the preference mode to "Power Saver" but haven't seen any noticeable difference. Does it really do what it claims?
A:
In OMGUbuntu, WebUpd8 and I think Phoronix they have an article about how it helps with the power management. Also several users have actually reported saving battery time. This of course changes depending on the hardware and the usage. For example, setting the mode to Power Saver while playing an intensive game or doing something process/power hungry will eventually eat the battery.
Some links about this are:
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/07/jupiter-ubuntu-ppa-hardware-and-power.html
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/06/jupiter-take-advantage-of-asus-super.html
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/02/jupiter-awesome-netbook-powerconfig-applet/
http://eeepc.net/jupiter-adds-power-management-to-linux-netbooks/
But some suggestion would be to read the comments in each of this links, check the Jupiter site here: http://www.jupiterapplet.org/ for updates and support. Jupiter might help many laptops, netbooks and small eee but might not do much to others depending on the way they handle the power management. Most users actually have good reviews.
Lastly there are some improvements in the last days in the source: http://sourceforge.net/projects/jupiter/
which at least suggests it is still active and work is getting to it.
|
Pages
Categories
AJ Green Has Georgia Camp Abuzz
Freshman WR A.J. Green
After Georgia’s first practice ended yesterday, coveted freshman wide receiver A.J. Green came into the team meeting room and was immediately swarmed by the assembled media there. If there was any doubt as to whom was the most anticipated new player on the Bulldogs’ roster this year, it was removed at that moment as I watched Green sit down and disappear into the middle of a huddle of a dozen or so reporters.
I stood just outside the circle so I could listen and pipe in if needed (reporter Jenna Marina, who is helping us out on Georgia in August and writing a story on Green today, was right in the middle of it). As I observed the scene, it got me thinking, “funny how things work out.”
I thought back to February of 2005. Coach Mark Richt was experiencing one of the more challenging periods of his career at that time (anything is second to this current one). Defensive ends coach and special teams guru Jon Fabris decided to leave Georgia for Oklahoma about the same time that defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left for the NFL and running backs coach Ken Rucker left for Texas. Not long before then Richt had talked D-line coach and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner out of leaving Georgia for a coordinator’s position at LSU.
Anyway, Fabris had left and was gone for a short while before having a change of heart and asking Richt if he’d take him back. Of course, Richt did.
Good thing for Fabris and for Georgia that Richt had not already hired a replacement. So Fabris comes back and a year and a half later, he goes to Summerville, S.C., and convinces A.J. Green to commit to the Bulldogs in October of 2006. And, perhaps more remarkably, despite some of the most intense recruiting efforts ever by Georgia rivals, Fabris managed get Green to stay true to that commitment (for the record, Fabris gives Green all the credit for this).
I recount all of this because — and I’m trying not to overhype this situation — I think Green may turn out to be one of Georgia’s most significant signees in a while. I know, I know, it’s been only one practice and Green “tweaked” a groin injury in that one. But folks, sometimes it’s just very evident when a player is the real deal. Not only does Green look the part of a dominant wide receiver (6-4, 200 pounds), he illustrates it every time he runs a route and hauls into his big strong hands a torpedoed pass like it was a little Nerf ball. And he appeared a lot faster than I had originally expected. Any time fellow players, upperclassmen no less, come in from practice buzzing about the “new kid” like they did Green yesterday, you know you may have something special on your hands.
And Green talks the talk. Though he’s not a braggart by any stretch, Green is clearly confident and not at all overwhelmed by mass of attention and expectations. That can be as important as what one can do on the field.
Of course, as Fabris did in 2005, Garner stayed on and Tony Ball came in as running backs coach and the next year the two of them helped convince a running back out of New Jersey named Knowshon to come South to play football. |
Highlights from Hubble: A Free Public Presentation on 21 November 2002
Main Content
6 November 2002 — A free presentation titled
"Highlights from Hubble" will be given at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday,
21 November, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park
Campus by Dr. Michael Weinstein of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
This event is part of the 2002 Friedman Public Lecture Series in Astronomy.
Weinstein will display many of the most stunning images taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope and will weave a story of cosmic intrigue around
each photo. He is known for his flamboyant and enthusiastic lecturing
style and for his exceptionally clear illustrations and explanations.
Since its launch over a decade ago, the Hubble telescope has observed
the most mysterious and the most beautiful objects in our universe. Some
of them are in our own back yard, and others are the most distant objects
ever seen by humans. "Hubble watched the scars on Jupiter's surface
when it was damaged by the giant comet, Shoemaker-Levy, and it has seen
the different faces of Saturn," says Weinstein. "With Hubble,
scientists discovered giant black holes in the centers of galaxies and
obtained detailed views of galactic train wrecks."
"Both adults and children will love this show," says Jane Charlton,
associate professor and chair of outreach in the Department of Astronomy
and Astrophysics. "The pictures are beautiful in their own right,
and Weinstein will bring them to life in his descriptions," she adds.
Charlton says her favorite Hubble image is one of the Eagle nebula, which
"looks just like something you might see in the depths of the ocean,
yet the pillars of cold, black gas and dust in the midst of a blue glow
are, in fact, the homes of embryonic stars."
Weinstein, who recently received his Ph.D. degree in astronomy and astrophysics,
is currently an instructor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
He organizes planetarium shows, astronomy activities for children of all
ages, and stargazing events that reach many thousands of people each year.
The presentation is hosted by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
and is funded largely by the Ronald M. and Susan J. Friedman Outreach
Fund in Astronomy. Mr. Friedman is a member of the department's Board
of Visitors. |
Indian GST returns
GST registered businesses typically have to file three returns per month (GSTR-1, GSTR-2 and GSTR-3) in each state where they operate. An annual GST return is also required. This means a business will have to complete 37 returns per annum in each state where they are trading.
There are 29 states in India – although the state of Jammu and Kashmir has not implemented GST.
GST returns
Important GST return deadlines are listed below:
Indian GST return deadlines
GSTR-1
Sales 10th of the month following reporting month
GSTR-2
Purchases 15th of the month following reporting month
GSTR-3
Reconciled Sales and Purchases, and tax due 20th of the month following reporting month
GSTR-4
Composite suppliers 18th of the month following reporting quarter
GSTR-5
Non-resident taxable persons, sales and purchases 20th of the month following reporting month
GSTR-8
e-Commerce sales 10th of the month following reporting month
GSTR-9
Annual GST return 31st December of following year
Monthly GST returns process
The Indian tax authorities require tax payers to reconcile their GST invoices with their customers and suppliers via the online clearing system. The monthly process is as follows:
Tax payer submits their sales transactions via GSTR-1 on 10th of the month
Customers review sales transactions in GSTR-2a and approve
Customers files their GSTR-2
Any invoices not agreed or modified by the customer may be review by the tax payer in the GSTR-1a
When tax payer and customers approve, the GSTR-3 is created and taxes are due on the 20th of the month
Payment of GST
Tax payers should remit any net GST due on the 20th of the month following the reporting month. This is done with the submission of form GSTR-3.
About Avalara VATLive
VATlive.com is one of the leading global online resources for timely tax news, insight and rate changes, providing a wealth of daily information and expert insight on EU and global indirect tax schemes.More information |
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
This is a short from 2011, directed by Jake Thornton and seems to be a test piece for something larger – at least I hope so.
It begins with a pipe and we realise we are in some form of bunker, visions of a woman (Siri Baruc, Blood Angels) flit across the screen, she laughs happily. Captain Marcus Cole (Neil Jackson, Blade the Series, The Thirst & Vampyre Nation) bolts awake from his dream, he throws up and the vomit is composed of blood.
Mandy Amano as Vasquez
Colonel E Stracken (John Knox, Vampire Vixens from Venus) is interrupted in his paperwork by Thalia "Desert Cobra" Vasquez (Mandy Amano) who tells him the new Captain is awake. I have to say I loved the sci-fi look they gave her, at odds with the Afghanistan story setting but it worked well. Stracken has a file on Cole.
Layla Alizada as Leena
Cole is placed in a room, there is a table and a couple of chairs. He notices cameras and Stracken speaks to him via a microphone. He explains that Cole is now a dangerous weapon and this is a test of loyalty. Vasquez brings in a gagged woman, Leena (Layla Alizada), and from the interaction between Cole and Vasquez it is clear they have met before. Before she leaves the interrogation room she cuts at Leela with a combat knife, opening shallow wounds and licks the blood from the knife.
The Squad
Outside, Vasquez and two others, William "Bull" Hawking (Anthony Ray Parker , Xena Warrior Princess: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) and Theo "Dire Wolf" Valance (Jeff Schine), comment on how Cole will do. Stracken explains to Cole that she is an insurrectionist, an enemy combatant. She holds information they need and Cole must get it out of her before he kills her.
will he have self control?
Given the fact that this is TMtV, you know he is now a vampire but will he kill the woman… You can find out in the embedded short below. I was rather impressed; it is only a teaser, a taste of a larger story, but it is a story I’d like to see.
No comments:
Welcome to my Vampire blog
Here you will find views and reviews of vampire genre media, from literature, the web, TV and the movies.
Please note that, by the very nature of the subject matter, my blogs are designed for the mature reader
Also note: on the occasion of a Guest Blog the views of the guest are their own and not necessarily the view of Taliesin_ttlg or Taliesin meets the Vampires. Features about crowd-sourcing projects are for awareness purposes and not an endorsement of the product, support is given at the reader's own risk. |
Fox News is actively encouraging President Donald Trump to behave like a tyrant.
On Wednesday, the network invited Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch — known for promoting endless scandals in the Obama administration (including Hillary Clinton's emails) — suggested that the FBI is tainted, and perhaps should be culled.
Advertisement:
"Forget about the FBI investigation into Clinton and Trump being compromised by these conflicts. I think the FBI has been compromised. Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller. Do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?" Fitton said.
Fitton's diatribe may have very well reached President Trump's ears. After all, Fitton went on his rant on Fox News, and Trump is well-known to be an inveterate consumer of television news.
Fitton pointed to the infamous Trump dossier, which Fox News has tried to wipe aside and which was initially funded by anti-Trump Republicans.
Advertisement:
"Fusion GPS was a Hillary Clinton campaign vendor. And the Justice Department was working hand-in-glove with it. Perhaps paying it money — I think, the suspicion is they were paying them money. Top DOJ official's wife was working with them. There was no distinction between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Department of Justice and the FBI," Fitton told Fox News.
This statement referred to reports from conservative media outlets like Fox News that Nellie Ohr, the wife of a Justice Department official, was hired by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS to investigate Trump during last year's presidential election (they later produced a controversial dossier that compiled rumors involving Trump's alleged connections to the Russian government). Bruce Ohr was subsequently demoted in the Justice Department's investigation.
While there were exchanges between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page that described Trump as "terrifying" and insisted that Hillary Clinton "just has to win," those sentiments were hardly unusual at that time. Even Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., famously called Trump a "kook." Most notably, there was no evidence that either Strzok or Page compromised the investigation into Trump due to their pre-existing partisan sentiments.
Advertisement:
Fitton is just the latest conservative to abandon the "law and order" priority, instead encouraging the president to thwart an investigation into his potentially illegal activities. Last week Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro called for a "cleansing" of law enforcement officials who are investigating the president.
"There is a cleansing needed in our FBI and Department of Justice — it needs to be cleansed of individuals who should not just be fired, but who need to be taken out in cuffs!" Pirro proclaimed.
Advertisement: |
Retail Price: R5,555.00You save: R1,390.00 (25%)Our Price: R4,165.00
3622 reward points
Product Description
Barska 20X, 40X Binocular Stereo Microscope Product Info
Barska 20x, 40x stereo binocular microscope provides an opportunity to get a close-up and detailed view of a variety of specimens. Using two widefield 10x eyepieces, this barska stereo microscope is capable of providing enhanced depth-of-field on every sample. Large coarse focusing knobs make it easy to obtain a clear image of the sample, and a bright light helps illuminate the specimen for maximum clarity.
Reviews
Barska 20X, 40X Binocular Stereo Microscope[LIT/UA6403]
Retail Price: R5,555.00You save: R1,390.00 (25%)Our Price: R4,165.00
There are currently no product reviews.NOTE: Reviews may require prior approval before they will be displayed
Q & A
There are currently no questions about this product.
Barska 20X, 40X Binocular Stereo Microscope Product Info
Barska 20x, 40x stereo binocular microscope provides an opportunity to get a close-up and detailed view of a variety of specimens. Using two widefield 10x eyepieces, this barska stereo microscope is capable of providing enhanced depth-of-field on every sample. Large coarse focusing knobs make it easy to obtain a clear image of the sample, and a bright light helps illuminate the specimen for maximum clarity. |
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia variabilis, commercially referred to as a pot-type Dahlia, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Select Yellowxe2x80x99.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new pot-type Dahlia cultivars with desirable inflorescence form, attractive colors, and good garden performance.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross made by the Inventor of two unidentified proprietary Dahlia variabilis selections, not patented. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross grown in a controlled environment in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands. Plants of the new Dahlia differ from plants of the parent selections primarily in ray floret coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands in 1997. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar xe2x80x98Select Yellowxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Select Yellowxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Select Yellowxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct pot-type Dahlia:
1. Upright and compact plant habit.
2. Freely branching, full and dense plants.
3. Medium-sized semi-double type inflorescences.
4. Bright yellow-colored ray and disc florets.
5. Good garden performance.
Plants of the new Dahlia can be compared to plants of the Dahlia cultivar xe2x80x98Micronetta Yellowxe2x80x99, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Venhuizen, The Netherlands, plants of the new Dahlia had larger inflorescences, were more freely-flowering, and had better garden performance than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Micronetta Yellowxe2x80x99. |
High intra-individual variability of cyclosporine pharmacokinetics in lung transplant recipients without cystic fibrosis.
There has been little study on the variability of CsA pharmacokinetics in stable lung transplant (LT) recipients without cystic fibrosis. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of high intra-individual variability of CsA in LT recipients and its implications in CsA monitoring. Twenty-nine pharmacokinetic curves were performed in 10 consecutive stable patients from a single center. The intra-individual coefficient of variation (CV) of the AUC₀₋₁₂ h was calculated in each case. Patients were grouped according to whether their CV was high (≥20%) or low (<20%). Correlations between cyclosporine CsA concentration at each time point, AUC₀₋₄ h , and AUC₀₋₁₂ h were also calculated. Six (60%) patients presented low CVs and four (40%) high CVs. In patients with low CVs, the best correlation of AUC₀₋₁₂ h was with CsA concentration at two h post-dose (C₂) (r = 0.674, p = 0.002), whereas in those with high CV, the best correlation was with C5 (r = 0.800, p = 0.003). In the latter group, the correlation with C₂ was low (r = 0.327, p = 0.32), whereas the correlation with C₀ was high (r = 0.709, p < 0.05). Intra-individual variability of CsA pharmacokinetics may be high in many LT recipients. In patients with high CV, the use of C₀ levels may be more appropriate for CsA monitoring than C₂ levels. |
Embedding a Professional Practice Model Across a System.
Professional practice models (PPMs) are an integral part of any organization on the Magnet® journey, whether initial designation or redesignation. Through the journey, the PPM should become embedded within the nursing culture. Leadership at multiple levels is crucial to ensure successful adoption and implementation. |
Introduction {#sec1-1}
============
"Pharmacovigilance is the science and activity relating the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other possible drug -- related problems." \[[@ref1]\] India is the fourth largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world and an important consumer of medicines too. Each day, new drugs are introduced and prescribed. There has, however been a lack of sound system of pharmacovigilance in India. This is in spite of the efforts made by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that established a multicentric reporting system in 1989 and a Taskforce Project in 1992. The World Health Organization (WHO) also established working relationship with two centers in India for collaborating with its Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program in 1997. "National Pharmacovigilance Center" and Society for Pharmacovigilance, India (SOPI) were designated in 1998. More recently the Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), has initiated a nationwide pharmacovigilance program under the aegis of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. This program is largely based on the recommendations made by the WHO in its document titled "Safety Monitoring of Medicinal Products - Guidelines for Setting up and Running a Pharmacovigilance Center". A nationwide network with 25 peripheral centers, 5 regional centers, and 2 zonal centers was established, in a hierarchical fashion, with predefined tasks and responsibilities allocated at each level.\[[@ref2]\]
The National Pharmacovigilance Center {#sec1-2}
=====================================
The National Pharmacovigilance Center coordinates the National Pharmacovigilance Program (NPVP). It operates under the supervision of the National Pharmacovigilance Advisory Committee. It undertakes the following tasks:
Monitoring adverse drug reactions (ADR) by collation, review, and evaluation of spontaneous adverse drug reaction reports received from various centers.Fostering the culture of ADR notification and to generate a broad-based ADR data on Indian population and share it globally.Reviewing periodic safety update reports submitted by the pharmaceutical companies. These are expected to be submitted every 6 months for the first two years of marketing in India and annually for the next two years.Maintaining contacts with international regulatory bodies working in pharmacovigilance and exchange information on drug safety.Assessing the regulatory information and recommending product label modifications, product withdrawals, or suspensions.Providing information to end users through media.
The Department of Pharmacology, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, was recognized as one of the 25 peripheral pharmacovigilance centers all over India. It is one of the five peripheral centers in western India and one of the two centers in Gujarat.
The Department of Pharmacology, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad had been carrying out projects on pharmacovigilance since 1992. Monitoring of adverse drug reaction in public and private hospitals in Ahmedabad was undertaken during the years 1992-2000. Several case reports and review articles in scientific journals were published on this subject. Hence the concept of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting was disseminated to the prescribers since then, albeit in an unorganized and sporadic manner.
The Peripheral Reporting Center was sanctioned in May 2005; Dr. R. K. Dikshit was appointed its Coordinator. The Terms of Reference (TOR) were signed in August 2005. The tasks envisaged for the peripheral centers include collecting and collating at least 30 adverse drug reaction notifications every month; which are then forwarded to the respective regional center. The center is also required to carry out special projects on drug safety on request of the CDSCO, carry out causality analysis of all the ADR on a monthly basis and maintain a log of all ADR forms and notifications.
It also has the responsibility of inculcating and fostering a reporting culture among the health professionals. This is possible in several ways such as acknowledging the cooperation of the participating clinicians, providing relevant feedback, organizing training, and other scientific programs related to pharmacovigilance.
Organization of Peripheral Reporting Center, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad {#sec1-4}
=============================================================================
The planning and initial groundwork began in May 2005 with a few cautious and hesitant steps, with apprehensions about the response from the clinicians and other health personnel. Having faced the practical problems with spontaneous reporting in the past, this apprehension was not totally unfounded. Clinicians never seemed to have time for reporting, the outpatient departments are too crowded to offer any time/space for our persevering motivators who pursue this cause with passion. The solace and consolation was that most pharmacologists who we met in Gujarat and elsewhere had a similar experience to narrate. The bright side of the experience was that the word about adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance had spread in the "prescriber" community. ADRs and ADR reporting were now being looked upon not with too much of awe, suspicion, and apprehension, but something that could be tackled and needed to be reported. And better still, pharmacologists like us were now more welcome than ever. We thus, had to proceed to an environment of strengthened trust, active participation and advocacy.
The first set of ADRs for the months of June and July 2005 was submitted in August 2005.
One of the requirements for the peripheral reporting centers under the NPVP is submission of at least 30 ADR reports each month. The perifheral reporting center - B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad has been able to meet this target so far. Interested and motivated staff members and postgraduates of the department were initially briefed about the center and the NPVP. Then began the phase of networking with clinicians, from the Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, to begin with and later with private practitioners from the city. Interested and motivated clinicians were identified, contacted personally, and through formal meetings. They were briefed about the aims and objectives of the program and the proposed functions of the Peripheral Center. The clinicians were encouraged to report ADRs by:
Submitting the ADR reporting forms to the centerNotifying the ADR to the Department of Pharmacology either telephonically or in person.Since there are multiple specialties and clinical units involved, individual staff members/residents were allotted the responsibility of individual unit/clinical department. This ensured that all ADR notifications were promptly attended. The postgraduates also visited the outpatient departments and the wards of the participating departments to collect details of the reported cases.Residents from clinical departments were also encouraged to report ADRs.The private practitioners of the city were either contacted personally or through announcements in the meetings and newsletters of local medical associations. Brief lectures of about 10-15 min were delivered at monthly meetings of local Medical Associations.Posters provided by the CDSCO and other contact details were displayed prominently in the hospital premises and the offices of the local medical associations.Information about ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance was also disseminated to other health personnel.ADR reporting for special groups of drugs like ART and all other drugs used in HIV infections, anti-tubercular drugs analgesics and antiepileptics was also undertaken.Lately efforts are also being made to reach out to areas outside Ahmedabad. One such center is at Bhavnagar where a scientific meeting was held in coordination with the local Branch of the Indian Medical Association and the Government Medical College. Efforts are on to initiate the ADR monitoring in participation with the Department of Pharmacology.
Adverse Drug Reactions Reported by the Center {#sec1-5}
=============================================
The Peripheral Center has been able to meet the targets laid down under the NPVP. Most notifications were received from the departments of medicine, dermatology, psychiatry, T.B. and Chest diseases, pediatrics, ophthalmology, and surgery. Some cases were reported by private practitioners too. While the reports were forwarded to the Regional Center at Mumbai, our center too is creating a database of the ADRs reported and classifying the information based on age and gender of the patients, source of the ADR reports, causal groups of drugs, route of administration of suspected drugs, nature and clinical presentation of the adverse event, and the outcome.
Following are the salient features of the ADRs reported by our center till date:
A total of 1048 cases of ADEs have been reported in a period of 33 months; an average of 31.7 reports per month.A detailed analysis of the 923 cases showed that ADRs were reported more frequently in males than in females (M:F = 1.29).Highest number of cases are reported in the age groups of 16-30 and 31-50 years.The common causal groups of drugs in decreasing order of occurrence are: antimicrobials (433), NSAIDS (100), antiepileptics (66), antipsychotics (57), antihypertensives (35), corticosteroids (31), anticholinergics (26), antiemetics (19), antidepressants (17), antidiabetics (15), and over the counter (OTC) medicines (20).The common reactions observed are skin rashes (149), itching (94), vomiting (76), nausea (48), other skin lesions (90), tingling (52), diarrhea (44), Stevens Johnson syndrome (37), giddiness (32), tremors (27), sedation (25), and muscle dystonias (23).A total of 210 reactions have been serious (including 11 deaths), 27 were life threatening, 148 caused or prolonged hospitalization, 7 induced disabilities, and 53 required intervention to prevent permanent impairment/damage.Steroid-induced Cushingoid features and posterior capsular cataract, spironolactone-induced gynecomastia and lipodystrophy with hypertriglyceridemia due to antiretroviral drugs were reported. Serious adverse reactions like Steven Johnson syndrome with OTC drugs, phenytoin, digitalis induced VPCs, and anaphylactoid reactions due to antisnake venoms were also reported.Causality assessment of the reports has been carried out using the WHO UMC criteria as well as the Naranjo\'s Scale.
Other activities carried out by the Peripheral Center to promote ADR reporting were as follows:
Meetings were held with clinicians to train and sensitize them to spontaneous reporting.The Peripheral Center and its activities were publicized through newsletters of the local Medical Associations.The Peripheral Center itself published a newsletter aptly named "Drug Watch" that informed the readers about ADRs, pharmacovigilance, activities of the center, and interesting ADRs reported to it. These were widely distributed to prescribers at the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad and the private practitioners, other institutions in Gujarat and elsewhere in the country and to the various Centers under NPVP.Potential reporters were sensitized about ADR reporting, its importance and other details through posters, personal communication, and letters.The website [www.pharmacologybjmc.org](www.pharmacologybjmc.org) was launched that informed about the NPVP, the activities of peripheral center, contact details for spontaneous reporting, interesting cases reported every month, and other activities of the peripheral center. The viewers can also report ADE online through this site.An International Workshop on Adverse Drug Monitoring was organized in November 2005. Professor Chris Von Boxtel, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at University of Amsterdam, Netherlands inaugurated the workshop. It was well attended by participants from all over the country. It was interactive in nature with group work on ADR reporting and casualty assessment. The sessions were well managed by a experienced faculty. A panel discussion on ADR Reporting in India aptly highlighted the problems of ADR reporting and their possible solutions.
Pleasures of Running the Center {#sec1-6}
===============================
The past two years had their own share of pleasures and pains; pleasures that gave us an impetus to move on in spite of all odds and pains. The pleasures have been helping us improve and think beyond the obvious and expected.
Being one of the designated peripheral centers was a joy in itself. Here was an opportunity to pursue an important scientific cause in an organized manner given the backup and finances from the NPVP and of course the official label that went with it. It "authenticated" the whole process and made "believers" from "skeptics" among the prescribers. It was a reinforcement of an existing professional activity that brought recognition to the department and the people involved. The faculty involved focused on this activity with single-minded pursuit; an approach that was lacking until then. Clinical projects and other research were partly directed toward pharmacovigilance. It improved our interaction with like-minded clinicians and other health personnel. The experience gained thus also transformed into a useful academic outcome, when the undergraduate students had their firsthand experience on ADR reporting as a part of their practical curriculum. The postgraduates too got a firsthand experience in interacting with the clinicians and other health personnel. Their experiences and feedback have been a great help for the center in building and revising strategies to make this difficult task doable. They have been trained not only in handling "signals" guiding the reporters, but have also learnt to segregate the reports and build up our own database. Also they are able to analyze the reports for causality; an exercise that can be intriguing and confusing at times.
Running this center may not bring obvious or immediate professional or financial rewards. However, the academic and professional pleasure gained is best experienced than narrated. The spirit of advocacy, education, and interactive learning makes all the trials and tribulations worthwhile. The faculty too gained a lot in terms of expertise in this area. It would not be an overstatement to say that they are now better equipped than before to organize and help build up a Peripheral Pharmacovigilance Center, to handle queries from clinicians, to educate, and share the knowledge gained so far. The next aim of reaching out to other places in Gujarat seems equally uphill, but possible all the same.
The Pains {#sec1-7}
=========
These have been the "lessons" that we learnt and are still learning.
In spite of all these efforts, it would be dishonest on our part to say that all is well. The "spontaneous" part in reporting by the prescibers is somewhat lacking. This is one of the important objectives of the NPVP and hence also of our Center. There could be many reasons for this but primarily it seems to be an apathy and lack of awareness among prescribers. We have observed that the ADRs are reported spontaneously usually after a reminder or following a scientific meeting or other awareness programs. However, they decrease over a period of time. This means that generating spontaneous reports requires a sustained effort. Currently, we have been achieving this goal only partially; a learning for us because it obviously means that more efforts are necessary in this direction. While the initial skepticism and hesitation on the part of reporters is slowly disappearing, recruiting new reporters is still an uphill task. We have observed that a positive feedback from their peers does more to convince the prescribers than our umpteen visits; and we hope to exploit this, if possible.
The services provided to the center by the NPVP, whether financial, academic, or other have been very useful in these two years. But if we are to evolve further, rather than just stagnate at collecting reports and submitting them to higher centers, we could look "upwards" for more. That could be in the form of scientific support, academic resources and training to the people involved. A feedback provided about the status of reports submitted, deficiencies if any and results of casualty assessment provide us an insight about how well or badly we are doing! It can help improve the quality of reports generated at out center and avoid defunct reports. Similarly, a feedback about the activities of the other centers and an interaction with them can widen the scope of the work done and also help sharing of the problems faced and their possible solutions. Additional infrastructure (personnel, a dedicated telephone line and internet connection) can also improve the scope and functioning of the center. Knowing the status of our reports vis-a-vis the global database would be an added feedback that will not only help us introspect and improve, but also provide us a valid authenticated document that could convince the skeptics among the clinicians about the value of their spontaneous reports. It will certainly make us feel nice if we came to know that we are also a part of the global database.
Future Plans {#sec1-8}
============
Currently the activities of the center are largely confined to the Civil Hospital Ahmedabad and the city of Ahmedabad. It is necessary to publicize the same throughout Gujarat. We aim to encourage a larger number of prescibers to report spontaneously and to develop a notification culture. We also plan to increase awareness about pharmacovigilance and ADE reporting in health personnel other than prescribers and to encourage reporting from them too. We need to publish the newsletter "Drug Watch" much more frequently. Collating the data collected so far into meaningful statistics is another important task that is keeping us busy at the moment. The expertise gained should also be put to a better use by setting up additional facilities like Drug and Poison Information Services and Drugs and Therapeutics Committee, etc. Lets hope we are able to achieve this and much more!
|
Theano==0.6.0
nose==1.3.4
numpy==1.9.0
scipy==0.14.0
msgpack-python==0.4.2
|
SAN FRANCISCO It is the burning question in tech circles, and Mike Murphy answers it before it is completed. "I hear it every time I'm on a (tech) panel," Murphy, Facebook's vice president of media sales, says with a wry smile. STORY: Social networks vs. TV networks He's referring to the inevitable question on when Facebook and other social-networking sites will turn their steep market valuations into mounds of currency. (Invariably, Murphy answers that Facebook has a long list of major advertisers.) Facebook, MySpace and other social-networking sites have been the rage of the tech industry for more than a year. Following investments by Microsoft and News Corp., the companies are valued in the billions of dollars and are considered blueprints for how to build a website. Yet a deeper question lingers: How are they going to consistently produce profits to match their soaring valuations? It is a parlor game that has Silicon Valley buzzing. With online ad spending booming into a nearly $50 billion market this year, there is plenty of money to be had. Big-name advertisers are drooling over millions of young, affluent consumers who are spending more time on their online profiles than in front of TV and movie screens. They are particularly smitten with the prospect of tailoring ads to people's specific interests. But Google commands a sizable chunk of the market — especially in the USA — leaving dozens of social-networking sites to scramble for a piece of the advertising pie. Plus, there is the ticklish task of sites and advertisers pitching products without trampling the privacy of consumers. Short of striking it rich with online ads or creating a new revenue stream, how can so many sites leverage their vast audiences? In many respects, it is the same query that dogged portal companies in the mid-1990s and search engines in the early '90s. Some were sold. Some went public. Some went belly up. The ongoing challenge is to concoct a potion — be it through banner ads, premium subscriptions or licensing agreements — that no one has perfected. Facebook, crown jewel of the field, is valued at $15 billion but barely turns a profit. "You can't have a $15 billion market valuation based on advertising alone," says Bill Eager, co-founder of bSocial Networks, a maker of software that helps social-networking users market to each other. "It's the single most-asked question in this field." Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li has pondered the next stage for social networks. She envisions the ubiquitous sites will, in five to 10 years, "be like air: They will be anywhere and everywhere we need and want them to be." Eager estimates there will be as many as 250,000 sites that call themselves social networks within a year, compared with about 850 today. "Everyone will reposition their site to take advantage of this phenomenon. It happened before with portals." To get there, though, there is that little matter of making money. "Facebook's real problem isn't privacy, it's monetization," says Dave McClure, a start-up adviser and angel investor in Silicon Valley. "It's not too early to worry about how Facebook makes money." Murphy and other Facebook executives are well aware of that concern. "Advertisers follow people," says Sheryl Sandberg, a former Google executive who recently was named Facebook's chief operating officer. "We have 70 million active members. Once you have engaged users, the revenue will follow in that order." The Web economy Seth Goldstein, whose company SocialMedia Networks helps create ads for social-networking sites, says sound economics underpin the hype of social networks. "More and more people are spending more and more of their time within the Facebook ecosystem," Goldstein says. "This is the largest aggregated, engaged audience. Period." Social networks present an enormous opportunity — maybe the biggest in tech since e-mail. The sites have simplified and amplified connections between people online, creating a thriving ecosystem of small programs that let friends interact through games, greetings, video clips and more. Nonetheless, a fundamental challenge is that the networks often are "walled gardens," closed to the rest of the Web. Avid Internet users must maintain separate accounts on different social networks, blogs, photo-sharing sites and instant-messaging services. In each case, they must invite the same friends to each separate service. Services such as AOL and CompuServe were early walled gardens before they became widely available websites. The same with early e-mail services and instant-messages. Last week, both MySpace and Facebook addressed the issue by announcing they will soon let users share profile data with other websites. "We're taking those walls down," says Amit Kapur, MySpace's COO. Facebook will let members take their personal profiles to any website that wants to host them. For now, MySpace is opening user profiles only to a few sites, including Yahoo and eBay. Social networks are the latest iteration of the Web economy. But unlike e-commerce sites and search engines, they offer a more intimate setting for friends to share information. It is also conceivable that social networking, like e-mail, will never make piles of cash. Facebook's ambitious plan to reshape advertising — via a new approach to social marketing, called Beacon — was a bust. The idea was to inform friends whenever a Facebook member purchased something from online retailers. When consumers protested its invasion of privacy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the miscue and promptly apologized. Even Google, as close to a money mint as anything online, has struggled. Google has a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to place ads on MySpace, and owns Orkut, which flopped in the USA. Co-founder Sergey Brin recently admitted the "monetization work we were doing there didn't pan out as well as we had hoped." "No one has done for social media what Overture and Google did for search," says Martin Green, vice president of business at Meebo, an instant-messaging program that works across multiple IM services. "There needs to be an AdWords for (social networks)," says David Carlick, a partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners, referencing Google's ad system that displays text ads related to search terms. So far, several players have managed to cash in to varying degrees: •MySpace. Since it scored a $900 million, three-year deal with Google in 2006, MySpace has been profitable. And it has given News Corp. a nice turn on its $650 million acquisition in 2005; Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital, expects MySpace to haul in $700 million to $800 million in revenue in fiscal 2008, mostly in advertising. MySpace last month forged partnerships with major record labels Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Vivendi's Universal Music Group to offer its 117 million members tickets, ring tones and artist merchandise. Driving a good chunk of sales is a project launched last summer called HyperTargeting, software that mines the profiles of MySpace users to deliver ads tailored to their interests. Hundreds of advertisers are part of the program, including Toyota and Taco Bell. Another income source is the sale of mobile ring tones and ads. MySpace isn't through. It is "definitely looking into subscription services" and emerging international markets such as India and Japan, says CEO Chris DeWolfe. •Facebook. Despite some hand-wringing over its fate, Facebook stacks up well compared with Google at the same juncture in its history. Facebook hopes to double its revenue to $300 million to $350 million this year, its fourth of existence. Google's revenue soared fivefold, to $440 million, in its fourth year. The 70 million-member network has ramped up revenue with the sale of banner ads through an agreement with Microsoft, targeted-ad programs for local businesses and the sale of virtual gifts. Those gifts, such as a birthday cake or a popping cork of champagne, are affixed to a user's profile in the manner that someone would sign a high school yearbook. "We believe there will be a diversity of revenue — with brand-name advertisers, local advertisers and direct-response advertisers," says Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook's vice president of product marketing. •LinkedIn. The business-contact site has built a booming business in five years through banner ads from the likes of Porsche and Microsoft; subscriptions; job postings charged to corporations and small-business owners; and corporate sales to Symantec, MTV and others. LinkedIn is developing other revenue streams, including research services to locate experts. "It is a global, interconnected world, and we are the one professional network," says CEO Dan Nye. The 250-person company boasts 21 million members and is adding 1.2 million per month. Social-networking site Bebo, recently acquired by AOL for a knee-buckling $850 million, is parlaying its popularity with a predominantly young audience — many are 13 to 24 years old. It has struck up marketing initiatives with advertisers such as Nike and Apple, says Ziv Navoth, vice president of marketing and business development at Bebo, which has 43 million users. That is a key reason it has been profitable the past 18 months. •Vertical social networks. Social networks that cater to the specialized interests of their members offer a premium of eyeballs and opportunity for advertisers, who want a safe, well-lit place they know and trust. "If you have the right audience and the right engagement, you can build a real media business," says Tina Sharkey, CEO of BabyCenter. For most social networks, the goal is to carve out a niche where they fit in a market dominated by generalists MySpace, Facebook and Bebo, says Aaron Levie, CEO of Box.net, an online file system. So far, several have. Imeemhas established itself as a music and media social-networking site with 25 million unique visitors each month. Xing, a business-contact list service popular in Europe, says its revenue doubled in 2007 — to $30 million, from 2006 — because of premium subscriptions, an e-commerce marketplace and banner ads. Meanwhile, Ning, a free platform for do-it-yourself social networks, has helped create more than 260,000 networks. The company estimates that, by the end of 2010, it will host some 4 million social networks, with tens of millions of members, serving up billions of page views daily. Show me the money.com Opportunities abound. Though the U.S. market is largely sewn up among the Big 3 of MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, the international market is wide open. China alone has jolted to $1 billion in online ads last year from nothing a few years ago. ZenithOptimedia estimates online ad spending worldwide will soar 26.5% this year, to $47.7 billion. Total ad spending worldwide, by comparison, is expected to grow 4.6%, to $653.9 billion this year, says Universal McCann. It won't be easy, with so many social networks slugging it out. "The pressure is to scale up revenue and then show a profit," says Kent Lindstrom, president of Friendster, the one-time red-hot social network in the USA that has since become popular in Asia, with nearly 50 million members. Speculation veers from the dire to the giddy. "Honeymoon is over for social networks. They need to start generating revenue now or bow out of the race," according to a new report from In-Stat. Yet Venture capitalists are taking bets on the IPO possibilities for Slide, a maker of widgets for Facebook and MySpace, among others. SocialMedia CEO Goldstein is betting it will be late this year or early 2009 when name-brand advertisers flock to Facebook, Slide, Ning and others. Coincidentally, that's when investors expect revenue to ramp up. Silicon Valley is keenly aware of the vagaries of empty dot-com promises. Just ask any of the once-promising start-ups in the portal and e-commerce markets that were eviscerated amid high hopes and low revenue. Plus, there is the specter of impatient investors. Some sites could draw millions of customers, but if they are short on funding there isn't much they can do, analysts say. "The clock is ticking," says Emily Riley, senior analyst at JupiterResearch. "If they don't have enough volume (users) to land premium ads and charge per page view, game over." Enlarge By Kim Jae-Hwan, Getty Images Chris DeWolfe is CEO of MySpace, one of the Big Three among social networks. Facebook and LinkedIn are the others. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more |
Interactive Developer Salary
39
89
71
Interactive Developer average salary is $77,325, median salary is $78,000 with a salary range from $34,541 to $250,000.
Interactive Developer salaries are collected from government agencies and companies. Each salary is associated with a real job position. Interactive Developer salary statistics is not exclusive and is for reference only. They are presented "as is" and updated regularly. |
FILE PHOTO: A person uses a soda fountain dispenser at the Back Bowl bowling alley in Eagle, Colo. A new study bolsters evidence that soda taxes can reduce sales but whether they influence health remains unclear. The new results were published Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Sweetened-beverage sales drop as a result of soda tax, Penn study finds
“This is some of the most compelling data on a way to get people to buy fewer of these drinks that we know are unhealthy.”
Nina Feldman covers behavioral health for WHYY. She grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan, but before coming to Philadelphia she lived in New Orleans, where she worked at American Routes and contributed to the NPR affiliate WWNO. She likes to understand neighborhoods, watch friends do what they’re good at, and be underwater. She also started the New Orleans Ladies Arm Wrestling league, or NO LAW.
(Philadelphia) –Back when Christina Roberto helped patients with obesity trying to lose weight, she had a simple rule of thumb: Cut out soda.
“Those are products with zero nutritional value,” said Roberto, a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist. “So that’s exactly what we would target first. Those drinks are heavily marketed, they’re cheap, they’re everywhere.”
Now a researcher and assistant professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, Roberto led a study released Tuesday that suggests Philadelphians are buying less soda as a result of the sweetened-beverage tax. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study by Roberto and her colleagues found that sales of sugary drinks dropped by 38% in the Philadelphia region in the year after the tax went into effect.
The researchers compared the sales of sweetened beverages at major retailers — supermarkets, mass merchandisers such as Walmart and Costco, and pharmacies — in the year before the tax to the year after. They also compared sales in Philadelphia the year after the tax was implemented with sales during the same time in Baltimore — a city with similar demographics and sugary-drink consumption as Philadelphia where no tax went into effect.
Because the sweetened-beverage tax of 1.5 cents per ounce is levied on the distributor, the tax has an impact on consumers only if the retailer passes the price increase on to them. Researchers found that in the year after the tax, prices of taxed beverages in Philadelphia increased by an average of 1 cent per ounce relative to the price change in Baltimore, indicating that most of the tax was being passed on to Philadelphia consumers.
Major retailers sold 51% fewer sweetened beverages in Philadelphia in the first year after the tax was implemented in 2017. Because many anticipated that a price hike in Philadelphia might mean shoppers would buy soda in neighboring counties where there was no tax, researchers measured sales in Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties during the same time. They found that sales increased there 12%, offsetting the Philadelphia numbers and resulting in an adjusted 38% decrease for the region overall.
“I’ve studied a lot of things, and this to me — a tax on sweetened beverages — really offers some hope,” said Roberto. “This is some of the most compelling data on a way to get people to buy fewer of these drinks that we know are unhealthy.”
The Philadelphia tax, championed by Mayor Jim Kenney has withstood a number of legal and political challenges. The tax has brought in more than $78 million and funds expanded pre-K and the Rebuild initiative, designed to renovate and build recreation facilities and green spaces throughout the city.
Critics of the tax argue it affects employment in the beverage and related industries. Special interests for and against the tax spent more than $2.6 million in lobbying City Hall in 2018 in efforts to repeal or defend the tax.
The study did not look at the effect the tax has had on employment, although it did find that overall sales for those retailers declined 8.1% in the combined sales of beverages, food, and household products. This study excluded sweetened-beverage sales at restaurants and independently owned stores, though Roberto said the team of Penn researchers has analyzed sales at those types of retailers and hopes to release that research within the year.
Matt Rourke / The Associated Press
FILE PHOTO: A sticker alerting customers of the sugar tax posted by sweetened beverages at the IGA supermarket in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was the second city in the country to implement a tax on sweetened beverages, after Berkeley, California. Reports from Berkeley suggest that its 1% per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages led to about a 12% decline in purchases. The entire country of Mexico has also levied a tax on all added sugars in any product, which led to about an 8% sales decline. Roberto guessed the more dramatic drop in purchasing in Philadelphia compared to Berkeley was due to a higher baseline consumption to begin with and higher rates of poverty, where a price increase would make more of a difference.
This particular study looked only at sweetened-drink sales — not consumption. Though studies that measure sales are more objective than self-reporting from purchasers, they are more limited in gauging the overall health impact of a tax like this.
“Who’s consuming less really matters, and the sales alone don’t necessarily tell you who’s consuming less,” said Kristine Madsen, who directs UC Berkeley’s Food Institute and has been researching the soda taxes in the Bay Area since the nation’s first tax was implemented in Berkeley in 2014.
“If the person who only consumes [sweetened beverages] once or twice a week is dropping, they’re not the ones that I’m actually worried about developing diabetes,” she said.
Research on how beverage taxes affect consumption is less conclusive. Madsen’s research out of the Bay Area found a 51% decline in self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in low-income neighborhoods over the first three years of Berkeley’s tax. But another report found no decline in sugar-sweetened beverage intake among Berkeley residents about one year after the tax.
In Philadelphia, a study out of Drexel University found consumers here were 40% less likely to drink soda in the first two months after the tax.
Madsen commended Roberto and her team’s work but cautioned that the health impacts of such taxes are still inconclusive.
“The other long-term things we need to figure out are whether or not people substitute other unhealthy things, let’s say candy bars,” she said. “If you’re getting rid of soda, but you’re consuming a lot of highly sugared food, that’s not necessarily going to make for a healthier population, so we do need to track that over time.”
WHYY is the leading public media station serving the Philadelphia region, including Delaware, South Jersey and Pennsylvania. This story originally appeared on WHYY.org. |
The present invention relates to an antenna for mobile communications and to a radio communication apparatus including it.
Mobile radio communication apparatuses such as portable telephones and pagers are recently used widespread. A mobile radio communication apparatus has a built-in antenna in a case. The mobile radio communication apparatus is a portable telephone with the built-in antenna, e.g. an inverted-F antenna generally used. The portable telephone operates as a complex terminal, thus requiring an antenna desirably transmit and receive signals in plural frequency bands.
FIG. 10 shows a conventional inverted-F antenna. The inverted-F antenna 10 includes a ground plane 11, a conductive radiator 12, a shorting section 14 for short-circuiting the ground plane 11 and the conductive radiator 12, and a feeding section 15 for supplying power to the antenna. This inverted-F antenna has an antenna characteristic of a narrow frequency band as shown in FIG. 9.
A small antenna used for a mobile radio communication apparatus such as portable telephone operates in a broad frequency band and corresponds to plural frequency bands.
The antenna includes a first conductive radiator having a plane shape and a second conductive radiator having a helical shape. A feeding section is made of a planar element, is disposed between the first conductive radiator having the planer shape and a ground plane, and supplies power by electromagnetic coupling, thereby providing the antenna with a broader frequency band. |
Man charged in police-involved shooting on South Side
Police investigating the smell of marijuana smoke ended up shooting a man they chased down a South Side alley after he refused a command to drop his gun, authorities said.
The suspect, Donte J. Kenney, 26, remained at Advocate Christ Medical Center on Sunday, but has been charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to court documents.
Police saw Kenney standing at the mouth of an alley on 86th Street just east of Rhodes Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood and tried to stop him about 1 a.m. Saturday because they smelled marijuana, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Stephanie Buck and Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Patrick Camden.
Kenney, of the 7900 block of South Stewart Avenue, took off north in the alley holding his side, and one officer jumped out of the police car and chased him, according to Camden, Buck and court documents. The other officer tracked the chase north on Rhodes in his car.
Kenney ran into a gangway, Buck said Sunday, and the officer who had been driving got out of the car to chase him. |
Smoking prevention and cessation, early detection and timely treatment and chemoprevention can make important contributions to reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer. Disseminating these strategies, especially to underserved groups, requires improved methods of cancer communication. The 38 Prevention and Control researchers at the Siteman Cancer Center include leaders in these areas, working through three established focus groups. Nicotine dependence and Smoking Cessation includes studies of nicotine dependence and its association with alcohol dependence at epidemiological , genetic, psychophysiological, behavioral and neuroanatomical levels. Current and planned research extends insights in these areas to improve prevention and cessation interventions. Early Detection includes the Program's major contribution to the NCI-funded PLCO study of early detection of prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancers, study of psychological factors in delay of diagnosis and treatment of rectal cancers, development and validation of improved lung and colorectal screening and diagnostic procedures to reduce barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment, and study of epidemiological, psychological and health education factors that enhance or discourage early detection and screening. In collaboration with the Department of Community Health of the School of Public Health at Saint Louis University, Cancer Communication and Intervention Research includes NIH, ACS and CDC-funded projects addressing epidemiological studies of smoking and cancer, community assets as they influence cancer prevention programs, communication channels and methods, involvement of peers and family members in health promotion, linkage of clinic- and peer-based intervention approaches, and research on community intervention for smoking cessation, promotion of mammography, healthy eating and physical activity among underserved, rural and urban communities. Additional focus groups under development are Psychosocial Factors in Cancer Care and Chemoprevention. |
Age-dependent reversal of the lobular distribution of androgen-inducible alpha 2u globulin and androgen-repressible SMP-2 in rat liver.
Hepatocytes situated at pericentral and periportal zones of the liver lobule show differences in the expression of several liver-specific genes, such as androgen-inducible alpha 2u globulin and androgen-repressible senescence marker protein-2 (SMP-2). A marked temporal difference in the expression of these two androgen-regulated genes has also been observed. The liver of the pre-pubertal male rat is insensitive to androgen, and during this period hepatocytes synthesize only SMP-2. During young adult life (greater than 40 days), the liver becomes androgen sensitive and concomitant synthesis of alpha 2u globulin and repression of SMP-2 occur. In the senescent male rat (greater than 750 days), the liver again becomes androgen insensitive when the decline in alpha 2u globulin is accompanied by an increase in SMP-2 synthesis. In this article we present results to show a correlation between the temporal and spatial (intralobular) changes in the expression of the androgen-inducible alpha 2u globulin and the androgen-repressible SMP-2 in rat hepatocytes. Results indicate that the temporal changes in hepatic androgen sensitivity are dictated by the intralobular location of the hepatocytes. Hepatocytes located around the central vein (pericentral/perivenous) may benefit from a paracrine advantage for the expression of a subset of genes, including the gene for the androgen receptor. |
In a David v. Goliath set-to in Portland (OR), protesters are one-upping the kayaktivists in Seattle, adding small boats and a “human curtain” from GreenPeace rappelling 100 to 200 feet down from the city’s tallest bridge, St. Johns Bridge, to block a ship from going out to sea. Earlier this year, protesters tried to block the departure of the Shell-leased drilling rig “Polar Pioneer” from Terminal 5 in the Port of Seattle. This week’s altercation escalated when the 380-foot icebreaker MSV Fennica tried to leave dry dock where it had a 39-inch gash in its hull repaired after the ship tried to take a shortcut early in its 1,000-mile journey from Dutch Harbor to the Aleutions.
Environmental activists in kayaks protest the Fennica, a vessel that Royal Dutch Shell PLC plans to use in its Arctic offshore drilling project, as it underwent repairs on Swan Island, Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Portland, Ore. The damaged ship, a 380-foot icebreaker, which arrived at a Swan Island dry dock early Saturday morning, is a key part of Shell’s exploration and spill-response plan off Alaska’s northwest coast. It protects Shell’s fleet from ice and carries equipment that can stop gushing oil. (Sam Caravana/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO
The channel was shallower than shown by the 80-year-old charts that were surveyed with sextants and hand-held lines. The NOAA ship Fairweather, in the area to map Arctic shipping routes, found rocky areas less than 30 feet deep, one only 22.5 feet deep. The Fennica draws 27.5 feet.
The Fennica is vital to Shell’s drilling because it contains a 30-foot-tall capping stack equipment designed to prevent a blowout like BP experienced in the Gulf’s Deepwater Horizon disaster. A spill would be disastrous in Arctic waters which are covered by ice flows much of the year. The Chukchi Sea is home to an estimated 2,000 polar bears, as well as gray whales, bowhead whales and a major walrus population. Gray whales swim north also go for feeding grounds in the Chukchi Sea.
Shell received federal permits last week but must wait until the Fennica arrives at the drill site before the company can reapply for more permits to drill into hydrocarbon zones in the Chukchi Sea.
Scheduled to leave last night, the Fennica set out about 6:00 (PST) this morning but was forced to turn around by the presence of the protesters who plan to remain there indefinitely in spite of the unusual 100+ degree temperatures for at least today and tomorrow.
“At this moment, the damaged Fennica icebreaker is entering the water in my home of Portland, OR, in what could be a make-or-break moment for our environment and our future climate.
“Here’s the background: In 2008, President George W. Bush not only lifted the executive ban on Outer Continental Shelf drilling, but also leased parts of the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea to Shell for oil and gas exploration.
“When Shell first attempted exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea in 2012, however, it was clear the company was out of its depth. In September, during open sea testing, Shell’s spill containment system was “crushed like a beer can.” Then the Noble Discoverer caught on fire later in November. To cap off the year, Shell’s other rig, the Kulluk, ran aground and was deeply damaged near Kodiak Island after facing severe winter weather. In a review, the U.S. Coast Guard deemed Shell’s wreck to be a result of “inadequate assessment and management of risks.”
“Yet now, with no indication things will be different this time around — and with clear and mounting evidence we can’t afford to burn Arctic oil if we are serious about climate change — Shell is making moves toward Arctic drilling once again. In fact, Shell’s rigs are already on their way to Arctic waters. The only thing that is stopping Shell is the delay of the Fennica, the damaged icebreaker, which they need to begin their drilling operations.
“Shell should seize this last chance to reverse course and drop their reckless plans for Arctic drilling before it is too late.
“Drilling in the Arctic is the height of irresponsibility. If the Chukchi leases are developed and Shell begins operations, a major oil spill is extremely likely. We all remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which resulted in billions of dollars in economic damage to coastal communities and devastating pollution from the 4.9 million barrels of oil that were dumped into the warm Gulf waters. The harsh climate and remote location of the Arctic would make cleanup of a comparable spill nearly impossible, and if a spill happens during the winter, months could pass before a well could be plugged.
“Additionally, we should not be investing in infrastructure that will lock in decades of production — and carbon pollution — from previously unexploited fossil fuel reserves. The science is clear that we have already discovered five times as much fossil fuel as we can afford to burn if we hope to avert catastrophic climate change. Human civilization already faces enormous challenges from climate change.
“We must take steps to alleviate this danger, not make it worse — and for Shell that means demonstrating global leadership by deciding to not put the world at risk by tapping into untouched and treacherous oil reserves in the Arctic. The U.S. should also use its power and leadership as the new Chair of the Arctic Council to work with other nations to keep Arctic oil off limits.
“Simply put, the Arctic may have oil, but the risks of drilling in the Arctic are too great. Arctic oil should stay in the ground.
“Several weeks ago, five of my Senate colleagues and I introduced the Stop Arctic Drilling Act of 2015, legislation that would protect the Arctic — and our climate — by prohibiting any new or renewed leases for oil drilling in the Arctic.
“It can take years to pass legislation in Congress, however, and right now we only have a window of weeks — maybe just days — before Shell starts drilling.
“It’s time for Shell to do the right thing and announce that they will pull out of the Arctic.”
Two friends—married couple Ann Hubard (photographer) and Taylor West (writer)—went down to the Willamette River this morning to chronicle the events as protesters kept the icebreaker from leaving Portland to help Shell drill for oil. Hubard, who was interviewed for the Oregonian, sent photos, and Taylor sent her impressions of this morning’s gathering:
Thirteen Dangling in Protest: Dangling some 408 feet above the Willamette River, yellow and red streamers marked each roped body. A flotilla of colorful kayaks was strategically stationed below, and a lone powered paraglider zigzagged up and down, in and out, voicing support for the mission. News helicopters tracked and recorded the event from on high while hundreds of spectators craning necks to spot the target of the daring dissenters. Moving ever so slowly up the Willamette came the MSV Fennica, 9,000 tons of icebreaker stretching longer than a football field. At last the dare is on!
The crowd is eerily quiet, the flotilla of kayaks centers itself, and, in unison, the danglers hang at attention. Suddenly I’m aware of only the paraglider’s engine and the roar of helicopters circling above. We stand together in anxious anticipation, heads shifting back and forth in tennis-match-style from danglers to ship. Who will say uncle first? Suddenly, the crowd erupts in boisterous cheers and applause. Yes, the Fennica has stopped before it turned and straddled on the river side-saddle as it starts its retreat. The daring dangling dissenters have won this round.
Comment from Hubard: The Shell ship is huge, and being there helps you really understand how impressive these protesters are, to hang there as long as they have. Their dedication and perseverance is amazing. I feel honored to have been there.
Addendum: This afternoon, police closed the St. Johns Bridge and removed three or four of the protesters dangling from the bridge. Law enforcement also circled protesters in kayaks and canoes that had continued to enter the river and block the big ship’s access. At 5:55 (PST), the Fennica went under the St. Johns Bridge, going north toward the Columbia River. Updates are available here.
No U.S. laws will change because of the TPP. That’s President Obama’s claim through his push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Senate, however, has two companion trade bills. One will allow any president to negotiate trade agreements within the next six years with no amendments of filibusters in Congress. The second bill is a trade adjustment assistance (TAA) bill that provides federal funds for workers displaced by free trade agreements. This help includes from job training, placement services, relocation expenses, income support, and health insurance subsidies.
TAA gets part of its funding from $700 million in Medicare cuts. Although sequestration (except for “defense”) expires in 2024, the TAA bill expands it while the other $2.2 billion comes from customs user fees. Compared to billions, $700 million isn’t much, but it’s another chip in social services, a reduction while the pet “defense” budget increases. The bill continues Congress’s philosophy that treats Medicare as its own piggy bank. Also the $700 million shows how little help the tens of thousands of people losing jobs will receive. The falsehood that TPP changes no U.S. laws just adds to the misrepresentations of a “trade agreement.”
The U.S. fight to prevent TPP is reminiscent of the biblical story of David and Goliath. Congressional legislators and the president forge ahead in the face of telephone calls to them showing an opposition of 25 to 1. You can add your voice here.
President Obama has created another David & Goliath story in the Northwest. A week ago, the Obama administration opened the door to drilling in the Arctic when it granted approval to Shell for exploration in this area “subject to rigorous safety standards,” according to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Shell plans to drill up to six wells about 70 miles offshore of the northwest coast of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea this summer between July 1 and the end of September. The plan is open to comment for another week.
If Shell were to develop the area, the leases would result in eight offshore platforms, 400 to 457 production wells, 80 to 92 service wells, 380 to 420 miles of offshore pipelines, 600 to 640 miles of onshore pipelines, a shorebase, a processing facility, and a waste facility. The agency approving Shell’s plan reported that there was a “75% chance of one or more large spills” occurring in the area over the next 77 years. During development, about 800 oil spills of less than 1,000 barrels apiece are “considered likely to occur,” some even at the exploration-only stage. It can be expected that at least two large spills greater than 1,000 barrels of oil willoccur. Such occurrences would devastate both ecosystems and the people who rely on these for their living.
This remote area is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to drill for oil. Rescue and cleanup is almost nonexistent with the closest Coast Guard station for this purpose over 1,000 miles away. Three years ago, Shell left the Arctic after a number of disasters, including the Kulluk oil rig that had to be towed to safety in late 2012 and sold for junk after it ran aground because of the company’s “inadequate assessment and management of risks,” according to a report released by the U.S. Coast Guard. The catastrophe left 150,000 gallons of fuel and drilling fluid along a formerly pristine coastline. The next year, the Interior Department stated that Shell failed to meet safety mandates and ordered the corporation to stop drilling.
For years, Shell has been talking about the problems of climate change and how the increase in temperature—double former projections—will cause devastating rising of oceans. Shell remains a member of the far-right legislative-writing organization, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and then states that climate change regulations are the purview of policymakers. Then the company argues that the opposition of global warming cannot distract from the growing energy demand from the growing population and people living in poverty. As Shell’s CEO, Ben van Beurden, said, “The issue is how to balance one moral obligation, energy access for all, against the other: fighting climate change.”
Obviously, Shell finds its moral obligation in “energy access for all.” Restricting global temperatures makes U.S. Arctic oil extraction economically unviable. The more the ice melts, the greater chance Shell has of finding oil in the area. Despite van Beurden’s call for an informed debate surrounding climate change, Shell continues to partner with ALEC. As executive chair of Google, Eric Schmidt, said last year when the company pulled out of ALEC, “They are just literally lying [about climate change.]”
Despite Shell’s claims to have a “thoroughly responsible plan,” the company refuses to test essential oil spill equipment in Arctic conditions. After the company tested the containment dome in 2012 when it “crushed like a beer can” in safety testing, it has been tested only in waters off Washington State. Shell has also retained Noble Drilling after it had to pay $12 million after pleading guilty to eight crimination offenses working for Shell in 2012. These included the falsification of records, unauthorized alterations to essential equipment, and “willfully failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of hazardous conditions aboard the drill ship Noble Discoverer.”
Shell has even failed to obtain necessary permits from the City of Seattle, where it leased mooring near a dense residential area at a container terminal not intended as a home port. The city has claimed that Shell violates the terminal’s use and demanded an additional use permit from Seattle. A lawsuit claims that the port failed to comply with public processes, zoning regulations, and environmental regimes and calls for a new environmental review. Mike O’Brien, a city council member, talked about concerns that the drilling fleet could “discharge oil and other toxic pollutants” in the Puget Sound and damaging a fragile ecosystem that the area has worked for decades to clean up.
An alternative to Seattle for Shell’s moorage is Dutch Harbor (AK), but comes at a higher cost with rougher weather. Shell also wants to avoid Alaska’s fossil fuel tax. The Noble was trying to escape that fuel tax when it managed to ground the drilling rig on the coastline because of bad weather. The owners of both vessels that Shell wants to leave in Seattle when they aren’t operating in the Arctic have both been cited for safety dangers and pollution discharge. The Noble Discover’s pollution-control system, which broke in 2012, also failed last month in near Hawaii. The owner of the other, Transocean, paid $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster killing 11 workers and blowing five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The first permit that Shell received is conditional, based on the requirement that the company obtain another seven state and federal permits including incidental harassment authorizations from the National Marine Fisheries Service, letters of authorization from the Fish and Wildlife Service, and wastewater discharge approvals from the Environmental Protection Agency. Growing noise levels and vessel traffic from Shell’s endeavors threaten the whales in the Arctic: gray whales are there year-round, bowhead whales migrate through the area, and Beluga whales raise their young there. Other species in the area are Pacific walruses, polar bears, seals, and various seabird populations.
Activists participate in the sHell No Flotilla part of the Paddle In Seattle protest. Nearly a thousand people from country gathered May 16, 2015 in Seattle’s Elliot Bay for a family-friendly festival and on-land rally to protest against Shell’s Arctic drilling plans. Photo by Greenpeace
Seattle residents aren’t accepting the drilling rigs. Hundreds of activists are blocking road traffic—including port workers—to the port. Another 500 “kayaktivists” surrounded the Polar Pioneer drilling rig that arrived last Thursday despite the dangers. Kayakers too close to the propwash, the propeller stream, can get sucked into the frigid water, and kayakers in the way of the ship’s momentum can drown. Their plan is to make sure that the semi-submersible drilling unit with a 170-foot-tall derrick doesn’t leave to destroy the Arctic. Shell’s other drilling rig is already avoiding the inhospitality by mooring farther north at Everett (WA).
As the kayakers’ sign read, “The people vs. Shell.” I’m rooting for the people. Maybe David will win again. |
Anthony's Group
Anthony is a member of this group in Busia District. He is pictured here in a group of 4 One Acre Fund group leader farmers. The group leaders represent a total of 40 individual One Acre Fund farmers who are not pictured here. Anthony has been selected to act as the Kiva group representative and is standing on the right with his hand raised. He and the other farmers represented in this group are each receiving ¼ acre of maize and ¼ acre of sorghum or millet. Each farmer is receiving an average input loan of 5,349 shillings for maize, mille, and sorghum cultivation.
Anthony is married and has 5 children. He is 65 years old and is known as hardworking, reliable and an experienced farmer. He is active in his community in groups such as the prayer group and burial committee. Anthony has been a farmer for 15 years. Anthony described his harvest as not very good with One Acre Fund last year, but believes he can have an even better one this year by continuing to work with One Acre Fund.
Anthony first enrolled with One Acre Fund in 2013 and is now preparing to be a One Acre Fund farmer during the 2014 Long Rains season. Anthony joined One Acre Fund in order to get the best seed prices and get new farming methods. He also volunteered to be a group leader and Kiva representative because he likes being a leader, and is an active community member, and wants to help more farmers, and wants to spread the story about One Acre Fund farmers. Anthony plans to use the money that he earns from his next harvest to repair the home, and buy a goat. He notes that working with One Acre Fund has lead to many benefits for One Acre Fund farmers. Anthony’s own life was improved because he has more farm training, has more farm group support and was able to feed the family.
One Acre Fund focuses on working with smallholder farmers across Kenya. The organization pre-purchases seeds and fertilizer when prices are low and passes the cost savings onto the farmers. Anthony and his group will use the Kiva loan to cover this initial cost of purchasing the seeds and fertilizer package from One Acre Fund. One Acre Fund continues providing training and support throughout the planting and harvesting season to ensure a good harvest and repayment. With support from One Acre Fund and your loan, these farmers will have a chance at a successful harvest, increased profits, and improved lives.
The field officer is also included in the photo and is standing on the left of the photo.
Additional Information
More information about this loan
This loan is part of One Acre Fund's integrated agricultural package, which provides groups of smallholder farmers with seeds and fertilizers on credit, onsite agricultural training, and insurance options. Borrowers also have the option to purchase solar lanterns as part of the loan package.
To give borrowers more flexibility, One Acre Fund permits them to switch groups, drop out of the program and change their loan amounts before receiving their inputs. To accommodate this, Kiva allows One Acre Fund to post loans for groups that may change in size and membership. Only the group leader is featured in the photo, representing the loans for each of his or her individual group members.
If a lender makes a loan to group containing a borrower that drops out, the lender will receive the full loan amount for that borrower back at the end of the harvest season. If the lender makes a loan to a group containing a borrower that decides to take a smaller loan amount after the loan is funded, the lender will receive the repayments from the smaller loan amount plus the full difference between the two loan amounts at the end of the harvest season.
This Kiva loan will be used to provide borrowers with needed goods or services, as opposed to cash or financial credit.
About One Acre Fund
With this loan, One Acre Fund will purchase fertilizer, seeds, and other important farming inputs to distribute to this farmer group during Kenya's next planting season in February. This distribution of farming inputs is part of One Acre Fund's integrated agriculture package, which includes training, reliable input supply (such as fertilizer and seeds), credit and insurance. Clients enroll between July and October for the following planting season, which begins in February. By purchasing inputs during these months, One Acre Fund is able to take advantage of the historically low farm input prices during this time of year in Kenya.
Members of One Acre Fund form groups in which each borrower guarantees the loans of all other borrowers in the group. One Acre Fund differs from a traditional microfinance institution, however, by allowing groups to split before the delivery of inputs at planting time. If a group were to split, each of the two new groups would have fewer members that could support a delinquency or default from a member. This may represent a different risk than that for a traditional MFI’s group loan.
Important Information About the Risk of One Acre Fund
One Acre Fund is not assigned a risk rating on Kiva. This is due to the fact that One Acre Fund’s business model differs enough from traditional microfinance models that Kiva’s current risk rating system is not applicable in accurately reflecting the risk assessment. Key risks and further information in making loans to One Acre Fund borrowers can be found on the organization’s partner page.
This is a Group Loan
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.
Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose. |
edges
1 p0
2 p1
3 p2
4 p3
5 p4
6 p5
7 p6
8 p7
9 p8
10 p9
11 p10
12 p11
13 p12
14 p13
15 p14
16 p15
17 p16
18 p17
19 p18
20 p19
21 p20
22 p21
23 p22
24 p23
25 p24
26 p25
27 p26
28 p27
29 p28
30 p29
31 p30
32 p31
33 p32
34 p33
35 p34
36 p35
37 p36
38 p37
39 p38
40 p39
41 p40
42 p41
43 p42
44 p43
45 p44
46 p45
47 p46
48 p47
49 p48
50 p49
51 p50
52 p51
53 p52
54 p53
55 p54
56 p55
57 p56
58 p57
59 p58
60 p59
61 p60
62 p61
63 p62
64 p63
65 p64
66 p65
67 p66
68 p67
69 p68
70 p69
links
1 71 100
1 4 100
1 18 100
1 72 100
1 25 100
1 61 100
2 38 100
2 73 100
2 74 100
2 75 100
2 70 100
2 64 100
3 52 100
3 70 100
3 47 100
4 5 100
4 76 100
4 12 100
4 14 100
4 77 100
4 78 100
5 35 100
5 18 100
5 41 100
5 12 100
5 47 100
5 72 100
5 79 100
5 78 100
5 29 100
5 80 100
6 66 100
6 67 100
6 51 100
6 37 100
6 74 100
7 66 100
7 37 100
7 40 100
7 18 100
7 53 100
7 81 100
8 38 100
8 11 100
8 72 100
8 20 100
8 23 100
8 56 100
8 58 100
8 32 100
9 38 100
9 82 100
9 14 100
9 46 100
9 51 100
9 53 100
10 12 100
10 52 100
10 83 100
10 84 100
10 85 100
11 68 100
11 37 100
11 43 100
11 18 100
11 86 100
11 26 100
11 29 100
12 41 100
12 46 100
12 87 100
12 59 100
13 88 100
13 89 100
13 90 100
13 46 100
13 15 100
13 61 100
14 33 100
14 91 100
14 18 100
14 85 100
14 24 100
15 35 100
15 40 100
15 86 100
15 57 100
15 60 100
15 30 100
16 25 100
16 72 100
16 23 100
17 33 100
17 92 100
17 65 100
17 77 100
17 18 100
17 93 100
17 30 100
18 44 100
18 48 100
18 50 100
18 51 100
18 22 100
18 57 100
18 60 100
19 94 100
19 70 100
19 83 100
19 44 100
19 45 100
19 77 100
19 52 100
19 53 100
19 21 100
19 26 100
19 78 100
19 62 100
19 63 100
19 95 100
20 42 100
20 84 100
20 50 100
20 86 100
20 25 100
20 29 100
20 32 100
21 52 100
21 22 100
22 71 100
22 41 100
22 96 100
22 84 100
22 32 100
22 26 100
22 60 100
22 29 100
22 95 100
23 71 100
23 44 100
23 58 100
23 60 100
24 96 100
24 45 100
24 25 100
24 27 100
24 29 100
25 37 100
25 49 100
25 58 100
26 88 100
26 48 100
26 76 100
27 65 100
27 94 100
27 97 100
27 90 100
27 61 100
28 57 100
28 59 100
28 54 100
28 47 100
28 32 100
29 76 100
29 57 100
30 67 100
30 86 100
30 55 100
30 57 100
31 82 100
31 94 100
31 37 100
31 85 100
31 48 100
32 65 100
32 68 100
32 69 100
32 87 100
32 74 100
32 60 100
33 76 100
33 73 100
34 36 100
34 69 100
34 96 100
34 86 100
34 73 100
34 93 100
34 59 100
35 68 100
35 83 100
35 49 100
35 52 100
35 62 100
36 48 100
36 49 100
36 50 100
36 98 100
36 61 100
37 88 100
37 89 100
37 53 100
37 39 100
38 70 100
38 43 100
38 90 100
38 84 100
38 77 100
38 49 100
38 54 100
39 50 100
39 84 100
39 77 100
40 66 100
40 67 100
40 94 100
40 82 100
40 76 100
40 54 100
40 85 100
40 93 100
40 60 100
41 92 100
41 83 100
41 42 100
41 51 100
42 65 100
42 69 100
42 45 100
42 50 100
42 87 100
42 57 100
42 59 100
44 92 100
44 67 100
44 82 100
44 89 100
44 77 100
44 87 100
44 57 100
44 59 100
44 62 100
45 65 100
45 88 100
45 85 100
46 58 100
47 60 100
47 76 100
47 77 100
48 88 100
48 70 100
48 77 100
48 49 100
48 86 100
48 55 100
48 59 100
48 64 100
49 78 100
49 63 100
50 76 100
50 99 100
50 56 100
50 98 100
50 59 100
50 80 100
51 88 100
51 69 100
51 72 100
51 60 100
52 82 100
52 89 100
52 86 100
52 58 100
52 100 100
53 68 100
53 87 100
53 54 100
53 61 100
54 75 100
54 79 100
54 57 100
55 89 100
55 58 100
55 78 100
55 60 100
56 97 100
58 88 100
58 82 100
58 76 100
58 89 100
58 60 100
58 62 100
58 100 100
59 92 100
59 70 100
59 79 100
59 87 100
61 71 100
61 70 100
61 82 100
62 99 100
63 99 100
63 87 100
64 65 100
64 79 100
64 77 100
64 72 100
64 86 100
65 69 100
66 81 100
66 91 100
67 90 100
67 99 100
67 73 100
67 95 100
68 73 100
69 97 100
69 89 100
70 82 100
70 95 100
83 97 100
83 90 100
83 95 100
97 98 100
82 77 100
82 99 100
82 100 100
96 74 100
76 71 100
76 90 100
76 73 100
76 85 100
76 91 100
76 95 100
89 92 100
89 94 100
89 80 100
90 71 100
90 92 100
90 84 100
90 93 100
84 71 100
84 78 100
77 74 100
99 86 100
99 100 100
72 95 100
86 88 100
86 81 100
73 74 100
87 98 100
74 88 100
85 78 100
85 75 100
93 94 100
98 94 100
|
New Super Mario Bros. U announcement
New Super Mario Bros. U, previously called New Super Mario Bros. Mii, shown at E3 has shown us a lot more about the game, including new powerups, abilities, and gameplay options. For starters, if four people are playing with Wiimotes, somebody with a Wii U gamepad can help them by creating blocks or doing other various things to aid in completing obstacles and getting a new highscore. Miiverse will be heavily implemented in the game, so you can show off records and chat in the midst of the game. You can also share screenshots ingame and show off you mood. Also making a return is Yoshi, with a few new abilities as well. When he hatches, you have to feed him to make him grow, much like Super Mario World for SNES. |
NOTICE: As of January 2015, this blog became U.S. Railroad & Passenger Rail. The redirect has been disabled in order to access the archives. If you are looking for U. S. Railroad & Passenger Rail, please click this link.
Pages
Sunday, January 29, 2006
New Mexico RailRunner - How Are We Going To Get There?
The Mid Rio Grande Council of Governments (MRCOG) has posted it Draft RailRunner Service Schedule for Public Comment. (Click the link and read the .pdf file.) Not bad over all.The following are my comments mailed to the MRCOG for their consideration.Suggestions:
1. Get your train numbers more in line with railroad practice. Odd north and even south, or visa versa. Imagine the dispatcher trying to figure out which Train 3 he/she was talking about.
2. What makes anyone think that there will be nobody wanting to ride the train to Belen from Albuquerque during morning rush hour? Make at least one trip Albuquerque to Belen during the morning rush.
3. Same suggestion, different hours. Ditto 2 for the evening rush hour.
4. This schedule will take 3 trainsets to cover. Maybe I have missed something, but it seems you will have to return two sets light to their starting points for the next morning at the end of the day. (A consequence of ending the three morning trains in Albuquerque and beginning three evening trains there.) Can you get something more efficient? Perhaps if you have to run them at a loss anyway, perhaps the extra trips can carry passengers. Seems like it would make more sense to start all morning trains in either Belen or Sandoval and all evening trains in Albuquerque with some evening trains making 1.5 trips per evening.
Find more on g+!
About Me
Happy to write something about any subject. Strong political conservative but not far right. Marketing a number of novels I have written and writing more. Check out my blogs and other writing on my Author Website |
Noninvasive genetic tracking of the endangered Pyrenean brown bear population.
Pyrenean brown bears Ursus arctos are threatened with extinction. Management efforts to preserve this population require a comprehensive knowledge of the number and sex of the remaining individuals and their respective home ranges. This goal has been achieved using a combination of noninvasive genetic sampling of hair and faeces collected in the field and corresponding track size data. Genotypic data were collected at 24 microsatellite loci using a rigorous multiple-tubes approach to avoid genotyping errors associated with low quantities of DNA. Based on field and genetic data, the Pyrenean population was shown to be composed at least of one yearling, three adult males, and one adult female. These data indicate that extinction of the Pyrenean brown bear population is imminent without population augmentation. To preserve the remaining Pyrenean gene pool and increase genetic diversity, we suggest that managers consider population augmentation using only females. This study demonstrates that comprehensive knowledge of endangered small populations of mammals can be obtained using noninvasive genetic sampling. |
ABC, Showtime
Grunberg followed his cameo in the pilot of Lost, where he played Oceanic Flight 815's doomed pilot, by playing Matt Parkman on NBC's Heroes from 2006 to 2010. He went on to appear on Lifetime's The Client List in 2012, and Showtime's Masters of Sex in 2014. |
Oak Hill, Portland OR
Oak Hill Apartments in Portland, Oregon offers spacious one and two bedroom apartments for rent with washers and dryers in all homes, extra storage off the patio or balcony and walk through kitchens with dishwasher, disposal, range and refrigerator. The community also features a clubhouse, fitness center and heated pool with sauna and spa. In addition, garages and covered parking are available. Oak Hill is located near the Sunset Highway 26, Cornell Boulevard close to restaurants, shopping, public transportation, parks and your everyday conveniences. |
Shop Stencils by Artist
Discover designs created by our very own stencil artists! These talented artists understand the ins and outs of working with stencils, so anyone from a beginner to a seasoned expert will be able to find new ways to express creativity. Our collection of designer stencils are strong enough to last and thin enough to provide a smooth transition in your work. We offer lessons and tutorials to help kickstart your imagination and show the numerous ways you can use these stencils for artists. These tutorial videos might even allow you to think of brand new methods for these artistic tools!
Artistic Stencil Designs
Browse through the list of the best stencil artists to get started on your next inspiration today! Our range of styles and designs ensures that you will find the perfect stencil for your project. Whether you’re painting, dyeing, working with paper crafts or trying out an entirely new technique, our artistic stencils will enhance every piece of art. |
A simple and sensitive method for determination of melatonin in plasma, bile and intestinal tissues by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.
This paper describes the development of a simple and sensitive method for routine quantification of melatonin in low sample amounts by using standard equipment of HPLC with fluorescence detection. A double chloroform extraction with an intermediate cleaning step with 0.1N NaOH allowed to concentrate melatonin and to avoid interferences in extracts of the different tissues assayed. The analytical procedure was found to be precise and linear for a wide range of melatonin concentrations. The retention time of melatonin was about 9 min and the recoveries were in the range of 89-94%. The lower limit of quantification estimated on extracted samples was /ml. This method was validated in daytime and nighttime samples of plasma, bile and intestinal tissues of trout. |
Hospital
Perzue Themeditalks, A healthcare knowledge sharing platform. With Themeditalks,
we provide quality content shared by medical professional which will inspire
you towards the best possible outcomes for your daily health problems & queries. |
Antifungal therapy for onychomycosis in children.
Onychomycosis is a chronic infection of the nail unit, and its prevalence increases with age. Treatment options for children are similar to those for adults and include both oral and topical therapies. Oral agents, such as terbinafine, itraconazole, and fluconazole have been reported to have good efficacy and a low rate of side effects in children. Topical therapies, such as amorolfine and ciclopirox, can also be used as monotherapy or combined with oral agents to treat onychomycosis. Due to their thinner, faster-growing nails, children are more likely to respond to topical monotherapy than adults. There is currently insufficient data comparing emerging medical devices, such as laser therapy, with standard therapeutic options to recommend their use in children. |
Take this tried and true advice from some of the best age-groupers in the sport to your next start line.
by Selwyn Parker
With all your training, preparation, ups and downs, travel and logistics, here you are, perhaps just days out from an IRONMAN race. It could be your first or your fifth, but nevertheless, it's a big day. Suddenly, everything you've read, heard, and learned disappears in a wave of anxiety. You need a refresher.
Here are some nuggets of wisdom from some of the best age groupers in the sport—all who competed at the IRONMAN World Championship this year. Kona, where the hype is huge, the complications many, the weather hot, and the crowds large. Oh, and the expectations high.
No matter what event you've got up next, they're here to offer advice to help you achieve your best possible day.
Before the gun
Get lazy. It’s not in the nature of triathletes to do nothing, especially after many months of solid training, but this is the time to break a good habit. Bring a big book and get the load off your feet as often as you can. Exercise specialists say that walking slowly around town is one of the most tiring things a fit person can do.
Know why you're there. As American Melissa Mantak, professional triathlon coach and chapter author of The Women’s Guide to Triathlon tells her newbies: "Be clear on what your goals are for the race. Are you there to perform or participate?" Mantak, a former ITU World Cup series overall champion, explains that this is crucial to energy management in the days leading up to the race. For her, energy management comes in two forms: "It’s physical and mental, with the one influencing the other." As she has observed over the years, many athletes [do a race] to participate in the first year, learn the ropes, and have fun. Next time they will focus on their performance.
No time for self-doubt. The race site will be milling with some of the best athletes in the world and it’s easy to be intimidated by what New Zealand athlete Fiona Macdougall calls "all those ten-hour bodies." At these times just remind yourself you’ve done the work and you deserve to be there.
Get anal. When everything is on the to-do list—registration, bike and gear checks, numbering, food and drink, stretching routines, pre-race training sessions, and all the other things you must get through before the start—it can easily run to 50 items. Write them all down by date and time, and take the list with you everywhere. As five-time Kona veteran Akio Yamauchi, a publisher from Japan in the 55-59 category remembers, one year he failed to check exactly what he threw into his gear bags. When he finished the swim, he found his run shoes and cap in the bike bag and had to make a quick dash to T2 next door to sort it all out. "Believe it or not, two of my Japanese friends made the same silly mistake as me," he recounts.
Feet first. "Happy feet are important," says American Dexter Yeats, a former teamster from the San Francisco Bay area who avoided potentially race-wrecking blisters when she competed for the fifth time in Kona this year. "Keep your feet dry," she advises. "I put powder in my shoes and socks for the bike and run. In 2013 I forgot and the blisters were so bad it ruined my run."
Don't fixate on your time. Sure, 10 hours would be nice but don't think about it—too much. "You shouldn’t race against the clock in an IRONMAN," a former ITU star advises, speaking from his own experience. "It’s a race against your body." In a bitter disappointment he had to pull out half-way through Kona.
Zip it. While it will certainly settle your nerves to share your concerns and hopes with friends before the race, too much chatter drains vital nervous energy. You will notice that the best athletes talk no more than necessary in the final few days as they prepare their mind for the battle with the distance. Said another way: The boasting stops when the flag drops.
Stay calm. "I recommend you should not be too nervous or too happy," adds Yamauchi, echoing the views of sports psychologists who counsel the importance of controlling the inner mind.
See it, do it. Visualisation of the important moments of the race will help you execute them correctly. Once again, sports psychologists recommend that athletes create a picture in their mind of the situations they expect to face so that, in one sense, they have been there before. Visualisation is considered better than reciting a set of instructions to yourself because it’s more real.
Tried and true. Don’t wear anything you’ve not thoroughly tested before, and especially not running shoes. My wife Margaret, who had completed nearly 30 marathons in good times, had to walk all the way from the Kona Energy Lab when her hips seized up. Although she’d worn her racing flats several times before, she had never run a marathon in them.
After the gun
Stay cool in mind and body. In the excitement of exiting the water, it’s easy to forget you’re already dehydrated. A doctor friend of mine hammered the bike so hard in the first 40 km that he never troubled his water bottle. He was soon in such dire straits that he was pulled out of the race for two hours until deemed safe enough to continue, albeit cautiously.
Don't be a horse out of the gate. Pacing is everything, especially if you haven’t prepared as well as you would have liked through illness, pressure of work or other factors. Medics say they brace themselves for the "train wrecks," as they put it, as the cut-off point approaches. That is, athletes who have pushed themselves beyond their limit as they fight to crack the 17 hours. In their case the universal advice is to start out easy and slowly build into the race.
Enjoy the day. Well, as much as possible. Ex-teamster Dexter Yeats, who will compete in the 70-74 age group, has her own mantra—"a smile every mile." As she explains, "it keeps you feeling upbeat."
And, she adds, don’t forget to thank the volunteers. After all, it helps keep them going too.
Selwyn Parker is a journalist, author and triathlete representing Britain. He placed third in his age group in the 2017 ITU World Championship in Rotterdam. |
if (x < 42
|
Background: Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) detects viral dsRNA during viral infection. However, most natural viral dsRNAs are poor activators of TLR3 in cell-based systems, leading us to hypothesize that TLR3 needs additional factors to be activated by viral dsRNAs. The anti-microbial peptide LL37 is the only known human member of the cathelicidin family of anti- microbial peptides. LL37 complexes with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to prevent activation of TLR4, binds to ssDNA to modulate TLR9 and ssRNA to modulate TLR7 and 8. It synergizes with TLR2/1, TLR3 and TLR5 agonists to increase IL8 and IL6 production. This work seeks to determine whether LL37 enhances viral dsRNA recognition by TLR3.
Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS2B) and human embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293T) transiently transfected with TLR3, we found that LL37 enhanced poly(I:C)-induced TLR3 signaling and enabled the recognition of viral dsRNAs by TLR3. The presence of LL37 also increased the cytokine response to rhinovirus infection in BEAS2B cells and in activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Confocal microscopy determined that LL37 could co-localize with TLR3. Electron microscopy showed that LL37 and poly(I:C) individually formed globular structures, but a complex of the two formed filamentous structures. To separate the effects of LL37 on TLR3 and TLR4, other peptides that bind RNA and transport the complex into cells were tested and found to activate TLR3 signaling in response to dsRNAs, but had no effect on TLR4 signaling. This is the first demonstration that LL37 and other RNA-binding peptides with cell penetrating motifs can activate TLR3 signaling and facilitate the recognition of viral ligands.
Conclusions/Significance: LL37 and several cell-penetrating peptides can enhance signaling by TLR3 and enable TLR3 to respond to viral dsRNA.
en
dc.description.sponsorship
This research was supported by a grant to C.K. by Centocor Inc. Students in the laboratory are partially supported by National Institutes of Health grant RAI075015A to study protein-RNA interaction. No patent is involved in this project. While authors S.A., J.J., L.W., L.M. are employees of Centocor Research and Development, funding from Centocor had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.
en
dc.language.iso
en_US
en
dc.publisher
PLoS
en
dc.rights
Copyright: 2011 Lai et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Modern Full over Full Bunk Bed with Ladder in Black Metal Finish
If you're short on space, but long on people who need somewhere to sleep, then this Modern Full over Full Bunk Bed with Ladder in Black Metal Finish is what you need. The top bunk can support 320 pounds, and the bottom bunk can support 400 pounds, so these beds can hold adults or kids. If you have a cabin with limited floor space, install a couple of these bunks and invite some friends along on vacation. The included ladder and safety rails will put your mind at ease when young ones are using these beds. |
Synthesis and D2-like binding affinity of 4,5-dihydro-1H-benzo[g]indole-3-carboxamide derivatives as conformationally restricted 5-phenyl-pyrrole-3-carboxamide analogs.
A series of 4,5-dihydro-1H-benzo[g]-indole-3-carboxamide derivatives 2a-g were synthesized as conformationally restricted analogs of the dopamine D2-like 5-phenylpyrrole-3-carboxamide ligands and evaluated for their affinity for the dopamine D2-like receptors. In this series, N3-[(1-ethyltetrahydro-1H-2-pyrrolyl)methyl]-4,5-dihydro-1H-benzo[ g]indole- 3-carboxamide (2a) showed the highest affinity for D2-like receptors (IC50 = 160 nM). Replacement of the N-(1-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)methyl side chain with a 2-(N,N-diethylamino)ethyl or a 1-benzyl-4-piperidinyl group (2b, 2d) decreased affinity for the D2-like receptor. The other compounds tested were found to be devoid of D2-like binding affinity. |
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones has described plans to allow direct entry into the highest ranks of policing as “ill-conceived” and unable to “facilitate improvements to the service.” The |
Q:
How to add badge "new" to the post title which are showed in recent post widgets in wordpress
I want to add a "New" badge to the titles of recent post's widgets. whenever I add any new post from that time to 5 days this "New" badge should show after that it should disappear. this badge is a "new.gif" file. I also added an image for your reference.
A:
This should sort you out. I've commented as much as possible :)
Place the code below in to your functions.php file.
function your_recent_posts_by_category_with_badge() {
// WP_Query arguments
$args = array(
'category_name' => 'catname-1, catname-2',
//'cat' => 5,
//'tag' => 'tagname',
//'tag_id' => 5,
'posts_per_page' => 10
);
// Set today's date
$the_date_today = date('r');
// Create WP_Query instance
$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
// Check for posts
if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {
// Set up HTML list & CSS classes for styling
echo '<ul class="recentcategorybadgeposts widget_recent_entries">';
// Loop through each post
// Default is latest posts
while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {
$the_query->the_post();
// Compare post date from todays date
$each_post_date = get_the_time('r');
$difference_in_days = round( ( strtotime( $the_date_today ) - strtotime( $each_post_date) ) / ( 24 * 60 * 60 ), 0 );
// Condition set for 5 days
if ( $difference_in_days >= 5 ) {
// If less than 5 days show IMG tag
echo '<li><a href="' . get_the_permalink() .'">' . get_the_title() .'</a><img src="new.gif"></li>';
} else {
// Else no show
echo '<li><a href="' . get_the_permalink() .'">' . get_the_title() .'</a></li>';
}
} // end while
// Close list
echo '</ul>';
} // endif
// Reset Post Data
wp_reset_postdata();
}
// Add a shortcode to use anywhere within your website
add_shortcode('recentcategorybadgeposts', 'your_recent_posts_by_category_with_badge');
// Enable shortcodes in text widgets
// Add a 'Text Widget' to your sidebar then in the input field, paste [recentcategorybadgeposts]
add_filter('widget_text', 'do_shortcode');
|
Camaragibe River
Camaragibe River is a river in Alagoas state in eastern Brazil. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean in Passo de Camaragibe municipality.
See also
List of rivers of Alagoas
References
Brazilian Ministry of Transport
Category:Rivers of Alagoas |
Gallery
by
James "BO" Insogna
View Larger
Scenic Colorado Rocky Mountain sunset lake water reflections view with this fantastic colorful sky that went on for an hour. View from McIntosh Lake in Longmont, Colorado, Boulder County, to the rocky mountain foothills, up to Longs Peak and Mt Meeker on the continental divide. Layered HDR to get all the colors of this long sunset. |
Conservatory Senior Living Blog
Day Trip Ideas for Seniors
A day at home is cozy and quiet – but some days you get the urge to stretch your legs and explore the world! Visiting somewhere new is exciting and stimulating, and can be very beneficial as we begin aging. For many seniors, exploring is just as important now as it ever has been, however health conditions may be limiting the options for excursions. Here are some of our ideas to help a senior get out of the house!
State & National Parks
Every state in the U.S. has natural beauty in one way or another. Research some parks in your area to see what is nearby! Visiting a national park is a wonderful way to connect with nature, sightsee the outdoors, learn some history, and relax.
Local Museums & Historic Buildings
Museums are a perfect way to spend the day – rain or shine. A museum can be a fun activity to study history, appreciate art, or learn fascinating facts!
Brunch & Movie
An enjoyable way to spend the day out of the house is by going out to eat and then watching a film! Pick a favorite breakfast or lunch spot to eat and chat, and then enjoy a matinee!
Arts & Crafts
There have been many studies that show creativity promotes healthy aging. Attend a painting or pottery class to tap into your artsy side! Many classes are all about having a good time, no experience required.
Shopping Trip
If you have some items on your shopping list then this day trip will kill two birds with one stone! Hit the local mall, or if it’s a nice day, stroll around the outlet stores.
When you need to get out and about, our professional drivers at Conservatory Senior Living will get you there with our complimentary Connections Transportation service! Check the schedule for regular trips or make a request at the Concierge Services Desk and we will get you to where you need to go! At Conservatory Senior Living, our residents’ happiness and wellness is our top priority, and we are proud to be able to assist you to get to your destinations! |
Q:
Pandas pivot table Nested Sorting Part 2
Given this data frame and pivot table:
import pandas as pd
df=pd.DataFrame({'A':['x','y','z','x','y','z'],
'B':['one','one','one','two','two','two'],
'C':[7,5,3,4,1,6]})
df
A B C
0 x one 7
1 y one 5
2 z one 3
3 x two 4
4 y two 1
5 z two 6
table = pd.pivot_table(df, index=['A', 'B'],aggfunc=np.sum)
table
A B
x one 7
two 4
y one 5
two 1
z one 3
two 6
Name: C, dtype: int64
I want to sort the pivot table such that the values are sorted descendingly within 'C'.
Like this:
A B
x one 7
two 4
y one 5
two 1
z two 6
one 3
Thanks in advance!
A:
This should work
df.groupby(['A'])['B', 'C'].apply(lambda x: x.set_index('B').sort_values('C', ascending=0))
|
Mechanisms influencing the evolution of resistance to Qo inhibitor fungicides.
Fungicides inhibiting the mitochondrial respiration of plant pathogens by binding to the cytochrome bc1 enzyme complex (complex III) at the Qo site (Qo inhibitors, QoIs) were first introduced to the market in 1996. After a short time period, isolates resistant to QoIs were detected in field populations of a range of important plant pathogens including Blumeria graminis Speer f sp tritici, Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht ex Fr) Poll, Plasmopara viticola (Berk & MA Curtis ex de Bary) Berl & de Toni, Pseudoperonospora cubensis (Berk & MA Curtis) Rost, Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet and Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint. In most cases, resistance was conferred by a point mutation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene leading to an amino-acid change from glycine to alanine at position 143 (G143A), although additional mutations and mechanisms have been claimed in a number of organisms. Transformation of sensitive protoplasts of M fijiensis with a DNA fragment of a resistant M fijiensis isolate containing the mutation yielded fully resistant transformants, demonstrating that the G143A substitution may be the most powerful transversion in the cyt b gene conferring resistance. The G143A substitution is claimed not to affect the activity of the enzyme, suggesting that resistant individuals may not suffer from a significant fitness penalty, as was demonstrated in B graminis f sp tritici. It is not known whether this observation applies also for other pathogen species expressing the G143A substitution. Since fungal cells contain a large number of mitochondria, early mitotic events in the evolution of resistance to QoIs have to be considered, such as mutation frequency (claimed to be higher in mitochondrial than nuclear DNA), intracellular proliferation of mitochondria in the heteroplasmatic cell stage, and cell to cell donation of mutated mitochondria. Since the cyt b gene is located in the mitochondrial genome, inheritance of resistance in filamentous fungi is expected to be non-Mendelian and, therefore, in most species uniparental. In the isogamous fungus B graminis f sp tritici, crosses of sensitive and resistant parents yielded cleistothecia containing either sensitive or resistant ascospores and the segregation pattern for resistance in the F1 progeny population was 1:1. In the anisogamous fungus V inaequalis, donation of resistance was maternal and the segregation ratio 1:0. In random mating populations, the sex ratio (mating type distribution) is generally assumed to be 1:1. Therefore, the overall proportion of sensitive and resistant individuals in unselected populations is expected to be 1:1. Evolution of resistance to QoIs will depend mainly on early mitotic events; the selection process for resistant mutants in populations exposed to QoI treatments may follow mechanisms similar to those described for resistance controlled by single nuclear genes in other fungicide classes. It will remain important to understand how the mitochondrial nature of QoI resistance and factors such as mutation, recombination, selection and migration might influence the evolution of QoI resistance in different plant pathogens. |
Q:
Pass object instances to RFC function modules
With ABAP construction STARTING NEW TASK I can start a separate task running independently of the current, e.g. for batch execution.
I would like to hand over an Object instance RFC functions don't accept these kind of parameters. Is there somebody out there who wanted to pass over an object instance too and found a workaround to this?
Today my workaround is to pass structured data and re-create the objects inside module, so I do the "marshalling" by hand.
Perhaps there is a nicer way to to that? Or can I run methods of object instance in a separate background task?
P.S. I am using SAP R3 4.6C
A:
In 4.6C, there's no solution to pass an instance to an RFC-enabled function module. It's only possible to re-instantiate it from scratch inside the function module.
But from ABAP 6.20, it's possible to serialize an instance to a STRING or XSTRING variable, by including the interface IF_SERIALIZABLE_OBJECT in the instance class, and by calling the ID transformation via CALL TRANSFORMATION, as explained in this part of the ABAP documentation:
To export objects that are referenced by reference variables, use the statement CALL_TRANSFORMATION to serialize and export these objects if the class of these objects implements the interface IF_SERIALIZABLE_OBJECT.
This way, you may pass the serialized instance to the RFC-enabled function module, via a parameter of type STRING or XSTRING.
A:
I realize this thread is about 5 years old so I'm doing a bit of thread necromancy here, but it still comes up in the first couple hits for "abap rfc objects" so I hope everybody forgives me.
The correct way to do this in modern ABAP is probably to use the IF_SERIALIZABLE_OBJECT interface. It will basically allow you to convert your object to an XML string, which can then be passed into the FM as an importing string parameter and deserialized back into an object in the target system.
Guide:
https://rvanmil.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/serialization/
|
In one of our most-appreciated article about Game of Throneswe explained why Jaqen told Arya in the House of Black and White that she finally became "no one". A lot of fans wondered why Jaqen suddenly looks pleased towards the young Stark and we think we know the reason. Keep reading if you want to know more!
Jaqen's weird behaviour.
In Game of Thrones 6x08 Arya goes back to the Faceless Men's temple with a face. She killed the Waif and pinned a face to the wall, and when Jaqen shows up she says: "You told her [the Waif] to kill me". Jaqen responds: "Yes, but here you are, and there she is [referred to the face on the wall]", adding that "finally, a girl is no one".
How Arya became no one after killing the Waif if she failed to accomplish the first and the second mission Jaqen assigned her? Not to mention that she states: "I'm Arya of Winterfell" in the final scene, proving that she's always been far from abandoning her identity...
The face on the wall is Lady Crane's.
A lot of these incongruities can be explained in a very simple way. If you look carefully to the face Arya pinned on the wall you will realize it doesn't look like the Waif's face. Whose face Arya bring into the temple? We're pretty sure it's Lady Crane's: the eyebrows of the face on the wall look very similar to Lady Crane's eyebrows (click on the picture above to accessthe photogallery).
When Jaqen tells Arya: "Here you are, and there she is", he's referring to Lady Crane's face, not to the Waif's face (that wouldn't make sense!), implying that Arya finally accomplished her mission:she pinned the actress' face to the wall as Jaqen requested.
This is the only theory that makes sense.
Since we saw Arya back in Westeros, healthy and with a brand new face, it's clear that Jaqen allowedher to leaveBraavos and that the young Stark, somehow, is now free to use the Faceless Men's disguise technique. We don't know how she obtained a new face, but we know that she must have passed Jaqen's test in the House of Black and White, otherwise he will never have granted her the permission to leave and use this kind of technique.
The only possible explanation is that Arya pinned Lady Crane's face on the wall, accomplishing the mission Jaqen assigned her in Braavos. |
Building a consensus for expanding health coverage.
Despite a flourishing economy and recent growth in employment-based health coverage, forty-three million Americans remain uninsured. Extending coverage to the uninsured is not an intractable public policy problem but could be addressed if the various health care stakeholders could only find common ground. We argue that to win broad-based support from across the ideological and political spectra, a meaningful proposal should achieve a balance between public- and private-sector approaches, focus attention on those who are most in need of assistance (low-income workers), and build on systems that work today. With the aim of pulling together a political coalition, we present a proposal specific enough to attract support but whose details will arise later, in the context of the legislative process. |
Lower Philipstown
Lower Philipstown () is a barony in County Offaly (formerly King's County), Republic of Ireland.
Etymology
The name Lower Philipstown is derived from Philipstown, the former name of Daingean.
Location
Lower Philipstown is located in northeast County Offaly and contains Croghan Hill and part of the Bog of Allen.
History
Lower Philipstown was roughly formed from the ancient tuaths; Tuath Rátha Droma and Tuath Cruacháin of the Uí Failge (O'Connor Faly). Ó hAonghusa (O'Hennessy) alongside Ó hUallacháin (O'Houlihan) are cited here as chiefs of Clan Colgan, near Croghan Hill.
The original Philipstown barony was split into upper and lower by 1807.
List of settlements
Below is a list of settlements in Lower Philipstown:
Croghan
Daingean
References
Category:Baronies of County Offaly |
Bowling Green Couple goes over Steep Bank into River
•
BOWLING GREEN COUPLE GOES | OYER STEEP BANK INTO RIVER
*
J Driver Loses Control of Car On I Rounding Curve and Lands in the Shallow River
This community was aroused from its lethargy Sunday after* noon when the news spread that a Cadillac sedan had gone over the steep river bank at the curve near the Kerbel home on Route 105. about two miles east of El¬ more, and carried with it an el¬ derly man and his wife of Bowl¬ ing Green. Later it was learned that he was a rural mail carrier out of Bowling Green, by the name of CharlesJAjldenderfex» 63. They had been down in the peach belt and weie returning to Bowling Green with peaches. On rounding the curve after passing the Kerbel home tbeir car ran ^uff the pavement into the gravel * on the outside of the curve. In coming back onto the pavement i the car seemed to have turned ibalf way round and then slid sidewise arcoss the road to the [inside of the curve and over the 25-foot embankment into the Por¬ tage river, The car apparently <j landed on its top, which was | crushed, and rolled over into the ! shallow river, coming to rest a- \ gainst a big rock in the stream. On this same rock a boy was sit-i j ting and fishing until he saw the! •; car come over the bank, when he 'jumped into the middle of the , river for safety. It is a miracle y that the occupants of the car were not killed but when rescued she was found to have suffered only 'minor injuries. His injuries were more serious for he had some bad .gashes on the head, some body bruises md an injury to his back that seemed to paralyze the bodv' from the hips down. Last report i'was that he would recover but it, ' was feared he would never regain the use of his limbs. The acci¬ dent occurred between three andh i four o'clock in the afternoon and •after first aid by Dr. G. P. Wit- ! lett both Mr. and Mrs. Allien- |derfer were taken, in H. E. Bur- ! mann's ambulance; to a hospital in Bowling Green.
A wrecker from Bowling Green
rcame over about midnight, pulled
the wrecked sedan up the steep
bank onto the pavement and then
towed it to Bowling Green.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.
Online access is provided for research purposes only. For more information, duplication requests, or to see the item or full collection in its original (non-digital) format, please contact the contributing institution.
•
BOWLING GREEN COUPLE GOES | OYER STEEP BANK INTO RIVER
*
J Driver Loses Control of Car On I Rounding Curve and Lands in the Shallow River
This community was aroused from its lethargy Sunday after* noon when the news spread that a Cadillac sedan had gone over the steep river bank at the curve near the Kerbel home on Route 105. about two miles east of El¬ more, and carried with it an el¬ derly man and his wife of Bowl¬ ing Green. Later it was learned that he was a rural mail carrier out of Bowling Green, by the name of CharlesJAjldenderfex» 63. They had been down in the peach belt and weie returning to Bowling Green with peaches. On rounding the curve after passing the Kerbel home tbeir car ran ^uff the pavement into the gravel * on the outside of the curve. In coming back onto the pavement i the car seemed to have turned ibalf way round and then slid sidewise arcoss the road to the [inside of the curve and over the 25-foot embankment into the Por¬ tage river, The car apparently |
Q:
Is it possible to add a title to checkboxbuttongroup objects in Bokeh?
I'm trying to create a dashboard with a number of RangeSlider and CheckboxButtonGroup widgets as filters for a ColumnDataSource object. I'm able to put a title on the RangeSliders but CheckboxButtonGroup objects don't have that attribute.
My examples are all from the widgets documentation: link here for reference
RangeSlider example, CheckboxButtonGroup example
I thought name might be the right attribute but that doesn't appear to work as I thought. Is there some sort of approach someone has implemented to get similar functionality? Or would I just be better off using a MultiSelect as it has a title and similar function?
MultiSelect example
A:
My way of giving a CheckboxButtonGroup a title is creating a seperate text widget (Div/Paragaph/PreText) and placing it above the CheckboxButtonGroup.
|
Tax Update Blog: Permalink
Installment sales and the Iowa capital gain deduction
May 28, 2009
Iowa's "ten and ten" capital gain break eliminates the tax on certain capital gains on property held for ten years by a taxpayer who has also "materially participated" in the business for ten year. The state has issued a ruling explaining how it works for installment sales when the seller dies during the installment period, and the installment receivable goes to a trust with the taxpayer's spouse as the beneficiary:
Therefore, since the taxpayer is still receiving this capital gain income from the trust and the taxpayer met the ten year ownership and ten year material participation test at the time of the installment sale, the taxpayer is still entitled to claim the Iowa capital gains exclusion.
But while that works if the spouse is the trust beneficiary, it doesn't work if the beneficiaries are the materially-participating taxpayer's children:
Finally, you are correct that upon the death of the taxpayer and the subsequent distribution of the taxpayer and trust shares of the capital gains to the children of the deceased, these capital gains reported by the children would not qualify for the Iowa capital gains exclusion since the material participation and holding period requirements were not met by the children at the time of the original sale. |
Effects of corticosterone and 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro- dibenzo-p-dioxin on epididymal antioxidant system in adult rats.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), an endocrine disruptor, causes epididymal toxicity by inducing oxidative stress. Glucocorticoids have been found to influence TCDD action in vitro and in vivo. The present experiments were set up to analyze the effects of TCDD on rat epididymal antioxidant system under the influence of increased corticosterone level. Adult male Wistar/NIN rats (70-80 days old) numbering 24 (six per group) were used in the study. Corticosterone (3 mg/kg body weight per day) or TCDD (100 ng/kg body weight per day) were administered or coadministered to rats for 15 days. Treatment with corticosterone or TCDD decreased the levels of serum testosterone significantly. In caput, corpus, and cauda fractions, administration of corticosterone or TCDD increased the levels of lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide and decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase significantly. Coadministration of corticosterone and TCDD to rats decreased the levels of serum testosterone significantly as compared with rats treated with TCDD alone. In caput, corpus, and cauda fractions, the levels of lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide were increased and activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were decreased significantly as compared with rats treated with TCDD alone. Stress, characterized by increased glucocorticoid levels and activity, may enhance TCDD-induced epididymal toxicity. |
From Structure to Content: Evidence for Styles of Thinking in Adulthood.
Laipple, Joseph S.; Jurden, Frank H.
A study examined the age-related differences in impersonal (objective) and personal (subjective) styles of thinking and the influences these differences have on traditional cognitive measures. Data were obtained from two 2-hour interviews with 333 participants in their homes, at senior centers, or on a university campus. All participants were given a battery of measures of memory, problem solving, fluid and crystallized intelligence, and affective functioning. Participants were classified as young adults (17-22 years); middle-aged adults (40-50 years); old adults (60-70); and old-old adults (75-99 years). Participants' responses were scored on a variety of dimensions, included the divisions of "intrapersonal,""within family,""interpersonal,""impersonal," and "other." A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant age-related differences in the frequency of division types. Intrapersonal divisions were significantly more frequent in old and old-old adults than in young adults, whereas interpersonal divisions were significantly more frequent in young adults. Consistent with previous research, the sample demonstrated the "classic aging pattern" in cognitive performance. The older adults were more likely to use an intrapersonal type of reasoning, whereas the young adults displayed more abstract reasoning. The study observed that various patterns of thinking were also found within age groups, leading to the conclusion that styles of thinking may reflect age but are not limited to age. (33 references) (KC) |
Video content Video caption: Chelsea win the FA 2017/18 FA Cup Chelsea win the FA 2017/18 FA Cup
Saturday's second qualifying-round match between Peterborough Sports and Chorley is one of 40 ties taking place in the FA Cup over the weekend.
Both clubs are just two wins away from reaching the first round proper, when they face the possibility of playing against League One and League Two clubs.
Sixth-tier team Chorley will be playing their second game in this year's competition, after overcoming Leek Town 3-0 in the previous round. Jamie Vermiglio's side are top of the National League North and are unbeaten in their 11 league games so far this season.
Peterborough Sports, of the Southern Football League Division One East - the eighth tier of English football, progressed by beating Boston United.
They currently sit third in the league and are also unbeaten. |
Q:
how to target a div from another list
hope all of you are doing fine..
first of all, really thank you for this great website.. it solved plenty of problems I faced by just searching for it..
now the problem I'm facing right now and I couldn't have the solution by my effort nor by searching here and google..
I'm basicly new to css, but I've learned the basic (hopefully).. I have tabular navigation aside with another side list of links..please check the image: http://www.tiikoni.com/tis/view/?id=90b0b93
what I want is, when the user enters the page, the left list shouldn't be visible.. when the user hits the red "A" (which is red because it's activated), the left list displayed..then, when he choose one of the list (let's say First), the blue area should show specific content (the last action I made right ).. I managed to keep it hidden, but it doesn't show when I his "A"..
the code I used is bellow:
getting in mind two things, the page is design as a table, so the left list is in a cell separated from the cell where blue tabular nav is.. second this, I'm trying to not use jQuery or any other script other than css..
tabs.css
.tabs
{
position:relative;
text-align:left;
...........
}
.tabs ul.menu
{
list-style-type:none;
display:inline;
.........
}
.tabs ul.menu > li
{
display:inline;
float:none;
........
}
.tabs > ul.menu > li > a
{
color: #580000; /* tabs titles */
text-decoration:none;
display:inline-block;
........
}
.tabs ul.menu > li > a:hover
{
color: white;
cursor:hand;
}
.tabs ul.menu li > div
{
display:none;
position:absolute;
.........
}
/*.tabs ul.menu > li > div > p
{
border:1px solid #f1f3f4;
background-color: #f5f9fc;
........
} */
.tabs ul.menu > li > a:focus
{
color: #f5f9fc;
}
.tabs ul.menu > li:target > a
{
cursor:default;
/* Safari 4-5, Chrome 1-9 */
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 0%, 0% 100%, from(#f1f3f4), to(#8A0808));
.......
}
.tabs ul.menu li:target > div
{
display:block;
}
myTable.css
.myLeft
{
text-align:left; /* This is only if you want the tab items at the center */
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
vertical-align: bottom;
position:relative;
display: none;
..........
}
.myLeft:target
{
text-align:left; /* This is only if you want the tab items at the center */
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
vertical-align: bottom;
position:relative;
display: block;
visibility:visible;
........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft
{
list-style-type:none;
display:inline; /* Change this to block or inline for non-center alignment */
.........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li
{
display:inline;
float:none;
........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li > a
{
color: #580000; /* #7a7883; /* tabs titles */
text-decoration:none;
display:block;
........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li > a:hover
{
color: white;
cursor:hand;
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li > div
{
display:none;
position:absolute;
........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li > a:focus
{
color: #f5f9fc;
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li:target > a
{
cursor:default;
.........
}
.myLeft > ul.menuLeft > li:target > div
{
display:block;
}
content of the tabular stuff:
<div class="tabs" style="height:300px;"> <!-- Tabs -->
<ul class="menu">
<li id="item-1"> <!-- item-1 -->
<a href="#left-1"> A </a>
<div id="#item-1">
.............
content of the left list:
<div id = "#left-1" class="myLeft" <!-- Tabs -->
<ul class="menuLeft">
<li> <!-- item-1 -->
<a href="#item-1"> FIRST </a>
</li>
<li> <!-- item-1 -->
<a href=""> Second </a>
</li>
<li> <!-- item-1 -->
<a href=""> Thired </a>
</li>
sorry for long thread and thank you in advanced ..
A:
I got the answer of the above LONG question..
simply, name the whole iv of the left list without using hash-tag before it.. not only the link.. like below:
<div id = "left-1" class="myLeft" style="height:300px; "> <!-- Tabs -->
<ul class="menuLeft">
<li> <a class="alLink" href="#item-1">our meetings</a> </li>
.......
now I've got another three issues :"(
first, the page moves when this left list appear..
second, I want the upper links (the one when you click on them opens the left list) to be highlighted when the left links is displayed.. this could only be done by iding them same as the left links.. but in this case it won't work properly.. I think this could be solved by using jQuery..
third, when I hit the first links of the left list, the blue box in the middle should changed while this left list still there.. it just disappear!!
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know..
thank you..
|
<===> options.yml
---
:todo:
- libsass
<===> input.scss
$input: "\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z";
.result {
output: "[\#{"\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z"}]";
output: "\#{"\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z"}";
output: '\#{"\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z"}';
output: "['\#{"\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z"}']";
}
<===> output.css
.result {
output: "[#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}]";
output: "#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}";
output: '\#{"\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z"}';
output: "['#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}']";
}
<===> output-dart-sass.css
.result {
output: "[#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}]";
output: "#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}";
output: '#{"\b\c\d\e\fghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"}';
output: "['#{" \b \c \d \e \f ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz "}']";
}
|
Development and validation of an assay to measure bioactivity of human calcitonin in vitro using T47D cell membranes.
We have developed a "test-tube" assay to determine the biological activity of synthetic preparations of human calcitonin (hCT). The method is based on the dose-dependent accumulation of cyclic AMP in cell membrane preparations on stimulation with CT. As an unlimited cell source, we used the clonal cell line T47D, which possesses functional CT receptor-adenylate cyclase complexes. Half-maximal stimulation was achieved with 40-200 nmol/liter hCT. The method was able to precisely quantify the relative potencies of various hCT preparations. The intraassay and interassay coefficients of variation were 3.0 and 5.6%, respectively. The analytical performance, as estimated by additional recovery and specificity studies, was better than or comparable to the established in vivo rat hypocalcemia assay. Results obtained with these two methods were closely correlated (r = 0.83, P < 0.01). However, the in vitro membrane system allowed a higher throughput of samples, less preparation time, and better standardization and transportability of the assay, as large-scale membrane preparations were stable for at least 12 months in liquid nitrogen. This new in vitro membrane bioassay provides a convenient alternative to the currently performed in vivo rat hypocalcemia bioassays. |
fragment_program SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_hlsl hlsl
{
source ShowNormals.hlsl
entry_point ShowNormals_fp
target ps_4_0
}
fragment_program SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_cg cg
{
source ShowNormals.cg
entry_point ShowNormals_fp
profiles ps_2_0 arbfp1
}
fragment_program SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_glsl glsl
{
source ShowNormalsFP.glsl
default_params
{
param_named mrt1 int 0
}
}
fragment_program SSAO/ShowNormals_fp unified
{
delegate SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_glsl
delegate SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_hlsl
//delegate SSAO/ShowNormals_fp_cg
}
material SSAO/ShowNormals
{
technique
{
pass
{
depth_check off
vertex_program_ref Ogre/Compositor/StdQuad_vp {}
fragment_program_ref SSAO/ShowNormals_fp {}
texture_unit
{
content_type compositor SSAO/GBuffer mrt 0
tex_address_mode clamp
filtering none
}
}
}
}
|
Archives
Meta
Reports from the Ships 2015
Great Bear Rainforest, MV Swell, Oct 2-9, 2015
Mist rising from the forest, Great Bear Rainforest. Photo by Robyn Hutchings
Oct 7, 2015
After 5 days of glorious sunshine the moody skies of fall have descended upon us bringing some more much needed moisture to the rainforest.
We have been blessed with some amazing bear viewing, grizzly bears, American black bears and a spirit bear. Salmon runs are in their final days of life, so the bears are seeking out other foods before moving to their winter dens.
We’ve had the pleasure of watching grizzly bears in the evening and morning mist digging roots and feeding on the last of the Pacific crabapples. The spirit bear was patrolling up and down her home creek looking for the last bits of rotting salmon carcasses. This meant she paused for extended periods to search for fish, which made for some precious photo moments.
Humpback whales have continued to entertain us along our travel routes through the inside waters. They appear to be preparing for their long migration back to their calving grounds in warm tropical waters.
There are lots of signs of the seasonal seas of the Great Bear Rainforest starting to enter winter dormancy.
– report from naturalist Grant MacHutcheon
The start of the trip at Bella Bella. Photo by Mary Morris who was aboard the SV Maple Leaf.
Oct 4, 2015
We’ve been blessed by gorgeous clear sunny skies with a hint of fall coolness in the air. Clear skies have meant brilliant starry nights with a special treat of shimmering northern lights our first night out. All of that after watching a sea otter frolicking in the warm glow of the setting sun.
The salmon creeks are pungent with the last of the chum and pink salmon spawning and dying, but one creek yesterday had a few recent coho salmon arrivals. We just came back from an encounter with a grizzly bear in one creek who checked us out then returned to feeding on the last of the spawning pink salmon and carcasses of chum salmon.
Bear vs Wolves: Sometimes you wait a lifetime for an encounter like this
That's a good, close look they're giving each other. See write-up below for the story.Photo by Misty MacDuffee.
Mutual assessment: Guests and crew watched as two wolves and a grizzly 'discussed' how this bit of estuary was going to be used. See write-up below for the story. Photo by Misty MacDuffee.
Face to face: who gets to stay here? See write-up below for the story. Photo by Misty MacDuffee.
When one of our guests first spotted the wolf, we were already on the estuary. That in itself is a rare event; wolves don’t usually put up with advancing humans. Then, the second wolf was spotted.
We didn’t want to encroach further for the threat of discouraging them, but the tide was quickly rising and we couldn’t stay where we were. We slowly moved closer.
In their saunter on the estuary, one wolf found the remains of an old lifejacket washed ashore many tides previously. Like sibling pups, they played tug of war and tag, ripping apart what remained of the life jacket.
We watched the wolves while they napped, wrestled, and wandered to the absolute delight and amazement of us all.
That’s when we spotted the grizzly.
Our guests had waited 7 days in anticipation of such an encounter. For the crew, most of us had waited a lifetime. With both anxiety and anticipation we watched as the grizzly approached the wolves.
Neither the wolves, nor the grizzly seemed to be deterred. Do they know each other? Do they share this valley? Do they have history that is less benign? All these questions were silently pondered as the gap between them shrank.
The wolves circled, the grizzly stood his ground; but all seemed much more about posturing than actual aggression.
After several minutes, the grizzly stood up, seemingly to assert his growing intolerance for nippy wolves. The wolves relinquished, they retreated to the forest, and grizzly went back to digging roots in the estuary.
We all turned to one another with our mouths agape. No, we assured the guests, this doesn’t happen every trip!
Great Bear Rainforest, MV Swell, Sep 22-30, 2015
Despite the guarantee of wind and rain, Sept is still my favorite time to be in the Great Bear Rainforest. The slapping of salmon tails, the smell of an estuary filled with rotting fish, the slow lifting of mist from a river valley that reveals its hidden mountain peaks, and if you are lucky, the daily wanderings of a grizzly bear in pursuit of sustenance.
This morning we were lucky. We spotted a mom and two cubs on our slow toodle by zodiac up the river. We watched them dig and graze for half an hour before they decided to try the river for salmon.
Swimming, fishing, wrestling, and just being bears, they shared their morning activities with us.
Later, after hot cocoa, dry clothes and our own sustenance provided by our incredible chef, we left the valley as gently as we arrived, into the patter of soft rain.
We are blessed to travel in the footsteps of bears.
– update from naturalist Misty MacDuffee
Wrong way whales. These are whales that are travelling in the direction opposite to where we are going. But they were killer whales, and we suspected they were transient (Bigg’s) killer whales.
Besides, who wanted to leave the beautiful inlet we were in anyway?
We turned around to follow them back up the inlet. It was not long before our suspicions were confirmed. They were the marine mammal-eating killer whales, and out of nowhere they had a food source: a harbour seal – seen only once, 10 feet out of the air in a frenzy of splashing and porpoising whales below.
It was over. We all turned and headed back out the inlet, with the blows of whales accompanying behind us.
– update by naturalist Misty MacDuffee
Great Bear Rainforest, MV Swell, Sep 13-21, 2015
Transient (Bigg's) orca and the MV Swell in the Great Bear Rainforest, 2015. Photo by Phil Stone, who was aboard the SV Maple Leaf.
Great bears, great whales, great scenery, great people. And this update about a very impactful and moving experience:
When we first came across the five killer whales, we weren’t sure whether they were residents or transients. However after several minutes and the sudden presence of an elephant seal in the middle of the group, we were certain; these were transients – the marine mammal eaters.
Over the next two hours, with our engines off and just drifting with the whales, we witnessed one of nature’s most brutal, but fascinating, events. What made it more difficult was the drawn out way that the whales slowly killed the elephant seal. Whether to teach the young whale present or merely entertainment, it’s hard to understand.
It’s also hard to choose who to root for in these encounters. Should the seal live to see another day or should the killer whales get a meal? For the 10 year old that was accompanying us on this journey, there was no question. He backed the killer whales all the way, and it was the best action his iPad had ever seen.
– from naturalist Misty MacDuffee
Great Bear Rainforest, SV Maple Leaf, Sep 5-13, 2015
Still rather wet here but things are going extremely well for us.
Breaching humpbacks right beside us, great viewing a grizzly bear sow with 2 cubs that we know well in one of our favourite inlets, along with a black bear and 2 cubs in a tree. Great viewing of a white bear along the shore this morning. Everyone super jazzed.
Just topped the water at Butedale on Princess Royal Island, and off to Bishop Bay for a hot springs soak, crab dinner and anchorage for the night.
Great Bear Rainforest, MV Swell, Sep 4-12, 2015
Up early with much anticipation of our day of bear watching in Gitga’at territory. As this was our first day, there were gumboots to be fitted, raingear to be donned and training on getting in and out of the inflatable boats before we could launch the zodiac for the west side of our destination island. As we approached, we sighted a mother Black Bear her two cubs on the rocks in front of the creek; eventually they drifted back into the dark coastal forest. It was hard to know which way to look, as at the same time, Dall’s Porpoises surfaced at the stern.
With us for the day were guides from the village of Hartley Bay: Garnett, son Colby, Jolene (neice), and nephew (Jay). They know these bears well and were excited to report that they had seen quite a few bears coming to feed on salmon that had only recently come to the creeks after a dry summer.
We variously trundled and walked on a small trail through the lush rainforest with its towering Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock, along with a mossy carpet, tea-coloured stream and multitudes of greens in mosses, devil’s club and huckleberry.
Garnett led us to a small pool in front of a waterfall where we sat on a log and waited while pink and chum salmon schooled. Fairly soon we saw a Pine Marten that scuttled out to pick up carcass remains. Then a big male bear of about 400 -500 pounds ambled down river, casting a look with nostrils raised. Garnett and Jolene spoke quietly to the bear which went about its business searching for salmon behind the logs, near the waterfall and in every nook and cranny. This particular bear did not make any fishing attempts at the group of salmon, but certainly did lots of looking for salmon. Then came a smaller bear who must have made at least 100 (unsuccessful) attempts at pouncing on the fish, before to our great relief it finally dove over a log and came up with a large chum salmon. First, it devoured the head containing the rich brain matter, then went on to munch up the remainder of the bright pink flesh leaving only a tail and skeleton for the hungry Steller’s Jays, martens and mice that also benefit from the feast of salmon at this time of year.
Just as we thought it couldn’t get better and were watching a dipper, dip, dip dipping in the stream, another bear came down from the forest and fairly promptly caught a salmon and marched up to the forest (to its cubs?) with the fish.
All of us agreed that it was an amazing experience to be able to sit in the forest and watch bears at close range without affecting them and the bears tolerating us.
Once aboard we headed south in Whale Channel which completely lived up to its name. We were surrounded by humpbacks (30 blows in every direction), then there was 3 fin whales with their giant tall blows and their long sleek bodies built for speed. These are the second largest whales in the world and it is wonderful to see the comeback of this whale which was ruthlessly persecuted during the 19th century.
After our day in the wilderness, Oliver served a beautiful dinner of butternut squash soup, stuffed chicken breast with mushrooms, pesto, herbs served over wild rice and sponge cake, raspberries and Chantilly cream for dessert. Wow, what a day!
***
“Season of mellow mists and fruitfulness”, so wrote Keats about autumn. I thought of this as we entered a mainland river estuary this morning. Mists swept the mountains on either side of this deep glacially carved fjord. and occasionally lifted to reveal a glacier at the mountaintop, forests and waterfalls on every side.
Mosses festooned the Sitka Spruce in the estuary, and the Lyngby sedge, so prized by grizzlies in spring for forage, were draped, limp, over the channel edges. At this time of year, the bears were only interested in the ripening Pacific crabapples and the chum salmon returning to the lower reaches of the river to spawn.
The estuary was full of life all waiting and feasting on salmon: plump Harbour Seals perching on shallow bits, Bald Eagles of every age filling the trees and perching on stumps waiting for the dead salmon to come to shore so they could feed. Bonaparte’s Gulls swooping down to pick up salmon eggs escaping from the gravels and Mew Gulls calling and feeding on carcasses on the bank.
Since it had rained inches per day since the beginning of September, everything was flowing at a great rate. Miles drove the inflatable with great agility up the raging river up to a view of some great rocks and impassable falls. We caught hold of a great sweeper of a log and watched the interplay of water and life going on in this coastal wilderness, thankfully protected from all forms of development and hunting. Once we untied from our log, we swept downstream rapidly and took an estuarine channel through the broad grasses, Douglas asters, scatterings of Sitka Spruce and crabapple. We could see the chum salmon, some swimming and some even now, starting to decay. We stopped to explore the estuary, looking for bear trails. We landed by a great crabapple patch, which even though not quite ripe, were heavily harvested by bears. Silently we followed Myles, marveling at dug patches of sedges and angelica, bear droppings full of crabapples and knowing every second that we were on the bear’s territory.
Here the soil was so fertilized by salmon and bear, everything was lush and somewhat giant.
We were called back to Swell by a growing hunger for lunch and the promise of more great adventures. We passed SV Maple Leaf in Princess Royal Channel and had a great “waveby ”as Captain Greg, his good wife/naturalist Jolie and crew Ashley while they headed north and we headed south.
Now we travel comfortably south and west to Fjordland in this great and misty country.
– updates from naturalist Trudy Chatwin.
Great Bear Rainforest, SV Maple Leaf, Aug 26-Sep 3, 2015
Just left Fjordland after 2 days of amazing bear encounters – wresting sub-adults right in the estuary, mom and cubs, etc. Left this morning in beautiful fog and drizzling rain and then found humpback whales in the Channel. On our way to Klemtu for lunch with Doug.
***
“B to the 5, B to the 5, big black black bear butts!” (done to a rap beat)
We had a great trip across Seaforth Channel yesterday morning, accompanied by humpback whales, seabirds and a tired sparrow.
Had a morning venture ashore, but our afternoon hike was thwarted by storm force winds. But they cleared the skies, and so we had breakfast on deck this morning surrounded by nature. Heading south with sunny skies.
Enjoyed a great welcome into the Heiltsuk territory by William Housty, with Maple Leaf and Swell rafted together. Now, two boats are heading in different directions for two great trips.
***
We spotted orcas approx 10 minutes after we got underway. We just had a great viewing of two big males splashing around.
***
The first evening, we made it to the beautiful Goose Group of islands. We explored ashore and enjoyed dessert on the beach, watching the sun set into the Pacific.
Heading into Fjordland now.
***
After spectacular time amid the fjords and waterfalls north of Bella Bella, we continued to explore mainland systems. In one that is a spectacular, mist-shrouded inlet, where waterfalls pelt down mountainsides that go deep under the sea, we spent time with 5 grizzly bears.
There were two siblings … younger bears who have left their mother but still spend time together, and there was a mother we know with her two cubs who are in their second year.
Then, seeking shelter from an unseasonable storm, we entered the coast’s longest fjord, the Gardner Canal, which is surely the most spectacular cruise on the coast.
***
Spent time with many whales in the aptly named Whale Channel, and had a good visit with the whale researchers at Cetacealab. Met Marven, our Gitga’at guide and friend, the next day to explore Princess Royal Island.
– Updates from expedition leader / naturalist Kevin Smith
Whales & Wild Isles, Great Bear Rainforest, MV Swell, Aug 17-25, 2015
Humpback whale lunge feeding in the Great Bear Rainforest. Photo by Nick Sinclair.
August 20
In the morning some of the group when for a short kayak around the anchorage and we saw a small pack of wolves foraging in the estuary as well as a black bear. We left the anchorage en route to Cetacea Lab at Whale Point on Gil Island.
En route we had to stop as we were entertained by humpbacks feeding and breaching.
At Cetacea Lab we were given a wonderful tour of the lab by one of its founders, Janie, who also explained their studies of Orca vocalizations and their hydrophone network.
While we were visiting, the interns spotted three fin whales (the second largest whale in the world at up to 25 m in length). The whales crossed the bay in front of us and one came in close to the research station. After our visit to the station, we began making our way to Bishop Bay via Whale Channel, McKay Reach and Ursula Channel.
Whale channel was aptly named as we saw several groups of humpbacks, bringing our total for the day to well over 20. At Bishop Bay we took a dip in the hot springs and then made our way to Goat Harbour for our overnight anchorage.
– Mike Jackson, naturalist on board MV Swell
Great Bear Rainforest, SV Maple Leaf, Aug 17-25, 2015
We got off to an incredible start yesterday with resident killer whales (As and Gs?) calling on the hydrophone and fishing around us. We had humpbacks until heading to anchor and and delicious dinner by Yas.
It’s now a beautiful morning with the gulls. What a way to start a trip.
– Update from naturalist Misty MacDuffee
Alaska Adventure Supervoyage, MV Swell, Aug 6-16, 2015
Within minutes of leaving the harbour at the trip’s start at Sitka, we had seen our first sea otter and shortly after that our first humpback whale. Common murres and rhinoceros auklets were all around and we were soon watching four humpbacks feeding.
A strange bird took off beside the boat which we later identified as a long-tailed jaeger – a first for me! What a treat to be cruising in such rich waters.
We took the dinghy to explore De Groff bay where we were treated to marbled murrelets, bald eagles, great blue herons, and were surrounded by leaping pink salmon.
Rainforest mist swaths the channel in Alaska. Photo by Brandon Harvey
August 7th
We anchored in Kalinin Bay and went ashore to explore the estuary and then hike to Sea Lion Cove. Though the creek was full of spawning pink salmon, and there were many signs of bear feeding (scat, crushed vegetation, fresh salmon carcasses and “salmon bits”), we did not see any bears. We did see several bald eagels and a pair of greater yellowlegs.
We began our hike over the pass to Sea Lion Cove and passed through forested and boggy areas. In the bogs we found sphagnum moss, the insectivourous round-leaved sundew, labrador tea as well as huckleberries and blueberries. We stopped by the lake in the pass for lunch and then made our way down to the magnificent beach at Sea Lion Cove.
Some of us dipped our toes in the open pacific waves, others explored the expanse of sandy beach looking at sanderlings and plovers, and others investigated the flotsam and jetsam on the beach. Back on board, we made our way to Deep Bay for our overnight anchorage.
We got underway early on our third day as we have a long way to go. Just before breakfast we were treated to a humpback whale spouting and finning, and in the middle of breakfast a pod of half a dozen Dall’s Porpoises came to the bow and played in the bow wave for several minutes. After breakfast, a second group came by for a very brief play in the bow wave before moving on.
At least 9 humpback whales bubble net feeding in Chatham Strait, off Baranof Island's east coast. Photo taken from the MV Swell on Aug 8, 2015 by Capt. Steve Kempton
August 8th
After a morning of cruising on glassy calm seas we entered Chatham Strait and sat down to another one of chef Oliver’s marvelous meals. Halfway through, the call came though the intercom from the bridge “three humpback whales ahead”.
We all left our meals and went to the bow. The whales crossed in front of us and made their way to the nearby shore at Point Turbot. Before long we realized they were doing coordinated, group bubble net feeding right at the shore.
We shut down the engines and generator and put down the hydrophone. Over the next hour and a half, we were treated to a dozen feeding events, each preceded by haunting calls. Watching the water erupt with small fish instants before the huge whale gapes came out of the water was utterly amazing.
After our magical experience with these humpbacks, we made our way to Warm Springs Bay and the hamlet of Baranov. A short walk up the boardwalk and we were at the hot springs where we soaked in hot pools by a rushing river. Returning to Swell, we got underway again to go to Woewodski Harbour.
At dinner time, as we passed the southern tip of Admiralty Island, entering Frederick Sound from Chatham Strait, we saw a mother and calf humpback. They were feeding at surface with “lateral lunges”, turning their body sideways to engulf enormous mouthfuls of krill and/or small fish. The calf was copying her mother and we watched and photographed the pair for half an hour. Another meal interrupted! 🙂
After dinner, we continued north-east along the shore of Admiralty Island where we saw many more whales feeding on both sides of the boat right up until dark.
Just after sunset we saw the International Space Station pass over us and the sky was clear for star viewing. As it became truly dark, the sky was full of stars and the aurora borealis was visible. An hour and a half after the first sighting of the space station, we saw it come over again. Once at anchor in Cannery Cove, we were treated to several Perseid shooting stars and the sound of feeding humpback whales.
August 9th
So far today …. we set off for a long cruise to Windfall Harbor. Humpback whales were breaching in the distance. We then made our way over to the Brothers Islets were we took a dinghy ride to view the Northern (Steller) sea lions at their haul out. The sound and smell of several hundred sea lions is unforgettable!
After our visit with the sea lions, we continued northward,watching humpbacks spout, feed and breach in every direction. We gave up counting the whales seen today after twenty five or so!
A pod of Dall’s porpoises came to the bow and swam with the ship for 15 minutes or so, giving us a great show.
Just before dinner, we entered Windfall Harbor and shortly after spied three brown (grizzly) bears in the estuary of Middle Creek. After dinner, we took our dinghy and went to the estuary of Windfall Creek for a walk. The creek was chock full of spawning pink salmon and a few chum and we saw one more bear who sauntered off after seeing us.
Admiralty Island is famous for its high density of brown bears (the bears here are a very dark brown, almost black) The next morning we landed at Pack Creek. Pack creek is the site of Stan Price’s homestead and the bears here have been carefully habituated to human presence in certain areas. As a result we were able to observe the bears at close range without feeling like we were interfering.
We saw three more bears at the viewing spit site, including one very close (15m?) walk by. After that we hiked up to the viewing platform which is situated above a couple of pools in the creek that were jam-packed with spawning pink salmon. Along the way to the platform we passed by several bear rubbing trees, complete with scratch marks and bear hair. Though we were visited by herons and eagles, we did not see any more bears here, however the salmon put on an amazing show. We returned on board for a hearty halibut chowder lunch and then a few of us returned to the spit for a second visit with the bears. One of the two bears we saw was probably the same young one as one we had seen in the morning, while the other one was a new one to us – an older female. In all we saw eight different bears. As we walked back to the dinghy, we saw thousands of small molted shore crab shells in the tide line.
We are now making our way to Wood spit for our night’s anchorage. Another amazing day in Alaska!
August 11th – Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
We raised the anchor before breakfast to make our way down Endicott Arm towards Dawes glacier. As soon as we rounded Wood Spit we began to encounter ice bergs. The number of “bergy bits” continued to increase as we made our way and our captain, Steve, had to navigate carefully to avoid them.
The scenery of the steep-sided fjord was breathtaking – hanging U-shaped valleys and waterfalls everywhere. Some of the icebergs were an amazing blue colour, while others were a dirty brown due to the moraine sediment carried by the glacier. As we neared the end of the fjord, we caught our first view of the glacier. We boarded the dinghys and made our way up to within a few hundred metres of the face of the glacier.
The glacier face towers about 200 feet above the sea and was calving large chunks of ice which made great splashes and swell-like waves that caused us to bob about. By the glacier face we saw many gulls flying around as well as some harbour seals and a porpoise.
We spent an hour or more watching and observing the glacier, returning for a late lunch after watching a spectacular calving event.
August 12th -Wood Spit to Thomas Bay
We got under way before breakfast as we have many miles to cover today. By the time we sat down to breakfast we had sighted 15 humpback whales and by 10 AM our tally was at 35! I gave a short talk on rainbows and then our captain Steve gave a talk about the history of the Swell.
As we made our way south we continued to see humpbacks – our total for the day was 48! We had a neat visit with Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation at Five Fingers Lighthouse. Fred showed us around and told us about the work they are doing on humpback whale vocalizations. We had heard bubble net hunting vocalizations on the Swell’s hydrophone earlier, so it was neat to learn more about them and to learn that the whale we had heard was probably the one they know as “Melancholy”. Later in the day, I gave a talk on the physics of Rainbows – we have seen a few of these on the trip including in the blows of whales and porpoises! Coming into Thomas Bay we caught a glimpse of the Baird glacier which comes to within a few kilometres of the shore and then went for a short evening walk.
August 13th – Thomas Bay to Dewey Anchorage
We began the day with an early hike up the aptly-named Cascade Creek trail. The creek seems to be one continuous cascade for several kilometres. One of the highlights of this trip was finding a very large king bolete (porcini) mushroom – this made our mate, Given’s, day! Shortly after leaving Thomas Bay, we entered Wrangell narrows, a 21 mile long channel with several sections that can only be safely navigated at slack tide. Our timing was excellent due to careful planning by our captain Steve. We passed by the community of Petersburg at the entrance to the narrows and exited the narrows into Sumner strait. Here we began to see humpbacks again. I gave a talk about intertidal life to prepare us for our intertidal exploration the next morning. That evening we had a sundowner toast which was followed by an evening of stargazing. We were treated to a good view of the International Space Station passing over as well as dozens of other satellites, followed by as many as 50 Perseid meteors and a great view of the Milky way. After dropping our anchor by Onslow Island in the South Etolin Wilderness area (Dewey Anchorage) we were treated to excellent bioluminesence which outlined our salmon net as we pulled it through the water.
August 14th – Dewey Anchorage to Cascade Inlet
We started the morning with a couple of kayakers heading out and then the group went ashore to explore the beach on Carlton Island. We had a -1.5 ft tide which was excellent for observing life at the lower tide levels. We saw leather, ochre and sunflower stars, sea cucumbers, a hooded nudibrach, mossy chitons, several crab species, peanut and tube worms, and much more. Many of the organisms we saw were molluscs with a “radula” – a microscopically toothed tongue. Our deckhand, Jeff, was able to show us electron micrographs of these stuctures as well as the ossicles (mini bones) of sea cucumbers, which were taken during one of his marine biology classes at the University of Victoria. Back on board we started a long navigation south to Ketchikan to clear customs. On the way we stopped for a break in Meyer’s Chuck, a quaint coastal community of 150 in the summer and 6 in the winter. We spent a couple of hours exploring Ketchikan, including its historic and picturesque Creek Street and then proceeded on south to our anchorage in Cascade inlet.
August 15th – Cascade Inlet to Melville Island
We weighed anchor early to begin our trip south back into Canada. To get back into Canada we needed to cross Dixon Entrance which is a large body of water open to the Pacific swells. Our captain Steve chose a zig-zag course which minimized the amount of rocking and rolling that we were subjected to. As we neared the Canadian border, a group of Dall’s porpoises came to our bow and escorted us across the border. I think if you looked closely, you could make out their maple leaf tattoos! They stayed with us for almost half an hour to make sure we crossed safely! 🙂 As we neared the Gnarled Islands, just to the north of Dundas island, we saw our first Canadian humpback. As of leaving Alaska, we have seen over 130 humpback whales on the trip!
– reports by Mike Jackson, naturalist aboard Swell
Whales & Totems, BC, SV Maple Leaf, Aug 5-10, 2015
3 transient killer whales (aka Bigg's), hunting a marine mammal that was sheltering under the Maple Leaf. This photo was taken in Haida Gwaii in 2013, but shows a similar occurrence to what the guests experienced on this trip, too. Photo by Greg Shea.
A trip report from the Maple Leaf:
As we were watching Transient / Biggs killer whales hunt some dolphins, we stopped up the ship. A little later, a harbour seal swam over and ‘hid’ under one of the Maple Leaf’s Polaris shore boats.
We tow these boats behind the ship, and when we’re stopped, we pull them in close to the stern, so that they don’t tangle with one another. The killer whales knew about the seal and they came over to the boat, trying to figure out how to get it. For quite a while they circled around but in the end, with the seal not leaving its cover, they gave up.
Editor’s note: Why did the seal hide under a shore boat and not haul out onto shore? It probably figured out that it couldn’t swim to shore fast enough to get away from the orcas. As to why the orcas didn’t got after it as it floated under an 18-foot, metal-bottomed skiff, possibly it was because orcas often hunt marine mammals by swimming very fast up under them and bludgeoning them out of the water and into the air. Under the shore boat, this technique wouldn’t be possible.
– Report from Capt. Nick Sinclair
Alaska Adventure, MV Swell, July 29-Aug 5, 2015
Exploring the ice on an Alaska trip. Photo by James Warburton.
Days 1-2
Great rainy misty days up here in SE Alaska. With a morning spent in the icy waters of Endicott Arm, we filled our morning with ice-tastic spectacles. We travelled in the tenders towards the fortress that is Dawes Glacier. With a rising tide and bergy bits littering the sea and commentary from naturalist Briony, we meandered towards the towering wall of ice. Calving was underway. Rumbling alerted the group to the truth about glaciers: they are not still. They are alive, and ever-moving. Rocks slide, ice falls, and wakes move in the water from the ice. We cheer. Our little flotilla is thoroughly satisfied. We turn back towards Swell, not without witnessing one last massive calving episode, and are delighted by the welcoming warmth of Chef James’ Tomatoe Bisque and elegant grilled cheese.
Bonus ice exploring: from the zodiac, we axed off some ice for cocktails. and deckhand / stew Robyn took to her long johns and stocking feet to plunge into the ice laden water from a small bergy bit. A true Maple Leaf Adventures welcome to Alaska a this crew’s first tour in Alaska.
The previous day had brought the delights of Fredrick Sound, including humpback whales partaking in shallow feeding frenzies. Krill littered the surface of the water brought these gentle giants and their gaping mouths to the air. Later, Captain Dave tells us of a formidable rock where important research is being done and then we are welcomed onto Five Fingers lighthouse to meet the Alaska Whale Foundation. This team of devoted whale researchers shared with us their knowledge, passion, and incredible stories of what it is like to live on a remote rock in the middle of Fredrick Sound. As a group, we were delighted, as individuals were inspired. As we depart, we are waved off by red-footed pigeon gulliemots and the carrot-orange-beaked oystercatcher. We look back towards the lighthouse, a humpback whale blowing in the distance. This place is a coastal paradise, and we are so lucky to know it.
Day 3
An early rise for the fair ship Swell begins day three of our Alaska adventure, steaming from our mainland anchorage to the day’s destination of Pack Creek on Admiralty Island.
9 am and our guests and crew are well fed and well dressed as they set for shore with great excitement and silent anticipation. We are here to see brown bears and hope that our patience will be rewarded.
It doesn’t take long before we are delighted by entrance of a young grizzly. The animal saunters in a gentle and relaxed manner towards the group, with only the intention to approach the creek. He sniffs the air, aware of our presence, and carries on investigating his creek, the shoreline, and the world around. Quiet and still, we continue to be fortunate enough to see two other brown bears. The morning is a wonder.
Sea lions at the Brothers Group of islands, southeast Alaska. Photo by Tavish Campbell.
Day 4-5
It must be August. It’s 5:30 am and Captain Dave navigates Swell through thick fog. We reach the Brothers Islands and with a great sense of adventure we dawn our PFDs and camera’s and embark on a foggy excursion in search of islands, beaches, and sea lions. Not a minute away from Swell and we see neither ship nor land. Only sea birds whose navigation skill our Naturalist Briony knows to trust, (along with the Captain’s navigation tools). Sure enough we find the shore. The fog lifts enough for us to witness the vastness of a kelp forest on a low tide. We find winged kelp, sea lettuce, and porphyra (brown, green, and red algaes). We are delighted by sea stars, anemones, encrusting bryzoa, and many other intertidal animals.
With our heads down investigating the spineless lifeforms we barely notice the lifting of the fog. Rounding a corner we are made aware as we hear the classic roars of Steller sea lions. We lift our gaze and there they are, both blue sky and the haul out of many 600 lbs- 1 tonne brown, bundled together, bear-like animals. Maintaining a respectful distance, so as not to startle the sea lions’ restful state, Captain Dave moves our zodiac along the shoreline. We round another corner and our eye brows all lift. On the beach in front of us are even more sea lions — one on top of the other, all touching, roaring, groaning, sleeping, waddling, play fighting, or simply attempting to rest as others crawl up and over. We are delighted, and our camera’s are ignited.
After some time a curious bunch of juvenile sea lions “escort” as we move beyond the haul out and make our way to find out own, unoccupied, beach.
The sun is beaming, the sky never looked so blue, and the waters around are lit with a sparkling reflection. We take this beautiful moment to stretch our sea legs, feel the land beneath us and embark on a little treasure hunt. I’m reminded of how calming our human spirit can really be, when we are in a magical natural place and we let ourselves simply experience it.
Lunch awaits, and so with great hesitation we pull ourselves off our island paradise, cruise past our sea lion friends and low tide critters, to return to Swell where Chef James and First Mate Given great us with smiles and homemade BBQ burgers, yam fries, and refreshments.
Our Captain and Mate steer us towards Baranof Island with promise of warm water endeavors. Our journey towards Warm Springs Bay is littered with humpback whale tales, misty whale blows, and endless sun. Some take to the top deck hot tub, while others nestle in for a painting lesson with Naturalist Briony, or settle with a good book. It’s mid-way through our journey together and we’ve all found our place our comfort here on Swell, sailing together.
Day 6
Good morning sun. Good morning waterfall. Good morning sweet little boardwalk community of Warm Springs Bay. The early risers take a kayak cruise, while others saunter into the main salon for a warm cup of coffee. The pace is slow, peaceful, yet purposeful. A small group of us take to a bowl of cereal as we dress for morning walk to the lake, the bog, and finally the hot springs. “Botanizing” along the way Briony enlightens the guests about the incredible plants that border our path to the lake. A quick dip in the lake for Deckhand Robyn before we turn towards the bog. Our visit is short but inspiring as we find great wonder in the small things that live near the earth’s floor. A hop and a skip back down to the board walk, a quick left turn towards the river, and there it is- a natural hot springs like no other. Mist from the rushing river cools our faces as we dip into the hot water bath.
Orcas photographed on a Maple Leaf Adventures trip in Alaska. Photo by James Warburton.
We rejoin our fellow ship-mates, weigh anchor, and set off for another day. The sun is shining and the humpbacks greet us once again as we cruise along. The youngest of guest, a keen naturalist, had yet to see an orca in the wild. Not moments after saying this, our young friend spots orca off our port side. Small misty blows and tall black dorsal fins: there is no mistake, we’re with a group of killer whales. Maintaining course and speed, with a respectful distance so as not to disrupt this family, we travel with the orca. It’s not long and I notice we are not with just one, but 3 or 4 different groups of orca. At least 20 orca travel between us and the shoreline in the distance. Six large males with 6-foot-tall dorsal fins, and to boot, a humpback whale or two. These animals are clearly fish eating resident orca – with the humpback whales calmly paying them no mind at all. Our excitement is ecstatic as we discover mom and babe traveling together in the group nearest in view. The family bounds of killer whales are so clear, as they travel in family groups always.
An early evening stop to Nismeni Cove, first mate Given and naturalist Briony have taken the guests ashore to forage. They harvest fungi, ferns, berries, and sea asparagus, to the galley’s delight. Tonight this little ship will eat well from the land.
Day 7
The day’s begun with a stunning transit over to Kruzof Island for a day of exploring. Rolling seas lulling us around the corner and into the deep bay. On shore we’re embarking on a diverse exploration of the coastal environmnet – through estuary, rainforest, wild Alaskan blueberry patch, bog and lake, and out to west coast sandy beach. A full day of endless discovery.
Day 8
Our morning is tranquil. Still waters, high tide, roaming seabirds. We take in our final morning in this beautiful place. It is so calm, and we are so content.
A quick recap of some highlights on the Whales and Wild Isles trip over the last couple of days. After several encounters with humpback whales, including witnessing the remarkable coordination of cooperative bubble net feeding in Caamano Sound, we headed to Fjordland.
It is spectacular with its high granite cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and lush green estuary. While exploring some of the plants in the meadow, we looked up to see a grizzly bear, and watched it foraging on sedges, swimming across the river, and making its way up the bank into the forest!
Today’s highlight was just as amazing. We watched two coastal wolves frolicking together on a beach after traveling from different directions to meet and greet each other. A remarkable wilderness experience.
Anchored at some islands hanging onto the outer edge of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Today after the epic journey of rounding Cape Caution, we were welcomed in the most fitting way to the Broughton Archipelago: a visit with the A30 family of northern resident orcas (killer whales). This family is the most commonly seen family in this region and has been witnessed welcoming other families of whales back here each summer. It was our honour to be escorted in by them.
– Updates from naturalist Barb Beasley and first mate Ashley Stocks
Alaska Adventure, MV Swell, July 19-27, 2015
Alaska brown bear, taken on a Maple Leaf Adventures trip. Photo by James Warburton
July 19
On the first day we spent time with a pod of Orcas – 45 minutes after we headed out of Sitka at the start of our trip. By then we had also already seen sea otters. We also had a couple of harbour porpoises pass by and lots of sea birds.
July 20
Today we had an amazing encounter with a sub-adult brown bear from a good proximity. He lay down in the creek in front of us. He rolled over in the creek and stuck his feet in the air! We were treated to an excellent viewing of him fishing for crabs, grooming and entertaining us royally. He wasn’t perturbed and we spent the better part of an hour watching him until he got bored and wandered off.
We hiked up to a bog and a lake and picked blueberries before we made our way back through the rainforest. Later, after raising anchor and heading out, a gray whale in the bay breached 3 times!
Alaskan coastal rainforest. Photo by Greg Shea.
July 21st
Sergius Narrows and a warm sunny day made for great viewing along the way. We did some kelp 101 at Fairwinds and found some gigantic gooey duck clams and other musical sea instruments. Lots of baby guillemots as well as marbled murrelets all “keering” away to their parents. At Warm Springs Bay we stopped for a dip in the springs and a zodiac exploration around the lagoon to harvest some sea asparagus and licorice root to go with our fresh salmon dinner.
July 22nd
Steamed to the Brothers Islands and hit whale soup. Got into the zodiacs at the sea lion haul out and were treated to sealions and humpbacks feeding together in the shallows with oystercatchers, black turnstones, pigeon guillemots, eagles and scoters all watching on. The low tide provided some fantastic viewing too. It was hard to know where to watch. Alaska provides these times of grace. Mole Harbour for the night. No moles in Alaska but we did find a shrew [day 6], possibly Dusky.
July 23rd
Pack Creek for meeting up with Dana of the Forest Service. We sat and watched a new female with her three cubs in their second summer feeding out in the estuary for the morning. The rain didn’t daunt the bears or guests but the viewing platform gave us a bit of a break and we had two young bears feeding on the chum and coho in the afternoon. Lots of brilliant red elderberries, bunchberries and devil’s club berries for photo opportunities in the forest. Anchored in Windfall.
July 24
Walked the whole estuary following bear trails at high tide and lived the life of a bear for a morning, then at lunch we watched a young bear occupying his home. Coho leaping in the bay like crazy. Steamed to Woodspit with more humpbacks and a huge beautiful iceberg enroute. Gin and tonics with 30,000 year old ice to celebrate Jon and Judy’s 32nd anniversary.
Bald eagle on an iceberg. Photo by Kevin Smith
July 25th
Gorgeous day travelling Endicott Arm and geologizing. Lone mountain goat watching over us as we waited for the glacier to calve. Few terns but the gulls were out in force and the seals hiding out in the ice pack. Had lunch then a walk in the estuary and found another grizzly stomp, the shrew and some stunning glacial waterfalls and features. Some great humpback tail fluke flapping feeding round the boat.
July 26th
Headed south to Five Fingers and ran into whale soup again. This time they were all doing single bubble net feeding all around the boat. We nicknamed one whale Mr. Universe because of his “starry” tail. They must be feeding on krill because there was not a herring bit in sight, nor a gull. They weren’t lunge feeding much, mostly this quiet, relaxed bubble netting.
At Five Fingers, where they are now running the Alaska Whale Foundation with Fred Sharpe, the researchers told us that this group are working the east side of Frederick. They had recorded their feeding calls, which were the same as the ones that we recorded on the ship’s hydrophone — very chatty calls, and all over the place. We had a great visit at the lighthouse and then we headed to Keku Islets for the night. Beautiful limestone configurations with fossils and wildflowers embedded in the cliffs. Sea otters, sea lions and seals playing in the kelp for us at Flattop Island.
Alaska Adventure, MV Swell, July 8-17, 2015
Can you imagine a day that begins with Dall’s porpoises riding on the bow? And for those who missed the ones who came before breakfast, another group showed up after breakfast.
A little later we were floating in the skiff with curious sea lions all around us and a few humpback whales near by.
Our day ended with a few brave souls taking a dip in a glacial lake, and then we all headed to a beautiful hot spring for a soak right beside a beautiful waterfall. It was so wonderful, many did a repeat in the morning.
The morning also had a fabulous low tide, and we looked at the abundant sea life from the skiff and from kayaks. We had a great look at a young brown (grizzly) bear from the skill some time later and are now anticipating a great hike in the morning.
Brown bear at Pack Creek, Admiralty Island, on a Maple Leaf trip. Photo by James Warburton.
July 12
Admiralty Island has an extremely high concentration of brown (grizzly) bears. Over the last two days we have watched bears galloping through streams chasing salmon, standing up on two legs, settling down for a nap, and scratching their itchy places.
We have also watched salmon making their way up their natal stream to spawn a new generation and eagles and ravens have joined in the feast. We finished today with a pair of killer whales surfacing beneath a beautiful rainbow.
One of the special things about coming to Alaska is the opportunity to visit towering walls of ice and hear the thundering rumble as chunks break off and fall into the ocean to drift away as icebergs.
We were just heading away from our visit to Dawes Glacier (where we experienced all of this), and after drifting in the skiff among icebergs, some thought it a good idea to warm up in the hot tub. As they soaked in the warm water with the glacier in view, they spotted transient killer whales on the hunt for seals.
We turned Swell around and all the seals had come out of the water on to the small icebergs. They were aware these stealthy predators were in the area. We never did see them again, but came away with a bigger understanding of life in this challenging environment.
– update from naturalist Sherry Kirkvold
July 10
It would be an understatement to say we had a whale of a day. As we cruised through Frederick Sound, were surrounded by these gentle giants for the last couple of hours. One whale gave us an amazing bubble net demonstration by blowing bubbles off our bow!
We eavesdropped with the hydrophone and were treated to some wonderful grunts and calls.
As if that wasn’t enough some curious sea lions swam right up to the boat to check us out. We are headed up to our anchorage now and will be on the lookout for icebergs!
… 90 minutes later this came in:
Well I signed off too soon. Just as we approached the next point we encountered a large group of killer whales. We had humpbacks on one side of the boat and killer whales on the other!
Arriving at the point we saw two moose right at the water’s edge. If that wasn’t enough, we then saw a sea otter swimming nearby eating a red sea urchin. Slow progress getting to our anchorage!
– reports from naturalist Sherry Kirkvold
Haida Gwaii and Emily Carr trip, SV Maple Leaf, July 5-13, 2015
Cape St. James, on the southern tip of Kunghit Island, Haida Gwaii
July 13
Just in from a fabulous trip in Gwaii Haanas. Seems like the warm waters are sweeping some unusual critters in this year.
The guests were intrigued by Vellela, the blue-rimmed By-the-Wind-Sailor jellyfish, which have tacked up onto the shores of SGang Gwaay by the thousands. Also sighted, the weird and wonderful Mola Mola, or Sunfish.
Had a great rounding of Cape St. James, on calm though current-raked seas, past teeming Steller’s Sea Lion rookeries– lots of sleek chocolate-brown pups, nursing and bleeting. And plenty of birds of course, Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres; I was thrilled to see both Horned and Tufted Puffins!
Spent the evening of our final night visiting the village of Cumshewa, our last stop in “the footsteps” of Emily Carr.
She has been with us in spirit in our readings from her wonderful tales of travelling here in the early 1900’s, in the images of her paintings and especially in our sketching expeditions. I like to think she would approve of our attempts to draw the poles and deep green forests of Haida Gwaii that she loved.
– report from naturalist and art expedition leader Alison Watt
Gwaii Haanas forest glade. Photo by Kevin Smith.
July 8
Anchored as the sun sinks, butter yellow, over Burnaby Narrows. Pretty much a perfect Maple Leaf day—started with a sail into Juan Perez Sound, with warm 12 knot winds, through a beautiful flock of Sooty Shearwaters, resting in the gentle troughs.
We carried on south—we had a tide to keep—3 feet in Burnaby Narrrows. Piled into the zodiac and drifted through the narrows, looking at kelp crabs, a spectacular, golden-mottled sculpin, and a rainbow of bat stars.
Spent the rest of the day nestled in a glade, drawing the moss-hung cedars, mixing greens on our paint palettes and talking over of how much Emily Carr herself would have loved to draw in this spot!
– Report from naturalist and art leader Alison Watt
Haida Gwaii, MV Swell, June 26-July 3, 2015
From from the ship in Haida Gwaii by crew member Jeff Reynolds.
The trip is epic….getting in all the major experiences, only K’uuna / Skedans left. Sun everyday pretty much.
At 18.30 July 1 we transited through Richardson Pass looking for orcas that had been seen earlier and we found them! A pod of 6 with 2 young. I will be giving away 2 Maple Leaf Adventures ball caps to the spotters during our hot tub deck, pre-dinner Canada Day celebration, with Sea Cider and Maple Leaf beer!
– report from Capt. Steve
Haida Gwaii, Schooner, June 23-July 1, 2015
Humpback whale
Highlights:
Weather so calm we overnighted at Woodruff Bay (exposed beach at southern end of Haida Gwaii) and enjoyed breakfast at the Cape.
The Jun 18-26 trip on MV Swell and Jun 19-27 trip on SV Maple Leaf ...part way through the trips. Map of Gwaii Haanas area generated by OTrak software. Land day on Graham Island for each trip is not shown.
Haida Gwaii, SV Maple Leaf, June 19-27, 2015
June 21:
Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets before breakfast, a marvelous tour of the monumental poles and houses in the ancient Haida village of SGang Gwaay with Reg Wesley (a Haida Argillite carver) and then surrounded by Humpback whales breaching and surfacing in a glassy calm Pacific Ocean.
How could this day get any better?
One of my favourite and wildest places on earth is Cape St. James. Here the currents converge and upwellings support thousands of nesting Tufted Puffins, Cassin’s Auklets, Common Murres, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots and a breeding colony of Northern Sea lions (also known as Steller sea lions). Cape St. James has the highest recorded sustained winds in Canada, but on this day it was sunny and relatively calm which allowed Captain Greg to navigate carefully through the Kerouard Islands to give us spectacular views of new born sea lion pups, puffins and the wild rocky islands at the end of the Haida earth.
On this longest day of the year, there were more adventures to be had!
Maple Leaf anchored in a beautiful bay on the east side of Kunghit Island, affectionately known as “Hawaii” for its crystalline blue waters and fine white sand beach. “Dinner on the beach!” A gourmet picnic of beef tenderloin, roasted vegetables, Caesar salad, Spinnakers Maple Leaf brew and Sandhill Syrah was served by our lovely chef Yasmin.
Greg packed up the marine plastic debris we had collected for Parks Canada to remove, the heartiest of our crew had a swim in the sea and we reluctantly headed back to the ship. It wouldn’t be bad to be marooned at this lovely beach, but there were more places to go yet!
We anchored for the night in Keeweenah Bay, enjoyed dessert of blueberry tart and sunset followed by a waxing quarter moon and Jupiter and Venus rising in the indigo sky.
– report from naturalist Trudy Chatwin
Haida Gwaii, MV Swell, June 18-26, 2015
June 20: The beautiful weather continues. We’ve come from a great visit at Windy Bay (Haida site) this morning and it’s flat calm around Burnaby Island. Signing off as we’ve just spotted a whale.
June 21: After the spectacular intertidal life and rainforest ecosystems of the Burnaby Narrows area, we’ve cruised all the way down the east coast of Kungit Island and around the tip. We’re anchored in Luxana Bay on the southern end of Haida Gwaii, facing south. It’s 10 pm, the sky still has some light, and we’re headed ashore for a beach bonfire to celebrate the summer solstice.
Haida Gwaii with Canadian Geographic and Wade Davis, both ships, June 10-18, 2015
Read the full report with photos – coming this week.
Haida Gwaii, MV Swell, May 30-June 8 (ongoing)
Today at a sea lion rookery we witnessed numerous newborn pups, with gulls eating up the fresh afterbirth. The sound and smell were also quite a sensory experience!
– update from naturalist Sherry
Great Bear Rainforest and Kitlope, SV Maple Leaf – May 23-30
The Kitlope River and estuary, and the terminus of the Gardner Canal, the longest fjord on the coast. Photo by John Zada.
Started the trip with a conversation at Kitamaat village with elder Cecil Paul. Everything we talked about with him stayed with us throughout the whole trip and we referred back often to his words and concepts.
Some other highlights included the scenery & waterfalls of the Gardner canal [the coast’s longest fjord], travelling up the Kitlope River and making it up to the lake as per Cecil’s guidance; finding tracks of bears, wolves, cats, deer, moose & river otter in many places that we explored; seeing a spring bear.
Seeing mountain goats high in the hills. Soaking in 2 hotsprings. Seeing a group of close to 20 orca in a mini superpod with lots of playful activity & vocalizatons that we picked up on the hydrophone … possibly even some mating behaviour.
A great sail in Caamano Sound. Seeing fin whales including a group of 6 that came rushing towards the Maple Leaf. Many humpback whales, including a group of 6 that were doing coordinated group bubble-net feeding. We put the hydrophone down again, and listened to the ‘otherworldly’ bubble-net feeding calls. WOW!!!
[special bonus photos above and below of the Kitlope region from the airplane by John Zada – thank you, John]
– report from Capt. Greg
Kowesas (Chief Matthews Bay) in top left, Kemaano on bottom right, and the Gardner Canal slicing through the coast mountains. Photo by John Zada.
Part of the route of this trip, in the Gardner Canal, Great Bear Rainforest. Photo by John Zada.
Beautiful highlights as usual from Haida Gwaii, including the spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site, SGang Gwaay.
We had an amazing Orca show in Richardson Inlet, a pod of about 5 to 8 feeding.
The weather was sunny every day, some folks did some kayaking in Island Bay and we mounted an expedition far up Rose Inlet.
We had an amazing inter-tidal show at Burnaby Narrows (aka Dolomite Narrows). Afterward the walk in the ancient rainforest to a culturally modified tree was a hit.
We had breaching Humpbacks at Scudder Point, and a huge line of moon jellies in Crescent Inlet and as always beautiful intertidal and sub-tidal life at Burnaby Narrows.
One evening in Bishchof Islands we decided to be a Pirate raiding party and jumped into the skiff and went to a float house in the inner bay and found a rat eradication work party of Parks Canada employees. They gave us a Rat-Pack of traps, poison and stickers.
The raiding party was successful, we returned with booty.
Also at Bischoff Islands we found a nesting pair of bald eagles. A good photo op.
May 7:
Just got the anchor down behind the Walkem Isles in Johnstone Strait.
It’s been an epic day, with 3 great shore trips, including an exploration of Vondonop Inlet, a hike up to a favourite hidden lake, and then two hours of a low-tide, intertidal float through, with naturalist Barb in a wetsuit and snorkel, in a high current pass / beach area.
The afternoon’s highlight was a pod of 4 transient / Bigg’s orcas, that seemed to be headed for Hole in the Wall at the same slack tide we were heading for.
[editor’s note: The Orca Navigators & Hole in the Wall
On the BC and Alaska coast, huge surges of water through narrow passageways, as the tide rises and falls each day, create very strong currents, and sometimes whirlpools.
These currents are dangerous to navigation and some of them should only be transited when the current is ‘slack’. Slack is the small time between the ebb (when the tide goes out) and flood (when the tide comes in). The water is not really moving at slack, so there is no current. This is a safe time to transit. There are usually 4 slacks a day.
All competent navigators keep track of these moments of slack, and plan their trips to go through passes at slack tide. The time of these moments of slack changes every day by about half an hour.
When I said all competent navigators above, I mean all competent navigators …whether they are human or another species! People on the coast have observed for a long time that the orcas also know when slack tide will be at these passes. One of coastal boating life’s great joys is to transit a pass in the company of a family of orcas — who are so clearly seeming to be doing the same thing you are, for the same reason.]
May 8:
Today, we accomplished a big travelling day, with stops, the entire length of Johnstone Strait and out to Queen Charlotte Strait.
We had great Pacific White-sided Dolphins with us for a long ride today up Johnstone Strait.
Then a great hike in the Broughton Archipelago, from a place called Pig’s Ranch (no pigs or ranch now just rainforest) up to spectacular views at Eagle Eye, on on a hot afternoon.
Naturalist Barb was great with entertaining info and I even got our chef out for the hike, complete with an epic picnic lunch we provided for everyone at the look-out on top.
Tonight, en route to our anchorage, we spent time with a lovely humpback whale. Anchoring in Sunday Anchorage tonight.
– report from Capt. Kevin
May 9:
A morning spent with charismatic sea lions. Then some fishing en route to a beautiful cove on Northern Vancouver Island. Here’s a photo of one of our guest’s catches: a ling cod.
Photo by Kevin Smith
May 10:
An epic day as we left the islands of southern BC and in flat calm weather crossed to the mainland and rounded Cape Caution. Heading to the Hakai Recreation area and a great beach.
– Reports from Capt. Kevin
May 13:
The last couple of days have included exploring an offshore island group we rarely get to – always exciting to see who and what is living in these rugged and remote places that nonetheless have plenty of food for marine life due to strong currents bringing lots of nutrients through.
On our last morning, a gift from the Great Bear Rainforest: One of the elusive coastal wolves allowed us to see her or him, and to spend time together in the estuary.
– Reports from Capt. Kevin
Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), MV Swell – May 5-13 (updated)
Weather is absolutely GORGEOUS in Haida Gwaii, yesterday, today, and in the forecast for a few more days at least. Pinching ourselves and enjoying the moment!
After the land day exploring northern Haida Gwaii and the Masset and Skidegate areas, last night was spent at anchor in Thurston Hbr.
Today we did a skiff tour around the Tar Islands – very impressive intertidal life.
Enjoyed 4 hours ashore at Windy Bay – beautiful new Legacy pole, friendly watchmen, very informative, plus a forest hike with the watchmen through old growth and the old village site.
Several breaching humpbacks (including a mother that seemed to be teaching her calf how to breach) on the way to Ikeada Cove. |
15 Jul 2017, Carletonville: Three people were killed and one is in a critical condition after the driver of Toyota Corolla crashed into a tree next to Khutsong road in Carletonville during the early hours of this morning.
At approximately 02h30, ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene and found four male patients were ejected from the vehicle.
There was nothing paramedics could do for three of the men and they were declared dead on the scene. It is believed the four male patients were all between the ages of 25 to 28-years-old.
ER24 paramedics stabilised and transported one man to Carletonville Hospital where he was airlifted by other emergency services to an appropriate hospital for further medical care.
Local authorities attended the scene and will conduct an investigation. |
Category Archives: Gun violence
Last week the vice president of the NRA, Wayne Lapierre, gave a speech designed to elicit a state of perpetual militaristic panic against violent people with mental illness. He stated; “our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters–people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them.” Lapierre finds the source of gun violence in these “monsters,” and proposes we protect our children through a national database that keeps track of the mentally ill. I believe this is a terrible idea.
“Mental illness” is not a well defined concept. Looking in retrospect at someone who goes on a shooting spree, it is easy to say they are ill in the mind. But can we really predict the potential violence of a person, and is “mental illness”–a very broad and nebulous term, really the predictor we want to use? Does it make me appreciably more likely to kill people if I talk to myself, lay in bed for months with depression, struggle to empathize, experience unexplainable amounts of anxiety, or other fairly common behaviors we like to link to “mental illness?” Could mental illness actually at times be a source of strength, like having communication challenges that come from focusing on things others do not or having depression that comes from increased sensitivity to the struggles of the world?
“Mentally ill” is a label we use to marginalize people, and I know this because I have spent a lot of time worrying about my own sanity. As a wee boy I learned, as all children do, the language and logic of my parents. This language and logic outlined a spectrum of thought and behavior that was considered “crazy” which was contrasted with a spectrum of thought and behavior that was considered “normal.”
The man who went to work everyday to provide for his children was “normal.” The man who waded into water carrying a baby over his head and declaring himself to be Jesus was “crazy” (this was a news story I vaguely remember from childhood). All good boys and girls were supposed to be “normal.” Those who were within the spectrum of “crazy” were dangerous, unpredictable, liable to make bad romances, wallow in endless sorrow, and go on violent rampages. To me, the actual behavioral confines of “normal” seemed to involve wearing middle class clothing, enjoying sports (for boys) and makeup (for girls), rooting for the home team, not feeling a great need to question authority or critique society, and tending to be uncomfortable with displays of emotion (which were often associated with “imbalance”). But I had a problem because, although I did not know if I was “crazy,” I also was not “normal.”
I was a bizarrely spiritual boy. I meditated. I had mystical experiences (a sense of oneness with the universe). I did this before I knew what meditation and mystical experiences were. I came to think of myself as “talking to god,” and I heard quotes like this from Thomas Szasz; “if you talk to god, you are praying; if god talks to you, you have schizophrenia.” But the thing was… in my mind, this talking to god was a two way street. While I was engaged in mystical experience, I had many moments of clarity where I felt the wisdom of an all-connected higher mind come to me. I also had a vision when I was three where I saw an illusionary inferno that was premonitionary of a house fire that happened moments later. Now, in truth I don’t know the significance of these experiences and, increasingly over time, I don’t care. I have met many people who I know find my story very bizarre, even inconceivable. Others relate to my story. Others try to use my story, against my permission, to validate their own religious perspective. But the point here is that I grew up feeling like a damn weird kid.
I was terrified of being crazy. It haunted my dreams. I saw the word “crazy” wielded like a club that bludgeoned all the people the bludgeoner thought deserved to be dismissed. Here are some examples of what this looks like:
“Don’t listen to John, he’s just crazy,”
“if you say you take that position, people will think you are crazy,”
“[insert political or religious group you don’t like] are just a bunch of crazies”
This deep-seated fear of insanity gained deeper perspective for me when I went to a very small college with a very politically radical population, Antioch. Prior to Antioch I learned that Anarchists, Communists, and other radicals belonged in that “crazy” range of thinking. Although in retrospect I think I had a lot of leftist inclinations, I was politically what I now call a “militant moderate”–to me the middle ground was always best. I think I felt that way, in large part, because few people accuse moderates of being crazy, and I was so scared of being diminished for who I was in my head. Because of this fear I tried to embrace “normality” and, at Antioch, I thought of people as crazy because I was internalizing my own oppression.
It took me a long time to learn this but I have figured out that actually, like the Anarchists and Communists I once marginalized, I was a radical too. Now, when I embrace my radical identity, I feel the spiritual liberation of simply being present with who I have always been. It is healing. And yet I also know that, by calling myself a radical, I open myself up to the same marginalization I have always feared–the marginalization bound within the words “crazy” and “normal.”
I realize I am somewhat conflating mental illness with abnormality but this is because they are conflated. As I said earlier, mental illness is an ill-defined term. Should you study psychiatric diagnoses you will find that “mental illness” actually is defined and diagnosed by abnormal behavior. In fact, the DSM (manual for diagnosing mental illness) keeps getting updated as society renegotiates what we consider normal and abnormal. Homosexuality, for example, used to be called a mental illness (and just spend a moment contemplating what this fact would signify for a mental illness database). And the thing is, there are many abnormal people in the world. I suspect there are far more people who exhibit abnormal behavior than those who do not. This points out that abnormality is not really about how often a behavior occurs but how shunned a behavior is in mainstream society. Many shunned behaviors are problematic (going on a killing spree, at least within one’s country, is one of them). Many shunned behaviors might actually be beneficial (like having an unusual ability to empathize or think critically). But, of all the people we might decide to label as mentally ill or abnormal, only a very small minority actually commit physical violence.
We do not live in the nightmarish world outlined by Wayne Lapierre. If we did, mass shootings and attempted mass shootings would be much more common. But thinking that our safety is constantly besieged by mad individuals causes real problems. When mental struggles and abnormal behavior are seen as excuses for marginalization people are actually disincentivized to seek and find help, which makes them more likely to act on destructive impulses. Further disenfranchisement by stamping crazy on peoples’ permanent records is an ill-informed attempt to make the world better which will actually make it worse.
So you may wonder, what do I propose to prevent violent people from acquiring weapons. Dismantle the military industrial complex! While we’re at it we can also dismantle the small-arms industrial complex (which involves the NRA). These groups benefit from guns, the use of guns, and from the mindset that guns represent legitimate ways to solve problems. In general I think we need a more serious analysis of violence in society, but unfortunately massive amounts of propaganda make it hard for us to really look at ourselves. Still, it is immoral to avoid difficult tasks just because they are difficult when peoples’ lives are on the line. And, in the spirit of seriously examining violence in our society, I ask you to ponder the following:
We are upset by the mass shootings committed by a “crazy” person in Connecticut. It is tragic, horrible, angering, and saddening. Most disgustingly, it is only a ripple in the overall waves of violence that are produced by frightened people with destructive technology. Consider how many children have been killed by “normal” people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Pakistan? Cruise missiles and drone strikes do not have an avoid children switch. Could it be that there are people with power who have an interest in dismissing and destroying human life? Could it be that this is what is done in any war, every mass shooting, and even in the label of “crazy” itself? And, if you want to further explore the expendability of human life by people with power I suggest viewing the video on this page. I will warn, it is extremely violent, disturbing, and potentially triggering. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.