text stringlengths 8 5.77M |
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19 F.3d 9
Luckersonv.Kelly
NO. 93-2010
United States Court of Appeals,Second Circuit.
Feb 22, 1994
1
Appeal From: E.D.N.Y.
2
AFFIRMED.
|
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of video signal processing, and, in particular, to video signal processing using an architecture having a plurality of parallel execution units.
2. Background Art
It is well known in the prior art to use multiple-instruction multiple-data systems for video signal processing. In a multiple-instruction multiple-data execution of an algorithm each processor of the video signal processor may be assigned a different block of image data to transform. Because each processor of a multiple-instruction multiple-data system executes its own instruction stream, it is often difficult to determine when individual processors have completed their assigned tasks. Therefore, a software synchronization barrier may be used to prevent any processors from proceeding until all processors in the system reach the same point. However it is sometimes difficult to determine where synchronization barriers are required. If a necessary barrier is omitted by a user then the resulting code may be nondeterministic and re-execution of the code on the same data may yield different results.
An alternate architecture known in the prior art is single-instruction multiple-data architecture. Single-instruction, multiple-data is a restricted style of parallel processing lying somewhere between traditional sequential execution and multiple-instruction multiple-data architecture having interconnected collections of independent processors. In the single-instruction, multiple-data model each of the processing elements, or datapaths, of an array of processing elements or datapaths executes the same instruction in lock-step synchronism. Parallelism is obtained by having each datapath perform the same operation on a different set of data. In contrast to the multiple-instruction, multiple-data architecture, only one program must be developed and executed.
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown prior art single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100. A conventional single-instruction multiple-data system, such as architecture 100, comprises a controller 112, a global memory 126 and execution datapaths 118a-n. A respective local memory 120a-n may be provided within each execution datapath 118a-n. Single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 performs as a family of video signal processors 118a-n united by a single programming model.
Single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 may be scaled to an arbitrary number n of execution datapaths 118a-n provided that all execution datapaths 118a-n synchronously execute the same instructions in parallel. In the optimum case, the throughput of single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 may theoretically be n times the throughput of a uniprocessor when the n execution datapaths 118a-n operate synchronously with each other. Thus, in the optimum case, the execution time of an application may be reduced in direct proportion to the number n of execution datapaths 118a-n provided within single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100. However, because of overhead in the use of execution datapaths 118a-n, this optimum is never reached.
Architecture such as single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 works best when executing an algorithm which repeats the same sequence of operations on several independent sets of highly parallel data. For example, for a typical image transform in the field of video image processing, there are no data dependencies among the various block transforms. Each block transform may be computed independently of the others.
Thus the same Sequence of instructions from instruction memory 124 may be executed in each execution datapath 118a-n. These same instructions are applied to all execution datapaths 118a-n by way of instruction broadcast line 116 and execution may be independent of the data processed in each execution datapath 118a-n. However, this is true only when there are no data-dependent branches in the sequence of instructions. When data-dependent branches occur, the data tested by the branch will, in general, have different values in each datapath. It will therefore be necessary for some datapaths 118a-n to execute the subsequent instruction and other datapaths 118a-n to not execute the subsequent instruction. For example, the program fragment of Table I clips a value v between a lower limit and an upper limit:
TABLE I ______________________________________ local v; . . . v = expression if (v > UPPER.sub.-- LIMIT) v = UPPER.sub.-- LIMIT; if (v < LOWER.sub.-- LIMIT) v = LOWER.sub.-- LIMIT; ______________________________________
The value being clipped, v, is local to each execution datapath 118a-n. Thus, in general, each execution datapath 118a-n of single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 executing the program fragment of Table I may have a different value for v. In some execution datapaths 118a-n the value of v may exceed the upper limit, and in others v may be below the lower limit. Other execution datapaths 118a-n may have values that are within range. However the execution model of single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 requires that a single identical instruction sequence be executed in all execution datapaths 118a-n.
Thus some execution datapaths 118a-n may be required to idle while other execution datapaths 118a-n perform the conditional sequence of Table I. Furthermore, even if no execution datapaths 118a-n of single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 are required to execute the conditional sequence of the program fragment of Table I, all execution datapaths 118a-n would be required to idle during the time of the conditional sequence. This results in further inefficiency in the use of execution datapaths 118a-n within architecture 100.
Another problem with systems such as prior art single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 is in the area of input/output processing. Even in conventional uniprocessor architecture a single block read instruction may take a long period of time to process because memory blocks may comprise a large amount of data in video image processing applications. However, this problem is compounded when there is a block transfer for each enabled execution datapath 118a-n of architecture 100 and datapaths 118a-n must compete for access to global memory 126. For example, arbitration overhead may be very time consuming.
The alternative of providing each execution datapath 118a-n with independent access to external memory 126 is impractical for semiconductor implementation. Furthermore, this alternative restricts the programing model so that data is not shared between datapaths 118a-n. Thus further inefficiency results due to the suspension of processing of instructions until all the block reads are completed. This may be seen in the discrete cosine transform image kernel of Table II:
TABLE II ______________________________________ for (i = 0; i < NUMBEROFBLOCKS; i = i + 4) { k = i + THIS.sub.-- DP.sub.-- NUMBER; read.sub.-- block(original.sub.-- image[k],temp.sub.-- block); DCT.sub.-- block(temp.sub.-- block); write.sub.-- block(xform.sub.-- image[k], temp.sub.-- block); }; ______________________________________
The read block and write block routines of the instruction sequence of Table II must be suspensive. Each must be completed before the next operation in the kernel is performed. For example, read.sub.-- block fills temp.sub.-- block in local memory 120a-n with all of its local values. These local values are then used by DCT.sub.-- block to perform a discrete cosine transform upon the data in temp.sub.-- block. Execution of the discrete cosine transform must wait for all of the reads of the read block command of all execution datapaths 118a-n to be completed. Only then can the DCT.sub.-- block and write.sub.-- block occur. Thus, by the ordering rules above, read.sub.-- block must be completed before the write.sub.-- block is processed, or the DCT block is executed.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown processing/memory time line 200. The requirements imposed by the ordering rules within single-instruction multiple data architecture 100 result in the sequentialization of memory transactions and processing as schematically illustrated by processing/memory time line 200. In time line 200, memory read.sub.-- block time segment 202 of execution datapath 118a-n must be completed before processing of DCT.sub.-- block time segment 204 may begin. Processing DCT.sub.-- block time segment 204 must be completed before memory write.sub.-- block time segment 206 may begin. Only when memory write.sub.-- block time segment 206 of a execution datapath 118a-n is complete, can memory read.sub.-- block time segment 208 of a execution datapath 118a-n begin. Execution and access by second execution datapath 118a-n is sequentialized as described for the first.
This problem occurs in high performance disk input/output as well. In a typical disk input/output operation an application may require a transfer from disk while continuing to process. When the data from disk are actually needed, the application may synchronize on the completion of the transfer. Often, such an application is designed to be a multibuffered program. In this type of multibuffered program, data from one buffer is processed while the other buffer is being filled or emptied by a concurrent disk transfer. In a well designed system the input/output time is completely hidden. If not, the execution core of single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100 is wait-stated until the data becomes available. This causes further degrading of the performance of the single-instruction multiple-data architecture 100. |
When silicon is subjected to directional solidification in moulds e.g. graphite moulds, the moulds would have to be coated in order to avoid contamination of the silicon ingot from contact with the mould material. It is also important that the silicon ingot is easily removed from the mould after solidification without damaging or even destroying the mould. The moulds are therefore coated, generally with silicon nitride particles, which may be sprayed, painted or otherwise applied, in the form of a slurry, on to the inner surface of the moulds.
In the case of graphite moulds, it has been observed that they often break during solidification of the silicon ingot due to the fact that silicon is a material which expands on solidification from liquid. If a mould breaks during solidification, it cannot be reused. Furthermore, and more importantly, there may be leakage of liquid silicon during the solidification process which may destroy the furnace in which the mould is located during the process. For economical reasons it is very important that graphite moulds (and moulds made from other materials) can be reused many times.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,869 describes a mould treatment in which the mould is first coated with a Si3N4 powder and then an alkaline earth metal halide melt film is additionally formed between the silicon nitride powder coating and the silicon melt. This procedure is, however, costly, and contaminates the silicon melt in an undesirable way with alkaline earth metal and, possibly, with other impurities from the alkaline earth metal halide mixture used.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,425 describes a process in which a mould is coated with Si3N4 powder having a particular particle aspect ratio and oxygen content. It may be applied as an aqueous dispersion. However, the performance is not entirely satisfactory in that the coating is sometimes porous and allows infiltration of liquid metal in the coating.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a coating system for a mould which more reliably prevents damage to the mould material while at the same time enabling release of a silicon ingot from the mould without damage to the mould. |
//
// Generated by class-dump 3.5 (64 bit) (Debug version compiled Oct 15 2018 10:31:50).
//
// class-dump is Copyright (C) 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2015 by Steve Nygard.
//
#import <objc/NSObject.h>
#import <QuickLookThumbnailing/NSSecureCoding-Protocol.h>
@class NSString, NSURL;
@interface QLURLHandler : NSObject <NSSecureCoding>
{
const char *_sandboxType;
BOOL _isAccessingSecurityScope;
BOOL _needsAccessToExternalResources;
NSString *_fileExtensionToken;
long long _fileExtensionHandle;
NSString *_physicalFileExtensionToken;
long long _physicalFileExtensionHandle;
NSString *_externalResourcesToken;
long long _externalResourcesHandle;
NSURL *_fileURL;
}
+ (BOOL)supportsSecureCoding;
- (void).cxx_destruct;
@property(nonatomic) BOOL needsAccessToExternalResources; // @synthesize needsAccessToExternalResources=_needsAccessToExternalResources;
@property(nonatomic) long long externalResourcesHandle; // @synthesize externalResourcesHandle=_externalResourcesHandle;
@property(copy, nonatomic) NSString *externalResourcesToken; // @synthesize externalResourcesToken=_externalResourcesToken;
@property(retain) NSURL *fileURL; // @synthesize fileURL=_fileURL;
@property(retain, nonatomic) NSString *physicalFileExtensionToken; // @synthesize physicalFileExtensionToken=_physicalFileExtensionToken;
@property(retain, nonatomic) NSString *fileExtensionToken; // @synthesize fileExtensionToken=_fileExtensionToken;
@property(nonatomic) long long physicalFileExtensionHandle; // @synthesize physicalFileExtensionHandle=_physicalFileExtensionHandle;
@property(nonatomic) long long fileExtensionHandle; // @synthesize fileExtensionHandle=_fileExtensionHandle;
- (char *)sandboxExtensionIssueFileWithClass:(const char *)arg1 path:(const char *)arg2 flags:(unsigned int)arg3;
- (long long)sandboxExtensionConsume:(const char *)arg1;
- (void)sandboxExtensionRelease:(long long)arg1;
- (id)initWithCoder:(id)arg1;
- (void)encodeWithCoder:(id)arg1;
- (id)_issueFileExtensionForURL:(id)arg1;
- (void)_consumeFileExtension;
- (void)_issueExternalResourcesExtensionForURL:(id)arg1;
- (void)_issueFileExtension;
- (void)dealloc;
- (id)initWithURL:(id)arg1 sandboxType:(const char *)arg2;
@end
|
Jessica Simpson Style in Curve Hugging Fashion and High Heels
Menu
Jessica Simpson in a Tight Dress
This is actually a Jessica Simpson look I’m not too fond off. I like Jessica with long hair. When it’s pulled so tight in a bun it makes her eyebrows appear yanked back, it just doesn’t do it for me. And it’s just not the same if she is not showing off her world famous cleavage. I mean, you can be classy while still showing a little more skin. She’s jsut not doing it. Even so, this is about the worst I’ve seen of her dressed up. The least sexy, and it’s really very sexy. The dress is tight and her body rocks as always. I like the leg show and the high heels. I just don’t like the lack of cleavage and her hair pulled up tight on her skull. |
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<div class="contents">
Here is a list of all class members with links to the classes they belong to:
<h3><a class="anchor" id="index_d">- d -</a></h3><ul>
<li>db
: <a class="el" href="class_c_data_browser.html#a8a5cdff022220ac36a8d27ff478fc61e">CDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbCellSetupTextEdit()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#aff8ea41185c23d12fb66ed4de370ead7">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbCellTextChanged()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a06f7e3c06addcfa42181973b43357405">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbDrawCell()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a4a1c099e3340023860a48b6f5489a8bb">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbDrawHeader()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#ab28209ae0e93fc06910bfc315f2d8007">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetColumnDescription()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a36171826b2ef287a2f938b3ac9bb10db">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetCurrentColumnWidth()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#ab4b8086da4661769cc60fe60b74056bd">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetLineWidthAndColor()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a7b36a55bd733ed49b370c6d6e2057111">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetNumColumns()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#ad1885bf0d660b619c28685398c70a13c">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetNumRows()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a9684f7c5c40b175b87647400207085f0">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbGetRowHeight()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a302018b7876e6b43d7dc7602e78e3574">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbHeader
: <a class="el" href="class_c_data_browser.html#a213ee41ce50f14333d1b98124ec311bf">CDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbHeaderContainer
: <a class="el" href="class_c_data_browser.html#a732012fbd3d9af28bec76216b9859b2e">CDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbOnMouseDown()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#afd8261180afc699988e60727207f5fee">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbOnMouseMoved()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#aaa2bf203cc2b33cb68304d1e596f75f8">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbOnMouseUp()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#abc1c75f3cf140994c029a9a3f98a86a0">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbSelectionChanged()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a0b8554afada5a0eab8d74eefb8935436">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbSetCurrentColumnWidth()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_data_browser.html#a6ef164d92799ea084e7d61d624a90a87">IDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>dbView
: <a class="el" href="class_c_data_browser.html#a5e160fdb8c6f87db81e1003fd4eb04df">CDataBrowser</a>
</li>
<li>decreaseValue
: <a class="el" href="class_c_vu_meter.html#ad7dafe0d1940bb341a1aad126c19f220">CVuMeter</a>
</li>
<li>defaultExtension
: <a class="el" href="class_c_new_file_selector.html#a6f750abac72de2440233e94a15f4b7cb">CNewFileSelector</a>
</li>
<li>defaultSaveName
: <a class="el" href="class_c_new_file_selector.html#a0d756d47a53a08a1c3a6cacf150e0ac9">CNewFileSelector</a>
</li>
<li>defaultValue
: <a class="el" href="class_c_control.html#ae9a50054b4ccbe11fda7b55f5b53caf6">CControl</a>
</li>
<li>delay
: <a class="el" href="class_c_tooltip_support.html#a6f1be1f780ff54ec75b41451cd4d90bd">CTooltipSupport</a>
</li>
<li>delta
: <a class="el" href="class_c_control.html#ac120806c324da9fb3fb1cdf4c2aee44d">CControl</a>
</li>
<li>description
: <a class="el" href="class_c_file_extension.html#a8444d6e0dfe2bbab0b5e7b24308f1559">CFileExtension</a>
</li>
<li>direction
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#a945bc7708563ad05b79829e5eb16c2a3">CScrollbar</a>
</li>
<li>disableTextColor
: <a class="el" href="class_c_option_menu_scheme.html#a31f3b7b185922d3bafb6639e4825643b">COptionMenuScheme</a>
</li>
<li>dispose
: <a class="el" href="class_c_bitmap.html#a7750a9c863b9c91f4c81b28a175c240b">CBitmap</a>
</li>
<li>doIdleStuff()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_frame.html#a1730dc80596102088370374a9f0abce6">CFrame</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_control.html#a07c23c5dd0cd1093dbd073aa1290b028">CControl</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_v_s_t_g_u_i_editor_interface.html#a07c23c5dd0cd1093dbd073aa1290b028">VSTGUIEditorInterface</a>
</li>
<li>doStepping()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#ab6bb41ccb6ded84439a3bee1349f21da">CScrollbar</a>
</li>
<li>dosType
: <a class="el" href="struct_vst_file_type.html#ae99fe261159ce11af324629d5aa1ee60">VstFileType</a>
</li>
<li>draw()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CScrollbar</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_special_digit.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CSpecialDigit</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_control.html#a3579ab12b3044858cdb63daa2410f0b2">CControl</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_on_off_button.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">COnOffButton</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_param_display.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CParamDisplay</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_movie_bitmap.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CMovieBitmap</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_text_label.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CTextLabel</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_text_edit.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CTextEdit</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_option_menu.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">COptionMenu</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_knob.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CKnob</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_anim_knob.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CAnimKnob</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_vertical_switch.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CVerticalSwitch</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_horizontal_switch.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CHorizontalSwitch</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_rocker_switch.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CRockerSwitch</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_bitmap.html#a52f31439f95350abef660288313baefa">CBitmap</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_movie_button.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CMovieButton</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_auto_animation.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CAutoAnimation</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_slider.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CSlider</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_kick_button.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CKickButton</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_splash_screen.html#a4d1b0aba91a42c8790d16724fd1cf08e">CSplashScreen</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_vu_meter.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CVuMeter</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_view.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CView</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_view_container.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CViewContainer</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_frame.html#a83ee48340580dff7f1796dbebe7b0a0f">CFrame</a>
</li>
<li>drawAlphaBlend()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_bitmap.html#aeb6566e78da534c5793779fd2efe9ec8">CBitmap</a>
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<li>drawArc()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a922eaf49d8159d1a43206b6fea0c62b9">CDrawContext</a>
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<li>drawBackground()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#ad9720bcb4fcd3abb228961f604bf35b3">CScrollbar</a>
</li>
<li>drawBackgroundRect()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_view_container.html#a2a092c8a792249f8dd66755d5f4d33fc">CViewContainer</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_scroll_view.html#a2a092c8a792249f8dd66755d5f4d33fc">CScrollView</a>
</li>
<li>drawBackToFront()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_view_container.html#a35b08aac2a332c1bfa0532178867bb0e">CViewContainer</a>
</li>
<li>drawEllipse()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a98f2d7319fd27d52b6d83177c13271a5">CDrawContext</a>
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<li>drawer
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#aad21a7d3ac3ca4e0201726d752618b49">CScrollbar</a>
</li>
<li>drawHandle()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_knob.html#a8553dad65359a30fed274fc45f109013">CKnob</a>
</li>
<li>drawItem()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_option_menu_scheme.html#a086a9bade806c55f4c4d6868232f3388">COptionMenuScheme</a>
</li>
<li>drawItemBack()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_option_menu_scheme.html#ab2214ac8cf75d5b3985c740012fcfef5">COptionMenuScheme</a>
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<li>drawLines()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#aa3c970391a1845e92ecc3ea50ca43a9f">CDrawContext</a>
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<li>drawMode
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a0a069fef4550a5dfcd19cefa8957bcf5">CDrawContext</a>
</li>
<li>drawPoint()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a367566eb99b14a4891a34d3aba35bda9">CDrawContext</a>
</li>
<li>drawPolygon()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a62745f48cd06704d3cec109b71f9dc0e">CDrawContext</a>
</li>
<li>drawRect()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_frame.html#a530199c9ce307c3c7aa37e8f7acd75fb">CFrame</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_view_container.html#a530199c9ce307c3c7aa37e8f7acd75fb">CViewContainer</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_view.html#a99dd83697de62a7f21167d886a94414f">CView</a>
, <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a5fce88ca76abb46976598f37b98e1f17">CDrawContext</a>
</li>
<li>drawScrollbarBackground()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_scrollbar_drawer.html#a948ca4bfe1672839071751e0a2b1a763">IScrollbarDrawer</a>
</li>
<li>drawScrollbarScroller()
: <a class="el" href="class_i_scrollbar_drawer.html#ada8cce4e01199ec802c19a3469f67842">IScrollbarDrawer</a>
</li>
<li>drawScroller()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_scrollbar.html#a14deb57c11ddd9926be3d98036b5703c">CScrollbar</a>
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<li>drawString()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#a79e421872d09eb328d65fd3b22fa0bff">CDrawContext</a>
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<li>drawStringUTF8()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_draw_context.html#aae2d502a44b481de6097084e4aee0b2a">CDrawContext</a>
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<li>drawText()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_param_display.html#a301fc787330b575caeca6264841ae7e1">CParamDisplay</a>
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<li>drawTransparent()
: <a class="el" href="class_c_bitmap.html#a2c2a7a8897390beea0ee880678b3771a">CBitmap</a>
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Grinning Cat Christmas Ornament
Personalized Christmas Ornament
NOTE: This is not a toy. It is not suitable for children to play with.
Share This Item!
Black cats are a common symbol of Halloween because they are associated with witches and spirits. If a black cat crosses your path it is bad luck but if it walks towards you it is good luck. Good or bad luck is hard to guess with this smiling cat! You just know there is something sinister going on behind these bright green eyes and toothy grin and that this black kitty is just looking for some trouble with some fellow alley cats. An adorable addition to your Halloween tree, this cat is waiting for moonlight before going on the prowl for a fat rat or squeaky mouse dinner.
Customer Reviews
There are no reviews for this product yet. Please share your thoughts on this product!
Be the first to review this product
Ornaments shown on our site are personalized, as examples only, so you can see where we put the
words/names you give us. Some ornaments allow you to select hair or uniform color. If there is no
color choice, it is not available on that particular ornament.
We will do everything possible to catch any mistakes in spelling, etc., but are not responsible if we do
as you request, and it is not correct.
The ornament you see above is the way it will look when you get it, except for the personalizing
instructions you give us and any optional attributes you select.
I am committed to delivering our customers the greatest selection of unique, personalized Christmas ornaments and gifts on the internet!
We have over 5000 Christmas ornaments to choose from, each personalized with a name or special greeting from you!
12/15/2015 - "Contacted company by Facebook Messenger and received prompt reply, and also a personal phone call! Very impressed. Gina K."
8/7/2016 - "I'm very impressed with their customer service. I had a question about a particular Christmas ornament that didn't appear to be available in the hair color I needed. I e-mailed the company and got a telephone call almost immediately! The lady on the phone (I'm embarrassed to say, I can't recall her name) was not only extremely courteous and helpful, she solved the problem for me. She also made sure my entire order was sent out in a very timely fashion.
Also, like always, the items were packed perfectly. I have ordered from this company for years and never received a damaged (or wrong) item! Hanna H."
10/25/2016 - "Over the years, I have bought several personalized ornaments from Ornament Shop. I've loved every one! They have all come quickly, they're beautiful, and the personalizing is perfect. With this particular ornament, the baby's name was spelled wrong. I checked my invoice (it was correct), and contacted Dianne by email. She immediately emailed back, and within a week, I had a beautiful, properly personalized ornament. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! One little mistake, addressed and made right, and I will definitely buy from Ornament Shop again! Lisa"
7/29/2016 - "Each year I buy a special holiday ornament for each of my grandchildren . This is the third year I've used Ornament Shop for this purpose because of their extensive selection of African American pieces and the option to personalize each piece. I am always pleased with the quality of the ornaments. Marsha H."
9/21/2016 - "I love every ornament I buy from here, the selection is the best. Elizabeth D."
10/4/2016 - "very lovely and easy site to browse thank you very lovely and easy site to browse thank you. Justin B."
7/5/2016 - "I just want to say I am very satisfied with the quality and accuracy of the ornaments. I particularly like the increasing selection so that each year I can choose something appropriate for each grandchild in that particular year. I would definitely recommend your site. Marsha R."
12/21/2015 - "This is the second year I have ordered from Ornament Shop for holiday gifts. I love their selection, and the ornaments are high quality. Once again, I am very pleased with the pieces I received. Thank you! Stephanie P."
12/20/2015 - "I just opened my box of ornaments. I can honestly say they are the nicest I've EVER ordered from any company! Professionally lettered, the colors and the quality far surpass the ornaments I've ordered for my family in the past from other companies. You will definitely be my company of choice in the future! Can't wait to see everyone's faces when they open the boxes!
Thank you again,
Karen B." |
3H-imipramine binding in platelets: influence of varying proportions of intact platelets in membrane preparations on binding.
Human platelets possess high-affinity 3H-imipramine binding sites. A study in ten healthy volunteers showed that platelet preparations produced by mechanical disruption contained varying proportions of intact platelets, as measured by the cytoplasmic marker enzyme LDH. This may invalidate the protein reference. Higher proportions of membranes in the preparations lead to higher Bmax values of imipramine binding (fmol/mg protein). The use of intact platelets in imipramine binding studies is therefore preferable to membrane preparations, particularly in studies where the interindividual variation of binding parameters is of interest. |
Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
To request course information, please complete this form.
Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
Get info about Bronx CC accelerated programs, registering for required degree courses, and taking tests for free online. Which college degrees give you the best chances of finding employment after graduation? Given technical training program qualifications, you may find your niche in the medical, IT, graphic design, or business fields. Job training is the first step towards earning a promotion and career advancement. As the Bronx CC admissions office receives many applications, your goal is to stand out in a good way. Application deadlines may vary for incoming students, so request an accelerated programs application from the admissions office. Also, you may arrange advanced placement (AP) tests and obtain an updated list of accelerated program requirements from the registrar's office. Depending on your SAT or ACT scores, and cumulative GPA, you should consider submitting an application at several schools as back-up choices. Please use the form above to request accelerated programs admissions info for Bronx CC.
Just be yourself, and work on improving your grades during your final years in high school. The most popular college major is business administration, split evenly between men and women. On the other hand, men make up the majority of computer science and engineering majors. For women, the fields of education, English and liberal arts dominate the list. If you choose, online education gives you the opportunity to take difficult courses. Distance education may supplant high-priced textbooks, as many books are now published digitally on Kindle or Google Books.
Online Courses - MOOCs
College degree majors that offer high starting-salaries after graduation include the sciences, business administration, and engineering. If you remain true to your career interests, via Pellissippi State Community College fashion merchandising, your overall job earnings will increase as you gain experience. However, if your focus is more on salary alone, there's a higher risk that you'll suffer early signs of burnout, and be forced to change careers later on.
Technical programs are a low-cost alternative to attending a regular four-year university, and you can earn good money as a highly-skilled, technical specialist. By taking some of your required degree courses online, you may be able to graduate a semester early, thus saving money on tuition. If you're currently employed, you can take online courses in your free time to advance your career. Massive Open Online Courses are known as MOOCs, utilizing interactive platforms such as Blackboard, and mobile apps. Udemy is a startup with backing from the founders of Groupon. Similarly, Khan Academy now offers free lecture videos served through YouTube. Then there's Modesto College organic chemistry classes, with enrolled students from around the world. Finally, MIT announced that their open courseware platform (OCW) will be available at no cost for class registration.
Online Tests - Free Practice!
This section offers practice tests in several engineering subject areas. Each of the following multiple-choice tests
has 10 questions to work on. No sign-up required, just straight to the test.
Admissions Process
Most colleges accept either the SAT or ACT, and have formulas for converting raw test scores. Colleges use these standardized tests because there are substantial differences in curricula, average GPA, and grade curve difficulty among US high schools. The SAT test is more focused on testing reasoning ability while the ACT is a content-based test of achievement. On average, over half of students retaking the SAT saw improvements in their scores. Further, Advanced Placement exams are offered in a variety of physical sciences, offering you AP test credit for honors-level classes that you have taken while still in high school. Test yourself with practice exams online, before visiting the College Board website to register to take your actual AP Tests.
The overall time-span for higher education is lengthening, because attending college as an undergraduate is increasingly likely to lead to graduate school. High school grades are the most important factor in gaining admission to the college of your choice, along with letters of recommendation. According to
UT Pan American online geography degree, an ideal academic record consists of a high GPA in courses of progressive difficulty. About half of colleges use placement tests and a waiting list, and many community colleges have agreements with bachelor programs at four-year universities, so that the transfer of credits is ensured.
Financial Aid Information
Government scholarships and Pell grant applications, combined with academic scholarships, only account for a third of total college aid. Student loans, work-study earnings, and personal savings make up the remaining two-thirds. It costs nothing to use the financial aid calculator online, and see if you qualify for need-based financial aid or a fee waiver. In fact, millions of students that would have qualified for some financial aid were late in submitting required grant application forms. The official FAFSA website is www.fafsa.ed.gov and is free to use. Many parents make mistakes when filling out the FAFSA information, including leaving some fields blank, spelling names wrong, and not entering social security numbers completely.
According to the US Department of Education, nearly 45 million Americans incurred student debt during their college career. Most private loan programs are tied to one or more financial indexes, such as the BBA LIBOR Rate, plus an overhead charge. Financial aid may be administered through Coastal Bend College financial aid application 2014. Alternatively, student credit cards may seem like a good short-term solution, but the interest rates are high, and credit cards often carry an annual fee. FastWeb.com is one of the leading scholarship services online. Local chapters of professional societies may offer academic scholarships to enable the studies of gifted students in their region or state.
Other colleges near Bronx, New York:
Take a few moments to browse other colleges and universities near Bronx. It's a good idea to compare
all schools in your target area, such as Mid-Continent University assistantships, as well as consider taking some of your classes online. Financial aid deadlines are typically set well in advance of regular admission dates, so be sure to apply early. You may request free information from several different schools below, without making a commitment.
Business & Medical Jobs
As the economy improves, many firms are beginning to hire more personnel. Whether you have experience in legal services, or are a new graduate, this is the right time to advance your career. Taking
Samuel Merritt University French department ranking, on the other hand, may strengthen your resume in order to appeal to a wider variety of employers.
Hiring managers typically post new jobs on targeted job sites, which we have sampled. University of Guelph accounting programs information may be available through the human resources department. Aside from a good salary, many paralegal jobs include excellent benefits, as well as retirement plans. Browse current job openings below.
Bronx CC accelerated programs
Apply to several colleges and universities simultaneously, and if you have the grades and test scores, give
yourself a fighting chance to get into Purdue University Calumet environmental science by doing something outstanding in high school or
community college. It isn't as hard as you might think to get an article written in your local newspaper.
An advanced degree will stick with you for a long time, so apply yourself and work hard for a few years,
graduating from the best school that you can get into.
Bronx CC has a reputation for academics, allowing you to pursue the degree program that's right for you. Additionally, career placement services can help you to structure your job search after graduation. If you'd like to request course information, please use the inquiry form at the top of this page. |
The present invention relates generally to the use of computer programs to aid in the teaching of students and to test their abilities. More particularly, the invention is directed to a system which provides the student with the basic foundation in complex subject matters and enables them to gain a proficiency in subjects such as grammar and the like.
Many types of educational software are available on the market. One of the initial and current uses for software in the educational industry is for computerized evaluation of standardized tests taken by school children using paper forms. During the test, children record their answers on a form which is collected and sent to the central agency. The answers are scanned into a computer and graded by the computer. A standard report is then generated and distributed to each student. These reports measure a student""s comparative performance against others in a defined geographic region. One such test of this type is known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These tests provide instructors, parents, and students with an evaluative, reliable comparison as to how a student is performing versus his/her peers. However, these tests do not teach a student; they merely test the current knowledge of a student.
Another type of educational software runs on a network mainframe and terminal system for large scale simultaneous testing of groups of students at fixed locations. The software retains scores in a local database which allows an instructor to ensure that all students have achieved a certain minimum level of expertise in the subject. If an instructor determines that particular students require more help to obtain a level of competence, the instructor may tutor the students to bring them up to an acceptable level of competence in the subject. Therefore, this type of testing can be used as a tool by the instructor to ensure that all students have reached a particular level of competence before moving on to the next area of study. However, the software does not provide the instructor the means to increase the competence of the students; it merely identifies that a problem exists.
Other educational software exists for home use. Many educational programs are designed to be entertaining, with built-in tests being played as games. Games such as Where in the World is Carmen San Diego present students/players with a series of increasingly difficult tests of puzzles, wherein players must correctly solve the present round before they are allowed to continue to the next round of play. This type of software is reasonably well suited to informal isolated learning, but it lacks the comprehensive data collection features needed for formal test administration.
In light of the prior art, it would be beneficial to provide a computerized learning method which not only tests the skills of individuals and rates them accordingly, but also provides the means to teach the individual and increase his/her proficiency in a subject. This is particularly true in the area of grammar.
Various educational programs are known to teach students the fundamentals of grammar. However, while these programs may be effective, it is difficult to adapt these programs for use with the computer. One such program is entitled Business English Essentials: Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage Review. In this program, a reference manual and an accompanying workbook are utilized. A student must first study a series of xe2x80x9cPoints to Rememberxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cRules to Followxe2x80x9d pertaining to English grammar, usage, or mechanics found in the reference manual and then he/she must complete the appropriate exercises in the workbook. All exercises are completed by utilizing paper and pencil. Consequently, the student is not provided with automatic feedback. The ultimate learning objective of these exercises is for the student to learn to identify how each word and each group of words functions in all types of sentences reviewed. Each exercise consists of 25 sentences. Using a defined coding system, the student learns how each word and each group of words functions in a sentence. As the student progresses through the lessons, each new lesson introduces new functions for words or groups of words. This progression continues until all of the functions of words and groups of words found in a sentence are learned. While this conventional method of learning has proven beneficial, it does not guarantee that the student will have mastered all of the word-function concepts for words and groups of words. A student may progress in his/her lessons without realizing that a problem in his/her understanding of a particular concept exists. Problems may not be detected until the student completes a review exercise graded by the instructor. As these review exercises are not performed after each lesson and as it is difficult to analyze a student""s answers, the feedback from these review exercises is less than ideal. If a student has performed poorly, there is no simple method to determine which concepts a student does not clearly understand or how best to tutor the student. This can be frustrating to the student, as no focused instruction can be provided due to the inability not to be able to properly analyze data.
This type of problem is particularly evident in the teaching of English grammar as well as other subjects that do not lend themselves to being adaptive for use with computers, since computers are numerically based. Consequently, it would be beneficial if a system could be developed to allow these types of subjects to be made adaptive for use with computers and computer programs.
The invention is directed to a computer program for educational testing. The program is comprised of one or more lessons to test a student""s skills relative to a particular subject. In order to accomplish this, a database is provided in which non-numeric information is stored. The information is coded using numeric coding, such that the numeric coding is configured to allow a computer to search the non-numeric information. A guide for identifying the appropriate numeric code for each respective lesson is provided whereby as a student progresses through the lessons, the computer searches the database to provide the appropriate information to the student based upon the numeric code of the information and the guide for the respective lesson.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of coding answers to a test given with the use of a computer program. Answers given by a student are compared to the correct answers located in a computer database. The program visually indicates correct answers in a first color and incorrect answers in a second color, whereby the color coding of the answers provides an easily detectable and effective means for the student and an instructor to recognize any problems the user may be having in determining the correct answers.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of coding sentences for use in an educational computer program to teach grammar. In this method, a numeric code is created for each word function that can be used in a sentence. A respective sentence is reviewed to determine how each word functions in the structure of the sentence. Once reviewed, an appropriate numeric code is assigned to each respective word function used in the sentence, with the numeric code being entered into a database. The numeric code can be read and searched by the computer to allow the computer to recall appropriate sentences for each lesson in the education computer program.
The invention is also directed to a method of teaching grammar using a computer program. Appropriate sentences are generated for each lesson from a database of sentences. A student is asked to identify the word function of respective words provided in a respective sentence. The student""s answers are compared to the correct answers located in the computer database. The computer indicates correct answers in a first manner and incorrect answers in a second manner, thereby allowing the student to review the results and modify the incorrect answers. The modified answers will be compared to the correct answers and the correct modified answers will be indicated in a third manner. |
Exercise
When the null is true: decision
In the last exercise, you will have noticed that your observed difference in proportions is comfortably in the middle of the null distribution. In this exercise, you'll come to a formal decision on if you should reject the null hypothesis, but instead of using p-values, you'll use the notion of a rejection region.
The rejection region is the range of values of the statistic that would lead you to reject the null hypothesis. In a two-tailed test, there are two rejection regions. You know that the upper region should contain the largest 2.5% of the null statistics (when alpha = .05), so you can extract the cutoff value by finding the .975 quantile(). Similarly, the lower region contains the smallest 2.5% of the null statistics, which can also be found using quantile(). Here's a quick look at how the quantile() function works for this simple data set x.
Once you have the rejection region defined by the upper and lower cutoffs, you can make your decision regarding the null by checking if your observed statistic fell either between those cutoffs (in which case you will fail to reject) or outside of them (in which case you will reject).
Instructions
100 XP
Create an object called alpha that takes the value .05.
Find the upper cutoff by starting with the null data frame, which has been carried over from the last exercise, and summarizing the stat column by finding the 1 - alpha/2 quantile(). Save this value as upper. Next, find the alpha/2 quantile() and save it to lower.
Visualize the reject and fail to reject regions by starting with your null distribution from last time and adding one vertical blue line for each cutoff.
Check if your observed value of d_hat is between() the lower and upper cutoffs to find whether you should fail to reject the null hypothesis. |
Q:
How to read sjis-encoded file in vim?
I have an html file which is shift-JIS encoded (Japanese), and I cannot read it under vim. Setting enc=cp932 or enc=sjis generates garbage. The file looks fine in emacs, so I guess this is vim specific. What can I do to read it as is (besides converting it to a sane encoding like utf-8).
A:
You should not ever want to change encoding option: it is for internal representation of strings and should be changed only if current encoding does not contain characters present in desired encoding. If you sometimes edit files with sjis encoding, then
Be sure, that fileencodings option contains sjis: put something like that into vimrc:
set fileencodings=ucs-bom,utf-8,sjis,default
If with this option vim still fails to recognize file encoding correctly, open your file with e ++enc=sjis /path/to/file. Or, if file is already opened, use e! ++enc=sjis (without filename).
|
import logging
import time
import os
import json
import numpy as np
import threading
from six.moves import queue
from universe import rewarder, spaces, vectorized, pyprofile
from universe.utils import random_alphanumeric
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
extra_logger = logging.getLogger('universe.extra.'+__name__)
class Recording(vectorized.Wrapper):
"""
Record all action/observation/reward/info to a log file.
It will do nothing, unless given a (recording_dir='/path/to/results') argument.
recording_policy can be one of:
'capped_cubic' will record a subset of episodes (those that are a perfect cube: 0, 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, 1000, and every multiple of 1000 thereafter).
'always' records all
'never' records none
recording_notes can be used to record hyperparameters in the log file
The format is line-separated json, with large observations stored separately in binary.
The universe-viewer project (http://github.com/openai/universe-viewer) provides a browser-based UI
for examining logs.
"""
def __init__(self, env, recording_dir=None, recording_policy=None, recording_notes=None):
super(Recording, self).__init__(env)
self._log_n = None
self._episode_ids = None
self._step_ids = None
self._episode_id_counter = 0
self._env_semantics_autoreset = env.metadata.get('semantics.autoreset', False)
self._env_semantics_async = env.metadata.get('semantics.async', False)
self._async_write = self._env_semantics_async
self._recording_dir = recording_dir
if self._recording_dir is not None:
if recording_policy == 'never' or recording_policy is False:
self._recording_policy = lambda episode_id: False
elif recording_policy == 'always' or recording_policy is True:
self._recording_policy = lambda episode_id: True
elif recording_policy == 'capped_cubic' or recording_policy is None:
self._recording_policy = lambda episode_id: (int(round(episode_id ** (1. / 3))) ** 3 == episode_id) if episode_id < 1000 else episode_id % 1000 < 2
else:
self._recording_policy = recording_policy
else:
self._recording_policy = lambda episode_id: False
logger.info('Running Recording wrapper with recording_dir=%s policy=%s. To change this, pass recording_dir="..." to env.configure.', self._recording_dir, recording_policy)
self._recording_notes = {
'env_id': env.spec.id,
'env_metadata': env.metadata,
'env_spec_tags': env.spec.tags,
'env_semantics_async': self._env_semantics_async,
'env_semantics_autoreset': self._env_semantics_autoreset,
}
if recording_notes is not None:
self._recording_notes.update(recording_notes)
if self._recording_dir is not None:
os.makedirs(self._recording_dir, exist_ok=True)
self._instance_id = random_alphanumeric(6)
def _get_episode_id(self):
ret = self._episode_id_counter
self._episode_id_counter += 1
return ret
def _get_writer(self, i):
"""
Returns a tuple of (log_fn, log_f, bin_fn, bin_f) to be written to by vectorized env channel i
Or all Nones if recording is inactive on that channel
"""
if self._recording_dir is None:
return None
if self._log_n is None:
self._log_n = [None] * self.n
if self._log_n[i] is None:
self._log_n[i] = RecordingWriter(self._recording_dir, self._instance_id, i, async_write=self._async_write)
return self._log_n[i]
def _reset(self):
if self._episode_ids is None:
self._episode_ids = [None] * self.n
if self._step_ids is None:
self._step_ids = [None] * self.n
for i in range(self.n):
writer = self._get_writer(i)
if writer is not None:
if self._recording_notes is not None:
writer(type='notes', notes=self._recording_notes)
self._recording_notes = None
writer(type='reset', timestamp=time.time())
self._episode_ids[i] = self._get_episode_id()
self._step_ids[i] = 0
return self.env.reset()
def _step(self, action_n):
observation_n, reward_n, done_n, info = self.env.step(action_n)
info_n = info["n"]
for i in range(self.n):
if self._recording_policy(self._episode_ids[i]):
writer = self._get_writer(i)
if writer is not None:
writer(type='step',
timestamp=time.time(),
episode_id=self._episode_ids[i],
step_id=self._step_ids[i],
action=action_n[i],
observation=observation_n[i],
reward=reward_n[i],
done=done_n[i],
info=info_n[i])
# Agents can later call info_n[i]['annotate'](...) to add more things to be visualized
info_n[i]['annotate'] = RecordingAnnotator(writer, self._episode_ids[i], self._step_ids[i])
self._step_ids[i] += 1
if done_n[i] and self._env_semantics_autoreset:
self._episode_ids[i] = self._get_episode_id()
self._step_ids[i] = 0
return observation_n, reward_n, done_n, info
def _close(self):
super(Recording, self)._close()
if self._log_n is not None:
for i in range(self.n):
if self._log_n[i] is not None:
self._log_n[i].close()
self._log_n[i] = None
class RecordingWriter(object):
"""
Safe to use from multiple threads, in case your agent action generator & learning are running in parallel.
"""
def __init__(self, recording_dir, instance_id, channel_id, async_write=True):
self.log_fn = 'universe.recording.{}.{}.{}.jsonl'.format(os.getpid(), instance_id, channel_id)
log_path = os.path.join(recording_dir, self.log_fn)
self.bin_fn = 'universe.recording.{}.{}.{}.bin'.format(os.getpid(), instance_id, channel_id)
bin_path = os.path.join(recording_dir, self.bin_fn)
extra_logger.info('Logging to %s and %s', log_path, self.bin_fn)
self.log_f = open(log_path, 'w')
self.bin_f = open(bin_path, 'wb')
# It would be better to measure memory use and block the writer when the queue is sitting on too much memory
self.q = queue.Queue(1000)
self.t = threading.Thread(target=self.writer_main)
self.t.start()
def close(self):
self.q.put(None)
def close_files(self):
if self.bin_f is not None:
self.bin_f.close()
self.bin_f = None
if self.log_f is not None:
self.log_f.close()
self.log_f = None
def json_encode(self, obj):
if isinstance(obj, np.ndarray):
offset = self.bin_f.tell()
while offset%8 != 0:
self.bin_f.write(b'\x00')
offset += 1
obj.tofile(self.bin_f)
size = self.bin_f.tell() - offset
return {'__type': 'ndarray', 'shape': obj.shape, 'order': 'C', 'dtype': str(obj.dtype), 'npyfile': self.bin_fn, 'npyoff': offset, 'size': size}
elif isinstance(obj, np.float32):
return float(obj)
elif isinstance(obj, np.float64):
return float(obj)
elif isinstance(obj, np.int32):
return int(obj)
elif isinstance(obj, np.int64):
return int(obj)
elif isinstance(obj, RecordingAnnotator):
return 'RecordingAnnotator'
else:
return obj
def writer_main(self):
while True:
item = self.q.get()
if item is None: break
self.write_item(item)
self.q.task_done()
self.close_files()
def __call__(self, **kwargs):
pyprofile.gauge('recording.qsize', self.q.qsize())
self.q.put(kwargs)
def write_item(self, item):
with pyprofile.push('recording.write'):
l = json.dumps(item, skipkeys=True, default=self.json_encode)
self.log_f.write(l + '\n')
self.log_f.flush()
class RecordingAnnotator(object):
def __init__(self, writer, episode_id, step_id):
self.writer = writer
self.episode_id = episode_id
self.step_id = step_id
def __call__(self, **kwargs):
self.writer.__call__(type='annotate', episode_id=self.episode_id, step_id=self.step_id, **kwargs)
|
/*
* Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
#include "MultiApkGenerator.h"
#include <algorithm>
#include <regex>
#include <string>
#include "androidfw/ConfigDescription.h"
#include "androidfw/StringPiece.h"
#include "LoadedApk.h"
#include "ResourceUtils.h"
#include "ValueVisitor.h"
#include "configuration/ConfigurationParser.h"
#include "cmd/Util.h"
#include "filter/AbiFilter.h"
#include "filter/Filter.h"
#include "format/Archive.h"
#include "format/binary/XmlFlattener.h"
#include "optimize/VersionCollapser.h"
#include "process/IResourceTableConsumer.h"
#include "split/TableSplitter.h"
#include "util/Files.h"
#include "xml/XmlDom.h"
#include "xml/XmlUtil.h"
namespace aapt {
using ::aapt::configuration::AndroidSdk;
using ::aapt::configuration::OutputArtifact;
using ::aapt::xml::kSchemaAndroid;
using ::aapt::xml::XmlResource;
using ::android::ConfigDescription;
using ::android::StringPiece;
/**
* Context wrapper that allows the min Android SDK value to be overridden.
*/
class ContextWrapper : public IAaptContext {
public:
explicit ContextWrapper(IAaptContext* context)
: context_(context), min_sdk_(context_->GetMinSdkVersion()) {
}
PackageType GetPackageType() override {
return context_->GetPackageType();
}
SymbolTable* GetExternalSymbols() override {
return context_->GetExternalSymbols();
}
IDiagnostics* GetDiagnostics() override {
if (source_diag_) {
return source_diag_.get();
}
return context_->GetDiagnostics();
}
const std::string& GetCompilationPackage() override {
return context_->GetCompilationPackage();
}
uint8_t GetPackageId() override {
return context_->GetPackageId();
}
NameMangler* GetNameMangler() override {
return context_->GetNameMangler();
}
bool IsVerbose() override {
return context_->IsVerbose();
}
int GetMinSdkVersion() override {
return min_sdk_;
}
void SetMinSdkVersion(int min_sdk) {
min_sdk_ = min_sdk;
}
void SetSource(const std::string& source) {
source_diag_ =
util::make_unique<SourcePathDiagnostics>(Source{source}, context_->GetDiagnostics());
}
const std::set<std::string>& GetSplitNameDependencies() override {
return context_->GetSplitNameDependencies();
}
private:
IAaptContext* context_;
std::unique_ptr<SourcePathDiagnostics> source_diag_;
int min_sdk_ = -1;
};
class SignatureFilter : public IPathFilter {
bool Keep(const std::string& path) override {
static std::regex signature_regex(R"regex(^META-INF/.*\.(RSA|DSA|EC|SF)$)regex");
if (std::regex_search(path, signature_regex)) {
return false;
}
return !(path == "META-INF/MANIFEST.MF");
}
};
MultiApkGenerator::MultiApkGenerator(LoadedApk* apk, IAaptContext* context)
: apk_(apk), context_(context) {
}
bool MultiApkGenerator::FromBaseApk(const MultiApkGeneratorOptions& options) {
std::unordered_set<std::string> artifacts_to_keep = options.kept_artifacts;
std::unordered_set<std::string> filtered_artifacts;
std::unordered_set<std::string> kept_artifacts;
// For now, just write out the stripped APK since ABI splitting doesn't modify anything else.
for (const OutputArtifact& artifact : options.apk_artifacts) {
FilterChain filters;
ContextWrapper wrapped_context{context_};
wrapped_context.SetSource(artifact.name);
if (!options.kept_artifacts.empty()) {
const auto& it = artifacts_to_keep.find(artifact.name);
if (it == artifacts_to_keep.end()) {
filtered_artifacts.insert(artifact.name);
if (context_->IsVerbose()) {
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Note(DiagMessage(artifact.name) << "skipping artifact");
}
continue;
} else {
artifacts_to_keep.erase(it);
kept_artifacts.insert(artifact.name);
}
}
std::unique_ptr<ResourceTable> table =
FilterTable(context_, artifact, *apk_->GetResourceTable(), &filters);
if (!table) {
return false;
}
IDiagnostics* diag = wrapped_context.GetDiagnostics();
std::unique_ptr<XmlResource> manifest;
if (!UpdateManifest(artifact, &manifest, diag)) {
diag->Error(DiagMessage() << "could not update AndroidManifest.xml for output artifact");
return false;
}
std::string out = options.out_dir;
if (!file::mkdirs(out)) {
diag->Warn(DiagMessage() << "could not create out dir: " << out);
}
file::AppendPath(&out, artifact.name);
if (context_->IsVerbose()) {
diag->Note(DiagMessage() << "Generating split: " << out);
}
std::unique_ptr<IArchiveWriter> writer = CreateZipFileArchiveWriter(diag, out);
if (context_->IsVerbose()) {
diag->Note(DiagMessage() << "Writing output: " << out);
}
filters.AddFilter(util::make_unique<SignatureFilter>());
if (!apk_->WriteToArchive(&wrapped_context, table.get(), options.table_flattener_options,
&filters, writer.get(), manifest.get())) {
return false;
}
}
// Make sure all of the requested artifacts were valid. If there are any kept artifacts left,
// either the config or the command line was wrong.
if (!artifacts_to_keep.empty()) {
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(
DiagMessage() << "The configuration and command line to filter artifacts do not match");
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << kept_artifacts.size() << " kept:");
for (const auto& artifact : kept_artifacts) {
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << " " << artifact);
}
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << filtered_artifacts.size() << " filtered:");
for (const auto& artifact : filtered_artifacts) {
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << " " << artifact);
}
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << artifacts_to_keep.size() << " missing:");
for (const auto& artifact : artifacts_to_keep) {
context_->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << " " << artifact);
}
return false;
}
return true;
}
std::unique_ptr<ResourceTable> MultiApkGenerator::FilterTable(IAaptContext* context,
const OutputArtifact& artifact,
const ResourceTable& old_table,
FilterChain* filters) {
TableSplitterOptions splits;
AxisConfigFilter axis_filter;
ContextWrapper wrapped_context{context};
wrapped_context.SetSource(artifact.name);
if (!artifact.abis.empty()) {
filters->AddFilter(AbiFilter::FromAbiList(artifact.abis));
}
if (!artifact.screen_densities.empty()) {
for (const auto& density_config : artifact.screen_densities) {
splits.preferred_densities.push_back(density_config.density);
}
}
if (!artifact.locales.empty()) {
for (const auto& locale : artifact.locales) {
axis_filter.AddConfig(locale);
}
splits.config_filter = &axis_filter;
}
if (artifact.android_sdk) {
wrapped_context.SetMinSdkVersion(artifact.android_sdk.value().min_sdk_version);
}
std::unique_ptr<ResourceTable> table = old_table.Clone();
VersionCollapser collapser;
if (!collapser.Consume(&wrapped_context, table.get())) {
context->GetDiagnostics()->Error(DiagMessage() << "Failed to strip versioned resources");
return {};
}
TableSplitter splitter{{}, splits};
splitter.SplitTable(table.get());
return table;
}
bool MultiApkGenerator::UpdateManifest(const OutputArtifact& artifact,
std::unique_ptr<XmlResource>* updated_manifest,
IDiagnostics* diag) {
const xml::XmlResource* apk_manifest = apk_->GetManifest();
if (apk_manifest == nullptr) {
return false;
}
*updated_manifest = apk_manifest->Clone();
XmlResource* manifest = updated_manifest->get();
// Make sure the first element is <manifest> with package attribute.
xml::Element* manifest_el = manifest->root.get();
if (!manifest_el) {
return false;
}
if (!manifest_el->namespace_uri.empty() || manifest_el->name != "manifest") {
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "root tag must be <manifest>");
return false;
}
// Retrieve the versionCode attribute.
auto version_code = manifest_el->FindAttribute(kSchemaAndroid, "versionCode");
if (!version_code) {
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "manifest must have a versionCode attribute");
return false;
}
auto version_code_value = ValueCast<BinaryPrimitive>(version_code->compiled_value.get());
if (!version_code_value) {
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "versionCode is invalid");
return false;
}
// Retrieve the versionCodeMajor attribute.
auto version_code_major = manifest_el->FindAttribute(kSchemaAndroid, "versionCodeMajor");
BinaryPrimitive* version_code_major_value = nullptr;
if (version_code_major) {
version_code_major_value = ValueCast<BinaryPrimitive>(version_code_major->compiled_value.get());
if (!version_code_major_value) {
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "versionCodeMajor is invalid");
return false;
}
}
// Calculate and set the updated version code
uint64_t major = (version_code_major_value)
? ((uint64_t) version_code_major_value->value.data) << 32 : 0;
uint64_t new_version = (major | version_code_value->value.data) + artifact.version;
SetLongVersionCode(manifest_el, new_version);
// Check to see if the minSdkVersion needs to be updated.
if (artifact.android_sdk) {
// TODO(safarmer): Handle the rest of the Android SDK.
const AndroidSdk& android_sdk = artifact.android_sdk.value();
if (xml::Element* uses_sdk_el = manifest_el->FindChild({}, "uses-sdk")) {
if (xml::Attribute* min_sdk_attr =
uses_sdk_el->FindAttribute(xml::kSchemaAndroid, "minSdkVersion")) {
// Populate with a pre-compiles attribute to we don't need to relink etc.
const std::string& min_sdk_str = std::to_string(android_sdk.min_sdk_version);
min_sdk_attr->compiled_value = ResourceUtils::TryParseInt(min_sdk_str);
} else {
// There was no minSdkVersion. This is strange since at this point we should have been
// through the manifest fixer which sets the default minSdkVersion.
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "missing minSdkVersion from <uses-sdk>");
return false;
}
} else {
// No uses-sdk present. This is strange since at this point we should have been
// through the manifest fixer which should have added it.
diag->Error(DiagMessage(manifest->file.source) << "missing <uses-sdk> from <manifest>");
return false;
}
}
if (!artifact.screen_densities.empty()) {
xml::Element* screens_el = manifest_el->FindChild({}, "compatible-screens");
if (!screens_el) {
// create a new element.
std::unique_ptr<xml::Element> new_screens_el = util::make_unique<xml::Element>();
new_screens_el->name = "compatible-screens";
screens_el = new_screens_el.get();
manifest_el->AppendChild(std::move(new_screens_el));
} else {
// clear out the old element.
screens_el->GetChildElements().clear();
}
for (const auto& density : artifact.screen_densities) {
AddScreens(density, screens_el);
}
}
return true;
}
/**
* Adds a screen element with both screenSize and screenDensity set. Since we only know the density
* we add it for all screen sizes.
*
* This requires the resource IDs for the attributes from the framework library. Since these IDs are
* a part of the public API (and in public.xml) we hard code the values.
*
* The excert from the framework is as follows:
* <public type="attr" name="screenSize" id="0x010102ca" />
* <public type="attr" name="screenDensity" id="0x010102cb" />
*/
void MultiApkGenerator::AddScreens(const ConfigDescription& config, xml::Element* parent) {
// Hard coded integer representation of the supported screen sizes:
// small = 200
// normal = 300
// large = 400
// xlarge = 500
constexpr const uint32_t kScreenSizes[4] = {200, 300, 400, 500,};
constexpr const uint32_t kScreenSizeResourceId = 0x010102ca;
constexpr const uint32_t kScreenDensityResourceId = 0x010102cb;
for (uint32_t screen_size : kScreenSizes) {
std::unique_ptr<xml::Element> screen = util::make_unique<xml::Element>();
screen->name = "screen";
xml::Attribute* size = screen->FindOrCreateAttribute(kSchemaAndroid, "screenSize");
size->compiled_attribute = xml::AaptAttribute(Attribute(), {kScreenSizeResourceId});
size->compiled_value = ResourceUtils::MakeInt(screen_size);
xml::Attribute* density = screen->FindOrCreateAttribute(kSchemaAndroid, "screenDensity");
density->compiled_attribute = xml::AaptAttribute(Attribute(), {kScreenDensityResourceId});
density->compiled_value = ResourceUtils::MakeInt(config.density);
parent->AppendChild(std::move(screen));
}
}
} // namespace aapt
|
Q:
SQL Server - RTRIM(LTRIM(column)) does not work
I am constantly selecting columns from a table after trimming them like the following:
SELECT TOP 1 RTRIM(LTRIM([UN_DataIN])) FROM [Names]
This is returning the name Fadi
SELECT TOP 1 RTRIM(LTRIM([UN_DataIN])), LEN(RTRIM(LTRIM([UN_DataIN]))) FROM [Names]
when I select the length of the trimmed column, I get back 10.
Which means RTRIM and LTRIM are not doing their jobs.
Is there an alternative to them?
A:
This is may work for you as my problem too.. ^-^
select rtrim(ltrim(replace(replace(replace(colname,char(9),' '),char(10),' '),char(13),' ')))
from yourtable
source : http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic288843-8-1.aspx
A:
UN_DataIN == 0x45062706470631062920292029202920292029202000
So presuming Arabic your string ends with Unicode paragraph separators U+2029 and then a single whitespace all of which you need to remove;
select rtrim(replace(UN_DataIN, nchar(0x2029), '')) + '!'
ماهر!
|
F1: Ricciardo excluded from Australian GP
Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull has been excluded from second place in Formula 1's 2014 season-opening Australian Grand Prix for fuel-flow irregularities.
The world champion team will appeal against the verdict.
The Australian delighted his home crowd by qualifying on the front row and finishing runner-up to Nico Rosberg's dominant Mercedes on his Red Bull debut.
But the stewards began an investigation post-race, after the FIA reported that Ricciardo's RB10 had "consistently" exceeded the fuel flow limit of 100kg/h mandated in the new 2014 regulations.
Stewards' Ricciardo ruling in full
After several hours of deliberation, the stewards confirmed Ricciardo's exclusion from second place, which promotes McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen to second and teammate Jenson Button to third.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso now takes fourth, Valtteri Bottas fifth for Williams, while Nico Hulkenberg is promoted into the top six. His Force India teammate Sergio Perez takes the final point for 10th spot, behind Kimi Raikkonen's seventh placed Ferrari and the two Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat.
Red Bull immediately notified the FIA of its intent to appeal the decision.
"Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pitlane," said a Red Bull statement. "The team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations." |
Copyright 2016 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - We've been talking about it all year - Is this the last we see of future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in the NFL?
The discussion started to ramp up earlier this year: Ravaged with injuries, Manning led the league in interceptions, and he didn't even play a full season.
His performance dip and seeming inability to throw 'em like he used to in just the first few games of the season made the questions come up frequently:
"Is he done?"
"Can he do it anymore?"
"Is this the time to call it a career?"
Despite all the noise and negativity, The Sheriff got the Denver Broncos back to the Super Bowl by using what is still among the sharpest in the league: His football intelligence.
It's no secret that Manning, 39, can't hit those 40-yard passes downfield in stride anymore, but what is a secret is how Peyton is able to read defenses as well as he does, shifting his offense to exploit weakness, audibling when he sees an opportunity, and almost always choosing the right throw to make, even if it isn't as sharp of a delivery as it once was.
WATCH in the video player above: Our sports team has debated what will happen with Peyton all year. See those discussions and the Q&A with you about Manning's future.
The debate really bubbled up when Manning had to take a back-seat to Brock Osweiler, the back-up for the Denver Broncos. Manning's torn plantar fascia got the best of him, allowing him to barely surpass the all-time record for yards in a career in the NFL, only to come out a few plays later in Week 10. This came a week after the attempt at the record was abruptly halted thanks to a valiant effort by none other than your Indianapolis Colts, when they beat the Broncos in Week 9, 27-24.
The questions flew even faster when Osweiler was named the starter in Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers with the No. 1 seed in the playoffs on the line over an active Manning. Peyton did come in after halftime to win that game, and secure the No. 1 seed.
“Our defense has been outstanding all season,” Manning said after their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round of the playoffs. “They’ve led us to this point. Let’s make that clear.”
As the playoffs progressed, more signs pointed to Manning's mind being made up.
"(Peyton and Demarcus Ware) were very emotional and near tears," Broncos team president Joe Ellis told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. "Peyton told a few jokes to lighten the mood, but then he got very emotional [when talking about what the game meant to him]. And so did DeMarcus. The room was silent. It was a very emotional gathering."
He's been here before -- It's not as if this is a fleeting moment for one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
Then there's the matter of how Peyton might retire, should he decide to do so. Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, wants him to retire as one of their own.
Two Super Bowls with Indianapolis. Two Super Bowls with Denver. One win, one yet to be played.
A victory over the almost-undefeated Carolina Panthers would certainly even the score of impact on both franchises, but Manning's legacy on this Midwestern community far surpasses that of his time spent in Denver.
"I don't think it's going to be (immediate) announcement Sunday night," Eli Manning said. "I don't think he's even thought about it. He'll take some time when the season is over. It's all football right now."
You can expect Peyton to take a few days, win or lose, to let the hype around whichever team wins Sunday to die down and then come to the table with the best decision for him and his family. You can expect him to deliver the decision with class, and with respect for both the Broncos organization and their fans.
After all, he has said approximately 74 times this season that he won't make a final decision until after the season is over.
Whatever the decision is, Indianapolis is behind you, Peyton. And we thank you for what's been an incredible 20-year ride. |
Q:
Why was the tip of the B-52's vertical tail chopped off in 1959?
When Boeing switched over from the B-52F to the B-52G in 1959, they (among other changes) lopped off the top 2.4 meters (8 feet) of the aircraft's vertical tail:
Original-height tail (here on a B-52F)
(Image by the United States Air Force, via David Legrand at Wikimedia Commons, edited by Denniss, Hohum, and Ralf Roletschek at Wikimedia Commons.)
Pruned tail (here on a B-52H)
(Image by the United States Air Force, via Trevor MacInnis at WIkipedia, via Rcbutcher at Wikimedia Commons.)
Why did they chop off the tip of the vertical tail, thereby decreasing the aircraft's directional stability and rudder authority?
A:
Boeing B-52G Stratofortress
In the design of the B-52G, considerable attention was paid to reducing the structural weight. Different materials were used in the construction of the airframe, and the wing structure was extensively redesigned. The most visible difference was a vertical tail which was reduced in size. The height was reduced from 48 feet 3 inches to 40 feet 7 inches, and the chord (width) was increased. The new tail was tested on the first B-52A (52-001) and perhaps also on either the XB-52 or YB-52 before being adopted as standard for the B-52G.
|
---
abstract: 'We begin by describing the duality between arc systems and ribbon graphs embedded in a punctured surface and explaining how to cellularize the moduli space of curves in two different ways: using Jenkins-Strebel differentials and using hyperbolic geometry. We also briefly discuss how these two methods are related. Next, we recall the definition of Witten cycles and we illustrate their connection with tautological classes and Weil-Petersson geometry. Finally, we exhibit a simple argument to prove that Witten classes are stable.'
address: |
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology\
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139 USA\
e-mail:
author:
- Gabriele Mondello
title: |
Riemann surfaces, ribbon graphs\
and combinatorial classes
---
32G15, 30F30, 30F45.
Moduli of Riemann surfaces, ribbon graphs, Witten cycles.
Introduction {#s-intro}
============
Overview
--------
### Moduli space and Teichmüller space.
Consider a compact oriented surface $S$ of genus $g$ together with a finite subset $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}$, such that $2g-2+n>0$.
The moduli space $\M_{g,X}$ is the set of all $X$-pointed Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ up to isomorphism. Its universal cover can be identified with the Teichmüller space $\Teich(S,X)$, which parametrizes complex structures on $S$ up to isotopy (relative to $X$); equivalently, $\Teich(S,X)$ parametrizes isomorphism classes of $(S,X)$-marked Riemann surfaces. Thus, $\M_{g,X}$ is the quotient of $\Teich(S,X)$ under the action of the mapping class group $\G(S,X)=\mathrm{Diff}_+(S,X)/\mathrm{Diff}_0(S,X)$.
As $\Teich(S,X)$ is contractible (Teichmüller [@teichmueller:collected]), we also have that $\M_{g,X}\simeq B\G(S,X)$. However, $\G(S,X)$ acts on $\Teich(S,X)$ discontinuously but with finite stabilizers. Thus, $\M_{g,X}$ is naturally an orbifold and $\M_{g,X}\simeq B\G(S,X)$ must be intended in the orbifold category.
### Algebro-geometric point of view.
As compact Riemann surfaces are complex algebraic curves, $\M_{g,X}$ has an algebraic structure and is in fact a Deligne-Mumford stack, which is the algebraic analogue of an orbifold. The underlying space $M_{g,X}$ (forgetting the isotropy groups) is a quasi-projective variety.
The interest for enumerative geometry of algebraic curves naturally led to seeking for a suitable compactification of $\M_{g,X}$. Deligne and Mumford [@deligne-mumford:irreducibility] understood that it was sufficient to consider algebraic curves with mild singularities to compactify $\M_{g,X}$. In fact, their compactification $\Mbar_{g,X}$ is the moduli space of $X$-pointed stable (algebraic) curves of genus $g$, where a complex projective curve $C$ is “stable” if its only singularities are nodes (that is, in local analytic coordinates $C$ looks like $\{(x,y)\in {\mathbb{C}}^2\,|\,xy=0\}$) and every irreducible component of the smooth locus of $C\setminus X$ has negative Euler characteristic.
The main tool to prove the completeness of $\Mbar_{g,X}$ is the stable reduction theorem, which essentially says that a smooth holomorphic family $\mathcal{C}^*\rar \Delta^*$ of $X$-pointed Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ over the pointed disc can be completed to a family over $\Delta$ (after a suitable change of base $z\mapsto z^k$) using a stable curve.
The beauty of $\Mbar_{g,X}$ is that it is smooth (as an orbifold) and that its coarse space $\ol{M}_{g,X}$ is a projective variety (Mumford [@mumford:stability], Gieseker [@gieseker:lectures], Knudsen [@knudsen:projectivity2] [@knudsen:projectivity3], Kollár [@kollar:projectivity] and Cornalba [@cornalba:projectivity]).
### Tautological maps.
The map $\Mbar_{g,X\cup\{y\}}\rar \Mbar_{g,X}$ that forgets the $y$-point can be identified to the universal curve over $\Mbar_{g,X}$ and is the first example of tautological map.
Moreover, $\Mbar_{g,X}$ has a natural algebraic stratification, in which each stratum corresponds to a topological type of curve: for instance, smooth curves correspond to the open stratum $\M_{g,X}$. As another example: irreducible curves with one node correspond to an irreducible locally closed subvariety of (complex) codimension $1$, which is the image of the (generically $2:1$) tautological boundary map $\M_{g-1,X\cup\{y_1,y_2\}}\rar \Mbar_{g,X}$ that glues $y_1$ to $y_2$. Thus, every stratum is the image of a (finite-to-one) tautological boundary map, and thus is isomorphic to a finite quotient of a product of smaller moduli spaces.
### Augmented Teichmüller space.
Teichmüller theorists are more interested in compactifying $\Teich(S,X)$ rather than $\M_{g,X}$. One of the most popular way to do it is due to Thurston (see [@FLP:travaux]): the boundary of $\Teich(S,X)$ is thus made of projective measured laminations and it is homeomorphic to a sphere.
Clearly, there cannot be any clear link between a compactification of $\Teich(S,X)$ and of $\M_{g,X}$, as the infinite discrete group $\G(S,X)$ would not act discontinuously on a compact boundary $\pa\Teich(S,X)$.
Thus, the $\G(S,X)$-equivariant bordification of $\Teich(S,X)$ whose quotient is $\M_{g,X}$ cannot be compact. A way to understand it is to endow $\M_{g,X}$ (and $\Teich(S,X)$) with the Weil-Petersson metric [@weil:onthemoduli] and to show that its completion is exactly $\Mbar_{g,X}$ [@masur:extension]. Hence, the Weil-Petersson completion $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ can be identified to the set of $(S,X)$-marked stable Riemann surfaces.
Similarly to $\Mbar_{g,X}$, also $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ has a stratification by topological type and each stratum is a (finite quotient of a) product of smaller Teichmüller spaces.
### Tautological classes.
The moduli space $\Mbar_{g,X}$ comes equipped with natural vector bundles: for instance, $\mathcal{L}_i$ is the holomorphic line bundle whose fiber at $[C]$ is $T^{\vee}_{C,x_i}$. Chern classes of these line bundles and their push-forward through tautological maps generate the so-called tautological classes (which can be seen in the Chow ring or in cohomology). The $\k$ classes were first defined by Mumford [@mumford:towards] and Morita [@morita:surface] and then modified (to make them behave better under tautological maps) by Arbarello and Cornalba [@arbarello-cornalba:combinatorial]. The $\psi$ classes were defined by E.Miller [@miller:homology] and their importance was successively rediscovered by Witten [@witten:intersection].
The importance of the tautological classes is due to the following facts (among others):
- their geometric meaning appears quite clear
- they behave very naturally under the tautological maps (see, for instance, [@arbarello-cornalba:combinatorial])
- they often occur in computations of enumerative geometry; that is, Poincaré duals of interesting algebraic loci are often tautological (see [@mumford:towards]) but not always (see [@graber-pandharipande:nontautological])!
- they are defined on $\Mbar_{g,X}$ for every $g$ and $X$ (provided $2g-2+|X|>0$), and they generate the stable cohomology ring over ${\mathbb{Q}}$ due to Madsen-Weiss’s solution [@madsen-weiss:mumford] of Mumford’s conjecture (see Section \[ss:stability\])
- there is a set of generators ($\psi$’s and $\k$’s) which have non-negativity properties (see [@arakelov:families] and [@mumford:towards])
- they are strictly related to the Weil-Petersson geometry of $\Mbar_{g,X}$ (see [@wolpert:homology], [@wolpert:positive], [@wolpert:chern] and [@mirzakhani:witten]).
### Simplicial complexes associated to a surface.
One way to analyze the (co)homology of $\M_{g,X}$, and so of $\G(S,X)$, is to construct a highly connected simplicial complex on which $\G(S,X)$ acts. This is usually achieved by considering complexes of disjoint, pairwise non-homotopic simple closed curves on $S\setminus X$ with suitable properties (for instance, Harvey’s complex of curves [@harvey:geometric]).
If $X$ is nonempty (or if $S$ has boundary), then one can construct a complex using systems of homotopically nontrivial, disjoint arcs joining two (not necessarily distinct) points in $X$ (or in $\pa S$), thus obtaining the arc complex $\Af(S,X)$ (see [@harer:virtual]). It has an “interior” $\Ao(S,X)$ made of systems of arcs that cut $S\setminus X$ in discs (or pointed discs) and a complementary “boundary” $\A8(S,X)$.
An important result, which has many fathers (Harer-Mumford-Thurston [@harer:virtual], Penner [@penner:decorated], Bowditch-Epstein [@bowditch-epstein:natural]), says that $|\Ao(S,X)|$ is $\G(S,X)$-equivariantly homeomorphic to $\Teich(S,X)\times \Delta_X$ (where $\Delta_X$ is the standard simplex in ${\mathbb{R}}^X$). Thus, we can transfer the cell structure of $|\Ao(S,X)|$ to an (orbi)cell structure on $\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$.
The homeomorphism is realized by coherently associating a weighted system of arcs to every $X$-marked Riemann surface, equipped with a decoration $\up\in\Delta_X$. There are two traditional ways to do this: using the flat structure arising from a Jenkins-Strebel quadratic differential (Harer-Mumford-Thurston) with prescribed residues at $X$ or using the hyperbolic metric coming from the uniformization theorem (Penner and Bowditch-Epstein). Quite recently, several other ways have been introduced (see [@luo:decomposition], [@luo:rigidity], [@mondello:wp] and [@mondello:triang]).
### Ribbon graphs.
To better understand the homeomorphism between $|\Ao(S,X)|$ and $\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X$, it is often convenient to adopt a dual point of view, that is to think of weighted systems of arcs as of metrized graphs $\GG$, embedded in $S\setminus X$ through a homotopy equivalence.
This can be done by picking a vertex in each disc cut by the system of arcs and joining these vertices by adding an edge transverse to each arc. What we obtain is an $(S,X)$-marked metrized ribbon graph. Thus, points in $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)\cong\M_{g,x}\times\Delta_X$ correspond to metrized $X$-marked ribbon graphs of genus $g$.
This point of view is particularly useful to understand singular surfaces (see also [@bowditch-epstein:natural], [@kontsevich:intersection], [@looijenga:cellular], [@penner:boundary], [@zvonkine:strebel], [@acgh:II] and [@mondello:triang]). The object dual to a weighted system of arcs in $\A8(S,X)$ is a collection of data that we called an $(S,X)$-marked “enriched” ribbon graph. Notice that an $X$-marked “enriched” metrized ribbon graph does not carry all the information needed to construct a stable Riemann surface. Hence, the map $\Mbar_{g,X}\times\Delta_X \rar |\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is not a injective on the locus of singular curves, but still it is a homeomorphism on a dense open subset.
### Topological results.
The utility of the $\G(S,X)$-equivariant homotopy equivalence $\Teich(S,X)\simeq |\Ao(S,X)|$ is the possibility of making topological computations on $|\Ao(S,X)|$. For instance, Harer [@harer:virtual] determined the virtual cohomological dimension of $\G(S,X)$ (and so of $\M_{g,X}$) using the high connectivity of $|\A8(S,X)|$ and he has established that $\G(S,X)$ is a virtual duality group, by showing that $|\A8(S,X)|$ is spherical. An analysis of the singularities of $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is in [@penner:arc].
Successively, Harer-Zagier [@harer-zagier:euler] and Penner [@penner:euler] have computed the orbifold Euler characteristic of $\M_{g,X}$, where by “orbifold” we mean that a cell with stabilizer $G$ has Euler characteristic $1/|G|$. Because of the cellularization, the problem translates into enumerating $X$-marked ribbon graphs of genus $g$ and counting them with the correct sign.
Techniques for enumerating graphs and ribbon graphs (see, for instance, [@biz:quantum]) have been known to physicists for long time: they use asymptotic expansions of Gaussian integrals over spaces of matrices. The combinatorics of iterated integrations by parts is responsible for the appearance of (ribbon) graphs (Wick’s lemma). Thus, the problem of computing $\chi^{orb}(\M_{g,X})$ can be reduced to evaluating a matrix integral (a quick solution is also given by Kontsevich in Appendix D of [@kontsevich:intersection]).
### Intersection-theoretical results.
As $\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$ is not just homotopy equivalent to $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ but actually homeomorphic (through a piecewise-linear real-analytic diffeomorphism), it is clear that one can try to rephrase integrals over $\M_{g,X}$ as integrals over $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$, that is as sums over maximal systems of arcs of integrals over a single simplex. This approach looked promising in order to compute Weil-Petersson volumes (see Penner [@penner:WP-volumes]). Kontsevich [@kontsevich:intersection] used it to compute volumes coming from a “symplectic form” $\Omega=p_1^2\psi_1+\dots+p_n^2\psi_n$, thus solving Witten’s conjecture [@witten:intersection] on the intersection numbers of the $\psi$ classes.
However, in Witten’s paper [@witten:intersection] matrix integrals entered in a different way. The idea was that, in order to integrate over the space of all conformal structures on $S$, one can pick a random decomposition of $S$ into polygons, give each polygon a natural Euclidean structure and extend it to a conformal structure on $S$, thus obtaining a “random” point of $\M_{g,X}$. Refining the polygonalization of $S$ leads to a measure on $\M_{g,X}$. Matrix integrals are used to enumerate these polygonalizations.
Witten also noticed that this refinement procedure may lead to different limits, depending on which polygons we allow. For instance, we can consider decompositions into $A$ squares, or into $A$ squares and $B$ hexagons, and so on. Dualizing this last polygonalization, we obtain ribbon graphs embedded in $S$ with $A$ vertices of valence $4$ and $B$ vertices of valence $6$. The corresponding locus in $|\Ao(S,X)|$ is called a Witten subcomplex.
### Witten classes.
Kontsevich [@kontsevich:intersection] and Penner [@penner:poincare] proved that Witten subcomplexes obtained by requiring that the ribbon graphs have $m_i$ vertices of valence $(2m_i+3)$ can be oriented (see also [@conant-vogtmann:onatheorem]) and they give cycles in $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}:=|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$, which are denoted by $\ol{W}_{m_*,X}$. The $\Omega$-volumes of these $\ol{W}_{m_*,X}$ are also computable using matrix integrals [@kontsevich:intersection] (see also [@dfiz:polynomial]).
In [@kontsevich:topology], Kontsevich constructed similar cycles using structure constants of finite-dimensional cyclic $A_{\infty}$-algebras with positive-definite scalar product and he also claimed that the classes $\W_{m_*,X}$ (restriction of $\ol{W}_{m_*,X}$ to $\M_{g,X}$) are Poincaré dual to tautological classes.
This last statement (usually called Witten-Kontsevich’s conjecture) was settled independently by Igusa [@igusa:mmm] [@igusa:kontsevich] and Mondello [@mondello:combinatorial], while very little is known about the nature of the (non-homogeneous) $A_\infty$-classes.
### Surfaces with boundary.
The key point of all constructions of a ribbon graph out of a surface is that $X$ must be nonempty, so that $S\setminus X$ can be retracted by deformation onto a graph. In fact, it is not difficult to see that the spine construction of Penner and Bowditch-Epstein can be performed (even in a more natural way) on hyperbolic surfaces $\Si$ with geodesic boundary. The associated cellularization of the corresponding moduli space is due to Luo [@luo:decomposition] (for smooth surfaces) and by Mondello [@mondello:triang] (also for singular surfaces, using Luo’s result).
The interesting fact (see [@mondello:wp] and [@mondello:triang]) is that gluing semi-infinite cylinders at $\pa\Si$ produces (conformally) punctured surfaces that “interpolate” between hyperbolic surfaces with cusps and flat surfaces arising from Jenkins-Strebel differentials.
Structure of the paper.
-----------------------
In Sections \[ss:arcs\] and \[ss:ribbon\], we carefully define systems of arcs and ribbon graphs, both in the singular and in the nonsingular case, and we explain how the duality between the two works. Moreover, we recall Harer’s results on $\Ao(S,X)$ and $\A8(S,X)$ and we state a simple criterion for compactness inside $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$.
In Sections \[ss:deligne-mumford\] and \[ss:system\], we describe the Deligne-Mumford moduli space of curves and the structure of its boundary, the associated stratification and boundary maps. In \[ss:augmented\], we explain how the analogous bordification of the Teichmüller space $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ can be obtained as completion with respect to the Weil-Petersson metric.
Tautological classes and rings are introduced in \[ss:tautological\] and Kontsevich’s compactification of $\M_{g,X}$ is described in \[ss:konts\].
In \[ss:hmt\], we explain and sketch a proof of Harer-Mumford-Thurston cellularization of the moduli space and we illustrate the analogous result of Penner-Bowditch-Epstein in \[ss:pbe\]. In \[ss:boundary\], we quickly discuss the relations between the two constructions using hyperbolic surfaces with geodesic boundary.
In \[ss:witten\], we define Witten subcomplexes and Witten cycles and we prove (after Kontsevich) that $\Omega$ orients them. We sketch the ideas involved in the proof the Witten cycles are tautological in Section \[ss:witten-tautological\].
Finally, in \[ss:stability\], we recall Harer’s stability theorem and we exhibit a combinatorial construction that shows that Witten cycles are stable. The fact (and probably also the construction) is well-known and it is also a direct consequence of Witten-Kontsevich’s conjecture and Miller’s work.
Acknowledgments.
----------------
It is a pleasure to thank Shigeyuki Morita, Athanase Papadopoulos and Robert C. Penner for the stimulating workshop “Teichmüller space (Classical and Quantum)” they organized in Oberwolfach (May 28th-June 3rd, 2006) and the MFO for the hospitality.
I would like to thank Enrico Arbarello for all I learnt from him about Riemann surfaces and for his constant encouragement.
Systems of arcs and ribbon graphs {#sec:ribbon}
=================================
Let $S$ be a compact oriented differentiable surface of genus $g$ with $n>0$ distinct marked points $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\subset S$. We will always assume that the Euler characteristic of the punctured surface $S\setminus X$ is negative, that is $2-2g-n<0$. This restriction only rules out the cases in which $S\setminus X$ is the sphere with less than $3$ punctures.
Let $\mathrm{Diff}_+(S,X)$ be the group of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of $S$ that fix $X$ pointwise. The [*mapping class group*]{} $\G(S,X)$ is the group of connected components of $\mathrm{Diff}_+(S,X)$.
In what follows, we borrow some notation and some ideas from [@looijenga:cellular].
Systems of arcs {#ss:arcs}
---------------
### Arcs and arc complex.
An oriented [*arc*]{} in $S$ is a smooth path $\ora{\a}:[0,1]\rar S$ such that $\ora{\a}([0,1])\cap X=
\{\ora{\a}(0),\ora{\a}(1)\}$, up to reparametrization. Let $\mathcal{A}^{or}(S,X)$ be the space of oriented arcs in $S$, endowed with its natural topology. Define $\s_1:\mathcal{A}^{or}(S,X)\rar\mathcal{A}^{or}(S,X)$ to be the orientation-reversing operator and we will write $\s_1(\ora{\a})=\ola{\a}$. Call $\a$ the $\s_1$-orbit of $\ora{\a}$ and denote by $\mathcal{A}(S,X)$ the (quotient) space of $\s_1$-orbits in $\mathcal{A}^{or}(S,X)$.
A [*system of $(k+1)$-arcs*]{} in $S$ is a collection $\ua=\{\a_0,\dots,\a_k\}\subset \mathcal{A}(S,X)$ of $k+1$ unoriented arcs such that:
- if $i\neq j$, then the intersection of $\a_i$ and $\a_j$ is contained in $X$
- no arc in $\ua$ is homotopically trivial
- no pair of arcs in $\ua$ are homotopic to each other.
We will denote by $S\setminus\ua$ the [*complementary subsurface*]{} of $S$ obtained by removing $\a_0,\dots,\a_k$.
Each connected component of the space of systems of $(k+1)$-arcs $\mathcal{AS}_k(S,X)$ is clearly contractible, with the topology induced by the inclusion $\mathcal{AS}_k(S,X)
\hra \mathcal{A}(S,X)/\mathfrak{S}_k$.
Let $\Af_k(S,X)$ be the set of homotopy classes of systems of $k+1$ arcs, that is $\Af_k(S,X):=\pi_0\mathcal{AS}_k(S,X)$.
The [*arc complex*]{} is the simplicial complex $\dis \Af(S,X)=\bigcup_{k\geq 0}\Af_k(S,X)$.
We will implicitly identify arc systems $\ua$ and $\ua'$ that are homotopic to each other. Similarly, we will identify the isotopic subsurfaces $S\setminus\ua$ and $S\setminus\ua'$.
### Proper simplices. {#sss:proper}
An arc system $\ua\in\Af(S,X)$ [*fills*]{} (resp. [*quasi-fills*]{}) $S$ if $S\setminus\ua$ is a disjoint union of subsurfaces homeomorphic to discs (resp. discs and pointed discs). It is easy to check that the star of $\ua$ is finite if and only if $\ua$ quasi-fills $S$. In this case, we also say that $\ua$ is a [*proper*]{} simplex of $\Af(S,X)$
Denote by $\A8(S,X)\subset\Af(S,X)$ the subcomplex of non-proper simplices and let $\Ao(S,X)=\Af(S,X)\setminus\A8(S,X)$ be the collection of proper ones.
We denote by $|\A8(S,X)|$ and $|\Af(S,X)|$ the topological realizations of $\A8(S,X)$ and $\Af(S,X)$. We will use the symbol $|\Ao(S,X)|$ to mean the complement of $|\A8(S,X)|$ inside $|\Af(S,X)|$.
### Topologies on $|\Af(S,X)|$.
The realization $|\Af(S,X)|$ of the arc complex can be endowed with two natural topologies (as is remarked in [@bowditch-epstein:natural], [@looijenga:cellular] and [@acgh:II]).
The former (which we call [*standard*]{}) is the finest topology that makes the inclusions $|\ua|\hra|\Af(S,X)|$ continuous for all $\ua\in\Af(S,X)$; in other words, a subset $U\subset |\Af(S,X)|$ is declared to be open if and only if $U \cap |\ua|$ is open for every $\ua\in\Af(S,X)$. The latter topology is induced by the path [*metric*]{} $d$, which is the largest metric that restricts to the Euclidean one on each closed simplex.
The two topologies are the same where $|\Af(S,X)|$ is locally finite, but the latter is coarser elsewhere. We will always consider all realizations to be endowed with the metric topology.
### Visible subsurfaces.
For every system of arcs $\ua\in\Af(S,X)$, define $S(\ua)_+$ to be the largest isotopy class of open subsurfaces of $S$ such that
- every arc in $\ua$ is contained in $S(\ua)_+$
- $\ua$ quasi-fills $S(\ua)_+$.
The [*visible subsurface*]{} $S(\ua)_+$ can be constructed by taking the union of a thickening a representative of $\ua$ inside $S$ and all those connected components of $S\setminus\ua$ which are homeomorphic to discs or punctured discs (this construction appears first in [@bowditch-epstein:natural]). We will always consider $S(\ua)_+$ as an open subsurface (up to isotopy), homotopically equivalent to its closure $\ol{S(\ua)_+}$, which is an embedded surface with boundary.
{width="70.00000%"}
One can rephrase \[sss:proper\] by saying that $\ua$ is proper if and only if all $S$ is $\ua$-visible.
We call [*invisible subsurface*]{} $S(\ua)_-$ associated to $\ua$ the union of the connected components of $S\setminus\ol{S(\ua)_+}$ which are not unmarked cylinders. We also say that a marked point $x_i$ is (in)visible for $\ua$ if it belongs to the $\ua$-(in)visible subsurface.
### Ideal triangulations.
A maximal system of arcs $\ua\in\Af(S,X)$ is also called an [*ideal triangulation*]{} of $S$. In fact, it is easy to check that, in this case, each component of $S\setminus \ua$ bounded by three arcs and so is a “triangle”. (The term “ideal” comes from the fact that one often thinks of $(S,X)$ as a hyperbolic surface with cusps at $X$ and of $\ua$ as a collection of hyperbolic geodesics.) It is also clear that such an $\ua$ is proper.
{width="50.00000%"}
A simple calculation with the Euler characteristic of $S$ shows that an ideal triangulation is made of exactly $6g-6+3n$ arcs.
### The spine of $|\Ao(S,X)|$.
Consider the baricentric subdivision $\Af(S,X)'$, whose $k$-simplices are chains $(\ua_0\subsetneq \ua_1\subsetneq\dots
\subsetneq \ua_k)$. There is an obvious piecewise-affine homeomorphism $|\Af(S,X)'|\rar |\Af(S,X)|$, that sends a vertex $(\ua_0)$ to the baricenter of $|\ua_0|\subset|\Af(S,X)|$.
Call $\Ao(S,X)'$ the subcomplex of $\Af(S,X)'$, whose simplices are chains of simplices that belong to $\Ao(S,X)$. Clearly, $|\Ao(S,X)'|\subset |\Af(S,X)'|$ is contained in $|\Ao(S,X)|\subset|\Af(S,X)|$ through the homeomorphism above.
It is a general fact that there is a deformation retraction of $|\Ao(S,X)|$ onto $|\Ao(S,X)'|$: on each simplex of $|\Af(S,X)'|\cap |\Ao(S,X)|$ this is given by projecting onto the face contained in $|\Ao(S,X)'|$. It is also clear that the retraction is $\G(S,X)$-equivariant.
In the special case of $X=\{x_1\}$, a proper system contains at least $2g$ arcs; whereas a maximal system contains exactly $6g-3$ arcs. Thus, the (real) dimension of $|\Ao(S,X)'|$ is $(6g-3)-2g=4g-3$.
\[prop:spine\] If $X=\{x_1\}$, the spine $|\Ao(S,X)'|$ has dimension $4g-3$.
### Action of $\s$-operators. {#sss:sigma-arc}
For every arc system $\ua=\{\a_0,\dots,\a_k\}$, denote by $E(\ua)$ the subset $\{\ora{\a_0},\ola{\a_0},\dots,
\ora{\a_k},\ola{\a_k}\}$ of $\pi_0\mathcal{A}^{or}(S,X)$. The action of $\s_1$ clearly restricts to $E(\ua)$.
For each $i=1,\dots,n$, the orientation of $S$ induces a cyclic ordering of the oriented arcs in $E(\ua)$ outgoing from $x_i$.
If $\ora{\a_j}$ starts at $x_i$, then define $\s_{\infty}(\ora{\a_j})$ to be the oriented arc in $E(\ua)$ outgoing from $x_i$ that comes just [*before*]{} $\ora{\a_j}$. Moreover, $\s_0$ is defined by $\s_0=\s_{\infty}^{-1}\s_1$.
If we call $E_t(\ua)$ the orbits of $E(\ua)$ under the action of $\s_t$, then
- $E_1(\ua)$ can be identified with $\ua$
- $E_{\infty}(\ua)$ can be identified with the set of $\ua$-visible marked points
- $E_0(\ua)$ can be identified to the set of connected components of $S(\ua)_+\setminus\ua$.
Denote by $[\ora{\a_j}]_t$ the $\s_t$-orbit of $\ora{\a_j}$, so that $[\ora{\a_j}]_1=\a_j$ and $[\ora{\a_j}]_\infty$ is the starting point of $\ora{\a_j}$, whereas $[\ora{\a_j}]_0$ is the component of $S(\ua)_+\setminus\ua$ adjacent to $\a_j$ and which induces the orientation $\ora{\a_j}$ on it.
### Action of $\G(S,X)$ on $\Af(S,X)$.
There is a natural right action of the mapping class group $$\xymatrix@R=0in{
\mathcal{A}(S,X)\times\G(S,X) \ar[rr] && \mathcal{A}(S,X) \\
(\a,g) \ar@{|->}[rr] && \a\circ g
}$$ The induced action on $\Af(S,X)$ preserves $\A8(S,X)$ and so $\Ao(S,X)$.
It is easy to see that the stabilizer (under $\G(S,X)$) of a simplex $\ua$ fits in the following exact sequence $$1 \rar \G_{cpt}(S\setminus\ua,X)\rar
\mathrm{stab}_\G(\ua) \rar \mathfrak{S}(\ua)$$ where $\mathfrak{S}(\ua)$ is the group of permutations of $\ua$ and $\G_{cpt}(S\setminus\ua,X)$ is the mapping class group of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of $S\setminus\ua$ [*with compact support*]{} that fix $X$. Define the image of $\mathrm{stab}_\G(\ua)\rar\mathfrak{S}(\ua)$ to be the [*automorphism group of $\ua$*]{}.
We can immediately conclude that $\ua$ is proper if and only if $\mathrm{stab}_\G(\ua)$ is finite (equivalently, if and only if $\G_{cpt}(S\setminus\ua,X)$ is trivial).
### Weighted arc systems.
A point $\ol{w}\in |\Af(S,X)|$ consists of a map $\ol{w}:\Af_0(S,X)\rar [0,1]$ such that
- the support of $\ol{w}$ is a simplex $\ua=\{\a_0,\dots,\a_k\}\in\Af(S,X)$
- $\dis\sum_{i=0}^k \ol{w}(\a_i)=1$.
We will call $\ol{w}$ the [*(projective) weight*]{} of $\ua$. A [*weight*]{} for $\ua$ is a point of $w\in|\Af(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}:=|\Af(S,X)|\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$, that is a map $w:\Af_0(S,X)\rar{\mathbb{R}}_+$ with support on $\ua$. Call $\ol{w}$ its associated projective weight.
### Compactness in $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$. {#sss:compact}
We are going to prove a simple criterion for a subset of $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ to be compact.
Call $\mathcal{C}(S,X)$ the set of free homotopy classes of simple closed curves on $S\setminus X$, which are neither contractible nor homotopic to a puncture.
Define the “intersection product” $$\i:\mathcal{C}(S,X)\times |\Af(S,X)|\rar {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}$$ as $\i(\g,\ol{w})=\sum_{\a} \i(\g,\a) \ol{w}(\a)$, where $\i(\g,\a)$ is the [*geometric*]{} intersection number. We will also refer to $\i(\g,\ol{w})$ as to the [*length*]{} of $\g$ at $\ol{w}$. Consequently, we will say that the [*systol*]{} at $\ol{w}$ is $$\mathrm{sys}(\ol{w})=
\mathrm{inf}\{\i(\g,\ol{w})\,|\,\g\in\mathcal{C}(S,X)\}.$$
Clearly, the function $\mathrm{sys}$ descends to $$\mathrm{sys}:|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)\rar {\mathbb{R}}_+\,$$
\[lemma:compact\] A closed subset $K\subset |\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is [*compact*]{} if and only if $\exists \e>0$ such that $\mathrm{sys}([\ol{w}])\geq \e$ for all $[\ol{w}]\in K$.
In ${\mathbb{R}}^N$ we easily have $\dis d_2\leq d_1\leq \sqrt{N}\cdot d_2$, where $d_r$ is the $L^r$-distance. Similarly, in $|\Af(S,X)|$ we have $$d(\ol{w},|\A8(S,X)|)\leq \mathrm{sys}(\ol{w})
\leq \sqrt{N} \cdot d(\ol{w},|\A8(S,X)|)$$ where $N=6g-7+3n$. The same holds in $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$.
Thus, if $[\ua]\in\Ao(S,X)/\G(S,X)$, then $|\ua|\cap \mathrm{sys}^{-1}([\e,\infty))
\cap |\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is compact for every $\e>0$. As $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ contains finitely many cells, we conclude that $\mathrm{sys}^{-1}([\e,\infty))
\cap|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is compact.
Vice versa, if $\mathrm{sys}:K\rar {\mathbb{R}}_+$ is not bounded from below, then we can find a sequence $[\ol{w}_m]
\subset K$ such that $\mathrm{sys}(\ol{w}_m)\rar 0$. Thus, $[\ol{w}_m]$ approaches $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ and so is divergent in $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$.
### Boundary weight map.
Let $\Delta_X$ be the standard simplex in ${\mathbb{R}}^X$. The [*boundary weight map*]{} $\ell_{\pa}:|\Af(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}\rar \Delta_X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+\subset {\mathbb{R}}^X$ is the piecewise-linear map that sends $\{\a\}\mapsto [\ora{\a}]_{\infty}+[\ola{\a}]_{\infty}$. The projective boundary weight map $\frac{1}{2}\ell_{\pa}:|\Af(S,X)|\rar \Delta_X$ instead sends $\{\a\}\mapsto \frac{1}{2}[\ora{\a}]_{\infty}+\frac{1}{2}
[\ola{\a}]_{\infty}$.
### Results on the arc complex.
A few things are known about the topology of $|\Af(S,X)|$.
- The space of proper arc systems $|\Ao(S,X)|$ can be naturally given the structure of piecewise-affine topological manifold with boundary (Hubbard-Masur [@hubbard-masur:foliations], credited to Whitney) of (real) dimension $6g-7+3n$.
- The space $|\Ao(S,X)|$ is $\G(S,X)$-equivariantly homeomorphic to $\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X$, where $\Teich(S,X)$ is the Teichmüller space of $(S,X)$ (see \[sss:teichmueller\] for definitions and Section \[sec:triangulation\] for an extensive discussion on this result), and so is contractible. This result could also be probably extracted from [@hubbard-masur:foliations], but it is first more explicitly stated in Harer [@harer:virtual] (who attributes it to Mumford and Thurston), Penner [@penner:decorated] and Bowditch-Epstein [@bowditch-epstein:natural]. As the moduli space of $X$-marked Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ can be obtained as $\M_{g,X}\cong\Teich(S,X)/\G(S,X)$ (see \[sss:moduli\]), then $\M_{g,X}\simeq B\G(S,X)$ in the orbifold category.
- The space $|\A8(S,X)|$ is homotopy equivalent to an infinite wedge of spheres of dimension $2g-3+n$ (Harer [@harer:virtual]).
Results (b) and (c) are the key step in the following.
$\G(S,X)$ is a virtual duality group (that is, it has a subgroup of finite index which is a duality group) of dimension $4g-4+n$ for $n>0$ (and $4g-5$ for $n=0$).
Actually, it is sufficient to work with $X=\{x_1\}$, in which case the upper bound is given by (b) and Proposition \[prop:spine\], and the duality by (c).
Ribbon graphs {#ss:ribbon}
-------------
### Graphs.
A [*graph*]{} $G$ is a triple $(E,\sim,\s_1)$, where $E$ is a finite set, $\s_1:E\rar E$ is a fixed-point-free involution and $\sim$ is an equivalence relation on $E$.
In ordinary language
- $E$ is the set of [*oriented edges*]{} of the graph
- $\s_1$ is the orientation-reversing involution of $E$, so that the set of unoriented edges is $E_1:=E/\s_1$
- two oriented edges are equivalent if and only if they come out from the same vertex, so that the set $V$ of vertices is $E/\!\sim$ and the valence of $v\in E/\!\sim$ is exactly $|v|$.
A [*ribbon graph*]{} $\GG$ is a triple $(E,\s_0,\s_1)$, where $E$ is a (finite) set, $\s_1:E\rar E$ is a fixed-point-free involution and $\s_1:E\rar E$ is a permutation. Define $\s_\infty:=\s_1\circ \s_0^{-1}$ and call $E_t$ the set of orbits of $\s_t$ and $[\cdot]_t:E\rar E_t$ the natural projection. A disjoint union of two ribbon graphs is defined in the natural way.
Given a ribbon graph $\GG$, the underlying ordinary graph $G=\GG^{ord}$ is obtained by declaring that oriented edges in the same $\s_0$-orbit are equivalent and forgetting about the precise action of $\s_0$.
{width="70.00000%"}
In ordinary language, a ribbon graph is an ordinary graph endowed with a cyclic ordering of the oriented edges outgoing from each vertex.
The $\s_\infty$-orbits are sometimes called [*holes*]{}. A [*connected component*]{} of $\GG$ is an orbit of $E(\GG)$ under the action of $\langle \s_0,\s_1 \rangle$.
The [*Euler characteristic*]{} of a ribbon graph $\GG$ is $\chi(\GG)=|E_0(\GG)|-|E_1(\GG)|$ and its [*genus*]{} is $g(\GG)=1+\frac{1}{2}
(|E_1(\GG)|-|E_0(\GG)|-|E_\infty(\GG)|)$.
A [*(ribbon) tree*]{} is a connected (ribbon) graph of genus zero with one hole.
### Subgraphs and quotients.
Let $\GG=(E,\s_0,\s_1)$ be a ribbon graph and let $Z\subsetneq E_1$ be a nonempty subset of edges.
The [*subgraph $\GG_Z$*]{} is given by $(\tilde{Z},\s^Z_0,\s^Z_1)$, where $\tilde{Z}=Z\times_{E_1} E$ and $\s^Z_0,\s^Z_1$ are the induced operators (that is, for every $e\in\tilde{Z}$ we define $\s^Z_0(e)=\s_0^k(e)$, where $k=\mathrm{min}\{k>0\,|\,\s_0^k(e)\in\tilde{Z}\}$).
Similarly, the [*quotient $\GG/Z$*]{} is $(\GG\setminus\tilde{Z},\s^{Z^c}_0,
\s^{Z^c}_1)$, where $\s^{Z^c}_1$ and $\s^{Z^c}_{\infty}$ are the operators induced on $E\setminus\tilde{Z}$ and $\s^{Z^c}_0$ is defined accordingly. A [*new vertex*]{} of $\GG/Z$ is a $\s^{Z^c}_0$-orbit of $E \setminus\tilde{Z}\hra\GG$, which is not a $\s_0$-orbit.
### Bicolored graphs.
A [*bicolored graph*]{} $\zeta$ is a finite connected graph with a partition $V=V_+\cup V_-$ of its vertices. We say that $\zeta$ is [*reduced*]{} if no two vertices of $V_-$ are adjacent. If not differently specified, we will always understand that bicolored graphs are reduced.
If $\zeta$ contains an edge $z$ that joins $w_1,w_2\in V_-$, then we can obtain a new graph $\zeta'$ [*merging*]{} $w_1$ and $w_2$ along $z$ into a new vertex $w'\in V'_-$ (by simply forgetting $\ora{z}$ and $\ola{z}$ and by declaring that vertices outgoing from $w_1$ are equivalent to vertices outgoing from $w_2$).
If $\zeta$ comes equipped with a function $g:V_-\rar{\mathbb{N}}$, then $g':V'_-\rar {\mathbb{N}}$ is defined so that $g'(w')=g(w_1)+g(w_2)$ if $w_1\neq w_2$, or $g'(w')=g(w_1)+1$ if $w_1=w_2$.
As merging reduces the number of edges, we can iterate the process only a finite number of times. The result is independent of the choice of which edges to merge first and is a reduced graph $\zeta^{red}$ (possibly with a $g^{red}$).
{width="70.00000%"}
### Enriched ribbon graphs. {#sss:enriched}
An [*enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph $\GG^{en}$*]{} is the datum of
- a connected bicolored graph $(\zeta,V_+)$
- a ribbon graph $\GG$ plus a bijection $V_+\rar \{\text{connected components of $\GG$}\}$
- an (invisible) genus function $g:V_-\rar {\mathbb{N}}$
- a map $\dis m:X \rar
V_-\cup E_{\infty}(\GG)$ such that the restriction $m^{-1}(E_\infty(\GG))\rar
E_\infty(\GG)$ is bijective
- an injection $s_v:\{\text{oriented edges of $\zeta$ outgoing from $v$}\}\rar E_0(\GG_v)$ (vertices of $\GG_v$ in the image are called [*special*]{}) for every $v\in V_+$
that satisfy the following properties:
- for every $v\in V_+$ and $y\in E_0(\GG_v)$ we have $|m^{-1}(y)\cup s_v^{-1}(y)|\leq 1$ (i.e. no more than one marking or one node at each vertex of $\GG_v$)
- $2g(v)-2+|\{\text{oriented edges of $\zeta$ outgoing from $v$}\}|+$\
$+|\{\text{marked points on $v$} \}|> 0$ for every $v\in V$ (stability condition)
- every non-special vertex of $\GG_v$ must be at least trivalent for all $v\in V_+$.
We say that $\GG^{en}$ is [*reduced*]{} if $\zeta$ is.
If the graph $\zeta$ is not reduced, then we can merge two vertices of $\zeta$ along an edge of $\zeta$ and obtain a new enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph. $\GG^{en}_1$ and $\GG^{en}_2$ are considered equivalent if they are related by a sequence of merging operations. It is clear that each equivalence class can be identified to its reduced representative. Unless differently specified, we will always refer to an enriched graph as the canonical reduced representative.
The total [*genus*]{} of $\GG^{en}$ is $g(\GG^{en})=1-\chi(\zeta)+\sum_{v\in V_+} g(\GG_v)
+\sum_{w\in V_-}g(w)$.
In Figure \[fig:bicolored\], the genus of each vertex is written inside, $x_1$ and $x_2$ are marking the two holes of $\GG$ (sitting in different components), whereas $x_3$ is an invisible marked point. Moreover, $t_1,t_2,t_3,t_4$ (resp. $s_5,s_6$) are distinct (special) vertices of the visible component of genus $0$ (resp. of genus $3$). The total genus of the associated $\GG^{en}$ is $7$.
If an edge $z$ of $\zeta$ joins $v\in V_+$ and $w\in V_-$ and this edge is marked by the special vertex $y\in E_0(\GG_v)$, then we will say, for brevity, that $z$ joins $w$ to $y$.
An enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph is [*nonsingular*]{} if $\zeta$ consists of a single visible vertex. Equivalently, an enriched nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graph consists of a connected ribbon graph $\GG$ together with an injection $X \hra E_\infty(\GG)\cup E_0(\GG)$, whose image is exactly $E_\infty(\GG)\cup\{\text{special vertices}\}$, such that non-special vertices are at least trivalent and $\chi(\GG)-|\{\text{marked vertices}\}|<0$.
### Category of nonsingular ribbon graphs.
A [*morphism*]{} of nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graphs $\GG_1 \rar \GG_2$ is an injective map $f:E(\GG_2)\hra E(\GG_1)$ such that
- $f$ commutes with $\s_1$, $\s_\infty$ and respects the $X$-marking
- $\GG_{1,Z}$ is a disjoint union of trees, where $Z=E_1(\GG_1)\setminus E_1(\GG_2)$.
Notice that, as $f$ preserves the $X$-markings (which are [*injections*]{} $X\hra E_\infty(\GG_i)\cup E_0(\GG_i)$), then each component of $Z$ may contain at most one special vertex.
Vice versa, if $\GG$ is a nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graph and $\emptyset\neq Z\subsetneq E_1(\GG)$ such that $\GG_Z$ is a disjoint union of trees (each one containing at most a special vertex), then the inclusion $f:E_1(\GG)\setminus\tilde{Z}\hra E_1(\GG)$ induces a morphism of nonsingular ribbon graphs $\GG\rar \GG/Z$.
A morphism is an [*isomorphism*]{} if and only if $f$ is bijective.
$\mathfrak{RG}_{X,ns}$ is the small category whose objects are nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graphs $\GG$ (where we assume that $E(\GG)$ is contained in a fixed countable set) with the morphisms defined above. We use the symbol $\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X,ns}$ to denote the full subcategory of ribbon graphs of genus $g$.
### Topological realization of nonsingular ribbon graphs. {#sss:ns-ribbon_graphs}
A topological realization $|G|$ of the graph $G=(E,\sim,\s_1)$ is the one-dimensional CW-complex obtained from $\dis I\times E$ (where $I=[0,1]$) by identifying
- $(t,\ora{e})\sim (1-t,\ola{e})$ for all $t\in I$ and $\ora{e}\in E$
- $(0,\ora{e})\sim (0,\ora{e'})$ whenever $e\sim e'$.
A [*topological realization*]{} $|\GG|$ of the nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graph $\GG=(E,\s_0,\s_1)$ is the oriented surface obtained from $\dis T\times E$ (where $T=I\times[0,\infty]/I\times\{\infty\}$) by identifying
- $(t,0,\ora{e})\sim (1-t,0,\ola{e})$ for all $\ora{e}\in E$
- $(1,y,\ora{e})\sim (0,y,s_{\infty}(\ora{e}))$ for all $\ora{e}\in E$ and $y\in [0,\infty]$.
If $G$ is the ordinary graph underlying $\GG$, then there is a natural embedding $|G|\hra |\GG|$, which we call the [*spine*]{}.
The points at infinity in $|\GG|$ are called [*centers*]{} of the holes and can be identified to $E_\infty(\GG)$. Thus, $|\GG|$ is naturally an $X$-marked surface.
Notice that a morphism of nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graphs $\GG_1\rar \GG_2$ induces an isotopy class of orientation-preserving homeomorphisms $|\GG_1|\rar |\GG_2|$ that respect the $X$-marking.
### Nonsingular $(S,X)$-markings.
An [*$(S,X)$-marking*]{} of the nonsingular $X$-marked ribbon graph $\GG$ is an orientation-preserving homeomorphism $f:S\rar |\GG|$, compatible with $X\hra E_\infty(\GG)\cup E_0(\GG)$.
Define $\mathfrak{RG}_{ns}(S,X)$ to be the category whose objects are $(S,X)$-marked nonsingular ribbon graphs $(\GG,f)$ and whose morphisms $(\GG_1,f_1)\rar (\GG_2,f_2)$ are morphisms $\GG_1\rar \GG_2$ such that $S\arr{f_1}{\lra} |\GG_1| \rar |\GG_2|$ is homotopic to $f_2: S\rar |\GG_2|$.
As usual, there is a right action of the mapping class group $\G(S,X)$ on $\mathfrak{RG}_{ns}(S,X)$ and $\mathfrak{RG}_{ns}(S,X)/\G(S,X)$ is equivalent to $\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X,ns}$.
### Nonsingular arcs/graph duality. {#sss:ns-duality}
Let $\ua=\{\a_0,\dots,\a_k\}\in \Ao(S,X)$ be a proper arc system and let $\s_0,\s_1,\s_\infty$ the corresponding operators on the set of oriented arcs $E(\ua)$. The [*ribbon graph dual to $\ua$*]{} is $\GG_{\ua}=(E(\ua),\s_0,\s_1)$, which comes naturally equipped with an $X$-marking (see \[sss:sigma-arc\]).
Define the $(S,X)$-marking $f:S\rar |\GG|$ in the following way. Fix a point $c_v$ in each component $v$ of $S\setminus \ua$ (which must be exactly the marked point, if the component is a pointed disc) and let $f$ send it to the corresponding vertex $v$ of $|\GG|$. For each arc $\a_i\in\ua$, consider a transverse path $\beta_i$ from $c_{v'}$ to $c_{v''}$ that joins the two components $v'$ and $v''$ separated by $\a_i$, intersecting $\a_i$ exactly once, in such a way that $\beta_i\cap \beta_j=\emptyset$ if $i\neq j$. Define $f$ to be a homeomorphism of $\beta_i$ onto the oriented edge in $|\GG|$ corresponding to $\a_i$ that runs from $v'$ to $v''$.
{width="70.00000%"}
Because all components of $S\setminus\ua$ are discs (or pointed discs), it is easy to see that there is a unique way of extending $f$ to a homeomorphism (up to isotopy).
The association above defines a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant equivalence of categories $$\wh{\Ao}(S,X) \lra \mathfrak{RG}_{ns}(S,X)$$ where $\wh{\Ao}(S,X)$ is the category of proper arc systems, whose morphisms are reversed inclusions.
In fact, an inclusion $\ua\hra \ub$ of proper systems induces a morphism $\GG_{\ub}\rar \GG_{\ua}$ of nonsingular $(S,X)$-marked ribbon graphs.
A pseudo-inverse is constructed as follows. Let $f:S\rar |\GG|$ be a nonsingular $(S,X)$-marked ribbon graph and let $|G|\hra |\GG|$ be the spine. The graph $f^{-1}(|G|)$ decomposes $S$ into a disjoint union of one-pointed discs. For each edge $e$ of $|G|$, let $\a_e$ be the simple arc joining the points in the two discs separated by $e$. Thus, we can associate the system of arcs $\{\a_e\,|\, e\in E_1(\GG)\}$ to $(\GG,f)$ and this defines a pseudo-inverse $\mathfrak{RG}_{ns}(S,X) \lra \wh{\Ao}(S,X)$.
### Metrized nonsingular ribbon graphs. {#sss:metrized}
A [*metric*]{} on a ribbon graph $\GG$ is a map $\ell:E_1(\GG)\rar {\mathbb{R}}_+$. Given a simple closed curve $\g\in\mathcal{C}(S,X)$ and an $(S,X)$-marked nonsingular ribbon graph $f:S\rar|\GG|$, there is a unique simple closed curve $\tilde{\g}=|e_{i_1}|\cup\dots\cup |e_{i_k}|$ contained inside $|G|\subset |\GG|$ such that $f^{-1}(\tilde{\g})$ is freely homotopic to $\g$.
If $\GG$ is metrized, then we can define the [*length*]{} $\ell(\g)$ to be $\ell(\tilde{\g})=\ell(e_{i_1})+\dots+\ell(e_{i_k})$. Consequently, the [*systol*]{} is given by $\mathrm{inf}\{\ell(\g)\,|\,\g\in\mathcal{C}(S,X)\}$.
Given a proper weighted arc system $w\in|\Ao(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}$, supported on $\ua\in \Ao(S,X)$, we can endow the corresponding ribbon graph $\GG_{\ua}$ with a [*metric*]{}, by simply setting $\ell(\a_i)=w(\a_i)$. Thus, one can extend the correspondence to proper weighted arc systems and metrized $(S,X)$-marked nonsingular ribbon graphs. Moreover, the notions of length and systol agree with those given in \[sss:compact\].
Notice the similarity between Lemma \[lemma:compact\] and Mumford-Mahler criterion for compactness in $\M_{g,n}$.
### Category of enriched ribbon graphs.
An [*isomorphism*]{} of enriched $X$-marked ribbon graphs $\GG^{en}_1 \rar \GG^{en}_2$ is the datum of compatible isomorphisms of their (reduced) graphs $c:\zeta_1\rar \zeta_2$ and of the ribbon graphs $\GG_1\rar \GG_2$, such that $c(V_{1,+})=V_{2,+}$ and they respect the rest of the data.
Let $\GG^{en}$ be an enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph and let $e\in E_1(\GG_v)$, where $v\in V_+$. Assume that $|V_+|>1$ or that $|E_1(\GG_v)|>1$. We define $\GG^{en}/e$ in the following way.
- If $e$ is the only edge of $\GG_v$, then we just turn $v$ into an invisible component and we define $g(v):=g(\GG_v)$ and $m(x_i)=v$ for all $x_i\in X$ that marked a hole or a vertex of $\GG_v$. In what follows, suppose that $|E_1(\GG_v)|>1$.
- If $[\ora{e}]_0$ and $[\ola{e}]_0$ are distinct and not both special, then we obtain $\GG^{en}/e$ from $\GG^{en}$ by simply replacing $\GG_v$ by $\GG_v/e$.
- If $[\ora{e}]_0=[\ola{e}]_0$ not special, then replace $\GG_v$ by $\GG_v/e$. If $\{\ora{e}\}$ was a hole marked by $x_j$, then mark the new vertex of $\GG_v/e$ by $x_j$. Otherwise, add an edge to $\zeta$ that joins the two new vertices of $\GG_v/e$ (which may or may not split into two visible components).
- In this last case, add a new invisible component $w$ of genus $0$ to $\zeta$, replace $\GG_v$ by $\GG_v/e$ (if $\GG_v/e$ is disconnected, the vertex $v$ splits) and join $w$ to the new vertices (one or two) of $\GG_v/e$ and to the old edges $s_v^{-1}([\ora{e}]_0)\cup s_v^{-1}([\ola{e}]_0)$. Moreover, if $\{\ora{e}\}$ was a hole marked by $x_j$, then mark $w$ by $x_j$.
Notice that $\GG^{en}/e$ can be not reduced, so we may want to consider the reduced enriched graph $\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}$ associated to it. We define $\GG^{en}\rar \widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}$ to be an [*elementary contraction*]{}.
$X$-marked enriched ribbon graphs form a (small) category $\mathfrak{RG}_X$, whose morphisms are compositions of isomorphisms and elementary contractions. Call $\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X}$ the full subcategory of $\mathfrak{RG}_X$ whose objects are ribbon graphs of genus $g$.
Really, the automorphism group of an enriched ribbon graph must be defined as the product of the automorphism group as defined above by $\dis\prod_{v\in V_-} \Aut(v)$, where $\Aut(v)$ is the group of automorphisms of the generic Riemann surface of type $(g(v),n(v))$ (where $n(v)$ is the number of oriented edges of $\zeta$ outgoing from $v$). Fortunately, $\Aut(v)$ is almost always trivial, except if $g(v)=n(v)=1$, when $\Aut(v)\cong {\mathbb{Z}}/2{\mathbb{Z}}$.
### Topological realization of enriched ribbon graphs.
The [*topological realization*]{} of the enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph $\GG^{en}$ is the nodal $X$-marked oriented surface $|\GG^{en}|$ obtained as a quotient of $$\left(\coprod_{v\in V_+} |\GG_v|\right)
\coprod \left( \coprod_{w\in V_-} S_w \right)$$ by a suitable equivalence relation, where $S_w$ is a compact oriented surface of genus $g(w)$ with marked points given by $m^{-1}(w)$ and by the oriented edges of $\zeta$ outgoing from $w$. The equivalence relation identifies couples of points (two special vertices of $\GG$ or a special vertex on a visible component and a point on an invisible one) corresponding to the same edge of $\zeta$.
As in the nonsingular case, for each $v\in V_+$ the positive component $|\GG_v|$ naturally contains an embedded [*spine*]{} $|G_v|$. Notice that there is an obvious correspondence between edges of $\zeta$ and nodes of $|\GG^{en}|$.
Moreover, the elementary contraction $\GG^{en}\rar \GG^{en}/e$ to the non-reduced $\GG^{en}/e$ defines a unique homotopy class of maps $|\GG^{en}|\rar |\GG^{en}/e|$, which may shrink a circle inside a positive component of $|\GG^{en}|$ to a point (only in cases (c) and (d)), and which are homeomorphisms elsewhere.
If $\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}$ is the reduced graph associated to $\GG^{en}/e$, then we also have a map $|\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}|\rar |\GG^{en}/e|$ that shrinks some circles inside the invisible components to points and is a homeomorphism elsewhere.
$$\xymatrix@R=0.3in{
|\GG^{en}| \ar[rd] && |\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}| \ar[ld] \\
& |\GG^{en}/e|
}$$
### $(S,X)$-markings of $\GG^{en}$.
An [*$(S,X)$-marking*]{} of an enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph $\GG^{en}$ is a map $f:S\rar |\GG^{en}|$ compatible with $X\hra E_\infty(\GG)
\cup E_0(\GG)$ such that $f^{-1}(\{\text{nodes}\})$ is a disjoint union of circles and $f$ is an orientation-preserving homeomorphism elsewhere. The subsurface $S_+:=f^{-1}(|\GG|\setminus
\{\text{special points}\})$ is the [*visible subsurface*]{}.
An [*isomorphism*]{} of $(S,X)$-marked (reduced) enriched ribbon graphs is an isomorphism $\GG^{en}_1\rar \GG^{en}_2$ such that $S\arr{f_1}{\lra}|\GG^{en}_1|\rar |\GG^{en}_2|$ is homotopic to $f_2:S\rar |\GG^{en}_2|$.
Given $(S,X)$-markings $f:S\rar |\GG^{en}|$ and $f':S\rar |\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}|$ such that $S\arr{f}{\lra} |\GG^{en}|\rar |\GG^{en}/e|$ is homotopic to $S\arr{f'}{\lra} |\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e}|
\rar |\GG^{en}/e|$, then we define $(\GG^{en},f)\rar (\widetilde{\GG^{en}/e},f')$ to be an [*elementary contraction*]{} of $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graphs.
Define $\mathfrak{RG}(S,X)$ to be the category whose objects are (equivalence classes of) $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graphs $(\GG^{en},f)$ and whose morphisms are compositions of isomorphisms and elementary contractions.
Again, the mapping class group $\G(S,X)$ acts on $\mathfrak{RG}(S,X)$ and the quotient $\mathfrak{RG}(S,X)/
\G(S,X)$ is equivalent to $\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X}$.
### Arcs/graph duality. {#sss:arc-graph}
Let $\ua=\{\a_0,\dots,\a_k\}\in \Ao(S,X)$ be an arc system and let $\s_0,\s_1,\s_\infty$ the corresponding operators on the set of oriented arcs $E(\ua)$.
Define $V_+$ to be the set of connected components of $S(\ua)_+$ and $V_-$ the set of components of $S(\ua)_-$. Let $\zeta$ be a graph whose vertices are $V=V_+\cup V_-$ and whose edges correspond to connected components of $S\setminus(S(\ua)_+\cup
S(\ua)_-)$, where an edge connects $v$ and $w$ (possibly $v=w$) if the associated component bounds $v$ and $w$.
Define $g:V_-\rar{\mathbb{N}}$ to be the genus function associated to the connected components of $S(\ua)_-$.
Call $S_v$ the subsurface associated to $v\in V_+$ and let $\hat{S}_v$ be the quotient of $\ol{S}_v$ obtained by identifying each component of $\pa S_v$ to a point. As $\ua\cap \hat{S}_v$ quasi-fills $\hat{S}_v$, we can construct a dual ribbon graph $\GG_v$ and a homeomorphism $\hat{S}_v\rar |\GG_v|$ that sends $\pa S_v$ to special vertices of $|\GG_v|$ and marked points on $\hat{S}_v$ to centers of $|\GG_v|$. These homeomorphisms glue to give a map $S\rar |\GG^{en}|$ that shrinks circles and cylinders in $S\setminus (S(\ua)_+\cup S(\ua)_-)$ to nodes and is a homeomorphism elsewhere, which is thus homotopic to a marking of $|\GG^{en}|$.
We have obtain an enriched $(S,X)$-marked (reduced) ribbon graph $\GG^{en}_{\ua}$ [*dual to $\ua$*]{}.
The construction above defines a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant equivalence of categories $$\wh{\Af}(S,X) \lra \mathfrak{RG}(S,X)$$ where $\wh{\Af}(S,X)$ is the category of proper arc systems, whose morphisms are reversed inclusions.
As before, an inclusion $\ua\hra \ub$ of systems of arcs induces a morphism $\GG^{en}_{\ub}\rar \GG^{en}_{\ua}$ of nonsingular $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graphs.
To construct a pseudo-inverse, start with $(\GG^{en},f)$ and call $\hat{S}_v$ the surface obtained from $f^{-1}(|\GG_v|)$ by shrinking each boundary circle to a point. By nonsingular duality, we can construct a system of arcs $\ua_v$ inside $\hat{S}_v$ dual to $f_v:\hat{S}_v \rar |\GG_v|$. As the arcs miss the vertices of $f_v^{-1}(|G_v|)$ by construction, $\ua_v$ can be lifted to $S$. The wanted arc system on $S$ is $\ua=\bigcup_{v\in V_+}\ua_v$.
### Metrized enriched ribbon graphs.
A metric on $\GG^{en}$ is a map $\ell:E_1(\GG)\rar{\mathbb{R}}_+$. Given $\g\in\mathcal{C}(S,X)$ and an $(S,X)$-marking $f:S\rar |\GG^{en}|$, we can define $\g_+:=\g\cap S_+$. As in the nonsingular case, there is a unique $\tilde{\g}_+
=|e_{i_1}|\cup\dots\cup |e_{i_k}|$ inside $|G|\subset |\GG|$ such that $f^{-1}(\tilde{\g}_+)\simeq \g_+$.
Hence, we can define $\ell(\g):=\ell(\g_+)=\ell(e_{i_1})+
\dots+\ell(e_{i_k})$. Clearly, $\ell(\g)=i(\g,w)$, where $w$ is the weight function supported on the arc system dual to $(\GG^{en},f)$. Thus, the arc-graph duality also establishes a correspondence between weighted arc systems on $(S,X)$ and metrized $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graphs.
Differential and algebro-geometric point of view {#sec:alg}
================================================
The Deligne-Mumford moduli space. {#ss:deligne-mumford}
---------------------------------
### The Teichmüller space. {#sss:teichmueller}
Fix a compact oriented surface $S$ of genus $g$ and a subset $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\subset S$ such that $2g-2+n>0$.
A [*smooth family*]{} of $(S,X)$-marked Riemann surfaces is a commutative diagram $$\xymatrix@R=0.3in{
B \times S \ar[rr]^f \ar[rrd] && \mathcal{C} \ar[d]^\pi \\
&& B
}$$ where $f$ is an relatively (over $B$) oriented diffeomorphism, $B\times S \rar B$ is the projection on the first factor and the fibers $\mathcal{C}_b$ of $\pi$ are Riemann surfaces, whose complex structure varies smoothly with $b\in B$.
Two families $(f_1,\pi_1)$ and $(f_2,\pi_2)$ over $B$ are [*isomorphic*]{} if there exists a continuous map $h:\mathcal{C}_1 \rar \mathcal{C}_2$ such that
- $h_b\circ f_{1,b}:S \rar \mathcal{C}_{2,b}$ is homotopic to $f_{2,b}$ for every $b\in B$
- $h_b:\mathcal{C}_{1,b}\rar\mathcal{C}_{2,b}$ is biholomorphic for every $b\in B$.
The functor $\Teich(S,X):(\text{manifolds})\rar (\text{sets})$ defined by $$B \mapsto \left\{\substack{\dis\text{smooth families of $(S,X)$-marked}\\
\dis\text{Riemann surfaces over $B$}}\right\}/\text{iso}$$ is represented by the [*Teichmüller space*]{} $\Teich(S,X)$.
It is a classical result that $\Teich(S,X)$ is a complex-analytic manifold of (complex) dimension $3g-3+n$ (Ahlfors [@ahlfors:complex], Bers [@bers:simultaneous] and Ahlfors-Bers [@ahlfors-bers:riemann]) and is diffeomorphic to a ball (Teichmüller [@teichmueller:collected]).
### The moduli space of Riemann surfaces. {#sss:moduli}
A [*smooth family*]{} of $X$-marked Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ is
- a submersion $\pi:\mathcal{C}\rar B$
- a smooth embedding $s:X\times B\rar \mathcal{C}$
such that the fibers $\mathcal{C}_b$ are Riemann surfaces of genus $g$, whose complex structure varies smoothly in $b\in B$, and $s_{x_i}:B\rar\mathcal{C}$ is a section for every $x_i\in X$.
Two families $(\pi_1,s_1)$ and $(\pi_2,s_2)$ over $B$ are isomorphic if there exists a diffeomorphism $h:\mathcal{C}_1\rar\mathcal{C}_2$ such that $\pi_2\circ h=\pi_1$, the restriction of $h$ to each fiber $h_b:\mathcal{C}_{1,b}\rar\mathcal{C}_{2,b}$ is a biholomorphism and $h\circ s_1=s_2$.
The existence of Riemann surfaces with nontrivial automorphisms (for $g\geq 1$) prevents the functor $$\M_{g,X}:
\xymatrix@R=0in{
(\text{manifolds}) \ar[r] & (\text{sets}) \\
B \ar@{|->}[r] & \left\{\substack{\dis
\text{smooth families of $X$-marked}\\
\dis\text{Riemann surfaces over $B$}}\right\}/\text{iso}
}$$ from being representable. However, Riemann surfaces with $2g-2+n>0$ have finitely many automorphisms and so $\M_{g,X}$ is actually represented by an orbifold, which is in fact $\Teich(S,X)/\G(S,X)$ (in the orbifold sense). In the algebraic category, we would rather say that $\M_{g,X}$ is a Deligne-Mumford stack with quasi-projective coarse space.
### Stable curves.
Enumerative geometry is traditionally reduced to intersection theory on suitable moduli spaces. In our case, $\M_{g,X}$ is not a compact orbifold. To compactify it in an algebraically meaningful way, we need to look at how algebraic families of complex projective curves can degenerate.
In particular, given a holomorphic family $\mathcal{C}^*\rar \Delta^*$ of algebraic curves over the punctured disc, we must understand how to complete the family over $\Delta$.
Consider the family $\mathcal{C}^*=\{(b,[x:y:z])\in\Delta^*\times{\mathbb{C}}\mathbb{P}^2\,|\,
y^2 z=x(x-bz)(x-2z)\}$ of curves of genus $1$ with the marked point $[2:0:1]\in {\mathbb{C}}\mathbb{P}^2$, parametrized by $b\in\Delta^*$. Notice that the projection $\mathcal{C}^*_b\rar {\mathbb{C}}\mathbb{P}^1$ given by $[x:y:z]\mapsto [x:z]$ (where $[0:1:0]\mapsto [1:0]$) is a $2:1$ cover, branched over $\{0,b,2,\infty\}$. Fix a $\ol{b}\in\Delta^*$ and consider a closed curve $\g\subset {\mathbb{C}}\mathbb{P}^1$ that separates $\{\ol{b},2\}$ from $\{0,\infty\}$ and pick one of the two (simple closed) lifts $\tilde{\g}\subset \mathcal{C}^*_{\ol{b}}$.
This $\tilde{\g}$ determines a nontrivial element of $H_1(\mathcal{C}^*_{\ol{b}})$. A quick analysis tells us that the endomorphism $T:H_1(\mathcal{C}^*_{\ol{b}})\rar H_1(\mathcal{C}^*_{\ol{b}})$ induced by the monodromy around a generator of $\pi_1(\Delta^*,\ol{b})$ is nontrivial. Thus, the family $\mathcal{C}^*\rar\Delta^*$ cannot be completed over $\Delta$ as smooth family (because it would have trivial monodromy).
If we want to compactify our moduli space, we must allow our curves to acquire some singularities. Thus, it makes no longer sense to ask them to be submersions. Instead, we will require them to be [*flat*]{}.
Given an open subset $0\in B\subset {\mathbb{C}}$, a flat family of connected projective curves $\mathcal{C}\rar B$ may typically look like (up to shrinking $B$)
- $\Delta\times B\rar B$ around a smooth point of $\mathcal{C}_0$
- $\{(x,y)\in{\mathbb{C}}^2\,|\, xy=0\}\times B\rar B$ around a node of $\mathcal{C}_0$ that persists on each $\mathcal{C}_b$
- $\{(b,x,y)\in B\times{\mathbb{C}}^2\,|\, xy=b\}\rar B$ around a node of $\mathcal{C}_0$ that does not persist on the other curves $\mathcal{C}_b$ with $b\neq 0$
in local analytic coordinates.
Notice that the (arithmetic) genus of each fiber $g_b=1-\frac{1}{2}[\chi(\mathcal{C}_b)-\nu_b]$ is constant in $b$.
To prove that allowing nodal curves is enough to compactify $\M_{g,X}$, one must show that it is always possible to complete any family $\mathcal{C}^*\rar
\Delta^*$ to a family over $\Delta$. However, because nodal curves may have nontrivial automorphisms, we shall consider also the case in which $0\in\Delta$ is an orbifold point. Thus, it is sufficient to be able to complete not exactly the family $\mathcal{C}^*\rar\Delta^*$ but its pull-back under a suitable map $\Delta^*\rar\Delta^*$ given by $z\mapsto z^k$. This is exactly the [*semi-stable reduction theorem*]{}.
One can observe that it is always possible to avoid producing genus $0$ components with $1$ or $2$ nodes. Thus, we can consider only [*stable curves*]{}, that is nodal projective (connected) curves such that all irreducible components have finitely many automorphisms (equivalently, no irreducible component is a sphere with less than three nodes/marked points).
The [*Deligne-Mumford compactification*]{} $\Mbar_{g,X}$ of $\M_{g,X}$ is the moduli space of $X$-marked stable curves of genus $g$, which is a compact orbifold (algebraically, a Deligne-Mumford stack with projective coarse moduli space).
Its underlying topological space is a projective variety of complex dimension $3g-3+n$.
The system of moduli spaces of curves {#ss:system}
-------------------------------------
### Boundary maps.
Many facts suggest that one should not look at the moduli spaces of $X$-pointed genus $g$ curves $\Mbar_{g,X}$ each one separately, but one must consider the whole system $(\Mbar_{g,X})_{g,X}$. An evidence is given by the existence of three families of maps that relate different moduli spaces.
1. The [*forgetful map*]{} is a projective flat morphism $$\pi_q: \Mbar_{g,X\cup\{q\}} \lra \Mbar_{g,X}$$ that forgets the point $q$ and stabilizes the curve (i.e. contracts a possible two-pointed sphere). This map can be identified to the universal family and so is endowed with natural sections $$\vartheta_{0,\{x_i,q\}}: \Mbar_{g,X} \rar \Mbar_{g,X\cup\{q\}}$$ for all $x_i\in X$.
2. The [*boundary map*]{} corresponding to irreducible curves is the finite map $$\vartheta_{irr}: \Mbar_{g-1,X\cup\{x',x''\}} \lra \Mbar_{g,X}$$ (defined for $g>0$) that glues $x'$ and $x''$ together. It is generically $2:1$ and its image sits in the boundary of $\Mbar_{g,X}$.
3. The [*boundary maps*]{} corresponding to reducible curves are the finite maps $$\vartheta_{g',I}:\Mbar_{g',I\cup\{x'\}} \times \Mbar_{g-g',I^c\cup\{x''\}}
\lra \Mbar_{g,X}$$ (defined for every $0\leq g'\leq g$ and $I\subseteq X$ such that the spaces involved are nonempty) that take two curves and glue them together identifying $x'$ and $x''$. They are generically $1-1$ (except in the case $g=2g'$ and $X=\emptyset$, when the map is generically $2:1$) and their images sit in the boundary of $\Mbar_{g,X}$ too.
Let $\delta_{0,\{x_i,q\}}$ be the Cartier divisor in $\Mbar_{g,X\cup\{q\}}$ corresponding to the image of the tautological section $\vartheta_{0,\{x_i,q\}}$ and call $D_q:=\sum_i \delta_{0,\{x_i,q\}}$.
### Stratification by topological type.
We observe that $\Mbar_{g,X}$ has a natural [*stratification*]{} by topological type of the complex curve. In fact, we can attach to every stable curve $\Si$ its [*dual graph*]{} $\zeta_{\Si}$, whose vertices $V$ correspond to irreducible components and whose edges correspond to nodes of $\Si$. Moreover, we can define a genus function $g:V\rar {\mathbb{N}}$ such that $g(v)$ is the genus of the normalization of the irreducible component corresponding to $v$ and a marking function $m:X \rar V$ (determined by requiring that $x_i$ is marking a point on the irreducible component corresponding to $m(x_i)$). Equivalently, we will also say that the vertex $v\in V$ is [*labeled*]{} by $(g(v),X_v:=m^{-1}(v))$. Call $Q_v$ the singular points of $\Si_v$.
For every such labeled graph $\zeta$, we can construct a boundary map $$\vartheta_{\zeta}:\prod_{vin V} \Mbar_{g_v,X_v\cup Q_v} \lra \Mbar_{g,X}$$ which is a finite morphism.
Augmented Teichmüller space {#ss:augmented}
---------------------------
### Bordifications of $\Teich(S,X)$.
Fix $S$ a compact oriented surface of genus $g$ and let $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\subset S$ such that $2g-2+n>0$.
It is natural to look for natural [*bordifications*]{} of $\Teich(S,X)$: that is, we look for a space $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)\supset \Teich(S,X)$ that contains $\Teich(S,X)$ as a dense subspace and such that the action of the mapping class group $\G(S,X)$ extends to $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$.
A remarkable example is given by Thurston’s compactification $\ol{\Teich}^{Th}(S,X)=\Teich(S,X)\cup \mathbb{P}\mathcal{ML}(S,X)$, in which points at infinity are projective measured lamination with compact support in $S\setminus X$. Thurston showed that $\mathbb{P}\mathcal{ML}(S,X)$ is compact and homeomorphic to a sphere. As $\G(S,X)$ is infinite and discrete, this means that the quotient $\ol{\Teich}^{Th}(S,X)/\G(S,X)$ cannot be too good and so this does not sound like a convenient way to compactify $\M_{g,X}$.
We will see in Section \[sec:triangulation\] that $\Teich(S,X)$ can be identified to $|\Ao(S,X)|$. Thus, another remarkable example will be given by $|\Af(S,X)|$.
A natural question is how to define a bordification $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ such that $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)/\G(S,X)\cong\Mbar_{g,X}$.
### Deligne-Mumford augmentation.
A [*(continuous) family of stable $(S,X)$-marked curves*]{} is a diagram $$\xymatrix@R=0.3in{
B \times S \ar[rr]^f \ar[rrd] && \mathcal{C} \ar[d]^\pi \\
&& B
}$$ where $B\times S \rar B$ is the projection on the first factor and
- the family $\pi$ is obtained as a pull-back of a flat stable family of $X$-marked curves $\mathcal{C}'\rar B'$ through a continuous map $B\rar B'$
- if $N_b\subset \mathcal{C}_b$ is the subset of nodes, then $f^{-1}(\nu)$ is a smooth loop in $S\times\{b\}$ for every $\nu\in N_b$
- for every $b\in B$ the restriction $f_b:S\setminus f^{-1}(N_b) \rar
\mathcal{C}_b\setminus N_b$ is an orientation-preserving homeomorphism, compatible with the $X$-marking.
Isomorphisms of such families are defined in the obvious way.
A way to construct such families is to start with a flat family $\mathcal{C}'\rar\Delta$ such that $\mathcal{C}'_b$ are all homeomorphic for $b\neq 0$. Then consider the path $B=[0,\e)\subset \Delta$ and call $\mathcal{C}:=\mathcal{C}'\times_\Delta B$. Over $(0,\e)$, the family $\mathcal{C}$ is topologically trivial, whereas $\mathcal{C}_0$ may contain some new nodes.
Consider a marking $S \rar \mathcal{C}_{\e/2}$ that pinches circles to nodes, is an oriented homeomorphism elsewhere and is compatible with $X$. The map $S\times (0,\e)\rar \mathcal{C}_{\e/2}\times(0,\e)
\arr{\sim}{\lra}\mathcal{C}$ extends $S\times [0,\e)\rar \mathrm{Bl}_{\mathcal{C}_0}\mathcal{C}
\rar \mathcal{C}$, which is the wanted $(S,X)$-marking.
The [*Deligne-Mumford augmentation*]{} of $\Teich(S,X)$ is the topological space $\ol{\Teich}^{DM}(S,X)$ that classifies families of stable $(S,X)$-marked curves.
It follows easily that $\ol{\Teich}^{DM}(S,X)/\G(S,X)=
\Mbar_{g,X}$ as topological spaces. However, $\ol{\Teich}^{DM}(S,X)\rar\Mbar_{g,X}$ has infinite ramification at $\pa^{DM}\Teich(S,X)$, due to the Dehn twists around the pinched loops.
### Hyperbolic length functions.
Let $[f:S\rar \Si]$ be a point of $\Teich(S,X)$. As $\chi(S\setminus X)=2-2g-n<0$, the uniformization theorem provides a universal cover $\mathbb{H}\rar \Si\setminus f(X)$, which endows $\Si\setminus f(X)$ with a hyperbolic metric of finite volume, with cusps at $f(X)$.
In fact, we can interpret $\Teich(S,X)$ as the classifying space of $(S,X)$-marked families of hyperbolic surfaces. It is clear that continuous variation of the complex structure corresponds to continuous variation of the hyperbolic metric (uniformly on the compact subsets, for instance), and so to continuity of the holonomy map $H:\pi_1(S\setminus X)\times\Teich(S,X)
\rar \mathrm{PSL}_2({\mathbb{R}})$.
In particular, for every $\g\in\pi_1(S\setminus X)$ the function $\ell_\g:\Teich(S,X)\rar {\mathbb{R}}$ that associates to $[f:S\rar \Si]$ the length of the unique geodesic in the free homotopy class $f_*\g$ is continuous. As $\cosh(\ell_\g/2)=|\mathrm{Tr}(H_{\g}/2)|$, one can check that $H$ can be reconstructed from sufficiently (but finitely) many length functions. So that the continuity of these is equivalent to the continuity of the family.
### Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates.
Let $\ug=\{\g_1,\dots,\g_{N}\}$ be a maximal system of disjoint simple closed curves of $S\setminus X$ (and so $N=3g-3+n$) such that no $\g_i$ is contractible in $S\setminus X$ or homotopic to a puncture and no couple $\g_i,\g_j$ bounds a cylinder contained in $S\setminus X$.
The system $\ug$ induces a [*pair of pants decomposition*]{} of $S$, that is $S\setminus(\g_1\cup\dots\cup\g_{N})=P_1\cup P_2\cup\dots\cup
P_{2g-2+n}$, and each $P_i$ is a pair of pants (i.e. a surface of genus $0$ with $\chi(P_i)=-1$).
Given $[f:S\rar\Si]\in\Teich(S,X)$, we have [*lengths*]{} $\ell_i(f)=\ell_{\g_i}(f)$ for $i=1,\dots,N$, which determine the hyperbolic type of all pants $P_1,\dots,P_{2g-2+n}$. The information about how the pants are glued together is encoded in the [*twist parameters*]{} $\tau_i=\tau_{\g_i}\in {\mathbb{R}}$, which are well-defined up to some choices. What is important is that, whatever choices we make, the difference $\tau_i(f_1)-\tau_i(f_2)$ is the same and it is well-defined.
The [*Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates*]{} $(\ell_i,\tau_i)_{i=1}^{N}$ exhibit a real-analytic diffeomorphism $\Teich(S,X)\arr{\sim}{\lra}({\mathbb{R}}_+\times{\mathbb{R}})^{N}$ (which clearly depends on the choice of $\ug$).
### Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates around nodal curves.
Points of $\pa^{DM}\Teich(S,X)$ are $(S,X)$-marked stable curves or, equivalently (using the uniformization theorem componentwise), $(S,X)$-marked hyperbolic surfaces with nodes, i.e. homotopy classes of maps $f:S\rar\Si$, where $\Si$ is a hyperbolic surface with nodes $\nu_1,\dots,\nu_k$, the fiber $f^{-1}(\nu_j)$ is a simple closed curve $\g_j$ and $f$ is an oriented diffeomorphism outside the nodes.
Complete $\{\g_1,\dots,\g_k\}$ to a maximal set $\ug$ of simple closed curves in $(S,X)$ and consider the associated Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates $(\ell_j,\tau_j)$ on $\Teich(S,X)$. As we approach the point $[f]$, the holonomies $H_{\g_1},\dots,H_{\g_k}$ tend to parabolics and so the lengths $\ell_1,\dots,\ell_k$ tend to zero. In fact, the hyperbolic metric on surface $\Si$ has a pair of cusps at each node $\nu_j$.
This shows that the lengths functions $\ell_1,\dots,\ell_k$ extend to zero at $[f]$ with continuity. On the other hand, the twist parameters $\tau_1(f),\dots,\tau_k(f)$ make no longer sense.
If we look at what happens on $\Mbar_{g,X}$, we may notice that the couples $(\ell_j,\tau_j)_{j=1}^k$ behave like polar coordinate around $[\Si]$, so that is seems natural to set $\vartheta_m=2\pi\tau_m/\ell_m$ for all $m=1,\dots,N$ and define consequently a map $F_{\ug}:({\mathbb{R}}^2)^{N}\rar \Mbar_{g,X}$, that associates to $(\ell_1,\vartheta_1,\dots,\ell_N,\vartheta_{N})$ the surface with Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates $(\ell_m,
\tau_m=\ell_m\vartheta_m/2\pi)$. Notice that the map is well-defined, because a twist along $\g_j$ by $\ell_j$ is a diffeomorphism of the surface (a Dehn twist).
The map $F_{\ug}$ is an orbifold cover $F_{\ug}:{\mathbb{R}}^{2N}\rar F_{\ug}({\mathbb{R}}^{2N})\subset\Mbar_{g,X}$ and its image contains $[\Si]$. Varying $\ug$, we can cover the whole $\Mbar_{g,X}$ and thus give it a [*Fenchel-Nielsen smooth structure*]{}.
The bad news, analyzed by Wolpert [@wolpert:geometry], is that the Fenchel-Nielsen smooth structure is different (at $\pa\M_{g,X}$) from the Deligne-Mumford one. In fact, if a boundary divisor is locally described by $\{z_1=0\}$, then the length $\ell_\g$ of the corresponding vanishing geodesic is related to $z_1$ by $|z_1|\approx \exp(-1/\ell_\g)$, which shows that the identity map $\Mbar^{FN}_{g,X}\rar \Mbar^{DM}_{g,X}$ is Lipschitz, but its inverse it not Hölder-continuous.
### Weil-Petersson metric.
Let $\Si$ be a Riemann surface of genus $g$ with marked points $X\hra \Si$ such that $2g-2+n>0$. First-order deformations of the complex structure can be rephrased in terms of $\ol{\pa}$ operator as $\ol{\pa}+\e\mu\pa+o(\e)$, where the [*Beltrami differential*]{} $\mu\in \Omega^{0,1}(T_\Si(-X))$ can be locally written as $\dis \mu(z)\frac{d\ol{z}}{dz}$ with respect to some holomorphic coordinate $z$ on $\Si$ and $\mu(z)$ vanishes at $X$.
Given a smooth vector field $\dis V=V(z)\frac{\pa}{\pa z}$ on $\Si$ that vanishes at $X$, the deformations induced by $\mu$ and $\mu+\ol{\pa}V$ differ only by an isotopy of $\Si$ generated by $V$ (which fixes $X$).
Thus, the [*tangent space*]{} $T_{[\Si]}\M_{g,X}$ can be identified to $H^{0,1}(\Si,T_\Si(-X))$. As a consequence, the [*cotangent space*]{} $T^{\vee}_{[\Si]}\M_{g,X}$ identifies to the space $\mathcal{Q}(\Si,X)$ of integrable holomorphic quadratic differentials on $\Si\setminus X$, that is, which are allowed to have a simple pole at each $x_i\in X$. The duality between $T_{[\Si]}\M_{g,X}$ and $T^{\vee}_{[\Si]}\M_{g,X}$ is given by $$\xymatrix@R=0in{
H^{0,1}(\Si,T_{\Si}(-X))\times H^0(\Si,K_{\Si}^{\otimes 2}(X)) \ar[rr] && {\mathbb{C}}\\
(\mu,\varphi) \ar@{|->}[rr] && \dis\int_{\Si} \mu\varphi
}$$ If $\Si\setminus X$ is given the hyperbolic metric $\lambda$, then elements in $H^{0,1}(\Si,T_\Si(-X))$ can be identified to the space of [*harmonic Beltrami differentials*]{} $\mathcal{H}(\Si,X)=\{\ol{\varphi}/\lambda\,|
\,\varphi\in\mathcal{Q}(\Si,X)\}$.
The [*Weil-Petersson Hermitean metric*]{} $h=g+i\omega$ (defined by Weil [@weil:onthemoduli] using Petersson’s pairing of modular forms) is $$h(\mu,\nu):=\int_{\Si} \mu \ol{\nu}\cdot\lambda$$ for $\mu,\nu \in \mathcal{H}(\Si,X)\cong T_{\Si}\M_{g,X}$.
This metric has a lot of properties: it is Kähler (Weil [@weil:onthemoduli] and Ahlfors [@ahlfors:someremarks]) and it is mildly divergent at $\pa\M_{g,X}$, so that the Weil-Petersson distance extends to a non-degenerate distance on $\Mbar_{g,X}$ and all points of $\pa\M_{g,X}$ are at finite distance (Masur [@masur:extension] , Wolpert [@Wolpert:diameter]).
Because $\Mbar_{g,X}$ is compact and so WP-complete, the lifting of the Weil-Petersson metric on to $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ is also complete. Thus, $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ can be seen as the [*Weil-Petersson completion*]{} of $\Teich(S,X)$.
### Weil-Petersson form.
We should emphasize that the Weil-Petersson symplectic form $\omega_{WP}$ depends more directly on the hyperbolic metric on the surface than on its holomorphic structure.
In particular, Wolpert [@wolpert:symplectic] has shown that $$\omega_{WP}=\sum_i d\ell_i\wedge d\tau_i$$ on $\Teich(S,X)$, where $(\ell_i,\tau_i)$ are Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates associated to any pair of pants decomposition of $(S,X)$.
On the other hand, if we identify $\Teich(S,X)$ with an open subset of $\mathrm{Hom}(\pi_1(S\setminus X),\mathrm{SL}_2({\mathbb{R}}))/\mathrm{SL}_2({\mathbb{R}})$, then points of $\Teich(S,X)$ are associated $\mathfrak{g}$-local systems $\rho$ on $S\setminus X$ (with parabolic holonomies at $X$ and hyperbolic holonomies otherwise), where $\mathfrak{g}=\mathfrak{sl}_2({\mathbb{R}})$ is endowed with the symmetric bilinear form $\la \a,\b \ra=\mathrm{Tr}(\a\b)$.
Goldman [@goldman:symplectic] has proved that, in this description, the tangent space to $\Teich(S,X)$ at $\rho$ is naturally $H^1(S,X;\mathfrak{g})$ and that $\omega_{WP}$ is given by $\omega(\mu,\nu)=\mathrm{Tr}(\mu\smile \nu)\cap [S]$.
Another description of $\omega$ in terms of shear coordinates and Thurston’s symplectic form on measured laminations is given by Bonahon-Sözen [@bonahon-soezen:shear].
One can feel that the complex structure $J$ on $\Teich(S,X)$ inevitably shows up whenever we deal with the Weil-Petersson metric, as $g(\cdot,\cdot)=\omega(\cdot,J\cdot)$. On the other hand, the knowledge of $\omega$ is sufficient to compute volumes and characteristic classes.
Tautological classes {#ss:tautological}
--------------------
### Relative dualizing sheaf.
All the maps between moduli spaces we have defined are in some sense tautological as they are very naturally constructed and they reflect intrinsic relations among the various moduli spaces. It is evident that one can look at these as classifying maps to the Deligne-Mumford stack $\Mbar_{g,X}$ (which obviously descend to maps between coarse moduli spaces). Hence, we can consider all the cycles obtained by pushing forward or pulling back via these maps as being “tautologically” defined.
Moreover, there is an ingredient we have not considered yet: it is the relative dualizing sheaf of the universal curve $\pi_q:\Mbar_{g,X\cup\{q\}}
\rar \Mbar_{g,X}$. One expects that it carries many informations and that it can produce many classes of interest.
The relative dualizing sheaf $\omega_{\pi_q}$ is the sheaf on $\Mbar_{g,X\cup\{q\}}$, whose local sections are (algebraically varying) Abelian differentials that are allowed to have simple poles at the nodes, provided the two residues at each node are opposite. The local sections of $\omega_{\pi_q}(D_q)$ (the logarithmic variant of $\omega_{\pi_q}$) are sections of $\omega_{\pi_q}$ that may have simple poles at the $X$-marked points.
### MMMAC classes.
The [*Miller classes*]{} are $$\psi_{x_i}:=c_1(\mathcal{L}_i)
\in CH^1(\Mbar_{g,X})_{{\mathbb{Q}}}$$ where $\mathcal{L}_i:=\vartheta_{0,\{x_i,q\}}^*\omega_{\pi_q}$ and the modified (by Arbarello-Cornalba) [*Mumford-Morita classes*]{} as $$\k_j:=(\pi_q)_*(\psi_q^{j+1})
\in CH^j(\Mbar_{g,X})_{{\mathbb{Q}}}.$$ One could moreover define the $l$-th [*Hodge bundle*]{} as and consider the Chern classes of these bundles (for example, the $\lambda$ classes ). However, using Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch, Mumford [@mumford:towards] and Bini [@bini:algorithm] proved that $c_i(\mathbb{E}_j)$ can be expressed as a linear combination of Mumford-Morita classes up to elements in the boundary, so that they do not introduce anything really new.
When there is no risk of ambiguity, we will denote in the same way the classes $\psi$ and $\k$ belonging to different $\Mbar_{g,X}$’s as it is now traditional.
Wolpert has proven [@wolpert:homology] that, on $\Mbar_g$, we have $\k_1=[\omega_{WP}]/\pi^2$ and that the amplitude of $\k_1\in A^1(\Mbar_g)$ (and so the projectivity of $\Mbar_g$) can be recovered from the fact that $[\omega_{WP}/\pi^2]$ is an integral Kähler class [@wolpert:positive]. He also showed that the cohomological identity $[\omega_{WP}/\pi^2]=\k_1=(\pi_q)_*\psi_q^2$ admits a beautiful pointwise interpretation [@wolpert:chern].
### Tautological rings.
Because of the natural definition of $\k$ and $\psi$ classes, as explained before, the subring $R^*(\M_{g,X})$ of $CH^*(\M_{g,X})_{{\mathbb{Q}}}$ they generate is called the [*tautological ring*]{} of $\M_{g,X}$. Its image $RH^*(\M_{g,X})$ through the cycle class map is called cohomology tautological ring.
From an axiomatic point of view, the [*system of tautological rings*]{} $(R^*(\Mbar_{g,X}))$ is the minimal system of subrings of $(CH^*(\Mbar_{g,X}))$ is the minimal system of subrings such that
- every $R^*(\Mbar_{g,X})$ contains the fundamental class $[\Mbar_{g,X}]$
- the system is closed under push-forward maps $\pi_*$, $(\vartheta_{irr})_*$ and $(\vartheta_{g',I})_*$.
$R^*(\M_{g,X})$ is defined to be the image of the restriction map $R^*(\Mbar_{g,X})\rar CH^*(\M_{g,X})$. The definition for the rational cohomology is analogous (where the role of $[\Mbar_{g,X}]$ is here played by its Poincaré dual $1\in H^0(\Mbar_{g,X};{\mathbb{Q}})$).
It is a simple fact to remark that all tautological rings contain $\psi$ and $\kappa$ classes and in fact that $R^*(\M_{g,X})$ is generated by them. Really, this was the original definition of $R^*(\M_{g,X})$.
### Faber’s formula.
The $\psi$ classes interact reasonably well with the forgetful maps. In fact $$\begin{aligned}
(\pi_q)_*(\psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n})=
\sum_{\{i| r_i>0\}} \psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_i}^{r_i-1}
\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n} \\
(\pi_q)_*(\psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n}\psi_q^{b+1})=
\psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n}\k_b\end{aligned}$$ where the first one is the so-called [*string equation*]{} and the second one for $b=0$ is the [*dilaton equation*]{} (see [@witten:intersection]). They have been generalized by Faber for maps that forget more than one point: Faber’s formula (which we are going to describe below) can be proven using the second equation above and the relation $\pi_q^*(\k_j)=\k_j-\psi_q^j$ (proven in [@arbarello-cornalba:combinatorial]).
Let $Q:=\{q_1,\dots,q_m\}$ and let $\pi_Q:\Mbar_{g,X\cup Q}\rar\Mbar_{g,X}$ be the forgetful map. Then $$(\pi_Q)_*(\psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n}
\psi_{q_1}^{b_1+1}\cdots\psi_{q_m}^{b_m+1})=
\psi_{x_1}^{r_1}\cdots\psi_{x_n}^{r_n}
K_{b_1\cdots b_m}$$ where $K_{b_1\cdots b_m}=\sum_{\s\in\mathfrak{S}_m} \k_{b(\s)}$ and $\k_{b(\s)}$ is defined in the following way. If $\g=(c_1,\dots,c_l)$ is a cycle, then set $b(\g):=\sum_{j=1}^l b_{c_j}$. If $\s=\g_1\cdots\g_{\nu}$ is the decomposition in disjoint cycles (including 1-cycles), then we let $k_{b(\s)}:=\prod_{i=1}^{\nu} \k_{b(\g_i)}$. We refer to [@kmz:volumes] for more details on Faber’s formula, to [@arbarello-cornalba:combinatorial] and [@arbarello-cornalba:algebraic] for more properties of tautological classes and to [@faber:conjectures] for a conjectural description (which is now partially proven) of the tautological rings.
Kontsevich’s compactification {#ss:konts}
-----------------------------
### The line bundle $\mathbb{L}$.
It has been observed by Witten [@witten:intersection] that the intersection theory of $\kappa$ and $\psi$ classes can be reduced to that of $\psi$ classes only by using the push-pull formula with respect to the forgetful morphisms. Moreover recall that $$\psi_{x_i}=c_1(\omega_{\pi_{x_i}}(D_{x_i}))$$ on $\Mbar_{g,X}$, where $D_{x_i}=\sum_{j\neq i} \d_{0,\{x_i,x_j\}}$ (as shown in [@witten:intersection]). So, in order to find a “minimal” projective compactification of $\M_{g,X}$ where to compute the intersection numbers of the $\psi$ classes, it is natural to look at the maps induced by the linear system $\mathbb{L}:=\sum_{x_i\in X}\omega_{\pi_{x_i}}(D_{x_i})$. It is well-known that $\mathbb{L}$ is nef and big (Arakelov [@arakelov:families] and Mumford [@mumford:towards]), so that the problem is to decide whether $\mathbb{L}$ is semi-ample and to determine its exceptional locus $Ex(\mathbb{L}^{\otimes d})$ for $d\gg 0$.
It is easy to see that $\mathbb{L}^{\otimes d}$ pulls back to the trivial line bundle via the boundary map , where $C$ is a fixed curve of genus $g-g'$ with a $X\cup\{x''\}$-marking and the map glues $x'$ with $x''$. Hence the map induced by the linear system $\mathbb{L}^{\otimes d}$ (if base-point-free) should restrict to the projection on these boundary components.
Whereas $\mathbb{L}$ is semi-ample in characteristic $p>0$, it is not so in characteristic $0$ (Keel [@keel:basepoint]). However, one can still topologically contract the exceptional (with respect to $\mathbb{L}$) curves to obtain Kontsevich’s map $$\xi':\Mbar_{g,X}\lra \Mbar^K_{g,X}$$ which is a proper continuous surjection of orbispaces. A consequence of Keel’s result is that the coarse $\ol{M}^K_{g,P}$ cannot be given a scheme structure such that the contraction map is a morphism. This is in some sense unexpected, because the morphism behaves as if it were algebraic: in particular, the fiber product $\ol{M}_{g,X}\times_{\ol{M}^K_{g,X}}\ol{M}_{g,X}$ is projective.
$\Mbar^K_{g,X}$ can be given the structure of a stratified orbispace, where the stratification is again by topological type of the generic curve in the fiber of $\xi'$. Also, the stabilizer of a point $s$ in $\Mbar^K_{g,X}$ will be the same as the stabilizer of the generic point in $(\xi')^{-1}(s)$.
### Visibly equivalent curves.
So now we leave the realm of algebraic geometry and proceed topologically to construct and describe this different compactification. In fact we introduce a slight modification of Kontsevich’s construction (see [@kontsevich:intersection]). We realize it as a quotient of $\Mbar_{g,X}\times \D_X$ by an equivalence relation, where $\D_X$ is the standard simplex in ${\mathbb{R}}^X$
If $(\Si,\up)$ is an element of $\Mbar_{g,X}\times \D_X$, then we say that an irreducible component of $\Si$ (and so the associated vertex of the dual graph $\zeta_{\Si}$) is [*visible*]{} with respect to $\up$ if it contains a point $x_i \in X$ such that $p_{i}>0$.
Next, we declare that $(\Si,\up)$ is equivalent to $(\Si',\up')$ if $\up=\up'$ and there is a homeomorphism of pointed surfaces $\Si \arr{\sim}{\lra} \Si'$, which is biholomorphic on the visible components of $\Si$. As this relation would not give back a Hausdorff space we consider its closure, which we are now going to describe.
Consider the following two moves on the dual graph $\zeta_\Si$:
1. if two non-positive vertices $w$ and $w'$ are joined by an edge $e$, then we can build a new graph discarding $e$, merging $w$ and $w'$ along $e$, thus obtaining a new vertex $w''$, which we label with $(g_{w''},X_{w''}):=(g_w+g_{w'},X_w\cup X_{w'})$
2. if a non-positive vertex $w$ has a loop $e$, we can make a new graph discarding $e$ and relabeling $w$ with $(g_w+1,X_w)$.
Applying these moves to $\zeta_\Si$ iteratively until the process ends, we end up with a [*reduced dual graph*]{} $\zeta_{\Si,\up}^{red}$. Call $V_-(\Si,\up)$ the subset of invisible vertices and $V_+(\Si,\up)$ the subset of visible vertices of $\zeta_{\Si,\up}^{red}$.
For every couple $(\Si,\up)$ denote by $\ol{\Si}$ the quotient of $\Si$ obtained collapsing every non-positive component to a point.
We say that $(\Si,\up)$ and $(\Si',\up')$ are [*visibly equivalent*]{} if $\up=\up'$ and there exist a homeomorphism $\ol{\Si} \arr{\sim}{\lra} \ol{\Si}'$, whose restriction to each component is analytic, and a compatible isomorphism $f^{red}: \zeta_{\Si,p}^{red} \arr{\sim}{\lra} \zeta_{\Si',p'}^{red}$ of reduced dual graphs.
In other words, $(\Si,\up),(\Si',\up')$ are visibly equivalent if and only if $\up=\up'$ there exists a stable $\Si''$ and maps $h:\Si''\rar \Si$ and $h':\Si''\rar \Si'$ such that $h,h'$ are biholomorphic on the visible components and are a stable marking on the invisible components of $(\Si'',\up)$ (that is, they may shrink some disjoint simple closed curves to nodes and are homeomorphisms elsewhere).
Finally call $$\xi: \Mbar_{g,X}\times \D_X \lra
\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}:=\Mbar_{g,X}\times\D_X/\!\sim$$ the quotient map and remark that $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}$ is compact and that $\xi$ commutes with the projection onto $\D_X$.
Similarly, one can say that two $(S,X)$-marked stable surfaces $([f:S\rar \Si],\up)$ and $([f':S\rar \Si'],\up')$ are visibly equivalent if there exists a stable $(S,X)$ marked $[f'':S\rar \Si'']$ and maps $h:\Si''\rar \Si$ and $h':\Si''\rar \Si'$ such that $h\circ f''\simeq f$, $h'\circ f''\simeq f'$ and $(\Si,\up),(\Si',\up')$ are visibly equivalent through $h,h'$ (see the remark above). Consequently, we can define $\ol{\Teich}^{\Delta}(S,X)$ as the quotient of $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)\times\Delta_X$ obtained by identifying visibly equivalent $(S,X)$-marked surfaces.
For every $\up$ in $\D_X$, we will denote by $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}(\up)$ the subset of points of the type $[\Si,\up]$. Then it is clear that $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}(\D^\circ_X)$ is in fact homeomorphic to a product $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}(\up)\times\D^\circ_X$ for any given $\up \in \D^\circ_X$. Observe that $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}(\up)$ is isomorphic to $\Mbar^K_{g,X}$ for all in such a way that $$\xi_{\up}:\Mbar_{g,X}\cong\Mbar_{g,X}\times\{\up\}\lra\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}(\up)$$ identifies to $\xi'$.
Notice, by the way, that the fibers of $\xi$ are isomorphic to moduli spaces. More precisely consider a point $[\Si,\up]$ of $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}$. For every $w \in V_-(\Si,\up)$, call $Q_v$ the subset of edges of $\zeta_{\Si,\up}^{red}$ outgoing from $w$. Then we have the natural isomorphism $$\xi^{-1}([\Si,\up])\cong \prod_{w\in V_-(\Si,\up)} \Mbar_{g_w,X_w\cup Q_w}$$ according to the fact that is projective.
Cell decompositions of the moduli space of curves {#sec:triangulation}
=================================================
Harer-Mumford-Thurston construction {#ss:hmt}
-----------------------------------
One traditional way to associate a weighted arc system to a Riemann surface endowed with weights at its marked points is to look at critical trajectories of Jenkins-Strebel quadratic differentials. Equivalently, to decompose the punctured surface into a union of semi-infinite flat cylinders with assigned lengths of their circumference.
### Quadratic differentials.
Let $\Si$ be a compact Riemann surface and let $\varphi$ be a [*meromorphic quadratic differential*]{}, that is $\varphi=\varphi(z)dz^2$ where $z$ is a local holomorphic coordinate and $\varphi(z)$ is a meromorphic function. Being a quadratic differential means that, if $w=w(z)$ is another local coordinate, then $\dis \varphi=\varphi(w)\left(\frac{dz}{dw}\right)^2 dw^2$.
[*Regular points*]{} of $\Si$ for $\varphi$ are points where $\varphi$ has neither a zero nor a pole; [*critical points*]{} are zeroes or poles of $\varphi$.
We can attach a metric to $\varphi$, by simply setting $\dis |\varphi|:=\sqrt{\varphi\ol{\varphi}}$. In coordinates, $|\varphi|=|\varphi(z)|dz\,d\ol{z}$. The metric is well-defined and flat at the regular points and it has conical singularities (with angle $\alpha=(k+2)\pi$) at simple poles ($k=-1$) and at zeroes of order $k$. Poles of order $2$ or higher are at infinite distance.
If $P$ is a regular point, we can pick a local holomorphic coordinate $z$ at $P\in U\subset\Si$ such that $z(P)=0$ and $\varphi=dz^2$ on $U$. The choice of $z$ is unique up sign. Thus, $\{Q\in U\,|\,z(Q)\in {\mathbb{R}}\}$ defines a real-analytic curve through $P$ on $\Si$, which is called [*horizontal trajectory*]{} of $\varphi$. Similarly, $\{Q\in U\,|\,z(Q)\in i{\mathbb{R}}\}$ defines the [*vertical trajectory*]{} of $\varphi$ through $P$.
Horizontal (resp. vertical) trajectories $\tau$ are intrinsically defined by asking that the restriction of $\varphi$ to $\tau$ is a positive-definite (resp. negative-definite) symmetric bilinear form on the tangent bundle of $\tau$.
If $\varphi$ has at worst double poles, then the local aspect of horizontal trajectories is as in Figure \[fig:trajectories\] (horizontal trajectories through $q$ are drawn thicker).
{width="80.00000%"}
Trajectories are called [*critical*]{} if they meet a critical point. It follows from the general classification (see [@strebel:book]) that
- a trajectory is [*closed*]{} if and only if it is either periodic or it starts and ends at a critical point;
- if a horizontal trajectory $\tau$ is periodic, then there exists a maximal open annular domain $A\subset \Si$ and a number $c>0$ such that $$\left(A,\varphi\Big|_A\right)
\arr{\sim}{\lra}
\left(\{z\in{\mathbb{C}}\,|\,r<|z|<R\},-c\frac{dz^2}{z^2}\right)$$ and, under this identification, $\tau=\{z\in{\mathbb{C}}\,|\, h=|z|\}$ for some $h\in(r,R)$;
- if all horizontal trajectories are closed of finite length, then $\varphi$ has at worst double poles, where it has negative quadratic residue (i.e. at a double pole, it looks like $\dis -a \frac{dz^2}{z^2}$, with $a>0$).
### Jenkins-Strebel differentials.
There are many theorems about existence and uniqueness of quadratic differentials $\varphi$ with specific behaviors of their trajectories and about their characterization using extremal properties of the associated metric $|\varphi|$ (see Jenkins [@jenkins:existence]). The following result is the one we are interested in.
\[thm:strebel\] Let $\Si$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g$ and $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}
\subset\Si$ such that $2g-2+n>0$. For every $(p_1,\dots,p_n)\in{\mathbb{R}}_+^X$ there exists a unique quadratic differential $\varphi$ such that
- $\varphi$ is holomorphic on $\Si\setminus X$
- all horizontal trajectories of $\varphi$ are closed
- it has a double pole at $x_i$ with quadratic residue $\dis -\left(\frac{p_i}{2\pi} \right)^2$
- the only annular domains of $\varphi$ are pointed discs at the $x_i$’s.
Moreover, $\varphi$ depends continuously on $\Si$ and on $\up=(p_1,\dots,p_n)$.
{width="80.00000%"}
Notice that the previous result establishes the existence of a continuous map $${\mathbb{R}}_+^X \lra \{\text{continuous sections of
$\mathcal{Q}(S,2X)\rar\Teich(S,X)$} \}$$ where $\mathcal{Q}(S,2X)$ is the vector bundle, whose fiber over $[f:S\rar\Si]$ is the space of quadratic differentials on $\Si$, which can have double poles at $X$ and are holomorphic elsewhere. Hubbard and Masur [@hubbard-masur:foliations] proved (in a slightly different case, though) that the sections of $\mathcal{Q}(S,2X)$ are piecewise real-analytic and gave precise equations for their image.
Quadratic differentials that satisfy (a) and (b) are called [*Jenkins-Strebel differentials*]{}. They are particularly easy to understand because their critical trajectories form a graph $G=G_{\Si,\up}$ embedded inside the surface $\Si$ and $G$ decomposes $\Si$ into a union of cylinders (with respect to the flat metric $|\varphi|$), of which horizontal trajectories are the circumferences.
Property (d) is telling us that $\Si\setminus X$ retracts by deformation onto $G$, flowing along the vertical trajectories out of $X$.
It can be easily seen that Theorem \[thm:strebel\] still holds for $p_1,\dots,p_n \geq 0$ but $\up\neq 0$. Condition (d) can be rephrased by saying that every annular domain corresponds to some $x_i$ for which $p_i>0$, and that $x_j\in G$ if $p_j=0$. It is still true that $\Si\setminus X$ retracts by deformation onto $G$.
We sketch the traditional existence proof of Theorem \[thm:strebel\].
The [*modulus*]{} of a standard annulus $A(r,R)=\{z\in{\mathbb{C}}\,
|\, r<|z|<R\}$ is $\dis m(A(r,R))=\frac{1}{2\pi}\log(R/r)$ and the modulus of an annulus $A$ is defined to be that of a standard annulus biholomorphic to $A$. Given a simply connected domain $0\in U\subset {\mathbb{C}}$ and let $z$ be a holomorphic coordinate at $0$. The [*reduced modulus*]{} of the annulus $U^*=U\setminus\{0\}$ is $m(U^*,w)=m(U^*\cap\{|z|>\e\})+
\frac{1}{2\pi}\log(\e)$, which is independent of the choice of a sufficiently small $\e>0$.
Notice that the [*extremal length*]{} $\mathrm{E}_\g$ of a circumference $\g$ inside $A(r,R)$ is exactly $1/m(A(r,R))$.
Fix holomorphic coordinates $z_1,\dots,z_n$ at $x_1,\dots,x_n$. A [*system of annuli*]{} is a holomorphic injection $s:\Delta\times X\hra \Si$ such that $s(0,x_i)=x_i$, where $\Delta$ is the unit disc in ${\mathbb{C}}$. Call $m_i(s)$ the reduced modulus $m(s(\Delta\times\{x_i\}),z_i)$ and define the functional $$F:
\xymatrix@R=0in{
\{\text{systems of annuli}\} \ar[rr] && {\mathbb{R}}\\
s \ar@{|->}[rr] && \dis \sum_{i=1}^n p_i^2 m_i(s)
}$$ which is bounded above, because $\Si\setminus X$ is hyperbolic. A maximizing sequence $s_n$ converges (up to extracting a subsequence) to a system of annuli $s_\infty$ and let $D_i=s_\infty(\Delta\times\{x_i\})$. Notice that the restriction of $s_{\infty}$ to $\Delta\times\{x_i\}$ is injective if $p_i>0$ and is constantly $x_i$ if $p_i=0$.
Clearly, $s_\infty$ is maximizing for every choice of $z_1,\dots,z_n$ and so we can assume that, whenever $p_i>0$, $z_i$ is the coordinate induced by $s_{\infty}$.
Define the $L^1_{loc}$-quadratic differential $\varphi$ on $\Si$ as $\dis \varphi:=\left(-\frac{p_i^2}{4\pi^2}
\frac{dz_i^2}{z_i^2}\right)$ on $D_i$ (if $p_i>0$) and $\varphi=0$ elsewhere. Notice that $F(s_\infty)=\|\varphi\|_{red}$, where the [*reduced norm*]{} is given by $$\|\varphi\|_{red}:=
\int_{\Si}\left[ |\varphi|^2-\sum_{i:p_i>0}\frac{p_i^2}{4\pi^2}
\frac{dz_i\,d\ol{z_i}}{|z_i|^2}\chi(|z_i|<\e_i)\right]+
\sum_{i=1}^n p_i\log(\e_i)$$ which is independent of the choice of sufficiently small $\e_1,\dots,\e_n>0$.
As $s_\infty$ is a stationary point for $F$, so is for $\|\cdot\|_{red}$. Thus, for every smooth vector field $V=V(z){\pa}/{\pa z}$ on $\Si$, compactly supported on $\Si\setminus X$, the first order variation of $$\|f_t^*(\varphi)\|_{red}=\|\varphi\|_{red}+2t
\int_S \mathrm{Re}(\varphi\ol{\pa}V)
+o(t)$$ must vanish, where $f_t=\exp(tV)$. Thus, $\varphi$ is holomorphic on $\Si\setminus X$ by Weyl’s lemma and it satisfies all the requirements.
### The nonsingular case.
Using the construction described above, we can attach to every $(\Si,X,\up)$ a graph $G_{\Si,\up}\subset\Si$ (and thus an $(S,X)$-marked ribbon graph $\GG_{\Si,\up}$) which is naturally metrized by $|\varphi|$. By arc-graph duality (in the nonsingular case, see \[sss:ns-duality\]), we also have a weighted proper system of arcs in $\Si$. Notice that, because of (c), the boundary weights are exactly $p_1,\dots,p_n$.
If $[f:S\rar \Si]$ is a point in $\Teich(S,X)$ and $\up\in({\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^X)\setminus\{0\}$, then the previous construction (which is first explicitly mentioned by Harer in [@harer:virtual], where he attributes it to Mumford and Thurston) provides a point in $|\Ao(S,X)|\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$. It is however clear that, if $a>0$, then the Strebel differential associated to $(\Si,a\up)$ is $a\varphi$. Thus, we can just consider $\up\in \mathbb{P}({\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^X)\cong \Delta_X$, so that the corresponding weighted arc system belongs to $|\Ao(S,X)|$ (after multiplying by a factor $2$).
Because of the continuous dependence of $\varphi$ on $\Si$ and $\up$, the map $$\Psi_{JS}: \Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X \lra |\Ao(S,X)|$$ is [*continuous*]{}.
We now show that a point $\ol{w}\in|\Ao(S,X)|$ determines exactly one $(S,X)$-marked surface, which proves that $\Psi_{JS}$ is [*bijective*]{}.
By \[sss:metrized\], we can associate a metrized $(S,X)$-marked nonsingular ribbon graph $\GG_{\ua}$ to each $w\in |\Ao(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}$ supported on $\ua$. However, if we realize $|\GG_{\ua}|$ by gluing semi-infinite tiles $T_{\ora{\a_i}}$ of the type $[0,w(\a_i)]_x\times[0,\infty)_y\subset \hat{{\mathbb{C}}}_z$, which naturally come together with a complex structure and a quadratic differential $dz^2$, then $|\GG_{\ua}|$ becomes a Riemann surface endowed with the (unique) Jenkins-Strebel quadratic differential $\varphi$ determined by Theorem \[thm:strebel\]. Thus, $\Psi_{JS}^{-1}(w)=([f:S\rar |\GG_{\ua}|],\up)$, where $p_i$ is obtained from the quadratic residue of $\varphi$ at $x_i$. Moreover, the length function defined on $|\Ao(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}$ exactly corresponds to the $|\varphi|$-length function on $\M_{g,X}$.
Notice that $\Psi_{JS}$ is $\G(S,X)$-equivariant by construction and so induces a continuous bijection $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}:\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X\rar |\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ on the quotient. If we prove that $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}$ is [*proper*]{}, then $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}$ is a homeomorphism. To conclude that $\Psi_{JS}$ is a homeomorphism too, we will use the following.
\[lemma:isom\] Let $Y$ and $Z$ be metric spaces acted on discontinuously by a discrete group of isometries $G$ and let $h:Y\rar Z$ be a $G$-equivariant continuous injection such that the induced map $\ol{h}:Y/G\rar Z/G$ is a homeomorphism. Then $h$ is a homeomorphism.
To show that $h$ is surjective, let $z\in Z$. Because $\ol{h}$ is bijective, $\exists ! [y]\in Y/G$ such that $\ol{h}([y])=[z]$. Hence, $h(y)=z\cdot g$ for some $g\in G$ and so $h(y\cdot g^{-1})=z$.
To prove that $h^{-1}$ is continuous, let $(y_m)\subset Y$ be a sequence such that $h(y_m)\rar h(y)$ as $m\rar \infty$ for some $y\in Y$. Clearly, $[h(y_m)]\rar[h(y)]$ in $Z/G$ and so $[y_m]\rar [y]$ in $Y/G$, because $\ol{h}$ is a homeomorphism. Let $(v_m)\subset Y$ be a sequence such that $[v_m]=[y_m]$ and $v_m\rar y$ and call $g_m\in G$ the element such that $y_m=v_m\cdot g_m$. By continuity of $h$, we have $d_Z(h(v_m), h(y))\rar 0$ and by hypothesis $d_Z(h(v_m)\cdot g_m,h(y))\rar 0$. Hence, $d_Z(h(y),h(y)\cdot g_m)\rar 0$ and so $g_m\in\mathrm{stab}(h(y))=\mathrm{stab}(h)$ for large $m$, because $G$ acts discontinuously on $Z$. As a consequence, $y_m\rar y$ and so $h^{-1}$ is continuous.
The final step is the following.
$\ol{\Psi}_{JS}:\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X\rar |\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is proper.
Let $([\Si_m],\up_m)$ be a diverging sequence in $\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$ and call $\l_m$ the hyperbolic metric on $\Si\setminus X$. By Mumford-Mahler criterion, there exist simple closed hyperbolic geodesics $\g_m\subset\Si_m$ such that $\ell_{\l_m}(\g_m)\rar 0$. Because the hyperbolic length and the extremal length are approximately proportional for short curves, we conclude that extremal length $E(\g_m)\rar 0$.
Consider now the metric $|\varphi_m|$ induced by the Jenkins-Strebel differential $\varphi_m$ uniquely determined by $(\Si_m,\up_m)$. Call $\ell_{\varphi}(\g_m)$ the length of the unique geodesic $\tilde{\g}_m$ with respect to the metric $|\varphi_m|$, freely homotopic to $\g_m\subset\Si_m$. Notice that $\tilde{\g}_m$ is a union of critical horizontal trajectories.
Because $|\varphi_m|$ has infinite area, define a modified metric $g_m$ on $\Si_m$ in the same conformal class as $|\varphi_m|$ as follows.
- $g_m$ agrees with $|\varphi_m|$ on the critical horizontal trajectories of $\varphi_m$
- Whenever $p_{i,m}>0$, consider a coordinate $z$ at $x_i$ such that the annular domain of $\varphi_m$ at $x_i$ is exactly $\Delta^*=\{z\in {\mathbb{C}}\,|\, 0<|z|<1\}$ and $\dis \varphi_m=-\frac{p_{i,m}^2dz^2}{4\pi^2 z^2}$. Then define $g_m$ to agree with $|\varphi_m|$ on $\exp(-2\pi/p_{i,m})\leq |z|<1$ (which becomes isometric to a cylinder of circumference $p_{i,m}$ and height $1$, so with area $p_{i,m}$) and to be the metric of a flat Euclidean disc of circumference $p_{i,m}$ centered at $z=0$ (so with area $\pi p_{i,m}^2$) on $|z|<\exp(-2\pi/p_{i,m})$.
Notice that the total area $A(g_m)$ is $\pi(p_{1,m}^2+\dots+p_{n,m}^2)+(p_{1,m}+\dots+p_{n,m})\leq \pi+1$.
Call $\ell_g(\g_m)$ the length of the shortest $g_m$-geodesic $\hat{\g}_m$ in the class of $\g_m$. By definition, $\ell_g(\g_m)^2/A(g_m)\leq E(\g_m)\rar 0$ and so $\ell_g(\g_m)\rar 0$. As a $g_m$-geodesic is either longer than $1$ or contained in the critical graph of $\varphi$, then $\hat{\g}_m$ coincides with $\tilde{\g}_m$ for $m\gg 0$.
Hence, $\ell_\varphi(\g_m)\rar 0$ and so $\mathrm{sys}(\ol{w}_m)\rar 0$. By Lemma \[lemma:compact\], we conclude that $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}(\Si_m,\up_m)$ is diverging in $|\Ao(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$.
\[rmk:zero\] Suppose that $([f_m:S\rar\Si_m],\up_m)$ is converging to $([f:S\rar \Si],\up)
\in \ol{\Teich}_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$ and let $\Si'\subset\Si$ be an invisible component. Then $S'=f^{-1}(\Si')$ is bounded by simple closed curves $\g_1,\dots,\g_k\subset S$ and $\ell_{\varphi_m}(\g_i)\rar 0$ for $i=1,\dots,k$. Just analyzing the shape of the critical graph of $\varphi_m$, one can check that $\ell_{\varphi_m}(\g)\leq \sum_{i=1}^k
\ell_{\varphi_m}(\g_i)$ for all $\g\subset S'$. Hence, $\ell_{\varphi_m}(\g)\rar 0$ and so $f_m^*\varphi_m$ tends to zero uniformly on the compact subsets of $(S')^\circ$.
### The case of stable curves.
We want to extend the map $\Psi_{JS}$ to Deligne-Mumford’s augmentation: will call still $\Psi_{JS}:\ol{\Teich}(S,X)\times\Delta_X\rar |\Af(S,X)|$ this extension.
Given $([f:S\rar \Si],\up)$, we can construct a Jenkins-Strebel differential $\varphi$ on each visible component of $\Si$, by considering nodes as marked points with zero weight. Extend $\varphi$ to zero over the invisible components. Clearly, $\varphi$ is a holomorphic section of $\omega_\Si^{\otimes 2}(2X)$ (the square of the logarithmic dualizing sheaf on $\Si$): call it the Jenkins-Strebel differential associated to $(\Si,\up)$. Notice that it clearly maximizes the functional $F$, used in the proof of Theorem \[thm:strebel\].
As $\varphi$ defines a metrized ribbon graph for each visible component of $\Si$, one can easily see that thus we have an $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graph $\GG^{en}$ (see \[sss:enriched\]), where $\zeta$ is the dual graph of $\Si$ and $V_+$ is the set of visible components of $(\Si,\up)$, $m$ is determined by the $X$-marking and $s$ by the position of the nodes.
By arc-graph duality (see \[sss:arc-graph\]), we obtain a system of arcs $\ua$ in $(S,X)$ and the metrics provide a system of weights $\ol{w}$ with support on $\ua$. This defines the set-theoretic extension of $\Psi_{JS}$. Clearly, it is still $\G(S,X)$-equivariant and it identifies visibly equivalent $(S,X)$-marked surfaces. Thus, it descends to a bijection $\Psi_{JS}:\ol{\Teich}^\Delta(S,X)\rar |\Af(S,X)|$ and we also have $$\ol{\Psi}_{JS}:\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X} \lra |\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$$ where $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ can be naturally given the structure of an orbispace (essentially, forgetting the Dehn twists along curves of $S$ that are shrunk to points, so that the stabilizer of an arc system just becomes the automorphism group of the corresponding enriched $X$-marked ribbon graph).
The only thing left to prove is that $\Psi_{JS}$ is continuous. In fact, $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}$ is compact and $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is Hausdorff: hence, $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}$ would be (continuous and) automatically proper, and so a homeomorphism. Using Lemma \[lemma:isom\] again (using a metric pulled back from $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}$), we could conclude that $\Psi_{JS}$ is a homeomorphism too.
Consider a differentiable stable family $$\xymatrix@R=0.3in{
S \times[0,\e] \ar[r]^{\qquad f} \ar[rd] & \mathcal{C} \ar[d]\\
& [0,\e]
}$$ of $(S,X)$-marked curves (that is, obtained restricting to $[0,\e]$ a holomorphic family over the unit disc $\Delta$), such that $g$ is topologically trivial over $(0,\e]$ with fiber a curve with $k$ nodes. Let also $\up:[0,\e]\rar \Delta_X$ be a differentiable family of weights.
We can assume that there are disjoint simple closed curves $\g_1,\dots,\g_k,\eta_1,\dots,\eta_h
\subset S$ such that $f(\g_i\times\{t\})$ is a node for all $t$, that $f(\eta_j\times\{t\})$ is a node for $t=0$ and that $\mathcal{C}_t$ is smooth away from these nodes.
Fix $K$ a nonempty open relatively compact subset of $S\setminus(\g_1\cup \dots\cup \g_k\cup\eta_1\cup\dots
\cup \eta_h)$ that intersects every connected component. Define a reduced $L^1$ norm of a section $\psi_t$ of $\omega_{\mathcal{C}_t}^{\otimes 2}(2X)$ to be $\|\psi\|_{red}=\int_{f_t(K)} |\psi|$. Notice that $L^1$ convergence of holomorphic sections $\psi_t$ as $t\rar 0$ implies uniform convergence of $f_t^*\psi_t$ on the compact subsets of $S\setminus(\g_1\cup \dots\cup \g_k\cup\eta_1\cup\dots
\cup \eta_h)$.
Call $\varphi_t$ the Jenkins-Strebel differential associated to $(\mathcal{C}_t,\up_t)$ with annular domains $D_{1,t},\dots,D_{n,t}$.
As all the components of $\mathcal{C}_t$ are hyperbolic, $\|\varphi_t\|_{red}$ is uniformly bounded and we can assume (up to extracting a subsequence) that $\varphi_t$ converges to a holomorphic section $\varphi'_0$ of $\omega_{\mathcal{C}_0}^{\otimes 2}(2X)$ in the reduced norm. Clearly, $\varphi'_0$ will have double poles at $x_i$ with the prescribed residue.
Remark \[rmk:zero\] implies that $\varphi'_0$ vanishes on the invisible components of $\mathcal{C}_0$, whereas it certainly does not on the visible ones.
For all those $(i,t)\in \{1,\dots,n\}\times[0,\e]$ such that $p_{i,t}>0$, let $z_{i,t}$ be the coordinate at $x_i$ (uniquely defined up to phase) given by $\dis z_{i,t}=u_{i,t}^{-1}\Big|_{D_{i,t}}$ and $$u_{i,t}:\ol{\Delta}\lra \ol{D}_{i,t}\subset \mathcal{C}_t$$ is continuous on $\ol{\Delta}$ and biholomorphic in the interior for all $t>0$ and $\dis \varphi_t\Big|_{D_{i,t}}=
-\frac{p_{i,t}^2 dz_{i,t}^2}{4\pi^2 z_{i,t}^2}$ for $t\geq 0$. Whenever $p_{i,t}=0$, choose $z_{i,t}$ such that $\varphi_t\Big|_{D_{i,t}}=z^k\,dz^2$, with $k=\mathrm{ord}_{x_i}\varphi_t$. When $p_{i,t}>0$, we can choose the phases of $u_{i,t}$ in such a way that $u_{i,t}$ vary continuously with $t\geq 0$.
If $p_{i,0}=0$, then set $D_{i,0}=\emptyset$. Otherwise, $p_{i,0}>0$ and so $D_{i,0}$ cannot shrink to $\{x_i\}$ (because $F_t$ would go to $-\infty$ as $t\rar 0$). In this case, call $D_{i,0}$ the region $\{|z_{i,0}|<1\}\subset \mathcal{C}_0$. Notice that $\varphi'_0$ has a double pole at $x_i$ with residue $p_{i,0}>0$ and clearly $\dis \varphi'_0\Big|_{D_{i,0}}=
-\frac{p_{i,0}^2 dz_{i,0}^2}{4\pi^2 z_{i,0}^2}$.
We want to prove that the visible subsurface of $\mathcal{C}_0$ is covered by $\bigcup_i \ol{D}_{i,0}$ and so $\varphi'_0$ is a Jenkins-Strebel differential on each visible component of $\mathcal{C}_0$. By uniqueness, it must coincide with $\varphi_0$.
Consider a point $y$ in the interior of $f_0^{-1}(\mathcal{C}_{0,+})\setminus X$. For every $t>0$ there exists an $y_t \in S$ such that $f_t(y_t)$ does not belong to the critical graph of $\varphi_t$ and the $f_t^*|\varphi_t|$-distance $d_t(y,y_t)<t$. As $\varphi_t\rar\varphi_0$ in reduced norm and $y,y_t \notin X$, then $d_0(y,y_t)\rar 0$ as $t\rar 0$.
We can assume (up to discarding some $t$’s) that $f_{t}(y_{t})$ belongs to $D_{i,t}$ for a fixed $i$ and in particular that $f_t(y_t)=u_{i,t}(c_t)$ for some $c_t\in \Delta$. Up to discarding some $t$’s, we can also assume that $c_t\rar c_0\in \ol{\Delta}$. Call $y'_t$ the point given by $f_0(y'_t)=u_{i,0}(c_t)$. $$\begin{aligned}
d_0(y'_t,y) & \leq d_0(y_t,y) + d_0(y'_t,y_t)
\leq d_0(y_t,y) + d_0(f_0^{-1}u_{i,0}(c_t),f_t^{-1}u_{i,t}(c_t)) \leq \\
& \leq d_0(y_t,y) + d_0(f_0^{-1}u_{i,0}(c_t),f_0^{-1}u_{i,0}(c_0)) +\\
& \qquad \quad + d_0(f_0^{-1}u_{i,0}(c_0),f_t^{-1}u_{i,t}(c_0))
+ d_0(f_t^{-1}u_{i,t}(c_0),f_t^{-1}u_{i,t}(c_t))\end{aligned}$$ and all terms go to zero as $t\rar 0$. Thus, every point in the smooth locus $\mathcal{C}_{0,+}\setminus X$ is at $|\varphi_0|$-distance zero from some $D_{i,0}$. Hence, $\varphi_0$ is a Jenkins-Strebel differential on the visible components.
With a few simple considerations, one can easily conclude that
- the zeroes of $\varphi_t$ move with continuity for $t\in[0,\e]$
- if $e_t$ is an edge of the critical graph of $\varphi_t$ which starts at $y_{1,t}$ and ends at $y_{2,t}$, and if $y_{i,t}\rar y_{i,0}$ for $i=1,2$, then $e_t\rar e_0$ the corresponding edge of the critical graph of $\varphi_0$ starting at $y_{1,0}$ and ending at $y_{2,0}$; moreover, $\ell_{|\varphi_t|}(e_t)\rar \ell_{|\varphi_0|}(e_0)$
- the critical graph of $\varphi_t$ converges to that of $\varphi_0$ for the Gromov-Hausdorff distance.
Thus, the associated weighted arc systems $\ol{w}_t\in |\Af(S,X)|$ converge to $\ol{w}_0$ for $t\rar 0$.
Thus, we have proved the following result, claimed first by Kontsevich in [@kontsevich:intersection] (see Looijenga’s [@looijenga:cellular] and Zvonkine’s [@zvonkine:strebel]).
The map defined above $$\Psi_{JS}: \ol{\Teich}^\Delta(S,X) \lra |\Af(S,X)|$$ is a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant homeomorphism, which commutes with the projection onto $\Delta_X$. Hence, $\ol{\Psi}_{JS}:\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}\rar |\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$ is a homeomorphism of orbispaces too.
A consequence of the previous proposition and of \[sss:arc-graph\] is that the realization $B\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X,ns}$ is the classifying space of $\G(S,X)$ and that $B\mathfrak{RG}_{g,X}\rar \Mbar_{g,X}$ is a homotopy equivalence (in the orbifold category).
Penner-Bowditch-Epstein construction {#ss:pbe}
------------------------------------
The other traditional way to obtain a weighted arc system out of a Riemann surface with weighted marked points is to look at the spine of the truncated surface obtained by removing horoballs of prescribed circumference. Equivalently, to decompose the surface into a union of hyperbolic cusps.
### Spines of hyperbolic surfaces.
Let $[f:S\rar \Si]$ be an $(S,X)$-marked hyperbolic surface and let $\up\in\Delta_X$. Call $H_i\subset\Si$ the horoball at $x_i$ with circumference $p_i$ (as $p_i\leq 1$, the horoball is embedded in $\Si$) and let $\Si_{tr}=\Si\setminus \bigcup_i H_i$ be the [*truncated surface*]{}. The datum $(\Si,\pa H_1,\dots,\pa H_n)$ is also called a [*decorated surface*]{}.
For every $y\in \Si\setminus X$ at finite distance from $\pa\Si_{tr}$, let the [*valence*]{} $\mathrm{val}(y)$ be the number of paths that realize $\mathrm{dist}(y,\pa\Si_{tr})$, which is generically $1$. We will call a [*projection*]{} of $y$ a point on $\pa\Si_{tr}$ which is at shortest distance from $y$: clearly, there are $\mathrm{val}(y)$ of them.
Let the [*spine*]{} $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$ be the locus of points of $\Si$ which are at finite distance from $\pa\Si_{tr}$ and such that $\mathrm{val}(y)\geq 2\}$ (see Figure \[fig:hcoord\]). In particular, $\mathrm{val}^{-1}(2)$ is a disjoint union of finitely many geodesic arcs (the [*edges*]{}) and $\mathrm{val}^{-1}([3,\infty))$ is a finite collection of points (the [*vertices*]{}). If $p_i=0$, then we include $x_i$ in $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$ and we consider it a vertex. Its valence is defined to be the number of half-edges of the spine incident at $x_i$.
There is a deformation retraction of $\Si_{tr}\cap \Si_+$ (where $\Si_+$ is the visible subsurface) onto $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$, defined on $\mathrm{val}^{-1}(1)$ simply flowing away from $\pa\Si_{tr}$ along the unique geodesic that realizes the distance from $\pa\Si_{tr}$.
This shows that $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$ defines an $(S,X)$-marked enriched ribbon graph $\GG^{en}_{sp}$. By arc-graph duality, we also have an associated [*spinal arc system*]{} $\ua_{sp}\in \Af(S,X)$.
### Horocyclic lengths and weights.
As $\Si$ is a hyperbolic surface, we could metrize $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$ by inducing a length on each edge. However, the relation between this metric and $\up$ would be a little involved.
Instead, for every edge $e$ of $\GG^{en}_{sp}$ (that is, of $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si,\up)$), consider one of its two projections $pr(e)$ to $\pa\Si_{tr}$ and define $\ell(e)$ to the be hyperbolic length of $pr(e)$, which clearly does not depend on the chosen projection. Thus, the boundary weights vector $\ell_{\pa}$ is exactly $\up$.
{width="70.00000%"}
This endows $\GG^{en}_{sp}$ with a metric and so $\ua_{sp}$ with a projective weight $\ol{w}_{sp}\in |\Af(S,X)|$. Notice that visibly equivalent surfaces are associated the same point of $|\Af(S,X)|$.
This defines a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant map $$\Phi_{0}: \ol{\Teich}^\Delta(S,X) \lra |\Af(S,X)|$$ that commutes with the projection onto $\Delta_X$.
Penner [@penner:decorated] proved that the restriction of $\Phi_{0}$ to $\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta^\circ$ is a homeomorphism; the proof that $\Phi_{0}$ is a homeomorphism first appears in Bowditch-Epstein’s [@bowditch-epstein:natural] (and a very detailed treatment will appear in [@acgh:II]). We refer to these papers for a proof of this result.
Hyperbolic surfaces with boundary {#ss:boundary}
---------------------------------
The purpose of this informal subsection is to briefly illustrate the bridge between the cellular decomposition of the Teichmüller space obtained using Jenkins-Strebel differentials and that obtained using spines of decorated surfaces.
### Teichmüller and moduli space of hyperbolic surfaces.
Fix $S$ a compact oriented surface as before and $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}
\subset S$ a nonempty subset.
A (stable) hyperbolic surface $\Si$ is a nodal surface such that $\Si\setminus\{\text{nodes}\}$ is hyperbolic with geodesic boundary and/or cusps. Notice that, by convention, $\pa\Si$ does not include the possible nodes of $\Si$.
An $X$-marking of a (stable) hyperbolic surface $\Si$ is a bijection $X \rar \pi_0(\pa\Si)$.
An $(S,X)$-marking of the (stable) hyperbolic surface $\Si$ is an isotopy class of maps $f:S\setminus X \rar \Si$, that may shrink disjoint simple closed curves to nodes and are homeomorphisms onto $\Si\setminus(\pa\Si\cup\{\text{nodes}\})$ elsewhere.
Let $\ol{\Teich}^{\pa}(S,X)$ be the Teichmüller space of $(S,X)$-marked stable hyperbolic surfaces. There is a natural map $\ell_{\pa}:\ol{\Teich}^{\pa}(S,X)\rar {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^X$ that associates to $[f:S\rar \Si]$ the boundary lengths of $\Si$, which thus descends to $\ol{\ell}_{\pa}:\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}\rar {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^X$. Call $\ol{\Teich}^{\pa}(S,X)(\up)$ (resp. $\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}(\up)$) the leaf $\ell_{\pa}^{-1}(\up)$ (resp. $\ol{\ell}_{\pa}^{-1}(\up)$).
There is an obvious identification between $\ol{\Teich}^{\pa}(S,X)(0)$ (resp. $\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}(0)$) and $\ol{\Teich}(S,X)$ (resp. $\Mbar_{g,X}$).
Call $\widehat{\M}_{g,X}$ the blow-up of $\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}$ along $\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}(0)$: the exceptional locus can be naturally identified to the space of decorated surfaces with cusps (which is homeomorphic to $\Mbar_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$). Define similarly, $\widehat{\Teich}(S,X)$.
### Tangent space to the moduli space.
The conformal analogue of a hyperbolic surface with geodesic boundary $\Si$ is a Riemann surface with real boundary. In fact, the double of $\Si$ is a hyperbolic surface with no boundary and an orientation-reversing involution, that is a Riemann surface with an anti-holomorphic involution. As a consequence, $\pa\Si$ is a real-analytic submanifold.
This means that first-order deformations are determined by Beltrami differentials on $\Si$ which are real on $\pa \Si$, and so $T_{[\Si]}\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}\cong H^{0,1}(\Si,T_{\Si})$, where $T_{\Si}$ is the sheaf of tangent vector fields $V=V(z)\pa/\pa z$, which are real on $\pa\Si$.
Dually, the cotangent space $T^{\vee}_{[\Si]}\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}$ is given by the space $\mathcal{Q}(\Si)$ of holomorphic quadratic differentials that are real on $\pa\Si$. If we call $\mathcal{H}(\Si)=\{\ol{\varphi}/\lambda\,|\,
\varphi\in\mathcal{Q}(\Si)\}$, where $\lambda$ is the hyperbolic metric on $\Si$, then $H^{0,1}(\Si,T_{\Si})$ identifies to the space of harmonic Beltrami differentials $\mathcal{H}(\Si)$.
As usual, if $\Si$ has a node, then quadratic differentials are allowed to have a double pole at the node, with the same quadratic residue on both branches.
If a boundary component of $\Si$ collapses to a cusp $x_i$, then the cotangent cone to $\Mbar^{\pa}_{g,X}$ at $[\Si]$ is given by quadratic differentials that may have at worst a double pole at $x_i$ with positive residue. The phase of the residue being zero corresponds to the fact that, if we take Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates on the double of $\Si$ which are symmetric under the real involution, then the twists along $\pa\Si$ are zero.
### Weil-Petersson metric.
Mimicking what done for surfaces with cusps, we can define Hermitean pairings on $\mathcal{Q}(\Si)$ and $\mathcal{H}(\Si)$, where $\Si$ is a hyperbolic surface with boundary. In particular, $$\begin{aligned}
h(\mu,\nu) & =\int_{\Si} \mu\,\ol{\nu}\cdot\lambda\\
h^{\vee}(\varphi,\psi) & =\int_{\Si} \frac{\varphi\,\ol{\psi}}{\lambda}\end{aligned}$$ where $\mu,\nu\in\mathcal{H}(\Si)$ and $\varphi,\psi\in\mathcal{Q}(\Si)$.
Thus, if $h=g+i\omega$, then $g$ is the Weil-Petersson Riemannian metric and $\omega$ is the Weil-Petersson form. Write similarly $h^{\vee}=g^{\vee}+i\omega^{\vee}$, where $g^{\vee}$ is the cometric dual to $g$ and $\omega^{\vee}$ is the Weil-Petersson bivector field.
Notice that $\omega$ and $\omega^{\vee}$ are degenerate. This can be easily seen, because Wolpert’s formula $\omega=\sum_i d\ell_i\wedge d\tau_i$ still holds. We can also conclude that the symplectic leaves of $\omega^{\vee}$ are exactly the fibers of the boundary length map $\ell_{\pa}$.
### Spines of hyperbolic surfaces with boundary.
The spine construction can be carried on, even in a more natural way, on hyperbolic surfaces with geodesic boundary.
In fact, given such a $\Si$ whose boundary components are called $x_1,\dots,x_n$, we can define the distance from $\pa\Si$ and so the valence of a point in $\Si$ and consequently the spine $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si)$, with no need of further information.
Similarly, if $\Si$ has also nodes (that is, some holonomy degenerates to a parabolic element), then $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si)$ is embedded inside the [*visible components of $\Si$*]{}, i.e. those components of $\Si$ that contain a boundary circle of positive length.
The weight of an arc $\a_i\in \ua_{sp}$ dual to the edge $e_i$ of $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si)$ is still defined as the hyperbolic length of one of the two projections of $e_i$ to $\pa\Si$. Thus, the construction above gives a point $w_{sp} \in |\Af(S,X)|\times(0,\infty)$.
{width="70.00000%"}
It is easy to check (see [@mondello:wp] or [@mondello:triang]) that $w_{sp}$ converges to the $\ol{w}_{sp}$ defined above when the hyperbolic surface with boundary converges to a decorated surface with cusps in $\widehat{\Teich}(S,X)$. Thus, the $\G(S,X)$-equivariant map $$\Phi:\widehat{\Teich}(S,X)\lra |\Af(S,X)|\times[0,\infty)$$ reduces to $\Phi_0$ for decorated surfaces with cusps.
The restriction of $\Phi$ to smooth surfaces with no boundary cusps gives a homeomorphism onto its image.
The continuity of the whole $\Phi$ is proven in [@mondello:triang], using Luo’s result.\
The key point of Luo’s proof is the following. Pick a generic hyperbolic surface with geodesic boundary $\Si$ and suppose that the spinal arc system is the ideal triangulation $\ua_{sp}=\{\a_1,\dots,\a_M\}\in\Ao(\Si,X)$ with weight $w_{sp}$. We can define the length $\ell_{\a_i}$ as the hyperbolic length of the shortest geodesic $\tilde{\a}_i$ in the free homotopy class of $\a_i$.
The curves $\{\tilde{\a}_i\}$ cut $\Si$ into hyperbolic hexagons, which are completely determined by $\{\ell_{\b_1},\dots
\ell_{\b_{2M}}\}$, where the $\b_j$’s are the sides of the hexagons lying on $\pa\Si$. Unfortunately, going from the $\ell_{\b_j}$’s to $w_{sp}$ is much easier than the converse. In fact, $w_{\a_1},\dots,
w_{\a_M}$ can be written as explicit linear combinations of the $\ell_{\b_j}$’s: in matrix notation, $B=(\ell_{\b_j})$ is a solution of the system $W=RB$, where $R$ is a fixed $(M\times 2M)$-matrix (that encodes the combinatorics is $\ua_{sp}$) and $W=(w_{\a_i})$. Clearly, there is a whole affine space $E_W$ of dimension $M$ of solutions of $W=RB$. The problem is that a random point in $E_W$ would determine hyperbolic structures on the hexagons of $\Si\setminus\ua_{sp}$ that do not glue, because we are not requiring the two sides of each $\a_i$ to have the same length.
Starting from very natural quantities associated to hyperbolic hexagons with right angles, Luo defines a functional on the space $(b_1,\dots,b_{2M})\in {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^{2M}$. For every $W$, the space $E_W$ is not empty (which proves the surjectivity of $\Phi$) and the restriction of Luo’s functional to $E_W$ is strictly concave and achieves its (unique) maximum exactly when $B=(\ell_{\b_j})$ (which proves the injectivity of $\Phi$).
The geometric meaning of this functional is still not entirely clear, but it seems related to some volume of a three-dimensional hyperbolic manifold associated to $\Si$. Quite recently, Luo [@luo:rigidity] (see also [@guo:parametrizations]) has introduced a modified functional $F_{c}$, which depends on a parameter $c\in {\mathbb{R}}$, and he has produced other realizations of the Teichmüller space as a polytope, and so different systems of “simplicial” coordinates.
### Surfaces with large boundary components.
To close the circle, we must relate the limit of $\Phi$ for surfaces whose boundary lengths diverge to $\Psi_{JS}$. This is the topic of [@mondello:triang]. Here, we only sketch the main ideas. To simplify the exposition, we will only deal with smooth surfaces.
Consider an $X$-marked hyperbolic surface with geodesic boundary $\Si$. Define $\gr8 (\Si)$ to be the surface obtained by gluing semi-infinite flat cylinders at $\pa\Si$ of lengths $(p_1,\dots,p_n)=\ell_{\pa}(\Si)$.
Thus, $\gr8(\Si)$ has a hyperbolic core and flat ends and the underlying conformal structure is that of an $X$-punctured Riemann surface. This [*grafting*]{} procedure defines a map $$( \gr8 ,\ell_{\pa}):\Teich^{\pa}(S,X)
\lra \Teich(S,X)\times {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^N$$
{width="60.00000%"}
The map $( \gr8 ,\ell_{\pa})$ is a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant homeomorphism.
The proof is a variation of Scannell-Wolf’s [@scannell-wolf:grafting] that finite grafting is a self-homeomorphism of the Teichmüller space.
Thus, the composition of $(\gr8,\ell_{\pa})^{-1}$ and $\Phi$ gives (after blowing up the locus $\{\ell_{\pa}=0\}$) the homeomorphism $$\Psi:\Teich(S,X)\times \Delta_X\times[0,\infty) \lra |\Ao(S,X)|\times[0,\infty)$$
The map $\Psi$ extends to a $\G(S,X)$-equivariant homeomorphism $$\Psi:\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X\times[0,\infty]\lra |\Ao(S,X)|\times[0,\infty]$$ and $\Psi_{\infty}$ coincides with Harer-Mumford-Thurston’s $\Psi_{JS}$.
The main point is to show that a surface $\Si$ with large boundaries and with spine $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si)$ is very close in $\Teich(S,X)$ to the flat surface whose Jenkins-Strebel differential has critical graph isomorphic to $\mathrm{Sp}(\Si)$ (as metrized ribbon graphs).
To understand why this is reasonable, consider a sequence of hyperbolic surfaces $\Si_m$ whose spine has fixed isomorphism type $\GG$ and fixed projective metric and such that $\ell_{\pa}(\Si_m)=c_m(p_1,\dots,p_n)$, where $c_m$ diverges as $m\rar \infty$. Consider the grafted surfaces $\gr8(\Si_m)$ and rescale them so that $\sum_i p_i=1$. The flat metric on the cylinders is naturally induced by a holomorphic quadratic differential, which has negative quadratic residue at $X$. Extend this differential to zero on the hyperbolic core.
Because of the rescaling, the distance between the flat cylinders and the spine goes to zero and the differential converges in $L^1_{red}$ to a Jenkins-Strebel differential.
Dumas [@dumas:schwarzian] has shown that an analogous phenomenon occurs for closed surfaces grafted along a measured lamination $t\lambda$ as $t\rar +\infty$.
### Weil-Petersson form and Penner’s formula.
Using Wolpert’s result and hyperbolic geometry, Penner [@penner:WP-volumes] has proved that pull-back of the Weil-Petersson form on the space of decorated hyperbolic surfaces with cusps, which can be identified to $\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X$, can be neatly written in the following way. Fix a triangulation $\ua=\{\a_1,\dots,\a_M\}\in\Ao(S,X)$. For every $([f:S\rar \Si],\up)\in\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X$, let $\tilde{\a}_i$ be the geodesic representative in the class of $f_*(\a_i)$ and call $a_i:=\ell(\tilde{\a}_i\cap\Si_{tr})$, where $\Si_{tr}$ be the truncated hyperbolic surface. Then $$\pi^*\omega_{WP}=\sum_{t\in T}( da_{t_1}\wedge da_{t_2}+
da_{t_2}\wedge da_{t_3}+da_{t_3}\wedge da_{t_1} )$$ where $\pi:\Teich(S,X)\times\Delta_X\rar \Teich(S,X)$ is the projection, $T$ is the set of ideal triangles in which the $\tilde{\a}_i$’s decompose $\Si$, and the sides of $t$ are $(\a_{t_1},\a_{t_2},\a_{t_3})$ in the cyclic order induced by the orientation of $t$ (see Figure \[fig:triang\]).
{width="60.00000%"}
To work on $\M_{g,X}\times\Delta_X$ (for instance, to compute Weil-Petersson volumes), one can restrict to the interior of the cells $\Phi_0^{-1}(|\ua|)$ whose associated system of arcs $\ua$ is triangulation and write the pull-back of $\omega_{WP}$ with respect to $\ua$.
### Weil-Petersson form for surfaces with boundary.
Still using methods of Wolpert [@wolpert:symplectic], one can generalize Penner’s formula to hyperbolic surfaces with boundary. The result is better expressed using the Weil-Petersson bivector field than the $2$-form.
Let $\Si$ be a hyperbolic surface with boundary components $C_1,\dots,C_n$ and let $\ua=\{\a_1,\dots,\a_M\}$ be a triangulation. Then the Weil-Petersson bivector field can be written as $$\omega^{\vee}=\frac{1}{4}\sum_{b=1}^n
\sum_{\substack{y_i \in \a_i\cap C_b \\ y_j\in\a_j\cap C_b}}
\frac{\sinh(p_b/2-d_b(y_i,y_j))}{\sinh(p_b/2)}
\frac{\pa}{\pa a_i}\wedge \frac{\pa}{\pa a_j}$$ where $a_i=\ell(\a_i)$ and $d_b(y_i,y_j)$ is the length of the geodesic arc running from $y_i$ to $y_j$ along $C_b$ in the positive direction (according to the orientation induced by $\Si$ on $C_b$).
The idea is to use Wolpert’s formula $\omega^{\vee}=-\sum_i \pa_{\ell_i}\wedge \pa_{\tau_i}$ on the double $d\Si$ of $\Si$ with the pair of pants decomposition induced by doubling the arcs $\{\a_i\}$. Then one must compute the (first-order) effect on the $a_i$’s of twisting $d\Si$ along $\a_j$.
Though not immediate, the formula above can be shown to reduce to Penner’s, when the boundary lengths go to zero, as we approximate $\sinh(x)\approx x$ for small $x$. Notice that Penner’s formula shows that $\omega$ linearizes (with constant coefficients!) in the coordinates given by the $a_i$’s.
More interesting is to analyze what happens for $(\Si,t\up)$ with $\up\in\Delta_X$, as $t\rar +\infty$. Assume the situation is generic and so $\Psi_{JS}(\Si)$ is supported on a triangulation, whose dual graph is $\GG$.
Once again, the formula dramatically simplifies as we approximate $2\sinh(x)\approx \exp(x)$ for $x\gg 0$. Under the rescalings $\dis \tilde{\omega}^{\vee}=c^2\omega^{\vee}$ and $\dis
\tilde{w}_i=w_i/c$ with $c=\sum_b p_b/2$, we obtain that $$\lim_{t\rar \infty} \tilde{\omega}^{\vee}=
\omega^{\vee}_\infty:=\frac{1}{2}\sum_{v\in E_0(\GG)}
\left(
\frac{\pa}{\pa \tilde{w}_{v_1}}\wedge \frac{\pa}{\pa\tilde{w}_{v_2}}+
\frac{\pa}{\pa \tilde{w}_{v_2}}\wedge \frac{\pa}{\pa\tilde{w}_{v_3}}+
\frac{\pa}{\pa \tilde{w}_{v_3}}\wedge \frac{\pa}{\pa\tilde{w}_{v_1}}
\right)$$ where $v=\{v_1,v_2,v_3\}$ and $\s_0(v_j)=v_{j+1}$ (and $j\in{\mathbb{Z}}/3{\mathbb{Z}}$).
{width="40.00000%"}
Thus, the Weil-Petersson symplectic structure is again linearized (and with constant coefficients!), but in the system of coordinates given by the $w_j$’s, which are in some sense dual to the $a_i$’s.
It would be nice to exhibit a clear geometric argument for the perfect symmetry of these two formulae.
Combinatorial classes {#sec:combinatorial}
=====================
Witten cycles. {#ss:witten}
--------------
Fix as usual a compact oriented surface $S$ of genus $g$ and a subset $X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\subset S$ such that $2g-2+n>0$.
We introduce some remarkable $\G(S,X)$-equivariant subcomplexes of $\Af(S,X)$, which define interesting cycles in the homology of $\Mbar^K_{g,X}$ as well as in the Borel-Moore homology of $\M_{g,X}$ and so, by Poincaré duality, in the cohomology of $\M_{g,X}$ (that is, of $\G(S,X)$).
These subcomplexes are informally defined as the locus of points of $|\Ao(S,X)|$, whose associated ribbon graphs have prescribed odd valences of their vertices. It can be easily shown that, if we assign even valence to some vertex, the subcomplex we obtain is not a cycle (even with ${\mathbb{Z}}/2{\mathbb{Z}}$ coefficients!).
We follow Kontsevich ([@kontsevich:intersection]) for the orientation of the combinatorial cycles, but an alternative way is due to Penner [@penner:poincare] and Conant and Vogtmann [@conant-vogtmann:onatheorem].
Later, we will mention a slight generalization of the combinatorial classes by allowing some vertices to be marked.
Notice that we are going to use the cellularization of the moduli space of curves given by $\Psi_{JS}$, and so we will identify $\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}$ with the orbispace $|\Af(S,X)|/\G(S,X)$. As the arguments will be essentially combinatorial/topological, any of the decompositions described before would work.
### Witten subcomplexes.
Let $m_*=(m_0,m_1,\dots)$ be a sequence of nonnegative integers such that $$\sum_{i\geq 0} (2i+1)m_i=4g-4+2n$$ and define $(m_*)!:=\prod_{i\geq 0}m_i!$ and $r:=\sum_{i\geq 0} i\, m_i$.
The [*combinatorial subcomplex*]{} $\Af_{m_*}(S,X)\subset \Af(S,X)$ is the smallest simplicial subcomplex that contains all proper simplices $\ua\in\Ao(S,X)$ such that $S\setminus\ua$ is the disjoint union of exactly $m_i$ polygons with $2i+3$ sides.
It is convenient to set $|\Af_{m_*}(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}:=|\Af_{m_*}(S,X)|\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$. Clearly, this subcomplex is $\G(S,X)$-equivariant. Hence, if we call $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}:=\Mbar^\Delta_{g,X}\times{\mathbb{R}}_+\cong|\Af(S,X)|_{{\mathbb{R}}}/\G(S,X)$, then we can define $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}$ to be the subcomplex of $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}$ induced by $\Af_{m_*}(S,X)$.
We can introduce also univalent vertices by allowing $m_{-1}>0$. It is still possible to define the complexes $\Af_{m_*}(S,X)$ and $\mathfrak{A}^{\circ}_{m_*}(S,X)$, just allowing (finitely many) contractible loops (i.e. unmarked tails in the corresponding ribbon graph picture). However, $\Af_{m_*}(S,X)$ would no longer be a subcomplex of $\Af(S,X)$. Thus, we should construct an associated family of Riemann surfaces over $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}$ (which can be easily done) and consider the classifying map $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X} \rar \Mbarcomb_{g,X}$, whose existence is granted by the universal property of $\Mbar_{g,X}$, but which would no longer be cellular.
For every $\up \in \Delta_X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$ call $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up):=\bar{\ell}_{\pa}^{-1}(\up)
\subset \Mbarcomb_{g,X}$ and define $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up):=\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}\cap
\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$.
Notice that the dimensions of the slices are the expected ones because in every cell they are described by $n$ independent linear equations.
### Combinatorial $\psi$ classes.
Define $L_i$ as the space of couples $(\GG,y)$, where $\GG$ is a $X$-marked metrized ribbon graph in $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\{p_i>0\})$ and $y$ is a point of $|G|\subset |\GG|$ belonging to an edge that borders the $x_i$-th hole.
Clearly $L_i \lra \Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\{p_i>0\})$ is a topological bundle with fiber homeomorphic to $S^1$. It is easy to see that, for a fixed $\up\in \D_X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$ such that $p_i>0$, the pull-back of $L_i$ via $$\xi_{\up}:\Mbar_{g,X} \lra \Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$$ is isomorphic (as a topological bundle) to the sphere bundle associated to $\mathcal{L}^{\vee}_i$.
\[lemma:eta\] Fix $x_i$ in $X$ and $\up\in \Delta_X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$ such that $p_i>0$. Then on every simplex $|\ua|(\up) \in \Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$ define $$\ol{\eta}_i|_{|\ua|(\up)}:=\sum_{1\leq s<t\leq k-1}
d\tilde{e}_s \wedge d\tilde{e}_t$$ where $\dis\tilde{e}_j=\frac{\ell(e_j)}{2 p_i}$ and $x_i$ marks a hole with cyclically ordered sides $(e_1,\dots,e_k)$. These $2$-forms glue to give a piecewise-linear $2$-form $\ol{\eta}_i$ on $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$, that represents $c_1(L_i)$. Hence, the pull-back class $\xi_{\up}^*[\ol{\eta}_i]$ is exactly $\psi_i=c_1(\mathcal{L}_i)$ in $H^2(\Mbar_{g,X})$.
{width="45.00000%"}
The proof of the previous lemma is very easy.
### Orientation of Witten subcomplexes.
The following lemma says that the $\eta$ forms can be assembled in a piecewise-linear “symplectic form”, that can be used to orient maximal cells of Witten subcomplexes.
\[lemma:orient\] For every $\up\in\Delta_X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$ the restriction of $$\ol{\Omega}:=\sum_{i=1}^n p_i^2 \ol{\eta}_i$$ to the maximal simplices of $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$ is a non-degenerate symplectic form. Hence, $\ol{\Omega}^r$ defines an orientation on $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$. Also, $\ol{\Omega}^r\wedge\bar{\ell}_{\pa}^*\mathrm{Vol}_{{\mathbb{R}}^X}$ is a volume form on $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}$.
Let $|\ua|(\up)$ be a cell of $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$, whose associated ribbon graph $\GG_{\ua}$ has only vertices of odd valence.
On $|\ua|(\up)$, the differentials $de_i$ span the cotangent space. As the $p_i$’s are fixed, we have the relation $dp_i=0$ for all $i=1,\dots,n$. Hence $$T^{\vee}\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)\Big|_{|\ua|(\up)}\cong |\ua|(\up)\times
\bigoplus_{e\in E_1(\ua)}{\mathbb{R}}\cdot de \Big/
\left(\sum_{[\ora{e}]_0=x_i} de\,\Big|\,i=1,\dots,n\right)$$
On the other hand the tangent bundle is $$T\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)\Big|_{|\ua|(\up)}\cong |\ua|(\up)
\times
\left\{
\sum_{e\in E_1(\ua)} b_e\frac{\pa}{\pa e}\ \Big|
\ \sum_{[\ora{e}]_0\in x_i}b_e=0
\quad\text{for all $i=1,\dots,n$}\,
\right\}.$$ In order to prove that $\ol{\Omega}|_{\ua}:T|\ua|(\up)\lra
T^{\vee}|\ua|(\up)$ is non-degenerate, we construct its right-inverse. Define $B:T^{\vee}|\ua|(\up)\lra
T|\ua|(\up)$ as $$B(de)=\sum_{i=1}^{2s} (-1)^i \frac{\pa}{\pa [\s_0^i(\ora{e})]_1}
+\sum_{j=1}^{2t} (-1)^j \frac{\pa}{\pa [\s_0^j(\ola{e})]_1}$$ where $\vec{e}$ is any orientation of $e$, while $2s+1$ and $2t+1$ are the cardinalities of $[\ora{e}]_0$ and $[\ola{e}]_0$ respectively. We want to prove that $\ol{\Omega}B(de)=4de$ for every $e\in E_1(\ua)$.
{width="60.00000%"}
To shorten the notation, set $f_i:=[\s_0^i(\ora{e})]_1$ and $h_j:=[\s_0^j(\ola{e})]_1$ and call $F_i:=[\s_0^i(\ora{e})]_{\infty}$ for $i=1,\dots,2s-1$ and $H_j:=[\s_0^j(\ola{e})]_{\infty}$ for $j=1,\dots,2t-1$ the holes bordered respectively by $\{f_i,f_{i+1}\}$ and $\{h_j,h_{j+1}\}$. Finally call $E_+$ and $E_-$ the holes adjacent to $e$ as in Figure \[fig:orient\]. Remark that neither the edges $f$ and $h$ nor the holes $F$ and $H$ are necessarily distinct. This however has no importance in the following computation. $$B(de)=-\sum_{i=1}^{2s}(-1)^i\frac{\pa}{\pa f_i}-
\sum_{j=1}^{2t}(-1)^j\frac{\pa}{\pa h_j}$$ It is easy to see (using that the perimeters are constant) that $$p_{F_i}^2\ol{\eta}_{{F_i}}
\left(
\frac{\pa}{\pa f_i}-\frac{\pa}{\pa f_{i+1}}
\right)
= df_i+df_{i+1}$$ and analogously for the $h$’s. Moreover $$p_{E_+}^2
\ol{\eta}_{{E_+}}
\left(
\frac{\pa}{\pa h_{2s}}-\frac{\pa}{\pa f_1}
\right)
=dh_{2s}+df_1+2de$$ and similarly for $E_-$. Finally, we obtain $\ol{\Omega}B(de)=4de$.
Notice that $B$ is the piecewise-linear extension of the Weil-Petersson bivector field $2\tilde{\omega}^{\vee}_\infty$. Thus, $\ol{\Omega}$ is the piecewise-linear extension of $2\tilde{\omega}_\infty$.
Finally, we can show that the (cellular) chain obtained by adding maximal simplices of Witten subcomplexes (with the orientation determined by $\Omega$) is in fact a cycle.
With the given orientation $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$ is a cycle for all $\up\in\Delta_X\times {\mathbb{R}}_+$ and $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X)$ is a cycle with non-compact support.
Given a top-dimensional cell $|\ua|(\up)$ in $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$, each face in the boundary $\pa|\ua|(\up)$ is obtained shrinking one edge of $\GG_{\ua}$. This contraction may merge two vertices as in Fig. \[fig:contraction\].
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Otherwise the shrinking produces a node, as in Fig. \[fig:contraction2\].
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Let $|\ua'|(\up)\in\pa |\ua|(\up)$ be the face of $|\ua|(\up)$ obtained by shrinking the edge $e$. Then $\Lambda^{6g-7+2n-2r}T|\ua'|(\up)=
\Lambda^{6g-6+2n-2r}T|\ua|(\up)
\otimes N^{\vee}_{|\ua'|/|\ua|}$ and so the dual of the orientation form induced by $|\ua|(\up)$ on $|\ua'|(\up)$ is $\i_{de}(B_{\ua}^{6g-6+2n-2r})=(6g-6+2n-2r)\i_{de}(B_{\ua})
\wedge B_{\ua}^{6g-8+2n-2r}$, where $B_{\ua}$ is the bivector field on $|\ua|(\up)$ defined in Lemma \[lemma:orient\].
Consider the graph $\GG_{\ua'}$ that occurs in the boundary of a top-dimensional cell of $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$. Suppose it is obtained merging two vertices of valences $2t_1+3$ and $2t_2+3$ in a vertex $v$ of valence $2(t_1+t_2)+4$. Then $|\ua'|(\up)$ is in the boundary of exactly $2(t_1+t_2)+4$ cells of $\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)$ or $t_1+t_2+2$ ones in the case $t_1=t_2$. In any case, the number of cells $|\ua'|(\up)$ is bordered by are even: we need to prove that half of them induces on $|\ua'|(\up)$ an orientation and the other half induces the opposite one. If $\GG_{\ua'}$ is obtained from some $\GG_{\ua}$ contracting an edge $e$, then we just have to compute the vector field $\i_{de}(B_{\ua})$, which turns to be $$\i_{de}(B_{\ua})=\pm \sum_{i=1}^{2(t_1+t_2)+4} (-1)^i\frac{\pa}{\pa f_i}$$ where $f_1,\dots,f_{2(t_1+t_2)+4}$ are the edges of $\GG_{\ua'}$ outgoing from $v$. It is a straightforward computation to check that one obtains in half the cases a plus and in half the cases a minus.
When $\GG^{en}_{\ua'}$ has a node with $2t_1+2$ edges on one side (which we will denote by $f_1,\dots,f_{2t_1+2}$) and $2t_2+3$ edges on the other side, the computation is similar. The cell occurs as boundary of exactly $(2t_1+2)(2t_2+3)$ top-dimensional cells and, if $\GG_{\ua'}$ is obtained by $\GG_{\ua}$ contracting the edge $e$, then $$\i_{de}(B_{\ua})=\pm 2\sum_{i=1}^{2t_1+2} (-1)^i\frac{\pa}{\pa f_i}.$$ A quick check ensures that the signs cancel.
Define the [*Witten classes*]{} $\Wbar_{m_*,X}(\up):=[\Mbarcomb_{m_*,X}(\up)]$ and let $\W_{m_*,X}(\up)$ be its restriction to $\Mcomb_{g,X}(\up)$, which defines (by Poincaré duality) a cohomology class in $H^{2r}(\M_{g,X})$, independent of $\up$.
### Generalized Witten cycles.
It is possible to define a slight generalization of the previous classes, prescribing that some markings hit vertices with assigned valence.
These [*generalized Witten classes*]{} are related to the previous $\W_{m_*,X}$ in an intuitively obvious way, because forgetting the markings of some vertices will map them onto one another. We will omit the details and refer to [@mondello:combinatorial].
Witten cycles and tautological classes {#ss:witten-tautological}
--------------------------------------
In this subsection, we will sketch the proof of the following result, due to K. Igusa [@igusa:mmm] and [@igusa:kontsevich] (see also [@igusa-kleber]) and Mondello [@mondello:combinatorial] independently.
\[thm:tautological\] Witten cycles $\W_{m_*,X}$ on $\M_{g,X}$ are Poincaré dual to polynomials in the $\kappa$ classes and vice versa.
In [@mondello:combinatorial], the following results are also proven:
- Witten generalized cycles on $\M_{g,X}$ are Poincaré dual to polynomials in the $\psi$ and the $\kappa$ classes
- ordinary and generalized Witten cycles on $\Mbarcomb_{g,X}(\up)$ are push-forward of (the Poincaré dual of) tautological classes from $\Mbar_{g,X}$; an explicit recipe to produce such tautological classes is given.
### The case with one special vertex.
We want to consider a combinatorial cycle on $\M_{g,X}$ supported on ribbon graphs, whose vertices are generically all trivalent except one, which is $(2r+3)$-valent (and $r\geq 1$). To shorten the notation, call this Witten cycle $\W_{2r+3}$.
We also define a generalized Witten cycle on the universal curve $\Cc_{g,X}\subset \Mbar_{g,X\cup\{y\}}$ supported on the locus of ribbon graphs, which have a $(2r+3)$-valent vertex marked by $y$ and all the other vertices are trivalent and unmarked. Call $\W^y_{2r+3}$ this cycle.
We would like to show that $\mathrm{PD}(\W^y_{2r+3})=c(r)\psi_y^{r+1}$, where $c(r)$ is some constant. As a consequence, pushing the two hand-sides down through the proper map $\pi_y:\Cc_{g,X}\rar \M_{g,X}$, we would obtain $\mathrm{PD}(\W_{2r+3})=c(r)\k_r$.
Lemma \[lemma:eta\] gives us the nice piecewise-linear $2$-form $\eta_y$, that is pulled back to $\psi_y$ through $\xi$. The only problem is that $\eta_y$ is defined only for $p_y>0$, whereas $\W^y_{2r+3}$ is exactly contained in the locus $\{p_y=0\}$.
To compare the two, one can look at the blow-up $\mathrm{Bl}_{p_y=0}\Mbarcomb_{g,X\cup\{y\}}$ of $\Mbarcomb_{g,X\cup\{y\}}$ along the locus $\{p_y=0\}$. Points in the exceptional locus $E$ can be identified with metrized (nonsingular) ribbon graphs $\GG$, in which $y$ marks a vertex, plus [*angles*]{} $\vartheta$ between consecutive oriented edges outgoing from $y$. One must think of these angles as of [*infinitesimal edges*]{}.
It is clear now that $\eta_y$ extends to $E$ by $$\eta_y|_{|\ua|(\up)}:=\sum_{1\leq s<t\leq k-1}
d\tilde{e}_s \wedge d\tilde{e}_t$$ where $\dis \tilde{e}_j=\frac{\vartheta_j}{2\pi}$, $y$ marks a vertex with cyclically ordered outgoing edges $(\ora{e}_1,\dots,\ora{e}_k)$ and $\vartheta_j$ is the angle between $\ora{e}_j$ and $\ora{e}_{j+1}$ (with $j\in{\mathbb{Z}}/k{\mathbb{Z}}$).
Thus, pushing forward $\eta_y^{r+1}$ through $E \rar \Mbarcomb_{g,X}(p_y=0)$, we obtain $c(r)\ol{W}^y_{2r+3}$ plus other terms contained in the boundary, and the coefficient $c(r)$ is exactly the integral of $\eta_y^{r+1}$ on a fiber (that is, a simplex), which turns out to be $\dis c(r)=\frac{(r+1)!}{(2r+2)!}$. Thus, $\W^y_{2r+3}$ is Poincaré dual to $2^{r+1}(2r+1)!!\psi_y^{r+1}$.
### The case with many special vertices.
To mimic what done for one non-trivalent vertex, let’s consider combinatorial classes with two non-trivalent vertices. Thus, we look at the class $\psi_y^{r+1}\psi_z^{s+1}$ (with $r,s\geq 1$) on $\Cc^2_{g,X}:=\Cc_{g,X}\times_{_{\M_{g,X}}} \Cc_{g,X}$.
Look at the blow-up $\mathrm{Bl}_{p_y=0,p_z=0}\Mbarcomb_{g,X\cup\{y\}}$ of $\Mbarcomb_{g,X\cup\{y,z\}}$ along the locus $\{p_y=0\}\cup\{p_z=0\}$ and let $E=E_y\cap E_z$, where $E_y$ and $E_z$ are the exceptional loci.
As before, we can identify $E\cap\{y\neq z\}$ with the set of metrized ribbon graphs $\GG$, with angles at the vertices $y$ and $z$. Thus, pushing $\eta_y^{r+1}\eta_z^{s+1}$ forward through the blow-up map (which forgets the angles at $y$ and $z$), we obtain a multiple of the generalized combinatorial cycles given by $y$ marking a $(2r+3)$-valent vertex and $z$ marking a $(2s+3)$-valent (distinct) vertex. The coefficient $c(r,s)$ will just be $\dis \frac{(r+1)!(s+1)!}{(2r+2)!(2s+2)!}$.
Points in $E\cap\{y=z\}$ can be thought of as metrized ribbon graphs $\GG$ with two infinitesimal holes (respectively marked by $y$ and $z$) adjacent to each other. If we perform the push-forward of $\eta_y^{r+1}\eta_z^{s+1}$ forgetting first the angles at $z$ and then the angles at $y$, then we obtain some contribution only from the loci in which the infinitesimal $z$-hole has $(2s+3)$ edges and the infinitesimal $y$-hole has $(2r+4)$ edges (included the common one). Thus, we obtain the same contribution for each of the $b(r,s)$ configurations of two adjacent holes of valences $(2s+3)$ and $(2r+4)$.
Thus, we obtain a cycle supported on the locus of metrized ribbon graphs $\GG$ in which $y=z$ marks a $(2r+2s+3)$-valent vertex, with coefficient $b(r,s)c(r,s)$.
Hence, $\psi_y^{r+1}\psi_z^{s+1}$ is Poincaré dual to a linear combination of generalized combinatorial cycles. As before, using the forgetful map, the same holds for the Witten cycles obtained by deleting the $y$ and the $z$ markings.
One can easily see that the transformation laws from $\psi$ classes to combinatorial classes are invertible (because they are “upper triangular” in a suitable sense).
Clearly, in order to deal with many $\psi$ classes (that is, with many non-trivalent marked vertices), one must compute more and more complicated combinatorial factors like $b(r,s)$.
We refer to [@igusa-kleber] and [@mondello:combinatorial] for two (complementary) methods to calculate these factors.
Stability of Witten cycles {#ss:stability}
--------------------------
### Harer’s stability theorem.
The (co)homologies of the mapping class groups have the remarkable property that they stabilize when the genus of the surface increases. This was first proven by Harer [@harer:stability], and the stability bound was then improved by Ivanov [@Ivanov:improved] (and successively again by Harer for homology with rational coefficients, in an unpublished paper). We now want to recall some of Harer’s results.
Let $S_{g,n,b}$ be a compact oriented surface of genus $g$ with $n$ marked points and $b$ boundary components $C_1,\dots,C_b$. Call $\G(S_{g,n,b})$ the group of isotopy classes of diffeomorphisms of $S$ that fix the marked points and $\pa S$ pointwise.
Call also $P=S_{0,0,3}$ a fixed pair of pants and denote by $B_1,B_2,B_3$ its boundary components.
Consider the following two operations:
- gluing $S_{g,n,b}$ and $P$ by identifying $C_b$ with $B_1$, thus producing an oriented surface of genus $g$ with $n$ marked points and $b+1$ boundary components
- identify $C_{b-1}$ with $C_b$ of $S_{g,n,b}$, thus producing an oriented surface of genus $g+1$ with $n$ marked points and $b-2$ boundary components.
Clearly, they induce homomorphism at the level of mapping class groups $$\mathcal{Y}: \G(S_{g,n,b})\lra \G(S_{g,n,b+1})$$ when $b\geq 1$ (by extending the diffeomorphism as the identity on $P$) and $$\mathcal{V}:\G(S_{g,n,b})\lra \G(S_{g+1,n,b-2})$$ when $b\geq 2$.
The induced maps in homology $$\begin{aligned}
\mathcal{Y}_{*} & : H_k(\G(S_{g,n,b})) \lra H_k(\G(S_{g,n,b+1}))\\
\mathcal{V}_{*} & : H_k(\G(S_{g,n,b})) \lra H_k(\G(S_{g+1,n,b-2}))\end{aligned}$$ are isomorphisms for $g\geq 3k$.
The exact bound is not important for our purposes. We only want to stress that the theorem implies that $H_k(\G(S_{g,n,b}))$ stabilizes for large $g$. In particular, fixed $n\geq 0$, the rational homology of $\M_{g,n}$ stabilizes for large $g$.
We have $B\G(S_{g,n,b})\simeq\M_{g,X,T}$, where $\M_{g,X,T}$ is the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ with $X\cup T$ marked points ($X=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}$ and $T=\{t_1,\dots,t_b\}$) and a nonzero tangent vector at each point of $T$. If $b\geq 1$, then $\M_{g,X,T}$ is a smooth variety: in fact, an automorphism of a Riemann surface that fixes a point and a tangent direction at that point is the identity (it follows from uniformization and Schwarz lemma).
### Mumford’s conjecture.
Call $\dis \G_{\infty,n}=\lim_{g\rar\infty} \G(S_{g,n,1})$, where the map $\G(S_{g,n,1})\rar \G(S_{g+1,n,1})$ corresponds to gluing a torus with two holes at the boundary component of $S_{g,n,1}$.
Then, $H^k(\G_{\infty,n})$ coincides with $H^k(\G_{g,n})$ for $g\gg k$.
Mumford conjectured that $H^*(\G_\infty;{\mathbb{Q}})$ is the polynomial algebra on the $\k$ classes. Miller [@miller:homology] showed that $H^*(\G_\infty;{\mathbb{Q}})$ is a Hopf algebra that contains ${\mathbb{Q}}[\k_1,\k_2,\dots]$.
Recently, after works of Tillmann (for instance, [@tillmann:infinite]) and Madsen-Tillmann [@madsen-tillmann], Madsen and Weiss [@madsen-weiss:mumford] proved a much stronger statement of homotopy theory, which in particular implies Mumford’s conjecture.
Thanks to a result of Bödigheimer-Tillmann [@boedigheimer-tillmann:stripping], it follows that $H^*(\G_{\infty,n};{\mathbb{Q}})$ is a polynomial algebra on $\psi_1,\dots,\psi_n$ and the $\k$ classes.
Thus, generalized Witten classes, being polynomials in $\psi$ and $\k$, are also stable. In what follows, we would like to prove this stability in a direct way.
### Ribbon graphs with tails.
One way to cellularize the moduli space of curves with marked points and tangent vectors at the marked points is to use ribbon graphs with tails (see, for instance, [@godin:unstable]).
Consider $\Si$ a compact Riemann surface of genus $g$ with marked points $X\cup T=\{x_1,\dots,x_n\}\cup\{t_1,\dots,t_b\}$ and nonzero tangent vectors $v_1,\dots,v_b$ at $t_1,\dots,t_b$.
Given $p_1,\dots,p_n\geq 0$ and $q_1,\dots,q_b>0$, we can construct the ribbon graph $\GG$ associated to $(\Si,\up,\ul{q})$, say using the Jenkins-Strebel differential $\varphi$.
For every $j=1,\dots,b$, move from the center $t_j$ along a vertical trajectory $\g_j$ of $\varphi$ determined by the tangent vector $v_j$, until we hit the critical graph. Parametrize the opposite path $\g_j^*$ by arc-length, so that $\g_j^*:[0,\infty]\rar \Si$, $\g_j^*(0)$ lies on the critical graph and $\g_j^*(\infty)=t_j$. Then, construct a new ribbon graph out of $\GG$ by “adding” a new vertex (which we will call $\tilde{v}_j$) and a new edge $e_{v_j}$ of length $|v_j|$ (a [*tail*]{}), whose realization is $\g_j^*([0,|v_j|])$ (see Figure \[fig:tail\]).
{width="60.00000%"}
Thus, we have realized an embedding of $\M_{g,X,T}\times {\mathbb{R}}_{\geq 0}^X\times\Delta_T\times{\mathbb{R}}_+$ inside $\Mcomb_{g,X\cup T\cup V}$, where $V=\{\tilde{v}_1,\dots,
\tilde{v}_b\}$. If we call $\Mcomb_{g,X,T}$ its image, we have obtained the following.
$\Mcomb_{g,X,T}\simeq B\G(S_{g,n,b})$.
Notice that the embedding $\Mcomb_{g,X,T}\hra \Mcomb_{g,X\cup T\cup V}$ allows us to define (generalized) Witten cycles $W_{m_*,X,T}$ on $\Mcomb_{g,X,T}$ simply by restriction.
### Gluing ribbon graphs with tails.
Let $\GG'$ and $\GG''$ be two ribbon graphs with tails $\ora{e'}$ and $\ora{e''}$, i.e. $\ora{e'}\in E(\GG')$ and $\ora{e''}\in E(\GG'')$ with the property that $\s'_0(\ora{e'})=\ora{e'}$ and $\s''_0(\ora{e''})=\ora{e''}$.
We produce a third ribbon graph $\GG$, obtained by [*gluing $\GG'$ and $\GG''$*]{} in the following way.
We set $E(\GG)=\left(E(\GG')\cup E(\GG'')\right)/\sim$, where we declare that $\ora{e'}\sim \ola{e''}$ and $\ola{e'}\sim\ora{e''}$. Thus, we have a natural $\s_1$ induced on $E(\GG)$. Moreover, we define $\s_0$ acting on $E(\GG)$ as $$\s_0([\ora{e}])=
\begin{cases}
[\s'_0(\ora{e})] & \text{if $\ora{e} \in E(\GG')$
and $\ora{e}\neq\ora{e'}$}\\
[\s''_0(\ora{e})] & \text{if $\ora{e} \in E(\GG'')$
and $\ora{e}\neq\ora{e''}$}
\end{cases}$$ If $\GG'$ and $\GG''$ are metrized, then we induce a metric on $\GG$ in a canonical way, declaring the length of the new edge of $\GG$ to be $\ell(e')+\ell(e'')$.
Suppose that $\GG'$ is marked by $\{x_1,\dots,x_n,t'\}$ and $e'$ is a tail contained in the hole $t'$ and that $\GG''$ is marked by $\{y_1,\dots,y_m,t''\}$ and if $e''$ is a tail contained in the hole $t''$, then $\GG$ is marked by $\{x_1,\dots,x_n,y_1,\dots,y_m,t\}$, where $t$ is a new hole obtained [*merging*]{} the holes centered at $t'$ and $t''$.
Thus, we have constructed a [*combinatorial gluing map*]{} $$\Mcomb_{g',X',T'\cup\{t'\}}\times\Mcomb_{g'',X'',T''\cup\{t''\}}
\lra \Mcomb_{g'+g'',X'\cup X''\cup\{t\},T'\cup T''}$$
### The combinatorial stabilization maps.
Consider the gluing maps in two special cases which are slightly different from what we have seen before.
Call $S_{g,X,T}$ a compact oriented surface of genus $g$ with boundary components labeled by $T$ and marked points labeled by $X$.
Fix a trivalent ribbon graph $\GG_j$, with genus $1$, one hole and $j$ tails for $j=1,2$ (for instance, $j=2$ in Figure \[fig:torus\]).
{width="60.00000%"}
Consider the combinatorial gluing maps $$\begin{aligned}
\mathcal{S}_1^{comb} & :\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}} \lra \Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}} \\
\mathcal{S}_2^{comb} & :\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}} \lra \Mcomb_{g+1,X,\{t\}}\end{aligned}$$ where $\mathcal{S}_j^{comb}$ is obtained by simply gluing a graph $\GG$ in $\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}}$ with the fixed graph $\GG_j$, identifying the unique tail of $\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}}$ with the $v$-tail of $\GG_j$ and renaming the new hole by $t$.
It is easy to see that $\mathcal{S}^{comb}_2$ incarnates a stabilization map (obtained by composing twice $\mathcal{Y}$ and once $\mathcal{V}$).
On the other hand, consider the map $\mathcal{S}_1:B\G(S_{g,X,\{t\}})
\rar B\G(S_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}})$, that glues a torus $S_{1,\{y\},\{t'\}}$ with one puncture and one boundary component to the unique boundary component of $S_{g,X,\{t\}}$, by identifying $t$ and $t'$, and relabels the $y$-puncture by $t$.
The composition of $\mathcal{S}_1$ followed by the map $\pi_t$ that forgets the $t$-marking $$B\G(S_{g,X,\{t\}})\arr{\mathcal{S}_1}{\lra} B\G(S_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}})
\arr{\pi_t}{\lra} B\G(S_{g+1,X})$$ induces an isomorphism on $H_k$ for $k\gg g$, because it can be also obtained composing $\mathcal{Y}$ and $\mathcal{V}$.
Notice that $\pi_t:B\G(S_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}})\rar B\G(S_{g+1,X})$ can be realized as a [*combinatorial forgetful map*]{} $\pi_t^{comb}:\Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times\{0\})\rar
\Mcomb_{g+1,X}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X)$ in the following way.
Let $\GG$ be a metrized ribbon graph in $\Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}}
({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times\{0\})$. If $t$ is marking a vertex of valence $3$ or more, than just forget the $t$-marking. If $t$ is marking a vertex of valence $2$, then forget the $t$ marking and merge the two edges outgoing from $t$ in one new edge. Finally, if $t$ is marking a univalent vertex of $\GG$ lying on an edge $e$, then replace $\GG$ by $\GG/e$ and forget the $t$-marking.
### Behavior of Witten cycles.
The induced homomorphism on Borel-Moore homology $$(\pi_t^{comb})^*:H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g+1,X}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X))\lra
H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}})({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times\{0\})$$ pulls $W_{m_*,X}$ back to the combinatorial class $W^t_{m_*+\delta_0,X}$, corresponding to (the closure of the locus of) ribbon graphs with one univalent vertex marked by $t$ and $m_i+\delta_{0,i}$ vertices of valence $(2i+3)$ for all $i\geq 0$.
We use now the fact that, for $X$ nonempty, there is a homotopy equivalence $$E:\Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+)
\arr{\sim}{\lra}
\Mcomb_{g+1,X\cup\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times \{0\})$$ and that $E^*(W^t_{m_*+\delta_0,X})=W_{m_*+2\delta_0,X\cup\{t\}}$.
This last phenomenon can be understood by simply observing that $E^{-1}$ corresponds to opening the (generically univalent) $t$-marked vertex to a small $t$-marked hole, thus producing an extra trivalent vertex.
Finally, $(\mathcal{S}_1^{comb})^*(W_{m_*+2\delta_0,X\cup\{t\}})=
W_{m_*-\delta_0,X,\{t\}}$, because $\GG_1$ has exactly $3$ trivalent vertices.
As a consequence, we have obtained that $$(\pi_t^{comb}\circ E\circ \mathcal{S}_1^{comb})^*:
H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g+1,X}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X)) \lra
H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+))$$ is an isomorphism for $g\gg *$ and pulls $W_{m_*,X}$ back to $W_{m_*-\delta_0,X,\{t\}}$.\
The other gluing map is much simpler: the induced $$(\mathcal{S}^{comb}_{2})^*:
H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g+1,X,\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+))\lra
H^{BM}_*(\Mcomb_{g,X,\{t\}}({\mathbb{R}}_+^X\times{\mathbb{R}}_+))$$ carries $W_{m_*,X,\{t\}}$ to $W_{m_*-4\delta_0,X,\{t\}}$, because $\GG_2$ has $4$ trivalent vertices.\
We recall that a class in $H^k(\G_{\infty,X})$ (i.e. a stable class) is a sequence of classes $\{\b_g \in H^k(\M_{g,X})\,|\,g\geq g_0\}$, which are compatible with the stabilization maps, and that two sequences are equivalent (i.e. they represent the same stable class) if they are equal for large $g$.
\[prop:witten-stable\] Let $m_*=(m_0,m_1,\dots)$ be a sequence of nonnegative integers such that $m_N=0$ for large $N$ and let $|X|=n>0$. Define $$c(g)=4g-4+2n-\sum_{j\geq 1}(2j+1)m_j$$ and call $g_0=\mathrm{inf}\{g\in {\mathbb{N}}\,|\,c(g)\geq 0\}$. Then, the collection\
is a stable class, where $k=\sum_{j>0} j\,m_j$.
It is clear that an analogous statement can be proven for generalized Witten cycles. Notice that Proposition \[prop:witten-stable\] implies Miller’s result [@miller:homology] that $\psi$ and $\k$ classes are stable.
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|
High impact polystyrene polyblends (HIPS) comprising polystyrene having a rubber phase dispersed therein, as crosslinked rubber particles, are known. Historically, mechanical blends were prepared by melt blending polystyrene with raw rubber which was incompatible and dispersed as crosslinked rubber particles to reinforce and toughen the polymeric polyblend. More recently, HIPS polyblends have been prepared by mass polymerizing solutions of diene rubber dissolved in styrene monomer in batch reactors wherein the rubber molecules were grafted with styrene monomer forming polystyrene polymer grafts on the rubber along with polystyrene polymer in situ in the monomer. As the polystyrene-monomer phase increases during polymerization the grafted rubber phase inverts readily as rubber particles comprising grafted rubber and occluded polystyrene contained therein with said particles crosslinked to maintain the rubber particles as discrete particles dispersed in the polystyrene which forms a matrix phase of the HIPS polyblend.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,743 teaches HIPS polyblends prepared with polybutadiene rubbers having a range of molecular weights and prefers a range of from about 30,000 to 110,000 when polymerized in solution with polymonovinylidene polymers being present during polymerization, providing a balance between impact strength, toughness and gloss. Commercial rubbers are taught to range from about 120,000 to 250,000 with impact strength being maximized at about 150,000 when polymerized in solutions with the monomers alone. U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,675 teaches methods of preparing HIPS polyblends using diene rubbers and indicates that the diene rubbers usually have a molecular weight of 15,000 and higher with no definition of a preferred molecular weight range to maximize toughness.
Engineering uses of HIPS polyblends require improved toughness where load bearing properties are needed in automotive and appliance applications. It has been discovered that polybutadiene rubbers having a higher molecular weight and broader molecular weight distribution than the commercial rubber used by the prior art, provide such rubber reinforced polyblends with greater toughness.
An objective of the present invention is to provide HIPS polyblend compositions with greater toughness.
Another objective is to provide HIPS polyblends toughened with particular polybutadiene rubbers having higher molecular weights and broader molecular weight distributions. |
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My mother is at Vista Springs Edgewood. She is in a 1-bedroom apartment. She has a small kitchen, but she doesn’t really need it as much. The room is nice. The staff has been very helpful. They watch over her. They put up with her short temper and always make sure that she gets her pills and her meals and everything else, so that’s good. They have a lot of activities there. They have bingo and arts & crafts. They have some kind of bus, and it has one of those things on the back that it could pick up wheelchairs and electric carts and put them in the back inside. They go to different places. They have people that come in and entertain. They have a baby grand piano in the main area, and sometimes people would get to singing. When you walk in to the right, there is a little meet and greet place for the people that live there. They could get juice, coffee, hot tea, and hot water, and they have little snacks or fruits. They play trivia a lot. They have a church that comes in there. They have communion every Sunday. I love the place. My mother is not a pleasant person to always be around. She is 89. She can get grumpy and very demanding if something doesn’t go her way, but they do her laundry, they clean her apartment, and she gets 3 wonderful meals everyday. They do an excellent job on that. My mother does not complain about the food at all.
I am a friend or relative of a resident
A couple of weeks ago, we signed my mother up to Vista Springs. We chose it because they seemed to have a lot to offer. They have a studio apartment that is $800 cheaper than in other places. They have guys come in to play music, and right now, she is in a fudge tasting contest. They make blankets, and she crochets. They have a call button, so when they pull their string, staff will come right into their home. They take her down to the cafeteria or lounge to eat. There are a lot of nice people there and she seems to be really happy. Everything seems to be going well. They take care of her medicines, give her baths, and do her laundry and the housekeeping.
I visited this facility
Vista Springs Edgewood was nice, but the way they decorated it was not as homey as the other ones I visited; it was more modern or something. They were friendly. I had lunch there with the girl who took me around, and it was really nice. The food was good.
I visited this facility
The staff at Vista Springs Edgewood was very welcoming and very accommodating. I was very pleased with the visit. It was very clean and friendly, and it was a good setting. My mom would've been happy there.
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Vista Springs Edgewood is located in Michigan's Capital City of Lansing. This community sets itself apart with its comfortable accommodations, fine dining creations from a talented chef, and staff that will treat your loved one like family. These things help this facility become not just a home, but a lifestyle.
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At Vista Springs, there’s always something for the senses and the soul, including local musical artists, sing-a-longs, special outings and field trips, themed dinners, or a spirited game of euchre among friends.
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It is our deep desire that all of our community members live a happy, fulfilled life at Vista Springs. We believe a full life is nurtured with activities and undertakings that enrich the body, mind, and soul.
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Dining at Vista Springs is not just a meal, but a sumptuous treat to enjoy with friends. With professional chefs creating satisfying and tasteful dishes each day, our community members are treated to the absolute best dining options available.
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[Advancements in melanocytes in hair follicle].
Melanoblasts, the precursors to melanocytes, originate in the neural crest. Some melanoblasts can travel to the hair follicle and further differentiate into pigment melanin-producing melanocytes. Hair follicles contain a pool of undifferentiated melanocyte stem cells (MSCs), which are sources of differentiated melanocytes, and functional melanocytes exhist in the hair bulb. The volume, life, and activity of melanocytes in a hair follicle is closely related with the growth cycle of follicle. Appearance of gray hair gray results from incomplete MSCs maintenance. |
Dozens of residents came out and asked questions of their U.S. Representative.
Some of the hot topics included: border security and immigration, along with the Benghazi attacks and Sgt. Bergdahl.
The solider was held captive by the Taliban for five years. He was freed late last month, in a controversial prisoner exchange with the terrorist group.
Congressman Conaway says he's glad Sgt. Bergdahl is back home safe, but he does not approve of the prisoner swap.
"It puts Americans around the world at risk for being taken hostage by -- pick a bad group that's out there,” Conaway stated. “And this president said I'll negotiate with them. It's unfortunately they've broken a long tradition of not negotiating with terrorists -- and this president choose to do that." |
Feedforward postural stabilization in a distal bimanual unloading task.
The aim of the present study was to investigate postural adjustments and positional stability in a bimanual unloading task, involving essentially the index finger, in order to test whether proactive adjustments are also observed in distal body segments. A second goal of the study was to evaluate the concept of a central command that would be responsible for coupling movement and posture. The positional disturbance of the right load-bearing index finger of healthy human subjects was studied under two types of manipulations: passive, i.e., imposed, unloading and active unloading, by the subject's left index finger. It was found that, in such a distal task, positional stabilization of the load-bearing finger was much better (by a factor of 6) in the active situation than the passive situation. This improvement was greater than previously reported for a proximal task. An electromyogram (EMG) analysis of the mostly implicated dorsal interosseous muscles revealed a typical unloading reflex in the passive situation (reactive mode) and a suppression of EMG before unloading onset in the active situation (proactive mode). Averaged records showed an almost perfect synchronization between the EMG suppression in the load-bearing interosseous muscle and the onset of the EMG burst of the unloading index finger. A trial-by-trial analysis, however, revealed a considerable scatter in intervals of the two EMG events, with a tendency of the activity burst in the left finger to occur slightly before the suppression of EMG in the load-bearing muscle. No positive correlation was found between the precision of synchronization (intervals near zero time) and the accuracy of performance, i.e., positional stability of the unloaded finger. Although the trial-by-trial variability was large, it is suggested that at least some of this variability is caused by a nonsteady state of motoneuronal excitability. In view of the low-pass property of the muscle, the observed variability in synchronization may be sufficiently precise to maintain the hypothesis of a central temporal coupling of the events in the two hands through a common command. However, the lack of a correlation between the degree of synchronization and the performance in stability argues rather in favor of separate commands to the two hands that select the parameters in the spatial domain. Finally, an intermanual EMG or torque analysis is proposed that might be useful in assessing the accuracy in goal achievement, i.e., the maintenance of a stable finger position in spite of the "internal" perturbation. |
Life itself is never easy. It is filled with flashes or moments of joy. There are days when the world you’re living in seems to be at peace. We start out young and full of hope and dreams. We think the fruits of the trees are ours for the picking. But as you get older you struggle through more days than you slip through. The friction gets more and more coarse. We find ourselves zigging and zagging through the obstacles instead of hitting them head on.
We wake up one day in jobs we never really planned for. In relationships that were nothing like what we had imagined. When your young your desires are simple. A fast car, a place to crash, money, a hot girlfriend or boyfriend. As the years fly by those desires change. Now all we want is a car that runs, a roof that doesn’t leak, a boyfriend or girlfriend who can contribute, and enough money left over after all the bills are paid to buy a cold beer at the end of a long work week.
Kids add something entirely different to the mix. In a way they give that friction purpose. The struggles seem to be more meaningful. But they also bring on an entirely new set of bumps and grinds to the road.
I think as parents, we all try our best to do what’s right. We put their needs first and go without ourselves more times that not. They have X-Boxes, Kindle fires, laptops, clothes, guitars, iPods. I have a flip phone, ripped jeans and a cassette player. I drive them around, I clean up after them, wash their clothes and make sure there is food in the house for them to eat. Still they complain that it’s too hot, or too cold, or too boring. Huh, kids. I am thinking Summer camp in Yemen might give them some kind of perspective.
But we do our best to do right by them. As they get older and reach adulthood, they are going to make their own mistakes just as we did. They are going to find their own roads to travel down. They will test themselves and challenge themselves, (we hope so anyway).
I think if we look back at our own lives we all would have a few of those bumps we would like to avoid. We have all done things that feel right at the time but that doesn’t seem right to others. Everyone has their own way of doing things. If you find out that your son sneaks out of the house at night to go hang out with his friends, that’s a bump. When my dad caught me sneaking out after they went to bed I got whooped pretty good. My dad didn’t mess around when it came to handing down punishment. I couldn’t sit down for two weeks. But it didn’t stop me from doing it again. I knew the consequences and I did it anyway. So you can go that route, or you can just tell him not to do it again, put him on restriction and maybe take away his t.v. Or you could simply tell him that you understand what it’s like to be 17 and to just keep his phone on and to call if he needs you. Is any three of those the right answer? probably not. There is no right answer. There’s just hope that everything will turn out alright. But at least you’ll know where he is. I am sure there are parents that have no idea where the hell their children are sometimes.
Flaws and characteristics are not always passed down by the parents even though they are identical. Sometimes the child finds them totally on their own. It’s like if you drink coffee and you tell your kids that coffee is a bad habit to get into and that they should stick to orange juice. Even though you drink coffee, you try to have your cup before they get up so not to influence them. Then one day you see your kid drinking coffee. They say that they had it at a friend’s house and liked it. They knew you drank it so they didn’t feel bad telling you. Was it you that influenced them to start a life long caffeine habit? I doubt it. My parents never drank, never smoked, did drugs, never took any real risk of any kind. So if a parents influence works so well than how would you explain me?
I know this probably doesn’t make any sense, but it does in my head. I think sometimes writing things out adds clarity to a situation. But I think I’m making myself more confused. Damn kids have made me sleep deprived, broke, tired, and very disoriented. Kind of like how I was at the peak of my party days.
But if anyone has it all figured out, please let me know. I would like to hear it. I always thought that being there for them and working hard and letting them know you loved them was enough. And if you can instill some sort of morality and value along the way, bonus.
If I can just figure out in all this mess just where I put my own morality and value I’ll be all set.
I guess I am just trying to say that we all make mistakes, we must be able to see those mistakes within ourselves if we are going to teach our children how to see theirs.
Make sense? Just as our children are trying to be adults, we the adults are acting more like children. I sure wish babies came with instructions. And adults came with guides, and teenagers came with remotes. So God, please let me know just where the entrance to the garden went. It’s cold and dark out here and I think I’d like to go home now. |
Multiple LRRK2 variants modulate risk of Parkinson disease: a Chinese multicenter study.
We and others found two polymorphic LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) variants (rs34778348:G>A; p.G2385R and rs33949390:G>C; p.R1628P) associated with Parkinson disease (PD) among Chinese patients, but the common worldwide rs34637584:G>A; p.G2019S mutation, was absent. Focusing exclusively on Han Chinese, we first sequenced the coding regions in young onset and familial PD patients and identified 59 variants. We then examined these variants in 250 patients and 250 control subjects. Among the 17 polymorphic variants, five demonstrated different frequency in cases versus controls and were considered in a larger sample of 1,363 patients and 1,251 control subjects. The relative risk of an individual with both p.G2385R and p.R1628P is about 1.9, and this is reduced to 1.5-1.6 if the individual also carries rs7133914:G>C; p.R1398H or rs7308720:C>A: p.N551K. The risk of a carrier with p.R1628P is largely negated if the individual also carries p.R1398H or p.N551K. In dopaminergic neuronal lines, p.R1398H had significantly lower kinase activity, whereas p.G2385R and p.R1628P showed higher kinase activity than wild type. We provided the first evidence that multiple LRRK2 variants exert an individual effect and together modulate the risk of PD among Chinese. |
The stiff black “lace” forms a slightly ruffled effect around the top and side edges of the wired frame, prettily framing the face, and the wired “petals” are outlined in jet beads and covered in gear-shaped black spangles—each topped with a tiny jet bead.
Lined in brown cotton, the bonnet fastens with black silk jacquard ribbons which twist across the back bottom edge and then stream down from either side.
It is a wonderful example of the compact but lavishly trimmed toque bonnets that became a fashionable options in the late 1880s, providing an alternative to the tall hat or bonnet. As an October 1888 newspaper article explained: "The bonnet is modest in shape and luxuriantly rich in material. It is...very dainty, very small, very satisfactory to the theater going man.” An article the following December reported a continuance of the trend: “Winter millinery is fairly settled upon, the small toque bonnet being the newest and most elegant of the shapes." It featured a “low, round crown” with “ties that c(a)me in back,” and was trimmed, like the example here, with“materials of the richest description”.
No milliner’s label, but a cloth museum inventory tag is present.
Measurements are: 13” around the inner “horseshoe” of the frame, 6.5” tall, and 7.5” across. The streamer ribbons are 23” long each.
Excellent condition, with two ¼” frays halfway up the left ribbon (photo #7). |
Q:
Apply generic visitor to generic derived class of non-generic base class
Currently I have something like this:
public abstract class Base {...}
public class Derived<T> : Base {...}
class Visitor {
public static void Visit<T>(Derived<T> d) {
...
}
}
My question is, given a Base reference that I know is a Derived instance, how can I apply that Visit function to that object, using the correct generic instantiation? I understand that the answer will probably involve a type-checked dynamic downcast, to make sure that the object isn't some other type derived from base, which is all fine. I assume the answer involves reflection, which is also fine, though I'd prefer if there was a way to do it without reflection.
It's also ok if the answer involves an abstract method on Base and Derived; I do have enough control of the classes to add that. But at the end of the day, I need to call a generic function, correctly instantiated with the T of the Derived type.
Sorry if this is an easy question; I come from a C++ background, where my instinct would be to use a CRTP or something else like that, which isn't possible in C#.
EDIT:
Here's an example of what I need to be able to do:
Base GetSomeDerivedInstance() { ...; return new Derived<...>(); }
var b = GetSomeDerivedInstance();
// This is the line that needs to work, though it doesn't necessarily
// need to have this exact call signature. The only requirement is that
// the instantiated generic is invoked correctly.
Visitor.Visit(b);
A:
In my opinion, answers involving double-dispatch and More Classes are going to be superior than using reflection to do what inheritance should do for you.
Normally this means defining an 'accept' method on the visitable class, which simply calls the correct Visit method from the visitor.
class Base
{
public virtual void Accept(Visitor visitor)
{
visitor.Visit(this); // This calls the Base overload.
}
}
class Derived<T> : Base
{
public override void Accept(Visitor visitor)
{
visitor.Visit(this); // this calls the Derived<T> overload.
}
}
public class Visitor
{
public void Visit(Base @base)
{
...
}
public void Visit<T>(Derived<T> derived)
{
...
}
}
Then you can do what you mentioned in your question, with a small modification:
Base b = createDerived();
b.Accept(new Visitor());
If your visit method is a static class that you can't change for whatever reason, you could always wrap this into a dummy instance visitor class which calls the right static method.
|
Soluble, dimeric HLA DR4-peptide chimeras: an approach for detection and immunoregulation of human type-1 diabetes.
Still there are no effective methods to predict or cure type 1 diabetes (T1D) in humans. Soluble, dimeric MHC class II-peptide (DEF) chimeras have potential for both early diagnosis and immunospecific therapy. DEF chimeras prevent and reverse diabetes in mice by stimulating antigen-specific type 1 T regulatory cell (Tr1)-like cells. We also showed that diabetes could be predicted by changes in the phenotype of autoreactive CD4 T cells in peripheral blood. Herein, we demonstrated that human DEF (HLA-DR*0401/Fcgamma1) chimeras expressing peptides of beta-cell antigens stimulate Tr1-like cells in blood of patients with T1D, non-diabetic relatives, and controls. Furthermore, the specific and stable binding of DEF chimeras to cognate TCR and CD4 coreceptor allowed quantification and phenotyping of autoreactive CD4 T cells in non-stimulated blood by FACS. Our results indicate that (1) autoreactive CD4 T cells to GAD65 autoantigen are commonly present in humans expressing diabetes-susceptible HLA-DR*0401 molecules; (2) these autoreactive T cells undergo avidity maturation upon encountering the self antigen early in life; (3) the disease is associated with an imbalance between autoreactive CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD69+ T cells specific for GAD65. Based on this, we propose a model to explain the kinetics of autoreactive CD4 T cells in blood during the natural history of T1D. |
Q:
Binding Buttons' style to ViewModel property in WP7
I have a play button in a AudioRecord View.
Currently it is declered as:
<Button Width="72" Height="72" Style="{StaticResource RoundPlay}"
DataContext="{Binding ElementName=this, Path=DataContext}"
cmd:ButtonBaseExtensions.Command="{Binding PlayStopCommand}"
/>
When a user clicks the button, a PlayStopCommand in items ViewModel gets executed. I want the button to get its' style set to "RoundStop" whenever the sound is playing.
How can I bind the buttons' Style to a property in my ViewModel (what property type should I use), so that the look of the button is controllable from code?
I have RoundStop style defined, I just need a way to apply it to a button from code.
A:
You should define the playing state in you viewmodel (Playing/Stopped), and bind Button.Style to that property using a converter. In your converter, return a different style (taken from App.Current.Resources) based on the current state.
Edit:
Here's an example of your converter should look like:
public class StateStyleConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
return (PlaybackState)value == PlaybackState.Playing ? App.Current.Resources["RoundPlay"] : App.Current.Resources["RoundStop"];
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
In this example, PlaybackState is an enum:
public enum PlaybackState
{
Playing,
Stopped
}
Then you should add the state property to your view model (The part where you notify the change depends on the framework you are using for MVVM):
private PlaybackState state;
public PlaybackState State
{
get { return state; }
set
{
state = value;
RaiseNotifyPropertyChanged("State");
}
}
Declare your converter in XAML:
<UserControl.Resources>
<converters:StateStyleConverter x:Key="StateStyleConverter"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
And finally bind it to the button:
<Button Width="72" Height="72" Style="{Binding State, Converter={StaticResource StateStyleConverter}}"
DataContext="{Binding ElementName=this, Path=DataContext}"
cmd:ButtonBaseExtensions.Command="{Binding PlayStopCommand}"
/>
|
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Are you worried that the company that repairs your garage door or automatic gate might break it, scratch it or simply not do a good job? We understand. Many garage door repair companies in New York work with amateur contractors and don’t have the too...
Yard sale in southpark: 7am-11amFurniture (bed frame, mattress, night stand w/anthropologie knobs), house decor, lots of women and men clothes and shoes.Pictures are just a few things that will be for sale! |
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Located at just about 45 minutes from Kruger National Park, this is a small town which is fast becoming popular due to its proximity to the wildlife reserve. Since we did last minute hotel bookings we did not get accommodation within the park so we halted the nights here. This place has quite a few Europeans and has a lot of small pubs /bistros that we could relax at during dusk.Read More
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Located at just about 45 minutes from Kruger National Park, this is a small town which is fast becoming popular due to its proximity to the wildlife reserve. Since we did last minute hotel bookings we did not get accommodation within the park so we halted the nights here. This place has quite a few Europeans and has a lot of small pubs /bistros that we could relax at during dusk. |
Intervention centred on adolescents' physical activity and sedentary behaviour (ICAPS): concept and 6-month results.
To evaluate the 6-month impact of a physical activity (PA) multilevel intervention on activity patterns and psychological predictors of PA among adolescents. The intervention was directed at changing knowledge and attitudes and at providing social support and environmental conditions that encourage PA of adolescents inside and outside school. Randomised, controlled ongoing field trial (ICAPS) in middle-school's first-level adolescents from eight schools selected in the department of the Bas-Rhin (Eastern France) with a cohort of 954 adolescents (92% of the eligible students) initially aged 11.7+/-0.6 y. The 6-month changes in participation in leisure organised PA (LOPA), high sedentary (SED) behaviour (>3 h/day), self-efficacy (SELF) and intention (INTENT) towards PA were analysed after controlling for baseline measures and different covariables (age, overweight, socioprofessional occupation), taking into account the cluster randomisation design. The proportion of intervention adolescents not engaged in organised PA was reduced by 50% whereas it was unchanged among control students. After adjustment for baseline covariables, LOPA participation significantly increased among the intervention adolescents (odds ratio (95% confidence interval) (OR)=3.38 (1.42-8.05) in girls; 1.73 (1.12-2.66) in boys), while high SED was reduced (OR=0.54 (0.38-0.77) in girls; 0.52 (0.35-0.76) in boys). The intervention improved SELF in girls, whatever their baseline LOPA (P<10(-4)) and INTENT in girls with no baseline LOPA (P=0.04). SELF tended to improve in boys with no baseline LOPA, without reaching statistical significance. When included in the regression, follow-up LOPA was associated with improvement of SELF in girls (P=0.02) and of INTENT in girls with no baseline PA (P<0.02). The intervention effect was then attenuated. After 6 months of intervention, ICAPS was associated with a significant improvement of activity patterns and psychological predictors, indicating a promising approach for modifying the long-term PA level of adolescents. |
{% extends fobi_theme.form_edit_ajax %}
{% load i18n %}
{% block form_page_title %}
{% blocktrans with form_element_plugin.name as plugin_name %}Edit "{{ plugin_name }}" element of the form{% endblocktrans %}
{% endblock form_page_title %}
{% block form_id %}form_element_entry_form{% endblock %}
{% block form_primary_button_text %}{% trans "Submit" %}{% endblock %}
|
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<ruleset name="Basic XML"
xmlns="http://pmd.sourceforge.net/ruleset/2.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://pmd.sourceforge.net/ruleset/2.0.0 https://pmd.sourceforge.io/ruleset_2_0_0.xsd">
<description>
The Basic XML Ruleset contains a collection of good practices which everyone should follow.
</description>
<rule ref="category/xml/errorprone.xml/MistypedCDATASection" deprecated="true" />
</ruleset>
|
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Copyright (C) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE.txt file in the project root for full license information.
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#import "RowDefinitionCollection.h"
@implementation RowDefinitionCollection
@end
|
Q:
Update column in related table with data from a join
I have three tables that hold data on physicians and the practices and health care organizations they belong to. For example ..
[Table Hmo]
╔════╦════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Id ║ Name ║
╠════╬════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 1 ║ Purple Cross and Yellow Shield HMO ║
║ 2 ║ Tifts Health HMO ║
╚════╩════════════════════════════════════╝
[Table Practices]
╔════╦═══════╦═════════════════════════╗
║ Id ║ HmoId ║ Name ║
╠════╬═══════╬═════════════════════════╣
║ 1 ║ 1 ║ Downtown Cardiac Group ║
║ 2 ║ 1 ║ Tropical Medicine Group ║
║ 3 ║ 2 ║ Action SportsMed Group ║
╚════╩═══════╩═════════════════════════╝
[Table Physicians]
╔════╦═══════╦════════════╦══════════════════╗
║ Id ║ HmoId ║ PracticeId ║ Name ║
╠════╬═══════╬════════════╬══════════════════╣
║ 1 ║ ? ║ 1 ║ Dr. Trapper-John ║
║ 2 ║ ? ║ 1 ║ Dr. Doolittle ║
║ 3 ║ ? ║ 2 ║ Dr. Smith ║
║ 4 ║ ? ║ 3 ║ Dr. Flintstone ║
╚════╩═══════╩════════════╩══════════════════╝
I know the HmoId column is not necessary because the tables are linked by foreign keys, however, the user would neverthless still like to have this column populated. What I can't figure out is how to populate the HmoId column using an update query.
I can write a query to obtain the HmoId for each physician ...
SELECT Physicians.Name, Hmo.Name
FROM Physicians
LEFT JOIN Practices ON Physicians.PracticeId = Practices.Id
LEFT JOIN Hmo ON Practices.HmoId = Hmo.Id
But how to translate that to an update query eludes me.
A:
Update p set
p.hmoid = h.id
FROM Physicians p
LEFT JOIN Practices pr ON pr.id = p.practiceid
LEFT JOIN Hmo h ON h.id = pr.HmoId
|
INTRODUCTION {#s0}
============
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite of the apicomplexan phylum, and it is capable of infecting a wide range of mammals, including humans ([@B1]). The life cycle includes multiple invasive forms (i.e., tachyzoites, bradyzoites, merozoite, and sporozoites), each of which successfully invades and replicates inside its host cell ([@B2]). The parasite avoids phagocytosis and instead actively invades its host cell and thereafter resides in a stable parasitophorous vacuole (PV), where it replicates ([@B3], [@B4]). The PV exhibits several notable features that help explain the survival of T. gondii within hostile cells such as macrophages. First, entry into human macrophages occurs without eliciting a classical respiratory burst ([@B5]). Second, the lumen of the vacuole fails to acidify, owing to an absence of delivery of proton pumps to the membrane ([@B6]). Third, the vacuole fails to fuse with lysosomes, thus protecting it from their hydrolytic contents ([@B7]). The molecular mechanism by which the PV avoids eliciting host cellular responses remains undefined but may stem from active invasion and the formation of the PV membrane by invagination of the plasma membrane ([@B8]) and extensive remodeling of its contents to mask identity ([@B9], [@B10]).
In North America and Europe, the population structure of T. gondii is dominated by three clonal lineages known as types I, II, and III ([@B11]). Although type I strains are highly studied due to their acute virulence in laboratory mice ([@B12]), they are not the major types found in natural infection. Rather, type II strains, which exhibit intermediate levels of virulence in laboratory mice, predominate among animal and human infections in North America and Europe ([@B13][@B14][@B15]). Type II strains exhibit intermediate virulence in mice and yet are capable of causing significant disease in humans ([@B13][@B14][@B15]). Type III strains are also common in animals, and yet they are extremely rare in humans ([@B13][@B14][@B15]), suggesting that they either do not cause infection or at least rarely cause disease. The major differences in mouse virulence among these strain types have been mapped to a polymorphic family of rhoptry kinases including ROP18 and ROP5 ([@B16]). These determinants have been shown to play a major role in combating host defense in gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-activated cells, where the acute virulence is attributed to their composite genotypes ([@B17]).
IFN-γ is the major resistance determinant that is required to control T. gondii infection in mice ([@B18]), and signaling evoked by this cytokine is essential in both hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells ([@B19]). At the cellular level, IFN-γ exerts its anti-*Toxoplasma* effect by upregulating a variety of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), including those for immunity-related GTPases (IRGs), guanylate binding proteins (GBPs), nitric oxide, or autophagy-related clearance, which in turn either control growth or damage the parasite directly ([@B20][@B21][@B23]). IFN-γ-induced Irgs disrupt and damage the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM), leading to parasite killing in mouse macrophages, and this pathway is avoided by virulent type I strains ([@B24], [@B25]). Type I parasites employ ROP18 to phosphorylate Irgs and thus inhibit their recruitment to their vacuole, thereby preventing their damage and clearance in mouse macrophages ([@B26], [@B27]). However, type III parasites lack expression of ROP18 and therefore are rapidly cleared from IFN-γ-activated macrophages, a defect that is restored by complementation with ROP18 ([@B26], [@B27]). Mouse GBPs are also known to target the PVM in IFN-γ-activated cells ([@B28]), leading to degradation of the parasite ([@B29]). Deletion of the GBP cluster of chromosome 3 makes mice more susceptible to T. gondii infection ([@B30]), as does loss of Gbp1 ([@B31]) or Gbp2 ([@B32]). ROP18 has also been shown to participate in defense against Gbps ([@B31]), although the mechanism responsible for this activity is unknown.
Although most Gbps are known to target invading pathogens, Gbp5 can also assemble the NLRP3 inflammasome in the absence of infection, and within infected cells, such assembly could conceivably take place on or near the pathogen vacuole ([@B33]). In addition, Gbp2 has been shown to function in activation of the AIM2-dependent inflammasome in response to Francisella novicida ([@B34]). Inflammasomes are cytosolic oligomeric protein complexes that often consist of Asc, caspase-1, and an NLR or ALR sensor protein formed in response to cellular danger or pathogen-associated signals. Upon activation, the inflammasome leads to autoproteolysis of procaspase-1 to proteolytically active caspase-1 that in turn cleaves cytosolic prointerleukin-1β (pro-IL-1β) and pro-IL-18 to secretory IL-1β and IL-18, respectively. These cytokines then drive downstream signaling to promote antimicrobial function of macrophages and Th1 adaptive immune responses ([@B35], [@B36]). Inflammasome activation has been implicated in controlling T. gondii infection *in vivo*, where mice lacking NLRP1B ([@B37]) or NLRP3 or caspase-1 ([@B38]) are more susceptible to type II parasite infection.
Gbp7 has been implicated in the recruitment and assembly of NADPH oxidase complexes to mycobacterium-containing phagosomes ([@B39]), suggesting that GBPs may also participate in pathogen control by recruitment of other effector complexes. NADPH oxidases (Nox) are multimeric enzyme complexes that generate superoxide free radicals upon activation ([@B40]). Although the Nox complex is expressed in almost every mammalian tissue, its function of producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) in host defense against pathogens is more pronounced in phagocytes, where the Nox2 isoform predominates ([@B41]). Upon activation, gp91phox (Nox2) and p22phox subunits that reside in the plasma membrane recruit other cytosolic subunits of the complex (i.e., p40phox, p47phox, and p67phox) to convert NADPH to NADP^+^ and hence generate superoxide radicals ([@B41]). When activated, Nox rapidly generates elevated production of ROS (defined as respiratory burst) in response to pattern recognition receptors of invading pathogens ([@B42]). ROS production is dependent on expression of Nox1 and Nox2 isoforms in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) that cross-regulate differentiation profiles of macrophages ([@B43]). Mutation in genes involved in NADPH oxidase functioning or assembly causes chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) in humans that typically results in frequent bacterial or fungal infections ([@B44]).
Here, we undertook examination of the fate of avirulent type III strains in naive macrophages. We were surprised to find that the paradigm that T. gondii survives in macrophages does not apply uniformly to all strains, but rather, type III strains are highly susceptible to clearance. We demonstrate that in naive macrophages with avirulent type III T. gondii, parasites induced Nox-dependent ROS production and Gbp5 expression. Both of these factors are involved in clearance of type III parasites from naive macrophages independent of prior activation with IFN-γ and independent of classical inflammasome activation that can be primed by LPS ([@B33]). These findings reveal novel roles for cell-intrinsic factors in controlling intracellular pathogens and suggest that virulent strains of T. gondii have additional effectors that block these mechanisms.
RESULTS {#s1}
=======
Clearance of CTG (type III) parasites in naive macrophages. {#s1.1}
-----------------------------------------------------------
Macrophages pretreated with IFN-γ/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are well known to clear intracellular type III parasites efficiently ([@B26]). In order to test their innate ability to control intracellular T. gondii infection in the absence of IFN-γ, unactivated macrophages were infected with type I (GT1 strain) or type III (CTG strain) parasites at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.5. The cells were fixed at 30 min and 20 h postinfection, and the percentage of infected cells was calculated by automated plate-based imaging to acquire data from many independent microscopic fields (see [Fig. S1](#figS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"} in the supplemental material). The percentage of CTG-infected RAW 264.7 macrophages was significantly reduced by \>50% at 20 h compared to 30 min postinfection, whereas the percentage of GT1-infected macrophages was unaffected ([Fig. 1A](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}). We observed a similar enhanced clearance of the CTG strain in naive bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), while GT1 survived significantly better ([Fig. 1B](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}). This finding is somewhat surprising, as T. gondii is generally regarded as a pathogen that survives in naive macrophages, owing to its ability to actively invade the host cell and avoid phagocytic responses ([@B4]).
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.1
Pipeline used for automated plate-based image acquisition in Cytation3 imager. Raw TIFF files in different emission channels were acquired and imported into CellProfiler 2.1.1 ([@B76]) (downloaded from <http://cellprofiler.org/releases/>). Images were analyzed using custom-designed CellProfiler project template (the file for this custom script \[Percentinfection.cpproj\] is available on request). For measuring CellROX intensities, the Cy5 channel images were first illumination corrected before analysis. Download FIG S1, TIF file, 0.8 MB.
Copyright © 2018 Matta et al.
2018
Matta et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
{#fig1}
Toxoplasma gondii is known to actively invade host cells, including macrophages, and to avoid lysosomal fusion ([@B7]). Hence, we considered that this difference in survival might reflect altered uptake and delivery of parasites to lysosomes. LAMP1 recruitment to parasites was measured to compare relative extents of active invasion and phagocytosis of CTG parasites in macrophages, as described previously ([@B45]). LAMP1 recruitment to vacuoles containing live parasites, representing active invasion, was much less than recruitment to those containing heat-killed, phagocytosed parasites for both GT1 and CTG strains, suggesting that the clearance of CTG was not due to phagocytosis in naive BMDMs ([Fig. 1C](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}).
Autophagy has also been implicated in growth restriction of susceptible T. gondii strains, albeit in IFN-γ-activated HeLa cells ([@B23]). Parasites targeted for destruction by this pathway become ubiquitinated, recruit autophagy adapters, and are engulfed by LC3 ([@B23]). Hence, we considered that a similar pathway might be triggered in naive macrophages infected with CTG. However, ubiquitination of the vacuole membrane as detected by the antibody FK2, which recognizes mono- and polyubiquitinated proteins, and recruitment of the LC3 adapter p62 were very low on both parasite strains in naive BMDMs ([Fig. 1D](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Additionally, the autophagy-associated marker LAMP2 was not elevated on CTG-containing vacuoles in naive BMDMs ([Fig. 1D](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the susceptibility of type III parasites in naive macrophages is not due to enhanced autophagy or lysosomal clearance.
Previous studies on the clearance of T. gondii in IFN-γ-activated macrophages have demonstrated that the clearance mediated by IRGs and GBPs occurs in the first few hours after infection ([@B26], [@B31]). As such, we examined the kinetics of clearance of CTG parasites in naive BMDMs. We observed that the percentage of infected macrophages started to decrease from 6 to 8 h postinfection and decreased linearly up to 24 h ([Fig. 2A](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}). As such, the kinetics of clearance differs substantially from previously characterized pathways. We also examined the morphology of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane, as previous studies in IFN-γ-activated cells have described a prominent scalloped appearance of the membrane, prior to rupture, in a process that is medicated by IRGs and GBPs ([@B24], [@B26], [@B31], [@B46]). A majority of parasitophorous vacuoles at early time points revealed normal cellular architecture of both the vacuole membrane and the parasite residing within ([Fig. 2B](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}). Over time, there was an accumulation of parasites that showed damage, including loss of the parasitophorous vacuole envelope ([Fig. 2C](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}), blebbing of parasite surface membranes ([Fig. 2C](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}), rupture of the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane with the host cytosol filling the space ([Fig. 2D](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}), and swelling of internal parasite membranes such as the nuclear envelope ([Fig. 2D](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}). However, at no stage did we observe the scalloped appearance of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane that accompanies Irg-mediated clearance.
{#fig2}
In order to elucidate the mechanism for innate clearance of CTG in naive macrophages, BMDMs from different mutant mice lacking factors involved in intracellular pathogen clearance were examined. Naive BMDMs from mutant mice were infected with CTG strain parasites *in vitro*, and the survival at 20 h was assessed relative to infection at 0.5 h, as described above. Naive BMDMs lacking nitric oxide production (Nos2^−/−^), Irg-mediated defense (IrgM3^−/−^), or autophagy protein Atg5 (Atg5^f/f^ LysMCre) failed to reverse the clearance of CTG strain parasites ([Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}). These findings indicate that nitric oxide production, Irg-mediated defenses, and Atg-related pathways are unlikely to explain the increased susceptibility of CTG in naive mouse macrophages. However, BMDMs lacking gp91 (Nox2^−/−^; NADPH oxidase) showed significant loss of CTG clearance compared to wild-type cells ([Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}). The rescue of CTG parasites in Nox2^−/−^ macrophages suggested that their clearance in naive macrophages is dependent on reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction.
{#fig3}
NADPH oxidase mediated ROS production in T. gondii-infected macrophages. {#s1.2}
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NADPH oxidases in phagocytes are well known to produce ROS as a defense mechanism against invading pathogens ([@B47]). Although invasion of human macrophages by T. gondii proceeds without a ROS burst ([@B5]), infection of mouse macrophages with T. gondii has been shown to produce early ROS ([@B48]). Therefore, we tested whether CTG versus GT1 infection resulted in elevated ROS production in naive macrophages using luminol-based chemiluminescence. As expected, neither CTG nor GT1 produced ROS as defined by classical respiratory burst in naive RAW 264.7 macrophages ([Fig. 4A](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}) or BMDMs ([Fig. S2](#figS2){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In contrast, incubation of macrophages with zymosan A (ZymA; 50 µg/ml), which acts as a Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) agonist, produced the expected ROS burst within a few minutes of incubation ([Fig. 4A](#fig4){ref-type="fig"} and [S2](#figS2){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Treatment of macrophages with diphenyleneiodonium (DPI; 10 µM), which acts as an inhibitor of Nox assembly, abrogated the increase observed with ZymA treatment ([Fig. 4A](#fig4){ref-type="fig"} and [S2](#figS2){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), indicating that the observed ROS burst was Nox dependent. These results demonstrate that T. gondii does not trigger activation of the Nox complex in naive mouse macrophages during the initial stages of invasion.
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.2
Luminol-based ROS measurement from BMDMs incubated with zymosan A (50 µg/ml, black) or zymosan A with DPI (10 µM, gray) or infected with CTG (red) or GT1 (green) strain parasites at an MOI of 10. The example shown is a single representative experiment of more than 4 replicates with similar outcomes. Download FIG S2, TIF file, 0.2 MB.
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2018
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
{#fig4}
To test whether infection induced delayed production of intracellular ROS, we infected RAW 264.7 macrophages with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labeled parasites and monitored intracellular ROS levels by staining with CellROX deep red. CTG-infected macrophages showed a time-dependent increase in cellular ROS levels that were elevated compared to GT1 ([Fig. 4B](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}). Treatment of RAW 264.7 macrophages with LPS (100 µg/ml, as a positive control) showed similar increases in ROS levels with increasing time ([Fig. 4B](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}). To confirm that the increase in CellROX staining was due to ROS, RAW 264.7 macrophages were pretreated with 2 mM *N*-acetylcysteine (NAC) and then infected with T. gondii. Pretreatment of macrophages with NAC, which acts as a cellular antioxidant, led to significant decrease of ROS levels in CTG-infected cells at 9 h postinfection, confirming that the increase in CellROX staining was due to ROS ([Fig. 4C](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}).
Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ mice are susceptible to CTG infection. {#s1.3}
--------------------------------------------------------------
Our findings thus far suggest that increased clearance of CTG is due to elevated ROS production. To confirm this model, we were interested in testing whether the reversal of CTG clearance in Nox2^−/−^ macrophages as shown in [Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"} was due to a decrease in ROS production. First, we established that ROS production upon CTG infection was also evident in wild-type BMDMs at 9 h postinfection and that it was reversed in NAC-pretreated macrophages ([Fig. 5A](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). Consistent with the above-described model, ROS levels produced in CTG-infected Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ macrophages were significantly lower than what was observed in wild-type cells ([Fig. 5B](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). This finding suggested that both Nox isoforms are involved in ROS production in BMDMs infected with CTG. Consistent with this finding, CTG infection was significantly rescued in NAC-pretreated wild-type macrophages ([Fig. 5C](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, clearance of CTG was also significantly decreased in both Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ macrophages compared to wild-type cells ([Fig. 5C](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). Nonetheless, these findings demonstrate that CTG infection of naive macrophages leads to increased intracellular ROS that depends on both Nox1 and Nox2 isoforms that contribute to parasite clearance.
{#fig5}
The loss of CTG clearance in Nox-deficient macrophages *in vitro* suggested that this response might also be responsible for control of parasites *in vivo*. To examine this possibility, wild-type C57BL/6, Nox1^−/−^, and Nox2^−/−^ mice were challenged by intraperitoneal (i.p.) infection and monitored over time. Infection in Gr1^+^-F4/80^+^ cells, which represent inflammatory macrophages recruited during the early phase of infection ([@B49]), was monitored by flow cytometry. There was a significant increase of 3- to 7-fold in the percentage of CTG-infected Gr1^+^-F4/80^+^ cells in Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ mice compared to wild type ([Fig. 5D](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}), consistent with these mutants being less able to control early infection. In contrast, there was a higher percentage of GT1-infected Gr1^+^-F4/80^+^ cells, consistent with the intrinsic virulence of this strain ([@B26]), and this decreased only slightly in mutant mice compared to wild type, likely due to a higher influx of macrophages. The increased expansion of CTG in inflammatory macrophages from Nox-deficient mice at early time points also led to different outcomes of infection. Notably, Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ mice were significantly more susceptible than the wild-type mice to i.p. infection with CTG as shown by decreased survival ([Fig. 5E](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). Brains were harvested from surviving mice after 60 days of infection for evaluation of chronic infection. However, the cyst burden was below the detection threshold limit of \~25 cysts/mouse brain in wild-type, Nox1^−/−^, and Nox2^−/−^ mice.
Gbp5 contributes to CTG clearance in naive macrophages. {#s1.4}
-------------------------------------------------------
Although the findings above point to a role for ROS, this pathway only partially explains the defect in CTG as NAC treatment of either Nox1^−/−^ or Nox2^−/−^ mutants did not lead to additive effects ([Fig. 5C](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}). As such, we sought other explanations for the enhanced susceptibility of CTG in naive macrophages. Induction of Gbp1 ([@B31]) and Gbp2 ([@B32]) during T. gondii infection is associated with their recruitment onto the PVM and parasite damage, albeit best characterized in IFN-γ-activated macrophages. However, some Gbps, including Gbp3 and Gbp5, can be expressed in macrophages to a significant level independent of IFN-γ ([@B32]). Therefore, we tested whether any of these factors are induced upon T. gondii infection of macrophages independent of IFN-γ. To our surprise, BMDMs infected with either CTG or GT1 showed significant increase in expression of Gbp2, Gbp5, and Gbp7 mRNA at 20 h postinfection compared to uninfected cells ([Fig. 6A](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). In particular, Gbp5 mRNA increased up to \~40-fold upon T. gondii infection, whereas Gbp2 and Gbp7 mRNA showed an \~10-fold increase ([Fig. 6A](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). Gbp5 protein levels were also increased upon CTG or GT1 infection of naive macrophages, although to a lesser extent than IFN-γ treatment in wild-type BMDMs ([Fig. 6B](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). The specificity of the \~65-kDa band of Gbp5 was confirmed by its absence in cell lysates of Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs ([Fig. 6C](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}).
{#fig6}
Previous studies have implicated Gbp5 in promoting NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and control of intracellular bacteria ([@B33]). ROS production has also been implicated in the NLRP3 inflammasome activation ([@B50]), although the NADPH oxidase complex is not required for inflammasome activation in response to strong agonists like nigericin or ATP ([@B51]). Therefore, we tested whether inflammasome activation occurs upon T. gondii infection of naive macrophages. Initially, we monitored IL-1β transcripts and found that infection with T. gondii only slightly altered their levels, while treatment with LPS greatly increased mRNA levels ([Fig. S3A](#figS3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). We then measured IL-1β release to the supernatant as a marker of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. There was no significant increase in IL-1β secretion of either CTG- or GT1-infected naive macrophages ([Fig. S3B](#figS3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In contrast, LPS-primed macrophages did show significant secretion of IL-1β upon infection with either CTG or GT1 parasites by 20 h postinfection ([Fig. S3B](#figS3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Release of IL-1β was dependent on both LPS pretreatment and infection, consistent with the two-step hypothesis for NLRP3 inflammasome activation ([@B52]). The increase was significantly reduced upon NAC pretreatment of wild-type macrophages or in Gbp5^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ macrophages ([Fig. S3B](#figS3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Caspase-1 activation and its release into the supernatant are another marker for inflammasome activation. However, we also did not observe activated caspase-1 (cleaved 20-kDa caspase-1 fragment) in the supernatant of CTG- or GT1-infected naive or LPS-primed macrophages ([Fig. S4](#figS4){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). As expected, treatment with nigericin was able to elicit caspase-1 release in LPS-activated macrophages, and this effect was partially abrogated in Gbp5^−/−^ macrophages ([Fig. S4](#figS4){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Collectively, these findings indicate that infection with T. gondii alone is not sufficient to induce inflammasome activation because priming signals are needed for IL-1β mRNA expression, but when combined with LPS, it provides a signal that drives IL-1β release. Although this pathway is partially dependent on Gbp5 and ROS, it did not lead to cell death ([Fig. S5](#figS5){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.3
Induction and release of IL-1β. (A) Real time-quantitative PCR analysis of mRNA levels of IL-1β transcript in naive (UT; untreated) or LPS-preactivated (LPS) BMDMs. Cells were infected with CTG or GT1 strain parasites, and transcript levels were measured at 20 h postinfection. The mRNA levels were quantified with respect to actin as an internal control. The transcript levels are shown as fold difference compared to uninfected (UI) and untreated (UT) BMDMs. Values represent mean ± SD for an experiment done in triplicate. (B) Detection of IL-1β levels in supernatants by ELISA. Wild-type control (WT) or *N*-acetylcysteine-pretreated (NAC, 2 mM), Nox2^−/−^, or Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs were cultured untreated (UT) or induced by LPS (10 ng/ml) for 24 h. Cells were either uninfected (UI) or infected with CTG or GT1 at an MOI of 3, and supernatants were collected at 20 h postinfection for ELISA. Values represent mean ± SD for an experiment done in triplicate. \*, significant difference at *P* \< 0.05 between compared groups using Student's *t* test. Download FIG S3, TIF file, 0.2 MB.
Copyright © 2018 Matta et al.
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.4
Release of cleaved caspase detected by Western blotting. Immunoblot for caspase-1 in supernatants of LPS (10 ng/ml)-preactivated wild-type and Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs infected with CTG or GT1 for 20 h. Nigericin treatment (10 µM for 3 h) (NIG) was used as a positive control. The levels of cleaved caspase-1 were normalized to level of total protein loaded per well. A duplicate gel was stained with Coomassie blue for reference (lower panel). Values below the immunoblot correspond to the levels of caspase-1 in the supernatant normalized to amount loaded and compared to uninfected (UI) wild-type BMDMs. Download FIG S4, TIF file, 0.3 MB.
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.5
Cell survival following infection. (A) Quantification of the percentage of dead cells (ethidium homodimer-1 positive) in untreated (UT) or LPS-preactivated (LPS, 10 ng/ml) wild-type (WT) and Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs infected with CTG or GT1 for 20 h. Treatment with 0.1% saponin for 10 min was used as a positive control. (B) Representative images for LPS-activated wild-type (WT) and Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs either untreated (UT) or nigericin treated (10 µM for 3 h). Calcein stains live cells (green), while ethidium homodimer stains nuclei of dead cells (red). Bar, 10 µm. Values represent mean ± SD of percentage of dead cells measured in triplicate. \*, significant difference at *P* \< 0.05 between compared groups using Student's *t* test. Download FIG S5, TIF file, 0.6 MB.
Copyright © 2018 Matta et al.
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This content is distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
Given the absence of evidence for inflammasome-mediated clearance, we sought evidence that Gbp5 might be directly involved in mediating clearance of CTG in naive cells. Interestingly, CTG clearance in Gbp5^−/−^ macrophages was significantly reversed ([Fig. 6D](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). Despite evidence that Gbp5 contributes to clearance, we observed only modest evidence for its recruitment to parasitophorous vacuoles containing CTG (3.1% ± 2.4% \[mean ± standard deviation {SD}, *n* = 4\] at 9 h postinfection) in naive macrophages ([Fig. 6E](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). However, Gbp5 recruitment was absent (0%) in either GT1 or CTG parasites expressing the type I ROP18 allele (CTG.ROP18) ([Fig. 6E](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, the clearance of the CTG.ROP18 strain was also significantly less than that of CTG in wild-type BMDMs and was similar to clearance of CTG in Gbp5^−/−^ BMDMs ([Fig. 6F](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}). These findings suggested that ROP18 expression in type I parasites is involved in resisting Gbp5-mediated clearance in naive macrophages to *Toxoplasma* infection and that Gbp5 can exert its effects in part via mechanisms other than targeting the PV.
DISCUSSION {#s2}
==========
Toxoplasma gondii is known for its ability to enter and survive in phagocytic cells where it avoids lysosome fusion and replicates within a sequestered vacuole. Surprisingly, we found that highly avirulent type III strains are rapidly cleared in naive macrophages, even in the absence of interferon activation. Clearance was associated with gradual disruption of the PV and damage to the parasites in a process that did not involve lysosome fusion, recruitment of autophagy adapters, or vesiculation mechanisms that have been described previously. Additionally, there was no effect on parasite clearance in the absence of different host factors like Atg5, Nos2, or Irgs that are involved in IFN-γ-mediated growth restriction and killing of T. gondii in murine macrophages. Instead, naive macrophages cleared avirulent type III T. gondii parasites via induction of cellular ROS. Disruption of the NADPH oxidase complex in Nox1- or Nox2-deficient cells partially reversed the clearance defect. Nox1- and Nox2-deficient mice were also more susceptible to infection, indicating that this mechanism partially accounts for avirulence of type III strains *in vivo*. In addition, infection of macrophages leads to upregulation of GBPs, and the clearance of type III parasites was partially reversed in Gbp5^−/−^ macrophages. Although both NADPH oxidase and Gbp5 have previously been implicated in activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, infected cells did not undergo caspase-1 cleavage or pyroptosis. These findings highlight new roles for the NAPH oxidase and GBPs in control of intracellular pathogens via pathways intrinsic to naive cells that do not require prior activation by interferons.
Invasion of T. gondii into macrophages results in formation of a parasitophorous vacuole that fails to acquire markers of endosomes and also does not fuse with lysosomes ([@B45]). This outcome can be modulated by adding antibody to opsonize the parasite for internalization via Fc receptors ([@B3]). Interestingly, the machinery to drive lysosome fusion is also found in nonphagocytic cells as shown by expression of Fc receptors, which is sufficient to drive opsonized T. gondii to lysosomes ([@B53]). The ability of T. gondii to avoid lysosome fusion was not responsible for the defect in type III strain survival and is likely universal to all strains. Additionally, we did not observe an increase in ubiquitination or recruitment of autophagy adapters that have been linked to control of intracellular bacterial by a process termed xenophagy ([@B54][@B55][@B56]). Instead, the PV formed normally but then underwent gradual disruption characterized by loss of integrity of the vacuolar membrane, damage to parasite membrane, and degradation of internal membrane structures. These features are very different from the scalloped appearance of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane that accompanies clearance in IFN-γ-activated cells, a process linked to recruitment of Irgs ([@B26]). The recruitment of Irgs to the PVM is dependent on a noncanonical autophagy pathway and is disrupted in Atg5^−/−^ cells and other components of the core pathway ([@B46], [@B57]). Consistent with a lack of evidence for PVM vesiculation, the enhanced clearance of type III parasites was unaltered in Atg5^−/−^, IrgM3^−/−^, or Nos2^−/−^ cells. Although the precise reason for loss of type III parasites is uncertain, it may involve damage from ROS and/or transient association with Gbp5, as discussed below. Regardless of the precise mechanism of membrane damage, this outcome differs morphologically and kinetically from previously described pathways for clearance of T. gondii in macrophages.
ROS induction in naive macrophages is associated with production of a respiratory burst, which is a rapid and elevated increase in production of superoxide free radicals and H~2~O~2~ upon activation of NADPH oxidases in response to early recognition of pathogens ([@B58]). Reversal of CTG clearance in Nox1^−/−^ or Nox2^−/−^ macrophages suggests that the parasites are cleared by induction of NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS in naive macrophages. However, we did not observe a classical respiratory burst, which typically is evoked very rapidly and reaches high levels, as seen with zymosan stimulation. Rather, ROS production following T. gondii infection was muted in its extent and delayed, with maximum levels detected at \~9 h postinfection. It remains possible that the role described here for NADPH oxidase could also be due to mitochondrial production of ROS, since previous studies have shown that these pathways work cooperatively in host defense against intracellular bacteria ([@B59]). Regardless of the exact mechanism of ROS production, the role of NADPH oxidase was also seen *in vivo* where both Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ mice showed increased infection of inflammatory macrophages during early infection with CTG, leading to increased susceptibility compared with wild-type mice. The reason for the enhanced induction of ROS by type III strains is uncertain, but numerous genetic differences occur between type I and III strains, including the polymorphic T. gondii protein GRA7 ([@B17], [@B60]), which has been shown to elicit Nox2-dependent ROS in BMDMs ([@B61]). Prior studies have also suggested a role for NADPH oxidase during acute infection of mice with type I parasites that elicited ROS production by infected myeloid inflammatory cells during 3 to 4 days postinfection ([@B62]). Additionally, preexposure to ATP can increase ROS upon type I T. gondii infection of macrophages ([@B63]). Collectively, these findings suggest that ROS production can lead to control of T. gondii under certain circumstances. Our findings indicate that type III strains induce significantly higher levels of ROS and that this contributes to their clearance in naive macrophages.
The observation that susceptible CTG parasites were only partially reversed in Nox1^−/−^ and Nox2^−/−^ macrophages suggested that some other factor also contributes to clearance of parasite in naive macrophages. We therefore examined the expression of other innate effectors that have been implicated in control of T. gondii, including IRGs and GBPs ([@B64]). Expression of Gbp5 was strongly induced upon infection with T. gondii, while Gbp2 and Gbp7 were induced at lower levels, and no substantial change was seen in Gbp1 or Irga6. Gbp5 is normally expressed in unstimulated mouse macrophages, and like other GBPs, it is also induced by interferon treatment ([@B32]). Induction of GBPs upon T. gondii infection occurred independently of addition of interferon, although the basis for this increased expression is uncertain. Unlike Gbp1 and Gbp2, Gbp5 has not previously been associated with increased recruitment to T. gondii-containing vacuoles in interferon-activated cells ([@B28]). Consistent with this observation, Gbp5 was detected on only a minority of CTG-containing vacuoles (i.e., \~3%) in naive macrophages, albeit at higher levels than seen in GT1-infected cells. Despite its not being strongly recruited to the vacuole, loss of Gbp5 in the knockout led to the increased survival of CTG parasites in naive macrophages. Hence, it is possible that Gbp5 plays a role in parasite restriction that is independent of stable association with the parasite vacuole. A similar finding has previously been reported for GBP1 in human cells, where parasite control occurs independently of recruitment to the vacuole in A549 cells ([@B65]). Alternatively, it is possible that recruitment of Gbp5 to T. gondii-containing vacuoles is transient or that the demise of the compartment is sufficiently rapid that it does not remain stably associated with the membrane. Consistent with the idea that Gbp5 acts proximal to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane, expression of ROP18 in the type III CTG strain reversed the enhanced clearance seen in naive macrophages. ROP18 has previously been shown to mediate resistance to Gbp1 in interferon-activated macrophages, and this protective effect is thought to occur at the parasitophorous vacuole membrane ([@B31]). Similarly, expression of ROP18 in CTG parasites may block the action of Gbp5, or an associated factor, on the parasitophorous vacuole membrane, thus protecting the parasite from damage. Distinguishing between these two mechanisms will require further study to define the molecular partners of Gbp5 and to ascertain whether ROP18 acts directly or indirectly to block this host effector.
Although both NADPH oxidase and Gbp5 were individually important in the control of CTG clearance in naive macrophages, our studies do not define whether these processes operate as separate parallel pathways or if they converge on a common mechanism. One common process that is influenced by both cellular ROS and Gbp5 is NLRP3 inflammasome activation ([@B33], [@B50]). Our findings are only partially consistent with activation of the inflammasome pathway, which normally requires separate priming and activation steps ([@B52]). Infection with type I or type III strain parasites did not drive IL-1β expression on its own, indicating that the parasites are not able to provide the normal priming step. However, infection with type I (GT1) or type III (CTG) strain parasites was able to induce IL-1β release from LPS-treated cells, indicating that infection can activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in cells that have previously been primed ([@B52]). However, we did not detect cleavage and release of caspase-1 or activation of pyroptosis in T. gondii-infected cells even following LPS priming, suggesting that infection with these strains does not result in classical inflammasome activation. Interestingly, in the present study both Nox2 and Gbp5 were required for optimal IL-1β release in LPS-primed and infected cells, consistent with previous findings that these processes regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome ([@B33], [@B50]). Thus, one model to explain the roles for NADPH oxidase and Gbp5 in restricting survival of type III strains of T. gondii is that they collectively activate an inflammasome-like process, albeit not one that leads to cell death. This observation agrees with several previous studies that used type II strain parasites to infect BMDMs *in vitro* and found that IL-1β gets secreted from primed cells without inducing pyroptosis ([@B37], [@B38]). Although engagement of the inflammasome complex does not appear to induce cell death in the murine system, it nonetheless has been shown to promote parasite control *in vivo*, an effect that may relate to processing of cytokines, including IL-1β ([@B37]) and IL-18 ([@B38]). Thus, the enhanced susceptibility of type III strains *in vivo* may stem from both the increased susceptibility to clearance in naive macrophage and downstream mediators that influence immunity.
Type III strains are highly susceptible to clearance by IRGs and GBPs in activated mouse macrophages, in part due to their lack of expression of the parasite effector ROP18 ([@B26], [@B27]). IRGs ([@B66], [@B67]) and GBPs ([@B64]) are strongly induced following exposure to IFN-γ, and they provide the major mechanism of resistance in the mouse following activation of the immune response. Collectively, the susceptibility of type III strains to clearance in naive cells, as reported here, and in IFN-γ-activated cells, as reported previously, contributes to their profound avirulence in the murine system. Type II strains, which have intermediate virulence in mice, were not susceptible to clearance in naive cells (S. K. Matta, unpublished data), although we have not examined the consequence of loss of ROP18 in this genetic background. Type III strains may also be susceptible to ROS in human cells, although infection of human monocyte-derived macrophages with type I strains of T. gondii has been reported to not trigger a strong respiratory burst ([@B5]). Moreover, chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) patients, who lack a functional PHOX oxidase complex, are not known to be more susceptible to toxoplasmosis ([@B68]), suggesting that there are other intrinsic mechanisms for control of this parasite in human cells. Defining the roles of various pathways in human cells, including the role of additional GBPs, in the control of T. gondii remains an important goal for future studies.
Although T. gondii is considered to be highly adapted to survive in phagocytic cells, including macrophages, our findings indicate that this is not a universal attribute. Rather, type III strains are readily cleared from naive macrophages, a property that may underlie their avirulence in mice, and possibly the rarity of infections caused in humans. We have identified Nox-mediated ROS generation and Gbp5 as novel factors involved in regulating intracellular survival of avirulent type III parasites within macrophages. These factors may be linked by a common involvement of the NLRP3 inflammasome, although restriction of parasite survival does not rely on activating pyroptosis. Together, these factors act independently of interferon activation, suggesting that they provide an autonomous system for cell-intrinsic control of intracellular infection.
MATERIALS AND METHODS {#s3}
=====================
Reagents and antibodies. {#s3.1}
------------------------
Zymosan A (ZymA), DPI, luminol, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and *N*-acetylcysteine (NAC) were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO, USA). CellROX deep red, goat anti-mouse IgG, goat anti-rat IgG, goat anti-rabbit, or goat anti-guinea pig secondary antibodies conjugated to Alexa 594 or Alexa 488 were obtained from Life Technologies (Grand Island, NY, USA). Carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) was obtained from Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, MA, USA). Rabbit polyclonal (Pc) anti-Gbp5 antibody was obtained from Proteintech Group (Rosemont, IL, USA). Cy5-labeled Gr1, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled F4/80, and phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled B220 were obtained from BD Biosciences (San Jose, CA, USA). Mouse anti-actin (C4 clone) antibody was obtained from Millipore (MA, USA). Mouse monoclonal antibody (MAb) anti-caspase-1 (p20) was obtained from Adipogen Life Sciences (San Diego, CA). Goat anti-rabbit IgG IR800 and anti-mouse IgG IR700 were obtained from Li-Cor Biosciences (Lincoln, NE, USA). T. gondii parasites were stained with mouse MAb DG52 against the surface antigen SAG1 ([@B69]). MAb DG52 was labeled with Pacific Blue (Pac Blue) dye using a protein labeling kit (Invitrogen) to generate Pac Blue-labeled antibody for parasite detection by flow cytometry. GRA7 was detected using a rabbit Pc serum described previously ([@B60]). LAMP1 was localized with rat MAb ID4B, obtained from the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (<http://dshb.biology.uiowa.edu>). Guinea pig polyclonal anti-p62 was obtained from Progen (Heidelberg, Germany). Mouse MAb FK2 against polyubiquitin and monoubiquitin was obtained from EMD Millipore Corporation (Billerica, MA). Anti-LAMP2 (rat MAb GL2A7) was obtained from Abcam. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Dolichos biflorus lectin (DBL) was obtained from Vector Laboratories (Burlingame, CA, USA).
Parasite and macrophage culture. {#s3.2}
--------------------------------
Type I (GT1, ATCC 50853) and type III (CTG, ATCC 50842) strains of T. gondii were grown as tachyzoites in human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs; obtained from the laboratory of John Boothroyd, Stanford University) as described previously ([@B70]). Parasites for all experiments were harvested shortly after natural egress, purified by passage through a 20-gauge needle, and separated from host cell debris using 3.0-µm polycarbonate Nuclepore filters (Whatman). RAW 264.7 macrophage cells (ATCC TIB-71) were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM; Life Technologies) with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS; Life Technologies) and cultured at 37°C and 5% CO~2~. Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were isolated from the femurs of adult mice, as described previously ([@B71]). BMDMs were harvested in DMEM containing 20% L929 conditioned medium, 10% FBS, and 5% horse serum in a 100-mm by 20-mm untreated polystyrene culture dish (Corning). After a week of culture, the cells were maintained in DMEM containing 10% L929 conditioned medium, 10% FBS, and 5% horse serum. For experiments, BMDMs were rinsed in calcium-magnesium-free phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), harvested by incubation with 1.25 mM trypsin for 20 min, and seeded in DMEM containing 10% FBS. All strains and host cell lines were determined to be mycoplasma negative using the e-Myco Plus kit (Intron Biotechnology).
Animals. {#s3.3}
--------
Mice were housed and bred locally at Washington University in an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care-approved facility. Animal studies were conducted according to the U.S Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
All mice were on a C57BL/6 background. C57BL/6 wild-type, Nos2^−/−^, and Nox1^−/−^ mice were purchased from Jackson Laboratories. Nox2^−/−^ mice, also referred to as X-CGD or gp91^−/−^ mice ([@B72]), were provided by M. Dinauer, Washington University in St. Louis. Gbp5^−/−^ mice were provided by the laboratory of John D. MacMicking, Yale University School of Medicine. IrgM3^−/−^ mice ([@B66]) were obtained from Greg Taylor, Duke University. Atg5^f/f^ mice were crossed with LysMCre mice and genotyped as described previously ([@B73], [@B74]).
For survival assays, 8- to 12-week-old mice were injected with 10^4^ CTG tachyzoites i.p., and survival was monitored for 60 days. For *in vivo* parasite clearance, 10^6^ parasites were injected i.p. into 8- to 12-week-old mice. Mice were sacrificed 48 h postinfection, and peritoneal cells were isolated by lavage with ice-cold PBS. Cells were fixed with 4% formaldehyde and stained with FITC-F4/80 and Cy5-Gr1 to identify inflammatory macrophages, Pac Blue-DG52 to label parasites, and PE-B220 to gate out B cells. The fraction of parasite-positive Gr1^+^-F4/80^+^ cells was used to monitor the burden of parasite infection based on acquisition of 50,000 events per sample on a FACSCanto II flow cytometer at the Flow Cytometry research core, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis. Data were analyzed using the flowCore R package ([@B75]).
Chronic cyst burden estimation. {#s3.4}
-------------------------------
Surviving mice after 60 days of infection with the CTG strain were sacrificed, and their brains were harvested in 1 ml of 6% (vol/vol) formaldehyde and 0.25% (vol/vol) Triton X-100 in cold PBS. Brain homogenate was prepared by passing the tissue multiple times through a 16-gauge needle. The homogenates were then centrifuged at 400 × *g* for 10 min at 4°C. The pellet was then blocked with 10% (vol/vol) normal goat serum in PBS at 4°C for 1 h. The homogenate was then centrifuged at 400 × *g* for 10 min, and the pellet was resuspended with 20 µg/ml FITC-conjugated Dolichos biflorus lectin (DBL) in 10% goat serum for 2 h at room temperature. The homogenates were washed twice with 10% goat serum and resuspended in 1 ml PBS for microscopic examination. Each sample was examined using three aliquots of 12.5 µl each using an epifluorescence microscope equipped with an FITC emission channel.
Immunofluorescence microscopy. {#s3.5}
------------------------------
The cells were fixed in 4% formaldehyde for 20 min at room temperature, blocked using 5% FBS and 5% normal goat serum with 0.02% saponin in PBS for 30 min, and incubated with primary antibodies in 1% FBS with 0.02% saponin in PBS for 90 min. Cells were washed three times with PBS and incubated with Alexa-conjugated secondary antibodies and Hoechst stain (100 ng/ml) to stain nuclei (Life Technologies) for 30 min. Cells were then washed three times with PBS followed by image acquisition. Parasites and macrophages were labeled with 1:1,000 DG52 and rat 1:1,000 anti-LAMP1 as primary antibodies followed by 1:1,000 anti-mouse IgG-Alexa 488 and anti-rat IgG-Alexa 594 as secondary antibodies. Cells plated in 96-well µCLEAR black plates (Greiner Bio International) for *Toxoplasma* survival assay were imaged on a Cytation3 cell imaging multimode reader (BioTek) using a 20× objective (numerical aperture \[NA\], 0.45). Cells plated on coverslips for Gbp5 localization were imaged on an LSM880 confocal laser scanning microscope (Carl Zeiss) using a 63× objective (NA, 1.4) as part of the Microbiology Imaging Facility, Washington University in St. Louis.
Transmission electron microscopy. {#s3.6}
---------------------------------
For ultrastructural analyses, samples were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde-2.5% glutaraldehyde (Polysciences Inc., Warrington, PA) in 100 mM sodium cacodylate buffer, pH 7.2, for 2 h at room temperature and then overnight at 4°C. Samples were washed in sodium cacodylate buffer at room temperature and postinfection fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide (Polysciences Inc.) for 1 h. Samples were then rinsed extensively in distilled water (dH~2~O) prior to *en bloc* staining with 1% aqueous uranyl acetate (Ted Pella, Redding, CA) for 1 h. Following several rinses in dH~2~O, samples were dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol and embedded in Eponate 12 resin (Ted Pella Inc.). Sections of 95 nm were cut with a Leica Ultracut UCT ultramicrotome (Leica Microsystems Inc., Bannockburn, IL), stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, and viewed on a JEOL 1200 EX transmission electron microscope (JEOL USA Inc., Peabody, MA) equipped with an AMT 8-megapixel digital camera and AMT Image Capture Engine V602 software (Advanced Microscopy Techniques, Woburn, MA) as part of the Microbiology Imaging Facility, Washington University in St. Louis.
*Toxoplasma* intracellular survival assay. {#s3.7}
------------------------------------------
RAW 264.7 cells or BMDMs were seeded in 96-well µCLEAR black plates (Greiner Bio International) 24 h prior to infection. Cells were infected with CTG or GT1 at an MOI of 0.5 for 30 min followed by three PBS washes to remove extracellular parasites. Cells were fixed at 30 min and 20 h postinfection using 4% formaldehyde and stained to detect host cell (anti-LAMP1) and parasites (anti-SAG1) followed by Alexa-conjugated secondary antibodies. Images were acquired at 20× on the Cytation3 imager, and the percentage of infected cells per field was determined using CellProfiler 2.1.1 (see [Fig. S1](#figS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"} in the supplemental material). For RAW 264.7 macrophages, the number of infected cells at each time point was used to calculate the percentage of infection. Data from at least 50 fields per experiment were used to calculate the percent decrease in infected cells at 20 h versus 30 min postinfection.
Luminol-based respiratory burst assay. {#s3.8}
--------------------------------------
One million RAW 264.7 cells or BMDMs per 100 µl of phenol-free DMEM were warmed to 37°C for 15 min. Luminol and horseradish peroxidase were added to cells at final concentrations of 200 µM and 20 U/ml, respectively, and incubated for 5 min at 37°C. The cells were then infected with parasites at an MOI of 10 or incubated with 50 µg/ml ZymA (with or without 10 µM DPI). Chemiluminescence was then recorded as relative light units (RLU) per second in real time for the next 2 h using the Cytation3 imager and analyzed using Gen5 software.
Intracellular ROS measurement assay. {#s3.9}
------------------------------------
RAW 264.7 cells or BMDMs were seeded in 96-well µCLEAR black plates 24 h prior to infection. Parasites were labeled by incubation with 2.5 µM carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) for 5 min before infecting macrophages at an MOI of 2 for 30 min. Cells were then washed three times with PBS to remove extracellular parasites. At different time intervals postinfection, cells were stained with 5 µM CellROX deep red (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Hoechst stain (100 ng/ml) for 30 min. After washing with PBS, images were acquired at 20× on the Cytation3 imager. After illumination correction of each image, integrated emission intensity per cell in the Cy5 channel was calculated for uninfected and infected cells across many fields. Histograms of the Cy5 intensity values were generated from at least 2,000 cells per sample.
Western blotting. {#s3.10}
-----------------
Cell lysates of BMDMs were prepared using CellLytic M (Sigma) mixed with Complete Mini protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche). Cell supernatants were collected after centrifugation at 6,000 × *g* for 10 min at room temperature (RT) to avoid cell debris. Total protein was measured in each sample using the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay kit (Pierce, Thermo Fisher Scientific). Samples were boiled at 95°C for 15 min in Laemmli buffer containing 100 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Samples were separated using SDS-PAGE and transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was blocked in a 1:1 mixture of Odyssey blocking buffer (OBB; Li-Cor Biosciences) and PBS overnight at 4°C. The membrane was incubated with rabbit polyclonal anti-Gbp5 or anti-caspase-1 at 1:1,000 and mouse anti-actin (C4 clone; Millipore) at 1:4,000 for 2 h at RT in a 1:1 mixture of Odyssey blocking buffer and PBS with 0.1% Tween 20 (PBS-Tween). The blot was washed three times for 5 min each with PBS-Tween and incubated with anti-rabbit IgG IR800 and anti-mouse IgG IR700 at 1:15,000 for 2 h at RT in a 1:1 mixture of Odyssey blocking buffer and PBS-Tween. The blot was washed three times for 5 min each with PBS-Tween followed by infrared imaging on a Li-Cor Odyssey imaging system. Band intensities were calculated using the Odyssey software.
Real-time PCR. {#s3.11}
--------------
Samples were lysed, and RNA was extracted using the Qiagen RNeasy minikit per the manufacturer's instructions. cDNA was prepared using the Bio-Rad iScript cDNA synthesis kit per the manufacturer's instructions. Real-time PCR of all the genes was performed using Clontech SYBR Advantage qPCR premix per the manufacturer's instructions. Data acquisition was done in QuantStudio3 (Applied Biosystems) and analyzed in QuantStudio design and analysis software (Applied Biosystems). Primers are listed in [Table S1](#tabS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Comparative threshold cycle (*C*~*T*~) values were used to evaluate fold change in transcripts using actin as an internal transcript control.
10.1128/mBio.01393-18.6
Real-time PCR primers. Download TABLE S1, DOCX file, 0.02 MB.
Copyright © 2018 Matta et al.
2018
Matta et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
.
ELISA for IL-1β. {#s3.12}
----------------
Supernatants from samples were collected after centrifugation at 6,000 × *g* for 10 min at RT to avoid cell debris. The supernatants were stored at −80°C if not used immediately. IL-1β levels in the supernatant were measured using the mouse IL-1β/IL-1F2 DuoSet enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (R&D Systems) per the manufacturer's instructions.
Cell viability staining. {#s3.13}
------------------------
BMDMs were seeded in 96-well µCLEAR black plates. Cells were either untreated or treated with 10 ng/ml of LPS for 24 h prior to infection or treatment. The cells were infected with CTG or GT1 parasites at an MOI of 3 for 20 h. Nigericin (10 µM) was used to treat cells for 3 h prior to fixation. As a positive control, 0.1% (wt/vol) saponin treatment for 10 min was used to lyse cells. The samples were washed once with PBS and stained with the Live/Dead staining kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) containing a mixture of 2 µM calcein and 1 µM of ethidium homodimer-1 in PBS for 30 min. The cells were washed with PBS and fixed with 4% formaldehyde for 15 min. The cells were washed with PBS, imaged using a Cytation3 imager at 20×, and analyzed using CellProfiler 2.1.1.
Statistical analyses. {#s3.14}
---------------------
Unpaired two-tailed Student's *t* tests were used for comparison between experiments with normally distributed data using Prism (GraphPad). All experiments were performed at least three independent times, and statistical analyses were conducted on the composite data unless reported otherwise. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's multiple-comparison test was used to compare CTG clearance kinetics in BMDMs. Non-normally distributed data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's correction for multiple tests. Survival statistics were compared using log rank and Gehan-Breslow-Wilcoxon tests in Prism (GraphPad).
**Citation** Matta SK, Patten K, Wang Q, Kim B-H, MacMicking JD, Sibley LD. 2018. NADPH oxidase and guanylate binding protein 5 restrict survival of avirulent type III strains of *Toxoplasma gondii* in naive macrophages. mBio 9:e01393-18. <https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01393-18>.
We thank Jennifer Barks for assistance with cell culture, Mary Dinauer for providing gp91^−/−^ mice and for helpful advice on ROS detection, and Klaus Pfeffer and Daniel Degrandi for helpful advice on Gbp5. Electron microscopy studies were performed by Wandy Beatty, Microbiology Imaging Facility, Washington University.
The work was supported in part by a grant from the NIH (AI118426) to L.D.S.
[^1]: Present address: Kelley Patten, Department of Molecular Biosciences, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, California, USA.
|
There's nothing to see here, folks, just Russian overlord Vladimir Putin showing off an "invincible" nuclear missile destroying Florida. Oh, and the editor of one of Russia's most notorious media outlets is using it to mock Elon Musk.
Just another day in 2018.
SEE ALSO: An ad industry group nominated Russia's election hack for all the awards
Taking his role of real-life Bond villain to new heights, Putin used his annual state-of-the-nation speech to the Russian Federal Assembly on Thursday to brag about the country's new nuclear weapons he claimed could hit any point on the globe and would render any defense "useless."
Seriously, look at this thing.
It's like something out of a comic book (assuming it exists).
And taking that supervillain analogy one-step further, Putin's speech was full of bombast. Per NBC News' translation:
That's frightening enough as it is but as Gizmodo notes, the video showing off this new super-weapon uses a not-so-innocuous target on which to rain down its radioactive terror: the state of Florida.
Yep, that's the central portion of the state, including Tampa Bay, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and (of course) Palm Beach, home of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club.
Central Florida, doomed peninsula
Image: Screenshot/RT
Sure, it looks nice right now...
Image: Screenshot/Google Maps
TL;DR, Putin is out here dropping casual threats of nuclear armageddon on the part of the country where Trump likes to go golf and solicit gun control advice from country club members. This can't be good for the pair's complex bromance.
You can watch Putin's complete two-hour speech here.
If this seems familiar, it's pretty similar to the same stunt that North Korea pulled almost two years ago when it shared a propaganda video that included the nuclear obliteration of Washington, D.C.
Cool.
As if that's not enough, Margarita Simonovna Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT, the controversial Moscow-based news outlet that draws some funding from the Russian government, decided to celebrate Russia's new nuclear might by mocking Elon Musk.
Story continues
Илон Маск, май эсс. — Маргарита Симоньян (@M_Simonyan) March 1, 2018
RT editor-in-chief watching Putin video presentation on new strategic weapons: "Elon Musk, my ass." @elonmusk https://t.co/QEzlmfdNmu — Carl Schreck (@CarlSchreck) March 1, 2018
Because threatening to obliterate the home of Mickey Mouse wasn't enough, Russia's out here insulting America's high-tech entrepreneurs? What did Elon ever do to you, RT?
Nothing to see here. Everything is fine.
Though, if reality TV star Donald Trump can be president, than an action-hero showdown between Musk and Putin isn't really that far off, right? |
The sequence is available from the GenBank database (accession number KY113086).
Introduction {#sec001}
============
Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are one of the most economically important plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs), infecting more than 5500 plant species \[[@ppat.1006301.ref001],[@ppat.1006301.ref002]\]. The soil-borne RKNs devastate varieties of crop plants, resulting in about \$70 billion losses in worldwide agriculture annually \[[@ppat.1006301.ref003]\]. Generally, the second-stage juveniles (J2s) of RKNs penetrate host roots and migrate intercellularly towards the vascular cylinder, where they transform five to seven cells around their head into large and multinucleated feeding cells called giant cells that provide RKNs with nutrients and are essential for their development and reproduction \[[@ppat.1006301.ref004]\]. RKNs have evolved numerous effectors that originate from the nematode esophageal gland cells and are secreted into host plant tissues, playing key roles in root invasion and the formation and maintenance of giant cells, resulting in the successful parasitism of RKNs \[[@ppat.1006301.ref005]\].
Decades of research have demonstrated the roles of some effectors of PPNs. For example, extracellular effectors, such as ß-1,4-endoglucanase and pectate lyase, can degrade and depolymerize the main structural polysaccharide constituents of the plant cell wall \[[@ppat.1006301.ref006],[@ppat.1006301.ref007]\], and cyst nematode-secreted CLAVATA3/ESR CLE-like proteins (CLEs) mimic endogenous host-plant CLE peptides \[[@ppat.1006301.ref008]\]. Recently, one of the most exciting discoveries has been that effectors of PPNs are capable of suppressing host defenses directly \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009]--[@ppat.1006301.ref012]\]. Previous studies showed that plants have evolved a set of immune system defenses against plant pathogens \[[@ppat.1006301.ref013]\]. When the immune system detects pathogens, a series of immune responses, such as Ca^2+^ spikes, callose deposition, reactive oxygen species bursts, a localized hypersensitive response (HR) and the induction of pathogenesis-related gene expression, can be activated \[[@ppat.1006301.ref014],[@ppat.1006301.ref015]\]. PPNs therefore have also evolved a class of effectors to suppress the host immune system for survival. The first nematode-secreted effector that was found to have the ability to suppress the plant defense responses is the calreticulin Mi-CRT identified in *M*. *incognita* \[[@ppat.1006301.ref011]\]. Subsequently, several effectors, mainly cyst nematode-secreted and root-knot nematode-secreted effectors, such as SPRYSEC-19 and GrUBCEP12 in *Globodera rostochiensis*, Ha-ANNEXIN in *Heterodera avenae*, MeTCTP in *M*. *enterolobii* and MiMsp40 in *M*. *incognita*, were demonstrated to suppress host defense responses directly \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009],[@ppat.1006301.ref012],[@ppat.1006301.ref016]\]. Of these effectors, GrUBCEP12 was found to be cleaved *in planta* \[[@ppat.1006301.ref012]\], suggesting that nematode-secreted effectors may be subjected to post-translational modification (PTM) *in planta*.
PTM, including phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, proteolysis and ubiquitination, is a tool used by prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to regulate protein activity or promote protein/protein interactions \[[@ppat.1006301.ref017],[@ppat.1006301.ref018]\]. Of the various types of PTM, glycosylation and proteolysis are the two important modes of protein modification in plant cells. *N*-glycosylation has been widely identified and found to play vital roles in diverse aspects of development and physiology, such as the regulation of protein folding, salt tolerance, cellulose biosynthesis, environmental stress responses and plant immunity \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019],[@ppat.1006301.ref020]\]. Intriguingly, the *N*-glycosylation of plant pathogen effectors also plays a role in the infection and parasitism of pathogens \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019]\]. Pathogens can secrete glycoproteins directly into host plants or utilize the host post-translational machinery to form glycosylated effectors, avoiding the plant immunity and promoting pathogenesis of pathogens. For example, a secreted LysM protein, Slp1, was shown to function in *Magnaporthe oryzae* as an effector protein that suppresses host immunity by binding chitin oligosaccharides; however, incomplete *N*-glycosylation of Slp1 led to a dramatic reduction in its chitin-binding capability \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019]\].
Proteolysis is a selective mechanism that can either be co-translational or act in concert with other PTMs in many cellular processes, such as the stress response, maturation of inactive hormones, neuropeptides and growth factors, and targeting of intracellular proteins \[[@ppat.1006301.ref021],[@ppat.1006301.ref022]\]. Post-translational proteolytic processing of plant pathogen effectors *in planta* has been reported. For example, the effector AvrRpt2 from *Pseudomonas syringae* was delivered into host cells via the type III secretion system, where it was specifically cleaved to generate a functional C-terminal end \[[@ppat.1006301.ref023]\].
Previous studies on fungal and bacterial effectors have partly contributed to the understanding of PTM of plant pathogen effectors *in planta*. However, only three nematode-secreted effectors have been found to be post-translationally modified *in planta* as yet. In addition to GrUBCEP12 mentioned above, a CLE effector from *G*. *rostochiensis* and the effector protein 10A07 from *Heterodera schachtii* were glycosylated and phosphorylated *in planta*, respectively \[[@ppat.1006301.ref024],[@ppat.1006301.ref025]\]. It is essential to explore more nematode-secreted effectors with PTM capabilities *in planta* to understand their roles during nematode parasitism.
Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world's population, and it is also an excellent model system for studying physiological and molecular interactions between plants and PPNs \[[@ppat.1006301.ref026],[@ppat.1006301.ref027]\]. *Meloidogyne graminicola*, one of the most important RKNs, is considered to be a major threat to rice and has caused substantial destruction to up to 87% of the production \[[@ppat.1006301.ref028]\]. Transcriptomes of the rice root-knot nematode *M*. *graminicola* have been obtained \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029],[@ppat.1006301.ref030]\], greatly facilitating the exploration of candidate effectors. However, little is known about *M*. *graminicola* effectors.
Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a novel gene from *M*. *graminicola*. We present several lines of evidence to show that this novel gene affects *M*. *graminicola* parasitism. Additionally, we also provide evidence that the effector encoded by the novel gene can be secreted into host cells, transported from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the nucleus, and post-translationally glycosylated and proteolytically cleaved in host cells. Moreover, only the glycosylated effector is capable of suppressing the host defense response. The effector protein was named MgGPP because of its glycosylation in concert with proteolysis *in planta*.
Results {#sec002}
=======
Cloning and sequence analysis of the *M*. *graminicola MgGPP* gene {#sec003}
------------------------------------------------------------------
A 759-bp genomic fragment, designated MgGPP, was obtained. The *MgGPP* gene includes an open reading frame (ORF) of 675 bp (GenBank accession number KY113086), separated by two introns of 43 bp and 41 bp ([S1A Fig](#ppat.1006301.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The intron/exon boundaries have a conserved 5'-GT-AG-3' intron splice-site junction \[[@ppat.1006301.ref031]\]. The ORF encodes a 224-amino-acid polypeptide with a predicted molecular size of 25.5 kDa. The protein contains a secretion signal peptide of 20 amino acids at its N-terminus according to the SignalP program and has no putative transmembrane domain based on TMHMM, suggesting that MgGPP may be a secreted protein. MgGPP is predicted to have one *N*-glycosylation site at Asn-110 (Asn-Asp-Ser-Asp, NDSD) and contain a putative SV40-like nuclear localization signal (NLS) domain (^21^EIKKYKP^27^) ([S1B Fig](#ppat.1006301.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), and based on PSORTII, MgGPP is predicted to have a 73.9% probability of being located in the nucleus. Southern blot analysis showed that *MgGPP* is a single-copy gene in the genome of *M*. *graminicola* ([S2 Fig](#ppat.1006301.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
A BLAST search did not reveal any significant *MgGPP* homologues at the nucleotide level in other organisms but showed matches with several *Meloidogyne* avirulence protein family (MAPs) at the peptide level. However, the shared identities between MgGPP and the MAPs were only 37.3%-41.1%. Moreover, the conserved double-psi beta-barrel domain and repetitive motifs of 13 and 58 aa that exist in the MAPs were not found in MgGPP according to InterProScan. These observations suggest that *MgGPP* is a novel gene of *M*. *graminicola*.
MgGPP is expressed in the subventral esophageal glands and up-regulated in the early parasitic stage of *M*. *graminicola* {#sec004}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The tissue localization of *MgGPP* in *M*. *graminicola* was investigated using *in situ* hybridization. Strong signals from accumulated transcripts were observed in the subventral esophageal gland cells of *M*. *graminicola* preparasitic second-stage juveniles (pre-J2s) after hybridization with the digoxigenin-labeled antisense ssDNA probe. No signal was detected in pre-J2s when using the sense ssDNA probe as a negative control ([Fig 1A and 1B](#ppat.1006301.g001){ref-type="fig"}).
{#ppat.1006301.g001}
The transcriptional expression of the *MgGPP* gene in different stages was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The expression level of *MgGPP* at the egg stage was set at one as a reference for calculating the relative fold changes in the other stages. The transcription levels in pre-J2s and parasitic second-stage juveniles (par-J2s) at 3 and 5 days post-infection (dpi) were relatively high. The transcript expression reached a maximum at 3 dpi, with a 789-fold increase in expression compared with the egg stage. The relative fold changes for *MgGPP* transcripts in par-J2s at 5 dpi and in pre-J2s were approximately 655 and 470, respectively, compared with that in the egg stage. After the par-J2 stage, the transcript level of *MgGPP* was dramatically reduced and reached a minimum at the female stages, where only a 38-fold higher transcript level was found compared with the transcripts in the egg stage ([Fig 1C](#ppat.1006301.g001){ref-type="fig"}). These findings suggested that *MgGPP* may be a secretory protein and play a role in the early stages of *M*. *graminicola* parasitism.
MgGPP is secreted into plants and targeted to the nuclei of giant cells during parasitism {#sec005}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To determine whether MgGPP is actually secreted within host plants, immunolocalization was performed on the gall sections from rice plants at 5 dpi with *M*. *graminicola* using an antiserum against MgGPP. Western blot analysis was used to determine the serum specificity to MgGPP, which showed a clear hybridizing band with the expected size of \~25.5 kDa in the total protein samples from pre-J2s but not in the protein sample from healthy rice roots. By contrast, the control western blot hybridized with pre-immune serum did not generate any visible band from the nematode and rice root total protein samples ([S3 Fig](#ppat.1006301.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The results showed that the anti-MgGPP serum can specifically recognize MgGPP of *M*. *graminicola*.
The localization of the MgGPP protein (5 dpi) was consistently observed in giant cell nuclei. In some sections, MgGPP was also observed along the cell wall of adjacent giant cells around the nematode head or accumulated on the nematode head, at the stylet and inside the lumen of the anterior esophagus ([Fig 2](#ppat.1006301.g002){ref-type="fig"}). No signal was observed in the giant cells of either gall sections containing nematodes without hybridization or incubated with pre-immune serum or in root sections of an uninfected healthy plant hybridized with anti-MgGPP serum ([S4 Fig](#ppat.1006301.s005){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). These findings suggested that MgGPP is secreted in the early stages of *M*. *graminicola* parasitism, injected into the root tissue, and targeted to the host cell nuclei.
{#ppat.1006301.g002}
Relocation of MgGPP from the ER to the nucleus and its glycosylation and proteolysis in host cells {#sec006}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To intensively study the subcellular localization of MgGPP in host cells, a transient protein expression assay was performed using protoplasts from rice roots. The full-length MgGPP sequence without the signal peptide region was fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and transformed into rice root protoplasts. The eGFP was fused to either the N-terminus (eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^) or C-terminus (MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP) of MgGPP ([Fig 3A](#ppat.1006301.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Since MgGPP was confirmed to be secreted inside host cells, the exclusion of the signal peptide should allow the MgGPP effector to be tested for its function in host cells. At \~8 h after culture, the fusion protein eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ was detected to be colocalized in the ER with the ER marker HDEL in \~41% of the transformed cells. After \~48 h, the exclusive nuclear localization of eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ in \~42% of the transformed cells was detected ([Fig 3B](#ppat.1006301.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Unexpectedly, cells transformed with the fusion protein MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP consistently displayed both cytoplasmic and nuclear accumulation of the fluorescent signal ([Fig 3C](#ppat.1006301.g003){ref-type="fig"}). As a control, the transformed cells expressing eGFP alone also showed cytoplasmic and nuclear accumulation of the GFP signal ([Fig 3D](#ppat.1006301.g003){ref-type="fig"}).
{#ppat.1006301.g003}
To demonstrate the correct expression of eGFP-tagged MgGPP in protoplast cells, the proteins extracted from the transformed cells were analyzed by western blot using an anti-GFP antibody. Unexpectedly, when MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP was transiently expressed in protoplasts from rice roots, the anti-GFP antibody specifically detected an accumulated protein of \~27 kDa, which was much smaller than the expected size of MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP (\~50 kDa) but identical to the size of eGFP, indicating that the C- terminus of MgGPP may be proteolytically cleaved, and the fluorescence in the cytoplasm and nucleus could be the free eGFP. In contrast, when eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ was transiently expressed in protoplasts, two protein forms of \~43 and \~39 kDa were detected, which was one extra protein form than we expected. Moreover, they were both smaller than the expected size of eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ (\~50 kDa) ([Fig 3E](#ppat.1006301.g003){ref-type="fig"}), indicating that MgGPP may be processed and cleaved.
*In silico* analysis showed that MgGPP has one *N*-glycosylation site at Asn-110, showing that MgGPP may be glycosylated. An anti-MgGPP antibody specifically detected a band with a size of \~25.5 kDa in the total protein samples from pre-J2s, par-J3s/J4s and females with or without treatment of the deglycosylation enzyme PNGase F ([Fig 4A](#ppat.1006301.g004){ref-type="fig"}), indicating that MgGPP is not glycosylated in nematodes. Therefore, we speculated that the host plants mediated the *N*-glycosylation and *C*-proteolysis of MgGPP. To verify this speculation, first, total protein samples of rice protoplasts and tobacco leaves expressing eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ were treated with the deglycosylation enzyme PNGase A. Western blot analysis showed that the protein form of \~43 kDa was successfully cleaved by PNGase A ([Fig 4B](#ppat.1006301.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Second, we also generated an MgGPP allele in which the N110Q site was mutated and expressed this mutant in rice protoplasts and tobacco leaves. Western blotting analysis showed that the protein form of \~43 kDa also disappeared ([Fig 4B](#ppat.1006301.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Based on these results, we conclude that the secreted effector protein MgGPP is *N*-glycosylated in host cells.
{#ppat.1006301.g004}
Because MgGPP may be subjected to *C*-proteolysis, our original goal was to determine the cleavage site in MgGPP. To achieve this, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ201--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ161--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ141--224^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--224^:eGFP ([Fig 5A](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}) were generated and transiently expressed in rice protoplasts. Western blot analysis indicated that the anti-GFP antibody specifically detected a band with the size of \~27 kDa, which is identical to the size of free eGFP, in plants expressing MgGPP^Δsp_Δ201--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ161--224^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ141--224^:eGFP. However, plants expressing MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--224^:eGFP produced a \~39 kDa band that corresponded to the molecular weight of the fusion protein of eGFP plus MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--224^ ([Fig 5B](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}). Furthermore, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--140^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--160^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ121--200^:eGFP ([Fig 5A](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}) were constructed and transiently expressed in rice protoplasts. Similarly, the anti-GFP antibody specifically detected a band of \~27 kDa that is the same size as free eGFP ([Fig 5C](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}). These results suggested that MgGPP was cleaved at multiple loci from 121 to 224 aa, and the cleavage position nearest to the N-terminus should be between 121 aa and 140 aa. Then, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ122--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ124--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ125--224^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ126--224^:eGFP were constructed ([Fig 5A](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}) and transiently expressed in rice protoplasts. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of MgGPP^Δsp_Δ122--224^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:eGFP generated a \~39 kDa band, but the expression of MgGPP^Δsp_Δ124--224^:eGFP, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ125--224^:eGFP and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ126--224^:eGFP produced a \~27 kDa band ([Fig 5D](#ppat.1006301.g005){ref-type="fig"}). These results showed that the secreted effector protein MgGPP is processed proteolytically after the 122-aa position in host cells.
{#ppat.1006301.g005}
MgGPP^123-224^ region is required for MgGPP trafficking to the ER {#sec007}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The 123-aa to 224-aa C-terminal sequence of MgGPP is processed proteolytically when MgGPP enters host plant cells. Additionally, the analysis of the subcellular localization of MgGPP showed that MgGPP translocated from the ER to the nucleus. It has been considered that proteolytic processing may function in the proper trafficking of effectors to their cellular targets \[[@ppat.1006301.ref032]\], and we therefore speculated that the MgGPP^123-224^ region may be required for MgGPP trafficking to the ER. As mentioned above, the 123-aa to 224-aa C-terminal sequence of MgGPP is processed proteolytically, which motivated us to study the role of this region. Thus, eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ was generated ([Fig 6A](#ppat.1006301.g006){ref-type="fig"}) and transiently expressed in rice protoplasts. The results show that no ER localization signal was observed in any transformed cells at \~8 h after culture, while the fluorescent signal was observed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm ([Fig 6B](#ppat.1006301.g006){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, the anti-GFP antibody specifically detected an accumulated protein of \~39 kDa ([Fig 6C](#ppat.1006301.g006){ref-type="fig"}). As a control, nearly half of the eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ was observed in the ER ([Fig 6D](#ppat.1006301.g006){ref-type="fig"}). These results indicated that MgGPP lacking the sequence of 123 aa to 224 aa could not be imported into the ER and glycosylated.
{#ppat.1006301.g006}
*N*-Glycosylation of proteins in eukaryotic cells usually occurs in the ER \[[@ppat.1006301.ref033]\]. We therefore speculated that the MgGPP^123-224^ region is required for ER import of MgGPP, resulting in the glycosylation of MgGPP in the ER. To verify this, we constructed WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^:HDEL and WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:HDEL ([Fig 7A](#ppat.1006301.g007){ref-type="fig"}) to ensure that MgGPP was transported to and retained in the ER. When the two vectors were transiently expressed in rice protoplasts, the fluorescent signal of WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:HDEL was consistently observed in the ER ([Fig 7B](#ppat.1006301.g007){ref-type="fig"}), and WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^:HDEL was observed in the ER of \~50% of the transformed cells at \~8 h after culture and in the nucleus of \~40% of the transformed cells after \~48 h ([Fig 7C](#ppat.1006301.g007){ref-type="fig"}). The results demonstrated that the proteolytic cleavage of MgGPP at site 123 releases MgGPP^21-122^ from the C-terminal part containing the ER-retention signal, and therefore this amino-terminal part can leave the ER. Western blot analysis showed that two bands of \~43 and \~39 kDa were detected, indicating that these two fusion proteins were both glycosylated in the ER ([Fig 7D](#ppat.1006301.g007){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, we conclude that the MgGPP^123-224^ region is required for MgGPP trafficking to the ER, and the effector is then glycosylated in the ER.
{#ppat.1006301.g007}
MgGPP affects *M*. *graminicola* parasitism {#sec008}
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To assess the role of MgGPP in nematode parasitism, transgenic rice lines expressing MgGPP without the signal peptide under the control of the maize ubiquitin promoter were generated. Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of the target gene into the rice genome, and five single-copy transgenic lines were selected ([S5A Fig](#ppat.1006301.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The expression of MgGPP transcripts in the five transgenic lines was confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis ([S5B Fig](#ppat.1006301.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Meanwhile, western blot analysis was also used to examine the expression of MgGPP using the anti-MgGPP antibody ([Fig 8A](#ppat.1006301.g008){ref-type="fig"}). The western blot analysis showed that two bands of \~12 kDa and \~16 kDa were detected, which is consistent with the expected molecular weight of the protein, due to PTM of MgGPP in rice plants. MgGPP expression seemed to have no measurable impact on transgenic plant growth and development by phenotype analysis. Then, the susceptibility of these transgenic rice lines to nematodes was tested. The results indicated that the average number of adult females increased by 49.8% and 42.9%, 33.6% and 27.5%, 62.2% and 58.8%, 26% and 21.3%, and 73% and 66% at 12 dpi in lines 4, 5, 6, 9 and 39, respectively, compared to the wild-type (WT) and empty vector (EV) plants. In conclusion, transgenic rice lines overexpressing MgGPP were more susceptible to nematode infection ([Fig 8B](#ppat.1006301.g008){ref-type="fig"}).
{#ppat.1006301.g008}
To further confirm the findings of *MgGPP* overexpression, host-mediated gene silencing was performed to knock down *MgGPP* expression during the parasitism of *M*. *graminicola* using transgenic rice lines expressing a hairpin dsRNA of *MgGPP*. Four single-copy transgenic rice plants were confirmed using southern blot analysis ([S5C Fig](#ppat.1006301.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). By RT-PCR and qRT-PCR, these transgenic plants were confirmed to carry the MgGPP dsRNA, that is, the RNAi cassette (a 363-bp GUS intron fragment) was detected in the four single-copy transgenic lines ([S5D Fig](#ppat.1006301.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and [Fig 9A](#ppat.1006301.g009){ref-type="fig"}) and was not amplified in the WT and EV controls. According to phenotype analyses, the transgenic lines expressing the hairpin dsRNA of MgGPP had no apparent differences in plant growth and development compared to the WT control lines. The expression level of *MgGPP* in nematodes after silencing by host-mediated RNAi was measured by qRT-PCR. The transcription of MgGPP was reduced significantly in *M*. *graminicola* feeding on the roots of RNAi lines at 3 dpi compared to those feeding on control plants. Therefore, the host-mediated gene silencing of *MgGPP* was effective. Two other genes, *Mg-CRT* and *Mg-expansin*, which have similar transcriptional expression patterns and somewhat similar nucleotide sequences to those of *MgGPP*, were used to verify the specificity of this *MgGPP*-targeting RNAi by qRT-PCR analysis. The results showed that *Mg-CRT* and *Mg-expansin* were not affected by the *MgGPP*-targeting RNAi treatment ([Fig 9B](#ppat.1006301.g009){ref-type="fig"}). Importantly, the four transgenic rice lines had 50%-72.2% fewer adult females than the WT lines and EV plants at 12 dpi ([Fig 9A](#ppat.1006301.g009){ref-type="fig"}). These findings suggest that *MgGPP* plays a role in nematode parasitism.
{#ppat.1006301.g009}
Glycosylated MgGPP protein can suppress cell death induced by Gpa2/RBP-1 {#sec009}
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There is evidence that secreted effectors originating from the nematode esophageal gland cells can directly suppress the plant defense system that is responsible for the parasitism of nematodes \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009],[@ppat.1006301.ref010],[@ppat.1006301.ref012],[@ppat.1006301.ref016],[@ppat.1006301.ref034]\]. Bax, INF1 and Gpa2/RBP-1 can trigger cell death \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009],[@ppat.1006301.ref012],[@ppat.1006301.ref035]\]; therefore, to determine whether MgGPP actually has the ability to suppress the plant immune system, Bax, INF1 and Gpa2/RBP-1 systems were used to investigate the function of MgGPP in programmed cell death (PCD). *Agrobacterium* strains carrying flag:MgGPP^Δsp^ were constructed ([Fig 10A](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}). In addition, the empty vector pCAMBIA1305:flag was generated as a negative control, and pCAMBIA1305:GrCEP12 that can suppress the HR induced by Gpa2/RBP-1 \[[@ppat.1006301.ref012]\] was used as the positive control. These constructs were infiltrated into *Nicotiana benthamiana* leaves 24 h prior to infiltration of an *Agrobacterium* strain carrying Bax, INF1 and Gpa2/RBP-1. At 5 days after the last infiltration, we found that MgGPP and the positive control GrCEP12 could suppress cell death mediated by Gpa2/RBP-1, with a necrosis index of 2.6 and 3.0, respectively. As controls, all points infiltrated with buffer and flag followed by Gpa2/RBP-1 showed a necrosis index of around 7 ([Fig 10B and 10C](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}), whereas infiltration with buffer, MgGPP or flag alone did not induce necrosis ([S6 Fig](#ppat.1006301.s007){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In addition, none of the treatments, including infiltration of MgGPP, could suppress the HR induced by Bax and INF1 ([S6 Fig](#ppat.1006301.s007){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
{#ppat.1006301.g010}
We have shown above that MgGPP is subjected to *N*-glycosylation and *C*-proteolysis in plants, and the MgGPP^123-224^ region is required for MgGPP trafficking to the ER, where MgGPP is glycosylated. The glycosylation of effectors may suppress plant immunity \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019]\]. To discover if glycosylation of MgGPP affected its ability to suppress the HR, we constructed the pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ and pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ mutants to generate non-glycosylated MgGPP ([Fig 10A](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}). It was found that all points infiltrated with pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ and pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ followed by Gpa2/RBP-1 showed necrosis ([Fig 10B and 10C](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}). The expression of all genes was verified by RT-PCR ([Fig 10D](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}) and western blot analysis ([Fig 10E](#ppat.1006301.g010){ref-type="fig"}). These results showed that the glycosylated MgGPP protein can suppress the cell death induced by Gpa2/RBP-1.
Discussion {#sec010}
==========
In this study, our original aim was to amplify a *Meloidogyne* avirulence proteins (MAPs) gene based on contigs that were annotated as *Map* from a previously reported transcriptome of *M*. *graminicola* \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\]. Although the amplified gene exhibited the highest match with MAPs, the shared identities were no more than 41.1%. Moreover, this gene does not possess a conserved RlpA-like protein domain and internal repetitive motifs, which are common in MAPs \[[@ppat.1006301.ref036],[@ppat.1006301.ref037]\]. These observations showed that the gene is not the counterpart of the reported *Map* genes of *Meloidogyne* and is a novel gene that we have called *MgGPP*.
Some evidence from this study indicated that the novel nematode effector MgGPP is secreted into host plants and plays a role in nematode parasitism. First, *in silico* analysis demonstrated that MgGPP contains an N-terminal signal peptide, which is considered to be a character of secreted proteins \[[@ppat.1006301.ref038]\]. In addition, *in situ* hybridization indicated that *MgGPP* was expressed exclusively in the subventral esophageal glands, which are one of the origins of nematode secretory effector proteins and are thought to be involved in the early parasitic stages of RKNs \[[@ppat.1006301.ref005]\]. Second, qRT-PCR analysis showed that the transcription of MgGPP was obviously up-regulated during the early parasitic stages of the nematodes, reaching a maximum level at 3 dpi, which is consistent with the results of its spatial expression, suggesting a potential role in the early parasitism stage of nematodes. Third, we affirmed, using an immunocytochemical method, that MgGPP accumulated in host giant cell nuclei, showing that MgGPP could indeed be secreted into host plant cells. Fourth, rice transgenic lines overexpressing *MgGPP* became substantially more susceptible to the nematode infection than wild-type plant controls, and conversely, silencing of *MgGPP* using an *in planta* RNAi approach significantly attenuated nematode parasitism, demonstrating that MgGPP promoted *M*. *graminicola* parasitism.
The identification of the subcellular compartments targeted by nematode-secreted effectors could assist in their functional characterization \[[@ppat.1006301.ref039]\]. MgGPP was found to contain one NLS in the N-terminus. It is usually considered that nematode effectors with one or more NLS are most likely to be a nuclear-localized protein \[[@ppat.1006301.ref038],[@ppat.1006301.ref040],[@ppat.1006301.ref041]\]. However, it has also been reported that nematode effectors possessing NLSs were not located in the nucleus \[[@ppat.1006301.ref039]\]. The immunocytochemical technique is a good tool for studying the actual localization of nematode-secreted effectors *in planta* \[[@ppat.1006301.ref042]\]. Two effectors, Mi-EEF1 and MjNULG1a, secreted by *M*. *incognita* and *M*. *javanica*, respectively, both containing NLSs, were confirmed to be nuclear-localized using the immunocytochemical method \[[@ppat.1006301.ref040],[@ppat.1006301.ref041]\]. Utilizing this technique, we confirmed that MgGPP was actually targeted to giant cell nuclei. Meanwhile, it was noticed that the MgGPP signal was also observed in the cell-wall regions around the head of the nematode. It was reported that the stylet comes into contact with the plasma membrane without perforation and delivers nematode-secreted proteins in the cytoplasm \[[@ppat.1006301.ref043]\]. Two RKNs-secreted effectors have been observed in the apoplast and to target to the nuclei \[[@ppat.1006301.ref040],[@ppat.1006301.ref041]\], raising the possibility that PPNs effectors could be translocated from the apoplasm to the cytoplasm of plant cells., although little is known about transport mechanisms of PPNs effectors. Interestingly, the effectors from oomycetes and fungi were shown capable of further moving into plant cells after entering the apoplast \[[@ppat.1006301.ref044]\]. For example, the oomycete effectors' RXLR motif mediated entry of the effectors into cells by binding to the phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate that is abundant on the outer surface of plant cell plasmamembranes. Therefore, it is thought that RxLR effector entry involves lipid raft-mediated endocytosis \[[@ppat.1006301.ref045],[@ppat.1006301.ref046]\]. Regardless of how the effector MgGPP enters plant cells from the apoplast, our results suggest that MgGPP is probably secreted by the nematode into the apoplast, then entering into cells and targeting into the cell nucleus during the process of nematode parasitism. However, it is interesting that transiently expressed MgGPP was not always located in the nucleus. At \~8 h after culture, MgGPP can be observed in the ER of rice root protoplasts, and finally in the nucleus at \~48 h. With all these considered, it is possible that MgGPP may be secreted into the plant cell apoplast first and then enter into host cells and target to the ER, before finally being transported to the nucleus.
In this study, most importantly, MgGPP was found to be post-translationally modified in host plants. Thus far, only three nematode-secreted effectors have been found to be post-translationally modified, including GrUBCEP12 and CLE from *G*. *rostochiensis* and 10A07 from *H*. *schachtii*, which were proteolytically cleaved, glycosylated and phosphorylated *in planta*, respectively \[[@ppat.1006301.ref012],[@ppat.1006301.ref024],[@ppat.1006301.ref025]\]. Detailed studies have shown that MgGPP was subjected to both *N*-glycosylation and C-terminal proteolysis in host cells. Recent studies showed that glycosylation is one of the pathogen effector PTMs \[[@ppat.1006301.ref047],[@ppat.1006301.ref048]\]. More often, the glycosylation of effectors occurred in the plant pathogen itself, and the subsequent glycoprotein was secreted into host plants. For example, the secreted effectors BAS4, CBH1 and PCIPGII were shown to undergo *N*-glycosylation in *M*. *oryzae*, *Trichoderma reesei* and *Phytophthora capsici*, respectively, and then translocate into the host cytoplasm \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019],[@ppat.1006301.ref049]--[@ppat.1006301.ref051]\]. Only a few effectors have been found to be first secreted into host plants and then glycosylated in the plants, such as the CLE effector from *G*. *rostochiensis* mentioned above \[[@ppat.1006301.ref025]\].
Previous reports indicated that the glycosylation of effectors may be related to plant immunity \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019]\]. For example, *N*-glycosylation of the effector Slp1 of *M*. *oryzae* enhanced its ability to suppress the host immunity by binding chitin oligosaccharides \[[@ppat.1006301.ref019],[@ppat.1006301.ref052]\], while *N*-glycosylation of the effectors Avr4 and Avr9 of *Cladosporium fulvum* improved their capability to induce effector-triggered defense responses \[[@ppat.1006301.ref053]\]. In this study, we confirmed that *N*-glycosylated MgGPP can consistently suppress the cell death induced by effector-triggered immunity (ETI) proteins Gpa2/RBP-1, while non-*N*-glycosylated MgGPP cannot. Additionally, neither *N*-glycosylated MgGPP nor non-*N*-glycosylated MgGPP can suppress the cell death induced by the PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) protein INF1 and the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. Consistent with this notion, many plant pathogen effectors have been shown to selectively suppress the host cell death responses induced by several elicitors. For example, allergen-like proteins of cyst nematodes selectively suppress the activation of programmed cell death by surface-localized immune receptors, and different effectors of *Phytophthora sojae* could selectively suppress the programmed cell death induced by different elicitors \[[@ppat.1006301.ref034],[@ppat.1006301.ref054]\]. Thus, it seems that glycosylation of MgGPP contributed to the its ability to selectively suppress the defense-related host cell death, which is one possible mechanism underlying its contribution to *M*. *graminicola* virulence.
In this study, subcellular localization assays showed that MgGPP can translocate from the ER to the nucleus. It has been suggested that PTM of effectors has an effect on their subcellular localization in plant cells \[[@ppat.1006301.ref055]\]. For example, the cytoplasmically localized effector Hs10A07 is translocated to the nucleus after being phosphorylated \[[@ppat.1006301.ref024]\]. Some studies also showed that proteolytic processing plays a role in the proper trafficking of effectors to their cellular targets. For example, the cyst nematode effector HsUbil was cleaved in plants, leading to the transport of the C-terminal domain into the nucleus \[[@ppat.1006301.ref056]\]. Autoproteolysis of the *P*. *syringae* effector AvrPphB occurred inside plant cells to expose a myristoylation motif, and AvrPphB was then transported from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane \[[@ppat.1006301.ref032]\]. Interestingly, the C-terminal truncation mutation assays in our study showed that the C-terminal region of 123 aa to 224 aa of MgGPP was proteolytically cleaved *in planta*. Subcellular localization assays showed that eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ was not located in the ER, WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:HDEL was always located in the ER, and WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^:HDEL was translocated from the ER to the nucleus. The C-terminal HDEL is a well-known signal for the retention of secretory proteins in the ER \[[@ppat.1006301.ref057]\]; therefore, these observations demonstrated that the C-terminal region of 123 aa to 224 aa plays a role in the trafficking of MgGPP to the ER. MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ was exported from the ER due to the proteolytic processing of the C-terminal region (123 to 224) in the ER. Moreover, our data indicated that MgGPP^Δsp^ lacking the C-terminal region, i.e., MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^, cannot be glycosylated, but the intact MgGPP^Δsp^ and WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:HDEL can be glycosylated. Glycosylated MgGPP can suppress the HR induced by Gpa2/RBP-1, but non-glycosylated MgGPP cannot. MgGPP^Δsp^ lacking the C-terminal region cannot suppress the host HR either. It has been reported that *N*-glycosylation of proteins in eukaryotic cells usually occurs in the ER \[[@ppat.1006301.ref033]\]. These provide further evidence that the MgGPP^123-224^ region is required for MgGPP to translocate to the ER, and the effector MgGPP was glycosylated only when it was in the ER, after which the glycosylated MgGPP could be activated to suppress the HR.
In summary, we obtained a novel effector, MgGPP, from *M*. *graminicola*. Our experimental evidence suggests that MgGPP may be secreted into the host plants during parasitism, first into the cell apoplast, then entering into cells and targeted to the ER, where *N*-glycosylation and C-terminal proteolysis occurs, and it is finally translocated from the ER to the nucleus. *N*-glycosylated MgGPP suppressed host defenses and promoted the parasitism of *M*. *graminicola*. Our data provide an intriguing example of host-dependent proteolysis in concert with the glycosylation of a pathogen effector, suggesting that plant pathogen effectors can recruit the host post-translational machinery to mediate their PTM and regulate their activity to facilitate parasitism.
Materials and methods {#sec011}
=====================
Ethics statement {#sec012}
----------------
No specific permissions were required for the nematode collected for this study in Hainan Province, China. The field for nematodes collection was neither privately owned nor protected, and did not involve endangered or protected species.
Nematodes and plant materials {#sec013}
-----------------------------
*Meloidogyne graminicola* were collected from rice in Hainan, China, purified using a single egg mass, and reared on rice (*Oryza sativa* cv. 'Nipponbare') in a greenhouse at 28°C under 16:8 h light:dark conditions. Pre-J2 and parasitic stage nematodes were collected as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\]. Rice (including wild-type and transgenic lines) and tobacco (*N*. *benthamiana*) were grown in a glasshouse at 28°C and 23°C, respectively, under 16:8 h light:dark conditions \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\].
Gene amplification and sequence analysis {#sec014}
----------------------------------------
Genomic DNA and total RNA were isolated from freshly hatched pre-J2s using the Genomic DNA Purification Kit (Shenergy Biocolor, Shanghai, China) and TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, California, USA), respectively. Based on *M*. *graminicola* transcriptome data \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\], the full-length cDNA sequence of *MgGPP* was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends using a BD SMART RACE cDNA Amplification Kit (Clontech, California, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The genomic DNA was amplified using the primers MgGPP-gDNA-F/MgGPP-gDNA-R. All primers used in this study were synthesized by Invitrogen Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and are listed in [S1 Table](#ppat.1006301.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.
The sequence homology of the predicted proteins was analyzed using a BLASTx, BLASTn or tBLASTn search of the nonredundant and Expressed Sequence Tags database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/>). The signal peptide was predicted using SignalP 4.0 (<http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/SignalP/>). Putative transmembrane domains were predicted based on TMHMM (<http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/TMHMM/>). Molecular mass was predicted using ProtParam, and motif analyses were performed using InterProScan \[[@ppat.1006301.ref058]\]. Glycosylation was analyzed using NetNGlyc1.0 (<http://www.hiv.lanl.gov/content/sequence/GLYCOSITE/glycosite.html>). Nuclear localization signal (NLS) domains were predicted as previously described \[[@ppat.1006301.ref059]\].
Plasmid construction and generation of transgenic rice plants {#sec015}
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First, the CaMV35S-promotor of the pCAMBIA1305.1 vector was replaced with the maize ubiquitin promoter to generate the binary vector pUbi ([S7A Fig](#ppat.1006301.s008){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Subsequently, for overexpression constructs, the coding sequence of MgGPP^Δsp^ was cloned into the pUbi vector ([S7B Fig](#ppat.1006301.s008){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). For *MgGPP* silencing constructs, the fragment of 251 to 469 bp within the *MgGPP* sequence was selected as the RNAi target and confirmed to have no contiguous 21-nucleotide identical hit in other genes. *MgGPP*^*251-469*^ was inserted into the pMD-18T vector (Takara, Tokyo, Japan) in both sense and antisense orientations. The sense and antisense fragments were separated by a GUS intron. Then, the entire RNAi fragment was inserted into the pUbi vector to generate transgenic rice lines expressing hairpin dsRNA ([S7C Fig](#ppat.1006301.s008){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The overexpression and RNAi constructs were transformed into *A*. *tumefaciens* strain EHA105 and used to transform the rice calli. The transgenic seedlings were screened on N6 Medium containing 50 mg/L hygromycin \[[@ppat.1006301.ref060]\].
The expression levels of *MgGPP* in each transgenic rice line were determined by qRT-PCR. RNAi transgenic lines were confirmed using the gus intron fragment as target and the *MgGPP* expressions were determined in nematodes extracted from roots of RNAi lines and the control lines. The *OsUBQ* and *Mg-ACT2* genes were selected as the reference gene for qRT-PCR, and two other genes, *Mg-CRT* and *Mg-expansin*, were used to verify the specificity of *MgGPP*-targeting RNAi by qRT -PCR analysis. Three technical replicates of each reaction were performed in all experiments and three independent experiments were performed. Expression levels of the transgenic lines were calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCT^ method. Western blot analysis was performed to determine MgGPP expression in transgenic lines. Total proteins were extracted from each transgenic lines, control lines and *Meloidogyne graminicola*.
Southern blot analysis {#sec016}
----------------------
Ten micrograms of *M*. *graminicola* total genomic DNA were separately digested with *Hind*III (no cleavage site within *MgGPP*) or *Sph*I (one cleavage site located at 389 to 394 bp) before separation by electrophoresis and then transferred to Hybond N^+^ membranes (Amersham Biosciences, Buckinghamshire, UK). The probe hybridization and signal detection were performed as previously described \[[@ppat.1006301.ref010]\]. The digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe targeting the region from 91 bp to 366 bp of the *MgGPP* gene was synthesized using a PCR DIG probe synthesis kit (Roche Applied Science, Rotkreuz, Switzerland).
Developmental expression analysis and *in situ* hybridization {#sec017}
-------------------------------------------------------------
RNA samples were prepared from approximately 100 *M*. *graminicola* nematodes at different life stages as indicated using the RNA prepmicro kit (Tiangen Biotech, Beijing, China). The cDNA was synthesized using TransScript All-in-One First-Strand cDNA Synthesis SuperMix (Transgen Biotech, Beijing, China). qRT-PCR was performed using the primer pairs Mg-qPCR-F/Mg-qPCR-R and Mg*-*ACT2-F/Mg*-*ACT2-F-R for amplifying the *MgGPP* gene and the endogenous reference gene *Mg-ACT2*, respectively \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\]. qRT-PCR was performed using the SYBR Premix Ex Taq II (Tli RNaseH Plus) (Takara, Tokyo, Japan) on a Thermal Cycler Dice Real Time System (Takara, Tokyo, Japan). Three technical replicates for each reaction were performed in all experiments, and three independent experiments were performed. The relative changes in gene expression were determined using the 2^-ΔΔCT^ method \[[@ppat.1006301.ref061]\].
For *in situ* hybridization, approximately 10,000 freshly hatched *M*. *graminicola* pre-J2s were collected as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref029]\]. Digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled probes were synthesized as described above. The nematode sections were hybridized as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref041]\] and examined by microscopy using a Nikon ECLIPSE Ni microscope (Nikon, Tokyo, Japan). Three independent experiments were performed.
Anti-MgGPP polyclonal serum production and immunofluorescence localization {#sec018}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The anti-MgGPP polyclonal serum was obtained as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref039]\]. Briefly, the MgGPP protein was expressed in BL21 (DE3) cells and purified using Ni^2+^NTA agarose (Merck) according to the user manual. The amount and the purity of the purified protein were determined by the BCA method (Tiangen Biotech, Beijing, China) and sodium dodecyl sulfate--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The anti-MgGPP polyclonal serum was obtained by immunizing rabbits.
For immunolocalization on sections of rice galls, rice galls infected with *M*. *graminicola* for 5 days were dissected, fixed, dehydrated and embedded in paraffin as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref042]\]. Sections were incubated in dimethylbenzene and an alcohol gradient to remove the paraffin. Then, the sections were treated with an MgGPP primary antibody at room temperature for 2 h in a humid box. They were washed three times for 5 min using PBS and then incubated with Goat anti-Rabbit Superclonal Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488 conjugate (Thermo Fisher Scientific, San Jose, CA, USA) at room temperature for 2 h in a humid box. Finally, the sections were mounted with Fluoromount-G (SouthernBiotech, Birmingham, UK) containing DAPI and observed with a Nikon ECLIPSE Ni microscope.
Subcellular localization {#sec019}
------------------------
For constructing the MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP, eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ and eGFP plasmids, the sequences of MgGPP^Δsp^ and eGFP were amplified and cloned into pUbi. As a control, mCherry was cloned into WAK2ss:HDEL to generate WAK2ss:mCherry:HDEL. The protoplasts of rice root tissues were obtained as previously described \[[@ppat.1006301.ref062]\]. Then, 50 μg of the MgGPP^Δsp^:eGFP, eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ and eGFP plasmids were added to 1 mL (approximately 2 × 10^3^ cells) of rice protoplasts, respectively. The protoplasts were then incubated in the dark at room temperature for \~8 and \~48 h and examined under a Nikon ECLIPSE Ni microscope.
Western blot analysis {#sec020}
---------------------
For verification of the intact fusion protein, western blot analysis was performed as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009]\]. Briefly, total proteins from rice root protoplasts and tobacco leaves were separately extracted using RIPA lysis buffer (2% SDS, 80 mM Tris/HCl, pH 6.8, 10% glycerol, 0.002% bromophenol blue, 5% β-mercaptoethanol and Complete protease inhibitor cocktail). Approximately 20 μg of total proteins were separated on a 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gel and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane (PALL, Washington, NY, USA). The membranes were blocked with 5% (w/v) nonfat dry milk, incubated with a primary mouse anti-GFP antibody (Transgene Biotech, Beijing, China) at a 1:3000 dilution, and then incubated with an anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody at a 1:2000 dilution (Biosynthesis Biotechnology Co., Beijing, China). The proteins were visualized using the Immobilon Western Chemiluminescent system with Pierce ECL Western Blotting Substrate (Thermo Fisher Scientific, San Jose, CA, USA).
*N*-Glycosylation analysis {#sec021}
--------------------------
For glycosylation analysis, the cDNA of MgGPP^Δsp^ was amplified and cloned into the pCAMBIA1305.1 and pUbi vectors. The two constructs, pCAMBIA:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^ and eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^, were expressed in tobacco leaves and rice root protoplasts, respectively. Total protein extracted with RIPA lysis buffer was digested with PNGase A (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA, USA) for 1 h before being mixed with the loading buffer. Meanwhile, the total protein samples from pre-J2s, para-J2s/J3s and females of *M*. *graminicola* were treated with or without PNGase F (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA, USA). [PNGase F](http://www.plantcell.org/content/26/3/1360.long#def-9) and PNGase A were used for glycosylation analysis of MgGPP following the manufacturer's instructions. The extracted protein samples from three independent transformations were analyzed by western blot.
For glycosylation site analysis, MgGPP^Δsp^ was used to mutate the putative *N*-glycosylation site at Asn-110 to Gln by a PCR-mediated approach. Subsequently, the mutant MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ was cloned into the pCAMBIA1305.1 and pUbi vectors. Finally, the constructs pCAMBIA:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ and eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ were obtained and expressed in tobacco leaves and rice root protoplasts, respectively. The extracted protein samples from three independent transformations were analyzed by western blot.
Proteolysis analysis {#sec022}
--------------------
Different cDNAs of MgGPP mutants as indicated were amplified and cloned into the pUbi vector. In addition, MgGPP^Δsp^ and MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ were cloned into WAK2ss:HDEL to generate the WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp^:HDEL and WAK2ss:eGFP:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^:HDEL constructs. All of the splicing- and mutagenesis-generated MgGPP mutants in this work were obtained by PCR-driven overlap extension \[[@ppat.1006301.ref063]\]. These mutant constructs were expressed in rice root protoplasts and examined under a Nikon ECLIPSE Ni microscope. The extracted protein samples from three independent transformations were analyzed by western blot.
Infection assay {#sec023}
---------------
Twelve-day-old rice plants were inoculated with 200 *M*. *graminicola* pre-J2s. At 12 dpi, the roots were collected, washed and stained by acid fuchsin, and the number of females was counted. Each experiment was performed three times. Statistically significant differences between treatments were determined by an unadjusted paired t-test (P\<0.05) with SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, North Carolina, USA).
Cell death assay {#sec024}
----------------
*N*. *benthamiana* plants were grown at 23°C for 4 weeks in 16 h light: 8 h dark conditions in a greenhouse. All mutant sequences of MgGPP were cloned into the pCAMBIA1305.1 vector to generate the pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp^, pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ and pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ fusion constructs. The Gpa2, RBP--1, INF1 and GrCEP12 sequences were synthesized by Generay Biotech Co., Ltd. and cloned into pCAMBIA1305.1 to generate the expression constructs pCAMBIA1305:GrCEP12, pCAMBIA1305:Gpa2, pCAMBIA1305:INF1:HA and pCAMBIA1305:RBP-1:HA. The other elicitor of programmed cell death, the pCAMBIA1305:Bax construct, was generated as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009]\]. All constructs were introduced into *A*. *tumefaciens* GV3101, and the transformed bacteria were then suspended in a buffer containing 10 mM 2-(N-morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid (MES) (pH 5.5) and 200 μM acetosyringone at an absorbance at 600 nm (OD600) of 0.3. *A*. *tumefaciens* cells carrying the constructs pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp^, pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^ and pCAMBIA:flag:MgGPP^Δsp-N110Q^ were infiltrated into *N*. *benthamiana* leaves as described previously \[[@ppat.1006301.ref009],[@ppat.1006301.ref012]\]. After 24 h, the same infiltration sites were injected with *A*. *tumefaciens* cells carrying the constructs pCAMBIA1305:Gpa2/pCAMBIA1305:RBP-1:HA, pCAMBIA1305:Bax and pCAMBIA1305:INF1:HA. As controls, the buffer and *A*. *tumefaciens* carrying the empty vector pCAMBIA1305 and pCAMBIA1305:GrCEP12 were separately infiltrated in parallel. Photographs were taken for symptom analysis 5 days after the last infiltration. The cell-death phenotype was scored by a necrosis index \[[@ppat.1006301.ref064]\].
To confirm gene expression, western blotting and RT-PCR were performed. Western blot analysis was performed as described above. RT-PCRs were performed using the gene-specific primers MgGPP-F/MgGPP-R, Bax-F/Bax-R, RBP-1-F/RBP-1-R, Gpa2-F/Gpa2-R, INF1-F/INF1-R and *NbEF1*α-F/*NbEF1*α-R to amplify MgGPP, Gpa2, RBP-1, INF1 and the control *NbEF1*α \[[@ppat.1006301.ref065]\], respectively.
Supporting information {#sec025}
======================
###### Primers used in this study.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Sequence analysis of *MgGPP*.
\(A\) The DNA sequence of *MgGPP*. The predicted start codon and stop codon are in red; the two introns are presented in italic and lower-case letters; and the untranslated regions are bold. (B) Putative amino acid sequence of MgGPP. The predicted signal peptide is underlined; a putative SV40-like NLS domain is boxed; and a predicted *N*-glycosylation site is in red.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Southern blot analysis of *MgGPP*.
*MgGPP* is a single copy gene in the *Meloidogyne graminicola* genome. Genomic DNA of *M*. *graminicola* was digested with *HindIII* and *SphI* and probed with a digoxigenin-labeled 300-bp fragment of *MgGPP* DNA.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Purification of recombinant MgGPP and anti-MgGPP serum specifically reacts with MgGPP.
\(A\) Purification of recombinant pET32a-MgGPP. SDS-PAGE (12%) analysis of the recombinant MgGPP protein (red box) stained with Coomassie brilliant blue; 1--2, binding buffer; 3--5, wash buffer; 6, elute buffer. M, the protein standard molecular weight. (B) Western blot analysis of total proteins (10 μg) from pre-J2s and healthy rice roots (RIT) with pre-immune serum (left) or anti-MgGPP serum (right).
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Immunodetection of the MgGPP protein in sectioned rice galls.
(A-D) Galls containing a nematode at 5 days postinfection (dpi) incubated with pre-immune serum, showing no signal. (E-H) Galls containing a nematode at 5 dpi without any treatment, showing no signal. (I-L) Healthy rice roots incubated with anti-MgGPP serum, showing no signal. Micrographs A, E and I are observations of the Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated secondary antibody. Micrographs B, F and J are images of 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-stained nuclei. Micrographs C, G and K are images of differential interference contrast. Micrographs D, H and L are superpositions of images of the Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated secondary antibody, DAPI-stained nuclei and differential interference contrast. N, nematode; H, the head of nematode; asterisks, giant cells; Scale bars, 20 μm.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Southern blot analysis of transgenic rice lines and RT-PCR confirmation of transgenic lines.
\(A\) and (C) Total gDNA was extracted from rice roots of overexpression and RNAi lines and wild-type (WT) controls. The genomic DNA was digested with the restriction endonuclease *Hind*III and then hybridized on blots with an *MgGPP* digoxigenin (DIC)-labeled probe, showing single-copy transgenic lines (red arrows). (B) and (D) RT-PCR was used to confirm the expression of MgGPP and the GUS intron in transgenic overexpression lines and RNAi lines compared with the WT control. OE-4, 5, 6, 9 and 39, five transgenic rice lines expressing *MgGPP*; P, positive control; WT, wild type. RNAi 6, 15, 25 and 26, different transgenic RNAi rice lines. M, standard molecular weight.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Suppression of Bax- and INF1-triggered cell death by MgGPP.
\(A\) Assay of the suppression of Bax- and INF1**-**triggered cell death in *Nicotiana benthamiana* by MgGPP. *N*. *benthamiana* leaves were infiltrated with buffer or *Agrobacterium tumefaciens* cells carrying MgGPP^Δsp^, MgGPP^Δsp_Δ123--224^, MgGPP^Δsp_N110Q^ and the flag control gene alone or followed 24 h later with *A*. *tumefaciens* cells carrying the Bax or INF1 genes. The cell death phenotype was scored, and photographs were taken 5 days after the last infiltration. (B) The average areas of cell death of in leaves infiltrated with cells carrying MgGPP and other proteins followed by Bax or INF1. Statistical significance of the necrosis index of MgGPP and other proteins compared with that of the negative control flag. Each column represents the mean with standard deviation (n = 55). \*P\<0.05, \*\*P\<0.01, Student's t test.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### The scheme of the constructs used in rice transformation.
\(A\) The CaMV35S-promotor of pCAMBIA1305.1 vector was replaced with the maize ubiquitin promoter to generate the binary vector pUbi. (B) Schematic of the full-length *MgGPP* construct. (C) Constructs generated for *MgGPP* overexpression (OE) and (D) host-induced RNA interference (RNAi).
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
We acknowledge Professor Heng Jian (China Agricultural University, China) for the plasmid encoding Bax and Dr. Dagang Jiang (South China Agricultural University) for rice materials (*Oryza sativa* cv. 'Nipponbare').
[^1]: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: **Conceptualization:** JL KZ JC BL.**Data curation:** KZ JC BL.**Formal analysis:** JC KZ JL.**Funding acquisition:** JL KZ.**Investigation:** JC QH LH.**Methodology:** JC BL KZ JL.**Resources:** JL KZ.**Supervision:** JL.**Validation:** JC QH.**Writing -- original draft:** KZ JC BL.**Writing -- review & editing:** JL KZ JC.
|
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ahmed Ali on his daughter Shamima Begum: "She has done wrong, whether or not she realised it"
Shamima Begum's father has apologised to the British public for his daughter's decision to join the Islamic State group (IS).
Ahmed Ali said Ms Begum, who travelled from London to Syria aged 15, had "done wrong, whether or not she realised it".
Mr Ali spoke to the BBC in a village in north-eastern Bangladesh before he found out Ms Begum's baby son had died.
He said the UK should allow his daughter to return home, where she could face prosecution.
Ms Begum had her British citizenship revoked by the home secretary after she asked to return.
Ms Begum - who left the UK in 2015 - was nine months pregnant and living in a Syrian refugee camp when the Times newspaper found her in February.
She said she did not regret joining IS, but that she felt the "caliphate" was at an end.
Shortly after the birth of her son, Jarrah, she told the BBC she wished her child to be raised in the UK.
But Jarrah died of pneumonia on Thursday, according to a medical certificate. He was less than three weeks old.
As Jarrah was born before Ms Begum was deprived of UK citizenship by the Home Office, he was considered British.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shamima Begum told the BBC she never sought to be an IS "poster girl"
Referring to Ms Begum, Mr Ali told the BBC: "She has done wrong, I apologise to everyone as her father, to the British people.
"I am sorry for Shamima's doing. I request to the British people, please forgive her."
Mr Ali, 60, pointed out his daughter was a child when she travelled to Syria.
"She was under age at that time, she couldn't understand that much. I suppose someone influenced her to do that," he said.
"I admit that she has done wrong, whether or not she realised it."
He urged the British government and public to "take her back and punish her if she had done any mistake".
Asked whether he knew Ms Begum was being radicalised, he said he had "no idea".
In recent years he had lived mainly in Bangladesh, he said, visiting London for periods of between two and four weeks.
"I do not stay there more than that. I do not know much about her [lately]," he said.
"The time I stayed with Shamima, I never felt any such behaviour of going to Syria or joining IS."
'A different world'
By BBC News reporter Ethirajan Anbarasan - who interviewed Ahmed Ali
Mr Ali was looking frail, anxious and worried. He was surprised to hear that we had come all the way from London to talk to him.
He preferred to speak in his native Bengali language than English and he sounded very worried about his daughter's future. He couldn't explain how she got radicalised. But at the same time he also questioned how British immigration allowed her to travel on someone else's passport.
Living far away from the media gaze, Mr Ali seems to be living a quiet life with his second wife in Dawrai, a picturesque village in the district of Sunamganj.
His house was surrounded by coconut and mango trees and lush green paddy fields. A single track road, most of it potholed dirt track, leads to the village. Chickens and other birds were chirping all the time.
For Mr Ali, it must be a different world compared to his other home in noisy east London.
The home secretary has been criticised for refusing to allow Ms Begum to return to the UK with her child.
Ms Begum's sister, Renu, wrote to him two weeks ago on behalf of the family challenging the decision to strip her of her citizenship - which she described as "her only hope at rehabilitation".
Ms Begum blamed inhospitable conditions in Syria for the deaths of two of her previous children.
In three months, more than 100 people have died on the way, or soon after, arriving at the camp, with two-thirds of those dying aged under five. |
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, on Thursday questioned President Trump’s decision to withdraw a contingent of U.S. forces from northern Syria that opened the door to sweeping Turkish invasion, calling the president’s move “weak.”
“It’s really a sad state now and I don’t understand why a president who claims he’s the toughest president ever would do such a weak move like this,” the Illinois Republican said in an interview on CNN. Mr. Kinzinger served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the U.S. Air Force.
Turkey on Wednesday unleashed its military forces across the Syrian border on U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces, drawing near-global condemnation and sparking chaos as civilians ran for cover amid air and artillery strikes that are likely to be just the first wave of a lengthy, bloody assault.
Mr. Trump on Sunday announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces who have been assisting American-backed Kurdish-led fighters in a key buffer zone along the Turkey-Syria border.
“I guarantee those 50 American advisers were all teary eyed when they walked away from those people they trained and fought with,” Mr. Kinzinger said.
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Among the many anecdotes about Steve Jobs included in Ken Segall's new book, Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success, one in particular stands out for its glimpse into Jobs' character, providing evidence of his willingness to engage in playful ideas when the mood suited him. The story takes place relatively soon after the launch of the original iMac, with Jobs wanting to find a high-profile way to celebrate the sale of the millionth one to mark Apple's comeback from the dead.
Steve's idea was to do a Willy Wonka with it. Just as Wonka did in the movie, Steve wanted to put a golden certificate representing the millionth iMac inside the box of one iMac, and publicize that fact. Whoever opened the lucky iMac box would be refunded the purchase price and be flown to Cupertino, where he or she (and, presumably, the accompanying family) would be taken on a tour of the Apple campus. Steve had already instructed his internal creative group to design a prototype golden certificate, which he shared with us. But the killer was that Steve wanted to go all out on this. He wanted to meet the lucky winner in full Willy Wonka garb. Yes, complete with top hat and tails.
Those in the room with Jobs were amused by his excitement over the idea, but less than enthusiastic about seeing it come to fruition. Fortunately for those looking for a way out of it, California law required that all such sweepstake contests allow entry without requiring a purchase. Given that people would then be able to enter the contest without purchasing an iMac and there in fact being a very good chance that the winner wouldn't be an iMac owner or even an Apple fan, Jobs' pet idea for a Willy Wonka-themed prize was cast aside. |
1. Introduction {#sec1-nanomaterials-09-00180}
===============
For decades, significant attention has been paid to the suppression of Fresnel reflection at two-media interfaces for optical applications such as high-performance solar cells, photoelectric detectors, superluminescent diodes and laser optics \[[@B1-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B2-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B3-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B4-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. Diffractive optical elements (DOEs), which are widely used in many transmission configurations, are also limited by Fresnel reflection. As typical DOEs, diffraction gratings are fundamental optical elements which have wide applications in many devices and measurements, such as refractive index measurement \[[@B5-nanomaterials-09-00180]\] and other measurements with a digital holography approach \[[@B6-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B7-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B8-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], where the antireflective properties of the grating would be crucial as they may affect the measurement. Particularly, in high-power laser systems, small Fresnel reflection could cause very large amounts of energy loss. For instance, beam-sampling grating used for diagnostic purposes in the SG series high-power laser facility in China could cause nearly a 4% loss of energy delivered to the fusion target due to Fresnel reflection of the grating surface. Therefore, Fresnel reflection-free optical interfaces are very desirable for DOEs used in high-power laser systems. Over the past years, various antireflection technologies have been developed, which can be divided into two categories; antireflective (AR) coatings with a single-layer film or multi-layer thin-film stacks \[[@B9-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B10-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B11-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B12-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B13-nanomaterials-09-00180]\] and AR subwavelength structures (SWSs) with graded refractive index profiles \[[@B14-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B15-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B16-nanomaterials-09-00180]\].
AR coating is currently the main approach to suppress Fresnel reflection for DOEs \[[@B9-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B17-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B18-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B19-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B20-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B21-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B22-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. However, inherent limitations of the coating associated with laser-induced damage, absorption-induced contamination, thermal expansion mismatch, and bad mechanical stability always exist for such flat surfaces \[[@B23-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B24-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. To obtain broadband antireflection, multi-layer films with specific refractive indexes and thicknesses are required, which largely increases the complexity and difficulty of the fabrication process \[[@B18-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. In addition, it becomes even more difficult when applying film coating to a grating surface with small grooves and ridges \[[@B18-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B19-nanomaterials-09-00180]\].
Antireflective SWSs, which are widely applied on flat surfaces \[[@B14-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B15-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B16-nanomaterials-09-00180]\] and even curved surfaces \[[@B25-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B26-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], are another way to suppress Fresnel reflection for DOEs. Since no foreign materials are introduced, this method has remarkable advantages, including a simple fabrication process, good mechanical and environmental durability, high laser-damage resistance, etc. \[[@B15-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B27-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. Excellent work has also been done on fabricating SWSs on microstructured arrays to produce biomimetic multifunctional hierarchical nano/micro structures \[[@B28-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B29-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B30-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. However, few reports are available on fabricating SWSs on diffractive grating surfaces. Order-arranged nanospheres have been utilized to fabricate SWSs on a silicon grating surface \[[@B31-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. Although nearly zero reflection loss was achieved, multiple complicated and time-consuming procedures were contained in the fabrication process. More recently, a simpler method, using reactive ion etching (RIE), was adopted to create random antireflective SWSs on both flat and grating surfaces of fused silica \[[@B32-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. However, the mask fabrication procedure was still tedious. Additionally, noble metals, such as Au, used for fabricating masks make this technique costly. The self-masking RIE technique, which can create random masks through by-product fluorocarbon during the etching \[[@B16-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], is a promising candidate for fabricating SWSs on grating surfaces. While this approach has been applied efficiently on flat surfaces \[[@B15-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B16-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], research has been done on the implementation of this technique to grating surfaces \[[@B33-nanomaterials-09-00180]\]. Particularly, no study has reported on the effects of SWSs fabricated by this approach on the antireflection and diffraction properties of the grating.
In this work, we adopt a simple, low-cost, one-step self-masking RIE technique to fabricate SWSs on fused-silica transmission gratings. Compared to the published methods that fabricate SWSs on diffraction gratings \[[@B31-nanomaterials-09-00180],[@B32-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], the present approach is much simpler and cheaper to implement. The antireflection performance of the fabricated SWSs and its influence on the grating's transmission are investigated experimentally and numerically.
2. Results and Discussion {#sec2-nanomaterials-09-00180}
=========================
Since the preparation of beam-sampling grating is high-cost and time-consuming, gratings that also have a micro-ridge structure with the size of a few micrometers were used as models to implement the study. The bare gratings were homemade using optical lithography on fused silica substrates with the size of 20 mm × 20 mm × 1 mm. The bare grating had trapezoidal ridges and grooves with a period of 3 μm and a depth of 250 nm, as shown in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}a,b. The duty cycle, which is defined as the ratio of half ridge-width over period, was about 0.55. Before fabricating the SWSs, the bare gratings were cleaned with Micro-90 (a kind of alkalescent cleaning agent). Gas reactants, used for implementing the self-masking RIE, were trifluoromethane (CHF~3~), sulfur hexafluoride (SF~6~), and helium (He). In the etching process, by-product fluorocarbon can be deposited on the grating surface and work as random masks. After 20 minute etching, SWSs were successfully fabricated on the grating surface.
The morphologies of the nanostructured grating observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) are presented in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}c--e. It can be clearly seen that the grating ridges and grooves were covered with random nanostructures and the ridge-groove profile of the nanostructured grating is unchanged (see the white dotted lines in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}d). Because of the "negative" lateral etching, the duty cycle of the nanostructured grating increases to 0.65. On the ridges and grooves of the nanostructured grating, the randomly-distributed nanostructures have the same appearance of cone-shaped pillars. The SEM image in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}e shows the nanopillars with higher magnification. The cone-shaped nanopillars have an average height of around 300 nm and bottom width of around 200 nm.
To show the antireflection effects of the SWSs, the total reflection and transmission efficiencies of the grating before and after the etching were measured respectively, as shown in [Figure 2](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f002){ref-type="fig"}. The incident light was injected from the grating's back side at normal incidence. It is obvious that the gratings with SWSs exhibit excellent antireflection performance over a wide optical bandwidth. At a waveband ranging from 350 nm to 1100 nm, the reflection efficiency of the bare grating was about 8% while the transmission efficiency was about 92%. After the SWSs were fabricated on the grating surface, the reflection efficiency decreased to about 5% while the transmission efficiency increased to about 95%.
For each individual diffraction order, the reflection and transmission efficiencies of the grating are presented in [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}. The data were obtained using a homemade optical setup, where the incident light with a wavelength of 532 nm was injected from the grating's back side and a polarized beam splitter (PBS) was used to control the incident polarization (TE or TM). Meanwhile, the numerical calculation of the reflection and transmission efficiencies of the bare/nanostructured grating are also included in [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}, which were based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In the FDTD simulations, the bare grating has the same geometrical parameters as those in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}b, and the nanostructured grating had a new duty cycle of 0.65 and randomly-distributed nanocones with a height of 300 nm and bottom width of 200 nm. The refractive indexes of air and fused silica were set to be 1 and 1.46 respectively. More details about the experiments and simulations are given in the [Supplementary Materials](#app1-nanomaterials-09-00180){ref-type="app"}, where the experimental setup and FDTD model are illustrated in [Figures S1 and S2](#app1-nanomaterials-09-00180){ref-type="app"} respectively.
It is obvious from [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"} that the simulated results agree well with the experimental ones. Compared to the bare grating, all the reflection--diffraction orders of the nanostructured grating were remarkably suppressed. Particularly, the reflection efficiencies of the ±1st orders were suppressed to nearly zero for all incident angles. Nearly no reflection--diffraction orders of the nanostructured grating could be observed except for the 0th order, which can be inferred from the fact that the total reflection efficiency was the same to that of the 0th order (see the coincidence of the solid black and solid red lines in [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}a). Moreover, the light intensity of the 0th order came from the Fresnel reflection of the grating's back side (i.e., the incident interface), not from the grating surface. It makes us believe that the reflection from the grating surface has been suppressed to zero after the SWSs were fabricated on the grating surface, only leaving the reflection from the grating's back side. More clear understanding can be obtained by comparing the reflection efficiency of a single air--silica interface calculated by FDTD simulations and the total reflection efficiency of all the reflection--diffraction orders of the nanostructured grating obtained in experiments, as shown in [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}c. The two items turn out to be exactly the same as each other, which proves the inference of the complete elimination of reflection from the grating surface with SWSs. According to effective medium theory, we believe that the total suppression of Fresnel reflection from the grating surface is attributed to the gradual change of the effective refractive index between the fused silica substrate and air, which is provided by the cone-shaped nanopillars of the SWSs. For the way in which effective medium theory was adopted herein, please refer to the [Appendix A](#app2-nanomaterials-09-00180){ref-type="app"} at the end of this paper.
Since the reflection of the grating was suppressed through the introduction of the SWSs layer, the transmission was consequently improved, as [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}b shows. However, the increase of the total transmission efficiency (\~3%) was smaller than the decrease of the total reflection efficiency (\~8%). Especially, at some large incident angles with TM polarization, the total transmission through the nanostructured gating was even somewhat lower than that of the bare grating. This discrepancy can be more clearly observed in [Figure 4](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f004){ref-type="fig"}a, which gives the sum of the total reflection and total transmission (*R*~t~ + *T*~t~) of the grating with and without SWSs at a wavelength of 532 nm. We speculated that the decrease of *R*~t~ + *T*~t~ was probably due to the scattering of light on the disordered SWSs since the size and period of the SWSs in this study were not much smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. Based on this speculation, we believed that the decline of *R*~t~ + *T*~t~ would become weak when the light wavelength was increased. To verify it, the reflection and transmission of the same grating at a larger wavelength were measured with the same experimental setup. In this measurement, a 632.8 nm incident light was used. As shown in [Figure 4](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f004){ref-type="fig"}b, as the wavelength increased from 532 nm to 632.8 nm, the decrease of *R*~t~ + *T*~t~ is much weaker than that at the wavelength of 532 nm, which verified our speculation above. So, the scattering of light can be further suppressed or even totally avoided with smaller nanostructures and longer working wavelengths, leading to further transmission improvement of the nanostructured interface.
From the efficiencies of each transmission--diffraction order in [Figure 3](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003){ref-type="fig"}b, we also noticed that the transmission efficiency of the 0th order increased significantly while the efficiencies of the ±1st orders decreased a little compared to the bare grating. This is likely attributed to the change of the grating's duty cycle due to RIE treatment, which can be identified by comparing [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}c with [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}a and [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}d with [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"}b. In fact, the duty cycle of the grating increased from 0.55 to 0.65 after the SWSs were fabricated on the grating surface. This result suggests that the etching was not unidirectional and had "negative" lateral etching. This is because the oblique trapezoidal lateral walls made the etching velocity vector oblique. So, the variations of etching rate depending on the topography should be taken into consideration when applying self-masking RIE on the non-flat surface for fabricating antireflective SWSs.
Another interesting phenomenon can be identified from [Figure 4](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f004){ref-type="fig"}a,b. The gap between the *R*~t~ + *T*~t~ curves of the bare grating and nanostructured grating was more evident for the TM-polarized incidence. The schematic shown in [Figure 5](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f005){ref-type="fig"} can be used to explain this phenomenon. For an arbitrary TE-polarized light wave passing through the SWS layer, the electric field is always perpendicular to the cone-shaped pillars. However, for an arbitrary TM-polarized light wave, the field can be decomposed into two components, one perpendicular to the nanopillars and the other parallel to them. Therefore, the interaction of the TM-polarized light wave with the SWSs was stronger than that of the TE-polarized light wave, resulting in a stronger scattering for the TM-polarized light.
3. Conclusions {#sec3-nanomaterials-09-00180}
==============
In summary, we have proposed and demonstrated the applicability of self-masking RIE to fabricate antireflective SWSs on fused silica transmission grating surfaces. Random cone-shaped nanopillars with an average height of 300 nm and bottom width of 200 nm were successfully fabricated on the grating surfaces. The SWSs exhibited excellent antireflection performance, where the reflectance from the grating surface was suppressed to zero over a wide range of incident angles. Although the light scattering on the disordered SWSs caused some losses, which can be avoided with smaller nanostructures and longer working wavelengths, the obtained transmission improvement was impressive. We also revealed that the duty cycle of the grating might change during RIE treatment in the case of oblique lateral walls in the grooves, which could lead to alterations of the diffraction orders. This could be utilized to provide more design flexibilities of diffraction gratings. Considering the easy operation, low cost, and effectiveness of the one-step self-masking RIE technique, it can be a promising way to fabricate antireflective SWSs on transmission--diffraction optic elements.
The authors would like to thank Fengrui Wang, Handing Xia and Qinghua Deng for assistance and helpful discussions for the execution of the experiments.
The following are available online at <http://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/9/2/180/s1>, Figure S1: Schematic of the experimental setup for the measurement of the reflection and transmission efficiency with each individual diffraction order, Figure S2: Finite-difference time-domain model for nanostructured grating. (a) x--z view (vertical view); (b) 3D simulation model.
######
Click here for additional data file.
Conceptualization, X.Y.; methodology, T.S. and F.T.; validation, T.S.; formal analysis, T.S. and F.T.; investigation, T.S.; resources, X.Y., W.Z. and L.Y.; writing---original draft preparation, T.S.; writing---review and editing, L.S.; supervision, X.Y. and J.H.; project administration, X.Y. and T.S.; funding acquisition, T.S., X.Y. and L.S.
This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61705204, No. 61705206 and No. 61805221), Laser Fusion Research Center Funds for Young Talents (No. LFRC-CZ028) and Science and Technology on Plasma Physics Laboratory (2018).
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Based on effective medium theory \[[@B34-nanomaterials-09-00180]\], the effective index for normal incidence can be expressed as: where *n*~eff~, *n*~air~, and *n*~silica~ are the effective, air and silica refractive indices respectively, and *f* is the nanostructure filling factor. Equation (A1) is accurate when the nanostructure size is much smaller than the wavelength, i.e., SWS. The SWSs shown in [Figure 1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001){ref-type="fig"} have a conical profile. Hence, we can calculate the effective reflective index using the close packed cone array model. We assume that the cone diameter and height are 200 nm 300 nm respectively according to the SEM images. By dividing the cone into 300 horizontal layers and calculating *f* for each layer, the variation of effective reflective index *n*~eff~ versus the cone height *H* from the substrate to the air can be obtained as [Figure A1](#nanomaterials-09-00180-f0A1){ref-type="fig"} shows, which indicates a gradual change of the effective refractive index between fused silica substrate and air.
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f0A1}
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f001}
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f002}
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f003}
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f004}
{#nanomaterials-09-00180-f005}
|
[Generation of monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against human luteinizing hormone (hLH) in a methylcellulose semi-solid medium].
McAbs against hLH were generated by a facile hybridoma technique according to the methods of Davis and Lee, et al. After routine immunization and cell fusion, the cells were plated in a semi-solid medium containing methylcellulose and HAT. Five to seven days later, visible clones were removed for subculture in DMEM liquid medium containing 15% FCS and then screened by ELISA. As a result, 12 hybrid cell lines secreting McAbs to the LH-B subunit were obtained. These Abs have been used in clinical diagnostic and immunohistochemical work, showing good results. The advantages of the semi-solid medium in preparing McAbs are discussed. |
Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is running for an open congressional seat in Georgia, is calling for a special prosecutor to “investigate Russian interference” following President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.
“Comey’s firing raises severe questions. There should be bipartisan support for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference,” Ossoff wrote on Twitter Tuesday night.
Comey’s firing raises severe questions. There should be bipartisan support for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference. — Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) May 10, 2017
Other lawmakers have called for a special prosecutor or independent commission to investigate any ties between Trump’s campaign staff and Russia in the wake of Comey’s firing. Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashOn The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president History is on Edward Snowden's side: Now it's time to give him a full pardon Trump says he's considering Snowden pardon MORE (R-Mich.) on Tuesday said his staff is “reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia.”
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Trump on Tuesday fired Comey, saying in a letter that it was time for “a new beginning” at the FBI.
Both Republicans and Democrats were outraged by the firing of Comey, who had been leading the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia.
Democrats see the race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District as a referendum on Trump’s presidency.
Ossoff, who is running for the seat vacated by Health and Human Service Secretary Tom Price in a historically red district, will face Republican Karen Handel in a runoff election on June 20. |
Hello everyone,
Welcome to this week’s community post.
We understand that many of our players on the Xbox One X are experiencing performance issues while playing the game, specifically framerate drops. This week, we wanted to go over some of the things we’re doing to alleviate this issue, as well as an update on War Mode. Let’s dive right in.
Xbox One X Performance
We wanted to let our players know that we are aware of framerate issues on the Xbox One X, and that this is a top priority for us. We understand the frustration that this is causing and we will be deploying a hotfix on September 18 to implement some changes that will help with this issue.
This hotfix will include toning down many of the graphical settings on the Xbox One X.
This includes the following changes:
Shadow Quality (Both Dynamic/Static) lowered
Post Processing Turn off Motion Blur Decrease quality of Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) Turn off Depth of Field Turn off Lens Flare Decrease Eyes Adaption Quality This is the time it takes for your eyes to adapt to the dark when you go from a bright to dark place.
Effects Turn off Screen Space Reflection (SSR) This is the reflection from windows and such. Turn off Refraction This is refracted light. Turn off Subsurface Scattering (SSS) This is when there is light inside an object to make it look more real. Turn off Particle Light This is dynamic light from different effects such as explosions. Lower the number of particles created
The resolution and textures will remain the same. We wanted to maintain the quality in overall visuals, so to minimize the difference, we only reduced very specific detailed graphics options like shadowing and reflection.
Here are some before and after screenshots of the graphical changes:
Before (1):
After (1):
Before (2):
After (2):
Before (3):
After (3):
We know that there are some Xbox One X players who are not experiencing any framerate problems. However, these graphical changes will affect everyone who plays on the Xbox One X and we apologize for that as we know that this is a downgrade in graphics. This is only a temporary fix, and we wanted to get this out as soon as possible in order to help those experiencing performance issues.
We are also working on a long term solution for Xbox One X that we intend on implementing in the future that will cater to two different audiences: those who prefer better graphics and those who prefer better performance and don’t mind sacrificing some graphical quality. We currently do not have many details to share, but will provide updates on this as soon as we’re able to.
Lastly, we are also investigating issues where scoping, smokes (from smoke grenade, molotov, damaged vehicles) and Close Quarter Combat causes framerate drops. Although there have been patches to optimize framerate, there are instances where these frame drops happen specifically on the X. We are working on a solution to this.
Hotfix September 18
As mentioned above, there is an upcoming hotfix scheduled for September 18. This hotfix will include the Xbox One X graphical changes, a fix for the “Lost Connection to Host” bug, and some additions to the game that are needed to prepare for War Mode.
We also found an issue with the inventory in CUSTOMIZATION in the lobby where the menu is slowed when there are a lot of items. The fix for this will be included with the hotfix.
Hotfix patch notes are coming soon, so stay tuned!
Achievements
As discussed in last week’s community post, we are still investigating an issue with achievements not tracking properly, or not unlocking upon completing requirements.
We have seen that some achievements are unlocking for players with a bit of a delay, while some simply aren’t unlocking at all.
This is being actively discussed with the team at Microsoft, and we hope to have a more concrete update on this soon.
War Mode
We are happy to announce that War Mode will be available on September 21! As previously stated, War Mode will only be available on select weekends in Event Mode.
War Mode will entail a new event with different settings. It is essentially a deathmatch-style game mode where players hunt each other in a static zone. If you are killed, you will respawn in planes that intermittently fly by. Teams get points for knockdowns, kills, and for reviving teammates, and the team that reaches the points goal, or has the highest points when the match timer ends, wins the battle.
War Mode will be available for everyone, at anytime, when the Custom Match feature is released in October.
We’ll have more details to share soon regarding the event mode starting on September 21. We’ll have a full set of rules and details on how to play, so stay tuned for details in the coming days.
Thank you to everyone for your patience while we work through some of the top issues affecting our players in 1.0. We appreciate all of the feedback and reports that we’ve been receiving on our channels as they help us tremendously with our investigations, so please keep it coming!
Thanks,
PUBG Xbox Team |
abandoned – KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western AlaskaSat, 10 Dec 2016 00:42:40 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7http://www.knom.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cropped-KNOM-K-Logo-512px-square-32x32.jpgabandoned – KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
323259285469Planning Commission Pushes for Vacant Building Registry in Nomehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/06/19/planning-commission-pushes-for-vacant-building-registry-in-nome/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/06/19/planning-commission-pushes-for-vacant-building-registry-in-nome/#commentsFri, 19 Jun 2015 22:09:46 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=16890Vacant properties, business "grandfathering," and annexation were among the topics addressed during joint work sessions of the city council and planning commission last week.]]>
Handling vacant properties, grandfathering in a business, and city annexation were just a few of the topics considered during joint work sessions of the Nome City Council and the Planning Commission this week.
Most discussed was the commission’s recommendation to create a registry of vacant properties for the city, alongside a list of maintenance requirements for property owners.
With fully one third of the buildings in Nome vacant, City Planner Eileen Bechtol said dealing with abandoned structures is the number one request from the public after a citywide survey last August.
Building inspector Greg Smith says the registry is also about public safety.
The city needs “maintenance and security requirements in order to protect the public, which we don’t have on the books anywhere,” Smith said.
“And the police are responding more and more to young kids, going into vacant buildings, playing with matches … we got a problem!”
Smith said a vacant property registry would give the city a list of who to contact for any issues that might come up involving abandoned buildings, and also lay out and maintenance regulations and, for example, what a property owner would be responsible after a fire in or near one of the derelict structures. Smith said similar registries have been used successfully in other Alaska communities.
The planning commission’s docket included additional language that and could fill in some gaps in Nome’s city code, Smith said. “It also goes into definitions of junk, debris, how you can leave a lot … stuff we don’t have.”
Council members countered that it’s tricky business to define “junk” or “debris” in a town like Nome. Some said the new rules could be incentives to clean up properties or even leverage favorable property tax rates on structures that aren’t abandoned.
Council member Randy Pomeranz said it’s not so simple.
“We as a community are kind of stuck here, you know, we all want to “new” forward, but got so much old stuff to deal with,”Pomeranz said. “I think [City Clerk] Tom [Moran] has a good idea with some of the incentives to try to get rid of some of the old and get some new, but I think there’s a lot of people that, those are treasures.”
The vacant building registry was just a first step, the start of a conversation, at the meeting; so, too, was similar to talk of strengthening the city’s rules on grandfathering property to comply with the community’s relatively new zoning laws established in 2007.
Finally came a discussion on city annexation. Should the city consider—and dedicated resources toward looking into—the pros and cons of annexing property outside current city limits?
Countless questions were raised about how far out the city would extend: to the Snake River, about seven miles west of central Nome? Or out to Banner Creek, some 35 miles north of town? And just what kind of services—and infrastructure—could the city actually afford to extend to those places?
Council and commission members also asked just how much would those residents further afield have to pay for things like school busses, trash pickup, plumbing, and more.
City Manager Josie Bahnke says the questions are valid, but annexation would also allow residents in those communities outside the city to have a voice in the community.
“A lot of the folks I talk to in the Dexter [and] Banner Creek area, they want to be able to be active in the school board, they want to have a voice at this table, at this podium, to share concerns about whether it’s road maintenance or education or other city services,” Bahnke said.
Council member Louie Green Sr. said those people already “participate” in those community decisions when they pay sales tax.
While much of the planning commission’s work is only considered a preliminary step to any kind of official ordinances or policies, several of the issues—including the vacant lot registry—will officially go before the city council at their meeting on Monday, June 22.
The KNOM news department has recently reported on beautification efforts made by the city of Nome: the “abatement” (or demolition) of a number of abandoned structures. In the small communities we serve, these small civic improvements can make a big difference in town pride and even public safety; on rare occasions, abandoned structures can become major fire hazards. Thanks to your support, we’re able to report on such important quality-of-life improvements in our region.
[hr]
This article is part of the Christmas 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static. |
Keenyn Walker
Keenyn Tyler Walker (born August 12, 1990 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is a professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.
Walker was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 16th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, after attending Judge Memorial Catholic High School but did not sign. Walker was drafted again this time by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 38th round of the 2010 MLB Draft but did not sign. He attended Central Arizona College. Walker was drafted for the third year in a row, by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (47th overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft. Walker started his baseball career in 2011 at the Rookie level with the Great Falls Voyagers and then was promoted to Class A Kannapolis Intimidators. In 2011 combined, Walker hit .257 in 222 at-bats with 8 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 0 HRs, 41 Runs, 24 RBI, 21 BBs, 81 Ks and 21 SBs. In 2012, Walker started the year at Kannapolis but was later promoted to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem Dash. In 2012 combined, Walker hit .267 in 409 at-bats with 22 2Bs, 6 3Bs, 4 HRs, 84 Runs, 55 RBI, 74 BBs, 143 Ks and 56 SBs. Before the 2013 season, Walker was ranked the White Sox #8 prospect. Walker was promoted to Double-A Birmingham Barons before the start of the 2013 season. Walker spent the entire season there and he batted .201 in 462 at bats with 16 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 3 HRs, 77 Runs, 32 RBI, 69 BBs, 153 Ks and 38 SBs.
Walker was released by the White Sox on April 4, 2017.
On February 1, 2018, Walker signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on June 1, 2018.
References
External links
Category:Living people
Category:1990 births
Category:Baseball outfielders
Category:Great Falls Voyagers players
Category:Kannapolis Intimidators players
Category:Winston-Salem Dash players
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Category:Lancaster Barnstormers players |
---
author:
- 'J. Yang'
- 'L.I. Gurvits'
- 'A.P. Lobanov'
- 'S. Frey'
- 'X.-Y. Hong'
date: 'Received ... , 2008; accepted ..., 2008'
title: 'Multi-frequency investigation of the parsec- and kilo-parsec-scale radio structures in high-redshift quasar PKS 1402$+$044'
---
[We investigate the frequency-dependent radio properties of the jet of the luminous high-redshift ($z=3.2$) radio quasar PKS 1402$+$044 (J1405$+$0415) by means of radio interferometric observations.]{} [The observational data were obtained with the VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) at 1.6 and 5 GHz, supplemented by other multi-frequency observations with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA; 2.3, 8.4, and 15 GHz) and the Very Large Array (VLA; 1.4, 5, 15, and 43 GHz). The observations span a period of 7 years.]{} [We find that the luminous high-redshift quasar PKS 1402$+$044 has a pronounced “core-jet” morphology from the parsec to the kilo-parsec scales. The jet shows a steeper spectral index and lower brightness temperature with increasing distance from the jet core. The variation of brightness temperature agrees well with the shock-in-jet model. Assuming that the jet is collimated by the ambient magnetic field, we estimate the mass of the central object as $\sim10^9M_\odot$. The upper limit of the jet proper motion of PKS 1402$+$044 is 0.03 mas yr$^{-1}$ ($\sim3c$) in the east-west direction.]{}
Introduction
============
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) studies of high-redshift quasars at a given observing frequency $\nu_\mathrm{obs}$ can facilitate comparison of their structural properties with those of their lower-redshift counterparts at a higher frequency, $\nu_\mathrm{obs}=\nu_\mathrm{em}/(1+z)$, where $\nu_\mathrm{em}$ is the emitted (rest-frame) frequency and $z$ the redshift of a distant quasar. High-redsfhit quasars provide indispensable input in all kinds of studies of the redshift-dependent properties of extragalactic objects, such as the apparent “angular size – redshift” (“$\theta$ – $z$”, e.g. Gurvits et al. [@gur99]) and “proper motion – redshift” (“$\mu$ – $z$”, e.g. Kellermann et al. [@kel99]) relations.
A statistical study of 151 quasars imaged with VLBI at 5 GHz (Frey et al. [@fre97]) demonstrated an overall trend of a decreasing jet-to-core flux density ratio with increasing redshift, which could be explained by the difference in spectral indices of cores and jets. Furthermore, a majority of radio QSOs at $z>4$ seemed to be even more compact than expected from the direct extrapolation of the properties of quasars at $z<4$ (Paragi et al. [@par99]).
A number of morphological studies of high-redshift objects have been made with the Japanese-led Space VLBI mission VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme). Observations with the VSOP utilised an array consisting of a group of Earth-based radio telescopes and an 8-m space-borne antenna on board the satellite HALCA (Hirabayashi et al. [@hir98]). The orbiting antenna with an apogee of $\sim21\,000$ km and perigee of $\sim560$ km provided milli-arcsecond (mas) and sub-mas resolution at the frequencies of 1.6 and 5 GHz. VSOP observations at 1.6 GHz provided roughly the same angular resolution as Earth-based VLBI observations at 5 GHz. Thus, dual-frequency VSOP observations made it possible to map the distribution of spectral index across the source structure (e.g. Lobanov et al. [@lob06]) and to study frequency-dependent structural properties.
PKS 1402$+$044 (J1405$+$0415) is a flat-spectrum radio source from the Parkes 2.7-GHz Survey. In optics, it is a 19.6-magnitude ($g$ filter) stellar object at a redshift of $z=3.215$. It is a weak X-ray source with count rates of $(5.6\pm1.2)\times10^{-3}$ ct s$^{-1}$, over the band 0.2 – 4 keV in the Einstein IPC survey database (Thompson et al. [@tho98]) and $(1.3\pm0.2)\times10^{-2}$ ct s$^{-1}$ over the band 0.1 – 2.4 keV in the ROSAT observation (Siebert et al. [@sie98]). The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) observations of PKS 1402$+$044 made at 1.6 GHz indicates that there is a secondary component at a separation of $0\farcs8$ at a position angle of $-123^{\circ}$ and a faint extended emission at a distance of $3\farcs3$ at a position angle of $-106^\circ$. VLBI observations at 5 GHz (Gurvits et al. [@gur92]) found that the main component consists of a compact core and a resolved jet extending up to $\sim18$ mas to the west.
The quasar PKS 1402$+$044 represents a relatively rare case of a strong radio source at $z>3$ and therefore a potentially rewarding target for structural studies within a broad range of angular scales. VSOP observations with their record-high angular resolution at 1.6 and 5 GHz facilitate direct comparison of structural properties of PKS 1402$+$044 with its more abundant strong radio quasars at lower redshifts at the same emitting frequency.
In this paper, we present VSOP images at 1.6 and 5 GHz, a 15-GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) image, and Very Large Array (VLA) images at 1.4, 5, 15, and 43 GHz of the quasar PKS 1402$+$044; discuss its spectral properties and brightness temperature variation along the jet; and determine some physical parameters of the core and the jet. Throughout the paper, we define the spectral index $\alpha$ as $S_\nu\propto\nu^{\alpha}$ and adopt the $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model (Riess et al. [@rie04]) with $H_0=75$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, $\Omega_\mathrm{m}=0.3$, and $\Omega_\Lambda=0.7$. In the latter model, the linear scale factor for PKS 1402$+$044 is $\sim7$ pc mas$^{-1}$.
Observations and data reduction
===============================
VSOP experiment
---------------
![The effective ($u$,$v$) coverage of the VSOP observations of PKS 1402$+$044 at 1.6 GHz (bottom) and 5 GHz (top). At each frequency, the inner tracks correspond to the ground-ground baselines, and the outer tracks denote the space-ground baselines. The rectangle in the 5-GHz ($u$, $v$) coverage shows the size of the 1.6-GHz ($u$, $v$) coverage. The space-ground baselines provide $uv$-ranges roughly 2.5 – 3 times longer than ground-ground baselines.[]{data-label="fig1"}](9846fig1.eps "fig:"){width="45.00000%"}\
Using the space-borne radio telescope HALCA and the VLBA, we observed the quasar PKS 1402$+$044 in left hand circular polarization at 5 GHz on 20 January 2001 and at 1.6 GHz on 21 January 2001. The observations lasted for 8 h at 1.6 GHz and 7 h at 5 GHz. The data were recorded using the VLBA tape system with a 32-MHz bandwidth consisting of 2 intermediate frequency (IF) bands and 2-bit sampling, corresponding to the data rate of 128 Mbps. Four tracking stations (Goldstone, Robledo, Tidbinbilla, Green Bank) were used to receive the HALCA downlink data. The HALCA data were recorded for $\sim$5 h at 1.6 GHz and 4.2 h at 5 GHz. The data were correlated at the VLBA correlator in Socorro with 128 spectral channels and an integration time of 4.2 s for the ground-ground baselines, and 2.1 s at 1.6 GHz, 1.0 s at 5 GHz for the space-ground baselines. In the 1.6-GHz observation, the Tidbinbilla station lost 55 minutes of space data and Green Bank lost all the space data (34 minutes) due to a problem with recording. At 5 GHz, the IF 1 data were lost for 40 minutes due to a technical malfunction at the Tidbinbilla station. Except for these problems, fringes were successfully detected on all the space-ground baselines at all times.
*A priori* calibration was applied for both datasets using the Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS; Cotton [@cot95]). After correcting the amplitudes in cross-correlation spectrum using measurements of auto-correlation spectrum and dispersive delay due to the ionosphere from the maps of total electron content, we applied *a priori* amplitude calibration from the antenna gain and system temperature measurements at the Earth-based telescopes. We used the respective nominal values[^1] for HALCA. After inspecting the IF bandpass, the side channels (1 – 5, 105 – 128) in each IF were deleted because of the lower amplitude ($<80\%$) than in the centre channels. This reduced the useful observing bandwidth to 22.75 MHz. Some channels affected by radio frequency interference were flagged, too. We corrected the residual delays and rates using a two-step fringe-fitting. We first fringe-fitted the ground-array data with a solution interval of 2 minutes. Then we applied the solutions to the data, fixed the calibration for ground antennas and determined the calibration solutions of the space antenna using fringe-fitting with a 4-minute interval. After that, we combined all fringe solutions, applied them to the data, averaged all the channels in each IF, and split the multi-source data into single-source data sets. Finally, the data were exported into Difmap (Shepherd et al. [@she94]) and averaged further over 60 s time intervals. The hybrid imaging and self-calibration were done in Difmap. The resulting effective ($u$, $v$) coverages of the VSOP observations are shown in Fig. \[fig1\]. The correlated flux densities as a function of the projected baseline length are displayed in Fig. \[fig2\], top and middle.
VLBA and VLA data
-----------------
The 15-GHz VLBA data presented in this paper are from the VLBA-VSOP support survey by Gurvits et al. (in preparation). The observations were conducted on 5 December 1998 with left-hand circular polarisation, 64-MHz bandwidth and $\sim$50-minute on-source observing time. We also used the 2.3/8.6 GHz visibility data provided by US Naval Observatory (USNO) Radio Reference Frame Image Database (RRFID)[^2]. Those observations used 10 VLBA antennas and some additional geodetic antennas. All the VLA data used in this paper were obtained from the NRAO Data Archive[^3]. The basic parameters of the VLA observations are summarised in Table \[tab1\]. The columns give (1) frequency in GHz, (2) program ID, (3) date as dd/mm/yy, (4) array configuration, (5) antenna numbers, (6) bandwidth in MHz, and (7) total on-source time in seconds. All the VLA observations used 3C 286 as the prime flux density calibrator. After *a priori* calibrations in AIPS, we performed self-calibration, imaging and model-fitting in Difmap.
-------------------- --------- ---------- ------- ------------------ ------- ------
$\nu_\mathrm{obs}$ Program Date Conf. $N_\mathrm{ant}$ BW TOS
(GHz) dd/mm/yy (MHz) (s)
1.4 AH0633 11/03/98 A 23 100 130
4.8 AG0670 09/10/04 A 26 100 2010
15.9 AH0633 11/03/98 A 27 100 170
43.3 AL0618 26/01/04 BC 26 100 1320
-------------------- --------- ---------- ------- ------------------ ------- ------
: VLA observations summary.[]{data-label="tab1"}
Results
=======
\
\
\
Figure \[fig3\] shows all the images of PKS 1402$+$044 of the current study. Their parameters are summarised in Table \[tab2\]. The columns give: (1) frequency in GHz, (2) array and configuration, (3) weighting (NW: natural, UW: uniform), (4-5) size of the synthesised beam in mas, (6) position angle of the major axis in mas, (7) peak brightness in mJy/beam, and (8) image noise level in mJy/beam (1 $\sigma$). From the final fringe-fitted VSOP data set we produced two images: (1) an image with all data included (hereafter VSOP image) and (2) an image using only the ground VLBA data at each frequency. In the imaging process, we scaled the gridding weights inversely with the amplitude errors. The VSOP image fidelity is limited, in particular, by the completeness of the ($u$, $v$) coverage. In our case, the latter is essentially one-dimensional (see Fig. \[fig1\]) that leads to a highly elliptical synthesised beam. However, luckily, the highest angular resolution is achieved along the position angle of $\sim -60^\circ$, very close to that of the inner pc-scale jet. Thus, the space-ground baselines obtained play an important role in imaging the inner pc-scale jet of PKS 1402$+$044.
{width="\textwidth"}
-------------------- -------- ----- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ------------------- -----------------------
$\nu_\mathrm{obs}$ Array Wt. $b_\mathrm{maj}$ $b_\mathrm{min}$ $\theta_\mathrm{pa}$ $S_\mathrm{peak}$ $\sigma_\mathrm{rms}$
(GHz) (mas) (mas) ($^\circ$) (mJy/b) (mJy/b)
1.4 VLA:A NW 1580 1310 7.6 862 0.3
4.8 VLA:A NW 563 404 41.7 919 0.07
15.9 VLA:A NW 156 130 7.8 754 0.3
43.3 VLA:BC UW 419 145 81.2 476 0.3
1.6 VLBA NW 10.50 4.85 1.7 710 0.07
VSOP UW 6.88 1.19 31.7 536 0.3
4.8 VLBA NW 3.93 1.81 $-$4.5 702 0.3
VSOP NW 2.79 0.99 22.3 610 0.3
VSOP UW 1.81 0.17 29.1 261 1.3
15.3 VLBA NW 1.24 0.56 $-$1.7 370 0.3
-------------------- -------- ----- ------------------ ------------------ ---------------------- ------------------- -----------------------
: Parameters of images in Fig. \[fig3\].[]{data-label="tab2"}
We detect a very weak jet emission extending up to $\sim150$ mas ($\sim$1 kpc) in the high dynamic range ($\sim10\,000$) VLBA image at 1.6 GHz show Fig. \[fig3\]e. It represents a typical core-jet morphology. We identify a compact core (component A) and five jet emission regions (components B – F) using circular Gaussian model-fitting in Difmap. The parameters of the models are listed in Table \[tab3\]. The columns give: (1) component identification, (2) total flux density of the component, (3 - 4) radius and position angle of the centre of the component, (5) size of the fitted circular Gaussian model, (6) the smallest detectable size, and (7) brightness temperature in the source frame in K. The error ($1\sigma$) is also listed for all the values. The jet shows a wide section between 20 and 70 mas (140 – 490 pc projected distance). The uniformly-weighted VSOP image shown in Fig. \[fig3\]f has a higher angular resolution (at the expense of considerably higher image noise) and indicates that components E and F are essentially resolved.
The 5-GHz VLBA image in Fig. \[fig3\]g shows a similar structure to the 1.6-GHz VSOP image and the earlier 5-GHz image by Gurvits et al. ([@gur92]). The naturally-weighted VSOP image at 5 GHz shows that the jet components at 1.6 GHz are resolved into a few subcomponents. Here we have differentiated them with postfix number in the uniformly-weighted space-ground image (Fig. \[fig3\]j). In this image, the jet appears to be heavily resolved. The core shows a three-component morphology. A weak component marked as A1 appears at the base of the jet and near the brightest component A2. The weakness of component A1 may be due to synchrotron self-absorption considering its high brightness temperature ($\sim 10^{12}$ K). There are two relatively weak jet components, B1 and B2, at 1.6 and 5 GHz between the bright components A and C. At the higher frequency, 15 GHz, both components are too weak ($<0.9$ mJy/beam) to be detected. Based on the spectrum at frequencies $\leq5$ GHz, the extrapolated total flux density of B1$+$B2 is $\sim5$ mJy at 15 GHz. The nondetection of the two components indicates that they have a steeper spectrum ($\alpha<-0.9$) at frequencies $>5$ GHz.
The 1.4-GHz VLA image (Fig. \[fig3\]a) has the lowest resolution and shows that there is a weak ($\sim33$ mJy) component (H) at a distance of $3\farcs22$ and a position angle $-107\fdg4$ from the core, besides the main emission region. It agrees well with earlier MERLIN observations made with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT; Gurvits et al. [@gur92]). The higher sensitivity (0.07 mJy/beam) VLA observations (Fig. \[fig3\]b) at 5 GHz indicate that component H has a weak extension toward east. The extension is consistent with the hypothesis that component H belongs to the jet of PKS 1402$+$044. The main emission region can be approximated by component G and a combination of the inner components (A – F) in the VLA images. Component G is also detected at 15 GHz in Fig. \[fig3\]c and even 43 GHz in Fig. \[fig3\]d. The highest observing frequency corresponds to the rest-frame emitted frequency of $\sim180$ GHz. Arguably, this is one of the rare cases of a profound jet emission at millimetre wavelengths.
[rrrrrrl]{} Comp. &$S_\mathrm{int}~~~~$& $r$ &$\theta_\mathrm{pa}$ & $d$ &$d_\mathrm{lim}$& $T_\mathrm{b}$\
& (mJy) & (mas) &($^\circ$) & (mas) & (mas) & (K)\
\
A-F & $795\pm28$ & 0 & – – – &$83\pm\ \ \ \ 2$& 34 & $(4.2\pm0.3)\times10^8$\
G & $131\pm12$ & $701\pm10$ & $-124.5\pm0.8$ &$261\pm\ \ 21$ & 84 & $(6.9\pm1.3)\times10^6$\
H & $ 33\pm\ \ 8$& $3218\pm83$ & $-107.4\pm1.5$ & $691\pm165$ & 167 & $(2.5\pm1.4)\times10^5$\
\
A-F & $922\pm33$ & 0 & – – – &$31\pm\ \ \ \ 1$& 11 & $(1.0\pm0.1)\times10^9$\
G & $ 47\pm10$ & $ 706\pm25$ & $-125.3\pm2.0$ & $243\pm\ \ 50$& 51 & $(8.3\pm3.8)\times10^5$\
H & $ 4\pm\ \ 2$& $3324\pm68$ & $-106.1\pm1.2$ & $430\pm136$ & 98 & $(2.5\pm1.8)\times10^4$\
\
A-F & $756\pm35$ & 0 & – – – & $7\pm\ 0.5$ & 4 & $(5.7\pm0.5)\times10^9$\
G & $ 15\pm\ \ 5$& $704\pm48$ & $-126.6\pm3.9$ & $282\pm\ \ 96$& 25 & $(6.5\pm5.0)\times10^4$\
\
A-F & $477\pm17$ & 0 & – – – & $4\pm\ 0.2$ & 12 & $(3.0\pm0.2)\times10^9$\
G & $ 6\pm\ \ 2$& $698\pm52$ & $-127.8\pm4.3$ & $277\pm103$ & 109 & $(8.6\pm7.4)\times10^3$\
\
A & $713\pm38$ & 0 & – – – &$ 0.77\pm0.03$ & 0.25 & $(3.8\pm0.4)\times10^{12} $\
B & $ 35\pm\ \ 8$& $4.88\pm0.11$ & $-43.7\pm1.3$ &$ 1.20\pm0.23$ & 0.96 & $(7.5\pm3.3)\times10^{10} $\
C & $ 98\pm12$ & $8.81\pm0.12$ & $-50.2\pm0.8$ &$ 2.70\pm0.24$ & 0.57 & $(4.2\pm0.9)\times10^{10} $\
D & $ 68\pm10$ & $12.32\pm0.23$ & $-79.8\pm1.1$ &$ 3.92\pm0.47$ & 0.68 & $(1.4\pm0.4)\times10^{10} $\
E & $ 13\pm\ \ 6$& $19.32\pm2.07$ & $-84.6\pm6.1$ &$ 9.14\pm4.14$ & 1.60 & $(4.7\pm4.6)\times10^8 $\
F & $ 14\pm\ \ 8$& $55.32\pm5.58$ & $-94.2\pm5.8$ &$20.82\pm11.2$ & 1.50 & $(1.0\pm0.9)\times10^8 $\
\
A1 & $134\pm12$ & 0 & – – – & $0.18\pm0.01$ & 0.10 & $(4.4\pm0.8)\times10^{12} $\
A2 & $454\pm21$ & $ 0.49\pm0.01$ & $-25.6\pm0.9$ & $0.29\pm0.01$ & 0.05 & $(5.7\pm0.5)\times10^{12} $\
A3 & $144\pm12$ & $ 1.10\pm0.01$ & $-29.1\pm0.8$ & $0.41\pm0.03$ & 0.09 & $(8.9\pm1.4)\times10^{11} $\
B1 & $ 10\pm\ \ 4$& $ 4.58\pm0.11$ & $-37.4\pm1.4$ & $0.66\pm0.22$ & 0.35 & $(2.5\pm1.9)\times10^{10} $\
B2 & $ 4\pm\ \ 2$& $ 6.65\pm0.15$ & $-41.7\pm1.3$ & $0.66\pm0.29$ & 0.57 & $(9.7\pm9.5)\times10^9 $\
C1 & $ 52\pm\ \ 9$& $ 9.12\pm0.13$ & $-46.4\pm0.8$ & $1.64\pm0.26$ & 0.15 & $(2.0\pm0.8)\times10^{10} $\
C2 & $ 14\pm\ \ 5$& $10.78\pm0.37$ & $-54.1\pm2.0$ & $2.21\pm0.73$ & 0.30 & $(3.1\pm2.3)\times10^9 $\
D1 & $ 8\pm\ \ 3$& $10.11\pm0.35$ & $-73.4\pm2.0$ & $1.84\pm0.69$ & 0.39 & $(2.6\pm2.2)\times10^9 $\
D2 & $ 26\pm\ \ 8$& $13.18\pm0.38$ & $-78.0\pm1.6$ & $2.52\pm0.76$ & 0.22 & $(4.3\pm2.9)\times10^9 $\
\
A1 & $102\pm13$ & 0 & – – – & $0.21\pm0.02$ & 0.07 & $(7.7\pm1.8)\times10^{11} $\
A2 & $287\pm21$ & $0.50\pm0.01 $ & $-19.5\pm1.3$ & $0.18\pm0.01$ & 0.04 & $(2.9\pm0.4)\times10^{12} $\
A3 & $207\pm18$ & $1.24\pm0.02 $ & $-20.9\pm0.9$ & $0.52\pm0.03$ & 0.05 & $(2.6\pm0.5)\times10^{11} $\
C1 & $ 29\pm\ \ 9$& $9.58\pm0.23 $ & $-46.0\pm1.4$ & $1.64\pm0.47$ & 0.14 & $(3.6\pm2.3)\times10^9 $\
Discussion
==========
Spectral properties of the jet
------------------------------
The resolution ($6.88\times1.19$ mas) of the Space VLBI image of PKS 1402$+$044 at 1.6 GHz is close ($3.55\times1.40$ mas) to that of the ground VLBA image at 5 GHz, enabling extraction of spectral index information from a combination of the two images. We restored the 1.6-GHz VSOP image and the 5-GHz VLBA image with a circular Gaussian beam of 4 mas in diameter. The artificial beam increases the beam area by a factor of $\sim2$ at 1.6 GHz and $\sim3$ at 5 GHz compared to the areas of the original synthesised beams. Both images were aligned at the strongest component. The shifts in the image centre are less than 0.1 mas ($\ll$ 4-mas resolution). After the alignment, the spectral index was calculated at all pixels with brightness values higher than 1.8 mJy/beam ($5\sigma$) in the 1.6-GHz image and 1.2 mJy/beam ($5\sigma$) in the 5-GHz image. A possible core shift between the two frequencies as predicted by Kovalev et al. ([@kov08]) does not exceed 1.5 mas. Thus, it does not affect the large-scale spectral distribution.
![The spectral index distribution in the jet of the quasar PKS 1402$+$044.[]{data-label="fig4"}](9846fig4.eps "fig:"){height="40.00000%"}\
The final spectral index distribution between 1.6 GHz and 5 GHz is displayed in Fig. \[fig4\]. It shows a smooth distribution of spectral index on $\sim20$ mas (140 pc) scale. The spectral index varies from $+$0.1 in the optically thick base region to $-1.0$ in the optically thin regions on the western side. To further confirm the variation, we plotted the components spectra in Fig. \[fig5\]. Here we also used the 2.3/8.4-GHz visibility data from the USNO RRFID database. We fitted the VLBI visibility data with three components at each frequency (1.6, 2.3, 5, 8.4, and 15 GHz). The spectra of the large-scale components G and H are also plotted. All spectra can be approximated by a power-law model, $S_\nu=S_0\nu^{\alpha}$. The spectral indices are listed in Table \[tab4\]. The spectral steepening increases with the increase in the distance from the core. The spectral difference is 0.47 between components A and B$+$C and reaches 1.57 between component A and the farthest component H. This spectral index gradient results in the variation in the flux density ratio of the components (B+C) over A from $\sim 0.19$ at 1.6 GHz to $\sim 0.05$ at 15 GHz. In a sample of sources at various redshifts, an increase in redshift is equivalent to the increase in the intrinsic emitting frequency, $\nu_\mathrm{em}=\nu_\mathrm{obs}(1+z)$. Thus, a decrease in jet-to-core flux density ratio with increase in redshift is expected (Frey et al. [@fre97]). The quasar PKS 1402$+$044 has a spectral difference of $\sim0.6$ at the pc scale, which agrees well with the prediction $0.55\pm0.43$ by Frey et al. ([@fre97]).
![The component spectra in the jet of the quasar PKS 1402$+$044. The dotted lines represent the fitted curves with the simple power-law model $S_\nu=S_0\nu^\alpha$. The estimated spectral indices are listed in Table \[tab4\].[]{data-label="fig5"}](9846fig5.eps "fig:"){width="45.00000%"}\
------- --------------- ---------------- ------------
Comp. $S_0$ $\alpha$ $\chi^2$
(Jy)
A $0.79\pm0.05$ $-0.09\pm0.04$ 1.19
B+C $0.17\pm0.02$ $-0.56\pm0.10$ 0.72
D $0.12\pm0.02$ $-0.83\pm0.19$ 0.16
G $0.18\pm0.09$ $-0.91\pm0.09$ 0.08
H $0.06\pm0.03$ $-1.66\pm0.40$ - - -
------- --------------- ---------------- ------------
: Results of the power-law spectral model fits for each component shown in Fig. \[fig5\].[]{data-label="tab4"}
The mass of the central object of PKS 1402$+$044
------------------------------------------------
The richness of the core-jet morphology in PKS 1402$+$044 makes it a suitable source for estimating parameters of the central black hole. The smallest detectable size for a circular Gaussian component in an image with an rms noise $\sigma_\mathrm{rms}$ is defined as (Lobanov [@lob05]): $$\label{eq:d-lim}
d_\mathrm{lim} = \frac{2^{2-\beta/2}}{\pi} \left [
\pi~b_\mathrm{maj}~b_\mathrm{min} \ln 2
\ln \left( \frac{S_\mathrm{int} / \sigma_\mathrm{rms}}{S_\mathrm{int} / \sigma_\mathrm{rms}-1}\right )\right
]^{1/2},$$ where $S_\mathrm{int}$ is the integrated flux density of the component, $b_\mathrm{maj}$ and $b_\mathrm{min}$ are the major and minor axes of the restoring beam respectively, $\beta=0$ for uniform weighting and $\beta=2$ for naturally weighting. Based on the above criterion, except for the size of the combined component from A to F at 43 GHz, all the sizes estimated from our VLBI and VLA images in Column (5) of Table \[tab3\] can be taken as the true sizes of the jet emission regions.
If the component size is related to the physical transverse dimension of the jet, the mass of the central object can be estimated assuming that the jet is collimated by the ambient magnetic field of the host galaxy. The jet components A2 and A3 have the best measurements of the width of the jet close to the central object, as they are most likely free of the effect of the adiabatic expanding of the jet and synchrotron self-absorption and have the higher reliability, $d/\sigma_d>10$, where $d$ and $\sigma_d$ are the angular size and error of the fitted circular Gaussian component. For a jet collimated by the ambient magnetic field $B_\mathrm{ext}$ of the host galaxy, the mass of the central object $M_\mathrm{BH}$ can be related to the width of the jet $r_\mathrm{jet}$ (in pc) according to the following relation (Beskin [@bes97]): $$M_\mathrm{BH} \simeq r_\mathrm{jet} (B_\mathrm{ext}/B_\mathrm{gr})^{1/2}
10^{13}M_\odot,
\label{eq:m-bh}$$ where $B_\mathrm{gr}$ is the magnetic field measured at the Schwarzschild radius $R_\mathrm{gr}$ of the central black hole. Equation (\[eq:m-bh\]) refers to the transverse dimension of the jet measured at distances comparable to the collimation scale (typically expected to be located at $10^2$ – $10^3~R_\mathrm{gr}$). A typical galactic magnetic field is $B_\mathrm{ext}\sim10^{-5}$ G (Beck [@bec00]) and one can expect to have $B_\mathrm{gr}\sim10^4$ G (Field & Rogers [@fie93]). Based on these parameters, the mass of the central object is $\sim10^9M_\odot$. The main uncertainty of the mass estimation arises from the uncertainty in $B_\mathrm{gr}$. However, the dependence of the mass on the value $B_\mathrm{gr}$ is rather weak, $M_\mathrm{BH}\propto B_\mathrm{gr}^{-0.5}$; with the magnetic field varying within 4 orders of magnitude, the estimated central black hole mass varies within two orders of magnitude. The external magnetic field $B_\mathrm{ext}$ normally varies within a narrow range around ($10^{-5\pm1}$ G). Thus, the magnetic field uncertainty should not affect the estimated mass drastically.
Brightness temperature
----------------------
Based on the parameters of the Gaussian models listed in Table \[tab2\], we calculated the brightness temperature of each component using the following formula (Kellermann & Owen [@kel88]): $$\label{eq:tb-obs}
T_\mathrm{b} = 1.22 \times 10^{12} ( 1+z ) \frac{S_\mathrm{int}}{d^2
\nu^2},$$ where $S_\mathrm{int}$ is the integrated flux density in Jy, $d$ the size of a circular Gaussian component in mas, and $\nu$ the observing frequency in GHz. The estimated brightness temperatures are listed in the last column of Table \[tab2\]. Among these components, the component A2 has the highest brightness temperature, $T_\mathrm{B}=(5.7\pm0.5)\times10^{12}$ K, which is somewhat higher than the inverse Compton limit ($\sim10^{12}$ K; Kellermann & Pauliny-Toth [@kel69]) but still 10-times lower than the currently known highest value of $5.8\times10^{13}$ K found in the BL Lac object AO 0235$+$164 by Frey et al. ([@fre00]). In the equipartition jet model of Blandford & Königl ([@bla79]), the limiting brightness temperature is about $3\times10^{11}\delta^{5/6}$ K, where $\delta$ is the Doppler factor. Comparing the theoretical value with the estimated brightness temperature of the component A2, we can obtain a conservative lower limit to the Doppler factor of the inner jet, $\delta\approx23.7$.
![ Brightness temperature variations along the jet in PKS 1402$+$044 (top) and comparison with the model predicted value (bottom, Marscher [@mar90]). The component identification is described in Fig. \[fig3\]. The triangles represent the estimated brightness temperature at 1.6 GHz; the circles represent the brightness temperature at 5 GHz.[]{data-label="fig6"}](9846fig6.eps "fig:"){width="45.00000%"}\
The variation in the observed brightness temperature with increasing distance from the core is plotted in Fig. \[fig4\]. Following Marscher ([@mar90]), we assume that each of the jet components is an independent plane shock in which the radio emission is dominated by adiabatic energy losses. The jet plasma has a power-law energy distribution, $N(E)dE\propto~ E^{-s}dE$. The magnetic field varies as $B~\propto~l^{-a}$, where $l$ is the distance from the central object. The Doppler factor is assumed to vary weakly throughout the jet. Under these assumptions, one can relate the brightness temperature $T_\mathrm{b,jet}$ of each jet component to the brightness temperature of the core $T_\mathrm{b,core}$: $$\label{eq:tb-model}
T_\mathrm{b,jet} =
T_\mathrm{b,core}(d_\mathrm{jet}/d_\mathrm{core})^{-\epsilon},$$ where $d$ represents the measured size of the core and jet features and $\epsilon=[2(2s+1)+3a(s+1)]/6$ (Lobanov et al. [@lob01]). We take $s=2.06$ corresponding to the synchrotron emission with the spectral index of component B+C $\alpha=0.53$, and $a=1$ corresponding to the transverse orientation of magnetic field in the jet (Lobanov et al. [@lob01]). At each frequency, we take the brightest component as the core. Comparing with the measured one, we plotted the ratio of $T_\mathrm{obs}/T_\mathrm{theory}$ versus the distance. The largest discrepancies occur with components B at 1.6 GHz, B1, and B2 at 5 GHz. These components have ratios $d/\sigma_d=5$ at 1.6 GHz and $d/\sigma_d\leq3$ at 5 GHz. The ratios indicate that the discrepancy may be caused by uncertainties in the size estimates for strongly resolved components or inhomogeneities in the plasma over such large emitting regions.
Proper motion
-------------
Using an earlier VLBI observation at 5 GHz in 1986 by Gurvits et al. ([@gur92]), we tried to estimate the proper motion in PKS 1402$+$044 over the time interval of 15 years. We also fitted the ($u$,$v$) visibility data with 6 Gaussian models and found that the position offset is within the one fifth of the beam ($10\times2$ mas in P.A. $-2^\circ$) of the image in 1986 in the east-west direction where the image has the higher resolution, and there is no consistent shift. Thus, an upper limit of the apparent proper motion $\mu$ in the EW direction is 0.03 mas yr$^{-1}$. This corresponds to the apparent velocity upper limit of $\beta_\mathrm{app}=3c$ based on the relation $\beta_\mathrm{app}=1.58\times10^{-2}\mu D_\mathrm{A}(1+z)$ (Kellermann et al. [@kel04]), where the angular size distance $D_\mathrm{A}$ is measured in Mpc, $\mu$ in mas yr$^{-1}$ and $\beta_\mathrm{app}$ in the unit of the speed of light, $c$.
Using the determined lower limit $\delta=23.7$ ($\delta\gg\sqrt{\beta_\mathrm{app}^2+1}$) and the following equations (e.g. Hong et al. [@hon08]): $$\begin{aligned}
% \nonumber to remove numbering (before each equation)
\gamma &=& \frac{\beta_\mathrm{app}^2 + \delta^2 +1}{2\delta}, \\
\tan\phi &=& \frac{2\beta_\mathrm{app}}{\beta_\mathrm{app}^2+\delta^2-1} ,\end{aligned}$$ a lower limit to the Lorentz factor $\gamma\approx12$ of the jet and an upper limit to the viewing angle to the line of sight $\phi\approx1^\circ$ can be determined. All the estimates suggest that PKS 1402$+$044 is a relativistically beamed radio sources.
Summary
=======
Based on multi-frequency VLBI (1.6, 2.3, 5, 8.4, and 15 GHz) observations including dual-frequency (1.6 and 5 GHz) VSOP observations and VLA (1.4, 5, 15, and 43 GHz) observations of the high-redshift quasar PKS 1402$+$044, we draw the following conclusions.
1. The quasar PKS 1402$+$044 demonstrates a well-defined core-jet morphology that can be traced out to $\sim$23 kpc from the source core.
2. The radio spectral index distribution and the component spectra prove that the jet has the steeper spectrum with increasing distance from the core.
3. Based on the measurement of the transverse size of the jet, and assuming that the external magnetic field collimates the jet model, the mass of the central object is estimated as $\sim 10^9
M_\odot$.
4. PKS 1402$+$044 has a bright core ($5.7 \times 10^{12}$ K), and the observed brightness temperature variation is basically consistent with the shock-in-jet model.
5. No firm detection of a proper motion in the jet can be made. An upper limit of the apparent proper motion in the east-west direction is 0.03 mas yr$^{-1}$, corresponding to the apparent speed of $3~c$.
6. Based on the lower limit of the Doppler factor $\delta=23.7$ ($\delta\gg\sqrt{\beta_\mathrm{app}^2+1}$), we estimate the lower limit to the Lorentz factor $\gamma=12$ and the upper limit to the viewing angle of the inner jet to the line of sight as $\phi=1^\circ$.
We are grateful to Alan Fey for providing us with the S/X-band USNO RRFID data, Richard Schilizzi and Ken Kellermann for their assistance at various stages of the project, PI’s and the teams of VLA observations used in this work. The original idea for this project was conceived in discussions with Ivan Pauliny-Toth. This research was partly supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC10473018 and NSFC10333020). Jun Yang and Xiaoyu Hong are grateful to the KNAW – CAS grant 07DP010. Sándor Frey acknowledges the OTKA K72515 and HSO TP314 grants. We gratefully acknowledge the VSOP Project, which was led by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan) in cooperation with many agencies, institutes, and observatories around the world. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. This research has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System, NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), and the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) Radio Reference Frame Image Database (RRFID).
Beck, R. 2000, in Perspectives on Radio Astronomy: Science with Large Antenna Arrays, ed. M.P. van Haarlem (Dwingeloo: ASTRON), p249
Beskin, V.S. 1997, Physi.-Uspekhi, 40(7), 659
Blandford, R.D., Königl, A. 1979, , 232, 34
Cotton, W.D. 1995, In Very Long Baseline Interferometry and the VLBA, ed. J.A. Zensus, P.J. Diamond, & P.J. Napier, ASP Conferences Series, 82, 189
Frey, S., Gurvits, L.I., Kellermann, K.I., Schilizzi, R.T., & Pauliny-Toth, I.I.K. 1997, , 325, 511
Frey, S. et al. 2000, , 52, 975
Field, G.B., & Rogers, R.D. 1993, , 403, 94
Hirabayashi, H. et al. 1998, Science, 281, 1825
Gurvits, L.I. et al. 1992, , 260, 82
Gurvits, L.I., Kellermann, K.I., & Frey, S. 1999, , 342, 378
Hong, X.-Y. et al. 2008, , in press
Kellermann, K.I., & Pauliny-Toth, I.I.K. 1969, , 155, L71
Kellermann, K.I., & Owen, F.N. 1988, in Galactic and Extragalactic Radio Astronomy, ed. G.L. Verschuur, & K.I. Kellermann (Sprigner: Berlin), p563
Kellermann, K.I., Vermeulen, R.C., Zensus, J.A., Cohen, M.H., & West, A. 1999, , 43, 757
Kellermann, K.I. et al. 2004, , 609, 539
Kovalev, Y.Y., Lobanov, A.P., Pushkarev, A.B., & Zensus, J.A. 2008, , in press
Lobanov, A.P. et al. 2001, , 547, 714
Lobanov, A.P., Krichbaum, T.P., Witzel, A., & Zensus, J.A. 2006, , 58, 253
Lobanov, A.P. 2005, astro-ph/0503225
Marscher, A.P. 1990, in Parsec-Scale Radio Jets, ed. J.A. Zensus, & T.J. Pearson (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press), 236
Paragi, Z. et al. 1999, , 344, 51
Riess, A.G. et al. 2004, , 607, 665
Siebert, J. et al. 1998, , 301, 261
Shepherd, M.C., Pearson, T.J., & Taylor, G.B. 1994, , 26, 987
Thompson, R.J., Shelton, R.G., & Arning, C.A. 1998, , 115, 2587
[^1]: http://www.vsop.isas.jaxa.jp/obs/HALCAcal.html
[^2]: http://rorf.usno.navy.mil/RRFID
[^3]: http://archive.nrao.edu/archive/e2earchive.jsp
|
Q:
django 1.9 models_module missing in migration apps
I'm migrating from django 1.8 to django 1.9.
I have a migration that adds a group user and then a permission django_comments.add_comment to that group. The migration that works with django 1.8 looks like this
from django.contrib.contenttypes.management import update_contenttypes
from django.contrib.auth.management import create_permissions
def create_perms(apps, schema_editor):
update_contenttypes(apps.get_app_config('django_comments'))
create_permissions(apps.get_app_config('django_comments'))
Group = apps.get_model('auth', 'Group')
group = Group(name='user')
group.save()
commentct = ContentType.objects.get_for_model(apps.get_model('django_comments', 'comment'))
group.permissions.add([Permission.objects.get(codename='add_comment', content_type_id=commentct)])
group.save()
class Migration(migrations.Migration):
dependencies = [
('contenttypes', '0002_remove_content_type_name'),
('django_comments', '0002_update_user_email_field_length')
]
operations = [
migrations.RunPython(create_perms, remove_perms)
]
When upgrading to django 1.9, this throws an error because the contenttype cannot be found. This is because when update_contenttypes call is not creating the necessary content_types. There is this line inside that function (django's source code reference)
def update_contenttypes(app_config, verbosity=2, interactive=True, using=DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS, **kwargs):
if not app_config.models_module:
return
...
This app_config.models_module is None in django 1.9, but is not None in django 1.8
If I replace that for this code
def update_contenttypes(app_config, verbosity=2, interactive=True, using=DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS, **kwargs):
if not app_config.models_module:
#return
pass
...
Then all works ok.
The thing is I don't want to change django's core code. How can I make this work in django 1.9?
A:
Ok, thanks to some help in #django IRC (user knbk), I found an ugly workaround but at least it works!
Change this two lines
update_contenttypes(apps.get_app_config('django_comments'))
create_permissions(apps.get_app_config('django_comments'))
Write this instead
app = apps.get_app_config('django_comments')
app.models_module = app.models_module or True
update_contenttypes(app)
create_permissions(app)
Now it works just fine.
|
Personalised games help kids with mental health disorders
News
-
06 May 2020
Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in children and adolescents. In fact, 30% of young people suffer from such disorders. And while traditional therapies are effective, there is still room for improvement in treatment approaches. For her PhD, Marierose Heineken-van Dooren set out to research how personalised gamification can be used to enhance the implementation of eHealth therapy in youth mental healthcare.
Blending psychology with technology
After studying clinical and health psychology at Leiden University, van Dooren completed a master’s thesis at TNO on helping children to self-manage their type 1 diabetes. This project helped foster her interest in the field of gamification and healthcare. “I also realised that I really liked the practical aspect and the technical side of doing research,” she said, which inspired her to pursue a PhD. So, when a position opened at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering on the topic of implementing eHealth for youth mental healthcare she quickly applied. “I thought, that’s basically design and psychology in one topic, which I found very interesting.”
Adolescence is a critical developmental stage so treating mental disorders early is crucial. But, as van Dooren notes in her dissertation, there are several factors that reduce the effectiveness of traditional therapy, including premature termination of treatment, poor attendance and low or non-adherence to homework assignments. One way to improve the effectiveness of mental healthcare includes the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This combination of technologies with face-to-face therapy is termed ‘blended eHealth’. And adolescents, most of whom have smartphones, are particularly well-suited for this approach to treatment .
Stakeholders are the key
When it comes to using eHealth tools, motivation is critical, especially because the tools are mainly used on one’s own time. Gamification is one method that can enhance motivation by providing a fun and engaging platform for users. The focus of van Dooren’s research was to explore how the personalisation of gaming tools for therapy can even further enhance the motivation, thus having a greater impact on the treatment of mental health issues.
The research process, which involved a literature study, focus groups and experiments, resulted in the design of an eHealth application using personalised gamification. “We started out with a focus on adolescents suffering from addiction issues, such as cannabis and alcohol, but we intended for our design to eventually cover a more broader range of mental healthcare.” Due to difficulties in balancing research, app-testing and patient-therapist relationships, this broader step did not happen. Van Dooren’s conclusion was that actively involving stakeholders (including therapists, patients and domain experts) at multiple stages of the design process is critical. “If you design something for a context, it’s important that it is aligned to the context,” she said. “You can design anything from behind your desk, but you don’t know what’s going on in practice. Those therapists do. That’s why stakeholder involvement is so important, so that you can customise it to the context that it will work for.”
Looking forward
Having recently defended her PhD, van Dooren currently works for market research firm Ipsos. “It matches my personality and I really like what I’m doing.” She notes that her academic experience gave her some valuable tools. “Doing a master’s required some research, but for four years during the PhD, you’re only doing research. You learn how to talk to a large audience, how to give education to students, how to manage an interdisciplinary project, you really learn a lot.”
Van Dooren felt her project was successful, but also realises that her research is a building block. “As a PhD student, you have just four years so you can only study part of something,” she said. She hopes that smaller studies like hers will be used by other researchers for a larger study. With regards to youth mental healthcare, she said: “Young people are the cornerstones of our society. In the end, they will be adults and will impact the world.” |
declare module "semver" {
declare type Release =
| "major"
| "premajor"
| "minor"
| "preminor"
| "patch"
| "prepatch"
| "prerelease";
// The supported comparators are taken from the source here:
// https://github.com/npm/node-semver/blob/8bd070b550db2646362c9883c8d008d32f66a234/semver.js#L623
declare type Operator =
| "==="
| "!=="
| "=="
| "="
| "" // Not sure why you would want this, but whatever.
| "!="
| ">"
| ">="
| "<"
| "<=";
declare class SemVer {
build: Array<string>;
loose: ?boolean;
major: number;
minor: number;
patch: number;
prerelease: Array<string | number>;
raw: string;
version: string;
constructor(version: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): SemVer;
compare(other: string | SemVer): -1 | 0 | 1;
compareMain(other: string | SemVer): -1 | 0 | 1;
comparePre(other: string | SemVer): -1 | 0 | 1;
format(): string;
inc(release: Release, identifier: string): this;
}
declare class Comparator {
loose?: boolean;
operator: Operator;
semver: SemVer;
value: string;
constructor(comp: string | Comparator, loose?: boolean): Comparator;
parse(comp: string): void;
test(version: string): boolean;
}
declare class Range {
loose: ?boolean;
raw: string;
set: Array<Array<Comparator>>;
constructor(range: string | Range, loose?: boolean): Range;
format(): string;
parseRange(range: string): Array<Comparator>;
test(version: string): boolean;
toString(): string;
}
declare var SEMVER_SPEC_VERSION: string;
declare var re: Array<RegExp>;
declare var src: Array<string>;
// Functions
declare function valid(v: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): string | null;
declare function clean(v: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): string | null;
declare function inc(
v: string | SemVer,
release: Release,
loose?: boolean,
identifier?: string
): string | null;
declare function inc(
v: string | SemVer,
release: Release,
identifier: string
): string | null;
declare function major(v: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): number;
declare function minor(v: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): number;
declare function patch(v: string | SemVer, loose?: boolean): number;
// Comparison
declare function gt(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function gte(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function lt(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function lte(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function eq(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function neq(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function cmp(
v1: string | SemVer,
comparator: Operator,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function compare(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): -1 | 0 | 1;
declare function rcompare(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer,
loose?: boolean
): -1 | 0 | 1;
declare function compareLoose(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer
): -1 | 0 | 1;
declare function diff(v1: string | SemVer, v2: string | SemVer): ?Release;
declare function sort(
list: Array<string | SemVer>,
loose?: boolean
): Array<string | SemVer>;
declare function rsort(
list: Array<string | SemVer>,
loose?: boolean
): Array<string | SemVer>;
declare function compareIdentifiers(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer
): -1 | 0 | 1;
declare function rcompareIdentifiers(
v1: string | SemVer,
v2: string | SemVer
): -1 | 0 | 1;
// Ranges
declare function validRange(
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): string | null;
declare function satisfies(
version: string | SemVer,
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function maxSatisfying(
versions: Array<string | SemVer>,
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): string | SemVer | null;
declare function gtr(
version: string | SemVer,
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function ltr(
version: string | SemVer,
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
declare function outside(
version: string | SemVer,
range: string | Range,
hilo: ">" | "<",
loose?: boolean
): boolean;
// Not explicitly documented, or deprecated
declare function parse(version: string, loose?: boolean): ?SemVer;
declare function toComparators(
range: string | Range,
loose?: boolean
): Array<Array<string>>;
}
|
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Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:10:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Tim Stillman
Subject: yf/hs "Snow"
SNOW
By
Tim Stillman
It was just a joke, you know. It was deep December and snowfall looked
serene and friendly then. We had not had enough experience however, so we
sent him naked out of his steamy bath, pulled him giggling by his hard on,
his arms wind milling and his pale body all lobster red as Jed opened the
front door into freezing wind snow blow, out in the pillowy drifts of
winter, we tossed our happy angel with kisses on the way.
"Fly," Jed said as we closed the door and warmly looked between red lit wax
candles out the living room window and smiled at each other. Tad said we
should go out there with him and make love with him and be naked--we were
at that age when naked was a very impressive word and made us sound
impressive saying it--there was a dignity to it even when we were and it
made woody fights seem less fun--and somehow regal--and we watched fluffy
haired blonde boy rush boy tunnels through the snow--on all fours, then
crawling, then running, flopping over, extending arms out like an angel
ready for stained glass skies, then like Superman up up and away or like
Christopher Reeves' ballet twirl off to forever.
Jed put his hand on Tad's crotch as they smiled at each other, for they had
been happy so and when they found angel, more so. As of late, however, they
had been less so, not understanding why, not noticing it really, for they
had everything and with angel out in snow banks as he flipped over and
battled snow cake monsters with his invisible sword, as Jed and Tad
undressed in front of the Christmas tree, lay on the cherry warm hardwood
floor and made love, forgetting angel.
Who was cold and exhausted and so very much alive and so gloriously
beautiful, all gold and ivory and slim and girlish with little tear drop
hips and little penis and balls eager to be used. Jed and Tad love me, he
thought, as he mugged and made faces at the living room window where he
knew his lovers watched him and all hard they were. He wasn't really an
angel of course though his Tad and Jed called him that, as a sobriquet, not
a person name--not that they didn't want him to be a person; they wanted
him more, not as a possession, for names are the first handles they put on
you to make you a human vase; it had happened to them; they did not want it
to happen to him too, though they knew it was a useless cause.
And angel came to the window, wiped some shivery ice off, and huddled his
shoulders and buttocks, cupped both quivery hands round his genitals, as he
watched his friends make love as he masturbated, too young to cum. You
never find anyone wanting to stay more than the appointed minute in a bus
station. You hope for nothing but an end to dust and diesel fumes and
broken wings folded halfway down your small hurting back in the dark and
over those massive grinding wheels. And angel tried to hide the dark
smudges inside his glow of light body. It had been little experience for
him as well as for Jed and Tad, but they were four years older than he and
had dark heavy pubic hair and long penises with magic cum that still
startled and surprised him as he delighted in jerking them off as they came
on his face and lips, then they 3 spermy kissed.
As angel sat in the snow, hearing them inside, holding his shrinking cold
like everywhere else penis, he knew he had failed again. Angels were
supposed to come without complications, especially ones that interfered
with happiness and the joy of feeling good for the sake of it. He heard Tad
and Jed, now clothed, coming outside. He lay on his back, eyes of blue ice
tightly closed. They lay on each side of him. Tad took off his heavy coat
and eased angel into it. They snuggled with him. Angel wished he were not
dark and sad inside. He tried so hard to be fun. He tried to be a little
puppy who was pleasing and adorable and cuddly. Angels should not have
nightmares. They should be of pink morning skies, not solid ground of dark
surround.
The boys carried him inside and the forever 3 made love and it was fun like
the first time with 2 then angel enhanced--for a time. They fell entangled
in the large bed spent and asleep. A few hours later, Tad awoke. He lay
quite still. Not daring to accidentally wake Jed. Tad heard. Tad held his
penis and softly stroked it like when he was a small child suddenly awake
in the cold dark and alone. He hated that memory and would do anything to
avoid even the slightest semblance of it again. Anything. This time would
always be the easiest of all the times to come.
All it involved was the closing of the front door on the snows cape, ice
and bitter wind hurrying away. Then he went naked to the kitchen and made
coffee. It was easier than Tad had even thought. Jed didn't even ask. Bus
stations are for going away. Not for memories.
(Happy Holidays to Nifty, to David, to kind persons who read my words and
were so gracious to let me read theirs. Especially to that first person who
told me a story of mine made him realize he was not alone in the world, and
who made me realize I wasn't either. I hope to be back soon.) |
22 Ill. App.3d 122 (1974)
316 N.E.2d 804
In re ANNEXATION OF CERTAIN TERRITORY TO THE VILLAGE OF DOWNERS GROVE (ROBERT J. DEWIRE et al., Petitioners-Appellees,
v.
THE CITY OF DARIEN et al., Objectors-Appellants.)
No. 72-347.
Illinois Appellate Court Second District.
September 18, 1974.
*123 Barbara G. Caruso and F. Willis Caruso, both of Hinsdale, for appellants.
Duane G. Walter, of Wheaton, for appellees.
Judgment affirmed.
Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE THOMAS J. MORAN delivered the opinion of the court:
This is an appeal from a judgment finding that a petition for annexation conformed to the provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 24, § 7-1-1 et seq.).
Objectors-appellants claim that the petition was void for failing to comply with (1) section 7-1-1 which requires that the trustees of the affected fire protection districts be notified in writing prior to the hearing on the annexation petition, and (2) section 7-1-4 which requires that the petition be supported by an affidavit stating that the signatures on the petition represent the owners of record of more than 50% of the land in the territory to be annexed.
Section 7-1-1 of the Municipal Code provides, in part, that:
"When any land proposed to be annexed is part of any Fire Protection District * * * the Trustees of each District shall be notified in writing by certified or registered mail before any court hearing or other action is taken for annexation. Such notice shall be served 10 days in advance. An affidavit that service of notice has been had as provided by this Section must be filed with the clerk of the court in which such annexation proceedings are *124 pending or will be instituted * * *. No annexation of such land is effective unless service is had and the affidavit filed as provided in this Section."
On April 13, 1972, there was filed in the circuit court of Du Page County a petition requesting annexation of certain unincorporated territory to the Village of Downers Grove. Subsequently, one of the petitioners filed an affidavit wherein it was stated that the petition contained the signatures of a majority of the property owners, the owners of record of more than 50% of the land involved and a majority of the electors of the territory therein described. A hearing on the petition was set for May 11. Notice of the hearing and a copy of the petition were mailed to the clerk of the Village of Downers Grove and, allegedly, to the Downers Grove Estates Fire Protection District. On May 11, the court initiated proceedings, in accord with section 7-1-4 of the statute, by entertaining uncontested perimeter objections. The hearing was continued until June 22 at which time objectors filed a motion to strike the petition. The motion stated that the trustees of the Downers Grove Fire Protection District have not received written notice of the proceedings and that petitioners' affidavit, which purported to show service of notice on the fire protection district, was invalid for failure to state that such notice was sent by registered or certified mail. In support of the motion, three trustees filed affidavits stating their non-receipt of written notice. The court continued the cause until July 12 for an evidentiary hearing on the question of notice.
Meanwhile, by registered mail, petitioners' attorney, on July 7, sent a duplicate of the April 13 notice and a copy of the annexation petition to the residences of the three Downers Grove fire protection district trustees. A new affidavit was executed to this effect. The affidavit additionally explained that this procedure was effected in reliance upon section 1.25 of the Construction of Statutes Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 131, § 1.25). (The Act provides for filing a duplicate writing in cases when a writing or payment required to be filed with the State or any political subdivision thereof is mailed but not received.) Copies of two return receipts, dated July 11, appear in the record.
On July 12, petitioners' attorney introduced into evidence the April 13 notice of filing and the affidavit of mailing. The notice was addressed to the clerk of the Village of Downers Grove and to:
"Downers Grove Estate Fire Protection District 75th & Lyman Downers Grove, Illinois 60515"
The affidavit of mailing executed by petitioners' attorney, Mr. Walter, stated that he had "mailed a copy of the notice of annexation and a *125 copy of the petition to the above named parties in a properly addressed envelope with sufficient postage at the U.S. Mail chute at the Wheaton Post Office, Wheaton, Illinois." Attorney Walter's secretary testified that on April 13, 1972, Mr. Walter gave her notices and petitions for two separate annexations which were to be mailed, that she prepared the envelopes for certified mail with return receipts, addressed as shown on the notice, and returned them to Mr. Walter. The secretary stated that she did not know what had happened to the receipts but that she never got them back. Mr. Walter stated to the court that he would stand on his affidavit of mailing.
Objectors stated that they would stand on the trustees' affidavits of non-receipt of written notice but called Mr. Paul Spinka, secretary and trustee of the Downers Grove Fire Protection District, to testify concerning the district's address. Mr. Spinka testified that the fire protection district did not maintain an office but did have two facilities (one at 75th and Lyman) and that mail addressed to "Downers Grove Estate Fire Protection District, 75th and Lyman, Downers Grove" would be directed to his home.
The court held that while the petitioners were not in strict compliance with section 7-1-1 of the Municipal Code (their notice being addressed to the district and not to the trustees) they did follow the substance of the statute. The court also held that the trustees' affidavits made it apparent that they did not receive written notice and that the purpose of the statute's requirement was thus defeated. As a result, the court continued the proceedings for 2 weeks (until July 26 to comply with the 10-day advance notice requirement) and ordered petitioners to mail notice of the July 26 hearing to the trustees. The next day, petitioners, by registered mail, sent new notice to each trustee and when court reconvened on the scheduled date, an attorney for the fire protection district acknowledged receipt of the notice of hearing. The court then considered perimeter objections after which hearing on the petition resumed.
Objectors insist that at the time the court determined there was no service of notice on the trustees, it was required to dismiss the petition because such deficiency is irremediable according to People ex rel. Hopf v. Village of Bensenville, 132 Ill. App.2d 907, 910 (1971). In addition, objectors contend that section 1.25 of the Construction of Statutes Act is not applicable because it is a filing statute rather than a notice statute.
1 Objectors' argument is based, at least in part, upon the assumption that because petitioners' initial notice was misaddressed, no written notice had been sent to the fire protection district prior to the hearing. This assumption, however, was not shared by the court nor is it substantiated *126 by the record. The fact that the receipt was never returned, although receipts were received from the Village of Downers Grove and from mail (posted at the same time) relating to another annexation, certainly suggests that the notice was simply lost in the mail. While the original notice was not addressed to the "trustees" of the fire protection district and the accompanying affidavit did not state that it was sent registered or certified mail, these omissions were only formal defects. Neither omission was material because trustee Spinka testified that he would usually receive mail which was addressed in the manner of petitioners' original notice, and petitioners' attorney and the attorney's secretary testified that the original notice was in fact sent by certified mail. The court, however, was faced with a dilemma for which the statute offers no solution: the trustees had not received written notice of the hearing despite petitioners' having mailed it. We agree with objectors that section 1.25 of the Act is a filing statute not applicable in this situation. To interpret section 7-1-1 as requiring only mailing of notice without respect for its receipt would ignore the purpose of the statute. Conversely, it must be noted that if verification of receipt were intended, the legislature could have required the filing of return receipts or required personal service. Under the circumstances, the trial court's decision to continue the proceedings until new notice could be issued and the 10-day requirement met, substantially complied with the spirit and intent of the statute. Additionally, we take cognizance of the fact that there was in the record a letter of objection to the annexation which letter was signed on May 2, 1972, by trustee Spinka in his capacity as a property owner in the petitioning territory.
The Bensenville case supra, upon which objectors rely, is clearly distinguishable. There, petitioners attempted to comply with the notice requirements of section 7-1-1 after the ordinance of annexation was adopted. (132 Ill. App.2d 907, 908.) Here petitioners attempted to comply with the statute 28 days prior to the first hearing and, upon a finding of non-receipt, new notice was given prior to the date of hearing. Under the circumstances we find no reversible error on this issue.
2 Objectors claim that the original petition for annexation was void because the supporting affidavit was false for stating that the signatures on the petition represented the owners of record of more than 50% of land in the territory described. The assertion is founded upon an interpretation that section 7-1-4 requires the initial petition, filed under section 7-1-2, to be supported by an affidavit to the effect that more than 50% of the owners of record of the land sought to be annexed have signed the petition. This is not true. In previous years there was such a requirement but the legislature, in 1961, amended section 7-1-2 and *127 deleted that requirement. Now the original petition to annex need be signed only by a majority of the owners of record of the land in the territory described and a majority of the electors residing in such territory. Section 7-1-2 does not require the petition to be accompanied by an affidavit. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 24, § 7-1-2.
The first mention of an affidavit occurs in section 7-1-4 which prescribes that the circuit court conduct a two-phase hearing, wherein, first:
"Prior to hearing evidence on the validity of the annexation petition * * *, the court shall hear and determine any objections under sub-paragraph (4) of Section 7-1-3. If the court is satisfied that such objection is valid, it shall order the petition * * * to be amended to eliminate such objector's land from the territory sought to be annexed."
Second, the court is directed that:
"Thereafter upon this hearing the only matter for determination shall be the validity of the annexation petition * * *. All petitions shall be supported by an affidavit of one or more of the petitioners, or someone on their behalf, that the signatures on the petition represent a majority of the property owners of record and the owners of record of more than 50% of land in the territory described and a majority of the electors of the territory therein described. Petitions so verified shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of such facts."
As can be seen, it is during the second phase of the proceeding that the court determines the validity of the petition, either as originally filed or as amended under the first phase. It is at this time that the affidavit, if it is to be considered as prima facie evidence, must state that the signatures on the petition represent a majority of the property owners of record, the owners of record of more than 50% of land in the territory described and a majority of the electors of that territory. In the case at bar, petitioners' unrebutted evidence reveals that the petition as amended was signed by the majority of landowners, the majority of electors and the owners of record of 51.22% of the land in the territory as finally described. Objectors' claim is therefore without merit.
3 Finally, objectors argue that the court erred in denying LaGrange State Bank's motion to amend its objection. The record shows that the bank's attorney made an oral motion to amend the objection, that hearing on the motion was continued at the bank's request, and that the court entered an order reserving its decision until that date. At the hearing, the court overruled the bank's original objection. No one moved for a ruling on the pending motion and the court neither granted nor denied it. The law is clear that when the court reserves its ruling on a motion or an *128 objection, the movant or objecting party must seek a decision or ruling in order to preserve the motion or objection for review. Trimmer v. Franklin Life Insurance Co., 319 Ill. App. 520 (1943 abstract opinion)/, app. denied; in accord, Schroeder v. Busenhart, 133 Ill. App.2d 180, 183 (1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 1017, 31 L.Ed.2d 479, 92 S.Ct. 1293.
For the reasons stated, the judgment appealed is hereby affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
SEIDENFELD and RECHENMACHER, JJ., concur.
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Exercising outdoors in the winter, in most parts of the county, isn't easy. There's no light coming into the windows when your alarm goes off, and it's pitch black before five, so most evening activities would be dimly lit, too. Winter storms and snow make heading across town to the gym a treacherous trip. Then, of course, there’s the cold weather: While some people have no problem bundling up and braving frigid temps for their morning run, others are more prone to hibernation until things warm up in the spring.
But retreating to the couch for the winter is not your only option. Instead, consider one of these popular indoor workout trends that will help ensure you keep your mind and body healthy, and work towards those fitness goals, all winter long.
Get swinging with kettle bells
If you want to stay indoors in the comfort of your own home, swinging kettlebells offers a very effective cardio and strength workout. Kettlebell workouts have emerged as a favorite among people of all fitness levels. While the workouts look deceptively simple, a recent study found that during a 20-minute kettlebell workout participants were burning off, on average, 20 calories a minute. That's the equivalent of running a six-minute mile, meaning you can get a full-body workout and torch major calories in less time than it takes to watch one of your favorite sitcoms.
Why are kettlebells so effective? It's thanks to their unique shape. They have an odd center of gravity that calls for you to do more work with your stabilizing muscles to complete the moves. At the same time though, they are gentler on the wrists than traditional weights.
You can find kettlebells in weights ranging from 8 lbs all the way up to 108 lbs. Opt for the real cast iron models and start off with the weight you feel most comfortable with and then build up as you go. I recommend starting with a 10-lb kettlebell for popular exercises like squats and kettle bell swings, and a 5-lb kettlebell for exercises like a single overhead press.
Strength train with resistance bands
Another fitness trend that is effective, easy to master, suitable for lots of different fitness levels and only calls for a very inexpensive piece of equipment is resistance training with bands. In fact, research has found that programs utilizing resistance bands increase muscle strength and size, and decrease body fat in a very similar way to free-weight training programs.
Resistance training helps you to improve both your strength and endurance simply using your own body weight and inexpensive resistance bands.
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BalanceFrom Exercise Bands with Exercise Cards and Carrying Bag
You can buy a set for under $10 and there's a huge range of exercises you can utilize them with. In fact, we have a simple total-body workout with resistance bands here.
Channel your inner child and jump
How much fun did you have on a trampoline as a kid? You can still have fun jumping as a grown up, and if you invest in an in-home trampoline, you can get an invigorating workout while you're at it.
A six-minute session on a trampoline is just about equivalent to running a mile and yet it's actually easier on your joints, thanks to the lower impact cushioning trampolines have built in. And if you do want to venture out, a trip to one of the growing number of trampoline parks that are springing up all over the county is a fun winter activity for a family with kids or a group of friends. You can also check with your local gym to see if they offer rebounding classes, which are cardio and strength workouts performed on mini personal trampolines.
A lightweight trampoline can be portable, especially if it's foldable. This Stamina model weighs 14 lbs, to further improve its portability.
Climb a wall
Another fun way to get a great full-body workout is to track down an indoor rock-climbing wall. Indoor climbing gyms are becoming more popular, so finding one shouldn’t be too hard. You’ll find a list of all accredited facilities in the US and beyond here.
Scaling a wall will activate the muscles in your arms, legs, back and shoulders and can burn up to 650 calories a session, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. You'll build mental strength too, as you strategically make your way to the top.
Unpack your swimsuit and hit the pool
It's never too early to dig out your swimsuit and hit the local public swimming pool. In the winter swimming offers a great, low-impact workout that anyone can enjoy. Because it’s so easy on the joints, you can exercise for longer without tiring yourself — or your muscles — out, allowing you to burn 400-700 calories an hour depending on your weight. And the nice warm water will be a welcome change to all that nasty cold weather outside. Go solo and swim some laps, or consider a group fitness class like water aerobics or aqua spin for a fun twist on traditional cycling.
Get your skate on
Ice skating may be a pastime linked with the holidays, but it offers an excellent winter workout into the new year, too. You can bundle up and find an outdoor rink, or there are plenty of indoor ice skating rinks you can head to instead, which will provide stable conditions regardless of the weather outside.
Wherever you lace up, your skating sessions will help tone your butt, legs and core as well as the stabilizing muscles that will have to come into play to keep you upright and balanced.
Find your inner zen
Yoga offers a great workout for both mind and body — which is especially important this time of year when the winter blues can have us feeling stressed and sad. Feeling more relaxed, grounded and clear-headed are some of the mental benefits that my clients report feeling after a yoga session. The physical benefits of yoga include improved posture, strength, and of course burning calories. And most forms of yoga can be completed anywhere you can fit a small mat. While many of us think of yoga as being all about Zen and calm, that is just one style. More vigorous styles, such as sweaty, intense Bikram yoga, offer a very challenging workout that can replace your morning run while the weather outside is cold. Check out free videos on Amazon and roll out your mat right in your living room or find a nearby studio that offers classes.
TRY THESE FITNESS ROUTINES
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/**
* @file NowPlayingWidget.m
*
* @copyright 2018-2019 Bill Zissimopoulos
*/
/*
* This file is part of EnergyBar.
*
* You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
* General Public License version 3 as published by the Free Software
* Foundation.
*/
#import "NowPlayingWidget.h"
#import "ActiveAppWidget.h"
#import "ImageTitleView.h"
#import "NowPlaying.h"
#import "TodoWidget.h"
@interface NowPlayingWidgetView : ImageTitleView
@property (assign) BOOL showsSmallWidget;
@end
@implementation NowPlayingWidgetView
- (NSSize)intrinsicContentSize
{
return NSMakeSize(self.showsSmallWidget ? 130 : 180, NSViewNoIntrinsicMetric);
}
@end
@interface NowPlayingInternalWidget : CustomWidget
@end
@implementation NowPlayingInternalWidget
- (void)commonInit
{
self.customizationLabel = @"Now Playing";
ImageTitleView *imageTitleView = [[[NowPlayingWidgetView alloc] initWithFrame:NSZeroRect] autorelease];
imageTitleView.wantsLayer = YES;
imageTitleView.layer.cornerRadius = 8.0;
imageTitleView.layer.backgroundColor = [[NSColor colorWithWhite:0.0 alpha:0.5] CGColor];
imageTitleView.imageSize = NSMakeSize(26, 26);
imageTitleView.titleFont = [NSFont boldSystemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeSmall]];
imageTitleView.titleLineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByTruncatingTail;
imageTitleView.subtitleFont = [NSFont systemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeSmall]];
imageTitleView.subtitleLineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByTruncatingTail;
imageTitleView.layoutOptions = ImageTitleViewLayoutOptionTitle;
imageTitleView.title = @"♫";
self.view = imageTitleView;
}
- (void)dealloc
{
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter]
removeObserver:self];
[super dealloc];
}
- (void)viewWillAppear
{
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter]
addObserver:self
selector:@selector(nowPlayingNotification:)
name:NowPlayingInfoNotification
object:nil];
[self resetNowPlaying];
}
- (void)viewDidDisappear
{
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter]
removeObserver:self];
}
- (void)resetNowPlaying
{
NSImage *icon = [NowPlaying sharedInstance].appIcon;
NSString *title = [NowPlaying sharedInstance].title;
NSString *subtitle = [NowPlaying sharedInstance].artist;
if (nil == icon && nil == title && nil == subtitle)
title = @"♫";
ImageTitleViewLayoutOptions layoutOptions = 0;
if (nil != icon)
layoutOptions = layoutOptions | ImageTitleViewLayoutOptionImage;
if (nil != title)
layoutOptions = layoutOptions | ImageTitleViewLayoutOptionTitle;
if (nil != subtitle)
layoutOptions = layoutOptions | ImageTitleViewLayoutOptionSubtitle;
NowPlayingWidgetView *view = self.view;
view.image = icon;
view.title = title;
view.subtitle = subtitle;
view.layoutOptions = layoutOptions;
}
- (void)nowPlayingNotification:(NSNotification *)notification
{
[self resetNowPlaying];
}
- (BOOL)showsSmallWidget
{
NowPlayingWidgetView *imageTitleView = self.view;
return imageTitleView.showsSmallWidget;
}
- (void)setShowsSmallWidget:(BOOL)value
{
NowPlayingWidgetView *imageTitleView = self.view;
imageTitleView.showsSmallWidget = value;
if (!value)
{
imageTitleView.imageSize = NSMakeSize(26, 26);
imageTitleView.titleFont = [NSFont boldSystemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeSmall]];
imageTitleView.subtitleFont = [NSFont systemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeSmall]];
}
else
{
imageTitleView.imageSize = NSMakeSize(16, 16);
imageTitleView.titleFont = [NSFont boldSystemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeMini]];
imageTitleView.subtitleFont = [NSFont systemFontOfSize:[NSFont
systemFontSizeForControlSize:NSControlSizeMini]];
}
}
@end
@implementation NowPlayingWidget
{
BOOL _showsActiveAppOnTap;
BOOL _showsTodoOnTap;
double _todoShowsEventsInterval;
BOOL _todoShowsReminders;
}
- (void)commonInit
{
[self addWidget:[[[NowPlayingInternalWidget alloc]
initWithIdentifier:@"_NowPlayingInternal"] autorelease]];
}
- (BOOL)showsActiveAppOnTap
{
return _showsActiveAppOnTap;
}
- (void)setShowsActiveAppOnTap:(BOOL)value
{
if (_showsActiveAppOnTap == value)
return;
_showsActiveAppOnTap = value;
if (_showsActiveAppOnTap)
[self addWidget:[[[ActiveAppWidget alloc]
initWithIdentifier:@"_ActiveApp"] autorelease]];
else
[self removeWidgetWithIdentifier:@"_ActiveApp"];
}
- (BOOL)showsTodoOnTap
{
return _showsTodoOnTap;
}
- (void)setShowsTodoOnTap:(BOOL)value
{
if (_showsTodoOnTap == value)
return;
_showsTodoOnTap = value;
if (_showsTodoOnTap)
{
TodoWidget *todo = [[[TodoWidget alloc] initWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"] autorelease];
todo.showsEventsInterval = _todoShowsEventsInterval;
todo.showsReminders = _todoShowsReminders;
[self addWidget:todo];
}
else
[self removeWidgetWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"];
}
- (BOOL)showsSmallWidget
{
return [(id)[self.widgets objectAtIndex:0] showsSmallWidget];
}
- (void)setShowsSmallWidget:(BOOL)value
{
[(id)[self.widgets objectAtIndex:0] setShowsSmallWidget:value];
[(id)[self widgetWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"] setShowsSmallWidget:value];
[self.view invalidateIntrinsicContentSize];
}
- (double)todoShowsEventsInterval
{
return _todoShowsEventsInterval;
}
- (void)todoSetShowsEventsInterval:(double)value
{
_todoShowsEventsInterval = value;
TodoWidget *todo = (id)[self widgetWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"];
todo.showsEventsInterval = value;
}
- (BOOL)todoShowsReminders
{
return _todoShowsReminders;
}
- (void)todoSetShowsReminders:(BOOL)value
{
_todoShowsReminders = value;
TodoWidget *todo = (id)[self widgetWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"];
todo.showsReminders = value;
}
- (void)todoReset
{
TodoWidget *todo = (id)[self widgetWithIdentifier:@"_Todo"];
[todo reset];
}
- (void)longPressAction:(id)sender
{
NSString *appBundleIdentifier = [NowPlaying sharedInstance].appBundleIdentifier;
if (nil != appBundleIdentifier)
{
[[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace]
launchAppWithBundleIdentifier:appBundleIdentifier
options:0
additionalEventParamDescriptor:nil
launchIdentifier:nil];
}
}
@end
|
T.C. Summary Opinion 2002-69
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
ARTHUR MCGEE, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 4735-01S. Filed June 11, 2002.
Arthur McGee, pro se.
Margaret A. Martin, Daniel J. Parent, and Jeremy McPherson,
for respondent.
WOLFE, Special Trial Judge: This case was heard pursuant to
the provisions of section 7463 of the Internal Revenue Code in
effect at the time the petition was filed. The decision to be
entered is not reviewable by any other court, and this opinion
should not be cited as authority. Unless otherwise indicated,
subsequent section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in
- 2 -
effect for the year in issue, and all Rule references are to the
Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Respondent determined a deficiency of $4,326 in petitioner’s
1999 Federal income tax. The issues for decision are whether
petitioner is entitled to the following: (1) Two dependency
exemption deductions; (2) head of household filing status; and
(3) an earned income credit.1
At the time the petition was filed, petitioner resided in
Vallejo, California.
Throughout 1999 petitioner was married to Cynthia McGee.
Because of marital problems, petitioner lived apart from his wife
at his parents’ house with two of his sons. Petitioner allegedly
paid to his parents rent of $300 per month for use of a room in
their 3-bedroom house. Petitioner and his two sons lived
together in the room that petitioner rented.
On his 1999 Federal income tax return petitioner claimed
dependency exemption deductions for his two sons. Petitioner
also claimed head of household filing status and an earned income
credit. In the notice of deficiency, respondent disallowed the
claimed dependency exemption deductions, the head of household
filing status, and the full amount of the claimed earned income
credit.
1
Petitioner also claimed a child tax credit. His
eligibility for the child tax credit is a computational matter.
- 3 -
The first issue for decision is whether petitioner is
entitled to dependency exemption deductions for his two sons.
Section 151(c)(1) allows a taxpayer to deduct an exemption amount
for each dependent as defined in section 152. Under section
152(a), the term “dependent” means certain individuals over half
of whose support was received from the taxpayer during the
calendar year for which such individuals are claimed as
dependents. Support includes food, shelter, clothing, medical
and dental care, education, and the like. Sec. 1.152-1(a)(2)(i),
Income Tax Regs. Eligible individuals who may be claimed as
dependents include, among others, sons of the taxpayer. Sec.
152(a)(1).
In deciding whether an individual received over half of his
support from the taxpayer, we evaluate the amount of support
furnished by the taxpayer as compared to the total amount of
support received by the claimed dependent from all sources.
Turecamo v. Commissioner, 554 F.2d 564, 569 (2d Cir. 1977), affg.
64 T.C. 720 (1975); sec. 1.152-1(a)(2)(i), Income Tax Regs. The
taxpayer must initially demonstrate, by competent evidence, the
total amount of support furnished by all sources for the taxable
year at issue. Blanco v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 512, 514 (1971).
If the amount of total support is not established and cannot be
reasonably inferred from competent evidence available to the
Court, it is not possible to conclude that the taxpayer claiming
- 4 -
the exemption provided more than one-half of the support for the
claimed dependent. Id. at 514-515.
Petitioner failed to establish that he provided more than
one-half of the total support of his sons that lived with him.
See Rule 142(a).2 On his 1999 Federal income tax return
petitioner reported total income of $17,415. In contrast his
parents reported total income exceeding $100,000 for the same
year. Petitioner and his two sons lived in petitioner’s parents’
home for the entire year 1999. Petitioner has failed to
establish either the total amount of support that petitioner’s
sons received from all sources or the amount of support that they
received from petitioner. Other than alleged receipts for his
monthly rent payments of $300 to his parents, the only evidence
of support that petitioner presented to the Court was his
unsubstantiated testimony that he provided “100 percent” of the
support of his sons. He presented no checks to substantiate his
alleged payments. He had no grocery receipts or receipts for
alleged payments for clothing, and he admitted that he made no
payments for his sons’ entertainment. The receipts that
petitioner introduced concerning supposed payments of rent to his
mother all appear to have been prepared and signed at the same
time. Petitioner’s mother did not testify about the payments.
2
Sec. 7491(a) does not shift the burden of proof to
respondent in this case because petitioner has not presented
credible evidence concerning the support of his sons and has
failed to provide substantiation of his claims of payments for
their support and benefit. Sec. 7491(a)(1).
- 5 -
At the calendar call, petitioner had been warned to have his
witnesses available to testify at trial, and he made no
explanation of his mother’s absence. Consequently the receipts
are not convincing evidence that petitioner paid even the claimed
amount of rent. Petitioner did not present any witnesses to
corroborate any of his testimony. As petitioner bears the burden
of proof, we must sustain respondent’s disallowance of the
dependency exemption deductions.
The second and third issues for decision are whether
petitioner is entitled to head of household filing status and
whether petitioner is entitled to an earned income credit.
Generally, an individual who is married at the close of the
taxable year is not entitled to head of household filing status.
Sec. 2(b)(1). Similarly, an individual who is married at the
close of the taxable year is not entitled to an earned income
credit if he does not file a joint income tax return with his
spouse for the taxable year. Sec. 32(d). An exception to these
general rules exists but generally applies only if the individual
maintains a household which is the principal place of abode of at
least one child for whom the individual is entitled to a
dependency exemption deduction. Secs. 2(c), 32(d), 7703(b).3
Petitioner was married to Cynthia McGee at all times during
3
Further exceptions exist, but petitioner does not assert,
and nothing in the record indicates, that they may be applicable.
See secs. 2(b)(2), 7703(a).
- 6 -
1999. Petitioner did not file a joint income tax return with her
for that year. We have held that petitioner is not entitled to
any dependency exemption deduction for 1999. Consequently,
petitioner is not entitled to head of household filing status or
to an earned income credit.4 Secs. 2(b)(1), 32(d).
Reviewed and adopted as the report of the Small Tax Case
Division.
To reflect the foregoing,
Decision will be entered
for respondent.
4
Since petitioner was married at all times during 1999,
respondent might have utilized the standard deduction applicable
to married individuals filing separately. Respondent has not
done so, and consequently respondent’s deficiency determination
for 1999 was understated. Respondent’s counsel has explicitly
waived any claim to the additional deficiency resulting from this
apparent error. Moreover, because respondent did not assert any
claim for an increased deficiency, we lack jurisdiction to
redetermine the correct amount of the deficiency. See sec.
6214(a); Estate of Petschek v. Commissioner, 81 T.C. 260, 271-272
(1983), affd. 738 F.2d 67 (2d Cir. 1984).
|
Monday, March 25, 2013
Russia between Cyprus and China
The last couple of days have been truly of immense, historical, importance for Russia, first because of the hugely important visit of Xi Jinping, the President of the People's Republic of China, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. During this visit the Chinese side stressed that it was highly symbolic that Xi Jinping had chosen Russia as the first country to visit following his election. The Russians responded with their own highly symbolic gesture - they invited Xi Jinping to visit the Operational Control Center of the Russian Armed Forces, something no other head of state had ever done before.
Xi Jinping visits the Operational Control Center of the Russian Armed Forces
Both sides insisted that what took place was absolutely unprecedented. For example, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spent a total of seven hours in direct, face to face, consultations. Both heads of state declared that the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership was of the highest possible importance for both countries and that the two nations would closely collaborate on all levels including long term energy and defense issues. A large number of strategic agreements and contracts were signed and both Putin and Xi Jinping announced that Russia and China would also closely work together and support each other in all international questions. Both leaders stressed that the past was forever gone and that the nature of the new relationship between their two countries will have no historical precedent.While the western corporate press went out of its way to minimize the importance of this meeting, the Russian and the Chinese press stressed the truly tectonic shift such a close partnership represents for the future of the planet. While everything was said in the most diplomatic language, it is rather clear that what we witnessed over the past few days is the birth of a new strategic alliance which is rather clearly aimed against the West both in economic and even military terms. The goal of Russia and China is not to trigger some kind of confrontation with the West as much as it is to globally counter-act Western imperialism. This is why both delegations insisted on the respect of international law in a multi-polar world were no one country or block can dictate its will.It will be interesting to see what the impact of this strategic alliance will be upon the SCO, the CSTO and the BRICS countries. My personal sense is that Russia and China will use their combined power to strengthen all these institutions. I also see this strategic alliance as yet another manifestation of the new power of the "Eurasian sovereignists" inside the Kremlin who are now clearly pushing Russia towards a deeper integration with the East.It is ironic that while this new strategic partnership between Russia and China was finalized in Moscow, the West found nothing better to do than to basically commit and act of pure highway banditry towards Russia. I am referring, of course, to what is happening in Cyprus.To make a long story short I will sum up what is taking place in the following sentence. The EU bankers and their US sponsors have basically decided to rob Russian bank account holders of about 30% of their money in Cyprus in order to repay the banks which gave dirty loans to Cyprus, in other words, to pay themselves. Not only is such an action a direct violation of all possible laws and regulations pertaining to banking, but it is done against a background of vicious anti-Russian propaganda which basically claims that all the Russian money in Cyprus is dirty money from the Russian Mafia. What the EU leaders are basically telling Russia is "yes, fuck you, we will simply take your money and dare you to do something about it".Interestingly, the Russia media is very much aware of who is really pulling the strings of this entire operation and no Russian politician spoke out against the Cypriots themselves who are, in reality, as much the victims of the international banking cartels as the Russian investors. The line chosen by Russian politicians and the media is the same one: what is happening here has little or nothing to do with Cyprus and everything to do with the entire EU zone becoming dangerous for Russian investors. The Russian economy will not suffer from any of that. First, because Cyprus is way too small to matter. Second, this situation only strengthens the position of the "Eurasian sovereignists" who have always been warning against placing money in Western banks. Third, this act of banditry by the EU will only further fuel anti-Western sentiments in the already very hostile Russian public opinion and it will hurt all the pro-Western parties and movements in Russia.The vast majority of the people in Russia see what is happening in Cyprus as yet another manifestation of the Western anti-Russian racism which appears to be the prime motivator of current Western policies towards Russia. For example, Russian journalists were quick to remember that the last time somebody in Europe simply seized the bank accounts of foreigners was Hitler who did so to grab more money to finance his policies. While I find this parallel a little far fetched, it is, I believe, very indicative of the mood in Russia which is deeply disgusted with the West. This is hardly surprising: after the NATO expansion to the East (which it has promised not to do!), the support by the West for all the anti-Russian regimes, including the most aggressive (Georgia) and racist (Latvia), following the deployment of the US anti-missile system, the support for Jewish oligarchs like Berezovsky or Khodorkovsky, the support for Chechen separatists and their atrocities, the adoption of anti-Russian laws like the Magnitsky Act, the support for Pussy Riot and the homosexual parades in Russia, now the big Cypriot robbery. It is hardly a wonder that the Russians are globally disgusted with the West and its seemingly infinite capability for hypocrisy and lies.
Still, the creation of this strategic partnership between China and Russia is excellent news for the world wide resistance against the US-run international global new world order and its turbocapitalist ideology. Both Russia and China clearly and unambiguously stand for the ideas of sovereignty and social solidarity, in other words, what is arguably the most powerful alliance on the planet is clearly anti-capitalist in its ideological basis. Sure, this is not the anti-capitalism of Stalin or Mao, and both Russia and China are more than happy to play the corporate game to their own benefit, but it remains that they are not willing to surrender their sovereignty to the trans-national banking interests and nor are they willing to give up the core value of social solidarity (what most Americans think of as "socialism") in their society.At a time when Latin America is clearly wobbling and unsure about its future course and when Africa is becoming the next hunting ground for Western predators, it is extremely encouraging to see the emergence of a strategic alliance between the two most powerful countries to resist Western imperialism and the New World Order.The Saker
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WORDS TO LIVE BY:
Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free
Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew (10:26) and Saint John (8:32)
Trust not in princes, nor in the children of men, in whom there is no safety. His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all his thoughts shall perish.
Holy Prophet and King David (Psalm 145:3-4 according to the LXX)
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.
Arundhati Roy
Thou shalt not be a victim.Thou shalt not be a perpetrator.And above all,Thou shalt not be a bystander
Yehuda Bauer
In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act
George Orwell
Each small candle lights a corner of the dark
Roger Waters
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma Gandhi
I am for truth, no matter who tells it.
Malcolm X
Globalize the Intifada!
Lowkey
I am a pessimist by nature. Many people can only keep on fighting when they expect to win. I'm not like that, I always expect to lose. I fight anyway, and sometimes I win.
Protect Freedom - Join the Free Software Foundation!
Quenelle Epaulee
No to Internet censorship!
Save the Internet from corporate greed!
GNU/Linux distributions I recommend:
Debian, the Universal Operating SystemMint, the easiest to use distributionXubuntu, distribution for older hardwareKnoppix, general purpose distro on live-CDPuppy, small size distribution and live-CDTails, the privacy and security oriented distroUbuntu Studio, distribution for artistsTrisquel, the 100% free softwaredistro
Copyright Notice
All the original content published on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). For permission to re-publish or otherwise use non-original or non-licensed content, please consult the respective source of the content.
What's a Saker anyway?
The Saker is a large falcon which, sadly enough, is threatened (you can find more info on this wonderful bird here). Do these sakers really monitor vineyards? Well, one does for sure! |
Scientists at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital have developed a cheap, sensitive, and highly accurate way of detecting protein biomarkers. The technology may very well revolutionize diagnostics, disease monitoring, and help stop the spread of infectious pathogens. The nanoswitch-linked immunosorbent assay (NLISA) has the potential to be as simple to use as self-administered pregnancy tests but with nearly laboratory-level of accuracy.
NLISA screens for specially prepared DNA strands that change shape in the presence of a protein biomarker. The DNA strands have multiple small proteins that bind to the target proteins, and as they bind, they pull on the rest of the DNA strand, changing its shape. Electrophoresis is then used to pull on the DNA strands, some of which move faster than others depending on whether they’ve been bent out of their original shape or not. Moreover, while the dragging is going something called “kinetic proofreading” is administered to the DNA strands, shaking loose any imperfect connections that may lead to false positives.
The technology, just described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was used to detect prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at high sensitivity and to screen between different strains of the Dengue virus in less than an hour. False positives were reduced to nearly zero while the sensitivity was lab quality.
Here’s a quick animation that explains the workings of the NLISA technology:
Study in PNAS: Nanoswitch-linked immunosorbent assay (NLISA) for fast, sensitive, and specific protein detection…
Via: Wyss Institute… |
[A] -- [A ] -- [ A ] -- [ A ] -- [A]
|
/*
* DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS HEADER.
*
* Copyright (c) 2010-2017 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
*
* The contents of this file are subject to the terms of either the GNU
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* and Distribution License("CDDL") (collectively, the "License"). You
* may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can
* obtain a copy of the License at
* https://oss.oracle.com/licenses/CDDL+GPL-1.1
* or LICENSE.txt. See the License for the specific
* language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
*
* When distributing the software, include this License Header Notice in each
* file and include the License file at LICENSE.txt.
*
* GPL Classpath Exception:
* Oracle designates this particular file as subject to the "Classpath"
* exception as provided by Oracle in the GPL Version 2 section of the License
* file that accompanied this code.
*
* Modifications:
* If applicable, add the following below the License Header, with the fields
* enclosed by brackets [] replaced by your own identifying information:
* "Portions Copyright [year] [name of copyright owner]"
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* If you wish your version of this file to be governed by only the CDDL or
* only the GPL Version 2, indicate your decision by adding "[Contributor]
* elects to include this software in this distribution under the [CDDL or GPL
* Version 2] license." If you don't indicate a single choice of license, a
* recipient has the option to distribute your version of this file under
* either the CDDL, the GPL Version 2 or to extend the choice of license to
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* and therefore, elected the GPL Version 2 license, then the option applies
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* holder.
*/
package client;
import beans.*;
import connector.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.naming.*;
import javax.rmi.PortableRemoteObject;
import com.sun.ejte.ccl.reporter.SimpleReporterAdapter;
public class Client {
private static SimpleReporterAdapter stat =
new SimpleReporterAdapter("appserv-tests");
public Client (String[] args) {
//super(args);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Client client = new Client(args);
client.doTest();
}
public String doTest() {
stat.addDescription("This is to test connector 1.5 "+
"contracts.");
String res = "NOT RUN";
debug("doTest() ENTER...");
boolean pass = false;
try {
res = "ALL TESTS PASSED";
int testCount = 1;
while (!done()) {
notifyAndWait();
if (!done()) {
debug("Running...");
pass = checkResults(expectedResults());
debug("Got expected results = " + pass);
//do not continue if one test failed
if (!pass) {
res = "SOME TESTS FAILED";
stat.addStatus("ID Connector 1.5 test - " + testCount, stat.FAIL);
} else {
stat.addStatus("ID Connector 1.5 test - " + testCount, stat.PASS);
}
} else {
break;
}
testCount ++;
}
} catch (Exception ex) {
System.out.println("Importing transaction test failed.");
ex.printStackTrace();
res = "TEST FAILED";
}
stat.printSummary("connector1.5ID");
debug("EXITING... STATUS = " + res);
return res;
}
private boolean checkResults(int num) throws Exception {
Object o = (new InitialContext()).lookup("MyMessageChecker");
MessageCheckerHome home = (MessageCheckerHome)
PortableRemoteObject.narrow(o, MessageCheckerHome.class);
MessageChecker checker = home.create();
int result = checker.getMessageCount();
return result == num;
}
private boolean done() throws Exception {
Object o = (new InitialContext()).lookup("MyMessageChecker");
MessageCheckerHome home = (MessageCheckerHome)
PortableRemoteObject.narrow(o, MessageCheckerHome.class);
MessageChecker checker = home.create();
return checker.done();
}
private int expectedResults() throws Exception {
Object o = (new InitialContext()).lookup("MyMessageChecker");
MessageCheckerHome home = (MessageCheckerHome)
PortableRemoteObject.narrow(o, MessageCheckerHome.class);
MessageChecker checker = home.create();
return checker.expectedResults();
}
private void notifyAndWait() throws Exception {
Object o = (new InitialContext()).lookup("MyMessageChecker");
MessageCheckerHome home = (MessageCheckerHome)
PortableRemoteObject.narrow(o, MessageCheckerHome.class);
MessageChecker checker = home.create();
checker.notifyAndWait();
}
private void debug(String msg) {
System.out.println("[CLIENT]:: --> " + msg);
}
}
|
Could sniffing flatulence be GOOD for you? Potent gas can help prevent cancer, strokes and heart attacks, claim scientists
Researchers reveal secret hea lth benefits of smelly gas hydrogen sulfide
Chemical is one of the gases produced as bacteria breaks down food in gut
Toxic in large doses but tiny amounts can help protect cells and fight illness
Exeter University experts say the gas has potential to be 'healthcare hero'
Scientists produce new compound to help body produce the right amount
The smell of flatulence has secret health benefits - and could help stave off cancer, strokes, heart attacks and dementia, scientists have revealed.
Hydrogen sulfide is one of a number of potent smelly gases produced by bacteria as it breaks down food in the gut.
It is toxic in large doses but in tiny amounts it helps protect cells and fight illness, according to experts at Exeter University.
When cells become stressed by disease they try to draw in enzymes to generate their own minute quantities of hydrogen sulfide.
The smell of flatulence has secret health benefits - and could help in the fight against strokes, heart attacks and dementia, research has revealed (file picture)
The chemical helps to preserve mitochondria, which drive energy production in blood vessel cells and regulate inflammation, and without it the cell can switch off and die.
Now researchers have come up with a new compound named AP39 to assist the body in producing just the right amount of hydrogen sulfide.
They believe it will help prevent or reverse mitochondrial damage, which is a key strategy in treating conditions such as stroke, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, dementia and ageing.
Professor Matt Whiteman from University of Exeter’s medical school said: 'When cells become stressed by disease, they draw in enzymes to generate minute quantities of hydrogen sulfide.
'This keeps the mitochondria ticking over and allows cells to live. If this doesn’t happen, the cells die and lose the ability to regulate survival and control inflammation.
'We have exploited this natural process by making a compound, called AP39, which slowly delivers very small amounts of this gas specifically to the mitochondria.
'Our results indicate that if stressed cells are treated with AP39, mitochondria are protected and cells stay alive.'
Small amounts of hydrogen sulfide could help stave off diseases such as cancer, according to experts at Exeter University
Before it can be tested on humans, researchers have run disease models to see how effective AP39 is.
Early results show that it can help up to 80 per cent more mitochondria survive highly destructive conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
Fellow researcher Dr. Mark Wood added: 'Although hydrogen sulfide is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases.' |
The “David Bowie of koalas” has been found in Queensland and, like the late superstar, her mismatched eyes have left fans mesmerised.
Staff from Australia Zoo’s rescue unit picked up the injured koala near a roadside north of Brisbane last month and, when they peered into her eyes, were surprised to find a blue one and a brown one staring back.
Carers have dubbed her “Bowie”, a nod to the late singer whose unique eyes were one of his defining features.
In Bowie the koala’s case, her different coloured eyes are the result of heterochromia, a condition very rarely seen in koalas.
Bowie the singer didn’t have heterochromia but his condition, characterised by a permanently dilated left pupil, gave him the appearance of also having one blue and one brown eye.
“Bowie’s heterochromia doesn’t affect how she sees the world around her – in fact her eyesight is great, exactly what we like to see in a young koala,” treating vet Sharon Griffiths says.
“She’s incredibly unique as heterochromia isn’t a common occurrence in koalas; its more often found in domestic mammal species such as dogs and cats.”
Bowie escaped any major injuries after apparently being hit by a car and is expected to be released back into the wild soon after being treated for a limp. |
Recently in Reporting Elder Abuse Category
Under a new bill proposed by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, the state of California would be required to establish tighter "suitability requirements" for nursing home owners, with the goal of preventing those who have a history of poor performance from acquiring additional nursing homes.
Furthermore, under Assembly Bill 927, the Department of Public Health would also be required to make it easier for the public to ascertain who exactly owns particular nursing homes throughout the state. The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform has called for greater transparency for years, so those contemplating placing a loved one in a California nursing home are able to easily determine who owns the nursing home they are considering.
According to a multi-part series on California nursing homes as reported by the Sacramento Bee:
"California has more nursing homes than any other state, and one of the country's highest percentages of facilities owned by for-profit interests. Yet, as more private investment groups acquire skilled-nursing facilities, and ownership structures grow ever more layered and complex, the department has not kept pace with industry changes to help consumers evaluate chains - or even to identify the principals behind them."
*One nursing home chain operating in California racked up abuse complaints last year at a pace seven times the statewide rate.
*A large competitor placed one in every 15 of its long-term residents in restraints.
*Still another corporate giant whose nursing homes dominate the Sacramento region experienced high nursing staff turnover at 90 percent of its facilities.
All elders in California nursing homes have the right to quality care and attention. If those rights are denied, abuse must be reported. For tips on reporting suspected neglect and/or elder abuse in a California nursing home, the Justice Department has a helpful citizen's guide that can be found at the following website: http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/pdfs/citizens_guide.pdf
"The fraud research community has long suspected that losses due to elder financial abuse were worse than the $2.9 billion previously estimated. True Link's data science team, looking for clarity and an accurate assessment of the problem, decided to tackle this question head-on.
The results of this research, The True Link Report on Elder Financial Abuse 2015, reveals that seniors lose $36.48 billion each year to elder financial abuse - more than twelve times what was previously reported. What's more, the highest proportion of these losses--to the tune of $16.99 billion a year--comes from deceptive, but technically legal, tactics designed to specifically take advantage of older Americans."
This eye-opening report also provided key findings including:
• Small losses are evidence of an underlying vulnerability: A senior who lost as little as $20 in a year to exploitation could be expected to lose $2,000 a year to other types of fraud.
• A person who receives just one telemarketing phone call per day is likely to experience three times as much financial loss as someone who receives no or only occasional telemarketing calls.
• It is estimated that 954,000 seniors are currently skipping meals as a result of financial abuse.
Moreover, the report broke down the abuse into categories and found that:
$16.99 billion is lost annually to financial exploitation, defined as when misleading or confusing language is used--often combined with social pressure and strategies that take advantage of cognitive decline and memory loss--to obtain a senior's consent to take his or her money.
$12.76 billion is lost annually through criminal fraud, which included explicitly illegal activity, such as the grandparent scam, the Nigerian prince scam, or identity theft.
$6.67 billion is lost annually to caregiver fraud, defined as deceit or theft enabled by a trusting relationship--typically a family member but sometimes a paid helper, friend, lawyer, accountant, or financial manager.
Financial abuse of an elder is a crime in California. If you believe an elder you know has been victim of financial abuse, report any suspicion of abuse to the National Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-677-1116. In California, reports can also be made to the local county Adult Protective Services Agency or to local law enforcement.
Nursing homes in California have a responsibility to prevent malnutrition in resident elders, per the California Department of Public Health. In fact, failure by nursing home staff to monitor residents during mealtime, and/or failure to provide nutritious meals is a form of neglect.
Symptoms that an elder residing in a California nursing home may be suffering from malnutrition include:
*Weight loss
*Lack of Energy
*Slow recovery or healing from injuries or wounds
Elders may not receive proper nutrition for a variety of reasons including, a dislike of the food being served, improper temperature of food being served, difficulty in chewing due to oral or dental problems or pain, difficulty in swallowing, being forced to eat alone, or at a time when other residents aren't eating. Elders suffering from anxiety, dementia, and depression may also reject meals, which can lead in time to malnutrition.
However, elders suffering from any of these conditions may be suffering from them due to neglect. For example, it is the responsibility of the nursing home to ensure that a resident elder does not have dental issues, or oral pain. Similarly, if an elder residing in a California nursing home is not getting the nutrition they need, because the food is bland, or cold, it is the responsibility of the nursing home to take steps to make the food taste better, by adding seasonings, serving the food at proper temperatures, or offering alternative meals.
As a resident of a California nursing home, elders are granted certain rights when it comes to their meals, and any nursing home who overlooks these steps may be found guilty of neglect. Neglect is a form of elder abuse and may be a civil or criminal offense in California. If you suspect that an elder you love is being neglected in any manner while residing in a California nursing home, report it to your local long-term care ombudsman. You may also want to contact an experienced, elder abuse attorney to discuss your concerns.
Elders are far more likely to suffer from diabetes than other age groups. It is estimated that 20% of adults between the ages of 65 and 75 have diabetes. That percentage climbs to 40% in adults over the age of 80. Needless to say, proper care of elders with diabetes in nursing homes is vital.
When elders with diabetes are not properly cared for, the side effects may be life threatening. For example, elders who have diabetes are at greater risk for mental and physical disabilities. They are also at greater risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, or stroke, all which may lead to premature death. Unfortunately, elders diagnosed with diabetes are also typically at an increased risk for depression, reduced mental functioning, and ongoing pain, all of which may lead to dangerous falls or injuries.
Nursing homes are responsible for ensuring that elders diagnosed with diabetes receive their proper medication, at the designated times. This may include insulin shots or oral medications. Nursing homes are also responsible for providing adequate nutrition, and/or restricting the diets of elder diabetics in order to ensure the maintenance of safe blood sugar levels. Furthermore, the nursing home staff are required to monitor the blood sugar levels of elders in their care through weekly or daily monitoring.
The failure of nursing home staff to properly care for elders with diabetes, including monitoring meals, and checking blood sugar levels constitutes neglect, a form of elder abuse. If you believe that a loved diabetic elder is being neglected while in the care of a California nursing home, you should consider contacting the Long-Term Care Ombudsman 24/7 Crisis Complaint Hotline: (800) 231-4024; Adult Protective Services; and/or your local Department of Public Health Licensing Office.
Remember that all elders in California nursing homes have the right to quality care and attention, regardless of their age or health. If those rights are denied, abuse must be reported. For additional tips on reporting suspected neglect and/or abuse in a California nursing home, the Justice Department has a helpful citizen's guide that can be found at the following website: http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/pdfs/citizens_guide.pdf
If an elder in your life needs assistance from a caregiver this year, it's important that you proceed with caution when choosing the best person to care for your loved one. Elder abuse comes in many forms including neglect, physical, financial, and sexual abuse. Within these different types of abuse, there are numerous ways that elders are victimized. While there are countless caring, qualified caregivers, there are also a lot of opportunists and criminals who would love to take advantage of an elder's trust.
Here are three tips to help you select the best caregiver for your loved elder:
1. Do NOT Hire Someone from an Ad
It is highly advisable that you hire a caregiver through a reputable agency rather than from an ad online or in the paper. Agencies such as San Diego Care Giver www.sdcaregiver.com may be a better place to begin your search for the caregiver of a senior in Southern California, rather than online at sites such as Craigslist.
2. Ask to See Background Checks an Agency has Run for You
There are no requirements for mandatory background checks of potential caregivers in California. However, most agencies will run them. It's always in your best interest to ask to see the background check to ensure they have been run, and what they yield, so you can be confident that you've done your best to select a safe and trustworthy caregiver.
3. Be Vigilant about References
It's never a good idea to solely rely on references given to you by a potential caregiver. It may sound extreme, but since this person will be trusted with a loved elder - who may be vulnerable to victimization - it is worth considering hiring a private investigator to do some background research on any potential caregiver candidate. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
Even if you've been incredibly diligent about hiring a caregiver, it's always advisable to take an inventory of valuable items before allowing someone into the home of an elder. Before a new caregiver begins work, photograph or film all valuable items. It is also worth the money to invest in a small safe or, at the very least, have a locked drawer that the caregiver cannot access.
Choosing a caregiver for a loved elder can be a daunting task, but it is smart to put as much time into the search as necessary to ensure your loved senior doesn't become the victim of elder abuse.
Financial abuse of elders is an unfortunate reality. In fact, elders are often specifically targeted by criminals looking to commit fraud and identity theft. There are many ways to prevent fraud and identity theft. It is important for elders, or their loved ones, to monitor their credit, and regularly review account statements to try to prevent or stop financial abuse.
All Californians are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. To get your free annual credit report visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This federal government approved website will enable you to pull your credit, or the credit of a loved senior, and receive a full report once each year.
While one free credit search is made available each year, elders would be smart to check their credit 2 or 3 times per year. Credit reports typically cost less than $20, and provide invaluable peace of mind by confirming that unauthorized accounts have not been opened, nor have illegitimate items been charged.
In addition to obtaining regular credit reports, it's a good idea to have duplicate copies of monthly account statements sent not only to the elder, but to their trusted Financial Advisor, attorney, CPA, or a trusted family member. This will provide additional confirmation that all charges appear accurate, nobody has acquired the account number, and it is not being used without the consent of the elder.
Warning signs of fraud on bank statements may include:
*Withdrawals from outside of the elder's primary area residence;
*Repeated withdrawals, particularly if the elder spends most of their time at home; and
*Checks written to unusual or unfamiliar people, organizations, or stores.
Keeping an eye on credit is important for Californians of all ages. However, it is especially important to monitor credit statements and account balances for elders who may have declining mental capacities, or medical conditions such as dementia that put them at greater risk for becoming a victim of financial elder abuse.
If you suspect, or confirm that your loved elder is the victim of financial abuse in California there are certain steps you should take. You may report any suspicion of abuse to the National Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-677-1116. In California, reports can be made to the local county Adult Protective Services Agency or to local law enforcement.
There are plenty of opportunists (read: criminals) looking for ways to obtain the sensitive, personal information of seniors. From digging through trash, to stealing from mailboxes, identity theft is alive and well in 2015. Many criminals specifically seek out the information of California seniors, who may be more vulnerable to having their identity stolen.
While there is no foolproof way to guarantee that your private information (date of birth, bank account numbers, social security number, etc.) won't fall into the hands of someone with bad intentions, there are things you can do to reduce the likelihood that you or an elder you love will fall prey to identity theft.
1. Shred Everything
All homes should have a paper shredder. Any documents with identifying information should be shredded after they are no longer needed. This includes bank statements, loan statements, mortgage statements, credit card bills, health/medical records, and any other documents which provide personal identifiers.
2. Consider Renting A Post Office Box
Unsecured mail is targeted by identity thieves frequently. Mailboxes which are unattended and unlocked can provide a treasure trove of identifying information for thieves. Similarly, outgoing mail should never sit in an unsecured mailbox. If you or a loved elder has an unsecured mailbox, it is worth considering renting a Post Office box, and sending all mail out from the post office.
3. Request To Pick Up New Checks At The Bank
New sets of checks are easily identifiable, and thieves would love to get their hands on them. If you do not have a secured mailed box or post office box, check with your bank about picking up your checks directly from the bank, rather than leaving them to chance in your mailbox.
In California, financial elder abuse is defined in Welfare and Institutions Code §15610.30. The code states: "Financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult occurs when a person or entity... takes, secrets, appropriates, obtains, or retains [or assists in doing any of these] real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful purpose or with intent to defraud or both."
Far too many elders in California become the victims of financial abuse each year. In order to prevent your loved elder from facing a headache of credit and legal problems, do your best to ensure that all of their identifying paperwork is secure in the mail, and that all documents with sensitive information are promptly shredded.
If you suspect, or confirm, that your loved elder is the victim of financial abuse in California there are certain steps you can take. You may report any suspicion of abuse to the National Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-677-1116. In California, reports can also be made to the local county Adult Protective Services Agency or to local law enforcement.
Nearly 70% of elder abuse victims are women, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It is worth noting that the population of elder women is much larger than the population of elderly men in the United States, however, that does not make these alarming statistics any less disturbing.
Why are women the victims of elder abuse more often than men? There are a few reasons most experts tend to agree upon.
1. Elderly females may be seen as easier targets for physical, financial, emotional, or even sexual abuse.
2. Women tend to live longer than men, and many live alone putting them in a position where they may be more likely to be abused.
3. Women tend to develop crippling physical diseases such as osteoporosis, which may take a long time to recover from.
Elderly women are far more likely to be sexually abused than men. Reports in the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect found that elderly women were six times more likely to be sexually abused than elderly men. Sexual abuse of elderly women occurs most often in nursing homes, or other assisted living facilities.
If you suspect that an elder --whether male or female--is being abused, it is vital to report your concerns immediately. Under California law elder abuse can be both a criminal and civil offense. The state of California has taken a firm stance and zero tolerance policy towards elder abuse in any capacity. As part of their mission to encourage all Californians to report suspected elder abuse, the state has created The Citizen's Guide To Preventing and Reporting Elder Abuse, which can be viewed in its entirety here.
If you believe an elder you know is being abused in any capacity while residing in a California nursing home, report it to the following agencies immediately:
• Local Law Enforcement, including the Police, Sheriff, and District Attorney's office. The San Diego County Sheriff's department can be reached at (858) 565-5200. The San Diego County District Attorney may be reached at 619-531-4040.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program provide a 24/7 Crisis Complaint Hotline at 800-231-4024.
• Adult Protective Services (APS). In San Diego County, you may contact: San Diego County Aging and Independent Services (858) 495-5660.
In California, the family of an elder who has passed away due to nursing home neglect or abuse has the right to file a lawsuit against the perpetrators seeking damages for the pain and suffering the elder was subjected to, and the wrongful death caused by the neglect.
To prove that an elder died in a California nursing home due to neglect, experienced California elder abuse attorneys will help you complete a thorough investigation to determine whether the evidence supports the necessary elements to prove the defendant failures caused the death. The following include some of the criteria that will be analyzed:
1. Supplying the necessaries of nutrition, hydration, hygiene or medical care for an elder or dependent adult;
2. Being aware of conditions that made the elder unable to supply him/herself with those necessities;
3. Denying or withholding the goods and services required to supply those necessities; and
4. Either knowing or being substantially certain the deprivation would cause injury or with a conscious disregard of the probability that the deprivation would cause injury.
Lastly, the plaintiff has to prove as a result of the failures/deprivation, the elder or dependent adult suffered either physical pain or mental anguish. Under the Elder Abuse Act, if a California plaintiff can prove the abuse/neglect was done with "recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice," the plaintiff may be entitled to additional remedies. However, the plaintiff has to meet its burden of proof by "clear and convincing evidence" which is the highest standard of proof in the civil context.
Southern California elders - particularly those residing in nursing homes, or skilled nursing facilities - are unfortunately prone to developing life-threatening bedsores. Bedsores, which are also known as pressure ulcers, can lead to a host of health problems, particularly in elders whose health may already be compromised. Similarly, because many elders may be confined to a bed or wheelchair, their risk for developing these sores is increased.
According to the Mayo Clinic:
People are at risk of developing pressure sores if they have difficulty moving and are unable to easily change position while seated or in bed. Immobility may be due to:
However, more specific risk factors affecting elders which make them so susceptible to bedsores may include advanced age, which results in thinner, drier, less elastic skin, which is generally more fragile. Elders may also develop bedsores after significant weight loss, which can accompany a long-term illness. Poor nutrition and/or dehydration also make elders susceptible to developing dangerous bedsores. Illnesses such as diabetes, and vascular diseases may also lead to damaged skin tissue, making it easier for a bedsore to develop. Likewise, elders who suffer from bowel or bladder incontinence are also likely to develop bedsores if soiled clothing isn't removed and replaced immediately.
Similarly, elders who are in a state of mental decline are typically more likely to develop dangerous bedsores. Those who have limited mental alertness may be unaware that sores are developing, leading them to progress into dangerous infections before being discovered. By the same token, any elder who has diminished sensory perception, such as those who are paralyzed, may also not discover bedsores until they have reached a dangerous stage.
The key to prevention (and treatment) of bedsores is to relieve pressure. This can be accomplished most effectively by repositioning an elder regularly, particularly once a bedsore has developed.
For elders residing in a Southern California nursing home, inspection of the skin should be a routine part of care. Unfortunately, all too often patients suffer from bedsores due to neglect or lack of an appropriate care plan implemented in the California nursing home. If you have found a bedsore on an elder you know, a doctor needs to be notified immediately. Bedsores can often be resolved with appropriate detection and treatment.
While many long-term care facilities in California provide excellent care, others subject their patients to many forms of neglect or elder abuse. The California Welfare & Institutions Code §15610.57, addresses "neglect" in part by stating it is "the negligent failure to exercise the degree of care a reasonable person would have exercised had they had the care and custody of an elderly person." This would include the failure to protect that elder from dehydration, bedsores, falls, other injuries caused by safety or health hazards and any type of injury that does not fit the explanation provided by the staff.
By law, the staff members employed by California nursing homes are required to report health changes observed in the elders residing in their facilities. Unfortunately, all too often these changes are unreported. The change in condition of a resident may not be reported for a variety of reasons, including fear that the nursing home be may fined for understaffing, or neglecting California elders residing within the facility. In other cases, a resident who has experienced a rapid deterioration in condition, may indicate that isolation, neglect, or even abuse is occurring within a facility.
Failure to report changes in condition to an elder's doctor and family members is a violation of the law. Changes in an elder's condition which must be reported may include, but is not limited to:
• Cracked lips, or sores in and around the mouth
• Noticeably dry skin
• Eyes which appear sunken in
• Disorientation/Confusion
• Fever and/or thirst
• Rapid weight loss
• Bed sores
• Broken bones
Elders residing within California nursing homes are granted certain rights. If they are violated, resulting in a change of condition, a crime may have been committed. It is important that all staff working in nursing homes in California report these changes in the condition of elderly residents in order to prevent serious health problems, injury, or even death to residents.
If you notice changes in the condition of your loved one while residing in a nursing home in California, report your concerns immediately. In Southern California and San Diego, you may consider reporting your suspicions to:
• Your loved one's doctor.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. They provide a 24/7 Crisis Complaint Hotline at 800-231-4024.
• Adult Protective Services (APS). In San Diego County, you may contact: San Diego County Aging and Independent Services (858) 495-5660, or the Eldercare Locator help line at 1-800-677-1116.
• Your Department of Public Health Licensing Office.
• Local Law Enforcement, including the Police, Sheriff, and District Attorney's office. The San Diego County Sheriff's department can be reached at (858) 565-5200. The San Diego County District Attorney may be reached at 619-531-4040.
All elders in California nursing homes have the right to quality care and attention, regardless of their age or health. If those rights are denied, abuse must be reported. For tips on reporting suspected neglect and/or abuse in a California nursing home, the Justice Department has a helpful citizen's guide that can be found at the following website: http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/pdfs/citizens_guide.pdf
Isolation is a form of Elder Abuse in California, per California Penal Code §15610.43. Elder abuse is a violation of the rights of elders by those charged with caring for them in facilities, such as California nursing homes. California nursing homes are required to provide reasonable care, and any intent to do otherwise constitutes a criminal action.
Elder Isolation may include:
*Any intentional actions, which prevent an elder resident from making or receiving phone calls, or having contact with family and friends outside of their residential, nursing facility.
*Any intentional actions which prevent the elder resident from speaking with their physicians, their attorneys, law enforcement or even members of their religious organization.
*Actions such as placing an elder in a locked room, or restraining them in another capacity without their consent.
*Confinement of an elder (which can also be deemed false imprisonment).
Elders are often isolated by nursing home staff as a way of dominating and/or instilling fear in the elder resident. The consequences that the elder may experience as the result can be traumatic. Elders who have been isolated often experience depression, anxiety, stress, and fear. In the worst cases, the lasting effects of isolation may result in suicide or death.
If you suspect that a loved elder may be experiencing intentional acts of isolation while in a his or her nursing home, speak up. Often elders who are being victimized in any way feel helpless to do anything about the abuse, for fear of repercussions.
If you suspect an elder you know is being abused in any capacity while residing in a California nursing home, report it to the following agencies immediately:
• Local Law Enforcement, including the Police, Sheriff, and District Attorney's office. The San Diego County Sheriff's department can be reached at (858) 565-5200. The San Diego County District Attorney may be reached at 619-531-4040
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. They provide a 24/7 Crisis Complaint Hotline at 800-231-4024
• Adult Protective Services (APS). In San Diego County, you may contact: San Diego County Aging and Independent Services (858) 495-5660.
In California, financial elder abuse is defined in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.30. The code states: "Financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult occurs when a person or entity... takes, secrets, appropriates, obtains, or retains [or assists in doing any of these] real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful purpose or with intent to defraud or both."
Although financial abuse is far too prevalent, the best defense against opportunists who would seek to defraud elders out of their money, property or belongings, is preventing the abuse in the first place. Although there is no surefire way to ensure that your loved one's finances are protected at all times, there are warning signs to look for, which can indicate that financial abuse is taking place.
In an effort to best protect a loved elder from financial abuse including a loss of their property, assets or money, be on the lookout for these warning signs that a caregiver, a family member or even a staff member at a California nursing home is victimizing elders:
One of the best means of ascertaining that a loved one and their finances are safe is through frequent contact with the elder. Simply by calling and/or visiting them you can often pick up on cues as to their overall wellbeing. Volunteering to help them once or twice a month with their finances, including paying bills will also give you a good picture of their financial health at all times. Furthermore, take advantage of the opportunity to help your loved elder obtain their free annual credit report, and review it with them to make sure that all records are correct. Paying attention to the relationships your loved elder has with others will also help to illuminate any potential opportunists in their lives.
If you suspect, or confirm that your loved elder is the victim of financial abuse in California there are certain steps you should take. In California, reports can be made to the local county Adult Protective Services Agency or to local law enforcement.
Opportunists continue to seek occasions to defraud elders out of money, and one of the many ways they continue to try to do it is through phone scams. In fact, according to the National Consumers League nearly 1/3 of phone fraud victims are over the age of 60. In recent months one of the newest scams involves a caller claiming to be from the IRS.
The scam works like this:
A caller impersonating an IRS employee will call and notify the resident that they owe a substantial amount of money in back taxes. They often then threaten the victim with an arrest warrant, or seizure of property if they do not pay the taxes immediately, via a pre-paid debit card, bringing a check to a particular location, wiring the money, or paying through PayPal. They often state from the start that the "debt" cannot be paid with a credit card.
This scam is not new, but it has defrauded victims out of more than $1,000,000 to date. The IRS and the Federal Trade Commission are both aware of the scam, and want you to keep the following in mind, if you get a call from anyone claiming to be from the IRS:
*The IRS will almost always contact you by mail, not by phone.
*The IRS will never threaten you with seizing your property or issuing an arrest warrant.
*The IRS will never demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will they insist that you pay using some specific, or peculiar method.
If a caller claiming to be from the IRS has scammed you, you should file a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration (800-366-4484) and with the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.gov. Include the words "IRS Telephone Scam" in your complaint.
There are plenty of people who make a living at the expense of others, and you definitely don't want to become a victim. If you would prefer to be removed from all phone sales lists, you can request to be put on the "Do Not Call" list, by registering at www.donotcall.gov.
Understaffing nursing homes is incredibly dangerous to adults over 65 residing in long-term care facilities such as Southern California nursing homes. That's precisely why specific laws and regulations are in place which mandate proper staffing at long-term care facilities.
Under California law, "The facility shall employ an adequate number of qualified personnel to carry out all of the functions of the facility" Health & Safety Code § 1599.1(a). Moreover, Health & Safety Code §1276.5-1276.65 mandates that nursing homes must provide a minimum of 3.2 nursing hours per patient per day.
Unfortunately, many facilities choose to ignore the California law. Even worse, the understaffing of nursing homes has been directly correlated to abuse and neglect of elders. Indeed, understaffing in California nursing homes leads to substandard care over and over again. Substandard care in nursing homes then leads to illness, injury, and too often, death.
Reports estimate that more than 90% of nursing homes in America are not adequately staffed to accomplish all caretaking tasks required by their elderly patients. In many instances, nursing homes in Southern California are so dangerously understaffed that nurses are unable to complete daily tasks such as delivering meals to their elderly residents' bedsides.
Legislation in California has been enacted to force an increase in staffing in California nursing homes. In 2004, for example, the Medi-Cal Long Term Care Reimbursement Act (AB 1629) was enacted to ensure high quality of care in nursing homes by increasing staffing and promoting compliance with State and Federal regulations.
However, studies appeared within just years of the enactment, which proved that the new reimbursement rate system did not result in significant improvement in quality. Although average staffing levels improved slightly, they remained far below the threshold of minimum staffing levels suggested by experts. Moreover, 16% of state nursing homes failed to meet the minimum staffing levels required by state law.
Six years after the law was enacted, in April 2010, other agencies published results of their independent investigations into the effects of the Act. Their findings were disappointing to say the least. Despite an influx of nearly $900 million in additional funding afforded to California nursing homes, more than 230 California nursing homes cut staff, paid lower wages, and/or allowed staffing levels to slip below the legally mandated minimum.
Understaffing in nursing homes has been linked to:
State and Federal law requires nursing homes to be properly staffed in order to protect the rights of all residents living in a nursing home or other long-term care facility. If an elder you know is being neglected, or abused while in the care of a facility charged with caring for them, report your suspicions to Adult Protective Services, an Ombudsman and/or an elder abuse attorney immediately.
Christopher C. Walton is a peer-recognized, California elder abuse attorney whose practice is dedicated to issues involving elder abuse & neglect. If you believe somebody you know has been a victim of elder abuse, please call (619) 233-0011 for a free and confidential consultation. |
//
// Copyright (c) 2020 Open Whisper Systems. All rights reserved.
//
import UIKit
import PromiseKit
@objc
public class OnboardingPhoneNumberDiscoverabilityViewController: OnboardingBaseViewController {
static let hInset: CGFloat = UIDevice.current.isPlusSizePhone ? 20 : 16
override var primaryLayoutMargins: UIEdgeInsets {
var defaultMargins = super.primaryLayoutMargins
switch traitCollection.horizontalSizeClass {
case .unspecified, .compact:
defaultMargins.left = 0
defaultMargins.right = 0
case .regular:
break
@unknown default:
break
}
return defaultMargins
}
private lazy var selectionDescriptionLabel = UILabel()
private lazy var nobodyButton = ButtonRow(
title: PhoneNumberDiscoverability.nameForDiscoverability(false)
)
private lazy var everybodyButton = ButtonRow(
title: PhoneNumberDiscoverability.nameForDiscoverability(true)
)
private var isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber = true {
didSet { updateSelections() }
}
// MARK: -
override public func loadView() {
view = UIView()
view.addSubview(primaryView)
primaryView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges()
view.backgroundColor = Theme.backgroundColor
let titleLabel = self.titleLabel(text: NSLocalizedString(
"ONBOARDING_PHONE_NUMBER_DISCOVERABILITY_TITLE",
comment: "Title of the 'onboarding phone number discoverability' view."
))
titleLabel.accessibilityIdentifier = "onboarding.phoneNumberDiscoverability." + "titleLabel"
var e164PhoneNumber = ""
if let phoneNumber = TSAccountManager.localNumber {
e164PhoneNumber = phoneNumber
} else {
owsFailDebug("missing phone number")
}
let formattedPhoneNumber =
PhoneNumber.bestEffortLocalizedPhoneNumber(withE164: e164PhoneNumber)
.replacingOccurrences(of: " ", with: "\u{00a0}")
let explanationTextFormat = NSLocalizedString(
"ONBOARDING_PHONE_NUMBER_DISCOVERABILITY_EXPLANATION_FORMAT",
comment: "Explanation of the 'onboarding phone number discoverability' view. Embeds {user phone number}"
)
let explanationLabel = self.explanationLabel(
explanationText: String(format: explanationTextFormat, formattedPhoneNumber)
)
explanationLabel.accessibilityIdentifier = "onboarding.phoneNumberDiscoverability." + "explanationLabel"
let textStack = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [titleLabel, explanationLabel])
textStack.axis = .vertical
textStack.spacing = 16
textStack.isLayoutMarginsRelativeArrangement = true
textStack.layoutMargins = UIEdgeInsets(top: 0, leading: 32, bottom: 0, trailing: 32)
everybodyButton.handler = { [weak self] _ in
self?.isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber = true
}
nobodyButton.handler = { [weak self] _ in
self?.isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber = false
}
selectionDescriptionLabel.font = .ows_dynamicTypeCaption1Clamped
selectionDescriptionLabel.textColor = .ows_gray45
selectionDescriptionLabel.numberOfLines = 0
selectionDescriptionLabel.lineBreakMode = .byWordWrapping
let descriptionLabelContainer = UIView()
descriptionLabelContainer.layoutMargins = UIEdgeInsets(
top: 16,
leading: Self.hInset,
bottom: 0,
trailing: 32
)
descriptionLabelContainer.addSubview(selectionDescriptionLabel)
selectionDescriptionLabel.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewMargins()
let nextButton = self.primaryButton(title: CommonStrings.nextButton,
selector: #selector(nextPressed))
nextButton.accessibilityIdentifier = "onboarding.phoneNumberDiscoverability." + "nextButton"
let primaryButtonView = OnboardingBaseViewController.horizontallyWrap(primaryButton: nextButton)
let compressableBottomMargin = UIView.vStretchingSpacer(minHeight: 16, maxHeight: primaryLayoutMargins.bottom)
let stackView = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [
textStack,
.spacer(withHeight: 60),
everybodyButton,
nobodyButton,
descriptionLabelContainer,
.vStretchingSpacer(),
primaryButtonView,
compressableBottomMargin
])
stackView.axis = .vertical
stackView.alignment = .fill
primaryView.addSubview(stackView)
// Because of the keyboard, vertical spacing can get pretty cramped,
// so we have custom spacer logic.
stackView.autoPinEdges(toSuperviewMarginsExcludingEdge: .bottom)
autoPinView(toBottomOfViewControllerOrKeyboard: stackView, avoidNotch: true)
updateSelections()
}
func updateSelections() {
everybodyButton.isSelected = isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber
nobodyButton.isSelected = !isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber
selectionDescriptionLabel.text = PhoneNumberDiscoverability.descriptionForDiscoverability(isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber)
}
@objc func nextPressed() {
guard let navigationController = navigationController else {
owsFailDebug("Missing navigationController")
return
}
SDSDatabaseStorage.shared.write { transaction in
TSAccountManager.sharedInstance().setIsDiscoverableByPhoneNumber(
self.isDiscoverableByPhoneNumber,
updateStorageService: true,
transaction: transaction
)
}
onboardingController.showNextMilestone(navigationController: navigationController)
}
}
private class ButtonRow: UIButton {
var handler: ((ButtonRow) -> Void)?
private let selectedImageView = UIImageView()
static let vInset: CGFloat = 11
static var hInset: CGFloat { OnboardingPhoneNumberDiscoverabilityViewController.hInset }
override var isSelected: Bool {
didSet {
selectedImageView.isHidden = !isSelected
}
}
init(title: String) {
super.init(frame: .zero)
addTarget(self, action: #selector(didTap), for: .touchUpInside)
setBackgroundImage(UIImage(color: Theme.cellSelectedColor), for: .highlighted)
setBackgroundImage(UIImage(color: Theme.backgroundColor), for: .normal)
let titleLabel = UILabel()
titleLabel.textColor = Theme.primaryTextColor
titleLabel.font = .ows_dynamicTypeBodyClamped
titleLabel.text = title
selectedImageView.isHidden = true
selectedImageView.image = #imageLiteral(resourceName: "accessory-check")
selectedImageView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
selectedImageView.autoSetDimension(.width, toSize: 15)
let stackView = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [titleLabel, .hStretchingSpacer(), selectedImageView])
stackView.isUserInteractionEnabled = false
stackView.axis = .horizontal
stackView.spacing = 8
stackView.isLayoutMarginsRelativeArrangement = true
stackView.layoutMargins = UIEdgeInsets(
top: Self.vInset,
leading: Self.hInset,
bottom: Self.vInset,
trailing: Self.hInset
)
addSubview(stackView)
stackView.autoPinEdgesToSuperviewEdges()
stackView.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: 44, relation: .greaterThanOrEqual)
let divider = UIView()
divider.backgroundColor = Theme.middleGrayColor
addSubview(divider)
divider.autoSetDimension(.height, toSize: CGHairlineWidth())
divider.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .trailing)
divider.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .bottom)
divider.autoPinEdge(toSuperviewEdge: .leading, withInset: Self.hInset)
}
required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
}
@objc
func didTap() {
handler?(self)
}
}
|
Southern Odyseey
Also known as “The Scotland of India” Coorg or Kodagu (originally called Kodaimalenadu) means’Dense forest on steep hill’. Misty hills, lush forest, acres and acres of tea and coffee plantation, orange groves, undulating streets and breathtaking views are what make Madikeri an unforgettable holiday destination. The region is scattered with hamlets, villages and townships surrounded by coffee plantations, orange groves interspersed with cardamom and pepper plants and dense forests. Cauvery, a major river of South India orginates from the Brahmagiri hill in Kodagu. |
In memory of Michel Makhlouta
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Michel Hanna Makhlouta (“Micho) on Wednesday, February 04, 2015 at Lion’s Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C., aged 48 years.
He leaves behind his father Hanna Makhlouta, wife Yuka Isogawa, sister Roula Hartman, brothers Tony and Richard Makhlouta, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and Godchildren. His beloved mother Nadia Makhlouta predeceased him in 2006 - Michel requested to be buried next to her at the Elgin Mills Cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Michel was a civil engineer and an airport planning and management executive. His work took him to numerous countries all over the world, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bhutan, and Dubai, to name just a few. Micho was tremendously caring towards his family and friends, and displayed the rare quality of avoiding judgement of others, instead choosing to support the people around him to achieve their goals and dreams. His humble yet strong presence will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a charity of your choice or to the Paul Sugar Palliative Support Foundation.Dr. Sugar provided attentive and compassionate care for Micho during his time at Lion’s Gate Hospital. Alternatively, as Micho frequently mentioned, please take some time to drive a cancer patient in need to a treatment session, on his behalf. |
Cytosolic and mitochondrial ROS: which one is associated with poor chromatin remodeling?
The aim of this study was to determine if there are any associations between impaired chromatin packaging and the origin of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Cytosolic ROS, mitochondrial ROS, DNA protamination, and apoptosis were evaluated with dichlorofluoresceindiacetate (DCFH-DA), dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR123), chromomycin A3 (CMA3), and YO-Pro-1 (Y1)/propidium iodide (PI), respectively, by flow cytometry (FCM) in 40 infertile individuals. Percentages DCF+ and R123+ sperm were positively associated with percentage CMA3+ sperm and negatively associated with percentage apoptotic sperm. No correlation was observed between CMA3+ sperm and the percentage of apoptotic sperm. Under protamination of sperm is not associated with the origin of ROS production, but their relationship may suggest an association with general physiological dysfunction of sperm. Furthermore, under protamination does make sperm prone to apoptosis. Rather, it is likely that apoptosis is induced by ROS production. Considering that these conclusions are derived from correlative analyses, additional studies including an interventive approach are required. |
Q:
How to create text on a semi-transparent overlay with Cycles?
I have Blender 2.73a and I am working on a movie project. I want to make HUD-like text since there are no voiceovers. I want the text to be like it is in The Legend of Zelda where it displays the text since that has no voiceovers also. It will be something like this
(source: deviantart.net) .
A:
You can create a text object and a plane that is translucent/transparent.
Add a copy rotation constraint using the camera as target (so that both objects are parallel to the camera).
Material for the plane:
Material for the text:
If you have a lot of titles you might need to create the titles as a separate scene and render each one as a PNG file to composite later.
|
import { Poly } from './poly'
import { createShape } from './util'
export const Polyline = createShape('polyline', {
attrs: {
body: {
refPoints: '0 0 10 0 10 10 0 10 0 0',
},
},
parent: Poly,
})
|
On a Saturday afternoon in late February, a lively crowd is squeezed along the narrow aisles of the Al Baraka Variety Store, waiting to shake the hand of Ahmed Hussen, Canada's new immigration minister. Everyone wants a selfie, and Mr. Hussen, his close-shaven head a good foot above the crowd, happily complies, grinning broadly and greeting people in Somali. His staffers keep their eye on the clock – the minister has a full day ahead and another block yet to travel down Toronto's Weston Road. Outside, as they see him on the sidewalk, families driving by beep their horns and shout greetings. At the corner of Lawrence Avenue, Nimo Hussein, a 20-year-old Somali woman in a plaid hijab, walking with her younger siblings, circles back to meet him. She tells him they're on their way to the library, and he bends down to chat with her brother and two sisters. "He was an immigrant, too," Ms. Hussein marvels. "He started there and he rose all the way up."
Mr. Hussen talks with a resident on his tour of York South-Weston, one of Canada’s most ethnically diverse ridings.
In Canada, as elsewhere, refugee communities take time to get their footing. Toronto's Somali community – the largest diaspora of Somali refugees in the Western world – has struggled more than most since their first wave landed in the city in the early 1990s. Ahmed Hussen was among them. Their experiences – with poverty, racism and culture shock – were his experiences. And this feel-good stroll down Weston Road, the business strip of the Somali neighbourhood here, plays out like a spontaneous celebration of a monumental first. A perfect success story in the year of Canada's 150th birthday.
Except that this is also the year of Donald Trump – and, so, the year of border walls, refugee bans and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Along the U.S. border with Manitoba and Quebec, asylum seekers, many of them Somali, have for weeks now been braving deep snow and freezing temperatures in a resolute effort to enter Canada. On the other side of the world, droves of refugees, many of them children fleeing war, are making their own dangerous runs at a better life as many countries slam their doors shut.
Story continues below advertisement
The Midwest Passage In February, Justin Giovannetti and photographer Ian Willms followed 22 asylum seekers who crossed the U.S. border into Manitoba. Read the full report here.
Ahmed Hussen's first month on the job says it all. In early January, he was in Turkey, helping a Canadian project deliver school supplies to some of those child refugees, when he was called back to Ottawa for an unexpected meeting with the Prime Minister. The Saturday after he was sworn in to cabinet, he watched a room of newcomers in Toronto take their oath of citizenship – as he himself had done 15 years earlier. The next day, he held his first press conference just as chaos was breaking out in American airports over a proposed U.S. ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Mr. Hussen's own former homeland. Before week's end, the new minister, himself a father with young sons, attended a funeral for three fathers gunned down in a Quebec City mosque.
It was not lost on the new immigration minister that one of the first questions put to him by a reporter, about whether he would be swept up in the ban, required him to clarify his citizenship: "I hold only one passport," he said, "and I am Canadian."
Mr. Hussen, 40, has spent most of his adult life studying, debating, and expounding on what it means to truly belong in a country – as a community organizer for the poor, as a political staffer to Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, as an immigration lawyer, and as the head of the Canadian Somali Congress. His rise is notable. But so, too, are the challenges he now faces: to manage an unpredictable, often-xenophobic American administration, to hold to Canadian values of openness against a worldwide tide of anti-immigrant sentiment. And, through it all, to keep Canadians safe.
This Friday, days after President Trump signed an amended immigration order in response to court challenges, Mr. Hussen met with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, in Ottawa, searching for common ground on a range of thorny border issues. Mr. Hussen has a reputation for courteous diplomacy, for treading carefully into contentious issues, and for having learned, as he puts it, "to focus on goals, not noise." But the two men – one, a Muslim refugee turned immigration lawyer who speaks of the importance of balancing security and compassion, and who understands firsthand the plight of asylum seekers; the other, a hard-talking military general who has floated the idea of separating mothers from their children at the U.S.-Mexican border – are telling symbols of the diverging paths of their respective countries.
Mr. Hussen weaves his way through a crowd with Zubair Patel, his director of operations and outreach.
Weston Road is the business strip of one of Toronto’s major Somali neighbourhoods.
Mr. Hussen chats with Milton Esson while he gets his hair cut.
Mr. Hussen talks with Cecilia Ortega of the Mount Dennis Neighbourhood Centre.
Mr. Hussen then helped out at the neighbourhood centre’s kitchen …
… where they made shepherd’s pie.
Mr. Hussen gives staffers Christine Whitten and Jordan Wilson encouragement for a job well done on their tour of York South-Weston.
Leaving civil war behind
His official landing in Canada is time-stamped in Ahmed Hussen's memory: Feb. 27, 1993, Lester B. Pearson International Airport. It was two in the afternoon. He was 16.
And what he knew of Canada amounted to a newspaper photo he'd once seen of Pierre Elliott Trudeau congratulating an Olympic gymnast. Back in Nairobi, Kenya, his parents – who had fled Somalia with their children in tow the year before – had put him on the plane with a family friend as his chaperone, bound for Toronto, where two older brothers were already living. He wasn't, Mr. Hussen recalls, given a choice in the matter. In Kenya, his parents might manage a life for themselves; for their youngest son, they wanted more. And there was no going home to Somalia, then two years into a raging civil war.
At first, in Toronto, he lived with his brother Mahammed, a delivery-truck driver. But it was soon decided that he should move to Hamilton, to share a place with a cousin attending Mohawk College. His apartment was walking distance to Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School – and, crucially, the grocery store. His cousin moved out during Ahmed's last year of high school, and he found himself living alone. When asked to name the biggest challenge he faced in those first years, he grins: cooking. "I didn't know how to make an egg," he confesses, "before I arrived in Canada."
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The teenager may have been coddled by his mother in that respect, but he arrived with one essential skill that set him apart from many of the other young Somali men then struggling to find their way: He spoke English extremely well. Neither of his parents had been formally educated – his mother, Amina, ran the household; his father, Dirir, a quiet man from a large family in central Somalia (who since passed away in Mogadishu, in 2000), was a truck driver, and often away from home.
When Ahmed was a little boy, an older cousin who lived in their Mogadishu home would send him down the street to buy newspapers. Over time, Ahmed began to ask for an explanation of the headlines – and received lessons in current affairs. The cousin also taught him English grammar, and even introduced him to Shakespeare. Later, Ahmed's mother hired a tutor, insisting her boy study each day after class. Ahmed missed a year of school in Kenya; but once in Canada, with his mother's expectations on his mind, and his siblings on watch, he quickly got back to work.
He would later say that it was the high-school track team that gave him the closest thing he would find in those years to a Canadian family to guide him. He was lean and lanky, and hungry to prove himself. His teammates remember ribbing Ahmed (still adjusting to the Canadian climate) for training in a tuque and long pants when everyone else was in shorts. His coach, a minister named Peter Wright, recalls the time Ahmed got lost, and ended up running along Highway 403. ("This can't be right," Mr. Hussen himself now recalls thinking.) Beyond the athletics, he fondly remembers dinners at the Wright home, and finding friends in a country that he was still trying to understand.
After graduating from high school, and working briefly as a clerk with a local government social-service agency, Ahmed decided to go to university, and moved back in with Mahammed in an apartment in Regent Park, a social-housing project in Toronto largely populated by newcomers to Canada, including the city's growing Somali population. He was still waiting to attain permanent residency, which would make a student loan possible. "Mine took forever," he recalls.
As he waited, he says, he earned money by pumping gas at a Mississauga service station, a job that required him to leave Regent Park at 5:30 a.m., and take a streetcar, then a subway, then a bus. "All to make $6.85 an hour," he says ruefully, "which at the time, to me, was a lot of money." But by September, 1998 – five and a half years after landing in Canada – he'd saved enough to embark on a history degree at York University.
Still, in Regent Park, he experienced the toll of feeling powerless and poor. "Your ceiling would just leak," he recalls. "My books would be ruined because I would wake up one morning, and there would be water everywhere. The elevator wouldn't work. Things wouldn't get fixed." At the development's only store, he says, customers were just as likely to be treated as criminals.
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In his final year of university, during a community barbecue in Regent Park, Mr. Hussen met Toronto MLA George Smitherman, who in turn introduced him to a group of residents organizing a new neighbourhood association that they hoped would give them a voice in a $500-million plan to redevelop the ramshackle public-housing project, built in the 1940s.
It was only a few meetings later that the group decided to make Mr. Hussen its chair – he was young, well-spoken, a voice for the multicultural residents of Regent Park. Meeting with government officials and police officers, to share the perspective of residents, served as Mr. Hussen's first introduction to local politics, and his first lesson in how to sell his message in a way that would make other players sit up and listen.
Among their goals, the group was trying to make the case for basic services in Regent Park, but getting nowhere. "Why don't we simplify this?" Mr. Hussen remembers thinking. "I counted the number of Canada Post mailboxes in Regent Park, and there were none. I am not saying none, rhetorically. There were none. And something like 20,000 people live there. A kid who wanted to send a job resumé had to leave Regent Park to put it in a mailbox. I thought that was crazy." On a trip to Wasaga Beach in Ontario's cottage country, he walked around and counted the mailboxes there: 22. That comparison became a central point in his presentation.
"Everything you can think of, we got the short end of the stick," he says now. "It wasn't until this group started to ask questions, and point out those peculiar stats, that things started to change."
Says Derek Ballantyne, who was then the CEO of Toronto Community Housing: "He was attentive to the different points in the room. He definitely didn't let himself get provoked, and he was always smart about how to assess the situation without being overdramatic or angry."
Mr. Hussen's experience at Regent Park, he says, showed him how "small-p politics can be a force for good." Although he had no plans to run for office, he knew he wanted to somehow shape public policy. "For me, it was like something you could touch. I started valuing politics as a public service, as a tangible thing that can actually deliver for people."
He had also begun to build what would become a cadre of mentors. His mother, he says, had taught him one particular Arabic proverb at a young age: "Saying to someone, 'I don't know. Can you tell me?' is 50 per cent of knowledge." He has learned, he says, to use the experience of other people. (He still regularly calls Mr. Smitherman, a former Ontario deputy premier and a father himself, to seek advice, especially on juggling political responsibilities with family life.)
In 2001, his newly minted history degree in hand, Mr. Hussen was introduced by Mr. Smitherman to the chief of staff of Dalton McGuinty, then Ontario's opposition leader. Offered a job working the phones as a receptionist, he grabbed it.
Mr. Hussen helps his middle son, Maahir, with his lunch at a fish-and-chips restaurant.
Mr. Hussen sets out for his riding tour with his wife Ebyan, at the rear with a stroller, and his three children: Mayhab, 7, right, Maahir, 3, and five-month-old Saalim.
Mr. Hussen’s family says goodbye as he goes about his tour.
A master of arcana
Ahmed Hussen is a scholar by nature, and, especially, a student of history. "History is truly about now and what happens in the future," he says. "If you really study history, you can see it repeating itself, you can see the patterns."
Although he declines to join the chorus of observers drawing parallels between the current American administration and darker times gone by, he does say this: "We are at a point in history when many countries are making the choice to close their borders to people, to ideas, to new ways of thinking. Other countries have their sovereign right to do what they want with their policies. In Canada, we made a different choice." And he's proud to now play a pivotal role in that choice: "History will judge that countries that are open will be more successful at the end of the day."
He is a prolific reader, by all accounts – from the memoir of onetime British Labour Party MP and foreign secretary Robin Cook, to the history of the Reformation, to the food travels of Anthony Bourdain. (Mr. Hussen's wife, Ebyan, volunteers that he also has an insatiable appetite for the Food Network, with results she appreciates: He makes a fine risotto.)
His friends describe having lengthy, wonky discussions into the night about the American Civil War or the evolution of Sweden as a society. "He can talk a lot," jokes friend Rachel Pulfer, the executive director of Journalists for Human Rights. "He has more energy than the average person for topics that are unspeakably dull."
A knowledge of arcane historical tidbits has proven useful over the years. Arnold Chan, now an MP himself, but once Mr. Hussen's boss in premier McGuinty's office, recalls the day Mr. McGuinty, on short notice, had to get on the phone with the leader of Myanmar. Mr. Hussen rhymed off several facts about the country, from memory, and Mr. Chan immediately sent him in to brief the premier.
On the campaign trail, door-knocking in the predominantly Italian neighbourhoods of his riding, he was often able to bond, first over soccer, and then – often drinking espresso at kitchen tables – by talking about the Italian influence on Somali culture: the words that are the same in both languages, the fact that spaghetti is a Somali staple. (Mr. Hussen's family has its own Italian ties. His father's youngest brother served as Somalia's ambassador to Italy during the 1960s, before a military coup saw him recalled, and then jailed for a period.)
At a time when mosques are being fired upon and synagogues defaced, the new minister's personal history, as well as his understanding of global affairs, informs his take on the racist vitriol now ricocheting in circles both political and pedestrian. "It is important," he says, "to call particular types of intolerance by their name – anti-Semitism, Islamophobia."
And while the anti-Muslim bombast coming out of the White House make headlines, Mr. Hussen points out that Canada is not faultless: Statistics suggests that hate crimes against the Muslim community have been increasing. "What we can learn from history is that those who peddle in hate tend to be always in the minority," he says, "but the key force that changes the dynamic is the silent majority. The day that the silent majority is activated and educated about the danger of intolerance – that is when things change. That lesson was true in the civil rights movement, and it is true today."
Extremists of any stripe, he says, should not be allowed to control the narrative. "Why should radicals define my religion?" asks Mr. Hussen, who describes his faith as a "personal moral compass" that doesn't directly inform his decisions on public policy.
Asked about the asylum seekers risking so much to enter Canada – a new group this week braved a blizzard while crossing into Manitoba – he treads carefully. He's guided, he says, by his own experience, his legal background and his political responsibilities. "Asylum seekers are people in need of protection, they are not criminals … I don't subscribe to the notion, espoused by some conservatives today, that we should lock up these people, or just throw them over to the United States – in fact, it is illegal." He is quick to add, however, that "we have an obligation to make sure compassion is coupled with a screening process."
'Are you kidding me?'
One of Ahmed Hussen's first acts as an MP was to propose a name-blind hiring process for the public service. Anonymous resumés would aim to prevent managers from making biased choices based on gender and race, even unconsciously; the idea is being considered by the Treasury Board.
As a black man in Canada – who has an Arabic name, and slightly, though elegantly, accented English – Mr. Hussen has had his fair share of personal experiences with racial profiling.
In July, 2004, Ahmed Hussen, then a policy adviser to Dalton McGuinty, stood on the edge of a crowd gathered at the Shaw Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., for a meeting of the Council of the Federation, an event attended by the provincial premiers and other Canadian movers and shakers. As guests headed to dinner, a wealthy Toronto businessman (Mr. Hussen, ever the diplomat, won't identify him) stopped short, looked him up and down, and posed the following question, in apparent reference to the South African performers that had just finished playing their set: "Are you in the band?"
For his boss's sake, Mr. Hussen would admit later, he should have let it pass. But he couldn't. "I just got angry," he recalls, his voice rising even now, in the telling. "Because: Are you kidding me? Do I look like an entertainer?" Mr. Hussen was in a suit and tie; the band was dressed entirely in black. Could it have been an awkward attempt to make conversation? Mr. Hussen scoffs. "He was poking me. He said, 'The only black people in my circle are either servants or entertainers.' In his mind, I had to fit into one of those two."
Mr. Hussen told the man that he was working for the premier. "He said, 'How on earth did you get that job?' And I said, 'I got a degree, I volunteered, I got it the hard way.'"
It was not the first time he experienced the negative side of being a black man in Canada. Two years earlier, while finishing up his degree, he was grocery shopping when he noticed two security guards pacing behind him. As he stood in line to pay, and in front of other customers, the guards asked him to empty his pockets. "I have never stolen anything in my life," he says, looking back on the incident. "It was very humiliating." Recalling the story in his bare-bones office in an industrial section of York South-Weston, he says, "I am very proud of this country. I love this country, and it's been very good to me. … You try to find the reason why it could be something else."
He is quick to point out that there were plenty of times when he's been fully embraced by the citizens of his adopted home – during his days on the track team in Hamilton; in the helping hand he received from Mr. Smitherman and the community organizers at Regent Park who coached him into a leadership role. But he also, however subtly, experienced the world differently than most of those who helped him out along the way. Sriram Raman, a friend from his time with Mr. McGuinty, says that Mr. Hussen remains highly attuned to the nuances of day-to-day racism. During the Liberal nomination meeting, a voter asked if Mr. Hussen would "only" represent his own community. His response: Would you put that question to a candidate of Italian heritage?
In the fall of 2007, Mr. Hussen and Mark Persaud, a Toronto lawyer who came to Canada as a refugee from Guyana, were driving to New York to participate in the launch of a project helping street children in Nigeria. On the freeway one night, they were pulled over by state troopers as part of a routine traffic stop. Mr. Hussen put his hands on the wheel, in plain sight, only moving them after asking the trooper's permission. "I would never think about doing that, and I'm a brown man," Mr. Persaud recalls. "Ahmed understands that the police have a difficult job to do, but he also understands racism as a reality." When reminded of the anecdote, Mr. Hussen adds that, having lived in Regent Park, "you know how to behave around police." After a friendly exchange, the trooper sent them on their way.
The anecdote seems of a piece with his trademark pragmatism: Why pick a fight when a handshake will do? "He has a very strong sense of humility," says Justice Donald McLeod, one of a handful of black judges on the Ontario Court, who came to know Mr. Hussen recently when the two began meeting to discuss ways to help the African-Canadian community in areas such as mental health and corrections. "It is not put on. It is not, 'I am going to be pious.' There is a strength that comes with that."
Amanda Lindhout, shown in her Canmore, Alta., home in 2015, got acquainted with Mr. Hussen when he was president of the Canadian Somali Congress. She had been abducted in Somalia in 2008 while working as a journalist there, and spent more than a year in captivity. TODD KOROL FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Wrestling with a question
Amanda Lindhout was living in a one-bedroom apartment with her mother in Canmore, Alta., trying to shake the demons, when the phone call came. It was the winter of 2010, and she'd been home for four months, released by captors in Somalia after she had been kidnapped while working as a journalist. Wrestling with PTSD, she wasn't ready yet to tell her story. Mr. Hussen, then president of the Canadian Somali Congress, reached out to her through Facebook, and asked her permission to give her a call.
On the phone, as Ms. Lindhout recalls it now, he was a stranger's voice, but "so genuine in his concern for me, and his deep regret that his country and countrymen had hurt me in the ways that they did." He asked if he could come and visit, to shake her hand in person. "That meant everything to me at the time," Ms. Lindhout recalls, "to have this prominent Somali male going out of his way to convey his apologies to me."
Soon after, the two met at a coffee shop. They spoke for several hours. Mr. Hussen talked about Somalia, she recalls, its beautiful history, and the place it had once been. She told him she was thinking about starting a foundation to provide scholarships for Somali women, and he volunteered to join the board.
At the time, Mr. Hussen was making trips back and forth to Alberta, while attending law school at the University of Ottawa and serving as president of the Congress, a grassroots organization he had helped create. There had been a spate of violent deaths involving young men of Somali descent in Edmonton and Calgary. Almost all of them had travelled to Alberta from Toronto in search of work. Finding doors to better jobs closed, some of them had become mules in the drug trade, and unwitting targets for warring gangs.
In media panels and interviews, Mr. Hussen became the national voice for the Somali community, and their bridge to the police and to politicians such as Jason Kenney, who was then the minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, and who developed a friendship with Mr. Hussen. In community meetings, Mr. Hussen explained how the Canadian legal system worked – and that Crime Stoppers really was anonymous – and where families could go for help. "We have these really great resources, but a lot of newer Canadians really don't know about them," he says. "What's the point of having them if we don't educate pockets of our community?"
He was also known to point out the problems within the Somali community itself, in particular the tension between first-generation Canadians trying to integrate into Western society, and more traditional elders still fomenting clan divisions carried over from the homeland. "His style of leadership," Mahamad Accord, a Somali community leader in Alberta, "was very advanced for them."
Says Mr. Kenney: "Often in meetings with the Somali community, people would get understandably quite emotional, and Ahmed was always a kind of rock of stability and an anchor in a positive sense."
For Mr. Hussen himself, one of the key problems within the community was a lack of a sense of belonging in mainstream Canada. He has wrestled most of his adult life with this fundamental question, one certain to inform his interactions in cabinet and his view of policy in his portfolio: When does someone truly become a Canadian?
The deaths of the young men in Alberta, he often pointed out, were not an immigrant problem: These were people who had grown up in Canada – some even born here. In 2013, when a task force of the Toronto District School Board recommended separate programs for Somali students, Mr. Hussen joined a group of parents protesting, because they felt their children would be stigmatized. He still believes that Canada settles newcomers well, but integrates them less successfully. "Multiculturalism is not about song and dance," he says. "It is about integration, and integration presumes true equality."
In our interview, the word racism often seems to hang in the air, unspoken. As his friend Mr. Raman puts it, "He makes a conscious decision not to use that word. He says it is such as easy label to use. And it just gets people riled."
Taking aim at toxicity
In 2011, the same year he graduated from law school, Ahmed Hussen testified before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security on the subject of radicalization within the Canadian-Somali community. In his opinion, he told the congressmen, a lack of opportunities makes people "vulnerable to a narrative that makes them hate the very countries that sustain them – the very countries that provided welcome and refuge to their parents." (At the time, a handful of young Toronto men had travelled back to Somalia to join the jihadist terrorist group Al-Shabaab; parents, he says, confessed to him that they were hiding their children's passports.)
Too often, he argued, countries, including Canada, treated radicalization as a law-enforcement issue, without making "a parallel attempt to counter the toxic anti-Western narrative that creates a culture of victimhood in the minds of members of my community." It's not enough, he told the committee, to hope that "our values will percolate into their brains by osmosis."
In fact, Mr. Hussen himself had already found one important way to encourage integration: mentorship. He often tells the story of a Canadian-Somali youth he knew who had earned a degree in accounting at a Toronto university; when Mr. Hussen ran into him one day, he was working at Tim Hortons – he hadn't been able to find a Somali accountant, he explained, who would take him on as an intern. "But why," Mr. Hussen asked, "does he or she have to be Somali?" It was not a rhetorical question: Mr. Hussen himself knew well the value of reaching out beyond his community for career help. After he graduated from law school, a contact introduced him to Harminder Dhillon, a Punjabi Sikh lawyer, who took him on as an articling student.
With that in mind, and working with Mark Persaud, who had helped found the Canadian Somali Congress and was CEO of the Canadian International Peace Project, Mr. Hussen approached the Canadian Jewish Congress in 2008 to ask if it would consider running a mentorship program for Muslim university graduates. Bernie Farber, chief executive officer of the CJC at the time, recalls his introduction to Mr. Hussen. "He was this tall, gawky kind of guy, and the first thing he did when we met was – he didn't shake my hand – he hugged me. And I've never forgotten that."
Within the Somali community, "there was some discomfort," concedes Hussein Warsame, a business professor at the University of Calgary, who met Mr. Hussen when he was travelling back and forth to Alberta. "Growing up, we were told that Israel is the enemy, that we have to be careful, that we can't trust them. And Ahmed said, 'Here is a very successful community, who are known to help people who went through difficult times, because this is their own history.' He was different from other Somali activists. This is why I always thought Ahmed Hussen would be someone important."
After articling with Mr. Dhillon, Mr. Hussen ran his own practice, focusing mainly on immigration cases. He and Ebyan – a Somali refugee herself, with a degree in sustainable business management – met when she sat on the board of the Somali Congress; one day, he invited her for coffee, and declared his intention to marry her. ("The feeling," Ebyan says, "was mutual.")
Still, becoming a political family has required some adjustment: Ebyan and the children have continued to live in their home north of Toronto; Ebyan's mother lives with them. "Everyone's No. 1 question is: 'How do you do it?'" she says, clearly weary of being asked. "But it's the quality of time we spend together" during Ahmed's time in the riding. Besides, she has her own plans – she is taking over as president of the Canadian Somali Congress, and plans to expand its mentorship program.
Mr. Hussen shakes hands with John Jung Ko, president of the Korean Canadian Business Association, at the Arirang Gala in Toronto’s Richmond Hill neighbourhood on Feb. 25.
Stiff backbone required
"Minister, I want to get your mind to the next event," says senior adviser Tia Tariq, as they approach the Arirang Gala, a fundraiser for the Korean community in Richmond Hill, Ont. "We're almost there."
His speech tonight will be a boilerplate political greeting – a few words about the event, praise for the work being done. "But you need to say the Korean greeting," says Zubair Patel, Mr. Hussen's director of operations and outreach, who is behind the wheel.
"Anyoung haseyo," Mr. Patel says.
"Anyoung haseyo," Mr. Hussen practises. "Anyoung haseyo."
"And then you have to bow a little bit."
"Yes, okay."
At the event, Mr. Hussen sits at a table with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, waiting to be called up. He says the greeting with confidence, and takes his bow, to applause from the crowd. Less than 20 minutes later, his staffers have him back in the car, heading toward the next pop-and-run, a Portuguese dinner and concert at a union hall across town.
Mr. Hussen talks with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne at the Arirang Gala.
Mr. Hussen walks to the podium to speak at the gala.
This is how the day has gone. A quick brunch with Ebyan and their sons at a favourite fish-and-chips restaurant in the riding, during which a conversation with a constituent tied up most of the meal, followed by shaking hands and passing out flyers on the sidewalk, and a brief stop for coffee. Mr. Hussen is warm and comfortable with his staff – throughout the day, he seeks their input regularly – and while he can sometimes appear too formal in speeches, he is outgoing in a crowd, and clearly energized, one-on-one, by the chance to delve more deeply into whatever is on their minds.
His appointment, Jason Kenney points out, was counterintuitive – in the past, prime ministers have shied away giving the post to immigrant MPs or even those with predominantly immigrant ridings. Even without the complications of the Trump presidency, Mr. Kenney, who had the job under Stephen Harper from 2008 to 2013, says it's one of the toughest spots in cabinet – requiring, among other attributes, a stiff backbone to deal with constant requests for political intervention in failed asylum cases. (Mr. Hussen's Facebook page is already full of heartbreaking pleas from people saying they are posting from Syrian refugee camps.)
Mr. Kenney says, however, that he's confident Mr. Hussen will be sympathetic to the plight of would-be refugees without being a "pushover" when it comes to enforcing the law and protecting national security. "I know him to be a conscientious, serious guy with a very balanced approach," he says. "It's not an issue at all."
Still, Mr. Hussen will have much to contend with – his meeting with Mr. Kelly is only the beginning of what promises to be a tricky diplomatic dance with Canada's neighbour to the south. As he juggles his demanding file, he may find sustenance in the very values that are likely to clash with those of Mr. Trump and his colleagues.
Rounding out the day that began at the Al Baraka Variety, he arrives at the African Canadian Achievement Awards in downtown Toronto, where at intermission, Kayla Benjamin, a 26-year-old award presenter in a shimmering dress, leans over and asks. "Is that the immigration minister? I want to get a picture with him." As a selfie is being arranged, Ms. Benjamin explains her excitement at capturing her moment with Mr. Hussen. "In the current climate," she says, "he is a beacon of hope."
Erin Anderssen is a feature writer at The Globe and Mail.
Michelle Zilio is a reporter in the Globe's Ottawa bureau.
TRUDEAU'S INNER CIRCLE: MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL
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In a recent blog posting, a German operator of a Tor anonymous proxy server revealed that he was arrested by German police officers at the end of July. Although he was released shortly afterwards, information about the arrest had been kept quiet until his lawyers were able to get the charges dropped.
Tor Project
Tor is a privacy tool designed to allow users to communicate and browse anonymously on the Internet. It's endorsed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other civil liberties groups as a method for whistle blowers and human rights workers to communicate with journalists. Tor provides anonymous Web-browsing software to hundreds of thousands of users around the world, according to its developers. The largest numbers of users are in the United States, the European Union and China.
The police were investigating a bomb threat posted to an online forum for German police officers. The police traced one of the objectionable posts on the forum to the IP address for Janssen's server. Up until his arrest, Alex Janssen's Tor server carried more than 40GB of random strangers' Internet traffic each day.
Showing up at his house at midnight on a Sunday night, police cuffed and arrested him in front of his wife and seized his equipment. In a display of both bitter irony and incompetence, the police did not take or shutdown the Tor server responsible for the traffic they were interested in, which was located in a different city, more than 500km away.
Janssen's attempts to explain what Tor is to the police officers initially fell on deaf ears. After being interrogated for hours, someone from the city of Düsseldorf's equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security showed up and admitted to Janssen that they'd made a mistake. He was released shortly after.
Germany is clearly not going out of its way to make computer security researchers and activists feel too welcome. Germany recently passed a law that "renders the creation and distribution of software illegal that could be used by someone to break into a computer system or could be used to prepare a break in. This includes port scanners like nmap, security scanners like nessus [as well as] proof of concept exploits."
Back in summer 2006, German authorities conducted a simultaneous raid of seven different data centers, seizing 10 Tor servers in the process. Agents took the servers believing them to be related to a child porn investigation. Furthermore, in 2003 a German court ordered the developers of the Jap anonymity system, a completely different project than Tor, to create a back-door in their system to be used in national security investigations.
This event does raise some interesting legal questions. If 40GB of other people's Internet traffic flows through your own home network, can authorities, be they the RIAA or FBI, reasonably link anything that has been tracked to your computer's IP address to you?
Does setting up a Tor server give you the ultimate plausible deniability card? "No officer, that BitTorrent downloadwasn't mine. It was from one of the thousands of people who route their Internet traffic through the anonymizing sever on my home network."
The ability to have a believable claim to plausible deniability is something that some of us have been attempting to get for a while by having an open wireless access point at home. And 40GB of Internet traffic from perfect strangers may be more significant in the eyes of a court than the possibility of one or two of your neighbors connecting to your wireless network. All of this, for now, remains theoretical. No Tor-related case has made it to the courts.. but it's just a matter of time until one does. |
Identification of ellagic acid as potent inhibitor of protein kinase CK2: a successful example of a virtual screening application.
Casein kinase 2 (CK2) is a ubiquitous, essential, and highly pleiotropic protein kinase whose abnormally high constitutive activity is suspected to underlie its pathogenic potential in neoplasia and other diseases. Using a virtual screening approach, we have identified the ellagic acid, a naturally occurring tannic acid derivative, as a novel potent CK2 inhibitor. At present, ellagic acid represents the most potent known CK2 inhibitor (K(i) = 20 nM). |
Therapeutic problems in elderly patients with hemophilia.
Since the introduction of clotting factor concentrates, the life expectancy of patients with hemophilia has increased from 40 years in the 1960s to 60 or even 70 years today. In Poland, almost all elderly patients with hemophilia have arthropathy, the majority are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and some even with hepatitis B or human immunodeficiency virus. Liver cirrhosis associated with HCV infection develops within 15 to 20 years in 20% to 30% of these patients. Coexistent diseases related to aging and affecting the heart, kidneys, and other organs constitute another challenge. To prevent ischemic heart disease, cardiovascular risk factors should be carefully monitored. The present paper describes the current recommendations for the use of antithrombotic therapy for acute coronary syndromes and atrial fibrillation in patients with hemophilia. Changes in the urinary system in hemophiliacs develop with age, often leading to dialysis. There is an urgent need for intensive physiotherapy and improved access to orthopedic treatment for patients with arthropathy. High‑risk surgical procedures in these patients should be performed in specialized centers with an experienced team and a coagulation laboratory. Older patients with mild hemophilia are at an increased risk for inhibitor development following intensive factor replacement therapy for surgical or invasive procedures. Pain control is a particular challenge due to contraindications to the use of many effective analgesics; another concern is the quality of life of these patients. An increasing number of older patients with hemophilia requires a comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic approach, preferably at hematological centers. |
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+ "," + odiDress.IsDeleted + "," + odiDress.IsApplied + "," + odiDress.Amount + "," + odiDress.IsPriceApplied + ")";
db_local.ExecuteStoreCommand(insertStatementDressing);
When i execute this query it get converts to follwing but not a complete executable string that can e accepted by database.
Insert into OrderDressing(SrNo,
DressingID,
OrderItemID,
OrderID,
ProductID,
OrderMealDealItemID,
IsDeleted,
IsApplied,
Amount,
IsPriceApplied)
values('02785d81-dc9f-4bf1-8050-7498bcb427c7',38,1,20,3,
A:
Because you are creating the SQL string manually you also need to create the NULL value manually. Try this:
insertStatementDressing = @"Insert into OrderDressing(SrNo,DressingID,OrderItemID,OrderID,ProductID,OrderMealDealItemID,IsDeleted,IsApplied,Amount,IsPriceApplied)
values('" + odiDress.SrNo + "'," + odiDress.DressingID + "," + odiDress.OrderItemID + "," +
latestOrderID_onLocal + "," + odiD.ProductID + "," +
odiDress.OrderMealDealItemID.HasValue ? odiDress.OrderMealDealItemID.Value.ToString() : "NULL" + "," + odiDress.IsDeleted + "," + odiDress.IsApplied + "," + odiDress.Amount + "," + odiDress.IsPriceApplied + ")";
Note that you should avoid writing queries like this as they are vulnerable to SQL injection (among other issues)
|
Ask the Doctors
Dear Doctor: Which pain reliever is safer -- acetaminophen, ibuprofen, celecoxib or naproxen? It seems as if they all carry some risks.
Dear Reader: Pain is a symptom to which we can all relate. It's also an important indicator of possible injury within the body and should be acknowledged, not simply by taking medication, but also by understanding the cause of the pain. That said, one person's pain is different than another's, with some people needing greater pain relief.
So, if you need a medication for pain, what should you use? Let's look first at acetaminophen (Tylenol). Acetaminophen has been used since 1955; it is available in multiple products, works well for pain, and is for the most part safe. However, at high doses -- specifically, above 4,000 milligrams a day, or eight tablets of Extra Strength Tylenol -- the medication can cause liver damage, or even death, especially in those who are malnourished, drink alcohol in excess or consistently take more than 4,000 mg per day. Age is also a factor, as those over 40 have a greater risk of liver failure and death after over-dosage.
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) has been used for pain since 1974. It is one of many medications classified as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). NSAIDs work by inhibiting formation of mediators of pain and inflammation, and they're notably effective at decreasing inflammation in swollen joints related to arthritis.
Naproxen (Aleve) was first marketed in 1976 and works similarly to ibuprofen. But it has a longer half-life, giving it a longer-lasting effect. Both ibuprofen and naproxen decrease the formation of prostaglandins in the stomach. These chemicals produced by the body have hormonelike effects, protecting the stomach lining from acidity. The decrease of prostaglandins can injure the stomach lining, leading to stomach inflammation, ulcers and possibly severe bleeding.
Celecoxib (Celebrex) is a more selective NSAID and does not decrease prostaglandins in the stomach. This translates into significantly less likelihood of creating ulcerations.
All NSAIDs also reduce prostaglandins in the kidneys, which can lead to kidney injury. This injury becomes worse in people who have a history of chronic kidney disease, who are older, or who have congestive heart failure or cirrhosis.
Lastly, the chronic use of high-dose NSAIDs has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks. Celecoxib may have a slightly greater risk of this than ibuprofen and naproxen, but a recent New England Journal of Medicine study looking at those who used NSAIDs chronically for arthritis found no difference in cardiovascular events between celecoxib and either ibuprofen or naproxen.
Of the drugs you listed, my feeling is that acetaminophen is the safest when used regularly. However, I would use acetaminophen at no higher doses than 4,000 mg per day and, if you were to use it regularly, I would recommend decreasing this amount to 2,000 to 3,000 mg per day.
The NSAIDs -- ibuprofen, naproxen and celecoxib -- are needed by some who have inflammatory arthritis, and they are good medications in the short-term. I would caution against consistent long-term use, especially at high doses and especially if you have any history of heart disease. |
[Cite as State v. Piscura, 2013-Ohio-1793.]
Court of Appeals of Ohio
EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
No. 98712
STATE OF OHIO
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE
vs.
DAVID J. PISCURA
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
JUDGMENT:
REVERSED AND VACATED IN PART;
REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING
Criminal Appeal from the
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Case No. CR-559232
BEFORE: Jones, P.J., Keough, J., and Kilbane, J.
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: May 2, 2013
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Edward M. Graham
13363 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Timothy J. McGinty
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
BY: William Leland
Assistant County Prosecutor
The Justice Center, 8th Floor
1200 Ontario Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
LARRY A. JONES, SR., P.J.:
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, David Piscura, appeals multiple convictions for
aggravated arson, attempted murder, unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance, and
possessing criminal tools. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
{¶2} In 2012, Piscura was indicted on several charges in relation to the fire
bombing of a house on Russell Avenue in Parma. In Counts 1, 3, and 5, Piscura was
charged with aggravated arson in violation of R.C. 2909.02(A)(1). In Counts 2, 4, and
6, he was charged with attempted murder in violation of R.C. 2923.02 and 2903.02(A).
In Count 7, he was charged with aggravated arson in violation of R.C. 2909.02(A)(2).
In Count 8, he was charged with unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance pursuant to
R.C. 2923.17(A). In Count 9, Piscura was charged with possessing criminal tools in
violation of R.C. 2923.24(A); the state alleged he possessed an incendiary device, rock,
and/or 2004 Toyota with the purpose to use them criminally. Each of the counts
contained a forfeiture specification.
{¶3} In Counts 1 and 2, the named victim was Kimberly Stillman. In Counts 3
and 4, the named victim was Jason Hamila. Angeline Zimmerman was the named
victim in Counts 5 and 6, and Ronald and Roxanne Churby were the named victims in
Count 7. Piscura was indicted along with Anthony Veto. See State v. Veto, 8th Dist.
No. 98770.
{¶4} Piscura eventually pleaded guilty to the indictment. The trial court ordered a
presentence investigation. In July 2012, the court held the sentencing hearing. Piscura
argued that all counts should merge into one count of aggravated arson. The state
conceded that Counts 1 and 2, Counts 3 and 4, and Counts 5 and 6 merged for the
purposes of sentencing. The state elected to have the court sentence Piscura on Counts
2, 4, and 6, attempted murder.
{¶5} The state gave a recitation of the facts to the court. Ronald and Roxanne
Churby owned a rental house on Russell Avenue. Jason Hamila and Angeline
Zimmerman lived in the house. Kimberly Stillman, who had dated Anthony Veto, was
temporarily staying with Hamila and Zimmerman.
{¶6} In the early morning of January 13, 2012, Piscura and Veto began texting
each other. Veto texted Piscura and told him, “I can make three firebombs, and I know
one place that needs it. * * * Got all the tools. Just need a ride.” Piscura agreed to
pick him up. Veto constructed two Moltov cocktails out of glass bottles filled with
gasoline. Piscura got Veto and drove to Russell Avenue. Veto had a sledgehammer,
rock, and the two Moltov cocktails.
{¶7} Piscura drove up and down Russell Avenue, eventually parking down the
street from the target home. Neighbors told police that they saw Piscura’s car driving up
and down the street and also saw a hooded person approach the Churbys’ house. Veto
used the rock to break the front window of the house and threw both firebombs into the
house. The house instantly went up in flames. Zimmerman and Hamila were awake at
the time and were able to rouse Stillman, grab the dog, and escape. The house was a
total loss and the three victims lost all of their personal property.
{¶8} At the sentencing hearing, the trial court heard from the defendant, his
mother, the victims, and a state fire investigator. The fire investigator explained how a
Moltov cocktail is manufactured and the quick speed with which the house burned.
{¶9} The trial court sentenced Piscura to a concurrent sentence of 6 years in prison
on Counts 2, 4, 6, and 7, concurrent to 6 months in prison on Counts 8 and 9.
{¶10} Piscura now appeals, raising one assignment of error for our review:
The court committed plain error in failing to merge all counts as allied
offenses of similar import.
{¶11} Piscura argues that all nine of his offenses should merge into a single
offense because they were committed with the same animus.
{¶12} The merger statute, R.C. 2941.25, provides as follows:
(A) Where the same conduct by defendant can be construed to constitute
two or more allied offenses of similar import, the indictment or information
may contain counts for all such offenses, but the defendant may be
convicted of only one.
(B) Where the defendant’s conduct constitutes two or more offenses of
dissimilar import, or where his conduct results in two or more offenses of
the same or similar kind committed separately or with a separate animus as
to each, the indictment or information may contain counts for all such
offenses, and the defendant may be convicted of all of them.
{¶13} In State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153, 2010-Ohio-6314, 942 N.E.2d 1061,
¶ 42, the Ohio Supreme Court clarified that the allied offenses statute “instructs us to look
at the defendant’s conduct when evaluating whether his offenses are allied.” First,
courts must determine “whether it is possible to commit one offense and commit the other
with the same conduct * * *.” Id. at ¶ 48. Second, “[i]f multiple offenses can be
committed by the same conduct, then the court must determine whether the offenses were
committed by the same conduct, i.e., ‘a single act, committed with a single state of
mind.’” Id. at ¶ 49, quoting State v. Brown, 119 Ohio St.3d 447, 2008-Ohio-4569, 895
N.E.2d 149, ¶ 50 (Lanzinger, J., dissenting). “If the answer to both questions is yes,
then the offenses are allied offenses of similar import and will be merged.” Johnson at ¶
50. However, if the commission of one offense will never result in the commission of
the other, “or if the offenses are committed separately, or if the defendant has separate
animus for each offense, then, according to R.C. 2941.25(B), the offenses will not
merge.” Id. at ¶ 51.
{¶14} Accordingly, we determine whether the multiple offenses can be committed
with the same conduct, and, if so, whether the offenses were in fact committed by a single
act, or performed with a single state of mind. See id. at ¶ 49.
{¶15} It is with these concepts in mind that we review the assigned error.
Attempted Murder and Aggravated Arson — Multiple Victims
{¶16} Piscura argues that Counts 2, 4, 6, and 7 should merge because his conduct
was a single act even though the counts involved separate victims. We disagree.
{¶17} It is well-settled in this district that when an offense is defined in terms of
conduct towards another, then there is dissimilar import for each person affected by the
conduct. See State v. Patterson, 8th Dist. No. 98127, 2012-Ohio-5511, ¶ 35, citing State
v. Poole, 8th Dist. No. 94759, 2011-Ohio-716; State v. Phillips, 75 Ohio App.3d 785,
790, 600 N.E.2d 825 (2d Dist.1991), citing State v. Jones, 18 Ohio St.3d 116, 118, 480
N.E.2d 408 (1985). In other words, where a defendant commits the same offense
against different victims during the same course of conduct, a separate animus exists for
each victim such that the offenses are not allied, and the defendant can properly be
convicted of and sentenced on multiple counts. State v. Chaney, 8th Dist. No. 97872,
2012-Ohio-4933, ¶ 26, citing State v. Gregory, 90 Ohio App.3d 124, 129, 628 N.E.2d 86
(12th Dist. 1993).
{¶18} In State v. Collins, 8th Dist. No. 95415, 2011-Ohio-3241, this court found
that
while the aggravated arson and felony murder counts merge, the separate
counts as to each victim remain. Although Collins set one fire, he created
a substantial risk of harm or injury to four children. See also State v.
Franklin, 97 Ohio St.3d 1, 2002-Ohio-5304, 776 N.E.2d 26, ¶ 48 (rejecting
defendant’s argument that he set only one fire and therefore committed only
one arson; court held that defendant committed six counts of aggravated
arson because defendant knowingly set a fire that created a substantial risk
of serious harm or injury to six people).
Id. at ¶ 21.
{¶19} In this case, the facts as they are set forth in the record show that there were
three people in the house at the time of the fire; each victim corresponds to one count of
attempted murder. As to Count 7, aggravated arson, Piscura’s conviction under that
count for knowingly causing physical harm to the Churbys’ house was separate and apart
from attempting to cause the death of Stillman, Hamila, and Zimmerman.
{¶20} Therefore, Piscura’s convictions on Counts 2, 4, 6, and 7 do not merge.
Possessing Criminal Tools and Possession of Dangerous Ordnance
{¶21} Piscura argues that his convictions for possessing criminal tools and
possession of dangerous ordnance should merge into each other and into the other counts,
because his possession of the firebombs, rock, and motor vehicle “concern nothing more
than implements needed to perform the firebombing act. They had no independent
criminal purpose.”
{¶22} R.C. 2923.24, possession of criminal tools, provides that no person shall
possess or have under his control any substance, device, instrument or article with the
purpose to use it criminally. R.C. 2923.17(A), the statute governing unlawful possession
of dangerous ordnance, provides that no person shall knowingly acquire, have, carry or
use any dangerous ordnance.
{¶23} Historically, this court has declined to find that possessing criminal tools
and possessing a dangerous ordnance merge as allied offenses of similar import. See
State v. Garay, 8th Dist. No. 57704, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 5656 (Dec. 20, 1990); State
v. Lane, 8th Dist. No. 56707, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 2433 (June 14, 1990). However,
Johnson now requires courts to focus on the particular conduct of the specific defendant
at issue. Id. at syllabus. The analysis must be driven by the record and the evidence and
theories the state actually introduced, not retrospective hypothecating about what charges
a defendant’s conduct could have supported. Id. at ¶ 56-57; 69-70 (O’Connor, J.,
concurring).
{¶24} Recently, in State v. Fairfield, 8th Dist. No. 97466, 2012-Ohio-5060, ¶ 29,
this court found that, post-Johnson, possession of a dangerous ordnance, possession of
criminal tools, and receiving stolen property were allied offenses of similar import that
merge. The defendant was charged with 75 counts that concerned the possession of
two shock tubes, two spools of detonation cord, four wrapped blasting caps, four
unwrapped blasting caps, eight booby traps, five igniters, an actuator, and a jar of napalm.
This court noted that
[p]rior to the Johnson case, the offenses of possession of criminal tools,
receiving stolen property, and possession of a dangerous ordnance would
not merge, because the statutory elements of each requires a different
element. However, that is no longer our focus in determining the merging
of allied offenses. Our focus is now whether it is possible for the offenses
to be committed by the same conduct. Fairfield’s receiving the stolen
property in the instant case, also results in him * * * unlawfully possessing
a dangerous ordnance and possessing a criminal tool.
Id. at ¶ 26.
{¶25} Likewise, in this case, Piscura’s conduct of possessing the firebomb is
sufficient to support a charge and conviction of both possession of a dangerous ordnance
and possessing criminal tools. See State v. Adkins, 80 Ohio App.3d 211, 222-223, 608
N.E.2d 1152 (4th Dist.1992) (Grey, J., dissenting) (offenses are the “same” when they are
the same in type, place, time, and number); State v. Houston, 26 Ohio App.3d 26, 498
N.E.2d 188 (8th Dist.1985) (possession of a dangerous ordnance and possessing criminal
tools are allied offenses, when the sawed-off shotgun was both the dangerous ordnance
and criminal tool.)
{¶26} We are cognizant that the state indicted the possession of criminal tools
charge to indicate that Piscura possessed the firebomb, rock, and/or motor vehicle; rather
than delineating each “tool” under a separate charge, the state chose to combine the items
under one charge. When the state chooses to do this, then for sentencing purposes, we
must construe the statute governing allied offenses in favor of the defendant. See R.C.
2901.04(A) (statutes “defining offenses or penalties shall be strictly construed against the
state, and liberally construed in favor of the accused.”) Accordingly, because the state
identified under the indictment that the firebomb was both the dangerous ordnance and a
criminal tool, the result is that Count 8 possession of a dangerous ordnance and Count 9
possessing criminal tools are allied offenses.
{¶27} Perhaps if Piscura had been indicted under R.C. 2923.17(B) for illegally
manufacturing the firebombs instead of the subsection prohibiting possession (R.C.
2923.17(A)), we could consider the manufacture of the firebombs separate and distinct
from possessing criminal tools. See, e.g., State v. Ballard, 8th Dist. No. 98355,
2013-Ohio-373, ¶ 14, citing State v. Sludder, 3d Dist. No. 1-11-69, 2012-Ohio-4014
(“[w]hen one offense was complete before another offense occurred, the two offenses are
committed separately for purposes of R.C. 2941.25(B), notwithstanding their proximity in
time and that one was committed in order to commit the other.”)
{¶28} Looking at the conduct and animus of the defendant, the instrumentalities
involved, the time frame under which this occurred, the matter in which the charges were
indicted, and the state’s theory of the case, Count 8, possession of a dangerous ordnance
and Court 9, possessing criminal tools are allied offenses and merge for sentencing
purposes.
Additional Merger Not Warranted
{¶29} Next, we consider whether Counts 8 and 9 merge into the other counts.
We find that they do not.
{¶30} Piscura was convicted of attempted murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02 and
2923.02(A), which, when read together, provide that no person shall purposely or
knowingly attempt to cause the death of another. Piscura was also convicted of
aggravated arson in violation of R.C. 2909.02(A)(2), which states that “[n]o person, by
means of fire or explosion, shall knowingly cause physical harm to any occupied
structure.”
{¶31} In determining whether a separate animus exists for two offenses, a court
may examine “case-specific factors such as whether the defendant at some point broke ‘a
temporal continuum started by his initial act,’ [or] whether facts appear in the record that
‘distinguish the circumstances or draw a line of distinction that enables a trier of fact to
reasonably conclude separate and distinct crimes were committed.’” State v. Roberts, 180
Ohio App.3d 666, 2009-Ohio-298, 906 N.E.2d 1177, ¶ 14 (3d Dist.), citing State v.
Williams, 8th Dist. No. 89726, 2008-Ohio-5286.
{¶32} Here, the Moltov cocktails used to firebomb the house had to be
constructed. The arson investigator stated that one firebomb was made from a liquor
bottle and the other fashioned from a canning jar. Both devices contained wicks and
were designed to have an ignitable liquid in the interior. The text messages sent
between Piscura and Veto showed that Veto constructed the firebombs while Piscura was
on his way to pick him up. Specifically, Veto texted to Piscura: “I can make three
firebombs, and I know one place that needs it. * * * Got all the tools. Just need a ride.”
And later Veto texted: “We have got to prepare. Are you on your way? Got rags and
a bottle and a sledgehammer ready. I’m going to gas them up as soon as you get here.”
Piscura picked Veto up and the two men took the newly manufactured firebombs, a rock,
and a sledgehammer. They drove to the Churbys’ house where Veto used the rock to
break the window and throw the firebombs into the home.
{¶33} Although we consider the acts of this particular defendant, we look to prior
cases for illustration and guidance purposes. In State v. Ayers, 12th Dist. Nos.
CA2010-12-119 and CA2010-12-120, 2011-Ohio-4719, the court found that although it is
possible to commit aggravated robbery and unlawfully possession of a dangerous
ordnance with the same conduct, the defendant did not commit the offenses with the same
animus. The court noted: “As the record clearly indicates, appellant had the sawed-off
shotgun prior to entering the Speedway store. In turn, by acquiring the unlawful
dangerous ordnance prior to robbing the Speedway store, the offenses were undoubtedly
committed with separate and distinct conduct, and not * * * in a single act committed
with a single state of mind.” Id. at ¶ 32.
{¶34} To illustrate our analysis in this case, it is helpful to consider rape and
kidnapping cases where the perpetrator moves the victim from one location to another.
Whether the offenses are considered allied depends on whether the restraint or movement
was incidental to the crime or was “substantial so as to demonstrate a significance
independent of the other offense.” State v. Logan, 60 Ohio St.2d 126, 397 N.E.2d 1345
(1979), syllabus. Even though the defendant’s ultimate purpose of moving the victim
was to perpetrate the rape, courts have repeatedly held that rape and kidnapping are not
allied when the asportation of the victim is substantial so as to be independent of the rape.
See, e.g., State v. Rose, 12 Dist. No. CA2011-11-214, 2012-Ohio-5607 (holding that the
rape and kidnapping were not allied offenses subject to merger because defendant
forcefully moved victim from tavern across parking lot to car and then committed the
rape.)
{¶35} In State v. Sludder, 3d Dist. No. 1-11-69, 2012-Ohio-4014, ¶ 14, the court
determined that breaking and entering and theft were not allied offenses even though the
two offenses were committed close in time. “Because one offense was complete before
the other offense occurred, the two offenses were committed separately for purposes of
R.C. 2941.25(B), notwithstanding their proximity in time and that one was committed in
order to commit the other.” Id., citing State v. Turner, 2d Dist. No. 24421,
2011-Ohio-6714, ¶ 24.
To conclude otherwise would encourage those who break into buildings to
steal to proceed with the theft since the offenses would merge for purposes
of conviction and sentence. The law ought to encourage criminals to stop
their course of criminal conduct and to demand punishment for their further
criminal acts.
Sludder at id.
{¶36} The same is equally true in this case. Piscura’s conduct of possessing the
firebomb was separate and distinct from the crimes of attempted murder and aggravated
arson because transporting the firebombs to the residence and the subsequent act of
throwing them the residence was done with a separate animus and conduct. There is a
distinction and break in the continuum of events that allowed the trial court to reasonably
conclude that separate and distinct crimes were committed.
{¶37} Therefore, possessing the criminal tools and dangerous ordnance was
separate and distinct from the subsequent act of transporting and throwing them into the
residence and committing the crimes of attempted murder as charged in Counts 2, 4, and
6, and aggravated arson as charged in Count 7.
{¶38} Again, pursuant to Johnson, we are called to review this defendant’s
specific conduct in this case; each case requires a individual and thoughtful analysis by
first the trial court and then the reviewing court.
{¶39} Accordingly, based on the specific facts of this case and the conduct of this
defendant, Counts 8 and 9 merge into each other but do not merge into any other count.
We reverse and vacate Piscura’s sentence as to Counts 8 and 9 only, and remand for a
new sentencing hearing on the offense that remains after the state selects which allied
offense to pursue. Fairfield, 8th Dist. No. 97466, 2012-Ohio-5060 at ¶ 29, citing State
v. Wilson, 129 Ohio St.3d 214, 2011-Ohio-2669, 951 N.E.2d 381.
{¶40} The sole assignment of error is overruled in part and sustained in part.
It is ordered that appellant and appellee split the costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the common
pleas court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of
the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
LARRY A. JONES, SR., PRESIDING JUDGE
KATHLEEN ANN KEOUGH, J., CONCURS;
MARY EILEEN KILBANE, J., CONCURS IN
PART AND DISSENTS IN PART WITH
SEPARATE OPINION
MARY EILEEN KILBANE, J., CONCURRING IN PART AND DISSENTING IN
PART:
{¶41} I concur with the majority’s decision with respect to its disposition of
Counts 1-7, but respectfully dissent on Count 8 (unlawful possession of a dangerous
ordnance) and Count 9 (possessing criminal tools). I would find that these counts are not
allied offenses, and thus, they do not merge for purposes of sentencing.
{¶42} As the majority noted, when evaluating offenses of similar import, the
offenses will not merge if the offenses are committed separately, or if the defendant has a
separate animus for each offense. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153, 2010-Ohio-6314, 942
N.E.2d 1061, at ¶ 50. The Johnson court recognized that the analysis of allied offenses
may be sometimes difficult to perform and may result in varying results for
the same set of offenses in different cases. But different results are
permissible, given that the statute instructs courts to examine a defendant’s
conduct — an inherently subjective determination. Thus, a scenario might
arise * * * in which one court finds that an aggravated robbery can be and
was committed without also committing a kidnapping, if, for instance, “a
pickpocket points a gun at the victim, but the victim does not know it, and
therefore suffers no restraint of his liberty,” while in another case, the court
may determine that the commission of an aggravated robbery in that case
would also constitute a kidnapping, because “a weapon that has been shown
* * * during the commission of a theft offense * * * forcibly restrain[ed] the
liberty of another.”
Id. at ¶ 52, quoting State v. Winn, 121 Ohio St.3d 413, 2009-Ohio-1059, 905 N.E.2d 154,
¶ 21, 29 (Moyer, C.J., dissenting).
{¶43} In Johnson, the Ohio Supreme Court found the crimes of felony murder and
child endangering were based upon the same conduct for purposes of R.C. 2941.25.
Thus, the court concluded that defendant’s conduct of beating the victim qualified as the
commission of child abuse, which resulted in the victim’s death, thereby qualifying as the
commission of felony murder. Id. at ¶ 56-57.
{¶44} In the instant case, I would find that unlawful possession of a dangerous
ordnance and possession of criminal tools are not allied offenses. While the state
identified the firebomb as both the criminal tool and the dangerous ordnance, the state
also identified a rock and/or motor vehicle as the criminal tool. The possessing criminal
tools charge, as indicted, states that Piscura
did possess or have under the person’s control any substance, device,
instrument, or article, to wit: an Incendiary Device(s) and/or a Rock and/or
a 2004 Toyota Camry Solara Automobile, with purpose to use it criminally.
FURTHERMORE the An (sic.) Incendiary Device(s) and/or a Rock and/or
a 2004 Toyota Camry Solara Automobile, involved in the offense were
intended for use in the commission of a felony, to wit: [Attempted Murder
and/or Aggravated Arson.]
{¶45} The offenses were based upon the following conduct. Veto was at home
when he constructed the firebombs with glass bottles, rags, and gasoline. He then
intended to use the firebombs on the Churby home where his ex-girlfriend was living.
He enlisted Piscura’s assistance with his plan. He texted to Piscura: “Just need a ride.
Got rags and a bottle and a sledgehammer ready. I’m going to gas them up as soon as
you get here.” Piscura agreed to pick Veto up and drive him to the Churbys’ home. He
responded to Veto: “Sweet. * * * [I’m in] your driveway.” Piscura then drove Veto to
the Churbys’ house, where Veto first used a rock to break the front window and then
threw both firebombs into the house. When the firebombs hit the home, the home
exploded.
{¶46} The conduct of acquiring the firebombs constituted unlawful possession of a
dangerous ordnance under R.C. 2923.17(A).1 This act was committed at a separate time
and place, and with a separate animus from the conduct of then driving to the Churbys’
home and first using the rock to break the front window and then using the firebombs to
set the house on fire. The indictment before us lists, and Piscura pled guilty to, the
possession of the firebombs and/or the rock and/or the motor vehicle. The charge lists
the criminal tools in the conjunctive and disjunctive, therefore, I would find that the rock
and motor vehicle constitute the possession of criminal tools under R.C. 2923.24(A).2
1
R.C. 2923.17(A) provides: “[n]o person shall knowingly acquire, have, carry, or use any
dangerous ordnance.”
2
R.C. 2923.24(A) provides: “[n]o person shall possess or have under the person’s control
any substance, device, instrument, or article, with purpose to use it criminally.
Thus, when looking at the conduct and animus of the defendant, the different
instrumentalities involved, the charges as indicted, and the charges Piscura pled guilty to,
I would find that Count 8 (unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance) and Count 9
(possessing criminal tools) are not allied offenses and do not merge for sentencing
purposes.
{¶47} Accordingly, I would overrule the sole assignment of error in its entirety.
|
SHOWDOWN !
Auto-Transcript for S&P and NFSC Submission
EP: 57:54 : “Hospitals Under Siege”
ERIA QUINT: Hello and welcome to another episode of Showdown, a fast and furious analysis of the issues capturing the Empire’s attention as seen from two very different viewpoints. I’m your host, Eria Quint. Last week, UEE Health Division officials released their annual evaluation. The report caused a firestorm through the public as well as the medical community as it revealed multiple incidents of illegal activity throughout the Empire’s hospitals and medstations. Dr. William Gosha, resident physician at the Galen Medical Center on Goss III, joins us to discuss this fallout.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: Hello.
ERIA QUINT: And Sara Ayer, Director of Saint Yor Hospital on Locke.
SARA AYER: Good to be here.
ERIA QUINT: I think most people were simply surprised at vastness of the results. I think there’s an expectation that, when you’re dealing with systems and settlements that are still under construction, the facilities might be a little more lenient when it comes to reporting their patients, but this list included a handful of high-profile hospitals in more secure systems. Then to see exactly how many infractions were occurring on a near daily basis …
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: It’s shameful, really.
ERIA QUINT: Please elaborate.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: A message needs to be sent firmly establishing that this behavior will not only lead to job termination, but also criminal charges. Until now, that has fallen onto the responsibility of the hospital and local authorities, but I think the Imperator and High Advocate needs to get involved and place hospitals under Advocacy jurisdiction and enforcement.
SARA AYER: I’m sorry, but how will adding more bureaucracy address the issue?
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: Restructure the id-scan systems to be able to identify fraudulent patients. Make theft from hospital drug supplies carry a heavier sentence.
SARA AYER: But you have to realize that all of this stems from budget …
ERIA QUINT: How so, Ms. Ayer?
SARA AYER: Like it or not, your wage reflects faith and appreciation by your employer. When operating funds are slashed, that means that you can’t offer candidates a salary that is competitive with most of the private medical practices. If these doctors aren’t able to earn the kind of wages needed to support a family, they may start looking for alternative ways to make up for the lost income, and that’s when things start to get dangerous.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: I’m sorry, but I find it disturbing to think that we’ve gotten to a point where we need to pay for good behavior.
SARA AYER: I don’t entirely disagree. At my hospital, we have always maintained a zero-tolerance policy for any staff that engages in illegal or unethical behavior. My point is that we need to be focused on combating the environment that allows these acts to flourish, not creating harsher punishments for those that commit them. We need to understand why so many of these professionals feel the need to engage in such behavior. In my opinion, I would start by revisiting the financial allocations.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: And this money to reinvigorate all the hospitals in the UEE, where is that supposed to come from?
SARA AYER: Maybe the Galen Medical Center could sacrifice some of its military funding to help address this issue.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: Very funny.
ERIA QUINT: But sometimes, there wasn’t a direct connection between budget and legality, as in the case of Terra General. Located in the Blocks, the hospital maintains a respectable budget, but still had multiple cases of staff performing illegal patch-ups.
DR. WILLIAM GOSHA: So your previous point falls apart. Here is a facility that has the operating funds in place, where the doctors are being well compensated and not overworked; yet there is still a willingness to look the other way for the right price.
SARA AYER: Look –
ERIA QUINT: We’re going to take a quick break. When we come back: levels of quality. When independent doctors provide better care than some hospitals, how do you know where to entrust your loved ones who need medical help? Our two guests will reload and offer their differing perspectives when we come back, for another round of Showdown. |
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Polish PM: Holocaust bill needed, but timing wasn’t good
By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA -
2/2/18 1:38 PM
MARKOWA, Poland — Legislation to criminalize certain statements about the Holocaust in Poland could have been timed and presented better, the country’s prime minister acknowledged Friday, but he insisted that the law is needed to protect the truth of Poland’s wartime history.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke to foreign media correspondents at a museum that memorializes Christian Poles who risked their lives to help Jews during Nazi Germany’s World War II occupation of Poland.
Poland and Israel have experienced a diplomatic rift over the legislation, which would outlaw publicly and falsely attributing the crimes of Nazi Germany to the Polish nation. If it is enacted, violators could be punished with up to three years in prison.
The United States has joined Israel in criticizing the proposed law, saying it would infringe on free expression. Israeli and Jewish groups fear it would be used to whitewash the involvement of some Poles in killing Jews during the 1939-1945 occupation.
Morawiecki, who took office as prime minister in December, has tried in recent days to address the concerns while defending the law. He said Friday that the aim is to prevent the Polish people as a whole from being blamed for what the Germans did in occupied Poland, the location of Auschwitz and other Nazi camps.
“All the atrocities and all the victims, everything that happened during World War II on Polish soil, has to be attributed to Germany,” Morawiecki said. “We will never be accused of complicity in the Holocaust. This is our ‘to be or not to be.'”
He insisted the law — which has been passed by parliament and awaits the president’s signature — would not impinge on freedom of speech, as feared by some.
“This law is not going to limit speech, not even one iota,” Morawiecki said.
He did, however, say that Poland should have better explained its intentions to the world, and acknowledged the timing was “unfortunate.”
The lower house of parliament approved the legislation on Jan. 26, the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Senate gave its approval on Thursday. President Andrzej Duda now has three weeks to sign or veto it; he has so far indicated that he supports it.
Morawiecki toured the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in Markowa after first paying his respects outside the building at memorials to Poles who helped Jews and Jewish Holocaust victims.
He then sat down with reporters to explain his thoughts on the law. Asked if he felt the bill had damaged Poland’s image, he said he was worried it had.
Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, has documented 6,706 Polish “Righteous Among the Nations” — gentiles who gave shelter to Jews without a profit motive. That number represents only those cases that could be documented, and historians believe there were also many cases that never came to light, including cases of helpers and Jews discovered and killed.
The German forces imposed the death penalty not only on individuals caught helping, but their entire families. Similar laws were in place elsewhere in occupied Europe, but they were imposed more ruthlessly in Poland, according to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
The people who risked their own lives to save Jews are universally hailed as heroes. Holocaust historians note that Poles who helped Jews had to fear not only the Germans, but Polish neighbors who might report them.
Yet historians also have accused Poland’s nationalist government of trying to make it seem that such humanity was the predominant response among Poles. The historians say that ignores the Poles who denounced Jews to the Nazis or killed Jews themselves.
The Markowa museum, which opened in 2016, stands near the place where German soldiers in 1944 killed Jozef Ulma, his pregnant wife Wiktoria and their six small children, as well as eight members of the Goldman, Gruenfeld and Didner families that the Ulmas were sheltering.
Mateusz Szpytma, deputy director of the museum, said it is estimated that between 700 and 1,100 Poles were murdered by the Germans for helping Jews during the war.
The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism. |
The problem lies squarely in front of the House Ways and Means Committee, now halfway through its markup of the GOP's bill.
Facing pushback from an array of multinational corporations, committee Republicans on Monday scaled back a provision in the bill meant to bar companies with globe-spanning operations from shipping U.S. profits abroad. That excise tax, which caught industry flat-footed when it appeared in the GOP plan unveiled last week, would have raised $154.5 billion over a decade — a substantial sum for lawmakers in need of new funding sources. But the Monday tweak drained more than 95 percent of that revenue, and the broader bill is now in the red by $74 billion.
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The Wall Street Journal’s Richard Rubin notes that House Republicans have options to fix this: “Staying inside the revenue target isn't necessarily a fatal problem in the House, and Republicans have time to address the issue. A shortfall would present a challenge in the Senate, where it could keep Republicans from passing the bill without Democratic votes.”
But the trade-offs are ugly, as the Senate GOP is demonstrating. Republicans in the upper chamber look primed to take a starkly different approach with the tax plan they will be rolling out on Thursday, as my colleagues Damian Paletta, Mike DeBonis and Ed O’Keefe report:
Senate leaders were exploring postponing the centerpiece of the effort — an $845 billion corporate tax cut — until 2019, according to four people familiar with a draft of the legislation. The move would make it easier to comply with Senate rules that aim to limit any legislation’s impact on the debt. At the same time, Republican senators were planning to eliminate the state and local tax deduction, going further than the House, which retained part of the popular tax break, said the people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive deliberations. Senators also were debating how to ensure that fewer of the plans’ benefits flow to the wealthy and more flow to the middle class.
Watch Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) say he wants the package to be revenue neutral:
The Senate Republicans’ stingier tack reflects the reality of the chamber’s budget rules. They forbid a tax bill from adding more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit over a decade — or else it will be subject to a challenge from Democrats and a 60-vote test that the majority has labored to avoid. (Not to mention that a potentially pivotal bloc of Senate Republicans have signaled the bill's deficit impact will inform their vote. And Fitch Ratings said in a Tuesday report the House plan won't pay for itself through growth -- and in fact will add "significantly" to the nation's long-term debt.)
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But phasing in a corporate rate cut threatens to dampen enthusiasm among business interests that in some cases are already privately ambivalent about the GOP overhaul. And including a full repeal of the state and local tax deduction would all but ensure a revolt by blue-state House Republicans, whom leaders have spent weeks trying to placate with a delicate and evolving compromise on the matter. Twelve of them voted against their party’s budget last month in protest of the move to trash their treasured break and indicated a sufficient margin to sink the bill would join them if the final version includes it.
Threading competing demands for a finite pile of money has always presented the central challenge for Republicans eager to rewire the tax code. But their self-imposed deadline for completing the work — the party still aims to finish by the end of the year — leaves them perilously little room for error.
The Democratic sweep in the off-year elections Tuesday arguably dials up the urgency for the GOP to deliver a major legislative win after nearly a year of coming up short. Yet the knotty work of solving the math problem at the heart of the exercise remains.
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The latest on the mass shooting in Texas: The gunman who opened fire at a church in Sutherland Springs, Tex. had in 2012 escaped from a mental health facility after he was caught sneaking guns onto an Air Force base and “attempting to carry out death threats” against his superiors.
Our colleagues Eli Rosenberg, Mark Berman and Wesley Lowery report that “Devin P. Kelley’s young life was riddled with warning signs, mounting during and after his time in the Air Force, including a conviction for beating his then-wife and stepson, charges of animal cruelty, mental health concerns, investigations for domestic assault, threats against his family members and a motorcycle crash that left him with lingering physical pain.” Five years before the mass shooting at the church, officers were dispatched to a bus terminal after Kelley had escaped from the behavioral facility and were told he was “a danger to himself and others” and was “also facing military criminal charges.” It is not clear why Kelley was at the mental health facility. That same year, he was court-martialed and convicted of abusing his wife and stepson.
And as authorities try to reconstruct what happens inside the church, more details emerged about the methodical massacre: "One woman who was wounded during the carnage said Kelley fired at churchgoers who tried to leave and pumped bullets into those cowering or wounded on the church’s floor. David Brown, whose mother, Farida, was shot in her legs, said she described Kelley firing four shots into the torso of a woman on her left."
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On Tuesday, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a persistent Trump critic, walked out of a moment of silence in the House chamber for the victims of the massacre. “My colleagues are doing a moment of silence in the House ... I respect their right to do that and I myself have participated in many of them, but I can’t do this again,” he said in a video on his Facebook page.”In just my short career in Congress, three of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history have occurred. I will not be silent. What we need is we need action. We need to pass gun safety legislation now.”
MARKET MOVERS
— No Powell hearing before Thanksgiving. Bloomberg's Krista Gmelich: "Having Jerome Powell testify in front of the Senate Banking Committee before the Nov. 23 holiday 'might be a little quick,' said Mike Crapo, the panel’s chairman. Powell needs time to complete paperwork and meet with other legislators on the committee, the Senator said. Powell might not have to wait too long. Crapo said he hopes 'to move quickly, meaning in a matter of weeks.' A few Republicans on the banking committee have expressed concerns about Powell’s previous Fed nominations. Crapo himself voted against Powell when he was reappointed to the central bank’s board in 2014."
But Powell got one key vote of confidence Tuesday as he began making the rounds in the Senate:
— N.Y. Fed's balancing act. WSJ's Nick Timiraos: "Help Wanted: A senior executive with a keen knowledge of markets and economics, but who isn’t too close to Wall Street because he or she will be responsible for regulating some of the world’s biggest banks." This is the balancing act facing a newly formed search committee for the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York following the announcement Monday that the current leader, William Dudley, will step down in mid-2018, several months before his term expires in January 2019.
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The New York Fed president is a voting member of the Federal Reserve committee that sets interest rates and other monetary policies aimed at keeping the economy on track. The chief also runs the Fed bank that works with the markets to implement these policies and that supervises some of the nation’s biggest financial institutions. The new president would take over an institution more intensely scrutinized since the financial crisis, and criticized by some lawmakers and others as a lax supervisor before the turmoil and too slow to get tough afterward."
— The Trump Bump turns 1. How does the market rally that accompanied Trump's win stack up to that of other president's, now that it's aged a year? CNBC's John W. Schoen: "At the first anniversary of Trump's Nov. 8 election, the subsequent stock market's gain ranks No. 3 in first-term, post-election markets since Dwight Eisenhower won the 1952 election. Over these decades, though, stock market rallies in the early days of a new administration aren't necessarily a great predictor of investor returns over the full term of the incoming president. The stock market's jubilant response to Trump's election, for example, was initially compared to the reaction to Ronald Reagan's 1980 defeat of Jimmy Carter.
Both Trump and Reagan campaigned on a platform that promised tax cuts and sweeping deregulation, a prospect that investors assume will help companies boost profits. But Reagan's post-election rally fizzled within weeks, thanks to an aggressive series of interest rates hikes in late 1980 aimed at snuffing out double-digit inflation ... The biggest one-year market rally for a change in administration followed the 1960 election of President John F. Kennedy, which accompanied a strong rebound in economic growth. But the market tanked in the months preceding the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis."
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Here was Trump celebrating a new market high:
Another way of looking at it, from Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal:
MONEY ON THE HILL
TAX FLY-AROUND:
— Trump’s accountant weighs in. Or so the president said, connecting via phone from his Asia trip with Senate Democrats gathered at the White House to talk taxes. “My accountant called me and said, 'You're going to get killed in this bill,” Trump said, per NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell.
More background on the exchange, from Mike and Ed: “Trump pitched the plan as a benefit to the middle class that comes at the expense of the rich — an assessment at odds with independent tax experts who have analyzed the bill and concluded the bulk of its benefits go to corporations and the wealthy. Trump told the senators that he has spoken to his own accountant about the tax plan and that he would be a 'big loser' if the deal is approved as written, according to multiple people in the room who heard the president on the phone. 'The deal is so bad for rich people, I had to throw in the estate tax just to give them something,' Trump said, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the meeting."
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— Big business wins, small business loses. The Washington Post’s Steven Mufson: “House GOP leaders have hailed their new tax proposals as helping the small-business owner, but small-business associations say they help big enterprises, not small ones, and vowed Tuesday to sink the bill in its current form. The National Football League, Fiat Chrysler, the Koch brothers’ Georgia-Pacific subsidiary, The Washington Post’s owner and more than 500 Trump entities would qualify for a substantial tax break under the proposal. But the neighborhood dry cleaner or dentist would be out of luck.
That allows businesses to pass through untaxed profits to individuals who include them in their own tax returns, paying rates that vary from as low as 10 percent to as high as 39.6 percent. The House plan would lower the maximum pass-through rate to 25 percent, but a host of small and medium businesses — including service providers such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects and accountants — would be blocked from obtaining any benefit.”
— Club for Growth slams. The conservative group criticizes the House Republican plan for what it calls waging class warfare -- on the rich. Washington Examiner's Joseph Lawler: "An important fiscal conservative group on Tuesday criticized the House Republican tax bill and said one of its provisions in particular is an example of 'class warfare.' 'While the corporate tax cut will lead to some increase in our nation’s GDP, the rest of the provisions on individual taxpayers fails the pro-growth test,' Club for Growth President David McIntosh said of the bill in a statement. In particular, McIntosh criticized the bill for retaining the top 39.6 percent individual tax rate for individuals making $1 million, calling it "class warfare the likes of which would make Democrats green with envy."
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— Mixed results for middle class. WSJ’s Rubin: "More than 60% of taxpayers, including much of the middle class, would see lower taxes in 2019 under the House Republican tax plan while 8% would pay more, according to a new analysis released Tuesday. But by 2027, many of those effects would peter out and nearly one in five households would pay more in taxes than if Congress had done nothing. By that point, fewer than half of households would have tax cuts exceeding $100, the study found.
The analysis was done by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the official estimator of tax legislation in Congress.In 2019, among households making between $50,000 and $75,000, 65% would get tax cuts exceeding $500. In that same group, 6% would see taxes rise by at least $500 … Democrats are using the same numbers to point out that some lower-income people would see their taxes rise and the money would in effect fund tax cuts for high-income households."
— Buyouts targeted. Bloomberg's Devin Banerjee: "House Republicans’ chief tax writer has investment managers in his crosshairs... Brady... moved this week to include a provision in his party’s tax bill that would raise the bar on which profits are taxed preferentially. If Brady gets his way, deal profits shared with investment managers would be treated as long-term capital gains -- and hence taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income or short-term gains -- only if they’re earned on investments held for at least three years, rather than one year now.
Exceeding a one-year hold period is the norm in private equity: More than 96 percent of U.S. deals since 2000 have done it, according to PitchBook Data Inc., a Seattle-based researcher. Profits on deals that last one to three years, however, would lose their preferential tax status if the bill’s current version becomes law. Since 2000, that would have affected 24.3 percent of private equity deals in the U.S., PitchBook said."
— Cruz pushes mandate repeal. Bloomberg's Laura Litvan: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) "is pushing to keep alive the idea of including a repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in the tax overhaul plan, even as House Republicans struggle with how to address an issue that threatens to complicate the tax debate. At a news conference Tuesday, Cruz said it’s vital to use the tax legislation to end the mandate that all Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty. If nothing else, he said, doing so will in effect be a tax cut for the 6.5 million Americans who now pay a penalty because they don’t have health insurance coverage. 'I think it’s critical to make this end,' he said of the mandate."
Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) said he's still considering the move, telling Hugh Hewitt, "I’ve asked for an updated score so I know exactly what that provision would raise,” he said. “We’re listening to our members here in the House about how they’d react to that. And so I’ve been asked to consider it."
— Republican says the quiet part out loud. Bloomberg: "A House Republican is stating the political necessity for Republicans to deliver tax overhaul legislation this year. New York Rep. Chris Collins said Tuesday, 'My donors are basically saying 'get it done or don't ever call me again.'"
Reaction was swift and brutal:
AP's Erica Werner:
The Post's Dave Weigel:
Fact Check: Does the estate-tax hurt farmers and small businesses?:
ELECTION FALLOUT:
— Goldman alum elected N.J. governor, again. Democrat Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and Obama administration ambassador to Germany, trounced Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno by 13 points in the New Jersey governor's race. Murphy succeeds Chris Christie, who leaves office with bottom-dwelling approval ratings, and will become the first Democrat in the office since Jon Corzine, a former Goldman CEO.
On the trail, Murphy worked to distance himself from the industry he once served. CNBC: "Murphy, 60, has had to defend his more than 20 years at Goldman while pushing a progressive platform. He has focused partly on boosting the working class and holding Wall Street firms in check... Murphy's allies see a candidate who knows how to fix capitalism's flaws due to his work at the top reaches of the U.S. economy. 'I think he sees himself differently from some of the people who succeeded on Wall Street. I just think he sees the world differently than a lot of people on Wall Street do,' said Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who chaired the Democratic National Committee when Murphy led its finance arm...
After joining the Wall Street titan in the early 1980's, Murphy spent more than 20 years there. During his career, he led the firm's Frankfurt, Germany, office and served as president of its Asia division. At Goldman, Murphy was reportedly renowned for his deal-making ability, which helped him advance through the company. His work in Asia, though, has sparked controversy. An investigation by the Star-Ledger newspaper in New Jersey showed that his division profited from an investment in a shoe manufacturer that had dismal working conditions. Murphy's campaign denied he had a role in Goldman making the initial investment."
— Retirement watch. Two House Republicans on Tuesday added their names to the lame-duck caucus of those retiring next year: Reps. Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), in his 12th term, and Ted Poe (Tex.), a seven-term incumbent. Expect potentially many more to join them in the days ahead as those Republicans facing what look like increasingly tough reelection slogs digest the results from Virginia and beyond and decide it just isn't worth it.
Some snap observations to the results:
From Dave Wasserman, House editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report:
From Bloomberg's Jennifer Epstein:
The Post's Paul Kane:
Weigel:
And the Post's Mike DeBonis, on the infinitesimal half life of Trump's loyalty to fellow Republicans down on their luck:
POCKET CHANGE
TRUMP TRACKER
— Ross appears to have misled reporters to get on Forbes list. Some stunning stuff from the magazine that maintains the world ranking of billionaires. Forbes's Dan Alexander: "Fresh off a tour through Thailand, Laos and China, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. picked up the phone on a Sunday afternoon in October to discuss something deeply personal: how much money he has. A year earlier, Forbes had listed his net worth at $2.9 billion on The Forbes 400, a number Ross claimed was far too low: He maintained he was closer to $3.7 billion. Now, after examining the financial-disclosure forms he filed after his nomination to President Donald Trump's Cabinet, which showed less than $700 million in assets, Forbes was intent on removing him entirely...
So began the mystery of Wilbur Ross' missing $2 billion. And after one month of digging, Forbes is confident it has found the answer: That money never existed. It seems clear that Ross lied to us, the latest in an apparent sequence of fibs, exaggerations, omissions, fabrications and whoppers that have been going on with Forbes since 2004. In addition to just padding his ego, Ross' machinations helped bolster his standing in a way that translated into business opportunities. And based on our interviews with ten former employees at Ross' private equity firm, WL Ross & Co., who all confirmed parts of the same story line, his penchant for misleading extended to colleagues and investors, resulting in millions of dollars in fines, tens of millions refunded to backers and numerous lawsuits. "
RUSSIA WATCH:
— Sessions to face Papadapoulos questions. Politico's Kyle Cheney and Elana Schor: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the House Judiciary Committee next week, and Democrats said Tuesday they’re prepared to pepper him with questions about a campaign adviser who attempted to broker a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sessions — a top policy adviser to the Trump campaign last year — has flummoxed lawmakers with his accounts of his own contacts with Russian officials during the campaign. Now he faces new scrutiny about how much he knew about the adviser, George Papadopoulos, who has since pleaded guilty for lying to investigators about his own attempts to parlay contacts with the Russian government into an advantage for the Trump campaign."
— Trump camp knew about Carter Page trip to Moscow. Axios's Alayna Treene: "Page also admitted to meeting with high-level Russian officials, and said he relayed that information to his campaign supervisors... It's long been known that Page, who has become a key figure in the Russia investigation, traveled to Moscow in 2016. But prior to his testimony he maintained that it was in a private capacity, and unrelated to his role with the Trump campaign. However, the transcript reveals that top members of the Trump camp knew more than they have let on."
CHART TOPPER
DAYBOOK
Today
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade holds a hearing on “Administration Priorities for the International Financial Institutions.”
The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association holds an event on redefining financial services regulation.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance holds a hearing on “Treasury’s Role in Safeguarding the American Financial System.”
The Washington Examiner holds an event on the tax reform bill with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.)
Coming Up
Thursday . The Peterson Institute for International Economics holds an event on the policy implications of sustained low productivity growth on
Thursday The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance holds a hearing on “The Role of Ginnie Mae in the Housing Finance System” on
THE FUNNIES
BULL SESSION
Republicans are trying humor to promote their tax plan:
Democrats call GOP tax plan a 'scam,' citing cut to student loan program:
After the shooting in Texas, House Speaker Paul Ryan said "enforcing the laws we got on the books" on guns is the solution:
Here’s what happened in Virginia’s 2017 election: |
Posted by Carl White in Airbrush
Do I Need A Compressor For Airbrushing?
One of the key parts of airbrushing is the air supply that you use. This is an important factor, because your airbrush needs a steady supply of air to propel the paint or other fluid onto the surface that you wish to detail.
There are a whole host of air supplies for an airbrush, conventional options such as a compressor or an aerosol spray, or more unconventional methods such as using the air from a tyre and slowly releasing it through your airbrush. It is recommended that you stick with conventional methods as the most important issue is a steady reliable flow of clean air.
What Options Are Available?
Different budgets will have different needs; similarly some people use their airbrush a lot more than others and as such can justify putting more initial investment into their equipment, because it seems like a worthy cause; either because it is for professional use, or they are a serious hobbyist who wants nothing but the best results. Here are the most common types of airbrush air supply:
– Aerosol Cans – similar to a spray paint can, these are useful due to being small and therefore portable; this also allows you to get in close and manoeuvre around the work. However the main issue with canned air, is that it can lack in consistency. Because it is a supply that runs out eventually towards the end, then the airflow will reduce and this can affect the end result. If you use a lot of canned air then the costs can also mount up.
– Bottled air – this is a similar idea, however on a much larger scale. Bottled air also has a regulator which means that the airflow is much more consistent. This results in a better finish. Bottled air can also be refilled, however due to their large size they are rather cumbersome and as such you are limited in the area you can operate with them.
– Compressor – an airbrush compressor either supplies air directly or fills a tank which releases the air. The cheaper option is a direct air compressor; however it’s best to select one that is designed for airbrushing. These tend to be quiet, and when coupled with a regulator they produce a clean finish. Compressors that have tanks are essentially a self refilling version of the bottled air option and as such they are worth serious consideration, although they are expensive, but this expense is offset in reliability and the quality of the finish.
So What Airbrush Air Supply Is The Best Option?
The airbrush air supply options are varied, and it comes down to personal taste. In terms of reliability; quality of finish and professional look in your workshop a compressor is possibly the best option, one with a tank would be a great option for a heavy user of airbrushes. Bottled air is an option, but it involves the need for refills and also it limits the space you can work in as it is a large object that’s not overly portable. Canned propellant is a option for the beginner but spending money on refills and replacements will soon mount up which could be better invested in a compressor. |
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( 9) |11111111|11111111|11101010 ffffea [24]
( 10) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111100 3ffffffc [30]
( 11) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1001 fffffe9 [28]
( 12) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1010 fffffea [28]
( 13) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111101 3ffffffd [30]
( 14) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1011 fffffeb [28]
( 15) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1100 fffffec [28]
( 16) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1101 fffffed [28]
( 17) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1110 fffffee [28]
( 18) |11111111|11111111|11111110|1111 fffffef [28]
( 19) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0000 ffffff0 [28]
( 20) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0001 ffffff1 [28]
( 21) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0010 ffffff2 [28]
( 22) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111110 3ffffffe [30]
( 23) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0011 ffffff3 [28]
( 24) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0100 ffffff4 [28]
( 25) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0101 ffffff5 [28]
( 26) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0110 ffffff6 [28]
( 27) |11111111|11111111|11111111|0111 ffffff7 [28]
( 28) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1000 ffffff8 [28]
( 29) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1001 ffffff9 [28]
( 30) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1010 ffffffa [28]
( 31) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1011 ffffffb [28]
' ' ( 32) |010100 14 [ 6]
'!' ( 33) |11111110|00 3f8 [10]
'"' ( 34) |11111110|01 3f9 [10]
'#' ( 35) |11111111|1010 ffa [12]
'$' ( 36) |11111111|11001 1ff9 [13]
'%' ( 37) |010101 15 [ 6]
'&' ( 38) |11111000 f8 [ 8]
''' ( 39) |11111111|010 7fa [11]
'(' ( 40) |11111110|10 3fa [10]
')' ( 41) |11111110|11 3fb [10]
'*' ( 42) |11111001 f9 [ 8]
'+' ( 43) |11111111|011 7fb [11]
',' ( 44) |11111010 fa [ 8]
'-' ( 45) |010110 16 [ 6]
'.' ( 46) |010111 17 [ 6]
'/' ( 47) |011000 18 [ 6]
'0' ( 48) |00000 0 [ 5]
'1' ( 49) |00001 1 [ 5]
'2' ( 50) |00010 2 [ 5]
'3' ( 51) |011001 19 [ 6]
'4' ( 52) |011010 1a [ 6]
'5' ( 53) |011011 1b [ 6]
'6' ( 54) |011100 1c [ 6]
'7' ( 55) |011101 1d [ 6]
'8' ( 56) |011110 1e [ 6]
'9' ( 57) |011111 1f [ 6]
':' ( 58) |1011100 5c [ 7]
';' ( 59) |11111011 fb [ 8]
'<' ( 60) |11111111|1111100 7ffc [15]
'=' ( 61) |100000 20 [ 6]
'>' ( 62) |11111111|1011 ffb [12]
'?' ( 63) |11111111|00 3fc [10]
'@' ( 64) |11111111|11010 1ffa [13]
'A' ( 65) |100001 21 [ 6]
'B' ( 66) |1011101 5d [ 7]
'C' ( 67) |1011110 5e [ 7]
'D' ( 68) |1011111 5f [ 7]
'E' ( 69) |1100000 60 [ 7]
'F' ( 70) |1100001 61 [ 7]
'G' ( 71) |1100010 62 [ 7]
'H' ( 72) |1100011 63 [ 7]
'I' ( 73) |1100100 64 [ 7]
'J' ( 74) |1100101 65 [ 7]
'K' ( 75) |1100110 66 [ 7]
'L' ( 76) |1100111 67 [ 7]
'M' ( 77) |1101000 68 [ 7]
'N' ( 78) |1101001 69 [ 7]
'O' ( 79) |1101010 6a [ 7]
'P' ( 80) |1101011 6b [ 7]
'Q' ( 81) |1101100 6c [ 7]
'R' ( 82) |1101101 6d [ 7]
'S' ( 83) |1101110 6e [ 7]
'T' ( 84) |1101111 6f [ 7]
'U' ( 85) |1110000 70 [ 7]
'V' ( 86) |1110001 71 [ 7]
'W' ( 87) |1110010 72 [ 7]
'X' ( 88) |11111100 fc [ 8]
'Y' ( 89) |1110011 73 [ 7]
'Z' ( 90) |11111101 fd [ 8]
'[' ( 91) |11111111|11011 1ffb [13]
'\' ( 92) |11111111|11111110|000 7fff0 [19]
']' ( 93) |11111111|11100 1ffc [13]
'^' ( 94) |11111111|111100 3ffc [14]
'_' ( 95) |100010 22 [ 6]
'`' ( 96) |11111111|1111101 7ffd [15]
'a' ( 97) |00011 3 [ 5]
'b' ( 98) |100011 23 [ 6]
'c' ( 99) |00100 4 [ 5]
'd' (100) |100100 24 [ 6]
'e' (101) |00101 5 [ 5]
'f' (102) |100101 25 [ 6]
'g' (103) |100110 26 [ 6]
'h' (104) |100111 27 [ 6]
'i' (105) |00110 6 [ 5]
'j' (106) |1110100 74 [ 7]
'k' (107) |1110101 75 [ 7]
'l' (108) |101000 28 [ 6]
'm' (109) |101001 29 [ 6]
'n' (110) |101010 2a [ 6]
'o' (111) |00111 7 [ 5]
'p' (112) |101011 2b [ 6]
'q' (113) |1110110 76 [ 7]
'r' (114) |101100 2c [ 6]
's' (115) |01000 8 [ 5]
't' (116) |01001 9 [ 5]
'u' (117) |101101 2d [ 6]
'v' (118) |1110111 77 [ 7]
'w' (119) |1111000 78 [ 7]
'x' (120) |1111001 79 [ 7]
'y' (121) |1111010 7a [ 7]
'z' (122) |1111011 7b [ 7]
'{' (123) |11111111|1111110 7ffe [15]
'|' (124) |11111111|100 7fc [11]
'}' (125) |11111111|111101 3ffd [14]
'~' (126) |11111111|11101 1ffd [13]
(127) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1100 ffffffc [28]
(128) |11111111|11111110|0110 fffe6 [20]
(129) |11111111|11111111|010010 3fffd2 [22]
(130) |11111111|11111110|0111 fffe7 [20]
(131) |11111111|11111110|1000 fffe8 [20]
(132) |11111111|11111111|010011 3fffd3 [22]
(133) |11111111|11111111|010100 3fffd4 [22]
(134) |11111111|11111111|010101 3fffd5 [22]
(135) |11111111|11111111|1011001 7fffd9 [23]
(136) |11111111|11111111|010110 3fffd6 [22]
(137) |11111111|11111111|1011010 7fffda [23]
(138) |11111111|11111111|1011011 7fffdb [23]
(139) |11111111|11111111|1011100 7fffdc [23]
(140) |11111111|11111111|1011101 7fffdd [23]
(141) |11111111|11111111|1011110 7fffde [23]
(142) |11111111|11111111|11101011 ffffeb [24]
(143) |11111111|11111111|1011111 7fffdf [23]
(144) |11111111|11111111|11101100 ffffec [24]
(145) |11111111|11111111|11101101 ffffed [24]
(146) |11111111|11111111|010111 3fffd7 [22]
(147) |11111111|11111111|1100000 7fffe0 [23]
(148) |11111111|11111111|11101110 ffffee [24]
(149) |11111111|11111111|1100001 7fffe1 [23]
(150) |11111111|11111111|1100010 7fffe2 [23]
(151) |11111111|11111111|1100011 7fffe3 [23]
(152) |11111111|11111111|1100100 7fffe4 [23]
(153) |11111111|11111110|11100 1fffdc [21]
(154) |11111111|11111111|011000 3fffd8 [22]
(155) |11111111|11111111|1100101 7fffe5 [23]
(156) |11111111|11111111|011001 3fffd9 [22]
(157) |11111111|11111111|1100110 7fffe6 [23]
(158) |11111111|11111111|1100111 7fffe7 [23]
(159) |11111111|11111111|11101111 ffffef [24]
(160) |11111111|11111111|011010 3fffda [22]
(161) |11111111|11111110|11101 1fffdd [21]
(162) |11111111|11111110|1001 fffe9 [20]
(163) |11111111|11111111|011011 3fffdb [22]
(164) |11111111|11111111|011100 3fffdc [22]
(165) |11111111|11111111|1101000 7fffe8 [23]
(166) |11111111|11111111|1101001 7fffe9 [23]
(167) |11111111|11111110|11110 1fffde [21]
(168) |11111111|11111111|1101010 7fffea [23]
(169) |11111111|11111111|011101 3fffdd [22]
(170) |11111111|11111111|011110 3fffde [22]
(171) |11111111|11111111|11110000 fffff0 [24]
(172) |11111111|11111110|11111 1fffdf [21]
(173) |11111111|11111111|011111 3fffdf [22]
(174) |11111111|11111111|1101011 7fffeb [23]
(175) |11111111|11111111|1101100 7fffec [23]
(176) |11111111|11111111|00000 1fffe0 [21]
(177) |11111111|11111111|00001 1fffe1 [21]
(178) |11111111|11111111|100000 3fffe0 [22]
(179) |11111111|11111111|00010 1fffe2 [21]
(180) |11111111|11111111|1101101 7fffed [23]
(181) |11111111|11111111|100001 3fffe1 [22]
(182) |11111111|11111111|1101110 7fffee [23]
(183) |11111111|11111111|1101111 7fffef [23]
(184) |11111111|11111110|1010 fffea [20]
(185) |11111111|11111111|100010 3fffe2 [22]
(186) |11111111|11111111|100011 3fffe3 [22]
(187) |11111111|11111111|100100 3fffe4 [22]
(188) |11111111|11111111|1110000 7ffff0 [23]
(189) |11111111|11111111|100101 3fffe5 [22]
(190) |11111111|11111111|100110 3fffe6 [22]
(191) |11111111|11111111|1110001 7ffff1 [23]
(192) |11111111|11111111|11111000|00 3ffffe0 [26]
(193) |11111111|11111111|11111000|01 3ffffe1 [26]
(194) |11111111|11111110|1011 fffeb [20]
(195) |11111111|11111110|001 7fff1 [19]
(196) |11111111|11111111|100111 3fffe7 [22]
(197) |11111111|11111111|1110010 7ffff2 [23]
(198) |11111111|11111111|101000 3fffe8 [22]
(199) |11111111|11111111|11110110|0 1ffffec [25]
(200) |11111111|11111111|11111000|10 3ffffe2 [26]
(201) |11111111|11111111|11111000|11 3ffffe3 [26]
(202) |11111111|11111111|11111001|00 3ffffe4 [26]
(203) |11111111|11111111|11111011|110 7ffffde [27]
(204) |11111111|11111111|11111011|111 7ffffdf [27]
(205) |11111111|11111111|11111001|01 3ffffe5 [26]
(206) |11111111|11111111|11110001 fffff1 [24]
(207) |11111111|11111111|11110110|1 1ffffed [25]
(208) |11111111|11111110|010 7fff2 [19]
(209) |11111111|11111111|00011 1fffe3 [21]
(210) |11111111|11111111|11111001|10 3ffffe6 [26]
(211) |11111111|11111111|11111100|000 7ffffe0 [27]
(212) |11111111|11111111|11111100|001 7ffffe1 [27]
(213) |11111111|11111111|11111001|11 3ffffe7 [26]
(214) |11111111|11111111|11111100|010 7ffffe2 [27]
(215) |11111111|11111111|11110010 fffff2 [24]
(216) |11111111|11111111|00100 1fffe4 [21]
(217) |11111111|11111111|00101 1fffe5 [21]
(218) |11111111|11111111|11111010|00 3ffffe8 [26]
(219) |11111111|11111111|11111010|01 3ffffe9 [26]
(220) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1101 ffffffd [28]
(221) |11111111|11111111|11111100|011 7ffffe3 [27]
(222) |11111111|11111111|11111100|100 7ffffe4 [27]
(223) |11111111|11111111|11111100|101 7ffffe5 [27]
(224) |11111111|11111110|1100 fffec [20]
(225) |11111111|11111111|11110011 fffff3 [24]
(226) |11111111|11111110|1101 fffed [20]
(227) |11111111|11111111|00110 1fffe6 [21]
(228) |11111111|11111111|101001 3fffe9 [22]
(229) |11111111|11111111|00111 1fffe7 [21]
(230) |11111111|11111111|01000 1fffe8 [21]
(231) |11111111|11111111|1110011 7ffff3 [23]
(232) |11111111|11111111|101010 3fffea [22]
(233) |11111111|11111111|101011 3fffeb [22]
(234) |11111111|11111111|11110111|0 1ffffee [25]
(235) |11111111|11111111|11110111|1 1ffffef [25]
(236) |11111111|11111111|11110100 fffff4 [24]
(237) |11111111|11111111|11110101 fffff5 [24]
(238) |11111111|11111111|11111010|10 3ffffea [26]
(239) |11111111|11111111|1110100 7ffff4 [23]
(240) |11111111|11111111|11111010|11 3ffffeb [26]
(241) |11111111|11111111|11111100|110 7ffffe6 [27]
(242) |11111111|11111111|11111011|00 3ffffec [26]
(243) |11111111|11111111|11111011|01 3ffffed [26]
(244) |11111111|11111111|11111100|111 7ffffe7 [27]
(245) |11111111|11111111|11111101|000 7ffffe8 [27]
(246) |11111111|11111111|11111101|001 7ffffe9 [27]
(247) |11111111|11111111|11111101|010 7ffffea [27]
(248) |11111111|11111111|11111101|011 7ffffeb [27]
(249) |11111111|11111111|11111111|1110 ffffffe [28]
(250) |11111111|11111111|11111101|100 7ffffec [27]
(251) |11111111|11111111|11111101|101 7ffffed [27]
(252) |11111111|11111111|11111101|110 7ffffee [27]
(253) |11111111|11111111|11111101|111 7ffffef [27]
(254) |11111111|11111111|11111110|000 7fffff0 [27]
(255) |11111111|11111111|11111011|10 3ffffee [26]
EOS (256) |11111111|11111111|11111111|111111 3fffffff [30]
|
08/22/2011 Market Outlook (Descending Triangle?)
SHORT-TERM: MORE LIKELY TO CONTINUE LOWER
A Descending Triangle could be in the forming on the SPY intra-day chart, so more likely it will continue lower tomorrow. I’m not very sure because it looks that VIX is about to reverse down, so let’s see tomorrow. On a little bigger picture, I still believe that 08/09 lows will be broken to allow NYMO to form a positive divergence before a real bottom could be possible.
INTERMEDIATE-TERM: SPX DOWNSIDE TARGET IS 1,000, THE CORRECTION COULD LAST 1 TO 2 MONTHS |
A strange, strange man has been showing up on morning shows throughout the Midwest, claiming to be a yo-yo trick champion. He is not. He is actually terrible at yo-yo. Yet he keeps getting on the air.
Little is known about "K-Strass," who goes by Kenny Strasser, or sometimes Karl Strassburg. He claims to be from Wisconsin (except when he doesn't). He claims to be from a broken home, with his own addiction issues (except when he isn't).
All we know is that K-Strass has shown up on television six times in the past month, showing off his yo-yo "skills" and generally embarrassing the hosts.
His latest appearance occurred Thursday morning on KQTV's "Hometown This Morning," in St. Joseph, Mo. "He got us," said Bridget Blevins, the station's news director. "I hate that we got duped." And how good was he with the yo-yo, a skill Strasser has said made him a champion? "He did some really lame things. He hit himself in the face and the groin with his yo-yo," Blevins said. Lisa Malak, who anchors the "Sunday Morning" show on WFRV in Green Bay, thought it would be fun to book somebody who said he was a yo-yo champion. When Strasser showed up April 11, he said he forgot the string for his yo-yo. With no tricks, Malak and Strasser spent their live TV segment talking. "It was the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me on the air," Malak said.
So if you see a man in suspenders and a yellow baseball cap, possibly being strangled by his own yo-yo, please — do not alert your local news station.
Instant replay: Alleged yo-yo champ dupes TV shows [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel] |
Q:
unable to restart networking daemon
When I type sudo service networking restart, I am getting error as shown below:
edward@computer:~$ sudo service networking restart
stop: Job failed while stopping
start: Job is already running: networking
Got this error when I wanted to restart networking after changing mac address and also after setting static IP in /etc/network/interfaces file.
I get same error even after reverting back those changes and when my computer works fine.
While looking through /var/log/syslog I found this:
kernel: [ 6448.036144] init: networking post-stop process (28701)
terminated with status 100
is that relevant to the failed stop/start?
I am on Ubuntu 14.04
A:
The error (post-stop) in your log seems related to this (in /etc/init/networking.conf line 25ff.):
post-stop script
if [ -z "$UPSTART_STOP_EVENTS" ]; then
echo "Stopping or restarting the networking job is not supported."
echo "Use ifdown & ifup to reconfigure desired interface."
exit 100
fi
You get the exit code, but not the more informative message if you do sudo service networking restart.
There is a lot of detail in this bug report about the issue. It seems deprecated behaviour. /etc/init.d/networking stop doesn't work any more and on Debian Jessie sudo service networking stop doesn't have any effect either. You seem to have to run ifup/ifdown on the individual network interfaces now, so let's hope you don't have too many of them.
If using ifup/ifdown is unacceptable, this allows you to restore the 13.10 behaviour.
The final solution for it is: sudo service network-manager restart
|
Lewis Hamilton Will Be A 'Driving Mentor' In Gran Turismo Sport
The soon-to-be-released Gran Turismo Sport marks a change in direction for the series, with a focus more towards actual proper racing than collecting 100 different versions of Mazda MX-5, as was the case with the last couple of games.
Developers Polyphony Digital are going all-out to make it a serious online-racing sim (kinda like iRacing), and have got Lewis Hamilton to feature in the game to share his techniques and help players improve through the use of videos and diagrams.
Hamilton said:
“I have been playing Gran Turismo since I was a child, so to actually be part of the gameplay design has been an incredible experience.”
It’ll be interesting to see exactly what sort of advice he’ll give, but from the brief trailer it looks like it’ll be pretty in-depth. We won’t have long to wait to find out, as the game releases on the PS4 on 18 October. |
Various coin operated vending and dispensing apparatus are well known in the prior art. Generally these dispensing apparatus are coin operated to dispense packaged items such as candy or cigarettes. In the case of cigarette vending machines, the cigarettes are generally packaged and dispensed in multiple units such as packages of twenty. In the past, due to the costs involved in operating a vending machine and the low costs of a single cigarette, it has generally not been economically or commercially practical to dispense items such as cigarettes in individually packaged units. Because of today's increased costs for cigarettes and many other items however, it has now become economically practical to operate vending apparatus for dispensing individually packaged units of an item.
The present invention is directed to a coin operated dispensing apparatus capable of dispensing cylindrical items such as individually packaged cigarettes. Generally stated the dispensing apparatus of the invention comprises a vertically mounted storage magazine for storing a plurality of cylindrical items to be dispensed, a dispensing gate rotatably mounted across an outlet opening of the magazine for retaining or discharging the items from the magazine, and a coin operated weighted balance beam coupled through a linkage to the dispensing gate for operating the gate. The balance beam is normally positioned by a counterweight to hold the dispensing gate in an outlet blocking position in which the items are retained in the magazine. In operation the balance beam can be shifted by the weight of a coin for rotating the dispensing gate from the outlet blocking position to a discharge position in which a single item is allowed to drop through the outlet opening of the magazine for dispensing. |
Download Games Roundup
The sun's shining. The sky is blue. That can mean only one thing: it's time to reduce your risk of skin cancer and sit inside and play games until your eyeballs bleed.
This week there were way too many releases to do the download scene full justice, so we'll try to get to G-Rev's shooter Strania next week, as well as the likes of Dino D-Day (Dinosaurs! In World War II!), Dungeon Hunter and the various PSP Minis and DSiWare nuggets that invariably look rubbish at first glance, but turn out to be rather good.
So, queue up those downloads, draw the blinds and ignore the warmest start to April in living memory.
Machinarium
There's a fair chance that Machinarium passed you by when it first emerged 18 months ago. That's the problem with the indie/download scene: keeping up with the dozens of really interesting titles that crop up all the time is like a full-time job in itself.
However, the really good stuff tends to keep rising to the top, and Amanita Design's decision to chuck Machinarium up on the burgeoning Mac App Store (and, shortly, port it to PS3 and Wii) does it no harm at all.
Missed a beat.
For those of you with fond, fraying memories of the golden era of point and click adventures, it's easily one of the most charming games to appear in the genre. Everything from the Tim Burton-inspired art style to the one-room-at-a-time puzzle design is absolutely first rate.
Despite the complete absence of dialogue, the game's tale of a tiny robot's journey to foil a thuggish plot is similarly adorable. Telling the story through occasional thought-bubble sketches, Amanita brings more character to the world through subtle touches and simple animation than most games ever manage.
Unlike most adventures, the game effectively feeds you one problem at a time, meaning that you cannot progress to the next area until you've solved the latest challenge. Although the it runs the risk of frustrating through such limitations, the inclusion of a helpful – but non-spoilerific – hint system keeps you invested even when you're stumped.
Perhaps the only thing that stops the game from being perfect is the slightly fussy way you can only interact with objects if they're within reach. When all you want to do is click on something, having to waddle across to it first can be a little testing.
But with so much in its favour, you'd probably forgive Machinarium if it cussed your mother. In fact, if you don't buy it, I'll cuss your mother. |
Mary Spiller
Mary Rose Spiller (13 April 1924 – 27 October 2019) was an English horticulturist and teacher who devoted her life to the dissemination of successful horticulture, particularly by women, in Britain.
Spiller's parents were Olive and Reginald Spiller, a crystallographer at Oxford University. She was born and grew up in the house in Cowley where she lived throughout her life.
In 1942, she began studying at the Waterperry School of Horticulture under Beatrix Havergal. She was employed at Waterperry gardens near Wheatley, Oxfordshire. as a gardener, planner, manager and teacher from 1963
until her retirement at the age of 90 in 2013. She was horticultural manager at Waterperry from 1975 until 1990.
In the early 1980s, she was the first woman presenter of Gardeners' World, the BBC TV series about gardening. She took part in episode 6 of the 2014 BBC TV series Glorious Gardens from Above.
When Havergal retired in 1971, Spiller continued the horticultural tradition she had established until her official retirement in 2013. Her influence at Waterperry continued throughout her retirement in her work with the Friends of Waterperry Gardens, and as horticultural consultant to Waterperry Gardens.
One of Spiller's horticultural passions was alpines, but she was known as a rounded horticulturist. She was awarded the RHA Associateship of Honour in July 2008
Alongside her work at Waterperry, Spiller gave lectures to the gardening enthusiasts around Oxfordshire for more than 60 years from the 1950s onwards, and wrote two gardening books: Growing Fruit (1980), and Weeds, Search and Destroy (1985). Spiller died in October 2019 at the age of 95.
References
Category:1924 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:20th-century English writers
Category:20th-century women writers
Category:English garden writers
Category:English horticulturists
Category:People from Oxford |
<?php
/**
* Copyright © Magento, Inc. All rights reserved.
* See COPYING.txt for license details.
*/
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace Magento\QuoteGraphQl\Model\CartItem\DataProvider;
use Magento\Catalog\Model\Product\Option;
use Magento\Quote\Model\Quote\Item as QuoteItem;
use Magento\Quote\Model\Quote\Item\Option as SelectedOption;
/**
* Customizable Option Value Data provider
*/
interface CustomizableOptionValueInterface
{
/**
* Customizable Option Value Data Provider
*
* @param QuoteItem $cartItem
* @param Option $option
* @param SelectedOption $selectedOption
* @return array
*/
public function getData(
QuoteItem $cartItem,
Option $option,
SelectedOption $selectedOption
): array;
}
|
J314 Paper #1 on Natsume Soseki's Kokoro:
In can be argued that Soseki's final novel is an exquisite exploration of the intricate psychological condition that comes with modernity. For Soseki, while modern life brings the opportunity for greater freedom, the cost seems to be loneliness, psychological malaise, and a cloud of moral and ethical darkness. Without the rigid class structure associated with feudal times, how does society regulate itself? How do modern individuals conduct themselves morally and ethically in an industrializing, capitalist society? What values should they live by?
Confucius had his ideas about family relationships: father-son, teacher-pupil, soverign-subject, husband-wife, brother-brother, friend-friend. But is Soseki suggesting that all of these have become outmoded? Marriage, education, family life, work, life in the countryside versus urban life--have all of these things changed for Japanese people since the early1900s? Where do people seek refuge from the loneliness, the darkness, and the alienation that seem to accompany modern life? Is there hope? Where do we find it?
Write a 5-7 page essay on Kokoro which analyzes the text from your perspective. What do you think are the most important characteristics of this novel? You may want to focus on the text as an expression of Japan's encounter with modernity and discuss concerns about what "becoming modern" means for Japanese people. Sensei is not a sensei in the ordinary sense, but does he become one in the end? If so, what does he have to teach the narrator?
*************************
Here are some points I developed on what makes a good paper when I was teaching the College Coloquium:
I. WRITING AN INTRODUCTION
Here are some useful hints on how to write a good introduction that might be helpful:
You should pay special attention to the introduction of your paper because a good introduction will do a great deal to help your paper. If the reader understands where you plan to go at the outset, he/she will have a much easier time understanding the rest of your paper.... Therefore, you may find it useful to include in your Intro a statemlent like,
If you spend the beginning of the paper summarizing the literature and do not get to your "claim," or your argument until the end, you risk doing irreparable harm to your paper. The reader will arrive at the end of the paper feeling lost, confused, or frustrated because they had to wade through your entire paper before they learned what it was about. If you discover the argument as you write the paper, remember to re-write the introduction.
Therefore, the Introduction should:
• Be thematically explicit. It should contain a general overview of the whole paper. Introduce the themes that will run throughout the paper. Give the reader an idea of the big picture.
• Contain the problem you wish to discuss. This problem can be a gap in current knowledge, a puzzle, a contradiction, unaccountable or conflicting data, etc.
• Establish the cost to the reader of not solving this problem. In short, it should answer the question: So What? Typical costs could be misunderstanding, unpredictability,etc.
• The end of the introduction should preview or hint at your response or solution to this problem. This is called the "paper point." This is where you might place your "This paper will argue that..." type of statement.
Here is a rather simple version of an Introduction:
As scientists have explored environmental threats, many of their concerns
have proved exaggerated, such as the effect of acid rain and the imminence of the
Greenhouse Effect. [context]
But recently they have discovered a threat that is all too real: the ozone layer has been thinning, thereby allowing sunlight to reach the earth
unfiltered. [problem]
Here is na actual example from a Kokoro paper:
Kokoro: Ethical and Emotional Darkness of the Heart
Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, or “the heart of things,” explores the complexity of the human heart. This exploration centers upon the potential for the heart to be corrupted by modernity’s rising self-interest, which was of particular concern to Soseki’s historical moment of fast-paced modernization and rising capitalism during the 1868 to 1912 Meiji era. Soseki especially explores the effects of rising competition and individualism through the motif of darkness and shadows throughout the novel. Kokoro then serves as a cautionary tale in which Soseki/Sensei warns the reader/narrator of the effects of unchecked self-interest or ethical darkness that the individualism of modernity brings out of all human hearts which in turn leads to the emotional darkness of loneliness, distrust, and guilt. As this potential for corruption is within all hearts, one should have a reasonable distrust of others as is shown through the actions of Sensei’s uncle; however, the reader/narrator is more importantly cautioned against the potential for darkness within one’s own heart through Sensei’s actions against his best friend K that can only be escaped through Sensei’s suicide.
************************
II. If your CLAIM is interesting and you express it clearly to your readers in the first paragraph or so, then people will want to read on and find out what they are missing, find out what they need to know in order to make them more aware and deepen their understanding. If you do not make the PROBLEM sound interesting from the get go, however, they may just quit reading and do something else. So your paper has to have an interesting premise or HOOK that draws your reader in from the very beginning.
In addition to a CLAIM, the body of the paper should present some reasons and some arguments to support the claim, and a CONCLUSION to indicate to the reader that you accomplished what you said you would in your intro. Your ORGANIZATION, then, should be tight and effective.
Overall, to be strong and compelling, your paper should have COHERENCE, flow, focus, and CLARITY. Your CONCLUSION should parallel your Introduction where you make your claim. What else makes for a strong paper? COHERENT essays hang together well; their ORGANIZATION is strong and they have a clear FOCUS. This means that their are ideas are consistent and they stay on topic. As a result, the paper flows well. There will be some main ideas that hold the other ideas in place. Effective papers do not wander and they do not have parts that do not fit in well with other parts of the paper.
III. Things I will look for and assess in your papers, then are:
1. The introduction makes a clear "claim" or thesis and the body provides adequate supporting evidence.
2. The essay is well organized, has a clear focus, advances a coherent argument, flows well and is generally clean, i.e., free of errors in grammar, usage, and spelling.
3. The essay demonstrates close engagement with specific songs or groups of songs and integrates relevant assigned readings.
4. The conclusion echoes the claims or questions that you have raised in your introduction and points out how you have successfully addressed them as you indicated that you would.
5. The sources for your information, ideas and quotations are correctly cited. Internal citation is preferred with a list of works cited at the end. |
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus: concentration, partial purification, inactivation and immunogenicity.
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) TC-84 vaccinal virus, from 10-1. quantities of infected duck embryo fibroblast cell culture fluids, was isolated by combined continuous-flow centrifugation with isopycnic banding in sucrose. Most of the recovered infectivity and hemagglutinating activity were in a single band at a buoyant density (rho) of 1.2. About 90% of the total input protein (450-520 mg) was removed with the effluent, whereas most of the remaining 10% also banded at a rho of 1.2. Infectivity was inactivated with formalin at a final concentration of 0.05% at 37 degrees C for 24 hr. Formalin-inactivated virus retained its immunogenicity and induced VEE virus-specific antibody in horses and guinea pigs. The horses and those guinea pigs that received equivalent doses of vaccine survived after a challenge of their immunity with virulent VEE virus. |
A flash storage device usually contains a flash controller and at least one flash chip. One limitation of the flash chip is that, although it can be read or programmed a byte or a word at a time in a random access fashion, the data stored in the flash chip can be erased only a block at a time. If the data in a data block of the flash chip need to be updated or replaced by new replacement data, rather than directly delete the data from the data block, the chip controller will mark the data to be replaced as “stale” and program the new replacement data into the same data block. When the data block is fully programmed, a garbage collection operation may be performed to the data block. For example, during the garbage collection operation, the data in the data block that are marked as “stale” may be deleted and the other data that are not marked as “stale” may be copied to another data block. After the garbage collection operation, the data block is empty, ready to store new data. When a plurality of data blocks inside a flash chip are full, the chip controller may select the data block with the least valid data from the plurality of data blocks as a garbage block and perform the garbage collection operation on the data block that has been marked as the garbage block. |
Disclaimer
MDS makes every effort to publish accurate information on the website. "Google Translate" is provided as a free tool for visitors to read content in one's native language. Translations are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. Neither MDS nor its employees assume liability for erroneous translations of website content.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders - Milan
Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders
Milan, Italy - December 5-6, 2014
Course Description
More than 100,000 patients worldwide have been treated by deep brain stimulation (DBS) for a drug refractory movement disorder. General neurologists will be increasingly confronted with the management of these patients, who suffer from chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, and require lifelong care.
This course will instruct general neurologists on how to identify the cause of clinical problems in DBS-treated patients which result from either the underlying disease, inappropriate adjustment of medication and stimulation, or stimulation itself. The presentations will also discuss the selection criteria for surgery, which is necessary to consult appropriate candidates and to refer these patients to surgical centers.
Venue
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Milan, Italy
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to accomplish the following:
Provide an overview of the selection process of candidates for deep brain stimulation in movement disorders – especially Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor
Outline the efficacy and associated risks for DBS, including understanding the different brain targets used for DBS and their effects on specific symptoms
Discuss the different electrical parameters that can be adjusted for DBS and outline their biological effect
Describe the strategies for adjustment of medication and DBS settings, especially for Parkinson’s disease, and discuss common therapy associated problems, hardware related problems, and troubleshooting strategies
Understand the role of the neurologist in long-term management of DBS patients
Recommended Audience
This course is intended for movement disorder specialists, general neurologists and trainees who want to become more involved in the selection or postoperative management of patients with movement disorders (tremor, dystonia, Parkinson’s disease, etc.) treated by deep brain stimulation surgery.
Education
Registration is now closed.
Please contact Monica Moon with any inquiries.
Registration includes entrance to all sessions, course materials, catering and 1-year associate membership for eligible non-members. To find out more about associate membership or eligibility, please visit the Associate Membership Webpage.
Refund Policy: For cancellation 2 weeks in advance of a course the registration fee will be 100% refunded, minus a $25 administrative fee. For cancellation within 2 weeks of a course, the registration fee is non-refundable.
Helpful Site Links
Patients & Caregivers
About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) is a professional society of over 4,500 clinicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the care of patients with movement disorders through education and research. |
A Mt. Prospect man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 97-year-old woman in an Arlington Heights assisted living facility last month, officials said on Sunday.Frank Mendez, 51, faces an aggravated sexual assault charge, in addition to home invasion and aggravated battery.Mendez was scheduled to appear in bond court on Sunday.The assault occurred Aug. 20 at about 10:40 p.m., when Mendez allegedly entered the woman's residence at the facility through a window, police said.The assisted living and retirement community, called Church Creek, is located at Central Road and Dwyer Avenue in the northwest suburbs.Mendez was nabbed on Thursday for breaking into a home on the same day as the sexual assault. The break-in occurred earlier in the evening on the same in the 700-block of South Patton Circle in Arlington Heights. |
At 36 years old with two small children I was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinsons Disease. This is the account of my journey from onset to diagnosis and beyond.
I have two choices. I can sit and feel sorry for myself and get worse fast, or I can dust myself off and fight. I think l will choose the latter!
So bring it on Parkinsons, bring it on!
Oct 18, 2016
Brian Grant ~ Life with & Parenting with Parkinson's ~ A candid conversation between 2 Parkie's
I had the utmost pleasure to meet former 12 year NBA
player Brian Grant while at the World Parkinson Congress. On two occasions we had brief conversations
and photo’s taken.I was particularly
struck on the fact that despite his insane schedule that week with the
congress itself and media given it was happening in his home town, he never
rushed a conversation with someone with Parkinson’s that wanted to meet
him.He spoke on a couple of occasions and
participated in one of the panel sessions on living well with PD and he was
genuine, honest and very down to earth.I watched from afar on several occasions his willingness to oblige
handshakes and photo ops and he was attentive to each person that crossed his
path.I watched this with great
respect.In one of our brief conversations
I told him that he was very gracious to the countless people there
that wanted to meet him and that I thought that was extremely kind of him.He told me that when at other public events
if he’s tired or his tremors are bad or he’s not feeling great he has the
ability to simply leave.However that at
the WPC there was no way he could or would want to do that, he said he
respected the fact that people with PD wanted to meet him and speak to him and
he appreciated that they wanted to.He
said simply “how could I not take the time for them?”
When I was given the opportunity to “interview” Brian for
an article for my blog I was over the moon!There was no way I would refuse that once in a lifetime chance.We were originally set to meet in person at
the congress to have our conversation however things were hectic for him and I
told his assistant that I’d be quite happy to chat with him after the congress
was over and things settled down for him.I was exhausted so I could only imagine how he was feeling given his
schedule that week.And well, it’s
pretty cool to be able to say that Brian Grant has my phone number, I’ve told a
few people “Brian called the other day we had a great 20 minute chat” Ha!I’m considering us friends now, but at the
very least he’s incredible and an inspiration to the PD community, we are lucky
to have such spokes people to bring awareness to the disease, particularly that
it’s not only old people that get it like him and Michael J Fox.
To give you a brief background, Brian was diagnosed with
YOPD around 36 years of age, he had recently retired from his NBA career.It started with a slight wrist tremor while
still playing in the NBA where he joked in one of his speeches that upon asking
one of the team doctors about it and what it was they simply responded “old age”
as when you’re a professional athlete that’s considered old I suppose.Brian has 6 sons and 2 daughters and has been
married and divorced twice. Below you'll find the questions I posed to Brian.
How did your children handle your Parkinson’s Diagnosis?
My older boys 20’s & late teens handled it
alright.They started to dig into
finding out what Parkinson’s is and how will it affect Dad.When they ask me things I try and be honest
and answer as best I can.I tell them
about new meds and things that can help life be better with PD and about dyskinesia’s
and other side effects.They’re at the
age where if I say something like that they run to the internet to Google what dyskinesia
is.My now 13 & 14 year old
daughters were quite young.They’d ask ‘why
does your hand shake?’ and I’d tell them because I have Parkinson’s.When they’d ask what that was I’d simply say
it’s when your hand shakes.And at the
time they would simply associate PD with a hand tremor. I always try and be honest with all my kids
about it but at the same time I don’t want to scare them.
Do you think overall it’s important to involve your kids
in your PD journey?
For me it was important, I can’t really speak for you or
anyone else, but for me I found it to be very important because if I’m not
telling them what PD is they might go to the wrong web site or the wrong
friends.I want to give them my definition
of it and what that means for me, because otherwise they could go to their
friend who’s Grandpa has it and what it means to them might be something
totally different.I want to make sure
the information they get comes from me.
I even joke around with my daughter sometimes and I’ll
say ‘can you get me another sprite’, why can’t you get it Dad? ‘cause I have the
Parkinsons’.I try and laugh at myself
and allow others to laugh.It’s a
serious disease but as you know we have a chance to be around it’s not like
stage 4 cancer or ALS or something.
Did you get any advice on parenting with PD from anyone you
know with PD?
I didn’t get any advice specifically from Fox or Ali or
anyone, but who I do get information from is Soania Mathur, a GP in Canada has
a couple books out and anytime I have questions about the kids I always refer
to her. (Below you'll see a photo of myself and the lovely Soania www.designingacure.com/)
Do you think your Parkinson’s can enrich your children’s
lives in some way?
I think it can in some ways because for me up until I was
diagnosed I was like everyone else in the world, I was going to live forever,
always be healthy but once you’re diagnosed with a life changing disease like
Parkinson’s it changes your perspective, in fact it changed mine immediately.So I don’t want to put that burden on the
kids if they ask I’ll tell them but I’m not going to sit them down and talk
about specifics right now.Maybe someday
I will as I progress.They are involved
in the foundation I don’t make them go but they attend every event we’ve had
and they enjoy it, its fun.They’ve always
enjoyed participating in that stuff.My
older boys when they are home volunteer at any events and things we have.
What advice would you give to someone newly diagnosed
with Young Onset Parkinson’s?
I would tell them to take the time for themselves before
they try and help everyone else understand what’s going on with them.If you just get diagnosed other than your
partner, they need to know but as far as the kids and relatives and others come
out at your own pace.Unless there’s
questions being posed to you, like why do you look like that when you stare at me,
or why does your hand shake?Things that
aren’t normal to them and the doors open, then tell them.But I would advise everyone to do that at
their own pace and speed, to wait until you’re comfortable with it before you
let everyone else in.
And what advice would you give to someone who is a parent
and diagnosed?
The disease affects everyone so differently and we are
all in our own unique situation maybe you’re in a marriage or a single parent.The initial blow is so emotionally heavy, or
at least it was for me.I didn’t want to
deal with it right away, but then again I was going through a divorce and was
just retired there was so much going on in my life other than my
diagnosis.I will say this, once I was
able to explain to my kids what was going on with Dad I felt so much
better.It was like a big weight lifted
off my back, I didn’t care if anyone else in the world knew at that time they
were the ones that mattered.I was
focused on how it was going to make them feel, I didn’t want them to feel bad
or worry.And another thing I focused on
was I didn’t want to embarrass them.Sometimes when I’m at gamesand
stuff and I get surrounded by parents talking, I’m tremoring and stuff and in
my mind I feel like I’m embarrassing my kid when that couldn’t be further from
the truth.My biggest fear is embarrassing
my kids because if I saw that I was it would devastate me.
As you mentioned we are all very different and our
Parkinson’s symptoms are often unique.What are your biggest challenges as far as symptoms go?
The tremor definitely and my gait.I’m assuming I’m walking normal but it
definitely feels different when I’m walking.And then there’s depression, I’m on medication for that which has helped
tremendously.Anxiety, here I am a
public figure trying to be a champion for this disease and help defeat Parkinson’s
and then get this deep anxiety that makes it really hard to go out and speak to
people.I’m sure you understand this (which
I most certainly do) but it gets so bad.My mouth will get dry, my eyes will get dry, and I start to tremor its
crazy.
Do you think your career in the NBA can help you in
living your journey with Parkinson’s?
It absolutely helps me; more importantly given I’m a
retired professional athlete I know how to be in tune with my body where as
someone else with PD may not be.When
something starts to happen with me that isn’t normal I think that must be
Parkinson's.I know how to train which can be a
curse too, I know how hard it is I know before I even start to do it.Sometimes I’ll think to myself I don’t have
to do that, I don’t have to be in tip top shape.I don’t know how to just coast and how just a
little bit each day can be such a help, no no I’m full bore ahead.
I was watching an older interview you had done where you
discussed that you weren’t sure “they” wanted to find a cure for Parkinson’s
and other diseases given there’s so much profit in medications for our
disease.What are your thoughts on that
today?
I think a lot of people make those statements, I still
think everyone is trying to find a cure.It doesn’t benefit drug companies to find a cure pushing forward.I think they have their place within the
Parkinson’s community because without them a lot of foundations couldn’t get
their programming off the ground.Not to
mention we need their medications in order to survive and I’m thankful for
those medications and hopefully someday when there is a cure they are
instrumental in putting it out there.
What do you hope you can continue to achieve with the Brian Grant Foundation moving forward?
We’ve gone through some changes and they’ve been very good. Right now our programming we have is our wellness retreats and our boot camps and also our nutritonal cooking classes.Those are the things we are trying to roll out.Our goal or at least my goal is in the next 5-10 years to be able to roll these things out in other cities where we go through things and organizations in those cities can adopt them.That’s my dream!
We discussed anxiety and depression in a bit more depth
and in asking me if I experienced it I told him that I never had an anxious
bone in my body before, but now I suffer with what I refer to as social anxiety
and there are times it can be quite bad, cause me to withdraw and yet be lonely
at the same time.I told him that I find
it difficult to deal with the aspects of the disease that change your
personality, that change all the parts of you inside that you always knew
yourself to be.And he told me how he
feels the exact same way, that when he gets around a bunch of athletes or
friends he was always in tune to the moment and what had to be done or what he
was up to.And the thoughts of
depression or anxiety happening to him never occurred to him that it wasn’t that
he felt negatively towards people who had those issues but he just knew it
would never happen to him, until it did.And now he has to change the way he thinks about all those things
because there’s no surgery or treatment for these aspects of Parkinson’s
disease like there are for the motor symptoms.He explained how well depression medication works for him and made
a huge difference but nothing truly changes how our identities and what we’ve
always known to be ourselves being altered permanently.
We also discussed candidly Apathy and I told him how my
get up and go has gotten up and left and how it’s extremely difficult if not
impossible some days to get motivated to do something.That things I love I still procrastinate on
to the final hour and I was curious if he like many others had issues in this
area.He told me that he finds it very
hard to get motivated at times and he was often MIA in his own life space.He spoke of how he always put his hand in
his pocket or sat on his hands and all the things many of us do to hide our
tremors and that a point in time hit when he told himself he wasn’t going to do
it anymore that he didn’t care what people thought, but clearly he did and
still does.So sometimes it’s hard to
get out there and be motivated when you want to do something when in the back
of your mind you’re struggling with other things too.
Our conversation ended with him asking me how long I have
been living with Parkinson’s and a bit about my life which I thought was so
kind of him.I got the feeling that like
myself this wasn’t an “interview” like thousands he had done before.This was two people living with Young Onset
Parkinson’s Disease, two parents trying their best to be the best they can be
for their kids; two ‘young-ish’ people fighting a disease for a very long time
to come that were simply having a conversation about life with Parkinson’s.Or at least that’s certainly how he made me
feel and it was pretty awesome.We
talked about how we are lucky, I believe we share the same opinion on that and
that yes we have PD but it could always be worse.He truly is an amazing man and a wonderful
advocate and spokesperson for the Parkinson’s community and I’m very grateful
to have had the pleasure of meeting him, speaking with him a couple of times at
the World Parkinson Congress and having this lengthy conversation over the
phone with him.We ended our call with
him thanking me for following his foundation and for writing a blog and told me
to keep doing what I’m doing.And that
nearly brought me to tears hearing it from him.How incredible and gracious is he?
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About Me
My name is Natasha McCarthy and I am mother of two beautiful little girls, Samantha & Izabella. Living in tiny little Prince Edward Island with my amazing husband Aaron, who works on the opposite end of the country for sometimes months at a time.
I went from feeling healthy, strong and working out like crazy... To shaking, pain, being slouched over and difficulty with simple tasks. It felt like my body was falling apart but I didn't know why. So this is an account of my journey to finding answers to what I knew was a big problem. To being my own health advocate and not giving up. Because I am a Mom & Wife first and I will be the best I can be for my daughters & husband. I will explore every option, every avenue and fight like never before!
Feel free to contact me, I'd love to hear from you! Check out my FB Page at: www.facebook.com/BrokenBodysJourney |
88 N.J. 75 (1981)
438 A.2d 544
FRANK LEWICKI, PETITIONER-APPELLANT,
v.
NEW JERSEY ART FOUNDRY, RESPONDENT-APPELLANT, AND THE SECOND INJURY FUND, RESPONDENT-RESPONDENT.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Argued September 21, 1981.
Decided December 22, 1981.
*78 Samuel L. Marciano argued the cause for appellant Frank Lewicki (Florio, Dunn & Marciano, attorneys).
*79 George J. Kenny argued the cause for appellant New Jersey Art Foundry (Connell, Foley & Geiser, attorneys).
Lois J. Gregory, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent (James R. Zazzali, Attorney General of New Jersey; Michael R. Cole, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel).
The opinion of the Court was delivered by O'HERN, J.
The primary issue in this workers' compensation appeal is the proper standard of review by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry of a Compensation Judge's advisory report recommending an award of benefits from the Second Injury Fund. This Fund is available for compensation where a worker suffers injuries in a compensable accident, which injuries together with a previous permanent partial disability from some other cause result in total and permanent disability. Since employers are liable only for the disability attributable to the worker's employment, the Fund exists to compensate the worker for the balance of his disability.
Petitioner-appellant, Frank Lewicki, has become totally disabled after an industrial accident. He began working full-time at a foundry at age 16 and, with the exception of military service, spent most of his working life as a foundry man, dealing with powders, chemicals and hot metals to forge metal products. On December 13, 1973, after 25 years of service with the New Jersey Art Foundry, he was filling a "salamander" stove with kerosene when the stove exploded, sending flames into his face. The force of the explosion threw him against the molder's bench, injuring his back and head, and burning the right side of his neck and his right forearm.
Lewicki was taken immediately to Christ Hospital in Jersey City and treated for burns to the face, neck, head and right forearm and injury to the lower back. After his discharge from Christ Hospital, he continued to experience back pain and was *80 admitted to St. Francis Hospital. A myelogram administered there disclosed a herniated disc which required surgical removal. After his release from the hospital, Lewicki continued to receive back treatment for approximately seven months. He filed a claim against New Jersey Art Foundry with the Division of Workers' Compensation. He also filed a verified petition seeking benefits from the Second Injury Fund pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:15-94 et seq. The two proceedings were consolidated for trial. At the time of the hearing he had not returned to work.
In his March 16, 1979 decision, the Compensation Judge found that the petitioner was totally disabled, having suffered an aggregate of 77% of total permanent disability and 30% binaural hearing loss as a result of the accident and occupational exposure. He further found that petitioner was disabled to the extent of 10% to 15% for a hypertensive condition which he found preexisted the last compensable accident and which he determined to be the basis for Second Injury Fund compensation.
The judge's advisory report of Fund eligibility was submitted to the Commissioner on May 16, 1979. The Fund denied eligibility and filed exceptions with the Commissioner. On September 13, 1979, the Commissioner rejected the advisory report of the Compensation Judge and dismissed the application for benefits under the Second Injury Fund. The Commissioner found that there was no evidence in the record to support the judge's finding that petitioner's preexisting hypertensive condition was in fact disabling or that it was fixed, measurable and arrested, an asserted requirement for Fund liability. In addition, he found that petitioner had failed to show that his condition had not been aggravated or accelerated by his employment or that, if disabling, it was a causative factor in the overall picture of total and permanent disability.
Petitioner moved to vacate the compensation judgment and allow additional testimony in the Division of Workers' Compensation. He presumably sought to offer further evidence of the *81 responsibility of the employer or the Fund for the total disability. The Second Injury Fund objected that only the Appellate Division was empowered to review a decision of the Commissioner. The petitioner discontinued the motion and filed a notice of appeal with the Appellate Division.
That court concluded that the findings of the Commissioner were supported by the record. Petitioner failed to prove that the preexisting hypertension constituted a permanent disabling condition, the court stating with regard to the findings of the Judge of Compensation that "the judge's contrary conclusion lacked adequate record support."
Aware of the potential anomaly of contrary findings by the judge and Commissioner and the potential prejudice to a petitioner found to be totally disabled, the Appellate Division remanded the matter to the Compensation Division for a hearing on the applicability of the odd-lot doctrine. It appeared that the petitioner, while not totally disabled, nevertheless might be unemployable because of "handicaps personal to the worker over and above the limitations on work capacity directly produced by his accidental injury...." Germain v. Cool-Rite Corp., 70 N.J. 1, 9 (1976). See Barbato v. Alsan Masonry, 64 N.J. 514, 534 (1974).
We granted the petition for certification, 87 N.J. 315 (1981), because of the contradictory Appellate Division decisions in this case and in Delesky v. Tasty Baking Co., 175 N.J. Super. 513 (App.Div. 1980). The Appellate Division in Delesky held that the Commissioner of Labor may not overturn a determination by a Workers' Compensation Judge if his findings are based on sufficient credible evidence in the record.
The role of the Workers' Compensation Judge in cases involving the Second Injury Fund is set forth in N.J.S.A. 34:15-95.1. That statute requires that a claim for Second Injury Fund benefits shall be addressed to the Commissioner, "who shall refer it to a Deputy Commissioner of Workmen's Compensation [now Judge of Compensation] to hear testimony and for an *82 advisory report as to findings.... The decision, however, as to whether the petitioner shall or shall not be admitted to the benefits shall be rendered by the said Commissioner of Labor." [Emphasis supplied]. This language is clear. The report is simply an advisory report. Thus, the statute allows the agency head to undertake a de novo review. This legislative pattern is similar to that in the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., which provides that an agency head may adopt, reject or modify the Administrative Law Judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law. It is also similar to the pattern in N.J.S.A. 11:15-6 and 11:2A-1 which provide for de novo appeals to the Civil Service Commission. Henry v. Rahway State Prison, 81 N.J. 571, 579 (1980). This separation of the hearing and decisional functions in agency adjudications may be regarded as a "necessary expedient in the effectuation of governmental business through its administrative machinery." Unemployed-Employed Council of N.J., Inc. v. Horn, 85 N.J. 646, 655 (1981).
We do not agree with the Delesky court that the Commissioner is required "to accept and affirm the [compensation] judge's finding if that finding could reasonably have been reached on sufficient credible evidence present in the whole record." Delesky, supra at 517. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry is free to make de novo findings of fact and conclusions of law on the basis of the record presented. We recognize that this procedure is inconsistent with the plenary quasi-judicial powers of Judges of Compensation in all other proceedings under the act. Indeed, the Legislature has exempted Judges of Compensation from the jurisdiction of the Office of Administrative Law. N.J.S.A. 52:14B-2(a). The distinct procedure applicable in this case has been created by the statute in order to afford a high degree of protection for the Second Injury Fund.
The Second Injury Fund (known at times in the past as the One Percent Fund and the Two Percent Fund) is a legislatively-created fund requiring contributions from workers' compensation *83 insurance carriers and self-insured employers to absorb part of the impact upon employers of awards in certain cases involving permanent and total disability. L. 1923, c. 81, as subsequently amended (now N.J.S.A. 34:15-94 et seq.). The complete legislative history and purpose were set forth by Justice Burling in his dissent in Ratsch v. Holderman, 31 N.J. 458, 468-471 (1960). Commentators generally recite the following problem as a classic illustration of the purpose underlying this remedial legislation:
A has lost the sight of one eye in an accident. He is therefore rendered 25% disabled. He subsequently secured a job with B firm. Due to industrial accident he loses his other eye, rendering him totally blind and 100% disabled.
Since it is unfair to inflict the total burden of this loss on B, the Legislature concluded that the risk of such accidental injuries should be shared by all employers who contribute to the Fund. This policy protects employers who hire partially disabled workers from an unfair burden. It also protects the worker from being denied employment because of the potential risk of total disability. Lawson v. Suwannee Fruit & S.S. Co., 336 U.S. 198, 69 S.Ct. 503, 93 L.Ed. 611 (1949); Equitable Equip. Co., Inc. v. Hardy, 558 F.2d 1192 (5th Cir.1977).
While the classic example is understood, the application of the principle to complex industrial accidents or occupational conditions has not been easy.
Under N.J.S.A. 34:15-95, as it existed at the time of this accident, the Fund is liable when a partially permanently disabled worker becomes totally and permanently disabled as a result of a work-connected accident or occupational illness that, in combination with the preexisting physical impairment, results in permanent total disability. The worker receives compensation for the full measure of his disability and the employer is relieved of that portion of the burden unrelated to the employment. See Belth v. Anthony Ferrante & Son, Inc., 47 N.J. 38, 49 (1966). The intent of the Fund is to "encourage the hiring by industry of people handicapped by pre-existing disabilities...." Paul v. Baltimore Upholstering Co., 66 N.J. 111, 129 (1974). The *84 Fund assumes liability for the portion of the disability attributable to the preexisting impairment. Id. at 132; see Katz v. Tp. of Howell, 67 N.J. 51, 65 (1975) (hereinafter, Katz I). The statute requires that both the prior disability and the later accidental or occupational condition have in conjunction causally contributed to the total permanent disability. Balash v. Harper, 3 N.J. 437, 442 (1950). Prior to 1980, Fund liability was denied when the prior partial disability was aggravated by the later incident. Katz I, supra at 65. Liability will be imposed on the Fund only when the statutory requirements have been fully met. Ort v. Taylor-Wharton Co., 47 N.J. 198 (1966) (barring Fund liability when total disability results from the aggravation of a preexisting noncompensable injury by a compensable occupational disease); Belth, supra at 38 (disallowing Fund liability when an employment accident results only in partial permanent disability); Vogel v. Red Star Express Lines, 73 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 1962), aff'd, 40 N.J. 44 (1963) (disallowing liability when two successive accidents cause a back injury which initially is only partially disabling but later results in total permanent disability); Shepley v. Johns-Manville Products Corp., 141 N.J. Super. 387 (App.Div. 1976) (barring liability when the total permanent disability had a causal connection to the prior condition, and the prior condition progressively developed).
The standards for Fund eligibility are well established. The burden of proving eligibility is on the party seeking to impose Fund liability. Ort, supra at 207; Shepley, supra at 393. This Court has reasoned that:
While we are, as we should be, cognizant of the general policy of the statute to encourage the hiring by industry of people handicapped by pre-existing disabilities, the Legislature has manifested concern that the Fund not be subject to undue invasion.... The interests here in opposition are employers and insurers, and the State Fund; not employers or insurers versus employees. [66 N.J. at 129]
In addition to the legislative policy that invasion of this Fund be carefully monitored by the Commissioner, we cannot ignore *85 the fact that since May 1, 1979[1] three major amendments to the Second Injury Fund statute have been enacted by the Legislature. None of these removed the provision of de novo review. L. 1979, c. 283, effective January 10, 1980, made a comprehensive revision of the New Jersey Workers' Compensation Law and specific changes to N.J.S.A. 34:15-95 were included. This legislation was the subject of intense study by a committee of labor and industry and represented the cooperative efforts of business executives, labor leaders, and government representatives. A significant change was made by the deletion of subsection (b) which had sheltered the Fund from liability if permanent total disability resulted from aggravation of a preexisting disability by the last compensable injury. Ort, supra at 204. This modification will undoubtedly result in greater exposure of the Fund to claims against it.
The Legislature next turned its attention to the Second Injury Fund in L. 1980, c. 83, effective August 21, 1980, which raised the level of benefits paid to formerly disabled industrial workers receiving Second Injury Fund compensation. The cost to employers of this increased benefit was extensively debated. A final amendment, on May 21, 1981, changed the effective date of one section. L. 1981, c. 149. Senate Bill 3096, now pending, would transfer the decision making power in Second Injury Fund cases from the Commissioner of Labor to Compensation Judges. The sponsor's statement attached to the bill specifically states that
*86 [t]his bill has been drafted in response to a recent Appellate Division Decision, Delesky v. Tasty Baking Company, et al., 175 N.J. Super. 513 which, among other things, questioned the review powers of the Commissioner of Labor and Industry over decisions of judges of compensation in "2nd Injury Fund" cases.
However, until the Legislature acts, we are bound by the current statutory language.
We therefore hold that the Commissioner of Labor and Industry is free to make de novo findings of fact and conclusions of law on the basis of the record presented to him. We must assume that the Commissioner will, as he has argued in this Court, continue to give due consideration to the findings of a Judge of Compensation.
We also affirm the judgment of the Appellate Division to remand for a hearing on the applicability of the odd-lot doctrine since the Compensation Judge did not fully consider the applicability of that doctrine.[2] The parties should have an opportunity to present further evidence on this issue. Inasmuch, then, as this case is remanded for a new administrative hearing, in the interest of justice we will remand on Second Injury Fund liability as well, to correct certain errors in the proceedings below.
We do not share the breadth of view of the Commissioner that every prior disability claimed to concur in causing total permanent disability must meet the rigorous literal formula of "fixed, measurable and arrested" to form the basis for Second Injury Fund liability. That phrase first appeared in Brooks v. Bethlehem Steel Co., 66 N.J. Super. 135, 146 (App.Div. 1961), certif. den., 36 N.J. 29 (1961) in which the issue was whether recovery for an occupational disease was barred by the statute of limitations when its onset was two years prior to the statutory creation of a right to recover. The opinion held that no valid *87 claim could arise until the condition had become definitely fixed, measurable and arrested.[3]
The phrase sought (a) to provide a standard for compensability in occupational disease cases where the identification of a condition both with respect to its nature and extent and with respect to its relationship with the employment is ordinarily difficult and (b) to provide a standard for measuring conditions that do qualify and do not qualify under N.J.S.A. 34:15-95.
The phrase was not intended as a dispositive test for qualification for the Second Injury Fund. It merely served to illustrate the nature or quality of the proofs needed to demonstrate what kind of previous condition or disability, in conjunction with a later employment disability, would be sufficient to trigger Fund liability. Thus, when a compensable injury combines with a previous condition or disability resulting in total permanent disability the Fund is liable even though the condition or disability is not static. On the other hand, if progressive physical deterioration subsequent to the compensable accident results in total permanent disability, the Fund is not liable. N.J.S.A. 34:15-95(c) and (d).
Two evidentiary issues remain. First, the Compensation Judge concluded that the attorney for the Fund was precluded from cross-examining the petitioner's medical experts because the employer had not objected to the admission of the petitioner's report and had failed to request cross-examination. The Judge observed that the Commissioner had promulgated a rule providing that "[i]f no request for cross-examination of a petitioner's doctor has been made by the respondent, then said doctor's report as submitted to petitioner or his attorney shall be *88 entered into evidence with cross-examination having been waived by the respondent." N.J.A.C. 12:235-5.62(a)(9).
We believe this is too literal a reading. The rule is written in the context of a single respondent. The procedure for handling Second Injury Fund claims is now set forth in N.J.A.C. 12:235-8.1 et seq., which provides that after an application for Second Injury Fund benefits, the "Second Injury Fund matter shall be consolidated with the compensation case and the procedure for filing and conducting formal hearings pursuant to Subchapter 4 of this Chapter shall apply." N.J.A.C. 12:235-8.5. A fair reading of that rule leads to the conclusion that when a report is being offered against the Fund as a respondent, the Fund is entitled to the same protections as the employer under N.J.A.C. 12:235-6.62(a)(9). Obviously the rule contemplates that the parties should exchange the copies of the medical reports which evaluate the disability and determine whether they will require cross-examination before the proceeding commences, either after the pretrial hearing or after the filing of the Certificate of Readiness under N.J.A.C. 12:235-4.8. Thus, although the Commissioner was justified in finding that the reports should not have been considered over objection of the Attorney General,[4] the parties nonetheless, justly relied upon the reports below. Under these circumstances, it is necessary on the remand to allow the parties to present evidence regarding the prior disability.
The second evidentiary problem is the difficulty in measuring the preexisting condition of hypertension. The evidence supporting the judge's conclusion that the hypertension preexisted the explosion on December 13, 1973 included the lay testimony of the petitioner himself that he had been treated for high *89 blood pressure, the reports of three examining physicians, and a post-dated prescription slip written by a treating physician which diagnosed hypertension on November 30, 1973, 13 days before the accidental injury, and contained the following script notation: "Diagnosis essential hypertension, BP 180/110." The Compensation Judge, plainly moved by the apparent total disability of the petitioner, concluded that this hypertension was the only causal bridge to permanent disability. He rejected the report of the petitioner's physician, which suggested that the hypertension was related to the stresses and strains of employment and commented on the difficulty of evaluating hypertension. After ascribing about 85% of total permanent disability to various compensable causes such as his orthopedic disability, bilateral hearing loss, chronic bronchitis, psychological sequela, etc., the judge assumed that the balance of 10%-15% of the total disability was attributable to hypertension. We agree with the Appellate Division that the Compensation Judge's conclusion lacked adequate record support.
While it may be difficult to evaluate the extent of disability caused by hypertension, it is not impossible. As difficult as measurement is, some evidence must be offered. Recent medical studies attempt to measure and classify the percentage of impairment by blood pressure analysis. See 5a Lawyers Medical Cyclopedia § 34.58 at 309-310 (1st Ed. 1972). Quantification of the disease and its symptoms has been accomplished for Supplemental Security Income eligibility purposes. 20 C.F.R. part 416, subpart I, App. I, § 400 et seq.
Although it must be kept in mind that Compensation Judges are regarded as experts, Kovach v. General Motors Corp., 151 N.J. Super. 546, 549 (App.Div. 1978), and their findings are entitled to deference, Goldklang v. Metropolitan Life, 130 N.J. Super. 307, 309 (App.Div. 1974), aff'd o.b., 66 N.J. 7 (1974), such findings nevertheless must be supported by articulated reasons *90 grounded in the evidence. "[E]ven a tribunal with expertise must predicate its ultimate determination on findings sustained by proofs to which it applies its special knowledge." Id. at 311.
A Second Injury Fund proceeding should follow the guidelines set forth in the Katz cases. Evidence must be presented to show whether the condition was preexisting and disabling, the extent of disability, and the condition's causal relationship to the total permanent disability. A conclusory statement will not suffice. The administrative fact finder must "explain his conclusions in terms of basic fact finding in the light of the evidence." Katz I, supra, 67 N.J. at 67.
It is appropriate that the claim against the Fund be retried with the claim under the odd-lot doctrine in accordance with these principles allowing the parties to present appropriate evidence upon which the judge could base his findings. This is consistent with our findings in Ort, where we stated:
... [W]e shall not attempt either to resolve the questions on this record or to express any firm view thereon. In our judgment it would be more appropriate for the Division to explore the matter against a background of the entire proceeding and with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry as an active party and participant. [Ort, supra, 47 N.J. at 206]
The Fund may attempt to prove that the total disability did not arise from the preexisting disability or that other elements of the standard for eligibility have not been met.
The judgment of the Appellate Division is affirmed in part and modified in part and the cause remanded to the Division of Workers' Compensation for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
For affirmance in part and modification in part Chief Justice WILENTZ and Justices PASHMAN, CLIFFORD, SCHREIBER, HANDLER, POLLOCK and O'HERN 7.
For reversal None.
NOTES
[1] On that date, the Appellate Division, in Vann v. M.P. Godkin Mfg. Co., 168 N.J. Super. 7 (1979), held that the Fund itself could not appeal directly from a Compensation Judge's advisory report of Fund liability to the Appellate Division before action by the Commissioner. That court said:
It would appear to us that the statutory requirement of intermediate administrative review of quasi-judicial determinations in the Division as to Fund liability serves no justifiable functional purpose. It seems to be inconsistent with the plenary quasi-judicial powers of judges of compensation in all other proceedings under the act. We recommend legislative attention to this problem. But so long as the statute remains in effect it commands obedience by the courts. [Id. at 10]
[2] The judicial history and exposition of this doctrine are fully set forth in Barbato v. Alsan Masonry, supra.
[3] The phrase later appeared in a Second Injury Fund case in Ort, supra at 204. It appears in a footnote in Paul, supra, 66 N.J. at 123-124 n. 2, in Katz I, supra, 67 N.J. at 64, in the later Katz v. Tp. of Howell, 68 N.J. 125, 131 n. 1 (1975) (hereinafter, Katz II), and in Giagnacovo v. Beggs Bros., 64 N.J. 32, 38 (1973).
[4] In Katz II, supra, at 129, we held that, absent waiver, a Fund hearing "contemplated ... proofs in the normal manner by in-court testimony subject to cross-examination."
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