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Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution.
Putin defended breakaway moves by pro-Russian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian region by seizing another border post.
As thousands staged rival rallies in Crimea, street violence flared in Sebastopol, when pro-Russian activists and Cossack militiamen attacked a group of Ukrainians.
Russian forces' seizure of the Black Sea peninsula has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by pro-Russian groups there to make Crimea part of Russia.
The operation to seize Crimea began within days of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich's flight from the country last month. Yanukovich was toppled after three months of demonstrations against a decision to spurn a free trade deal with the European Union for closer ties with Russia.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk will hold talks with President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday on how to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis, the White House said.
One of Obama's top national security officials said the United States would not recognise the annexation of Crimea by Russia if residents vote to leave Ukraine in a referendum next week.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said he would go to the United States to discuss the standoff with Russia over Ukraine's southern region of Crimea. (Andrew Kravchenko/Reuters)
"We won't recognize it, nor will most of the world," deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said.
Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers.
Speaking by telephone to Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, Putin said steps taken by authorities in Crimea were "based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula's population," the Kremlin said.
A German government statement, however, said the referendum was illegal. "Holding it violates the Ukrainian constitution and international law."
Border post taken
Late on Sunday, an armed pro-Russian force wearing military uniforms bearing no designated markings sealed off another military airport in Crimea, a defence ministry spokesman on the peninsula said.
The 80 or so-strong group, who were supporting 50 civilians, blocked off the entrance to the airport near the village of Saki and established machine-gun posts along the landing strip, the spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov, told Reuters by telephone.
Kremlin Statement 'Despite the differences in the assessments of what is
happening, they (Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM David Cameron) expressed a common
interest in de-escalation of the tensions and normalization of
the situation as soon as possible.'
The civilian group, who were wielding sticks and clubs, sought to break into the airport's control terminal, he said
Earlier in the day, Russian forces seized a border post on the western edge of Crimea, trapping about 15 personnel inside, a border guard spokesman said, revising an earlier figure of 30.
The spokesman, Oleh Slobodyan, said Russian forces now controlled 11 border guard posts across Crimea, a former Russian territory that is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and has an ethnic Russian majority.
In Sevastopol, several hundred people held a meeting demanding that Crimea become part of Russia, chanting: "Moscow is our capital."
Across town at a monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, violence flared at a meeting to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth, when pro-Russian activists and Cossacks attacked a small group of Ukrainians guarding the event and the police had to intervene.
Footage from the event showed a group of men violently kicking one of the Ukrainians as he lay on the ground and a Cossack repeatedly hit him with a long black leather whip.
Former Russian oil tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, released from jail in December, addressed a crowd in Kyiv's Independence Square lambasting his old foe Putin for his heavy-handed approach to protesters in Ukraine. "Russian propaganda lies, as always. There are no fascists or Nazis here, no more than on the streets in Moscow or St Petersburg," said Khodorovsky, who spent 10 years in a Russian prison. "These are wonderful people who stood up for their freedom."
In Simferopol, Crimea's main city, pro- and anti-Russian groups held rival rallies.
Police detain a pro-Russian demonstrator during a rally in Donetsk on Sunday. (Reuters)
Several hundred opponents of Russian-backed plans for Crimea to secede gathered, carrying blue and yellow balloons the colour of the Ukrainian flag. The crowd sang the national anthem, twice, and an Orthodox Priest led prayers and a hymn.
Vladimir Kirichenko, 58, an engineer, opposed the regional parliament's plans for a vote this month on Crimea joining Russia. "I don't call this a referendum. It asks two practically identical questions: Are you for the secession of Ukraine or are you for the secession of Ukraine? So why would I go and vote?"
Soviet songs
Around 2,000 Russian supporters gathered in Lenin Square, where there is a statue of the Soviet state founder, clapping along to nostalgic Soviet era songs being sung from the stage.
We have always been Russian, not Ukrainian. We support Putin. - Alexander Liganov, 25
Alexander Liganov, 25 and jobless, said: "We have always been Russian, not Ukrainian. We support Putin."
President Vladimir Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers.
At a rally in the eastern city of Donetsk, home to many Russian speakers, presidential candidate Vitaly Klitschko, a former boxing champion, said Ukraine should not be allowed to split apart amid bloodshed.
"The main task is to preserve the stability and independence of our country," he said.
People hold a banner reading, "We demand a referendum" as they shout slogans during a pro Russian rally in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, March 8, 2014. Pro Russian activists continued to gather on Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, as Russia was reported to be reinforcing its military presence in Crimea. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press)
The worst face-off with Moscow since the Cold War has left the West scrambling for a response, especially since the region's pro-Russia leadership declared Crimea part of Russia last week and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm it.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to Russia's foreign minister for the fourth day in a row, told Sergei Lavrov on Saturday that Russia should exercise restraint.
"He made clear that continued military escalation and provocation in Crimea or elsewhere in Ukraine, along with steps to annex Crimea to Russia, would close any available space for diplomacy, and he urged utmost restraint," a U.S. official said.
Shots fired
A spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said military monitors from the pan-Europe watchdog had on Saturday been prevented for the third time in as many days from entering Crimea.
A woman shouts slogans and holds a balloon which reads, "We are for peace in Ukraine" as she attends a rally against the breakup of the country in Simferopol. (The Associated Press)
Shots were fired to turn back the mission of more than 40 unarmed observers, who have been invited by Kyiv but lack permission from Crimea's pro-Russian authorities to cross the isthmus to the peninsula. No one was hurt.
Moscow denies that the Russian-speaking troops in Crimea are under its command, an assertion Washington dismisses as "Putin's fiction." Although they wear no insignia, the troops drive vehicles with Russian military plates.
A Reuters reporting team filmed a convoy of hundreds of Russian troops in about 50 trucks, accompanied by armoured vehicles and ambulances, which pulled into a military base north of Simferopol in broad daylight on Saturday.
Ukrainian troops are performing training exercises in their bases but there are no plans to send them to Crimea, Interfax news agency quoted acting Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh as saying. Ukraine's military, with 130,000 troops, would be no match for Russia's. So far Kyiv has held back from any action that might provoke a response. |
Drug Development for Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: What Pieces Are Missing From the Puzzle?
Despite the growing number of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and event rates comparable with many cancers, there remain no pharmacologic agents definitively proven to improve patient outcomes. Although phase II trials have intermittently yielded encouraging results, none have translated into successful achievement of a phase III primary end point. Thus, because of the urgent need to discover proven therapies, it is prudent to reevaluate our current approach to HFpEF drug development. In this review, we comment on key areas of uncertainty and importance relevant to successful drug discovery for HFpEF. These areas include the need to: clarify and homogenize the HFpEF definition; better understand the role of comorbidities and varying HFpEF etiology; use the heart failure hospitalization as the prime opportunity for trial enrollment; classify HFpEF patients within discrete clinicopathologic phenotypes for selected study; discover novel molecular drug targets; and determine predictors of specific causes of death to allow optimal matching of pharmacologic mechanisms with HFpEF subgroups most likely to benefit. Recognizing that the study of HFpEF is inherently challenging and complex, addressing these specific areas and overcoming their respective hurdles might maximize the chances of discovering a beneficial therapy. |
---
abstract: 'In this paper we propose a new class of spatially coupled codes based on repeat-accumulate protographs. We show that spatially coupled repeat-accumulate codes have several advantages over spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes including simpler encoders and slightly higher code rates than spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes with similar thresholds and decoding complexity (as measured by the Tanner graph edge density).'
author:
- 'Sarah Johnson and Gottfried Lechner [^1]'
bibliography:
- 'SCcodes.bib'
title: 'Spatially Coupled Repeat-Accumulate Codes'
---
Introduction
============
Convolutional LDPC codes, otherwise known as spatially coupled LDPC codes (SC-LDPC), were first introduced by Felström and Zigangirov in the late 90’s [@Felstrom_IT99]. Performance results, generated using either density evolution or decoding simulations, have shown that SC-LDPC codes have excellent sum-product decoding thresholds over a range of channels [@Lentmaier_ISIT05; @Tanner_IT04; @Lentmaier_IT10]. Incredibly, and in contrast to standard LDPC codes, these thresholds rapidly improve as a function of the average Tanner graph node degree. This enables the design of iterative error correction codes with both excellent thresholds and very low error floors, something not so far achieved with traditional LDPC or turbo codes.
Recent exciting developments have shown that the iterative decoding threshold of certain SC-LDPC ensembles is actually equal to their MAP threshold on the binary erasure channel (BEC) [@Kudekar_IT11]. I.e., for spatially coupled codes iterative decoding is actually optimal on the BEC. It is conjectured, but not yet proven, that this holds for more general channels as well.
In this paper we consider whether the concept of spatial coupling can apply equally well to another class of iterative error correction codes called repeat-accumulate codes.
Repeat-accumulate (RA) codes [@Divsalar_Turbolike], are error correction codes formed by the serial concatenation of a rate-$1/q$ repetition code and a $\frac{1}{1+D}$ convolutional code, called an accumulator, with an interleaver, $\Pi$, and (optionally) a rate-$a$ combiner between them. Significantly, RA codes can be encoded using serial concatenation of the constituent encoders, as for serially concatenated turbo codes, and decoded using iterative decoding, as for LDPC codes, thus gaining both the low encoding complexity of turbo codes and the decoding performance of LDPC codes.
In this paper we will consider the spatial coupling of RA codes in such a way to preserve the inherent advantage of RA codes, most importantly their very simple encoding, while obtaining the threshold advantages promised by the idea of spatial coupling. Section \[sec:SC-RA\] introduces our proposed spatially coupled RA codes, Section \[sec:DE\] presents threshold results derived using density evolution and Section \[sec:Sims\] gives simulation results comparing spatially coupled RA and LDPC codes.
Spatially Coupled RA Codes {#sec:SC-RA}
==========================
Spatially coupled RA (SC-RA) codes can be formed in a similar manner to spatially coupled LDPC (SC-LDPC) codes. We consider two ensembles, the first we will use in practice to construct SC-RA codes, and the second is useful to derive density evolution equations.
The (q,a,L) Ensemble
--------------------
The left hand side of fig. \[fig:GraphRA\] shows the protograph of a standard (3,3)-regular RA code. There is one message bit node, shown at the top, a parity bit node, shown at the bottom, and a check node in the middle. A coupled chain of $2L+1$ of these protographs, shown on the right hand side of fig. \[fig:GraphRA\], is formed by connecting each message bit to ${\hat{l}}= (q-1)/2$ protographs to the left and ${\hat{l}}$ protographs to the right[^2]. As for coupled LDPC chains we add $q-1$ extra check nodes (shown in bold) when forming the coupled chain of protographs. For RA protographs we must also add $q-1$ extra parity bit nodes (shown in bold) to avoid creating any degree-1 check nodes.
We could have spatially coupled the parity bit nodes in the same way as the message bit nodes, i.e. by connecting each parity bit node to the check node of the protograph on the right hand side. However, if the parity bit nodes are coupled in this way, the final code will not retain the RA code accumulator structure. Keeping the parity bit nodes uncoupled can be thought of as serially concatenating a spatially coupled low-density generator matrix with a standard accumulator.
![Coupled $q=3$, $a=3$ RA protographs.[]{data-label="fig:GraphRA"}](GraphRA){width="0.9\columnwidth"}
A particular code from the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble will be formed using copies of the coupled chain to give a total of $M$ message bits per protograph. Our final code will thus consist of $(2L+1) M$ message bit nodes, $(2L+1 + 2{\hat{l}})\frac{q}{a}M$ parity bit nodes and $(2L+1 +
2{\hat{l}})\frac{q}{a}M$ check nodes. Hence the code rate, assuming every check node results in a linearly independent constraint, is $$\begin{aligned}
\label{equ:rateRA}
r_{\text{RA}} &= \frac{(2L+1)M }{(2L+1)M + (2L+1 + 2{\hat{l}})\frac{q}{a}M}\nonumber\\
&= \frac{(2L+1)a }{(2L+1)a + (2L+q )q}.\end{aligned}$$
When constructing a code from the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble each of the message bit nodes at position $i \in \{-L, \cdots +L\}$ is connected to exactly one of the check nodes at positions $j \in \{-i-{\hat{l}},
\cdots i+{\hat{l}}\}$. The choice of which of the check nodes to connect to at each position can be chosen randomly.
For each protograph the $M$ parity-bit nodes are connected to the $M$ check nodes in a traditional accumulator pattern. We also connect the final bit node in each protograph to the first check node in the following protograph. We could have separately terminated the accumulator in each protograph (by connecting the last bit node in the protograph to the first bit node in the same protograph) to give $2L+1+2{\hat{l}}$ separate size $M$ accumulators. For large enough $M$ there should not be a difference in performance, however, a single accumulator avoids the $2L+1+2{\hat{l}}$ length $2M$ cycles.
![Example of a $q=3$, $a=3$ SC-RA code with $L=1$ and $M=2$.[]{data-label="fig:GraphRA_eg5"}](GraphRA_eg5){width="\columnwidth"}
\
[ A $(q=3,a=3)$ RA protograph is repeated $2L+1 = 3$ times to give the coupled chain in fig. \[fig:GraphRA\]. Setting $M=2$ and randomly choosing an edge permutation for the message bit edges gives the SC-RA Tanner graph in fig. \[fig:GraphRA\_eg5\]. As SC-RA codes are systematic we form the codeword using the messages bits first, followed by the parity bits. This gives an SC-RA code with parity-check matrix: $H = $ $$\label{LDPC2_RA_H} \left[
\begin{array}{cccccccccccccccc}
0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\
1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
1 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 \\
\end{array}
\right]$$ In practice the edge corresponding to the Ô1Õ entry in the top right corner of $H$ is omitted for ease of encoding. ]{}
\
By slightly re-drawing fig. \[fig:GraphRA\] to push the top row of nodes across to the left immediately shows how to construct SC-RA codes with even values of $q$. Fig. \[fig:GraphRAq4\] for example shows a SC-RA code with $q=4$.
![Coupled $q=4$, $a=4$ RA protographs.[]{data-label="fig:GraphRAq4"}](GraphRAq4){width="0.9\columnwidth"}
The $(q,a,L,w)$ Ensemble
------------------------
The ensemble $(q, a, L)$ can be modified by adding a “smoothing" parameter $w$ in a similar method to that for LDPC codes [@Kudekar_IT11]. The $(q,a,L,w)$ ensemble is not used in practice but is useful to simplify the derivation of density evolution equations. Considering this ensemble for SC-RA codes will allow a comparison of the asymptotic performance of SC-RA codes with the SC-LDPC ensembles in [@Kudekar_IT11].
As previously, at each position $[-L,L]$ there are $M$ message bit nodes. However, the check nodes are considered to be located at all integer positions $[- \infty, \infty]$ and there are $\frac{q}{a}M$ check nodes at each position. Only some of these positions actually interact with the message bit nodes. Instead of requiring that each message bit node at position $i \in \{-L, \cdots +L\}$ is connected to exactly one of the check nodes at positions $j \in \{-i-{\hat{l}},
\cdots i+{\hat{l}}\}$ we assume that each of the $q$ connections of a variable node at position $i$ is uniformly and independently chosen from the range $[i, \cdots, i+w-1]$. Similarly, we assume that each of the $a$ connections of a check node at position $i$ is independently chosen from the range $[i-w+1,\cdots,i]$. $q$ need not be odd. For simplicity we again assume that a parity bit node is associated with every active check node and connected once to that check node and once to the next adjacent active check node on the right.
Using a similar derivation to that for LDPC codes [@Kudekar_IT11], leads to the rate of the $(q, a, L, w)$ RA ensemble as: $$\begin{aligned}
\label{equ:ratewra}
r_{\text{RA},w} &= \frac{2L+1}{2L+1 + \frac{q}{a} \left[ 2L-w + 2\left( w + 1 - \sum_{i=0}^{w}\left(\frac{i}{w}\right)^{a}\right)\right]}.\end{aligned}$$
Encoding
--------
The motivation for considering SC-RA codes is their low encoding complexity. As for traditional repeat-accumulate codes, SC-RA codes can be encoded with complexity linear in the code length by the serial concatenation of a repetition code, interleaver, combiner and $\frac{1}{1+D}$ convolutional encoder or accumulator.
RA and SC-RA codes are systematic so that the message bits make up the first $K$ bits in the codeword meaning that codeword bits can be transmitted as soon as message bits are received. The structure of SC-RA codes also has the additional advantage of limiting the number of message bits that must be received before the first parity bit can be encoded. Consider fig. \[fig:GraphRAq4\]. A parity bit in the $i$th location is a function only of message bits in the $i$th and previous $q-1$ locations.
Density Evolution {#sec:DE}
=================
In this section we derive closed form expressions for density evolution for the $(q,a,L,w)$ ensemble on the BEC and show how the multi-edge formulation for LDPC codes can be used to derive thresholds for the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble.
Following a similar approach to that used for the LDPC $w$-ensemble [@Kudekar_IT11], gives density evolution equations for the SC-RA $(q,a,L,w)$ ensemble:
\[equ:dewra\] $$\begin{aligned}
x_{i}^{(\ell+1)} &= \epsilon \left(1-\frac{1}{w}\sum_{j=0}^{w-1}\left[\rule{0cm}{7mm}\right.\left(1-y_{i+j}^{(\ell)}\right)^{2}\right.\nonumber\\
&{}\hspace{16mm}\cdot\left.\left.\left(1-\frac{1}{w}\sum_{k=0}^{w-1}x_{i+j-k}^{(\ell)}\right)^{a-1}\right]\right)^{q-1}\\
y_{i}^{(\ell+1)} &= \epsilon \left(1-\left(1-y_{i}^{(\ell)}\right)\left(1-\frac{1}{w}\sum_{k=0}^{w-1}x_{i-k}^{(\ell)}\right)^{a}\right),\end{aligned}$$
where $x_{i}^{(\ell)}$ and $y_{i}^{(\ell)}$ denote the erasure probabilities from message bits and parity bits respectively at position $i$, at iteration $l$.
Density evolution for the $(q,a,L)$ ensembles results in more complicated expressions since the erasure probabilities on edges connected to one protograph cannot be averaged as for the $(q,a,L,w)$ ensemble above. While it is still possible to write the expressions in closed form we instead choose the multi-edge framework to represent the structure of the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble and use multi-edge density evolution to evaluate the decoding thresholds over the erasure channel. For a detailed description of multi-edge density evolution we refer the reader to [@Richardson-2008-B Sec. 7].
Numerical results are shown in fig. \[fig:de\] where we compare the decoding thresholds and rates ([@Kudekar_IT11 Equ. 7],[@Kudekar_IT11 Lemma 3] for the LDPC ensemble and and for the RA ensemble). Each curve corresponds to a value of $L$ and the markers represent the variable node degree of the message bits. Higher degrees lead to an improved decoding threshold but result in a lower rate due to the increasing number of additional check nodes at the ends of the graph.
The $(q,a,L,w)$ ensembles are shown for the case $w=q$ and so these ensembles will not have extra check nodes over those in the $(q,a,L)$ ensembles with the same parameters. Consequently the $(q,a,L,w=q)$ ensembles have a slightly higher rate than the $(q,a,L)$ ensembles with the same parameters, due to the likelihood of some check nodes not being active for a given code. When $w$ is chosen to be larger than $q$ there is also the likelihood of extra check nodes, outside of those used in the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble, becoming active and thereby slightly reducing the code rate.
Note that due to the accumulator (which consists of degree 2 variable nodes), SC-RA codes have a lower average variable node degree than SC-LDPC codes with the same degree for the message bits. To compare LDPC and RA codes with the same densities, and hence similar decoding complexities, we compare an LDPC base code with bit degree $d_l$ with an RA base code with bit degree $q =
\frac{1}{r}(d_l -2)+2$ where r is the code rate. Thus fig. \[fig:de\] shows points for LDPC protographs with $d_l = \{3,
4, 5, 6\}$ and RA protographs with $q = \{4, 6, 8, 10\}$.
We observe that SC-RA codes perform better than SC-LDPC codes giving a higher code rate at the same decoding threshold as the SC-LDPC codes.
\
Simulation Results {#sec:Sims}
==================
In this section we randomly construct SC-RA codes and compare their decoding performance at finite lengths to SC-LDPC codes. Consider for example the $(q,a,L)$ ensemble with thresholds shown in fig. \[fig:de\] for $L=16$ with $q=6$ for the SC-RA code and $d_{l}=4$ for the SC-LDPC code. The SC-RA ensemble has an average variable node degree of $3.86$ (compared to $4$ for the SC-LDPC code), a higher rate and a similar decoding threshold.
![Erasure correction performance of SC-LDPC and SC-RA codes with L=16, for $K=3,300$ and $K=9,900$ using iterative decoding with a maximum of 1000 iterations. Solid lines show the word erasure rate and dashed lines show the bit erasure rate.[]{data-label="fig:SC-RAvsSC-LDPC_BER"}](SCRAvsSCLDPC_BER){width="\columnwidth"}
Fig. \[fig:SC-RAvsSC-LDPC\_BER\] shows the erasure correction performance of (6,6,16) SC-RA codes with $M$ set to 100 and 300 respectively. Also shown is the performance of (4,8,16) SC-LDPC codes with $M$ set to 220 and 660 respectively. (Recall that for SC-LDPC codes $M$ specifies the number of all bit nodes, whereas for SC-RA codes $M$ specifies the number of message bit nodes). For the two shorter codes, each code transmits 3,300 message bits, however the SC-RA code has a slightly higher rate requiring only 7100 codeword bits (r = 0.4648) instead of 7260 (r = 0.4545). For the two longer codes, each code transmits 9,900 message bits, however the SC-RA code requires only 21300 codeword bits instead of 21780.
Also shown is the threshold for SC-RA codes (from fig. \[fig:de\]) and the iterative decoding threshold for RA codes with the same degree distribution (and rate) as the SC-RA codes but without the spatial coupling.
In fig. \[fig:SC-RAvsSC-LDPC\_BER\] we can see that spatial coupling or RA codes does indeed produce codes with excellent iterative decoding performance. We also see that the performance of the SC-RA codes is better than that of the SC-LDPC codes with similar decoding complexity (as measured by the Tanner graph edge density) despite both having the same threshold. We suspect that for finite length codes the structure of the SC-RA codes gives them a further advantage (in addition to the slightly higher rate for the same threshold) over LDPC codes.
Discussion
==========
In this paper we have proposed a new class of spatially coupled codes based on repeat-accumulate protographs. We show that spatially coupled repeat-accumulate codes have several advantages over spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes including simpler encoders and slightly better thresholds than spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes with similar rates and decoding complexity. Simulation results for finite-length spatially coupled repeat-accumulate codes also show improved decoding performances over spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes with the same threshold.
[^1]: The work of S. Johnson was supported by the Australian Research Council Grants DP0877258 and DP1093114. S. Johnson is with the University of Newcastle, Australia (e-mail: sarah.johnson@newcastle.edu.au.)
The work of G. Lechner was supported by the Australian Research Council Grant DP0881160. G. Lechner is with the Institute for Telecommunications Research at the University of South Australia (e-mail: gottfried.lechner@unisa.edu.au).
[^2]: For the moment we assume $q$ is odd.
|
Q:
How do I unset a block?
I just started creating a Drupal 8 theme.
For example in Drupal 7 if I want to remove the breadcrumb, I just need to remove this line of code <?php if ($breadcrumb) print $breadcrumb; ?> from the page.tpl.php.
In Drupal 8 I removed {{ page.breadcrumb }} from the page.html.twig and I still seeing the breadcrumb. So not sure how to remove or unset these kind of blocks in Drupal 8.
A:
Yes, what you are seeing is the render cache. If you are developing a theme, you likely want to disable render caching and enable twig debug. See sites/example.settings.local.php for instructions on how to do that.
That said, breadcrumbs, like almost everything else, is a block now. Blocks are configuration. If you don't want a block, just remove that block in the UI. If you just remove it in the template, Drupal still needs to load and prepare that block for rendering as it cannot know the template doesn't print it.
And if you don't display the region (you always display regions with 0-N blocks, not directly blocks in page template), you should also not define it as an available region so that the user/site admin knows that he can't place blocks there.
|
Presence of IFN-gamma does not indicate its necessity for induction of coronary arteritis in an animal model of Kawasaki disease.
Kawasaki disease is the most common cause of vasculitis affecting children, and the leading cause of acquired heart disease in the developed world. To date, studies on the role of IFN-gamma in the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease have focused on peripheral production of IFN-gamma, and have yielded conflicting results. Affected heart tissue is not available from children with Kawasaki disease. In this study, we use an animal model of Kawasaki disease, Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract (LCWE)-induced coronary arteritis, to examine the role of IFN-gamma in the development of coronary artery lesions. We report the presence of IFN-gamma, both at the mRNA and protein levels, in the affected vessels. Its biphasic expression, first at days 3-7 and again at days 28-42 post-LCWE injection, corresponds to the first appearance of inflammatory infiltrate in coronary arteries, and later to vascular wall disruption and aneurysm formation, respectively. Interestingly, ablation of IFN-gamma expression did not dampen the inflammatory response, and IFN-gamma-deficient lymphocytes proliferated more vigorously in response to LCWE than those of wild-type animals. Of more importance, the incidence of coronary arteritis was the same in IFN-gamma-deficient and wild-type mice. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that IFN-gamma regulates the immune response during development of coronary arteritis, but is not required for the induction of coronary artery disease. |
Recent research findings indicate strong associations between sports participation and adolescent health-risk behavior; for example, compared to their peers, high school athletes are at lower risk for illicit drug use, cigarette smoking, and suicide but at higher risk for binge drinking and smokeless tobacco use. These associations are in many respects gender-specific; female athletes report less sexual risk-taking than nonathletes, whereas male athletes report more. The present R21 application will extend this research to explore the effects of athletic involvement on substance use and other problem behaviors among female and male college students, examine the longitudinal effects of high school sports on young adult problem behavior, and create comprehensive new measures of athletic involvement for use in future research. Two complementary research strategies are proposed. First, cost-effective, secondary data analysis will be conducted on the Family and Adolescent Study (FAAS), a six-year longitudinal study of Western New York youth and their families (N=699) which includes self-report data on athletic participation as well as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other substance use, sexual risk-taking, and depression. Second, informed by findings from the FAAS, the Athletic Involvement Pilot Study (AIPS) will draw on focus group and questionnaire responses of Western New York undergraduate college student-athletes in order to design and pilot test new, multidimensional measures of athletic involvement. In its final round, the AIPS will collect data to test hypotheses about the gender-specific relationships between high school and college athletic involvement and substance use, sexual risk-taking, depression, and suicidality. This research will also serve as a basis for the development of a theory-driven R01 proposal examining factors associated with sports participation, gender, and substance use. The research has the overall aim of establishing more effective prevention and intervention strategies for reducing young adult substance use and other related health-risk behaviors. |
A healthcare assistant has died with coronavirus just days after the virus killed her husband.
Sharon Bamford, 63, who worked at Swansea's Singleton Hospital, died on Tuesday becoming the eighth Welsh NHS worker to die with COVID-19.
Her death came just days after her 73-year-old husband Malcolm died in the same intensive care unit at Morriston Hospital.
Their son Christian, who was also in hospital with coronavirus, has now been discharged, a spokesman for Swansea Bay University Health Board said.
Jan Worthing, director of Singleton Hospital, said: "Sharon was highly thought of by all the patients who have used the services and loved by her colleagues and friends within the team.
"Sharon's sad death will leave a massive void within the team and within the Singleton family.
"Our thoughts and condolences are obviously with their sons Craig and Chris at this devastating time, with the loss of both Sharon and Malcolm.
"We offer our most sincere condolences to Sharon's family, friends and colleagues at this extremely sad time."
:: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker |
Two local families had an Easter Sunday for the record books after someone returned a missing dog to its owners.
App users: View full article here
"I will never forget this Easter because I got my dog back," Nour Nassar said.
Nassar's husband was in a horrific car accident earlier this week. Their five-year-old English bulldog, Belly, was in the car. When Nassar's husband woke up in the hospital, no one had any idea where the dog was.
RELATED: Dog missing, taken from scene of car crash
"We called Georgia State Patrol and animal control and they said there never was a dog there, so we heard from witnesses that someone stole the dog from the scene," Nassar said.
Sunday Nassar learned the real story.
Chasity Frye was sitting in backed up traffic from the accident on I-85 when she said her nephew noticed a dog walking down the highway.
"He jumped out and grabbed the dog and we had no clue what to do with it because it had no collar and wasn't microchipped," Chasity Frye said.
Frye said her boyfriend got a message on Facebook with a link to the FOX 5 story about the missing dog.
"We immediately contacted the family," Frye said.
Sunday morning Frye returned Belly to Nassar and her husband.
"I am just so grateful that my dog is home," Nassar said. "We can tell Belly really likes them so we want them to still be apart of her life."
"It's crazy that Jesus came back from the dead and on the same day, Belly came back to her family," Frye said. |
Cedar Rapids police have arrested four juveniles who harassed a woman on a local walking trail in an October incident.
Officials said Tuesday that a 12-year-old, 13-year-old, and two 14-year-old males were arrested for harassment after April Mead, 46, of Cedar Rapids, reported the incident at the Prairie Park Fishery trail system on Oct. 26. Names were not released due to confidentiality laws with regards to juvenile offenders.
, Mead said four young teens, on bikes, started following and threatening assault. She called the police and then looked for a place to hide.
The teens had fled by the time authorities arrived. Mead was physically unharmed.
Police suggested walkers take various safety precautions, such as keeping track of where you are, carrying a cell phone, keeping volume low when wearing headphones to increase awareness, and reporting any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. |
Archive for February, 2013|Monthly archive page
ABOUT: Flight is a 2012 American drama film directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis starring Denzel Washington, with Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, and John Goodman. Flight is Zemeckis’ first live-action film since Cast Away and What Lies Beneath, which were both released in 2000. Flight is currently nominated for two Academy Awards at the 85th Academy Awards: Best Actor (for Denzel Washington) and Best Original Screenplay (for John Gatins).
Story: An airline pilot who saves lives by skillfully crash-landing a malfunctioning passenger jet in the midst of a mechanical catastrophe can be considered a hero. The same pilot, on the same flight, operating with booze and coke in his system must be considered a criminal.
Denzel Washington plays a very complex character in this film. One might want straightforward, or black and white definitions of right and wrong but they won’t find it here. That is what makes this character and film interesting. Washington plays pilot William “Whip” Whitaker who is high on drugs and alcohol but ultimately saves a doomed plane from crashing. How we negotiate his addiction with his deeds makes the audience active, not passive. The spectator becomes a part of the film in this way.
I like that the plane flaws are a metaphor for Whitaker’s flaws. His life is in a nose-dive. Can he save himself like he did the plane?
We see that Whitaker has no control over his drinking and that he has a drug dealer (Goodman) that brings him cocaine to ‘straighten’ out. He develops a relationship with a recovering addict who had overdosed on heroine and who he meets in the hospital after the plane incident. I think that it is very interesting to see whom he lets into his life versus whom he rejects. He rejects his ex-wife, son, and nice pilot.
Before his trial, he admits that he is used to lying. Pretending that he is sober is a constant way of life for him. You don’t need a mask and cape to hide. Hiding in plane sight is very interesting on this site in particular, because so many films that we see involve a doubling effect. The pilot’s uniform becomes a disguise.
What is a potential minefield here, would the drunk/high pilot have made the same choices straight?
“Usually what people are trying to do is maintain themselves,” Washington has said. “Where actors get into problems is that they act drunk. In fact, you’re trying to keep it in. Especially a pilot. This guy is basically lying most of his life. He’s used to it.”
Whitaker was so put-together on the flight. His co-pilot later says that he smelled booze on his breath but looking at him would be deceiving. Now that’s good acting combined with good faith – trusting that if you play against ‘type’ it will work out.
Director Robert Zemeckis says that Washington “goes deep” in the role. “He has this gravitas. I couldn’t imagine anyone else but [Washington] for that part. And he just nailed it beyond my expectations.”
Whitaker is charming. He drinks, does cocaine and he sleeps around but he’s charming. The allure of this character is the layers and dimensions here. Washington not only brings a gravitas to the character but he brings ‘likeability’ to a compromised person.
Expectations and judgments are tossed in the air and we as viewers are challenged to look beyond the obvious. The film is a study of addiction but our response to a pilot-addict says a hell of a lot as well, you know?
[Ending alert: I give nothing away, as usual, but…] The film has a safe, conventional ending. That is, in my opinion, a flaw. If the ending made the viewer bewildered, unsure, confused or just plain upset – it might have been better.
I think that the film and direction are straightforward. Everything is very good like the editing, sound and cinematography but the acting and the story really stand out. Flight is nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
[originally published on January 26, 2013]
I see that I am a little piece of a big, big universe, and that makes it right.
Hushpuppy, Beasts of the Southern Wild
ABOUT: Beasts of the Southern Wild is a 2012 American fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin and written by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar’s one-act play Juicy and Delicious. After playing at film festivals, it was released on June 27, 2012, in New York and Los Angeles.
Storyline: Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in the Bathtub, a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink’s tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he’s no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, temperatures rise, and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink’s health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.
Beasts of the Southern Wild is an extremely good film. I was confused for much of it and often I did not know what was real and what was imagination – maybe that was the point. It is a girl-child’s story and like a child, I was bewildered. Ironically, because reality was so suspect, there was such authenticity here.
I own many films that I watch over and over again. I will not buy this film; I will not watch it over and over. Even though it is absolutely brilliant, this film is hard on my soul.
Like many films out there, there is an implied criticism of dominant culture. The alternative, presented here is far from ideal. The living situation is a bayou that is cut-off from the main land by a levee – living quarters are absolutely filthy.
Hushpuppy is Wink’s 6-year-old daughter. Wink’s failing health combined with his horrid temper and bizarre love for his daughter makes up her unstable world.
They live in separate houses, if you could call them that. When it is ‘feeding time’ Wink rings a bell but sometimes he goes to the hospital and basically abandons her. She pretends an old shirt is her mother. She tries to burn down her house. She hides in a box and writes on the inside for posterity, like a cave dweller, while the house burns around her. Man.
According to what we see; there a torrential rainstorm, ice caps are melting and ancient beasts called aurochs are released from the ice. The community learns to survive by becoming extremely primitive.
There are themes here – pre-history, cave dwellers, and pre-historic beasts. What an interesting play this must be.
Even though the conditions are very harsh and bleak there is a freedom that we just don’t see in the shelter Hushpuppy and her father are forcibly moved to ‘for their own good.’ Hushpuppy’s combed hair and dress feel constraining, the food feels sanitized, and Hushpuppy laments at tubes tied to walls and people when they are sick. I have seen films where mainstream life feels fake – but not like this.
How does one even direct something like this? The action is volatile yet sensitive. Emotions range from bravery to terror. Things are quiet to very loud. The bayou has mud like quicksand, where do you put the camera? Shots are difficult – torrential rainstorms, arid, dry heat, boats on water, cramped living spaces…
Acting…more like BEING. There is a documentary feel to the acting. It simply doesn’t seem like they’re acting. There is a being-in-the-moment quality and frankly, I lost myself in the drama because of it.
All awards it is nominated for should win… The film is nominated for four Academy Awards at the 85th Academy Awards, in the categories Best Picture, Best Director (Benh Zeitlin), Best Adapted Screenplay (Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin) and Best Actress (Quvenzhané Wallis). 9-year-old Wallis is the youngest ever nominee of the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Someone who saw it was cool and detached and found the filth problematic. If this describes you – stay away. However, it was without question my favorite film in years. |
Short communications. A case of cutaneous leishmaniasis with the isolation of the parasite.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis of the zoonotic, rural type caused by Leishmania major was dignosed in a Czechoslovak citizen returning from Iraq. a Leishmania strain was isolated for the first time in Czechoslovakia from the skin lesion on the right forearm of the patient. No treatment was necessary because spontaneous healing of the lesion was well under way. |
[Recurrence of a stage IV neuroblastoma].
In the follow-up of metastatic neuroblastoma mIBG scintigraphy represents the very diagnostic method. A case report of a child with a metastatic recurrence of neuroblastoma is given. Despite clear scintigraphic visualisation serum parameters remained negative. The role of additional bone scintigraphy is inconclusive even retrospectively. |
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The Biopsy Report
What is the purpose of a biopsy?
For many health problems, a diagnosis is made by removing a piece of tissue for study in the pathology lab. The piece of tissue may be called the sample or specimen. The biopsy report describes what the pathologist finds out about the specimen.
What happens to the specimen after the biopsy is done?
After the specimen is removed from the patient, it's processed as a histologic section or a smear.
Histologic sections. Histologic sections are very thin slices of the specimen that are stained, placed on a glass slide, and then covered with a thin piece of glass called a coverslip. Histologic sections are prepared in one of two ways:
Permanent sections. The specimen is put into a fluid called a fixative for several hours, depending on the specimen type; the fixed specimen is put into a machine which removes the water from the specimen, and replaces it with paraffin wax. The paraffin-impregnated specimen is embedded into a larger section of molten paraffin, and solidified by chilling. A machine called a microtome cuts thin sections of the paraffin block containing the biopsy specimen. The sections are then placed on a glass slide and dipped into a series of stains or dyes to change the color of the tissue. The color makes cells more distinctive when viewed under a microscope.
Frozen sections. The specimen can be examined shortly after it has been removed from the patient. For example, surgical pathologists work closely with the surgeons during surgery for breast cancer. Often, a frozen section is used to determine how much of the breast tissue to remove.
Smears. Smears are done when the specimen is a liquid or there are small, solid chunks suspended in liquid, which are "smeared" onto a slide. They are then allowed to dry or are fixed. The fixed smears are stained, covered with a coverslip, and then examined under a microscope.
What is a biopsy report?
A biopsy report describes the findings of a specimen. It contains the following information:
Gross description. A gross description describes how it looks to the naked eye and where the biopsy was taken from; it may include a description of the color, size, and texture of the specimen.
Microscopic examination. A microscopic examination is a description of what the findings of the slides showed under a microscope; it's usually technical and not in simple language.
Diagnosis. This is usually considered the "bottom line." Although the format varies, often the diagnosis is expressed as: organ or tissue, site from which the biopsy was obtained, type of surgical procedure used to obtain the biopsy, followed by the diagnosis. For example: colon, sigmoid, endoscopic biopsy, tubular adenoma. In other words, the patient had a biopsy of the sigmoid portion of the colon via endoscopy, and a benign tumor of the large intestine and rectum was found. |
Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill is still relatively new to the job, but one tendency he’s shown is his will to take on low-risk, high-reward players. Botterill doesn’t believe in building through free agency and isn’t likely to chase the big fish. Instead, he’ll look to buy low in trades and on the open market.
Last offseason Botterill took a chance on Nathan Beaulieu for only a third-round pick. The 25-year-old defenseman didn’t have a great season, but still has one more year remaining on his contract.
Benoit Pouliot was another flyer that Botterill took a shot on that was probably a wash. He wasn’t great at times but did score 13 goals on the season.
The other buy-low move that did work out was the trade for forward Scott Wilson. He came over with no points and ended the season with 14.
This summer there are few higher profile players that Botterill can target as buy-low options to improve his hockey club.
The first is Detroit Red Wings winger Andreas Athanasiou. His combination of speed and skill makes him a really interesting idea. Especially for a team like the Sabres who are craving speed on the wing.
In a mailbag piece last week Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press had some interesting comments about the 23-year-old.
“Andreas Athanasiou intrigues with his ability to accelerate and find ways to score, but he has limited trade value at this time.”
The Red Wings have to hand out contracts this summer to two of their key offensive players in Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha. Athanasiou seems like he might be the odd man out in Detroit, especially when you consider the messy contract negotiations from last summer as he’s a restricted free again.
He scored 16 goals and 33 points in 71 games last season for the Red Wings. The 2012 fourth-round pick struggles with consistency, but taking a chance on speed that could come on the cheap is worth exploring.
Calvin de Haan
Calvin de Haan is a name that was in the rumor mill a lot last offseason. The New York Islanders needed to move a defenseman and chose to deal Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames.
The defenseman had high expectations heading into the season but only played in 33 games for Islanders. He missed most of the season after needing shoulder surgery.
de Haan can bring you some offense from the blue line, but his career high in points came during the 2016-17 season with 25. He was on pace to beat that high last season before getting hurt, playing at a 27 point pace. He’s a solid top-four defender that can kill penalties, lay the body and is a good skater.
The Canadian blueliner is arguably the second or third best defenseman available behind John Carlson and Mike Green. However, the shoulder surgery may make some teams wary of dishing out big money.
de Haan had a $3.3 million cap hit last season, so getting him for under $5 million a year is not out of the question.
The Arizona Coyotes were listening to offers at the trade deadline for young winger Max Domi. The former first-round pick has not been able to repeat his stellar rookie season when he scored 18 goals and 52 points.
In each of the last two seasons, Domi has only scored nine goals and came in under 50 points.
He’s another player who brings speed and skill, as well as has an edge to his game. Initial trade discussion may have begun at the deadline and could come together at the draft next month.
Here’s what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said in his ‘31 Thoughts’ piece back in February:
“Max Domi scored his fourth of the year to open Arizona’s stunning 6–1 victory over Chicago on Monday night. It has been a hard year for the talented forward. The Coyotes are prepared to give him a fresh start, pending a fair offer. If it doesn’t come before the deadline, expect it at the draft.”
Reports have indicated the Coyotes are working on a massive deal for star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The contract is rumored to be in the range of eight-years $64 million.
We all know the Coyotes is a team that is tight with their money. They could look to use Domi, who is a restricted free agent, as a piece to acquire some low-cost assets.
Josh Ho-Sang
The last player I’ll mention is New York Islanders winger Josh Ho-Sang. The 22-year-old has had some off-ice issues that may have resulted in him falling out of favor with the Islanders. Now, that Lou Lamoriello is going to be in charge of hockey operations for the Isles, it may now be more likely Ho-Sang is dealt.
The final straw for Ho-Sang with the Islanders could be his comments about the team after the season. He said to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple:
“I love those guys, I want to make that clear,” Ho-Sang said of his former Islanders teammates. “I know they’re working hard. But I got sent down for defense and what are they in goals against in the NHL? I only played (22) games up there this year. I don’t think it’s my fault. They really painted it like it was my fault at the beginning of the year and I didn’t like that.”
Honestly, he’s not wrong, but that’s neither here nor there.
He’s another young player with speed and skill (I think you see the trend here). He has six goals and 22 points in 43 career NHL games.
Ho-Sang may not be the best idea with his off-ice antics for a team that has enough issues in their locker room, but I wouldn’t shy away from a trade if the right deal is there.
These are not the only buy low options the Sabres can explore this offseason, but these are a few higher end players that fit the needs of the team. |
This essay attempts to provide detailed evidence for Charles Taylor’s claim that both Hegel and Merleau-Ponty follow Kant’s refutation of idealism in an effort to take a stand against Modernism’s claim that human knowledge of the world is reducible to a conceptual representation of it. For both the Hegel of Phenomenology of Mind and Merleau-Ponty throughout his career, human consciousness and knowledge must embrace and make sense of a world that is always already there. This stand will be made against Postmodernism as well |
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Mark Tenally/Associated Press
At this point, nothing would surprise NFL fans—even when it comes to the roster bubble.
This NFL offseason has given the NBA a run for its money in the drama department. The Odell Beckham Jr. trade, Antonio Brown's latest drama (his feet or helmet—dealer's choice) and plenty more have desensitized onlookers to shock. The roster bubble has been active too; the Detroit Lions cut Theo Riddick, and the Cleveland Browns traded Duke Johnson, to name a few examples.
When cuts start to roll in and bubble players start receiving walking papers, it shouldn't be surprising to see massive names released. This applies to veterans and busts, with numerous valid reasons for the moves, financial or otherwise.
These are the biggest names who could be cut in the coming weeks. |
Introduction {#s1}
============
Pollen development is one of the most fundamental processes in the plant life cycle ([@CIT0055]). Through pollen, plants deliver genetic material and expand genetic diversity by producing recombinant progeny in the subsequent generation ([@CIT0011]). Pollen development involves an exquisite pathway supported by cellular changes and the regulation of an enormous number of genes ([@CIT0020]; [@CIT0055]; [@CIT0013]).
In *Arabidopsis* (*Arabidopsis thaliana*) and rice (*Oryza sativa*), anther development has been well studied and many of the genes involved have been identified. In *Arabidopsis*, after the floral structures are successively generated, anther cells initiate specification and differentiation to form a bilaterally symmetrical structure with four lobes. Archesporial cells in each lobe generate five distinct cell layers (from outer to inner: epidermis, endothecium, middle layer, tapetum, and the sporogenous cell) ([@CIT0047]; [@CIT0055]). At the meiotic stage, meiocytes (pollen mother cells), which are developed from sporogenous cells, undergo meiotic cell divisions and are separated from the tapetal cell layer. Tapetal cells become vacuolated and initiate programmed cell death (PCD)-triggered degradation. During meiosis I, homologous chromosomes replicate, pair, synapse, and undergo recombination by exchanging DNA ([@CIT0069]). After that, homologous chromosomes are aligned and pulled towards opposite poles by spindle organization. Finally, dyads are produced ([@CIT0032]). For example, in prophase I, rice *HOMOLOGOUS PAIRING ABERRATION IN RICE MEIOSIS 1* (*PAIR1*), *PAIR2*, and *PAIR3* are important for chromosome pairing and synapsis, respectively ([@CIT0038], [@CIT0037]; [@CIT0059]). *Arabidopsis* *SWITCH1* (*SWI1*) and rice *MEIOTIC RECOMBINATION PROTEIN8* (*REC8*) are essential for chromatid cohesion and bivalent formation ([@CIT0034]; [@CIT0046]). In metaphase I, *Arabidopsis MULTIPOLAR SPINDLE1* (*MPS1*) plays a role in organization of the spindle and chromosomal segregation ([@CIT0024]). In anaphase, rice *POLLEN SEMI-STERILITY1* (*PSS1*), which encodes a kinesis-1 like protein, is necessary for meiotic chromosome pulling by the spindle (Zhou *et al.*, 2001). Mutations of these genes related to meiosis cause defective meiocyte development and male sterility.
During meiosis, tapetal cells surrounding meiocytes produce various enzymes, lipids, starch, pollen wall materials, and other molecules required for pollen development ([@CIT0016]; [@CIT0031]). For instance, *Arabidopsis EXTRA SPOROGENOUS CELLS/EXCESS MICROSPOROCYTES1* (*EMS1*/*EXS*) and *TAPETAL DETERMINANT1* (*TPD1*) are important for tapetal specification and maintenance of tapetal cell fate, and these mutants show extra meiocytes and no tapetal cells ([@CIT0004]; [@CIT0058]; [@CIT0065]). Mutations in *Arabidopsis DYSFUNCTIONAL TAPETUM1* (*DYT1*) and rice *UNDEVELOPED TAPETUM1* (*UDT1*) cause abnormal tapetal development such as vacuolated tapetal cells, resulting in male sterility ([@CIT0026]; [@CIT0031]). In addition, *EMS1*/*EXS* and *TPD1* are also required for cytokinesis after chromosomal segregation ([@CIT0004]; [@CIT0058]; [@CIT0065]), suggesting that sporophytic cells and gametophytic cells coordinate with each other by cell-to-cell communication.
Tomato flowers contain five sepals that alternate with five petals, in addition to five stamens and a style formed by two fused carpels. The stamens, which house pollen production, sit inside the petals. A single tomato stamen consists of two elongated compartments, and the individual stamens are fused together to form an anther cone called the androecium, which surrounds the style. In the cultivated tomato, the stigma is completely covered under the staminal tube ([@CIT0003]). Tomato pollen development is quite similar to that of *Arabidopsis* and rice ([@CIT0003], [@CIT0055]; [@CIT0007]). Tomato stamen primordia are initiated at the early stage of anther development followed by archesporial cell differentiation. Sporogenous and parietal cells are differentiated from archesporial cells. These cells give rise to microspore tetrads and tapetum, respectively, after going through meiosis. Finally, the microspores mature and become pollen grains ([@CIT0041]; [@CIT0003]). In tomato, over 50 male-sterile mutants have been reported, and they can be divided into three classes (functional, structural, and sporogenous) based on their developmental defects ([@CIT0018]). Sporogenous male-sterile mutants can be further classified into five groups (pre-meiotic, meiotic, tetrad, microspore, and not determined) according to the stage at which pollen development aborts or breaks down ([@CIT0043]; [@CIT0018]). For example, the functional male-sterile mutant *positional sterile-2* (*ps-2*) is defective in pollen dehiscence. Pre-meiotic mutants such as *male sterile* (*ms*) *3* and *ms15* display pollen mother cell (PMC) collapse or abortion prior to the meiotic prophase. Meiotic mutants such as *ms5* and *ms10* ^*35*^ (allelic to *ms10*) show defects in tapetal tissue ([@CIT0043]; [@CIT0018]). While many tomato male-sterile mutants are available, the only known underlying gene was the *polygalacturonase* gene responsible for the *ps-2* male-sterile mutant ([@CIT0017]).
The *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant was described previously as a spontaneous mutant with defects in tapetum development and degeneration ([@CIT0042]; [@CIT0060]; [@CIT0009]). Because of its stable male sterility and lack of growth defects, it has been widely used for F~1~ hybrid breeding ([@CIT0015]; [@CIT0029]). In addition, the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant also has been used for anther culture to generate haploid plants, because a callus can easily be induced from its anthers ([@CIT0060]; [@CIT0009]). Here, we demonstrated that the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant is defective in chromosome segregation at anaphase I during meiosis, as well as in tapetum development, causing male sterility. Using a map-based cloning approach, we found that *Ms10* ^*35*^ encodes a basic helix--loop--helix (bHLH) transcription factor. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based transcriptome analysis revealed that *Ms10* ^*35*^ regulates 246 genes related to meiosis, tapetum development, lipid metabolism, cell wall modification/degradation, and pollen wall biosynthesis. These results demonstrated that *Ms10* ^*35*^ serves as a master regulator of pollen development in tomato.
Materials and methods {#s2}
=====================
Plant material and plant growth {#s3}
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A tomato male-fertile parent (T-1082) and male-sterile *ms10* ^*35*^ (2--517), which was backcrossed to T-1082 six times, were obtained from the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (Suwon, Korea). T-1082 and the backcrossed *ms10* ^*35*^ were used in all experiments except the mapping experiment in which the original *ms10* ^*35*^ was crossed to T-1082. Seedlings were grown in 50-plug trays containing sterilized soil in a growth chamber maintained under 18h light (265 mE m^--2^ s^--1^) at 27 °C and 6h darkness at 18 °C and 60% humidity. At the eight-leaf stage, the seedlings were transplanted to a greenhouse in the farm of the College of Agriculture and Life Science at Seoul National University (Suwon, Korea).
Microscopy {#s4}
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Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) was used to check pollen viability according to the protocol of [@CIT0028]. FDA-stained pollen was examined using an Axiophot microscope (Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany). For ultrastructure and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, floral buds were infiltrated with Spurr's resin according to the protocol of [@CIT0028]. TEM images were observed using a JEM1010 transmission electron microscope (Jeol, Tokyo, Japan) at 80kV. For scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pollen grains of mature flowers were mounted and coated with palladium-gold in a sputter coater (BAL-TEC/SCD 005; Balzers, Lichtenstein) and examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope (SUPRA 55VP; Carl Zeiss, Germany) with an acceleration voltage of 15kV.
4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining analysis of meiotic processes {#s5}
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For the observation of meiotic chromosomes, a modified PMC spreading protocol was used ([@CIT0030]). Briefly, floral buds around the meiotic stage were fixed in Carnoy's fixative solution (ethanol:acetic acid=3:1, v/v) for 48h. Fixed buds were rinsed twice in distilled water and then once in 10mM citrate buffer (pH 4.5). Samples were incubated at 37 °C for 3h in a digestion mix containing 2% (w/v) cellulase RS, 1% (w/v) pectinase, and 0.5% (w/v) pectolyase Y23 (Sigma, St Louis, MO, USA) dissolved in 10mM citrate buffer. After digestion, cells were fixed in 60% acetic acid on a heated slide. After air drying, fixed cells were stained and mounted with 2 μg ml^--1^ of DAPI solution in Vectashield anti-fade mounting medium (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA, USA).
DNA extraction {#s6}
--------------
Genomic DNA was extracted from two to three young leaves using a hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide method ([@CIT0022]). Leaf tissue was fragmented using TissueLyserII (Qiagen, Haan, Germany). DNA concentrations were measured with a Nanodrop spectrophotometer (NanoDrop Technologies, Wilmington, DE, USA) and diluted to a final concentration of 20ng μl^--1^ in TE buffer (pH 7.0) for further experiments.
Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) alignment and *Ms10* ^*35*^-linked marker development {#s7}
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The *Ms10* ^*35*^ gene is known to be located between the *PEROXIDASE-2* (*PRX-2*) and *ANTHOCYANIN ABSENT* (*AA*) genes, which are around the 69--78 cM region on chromosome 2 ([@CIT0051]; [@CIT0050]). Tomato BAC clones corresponding to the 69--78 cM region were aligned and assembled by Seqman software (DNA Star; DNASTAR, Madison, WI, USA). In order to develop *Ms10* ^*35*^ *-*linked markers, primer sets were randomly designed within the 69--78 cM region from the assembled BAC clones. The designed primers were tested for polymorphism between parental DNA (*ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082) and F~1~ DNA derived from a cross between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 plants using high-resolution-melting (HRM) analysis (Rotor-Gene 6000 thermocycler; Corbett Research, Sydney, Australia) according to a previously described method ([@CIT0023]).
Genetic analysis and map-based cloning of *Ms10* ^*35*^ {#s8}
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Fine mapping of *Ms10* ^*35*^ was performed with an F~2~ population derived from a cross between *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant and T-1082 plants, and was facilitated by the assembled BAC sequence described above and the tomato genome sequence ([@CIT0052]). A population of 1100 F~2~ plants was scored for male sterility and subsequently genotyped with HRM markers ([Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). Linkage analysis of molecular markers was conducted using the Carthagene 1.0 program ([@CIT0010]). *Ms10* ^*35*^ was positioned to an \~80kb region on chromosome 2 flanked by markers 762K and 843K. Putative genes in the 80kb region were predicted using the FGENESH program (<http://linux1.softberry.com/>), the tomato Unigene database from SGN (<http://solgenomics.net>), and the BLASTP interface of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>).
Total RNA isolation and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR {#s9}
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Floral buds at different stages, leaves, stems, and fruits were collected from *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 plants and quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was isolated using Trizol extraction buffer (Ambion, Carlsbad, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer's protocol. cDNA was synthesized from 2 μg of total RNA using reverse transcriptase (Promega, Madison, WI, USA). cDNA (200ng) was used for RT-PCR. Amplified PCR products were separated on a 1% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. The primer sequences used for RT-PCR are listed in [Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1).
Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) {#s10}
---------------------------------------
To identify the transcription start site of the *Ms10* ^*35*^ gene, 5ʹRACE-PCR was performed using a SMARTer™ RACE cDNA Amplification kit (Clontech Laboratories, Mountain View, CA, USA). RNA was extracted from T-1082 anthers and cDNA was synthesized according to the manufacturer's instructions. Sequencing analysis was performed at the National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management (NICEM, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea).
Genome-walking PCR {#s11}
------------------
To identify the mutated region of the *ms10* ^*35*^ gene, genome-walking PCR was performed using a Genome Walker kit (Clontech Laboratories, Mountain view, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer's manual. Sequence information for gene-specific primers 1 and 2 is provided in [Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1). The fragment amplified by genome-walking PCR was cloned into a pGEM-T vector (pGEM^®^-T Easy Vector Systems, Promega, Seoul, Korea) and sequenced at the NICEM.
Complementation of the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutation {#s12}
---------------------------------------------
A 2992bp genomic sequence of *Ms10* ^*35*^, which contained the entire coding region (1002bp) with 1.4kb of upstream sequence and 0.6kb of downstream sequence, was amplified with *Xba*I restriction site-tagged primers ([Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). The resulting fragment was digested with *Xba*I, purified, and cloned into the *Xba*I site of the pCAMBIA2300 binary vector to generate pCAMBIA2300::*Ms10* ^*35*^. The resulting construct and pCAMBIA2300 were introduced into *Agrobacterium tumefaciens* strain LBA4404 and used to transform *ms10* ^*35*^ heterozygous (*Ms10* ^*35*^/*ms10* ^*35*^) cotyledon explants, as described previously ([@CIT0045]). The presence of the T-DNA insert in independent primary (T~0~) transformants was confirmed by PCR using a *NPTII*-specific primer set ([Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)) to amplify a fragment of the *NPTII* gene. Subsequently, independent T~1~ plants with the homozygous *ms10* ^*35*^/*ms10* ^*35*^ genotype were selected using *ms10* ^*35*^-specific primers ([Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). From these, F~1~ plants having both *NPTII* and *Ms10* ^*35*^ transgenes were selected using *NPTII*-specific and *Ms10* ^*35*^ transgene-specific primers, respectively ([Supplementary Table S1](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)).
RNA transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq {#s13}
-------------------------------------
Total RNA from floral buds at stages 1 to 3 was extracted in the same manner as described above. A strand-specific RNA-seq library was constructed for the synthesis of cDNA as described by [@CIT0066]. RNA transcriptome was obtained using Hiseq 2500 (Illumina/Solexa, San Diego, CA, USA) at NICEM. The RNA-seq algorithm of the CLC Genomics Workbench 6.0 was used for relative digital expression with a 98% identity threshold (CLC bio, Prismet, Denmark). Digital expression data were normalized and transformed using CLC Genomics Workbench 6.0 internal algorithms. ITAG2.3_CDS was used as a reference genome for read mapping (<http://solgenomics.net>). The mean values of three biological replicates were transformed into log~2~ values (*ms10* ^*35*^/T-1082). The DESeq tool of the R package (<http://www.bioconductor.org/>) was used to identify differentially expressed genes in *ms10* ^*35*^ compared with T-1082 with a false discovery rate of \<0.05 ([@CIT0002]).
Results {#s14}
=======
The *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant does not produce pollen {#s15}
------------------------------------------------
The tomato male-sterile mutant *ms10* ^*35*^ has been described as being defective in the production of active pollen ([@CIT0042]; [@CIT0060]). To examine developmental defects, *ms10* ^*35*^ plants were compared with male-fertile T-1082 plants. There was no difference in development between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 plants until the flowering stage. At the flowering stage, *ms10* ^*35*^ plants showed morphological differences in flower shape. The *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant had much smaller flowers compared with T-1082 plants (83% of T-1082, [Fig. 1A](#F1){ref-type="fig"}, [D](#F1){ref-type="fig"}, and [Supplementary Fig. S1B](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). In addition, the anther cone and the style in *ms10* ^*35*^ flowers were much shorter than in T-1082 flowers (60 and 86% of T-1082, [Supplementary Fig. S1B](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). Due to the more dramatic change in anther cone length compared with style length, the styles of *ms10* ^*35*^ flowers protruded over the anther cones ([Fig. 1D](#F1){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Fig. S1B](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). To check whether *ms10* ^*35*^ flowers produced viable pollen grains, an FDA assay, which measures cell viability, was performed with mature pollen grains or dust particles released from anthers at the dehiscence stage. The pollen of T-1082 flowers showed green fluorescence whereas no signals were detected from *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant flowers ([Fig. 1B](#F1){ref-type="fig"}, [E](#F1){ref-type="fig"}), indicating that *ms10* ^*35*^ flowers did not produce viable pollen. To confirm that *ms10* ^*35*^ flowers produced no pollen, we used SEM. T-1082 anthers contained normal globular pollen grains, but *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers had no pollen ([Fig. 1C](#F1){ref-type="fig"}, [F](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). These results demonstrated that the male sterility of the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant resulted from a lack of production of pollen.
{#F1}
Pollen development in *ms10* ^*35*^ is arrested at the tetrad stage {#s16}
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To determine the spatial and temporal occurrence of defects in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, we prepared thin sections from anthers at different stages of development and examined them using light microscopy. At the pre-meiotic and meiotic stages of T-1082 and *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, the five different cell layers were successfully differentiated from archesporial cells ([Fig. 2A](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, [D](#F2){ref-type="fig"}), and sporogenous cells developed into PMCs and underwent meiosis ([Fig. 2B](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, [E](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). At the tetrad stage, however, dramatic morphological differences were observed between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 anthers. In T-1082 anthers, PMCs divided into tetrads after meiosis. Tapetal cells were greatly condensed and deeply stained. The middle cell layer was degenerated and almost invisible ([Fig. 2C](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). In *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, PMCs were crushed and failed to produce tetrads. Tapetal cells and the middle cell layer were excessively enlarged and vacuolated ([Fig. 2F](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). At the microspore stage in T-1082 anthers, free microspores were released into anther locules ([Fig. 2G](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). In *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers at the microspore stage, degenerated meiocytes were aggregated and gradually degraded. Vacuolated tapetal cells and middle cell layers were severely expanded ([Fig. 2J](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). At the mitotic and dehiscence stages in T-1082 anthers, vacuolated microspores were deeply stained with toluidine blue due to the accumulation of collapsed tapetum fragments and nutrients, and the tapetum and middle cell layer had already disappeared ([Fig. 2H](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). Finally, anthers dehisced and pollen grains were released ([Fig. 2I](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). By contrast, in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers at the mitotic and dehiscence stages, degenerated meiocytes continued to dwindle, while tapetal cells remained swollen and vacuolated without degeneration ([Fig. 2K](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, [L](#F2){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F2}
The *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant is defective in tapetum development {#s17}
------------------------------------------------------------
To examine in detail the defects of tapetal cells in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant, we used TEM. In agreement with the light microscopic observations, there was no noticeable difference between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 at the pre-meiotic stage ([Fig. 3A](#F3){ref-type="fig"}, [E](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). At the meiotic stage, tapetal cells in T-1082 anthers were still well defined, but more vacuoles were generated and the nuclear membrane began disappearing, indicating that PCD-triggered cell degradation had already commenced ([Fig. 3B](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). By contrast, ms*10* ^*35*^ tapetal cells at the meiotic stage showed abnormal morphology: the cytoplasm of ms*10* ^*35*^ tapetal cells was highly vacuolated and showed extensive lipid deposits ([Fig. 3F](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). At the tetrad stage in T-1082, the cytoplasm was condensed and deeply stained. The nuclear membrane and cellular organelles had disappeared. Electron-dense deposits were observed in the vacuoles ([Fig. 3C](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). At the tetrad stage of *ms10* ^*35*^, tapetal cells were greatly expanded and vacuolated. Cellular organelles including the nucleus still maintained their structures ([Fig. 3G](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). At the microspore stage of T-1082 tapetal cells, the cytoplasm and cell walls were diminished. Nuclei and cellular organelles were also completely absent. Instead, orbicules were distributed along the loosened tapetum cells facing the microspore ([Fig. 3D](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). In *ms10* ^*35*^ tapetal cells at the microspore stage, tapetal cells were still enlarged and vacuolated ([Fig. 3H](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). These observations reveal that the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant had abnormally vacuolated tapetal cells with aborted degeneration.
{#F3}
Development of PMCs in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant is arrested at anaphase I during meiosis {#s18}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PMCs in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers were degenerated and failed to produce tetrads ([Fig. 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). To investigate defects of meiosis in *ms10* ^*35*^, we observed meiocytes using TEM. In T-1082 anthers, uni-nucleate PMCs ([Fig. 4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) gave rise to dividing cells ([Fig. 4B](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) and dyads ([Fig. 4C](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), producing tetrads ([Fig. 4D](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) during meiosis. In *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, PMCs with a well-defined structure were observed as in T-1082 ([Fig. 4E](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Before long, however, the nuclei of PMCs were crushed without degeneration ([Fig. 4F](#F4){ref-type="fig"}, arrow) and diminished steadily. Eventually only traces remained ([Fig. 4G](#F4){ref-type="fig"}, arrow) and even these disappeared at the end of development ([Fig. 4H](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). No dividing nucleus, dyads, or tetrads were observed in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers. We further performed chromosome spread experiments using DAPI staining. In T-1082 anthers, chromosomes in PMCs underwent homologous chromosome pairing and synapsis at leptotene/zygotene ([Fig. 4I](#F4){ref-type="fig"}, [J](#F4){ref-type="fig"}) and pachytene ([Fig. 4K](#F4){ref-type="fig"}, [L](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), respectively. Chromosomes were condensed as bivalents at diakinesis and aligned at metaphase I ([Fig. 4M](#F4){ref-type="fig"}, [N](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The aligned chromosomes then separated and moved towards opposite poles at anaphase I ([Fig. 4O](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), forming dyads at telophase I ([Fig. 4P](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Tetrads were formed at the end of meiosis as a result of two nuclear segregations ([Fig. 4Q](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). In *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, meiosis occurred normally until metaphase I ([Fig. 4R](#F4){ref-type="fig"}--[W](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Chromosomes were abnormally separated at anaphase I ([Fig. 4X](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), failed to form dyads during telophase I ([Fig. 4Y](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), and tetrads were never observed. These results indicated that *ms10* ^*35*^ has a defect in chromosome segregation at anaphase I, resulting in no tetrad formation during meiosis.
{#F4}
*MS10* ^*35*^ encodes a bHLH transcription factor {#s19}
-------------------------------------------------
To examine the inheritance of the *ms10* ^*35*^ gene, F~1~ plants were developed by crossing *ms10* ^*35*^ as a female parent and T-1082 as a male parent ([Supplementary Table S2](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). All F~1~ plants developed normal flowers with viable pollen grains. In an F~2~ population generated from F~1~ plants, male-fertile and male-sterile phenotypes segregated in a ratio of approximately 3:1, indicating that the mutation is controlled by a single recessive gene. In previous studies, it was determined that the *ms10* ^*35*^ locus is linked between the *PER-2* and *AA* genes on chromosome 2 ([@CIT0051]; [@CIT0050]). Based on this, BAC sequence information from around *PER-2* and *AA* genes was collected, assembled, and used for marker development. Fine mapping of the locus allowed us to position *Ms10* ^*35*^ to within an \~80kb region flanked by markers 762K and 843K ([Fig. 5A](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). A total of 13 hypothetical genes were predicted in this region ([Fig. 5B](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). To explore their transcriptional expression in anthers, RT-PCR was performed. Among them, *Solyc02g079810* was downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers compared with T-1082 anthers ([Fig. 5C](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). A sequence similarity search further predicted that *Solyc02g079810* is similar to *Arabidopsis* *DYT1*. Given that *Solyc02g079810* was expressed only in anthers, we considered *Solyc02g079810* as a strong candidate gene for *Ms10* ^*35*^. *Solyc02g079810* contains a 627bp coding sequence comprising four exons and three introns with a 154bp 5′-untranslated region and a 419-bp 3′-untranslated region ([Fig. 5D](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). The transcription start site was located 151bp upstream of the ATG site as confirmed by 5′RACE-PCR analysis. To reveal the structure of the mutation in *ms10* ^*35*^, genome walking was performed. Compared with a T-1082-derived genomic clone containing the *Solyc02g079810* gene, an *ms10* ^*35*^-derived clone had an insertion of a retrotransposable DNA fragment (398bp) in the promoter region near the transcription start site ([Fig. 5D](#F5){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Fig. S2](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). These results indicated that very weak expression of the *Ms10* ^*35*^ transcript in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers resulted from failure of transcription initiation.
{#F5}
To confirm that *Solyc02g079810* was the *Ms10* ^*35*^ gene, we used *Agrobacterium*-mediated transformation to introduce the wild-type *Solyc02g079810* gene, expressed from its native promoter, into plants having the heterozygous genotype (*Ms10* ^*35*^/*ms10* ^*35*^) because the homozygous *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant cannot produce seeds. We generated a total of six T~0~ plants and performed systemic analysis to select T~1~ transgenic plants with the homozygous *ms10* ^*35*^ genotype. We first selected a total of 46 F~1~ plants with the *ms10* ^*35*^/*ms10* ^*35*^ background using *ms10* ^*35*^-specific primers ([Supplementary Fig. S3](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online) and further screened these plants with *NPTII*-specific and transgene-specific primers, respectively ([Supplementary Fig. S3](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) and [Supplementary Table S3](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). Among the T~1~ plants containing the *Ms10* ^*35*^ transgene in the *ms10* ^*35*^/*ms10* ^*35*^ background, eight plants (generated from four individual T~0~ plants) had normal flowers with viable pollen grains ([Fig. 5E](#F5){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Table S3](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)) and produced normal fruits with seeds. These results demonstrate that the male sterility of *ms10* ^*35*^ resulted from the loss of function of the *Solyc02g079810* gene.
*Ms10* ^*35*^ encodes a putative transcription factor with a bHLH domain ([Fig. 6A](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). A BLAST search with Ms10^35^ protein sequence showed that the Ms10^35^ protein had the highest similarity to a bHLH protein from *Solanum tuberosum* (91%) and had 47 and 37% similarity to AtDYT1 and OsUDT1, respectively, both of which are required for tapetum development ([@CIT0026]; [@CIT0031]). Amino acid sequence alignment showed that a bHLH domain is highly conserved among these proteins ([Fig. 6A](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). To gain insights into the phylogenetic relationship between Ms10^35^ and other bHLH homologues related to male sterility, phylogenetic analysis was performed. The results showed that Ms10^35^, StbHLH, AtDYT1, and OsUDT1 were within the same clade ([Fig. 6B](#F6){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F6}
Comparison of global gene expression between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 anthers by RNA-seq analysis {#s20}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To investigate genes regulated by *Ms10* ^*35*^ during pollen development, comparative transcriptome profiling between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 was performed by RNA-seq. For the identification of distinct genes at three different stages (meiosis/tetrad, young/vacuolated, and mitosis/maturation stages), we analysed all expressed genes using the scatterplot of the DESeq package ([Supplementary Fig. S4](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online) and selected differentially regulated genes using a false discovery cut-off (5%) and \>log~2~ fold difference (*ms10* ^*35*^/T-1082). Finally, 246 genes including 220 genes that were downregulated ([Supplementary Table S4](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online) and 26 that were upregulated ([Supplementary Table S5](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online) in *ms10* ^*35*^ relative to T-1082 anthers (*P*\<0.05) were discovered by statistical analysis. To investigate further putative functions of downregulated genes in *ms10* ^*35*^, we utilized agriGO (<http://bioinfo.cau.edu.cn/agriGO/>), the National Center for Biotechnology Information database (<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov>), and the genomic database of SGN (<http://solgenomics.net>). The 220 genes downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^ were classified into 14 different categories according to molecular function and biological process including transcription factor, cell modification/degeneration, transporter, pollen wall or coat protein, lipid metabolism related, and meiosis related ([Fig. 7A](#F7){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Tables S6--S12](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) at *JXB* online). Furthermore, the 220 genes downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^ were compared with 435 and 958 downregulated genes in *Arabidopsis dyt1* ([@CIT0013]) and rice *udt1* ([@CIT0026]). A total of 65 genes were commonly downregulated across the three organisms. Additional 41 and 15 downregulated genes in *ms10* ^*35*^ were also downregulated in *Arabidopsis dyt1* and rice *udt1*, respectively ([Supplementary Tables S4--S12](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). This result implies that common regulatory machinery is used for pollen development in *Arabidopsis*, rice, and tomato. Some representative genes involved in pollen development and substantially suppressed in *ms10* ^*35*^ are presented in [Fig. 7B](#F7){ref-type="fig"}. To validate the RNA-seq analysis results, we tested the expression patterns of genes known to be involved in pollen development using RT-PCR. The RT-PCR results were consistent with those obtained from RNA-seq data ([Fig. 8](#F8){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Fig. S5](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). For example, meiosis-related genes such as *Solyc03g116930.2.1* (sister chromatid cohesion), tapetum-specific genes including *Solyc07g053460.2.1* (cysteine protease), and transcription factors such as *Solyc08g062780.1.1* \[*ABORTED MICROSPORES*-like (*AMS*-like)\] were strongly expressed in T-1082 but considerably downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^. In addition, *bHLH89*/*91*-like (*Solyc01g081100.1.1*), *AtTDF1*-like (*Solyc03g113530.2.1*), *AtMYB103*-like (*Solyc03g059200.1.1*), aspartic proteinase (*Solyc06g069220.1.1*), endo-1,3-β-glucanase (*Solyc03g046200.1.1*), lipid transfer protein (*Solyc06g059790.2.1* and *Solyc01g095780.2.1*), and arabinogalactan protein (*Solyc11g072780.1.1*) were also downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^. Transcript levels of two randomly selected genes, *Solyc07g055920.2.1* (*Tomato agamous-like 1*) and *Solyc09g074440.2.1* (*Defenseless1*), which were not differentially regulated in RNA-seq analysis, and those of the control *Actin* gene were similar between *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 ([Supplementary Fig. S5](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)).
{#F7}
{#F8}
*Ms10* ^*35*^ regulates transcription factors involved in anther development {#s21}
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Transcriptional regulation is important for controlling the expression patterns of genes to produce normal pollen ([@CIT0055]). Among the 220 downregulated genes in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant were 24 transcription factors including bHLH, MYB, NAC, and zinc-finger types ([Fig. 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Table S6](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). For example, *Solyc03g113530.2.1* and *Solyc08g062780.1.1* are similar to *Arabidopsis DEFECTIVE IN TAPETAL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION1* (*AtTDF1*) and *AtAMS*, which are important for tapetum development and degeneration ([@CIT0048]; [@CIT0068]). *Solyc04g008420.1.1* and *Solyc01g081100.1.1* are similar to *Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY1* (*MS1*) and *bHLH91*, respectively, which are involved in tapetum degeneration by regulating PCD-triggered cell death ([@CIT0053]; [@CIT0056]).
*Ms10* ^*35*^ positively regulates genes for lipid metabolism, cell wall modification/degradation, pollen wall/coat proteins, and transporters {#s22}
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The gene ontology annotation analysis showed that *Ms10* ^*35*^ regulated 20 genes for lipid metabolism, 11 related to energy metabolism, 48 for cell wall modification/degeneration, 14 for pollen wall/coat proteins, and 23 for transporters ([Fig. 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Tables S7--S11](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). This regulation could be direct or indirect. Among the genes exhibiting altered expression in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant, a lipid-related gene, *Solyc03g051960.2.1* (fatty acid CoA reductase) showed high similarity to *Arabidopsis MS2*, which is essential for pollen wall formation ([@CIT0007]). *Solyc06g072780.1.1* and *Solyc02g068400.2.1* had high similarity to rice *MICROSPORE AND TAPETUM REGULATOR1* (*MTR1*) and *Arabidopsis QUARTET3* (*QRT3*), respectively. *OsMTR1* encodes an arabinogalactan protein known to regulate male sporophytic and reproductive development ([@CIT0049]). *AtQRT3* encodes a pectin lyase involved in dissolving the PMC callose wall and microspore separation ([@CIT0040]). Cell wall modification/degeneration genes such as proteolytic enzyme families induce PCD in tapetum cells ([@CIT0036]). *Solyc06g069220.1.1* had high similarity to rice *aspartic proteinase 65*, which is involved in tapetum degradation ([@CIT0021]).
*Ms10* ^*35*^ regulates genes involved in meiosis {#s23}
-------------------------------------------------
We demonstrated that the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant was defective in chromosome separation during meiosis ([Fig. 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). To identify meiosis-related genes regulated by *Ms10* ^*35*^, we compared downregulated genes in *ms10* ^*35*^ with known *Arabidopsis* meiocyte-specific genes ([@CIT0057]). We found a total of nine genes related to meiosis ([Fig. 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Table S12](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). For example, *Solyc03g116930.2.1* was similar to a protein involved in sister chromatid cohesion ([@CIT0025]). *Solyc08g077860.2.1* encoded a subtilisin-related meiotic serine protease, which is expressed during meiosis and late microsporogenesis in tomato ([@CIT0044]). Together, these results imply that *Ms10* ^*35*^ is a master regulator controlling several genes involved in anther development.
Discussion {#s24}
==========
*Ms10* ^*35*^ is important for controlling meiosis and tapetum development {#s25}
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Proper meiosis and development of sporophytic cell layers including the tapetum are essential for successful pollen development in plants ([@CIT0032]; [@CIT0059]; D. [@CIT0007]). In the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant, duplicated chromosomes were not separated to form dyads ([Fig. 4X](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). This failure of dyad formation at anaphase I resulted in the degradation of meiocytes in *ms10* ^*35*^. Similar defects were found in *Arabidopsis dyt1* and rice *udt1* mutants. In the *dyt1* mutant, meiocytes were not able to complete cytokinesis, resulting in failure of tetrad formation ([@CIT0031]; [@CIT0013]). Transcript analysis showed that expression of the meiosis-specific gene *ROCK-N-ROLLER*/*AtMER3* (*RCK*/*AtMER3*), which is implicated in sister chromatid cohesion, was significantly reduced in *dyt1* ([@CIT0005]; [@CIT0031]), suggesting that *DYT1* regulates the expression of prophase I-related genes. In the rice *udt1* mutant, meiocytes did not produce tetrads due to incomplete meiosis, and *PAIR1* involved in sister chromatid cohesion was downregulated ([@CIT0026]; [@CIT0046]). Although these two homologues were not differentially expressed in the RNA-seq analysis, we found that several other meiosis-related genes were downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers ([Figs 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"} and [8](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). For example, *Solyc03g116930.2.1* is homologous to yeast *PRECOCIOUS DISSOCIATION OF SISTERS PROTEIN5* (*PDS5*), which is important for sister chromatid cohesion such as chromosome condensation, pairing, and synapsis in prophase I ([@CIT0025]). *Solyc02g032910.1.1* is predicted to encode a protein highly similar to glycine-rich protein, which is important for sporopollenin deposition on meiocyte and exine formation ([@CIT0033]). Another downregulated gene, *Solyc06g076020.2.1*, is similar to *Heat shock protein 70* (*Hsp70*), which has an important role supporting cyclin-dependent kinase activity in meiosis I in animals ([@CIT0012]). In plants, *Lily messages induced by meiosis 18* (*LIM18*), showing high similarity to eukaryotic *HSP70*, is specifically expressed in microsporocytes during meiosis I ([@CIT0035]). Our results suggested that the incomplete meiosis of *ms10* ^*35*^ may be due to downregulation of these genes.
Another significant defect in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant was abnormal tapetum development. Degeneration of the tapetum and middle cell layer was delayed and, consequently, tapetal cells were greatly expanded and vacuolated ([Fig. 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). These phenotypic defects are also commonly observed in *Arabidopsis dyt1* and rice *udt1* mutants ([@CIT0026]; [@CIT0031]). Other mutants impaired in tapetum development such as *Arabidopsis ams* and rice *tapetum degeneration retardation 1* (*tdr1*) also exhibit male sterility ([@CIT0048]; [@CIT0031]). These results support the idea that meiosis and tapetum development are important for pollen development, and that *Ms10* ^*35*^ and its homologues have a conserved role in the completion of meiosis and tapetum development.
RNA *in situ* hybridization analysis revealed that *Ms10* ^*35*^ is expressed exclusively in the meiocyte and tapetal tissues at the early stage of anther development ([Supplementary Fig. S6](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). These transcript results are consistent with the phenotypic defects in meiocytes and tapetal cells of the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant. To find putative anther-specific *cis*-acting regulatory elements in the *Ms10* ^*35*^ promoter region, we searched the PLACE database ([@CIT0019]). The *Ms10* ^*35*^ promoter contained several putative transcription binding sites and regulatory sequences. For example, pollen-specific *cis*-elements such as Agamous binding site, Pollen1LeLAT52, and GTGANTG10 were found near the transcription start site ([Supplementary Fig. S2](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)), suggesting that these putative *cis*-elements regulate the expression of *Ms10* ^*35*^ in anthers.
*Ms10* ^*35*^ encodes a bHLH transcription factor {#s26}
-------------------------------------------------
The Ms10^35^ protein sequence had high similarity to StbHLH, AtDYT1, and OsUDT1. Amino acid sequence alignments showed that they contain a conserved bHLH domain at the N-terminal region. The PSORT program (<http://mobyle.pasteur.fr/cgi-bin/portal.py?#forms::psort>) predicted these proteins to be targeted to the nucleus. Indeed, OsUDT1 is localized to the nucleus and contains a signal peptide at the N terminus ([@CIT0026]). However, Ms10^35^, StbHLH, and AtDYT do not contain conventional nuclear signal peptides, and whether they are also localized to the nucleus remains to be elucidated. The phylogenetic analysis showed that Ms10^35^, StbHLH, AtDYT1, and OsUDT1 belonged to the same clade. Considering the conserved function of *Ms10* ^*35*^, *AtDYT1*, and *OsUDT1*, it seems possible that *StbHLH* may be involved in meiosis and tapetum development in potato. A clade containing OsTDR1, AtAMS, BnbHLH, and Solyc08g062780.1.1 was very close to the clade containing Ms10^35^. Interestingly, *OsTDR1* and *AtAMS* are regulated by *OsUDT1* and *AtDYT1*, respectively, and are also involved in tapetum degeneration at the post-meiotic stage ([@CIT0048]; [@CIT0031]), suggesting that *Solyc08g062780.1.1* (*AtAMS*-like), which was downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^, is probably involved in tapetum degeneration. In addition, *OsTIP2* and *OsEAT1* in rice and *AtbHLH89/91* and *AtbHLH10* in *Arabidopsis* are key regulator genes of tapetal PCD ([@CIT0056]; [@CIT0036]; [@CIT0014]). Tomato *Solyc01g081100.1.1* (EAT-like) belongs to the clade including these genes, suggesting that *Solyc01g081100.1.1* could be involved in tapetal PCD. By contrast, genes in other clades were not related to anther development. For example, *AtMYC2* and *AtMYC4* are related to abscisic acid signalling ([@CIT0001]) and *AtICE* is involved in cold stress ([@CIT0008]). These results suggest that the bHLH subfamilies containing *Ms10* ^*35*^ and *AtAMS* have a conserved function and were evolutionarily separated from other bHLH subfamilies.
Roles of *Ms10* ^*35*^-regulated genes during anther development {#s27}
----------------------------------------------------------------
A pathway regulated by the *DYT1*--*TDF1*--*AMS*--*bHLH89/91*--*MYB80* transcriptional cascade is suggested to underlie *Arabidopsis* pollen development ([Fig. 9](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). The genes in this pathway are involved in early tapetum function (*DYT1*; [@CIT0031]), callose dissolution (*TDF1*; [@CIT0068]), and PCD-triggered cell death (*AMS*; [@CIT0048]; [@CIT0056]). *DYT1* regulates tapetum differentiation during the development of microspore mother cells before meiosis ([@CIT0031]). During meiosis, *TDF1* is highly expressed in tapetum cells and meiocytes. *TDF1* functions downstream of *DYT1* and upstream of *AMS* ([@CIT0068]). *AMS* is strongly expressed in tapetum cells specifically after meiosis. The *ams* mutant did not successfully undergo PCD, resulting in abnormal tapetal degeneration and retardation ([@CIT0048]; [@CIT0056]). Rice *TIP2* is associated with anther cell wall specification, tapetal cell size, and PCD by regulating rice *TDR1* and *EAT1* as well as interacting with them ([@CIT0014]). *EAT1* plays an important role in PCD by regulating proteases and interacting with TIP2 and TDR1 ([@CIT0036]; [@CIT0014]). *TDR1* is involved in tapetal cell size and PCD by interacting with TIP2 and EAT1 ([@CIT0031]; [@CIT0014]), indicating that TDR1--TIP2--EAT1 is formed as a consecutive regulation chain for rice anther development ([Fig. 9](#F9){ref-type="fig"}; [@CIT0014]). *Arabidopsis bHLH89/91* are homologues of rice *TIP2* and *EAT1*, and interact with AMS, the homologue of rice TDR1 ([@CIT0056]), suggesting their involvement in tapetal PCD. However, the function of bHLH89/91 is not clear due to a lack of genetic and molecular evidence. *Arabidopsis MYB80* (formerly *MYB103*) encoding a MYB transcription factor is also expressed in the tapetum and microspores ([@CIT0064]). The UNDEAD aspartic protease is a direct target of *MYB80*, and the interaction between MYB80 and UNDEAD serves to control induction of tapetal PCD in *Arabidopsis* ([@CIT0039]). The homologues of these genes have been found in rice ([Fig. 9](#F9){ref-type="fig"}) and have similar functions ([@CIT0031]; [@CIT0055]; [@CIT0007];[@CIT0007]; [@CIT0036]; [@CIT0014]). In the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant, *Solyc03g113530.2.1* (*AtTDF*-like), *Solyc08g062780.1.1* (*AtAMS*-like and *OsTDR*-like), and *Solyc01g081100.1.1* (*OsEAT1*-like and *AtbHLH89/91*-like) were significantly downregulated according to the RNA-seq transcriptome and RT-PCR ([Fig. 8](#F8){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Tables S4--S12](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1)). These results suggest that this transcriptional cascade for pollen development is well conserved in *Arabidopsis*, rice, and tomato. In addition, the early stage of meiocyte development was controlled by *Ms10* ^*35*^. For example, *Solyc03g116930.2.1*, homologous to yeast sister chromatid cohesion (PDS5), was downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant, which showed abnormal chromosome separation and failure of dyad formation. Similarly, *Arabidopsis RCK* and rice *PAIR1*, which are involved in sister chromatid cohesion, were downregulated in *Arabidopsis dyt1* and rice *udt1* mutants, respectively ([@CIT0026]; [@CIT0031]), implying that *MS10* ^*35*^ and its homologues *AtDYT1* and *OsUDT1* regulate meiosis. Based on these evolutionary relationships and the conserved functions of these proteins, we have presented a model for tomato pollen development ([Fig. 9](#F9){ref-type="fig"}).
![Comparative models for Ms10^35^ and its homologues in *Arabidopsis* and rice that regulate tapetal PCD and meiosis. Arrows represent positive regulation confirmed by RT-PCR or transcriptome analysis. Rhombuses depict protein--protein interaction or protein--promoter interaction confirmed by yeast two-hybrid, quantitative chromatin precipitation-PCR, or electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Dashed lines represent predicted regulation or interaction. The *Arabidopsis* and rice models are based on data reported by [@CIT0026], [@CIT0031], [@CIT0031], [@CIT0055], [@CIT0056], [@CIT0039], [@CIT0036], and [@CIT0014]. SCC, sister chromatid cohesion (synaptonemal complexes); bHLH, basic helix--loop--helix transcription factor; MYB, MYB transcription factor; Cys protease, cysteine protease; Asp protease, aspartic proteinase. (This figure is available in colour at *JXB* online.)](exbotj_eru389_f0009){#F9}
In addition to the conserved genes, many genes presumably involved in pollen development in *Arabidopsis* and rice were also downregulated in *ms10* ^*35*^. Cell wall modification and degradation genes such as *Solyc07g064190.1.1* (pectin methylesterase-like), *Solyc06g069220.1.1* (cysteine protease-like), and *Solyc07g053460.2.1* (C1A cysteine proteinase-like) were highly downregulated. Another role of *Ms10* ^*35*^ could be supporting pollen wall deposition by delivering materials and nutrients to developing microspores. For example, orbicules are known to deliver nutrients to sporopollenin of microspores. In T-1082, orbicules were successfully generated along the degenerated tapetum ([Fig. 3D](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). However, in *ms10* ^*35*^, orbicules were not found and no normal sporopollenin structures were observed. In *ms10* ^*35*^, sporopollenin biosynthesis-related genes such as *Solyc12g010920.1.1* (long chain fatty acid reductases) and *Solyc04g081780.2.1* (lipase) were downregulated.
*ms10* ^*35*^ showed a protruded stigma due to significantly reduced anther cone size. *Arabidopsis dyt1* also exhibits a protruded stigma phenotype ([@CIT0031]). Tomato *Stigma exsertion* (*Se2.1*) encoding a bHLH transcription factor is the major quantitative trait locus for the development of stamen length ([@CIT0006]). Interestingly, expression of *Se2.1* (*Solyc02g087860.2.1*) was substantially reduced in *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers, suggesting that *Ms10* ^*35*^ may affect stamen length by regulating *Se2.1*. As we have shown here, many *Ms10* ^*35*^-regulated genes in our RNA-seq data were directly or indirectly involved in anther development. Therefore, our RNA-seq data should provide a good basis for the identification and analysis of new genes involved in anther development in tomato.
Supplementary data {#s28}
==================
Supplementary data are available at *JXB* online.
[Supplementary Fig. S1.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Differences of organ length in *ms10* ^*35*^ and T-1082 flowers.
[Supplementary Fig. S2.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Nucleotide sequence of the *Ms10* ^*35*^ promoter.
[Supplementary Fig. S3.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Complementation of *ms10* ^*35*^ transgenic plants with the wild-type *Ms10* ^*35*^ gene.
[Supplementary Fig. S4.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Scatterplot identification of differentially expressed genes between T-1082 and *ms10* ^*35*^ anthers.
[Supplementary Fig. S5.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Expression patterns of genes regulated by *Ms10* ^*35*^.
[Supplementary Fig. S6.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Localization of *Ms10* ^*35*^ expression in T-1082 anthers.
[Supplementary Table S1.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Primers used in this study.
[Supplementary Table S2.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Genetic analysis of the *ms10* ^*35*^ gene using an F~2~ population derived from 2--517 (*ms10* ^*35*^) and T-1082 (male fertile) plants.
[Supplementary Table S3.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Summary of *ms10* ^*35*^ transgenic plants complemented with the wild-type *Ms10* ^*35*^ gene.
[Supplementary Table S4.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) 220 genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S5.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) 26 genes upregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S6.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Transcription factors downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S7.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Lipid metabolism genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S8.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Pollen wall or coat protein genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S9.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Cell wall modification/degradation genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S10.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Transporter genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S11.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Energy metabolism-related genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
[Supplementary Table S12.](http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/jxb/eru389/-/DC1) Meiosis-related genes downregulated in the *ms10* ^*35*^ mutant.
###### Supplementary Data
This study was supported by a grant (project no. 710001--07) from the Vegetable Breeding Research Center through the R&D Convergence Center Support Program, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), Republic of Korea. This research was also supported by the Golden Seed Project (213002-04-1-CG910), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), Rural Development Administration (RDA), and Korea Forest Service (KFS). We acknowledge the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB, Daejeon, Korea) for kindly providing the tomato BAC clones, Dr Young Chae for providing tomato seeds, and Dr Yeong deuk Jo for developing the perl script for RNA-seq.
BAC
: bacterial artificial chromosome
bHLH
: basic helix--loop--helix
DAPI
: 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
FDA
: fluorescein diacetate
HRM
: high-resolution-melting
PCD
: programmed cell death
PMC
: pollen mother cell
RACE
: rapid amplification of cDNA ends
RNA-seq
: RNA sequencing
RT-PCR
: reverse transcription-PCR
SEM
: scanning electron microscopy
TEM
: transmission electron microscopy.
|
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Hi guys! I'm Nancy.
And today we're going to talk about how to
find the vertex of a parabola.
So the first thing you'll need to know is
if you've been given the standard form of
the parabola, or the vertex form of the parabola.
Say that you've been given the standard form
of the equation of a parabola. Such as Y equals
-2X squared plus 4X plus 1.
Now that is the standard form, which in general
looks like Y equals A X squared plus B X plus
C.
So in your case, your A is -2, your B is 4
and your C is 1.
Now for the vertex, all you need to remember
is the formula -B over 2A.
It's really all you need. -B over 2A.
So in this problem, -B over 2A is equal to
-4 over 2 times -2. Which turns out to be
-1 over -1, or just positive 1.
OK, so what trips people up in finding the
vertex is that they don't know the equation.
So if you can remember -B over 2A, then you're
set. That will give you the vertex.
So all you need to do is remember the formula
-B divided by 2A.
So now you have 1, which is your X coordinate
in your vertex pair. So you're halfway there.
That was actually the hard part.
And all you have to do is take that 1, that
X, and plug it in for X and plug it in for
X in your original equation.
So here that means, Y = -2 times 1 squared
plus 4 times 1 plus 1.
And that simplifies to -2 plus 4 plus 1, which
equals 3.
So now you know that the Y coordinate in your
vertex is 3.
So your vertex is the point 1, 3.
OK, so now we're gonna look at the vertex
form, which is great cause it's super easy!
As if you needed another form.
But this one is actually a lot easier, because
if you're given this form, you can literally
pull the vertex coordinates straight from
the equation.
The vertex form in general looks like Y equals
A times X minus H squared plus K.
And all you need to know is that H, K is your
vertex.
So it really is just pattern matching. You
want to match H and K to the numbers that
you were given.
If it was minus H in the general equation,
and minus 1 in your example, then you H equals
1. And your K equals 3.
So the vertex for this problem would be H,
K or 1, 3.
And that's it.
So sometimes the signs are a bit more confusing,
so I'm going to show your another one.
So remember the vertex form looks like this.
So if you are given an equation
that instead has an X plus a number
inside the square,
all you'll need to do is rewrite it so that
it's in the X minus form.
So we would have 2 times X minus a negative 3.
Since minus a negative is the same as plus -- plus 3.
So now you can see to match it to the vertex
form, H has to be -3.
So the vertex in this case would have an X
value of -3.
And a Y value that is K.
Which is simply positive 4.
So our point, our vertex, is -3, 4.
OK guys, so I hope that helped you figured
out how to find the vertex of a parabola.
If you like this video, click 'Like' and let
me know!
|
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Highly unlikely to get 2 or 3 contractors that will do a load calculation ,can't hurt to get a second quote but don't let a few hundred bucks change your mind .also would get the 10 yr part and labor warranty
I am just going to get another opinion from a different contractor. I am still sold on the original bid because I was impressed with the low sells pressure, the time he took to check my home top to bottom and the fact that I like Trane.
Yea bring in the next dude and share all the info that other guy gave you for free and he will give you x amount of savings, way of the world, nice guy finishes last. He should have closed the sale.
I hate it when customers do that. I had a guy do it over XXXX on a dual fuel system and he had to call me 10 months later to come fix everything. He ended up paying me XXX for all the repairs leaving him with a grand total of XXX more than I quoted him to end up with a shotty installation and a heapin' helpin' of heartache.
Last edited by jpsmith1cm; 10-06-2012 at 07:44 PM.
Reason: pricing
America; first we fight for our freedom,
then we make laws to take it away.
I hate it when customers do that. I had a guy do it over XXXX on a dual fuel system and he had to call me 10 months later to come fix everything. He ended up paying me XXXX for all the repairs leaving him with a grand total of XXX more than I quoted him to end up with a shotty installation and a heapin' helpin' of heartache.
You definitely have
enough experience to know that
the vast majority of homeowners are preset to be cheap and not tru$ting of Mechanical Contractor$.
The understanding of HVAC and IAQ Value is not a virtue gained by a mental osmosis proocess nor inherited.
HomeOwners actually have quite a formidable job to try to gain confidence, trust and understanding in the current environment.
For example, how Many people PLAN on changing their systems out based on poor performance prior to "it's death".
The only one's that will have proper information to do this will likely be the homeowners that have a trustworthy mechanical contractor performing semi-annual maintenance over a period of years.
If you have read threads by Florida Joy here, you may be familar with a truly unique, smart individual who takes a significant amount of time to gain an understanding of the real HVAC and building envelope issues.
If there were a real source of " word-of-mouth advertising", such as Wide spread use of a reputable Angie's List or SIMILAR , the trust of contractors would be more reasonable.
Maybe the current 20's- 40's generation with a vast social media use will be able to better interact this way to effectively transition " the Hack" to a thing of the Past or at least a VERY Difficult environment for one to operate in.
One can only HOPE.
Last edited by jpsmith1cm; 10-06-2012 at 07:45 PM.
Reason: pricing from quote
Designer Dan
It's Not Rocket Science, But It is SCIENCE with "Some Art". ___ ___ K EEP I T S IMPLE & S INCERE
Define the Building Envelope and Perform a Detailed Load Calc: It's ALL About Windows and Make-up Air Requirements. Know Your Equipment Capabilities
That's it. Funny how they say it is quiet because you can hear this 4 houses away. Also it doesn't blow straight up, if blows more to the side at perhaps 90 degrees
I didn't HEAR any1 say
________ compressors would be quiet for 15+ years.
What do people do when they are sick or irratated, Y E L L !
We saw people yelling for help.
I heard someone yelling my name.
The crowd was yelling wildly.
Could it be that equipment wishes to emulate humans?
Certainly, brain transplants will be performed with an electronic package with sufficient "thinking" capacity to present a real evolution in life.
When were heart transplants thought of as a impossiblity? Only a few decades ago.
The initial phase of Brain transplants is definitely within a few decades.
Designer Dan
It's Not Rocket Science, But It is SCIENCE with "Some Art". ___ ___ K EEP I T S IMPLE & S INCERE
Define the Building Envelope and Perform a Detailed Load Calc: It's ALL About Windows and Make-up Air Requirements. Know Your Equipment Capabilities
Don't get me wrong trane makes a good product and if that is what the contractor you choose uses then definitely use their product because they will be more familiar with it, but it is no better than York, carrier, Lennox etc. The only reason peope think Trane is so great is because they spend Mega bucks on marketing and advertising. I've heard that each piece of equipment trane produces has a 6$ advertising markup which is huge when you are talking about millions of pieces per year. Trane parts OEM parts are priced high compared to other brands as well. The equipment really has little to do with the proper operation, it the installation, sizing and duct sizing that makes the difference in a long lasting reliable hvac system or a POS hvac system.
Don't get me wrong trane makes a good product and if that is what the contractor you choose uses then definitely use their product because they will be more familiar with it, but it is no better than York, carrier, Lennox etc. The only reason peope think Trane is so great is because they spend Mega bucks on marketing and advertising. I've heard that each piece of equipment trane produces has a 6$ advertising markup which is huge when you are talking about millions of pieces per year. Trane parts OEM parts are priced high compared to other brands as well. The equipment really has little to do with the proper operation, it the installation, sizing and duct sizing that makes the difference in a long lasting reliable hvac system or a POS hvac system. |
Each year more than 2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires in the United States, with direct property loss due to home fires estimated at $7.3 billion annually. Home fires can be prevented!
To protect yourself, it is important to understand the basic characteristics of fire. Fire spreads quickly; there is no time to gather valuables or make a phone call. In just two minutes, a fire can become life-threatening. In five minutes, a residence can be engulfed in flames.
Heat and smoke from fire can be more dangerous than the flames. Inhaling the super-hot air can sear your lungs. Fire produces poisonous gases that make you disoriented and drowsy.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC
The Station nightclub fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people. A fast-moving fire engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. The first fire truck arrived in 5 minutes, and on average it takes 7 ½ minutes for the first responder to arrive.
Instead
of being awakened by a fire, you may fall into a deeper sleep.
Asphyxiation is the leading cause of fire deaths, exceeding burns by a
three-to-one ratio.
Every day Americans experience the horror of fire but most people don't understand fire.
Fire is FAST!There is little time! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be engulfed in flames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep. If you wake up to a fire, you won't have time to grab valuables because fire spreads too quickly and the smoke is too thick. There is only time to escape.
(The simulation predicts evacuation through available doors and windows. A number of people perish in this simulation due to the rapidly developing fire. The color coding of the people indicates the response time band for the occupants. The people colored red reacted most rapidly, they are on the dance floor. The color of the floor is an indication of the smoke concentration at head height. The darker the color, the thicker the smoke at head height. Finally, the body markings on the floor represents where we predict a fatality occurred). are you prepared?
Fire is HOT!Heat is more threatening than flames. A fire's heat alone can kill. Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super-hot air will scorch your lungs. This heat can melt clothes to your skin. In five minutes, a room can get so hot that everything in it ignites at once: this is called flashover. Fire is DARK!Fire isn't bright, it's pitch black. Fire starts bright, but quickly produces black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up to a fire you may be blinded, disoriented and unable to find your way around the home you've lived in for years.
Fire is DEADLY!Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. Fire uses up the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxic gases can make you drowsy, disoriented and short of breath. The odorless, colorless fumes can lull you into a deep sleep before the flames reach your door. You may not wake up in time to escape.
Only when we know the true nature of fire can we prepare our families and ourselves. |
This short film: ‘This is what happens to a black a boy with a BIG mouth’ ended up being included in a feature documentary: The 10 new commandments a multi-authored project we were asked to make a contribution to for the 10th anniversary of the European human rights charter. It was also sadly the last commissioned film that my then Producer and current life-partner: Marie Olesen worked on together through our production company autonomi.tv after more than an extraordinary decade of BAFTA nominated filmmaking.
How the film came about in the first place was itself a story in its own right, because the subject of the film Aamer Anwar a Glasgow based human rights and criminal lawyer had just been appointed as the defence for ‘Scotland’s first Islamic terrorist’ Atif Siddique
Aamer had pretty much pitched the story to us and we instantly knew it would enable us to achieve something that no one in the London Documentary establishment had managed to achieve at that point: gain access to the devout Muslim family of a boy who was making the headlines in the tabloids that his Father was selling at his corner shop in a place called Alva as: ‘Scotland’s first wannabe suicide bomber’
But if we thought accessing and gaining the trust of a Muslim family in an old mill-town which I can only really describe as being like a cross between a pumped-up/alcohol fuelled version of Trumpton and Twin Peaks was a tough call, then dealing with our commissioning editor down at channel 4 would prove to be even harder; Not least of all because he wanted us to pursue an editorial agenda which I can only describe as being like a cross between Chris Morris’sNathan Barley and 4 Lions. Even worse though it soon became apparent to us that if our London Commissioner had wanted a ‘funny’ terror story then the Nations and Regions controller of channel 4 in Glasgow didn’t want a story at all and even accused us of harbouring a left-wing agenda and just wanting to cause unnecessary trouble in his ‘hood. Equally neither seemed the least bit interested in the fact that a potential miscarriage of justice may be taking place, or that the security services were chasing a stupid boy whose only real crime was to have on his computer the kind of stuff that you or I can also freely download from the internet, rather than pursuing a real terror threat.
The prosecution case at the trial meanwhile was relying on testimony from an American ‘Terror Expert’ with a dubious pedigree and the gossip of a key-witness in a student canteen to make their case, which under cross-examination was exposed as being as much about 20-something asian male machismo/female flirting and the sectarian divisions that exist between the Shia and Sunni Muslim communities then it was real proof of a plot to carry out a suicide bombing in Glasgow; While the credentials and credibility of the American Terror expert who included beheading videos on his website was also torn apart by legendary rottweiler Scottish QC: Donald Findlay.
So perhaps in the end we did have that funny terrorist story after all? The ‘1 Lion’ as we were calling it..
On top of covering what was happening at the trial – which the mainstream press from the outset was selectively reporting – our fretting commissioner also insisted that we work with one of the ‘Dark Lords’ who lurk behind the scenes of the UK television scene: An Oxford blue-blood with a 2:2 in law and an ‘expert’ on Irish terrorism, who from the very outset was frank with us about the fact that his job was to police us as much as make a film. But despite the control freakery and attempts to divide and rule that were taking place, we soon grew to like our ‘Dark Lord’ especially when he too saw for himself that it didn’t take an Oxford law degree or a Harry Potter wand and cloak, to see that the case and story had much more to it. I should also add here that from the very outset attempts were also made to pressure the Producer into replacing me on my film with a ‘professional’ who could work with ‘constructed reality’ and in the process perhaps tell a funny terror yarn. But in the end though it was simple: without me there wasn’t a story and that was something which both Marie and I agreed on, because even if I had been prepared to take the token pay-off on offer in return for my ‘work’ and just pissed-off back to the lefty-conspiracy land that they imagined that I came from, we both knew the end product would be the kind of parachute filmmaking that is all too prevalent in documentaries. Something which we as an ethical production company always fought against.
But perhaps more important than all of this was that we carried on with our filming.
We filmed in and around Atif’s show trial and hung about outside the courthouse with be suited posh-scot TV news presenters and their lackie film crews, tabloid hacks and the odd spook or 2, all of whom had already decided they were going to hang Atif out to dry and humiliate his family on national TV after the guilty verdict which was inevitable. But unlike these ‘professionals’ and ‘terror experts’ we also filmed with Atif’s father and his brother Asif at their corner shop as they sold alcohol to the locals on vodka and cider fuelled lazy Sunday afternoons; We filmed in the family home during Ramadan, watched home videos of Atif as a kid with his family, broke the fast and sat and ate Mrs Siddique’s fantastic chicken curry, before eventually getting what our ‘Dark Lord’ had craved the most: The moment and reaction when a Newsagent whose son was now a convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist opens his morning delivery of newspapers to see the headline: Baby Faced Suicide Bomber.
And then we filmed with the lawyer Aamer – who was never camera-shy – at work, play and in Glasgow central mosque during Friday prayers, before finally presenting some of what we had to our London Commissioner who begrudgingly agreed that although it wasn’t so funny that we had delivered and gained access to the family and shown the whites of their eyes. Then after some additional pressure from our ‘Dark Lord’ he agreed to commission the full film BUT – and it was a big BUT – we would be required to consult channel 4’s Nations and Regions own ‘compliance’ lawyer who we soon discovered was on first name terms with Atif’s trial judge. Yet despite agreeing to these compromises at that point – and I still think also we were talking about a funny terrorist film: our 1 Lion – which Atif’s brother quite liked the idea of when I’d mentioned it to him, we left London happy, returning to Glasgow with a rare thing: a Cutting Edge commission that wasn’t being produced by a big London production company or directed by a documentary establishment thoroughbred or former bed-mate of a TV controller.
But within a week of being back in the Nations and Regions the project was mysteriously de-commissioned.
So we carried on filming anyway.
And we carried on filming until we were approached to make a contribution to the film I’ve mentioned about the European human rights charter and were offered: Freedom of Expression as our theme.
Only would we consider doing something else?
Something perhaps with the Glasgow gangs we’d been filming over 2 years and why it was wrong to call them Neds rather than the Lawyer and Terrorist story?
By this stage the Glasgow airport Terrorist attack had taken place carried-out by what the security services refer to as ‘Clean skins’ – or people who were off the radar and not under suspicion/surveillance – While Atif’s lawyer Aamer Anwar now also faced contempt charges for speaking out against the trial judge at Atif’s guilty verdict which came in the same week of the anniversary of 9/11 and shortly after the Glasgow airport attack. I should also add that the TV crews got to humiliate the family too outside the courthouse, gloating over their revenge for the family’ s decision to remain silent.
And we carried on filming….
Right-up until Atif was eventually released from his gaol sentence on the basis of a miscarriage of justice and had moved back home to eat his Mum’s chicken curries and help out in his Dad’s corner shop in Alva. Aamer Anwar too was acquitted of all the contempt charges brought against him and he continues his work as a lawyer and – for better and mostly worse these days – as a Sun newspaper columnist.
As film-makers we’d fought long and hard to make even this shortened down version of our story, and had even found ourselves fighting to the bitter end with the agenda of the BBC’s own in-house lawyer, who was insisting on disclaimers and captions at the end of our film that pretty much went against what had happened at the acquittals. As a result we were left with no choice but to say that we would withdraw our film about Freedom of Expression for a celebration of the European Human Rights charter. Even the BBC realized they had a problem and that they now faced the situation of showing a film called the 9 New Commandments with the one clause in that charter that is perhaps close to the BBC’s own heart now than ever before: Freedom of Expression missing.
Finally they agreed to our choice of end captions but we knew it wasn’t the end of the matter. As a result we pretty much knew that what we’d made would mean that the doors which had opened to us over more than a decade of filmmaking were all now closing. As much as we still love Glasgow – which is still our spiritual home – we both knew that it was time to move on if we wanted to carry on making a living from what it is we do and still care passionately about.
As I write this now from Copenhagen the first snow of winter has arrived and I’m getting ready to head back across the Sea as I still do regularly for health and personal reasons due to my current status, only this time I’m on a mission of sorts. Because for the past few years in-between dealing with cancer, I’ve got to thinking not just about a film that never happened called: A Boy from Alva, but also about all the material I have in an archive from years of filmmaking in Scotland. A period of activity which began a few weeks before 9/11 with the murder of a Kurdish Asylum seeker on a Glasgow housing estate and which then took us on a journey into the very heart of the Scottish establishment, the criminal underworld and out into the nation’s marginalized and refugee communities. And with time, trauma, professional disappointments, creative failures and the wisdom that comes along with it, I’m left thinking that although I have a fantastic archive, that perhaps it’s really in the end been about all the stuff that was impossible to film. The things that happened in-between scenes and off camera that I need to address with the time I have left in this world.
All I can say at this stage is that it feels a bit like trying to make a unfilmable documentary with some great characters, that deals with hidden truths, media and political conspiracies, professional betrayals, violence, abuse, the war on terror and the farce and tragedy we witnessed going about our work as Documentarians. But to even attempt to tackle this I need also to deal with occult things which exist only in Dreamtime, in our nightmares, imaginations and subconscious as much as in our lived and recorded realities. Things we think and know and that we witness and retain a record of on our own internal hard-drives. So to this end I’m heading home to Glasgow to start to write that unfilmable documentary that’s set in a re-imagined post-industrial city at the end of Northern Europe and a place that I’m calling: Scotiastan |
Ligue Europa - OM Yohann Pelé (gardien de but de l'OM), le décollage de l'Albatros
Auteur d'une parade décisive en prolongation qui a notamment permis à l'OM de se qualifier pour la finale de la Ligue Europa, Yohann Pelé continue de surprendre sous le maillot olympien. Un destin incroyable pour le gardien de 35 ans, dont la carrière a été semée d'embûches.
Contraints de disputer une prolongation après avoir été rattrapés au score par le RB Salzbourg, les Phocéens sont bougés, malmenés et semblent à bout de souffle. A la suite d'un énième corner pour les Autrichiens, le défenseur Duje Caleta-Car s'élève plus haut que tout le monde et croit catapulter le ballon au fond des filets (99e), qui aurait permis à ce moment-là de qualifier son club pour la finale de Lyon, le 16 mai prochain. C'était sans compter sur Yohann Pelé, le gardien marseillais, peu en réussite sur les deux buts encaissés en deuxième période. L'ex-Manceau a alors effectué une manchette phénoménale pour éviter aux siens une déroute qui se dessinait. Cette parade a eu le mérite d'envoyer les bonnes ondes à ses coéquipiers qui se sont ensuite démenés sur le terrain, récompensés par la reprise de Rolando à quatre minutes de la fin (116e). Yohann Pelé a une nouvelle fois endossé le costume de sauveur pour sa formation, après sa grande prestation au match aller (2-0 pour l'OM), comme sur la double confrontation contre Leipzig au tour précédent. Un statut qui peut pousser Rudi Garcia à le titulariser en finale face à l'Atlético Madrid à Lyon. Une formidable récompense pour le portier olympien, qui n'a pas connu que des joies au cours de sa carrière.
Maladie et bras de fer
Une dizaine d'années passées au Mans et voilà Yohann Pelé, considéré comme l'un des meilleurs gardiens du championnat, débarquer à Toulouse dans l'optique de remplacer Cédric Carrasso, parti aux Girondins de Bordeaux. L'aventure chez les Pitchounes va cependant tourner court, quand on lui diagnostique une embolie pulmonaire bilatérale. Ce qui devait entraîner un arrêt complet de six mois, annoncé par les médecins du club, s'est alors transformé en une indisponibilité de trois ans. Et les affaires se sont même empirées, cette fois-ci devant la justice. Le gardien, qui s'est vu proposer un poste de recruteur, a réclamé des indemnités au club, menaçant même de se retrouver au Conseil des prud'hommes.
Son coéquipier de l'époque, Mohamed Fofana – qui évolue depuis au Stade de Reims – avait même indiqué dans une interview sur le site du Téfécé en 2012 les mauvaises nouvelles : «Je n'ai pas vraiment de nouvelles, la dernière c'est que c'est mort, il ne jouera plus. Il n'a pas obtenu l'autorisation du médecin. Dommage, entre Carrasso et lui il n'y avait pas beaucoup d'écart lorsqu'il est arrivé». Le gardien est abattu et a ensuite disparu des écrans radars. Certains lui prêtaient même une vie dissolue, entraînée par des problèmes d'alcool. Mais le dernier jour du mercato hivernal en janvier 2014, il est réapparu et signait au FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, alors en L1. Le club est descendu en fin de saison, mais Pelé a enchaîné les bons matches dans l'antichambre, et vu plusieurs clubs s'intéresser à lui. Annoncé proche de Bastia, c'est finalement sur la Canebière qu'il a débarqué en juin 2015, en tant que doublure de Steve Mandanda.
L'histoire exceptionnelle de Y. Pelé... Extraordinaire !!!!!! Incroyable résilience. Incroyable parcours. — Yoann Riou (@riouyoann) 3 mai 2018
Une renaissance totale
Clin d'œil du destin, puisque lors du seul appel de Pelé en équipe de France en 2008, pour un match amical contre la Tunisie, le portier formé au Havre était titulaire dans les cages. Quand il est arrivé à Marseille, ses folles années étaient derrière lui, et certains voyaient ce recrutement un peu bancal. Surtout lors du départ de Steve Mandanda pour Crystal Palace en juillet 2016, entraînant le gardien de 32 ans à se retrouver seul aux commandes. L'absence totale de concurrence lui a offert un boulevard, mais dès le début, Yohann Pelé a réussi à faire taire ses détracteurs, qui doutaient de son niveau, en ramenant des points cruciaux à l'OM. Résultat : une grande saison (38 matches disputés en L1), et un record de clean-sheets sur l'exercice avec 18 matches sans encaisser de but. L'été dernier, Steve Mandanda est revenu au bercail, Yohann Pelé a retrouvé le banc, sans rechigner. Mais l'ancien Sochalien est prêt à en sortir à tout moment, comme en février où la doublure d'Hugo Lloris en équipe de France était victime d'une déchirure musculaire. Une blessure qui est réapparue à Dijon le 31 mars dernier à Dijon (3-1), poussant une nouvelle fois Rudi Garcia à faire appel à son numéro deux.
13 - Yohann Pelé a arrêté 13 des 14 derniers tirs cadrés qu'il a subis toutes compétitions confondues avec Marseille. Albatros. #FCSOM @OM_Officiel pic.twitter.com/5wEijEI3Pb — OptaJean (@OptaJean) 3 mai 2018
A chaque fois, «l'Albatros » a répondu présent, sauvant à plusieurs reprises de la noyade son équipe, ou conservant un résultat favorable jusqu'au bout, grâce à ses parades miraculeuses. C'est simple, avec Pelé dans les buts, l'OM n'a perdu qu'une seule fois cette saison, à Paris le 25 février (0-3). Des bonnes performances que le gardien a réitérées en Ligue Europa, notamment lors de la phase à élimination directe (six apparitions en huit matches), où il a répondu présent, ses parades monstrueuses rassurant et galvanisant même ses coéquipiers. Qu'on se le dise, si Marseille se retrouve à Lyon dans moins de deux semaines, les prestations de son n°16 y sont pour beaucoup. Lui a retrouvé une confiance qu'il pensait perdue, grâce à un entraîneur qui le connaît par cœur – ils se sont cotoyés lorsque Rudi Garcia officiait au Mans lors de la saison 2007-08 – et qui n'avait pas hésité à le conseiller lors de sa signature en 2016. «Celui que je connais le mieux, c'est Yohann Pelé. Il doit croquer dedans à pleines dents, rattraper le temps perdu. Je lui ai dit». «L'Albatros» semble l'avoir suivi.
Joffrey Pointlane |
2*t
Let u(s) = 3*s**3 - 4. Let h(p) be the first derivative of 7*p**4/4 - 9*p + 26. Calculate -4*h(l) + 9*u(l).
-l**3
Let c(h) = 3*h - 2. Let n(k) = 5*k - 5. Determine -5*c(w) + 2*n(w).
-5*w
Suppose -14 = -m - 13. Let t(y) = -y**2 - 5. Let c(s) = -s**2 - 1. Determine m*t(z) - 3*c(z).
2*z**2 - 2
Let a(b) = -5*b**2 - 8. Suppose 0*f - 4*f - 20 = 0. Let p = f + 0. Let c = p + 2. Let s(v) = 2*v**2 + 3. Determine c*a(h) - 8*s(h).
-h**2
Let m(a) = 6*a**2 + a + 1. Let i(l) = 11*l**2 + l + 3. Give 3*i(h) - 5*m(h).
3*h**2 - 2*h + 4
Let n(j) = j**2 + 1. Let l(s) = -3*s**2 - 7. What is l(f) + 6*n(f)?
3*f**2 - 1
Suppose 44 = -5*g - p, 5*p - 29 = 4*g + 12. Let q(x) = -7*x**2 + 7*x. Suppose 0 = -0*b - 3*b + 6. Let f(i) = 0*i - 2*i**2 - i**b + 3*i. Give g*f(c) + 4*q(c).
-c**2 + c
Let s be (0 + 5 + -4)*(2 - -1). Let o(l) = l**2 - l + 1. Let y(n) = n**2 - 5*n + 5. Give s*o(m) - y(m).
2*m**2 + 2*m - 2
Let p(d) = -2*d**3 + 3*d - 3. Let i(n) = -n**3 + n - 1. Suppose -2*g + g = -3. What is g*i(s) - p(s)?
-s**3
Let w(v) = v**3 - v**2 - v. Let y(a) = 168*a**3 - 252*a**2 - 252*a. Determine -252*w(g) + y(g).
-84*g**3
Let m(o) = -4 - 5*o**2 + 2 + 6*o**2 - 2*o + 2*o**3. Let z(y) = -8*y**3 - 4*y**2 + 9*y + 9. Calculate 9*m(s) + 2*z(s).
2*s**3 + s**2
Let j(n) = -5*n**3 - 3*n**2 + 5*n - 3. Let q(l) = -4*l**3 - 2*l**2 + 4*l - 2. What is -2*j(u) + 3*q(u)?
-2*u**3 + 2*u
Let y(r) be the second derivative of r**4/2 + r**3/6 + r**2/2 - r. Let t(g) be the second derivative of -g**4/12 - 6*g. Give 5*t(o) + y(o).
o**2 + o + 1
Let x(t) = 190*t**3 - 55*t**2 - 55*t + 55. Let q(s) = -21*s**3 + 6*s**2 + 6*s - 6. Calculate -55*q(h) - 6*x(h).
15*h**3
Let f(u) = -3*u**2 + 3*u + 5. Let s(c) = 6*c**2 - 5*c - 9. Determine 5*f(w) + 3*s(w).
3*w**2 - 2
Let l(q) = -q**2 - q - 1. Let h(p) be the second derivative of p**4/2 + 5*p**3/6 + p**2 - p. Suppose u - 5*u - 16 = 0. Let d = u + 3. Determine d*h(i) - 4*l(i).
-2*i**2 - i + 2
Let g(f) = 4*f**2 - 3*f + 4. Let c(r) = -21*r**2 + 15*r - 21. Calculate -2*c(k) - 11*g(k).
-2*k**2 + 3*k - 2
Let a(z) = 5*z. Let u(d) = d - 3 - 3*d + 9. Let f(r) = r - 5. Let g(l) = -6*f(l) - 5*u(l). What is 3*a(x) - 4*g(x)?
-x
Suppose 26*u - 4 = 28*u. Let a(f) = 2*f. Let v(h) = h - 1. Let s(j) = -a(j) + v(j). Let o(l) be the second derivative of -l**3/2 + l. Determine u*s(i) + o(i).
-i + 2
Let c(y) = 28 - 2*y + 36 - 68. Let t(g) = -3*g - 3. Determine 3*c(z) - 4*t(z).
6*z
Let r(l) = -5*l**2 - 4. Let p(i) = 9 + 2 + 24*i**2 - 43*i**2 + 33*i**2. Suppose 4*u + 31 = 2*u + 3*o, 0 = 2*u + 3*o + 13. What is u*r(q) - 4*p(q)?
-q**2
Let n(s) = -15*s + 2. Let b = 2 + -13. Let p(g) = 8*g - 1. Determine b*p(u) - 6*n(u).
2*u - 1
Let w be 3 + 2 + 0 + -4. Let z(t) = t + 3. Let v(a) = a + 1. Let p = 3 - 6. Let r be (-2 + (-4)/p)*3. What is r*v(n) + w*z(n)?
-n + 1
Let l(k) = -k**2 - 6*k. Let g(j) = 2*j**3 - 3*j**2 + 4*j - 2. Let s be g(2). Suppose -10 = -4*r + s. Let f(u) = u**2 + 5*u. Give r*l(q) + 6*f(q).
q**2
Let z(y) = 13*y + 4. Suppose -5 = 5*g + 15. Let j(u) = 6*u + 2. Give g*z(c) + 9*j(c).
2*c + 2
Let w(m) be the second derivative of m**3/6 + m**2 + 5*m. Let t(g) = 1 - 6*g + g - 11. Determine -2*t(d) - 11*w(d).
-d - 2
Let x(l) = 6*l + 4. Let u(n) = 4*n + 3. Determine -7*u(r) + 5*x(r).
2*r - 1
Let j(y) = 15*y - 5. Let u(n) = -29*n + 9. Determine -7*j(k) - 4*u(k).
11*k - 1
Suppose -2*j + 38 = 4. Let x(u) = 0*u**2 - 3*u**2 - 3*u**2 + 7*u + 7*u**3. Let p(o) = 20*o**3 - 17*o**2 + 20*o. Give j*x(i) - 6*p(i).
-i**3 - i
Let y(g) = 2*g + 12. Let n be y(-6). Let z(o) = n*o + o**2 - 5*o**2 - 3*o**2 - o - 4. Let i(b) = b**2 + 1. Calculate -4*i(k) - z(k).
3*k**2 + k
Let u(q) be the first derivative of -3*q**2/2 - 6*q + 19. Let w(i) = 3*i + 5. Give -3*u(c) - 4*w(c).
-3*c - 2
Let p(l) = 2*l - 3. Let b(y) = -4*y + 5. Suppose -4*w + 9*w + 2*x = -22, 15 = -4*w + x. Give w*b(m) - 7*p(m).
2*m + 1
Let b(v) be the first derivative of 2*v**2 + 2*v - 6. Let w be b(-1). Let h(y) = -4*y. Let r(u) = u + 3*u - 3*u. Calculate w*r(n) - h(n).
2*n
Let d(u) = -8*u - 4. Let f(p) be the second derivative of 7*p**3/6 + 3*p**2/2 - p - 16. Calculate -4*d(q) - 5*f(q).
-3*q + 1
Suppose -2*i - 4*s + 18 + 0 = 0, 3*i - 2*s - 43 = 0. Let a = -14 + i. Let h(d) = d**3 + d - 1. Let r(t) = 5*t**3 + 5*t - 4. Give a*r(b) + 4*h(b).
-b**3 - b
Let n(p) = -8*p - 8. Let h(a) be the second derivative of 0 + 2*a - 1/6*a**3 - 1/2*a**2. What is 14*h(l) - 2*n(l)?
2*l + 2
Let h(o) = -4*o - 3*o + 0*o**2 + 7 - 11*o**2. Let m(d) = 4*d + 2*d - 3 - 6*d + 3*d + 5*d**2. Give 3*h(y) + 7*m(y).
2*y**2
Let t(j) = -j**2 - 5*j - 6. Let r(a) = -4*a**2 - 14*a - 18. Determine -4*r(p) + 11*t(p).
5*p**2 + p + 6
Let j(n) = -21*n**3. Let g(o) = -o**3 + 28*o**2 + 29*o - 2. Let t be g(29). Let k(l) = 7*l**3. Determine t*j(w) - 7*k(w).
-7*w**3
Let p(x) = 7*x. Let n(s) = 8*s. Calculate 5*n(m) - 6*p(m).
-2*m
Let i be (3 - 0) + -22 + 20. Let y(t) = -t**2 + t - 1. Let u(g) = -4*g + 1. What is i*u(c) + 2*y(c)?
-2*c**2 - 2*c - 1
Let b(a) = -2*a - 3. Suppose 1 + 6 = -3*q + 4*l, 0 = -3*q - 5*l + 2. Let j(c) = -1. Determine q*b(t) + 4*j(t).
2*t - 1
Let k be ((-48)/(-20))/((-6)/(-20)). Let b(r) = r**3 + 3*r - 3. Let h(o) = -3*o**3 - 8*o + 8. What is k*b(z) + 3*h(z)?
-z**3
Let b(n) = 13*n - 9. Let w(x) = 19*x - 13. What is -7*b(u) + 5*w(u)?
4*u - 2
Let h(y) = -y**2 - y. Suppose 8*i = -11*i + 19. Let b(t) be the second derivative of -2*t**4/3 - 5*t**3/6 - t. What is i*b(z) - 5*h(z)?
-3*z**2
Let p(z) = z**2. Let y(j) = -4*j**2 + 3*j + 2. What is -2*p(s) - y(s)?
2*s**2 - 3*s - 2
Let y(w) = 2*w**2 + 3*w + 8. Let m(d) = -6*d**2 - 9*d - 23. Determine -6*m(i) - 17*y(i).
2*i**2 + 3*i + 2
Suppose -4*h - 3 = 5*a, 0*h + 5*h + 5*a + 5 = 0. Let l(f) = -f - 1. Let r(o) = -8*o - 10. Give h*r(v) + 20*l(v).
-4*v
Let x(n) = -10*n + 3. Let q(k) = 120*k - 35. Calculate 3*q(c) + 35*x(c).
10*c
Let h(d) = -d**2 + d. Let b(s) = -20*s**2 + 5*s - 1. Calculate -b(x) + 6*h(x).
14*x**2 + x + 1
Let r(m) = -5*m**2 + 13*m + 13. Suppose 5*j + 105 = 5*o, 0 = -4*o + 2*o - 4*j + 72. Let u(i) = i**2 - 3*i - 3. What is o*u(x) + 6*r(x)?
-4*x**2
Let r(h) = -2*h - 8. Let c(g) = 3*g + 10. Determine 5*c(x) + 6*r(x).
3*x + 2
Let j(g) = -27*g**3 + 4. Let b(a) = 40*a**3 - 6. Give 5*b(p) + 8*j(p).
-16*p**3 + 2
Let d(n) = n. Let r(q) = q. Calculate -2*d(z) + r(z).
-z
Let y(i) = 3*i**3 - 5*i**2 + 5*i - 13. Let m(d) = -4*d**3 + 7*d**2 - 7*d + 19. Give 5*m(h) + 7*y(h).
h**3 + 4
Let t(u) = -u**3 - u**2 - u + 1. Let p(c) = 4*c**3 + 5*c - 5. Determine -p(j) - 5*t(j).
j**3 + 5*j**2
Let g(n) = -7*n - 8*n**2 + 15*n**2 + 3*n - 7 + 1. Let t = -17 + 28. Let y(j) = 11*j + 4 + 4*j**2 - 4*j - 17*j**2 + 7. Calculate t*g(w) + 6*y(w).
-w**2 - 2*w
Let g(v) = -v + 3. Let j(a) = -a + 2. Let d(z) = z**3 - 9*z**2 - 11*z + 7. Let h be d(10). What is h*g(y) + 5*j(y)?
-2*y + 1
Let f(r) = 66*r + 39. Let s(w) = -5*w - 3. Determine 2*f(g) + 27*s(g).
-3*g - 3
Let b(m) = 11*m**2 + 15*m - 3. Let f(k) = -4*k**2 - 5*k + 1. What is 6*b(p) + 17*f(p)?
-2*p**2 + 5*p - 1
Let r(t) = -4*t**3 - t**2 - 2*t. Let k be (12/10)/((-2)/(-5)). Suppose -k = -h - 0*h. Let q(w) = -2*w**2 + 3*w - 2*w**3 - h*w**3 - 6*w. Give 3*q(n) - 4*r(n).
n**3 - 2*n**2 - n
Let d(b) be the second derivative of -7*b**3/6 + 3*b**2/2 + 2*b. Let a(r) = -36*r + 16. What is -3*a(m) + 16*d(m)?
-4*m
Let p(h) = 12*h**3 - 7*h - 3 - 32*h**3 - 4*h. Let q(l) = 7*l**3 + 4*l + 1. Determine -6*p(z) - 17*q(z).
z**3 - 2*z + 1
Let l(x) = x + 14. Let o be l(-16). Let v(z) = -z**3 + 2*z**2 - 2*z. Let a(n) = -3*n**3 + 9*n**2 - 9*n. What is o*a(t) + 9*v(t)?
-3*t**3
Suppose -x = 4*a - 5*a + 7, 4*x = 5*a - 31. Let g(f) = 3*f + 5. Let l(d) = 7*d + 11. What is x*l(o) + 9*g(o)?
-o + 1
Let k(w) = -6*w**2 - 8*w. Let g(c) = -c**2 - 4*c + c - c**2. What is 8*g(v) - 3*k(v)?
2*v**2
Let h(c) = 4*c**2 + 4. Let y(m) = -m**2 - 5*m - 6. Let g be y(-5). Let x(s) = -23*s**2 - 23. Suppose 3*i + 2*i + 170 = 0. Give g*x(f) + i*h(f).
2*f**2 + 2
Let n(g) = -g - 4. Let t be n(-7). Let u(w) = -2*w + 3. Let c(x) = -2*x + 2. What is t*c(y) - 2*u(y)?
-2*y
Let d(g) = -19*g + 4. Let j(x) = 19*x - 3. Determine 3*d(z) + 4*j(z).
19*z
Let w(l) = 8*l**3 - 12*l**2 + 6. Let v(k) = -3*k**3 + 4*k**2 - 2. Determine 17*v(b) + 6*w(b).
-3*b**3 - 4*b**2 + 2
Let h(g) = 1. Let j(c) = c + 4. Determine -3*h(y) - j(y).
-y - 7
Let x(d) = 4*d**3 - d**2 - 3*d. Let |
/*
* LatticeElement.java - This file is part of the Jakstab project.
* Copyright 2007-2012 Johannes Kinder <jk@jakstab.org>
*
* This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
* under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
* published by the Free Software Foundation.
*
* This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
* version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
* accompanied this code).
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
* 2 along with this work; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*/
package org.jakstab.analysis;
/**
* An interface representing an element of a semi-lattice.
*
* @author Johannes Kinder
*/
public interface LatticeElement {
/**
* Returns the join (supremum) of this lattice element and another element
* of the same lattice.
* This method has to observe the contract
* x.join(y) = y.join(x)
* and x.lessOrEqual(x.join(y)) && y.lessOrEqual(x.join(y))
*
* @param l the lattice element to join with.
* @return the join of both elements.
*/
public LatticeElement join(LatticeElement l);
/**
* Returns whether this lattice elements is less or equal to another one.
* This method observes the contract:
* x.lessOrEqual(y) && y.lessOrEqual(x) <=> x.equals(y)
*
* @param l the lattice element to compare to.
* @return true, if this element is less or equal to l.
*/
public boolean lessOrEqual(LatticeElement l);
/**
* Check to see whether this element is the top element. May be implemented
* through a reference check to a unique top element.
*
* @return True if this is the top element.
*/
public boolean isTop();
/**
* Check to see whether this element is the bottom element. May be implemented
* through a reference check to a unique bottom element.
*
* @return True if this is the bottom element.
*/
public boolean isBot();
/**
* Returns whether this lattice elements is equivalent to another one.
* This method observes the contract:
* x.lessOrEqual(y) && y.lessOrEqual(x) <=> x.equals(y)
* and x.equals(y) <=> y.equals(x)
*
* @param o the object to compare to.
* @return true, if o is a lattice element equivalent to this element
*/
@Override
public boolean equals(Object o);
}
|
Why have the nations of the world spent trillions of credits building deep underground bases, for continuity of government, but not for the people they supposedly govern and serve? Why does this season of multi-billion dollar military exercises coincide with the possibilities of monetary collapse and the world-wide sightings of numerous abnormal objects in the daylight and night-time skies? Why have state and national governments begun to manifest a psychopathic disregard for respecting human life by demanding dangerous, deadly toxins into the bodies of children that do not belong to them? Who are the people who authorize government? When government rules contrary to the laws and love of God it becomes a tyranny. Who has historically promoted the dynamic of force that expresses "might makes right"? |
Archives
Category: Life-lessons
It’s me again. So my flight to Penang landed safely at the airport last Monday. A late night flight? It was never a priority to me which in a nutshell Mom bought the tix for me upon a last-minute promotion a month before, or for whatever probable reason behind that. Ah, don’t ask me, of course I was a bit terrified even though I couldn’t express how it felt like. It wasn’t about the new semester I had under my sleeves, well, I was pretty sure it was going to be a slow start of the week, anyway. But if you ever happen to encounter this situation, getting stuck at the airport overnight with no one to accompany you, I wouldn’t have to explain myself over again. But there I was – I decided to head straight to the prayer room like I would usually do, take a rest and stay there until I get to grab a cab in the morning for my next destination. More often than not, I would have someone to accompany me since we go the same university. It was easy that way. For some reasons, my friend already confirmed it to me that she couldn’t make it. She got early flight to catch on two days before me. As much as I wanted it to get over soon, I didn’t want my parents to take care of everything or blame themselves for any uncertainties. Simple, there was no other choice but to convince my parents that it’s going to be okay, that I could handle it well. It did sound like a joke to me. Of course my parents would get worried about it although I’m a big girl already.
So I walked into the prayer room with my luggage. The place was empty – only me – until few minutes later someone entered in a rush. I tried to maintain and cover my anxious. Later then she finished her prayer and we had a little chit-chat. Nothing serious, just to kill time. She thought I was there waiting for the last flight of the night – where do you come from, where are you heading, are you alone, she asked surprisingly – so I simply explained to her about my situation. No empathy intended, really. I wasn’t sure if I was being nice to someone I just met but it wasn’t like I’d meet her anyway after that, right?
After some time she came back into the prayer room. Apart from thinking she might have left her stuff, I saw a concerned remark on her face. “Would you like to come over to my house? Not too far, I can send you tomorrow. I have daughters too and I wouldn’t leave them alone this way. Too cold here.” She asked again if I’m okay with that and her husband too was waiting outside. We both knew well to never talk to strangers but I myself couldn’t resist the offer. She sounded just like Mom. I guessed I’d just follow my heart, so I struggled to pack all my stuff with her leading me to the bench outside where her husband was. “Uncle Azizul too is a Mechanical Engineer,” she introduced him to me. I nodded and introduced myself back. “Just call me Auntie Zarina.”
Then I texted my parents to inform them regarding the invitation only after we got into the car. Mom too had her flight to KL an hour after mine had departured. She didn’t reply to my text – though she was supposed to arrive earlier than me – because her flight got delayed for some time. It was midnight as the road was already empty. They asked if I wanted to eat something so we went to McD drive-thru and ordered porridge for me. It was such a nice ride because they really wanted the conversation to go real between us so I didn’t feel left out at the passenger seat. She reminded me these for many times, “If it wasn’t because we decided to delay to perform the prayer before our flight back to here, god wouldn’t let us meet each other.” She was sad and really wanted to send off her daughter to NZ but their flight came off first so they couldn’t make it. “And then I found you.”
—
I think that would be the first time since forever that I thanked god for sending kind people to me – not because I deserve such kindness or I truly beg for it or I rush into making decisions. Probably because I was tested to be more grateful towards anything people have offered to me. Also the prayers I got from my parents, well, without them I won’t become the person I am today.
So here’s to many more years and the lessons I’m willing to learn from any strangers I’d call family.
He kicked the ball towards my direction with the earphones dangling from his front pocket. It was quite far than what he did for the record yesterday. So I jogged past some kids as they giggled “Look! Baby crabs!” and jumped spontaneously from one spot to another. I approached him for another kicking session. Then I brushed the sand out of his hair – we both knew I wanted to discard them but my fingers seemed to allow the tiny bits even more there – focused and heard him whisper, “You’re not even listening.” I swore that slapped me hard in the face and he probably could hit me again with another farce. But I wasn’t ignoring; I wanted to distract him from the truth I had before my sealed lips.
I heard you, I heard you. “Sure, you can keep them. Are you uhm okay?”
At first glance, it seems artless. Something that is so straightforward when someone – who can’t even spend some time sitting in the same room with me – is piqued by something we both often argue about for as long as I can remember. Don’t get me wrong. It did sweat me with anxiety when we played that “guess these songs” game from his playlists. He shuffled the songs. So I listened intently, dengan kepala dah angguk along with the rhythms. For the first time he confessed, “I wanted you to learn something from this Radiohead guys but nevermind, lain kali jelah. Or maybe, Foals. The Smiths.” Dia membebel banyak lagi tapi dah lupa apa. Sejak tu aku dah mula curi-curi dengar album Madness dan My Head is an Animal. Above all that, aku sebenarnya lost passion in music dan bukan jenis yang “oh gila lah deep cut dia ni”. Tak pernah pun terfikir macam tu. Banyak dengar dari feedback dia je. And I was pretty sure he didn’t want to discuss about “kalau you dengar yang ni maybe I can fall for you even more” or “tahu tak mana satu lagu ni diorang punya masterpiece?” when he pointed that out on a whim. He wanted to be heard. He wasn’t happy. Dan dia bagitahu semua tu melalui lagu-lagu yang dia dengar.
“I listened to your playlists yesterday. Can I keep them?”
There was a pause.
“You’re not even listening.”
I heard you, I heard you. “Sure, you can keep them. Are you uhm okay?”
Kenapa orang perlu anggap it’s their obligation to make someone happy whenever they found out that person isn’t happy? If they’re not happy, they’re not unhappy. Some people want (or choose) to get hurt so that they can heal. Dalam dunia yang gila ni, kau sebenarnya hanya perlu berlakon – no matter what it takes – menjadi orang yang sibuk so that tidak terikut sama dengan standards yang orang raihkan. Samada kau menjadi sibuk because you’re interested in it and you like challenges, or try so hard fitting into others definitions “how to be happy.” Kau sibukkan diri bukan sebab nak jadi anti-social atau tak peduli dengan surroundings. Get busy in something you find interesting. Be busy because you’re interested in it. Maybe the issue here isn’t really about “dengarlah cakap orang ni kalau nak bahagia”, but you know, just in case kau betul-betul dah boleh bahagia, I hope you remember all the storms and rains you ever had before. That is what keeps you alive. A base line you have already established as a reference – so that when something turns out wrong, you will remember that line and how you cannot cross it.
Last night was cool – had that kind of relaxing conversation with him as we meditated on stuff happening in our life. Nothing more than mentioning about how thankful we both are for all the little things we keep forgetting about, the time-lapse that seems too superfluous and his preposterous jokes on me being shy. It was far from my expectation, the moment I let him in for the things I am not supposed to relinquish. Yet thinking how something inadequate can take me to an obscure level out of the darkness rooted in my heart. Even my words are getting complex now, no?
Every time I told him how disappointed I was to have insecurities guarding up these walls, he would always try to bring them down. So I woke up today realizing how mediocre my excuses were when he asked me when’s the last time you talk to your parents?
Because today, my favorite hero turns 49.
—-
For many years, I admit that I don’t have something joyful about childhood pasted in my mind. Truth is, I wanted to erase them off in any possible ways but it appeared to be much worse. Perhaps it is easier to leave anything behind for something new or something I want to set my eyes on or something I find more interesting. You know, in any palpable form you can imagine about. Anything.
But when it comes to feelings or memories – I wish I were a better lover, daughter, and friend. I wish I would know my late Mom more than feel regret. Because more often than not, I dispute this major feeling when it reminds me of Dad (or my late Mom) – a feeling that can likely wake me up from being sinful – for I am just a loser, a failure to them in essence.
Dad defines my source of strength, always. He’s supportive, protective and any other adjectives I can’t even use to describe his whole existence in this writing, yet I’m feeling beyond content to have him as part of this story-telling. His presence or the idea of whom he is to me reminds me of everything we as a family had gone through over many years.
It wasn’t easy switching from a single father of five to a teacher for hundreds of students at one time. I didn’t know that – never imagined how it feels like to think and act as an adult – until Dad remarried another amazing woman (Mom) and it somehow changed my perspectives, beliefs, and reliance ever since. My sister and I were sent to a boarding school and it became a major turning point in my life. Dad was glad for that, of course, expecting us to be as bold as him while we only made things harder to deal with. Yeah, I survived the hell for five years, at last. If I could turn back Time, I would like to tell my younger self to take back all the words that’d hurt them. I really wish I could.
My blog touches more about my personal stuff than the informative ones if you doubt the things I have ever put here. It is not about how deliberately particular myself is to keep going with what I have in my head to reach my readers’ expectations, yet I admit that I have my own ups and downs in writing all along.
I am always committed to saying “writing is not really my forte” but the truth is, I would rather speak my mind in words than be loud in front of many people. I am not someone with many words in real life. If I can fit into this skin to deliver such thoughts without being told by society to do the otherwise, it would not hit me any guilty at all to receive comments to either help my writing grows or get it ruined. It is all about perspective.
In my first post, I was writing about how everyone can be a better writer if we keep practicing more and more to encourage ourselves being outside the comfort zone. Although I can go far without being someone who writes under the bed, it is common sense to concede that everyone can be good at something. I have been doing not so great on blogger for about 6 years now if I can recall it correctly – I started off in November 2010. Well, you did expect that my parents would let me rant about “how suck my Art teacher is when I am in Standard 4”, didn’t you? Never mind, you can do the Math yourself. I was so into blogging once realizing I had some of my friends on blogger too. There is nothing to brag about it but what else to say knowing that at least we had something in common?
It was obviously a phenomenon back then. Just until the SPM year came, I guess blogging is not my priority anymore. The passion only lasted for about three years and I can assure you that I keep changing and deleting blogs for no apparent reasons. Just like TayTay and her never ending break-ups. I think I still got my blog updated for a few times when I was in my Foundation year but I only made the blog accessible to a few people. If I could pick one label for my posts, it would be an honor to put them all under the “bullshits you do not wish to read” category. You already figured it out. I cannot actually get them deleted but I can pretend that I did.
Berita Harian Blogger Remaja – 18 May ago
I do not know whom would I sing my gratitude to other than my family. My parents inspire me to get better ideas on what writing and drawing are all about – albeit the only thing I have achieved so far is being cynical towards something that could not satisfy my skyrocketed curiosity. You do not wish to know what kind of statement it would be, but you get the idea, right? My Dad sees the potential in me and my sister so he keeps supporting us to produce creative stuff or get involved in a business – I disagree with Dad most of the time because of time constraint, also, we need partners for that – but I could not see myself more than a loser.
We always had a nice talk over dinner. I looked and smiled at him to each time he told me that at one point in our life, we all need to invest our creativity into something that is priceless yet affordable for others to have. Make people happy, he reminded me. At least it does not really bother me enjoying the things that I do for such a long time and I am not really looking forward to making money from there. If I am getting myself promoted that means I am open not only for opportunities but challenges as well. The pressure I am struggling to overcome make me wide awake, just nope, optimistic is not my middle name.
After a few months hiatus, I decided to make a move in August 2015. Therefore, here I am having time to still write something redundant for myself. Magenta – one of the people whom I always look up to – has helped me in many ways I could not attempt to be as a better-than-you writer. You may say that our minds are incompatible to the ways we both write about stuff, yet her blog is probably the main reason why I wanted to start fresh besides learning how to speak for myself.
It is clear to see I am not that smartass kid in the class and gets famous for the things I know, so I am open to honeyed words or criticisms to everything I post here. I am aware that we cannot control the reactions from people, but honestly, sometimes it leaves me hanging when people tend to think that “agree to disagree” is the dumbest thing they can do or react online. Disagree does not always mean you throw tantrums at people or tell them to dismiss from the discussion rudely. God – it sucks when people think they are proof (read: kalis) from any criticisms. Newton’s third law, say no more. Formally stated, Newton’s third law is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The trope is so cliche but geez you get the meaning, right?
Yes, we do have our limits. There is nothing wrong with being mediocre and keeping some things to ourselves, but saying yes to everything is not okay too. I do not wish to touch on the right and privilege stuff anyway. If you have a preconceived idea of what disagree or agree on means, you know what to do then.
I am thinking that maybe – at least for the moment I am letting this slip out of my mind – I should just stay away from my dreams for a while. Not that I declare it as something I already gave up from nor do I want to press any subject into matters, apart from knowing this is just the aftermath I have reluctantly wished for putting myself in this balderdash. Unless it is something I can wait – for it to happen the way I want it to be – I must confess the dumbest ways it might just turn out wrong. Even worse, my actions are agreeing to how patently absurd it is to say I can be all the things I said in my late night prayers. “When was the last time you went off to meditate on the guilty you had inside?” My mind asking me as if I am a saint who doesn’t need her temple around in any form but I just can’t stop playing Lana Del Ray’s in my head. God – should I laugh at my temptation to get these shady feelings cobwebbed in the small box under my dusty bed?
I should not feel this exhausted because I am trying to convince myself it sure would be a hella tough semester all along – I do not know – but there are lots more to come. I went to settle the documents for JPA this morning then got back for my English class at 1630 with a horrible face – God how could I describe and complaint about the “things” I see every day on my face? Perhaps one can tell it by looking at my panda eyes. Just cannot show it here though. Thankfully, everything went well for everyone despite some errors made on the papers – yes, my papers – and I gotta pretend that I was all right without my parents to scold me for the things I did wrong. At least, I was silently praying they were there to help me see things clearly while I was just too dumb to ask people my doubts. Growing up, that fears me most. You see, I could not even depend on myself now when my parents are not around, that worries me too, although I am not going to let them baby myself for something like this. I do not think I have issues with asking questions or sitting in the front row.
Ini ditulis bukanlah sebagai rujukan untuk sesiapa. I found this quite interesting to read – though I may not know how exactly the letters were originally written in Dutch, yet the one I read interprets it for me how she wrote it very thoughtful and beautiful. How can one not be impressed for a woman at the turn of 20th century to really have thoughts like woman nowadays? Unfortunately, she died at the very young age of 25 after giving birth to her first born child. The story doesn’t end up there, banyak lagi hal-hal yang terjadi setelah itu di mana kesukaran Kyai untuk menterjemahkan Quran pada waktu pemerintahan Belanda. I know this will be slow-going but I’m still trying to finish my reading. |
Tag Archives: Connecticut
There have been 182 days since America woke up to the mind-numbing violence that erupted on Newtown, Connecticut. Six months have passed since politicians fell all over themselves trying to find the nearest camera, the nearest microphone to extend their deepest, heartfelt sympathies to the families of the 26 victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School and to promise that they would do whatever possible to make sure that the senseless tragedy never occurred again. In that six months many things have happened, most showing the worst side of Americans, our unwillingness to work together to actually do something to reduce the senseless deaths, our willingness to write-off the lives of 10,000 Americans each and every year.
In that six months – just 182 days – we have over 5,000 more dead to add to the Butcher’s Bill, over 5,000 people whose future stopped cold because of gun violence. And this past six months were not exceptionally violent, not a spike in the “normal” course of murder, manslaughter, accidents and suicides. And it is that “normal” that is so appalling. We have, as a society allowed, each year over 10,000 people to die from gun violence and another 20,000 suicides with firearms to become an acceptable reality. And more important, it is the WHY we have allowed it that is so reprehensible.
When any discussion of deaths, and ways to slow it down bubble to the top of the national zeitgeist Americans tend to step up with great support to do everything in our power to stop, or at least slow down the number of deaths. You cannot begin to count the number of organizations and grassroots groups who fight cancer, to stop its relentless killing. When a disease like Muscular Dystrophy cuts down children, society does everything it can to just make it stop. Since 1952 Jerry Lewis helped raise over $2,000,000,000 [that’s TWO BILLION] for research in MD cures.
When deaths from automobile accidents exceeded 50,000 per year in 1966, the public, government, and industry began to work on solving that deadly problem. They enacted legislation to require seat belts, to install collapsible steering columns, remove steel dashboards, make interiors of cars safer, redesign frames and bodies of cars to burn off the energy from a crash, rather than push all that energy to the occupants. As a result, with a population that has added 120 million, we have reduced deaths to under 33,000 per year and dropping. That success occurs as Americans now drive over 3,000,000,000,000 [THREE TRILLION] miles per year…three times what was driven in 1966. Further, because of the actions of MADD, deaths from drunk driving have fallen from over 60% to just over 35% in a 30 year period, due to a determined legislative and public perception campaign to stop drunks from killing on the highways.
But the attitude about deaths from gun violence is strikingly different. Many Americans don’t react the same way to these thousands of deaths per year. They quickly respond “it happens” or “it is the price for freedom” or “guns don’t kill people, people do” or “gun owners are responsible”…all an attempt to rationalize that they care more about their hobby than they do about 30,000 lives a year being lost to gun violence. Now, they will scream Second Amendment to the top of their lungs but it boils down, by the end of each debate that they just don’t want changes to the status quo, don’t want to be inconvenienced by that additional 10 minutes required to do a background check on ALL weapon sales. They argue that gun owners are responsible, never mind that responsible gun owners have over 240,000 guns stolen from their homes and cars each year which end up in the black market; that hundreds of children a year are killed or wounded by guns that they fail to properly stow. And more irrationally they argue that their guns are to defend against a tyrannical government, and that the Second Amendment is sacrosanct, though they would be really happy if you would kindly ignore that whole “well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State” part of the Second because it really, REALLY throws a curve ball into their argument.
It has been a hard six month as we look at gun violence. Included in the over 5,000 killed by gun violence are attacks at 10 schools including Lone Star State and the University of Central Florida, and we have had spree killings throughout the country including Orange County, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Nevada.
Those are seven instances of children dying from gun violence in the past six months. If I wanted to be thorough I would provide links to the 268 teens who have been killed or the 94 children under 12 who have died since Sandy Hook.
The response from those who support the intractable National Rifle Association’s position on guns are always the same…”It happens”, “Guns don’t kill people…” and the most appalling…”It is the price of freedom”. It is embarrassing that, in a 21st Century society we still have people who have such a disregard for life, that prefer a selfish, narcissistic approach that THEIR hobby is more important than the lives of 10,000 cut down by gun violence each year.
We as a society are better than this. We are better than the callous folks who just blow off unnecessary deaths because of their inconvenience and in reality an endless propaganda machine that is the NRA. The NRA has so brainwashed many of these folks with their constant “they are coming to get our guns” that the supporters simply kneejerk and parrot their responses rather than realize that the NRA is winding them up to get more and more money from them, to support their lobbying efforts for the gun industry.
In six months, Congress has done nothing. That’s not exactly true. Congresspersons have taken in millions of dollars from the NRA and its PAC the NRA/ILA for their re-election campaigns, monies supplied by the gun industry and members.
What they have not done, however is provide comprehensive, bipartisan solutions to begin to reduce the number of deaths from gun violence. As supporters of the NRA will tell you, gun deaths are down, and they are. What they won’t tell you is the drop began as the Brady Bill and later NICS were implemented. But, much like that annoying “well regulated Militia…” clause in the Second Amendment, facts get in the way of a good dose of fear and paranoia.
The Rise of Grassroots Action
And one last thing that seems to be very important in this past six months. While our Congresspersons have failed America, failed to build consensus solutions to save lives from gun violence, the public has shown that they have had enough. Grassroots campaigns and social media groups have banded together to push for solutions. When folks who support sensible gun laws lost one battle in April, where Congress could not even pass a simple bill to strengthen background checks so felons and the mentally ill can’t buy guns a funny thing happened. They didn’t fold…in fact they strengthened and grew. From groups like Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns to Jim Brady’s Brady Campaign to Gabby Gifford’s Americans for Responsible Solutions to the very grassroots Occupy the NRA and It Can Happen Here and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the voices are getting louder, more organized, more united.
The voice is clear…We as a society are better than this. We will not stop until solutions are in place.
Previously Published 6/14 on LiberalAmerica.Org and ItCanHappenHere on Facebook.
______________________________________________________
McAllister is a life long liberal, environmentalist, Eagle Scout, and even gun owner – born in Harlan, Kentucky and has lived in Southern California, New York City and now resides in Lexington, Kentucky as a Systems Analyst. |
Rayford Barnes (October 23, 1920 - November 11, 2000) was an American film and TV character actor from Whitesboro, Texas who appeared in films, mainly westerns, such as Hondo, The Young Guns, The Burning Hills, The Wild Bunch, Fort Massacre, and Cahill U.S. |
Geothermal Energy Association
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) is a U.S. trade organization composed of U.S. companies who support the expanded use of geothermal energy and are developing geothermal resources worldwide for electrical power generation and direct-heat uses. GEA advocates for public policies that will promote the development and utilization of geothermal resources, provides a forum for the industry to discuss issues and problems, encourages research and development to improve geothermal technologies, presents industry views to governmental organizations, provides assistance for the export of geothermal goods and services, compiles statistical data about the geothermal industry, and conducts education and outreach projects.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., GEA represents the U.S. geothermal energy industry in congressional lobbying efforts, compiles and publishes data relating the geothermal installations and the state of the industry, represents the industry to the media and the general public, and hosts conferences and workshops for its member companies.
The Executive Director of GEA is Karl Gawell.
See also
Geothermal Resources Council
American Council on Renewable Energy
Geothermal electricity
Geothermal energy in the United States
List of notable renewable energy organizations
Renewable energy in the United States
References
External links
Geothermal Energy Association
Category:Geothermal energy
Category:Trade associations based in the United States
Category:Geothermal energy in the United States
Category:Renewable energy organizations based in the United States |
Q:
mysql sorting by desc and ignore alphabet
I am making a chat that uses MySQL as a database. I am sorting the results of my query but its going down or up by alphabet and I don't want mysql to be sorting, I just want it to be like a description or something like that. Here is my code:
Retrieval code
Try
MySqlConn.Open()
ListBoxChatContent.Items.Clear()
Dim Query As String
Query = "select * from sysinfo.chatcontent order by chatcontent DESC"
MySqlCmd = New MySqlCommand(Query, MySqlConn)
MySqlRea = MySqlCmd.ExecuteReader
While MySqlRea.Read
Dim chatcontenttext = MySqlRea.GetString("chatcontent")
ListBoxChatContent.Items.Add(chatcontenttext)
End While
TextBoxChatText.Text = ""
MySqlConn.Close()
Catch ex As MySqlException
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
Finally
MySqlConn.Dispose()
End Try
Submit code
Try
MySqlConn.Open()
Dim Query As String
Query = "insert into sysinfo.chatcontent (chatcontent) values ('" & LabelLoggedIn.Text + LabelLoggedInSC.Text + TextBoxChatText.Text & "')"
MySqlCmd = New MySqlCommand(Query, MySqlConn)
MySqlRea = MySqlCmd.ExecuteReader
MySqlConn.Close()
Catch ex As Exception
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
Finally
MySqlConn.Dispose()
End Try
chatload()
As you can see I tried to do order by DESC. Now its going down which is good BUT when I submit text its sorting like alphabet by descending. I dont want it to be sorting I want it to be like a real description. Here is example how it looks:
c text 3
a text 1
b text 2
And i want it to be like this:
a text 1
b text 2
c text 3
d text 4
c text 5
a text 6...
How do I do that? I hope you understand. I am a beginner with MySQL.
Solved the mysql problem kinda now the listbox is sorting,
A:
Solved: i did mysql order by id soo mysql wont be sorting text. listbox had sorted option on true now its set to false. Thanks Nate Barbettini for solving my problem.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2017
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced today national punter Josh Bartel has signed an extension to remain with the team through 2019.
Bartel has spent two of his four CFL seasons with the Green and White after entering the league with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012. The Australian-born punter was originally acquired by the Riders prior to the 2014 season. After sitting out the 2015 season, the 31-year-old returned to Saskatchewan for 2016.
Last year, Bartel had 134 punts for 6,046 yards (45.1 average) with an 86-yard long and four singles while leading the league with 18 punts finishing inside the opposition’s 10-yard line.
Through 67 regular-season games, Bartel has totaled 469 punts for 20,566 yards (43.9 average) and 15 singles. He was named an East Division All-Star in 2012 and 2013.
Jim Popp and Marc Trestman have been hired to lead a new era of Argos Football, President and CEO Michael Copeland announced at a media conference at BMO Field today.
Popp becomes the Argos’ 19th General Manager and Trestman its 43rd Head Coach.
“I am thrilled to introduce Jim Popp and Marc Trestman as the ideal leaders to bring excitement, success, and pride back to Argos football,” Copeland said. “Since the start of this process, we targeted individuals who have experience in establishing winning cultures and programs. With Jim and Marc, we have hired the absolute best in the business. They are consistent winners, exceptional leaders, and fierce competitors.”
As a General Manager in the CFL, Popp has won four Grey Cups (1995 with Baltimore, 2002, 2009 and 2010 with Montreal) and has appeared in 10. He ranks second in all-time wins by a GM with 254. Popp was the General Manager and Vice-President of Football Operations for the Montreal Alouettes from 1996 to 2016, and led the Alouettes to 10 first place finishes, eight East Division Championships and three Grey Cups. Named the 2011 Sports Media Canada Executive of the Year, Popp brings with him a wealth of CFL experience.
“I am honoured to join a franchise with such a rich history of winning and look forward to doing everything in my power to build on that,” Popp said. “My first order of business as the Argos’ General Manager was to hire a head coach that will lead us to championships. There is no one more capable than Marc Trestman to bring the Grey Cup back to Toronto. He is a proven winner, and the ultimate leader.”
Trestman was Head Coach of the Alouettes from 2008 to 2012, appearing in three Grey Cups and winning two (2009 and 2010). He ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage by a head coach. He led the Als to four division titles and five playoff appearances during his five-year term. Trestman was named the 2009 CFL Coach of the Year, and in 2013 left the Alouettes to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears. He was originally brought to the CFL by Popp after a long and successful career in the NFL and NCAA in various coaching positions.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be the Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts,” said Trestman. “We have a special opportunity to re-establish a winning culture for this storied franchise. I am humbled by this organization’s history of winning. But most importantly, I am motivated by it. I can’t wait to get started.”
“From the outset, we’ve set our sights on playing dominant and exciting football, and winning championships,” Copeland stated. “Popp and Trestman will provide the vision, experience and leadership required to reach these goals.”
Monday, February 27, 2017
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed national receiver Mitchell Baines.
Baines (6’2 – 215) joins the Green and White after spending the last five seasons at the University of Ottawa. The 25-year-old Ottawa native played 29 career collegiate games with the Gee-Gees, registering 125 receptions for 1,889 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Last season, Baines was named a Second Team U Sports All-Canadian and First Team OUA All-Star after leading the nation with 65 receptions and 984 yards – averaging 123 yards per game – while ranking third with eight touchdown catches.
Forsberg led all skaters in goals and points (8-2—10 in 4 GP), including back-to-back hat tricks, as the Predators gained seven of a possible eight standings points to improve their record to 31-22-9 (71 points), third in the Central Division. On Feb. 21, Forsberg recorded his third career hat trick in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames and followed it up with another three-goal performance, including the winning goal, in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 23. In doing so,
Forsberg became the first player in franchise history to record hat tricks in consecutive games and the first NHL player to achieve the feat since Vancouver’s Alexandre Burrows on Jan. 5 and Jan. 7, 2010. Forsberg closed out the week with one goal and two assists in a 5-2 triumph over the Washington Capitals on Feb. 25 and one goal in a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 26. The 22-year-old Ostervala, Sweden, native leads the Predators in goals and sits second on the team in points with 24-22—46 in 62 games.
SECOND STAR – JONATHAN TOEWS, C, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Toews recorded multi-point efforts in each of the Blackhawks three games (4-5—9) as Chicago won all three contests to improve their overall record to 39-18-5 (83 points), second in the Central Division. On Feb. 21, Toews matched career highs for goals (3) and points (5) in a game, including the winning tally, in a 5-3 victory over the Central Division-leading Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks captain then notched two assists in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 23 before closing out the week with one goal and one assist in a 4-2 triumph over the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 26. The 28-year-old Winnipeg, Man., native is currently riding a six-game point streak (5-8—13).
THIRD STAR – JOHNNY GAUDREAU, LW, CALGARY FLAMES
Gaudreau recorded eight points (2-6—8) in four road victories to propel the Flames (33-26-4, 70 points) to the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference. He began the week with four assists in a 6-5 OT win over the Nashville Predators Feb. 21. On Feb. 23, he recorded one assist in a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning before being held off the scoresheet in a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Feb. 24. Gaudreau finished the week with two goals and one assist, including the winner, in a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 26. A 23-year-old native of Salem, N.J., Gaudreau sits second in Flames scoring with 43 points (13-30—43) in 53 games.
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(NHL Media)
THE CANADIAN QB CONUNDRUM - When will a Canadian quarterback do something of substance in the CFL and how do we get it to happen? That is the topic being discussed again after University of Montreal coach Danny Maciocia said this week the CFL needs to adjust its ratio rules allowing for the development of Canadian QB's. It's nothing we haven't heard of before. The question is how much longer until the CFL acts and does something. It would be nice to see the coaches and GM's lobby the league on this effort to get the ball moving, but that isn't happening. There are good CIS quarterbacks out there, there are good CIS quarterbacks who have played, and there are good CIS quarterbacks coming up through the country. Sadly, 99.5 percent of them have no shot at getting meaningful reps in the Canadian game. That isn't right.
I won't sit here and tell you quarterbacks like Regina's Noah Picton, McMaster's Asher Hastings, UBC's Michael O'Connor and Ottawa's Derek Wendel should be starters because they aren't at that level, but they are good enough to be on a CFL roster. All credit goes to the Stampeders for keeping Andrew Buckley around. With Drew Tate moving onto Ottawa, some wonder if Buckley has a chance to back up Bo Levi Mitchell. Why not? He knows the system and he knows the Canadian game. Calgary is developing Buckley the way other teams should around the league. These guys just need a chance.
Why waste an import (sorry, an international) on a 3rd string quarterback when you could give it to a Canadian QB? I am all for a rule change on this matter because it is good for the CFL. I'm not saying every Canadian university football program has a QB who can move on to the next level, but several are being ignored and that has to stop. The sooner the better.
That being said, I love the fact CFL Week next month will showcase Canada West QB's in a passing competition. I don't know why it is for first and second year players, and I don't know why all USports Canada schools are given an opportunity to send QB's here, but maybe it's a start.
HOMAN WINS THE SCOTTIES - She might have been wearing Manitoba colours, but I think Saskatchewan curling fans for the most part were cheering for Michelle Englot as the week went on in St. Catharines. Sunday's final was outstanding, and had Rachel Homan lost she would have no one to blame but herself as she made several very questionable calls including the one at the end, but in the end, she made the shots necessary to end what was an outstanding season by Michelle validating every move she made in the winter. I thought she was going to pull it out, and I think a lot of us in Saskatchewan did too. DAMN! As the L-P's Murray McCormick put on Twitter, the award for best drama on Sunday night went to the Scotties final. It was tremendous!
By the way, judging by Michelle's Twitter account. She was taking the loss well.....
This has to get her a sponsorship from Fireball doesn't it?
THE PATS MOUNT RUSHMORE - When the Regina Pats start play in the 2018 Memorial Cup, who will be here when it comes to alumni to be celebrated. I would think with the 100th year of the team happening next season that there will be a strong link to the many greats who have worn the Pats crest on their chest over the years, but as is usually the case at the Memorial Cup, what players will be trotted out to center ice during the tournament for ceremonial puck-drops. I would think Clark Gillies and Ed Staniowski are a given. I would think Jordan Eberle would be here too unless he is still playing with the Oilers or whoever. Who else? There are oh-so-many to choose from. Would Adam Brooks make it? What about a Garth Butcher or a Barret Jackman? Jock Callander and Dale Derkatch never had NHL careers, but their performance in Pats uniforms were something Regina hockey fans cherished. Get that debate going. You've got basically 15 months to make the argument for and against.
HMMMMM - Satellite radio is the best. Being able to listen to ESPN Radio, the Dan Patrick show, the Rich Eisen Show along with NHL, NFL and MLB Radio are outstanding. It really is outstanding when there is talk about issues close to home as was the case Saturday afternoon.. NHL Radio was discussing the young Toronto Maple Leafs and what they will do come the trade deadline. There is a thought process out there the Leafs are going to trade William Nylander, but many are wondering why seeing he is considered as one of their young guns. It was rationalized the reason why might be the play of Adam Brooks. There is apparently a thought process in T-O that Brooks could be a full time Leaf by this time next year as he will spend half a year with the Marlies and then get the call. Nothing against Adam, but I will believe that when I see it as Mike Babcock usually takes his time with prospects in the minors. I do think we will see Brooks playing on Saturday nights in the near future and that he will be one of the pieces in the Leafs turn-around. FWIW, the talking heads Saturday also mentioned it would be beneficial for the Avalanche and Tyson Jost to come to Regina next year to play in a Memorial Cup season. I agree!
BISHOP TO THE KINGS - I haven't quite wrapped my head around this one yet. Yes, Tampa gets rid of a salary that likely means they can now keep Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson, but L-A. They just got Jonathan Quick back, and Peter Budaj did a helluva job holding down the fort in his absence. During Saturday's game against Anaheim, they were saying Budaj might be the Kings MVP this year. While Bishop provides insurance for Quick, I gotta wonder of LA GM Dean Lombardi made this move to keep Bishop out of Calgary. The Flames are in a playoff spot despite shaky goaltending, and getting Bishop likely puts them in at the expense of the Kings. Why do I get this feeling if LA gets in, they will be a very tough out again this year.
BACK IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY - The University of Regina Cougars womens basketball team are going to another Canada West final four.
Dave Taylor has his team one step away (one big step) from another berth at the national championship. While Saturday's decisive Game 2 win was a little more difficult than anticipated, once Katie Polischuk and crew turned it up a notch, Trinity Western was unable to handle it as Regina moves on to the conference championship in Saskatoon next weekend where they will play a very tough Winnipeg team with the winner likely taking on the defending national champion Huskies for the conference title. Both teams will go to the national championship despite the result in the final and the bronze medal team may get in as well.
This team isn't as strong as other Cougar teams in the past, but they are still very good and they are still a legitimate threat to not only win Canada West, but go to Victoria and bring the program its 2nd national title. A roadie to Saskatoon may be in the works for next weekend. If not, thank goodness for Canada West TV..
Cougar Athletics also trotted out a video board for this weekend's games. It looked great with word being what was seen on the weekend will be back only on a much bigger scale. It gives the games a better look in the gym. Well done!
DUHHHH - During Saturday night's HNIC doubleheader, Patrick Marleau's name came up with the talk being A) How much longer does he have before retiring and B) Is he a hall of famer. I don't know about A as he is 37, but B is a no brainer with the answer being yes. The only thing he is missing is a Stanley Cup and god knows, he was on enough San Jose teams capable of winning one only to falter come playoff time. He has 500 career goals, he has 1000 career points, he has I believe a World Junior gold, he has Olympic gold. He fits the criteria in this guy's books.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
He's traded in his cleats for a tool bag, studies wiring diagrams
instead of play books and slings copper cable instead of leather
footballs.
The only time Jordan Yantz is still a quarterback is when he plays
flag football in Regina, where teams are constantly asking him to be
their “ringer.”
“I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the game,” Yantz, working as a
Level 2 apprentice electrician, was saying over the phone, Friday. “It
sucks not playing.”
Like virtually every other Canadian university quarterback, the
former Manitoba Bison's dream of playing professionally was sacked
before it got any traction.
Yantz got into two training camps in B.C. while playing junior ball
there and a couple in Winnipeg with the Bombers. Each time he got a,
“Thanks for coming out.”
Depending on whom you ask, the lack of Canadians in the most
important position on the field is either bordering on criminal or an
unavoidable fact of life.
A league that mandates 20 Canadians on every roster, seven of them
starters, hasn't had a homegrown star at quarterback in nearly 50 years.
The last, Russ Jackson, retired in 1969.
There are currently two Canadian quarterbacks on CFL rosters – Andrew
Buckley in Calgary and Brandon Bridge in Saskatchewan -- and that's two
more than there were in many of those intervening years.
How to change that, and develop the next Jackson, is something CFL types have been wrestling with for years.
Former CFL head coach Danny Maciocia, now coaching the University of
Montreal, says it's time the league adjusts its ratio rules and forces
teams to carry a Canadian.
“They’ve got to step forward and show some leadership on this issue,” Maciocia told the web site lastwordoncanadianfootball.com.
CFL rules say if you start a Canadian quarterback, it doesn't count
towards the seven mandated starting Canadians each team must field.
That seems to provide a disincentive for teams to try out Canadians.
But Winnipeg GM Kyle Walters says it's a moot point, that forcing
teams to place a Canadian at the No. 3 position would end up being
little more than window dressing.
“You can mandate this, but you can't mandate to (coaches), 'Get him
reps in practice.' They're going to want to play the best guy,” Walters
said. “And training camps are so short. We're trying to figure out if
Dom Davis has a future, and where's Dan LeFevour at – let alone
mandating that this Canadian kid's going to be the No. 3 quarterback.”
There may be one or two Canadian kids good enough, but not one for every team.
Walters says most teams would have a third quarterback from the vast
talent pool down south waiting on the practice roster, ready to leapfrog
the Canadian in the event of an injury.
This coming from a Canadian GM who used to coach university ball and
who'd love to find a way to develop homegrown signal-callers.
“Everybody's on board that of course it's a good idea,” Walters said. “Ok, how? And no one can come up with it.”
One idea is to reward teams that dress a Canadian with an extra American on the roster.
“Every team would do that,” Walters said. “We'd dress you as the
third-string quarterback. In principle, that's great. And everybody
would see Jordan Yantz standing on the sideline. If that's what you want
to do just for the sake of appearance, by all means.
“I don't think that does anything for the development of Canadian quarterbacks.”
Unless they come to camp already better than their American
competition, which rarely happens, they'll be little more than
public-relations passers.
The presence of Buckley in Calgary is interesting.
The former star at the University of Calgary, a two-time Hec Crighton
winner as the best player in the country, earned a role as the
Stampeders' short-yardage and goal-line quarterback.
Still just 23, Buckley scored eight touchdowns as a rookie, tying a 54-year-old record for most rushing majors in a season.A record set by Jackson.
“He got in a few pre-season games and put a drive together and next
thing you know he's scoring a touchdown in the Grey Cup,” Yantz said of
his old college opponent. “It's times like that where I kind of kick
myself and say, 'Damn, I wish I was in his shoes, or was given the
opportunity to be able to do that.' It's about timing.”
Buckley's timing in Calgary might be even better this year: the
Stamps traded Drew Tate to Ottawa, leaving the No. 2 position open
behind starter Bo Levi Mitchell.
Welcome to Friday! Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my
muddled mind, and as always they come in no particular order.
--Regina lost a true great this week. Gord Currie was a great football coach, a great educator and a tremendous man. The words of wisdom that he gave to many in this community will not be forgottten by those he spoke to. Many that played with him for the Rams know what type of individual he was as he shaped them to be the person they are today. His departure leaves a big hole in our community.
--We are in the homestretch of the WHL season, and it is safe to say someone has some explaining to do in the scheduling department.
Wednesday night's Pats game in Saskatoon was the end of a 5 game roadie which saw them play 6 games in 9 days in 6 different cities. On the March 3 weekend, they will play three games in three days with that third one being an afternoon game in Brandon. That's insane! I realize the league tries to do things in mind with keeping education at the forefront, but what the Pats are going through right now is just stupid as far as I am concerned. I am sure if I looked at other teams I could find anomalies in their schedule too.
--Since when did NHL goalies become unable to play back-to-back nights? Several times this year I have heard coaches say they didn't want their guy playing on back-to-back nights because of the toll it would take on them. I'm sure the legendary Glenn Hall laughs at that when he played over 800 consecutive games. Goalies do need nights off, but I think its OK if you play them in back-to-back games.
--I have said before I think its ridiculous when a guy gets laid out in open ice with a hard, clean check that he then has to drop the mitts and stand up for himself as someone comes in. The idea was floated out this week on NHL Radio that if a player comes after someone for delivering what is a clean check, he should be given a 10 minute misconduct and a game misconduct. I could not agree more!
--The Seattle Seahawks held a media combine this week for you know whats and giggles. I can truly hope the Saskatchewan Roughriders do not try to do the same thing. Then again, training camp is in Saskatoon and I won't be there so go ahead and do it up there.
--The Arizona Coyotes told their fans to stop doing the wave. 1) God bless the Arizona Coyotes and 2) They have fans??
--Baseball is back!!
--FS1 is getting rid of Jay and Dan. ????? How that network can release those two and keep Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe around is beyond explanation. I can't see it being much longer till TSN snaps them back up. Would they go in where Dutchy and Hedger are or would they take over their old slot and bump Kate and Natasha. Can they go head to head against Tim and Sid doing the same type of show and rid of us of those two? For that matter, would they go to Sportsnet? No matter where they go, many Canadians will follow including this guy.
--Thank you Chris Best!
--It may only be one win, but Penny Barker has one at the Scotties. It has been a tough week for the Moose Jaw rink, but at least she can take one positive away from the week. Maybe she can finish things off with another "W" today to finish off round-robin. As for Michelle Englot, she just continues to roll along. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her game as this week has shown. I'm not betting against her in the playoffs.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Gord Currie, a legendary coach, teacher and Saskatchewan politician, has died at the age of 93.
Currie is best known for being a football coach.
He was the head coach of the Balfour Redmen high school football team leading them to eight provincial titles including six in a row from 1959-65.
During his time at Balfour, the team won 40 straight games at one point.
After leaving Balfour, Currie became the head coach of the Regina Rams and had as much success with them as he did with Balfour.
During his tenure, the Rams won 109 of their 136 games, one Alberta Junior League Championship, eight Manitoba-Saskatchewan League Championships, seven Western Canadian Junior Championships and six Canadian Championships. The final national crown coming in his last game in 1976.
Currie also spent time in politics as the Conservative MLA for the riding of Regina-Wascana and spent time in cabinet as the province’s minister of Advanced Education and Science and Technology.
He was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1979, and was enshrined in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced today national offensive lineman Chris Best is retiring from the Canadian Football League.
Best is a veteran of 10 CFL seasons and played 114 career regular-season games after making his Rider debut July 8th, 2007. The Calgary native was originally selected by the Green and White in the first round, fourth overall, of the 2005 CFL Draft after spending four seasons at Duke University before transferring to the University of Waterloo to obtain his Masters in 2007.
Best also played in seven career playoff games and three Grey Cup games, winning in 2007 and 2013. He was named the Riders’ Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2011.
"I want to thank the Roughriders and entire province of Saskatchewan for everything they have done for me. It’s been an incredible privilege to play for the Roughriders for the past 10 years,” said Chris Best. “I want to give a special thanks to my coaches, teammates, and especially Rider fans for your continuous support over the years.”
The 33-year-old Best, his wife Emily, and their daughter Libby have made Regina their home.
Women’s Basketball (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 3) – The Cougars host a best-of-three conference quarterfinal series against Trinity Western starting on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the Canada West Final Four next weekend. Regina and the Spartans will tip off at 7 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, with the same start time set for Saturday if a third and deciding game is required. The two teams met twice in Langley in late November, with Regina taking 57-51 and 85-47 wins.
Track & Field – The Cougars host the 2017 Canada West Track & Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at the Regina Fieldhouse. Events are scheduled for 2:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 11:00 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The women’s team is led by fifth-year athlete Joy Becker, who enters the meet ranked first in the conference in both the 60-metre dash and the long jump and second in the triple jump. Reagan Fedak is also ranked first in Canada West in the weight throw, while the men’s squad features No. 1-ranked Tevaughn Campbell (60-metre dash) and the top-ranked 4x400-metre relay team.
Swimming – The Cougars are in Quebec preparing for the 2017 U SPORTS Swimming Championships, which will be hosted from Friday through Sunday by the Université de Sherbrooke. Noah Choboter, Mitchell Hebert, Jong Hoon Lee, Brian Palaschuk, and Noah Wasyliw will all represent the men’s team, while Kendall Horan, Georgia Kaluznick, Lexy King, and Eva Madar qualified on the women’s side.
Men’s Basketball – The Cougars’ season ended in the Canada West play-in round with a series loss to Manitoba last weekend. The Bisons won Game 1 by a 94-84 score, then held off a late U of R rally for an 88-80 series-clinching win in Game 2. Travis Sylvestre and Matthew Augustine both had strong games in the final U SPORTS games of their careers, with Sylvestre scoring 13 points and Augustine ending up with nine points and three assists.
Women’s Hockey – The U of R lost out in the Canada West quarterfinals last weekend at Saskatchewan, losing a pair of hard-fought battles by scores of 4-3 and 2-1. Merissa Zerr, Tamara McVannel, and Jaycee Magwood all scored in Game 1, while Jolene Kirkpatrick provided the offence in Game 2. The series marked the final times in a U of R uniform for fifth-year players Kylie Gavelin, Alexis Larson, Krista Metz, and Meghan Sherven.
Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars closed out the 2016-17 season with a pair of Canada West losses at Calgary, losing in straight sets both nights to finish the year with a 3-21 conference record. Taylor Ungar fell just short of setting a school single-season digs record, as she finished with 293 – just two behind Kelly Cowan’s record of 295 set during the 2006-07 season. Jenna Krahn and Molly Wade-Cummings both played their final matches for the U of R, with Wade-Cummings finishing third in school history with 280 blocks over her five seasons with the Cougars.
Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars finished the year at Calgary, losing to the Dinos in three sets on both Friday and Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym. Matthew Aubrey had 19 kills in the two matches as the rookie right side finishes the conference schedule with a team-leading 212 kills and an average of 2.68 kills per set. The Cougars could return their entire roster next season with the exception of fifth-year middle Nathan Wiggins.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
The
Ottawa REDBLACKS have acquired quarterback Drew Tate from the Calgary
Stampeders in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2018, the club
announced Tuesday.
Tate, 32, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Stampeders,
completing 380 of 572 passes for 4,670 yards and 32 touchdowns in 45
games. Frequently used in short yardage situations, Tate had a CFL-best
10 rushing touchdowns in 2014.
“It’s always paramount in the CFL to have at least two veteran
quarterbacks that you know you can win with,” said REDBLACKS Head Coach
Rick Campbell. “Drew is a proven performer in this league and we’re
happy to have him in Ottawa.”
The former Iowa Hawkeye has also spent time on the practice rosters
of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, who signed him as an undrafted free agent
in 2007, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed international defensive lineman Zach Minter.
Minter (6’2 – 300) joins the Riders after spending last season with the Calgary Stampeders where he picked up six defensive tackles and two quarterbacks sacks, starting three of five regular season games played.
The 26-year-old Montana State product spent the previous season with the B.C Lions after signing with the team in March, 2015. Starting seven of 10 regular season games, Minter registered 16 defensive tackles and three quarterback sacks.
Before coming to the CFL, Minter spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals during 2014. He signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in April, 2013 where he went on to play two regular season NFL games.
The team also confirmed the signings reported last week of WR Bakari Grant and LB Glenn Love
Laine led the NHL with five goals and eight points in four games to propel the Jets (28-29-5, 61 points) to seven out of a possible eight standings points. He recorded his third career hat trick, including the winning goal, in a 5-2 triumph over the Dallas Stars Feb. 14. In doing so, Laine became the first player in NHL history to register three hat tricks before his 19th birthday as well as the first rookie to collect three hat tricks in one season since 1992-93. He scored again in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Feb. 16. Laine then finished the week with consecutive multi-point efforts, notching 1-1—2 in a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 18 and two assists in a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators Feb. 19. The 18-year-old Tampere, Finland, native paces rookies with 52 points in 54 games this season and also shares third place in the entire NHL – as well as the rookie lead – with 28 goals.
SECOND STAR – NAZEM KADRI, C, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Kadri picked up points in each of his four games, totaling 4-2—6 to lift the Maple Leafs (27-20-11, 65 points) to a split of their four contests. He recorded 1-1—2, including the decisive goal, in a 7-1 victory over the New York Islanders Feb. 14. Kadri then scored twice, his fifth multi-goal outing of the season, in a 5-2 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets Feb. 15. He closed the week with one goal in a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators Feb. 18 and one assist in a 4-0 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes Feb. 19. The 26-year-old London, Ont., native already has established a career high with 24 goals in 58 appearances this season, while his 46 points are four shy of his personal best set in 2013-14 (20-30—50 in 78 GP).
THIRD STAR – CONNOR McDAVID, C, EDMONTON OILERS
McDavid continued his quest for the Art Ross Trophy, racking up 2-4—6 in three games to guide the Oilers (32-19-8, 72 points) to three straight wins. He began the week with two assists in a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes Feb. 14. McDavid then posted 1-2—3, his eighth three-point performance of the campaign, in a 6-3 triumph against the Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 16. He capped the week by scoring his 20th goal of 2016-17 in a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 18. The 20-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native paces the NHL with 47 assists and 67 points in 59 games this season.
IS IT 2018 YET? - As I saw Regina mayor Michael Fougere outside the Regina Pats dressing room on Sunday morning, I asked him if he was going to re-brand the city as Canada's Sports Capital. Why not? 2018 is going to be a very busy one in the YQR and arguably the biggest one we've ever seen, You could stretch it out and make it 18 months as when the calendar hits July 1 and Regina showcases New Mosaic Stadium to the rest of Canada, it will be something never before seen here as Regina will be opening its new jewel while preparing to host events like the Grand Slam of Curling, Skate Canada, the Tim Hortons Brier, the USports Canada university womens basketball championship and now the Memorial Cup.
When word got out about how good the presentation Shaun Semple and the Pats bid committee made to the Canadian Hockey League, I think we were all just patiently waiting for approval to be given. There were rumblings the announcement was going to be made, and I was sent a text Friday night saying it would be announced in Regina during "Hockey Day in Canada" festivities. Sportsnet's Carly Agro was in Regina for the day, but it was just coincidence as it turned out. When Ron McLean ever so casually mentioned that a special surprise for Saskatchewan was coming, we all knew what i was.
Queen City Sports and Entertainment told us good times were coming for Regina hockey fans, and they have delivered. The Brandt Centre started becoming the place to be late last season, and the momentum has carried on. The Pats have not disappointed this season, and John Paddock will make sure they don't disappoint next season either. There is no guarantee the Pats will hoist the Memorial Cup trophy this year or next, but they will have as good a shot as anyone. Git your popcorn ready. It is going to be a helluva show as this team celebrates its 100th anniversary with the 100th Memorial Cup being played as well.
Some have asked if Regina can handle so many events in such a short time. We will find out! This city is known for the passion it has for sports and its volunteers. Many an event whether it be the Grey Cup, the Queen City Marathon, the Junos, the Memorial Cup or Brier has succeeded because of the volunteer committment this city has. I have no doubt that by the time all these events are over, Regina can be referred to as "Canada's Sports Capital". Oh yeah, we will have a Grey Cup soon at NMS so get ready for that too. In the words of John Frenzy, "it's just gonna be fantastic!"
HEY MOOSE JAW, CAN YOU JOIN US? - As Rob Vanstone so aptly said it on Saturday, the Moose Jaw Warriors-Regina Pats rivalry has become one of mutual respect. Yes, the two teams still don't like one another on the ice, but there is now some love between the two organizations. The Warriors allowed the Pats to use one of their board-rooms to watch the Memorial Cup announcement before the two teams played at Mosaic Place. Hell, years ago, the Warriors would have told the Pats if they wanted to watch the announcement to trudge across the parking lot from the old Civic Centre to Zellers in the Town n Country Mall to watch it on TV there. When the announcement was made, I couldn't help but think if the Warriors could join the Pats May 17-27, 2018. If that happened, I don't know if Belle Plaine, Pense and Grand Coulee would survive. Highway 1 between the two cities would be a steady stream of traffic. With the likes of Brett Howden, Josh Brook, Jayden Halbegewachs and Zach Sawchenko, they will give it a good chance!
IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? - It started Friday night at High Impact Wrestling, continued Saturday morning at London Drugs and went all the way through the weekend. Many asked the same question. That question being "Is Vince Young really coming here?". You know what, I think he is. Will he take a snap for the /=S=/? That is another story.
Agent Leigh Steinberg was with Rod Pedersen Friday on Saskatchewan's #1 sports show--the Sportscage, and he said everything an agent should say. He said Young still has a desire to play the game, that he isn't using the Riders and CFL as a stepping stone back to the NFL, and that he is healthy. The fact remains he has not played in a game or thrown a pass in a professional football game since 2011. Doug Flutie and Tommy Maddox are the only other QB's to have that distinction according to ESPN, but I think the four-letter is forgetting about Flutie's time in Canada.
The fact also remains Vince Young will be 34 when training camp starts. He will be learning a new version of a game he is familiar about. The wider field, the 12th man, the motion, etc. etc. etc.
I put a poll up on Twitter asking if you think Vince Young will ever take a snap for the Riders or any team in the CFL in a regular season game and 70 percent of you said no. I tend to agree. Dwayne Jarrett and Limas Sweed (remember them) came to Saskatchewan with hopes of reviving their football career, and both didn't last. I see that scenario happening here as well. If I am wrong, then it may be good news for the Riders.
WHO IS GOING WHERE AND WHEN? - The Riders already had a talented receiving group with the likes of Naaman Roosevelt, Rob Bagg, Duron Carter and Caleb Holley to name a few. Add the names Chad Owens and Bakari Grant to that list and it has some wondering about the stockpiling of receivers and what it means. With the ongoing chatter about James Franklin or Vernon Adams Junior wearing Rider colours in 2017, it has many wondering about who is going to go since all the pass-catchers can't stay. With Ottawa losing Ernest Jackson and Chris Williams to free agency, do they enter the equation? I can't see Trevor Harris coming here and I can't see Brock Jensen being the guy either. We will wait and wonder I guess. Chris Jones has something up his sleeve, but what it is remains a mystery. Will this take us up to draft day or not? That's my question!
FIND A GOALIE CHEVY! - It is no secret that I am an Oilers fan, and even this Oilers fan was skeptical whether or not the team could get to the playoffs. They could still collapse down the stretch, but I don't see it happening, Playoff hockey appears to have a date at Rogers Place in its first year of existence thanks to Connor and company. While an Oilers fan, I do keep a close eye on the team to the east of us as well and I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to cheer for the Jets. Some weeks they are on, and others they are off. A win over Ottawa yesterday has them within a point of a playoff spot. They have the talent with the likes of Schiefele, Laine, Little, Byfuglien and Myers, but its obvious they need a goalie they can depend on. Connor Hellebuyck, Ondrei Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson can't be counted on from game-to-game. A "tender" is needed at the deadline, but where. Could they get Mike Smith from Arizona? Could they get Marc-Andre Fleury from Pittsburgh? Could they get Ben Bishop from Tampa. The Jets have a lot of good young assets. They need to make sure a top-notch goalie is calling Winnipeg home by the time the trade deadline expires. It may be the deciding factor as to whether or not GM.
COME BACK!!! - Many Regina wrestling fans made the trip to Saskatoon Sunday night for a WWE card. The stars of "Smackdown Live" made an appearance at Sask-Tel Centre. How long has it been since the WWE came to Regina? It's been too long! For those who were there, how was the show?
UH-OH! - Saskatchewan has started 0-3 at the Scotties. YIKES! It is safe to say early on that the debut of Moose Jaw's Penny Barker has not been what they wanted it to. It is never easy making your first appearance on the big stage. Hopefully the jitters can go away and Penny can calm down to roll off a few wins before the week is over. Hey, she won her last 5 to win in Melville, so who knows.
WELCOME BACK WASKIMO - The Waskimo Winter Festival was a great thing that was put on ice (no pun intended) when the Big Dig of Wascana Lake started. It is great to see the event get revived. The weather is more than co-operating so if you get a chance, spend some time on the lake today and have fun while out there enjoying the activities that will be going on.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
The Canadian Hockey League announced Saturday afternoon that the 100th version of Canada's junior hockey championship will be hosted by the Regina Pats and played at the Brandt Centre May 17-27, 2018.
“The 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup and the celebrations around this centennial event will truly capture, preserve, and enhance the legacy of one of the most prestigious trophies in all of sport while honouring the brave men and women who served and continue to serve our country,” said CHL President David Branch. “I applaud our national Site Selection Committee who were challenged with the decision of choosing between three outstanding bids. On behalf of the CHL we look forward to working with the City of Regina and the Regina Pats to engage the entire nation in what will truly be a historic event.”
The event, which was last staged in Regina in 2001 when Red Deer won the title, will once again see the Pats welcome the top teams from the Western, Ontario and Quebec Hockey League
“Our local team worked hard to put together a great bid, and we are extremely excited, and honoured, to be able to host the 100th Mastercard Memorial Cup,” says Shaun Semple, President and CEO of the Brandt Group of Companies and Chair of Regina’s Host Organizing Committee. “We’ve got some great ideas and plans, and we look forward to the opportunity to engage with junior hockey fans across the country, as we celebrate this historic centennial year.”
Friday, February 17, 2017
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed international offensive lineman Thaddeus Coleman.
Coleman (6’8 – 320) returns to the Riders after becoming a free agent on February 14th. The 31-year-old Mississippi Valley State product was originally acquired by the Riders in a May, 2016 trade with the Edmonton Eskimos where he spent his first three CFL seasons.
Last year, Coleman started all 18 regular season games for the Green and White spending time at both right and left tackle. He was named the Riders Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman at seasons end.
Welcome to Friday! Here are the usual weekly thoughts running through my
muddled mind, and as always they come in no particular order.
--How ya feelin Rider Nation? You got Doubles back this week (Derek Dennis) and he comes with the Flyin Hawaiian. With Chad Owens in Rider green, are you trading watermelon helmets in for pineapple ones? I think you have to be very satisfied with what Chris Jones and the /=S=/ organization have done in free agency. Yes, there was that excitement last year and the free agent class fizzled tremendously, but I think Jones has learned from his mistakes in year 1 as a general manager and is maybe doing a little more homework as to what is/was out there and who can help this football team moving forward. Then again, it looks like the Vince Young story has legs to it and he may be coming north of the border. Like many of you, I don't really understand that move and don't see a lot of positives in it.
--I can't help but think Vernon Adams Junior will be a Saskatchewan Roughrider by the time training camp starts. It seems as if he has no future in Montreal, and it seems like he isn't a Kavis Reed guy. Many of you have suggested the Riders have enough receivers and could afford to give one up to get the former Oregon standout whom Montreal acquired for a first round pick from BC last year. I can't see Naaman Roosevelt joining Darian Durant in Montreal and you know Duron Carter isn't going back. It sounds like Armanti Edwards is now out of the equation leaving guys like Ricky Collins Junior and Caleb Holley. If a trade is made, my money is on one of those guys. That being said, Ernest Jackson is now an Alouette so perhaps they don't need another pass-catcher.
--What ever happened to Compete Street? Where's the sign? Questions that need answering. If anyone knows where that sign is, they should send it over to Michael Ball. It would look great in his backyard!
--If the Edmonton Oilers knew what they were going to get out of Patrick Maroon this year, would they have signed Milan Lucic to the contract they did? Maroon definitely let Brandon Manning know what happens when you mess around with Connor McDavid. Its not like Semenko with Gretzky, but the muscle is there if needed.
--Who saw Claude Julien coaching the Habs before the season was over after he was fired by Boston? I don't know about you, but I really want to see a Boston-Montreal playoff matchup now.
--Why doesn't anyone talk seriously about Patrik Laine when it comes to rookie of the year talk. Take nothing away from the Leafs duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but Laine is right there and is arguably ahead of the pack. For that matter, why isn't Matt Murray involved in the ROY conversation?
--What has happened to the Toronto Raptors? Oh wait, this is Saskatchewan.....not many people care.
--Congrats to Cliff Mapes. He is back in the WHL working with the Saskatoon Blades as their new VP of business operations. Great hire! If Cliffy could have success in Regina dealing with some bad Pats teams and other factors, he can succeed in Saskatoon. The Blades imprint on Saskatoon is about to get larger.
--While passing out congrats, one also goes to perhaps the biggest all-around degenerate in Regina, but also an overall good schmuck and that is Josh Shaw. He has been named the director of operations at the new Mosaic Stadium. I'm guessing this means he will have a big office where he will sit in a big chair and do absolutely nothing, but hey why not. I shudder to think what could play on the big screen late at night though.
--When watching the Scotties this week, remember Penny Barker is representing Team Saskatchewan and Michelle Englot is representing Team Manitoba. I think many of us will be confused as the week goes on.
--Canadian tennis star/model Genie Bouchard paid up after a Patriots fan asked her if she would go out with him if New England came back to win the Super Bowl via Twitter. The two went to a Brooklyn Nets game Wednesday. C'mon Genie, as a Canadian you couldn't have taken the guy to a hockey game? Doesn't really matter though as the two are going to go out AGAIN! As one friend has says, it will prompt men to start sending messages via Twitter to models. Why not! It apparently works!!!
--The stars of "High Impact Wrestling" do their thing at the Hungarian Club Friday night at 7. What does the monthly meeting of Gronkville have in store this time around?
--If you haven't read Corey Hirsch's article for "The Players Journal", do so. It is worth the time you will take to read it.
--Has anyone seen the ESPN 30 for 30 on the XFL yet? I hear it is one of their better efforts. Who scored the first points in league history. The answer would be Paul McCallum.
--The Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League allowed fans to call their offensive plays via an app Thursday night in a game vs the Nebraska Danger (love that name). Let's hope the CFL doesn't turn to this to engage the fans. Oh yeah, as I type this, the Screaming Eagles were losing 63-39. Did the fans turn on one another for their shoddy play-calling as the game progressed? I wonder if the Eagles have Vince Young on their neg list?
Thursday, February 16, 2017
And with that from Leigh Steinberg, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have people in the football universe talking about them again.
Last week, it was Johnny Manziel, and now it is Vince Young as Leigh Steinberg has confirmed talks are underway on bringing the soon to be 34 year old to the Riders and the CFL.
Chosen as the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft by Tennessee after taking Texas to a national chapionship in a dramatic win over USC at the Rose Bowl, Young had his moments under center for the Titans. Compiling a 30-17 record, Young threw 42 touchdowns and 42 picks in Tennessee before later starting three games for the Eagles during the 2011 campaign.
Young later emerged to sign a one-year deal with the Browns in 2014, but Cleveland released him less than two weeks later. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound passer announced his retirement from the NFL soon after.
The Montreal Alouettes announced Thursday they have concluded a two-season pact with sinternational receiver Ernest Jackson.
Jackson (6'2 ", 220 lbs.) Joins the new Alouettes' offensive unit after an unforgettable season with the Ottawa REDBLACKS with which he won the first Grey Cup in his career last November . He brings with him a wealth of experience and a remarkable track record. Jackson enjoyed a breathtaking 2016 year, winning 1,225 yards on reception, a good mark for seventh in the league in this regard. He was one of the favorite targets of quarterbacks Henry Burris and Trevor Harris, as shown by his 88 catches and 10 touchdowns.
The dangerous and dynamic 30-year-old receiver averaged 13.9 yards per catch in 17 regular season games. As has been the case since the beginning of his career, he has continued to multiply dramatic catches, demonstrating that he is an offensive threat at all times. Jackson also showed consistency throughout the 2016 season, totaling five games of 100 yards or more on receiving. He crowned his dream season with Eastern Division All-Star team nominations and the CFL All-Star team as well as being named the Eastern Division's nominee as Most Outstanding Player
"The contracting of Ernest brings new possibilities for our attack in view of the next season. Its addition is part of our plan to do everything we can to make our offensive unit spectacular and productive for our supporters next year, "said Alouettes chief executive Kavis Reed. "Ernest is one of the most formidable recipients of the League and I am confident that he will be among the favorites of the crowd," concluded Reed.
The man who guided the Toronto Blue Jays to their two World Series titles in the 90's is coming to Regina to speak at the Regina Red Sox dinner.
Red Sox President Gary Brotzel was on 620 CKRM's Sportscage Wednesday afternoon to make the announcement that Cito Gaston would be their guest speaker as he joins a long list of former Blue Jays who have spoken at the event.
Gaston had two different stints as manager of the Blue Jays over a 12 year period and was their manager when they won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.
He was six games shy of 900 career wins when he left the Toronto dugout at the end of the 2010 season.
The dinner will be held on Saturday, April 29 at the Turvey Center. Tickets are $90 each or $750 for a table. For more information or to purchase yours, please email reginaredsox@sasktel.net or visit the team's website at www.reginaredsox.com.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon has his slogans ready for 2017. Get the T-shirts ready.
After guiding the club to its first World Series championship since 1908, Maddon arrived in camp this spring with a three-pronged approach to the new season, plus a throwback to one that started before he showed up.
The Cubs' themes for 2017? Be uncomfortable, authenticity, and don't forget the heartbeat.
"It's really important to become uncomfortable," Maddon said "If you become comfortable, that subtracts growth from the equation. I think if you remain uncomfortable, you continue to grow, you don't become stagnant or complacent. On every level, I want us to be uncomfortable, and I think that's a really positive word."
That's a message Maddon will deliver prior to the team's first official workout for pitchers and catchers. The full squad will hear it on Sunday.
Part two is authenticity.
"It's not to remind them that they're authentic, but the pertinent part is that if you are in fact an authentic person, you can repeat what you've done in the past naturally," Maddon said. "I really want us to understand the authentic part of who we are and for that to sustain what we've done in the past just by being us. Don't try to do anything different."
Which means Maddon and his creative coaching staff have ideas on how to keep Spring Training interesting, and it will begin on Sunday prior to the first full squad practice. After live bear cubs and mimes last year, it could be anything.
The heartbeat theme became obvious in Game 7 of the World Series, Maddon said.
"Things went badly for a bit," he said of a 5-1 blown lead against the Indians, who tied it with three runs in the eighth inning. "We came back and regrouped because our guys got together in a room, void of any kind of statistical, video, or analytical information. They went in there as human beings and came out unified. You do that, and it's kind of antithetical to what's going on right now. I don't want us to forget the heartbeat ever."
That moment came prior to the 10th inning when Jason Heyward called the Cubs players together in the weight room during a rain delay.
Maddon's messages in the past have included "Do Simple Better," "The Process is Fearless," and "Try Not to Suck." But there's also a theme that started in the Cubs' Minor Leagues before Maddon arrived that he'll emphasize as well, which is "That's Cub." President of baseball operations Theo Epstein explained it.
"When a player in a Minor League game or instructional league or on a back field in Spring Training would make a great play or back up a base or do something positive for a teammate, just organically, the other players started to say, 'That's Cub right there,'" Epstein said. "It really stood out. For a century, 'That's Cub' had a different connotation."
It's not a boast, Epstein said.
"It's a two-word celebration of what they've created," he said. "It means something to be a Cub now, and we shouldn't back away from that and we should be proud of that."
Catcher David Ross also delivered a message immediately after the team won the World Series, which was "Turn the Page."
"Obviously, we'll ride the energy of last year -- we just won the world championship -- but it is a new year," Kyle Schwarber said. "We've got to take that energy that we had last year into this year."
So, expect new T-shirts.
"Yeah -- 'Turn the Page,' with David's face on the back," Schwarber said.
Men’s Basketball –
The Cougars came up with a huge weekend sweep over Thompson Rivers last
weekend at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport to clinch a
postseason berth for the second year in a row. They beat TRU by an 81-54 score on Friday, then held off the WolfPack for a thrilling 79-74 win on Saturday. The
Cougars enter the conference playoffs as the No. 12 seed and will
travel east this weekend for a best-of-three Canada West play-in series
at Manitoba.The
series will be played on Thursday, Friday, and – if a third game is
needed – Saturday, with all games scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time.
Women’s Hockey –
The Cougars closed their Canada West regular season with a split
against Calgary and will head to Saskatoon this weekend for a conference
quarterfinal series against the Saskatchewan Huskies. Regina
(10-13-4-1) took three of the four regular season meetings against the
Huskies, including wins in both games at the University of
Saskatchewan’s Rutherford Rink. The best-of-three series is scheduled to
be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) at 7 p.m.
Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars were defeated
twice by UBC in Vancouver last weekend, falling in straight sets on both
nights to the No. 4-ranked Thunderbirds. Regina (3-19) will finish off
the 2016-17 schedule this weekend against another ranked opponent, as
the Cougars will square off with No. 5 Calgary on Friday and Saturday in
Calgary. Third-year libero Taylor Ungar enters the final weekend of the
season leading Canada West with an average of 3.89 digs per set and
needing just 16 more digs to break Kelly Cowan’s school single-season
record of 295 set during the 2006-07 season.
Men’s Volleyball –
The Cougars lost twice in Vancouver last weekend to the No. 6-ranked
UBC Thunderbirds, falling in straight sets on Friday and in four sets on
Saturday.The
U of R (1-21) plays its final matches of the season this weekend at
Calgary against a Dinos team that will come into the series with a 7-13
record.First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (MST) on Friday and 5:30 p.m. (MST) on Saturday.
Wrestling (Women's U SPORTS Ranking: No. 6 / Men's U SPORTS Ranking: No. 7) –
Nine Cougars captured top-three finishes at the Canada West
Championships in Saskatoon on the weekend, including Amber Wiebe (51 kg)
and Daniel Amberson (54 kg) who both won gold medals for the U of R.
The Cougars finished in fourth place in the team standings on both the
men’s side and the women’s side at the conference championships, while
the U of R’s nine medal-winning wrestlers will advance to the U SPORTS
Championships hosted by the University of Winnipeg on Feb. 24 and Feb.
25.
Women’s Basketball (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 3) – The
Cougars finished their Canada West schedule with a pair of home wins
over Thompson Rivers, winning 74-36 on Friday and 76-36 on Saturday over
the WolfPack. Regina finishes the Canada West schedule with a 17-3
record and will enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the
conference. The Cougars will get a bye through the first round of the
playoffs before hosting either Trinity Western or Brandon in a
best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series beginning Thursday, Feb.
23.
Track & Field –
Alex Eiswerth and Joy Becker both had two first-place finishes and set
new school records over the weekend at the Golden Bear Challenge in
Edmonton. Eiswerth won the 1000-metre run in a U of R record time
of 2:28.71 and also placed first in the 1500, while Becker broke her
own school record in the long jump (6.29 m), won the triple jump, and
hit the U SPORTS standard in the 60-metre dash. The Cougars have this
weekend off to prepare for the Canada West Championships, which they’ll
host at the Regina Fieldhouse on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25.
Men’s Hockey – The Cougars wrapped up the Canada
West schedule with two losses on home ice against the No. 8-ranked
Calgary Dinos. The Cougars (3-22-3) fell 2-1 in overtime on Friday and
4-2 in Saturday's rematch. Cody Fowlie, Tyler Bell and Ian McNulty had
goals for the Cougars.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed international receiver/returner Chad Owens.
Owens (5’7 – 180) spent last season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after signing with the team as a free agent in February, 2016. Through 12 games, the Hawaii native racked up 58 receptions for 808 yards and five touchdowns. He missed the final six games due to injury.
Before joining the Tiger-Cats, Owens spent six seasons with the Toronto Argonauts where he was named the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2012 and the CFL’s most outstanding special teams player in 2010. He won his first career Grey Cup with the Argos in 2012.
Through his career, Owens has registered 504 receptions for 5,982 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 365 punt returns for 4,027 yards and six touchdowns.
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The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed national safety Marc-Olivier Brouillette.
Brouillette (6’1 – 220) is a veteran of seven CFL seasons after originally being selected by the Montreal Alouettes in the 3rd round (23rd overall) in the 2010 Draft.
In 103 regular season games with the Al’s, Brouillette has picked up 202 defensive tackles, 30 special teams tackles, eight quarterback sacks and five interceptions.
Last season, the 31-year-old Montreal native started all 18 regular season games for the Alouettes, totaling 34 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles and one interception. He was named a 2016 East Division All-Star at seasons end.
The Riders also announced the signing of Canadian OL Ryan White and Canadian RB Aaron Milton on Wednesday
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed international offensive lineman Derek Dennis
Dennis
(6’3 – 341) joins the Riders after playing 23 regular season games with
the Calgary Stampeders over the previous two seasons. Last year, the
28-year-old Queens, New York native started all 18 games, the West Final
and Grey Cup for the Stamps and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding
Offensive Lineman and a CFL All-Star.
Before
joining the Stampeders in September, 2015, the Temple University
product spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, New
England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.
LaFrance
(5’9 – 205) signs with the Green and White after spending the previous
two seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks. The 25-year-old joined the
Redblacks after being selected by the team in the sixth round (45th overall) of the 2015 CFL Draft.
In
16 regular season appearances last year, LaFrance had 37 carries for
163 yards while adding 12 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. The
University of Manitoba product broke out during the East Final where he
racked up 157 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. He then followed it
up with 42 yards on 11 carries and six catches for 31 yards as the
Redblacks won the 2016 Grey Cup.
Montreal Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday the appointment of Claude Julien as the Club's new head coach. Michel Therrien has been relieved of his duties.
"I would like to sincerely thank Michel for his relentless work with the Montreal Canadiens over his eight seasons behind the bench, including the last five seasons when we worked together. The decision to remove Michel from his coaching duties was a difficult one because I have lots of respect for him. I came to the conclusion that our team needed a new energy, a new voice, a new direction. Claude Julien is an experienced and well respected coach with a good knowledge of the Montreal market. Claude has been very successful as an NHL coach and he won the Stanley Cup. Today we hired the best available coach, and one of the league's best. I am convinced that he has the capabilities to get our team back on the winning track," said Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin.
Claude Julien, 56, enters his second tour of duty as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens after assuming the role of head coach from January 2003 to January 2006 with a record of 72-62-10-15 in 259 regular season games at the helm of the team (holding a .531 winning percentage).
Claude Julien has coached 997 regular season games in the NHL (Montreal, New Jersey and Boston), including the last 10 season as the Bruins bench boss (2007 to 2017). Throughout his NHL career, Julien managed a record of 538 wins, 332 losses, 10 ties and 117 overtime losses for a .603 winning percentage.
The Calgary Stampeders have signed international receiver Marquay McDaniel to a contract that runs through the 2018 season. The eight-year CFL veteran had been eligible to become a free agent today.
McDaniel was the Stamps’ leading receiver in 2016 with 83 receptions for 1,074 yards in 16 games. He had four touchdowns and one two-point convert reception. It’s the third time in the past four seasons McDaniel has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark.
“Marquay is one of the most reliable and well-rounded receivers in the CFL and I’m pleased that he has chosen to remain with the Red and White,” said president and general manager John Hufnagel. “He has been a key contributor to our offensive success since joining the team and I’m confident that will continue to be the case.”
McDaniel signed with the Stampeders in 2011 after spending two full seasons and part of a third with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 115 career CFL games, McDaniel had 489 receptions for 6,441 yards and 34 touchdowns. He was a CFL all-star in 2013 and was a member of the Stamps’ 2014 Grey Cup-championship squad.
“I’m really happy to finally get this deal done,” said McDaniel. “Staying with Calgary was always my first choice and I’m looking forward to being with the Stamps for the next two years.”
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The Calgary Stampeders have signed international defensive lineman Micah Johnson to a contract that runs through the 2018 season. Johnson, a 2016 CFL all-star, had been eligible to become a free agent today.
Johnson started 17 games in 2016 and recorded career highs with 36 tackles and seven sacks. He had two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and three knockdowns. The fourth-year Stamp also played a key role in a run defence that gave up a league-low 4.6 yards per carry to the opposition.
“Micah has established himself as one of the premier interior linemen in the CFL and he is a key part of our defence,” said president and general manager John Hufnagel. “I’m pleased that we were able to come to an agreement and I look forward to seeing Micah continue to perform at a high level.”
Johnson joined the Stamps in 2013 after spending time with several National Football League clubs including the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. In 46 career regular-season games with the Red and White, the University of Kentucky alum has recorded 103 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, 18 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, seven knockdowns and one interception.
“This is just the perfect situation for me from top to bottom,” said Johnson. “From the coaches to the guys I play with to the city of Calgary, this is just the right place for me.”
The four-month-long wait that seemed like it would never end is finally over. Blue Jays baseball is back for another season.
Spring Training officially opens this week at Toronto's Minor League complex in Dunedin, Fla. That's where the work begins for a journey the Blue Jays hope results in a third consecutive postseason appearance.
Toronto made a lot of changes this winter, but this team still looks strikingly similar to 2016's model, and that's probably a good thing. Jose Bautista re-signed, the starting rotation remains intact and Josh Donaldson isn't going anywhere. The loss of Edwin Encarnacion will hurt, but wholesale changes for a team that still has unfinished business might have stung even more.
Here's a closer look at some things you need to know with Toronto's Spring Training set to open at the Bobby Mattick Training Center at Englebert Complex.
Pitchers/catchers report: Tuesday.
First full-squad workout: Saturday.
First Spring Training game: Feb. 25 @ Atlanta, 1:05 p.m. ET.
New faces: DH Kendrys Morales, 1B Steve Pearce, LHP J.P. Howell, RHP Joe Smith.
Morales faces the toughest task of having to replace Encarnacion. But the role isn't exactly new, as the 33-year-old has spent most of his 10-year career as a middle-of-the-order bat. He's coming off a season in which he posted a .795 OPS, but the Blue Jays believe a switch to the hitter-friendly ballparks of the American League East will help Morales get closer to the .847 mark he put up in 2015.
Pearce is the type of player that every contending team would love to have. He can play all over the field, but most of his work is expected to take place at first base in a platoon with Justin Smoak. Even though Pearce was signed primarily because of his numbers against lefties, if Smoak struggles, he could move into more of a full-time role.
Toronto's additions to the bullpen came very late in the offseason, but the club found a way to plug its holes at a relatively cheap price. Howell and Smith should be expected to pitch a lot of high-leverage innings in middle relief, but if one of them doesn't work out, the $3 million price tag means the club still has the ability to look elsewhere. Low risk, with the upside of some moderate reward.
Interesting non-roster invitees: IF Gregorio Petit, RHP Gavin Floyd, RHP Lucas Harrell, LHP Brett Oberholtzer, LHP TJ House.
Petit won't make the team out of camp, but he could serve as an important depth piece if the Blue Jays eventually lose Ryan Goins on waivers. Goins is out of options and cannot be sent to the Minors without clearing waivers, which seems to be the likely course of action, given that Darwin Barney is projecting to be the backup infielder.
Floyd, Oberholtzer and House are competing for a job in the bullpen. Floyd has a pretty good chance at securing a spot, and while Oberholtzer and House are more longshots, that could change if anything happens to Howell. Harrell could also be in the mix for the bullpen, but more realistically, he provides some much-needed starting depth at Triple-A Buffalo.Prospects to watch: OF Anthony Alford, 1B Rowdy Tellez, RHP Conner Greene, RHP Sean Reid-Foley, IF Richard Urena, IF/OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
None of these prospects are a threat to crack the Opening Day roster, but how they perform this spring will say a lot about their future development. Alford needs to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2016 campaign, Greene needs to re-establish himself as a top pitching prospect and Urena needs to continue his development as a reliable switch-hitter.
Tellez might be the most interesting prospect on this list to follow over the next few months. Pearce and Smoak will open the season in a platoon at first, but if that plan doesn't work out, then Tellez could enter the mix later on with a strong start to the year. Guerrero is still years away from the big leagues, and he'll spend Spring Training on the Minor League side, but it shouldn't be long before he becomes Toronto's top prospect. The club might even reward him with a temporary call-up for an exhibition game this spring.
The Blue Jays play their first spring game against Atlanta on February 25 with their season opener April 3 in Baltimore.
Monday, February 13, 2017
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN (February 13, 2017) – Mark’s is partnering with the Canadian Football League to deliver something new and exciting for Canadian football fans.
Mark’s CFL Week – coming to Saskatchewan March 21-26 – will bring together the game’s biggest stars, leading coaches, top prospects and most beloved legends in the same place for one amazing fan experience.
“We couldn’t be more excited to take our CFL partnership to the next level by becoming the title sponsor of Mark’s CFL Week. As a Canadian company, we want Canadians to know we love football just as much as they do and what better way to do that, than this,” said David Lui, Vice-President of Marketing at Mark’s.
“This will be the biggest off-season event in the long and storied history of the league,” said Christina Litz, Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Content at the CFL.
“We’re combining some of the most important events on our calendar, such as the CFL Combine for draft eligible prospects, with new opportunities for fans, including a week-long Fan Fest, a VIP reception unveiling the 2017 Class of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, and much, much more.”
At a special media event today at the Victoria Square Shopping Centre’s Mark’s store, details of the Mark’s CFL Week line-up was unveiled.
•Legends will be honoured: For the first time, the names of the 2017 Class of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame will be unveiled to fans at a VIP Reception on March 22 at the sparkling new Mosaic Stadium. A Who’s Who of CFL greats past and present – including Don Narcisse, George Reed, Gene Makowsky and Damon Allen -- will join fans for an intimate look at the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ new home and news about one of the most anticipated classes in the Hall’s history. Tickets go on sale March 1.
•The next generation will be on display: The CFL National Combine, presented by adidas, where the 60 best prospects from Canadian university football and the NCAA strut their stuff for CFL coaches and general managers, takes place March 24 and 25 at Evraz Place. It’s preceded by the Western Regional Combine, on March 23, the last chance for local talent to earn an invite to the national event.
•CFL brass will tackle the state of the game: The coaches, general managers and team and league executives will meet to chart the course for the upcoming season, with the Rules Committee gathering on March 21 and 22 and the Competition Committee meeting March 22.
•CFL coaches will hold court: East and West Division head coaches will talk about their plans for the upcoming season at special media conferences on March 23.
•Young arms will impress: The Canada West Passing Showcase on March 25 and 26 will feature first- and second-year football athletes from the University of Regina, University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, University of Alberta and University of Saskatchewan in a fun but ferocious touch football showdown.
•Fans in Saskatchewan can experience it: The CFL FanFest at Evraz Place from March 21 to 25, features autograph sessions with players and alumni, your chance to take your photo with the Grey Cup trophy, the opportunity to participate in your own CFL Combine, and prizes and activities delivered by Kal-Tire, BOKS, Athabasca University, Michelin and other members of the CFL family. And the Fan Cave beer garden will be open on weekday afternoons and all day Saturday.
•Fans everywhere can be a part of it: Mark’s CFL Week Live will be streamed LIVE each day at 4pm CT on Facebook. Host Brodie Lawson will connect fans with their favourite CFL personalities.
For more details and future updates on Mark’s CFL Week, please visit www.markscflweek.ca
There is still a lot of buzz about the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Johnny Manziel. Did they work him out? Is Justin Dunk's story wrong? Did White House press secretary Sean Spicer give the news to Dunk? OK, that's my thought as to how that might have happened. It doesn't matter what sources Dunk had for the story, the bottom line is it has tongues wagging not only here, but across the nation and really across the football universe.
ESPN was talking about it. NFL Radio was talking about it and even TMZ was talking about it. By the way, credit the above pic to U of R Rams quarterback Noah Picton. Well done!
Do I think Manziel worked out for the Riders? The answer is no! I put up a poll on Twitter asking if you thought the Riders had done it and over 60 percent of you said no as well. Yes, Chris Jones has not played by the book, and he has been punished for it, but Jones isn't that stupid. He would know Manziel's rights are owned by another club and that working him out would be a huge violation and one that would rightfully see the CFL come down on the organization in harsh fashion. If it is discovered that it actually did happen, then some serious questions have to be answered.
If there is one positive, it has people talking CFL before free agency because there hasn't been a lot of CFL talk for whatever reason as the league has seemed content to let the other sports have the spotlight while hibernating. That will obviously pick up on Tuesday though as free agency begins.
As for CFL Week, we will get some information on that later today as the CFL is holding a news conference in Regina to give some details on the event which goes next month.
LET THE FREE AGENT FRENZY BEGIN - Valentine's Day takes on a little more significance for CFL fans as they hope their team can get some "sweet treats" delivered to them Tuesday. Will the Riders be a big player in free agency? I would think they would try to get some o-line and perhaps a running back. You would have to think that in saving money after the Durant trade, there might be some money to throw at guys like Derek Dennis and Nolan McMillan. Could some money be used to upgrade the secondary? I don't know how big of a splash the Riders will make in free agency, but I would think they will be active.
RUNNING BACK TO SASKATOON - Rider assistant GM Jeremy O'Day let it slip while appearing on Saskatchewan's #1 sports show that training camp will go in Saskatoon. O'Day made the revelation on the Sportscage while discussing the schedule. Nothing against Saskatoon and the facilities at the U of S, but I thought with the first year at the new stadium that training camp would be in Regina. I do have to wonder though when Regina will once again be the training camp home for the green and white. I would have to think this is the last year in S'too, but I'm not making that call.
WELCOME BACK - The Regina sports scene suffered a blow a couple of months ago when Leader-Post reporter Ian Hamilton "retired" as did several others. Ian has re-surfaced though as the senior writer for Riderville.com. That's a solid pickup in free agency by the green-and-white. A solid pickup indeed. Welcome back Hammy!
IS THE SHIP STILL FLOATING? - CFL free agency is upon us, and the Toronto Argonauts don't have a general manager or a head coach! Who is going to do their bidding for them? Moving to BMO Field was supposed to save the Argos, but ever since that move happened, the situation has gotten worse. How much longer can this last? Maybe TSN's Chris Cuthbert was right when he said the Argos should trade for Manziel's rights and then try to lure him north of the border. There may be more wrongs than rights to that scenario, but there would certainly be more eyes on the team. By the way, whatever happened to Michael Sam?
CMON HENRIK!! - If you haven't seen what Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist did to Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon on Sunday, go check it out. After you have seen it, listen to Henrik Zetterberg when he tells a reporter "I don't think he meant to spear him in the face." Really? Henrik, what was he trying to do then? By the way, what type of suspension will Nyquist get. I am thinking a minimum of five, but these days who knows!
ON TO THE PLAYOFFS - There was no doubt going into the weekend that Dave Taylor's U of R women's basketball team was playoff-bound. They got ready for the playoffs with a couple of dirty beatings to Thompson Rivers. The men's team had to sweep Thompson Rivers just to get in. After winning Friday, it looked like the Wolfpack would earn a split as Regina just couldn't get their game together missing some easy baskets. However, Steve Burrows' squad showed some character as thanks to some big efforts by 5th year Travis Sylvestre playing his last game at home, Brian Ofori, Johneil Johnson and Alex Igual, the Cougars came back to get the win they needed. They will be in tough next weekend in Winnipeg as they play Manitoba. They can pull off an upset, but it won't be easy. The women will wait to see who they get as they have a first round bye with their playoff series at home starting Thursday, February 23. I hope on that night that A) the gym is full and B) Dean Kleisinger--father of Cougar super soph Michaela and all around good man does not wear the same sport jacket he wore Saturday as he took some good-natured and dare I say well-deserved grief. You knew that jab was comin Dean! :) The only thing worse was the warm-up garb for Thompson Rivers!
BACK TO WORK - Pitchers and catchers report this week. Another baseball season is here! I have no problems with that whatsoever!
About Me
This is mainly a Regina sports blog, but you will get information and thoughts from me on a number of topics some that aren't even sports related. You can see me on Access 7 in Regina co-hosting a local one hour sports program called Locker Talk highlighting Regina sports. You can hear me reading afternoon news and sports on 620 CKRM in Regina along with co-hosting "Sportscage" on same station from time to time. I'm also a part of Sask Roughriders broadcast on CKRM and I write feature articles for the Riders on their website Riderville.com. |
Q:
Convert multithreading to multiprocessing in Python
How to i convert this thing from multithreading to multiprocessing? With the multithreading it actually runs slower while not much CPU is used. So I hope that multiprocessing might help.
def multiprocess(sentences):
responselist = []
#called by each thread
def processfunction(asentence,i):
pro_sentence = processthesentence(asentence[0],asentence[1],asentence[2],asentence[3],asentence[4],asentence[5],asentence[6],asentence[7],asentence[8])
mytyple = asentence,pro_sentence
responselist.append(mytyple)
# ----- function end --------- #
#start threading1
threadlist = []
for i in range (2):
asentence = sentences[i]
t = Thread(target=processfunction, args=(asentence,i,))
threadlist.append(t)
t.start()
for thr in threadlist:
thr.join()
return responselist
I tried this (replacing one word - Thread with Process but this doesn't work):
from multiprocessing import Process
def processthesentence(asentence):
return asentence + " done"
def multiprocess(sentences):
responselist = []
#called by each thread
def processfunction(asentence,i):
pro_sentence = processthesentence(asentence)
mytyple = asentence,pro_sentence
responselist.append(mytyple)
# ----- function end --------- #
#start threading1
threadlist = []
for i in range (2):
asentence = sentences[i]
t = Process(target=processfunction, args=(asentence,i,))
threadlist.append(t)
t.start()
for thr in threadlist:
thr.join()
return responselist
sentences = []
sentences.append("I like apples.")
sentences.append("Green apples are bad.")
multiprocess(sentences)
Tried with greenevent but got some errors:
import greenlet
import gevent
def dotheprocess(sentences):
responselist = []
#called by each thread
def task(asentence):
thesentence = processsentence(asentence[0],asentence[1],asentence[2],asentence[3],asentence[4],asentence[5],asentence[6],asentence[7],asentence[8])
mytyple = asentence,thesentence
responselist.append(mytyple)
# ----- function end --------- #
def asynchronous():
threads = [gevent.spawn(task, asentence) for asentence in sentences]
gevent.joinall(threads)
asynchronous()
return responselist
A:
This is what worked the best for me - it is around 50% faster that without use of it:
def processthesentence(asentence):
return asentence
import multiprocessing as mympro
if __name__=="__main__":
sentences = ['I like something','Great cool']
numberofprocesses = 3
thepool = mympro.Pool(processes=numberofprocesses)
results = [thepool.apply_async(processthesentence, args=(asent,)) for asent in sentences]
output = [item.get() for item in results]
|
Comments (19)
The womanly art of breastfeeding is a good book. Go to the class at your hospital...try and stay positive! Its a wonderful experience! It may be hard at first or it may not. Just stick with it - you can do it! Oh call around to see if you have la leche league mtngs in your area or a baby cafe. Also there should be a lactation consultant where you deliver!
Successful breastfeeding starts with deciding that you can do this and you can make it work. It will be tough in the early days most likely but you have to tell yourself you will get through those tough days and after that it will be smooth sailing.
My LO cames 1 month early and I had no colustrum so we had to supplement with formula. For those first 10 days I pumped while DH fed him to mimic nursing. At day 4 my milk came in and we gradually moved him over to breastmilk by day 11. It was tough. Really tough but we stuck it out, DH supported me and we made it work.
Thanks ladies!!! I'm determined to nurse my baby but I want to be informed so that I don't get frustrated. The only thing that really worries me is that I may need pain meds after delivery because of the nerve damage in my lower body. . Obviously you can't nurse if your on pain meds so I'm hoping I can just deal with the pain like I am now. You ladies are awesome! Happy Monday!!
My lactation consultant saved me with my DD! I was determined to not give up, but she wouldn't latch. Of course, when I'd do a lactation visit she'd latch like a pro. I finally figured out that I needed to relax, and stop making it a big production. It worked and she latched like a pro from then on! Don't give up and get support!
Do you know what type of pain mess you'll need? I tore...a lot but was told that two motrin was fine to use while nursing. If its stronger medication than you can pump to make sure your supply doesn't go down. I agree w PP- if you are committed, you'll succeed!! |
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The night the San Jose Sharks shot seven pucks past Michael DiPietro, his phone wouldn't stop pinging with messages of consolation.
The Vancouver Canucks prospect got lit up in his surprise NHL debut at age 19. Without a healthy backup goalie available, he was stranded in the crease for all 60 minutes of what became a 7-2 loss.
"You don't see many of those in the Ontario Hockey League," Sportsnet color commentator John Garrett said on the Canucks' TV broadcast after Evander Kane scored San Jose's fourth goal on a nasty top-shelf wrister.
DiPietro's family and friends were sad and sorry about the barrage to which he'd been subjected. His perspective, though, was radically different.
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty Images
"I played one of the best teams in the NHL, a veteran lineup, and I had a ton of fun doing it," DiPietro says now. "It was a dream come true, and the teammates in Vancouver were absolutely phenomenal with me, keeping my spirits up and cheering me on.
"I let in seven goals, but looking back on it, those seven goals I can learn from."
It's unlikely that any player in hockey has experienced as wild a season as DiPietro, the Canucks' possible netminder of the future. In late December and early January, he endeared himself to Canada by allowing a mere five goals on 103 shots at the world junior championship in Vancouver. One of those goals, however, was an inconceivably fluky ricochet off an opponent's skate in a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Finland.
Your browser does not support the video tag. TSN
Canucks fans were reintroduced to DiPietro on Feb. 4, when the team, beset by goalie injuries, summoned him from the OHL's Ottawa 67s to back up Jacob Markstrom. The Windsor, Ontario, native would watch and learn from the bench for a couple of weeks as Thatcher Demko nursed a sprained knee.
That was the plan - at least until Feb. 11, when Markstrom's back began to spasm and DiPietro was forced to face Kane, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, and Joe Pavelski, a quartet of 30-goal scorers who all beat him at least once that night.
Those experiences against Finland and San Jose might have tanked most other teenagers' play, but few prospects seem to be wired like DiPietro, the OHL's goalie of the year in 2017-18. A 6-footer, he's long been knocked for being short for the position, but he's always felt mature for his age. He says he thrives on pressure - "Call me crazy, call me whatever, but that's just something I love to do" - and considers his battle and his drive to be the twin attributes that define his game.
"I'll do whatever it takes to stop a puck," he says.
That mentality has translated into consistently positive results for his whole junior career, which itself has been anything but typical. In 2016-17, DiPietro backstopped his hometown Windsor Spitfires to a Memorial Cup championship - before he ever won an OHL playoff series. (Windsor lost in the first round and spent the next 44 days practicing before playing in the national tournament as hosts.) The Canucks drafted him 64th overall in 2017.
Michael DiPietro's 2018-19 season Sept. 20 Windsor Spitfires open OHL season Dec. 4 Spitfires trade DiPietro to Ottawa 67s Dec. 10 Canada's world-junior selection camp begins Dec. 14 DiPietro named to Team Canada Dec. 26 World juniors begin in Vancouver Jan. 2 Canada loses 2-1 to Finland in quarterfinals Feb. 4 Canucks recall DiPietro from 67s Feb. 11 DiPietro allows 7 goals in emergency NHL debut Feb. 13 Canucks return DiPietro to 67s March 17 67s finish with OHL's best record (50-12-6) March 27 67s sweep Hamilton Bulldogs in Round 1 April 11 67s sweep Sudbury Wolves in Round 2 April 24 67s sweep Oshawa Generals in Round 3
The rebuilding Spitfires traded DiPietro to the ascendant 67s shortly before he left for the world juniors this past December, which brings us to the final phase of his one-of-a-kind season. By winning 12 consecutive games to open the OHL playoffs - sweeping three Eastern Conference opponents in the process - DiPietro and Ottawa are within striking distance of a Memorial Cup trip of their own.
"In the playoffs, right now, I think we're seeing what he's really all about," says 67s head coach Andre Tourigny, whose team will face the Western Conference champion Guelph Storm in the OHL's best-of-seven final starting Thursday.
"He's making key saves, keeping us in the game all the time. The more the game is on the line, the better he is."
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Facing an average of 28 shots per game, DiPietro has recorded a .913 save percentage in these playoffs. In the high-scoring OHL, that slots him third among goalies whose team advanced past the first round. In Game 4 of the second round, his 58 saves powered Ottawa to a 3-2 triple-overtime win that eliminated the Sudbury Wolves. Their starter, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, tended goal for Finland when that team won gold at the world juniors and was picked 10 spots ahead of DiPietro in the 2017 draft.
What skills have enabled DiPietro to become a junior star since the Canucks selected him? Different observers point to different strengths. Tourigny praises DiPietro's reaction time, lateral quickness, and competitiveness. DiPietro's agent, Darren Ferris, lauds his client's technical ability, his character, and his insatiable desire to excel and to win.
Season GP SV% OHL rank (min. 25 GP) 2015-16 29 .912 6th 2016-17 51 .917 3rd 2017-18 56 .910 5th 2018-19 38 .911 3rd
DiPietro's drive helped convince Hockey Canada head scout Brad McEwen to invite him to the country's two most recent world-junior selection camps. His assessment: DiPietro doesn't get rattled and finds a way to make saves on broken plays, a trait that compensates for his relative lack of size.
DiPietro was a late cut from Canada's 2018 world junior team. (Philadelphia Flyers rookie Carter Hart wound up leading the team to gold, supplemented by Dallas Stars prospect Colton Point.) But he handled his release graciously, and by the time DiPietro left the Canadians' pre-tournament headquarters, McEwen was already confident he'd want him to start the following year.
"If there's anybody that can handle adversity, it's Michael," says Ferris, whose DHG Sports Agency also represents Taylor Hall, Mitch Marner, and several other NHLers.
"It's going to be an easy transition for him (to professional hockey). His next steps, the path he has to take, I think, will probably be a lot more accommodating for him because of his maturity. He handles everything just like a pro."
DiPietro takes a little time to respond to a letter he received with a hand written note back. Not too many people would take the time to do this, Mikey isn’t like most people. pic.twitter.com/k0SB9Lc0Wv — Kenny Walls (@LongBallsWalls) April 23, 2019
When DiPietro was 5, his mother, Rebecca, died of cancer. He says now that he had to grow up quickly and that his father, Vic, raised him to eschew excuses and instilled in him the belief that he could handle any challenge.
A few years later, Vic married Assunta Fenty, whose son Mark used to be a goalie. At one of Mark's games about a decade ago, DiPietro - a young defenseman at the time - was watching raptly from the stands when his older stepbrother stoned an opponent on a breakaway.
In that moment, DiPietro knew he wanted to switch positions.
"He likes to be the guy everyone looks to: 'Listen - I got your back,'" Vic DiPietro says. And as a goalie who isn't 6-foot-5, Vic continued, he's also come to enjoy proving doubters wrong.
"Not in an arrogant way, of course," Vic says. "Just (by) going to work."
On the evening of Feb. 11, Vic and Assunta were sitting at their dinner table in Amherstburg, near Windsor, when Michael told them that Canucks coach Travis Green had tabbed him to start that night against the Sharks. There was no way to foresee this turn of events, so they were limited to watching his first NHL game on TV.
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty Images
After the final buzzer, Michael, his dad, and his agent all concluded that the blowout constituted an opportunity for growth. The Sharks scored on five of their nine high-danger shots on goal - "He was taking shots no goalie should be taking, in my opinion," Ferris says - and demonstrated to him just how fast NHL action can move.
"For a young kid to step in and take that kind of workload right off the bat, it's kind of difficult," Ferris says. "I think it'll benefit him in the long run."
Barring another emergency recall, it might be a few years before DiPietro's parents get to witness his second NHL appearance. The Canucks have Markstrom signed through next year, and Demko, who is 23 years old, has two seasons left on his entry-level contract. In April, Vancouver nabbed 22-year-old NCAA star Jake Kielly in free agency after a superlative season at Clarkson University.
Like Demko, most netminders begin their pro careers with extensive seasoning in the minors. Hart, who started 30 games for the Flyers from late December onward, was the only goalie younger than age 22 to log significant time in the NHL this season. Come fall, it seems likely that DiPietro will share a crease with Kielly on the Utica Comets, Vancouver's American Hockey League affiliate.
For now, his focus is the OHL final, and the last, pivotal month of a whirlwind campaign. This "crazy" season has taught him about the need for a player to be adaptable, he says. It also has crystallized the vision he has for his future.
"Once you have a taste (of the NHL), that's all you want," DiPietro says. "That's something I'm going to (use to) push myself this summer: to make sure I surprise a few people at camp, and, hopefully, do my thing and make sure I have a good transition to pro hockey.
"I want to be the best I can possibly be. At the end of the day, I don't want anybody feeling sorry for me."
Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore. |
Renfrewshire Child Poverty Commission urges 'benefits rethink' By Reevel Alderson
BBC Scotland's social affairs correspondent Published duration 13 March 2015
image copyright Thinkstock image caption The commission is the first to look at child poverty at a local level
A group investigating child poverty in one Scottish local authority area has urged the UK government to rethink its benefits reforms.
Renfrewshire's Tackling Poverty Commission is the first of its kind in Scotland.
It set out 24 recommendations aimed at lifting families "off the breadline".
It came as Citizens Advice Scotland repeated its call for changes to disability benefits to be postponed.
Renfrewshire includes pockets of the most deprived zones in Scotland - with one in five children living in poverty.
The commission, set up by the council, is the first to look specifically at child poverty at a local level.
Its recommendations included:
Stronger focus on closing the attainment gap between pupils from high and low income families
Ensure nurseries offer more flexible childcare
Halve the number of workers paid below the Living Wage of £7.85
Target more resources to improve the health of babies who live in poverty
A new approach to neighbourhood regeneration
Reduce of the cost of the school day
Deprivation levels to be linked explicitly to the way Scottish education resources are allocated
The commission also urged a "rethink of benefit sanctions" and suggested a new "work incentive approach" be trialled in Renfrewshire.
It heard evidence that sanctions which can cut the money paid to claimants who fail to comply with benefit regulations mean "the welfare system no longer provides a safety net for people and could actually be pushing them into crisis".
Case study: Tackling Poverty Commission
"You can't be assertive because they've got your money and you need it to live on," is what one woman told the commission.
She said she lost her benefit payment - £120 a fortnight - for six weeks after arriving minutes late for a Jobcentre appointment.
The Paisley woman in her 40s, who is now in work, told the panel she would rather go hungry than sign back on for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA).
She said: "When you go to the Jobcentre, they make you feel like they're giving money out of their own pocket. And if you've not looked enough for jobs that week, or if you're late, they tell you 'we can stop your money'.
"They spoke about me as if I wasn't there, saying 'has she been late before?' and said it had to go to a decision-maker.
"Even though its £120 a fortnight, they've got control over your life.
"I went through domestic violence and it's the exact same feeling you get.
"You leave there feeling rotten."
Councillor Mike Holmes, chair of the commission, said: "This fight to break the poverty cycle is everyone's responsibility.
"We gathered a significant amount of evidence. And we know that while there are still areas in Renfrewshire facing high deprivation levels, the face of poverty is changing with more households living in poverty now working than not.
"Benefit cuts will take £58m a year away from Renfrewshire, with Paisley North West set to be one of the hardest hit areas in Scotland, and Paisley Job Centre has the third highest number of benefit sanctions in Scotland."
He added: "Research makes a clear link between sanctions and foodbanks, so when you reach the point that children go hungry because a so-called work incentive removes their parent's only income - something has gone very wrong.
"That's why we're asking the UK government to produce and trial a new approach to benefit sanctions and work incentives in Renfrewshire."
image caption The commission has made 24 recommendations aimed at tackling poverty in Renfrewshire
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has also urged the UK government to seek a fresh approach.
It said changes to the way disabled claimants are paid should be delayed until control over them is devolved to Scotland in 2018.
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were introduced in June 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
But the process will not have been completed across Scotland until October 2017 - a year before they are due to be devolved to the Scottish government under recommendations from the Smith Commission on additional powers for Holyrood.
The Department of Work and Pensions has argued that PIP allows claimants to receive a face-to-face assessment and regular reviews to ensure support is directed according to need.
It has also said its figures showed that 22% of people were getting the highest level of support under PIP, compared to 16% under the outgoing DLA system.
And it has said that to "halt this progress now would be to disadvantage disabled people across Scotland".
But CAS said its research in the report Voices from the Frontline showed many claimants have found the changes so far extremely problematic, with delays and uncertainty leaving them without income for long periods and making their health conditions worse.
Policy Manager Keith Dryburgh said: "The figures are quite startling. The Scottish CAB service saw a 78% increase in the number of new PIP issues between July and September 2014, when compared with the same period in 2013."
He added: "We now know that powers over disability benefits are going to be devolved to Scotland in 2018, and it is highly likely that the system will then be changed again.
"It seems to us both uncaring and unnecessary to put thousands of vulnerable people through the distress and uncertainty of two benefit upheavals in just a few years."
'Tiny minority'
Since April 2000, more than six million people have had benefits payments stopped, usually for failing to keep appointments, or demonstrating that they are otherwise not available for work.
The rules were tightened in October 2012, following the Welfare Reform Act.
Payments can be stopped for four weeks, or as much as three years, depending on how many times the rules are broken.
The sanctions also affect people claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA). |
Subcellular fractionation evidence for a putative peroxisome-mitochondrion attachment in the liver of normal and genetically obese (ob/ob and db/db) mice.
1. Liver post-nuclear supernatants (PNS) from several mouse strains were fractionated by zonal centrifugation and fractions analysed by marker-enzyme estimations+electron microscopy. 2. Rate-dependent banding of PNS yielded peroxisome-enriched (PER) and mitochondrion-enriched (MER) regions. 3. Density-dependent banding of PER yielded peroxisomes (approximately 1.22 g/ml) well separated from mitochondria (approximately 1.8 g/ml). 4. Density-dependent banding of MER yielded peroxisomes that co-distributed with mitochondria and electron microscopy revealed close proximity of the two organelles. 5. Experiments demonstrated that co-distribution was not due to weak binding of proteins or to agglutination of organelles. 6. The results indicate in vivo attachment of some mitochondria and peroxisomes. |
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Tubi
Vegetarian restaurant featuring a gallery of photographs by Trang The Phong, opened Jun 2012 originally as Moc Hoa Tho - Vitznau. Serves meals and desserts. German menu and speaking.Price:Expensivemore-less
Avoid This Place!
2
Posted on 09 / 05 / 2013
The food here is ridiculously expensive! Plus, the portion is TOOO small to even be considered a decent meal. After having dined at this place, I had to buy something else to fill up my stomach. I think this place, or the owner of this place is trying to scrooge by not even offering the complimentary traditional Vietnamese jasmine tea, which is served free in a lot of Vietnamese restaurants. I will definitely NOT go back to this place again. And I would also advise others to give this restaurant a miss. In any case, the food is nothing to shout about.
Nice and tasty
5
Posted on 11 / 27 / 2012
Tasteful small restaurant with good Vietnamese photo gallery. Lots of local and fusion dishes, often vegan, and not so vegan but great loking cakes. The stuff I tried was arranged with great care and esp. one of the specialities, the vitznau with coconut, was exceptional. Good english speaking, attentive staff as well. |
/* LIBGIMP - The GIMP Library
* Copyright (C) 1995-2003 Peter Mattis and Spencer Kimball
*
* gimptexttool_pdb.c
*
* This library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or
* modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
* License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
* version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
*
* This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
* Lesser General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
* License along with this library. If not, see
* <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*/
/* NOTE: This file is auto-generated by pdbgen.pl */
#include "config.h"
#include "gimp.h"
/**
* SECTION: gimptexttool
* @title: gimptexttool
* @short_description: Functions for controlling the text tool.
*
* Functions for controlling the text tool.
**/
/**
* gimp_text_fontname:
* @image: The image.
* @drawable: (nullable): The affected drawable: (%NULL for a new text layer).
* @x: The x coordinate for the left of the text bounding box.
* @y: The y coordinate for the top of the text bounding box.
* @text: The text to generate (in UTF-8 encoding).
* @border: The size of the border.
* @antialias: Antialiasing.
* @size: The size of text in either pixels or points.
* @size_type: The units of specified size.
* @fontname: The name of the font.
*
* Add text at the specified location as a floating selection or a new
* layer.
*
* This tool requires a fontname matching an installed PangoFT2 font.
* You can specify the fontsize in units of pixels or points, and the
* appropriate metric is specified using the size_type argument. The x
* and y parameters together control the placement of the new text by
* specifying the upper left corner of the text bounding box. If the
* specified drawable parameter is valid, the text will be created as a
* floating selection attached to the drawable. If the drawable
* parameter is not valid (%NULL), the text will appear as a new layer.
* Finally, a border can be specified around the final rendered text.
* The border is measured in pixels. Parameter size-type is not used
* and is currently ignored. If you need to display a font in points,
* divide the size in points by 72.0 and multiply it by the image's
* vertical resolution.
*
* Returns: (nullable) (transfer none):
* The new text layer or %NULL if no layer was created.
**/
GimpLayer *
gimp_text_fontname (GimpImage *image,
GimpDrawable *drawable,
gdouble x,
gdouble y,
const gchar *text,
gint border,
gboolean antialias,
gdouble size,
GimpSizeType size_type,
const gchar *fontname)
{
GimpValueArray *args;
GimpValueArray *return_vals;
GimpLayer *text_layer = NULL;
args = gimp_value_array_new_from_types (NULL,
GIMP_TYPE_IMAGE, image,
GIMP_TYPE_DRAWABLE, drawable,
G_TYPE_DOUBLE, x,
G_TYPE_DOUBLE, y,
G_TYPE_STRING, text,
G_TYPE_INT, border,
G_TYPE_BOOLEAN, antialias,
G_TYPE_DOUBLE, size,
GIMP_TYPE_SIZE_TYPE, size_type,
G_TYPE_STRING, fontname,
G_TYPE_NONE);
return_vals = gimp_pdb_run_procedure_array (gimp_get_pdb (),
"gimp-text-fontname",
args);
gimp_value_array_unref (args);
if (GIMP_VALUES_GET_ENUM (return_vals, 0) == GIMP_PDB_SUCCESS)
text_layer = GIMP_VALUES_GET_LAYER (return_vals, 1);
gimp_value_array_unref (return_vals);
return text_layer;
}
/**
* gimp_text_get_extents_fontname:
* @text: The text to generate (in UTF-8 encoding).
* @size: The size of text in either pixels or points.
* @size_type: The units of specified size.
* @fontname: The name of the font.
* @width: (out): The width of the specified font.
* @height: (out): The height of the specified font.
* @ascent: (out): The ascent of the specified font.
* @descent: (out): The descent of the specified font.
*
* Get extents of the bounding box for the specified text.
*
* This tool returns the width and height of a bounding box for the
* specified text string with the specified font information. Ascent
* and descent for the specified font are returned as well. Parameter
* size-type is not used and is currently ignored. If you need to
* display a font in points, divide the size in points by 72.0 and
* multiply it by the vertical resolution of the image you are taking
* into account.
*
* Returns: TRUE on success.
**/
gboolean
gimp_text_get_extents_fontname (const gchar *text,
gdouble size,
GimpSizeType size_type,
const gchar *fontname,
gint *width,
gint *height,
gint *ascent,
gint *descent)
{
GimpValueArray *args;
GimpValueArray *return_vals;
gboolean success = TRUE;
args = gimp_value_array_new_from_types (NULL,
G_TYPE_STRING, text,
G_TYPE_DOUBLE, size,
GIMP_TYPE_SIZE_TYPE, size_type,
G_TYPE_STRING, fontname,
G_TYPE_NONE);
return_vals = gimp_pdb_run_procedure_array (gimp_get_pdb (),
"gimp-text-get-extents-fontname",
args);
gimp_value_array_unref (args);
*width = 0;
*height = 0;
*ascent = 0;
*descent = 0;
success = GIMP_VALUES_GET_ENUM (return_vals, 0) == GIMP_PDB_SUCCESS;
if (success)
{
*width = GIMP_VALUES_GET_INT (return_vals, 1);
*height = GIMP_VALUES_GET_INT (return_vals, 2);
*ascent = GIMP_VALUES_GET_INT (return_vals, 3);
*descent = GIMP_VALUES_GET_INT (return_vals, 4);
}
gimp_value_array_unref (return_vals);
return success;
}
|
Mortar shells hit Damascus neighborhood, killing 6
By ALBERT AJI and KARIN LAUBAssociated Press
March 11, 2013 04:05 PM
This citizen journalism image taken on, Sunday, March. 10, 2013 and provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians standing next to dead bodies that have been pulled from the river near Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood, Syria. Activists said the dead bodies of at least 20 men were pulled from a river that runs between regime- and rebel-controlled parts of the northern city. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)ERIE TIMES-NEWS
By ALBERT AJI and KARIN LAUBAssociated Press
March 11, 2013 04:05 PM
Mortar shells struck a predominantly Christian neighborhood and a football stadium at game time in Damascus on Monday, killing six civilians and wounding at least 24 in what appeared to be an escalating campaign by rebels to sow fear in the Syrian capital.
Opposition fighters trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad have stepped up mortar attacks on Damascus in recent weeks, striking deeper than ever into the heart of the city.
Rebel fighters tried in the past to establish bridgeheads in Damascus, but were pushed back to the suburbs by regime forces. Recent rebel mortar attacks on the city signal a new tactic in trying to loosen Assad's grip on his main stronghold.
In the latest attacks, four mortars hit Bab Sharqi, a predominantly Christian area known for its old churches. One shell fell in a park, two near an ice cream shop and a fourth hit a house nearby, said a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Six people were killed and 24 wounded, officials said. It was one of the highest death tolls in recent mortar attacks on the capital.
A mortar shell also hit the Tishrin football stadium in another neighborhood, the central Barakmeh district, wounding several people during a game, according to the state-run news agency SANA.
Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa, head of the Syrian General Sports Federation, said the mortar landed just off the pitch during the second half of a game, causing light damage. Four players on the bench and a journalist were hurt, he said. They were taken to hospital and were in stable condition.
Mortar rounds struck the stadium once before, in late February, killing a player and injuring several during a practice session. Also last month, two mortar shells exploded near one of Assad's palaces, causing some damage.
There was no claim of responsibility for Monday's mortar attacks and it was not clear whether the Christian neighborhood and the football stadium were targeted or were struck by stray shells.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-regime activist group, reported clashes between regime forces and rebels in the Jobar neighborhood, about two miles (three kilometers) east of the stadium.
The Syrian conflict erupted two years ago, initially as a largely peaceful uprising against Assad. In response to a brutal regime crackdown, Assad's opponents took up arms, sparking a civil war. More than 70,000 have been killed and some 4 million - out of a population of 22 million - have been forced from their homes by the fighting, according to U.N. estimates.
The fighting has affected most areas of Syria.
A U.N.-appointed commission on Syria said in a new report that the country appeared condemned to an "unimaginably bleak future."
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, head of the panel investigating war crimes in Syria, said that "there are no more enclaves of stability in Syria today, and the civilian space is almost completely eroded."
He said the commission has collected evidence on 20 massacres in Syria, a reflection of the civil war's growing brutality. This includes three in the central city of Homs since December, he said.
Both sides are committing war crimes, but it appears that "government authorities have been involved more in regard to crimes against humanity," added commission member Vitit Muntarbhorn.
The commission began its work in August 2011 after being appointed by the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council.
The French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said the EU should consider allowing munitions to be sent to outgunned Syrian rebels.
"There is a lack of balance between the Assad regime, which has weapons coming from Iran and Russia - powerful weapons - and the (rebel) National Coalition, which doesn't have the same weapons," Fabius said.
He said that "we cannot accept such an unbalanced state, which leads to the slaughter of the population."
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Lakhdar Brahimi, the special U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, said only a political solution can save Syria. Without one, "the situation will be similar to or even worse than Somalia," said Brahimi, who attended the meeting in Brussels.
The West has been reluctant to send weapons for fear they may fall into the hands of Islamic extremists who have become increasingly dominant in key battlegrounds in Syria.
But with the war locked in a stalemate, Britain last month persuaded the EU to soften the embargo and allow member states to provide non-lethal aid, such as armored vehicles. The U.S. also said this month it would for the first time provide non-lethal aid to the rebels.
The military deadlock was illustrated by the renewed fighting for control of Baba Amr, a poor neighborhood of the central city of Homs.
Last year, government forces besieged Baba Amr for a month before rebel forces withdrew and the government seized control on March 1. Hundreds of people were killed in the violence, including two foreign journalists.
On Sunday, rebels pushed back into Baba Amr, and fighting raged there on Monday. Syrian forces fired heavy machine guns and launched at least one airstrike, sending residents fleeing the area, carrying satchels and children.
It was unclear how much of the neighborhood rebels had seized or continued to hold.
Also Monday, a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped by Syrian rebels five months ago, told the news agency RIA Novosti that she had escaped and was on her way to Damascus.
Anhar Kochneva was working as an interpreter for a Russian TV crew when she was kidnapped Oct. 9, according to the Ukrainian government. Her kidnappers reportedly threatened to kill her unless a ransom was paid.
-----
Laub reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers John Heilprin in Geneva and Don Melvin in Brussels contributed to this report. |
All relevant data are available on Open Science Framework: <https://osf.io/cs9c2/>. The data from the experiment and modeling is part of an R-package, which can be accessed here: <https://cran.r-project.org/package=AcousticNDLCodeR>. The corpus GECO 1.0 used in this study is available from the IMS Universität Stuttgart: <http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/forschung/ressourcen/korpora/IMS-GECO.en.html>. As stated on the website, the authors Antje Schweitzer and Natalie Lewandowski can be contacted via <geco@ims.uni-stuttgart.de> for any questions regarding the corpus or to obtain the corpus for scientific purposes.
Introduction {#sec001}
============
The invention of alphabetic writing systems has deeply influenced western reflection on language and language processing \[[@pone.0174623.ref001]\]. Just as letters make up written words, spoken words are assumed to consist of sequences of speech sounds (phones), the universal building blocks of language \[[@pone.0174623.ref002]\]. However, acoustic realizations of phones and words are known to be extremely variable within and across speakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the understanding of spoken words hinges on the identification of phones. In linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive science, it is widely assumed that the only way in which the extreme variability in the speech signal can be dealt with is by funneling speech comprehension through abstract phone representations or feature bundles derived thereof \[[@pone.0174623.ref003], [@pone.0174623.ref004]\].
The validity of phones as central units of linguistic theory has not gone unchallenged \[[@pone.0174623.ref005]\]. It is well-known that phone recognition depends on surrounding phones. For instance, the difference between *p* and *k* is carried primarily by formant transitions in surrounding vowels \[[@pone.0174623.ref006]\] and the difference between postvocalic *p* and *b* is often indicated by the duration of the vowel \[[@pone.0174623.ref007]\]. Although recent years have seen the development of automatic speech recognition systems that eschew phones and phone inventories, such as the Deep Speech system \[[@pone.0174623.ref008]\], models of auditory comprehension in cognitive science and psycholinguistics build on phones as central theoretical units \[[@pone.0174623.ref009]--[@pone.0174623.ref012]\].
An unsolved problem for theories building on the phone as foundational unit for auditory comprehension is that in conversational speech, words tend to be uttered with substantially shortened forms. In English, *hilarious* can reduce to *hleres* \[[@pone.0174623.ref013]\], in Dutch, *natuurlijk* reduces to *tuuk* \[[@pone.0174623.ref014]\], and in German, *würden* is shortened to *wün* \[[@pone.0174623.ref015]\]. A survey of English spontaneous conversations \[[@pone.0174623.ref013]\] indicates that some 5% of words are spoken with one syllable missing, and that a little over 20% of words have at least one phone missing. It has been argued that reductions arise from stronger anticipatory coarticulation due to higher linguistic experience with these words \[[@pone.0174623.ref016], [@pone.0174623.ref017]\]. Importantly, when speakers do understand reduced forms such as *hleres*, the sound image that reaches awareness is not the reduced form, but the canonical citation form (*hilarious*) \[[@pone.0174623.ref018]\]. Thus, there is a large discrepancy between the signal that drives recognition and the word form available to conscious reflection \[[@pone.0174623.ref005]\]. Importantly, adding reduced forms to the lexicon tends not to lead to enhanced performance, as the number of improvements is typically offset by a similar number of deteriorations \[[@pone.0174623.ref013], [@pone.0174623.ref019]\].
Here, we present a novel cognitive model for the initial stage of auditory comprehension that does not build on the phone as theoretical unit, while addressing the comprehension of reduced forms in a principled way. Trained on a mere 20 hours of German spontaneous speech, this computational model correctly identifies 25% of the words presented in the experiment described below. Here, we also document that this accuracy is well within the range of human performance. Of theoretical importance is that the model does not make use of any representations for phones or phonic words. At the heart of the model is a 'wide' learning algorithm \[[@pone.0174623.ref020]--[@pone.0174623.ref022]\] that takes acoustic features as inputs and pointers to semantic vectors \[[@pone.0174623.ref023], [@pone.0174623.ref024]\] as outputs (henceforth lexomes).
Materials and methods {#sec002}
=====================
Materials {#sec003}
---------
We used the GECO corpus v1.0 \[[@pone.0174623.ref025]\] for training our model as well as for sampling stimuli for our comprehension experiments. The corpus consists of spontaneous dialogues between 13 female speakers unknown to each other. In total, the corpus contains 20 hours of speech.
Formalization of learning {#sec004}
-------------------------
Cognitive performance was modeled by means of supervised learning using the Rescorla-Wagner [Eq (2)](#pone.0174623.e010){ref-type="disp-formula"} \[[@pone.0174623.ref026]\], a learning algorithm closely related to the perceptron \[[@pone.0174623.ref027]\] and adaptive learning in electrical engineering \[[@pone.0174623.ref028]\]. The Rescorla-Wagner learning rule predicts many aspects of both animal \[[@pone.0174623.ref029]\] and human learning \[[@pone.0174623.ref030], [@pone.0174623.ref031]\], and also predicts a wide array of findings in human lexical processing \[[@pone.0174623.ref032]\]. This learning rule fits well with the firing patterns observed for dopaminergic neurons \[[@pone.0174623.ref033]\] and may have evolutionary advantages in natural selection \[[@pone.0174623.ref034]\].
The Rescorla-Wagner equations estimate the association strengths (weights) on the connections between a set of input units $\mathcal{C}$ (with cardinality *k*), henceforth *cues*, and a set of output units $\mathcal{O}$ (with cardinality *n*), henceforth *outcomes*. After exposure to all training data, and having encountered all *k* cues and all *n* outcomes, the network is defined by a *k* × *n* matrix of connection weights. In the course of learning, the weight matrix will be smaller, as at a given point in time *t*, only a subset of cues and outcomes will have been encountered. For each learning event *L*~*t*~, *t* = 1, 2, ..., *T*, weights are adjusted on the connections from the cues actually present in the input of that learning event, henceforth the *active* cues $\mathcal{C}_{t}$ ($\mathcal{C}_{t} \subseteq \mathcal{C}$), to all the outcomes $\mathcal{O}_{1,\ldots,t}$ that have been encountered at least once during any of the learning events 1, 2, ..., *t*, henceforth $\mathcal{O}_{t}$ ($\mathcal{O}_{t} \subseteq \mathcal{O}$). The change effected in the weight from cue *c*~*i*~ to outcome *o*~*j*~ at learning event *t*, $\Delta w_{ij}^{t - 1}$, which defines the weight at the end of learning event *L*~*t*~, $$\begin{array}{r}
{w_{ij}^{(t)} = w_{ij}^{(t - 1)} + \Delta w_{ij}^{(t - 1)},} \\
\end{array}$$ is given by the Rescorla-Wagner equations. Letting *I*~\[*γ*\]~ evaluate to 1 if condition *γ* is true, and to 0 otherwise, the change in weight is defined as follows: $$\begin{array}{r}
{\Delta w_{ij}^{(t - 1)} = \begin{cases}
0 & {\text{if}\mspace{720mu} c_{i} \ni \mathcal{C}_{t},} \\
{\alpha_{i}\beta_{j}\mspace{180mu}\left( {\lambda - \sum\limits_{m}\mspace{180mu}\text{I}_{\lbrack c_{m} \in \mathcal{C}_{t}\rbrack}w_{mj}^{(t - 1)}} \right)} & {\text{if}\mspace{720mu} c_{i} \in \mathcal{C}_{t} \land \mspace{720mu} o_{j} \in \mathcal{O}_{j},} \\
{\alpha_{i}\beta_{j}\mspace{180mu}\left( {0 - \sum\limits_{m}\mspace{180mu}\text{I}_{\lbrack c_{m} \in \mathcal{C}_{t}\rbrack}w_{mj}^{(t - 1)}} \right)} & {\text{if}\mspace{720mu} c_{i} \in \mathcal{C}_{t} \land \mspace{720mu} o_{j} \ni \mathcal{O}_{j} \land o_{j} \in \mathcal{O}_{1,\ldots,t - 1},} \\
0 & {\text{otherwise}.} \\
\end{cases}} \\
\end{array}$$
In our calculations, *λ* is set to 1.0 and *α*~*i*~ *β*~*j*~ = 0.001 for all *i*, *j*. The first condition in [Eq (2)](#pone.0174623.e010){ref-type="disp-formula"} concerns cues that are not in the input. Weights on efferent connections from such cues are left unchanged. The second condition applies to cues and outcomes that are both present in the learning event *t*. In this case, weights are strengthened. Furthermore, when many cues are present simultaneously in *t*, the magnitude of the increase tends to be reduced. The third condition handles the adjustments of the weights on connections from cues that are present in the input to outcomes that are not present, but that have been encountered previously during learning. Weights are now decreased, and the decrease will tend to be larger when more cues are present in the input. The fourth condition concerns associations between cues and outcomes that have not yet been encountered. Here, association weights remain unchanged.
Acoustic cues {#sec005}
-------------
The Rescorla-Wagner learning rule requires discrete cues. Hence, an algorithm is required that derives a comparatively small number of discrete cues from the speech signal. The by-word Frequency Band Summaries (FBS) algorithm takes the speech signal of a word (as available in a speech corpus) as input, and derives discrete acoustic cues as follows.
First, the speech signal of a word is resampled to 16 kHz, using the function `resamp()` provided by the `seewave` (version 2.0.5) package for R \[[@pone.0174623.ref035], [@pone.0174623.ref036]\].
Second, the signal is partitioned into chunks using minima of the Hilbert amplitude envelope. The function `env()` provided by the `seewave` package \[[@pone.0174623.ref036]\] was used to compute the Hilbert amplitude envelope \[[@pone.0174623.ref037]\], with a Daniell kernel for the smooth with a kernel dimension of 800 \[[@pone.0174623.ref038]\]. Minima on the envelope were extracted with the function `rollapply()` provided by the `zoo` (version 1.7-13) package, evaluating whether the middle segment of a 1000 sample long window (62.5 ms) has the smallest value. In case this is true, a chunk boundary is positioned at this segment (see the top panel of [Fig 1](#pone.0174623.g001){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0174623.g001}
Third, for each chunk, we obtained FBS features as follows. We calculated the power spectrum using a window length of 5 ms without overlap, resulting in 64 frequency bands (0 to 8000 Hz). Subsequently, we transformed the power spectrum by means of a critical band analysis to 21 mel spectrum bands of equal width, resulting in a time by frequency matrix ***M***. A detailed description of the transformation can be found in \[[@pone.0174623.ref039]\] We used `powspec()` and `audspec()`, both provided by `tuneR` (version 1.3.1), to perform these steps. Intensities in these frequency bands were discretized by first taking the logarithm of ***M*** and applying the following equation (with *s* the number of discrete intensity values, 5 in the present study): $$\begin{array}{r}
{\mathbf{M}_{s} = \left\lceil \frac{s\left\{ \mathbf{M} - \min\left( \mathbf{M} \right) \right\}}{\left| \min\left( \mathbf{M} \right) - \max\left( \mathbf{M} \right) \right|} \right\rceil} \\
\end{array}$$
The resulting discretized spectrum is exemplified in the lower panel of [Fig 1](#pone.0174623.g001){ref-type="fig"}.
Fourth, for each chunk, and for each of the 21 frequency bands in a given chunk, the information in this band is summarized. Thus, for a word with *N* chunks, there are *N* × 21 features. A feature summary consists of frequency band number, the first intensity value, the median of all values in the frequency band, the minimum and maximum intensity, the last intensity value, and chunk index. Thus, the FBS feature `band1start1median2min1max4end2part1` specifies that in the lowest frequency band in the first chunk, the first intensity value is 1, the median in the whole frequency band is 2, the minimum is 1, the maximum is 4 and the final value is 2. Although transparent for the user, for the learning algorithm, an FBS feature is simply an identifier. FBS features are implemented in the `AcousticNDLCoder` \[[@pone.0174623.ref040]\] (version 1.0) package for R.
FBS features are inspired by the different receptive areas of the cochlea known to be responsive to variation in specific frequency ranges in acoustic signals \[[@pone.0174623.ref041]\]. Their cognitive conceptualization is that for a given frequency band, several neural cell assemblies respond to aspects of the temporal dynamics, such as maximum or minimum frequency reached. A specific FBS feature is therefore a proxy for the joint response of these lower-level cell assemblies.
For the speech in the GECO corpus, 78,814 different FBS features were extracted. The grouped frequency distribution of the FBS features follows a power law ([Fig 2](#pone.0174623.g002){ref-type="fig"}). An important property of FBS features is that they are robust to differences in speech rate, and that they do not require prior speaker normalization.
{#pone.0174623.g002}
Model-based predictors {#sec006}
----------------------
A Rescorla-Wagner network with 78,814 FBS features as cues and 13,388 lexomes as outcomes was trained on the 246,625 word tokens in the order in which these appeared in the speech files of the GECO corpus. A word token in this case is every element in the transcriptions that is not enclosed by angled brackets "\< \>". A lexome is a unique word token. Each word token contributed a learning event with FBS features extracted from the speech file using the word boundaries available in the corpus, and as outcome the word's orthographic form, representing a pointer to that word's location in semantic vector space. For each learning event, weights were updated according to the Rescorla-Wagner learning [Eq (2)](#pone.0174623.e010){ref-type="disp-formula"}, resulting in a weight matrix ***W*** characterizing the final state of the network.
Two predictors are derived from ***W***. First, the activation $a\left( \mathcal{O}_{j} \right)$ of outcome $\mathcal{O}_{j}$ is defined as the sum of the afferent weights to $\mathcal{O}_{j}$ originating from the active cues of word *ω*, $\mathcal{C}_{\omega}$: $$a\left( \mathcal{O}_{j} \right) = \sum\limits_{i}\text{I}_{\lbrack c_{i} \in \mathcal{C}_{\omega}\rbrack}w_{ij}.$$
Presentation of the FBS features of a word stimulus $\mathcal{C}_{\omega}$ to the network results in a distribution $A_{\mathcal{C}_{\omega}}$ over the output layer of the network, with values that tend to fall within the interval \[-1, 1\]. The outcome (lexome) with the highest activation is selected as the model's best candidate.
Second, the distribution of activations itself is also informative. In order to provide evidence for lexicality, the acoustic input should support at least some words, and thus there should be at least some values in the activation vector $A_{\mathcal{C}_{\omega}}$ that are sufficiently different from zero. An activation vector with only values close to zero characterizes a situation where only unintelligible noise is perceived, and for which we expect the participants in our experiment to make a *no*-response. A *yes*-response can be made only when there is at least one strongly activated lexome. Due to the dense nature of lexical similarity space \[[@pone.0174623.ref042], [@pone.0174623.ref043]\], however, a given acoustic input will typically activate not just one lexome, but a range of lexomes. Thus, an activation vector for a clear signal will tend to have many non-zero values, providing support for lexicality and a *yes*-response. We use the L1-norm (absolute length) of the vector of lexome activations given active cues $\mathcal{C}_{\omega}$, $$\text{L1-norm}\left( \mathcal{C}_{\omega} \right) = \sum\limits_{j = 1}^{n}\left| a\left( \mathcal{O}_{j} \right) \right|,$$ to assess the amount of support for lexicality. An L1-norm close to zero is a strong indicator of lack of contact with the lexicon, and predicts fast rejections in identification tasks. Larger values of the L1-norm indicate good support for lexicality, and predict slow acceptance in identification. Acceptance is predicted to be slow because irrelevant but well-supported competitors slow identification decisions.
Experiment {#sec007}
----------
We performed an auditory comprehension experiment with a random sample of words from the GECO corpus as stimuli. Four groups of 10 native speakers of German (34 female, 6 male, mean age 23 years, sd 3.9, all right-handed, no report of speech or hearing disorder) volunteered to take part in the experiment. They were rewarded with 10 euro for their participation, or with course credit. None had any known auditory deficits. We applied the ethical standards of research with human participants at the faculty of arts of the University of Tübingen. The participants read and signed a standard informed consent form and were informed that they could stop participating in the experiment at any time and without any disadvantages for themselves. Responses were de-identified before the analysis. The researchers who analyzed the data were not involved in data collection. For statistical analysis, it is essential to retain (anonymized) identifiers for participants, so that participant can be entered as random-effect factor into a mixed effects regression analysis. Crucially, it is not possible from the data files that were analyzed (available for research purposes as part of the `AcousticNDLCodeR` package \[[@pone.0174623.ref040]\]) to reconstruct who the actual participants were.
Two sets of 500 stimuli were randomly sampled from the audio files in the GECO corpus v1.0, with as only restriction on the random sampling that the word type corresponding to the audio file occurs at least 11 times in the corpus. This is to ensure with a statistic probability that not all instances of a given word are in the test set and none are in the training set. The audio files sampled represent a total of 311 different word types, 40% of which are function words, with sample frequencies ranging from 1 (177 types, median frequency) to 52 (1 type). The five most frequent words in the stimulus set were *ja* (52), *ich* (48), *und* (38), *so* (34), and *das* (31). [Fig 3](#pone.0174623.g003){ref-type="fig"} presents examples of the very different realizations of *und* 'and', with varying degrees of reduction. By sampling randomly, we ensured, first, that the experimental stimuli are representative of the tokens encountered in the corpus, and second, that the challenge of recognizing lower-frequency words is properly balanced by the challenge of recognizing highly reduced variants of high-frequency words.
![Examples of four realizations of German *und* ('and').\
Upper left: \[ʊnt^h^\], upper right: \[ʊn\], lowel left: \[ʊnt^h^\], lower right: \[n\].](pone.0174623.g003){#pone.0174623.g003}
In each experiment, 7 additional stimuli were used for a practice block. The audio files in the corpus were recorded at different volumes and presented to participants exactly as in the corpus, without any further normalization.
Two groups listened to the stimuli with Sennheiser headphones, and two groups listened to the stimuli with Creative loudspeakers placed at a distance of approximately 80 cm in a sound-attenuated booth.
Subjects were first asked to indicate, by pressing the *m* and *z* keys on a [qwerty]{.smallcaps} keyboard, whether they understood the word presented. We refer to this part of the task as the recognition task. Following their button press, subjects were requested to type in the word they had identified, or an 'X' if they had no idea of which word was presented. We refer to this part of the task as the dictation task. Button presses and time stamps for the button presses and onset of typing were collected with SR Research Experiment Builder version 1.10.1241 running on a Lanbox Lite computer running Windows 7 Professional. The experiment was self-paced. Short pauses were allowed after each block of 50 trials. The duration of the experiment varied between 40 and 60 minutes.
Results and discussion {#sec008}
======================
Recognition accuracy ranged from 40.6% to 98.8% (mean 72.6%), dictation accuracy ranged from 20.8% to 44.0% (mean 32.6%). Recognition accuracy and dictation accuracy were not correlated (*r* = 0.19, *t*~38~ = 1.17, *p* = 0.25). Dictation accuracy provides a more precise approximation of human identification performance than the self-reported recognition accuracy measure, which emerges as overly optimistic.
There was a significant difference in rating accuracy and reaction times for both tasks between listeners in the headphones condition and those in the loudspeaker condition. The listeners in the loudspeaker condition had a lower average dictation accuracy of 29.4% compared to 35.7% in the headphones condition. They also required significantly less time in both tasks, suggesting a speed-accuracy trade-off.
Identification accuracy, as gauged by dictation accuracy, was low compared to other studies. In \[[@pone.0174623.ref044]\], read speech and speech recorded from lectures elicited recognition rates ranging between 49.7% and 90% (depending on word duration). As lectures tend to require much more careful articulation than spontaneous face-to-face conversations, higher identification rates are to be expected. In \[[@pone.0174623.ref045]\], a range of speech registers was considered with as most informal register the Switchboard telephone conversations. For Switchboard, human identification accuracy for isolated word was at 88%. Given that speaking over the telephone to strangers also requires relatively careful pronunciation, the high accuracy is again unsurprising. Accuracy reported for highly spontaneous Dutch conversations is much lower, ranging from 88% for words with little reduction to 50% for highly reduced words \[[@pone.0174623.ref014]\]. As illustrated above in [Fig 3](#pone.0174623.g003){ref-type="fig"}, many of the words in our experiment are highly reduced.
The same audio files that were presented to participants were also presented to the wide learning network, resulting in, for each audio input, the lexome recognized (the lexome with the highest activation), the activation of the lexome recognized, and the L1-norm of the activation vector. For the two sets of 500 words presented to the two groups of participants in our experiment, average model accuracy was at 25.2%, with training on all but the sample of 1000 words used as stimuli in the experiments. The pairwise overlap in correctly identified words was similar and statistically indistinguishable for pairs of speakers and speaker-model pairings. In both the loudspeaker and headphones condition, subjects were present that performed with lower identification accuracy compared to our model (range loudspeaker condition 20.8--40.6%, range headphone condition 21.6--44.0%). The model still achieved an overall identification accuracy of 20% under the more stringent evaluation using leave-one-speaker-out cross-validation, evaluated on all in-vocabulary words.
Just as listeners accommodate to their interlocutors, the model adapts to the speech of held-out speakers. This can be seen by comparing model performance on held-out speakers with and without training on these speakers' audio. Performance with training on the speech of a given held-out speaker is superior to performance when the audio of that speaker is withheld from training, with an increase ranging from 8% to 17% ([Fig 4](#pone.0174623.g004){ref-type="fig"}). The greater the number of novel FBS features in the speech of the held-out speaker, the lower the improvement in accuracy is.
{#pone.0174623.g004}
Statistical evaluation of the recognition and dictation response variables was conducted with the help of the generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) \[[@pone.0174623.ref046], [@pone.0174623.ref047]\] with random intercepts for words and by-participant factor smooths for trial \[[@pone.0174623.ref048]\]. We used logistic GAMMs (and standard z-tests for evaluating coefficients) for modeling recognition scores and dictation accuracy, and Gaussian GAMMs (and standard t-tests) for modeling recognition and dictation latencies. Activations and L1-norms were log-transformed to reduce adverse effects of overly influential outliers, but as their distributions remained irregular, we restricted their effects to be linear. Recognition and dictation latencies were inverse transformed to make them amenable to Gaussian modeling. [Table 1](#pone.0174623.t001){ref-type="table"} documents the parametric coefficients of the models and associated statistics. [Fig 5](#pone.0174623.g005){ref-type="fig"} visualizes subject variability around the estimates for the coefficients of `LogActivation` and `LogL1norm`. Complete documentation and data are available at the Open Science Framework at <https://osf.io/cs9c2/>.
10.1371/journal.pone.0174623.t001
###### Coefficients, standard errors, test statistics, and p-values for the accuracy measures (upper part) and response latencies (lower table).
{#pone.0174623.t001g}
--------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------ --------- ------------- -------------
Estimate Std. Error z value Pr(\>\|z\|) Task
Intercept -1.0601 0.5989 -1.7703 0.0767 recognition
LogL1norm 2.1008 0.2333 9.0048 \<0.0001 recognition
PresentationMethodloudspeaker -0.0773 0.7716 -0.1002 0.9202 recognition
LogActivation -0.0885 0.1236 -0.7162 0.4739 recognition
PresentationMethodloudspeaker:LogActivation 0.2937 0.1159 2.5334 0.0113 recognition
Intercept -1.4455 0.3164 -4.5684 \<0.0001 dictation
PresentationMethodloudspeaker -0.4944 0.1680 -2.9422 0.0033 dictation
LogL1norm 0.8698 0.1733 5.0184 \<0.0001 dictation
LogActivation 0.4928 0.1166 4.2276 \<0.0001 dictation
Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(\>\|t\|) Task
(Intercept) 7.3944 0.0774 95.5084 \<0.0001 recognition
PresentationMethodloudspeaker -0.1938 0.1055 -1.8378 0.0661 recognition
LogL1norm -0.0246 0.0219 -1.1269 0.2598 recognition
LogActivation -0.0108 0.0137 -0.7849 0.4325 recognition
PresentationMethodloudspeaker:LogL1norm 0.0667 0.0260 2.5640 0.0104 recognition
PresentationMethodloudspeaker:LogActivation -0.0339 0.0152 -2.2306 0.0257 recognition
(Intercept) 6.1592 0.1384 44.4947 \<0.0001 dictation
PresentationMethodloudspeaker 0.1772 0.1835 0.9655 0.3343 dictation
LogL1norm 0.5144 0.0561 9.1685 \<0.0001 dictation
LogActivation -0.1123 0.0249 -4.5132 \<0.0001 dictation
--------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------ --------- ------------- -------------
{#pone.0174623.g005}
A greater L1-norm (lexicality) predicted a greater probability of a *yes*-response in the recognition task across both presentation conditions, a longer recognition latency in the loudspeaker condition but not in the headphones condition, a greater dictation accuracy in both presentation conditions as well as a longer dictation latency in both conditions. When stimuli were presented over headphones, a greater L1-norm also predicted longer recognition latencies.
Activation was not predictive for recognition scores when stimuli were presented over headphones, but when loudspeakers were used for presentation, greater activation predicted higher recognition rates. A similar effect, but now robust across both presentation methods, was present for dictation accuracy. A greater activation also predicted shorter recognition latencies, but only when loudspeakers were used. A greater activation also predicted shorter dictation latencies, irrespective of presentation condition.
In summary, the wide learning model not only has an identification accuracy within the range of human performance, but several measures derived from the model's weight matrix contribute to our understanding of the recognition and dictation response variables. Where significant, a greater activation affords greater accuracy and shorter response times, exactly as expected for a measure of bottom-up support. The L1-norm, as a general measure of evidence for lexicality, predicts both greater accuracy and longer response latencies: When the L1-norm is large, many potential lexical candidates are available. The resolution of this lexical conflict requires time, slowing yes responses but making them more accurate at the same time.
We note here that although identification accuracy of the model is low, at around 20--25%, the task of understanding isolated words taken from highly spontaneous speech is a hard one. This can be seen by inspecting performance of a standard industrial application, the Google Cloud Speech API, which correctly identifies 5.4% of the 1000 stimuli. The higher accuracy of wide learning is likely to be due to training on a much smaller corpus with far fewer speakers and a substantially more restricted vocabulary. At the same time, the GECO corpus likely offers many more instances of highly reduced words than the materials on which the Google Cloud Speech API is trained.
Discussion {#sec009}
----------
These results have far-reaching implications. Under optimal learning conditions, the initial stages of human processing of speech input may be far less complex than assumed by current state-of-the-art computational models in cognitive psychology \[[@pone.0174623.ref009], [@pone.0174623.ref010]\]. Importantly, the congruency of model predictions and native speaker performance strongly suggests that the speech signal of isolated words extracted from free spontaneous speech is rarely sufficient for complete identification, not for humans and not for computational models of human language processing. This in turn highlights the importance of (e. g., word *n*-gram) language models \[[@pone.0174623.ref049], [@pone.0174623.ref050]\] and clarifies why listeners are so exquisitely sensitive to non-linguistic cues for auditory comprehension (see also \[[@pone.0174623.ref051]\]), ranging from puffs of air \[[@pone.0174623.ref052]\] to symbols of national identity \[[@pone.0174623.ref053]\].
An important advantage of the wide learning approach adopted here is that it is not necessary to maintain a list of the many pronunciation variants (as in \[[@pone.0174623.ref011], [@pone.0174623.ref012]\]) that are part of the recognition problem. For example, the English word *until* appears with 10 different transcriptions in the Buckeye corpus \[[@pone.0174623.ref013]\], and such examples can easily be multiplied for other languages \[[@pone.0174623.ref054]\] (see [Fig 3](#pone.0174623.g003){ref-type="fig"} for German). Models in which recognition takes place through matching with word forms either have to add countless reduced forms to their lexicon of canonical forms, or they have to devise ways in which mismatches such as between *tě* and its canonical form *until* are discounted. In current cognitive models of auditory comprehension, reduced forms are either ignored during model building and model evaluation \[[@pone.0174623.ref003], [@pone.0174623.ref009], [@pone.0174623.ref010]\] or failure of recognition of reduced forms is tolerated as random performance error \[[@pone.0174623.ref011]\]. These issues simply do not arise in our model.
Interestingly, the number of connection weights actually required for wide learning is only a fraction of the maximal network size. Since the distribution of connection weights is characterized by a majority of weights with values very close to zero ([Fig 6](#pone.0174623.g006){ref-type="fig"}), a dense matrix with 78,814 × 13,388 connection weights can be pruned down to a sparse matrix with 99.31% of the original connections removed. This mirrors connection pruning in human cortical development after the age of 14 \[[@pone.0174623.ref055], [@pone.0174623.ref056]\]. Importantly, pruning leaves accuracy unaffected. With only an average of 38 afferent connections to an output unit, the model respects estimates from neurobiology for single-cell receptivity \[[@pone.0174623.ref057], [@pone.0174623.ref058]\]. In the wide learning approach pursued here, the importance of non-acoustic cues for auditory comprehension can be accounted for under the simple assumption that visual and tactile input units are connected to lexomes in similar ways as FBS features. As for FBS to lexome connections, most weights on the connections from these visual and tactile input units to the lexomes will either be zero or driven close to zero by error, and hence will be pruned. But those non-auditory input units that are actually discriminative for auditory comprehension will remain present and will help boost comprehension of the acoustic signal.
{#pone.0174623.g006}
Whether cognitive models of auditory comprehension can completely dispense with the phone as representational unit remains an open question. The phenomenon of categorical perception \[[@pone.0174623.ref059]\] and infants' sensitivity to transitional probabilities \[[@pone.0174623.ref060]\] are pieces of evidence that are generally taken to support the cognitive validity of phones and auditory word representations. However, these phenomena have been shown \[[@pone.0174623.ref020]\] to follow straightforwardly from the present wide learning approach. Evaluation of the substantial literature on the cognitive reality of the phone is complicated by the acquired skill of sounding out letters that comes with literacy in alphabetic scripts.
We have demonstrated that it is possible to approximate auditory word recognition without phone representations, thus providing a radically new cognitive approach to the initial stage of speech recognition. Whether this approach can be extended to the recognition of continuous speech and compete with current standards in automatic speech recognition systems \[[@pone.0174623.ref061]\] is an open question that we are currently investigating. A related issue is whether phone-like units are essential for cognitive models of speech production. Given recent advances in speech technology using artificial deep neural networks \[[@pone.0174623.ref062]\], more may be possible without phones than current cognitive models would leave one to believe.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: **Conceptualization:** DA HB.**Data curation:** DA FT KS FL HB.**Formal analysis:** DA FT KS HB.**Funding acquisition:** HB.**Investigation:** FL.**Methodology:** DA HB.**Project administration:** HB.**Resources:** DA FL.**Software:** DA.**Supervision:** DA HB.**Validation:** DA FT HB.**Visualization:** DA FT KS HB.**Writing -- original draft:** DA FT KS FL HB.**Writing -- review & editing:** DA FT KS HB.
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Q:
Getting Cross-Origin Request Blocked Error when trying to run socket.io sample
While running the below socket.io sample,I'm getting the below error in the firebug.Can anyone please help me out regarding this issue ...
Cross-Origin Request Blocked: The Same Origin Policy disallows reading the remote resource at http://localhost/socket.io/?EIO=3&transport=polling&t=1447667170745-0. (Reason: CORS header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' missing).
My app.js:
var app = require('express')();
var server = require('http').Server(app);
var io = require('socket.io')(server);
server.listen(80);
app.get('/', function (req, res) {
res.sendfile(__dirname + '/index.html');
});
io.on('connection', function (socket) {
socket.emit('news', { hello: 'world' });
socket.on('my other event', function (data) {
console.log(data);
});
});
My index.html :
<script src="/socket.io/socket.io.js"></script>
<script>
var socket = io.connect('http://localhost');
socket.on('news', function (data) {
console.log(data);
socket.emit('my other event', { my: 'data' });
});
</script>
A:
Install cors library in your node js. Command to install cors is as below.
npm install cors
Now add below code to your nodejs server file to allow cross origin request allow.
var express = require('express');
var cors = require('cors');
var app = express();
app.use(cors());
Sometime its necessary to keep your nodejs client file in root directory where your index file is.
Just check your firewall setting it also block the server port that you are using.
Hope it's work for you.
A:
Try changing the server listening port:
server.listen(8080);
Now that we will be using port 8080, change the HTML script to connect to that port:
var socket = io.connect('http://localhost:8080');
It should all work just fine.
|
Note: "Opportunity employee" means an employee who is not yet 20 years old and who has been in employment status with a particular employer for 90 or fewer consecutive calendar days from the date of initial employment.
MINIMUM WAGE RATES FOR ALL AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES
Adults
........$7.25 Per Hour
Minors
........$7.25 Per Hour
MINIMUM RATES FOR CADDIES
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18 Holes $10.50
For more information contact: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Equal Rights Division
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Q:
AD FS log multiple ip extraction through Regex
Stuck on pcre regex question. I am trying to extract all ips following a field ("Client IP: ") in a AD FS log.
My log looks like this (truncated to save space):
EventCode=411
EventType=0
Type=Information
SidType=1
TaskCategory=Printers
OpCode=Info
Token Type:
http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2006/05/identitymodel/tokens/UserName
Client IP:
110.19.100.155,2603:1032:205:14::5
Error message:
******-This user can't sign in because this account is currently disabled
So the end result desired is that I get both ip addresses under the field src_ip, and that it only tries the regex if it finds the EventCode=411 or 512, etc...
What I have so far is this:
(\s\n|,)(?<src_ip>(?:(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}(?:\d{1,3}))|(?:(?:::)?(?:[\dA-Fa-f]{1,4}:{1,2}){1,7}(?:[\d\%A-Fa-z\.]+)?(?:::)?)|(?:::[\dA-Fa-f\.]{1,15})|(?:::))
This works but does not differentiate for events with only the required Event Codes. So when I do this:
(?ms)(?:EventCode=(411|512))\n.*?(\s\n|,)(?P<src_ip>(?:(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}(?:\d{1,3}))|(?:(?:::)?(?:[\dA-Fa-f]{1,4}:{1,2}){1,7}(?:[\d\%A-Fa-z\.]+)?(?:::)?)|(?:::[\dA-Fa-f\.]{1,15})|(?:::))
It only picks up the first ip.
Any ideas?
A:
You may slightly modify your pattern by adding a custom boundary based on the \G operator that matches the start of a string or, what you need here, the end of the previous successful match:
(?ms)(?:\G(?!\A)\s*,\s*|EventCode=(411|512)\n.*?\R)\K(?P<src_ip>(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}(?:\d{1,3})|(?:::)?(?:[\dA-Fa-f]{1,4}:{1,2}){1,7}[\d%A-Fa-f.]*(?:::)?|::[\dA-Fa-f.]{1,15}|::)
See the regex demo.
Basically, the main difference is (?:\G(?!\A)\s*,\s*|EventCode=(411|512)\n.*?\R)\K:
\G(?!\A)\s*,\s* - the end of the preceding successful match (the start of string position has been subtracted with the negative lookahead (?!\A)), then a comma enclosed with 0+ whitespaces
| - or
EventCode=(411|512)\n.*?\R - EventCode= substring, then (411|512) captures 411 or 512 into Group 1, then \R matches a line break and .*?\R matches any amount of 0+ chars as few as possible up to another line break that will be followed with subsequent subpatterns)
\K - match reset operator discarding all text matched so far from the whole match buffer.
You also had a slight issue: [\d\%A-Fa-z\.] should be written as [\d\%A-Fa-f.].
|
A U.S. federal appeals court says President Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting people from six Muslim-majority countries exceeds his authority.
However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed its decision on hold Friday, pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. That means the ban remains in effect for now.
Earlier this month, Trump’s restrictive travel ban went into effect for the first time since the original order was signed in January.
The travel order has been mired in the courts for almost a year.
At issue is the Trump administration’s stated desire to ensure national security. Pro-immigration groups that have sued to stop the order say it is discriminatory and amounts to a ban on Muslims.
The travel ban targets people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen who want to enter the U.S. |
Q:
Join two collection and perform aggregate and group by in Mongo DB
I have below two collection and I wanted to see the number of task of a project in single output. i.e One project can contain many tasks. So how do I retrieve total project details along with number of task of each project.
I have tried using lookup to join but It gives the matching tasks as a whole object in the output but not getting the number of tasks as single value.
Thanks in advance for the help.!
Project collection:
{ "title":"Project1", "status":"not completed"}
{ "title":"Project2", "status":"completed"}
Task collection:
{ "projectTitle":"Project1", "task":"Task1"}
{ "projectTitle":"Project1", "task":"Task2"}
Expected Output:
[
{ "title":"Project1", "status":"not completed", "noOfTask":2},
{ "title":"Project2", "status":"completed", "noOfTask":0}
]
A:
You can try mongodb aggregation pipeline with $lookup and $project stage to achieve this.
You were going on the right path with doing the lookup in task collection. You just needed to add one more $project stage. The idea is to project noOfTasks as the size of array returned in $lookup stage.
Try this :
db.projects.aggregate([{
$lookup : {
from : "tasks",//name of your task collection
localField : "title",
foreignTitle : "projectTitle",
as : "tasks"
}
},{
$project : {
title : "$title",
status : "$status",
nofTask : {$size : "$tasks"}
}
}])
Read about $project and $size for more info.
|
Category Archives: gubment
Post navigation
I’ve been away too long and y’all are sick of the infrequent posts. It’s been a super busy 2015 and I need to adjust to the increase in activity and work. I’ll make it happen, just bear with me.
While I was away, the FCC announced plans to support the idea of Net Neutrality we think is fair. You know, good ol’ fashioned concepts like content, competition, fair and open travel, and knowing-what-you-pay-for. On the other hand, the cable companies, and their shills in Washington have predictably foretold the death of the Internet as we know it, and that innovation will falter now that cable companies can’t charge huge premiums to discriminate against content providers they don’t like. This week on theSync, my not so humble opinions about these fools and Net Neutrality.
1. It’s About Time This Government Demonstrates It Has Balls
For the last two decades, our government has gone against the will of the People and chose to serve big business. We’ve seen this from everything involving clean energy to insurance and brokerage services. Then Comcast happened to block Netflix traffic. By telling cable and wireless service providers that all traffic must be treated equally, the government is saying that consumers can choose who wins in the content market and that bandwidth isn’t available to the highest bidder. Big business executives can claim this as commie hogwash, but America is the land of the free, for everyone, not an autocracy.
2. We Know What We’re Paying For
One of my biggest issues with this whole affair is the so called fast lanes and hyper fast lanes proposals coming out of Comcast and VZN. What the Hell does this mean and what is fast? It made me question what the Hell I’m paying Comcast for each month. You may remember when Comcast used organized crime’s Broadband Protection tactics against Netflix and extorted higher fees out of them to deliver their content to Comcast customers ‘unimpeded’. My question is, “don’t I already pay for this?” If I’m paying Comcast for high speed Internet service to use the services of my choice, why is Comcast charging Netflix to deliver me content at the same damned speed? If Netflix is paying. What am I paying for? I thought I paid Comcast for “fast” service. I thought I paid them to design their network with some degree of integrity and to build an infrastructure that delivers the content of my choosing to my home. So, what the Hell? If Comcast is going to arbitrarily slow down Netflix traffic or traffic from another content provider I choose to buy from, then what the Hell am I paying for?
3. Threats of Lower Investment is Bulls*&t
Why? Because this is America. The land of red, white, blue, and green. They want to make money. And if Net Neutrality has its way and our governments grow bigger balls, Comcast and the like will face competition from Google, smaller fiber upstarts, and even municipalities. They’ll need to actually begin upgrading their riggidy raggedy infrastructure to stay in business. Right now, the cable companies employ a mob-like business model. Time Warner have their turf in New York and the upper East. Comcast the mid-Atlantic, and Road Runner down South. And guess what? (say this in a thick Brooklyn accent), “Fuggetaboutit! We don’t go on their turf and they don’t come on our turf.” They run a monopolistic, territorial business and don’t have a need to deliver super fast speeds or significantly improve infrastructure. I have Comcast by necessity not choice. VZN didn’t run FIOS to my neighborhood when we moved in, and satellite wasn’t an option, and I can’t afford the line conditioners I’d need for a Tx line. So I had to use Jones Communications for my cable Internet line. I also tried to hire them for TV, but they botched that job and I now have satellite. You get that? They are so entrenched, they leave money on the table. When Google comes calling, they’ll need to either improve their customer service (not likely to happen) or spend money to actually deliver.
4. They Can no Longer Game the System When It Suits Them
VZN and ATT like to play games with their data networks. When it suits them, they ask the government to classify their copper and fiber lines as telecommunications lines so they can get the tax breaks and advantages that come with it. When they don’t want to deliver to less financially attractive areas, they reclassify their lines as data communications because the Telecom Act states that you MUST deliver the same service to everyone. Not with data. By classifying their lines as data lines they don’t have to spend to deliver high speed to low income, rural, or low populous areas. And then, when local municipalities try to bring high speed to their citizens when these guys won’t they’ll fight them in court.
5. It’s Their Own Fault
Guess what industry is viewed as the least favorable by consumers? That’s right, the cable service industry. Cut cables, down service, 8 to 4 tech appointment windows, low delivery zones, poor customer support, and then they decided to mess with Netflix. When they started messing around with people’s choice in entertainment the proverbial stuff hit the fan. Netflix implemented a successful campaign along with their service providers to call out Comcast on their crap. One of the chief’s at L3 even stated on the record, that they’d buy a router and hook it up for Comcast if they wanted them to. Predictably, when news hit that Comcast wanted to charge people for slow lanes and fast lanes (thank you Al Gore) the people went wild, especially when the FCC began showing signs of shilling for the industry. The people overwhelming demanded Internet traffic equality. After all it is what they are paying for. So the people trust their government more than your corporation (a laughable concept, I know) then you have only yourself to blame.
Bonus: It’s All About TV
People mistakenly think that Net Neutrality is about web competition, but it is not. It’s about television. TV is still one of the highest consumed mediums for information and entertainment. Depending on who’s numbers you use, it’s second behind radio. Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube are bringing more competition to tele-entertainment. Thanks to Apple TV, Google TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and others it’s easier now more than ever to stream Internet based content to the big screen in the living room. Now that Comcast, VZN, and others are buying content makers like the NBCs of the world, they thought they had the right to protect their content investments by discriminating other’s content distributed on their networks. Our business friendly government provided a state making it possible for providers, distributors, and producers to exist under the same corporate umbrella and this is the result. It should have predictable for anyone allowing the purchase of content producing companies by content distributors. And now that Netflix is producing their own content it’s a fight for the death. Unfortunately, Comcast and VZN (you don’t hear much static from the Charlie and Dave [the satellite guys]) are the gate keepers, and they can say who can get in. It’s our government that has allowed this and set a stage in which the service providers can charge high rates and receive higher profits while offering an inferior product. We don’t have the fastest or most reliable Internet service on the planet, even though we invented it. I’ve traveled abroad and received 5 bars of wireless Internet in the UAE desert. Used lightning fast Internet in Darmstadt, Germany, and placed clear as a bell calls in Paris. And we pay more for it. If Net Neutrality improves our service then I’m for it. But if the government allows these fools to simply raise rates and pass along the upgrades they need to make as taxes, —- them all!
These are my thoughts about Net Neutrality. Please share what you think in the comments.
Please download theSync on your iPhone using the iTunes podcast app or download the app for your Android device.
Now don’t act surprised. You had a gut feeling that TEA Party Republicans were for real this time and you’ve spoken with your Prime and your agency counterpart thinking the same thing, “…Damn! This might actually happen.”
I’m writing you today to encourage you to get your ass off the sofa, turn off The Colbert Report, and make this time useful. You might love your government customers, but you and I both know they’re responsible for 90% of your sleepless nights.
If you’re a business owner or self-employed technology contractor, here are 5 things you can do to be productive while and O and Co. duel against Boehner’s Boners.
(Notice Boehner’s House website is still operational while WhiteHouse.gov is down)
1. Come Up with 10 Things
After running a small business that had 2 or 3 LARGE customers at a time, I’ve become a practitioner and advocate for having multiple streams of income. You wouldn’t be thinking about how to budge your December if you had other revenue streams. Right now, grab a waiter pad, or a sheet of paper and jot down 10 ideas for generating other streams of revenue. Don’t over think it and don’t try to map out a business model. Just let your mind free play and come up with ideas. It could be an idea for creating a better toilet plunger or an e-commerce site helping people find penguin feed. The key here is to open to things that can come to you.
2. Call Your Govvies and Empathize
Sure enough, some of your government colleagues are happy to have the day off, but for some of them it really does suck to not be at work. If they’re liberal, call them up and complain about how the Tea Party sucks. If they’re conservative, call them up and talk about how much we’re really providing value about our project and how the rest of government projects are just waste and I like to drink black tea for breakfast. The people you work for are people.
3. Appify
Yeah, I know. I own a mobile development company, but here’s some real talk. In 2013, 57% of Internet usage will be coming from mobile devices and it hasn’t taken very long. Our world is increasingly mobile and you need to figure out how you can get your products and services used and access while on the go. Hell, make sure your website is responsive, take the time to see what it looks like on your phone at least.
4. Write an E-Book
You and I both know that you’re doing more writing than real work. Why don’t you put those ideas you’ve been sharing into an easily digestable and DOWNLOADABLE format. An e-book doesn’t have to be 100 pages. I’ve downloaded e-books that are 10 pages but filled with a key nuggets of information. Think about this; when you go back and meet with your Director debriefing the shutdown fallout, you could be like, “…that shutdown sucked, but I’m glad to be back. You know we have a downloadable e-book that details the most effective ways of deploying quadruple-ply toilet paper in bathroom stalls. It’s short, but presents solutions others haven’t thought about.”
5. Spec Out a New Feature or Extra for the Project You’re Working On
During the project, you’re focused on requirements, making sure you implement all of them, and doing it on time. Now that you have a little time, think about how you can make your deliverable that much cooler, or that much more effective. And do this with the knowledge you might not be able to bill for it. I was raised that you have to do a 151% better than the next guy to get ahead and I make sure our companies do this on all of our projects whether it’s Snapperific, DRIS, or our other government projects. Plus, think about this, you might be working on a government contract, but your customer is still a person. That person has a Director to report to and they want to look good. Giving that extra sumthin’, sumthin’ may have an upfront cost, but will pay dividends later on.
I don’t about you, but I’m fully dressed and being productive this morning. You may not be able to bill today, but doing these quick things could help your long term billability. |
Acorn Motorsport Division
Acorn have entered the world of the ever more popular sport of drift car racing. Now despite common belief, this does not mean that we hang out late at night burning rubber in the local Tesco carpark. No... Drifting is one of the fastest growing professional sports in the UK right now and we're extremely excited to be a part of it. Check out this short video taken from our last outing at Knockhill:
Acorn Zenises Motorsport headed to Knockhill Race Circuit in Scotland for the second round of the British Drift Championship.
The team arrived at the track with high expectations after the endless hours of preparation back at the workshop and a new engine build by Abbey Motorsport for Baggsy leading up to the event.
With 40 drivers vying for 16 spaces it would touch and go. Ian narrowly missed out with 19th place but very creditable and Keilan in only his 2nd event had qualified in 1st place. A great achievement.
In Super Pro Mark achieved 20th ahead of some very big names who did not make the cut and Baggsy was in at No.8. So, 2 out of 4 in the finals was not a bad result and Ian & Mark remain motivated to try harder still at the next round.
As No.1 qualifier Keilan went up against Ollie Ellmore in the Boss Motorsport R33. He dominated proceedings until a spin on the very last corner meant an early bath. Very sad after showing so much promise but were sure he will bounce back bigger and better with this experience under his arm.
(Above: Keilan in action)
The Super Pro class really has got so much tougher in 2014, with top drivers from all over Europe now showing their hand. Baggsy was drawn against Round 1 winner and Irish sensation Jack Shanahan in the Nexen Tyre S14. He couldn’t have had a tougher start. Then, to top it off, the rain started. This really would be a test of nerve and skill. Both runs were so close and the judges asked the drivers to go One More Time. Baggsy came out victorious and the team were elated.
(Above: Baggsy VS Shanahan)
The rain got heavier and Baggsy was drawn against more tough opposition - No.1 qualifier and another Irish legend, Wes Keating in the Nangkang Tyre S13. Fate was not helping here. Again a very close battle with the judges again insisting on a One More Time.Baggsy just edged it and moved onto the next round. Smooth, consistent and aggressive driving handing him the win.
(Above: Baggsy battling with Wes Keating)
Then Baggsy was up against the past Champion Matt Carter in the Falken R32 Skyline. What was hailed as the best battle of the weekend, the drivers were thrilling the crowd with door on door action. Another One More Time and Baggsy went through pulling a bigger gap on the second run.
(Above: Baggsy VS Matt Carter)
So the Final and Martin Batty with his awesome S15R35 machine awaited. One battle was not enough see separate them and it was again run One More Time.
On the second run, Baggsy dropped a wheel centimetres off track whilst leading. This was all the judges had to separate them and in turn, Baggsy finished 2nd. To rank so highly out of a top quality field was nothing short of a fantastic result. But to fall short by the narrowest of margins keeps us motivated for the next event.
(Above: Baggsy on the Podium)
Speaking after the close of play Baggsy said “I am so thrilled to achieve yet another podium this season. Both UK and European programmes are going really well in 2014 so far. The entire team have pulled together in recent weeks to ensure the car and the support is all there come race day.”
We are already looking forward to the next event to try and go one step better. Keilan was overjoyed with his best showing so far. “To qualify first in the car at only my second competitive event was amazing. I cannot wait to get back in the seat and push myself again.”
Mark Lappage was also still feeling positive. “The standards are improving to such a high level now that simply qualifying is a huge achievement in itself. Both myself and the car are getting better round by round and I plan on pushing the front runners hard at the next round in July”.
Ian Waddington again had his best performance of the year and just narrowly missed out on qualification. “The car is perfect after extensive work to improve it. The confidence is flowing now and I expect a much better showing next time out.” |
Nominee for EPA chemical safety withdraws: Bloomberg
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former chemical industry consultant nominated by the Trump administration to head the Environmental Protection Agency's chemical safety and pollution prevention office has withdrawn his nomination, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. |
Q:
Why do some lenses cost 10 times as much when the specs are very close?
For example, a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens is about US$110, while another Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens is about 14 times as expensive, at about $1450. Is the 1.8 or 1.2 the main reason for the price difference?
The same goes for some variable lens, such as a Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 one, and a 24-105mm f/4 one, which costs several times more.
A:
Let's start with the basics that have already been pointed out. A lens with an f/1.2 maximum aperture needs to be (at least) one and a half times larger in diameter than a lens with an f/1.8 maximum aperture. 1.5 times the diameter (and thickness, of course) means 2.25 times the area and 3.375 times the volume of glass. And that means that you can expect to pay about three and a half times as much if the designs are otherwise identical. They aren't.
Lens elements that are composed of spherical curves are relatively easy to grind and polish. I say "relatively easy", but getting the kind of precision required for focusing light cleanly still takes a bit of doing. The shape must be perfectly radially symmetrical, or the lens will exhibit astigmatism (that's where lines at different angles will focus at different distances). If the curve deviates sagittally—if the cross-sectional shape of the lens is off—you'll get coma (a smearing of the image outward from the centre). The larger the lens element, the more precise the grinding and polishing have to be to avoid astigmatism and coma.
Lenses can be thought of as prisms with a continuous curve. If there were only one element, even if that element is made of the finest and most advanced optical glass ever formulated, you would get a tremendous amount of lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberration. That's essentially a prism doing what prisms do: the bend different wavelengths of light by slightly different amounts, producing the familiar rainbow spectrum. The larger a lens is, the more difference there will be in the angle of incidence of the light at the centre of the lens and the light at the edges, and the worse the chromatic aberration will be.
While a spherical shape is easy to produce (either convex or concave), spherical lenses (and mirrors) can't focus light from all points of the lens in the same place. That's called spherical aberration, and it results in a blurry image. Again, the larger the lens, the worse the problem gets. A very, very tiny (slow) lens can get away with being spherical without much penalty; a large (fast) lens will be terminally soft without major correction.
Most of the problems with real-world lenses come from the lens having a large diameter. There are ways of correcting the problems (like using convex/concave pairs of elements to undo the rainbow problem, aspherical—and much harder to grind and polish—elements to reduce or eliminate spherical aberration, using exotic glasses and crystals to minimize chromatic dispersion, and so on), but the larger the diameter of the lens, the more needs to go into correcting the problems. If an f/1.2 lens had the same design as the f/1.8 lens, either the 1.2 would be terminally soft with heavy colour fringing, or the 1.8 would be overdesigned to a ridiculous degree and outrageously costly.
That's just the optics. Now take into consideration that if you want the f/1.2 lens to focus on the same day that you pressed the shutter button halfway, with glass that is going to weigh at least three and a half times as much, you're going to need a stronger focus motor, and the focusing mechanism (the helicoids and gears and so on) needs to be much stronger to cope with the additional force required.
And now that we've gotten to the point that the lens is going to be considerably more expensive anyway, it's time to consider what people are going to expect from an investment of that magnitude. It's one thing to have to buy a $120 lens every few years if you have to; it's quite another to have to pop for a lens that's going to cost, say, a thousand dollars anyway (if only the minimum optical and mechanical upgrades are done). The build quality of the lens isn't just a luxury—no pro is going to invest in something that is both expensive and disposable, so the lens needs to be built more solidly and with a bit more safety factor in the engineering. Add in features that working pros are going to want (like weather sealing) and the cost rises again, but not as much as those things that are necessary just to make an f/1.2 lens work well. And there's one last thing to take into account: when you make expensive things, you don't get as many people buying them, so you lose the economies of scale.
So whether it's the red ring on a Canon "L" lens, or the equivalent gold ring on a Nikon, you're not just paying for a racing stripe and bragging rights. If you don't need the lens, don't buy it. If you do need the lens, though, you're not being charged an "idiot tax"—they actually are a lot more expensive to produce and distribute.
A:
Some lenses have more glass (bigger aperture requires bigger glass elements).
Some lenses have better quality lens elements to combat chromatic aberrations, distortion and vignetting.
Some lenses have better build quality (the 50mm f/1.8 has a plastic body and is relatively poorly built).
Some lenses are weather sealed (more complex to build).
Some lenses have better electronics and motors.
Some lenses are newer (somebody have to pay for all the R&D).
And finally, some lenses are more expensive because they are targeted at richer customers (pricing a pro lens at $100 is stupid - someone who uses it to make money will easily afford much more).
A:
1.2 vs 1.8 means larger glass elements = more cost
"L" lenses are higher quality. See What is the difference between Canon "L" lenses and non-L lenses?
|
Q:
How to maintain specific length for each word using regex in Notepad++
I have three words in each line separted by dot.
Word1.Word2.Word3
Example1.Example2.Example3
Here are the three words but each word must be of specific length. Word1 must be of 10 characters, Word2 must be of 10 characters, Word3 must be of 16 characters. If any word is less than specific lenght of characters, it must be filled with spaces. So, it must be look like this -
Word1 .Word2 .Word3
Example1 .Example2 .Example3
How can i check the words and fill up with spaces if not met with specific length with regexp in Notepad++ ?
A:
I would do it by adding lots of extra spaces, then removing excess ones.
Replace regex \. with __________. (I'm writing _ instead of spaces because stackoverflow doesn't display leading and trailing spaces, but you should use spaces.)
Replace regex $ with ________________
Replace regex ([^.]{10})[^.]*\. with $1.
Replace regex ([^.]{16})[^.]*$ with $1
|
Analgesia for the reduction of fractures in children: a comparison of nitrous oxide with intramuscular sedation.
A prospective, randomized study was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of nitrous oxide with intramuscular sedation (meperidine and promethazine) in providing analgesia and amnesia during the reduction and treatment of children's fractures in an outpatient clinic setting. Fifteen patients received a 50:50 mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, and 15 received intramuscular injection. The two groups were similar in regard to gender distribution, age, and fracture types. Pain response was recorded using the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Canada) Pain Scale (CHEOPS) at the time of fracture reduction and 30 min postreduction. At the first follow-up visit a questionnaire regarding the patient's memory and subjective experience of the fracture reduction was answered. Data between the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. The CHEOPS scores, and the memory and subjective experience of the fracture reduction were similar between the two groups. Time in the outpatient department averaged 83 min for the intramuscular group and 30 min for the nitrous oxide group (p < 0.01). All of the nitrous oxide patients stated they would use nitrous oxide again, whereas only eight of 15 intramuscular patients stated they would try intramuscular sedation again. Nitrous oxide is as effective as intramuscular sedation in providing analgesia and amnesia in the treatment of children's fractures while having a more rapid onset and a shorter recovery period with greater patient acceptance. |
Q:
Does wxwidgets use rosetta in Mac?
While deciding for a cross platform language for a desktop application I want to do, I came across "wxwidgets" for C++. After testing a demo application in Mac 10.6.4 I noticed the application needed "Rosetta" to run.
My concern is: Will I always need "Rosetta" for a C++ application with wxwidgets to run on a Mac?
Note: Latest news about Mac dropping support for Java in future OS release (hoping Oracle will pickup were left) and the upcoming App Desktop Store will not support apps requiring Rosetta.
A:
You can create Universe Binaries with wxWidgets. My guess is that your demo application was only compiled for PPC. (Which seems weird, actually. Was the app you tried one you built yourself from examples/, or just one you downloaded off the web?).
I've built Universal apps in wxWidgets both in Xcode (the easiest way to do it), and I believe it's not that hard with a Makefile on the command line. (you make the ppc version, make the intel version, and use the lipo command line tool to squash them together.)
|
Ohio State dumps Spartans, 49-37
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An Ohio State section of Spartan Stadium celebrates behind the Spartan defense after Ohio State scored to go up 41-24 over MSU early in the 4th quarter of their game Saturday November 8, 2014 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett (right) passes for a 1st down while under pressure by Marcus Rush (44) of MSU late in the 1st quarter of their game Saturday. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
Keith Mumphrey (25) of MSU runs over Gareon Conley of Ohio State and into the endzone for a touchdown early in the 1st quarter of their game at Spartan Stadium. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
MSU Football Head Coach Mark Dantonio (center) looks on as an official charges MSU with holding that nullified a Jeremy Langford touchdown run with 3:40 remaining in the 2nd quarter of their game with Ohio State. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
Josiah Price (82) of MSU can't secure a pass in the Ohio State endzone while being defended by Curtis Grant (right) of Ohio State with 3:35 remaining in the 2nd quarter. The incompletion forced a 4th and 13 during which MSU would miss a field goal. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
Michael Thomas (right) of Ohio State runs through a tackle attempt by Darian Hicks (2) of MSU with 3:19 remaining in the 2nd quarter of their game Saturday. Thomas would take the ball 79 yards for a touchdwon after breaking free of Hicks. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
MSU quarterback Connor Cook (18) passes to teammate Jeremy Langford for an apparent 1st down in the 4th quarter of the Spartans' game with Ohio State. The play was nullified by a holding call. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
An Ohio State fan holds a sign that asks the question everyone will be asking after the MSU loss and elimination from the hunt, "Who will be in the College Football Playoff?" Saturday. Kevin W. Fowler / for the Lansing State Journal
EAST LANSING – Michigan State fans can stop checking the College Football Playoff standings, dreaming about championships, making plans to be in Indianapolis on the first weekend of December.
A stadium full of them Saturday saw the team that will be there on Dec. 6 instead – barring an improbable collapse in the final three games of the season, it'll be the resurgent and redeemed Ohio State Buckeyes. They engineered a dramatic momentum reversal late in the first half, torched MSU's defense with big plays all night and rolled to a 49-37 win in the Big Ten's alleged game of the year.
"Let's face it," MSU coach Mark Dantonio said after his team lost its first Big Ten game and home game since 2012, "the bottom line was, we didn't stop them, we couldn't stop them."
No. 13 OSU (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten) earned the revenge it has craved since losing 34-24 to MSU in last season's Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, riding the excellence of freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett (300 yards and three touchdowns passing, 86 yards and two touchdowns rushing) to a throttling of No. 7 MSU (7-2, 4-1) in front of 76,409 at Spartan Stadium.
"We knew we had to come in here and take their will away," said OSU running back Ezekiel Elliott, who ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns, then took to Twitter after the game to get some shots in at the Spartans.
"This is one for the ages," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "That's how much respect we had for our opponent going into it. We saw what they did. They had one loss and were actually winning that game until it got away from them somehow out in Oregon. We played a top-10 team and we really played our best and on the road."
So unless OSU loses two of its final three games – at Minnesota, Indiana and Michigan at home – it will represent the new Big Ten East in the championship game. And its fans now have more reason to check the next CFP rankings Tuesday.
The Spartans? It says something about what Mark Dantonio has done that they could end up with 10 wins and a Florida bowl game and be depressed about it.
But in the two biggest games of the season for the defending Big Ten and Rose Bowl champs, the dominant defense of last season was nowhere to be found. Just as Oregon did in a 46-27 comeback win over MSU on Sept. 6, Ohio State exploited a secondary that hasn't been able to make up for the losses of Darqueze Dennard and Isaiah Lewis.
"They did a heck of a job coaching them and J.T. Barrett was on fire," MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said of the Buckeyes after his defense gave up the most points it has yielded since a 49-7 Capital One Bowl loss to Alabama in 2011. "Did he have an incomplete pass today? I don't know if he threw one, maybe that one at the end. They did a great job executing, we didn't do a great job executing, I obviously didn't do a great job coaching and getting them prepared."
This looked like it was going MSU's way late in the second quarter, when Jeremy Langford (137 yards, three touchdowns) appeared to give the Spartans a two-touchdown lead on an 11-yard scoring run.
It was called back for a holding on Jack Allen. MSU's Michael Geiger hooked an attempt from 39 yards, his fourth straight miss. And Michael Thomas took a short pass from Barrett on the next play, ran through a Darian Hicks tackle attempt and was gone for a 79-yard touchdown to make it 21-21.
OSU got another touchdown in the half and didn't stop scoring. And MSU still doesn't have a home win over the Buckeyes since 1999.
From the start, the offenses were in charge. Ohio State drove down the field but missed a 47-yard field goal. MSU got in fast for its first touchdown – a 44-yard bomb from Connor Cook (career-high 358 yards, two touchdowns passing) to Keith Mumphery, leading to a 15-yard catch and run for a Mumphery touchdown. He beat Gareon Conley on the bomb, ran over him on the touchdown.
OSU responded with an Elliott 47-yard outside run leading to a Barrett 5-yard score. MSU's Chris Frey jumped on a punt that went off the leg of OSU receiver Jeff Greene, and Langford ran through a huge hole for a 33-yard score on the next play. Barrett responded with a 43-yard bomb to Devin Smith, on Hicks, on a third-and-23, leading to a Barrett scoring plunge on a fourth-and-1.
MSU's offense provided the ideal answer. The Spartans went 66 yards in 14 plays, eating 7:50 off the clock and getting runs from Cook to convert three third downs. Langford punched it in.
Then MSU's Jon Reschke forced a Dontre Wilson fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Spartan Stadium roared. It appeared Langford got in three plays later … but the game broke the other way, sharply, instead.
MSU drove for a field goal to start the second half, but OSU sandwiched forceful touchdown drives around a doomed fourth-and-5 run for MSU's Nick Hill from the Ohio State 35. It was 42-24 early in the fourth when MSU got one back on a Cook pass to Josiah Price with 9:15 left, but OSU came right back down the field for the touchdown to make the rest of the time garbage time.
"It's a game, it's disappointment," Dantonio said. "Had big hopes in this football game. Great stage, great environment, great fans. Everything you want in a college football game. I thought it was a great game. But at the end of the day we don't get what we wanted and sometimes that's the way life is." |
Background {#Sec1}
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Consistent evidence characterizes mining as one of the world's most hazardous activities because of the high risk of occupational accidents and toxicological exposure among mineworkers and communities \[[@CR1]\]. Conversely, the current knowledge about the relationship between mining and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is limited. The existing literature has been almost solely concerned with the spread of HIV, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where studies have observed that mining communities had a higher prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than the general population \[[@CR2], [@CR3]\]. Some investigations found associations between having HIV/STDs and individual risk factors in mining contexts; these factors include single status, alcohol and drug use, history of previous STDs, partnership or sex with a mineworker, multiple sexual partners, paying for sex, transactional sex, and non-use of condoms \[[@CR4]--[@CR8]\]. While these studies focused mainly on groups considered at high-risk (typically mineworkers and sex workers), high prevalence of HIV/STDs and associations with similar risk factors have been described among other population groups in mining communities \[[@CR4], [@CR7], [@CR9]\]. In general, this literature recognizes a relationship between the mining context and the dynamics of the HIV/STDs spread. Labor migration---linked to single-sex lodging and isolation and separation of miners from families---has been strongly associated with HIV transmission \[[@CR2], [@CR9]--[@CR11]\]. Besides the spread of HIV/STDs, only a handful of studies have explored broader impacts of mining on SRH such as early marriage, increased fertility, short birth intervals, and lack of reproductive decision-making among local women \[[@CR12]--[@CR14]\].
Mining boom in Latin America and the Caribbean {#Sec2}
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The study of the relationship between mining and SRH in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is pertinent, as the region has experienced an unprecedented mining boom since the mid-2000s. The increased global demand for and rising prices of minerals \[[@CR15]\], along with national mining laws favoring foreign investment \[[@CR16]\], fueled the recent mining boom in the region. Between 2005 and 2010, the prices of coal, nickel, and copper doubled, and the price of gold increased five times between 2002 and 2011 \[[@CR17]\]. In the same period, LAC received 24% of the global mining exploration budget, the largest investment for a single region \[[@CR18]\]. As a result, mining production increased significantly, leading to a reactivation and intensification of operations in towns with established mining activities and, more significantly, the arrival of new mining endeavors in non-mining areas. Despite 50 to 70% of the regional mining production coming from industrial mining, most of the mining operations corresponded to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), which employed the majority of the region's mining workforce \[[@CR19]\]. In particular, illegal gold mining, predominantly of small scale, was estimated to employ directly around 350,000 people in Amazon countries and sustain about 500,000 people only in Bolivia and Peru \[[@CR20]\].
Despite the high dividends from the mining sector commonly reported in the region (benefits for national economies remain debatable) \[[@CR15], [@CR21], [@CR22]\], the mining boom has been associated with environmental, social, and health impacts at the local level, particularly affecting vulnerable populations. Studies and reports examining the impacts of mining in LAC have described environmental crises \[[@CR20], [@CR23], [@CR24]\]; social conflicts and mobilization against extractive operations \[[@CR25]\]; human rights violations to indigenous and Afro-descendant groups across the region \[[@CR26]\]; child labor, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking linked to illegal gold mining in the Amazon \[[@CR27], [@CR28]\]; and environmental health effects, mental health impacts, and increased risks of infectious diseases, including STDs \[[@CR29]\].
Sexual and reproductive health in Latin America and the Caribbean {#Sec3}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The mining boom in LAC takes place in a scenario of pending challenges in SRH. Estimations of either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence against women vary between 24% in the Southern LAC and 41% in the Andean LAC---higher than the global estimation of 35% \[[@CR30]\]. The region has the second highest rate of adolescent childbearing worldwide, 73 births per 1000 women aged 15--19 \[[@CR31]\], and the highest estimated incidence of abortion and unsafe abortion, 44 and 31 abortions per 1000 women aged 15--44, respectively \[[@CR32]\]. Most importantly, regional figures hide profound disparities in SRH between social groups. Lack of access to contraception, reproductive health services or maternal care, maternal mortality and morbidity, and sexual violence are higher among rural, low-income, low-educated, and ethnic minority women, principally indigenous and Afro-descendants, than the general population \[[@CR31]\].
The recent mining boom in the region, in a scenario of profound SRH inequities, provides a strong rationale for examining to what extent the mining dynamics have impacted SRH at the local level. To this end, it is necessary to establish first what is currently known about the relationship between mining and SRH in the region. This scoping literature review takes the essential first steps of examining and summarizing the available literature regarding SRH in LAC mining contexts, identifying critical gaps in knowledge, and discussing primary implications for future research.
Methods {#Sec4}
=======
A scoping review is a systematic process intended to explore the extent and nature of research on a particular topic, identify gaps in knowledge, and summarize and disseminate findings \[[@CR33]\]. One of the key purposes of a scoping review is to provide an evidence background to guide future research, practice, and decision-making on the subject of interest \[[@CR34]\]. A scoping review is particularly relevant when there is not a clear picture of the existing evidence regarding a field of research. That is, scoping reviews are useful to address emergent or unexplored topics.
We conducted a scoping review with a systematic search of health literature during May 2017, in PubMed and PaHO-VHL (Pan American Health Association*-*Virtual Health Library), and two LAC databases, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences) and SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online). We scanned reference lists and citations of the selected papers in Google Scholar to identify additional studies.
For the search strategy, we used combinations of two groups of terms in English and Spanish (only English in PubMed). First, "mining" and "mining industry." Second, "sexual health," "reproductive health," "maternal health," "HIV," "sexually transmitted diseases," "sexually transmitted infections," "fertility," and "sexual behavior." To narrow the search in PubMed and PaHO-VHL, we used the term of exclusion "data mining."
We included only references placed in LAC countries, with no limitation by the date of publication. We excluded articles addressing exclusively environmental and occupational health (e.g., exposure to pollutants, even regarding reproductive health outcomes), health issues different from SRH (e.g., children's health), and non-health issues. We excluded non-primary research papers (e.g., reports, editorial comments, and letters to the editor). The selection process included the elimination of duplicates, selection of references based on titles and abstracts, identification of full-text papers, selection of additional studies from reference lists and citations in Google Scholar, and final selection of full-text primary research articles (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}).Fig. 1Scoping review selection process
Finally, we summarized and discussed the selected articles based on the country and sub-region of the study, key features of the mining operations (minerals, scale, and formality/legality), the purpose of the study, population and sample size, and main findings on SRH.
Results {#Sec5}
=======
The scoping review yielded 592 primary references and retrieved 16 articles placed in LAC countries that focused on SRH (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). We eliminated one article without full text and four non-primary papers, which included two recent reviews on health impact assessment related to extractive industries and hydroelectric projects in the region \[[@CR29], [@CR35]\]. We finally selected 11 primary research articles for analysis. Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"} shows the main findings of the scoping review.Table 1General characteristics and main findings of studies addressing SRH in LAC mining contextsAuthors (year)Country, sub-regionMining featuresAimsPopulation (*n*)Main SRH findingsSantos et al. (1995) \[[@CR42]\]Brazil, Pará (AR)Gold\
ASM/informalDescribe general health conditions in a (mining) communityGeneral population\
(*n* = 223)Hep B prevalence = 85%. Syphilis prevalence = 41.6% (males, 33%; females, 9%); the highest among miners (48%) and sex workers (38%).Souto et al. (1998) \[[@CR45]\]Brazil, Mato Grosso (AR)Gold^a^Determine the prevalence and risk factors of Hep B virus among immigrantsGeneral population\
(*n* = 783)Hep B prevalence = 54.7%. Significant association between HBV markers and having lived in a gold-mining camp.Faas et al. (1999) \[[@CR38]\]Venezuela, Bolívar (AR)Gold\
Industrial and ASM/informalDetermine the prevalence of HIV/STDs and implement prevention workshopsGeneral population\
(survey, *n* = 2000; biological tests, *n* = 893)HIV prevalence = 1%. Syphilis prevalence = 16.6%; highest among female sex workers (29.5%) and health care workers (21.7%). History of STDs = 19.6%.González and Rodríguez-Acosta (2000) \[[@CR36]\]Venezuela, Bolívar (AR)Gold^a^Determine the prevalence of STDs, among other health conditionsAttendants to a local health service (*n* = 166)Prevalence of syphilis = 6%; gonorrhea = 4.8%; and HIV = 0%. History of STDs = 27.7%.Souto et al. (2001) \[[@CR44]\]Brazil, Mato Grosso (AR)Gold^a^Determine the prevalence and risk factors of Hep B and C (and HBV subtypes)Population of mine camps (*n* = 520)Prevalence of Hep B = 82.9% and Hep C = 2.1%. HBsAg positivity was significantly associated with previous STDs.Palmer et al. (2002) \[[@CR41]\]Guyana (AR)Gold\
ASM^a^Determine the prevalence of HIVMineworkers---mostly males (*n* = 216)HIV prevalence = 6.5%.Seguy et al. (2008) \[[@CR43]\]Guyana, three regions (AR)Gold and diamonds^a^Determine the prevalence of HIV and syphilisMale mineworkers (*n* = 651)Prevalence of HIV = 3.9% and syphilis = 6.4%. Knowledge on HIV = 75%, having had casual sex in the last year = 54%, and having had sex with sex workers = 14.8%. HIV was significantly associated with history of syphilis and not having used condom with last casual sex partner.Miranda et al. (2009) \[[@CR39]\]Brazil, Pará (AR)Gold\
ASM^a^Describe the reproductive profile of and prevalence of STDs among women living in a former mining villageWomen attending to a local health facility (*n* = 209)Prevalence of HIV = 1.9%, gonorrhea = 2.4%, and HPV = 3.8%. History of previous STDs = 11%, having been involved in prostitution = 15.8%, domestic violence reported = 17.7%, having been raped = 10%, and having had an abortion = 29.2%.Astete et al. (2010) \[[@CR37]\]Peru, ApurimacGold, silver, copper, iron Industrial/formal\
(Pre-exploitation)Determine the prevalence of infectious diseases, mental health, and environmental pollution in a community surrounding an upcoming mining projectGeneral population\
(*n* = 453)No cases of HIV and Hep C or D. Prevalence of syphilis = 1.4% (similar to the national) and Hep B = 7.1% (lower than the national).Orellana et al. (2013) \[[@CR40]\]Peru, three departments (AR)Gold\
ASM/informalExamine structural factors related to the increased HIV/STD vulnerability among indigenous peopleIndigenous population\
(40 in-depth interviews; nine focus groups, *n* = 98)Complex interactions between structural factors characterize Amazon rivers in Peru as risk environments for the HIV/STDs spread among indigenous communities.Castro-Arroyave et al. (2016) \[[@CR46]\]Colombia, AntioquiaGold\
Informal^a^Implement a CBPR intervention of HIV prevention and measure the prevalence of HIVCommunity leaders (*n* = 10); general population (*n* = 277; survey and HIV tests, *n* = 183)No cases of HIV. Prevalence of syphilis = 2.2%. Lack of knowledge, false beliefs, and stigma regarding HIV were identified. Participants increased their knowledge and changed perceptions about HIV issues.*AR* Amazon Region, *ASM* artisanal and small-scale mining, *CBPR* community-based participatory research, *Hep* hepatitis^a^Scale and/or formality status not mentioned
General characteristics of the studies: places, times, and populations {#Sec6}
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The 11 studies reviewed, conducted between 1995 and 2016 \[[@CR36]--[@CR46]\], were set in gold-mining contexts in South American countries, nine in Amazon areas. One study was set in a period previous to a mining exploitation phase \[[@CR37]\] and one in a period of mining decline \[[@CR39]\]. The other nine were set in periods of full mining operations. Except for the study by Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\], the investigations used quantitative methods and cross-sectional designs, collecting data through surveys and biological samples for HIV and STDs tests. None of the studies used a longitudinal approach to incorporate temporality in the analyses. However, the study by Astete et al. \[[@CR37]\] considered temporality and provided a baseline in a pre-exploitation period to evaluate the health impacts of mining during the subsequent phases. Three studies sampled mostly or exclusively male miners \[[@CR41], [@CR43], [@CR44]\], one included only women \[[@CR39]\] and one focused on indigenous population \[[@CR40]\]. The rest of the studies were sampled from the general population.
Purposes and main SRH findings of the studies {#Sec7}
---------------------------------------------
The 11 studies centered on HIV/STDs as the only SRH concern. The ten quantitative studies focused on measuring the prevalence of HIV and STDs. The study by Castro-Arroyave et al. \[[@CR46]\] showed a low prevalence of HIV but a high prevalence of syphilis in a period of mining exploitation; the HIV prevalence contrasts with the high prevalence of HIV found by the rest of the quantitative studies in a similar stage of mining production. Astete et al. \[[@CR37]\] described a low prevalence of HIV/STDs in a stage of pre-exploitation. Some studies identified a high prevalence of HIV/STDs among mineworkers \[[@CR42]\], sex workers \[[@CR38], [@CR42]\], and health care workers \[[@CR38]\] than the general population. Three investigations evidenced significant associations between HIV/STDs and individual risk factors such as having lived in a gold-miners camp \[[@CR45]\], having history of STDs \[[@CR43], [@CR44]\], and not having used a condom with last casual sex partner \[[@CR43]\]. Most of the quantitative studies suggested labor migration and mobility as major factors involved in HIV/STD transmission in mining places. Nevertheless, only Souto et al. \[[@CR45]\] provided actual evidence on the association between STDs and mobility.
Two studies developed HIV prevention interventions \[[@CR38], [@CR46]\]. They used behavioral change approaches aimed to increase knowledge, change attitudes, and reduce stigma about HIV/STDs. Castro-Arroyave et al. \[[@CR46]\] found change in perceptions and increases in knowledge among community leaders and other community members who participated in the program.
The study by Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\] provided unique insights into the links between mining and SRH. Qualitative in-depth data enabled the researchers to identify and discuss emerging themes such as population mobility and mixing, sociocultural factors (early sexual initiation, sexual identity, and gender roles), and interpersonal and behavioral factors (forced sex, unprotected sex, and transactional sex among poor women and young indigenous men). Authors concluded that "poverty, cultural beliefs related to health and sexual behaviors, gender inequality, lack of educational and employment opportunities, resource-extraction activities, and population mobility and mixing" interact and shape risk environments for the HIV/STD spread among indigenous communities (\[[@CR40]\]: p. 1246).
Discussion {#Sec8}
==========
The literature reviewed about SRH in LAC mining contexts is scarce and provides limited evidence in this area of research in the region. The increased prevalence of HIV/STDs among mineworkers, sex workers, or other population groups that most of the studies showed, along with the reported associations with individual risk factors, match findings from other regions \[[@CR2], [@CR3]\]. The low prevalence of HIV/STDs that Castro-Arroyave et al. \[[@CR46]\] found in a gold-mining community in Colombia, however, contrasts with the global findings. Two studies provided evidence on the role of labor migration and mobility on the spread of HIV/STDs in LAC mining contexts \[[@CR40], [@CR45]\]. Although they are limited, similar findings have been reported globally \[[@CR2], [@CR9]--[@CR11]\].
Based on the findings of this scoping review, we identify four critical gaps in the current knowledge on SRH in LAC mining contexts. First, there is no empirical research that examines SRH broadly beyond the spread of HIV/STDs. No studies have explored SRH issues related to sexual violence against women, adolescents, and children; intimate partner violence; reproductive decision-making; use of contraception; early marriage; teenage pregnancy; abortion; maternal health; or access and use of SRH services. As discussed by Vargas-Riaño et al. in regard to maternal health research in the region \[[@CR47]\], the dominant focus on HIV issues seems to respond primarily to research funding interests and not to the health needs of the LAC population. This gap in knowledge is also characteristic of the global research on this matter. Second, there is no empirical research regarding SRH issues in settings different from gold-mining contexts and from Mexico and Central America, the Southern LAC, and the Caribbean. The lack of studies in these other contexts is salient since numerous communities throughout Latin America have experienced the extractive boom \[[@CR15], [@CR29]\] with unknown effects on their SRH. Third, there is no empirical research that explores the mechanisms or pathways through which SRH is shaped in LAC mining contexts, particularly in periods of extractive boom. Finally, there is a dearth of investigations about effective SRH interventions in LAC mining contexts. In light of these needs, we discuss two key areas to consider in future research: the mining context and the production of risk in these scenarios.
The mining context revisited {#Sec9}
----------------------------
The study of the relationship between mining and SRH in LAC has overlooked the context where mining takes place. For most of the studies reviewed, the construct *mining* referred either to the setting that delimits the location of research (the *mining* community, the *mining* camp) or an individual sociodemographic variable (the *mineworker* occupation). Astete et al. \[[@CR37]\] and Miranda et al. \[[@CR39]\] also considered the stage of mining production in their research approach, suggesting differential effects of the time of mining on SRH. Nevertheless, only Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\] explored and reflected on mining and other resource-extraction activities as contextual factors that interact with others to determine a "risk environment" for the spread of HIV/STDs.
The mining context in a period of extractive boom has been commonly characterized by disruptive demographic, environmental, socioeconomic, and gender dynamics triggered by the mining economy. Significant workforce migration to mining places (predominantly male) and high mining wages in mining communities relate to increases in the local demand and prices of land, housing, basic goods, and services, as described in countries like Peru \[[@CR48]\]. The increased cost of living and high expectations of short-term returns from the mining economy pull people from rural settings to engage in mining activities and displace traditional livelihoods \[[@CR49], [@CR50]\]. Living conditions of migrant workers in camps and mining towns---including single-sex accommodation, isolation, and separation from families---along with large amounts of disposable cash among men have been associated with high demand for alcohol, drugs, and sex services \[[@CR5], [@CR51]\]. These factors have in turn been linked to an increase in the number of bars, nightclubs, and brothels \[[@CR40], [@CR52]\], as well as rising levels of crime and violence, particularly sexual violence, as observed in gold camps in Surinam \[[@CR28]\] and Peru \[[@CR53]\].
These dynamics determine a context of unbalanced gendered power relations, where women are disproportionally vulnerable to the environmental, socioeconomic, and health impacts of mining \[[@CR52]\]. As reviewed by Jenkins \[[@CR52]\], the mining sector often establishes a displacement from subsistence economies towards cash economies controlled by men. Women shift away from their traditional roles to become mineworkers (mainly restricted to processing tasks) or providers of services---including sex. Female mineworkers are paid less than males, even when they are performing heavy tasks like those performed by men \[[@CR27], [@CR54]\]. Extreme poverty may lead young girls to get involved in prostitution, bonded labor, and sexual exploitation in places of ASM and informal mining, as described in Amazon countries \[[@CR27], [@CR28]\]. Some studies in mining settings worldwide observed that women might engage in transactional sex as a supplementary source of income, basic goods, or favors \[[@CR4], [@CR8]\]. Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\] reported transactional sex practices among poor women and indigenous teenage boys in the Peruvian Amazon. In general, women have little access to the economic benefits of mining and become highly dependent on men, resulting in a degradation of their social status and a reinforcement of male privileges \[[@CR52]\].
The production of SRH risk in mining contexts {#Sec10}
---------------------------------------------
The simultaneous dynamics often described in mining contexts challenge the way we address the links between mining and SRH in research and intervention. Some studies in South African mining settings showed that prevention interventions typically based on biomedical and behavioral approaches had little impact in reducing or even controlling the spread of HIV \[[@CR1], [@CR4], [@CR8], [@CR55]\]. Based on these findings, Desmond et al. \[[@CR8]\] argued that conventional approaches---restricted to the individual level of analysis---do not represent adequately the complexity of the social and sexual networks that take place in mining contexts. Instead, Desmond et al. \[[@CR8]\] proposed the use of a *high-risk environment* approach which enables structural-level analyses and interventions. The study by Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\] coincides with this perspective as it focused on the structural and contextual production of risk. The authors examined *ecosocial levels* of influence and discussed the *risk environment* as an appropriate category of analysis about the spread of HIV/STDs among indigenous communities. Even though the authors did not explore broad aspects of the SRH---likely occurring in these same risk environments, this approach serves as a point of reference for further exploration about the way SRH is shaped in LAC mining contexts.
Implications for future research {#Sec11}
--------------------------------
To address the gaps in knowledge identified, new research efforts must consider key conceptual and methodological challenges. First, they require comprehensive approaches for SRH that include, in addition to the study of HIV and STDs, broader SRH aspects related to sexual violence against women, adolescents and children, intimate partner violence, reproductive decision-making, use of contraception, early marriage, adolescent pregnancy, abortion, maternal health, and access and use of SRH services. Second, future studies must consider the mining context as a critical component of analysis, by examining the demographic, environmental, socioeconomic, and gender dynamics triggered by the mining economy, involved in the production of SRH risk. This also requires taking into account the particularities of the mining operations, i.e., minerals of extraction, stages of mining, scales, and status of formality/legality. Empirical research should consider the use of categories like *risk environment* instead of *high-risk population*, as proposed by Desmond et al. \[[@CR8]\] and Orellana et al. \[[@CR40]\]; the use of qualitative methods and longitudinal designs for quantitative studies; and the use of multilevel approaches to examine structural, contextual, interpersonal, and individual factors and pathways of influence involved. Finally, future research requires integrating a gender perspective for the examination of the gender roles and gender relations in mining contexts. A gender approach would facilitate the exploration and understanding of phenomena such as the unbalanced gendered power relations as determinants of SRH.
Limitations {#Sec12}
-----------
We conducted a scoping literature review looking for peer-reviewed publications. We did not examine gray literature, e.g., dissertations, technical reports, or conference papers. Despite potential drawbacks on availability and quality, gray literature might provide insights on how other researchers and stakeholders (international, government, industry, and civil organizations) have approached the relationship between mining and SRH in LAC. For instance, Organización Internacional del Trabajo, Gobierno de Chile, and SEREMI Tarapacá \[[@CR56]\] presented a survey on knowledge, perceptions of risk, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV among mobile mineworkers (*n* = 300), in the copper region of Tarapacá, Chile. Mineworkers showed high levels of knowledge in HIV issues, high demand for commercial sex (during life, 33.1%; during the past year, 13.4%), and little access to condoms (81.4% referred non-availability of condoms in the mining place). These findings, similar to those from Seguy et al. \[[@CR43]\], also targeting male mineworkers, provide a background for further research on SRH in mining communities in Chile. At the same time, these results confirm the gaps in knowledge in the LAC region regarding the restricted interest on HIV and individual risk factors associated, as well as the lack of attention to the demographic, environmental, socioeconomic, and gender dynamics linked to the mining economy as key factors determining SRH.
Conclusions {#Sec13}
===========
This scoping review clarifies the current knowledge about SRH in LAC mining contexts and joins the recent reviews by Drewry, Shandro, and Winkler \[[@CR29]\] and Pereira et al. \[[@CR35]\] towards the understanding and assessment of the health impacts of the extractive industries in the region. We found that available research is scarce and provides limited evidence on SRH in LAC mining contexts. This is significant considering the numerous communities along LAC that have experienced a mining boom during the past decade, with unknown effects on their SRH. The critical gaps identified include little knowledge on (1) broader SRH impacts besides HIV/STDs, (2) SRH in settings different from gold-mining contexts in Amazon countries, (3) mechanisms shaping SRH in LAC mining contexts, and (4) effective interventions in these scenarios. We expect these findings stimulate LAC research teams, stakeholders, and communities interested in sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equity, environmental justice, occupational health, and community health to advocate for and conduct new investigations on this critical but neglected topic of public health research.
We would like to acknowledge Todd M. Bear, PhD, MPH, for his constructive comments on the manuscript.
Funding {#FPar1}
=======
The authors declare that this study did not receive any specific funding.
Availability of data and materials {#FPar2}
==================================
No datasets were generated or analyzed for this study.
Both authors participated in conceiving and designing the study, as well as in the interpretation of findings. JWG carried out the database search and collection and analysis of references and drafted the manuscript. PD reviewed the papers selected and critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content and editing. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate {#FPar3}
==========================================
Not applicable.
Consent for publication {#FPar4}
=======================
Not applicable.
Competing interests {#FPar5}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher's Note {#FPar6}
================
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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Introduction
============
Clusters of galaxies are one of our most important cosmological probes. As the most recent objects to form in the universe their number density and properties are exquisitely sensitive to our modeling assumptions. Their composition accurately reflects the mix of matter in the universe. They are bright and can be “easily” seen to large distances, allowing constraints on the crucial interval $0< z\la 1$ where the universal expansion changes from deceleration to acceleration. They are located close to their formation site. Being bright and sparse they are excellent tracers of the large-scale structure – they are highly biased so their clustering is easy to measure and is much more straightforwardly computed from theory than that of galaxies.
For many years it has been realized that a large, homogeneous, sample of clusters would impose particularly strong constraints on our model of structure formation, provided all clusters above a given mass threshold were included. In a recent manifestation of this idea Haiman, Mohr & Holder ([@HaiMohHol]) have suggested using the counts of clusters of galaxies above a certain mass threshold to probe the evolution of the dark energy believed to be causing the acceleration of the universal expansion. A more pedestrian goal would be to constrain the matter density and amplitude of the mass fluctuations in the universe (e.g. Holder, Haiman & Mohr [@HolHaiMoh] for a recent discussion). A study of the clustering of such samples could provide another measurement of the angular diameter distance-redshift relation (Cooray et al. [@CooHuHutJof]) or the linear growth rate of fluctuations.
However, constructing large samples of galaxy clusters for statistical analyses remains a difficult task. For many years the only available catalogues were based on projected galaxy overdensity, though it was quickly realized that such samples suffer from projection effects and the large scatter between optical richness and cluster mass (for recent theoretical studies see e.g. van Haarlem, Frenk & White [@vHaFreWhi]; Reblinsky & Bartelmann [@RebBar] White & Kochanek [@WhiKoc]). At present cluster samples have been constructed using optical, X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel’dovich ‘surveys’ each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
In the last few years it has become possible to search for high mass objects directly as density enhancements using weak gravitational lensing. Since the first detections by Bonnet, Mellier & Fort ([@BonMelFor]) and Fahlman et al. ([@FKSW]), this technique has been demonstrated many times on previously known clusters (see Wu et al. [@WCFX] and Hattori et al. [@HKM] for recent reviews). Erben et al. ([@erben00]) and Umetsu & Futamase ([@UmeFut]) have reported ‘dark clumps’, where mass concentrations are seen with no optical or X-ray detection of a cluster. To date there is only one case of a confirmed cluster discovered first with weak gravitational lensing: Wittman et al. ([@Witetal01]) serendipitously detected a $z=0.276$ cluster with $\sigma_v\sim 600$km/s in the corner of one of the fields they used previously for cosmic shear.
Thus lensing offers a completely new way to find clusters. It has been claimed by some authors that weak lensing offers our first chance to construct a truly mass selected sample of clusters. As with all new methods, lensing avoids some of the problems which plague other methods but has its own systematics. In this paper we want to look at the power and pitfalls of this method. Specifically we want to look at how efficient and complete weak lensing surveys are at constructing a mass selected sample of clusters, assuming ideal observing conditions.
Simulated observations
======================
N-body simulation {#sec:nbody}
-----------------
We wish to make simulated convergence maps which are as realistic as possible while at the same time knowing the real 3D location of any clusters in the field. Our programme begins with a model for the evolution of the dark matter which governs the formation of large-scale structure. On Mpc scales we expect that the baryonic matter will faithfully trace the dark matter, thus our model should reproduce the spatial distribution of mass. This problem can be well tackled by modern numerical simulations. We have run a $512^3$ particle simulation of a $\Lambda$CDM model in a $300h^{-1}$Mpc box using the [*TreePM-SPH*]{} code (White et al. [@TreePM]) operating in collisionless (dark matter only) mode. This simulation represents a large cosmological volume, to include a fair sample of rich clusters, while maintaining enough mass resolution to identify galactic mass halos. Because it provides a reasonable fit to a wide range of observations, including the present day abundance of rich clusters of galaxies (Pierpaoli, Scott & White [@PieScoWhi]), we have simulated a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology with $\Omega_{\rm m}=0.3$, $\Omega_\Lambda=0.7$, $H_0=100\,h\,{\rm km}{\rm s}^{-1}{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ with $h=0.7$, $\Omega_{\rm B}=0.04$, $n=1$ and $\sigma_8=1$. The simulation was started at $z=60$ and evolved to the present with the full phase space distribution dumped every $100h^{-1}$Mpc from $z\simeq 2$ to $z=0$. The gravitational force softening was of a spline form, with a “Plummer-equivalent” softening length of $20\,h^{-1}$kpc comoving. The particle mass is $1.7\times 10^{10}h^{-1}M_\odot$ allowing us to find bound halos with masses several times $10^{11}h^{-1}M_\odot$ and giving several tens of thousands of particles in a cluster mass halo ($>10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$) to begin to resolve substructure.
For every output of the simulation we produce a halo catalogue by running a “friends-of-friends” group finder (e.g. Davis et al. [@DEFW]) with a linking length $b=0.15$ (in units of the mean interparticle spacing). This procedure partitions the particles into equivalence classes, by linking together all particle pairs separated by less than a distance $b$. We use $0.15$ rather than the more canonical $b=0.2$ as we find that the larger linking length frequently merges what we would by eye list as separate halos. By effectively ‘removing’ one of the halos from our list this would have a deleterious impact upon our efficiency calculations. While this effect is not entirely eliminated when using $b=0.15$, it is significantly reduced. We keep all groups above 64 particles, which imposes a minimum halo mass of order $10^{12}h^{-1}M_\odot$. For each identified halo we compute, using the 3D distribution of all of the particles in the simulation, the mass (we use $M_{200}$, the mass enclosed within a radius, $r_{200}$, within which the mean density is 200 times the [*critical*]{} density at that redshift), velocity dispersion etc. so we can understand our selection in terms of the intrinsic, rather than projected, cluster properties.
The convergence map
-------------------
To make a weak lensing map we need to perform an integral of the mass density (times a weight function) back along the line-of-sight to the redshift of the furthest source $z_{s,{\rm max}}$. Since the sources are at a cosmological distance, while our simulation volume is relatively small, we do this by “stacking” different slices through the box at earlier and earlier output times (see Fig. 1 of da Silva et al. [@dSBLT] for a diagram of this approach in another context). Specifically we divide the simulation box at every output up into three pieces of $300\times 300\times 100h^{-1}$Mpc by trisecting in the line-of-sight dimension. A given observational field is then obtained by stepping back from $z=0$ to $z=z_{s,{\rm max}}$ choosing, every $100h^{-1}$Mpc along the line-of-sight, the density field from one third of the box (see below) at that output. To avoid repeatedly tracing through the same structure we shift the simulation volme perpendicular to the line-of-sight by a random amount and wrap using the periodicity of the simulation volume. All of the mass in that third of the box is projected onto the sky in this manner. The convergence is $$\kappa = {3\over 2}\Omega_{\rm mat}(H_0D_*)^2 \int dt\ w(t)\ {\delta\over a}$$ where $D_*$ is the (comoving) angular diameter distance, $${dD\over da}\equiv {1\over a^2H(a)} \qquad ,$$ to a fiducial point beyond the furthest source, $t=D/D_*$ is a dimensionless distance, $w(t)$ is a weight function $$w(t) = \int_t^1 dt_s\, {dn\over dt_s}\ {t(t_s-t)\over t_s}$$ which reduces to $t(1-t)$ if all of the sources are at a fixed distance $D_*$ and $\delta=\rho/\bar{\rho}-1$. We approximate this integral as a weighted sum of the projected mass $\Sigma$ in each plane, with the projection being done parallel to the edges of the simulation volume. Studies by Hamana, Colombi & Mellier ([@HamColMel]) have indicated that this method produces results which are almost identical to more numerically intensive ray tracing simulations. We have found that there is a slight positive bias in the power spectrum of $\kappa$ using this method as compared to the “tiling” method of White & Hu ([@WhiHu]) which does not approximate the path with segments parallel to the box boundaries. This small bias will not affect any of our conclusions.
We have chosen $100h^{-1}$Mpc as our sampling interval because it is large enough that edge effects are minimal even for rich clusters while being fine enough that line-of-sight integrals are well approximated by sums over the (static) outputs. However, even though only a small fraction of clusters lie within $r_{200}$ of a slice boundary, we decided to require that the orientation and offset change only on every third slice. Thus if we choose at one redshift the front of the box the next slice is required to be the middle and the next the back. In this manner the structure is continuous across $300h^{-1}$Mpc distances, but still evolves in steps of $100h^{-1}$Mpc not $300h^{-1}$Mpc.
As a first step we have generated 5 maps, each $5^\circ\times 5^\circ$ and $1024^2$ pixels, with sources fixed at $z_s=1$ (one example is shown in Fig. \[fig:fourmaps\]). A survey which is significantly shallower suffers a loss of lensing signal and becomes more sensitive to systematics related to intrinsic alignments of galaxies. A much deeper survey is extremely expensive of telescope time. Thus $z_s\sim 1$ has been chosen by most workers in the field. By choosing all of our sources to lie at precisely $z_s=1$ we obtain a good first approximation to planned or existing surveys, while at the same time decoupling any uncertainties in the source distribution from the effects we are concerned with in this work. Our maps are only approximately independent as they are drawn from the same simulation, but the random orientations allow us to sample different possible projection effects. For each map we can add Gaussian pixel noise at a specified level and we smooth the maps (using fourier transform methods) with a Gaussian beam of a specified FWHM or convolve the map with some other filter.
The group catalog
-----------------
The same random slices and offsets are used to project the group catalogue into the field, and to produce 3D images[^1] of the field of view from the particle distribution (which we use to check for projection effects). We shall denote by ‘cluster’ any halo having $M_{200}>10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ and our catalog includes all such halos lying in the field with $z\le 1$. We define the center of a cluster as the position of the potential minimum, calculating the potential using only the particles in the FoF group. This proved to be more robust than using the center of mass, as the potential minimum coincided closely with the density maximum for all but the most disturbed clusters. The mass function of clusters lying between the source and observer in our 5 simulated fields is shown in Fig. \[fig:massfn2d\]. The distribution of angular sizes is shown in Fig. \[fig:clussize\].
Finding & matching peaks
------------------------
For a given (possibly noisy and smoothed) map we need an algorithm for finding peaks. We have chosen a simple strategy whereby we search the map for all pixels which are a local maximum (this is essentially the procedure used on real data). This set forms our base peak list, which we number. We then search around each maximum and include the adjacent pixels if $\kappa > f \kappa_{\rm max}$ where $f$ is a user specified fraction typically set to 0.7. The peaks are all extended at the same rate, so that adjacent peaks do not swallow each other. This algorithm then returns for every pixel in the map the peak number (or possibly “no peak”) to which it belongs. For each peak we keep track of both the maximum $\kappa$ and the sum, $\kappa_{\rm sum}$, of the convergence in all pixels above the threshold $f\kappa_{\rm max}$. The latter is loosely correlated with mass. The exact extent of the peaks and the precise definition of $\kappa_{\rm sum}$ will not affect our results.
In addition to our ‘peak list’ we have our ‘cluster list’ from the 3D cluster catalogues. Given the very large number of both peaks and clusters, and the lack of distance information in the peak list, matching these can be quite problematic. We perform the match in two directions: whether a peak is in the cluster list (forward match) and whether a cluster is in our peak list (backward match). We typically find that all clusters above $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ lie within $\pm 1$ pixel of an extended peak, but some clusters lie near peaks (local maxima) with very low values of $\kappa$ (see below). Because each of the lists is so long and we are only using 2D information in associating peaks to clusters, a ‘match’ is claimed only if the forward and backward associations agree.
The code produces a list of peaks and halos with matches flagged (plus cases with only a forward or backward match). There are two key numbers which we shall focus on below. The first is the fraction of peaks which matched at least one halo, which will determine our ‘efficiency’. The second is the fraction of halos which matched at least one peak, which will determine our ‘completeness’.
Note that as we begin to smooth the maps and add noise, the 1-1 correspondence between peaks and halos will begin to degrade. We take the attitude that all potential detections would be followed up with e.g. X-ray observations or redshifts. Thus if two halos match a single extended peak we can count those both as detections since followup of that area of sky would presumably find both of them.
Our method is very robust and can be easily automated, but it is not perfect. In particular it can cause us to underestimate the efficiency of a lensing search due to the way we define our halos. For example, if two massive halos are close together (perhaps in the initial stages of a merger or interaction) they can be linked by our group finder into a single halo. Our group catalog will then contain parameters only for the mass around the potential minimum, missing the other halo entirely. This halo still has a large amount of mass associated with it however, and is quite overdense, so it will likely correspond to a $\kappa$ peak. This peak will be erroneously counted as a miss as there is no corresponding entry in the cluster list.
This effect is mitigated to a large extent by the relatively small linking length we have chosen to define our 3D catalog. Neighboring halos are linked only if the material between them is $\ga 10^2\times$ overdense. We have found one example of such an artificial linking for systems of cluster mass, corresponding to a chain of halos lying along a filament. This single system changes our results by less than a percent. Inspection of other ‘strange’ peaks has not yielded any other examples of this effect.
Results
=======
Raw maps
--------
-------- -------- ------- -------------------
Peaks
$w>0$ $w>w_{\rm max}/2$
All 402154 0.99 0.99
$>0.0$ 288933 0.98 0.99
$>0.2$ 4712 0.62 0.81
$>0.4$ 629 0.21 0.28
-------- -------- ------- -------------------
: Peak statistics for the ‘raw’ maps, as a function of threshold $\kappa_{\rm max}$. The columns give the number of peaks above the thresholds listed, and the fraction of clusters (halos with $M_{200}>10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$) satisfying the lensing kernel cut which were found by matching to those peaks. There were 2415 and 1775 clusters with $w>0$ and $w>w_{\rm max}/2$ respectively.[]{data-label="tab:raw"}
We first present results on the raw $\kappa$ maps, i.e. without adding noise or smoothing the map. These results will set a theoretical ‘best’ performance and allow us to understand how much things are degraded by noise and smoothing. Our results for the noise-free, unsmoothed maps are listed in Table \[tab:raw\]. We see that there are a very large number of peaks, and that almost all clusters can be matched to peaks (we discuss the rare misses below). If we apply a threshold to our peak finder to reduce the peaks to a reasonable number our completeness begins to drop rapidly.
The reason for this can be seen by considering the distribution of $\kappa$ values in the region of known clusters. We have chosen to do this in the context of cluster mass measurements, realizing that this issue has been discussed in many contexts previously. As a first step we went through our cluster list and for all clusters above $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ we summed the values of $\kappa$ within a disk centered on the known cluster center and with radius equal to the known value of $r_{200}$. Using the cluster redshift we then converted this to a mass. A histogram of the mass compared to the true mass is shown in Fig. \[fig:mhist\] where we see that there is both a large scatter, as has been emphasized before[^2], and a positive offset. Perhaps the most dramatic are the few clusters with a negative mass. These arise when a cluster in a region where the lensing kernel is small has a large void projected along the line-of-sight at a distance where the lensing kernel is large. This leads to a negative mean $\kappa$ even though there exists a significant mass overdensity. To isolate this effect we further require that the lensing kernel at the cluster position be more than half of its peak value. This largely removes the negative tail, although even with this cut 34 clusters (out of more than 1750) with $M_{\kappa}<0$ remain.
The tail to very large mass ratios occurs when a massive cluster is projected on top of a less massive cluster. These lines-of-sight were excluded in the analysis of Metzler et al. ([@MetWhiLok]), but we have not done so here. Thus our procedure will return something close to the cumulative mass for each of these systems, which will be a large overestimate for the low mass system. We show an example of such an overlap in Fig. \[fig:overlap\]. Again, restricting ourselves to clusters near the peak of the lensing kernel reduces this effect. We shall return to the projection effects on the mass measurement of the detected peaks at the end of §\[sec:S-statistic\].
While the details change, this kind of effect is also seen in the distribution of peak $\kappa$ values or in other measures of ‘mass’ based on lensing.
Adding noise
------------
While the above results can serve to indicate some of the pitfalls in weak lensing searches for clusters, they do not indicate how a realistic search would perform. To make further steps in this direction we need to include ‘noise’ in our maps. We will consider an ‘ideal’ or optimistic survey for the purposes of highlighting the cosmological, rather than observational, effects. Thus we shall neglect sources of noise intrinsic to the telescope or detector system and focus instead on the irreducible ‘noise’ due to galaxy properties. Following van Waerbeke ([@vWae]) we model the noise in a $\kappa$ map that would arise from processing a shear map using a technique such as that of Kaiser & Squires ([@KaiSqu]) as Gaussian, correlated only by any smoothing kernel applied to the map. If the mean intrinsic ellipticity of the source galaxies is $\gamma_{\rm int}$ then the noise introduced in our $\kappa$ map has variance $$\sigma_{\rm pix}^2 = {\gamma_{\rm int}^2\over \bar{n}\theta_{\rm pix}^2}$$ where $\bar{n}$ is the mean number density of sources. Assuming $\gamma_{\rm int}=0.2$ (which is slightly optimistic for ground based work; Kaiser [@Kai98]; Crittenden, Natarajan, Pen & Theuns [@CNPT]) and $\bar{n}=25$ gal/arcmin${}^2$ (again slightly optimistic) we have $\sigma_{\rm pix}\simeq 0.14$ for our $0.3'$ pixels. This level of noise is quite optimistic, compared to current observations, which will make our conclusions conservative. None of our main results will depend on our specific choice of $\sigma_{\rm pix}$, though the absolute meaning of our signal-to-noise cuts will clearly scale with $\sigma_{\rm pix}$.
Even this level of noise is quite large compared to our signal, so we need to smooth the maps to enhance the contrast of our signal to the noise. We have not attempted to search for an ‘optimal’ filter, matched to the predicted shape of the cluster. Instead we have chosen to either smooth the maps with a Gaussian whose FWHM is roughly matched to the size of clusters at cosmological distances, $1'-2'$, or to apply the $M_{\rm ap}$ filter already discussed in the literature (see §\[sec:S-statistic\]).
The top panel of Fig. \[fig:smth\] shows how a survey’s completeness and efficiency depend on the smoothing scale in the case of no noise. As expected increasing the smoothing decreases the number of false positives and thus the expense of follow up observations; but it also decreases the survey completeness. The best match of peak threshold and smoothing will depend on the trade offs between these two issues. The trade off is also affected by the level of noise in the map, as is shown in the bottom panel of Fig. \[fig:smth\]. Note that for no combination of parameters is it possible to have $>50\%$ completeness with $<50\%$ contamination! This may be traced primarily to the large scatter in the mass-peak relation shown in Fig. \[fig:mhist\] (for a discussion of precisely this effect in redshift surveys for clusters, see White & Kochanek [@WhiKoc]).
We note that only for very high thresholds is our efficiency close to 100%. This means that there are quite prominent peaks in the maps which do not match any cluster with $M_{200}>10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$. This could have relevance to the question of ‘dark clusters’ (see Fischer [@fischer99], Erben et al. [@erben00], Umetsu & Futamase [@UmeFut]).
Matched filter {#sec:S-statistic}
--------------
One can enhance the signal-to-noise for cluster-like structures by convolving the $\kappa$ map with a ‘matched filter’. For a certain class of such filters, known as aperture mass measures (Schneider [@S96]; Schneider et al. [@SvWJK]) this operation is easy to implement directly on the shear field itself: convolution of the $\kappa$ map with a kernel $U$ can be shown to be the same as convolving the tangential shear map with a related kernel $Q$ provided the kernel $U$ vanishes outside of some radius $\vartheta$ and is compensated, viz $$\int \theta d\theta\ U(\theta) = 0 \qquad .$$ The convolution of $\kappa$ with $U$ to produce the $M_{\rm ap}$ map is a bandpass filter on the convergence map, with the filter function quite narrow in (spatial) frequency space (Bartelmann & Schneider [@BarSch]). Thus we may expect that for an appropriately chosen $M_{\rm ap}$ scale, $\vartheta$, we will enhance the contrast of clusters in the map.
We have created, from our noisy $\kappa$ maps, a series of $M_{\rm ap}$ maps with different filtering scales. We use the simplest, $\ell=1$, $M_{\rm ap}$ kernel $$\theta^2 U(\theta) = {9\over \pi}(1-u^2)\left({1\over 3}-u^2\right)
\quad {\rm if}\ \theta<\vartheta.$$ Here $u\equiv \theta/\vartheta$ and $\vartheta$ is the filter size. We perform this convolution directly on the $\kappa$ map, with $M_{\rm ap}$ filters for which $\vartheta$ is a multiple of the pixel scale. A typical cluster is $\sim 10$ pixels across, so pixelization effects are not too severe on the scales of interest. Convolution of the $\kappa$ map with this kernel indeed enhances the visibility of clusters in the maps as can be seen in Fig. \[fig:fourmaps\]. Finally we produce $S-$statistic maps by dividing our $M_{\rm ap}$ maps by the rms fluctuation of the [*noise*]{} map.
Using these maps as the input to our peak finding software we find that the efficiency and completeness depend on the filter size in the expected manner. Recalling that the $M_{\rm ap}$ filter scale is roughly $3\times$ the Gaussian width for similarly extended kernels the results in Fig. \[fig:noisyMap\] can be seen to be quite similar. In the presence of noise the ‘optimal’ filtering scale ($2'-4'$) is slightly larger than for the noise free map. One could argue that the low completeness levels we are finding are a result of our mass threshold, and that we would find a larger fraction of the higher mass clusters. This is in fact true, as the middle panel in Fig. \[fig:noisyMap\] shows, but the price is a very low efficiency. In the middle panel we give the completeness and efficiency keeping only clusters above $3\times 10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ (see also Fig. \[fig:s\_vs\_mass\]). On balance there is not a significant improvement compared to the $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ mass threshold. Finally we have also restricted ourselves to the clusters which lie in regions where the lensing kernel is more than half of its peak value. These clusters clearly have a larger probability of contributing to a significant peak than clusters near the observer or the sources. The completeness and efficiency numbers are given in the lowest panel of Fig. \[fig:noisyMap\]. While the completeness is everywhere higher than the top panel, the improvement is marginal.
Fig. \[fig:noisyMap\] shows that even quite high $S-$peaks can be inefficient or incomplete. This does not mean that these peaks are purely noise however. In many cases a strong peak can be found to match to a lower mass object (or objects) along the line-of-sight. To illustrate this we have matched all groups above $10^{13}h^{-1}M_\odot$ with all peaks having $S>4$ in the 5 fields. Fig. \[fig:mess\] shows a scatter-plot of all the unique matches. Notice that there is a substantial tail of lower mass groups even for $S>4$. It is these low-mass groups that are driving our low efficiencies.
Our low efficiency is caused by ‘noise’ coming from both intrinsic ellipticities and from cosmic structures. The measured mass function will therefore be biased toward the most massive objects. This problem could be overcome if we knew the mass Probability Distribution Function of those noise peaks, which we could try to deconvolve from the measured mass function. Unfortunately, only the noise peak $S$-distribution is known, as this can be derived analytically given the ellipticity dispersion (van Waerbeke [@vWae]). It is interesting to ask whether this problem could be suppressed with an arbitrary low noise mass map, such as could be obtained by observing fields with a very long exposure time.
To answer this we measured the mass function associated with peaks in the [*noise-free*]{} fields which do not match any real cluster above $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$. We took peaks with positive $\kappa$ – the mass function would be higher if we lowered this threshold or included any noise, it would be lower if we raised the threshold. In order to assign a mass to a fake peak, we followed Erben et al. ([@erben00]) and computed the [*minimum*]{} mass that would naively be associated with the peak. This mass corresponds to the deflector being at the redshift where the lensing kernel peaks ($z\simeq 0.5$ in our case) and is a conservative way for observers to give a lower mass to what they believe to be a real cluster. Fig. \[fig:miss\_vs\_true\] shows this minimum mass function of the missed peaks (empty symbols) compared to the true mass function (filled circles). The estimated mass depends of course on the aperture one uses. The three sets of empty symbols show the mass function obtained using three different aperture sizes: we used a square of side $2.1'$, $2.8'$ and $3.5'$, corresponding respectively to $0.7$, $1$, and $1.2~h^{-1}$Mpc radius at the assumed lens redshift of $0.5$. This choice matches the typical aperture size used in the literature, and correspond to the virial radii used to compute most of the masses in this work (Fig. \[fig:clussize\]). We see that the non-matched peaks are non-negligible below $3\times 10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$. This means that even in the ideal case of noise free data, a large number of “clusters” in the range \[$10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$, $3\times 10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$\] are only projections of large-scale structure. Lowering the mass threshold does not significantly change Fig. \[fig:miss\_vs\_true\].
Phrased another way, the presence of a distribution of halos and large-scale structures provides a fluctuating background to our $\kappa$ maps. The clusters we are seeking are embedded in this background, which has a similar effect on the mass function (broadening it) as does measurement noise. However this broadening depends on the r.m.s. of the mass map, which depends on the cosmological model one considers. Thus in order to recover the cluster mass function by deconvolution we would need to assume an underlying cosmological model.
Also note that Fig. \[fig:miss\_vs\_true\] suggests that it is possible to obtain peaks in a lensing map which can be interpreted at structures as massive as a few $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ due simply to projection effects. This may bear upon the reports of ‘dark clumps’ with masses around a few $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ by (Fischer [@fischer99], Erben et al. [@erben00], and Umetsu & Futamase [@UmeFut]). In these papers, the authors computed the probability for the $S$ peak to be ‘real’ against random alignment of lensed galaxies, but they neglected the effect of projection of lower mass clumps discussed here.
We show in Fig. \[fig:s\_vs\_mass\] that the efficiency and completeness are not equally distributed among the different cluster masses. There is a trend to have higher completeness for higher cluster masses, as expected. However our completeness is still not $100\%$ even for very massive clusters. In our 5 fields there are a handful of massive clusters with $z\simeq 1$ and thus a low lensing efficiency. These do not pass our $3\sigma$ threshold in Fig. \[fig:s\_vs\_mass\]. We caution that at the high mass end we have relatively few clusters in our maps and in the underlying simulation volume. We thus become very sensitive to fluctuations both in the number density and in the redshift distribution of these objects. Thus these numbers should be taken as suggestive of some of the issues which can affect completeness with the caveat that they should be checked with a larger simulation before being used to ‘correct’ any data.
We show the correlation between distance and $S$ in Fig. \[fig:Dist\_vs\_S\]. This correlation is easy to understand: at a fixed mass low $S$ clusters correspond preferentially to a low lensing efficiency, thus they are at either high or at low redshift. Since the cosmological volume is much larger at high than at low redshift, we naturally catch more high redshift clusters. This also points out a problem in using a fixed $S$ threshold for cluster selection: it will affect the redshift selection function, and this should be properly taken into account in cluster abundance analysis for instance.
Comparison with previous work
=============================
Ours is not the first study to investigate how complete a weak lensing survey of clusters could be using numerical simulations. It does however improve upon early work in some respects. The closest predecessor to our work, in terms of focus, is that of Reblinsky & Bartelmann ([@RebBar]).
These authors used N-body simulations to look at projection effects in weak lensing selected cluster samples, and compared it to the projection effects in richness selected clusters. They generated a 3D cluster catalog from a single output of one of the GIF simulations in an $85 h^{-1} {\rm Mpc}$ box. Their weak lensing maps were constructed by taking a projection of the mass in the box, constructing the 2D lensing potential to calculate the shear, and use aperture mass ($M_{\rm ap}$) methods to find peaks. Since we start with a simulation volume 44 times larger (containing many more clusters) and simulate the entire $\sim 2000h^{-1}$Mpc line-of-sight, not just one $85h^{-1}$Mpc piece of it, we could study projection effects over cosmological scales. It turns out that this exacerbates the projection effects seen in their work and makes our results slightly more pessimistic than theirs.
Reblinsky & Bartelmann ([@RebBar]) worked only at $2'$. Our efficiency/completeness at $2'$ (Fig. \[fig:noisyMap\]) looks similar to their result, although it is difficult to compare the results directly since Reblinsky & Bartelmann ([@RebBar]) give only cumulative numbers. Both sets of results can be explained by the leakage of small mass peaks to higher masses due to the convolution of the true cluster mass function with the ‘noise’. This predicts that we should observe more high mass clusters than there really are, in accord with our results. Here we have demonstrated how this result depends on the smoothing kernel used, with the dependence being non-trivial. In particular we found that beyond a given scale (which is kernel dependent) increasing the smoothing scale always pushes the efficiency close to $100\%$ (but the price to pay is a low completeness).
Simulations which include the entire line-of-sight have been performed by Reblinsky, Kruse, Jain & Schneider ([@RKJS]), following up the semi-analytic work of Kruse & Schneider ([@KruSch]). These authors made “$M_{\rm ap}$ maps” from simulated shear maps, with and without adding random noise. From these they extracted the number density of $M_{\rm ap}$ peaks with $S/N > 5$ (where for the map with no noise they estimated the noise due to intrinsic galaxy ellipticities). They find quite good agreement with the analytic estimates, in that $\sim 5$ peaks per square degree are found above this detection threshold for the map with no noise[^3]. Unfortunately, due to the lack of knowledge of the 3D cluster positions in their analysis, it was impossible for them to study the completeness/efficiency. This makes it impossible to compare directly with our work.
Discussion
==========
In the last few years it has become possible to search for clusters of galaxies directly as mass enhancements using weak gravitational lensing. This method probes the mass of a cluster independent of its dynamical state, and thus presents a different view to surveys based on galaxy counts or the intra-cluster medium. For this reason a lens selected survey of clusters is an appealing sample, which could in principle be mass selected allowing a reconstruction of the cluster mass function with redshift.
Unfortunately there are many obstacles to be overcome. Our study strongly implies that complementary observations (both weak and strong lensing, optical, Sunyaev-Zel’dovich, X-ray) will be of great help in cleaning a sample of lensing selected clusters of spurious detection and projection effects (e.g. Castander [@Cas00]; Bartelmann [@Bar01]). An example of this is the confirmation using redshifts of the lensing selected cluster by Wittman et al. ([@Witetal01]). This will probably involve a significant number of followup observations on lensing (mass) preselected clusters. In this paper we have begun to address the problem of designing such a survey, depending on the different goals (completeness, cluster redshift, mass range) one wants to achieve.
Extending upon the work of Reblinsky & Bartelmann ([@RebBar]) and Metzler et al. ([@MetWhiLok]), we studied the problems associated with selecting clusters in lensing data, using larger numerical simulations of clusters which simulated the entire past light-cone. We focussed on the aperture mass statistic, assuming one identified source population, and investigated its dependence on cluster mass and redshift. We compared the catalogs produced by different lensing-based analyses to the reference set of 3D clusters present in the simulation.
As discussed before, measurements of the masses of individual clusters from weak lensing have a large scatter ($100\%$) and a significant bias (about $20\%$), for clusters more massive than $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ (see Fig. \[fig:mhist\]). The bias comes from the fact that clusters live preferentially in larger structures. The large scatter is due to the presence of a large number of halos of different masses making up the large-scale structure. Phrased in terms of a mass, the ‘noise’ induced by this structure is comparable to the signal from a cluster of $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ put at redshift of $\sim 0.5$. This may bear upon the existence of dark clusters with mass of a few $10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$ in lensing surveys, however to be sure whether projection effects are the explanation would require simulating the distribution of the light (i.e. galaxies) under the same observational conditions. If light suffers less projection than mass, this may explain the dark clusters. In agreement with Hoekstra ([@Hoe]) we find that the noise due to [*uncorrelated*]{} large-scale structure along the line-of-sight does not obscure the signal from sufficiently massive ($\sim 10^{15}h^{-1}M_\odot$) clusters.
This ‘mass scatter’ biases the mass function measured with lensing. The scatter contains an intrinsic contribution, which is cosmological model dependent, and a measurement noise contribution determined by the intrinsic galaxy ellipticities and the smoothing kernel. It is possible to model the noise in the $S$ statistic (and to predict the number density of observed $S$ peaks as in Reblinsky et al. ([@RKJS]), for instance), but it is much more difficult to transpose this $S$-noise into a mass noise since $S$ is not simply related to the mass (see Fig. \[fig:mess\]), and this relation depends on the cosmological model.
Even if we restrict ourselves to the methods explored here, lensing surveys should be relatively complete for the highest mass clusters, ($\ga 3\times 10^{14}h^{-1}M_\odot$) with reasonable efficiency ($0.1-0.5$ if $S>5$ for example). However it is important to take into account the variation of the lensing kernel with redshift in interpreting the mass threshold of an $S$-selected sample.
It is not clear to what extent these issues can be overcome. In this work, we have not made use of filters matched to the cluster profiles or of multiple source populations. In principle incorporating either of these could increase the efficiency or completeness of our samples. However, at the very least these issues have to be considered in projects aimed at performing a statistical measure of cluster masses from weak lensing. In particular the trade-off between completeness/efficiency and mass bias are important aspects for plans to measure the lower mass clumps, like groups of galaxies (Schneider & Kneib [@SchKne]; Möller et al. [@MPKB]).
Acknowledgements {#acknowledgements .unnumbered}
================
We would like to thank Peter Schneider for comments on an earlier draft. The simulations in this paper were carried out by the authors on the IBM-SP2 at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. This work was supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation, through grants PHY-0096151, ACI96-19019 and AST-9803137.
[99]{}
Abell G.O., 1958, , 3, 211 Bartelmann M., Schneider P., 1999, A&A, 345, 17 Bartelmann M., 2001, A&A, 370, 754 Bonnet H., Mellier Y., Fort B., 1994, , 427, L83 Castander F., et al., 2000, in “Constructing the Universe with Clusters of Galaxies”, eds. F. Durret and D. Gerbal. Cooray A., Hu W., Huterer D., Joffre M., , 557, L7 \[astro-ph/0105061\] Crittenden R.G., Natarajan P., Pen U-L., Theuns T., 2001, , 559, 552 Dalton G.B., Efstathiou G., Maddox S.J., Sutherland W.J., 1992, , 390, L1 Davis M., Efstathiou G., Frenk C.S., White S.D.M., 1985, , 292, 371 Erben Th., et al., 2000, A&A, 355, 23 \[astro-ph/9907134\] Fahlman G., Kaiser N., Squires G., Woods D., 1994, , 437, 56 Fischer P., 1999, AJ, 117, 2024 Haiman Z., Mohr J., Holder G., 2001, , 553, 545 Hamana T., Colombi S., Mellier Y., 2000, in proceedings of the XXth Moriond Astrophysics Meeting “Cosmological Physics with Gravitational Lensing”, March 2000, eds. J.-P. Kneib, Y. Mellier, M. Mon, J. Tran Thanh Van. Hattori M., Kneib J.P., Makino N., Prog. Th. Phys., in press \[astro-ph/9905009\] Hoekstra H., 2001, A&A, 370, 743 Holder G., Haiman Z., Mohr J., 2001, , 560, L111 \[astro-ph/0105396\] Kaiser N., 1998, , 498, 26 Kaiser N., Squires G., 1993, , 404, 441 Kruse G., Schneider P., 1999, , 302, 821 \[astro-ph/9806071\] Lumsden S.L., Nichol R.C., Collins C.A., Guzzo L., 1992, , 258, 1 Metzler C., White M., Norman M., Loken C., 1999, , 520, 9. \[astro-ph/9904156\] Metzler C., White M., Loken C., 2001, , 547, 560. \[astro-ph/0005442\] Moller, O., Natarajan, P., Kneib, J.P., Blain, A., 2001, , [*submitted*]{}, \[astro-ph/0110435\] Pierpaoli E., Scott D., White M., 2001, , 325, 77 Reblinsky K., Bartelmann M., 1999, A&A, 345, 1 Reblinsky K., Kruse G., Jain B., Schneider P., 1999, A&A, 351, 815 \[astro-ph/9907250\] Schneider P., 1996, , 283, 837 Schneider P., Kneib J-P., 1998, in ESA conference Proceedings of the “Workshop on the Next Generation of Space Telescope: Science Drivers & Technical Challenges” Liege, Belgium June 15-18, 1998 \[astro-ph/9807091\] Schneider P., van Waerbeke L., Jain B., Kruse G., 1998, , 296, 873 da Silva A.C., Barbosa D., Liddle A.R., Thomas P.A., 2000, , 317, 37 Umetsu K., Futamase T., 2000, , 539, L5 \[astro-ph/0004373\] van Haarlem M.P., Frenk C.S., White S.D.M., 1997, , 287, 817 van Waerbeke L., 2000, , 313, 524 White M., Hu W., 2000, , 537, 1 \[astro-ph/9909165\] White M., Kochanek C.S., 2001, , in press \[astro-ph/0110307\] White M., Springel V., Hernquist L., 2001, in preparation. White R., et al., 1999, , 118, 2014 Wittman D., et al., 2001, ,557, L89 \[astro-ph/0104094\] Wu, X.P., Chiueh, T., Fang, L.Z., Xue, Y.J., 1998, , 301, 861
[^1]: The particle distribution is visualized using [*Tipsy*]{} from the N-body shop at the University of Washington.
[^2]: See for example the discussion in §7.3 of Metzler, White & Loken ([@MetWhiLok]).
[^3]: Note: this does [*not*]{} imply that the survey is complete, simply that the analytic estimate produces the same fraction of identified clusters as the simulation.
|
Les partisans d'extrême droite de Donald Trump se sont rebellés et s'en sont pris au président après que celui-ci a ordonné une frappe contre la Syrie, soupçonnée d'avoir lancé une attaque chimique qui a tué 86 personnes.
"Quiconque prétendait que Trump était d'une loyauté aveugle a eu un avertissement aujourd'hui", a déclaré Mike Cernovich, l'un des leaders du mouvement "Alt-Right", un groupe nationaliste qui a accusé le président d'avoir abandonné ses positions électorales isolationnistes, dans une campagne sur les réseaux sociaux portée par le hashtag #Syriahoax ("canular syrien").
"Troisième guerre mondiale"
"Nous savons tous qu'Assad n'empoisonnerait pas son propre peuple", a poursuivi ce spécialiste des théories du complot dans une vidéo mise en ligne vendredi, avançant l'idée que "l'Etat profond" (le "deep state", c'est-à-dire un complot de bureaucrates déterminés à saper clandestinement l'action de M. Trump) "veut une guerre avec la Russie". "Ils utilisent l'attaque au gaz de la Syrie, qui est un canular, pour déclencher la Troisième Guerre mondiale".
"Pourquoi Assad ferait-il cela alors qu'il est en train de gagner ?", s'est ainsi interrogé Alex Jones, responsable du site d'extrême-droite "Infowars". Alex Jones soutient l'idée que l'attaque était une ruse pour forcer Donald Trump à s'aligner sur les conservateurs traditionnels. Il estime que si le président "cède à ce front anti-Syrie pour prouver qu'il n'est pas une marionnette russe, ils ne vont pas s'arrêter".
LIRE AUSSI :
» Syrie: l'Iran accuse Trump "d'aider les terroristes"
» Le FN «déçu» par Donald Trump après les frappes sur la Syrie |
State Transport Authority (South Australia)
The State Transport Authority (STA) was the government agency which controlled public transport in South Australia between 1974 and 1994.
History
The State Transport Authority was established by the State Transport Authority Act 1974, which aimed to provide an integrated and co-ordinated system of public transport within South Australia. This was to be achieved by assuming direct control of state-operated services (particularly in the Adelaide metropolitan area) and by exercising regulatory control of privately operated services.
The STA was dissolved (and the 1974 Act repealed) as a consequence of the Passenger Transport Act 1994. These reforms split the STA into the Passenger Transport Board, which coordinated and funded the public transport system, and TransAdelaide, which actually operated metropolitan buses, trains and trams. The formation of TransAdelaide was a prelude to competitive tendering and the introduction of private operators into the Adelaide public transport network.
Formation
In the period following its establishment on 18 April 1974, the State Transport Authority took over the functions of three government agencies. These were initially structured as three independent divisions of the STA:
The South Australian Railways Commission became the Rail Division on 8 December 1975.
The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) became the Bus & Tram Division, also on 8 December 1975. By this time all of Adelaide’s tramways had closed, except the Glenelg line. However the MTT continued to operate most of the local bus routes in the inner metropolitan area, which often followed former tram lines. The MTT was also involved in buying out many of the private bus operators then operating in the Adelaide suburbs.
The Transport Control Board became the Regulation Division.
Sale of railways
In 1975, the Whitlam Federal Government proposed a nationalisation program for Australia’s railways. It was recognised at the time that Australia’s system of separate state-controlled railways led to unnecessary duplication of facilities and administration, inefficient operating practices, high costs and the lack of a uniform national approach to railway policy. Whitlam’s proposal aimed to address these issues.
South Australia and Tasmania were the only states which agreed to the nationalisation plan and in South Australia’s case the transfer agreement only extended to railways outside the Adelaide suburban area.
On 1 July 1975, the Federal Government took over financial responsibility for the non-metropolitan railways in South Australia and reimbursed the South Australian government for operating deficits incurred after this time. After formation of the Rail Division on 8 December 1975, the STA continued to administer and operate all the ex South Australian Railways (SAR) on behalf of the Federal government. This interim arrangement lasted for over two years while the precise details of the sale of South Australia’s railways were devised, disputed and re-negotiated, and the operating and management structures of the new Federal-controlled railway were put into place.
Eventually, on 1 March 1978 the responsibility for management of all South Australia’s non-metropolitan railways was transferred to the Australian National Railways Commission. This included much of the former SAR infrastructure, rolling stock and staff.
The STA retained ownership and responsibility for all the suburban railway system around Adelaide, including the centrally located Adelaide railway station, the entire fleet of Redhen railcars and two 830 class diesel locomotives. At the same time, the separate Rail and Bus & Tram Divisions of the STA were combined.
Chronology
The following developments occurred in Adelaide’s public transport system during the STA era.
25 January 1976; The Hallett Cove line was extended southwards from Hallett Cove Beach to a temporary terminus at Christie Downs. The opening of the rail line extension was the first public event where the new STA name and logo was prominently used.
1976; Smoking was banned on Adelaide’s buses.
4 February 1977; A new bus depot was opened at Morphettville in the south-western suburbs.
1977 to 1980; The STA took delivery of 307 new Volvo B59 buses. The Volvos updated and standardised the metropolitan bus fleet, which at the time comprised a wide variety of vehicle types and ages following buy-out of a number of private operators. The last example was withdrawn from service in 2003.
31 October 1977; The Circle Line bus service was introduced.
1 March 1978; Non-metropolitan railways were transferred to Australian National.
2 April 1978; The Christie Downs line was extended southwards from Christie Downs to Noarlunga Centre.
28 October 1978; The Semaphore line closed between Glanville and Semaphore.
October 1978 to April 1979; The wooden Glenelg line bridge over the railway lines at Goodwood station was replaced with the current concrete structure. The wooden bridge had been built in 1929, at the time the line was converted from a railway to tramway.
4 February 1979; A zone-based fare integrated ticketing system was introduced across Adelaide, allowing transfers between modes.
17 August 1979; Finsbury line closed between Woodville and Finsbury. Redhen railcar 429 worked the last regular passenger service.
1 February 1980; Hendon line closed between Albert Park and Hendon. Redhen railcar 403 worked the last regular passenger service.
22 February 1980; The first 2000 class railcars entered public service, 2101, 2102 and 2001 ran its first passenger service on 22 February 1980 while 2103, 2104 and 2002 were introduced shortly after. Delivery of the new trains continued until August 1981 when 2118 and 2012 were the final cars to be delivered.
1980; The first Pressed Metal Corporation South Australia bodied Volvo B58 and B10M buses were delivered for services into the Adelaide Hills and longer-distance suburban routes. They were painted in a characteristic brown and custard colour livery, leading to their nickname "Brown Bombers". Known for their distinctively loud transmission whine, these buses were to become a familiar sight over the next 25 years, especially in the Adelaide Hills and outer suburbs until their withdrawals between 2004-2006.
1981; New rail stations were opened in September 1981 at North Haven on the Outer Harbor line, and in November 1981 at Christie Downs on the Noarlunga line.
13 September 1981; Port Dock station closed.
1982; The first MAN SL200 buses entered service. These were the last buses to be delivered in the classic all over silver livery (with white roof), which dated from MTT days. Originally, these buses were mostly used on shorter distance city routes, the last was withdrawn in 2011.
18 May 1984; The few remaining Australian National (AN) country passenger trains and The Overland to Melbourne were transferred from Adelaide station to the new interstate facility at Keswick Terminal. Keswick Terminal allowed access by interstate passenger trains such as The Ghan and Indian Pacific which used the newly opened standard gauge line from Crystal Brook. It also allowed AN to avoid paying access charges to the STA for use of Adelaide station.
1985; The ASER project, involving major redevelopment of Adelaide railway station commenced.
17 December 1985; Salisbury Interchange on the Gawler line opened to provide improved bus – rail connections in the northern suburbs. Salisbury was the second purpose-built bus-rail interchange in Adelaide, Noarlunga Centre had been the first.
2 March 1986; The first six kilometre stage of the O-Bahn Busway opened between the city’s eastern fringe and Paradise Interchange in the north-eastern suburbs. The O-Bahn is a unique public transport system, running on specially built concrete track with modified Mercedes-Benz O305 buses and combining elements of both bus and rail systems.
9 March 1986; Relocated Grange station opened to avoid level crossing on Military Road.
18 October 1986; The Glenelg tram depot was relocated from Angas Street in the Adelaide city centre to a new purpose-build facility at Glengowrie.
31 May 1987; North Arm Road, Wingfield and Eastern Parade stations on the Port Adelaide-Dry Creek line closed.
24 July 1987; Northfield line services between Dry Creek and Northfield cease.
26 July 1987: Bridgewater line services between Belair and Bridgewater cease.
27 September 1987; A new Crouzet computerised ticket system was introduced across the STA bus, train and tram system. This formed the basis of today’s MetroTicket system. Paper tickets were replaced by magnetic-stripe tickets, which are checked by an electronic validating machine each time a passenger boards a vehicle, and Weekly and Monthly tickets were replaced by 10-journey Multitrips.
November 1987: The first of a new fleet of 3000 class railcars entered public service. These replaced the Redhen railcars, which had been the mainstay of the suburban train service since the late 1950s.
1988: The ASER redevelopment project was completed at Adelaide station. The station platforms became effectively underground, with the Hyatt Regency hotel and Adelaide Convention Centre built above. The former main station building was re-opened as the Adelaide Casino.
29 May 1988; Port Adelaide-Dry Creek line closed to regular passenger traffic. Redhen railcars 372/373 worked the last passenger movement.
20 August 1989; The second stage of the 12 kilometre O-Bahn Busway opened between Paradise Interchange and Tea Tree Plaza Interchange at Modbury. The final cost of the project was A$98 million, which included the new fleet of specially-modified buses, based at St Agnes depot.
1990; Following rebuilding of the tracks and platforms in 1985 – 88, the Adelaide station concourse was refurbished.
1990; A four-year project to renew outdated signalling on the STA railway system was completed. New signals were installed and all STA trains and rail lines were supervised from a computerised traffic control centre in Adelaide station yard.
17 February 1992; The first Transit Link limited-stop bus route, numbered TL1, was introduced between Aberfoyle Park and Adelaide. This initiative aimed to attract peak-hour motorists onto public transport by providing frequent, fast, limited-stop services, using high-quality vehicles and traffic priority schemes (e.g. bus lanes and bus-priority traffic signals) where practical.
1992; Driver-only operation was introduced on STA trains and guards were progressively withdrawn. This led to a significant increase in fare evasion, since there were no-longer regular ticket inspections, and there was generally nowhere on the trains or stations to buy a ticket if a casual traveller had not planned ahead and pre-purchased one from a retail outlet. The reduced supervision also helped compound a trend of increasing vandalism, disorderly behaviour and crime that had plagued the STA system (both bus and train) since the late 1980s. The transit police force was increased and Transit Officers replaced guards on some trains, but negative public perceptions about personal safety and difficulty in getting tickets and information resulted in decreased patronage of many services.
16 August 1992; A new bus depot was opened at Mile End and the Hackney depot was closed. Hackney had been the main depot in Adelaide since the first electric tram lines opened in 1909, and had subsequently been converted by the MTT for use by trolleybuses and diesel buses.
16 August 1992; The Transit Link concept was introduced on two new bus routes (TL2 to West Lakes and TL3 to Golden Grove and Elizabeth), and to express peak-hour trains on three of the main rail lines.
16 August 1992; Changes were implemented which reduced services on most bus and train routes at night and at weekends. Train frequencies were reduced from approximately every 45 minutes to hourly. On the bus network, a separate "Nights & Sundays" pattern of routes was introduced, which often combined one or more daytime routes into circuitous and one-way hybrid routes. The rationale stated at the time was that evening and weekend services were very poorly patronised and the changes were needed to free resources to operate the new Transit Link routes.
5 July 1993; A bus-rail interchange was opened at Smithfield on the Gawler line.
21 November 1993; The successful Transit Link concept was extended to five new bus routes, TL6 to TL10.
30 June 1994; The STA was dissolved as a result of the Passenger Transport Act 1994 with its functions transferred to the Passenger Transport Board and TransAdelaide.
Railway line closures
In past years, one feature of Adelaide’s railway system was the number of industrial branch lines which were intended mainly for freight, but were also provided with passenger trains at peak hours. These industrial trains were progressively rationalised during the STA era, along with some other lightly used services.
Note regarding closure dates: Common railway practice is to record the official closure of a line as a date which falls on a Sunday. In cases where the train service only operated Monday to Friday, this means the last train would actually have run on the preceding Friday. This was the situation in most (but not all) examples in the table above. Hence the “last train” date quoted may differ by a day or two from the official record.
Publications
Keeping Track was the STA's house journal that was founded by the SAR in August 1973 when Rail News was renamed. It continued to be published until April 1976.
References
State Transport Authority Annual Reports 1977 to 1994
Transit Australia (Journal of the Australian Electric Traction Association) publisher: Transit Australia Publishing, Sydney ISSN 0818-5204
Catch Point (Journal of the Australian Railway Historical Society (SA Division) publisher: Port Dock Station Railway Museum (SA) Inc.
Category:Former government agencies of South Australia
Category:Government agencies established in 1974
Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1994
Category:Intermodal transport authorities in Australia
Category:Rail transport in South Australia
Category:Transport in Adelaide
Category:1974 establishments in Australia
Category:1994 disestablishments in Australia |
Evaluation of the infertile couple.
Evaluation of the infertile couple involves confirming the diagnosis of infertility based on history and a review of coital practices. A complete examination should include the following components: general evaluation, history, physical examination, assessment of ovulatory factor, tubal factor, peritoneal factors, uterine factors, and cervical factor, and assessment of male factor. |
Q:
Debian preseed doesn't create lvm's, but are in the expert recipe
I created a preseed script with help from this blog and I altered it to create some logical volumes on it too.
The result of the script is this:
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US.UTF-8
d-i debian-installer/splash boolean false
d-i debian-installer/language string en
d-i debain-installer/country string US
d-i console-setup/ask_detect boolean false
d-i console-setup/layoutcode string us
d-i netcfg/choose_interface select auto
#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string
d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string
d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
d-i netcfg/get_gateway string
d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true
d-i netcfg/get_hostname string myhost
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/http/hostname string http.nl.debian.org
d-i mirror/http/directory string /debian
d-i mirror/http/proxy string
d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda /dev/sdb
d-i partman-auto/method string raid
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-md/device_remove_md boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select recipe_sps
d-i partman-auto-lvm/new_vg_name string vg_sps
#d-i partman-auto-lvm/guided_size string 30GB
d-i partman-auto/expert_recipe string \
recipe_sps :: \
512 30 512 raid \
$lvmignore{ } \
$primary{ } method{ raid } \
. \
1000 35 250000000 raid \
$lvmignore{ } \
$primary{ } method{ raid } \
. \
5500 50 6000 ext4 \
$defaultignore{ } \
$lvmok{ } \
lv_name{ root } \
method{ format } \
format{ } \
use_filesystem{ } \
filesystem{ ext4 } \
mountpoint{ / } \
. \
4000 50 4100 ext4 \
$defaultignore{ } \
$lvmok{ } \
lv_name{ home } \
method{ format } \
format{ } \
use_filesystem{ } \
filesystem{ ext4 } \
mountpoint{ /home } \
. \
4000 50 4100 ext4 \
$defaultignore{ } \
$lvmok{ } \
lv_name{ varlog } \
method{ format } \
format{ } \
use_filesystem{ } \
filesystem{ ext4 } \
mountpoint{ /var/log } \
. \
60000000 50 250000000 ext4 \
$defaultignore{ } \
$lvmok{ } \
lv_name{ varvirtualbox } \
method{ format } \
format{ } \
use_filesystem{ } \
filesystem{ ext4 } \
mountpoint{ /var/virtualbox } \
.
# Last you need to specify how the previously defined partitions will be
# used in the RAID setup. Remember to use the correct partition numbers
# for logical partitions. RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6 and 10 are supported;
# devices are separated using "#".
# Parameters are:
# <raidtype> <devcount> <sparecount> <fstype> <mountpoint> \
# <devices> <sparedevices>
d-i partman-auto-raid/recipe string \
1 2 0 ext2 /boot \
/dev/sda1#/dev/sdb1 \
. \
1 2 0 lvm - \
/dev/sda2#/dev/sdb2 \
.
d-i mdadm/boot_degraded boolean false
d-i partman-md/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-partitioning/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-md/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean true
d-i time/zone string Europe/Amsterdam
d-i base-installer/kernel/image string linux-server
d-i passwd/root-login boolean true
d-i passwd/root-password password r00tme
d-i passwd/root-password-again password r00tme
d-i passwd/make-user boolean false
d-i user-setup/allow-password-weak boolean false
d-i user-setup/encrypt-home boolean false
d-i passwd/user-default-groups string adm cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare
d-i apt-setup/services-select multiselect security, updates
d-i apt-setup/security_host string security.debian.org
d-i apt-setup/non-free boolean true
d-i apt-setup/contrib boolean true
d-i debian-installer/allow_unauthenticated string false
d-i pkgsel/upgrade select safe-upgrade
d-i pkgsel/language-packs multiselect
d-i pkgsel/update-policy select none
d-i pkgsel/updatedb boolean true
tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard, openssh-server
d-i grub-installer/grub2_instead_of_grub_legacy boolean true
d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean false
d-i grub-installer/bootdev string /dev/sda /dev/sdb
d-i finish-install/keep-consoles boolean false
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note
d-i cdrom-detect/eject boolean true
d-i debian-installer/exit/halt boolean false
d-i debian-installer/exit/poweroff boolean false
d-i pkgsel/include string vim openssh-server openvpn
popularity-contest popularity-contest/participate boolean false
Now I used the script, but when it's finished (without errors) there is only the boot, root and swap partitions:
root@debian:~# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/dm-0 112G 854M 106G 1% /
udev 10M 0 10M 0% /dev
tmpfs 3.2G 8.6M 3.2G 1% /run
tmpfs 7.9G 0 7.9G 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5.0M 0 5.0M 0% /run/lock
tmpfs 7.9G 0 7.9G 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/md0 472M 34M 414M 8% /boot
root@debian:~# lvs
LV VG Attr LSize Pool Origin Data% Meta% Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
root vg_sps -wi-ao---- 113.85g
swap_1 vg_sps -wi-ao---- 4.85g
But in my expert-recipe I meant to create a /home /var/log and /var/virtualbox volume too.
A:
The first thing that I would change is the number of spaces between "string" and "recipe_sps".
According to this at 12.3.2.2: "the fourth and last field contains the value for the answer. Note that it must be separated from the third field with a single space; if there are more than one, the following space characters are considered part of the value."
If you luckily end up with a bootable system at this stage (thus with the failing recipe), check if /var/log/installer/cdebconf/questions.dat contains your recipe and whether it was chosen (probably not).
Added: Check your /var/log/installer/syslog for partman messages, mine was pretty clear: "partman-auto: Available disk space (8589) too small for expert recipe (67595); skipping"
|
Q:
How to design and debug a custom I2C master-slave system?
How to proceed, when in need of a custom I2C master-slave system?
What are the design criteria to apply?
What are the debugging tools one can use to troubleshoot problems?
A:
This tutorial I gave at the Embedded Linux Conference tries to answer the questions, providing links to more detailed description of the topics addressed and using the practical example of driving a 4WD drone, where an Arduino Mini Pro acts as slave and controls the 4 independent wheels.
The original document can be found here.
Note: This answer is currently work in progress, as I adapt the highlights from the link.
Typical Applications of the I2C bus
Interfacing with relatively slow peripherals. Ex: sensors, mechanical actuators.
Controlling “fast” peripherals, that use other channels for exchanging data. Ex: codecs.
In a PC, the Operating System usually interacts over I2C with:
temperature and battery voltage meters;
fan speed controllers;
audio codecs.
In case multiple bus controllers are available, peripherals are grouped by speed, so that fast ones are not penalized by slower ones.
A quick introduction to the I2C bus - key features
Serial bus.
Only 2 lines: Serial CLock and Serial DAta (plus ground).
4 speeds: 100kHz, 400kHz, 1MHz, 3.2MHz.
Typically, 1 master device and 1 or more slaves.
Communications are always initiated by a master device.
Multiple masters can co-exist on the same bus (multi-master).
Open-Drain: both SDA and SCL need pull-up resistors.
“Clock Stretching”
The master controls SCL, but a slave can hold it down (because open drain), if it needs to adjust the speed.
The master must check for this scenario.
A slave can get stuck and jam the bus: need for reset lines from the master to the slave.
Typically 7-bit addressing, but also 10 bit is supported.
Logical protocol: actual voltage levels are not specified and depend on individual implementations. Ex: 1.8V / 3.3V / 5.0V
Reference URLs:
http://www.i2c-bus.org
http://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/i2c-tutorial
Example of Bus Configuration
Characteristics of the Protocol (simplified)
2 message types: read and write
Start / Stop bit - represented as “[“ and “]” in the rest of the answer
Address: 7 or 10 bits
R/W bit: R = 1 / W = 0 Used to discriminate the type of message sent.
Data on the bus: (Address << 1 | R/W)
Registers as information handlers, within the selected device.
Example of Bus traffic
Custom Slaves
Why create a custom I2C slave?
Desired sensor/actuator unavailable with I2C interface.
Less unique addresses available than slaves needed.
Desired custom functionality on the slave:
Semi-autonomous reactions to stimuli.
Filtering/preprocessing input data.
Power optimization: custom “sensor hub” does the housekeeping while the main processor is idle.
Realtime response to inputs.
[your imagination here]
How to design a custom I2C slave?
Define requirements (see previous slide).
Choose microcontroller or microprocessor.
Choose Scheduler or Operating System (if any).
Define communication sub-protocol:
Define parameters and commands to be exchanged.
Organize them into “registers” and choose a free address.
Design of the I2C Master
Key design criteria:
Weight/Dimensions.
Required computational power and average latency.
PC-like device
Embedded device, typically headless.
Preferred programming language: interpreted vs compiled.
Availability of busses/gpios for driving the slave(s):
GPIOs only: bitbang the protocol
I2C: user-space application vs kernel driver.
No GPIOs/I2C interfaces available: USB to I2C adapter.
Debugging: Divide and Conquer
Take direct control of the bus with an ad-hoc device.
Examples:
Bus Pirate (useful also for other busses)
USB to I2C Master adapter, also based on the FTDI FT232R chip.
Custom device (could be a separate project).
Snoop the bus with a logic analyzer or a scope/advanced meter.
Examples:
sigrok/pulseview with compatible logic analyzer
2-channels standalone scope/meter
Use slave-specific In Circuit Debugger/In Circuit Emulator.
Example:
AVR Dragon for AVR chips (Arduino UNO, Nano, Mini, MiniPro)
BUS Pirate
Primarily for development purposes.
Can both sniff the bus and drive it.
Console interface over serial (ttyACM) port, including macros, or programmatic access for several programming languages.
Built-in pullup resistors and voltage sources (5V / 3.3V)
Supports many other protocols.
References: Wikipedia, main page
USB to I2C Adapter
Small footprint.
Suitable for permanent installations.
No need for special connections on the host: it can be used to interface with a typical PC.
Variant available that is also SPI-capable.
No console interface, only serial binary protocol.
Requires protocol wrapper.
Reference: protocol
sigrok and pulseview
sigrok(bakend component) logo
pulseview (visualizer) example
Example of low end logic Analyzer
De-facto standard for PC-driven measurements on linux (but available on other OSes too).
Support for vast range of logic analyzers, scopes and meters.
Various protocol decoders, including I2C.
Useful for visualizing the logical signals and debugging protocol errors.
Even very low end, inexpensive HW can provide a whole new dimension to debugging.
References: sigrok, pulseview, supported hardware
Example: steering a 4WD drone
Prototype built using 2 Arduino Mini Pro.
What does the slave do in the example?
The I2C slave:
Controls the amount of torque applied to each wheel.
Controls the direction each wheel spins.
Measures the rotation speed of each wheel through an optical encoder (Odometer).
Exposes the parameters above to the I2C Master.
High level block diagram of the I2C Slave.
Selecting the Slave: Arduino Mini Pro
Enough pins/functions to provide for each wheel:
1 PWM output with independent configuration of the duty-cycle.
1 GPIO for registering odometer input as IRQ.
2 GPIOs for selecting:
Forward
Reverse
Idle
Lock
I2C HW block for interrupt-driven i2c exchanges.
Dedicated pins for SPI-based programming.
Small footprint.
Low Cost.
The board layout of the clone represented in the picture is optimized for mounting on a DIL socket.
Slave-specific ICD: AVR Dragon
Supports various programming modes, included SPI programming, through AVRDude.
Doesn’t interfere with normal AVR operations, so it can be left plugged into the system.
After enabling debugWire interface, it allows configuring HW/SW breakpoints, by a dedicated backend for gdb/ddd.
Selecting the OS: ChibiOS
RTOS: preemption, tasks, semaphores, dynamic system tic, etc.
Small footprint: link only used code/data.
Distinction between RTOS and BSP through HAL.
GPLv3 for non-commercial use.
Actively developed, but already mature.
Supports 8bit AVR.
However it had limited BSP support for AVR, lack of:
- interrupts driver for AVR GPIOs (added).
- I2C support for AVR slave mode (custom).
Which had to be developed separately as part of the Drone SW for the AVR.
Defining the Communication Parameters
For each wheel:
Duty Cycle of the PWM signal used to drive it - 1 byte.
0xFF = max torque / 0x00 = no torque.
Direction of rotation - 1 byte.
0x00 = idle
0x01 = reverse
0x02 = forward
0x03 = locked
Average period in between slots of the optical encoder - 2 bytes.
Writing anything resets the measurement.
Parameter Index - 1 nibble:
0 = Duty Cycle
1 = Direction
2 = Average Period
Wheel indexes - 1 nibble:
0 = Left Rear
1 = Right Rear
2 = Right Front
3 = Left Front
4 = All
Sub Protocol: Defining the Registers
Register format: 0xαβ
- α = Parameter Index
- β = Wheel Index
Address (chosen arbitrarily): 0x10
Bus Pirate format:
- [ = start bit
- ] = end bit
- r = read byte
- address times 2 (left shift 1), for R/W bit
Example - in Bus Pirate Format
[ i2c_addr reg_addr=(parm,wheel) reg_value ]
[0x20 0x20 0x02] Left Rear Forward
[0x20 0x21 0x01] Right Rear Backward
[0x20 0x22 0x01] Right Front Backward
[0x20 0x23 0x02] Left Front Forward
[0x20 0x14 0xFF] Wheels set to max torque
The car spins clockwise.
|
Howard's Neck Plantation
Howard's Neck Plantation is a historic house and plantation complex located near the unincorporated community of Pemberton, in Goochland County, Virginia. It was built about 1825, and is a two-story, three-bay brick structure in the Federal style. The house is similar in style to the works of Robert Mills. It has a shallow deck-on-hip roof and a small, one-story academically proportioned tetrastyle Roman Doric order portico.
Also on the property are other contributing buildings: A one-story frame house, said to be the original farm dwelling dating from colonial times; a 20th-century frame house, an early 19th-century brick kitchen, two frame smokehouses, a frame tool house, two early carriage houses and a harness house, three log slave quarters, the manager's house, and a sizable tobacco barn.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
References
Category:Plantation houses in Virginia
Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Category:Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Category:Federal architecture in Virginia
Category:Houses completed in 1825
Category:Houses in Goochland County, Virginia
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Goochland County, Virginia
Category:Farms in Virginia
Category:Slave cabins and quarters in the United States |
Pastor nets windfall after Catholic conversion
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A parish pastor in the Swedish Church claimed a parachute payment amounting to almost 250,000 kronor ($46,000) following his conversion to Catholicism, an award which has been roundly criticized by the bishop.
The pastor was employed with the Protestant Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan) in a parish in the diocese of Strängnäs in eastern Sweden prior to his conversion to the Catholic faith.
Prior to his religious awakening the pastor had secured an agreement to receive six months salary as a parachute payment in order to quit his job, according to a report in the local Nerikes Allehanda daily. This sum amount to just short of 250,000 kronor.
Bishop Hans-Erik Nordin in Strängnäs is however not amused by the arrangement, calling the parachute payment "ethically problematic", the newspaper reported.
"If you have decided to convert then you have to take the consequences of that decision," the bishop argued.
The bishop is now keen to avoid attending the pastor's farewell sermon on Sunday due to the ethical dilemma.
The pastor has explained his decision to convert as a result of "deep reflection over the summer", which he said left him with little alternative but to become a Catholic.
"But my decision meant that I risked being left penniless," he said to the newspaper.
Until 2000 the Church of Sweden was considered a state church but on January 1st of that year this relationship was changed with a formal separation of church and state.
With over 6.6 million baptised members, the Church of Sweden is the largest Lutheran church in the world.
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From our sponsors
Is the Swedish approach to leadership really as special as people think? The Local asks a non-Swedish manager at telecom giant Ericsson for a frank appraisal of Swedes' so-called 'lagom' leadership style. |
Environmental Consulting Services
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Preliminary Environmental Site Assessments
Our Environmental Consultants are able to conduct Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for residential and industrial subdivisions and new developments, along with contaminated site investigations and soil validation. GTS has extensive local experience, particularly with Bendigo’s mining history and its potential contamination issues. Our environmental consulting services include the following:
Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) for subdivisions and new developments |
Q:
wp-admin not working: server says my realm
Installed a fresh Wordpress Website. on clicking http ://mysite.com/wp-admin instead of showing wordpress login page, it shows auth entication required:-
Why may this be?
edit:- my .htaccess file. I don't think it password protects my wp-admin.
rewriteengine on
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^.*wp\-login\.php.*$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !^.*admin_authenticated\=yes.*$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^.*auth.php.*$
rewriterule ^(.*)$ /auth.php?red=%1 [R,L]
rewriterule ^.*auth.php.*$ - [PT]
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress
A:
remove all this
rewriteengine on
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^.*wp\-login\.php.*$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !^.*admin_authenticated\=yes.*$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^.*auth.php.*$
rewriterule ^(.*)$ /auth.php?red=%1 [R,L]
rewriterule ^.*auth.php.*$ - [PT]
admin_authenticated is requiring a password! And I assume you haven't set up a password yet, or you tried the one you set it up as with username and password, and it didn't work.
So remove all that.
|
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History
Prairie Diagnostic Services Inc. (PDS) was formed as a not-for-profit corporation in 1999 through the creation of a partnership between the University of Saskatchewan and the Province of Saskatchewan. The new entity brought together two independently operating diagnostic services. Two laboratories, the Provincial Veterinary Laboratory in Regina and the diagnostic laboratories at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), were folded into the new organization along with their respective employees, facilities, and equipment. Agreements were struck between PDS and its Members (the University and the Province) regarding on-going grants, in-kind support and the exchange of services required to support PDS and the Members interests.
The newly formed diagnostic service was expected to support Saskatchewan’s Veterinary practitioners, Saskatchewan’s food animal industry, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), and the provincial Ministry of Agriculture as the core business components. Secondarily, it was expected to support Saskatchewan companion and other non-food animals and out-of-province clients that required service. The partners expectations were for: substantially improved service, strong user involvement through a Board of Directors, professional management, revenue and cost improvements through better use of resources, and the development of new business that would draw on the strong technology base at the WCVM and result in additional types of service and additional technology jobs in Saskatoon.
Now in its second decade of operation, many of the original goals of the PDS partners have been met. PDS’ operations are now fully consolidated at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon. Diagnostic service is provided by 10 PDS diagnostic staff and approximately 45 laboratory technologists and administrative staff. WCVM faculty participate by providing diagnostic service and contributing a broad skill set of expertise to the service.
PDS currently serves the veterinary community for both large and small animals throughout Saskatchewan. Approximately two thirds of PDS services are delivered within Saskatchewan with the balance provided to clients from Alberta, Manitoba and other domestic and international locations. The company strives for excellence in client service, efficiency in operations and continued evolution of its capacity to serve the animal health market. |
Monday, April 12, 2010
Advanced Baby
My child is so advanced. She's in the terrible twos despite being only 20 months! So advanced. In the past week she has had tantrums about:
* having to wear pants (this is disturbingly common)* not getting to stab me with a pencil* having her diaper changed* being offered juice* spilling her juice all over herself and the couch (by rights this should have been MY tantrum)* having medicine*having daddy not hold her* having daddy offer to hold her* being picked up* being put down* et cetera and so forth |
Phaya Thai Palace
Don’t you agree that it’s quite boring when your friends, neighbours, and everyone you know goes to the Grand Palace?
Let’s find another majestic palace and share with them this new aspect of Bangkok.
Tour of Phaya Thai Palace
There is another royal palace that is not as well-known, but in fact it’s really grand!
The Phaya Thai Palace was built in 1909 in the reign of King Chulalongkorn or King Rama V on the banks of Khlong Sam Sen for the King to use as one of his residences.
Inside the palace there are 5 residence buildings, a royal pavilion, and Roman-inspired garden that is full of statues and fountains.
Just like other palaces in the reign of King Rama V, the architecture is a combination of Thai and European style.
The Palace is not that well renovated these days because there are not enough funds to maintain the large buildings, but you get to see the interior decoration and built-in furniture in the same old condition, like the armchairs, piano, and bathtub.
Wander from room to room just enjoying the different architectural style.
After the walk through the palace and grounds, don’t forget to go to a coffee house in the palace called Cafe de Norasingha which boasts to be the first cafe in Thailand.
The atmosphere resembles the original Norasingha cafe from the reign of King Rama VI.
Chairs, tables, and everything else are in the classic vintage design and as you sit there sipping your coffee, you can imagine yourself living back in that time.
Coffee, tea, and cakes are ready and available to recharge your energy! Make sure you eat plenty before you leave.
Getting to Phaya Thai Palace
The transportation is also easy!
Phaya Thai Palace is located on Ratchawithi Road.
You can access this via Victory Monument BTS station.
The Palace is around one km away, so take a taxi or just to walk along street could be nice too.
Here you can find a lot of food stalls on the street selling delicacies, such as Thai-style grilled pork on skewers with sticky rice.
Grab yourself some of these to eat whilst you walk along and enjoy some of the local foods.
If you choose to walk, then you have to walk toward Ratchawithi Road and you should find on your right-hand side that Phaya Thai Palace is near Phaya Thai Dental Centre, inside King Mongkut Hospital grounds.
Guided Tour
If you want to check out this place, you can visit at 1:00 pm on Tuesday or Thursday or at 9:30 am and 1:30 pm on the weekend to join the guided tour.
There is no entry charge, but don’t forget to dress properly as this is a palace after all.
Shorts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed.
The Guide will walk you through the beauty of this palace and explain the history.
However, in some areas you are not allow you to take photos, but there is nothing more rewarding than getting to see this beauty with your own eyes.
Places Near Phaya Thai Palace
The "Best of Boat Noodles"
After the palace tour, you might go to explore another local spot which is around 1.2 km away, back the way you came, at Victory Monument.
It’s adjacent to BTS station with the same name.
Here you can find a lot of food stalls, low-priced clothes to buy, and the must-not-miss boat noodle.
However, the venue could be tricky to find! There are a lot of boat noodle restaurants in this area.
Make sure that from the BTS station, you walk on the skywalk towards the roundabout, you go down on your right side, then walk on the sidewalk, turn right at the first bridge across canal, you will find the original boat noodle which was there for over 30 years.
Look out for the the sign that says ‘The Best of Boat Noodle’.
Each bowl is very tiny so you will find stack of bowls on every table.
Don’t forget to put pork rinds and fried dumpling in the bowl that will make it even yummier!
Be careful, it’s very spicy!
Saxophone Pub
If you hang around the Victory Monument roundabout until late, you can also go to the Saxophone pub. It’s a famous spot for jazz-lovers and has been there since 1987.
It’s adjacent to the BTS station where you just walk passed. Turn right at Victory Point- a small alley and you will find the pub on your right. |
import expect from 'expect';
import { main } from '../src/index';
describe('yielding on a promise', () => {
let execution, deferred, error;
beforeEach(() => {
error = undefined;
deferred = new Deferred();
execution = main(function*() {
try {
return yield deferred.promise;
} catch (e) {
error = e;
}
});
});
describe('when the promise resolves', () => {
beforeEach(() => deferred.resolve('hello'));
it('completes the execution with the result', () => {
expect(execution.isCompleted).toEqual(true);
expect(execution.result).toEqual('hello');
});
});
describe('when the promise rejects', () => {
let boom;
beforeEach(() => {
boom = new Error('boom!');
return deferred.reject(boom).catch(() => {});
});
it('errors out the execution', () => {
expect(error).toEqual(boom);
});
});
describe('when the promise resolves after halting execution', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
execution.halt();
return deferred.resolve('hi');
});
it('is no problem', () => {
expect(execution.isHalted).toEqual(true);
});
});
describe('when the promise rejects after halting execution', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
execution.halt();
return deferred.reject(new Error('boom!')).catch(() => {});
});
it('is no problem', () => {
expect(execution.isHalted).toEqual(true);
expect(error).toBeUndefined();
});
});
});
function Deferred() {
this.promise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
this.resolve = value => {
resolve(value);
return this.promise;
};
this.reject = error => {
reject(error);
return this.promise;
};
});
}
|
Q:
Smoothing a staircase
I have some data from a position encoder, so naturally i want to estimate its speed. However, the data is very quantized, so it's difficult to smooth enough to differentiate easily:
Each step level is about 70-140 data points long on average, so my usual tricks of savitzky-golay filtering aren't up to it. I've played with piecewise splines as well, but not had much luck; there's a lot of ringing.
Is there a straightforward way to draw the obvious line through the trace?
A:
Looks like your data is virtually free of noise. That, combined with a very high sampling frequency would mean that at the jumps the data is exactly at the threshold between two quantized values. Set up nodes at the middle points of the vertical jumps and construct splines that connect the nodes. The easiest is to just draw straight lines between successive nodes, which gives a piece-wise constant differential. I wonder if that is good enough, or if you already tried that. If you need the velocity real-time, this approach is problematic because occasionally you might have to wait for a new node for some time.
You can further low-pass filter the interpolated data. If you use a filter with an impulse response that is nowhere negative, such as a Gaussian function, then there will be no overshoot.
With linear interpolation, everywhere between successive nodes, the speed will be simply the position difference between the nodes divided by the time difference between the nodes. You can run the smoothing filter on that piece-wise constant speed data and the result will be the same as if you'd run it on the linear position ramps and then differentiated (associative property of convolution, as both differentiation and filtering are convolution).
|
Macrophage activation by lymphokines and after direct contact with sensitized lymphocytes: histocompatibility requirements and the effect of inhibitors.
A comparison was made between two procedures which give rise to in vitro activation of normal mouse peritoneal macrophages: (1) normal macrophages were incubated for 22 h with sensitized lymphocytes and antigen (assay A), and (2) normal macrophages were incubated for 70 h with supernatants from sensitized lymphocytes and antigen (assay B). The activation of macrophages was measured as an increase in 1-14 C glucose oxidation. Combinations of lymphocytes and macrophages is probably necessary in assay A.s from different mouse strains demonstrated that activation of macrophages in assay A, but not in assay B, required cells which were derived from strains of mice sharing identical H-2 antigens. Treatment of lymphocytes with mitomycin C blocked the activation of macrophages in both assays. Addition of alpha-L-fucose (0.1 M) during the incubation period blocked the activation of macrophages in assay B, but not in assay A. It is concluded that there is a qualitative difference between the two methods for activating macrophages and that direct contact between lymphocytes and macrophages is probably necessary in assay A. |
he third derivative of t**4/12 + 2*t**2. What is i(g(z))?
-8*z**2
Let t(r) = -3*r. Let a(m) be the third derivative of -m**4/3 + m**3/6 + 12*m**2 - 6. What is t(a(d))?
24*d - 3
Let q(k) = -9*k + 13. Let j(i) = 611*i. Determine j(q(m)).
-5499*m + 7943
Let l(p) = -6854*p**2 + p. Let q(f) = -15729*f. What is q(l(g))?
107806566*g**2 - 15729*g
Let y(w) = -6*w. Let u(t) = 296*t**2 + 3*t - 4283. Give y(u(c)).
-1776*c**2 - 18*c + 25698
Let s(i) = 16*i**2. Let c(m) = -125*m - 60. Let k(d) = 44*d + 19. Let o(p) = 6*c(p) + 17*k(p). What is s(o(t))?
64*t**2 + 2368*t + 21904
Let z(l) = -2*l - 47. Let s(h) be the second derivative of h**3/2 + 548*h. Determine s(z(j)).
-6*j - 141
Let v(m) = m**3 - 7*m**2 + 10*m - 30. Let k be v(7). Let f(a) = -17*a - 15*a - 45*a + k*a - 2*a**2. Let i(y) = -2*y**2. What is f(i(p))?
-8*p**4 + 74*p**2
Let o(c) = 6*c**2 + 37*c - 5. Let f(q) = -7*q**2 - 37*q + 6. Let h(s) = -5*f(s) - 6*o(s). Let u(k) be the second derivative of k**3/3 + 155*k. Give h(u(v)).
-4*v**2 - 74*v
Let p(k) = 21*k. Let u(i) = -230*i**2 + 474*i**2 + 292*i**2. Give u(p(q)).
236376*q**2
Let p(r) = r - 5. Let u(l) = -3*l**2 - 513*l + 7. Let d(j) = -p(j) - u(j). Let v(z) = z. Calculate v(d(q)).
3*q**2 + 512*q - 2
Let z(j) = -101*j - 75. Let w(h) = 3555*h. What is z(w(r))?
-359055*r - 75
Let x(w) = 7*w - 363403 + 363403. Let c(s) = -16*s. What is c(x(r))?
-112*r
Let w(q) = 26*q**2 + 3794*q + 2. Let g(r) = -2*r. Calculate g(w(p)).
-52*p**2 - 7588*p - 4
Let j(q) be the first derivative of 2*q**2 + 39*q + 5608. Let h(p) = -p + 1. Let v(b) = -b**2 + 9*b - 9. Let y(r) = 18*h(r) + 2*v(r). Determine y(j(u)).
-32*u**2 - 624*u - 3042
Let z(n) be the second derivative of 4*n**3/3 - 683*n. Let a(m) = 7*m**2 + 22. Give a(z(i)).
448*i**2 + 22
Let v(l) = -8*l. Let x(d) = -7913*d**2 + 164*d. Let p(s) = 144*s**2 - 3*s. Let z(g) = 164*p(g) + 3*x(g). What is z(v(w))?
-7872*w**2
Let m(c) be the second derivative of 0*c**2 + 0 + 125/6*c**3 + 80*c. Let b(n) = -n**2. Give b(m(i)).
-15625*i**2
Let k(o) = -55918 - 55918 + 167752 - 4*o - 55916. Let z(g) be the second derivative of -g**4/6 + 5*g**3/6 + g. Determine z(k(h)).
-32*h**2 - 20*h
Let k(w) = -3*w - 5. Let o(a) = -a + 61247. What is k(o(i))?
3*i - 183746
Let m(q) = -14*q**2. Let j = 2381 + -2381. Let t(l) be the third derivative of 1/24*l**4 + 12*l**2 + 0*l**3 + 0*l + j. Give t(m(g)).
-14*g**2
Let z(k) be the second derivative of -29*k**5/15 + 80*k**2 - 61*k. Let h(m) be the first derivative of z(m). Let w(d) = -d. Give w(h(l)).
116*l**2
Let a(j) = -1. Let b(z) = 6*z + 3. Let r(s) = -3*a(s) - b(s). Let q(d) = -d**3 + d**2 - d + 2. Let y be q(0). Let o(m) = 3*m**y - 12 + 12. Give o(r(t)).
108*t**2
Let w(n) = -22*n**2 - 3*n. Let d(s) = -34*s**2 - 5*s + 1. Let x(q) = 9*d(q) - 14*w(q). Let h(f) = -f. What is h(x(z))?
-2*z**2 + 3*z - 9
Let j = 29375 - 29372. Let n(b) be the third derivative of 25*b**2 + 0 + 7/20*b**5 + 0*b + 1/12*b**4 + 0*b**j. Let m(i) = -i**2. Calculate n(m(k)).
21*k**4 - 2*k**2
Let w(x) be the first derivative of 2*x**2 - 2*x - 76773. Let g(q) = -2*q**2 + 4 - 4. What is w(g(z))?
-8*z**2 - 2
Let h(t) = 479*t + 1. Let y(d) = 5*d + 11. Determine y(h(u)).
2395*u + 16
Let n(d) = -16*d**2. Let b(w) = -3344*w - 1336. What is b(n(z))?
53504*z**2 - 1336
Let d = 221 - 218. Let p(b) = -d + 51*b - 53*b + 88. Let i(c) = c. Determine p(i(w)).
-2*w + 85
Let l(o) = -42*o. Let y(a) be the second derivative of 25*a**4/4 + 2089*a. Determine l(y(j)).
-3150*j**2
Let b(w) = 33499 - 33499 + 2*w. Let i(s) = -2. Let t(n) = 2*n + 8. Let q(c) = -12*i(c) - 3*t(c). Give b(q(d)).
-12*d
Let z = 139 + -137. Let o(h) = 0*h**2 + 2*h**2 - 4*h**z - 5*h**2 + 3*h**2. Let k(w) = 2*w**2 + 1. Calculate o(k(d)).
-16*d**4 - 16*d**2 - 4
Let u(m) = -128*m. Let y(c) be the second derivative of c**3/2 + 132*c + 3. Determine y(u(x)).
-384*x
Let m = -8 - -33. Let s = m - 13. Let n(q) = s + q - 12. Let r(i) = -2*i**2. What is n(r(h))?
-2*h**2
Let n(t) = 14*t. Let i(l) = -112*l**2 + 36*l + 3. Determine i(n(a)).
-21952*a**2 + 504*a + 3
Let l(d) = -3605*d. Let i(s) = 1693*s**2. Determine i(l(t)).
22002270325*t**2
Let t(f) = -177*f + 58. Let q(i) = 1838*i. Determine t(q(c)).
-325326*c + 58
Let p(i) = -17*i - 14. Let a(o) = -12*o - 10. Let y(u) = -7*a(u) + 5*p(u). Let m(x) be the second derivative of 0*x**2 - 2*x + 0 - 2/3*x**3. Calculate y(m(b)).
4*b
Let q(h) = -2*h**3 + 9*h**2 + 2*h - 3. Let y be q(4). Let d(b) = -28*b**2 - 19*b**2 + y*b**2. Let k(m) be the first derivative of m**2 + 3. Give d(k(g)).
-104*g**2
Let u(j) = -2*j. Let g(q) = 380 + 44*q - 125 - 132 - 130 + 4*q. Give u(g(a)).
-96*a + 14
Let t(z) = -45336559*z. Let m(y) = 11*y. Calculate m(t(v)).
-498702149*v
Let r(v) = 20*v**2 - 177*v. Let y(l) = 3*l + 9. Give y(r(d)).
60*d**2 - 531*d + 9
Suppose -5*o = -3*q + 3, 5*q - 2*o = -14 + 38. Let a(i) = q*i**2 + i - i - 5*i**2. Let h(n) be the second derivative of -31*n**4/12 + 29*n. What is h(a(m))?
-31*m**4
Let d(k) = 10*k**2. Let z(l) = -16*l**2 - l + 31. What is z(d(x))?
-1600*x**4 - 10*x**2 + 31
Let o(f) = 653*f**2. Let r(t) = -1206*t - 6. Calculate r(o(n)).
-787518*n**2 - 6
Let f(d) = 163*d**2 + 1. Let n(z) = 40*z**2 + 203*z. Let k(u) = 19*u**2 + 87*u. Let o(g) = 7*k(g) - 3*n(g). Calculate o(f(a)).
345397*a**4 + 4238*a**2 + 13
Let i(v) = 2*v**2 + v + 1. Let q(f) = -46*f**2 - 22*f - 22. Let n = -49 - -45. Let x(z) = n*q(z) - 88*i(z). Let j(g) = -8*g. Determine j(x(a)).
-64*a**2
Let g(l) be the second derivative of l**3/3 - l**2 + 2940*l. Let j(v) be the first derivative of -v**2 + 1. What is j(g(h))?
-4*h + 4
Let k(p) = -56*p**2. Let s(a) = -18*a + a - 161 + 161. Give s(k(g)).
952*g**2
Let z(w) = -4*w + 3. Let x(y) = -60*y + 44. Let p(n) = 10*n + 6. Let a be p(0). Let c(g) = a*x(g) - 88*z(g). Let j(m) = 3*m**2. Calculate c(j(d)).
-24*d**2
Let d(v) = 822*v + 158. Let b(z) = -1316*z - 237. Let q(a) = 5*b(a) + 8*d(a). Let n(u) = 6*u**2. What is q(n(k))?
-24*k**2 + 79
Let x(o) = -5033905*o + 2. Let j(a) = a**2. Give x(j(n)).
-5033905*n**2 + 2
Let m(h) = -7*h - 4. Let b(f) = -18*f - 11. Let t(p) = 4*b(p) - 11*m(p). Let j(y) be the first derivative of 3*y**3 + 7. Calculate t(j(r)).
45*r**2
Let k(c) = -6*c**2. Let p(z) be the second derivative of -1055*z**3/6 + 1938*z. Determine k(p(n)).
-6678150*n**2
Let p(t) = t**2 + 6*t - 6. Let y(l) = -l + 1. Let x(b) = p(b) + 6*y(b). Suppose -14*j - 2*j = -3696. Let i(u) = -462 + j + 229 - 6*u. Give i(x(z)).
-6*z**2 - 2
Let l(x) = -569*x. Let o(u) = 2*u**2 + 9*u - 1044. Calculate o(l(r)).
647522*r**2 - 5121*r - 1044
Let u(y) = -25*y**2. Let x(h) be the second derivative of 0*h**2 + 0 - 5/6*h**4 - 183*h + 0*h**3. What is x(u(s))?
-6250*s**4
Let q(l) = 43449*l. Let r(o) = 24*o**2. Calculate r(q(u)).
45307574424*u**2
Let h(y) = 36*y. Let s(m) = 6624380*m**2. Give s(h(t)).
8585196480*t**2
Let a(v) = 115783*v + 9 - 115804*v - 9. Let c(j) = -47*j**2. What is c(a(k))?
-20727*k**2
Let z(x) = -x + 1. Let n(j) = 4*j - 6. Let v(i) = -n(i) - 6*z(i). Let g(a) = -9*a + 2. Let w(k) = 8*k + k - 2 - 1. Let h(p) = -3*g(p) - 2*w(p). What is h(v(s))?
18*s
Let d(v) = 883537*v**2. Let w(c) = 196*c**2. What is w(d(o))?
153004975552324*o**4
Let v(m) = 4*m**2 - 24*m - 3. Let p(o) = 11*o**2 - 64*o - 8. Let c(y) = -3*p(y) + 8*v(y). Suppose 0*w + w = 2. Let k(n) = 4 - 2 - 8*n - w. What is k(c(x))?
8*x**2
Let b(o) = -4*o**2 + 3. Let q(v) = 53638*v. What is b(q(g))?
-11508140176*g**2 + 3
Let r(f) = -f. Let p = 6 + -3. Let m be (-84)/(-7) + 48/(-6). Let c(s) = m*s - 4*s + 0*s + p*s. Determine r(c(b)).
-3*b
Let t(r) = -6*r. Let j(c) = 160*c**2 - 325*c + 25. Let x(a) = -13*a**2 + 27*a - 2. Let b(u) = 2*j(u) + 25*x(u). Give b(t(s)).
-180*s**2 - 150*s
Let d(h) = h - 45. Let c(t) = -18*t + 675. Let f(g) = -c(g) - 15*d(g). Let n(z) be the first derivative of -19*z**2/2 - 2*z - 1. Determine n(f(o)).
-57*o - 2
Suppose 3*f - 4*b + 4 = -f, 3*b - 11 = -f. Let r(q) = -117*q**2 + 232*q**f - 114*q**2. Let m(c) = -51*c - 1. Determine r(m(y)).
2601*y**2 + 102*y + 1
Let l(j) = -j. Let k(d) = 2695*d**2 + 13041. Calculate k(l(h)).
2695*h**2 + 13041
Let m(r) = -3*r**2 + 62*r + 10. Let j(z) be the first derivative of -z**3/3 - z**2/2 + 2*z - 49. Let u(q) = -5*j(q) + m(q). Let k(s) = -2*s. Determine u(k(c)).
8*c**2 - 134*c
Let m(g) be the third derivative of g**4/3 - g**2. L |
Queen Elizabeth's Royal Ascot Racehorse Fails Dope Test
A racehorse owned by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II that won the prestigious Gold Cup at Royal Ascot last year has tested positive for the banned painkiller morphine.
The British Horseracing Authority announced last week that tests on five horses under the care of various trainers showed the presence of morphine in their "A" samples.
On Tuesday, the queen's bloodstock and racing adviser, John Warren, said that the monarch's 5-year-old filly Estimate was one of the five.
Buckingham Palace said that early indications suggest that Estimate consumed the substance as a result of contaminated feed.
Warren said in a statement that Estimate's trainer Michael Stoute "is working closely with the feed company involved to discover how the product may have become contaminated prior to delivery to his stables."
Estimate finished second in this year's Gold Cup behind Leading Light.
Warren added, "Her Majesty has been informed of the situation."
Previously, Britain's most publicized case of a horse testing positive for morphine was Be My Royal after he had won the 2002 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. The horse was subsequently disqualified. |
Field-effect transistors based on wafer-scale, highly uniform few-layer p-type WSe2.
The synthesis of few-layer tungsten diselenide (WSe2) via chemical vapor deposition typically results in highly non-uniform thickness due to nucleation initiated growth of triangular domains. In this work, few-layer p-type WSe2 with wafer-scale thickness and electrical uniformity is synthesized through direct selenization of thin films of e-beam evaporated W on SiO2 substrates. Raman maps over a large area of the substrate show small variations in the main peak position, indicating excellent thickness uniformity across several square centimeters. Additionally, field-effect transistors fabricated from the wafer-scale WSe2 films demonstrate uniform electrical performance across the substrate. The intrinsic field-effect mobility of the films at a carrier concentration of 3 × 10(12) cm(-2) is 10 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). The unprecedented uniformity of the WSe2 on wafer-scale substrates provides a substantial step towards producing manufacturable materials that are compatible with conventional semiconductor fabrication processes. |
Beartooth AdventureCody, WyomingSeptember 04 - 07
Trip Details
Our adventure begins in historic Cody, Wyoming, home of the Buffalo Bill Center and the Cody Firearms Museum. Our journey begins traveling north from Cody toward Clarks Fork Canyon. We’ll be navigating the deep canyon and rolling river to the starting point of the Morrison Jeep Trail. The Morrison switchbacks that lie ahead, 27 to be exact, will be an incredible feat. These switchbacks are very tight and steep, which is why this Adventure must be run without trailers. We’ll gain close to 5,000 feet in elevation as we climb to the Beartooth Plateau above, revealing astonishing views over the canyon. Then we’ll travel north on Goose Lake Jeep Trail and climb in elevation to over 10,000 feet. Along the way, we will be stopping to enjoy some of the many mountain lakes above 9,000 feet which include Star, Round, and Long Lakes. Then we’ll return down Goose Lake Trail, and through rolling hills climbing to an elevation just shy of 10,000 feet as we cross over LuLu Pass. We’ll pass by Lake Abundance then down a series of switchbacks that will drop us into our final destination, Cooke City, Montana, the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Tow points and CB Radio Mandatory.
Participant Jeeps with tires over 37″ WILL BE TURNED AWAY AT VEHICLE EVALUATION AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND JAMBOREE, NO REFUND. |
Q:
Regular Expression for "infinite" URL
I am trying to create a match for this pattern:
/page/some/thing/is/written/here
where /page is will always match a-zA-Z0-9 and everything after /page can containt the characters a-zA-Z0-9-/
My idea is that "page" always is the page which the user will see, and the rest are parameters, separated by / (p1/p2/p3) etc.
This is what I have come up with: ^([a-zA-Z]+)/([A-Za-z0-9-/]+)$
It works until 3 slashes: page/is/nice
But if I add another parameter like this: page/is/nice/crash
It crashes.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
A:
Try this:
^/?[a-zA-Z]+(/[A-Za-z0-9]+)*$
Broken down:
^ - lead anchor
/? - it might start with a slash
[a-zA-Z]+ - one or more letters
(/[A-Za-z0-9]+)* - zero or more /alphanumerics (with at least one alphanumeric)
$ - end anchor
If you have no need to capture the ending, you should use non-capturing groups instead:
^/?[a-zA-Z]+(?:/[A-Za-z0-9]+)*$
If you want an optional slash at the end, try this:
^/?[a-zA-Z]+(?:/[A-Za-z0-9]+)*/?$
Note: You might have to delimit the slashes depending on your programming language.
|
Environment & Science
Jellyfish need their beauty sleep too, researchers find
Jellyfish are like the teenagers of the sea. Blobs, aimlessly floating through life eating anything that drifts by. And if that isn't enough of a similarity, a new study concludes that they need sleep, too.
Unlike teenagers, scientists from Cal Tech couldn't ask jellyfish if they were sleeping, so to find out if they were, they performed a series of tests.
First, researchers had to determine if jellyfish behavior changed over time, so they recorded them during the day and at night. It turned out that at night the pulse rate of the jellyfish slowed down from 58 times per minute to 39, indicating that they'd entered some sort of sleep state.
Scientists followed up those observations by stimulating the animals in different circumstances to see how they'd react.
In one test they pulled a platform out from beneath resting jellyfish. When in their sleep state, the jellyfish had a delayed reaction of about five seconds before reorienting themselves and finding a comfortable spot on the bottom once again.
In another test, researchers deprived the jellyfish of sleep by moving them every 10 seconds for 20 minutes with pulses of water. The following day, the jellyfish that were forced to stay up tried to catch up on their rest by falling asleep during times they'd usually be awake. They needed about 24 hours of rest before their sleep/wake cycles returned to normal.
All of the behaviors indicated to the scientists that jellyfish do indeed sleep.
Scientists aren't sure why animals, including humans, sleep. It could be that sleep allows our minds and bodies to recharge, recover from the trauma of the day and flush out toxins. But it's the humble jellyfish that scientists are hoping will help us better understand the reasons for sleep.
"Jellyfish are one of the first animals to develop neurons. They're really ancient and different from us, said Ravi Nath, a Cal Tech graduate student and one of the study co-authors. "And since they have this sleep state, it means that sleep has been around for a really long time."
"If we really want to understand the function of sleep, it's probably best approached in an animal that has a simple neural architecture and a simple nervous system," he said.
Rather than brains, jellyfish have diffuse nerve nets, or a collection of nerves, an early evolutionary development that is thought to have been around as long as the jellyfish – about 500 million years. Homo sapiens have only existed for some 200,000 years.
Scientists believe that the diffuse nerve net evolved over time into strong central clusters of neurons that drive different behaviors, a complex feature found in the brains of humans and animals. Experts have also found related genes and pathways in both simple organisms like nematodes and in complex ones like humans.
That's why Nath and his co-authors turned to the organism that they believed would provide insight into the simplest sleep state. They ran their tests on cassiopea jellyfish, part of the cnidarian family, which also includes sea anemone and corals.
"I think it really shows and demonstrates that behaviors emerge somewhere in the animal lineage," said Nath. "And we can start to go in and assess behaviors by looking at how they change throughout evolutionary time."
Nath said that the team next wants to figure out why jellyfish sleep, another opportunity that could offer insight into why we do as well. |
Syntheses of photolabile novobiocin analogues.
Novobiocin was recently shown to inhibit Hsp90 through a previously unrecognized C-terminal ATP binding site. Although the N-terminal region of Hsp90 has been solved by X-ray crystallography, the C-terminal region has not. In an effort to elucidate the C-terminal binding site of Hsp90, four photolabile analogues of novobiocin were prepared. |
Q:
What version of fabric-composer npm packages to use for applications targeted on Fabric v.6?
I am trying to create a fabric-composer application that will be deployed on Fabric v0.6. When I look at the packages.json files inside of the .bna files for existing sample applications I see the following:
"devDependencies": {
...,
"composer-admin": "latest",
"composer-cli": "latest",
"composer-client": "latest",
"composer-connector-embedded": "latest",
...
}
My question is, is it appropriate to use "latest" as the version for the composer-* dependencies or should I specify an older version of admin, cli, client and connector-embedded packages? I know that there have been a lot of changes going on in fabric-composer for the Fabric v1.0 so wondering if latest versions are backward compatible or if I need to stay at an older version.
A:
The latest versions are backwards compatible and can be used with both HLF v0.6 and HLF v1.
|
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who already earns $223,500 as chairman of his party, is cashing in to the tune of $10,000 – $20,000 per speech given while he is still the de facto party leader.
And it has former GOP chairmen hopping mad.
According to a report in Tuesday’s Washington Times, Steele — who has sparked controversy within his party — is personally profiting from speeches at colleges, trade fairs and other groups. He charges as much as $20,000 per speech, plus first class airfare and hotel accomodations.
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$20,000 is nearly the poverty line for the annual income of an American family of four ($22,050).
“Mr. Steele, elected in January to the $223,500-a-year RNC post, is working with at least four outside agencies in Washington, New York, Boston and Nashville that book the speaking engagements,” the Times reports. “He charges between $8,000 and $20,000 for an address.”
“Harry Sandler, who handles Mr. Steele’s bookings at Newton, Mass.-based American Program Bureau, told The Washington Times that Mr. Steele “tends” to charge between $10,000 and $15,000 for an appearance and that he received roughly that amount for a Sept. 21 speech at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark,” the paper adds. “Mr. Steele has an upcoming speaking engagement at DePaul University in Chicago, for which he will be paid $12,500.”
“Holy mackerel, I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches,” Reagan RNC chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf is quoted as saying.
And how did the RNC respond?
“This is silly,” RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said.
ADVERTISEMENT
‘Scared of me’
In November, Steele told an interviewer that some members of his party are “scared” of him — though it might not be for the reasons he articulated.
Since being elected the first African-American RNC chairman, Michael Steele has gotten into internecine spats for a number of bordering-on-insurgent quips against his party.
During a weekend interview in November, Steele told TV One’s Roland Martin that he’d experienced fear from other selected members of his party because of the color of his skin.
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“I mean I’ve been in the room and they’ve been scared of me,” the RNC chairman said about fellow Republicans. |
Western Mail (film)
Western Mail is a 1942 American western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and starring Tom Keene and Fred Kohler, Jr.
Plot
Lucky Webster (Fred Kohler, Jr.), a member of the Rivers gang, is uneasy that they have been stealing U.S. mail when robbing trains. Tom Allen (Tom Keene) is undercover and working with Sheriff Big Bill Collins (Glenn Strange) to capture and arrest the gang. Julia Webster (Jean Trent) is concerned about her brother. Lopez Mendoza (Frank Yaconelli) provides some humor as Tom's sidekick.
Cast
Tom Keene as Tom Allen
Frank Yaconelli as Lopez Mendoza
LeRoy Mason as Jeff Gordon
Jean Trent as Julia Webster
Fred Kohler, Jr. as Lucky Webster
Glenn Strange as Sheriff Big Bill Collins
Gene Alsace as Henchman Rod
James Sheridan as Henchman Cheyenne
Karl Hackett as Jim Rivers
References
External links
Category:1942 films
Category:American films
Category:Monogram Pictures films
Category:1940s Western (genre) films
Category:English-language films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American Western (genre) films
Category:Films directed by Robert Emmett Tansey |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus for obtaining diagnostic information, for example, of a B-mode image, by using an ultrasonic wave, and in particular to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus wherein a multi-focus function has been improved.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses include an electronic scan type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an ultrasonic probe (i.e. array probe) in which a number of ultrasonic transducer elements are arranged in parallel. An ultrasonic beam is generated from the ultrasonic probe. The generated beam is electronically focused in a subject, thereby to scan the subject. Based on the ultrasonic echo reflected from the subject, a B-mode image or a two-dimensional blood flow image is produced and displayed on a monitor.
In the case where the above electronic scan type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus employs a linear electronic scan system, a predetermined number of ultrasonic transducer elements are, as one unit, excited to propagate ultrasonic waves. These excited transducer elements are shifted with a pitch corresponding to one transducer element, whereby the ultrasonic beams generated from the transducer are electronically displaced in the horizontal direction to scan the subject.
In order to converge ultrasonic beams, the ultrasonic transducer elements located near the center of the unit and the ultrasonic transducer elements located on both sides of the unit are excited with a time lag. Thus, ultrasonic beams are propagated to the subject. The wave (echo) reflected from the subject is received by the same transducer element from which the wave is propagated, and is converted into an electric signal, or an echo signal. In this case, the echo signals corresponding to the echo waves received by the transducer elements are subjected to delay processing so that the echo waves are converged. Then, the echo information is displayed on a monitor as a tomographic image. A similar process is also performed in the case of a convex-type scan system.
In the case of a sector electronic scan system, ultrasonic transducer elements are excited with a time lag so that ultrasonic waves generated from the transducer elements are deflected in a the shape of a sector. Echo signals corresponding to echo waves reflected from a subject are processed substantially in the same manner as is employed in the linear electronic scan system. The echo signals are delayed and synthesized to produce a B-mode image signal.
For example, the sector scanning technique for obtaining the B-mode image may be either a single-focus sector scan or a multi-focus sector scan. In the single-focus sector scan technique, ultrasonic beams output from a sector scan ultrasonic probe are focused on one point in a subject. The focal point can be moved by changing the degree of delay of the drive pulses supplied to the transducer elements.
In the single-focus sector scan technique, the degree of delay is suitably changed with respect to each ultrasonic raster so that the focal point is formed at a preset depth. Thus, ultrasonic waves are propagated and the focal point is formed at the preset depth. In the receiving step, image data can be obtained from the focal point at the preset depth.
In the multi-focus sector scan technique, a plurality of focal points can be produced in a single frame at different depths. In other words, a focal point is set at a depth F1 by using a first delay rate, and a focal point is set at a depth F2 by using a second rate. Thus, in the step, two transmission focal points can be produced at depths F1 and F2 by using the two delay rates. In the corresponding receiving step, ultrasonic echos focused at depths different from focal depths F1 and F2 can be collected to obtain data. In an image including the focal points at depths F1 and F2, ultrasonic data of one raster can be obtained by the two ultrasonic transmission/reception steps. Namely, when n-stage focal points are produced, a raster can be obtained by n-rates of ultrasonic transmission/reception. Thus, one ultrasonic image can be obtained at a rate of (n).times.(number of rasters).
As described above, according to the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, one or more focal points can be produced at one or more desired depths by multi-focus scanning. Thus, the focused area can be diagnosed with the high-resolution image. In this art, the depths of focal points are fixed and selected by a focus selection switch. Consequently, if a diagnosed part of the body or the scope of visual field changes, the fixed focal points mat become unsuitable.
Suppose, for example, that focal points are set at depths F1 and F2 in a region 1 of interest (ROI) for the purpose of diagnosis with high resolution. In fact, since the depth of a focal point is fixed by each focus selection switch, the depth of a focal point near the region 1 of interest is selected, or the position of a probe is adjusted so that the region 1 of interest corresponds to a suitable depth.
When a region 2 of interest at a depth different from the depth of the region 1 of interest is to be observed, previously set focus positions F1 and F2 mat not necessarily be optimal. At this time, the focal point is often displaced from the region 2 of interest, and the focal point needs to be reset. In resetting the focal point, for example, in the region 1 of interest, a suitable depth is located between F1 and F2. In the region 2 of interest, a suitable depth may be located between F3 and F4. Thus, in addition to the resetting of the focal point, readjusting of the position of the probe is required, resulting in troublesome operation. |
Related Tags:
Latest News
RICHMOND, Va. — The House of Delegates has passed legislation Thursday to allow home-schooled students to play public school sports, but the measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.
The House voted 56-43 to pass the so-called “Tebow bill” — a reference to the New York Jets quarterback who was home-schooled but played high school football in Florida and went on to win the Heisman Trophy. The bill now goes to the Senate, where the Education and Health Committee voted 8-7 to kill the same measure last year.
The House vote came a few hours after the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill pulled it from the Education and Health Committee’s calendar.
Supporters of the legislation sponsored by Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, said home-schooled students deserve the opportunity to compete because their parents pay taxes to support public schools.
But opponents argued that allowing home-schooled children to play is unfair because they aren’t subject to the same attendance and academic requirements as public school students. Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, said parents have a right to teach their kids at home but they “do not have the right of demanding special exceptions to their choice.”
Bell emphasized that the bill merely gives localities the option of allowing home-schoolers to participate if they so choose. |
Q:
How to draw a rectangle with only "one" round edge
I need to draw a rectangle with only one round edge like following image.
In this case its south-west corner that is round. I looked up n saw this post
Draw a rectangle with rounded ends in TikZ
but i got error when I did
\node (1) [draw, draw, rounded rectangle, rounded rectangle north east
arc=0pt] {rounded rectangle}
which is modified version of (Answer 1: Line 11)
\node (2) [draw, rounded rectangle, rounded rectangle west arc=0pt]
{rounded rectangle};
A:
as node with such shape:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{positioning}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[
oneroundedge/.style = {%
minimum width=#1,
minimum height=12mm, text depth=0.25ex,
outer sep=0pt,
append after command={
\pgfextra{\let\LN\tikzlastnode
\path[draw, fill=gray!30] (\LN.south west) -| (\LN.north east)
-- (\LN.north west) [rounded corners=3mm] -- cycle;
} },
font=\bfseries}
]
\node (n1) [oneroundedge=12mm] {};
\node (n2) [oneroundedge=22mm, right=of n1] {text};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}
it is easy to add more options to oneroundedge style definition (for example for fill). solution with node enable all possibilities of nodes placement, anchoring etc. note: anchor south west is at south west corner of rectangle which underlay define oneroundedge shape.
A:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[sharp corners] (0,0) -- (0,1) -- (1,1) -- (1,0) [rounded corners] -- cycle;
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}
|
Serum levels of Growth Arrest-Specific 6 protein and soluble AXL in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Serum soluble AXL (sAXL) and its ligand, Growth Arrest-Specific 6 protein (GAS6), intervene in tissue repair processes. AXL is increased in end-stage heart failure, but the role of GAS6 and sAXL in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. To study the association of sAXL and GAS6 acutely and six months following STEMI with heart failure and left ventricular remodelling. GAS6 and sAXL were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at one day, seven days and six months in 227 STEMI patients and 20 controls. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance was performed during admission and at six months to measure infarct size and left ventricular function. GAS6, but not sAXL, levels during admission were significantly lower in STEMI than in controls. AXL increased progressively over time (p<0.01), while GAS6 increased only from day 7. GAS6 or sAXL did not correlate with brain natriuretic peptide or infarct size. However, patients with heart failure (Killip >1) had higher values of sAXL at day 1 (48.9±11.9 vs. 44.0±10.7 ng/ml; p<0.05) and at six months (63.3±15.4 vs. 55.9±13.7 ng/ml; p<0.05). GAS6 levels were not different among subjects with heart failure or left ventricular remodelling. By multivariate analysis including infarct size, Killip class and sAXL at seven days, only the last two were independent predictors of left ventricular remodelling (odds ratio 2.24 (95% confidence interval: 1.08-4.63) and odds ratio 1.04 (95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.08) respectively). sAXL levels increased following STEMI. Patients with heart failure and left ventricular remodelling have higher sAXL levels acutely and at six month follow-up. These findings suggest a potential role of the GAS6-AXL system in the pathophysiology of left ventricular remodelling following STEMI. |
Photo navigation
March 12,2013. Los Angeles CA. The comet Pan-STARRS as seen on the western coast of Southern California with the waxing crescent moon Tuesday evening. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
David Schaefer, from Pasadena, uses his iPad to help him lineup and find the comet. The comet Pan-STARRS will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
March 12,2013. Los Angeles CA. The comet Pan-STARRS as seen on the western coast of Southern California with the waxing crescent moon Tuesday evening. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
David Schaefer, from Pasadena, uses his iPad to help him lineup and find the comet Pan-STARRS. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
March 12,2013. Los Angeles CA. The comet Pan-STARRS as seen on the western coast of Southern California with the waxing crescent moon Tuesday evening. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
David Beraru, from Woodland Hills, lines up his camera to photograph the comet Pan-STARRS. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
March 12,2013. Los Angeles CA. The comet Pan-STARRS as seen on the western coast of Southern California with the waxing crescent moon Tuesday evening. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
People gather to view the comet Pan-STARRS from the Griffith Park Observatory.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
March 12,2013. Los Angeles CA. The comet Pan-STARRS as seen on the western coast of Southern California with the waxing crescent moon Tuesday evening. The comet will be visible through the end of March.
Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News |
---
title: slugify
tags: string,intermediate
---
Converts a string to a URL-friendly slug.
- Uses `preg_replace()` to replace invalid chars with dashes, `iconv()` to convert the text to ASCII, `strtolower()` and `trim()` to convert to lowercase and remove extra whitespace.
```php
function slugify($text) {
$text = preg_replace('~[^\pL\d]+~u', '-', $text);
$text = iconv('utf-8', 'us-ascii//TRANSLIT', $text);
$text = preg_replace('~[^-\w]+~', '', $text);
$text = preg_replace('~-+~', '-', $text);
$text = strtolower($text);
$text = trim($text, " \t\n\r\0\x0B-");
if (empty($text)) {
return 'n-a';
}
return $text;
}
```
```php
slugify('Hello World'); // 'hello-world'
```
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He, for his part, looks magnificent. This is the best thing he’s worn on a red carpet in ages. And the best male ensemble we’ve seen all year. Would’ve loved more contrast or color somewhere, but we have to admit, the conservative tones of gray and black work really well for him. |
Metastasis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in organ transplant recipients and the immunocompetent population: is there a difference? a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Organ transplant recipients (OTR) have a higher risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) compared to the immunocompetent population. Immunosuppression is often stated as a risk factor for metastasis. However, evidence for this is scarce. To investigate the cSCC metastasis risk in OTR and the immunocompetent population by systematically reviewing the literature. A systematic review of the literature was performed up to January 2018 using: Medline; Embase; Web of Science and ISI Science Citation Index. Studies assessing cSCC metastasis risk in ORT or immunocompetent cohorts were considered. A pooled risk estimate for metastasis was calculated for the immunocompetent population and OTR separately. The pooled metastasis risk estimate for OTR was, respectively, 7.3% (95% CI 6.2-8.4) for cSCC on total body, and 11.0% (95% CI 7.7-14.8) for cSCC of the head neck area. For the immunocompetent population reported risk estimate analysis showed a pooled metastatic risk of 3.1% (95% CI 2.8-3.4) in total body cSCC and of 8.5% (95% CI 7.3-9.8) in cSCC of the head and neck area. Pooled risk estimate per single cSCC in OTR was 1.3% (95% CI 1.0-1.7) in total body cSCC and 4.0% (95% CI 2.7-5.5) in cSCC of the head and neck area. In the immunocompetent population, these pooled risk estimates were, respectively, 2.4% (95% CI 2.1-2.6) and 6.7% (95% CI 5.7-7.8). Organ transplant recipients show a higher overall risk of cSCC metastasis compared to the immunocompetent population. Metastasis risks per single cSCC were substantially lower in both groups. However, due to heterogeneity and differences between studies, comparisons are difficult. Comprehensive follow-up studies with defined cohorts are necessary to adequately asses the risk for cSCC metastasis. |
Genetic evidence for activation of the positive transcriptional regulator Xy1R, a member of the NtrC family of regulators, by effector binding.
The Xy1R protein positively controls expression from the Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmid sigma 54-dependent Pu and Ps promoters, in response to the presence of aromatic effectors such as m-xylene, m-methylbenzyl alcohol, and p-chlorobenzaldehyde in the culture medium. Xy1R also autoregulates its own synthesis. A mutant Xy1R regulator called Xy1R7 was isolated after nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of the wild-type gene and phenotypic selection for mutants that had acquired the ability to recognize m-nitrotoluene, a nitroarene that is not an effector for the wild-type regulator. The mutant regulator exhibited a single point mutation that resulted in a change in codon 172 (GAA-->AAA), which should result in a Glu-->Lys change in the polypeptide chain. The effector profile of the mutant regulator was determined by measuring beta-galactosidase from a fusion of the Pu promoter to a promoterless lacZ gene. The results showed that the mutant regulator had acquired the ability to recognize m-nitrotoluene, and retained the wild-type regulator's ability to recognize most of the wild-type effectors. Full transcriptional activation of the Pu promoter by Xy1R7, as with the wild-type Xy1R protein, requires its full modular structure, namely the sigma 54 recognition site, the integration host factor binding site, and the upstream activation sequences. The Xy1R7 regulator did not stimulate transcription from the Ps promoter in response to the presence of its effectors, and autoregulated its own synthesis at low levels. |
To get anything done in Washington, a president’s got to keep the lines of communication open with Capitol Hill. President Trump, with some notable exceptions, appears to have that pipeline flowing – though largely to his own party.
Mr. Trump lost no time inviting lawmakers to the White House. When Congress was on recess last week, Hill staffers from both parties headed to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue for bowling and pizza, part of a concerted outreach.
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks several times a week with the president. Other members of Congress call Trump directly on his cellphone. And the vice president’s motorcade cruises regularly to the Capitol’s wide plaza to dispense the White House's point man – Mike Pence, a former congressman.
“There’s no ambassador quite like ... the vice president,” says Sen. James Lankford (R) of Oklahoma. Unusually, the peripatetic Mr. Pence, who is president of the Senate, has been given an office on the House side of the Capitol, and he confabs every week with his GOP Senate colleagues at their Tuesday caucus lunch.
Trump has mostly reached out to fellow Republicans – though he’s also strategically wooing a handful of Democrats from red states who are up for reelection in 2018, among them Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
In six weeks, “I’ve spoken with this White House and this president more than I did the other president in six years,” says Senator Manchin, referring to President Obama, who was criticized for not schmoozing enough with Hill folk.
Policymaking is harder
But as observers point out, schmoozing only takes a president so far. Now that Congress is moving into the legislative phase, it’s time to go from glad-handing to handling policy details – at which Trump is a novice. His speech before Congress this week, while striking a more inclusive tone, was mostly broad talking points.
“There’s no harm in doing the schmoozing, and in some cases, you actually build authentic relationships. But that does not translate into people abandoning their world view with respect to certain public policies,” says Patrick Griffin, former director of legislative affairs for President Clinton.
Republicans are still divided on their first big legislative item – repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. On Wednesday, key House chairmen working on the legislation came over to brief Senate Republicans behind closed doors.
Three Senate conservatives oppose the legislation – enough to sink it in the Senate, while House conservatives aren’t happy with it, either. GOP governors are also divided. Meanwhile, some moderate Republican senators back a different plan.
Republicans are also far from agreement on tax reform, the next big item for this year.
The GOP may now be the dominant party in America, controlling Congress, the White House, and 33 governorships, but it’s also incredibly diverse. The larger the tent, the harder it is to find consensus, says Jennifer Victor, a political science professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
At the same time, Trump wants to get things done that appeal more to Democrats, such as making a big investment in infrastructure and renegotiating trade deals.
“He has to build coalitions that include the opposition. He has absolutely no experience in that,” says Professor Victor, an expert in legislative politics. Dealmaking with legislators is “entirely different” than negotiating business deals, she says. “It’s multidimensional chess on a level we’ve never seen him play.”
Coming to push and shove
Trump can probably delegate the details to people like Pence and his cabinet, says Mr. Griffin. But when policy meets politics – as it does with Obamacare repeal – only the president has the clout, the political capital, to knock heads together or sweeten a deal.
“You need muscle, and Pence is not going to be able to do that,” says Griffin. “What matters is whether or not the president has some stroke behind who he is. The reaching out, the fight, the policy, it only adds up to a strategy if he’s got some standing that makes folks pay attention to him.”
Mr. Obama had that standing in the beginning, but it faded after health-care reform. President Clinton had the social skills to work with Congress, but made ham-handed mistakes in his first year that cost him the majority.
After his election was decided by the United States Supreme Court, George W. Bush dipped several times into low job approval ratings. But he was rescued politically by the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which produced a surge of national unity.
Using his base
President Trump’s approval ratings are at a historic low for a new president – but not among Republicans and certainly not among his base. Therein lies his clout, if he’ll use it with his own party, says Griffin. “He certainly has the nerve.”
The former Clinton aide says Trump needs a “bolder” strategy, not only to forge agreement within the GOP, but with Democrats – though he admits it could get dicey with conservatives.
“If he can just be a little nicer in the way he talks with Democrats, he may convince some of them to go along with him,” particularly on fixing Obamacare, says Griffin. His attack on the health law in his address to Congress “was gratuitously hostile. He needs Democrats.... It was a stupid play.”
Indeed, Senate minority leader Charles Schumer (D) of New York has had no personal contact with the president since he visited the White House with other congressional leaders shortly after the inauguration – though there's been staff contact.
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Senator Manchin, whom liberal groups want removed from the Democratic leadership because he's too close to the White House, points out that communication works both ways.
“The president can outreach and his staff, and we can outreach,” he says. “They’ve been pretty receptive.” Democrats may not like that Republicans stopped them up during the Obama years, “but two wrongs don’t make a right. We’ve got a chance to move forward on some issues.” |
This invention is related to a pigment dispersant this is useful in a cathodic electrocoating composition.
The coating of electrically conductive substrates by an electrodeposition process (also called an electrocoating process) is a well known and important industrial process. Electrodeposition of primers to automotive substrates is widely used in the automotive industry. In this process an autobody or an auto part, is immersed in a bath of an electrocoating composition containing an aqueous emulsion of film forming polymer and acts as an electrode in the electrodeposition process. An electric current is passed between the article and a counterelectrode in electrical contact with the aqueous emulsion until a desired thickness of coating is deposited on the article. In a cathodic electrocoating process, the article to be coated is the cathode and the counter-electrode is the anode.
Resin compositions used in the bath of a typical cathodic electrodeposition process also are well known in the art. These resins typically are made from a polyepoxide which has been chain extended and then an adduct is formed to include amine groups in the resin. Amine groups typically are introduced through reaction of the resin with an amine compound. These resins are blended with a crosslinking agent and then neutralized with an acid to form a water emulsion which is usually referred to as a principal emulsion.
The principal emulsion is combined with a pigment paste, coalescent solvents, water, and other additives to form the electrocoating bath. The electrocoating bath is placed in an insulated tank containing the anode. The article to be coated is the cathode and is passed through the tank containing the electrodeposition bath. The thickness of the coatings that is deposited on the article being electrocoated is a function of the bath characteristics, the electrical operating characteristics, the immersion time, and the like.
The resulting coated article is removed from the bath after a set period of time and is rinsed with deionized water. The coating on the article is cured typically in an oven at a sufficient temperature to produce a crosslinked finish on the article.
Cathodic electrocoating compositions, resin compositions, coating baths, and cathodic electrodeposition processes are disclosed in Jerabek et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,253 issued Nov. 25, 1975; Wismer et al. U.S. Pat No. 4,419,467 issued Dec. 6, 1983; Belanger U.S. Pat No. 4,137,140 issued Jan. 30, 1979 and Wismer et al. U.S. Pat No. 4,468,307 issued Aug. 25, 1984.
Pigments are a necessary component in a typical electrocoating automotive primer composition. Pigment dispersants are used to disperse the pigment in the composition and keep the pigment dispersed in the composition and thus are a very important part of any electrocoating composition. Useful pigment dispersants for cathodic electrocoating compositions are disclosed in Gebregiorgis et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,393 issued Jul. 7, 1992, Gebregiorgis et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,507 issued Aug. 7, 1990 and Gebregiorgis U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,903 issued May 26, 1992.
In the process for forming pigment dispersions for cathodic electrocoating compositions, primary pigment particles are separated from agglomerates or aggregates of these particles; accluded air and absorbed water are displaced and the surface of the pigment is coated with the pigment dispersant. Ideally, each primary particle which has been mechanically separated during the dispersion process, also is stabilized against flocculation. If the pigment particles are not properly dispersed and stabilized in the composition, the advantages built into the pigment by the manufacturer may be lost. For example, the pigment may settle in the electrodeposition bath which can result in loss of corrosion protection of the substrate. In addition, appearance of a film deposited by the electrodeposition process and the operating characteristics of an electrocoating bath may be adversely affected by inadequate pigment dispersion. The better the pigment dispersant used in a coating composition or electrocoating bath, the less dispersant is required and the pigment to binder ratio can be increased in the composition. This can result in a savings on dispersant costs, improved processability, and a lower VOC (Volatile Organic Content) of the electrocoating bath. |
Guelph, ON, December 28, 2015–Like the rest of the region, the City of Guelph is expecting winter weather over the next 24 hours. While today’s weather conditions aren’t unusual for this time of year, the City is reminding residents to drive according to conditions, in part because this is Guelph’s first true winter weather of the season.
City crews have already salt-brined all primary and secondary routes in the city, along with all bridge decks. This is in anticipation of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain and rain—all expected within the next 24 hours or so.
Crews will also be clearing and treating sidewalks and designated public stairways as necessary.
Later, the City’s priority will be to clear roads for tomorrow morning’s commute. Residents are reminded to be alert and adjust their driving to match the conditions.
Continue to check guelph.ca, Facebook and Twitter for updates about City services that might be affected by the weather including transit, solid waste pick-up, and others. |
The coronavirus is going global, and it could bring the world economy to a standstill.
An epidemic that began in the depths of China's Hubei province is spreading rapidly. There are now significant outbreaks from South Korea to Italy and Iran, and the first deaths have been reported in America. The economic fallout could include recessions in the U.S., euro-area and Japan, the slowest growth on record in China, and a total of $2.7 trillion in lost output—equivalent to the entire GDP of the U.K.
That's the most extreme of four scenarios developed by Bloomberg Economics, drawing on the experience in China, the distribution of cases in other countries, estimates of risks to global supply chains, and a large-scale model of the global economy.
With so many unknowns surrounding the trajectory of the epidemic, and the response from government and business, forecasters cannot aspire to precision. But these four scenarios offer a way of tracing the potential effects through countries and industries, and assessing their order of magnitude.
The starting point for our analysis is what's happening in China, where automobile sales have plunged 80%, passenger traffic is down 85% from normal levels, and business surveys are touching record lows. The economy, in other words, has practically ground to a halt.
Bloomberg Economics estimates that GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020 has slowed to 1.2% year on year—the weakest on record. If China doesn't get quickly back on its feet in March, even that forecast could prove optimistic.
Scenario 1: Major blow to China, and spillover to rest of world
For the rest of the world, China matters as a source of demand, a source of supply, and a focus of concern for financial markets:
► In 2019, China imports came in at $2.1 trillion. From Starbucks lattes to Yum's crispy fried chicken, sales in China are a major earner for multinationals. And Chinese tourists staying home hits everyone from South Asia's beach resorts to the boutiques of Paris.
► China is the world's biggest producer of manufactured components. When Chinese factories shut down, the widgets that go into everything from Apple's iPhones to construction machinery become harder to find.
► The impact reaches small businesses too. In Hong Kong, a jewelry designer found that his automated, digitized Chinese suppliers have gone offline. They could churn out 1,000 rings in a day. His workers just spent a week hammering out a single one. "I'm back into, like, pre-historic jewelry making," he lamented.
► China shocks have spread across global financial markets before, including the surprise yuan devaluation in 2015. The coronavirus is repeating the pattern, and on a larger scale, as equities plunge around the world and deliver knock-on blows to household wealth and business confidence.
If China can quickly get the outbreak under control, and the world's factory rumbles back to life in the second quarter, then the impact on the rest of the global economy could be contained.
That's a real possibility. A survey by Made-in-China.com—one of the main platforms connecting Chinese suppliers and global buyers—found that by late February, 80% of manufacturing firms had resumed operations. By late April, says general manager Li Lei, production capacity should be back to normal.
If that happens, a severe shock in the first half would be followed by recovery in the second. For the world as a whole, and major economies like the U.S., the impact would then be hard to see in the full-year GDP data.
A month ago, an epidemic confined largely to China, with other economies suffering from knock-on effects but not their own outbreaks, seemed like a plausible base case. In early March, with more than 6,000 cases in South Korea, closing in on 4,000 in Italy, hundreds in Japan, Germany and France, and concerns mounting in the U.S., it's starting to look optimistic.
It's true that no other county has anywhere near China's 80,000 reported cases—and that democratic countries might balk at the containment steps taken by China, which locked down a province of 60 million. While a less draconian approach could potentially increase the ultimate cost to public health, it could also result in a smaller short-term impact on the economy.
Still, a lighting company based in China's Zhejiang province illustrates how the problem is changing shape. The firm has more or less overcome the domestic shock: All workers are now back at the factory. But now they're preparing to face a different problem: Weaker orders from overseas.
Scenario 2: Outbreaks cause localized disruption
What happens if the problem gets worse? In scenario two, we assume that China takes longer to return to normal—a 'U'-shaped recovery instead of a 'V'.
"Even when factories are back to work, it's not like all the problems are solved" said Mr. Li, the Made-in-China.com manager. "Many factories don't have enough inventory… the supply chain obstacles cap production capacity."
We also assume South Korea, Italy, Japan, France and Germany—the major economies other than China that have seen the most virus cases—take a hit. In our calculations, that takes global growth for 2020 down to 2.3%—some way below the pre-virus consensus forecast of 3.1%.
Scenario 3: Widespread contagion
Worse than that?
In scenario three, we layer on a more severe shock to South Korea, Italy, Japan, France and Germany. And we add a smaller shock to all the countries that had reported any cases as of the start of March. That includes the U.S., India, the U.K., Canada and Brazil—meaning that all of the world's 10 biggest economies suffer a slowdown as they fight to contain the domestic spread of the virus.
In this scenario, global growth for 2020 slides to 1.2%. The euro-area and Japan go into recession, and U.S. growth drops to 0.5%—enough to see election-year unemployment moving higher.
Scenario 4: Global pandemic
Worse still?
To capture the economic impact of a global pandemic, we assume that all countries in our model face a severe shock—equivalent to the drop in growth China is suffering in the first quarter.
If that happens, global growth for the year goes to zero. The U.S. joins the euro-area and Japan in contraction—potentially changing the dynamic of the presidential election. China's economy expands just 3.5%—the slowest in records back to 1980, when Deng Xiaoping's reforms were just getting underway. Worldwide, lost output hits $2.7 trillion.
China GDP
Quarterly year-on-year forecasts
Other forecasters are also sounding the alarm.
The OECD cut its expectation for global growth to 2.4% from 2.9%, and warned that it could fall as low as 1.5%. Goldman Sachs expects a global contraction in the first half of the year. Recent forecasts for first-quarter GDP growth in China range from 5.8% all the way down to -0.5%, underscoring the high degree of uncertainty.
Policy research predating the coronavirus outbreak suggests there's a downside risk to even the most pessimistic of these forecasts. A 2006 paper by the World Bank put the potential cost of a severe flu pandemic at 4.8% of global GDP—a tailspin that would rival that seen in 2009 after the financial crisis.
Fed Funds Futures
Implied fund rates have taken a nosedive since the outbreak
All of that makes the case for urgent rate cuts, extra public spending, or both. At an emergency meeting on March 3, the Federal Reserve lowered rates by 50 basis points, and markets expect more to come. That followed hard on the heels of a G-7 conference call in which finance chiefs of the major advanced economies vowed to "use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable growth and safeguard against downside risks".
At the epicenter of the crisis, the People's Bank of China has so far been more measured, cutting rates by just 10 basis points, and instructing lenders to go easy on stressed business borrowers rather than adding to the problem by calling in bad loans. In neighboring Korea, the central bank has been similarly cautious—calling an emergency meeting, but failing to deliver the rate cut the markets expected. Governor Lee Ju-yeol said he saw limits to what monetary policy can do to counter the virus.
That view might not win Lee many friends among investors. In the economics textbooks, it has a solid foundation.
The virus is at least in part a supply shock—closing factories, and forcing workers to stay at home. That's not something policy makers can do much about. Rate cuts and higher spending will help put a floor under fragile financial markets, and revive demand once the crisis is over. In the heat of the outbreak, stimulus risks stoking inflation without accelerating growth—making the problem worse, not better.
Add on the world's historically low level of interest rates, and high level of debt—which limit the room for maneuver—and it's clear why economic policy makers, like everyone else in the world, will be hoping the outbreak can rapidly be brought under control. Their own toolkit is ill-suited for the task. |
[Maternal-fetal surgery for spina bifida: future perspectives].
Open spina bifida or myelomeningocele (MMC) is a frequent congenital abnormality (450 cases per year in France) associated with high morbidity. Immediate postnatal surgery is aimed at covering the exposed spinal cord, preventing infection, treating hydrocephalus with a ventricular shunt. MMC surgical techniques haven't achieved any major progress in the past decades. Numerous experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the MMC "two-hit" hypothetic pathogenesis: a primary embryonic congenital abnormality of the nervous system due to a failure in the closure of the developing neural tube, followed by secondary damages of spinal cord and nerves caused by long-term exposure to amniotic fluid. This malformation frequently develops cranial consequences, i.e. hydrocephalus and Chiari II malformation, due to leakage of cerebrospinal fluid. After 30 years of research, a randomized trial published in February 2011 proved open maternal-fetal surgery (OMFS) for MMC to be a real therapeutic option. Comparing prenatal to postnatal surgery, it confirmed better outcomes of MMC children after a follow up of 2.5 years: enhancement of lower limb motor function, decrease of the degree of hindbrain herniation associated with the Chiari II malformation and the need for shunting. At 5 years of age, MMC children operated prenatally seems to have better neurocognitive, motor and bladder-sphincter outcomes than those operated postnatally. However, risks of OMFS exist: prematurity for the fetus and a double hysterotomy at approximately 3-month interval for the mother. Nowadays, it seems crucial to inform parents of MMC patients about OMFS and to offer it in France. Future research will improve our understanding of MMC pathophysiology and evaluate long-term outcomes of OMFS. Tomorrow's prenatal surgery will be less invasive and more premature using endoscopic, robotic or percutaneous techniques. Beforehand, Achilles' heel of maternal-fetal surgery, i.e. preterm premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor and preterm birth, must be solved. |
Work keeps mums happy and children well-adjusted
Conservative commentary often attempts to reinstate the primacy of stay-at-home motherhood, prompting feelings of guilt among working mothers. But a recent study might help to finally lay this issue to…
Griffith University Events
It’s the quality, not quantity, of the time spent with children that counts most.
Sean drillinger
Conservative commentary often attempts to reinstate the primacy of stay-at-home motherhood, prompting feelings of guilt among working mothers. But a recent study might help to finally lay this issue to rest – it shows working mothers are happier and healthier than stay-at-home mums.
The study, published in the US Journal of Family Psychology, found mothers who worked part time were generally in a happier frame of mind and were better able to manage their daily family issues than mothers who worked full time or stayed at home.
While the study showed no significant differences in how these women parent or maintain fulfilling partnerships, it found that mothers' part-time work impacted positively on family life.
Perhaps the most significant conclusion was that even mothers' full time hours did not have the negative impact on a family many would expect.
This shouldn’t be seen as a poor reflection of women who stay at home full time: mothers should be able to choose whether or not they work outside of the home according to what they feel is right for them and their family. Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Healthy attachments
What’s exciting about this report is it turns on its head the idea that a family is only well served if mothers stay at home. It shows that it’s the quality of the time spent with children, not the quantity, that counts most for their healthy development.
In this sense, the findings reinforce past research on attachment theory which spans the disciplines of psychology, education, medicine and social science. According to this theory, children form healthy attachments to their parents when they spend quality time with mum and dad, who play with them, work with them and can generally “be” with them.
Children want to be able to explore and play.Optische Taeuschung
Historically, the negative focus on mothers who work has stemmed from a misunderstanding of early attachment research in the late 1960s that focused on maternal deprivation and its effects on the mother-child bond. British psychologist John Bowlby was concerned that a child’s separation from their mother would impact on their bond, but this theory was never meant to infer that children of mothers working full time would be adversely affected.
More recent longitudinal studies in the United States and Australia paint a different picture about parent-child attachment. We’re beginning to understand that secure attachments occur when a parent gives a child a safe haven to return to while they are out exploring their world. This means that it’s quite permissible for parents to let their children explore and play.
Children just want to be able to “check in” with a trusted adult. And that trusted adult does not have to be a mother – it can be a father, grandparent or child-care educator. All of the love and care a child receives is not the only primary responsibility of a mother.
Finally, modern attachment theory deals with notions of resilience and repair. If difficulties arise in the mother-child relationship, they can generally be resolved. A parent might make mistakes such as being impatient or snapping at a child, but this does not mean that the parent-child relationship will be forever harmed.
Family well-being is more likely when everyone in the family feels fulfilled. Mothers should not have to shoulder full responsibility for very young children. This can be a shared experience – between mothers, fathers, grandparents and carers/educators. After all, that’s what family and community is about. |
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