Split (1)

train · 6.72M rows

text stringlengths 8 8.84M
The present disclosure relates generally to a protection system for a work vehicle. Certain work vehicles (e.g., tractors, harvesters, skid steers, etc.) include a cab configured to house an operator. To facilitate access to certain components of the work vehicle (e.g., the engine, transmission, etc.), the cab may rotate forwardly relative to a chassis of the work vehicle about a pivot joint. In addition, the work vehicle may include certain elements configured to block falling objects from impacting the cab. For example, these elements often include rigid elements disposed above the work vehicle. However, due to the rigid nature of these elements, it may be difficult and/or time consuming to rotate the cab forward. For example, certain rigid elements may be removed to facilitate rotation of the cab.
Pharmacokinetic Properties of a New Glutamic Acid Derivative Glutaron. Inhomogenous distribution of glutaron in organs and tissues was found after intravenous and peroral administration: the agent demonstrated high affinity to organs with high degree of vascularization (lungs and heart) and elimination (kidney). Glutaron easily penetrates through the blood-brain barrier, which is consistent with its concentration in the adipose tissue.
8? 47c3 - 6c*2 + 3c - 32 What is the a'th term of 20097, 40350, 60603, 80856? 20253a - 156 What is the c'th term of -1142, -1096, -1050, -1004, -958? 46c - 1188 What is the g'th term of 11, 32, 57, 86, 119, 156, 197? 2g2 + 15g - 6 What is the h'th term of -164, -255, -380, -539, -732, -959? -17h2 - 40h - 107 What is the g'th term of -27182, -27228, -27274, -27320, -27366? -46g - 27136 What is the t'th term of 617, 598, 525, 398, 217, -18, -307? -27t*2 + 62t + 582 What is the m'th term of 2211, 4467, 6723, 8979, 11235, 13491? 2256m - 45 What is the h'th term of -266, -1386, -3260, -5894, -9294, -13466? -h3 - 371h*2 + 106 What is the x'th term of -1766, -14173, -47856, -113453, -221602, -382941? -1773x*3 + 4x + 3 What is the j'th term of 1046, 1088, 1102, 1088, 1046, 976, 878? -14j2 + 84j + 976 What is the i'th term of -505, -778, -1051, -1324? -273i - 232 What is the b'th term of 24621, 49236, 73851, 98466, 123081? 24615b + 6 What is the u'th term of 5534, 11075, 16602, 22115, 27614, 33099? -7u2 + 5562u - 21 What is the j'th term of -839, -810, -777, -740, -699, -654? 2j2 + 23j - 864 What is the o'th term of 4908, 9957, 15006, 20055, 25104? 5049o - 141 What is the x'th term of 18260, 18237, 18212, 18185, 18156? -x2 - 20x + 18281 What is the r'th term of 1267, 1423, 1581, 1741, 1903, 2067? r*2 + 153r + 1113 What is the j'th term of -1514, -1450, -1386? 64j - 1578 What is the o'th term of -787, -1571, -2353, -3133, -3911, -4687, -5461? o2 - 787o - 1 What is the k'th term of -127560, -255111, -382662, -510213? -127551k - 9 What is the h'th term of -1259, -1472, -1685, -1898, -2111? -213h - 1046 What is the m'th term of 716, 2647, 5784, 10121, 15652, 22371? -m*3 + 609m*2 + 111m - 3 What is the p'th term of 65, 495, 1619, 3785, 7341, 12635, 20015, 29829? 58p3 - p2 + 27p - 19 What is the o'th term of -73137, -146233, -219329, -292425, -365521? -73096o - 41 What is the a'th term of -896, -1170, -1630, -2276, -3108, -4126? -93a*2 + 5a - 808 What is the j'th term of -254775, -254772, -254769? 3j - 254778 What is the b'th term of 1062, 8479, 28608, 67803, 132418? 1059b*3 + 2b*2 - 2b + 3 What is the z'th term of 24993, 24996, 24999? 3z + 24990 What is the k'th term of 843, 1446, 2049? 603k + 240 What is the u'th term of 2390, 4779, 7168, 9557, 11946, 14335? 2389u + 1 What is the q'th term of -465, -55, 633, 1605, 2867? q3 + 133q*2 + 4q - 603 What is the c'th term of -997, -2007, -3053, -4153, -5325, -6587, -7957? -3c3 - 989c - 5 What is the z'th term of -49, -97, -133, -151, -145, -109, -37, 77? z*3 - 55z + 5 What is the z'th term of -2943, -5881, -8819, -11757, -14695? -2938z - 5 What is the n'th term of 515240, 1030481, 1545722, 2060963, 2576204? 515241n - 1 What is the i'th term of -46, -1061, -3588, -8383, -16202, -27801, -43936? -126i3 - 133i + 213 What is the z'th term of -5332, -21404, -48192, -85696? -5358z2 + 2z + 24 What is the q'th term of 6690, 6718, 6762, 6822? 8q2 + 4q + 6678 What is the z'th term of -742, -1186, -1630, -2074? -444z - 298 What is the i'th term of -4517, -9122, -13727, -18332, -22937, -27542? -4605i + 88 What is the a'th term of -63, 280, 1425, 3774, 7729? 67a3 - a2 - 123a - 6 What is the l'th term of 97037, 97038, 97039, 97040, 97041? l + 97036 What is the c'th term of -1277, -1330, -1425, -1562, -1741? -21c2 + 10c - 1266 What is the p'th term of 125980, 125981, 125982, 125983, 125984? p + 125979 What is the t'th term of -1354, -1359, -1364, -1369, -1374, -1379? -5t - 1349 What is the t'th term of -39373, -39374, -39375, -39376, -39377? -t - 39372 What is the v'th term of 105794, 105788, 105780, 105770, 105758? -v2 - 3v + 105798 What is the a'th term of -67961, -67946, -67931, -67916, -67901? 15a - 67976 What is the h'th term of 10267, 20518, 30767, 41014, 51259? -h2 + 10254h + 14 What is the h'th term of -185212, -185210, -185208, -185206, -185204, -185202? 2h - 185214 What is the h'th term of -44849, -179319, -403437, -717203, -1120617, -1613679, -2196389? -44824h*2 + 2h - 27 What is the y'th term of -95807, -95827, -95853, -95879, -95899, -95907, -95897? y*3 - 9y2 - 95799 What is the m'th term of -2561, -4996, -7433, -9872, -12313, -14756, -17201? -m2 - 2432m - 128 What is the d'th term of -120, -456, -1002, -1752, -2700? d3 - 111d*2 - 10d What is the j'th term of 31901, 31913, 31925, 31937, 31949? 12j + 31889 What is the d'th term of 110, 325, 684, 1187? 72d*2 - d + 39 What is the n'th term of -1638, -6583, -14788, -26223, -40858, -58663, -79608, -103663? 5n*3 - 1660n*2 + 17 What is the o'th term of 16966, 16974, 16986, 17002, 17022, 17046? 2o*2 + 2o + 16962 What is the s'th term of -1056, -2132, -3208, -4284, -5360, -6436? -1076s + 20 What is the c'th term of -1505, -1516, -1523, -1520, -1501, -1460, -1391, -1288? c3 - 4c*2 - 6c - 1496 What is the y'th term of -2736344, -2736345, -2736346? -y - 2736343 What is the x'th term of 151910, 303838, 455766, 607694? 151928x - 18 What is the s'th term of -751, -992, -1227, -1456, -1679? 3s*2 - 250s - 504 What is the o'th term of -4349, -8665, -12981, -17297, -21613, -25929? -4316o - 33 What is the x'th term of 849, 860, 867, 870? -2x*2 + 17x + 834 What is the h'th term of 45987, 91969, 137937, 183885, 229807? -h3 - h2 + 45992h - 3 What is the p'th term of -4425, -4982, -5541, -6102, -6665? -p2 - 554p - 3870 What is the x'th term of -306, -466, -612, -738, -838, -906, -936, -922? x3 + x2 - 170x - 138 What is the z'th term of 60, 341, 812, 1473, 2324, 3365? 95z*2 - 4z - 31 What is the w'th term of -4594, -4593, -4586, -4567, -4530, -4469, -4378? w*3 - 3w*2 + 3w - 4595 What is the h'th term of -3464, -3512, -3560? -48h - 3416 What is the v'th term of -657, -706, -787, -900? -16v*2 - v - 640 What is the t'th term of 58, 227, 498, 859, 1298? -2t*3 + 63t*2 - 6t + 3 What is the k'th term of 26556, 26559, 26562, 26565, 26568, 26571? 3k + 26553 What is the g'th term of -955915, -955914, -955913, -955912, -955911, -955910? g - 955916 What is the k'th term of 4566, 9147, 13728, 18309, 22890, 27471? 4581k - 15 What is the a'th term of 1787, 1670, 1483, 1232, 923, 562? a*3 - 41a2 - a + 1828 What is the i'th term of 623, 1256, 1871, 2462, 3023, 3548? -i3 - 3i2 + 649i - 22 What is the q'th term of 1204, 1640, 2080, 2530, 2996, 3484, 4000, 4550? q*3 - 4q*2 + 441q + 766 What is the b'th term of -20488, -20489, -20490, -20491, -20492, -20493? -b - 20487 What is the h'th term of -19, 20, 233, 722, 1589? 17h3 - 15h*2 - 35h + 14 What is the p'th term of 1707, 1719, 1731, 1743, 1755? 12p + 1695 What is the y'th term of 63399, 63400, 63401, 63402, 63403, 63404? y + 63398 What is the y'th term of -49, -192, -393, -622, -849, -1044, -1177? 5y*3 - 59y*2 - y + 6 What is the s'th term of 2488, 10000, 22534, 40090, 62668, 90268, 122890? 2511s*2 - 21s - 2 What is the l'th term of -272, -412, -720, -1202, -1864, -2712, -3752? -l*3 - 78l*2 + 101l - 294 What is the w'th term of -72423, -72422, -72421, -72420, -72419? w - 72424 What is the f'th term of -445, -280, -115, 50? 165f - 610 What is the d'th term of 1238, 2487, 3740, 4997, 6258, 7523? 2d*2 + 1243d - 7 What is the v'th term of 122341, 489375, 1101097, 1957507, 3058605, 4404391? 122344v2 + 2v - 5 What is the b'th term of 39181, 78348, 117515, 156682, 195849, 235016? 39167b + 14 What is the o'th term of 1520, 6066, 13642, 24248, 37884? 1515o*2 + o + 4 What is the k'th term of 909, 1891, 2877, 3867, 4861, 5859, 6861? 2k*2 + 976k - 69 What is the t'th term of -74, -100, -156, -254, -406, -624? -2t3 - 3t*2 - 3t - 66 What is the i'th term of 782339, 1564676, 2347013? 782337i + 2 What is the o'th term of -275, -2419, -8233, -19553, -38215, -66055, -104909? -306o3 + o2 - 5o + 35 What is the n'th term of -61, -148, -413, -946, -1837, -3176, -5053, -7558? -15n3 + n2 + 15n - 62 What is the v'th term of -2658064, -2658061, -2658056, -2658049, -2658040? v2 - 2658065 What is the a'th term of -8986, -17973, -26960, -35947? -8987a + 1 What is the z'th term of -26, -2, 24, 40, 34? -2z3 + 13z**2 - z - 36 Wh
Looking Back Looking Back What’s in a Name? In 1957, 101 exhibitors and 2,000 bargain hunters braved the wind and rain of Hurricane Audrey at the Memorial Art Gallery’s first Clothesline Festival. From these inauspicious beginnings, Clothesline has grown into a major community happening. In the early days, paintings really did hang on clotheslines, but over the years, the show has grown dramatically, spilling over the grounds of the Gallery and showcasing artists from across New York state. The early careers of such notables as Wendell Castle, Peter Berg and Kathy Calderwood have all been linked to the Clothesline Festival. And the possibility of finding future luminaries who will go on to command greater fame and higher prices has always been part of the excitement. Clothesline home 1919, 1945 and 1979: Causing a Stir Recently, an installation by Tom Otterness for Centennial Sculpture Park has evoked a great deal of commentary. But it’s not the first time in MAG’s 100+ year history that an artist has caused a stir. George Bellows (1919), Leon Salter (1945) and Judy Chicago (1979) also made headlines here. Read the whole story Nine Years Ago at MAG “A rich, powerful and silvery cascade of complex elegance.” That’s how Hans Davidsson, professor of organ at the Eastman School of Music, described the sound of ESM’s new Italian Baroque instrument. Discovered in an antique shop in Florence and meticulously restored in Germany, the organ arrived in the US via container ship and in July 2005 arrived at its new home at MAG. Here, an international team of experts unpacked, reassembled, “voiced” and tuned the instrument in time for its triumphant inaugural concert in October. Read the whole story 24 Years Ago at MAG Fall 1990: MAG staff gathered in the Vanden Brul Pavilion for a group portrait. Nine of those pictured were still on staff at the time of the Gallery’s 100th anniversary on October 8, 2013. (Can you find them?) 75 Years Ago at MAG February 14, 1940. The Rochester newspapers were filled with the ominous events that would soon lead America into war. Closer to home, the winter’s worst snowstorm snarled traffic and closed schools. Yet for the Memorial Art Gallery, it was a very bright day indeed, as the Gallery’s Women’s Council held its first meeting. Like so much at the Gallery, the Council’s beginnings were inextricably linked with the Herdle family. Read the whole story Pictured: In 1955, MAG director Gertrude Herdle Moore (second from right) took tea with Council members in the Fountain Court. 101 Years Ago at MAG William Ordway Partridge’s iconic sculpture Memory (shown being moved in October 2009) now greets visitors to the second floor, as she did in the early days of the Gallery. The 1913 work was commissioned by MAG founder Emily Sibley Watson as a memorial to her son, James G. Averell. More about Memory Today, Memory is looking better than ever, thanks in large part to cleaning and repairs made possible by long-time supporter Jacquie Adams and her late husband, Jim. More about the Adamses
Q: Factoring of Algebraic Fraction $\frac{x^4}{x^2-x+1}$ I came across an integral problem, it was a solved example, which goes something like this. $$\int \frac{x^4}{x^2-x+1} dx$$ They straight away factored above integral into $$\int x^2+x - \frac{x}{x^2-x+1}dx$$ and went about solving it but what I found difficult was how did they factored from intital to second form $$\frac{x^4}{x^2-x+1} \Rightarrow x^2+x+\frac{x}{x^2-x+1}$$ Thanks for your help on this. A: $\quad\dfrac{x^4}{x^2-x+1} $ $= \dfrac{x^4-x^3+x^2}{x^2-x+1} +\dfrac{x^3-x^2}{x^2-x+1}$ $= \dfrac{x^4-x^3+x^2}{x^2-x+1} +\dfrac{x^3-x^2+x}{x^2-x+1} - \dfrac{x}{x^2-x+1}$ $=\qquad x^2 \qquad\quad+\qquad x \quad\qquad- \dfrac{x}{x^2-x+1}$
/* Copyright (C) 2007-12 Andrea Vedaldi and Brian Fulkerson. All rights reserved. This file is part of the VLFeat library and is made available under the terms of the BSD license (see the COPYING file). / #include <vl/generic.h> #include <vl/mathop.h> int main(int argc VL_UNUSED, char* argv VL_UNUSED) { VL_PRINTF ("Double NaN : `%g'\n", VL_NAN_D ) ; VL_PRINTF ("Double Inf : `%g'\n", VL_INFINITY_D) ; VL_PRINTF ("Double - Inf : `%g'\n", - VL_INFINITY_D) ; VL_PRINTF ("Single NaN : `%g'\n", VL_NAN_F ) ; VL_PRINTF ("Single Inf : `%g'\n", VL_INFINITY_F) ; VL_PRINTF ("Single - Inf : `%g'\n", - VL_INFINITY_F) ; VL_PRINTF ("Double: 0.0 < VL_INFINITY_D: %d\n", 0.0 < VL_INFINITY_D) ; VL_PRINTF ("Double: 0.0 > - VL_INFINITY_D: %d\n", 0.0 > - VL_INFINITY_D) ; return 0 ; }
My name is Jytte Nhanenge. I am deeply concerned about global poverty, the effects of which kill 50,000 people daily, the majority being children. I worked with development in Africa for many years, but I had to conclude that in its present form, development cannot alleviate poverty. I then settled in Mozambique and embarked on a lengthy study period at University of South Africa (UNISA), as an external student. I was searching for the root cause of poverty with the aim of finding a way to alleviate it. That search took me far and wide and it lasted almost 13 years. During my studies, I came to realize that poverty and inequality, together with other global crises - including war and violence, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation - all derive from the same source: patriarchal domination. It is a complex dualist and reductionist perceptual system that prioritizes all considered masculine or yang, while subordinating all being feminine or yin. I was grateful when Gregory Hilbert and Suzanne Sparling, the founders of Sustainability Education Network, SEN4Earth, wanted to be the very first ones to make a book review, just upon its publication. You can read the book review in the below website, and you can also view the discussions on Gregory’s post at Care2:http://www.care2.com/news/member/606472831/2775015 The official name of the website is "Forum for Holistic Transformation." The full version of the name is "Forum for Holistic Transformation: Ending Patriarchy, and Creating a Quality of Life for Society and Nature Worldwide." But in short it is called "Intsangano." The website explains why that name is chosen. Intsangano is an educational website. It is explaining how the political and economic elites – called Patriarchy – have managed to earn huge profits based on dominating society and exploiting nature, causing serious crises for life everywhere. We – people from all walks of life – need to educate ourselves in order to understand, how the elite manage to rule this world via their ideology, structures, and institutions. When we grasp how they manipulate us, we can become a force to be reckoned with, and together we can end this dangerous, life-threatening domination. Intsangano is consequently a space where ordinary people can unite. We can either be teachers sharing our knowledge with others, or students learning from those who are willing to share their knowledge – or both. Everything is done as a free and voluntary activity, meant to benefit all, giving us insight so that we can stand up to our political leaders, challenge them in debates, and eventually become leaders ourselves. Thus, the aim is to end the current unbalanced political values and the focus on never-ending economic growth and profit-making that only benefits the elite. These economic values are causing global crises of war and violence, inequality and poverty, human rights abuses, and degradation of nature. Hence the positive goal is to re-create a quality of life for society and nature worldwide. Due to my new poverty study and the work with the website, I will not often be available at Care2. Hence, if you send me messages, you may not receive a reply. Sorry for that. However, you can always get in touch with me via the website. Sending you much care,Jytte My friend Zen Whisperingtree did the technical building of this page. Thank you Zen
The invention concerns an optical transmitting and receiving device for the contact-free reading of marks and more particularly includes transmitter and receiver diodes positively positioned with their axial beams constricted by slots and intersecting at a reference surface for high resolution reading. Transmitting and receiving devices of this type are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,261 and, in essence from IBM Technical Disclosures Bulletin Vol. 14, No. 1, June 1971, Pages 58, 59. A disadvantage in these referenced structures is that the size of the rectangular cutout is still in the area of the dimension of the housing of the transmitter and/or receiver diode. This, combined with technical production inaccuracies in the edge area of the optical piece parts, which are mostly mass produced can lead to dispersion on the reference surface or to transition-time distortion on the receiver diode, both of which limit the accuracy and reliability of operation. Further, beam reflections can form disadvantageously on the inner face of the cutouts through which the beams pass which can impair the reading procedure with reference to the reading speed and resolution in the case of small markings. It is also disadvantageous that those cutouts, in the case of the known device, on the upper face of the plastic body, form differently-sized openings when compared with each other. Thus contamination can have a detrimental one-sided impairment of the beam path which with reference to the reading procedure causes slow-acting impairment which is often noticed too late. From French Pat. No. 25 55 337 the insertion of a frame with an optical slotted diaphram in the beam path of the transmitter and receiver diode is known. This is however disadvantageous in that reflections form on the side of the frame nearest to the optical parts, which can impair the accuracy of the reading. Furthermore, there exists the danger that the frame with the slotted diaphram could slide into the beam path.
Thursday, 10 May 2018 Brooklyn safety official charged with raping 16-year-old girl Daskal was charged with rape and criminal sex act, plus three misdemeanors — forcible touching, sex abuse and acting in a manner injurious to a child. (Linda Rosier/New York Daily News) An official with an influential neighborhood watch group in Brooklyn has been charged with raping a 16-year-old girl, police said Thursday. Jacob Daskal, 59, who runs the Shomrim's Brooklyn South Safety Patrol, a Hasidic neighborhood watch group, abused the girl between August and November of last year, police said. Daskal was charged with rape and criminal sex act, plus three misdemeanors — forcible touching, sex abuse and acting in a manner injurious to a child. Shomrim's links to law enforcement have been a subplot in the ongoing federal probe involving two businessmen and a number of NYPD supervisors. In 2016, the FBI investigated what role the supervisors may have played in securing gun licenses for members of Shomrim. Daskal, who lives in Borough Park and has strong ties to the NYPD, was not charged in the case.
Science Pollen Records Indicate Ancient 'Thousand-Year' Drought This winter is shaping up to be among the Bay Area's driest on record, but scientists are weighing the odds of a thousand-year drought. Some researchers may have found one in ancient times -- something on the order of 1800 to 2800 years ago. Paleoecologist Scott Mensing says that's a "long time ago from human perspectives, not long ago geologically". Mensing is a paleo-ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno. He turned up the evidence by studying ancient pollens buried in lake beds: not literally a thousand years with no rain, but a long, dry period, perhaps punctuated with a few wet intervals, centered in eastern Nevada but likely spreading into parts of California. Could it happen again? "If there is this potentially hundreds-to-thousand-year-long dry period, it shows you what the system is naturally capable of," says Mensing. "But what ocean conditions or other drivers actually set the stage for this millennium drought, is something that needs more research." Mensing reported his findings at this week's Pacific Climate Workshop in Pacific Grove.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT STACY LEE WATTS, ) ) Appellant, ) ) v. ) Case No. 2D18-1079 ) STATE OF FLORIDA, ) ) Appellee. ) ___________________________________) Opinion filed September 26, 2018. Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Collier County; Christine Greider, Judge. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. SILBERMAN, BADALAMENTI, and ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur.
All materials, including the presentation script and videos, raw and summary data and analysis scripts, are available at ([osf.io/grw57](http://osf.io/grw57), registration date 06/06/2018). Introduction {#sec001} ============ Perception of one's body relies on multisensory integration and is dynamically updated based on the available sensory input \[[@pone.0224174.ref001]\]. Information regarding spatiotemporal correlations between inputs from the different senses is particularly important for self-recognition \[[@pone.0224174.ref002], [@pone.0224174.ref003]\]. For example, experimental work with the rubber hand illusion (RHI) shows that synchronously viewing and feeling touch can cause signals from different modalities to become integrated, resulting in an illusionary experience of ownership over an artificial object \[[@pone.0224174.ref004]--[@pone.0224174.ref007]\]. Furthermore, visual cues such as form and orientation provide crucial information about whether the observed object is plausible for one's body, which can facilitate or inhibit the emergence of body ownership \[[@pone.0224174.ref006]\]. For instance, the RHI is reduced when the object lacks certain hand-like features \[[@pone.0224174.ref008]\], or when it is rotated at an improbable angle in relation to the participant's own body \[[@pone.0224174.ref009], [@pone.0224174.ref010]\]. This demonstrates that besides temporal cues, visual form and orientation cues play an important role in perceiving one's own body. However, the mechanism by which visual cues might modulate the integration of multisensory bodily stimuli still remains unclear. Further research into this process is fundamental for our understanding of how we perceive our bodies and interact with objects in the world around us. Motivated by the RHI literature, in this study we use videos of touch combined with a felt touch to investigate if form and orientation cues directly influence the temporal integration of visual and tactile inputs. The brain constantly receives signals from different sensory modalities with some variability between the exact timing or location, and these are either combined into the same multisensory event or kept separate \[[@pone.0224174.ref011], [@pone.0224174.ref012]\]. One proposal is that the processing of multisensory signals relies on computational mechanisms for causal inference to determine the probability that the individual unisensory signals belong to the same object or event. This account holds that the brain computes probabilities for common and separate causes, which then provide the weights given to the integrated and separated perceptual estimates. These relative weights determine the degree of integration versus separation of multisensory signals \[[@pone.0224174.ref013]\]. Bayesian causal inference models can therefore provide a unified theory for the perception of multisensory events, including their spatial and temporal characteristics \[[@pone.0224174.ref014]--[@pone.0224174.ref018]\]. On this view, the degree of integration versus separation can be influenced by previous knowledge that signals belong to one and the same object or event, and repeated experience that signals are statistically likely to co-occur \[[@pone.0224174.ref019]--[@pone.0224174.ref021]\]. Signals that are likely to 'belong together' (also referred to as the 'assumption of unity'; Welch and Warren \[[@pone.0224174.ref022]\]) can become partially or completely integrated, which limits access to spatiotemporal conflict between the original signals \[[@pone.0224174.ref023]\]. These processes of causal inference and multisensory integration explain how the brain perceives signals that are estimated to originate from a common source as the same multisensory event. A causal inference process might also govern the binding and integration of bodily signals \[[@pone.0224174.ref024]\]. Depending on whether the brain infers a common cause for inputs or not, it integrates or segregates spatial and temporal signals coming from visual, tactile and proprioceptive modalities. Visual cues such as body form and orientation could function as causal binding factors (i.e., influence the relative probabilities for a common versus a separate cause) as these indicate whether or not inputs originated from the same source (e.g., one's own hand). This could explain why the RHI typically only arises in a plausible context for one's own body and why form and orientation cues can modulate a shift in the perceived location of the real hand towards the spatially separated rubber hand \[[@pone.0224174.ref006], [@pone.0224174.ref025]\]. This 'proprioceptive drift' indicates spatial integration of visual information originating from the artificial hand and proprioceptive information about the location of one's own hand \[[@pone.0224174.ref006]\]. Further, Shimada et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref005]\] showed that participants still experienced a strong illusion of ownership even when the visual stimulation on the rubber hand and tactile stimulation on the participant's own hand were presented with a 300 ms delay. This might indicate that the visual presentation of a hand enhances temporal integration of visual and tactile stimuli as well. However, evidence for the effect of causal inference on temporal integration of body-related signals is mixed. When we feel a touch to our hand, we expect to also see a touch to an object that looks like a hand as opposed to a non-hand object. We furthermore observe the touch to a hand located in a set orientation relative to the arm and body, making it clear that it is our hand that is being touched. Hence, the experience of feeling a touch to our hand is most likely to occur together with a visual touch to a plausibly oriented human hand (i.e., one's own hand), indicating that the visual and tactile touch event share a common cause. Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] tested if form and orientation manipulations affect visuo-tactile temporal integration using simple hand images. A light flash on the left index finger of a line drawing of a forward-facing hand, an inverted hand or an arrow (the visual stimulus) was presented with different SOAs relative to a vibration to the tip of a participant's left index finger (the tactile stimulus). Participants made unspeeded temporal order judgements (TOJ) about whether the visual or the tactile stimulus was presented first and the authors measured the 'just noticeable difference' (JND, the smallest temporal interval at which participants can still reliably distinguish the temporal order of stimuli presented to different modalities). Results indicate that a plausible image (forward hand) decreased participants' ability to establish the temporal order of stimuli, as indicated by larger JNDs compared to an implausible image (inverted hand and arrow). These findings suggest that when a visual and tactile stimulus are more likely to have a common cause, this influences the degree of temporal integration. Converging evidence for visuo-tactile integration depending on causal inference comes from Maselli, Kilteni, López-Moliner and Slater \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] who used a virtual reality set-up to investigate the impact of body contact and visual form on multisensory temporal integration specifically in the context of a body ownership illusion. Participants wore a head-mounted display which streamed a digital 3D replica of the room. By looking down, participants could see a gender-matched virtual body in the same location as their real body. Their first experiment compared a rotating wheel touching a virtual finger with a wheel that was separated from the virtual finger by 6 mm. Participants were asked to determine the temporal order of the visual stimulus (one full rotation of a virtual wheel) and the tactile stimulus (50 ms vibration to the participant's fingertip) presented at different SOAs. The results showed larger JNDs for the touching compared to the not-touching wheel condition. A second experiment tested if temporal order judgements are mediated by body-ownership by replacing the participants' virtual hands with virtual wooden sticks (manipulating body form). Results show that JNDs were larger in the context of a hand compared to a wooden stick. In addition, the virtual hand also increased the experience of ownership. It may be that the increased degree of temporal integration due to visual form facilitates ownership, or that the sense of ownership itself modulates the relative degree of integration, or both. Either way, together with the result by Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\], these findings suggests that a more plausible visual context for one's own body (e.g., indicated by hand form and orientation) increases the relative degree of multisensory temporal integration. Conflicting findings, however, come from a study by Keys, Rich and Zopf \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\]. This study also investigated the effect of viewed hand orientation on the degree of temporal integration but with a visuo-tactile asynchrony detection task. In the first experiment, participants viewed model hands in either anatomically plausible or implausible orientations. In a second experiment, the RHI was induced using synchronous touch in addition to the orientation manipulation to strengthen the multisensory cues indicating one's own body. In both experiments, participants detected short delays (40--280 ms) between a visual stimulus (a flash from an LED on the model hand) and a tactile stimulus (a tap to the fingertip of the participant's hidden hand). Each trial had two intervals, one in which the visual and tactile stimuli were synchronous and another where these were asynchronous. Participants indicated whether the asynchronous interval appeared first or second. The authors calculated and compared asynchrony detection thresholds between orientation conditions. They found that visual orientation cues did not influence detection accuracy for small visuo-tactile asynchronies, supported by Bayesian analyses to estimate the strength of evidence for the null result. There are several potential explanations for the conflicting findings between these studies that investigated whether viewing visual body cues affects temporal integration. Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] used an asynchrony detection task whereas the two studies that reported an effect \[[@pone.0224174.ref026], [@pone.0224174.ref027]\] used a TOJ task. These tasks may pick up on different mechanisms \[[@pone.0224174.ref029]\]. There are also differences in terms of the ecological validity. Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] used realistic visual and tactile virtual stimuli where an object touched the hand, whereas the other two studies had visual stimuli consisting of a light flash presented next to the viewed object (a 3D plaster hand or a drawing of a hand) combined with a tap on the participant's own hand. This could have affected whether the visual and tactile signals were perceived to 'belong together' and hence the degree of temporal integration. Finally, Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] used relatively large samples of 30 (Experiment 1) and 31 participants (Experiment 2) whereas both Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] and Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] used much smaller samples (12 --including the two authors---and 14, respectively) and it is unclear if these studies used a procedure to check for outliers. Current focus on methodological issues in experimental psychology and other sciences have emphasised the potential for false positive effects when using small sample sizes \[[@pone.0224174.ref030]--[@pone.0224174.ref033]\]. In sum, the discrepancy in findings regarding the modulation of visuo-tactile temporal integration of bodily signals is currently unclear; it could be due to task differences, variation in ecological validity and small sample sizes. Findings also differ between studies investigating the effect of visual cues on the temporal integration of visuo-tactile stimuli reviewed above and those exploring visuo-proprioceptive bodily signals. Hoover and Harris \[[@pone.0224174.ref034]\] presented participants with videos of their own finger movements, either from a plausible or implausible perspective. By introducing small delays between the actual movement and visual feedback, they investigated whether visual body orientation cues modulate participants' temporal perception using an asynchrony detection task. Results suggested that viewing a hand from plausible perspective led to greater sensitivity for small temporal delays relative to an implausible viewpoint. Similarly, a study by Zopf, Friedman and Williams \[[@pone.0224174.ref035]\] using a 3D virtual reality set-up found an effect of both visual form and orientation cues on visuo-proprioceptive temporal perception. These findings suggest that visual form and orientation cues indicating one's own body modulate temporal integration of visuo-proprioceptive inputs, and that these lead to smaller (instead of larger) thresholds to detect temporal delays. In other words, when multisensory inputs are perceived to belong to one's own body, temporal signals coming from visual and proprioceptive modalities seem to be relatively more segregated, resulting in a better ability to detect temporal delays. This different pattern of results raises the possibility that temporal processing of visuo-tactile and visuo-proprioceptive events may depend on different mechanisms (however, note that both studies investigating visuo-proprioceptive processing also used small samples of between 10 and 12 participants). It is therefore important to establish whether visual cues indeed modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration. Visual cues seem to play an essential role in the spatial and temporal processing of bodily signals, but the exact mechanisms remain unknown due to limited and conflicting findings, especially in the visuo-tactile domain. Here, we investigate the processes underlying visuo-tactile integration of bodily signals, addressing some of the inconsistencies between previous studies. We tested if visual form and orientation cues modulate the degree of temporal integration with a visuo-tactile TOJ task, realistic visual and tactile stimuli, and pre-registered methods including a sampling plan based on Bayes factor (BF) thresholds for sufficiently large evidence \[[@pone.0224174.ref036], [@pone.0224174.ref037]\] and a procedure for outlier detection. Our research questions were: 1) Does the visual presentation of touch to a human hand compared to a non-body object modulate visuo-tactile TOJs? and 2) Does a plausible hand orientation compared to an implausible orientation modulate visuo-tactile TOJs? We hypothesised that if visual form and orientation cues increase the degree of either temporal integration or segregation, then we would find larger or smaller JNDs respectively when viewing touch to a hand with a plausible orientation compared to a non-hand object or compared to an implausible orientation. In contrast, the null-hypothesis is that there is no effect of viewing condition on temporal integration as measured by JNDs. Methods {#sec002} ======= Preregistration {#sec003} --------------- We preregistered this study including the two hypotheses, planned methods and the data analysis plan before data collection. We followed this plan with two exceptions. First, we listed the subject pool as undergraduate students but also tested participants from the university community who responded to university advertising (e.g., postgraduate students). Second, for our Bayesian analyses we specified a predicted effect size based on previous studies including those that looked at the effect of visual cues on visuo-proprioceptive temporal integration. Based on comments from a reviewer, we subsequently changed the effect size calculation to only include studies that investigated visuo-tactile integration specifically. This does not change the predicted effect size (20 ms), so the actual results did not change due to this diversion. All materials, including the presentation script and videos, raw and summary data and analysis scripts, are available at ([osf.io/grw57](https://osf.io/grw57), registration date 06/06/2018). Participants {#sec004} ------------ We planned to test 15 participants before calculating a BF to check if our data were sensitive enough to favour our alternative hypothesis over the null hypothesis or vice versa \[[@pone.0224174.ref037]\]. This initial sample size is based on previous studies that reported an effect of visual form or orientation cues on temporal integration \[[@pone.0224174.ref026], [@pone.0224174.ref027], [@pone.0224174.ref034], [@pone.0224174.ref035]\]. These studies all had sample sizes between 10 and 14 participants. Conventionally, a BF (calculated as BF~10~) larger than 3 indicates that the data provide moderate evidence for the alternative hypothesis and a BF smaller than 1/3 indicates that the data provide moderate evidence for the null hypothesis \[[@pone.0224174.ref038], [@pone.0224174.ref039]\]. A BF larger than 10:1 indicates strong evidence \[[@pone.0224174.ref039]\] and a BF smaller than 3:1 (i.e., BF between 1/3 and 3) indicates a lack of sensitivity to support one hypothesis over the other. We specified that we would continue data collection until results for both our research questions reached a BF larger than 10:1. If restricted by time, we planned to accept a BF larger than 3:1 as sufficient evidence. We continued data collection after the first 15 participants as the result for one of the two research questions had not yet reached a BF larger than 10:1. Then, due to time restrictions, we finished testing before the results converged on a BF larger than 10:1; they did reach the second level of 3:1. Our sample before exclusions consisted of 42 right-handed individuals with normal or corrected-to-normal vision (mean age = 26.5 years, age range = 18--58, SD = 9.1 years, 27 female). Our final sample after exclusions is reported in the results section. Participants provided written consent and received \$15 per hour for participation. The Macquarie University Human Research Ethics committee approved the study. Stimuli {#sec005} ------- ### Visual stimulus {#sec006} For the visual stimuli, we manipulated the object that was being touched. These consisted of videos depicting touch to (a) a human hand in a plausible orientation; (b) a sponge; and (c) a human hand in an implausible orientation (see [Fig 1A](#pone.0224174.g001){ref-type="fig"}). To avoid confounding factors, we used DaVinci Resolve video editing software to create videos that were identical in terms of the timing, movement and location of the touch. ![Visual stimuli and experimental setup.\ (A) Screenshots of the videos depicting touch to either a human hand in a plausible orientation (left), a sponge (middle) or a human hand in an implausible orientation (right). Examples of each of the three condition videos can be found on the OSF page for this project: [osf.io/grw57](https://osf.io/grw57). (B) Participants watched videos of a hand or sponge being touched and indicated whether the seen touch or the felt touch came first by pressing one of two response keys with their left hand. To mask any noise from the tactile stimulator, participants listened to white noise via headphones. Viewing distance was kept constant with a chin rest.](pone.0224174.g001){#pone.0224174.g001} First, we filmed two videos, one of a stationary human hand and one of a stationary sponge. We used actual video footage over a static image was to increase the visual realism, for example, due to very small jitter and blood flow in the hand. We used a sponge for the control condition as it depresses to touch in the same way as a hand. The sponge was matched with the hand (size, light, shade, colour and white balance) so that it differed only in form. Second, to create a realistic touch event where the surface was slightly indented upon touch, we filmed a black stick touching a green patch (16 mm in diameter) placed on a soft material. This meant that after editing it actually looked as if the hand and the sponge were being touched but the touch was identical across conditions. Another benefit of showing an indentation is that the exact moment of touch stands out more prominently, which is important for the TOJ task. This recreation of real touch could only be achieved by filming the stick touching a coloured surface so that it could later on be etched and separated from the background with the shadows intact. We changed the colour of the green patch to be white in the editing software, so there was less visual difference. Third, we overlaid a hand coming into the screen and touching a white dot with a stick onto the video of the stationary hand and sponge. We created the implausible hand orientation video by flipping the video with the plausible hand orientation and then overlaying the touch video. Finally, we cut each video into separate frames using MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, Massachusetts, U.S.A) so we could control the onset and presentation of the video frames relative to the tactile stimulus across the three conditions. All presented videos consisted of 62 frames (presented for 33.33 ms per frame) resulting in approximately two-second videos. To keep participants focused and reduce expectancy effects, we varied the exact moment at which the visual touch happened in each video. Each trial consisted of 62 frames but we randomly moved the start and end frame by 0--5 frames forwards or backwards in the sequence. The five frames on either side of these 62 frames depicted a stationary hand or sponge (before and after the stick has come in for the touch) so for each trial a video showed a complete touch action. These were presented on an ASUS monitor which was 60 cm wide and 34 cm high with a refresh rate of 60 hz. The hands and sponge presented on the screen were 19 cm high and were presented at a viewing distance of 48 cm, resulting in a visual angle of 22 degrees. The vertical distance between the top of the participant's hand and the bottom of the hands and sponge on the screen was approximately 15 cm. ### Tactile stimulus {#sec007} The tactile stimulus was a 30 ms pulse of the vibrotactile stimulator, which applied a tap to the back of the participant's hand via an electromagnetic solenoid-type vibrotactile stimulator (diameter: 18 mm and probe height: 12 mm, Dancer Design, St. Helens, UK; dancerdesign.co.uk) and an amplifier (TactAmp 4.2 with a D25 serial port, Dancer Design). Before the start of the experiment, the tactile stimulator was attached to the back of the participant's right hand, just below the junction between the hand and the middle finger (the metacarpophalangeal joint), and covered with black fabric to hide it from view. A printed screenshot of the hand video was initially placed next to the participant's right hand to match the relative location of the tactor as closely as possible to the relative location of observed touch on the screen. The touch stimulus closely matched the visual touch from the stick in the videos in terms of phenomenology and duration. To mask any noise from the tactor, participants listened to white noise via around the ear, closed-back headphones (Sennheiser HD 280 pro, 64 ohm). We presented and controlled stimulus presentation with MATLAB and the Psychophysics Toolbox \[[@pone.0224174.ref040], [@pone.0224174.ref041]\]. Task and procedure {#sec008} ------------------ Participants removed jewellery from their hands, and then sat in front of a computer screen with their chins on a chinrest. The participant's right hand was placed in front on the table and aligned with the middle of the computer screen (see [Fig 1B](#pone.0224174.g001){ref-type="fig"} for the experimental setup). Participants responded by pressing the H or J key on a keyboard with the middle and index finger of the left hand. A yellow and blue sticker (corresponding to either 'visual-first' or 'tactile-first') were placed over the H and J response keys. To eliminate the effect of any response bias, half the participants responded to the 'visual-first' cue with their index finger and to the 'tactile-first' cue with their middle finger, and for the other half of participants this was the other way around. A description of the responses was placed next to the response keys as a reminder for the participants. During each trial, participants watched one of the three videos and felt a touch on their own right hand. The tactile stimuli were presented with one of the following SOAs relative to the visual touch: ± 33, ± 67, ± 100, ± 133, ± 167 ± 200 ± 333 ms (negative values represent a tactile-leading stimulus and positive values show a visual-leading stimulus). The task was to determine for each trial whether the visual touch on the screen or the felt touch on one's hand came first (forced choice). Inter-trial timing was jittered to reduce the likelihood of participants getting into a routine response. The next trial started 800\~1200 ms after a response was recorded. There were scheduled breaks and a participant could choose to take a break or continue the experiment by pressing the space bar. Participants performed a practice block to become familiar with the task and the button responses. On each of the practice trials participants received feedback on whether a response was correct or incorrect. For the practice block, the participants completed 84 trials with each SOA presented twice per condition (randomly intermingled). During the experiment, participants did not receive feedback on their performance. For each of the three conditions, there were 20 trials with 14 different SOAs resulting in 840 trials in total presented in a random order. The practice run and experiment combined took approximately one hour to complete. After the experiment, participants filled out three questionnaires which took another 20 minutes (see additional measures section below). Data analysis {#sec009} ============= For our main analysis, we compared the mean JNDs between the experimental conditions across the group. To calculate each participant's individual JNDs, we first calculated the proportion of 'visual-first' responses for each SOA in each condition. For example, 0 = 0% 'visual-first'/100% 'tactile-first' responses and 100 = 100% 'visual-first'/0% 'tactile-first' responses. We then fitted a sigmoid function (cumulative Gaussian distributions) to the proportion of 'visual-first' responses using maximum likelihood estimation using the MATLAB Palamedes toolbox (Prins and Kingdom \[[@pone.0224174.ref042]\]; [www.palamedestoolbox.org](http://www.palamedestoolbox.org)). We then calculated each participant's JND for each of the three conditions from the fitted psychometric functions, using the formula: JND = (75% point---25% point)/2. Another measure often reported is the participants' point of subjective simultaneity (PSS), which is the SOA at the 50% crossover point (the same number of 'visual-first' and 'tactile-first' responses) \[[@pone.0224174.ref043]\]. Here, the PSS does not provide relevant information about the strength of coupling between the visual and tactile stimuli \[[@pone.0224174.ref023]\], so we have not included it, but we present these data on the OSF page for this study as it may be useful for meta-analyses. We excluded data sets for participants based on three criteria: (1) a JND larger than three standard deviations from the group mean in any condition; (2) any of the three curves (representing the three conditions) failing to converge on a solution for fitting a sigmoid function (in the excluded subjects there are clear straight lines instead of the expected convergence on sigmoid functions); or (3) incomplete data due to a technical error or failure to perform the task. We performed Bayesian t-tests, which require a specification of the theory which is tested against the null hypothesis (i.e., the probability of different effects given the alternative theory \[[@pone.0224174.ref037]\]). We specified a plausible predicted effect size based on the findings by Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] and Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] which resulted in an average of 20 ms. We set our predicted effect size at 20 ms in either direction. We used the same informative prior for both our hypotheses and specified a normal distribution with the mean set to zero, the standard deviation set to 20 and the tails set to two-sided. We calculated the BF in MATLAB with a script downloaded from Dienes' online calculator (<http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/Zoltan_Dienes/inference/Bayes.htm>). An informative prior (as opposed to a non-informative or default prior) contains information that is relevant to the estimation of the model and consequently the choice of prior can impact the final estimates \[[@pone.0224174.ref044]\]. To check to what extent our final estimates depend on our informative prior, we also performed a robustness check with the statistical software JASP ([www.jasp-stats.org](http://www.jasp-stats.org)) using JASP's range of default priors. We used a Cauchy prior for the size of the effect and specified a non-directional alternative hypothesis. We planned to sequentially plot the BFs as data were collected, which does not require any corrections for multiple comparisons \[[@pone.0224174.ref045]\]. This produces a visual impression of when the BFs are converging on a specific level of evidence which favours one hypothesis over another \[[@pone.0224174.ref046]\]. To visualise the data, we used R including the package ggplot2 \[[@pone.0224174.ref047]\]. Additional measures and exploratory analyses {#sec010} ============================================ Mirror-touch synaesthesia (MTS) is a condition where observing touch to another person results in an experience of touch on the observer's own body \[[@pone.0224174.ref048]\]. It is possible that multisensory interactions are generally enhanced in synaesthesia (including MTS) which could potentially result in an increased degree of temporal integration \[[@pone.0224174.ref049], [@pone.0224174.ref050]\]. To ensure we were able to detect and exclude MTS participants, we used short synaesthesia questionnaires. The first questionnaire screened for synaesthesia in general, the second for MTS specifically (adapted from Ward, Schnakenberg and Banissy \[[@pone.0224174.ref051]\]). Our adapted MTS screener consisted of 20 of the Ward et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref051]\] short video clips depicting touch to a human or an inanimate object and four videos of someone scratching their chest or upper arm. After each video participants were asked whether they experienced anything on their body, how they would describe the sensation and where on their body it was felt. We planned to analyse the data both with and without potential mirror-touch synaesthetes to see if this influenced the outcome. Finally, we planned to explore if, in our sample, larger JNDs for the hand condition compared to the sponge condition correlated with higher empathy scores. Ward et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref051]\] tested for different categories of empathy: cognitive empathy (predicting others' thoughts and feelings), social skills (being able to interact with others appropriately) and emotional reactivity (intuitively understanding how people feel). They found that the latter was increased in MTS. This type of empathy could also be related to increased temporal integration in non-synaesthetes. To explore this, we had participants fill out a short empathy questionnaire \[[@pone.0224174.ref052]\], which was divided into the same three categories as previously used by Ward et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref051]\]. Results {#sec011} ======= Exclusions {#sec012} ---------- Data from six participants were removed due to a JND larger than three standard deviations from the group mean for at least one of the three conditions. For four out of the same six participants (but not for any of the others) the condition fits also failed to converge on a solution for a sigmoid function. Two participants had incomplete datasets due to a technical error and one participant failed to perform the task. After the exclusion of these nine participants, there were 33 participants (mean age = 26.3 years, age range = 18--55, SD = 8.3 years, 20 female) included in the analysis. Just-noticeable difference (JND) {#sec013} -------------------------------- We calculated the average proportion of 'visual-first' responses (derived before fitting the data) and plotted this against SOAs for the three conditions. As can be seen in [Fig 2A](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"}, the averaged proportions were similar across the three conditions. [Fig 2B](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"} depicts both participants' individual JNDs (derived from individual data fits) and the group mean JNDs for the three conditions. This shows that the mean JNDs are very similar for the three conditions: hand plausible orientation mean JND = 104 ms, SD = 45 ms, 95% CI \[88, 119\], hand implausible orientation mean JND = 102 ms, SD = 42 ms, 95% CI \[87, 116\] and sponge mean JND = 102 ms, SD = 46 ms, 95% CI \[86, 118\]. [Fig 2C](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"} depicts the condition differences. The mean difference for the plausibly orientated hand versus sponge comparison was 1.39 ms, 95% CI \[-3.50, 6.28\] and for the plausibly versus implausibly orientated hand comparison this was 1.48 ms, 95% CI \[-4.94, 7.88\]. [Fig 2C](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"} also shows that there was considerable variability for the JND differences between participants, with differences ranging from -40 to 29 ms for the form and -29 to 32 ms for the orientation comparison. !['Visual-first' responses and JND results.\ (A) Averaged proportion of 'visual-first' responses plotted against SOAs for the three conditions. The averaged 'visual-first' responses for the different conditions are very similar. Note that we fitted sigmoid functions to the data of each participant and then calculated JNDs for each participant and condition. (B) Bar graph showing mean JNDs for each of the three conditions with JND estimates from individual participants indicated by scatter points. (C) Bar graphs showing the mean JND differences for the two comparisons. JND differences from individual participants are indicated by scatter points and show high between-subject variability (ΔJND form = JND hand plausible orientation--JND sponge and ΔJND orientation = JND hand plausible orientation--JND hand implausible orientation). Error bars represent 95% CI.](pone.0224174.g002){#pone.0224174.g002} Bayesian analysis {#sec014} ----------------- We calculated the BF~10~ with a Bayesian t-test to test if visual cues in terms of form and orientation modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration. First, to test for the effect of form, we compared the group mean JND between the plausible hand orientation and sponge condition. [Fig 3](#pone.0224174.g003){ref-type="fig"} depicts the development of the BF as a function of the number of participants tested. As data accumulates with more participants being tested, evidence converges and the BF increasingly supports the null hypothesis indicated by values smaller than 1 \[[@pone.0224174.ref053]\]. Results indicate moderate evidence (BF = 0.178) that body form did not have an influence on the precision of TOJs. In other words, the data were 5.61 (1/0.178) times more likely under the null hypothesis than the alternative hypothesis. It is interesting to note that the BF in [Fig 3](#pone.0224174.g003){ref-type="fig"} (plausible hand orientation versus sponge) does cross the BF \> 10 threshold with less than twenty subjects. However, this is likely due to noise as data points have not converged, potentially because of the variability in the data \[[@pone.0224174.ref046]\]. This emphasises the importance of having larger sample sizes. We next tested if hand orientation modulates visuo-tactile TOJs by comparing the group mean JND between the plausible hand orientation and implausible hand orientation (see [Fig 3](#pone.0224174.g003){ref-type="fig"}). A Bayesian t-test indicates moderate evidence (BF = 0.144) that the JND for the two conditions is not different. In other words, the data were 6.94 (1/0.144) times more likely under the null hypothesis than the alternative hypothesis. To check the impact of the prior on our analysis, we also performed an analysis and robustness check in JASP using the default priors. This indicated that evidence for the null hypothesis is stable across a range of specified parameters which suggests that our analysis is robust. ![Sequential plotting of the Bayes factors.\ We compared the two conditions: plausible hand orientation versus sponge (left panel) and plausible hand orientation versus implausible hand orientation (right panel). Sequential plotting of the BF shows that the BFs start to converge at N = 20 (plausible hand orientation versus sponge) and N = 24 (plausible hand orientation versus implausible hand orientation), which in both cases provides moderate evidence to support the null hypothesis.](pone.0224174.g003){#pone.0224174.g003} Questionnaires (planned exploratory research) {#sec015} --------------------------------------------- To assess MTS, participants filled out a screening questionnaire. Two participants had a score \>7 (they scored 10 and 12), which Ward et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref051]\] suggest is a potential indication of MTS. To ensure that the data from these two participants did not influence our outcome, we also calculated the BFs without data from these two participants, which did not change the pattern of results (mean difference plausible hand orientation vs. sponge = 1.53 ms, BF = 0.19, mean difference plausible hand orientation vs. implausible hand orientation = 1.89 ms, BF = 0.17). The short synaesthesia questionnaire did not pick up other types of synaesthesia in any of the participants. We also explored if larger JNDs for the hand condition compared to the sponge condition correlated with higher empathy scores. A Bayesian analysis demonstrated positive correlations for cognitive empathy (r = 0.36, BF = 1.69) and social skills (r = 0.39, BF = 2.47) but not for emotional reactivity (r = -0.14, B = 0.29). However, the BFs indicate a lack of sensitivity and more research is needed to further investigate this. Discussion {#sec016} ========== To successfully interact with the environment, the brain needs to establish which unisensory signals belong to the same object or event despite small intersensory spatiotemporal differences that may be present \[[@pone.0224174.ref011], [@pone.0224174.ref012]\]. A Bayesian causal inference model proposes that multisensory perception relies on causal inference to establish the probabilities as to which unimodal inputs share a common source and should therefore be integrated (or otherwise segregated due to separate sources). This framework might also apply to the processing of spatial and temporal signals from visual, tactile and proprioceptive modalities to establish body ownership \[[@pone.0224174.ref024]\]. However, limited and conflicting empirical evidence exists regarding the temporal integration of bodily signals. In this study we used a TOJ task to test whether viewing touch to a hand with a plausible orientation compared to a non-hand object and compared to a hand with an implausible orientation modulates the relative degree of visuo-tactile temporal integration. We hypothesised that if visual form and orientation cues influence the degree of either temporal integration or segregation, this would result in larger or smaller JNDs respectively when comparing the three conditions. Results show that group mean JNDs were the same across our three conditions. Bayesian analysis further indicates moderate evidence that neither body form (BF = 0.178) or orientation (BF = 0.144) had an influence on the precision of TOJs. These findings suggest that plausible visual cues do not modulate the degree of integration (or segregation) of visual and tactile bodily inputs. Previous studies that investigated the effect of visual cues on the degree of visuo-tactile temporal integration have reported conflicting findings \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]--[@pone.0224174.ref028]\]. Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] used an asynchrony detection task, and found no effects. In contrast, two studies using a TOJ task reported an effect \[[@pone.0224174.ref026], [@pone.0224174.ref027]\]. Asynchrony detection involves simply detecting a temporal delay (irrespective of order) whereas TOJ tasks involve detecting the specific temporal order of stimuli. It is possible that only tasks involving temporal order are affected by the plausibility of the context for the multisensory stimuli. Here, we used a TOJ task to test this possibility, but also found evidence for no effect. This suggests that the reported results do not depend on the type of task. As Bayesian causal inference models propose that the degree of multisensory integration is influenced by a causal inference process that determines the relative probability that signals belong together or not \[[@pone.0224174.ref019]--[@pone.0224174.ref021]\], a realistic pairing between a visual and tactile touch stimulus might be important to observe modulations in multisensory integration. A study might therefore fail to show an effect if the stimuli are normally unlikely to co-occur, such as in the Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] study. In that study, the visual stimulus was a light presented next to a 3D plaster hand, paired with a tactile stimulus on the participant's own hand. Outside of the laboratory, this is not a common co-occurrence (light flashes next to our hands together with a touch), and so these stimuli may not have been integrated as 'belonging together'. In contrast, Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] used realistic stimuli, where participants observed a touch to a virtual hand and felt a presumably similar touch. However, Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] reported an effect with artificial stimuli, consisting of a light presented on a line drawing of a hand paired with a tactile touch, suggesting that these stimuli should be sufficiently realistic to modulate temporal integration. An important motivation for the current study was to test the effect of visual cues on temporal integration with a realistic pairing between the visual and tactile stimulus. Our videos were of a real touch to a human hand along with a tactile tap that matched in terms of size, shape, pressure and duration. Thus, our results suggest that even when the visual and tactile stimulus more realistically 'belong together' (compared to Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] and Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\]), causal inference does not modulate the degree of temporal integration. Another aspect that could have influenced the ecological validity is whether the visual hand stimulus is presented in 2D or 3D. Both Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] and Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] reported an effect with 2D and 3D stimuli respectively whereas the current study and Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] found evidence for the null with 2D and 3D hands. Further, previous studies show that simple 2D hand images are sufficient to establish interactions between visual and tactile stimuli \[[@pone.0224174.ref026], [@pone.0224174.ref054], [@pone.0224174.ref055]\]. Thus, it does not seem to be the dimensionality of the visual hand that determines the effect (or lack thereof). In addition, we presented the hand on a computer screen which results in a mismatch in the orthogonal rotation between the presented hand and the participant's own hand. This could have influenced our results, however this seems improbable as Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] presented their hand stimuli in the same orthogonal rotation as the participant's hand and also reported evidence for the null. Future studies could investigate any potential effect of the orthogonal rotation of the hand on temporal integration. Finally, it is possible that causal inference only affects the degree of temporal integration when the visual and tactile stimuli come in physical contact with each other. Questionnaire results in the study by Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] showed that participants felt as if their index finger was actually being touched by the virtual wheel, suggesting an explicit inference of a common cause. This might be the reason why this study found causal inference effects on temporal integration. In sum, the discrepancy in findings is unlikely due to variation in the ecological validity of the stimuli. However, it is possible that visual cues only modulate visuo-tactile TOJs when the visual and tactile stimulus join in space and this could be further tested in future experiments. The conflicting findings may also be influenced by the relative sample sizes. Both the current study and the Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] study used relatively large sample sizes combined with a clearly defined sampling plan to ensure sensitive data for hypothesis evaluation and a procedure to check for outliers. Studies with high power and a complete analysis strategy are typically more robust and therefore less easily influenced by outliers and analytical flexibility \[[@pone.0224174.ref030]--[@pone.0224174.ref032]\]. In addition, our results show large individual differences between JNDs, ranging from -40 to 29 ms for the form comparison and -29 to 32 ms for the orientation comparison (see [Fig 2C](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"}) and this was also the case in the study by Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] (range of JNDs between \~-50 to \~100 ms for Experiment 1 and \~-50 to \~50 ms for Experiment 2, see their Figs [2B](#pone.0224174.g002){ref-type="fig"} and [3A](#pone.0224174.g003){ref-type="fig"}; Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] did not report on individual participant data). Noise due to data variability may strongly affect outcomes on a TOJ task, especially when sample sizes are small \[[@pone.0224174.ref030], [@pone.0224174.ref031], [@pone.0224174.ref056]\]. To make sure our experiment produced sensitive data to either support our alternative or null hypothesis we based our sample size on a Bayesian analysis. Of course, it is always possible that there is an effect that is so small in the context of the variance within the task and participants, that we have not detected it. However, our methods give us considerable evidence for there being no effect of visual cues on the degree of visuo-tactile temporal integration of bodily signals. Our findings suggest a difference between the temporal processing of visuo-tactile and visuo-proprioceptive bodily stimuli. Hoover and Harris \[[@pone.0224174.ref034]\] and Zopf et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref035]\] demonstrated that visual form and orientation cues led to greater sensitivity to detect small temporal delays, which suggests that visual plausibility leads to relatively more segregation of visual and proprioceptive temporal inputs. Our data, however, together with Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\], show that such visual cues do not modulate visuo-tactile integration. Thus, it appears that different mechanisms could underlie the temporal processing of visuo-tactile and visuo-proprioceptive bodily inputs. A Bayesian causal inference model for body ownership suggests that evidence for a common source influences the degree of temporal and spatial integration of visual, tactile and proprioceptive inputs \[[@pone.0224174.ref024]\]. Findings in the temporal domain that show no effect on the degree of temporal integration (the current study and \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\]) and those showing increased temporal segregation \[[@pone.0224174.ref034], [@pone.0224174.ref035]\], do not fit within this general framework. On the other hand, studies with the RHI do suggest that plausible visual cues can promote spatial integration of visuo-proprioceptive bodily signals. In addition, findings from crossmodal congruency tasks also show effects of visual form and orientation cues on visuo-tactile spatial interactions which might also indicate spatial integration \[[@pone.0224174.ref054], [@pone.0224174.ref055], [@pone.0224174.ref057], [@pone.0224174.ref058]\] (although this is debated as effects could merely occur on a response level \[[@pone.0224174.ref059], [@pone.0224174.ref060]\]). Evidence for a Bayesian causal inference framework for the integration of bodily signals therefore comes predominantly from the spatial domain (although see more recent findings by Motyka and Litwin \[[@pone.0224174.ref061]\]). [Table 1](#pone.0224174.t001){ref-type="table"} provides an overview of selected papers that investigated the effect of visual cues on temporal and spatial integration or segregation of bodily signals. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.t001 ###### Selected papers that directly test visual context (form and orientation) effects on temporal and spatial integration of visual, tactile and proprioceptive bodily inputs. ![](pone.0224174.t001){#pone.0224174.t001g} Temporal effects Spatial effects --------------------------------------------------- ------------------ ----------------- ----------- -------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Current study ✓ ✓ TOJ 33 No integration or segregation Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] ✓ SJ 30, 31 No integration or segregation Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\] ✓ ✓ TOJ 12 Integration Maselli et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref027]\] ✓ TOJ 14 Integration Zopf et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref035]\] ✓ ✓ SJ 10, 12, 11 Segregation Hoover and Harris \[[@pone.0224174.ref034]\] ✓ SJ 10 Segregation Igarashi et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref058]\] ✓ CCT 22 Integration Igarashi et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref055]\] ✓ CCT 8, 12 Integration Pavani et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref057]\] ✓ ✓ CCT 10, 10 Integration Tsakiris et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref008]\] ✓ JHP (RHI) 40 Integration Holmes et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref025]\] ✓ ✓ Reaching 18, 21, 24, 12, 12 Integration Tsakiris and Haggard \[[@pone.0224174.ref006]\] ✓ ✓ JHP (RHI) 8, 8, 10,14 Integration Costantini and Haggard \[[@pone.0224174.ref009]\] ✓ JHP (RHI) 16 Integration ^a^ Significant (p \< 0.05 or equivalent) report of visual form and/or orientation cues influencing temporal and spatial integration/segregation. ^b^ Temporal order judgement (TOJ) task, synchrony judgement (SJ) task, crossmodal congruency task (CCT), judgement of hand position (JHP), rubber hand illusion (RHI). ^c^ The research into visuo-tactile spatial interactions, referenced here, involves crossmodal congruency tasks, and it is not clear whether these results also indicate spatial integration or merely an effect at the response selection level. The measured JNDs in the current study are relatively large compared to previous studies that used more basic stimuli (e.g., Keetels and Vroomen \[[@pone.0224174.ref062]\]). This could be due to the complex nature of the visual stimuli as it might be harder to extract their onset compared to simple stimuli such as light flashes. Sensitivity for temporal order on a TOJ task has generally been shown to deteriorate when more complex stimuli are used \[[@pone.0224174.ref027], [@pone.0224174.ref063]\]. This sensory temporal noise in the visual touch signal could influence the probability estimate for a common cause for the visual and tactile touch signals \[[@pone.0224174.ref015]\]. It is thus possible that any additional influence from the visual cues (form and orientation) on the the assumption of a common cause (i.e., common cause prior) might have been too small and not measurable in the context of the stimuli we used. In other words, a Bayesian causal inference mechanism for temporal integration which takes into account body form and orientation could in principle still hold up and further testing and computational modeling would be required to evaluate the evidence for this model. However, an important motivation for our study was to use naturalistic stimuli to investigate temporal processes for body perception and our results provide evidence that under these conditions, the relative degree of temporal integration is not modulated by the body form and orientation context. Shimada et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref005]\] also used naturalistic body stimuli and showed that participants still integrate bodily signals and experience a strong bodily illusion even for relatively large temporal differences between viewed and felt touch (300 ms). In contrast, here we show that naturalistic touch stimuli can on average be reliably separated when there is a 104 ms difference. This suggests that even when signals are processed as being temporally separate, in bodily illusions these might still be perceptually integrated on a non-temporal dimension. Perception in bodily illusions is likely influenced not just by temporal cues but also by other types of information such as the plausibility of the visual context and factors such as temporal recalibration or attention \[[@pone.0224174.ref006], [@pone.0224174.ref043]\]. This may result in the observation of less strict temporal constraints as reported by Shimada et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref005]\]. Our finding suggests that the visual context on its own does not modulate the degree of temporal integration. Conflicting findings regarding an effect of causal inference on the degree of temporal integration have also been reported in the audio-visual domain. For example, in the case of speech perception, Vatakis and Spence \[[@pone.0224174.ref064]\] showed with a TOJ task that temporal lags between auditory and visual stimuli are less likely to be perceived when there is other evidence that the stimuli belong to the same multisensory event. Participants were presented with videos and sounds at different SOAs that were either congruent or incongruent in terms of gender (e.g., a female face combined with either a female or male voice, respectively) and phonemic content (e.g., a female pronouncing /ba/ combined with the sound /ba/ or /da/). JNDs were larger for both congruent gender and phonemic content compared to incongruent content, which indicates less precision. These results suggest that a plausible context that is consistent with a common cause for auditory and visual speech stimuli can modulate the degree of temporal integration. Further, Parise and Spence \[[@pone.0224174.ref023]\] demonstrated that certain correspondences between properties in different modalities can increase the degree of spatial and temporal integration of auditory and visual stimuli not related to human speech. In a TOJ task, the authors presented participants with pairs of spatially or temporally discrepant auditory and visual stimuli that were either matched (e.g., a small circle presented with a high-pitched tone) or mismatched (e.g., a small circle presented with a low-pitched tone). Results showed larger JNDs for matched compared to mismatched stimuli, suggesting reduced access to intersensory conflicts. The authors conclude that crossmodal correspondences between the stimuli increased spatial and temporal integration of auditory and visual non-speech signals. Other studies however, have not been able to find a causal inference effect on the degree of temporal integration of auditory and visual non-speech stimuli. For instance, Vatakis, Ghazanfar and Spence \[[@pone.0224174.ref065]\] used a TOJ task and presented participants with matched and mismatched audio-visual stimuli which consisted of: 1) one call-type made by two different monkeys, 2) two different call-types from the same monkey, 3) a person versus monkey 'cooing,' and 4) speech sounds produced by a male and a female person. Results show that participants' performance was only affected in the case of human speech stimuli, not when observing matched versus mismatched monkey calls or human imitations of monkey calls (see also Vatakis and Spence \[[@pone.0224174.ref066]\] for similar findings). This suggests that contextual information could modulate audio-visual temporal integration, but that this might be limited to certain stimuli. To better understand multisensory processing, more research is needed across different modalities to clarify how certain properties between multisensory events may or may not affect temporal integration. Thus overall, the influence of high-level contextual cues on the degree of temporal integration remains unclear. However, the major factors that are thought to modulate how multisensory events are integrated in time are the temporal and spatial proximity of signals \[[@pone.0224174.ref043], [@pone.0224174.ref067]\]. Studies show for example that increased spatial separation between cross-modal signals improves sensitivity for temporal order in TOJ tasks \[[@pone.0224174.ref068]--[@pone.0224174.ref070]\]. One explanation is that closeness in space indicates a single underlying cause, which increases relative intersensory binding and limits access to the temporal properties of individual signals. Alternatively, when there is a spatial gap between stimuli, participant could also rely on spatial position as an additional cue to establish which modality was presented first. This in turn could lead to smaller JNDs compared to when there are no or very small spatial discrepancies \[[@pone.0224174.ref068]\]. With respect to our results, the spatial distance between the viewed object and the hidden hand could be another potential cause for the discrepant findings (also see Keys et al. \[[@pone.0224174.ref028]\] for a similar discussion). It is important to note, however, that our spatial differences are less than half the distance of studies that found positive effects (Ide and Hidaka \[[@pone.0224174.ref026]\], 30--50 cm). Future research could systematically investigate the role of spatial distance on temporal effects and how these spatial cues might interact with contextual body cues. Conclusion {#sec017} ========== Our study provides compelling evidence, supported by Bayesian analysis, that visual form and orientation cues do not modulate the degree of temporal integration of visuo-tactile bodily signals. This finding is in contrast to findings for visuo-proprioceptive bodily signals, in which visual plausibility results in enhanced segregation. Thus, it appears that the underlying temporal mechanisms are different for visuo-tactile and visuo-proprioceptive integration. Bayesian causal inference models propose that evidence for a common source increases the degree of both spatial and temporal integration of multisensory inputs. Studies with the RHI indeed show that a plausible context can promote the inference of a common cause (one's body) resulting in spatial integration of visuo-proprioceptive signals. Conversely, the current and previous findings suggest that a plausible context does not result in an increased degree of temporal integration of bodily signals and hence are inconsistent with the idea that cues indicating oneself modulate the integration of multisensory signals in the temporal domain. Further, research into the effects of higher-level cues such as context on temporal integration is limited and conflicting in the multisensory literature more broadly. Thus generally, more research, including computational modelling, is needed to provide better insight into the factors that influence how multisensory events are integrated. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r001 Decision Letter 0 Longo Matthew Academic Editor © 2019 Matthew Longo 2019 Matthew Longo This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 9 Jul 2019 PONE-D-19-14549 Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration PLOS ONE Dear Dr Smit, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. I have now obtained two reviews of your paper. As you will see, both reviewers are positive about your study and believe that it should be published, as do I. Both reviewers have made a number of comments and suggestions about how your study could be improved. I would like to invite to you revise your paper in light of these comments, which I do not think should be difficult. We would appreciate receiving your revised manuscript by Aug 23 2019 11:59PM. When you are ready to submit your revision, log on to <https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/> and select the \'Submissions Needing Revision\' folder to locate your manuscript file. If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. To enhance the reproducibility of your results, we recommend that if applicable you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io, where a protocol can be assigned its own identifier (DOI) such that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: <http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols> Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript: A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). This letter should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Response to Reviewers\'.A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. This file should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes\'.An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. This file should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Manuscript\'. Please note while forming your response, if your article is accepted, you may have the opportunity to make the peer review history publicly available. The record will include editor decision letters (with reviews) and your responses to reviewer comments. If eligible, we will contact you to opt in or out. We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript. Kind regards, Matthew Longo, Ph.D. Academic Editor PLOS ONE Journal Requirements: 1\. When submitting your revision, we need you to address these additional requirements. Please ensure that your manuscript meets PLOS ONE\'s style requirements, including those for file naming. The PLOS ONE style templates can be found at <http://www.journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=wjVg/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_main_body.pdf> and <http://www.journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=ba62/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_title_authors_affiliations.pdf> \[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.\] Reviewers\' comments: Reviewer\'s Responses to Questions Comments to the Author 1\. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. Reviewer \#1: Partly Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 2\. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? Reviewer \#1: I Don\'t Know Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 3\. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available? The [PLOS Data policy](http://www.plosone.org/static/policies.action#sharing) requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data---e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party---those must be specified. Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: No \\\\\\\\\\ 4\. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English? PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here. Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 5\. Review Comments to the Author Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters) Reviewer \#1: Summary of the Research and Overall Impression \- The focus of this research is centered around the question of how sensory cues modulate multisensory integration for body perception. In particular, this study used a visuo-tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task to test whether visual form and orientations cues could cause temporal integration. Comparisons were made between three conditions (hand in a plausible orientation; hand in an implausible orientation; sponge as a non-hand object) \- The authors provide an extensive literature review that looked at various aspects of multisensory integration. Individual studies are described in quite a lot of detail but are used to relate and put the current study into context with previous findings. \- Potential issues and limitations of previous studies were effectively identified and they aimed to remove some of these in the current study. \- The findings showed that the three conditions did not differ, implying that visual form and orientation cues do not modulate temporal integration of visuo-tactile bodily signals. The authors focus the discussion on the conflicting findings in previous studies and conclude that the underlying mechanisms involved in multisensory integration appear to be different depending on the modalities used. Examples and Evidence Major Issues: \- 1) Since the introduction jumps right into a detailed review of the literature, it was a bit unclear what the current study was going to look at until the final paragraph. This made it harder to follow the logic of how and why the research questions fit into existing literature. \- 2) The discussion repeats a lot of what was said in the introduction about the limitations and how the studies differ. A lot of those details included in the introduction about each study could be moved to the discussion to provide more support for the claims and conclusions made. This would also help to streamline the introduction and make it easier to follow what the current study is focused on. \- 3) Besides for methodologies and analyses, any possible thoughts or ideas about what factors might be influencing how multisensory events are integrated into time? Minor Issues: \- 3) Paragraph indentation is inconsistent throughout the manuscript. \- Methods: \- 4) The first paragraph (lines 1 -- 8) of the "Apparatus and stimuli" section has a lot of information that is repeated throughout the rest of the methods. It might be more appropriate later in the section or in the "Procedure" section. \- 5) Subheadings could be useful to organize and describe the different types of stimuli used. \- 6) For the 2nd criteria for data exclusion, how/what was used to determine if a curve had failed to converge on a solution for fitting a sigmoid function? Reviewer \#2: Smit and colleagues tested the effect of visual 'compellingness' on visual-tactile temporal integration windows. To this aim, they presented videos of hands (oriented in different directions) and a sponge being touched as visual stimuli. Using Bayes factors, the authors confirmed the absence of any effects on visual-tactile temporal order judgments. The study is carefully designed, results and analysis are sound. However, the authors might want to consider the alternative explanations for the absence of an effect listed below. The measured JNDs a very large compared to previous studies (e.g., Keetels & Vroomen, 2008). This might be related to the nature of the visual stimuli; their onset could be harder to identify than that of simple flashes. Importantly, it is possible that the visual stimulus category had no influence on temporal integration windows because the noise of the visual temporal estimate dominated over the general assumption of a common cause in causal inference (Koerding et al., 2007, Eq. 2). In other words, the likelihoods of a common and of separate causes (Eqs. 4 and 6) might have been so small, that the size of p common hardly influenced the probability assigned to a common cause. Some additional differences between the different studies should be included in the discussion. 1) Some of the studies used 3d hand stimuli, others 2d hand stimuli. 2) When a 2d hand is presented via the monitor (as in the current study) there is a mismatch between the real hand which is rotated orthogonal to gravity and the depicted hand which is rotated in the same direction as gravity. There are fundamental differences between the current study design (and that of other cited studies) and the rubber hand illusion. Most importantly, the rubber hand illusion has to be induced by synchronous stroking of both hands. Therefore, the authors might focus stronger on those studies with a closer relation to the present study and reduce the references to the rubber hand illusion. It seems to be an interesting coincidence that after collection of a dozen datasets the BF provides strong evidence in favor of a form effects. The authors might want to comment on this. p\. 17 + Figure 3 Please clarify a) whether the Cauchy prior which parameters have been tested is a prior on the size of the effect and b) how the directionality of the effect could be ignored when setting a prior on the effect size. Moreover, it seems more reasonable to assume an effect size based on visual-tactile studies rather than mixing visual-tactile and visual-proprioceptive studies. The PSE provides no relevant information and could be dropped entirely. Did participants receive feedback during the practice block? Figure 2A Please include error bars p\. 20 '95%CI' -\> '95% CI' \\\\\\\\\\ 6\. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article ([what does this mean?](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/editorial-and-peer-review-process#loc-peer-review-history)). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files. If you choose "no", your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public. Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.plos.org/privacy-policy). Reviewer \#1: No Reviewer \#2: No \[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link \"View Attachments\". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files to be viewed.\] While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, <https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/>. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email us at <figures@plos.org>. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r002 Author response to Decision Letter 0 19 Aug 2019 Reviewer \#1 \- The focus of this research is centered around the question of how sensory cues modulate multisensory integration for body perception. In particular, this study used a visuo-tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task to test whether visual form and orientations cues could cause temporal integration. Comparisons were made between three conditions (hand in a plausible orientation; hand in an implausible orientation; sponge as a non-hand object) - The authors provide an extensive literature review that looked at various aspects of multisensory integration. Individual studies are described in quite a lot of detail but are used to relate and put the current study into context with previous findings. - Potential issues and limitations of previous studies were effectively identified and they aimed to remove some of these in the current study. - The findings showed that the three conditions did not differ, implying that visual form and orientation cues do not modulate temporal integration of visuo-tactile bodily signals. The authors focus the discussion on the conflicting findings in previous studies and conclude that the underlying mechanisms involved in multisensory integration appear to be different depending on the modalities used. Response: We thank the reviewer for the constructive comments and respond to each below. Major Issues: 1\) Since the introduction jumps right into a detailed review of the literature, it was a bit unclear what the current study was going to look at until the final paragraph. This made it harder to follow the logic of how and why the research questions fit into existing literature. Response: We have now added a clear aim for our study at the end of the first paragraph of the introduction (p. 3) to make it apparent early on why our study is important and how it fits into the existing literature. 2\) The discussion repeats a lot of what was said in the introduction about the limitations and how the studies differ. A lot of those details included in the introduction about each study could be moved to the discussion to provide more support for the claims and conclusions made. This would also help to streamline the introduction and make it easier to follow what the current study is focused on. Response: We thank the reviewer for this suggestion. We have now included one succinct paragraph (p. 7) describing the most relevant differences between the studies (task differences, ecological validity and small samples) in the Introduction to provide clear motivation for our study design. We moved most of the details to the "Discussion" section and we agree with the reviewer that this adds strength to our conclusions. We also moved the section on audio-visual studies to the "Discussion" section. The introduction is now more streamlined and focused. 3\) Besides for methodologies and analyses, any possible thoughts or ideas about what factors might be influencing how multisensory events are integrated into time? Response: The major factors that can influence how multisensory events are integrated in time are the spatial and temporal proximity of the signals. These relate to some of the methodological issues we raised but we had not discussed it explicitly, so thank you for the question. We have added a final paragraph to the "Discussion" section (p. 29) on this. "Thus overall, the influence of high-level contextual cues on temporal integration remains unclear. However, the major factors that are thought to modulate how multisensory events are integrated in time are the temporal and spatial proximity of signals \[42, 64\]. Studies show for example that increased spatial separation between cross-modal signals improves sensitivity for temporal order in TOJ tasks \[65-67\]. One explanation is that closeness in space indicates a single underlying cause, which increases intersensory binding and limits access to the temporal properties of individual signals. Alternatively, when there is a spatial gap between stimuli, participant could also rely on spatial position as an additional cue to establish which modality was presented first. This in turn could lead to smaller JNDs compared to when there are no or very small spatial discrepancies \[65\]. With respect to our results, the spatial distance between the viewed object and the hidden hand could be another potential cause for the discrepant findings (also see Keys et al. \[27\] for a similar discussion). It is important to note, however, that our spatial differences are less than half the distance of studies that found positive effects (Ide and Hidaka \[25\], 30 -- 50 cm). Future research could systematically investigate the role of spatial distance on temporal effects and how these spatial cues might interact with contextual body cues." Minor Issues: 3\) Paragraph indentation is inconsistent throughout the manuscript. Response: We thank the reviewer for the thoroughness in checking the formatting. We have checked and corrected inconsistent paragraph indentation. Methods: 4\) The first paragraph (lines 1 -- 8) of the "Apparatus and stimuli" section has a lot of information that is repeated throughout the rest of the methods. It might be more appropriate later in the section or in the "Procedure" section. Response: We moved the first paragraph from the "Apparatus and stimuli" section to the "Task and procedure" section (p. 14). We changed the heading from "Procedure" to "Task and procedure" and the heading "Apparatus and stimuli" to just "Stimuli". We changed Fig 1 A and B (p. 11) around so it's in line with the text (stimuli first and then procedure). We also carefully checked for repetition and consolidated these sections. 5\) Subheadings could be useful to organize and describe the different types of stimuli used. Response: We thank the reviewer for the feedback. We added the subheadings "Visual stimulus" and "Tactile stimulus" to our "Methods" section (p.11). We also used better paragraph structure to organise this section. 6\) For the 2nd criteria for data exclusion, how/what was used to determine if a curve had failed to converge on a solution for fitting a sigmoid function? Response: We determined this by examining each plot. In the excluded subjects there are clear straight lines instead of the expected convergence on sigmoid functions. To make this clear to the reader we added the following information in the "Method" section (p. 16): "We excluded data sets for participants based on three criteria: (1) a JND larger than three standard deviations from the group mean in any condition; (2) any of the three curves (representing the three conditions) failing to converge on a solution for fitting a sigmoid function (in the excluded subjects there are clear straight lines instead of the expected convergence on sigmoid functions); or (3) incomplete data due to a technical error or failure to perform the task." Reviewer \#2 Smit and colleagues tested the effect of visual 'compellingness' on visual-tactile temporal integration windows. To this aim, they presented videos of hands (oriented in different directions) and a sponge being touched as visual stimuli. Using Bayes factors, the authors confirmed the absence of any effects on visual-tactile temporal order judgments. The study is carefully designed, results and analysis are sound. However, the authors might want to consider the alternative explanations for the absence of an effect listed below. Response: We thank the reviewer for the helpful comments and respond to each below. 1\) The measured JNDs a very large compared to previous studies (e.g., Keetels & Vroomen, 2008). This might be related to the nature of the visual stimuli; their onset could be harder to identify than that of simple flashes. Importantly, it is possible that the visual stimulus category had no influence on temporal integration windows because the noise of the visual temporal estimate dominated over the general assumption of a common cause in causal inference (Koerding et al., 2007, Eq. 2). In other words, the likelihoods of a common and of separate causes (Eqs. 4 and 6) might have been so small, that the size of p common hardly influenced the probability assigned to a common cause. Response: We thank the reviewer for this point. If we understand correctly, the reviewer is suggesting that even if there is an effect of visual context, this may have been too small to detect due to a noisy inference caused by the visual touch stimulus. An important motivation for our study was to use naturalistic and complex stimuli to investigate temporal processes for body perception more broadly. Indeed our measured JNDs are relatively large compared to studies that involved more simple stimuli. This could be due to stimulus complexity as sensitivity for temporal order on a TOJ task has generally been shown to deteriorate when more complex stimuli are used (Vatakis & Spence, 2006; Vroomen & Keetels, 2010). This would explain why Maselli, Kilteni, López-Moliner, and Slater (2016) reported similarly large JNDs (up to 180ms) because their study also involved complex and moving visual stimuli (e.g., a rotating wheel that moved towards the participant's virtual finger). However, it is possible that the noisiness of the data mean that an effect exists but that it's too small in this context to pick up. We have added the following to the manuscript to acknowledge this (p. 25). "Noise due to data variability may strongly affect outcomes on a TOJ task, especially when sample sizes are small \[29, 30, 56\]. To make sure our experiment produced sensitive data to either support our alternative or null hypothesis we based our sample size on a Bayesian analysis. Of course, it is always possible that there is an effect that is so small in the context of the variance within the task and participants, that we have not detected it. However, our methods give us considerable evidence for there being no effect of visual cues on visuo-tactile temporal integration of bodily signals." 2\) Some additional differences between the different studies should be included in the discussion. 1) Some of the studies used 3d hand stimuli, others 2d hand stimuli. 2) When a 2d hand is presented via the monitor (as in the current study) there is a mismatch between the real hand which is rotated orthogonal to gravity and the depicted hand which is rotated in the same direction as gravity. Response: We thank the reviewer for this insightful point and agree that the difference in using 2D or 3D hand images and the orthogonal rotation of the hand are important to note. We have now included this in the paragraphs on ecological validity in our "Discussion" section (p.23), please see below. "Another aspect that could have influenced the ecological validity of the visual stimulus is whether the visual hand stimulus is presented in 2D or 3D. Both Ide and Hidaka \[25\] and Maselli et al. \[26\] reported an effect with 2D and 3D stimuli respectively whereas the current study and Keys et al. \[27\] found evidence for the null with 2D and 3D hands. Further, previous studies show that simple 2D hand images are sufficient to establish interactions between visual and tactile stimuli \[25, 54, 55\]. Thus, it does not seem to be the dimensionality of the visual hand that determines the effect (or lack thereof). In addition, we presented the hand on a computer screen which results in a mismatch in the orthogonal rotation between the presented hand and the participant's own hand. This could have influenced our results, however this seems improbable as Keys et al. \[27\] presented their hand stimuli in the same orthogonal rotation as the participant's hand and also reported evidence for the null. Future studies could investigate any potential effect of the orthogonal rotation of the hand on temporal integration." 3\) There are fundamental differences between the current study design (and that of other cited studies) and the rubber hand illusion. Most importantly, the rubber hand illusion has to be induced by synchronous stroking of both hands. Therefore, the authors might focus stronger on those studies with a closer relation to the present study and reduce the references to the rubber hand illusion. Response: We thank the reviewer for this comment and it has prompted us to clarify why we discuss the rubber hand illusion. Our highlight of research with the rubber hand illusion was to demonstrate that besides spatial and temporal cues, visual form and orientation cues play an important role in the spatial integration of visual and proprioceptive inputs. This suggests that visual cues might also influence the integration of visual and tactile temporal inputs, which forms the motivation for our study. We have added a note to clarify this in the "Introduction" section (p. 3), please see below. "For instance, the RHI is reduced when the object lacks certain hand-like features \[8\], or when it is rotated at an improbable angle in relation to the participant's own body \[9, 10\]. This demonstrates that besides temporal cues, visual form and orientation cues play an important role in perceiving one's own body. However, the mechanism by which visual cues might modulate the integration of multisensory bodily stimuli still remains unclear. Further research into this process is fundamental for our understanding of how we perceive our bodies and interact with objects in the world around us. Motivated by the RHI literature, in this study, we use videos of touch combined with a felt touch to investigate if form and orientation cues directly influence the temporal integration of visual and tactile inputs." 4\) It seems to be an interesting coincidence that after collection of a dozen datasets the BF provides strong evidence in favor of a form effects. The authors might want to comment on this." Response: We agree with the reviewer and discuss this observation in the "Bayes factors and robustness check" section (p. 20). Our study really emphasises the need for large samples to be sure positive effects are robust. 5\) p. 17 + Figure 3 Please clarify a) whether the Cauchy prior which parameters have been tested is a prior on the size of the effect and b) how the directionality of the effect could be ignored when setting a prior on the effect size. Moreover, it seems more reasonable to assume an effect size based on visual-tactile studies rather than mixing visual-tactile and visual-proprioceptive studies. Response: We thank the reviewer for this point. We have now specified in the "Data analysis" section (p. 17) that we used the default Cauchy prior for the size of the effect and that we specified a non-directional alternative hypothesis. Based on our review of the literature, there could have been an effect in either direction and thus our alternative hypothesis was not directional (as pre-registered). Based on the reviewer's feedback, we have re-calculated the Bayes factor with the one-tailed Dienes calculator -- we found the following evidence for the null: BF = 5.08 (orientation) and BF = 4.18 (form). This evidence is slightly weaker than we reported in the paper (evidence for the null, BF= 6.94 for orientation and BF = 5.61 for form) but still provides moderate evidence. As previous evidence suggested there could be effects in either direction, we would prefer to stick with our pre-registered non-directional prior, but if the reviewer feels strongly we could add an additional comment about this post-hoc check. The reason we mixed evidence from visuo-tactile and visuo-proprioceptive studies to establish our predicted effect size is because it gave us more data and hence a better informed prior. However, if we look only at the visuo-tactile studies that found an effect, we get the same predicted effect size: Maselli et al. (2016) reported 28 ms and Ide and Hidaka (2013) reported 12 ms; average = 20 ms. Again, if the reviewer would like, we can add an additional comment to this effect to the paper. 6\) The PSE provides no relevant information and could be dropped entirely. Response: We have cut the PSS report and analysis. Instead, in the "Data analysis" section (p. 15) we refer to our PSS data on the project's OSF page in case the reader would like to find this information. 7\) Did participants receive feedback during the practice block? Response: Yes, participants received feedback during the practice block and we have now added this information to the "Procedure" section (p. 14). 8\) Figure 2A Please include error bars p. 20 '95%CI' -\> '95% CI' Response: We have now included 95% CI in this figure (p. 19). References Costantini, M., & Haggard, P. (2007). The rubber hand illusion: sensitivity and reference frame for body ownership. Consciousness and cognition, 16(2), 229-240. Ehrsson, H. H., Spence, C., & Passingham, R. E. (2004). That\'s my hand! Activity in premotor cortex reflects feeling of ownership of a limb. Science, 305(5685), 875-877. Ide, M., & Hidaka, S. (2013). Visual presentation of hand image modulates visuo--tactile temporal order judgment. Experimental Brain Research, 228(1), 43-50. Igarashi, Y., Kitagawa, N., & Ichihara, S. (2004). Vision of a pictorial hand modulates visual-tactile interactions. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 4(2), 182-192. Igarashi, Y., Kitagawa, N., Spence, C., & Ichihara, S. (2007). Assessing the influence of schematic drawings of body parts on tactile discrimination performance using the crossmodal congruency task. Acta psychologica, 124(2), 190-208. Keys, R. T., Rich, A. N., & Zopf, R. (2018). Multisensory temporal processing in own-body contexts: plausibility of hand ownership does not improve visuo-tactile asynchrony detection. Experimental Brain Research, 236(5), 1431-1443. Maselli, A., Kilteni, K., López-Moliner, J., & Slater, M. (2016). The sense of body ownership relaxes temporal constraints for multisensory integration. Scientific reports, 6, 30628. Radeau, M. (1994). Auditory-visual spatial interaction and modularity. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive/Current Psychology of Cognition, 13(1), 3--51. Shimada, S., Fukuda, K., & Hiraki, K. (2009). Rubber hand illusion under delayed visual feedback. PloS one, 4(7), e6185. Spence, C., Baddeley, R., Zampini, M., James, R., & Shore, D. I. (2003). Multisensory temporal order judgments: When two locations are better than one. Perception & Psychophysics, 65(2), 318-328. Spence, C., Shore, D. I., & Klein, R. M. (2001). Multisensory prior entry. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(4), 799. Tsakiris, M., Carpenter, L., James, D., & Fotopoulou, A. (2010). Hands only illusion: multisensory integration elicits sense of ownership for body parts but not for non-corporeal objects. Experimental Brain Research, 204(3), 343-352. Vatakis, A., & Spence, C. (2006). Audiovisual synchrony perception for music, speech, and object actions. Brain research, 1111(1), 134-142. Vroomen, J., & Keetels, M. (2010). Perception of intersensory synchrony: a tutorial review. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(4), 871-884. Zampini, M., Shore, D. I., & Spence, C. (2003). Audiovisual temporal order judgments. Experimental Brain Research, 152(2), 198-210. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r003 Decision Letter 1 Longo Matthew Academic Editor © 2019 Matthew Longo 2019 Matthew Longo This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 17 Sep 2019 PONE-D-19-14549R1 Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration PLOS ONE Dear Dr Smit, Thank you for submitting your revised paper to PLOS ONE. As you will see, both reviewers were generally satisfied with the revisions you have made based on their previous comments. Reviewer 2, however, continues to have concerns about your interpretation of your results, and has made some details comments. I would therefore like to invite you to respond to this issue, and to review your paper appropriately. Based on your response, I will make a decision about whether to send the paper back to Reviewer 2 for further comment. We would appreciate receiving your revised manuscript by Nov 01 2019 11:59PM. When you are ready to submit your revision, log on to <https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/> and select the \'Submissions Needing Revision\' folder to locate your manuscript file. If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. To enhance the reproducibility of your results, we recommend that if applicable you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io, where a protocol can be assigned its own identifier (DOI) such that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: <http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols> Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript: A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). This letter should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Response to Reviewers\'.A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. This file should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes\'.An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. This file should be uploaded as separate file and labeled \'Manuscript\'. Please note while forming your response, if your article is accepted, you may have the opportunity to make the peer review history publicly available. The record will include editor decision letters (with reviews) and your responses to reviewer comments. If eligible, we will contact you to opt in or out. We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript. Kind regards, Matthew Longo, Ph.D. Academic Editor PLOS ONE \[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.\] Reviewers\' comments: Reviewer\'s Responses to Questions Comments to the Author 1\. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the "Comments to the Author" section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the "Confidential to Editor" section, and submit your \"Accept\" recommendation. Reviewer \#1: All comments have been addressed Reviewer \#2: (No Response) \\\\\\\\\\ 2\. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: Partly \\\\\\\\\\ 3\. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 4\. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available? The [PLOS Data policy](http://www.plosone.org/static/policies.action#sharing) requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data---e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party---those must be specified. Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 5\. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English? PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here. Reviewer \#1: Yes Reviewer \#2: Yes \\\\\\\\\\ 6\. Review Comments to the Author Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters) Reviewer \#1: Great job with responding to and addressing all of the comments. The changes have greatly improved the introduction and overall paper. I have no additional comments or concerns. Reviewer \#2: The authors did a nice job in revising the manuscript. However, I must insist that there is a good explanation of the results within the causal inference framework and, thus, the conclusion cannot include a rejection of or any speculation about the causal inference model. My previous comment on this issue obviously did not a good job in explaining why this is the case, so I have included more details about the model logic. Bayes in the Brain Rejecting a model without fitting it to the data is a problematic endeavor, as it is very hard to predict the outcome of complex models without model implementation. The current study shows that visual form and orientation cues have no effect on visual-tactile temporal integration windows. However, this result is not sufficient to reject the causal inference model for temporal integration. The reason lies in the inner workings of the causal inference model. The authors assume that the visual manipulations affect participants' common cause prior which in turn would affect the weight given to the integrated estimate (also see comment below about terminology). Such an effect could become visible in the size of the integration window, i.e., the JND. However, the size of the mixture weights depends not exclusively on the common cause prior but also on the sensory signals, i.e., the likelihoods and the sensory prior(s): In the model, the probability that the two measurements that arrived in the brain stem from one cause (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=1)) and the probability that the same signals originate from different causes are calculated (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=2)) and then multiplied with the common cause prior to derive a posterior estimate of the probability of a common cause given the signals (P(C=1\\|x_t, x_v)). This probability is then used to calculate the mixture weights. As a consequence, a change in the common cause prior will only measurably affect the mixture weights and thus the integration window, if the sensory information about a common cause is ambiguous. Here, it seems very unlikely that this is the case. The visual stimuli are likely to result in wide likelihoods (which has nothing to do with sample size, that is a different kind of noise) because the exact time point of the stimulation might be hard to extract compared to a flash of light. The large JNDs indeed could indicate such wide likelihoods. If the sensory information of one modality is quite uncertain, the probability that the two measurements that arrived in the brain stem from one cause (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=1)) will be high. Thus, the influence of changes in the common cause prior will not be noticeable. Additionally, the large JNDs might indicate a very high common cause prior in any condition, which would make it even more unlikely to notice the effects of a change in the common cause prior with visual form and orientation. This is because an increase in the common cause prior from 0.4 to 0.6 could lead to more drastic behavioral changes than an increase from 0.7 to 0.9 (and again, this depends on the sensory information). Taken together, the authors cannot make any claim about the validity of the causal inference model for temporal integration. However, this is not necessarily bad. The study used realistic stimuli. Thus, even within the model we learn that under naturalistic conditions any effect of general information regarding the unity of the signals (i.e., the common cause prior) diminishes due to the dominance of sensory information. Side note: as laid out above, in the model, the brain does not decide between integration and separation (as the text sometimes states) but derives both estimates and integrates them weighted by the probability of the underlying scenario. There are now multiple modeling and imaging studies that support that both estimates are derived. From a model perspective, integration itself can either be based on the optimal weights or not, but integration cannot be weak or strong (the text speaks of strong temporal integration). The same holds from a physiological perspective, the effects can be weak or strong but integration itself can only be present or absent. The multisensory community usually uses the terms wide and narrow temporal integration windows. Bayesian Statistics Some aspects of the Bayesian analysis are still a bit confusing, which might be due to the fact that toolboxes with built-in options were used. I recommend simplifying, so that readers can concentrate on the main message. 1\) The visual-proprioceptive studies should not be used for the effect size estimation, simply because touch and proprioception are different modalities. 2\) Given the small difference between the BF scores, the bi-directional hypothesis should be fine. 3\) Figure 3 might well do more harm than good by simply distracting readers. Readers who are not informed about Bayesian statistics will not understand why the choice of prior over effect size matters. Readers savvy in Bayesian statistics usually are not too fond of toolboxes and thus will not really care for Figure 3. Those readers who need to be convinced that the effect which is looks very evident in Figure 2 is not dependent on the choice of prior should be satisfied with the text saying that the robustness was verified. Minor points \- The results figures look very blurry in the reviewer pdf. The authors might want to check what is going on there before the paper goes into production. \- There are several instances in which 95%CI should be replaced with 95% CI. \\\\\\\\\\ 7\. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article ([what does this mean?](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/editorial-and-peer-review-process#loc-peer-review-history)). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files. If you choose "no", your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public. Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.plos.org/privacy-policy). Reviewer \#1: No Reviewer \#2: No \[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link \"View Attachments\". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files to be viewed.\] While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, <https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/>. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email us at <figures@plos.org>. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r004 Author response to Decision Letter 1 4 Oct 2019 Response to Reviewer \#2 (Reviewer) The authors did a nice job in revising the manuscript. However, I must insist that there is a good explanation of the results within the causal inference framework and, thus, the conclusion cannot include a rejection of or any speculation about the causal inference model. My previous comment on this issue obviously did not a good job in explaining why this is the case, so I have included more details about the model logic. Bayes in the Brain Rejecting a model without fitting it to the data is a problematic endeavor, as it is very hard to predict the outcome of complex models without model implementation. The current study shows that visual form and orientation cues have no effect on visual-tactile temporal integration windows. However, this result is not sufficient to reject the causal inference model for temporal integration. The reason lies in the inner workings of the causal inference model. The authors assume that the visual manipulations affect participants' common cause prior which in turn would affect the weight given to the integrated estimate (also see comment below about terminology). Such an effect could become visible in the size of the integration window, i.e., the JND. However, the size of the mixture weights depends not exclusively on the common cause prior but also on the sensory signals, i.e., the likelihoods and the sensory prior(s): In the model, the probability that the two measurements that arrived in the brain stem from one cause (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=1)) and the probability that the same signals originate from different causes are calculated (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=2)) and then multiplied with the common cause prior to derive a posterior estimate of the probability of a common cause given the signals (P(C=1\\|x_t, x_v)). This probability is then used to calculate the mixture weights. As a consequence, a change in the common cause prior will only measurably affect the mixture weights and thus the integration window, if the sensory information about a common cause is ambiguous. Here, it seems very unlikely that this is the case. The visual stimuli are likely to result in wide likelihoods (which has nothing to do with sample size, that is a different kind of noise) because the exact time point of the stimulation might be hard to extract compared to a flash of light. The large JNDs indeed could indicate such wide likelihoods. If the sensory information of one modality is quite uncertain, the probability that the two measurements that arrived in the brain stem from one cause (P(x_t, x_v\\|C=1)) will be high. Thus, the influence of changes in the common cause prior will not be noticeable. Additionally, the large JNDs might indicate a very high common cause prior in any condition, which would make it even more unlikely to notice the effects of a change in the common cause prior with visual form and orientation. This is because an increase in the common cause prior from 0.4 to 0.6 could lead to more drastic behavioral changes than an increase from 0.7 to 0.9 (and again, this depends on the sensory information). Taken together, the authors cannot make any claim about the validity of the causal inference model for temporal integration. However, this is not necessarily bad. The study used realistic stimuli. Thus, even within the model we learn that under naturalistic conditions any effect of general information regarding the unity of the signals (i.e., the common cause prior) diminishes due to the dominance of sensory information. Response: We thank the reviewer for providing more detail in relation to the previous comment. We have added an additional paragraph in the discussion section to address the relatively large JNDs and the possibility that any additional influence of the visual manipulations on the the assumption of a common cause might have been too small due to noise from the visual stimulus, and hence potentially not measurable in the context of the stimuli we used: "The measured JNDs in the current study are relatively large compared to previous studies that used more basic stimuli (e.g., Keetels and Vroomen \[1\]). This could be due to the complex nature of the visual stimuli as it might be harder to extract their onset compared to simple stimuli such as light flashes. Sensitivity for temporal order on a TOJ task has generally been shown to deteriorate when more complex stimuli are used \[2, 3\]. This sensory temporal noise in the visual touch signal could influence the probability estimate for a common cause for the visual and tactile touch signals \[4\]. It is thus possible that any additional influence from the visual cues (form and orientation) on the the assumption of a common cause (i.e., common cause prior) might have been too small and not measurable in the context of the stimuli we used. In other words, a Bayesian causal inference mechanism for temporal integration which takes into account body form and orientation could in principle still hold up and further testing and computational modeling would be required to evaluate the evidence for this model. However, an important motivation for our study was to use naturalistic stimuli to investigate temporal processes for body perception and our results provide evidence that under these conditions, the relative degree of temporal integration is not modulated by the body form and orientation context." (p. 28) Further, as noted by the reviewer, we did not fit our data to the model and therefore cannot refute it. We have changed the wording in the abstract and conclusion so that it only states that our results are not in line with broad predictions by the model. We also mention the need for future computational modelling: "Results show that visual cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal order judgements. This is not in line with the idea that bodily signals indicating oneself influence the integration of multisensory signals in the temporal domain." (p.2) "Conversely, the current and previous findings suggest that a plausible context does not result in an increased degree of temporal integration of bodily signals and hence are inconsistent with the idea that cues indicating oneself modulate the integration of multisensory signals in the temporal domain. Further, research into the effects of higher-level cues such as context on temporal integration is limited and conflicting in the multisensory literature more broadly. Thus generally, more research, including computational modelling, is needed to provide better insight into the factors that influence how multisensory events are integrated." (p.31) (Reviewer) Side note: as laid out above, in the model, the brain does not decide between integration and separation (as the text sometimes states) but derives both estimates and integrates them weighted by the probability of the underlying scenario. There are now multiple modeling and imaging studies that support that both estimates are derived. From a model perspective, integration itself can either be based on the optimal weights or not, but integration cannot be weak or strong (the text speaks of strong temporal integration). The same holds from a physiological perspective, the effects can be weak or strong but integration itself can only be present or absent. The multisensory community usually uses the terms wide and narrow temporal integration windows. Response: We thank the reviewer for this point and the opportunity to clarify this aspect in the manuscript. We have revised the section where we introduce and discuss the Bayesian causal inference model so that it more accurately reflects the relative weighting of causal structures for common and separate causes and thus the relative degree of integration: "The brain constantly receives signals from different sensory modalities with some variability between the exact timing or location, and these are either combined into the same multisensory event or kept separate \[5, 6\]. One proposal is that the processing of multisensory signals relies on computational mechanisms for causal inference to determine the probability that the individual unisensory signals belong to the same object or event. This account holds that the brain computes probabilities for common and separate causes, which then provide the weights given to the integrated and separated perceptual estimates. These relative weights determine the degree of integration versus separation of multisensory signals \[7\]. Bayesian causal inference models can therefore provide a unified theory for the perception of multisensory events, including their spatial and temporal characteristics \[4, 8-11\]. On this view, the degree of integration versus separation can be influenced by previous knowledge that signals belong to one and the same object or event, and repeated experience that signals are statistically likely to co-occur \[12-14\]. (p.3) "A causal inference process might also govern the binding and integration of bodily signals \[15\]. Depending on whether the brain infers a common cause for inputs or not, it integrates or segregates spatial and temporal signals coming from visual, tactile and proprioceptive modalities. Visual cues such as body form and orientation could function as causal binding factors (i.e., influence the relative probabilities for a common versus a separate cause) as these indicate whether or not inputs originated from the same source (e.g., one's own hand)." (p.4) "A Bayesian causal inference model proposes that multisensory perception relies on causal inference to establish the probabilities as to which unimodal inputs share a common source and should therefore be integrated (or otherwise segregated due to separate sources)." (p.21) We have also changed some of the wording throughout the text which is highlighted in yellow. For example, we avoid the terms "weaker versus stronger" integration and instead use "the relative degree of integration" (see for example Shams and Beierholm \[7\] who also use these terms). For overall clarity however, we decided not to use the terminology 'temporal integration window / temporal binding window' (often defined as "the epoch of time within which stimuli from different modalities are likely to be integrated and perceptually bound", e.g., Wallace and Stevenson \[16\]). This integration window can be measured by manipulating the temporal difference between multisensory stimuli and then test how this affects perceptual integration (see for example the McGurk effect: Van Wassenhove, Grant and Poeppel \[17\] or the Rubber Hand Illusion: Shimada, Fukuda and Hiraki \[18\]). Instead we predominantly talk about larger / smaller JNDs as we tested the influence of context on the relative degree of multisensory temporal integration (i.e., the threshold for asynchrony at which temporal order can be reliably established). It is possible that even when signals are perceived as temporally separate due to temporal asynchronies, these signals might still be perceptually bound on non-temporal dimensions, as for example observed in the rubber hand illusion. We have mentioned this in the Discussion: "This suggests that even when signals are processed as being temporally separate, in bodily illusions these might still be perceptually integrated on a non-temporal dimension. Perception in bodily illusions is likely influenced not just by temporal cues but also by other types of information such as the plausibility of the visual context and factors such as temporal recalibration or attention \[6, 43\]. This may result in the observation of less strict temporal constraints as reported by Shimada et al. \[5\]. Our finding suggests that the visual context on its own does not modulate the degree of temporal integration." (p. 28) (Reviewer) Some aspects of the Bayesian analysis are still a bit confusing, which might be due to the fact that toolboxes with built-in options were used. I recommend simplifying, so that readers can concentrate on the main message. Response: We have now simplified our "Bayesian analysis" section (see also our response under point 3 below). (Reviewer) 1\) The visual-proprioceptive studies should not be used for the effect size estimation, simply because touch and proprioception are different modalities. Response: We have made a note in the text based on the reviewer's feedback. We no longer use visuo-proprioceptive studies to estimate the predicted effect size: "We preregistered this study including the two hypotheses, planned methods and the data analysis plan before data collection. We followed this plan with two exceptions. First, we listed the subject pool as undergraduate students but also tested participants from the university community who responded to university advertising (e.g., postgraduate students). Second, for our Bayesian analyses we specified a predicted effect size based on previous studies including those that looked at the effect of visual cues on visuo-proprioceptive temporal integration. Based on comments from a reviewer, we subsequently changed the effect size calculation to only include studies that investigated visuo-tactile integration specifically. This does not change the predicted effect size (20 ms), so the actual results did not change due to this diversion." (p.9) (Reviewer) 2\) Given the small difference between the BF scores, the bi-directional hypothesis should be fine. Response: Thank you. (Reviewer) 3\) Figure 3 might well do more harm than good by simply distracting readers. Readers who are not informed about Bayesian statistics will not understand why the choice of prior over effect size matters. Readers savvy in Bayesian statistics usually are not too fond of toolboxes and thus will not really care for Figure 3. Those readers who need to be convinced that the effect which is looks very evident in Figure 2 is not dependent on the choice of prior should be satisfied with the text saying that the robustness was verified. Response: For Figure 3 we have taken out sections B and C so that it only shows the sequential plotting of Bayes factors plotted in R based on our informed prior. We have also adapted this in the text and only briefly mention that robustness was verified in JASP: "To check the impact of the prior on our analysis, we also performed an analysis and robustness check in JASP using the default priors. This indicated that evidence for the null hypothesis is stable across a range of specified parameters which suggests that our analysis is robust." (p.20) (Reviewer) Minor points The results figures look very blurry in the reviewer pdf. The authors might want to check what is going on there before the paper goes into production. Response: We thank the reviewer for checking the quality of the figures. We agree the figures in the compiled PDF look somewhat blurry. We have checked the uploaded figures by downloading them with the links found at the top of page 48, 49 and 50 of the compiled PDF and these do appear to have high resolution. We hope the publisher will let us know if we could provide the images in a different format to improve the compiled PDF. (Reviewer) There are several instances in which 95%CI should be replaced with 95% CI. Response: We have amended this in the text. References 1\. Keetels M, Vroomen J. Temporal recalibration to tactile--visual asynchronous stimuli. Neuroscience letters. 2008;430(2):130-4. 2\. Vatakis A, Spence C. Audiovisual synchrony perception for music, speech, and object actions. Brain research. 2006;1111(1):134-42. 3\. Maselli A, Kilteni K, López-Moliner J, Slater M. The sense of body ownership relaxes temporal constraints for multisensory integration. Scientific Reports. 2016;6:30628. 4\. Körding KP, Beierholm U, Ma WJ, Quartz S, Tenenbaum JB, Shams L. Causal inference in multisensory perception. PLoS one. 2007;2(9):e943. 5\. Calvert G, Spence C, Stein BE. The handbook of multisensory processes. Cambridge: MIT press; 2004. 6\. Stein BE, Meredith MA. The merging of the senses. Cambridge: MIT Press; 1993. 7\. Shams L, Beierholm UR. Causal inference in perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2010;14(9):425-32. 8\. Beierholm UR, Quartz SR, Shams L. Bayesian priors are encoded independently from likelihoods in human multisensory perception. Journal of Vision. 2009;9(5):23-. 8 9\. Wozny DR, Beierholm UR, Shams L. Probability matching as a computational strategy used in perception. PLoS computational biology. 2010;6(8):e1000871. 10\. Wozny DR, Beierholm UR, Shams L. Human trimodal perception follows optimal statistical inference. Journal of Vision. 2008;8(3):24-. 11\. Shams L, Ma WJ, Beierholm U. Sound-induced flash illusion as an optimal percept. Neuroreport. 2005;16(17):1923-7. 12\. Bresciani J-P, Dammeier F, Ernst MO. Vision and touch are automatically integrated for the perception of sequences of events. Journal of Vision. 2006;6(5):2-. 13\. Helbig HB, Ernst MO. Knowledge about a common source can promote visual---haptic integration. Perception. 2007;36(10):1523-33. 14\. Ernst MO. Learning to integrate arbitrary signals from vision and touch. Journal of Vision. 2007;7(5):7-. 15\. Samad M, Chung AJ, Shams L. Perception of body ownership is driven by Bayesian sensory inference. PloS one. 2015;10(2):e0117178. 16\. Wallace MT, Stevenson RA. The construct of the multisensory temporal binding window and its dysregulation in developmental disabilities. Neuropsychologia. 2014;64:105-23. 17\. Van Wassenhove V, Grant KW, Poeppel D. Temporal window of integration in auditory-visual speech perception. Neuropsychologia. 2007;45(3):598-607. 18\. Shimada S, Fukuda K, Hiraki K. Rubber hand illusion under delayed visual feedback. PloS one. 2009;4(7):e6185. 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r005 Decision Letter 2 Longo Matthew Academic Editor © 2019 Matthew Longo 2019 Matthew Longo This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 8 Oct 2019 Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration PONE-D-19-14549R2 Dear Dr Smit, We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it complies with all outstanding technical requirements. Within one week, you will receive an e-mail containing information on the amendments required prior to publication. When all required modifications have been addressed, you will receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will proceed to our production department and be scheduled for publication. Shortly after the formal acceptance letter is sent, an invoice for payment will follow. To ensure an efficient production and billing process, please log into Editorial Manager at <https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/>, click the \"Update My Information\" link at the top of the page, and update your user information. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at <authorbilling@plos.org>. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to enable them to help maximize its impact. If they will be preparing press materials for this manuscript, you must inform our press team as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact <onepress@plos.org>. With kind regards, Matthew Longo, Ph.D. Academic Editor PLOS ONE Additional Editor Comments (optional): Reviewers\' comments: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224174.r006 Acceptance letter Longo Matthew Academic Editor © 2019 Matthew Longo 2019 Matthew Longo This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 16 Oct 2019 PONE-D-19-14549R2 Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration Dear Dr. Smit: I am pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper at this point, to enable them to help maximize its impact. If they will be preparing press materials for this manuscript, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact <onepress@plos.org>. For any other questions or concerns, please email <plosone@plos.org>. Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE. With kind regards, PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff on behalf of Dr Matthew Longo Academic Editor PLOS ONE [^1]: Competing Interests:The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Contact the relevant local authorities in St Vincent and The Grenadines to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you’ll need. ^You should [get legal advice](/government/collections/list-of-lawyers) and check the [travel advice for St Vincent and The Grenadines](/foreign-travel-advice/st-vincent-and-the-grenadines) before making any plans. The UK doesn’t issue certificates of no impediment (CNI) for marriages in Commonwealth countries. You’ll need to explain this if you’re asked to provide a CNI or a similar document to prove you’re allowed to marry. ##Naturalisation of your partner if they move to the UK Your partner can apply to [become a British citizen](/becoming-a-british-citizen/if-your-spouse-is-a-british-citizen) once they’ve lived in the UK for 3 years. *[CNI]:certificate of no impediment
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616891280347049509.post8103327326300320291..comments2020-06-04T02:32:32.150+01:00Comments on The Daily Brexit: Peterborough by-election results: 'We’ll be back' - Who is Brexit Party's Mike Greene?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1616891280347049509.post-17716236253097825052019-06-07T13:24:53.419+01:002019-06-07T13:24:53.419+01:00Hope someone in Peternorough is going to report th...Hope someone in Peternorough is going to report the 2 convicted vote riggers to the electoral commission? How convenient that margin of "win" was almost identical to the previous vote, where these 2 individuals were involved.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531598252354448096noreply@blogger.com
Q: How to react to scroll down and up? I want to know the direction of scrolling at the moment of scrolling up or down in the list view. but I couldn't find a solution. I tried to use ScrollController to listen to the direction of scrolling for dealing with different work as up and down scrolls. But there is no way to listen to that with ScrollController. Is there anyone to have dealt with this problem? A: You can make use of NotificationListener<ScrollNotification>. You will need to wrap your scroll view in that widget and then listen to UserScrollNotifications: NotificationListener<ScrollNotification>( onNotification: (ScrollNotification notification) { if (notification is UserScrollNotification) { if (notification.direction == ScrollDirection.forward) { // Handle scroll down. } else if (notification.direction == ScrollDirection.reverse) { // Handle scroll up. } } // Returning null (or false) to // "allow the notification to continue to be dispatched to further ancestors". return null; }, child: ListView(..), // Or whatever scroll view you use. )
Q: com.android.builder.internal.aapt.AaptException: Failed to crunch file Building the project throws the following error: Error:com.android.builder.internal.aapt.AaptException: Failed to crunch file ....\common_google_signin_btn_text_dark_pressed.9.png into ....\common_google_signin_btn_text_dark_pressed.9.png A: Error: File path too long on windows, keep below 240 characters Just try to use shorter path for your project. In my case i have just moved my project folder to desktop and after opening project from desktop this problem will disappear automatically.
Hi all, just thought there should be an update in here saying that you can't post to creative corner unless you've used the forum for a bit. It instead says "post require moderater approval and wont show up right away". Not a big deal, just think ppl should know. Zeus Kabob Wrote:In addition, if you're getting harassed or see someone else doing something against the rules, then please speak up! Tell us about it so we can quickly and properly deal with these issues. For reference the rules are below: Most recent edit: 2017-09-27: fixing formatting. Until you have 10 posts on the forum, your posts are subject to moderator approval. It may take a while for posts to appear, but be assured that they're still there! Similarly, private messages aren't allowed before you've gotten 10 posts (since private messages can't be viewed by moderators, they can't be sent with moderator approval). If you're having trouble figuring out how to reach 10 posts, visit the General subforum, there are many topics to chat in there, and there aren't many limitations! This is the first post in the forum rules topic. There's organized chaos, then there's normal chaos. And then there's miscellaneous chaos...Moderator primarily hanging out in the RP sectionAlso, ran the Pokemon RP!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 Window on Eurasia: At Putin’s Order, FSB Now Using Social Networks to Target Opposition Paul Goble Staunton, March 12 – At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the FSB is not only monitoring social networks but using one of their features to create problems for those opponents of the regime who use them by posting statements on their sites and then invoking the appearance of those materials to intimidate or even bring charges against them. This disturbing new development is documented by Irina Borogan, a researcher on Russia’s security services who writes for the Agentura.ru site.In an article last week entitled “Social Networks as a Field for Provocations,” she describes how FSB has begun to operate in this regard (agentura.ru/projects/identification/provocation/). When Putin met with the FSB leadership a month ago, Borogan says, he called on the security service to act “decisively to block the attempts of radicals to use the possibilities of information technologies and he resources of the Internet and social networks for their propaganda (kremlin.ru/transcripts/17516). But “recent events show that the [Russian] special services are prepared to go further than the simple monitoring” that Putin’s suggestion might have implied.They are now ready to use the Internet in general and social networks in particular to organize provocations against the regime’s opponents, something that by its nature sends a chill through both. Two weeks before Putin’s speech, she points out, the procuracy in Naberezhny Chelny called in Raushan Valiullin, a political activist in Tatarstan, and warned him about the posting on his “VKontakte” page of anti-government materials including a picture of Putin shown in a Nazi uniform. “That photograph was put on my page a year ago, and not by mebut by one of my ‘friends’ who called himself Aleksey Maslov,” Valiullin told Borogan. “I never in my life saw him.”But he said that he was never able to convince prosecutors that he bore no responsibility for that picture. “Official documents” about the case, Borogan continues, show that “the local subdivision of the FSB together with Center ‘E’ (the subdivision of the police for the struggle against extremism)” had monitored Valiullin’s site and then brought their findings to the notice of prosecutors after the Tatarstan activist had taken part in a demonstration. According to the FSB, the materials its officers had found on the site provided “confirmation” of what they described as “the destructive activity carried out by him during the election campaigns of 2011-2012.” And that led the prosecutors to summon Valiullin and point out his error. “Of course,” the Agentura.ru analyst notes, “a warning from the prosecutors is not a prison sentence, but the next step after such a warning could be a fine for the propaganda of Nazism.” Borogan says that “the activist himself considers that the warning he was given is an act of revenge by the authorities for his participation in the elections and protest actions.”As such, this act of intimidation is bad enough. But it may be more than that and represent a kind of trial balloon for “creating a system of provocations against activists in social networks.” Indeed, she writes, “there is nothing complicated about putting pornography or a pedophile video on the page of an activist and then bring criminal charges against him.”And the FSB and related Russian security services, including the MVD and most recently, the SVR, have the facilities to do precisely that. Moreover and perhaps especially worrisome, Borogan reports that the Presidential Administration since the end of 2011 has been using a special program “which tracks discussion in social networks” and allow those who are operating it to focus in on particular individuals and groups. Borogan concludes that all of this suggests something important: “If earlier the work of the special services in social networks had involved mostly the collection of information, now,, apparently, it has shifted to active measures” and is likely to have consequences not only in Tatarstan but throughout the Russian Federation.
Show HN: Embed PDF Viewing into Webpage - afabbricino https://www.adobe.io/apis/documentcloud/dcsdk/viewsdk.html ====== afabbricino There are several solutions today that will embed PDF viewing into a web page. But in many cases, users suffer from a fractured and inconsistent experience that often introduces confusion when opening new tabs. Often, those solutions do not even adhere to standards for rendering PDFs So Adobe has published a View SDK that is based upon our Document Cloud platform. The Adobe Document Cloud View SDK provides a significant benefit to display PDFs in an environment that you control natively. It’s simple to use — only a few lines of JavaScript are all you need to get it done. And it delivers an “Adobe quality” reading experience that matches Acrobat rendering for text and font, graphics, images, and page objects. All of this is important for content owners to ensure their users are getting predictable experiences across all desktop and mobile devices for all major browsers. The SDK allows the content owner to control how the PDF appears using pre- configured embed modes such as in-line, full window, or sized container. You can customize viewing experiences with commenting, print, download, and save functions for your PDFs. Document Cloud View SDK also provides out-of-the-box integration with Adobe Analytics, so you can quickly gather insights and analytics on how your audience is engaging with the PDFs
Strasburg Makes Big Donation To San Diego State SAN DIEGO – Stephen Strasburg, the national player of the year and first selection in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft by the Washington Nationals, has made a $141,000 contribution to San Diego State Athletics to benefit the baseball program. Stephen Strasburg has donated $141,000 to SDSU baseball. Strasburg’s commitment will allow SDSU to upgrade the surface of Tony Gwynn Stadium. New synthetic turf will replace the grass skirting from dugouts to baselines. In addition, the gift will aid the operation of the Aztec baseball program. “SDSU baseball and the university have meant so much for my development” Strasburg said. “As a student-athlete, I knew that it takes more than just coaching and good players to be successful. From academic advisors to athletic trainers to the donors of the program – it takes all to make a successful program. I am proud to become part of the base of donors that want this program to succeed. As I have stated before, I am an Aztec for life.” A two-time consensus All-American and conference pitcher of the year as well as an Olympic bronze medalist with the U.S. national team in Beijing, Strasburg ended his SDSU career in 2009 with a season for the ages. He compiled a 13-1 record with a 1.32 earned run average along with 195 strikeouts in 109 innings as he helped the Aztecs to a 41-23 record and their first NCAA Regional appearance since 1991. He finished the season as the national leader in strikeouts and ERA, setting school and conference game, season and career records in those categories. He was named National Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball as well as National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation. He capped off his SDSU career by winning both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top collegiate player. “Stephen was electric on the mound” said Head Coach Tony Gwynn. “Yet, we knew he was an even better kid. This gift reinforces our belief that for all of his baseball abilities, Stephen is an even better person.”
Brake pads rattling in caliper housing.... For the past several weeks I have noticed a sound that appears to be the brake pads rattling within the caliper housing on the front wheels under certain specific conditions. It is only noticable when I am turning a corner slowly without my foot on the brake, window open. When I hit a small bump or crease in the pavement, I will notice the rattle sound. If foot is on the brake and they are gently applied; no rattle. Brakes work perfectly at all times. Bad return springs? Anti-rattle springs?? Anyone??? New Sept. 2010. 6600 miles. Prius II. Silver. Clean windows. Smelly running shoes in rear compartment. NOTE: At 5000 mile service there was no sound. For the past several weeks I have noticed a sound that appears to be the brake pads rattling within the caliper housing on the front wheels under certain specific conditions. It is only noticable when I am turning a corner slowly without my foot on the brake, window open. When I hit a small bump or crease in the pavement, I will notice the rattle sound. If foot is on the brake and they are gently applied; no rattle. Brakes work perfectly at all times. Bad return springs? Anti-rattle springs?? Anyone??? New Sept. 2010. 6600 miles. Prius II. Silver. Clean windows. Smelly running shoes in rear compartment. NOTE: At 5000 mile service there was no sound. Click to expand... This is a known issue. (at least for many on this board) So far, I have yet to come across an official fix from Toyota. It took 3 attempts at my dealer to admit they did something to my neighbor's Prius to reduce the rattle. They apparently bend the pad retainer springs to reduce the clatter that occurs when driving over rough pavement, or Botts dots. I can reproduce this in EVERY 2010 Prius I have driven, Every one! Yet the dealer "can't reproduce it." It's a simple test: drive over Botts dots (lane divider dots) with your window down and then apply the brakes. Guaranteed the "clatter" will go away upon brake application. Simple. Toyota's position is that "..it isn't a safety issue." It might not be, but having a sound like that come from your suspension is ridiculous. this is a known issue. (at least for many on this board) so far, i have yet to come across an official fix from toyota. It took 3 attempts at my dealer to admit they did something to my neighbor's prius to reduce the rattle. They apparently bend the pad retainer springs to reduce the clatter that occurs when driving over rough pavement, or botts dots. I can reproduce this in every 2010 prius i have driven, every one! Yet the dealer "can't reproduce it." it's a simple test: Drive over botts dots (lane divider dots) with your window down and then apply the brakes. Guaranteed the "clatter" will go away upon brake application. Simple. Toyota's position is that "..it isn't a safety issue." it might not be, but having a sound like that come from your suspension is ridiculous. Click to expand... ***thanks pixel! Your information was helpful. My wife was convinced that the noise was a result of my smelly running shoes in the back compartment. Seriously though, ...toyota says "it is not a safety issue". But is it "a wear issue"? This is a known issue. (at least for many on this board) So far, I have yet to come across an official fix from Toyota. It took 3 attempts at my dealer to admit they did something to my neighbor's Prius to reduce the rattle. They apparently bend the pad retainer springs to reduce the clatter that occurs when driving over rough pavement, or Botts dots. I can reproduce this in EVERY 2010 Prius I have driven, Every one! Yet the dealer "can't reproduce it." It's a simple test: drive over Botts dots (lane divider dots) with your window down and then apply the brakes. Guaranteed the "clatter" will go away upon brake application. Simple. Toyota's position is that "..it isn't a safety issue." It might not be, but having a sound like that come from your suspension is ridiculous. Click to expand... Interesting info. Shortly after 5k oil change I noticed this, so at 10k service I brought it to their attention. Found missing fasteners and sent me on my way. Sound remained and I came back 150 miles later, and this time had mechanic in car to duplicate. Front struts were ordered and installed next day. They took all of 3 hours then told me no help. Front caliper bolt were next targeted and ordered. They used remote mics to isolate. Going to allow them to put them in, but might let them know what you said. Mechanic did verify that even the new car on the lot made the same noise as you described. As the roads around my dealership are very good, we also used the botts and verified on both sides. It also sounded in the front and rear to me. Will see what happens. Thanks. Me 2. My 2011 is driving me crazy with chattering/rattleling in the front over bumpy surfaces. Only noticeable when windows are open. Will have dealer look at when I take it in for the 5k checkup (currently have 4k) I had this same problem a couple years ago on a used 91 Cadillac Allante. My regular mechanic couldn't diagnose the problem. My then-new son-in-law, a mechanic, and I diagnosed the problem by me repeatedly driving across a bump in our street while he stood at the curb and listened. He used some type of brake adhesive to solve the problem. I've since sold the car and the son-in-law turned out to be a better mechanic than husband and ended up in jail. But that's another story... Good news everyone!!! Or at least those who are having the rattling problems with their brakes. Like others have posted on here Toyota issued a TSB (Toyota Service Bulletin) for this problem. When I took my Gen III Prius to Phil Bachman Toyota yesterday for my 5000 mile service, I informed them again that my brakes were still making the rattling noise and I also told them that Toyota had issued a TSB and they need to fix the problem with my car. The service manage found the TSB and had the technician check my brakes out and she agreed that all 4 wheels needed the fix. I am assuming it is shims or something. They did however have to order the parts and I my beloved black beauty will be fixed and rattle free. :cheer2: Well I had my brakes fixed yesterday. With the exception of some really rough bumps because of road construction, my driving experience was as it should be. Quiet. I am so glad that Toyota finally ordered the TSB and recognised that there was a problem and fixed it before they were made to issue a recall. :cheer2: I believe that I have this same issue. I'm going to get it taken care of ASAP. Funny thing is that I may have had the same issue on my previous car as well (VW Passat). Now I can pass along this info to the guy who bought it as another area to explore to chase down that noise. Thanks PriusChat people! @El Dobro: Locate the highest sticker inside the driver’s door frame – it is black with white lettering. In the upper right corner of the sticker, you will find the manufacture date of your car in the format of MM/YY. Also, just above the bar code in that sticker is the VIN #. Look at digit # 11 and it should have one of three possible values: 0 = made in Tsutsumi plant line # 1 1 = made in Tsutsumi plant line # 25 = made in Fugimatsu plant. About PriusChat Founded in 2003, PriusChat has been the go-to spot for Prius, hybrid, and EV discussion for over 10 years. PriusChat is the one of the largest privately-owned car forums left on the internet. We hope you'll join our home to educated & critical discussion, falling outside of the fray of Internet trolls & unconstructive discussion.
Dizzy’s Ten Post Round-Up Bummer! It’s only Tuesday. There’s so much going on in my world right now, combined with the other stuff going on in the rest of the world, I am so ready for the weekend! I have news of my own, but I am still digesting it. I promise that as soon as my head shrinks back down to normal size, I will share with you, I’m jus’ not ready to let the cat out of the bag, jus’ yet… Speaking of cats, “Cool Cats”, that is…I am lucky enough to have the coolest people drop by my blog and chat with me and it’s especially nice to meet people with cool talents. For instance, Robert Rouse from Left of Centrist just posted this cool ass youtube, that he created, on his blog: “The First Amendment Shuffle“. Edutainment at its best, yo! So, now Dizzy is going to school you on some of the things I found for the Ten Post Round-Up, today: I know it’s hard to stay positive and remain upbeat when you read some of the posts included in the Round-Up, but I feel that it is imperative to keep a positive attitude even when the s%@t hits the fan. It’s the ones with positive and forward thinking who are going to help to motivate those who lack the energy to go on fighting when it looks like all hope is lost. About Dizzy Dezzi Feisty, 30-something, mother of three, wife to Iraq Vet (currently performing Deployment 3.0), home-school mom for 10+ years, and small business owner. Politically, I lean a little liberal, but a lot Libertarian. I may not always say what's on my mind, but when I do have something to say, you can't shut me the heck up... Search Fair Use The Democratic Daily encourages Fair Use of all "copyrighted" materials. All rights are reserved to the individual contributors of The Democratic Daily. Please contact each individual author for details.
The present invention is directed to a process and apparatus for flocculating and clarifying a solid-liquid slurry by removing solids therefrom, thereby clarifying the liquid, while simultaneously concentrating insoluble solids to a relatively dense mud bed. More specifically, the present invention is directed to such a process and apparatus whereby it is possible to simultaneously deaerate, preflocculate and clarify such a slurry. While the present invention is suitable for the clarification of a wide range of solid-liquid slurries, the present invention is viewed as being particularly suitable for the clarification of sugar juices and other difficult to clarify slurries the particulate matter of which is difficult to flocculate and coagulate by conventional systems. Thus, the following discussion will be with reference to the deaeration, preflocculation and clarification of sugar juices, but it is to be understood that the concept of the present invention is not limited thereby and rather is applicable to other solid-liquid slurries as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Over the years, the clarification of sugar juices in the sugar industry continuously has been improved. Originally, sugar juices were clarified by adjusting the pH with lime to approximately neutral, heating to boiling and allowing to settle for several hours in gravity settling tanks. This however was a batch operation and was not continuous. The liming and heating increase the amount of insoluble solids and typically allow coagulation and precipitation thereof during extended settling of up to three to four hours. Disadvantages of this system are, in addition to the long required settling time and the lack of continuous operation, that the extended settling time allows acidification of the juice, and the varied quality of the sugar juice due to differences in geography, time, weather, etc. made clarification relatively unreliable and frequently result in a substandard product. Improvement in equipment designs allowed continuous clarification of sugar juices by clarifiers with multiple trays allowing mud to settle on the individual trays, thereby incorporating several clarifiers into a single vessel. Nevertheless, the basic problems of extended clarification times of two to four hours remain, as do the problems associated with the wide variety of sugar juice quality. With the advent of chemical polymers such as polyacrylamides it became possible to treat juices with small quantities of such polymers, thus accomplishing some flocculation and coagulation of juices and thereby improving the reliability of clarification in multi-tray clarifiers. Capacity also was increased, but the improvements were relatively marginal, with settling times rarely if ever being less than two hours. The next development in the industry involved rapid clarifiers such as the Eis clarifier and the SRI (Sugar Research Institute) clarifier, wherein juices that had been limed and treated with a chemical polymer were introduced into a clarification vessel in such a manner that they entered below the mud level therein and flocculated particles were formed within the mud bed. The liquor or liquid was forced to rise through the mud bed, achieving a degree of filtration, and such liquid then was removed from an upper clarified liquid level. Such clarifiers offer rapid clarification with retention times on the order of 30 minutes. However, the operating sensitivity and the variation of sugar juice quality internationally have restricted general acceptance of such clarifiers. Another development in the industry involves a preflocculating apparatus, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,513 and 4,135,946. In this type of apparatus, sugar juices are limed, deaerated and pretreated with polymer in a preflocculating chamber wherein the juices are literally rolled back onto themselves with the continuing application of fresh polymer, such that a "snowballing" effect causes a preflocculation of solids in the slurry. These flocs of solids are uniform in size and of greater density than in previous flocculation procedures. The thus preflocculated juice passed on to conventional multi-tray clarifiers exhibits qualities of more rapid settling and superior clarified juice purity and clarity. Further, such procedure requires less lime for pH control, this resulting from reduced acidification of the juice consistent with shorter settling times in the clarifier. Laboratory tests prove that such preflocculated juice will settle within minutes and when passed through conventional multi-tray clarifiers, capacity improvements are typically 20 to 40%, i.e. a reduction in required settling time from two to three hours to one to two hours. However, a marked disadvantage of preflocculation of slurries in equipment physically separate from the clarifier is the disruption and breakage of flocs of solids during transit from the preflocculating apparatus to the clarifier. Despite the best attention to laminar flow and minimum circuits, such disruption takes place inevitably and results in loss of efficiency during clarification.
Nonamethylcyclopentyl cation rearrangement mysteries solved. The C1 nonamethylcyclopentyl cation minimum undergoes complete methyl scrambling in SbF5 with a 7 kcal/mol barrier. This corresponds to the rate-limiting conformational interconversion of enantiomeric hyperconjomers via a C(s) transition structure (above right). A remarkable, more rapid, second process only exchanges methyls within sets of four and five (blue and red, see above), as has been observed experimentally at low temperatures. The computed ∼2 kcal/mol barrier involves a C(s) [1s,2s] sigmatropic methyl shift transition structure (above left).
Air Man (ver. 1) by Mega Man 2 - Piano Sheets and Free Sheet Music Search About the Song Advantages of accessing free sheet music online The internet has pervaded all aspects of our lives and when it comes to learning how to play piano this is no different. There are virtually hundreds of websites, which offer you free sheet music to help you learn how to play the piano. There are several advantages to getting online sheet music versus conventional hard copy versions. No storage issues One of the biggest advantages is that online sheet music does not occupy physical space as documents do. This helps you avoid unnecessary clutter (More...)Download this sheet! About the Artist Mega Man 2 (?????2 Dr.?????? ,Rockman 2: Dr. Wily no Nazo?, Rockman 2: The Mystery of Dr. Wily) is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the original Mega Man series. The game was released on December 24, 1988 in Japan, and later in 1989 and 1990 in North America and Europe, respectively. Mega Man 2 continues the titular protagonist's battle against the evil Dr. Wily and his rogue robots. The game features several graphical and gameplay changes from the first Mega Man game, many of which have remained as elements throughout the series. Although sales for Mega Man were unimpressive, Capcom allowed the Rockman team to create a sequel. With more than 1.5 million copies sold, the game is the best-selling Mega Man title. Mega Man 2 has received high praise by many publications as the best title in the series as well as one of the greatest video games of all time. Mega Man 2 has been rereleased on several consoles and has most recently made its way to mobile phones. It was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe in December 2007, in Japan on August 26, 2008 and in North America on September 15, 2008. Advantages of accessing free sheet music online The internet has pervaded all aspects of our lives and when it comes to learning how to play piano this is no different. There are virtually hundreds of websites, which offer you free sheet music to help you learn how to play the piano. There are several advantages to getting online sheet music versus conventional hard copy versions. No storage issues One of the biggest advantages is that online sheet music does not occupy physical space as documents do. This helps you avoid unnecessary clutter (More...) DISCLAIMER: THIS SITE DOES NOT STORE ANY FILES ON ITS SERVERS. WE ONLY INDEX AND LINK TO CONTENT PROVIDED BY OTHER SITES. All videos are embedded from and are not hosted on www.Piano-Sheets.NET The videos are copyrighted to their respective owners.
Epic Office Furniture office will be closed for the Christmas break from the 22nd of December 2018 and we will be back on the 2nd of January 2019. We will still be taking orders online and dispatch will begin immediately once we return. We would like to thank you for your continued support and look forward to working with you in 2019. Epic Venus 2 Seat Lounge Product Description Epic Venus 2 Seat Lounge $645.00$569.00 Or 4 payments with Give your office lounge or breakout area a touch of class and style with our Epic Venus 2 Seat Lounge Piece. This lounge piece features an extremely soft and comfortable PU upholstery, stainless steel frame and a classic black button stitching detail. Compliment the Epic Venus 2 Seat Lounge and complete the look with our Epic Venus Single Seat, Three Seat and OttomanLounges. These lounge pieces are built to last, and are backed with a 3 year manufacturer’s warranty. Complete your office or waiting room today with the entire Epic Venus range from Epic Office Furniture!
Islamic Legal Studies Program Affiliates’ Round Up: July 9th ILSP affiliate Tarek Masoud was featured in The Conversation discussing the compatibility of religion and democracy. The Independent referenced ILSP affiliate Nadia Marzouki in discussing France and its aversion towards Islamic head coverings. Mada Masr, an Egyptian online newspaper, interviewed ILSP affiliate Khaled Fahmy on the Six-Day War on its 50th anniversary in Egypt. ILSP Faculty Affiliates are members of a broader community of scholars at Harvard with interest and expertise surrounding issues of Islamic law.
package com.gentics.mesh.core.rest.schema; /** * A number field schema is a schema definition for a number field. * / public interface NumberFieldSchema extends FieldSchema { // /* // * Return the stepping for the numbers. // * // * @return Stepping for numbers // / // Float getStep(); // // /* // * Set the stepping for the numbers. // * // * @param step // * @return fluent api // / // NumberFieldSchema setStep(Float step); // // /* // * Return the lower limit for numbers. // * // * @return Lower limit // / // Integer getMin(); // // /* // * Set the lower limit for numbers. // * // * @param min // * Lower limit // * @return Fluent API // / // NumberFieldSchema setMin(Integer min); // // /* // * Return the max limit for numbers. // * // * @return Upper limit // / // Integer getMax(); // // /* // * Set max limit for numbers. // * // * @param max // * Upper limit // * @return Fluent API // */ // NumberFieldSchema setMax(Integer max); }
Press "In the summer, the scene would move en masse to Ostend, Belgium's equivalent to Blackpool. DJ Freddy Cousaert played at the Groove, a late night downstairs bar frequented by US marines, lovers of blues and soul musicand tourists, it was Cousaert who later looked after Marvin Gaye during his 80s sejourn in Ostend. The music he played at the Groove included ska, Latin jazz and even Broadway songs such as Stranger in Paradise, or Whatever Lola Wants from Damn Yankees...." Althouh the original 1959 LP, and the U.K. Chess 1965 issue credited all compositions to 'C.Burnett'. [ Howlin' Wolf ] Recorded May 14 or August 1951 at Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee – March 1959 in Chicago, Illinois tracklisting: A1 Moanin' At Midnight 2:43A2 How Many More Years 2:58A3 Smokestack Lightnin' 2:32A4 Baby, How Long 2:18A5 No Place To Go 2:31A6 All Night Boogie 2:16B1 Evil 3:01B2 I'm Leavin' You 2:29B3 Moanin' For My Baby 2:17B4 I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) 2:47B5 Forty-Four 3:02B6 Somebody In My Home 2:59
Trauma (journal) Trauma is a quarterly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers research in the field of emergency medicine. Its editors-in-chief are Ian Greaves (James Cook University Hospital) and Keith M Porter (Selly Oak Hospital). It was established in 1999 and is currently published by SAGE Publications in association with TraumaCare. Abstracting and indexing Trauma is abstracted and indexed in Academic Search Premier, EMBASE, and SCOPUS. External links TraumaCare Category:SAGE Publishing academic journals Category:English-language journals Category:Emergency medicine journals
Follow by Email Search This Blog About Me MY NAME IS Michelle Joy Schulman - Raw Vegan Chef at "Arnolds Way Raw Vegetarian Cafe and Education Center" in Lansdale, PA. Opera and classical singer. In 2007, I lost 175 lbs on a raw vegan diet and stayed raw vegan for 3.5 years. When I fell off of raw, I fell hard, gaining back 120 lbs. A lifelong chronic hardcore binge and overeater, I seek to recapture my birthright of "JOY" (my middle name), stop binge eating permanently, and reach and stay at a more ideal body weight through a healthy mostly vegetarian diet, that includes raw foods. Your support means so much to me. Thank you for joining me here! I'd LOVE to hear from you! LaSoprana@aol.com It's such a BLESSING to be able to make this healthy HOLIDAY meal available to you! I had been asked to create a dinner like this, available to-go. Since I am already making it, maybe you would enjoy it as well? It will make the holiday so much easier. Just inconspicuously fill your plate out of sight with your raw delights....walk into the dining room...and your friends and family will be none the wiser! To make it worthwhile, we need at least 3 orders. Please call me RIGHT AWAY. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Available to pick up at Arnold's Way on ~ WEDNESDAY, Nov 23rd after 3pm ~ (Or in Manayunk, where I live, after 5pm)
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drive assist device for a vehicle for carrying out automatic steering control by generating steering wheel torque that follows a preceding vehicle. 2. Description of Related Art In recent years, there has been research and practical implementation of follow-up traveling control follows the preceding vehicle and traveling control device keeps a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle constant, by detecting traveling environment in front of the vehicle using cameras mounted on the vehicle and detecting the preceding vehicle from the traveling environment data. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-81123 discloses technology, in a steering control system for a vehicle that detects a traveling lane to cause a vehicle to follow along the traveling lane, for calculating a target yaw rate using forward viewpoint lateral displacement, vehicle speed, and forward viewpoint distance, and generating steering wheel torque so as to obtain the calculated target yaw rate. However, with the steering control system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-81123 described above, since target yaw rate is set to carry out steering control, in a specified control region, particularly in a region where sufficient yaw rate is not being generated, such as a low speed region, it is not possible to accurately set a travel locus to be made a target, and there is a problem that it is not possible to carry out follow-up control with respect to the preceding vehicle with good precision. The present invention has been conceived in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle drive assist device that can accurately obtain a travel locus to be followed even in, for example, a low speed travel region, and that can carry out follow-up control with good precision.
Prevalence of attention deficit-/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid disorders in young male prison inmates. This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of ADHD as well as comorbid conditions among young male prison inmates. We investigated 129 prison inmates (mean age+/-SE: 19.2+/-2.0 years) and 54 healthy male control subjects (mean age+/-SE: 22.2+/-3.12 years) for the presence of adult ADHD using the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire (EIQ), the diagnostic criteria for ADHD according to DSM-IV and ICD-10-research criteria and the Utah criteria for adult ADHD. In order to determine comorbid personality disorders we applied the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE). Externalization (ED) and Internalization Disorders (ID) were evaluated by means of the Achenbach Scales. Alcoholism (ALC) was examined via the Alcohol Use Disorder Test (AUDIT) and substance use disorder (SUD) has been investigated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). The overall prevalence of ADHD according to DSM-IV was 45%. The prevalence of disturbance of activity and attention (DAA) and hyperkinetic conduct disorder (HCD) via the ICD-10 research criteria was 21.7%. Sole DAA without any comorbid condition could be detected in one case. The most common diagnostic combinations were DAA/HCD and SUD/ALC (89% of all DAA/HCD cases). The prevalence of DAA/HCD or ADHD in young adult prison inmates is significantly elevated when compared to nondelinquent controls. Generally the population of young adult male prison inmates exhibits a considerable psychiatric morbidity. Of the total sample, 64% suffered from at least 2 disorders. Only 8.5% had no psychiatric diagnoses. This indicates the urgent need for more psychiatric expertise in young offender facilities.
Manchester shows that we need more than perceived Tory strength This government document, unearthed by former diplomat Craig Murray, details the extent of cuts to policing under the Tories, particularly in the period when Theresa May was Home Secretary. Look at the steady decline in officer strength since she took over in 2010. She was warned that these cuts would have negative consequences. In 2015, this Greater Manchester Police Officer stood up and told May about the dangers. He was a community cop who quit due to the cuts making it difficult for people like him to do the job properly. He advised May that her decisions put national security at risk. Her response had the appearance of a strong one. Instead of taking on board the advice of someone who clearly knew what he was talking about, she insisted that she was right and accused him of scaremongering. Sticking firmly to your guns does look strong but is it the best way to lead? We know that the Manchester arena bomber Ramadan Abedi fits the pattern of most home grown islamists. A recently radicalised second generation immigrant and a petty criminal with nothing to lose. We know that he had recently travelled to Syria and Lybia. We know that people within his community had noticed that he was acting strangely and had become conspicuously more extreme. We know that the public had warned the police about radicalisation within the Libyan community in Manchester. Obviously you can’t stop every terror attack but you have to think that if Theresa May had listened to the Manchester Community Cop in 2015, instead of attacking him, then this attack would have been much less likely. May would probably justify cutting police numbers by saying that she had to make tough choices due to budget cuts. However, the country and the Conservative party always seem to find money to do things that experts agree exacerbate the terror problem. Surely the money used to bomb countries like Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq could have been better spent here in the UK on such things as community policing? Instead, western intervention in these troubled countries has left vacuums in which radicalism flourishes. The plight of ordinary Muslims in these countries is a cause that forms part of the recipe for creating our homegrown radicals. Jeremey Corbyn working with the SNP is the coalition of chaos the Tories want you to fear. Two political forces that have over the years been consistent in warning us that invading Middle Eastern countries with little justification and with no exit plan can only lead to more carnage at home and abroad. You only need to look at the state of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria to understand they were right. Both Corbyn and the SNP would save money on failed military adventurism and they say they would spend some of it on boosting community policing. The SNP are stronger on policing than the Tories. In Scotland there has been no dramatic drop in police officer strength. The conservative government had hoped to win this election by painting themselves as strong and stable while painting the alternative as a coalition of chaos. However, what they say is strong is really just appearing tough while mindlessly plodding on with failed policies even when experts tell them these policies are damaging. Not just on security, but I would argue in other areas like the NHS, austerity and social security. You can see why the more thoughtful and restrained approach of the likes of Corbyn is often portrayed as weaker. In times of trouble there is a reassurance in seeing people make seemingly powerful decisions. However being strong says nothing about the quality of decision making and the consequences they have. On security May’s approach was short-term thinking and as the Manchester cop said she has ultimately put us at risk. Anyone who makes a Paypal donations between now and the end of May 2017 will be entered into a draw to win this 2 Smackeroonie coin. We’ll do the draw on 01/06/2017.
1. Introduction {#sec1} =============== Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common infections in the world. Infection withMycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) most often affects the lungs. The outcome of the pulmonary infection is divergent and can range from the complete pathogen clearance through asymptomatic latent infection (LTBI) to active TB disease. LTBI has long been considered as a uniform state characterized by the immunological sensitization in the absence of clinical signs and symptoms of active TB disease. Recently it has become clear that LTBI includes a broad spectrum of states that differ by the degree of host immune resistance, inflammatory markers, and pathogen replication (i.e., by LTBI "activity") \[[@B1]\]. The characteristics of the TB disease are in turn very diverse. They differ by the type of pathology developed in the lungs (e.g., tuberculoma, cavitary TB, and caseous pneumonia), the size of the affected lung tissue, the rate of disease progression, the characteristics of immune activation and inflammation, andMtb load and replication (i.e., the presence, quantity, and replication activity ofMtb in the sputum). Overall, the outcome ofMtb infection is not a simple two-state distribution which includes LTBI and active TB but represents a continuous spectrum of states that differ by pathogen and host "activity," have a different contagiousness, and require different treatment strategies. Therefore, it is important to accurately diagnose the stage and the status ofMtb infection. It is generally assumed that the outcome ofMtb infection depends on natural variations in host immune response to mycobacteria, in particular on the type and extent of immune activation and inflammation. Immune activation and inflammatory reactions are essential for host protection against mycobacteria \[[@B2]--[@B6]\]. On the other hand, unrestricted immune responses are deleterious and may lead to the TB exacerbation \[[@B7], [@B8]\]. Overall, the interplay between immune activation, inflammation, and TB pathogenesis is complex and not completely understood. In spite of the complexity, associations betweenMtb infection activity and some parameters of immune/inflammatory reactions have recently been described; several different immunological parameters have been suggested as markers of TB activity. Many of them are related to T helper cells (discussed below). There are several populations (differentiation lineages) of T helper cells. The first two populations, Th1 and Th2, were described over 20 years ago \[[@B9]\]. Later, additional T helper subsets were identified, including Th17, Th22, Th9, and T~FH~. Among different populations of T helper cells, Th1 and Th17 are the main effector populations which mediate protection and pathology during TB. In this review we discuss the role for Th1 and Th17 cells in protective and inflammatory responses duringMtb infection and the prospective use of their markers for the evaluation of pulmonary TB activity. 2. Th1 Cells in TB Protection and Pathology {#sec2} =========================================== Distinct populations of T helper cells differ by the expressed cytokines and transcription factors and by their response to different classes of pathogens. Th1 cells produce IFN-γ and depend on the transcription factor T-bet. They are induced upon infection with intracellular pathogens and mediate protection mainly by activating macrophages which destroy intracellular pathogens. Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, depend on the transcription factor GATA3, and fight extracellular parasites \[[@B9]\].M. tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen and elicits Th1 response. 2.1. Th1 Induction and Differentiation {#sec2.1} -------------------------------------- Effector Th1 cells differentiate from naïve lymphocytes. In general, the effector cell differentiation is driven by the signals received from TCR, costimulatory receptors, and cytokines. In the most simplified model, signals mediated by TCR and costimulatory receptors induce T cell activation and proliferation. Cytokine-derived signals are the main signals determining the differentiation lineage of antigen-activated T cells. Ligation of cytokines with their receptors activates the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) factors. The STATs translocate to the nucleus and bind genes encoding lineage-specifying transcription factors ("master regulators") and effector cytokines. These events determine the lineage of differentiating T helper cells \[[@B10]\]. The main Th1 inducing cytokines are IL-12 and IFN-γ. IL-12 is produced by antigen-presenting cells. Interaction of IL-12 with the IL-12 receptor, expressed on the surface of T cells, induces STAT4, which in turn induces T-bet, a master regulator of Th1 cells. T-bet binds directly to many Th1-specific genes (Ifng,cxcr3,Il18r1,Il12rb2, etc.) and positively regulates their expression \[[@B11]\]. T-bet also negatively regulates the expression of Th2- and Th17-specific genes and inhibits the differentiation of Th2 and Th17 cells. In the absence of T-bet, T helper cells differentiate towards Th2-like cells. STAT4 also directly binds toIfng locus and stimulates IFN-γ production. STAT4 and T-bet cooperate to induce maximal IFN-γ production. In the absence of STAT4, T-bet does not induce optimal IFN-γ levels, and the combination of T-bet and STAT4 deficiency abolishes IFN-γ production \[[@B11]--[@B13]\]. IFN-γ acts by inducing STAT1. STAT1 synergizes with STAT4 in activating T-bet in T helper cells and also can directly activate Th1-associated genes \[[@B14], [@B15]\]. IL-4 and IL-10 inhibit Th1 cell differentiation and induce Th2 cells. Thus, generally, Th1 and Th2 are alternate and mutually exclusive lineages of T helper cells. In some conditions, however, Th1 and Th2 cells retain their plasticity, can transdifferentiate, and even coexpress Th1- and Th2-specific cytokines and transcription factors \[[@B16]\]. Cytokine milieu is the main factor that determines the lineage of T helper cell differentiation. However the differentiation is also affected by the dose and the strength of TCR agonistic ligand. It has been shown that stimulation with a high dose of TCR agonistic peptide or a strongly agonistic ligand favors generation of Th1 cells whereas a low dose or a weakly agonistic ligand favors Th2 cells \[[@B17]\]. Therefore, we may speculate that pathogen load, pathogen metabolic activity, and the stage of the disease affect the composition of the responding T helper population. 2.2. Th1 Cells and IFN-γ during TB {#sec2.2} ------------------------------------ It has long been assumed that the central role of Th1 cells in the defense against TB is due to the ability of IFN-γ to activate macrophages and stimulate phagocytosis, phagosome maturation, production of reactive nitrogen intermediates, and antigen presentation \[[@B18]--[@B20]\]. This has been supported by many observations. In particular, mice deficient in CD4^+^ subset and Th1 type cytokines (i.e., IL-12p40, IFN-γ) succumb early toMtb infection with high bacterial loads \[[@B21]--[@B23]\]. Similar effects are observed in mice with the defects in enzymes involved in the generation of host-bactericidal molecules, dependent on IFN-γ axis \[[@B24]--[@B27]\]. Humans with the mutations in molecules involved in Th1 immunity (i.e., the IL-12p40 subunit, the IL-12 receptor β1 chain, the IFN-γ-receptor ligand binding chain, and STAT1) exhibit extremely high susceptibility to infections induced byMtb,Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), or environmental mycobacteria \[[@B28]--[@B30]\]. HIV-infected patients deficient in CD4^+^ cells have increased reactivation of latentMtb infection and altered histopathological characteristics of TB disease (i.e., diffuse necrotic lesions instead of structured granulomas) \[[@B31]\]. These and other studies supported the concept that Th1 are prerequisite for TB defense and act by stimulating the antimycobacterial immunity through the Th1 → IFN-γ → macrophage activation →Mtb killing/restriction pathway. However some new unexpected results, that contradict this paradigm, are now emerging. Several studies in mice reported lack of correlation between the degree of protection and the frequencies ofMtb-specific IFN-γ producing cells or IFN-γ levels \[[@B32]--[@B35]\]. In some studies, antigen-specific IFN-γ production by CD4^+^ T cells correlated with the decrease inMtb load but did not reflect the strength of protection \[[@B34]\]. In other studies, Th1 mediated protection againstMtb replication was IFN-γ independent \[[@B36], [@B37]\]. Next, some authors reported that IFN-γ mediated protection by inhibiting a deleterious response of Th17 cells rather than by inhibitingMtb replication \[[@B38]\]. Finally, in some experimental models CD4^+^ T cells were deleterious \[[@B39], [@B40]\]. For example, Scanga and coauthors reported that in the murine model of latent tuberculosis, depletion of CD4^+^ cells resulted in uncontrolledMtb growth but it did not alter IFN-γ response \[[@B32]\]. Gallegos and colleagues \[[@B37]\] studied protective properties of ESAT-6 specific Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells derived from the wild type mice or mice deficient for factors associated with Th1 activity (e.g., IFN-γ, TNF-α). In an adoptive transfer model, Th1 cells were more protective than Th17 cells; Th2 cells were not exhibiting any protective activity againstMtb replication. Yet the ability of Th1 cells to mediate protection did not depend on IFN-γ or TNF-α. Nandi and Behar adoptively transferred IFN-γ ^−/−^ memory CD4^+^ T cells intoMtb-infected recipients and assessed bacterial load and mice survival \[[@B38]\]. The latter is an integrated parameter of TB severity that largely depends on the extent of pathological inflammatory response. IFN-γ ^−/−^ memory CD4^+^ T cells retained their antimicrobial activity but failed to protect recipient mice against severe inflammation and death. It was suggested that IFN-γ acts by inhibiting IL-17 response and pathogenic neutrophil accumulation in the infected lungs, that is, that IFN-γ mediates protection by limiting host inflammatory response rather than by inducing macrophage antibacterial activity. Finally, a deleterious role for the CD4^+^ T cells during TB has been demonstrated. Several studies documented that mice deficient in PD-1 and infected withMtb exhibit unaltered or even increased CD4 and IFN-γ responses but die because of the severe infection characterized by the uncontrolled bacterial proliferation, increased lung tissue pathology, neutrophilic infiltration, and high lung expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Of note, CD4^+^ T cell depletion reduced production of IFN-γ and other proinflammatory cytokines and rescued PD-1^−/−^ mice from early mortality \[[@B39], [@B40]\]. Interestingly, resistance to viral infections is increased following PD-1 blockade \[[@B41]\], indicating that in TB an imbalanced T cell response may be more deleterious than during other infections. Thus, one important aspect of TB immunity is that Th1 subset may mediate protection by mechanisms other than IFN-γ production or activation of host antibacterial activity and even may contribute to pathology. Another puzzle comes from the studies in humans that investigated Th1/IFN-γ responses during LTBI and active TB. LTBI is usually considered as a state ofMtb infection that develops due to an effective anti-TB immune defense. It is believed that the comparison of immune responses during LTBI and active TB may help with uncovering immunological correlates of protection. However, multiple studies of Th1/IFN-γ responses in humans have resulted in contradictory conclusions. Some studies reported that the antigen-driven secretion of IFN-γ by blood mononuclear cells is reduced in TB patients and normalized upon TB treatment \[[@B42]--[@B44]\]. On the other hand, frequencies of circulating IFN-γ producing cells are generally increased in TB patients and decrease following the treatment. In line with this, some studies showed increased plasma levels of IFN-γ in TB patients; these levels correlated with disease activity and normalized during the treatment \[[@B45]\]. Furthermore, patients with newly diagnosed TB were reported to have higher levels of IFN-γ compared to patients with chronic TB. Finally, it is now well documented that interferon-gamma-release assays (IGRAs) do not discriminate LTBI and active TB \[[@B46]--[@B48]\]. This indicates that the two groups do not differ consistently by the levels ofMtb-specific IFN-γ secretion (detected in Quantiferon-TB Gold-in tube assay, QFT) or by the frequencies ofMtb-specific IFN-γ producing cells (defined in T-SPOT-TB assay). Thus, no steady differences in IFN-γ responses have been identified so far between LTBI and active TB. Considering TB patients, they are characterized by a great variability in the immune responses. It has been shown that IGRAs have suboptimal sensitivity for active TB, supposedly due to the immune suppression developed during severe disease. To verify this hypothesis, we have recently analysed whether the levels of IFN-γ secretion determined in QFT assay and the frequency of the antigen-specific IFN-γ producing cells determined by flow cytometry are associated with TB severity. For that, we checked the correlation of IFN-γ responses with the following characteristics of TB disease: the presence and the quantities ofMtb in the sputum, the forms of pulmonary pathology (i.e., tuberculoma, infiltrative TB, cavitary TB, caseous pneumonia), the degree of pulmonary destruction, TB extent, clinical disease severity, and hematologic abnormalities. We have found no significant association between these parameters and IFN-γ responses, which argues against the direct association between TB disease severity and the extent of IFN-γ response (\[[@B49]\], and our unpublished results). 2.3. Section Summary {#sec2.3} -------------------- Altogether, Th1 mediated IFN-γ response activatesMtb killingin vitro and contributes to the restriction ofMtb growthin vivo but also plays anti-inflammatory role during TB and can participate in TB exacerbation. Assays based on the evaluation ofMtb-specific IFN-γ responses are currently used to identifyMtb infection, but these assays do not allow discriminating LTBI and TB disease. Numerous comparisons of IFN-γ responses during active TB and LTBI have revealed no consistent patterns. There are several possible explanations for that: different anatomical distributions of effector Th1 cells during active TB and LTBI, functional exhaustion of effector Th1 cells during chronic TB disease, diversity ofMtb antigens expressed during LTBI and active TB, and a great variability of TB patients with regard to TB stage, host immune reactivity, and genetic and other factors. Irrespective of the underlying mechanisms, IFN-γ response seems to be unreliable for the evaluation of TB activity. However other markers of Th1 reactivity may be valuable and will be discussed below. 3. Th17 Cells in TB Defense and Pathology {#sec3} ========================================= Th17 were first described as a distinct population of the T helper cells that are controlled by the transcription factor RORγt and develop independent of T-bet, STAT4, GATA-3, and STAT6 transcription factors that are critical for the Th1 and Th2 development \[[@B50], [@B51]\]. The main effector cytokine of Th17 is IL-17; other cytokines are IL-22, IL-26, and GM-CSF \[[@B52]--[@B56]\]. The family of IL-17 cytokines consists of the six similar members, designated from IL-17A (often referred to as IL-17) to IL-17F. Th17 cells produce IL-17A and IL-17F. Both have similar biological activities and are the most thoroughly studied members of the IL-17 family. The family of IL-17 receptors includes five members (IL-17RA--IL17RE) that are expressed on dendritic cells (DC), macrophages, lymphocytes, epithelial cells, keratinocytes, and fibroblasts and allow different organs to respond to IL-17. IL-17A and IL-17F bind to IL-17RA \[[@B53], [@B57]\]. Th17 mediate pleiotropic activities that involve induction of proinflammatory genes (cytokines, chemokines, and metalloproteinases) and antimicrobial peptides, modulation of extracellular matrix, stimulation of granulopoiesis, recruitment, and activation of neutrophil granulocytes. Therefore, the main functions of Th17 cells are protection against extracellular pathogens and mediation of the inflammatory response, particularly during autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. 3.1. Th17 Induction and Differentiation {#sec3.1} --------------------------------------- The differentiation, expansion, and maintenance of Th17 cells depend on TGF-β, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-21, and IL-23. The role of these cytokines in the induction and maintenance/stabilization of Th17 cells is different in some species, in particular in mice and humans \[[@B53], [@B58]--[@B63]\]. In general, the differentiation of mouse Th17 cells depends on IL-6 and TGF-β. IL-23, IL-1β, and TNF-α maintain and amplify Th17 cells. Data on the differentiation requirements for human Th17 cells are contradictory. In most studies, human Th17 cells depended on different combinations of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-23. TGF-β was dispensable or even inhibitory for their development (reviewed in detail in \[[@B64]\]). In both humans and mice different combinations of cytokines may result in the generation of different Th17 subsets (see below). IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-27, IL-4, and IL-2 inhibit Th17 differentiation \[[@B54], [@B58], [@B65]--[@B67]\]. At the molecular level, the generation of Th17 requires induction of RORγt, a key regulator of Th17 differentiation, which depends on the activation of the "pioneering factor" STAT3 \[[@B10]\]. IL-6, IL-21, and IL-23 activate STAT3, thus inducing the expression of ROR-γt. Of note, IL-23 is able to induce the phosphorylation of both STAT3 and STAT4, but STAT3 phosphorylation is much stronger and biases T cell differentiation towards the formation of Th17 cells (the opposite is true for IL-12: it induces strong phosphorylation of STAT4 but relatively weak phosphorylation of STAT3 \[[@B53]\]). The role of TGF-β in Th17 differentiation is largely mediated through its capacity to inhibit the differentiation of Th1 cells (which suppress Th17) \[[@B68], [@B69]\]. It is assumed that, in the presence of TGF-β, IL-6 contributes to the generation of Th17 by inhibiting the differentiation of Treg. Indeed, TGF-β is critical for the generation of Treg. IL-6 inhibits Treg generation and thus in inflammatory conditions favors the generation of Th17; that is, it regulates Th17/Treg balance \[[@B70]\]. IL-21 was shown to upregulate its own expression and that of IL-21R and IL-23R. Besides RORγt, optimal generation of the Th17 cells also depends on other cofactors, such as IRF4, BATF, and RUNX1, which cooperate with ROR-γt in Th17 differentiation \[[@B10]\]. 3.2. Th17/IL-17 Biological Activity {#sec3.2} ----------------------------------- Pleiotropic activities of Th17 cells involve activation and recruitment of neutrophils, stimulation of granulopoietic lineage of differentiation, and support of inflammation. Neutrophil recruitment is mediated through the production of CXCL8 and GM-CSF \[[@B54], [@B71]\] and the induction of CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, and G-CSF in tissue resident cells, in particular in human bronchial epithelial and venous endothelial cells \[[@B72]\]. CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL6, and CXCL8 are neutrophil-attracting chemokines; GM-CSF and G-CSF stimulate granulopoiesis and granulocyte activation \[[@B73]\]. The ability of IL-17 to recruit neutrophils to mucosal sites has been demonstrated in a number of studies \[[@B74]--[@B77]\]. The role for IL-17 in modulating granulopoiesis is evident from the expansion of the neutrophil progenitors in the bone marrow and mature neutrophils in peripheral blood of the mice overexpressing IL-17 \[[@B78]\]. In the model of lung infection induced byKlebsiella pneumoniae, lack of IL-17 hampered stress-induced granulopoiesis suggesting that during infections intact IL-17 response may be required for the effective granulocyte generation \[[@B79]\]. In primary human bronchial epithelial cells Th17 induce the expression of mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B \[[@B80]\] and antimicrobial peptides (e.g., human beta-defensins) \[[@B81], [@B82]\]. The activity is mediated by IL-17 and IL-22 \[[@B83]\] and together with neutrophil recruitment serves to clear extracellular pathogens. Recent studies suggest that Th17 are also involved in host protection against some intracellular pathogens \[[@B84]\]. Th17/IL-17 mediated induction of chemokines and cytokines in tissue resident cells, as well as the recruitment of neutrophils, promote local inflammatory responses and may lead to the serious tissue damage. Accordingly, Th17 cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. It has been suggested that in autoimmunity and chronic inflammation, IL-17 synergizes with other proinflammatory cytokines abundantly produced in these pathological conditions, such as TNF-α and IL-1β \[[@B53]\]. Th17 cells may even coexpress IL-17 and TNF-α. It has been suggested that IL-17 rather sustains preexisting inflammation than induces it. This means that Th17 may be protective during acute infection and deleterious during chronic one \[[@B85]\]. This concept may be relevant to TB, as TB is accompanied by the abundant inflammatory responses. 3.3. Th17 Phenotype and Subpopulations {#sec3.3} -------------------------------------- Naïve and antigen-experienced cells differ by the expression of their differentiation markers. Distinct lineages (populations) of T helper cells differ by the expression of chemokine receptors. Finally, some T cell lineages express lineage-specific markers. The majority of IL-17 producing cells express CD45RA^−^ phenotype of antigen-experienced cells \[[@B86]\]. Characteristic feature of IL-17 producing cells and their precursors is the expression of CD161, the lectin receptor, and the human ortholog of murine NK1.1 \[[@B87], [@B88]\]. With regard to chemokine receptor expression, the Th17 population is heterogeneous. It contains cells expressing lymphoid tissue homing receptor CCR7 (in a higher proportion than IFN-γ producing cells), B follicle homing receptor CXCR5, and nonlymphoid tissue homing receptors CCR4, CCR5, and CXCR6. Heterogeneous expression of these receptors by Th17 cells underlies their capacity to migrate to different sites \[[@B89]\]. Chemokine receptors CXCR3, CCR4, and CCR6 discriminate different lineages of T helper cells. Th1 cells are characterized by the expression of CXCR3, CXCR6, and CCR5; Th2 cells express CCR3, CCR4, and CCR8. The chemokine receptor associated with Th17 is CCR6, the receptor for CCL20 and defensins, mediating homing to skin and mucosal sites. Correlation between the expression of CCR6, the production of IL-17, and the expression of RORC (the human ortholog of mouse RORγt) was directly demonstrated, and Th17 cells were shown to express the CCR6^+^CCR4^hi^CXCR3^lo^ phenotype \[[@B90]\]. Further analysis, however, identified a population of CCR6^+^CCR4^lo^CXCR3^hi^ cells that coexpress Th17 (CCR6) and Th1 (CXCR3) associated receptors \[[@B91]\]. This phenotype is associated with the coexpression of two master regulators, RORγt and T-bet \[[@B10]\]. Functional analysis showed that CCR6^+^CCR4^lo^CXCR3^hi^ population contains cells producing only IFN-γ, only IL-17, and poly-functional cells able to produce both IFN-γ and IL-17. Due to the simultaneous production of IFN-γ and IL-17, the latter population was named Th1/Th17 \[[@B64], [@B90], [@B92]--[@B95]\]. Further heterogeneity of Th17 cells comes from their inflammatory properties. In mice, "pathogenic" and "nonpathogenic" populations of IL-17 producing cells have been described. Generation of pathogenic cells depended on IL-23. The cells produced IL-17, and their adoptive transfer caused experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Nonpathogenic cells coexpressed IL-17A and IL-10, were able to suppress T cell proliferation and were called immune-suppressive or regulatory Th17 cells (rTh17) \[[@B96]--[@B99]\]. In humans, a population of Th17.1 cells similar to the "pathogenic" mouse Th17 cells has recently been described. The cells coexpressed CCR6 and CXCR3 and exhibited transient expression of c-kit and stable expression of the multidrug transporter MDR1. Transcriptionally and functionally Th17.1 cells resembled the pathogenic mouse Th17 cells; that is, they were highly sensitive to IL-23 stimulation and produced both Th17 and Th1 cytokines \[[@B91]\]. Similarly, in some studies, "pathogenic" Th17 cells in mice were also characterized by the coexpression of IL-17A, TNF-α, and IL-2. Altogether, the data raise questions on whether pathogenic potential of Th17 cells is associated with the CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^ population and whether it depends on IL-17 or on a combination of factors that these cells produce. To summarize, the main phenotypic characteristic of IL-17 producing cells is the expression of CD161 and CCR6. Th17 are phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous and contain at least two subpopulations, Th17 and Th1/Th17, that differ by the expression of chemokine receptors (i.e., CCR4 and CXCR3) and effector cytokines (i.e., IL-17, IL-17 and IFN-γ, IL-17 and IL-10) and may play different roles in immune pathology and protection. Their exact role in these processes is yet to be determined. 3.4. Th17 and IL-17 in TB Protection and Pathology {#sec3.4} -------------------------------------------------- The fact that Th17 cells mediate both antibacterial and proinflammatory responses suggests that their role during infection is complex. This is particularly true for TB, as the pathogenesis of TB critically depends on the extent of inflammation. Data on Th17 responses during TB are numerous but not uniform and quite likely depend on the model and the degree of inflammation. Following vaccination, Th17 seem to contribute to memory response and protection. In mice immunized with BCG, IL-17 supported Th1 reactivity by downregulating IL-10 and upregulating IL-12 production in dendritic cells \[[@B100], [@B101]\]. FollowingMtb challenge of BCG vaccinated mice, Th17 induced chemokines, recruited CD4^+^ T cells to the site of infection, favored granuloma formation, and accelerated pathogen clearance \[[@B102]\]. In humans, generation of Th17 and Th1/Th17 cells in response to a novel TB vaccine, the modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing antigen 85A, was documented \[[@B103]\]. Interestingly, BCG vaccination induces different levels of IL-17 in genetically different mice. Garcia-Pelayo and coauthors \[[@B35]\] have demonstrated that BALB/c mice produce more IFN-γ and IL-17 and less IL-10 in response to BCG as compared to C57BL/6 mice. This suggests that (i) the extent of Th17 reactivity is affected by the host genetic factors; (ii) the pattern of Th1/Th2/Th17 responses may differ during TB infection and following BCG vaccination. Data on the role for Th17 during primaryMtb infection are conflicting. In mice challenged via aerosol route with a low dose of laboratoryMtb strain, IL-17 was dispensable for primary immunity \[[@B104]\]. On the other hand, Th17/IL-17 responses were involved in the protection against highly virulentMtb isolate, HN878. Gopal and coauthors \[[@B105]\] reported that mice challenged with HN878 exhibited elevated IL-17/Th17 responses as compared to mice challenged with laboratory adaptedMtb strain. IL-17^−/−^ mice infected with HN878 had elevated lung bacterial burden, diminished chemokine response (CXL13, in particular), defective formation of ectopic lymphoid follicles, and hampered colocalization of T-lymphocytes and macrophages \[[@B105]\]. The involvement of Th17 in TB protection is also supported by partial inhibition of theMtb growth following the adoptive transfer of Th17 cells \[[@B37]\]. The role for Th17/IL-17 responses in TB protection in humans was mainly studied by comparing these responses in TB patients and healthy individuals. The results are contradictory. Some authors reported similar levels of IL-17 in the blood and bronchoalveolar fluids (BAL) of TB patients and healthy controls \[[@B106]\]. In other studies, the frequencies of blood IL-17 producing cells were reduced in TB patients suggesting that Th17 contribute to the protection \[[@B107]\]. This idea is supported by the observation showing that the low level of IL-17 in serum is associated with high mortality of TB patients \[[@B108]\]. Other studies, however, suggest the involvement of Th17 in TB pathology. Jurado and coauthors reported an augmented Th17 response in TB patients. The major source of IL-17 was represented by IFN-γ ^+^IL-17^+^ CD4^+^ T cells, and their proportion directly correlated with the clinical parameters associated with the disease severity \[[@B109]\]. In line with this, Basile and others have associated augmented Th17 response with persistent and high antigen load and pathogen drug resistance \[[@B110]\]. It should be noted that IL-17 has been implicated in neutrophil recruitment and stress-induced granulopoiesis. Neutrophils have been suggested to play a pathogenic role and exacerbate TB disease \[[@B7], [@B8], [@B111]--[@B113]\]. Recent studies performed in a mouse model have suggested that immature myeloid cells are strong correlates of severe TB \[[@B114]--[@B116]\]. Thus, the involvement of Th17/IL-17 responses in the pathogenesis of severe TB is not surprising. An important question is the interaction/s between Th17 and Th1 cells and their relative roles during active TB and LTBI. As discussed above, Th1 cells and IFN-γ suppress the generation of Th17. On the other hand, Th17 do not inhibit the generation of Th1in vitro and may even favor Th1 responsein vivo. The relationships between Th1 and Th17 cells during TB infection are complex and not well understood. Comparative analysis of Th1 and Th17 responses was performed in several studies and the results are contradicting. Marín and coauthors \[[@B117]\] studied the frequencies of IL-17 and IFN-γ producing cells in patients with active TB, LTBI, and noninfected control donors. The frequency of IFN-γ producing cells was elevated in LTBI, and IL-17 producing cells were more frequent in TB patients. The authors concluded that active TB biases the protective Th1 profile toward the pathological Th17 response. Another study compared cytokine levels in tuberculin skin test (TST) positive and TST negative individuals in TB endemic area. Th1 and Th2 cytokines were not different between the two groups; IL-17, IL-23, and RORγt expressions were downregulated in TST positive individuals. The authors suggested that lack of Th17 cells predisposes to latent infection \[[@B118]\]. However this study did not investigate active TB. Li and coauthors evaluated studies of Th1 and Th17 responses in TB patients \[[@B119]\]. Of 226 studies, nine met their criteria and were selected for the analysis. Their systematic review showed that in TB patients the levels of IL-17 and IFN-γ were low; during LTBI IL-17 and IFN-γ levels were generally high compared to active TB. In contrast to TB disease, BCG vaccination in children induced high level of IL-17 and IFN-γ. The authors concluded that after BCG vaccination and duringMtb infection IL-17 acts as an effector molecule similar to IFN-γ and together with IFN-γ contributes to TB protection. An interesting question is which cells represent the major source of IL-17 during TB. As discussed above, a population of Th1/Th17 cells coexpressing IFN-γ and IL-17 exists. Th17 may acquire expression of T-bet and IFN-γ and even Foxp3 during their development; that is, they exhibit substantial plasticity \[[@B10], [@B16], [@B120]\]. Whether "multifunctional" Th17 cells differ from "classical" Th17 cells in their pathogenicity is not completely clear. As noted above, in some pathological conditions (e.g., in the gut of Crohn\'s disease patients), cells coexpressing Th17 and Th1 cytokines are pathogenic. Similarly, in TB patients the accumulation of IFN-γ ^+^IL-17^+^ cells correlated with the disease severity \[[@B109]\]. Arlehamn and coauthors \[[@B121]\] have demonstrated that TB-specific memory T cells are predominantly present within the CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^CCR4^low^ population and that this population is significantly increased in LTBI donors compared to healthy controls. The CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^CCR4^low^ population is known to contain Th1/Th17 cells. However, the authors did not detect IL-17 production in TB-specific CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^CCR4^−^ cells upon theirex vivo antigenic stimulation. Note that in response to other antigens (e.g.,Candida albicans) CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^CCR4^low^ cells readily produce IL-17 \[[@B90]\]. Thus, the accumulation ofMtb-specific CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^CCR4^−^ IL-17^−^ cells may represent a characteristic feature ofMtb infection. It would be interesting to study if these cells also accumulate during active TB or if they specifically mark LTBI. Another question concerns Th17 responses that develop locally in the lungs. The characteristics of local Th17 responses could probably shed a light on the role which these cells play in TB protection/pathology, but this aspect has not been studied in detail yet. In one study, IL-17 was not abundant in pleural or pericardial fluid of TB patients; IL-17 expression by mycobacteria-specific disease site T cells was not detected in healthyMtb-infected persons, or patients with TB pericarditis, allowing the authors to conclude that IL-17 does not play a major role at established TB disease sites in humans \[[@B122]\]. 3.5. Section Summary {#sec3.5} -------------------- To summarize, a number of studies suggest that IL-17 producing T cells are efficiently generated following vaccination and involved in the memory response to subsequentMtb challenge. The role for these cells during primaryMtb infection is less clear. In many studies, the extent of Th17 response during TB infection was low, which may be interpreted as a defect in the protective response, but also as a dispensable role for Th17/IL-17 in TB protection and pathology. However, other studies have associated Th17/IL-17 with TB pathology and progression. It is possible that Th17 cells may play different roles at subsequent stages of TB infection providing protection at early disease stage but inducing pathology at advanced TB. Next, IL-17 producing T helper cells contain at least two different populations, Th17 and Th1/Th17. Their role in TB protection and pathology may differ and has not been evaluated separately as were the peculiarities of local Th17 responses. It should be noted that experimental data on the role for Th17 cells duringMtb infection should be interpreted with caution. Indeed, unlike Th1 and Th2 cells, Th17 cells differ between mice and humans. In particular, mouse and human Th17 cells depend on different sets of cytokines, and the efficacy of their generation duringMtb infection in mice and humans may differ. Next, mouse models of TB infection do not fully reproduce pulmonary TB in humans by the type of pulmonary pathology and granuloma formation. Thus, in mice and humans cells involved in granuloma formation may have a different impact in local immune responses. Finally, clinicalMtb isolates and laboratoryMtb strains induce a different extent of Th17 response. It should also be noted that discriminating between protective and pathological responses during infectious diseases is always extremely difficult, as the same cells may be simultaneously involved in both processes. However some parameters of cellular responses (regardless of their protective or pathological impact) may be strongly associated with the disease severity/activity and thus may be used as biomarkers for disease evaluation and monitoring. Whether biomarkers of Th1 and Th17 responses may be used to assess activity ofMtb infection is discussed in the next section. 4. T Cell Associated Biomarkers of TB Activity {#sec4} ============================================== As discussed in the introduction, evaluation of TB activity is an important diagnostic goal, both to discriminate between LTBI and active TB and to monitor infection activity at the different stages of TB disease. Whether and which parameters of the immune response may be used as markers of TB activity are an open question. 4.1. IFN-γ {#sec4.1} ------------ Speaking about IFN-γ response, which has been studied most extensively, the relations between its intensity andMtb infection activity are extremely complex. In the most simplified model, the efficacy of IFN-γ response depends on genetic and/or otherMtb infection-independent factors (e.g., nutrition, stress, the use of immunosuppressive drugs, and chronic infections) and this affects the outcome ofMtb infection. In this model, the lower the IFN-γ response is, the higher the TB activity would be. On the other hand, all immune responses, including IFN-γ, are pathogen-driven and thus the more active the infection is, the higher the immune response should be. However, chronic infection and persistent antigenic stimulation induce regulatory loops and T cell exhaustion, affecting the relationships between infection activity and IFN-γ production. The real situation is even more complex because IFN-γ is produced by different immune cells, including innate and adaptive cells, which may react to the infection differently. Finally, the IFN-γ producing cells accumulate preferentially at the sites of infection, so their reduced (or increased) response in peripheral blood may be associated with increased (or diminished) local responses. This complexity explains why a simple measure of IFN-γ response does not allow to evaluate TB activity. Indeed, the levels of antigen-specific IFN-γ production by mononuclear cells or the frequencies ofMtb-specific IFN-γ producing cells, evaluated in IGRAs or by flow cytometry, do not discriminate between LTBI and active TB. Also, the levels of IFN-γ response are not associated with the disease severity in TB patients (\[[@B47]--[@B49], [@B123]\]; our unpublished observations). However, some other parameters of Th1 response may be used as TB biomarkers. 4.2. Markers of Th1 Differentiation and Activation {#sec4.2} -------------------------------------------------- Several studies have demonstrated that phenotypic markers of T cell activation and differentiation are promising biomarkers of TB activity. Following antigen-driven differentiation, T lymphocytes pass through several stages (early, late, and terminally differentiated effector cells). Each stage is characterized by the set of markers expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes. As the differentiation process depends on antigenic stimulation, markers of T cell differentiation may serve as indicators of TB activity. Among such markers CD27 seems to be best studied. CD27 is a member of TNF receptor superfamily. It is constitutively expressed by the naive T cells and early effector lymphocytes but downregulated at the late stages of effector cell differentiation. Therefore, late effector lymphocytes exhibit low to no CD27 expression \[[@B124]--[@B130]\]. In mice, the CD27^low^ phenotype has been linked to efficient IFN-γ production and lung-homing properties of the effector CD4^+^ T cells \[[@B130], [@B131]\]. Moreover, it was demonstrated that CD27^low^ effector CD4^+^ T cells can differentiate from CD27^hi^ effector precursors directly in the lungs infected withMtb \[[@B131]\]. The data suggest that CD27^low^ population may serve as a measure of pulmonary TB activity. This, indeed, was demonstrated in several studies performed by several scientific teams. In the pilot study, Streitz and others \[[@B132]\] examined the percentages of CD27^−^ cells within the population of bloodMtb-reactive CD4^+^ T cells that were identified as CD4^+^ cells producing IFN-γ in response to the tuberculin stimulation. High (\>49%) percentage of CD27^−^ (IFN-γ ^+^CD4^+^) cells discriminated patients with smear and/or culture positive pulmonary TB from patients with smear/culture negative TB and LTBI with 100% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity. The potential of "CD27/IFN-γ" approach to discriminate active TB and LTBI was also reported by other authors \[[@B49], [@B133]--[@B135]\]. Some studies found an association between the accumulation of blood CD27^−^ Mtb-reactive CD4^+^ T cells and bacillary load in TB patients \[[@B133]\]. In our study, the frequencies of CD27^−^IFN-γ ^+^ CD4^+^ cells strongly correlated with a degree of pulmonary destruction. Evaluation of blood CD27^−^IFN-γ ^+^ CD4^+^ cells allowed not only to separate active TB and LTBI, but also to assess the degree of pulmonary destruction, that is, the activity of pathological process ongoing in the lung tissue during TB and following the treatment \[[@B49]\]. Schuetz and coauthors modified this approach and extended it to HIV^+^ patients. The authors reported that HIV^+^TB^−^ patients have higher proportion of CD27^−^IFN-γ ^+^ CD4^+^ cells than HIV^−^TB^−^ patients and suggested that in HIV-infected individuals the accumulation ofMtb-reactive CD27^−^ CD4^+^ cells mirrors a degree ofMtb replication and may help to identify subclinicalMtb infection \[[@B134]\]. The same group has recently extended their study made in adults to children. The assay the authors called "TAM-TB" (for "T cell activation marker-tuberculosis") detected culture confirmed TB cases in children with 83.3% sensitivity and 96.8% specificity \[[@B135]\]. Petruccioli and coauthors compared diagnostic accuracy of different variations of "CD27/IFN-γ" approach and concluded that CD27 expression is a robust biomarker for discriminating between TB stages \[[@B136]\]. To summarize, the "CD27/IFN-γ" approach has been validated in several studies made in few independent laboratories. In addition, it relies on the mechanisms that are generally well understood and involve promoted local generation of CD27^−^ cells inMtb-infected lungs and their facilitated emigration from the lungs to the circulation system when lung tissue is destructed \[[@B49], [@B131]\]. Another marker which can be used to differentiate active TB and LTBI is CD57. CD57, the human natural killer-1 (HNK-1) glycoprotein, marks terminally differentiated, proliferatively incompetent cells \[[@B137]\]. Lee and others demonstrated that increased frequencies of CD57^+^ cells among ESAT-6/CFP10-responding CD4^+^ T cells differentiate active TB from LTBI \[[@B138]\]. In contrast to differentiation, which is an irreversible process, the activation of T cells is a temporal state that comes as a result of T cell encounter with a cognate antigen. T cell activation is characterized by upregulation of several surface molecules. Some of them, in particular, CD38 and HLA-DR, have been associated with active TB. CD38 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that has ectoenzymatic properties and catalyzes the synthesis and hydrolysis of NAD and cyclin ADP-ribose. HLA-DR is a member of MHC class II molecules involved in antigen presentation. Both markers are upregulated by antigen-responding T cells. Several recent studies suggested that increased frequencies of CD38^+^ and HLA-DR^+^ Mtb-reactive (IFN-γ producing) blood CD4 T cells allow accurately separating active TB from LTBI and even predicting the time of sputum conversion \[[@B123], [@B139]\]. 4.3. Multifunctional T Cells {#sec4.3} ---------------------------- Besides IFN-γ, Th1 cells produce other cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-2. Th1/Th17 cells coexpress IFN-γ and IL-17. Thus, effector T cells may exhibit multifunctional activities. It has been suggested that there is an association between T cell multifunctionality and TB activity. Harari and coauthors reported that TB patients had reduced frequencies of multifunctional (IFN-γ ^+^TNF-α ^+^IL-2^+^) cells and increased proportion of single-positive TNF-α producing cells (TNF-α ^+^IFN-γ ^−^IL-2^−^) as compared to LTBI patients \[[@B140]\]. The authors also showed that TB patients are characterized by a higher content ofMtb-specific CD8^+^ T cells \[[@B141]\]. Combined determination of the frequencies of single TNF-α ^+^ cells andMtb-specific CD8 T cells predicted active TB with 86.5% specificity and 81.1% sensitivity \[[@B142]\]. Several other groups also reported reduced frequencies of multifunctional cells in TB patients and their recovery following TB treatment \[[@B143]\]. In contrast, some other studies associated active TB with increased proportions of multifunctional cells. Caccamo and coauthors reported that patients with active TB had high frequencies of multifunctional (IFN-γ ^+^TNF-α ^+^IL-2^+^) lymphocytes and these frequencies decreased following the treatment; during LTBI single IFN-γ and double IFN-γ ^+^IL-2^+^ Mtb-responding cells predominated \[[@B144]\]. In another study, active TB was associated with bifunctional (IFN-γ ^+^TNFα ^+^) CD4^+^ T cells \[[@B145]\]. Chesov and coauthors using a novel dual cytokine detecting fluorescence-linked immunospot (FluoroSpot) assay found that the number of single-positive IL2^−^IFN-γ ^+^ cells was higher in patients with active TB compared with past TB and LTBI. However, there was the overlap in cytokine responses, which precluded distinction between the cohorts and suggested that the combined analysis of IL-2 and IFN-γ producing cells does not allow to separate different states ofMtb infection in clinical practice \[[@B146]\]. In HIV-infected individuals, analyses of T cell cytokine profile also gave contradictory results. Some studies reported higher frequencies of single functional TNF-α-only-secreting T cells in HIV^+^TB^+^ patients \[[@B147]\], while others found comparable cytokine profiles ofMtb-reactive CD4^+^ T cells in HIV-infected patients with and without active TB \[[@B148]\]. A separate population of multifunctional cells is represented by Th1/Th17 lymphocytes expressing CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^ phenotype. Recently, Sette group described a remarkable expansion of CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^ cells in LTBI \[[@B95]\]. The cells were multifunctional as they produced IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 upon stimulation with TB-derived epitopes, but the cells did not produce IL-17. Besides that, the authors did not analyze CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^ cells during active TB. Thus, whether Th1/Th17 and/or CCR6^+^CXCR3^+^ cells can serve as markers of LTBI or TB disease is still an open question. Overall, current data on whether and how multifunctionality of effector T cells is associated with TB activity are contradictory. It also remains unclear whether multifunctional cells are more protective or more pathological compared to single TNF-α or IFN-γ producers, whether different cytokine profiles mirror different degrees of T cell maturation, and whether they may serve as reliable biomarkers of TB activity. Thus, more studies are required for the further implementation of this approach. 5. Conclusions {#sec5} ============== During the past decade a number of attempts have been made to discover reliable TB biomarkers. In the field of TB, studies are generally aimed to identify biomarkers for (i) rapid TB diagnosis, including diagnosis of sputum-negative TB cases; (ii) differentiation of active TB and LTBI; (iii) monitoring TB activity; (iv) prediction of LTBI conversion to active TB; (v) assessment of treatment efficacy. In this review we have mainly focused on T cell associated markers that have been suggested to discriminate active TB and LTBI. Analysis of these biomarkers shows that most of them are at Phase I of discovery according to the classification of the National Institutes of Health, need to be validated in several independent laboratories, and undergo other evaluations. It should also be noted that the most promising T cell associated biomarkers described above are detected by means of flow cytometry. Their implementation in clinical laboratories may be challenging and will require assay simplification. However if the value of the developed approaches is confirmed, this might be possible. It is understood that immunological approaches for TB diagnosis and monitoring are inferior to the direct identification ofMtb. However immunological approaches may be of great value for detecting paucibacillary and paediatric tuberculosis cases, TB screening, and monitoring treatment efficacy beyond sputum conversion. Uncovering immunological TB biomarkers will also allow a better understanding of TB pathogenesis. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (no. 15-15-00136). Conflict of Interests ===================== The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests associated with this work. [^1]: Academic Editor: Shen-An Hwang
Allele-Specific PCR for the Detection of Azoxystrobin Resistance in Didymella bryoniae. Gummy stem blight (GSB), caused by the fungus Didymella bryoniae, is considered the most widespread and destructive disease of watermelon in the southeastern United States. The quinone outside-inhibiting (QoI) fungicide azoxystrobin (AZO), which inhibits mitochondrial respiration by binding to the outer, quinone-oxidizing pocket of the cytochrome bc1 (cyt b) enzyme complex, was initially very effective in controlling GSB. However, resistance to AZO has been observed in D. bryoniae in many watermelon-producing regions. In this study, the DNA sequences of partial cyt b genes of four AZO-resistant (AZO-R) and four AZO-sensitive (AZO-S) isolates of D. bryoniae confirmed the amino acid substitution of glycine by alanine at the 143 codon (G143A) in the AZO-R isolates tested. Allele-specific primers were designed to detect the resistant or sensitive allele at codon 143 of the cyt b gene, which amplified a 165-bp polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product from genomic DNA of nine AZO-R and nine AZO-S isolates of D. bryoniae, respectively. The primer pairs did not amplify DNA from other pathogens tested in the study. The results indicated that the PCR assays developed in the study were specific in differentiating AZO-R and AZO-S isolates and could facilitate AZO resistance detection in D. bryoniae.
1. Introduction {#sec1-materials-10-00497} =============== It is well known that the properties of musical instrument strings vary significantly with time, temperature and humidity, requiring players to retune their instruments frequently. The tuning of nylon and natural gut strings in particular can vary noticeably during the course of a performance. For instruments with a fingerboard, the player can make some correction by changing the effective length of the string being played, but for open string instruments, and the harp in particular, the player can really only wait until the next break in the music to retune an errant string. Automated string tuning systems have been developed \[[@B1-materials-10-00497],[@B2-materials-10-00497]\], but these generally require the instrument to be switched into a specific tuning mode, with the string being plucked or struck in order to generate a tone that can be compared with the required musical pitch. A motor is then used to adjust the string tension as necessary. Even if such a system were adapted for use during a performance, it would not help with the situation where the string is already noticeably out of tune when it next comes to be played. Ideally, a tuning system would make pre-emptive adjustments to maintain the string's pitch while it is not being played. Such a system would somehow need to determine the pitch of an unplayed string or else predict how the string will respond to changes in temperature and humidity and, especially for a new string, simply the passing of time. In either case, determining the scaling factors to convert a given tuning error into the required adjustment, with sufficient accuracy that the tuning control system is both stable and able to make the necessary corrections with the minimum number of iterations, requires an understanding of the string's Young's modulus. More specifically, the tensile "tangent modulus" (the stress/strain ratio for small perturbations) of the string at its expected operating point is needed. The fundamental frequency $f_{1}$ of a stretched flexible string is given to a good approximation by the well-established equation \[[@B3-materials-10-00497]\]: $$f_{1} = \frac{1}{2L_{V}}\sqrt{\frac{F}{\mu}} = \frac{1}{2L_{V}}\sqrt{\frac{\sigma}{\rho}}$$ where F is the string tension, $\mu$ is its linear density, $L_{V}$ is the vibrating length, $\rho$ is the material density and $\sigma = F/A$ is the stress, A being the cross-sectional area. The string tension is determined by two factors: the string's tensile stiffness and the amount by which it has been stretched. The tension may be affected by changes in temperature and humidity, through variation of the string's Young's modulus and also through the effects of thermal expansion. The linear density of the string is affected by changes to the mass within the active vibrating section of string, caused by the initial tuning of the string and subsequent adjustments, and also by changes in temperature and humidity. There is a limited amount of published information regarding the Young's modulus of nylon musical strings \[[@B4-materials-10-00497],[@B5-materials-10-00497]\], but there is almost nothing in the existing literature quantifying how such strings behave in response to changes in temperature and humidity. Some information is available for bulk nylon \[[@B6-materials-10-00497],[@B7-materials-10-00497],[@B8-materials-10-00497]\], but as will be shown here, stretched musical strings do not behave in the same way. Nylon is not greatly affected by changes in humidity \[[@B6-materials-10-00497],[@B7-materials-10-00497]\], and the emphasis here is therefore on the effects of temperature changes. This paper presents some results from an investigation into the mechanical behaviour of nylon harp strings. The work included investigations of the time-dependent creep response of such strings, but this paper concerns only the relatively steady behaviour after the initial phase of rapid creep has settled down. This is the regime of most direct interest to the musician, who would normally be using well-settled strings during a concert performance. The effects of the string's stretching on its density and working tension are first examined, followed by a study of the Young's modulus, all at a base temperature of 20 °C. This is followed by an examination of how the string's fundamental frequency, tension and linear density are affected by changes in temperature: information that would be needed in any pre-emptive tuning system that monitored the temperature and tried to compensate the string tuning. As well as reporting the observed behaviour, attempts are made via correlation studies to identify the key dependencies on the string dimensions, material density and the applied stress and temperature. The bulk of the measurements were taken at fairly consistent humidity levels around 60% RH (relative humidity) at 20 °C, but some findings at much lower humidity levels are also included. Nylon, being a polymer, will exhibit viscoelastic stress-strain behaviour. Even within the small-strain regime of linearised theory, this means that the Young's modulus will not be a simple number. As with any elastic modulus, it can only be properly defined in the frequency domain, where it will be a complex number, which will vary with frequency (see for example, Bland \[[@B9-materials-10-00497]\]). The complexity reflects the fact that there will be a phase difference between the modulations of stress and strain, representing energy dissipation. Variation of Young's modulus with frequency is mathematically inevitable on grounds of causality (see for example, Crandall \[[@B10-materials-10-00497]\]), but in the case of nylon musical strings, the basic phenomenon is intuitively familiar. When a new string is first fitted it will be tensioned to give the correct pitch, but after a short time it will have exhibited some creep so that, in musical terms, it will have gone flat. If the string is repeatedly re-tuned to the correct pitch, this creep phenomenon usually runs its course over a time-scale of a few days. A musician would then describe the string as "settled", only requiring relatively minor tuning adjustments. Translated into the language of Young's modulus, this means that if adjustments were made very slowly compared to the creep time-scale, in other words at a very low frequency, a relatively low value of Young's modulus would be measured (because it includes the effects of creep). On the other hand, if changes are made on a time-scale that is short compared to the creep time-scale (in other words, at a higher frequency), a higher value of Young's modulus will be obtained. In the tests to be described here, Young's modulus was measured over three very different time-scales: order of weeks, order of minutes and order of milliseconds. All three scales are relevant to the musical application. 2. Theoretical Background {#sec2-materials-10-00497} ========================= A gauge length L of string will be stretched by a time-varying tension $F\left( t \right)$, resulting in a length $x\left( t \right)$ being pulled beyond the gauge region, which is assumed fixed: x will be called the "length adjustment". The cross-sectional area of the string $A\left( t \right)$ will be assumed to remain spatially uniform at all times: "necking" will not be considered. For very small strains, the density $\rho$ of the material would be expected to reduce with strain: if Poisson's ratio is denoted $\nu$, then: $$\rho \approx \rho_{0}\left\lbrack 1 - \left( 1 - 2\nu \right)\epsilon \right\rbrack$$ where $\rho_{0}$ is the initial density and $\epsilon$ is the tensile strain. For a typical value of Poisson's ratio of around 0.35, this suggests: $$\rho \approx \rho_{0}\left\lbrack 1 - 0.3\epsilon \right\rbrack.$$ However, in the tests to be reported here, significant creep deformation will be seen, and the strains can become quite large (up to 20%). Experience from other areas of plasticity then leads to an expectation that after some initial reduction in density following Equation ([3](#FD3-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), the density will tend to become constant at larger strains. This expectation will be confirmed by direct measurement in [Section 4](#sec4-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. There is then a simple relation between the length adjustment and the area. For a small increase of length adjustment to $x + \delta x$ resulting from a tension change to $F + \delta F$, suppose the area changes to $A + \delta A$. Equating two forms of the volume lost by the gauge length, $$L\delta A = - A\delta x$$ so that by integration: $$A = A_{0}e^{- x/L}$$ The strain within an element of string that remains within the gauge length can also be related to A by the constant-density assumption. If an element of initial length h has stretched to length $h + \delta h$, then: $$hA_{0} \approx \left( h + \delta h \right)A = \left( h + \delta h \right)A_{0}e^{- x/L}$$ so that the strain is given by: $$\epsilon = \delta h/h \approx e^{x/L} - 1 \approx x/L$$ where the final approximation is valid when $x \ll L$. Next, consider a string at base temperature $T_{0}$, after the initial rapid creep phase has settled (see [Section 3.4](#sec3dot4-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"} for how this was achieved in the experiments). The string is now subjected to a small change in temperature with no change of length. The main concern behind this work is the effect on the tuning of the string. From Equation ([1](#FD1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), taking logarithms and differentiating gives two alternative expressions for the temperature sensitivity of the fundamental frequency: $$\frac{1}{f_{0}}\left. \frac{df}{dT} \right\|_{L} = \frac{1}{2F_{0}}\frac{dF}{dT} - \frac{1}{2\mu_{0}}\frac{d\mu}{dT} = \frac{1}{2\sigma_{0}}\frac{d\sigma}{dT} - \frac{1}{2\rho_{0}}\frac{d\rho}{dT}$$ All quantities with the subscript 0 refer to values at the base temperature $T_{0}$, and to avoid confusion, the subscript 1 from the fundamental frequency is omitted here. Tuning deviations are conveniently expressed in cents (¢), there being 1200 ¢ in an octave \[[@B11-materials-10-00497]\]: $$\delta f_{¢} = 1200\log_{2}\left( \frac{f}{f_{0}} \right)\mspace{600mu} ¢$$ where f and $f_{0}$ are the actual and desired frequencies, respectively. Hence, the thermal tuning sensitivity of a string held at constant length would be expected to be: $$\left. \frac{df_{¢}}{dT} \right\|_{L} \approx K\left( {\frac{1}{F_{0}}\frac{dF}{dT} + \psi} \right)\mspace{600mu}{¢/{^\circ}C}$$ where $K = 600/\ln\left( 2 \right)$ and $\psi$ describes the first-order thermal variation in the linear density:$$\psi = - \frac{1}{\mu_{0}}\frac{d\mu}{dT}.$$ The change in temperature will also affect other quantities: the associated variations will be linked by a relation: $$F = AE\epsilon$$ where E is the value of Young's modulus appropriate to the time-scale of the temperature modulation. Taking logarithms and differentiating again gives an expression linking the various temperature sensitivities:$$\frac{1}{F_{0}}\frac{dF}{dT} = \frac{1}{A_{0}E_{0}}\frac{d\left( AE \right)}{dT} + \frac{1}{\epsilon_{0}}\frac{d\epsilon}{dT}$$ Again, quantities with the subscript 0 refer to values at the base temperature $T_{0}$. The terms in this equation are either directly measurable, or relate to familiar quantities. In particular, note that: $$- \frac{d\epsilon}{dT} = \alpha$$ where $\alpha$ is the longitudinal coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE), with a positive value corresponding to an expansion of the string for an increase in temperature. Note also that the value of strain used would not be the slow strain of Equation ([7](#FD7-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), but should be the effective strain corresponding to the measure of tangent modulus being used:$$\epsilon_{0} = \frac{\sigma_{0}}{E_{0}} = \frac{F_{0}}{A_{0}E_{0}}$$ Combining the above three equations, the thermal variation in the string tension can be given as:$$\frac{dF}{dT} = \frac{F_{0}}{A_{0}E_{0}}\frac{d\left( AE \right)}{dT} - A_{0}E_{0}\alpha$$ The terms $AE$ have been grouped together in Equations ([13](#FD13-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) because in the measurements to be described, they cannot reliably be measured separately, as the area changes are very small. A final theoretical result is needed to support the measurements to be described shortly. One way to characterise Young's modulus is via the string's bending stiffness, through its effect on the string's overtone frequencies \[[@B3-materials-10-00497],[@B12-materials-10-00497]\]. As the overtone number n increases, the frequency of the overtone $f_{n}$ becomes progressively higher than its ideal harmonic value $nf_{1}$ in the absence of bending stiffness. The theoretical variation takes the form $f_{n}/n \approx a + cn^{2}$. Provided the measured frequencies fit this pattern, best-fitting such a quadratic enables the bending stiffness B to be obtained as:$$B \approx \frac{2cFL_{v}^{2}}{a\pi^{2}}.$$ The Young's modulus $E_{B}$ can then be obtained using: $$E_{B} = \frac{B}{I} = \frac{64B}{\pi d^{4}}$$ where $I = \pi d^{4}/64$ is the second moment of area of a uniform circular section of diameter d. The thermal sensitivity of the bending stiffness can also be determined, but any thermal changes in I cannot be reliably measured, so the measured quantity should be regarded as the thermal sensitivity of $IE_{B}$. A general point should be emphasised at this point. This paper does not consider any possible influence on perceived pitch of the inharmonicity arising from bending stiffness. Indeed psychoacoustical subtleties of pitch perception are entirely ignored here. When the term 'frequency' is used, it always refers to the string's fundamental frequency $f_{1}$: higher overtones of the string are only ever considered for the single purpose of estimating the bending stiffness as just described. 3. Methods and Materials {#sec3-materials-10-00497} ======================== 3.1. Test Rig {#sec3dot1-materials-10-00497} ------------- A test rig ([Figure 1](#materials-10-00497-f001){ref-type="fig"}) was constructed on which a single string could be stretched horizontally approximately 2 cm above a wooden baseboard. The baseboard was a piece of well-seasoned Canadian rock maple with cross-section $260 \times 68$ mm, a little over 1 m in length, and with its grain running along its length. According to the supplier, it was more than 80 years old (being a section of recovered floorboard). A hardwood baseboard was chosen for its relative stability: its CLTE along the grain, and thus approximately parallel to the string, could be expected to be in the range 3.1--4.5 ×$10^{- 6}/{^\circ}$C \[[@B13-materials-10-00497]\], which is less than half that of steel \[[@B14-materials-10-00497]\]. It might be objected that wood is sensitive to changes in humidity. However: (i) the humidity sensitivity is primarily in the cross-grain direction, while the variation in length along the grain is very small \[[@B13-materials-10-00497]\]; and (ii) the baseboard was thoroughly coated with polyurethane varnish to inhibit moisture penetration. The combination of the varnish layer and the thickness of the board ensured a long time-scale for response to humidity variations, far longer than the 24-h temperature cycle used in the tests to be reported here. As a direct check, a test was carried out using a steel guitar string: the textbook value of CLTE was measured (details not reproduced here). At one end of the string, a motorised string winder was used for making tuning adjustments. The winding shaft had a diameter of 12.03 mm. For the purposes of calculating string length adjustments, the lengths of string wound onto or off the winding shaft, the turning diameter was taken as the diameter of the winding shaft plus the typical diameter of the unstretched string. In practice, the actual turning diameter would be slightly different since the string would compress a little and also spiral around the winding shaft. These factors could be expected to change slightly as the string was stretched. Through a combination of an optical rotation sensor mounted on the motor shaft and two stages of worm gear reduction, the rotation of the winding shaft could nominally be resolved to 1 part in 4 million, and in practice, it could be controlled to $\pm 1$ part in 80,000, corresponding to a minimum string length adjustment of about 0.5 $\mathsf{\mu}$m. Tests with a dial gauge showed that the winding shaft radius about its turning axis varied over a range of about 0.06 mm during a full turn, so the absolute accuracy of the string length adjustments was in the range of ±0.03 mm. The total range of the length adjustments applied to the strings corresponded to more than two full turns of the winding shaft, but the range of length adjustments required during each string parameter measurement was typically less than 3 mm (less than 8% of the winding shaft circumference), so the effects of shaft eccentricity were small, and in practice, the accuracy of adjustments was better than ±0.008 mm. At its other end, the string was attached to a load-cell (Novatech F256EFR0KN 40 kg) for measuring the string tension. The load-cell's sensitivity and zero offset both varied with temperature, as did the sensitivity of the instrumentation amplifier and analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) used to measure its output. The thermal behaviour of the load-cell and its electronics were therefore characterised using static weights, and compensation functions were devised to produce temperature-corrected tension values. The load-cell was rated up to loads of 400 N, but its electronics were designed to give a full-scale output from the ADC at around 300 N, which was expected to be sufficient to cover the working tensions of the full range of nylon pedal harp strings at their normal operating points. A 10-bit ADC was used together with an oversampling factor of $2^{16}$ providing a nominal resolution of 0.001 N. Tests showed the absolute accuracy of the compensated load-cell and electronics to be within ±0.2 N. The total string length between the load-cell and winding shaft, the gauge length L, was 555 mm. The string was clamped to both the winding shaft and the load-cell to prevent it from slipping. Between these points, the string passed over a pair of bridge pins formed from steel rods 6 mm in diameter. The bridge pins were supported in ball bearings to minimise the frictional resistance when tuning adjustments were made. To further ensure that any tuning adjustments had been propagated along the string, it was always plucked before any measurement was made. The string vibrating length $L_{V}$ between the bridge pins was 500 mm. The bridge pins were mounted perpendicular to each other (one parallel to the baseboard and one vertical) so that the effective vibrating length of the string was not affected by the direction in which it was plucked. During the initial development of the test rig, with the bridge pins parallel to each other, two distinct resonant peaks could be observed for each of the string's overtones, corresponding to vibration components parallel and perpendicular to the string's contact points on the bridge pins \[[@B12-materials-10-00497]\]. Mounting the bridge pins perpendicular to each other removed this problem. A motorised plucker, which used a guitar plectrum to pluck the string, was positioned mid-way between the bridge pins, together with a microphone and a digital temperature and humidity sensor. The microphone output was sampled at 96 kHz, and the string pluck responses were recorded for 5 s. The corresponding frequency response therefore spanned a frequency range of 0--48 kHz with a resolution of 0.2 Hz. The resolution of the temperature values was 0.01 °C, with a nominal accuracy of ± 0.3 °C; while the resolution of the humidity values was 0.05% RH, with a nominal accuracy of $\pm 1.8\%$ RH. The plucker was mounted at the mid-point of the string to minimise excitation of the second overtone. This improved the reliability of the automated analysis algorithm in correctly identifying the fundamental frequency in each pluck response. The whole assembly was contained within a wooden chamber $1.2 \times 0.6 \times 0.6$ m with a removable Perspex front panel. Heating was provided using 100-W and 150-W incandescent light bulbs, which could be switched in different combinations via a USB-controlled relay box. Two PC chassis fans were used to provide air circulation within the chamber and a metal heat distribution bar was positioned alongside the string to further even out the temperature around it. A water reservoir was included to maintain the humidity levels within the chamber. A crude degree of humidity control could be achieved by changing the exposed water surface area and by varying the water level within the reservoir. During early tests without the water reservoir, the test chamber dried out significantly, with the humidity falling to about 20% RH. A custom-written program was used to control the test rig, including the selection of the string type and test mode, and the recording of the various measured parameters. 3.2. Strings Tested {#sec3dot2-materials-10-00497} ------------------- Thirteen centreless ground ("rectified") nylon pedal harp strings were tested; eleven from Bowbrand and two from Pirastro. [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"} lists the strings, with their unstretched diameters and bulk densities, which were measured prior to testing. The string diameters were measured using a manual micrometer with a resolution of 0.01 mm: multiple measurements were taken along the string and averaged to improve the measurement resolution. Masses of known lengths of string were measured by weighing and initial density deduced directly. Most of the strings were weighed on a scale with a resolution of 1 mg, giving density estimates accurate to better than $\pm 1$%. However, the Pirastro strings were weighed on a lower-resolution scale with the result that the density error range for string 13 (one of the lightest strings tested) was larger at $\pm 3$%. These strings were part of a larger set, used in a number of studies. When each string was first weighed and measured, it was assigned an identification number, which is shown in the first column of [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}. Where a string was long enough to provide multiple sections for testing, the string number was supplemented with a suffix letter to differentiate each section. These original identification numbers may seem a little illogical in the context of the present study, but they have been retained for consistency with reports on other tests (for example, \[[@B15-materials-10-00497]\]). These numbers are used consistently in the summary dataset accompanying this paper and in the much larger comprehensive dataset available at <https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9018>. The note shown for each string in [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"} indicates its intended usage on the harp and is given using the piano scale. The corresponding string number on the harp string numbering scale is shown in brackets. It is interesting to note that the thicker strings (A3 and below) had a significantly higher density than the thinner strings (A4 and above): this suggests that the two groups of strings had different formulations or were even made from a different base polymer. 3.3. Test Protocols {#sec3dot3-materials-10-00497} ------------------- For the first series of tests (using the strings listed in the top seven rows of [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}), each string was tested at a single target frequency. This fundamental frequency was selected so that the tension would be at or close to the string's intended operating point. Since the test rig had a fixed vibrating length, while the strings on the harp are all of different lengths, the required target frequency was calculated from the ratio of lengths using Equation ([1](#FD1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). The instrument measured to obtain string lengths for this purpose was a Russian-made Elysian Cecilia 46 pedal harp. During the first two tests, with Strings 1 and 6, the water reservoir had not yet been added to the test rig, and the humidity within the test chamber fell to a very low level of around 20--26% RH (at 20 °C). Once the water reservoir was in place, the humidity levels were maintained at around 55--65% RH (at 20 °C) for the remainder of the tests. Consequently, String 1 (A4) was tested only at the lower humidity level, while String 6 (A6) was tested at both humidity levels. All of the other strings listed in [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"} were tested at the higher humidity level. The length, diameter and tension of sets of strings designed for use on a harp are scaled by fixed multiples from one octave to the next, with a major design consideration being to ensure a smooth and gradual progression in the string "feel"; defined by Firth as $4F/L_{V}$ \[[@B16-materials-10-00497],[@B17-materials-10-00497],[@B18-materials-10-00497]\]. For the Bowbrand strings, it turned out that the octave multipliers for the string tension and the initial (unstretched) diameter were very close to each other (1.49 and 1.41, respectively), with the result that there was a very nearly linear relationship between these two parameters, at the string operating points, across the range of string gauges ($r^{2}$ = 0.996). In examining the results of the initial series of string tests, it quickly became clear that the basic material properties, such as Young's modulus and the various temperature coefficients, were all varying with the string gauge, but correlation studies aimed at trying to identify the underlying dependencies were thwarted by the very strong correlation between the string tension and diameter at the chosen test frequencies. Further tests were therefore conducted with strings of various gauges, each being tested at several different target frequencies. The set of test frequencies was chosen to encompass the operating point frequencies for the different string gauges, with approximately equal changes in the applied stress between these points. The operating point frequency for string 29 (278 Hz) was not included, as this string was added late in the study after the set of test frequencies had already been established. Each time the target frequency was changed, steps were taken (see below) to ensure that the string had essentially stopped creeping before running a set of measurements to determine the string material properties. The range of test frequencies used was limited for the thinner strings by the string breaking or for the thicker strings by the 300 N design limit in the load-cell electronics. 3.4. Initial String Settling {#sec3dot4-materials-10-00497} ---------------------------- An effective way to monitor the progress of string creep was to plot the string length adjustment (being made to keep the string tuned to the target frequency) against the temperature. Cycles of heating and cooling (either ambient temperature changes or an applied heating cycle) resulted in a loop, and any creep showed up as a gradual drift upwards or downwards of that loop. Using this creep monitoring approach, if a string was tuned directly to a new target frequency, it typically took several weeks to settle to the point where it appeared to have stopped creeping. This is a longer settling time than a musician might describe, because the requirements imposed for laboratory testing are more stringent. During the initial series of tests, with each string tested at a single target frequency, this settling delay was not too restrictive. However, to be able to run the tests using multiple target frequencies within an acceptable time, a technique was developed for rapidly settling the string each time its target frequency was changed. The string was initially over-tuned above the target frequency to accelerate the creep rate. The trick was then to bring the frequency back to the required value before the string had crept too far. It was typically found that over-tuning the frequency by 6% (approximately one semitone) for about three days worked quite well. Throughout the over-tuning period, the string was automatically retuned every 5 min. Simultaneously, a heating and cooling cycle with a 24-h period was applied. To accelerate settling, the maximum temperature limit was set a few degrees higher (typically 45 °C) than that to be used during the string parameter measurements (typically 40 °C). [Figure 2](#materials-10-00497-f002){ref-type="fig"} shows the resulting length adjustment response for String 8 (A6) during the creep settling for the step between 375 and 403 Hz. The string was over-tuned to 427 Hz for about 72 h before being tuned back down to its target frequency of 403 Hz. The ripples in the response were due to the tuning adjustments needed to compensate for the applied heating cycle. Using this approach, a string could usually be settled within about a week. Even so, each string was typically on the test rig for a total of several months, and the results reported here were recorded over a period of five years. 3.5. Young's Modulus by Tension Modulation {#sec3dot5-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------------------ At each target test frequency, once the string had been settled as described above, tests were run to determine the key string parameters. Foremost among these was Young's modulus, which was measured as follows while the temperature in the test chamber was varied on a 24-h cycle. The string was initially maintained at its target frequency until the temperature passed through the base temperature of 20 °C. The string tension at this point was taken as the base tension. The tension was then modulated through ±10% in 2% steps (for the early strings tested at a single target frequency) or ±6% in 1.2% steps (for the later strings tested at multiple target frequencies). The modulation range was reduced for the later strings to avoid any risk of further string creep. At each step, the string was adjusted until the tension was within ±0.05 N of the required value. A full tension modulation cycle had the form of a triangular wave and lasted about 30 min. The modulus determined by this method will be denoted $E_{T}$. It was noticed that in many of the resulting responses for tension versus length adjustment, there were times when the length adjustment seemed to jump. Often this occurred at the top or bottom of the tension modulation cycle, giving the appearance of some form of hysteresis, but at other times, the jumps were part-way along the tension slopes. Closer inspection showed that, as would be expected, the first adjustment made following each change in the target tension was of a fairly consistent size. Depending on the accuracy of the tuning adjustment factor, this first adjustment might then be followed by a series of smaller adjustments to tune the string to the required tension. In some cases, however, the tension did not appear to change following the first adjustment, causing a second adjustment to be made of comparable size to the first one. In other cases, where the first adjustment was too big, the tension then did not change during one or more of the subsequent adjustments being made in the opposite direction, until the first adjustment had been largely negated. It would appear, therefore, that something was occasionally sticking; possibly inside the rolling bearings supporting the bridge pin next to the load cell, where each tension step would be expected to result in a string movement around that bridge pin of only around 5--10 $\mathsf{\mu}$m. These outsized steps, which could be identified by comparing the ratio of the total length adjustment to the first length adjustment for each tension step, were excluded from the subsequent analysis. The most direct analysis approach was to calculate the Young's modulus for each tension step from the corresponding gradient of tension versus length adjustment, using the total string length and its diameter (measured at the end of the test using a manual micrometer). The temperature value for each tension step was simply taken as the average of the temperatures recorded at the start and end of the step. Regression analysis was used to fit linear or quadratic expressions to the resulting data for Young's modulus versus temperature. This gave estimates for Young's modulus and its rate of thermal variation at the base temperature. Since the string diameter was only measured once, with no attempt to measure any variation in the diameter with temperature, the measure of thermal variation was more strictly a measure of $\left( {1/A_{0}} \right)d\left( {AE_{T}} \right)/dT$ rather than $dE_{T}/dT$ per se. The thicker, higher-density, strings showed a clear curvature in their Young's modulus versus temperature responses, so in these cases the quadratic expressions were used. In general, the responses for the thinner, lower-density, strings did not show any clear curvature, and so linear fits were used for these strings. More will be said about this curvature in [Section 4.2](#sec4dot2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. As an alternative analysis approach, the tension versus length adjustment gradient was calculated for each step (as before). Linear regression analysis was applied to the steps constituting each rising or falling tension slope, having excluded any outsized steps as described above, to estimate the string stiffness and, hence, Young's modulus at the base tension (the mid-point of the slope). [Figure 3](#materials-10-00497-f003){ref-type="fig"} shows the results obtained at one of the test frequencies for the A3 string. As can be seen, there was considerable scatter in the values obtained from the individual tension steps. In general, however, the variations were within the ranges that could be expected, based on the tolerances given above for the tension and length adjustment measurements. The values obtained from the full-slope analysis (red circles) show much less variation, suggesting that much of the scatter in the individual step results could indeed be treated as measurement noise. Reassuringly, quadratic curves fitted to both sets of data gave virtually identical results. 3.6. Young's Modulus from Bending Stiffness {#sec3dot6-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------------------- For each of the strings tested at multiple target frequencies, manual pluck responses were recorded at the end of each Young's modulus test by tension modulation, when the test chamber had anyway to be opened to measure the string diameter. The wire-break method was used \[[@B12-materials-10-00497]\], in which a thin copper wire is looped once round the string and pulled until it breaks, thereby imparting a clean sharp step function of force to the string. These plucks were applied about 30 mm from one of the bridge pins. This plucking approach was used, in preference to employing the motorised plucker, to provide a sharper pluck with excitation of as many overtones as possible. The pluck responses were analysed to determine the string's bending stiffness and the corresponding Young's modulus (see [Section 2](#sec2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}). The predicted quadratic variation was always observed, similar to that shown in earlier work \[[@B12-materials-10-00497]\]. For the last four strings tested (Strings 14, 5, 29 and 10b in [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}), this analysis capability was incorporated into the control program for the test rig, so that the bending stiffness could be measured automatically throughout the string testing. This enabled the variation of $E_{B}$ with temperature to be investigated, as with the tension modulation testing ([Figure 3](#materials-10-00497-f003){ref-type="fig"}). The responses obtained with the motorised plucker did not have as rich an overtone content as those obtained using the wire-break method, but the ability to analyse a far greater number of pluck responses made up for this. Again, regression analysis could be used to fit lines to the response and provide estimates for Young's modulus and its rate of thermal variation at the base temperature. As for the tension modulation measurements, the measure of thermal variation was more strictly a measure of $\left( {1/I_{0}} \right)d\left( {IE_{B}} \right)/dT$ rather than $dE_{B}/dT$. Results were obtained by keeping the string tuned to its target fundamental frequency until the temperature passed through the base temperature of 20 °C, and then, the string tension was held constant, being re-adjusted as necessary every five minutes, while its temperature was varied on the 24-h cycle already described. 3.7. Thermal Sensitivity Tests {#sec3dot7-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------ Tests were also run in which the string was tuned to its target frequency until the temperature passed through the base temperature of 20 °C, and then, the string length was held constant while the temperature was varied on the 24-h cycle. Frequency measurements were taken every five minutes, and the thermal tuning sensitivity of the string could then be obtained from the gradient of a plot of frequency deviation against temperature. During these constant-length tests, the linear density of the string was calculated from the string frequency and tension at each measurement point using Equation ([1](#FD1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). To explore the tuning variation in more detail, in accordance with Equations ([8](#FD8-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([10](#FD10-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), lines and quadratic curves were fitted to the tension and linear density versus temperature responses. As with the results for the Young's modulus from tension modulation, for the thinner strings, a linear fit generally worked well, but for the thicker strings, a quadratic fit captured the observed behaviour better. These fits gave estimates of the tension $F_{0}$ and linear density of the string $\mu_{0}$ at the base temperature $T_{0}$ and their thermal variations about that point. Finally, the thermal tension sensitivity results, from the constant length tests, were combined with the results for the thermal variation in Young's modulus, obtained by tension modulation, to obtain estimates for the longitudinal CLTE of the strings in accordance with Equation ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). For the earlier strings tested at just a single target frequency, a number of tuning compensation algorithms were also explored: these are considered in [Section 5.4](#sec5dot4-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. 3.8. DMA Tests {#sec3dot8-materials-10-00497} -------------- To give additional information about material properties, a number of string specimens were also tested in a Dynamical Mechanical Analyser (DMA, Triton Technology TTDMA). Short samples of previously unstretched strings were tested in a clamped 3-point bend configuration with no applied axial stress. The DMA imposed forced vibration on the string sample, inside an environmental chamber that allows temperature to be controlled. Two types of test were used: a frequency sweep at fixed temperature and a temperature sweep at fixed frequency. The temperature sweeps were run at frequencies 1 Hz and 10 Hz, over a temperature range of $- 20$ to +50 °C. The frequency sweeps were run at ambient 20 °C, over the frequency range 0.1--100 Hz. The strings were sufficiently compliant that they were near the limit of capability of the test machine, so that the absolute calibration of measured modulus was not to be trusted. However, as will be described in [Section 4.2](#sec4dot2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}, a way of estimating a corrected calibration was found. 4. Results {#sec4-materials-10-00497} ========== 4.1. Results for Density and Tension {#sec4dot1-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------------ [Figure 4](#materials-10-00497-f004){ref-type="fig"} shows the ratio of the measured bulk density of the stretched strings to their unstretched bulk density, plotted against the strain. The stretched density values were calculated from the linear density at the base temperature, obtained from the constant length tests as described above, and the string diameter, which was measured using a manual micrometer with a resolution of 0.01 mm. The derivation of the strain values is described below in [Section 4.2](#sec4dot2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. With the string mounted in the test rig, the diameter could only be measured in a few places and could therefore not be determined as accurately as when the string was first measured prior to testing (when multiple measurements were taken to reduce the measurement error and take better account of any variations along the string length). The error bars in [Figure 4](#materials-10-00497-f004){ref-type="fig"} show the range in the density ratio values that could be expected given an error range of ±0.005 mm in the measured string diameter. The measurements are quite noisy, but the trends follow the expectation described in the theoretical development in [Section 2](#sec2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. The string density falls on initial stretching, approximately following the prediction of Equation ([3](#FD3-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), shown as the dashed line. Within the accuracy of these measurements, the density then remains essentially constant as the strings were stretched further: notice the very narrow range on the vertical axis in the plot. A useful corollary in terms of tuning adjustment is that maintaining a string at constant frequency should have the effect of maintaining it at constant stress, from Equation ([1](#FD1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). String 29 is an obvious outlier in this plot, showing a similar qualitative trend, but with density levelling out to around 92% of the original value, rather than something around 97% as seen for the other strings. One important practical problem when designing strings is to predict the working tension once the string has settled. [Figure 5](#materials-10-00497-f005){ref-type="fig"} shows the measured tension $F_{0}$ of the different strings, at the base temperature of 20 °C, plotted against the notional tension $F_{N}$ calculated from Equation ([1](#FD1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) using the unstretched linear density. Linear regression analysis has been used to fit a line through the operating points (black circles) for the nine Bowbrand strings (excluding String 29) tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C). The line was constrained to go through the origin and gave a very good fit ($r^{2} = 0.9997$) with a gradient of 0.896. It is reassuring to see that the points for the Pirastro strings (blue circles) and the two Bowbrand strings (red circles) tested at lower humidity levels (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C) also lie close to the fitted line. This suggests that, as a rule of thumb, the working tension of a monofilament nylon musical string will be about 10% lower than the notional value obtained from its unstretched linear density. For the strings tested at multiple target frequencies, it can be seen that the actual tension fell further below the notional values as the tension increased, because the string linear density decreases, primarily as a result of a reduction in its diameter, as the string is stretched. 4.2. Results for Young's Modulus {#sec4dot2-materials-10-00497} -------------------------------- [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"} shows the long-term relation between stress and strain for the set of strings tested at multiple target frequencies. Each plotted point here represents the state of a string when it had settled at the chosen stress level (using the creep-monitoring approach described in [Section 3.4](#sec3dot4-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}), at the base temperature of $20\mspace{600mu}{^\circ}$C; so the slopes of the curves give a direct measure of the "slow" Young's modulus $E_{S}$. When a string was first mounted on the rig, it was hard to define accurately the zero point of length adjustment, because of the details of string take-up onto the winding shaft. As a result, the raw measurements of length adjustment x had an unknown offset. However, it is obvious that the correct stress-strain relation should pass through the origin, so to produce this plot, the first three points with non-zero stress for each case have been used to define a quadratic, which was extrapolated back to zero to estimate the offset, which was then subtracted. The strain values used were then calculated from the corrected length adjustments using the exponential form of Equation ([7](#FD7-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). The process seems to work reliably: the curves shown here all look reassuringly smooth and consistent at low stress levels, and within each group of strings the detailed agreement is excellent. An alternative approach would have been to deduce the strain from the measured linear density, assuming that the total mass remained constant, but that method would not have avoided the difficulties associated with initial take-up and straightening of the string. It is immediately clear that the strings fall into two distinct groups, with very different behaviour. Referring to [Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}, the same two groups can be identified from the bulk density values, although the disparity is less striking than in the stress-strain behaviour. The strings with lower density produce the upper cluster of lines in the plot: these strings appear generally to show a slight steepening of slope and, hence, increasing modulus, as strain increases up to about 0.07. At higher strain, the slope decreases, indicating reducing modulus. The higher-density strings have a low-strain modulus which is far lower, but on the whole they show increasing slope across the whole range of strain tested here. It seems likely that these groups have some fundamental difference in chemistry and perhaps manufacturing process. Interestingly, one of these strings (Number 29, E3) is the outlier in [Figure 4](#materials-10-00497-f004){ref-type="fig"}, whereas String 23a (A3), which looks similar here, showed behaviour in [Figure 4](#materials-10-00497-f004){ref-type="fig"} that matched the lower-density strings. [Figure 7](#materials-10-00497-f007){ref-type="fig"} shows the base temperature Young's modulus plotted against strain, for all three measurement methods. The slow modulus $E_{S}$ has been calculated from the slopes of the lines in [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"}, while the measurements of $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$ were described earlier. This plot reveals quite a complicated pattern of behaviour. For any given string (indicated by colour in the plot), $E_{S}$ has the lowest value; the modulus $E_{T}$ deduced from tension modulation comes next; and the modulus $E_{B}$ deduced from bending stiffness is highest. This pattern is consistent with the intuitive expectation described in the Introduction: Young's modulus increases as the time-scale of the measurement method reduces. It should be emphasised that all three moduli are relevant to the musical application. The long-term modulus $E_{S}$ relates to the total length correction needed to settle a string to the desired pitch and, hence, determines the final tension shown in [Figure 5](#materials-10-00497-f005){ref-type="fig"}. The modulus $E_{T}$ measured on a time-scale of minutes is the value needed to perform tuning adjustments, whether manual or automatic. The high-frequency modulus $E_{B}$ influences the sound quality of the plucked string, because the inharmonicity of musical strings resulting from bending stiffness can be audible \[[@B19-materials-10-00497]\]: it is one reason why different strings plucked in the same way can sound different. It is clear from [Figure 7](#materials-10-00497-f007){ref-type="fig"} that all three moduli also show strong variation with strain. The values of $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$ both increase monotonically, over a considerable range: $E_{T}$ for String 8 (A6), for example, ranges from around 4 GPa to over 10 GPa. $E_{B}$ for the same string changes by a similar factor, with consistently higher values over the whole tested range. $E_{S}$ for that string shows a different pattern, one already described qualitatively in the discussion of [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"}: the modulus increases with strain initially, but then declines somewhat for higher strain values. These values are significantly noisier than those of $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$, because they rely on estimating the slope of the stress-strain plot. There is another very obvious feature of [Figure 7](#materials-10-00497-f007){ref-type="fig"}: a contrast in behaviour between the two groups of strings identified from the stress-strain plot. The strings with higher density show considerably lower values of Young's modulus based on all three measurement methods. The pattern of $E_{S}$ has already been discussed briefly; monotonically increasing with strain, unlike the results for the other group of strings. The results for $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$ echo this trend. The ratio of $E_{B}$ to $E_{T}$ is bigger for these strings, as is directly visible in this log-scale plot. This may correlate with a more fundamental difference of material constitution, such as a different glass transition temperature. Many polymers show a relation between temperature response and frequency response known as "time-temperature superposition" (see for example, \[[@B20-materials-10-00497]\]), so a different glass transition temperature might well translate into a different pattern of frequency dependence of elastic moduli. To explore this conjecture, specimens of strings representative of the two groups were subjected to DMA tests. The main results were very clear. [Figure 8](#materials-10-00497-f008){ref-type="fig"} shows the variation of Young's modulus with temperature for representative examples of strings from the two groups, measured at 1 Hz and 10 Hz: the string with higher density (String 29, E3) has its glass transition range at a significantly lower temperature than the string with lower density (String 5, A4). This figure also shows the expected qualitative effect of frequency: the 10-Hz results are consistently higher than the 1-Hz results for both strings. For the higher-density string, the glass transition straddles the nominal operating temperature of the tests reported here, so that the modulus will have varied significantly during the thermal cycles used. This may indicate the physical mechanism underlying the curvature reported earlier, in the discussion of [Section 3.5](#sec3dot5-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}. [Figure 9](#materials-10-00497-f009){ref-type="fig"} combines the DMA measurements for String 29 with the values from the other measurement methods already described, deduced by extrapolating the results in [Figure 7](#materials-10-00497-f007){ref-type="fig"} to zero strain. Results are plotted on a logarithmic frequency scale. This plot illustrates the approach to correcting the calibration of the DMA tests: a best-fitted scale factor was found, to make the results consistent with the other tests. The plot seems very convincing: with this single scale factor, the results over the entire wide range of frequencies can be seen to fit into a single consistent trend. This suggests that the different measured values of Young's modulus really do stem mainly from viscoelastic effects, rather than from some shortcoming in the experimental approach. Returning to the main set of measurements, results from the previously mentioned study of string creep have indicated that the total creep, and hence, strain, depends not simply on the applied stress, but in a more complicated manner on the stretching history of the string and the maximum temperature to which it has been exposed. For the purposes of this study into the long-term behaviour of well-settled strings, it is far from clear a priori whether stress or strain would provide the more useful explanatory variable. In many cases, examining the responses as a function of the applied stress proved to be revealing, especially with regard to identifying the similarities and differences within and between the two groups of strings identified in the stress-strain plots of [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"}. To illustrate this, [Figure 10](#materials-10-00497-f010){ref-type="fig"} shows the results for $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$ replotted (on a linear scale) against stress. All of the curves can be seen to increase fairly linearly with the stress, and with very similar gradients, for both measures of Young's modulus and across all of the strings. This indicates a degree of strain hardening, more properly "strain stiffening", presumably due to straightening of the nylon molecules. The fact that the modulus correlates more clearly with stress than with measured strain can be tentatively explained. Strain in a polymer like nylon results from two mechanisms: straightening of the molecular chains, which is mainly an elastic effect, and slip between adjacent chains as van der Waals bonds break and re-form, which is the mechanism of plastic creep. The results described here were obtained after the creep deformation had had time to equilibrate, and the total measured strain contains a large component of this creep. However, the stiffening effect is associated with the straightening mechanism, and perhaps, stress is a good surrogate measure of this elastic component of the strain. Note that the steady and fairly linear overall stress-strain relation seen in [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"} suggests that the progressive reduction in the elastic stretching was being offset by an almost equivalent increase in stretching due to plastic creep. [Figure 10](#materials-10-00497-f010){ref-type="fig"} shows that the observed range of variation in $E_{T}$ also applies to the range of nominal operating points (black circles) for different string gauges: thicker strings operate at low stress, thinner strings at high stress (to the extent that the highest strings on a harp are very prone to spontaneous breakage). This variation would need to be taken into account when designing any automated electronic tuning system. Using the previously available values of around 3--5 GPa for the Young's modulus of bulk nylon \[[@B6-materials-10-00497]\] or nylon strings \[[@B4-materials-10-00497],[@B5-materials-10-00497]\], when calculating the tuning adjustment scaling factor, would lead to unstable systems in many cases; with successive tuning adjustments overshooting the desired tuning until something broke. For the results from tension modulation, it can be seen that the two tests run at lower humidity levels (red circles) gave slightly higher Young's modulus values compared to strings of the same gauge, but the differences were not particularly dramatic given the very large difference in the humidity levels. The A4 Pirastro string, at a stress of about 110 MPa, had a Young's modulus very similar to that of the Bowbrand A4 strings tested at the usual humidity levels, whereas the thinner A6 Pirastro string, at a stress level of nearly 200 MPa, behaved more like the Bowbrand A6 string tested at low humidity. For the strings tested at multiple target frequencies, the Young's modulus results derived from the string bending stiffness are quite tightly grouped together, while those obtained by tension modulation are more spaced out. This suggests that there is an additional factor influencing this measure of the Young's modulus, not directly related to the string tension or stretching. Testing the strings at the same set of frequencies, and hence at approximately the same stress levels, allowed a pattern to be discerned in the Young's modulus as a function of stress level and unstretched string density, shown in [Figure 11](#materials-10-00497-f011){ref-type="fig"}. This plot suggests that, for a given stress, $E_{T}$ appears to fall fairly linearly as the string density increases. Presumably the density variations arise from chemical or microstructural differences, which also have an influence on the Young's modulus. Motivated by this observation, a curve-fit expression was derived using multiple regression analysis applied to the results from the ten Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C). The tension-modulation Young's modulus $E_{T0}$ at 20 °C can be estimated with reasonable accuracy from the notional stress $\sigma_{N} = 4\rho_{N}L_{V}^{2}f_{1}^{2}$ (expressed in MPa) and the unstretched bulk density $\rho_{N}$ (expressed in kg/m^3^) by the relation: $$E_{T0} \approx 32.0 + 0.0353\sigma_{N} - 0.0269\rho_{N}\mspace{600mu}{GPa}.$$ While the model is not perfect, it is certainly good enough to ensure a stable yet responsive string tuning control system for all of the tested strings. Indeed, an earlier version of this expression, based on fewer measurements and without the density term, was successfully used in the test rig control program for much of the testing. Returning to [Figure 10](#materials-10-00497-f010){ref-type="fig"}, it can be seen that the values of $E_{B}$ derived from bending stiffness exhibit a very similar linearly increasing trend with stress, while being consistently higher than those of $E_{T}$. Frequency dependence arising from viscoelasticity has been suggested as the main explanation of this (see [Figure 9](#materials-10-00497-f009){ref-type="fig"} and the associated discussion), but it is not the only conceivable reason. Another possible contributory factor is that the stiffness of the strings might not be uniform across their cross-section, which would change the relationship between Young's modulus and bending stiffness assumed in Equation ([18](#FD18-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}). Bending stiffness is preferentially influenced by the outer layers, whereas for axial stretching, the combined stiffness is a straightforward average over the whole cross-section. [Figure 12](#materials-10-00497-f012){ref-type="fig"} shows a scanning electron micrograph of the end of a section of the A4 (1.2 mm diameter) nylon harp string which has been dipped in liquid nitrogen and then snapped. The string appears to have a thin 'skin' wrapped transversely around the longitudinal 'grain', perhaps as a result of the grinding process used to reduce the string to the required diameter. Tests with thinner and thicker strings showed similar surface layers, and they all appeared to be just a few microns thick. This skin structure is interesting, but if anything, it would be expected to result in an opposite trend to the observation: if the outer layer of the string is less stiff in the axial direction than the core, the bending measurement would tend to give a lower modulus than the tension-modulation test. 4.3. Results for Thermal Tuning Sensitivity {#sec4dot3-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------------------- [Figure 13](#materials-10-00497-f013){ref-type="fig"} shows a quantity of direct significance to the musician: the thermal tuning sensitivity, in $¢/{^\circ}$C, for the strings held at constant length with no tuning adjustments, plotted against the applied stress. The dashed lines show estimated curves, discussed below. In almost every case tested, the string went sharp as the temperature was increased, unless the temperature was taken high enough to cause the string to start creeping again. It is generally accepted that the minimum perceptible change in pitch of a musical note is around 3 ¢, though this varies with the pitch and complexity of the sound \[[@B21-materials-10-00497]\]. Many of the strings tested varied at rates in excess of 1.5 $¢/{^\circ}$C, so even a modest change in temperature could be expected to lead to noticeable changes in the string pitch. This phenomenon, familiar to harpists, was the original motivation for this study, in the hope of being able to design a tuning compensator to offset the problem. The two Pirastro strings behaved in a similar manner to the Bowbrand strings, and reducing the humidity level did not appear to affect the overall tuning sensitivity. [Figure 13](#materials-10-00497-f013){ref-type="fig"} shows a striking difference between the lower- and higher-density groups of strings, with the higher-density strings showing significantly lower sensitivity to temperature changes. Within each group, however, the variation in thermal tuning sensitivity with stress was consistent. All of the results showed a very strong correlation between the observed thermal tuning sensitivity and the inverse of the applied stress. Referring to the right-hand side of Equation ([8](#FD8-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), this rather suggests that the rate of change of stress with temperature, of an unadjusted nylon string, is more or less constant, both for a given string and a string of a given material or chemical make-up. As for the Young's modulus results, testing different strings at approximately the same set of stress levels enabled the behaviour in response to other variables to be explored. For any given stress, the tuning sensitivity was found to vary fairly linearly when plotted against either the inverse of the string tension, or the inverse of the cross-sectional area. However, while a single plane could be fitted to the Young's modulus results across all of the strings tested ([Figure 11](#materials-10-00497-f011){ref-type="fig"}), separate planes with very different fitted coefficients were required for the thermal tuning sensitivity of the two groups of strings. [Figure 14](#materials-10-00497-f014){ref-type="fig"} shows the results using the inverse of the tension as the second variable. It was found that the thermal tuning sensitivity results, for the strings held at constant length, could be described quite well ($r^{2}$ = 0.99 and 0.82 for the lower- and higher-density groups, respectively) by an expression of the form: $$\left. \frac{df_{¢}}{dT} \right\|_{L} \approx a + \frac{b}{\sigma_{0}} + \frac{c}{F_{0}}\mspace{600mu}{¢/{^\circ}C}$$ where $a,b$ and c are constant coefficients. The dashed lines shown in [Figure 13](#materials-10-00497-f013){ref-type="fig"} were obtained in this way: values of the fitted coefficients are given in the [Appendix A](#app2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="app"}. The inverse-stress term is the most important. It may be noted that the notional stress $\sigma_{N}$ and tension $F_{N}$, calculated using the unstretched values for the string bulk and linear density, respectively, could be used in place of $\sigma_{0}$ and $F_{0}$ without significantly affecting the goodness of fit. [Figure 15](#materials-10-00497-f015){ref-type="fig"} shows the thermal tuning sensitivity when the strings were maintained at constant tension. The thermal tuning sensitivities of the strings were significantly reduced, with the sensitivities at the string operating points all smaller than 0.5 $¢/^{{^\circ}}$C and often less than 0.3 $¢/{^\circ}$C; albeit with the thinner strings going slightly sharp as the temperature rose, while the thicker strings went slightly flat. The effects of thermal changes on the string tension were not entirely removed though. As the temperature rose and the string tightened up (see below), it had to be unwound from the winding shaft to compensate, adding extra mass and increasing the linear density. This usually worked against the thermal variation in the linear density, which was now the dominant effect. A fairly linear relationship can be seen between the tuning sensitivity at the string operating points and the applied stress. The fitted line in [Figure 15](#materials-10-00497-f015){ref-type="fig"} was matched to the data for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels ($r^{2} = 0.895$). Noting that, except at the lowest stress levels, the tuning sensitivity of each string showed little variation with stress and recalling the string design scaling rules and the almost linear relationship between the tension and diameter at the operating points, it might be argued that a more fundamental explanatory parameter in this case is the inverse of the string diameter. 4.4. Thermal Variations in Tension and Linear Density {#sec4dot4-materials-10-00497} ----------------------------------------------------- It is of some interest to dig a little deeper into the data for thermal sensitivity, to see the influence of different factors contributing to the tuning sensitivity. [Figure 16](#materials-10-00497-f016){ref-type="fig"} shows the gradients of the lines fitted to the tension versus temperature responses for the strings held at constant length with no tuning adjustments. In nearly every case tested the string tension increased as the temperature rose (provided the string was not heated far enough to cause it to start creeping again). There was a strong correlation between these thermal tension sensitivity values $dF/dT$ and the string tension $F_{0}$ at the base temperature, and [Figure 16](#materials-10-00497-f016){ref-type="fig"} uses $F_{0}$ (rather than stress) as the abscissa to illustrate this. The two Pirastro strings and the two Bowbrand strings tested at lower humidity levels show very similar behaviour to the rest of the Bowbrand strings. The responses for the strings tested at multiple target frequencies are fairly linear and nearly parallel, across both groups of strings, each having a gradient of about 0.001/°C. Further analysis showed that the thermal tension sensitivity appeared to rise fairly linearly as the string cross-section increased, but with very different gradients for the two groups of strings ([Figure 17](#materials-10-00497-f017){ref-type="fig"}). Similar behaviour could be observed using the unstretched string diameter or linear density in place of the cross-section. A linear variation with the string cross-section would seem the more intuitively satisfying interpretation, however, as it would correspond directly to the observed correlation between the thermal tuning sensitivity and the inverse of the applied stress (see Equations ([10](#FD10-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and ([20](#FD20-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"})). [Figure 18](#materials-10-00497-f018){ref-type="fig"} shows the gradients of lines fitted to Young's modulus versus temperature responses. There is significant scatter in the responses, possibly due to the difficulty in extracting an accurate gradient measure in some cases, but the broad conclusion is that the rate of thermal variation in the Young's modulus appeared to stay fairly constant as the applied stress increased; while, as seen earlier, the base temperature Young's modulus increased steadily with stress. In all cases, the values were negative: the Young's modulus falls as the temperature increases, which would make the string easier to stretch, hence tending to reduce the tension and make the string go flat. This negative gradient has already been seen in the DMA tests shown in [Figure 8](#materials-10-00497-f008){ref-type="fig"} and is a familiar effect for all polymers \[[@B20-materials-10-00497]\]. The thermal sensitivities of the strings tested at lower humidity levels were slightly lower than for other strings of the same gauges, but the differences were small compared to the range of variation seen in the strings tested at multiple target frequencies. The two Pirastro strings displayed rates of thermal variation in Young's modulus that were broadly similar to the values obtained from the equivalent Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels. [Figure 18](#materials-10-00497-f018){ref-type="fig"} includes the thermal variation gradients for the Young's modulus values obtained from the string bending stiffness for the last four strings tested (these measurements were not taken for the earlier strings). The results for the thicker E3 and A2 strings show a greater degree of variation than those for the thinner A5 and A4 strings. This was due to poorer performance of the automated harmonic identification and curve fitting algorithm used to extract the bending stiffness values ([Section 3.6](#sec3dot6-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}). For the thinner strings, at least, the thermal sensitivities of the two measures of Young's modulus are notably similar given the consistent difference in the corresponding base-temperature Young's modulus values. Recalling the earlier remarks that the quantities being measured were more strictly $\left( {1/A_{0}} \right)d\left( {AE_{T}} \right)/dT$ and $\left( {1/I_{0}} \right)d\left( {IE_{B}} \right)/dT$ rather than $dE/dT$ per se, this suggests that any thermal variation in the string diameter was perhaps relatively small. [Figure 19](#materials-10-00497-f019){ref-type="fig"} shows the CLTE values obtained for the various strings, plotted against the applied stress. The CLTE values were derived using Equation ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}), from the constant-length thermal tension sensitivity and the thermal variation in Young's modulus. Again, there is significant scatter in the responses for the strings tested at multiple frequencies, but overall, the CLTE appeared to remain fairly constant as the stress was changed, at least for the lower-density set of strings. In all cases, the CLTE was negative, indicating that the strings were trying to contract longitudinally as they were heated, which would tend to increase the tension and make the strings go sharp. This is a well-known effect, usually explained in terms of entropy \[[@B22-materials-10-00497]\]. The nylon molecules can adopt more bent configurations than straightened configurations, so when heat is applied and energy added, the distribution of configurations changes with more molecules taking on bent configurations (or at least endeavouring to do so). As with the thermal variation in Young's modulus, the CLTE values were slightly smaller for the strings tested at lower humidity levels, but again, the differences were not great; the Pirastro strings again showed values broadly similar to the equivalent Bowbrand strings. It is worth noting that the CLTE values obtained for the strings were nearly two orders of magnitude larger than the expected range of values for the hardwood baseboard ([Section 3.1](#sec3dot1-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}). Indeed, a steel base could probably have been used quite satisfactorily without requiring any compensation for its thermal expansion. The two thermal effects, the reduction in the Young's modulus and the thermal contraction of the string as the temperature rises, work against each other, with the balance between them determining the overall variation in the string tension. This balance between the two effects was, however, quite close, as is illustrated in [Figure 20](#materials-10-00497-f020){ref-type="fig"}: the two terms on the right side of Equation ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) were almost equal (and opposite) and around an order of magnitude greater than the difference between them. Consequently, any measurement errors in the thermal variation of Young's modulus were directly reflected into similar variations and errors in the CLTE values. From Equation ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) and the rather linear responses shown in [Figure 16](#materials-10-00497-f016){ref-type="fig"}, it might be expected that the $\left( {1/A_{0}E_{0}} \right)d\left( AE \right)/dT$ and $A_{0}E_{0}\alpha$ terms should both be constant for each string. [Figure 21](#materials-10-00497-f021){ref-type="fig"}, which shows $\left( {1/A_{0}E_{0}} \right)d\left( AE \right)/dT$ plotted against stress, demonstrates that this is not the case. The behaviour shown in [Figure 16](#materials-10-00497-f016){ref-type="fig"} might therefore suggest some underlying connection between the thermal variation in Young's modulus and the CLTE, common to both groups of strings. The final measurement, shown in [Figure 22](#materials-10-00497-f022){ref-type="fig"}, is of the thermal variation coefficient $\psi$ for the string linear density (see Equation ([11](#FD11-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"})). It is plotted against the applied stress. For the strings tested at multiple target frequencies, the thermal sensitivity of the string linear density appeared to be largely independent of the applied stress; at least at the higher stress levels. However, if only the string operating points are considered, a different pattern is seen: the results suggest a steady and almost linear increase in $\psi$ with stress. The fitted line in [Figure 22](#materials-10-00497-f022){ref-type="fig"} ($r^{2} = 0.858$) was matched to the data for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at $20\mspace{600mu}{^\circ}$C). As for the thermal tuning sensitivity of the strings held at constant tension, the best explanatory parameter might actually be the inverse of the string diameter. There are some striking similarities between [Figure 15](#materials-10-00497-f015){ref-type="fig"} and [Figure 22](#materials-10-00497-f022){ref-type="fig"}, consistent with the thermal tuning sensitivity at constant tension being determined primarily by variations in the string linear density. It is interesting to note that while most of the strings had positive values for $\psi$, indicating that in those cases, the strings were losing mass (perhaps by drying out) as the temperature increased, the thickest strings had negative values, indicating they gained mass as the temperature rose. The two Pirastro strings appeared to follow the same trend as the Bowbrand strings, while the strings tested at lower humidity levels (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C) had lower values of $\psi$ than the comparable strings tested at the usual humidity levels. The latter result is, perhaps, unsurprising, since the thermal variation in both the absolute and relative humidity was much lower during the tests at the lower humidity levels. In every case, the value of $\psi$ was smaller, and often much smaller, than $\left( {1/F_{0}} \right)dF/dT$, indicating that the tuning behaviour of the strings held at constant length (Equation ([10](#FD10-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"})) was dominated by the thermal variation in the string tension. In most cases, there was a reduction in the string linear density as the temperature rose, which contributed to the string sharpening, but this effect was small compared to the tension variation. 5. Discussion and Conclusions {#sec5-materials-10-00497} ============================= 5.1. Material Variations {#sec5dot1-materials-10-00497} ------------------------ This study has revealed a complicated pattern of mechanical behaviour in monofilament nylon harp strings, even though attention has been focussed solely on the long-term behaviour of well-settled strings: another layer of complication appears when time-dependent phenomena during the settling process are examined, but that is a topic for future work. The first striking thing revealed by the tests reported here is that the strings were not all the same. Although the tested strings were commercially marketed as a homogeneous set, the properties fell into two (or possibly more) distinct groups. The thinner strings had lower density than the thicker strings, and this density difference turned out to correlate with very different stress-strain behaviour and also with different response to temperature fluctuations. Whether the difference arose from chemistry or from an effect of manufacturing process could not be determined by the test methods available in this study. For both groups, many of the long-term mechanical properties of the stretched nylon strings differed markedly from those published for bulk nylon, presumably as a result of molecular alignment caused by the drawing process during the string manufacture and subsequent stretching. These differences appeared both in the Young's modulus and in the response to thermal changes, as will now be detailed. 5.2. Stretching Behaviour {#sec5dot2-materials-10-00497} ------------------------- The Young's modulus of bulk nylon at 50% RH is quoted in the literature in the range of 1.5--2 GPa \[[@B6-materials-10-00497]\]. This study reveals a far more complicated picture, which cannot be encapsulated in any single number. Young's modulus has been shown to be a strong function of the testing frequency, as is not entirely surprising for a viscoelastic material. It is also a strong function of the stress or strain state of the string: and it should be noted that the conventional stringing pattern on an instrument like the harp embodies large variations of stress, with relatively low stress in the lower sounding strings, while the top strings are close to their ultimate breaking stress. Values of Young's modulus have been measured in this study by a variety of methods, between them covering a very wide range of frequency (or time-scale). On the longest time-scale, the stress-strain curves of strings have been measured on a scale of weeks, and their slope gives the Young's modulus near the DClimit. On the same test rig, tension modulation on a scale of minutes has been used. Finally, the bending stiffness of the strings was measured from its effect on the pattern of overtone frequencies. An excellent fit to the predicted theoretical pattern was found, and this allows a calculation of Young's modulus in the frequency range of the overtones tested and, thus, on a millisecond time-scale. In addition, some unstretched samples of strings were tested in a DMA to fill in a range of intermediate frequencies. These results all seem compatible, in that a rather smooth trend of Young's modulus with frequency can be assembled by combining them: see [Figure 9](#materials-10-00497-f009){ref-type="fig"}. Over this frequency range, the value of Young's modulus changed by roughly an order of magnitude, with the highest values at the highest frequencies, as expected. For a given test method, the modulus also changed significantly with stress. As an example, the tension-modulation results for one particular string increased steadily with the applied stress from about 3 GPa (at a stress of 30 MPa) to nearly 11 GPa (at 220 MPa). All of these values are significantly higher than the textbook value for bulk nylon. The marked difference in the behaviour of the stretched strings, when compared to the bulk material, was presumably a consequence of molecular alignment within the drawn and stretched strings, progressively stiffening as the nylon molecules were straightened (note that this is a quite different physical phenomenon from strain hardening in metals, driven by the movement and pinning of dislocations). Young's modulus of the strings also varied with the string density, decreasing as the density increased. This variation was less significant than the change with the applied stress, but appeared to be fairly linear across the full range of string densities tested ([Figure 11](#materials-10-00497-f011){ref-type="fig"}). It is not known why the Young's modulus should decrease as the string density rises, but the fact that the behaviour appeared common across both groups of strings, despite the marked differences in their other properties, perhaps suggests an effect fundamental to the nylons. The two main groups of strings showed very different long-term stress-strain behaviour: see [Figure 6](#materials-10-00497-f006){ref-type="fig"}. The DMA tests gave a clue about the origin of this contrast: as well as testing with a frequency sweep, it was possible to scan a range of temperatures at fixed frequency. The results (see [Figure 8](#materials-10-00497-f008){ref-type="fig"} for an example) showed that the two groups of strings had very different glass transition temperatures, and frequency dependence and temperature dependence are known to be very strongly linked in polymer viscoelasticity. 5.3. Responses to Temperature Changes {#sec5dot3-materials-10-00497} ------------------------------------- Direct empirical measurements were made of the sensitivity of the string's tuning to temperature changes. Two cases were studied: the unadjusted string, held at constant length, and the case in which tension was held constant by a feedback controller. In the former case, directly relevant to a musician, quite high sensitivity to temperature was seen with a very strong correlation with the inverse of stress. The detailed pattern was consistent within each group of strings, but very different between the two groups (see [Figure 13](#materials-10-00497-f013){ref-type="fig"}): they even showed opposite signs of the inverse-stress effect. When tension was held constant, the sensitivity was greatly reduced, but did not disappear entirely. The thermal sensitivity of tuning has its origin in the sensitivities of the various contributory factors, and these have also been explored in this study. The thermal variation in Young's modulus is one area in which there does seem to be a fairly close agreement between the values obtained for the tested strings, being in the range of $- 0.03$ to $- 0.09$ GPa/°C, and the published values available for bulk nylon, which range between about $- 0.03$ and $- 0.05$ GPa/°C \[[@B7-materials-10-00497],[@B8-materials-10-00497]\]. The longitudinal thermal expansion behaviour, however, is completely different: bulk nylon expands as it is heated, with a CLTE of around 80--$100 \times 10^{- 6}/{^\circ}$C \[[@B6-materials-10-00497]\], whereas the tested strings all attempted to contract. This difference stems from an entropic effect associated with the molecular orientation within the strings. Both the rate of thermal variation in Young's modulus and the longitudinal CLTE appeared largely unaffected by changes in the applied stress. They combine to produce the overall effect of temperature changes on the string tension, and hence on tuning, but they act in opposite senses with magnitudes that are almost equal, so they almost cancel each other out. Changes in the string linear density were found to be relatively small, making only a minor contribution. The effects of humidity changes, while not studied extensively, also appear to be small enough that they can, for practical purposes, be ignored. The finding that some aspects of the thermal behaviour were common across both groups of strings, while others were markedly different, might be hinting at some fundamental distinction: perhaps the former are associated with intra-molecular effects common across the nylons, while the latter are governed by inter-molecular forces more affected by differences in chemical make-up. Those behaviours determined by intra-molecular effects might then also be expected to display a high level of interdependency, as hinted at by the thermal tension sensitivity behaviour shown in [Figure 16](#materials-10-00497-f016){ref-type="fig"}. 5.4. Implications for Tuning Compensators {#sec5dot4-materials-10-00497} ----------------------------------------- Correlation studies of the detailed results reported here reveal some intriguing trends, for many of which the authors have, at present, no explanation. A variety of regression fits have been presented, summarised in the [Appendix A](#app2-materials-10-00497){ref-type="app"}, since these may be of value in any detailed attempts to implement automated tuning compensation for nylon strings. Having developed simple and apparently quite accurate expressions for predicting both Young's modulus and the thermal tuning sensitivity of an unadjusted nylon string, it is tempting to think that such a model could be combined with a thermometer to create a tuning control system able to predict the likely tuning deviation in response to a change in temperature and the required string winding adjustment to correct it. On the test rig, it was possible to go further than this by maintaining the string at the required frequency, while cycling the temperature and recording the required string length adjustments. Lines and curves could then be fitted to the length adjustment versus temperature responses and used to provide tuning compensation functions, which directly predicted the length adjustment required to compensate for a given change in temperature. Tests showed that this approach typically worked well over the short term, while the temperature was increasing or decreasing, but that the compensation tended to drift over the long term, especially following temperature reversals. Any tuning compensation approach that attempts to predict the required winding length adjustments based on changes in temperature or humidity is likely to suffer from a number of weaknesses. Essentially, only the string extension is being controlled; any unexpected changes in the string length or stiffness, and in particular any string creep, will go uncorrected. More fundamentally, such an approach is effectively open-loop, so any adjustment errors (which will always be there) can be expected to accumulate over time. Having said that, such an approach may still prove effective when used in conjunction with a closed-loop tuning system requiring the strings to be plucked to give a direct pitch measurement; the latter could be used to retune the instrument during breaks in the performance, with the open-loop compensator maintaining the string tuning during the intervening periods. Given the findings that changes in the string linear density, and indeed in the ambient humidity, could largely be ignored, it would be expected that the string tuning could be adequately controlled through monitoring the string tension; effectively providing a closed-loop compensator able to take account of changes in both the string stiffness and its extension. This indeed proved to be the case. On the test rig, it was also possible to measure the tension adjustments required to maintain the string frequency and then extract a tuning compensation function for adjusting the tension as a function of temperature. This approach gave very good, stable results, but would require an accurate temperature-compensated tension sensor to be fitted to every string on an instrument. In practice, maintaining nylon strings of the type tested here at constant tension would probably be more than adequate; with a sensor able to detect a change in tension likely to be considerably less expensive that one able to provide an absolute tension measurement. This approach also opens up the possibility of a mechanical compensator based on some spring and lever arrangement, but there may be concerns regarding how such a device, being always active, might affect the string feel and any string pitch distortion or other transient effects when the string is plucked. This study has ignored the effects of any environmental changes on the instrument body. On the harp, the soundboard in particular, even though usually varnished on both sides, may be expected to change in mass and/or stiffness in response to temperature and humidity changes. The changes in string behaviour have been shown here to be significant in themselves, but further tests with strings mounted on an instrument would be needed to determine the relative contribution of the frame and soundboard and the effectiveness of any chosen tuning compensation approach. As a final note of caution: because the required string length adjustments are so small, static friction between the string and the bridge pin adjacent to the winding peg must be considered. In an electronic system, the shaft of the bridge pin could be rotated during any adjustment to break the static friction, but this would be more difficult to achieve in a mechanical solution. The authors thank Claire Barlow, Alan Heaver, Graham McShane and Len Howlett of the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, for assistance during the course of this study; Fan Tao of D'Addario and Carolyn Clarke of Bowbrand for useful advice and information; Justin Grimwood for assistance with fabricating the string winder and bridge pin assemblies; Martin Oates for electronic circuits advice and suggestions; Jeanne Lynch-Aird for the use of her harps and advice on the tuning difficulties faced by harpists; Ian Papworth of Novatech Measurements Ltd. for load-cell advice; and Matteo Frigo and Steven G. Johnson for making their FFTW algorithm freely available ([www.fftw.org](www.fftw.org)). Some associated work was carried out in the course of MEngprojects in the Cambridge University Engineering Department by Savvas Shiangoli, Stephen Murphy and Alex Diao, and they are also thanked. The following are available online at [www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/5/497/s1](www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/5/497/s1): spreadsheets "NLTP master data file", "NLTP data for [Figure 2](#materials-10-00497-f002){ref-type="fig"}" and "NLTP data for [Figure 3](#materials-10-00497-f003){ref-type="fig"}". A much larger comprehensive dataset is available at <https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9018>. ###### Click here for additional data file. N.L.-A. conceived of, designed and performed the experiments. Both authors contributed equally to analysis of the results and writing the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript: ADC Analogue to digital converter CLTE Coefficient of linear thermal expansion DMA Dynamic mechanical analyser RH Relative humidity [Table A1](#materials-10-00497-t002){ref-type="table"} lists the different fitted expressions discussed above, together with the fitted coefficients for the two groups of strings. It should be noted that these expressions are unlikely to apply to other string materials, and may also not apply to dyed nylon strings (such as the red and black or blue strings used to identify the C and F strings on concert and lever harps), or to nylon strings that have not been centreless ground to remove the outer skin which results from the manufacturing extrusion process. materials-10-00497-t002_Table A1 ###### Summary of the fitted expressions. Parameter Fitted Expression Coefficients and $\mathbf{\mathbf{r}^{2}}$ ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Young's modulus from tension modulation (GPa) $E_{T0} \approx a + b.\sigma_{N} + c.\rho_{N}$ $a:32.0$, $b:0.0353$, $c: - 0.0269$, $r^{2}:0.983$ Young's modulus from harmonic analysis (GPa) $E_{B0} \approx a + b.\sigma_{N}$ $a:4.53$, $b:0.0389$, $r^{2}:0.957$ Thermal tension sensitivity, constant length (N/°C) $\left. \frac{dF}{dT} \right\|_{L} \approx a + b.F_{N} + c.A_{N}$ $a: - 0.0256$$b:0.000784$$c:0.144$$r^{2}:0.989$ $a: - 0.143$$b:0.000868$$c:0.0166$$r^{2}:0.956$ Thermal tuning sensitivity, constant length ($¢/^{\circ}$C) $\left. \frac{df_{¢}}{dT} \right\|_{L} \approx a + \frac{b}{\sigma_{N}} + \frac{c}{F_{N}}$ $a:1.067$$b:115$$c: - 11.3$$r^{2}:0.990$ $a:0.890$$b: - 14.7$$c: - 67.1$$r^{2}:0.803$ ![The test rig. The string winder and horizontal bridge pin assembly are mounted on the left of the baseboard, while the vertical bridge pin and load-cell are on the right. The motorised plucker, made from Lego, can be seen in the middle, with the microphone and the temperature and humidity sensor attached. The Meccano strips running behind and below the string provided a heat distribution bar to help even out the temperature along the string. The black plastic drinking straws below the light bulbs acted as light pipes, leading to sensors monitoring the light bulbs.](materials-10-00497-g001){#materials-10-00497-f001} ![The length adjustment response for String 8 (A6) during the creep settling for the step between 375 Hz and 403 Hz. The string was over-tuned to 427 Hz for about 72 h (red) before being tuned back down to its target frequency of 403 Hz (black).](materials-10-00497-g002){#materials-10-00497-f002} ![The Young's modulus versus temperature responses obtained using tension modulation during the testing of String 23a (A3) at 323 Hz. The individual data points (blue crosses) show Young's modulus values obtained for each individual tension step, after the steps with outsized length adjustments had been excluded. The red circles show the results obtained from the full-slope analysis. The corresponding fitted quadratics are also shown: they are almost identical, so they are hard to distinguish in the plot.](materials-10-00497-g003){#materials-10-00497-f003} ![The ratio of the bulk density of the stretched strings to that of the unstretched strings plotted against the strain. The error bars indicate the range of values that could be expected due to the resolution limit of the manual micrometer used to measure the string diameter. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3). The dashed line shows the expected reduction in the density ratio for small values of strain.](materials-10-00497-g004){#materials-10-00497-f004} ![The measured tension of the strings versus the notional tension calculated using the unstretched linear density. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C).](materials-10-00497-g005){#materials-10-00497-f005} ![Long-term stress-strain plots at the base temperature of 20 °C, with the strings settled at each point (using the creep-monitoring approach described in [Section 3.4](#sec3dot4-materials-10-00497){ref-type="sec"}). Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3).](materials-10-00497-g006){#materials-10-00497-f006} ![Young's modulus at the base temperature of 20 °C plotted against the strain, measured by three approaches: $E_{B}$ from bending stiffness (o), $E_{T}$ from modulation of string tension (+) and $E_{S}$ from the slope of the long-term stress-strain plot (\). Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3).](materials-10-00497-g007){#materials-10-00497-f007} ![DMA measurements of the real part of Young's modulus as a function of temperature, for samples of String 5 (A4, blue) and String 29 (E3, cyan). For each string, lines of stars denote measurements at 1 Hz (lower curve) and 10 Hz (upper curve). Tests were done in a clamped three-point bend configuration with zero axial stress.](materials-10-00497-g008){#materials-10-00497-f008} ![Ambient-temperature measurements of the real part of Young's modulus of String 29 (E3) as a function of frequency: Dynamical Mechanical Analyser (DMA) tests from the same configuration as in [Figure 8](#materials-10-00497-f008){ref-type="fig"} (cyan stars); results from the measurements of $E_{S}$, $E_{T}$ and $E_{B}$, extrapolated to zero axial stress (circles with central black stars). The DMA frequency sweep was repeated several times, indicated by the multiple plotted points.](materials-10-00497-g009){#materials-10-00497-f009} ![Young's modulus at the base temperature of 20 °C plotted against the applied stress, measured from bending stiffness (o) and by modulating the string tension (+). Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C).](materials-10-00497-g010){#materials-10-00497-f010} ![Young's modulus from tension modulation at the base temperature of 20 °C plotted as a function of stress and unstretched string density. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2).](materials-10-00497-g011){#materials-10-00497-f011} ![Scanning electron microscope image of a section of the A4 (1.2 mm diameter) Bowbrand centreless ground nylon pedal harp string, which was dipped in liquid nitrogen and then snapped.](materials-10-00497-g012){#materials-10-00497-f012} ![The thermal tuning sensitivity, plotted against the applied stress, for the strings held at constant length with no tuning adjustments. The y-axis shows the rate of change of fundamental frequency $f_{1}$ with temperature T. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C). The dashed lines show estimated responses obtained using Equation ([20](#FD20-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}).](materials-10-00497-g013){#materials-10-00497-f013} ![The thermal tuning sensitivity, plotted as a function of the inverse of stress and the inverse of tension, for the strings held at constant length with no tuning adjustments. The y-axis shows the rate of change of fundamental frequency $f_{1}$ with temperature T. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2).](materials-10-00497-g014){#materials-10-00497-f014} ![The thermal tuning sensitivity, plotted against stress, for the strings held at constant tension. The y-axis shows the rate of change of fundamental frequency $f_{1}$ with temperature T. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). The fitted line ($r^{2} = 0.895$) was matched to the data (black circles) for the operating points of the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C). Blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C).](materials-10-00497-g015){#materials-10-00497-f015} ![The thermal sensitivity $dF/dT$ of the tension of the strings while held at constant length (with no tuning adjustments). The responses are plotted against the string tension $F_{0}$ at the base temperature (20 °C) to illustrate the strong correlation between these two parameters. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C).](materials-10-00497-g016){#materials-10-00497-f016} ![The thermal sensitivity $dF/dT$ of the tension of the strings while held at constant length (with no tuning adjustments) plotted as a function of the string tension $F_{0}$ at the base temperature (20 °C) and the unstretched cross-sectional area $A_{N}$. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2).](materials-10-00497-g017){#materials-10-00497-f017} ![The rates of thermal variation in Young's modulus, about the base temperature of 20 °C, plotted against the applied stress. The solid lines show the results obtained using tension modulation, while the dashed lines provide a comparison with the values derived from the string bending stiffness. The latter data were only available for the last four strings tested, after the harmonic analysis capability had been added into the test rig control program. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 °C).](materials-10-00497-g018){#materials-10-00497-f018} ![The coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) along the strings, plotted against the applied stress. The CLTE values were derived from the thermal tension sensitivity, in the absence of any tuning adjustments, and the thermal variation in Young's modulus. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). Black circles show the results at the expected operating points for the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at 20 °C); blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at 20 ${^\circ}C$).](materials-10-00497-g019){#materials-10-00497-f019} ![A comparison of the different terms of Equation ([16](#FD16-materials-10-00497){ref-type="disp-formula"}) for one of the nylon A6 strings (String 8). The lower line (+) shows $\left( {F_{0}/A_{0}E_{0}} \right)d\left( AE \right)/dT$; the upper line (o) shows $- A_{0}E_{0}\alpha$; and the middle line (\) gives the combined term $dF/dT$ taken from the gradient of the tension versus temperature response of the string held at constant length.](materials-10-00497-g020){#materials-10-00497-f020} ![$\left( {1/A_{0}E_{0}} \right)d\left( AE \right)/dT$ plotted against the applied stress. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2).](materials-10-00497-g021){#materials-10-00497-f021} ![The thermal variation coefficient $\psi$ for the string linear density, plotted against the applied stress. Colours identify the different tested strings ([Table 1](#materials-10-00497-t001){ref-type="table"}): black (8:A6), red (14:A5), blue (5:A4), green (23a:A3), cyan (29:E3), magenta (10b:A2). The fitted line ($r^{2} = 0.858$) was matched to the data (black circles) for the operating points of the Bowbrand strings tested at the usual humidity levels (around 55--65% RH at $20\mspace{600mu}{^\circ}C$). Blue circles show Pirastro strings; red circles show tests at low humidity (around 20--26% RH at $20\mspace{600mu}{^\circ}C$).](materials-10-00497-g022){#materials-10-00497-f022} materials-10-00497-t001_Table 1 ###### The set of nylon harp strings studied, showing the unstretched string parameters, the target fundamental frequencies for testing and the plot styles used in the responses shown in the figures. The number in the first column provides a unique reference for each test string or string section. It can be used to cross-reference with the summary dataset submitted with this paper and the larger dataset available at <https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9018>. Strings 12 and 13 were from the Pirastro "Nycor Concert Harp" range. The other strings were all from the Bowbrand "Pedal Nylon" range. The nine test frequencies marked with an asterisk correspond to the expected operating points on the harp. These points are included in some of the figures as black circles. No. Note Diameter (mm) Bulk Density (kg/m$\mathbf{{}^{3}}$) Target Test Frequencies (Hz) Plot Style Comments ----- --------- --------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------------- 1 A4 (19) 1.193 1067 323 Red circle Tested only at low humidity 6 A6 (5) 0.661 1089 429 \* Red circle (low hum.) Tested at both humidity levels 2 A4 (19) 1.199 1068 323 \* 3 A4 (19) 1.194 1080 323 \* 10a A2 (33) 2.362 1134 235 \* Higher density 13 A6 (5) 0.613 1074 429 Blue circle 12 A4 (19) 1.280 1070 323 Blue circle 8 A6 (5) 0.658 1097 174, 235, 287, 323, 375, 403, 429 \, 453 Black line 14 A5 (12) 0.841 1072 174, 235, 287, 323, 375 \, 403, 429, 453 Red line 5 A4 (19) 1.196 1076 174, 235, 287, 323 \, 375, 403 Blue line 23a A3 (26) 1.680 1151 174, 235, 287 \, 323, 360 Green line Higher density 29 E3 (29) 1.894 1159 174, 235, 287, 323 Cyan line Higher density 10b A2 (33) 2.362 1134 174, 235 \* Magenta line Higher density [^1]: The authors contributed equally to this work.
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates, in general, to billiard cues and, more specifically, to billiard cue shafts. 2. Description of the Art Billiard or pool cues typically are formed of an elongated shaft; a butt at one end of the shaft and a ferrule mounted at an opposite end which supports a tip. The shaft may be formed as a solid, one-piece member or of two threadingly engageable sections. Typically, the shaft has been formed of a hard wood, such as a hard maple. Other materials, such as aluminum, steel, plastic and carbon fiber, have also used to form billiard/pool cue shafts. Cues formed of such "non-wood" materials have been engineered to approximate wood in weight and stiffness or rigidity; however none have proven to play better than a hard wood cue. It is also known to form cue shafts of solid maple with a thin composite outer skin formed of various fibers and/or resin combinations. It is known to form a cue shaft of a solid glass bonded fiber as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,359. It is also known to form a cue shaft as a composite tube of carbon fibers in which the shaft has a wall thickness of 0.060 inches or more and the hollow interior of the shaft is filled with foam as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,203. U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,046 discloses a shaft formed of a solid epoxy resin body with a central graphite core. This shaft accommodates flexure and impact by utilizing elongated carbon filaments circumferentially spaced apart and concentrically disposed about the core and extending axially through the front and rear sections of the shaft. Generally a billiard or pool cue is formed with one of two styles of taper. In an "American" taper, the cue has a constant diameter of approximately 0.5 inches for approximately the first twelve inches from the tip end, this being the longest bridge length commonly used in play. The other common type of taper is a so-called "European taper". In this style of cue, the cue has a truncated cone shape along its entire length tapering to a tip. Previously devised ferrules have been formed of ivory which is substantially harder than that of the material used to form the shaft. More recently, reinforced phenolics and thermoplastics have been employed to form ferrules. Such ferrules have a modulus of elasticity ranging from a high of 1.3.times.10.sup.6 psi to a low of 0.35.times.10.sup.6 psi as compared to the 1.8.times.10.sup.6 psi modulus of elasticity of hard maple commonly used to form the shaft. The ferrule is adhesively joined to and/or press fit to one end of the shaft, typically by means of a tenon in the form of a narrow diameter end portion which projects out of the end of the shaft into a hollow bore extending inward from one end of the ferrule or, alternately, from the ferrule into a bore in one end of the shaft. The tip, which is typically formed of leather, is adhesively joined to the ferrule. Generally, the tip, according to popular practice, is formed with a large radius to present a generally flat ball contacting end portion. In use, the shaft is lined up with the intended path of movement of the cue ball prior to stroking the shaft to impact the tip on the ball. The cue can also be lined up to strike the cue ball off center, that is, to the left or right of the center of the ball, or above or below the center of the ball, to impart spin, draw or follow to the cue ball to cause it to move in a desired direction after it strikes another ball or a rail. However, as a result of a hit to the left or right of center, the cue ball does not follow a path of movement that is parallel to the line of stroke of the cue. Rather, the cue ball deflects or moves in a path at an angle to the line of stroke of the cue. This so-called angle of deflection varies with the speed of the stroke and how far from center the cue tip strikes the cue ball, but with a given off center distance and speed, the magnitude of the angle of deflection is primarily a function of the cue itself. During off center hits, the tip, ferrule and the end of the shaft up to the player's hand bridge initially buckles due to loading of the impact forces 7 generated during impact of the tip with cue ball on an inside edge of the shaft closest to the center of the ball. This buckling is then followed by an outward flexing of the tip, ferrule and shaft end. Experimentation by the Applicants has shown that a large amount of buckling results in a larger and more undesirable deflection of the cue ball from a path of movement parallel to the cue stroke line than when buckling is minimized and the end of the cue more easily flexes or bends outward from the center of the cue ball after impact with the cue ball. Applicants have also found that a substantial amount of the cue ball deflection is due to the mass of the shaft at the tip end of the shaft. In order to address the cue ball deflection problem, the Applicants devised a billiard/pool cue disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,437 and in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/825,240, filed Mar. 27, 1997 in the names of Allan McCarty and Steve Titus and entitled "Billiard/Pool Cue". In both of these disclosures, a hollow bore is formed in the shaft extending from the first end for a predetermined distance toward the second or butt end. The bore forms a hollow cavity in the shaft after the ferrule is mounted on the first end of the shaft. The purpose of the bore is to reduce the weight of the tip end thereby resulting in a lighter tip end which is capable of easier outward flexing than previously devices cue shafts since the tip end can quickly accelerate laterally due to its reduced weight. However, the shaft of the cue disclosed in this patent and pending application is made of wood thereby necessitating large wall thicknesses for strength. This large thickness counteracts the reduced weight in the tip end of the shaft formed by the bore. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a billiard cue which has a significantly reduced mass at the tip end of the shaft while maintaining sufficient stiffness to minimize flexure or buckling of the tip end of the shaft and thereby deflection of a ball struck by the cue. It would also be desirable to provide a billiard cue formed of a material having high strength and stiffness; while at the same time providing a light weight and low mass to at least the tip end of the shaft. It would also be desirable to provide a billiard cue formed of a material having a unique combination of stiffness and lightweight to enable the tip of the cue to be displaced on impact with a ball while still remaining in contact with the ball as the ball begins to rotate.
Q: extract data from NSMutableArray In my application i parse a xml from which I get a list of items (hotels and restaurants) that i put into array "listElements"; I need to get from this array, another array that will contain only the particular elements (hotels only) and then I need to get from this array, three array that will contain hotels according to stars(array5starhotel, array4starhotel,array3starhotel). How can do this? This is the code I used for parsing(I used TBXML): - (void)loadCategories { // instantiate an array to hold categories objects listCategories = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:100]; tbxml = [[TBXML tbxmlWithXMLFile:@"Molise.xml"] retain]; // Obtain root element TBXMLElement * root = tbxml.rootXMLElement; // if an author element was found if (root) { //search for the first category element within the root element's children TBXMLElement * category = [TBXML childElementNamed:@"category" parentElement:root]; // if a category element was found while (category != nil) { // instantiate a category object Category * aCategory = [[Category alloc] init]; // get the name attribute from the category element aCategory.name = [TBXML valueOfAttributeNamed:@"name" forElement:category]; // search the category's child elements for a "element" element TBXMLElement * element = [TBXML childElementNamed:@"element" parentElement:category]; // if a "element" element was found while (element != nil) { // instantiate a "element" object Element * aElement = [[Element alloc] init]; // extract the attributes from the "element" element aElement.title = [TBXML valueOfAttributeNamed:@"title" forElement:element]; aElement.address = [TBXML valueOfAttributeNamed:@"address" forElement:element]; aElement.stars =[TBXML valueOfAttributeNamed:@"stars" forElement:element]; // add the "element" object to the category's listElements array and release the resource [aCategory.listElements addObject:aElement]; [aElement release]; // find the next sibling element named "element" element = [TBXML nextSiblingNamed:@"element" searchFromElement:element]; } // add our category object to the listCategories array and release the resource [listaCategories addObject:aCategory]; [aCategory release]; // find the next sibling element named "category" category = [TBXML nextSiblingNamed:@"category" searchFromElement:category]; } [tbxml release]; } A: OK, so your code snippet doesn't do what the question says it does. You make an array of categories (listCategories) containing lots of Category objects. Each of these contains a listElements array. Assuming that you want the items from the 'hotels' category . . . // Get the hotels category Category hotelsCategory = nil; for (Category temp in listCategories.each) { if ([temp.name isEqualToString:@"hotel"]) { hotelsCategory = temp; break; } } if (nil == hotelsCategory) return NSLog(@"No hotels category found"); // Get the hotels from this category with a 3 or above star rating NSMutableArray array5starhotel = [NSMutableArray array]; NSMutableArray array4starhotel = [NSMutableArray array]; NSMutableArray array3starhotel = [NSMutableArray array]; for (Element element in hotelsCategory.listElements) { if ([element.stars isEqualToString:@"5"]) [array5starhotel addObject:element]; if ([element.stars isEqualToString:@"4"]) [array4starhotel addObject:element]; if ([element.stars isEqualToString:@"3"]) [array3starhotel addObject:element]; } Hope that helps - I've had to guess at some stuff because I don't know what's in a Category or Element object!
The long-term objective of this research is to understand molecular aspects of the pathogenic process in prion diseases. These transmissible neurodegenerative disorders include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle and chronic wasting disease in cervids. The most intriguing aspect of prion diseases is the nature of the infectious agent that is composed of a misfolded form of the prion protein, PrPSc. This misfolded conformer is believed to self-replicate by the mechanism involving binding to the normal prion protein, PrPC, and forcing its conformational conversion to the sheet- rich PrPSc state. However, the mechanism of the PrPC ? PrPSc conversion and, especially, the structural aspects of this process remain poorly understood. The lack of information in this regard represents a critical gap in prion research, hindering efforts to understand the molecular basis of TSE diseases as well as development of effective strategies for pharmacological intervention. The overall goal of this Project is to gain insight into the structural basis of prion protein conversion and, especially, the structure of PrPSc conformer. The first specific aim seeks to gain insight into the molecular and structural basis of seeded conversion of prion protein to the infectious form, with the working hypothesis that the key initial event in this reaction is a conformational transition within a relatively short segment of the protein, from which ?-structure propagates into the surrounding regions. The second aim takes advantage of the recent seminal finding that highly infectious prions can be generated in vitro from the recombinant PrP in the presence of additional cofactors. We will use a battery of biophysical techniques to characterize these infectious protein aggregates at all levels of structural organization. The third aim seeks to determine conformational correlates of transmissibility and phenotypic variability of human prion diseases. This Research Project is one of the components of a larger Program Project. It relies on services provided by the Animal and Neuropathology Cores and involves close scientific interaction with two other Research Projects of this Program.
ポテトチップスギザギザ ® 味わいしお味厚切りにあわせた「こだわりの味付け」と食べ応えのある「ザクッと食感」で心地よい満足感が楽しめる、自分用のご褒美ポテトチップスです。厚切りにあわせた特製ブレンドの塩使用しています。旨み広がる、味わい深い塩味をお届けします。1枚ずつ、ゆっくりじっくりお楽しみください。 ※店舗によっては、お取扱いのない場合や、売り切れで販売終了の場合がございます。
DNA test solves mystery of wolf-like creature shot in Montana By Caitlin O'Kane Updated on: June 18, 2018 / 6:41 PM / CBS News In May, a large wolf-like creature was shot by a rancher in Montana, and its identity puzzled local experts and social media users around the nation. Was it a wolf? An unusual bear? Some even started speculating about Bigfoot or a real-life dire wolf from "Game of Thrones." A DNA test was ordered up to determine the animal's true identity -- and the results may be a disappointment for Bigfoot-hunters. The animal was shot on a ranch outside Denton on May 16, but it looked as if it came out of the Ice Age. Photos taken by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) showed a raggedy wolf-like creature with some slightly unusual features. It had long grayish-brown fur, a large head and a snout; but its ears seemed larger than average, and its legs and body too short for a typical wolf. "We have no idea what this was until we get a DNA report back," Bruce Auchly, information manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told The Great Falls Tribune at the time. A man shot the animal when it appeared on his ranch, then called Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks who took it to their lab. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Now, about a month later, the DNA results are in and the mystery has been solved once and for all. "The canine creature shot in Montana a month ago that captured the curiosity of the nation is actually a gray wolf," Montana FWP wrote in an announcement Monday. "DNA from the animal ... was tested at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. The lab compared the animal's DNA with thousands of other DNA samples from wolves, coyotes and dogs," the official state agency said. "The conclusion was clear -- this animal is a gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains." Montana FWP says confusion over the animal's identity may have been caused by its appearance in the photos. It seemed to have short legs and big ears but inspection of the animal at the wildlife lab in Bozeman "revealed a relatively normal looking, dark brown wolf" Montana FWP says. The wolf "measured 45 inches from the tip of the nose to the rump and weighed 84.5 pounds," the announcement said. It is a non-lactating female, estimated to be between 2 and 3 years old. Mary Curtis, geneticist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says physical variations aren't unusual for animals. So the mysterious animal was actually just one of the approximately 900 wolves roaming Montana. At least the mystery is finally solved.
Q: Is it possible to take screenshots in-game? I've found many scenes in The Witcher 3 to be very pretty and I'd like to record them by taking a screenshot. Is it possible to take a screenshot actually in-game? If it is, how is it done? I am playing the game on PC using the GOG Galaxy Beta client. Referring to this thread, it seems that the only way is a third party solution, such as Fraps or 'Non-Steam game' link and overlay, but are they correct in assuming the game has no built-in screenshot functionality? A: Well there is no Witcher 3 Functionality for Screenshots. But Yes you can easily take screenshots of The Witcher 3. I take screenshots of games in 2 ways. Steam Way If you are playing Witcher 3 on Steam you can press F12 to take a screenshot while you are playing. NOTE: This was the default key that came with my installation. You can change it in the settings. If you have it on GoG you can open it as a non-steam game in steam and still use the functionality. MSI Afterbuner Way The second option for me is using MSI Afterburner. To enable screenshots you can: Open MSI Afterburner Go to Settings Open tab "Screen Capture" Set Default Key and desired folder for the shots Open game and take screenshots at will With MSI the advantage is that you can even choose the extension of the images generated. Hope I helped A: Sorry if this is already been mentioned/discovered but you can take great screenshots in Witcher 3 w/out the UI showing using this "photo mode" mod/method: http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/28216/article/the-witcher-3-photo-mode-tool-allows-you-to-compose-fantastic-screenshots/ How it works: Install the mod files into your Witcher 3 folder (linked above) Launch the game / load your save / start playing Press "F2" and a console panel will slide down Type "dlgshow" and press "ENTER" to HIDE the UI (yes, no idea why the command has the word "show" in it) Press "F2" to hide the console panel Press your keyboard shortcut to take a screenshot w/whatever 3rd party screenshot utility you use (I use Fraps and Ctrl+PrtScreen) When done, press "F2" again, type "dlghide" and press "ENTER" to bring back the UI Press "F2" again to hide the console and go back to playing the game! It sounds (and is) a bit tedious but you get faster at it after a few times - and it's worth it for the great screenshots. I wish someone would create a single-button-press option for UI-free screens, but at least the above works.
Q: Append XML to DOMNode in PHP I would like to append XML to DOMNode element, but I got the error : "Wrong Document Error". Here is my code : $dom = new \DOMDocument(); $dom->loadXML($xmlResources->asXml()); $orderNodeList = $dom->getElementsByTagName('order'); foreach ($orderNodeList as $orderNode) { $idAddressDelivery = $orderNode->getElementsByTagName('id_address_delivery')->item(0)->nodeValue; $xmlToAppend = $this->getSpecificResource('addresses', $idAddressDelivery); //It returns a SimpleXMLElement $tmpNode = new \DOMDocument(); //I create a DOMDocument $tmpNode->loadXML($xmlToAppend->asXML()); //I fill it with XML $orderNode->appendChild($tmpNode); //I want to put the new XML inside the DOMNode, but it throws an error } I've searched on the web, but don't know how to make it, could you tell what's wrong please ? Thank you for your help ^^ A: The nodes are in a separate DOM. But you can only append nodes that are part of the same DOM. Here are two possibilities: Import the nodes you loaded. $target = new DOMDocument(); $target->loadXml("<one/>"); $source = new DOMDocument(); $source->loadXml("<two/>"); $target->documentElement->appendChild( $target->importNode($source->documentElement, TRUE) ); echo $target->saveXml(); Load the XML into a fragment and append it. $target = new DOMDocument(); $target->loadXml("<one/>"); $fragment = $target->createDocumentFragment(); $fragment->appendXml("<two/>"); $target->documentElement->appendChild($fragment); echo $target->saveXml(); Output: <?xml version="1.0"?> <one><two/></one> HINT: You might want to read about DOMXpath::evaluate(). It allows to fetch nodes using expressions. This is a lot more powerful then methods like DOMNode::getElementsByTagName().
About Attack on Titan: Before the Fall 15 The prequel to the number one bestselling Attack on Titan and winner of the Diamond Gem Award for best manga continues! KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE As the days dwindle before the Survey Corps’ last chance at an expedition, the need to train with their new equipment for fighting the Titans is more pressing than ever. But when an accident during training is revealed to be a work of sabotage, it sends shockwaves through the camp. Who is trying to ruin humanity’s best chance at stopping the Titans, and why?!
<?php /** * SAML 2.0 remote SP metadata for SimpleSAMLphp. * * See: https://simplesamlphp.org/docs/stable/simplesamlphp-reference-sp-remote / / * Example SimpleSAMLphp SAML 2.0 SP / $metadata['https://saml2sp.example.org'] = [ 'AssertionConsumerService' => 'https://saml2sp.example.org/simplesaml/module.php/saml/sp/saml2-acs.php/default-sp', 'SingleLogoutService' => 'https://saml2sp.example.org/simplesaml/module.php/saml/sp/saml2-logout.php/default-sp', ]; / * This example shows an example config that works with G Suite (Google Apps) for education. * What is important is that you have an attribute in your IdP that maps to the local part of the email address at * G Suite. In example, if your Google account is foo.com, and you have a user that has an email john@foo.com, then you * must set the simplesaml.nameidattribute to be the name of an attribute that for this user has the value of 'john'. / $metadata['google.com'] = [ 'AssertionConsumerService' => 'https://www.google.com/a/g.feide.no/acs', 'NameIDFormat' => 'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress', 'simplesaml.nameidattribute' => 'uid', 'simplesaml.attributes' => false, ]; $metadata['https://legacy.example.edu'] = [ 'AssertionConsumerService' => 'https://legacy.example.edu/saml/acs', / * Currently, SimpleSAMLphp defaults to the SHA-256 hashing algorithm. * Uncomment the following option to use SHA-1 for signatures directed * at this specific service provider if it does not support SHA-256 yet. * * WARNING: SHA-1 is disallowed starting January the 1st, 2014. * Please refer to the following document for more information: * http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-131A/sp800-131A.pdf */ //'signature.algorithm' => 'http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#rsa-sha1', ];
[Morphological investigation of the neonatal lung with respiratory distress syndrome which was maximally distended with Somentor 33 and formalin (author's transl)]. The importance of morphological immaturity of the lung in the development of the respiratory distress syndrome was investigated. Atelectatic lungs of newborns were maximally expanded with a mineral oil of low kinematic viscosity (Somentor 33) or 10% Formalin. With this method, surface active forces of peripheral air spaces should not impede expansion of the lungs. 27 lungs of neonates who died of respiratory distress syndrome and 10 lungs of neonates without primary respiratory problems were examined. Following maximal expansion of the lungs with the respiratory distress syndrome show a hypercellular densely cellular tissue of the pulmonary segments, much like glanduloid hyperplasia with small peripheral air spaces and long distances for diffusion of the respiratory gases. The lungs of newborns without respiratory distress syndromes are well alveolar following expansion and show an optimal morphology for gas diffusion. A lack of a surfactant should have significant consequences in small air spaces.
Q: When reading a socket in python, is there any difference between os.read and socket.recv? Suppose I have a socket. What is the difference between these two lines of code? line 1: os.read(some_socket.fileno(), 1024) line 2: some_socket.recv(1024) ...other than the fact that the first one doesn't work on Windows. In other words, can I substitute the second line for the first one? I've got a codebase that hasn't really been tested with Windows, and this is causing trouble. A: line 1 uses the underlining file descriptor to read the socket, so it is platform-dependant. Use line 2, since it is a portable, multi-platform way of accomplishing the same thing. Obligatory: If you're doing anything serious, it's better to avoid having to deal with low-level sockets. They are hard to get right, it may seem things are working but there are many details. Those details are already solved in many networking frameworks and there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. I suggest twisted, it is pretty good.
Breadcrumb Navigation National Parks National Parks A National Park is a park used for the conservation and development of natural resources and preservation of native wildlife. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers a 'National Park' a protected area. National Park Service (NPS) employees and volunteers safeguard and maintain the United States' 392 parks. About 275 million people visit these places each year. There are tens of thousands of acres of land, oceans, lakes and reservoirs; 68,000 archeological sites; 43,000 miles of shoreline; 27,000 historic structures and much more. The NPS is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior and is led by a director nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. (Source: NPS / Photo: Flickr) Video: Just in time for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, a team of geographers and cartographers have produced an interactive online map that shows the terrain as it would have appeared through the eyes of Gettysburg commanders.
Enzymatic necrolysis of acute deep burns--report of preliminary results with 22 patients. Enzymatic debridement by the use of a proteolytic enzyme complex derived, isolated and purified from pineapple stems proves to be an innovative, rapid, effective, selective and safe method of postburn necrotic skin removal. The major advantages of the procedure include minimal invasivity, rapidity, effectiveness, possibility to perform the debridement at the bedside, minimal or no loss of blood and minimal interference with natural wound healing processes. Our preliminary experience with this treatment method showed that in most of the cases treated the debridement was excellent, safe and rapid. The average duration of the debridement was less than 4 hours. The debridement was accompanied by minor to moderate pain which could be treated by analgetic medications. No serious adverse events or reactions have been observed during the study. The time for healing was comparable with the standard of care methods. The second randomized multicenter study is still in progress and has not yet been finished.
Saturday, December 12, 2015 Can't beat the price. $2.99 at Marc's for four. Actually it was the Red Army Chorus that grabbed me. Copyright is 1999 when they made this, but Russia hasn't been "red" since 1990. When I played it I discovered a lot of female voices--well, I guess they've integrated, too. You can tell it's phonetic. Difficult to understand the words--but I know them. I had one of their records in the 1950s. Very rich, folk, Russian and very male. Songs 4 Worship is Integrity Music / Time Life, 2001. The other is all the "old" favorites from the 40-50s like Guy Lombardo, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby. Probably won't be able to use the kid's music, but that's still $1 per disc.
PASADENA, Calif. (CN) – A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld a $5.3 million copyright infringement verdict against pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines.” The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to uphold a jury’s verdict finding “Blurred Lines” infringed a copyright held by Motown legend Marvin Gaye’s children for his song “Got to Give It Up.” According to the panel, “Got to Give It Up” is entitled to broad copyright protection because “musical compositions are not confined to a narrow range of expression.” The panel also accepted a federal judge’s limiting the scope of the Gaye’s copyright to the sheet music deposited with the Copyright Office, and that it does not extend to sound recordings. In 2015, after a seven-day trial and two days of deliberation, a jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s children Frankie Christian Gaye, Nona Gaye and Marvin Gaye III $7.4 million, which U.S District Judge John Kronstadt later trimmed to $5.3 million. Thicke, Williams and music industry firms then asked Kronstadt to vacate the jury’s verdict and order a new trial, arguing that expert testimony, as well as submission of Thicke and Williams’ statements to the press and media in promoting the song, were prejudicial Furthermore, the stars argued, the jury should have not have heard an edited version of “Got to Give It Up,” and jury instructions were flawed. Kronstadt denied the motion for a new trial, finding that “substantial evidence” supported the verdict. On appeal, musicians lined up to support Thicke and Williams and said the verdict set a precedent to punish artists for creating work inspired by others. Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge Milan Smith Jr. said Wednesday that Kronstadt did not abuse his discretion in denying a new trial. Furthermore, he said, appeals courts generally do “not review a denial of a summary judgment motion after a full trial on the merits.” The panel also rejected Thicke and Williams’ claims that jurors were given improper instructions on reviewing the composition and musical elements of Gaye’s original song, and that expert testimony from both parties was not properly considered. As for the jury instructions, Smith said Kronstadt was not wrong in telling jurors to consider unprotectable elements – even elements not present in the deposited sheet music. While the jury never heard the commercial sound recording, they did hear sound recordings that captured elements of the song which experts then testified were in Gaye’s original track. This was a proper jury instruction, the panel found. Smith also said Kronstadt properly admitted expert testimony, and that he “vigilantly policed” the inclusion of expert testimony throughout trial. Counsel for both parties were instructed to ensure that expert testimony was directly tied to the sheet music, the panel said. The panel also upheld the damages award as modified by Kronstadt, except as it applied to rapper T.I., who is featured on the single. While the jury correctly found him not liable, the appellate panel said Kronstadt improperly overturned that portion of the verdict and furthermore no evidence was presented that showed T.I. was vicariously liable for copyright infringement. As to concerns in the music industry about setting a bad precedent, Smith said that was “unfounded hyperbole” and that the judgment “reads more accurately as a cautionary tale for future trial counsel wishing to maximize their odds of success.” But in a lengthy dissent, Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said the majority had allowed “the Gayes to accomplish what no one has before: copyright a musical style.” Nyugen said her colleagues’ ruling “establishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere.” Copyright protection, Nyugen said, is limited in that it covers only an author’s expression – not the idea underlying that expression. Nyugen said certain accommodations are necessary because every work of art “borrows, and must necessarily borrow, and use much which was well known and used before.” Without these accommodations, artists will cease producing art to “society’s great detriment,” Nguyen said. As for the two songs, Nguyen said they differed in melody, harmony, and rhythm. She said the Gayes’ expert “cherry-picked brief snippets to opine that a ‘constellation’ of individually unprotectable elements in both pieces of music made them substantially similar. “That might be reasonable if the constellations bore any resemblance. But Big Dipper and Little Dipper they are not,” Nguyen wrote. Circuit Judge Mary Murguia joined Smith’s opinion. “Blurred Lines” was the world’s best-selling single in 2013. Gaye’s song, which he recorded in his studio, topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1977. Interestingly, Marvin Gaye did not write or fluently read sheet music, and did not prepare the deposit copy.
Q: Retrieve LOGINPROPERTY information via linked server When I run the below query on a linked server it returns nulls in the "DaysUntilExpiration" column as per resultset. SELECT '<link server>' as Instance, SL.name AS LoginName ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'PasswordLastSetTime') AS PasswordLastSetTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'DaysUntilExpiration') AS DaysUntilExpiration ,DATEADD(dd, CONVERT(int, LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'DaysUntilExpiration')) , CONVERT(datetime, LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'PasswordLastSetTime'))) AS PasswordExpiration ,SL.is_policy_checked AS IsPolicyChecked ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'IsExpired') AS IsExpired ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'IsMustChange') AS IsMustChange ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'IsLocked') AS IsLocked ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'LockoutTime') AS LockoutTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'BadPasswordCount') AS BadPasswordCount ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'BadPasswordTime') AS BadPasswordTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'HistoryLength') AS HistoryLength FROM <link server>.[master].sys.sql_logins AS SL WHERE is_expiration_checked = 1 ORDER BY LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, 'PasswordLastSetTime') DESC The result set of the above query: Instance LoginName PasswordLastSetTime DaysUntilExpiration PasswordExpiration IsPolicyChecked IsExpired IsMustChange IsLocked LockoutTime BadPasswordCount BadPasswordTime HistoryLength [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] dpa 2018-01-24 08:40:43.970 NULL NULL 1 0 0 0 1900-01-01 02:00:00.000 0 1900-01-01 02:00:00.000 0 [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] svsql2xdr NULL NULL NULL 1 NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] SU_IS_RA NULL NULL NULL 1 NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] Obiee NULL NULL NULL 1 NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL The expected result: (The same query, excluding the link server detail, was executed on the server directly) Instance LoginName PasswordLastSetTime DaysUntilExpiration PasswordExpiration IsPolicyChecked IsExpired IsMustChange IsLocked LockoutTime BadPasswordCount BadPasswordTime HistoryLength [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] savematrix_user_2 2019-07-08 12:55:22.080 80 2019-09-26 12:55:22.080 1 0 0 0 1900-01-01 02:00:00.000 0 2019-01-09 11:49:26.837 4 [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] subscriber_2 2019-07-08 12:26:36.267 80 2019-09-26 12:26:36.267 1 0 0 0 1900-01-01 02:00:00.000 0 2019-07-15 14:31:05.207 4 [NLPAGINST11A\NINST11A] arcsight 2019-06-07 13:24:40.667 49 2019-07-26 13:24:40.667 1 0 0 0 1900-01-01 02:00:00.000 0 2019-06-11 16:00:42.043 5 Will it be possible to get the number of days pulled through with query I have or is there another way you could suggest? Any help, please! A: I was able to retrieve the correct information by wrapping your original query up in OPENQUERY. Using OPENQUERY ensures the entire query (including the LOGINPROPERTY stuff) runs on the remote server. See if this works for you. SELECT * FROM openquery(<LinkServer>, ' SELECT ''<LinkServer>'' as Instance, SL.name AS LoginName ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''PasswordLastSetTime'') AS PasswordLastSetTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''DaysUntilExpiration'') AS DaysUntilExpiration ,DATEADD(dd, CONVERT(int, LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''DaysUntilExpiration'')) , CONVERT(datetime, LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''PasswordLastSetTime''))) AS PasswordExpiration ,SL.is_policy_checked AS IsPolicyChecked ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''IsExpired'') AS IsExpired ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''IsMustChange'') AS IsMustChange ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''IsLocked'') AS IsLocked ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''LockoutTime'') AS LockoutTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''BadPasswordCount'') AS BadPasswordCount ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''BadPasswordTime'') AS BadPasswordTime ,LOGINPROPERTY (SL.name, ''HistoryLength'') AS HistoryLength FROM [master].sys.sql_logins AS SL WHERE is_expiration_checked = 1 ' ) ORDER BY lOGINNAME
Gästebuch It is reliable as in the event the a couple meet because of the profile picture they are not frightened and deceived each other with the change.When it comes to designing the artwork, you will have to achieve exact logo width and length measurements and also making certain the structure fits within the embroidery machine's stitching parameters. There is an absolute difference between retouching and manipulating old photos even recently taken. Delores 18 Januar 2019 13:48 \| Penticton Great web website! It looks really professional!Sustain the good work!
Silver Queen Hotel and Wedding Chapel also houses the Silver Queen Saloon. Stories A ghost named Annie is said to haunt this hotel. Footsteps and tapping sounds without visible sources are frequently reported. Disembodied ... Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas was previously known as the Aladdin Hotel.Stories The Panorama Suite on the seventh floor is said to be the epicenter of paranormal activity. Reports indicate the sound of a key in the door, ... Austin, Nevada is not quite a ghost town. It has a population of 192 (at least it did in 2010.) The town was founded in 1862 after gold and silver was discovered nearby. In order to support the booming population of ...
/* * Copyright (C) 2005-2013 Team XBMC * http://xbmc.org * * This Program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) * any later version. * * This Program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * GNU General Public License for more details. * * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License * along with XBMC; see the file COPYING. If not, see * <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. * / #include "DVDPlayerTeletext.h" #include "DVDClock.h" #include "DVDStreamInfo.h" #include "DVDCodecs/DVDCodecs.h" #include "utils/log.h" #include "threads/SingleLock.h" using namespace std; const uint8_t rev_lut[32] = { 0x00,0x08,0x04,0x0c, / upper nibble / 0x02,0x0a,0x06,0x0e, 0x01,0x09,0x05,0x0d, 0x03,0x0b,0x07,0x0f, 0x00,0x80,0x40,0xc0, / lower nibble / 0x20,0xa0,0x60,0xe0, 0x10,0x90,0x50,0xd0, 0x30,0xb0,0x70,0xf0 }; void CDVDTeletextTools::NextDec(int i) /* skip to next decimal / { (i)++; if ((i & 0x0F) > 0x09) i += 0x06; if ((i & 0xF0) > 0x90) i += 0x60; if (i > 0x899) i = 0x100; } void CDVDTeletextTools::PrevDec(int i) / counting down / { (i)--; if ((i & 0x0F) > 0x09) i -= 0x06; if ((i & 0xF0) > 0x90) i -= 0x60; if (i < 0x100) i = 0x899; } /* print hex-number into string, s points to last digit, caller has to provide enough space, no termination / void CDVDTeletextTools::Hex2Str(char s, unsigned int n) { do { char c = (n & 0xF); s-- = number2char(c); n >>= 4; } while (n); } signed int CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(unsigned char p) { int e = hamm24par[0][p[0]] ^ hamm24par[1][p[1]] ^ hamm24par[2][p[2]]; int x = hamm24val[p[0]] + (p[1] & 127) * 16 + (p[2] & 127) * 2048; return (x ^ hamm24cor[e]) \| hamm24err[e]; } CDVDTeletextData::CDVDTeletextData() : CThread("DVDTeletextData") , m_messageQueue("teletext") { m_speed = DVD_PLAYSPEED_NORMAL; m_messageQueue.SetMaxDataSize(40 * 256 * 1024); /* Initialize Data structures / memset(&m_TXTCache.astCachetable, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.astCachetable)); memset(&m_TXTCache.astP29, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.astP29)); ResetTeletextCache(); } CDVDTeletextData::~CDVDTeletextData() { StopThread(); ResetTeletextCache(); } bool CDVDTeletextData::CheckStream(CDVDStreamInfo &hints) { if (hints.codec == AV_CODEC_ID_DVB_TELETEXT) return true; return false; } bool CDVDTeletextData::OpenStream(CDVDStreamInfo &hints) { CloseStream(true); m_messageQueue.Init(); if (hints.codec == AV_CODEC_ID_DVB_TELETEXT) { CLog::Log(LOGNOTICE, "Creating teletext data thread"); Create(); return true; } return false; } void CDVDTeletextData::CloseStream(bool bWaitForBuffers) { // wait until buffers are empty if (bWaitForBuffers && m_speed > 0) m_messageQueue.WaitUntilEmpty(); m_messageQueue.Abort(); // wait for decode_video thread to end CLog::Log(LOGNOTICE, "waiting for teletext data thread to exit"); StopThread(); // will set this->m_bStop to true m_messageQueue.End(); ResetTeletextCache(); } void CDVDTeletextData::ResetTeletextCache() { CSingleLock lock(m_critSection); / Reset Data structures / for (int i = 0; i < 0x900; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < 0x80; j++) { if (m_TXTCache.astCachetable[i][j]) { TextPageinfo_t p = &(m_TXTCache.astCachetable[i][j]->pageinfo); if (p->p24) free(p->p24); if (p->ext) { if (p->ext->p27) free(p->ext->p27); for (int d26 = 0; d26 < 16; d26++) { if (p->ext->p26[d26]) free(p->ext->p26[d26]); } free(p->ext); } delete m_TXTCache.astCachetable[i][j]; m_TXTCache.astCachetable[i][j] = 0; } } } for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++) { if (m_TXTCache.astP29[i]) { if (m_TXTCache.astP29[i]->p27) free(m_TXTCache.astP29[i]->p27); for (int d26 = 0; d26 < 16; d26++) { if (m_TXTCache.astP29[i]->p26[d26]) free(m_TXTCache.astP29[i]->p26[d26]); } free(m_TXTCache.astP29[i]); m_TXTCache.astP29[i] = 0; } m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[i] = -1; m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[i] = -1; } memset(&m_TXTCache.SubPageTable, 0xFF, sizeof(m_TXTCache.SubPageTable)); memset(&m_TXTCache.astP29, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.astP29)); memset(&m_TXTCache.BasicTop, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.BasicTop)); memset(&m_TXTCache.ADIPTable, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.ADIPTable)); memset(&m_TXTCache.FlofPages, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.FlofPages)); memset(&m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages)); memset(&m_TXTCache.astCachetable, 0, sizeof(m_TXTCache.astCachetable)); memset(&m_TXTCache.TimeString, 0x20, 8); m_TXTCache.NationalSubset = NAT_DEFAULT;/* default / m_TXTCache.NationalSubsetSecondary = NAT_DEFAULT; m_TXTCache.ZapSubpageManual = false; m_TXTCache.PageUpdate = false; m_TXTCache.ADIP_PgMax = -1; m_TXTCache.BTTok = false; m_TXTCache.CachedPages = 0; m_TXTCache.PageReceiving = -1; m_TXTCache.Page = 0x100; m_TXTCache.SubPage = m_TXTCache.SubPageTable[m_TXTCache.Page]; m_TXTCache.line30 = ""; if (m_TXTCache.SubPage == 0xff) m_TXTCache.SubPage = 0; } void CDVDTeletextData::Process() { int b1, b2, b3, b4; int packet_number; TextPageinfo_t pageinfo_thread; unsigned char vtxt_row[42]; unsigned char pagedata[9][2340]; unsigned char magazine = 0xff; // int doupdate = 0; CLog::Log(LOGNOTICE, "running thread: CDVDTeletextData"); while (!m_bStop) { CDVDMsg pMsg; int iPriority = (m_speed == DVD_PLAYSPEED_PAUSE) ? 1 : 0; MsgQueueReturnCode ret = m_messageQueue.Get(&pMsg, 2000, iPriority); if (ret == MSGQ_TIMEOUT) { /* Timeout for Teletext is not a bad thing, so we continue without error / continue; } if (MSGQ_IS_ERROR(ret)) { CLog::Log(LOGERROR, "Got MSGQ_ABORT or MSGO_IS_ERROR return true (%i)", ret); break; } if (pMsg->IsType(CDVDMsg::DEMUXER_PACKET)) { CSingleLock lock(m_critSection); DemuxPacket pPacket = ((CDVDMsgDemuxerPacket)pMsg)->GetPacket(); uint8_t Datai = pPacket->pData; int rows = (pPacket->iSize - 1) / 46; /* Is it a ITU-R System B Teletext stream in acc. to EN 300 472 / if (Datai[0] >= 0x10 && Datai[0] <= 0x1F) / Check we have a valid data identifier / { / Go thru the pages stored inside this frame / for (int row=0; row < rows; row++) { uint8_t vtx_rowbyte = &Datai[(row46)+1]; / Check for valid data_unit_id / if ((vtx_rowbyte[0] == 0x02 \|\| vtx_rowbyte[0] == 0x03) && (vtx_rowbyte[1] == 0x2C)) { / clear rowbuffer / / convert row from lsb to msb (begin with magazin number) / for (int i = 4; i < 46; i++) { uint8_t upper = (vtx_rowbyte[i] >> 4) & 0xf; uint8_t lower = vtx_rowbyte[i] & 0xf; vtxt_row[i-4] = (rev_lut[upper]) \| (rev_lut[lower+16]); } / get packet number / b1 = dehamming[vtxt_row[0]]; b2 = dehamming[vtxt_row[1]]; if (b1 == 0xFF \|\| b2 == 0xFF) continue; b1 &= 8; / get packet and magazine number / packet_number = b1>>3 \| b2<<1; magazine = dehamming[vtxt_row[0]] & 7; if (!magazine) magazine = 8; if (packet_number == 0 && m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] != -1 && m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] != -1) SavePage(m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine], m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine], pagedata[magazine]); / analyze row / if (packet_number == 0) { / get pagenumber / b2 = dehamming[vtxt_row[3]]; b3 = dehamming[vtxt_row[2]]; if (b2 == 0xFF \|\| b3 == 0xFF) { m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] = m_TXTCache.PageReceiving = -1; continue; } m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] = m_TXTCache.PageReceiving = magazine<<8 \| b2<<4 \| b3; if (b2 == 0x0f && b3 == 0x0f) { m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] = -1; / ?ff: ignore data transmissions / continue; } / get subpagenumber / b1 = dehamming[vtxt_row[7]]; b2 = dehamming[vtxt_row[6]]; b3 = dehamming[vtxt_row[5]]; b4 = dehamming[vtxt_row[4]]; if (b1 == 0xFF \|\| b2 == 0xFF \|\| b3 == 0xFF \|\| b4 == 0xFF) { m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] = -1; continue; } b1 &= 3; b3 &= 7; if (IsDec(m_TXTCache.PageReceiving)) / ignore other subpage bits for hex pages / m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] = b3<<4 \| b4; else m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] = b4; / max 16 subpages for hex pages / / store current subpage for this page / m_TXTCache.SubPageTable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]] = m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]; AllocateCache(magazine); LoadPage(m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine], m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine], pagedata[magazine]); pageinfo_thread = &(m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]]->pageinfo); if (!pageinfo_thread) continue; if ((m_TXTCache.PageReceiving & 0xff) == 0xfe) / ?fe: magazine organization table (MOT) / pageinfo_thread->function = FUNC_MOT; / check controlbits / if (dehamming[vtxt_row[5]] & 8) / C4 -> erase page / { memset(m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]]->data, ' ', 2340); memset(pagedata[magazine],' ', 2340); } // if (dehamming[vtxt_row[9]] & 8) / C8 -> update page / // doupdate = m_TXTCache.PageReceiving; pageinfo_thread->boxed = !!(dehamming[vtxt_row[7]] & 0x0c); / get country control bits / b1 = dehamming[vtxt_row[9]]; if (b1 != 0xFF) { pageinfo_thread->nationalvalid = 1; pageinfo_thread->national = rev_lut[b1] & 0x07; } if (dehamming[vtxt_row[7]] & 0x08)// subtitle page { int i = 0, found = -1, use = -1; for (; i < 8; i++) { if (use == -1 && !m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages[i].page) use = i; else if (m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages[i].page == m_TXTCache.PageReceiving) { found = i; use = i; break; } } if (found == -1 && use != -1) m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages[use].page = m_TXTCache.PageReceiving; if (use != -1) m_TXTCache.SubtitlePages[use].language = CountryConversionTable[pageinfo_thread->national]; } / check parity, copy line 0 to cache (start and end 8 bytes are not needed and used otherwise) / unsigned char p = m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]]->p0; for (int i = 10; i < 42-8; i++) p++ = deparity[vtxt_row[i]]; if (!IsDec(m_TXTCache.PageReceiving)) continue; / valid hex page number: just copy headline, ignore TimeString / / copy TimeString / p = m_TXTCache.TimeString; for (int i = 42-8; i < 42; i++) p++ = deparity[vtxt_row[i]]; } else if (packet_number == 29 && dehamming[vtxt_row[2]]== 0) /* packet 29/0 replaces 28/0 for a whole magazine / { Decode_p2829(vtxt_row, &(m_TXTCache.astP29[magazine])); } else if (m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] != -1 && m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] != -1) / packet>0, 0 has been correctly received, buffer allocated / { pageinfo_thread = &(m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]]->pageinfo); if (!pageinfo_thread) continue; / pointer to current info struct / if (packet_number <= 25) { unsigned char p = NULL; if (packet_number < 24) { p = pagedata[magazine] + 40(packet_number-1); } else { if (!(pageinfo_thread->p24)) pageinfo_thread->p24 = (unsigned char) calloc(2, 40); if (pageinfo_thread->p24) p = pageinfo_thread->p24 + (packet_number - 24) * 40; } if (p) { if (IsDec(m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine])) { for (int i = 2; i < 42; i++) { p++ = vtxt_row[i] & 0x7f; / allow values with parity errors as some channels don't care :( / } } else if ((m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] & 0xff) == 0xfe) { for (int i = 2; i < 42; i++) { p++ = dehamming[vtxt_row[i]]; /* decode hamming 8/4 / } } else / other hex page: no parity check, just copy / memcpy(p, &vtxt_row[2], 40); } } else if (packet_number == 27) { int descode = dehamming[vtxt_row[2]]; / designation code (0..15) / if (descode == 0xff) continue; if (descode == 0) // reading FLOF-Pagelinks { b1 = dehamming[vtxt_row[0]]; if (b1 != 0xff) { b1 &= 7; for (int i = 0; i < FLOFSIZE; i++) { b2 = dehamming[vtxt_row[4+i6]]; b3 = dehamming[vtxt_row[3+i6]]; if (b2 != 0xff && b3 != 0xff) { b4 = ((b1 ^ (dehamming[vtxt_row[8+i6]]>>1)) & 6) \| ((b1 ^ (dehamming[vtxt_row[6+i6]]>>3)) & 1); if (b4 == 0) b4 = 8; if (b2 <= 9 && b3 <= 9) m_TXTCache.FlofPages[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] ][i] = b4<<8 \| b2<<4 \| b3; } } / copy last 2 links to ADIPTable for TOP-Index / if (pageinfo_thread->p24) / packet 24 received / { int a, a1, e=39, l=3; unsigned char p = pageinfo_thread->p24; do { for (; l >= 2 && 0 == m_TXTCache.FlofPages[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][l]; l--) ; /* find used linkindex / for (; e >= 1 && !isalnum(p[e]); e--) ; / find end / for (a = a1 = e - 1; a >= 0 && p[a] >= ' '; a--) / find start / if (p[a] > ' ') a1 = a; / first non-space / if (a >= 0 && l >= 2) { strncpy(m_TXTCache.ADIPTable[m_TXTCache.FlofPages[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][l]], (const char) &p[a1], 12); if (e-a1 < 11) m_TXTCache.ADIPTable[m_TXTCache.FlofPages[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][l]][e-a1+1] = '\0'; } e = a - 1; l--; } while (l >= 2); } } } else if (descode == 4) /* level 2.5 links (ignore level 3.5 links of /4 and /5) / { int i; Textp27_t p; if (!pageinfo_thread->ext) pageinfo_thread->ext = (TextExtData_t) calloc(1, sizeof(TextExtData_t)); if (!pageinfo_thread->ext) continue; if (!(pageinfo_thread->ext->p27)) pageinfo_thread->ext->p27 = (Textp27_t) calloc(4, sizeof(Textp27_t)); if (!(pageinfo_thread->ext->p27)) continue; p = pageinfo_thread->ext->p27; for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) { int d1 = CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(&vtxt_row[6i + 3]); int d2 = CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(&vtxt_row[6i + 6]); if (d1 < 0 \|\| d2 < 0) continue; p->local = i & 0x01; p->drcs = !!(i & 0x02); p->l25 = !!(d1 & 0x04); p->l35 = !!(d1 & 0x08); p->page = (((d1 & 0x000003c0) >> 6) \| ((d1 & 0x0003c000) >> (14-4)) \| ((d1 & 0x00003800) >> (11-8))) ^ (dehamming[vtxt_row[0]] << 8); if (p->page < 0x100) p->page += 0x800; p->subpage = d2 >> 2; if ((p->page & 0xff) == 0xff) p->page = 0; else if (p->page > 0x899) { // workaround for crash on RTL Shop ... // sorry.. i dont understand whats going wrong here :) continue; } else if (m_TXTCache.astCachetable[p->page][0]) /* link valid && linked page cached / { TextPageinfo_t pageinfo_link = &(m_TXTCache.astCachetable[p->page][0]->pageinfo); if (p->local) pageinfo_link->function = p->drcs ? FUNC_DRCS : FUNC_POP; else pageinfo_link->function = p->drcs ? FUNC_GDRCS : FUNC_GPOP; } p++; /* / } } } else if (packet_number == 26) { int descode = dehamming[vtxt_row[2]]; / designation code (0..15) / if (descode == 0xff) continue; if (!pageinfo_thread->ext) pageinfo_thread->ext = (TextExtData_t) calloc(1, sizeof(TextExtData_t)); if (!pageinfo_thread->ext) continue; if (!(pageinfo_thread->ext->p26[descode])) pageinfo_thread->ext->p26[descode] = (unsigned char) malloc(13 3); if (pageinfo_thread->ext->p26[descode]) memcpy(pageinfo_thread->ext->p26[descode], &vtxt_row[3], 13 * 3); } else if (packet_number == 28) { int descode = dehamming[vtxt_row[2]]; /* designation code (0..15) / if (descode == 0xff) continue; if (descode != 2) { int t1 = CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(&vtxt_row[7-4]); pageinfo_thread->function = t1 & 0x0f; if (!pageinfo_thread->nationalvalid) { pageinfo_thread->nationalvalid = 1; pageinfo_thread->national = (t1>>4) & 0x07; } } switch (descode) / designation code / { case 0: / basic level 1 page / Decode_p2829(vtxt_row, &(pageinfo_thread->ext)); break; case 1: / G0/G1 designation for older decoders, level 3.5: DCLUT4/16, colors for multicolored bitmaps / break; / ignore / case 2: / page key / break; / ignore / case 3: / types of PTUs in DRCS / break; / TODO / case 4: / CLUTs 0/1, only level 3.5 / break; / ignore / default: break; / invalid, ignore / } / switch designation code / } else if (packet_number == 30) { m_TXTCache.line30 = ""; for (int i=26-4; i <= 45-4; i++) / station ID / m_TXTCache.line30.append(1, deparity[vtxt_row[i]]); } } / set update flag / if (m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine] == m_TXTCache.Page && m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine] != -1) { SavePage(m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine], m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine], pagedata[magazine]); m_TXTCache.PageUpdate = true; // doupdate = 0; if (!m_TXTCache.ZapSubpageManual) m_TXTCache.SubPage = m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]; } } } } } else if (pMsg->IsType(CDVDMsg::PLAYER_SETSPEED)) { m_speed = static_cast<CDVDMsgInt>(pMsg)->m_value; } else if (pMsg->IsType(CDVDMsg::GENERAL_FLUSH) \|\| pMsg->IsType(CDVDMsg::GENERAL_RESET)) { ResetTeletextCache(); } pMsg->Release(); } } void CDVDTeletextData::OnExit() { CLog::Log(LOGNOTICE, "thread end: data_thread"); } void CDVDTeletextData::Flush() { if(!m_messageQueue.IsInited()) return; /* flush using message as this get's called from dvdplayer thread / / and any demux packet that has been taken out of queue need to / / be disposed of before we flush / m_messageQueue.Flush(); m_messageQueue.Put(new CDVDMsg(CDVDMsg::GENERAL_FLUSH)); } void CDVDTeletextData::Decode_p2829(unsigned char vtxt_row, TextExtData_t *ptExtData) { int bitsleft, colorindex; unsigned char p; int t1 = CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(&vtxt_row[7-4]); int t2 = CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(&vtxt_row[10-4]); if (t1 < 0 \|\| t2 < 0) return; if (!(ptExtData)) (ptExtData) = (TextExtData_t) calloc(1, sizeof(TextExtData_t)); if (!(ptExtData)) return; (ptExtData)->p28Received = 1; (ptExtData)->DefaultCharset = (t1>>7) & 0x7f; (ptExtData)->SecondCharset = ((t1>>14) & 0x0f) \| ((t2<<4) & 0x70); (ptExtData)->LSP = !!(t2 & 0x08); (ptExtData)->RSP = !!(t2 & 0x10); (ptExtData)->SPL25 = !!(t2 & 0x20); (ptExtData)->LSPColumns = (t2>>6) & 0x0f; bitsleft = 8; / # of bits not evaluated in val / t2 >>= 10; / current data / p = &vtxt_row[13-4]; / pointer to next data triplet / for (colorindex = 0; colorindex < 16; colorindex++) { if (bitsleft < 12) { t2 \|= CDVDTeletextTools::deh24(p) << bitsleft; if (t2 < 0) / hamming error / break; p += 3; bitsleft += 18; } (ptExtData)->bgr[colorindex] = t2 & 0x0fff; bitsleft -= 12; t2 >>= 12; } if (t2 < 0 \|\| bitsleft != 14) { (ptExtData)->p28Received = 0; return; } (ptExtData)->DefScreenColor = t2 & 0x1f; t2 >>= 5; (ptExtData)->DefRowColor = t2 & 0x1f; (ptExtData)->BlackBgSubst = !!(t2 & 0x20); t2 >>= 6; (ptExtData)->ColorTableRemapping = t2 & 0x07; } void CDVDTeletextData::SavePage(int p, int sp, unsigned char buffer) { CSingleLock lock(m_critSection); TextCachedPage_t* pg = m_TXTCache.astCachetable[p][sp]; if (!pg) { CLog::Log(LOGERROR, "CDVDTeletextData: trying to save a not allocated page!!"); return; } memcpy(pg->data, buffer, 2340); } void CDVDTeletextData::LoadPage(int p, int sp, unsigned char buffer) { CSingleLock lock(m_critSection); TextCachedPage_t* pg = m_TXTCache.astCachetable[p][sp]; if (!pg) { CLog::Log(LOGERROR, "CDVDTeletextData: trying to load a not allocated page!!"); return; } memcpy(buffer, pg->data, 2340); } void CDVDTeletextData::ErasePage(int magazine) { CSingleLock lock(m_critSection); TextCachedPage_t pg = m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]]; if (pg) { memset(&(pg->pageinfo), 0, sizeof(TextPageinfo_t)); /* struct pageinfo / memset(pg->p0, ' ', 24); memset(pg->data, ' ', 2340); } } void CDVDTeletextData::AllocateCache(int magazine) { /* check cachetable and allocate memory if needed */ if (m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]] == 0) { m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]] = new TextCachedPage_t; if (m_TXTCache.astCachetable[m_TXTCache.CurrentPage[magazine]][m_TXTCache.CurrentSubPage[magazine]] ) { ErasePage(magazine); m_TXTCache.CachedPages++; } } }
Aracamunia Aracamunia liesneri, collected by R. Liesner and F. Delascia in 1987, is the sole species in the orchid genus Aracamunia. It is the only orchid strongly suspected of being carnivorous. A. liesneri bears peculiar, rigid, tongue-like structures with apparently sticky tips emanating from the bases of its leaves. It was found on Cerro Aracamuni in Venezuela, an area with nutrition-poor soil that apparently favors the emergence of assimilative (carnivorous) species. References Category:Monotypic Orchidoideae genera Category:Cranichideae genera Category:Spiranthinae Category:Orchids of Venezuela
fenflux: This is going to be very much TL;DR but I am sick to death of being scammed by these assholes. They’re posting snippets of our conversations to try and make me look like an asshole when they (and btw, when I say they I mostly mean Chris/Blix) REPEATEDLY broke their old and new TOS, fucked me around for 15 months (my suit was half arsed in the space of a month) and repeatedly refused to refund even when they had not worked on my suit at all. I have multiple screenshots of him blatantly lying to myself and others about me, including but not limited to how much I paid. Because of all this, and because I have a suit that is all but unwearable, I will be doing everything I can to stop him from scamming another person. Because this is what Christian Patterson and Erin Capps are doing: Scamming people. I have also been coerced into keeping silent. Repeatedly, with threats of him not completing my suit and giving me virtually no money back. So here’s my side of the story. And his, pretty much as it contains the screenshots of our entire conversation. It’s been so long. I’ve kept my mouth shut about this for MONTHS. And trust me, it has been hard. But I have to tell people. I can no longer sit here and watch other people get scammed the way I have been. Chris Patterson/Blix Fox/Keurig Husky of Fuzzworks/Made By Blix is my suit maker. And here is the story of me coming to commission him. We were friends and I had just managed to start saving after getting a new job. He mentioned that he made suits and that he’d love to do mine and I sent the initial payment on August 3rd (http://imgur.com/RyLRr1n,FXuP5Fk). I was not linked to his TOS or even made aware that he HAD a TOS. In fact, I’m not even sure he had a written out TOS when I initially commissioned him. It should also be noted that, when I commissioned him, Erin Capps was in no way involved. I will get into that in more detail later. Anyway, I made the payments and expected start on the head, hands, feet and tail while I got the DTD (Duct Tape Dummy) sorted as a way to measure the best fit for me. This took me awhile as I have no one I’m comfortable with making one with, and my partner was away. Anyway, the DTD got done and sent off in May 2015, and I received confirmation from him that he’d received it on the 10th of May, 2015 (http://imgur.com/0Ehn1iE). It was around about this time that Erin became his apprentice/public representative I should have realised before this point that things weren’t getting done, but, as it was my first fursuit commission, I didn’t see the signs. It was shortly after his confirmation of receiving the DTD that I realised something was amiss. His messages dropped to nothing, even friendly chit chat. And after three attempts to get his attention about measurements (over the space of months) (http://imgur.com/0Ehn1iE) I resorted to posting on his wall as I was getting NOTHING from him ( http://imgur.com/jBvjim5 ). After this, he responded quickly to my messages. Please note that, due to a car accident, my left thumb is a lot larger than my right, and most gloves that will fit my right hand DO NOT fit my left. Hence the comment about my “fucked up” hand. This ensued, in which he made lots of excuses for his inactivity and eventually agreed to a deadline of December. At around this same time, he took on a new commissioner by the name of “Kabier” on the 15th of July. At first I thought little of this, though I was rather irritated that he was taking new commissioners despite not having given me any indication of where he was with my commission, only saying that it’s “in storage”. I’ll add here that his TOS states in regards to Work-In-Progress pictures “we will send at minimum two photos per month”. Seen also in this screenshot is that I was NOT on his “master commission list” (http://imgur.com/F8fJ95s,J2BJZXW) As of 31/08/15, I still have had NO photos of the WIP on my suit. Anyway, on the 30th of August, I saw that he had a nearly finished WIP of Kabier’s head posted on his timeline (http://imgur.com/hOpEEKX,gAwd8ur) and I must admit, I lost my cool here as I still had absolutely ZERO WIP pictures and it had been dead on a month since I previously argued with Chris, meanwhile, someone who had paid little more than a month prior already had the foamwork of their head nearly completed I messaged both him and Erin regarding wanting a refund (http://imgur.com/rmiRzty,kMWSGDS,uJ7SAJI,vdexkSL) and got nothing but excuses and being told that I would get very little of my money back and wouldn’t even get to keep what he has already done. I eventually agreed to a deadline of December 1st, 2015 as I feel I have no other choice. It’s either lose nearly $2,000 or wait for my suit. On top of this, I am also not on his “Master Commission List” despite having paid a year ago. I have written this on the 31st of August, 2015. Further will be written as it occurs. I did not post this to Artists Beware at this date as Chris has already threatened to sell what he’s made so far with a few edits and only give me the proceeds if I argue with him again. I have made an attempt to dispute my payments via paypal as of the 30th of Aug, but I am not covered by buyer protection as I have left it too long . 5 of September 2015. He found out I was going to the Better Business Bureau (to find out what my rights were regarding all of this) and, because of that, refused to finish my commission. He is Auctioning off the “40%” that he did here: https://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1076412.html and has told me that whatever he gets for that is all the refund I will receive. ( http://imgur.com/T0bpE59 ) While we were arguing, he posted multiple lies about me including this one http://imgur.com/a/RpmEH which is proven to be a lie by this screenshot right here as well as my receipts saying that I paid $2000 for it. After about a month of arguing, him blocking me and continue to spread the message that he was scamming me, he caved and said he would finish my suit. I gave my terms on this, and, while they may seem very strict and uncaring to some, I had to ensure that my ass was covered if he was to turn his back on this agreement… which I suspect he will do. http://i.imgur.com/5n2zQkH.png here is the screenshot of Erin (his girlfriend) asking to end this all. This in itself was a battle as Chris was lying to her http://imgur.com/a/ZZHzO (shows the lie and the message showing he blocked me) about me supposedly refusing to talk to him. And then, when he finally came forward to talk, he refused to unblock me on his real account and the one I had been dealing with for the whole time. http://imgur.com/uYUYUtC When I finally managed to get him to unblock me, this was the “resolution” http://imgur.com/a/qKjNn Also note that the shipping http://imgur.com/hdgPqKZ (seen in previous screenshot but too small) is $900 USD. But he’s accepting $500 AUD Also this http://imgur.com/cnPVlKz shows that the paws they made were not in the colour I had OKed and are therefore not my paws. http://imgur.com/hkQpR6O after pestering for updates every few days, I found out he’s made a tail. http://imgur.com/a/1qSMj and here is a whole bunch of shit. I think it pretty much speaks for itself. He tried to tell me how MY DESIGN was meant to be because he was lazy and fucked it up. He was consistently rude to me and once again broke our TOS when I simply asked for updates. And keep in mind this is all before I got the suit. And I paid $2000 in August, 2014 Now, since I’ve gotten the suit. First I’ll tell you a little bit about it. For starters, the head: the ears are shaved in a way that makes like they were added as an afterthought. The poof of fluff that makes the hair is lopsided. The eyes are really hard to see out of. There is pretty much no room for my face, it’s really tight and I practically rip my own ears off trying to get the head off of me. There is a tiny slit for a mouth which has absolutely minimal ventilation and if you wear the head in a way that actually allows you to breathe easily, your eyes sit below the eyes of the head. It is REALLY HEAVY too. They got NO MEASUREMENTS for the head and refused them when I offered, stating that “one size fits all”. Subsequently, my head doesn’t fit me. The body: To be honest I think it was made to fit him, not me. It is too tight pretty much everywhere EXCEPT my belly, which I would have forgiven as I’ve probably put on a bit of pudge around the middle in the TEN MONTHS since I made the DTD. They have not at all accounted for the DTD shrinking in the past 10 months and, as a consequence, the torso is too short and the shoulders are not wide enough. They clearly thought that something was up with the DTD as they asked for arm measurements (and also thought it had shrunk, as they admit in screenshots I will display in a moment). It is not nearly big enough for me to zip up. Let alone bend down or wear a cooling vest like I explicitly requested. Unwearable The hands: They’re pretty good tbh. But the left one doesn’t fit me. I let them know again and again that I have a dodgey left thumb, meaning I would need two different sized handpaws. They ignored me and refused to get measurements. So they’re unwearable. The feet: Weigh probably more than the head… EACH. Somehow, despite him NOT GETTING THE MEASUREMENTS FOR MY FEET, they actually fit! Leading me to believe (again) that the suit was made to fit him and not me. Wearable, but without the rest of the suit, ultimately worthless The tail: Is actually pretty decent. For some reason though, they’ve built it with ALUMINIUM inside???? it holds it’s shape pretty well and isn’t too heavy, but due to… rings (I really don’t know how else to explain this) of aluminium within the tail, it has a lumpy appearance. Now. Screenshots of my conversation after finding out that he had well overcharged me for postage, and our subsequent conversation about how virtually none of my suit fits me. http://imgur.com/a/Zk30P I must admit, I lost my temper. A lot. They also BLAME ME for the body not fitting. The only way they will fix it is if I pay postage. Which is against our TOS which he clearly agreed to stating HE will pay for shipping if anything doesn’t fit. They did not at all account for shrinkage and everything that does not fit me is entirely their fault, though they refuse to be held accountable for it. So here is the final messages between us. He has now blocked me. For your viewing pleasure, I also have these multiple screenshots of him and his girlfriend buying suits, buying art, looking at TVs, and going to a lot of conventions all while complaining they have no money. I even have a screenshot of Chris driving while playing on his 3DS! http://imgur.com/a/TQoXD And this isn’t even half of it. I’ve only caught SOME of the bullshit he’s been doing, mostly stuff that’s related to my case. Some other people are coming public about how he’s scammed and fucked them around, but there are at least half a dozen who are remaining silent to avoid his attacks and lies. I’ve been lucky enough to have taken screenshots of everything, meaning he can’t scream “well they have no evidence” which he and Erin are doing to people. But these people ALL have very similar experiences to me. They aren’t alone. He’s done it before He will do it again. I have also added all the names I know they go by in the tags. Hopefully this keeps some of you from being scammed by these people.
Post navigation The Top Contact Center Trends to Watch in 2019 [White Paper] No, it’s the top contact center trends to watch for in 2019. And we’ve got you covered. So many storylines, so little time. And as in any classic comic book, the storylines are familiar and sometimes predictable, but we foresee them taking captivating turns in the new year. As the sun sets on 2018, contact center superheroes should watch for the plots, characters, and villains within them. As always, we keep watch of trends and issues pertinent to contact centers, continuously shifting due to technological advancements; mergers and acquisitions in the SaaS space; the realigning of customer service and experience priorities on the part of brands; and more. Going forward, what will these trends be? Look no further … we have you covered! In this white paper, you’ll read about several significant subplots in 2019: Gamification in the Contact Center Investing in Agents Voice-Powered Technology (VPT) Artificial Intelligence (AI): Hero or Villain? Cracking Down on Hold-Times Social Media as a Contact Center Touchpoint Understanding these trends will help strengthen your contact center game, and give you “hero status” with both customers and employees. Read on about these industry issues and trends so that you can power-up and defy the odds in 2019. Storyline: Gamification While much has changed in the last decade, one storyline will remain constant: Contact center teams will continue to bravely face surges in call volume. Especially during these moments of crisis, agents are likely to become taxed and frustrated when they feel that the infrastructure doesn’t support them, or when they feel there is no overall incentive to fight the good fight. Keeping them engaged is one thing, but turning them into “heroic employees” is another, especially in 2019 (and beyond). Like any good adventure, managing a contact center has a unique set of challenges, employee attrition being high on the list (contact center turnover was as high as 33% a few years ago). While the cause of the high turnover rate is debatable, managers can help keep agents motivated via is the introduction of interactive, game-like principles into different contexts. By adding playful elements such as competition, rewards, and recognition in your contact center, you can facilitate and reward learning, creativity, and social and personal growth. You should consider gamification if: Your agents are having trouble adapting to a new technological solution in your contact center and they need to study up (and fast); Your agents are burning out and employee turnover is at an historic high; Customer complaints about poorly-trained or unresponsive agents have become the norm rather than the exception; and/or You want a clearer understanding or microscopic snapshot of how engaged your call agents actually are. Gamification can potentially: Lower contact center employee attrition and boost productivity; Improve upon a flawed or outdated training model; Make for better customer experience via interactions with educated agents; Motivate your team to set high goals (or even vie for promotion) via healthy competitions; and/or Vastly improve the culture of your contact center and the overall perception of your business. And remember: As a contact center manager, anything that benefits customers, agents, and your overall infrastructure benefits you. Only you can control the heroic arc of your brand’s Storyline: Investing in Agents ‘Saving the day’ for contact center agents will be a predominant quest in 2019. While companies are ultimately fixated on the bottom line, they will increasingly acknowledge that agents form the backbone of their business. It’s time to treat them right. Being a contact center agent is mentally-taxing work, and can certainly take its toll if support (either managerial or psychological) is unavailable. While customers are entitled to feeling frustrated when ignored or delayed, contact center agents grapple with abusive calls on a daily basis. Unfortunately, some contact centers still insist on a no-hang-up rule (agents are penalized for ending a call) in order to improve or sustain metrics, and do not offer morale or psychological support to front-line agents who live through some horrific experiences on the job. Just like in many industries, contact centers have their own workplace hazards, and a focus on best practices for dealing with them in a humane way will improve a contact center by leaps and bounds. The problem is so serious and widespread that petitions and movements to bring awareness to the subject have emerged. Valiant contact center managers should make improving this culture their mission. Contact center culture will get a much overdue upgrade in 2019 – it is an investment that needs to be made. As Richard J. Snow of Ventana writes, “research shows that for over three-quarters of companies 90 percent or more of their contact center operating budget is allocated to keep existing processes and systems running”, rather than improving agent support and bolstering contact center resources. Overhauling a legacy budget is also a challenge for those resistant to the idea of change, be it technology, investing in an expansion of the contact center workforce, or allocating funds for education and training for agents. But lagging behind the times will eventually frustrate customers, and agent turnover could reach an all-time high. For contact centers to survive and thrive, they must do one thing, and soon: Weigh the short-term cost against the long-run cost. Give agents the right tools, and they will finish the job, happily. Become a contact center super hero in record time! Download the full report below.
Sensory Storytime (CANCELLED) Event box This is a storytime for adults with special needs. Similar to children’s story times, sensory storytime incorporates adaptive story telling, interactive reading, crafts, social stories and more. The story times provide special needs adults access to multi-modal learning and opportunities to develop sensory processing skills needed in everyday life.
In research on the topic of witchcraft of the early modern era, little attention in given to those deemed witches. Feminist versions of the witch trials hold that the accused were often mid-wives and healers of peasant society who were burned for “no good reason” or because of poorly explained “hysteria.” Others claim it was indiscriminate prosecution of pagans. The gimmick being employed up to the present day (including Pedogate) involves acting incredulous and slinging neuro-lingustic programming terms like “moral panic” or “ignorant haters” at those who question accepted narratives. In fact, the entire Wikipedia page on Satanism is filed with whitewashed, moral-panic accusations, canards and doth-protest-too-loudly ad hominems against those exposing the iterations of the concept of Satanism, admitted witchcraft or other forms of skulduggery. In Defense of Carl Raschke’s ‘True Story of How Satanism is Terrorizing Our Communities’ Generally, this is a pervert justice warrior (PJW), very low-value narrative that dismisses attempts to reveal and counter Satanism, or just flat out evil as discrimination, hatred and prejudice. It is astonishing how frequently this scam is incorporated any time the awakened are asked to deny their lying eyes about the slime creatures crawling under the rocks. The following YouTube video actually does a very good job describing the brainwashing operation. No, not much attention has been given to the behavior of accused witches. The term “witchhunt” used in current vernacular implies persecution for no valid reason. But was that the case with accused witches of that period? The reasons the church and authorities focused attention on these individuals seems centered around Maleficium (hexic activities), which is causing harm by supernatural means. The modern version of this is psychological gangstalking. It was no novelty for peasants and people of higher rank to suspect their neighbors of harming them by occult means. In the witch-burning era, there were groups of conjurers preying upon the vulnerable. As far back as the sixth century, the Visigoths made laws to deal with tempestarii (storm makers) who were touring the countryside and intimidating the peasants. People were paying them to spare their fields and blast the next man’s instead. White-magic witches, called berandantes, marketed themselves as hex and curse removal specialists and conjurers of good fortune. Black magic witches were available as poisoners and disrupters. The later laid curses aka damage charms on people, in a gangstalking mode. There was an underbelly of criminal parasites operating in the witch-fear business. Many thought of the benandante as good witches, who healed and protected the crops by going out on the Ember days to fight bad witches. Most of both witch factions were lowlife swindlers, medical quacks and extortionists. That was a social reality. One white magic poser was burned in Nuremburg for false allegations against black magicians, and of selling magic wraps against sorcery. The drama in these cases can get very twisted. Resistance toward the benandante grew due to the financial burden and anti-social rackets they placed on the community. When a desperate person desired for a loved one to be healed, the benandante may agree to heal them but only if provided some sort of payment. Of course, even with payment — since the white witches were often quacks — the person was likely not “healed.” As such, the benandante began being viewed as “clever swindlers.” In the documentation of accusations against witches (aka conjurers), it’s maleficium that predominates. Keep in mind that this was an era when criminals were hung for simple theft. Sometimes, participating in-groups or sects engaged in Bacchic-type orgies, or devil worship, or a form of degenerate ultra-rebellion. See “Vicious Serial Killer Israel Keyes and the Insane Clown Posse“ Rome’s Own Version of an ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Cult: Bacchanalia Runs Amok Heresy in and of itself was problematic during this period — but when fused with sorcery and perceived evil doings, it was a red flag and threatened the social order. Many ultra-rebellionist discordians, who rejected social and religious norms, went over to the dark side. The eccentric weirdness was noted, and these individuals sometimes self-identified as witches. Martin Le Franc’s “The Defender of Ladies” describes the witches’ sabbath. It states, “Ten thousand old women in a troop were there, as in a great assembly in the shapes of cats or goats … pleased themselves in dancing, others still in banqueting and booze.” Burning was also used as a form of eugenics to eliminate the criminally mentally ill, as well as ultra-rebellionists, vagrants and indigents. Those with a “malignant spirit” (demons) were targeted, and this included those with schizophrenia, disassociative identity disorder, hysteria and epilepsy. And it included nasty, mean, mentally unbalanced people. Not all accused witches were women. In Russia, the large majority of the condemned were male They also practiced necromancy. The “Oxford English Dictionary’s” first recorded the word “necromancy” in 1456. It’s the “practice of magic involving communication with the deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the deceased as a weapon.” Since the first century, tales of witches using necromancy for power and insight have appeared in the lore of multiple cultures. Even medieval scholars and clerics believed necromancy could help them achieve many feats, including manipulating the minds of others. Sometimes making a blood sacrifice alongside desired food and drink would encourage the entity to feed off of those offerings instead of the necromancer’s soul. Necromancers addressed the dead in “a mixture of high-pitch squeaking and low droning” that was comparable to the trance-state mutterings of shamans. Were Witches Mostly Just Depraved Women? The necromancer might also surround himself or herself with morbid aspects of death, which often included wearing the deceased’s clothing and consuming foods that symbolized lifelessness and decay, such as unleavened black bread and unfermented grape juice. Some also engaged in necrophilia, with the belief that sex and sexual secretions could reanimate the dead. Some necromancers even went so far as to take part in the mutilation and consumption of corpses. These ceremonies could carry on for hours, days or even weeks leading up to the eventual summoning of spirits. These went on in melancholy places, cemeteries and near battlefields or conflict zones. All of these morbid practices were just a warm up for the eventual summoning of the spirit. To raise a physical body from the other side, the process had to occur within one year of the death, otherwise the necromancer would only be able to evoke the ghost, not the real person. The witch-burning era was rife with warfare. The peak of burnings was during the 30 Years War (1618-1648) in Germany and Central Europe. The necromancer witches were very interested in the “restless dead,” or those who did not receive a proper burial or who died violently or too young, and who were believed to be readily accessible for necromantic rites. Necromancers preferred to summon the recently departed based on the premise that their revelations were spoken more clearly. As a result, battlefields and wrecked towns during the 30 Years War were a boon to necromancers, who could easily recover body parts of the restless dead for their magical workings. Body snatching occurred on a vast scale. And looting the possessions of the fallen was also a prime preoccupation for people otherwise impoverished and debauched by the economic breakdowns and desolation of war. There were also incredible numbers of civilians and soldiers left dead to be defiled, snatched and looted in the 30 Years War. Such behavior was frowned upon in villages and considered a severe sin by church authorities. An apprehended perp could be burned as necromancer witch. Stripping and looting dead bodies who fought and fell for their side angered both the Protestant and Catholic factions to no end. Smithsonian magazine in an article on a recent mass grave excavation at a battle site: Figuring out just who the soldiers were has proved particularly difficult because it is believed the inhabitants of the Lutzen area did a thorough job of stripping the corpses of any clothing or identifying marks. Impoverished by the long-running war, Gannon reports the locals likely had little reverence for the 9,000 soldiers that died on both sides of the conflict. Killgrove reports that even the body of Sweden’s king Adolphus, whose forces had won the battle, was stripped of clothing and jewelry by the time he was found several hours after the end of the fighting. This activity dissipated once peace was restored in 1648 and after a number of bad actors in the death business had been executed. The greatest concentration of witch burning and civilian war casualties very much overlap as seen in red on the second map below. The witch trials were greater and more frequent in Germany and Switzerland, where religious contests and war were the most heated. More than 40 percent of Europeans executed for witchcraft were in Germany. In Catholic strongholds — where Inquisitors were busily persecuting “heretics” — witches were mostly ignored. The Spanish Inquisition executed no more than two dozen alleged witches; Portugal put to death around seven. In the eyes of most Christians, bringing back non-living spirits was nothing short of demon-summoning. They believed that regardless of any perceived benefit, raising the dead flew in the face of God’s authority and only led to suffering. The medieval world typically believed the resurrection of the dead required God’s help, thereby labeling all other kinds of divination as “demon magic.” With these bizarre-acting, ghoulish people in operation and the value of life diminished, there was heightened awareness of evil within the culture. And it’s no small wonder that the Reformation and Counter-Reformation conflict became a catalyst for the witch hunt by increasing the fear of Satan. Early modern Europeans believed “the danger that Satan presented to a person was both physical and spiritual. Everyone, even the holiest individual, could be deceived and ensnared by the cunning treachery of Satan.” Winter Watch Takeaway One study found that witchcraft beliefs are associated with the acceleration of antisocial attitudes and lower levels of trust in society. It wasn’t just scapegoating poor innocent pagan witches. The more extreme and twisted behaviors of witches came from the famine, deprivations and wars of that era, as did the reactions against the witches. This was a cauldron and a prime example of the nature of war and murderous conditions in which all sorts of criminal behavior emerged from many parties. Net-net, then as now, it represents a low-point in the human spirit of these impacted locales.
BOLADE YOU ARE (Episode VI) Things didn’t get back to complete normalcy, but Bolade felt confident he made the right decision and followed up with the right moves. It has been a week since he was confronted by Tolulope to make a concrete decision to forget about the relationship or get back, calling Tunde’s bluff. He went with the latter but was smart enough to realize his decision might end up being accompanied by undesirable consequences. The first thing he did after he told Tolulope they should get back with their normal life together was to get in touch with Shina ‘Energy’ to update him on the recent exciting events in his life starting from the day he started dating Tolulope. He took him through Tunde’s threat at the Bukateria, the dead cobra with the note attached and the threatening phone call. He ended with his most recent decision to get back together with Tolulope despite the threats. Shina refused to hastily conclude Tunde was directly behind the cobra and phone call threats, since there was no concrete evidence to directly implicate the obvious suspect with the dual threat. He assured Bolade he would meet with some key members of the student executive council about the issue, and try to find out more about Tunde; and his involvement – or not – with any clandestine society on campus. He told Bolade to continue with normal daytime activities and continue seeing Tolulope but admonished him to be extra careful when the sun goes down. Pause here. Read. If you missed the previous episode, stop right here and follow this link (https://www.360nobs.com/2010/07/bolade-you-are-episode-v/) to catch up on the events (and collective decisions) that led up to this point in Bolade’s story. As you would have realized (if you have been following the story), Bolade went for the third option like you all suggested; he said, ‘screw Tunde and his threats’ and went back to his normal relationship with Tolulope. Let’s see how that will play out: A week passed without any significant event. Bolade went about his normal schoolwork; he had a couple of continuous assessment tests coming up, so he kept late nights studying on campus. When he gets tired, he drives down to one of the close halls of residence to catch a few hours of sleep at some friend’s room before heading back to the study café. The study rooms were never empty so he felt safe. He was yet to sleep overnight at his house since he got back with Tolulope, he won’t accept he was afraid. When Emeka brought it up, Bolade told him he had a lot to cover before the test dates, hence, the overnight study hours on campus. On Tolulope’s end, he tried to make everything as normal as he could. He was in her room most evenings after lecture, and he took her out for dinner at the Bukateria after every visit, they never ran into Tunde during any of their night outs. It was as if he disappeared after Bolade went back to Tolulope. It was an uneasy calm. He called up IK to let him know he was back with Tolulope and there was no further harassment from Tunde. IK said he was surprised, but warned Bolade not to let his guards down too soon. ‘You can never trust these guys, they strike when you least expect it.’ Were IK’s words. Bolade turned over the words in his mind for a while. IK talks like he knows these guys more than any neutral guy should. Why does he sound so certain anytime he talks about Tunde like that? Bolade thought of mentioning this to Shina but he let it slide. IK tends to exaggerate and there might actually be no substance to his words, no point in getting him under the student union executive council’s scrutiny for nothing. The tests came and passed. Bolade had no excuse not to sleep in his house any longer, but he still kept late nights in school and went home to sleep in the early hours of the morning. He managed to convince Emeka to sleep over at his place once, which was the only night he got home before midnight. There was still no sign of trouble from Tunde or anybody else. There was no sign till the Wednesday of the following week. The first of the series of menacing calls woke him up a few minutes before 5AM on Wednesday; he had slept alone in his house overnight. He checked the caller ID; hidden. So he let it ring. The caller persisted so he picked the call at the third attempt. ‘Hello, who’s this?’ Bolade didn’t bother to hide the annoyance in his voice. ‘Dude, you were warned, now you have to dance to the tune of the music you played.’ There was no mistaking the disguised gruff voice which called him the morning he found the dead snake in front of his house. ‘Who the flip is this? I think you got the wrong dude.’ ‘No, I’ve got the right dude. But of course, you are a very wrong dude. Just so you know, we know how you live; we know your every movement. You have been avoiding your house for the past one week plus and you now think it is safe to starting sleeping at your crib now. You just brought a whole truckload of trouble on yourself…’ Bolade was livid with rage. ‘Nicca, who the fu…’ Click. The line went dead. Bolade was boiling with anger when he dragged himself off the bed. I must put an end to this one way or the other. He searched for Shina’s number, gave him a call to tell him about the threat he just received. Shina told Bolade to be calm, he mentioned that his sources informed him that Tunde has been out of town for three days and he even missed a test the previous day but they are still trying to figure out what could be up with him. Shina assured him to keep calm, he was sure whoever it was behind the threat would soon slip and give up a clue for them to work with. After getting off the phone with Shina; Bolade grabbed a pair of jeans and a polo top, dressed up and dashed out of the house. The sun was yet to rise, so he hastily made for his car and drove off to Emeka’s house. He was surprised he was still able to catch about two hours of sleep after getting to Emeka’s house and explaining about the phone call. Three hours later Bolade went back to his place to freshen up and prepare for school. The anonymous phone call threats continued during the day sporadically and Bolade kept picking the call hoping to pick up clues during the brief conversations with the person on the other end of the call. There was no such luck. He mentioned it in passing to Tolulope, he made light of the threat and vaguely assured her Shina was dealing with it. Wednesday passed; he passed the night again at Emeka’s and left early in the morning to go prepare for school like the previous day. The anonymous caller interfered with his day just once on Thursday, it was the same menacing words, and he was beginning to bore Bolade rather than frighten him. The day went by as usual, lectures, study, and dinner with Tolulope. He left school at 10PM to pass the night at Emeka’s place, there was a party going on in the compound and Bolade had trouble falling asleep. Midnight came and there was no sign the party was going to end anytime soon, Bolade started toying with the idea of going to his house to pass the night. He wanted to wake Emeka to go with him but the loudness of Emeka’s snore indicated he was deep in sleep so Bolade decided against interrupting him. After further thirty minutes of tossing and turning on the bed, Bolade got up, pulled on his pants and stepped out of Emeka’s room. The music was louder outside in the compound. He smirked in disgust as he pushed past a couple of girls throwing up on his way to the car park. He shook his head and cussed at them under his breath. Ten minutes later he was almost at his house, he decided to park by the road three houses to the boy’s quarters where he stays. The street was dead quiet. He put off his headlamps and switched off the engine. He got out and started strolling towards his house which was just less than a minute walk from where he parked. He could have missed it if his eyes hadn’t adjusted quickly to the darkness of the night. There was a flash of moving light in his room. He stopped dead in his tracks. He then took two steps backwards, to hide behind the pine shrubs just beside the main house next to his boy’s quarters. He could hear his heart thumbing loudly against his rib cage. He glanced over towards his room again. After a few seconds of straining his eyes, he could make out a moving shadow in his room, the intruder had a flashlight with him, which he put on and off like someone searching for something in the dark and not wanting to be detected. What the flying phork! Bolade trembled; a mixed emotion of rage and fear. The burning rage was strong enough for him to find a handy weapon for which to confront the intruder with; but the fear mitigated the reckless urge. He quickly reasoned the intruder could have a more dangerous weapon. He reached for his phone; which fell off from his trembling hands when he pulled it out of his pocket. The faint light from the phone revealed a club like stick lying close by the shrub Bolade was hiding; he picked his phone and reached for the club. Bolade could: i) Call Shina and wait for help to come from the Student Union Executives. ii) Call Emeka and IK and wait for them to come with help. iii) Grab the club to go and attack the intruder (with care, of course) Hi IVVY, a friend once told me about my ‘tenses’ issues a while back, pls could you elaborate more on how they confused you in this story. Thanks for taking time out to respond to this, and thanks for enjoying the story 🙂 BTW, the next episode should be out by next Wed. (it’s a bi-weekly thing)
The Federal Aviation Administration today ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing’s next-generation 737 MAX jets, due to “new evidence” collected at the site of Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash as well as data transmitted via satellite. “The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorder,” the FAA said in a statement: #FAA statement on the temporary grounding of @Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in a U.S. territory. pic.twitter.com/tCxSakbnbH Today’s announcement, which affects all 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S territory, came after scores of other nations took similar measures. The move was signaled in advance by President Donald Trump, and came just hours after Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said 737 MAX planes would be barred from arrivals, departures and overflights in Canada. Garneau said satellite data suggested there were similarities between the flight profiles for the 737 MAX 8 involved in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash that killed 157 people on Sunday and a Lion Air 737-8 that crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. In both cases, the pilots reported control difficulties just after takeoff, and the planes nose-dived shortly afterward. Garneau said the readings transmitted via satellite were not conclusive, and he shied away from saying definitively that the crashes were related. “But it is something that points possibly in that direction, and at this point we feel that that threshold has been crossed and that is why we are taking these measures,” he said. Virginia-based Aireon confirmed that it provided investigators with data that was transmitted from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 via an ADS-B satellite link. The Aireon system makes use of the Iridium NEXT constellation that was completed in January. “We cannot comment on the cause of the tragedy or the outcome of the investigation, only that we have provided the data,” Aireon said in a tweeted statement. “This unfortunate tragedy further highlights the need for a global, real-time air traffic surveillance system.” Preliminary findings from the Lion Air investigation focused on an automatic flight control system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS. The system is designed to keep the 737 MAX from stalling under extreme aerodynamic conditions, but investigators said spurious sensor data may have caused the MCAS to put the Lion Air plane into an unwarranted dive. Boeing has laid out a procedure that pilots can use in such a scenario to switch off the MCAS system; however, that procedure wasn’t followed by the Lion Air pilots. The FAA said Boeing is due to update the MCAS software next month. Today’s FAA announcement marked a rapid about-face: On Tuesday, the agency issued a statement saying that it saw “no basis to order grounding” 737 MAX airplanes, and that no other civil aviation authorities had furnished data that would warrant further action. The 737 MAX is the latest incarnation of Boeing’s best-selling jet, and the company insists that the planes are safe. But in a statement released after today’s FAA order, Boeing said it supported the decision: “Boeing continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. However, after consultation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and aviation authorities and its customers around the world, Boeing has determined — out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety — to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft. ” ‘On behalf of the entire Boeing team, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives in these two tragic accidents,’ said Dennis Muilenburg, president, CEO, chairman of the Boeing Company. ” ‘We are supporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution. Safety is a core value at Boeing for as long as we have been building airplanes; and it always will be. There is no greater priority for our company and our industry. We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with the investigators, deploy safety enhancements and help ensure this does not happen again.’ “Boeing makes this recommendation and supports the decision by the FAA.” This is an updated version of a report that was first published at 10:49 a.m. PT March 13.
Assuming you are the follower of new tech gadgets, Natuurlijk, you should know today is a big day for Google. The new products of Google – Google Pixel 2 release today with a huge excitement and expected to create an instant buzz in market responding to its rivals. Als Prisync, we also aimed to be a part of this release day and thanks to the ability of our software we decided to make the price analysis of Google Pixel 2 like we did foriPhone 8. We tracked the Google Pixel 2 prices from official Google shops of particular countries (US, VERENIGD KONINKRIJK, Australië, Canada, Duitsland, India) and compared them with each other. Ook, we’ve moved one or two steps further and added PPP(BBP per hoofd van de bevolking per jaar) of every country that we’ve tracked and gave a clear analysis for you to understand how easy/difficult to buy the Google Pixel 2 in those countries. Bovendien, we found the gross minimum wages the countries and calculated how much working hours do they need to work in those countries to buy the Google Pixel 2. Our analysis does not end here. We brought iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 prices in our research and tried to give an outcome about how these big tech players set their initial prices at the first release date and position themselves versus each other. Geschreven Door You should add a slide with the real market prices. Then it would be quiet clear, why the pixel marketshare in germany is almost non-existent. (Hint: nobody will pay 50% more for a Pixel 2 phone than for a Galaxy S8)
%{ Solves a simple quadratic problem (with optimal solution known in closed-form) with all the various solvers the quadratic problem is: min_x c'x + x'Px/2, P > 0, hence the optimal solution is x = -inv(Q)c On a simple quadratic example like this, when there is no projection, all the solver behave similarly. So this script is more useful for debugging to make sure that all solvers are working %} %% Make a problem N = 100; randn('state',2334); P = randn(N); P = PP' + .1*eye(N); % ensure P is symmetric positive definite c = randn(N,1); x_ref = -P\c; %% Solve with TFOCS f = smooth_quad( P, c ); affine = []; projector = []; x0 = zeros(N,1); opts = []; opts.printEvery = 500; opts.tol = 1e-8; opts.printStopCrit = true; opts.restart = 350; % use this since the problem is strongly convex opts.errFcn = @(f,x) norm( x-x_ref)/norm(x_ref); opts.maxIts = 750; % The 'N83' and 'AT' methods can take advantage when you know % the exact value of the strong convexity parameter % (and the Lipschitz constant). In this case, do not % use restart. But we won't test this right now, % since it is unusual that you have information % about the strong convexity constant. % opts.restart = Inf; % opts.mu = min(eig(P)); % strong convexity parameter. N83 can make use of this % opts.Lexact = max(eig(P)); solverList = { 'GRA', 'AT', 'LLM', 'N07', 'N83', 'TS' }; % solverList = { 'GRA', 'AT', 'N83', 'TS' }; % solverList = { 'LLM','N07'}; % these take two steps per iteration figure(1); clf; for k = 1:length( solverList ) solver = solverList{k}; opts.alg = solver; fprintf('\nSolver: %s\n\n', solver ); [x,out,optsOut] = tfocs( f, affine, projector, x0, opts ); semilogy( out.err ); hold all end legend( solverList ); %% close all figures close all % TFOCS v1.3 by Stephen Becker, Emmanuel Candes, and Michael Grant. % Copyright 2013 California Institute of Technology and CVX Research. % See the file LICENSE for full license information.
Shear bond strength of repaired composite resins using a hybrid composite resin. The shear bond strength of different types of composite resins repaired with a hybrid composite was evaluated. The hybrid composite resin was repaired with itself as a control. The results of this study showed that the shear bond strength of the repair with most types of composite resins was minimally adequate.
details The Crockett & Jones chukka boot in dark brown (shown at left), made of high grade reverse country calf leather with a rubber sole, is a classic shoe for the weekends. Sale selection available in US E width sizes.
Adult Flag Football Join the fun in this recreational 7-on-7 flag football league. Participants must be at least 16 years of age and photo ID may be required to verify roster legality; parental permission required for ages 16 and 17. Teams are limited to an 11-man roster and games will consist of two 30-minute halves. The clock will run continuously except for the final two (2) minutes of each half, or when stopped for a time out. Balls, flags, and all other equipment will be provided by LCPRT with team registration. All games will be played at TJES Ball Field. Game times will be announced at a later date, depending on number of teams. The deadline to register your team is July 12th.
Main navigation How to Unlock your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge With Codes After you’ve paid for a phone it only seems fair that you should be able to use it under any carrier you want, right? This sounds like it should be the case, but when comes to most phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, you’ll need to unlock it before you can truly use it however, wherever, and with whoever you want. There are two different ways to unlock Android phones: Unlock codes Unlock software through USB I’m only going to be covering unlock codes here as the second unlock method can lead to a few sketchy websites that may ask you to download questionable software. With that said I’m going to talk about three different competing sites that can offer unlock codes at a reasonable price, and don’t require you to download a single thing. I’ll tell you what to do with that code once you have it too, so no need to worry. If you’re looking to unlock your phone for free, the best I can tell you is that I hope one of your buddies has an unlocked S6 Edge just sitting around. Getting an Unlock Code Unlock codes are relatively easy to find with nothing more than a quick Google search, but since they cost money you’ll want to know which sites you can trust. That’s why I’m going to be talking about three in particular. Starting with the first site I’ll show you how to buy an unlock code from each, and then tell you how you can put said code to use. Time: ETA: 1 hour - 2 business days Method 1: Samsung Code Source We’ll be starting with the site I mentioned first, Samsung Code Source. This unlocking company has been around since 2011 and has fairly competitive rates. If you buy your code from them, I wouldn’t blame you. Loading the site This could be done from your phone or a PC, but all of my pictures will be from the desktop site, so keep that in mind. If you didn’t already open a new tab with the site in question, here’s another opportunity. With that open, and a quick scroll down you should see some numbered steps. The most important one there is number one, since clicking that brings you to the second page where we want to be. Picking a phone Clicking the bold letters in number one should bring you to a collection of different phone images. Considering you’re reading an article with “Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge” in the title, I’m going to assume that’s the phone you want to unlock. If I’m right, simply click the large Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge to be presented with your options. Picking a Network Next you’ll need to a select a network first based on the region where you purchased your phone. For the sake of reference, I’m going to select Canada & USA networks, which will open a new drop-down menu. From here just select the network your phone is currently using. If yours isn’t available one of the last options should state it could be used any other network in that region. After you’ve selected your network you’ll then have to type in your IMEI number in the box below your selected network. If you are unsure of your IMEI number, call #06# to see it displayed on your screen. Once you’ve copied this number down, type it into the box, and then enter a valid email address that you’ll be able to retrieve your code from. Delivery should take as long as stated if not sooner. Once you’ve received the unlock you’re ready to unlock your phone. How did this work for you? Method 2: Unlock River Unlock River is an unlock site that’s been around since 2007, mailing out unlock codes in as early as six minutes in some cases. They’re a reputable source for unlock codes for your phone, and one that a site that’s easy to navigate and deal with. Getting to Unlock River There’s a link to Unlock River’s site above, but there’s one here as well just in case you need it. Once you’ve arrived it’s pretty clear where you need to go next, so this should be a relatively quick second step. Inputting your Information There’s no need to go through a web page maze with this site. Everything you need at first will be right on the first page you see. From here you’ll need to select your carrier, manufacturer, model, and then your IMEI number. The first three should be easy enough to remember, but I don’t know many people who can spout off their IMEI number from memory. If you don’t know what your IMEI number is, call “#06#” and you should see it displayed on the screen. Copy this down and then input it as your second to last information field. Next just input the email address you’d like your code delivered to, then hit unlock now to proceed to checkout. After paying for the code just wait the estimated time frame and you should receive your code in the email address you provided. How did this work for you? Method 3: The Unlocking Company The Unlocking Company is the third and final site I’ll be talking about. However, just because they’re the last in the lot doesn’t mean they’re the least of the bunch. The Unlocking Company has been around for seven years and has a lot of social media presence. If you were worried about support when it comes to getting an unlock code, The Unlocking Company can make you feel secure. Visiting The Unlocking Company If you don’t already have a tab with the unlocking company’s website, then have no fear, there’s one for you. The site may appear a little flashy at first, but a quick glance into the lower left corner shows us what we’re after. Putting in your Information Now that we’re here it’s time to get your unlock code as quickly as possible. Here in the lower left corner you’ll see where you’ll need to put in at least some of your information, starting with the manufacturer and phone model. After you’ve put those two into their correct places click that shiny green button to continue. Remaining Details and Checkout The information we’ll be dealing with is in the same corner again on the next page as well, so let’s take a look. From here you’ll need to input the country you purchased your phone from, the carrier of the phone, and then your IMEI number. If you can’t remember your IMEI number by heart, there are even instruction on the page to help you retrieve it. Simply call “#06#” and your IMEI number should be quickly displayed. Next copy down the number and input it where it belongs. The only thing left to do on this page is enter the currency you’ll be paying with. After you’ve filled out all the required spaces, hit the shiny green button to complete your checkout and tell the unlocking company where to send your code. How did this work for you? Method 4: How to Use Your Code You’ve paid for your code, waited as long as it took, refreshed your inbox until it showed up, and now you have it all wrapped up with a bow in your email. That’s all well and good, but how do you use the thing? There are two different ways you can use your code. You can: Call a specific number Insert a different SIM card I’ll explain each as quickly as possible, so don’t blink, you might miss it. Calling a Number This method may be the easier of the two simply because it doesn’t require any extra materials. All you need to do is call a number, much like when getting your IMEI number to display. There are really only two steps for this method, so let’s just combine them into one. First things first, you’ll probably want to know the number you’ll be calling. Bust out your keypad and get your index finger ready, right before dialing “#7465625638*#” to bring up a new menu. There’s no need to hit the call button as you’ll quickly be asked by a pop-up to insert your Network Lock Control Key. From here just enter the unlock code and then hit OK. Congratulations, your phone is now unlocked and free to roam where it pleases. Inserting an Unrecognized SIM Card If you’ve already purchased or acquired another SIM card in preparation for an out of country trip, or from switching to a new carrier, this method couldn’t be any easier. All you need to do is remove your current SIM card, and then insert the other one. After swapping the SIM cards, your phone should ask to restart. Allow the phone this one kindness, then when it reboots it should ask you for a SIM network unlock PIN. If you received your unlock code now is the time to carefully type it in. After you’ve verified that you entered it correctly, confirm the input, and voilà, your phone is unlocked. How did this work for you? Conclusion And there you have it, three different sites to buy unlock codes from, and two different ways to put that shiny new code to use. Unlocking the Samsung Galaxy S6 may be a little costly depending on where you go for a code, but is a pretty simple process that doesn’t take much time. Out of all three of the sites I mentioned, Method 2’s Unlock River boasts the quickest code delivery. Additionally, Method 1’s Samsung Code Source has very competitive prices, while Method 3’s Unlocking Company has long standing credibility. If I had to choose one from the three, I personally would go with Samsung Code Source. When dealing with how to use your code, both methods are simple and almost identical in the time required. However, Method 1 is easier considering you don’t need a second SIM card to complete the process. Whichever method you choose to use you’ll be sure to find the process painless and easy to complete. Unlocking your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge isn’t nearly as complex as it sounds, and makes sure that your phone is truly yours to use in whichever country you please. Do you have a different site that you like to use for all your unlocking needs? Or maybe you know about a secret ritual that can unlock any phone through the power of good intentions. Feel free to share either one of those in the comments below, one of them probably more probable than the other. About Strider Crossing worlds, choosing words, sailing the seas or even using an Android device to communicate with extraterrestrial life are all possible items on Strider’s agenda. Writer, roamer, adventurer: it’s hard to put a label on this guy.
Q: Implementing HOUR with COUNTIFS Table sheet tabulates data from the Data tab. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YUTnJ_2xM6115gUV1MCReMR93k-8LuVupJ1ObdbuI0U/edit?usp=sharing The breakdown is based on the Data tab, Col B and Col E. Currently I am using a helper column to determine the hour recorded in the Date column (Col A). I would like to modify the COUNTIF formulae in the Data tab to eliminate the need for the helper column. My current formulae is of the following format: =COUNTIFS(Data!$A$18:$A,">"&$A$7,Data!$C$18:$C,E$2,Data!$B$18:$B,$C3,Data!$E$18:$E,E$1) I have tried using the HOUR function within the COUNTIF formula (refer E3 on Table tab) but receive an error: "Array arguments to COUNTIFS are of different size." I've also tried to implement the concept from this question, however, I wasn't successful. A: use: =ARRAYFORMULA(COUNTIFS(Data!$A$18:$A, ">"&$A$7, Data!$C$18:$C, E$2, HOUR(Data!$B$18:$B), $C3, Data!$E$18:$E, E$1)) tho if Data!B18 is not in true hour format use: =ARRAYFORMULA(COUNTIFS(Data!$A$18:$A, ">"&$A$7, Data!$C$18:$C, E$2, Data!$B$18:$B, $C3, Data!$E$18:$E, E$1))
"We still don't fully understand all of the mechanisms involved in CBD's actions," says Marcel Bonn-Miller, Ph.D, who studies CBD and its effects, primarily on PTSD. "We know some pieces but definitely not the whole story at this point. A lot of our understanding of the many potential benefits of CBD is rooted in work either on the cellular level or in preclinical models with rodents." To begin, hemp oil simply tastes good. It also offers a number of nutritional advantages over other edible oils. Organic hemp oil has a very high content of unsaturated fats, perfect for a healthy lifestyle but also for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Hemp oil has not been genetically modified and is available in Certified Organic. The hemp oil we offer is grown in Canada and is of the very best possible quality and freshness. Read More Based on history cannabis is believed to have originated from Central Asia. Cannabis is one of the oldest plant medicines known to man. It is difficult to trace the beginnings of cannabis use use by humans because it was cultivated and consumed long before the appearance of writing. According to archeological discoveries, cannabis has been known in China since the Neolithic period, around 4000 BC. Next comes the actual extracting. Emblem’s activated cannabinoids are extracted using our supercritical CO2 process and then purified using a winterization step to remove any uninvited plant lipids. During winterization, the extract is dissolved in ethanol before supercooling. The ethanol and cold temperature force the lipids to solidify, while the cannabinoids remain in the liquid. The lipids are then strained out, and the filtered ethanol-cannabinoid mixture gets put into a rotovap to yield a highly concentrated resin. From there, the resin is blended with our pharmaceutical-grade MCT carrier oil, resulting in the final product. For more details on how we transform cannabis buds to cannabis oil, read our oil extraction article here. Selective breeding of cannabis plants has expanded and diversified as commercial and therapeutic markets develop. Some growers in the U.S. succeeded in lowering the proportion of CBD-to-THC to accommodate customers who preferred varietals that were more mind-altering due to the higher THC and lower CBD content.[55] Hemp is classified as any part of the cannabis plant containing no more than 0.3% THC in dry weight form (not liquid or extracted form).[56] Runners pushing themselves daily might want to try more. Floyd’s of Leadville owner Bob Bell says that the company’s 50-milligram soft gels are its top seller. Talansky says his baseline is a 25-milligram gel, plus applying a strong topical cream three to five times a day if a specific body part is bothering him. He takes more on his hardest training days to speed recovery. Right now, there’s a good chance that you don’t really know what you’re getting from any source. Testing and labeling rules vary by state, but many states that allow legal cannabis also require some kind of testing to verify that the THC and CBD levels listed on the label are accurate. However, this testing is controversial, and results can vary widely between labs, Jikomes said. A study published in March found measurable variations in test results, with some labs consistently reporting higher or lower levels of cannabinoids than others. There are no guarantees that the label accurately reflects what’s in the product. For a 2015 study published in JAMA, researchers tested 75 products purchased in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle and found that only 17 percent were accurately labeled. More than half of the products contained significantly lower levels of cannabinoids than the label promised, and some of them contained only negligible amounts of the compounds. “We need to come up with ways to confidently verify the composition of cannabis products and make this information available to consumers,” Jikomes said. Hash oil or cannabis oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish. It is a concentrated form of the plant containing many of its resins and terpenes – in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. There are a variety of extraction methods, but most involve a solvent such as butane or ethanol. Hash oil is usually consumed by smoking, vaporizing or eating but sometimes other methods are employed. Hash oil is sometimes sold in cartridges to be used with pen vaporizers. This has been the year medical cannabis hit the mainstream. The government has announced that it is relaxing laws on when cannabis medicines can be prescribed by doctors, following high-profile cases such as that of Billy Caldwell, the 13-year-old boy hospitalised by his epileptic seizures after he was denied legal access to the cannabis oil that helps control them. Meanwhile a new generation of cannabis medicines has shown great promise (both anecdotally and in early clinical trials) in treating a range of ills from anxiety, psychosis and epilepsy to pain, inflammation and acne. And you don’t have to get stoned to reap the health benefits. Can CBD oil help anxiety? Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical occurring in cannabis plants. It is possible to add CBD oil to food, and an increasing amount of evidence suggests that it may improve mental health, particularly anxiety. It does not seem to have adverse side effects, but CBD oil is illegal in some states. Learn more about CBD oil here. Read now Affiliate Disclosure: There are links on this site that can be defined as affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something when clicking on the links that take you through to a different website. By clicking on the links, you are in no way obligated to buy. Medical Disclaimer: Statements in any video or written content on this site have not been evaluated by the FDA. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product. Representations regarding the efficacy and safety of CBD oil have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA only evaluates foods and drugs, not supplements like these products. These products are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease. The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any supplement program.
Composition Forum: Volume 29: Spring 2014 From the Editors Christian Weisser and Mary Jo Reiff Interview Feminist Rhetorical Studies—Past, Present, Future: An Interview with Cheryl Glenn Jessica Enoch Retrospective Research as a Recursive Process: Reconsidering The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers 35 Years Later Sondra Perl Articles Environmental Flux and Locally Focused College Writing Nathan Shepley The Costs of Sharing: Attending to Contact in Composition Practices Matthew Heard Breaking the Silence: Toward Improving LGBTQ Representation in Composition Readers John Hudson Are They Empowered Yet?: Opening Up Definitions of Critical Pedagogy Heather Thomson-Bunn Can They Tutor Science? Using Faculty Input, Genre, and WAC-WID to Introduce Tutors to Scientific Realities Liberty L. Kohn Writing as Embodied, College Football Plays as Embodied: Extracurricular Multimodal Composing J. Michael Rifenburg Getting By: A “Lost Generation” Member’s Local History of the College Extracurriculum Liz Rohan Program Profiles Performing the Groundwork: Building a WEC/WAC Writing Program at The College of St. Scholastica Heather Bastian Writing Program Building in a Compromised Space: Relative Agency in a Small College in a Public University System Michael J. Cripps and Heather M. Robinson The Graduate Writing Program at the University of Kansas: An Inter-Disciplinary, Rhetorical Genre-Based Approach to Developing Professional Identities Christine Jensen Sundstrom Reviews Review of Jeff Rice’s Digital Detroit: Rhetoric and Space in the Age of the Network Liz Rohan Review of Jill M. Gladstein and Dana Rossman Regaignon’s Writing Program Administration at Small Liberal Arts Colleges Mark C. Long Review of Kristin L. Arola and Anne Frances Wysocki’s Composing (Media) = Composing (Embodiment): Bodies, Technologies, Writing, The Teaching of Writing Jason Palmeri Previous issue: Vol 28, Fall 2013.
include ../../Library/GNU.mk Title= dtach Name= dtach Version= 0.9 Site= http://dtach.sourceforge.net Source= http://downloads.sourceforge.net/dtach/$(Name)-$(Version).tar.gz License= GPLv2 define install_hook $(install_base_documentation) $(install_gnu_documentation) install -d $(DestDir)$(BinDir) install -m 755 $(SourceDir)/dtach $(DestDir)$(BinDir)/dtach install -d $(DestDir)$(ManDir)/man1 install -m 644 $(SourceDir)/dtach.1 $(DestDir)$(ManDir)/man1/dtach.1 endef define test_hook $(BinDir)/dtach --version \| grep $(Version) endef
Welcome SLA 3-3-3 is 3 years, 3 goals, 3 activities to grow area lacrosse. Stafford Lacrosse Association (SLA) is a local non-profit aimed at growing lacrosse in the area. We’ve embarked on an ambitious project called 3-3-3. In this first pilot year, we are going to P.E. classes in seven schools, followed by a free one-day after school program, then a June camp. For now, most information is available through our @stafflax account on Twitter. If you’d like to reach the 3-3-3 team, head over to the contact page for details on emailing us. This stafflax site is a short-hand location which leads to the SLA page above and is used mainly to support the Twitter campaign.
Here’s a variation on my most frequently asked question. It’s a pretty good version, so I’m answering it on the blog: “When sitting zazen, if thoughts come to you and you begin to focus on them instead of ‘nothingness’, how do you deal? Do you ever let thoughts take full shape and form or do you push them away before they have time to become concrete? Is it important to ever focus on these or to push them out quickly?” The problem here is the same problem everyone who has ever done meditation throughout history has had. The questioner is comparing her state while doing zazen with the image of the state she thinks she’s supposed to have, and she feels like her real state falls short of her ideal. Your real state will always fall short of your ideal. That is the nature of idealized states. It’s a trick your brain can do. It has great practical value. Our ancient ancestors looked at their efforts to try and kill apatosauruses by throwing rocks at them. They realized that wasn’t working and envisioned an idealized state wherein apatosauruses could be killed more quickly with less effort. They imagined an ideal apatosaurus killing weapon, perhaps pointy rocks attached to big sticks. And so the spear was born, and apatosaurus could be killed efficiently enough that the whole tribe could dine on apatosaurus burgers for months. Yay!* Meditation practitioners all have the same problem of trying to match up their their actual meditative state with their idealized meditative state. Sometimes they come up with clever solutions to make it seem like this idealized state actually comes about. They invent words to repeat to themselves, or light candles and stare at them, or think about funny questions, or concentrate their whole mind on their solar plexis, or make recordings of weird sounds to listen to, or wear silly sunglasses with colored lights attached… There are thousands of variations. They all do the same thing. They get certain people to feel like they’re a little closer to their idealized “meditative state” by temporarily tricking the thinking mind into believing it has achieved its goal. But what happens when you’ve achieved a goal? That process of creating idealizations kicks back in and creates a vision of an even better state it wants to get itself into. Then you’re right back where you started. What we’re trying to do in Zen practice is totally different. Nishijima Roshi used to say “dimensionally different” to try to emphasize just how different it was. It’s so different it might as well be in another dimension of reality altogether. You just sit with whatever comes up. Whether it matches your idealized vision of what meditation ought to be or not is completely irrelevant. Just sit with what you are at that moment. If it’s a lot of thoughts taking full shape and becoming concrete, then that’s what you’ve got going on today. Sit with it. In any case, thoughts never take full shape and become concrete. That’s an illusion too. It’s always an ongoing process. What I do when this sort of thing happens is adjust my posture. In 30 years, I’ve never had a single incident in which I was getting too wrapped up in the stuff in my head and my posture was not at least slightly off. Sit up straight again, let your shoulders drop, see if your neck is bending forward or back. Sway a little and re-discover your balance point if you need to. Then get back to it. There is no need to focus on “nothingness.” There is no need to make your mind a complete blank. Kodo Sawaki said the only time when your mind is a complete blank is when you’re dead. There is no need to chase after your idealized perfect state of zazen because that perfect state is just another useless thought your brain has created. Pay it no more attention than you would any other random thought. * I am aware the last apatosauruses died about 100 million years before the first human was born. Or did they??? * * * Speaking of random thoughts, random donations always help! Thanks for your support! I’m way into this new book and it really makes a huge difference. * * * My on-line retreat at Tricycle.com is still on-going. Check it out! * * * Here’s my upcoming touring schedule: Aug. 2 9:30 AM — 3:30 PM All Day Zazen at Angel City Zen Center Los Angeles 4117 Overland Blvd. Culver City, CA 90230 Aug. 16 9:30 AM – Noon Angel City Zen Center Los Angeles 4117 Overland Blvd. Culver City, CA 90230 Sept. 5-7 Houston Zen Center Sept. 9 Austin Zen Center Oct. 1 Turku Panimoravintola Koulu, Finland– Movie screening Oct. 2 Helsinki, Finland — Lecture Event Oct. 3-5 Helsinki, Finland Zen retreat at Helsinki Zen Center Oct. 6 Movie Screening in Espoo, Finland Oct. 8 Lecture in Munich, Germany Oct. 10-11 Retreat in Munich, Germany Oct. 12-17 Retreat at Benediktushof near WÃ¼rzburg, Germany Oct 18-19 Retreat in Bonn, Germany Oct 20 Hamburg, Germany Oct 24: Lecture in Groningen, Netherlands Oct 25: Day-long zazen in Groningen, Netherlands Oct 26: Movie screening in Eindhoven, Netherlands at Natlab Oct 27: Evening zazen in Eindhoven, Netherlands Oct 28: Evening zazen in Nijmegen, Netherlands Oct 29: Lecture in Amsterdam, Netherlands at “De Roos” bookstore from 19.00-21.00 (P Cornelisz Hooftstr 183) Oct 30: Lecture in Utrecht, Netherlands at “De wijze kater” bookstore from 19.00-21.00 ( Mariaplaats 1, Utrecht) Nov 1-2: Retreat in Utrecht, Netherlands Nov. 2: Movie screening in Utrecht, Netherlands at ACU Nov 6-8: Retreat in Hebden Bridge, UK Nov 9: Noon — 5pm Manchester, UK
Since the beginning of the series, Houseguests came up with methods to eliminate potential threats to their own game; but, it wasn't before Nakomis Dedmon created the "Six Finger Plan" that backdooring another Houseguest became legendary—and now somewhat commonplace.Nakomis' strategy required the following: a six-person alliance, a willingness by all alliance members to be placed on the block prior to the POV competition, and a clear target. Once she had her alliance's support, Nakomis proceeded with her plan by putting up two members.Then, each of those members selected one of the two remaining people in the alliance to participate in the POV competition. When alliance member Drew Daniel won the POV, he used it to take himself off of the block, allowing Nakomis to replace him with her real target and nemesis, Jase Wirey!
DH Tools The PLuS Alliance “GLAM+University Collaborative Ecologies” teams are delighted to announce our 2017 “Migration, Mobility, and Belonging” Seed Grant Awardees. These projects highlight the experiences and creative and entrepreneurial work being done by migrant communities across the globe. Each project is an innovative transdisciplinary collaboration that includes migrant communities, artists, GLAM professionals, university researchers, and civic supporters. Highlighting both the powerful contributions of migrants across cultures and the challenges they […] Yesterday friend and fellow traveller in/on/around digital cultures Alexandra Juhasz posted #hardtruth #67 “Watch Those Monetizing Their Watching From the Shadows”, part of her series of 100 #hardtruths about fake news, digital culture, and the many challenges of the first 100 days of #45. To help build the post, I shared with Alex screenshots of my morning browsing – reading the news, going to the bank, fact-checking — with two […] I’m pleased to be able to share the CFP below as part of an effort to develop the infrastructures of university and GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) to comment on issues of migration. This is a seed project funded by the PLuS Alliance and will feature one project in conjunction with ASU (including the Nexus Lab). We’ll also be working on a much larger grant proposal on this topic […] When I first arrived at ASU, I spent a bit of time in the Nexus Lab – talking with Michael Simeone, working with a few students who were doing some encoding, and giving a few presentations. One of those presentations as part of the Research Advancement series, was where I met my current collaborator, Jessica Rajko. From that first meeting we’ve developed our #VibrantLives work and have gone on to show […] I’m one of five women on a panel about Feminist Infrastructure at the Digital Humanities annual conference taking place now in Krakow, Poland. Due to other obligations, I’m here in the states, but my virtual presence will be manifest with little movie presentation. Related: not keen that this panel and so many others have been put on a “diversity” track, but happy everyone is there and doing the work. Creating […] FemTechNet’s signal/noise conference, held in Ann Arbor (MI) this weekend, hosted the debut of Vibrant Lives’ DataPLAY. Below is our playbill, which evokes early American playbills that were used to advertise formal theatrical events as well as technological experiences and new medical practices, like those at the World’s Fair or in smaller traveling techno-operas and shows. In many ways the bill and the notion of a debut suggests a polished performance […] A quick overview Last weekend Vibrant Lives premiered three new sculptures commissioned by the Mesa Arts Center. The sculptures, created in collaboration with local artist Bobby Zokaites, were designed to give people a larger-scale experience of real time data shed than we had done in previous events. We consciously chose materials and shapes that would invite bodies to lay, stand, sit, and stretch across the pieces, allowing people to locate […] I’m delighted that we are officially now in full swing with our new graduate certificate in Computational and Digital Humanities here at ASU. While I’m the current director, this has been a labor of love for many here at ASU, including fabulous folks like Michael Simeone, Alex Halavais, Jacqueline Hettel, and the amazing administrative staff in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies where the CDH is housed. The CDH […] May 21st and 22nd, 2016 Vibrant Lives will be presenting in “Handmade Amplified” in Amsterdam (more precisely, my amazing collaborators Jessica Rajko and Eileen Standley will be presenting their work). This iteration of our research will be realized as a durational performance/installation; a play with potent points of technological and analog dialogue through and of the body. Presented in the 4Bid Gallery as performance and installation of sculpture, photos, and a web […] I’ve been working lately with the Vibrant Lives team on performative, haptic approaches to understanding data. This first took the form of our Vibrant Lives performance this fall at ASU’s Fall Forward showcase. Since then, we’ve been playing around with lots of different modalities for engaging with data and we’ve been talking a lot – mostly amongst ourselves, but also with folks who have been attending HSCollab’s “Critical Conversations” lunchtime […]
[Differentiated hypoglycemic effects of baicalin, berberine and puerarin on insulin-resistance HepG2 cells]. To investigate the hypoglycemic effects of baicalin, berberine, puerarin and liquiritin on the insulin resistance (IR) cells. The IR model of HepG2 cells was established by treatment with insulin and dexamethasone for 48 h. Glucose uptake, glycogen content and cell viability were detected with different concentrations of baicalin, berberine, puerarin, liquiritin in IR-HepG2 cells. Compared with IR model group, all of intervened groups significantly increased the glucose consumption, except for liquiritin groups and 1 μmol·L⁻¹ baicalin group. Moreover, 10, 20, 50 μmol·L⁻¹ baicalin, 5, 10, 20, 50 μmol·L⁻¹ berberine and 40, 80, 160 μmol·L⁻¹ puerarin significantly elevated glycogen content in IR-HepG2 cells. Liquiritin did not show obvious hypoglycemic effect. Compared with normal group, the mRNA expression levels of GLUT1 and GLUT4 were decreased in IR-HepG2 cells according to qPCR results. 5, 20 μmol·L⁻¹ berberine decreased the mRNA expression level of GLUT1 in IR-HepG2 cells, whereas 20, 40, 80 μmol·L⁻¹ puerarin significantly elevated the mRNA expression level of GLUT1. Moreover, 10, 20, 50 μmol·L⁻¹ baicalin and 20 μmol·L⁻¹ berberine increased the mRNA expression level of GLUT4. Whereas, 40, 80 μmol·L⁻¹ puerarin decreased the mRNA expression level of GLUT4. Western blot results suggested that 10, 20, 50 μmol·L⁻¹ baicalin significantly increased the protein expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4, whereas 20, 40, 80 μmol·L⁻¹ puerarin significantly up-regulated GLUT1 and GLUT2 proteins. In addition, 20 μmol·L⁻¹ berberine increased the protein expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4, whereas 10 μmol·L⁻¹ berberine up-regulated GLUT4 expression. The results preliminarily suggested that baicalin, berberine and puerarin have differentiated hypoglycemic effects, which accelerate glucose transport, increase glycogen synthesis, regulate glucose metabolism and improve hepatic IR.
After almost six weeks of counts, recounts and fraud investigations,Afghans now know who will proceed to a second round in the country’s long-winded process to replace President Hamid Karzai. Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister, who claimed 45 per cent of first-round votes will face Ashraf Ghani [Ahmadzai], a former finance minister, whose energetic campaign and social media nous propelled him to 31.6 per cent, on June 14. Both have promised to sign a much-delayed deal to allow American troops to stay in the country beyond the end of the year and stood on similar, ideology-free platforms. So far the election has been a victory for the supporters of democracy around the globe. These are the reasons: People of Afghanistan showed a proverbial middle finger to the Taliban and other Islamist groups trying to stop these elections from happening, turn out was high, and among women too. This is the first time in recent history that the president in power is leaving power and handing it to a new person with no violence and in a democratic fashion. The security forces and the NATO managed to keep violence at a minimum. There were few complaints, both candidates ultimately accepted the results, so not perfect, but progress. The candidate of the current administration didn’t even go to the second round, both remaining candidates were among the opposition, so no Putin/Medvedev shenanigans, a good news. And best of all: the Islamist candidates placed at 4th and 6th, garnering only 9% of the votes put together. Suck on that, political Islam. A very good day for Afghanistan, and I wish the best for Afghan people.
Okay folks I am starting a little early this year but I kind of had to in order to get an April date for the rally. The only thing available will be 4/20 - 4/22/ 2012. For those of you interested in attending that did not make it last year the link below will take you to the resorts web site. I feel like Buckhorn was a good spot last year that had everything we needed for the rally so why not use them again next year. I will probably call Buckhorn back later today and go ahead and grab this weekend for us. Posting this early should also give people plenty of time to make plans and get time off scheduled. That sounds like a good date to us. But why don't you call that the backup rain date. Then schedule an earlier date as well, say like later this month? It might increase our chances for some of that wet stuff. Okay I called at lunch and Buckhorn now has us down as the "Crossroads" group just like last year. It will be from 4/20-4/22 and we will have the Road House room as we did in March. Beverly and I will arrive on Thursday 4/19 and we will be staying through Saturday 4/28 for anyone else that would like to join us. So we will do this like the one in March, when you call and make a reservation send me an email at the address below and I will add you to the list. I will wait until later in the year to start a food sign up sheet. Looks like we are off to a good start! Also there are several of us that will be at Buckhorn the last week of December and will be attending their New Years Eve party if anyone would like to join is.
Q: Aspect programming using Backbone I am looking for some detailed example with code where I the Aspect Oriented programming is implemented using Backbone.Advice mixin. I have looked at following links but those are not that intutive and I am finding it difficult to integrate that into my Backbone MV* application. https://github.com/rhysbrettbowen/Backbone.Advice Also can someone tell me whether using advice can I access the original parameters passed to the method around which the advice gets applied. Edit: answering your questions here in original thread Q: What are you really looking for? Trait based composition and conflict resolution by method modifiers like before, after, around or real Aspect-oriented programming? A: I have few views which which are inherited from a common view, Now all this view contents their own implementation for render, I would like apply a advice i.e. after every render do some custom stuff etc. A: I am looking for some detailed example with code ... Unfortunately I'm not able to point you somewhere on that. But I might be able to provide help for the rest. ... where ... the Aspect Oriented programming is implemented using Backbone.Advice mixin. Having a look into the source code, "Backbone.Advice" does not provide any functionality for Aspect-oriented programming. But - as the first sentence at Backbone.Advice states - it does provide "Functional mixins for Backbone based on Advice by Angus Croll". Thus it provides its own mechanics of how to solve composition conflicts if one is going to use Mixins like Traits. Q: What are you really looking for? Trait based composition and conflict resolution by method modifiers like before, after, around or real Aspect-oriented programming? Q: What are you trying to achieve? Also can someone tell me whether using advice can I access the original parameters passed to the method around which the advice gets applied. Looking into the source code of Backbone.Advice again ... https://github.com/rhysbrettbowen/Backbone.Advice/blob/master/advice.js#L36 https://github.com/rhysbrettbowen/Backbone.Advice/blob/master/advice.js#L48 https://github.com/rhysbrettbowen/Backbone.Advice/blob/master/advice.js#L64 ... the answer is "Definitely yes".
The review you are reporting: Quarry has written an absolutely fabulous commentary on Hindu Kush! For me, I get the initial blast of green - almost camphorous - which disappears almost as mysteriously as it came...yet somehow, it leaves a residual green that combines with dry woods and incense. Maybe because I'm sampling it during a 18 degree blustery winters' snow, it feels like the dry & cozy warmth of a small cabin whose only source of heat is a woodburner! I find this association quite charming. It's character reminds me somewhat of Juozas Statkevicius' fragrance, sans flowers. My personal preferences don't usually run in the direction of incense based fragrances, but I find myself intrigued and impressed!
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. WHAT'S NEW IS OLD - Ladyfisher - December 14, 2009 Had a message this week from Fly Anglers OnLine (FAOL) reader Thunder Thumbs, and he has moved from Kansas to of all places Havre Montana. His real name is Hugo Gibson, the nick name having something to do with his career choice, he is a chiropractor. He tells me his dream was to live and work in Montana, well I fudged a little on that, he actually wanted to spend a lot of time fishing in Montana. Other than the fishing places mostly being frozen over (and I didn?t ask if he is into ice fishing) he is working on another of his interests, recording, as in video and audio. Podcasts anyone?
Students protesting concealed carry at the University of Texas Austin say that they feel targeted after a filmmaker produced a video that showed the violent murder of someone who looked like one of the activists. Ana Lopez told Texas Standard that she helped organize the “Cocks Not Glocks” protest, which distributed dildos to make a point about gun violence. ADVERTISEMENT Following the protest, Lopez said that one video response created by Brett Sanders made her fear for her personal safety. In the video, a woman who Lopez said was meant to look like her is seen in her apartment with a sign from the gun safety group Moms Demand Action. The video includes news footage that shows the names and faces of real-life protesters. During the video, a black man with his face covered by a bandana breaks into the student’s apartment. The student picks up a large dildo and points it at the man, who shoots the woman in the head, splattering blood against the wall. After calling the dead woman a “bitch,” the black man steals a television and flees. “I started seeing images of my friends and colleagues and … footage from news coverage of this event,” Lopez recalled. “I didn’t want to watch the whole thing so I fast-forwarded it, and I saw the girl who looks like me getting shot in the head … It was terrifying.” Lopez noted that the actress who was murdered in the film had the same hairstyle and “was wearing the same shirt that I wore for the protest.” ADVERTISEMENT Sanders, who is described as an anarcho-libertarian and is best known for paying a $220 parking ticket with pennies, said the film was a “direct rebuttal to the lunacy that I saw happening down there in Austin.” “I thought it was a very dangerous idea to do that – to announce to the world that you are unarmed, and you are going to be an easy target and an easy victim to some of the crazy criminals out there,” he explained. “It was just meant to be a girl that was part of their protest.” Sanders also defended the use of a black man as the murderer. ADVERTISEMENT “He just happened to be in my friend circle – and statistically, African-Americans are more prone to create violent crimes,” Sanders opined. “It does play into the stereotype, whether we like it or not. He was willing to play the part.” A pro-gun activist with the group Students for Concealed Carry told The Dallas Morning News that Sanders’ video was “reprehensible.” ADVERTISEMENT The video below is NSFW.
something that always makes me smile, seems to efforlessly make me get some crazy-assed bubbles in the pit of my stomach, who is really funny, cute and adorable and always seems to have some defining trait in him that makes him absolutely perfect , no matter which man in the world that he is
Q: How to validate email in ASP.NET Web API 2.0? Please provide me regular expression to validate email id like below in web api method: // GET: users/sample%40email.com [Route("users/{emailAddress:regex()}")] public IHttpActionResult GetUser(string emailAddress) Here i need regular expression which will validate email like sample%40email.com and will work in :regex() of web api route attribute. A: What version of framework do you use? If this is framework 4.5 you apply Email attribute [EmailAddress(ErrorMessage = "Not a valid email")] RegEx will look like this ^[a-zA-Z0-9_.+-]+@[email]+\.[a-zA-Z0-9-.]+$ A: You have several options to validate the email address. You can use regex or MailAddress Class. Regex [a-z0-9!#$%&'+/=?^_`{\|}~-]+(?:\.[a-z0-9!#$%&'+/=?^_`{\|}~-]+)@(?:[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-][a-z0-9])?\.)+[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-][a-z0-9])? Usage bool isEmail = Regex.IsMatch(emailAddress, @"\A(?:[a-z0-9!#$%&'+/=?^_`{\|}~-]+(?:\.[a-z0-9!#$%&'+/=?^_`{\|}~-]+)@(?:[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-][a-z0-9])?\.)+[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-][a-z0-9])?)\Z", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase); Using MailAddress public bool IsValid(string emailAddress) { try { MailAddress m = new MailAddress(emailaddress); return true; } catch (FormatException) { return false; } } A: Below solution worked for me. Thanks for the help. // GET: users/sample%40email.com [Route("users/{emailAddress:regex(\\[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4})}")] public IHttpActionResult GetUser(string emailAddress)
The following phones work with Republic Wireless My Choice (4.0) plans. Only the model numbers, North American Unlocked versions, and if applicable the associated build numbers, listed below are compatible with our service. 1BYOP Motorola phones will need to be North American unlocked, and on software channel RETUS or AMZ to be compatible with both of our cellular providers. If they are not on one of those software channels, the phone may work with our GSM provider but not on our CDMA partner's network. To find the software channel on your Motorola phone, please follow these steps. 2Only certain build numbers of these phones are compatible with our service.
With a range of easy to use smart utilities like a task killer, power saver, storage space manager and data usage monitor, you can fine tune your mobile device to keep it running more smoothly and potentially at faster speed. It can even keep track of your mobile data usage to help you make sure that you don’t go over your data limit. Install the AVG TuneUp Widget on your device’s home screen so you always have a quick snapshot of what’s going on with your device. More Space – review and remove unwanted apps or move them to an SD card to free up internal memory. More Control – monitor mobile data usage so you do not go over the limit and pay extra. Product features: Battery Consumption: ● Extend your battery life - set an alert to let you know when you run out of juice so you can turn off specific functions to save power for when you need it most.● Monitor apps, utilities and services power consumption.● Power Saving Options - lists the utilities and services that are draining your device’s juice and lets you set which ones you want to switch off or change to save power. Task Killer:● Many apps and services are running on your device which may affect your device’s speed and stability. Task killer lists the active apps, games, utilities and services on your device, tells you how much memory they're using, for how long they've been active, and lets you stop the ones you don’t need running to free up memory space and potentially speed up your device. Data Usage:● Stop worrying about how much data you use by setting up your mobile data alerts. AVG TuneUp will let you know when you’re nearing your limit so you can make the right decisions.● See a breakdown of data usage per app, the total amount you used and how much remains. Customize your alerts based on data size, usage frequency, start date and alert threshold. Storage Usage:● With space at a premium on your phone, it’s good to know what’s on it so you can free up space for the things you really want. ● We all have apps we no longer use or run in the background without us necessarily knowing, so if your device freezes up often, easily delete the ones you don’t want to help get things running smoothly and potentially speed it up.● Storage Usage Monitor: find out how much internal memory and SD card space you’re already using and how much is left, with a list of all the apps and utilities that are on your phone and how much space they use. Simply delete the ones that you don’t want any more to make room for the things you do. You can also move apps from the internal memory to the SD card.
Pages Sunday, October 22, 2006 His Majesty's Dragon His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, 2006 I admit I had not had time to peruse the promotional material I picked up at my library conference about this book. In fact I had purged the preview chapter in an attempt to clear away the debris around my desk the day before I heard that Peter Jackson had purchased the rights to this trilogy with his own money. Hmmm...let's give that book another look-see ... arrrgghhh ... I tossed it? Treebeard bought me a copy. I just finished the first book and can't wait to read the next one. I can imagine the conversation in the Jackson hobbit-home. "Hey, Fran...you know that computer software we have for flying Nazgul and charging Oliphaunts? I think I have found another property where we could use that software with some tweaking--plus, this is a cracking read!" His Majesty's Dragon does not qualify as children's literature or YA but like McCaffery's Pern books, this could have appeal for fantasy readers.
Vines and Climbers Introduction Morning Glories, passion vines, climbing roses, oh my! Morning Glories, passion vines, climbing roses- these climbing vines make wonderful shade covers over gate and patio arbors. They can cover fences and add privacy while adding a touch of whimsy and grace to the garden space.
import array import struct """ bc1 """ def list_xor(l1, l2): return array.array('B', map(lambda x: x[0]^x[1], zip(l1,l2))) def rot(x): return ((x<<4) \| (x>>4)) & 0xff def g_box(a, b, mode): return rot((a + b + mode) & 0xff) def f_box(x): t0 = (x[2] ^ x[3]) y1 = g_box(x[0] ^ x[1], t0, 1) y0 = g_box(x[0], y1, 0) y2 = g_box(y1, t0, 0) y3 = g_box(y2, x[3], 1) return array.array('B', [y0, y1, y2, y3]) class bc1(object): def __init__(self, key_data): assert (len(key_data) == 64) self.subkeys = [] for i in xrange(0, 64, 4): self.subkeys.append(array.array('B', key_data[i:i+4])) def encrypt_block(self, plaintext): plaintext = array.array('B', plaintext) pleft = plaintext[0:4] pright = plaintext[4:] left = list_xor(pleft, self.subkeys[4]) right = list_xor(pright, self.subkeys[5]) R2L = list_xor(left, right) R2R = list_xor(left, f_box(list_xor(R2L, self.subkeys[0]))) R3L = R2R R3R = list_xor(R2L, f_box(list_xor(R2R, self.subkeys[1]))) R4L = R3R R4R = list_xor(R3L, f_box(list_xor(R3R, self.subkeys[2]))) cipherLeft = list_xor(R4L, f_box(list_xor(R4R, self.subkeys[3]))) cipherRight = list_xor(cipherLeft, R4R) return ''.join(map(chr, cipherLeft + cipherRight)) def decrypt_block(self, ciphertext): ciphertext = array.array('B', ciphertext) cipherLeft = ciphertext[0:4] cipherRight = ciphertext[4:] R4R = list_xor(cipherLeft,cipherRight) R4L = list_xor(cipherLeft, f_box(list_xor(R4R, self.subkeys[3]))) R3R = R4L R3L = list_xor(R4R, f_box(list_xor(R3R, self.subkeys[2]))) R2R = R3L R2L = list_xor(R3R, f_box(list_xor(R2R, self.subkeys[1]))) left = list_xor(R2R, f_box(list_xor(R2L, self.subkeys[0]))) right = list_xor(left, R2L) pleft = list_xor(left, self.subkeys[4]) pright = list_xor(right, self.subkeys[5]) return ''.join(map(chr, pleft + pright)) """ bc2 """ def split_int(m): return ((m>>16) & 0xFFFF, m & 0xFFFF) def join_int(l, r): return (l<<16) \| r def orth(m): (l, r) = split_int(m) return join_int(r, l ^ r) def inv_orth(m): (l, r) = split_int(m) return join_int(l ^ r, l) def F(m, subkey): (l, r) = split_int(m) (k_l, k_r) = split_int(subkey) (mul_l, mul_r) = split_int(l * r) l = ((mul_l + r) * k_l) & 0xFFFFFFFF r = ((mul_r * l) + k_r) & 0xFFFFFFFF l = ((l<<7) \| (l>>25)) & 0xFFFFFFFF r = ((r<<18) \| (r>>14)) & 0xFFFFFFFF return r ^ l def M(L, R, subkey): A = F((L - R) & 0xFFFFFFFF, subkey) CL = orth((L + A) & 0xFFFFFFFF) CR = (R + A) & 0xFFFFFFFF return (CL, CR) def inv_M(L, R, subkey): L = inv_orth(L) A = F((L - R) & 0xFFFFFFFF, subkey) PL = (L - A) & 0xFFFFFFFF PR = (R - A) & 0xFFFFFFFF return (PL, PR) class bc2(object): def __init__(self, key): (k0, k1, k2, k3) = struct.unpack('>HHHH', key) K0 = pow(k0, 2) K1 = pow(k1, 2) K2 = pow(k2, 2) K3 = pow(k2, 2) self.subkeys = [K0, K1, K2, K3] def encrypt_block(self, plaintext): (L0, R0) = struct.unpack('>II', plaintext) (L1, R1) = M(L0, R0, self.subkeys[0]) (L2, R2) = M(L1, R1, self.subkeys[1]) (L3, R3) = M(L2, R2, self.subkeys[2]) (CL, CR) = M(L3, R3, self.subkeys[3]) return struct.pack('>II', CL, CR) def decrypt_block(self, ciphertext): (L0, R0) = struct.unpack('>II', ciphertext) (L1, R1) = inv_M(L0, R0, self.subkeys[3]) (L2, R2) = inv_M(L1, R1, self.subkeys[2]) (L3, R3) = inv_M(L2, R2, self.subkeys[1]) (PL, PR) = inv_M(L3, R3, self.subkeys[0]) return struct.pack('>II', PL, PR) """ bcs """ def block_xor(b1, b2): return ''.join([chr(ord(a) ^ ord(b)) for a,b in zip(b1, b2)]) def pad(data, bs=8): r = len(data) % bs add_len = bs - r if r != 0 else bs add = '\x80' + '\x00'(add_len-1) return data + add def unpad(data, bs=8): i = 1 while data[-i] == '\x00': i += 1 return data[:-i] class bcs(object): def __init__(self, key_bc1, key_bc2): self.bc1 = bc1(key_bc1) self.bc2 = bc2(key_bc2) def encrypt(self, data, iv): ciphertext = '' data = pad(data) C = iv for i in xrange(0, len(data), 8): A1 = self.bc1.encrypt_block(array.array('B', data[i:i+8])) A2 = self.bc2.decrypt_block(A1) ciphertext += block_xor(A2, C) C = A1 return ciphertext def decrypt(self, data, iv): plaintext = '' C = iv for i in xrange(0, len(data), 8): A2 = block_xor(data[i:i+8], C) A1 = self.bc2.encrypt_block(A2) plaintext += self.bc1.decrypt_block(array.array('B', A1)) C = A1 return unpad(plaintext) """ checks """ def check_all(): import os import random checks_number = 500 # padding for n in xrange(0, checks_number, 1): data = os.urandom(n) data_padded = pad(data) assert (len(data_padded) % 8 == 0) data_unpadded = unpad(data_padded) assert (data == data_unpadded) # bc1 for i in xrange(checks_number): cryptor = bc1(os.urandom(46)) for j in xrange(checks_number): plaintext = os.urandom(8) ciphertext = cryptor.encrypt_block(plaintext) decrypted = cryptor.decrypt_block(ciphertext) assert (decrypted == plaintext) # bc2 for i in xrange(checks_number): cryptor = bc2(os.urandom(8)) for j in xrange(checks_number): plaintext = os.urandom(8) ciphertext = cryptor.encrypt_block(plaintext) decrypted = cryptor.decrypt_block(ciphertext) assert (decrypted == plaintext) # bcs for i in xrange(checks_number): cryptor = bcs(os.urandom(4*6), os.urandom(8)) l = random.randrange(100, 801) plaintext = os.urandom(l) iv = os.urandom(8) ciphertext = cryptor.encrypt(plaintext, iv) decrypted = cryptor.decrypt(ciphertext, iv) assert (decrypted == plaintext) if __name__ == '__main__': check_all()
The Medical Board of California is often slow to act when investigating doctors suspected of abusing their prescription pads - even when patients are dying. Part 1: Legal Drugs, Deadly Outcomes \| Part 2: Reckless Prescribing \| Part 3: Rogue Pharmacists \| Part 4: An Unused Tool Dr. Carlos Estiandan was up to no good, and the Medical Board of California was on to him. Byron McKinney, 33 speaking, brother Clint McKinney Andrew Corless, 46 speaking, girlfriend Leslie Greenberg Debra, 54, and Jesse Barajas, 20 speaking, husband and father Amos Barajas Naythan Kenney, 34 speaking, grandmother Darlene Cronin Matthew Stavron, 24 speaking, mother Kelle Stavron Chaz La Bry, 26 speaking, mother Robin La Bry William "Skip" Halpin, 51 speaking, brother Jerry Halpin Doneno "Rick" Polizo, 58 speaking, wife Margaret Polizo Karl Finnila, 43 speaking, sister Sally Finnila-Sloane Jennifer Thurber, 22 speaking, father Charles Thurber Alex Clyburn, 23 speaking, father Ron Clyburn Larry Carmichael, 51 speaking, son Dan Carmichael Clifford Dwight Oshier, 60 speaking, brother Ron Oshier He prescribed powerful painkillers to addicts who had no medical need for them, conducted sham examinations and appeared to be a key supplier for drug dealers, according to court records. He wrote more prescriptions than the entire staffs of some hospitals and took in more than $1 million a year. Worse, one of Estiandan's patients had fatally overdosed on drugs he prescribed, a board investigator learned. The investigator said in her report that she confronted the doctor and told him the death was "the inevitable result" of giving narcotics to an addict. Unknown to the investigator, two other Estiandan patients had suffered fatal overdoses. More deaths would follow. By the time the medical board stopped Estiandan from prescribing, more than four years after it began investigating, eight of his patients had died of overdoses or related causes, according to coroners' records. It was not an isolated case of futility by California's medical regulators. The board has repeatedly failed to protect patients from reckless prescribing by doctors, a Los Angeles Times investigation found. It is board policy to give such cases a high priority. But The Times' examination of board records and county coroners' files from 2005 through 2011 found that: At least 30 patients in Southern California have died of drug overdoses or related causes while their doctors were under investigation for reckless prescribing. The board ultimately sanctioned all but one of those 12 doctors, and some were criminally charged — too late to prevent the deaths. The board seldom tries to suspend the prescribing privileges of doctors under investigation. The agency can petition a judge for an interim suspension order. It has obtained orders only rarely: 12 times in the last five years in cases of excessive prescribing, in a state with more than 100,000 practicing physicians. Even when the board sanctions doctors for abusing their prescribing powers, in most cases it allows them to continue practicing and prescribing. In 80% of the 190 cases of improper prescribing filed by the board since 2005, the offending physician was given a reprimand or placed on probation. In most of those cases, the doctor was allowed to continue writing prescriptions with few or no restrictions. Eight doctors disciplined for excessive prescribing later had patients die of overdoses or related causes. Prescriptions those doctors wrote caused or contributed to 19 deaths. At the heart of these shortcomings is the board's approach to oversight. It investigates when it receives a complaint of abuse or poor treatment of a specific patient or patients. It generally does not look for evidence of wider problems in a physician's practice. Voices Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin Click to play full video Dose of Reality After a debilitating prescription drug overdose, Aaron Rubin warns audiences about the dangers of drug abuse. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin Click to play full video Pills For Life Injuries he suffered as a stuntman and in an auto accident left John Jackson dependent on prescription narcotics. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin Click to play full video Another Day Without Alex Their son's 2008 prescription drug overdose death is a painful legacy for Ron and Arline Clyburn. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin Click to play full video Bitter Pills In rehab, Edward Shut fights his addiction to prescription drugs. For example, in looking into cases of improper prescribing, investigators usually do not search county coroners' files to determine whether — as in Estiandan's case — a doctor's patients are dying of drug overdoses. Dr. Rick Chavez, a pain management physician in Redondo Beach, serves as an expert for the board in cases of reckless prescribing. He said overprescribing is a pervasive problem, and oversight is inadequate. "We have doctors out there doing things that no one is monitoring," he said. "It's scary." The medical board's president, Sharon Levine, a pediatrician who is an executive at Kaiser Permanente, declined to be interviewed, saying it would be "inappropriate" because disciplinary cases are ultimately decided by the board. Executive Director Linda Whitney declined to comment, and staff members said they are barred by policy from speaking with reporters. Responding by email to written questions, board officials asserted that their "highest priority and primary mission is consumer protection." In response to The Times' findings, they have asked the Legislature to require county coroners to report all prescription drug deaths to the board. "If only one physician was found to be overprescribing," the board said in its request to legislators, "this could save numerous lives." Estiandan, a diminutive man with a cheerful demeanor, had a thriving general practice. He sang tenor in his church choir, played golf once a week with his sons and took his wife ballroom dancing. He was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and led medical relief missions to the Philippines, where he grew up and attended medical school. In October 2004, one of his employees reached out anonymously to authorities. The man told Robin Hollis, a medical board investigator, that Estiandan, then 62, was taking in $3,000 in cash a day selling prescriptions. Drug-addicted patients, the employee said, crowded the lobby of the doctor's clinic west of downtown Los Angeles, one of three he owned. "Estiandan will give the patients anything they want," he told Hollis, according to her report. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were also investigating Estiandan, and the agencies shared information. Evidence accumulated quickly. Alleged drug dealers were arrested in Los Angeles carrying bottles of medications prescribed by Estiandan, court records show. A Costco pharmacist reported that groups of men in their 20s and 30s were showing up at his counter with prescriptions from Estiandan for painkillers, tranquilizers and muscle relaxants — the makings of a drug cocktail that is popular with addicts. The pharmacist, Edward Wong, told authorities he would call Estiandan to make sure the prescriptions were legitimate, and the doctor would instruct him to fill them. Eventually, Wong stopped calling and simply refused to fill the prescriptions. In Albuquerque, DEA agents stopped a man who was carrying more than 1,800 pills and several bottles of narcotic cough syrup with a street value of up to $500 each. According to court records, the medication labels identified Estiandan as the prescriber. In the summer of 2005, about 10 months into the investigation, Leo Martinez checked in at Estiandan's clinic in Reseda. He paid a $120 fee for the office visit and waited a half-hour to see the doctor. What happened next is detailed in court records. Estiandan asked Martinez what was wrong. "Nothing," Martinez said. He explained that he wanted a refill for painkillers he had been prescribed by another doctor whose clinic had since closed. Estiandan asked him why he was in pain: Had he fallen or been in an accident? No, Martinez replied. He asked Martinez again if he had hurt his back or been in an accident. This time, Estiandan nodded and raised his eyebrows. Estiandan said the other doctor must have had a reason to prescribe painkillers. Martinez said it was a long time ago and he couldn't remember. Estiandan told Martinez he couldn't prescribe the drugs unless there was an indication Martinez was in pain. Then he asked Martinez again if he had hurt his back or been in an accident. This time, Estiandan nodded and raised his eyebrows. Reading the cue, Martinez said he hurt his back lifting weights. Estiandan pulled out his prescription pad. Martinez was an undercover sheriff's narcotics investigator who had been secretly recording the conversation. He left Estiandan's office with prescriptions for the painkiller Vicodin, the muscle relaxant Soma, the anti-anxiety drug Valium and a 16-ounce bottle of narcotic cough syrup. The medical board and law enforcement agencies were not the only ones interested in Estiandan. Medi-Cal agents suspected him of fraudulent billing and put him under surveillance. They followed him as he drove home to Northridge in a Lincoln Navigator or Lexus sedan, sometimes stopping at a hospital or to pick up takeout at a Filipino restaurant. But amid this intense scrutiny of Estiandan's life and medical practice, one thing appears to have escaped attention: what was happening to his patients. One of them, Pamela Stone, suffered chronic pain from herniated disks. She also struggled with anxiety and had trouble sleeping. Stone's mother grew concerned when she didn't hear from her daughter for a couple of days and asked the manager of the Reseda apartment building where Stone lived to check on her. On Nov. 20, 2006, the manager opened the door to the apartment and found Stone's lifeless body on her bed. There was a trace of dried white foam around her nose and mouth. The coroner determined that Stone died of an accidental overdose of multiple drugs, including an anti-anxiety medication prescribed by Estiandan. She was 54. Hollis continued with her investigation, unaware of the death. Hollis is one of about 130 medical board investigators on the front lines of patient protection in California. They look into allegations of physician misconduct ranging from botched surgeries to sexual abuse of patients. Their ranks have dwindled, even as the number of licensed physicians in the state has risen over the last decade, to 102,000. There are about 30 fewer investigators today than in 2001. The board opened 1,577 investigations last year, a 40% decline from a decade ago, and investigations now take longer to complete: an average of 347 days, compared with 256 in 2001. The agency is overseen by a 15-member board appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. By law, eight members must be doctors. The board is funded by physician licensing fees, a revenue stream that was supposed to be immune to California's boom-and-bust budget cycles. But Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown used the board as a piggy bank, taking $15 million in licensing fees — the equivalent of a quarter of one year's budget — to help fill holes in the state general fund. Schwarzenegger ordered state employees to take three unpaid furlough days per month, hobbling the board's enforcement efforts. Brown imposed hiring freezes. At one point, 1 in 4 investigator positions were vacant. The board's staff has warned for years that the cuts were crippling its ability to protect the public. Julianne D'Angelo Fellmeth, a public interest lawyer who has monitored the board for the state Legislature, said the situation is urgent. "The medical board is regulating the most important profession in terms of irreparable harm," Fellmeth said. "It should not be neutered." The board's challenges go beyond the financial. Unlike medical regulators in other states, it cannot suspend a doctor's license or prescribing privileges on its own, even to prevent imminent harm. Instead, the board must petition a state administrative law judge for an interim suspension order. If it obtains an order, the board must file a complaint against the doctor within 15 days — a legal provision for which physician groups lobbied, Fellmeth said. The 15-day rule means that "an investigation must be nearly complete" before the agency can seek a suspension, board spokeswoman Jennifer Simoes wrote in an email. If a doctor has been criminally charged, the board can ask a Superior Court judge for a suspension. It has done so a handful of times in recent years in cases of excessive prescribing. Board officials said they sometimes hold off on seeking suspensions until that point to avoid jeopardizing a criminal investigation. Steve Opferman, a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who runs a task force on healthcare fraud and took part in the Estiandan investigation, questioned that rationale. He said the board should move swiftly to shut down a doctor's prescribing whenever lives are at stake — even if it could affect a criminal prosecution. The danger in waiting, he said, is that "people are going to die." Andrew Corless began abusing drugs at the age of 15 and spent at least eight stints in drug treatment. On Aug. 11, 2006, he had a moment of resolve. He called Estiandan's office at 11:45 a.m. that day and left a message. He was about to undergo drug detoxification, according to a handwritten note by a receptionist, and he asked that the doctor "please not see him anymore." Three hours later, Corless called back with a message "to disregard" the earlier call. Corless was in Estiandan's office 10 days later, pleading for drugs, court records show. He was back again in December, this time after leaving rehab early. On Dec. 13, 2006, Corless, 46, was found on the street in front of his house in Northridge, dead of an overdose. Two of the drugs found in his system — hydrocodone and alprazolam — had been prescribed for him by Estiandan. A month later, authorities searched Estiandan's offices and home. They found hundreds of partially completed prescription forms, some of them already signed, along with $12,300 in cash, court records show. Looking at patients' records, investigators saw that groups of people from as far as Bakersfield, the Antelope Valley, Victorville and San Bernardino would show up at Estiandan's clinic near downtown Los Angeles on the same day, describe the same symptoms and leave with prescriptions for the same drugs. Shortly after the raid, Estiandan was back at work — and writing prescriptions at a furious pace. DEA agents consulted a database on prescriptions for controlled substances, written for patients paying in cash, to see where Estiandan stood. For March 2007, he ranked first in Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii, and fifth in the United States, according to court records. For Joyce Saldivar, 55, he prescribed hydrocodone. Saldivar had chronic back pain and was known to abuse her medications, according to coroner's records. She died June 29, 2007. The cause was an overdose of multiple drugs, including hydrocodone. Estiandan acknowledged that Corless was an alcoholic and an addict and had “begged” him for drugs, according to Hollis' report. By then, Hollis had learned about Corless' death from his girlfriend, who complained to the medical board about Estiandan, court records show. Hollis got Corless' medical records and the autopsy report, and summoned Estiandan to an interview at a board office in Glendale on Sept. 12, 2007. Estiandan acknowledged that Corless was an alcoholic and an addict and had "begged" him for drugs, according to Hollis' report. Hollis told Estiandan that she couldn't understand how he could "continue to give pain medication to a person who is addicted," according to her report. "I explained that now there was a patient death.... This was the inevitable result. It was just a matter of time." Hollis later obtained a report from an expert physician stating that Estiandan's treatment of Corless included "extreme departures" from accepted standards and contributed to his death. Another patient, Wilma Jones, 47, was found dead in an unfurnished one-room apartment in South Los Angeles on Feb. 14, 2008. She had contracted pneumonia, and various drugs had suppressed her breathing to the point of death, coroner's records show. One of the drugs was hydrocodone, which Estiandan had prescribed for her, records show. Within a six-week span that summer, three more people died after taking medications prescribed by Estiandan. In all, seven of his patients had died since the medical board began investigating nearly four years earlier. Estiandan, an early riser, was on the computer, tending to his stock portfolio on the morning of July 23, 2008, when a throng of DEA agents and sheriff's deputies appeared at his doorstep. The doctor was polite and cooperative as an officer handcuffed him and led him to a police car. He was charged with 13 felony counts of illegally prescribing controlled substances. He was not charged with any of his patients' deaths. Three weeks later, the medical board asked a Superior Court judge to suspend Estiandan's license, saying it was "the surest way to protect the public" from a doctor who "supplied patients with drugs, not medical care." While the board waited for a ruling, Estiandan was free on bail and seeing patients. Byron McKinney, a former pro wrestler, had been seeing Estiandan for eight years and had gotten hooked on the muscle relaxant carisoprodol, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and a narcotic cough syrup, according to his brother, Clint. McKinney, 33, died Nov. 18, 2008, of heart disease. The coroner said carisoprodol and hydrocodone were contributing factors. An empty bottle of hydrocodone cough syrup prescribed by Estiandan was found on a coffee table near McKinney's body. About this story This is the second in a series of occasional stories on the epidemic of prescription drug deaths. For this article, reporters Lisa Girion and Scott Glover, with help from reporter Hailey Branson-Potts, examined medical board records, coroners' files and court documents, and interviewed doctors, law enforcement officials and relatives of those who died from overdoses. Times photojournalist Liz O. Baylen created still images and videos, contributed reporting and helped conduct interviews. Stephanie Ferrell designed the web presentation and Armand Emamdjomeh created the interactivity. Clint McKinney told a coroner's investigator that he and his brother "were able to regularly obtain prescription painkillers at free will via an unethical doctor who would write them five prescriptions for $120," records show. In February 2009, six months after the board went to court, a judge barred Estiandan from prescribing painkillers and other addictive drugs. He surrendered his medical license that September. The next year, he was tried and convicted on the criminal charges and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in September after serving about half his term. A few days later, he spoke with Times reporters in the spacious home where he now lives on a ridge of the Verdugo Mountains in Burbank. He referred to his time in state prison as "my vacation" and described how he practiced guitar, tutored inmates, volunteered in the chapel and read the Bible. By turns defensive and contrite, Estiandan complained of being unfairly targeted by prosecutors for simply doing his job. He said he warned patients of the dangers of becoming addicted to prescription drugs, telling them: "Eventually you will lose control of yourself." He recalled that his wife, Gloria, a nurse, had warned that he was headed for trouble. She saw the disheveled people in his waiting room, Estiandan said, and told him: "Just let them go." Estiandan, now 70, said he was not motivated by greed and never intentionally harmed patients. But he said he realizes he used poor judgment in prescribing drugs. "Instead of helping them, I might have harmed them," he said of his patients. "I made a mistake."
A Surrogate Technique for Investigating Deterministic Dynamics in Discrete Human Movement. Entropy is an effective tool for investigation of human movement variability. However, before applying entropy, it can be beneficial to employ analyses to confirm that observed data are not solely the result of stochastic processes. This can be achieved by contrasting observed data with that produced using surrogate methods. Unlike continuous movement, no appropriate method has been applied to discrete human movement. This article proposes a novel surrogate method for discrete movement data, outlining the processes for determining its critical values. The proposed technique reliably generated surrogates for discrete joint angle time series, destroying fine-scale dynamics of the observed signal, while maintaining macro structural characteristics. Comparison of entropy estimates indicated observed signals had greater regularity than surrogates and were not only the result of stochastic but also deterministic processes. The proposed surrogate method is both a valid and reliable technique to investigate determinism in other discrete human movement time series.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. In the prior art, most insulating members are produced through injection molding. In order to make a molten resin material fill a cavity for molding an insulating member in a mold in a shorter time, multiple injection gates for plastic filling (usually two injection gates for plastic filling) are adopted, two material flows can be formed through the two injection gates for plastic filling, a weld mark may be generated when the two material flows converge, and the position of the weld mark has the defect of low structural strength. However, based on the stress condition of the insulating member and production and processing needs, it is necessary to adjust the position of the weld mark and to eliminate or reduce the influence of the weld mark. In a conventional method, the mold is heated so that mold temperature at the time of filling is higher than the glass transition temperature and the thermal deformation temperature of a non-crystalline resin and also higher than the melting temperature of a crystalline resin, in this way, resins converge in a higher-temperature molten state, and resins are solidifying while being sufficiently pressed into the mold, thereby completely eliminating the weld mark or reducing the groove depth of the weld mark so as to reduce the influence of the weld mark. However, the method requires the design of a complex heating device in the mold, making the mold structure complicated, cost increased, and the overall volume of the mold larger. For another example, a conventional slot connector has a dense array of terminals, and the corresponding structure of an insulating body is complex, resulting in many weak places on the insulating body; the structure of the insulating body has a lot of material flows during the injection molding process of the insulating body, resulting in converging of multiple melt material flows to produce weld marks; the slot connector may be subjected to external force during insertion of an electronic card and assembly of the terminals, so the weak places on the insulating body are prone to breakage, and people in the industry often add ribs or grooves to the insulating body to adjust the positions of the weld marks; however, due to the limitation of the product structure itself, the ribs or grooves cannot be added freely or easily. Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need to design a new insulating body and a connector with the insulating body exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
Q: Console App / Task Scheduler I have a console app written in VB Net that works perfectly. Now I want to run it using task scheduler. The problem is that the app has a console.readline command at the very end that keeps the console window open until the user hits enter. Is there a way to test whether the app is running in a session or not? If I knew that the app was not tied to a desktop console, I would not write the comments to the console and I'd bypass the final console.readline command. A: You should add an argument to your task to indicate it is unattended. For example, pass /u in your scheduled task. Check for /u in your program to determine if it should skip the console.readline. excerpt from msdn forum Dim args() As String = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs() ' args(0) = Full path of executing program with program name ' args(1) = First switch in command - /u if args(1) = "/u" then .... Or you can change the signature of your Main() to Public Sub Main(ByVal args() As String) and you won't need to use Dim args() As String = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()
Alphabet Wall Cards by Jillian Phillips Learning your ABCs is a lot easier when they correspond with charming illustrations designed by artist Jillian Phillips. Use them as a study tool or as educational wall art. Details, details Nod exclusive Illustrations by Jillian Phillips Set of 26 cards; each features unique artwork Great gift for any child Packaged in a giftable craft paper box with sticker label Set of 26 illustrated cards Show 'em what you're made of Printed on heavy card stock A gallery wall is the perfect place for your family photos, along with other wall art and decor. Click here to create a gallery wall in a few easy steps. The Land of Nod Guarantee At The Land of Nod, nothing is more important to us than providing safe, high-quality products to you and your family. We believe that kids’ products should be able to handle everything kids throw their way (literally and figuratively). That’s why all of our products have an 18-year quality guarantee. And, hopefully, your kids will no longer be sleeping in bunk beds by then.
.modal { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%; background-color: $color-black-alpha-20; padding: 0 20px; z-index: 100; overflow-y: auto; .content { position: relative; max-width: 350px; margin: 100px auto; padding: 1em; border-radius: 5px; overflow: auto; @include light-theme { background-color: $color-white; box-shadow: 0px 3px 5px 0px $color-black-alpha-20; } @include dark-theme { background-color: $color-gray-95; box-shadow: 0px 3px 5px 0px $color-white-alpha-20; } } }
Requirement For Improved Advertising By Writing Articles All you such as is the proper info worrying evaluate advertising and marketing along with marketing and advertising to make it occur. Articles will absolutely additionally be used to market numerous fast short articles to substantially improve target market along with in a similar way networking.Make every blog post a segue for a work to take. Invoke your leads right into obtaining for your points, by clever gross sales pitches included right into your articles.Hopefully, presently you are actually feeling comfy researching along with moreover establishing your brief post marketing and advertising together with likewise marketing and advertising desires. Invoke your leads right into obtaining for your point, by cutting-edge gross sales pitches consisted of right into your articles.Hopefully, presently you are truly feeling comfy evaluating together with establishing up your testimonial advertising and marketing along with marketing along with advertising demands. There are great deals of sources right below, do not permit this be your total information to analyze advertising and marketing along with advertising and marketing along with marketing and advertising along with advertising and marketing.
Generally, silicidation is a process used in the fabrication of semiconductor devices to alter the composition of certain components with the aim of improving device performance. Semiconductor devices are small electrical components that are fabricated in part out of a semiconductor material such as silicon. Manufacturing electrical components in this manner permits them to be made in a very small size. For example, more than one million transistors may be fabricated on a single thin piece of silicon that is roughly square in shape and less than one inch on each side. The various electrical components fabricated on this single piece of silicon may be connected together by very small conductive elements in order to create integrated circuits. Modem integrated circuits are used in many applications, including the manufacture of computers, mobile telephones, and personal electronic gaming devices. Most semiconductor devices are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Special fabrication techniques are therefore required for their manufacture. In general, fabrication begins with a thin slice of material, such as silicon, that is used as a substrate on which the various devices can be manufactured. This substrate material is typically formed as a solid ingot, which is then sliced into thin sections called wafers. A single wafer may be used to create over one hundred individual dice, which after fabrication are separated and separately-packaged for use in a particular electrical appliance. Fabrication techniques may vary, but generally speaking, fabrication involves the sequential formation of layers of different conducting and insulating materials. Portions of each layer may be selectively removed to create small surface structures prior to the formation of the next layer. To accomplish this selective removal, a technique called photolithography may be used. This technique involves the formation of a layer of material referred to as photoresist, which is then selectively exposed to a light energy source that causes the exposed (or, alternately, unexposed) portions of the photoresist layer to change physical properties. A solvent is then used to remove the selected portions, leaving a pattern of structures on the surface that may be used for selective deposition or etching away of the underlying material. The remaining photoresist is removed when it is no longer required, and does not form part of the actual device. Other techniques may be used to similar effect as well. The electrical appliances mentioned above have become very popular with consumers, in part because of their small size and consequent portability. With their popularity, however, have come demands from the marketplace for even smaller devices that are even more capable. To accomplish this, the tiny semiconductor devices formed in the fabrication process must become even smaller and more tightly packed together. This effort results not only in greater challenges during the fabrication process itself, but gives rise to certain electrical problems, such as current leakage, that detrimentally effect of the performance of the device. One common semiconductor device is called the transistor. A transistor is a small switch that can control the flow of electricity without the need for any moving parts. One such transistor shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an elevation (side) view illustrating in cross-section an exemplary transistor 10. Transistor 10 includes a gate structure 11 formed on substrate 12. Gate structure 11 is made up of a number of different component parts. A thin layer of dielectric material, such as an oxide, separates gate electrode 14 from substrate 12. This separating layer may be referred to as gate dialectic 13. Gate electrode 14 is made of a conducting material, for example a metal. More recently, crystalline polysilicon, or simply poly, has been used instead of metal. Disposed above gate electrode 14 in this example is a contact 15, typically made of metal, which may for example be used to make reliable electrical connections between gate electrode 14 and an interconnect coupled to another device (not shown). Spacers 16 and 17, formed of a dielectric material, are disposed on either side of the gate structure 11. Gate structure 11 is the portion of transistor 10 that controls the flow of electricity. The current itself flows through the substrate between source 18 and drain 19 through channel 20 when a small voltage is applied to the gate structure 11. Source 18 and drain 19 are each formed in the substrate 12 by a local implantation of ions, such as those of boron or phosphorus. This process of ion implantation is sometimes known as doping. Source 18 and drain 19 are in turn connected, for example, to a voltage source and to a ground (not shown), respectively. Metal contacts 21 and 22, disposed on, respectively, source 18 and drain 19, provide a site for terminating such external electrical connections. The process for making a transistor such as transistor 10 will now be briefly explained, with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 30 of fabricating a semiconductor device, in this case the transistor 10 shown in FIG. 1. At START 17 is assumed that all materials and equipment necessary for performing the method are available and operational. The method begins with forming an oxide layer on a substrate (step 32). A poly layer for the gate electrode is then formed (step 34) as well. A photoresist layer is then formed (step 36) and patterned (step 38) so that a photoresist structure protects the region where the gate structure will be formed. An etching step is then performed (step 40), leaving a gate structure disposed on the substrate. The remaining photoresist may then be removed (step 42). The source region and the drain region may now be partially formed by ion implantation (step 44), which as mentioned above is sometimes called doping. In many cases additional temporary or permanent protective structures must be added and removed as part of the doping process, but these steps are not shown individually. The source and drain regions are said to be partially formed because, in this example, additional ion implantation into these regions will occur later. In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the complete ion implantation is performed at this time. In this exemplary method, a dielectric layer is then deposited (step 46) and selectively etched (step 48) to form the spacers for the gate structure. An additional ion implantation (step 50) forms the deeper part of the source region and drain region (see FIG. 1) according to the process of this example. An electrical contact region may then be formed on top of the gate electrode at this time (step 52), although the individual steps that may be involved are not separately shown in FIG. 2. At this point a transistor such as the transistor 10 of FIG. 1 has been formed and fabrication may continue with the deposition of additional material layers and the formation of additional devices. Although, as mentioned above, the gate electrode is often formed of a poly material, it has been found advantageous to enhance the properties of the poly gate by using it to create an alloy with a metal in a process known as silicidation. In this process, generally speaking, a metal layer is deposited on top of an existing poly gate and induced to combine with the poly material in a rapid heating process often referred to as an RTA (rapid thermal anneal). One example of this process, as currently performed, is illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary fabrication method 60. The method 60 begins with forming a gate structure on the substrate (step 62), for example using a process similar to that described above in reference to steps 32 through 40 of FIG. 2. At this point, the gate electrode includes only a poly material. A metal layer, for example of nickel, is then formed (step 64) over the gate structure. Once the metal layer is in place, a first RTA is performed (step 66), rapidly heating the deposited metal for a short period of time. This drives some of the metal into combination with the poly in the gate electrode, forming a silicide material out of at least the top portion of it. The excess metal, that is the metal material that has not combined with the poly gate, is then removed (step 68). A second RTA is then performed (step 70), to drive the metal in the poly gate further into the poly material. In contrast to previous techniques, which involved the formation of a silicide layer at the top of the poly gate, for example to create a better contact region, the first and second RTA sequences described above are intended to produce what is referred to as a FUSI (fully- silicided) gate. Note that FIG. 3 illustrates only the silicidation process; from there, fabrication continues through the additional operations involved in completing the device. Unfortunately, problems may arise when forming silicided gates in this manner, especially when they are part of dual-gate semiconductor devices such those in CMOS applications. This is due to the fact that the different transistors in a CMOS device require for optimum performance different types, or phases, of the nickel silicon (or other) alloy that will make up the FUSI gate. Specifically, in a PMOS gate having an Ni3Si gate, an excess of the alloy will frequently occur, that is, there will be a large volume change resulting from the silicidation process. This volume change may in fact be of such magnitude as to cause damage to the underlying gate dielectric layer, which may adversely affect device performance and overall reliability. Needed, then, is an efficient way to fabricate gates, and specifically the gate electrodes used in semiconductor devices such as transistors that can take advantage of the benefits of salicidation while at the same time minimizing, or altogether avoiding the stress-induced damage caused by volume change during salicidation. The present invention provides just such a solution.
Betting on the Browns to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the 2019 season isn’t a sound idea, according to former “Jeopardy” champ James Holzhauer. As the professional sports gambler recently divulged, wagering on the teams with buzz heading into training camp doesn’t often pay off in the long run. “I would say that the big thing to avoid is look away from the teams that have all the hype surrounding them,” Holzhauer told Peter King of “Football Morning in America.” “I can’t believe we live in a world where the Cleveland Browns are the most hyped team in the preseason. But I would say they’re probably the single worst bet to win the Super Bowl right now.” Despite the acquisition of talent in recent months, namely former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Holzhauer, who won more than $2 million during his 32-game reign on “Jeopardy” earlier this year, advises gamblers to stick with the tried and true. “If I had to pick a team or two to make it to the Super Bowl, win the Super Bowl, the boring answer is the Patriots and the Rams,” Holzhauer said. “Everyone knows these guys are the best teams out there.” The Patriots defeated the Rams in Super Bowl LIII in February, 13-3. New England and the Kansas City Chiefs are the current co-favorites to win at 6-1 odds, per CBS Sports.