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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department
1153
KA 11-00966
PRESENT: SCUDDER, P.J., FAHEY, LINDLEY, AND VALENTINO, JJ.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, RESPONDENT,
V MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
DAVAN DARK, ALSO KNOWN AS MIKE,
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
THE LEGAL AID BUREAU OF BUFFALO, INC., BUFFALO (ROBERT L. KEMP OF
COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
FRANK A. SEDITA, III, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BUFFALO (MATTHEW B. POWERS OF
COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.
Appeal from a judgment of the Erie County Court (Michael F.
Pietruszka, J.), rendered April 11, 2011. The appeal was held by this
Court by order entered March 15, 2013, decision was reserved and the
matter was remitted to Erie County Court for further proceedings (104
AD3d 1158). The proceedings were held and completed.
It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is
unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him
upon a nonjury verdict of criminal sale of a controlled substance in
the third degree (Penal Law § 220.39 [1]) and criminal possession of a
controlled substance in the third degree (§ 220.16 [1]). We
previously held the case, reserved decision and remitted the matter to
County Court to rule on defendant’s request for a Wade hearing with
respect to the identification procedures referenced in the People’s
CPL 710.30 notice (People v Dark, 104 AD3d 1158, 1159). Upon
remittal, the court concluded that defendant had withdrawn his request
for a Wade hearing, and defendant now contends that defense counsel
was ineffective for withdrawing that request. We reject that
contention.
An attorney’s “failure to ‘make a motion or argument that has
little or no chance of success’ ” does not amount to ineffective
assistance (People v Caban, 5 NY3d 143, 152, quoting People v Stultz,
2 NY3d 277, 287, rearg denied 3 NY3d 702). Here, two undercover
officers were involved in the purchase of narcotics from defendant on
February 4, 2010. Defendant was not arrested at that time, but he was
arrested for a different offense on March 3, 2010. One of the two
undercover officers involved in the February 4, 2010 transaction went
to the scene of defendant’s March 3, 2010 arrest and, while at the
-2- 1153
KA 11-00966
scene, that officer used binoculars to identify defendant, who was
handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle less than 50 feet away.
The People correctly concede that such identification was not merely
confirmatory (see People v Newball, 76 NY2d 587, 592), but even
assuming, arguendo, that defense counsel could have established
suggestiveness of the identification procedure, we agree with the
People that defense counsel could have concluded that there was an
independent source for the identification of defendant by the subject
undercover officer at trial (see People v Claitt, 222 AD2d 1038, 1038-
1039, lv denied 88 NY2d 982; see generally People v Chipp, 75 NY2d
327, 335, cert denied 498 US 833). Specifically, during the February
4, 2010 transaction, the interaction between the subject undercover
officer and defendant lasted for about 10 minutes, and the subject
undercover officer was only 2½ feet away from defendant when the
transaction occurred (see People v Maryon, 20 AD3d 911, 912, lv denied
5 NY3d 854; Claitt, 222 AD2d at 1038-1039; see generally People v
Bell, 286 AD2d 940, 940-941, lv denied 97 NY2d 654; People v
Quinitchett, 210 AD2d 438, 439, lv denied 85 NY2d 942; People v Rowan,
199 AD2d 546, 547, lv denied 83 NY2d 810; People v Buchanon, 186 AD2d
864, 866, lv denied 81 NY2d 785, reconsideration denied 81 NY2d 882).
We therefore conclude that any attempt by defense counsel to suppress
the identification of defendant by the subject undercover officer
through a Wade hearing would have failed, and that defense counsel
thus was not ineffective (see Caban, 5 NY3d at 152; People v Smith,
118 AD3d 1492, 1493). We have considered defendant’s remaining
contention and conclude that it is without merit.
Entered: November 14, 2014 Frances E. Cafarell
Clerk of the Court
| 2024-05-13T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9802 |
PROVITAMIN A2 FROM LUTEIN.
Alfalfa lipids were treated with p-toluenesulfonic acid in benzene under reflux; after saponification, chromatography of the unsaponifiable portion yielded a carotenoid having a single absorption maximum at 460 mmicro in ethanol and hexane. Its properties correspond to those of the dehydration product of lutein, 3'-hydroxy-3,4-dehydro-ss-carotene, for which the name "anhydrolutein" is proposed. Vitamin A depleted chicks convert this pigment to vitamin A(2), as shown by the high ratio of absorbancies at 693 and 620 mmicro in a mixture of CHCI(3) and SbCl(3). and the absorption maximum at 350 mmicro in hexane exhibited by the liver lipids. The possible role of this pigment in the biogenesis of vitamin A(2) is discussed. | 2024-03-31T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4600 |
Specifications TableSubject*Information Systems*Specific subject area*Data mining, Digital History, Labeled Dataset for Machine Learning*Type of dataTable.How data were acquiredPast causalities described by authors by referencing past causalities in some Japanese Textbooks for World History\
Past events are crawled from WikipediaData formatFiltered\
Raw data of [Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"} and [Table 4](#tbl4){ref-type="table"} are stored in:\
causality_regional_distribution.tsv ([Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}),\
causality_temporal_distribution.tsv ([Fig. 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}), and Statistics.tsv ([Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"} and [Table 4](#tbl4){ref-type="table"}).Parameters for data collectionDescription of data collectionThe collection processes were performed by manual inspections of experts who have Ph. D. degrees in related research fields.Data source locationAs for describing data of past causalities, we referenced past causalities in Japanese textbooks: *Shosetu Sekaishi B* (Se B 304) \[[@bib1]\] and *Sekaishi B* (Se B 301) \[[@bib2]\].\
As for data collected Wikipedia texts, we used following links: <https://www.en.wikipedia/>\*\
where "\*" is replaced by one of from 1 to 1999.Data accessibilityRepository name: Zenodo\
Data identification number: zenodo.3,601,707\
Direct URL to data: <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3601707>Related research article*Ikejiri, R., Sumikawa, Y.: Developing world history lessons to foster authentic social participation by searching for historical causation in relation to current issues dominating the news. Journal of Educational Research on Social Studies 84, 37--48 (2016). (in Japanese).*<https://doi.org/10.20799/jerasskenkyu.84.0_37>**Value of the Data**•The dataset is useful for training machine learning models as a labeled dataset to predict causality---causality similarity over time.•The dataset can be beneficial for HistoInformatics researchers and history education researchers who are developing new teaching tools to bridge the gap between the past and present, and computer scientists working on temporal data mining including information retrieval.•Once event detections and classifiers are developed by the dataset, they can use them to assign causality categories to other new data. Through this process, the dataset is able to re-examine how accurately categories are defined, identify which categories are (in) dependent of time, or add new categories to the dataset.•We provide the scores of statistical analyses to measure/evaluate dataset quality for estimating which machine learning models can be effectively trained on our dataset. In addition, from these scores, it is able to develop other dataset such as translation to Chinese, adding new temporal events with detail comparisons between our scores and new dataset to identify changes of accuracies.
1. Data Description {#sec1}
===================
The published dataset \[[@bib3]\] (see metadata in [Table 1](#tbl1){ref-type="table"}) consists of seven types of data. The first type includes 138 past causalities in historical_causalities_data.csv file. In this dataset, all causalities include their backgrounds and results. The second type includes the categories that are defined for causalities stored in historical_causalities_categories.csv. This file includes 13 categories: **Reign (Rg)**, **Diplomacy (Dp)**, **War (Wr)**, **Production (Pr)**, **Commerce (Cr)**, **Study (St)**, **Religion (Rl)**, **Literature and Thought (LT)**, **Technology (Tc)**, **Popular Movement (PM)**, **Community (Cn), Disparity (Ds)** and **Environment (En).** The third type includes 900 past event data to support training machine learning models. In the dataset, all events include only descriptions of the events; in other words, the event data excludes both backgrounds and results of the events. The past_events_wikipedia.tsv file contains the descriptions of the 900 past events and their categories. The three files (historical_causalities_regions.tsv, causality_regional_distribution.tsv, and causality_temporal_distribution.tsv) provide additional information of the causalities included in the historical_causalities_data.tsv file. The historical_causalities_regions.tsv includes region where each causality occurred. The other two files (causality_regional_distribution.tsv and causality_temporal_distribution.tsv) include distributions of causalities by regions and centuries, respectively. Last, Statistics.tsv file includes scores of statistical analyses, which are described in "**Statistical Analysis**" section. This file provides all raw scores for estimating which machine learning models are useful for several kinds of applications, e.g., classification and information retrieval (IR) algorithms that can bridge the past and present.Table 1Database files.Table 1File nameContentColumnshistorical_causalities_data.tsvDetail of stored causalities.Causality ID: IDs for causalities.\
Century: Centuries when causalities occurred. BC centuries are represented with minus ("-") in this file.\
Title: Names of the causalities.\
Content: Descriptions of the causalities.historical_causalities_regions.tsvRegions where the causalities occurred.Causality ID: IDs for causalities.\
Regions: Related regions.past_events_wikipedia.tsvDescriptions of past eventsYear: A year of Wikipedia article titles that include the past event\
Categories: Names of categories assigned to the past event.\
Text: Descriptions of the past event.historical_causalities_categories.tsvCategories of the causalities.Causality ID: IDs for causalities.\
Categories: Names of categories.causality_regional_distribution.tsvNumbers of causalities for all regions.The first column includes centuries. BC centuries are represented with minus ("-") in this file.The second column includes\
the number of causalities when occurred in the century of the raw.causality_temporal_distribution.tsvNumbers of causalities for all centuries.The first column includes region names.\
The second column includes the number of causalities where occurred in the region of the raw.Statistics.tsvScores of statistical analyses described in this paperThis file contains all scores of statistical analyses described in the "**Statistical Analysis**" section. This file provides raw data of [Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}.Table 2Statistics of the whole dataset published in this paper.Table 2Number of categories13Number of historical causalities138Number of past events900Ave. Num. of causalities per category10.6Table 3Numbers of the causalities and past events in each category.Table 3RgDpWrPrCrStRlNum. of Causalities46642929511824Num. of Past Events40522937072533183LTTcPMCnDsEnNum. of Causalities261723492220Num. of Past Events403170321432Table 4Intra-category Meta-data and TF-IDF + JS similarities.Table 4RgDpWrPrCrStRlMeta-data10.6%12.0%14.1%12.4%13.6%12.4%13.2%MI0.13950.14220.14780.15430.14330.14730.1650Jaccard0.01750.01790.01760.01810.01760.01870.0180TF-IDF + JS0.95750.95570.95300.95160.95400.96030.9499LTTcPMCnDsEn*Total*Meta-data12.4%12.2%13.5%11.5%12.5%12.8%*12.5%*MI0.14860.13960.14470.13940.14010.1511*0.1463*Jaccard0.01840.01860.17690.01860.18370.0185*0.0552*TF-IDF + JS0.95360.95840.95460.95930.94880.9540*0.9546*
2. Experimental design, materials, and methods {#sec2}
==============================================
Causality Data Collections {#sec2.1}
--------------------------
The 138 past causalities were created by authors in three steps. First, we collected over 700 past causalities by referencing well-known Japanese high-school textbooks: Shosetu Sekaishi B (Se B 304) \[[@bib1]\] and Sekaishi B (Se B 301) \[[@bib2]\]. Second, we selected the causalities if they could be useful for considering solutions for present social issues. Finally, we described each causality in three contexts: background including problems, solution methods, and their results.
Category Definition {#sec2.2}
-------------------
The causality categories are defined to organize the causalities with the useable historical framework \[[@bib5]\] as described in Ref. \[[@bib4]\]. In Ref. \[[@bib5]\], Lee claims that causalities over different times can be bridged if they belong to the framework because the framework is an overview of the long-term patterns of change and not a mere outline story skimming a few peaks of the past. Under this idea, the category definition processes comprised 2 steps. First, we reviewed Encyclopedia of Historiography \[[@bib6]\] to define categories for connecting past and present causalities. In the review process, we listed all the main topics from the encyclopedia and subsequently selected a topic only if it included the long-term patterns of change. Second, we evaluated if each topic included causalities independent of time. As we extracted causalities from history textbooks, we divided them into three temporal periods: ancient, medieval and modern periods. If a topic included causalities from the three temporal periods, we used it as a category in the dataset. Moreover, we added some new categories in the dataset if we found new topics that included causalities from the three temporal periods. Finally, we defined the 13 categories described in **Data Description** section.
Event Data Collections {#sec2.3}
----------------------
The 900 past event data were crawled from Wikipedia articles whose tiles were the years from 1 to 1999, for example, <http://en.wikipedia.org/1>. The collection process was as follows: 1) All events were crawled from yearly Wikipedia articles. 2) It was manually reviewed whether the crawled events could be useful to consider any solutions for present social issues. 3) At most, 50 events per century were randomly sampled to cover a wide range of durations.
Basic Statistics {#sec2.4}
----------------
[Table 2](#tbl2){ref-type="table"}, [Table 3](#tbl3){ref-type="table"} summarize the statistics of the entire published dataset and the number of causalities for each category, respectively.
[Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}, [Fig. 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"} plot distribution of the numbers of causalities by region and centuries. These figures help us to understand tendency of the published dataset because temporal and spatial features are the most important features of history. [Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"} plots the number of causalities per century. Naturally, the distribution curve increases near the present. This indicates that the closer the causalities are located to the present on the temporal axis, the greater is their usability for considering solutions for present issues. [Fig. 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"} plots the distribution of the number of causalities where they occurred. We can see that most causalities occurred in China and Europe, as they have long-term histories.Fig. 1Numbers of causalities per century. This figure represents B. C. years as hyphen ("-").Fig. 1Fig. 2Numbers of causalities per country/region.Fig. 2
Statistical Analysis {#sec2.5}
--------------------
In addition to the basic statistics, the published dataset provides scores of similarity between data points and statistics of clusters to help to train machine learning models. The provided scores are results of the following five analyses.1.Calinski and Harabasz (CH) \[[@bib7]\]. This measure estimates how close all data to each other in a cluster and how far data in different clusters locate. Thus, the higher score of this measure indicates the high quality of the given clusters. The formal equation is defined as follows:$$CH\left( k \right) = \ \frac{\left( {n - k} \right)\ B\left( k \right)}{\left( {k - 1} \right)\ W\left( k \right)}$$where *B*(*k*) and *W*(*k*) are intra- and inter-cluster sums of squares for *k* clusters, respectively, and *n* is the number of clustered data.2.Mutual information (MI). This measure evaluates the similarity of two categories $A$ and $B$ as an information-theoretic approach. Let *P*(*a*) and *P*(*b*) are marginal probabilities, and *P*(*a, b*) is a joint probability. MI calculates volumes of information a given set generates about the other set. This is done by the following equation.$$MI\left( {A,\ B} \right) = \ \sum\limits_{b \in B}{\sum\limits_{a \in A}{P\left( {a,\ b} \right)\log\frac{P\left( {a,\ b} \right)}{P\left( a \right)\ P\left( b \right)}}}$$
The provided scores of this dataset are generated from adjusted MI (AMI) \[[@bib8]\] that is a variant of MI defined as follows:$$AMI\left( {A,\ B} \right) = \ \frac{MI\left( {A,\ B} \right) - E\left( {MI\left( {A,\ B} \right)} \right)}{max\left( {H\left( A \right),\ H\left( B \right)} \right) - E\left( {MI\left( {A,\ B} \right)} \right)}$$where $\left. E\left( MI\left( {A,\ B} \right) \right. \right)$ is the expected MI between two given categories, $max$ is a function that returns the largest value among given values, and $H\left( A \right)$ is the entropy of category $A$.3.Jaccard index (Jaccard). This measure employs an assumption that if two sets $S_{A}$ and $S_{B}$ for two categories $A$ and $B$ have many common data, then the two sets are similar to each other. As the size of given sets affects the common numbers, this measure normalizes the score by taking account of the total sizes of given two sets. In other words, if a given set is huge compared with other sets, the huge set tends to include several elements of other sets. This idea is represented as follows:$$Jaccard\left( {S_{A},S_{B}} \right) = \frac{\left| {S_{A} \cap S_{B}} \right|}{\left| {S_{A} \cup S_{B}} \right|}$$4.TF-IDF + Jensen--Shannon (JS) divergence. This is an entropy-based measurement; the lower this score, the more similar the two given probability distributions are. As our dataset includes texts written in natural language, we first apply TF-IDF to convert the text into numbers. Let $w$, $d$ and $W\left( d \right)$ are a word, a document, and a word set of $d$. The TF-IDF estimates the importance of $w$ in $d$ by counting the numbers of occurrences of the word in the document and by the numbers of documents including the word. Once all data can be converted to vectors whose elements are scores of the importance of the words, the similarity between two data can be measured by JS divergence that is an extension of Kullback---Leibler (KL) divergence. These approaches are defined as follows:$$TF - IDF\left( {w,\ d} \right) = \ tf_{w,\ \ d}\frac{\left| D \right|}{\left| \left\{ {d^{'} \in D\ \text{|}\ w_{i} \in W\left( {d'} \right)} \right\} \right|}$$$$KL\left( {A,\ B} \right) = \ \sum\limits_{a \in A,\ b \in B}{a\ \log\frac{a}{b}\ \ }$$$$JS\left( {A,\ B} \right) = \ \frac{1}{2}KL\left( {A,\ M} \right) + \ \frac{1}{2}KL\left( {M,\ B} \right)$$where $M$ is $\frac{1}{2}\left( A + B \right)$.5.Meta-data similarity. This measure counts the number of common categories shared by two causalities. Similar to the Jaccard index, the higher the score, the more similar the two causalities are. Thus, given two causalities, the measure is represented as the sum of the common categories. This is formally defined as follows:$$Meta\left( {FV_{i},\ FV_{j}} \right) = \sum\limits_{k = 1}^{FV}{AND\left( {FV_{ik},\ FV_{jk}} \right)}$$where *AND* is the logical AND. It is 1 if both operands are 1; otherwise, it is 0. This measure considers the feature vectors ($FV_{i}$ and $FV_{j}$) of two causalities that are defined from the categories of the two causalities. If causality $C_{i}$ has the *k*th category, then $FV_{ik}$ is 1; otherwise, it is 0.
We applied the above measures for all combinations of causalities within each category (intra-category) and within two different categories (inter-category), which are described as follows:1.Intra-category Similarity. This similarity represents the average score of similarity between all combinations of two causalities in a category.2.Inter-category Similarity. This similarity represents the average score of similarity between all combinations of two causalities from two different categories.
Scores of Statistical Analysis {#sec2.6}
------------------------------
The CH score for the past causality data was 1.0829. This indicates that the intra-cluster and inter-cluster sums of squares for the *k* clusters are almost the same. [Table 4](#tbl4){ref-type="table"} shows all scores of all intra-category measurements. Overall, these scores indicate that all texts in the same category are not similar to each other. These scores indicate that the published dataset covers several kinds of causality topics. If it is necessary to train machine learning models only on the causality texts, it is better to use simple IR algorithms, for example, the query word matching method, or to employ transfer learning using the categorized past events.
[Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"} shows all scores of the inter-category meta-data similarities on the causality data. Three combinations of two categories, **Rg**---**Dp**, **Cr**---**St** and **Ds**---**PM** contain more common categories compared to other combinations.Fig. 3Inter-category meta-data similarity.Fig. 3
[Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"} plots the MI scores for all combinations of categories on the causality data. This figure indicates that three categories (**St**, **Rl** and **LT**) are more similar to each other compared with other category combinations. [Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"} plots the Jaccard index for the inter-category analysis. Similar to the scores of MI, three categories (**St**, **Rl** and **LT**) are more similar to each other compared to others. However, the Jaccard similarity scores between the three categories are lower than the MI scores. [Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"} shows the TF-IDF + JS scores. Two combinations of categories are similar to each other. The scores for the **St**, **Rl** and **LT** categories are smaller compared to other combinations. In addition, the **Dp**, **Wr**, **Pr** and **Cr** categories have relatively lower scores compared to other combinations except the combination of **St**, **Rl** and **LT**. Thus, these four categories are more similar to each other compared with other category combinations.Fig. 4Inter-category MI score.Fig. 4Fig. 5Inter-category Jaccard scores.Fig. 5Fig. 6Inter-category TF-IDF + JS scores.Fig. 6
Summary of the Statistical Analyses {#sec2.7}
-----------------------------------
All statistical analyses for causalities indicated that the similarities between intra- and inter-category data tended to be low. Thus, if it is necessary to use only past causality data in machine learning study such as IR specialized for history, it is better to use simple techniques, e.g., simple word-based pattern matching and counting common categories. In contrast, if it is able to use both past causality and event data together, using more sophisticated machine learning models such as SVM, naive Bayes classification, and random forests is a good choise as the published data includes 1038 categorized data.
Conflict of Interest {#appsec3}
====================
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data {#appsec1}
==============================
The following is the Supplementary data to this article:Multimedia component 1Multimedia component 1
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 26750076, 17K12792, and 19K20631.
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.105185>.
| 2023-08-02T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5175 |
Sport utility vehicles and mini-vans are a class of vehicles with sales that exceed most passenger automobiles combined. The advantage of such vehicles is the ability to haul passengers, while providing an enclosed cargo room not possible in a conventional automobile. The sport utility vehicle further lacks the stigma of a station wagon by including off-road capabilities, making them suitable for many types of uses.
Sport utility and mini-van vehicles include the ability to lay rear seats down so as to increase the available cargo area for hauling long items. When the vehicle is used to haul large items, items that are commonly carried in the rear section of the vehicle must be moved or removed to make room for the cargo to be hauled. For instance, flashlights, jumper cables, tools, flares, and wash rags are but a few items that are typically carried in a vehicle. Unfortunately, the cargo area of a sport utility vehicle or mini-van also serves as the trunk. Therefore, items typically placed in the rear of such a vehicle must be displaced so as not to interfere with additional cargo.
Further, the cargo area of a sport utility or mini-van vehicle is not amenable to concealing items placed therein. For this reason, a number of gear-concealing devices has been marketed and/or patented. For example, one option available in many mini-vans and sport utility vehicles is a retractable cover that visually shields stowed cargo. A cover typically covers a large area of cargo section, but is not effective when the vehicle seats are removed or folded down. In such instances the stowed gear is visible from many angles and may be attractive to thieves.
Retractable covers cannot support weight and their use typically limits the amount of storage room in a given vehicle. In addition, retractable covers may also have to be removed to provide uninhibited access to the vehicle cargo area. For instance, the cargo area may be used on an everyday basis to store flashlights, flares, and the like items useful for roadside emergencies. If the vehicle is used by a salesman, the cargo area could be filled with notebooks, samples, and other similar materials. If the cargo area is used with such everyday items, and the vehicle owner wishes to haul large items, the everyday items in the cargo area must be relocated, or removed completely. Often, this requires that such items are moved into plain sight, inviting theft or vandalism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,890 discloses a device directed to the storage of items in a sport utility vehicle; however, this device consumes a majority of the available cargo space and does not provide any means for maximizing the cargo area while the device is unused.
What is lacking in the art is a storage container that includes advantages of the known devices, while addressing the shortcomings they exhibit. The container should fold flat to allow efficient utilization of the cargo area when the container is not in use. The device should also store numerous items securely, while providing structural integrity sufficient to allow support of items placed on top of the container. The device should allow simultaneous storage of items and support of oversized cargo. | 2024-01-23T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6733 |
my dream of a wish
Below is the poem entitled my dream of a wish which was written by poet
nastoshia
siedlecki. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
my dream of a wish
The world disappears as my life moves on I once had
no fear all but only the courage inside
I'm trapped in a fantasy
There is no escape
I have a decision to make
To take a chance of dying
To see if another world exist
Maybe I could be a fairy
Or perhaps have a dragon by my side
Live where all my dreams come true
Filled with adventure and happiness
A place where I can be safe
To be a hero
More like a warrior
I don't want to suffer
I want to be free
Fly high in the skys of beautiful vallies
Never have to worry Over such unpleasant situations
Please help me get through this
I do no wish to be on Earth
Take my life away
And my friends always be remembered Save me lord
I shall repay you with honesty
Lord, Please let me rest in peace
Forgive me | 2024-04-13T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8617 |
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| 2023-11-21T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3204 |
import React from 'react';
import { Text } from 'react-native';
const NameContext = React.createContext('Unknown');
const NameProvider = ({ children, first, last }) => {
const fullName = `${first} ${last}`;
return (
<NameContext.Provider value={fullName}>
<Text>{children}</Text>
</NameContext.Provider>
);
};
const NameConsumer = () => (
<NameContext.Consumer>{value => <Text>My Name Is: {value}</Text>}</NameContext.Consumer>
);
export { NameContext, NameConsumer, NameProvider };
| 2024-04-25T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4949 |
Roda
The Roda man, sometimes irreverent with colours, finds inspiration in the taste of the English gentleman. He lets his style express itself through the nonchalance of a printed silk scarf with a carefully tied knot, through the vibrant tones of a handkerchief, through the traditional handmade embroidery on a cashmere scarf, and through the play of paired fabrics in a tailored knit jacket. From the joy of materials and experimentation, an original classic is born. | 2024-06-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9279 |
Homeownership likely to be delayed for 'Generation Now' members
Most consumers in their 20s are stuck in a holding pattern, a retail industry consultant says. 'Everything is delayed for them,' she says.
CHICAGO — Maxine Lauer calls the group of consumers 15 to 34 "Generation Now" because they want what they want and they want it now.
Trouble is, "now" isn't happening for them, especially for those in the middle of that range, their 20s, who might reasonably be expected to be thinking about buying their first homes.
Generally, though, that's not something they're doing, because most of them just can't, said Lauer, whose Sphere Trending retail industry consulting firm in Waterford, Mich., has studied their attitudes in depth. Basically, she said, they're stuck in a holding pattern.
"Everything is delayed for them," Lauer said. "Homeownership is delayed, and they will rent longer. They're delaying marriage, delaying kids. It's because their peak earning years are being delayed."
Blame that on the economy in general, but numerous factors are playing a part, she said.
"Baby boomers aren't getting out of the way" and opening up higher-paying jobs for them, Lauer said. Boomers "aren't clearing the path because we're working longer. A lot of people in our generation want to go on to work until 70 or they think they have to."
And with a staggering load of student loan debt, young adults find themselves moving back home with their parents.
Lauer suspects that's not as awkward a situation for many families as has been popularly portrayed. From Generation Now's viewpoint, there's not really a stigma to returning home; parents have made it comparatively comfortable for them.
"Maybe too comfortable," Lauer said. "This generation is a lot closer to their parents than other generations have been. They're really an emotionally attached generation."
And many are lingering at Mom's house, trying to save money — that's another delaying factor — until they can afford a down payment on a house, Lauer said. | 2023-11-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8393 |
From the past, there has been a coil component in which a position of a magnetic core with respect to a coil is changed by an external signal such that the inductance value of the coil can be changed. Such a coil component includes a coil, a magnetic core, a movable core which is used as a portion of the magnetic core and which changes the relative position with respect to the magnetic core, and an actuator for changing the position of the movable core. For the actuator, there is used a monomorph type or bimorph type piezoelectric device. The movable core is connected to a tip portion of the piezoelectric device. When a drive voltage is applied to the piezoelectric device, a piezoelectric body constituting the piezoelectric device expands and contracts and the relative position of the movable core with respect to the magnetic core changes. Consequently, it is possible to adjust the inductance value of the coil component.
In Patent Document 1, there is a description with respect to a coil component including a bimorph type piezoelectric device. In a state of not driving the piezoelectric device, a movable core portion bonded to the tip portion of the piezoelectric device is perfectly combined with the periphery core portion. When a voltage is applied to this piezoelectric device, the piezoelectric body is bent and deformed toward the direction moving away from the core portion. When the movable core portion moves toward the same direction as that of the piezoelectric body, a gap between the movable core portion and the core portion becomes larger, so that the inductance value becomes smaller.
In Patent Document 2, there is a description with respect to a variable inductance device for changing the inductance value by changing the relative position of two cores owing to an action of a piezoelectric actuator which uses a monomorph type piezoelectric device. | 2023-11-17T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4733 |
Sentence Examples
His mouth wore its usual semblance of a smile.
It is a serious flaw in the play that the fate of the heroine is virtually decided before the curtain rises, and the poet is obliged to create by theatrical devices the semblance of a tragic conflict which, in reality, does not exist.
Finally she achieved some semblance of order and left the room.
It had to be difficult to maintain any semblance of authority with a toddler clinging to his face, but he managed to do it.
It took place in the spring of 1920 and left Smuts and his party without the semblance of a clear majority in Parliament. | 2023-08-12T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5248 |
Q:
Create 5 columns on repeat in Bootstrap 4
I have to create a 5 column grid in Bootstrap 4 to show over 100 images. The code below works ONLY if I have 5 items. How can I go about it?
PS: It must change 2 column grid on mobile screen.
I understand there's a lot of duplicate with correctly marked answer but there's no actual solution to it when I have more than 5 column.
JSFiddle Demo: https://jsfiddle.net/fwg2os0h/
<div class="row">
<div class="col">
1
</div>
<div class="col">
2
</div>
<div class="col">
3
</div>
<div class="col">
4
</div>
<div class="col">
5
</div>
<div class="col">
6
</div>
<div class="col">
7
</div>
<div class="col">
8
</div>
<div class="col">
9
</div>
<div class="col">
10
</div>
</div>
A:
Maybe, you can set the min-width to 20% and that should fix it. At any point of time, this will have a minimum width of 20%, which will force it to show only 5 a row.
.my-col {
min-width: 20%;
}
And for the mobile support, please use a custom media query to set min-width: 50%.
@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.my-col {
min-width: 50%;
}
}
Demos
Here's how it looks when it's normal.
.my-col {
min-width: 20%;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.my-col {
min-width: 50%;
}
}
<link href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<div class="row">
<div class="col my-col">
1
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
2
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
3
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
4
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
5
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
6
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
7
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
8
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
9
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
10
</div>
</div>
When you have less than 5, it will automatically show them justified.
.my-col {
min-width: 20%;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.my-col {
min-width: 50%;
}
}
<link href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<div class="row">
<div class="col my-col">
1
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
2
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
3
</div>
<div class="col my-col">
4
</div>
</div>
| 2024-07-20T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4005 |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coupling elements for slide fasteners, and particularly to molded coupling elements formed from polymeric resin materials, metal, or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, molded coupling elements are formed with draft or taper so that the elements are easily removed from the molding apparatus and also to provide for operational clearance and flexibility in the slide fastener. This draft in the prior art is also formed in the locking areas of the slide fastener which results in greatly reduced overlap or locking of the outer portions of the locking members of the coupling elements. Prior art molded slide fastener coupling elements are illustrated in U.S. Pats. No. 2,526,600, No. 2,849,774 and No. 3,121,929. The draft or taper formed in prior art molded coupling elements is particularly illustrated in FIG. 2 of the above U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,774. | 2024-05-31T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3888 |
53847412 to the nearest integer?
19
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1113
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586
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44254
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626
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156
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12
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35
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1411
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145
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74
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520
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13854
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14
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7904
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94
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41223
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85
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845
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8
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8
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892
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25
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765
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11
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672
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12
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7
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786
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359
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17
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5806
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353
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253
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318
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42826
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51
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9733
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70371
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93
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584
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845
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6113
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7092
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1508
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8
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73538
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935
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352
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790
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9
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60101
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1117
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178
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1151
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365
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40216
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38
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1274
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58
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6
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9
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17861
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12
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10596
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35949
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1738
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408
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9
What is the square root of 257057727 to the nearest integer?
16033
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529
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1006
What is 312567609 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
17680
What is the third root of 3515675479 to the nearest integer?
1521
What is 1749586937 to the power of 1/10, to the nearest integer?
8
What is 137460721 to the power of 1/3, to the nearest integer?
516
What is the cube root of 212651617 to the nearest integer?
597
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21
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494
What is 30312791 to the power of 1/5, to the nearest integer?
31
What is 614092604 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
24781
What is the eighth root of 1887884 to the nearest integer?
6
What is the seventh root of 3463769977 to the nearest integer?
23
What is 46923461 to the power of 1/3, to the nearest integer?
361
What is the square root of 52523792 to the nearest integer?
7247
What is 122883200 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
11085
What is 34997336 to the power of 1/9, to the nearest integer?
7
What is the third root of 8679696211 to the nearest integer?
2055
What is 784757126 to the power of 1/4, to the nearest integer?
167
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14
What is 41124956 to the power of 1/8, to the nearest integer?
9
What is the cube root of 803096010 to the nearest integer?
930
What is 159158100 to the power of 1/3, to the nearest integer?
542
What is the cube root of 44068033 to the nearest integer?
353
What is 2377785149 to the power of 1/10, to the nearest integer?
9
What is the fifth root of 31289527 to the nearest integer?
32
What is the third root of 7009212931 to the nearest integer?
1914
What is 151135753 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
12294
What is 130413233 to the power of 1/3, to the nearest integer?
507
What is the square root of 1182860960 to the nearest integer?
34393
What is the fifth root of 52142288 to the nearest integer?
35
What is the square root of 5416457839 to the nearest integer?
73597
What is the fifth root of 24336610 to the nearest integer?
30
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249
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5
What is 1181361015 to the power of 1/10, to the nearest integer?
8
What is the third root of 693361 to the nearest integer?
89
What is the tenth root of 3550247677 to the nearest integer?
9
What is the ninth root of 739411321 to the nearest integer?
10
What is 9746566 to the power of 1/8, to the nearest integer?
7
What is 946434379 to the power of 1/3, to the nearest integer?
982
What is the tenth root of 555057991 to the nearest integer?
7
What is the cube root of 233743733 to the nearest integer?
616
What is 5053933152 to the power of 1/7, to the nearest integer?
24
What is the third root of 525163713 to the nearest integer?
807
What is the tenth root of 696129782 to the nearest integer?
8
What is 1504726850 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
38791
What is 6230588306 to the power of 1/10, to the nearest integer?
10
What is 20747847 to the power of 1/2, to the nearest integer?
4555
What is the tenth root of 240158282 to the nearest integer?
7
What is the square root of 19716291 to the nearest integer?
4440
What is 226186994 to the power of 1/5, to the nearest integer?
47
What is the cube root of 4378843544 to the nearest integer?
1636
What is the eighth root of 3805035 to the nearest integer?
7
What is 27428220 to the power of 1/8, to the nearest integer?
9
What is the sixth root of 245058276 to the neare | 2024-03-31T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1403 |
Vape MODS
Vaping Mods |E Cig Mods |Vape Starter Kits
Ohm-azing E Cig Selection
Our Vape Mods category contains a wide range of electronic cigarette devices in all the familiar brands like SMOK, Eleaf, and Innokin. Define what you're looking for by choosing from a variety of sub categories to narrow down products and get the vape device you're looking for. We have simple one button ecigs perfect for beginners, the most popular semi advanced ecigs, up to RDTA kits for the builder.
Picking the right type of ecig kit can be a bit intimidating, so if you aren't sure after reviewing the product's information, we usually suggest customers to view product video demonstrations online. Videos of the products can really help to understand how the product functions, what parts are included and if the product is going to fit your needs. Making an informed decision while purchasing and finding the right device for you is crucial.
There are so many different types of e cigarettes on the market today that sometimes it's hard to narrow down the choices. So you have any additional questions about what ecig vaping device is best for you, give us a call today!
Choosing a New Ecig Vaping Mod
With so many vaping mods available it can sometimes be difficult to choose. A few things to consider when shopping for the best vape mod. Is it durability in an Ecig more important than price. Or possibly a vape kit that comes with everything conveniently included. One of the best budget friendly ecigs is the ego vape pen, this starter kit has everything you need to get vaping right away!
ECig Vape Devices and Usability
Would a slightly heavier vape mod bother you if it means longer battery life in-between recharges? Do you want all the newest features in your vaping mod such as Temperature Control that enhance convenience and customization? Or do you like to travel light with maybe a slim and smaller shaped ECig Device. Don't worry, there's no right or wrong answer and its merely your personal preference. Each and every ECig device we offer makes for an excellent vaping experience and no matter the model, all Vape devices are backed by our quality guarantee.
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WARNING: Central Vapors eJuices and e-cigs are age restricted products. Eliquid with or without nicotine including DIY E-Juice vapor is considered a tobacco product and age restricted by local state law. Vape box mods and related vaping hardware offered by Central Vapors is intended for use by persons of legal vaping age with valid photo id. All electronic cigarettes and vape mods are sold for recreational purposes rather than smoking cessation while stating no scientific fact vaping is a safe alternative to smoking. Nicotine liquid and ejuice flavor concentrate regardless of nicotine concentrate is for experienced adults mixing DIY eliquids and can be poisonous if handled incorrectly. Nicotine liquid is know to be highly addictive substance and when found in vape juice and e liquids may be harmful or fatal if orally ingested. Keep all vape liquids and e-cigarette mods out of reach of small children. Flavored Vape juices include the ingredients propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and natural or artificial flavor concentrates specifically for ejuice. Nicotine juices and vape liquids may contain nicotine, a chemical known to the state of california to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. | 2024-07-27T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9831 |
Apoptosis of neutrophils.
Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes and serve as a first line of defense against infectious microorganisms. For this purpose, neutrophils contain granules filled with proteolytic and other cytotoxic enzymes. Neutrophils have the shortest lifespan of all leukocytes. To prevent senescent neutrophils from releasing their toxic contents into the surrounding tissues, these cells become apoptotic and are then internalized by tissue macrophages. Recent studies have revealed more details about effects of cytokines on neutrophil apoptosis and on the uptake of apoptotic neutrophils by macrophages. In addition, the intracellular events leading to apoptosis are slowly being unraveled. | 2023-08-21T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1990 |
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A multi-million pound development by sports tycoon Mike Ashley in Dundee has been given the green light despite opposition from council officials.
City planners had recommended rejecting the proposed £5 million sports store and gym project but elected members chose to ignore their concerns and approve the plans.
The Lochee development, which will be the first of its kind in Scotland, could bring almost 100 jobs to the area.
Local planning officials had raised fears that the project would draw shoppers away from the city centre but these concerns were dismissed by councillors who supported the plans at the city development committee.
For more on this story see Tuesday’s Courier. | 2024-03-28T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6219 |
Shin-Sayama Station
is a railway station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line in Sayama, Saitama, Japan, operated by Seibu Railway.
Lines
Shin-Sayama Station is served by the Seibu Shinjuku Line between Seibu Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and Hon-Kawagoe Station in Kawagoe, and is located 41.3 km from the Seibu Shinjuku terminus.
Station layout
The station consists of two side platforms serving two tracks. The station building is elevated and located above and at a right angle to the platforms.
Platforms
Adjacent stations
History
The station opened on 15 November 1964.
Station numbering was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012, with Shin-Sayama Station becoming "SS27".
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2013, the station was the 49th busiest on the Seibu network with an average of 21,513 passengers daily.
The passenger figures for previous years are as shown below.
Surrounding area
Bunri University of Hospitality
National Route 16
References
External links
Shin-Sayama Station information (Seibu Railway)
Category:Railway stations opened in 1964
Category:Railway stations in Saitama Prefecture
Category:Stations of Seibu Railway
Category:1964 establishments in Japan | 2023-10-18T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4118 |
Inhaled corticosteroid therapy in newly detected mild asthma.
Inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective medications currently available to treat symptomatic asthma, and are free of clinically relevant unwanted effects, when used at the doses needed to provide optimal control in most patients with asthma. Inhaled corticosteroids also improve the physiological abnormalities of variable airflow obstruction and airway hyperresponsiveness that characterise asthma. Inhaled corticosteroids are also cost-beneficial when compared with other treatments, even in patients with milder asthma who are treated in primary care. For these reasons, inhaled corticosteroids are now being considered as first-line therapy for patients with regular daily asthma symptoms. Inhaled corticosteroids are, however, often not utilised until other treatments have been demonstrated not to provide optimal asthma control. Available evidence from both children and adults with asthma suggests that the benefits achieved from inhaled corticosteroids are reduced when their introduction as therapy is delayed for several years after persistent symptoms develop. For this reason, corticosteroids should be started soon after a diagnosis is made and persistent symptoms develop. It is not yet known, however, whether inhaled corticosteroids should be used in asthmatic patients who have very mild and infrequent symptoms and who have normal airway calibre most of the time. The current consensus statements do not recommend regular treatment in such patients. Airway biopsies from these asthmatic patients do show evidence of airway inflammation and structural changes; however, we do not yet know whether they lose lung function more rapidly than individuals without asthma, or whether the morbidity associated with very mild asthma warrants the use of regular treatment. This issue is being addressed in a large, multinational, placebo-controlled trial. The results of this study (available in 3 more years) will resolve this persisting question about inhaled corticosteroid use in mild asthma. | 2023-12-02T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7744 |
Q:
PHP Directory handling
My project files are located on remote server in the folder. I access a file in this folder in this way:
http://www.example.com/searchtest.html
This opens a page with Input Box where user types keywords to search. The search script is a .php file located in the root itself. The script has to search for .html files with the name similar to the keywords entered. These .html files are also located in the same root folder where all .php files reside.
My application is running well when I work on local machine and is able to search well, but when I hosted it on my site, it gives error:
Warning: file_get_contents(//.rnd) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/myServer/public_html/example/search1.php on line 40
.rnd
It is giving error on a line where I am trying to access files in my directory. Below is my code snippet. And yes, I am the administrator and I have all privileges on my site.
$matchingFiles = array();
$dirName = "\\";
$dh = opendir($dirName);
while( ($file = readdir($dh)) !== false)
{
$fullPath = $dirName . "/" . $file;
if(is_dir($fullPath)) continue; // Skip directories
similar_text($lcSearch,strtolower($file),$percentSimilar);
if($percentSimilar >= $percentMatch)
{
$matchingFiles[] = $fullPath;
}
}
It gives error probably in the "opendir" function.
I also want to know whether the $dirName holds correct path or not. It must hold the same path from where the correct script is run.
A:
Assuming you did not change the $dirName assignment to omit server detail on a public posting, you should be setting that to the path to search. Since your use is pretty static, I'd suggest using the full path to the directory to open, e.g.
$dirName = '/home/myServer/public_html';
And of course make sure the permissions to all files it will search are compatible with the user your server is running as.
| 2023-09-08T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5433 |
Fitness should be purposeful and fun; it should have just enough of an impact to elicit a metabolic effect, without spiking hunger and inflammation. Have you ever exercised so hard that you are starving afterwards? That's not what you should be looking for in a workout. Exercise isn't about pounding and punishing- it should strengthen and improve balance, increase bone density and help prevent injuries, while improving cardiovascular endurance and mobility.
Your workouts should be short, sweet and make you breathless. Welcome to the HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout-short explosive workouts that are functional, practical and completely customizable. based on your age, injury status and mobility.
In this short 5 minute workout, you can customize it based on your fitness level, so don't feel threatened if this is out of your wheelhouse!
Modifications
Use a chair instead of a pumpkin for the squats
Don't jump, just sit and squat
Use a wall for the core climbers instead of a chair or pumpkin
Set a timer for 5 minute countdown-see how many rounds you can complete in 5 minutes!
It's that easy! Let me know how you did! Make sure you warm up with 1 -2 minutes of light mobility and dynamic stretching-you can actually run through a round of this workout at a much slower pace! | 2024-02-21T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4766 |
It’s been three years – the fall of 2008 – since North Dakota has had a pronghorn antelope season. Hunters won’t know if there will be a season this fall until after aerial surveys in July, but the numbers going in aren’t good.
After three brutal winters going into this year, the last thing the pronghorns needed was another one.
The mild winter North Dakota has been witnessing may be just what the doctor ordered in terms of helping the pronghorn antelope population rebound.
In 2010, the statewide population was estimated at about
6,500 animals. Now it’s down to about 4,500.
Since 2003, the pronghorn population had been at or above 10,000, with two of those years pushing 15,000.
Those three nasty winters were the perfect storm.
Heavy snow and cold temperatures led to considerable mortality in adults, and cold, wet springs, especially in the Bowman management region in 2009, led to unprecedented low production, said Bruce Stillings, big game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
In the case of pronghorns, Stillings said, coming up with firm population numbers is easier than it is with mule deer because of the terrain.
Pronghorns are unique among North American big game species. They are not members of the antelope or the goat families, but rather the sole surviving member of a species that dates back 20 million years.
The pronghorn is the only animal in the world to have branched horns and the only animal that sheds its horns as if they were antlers.
Once numbering in the many millions in North America, second only to bison, the pronghorn population has dropped dramatically. It was estimated at about 20,000 by the mid-1920s.
Unlike deer, pronghorns don’t jump fences, so they are limited in their movements between winter and summer ranges. Oil development, and in some states, wind energy development, may hamper their movement even more.
The University of Wyoming is in the early stage of a three-year study to track pronghorn behavior on the winter range in the high desert near Medicine Bow in Wyoming.
Nearly 50 animals have been captured and collared. One of the goals is to see if pronghorns will return to areas that have wind farm development or shy away from them.
Most think of the Badlands area and extreme southwestern North Dakota as the prime habitat for pronghorns. While that is true to a large extent, there are smaller pockets around other parts of North Dakota, near Center and the Hazen and Beulah areas.
Stillings said there is no “magic number” that dictates when there are enough animals to reopen the hunting season. He said the state has four pronghorn management areas and each is looked at individually.
“We look at each of the management regions and the hunting units within them,” he said.
The biggest factor has been the drop in fawn production over the three previous winters.
Stillings said does older than 1½ years will have twins 98 percent of the time; but that hasn’t been the case in recent years.
He said the latest population survey showed a birth rate of
26 fawns per 100 does, the lowest rate documented in the state.
The results of the Wyoming study could give biologists more concrete information on antelope movements between their summer and winter ranges.
One long-held belief is that when pronghorns vacate an area for whatever reason, they don’t return.
Stillings said it’s something he’s worried about, given the amount of the oil exploration activity in western North Dakota.
A radio collar study in 2004 showed that antelope in North Dakota traveled as far as 120 miles to find a suitable winter range.
One animal eventually ended up in Wyoming. But Stillings said the study also showed that 99 percent of the time, the pronghorns returned to their summer range.
The 2004 study showed bands of pronghorns are three times more likely to settle into a summer area that is at least a mile from the nearest road, he said.
Stillings said it’s not just oil wells that are an issue, but other things like roads and traffic in the West that may impact the population.
“It’s a huge concern,” he said. “Antelope need that open landscape and do best in areas that are free of disturbance.”
The good news, Stilling said, is that as favorable as the weather has been this winter, it was equally favorable this spring and summer – and hopefully that will help the reproductive success of the pronghorns.
During the tough winters, the animals were stressed physically, which hurt reproduction.
Going into this fall, Stillings said, the animals were in better condition physically and could tolerate more disturbances in their routine.
“Going into the winter, they were in excellent conditions, and that’s good news,” Stillings said.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's noncommercial effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information. For more information, click here. Send takedown inquiry or request to excerpt to query/wind-watch.org. Send general inquiries and comments to query/wind-watch.org. | 2024-03-10T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3052 |
Park Road Pond
Park Road Pond is a pond in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is managed as a nature reserve by the London Wildlife Trust (LWT), and is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I.
The pond is surrounded by willow trees, oaks and alders. Aquatic plants include yellow flag, water mint and gypsywort. It has many species of water invertebrates, such as pond skaters and whirligig beetles. It is described by the LWT as one of the most important sites in the borough for amphibians, especially great crested newts.
There is access from Brearley Close.
References
Category:Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hillingdon
Category:London Wildlife Trust | 2023-10-19T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1923 |
Controlling ejection of ink drops with a less number of temperature sensors than the number of print heads. [Solution] The present invention is an printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium. The printing apparatus comprises N print heads, M temperature sensors, and an ejection...http://www.google.com/patents/US20040104965?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20040104965 - Printing with multiple print heads
Controlling ejection of ink drops with a less number of temperature sensors than the number of print heads. [Solution] The present invention is an printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium. The printing apparatus comprises N print heads, M temperature sensors, and an ejection controller. M temperature sensors are allocated in the printing apparatus. An ejection controller is configured to control the ejection of he ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to an output of the M temperature sensors. The integer M is smaller than the integer N.
N print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink, N being an integer of at least two;
M temperature sensors allocated in the printing apparatus, M being an integer of at least one; and
an ejection controller configured to control the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to an output of the M temperature sensors, wherein
the integer M is smaller than the integer N.
2. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the ejection controller is configured to control the ejection of the ink drops in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the N print heads.
3. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
the ejection controller is configured to stop the ejection of ink drops from the N print heads, when output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceed a specific value representing a preset temperature.
4. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein
the nozzle array has a plurality of ejection drive elements for ejecting ink drops from the plurality of nozzles; and
the ejection controller comprises:
an original drive signal generator configured to generate an original drive signal for driving the ejection drive elements; and
an original drive waveform generator configured to generate an original drive waveform which is a waveform of the original drive signal, wherein
the original drive waveform generator determines the original drive waveform to be supplied to at least part of the N print heads, in response to the output of the M temperature sensors.
5. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
the printing apparatus has a plurality of print modes of different printing resolutions and is capable of selecting one of the plurality of print modes for printing; and
the ejection controller controls the ejection of ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to the output of the M temperature sensors and the selected print mode.
6. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
the plurality of print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus; and
the temperature sensor is disposed on at least one of the plurality of positions of different elevations.
7. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 6, wherein the temperature sensor is disposed at a highest position among the plurality of positions of different elevations.
8. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
the N print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus; and
a print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is located at a relatively high position.
9. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
each print head has three nozzle arrays for ejecting at least three inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow, the three nozzle arrays being restricted such that variations in driving voltages for ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature within a preset allowable range.
10. A method of printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing N print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink, N being an integer of at least two, and M temperature sensors allocated in the printing apparatus, M being an integer of at least one; and
(b) controlling the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to an output of the M temperature sensors, wherein
the integer M is smaller than the integer N.
11. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the
the step (b) includes the step of controlling the ejection of the ink drops in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the N print heads.
12. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein
the step (b) includes the step of stopping the ejection of ink drops from the N print heads, when output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceed a specific value representing a preset temperature.
13. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein
the step (a) includes the step of providing the nozzle array with a plurality of ejection drive elements for ejecting ink drops from the plurality of nozzles; and
the step (b) includes the step of:
(b-1) generating an original drive signal for driving the ejection drive elements; and
(b-2) generating an original drive waveform which is a waveform of the original drive signal, wherein
the step (b-2) includes the step of determining the original drive waveform to be supplied to at least part of the N print heads, in response to the output of the M temperature sensors.
14. The method in accordance with claim 10, further comprising:
(c) selecting one, of the plurality of provided print modes of different printing resolutions; and
the step (b) includes the step of controlling the ejection of ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to the output of the M temperature, sensors and the selected print mode.
15. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:
(d) locating the plurality of print heads at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of printing; and
(e) disposing the temperature sensor on at least one of the plurality of positions of different elevations.
16. The method in accordance with claim 6, wherein
the step (e) includes the step of disposing a temperature sensor at a highest position among the plurality of positions of different elevations.
17. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:
(d) locating the plurality of print heads at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of printing, wherein
the step (d) includes the step of locating a print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature, at a relatively high position.
18. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein:
the step (a) includes the step of providing each print head with three nozzle arrays for ejecting at least three inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow, wherein
the providing step includes the step of restricting the three nozzle arrays to a variation in driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature within a preset allowable range.
a plurality of print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink;
a plurality of temperature sensors allocated in the printing apparatus; and
an ejection controller configured to control the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the plurality of print heads in response to an output of the plurality of temperature sensors in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the plurality of print heads, wherein
the plurality of print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus; and
a print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is located at a relatively high position.
20. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 19, wherein
the print head having a relatively high driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is regarded as the print head having a relatively high ejection speed of the ink drop and is located at the relatively high position.
21. A method of printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a plurality of print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink and a plurality of temperature sensors; and
(b)controlling the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the plurality of print heads in response to an output of the plurality of temperature sensors in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the plurality of print heads, wherein
the step (a) includes the step of locating the plurality of print heads at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus;
the locating step includes the step of locating a print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature, at a relatively high position.
22. The method in accordance with claim 21, wherein
the locating step includes the step of locating a print head having a relatively high driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is regarded as the print head having a relatively high ejection speed of the ink drop and locating at the relatively high position.
N print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink, N being an integer of at least two; and
M temperature sensors allocated in the printing apparatus, M being an integer of at least one, wherein
the integer M is smaller than the integer N; and
the printing apparatus is configured to stop the ejection of ink drops from the N print heads, when output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceeds a specific value representing a preset temperature.
24. The printing apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein
the printing apparatus is configured to stop the printing when a number of temperature sensors having the output that exceeds a specific value is more than a preset number.
25. A method of printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing N print heads having a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink, N being an integer of at least two, and M temperature sensors, M being an integer of at least one; and
(b) stopping the printing in response to an output of the M temperature sensors when the output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceeds a specific value representing a preset temperature, wherein
the integer M is smaller than the integer N.
26. The method in accordance with claim 25, wherein:
the step (b) includes the step of stop ping the printing when a number of temperature sensors having the output that exceeds a specific value is more than a preset number.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a printing technique for forming dots on a printing medium with multiple print heads.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Color printers that make several color inks ejected from a print head to form ink dots on a printing medium have become widely used. High-speed printing apparatuses with multiple print heads have also been proposed. One proposed technique for the improved printing quality equips a temperature sensor to each print head to reduce variations in size and ejecting position of ink drops, due to a temperature variation among the print heads.
[0005] The increase in number of print heads used for printing causes an increase in number of working temperature sensors. The temperature may, however, not be varied among all the print heads, but some print heads may have a substantially similar temperature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The object of the present invention is thus to solve the drawback of the prior art technique and to provide a technique of controlling ejection of ink drops with a less number of temperature sensors than the number of print heads.
[0007] In order to attain the above and the other objects of the present invention, there is provided an printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium. The printing apparatus comprises N print heads, M temperature sensors, and an ejection controller. The N print heads have a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink. N is an integer of at least two. The M temperature sensors are allocated in the printing apparatus. M is an integer of at least one. The ejection controller configured to control the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the N print heads in response to an output of the M temperature sensors. The integer M is smaller than the integer N.
[0008] The printing apparatus of the present invention uses the less number of temperature sensors than the number of print heads to control ejection of ink drops in response to the temperature variation among the print heads. This arrangement implements the control by the simpler structure than the prior art structure where a temperature sensor is attached to each, print head.
[0009] In one preferable arrangement of the printing apparatus, the ejection controller is configured to control the ejection of the ink drops in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the N print heads.
[0010] This arrangement desirably compensates for the variation in ejection of ink drops due to the temperature variation among the print heads. The variation in ejection of ink drops due to the temperature variation among the print heads is, for example, a variation in size of ink drops or a variation in ejecting position of ink drops.
[0011] In another preferable arrangement of the printing apparatus, the ejection controller is configured to stop the ejection of ink drops from the N print heads, when output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceed a specific value representing a preset temperature.
[0012] This arrangement effectively prevents any significant deterioration of the printing quality due to the temperature variation among the print heads, and desirably protects the printing apparatus from the severe hot environment.
[0013] In one preferable embodiment of the printing apparatus, the nozzle array has a plurality of ejection drive elements for ejecting ink drops from the plurality of nozzles. The ejection controller comprises: an original drive signal generator configured to generate an original drive signal for driving the ejection drive elements; and an original drive waveform generator configured to generate an original drive waveform which is a waveform of the original drive signal. The original drive waveform generator determines the original drive waveform to be supplied to at least part of the N print heads, in response to the output of the M temperature sensors.
[0014] This arrangement generates a driving signal according to the properties of each print head, thus attaining fine control.
[0015] In one preferable application, the printing apparatus has a plurality of print modes of different printing resolutions and is capable of selecting one of the plurality of print modes for printing. The ejection controller controls the ejection of ink drops from at least part of the N print, heads in response to the output of the M temperature sensors and the selected print mode.
[0016] This arrangement controls ejection of ink drops from the multiple print heads according to the output of the temperature sensors and the selected print mode, instead of the output of the temperature sensors alone, thus ensuring optimum adjustment for each printing resolution.
[0017] In one preferable arrangement of the printing apparatus, the plurality of print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus. The temperature sensor is disposed on at least one of the plurality of positions of different elevations.
[0018] When the multiple print heads are located at the multiple positions of different elevations in the working state of the printing apparatus, a heat pool may be present at a high position to increase the temperature variation among the print heads. The technique of the invention accordingly has significant effects on this structure.
[0019] In the case where the printing apparatus has only one temperature sensor, it is preferable that the temperature sensor is disposed at a highest position among the plurality of positions of different elevations.
[0020] In another preferable arrangement of the printing apparatus, the N print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an operation of the printing apparatus. A print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is located at a relatively high position.
[0021] This arrangement enhances the hitting accuracy of the ink drop, simultaneously with compensation for the quantity of ink ejection.
[0022] In another preferable embodiment of the printing apparatus, each print head has three nozzle arrays for ejecting at least three inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow. The three nozzle arrays are restricted such that variations in driving voltages for ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature within a preset allowable range.
[0023] A second application of the present invention is directed to a printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium. The printing apparatus comprises a plurality of print heads, a plurality of temperature sensors, and an ejection controller. The plurality of print heads have a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink. The plurality of temperature sensors are allocated in the printing apparatus. The ejection controller are configured to control the ejection of the ink drops from at least part of the plurality of print heads in response to an output of the plurality of temperature, sensors in order to compensate for a variation in ejection of the ink drops due to a temperature variation of the plurality of print heads. The plurality of print heads are located at a plurality of positions of different elevations in an, operation of the printing apparatus. The print head have a relatively high ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a same weight at a same temperature is located at a relatively high position.
[0024] In the printing apparatus of this application, it is preferable that the print head having a relatively high driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a fixed weight at a fixed temperature is regarded as the print head having a relatively high ejection speed of the ink drop and is located at the relatively high position.
[0025] This arrangement allows for easy application of the invention without measuring the ink ejection speed.
[0026] The printing apparatus may have a cleaning unit that carries out cleaning of the multiple nozzles with regard to each print head. In this configuration, the cleaning unit is preferably designed to specify a cleaning process of each print, head according to the output of the temperature sensor.
[0027] A third application of the present invention is directed to a printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink drops onto a print medium. The printing apparatus comprises N print heads and M temperature sensors. N print heads have a nozzle array including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting at least one color of same ink. N is an integer of at least two. M temperature sensors are allocated in the printing apparatus. M is an integer of at least one. The integer M is smaller than the integer N. The printing apparatus is configured to stop the ejection of ink drops from the N print heads, when output of at least part of the M temperature sensors exceeds a specific value representing a preset temperature.
[0028] This arrangement effectively prevents any significant deterioration of the printing quality due to the temperature variation among the print heads, and desirably protects the printing apparatus from the severe hot environment.
[0029] The printing apparatus may be arranged to stop the printing when at least a preset number of temperature sensors have the output exceeding the specific value.
[0030] The technique of the inventions may be actualized by a variety of other applications, for example, a printing method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031]FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the structure of a color printer 20 in one embodiment of the present invention;
[0032]FIG. 2 is an explanatory view illustrating the structure of a printing unit 22;
[0033]FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view illustrating the printing unit 22 including a carriage 30;
[0035]FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a bottom face of a print head 28a;
[0036]FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the primary structure of head driving circuits 52a, 52b, and 52f in the first embodiment of the invention;
[0037]FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory views showing original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a generable by an original drive signal generator 220a;
[0038]FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the relation between the location in a print head assembly 28 and the temperature;
[0039]FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing two curves CRV28a and CRV28e respectively representing the relations between the driving voltages of print heads 28a and 28e and the ink ejection speed;
[0040]FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing a difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e, when the print head 28a is located at a higher position than the print head 28e; and
[0041]FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory views showing a difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e, when the print head 28a is located at a lower position than the print head 28e.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0042] The present invention is explained in the following sequence based on embodiments.
[0043] A. Outline of Apparatus B.
[0044] First Embodiment of the Invention
[0045] C. Second Embodiment of the Invention
[0046] D. Modifications
A. Outline of Apparatus
[0047]FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the structure, of a color printer 20 in one embodiment of the present invention. The color printer 20 is suitably used for relatively large-sized printing paper P, such as size A0 or B0 paper in conformity with the JIS standards (Japanese Industrial Standards) or roll paper. The printing paper P is fed from a paper feed unit 21 to a printing unit 22. The printing unit 22 ejects ink for printing on the fed printing paper P and delivers the printing paper with the print to a paper delivery unit 25.
[0048] The paper feed unit 21 has a roll paper holder 29, on which roll paper as the printing paper P is settable. The roll paper holder 29 is held by two support columns 26 of the color printer 20. The paper delivery unit 25 has a windup holder 23, on which the roll paper is windable. Like the roll paper holder 29, the windup holder 23 is held by the two support columns 26 and is rotatable by a non-illustrated drive unit.
[0049]FIG. 2 is an explanatory view illustrating the structure of the printing unit 22. The printing unit 22 has a carriage 30, on which multiple print heads discussed later are mounted. The carriage 30 is linked with a drive belt 101 actuated by a carriage motor 24, and is guided by a main scan guide member 102 to be movable in a main scan direction.
[0050] In the color printer 20 having the hardware construction discussed above, while the paper P is fed via the windup holder 23, the carriage 30 is reciprocated by the carriage motor 24. Simultaneously, ejection drive elements of print heads, which will be discussed later, are actuated to eject ink drops of the respective color inks and form ink dots, thus forming a multi-color, multi-tone image on the printing paper P.
B. First Embodiment of the Invention
[0051]FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view illustrating the printing unit 22 including the carriage 30 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The printing paper P fed from the paper feed unit 21 (FIG. 1) is subjected to printing on a printing stage 108, which is located between a paper feed guide assembly 61 and a paper delivery guide assembly 65, and is wound up onto the windup holder 23. The Printing stage 108 is arranged in an inclined manner to face the carriage 30.
[0052] The paper feed guide assembly 61 has a paper feed guide 105 that guides the printing paper P toward the printing stage 108, on which ink ejection is carried out, and two paper feed rollers 106 and a driven roller 107 to hold the printing paper P between them. The paper delivery guide assembly 65 has a paper delivery guide 109 that guides the printing paper P away from the printing stage 108 and a paper delivery roller 110.
[0054]FIG. 4 is a view showing the carriage 30 in a direction of an arrow A (FIG. 3). The carriage 30 includes a print head assembly 28 consisting of the multiple print heads 28a, 28b, . . . 28t. The temperature sensors 29a, 29b, . . . , 29e are attached respectively to the print heads 28a, 28b, . . . , 28e in the print head assembly 28.
[0055] Attachment of the temperature sensors 29a, 29b, . . . , 29e to only the print heads 28a, 28b, . . . , 28e aligned in a sub-scan direction is ascribed to the expectation that there is a significant temperature variation in the sub-scan direction but there is a negligibly small temperature variation in a main scan direction. A significant temperature variation in the sub-scan direction is expected, since the air warmed by the working print heads tends to flow up to make the temperature of the print head 28a higher than the temperature of the print head 28e. A small temperature variation in the main scan direction is expected, on the other hand, since the carriage 30 continually moves back and forth in the main scan direction at a high speed in the course of printing. The expression negligibly small temperature variation means that the temperature variation is of the small level and hardly affects the quantity of ink ejection.
[0056]FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a bottom face of the print head 28a. The print head 28a has three nozzle plates 2a, 2b, and 2c. Two nozzle arrays, which are capable of ejecting different inks, are provided on the lower face of each nozzle plate. The print head 28a thus totally has six nozzle arrays. The six color inks, black (K), cyan (C), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y), are ejected respectively from the nozzles on the six nozzle arrays. All the print heads 28a, 28b, . . . , 28t have an identical structure.
[0057] Each nozzle has a piezoelectric element(discussed later) as an ejection drive element to make ink drops ejected from each nozzle. In the course of printing, ink drops are ejected from the respective nozzles, while the print head assembly 28 moves in the main scan direction.
[0058]FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the primary structure of head driving circuits 52a, 52b, and 52f in the first embodiment of the invention. The head driving circuits 52a, 52b, and 52f drive piezoelectric elements PE included in the corresponding print heads 28a, 28b, and 28f for ink ejection. A temperature measurement unit 230 is connected to the head driving circuits 52a, 52b, and 52f. This explanatory view shows only part of a group of head driving circuits 52a, 52b, . . . , 52t that respectively drive the print heads 28a, 28b, 28t.
[0059] The head driving circuit 52a includes an original drive signal generator 220a and plural mask circuits 222. The original drive signal generator 220a generates an original drive signal COMDRVa, which is shared by multiple nozzles included in the print head 28a, and supplies the generated original drive signal COMDRVa to the plural mask circuits 222. The original drive signal COMDRVa functions to drive the piezoelectric elements PE for ink ejection. The plural mask circuits 222 are provided corresponding to respective nozzles #1, #2, . . . , on the print head 28a. Similarly, each of the other head driving circuits 52b and 52f includes an original drive signal generator 220b or 220f and plural mask circuits 222.
[0060] For example, actuation of an i-th nozzle on the print head 28a is controlled in response to a print signal PRT(i) in the following manner. An i-th mask circuit 222 provided corresponding to the i-th nozzle controls on/off the original drive signal COMDRVa according to the level of the serial print signal PRT(i) for the i-th nozzle. The mask circuit 222 allows passage of the original drive signal COMDRVa at a level ‘1’ of the print signal PRT(i); while blocking passage of the original drive signal COMDRVa at a level ‘0’ of the print signal PRT(i).
[0061]FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory views showing multiple original drive waveforms generable by the original drive signal generator 220a. FIG. 7A is an explanatory view showing original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a generated by the original drive signal generator 220a to be available for the drive of the print head 28a. The original drive signal COMDRVa is generated by successively outputting selected waveforms among the original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a. The original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a have mutually different amplitudes (voltages). Voltages V1a, V2a, and V3a are set respectively to peak voltages of the original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a.
[0062]FIG. 7B is an explanatory view showing a method of setting the peak voltages, V1a, V2a, and V3a. The peak voltages V1a, V2a, and V3a are set according to the characteristics of the print head 28a, to which the original drive signal; COMDRVa is supplied. The procedure determines the settings to make the quantities of ink ejection from the print head 28a substantially equal to a preset reference value Ai at three reference temperatures. t1, t2, and t3. For example, at the reference temperature t1, the peak voltage V1a preset reference value Ai. Similarly the peak voltages V2a and V3a are set at the reference temperatures t1 and t2, respectively. The three reference temperatures t1, t2, and t3 are commonly used as criteria for all the print heads in the print head assembly 28.
[0063] These settings generate a resulting driving signal DRV, such that the quantity of ink ejection by actuation of the print head 28a with the original drive waveform W1a is substantially equal to the quantity of ink ejection by actuation of the print head 28b with an original drive waveform W1b (that is, the reference value Ai), for example, at the reference temperature t1.
[0064]FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the relation between the location in the print head assembly 28 and the temperature. The abscissa of this graph shows a location L in the print head assembly 28 on the carriage 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). For the simplicity of illustration, the print heads 28g to 28t are omitted.
[0065] Observed temperatures of the respective print heads 28a to 28f are plotted on the ordinate of FIG. 8. A maximum temperature tmax represents an expected highest operation temperature of the respective, print heads 28a to 28f in the color printer 20. A minimum temperature tmin represents an expected lowest operation temperature of the respective print heads 28a to 28f in the color printer 20. It is expected that the color printer 20 is used for printing in a working temperature range between the minimum temperature tmin and the maximum temperature tmax.
[0066] The working temperature range is divided into three temperature zones Z1, Z2, and Z3. The temperature zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 are set as criteria for selection of the original drive waveforms. For example, in the case of the print head 28a, the three temperature zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 respectively correspond to the original drive waveforms W1a W2a, and W3a. In the illustrated example, the observed temperature of the print head 28a is included in the temperature zone Z3, so that the, original drive waveform W3a is selected among the original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a.
[0067] The details of this selection process are discussed. The temperature sensor 29a (FIG. 6) attached to the print head 28a generates an electric signal according to the temperature of the print head 28a and outputs the electric signal to the temperature measurement unit 230. The temperature measurement unit 230 actually measures the temperature of the print head 28a in response to this electric signal and inputs the observed temperature into an original drive waveform generator 221a. The original drive waveform generator 221a specifies one of the temperature zones Z1, Z2, and Z3, in which the input, observed temperature is included, and selects a corresponding original drive waveform among the original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a.
[0068] The original drive signal is selected for the print head 28f without the temperature sensor according to the following procedure. The temperature measurement unit 230 creates an approximate curve CRV according to the outputs of the respective temperature sensors 29a to 29e (FIG. 6) attached to the print heads, 28a to 28e. The temperature of the print head 28f is estimated from the approximate curve CRV and a location Lf of the print head 28f on the carriage 30. An original drive waveform generator 221f specifies one of the temperature zones Z1, Z2, and Z3, in which the estimated temperature input from the temperature measurement unit 230 is included, and selects a corresponding original drive waveform among original drive waveforms W1f, W2f, and W3f (not shown). In the illustrated example, the original drive waveform W3f is selected.
[0069] The arrangement of this embodiment estimates the temperature of each print head without the temperature sensor and thereby enables the less number of temperature sensors than the number of print heads to effectively compensate for a variation in ejection of ink drops, due to a temperature variation. The temperature measurement unit 230, the group of original drive signal generators 220, and the plural mask circuits 222 function as the ‘ejection controller’ of the claims.
C. Second Embodiment of the Invention
[0070]FIGS. 9 through 11B are explanatory views showing a method of preventing a variation of the ink ejection speed in the print head assembly 28 in a second embodiment of the invention. This method adequately selects the locations of the respective print heads 28a through 28t on the carriage 30 to prevent the variation of the ink ejection speed. The variation of the ink ejection speed in the print head assembly 28 is ascribed to the different properties of the respective print heads included in the print head assembly 28.
[0071]FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing two curves CRV28a and CRV28e respectively representing the relations between the driving voltages of the print heads 28a and 28e and the ink ejection speed. The two curves CRV28a and CRV28e are created by making ink drops ejected from the respective print heads 28a and 28e and joining the plots of the observed ejection speeds of the ink drops. In the case of the print head 28a, for example, the original drive waveforms W1a, W2a, and W3a are used for ejection of ink drops at the respective reference temperatures t1, t2, and t3.
[0072]FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing a difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e, when the print head 28a is located at a higher position than the print head 28e. In this example, since the print head 28a is located at a higher position than the print head 28e as shown in FIG. 3, the temperature of the print head 28a tends to be higher than the temperature of the print head 28e in the course of printing. Combinations shown in FIG. 10A are thus expected with regard to the temperatures of the print heads 28a and 28e.
[0073] As clearly understood from the graph of FIG. 9, the ink ejection speed of the print head 28a is higher than the ink ejection speed of the print head 28e. Namely the print head having a relatively high ink ejection speed is located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation in this example.
[0074]FIG. 10B is an explanatory view showing a difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e at the temperatures assumed in the layout of this example. This graph is extraction of part of the plots from the graph of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10B, in this example, while the temperature of the print head 28e remains in the temperature zone Z1 shown in FIG. 8, the temperature of the print head 28a is shifted from the temperature zone Z1 to the temperature zone Z3.
[0075] As clearly understood from the graph of FIG. 10B, the ink ejection speed of the print head 28a located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation decreases with a temperature increase, because of the accompanied variation of the driving signal. The ink ejection speed of the print head 28a is, on the other hand, higher than the ink ejection speed of the print head 28e at a fixed temperature. The difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e is thus diminished, as the driving signal varies to compensate for the quantity of ink ejection. The variation of the driving signal to, compensate for the quantity of ink ejection is similar to that discussed in the first embodiment.
[0076]FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory views showing a difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e, when the print head 28a is located at a lower position than the print head 28e. The layout of the print heads in this example is reverse to that in the example of FIGS. 10A and 10B. Combinations shown in FIG. 11A are thus expected with regard to the temperatures of the print heads 28a and 28e. Contrary to the example of FIGS. 10A and 10B, the print head having a relatively low ink ejection speed is located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation in this example.
[0077] As shown in the graph of, FIG. 11B, in this example, the relatively low ink ejection speed of the print head 28e further decreases with a temperature increase. The technique of compensating for the quantity of ink ejection thus expands the difference in ink ejection speed between the print heads 28a and 28e.
[0078] As described above, the print head having a higher ink ejection speed in the case of ejecting an ink drop of a fixed weight at a fixed temperature is located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation (that is, at a higher position). The technique of compensating for the quantity of ink ejection due to the temperature variation among the print heads thus simultaneously prevents the variation of the ink ejection speed. This results in desirably reducing a variation in hitting position of ink dots and thus further improves the printing quality.
[0079] In the structure of the second embodiment, the print head having a higher ink ejection speed is located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation. The layout of the print heads may be determined by regarding the print head having a relatively high driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a fixed weight at a fixed temperature as the print head having a higher ink ejection speed. The ink ejection speed and the driving voltage generally have a positive correlation. The advantage of this arrangement allows for easy application of the invention without requiring measurement of the ink ejection speed.
[0080] In the structure of the second embodiment, the print head having a higher ink ejection speed is located at the position having a relatively large temperature variation. In the case where multiple print heads are located at multiple positions of different elevations in the operation of a printing apparatus, the layout of the print heads may be determined by regarding a relatively high position as the position having a relatively large temperature variation. This is because the relatively high position has a larger temperature variation.
[0081] In this case, the layout of the print heads is determined, such that the print head having a higher driving voltage (peak voltage), for example, at the reference temperature t1 is located at a higher position.
D. Modifications
[0082] The above embodiments and applications are to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive. There may be many modifications, changes, and alterations without departing from the scope or spirit of the main characteristics of the present invention. Some examples of possible modification are given below.
[0083] D-1. In the embodiments discussed above, the multiple print heads are located at multiple positions of different elevations in the operation of the printing apparatus. All the print heads may alternatively be located at an identical elevation. The technique of the present invention, however, has significant effects on the former structure, since the temperature of the print head located at a higher position tends to be higher than the temperature of the print head located at a lower position.
[0084] D-2. In the embodiments discussed above, plural (for example, 5) temperature sensors are used for multiple (for example, 20) print heads. This number of temperature sensors is, however, not restrictive, and only one temperature sensor may be used. The general requirement of the invention is that the number of temperature sensors is less than the number of print heads. It is not necessary to attach the temperature sensor directly to the print head. The temperature sensor is to be located sufficiently close to the print head to allow for measurement of the temperature of the print head.
[0085] When only one temperature sensor is used, it is preferable that the temperature sensor is disposed on the print head having a largest possible temperature variation. The print head having a largest possible temperature variation is the print head located at the highest position, in the case where the multiple print heads are located at multiple positions of different elevations in the operation of the printing apparatus.
[0086] D-3. In the embodiments discussed above, the original drive waveform generator selects one among the driving waveforms having different peak voltages, corresponding to the temperature of the print head. One modified arrangement may continuously adjust the shape of the driving waveform according to the temperature of the print head. Another modified arrangement may regulate the width in the time direction as well as the amplitude of the driving waveform.
[0087] In the embodiments discussed above, the driving waveform is set for each print head. One possible modification may set only the original drive waveform to be supplied to part of the print heads having larger temperature variations, while fixing the original drive waveform supplied to the other print heads. In general, the original drive waveform generator of the present invention is required to set the original drive waveform supplied to at least part of the multiple print heads, according to the output of the temperature sensors.
[0088] D-4. In the embodiments discussed above, the original drive waveform supplied to at least part of the multiple print heads is determined according to the output of the temperature sensors. One possible modification incorporates a circuit of raising a resistance with a temperature rise in the print head to reduce a variation in quantity of ink ejection with the temperature rise.
[0089] In the embodiments discussed above, ejection of ink drops is controlled to compensate for the variation in ejection of ink drops due to the temperature variation among the multiple print heads. The ejection controller may be constructed to stop ejection of ink drops according to the output of the temperature sensors.
[0090] The ejection controller may be designed, for example, to cease ejection of ink drops, for example, when a preset or greater number of temperature sensors among the plural temperature sensors detect the temperature exceeding a preset level. This arrangement effectively prevents any significant deterioration of the printing quality due to the temperature variation among the print heads, and desirably protects the printing apparatus from the severe hot environment.
[0091] The printing apparatus is preferably constructed to stop not only ejection of ink drops but all the printing processes in such circumstances. Another preferable arrangement of the printing apparatus is to output an alarm signal when a given or greater number of temperature sensors among the plural temperature sensors detect the temperature exceeding a specific level, which is lower than the preset level.
[0092] In general, the ejection controller of the invention is constructed to control ejection of ink drops from at least part of the multiple print heads according to the output of the temperature sensors. The technique of setting the original drive waveform as discussed above, however, advantageously attains the finer control.
[0093] D-5. In the embodiments discussed above, each print head has six nozzle arrays for ejecting six different color inks. Each print head may alternatively have a single nozzle array for ejecting one identical color ink. The print head of the invention is generally required to have a nozzle array including multiple nozzles for ejecting at least one identical color ink.
[0094] In the case where each print head has multiple nozzle arrays, it is desirable that the respective nozzle arrays have similar properties. For example, when each print head has three nozzle arrays for ejecting three different color inks, cyan, magenta, and yellow, the three nozzle arrays are preferably designed to restrict a variation in driving voltage for ejecting an ink drop of a fixed weight within a preset allowable range.
[0095] D-6. The technique of the invention is applicable to a printing apparatus that has plural print modes of different printing resolutions and is capable of selecting one among the plural print modes to carry out printing. In this structure, it is preferable to control the ejection of ink drops from the multiple print heads according to both the output of the temperature sensors and the selected print mode, in place of the output of the temperature sensors alone.
[0096] D-7. The technique of the invention is not restricted to color printing but is also applicable to monochrome printing. The invention may also be applied to a printing system that forms multiple dots in each pixel to express multiple tones, as well as to drum printers. In the drum printers, a drum rotating direction and a carriage moving direction respectively correspond to the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction. The technique of the invention is not limited to ink jet printers but is applicable in general to dot recording apparatuses that record dots on the surface of a printing medium with a record head having multiple nozzle arrays.
[0097] D-8. In the embodiments discussed above, part of the construction actualized by the hardware may be replaced by software. On the contrary, part of the configuration actualized by the software may be replaced by the hardware. For example, part or all of the functions of the printer driver 96 shown in FIG. 1 may be executed by the control circuit 40 in the printer 20. In this case, part or all of the functions of the computer 90 as the print control apparatus of generating print data are executed by the control circuit 40 of the printer.
[0098] When part or all of the functions of the invention are actualized by the software configuration, the software may be provided in the form of storage in a computer readable recording medium. In the description of the present invention, the ‘computer readable recording medium’ is not restricted to portable recording media, such as flexible disks and CD-ROMs, but includes internal storage devices of the computer like various RAMs and ROMs as well as external storage devices fixed to the computer like hard disks. | 2024-03-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2566 |
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-2/179
Which is the closest to -1? (a) 4 (b) -2 (c) -0.027821 (d) 0.1
c
What is the nearest to -2/3 in 2/5, 3, -28141/2?
2/5
Which is the nearest to -42? (a) -6 (b) 9 (c) -0.5
a
What is the closest to 2 in -1, 0.1, 14, 4/3, 0.151?
4/3
What is the nearest to 4 in -1/23, 1.5, -2, 1/5, -4?
1.5
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-1/6
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5
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-2/9
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5
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b
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-4
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-1
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1
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-1
Which is the closest to -0.11? (a) -4.4 (b) -4 (c) -0.1 (d) -1/2
c
Which is the nearest to -2? (a) -3/5 (b) -5 (c) 2199
a
Which is the nearest to 2? (a) -4 (b) -50096 (c) -0.2
c
What is the nearest to 4 in 0.2, -49, 0.36?
0.36
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0
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-2/15
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0.3
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1/4
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b
What is the closest to -3/20 in -0.001, -0.2, 1/6?
-0.2
Which is the nearest to -0.2? (a) -0.08 (b) 0.1 (c) 3 (d) 49 (e) -1.8
a
Which is the nearest to 1.7? (a) -3/4 (b) 0.4 (c) -6 (d) 0.1
b
Which is the nearest to -5? (a) 3/2 (b) 2/19 (c) -5/11
c
Which is the closest to -3/4? (a) 0.2 (b) 2/5 (c) -12 (d) -0.12
d
What is the closest to -2/11 in 2/7, -7, 0.06, 1/59, 0.4?
1/59
What is the closest to 0 in 0, 1284, -3/7?
0
What is the closest to 0.8 in -4, -2/9, -0.068, -5?
-0.068
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c
Which is the closest to 2? (a) 3 (b) 1/13 (c) -5440
a
Which is the closest to -2/7? (a) 22 (b) -5/8 (c) -0.6
c
What is the closest to 20/39 in -17, 2/3, -5?
2/3
What is the nearest to 0.1 in -0.1, 346, -5, -6, -2?
-0.1
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c
What is the closest to -2/13 in 792, -120, -2/7?
-2/7
Which is the nearest to 1/3? (a) -0.4 (b) 1/3 (c) -17 (d) -17.4
b
What is the nearest to 1/4 in -1/10, 1/9, 4, 0.1773?
0.1773
What is the nearest to 4 in -5/4, 2, 3, -0.1, -2/5?
3
What is the nearest to 0.1 in -0.01, -10, 28.2, -1, -4?
-0.01
Which is the closest to -6? (a) 0.2 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) -0.02 (e) 1/6
d
Which is the nearest to 12/19? (a) -1 (b) -0.6 (c) 1/6
c
What is the nearest to 0 in -0.5, -660, -5, -0.4?
-0.4
What is the nearest to -17 in 9, -75, -1?
-1
What is the nearest to 3/4 in 3, 94, 1/4, -1185?
1/4
Which is the nearest to 3/14? (a) -0.5 (b) 1/7 (c) -0.1 (d) 5
b
Which is the closest to -0.2? (a) 1 (b) -50/7 (c) 5 (d) 0.3 (e) -0.1
e
What is the closest to 2 in -1, -12574, 0.5?
0.5
Which is the closest to -473? (a) -1/3 (b) -3/5 (c) 0.08
b
What is the closest to 0 in 5, 1/398, -1?
1/398
What is the closest to -103 in 1/2, 0.8, -4, 5?
-4
Which is the nearest to -2? (a) -5.6 (b) -3 (c) -5 (d) -0.6 (e) 0.1
b
Which is the closest to 31? (a) 0.2 (b) -0.3 (c) 4 (d) -4 (e) -0.23
c
Which is the nearest to -0.46? (a) -4 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6
a
Which is the nearest to 0.1? (a) -1 (b) 2/3 (c) 149.5
b
What is the nearest to -2 in -2/91, -48, 0.3, 5, 3?
-2/91
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c
Which is the closest to -0.1? (a) 0.3 (b) 2 (c) -152
a
What is the nearest to 0 in 0.0816, 0, 2, -1?
0
Which is the closest to 2/7? (a) 2 (b) -268 (c) -3 (d) 3 (e) -0.5
e
What is the nearest to 5 in -14, 35/2, 23?
35/2
Which is the nearest to -2? (a) -2 (b) -0.1 (c) -5
a
Which is the nearest to 1.6? (a) 7/10 (b) 0.09 (c) -1
a
Which is the nearest to 81? (a) 2 (b) -3/5 (c) 153.1
c
Which is the closest to 1726? (a) -1 (b) 2/25 (c) -6/11 (d) -3
b
What is the closest to 25 in -18/5, -0.9, -1?
-0.9
What is the closest to -2 in -7, -2, 10, 2.2?
-2
What is the nearest to -88 in -5, -18, 3, 2/3?
-18
What is the nearest to -1 in -799, 201, 0.3?
0.3
Which is the closest to 0.868? (a) 0.65 (b) -2 (c) 1/11
a
Which is the nearest to -0.1? (a) 6884 (b) -5 (c) 0.5
c
Which is the nearest to -1? (a) 6 (b) 5 (c) 13 (d) -2.7 (e) -13
d
Which is the closest to 0? (a) 3 (b) -1/4 (c) -4 (d) 1021 (e) -3/5
b
What is the closest to -2 in 36, -6/7, 2/9, -4?
-6/7
What is the closest to -6 in 3, -5, 1.38, 3/2?
-5
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) 0.2 (b) 0.5 (c) -5/3 (d) -241 (e) -3/11
b
What is the closest to 1/2 in 0.13, 2, 2/5, 5, 208?
2/5
What is the closest to 1 in -1, 4/5, -0.04, -1/6, -6/17?
4/5
Which is the closest to -1/5? (a) 5 (b) 18/11 (c) 8/31 (d) -0.2 (e) 1
d
Which is the closest to 13? (a) 3 (b) 4/9 (c) -0.3 (d) -2/3 (e) -8
a
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) 0.04 (b) 1/3 (c) -551
b
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c
What is the nearest to -1/3 in 31, -2/25, -9, -3/2?
-2/25
Which is the closest to 16? (a) 1 (b) -103 (c) -2/43
a
What is the closest to -1 in 3, -2/7, -21, -3140?
-2/7
Which is the closest to -28.7? (a) 1/2 (b) 0.2 (c) -8/23 (d) -0.5
d
Which is the closest to -3/5? (a) -0.2 (b) -3/7 (c) 3 (d) 4/453
b
What is the nearest to 1 in 5, 3, -400, -2?
3
What is the closest to 2 in 63/11, 4, 3?
3
What is the closest to 1 in -3, 40/7, -0.1, -0.347?
-0.1
What is the closest to -1454 in 5, -2/9, 20/13?
-2/9
What is the closest to -123 in -43, 29, -3/2?
-43
What is the nearest to 2 in -53, 1, -12?
1
What is the closest to 4 in 5, 2, -2, 0.1, -11?
5
Which is the closest to 2/29? (a) 9 (b) -6 (c) -78
b
What is the nearest to 145.9 in -3/2, 8/7, -3, 4, -0.5?
4
What is the closest to 1 in -1, -1/6, 7/13, 101?
7/13
Which is the closest to 1? (a) 2/43 (b) 0 (c) 4 (d) 296 (e) -5
a
What is the nearest to 2/5 in -20, 13/3, 17, 3/5, 1/3?
1/3
Which is the closest to 0.03? (a) 4 (b) 0 (c) -2/13 (d) -1 (e) -67
b
What is the closest to -13 in 5, -1, -18/5, -0.4?
-18/5
Which is the nearest to -0.193? (a) 0.7 (b) 1 (c) 0.0213
c
What is the nearest to -0.117 in -0.2, -3, 357?
-0.2
Which is the closest to -1? (a) 1 (b) 0.5 (c) 6 (d) 24
b
Which is the nearest to 16/3? (a) -3 (b) 1 (c) -71
b
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) -5 (b) -18 (c) -6/7 (d) 0 (e) 2/21
e
Which is the nearest to 0.1? (a) -1 (b) 6/7 (c) 24 (d) -2 (e) 3.362
b
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) 0.22 (b) 0.2 (c) 2/183
a
Which is the closest to -22? (a) 1/2 (b) -0.07 (c) -2132
b
What is the closest to -1/9 in 5/2, -165/16, 10?
5/2
What is the closest to 2/5 in 0, -3/4, -243, 36, 0.2?
0.2
What is the nearest to -0.05 in 0, -3/7, 6, -109?
0
Which is the nearest to 1? (a) -0.5799 (b) 0.3 (c) -5
b
Which is the closest to 2? (a) 7 (b) 12 (c) -0.41 (d) 3 (e) 2/13
d
What is the nearest to 2 in 4, -1, 1/7, 54/23?
54/23
What is the nearest to -1/3 in 3, 0.4, -1/3, 998?
-1/3
What is the nearest to -5 in -2/9, -25, -10, 1?
-2/9
Which is the nearest to 59? (a) -48 (b) -1.12 (c) -3
b
Which is the nearest to 2/5? (a) 1/4 (b) 5/6 (c) -562 (d) 0.3
d
Which is the closest to 2/7? (a) 2 (b) 2/31 (c) -0.075
b
Which is the nearest to 23? (a) 40 (b) 0.3 (c) 32
c
What is the closest to 25.83 in 0, -7, 1?
1
What is the nearest to 0 in -0.01, -25, -2, 4/3?
-0.01
Which is the closest to -3? (a) -1/11 (b) -53 (c) 0.5 (d) -3/5
d
Which is the closest to 1? (a) 2/9 (b) 0.065 (c) 2 (d) -842 (e) 1/3
e
What is the nearest to 2/3 in -262/5, 6, -0.6, -0.5?
-0.5
What is the nearest to 0 in -27, 0, 36?
0
Which is the nearest to -2? (a) -2 (b) -1 (c) -3530
a
What is the nearest to -2/5 in -0.07, -8/3, 0.3, -51, 0.2?
-0.07
Which is the closest to 0? (a) 91 (b) 0.2 (c) 2/27
c
What is the closest to 1 in -18/7, -5, 0, -2.9, -51?
0
What is the nearest to -0.2 in -2/5, 1.846, -2?
-2/5
What is the nearest to -1 in -2.21, -32, -3/2, 1?
-3/2
Which is the nearest to -151? (a) 0.04 (b) 102 (c) -1
c
Which is the closest to 2? (a) 93 (b) -46 (c) 3/8
c
Which is the nearest to 2/5? (a) -0.06 (b) 0.1 (c) -223 (d) 3 (e) 1/6
e
What is the nearest to -12/7 in 1/21, -1/2, - | 2023-11-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8429 |
import React from 'react' import { render } from 'react-dom' import { Provider } from 'react-redux' import { createStore } from 'redux' import todoApp from './reducers' import App from './components/App' const store = createStore(todoApp) render( <Provider store={store}> <App /> </Provider>, document.getElementById('root') ) | 2024-02-03T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1753 |
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-1804
WATERSIDE CAPITAL CORPORATION; WESLACO HOLDING COMPANY,
LLC,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
and
CAPITALSOUTH PARTNERS FUND I, L.P.,
Plaintiff,
v.
HALES, BRADFORD & ALLEN, LLP; SALINAS, ALLEN & SCHMITT, LLP,
Defendants – Appellees,
and
HALES-BRADFORD, LLP; BILLY R. BRADFORD; DARRYL D. BAIRD,
Defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca Beach Smith, District
Judge. (2:05-cv-00727-RBS)
Argued: January 26, 2009 Decided: March 25, 2009
Before NIEMEYER, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Judge Niemeyer wrote the
opinion, in which Judge King and Judge Duncan joined.
ARGUED: Ann Burke Brogan, CROWLEY LIBERATORE & RYAN, P.C.,
Chesapeake, Virginia, for Appellants. Brian Nelson Casey,
TAYLOR & WALKER, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellees. ON
BRIEF: Frank J. Santoro, Karen M. Crowley, MARCUS, SANTORO &
KOZAK, P.C., Chesapeake, Virginia, for Appellants. John
Franklin, III, TAYLOR & WALKER, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia, for
Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
2
NIEMEYER, Circuit Judge:
Waterside Capital Corporation, a Virginia corporation,
appeals the district court’s order dismissing, under Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), its accounting malpractice
complaint against Hales, Bradford & Allen, LLP (“HB&A”), a Texas
accounting firm. Waterside claims that it loaned several
million dollars to Caldwell/VSR, Inc. (“Caldwell”), a Texas-
based manufacturer of window blinds and shutters, relying on
audit reports that HB&A prepared for Caldwell. Later Caldwell
filed a petition in bankruptcy, and Waterside discovered that
HB&A’s audits failed to expose substantial accounting
irregularities in Caldwell’s books.
In its complaint, Waterside asserted four causes of action
and demanded $4 million in damages, plus late fees, costs, and
attorneys’ fees. In Count I, it claimed that HB&A, in preparing
the audit reports for Caldwell for fiscal years 2001, 2002, and
2003, breached its accounting engagement contracts and that
Waterside, as a lender relying on the reports, was a third-party
beneficiary of the engagement contracts between Caldwell and
HB&A, entitled to sue for the breaches. In Count II, Waterside
alleged “professional malpractice” in that HB&A breached its
“duty to observe professional standards in the conduct of its
audit[s].” In Count III, Waterside alleged that HB&A was liable
for “constructive fraud/negligent misrepresentation” when it
3
certified Caldwell’s financial statements in the audit reports.
And in Count IV, Waterside alleged fraudulent misrepresentation.
The district court granted HB&A’s motion to dismiss as to
Counts I, II, and III, and Waterside voluntarily dismissed Count
IV. From the final judgment dismissing Counts I, II, and III,
Waterside appeals. We affirm.
Count I alleges that Waterside is a third-party beneficiary
of the accounting engagement contracts entered into between
Caldwell and HB&A. Because the engagement contracts were formed
and performed in Texas, Texas law governs whether Count I states
a claim upon which relief can be granted. Texas law is cautious
in finding persons to be third-party beneficiaries and allows
courts to look only within the contract’s “four corners” to
determine whether the contracting parties intended to create a
third-party beneficiary. See In re El Paso Refinery, LP, 302
F.3d 343, 354 (5th Cir. 2002); MCI Telecomms. Corp. v. Texas
Utils. Elec. Co., 995 S.W.2d 647, 650-52 (Tex. 1999). “The
intention to contract or confer a direct benefit to a third
party must be clearly and fully spelled out or enforcement by
the third party must be denied.” MCI Telecomms., 995 S.W.2d at
651. In this case, the accounting engagement contracts between
HB&A and Caldwell, entered into annually, provide no indication
that the parties to those contracts intended to “confer a direct
benefit” on Waterside. Similarly, HB&A’s later letters,
4
transmitting copies of the audit reports and repeating what the
reports certified, indicate no such undertaking. The engagement
contracts were part of a routine annual practice of Caldwell and
HB&A to have HB&A audit Caldwell’s books and prepare its tax
returns. Moreover, nothing in the factual circumstances alleged
in the complaint suggests that the audit engagements were
undertaken for the direct benefit of Waterside or to induce
Waterside to make a loan to Caldwell. Thus, when applying Texas
law, we conclude that it is not “plausible” that Waterside could
prove that it was a third-party beneficiary of the engagement
contracts entitled to sue under them. See Bell Atlantic Corp.
v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1974 (2007) (adopting
a plausibility standard for deciding Rule 12(b)(6) motions).
Count II alleges professional malpractice by HB&A in
auditing Caldwell’s books. Regardless of whether this claim is
governed by Virginia or Texas law, privity is a prerequisite for
malpractice liability. See McCamish, Martin, Brown & Loeffler
v. F.E. Appling Interests, 991 S.W.2d 787, 792 (Tex. 1999);
Ervin v. Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp CPAs, L.L.P., 234 S.W.3d
172, 176-77 (Tex. App. 2007); Ward v. Ernst & Young, 246 Va.
317, 323-24 (1993). Because it is undisputed that Waterside was
not in privity with HB&A, Count II fails to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted, regardless of which State’s law
applies.
5
Finally, Count III alleges “constructive fraud/negligent
misrepresentation,” claiming that HB&A constructively defrauded
Waterside by reaffirming to it the audit reports of Caldwell’s
financial condition. The parties agree that this count is a
tort claim governed by Virginia law, inasmuch as Waterside is a
Virginia corporation and sustained any injury in Virginia.
Virginia law bars recovery for purely economic losses due to
negligence, unless the parties are in privity, see Ward, 246 Va.
at 323-24, and a claim for “constructive fraud/negligent
misrepresentation” is covered by this rule. See Richmond Metro.
Auth. v. McDevitt Street Bovis, Inc., 256 Va. 553, 559 (1998)
(“The essence of constructive fraud is negligent
misrepresentation”); Waytec Elecs. Corp. v. Rohm & Haas Elec.
Materials, LLC, 459 F. Supp. 2d 480, 491-92 (W.D. Va. 2006)
(finding a constructive fraud claim barred by Virginia’s
economic loss rule). Because Count III alleges only economic
losses and Waterside was not in privity with HB&A, Count III
also fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Accordingly we affirm the judgment of the district court.
AFFIRMED
6
| 2023-10-30T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1034 |
Son of a Bitch
The candle shone brightly in the dimly lighted room, the light shining beautifully off the dinner plates and the wood finish of the cherry dinner table.
"What a beautiful evening this is," whispered Marisa before taking another bite of her veal. "It’s so romantic."
Roger smiled at her, finishing his own mouthful, "Yeah. It’s amazing that we’ve been together 5 years now. The time seems to fly by so fast. And you outdid yourself with this dinner sweetie. It’s the perfect celebration of our anniversary. "
Marisa nodded thoughtfully, "I’m very happy with the veal, it came out very nice." She put down her utensils, having eaten her fill and stood up from her seat, "I got you something."
"What is it?"
"You’ll see," Marisa grinned. She picked up a small morsel and tossed it to their German Shepherd-Husky cross, Sam, who had up till now been patiently waiting beside the table for just such an event. Marisa walked into the bedroom of their small but cozy apartment, Sam enjoying his own piece of the anniversary meal. She returned a moment later with a small box, a red bow resting on top. "Here we are."
Roger accepted it from his gorgeous wife, and peeled off the wrapping. It was a jewelry box. He opened it excitedly, and inside it was a gold ring, beautifully decorated with a sapphire set in the middle. He stared at it in surprise, "Wow! This is gorgeous! Thank you honey!" Roger stood up from his seat and gave Marisa a warm kiss.
"Take it out of the box and look at the band."
Roger pulled it out, and held it to the candle, "Roger and Marisa, together forever. That’s so sweet. Oh! I got you something as well. You’ll love it! Be right back." He grabbed his keys from the jacket resting on their sofa and ran out the door to his truck. He returned a few moments later, carrying a box about a foot square and several feet long. He set it down in front of Marisa, who looked at it with ominous curiosity. Last year it was a bowling ball. The year before that, a tool set. Stuff that she couldn’t care less about, but he found imminently useful.
Roger grinned at Marisa excitedly, "C’mon, open it!" as he sat down on the sofa.
Marisa fiddled with the tape a little bit, before giving up and grabbing a hunk of wrapping paper and ripping a good sized piece away from the present. She tore off the rest in a similar fashion, and her jaw dropped when her present revealed itself before her. "Golf clubs. You got me golf clubs."
Roger hopped off the sofa, almost bouncing, and opened the box for her and pulling out one of the woods admiringly, "Aren’t they great? Top quality stuff! The salesman said that Arnold Palmer himself used this brand."
Marisa looked at the clubs, then up at her husband. "Golf clubs. Fucking golf clubs."
Roger tilted his head curiously, "You don’t like them?"
Marisa’s face took only seconds to turn a violent red, "Don’t like them? Of course I don’t fucking like them! I hate golf! All you ever do is buy stuff for yourself! Everything is always about you! I’ve been so patient, hoping that you’d eventually come to your senses, but no. So far the best thing you’ve ever done for me is bought me rubber gloves so--how did you say it? So I could wash the dishes and still have silky soft hands to jack you off with?" A tear started to run down her cheek, "I need some air."
Poor Sam decided that this was a good time to go while the getting was good. He hopped his front paws on the dining table and grabbed what was left of Rogers veal, running into the bedroom to enjoy his booty in peace.
Marisa grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter and stormed to the front door of the apartment.
"Hey Hey Hey!" Roger shouted, "I’m trying to be all romantic here, and this is the thanks I get? You can be such a bitch sometimes!"
Marisa swung around in mid step, pointing a finger at him accusingly, "Bitch am I? I’m not the bitch, you are. You’re a total son of a bitch!" And with that, she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. She could hear loud and very imaginative language filter out from the furious Roger still in the apartment.
"Damn it! Why did I marry such a man? Sports and sex, that’s all he cares about!" Marisa thought to herself as she walked down the street near their building. She took a turn at an intersection and headed towards the conveniently close shopping district, a quaint set of small shops selling wares ranging from coffee to African carvings to used accordions. She always liked this street. There was something about the atmosphere that really warmed her, and she was thankful that she lived so close.
She continued to walk, lost in her own thoughts and sipping lightly at a hot chocolate she acquired from a corner café, when a strange ragged voice called out to her. "You look troubled, little lady."
She stopped and turned her head slowly in the direction of the voice. There, in the doorway of a closed antique store, was this old ragged looking woman. She was tempted to tell the bag lady to go screw off, her mood being what it was, but she immediately brought herself into check and calmed down a little. She nodded, "Yeah, me and my husband just had a big fight."
The old women nodded knowingly, "I see. Money?"
Marisa shook her head. She didn’t know why she was talking to this woman, but she felt this growing need to just spill her guts to someone. Anyone. "No. He’s just such a dick, always thinking about himself. Stupid ignorant me keeps being patient and hoping that he’ll change, but he won’t. He got me a set of friggin’ golf clubs for our anniversary! He’s such a son of a bitch."
The old woman chuckled, "A son of a bitch is he? Well, perhaps that can be arranged."
Marisa looked at her quizzically, her eyebrows furrowing a little, "I don’t follow."
The woman held out a gnarled hand, and between two fingers was a simple silver ring, "Take this."
Marisa shook her head, "I couldn’t take it. It’s a lovely ring, but I couldn’t accept this from you."
"Why? Because I’m a poor old woman? Hah! Consider this a gift from a woman who understands your plight all too well. Catch." With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ring flying into the air. Not knowing what else to do, Marisa caught it with her free hand, and examined it curiously.
The old woman continued, "As long as that ring is near him, anytime he says the word ‘bitch’ he will be in for a surprise. I think you’ll enjoy the results."
Marisa cocked one eyebrow and looked at the crone, "Is this like some kind of electronic dog leash or something?"
The old woman just grinned, "You’ll see. Now go home. Your loving husband is waiting for you."
Marisa smirked and glanced at the ring in her hand again, feeling somewhat dumbfounded by this whole series of events. "Well, thanks. I--" She looked up to where the old woman was standing, but only the empty entranceway of the store met her eyes. "Where?" she muttered as she looked down each direction of the sidewalk, but not seeing any hint of where the old woman may have gone. She looked down at the silver ring in her hand, now more for confirmation that her hot chocolate wasn’t spiked with any illicit substances. Deciding not to take any chances, she tossed her cup into a nearby garbage bin and hurriedly made her way home.
When Marisa reached the door to her apartment, she slipped the ring into her pants pocket and opened the door. Stepping inside, her breath trapped in her throat as she saw the state of her apartment. One of the golf clubs that Roger bought was sitting comfortably inside the exploded screen of the television. Broken glass from the television tube was strewn across the floor, and one of the nice decorative plates that she had hung on the wall above the TV was in pieces on the other side of the room. As her eyes took in the sight around her, a thought jumped into the fore of her mind.
"SAM!" she yelled, "Where are you sweety?" She ran into the bedroom, looking around frantically for her dog. Peering into the dark, partially closed closet, she could see two eyes reflecting back at her. She dropped down to her knees and outstretched her arms, "C’mere Sammy! It’s ok now!"
Sam poked his nose out of the closet, sniffing a little, then ran to Marisa, who immediately wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, comforting the shivering dog, "It’s ok, sweety. it’s ok." She petted Sam’s head and back, rubbing his ears in an effort to calm him down. Sam’s shivering eventually died down, and he rested warmly against his loving Mistress.
Her concern of Sam having been appeased, her anger exploded inside her like a box of TNT. She gave Sam another pat on the head and stood up, grabbing the phone beside the bed and calling the Police.
They arrived about ten minutes later, and she explained what had happened that evening. Although omitting only her strange meeting with that old woman, not wanting the police to think she was drunk. After assuring Marisa that they would do everything they could to find her husband, the left her to clean up the mess.
She grabbed a broom from the closet, and began sweeping the debris from the floor. It took her about an hour to get it all cleaned up, all the while hoping that her husband earned at least a couple good cuts from his tantrum. She put the golf clubs back into their bag and set them side, deciding to return them to the store tomorrow to get back the money Roger wasted on them. She picked up the now hollow television from its stand, and disposed of it in the large garbage container in the back of the building.
Having completed her chores, she let herself fall down on her bed, clothes and all, and promptly cried herself into a fitful sleep.
She woke up the next morning to the sound of keys fumbling noisily at the front door. She jumped up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom, to see a drunk Roger staggering through the doorway and slamming the door shut.
"What the hell did you think you were doing last night, you idiot?" she growled, shaking a fist at her husband.
"Huh?" Roger belched as he turned to look at Marisa, his eyes bloodshot. "Oh fuck off! I’m not in the mood. If you weren’t such a bitch to me last night, I..." His voice trailed off, and he staggered into the kitchen, just barely reaching the sink before the contents in his stomach decided to abandon him in a violent fashion.
Marisa stared at him in revulsion as he puked last evenings veal into the sink. "Thank god we have a garbage disposal," she muttered to herself.
"I don’t feel good," mumbled Roger, fumbling with his shirt, "Hot." He managed to wring off his beer-stained shirt and toss it onto the kitchen floor, and turned to face Marisa. He stepped towards her, now bare-chested, his skin looking somewhat redder than usual. "God I feel horny.." he mumbled as he started walking more quickly. As he got closer, Marisa noticed something odd. There were a series of bumps going down his chest, parallel to his nipples. Maybe 4 pairs in total.
He had this hollow look to his eyes as he came closer, as if his mind wasn’t in the same reality as hers. She side-stepped him, and he walked right past her, heading into the bedroom. "Sammy!" he gruffed, "C’mere. Show me that dog cock of yours."
Marisa’s jaw dropped at this and followed him into the bedroom. She watched as he took off the remainder of his clothes, and stood naked in front of Sam. Sam’s tail wagged happily, the events of last night a distant memory. His cock quickly grew between his legs as he started sniffing between Rogers, and then licking. Roger let out a groan and turned around so that he was facing away from the dog, his own cock still completely limp. He got down on all fours, and Sam eagerly mounted him, thrusting against his ass and trying to penetrate.
Marisa stood, shell-shocked at the scene happening before her. "What the shit?" Then she remember the ring. She reached into her pocket, pulling it out and holding it in her palm. It was glowing. "He had called me a bitch earlier," she thought, "The old woman wasn’t nuts."
She looked back up at her husband and pet, now very much into the heat of the moment as the dog drove his cock in and out of Rogers ass, Roger squirming in ecstasy as he was buggered. Marisa couldn’t help but feel a little turned on herself as Sam had his way with Roger, that thick German Shepherd cock driving into Rogers ass over and over, the knot slowly expanding. After a few more thrusts, Sam lodged his entire length into Rogers’ ass, the knot sealing them together. Roger just shuddered happily as he felt dog cum fill his guts, the 8 nubs going down his front now having grown larger so it was now obvious he had 10 nipples going down his body.
Having satisfied himself, Sam hopped off of Rogers back and stood there, butt to butt as they waited for the knot to shrink. Marisa, who hadn’t realized that she had put her hands down her pants to rub herself, pulled her hand out again and grinned at the two. "The old woman was right," she thought, " I am going to enjoy this." She stepped over to then and kneeled down beside Sam, petting his head, "What a good boy! You liked that didn’tcha? I think you’re gonna get to do that a whole lot more often sweety." Marisa grinned impishly at that last statement, and glanced over at Roger who was still holding still, breathing heavily and oblivious to the world.
Marisa laid down on the bed and gazed at the two curiously, still half thinking that this was some kind of dream, and thinking of the possibilities if this wasn’t. After a short while, Sam finally pulled out of Rogers ass and padded off to the corner of the bedroom to lick himself clean. Roger on the other hand, collapsed onto the floor with a groan, and started looking back and forth, "What the hell happened?" He looked around the room, glancing at Sam, then down at himself, then up at a smiling Marisa, "I’m naked and my ass hurts." He stood up shakily, "What are you smiling about?" Marisa just giggled and pointed at his abdomen. Roger looked down at himself again, this time more carefully, and gasped at what he saw.
"What the hell is this?" Roger exclaimed. He pulled at a couple of the bumps, grunting painfully as he did, "What the hell are these?"
Marisa looked at them appraisingly, "Hmmm... They look kinda like nipples to me!"
Roger furrowed his eyebrows and glared at Marisa, "Nipples? What kind of crap is that?" He pulled at the nipples again, wincing again. "Son of a bitch that hurts!"
Marisa just grinned wider, licking her lips as another wave of nausea overcame Roger. He staggered backwards, eventually leaning against a wall for support, "Ugh... I feel weird." He felt a tingle around his groin and he looked down. It was shrinking! He looked up at Marisa, "What the fuck is going on here? Are you doing this?" He shuddered as his balls disappeared into his body, shortly followed by his once proud manhood. He dropped to his hands and knees, shuddering as the tingling continued inside his abdomen. After a few moments, the wave of nausea passed, and he stood back up shakily.
Roger glanced down at his groin and let out a gasp. Marina just grinned even wider. Rogers Mr. Happy had been replaced with a vagina, covered in a soft fine fur. He looked at Marina again, his anger now replaced by a wave of fear, "What’s happening to me?"
Marina got up off the bed and reached out to touch the new opening. Roger stood transfixed as she start rubbing his cunt lips, the let out a gasp as she rubbed a little deeper. The feeling was so different from what he was used to. He stepped back in surprise, his anger returning. "What the hell are you doing? Where’s my cock?"
"It’s gone. Your changing," Marina explained.
"Into what?" Roger shouted. His voice, like his fear, was steadily rising.
"You don’t need to shout. You’re changing into a dog. A female dog."
Roger stammered, "A... a what? That’s impossible? There’s no way I’m turning into a bitch!"
A moment later, Roger buckled and fell to his hands and knees again, his body shaking. He looked up at Marina fearfully as his skin started to turn redder. The fur that had grown near his crotch spread around his legs and up his back. By the time his shakes stopped, most of his torso was covered with downy soft fur.
Sam watched all this with a detached interest, having heard them talk with loud voices before. But when Roger fell down again, something was different. He got a whiff of it earlier when Roger first entered the room and it excited him. But here it is again, even stronger than before. Roger was very much in heat! Well, Sam being the nice dog he is, got up and decided to help this poor horny lass by moving behind Roger and licking at the delicious orifice between his legs.
Roger, who was temporarily disoriented during the shift, began to groan as the probing tongue slide across his new vagina. He squirmed at the sensation, the new and oh so delicious sensation. His mind grew hazy, and once again he was lost in the animal lust that the transformation infused him with.
Marisa watched this repeat performance with great interest. Her hand dipped under the waistband of her pants and she began rubbing herself as she watched Sam had his way with Roger.
Sam’s tongue lapped eagerly into Roger’s pussy, the succulent juices starting to flow freely now. After a few more licks, Sam decided it was time for the real fun to begin, and mounted Roger once more. This time, It wasn’t quite so difficult finding a hole to penetrate, and Sam’s cock slid easily into Rogers ripe new cunt. Roger gasped as he felt something inside him rip from the thrust, and he whimpered a little, but the pain was quickly replaced by intense pleasure as his new dog lover started thrusting in and out briskly in his tight tunnel.
Marisa watched her husband’s face as it contorted in pleasure, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water from his rapid breathing. She grinned widely, "Enjoying yourself?"
Roger could only nod weakly, his head bouncing around from the strong thrusts of the canine behind him.
"You like being fucked don’t you? Being bred like a bitch in heat."
Roger again nodded, a wide grin forming under his tightly shut eyes.
"Tell me what you are, Roger," commanded Marisa, as she begin finger-fucking herself.
"I’m a bitch!" he growled huskily, the transformation continuing as soon as the word escapes his mouth. The fur traveled further up his body and covered him from his feet to the neck. Roger didn’t even notice, so entranced was he in the solid fucking that beautiful male was giving him. Soon Sam will tie and cum in her, and she will produce a litter of pups for him.
"You’re a bitch in heat. Say it."
"I’m a bitch in heat! I wanna get fucked over and over! A hot bitch in heat!"
Marisa moaned herself as she watched her husband further transform, legs and arms shrinking and reshaping into canine legs, the fur getting bushier and the beginnings of a muzzle forming on his face.
"I can’t hear you! What are you?"
Roger opened her eyes and glared at her Mistress, boggled by the incredibly poor hearing when she can easily identify a cricket several houses away. "I’m a bitch, damn it! B I T C H, bitch!" Then a look of horror came over her face as that little shred of what is still Roger finally put two and two together.
"I’ll kill you!" Roger tried to move to lunge at Marisa, who turned white and yanked her hand out of her pants so she could scramble to the other side of the bed. But there was another growl from behind Roger, and Sam grabbed Roger’s scruff in his muzzle, holding it firmly so the insolent female would take the treasure in his balls as was her duty to. Roger squirmed a little, but her instincts were too strong and submitted to the will of her new mate as his knot expanded in her cunt, locking them together.
Roger closed her eyes and groaned softly, feeling hot canine cum fill her new canine body. Her nose and jaw extended fully as the transformation completed, giving her a full and proper muzzle. She felt a wash of intense pleasure flow all over her, feeling like she was finally whole again. It was an unsettling feeling, having that angry alien presence in her mind, but now that it had fled, she could focus completely on the delicious attentions of her mate. She opened her eyes and panted, a warm red tongue flopping out of the side of her muzzle as she enjoyed the thick cock inside her, the strong jaws of her mate holding her gently but firmly in place. Yes, she and her new mate would give the world many pups. Perhaps expand the small threesome that their pack currently enjoys to a larger, more reasonable number.
Marisa just watched as the two dogs in front of her finished their copulating, wondering if there was still any Roger left. "Roger? Are you in there?" The female dog in front of her just panted and looked at her patiently, hoping that some food might be provided after she finally separates from her mate.
Marisa’s grin returned with flair, and she jumped over to her dresser to dig for her Polaroid.
Finally finding it, she yanked it out and snapped a few pictures, getting the pair from all sorts of angles while they were still tied. She set the pictures aside to dry and walked boisterously into the kitchen to get herself a drink of water, leaving the two lovers to enjoy some privacy. She paced around the living room, waiting for the adrenaline rush from what just happened to taper off. After gulping down one more glass, she calmly returned to the bedroom to find the two dogs separated and curled up on the floor together snoozing. She smiled and snapped one more picture with the camera, and pulled out a pen to date this new piece of history.
"Lessee... June 1999, Sam and... and... hmm..." She glanced at the female laying on the floor, so peaceful and serene. "June 1999, Sam and Ruby’s honeymoon." | 2024-07-21T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3584 |
Foods That Increase Natural Testosterone Levels
Consuming definite foods can enhance testosterone in males. Pomegranate, beets, bananas, pistachio nuts, oatmeal (which consists of the amino acid arginine), and watermelon (which consists of citrulline) are all simple-to-find foods that are natural testosterone enhancers that have a better effect on erectile function and sex health.
Consuming healthier fats similar to coconut oil and avocados, in addition to cruciferous vegetables similar to broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower can also assist stay the sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, in balance. Foods higher in lycopene (similar to cooked tomatoes) are a healthier natural remedy for erectile dysfunction too.
As well, keep away from foods that are higher in saturated fats in addition to larger servings of carbohydrates and processing breads which can spike glucose levels. These can get you experience sleepy and add to your blood sugar and while not straight affecting testosterone, will get you feel fewer energetic and less capable to tackle the work at hand – whether that be in the bedroom or the weight-room!
Do males feel like a physiological stage to what women feel amid menopause? Referred to as andropause, male menopause, man-opause, and more recently, Lower T, this transitional phase shares definite characteristics with menopause. However, while all females going through menopause, not all males feel andropause.
Do lower levels of testosterone create symptoms in middle-age men? Absolutely. Actually, the classic indications were first recognized more than 70 years back when two American physicians, demonstrated the powerfulness of testosterone cure for symptoms of tiredness, despair, tetchiness, lower sex drive, erectile dysfunction, night sweats, and hot flashes in males. Over the years, following studies have discovered that some—but not all—males with low, age-adjusted testosterone levels show symptoms reliable with andropause. All experience improvement with testosterone treatment.
Zinc is involving in virtually each facet of male reproduction, including testosterone metabolism. Numerous studies support the make use of of zinc for curing low sperm counts, particularly when accompanied by lower testosterone levels. In these studies, zinc has demonstrated an ability to lift both sperm counts and testosterone levels. Many males might be experiencing lower testosterone just due to a zinc shortage. Using 30–45 mg of zinc a day is suggested; balance with 2–3 mg of copper for better results.
Fenugreek is an herb that has been demonstrated to help in sexual arousal. A proprietary fenugreek take out, Testofen, has demonstrated promising outcomes in increasing libido and testosterone levels in human studies. Use 600 mg daily.
Tribulus is an herb that has been utilized usually in ayurvedic medicine as an aphrodisiac. Now, a few clinical evidence demonstrates that tribulus is also effectual in increasing testosterone levels in males with low testosterone. Use 100–250 mg a day.
Royal jelly is a natural resource of chrysin, a flavonoid that has been demonstrated to slow down the aromatase enzyme, which converts testosterone to estrogen. There is no scientific study on royal jelly for lower testosterone, but anecdotal utilization has shown better effects. Try 50–100 mg per day.
X Fire capsule can be beneficial for stimulating sexual desire, increasing libido, heightening arousal and ensuring sexual satisfaction for males. It is an amazing natural product may support male muscle growth, sex-drive and virility. Today, low testosterone in males is rapidly growing. Low testosterone in men has especially become a major health concern today.
Hashmi Herbal is established in 1929; Hashmi Herbal is one of the leading firms engaged in manufacturing and exporting pure herbal medicines for all sexual problems. We are a professional team with many years of experience, always trying to offer you top products on the market. | 2023-08-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2244 |
General Election - Vote today
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The UK Parliament has announced that on Thursday 8 June 2017 there will be a General Election. The vote has been brought forward by the House of Commons from the planned date of June 2020, so we’ve put together a guide of everything you need to know, and why you should ensure you’re registered to vote in your university constituency.
What is a General Election?
A General Election is your opportunity to choose the representative for your local area (your constituency) for a period of up to five years.
You will have a choice of several candidates in your constituency, representing one of several national political parties. You can only vote for the candidates in your constituency election, and the person with the most votes becomes your Member of Parliament (MP).
(Remember you’re not just voting for who the Prime Minister is, you vote for your local area!)
Why should I vote?
The United Kingdom is governed by a representative democracy, which means as citizens we choose who governs our local areas and the country as a whole.
Voting is a privilege not all countries are entitled to and many people in history have fought and died for the right, so you should use your vote and use your voice to select the representative whom best represents you.
When you’re at university, chances are you’ve moved away from home which means you will need to change your constituency on the electoral register. It’s important to vote in your uni constituency so you can have your say on local decisions and services in the area you live during your studies.
Who can vote?
To be able to vote in the General Election, you must meet the following:
You’ve got until Monday 22 May to register which is only a few weeks away, so make sure you don’t miss your chance to have a voice. If you’ve moved address since the EU Referendum in 2016 you’ll need to change it on the electoral register in order to vote this time.
How do I choose who to vote for?
It’s entirely up to you. We’d recommend finding out who your local candidates are, reading their manifestos, and form your opinion based on how their manifesto will affect you and your local area. Ultimately nobody can tell you who to vote for, it’s entirely your decision.
How can I vote?
You can vote at your nearest polling station or by post if you have registered for a postal vote. You can choose a postal vote by visiting gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-postal-vote.
In the last General Election on 7 May 2015 only one in three eligible students voted, but whatever your opinion on the result was, it’s important that you do have your say. You can also be registered to vote in two locations (like home and uni), but can only vote in one! | 2024-03-19T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1044 |
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<annotation>
<folder>widerface</folder>
<filename>0--Parade_0_Parade_marchingband_1_561.jpg</filename>
<source>
<database>wider face Database</database>
<annotation>PASCAL VOC2007</annotation>
<image>flickr</image>
<flickrid>-1</flickrid>
</source>
<owner>
<flickrid>yanyu</flickrid>
<name>yanyu</name>
</owner>
<size>
<width>1024</width>
<height>1537</height>
<depth>3</depth>
</size>
<segmented>0</segmented>
<object>
<name>face</name>
<pose>Unspecified</pose>
<truncated>1</truncated>
<difficult>0</difficult>
<bndbox>
<xmin>162</xmin>
<ymin>649</ymin>
<xmax>321</xmax>
<ymax>793</ymax>
</bndbox>
</object>
<object>
<name>face</name>
<pose>Unspecified</pose>
<truncated>1</truncated>
<difficult>0</difficult>
<bndbox>
<xmin>820</xmin>
<ymin>1027</ymin>
<xmax>892</xmax>
<ymax>1117</ymax>
</bndbox>
</object>
</annotation>
| 2024-04-07T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7956 |
<featureGroup>
<!-- ************************************************************************
Roads
************************************************************************ -->
<feature name="Motorway">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__motorway.png">
<font size="16pt"><b>${ref}</b></font><br/>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dmotorway</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="motorway"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Motorway link">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__motorway_link.png"/>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="motorway_link"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Trunk road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__trunk.png">
<font size="16pt"><b>${ref}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${name}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dtrunk</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="trunk"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Trunk link">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__trunk_link.png"/>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="trunk_link"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Primary road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__primary.png">
<font size="16pt"><b>${ref}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${name}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dprimary</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="primary"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Primary link">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__primary_link.png">
<font size="16pt"><b>${ref}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${name}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dprimary_link</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="primary_link"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Secondary road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__secondary.png">
<font size="16pt"><b>${ref}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${name}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dsecondary</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="secondary"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Secondary link">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__secondary_link.png">
<font size="16pt">
<b>${ref}</b>
</font>
<br/>
<font size="10pt">${name}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dsecondary_link</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="secondary_link"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Tertiary road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__tertiary.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${ref}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dtertiary</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="tertiary"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Tertiary link">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__tertiary_link.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font><br/>
<font size="10pt">${ref}</font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dtertiary_link</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="tertiary_link"/>
<inputSet ref="majorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Minor road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__unclassified.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dunclassified</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="unclassified"/>
<inputSet ref="minorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Residential road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__residential.png">
<font size="14pt">
<b>${name}</b>
</font>
<br/>
<font size="8pt">${postal_code}</font>
<br/>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dresidential</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="residential"/>
<inputSet ref="minorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Service road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__service.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dservice</help>
<description>
Access roads
</description>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="service"/>
<inputSet ref="minorRoad"/>
<input type="choice" presence="always" name="Type of service road" key="service" category="">
<choice value="alley" text="Alleyway/laneway"/>
<choice value="parking_aisle" text="Parking aisle" description="The path that cars drive on through a parking lot."/>
<choice value="driveway" text="Driveway"/>
<choice value="drive-through" text="Drive-through" description="For drive-through restaurants, bottle shops etc."/>
<choice value="emergency_access" text="Emergency access" description="For firefighters and other emergency services."/>
</input>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Unknown road">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__unknown.png">
<font size="10pt">This road has not been given a specific type. It's a road, and that's all that's known.</font>
</icon>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="road"/>
<inputSet ref="minorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Living Street">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__living_street.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font>
</icon>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dliving_street</help>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="living_street"/>
<inputSet ref="minorRoad"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Track">
<category>roads</category>
<icon image="features/highway__track.png">
<font size="14pt"><b>${name}</b></font>
</icon>
<line/>
<tag k="highway" v="track"/>
<inputSet ref="path"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Raceway/racing track">
<category>sport</category>
<icon>
<font size="10pt">A purpose built track for racing motor vehicles.</font>
</icon>
<line/>
<area/>
<tag k="highway" v="raceway"/>
<inputSet ref="simpleName"/>
<inputSet ref="roadPhysical"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Turning circle">
<category>transport</category>
<icon image="features/pois/transport_turning_circle.n.24.png"/>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dturning_circle</help>
<point draganddrop="no"/>
<tag k="highway" v="turning_circle"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Mini Roundabout">
<category>transport</category>
<icon image="features/pois/transport_miniroundabout_anticlockwise.n.24.png"/>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dmini_roundabout</help>
<point/>
<tag k="highway" v="mini_roundabout"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Traffic calming">
<category>transport</category>
<icon image="features/pois/transport_speedbump.n.24.png"/>
<!-- <help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:traffic_calming</help>-->
<point/>
<tag k="traffic_calming" v="yes" vmatch="*"/>
<input type="choice" key="traffic_calming" name="Obstacle type" category="Traffic calming" presence="onTagMatch">
<choice value="yes" text="Unspecified"/>
<choice value="bump" text="Short bump" description="A sharp speed bump, typically slowing cars to 15 kph or less."/>
<choice value="hump" text="Speed hump" description="A gentler, longer bump, typically slowing cars to 30 kph or less."/>
<choice value="cushion" text="Speed cushion" description="A narrow speed bump allowing emergency vehicles and buses to pass without slowing."/>
<choice value="table" text="Speed table" description="A very long speed hump allowing the whole wheelbase to rest on top."/>
<choice value="chicane" text="Chicane" description="A set of obstacles causing vehicles to weave through."/>
<choice value="rumble_strip" text="Rumble strip" description="A series of very small bumps causing vibration or noise."/>
<choice value="choker" text="Choker" description="An artificial narrowing of the road."/>
</input>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<feature name="Turn restriction">
<category>advanced</category>
<help>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Turn_restrictions</help>
<relation/>
<tag k="type" v="restriction"/>
<input type="choice" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="Type" key="restriction" description="What's the restriction?" layout="horizontal" priority="high">
<choice value="no_left_turn" text="No left turn"/>
<choice value="no_right_turn" text="No right turn"/>
<choice value="no_u_turn" text="No U turns"/>
<choice value="no_straight_on" text="No straight on"/>
<choice value="only_left_turn" text="Left turn only"/>
<choice value="only_right_turn" text="Right turn only"/>
<choice value="only_straight_on" text="Straight on only"/>
</input>
<input type="choice" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="Except" key="except" description="Are any vehicles exempt?" layout="horizontal">
<choice value="psv" text="Bus"/>
<choice value="bicycle" text="Bicycle"/>
<choice value="motorcar" text="Car"/>
<choice value="hgv" text="HGV"/>
</input>
<input type="freetext" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="Start day" key="day_on" description="What day of the week does it start?" layout="horizontal" priority="low"/>
<input type="freetext" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="Start time" key="hour_on" description="What time of day does it start?" layout="horizontal" priority="low"/>
<input type="freetext" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="End day" key="day_off" description="What day of the week does it end?" layout="horizontal" priority="lowest"/>
<input type="freetext" category="Restrictions" presence="always" name="End time" key="hour_off" description="What time of day does it end?" layout="horizontal" priority="lowest"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
<!-- Junction nodes (for turn restrictions) -->
<feature>
<point/>
<within entity="way" k="highway" minimum="2"/>
<inputSet ref="junctionNode"/>
<inputSet ref="common"/>
</feature>
</featureGroup> | 2023-08-05T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2620 |
Exploring Identity Theft Insurance Options
Identity theft is rampant – 10 million people reported the crime in 2008. As the crime has increased, so has potential solutions in the marketplace. A variety of insurance and other protection programs have been released the last several years and you should fully research them to make an educated decision before purchasing identity theft insurance.
Recent headlines about data breaches and losses of personal information have prompted many companies to advertise products or services to help consumers prevent or minimize their risk of identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says before you pay for an identity theft prevention product or service, make sure you understand exactly what you’re paying for. Many people find value and convenience in paying an outside party to help them exercise their rights and protect their information. At the same time, some rights and protections you have under federal or state laws can help you protect your identity and recover from identity theft at no cost. Knowing and understanding your rights can help you determine whether — or which — commercial products or services may be appropriate for you.
Fraud alerts
A fraud alert is a signal placed in your credit report or credit file to warn potential creditors that they must use what the law calls “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify your identity before they issue credit in your name. Fraud alerts may be effective at stopping someone from opening new credit accounts in your name, but they may not prevent the misuse of your existing accounts.
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you may be entitled to two kinds of free fraud alerts: initial and extended.
You may ask a consumer reporting company to place an initial fraud alert on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. This may be appropriate after your wallet or another source of personal information is lost or stolen. Aninitial fraud alert is good for 90 days, and can be renewed when appropriate. To place an initial fraud alert, call the toll-free fraud number of any one of the three national consumer reporting companies. The company you call is required to contact the other two; they, in turn, will place an alert on their versions of your report. Expect to receive a confirmation from each of the companies.
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
When you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to order one free credit report from each of the consumer reporting companies; if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your reports.
If you have been a victim of identity theft, you may ask for an extended alert, which stays on your credit report for seven years. To get anextended fraud alert placed on your report, you will need to contact one of the credit bureaus, and provide an Identity Theft Report, such as a police report or other report to a law enforcement agency, including a report to the FTC. If your credit report has an extended alert, potential creditors must contact you in person, or by phone or some other method you have provided before they can issue credit in your name. When you place an extended alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to two free credit reports from each of the consumer reporting companies within 12 months. In addition, the consumer reporting companies must remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened offers of credit for five years — unless you ask them to put your name back on the list.
Credit Freezes
A credit freeze allows you to restrict access to your credit report. If you place a freeze on your report, potential creditors and certain other people or businesses can’t get access to it unless you lift the freeze temporarily or permanently. For more information about credit freezes, check with your state attorney general’s office or visit www.naag.org.
Limiting access to your credit report makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. That’s because most creditors will need to view a credit file before opening a new account; if they can’t see the file, they may not extend the credit. Still, a credit freeze may not prevent the misuse of your existing accounts or certain other types of identity theft.
A credit freeze is different from a fraud alert in a number of ways. A freeze generally stops all access to your credit report, while a fraud alert permits creditors to get your report as long as they take steps to verify your identity. The availability of a credit freeze depends on state law or a consumer reporting company’s policies; fraud alerts are federal rights intended for consumers who believe they may have been, or actually have been, victims of identity theft. And some states charge a fee for placing or removing a freeze, although it is free to place or remove a fraud alert.
Most states have laws that allow consumers to place a credit freeze with consumer reporting companies. In many of these states, any consumer can freeze their credit file; in others, only identity theft victims can freeze their files. The cost of placing a credit freeze and the lead times vary. In many states, credit freezes are free for identity theft victims; other consumers typically are charged about $10 per credit reporting company. Contact your state attorney general for the particulars of your state’s freeze laws. To place a freeze, contact each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies because a credit freeze placed at one company is not referred to the other companies. And be aware that the three major credit reporting companies have begun offering credit freezes directly to consumers — for a fee — regardless of whether their state has a freeze law.
Placing a credit freeze does not affect your credit score, keep you from getting your free annual credit report, or keep you from buying your credit report or score. It doesn’t prevent you from opening a new account yourself, applying for a job, renting an apartment, or buying insurance, either. In these situations, the business usually needs to review your credit report. You can ask the consumer reporting company to lift your credit freeze temporarily, or remove it altogether. But the cost and lead times to lift or remove a freeze vary, so it’s wise to check with your state authorities or with a consumer reporting company in advance if possible.
Free Credit reports
Federal law gives every consumer the right to one free credit report from each nationwide consumer reporting company every 12 months. Staggering these reports — that is, getting a report from a different company every few months — can help you monitor activity on your credit reports. For more information, or to request your free credit reports, visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
Identity Theft Protection Products and Services for Sale
Identity theft protection companies offer a range of products and services for sale. Some allow you to “lock,” “flag,” or “freeze” your credit reports. Often, the companies advertising these services simply are offering to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your report. These services also may renew or update your alerts or freezes automatically, as long as you continue to pay. Under the law, initial fraud alerts and renewals are available for free if you have reason to believe you have been — or are about to be — a victim of identity theft.
Some companies, including consumer reporting companies, offer subscriptions to credit monitoring services. These services track your credit report, and generally send you an email alert reflecting recent activity, such as an inquiry or new account. Typically, the more frequent or more detailed the report, the more expensive the service.
Some companies offer services to help you rebuild your identity in the event of identity theft. Typically, these services operate by obtaining a limited power of attorney from you, which enables the company to act on your behalf when dealing with consumer reporting companies, creditors, or other information sources.
Many companies may offer additional services, including removing your name from mailing lists or pre-screened offers of credit or insurance, representing your legal interests, “guaranteeing” reimbursement in the event you experience a loss due to identity theft, or helping you track down whether your personal information has been exposed online. Before you agree to pay for any of these services, read the fine print. You can get some of them yourself at no cost: for example, if you decide you don’t want to receive pre-screened offers of credit and insurance, you can opt out for five years or permanently by calling toll-free 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or visiting www.optoutprescreen.com.
There are a variety of options for identity theft insurance. Make sure you understand exactly what the firm is offering before you commit to a monthly fee for a service you may or may not need. | 2024-07-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1092 |
Extremely low seminal lead concentrations and male fertility.
Seminal lead concentrations in normal and vasectomized males with no history of lead exposure were measured by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Extremely low concentrations of 3.8 micrograms/dl were found in normal males versus 4.1 micrograms/dl in vasectomized males. No significant correlation between lead and sperm count or sperm motility existed. It is suggested that the major contribution of lead in human semen is from the prostate and/or seminal vesicles and that very low lead levels may not have measurable effect on fertility indices. | 2024-07-10T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2186 |
June 2015
OrgVue is a tool designed to manage organisational data. Organisational datasets are often incomplete and stored in multiple places. Before you can do any integration or cleaning of these data, you need to get the information into OrgVue in the first place. These are the main...
When working with any data or information, there is a constant battle to locate it, collect it and keep it up to date. Three of the most rapidly developing features of OrgVue are the interfaces: webforms, surveys and task forms. Each of these “sit over the top” of the main OrgVue...
Three months after the release of 2.18, we are delighted to announce the arrival of 2.20. These release notes will give you a summary of the new release and how to make the most of the new features. Pivot View: depending on the number of nodes in a single cell, individual nodes... | 2024-05-29T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8029 |
Q:
Rails: uniq vs. distinct
Can someone briefly explain to me the difference in use between the methods uniq and distinct?
I've seen both used in similar context, but the difference isnt quite clear to me.
A:
Rails queries acts like arrays, thus .uniq produces the same result as .distinct, but
.distinct is sql query method
.uniq is array method
Note: In Rails 5+ Relation#uniq is deprecated and recommended to use Relation#distinct instead.
See http://edgeguides.rubyonrails.org/5_0_release_notes.html#active-record-deprecations
Hint:
Using .includes before calling .uniq/.distinct can slow or speed up your app, because
uniq won't spawn additional sql query
distinct will do
But both results will be the same
Example:
users = User.includes(:posts)
puts users
# First sql query for includes
users.uniq
# No sql query! (here you speed up you app)
users.distinct
# Second distinct sql query! (here you slow down your app)
This can be useful to make performant application
Hint:
Same works for
.size vs .count;
present? vs .exists?
pluck vs map
A:
From the documentation:
uniq(value = true)
Alias for ActiveRecord::QueryMethods#distinct
A:
Its not exactly answer your question, but what I know is:
If we consider ActiveRecord context then uniq is just an alias for distinct. And both work as removing duplicates on query result set(which you can say up to one level).
And at array context uniq is so powerful that it removes duplicates even if the elements are nested. for example
arr = [["first"], ["second"], ["first"]]
and if we do
arr.uniq
answer will be : [["first"], ["second"]]
So even if elements are blocks it will go in deep and removes duplicates.
Hope it helps you in some ways.
| 2023-08-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4273 |
Losing to teams with inferior records, getting beaten by a rival’s September squad, and playing bad baseball—that’s the current state of your Toronto Blue Jays.
Oh, and they’ve got a month left to play.
The Friday night before the series with Boston kicked off, I was asked where the Jays would be after the series ended: reclaiming their place at the top or shell-shocked and farther back than where they started. I picked the latter. Not because I’m a defeatist, but because I’m a realist.
The Jays have a soft underbelly and it was asking a lot of them to stay sharp all season long with a lack of emerging stars on the horizon, no impact trades and planned disruptions to their rotation. They’ve cooled off and it may be too difficult a task for them to get hot again before the season runs out of games — at least not without a little help from some other teams in their division, all of whom seem to be playing solid baseball.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the Jays are done struggling yet. Their inconsistency is killing them.
Missing Drew Pomeranz and David Price was a blessing for the Jays, one that essentially gave their struggling offence as good a pitching draw as they could have asked for against Boston. Consider they Jays could have faced the three Ps - Rick Porcello, Price and Pomeranz - which is Boston’s optimal rotation. Instead they got Porcello, whom they’ve handled well before; Eduardo Rodriguez, who throws almost exclusively fastballs; and Clay Buchholz, a former star reduced to innings mop.
Even against that reduced rotation, the Jays struggled.
The Jays have beat up Porcello before, but he’s having a hell of a year and the Sox lineup scores plenty of runs behind him. His homer per fly ball rate is near its all-time low, while his strikeouts per nine innings rate is near its all-time high. Add in Marco Estrada’s recent woes, and chances were the Jays would drop the opener. But dropping it 13-3? That’s embarrassing, but not completely unexpected.
Indeed, it’s the mark of a volatile team that’s had its confidence shaken. The Jays were the pick of many to win this division, and once they claimed the division lead from the Orioles a week back, it was expected that they’d run to the finish line holding the crown high. Their only real test was supposed to be their remaining games versus the Red Sox, right?
I don’t even credit the Red Sox for their series win over the Jays; I credit the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees.
When the Rays punched the Jays in the mouth two series before the Red Sox, it stung. The Rays are already thinking of next season, and should have posed no problem for the rolling Jays.
Oh well, losses happen. And had the Jays gotten back on track in the next series, it would have been water under the bridge. But then the Yankees punched the Jays in the mouth, pulled their underwear over their collective heads, and stole their lunch money.
The Jays were supposed to beat those clubs. They were supposed to win this division. They were supposed to have everything going for them. But what happens when you rely on what is supposed to happen instead of what is actually happening? What happens when you come into a series you were supposed to have a cushion for, without it?
I think you have your answer.
The Jays took the field against the Red Sox with a lot of negative mental pressure. When you’re expected to win, winning feels like doing your job. When you’re not expected to win and you start rolling, winning feels awesome and fresh and contagious. The Jays lost their momentum and were facing the Red Sox thinking about damage control. The Red Sox had just picked up momentum and where thinking about keeping it going.
When a team starts thinking about results, negative results, it makes errors. It overthinks. It gets beat senseless.
Things were falling apart the Jays and they knew it even before the big errors and lopsided scores. You can tell the media until you’re blue in the face that you’re professionals and you’re resilient, but when the clock starts ticking loudly in the background and you keep missing opportunities, those narratives go out the window. Players and managers can tell the media that everything is fine and the team is going to bounce back and that there is nothing to worry about, but I think the opposite. You don’t need a players-only meeting to address issues when nothing is wrong.
Hayhurst: Blue Jays aren't built for one-game playoff TSN Blue Jays Analyst, Dirk Hayhurst joins Cauz and Wheeler to chat about Aaron Sanchez's blister problems, Blue Jays having a Players Only meeting, and Toronto not being built for a 1 game playoff.
You could, if you’re a cold pragmatist, concede the opener and focus on beating the Red Sox in the next two games against Rodriguez and Buchholz. Rodriguez was perfect opportunity for the Jays to get their bat’s going: a young lefty facing a veteran right-handed hitting club that eats fastballs. As a matter of fact, ask any hitter what they want to see when they’re cold and they’ll all tell you the fastball.
Rodriguez throws his fastball about 70 per cent of the time. In a small sample against him, the Jays have an on-base plus slugging (OPS) mark of over .800. Rodriguez threw 76 per cent fastballs during Saturday’s game — the most he’s thrown in a game all season. The Jays managed to get four hits off of him. Tip your hat to Rodriguez, but you have to wonder why the Jays didn’t handle the kind of pitcher they’re built to dominate.
Where is Josh Donaldson at physically right now? Is he hurt? His bat was oddly quiet this weekend in a series where it should have thundered. The reigning AL MVP has no hits in the last seven games and is batting .097 in September. The Jays aren’t winning anything if he stays this cold.
You could argue that we did see the offence we’ve become accustom to over the last two seasons on Sunday, but we also saw the pitching we’ve tried to forget.
Griffin: Blue Jays will have struggles sorted out sooner than later Toronto Star Baseball Columnist, Richard Griffin joins Mike Hogan to chat about Aaron Sanchez's blister problems, Blue Jays rotation struggles, and Toronto's series vs Boston over the weekend.
Buchholz is a sinking ship who has been handing out runs like parade candy most the year. He was the “supposed” to win matchup of this series for the Jays. Yes, the Jays did pulverize him on Sunday, but they couldn’t hold on to what was, by all rights, their swing game to win with Aaron Sanchez on the bump.
I’m preaching a lot of doom and gloom here, but there is a troubling trend of inconsistency. Shutdown innings — the inning after a team takes the lead and their pitcher puts up a zero to hold it — are in short supply. Cashing in runs against good pitchers is trending down. Defensive miscues are trending up.
Pressure is mounting and time is running out. And nothing says panic like when Troy Tulowitzki, usually so far above and beyond the need to address the state of the club, telling the media everything is okay. If it is, why is he telling me so? Wouldn't it simply be okay?
No, it's not okay. Why? Because the Jays are busy showcasing the difference between getting beat and losing. Getting beat means you played well and the other team simply played better. Losing means you failed to take advantage of things you could have done in order to improve your chance of victory. The Jays have been losing a lot lately, mostly to themselves. And they know it.
The Jays haven’t been playing their best baseball—that’s obvious. The good news is the race is close and as long as they can keep their head above water they’ve got a chance to reclaim the division. An additional bonus is that they will play a slew of 'weaker' teams in the remaining games on their schedule.
The bad news: They've lost to two of those weaker teams already in the Rays and the Yankees. More bad news: Their future is now at the mercy of another team's results.
I would advise the Jays not to underestimate any competition from here on out. There are no breaks in a September push for the postseason. They need to reclaim the division lead because a one-game playoff, while entertaining for fans, is a gamble the Jays do not want to roll the dice on. The Jays have a very small margin for error. The narrative of "plenty of baseball left" doesn't apply now. Not when every game matters and certainly not when you no longer control your own destiny.
The Jays must win, but other teams must now also lose. With their star bats running cold, the rotation showing cracks and the bullpen blowing leads, their insistence that there's nothing to worry about feels like a lie they desperately want to believe. | 2024-04-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7759 |
Anna Maiques
Anna Maiques Dern (born 3 September 3, 1967) is a former field hockey player from Spain. She was a member of the Women's National Team that won the golden medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics on home soil (Barcelona).
References
Category:1967 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Terrassa
Category:Spanish female field hockey players
Category:Catalan female field hockey players
Category:Olympic field hockey players of Spain
Category:Field hockey players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic gold medalists for Spain
Category:Olympic medalists in field hockey
Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics | 2023-12-23T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9275 |
Juvenile mother arrested after infant's body found in trash in Petersburg
PETERSBURG, Va. (WVTR) -- Petersburg police have confirmed a mother has been arrested after her infant's body was found inside the back of a trash truck Friday morning.
The infant's juvenile mother is in custody and has been charged with concealing a body. No addition information about the woman has been released at this time.
See images from the scene:
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"A trash worker discovered the baby inside the back of the truck," Esther Hyatt, Public Information Officer, said. "Detectives have located someone who may be the child's mother, but that has not been confirmed."
One neighbor, who lives near Berkeley Avenue and North Boulevard, said detectives knocked on his door Friday morning and said a dead infant had been found on his block.
Related: College mother allegedly gives birth in dorm, kills newborn:
4PHOTOS
College student kills newborn, puts in backback
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Juvenile mother arrested after infant's body found in trash in Petersburg
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Petersburg Dinwiddie Crime Solvers anonymously at 861-1212, text the keyword "pdcash" followed by the tip and send to 274637 or go to the website pdcrimesolvers.org. | 2023-11-03T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6977 |
Q:
Get last emitted object from multiple sources
To be more specific, I don't want an array of emitted object. I want the last object emitted by either source.
Currently, it's working like this
.withLatestFrom(subject1, subject2)
.switchMap([val1, val2]) => {...}
What I want is
.withLatestFrom(subject1, subject2)
.switchMap(latestVal) => {...}
To avoid a possible x=y problem. What I have is two subjects. Subject1 and Subject2.
If subject2 has emitted any values, that value will always trump subject1. In my use case once subject 2 has started emitted, this particular module will ignore subject 1. But subject 1 will be used elsewhere.
But I want a way to feed these two subjects as sources and either get the last emitted value, or the last value of subject 2 if it's not null. If subject 2 is null then get the last value from subject 1.
A:
Here is an example that I think does what you are looking for:
const first = Rx.Observable.interval(1000).map(x => `first (${x})`);
const second = Rx.Observable.interval(2000).map(x => `second (${x})`);
Rx.Observable.merge(
first.takeUntil(second),
second
)
.subscribe(
x => { console.log('next: ', x); },
null,
() => { console.log('complete'); }
);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/rxjs/5.5.5/Rx.min.js"></script>
The takeUntil will cause the "first" observable to stop emitting values for this subscription the first time the "second" observable emits.
| 2024-07-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3372 |
Headache in intracerebral hematomas.
We sought to describe the frequency and location of headache in intracerebral hematoma (ICH) and to analyze its clinical and CT predictors by means of multivariate analysis. Headache is more common in intracerebral hemorrhage than in ischemic stroke, and its frequency varies with hematoma location, but the pathophysiologic mechanisms of headache associated with ICH are not fully known. We examined a cohort of 289 patients with ICH during a 14-month period in a university hospital. Clinical, including the presence and location of headache, and CT features were collected by two neurologists. One hundred and sixty-five (57%) patients with ICH had a headache at the onset of their stroke. Headache was more common in cerebellar and lobar hemorrhages than in deep ones (thalamic, caudate, capsuloputaminal, brainstem). Headache was also more common in women, patients younger than 70 years, those who vomited, and those with meningeal signs, a Glasgow Coma Scale score < 10, a hematoma volume > 10 ml or CT evidence of intraventricular or subarachnoid bleeding, moderate to severe hydrocephalus, or transtentorial herniation or midline shift. In multiple logistic regression analysis, only meningeal signs (odds ratio [OR] = 2.3), cerebellar or lobar location (OR = 2.1), transtentorial herniation (OR = 1.8), and female gender (OR = 1.6) were significant predictors of headache at the onset of ICH. Hematoma location, meningeal signs, and gender are more predictive of headache than hematoma volume, suggesting that headache is more often related to the activation of an anatomically distributed system in susceptible individuals and to subarachnoid bleeding than to intracranial hypertension. | 2023-08-08T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6608 |
Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. For more information about this message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov.
Acanthamoeba Keratitis 2011 Investigation FAQs
Why was CDC investigating reports of Acanthamoeba keratitis?
CDC had been monitoring Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) infections since the investigation of an AK outbreak in 2007 that resulted in a recall of a contact lens solution in 2007. Initially, reports of AK cases declined following the recall, but information from reporting partners now appears to show that the numbers of AK cases still remain elevated above the numbers reported in the years prior to the outbreak. An AK Investigation Team (AKIT) was formed to investigate the risk factors that might be associated with new AK cases. The AKIT included CDC; other federal, state, and local public health partners; partner ophthalmology centers and laboratories; academic institutions around the country; and professional academies of eye care providers. The AKIT started its investigation on March 21, 2011.
How was the elevated number of nationwide AK cases detected?
As part of a 2007 AK outbreak investigation, CDC established an informal surveillance system with reference laboratories and ophthalmology centers nationwide to follow trends in the occurrence of AK cases in the United States. After an initial decline in the number of cases being reported from these centers following the recall of a contact lens solution in 2007, AK case reporting leveled off but the number of cases reported from these centers has not returned to the levels noted before the 2007 outbreak.
Why have cases not decreased to pre-outbreak levels?
At this point, public health officials do not know why the numbers of reported AK cases have not returned to levels seen in the years before the 2007 outbreak. The 2011 AK investigation was conducted to determine whether there are common risk factors for AK among infected people across the country.
How was information being collected on people with AK?
Standardized interviews of people with AK, their treating ophthalmologists, and their primary eye care providers were conducted by state and local health officials and staff at CDC. Similar interviews were also conducted with contact lens wearers 12 years of age and older who have never had AK. The AK Investigation Team (AKIT) then compared the information from AK case-patients with contact lens wearers without AK to better understand why certain people get this disease and others do not.
Where were AK cases occurring?
Nationwide. The reporting reference laboratories and ophthalmology centers are in 15 states geographically distributed across the United States. Public health officials worked with these and other centers to obtain contact information for people diagnosed with AK. AK case-patients were identified in more than 30 states.
How many people get AK each year?
AK is a rare disease, and information about the number of people who get AK each year is limited because AK cases are not required to be reported to state health departments or CDC. Information about the previous AK outbreak investigation can be found on the Publications, Data, & Statistics page.
How can I reduce my risk for getting AK if I wear contact lenses?
Contact lens use is very common among people who get AK. Although public health officials do not yet know what risk factors are involved in this apparent increase, all contact lens users should follow these recommendations to help reduce their risk for AK and other eye infections:
Visit your eye care provider for regular eye examinations.
Wear and replace contact lenses according to the schedule prescribed by your eye care provider.
Remove contact lenses before any activity involving contact with water, including showering, using a hot tub, or swimming.
Wash hands with soap and water and dry before handling contact lenses.
Clean contact lenses according to instructions from your eye care provider and the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Never reuse or top off old solution. Use fresh cleaning or disinfecting solution each time lenses are cleaned and stored.
Never use saline solution or rewetting drops to disinfect lenses. Neither solution is an effective or approved disinfectant.
Be sure to clean, rub, and rinse your lenses each time you remove your lenses. Rubbing and rinsing your contact lenses will aid in removing harmful microbes and residues.
Store reusable lenses in the proper storage case.
Storage cases should be rubbed and rinsed with sterile contact lens solution (never use tap water), emptied, and left open to dry after each use.
Replace storage cases at least once every three months.
Contact lens users with questions regarding which solutions are best for them should consult their eye care providers. They should also consult their eye care providers if they have any of the following symptoms: eye pain or redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensation of something in the eye, or excessive tearing. | 2024-04-12T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4297 |
Antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor settings. Decreasing barriers to access and promoting adherence.
Since 2002, the HIV Equity Initiative of the nongovernmental organization Partners in Health has been expanded in conjunction with the Haitian MOH to cover 7 public clinics. More than 8000 HIV-positive persons, 2300 of whom are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) are now followed. This article describes the interventions to promote access to care and adherence to ART developed in reference to the specific context of poverty in rural Haiti. User fees for clinic attendance have been waived for all patients with HIV and tuberculosis and for women presenting for prenatal services. Additionally, HIV testing has been integrated into the provision of primary care services to increase HIV case finding among those presenting to clinic because of illness, rather than solely focusing on those who present for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). Once a patient is diagnosed with HIV, medications and monitoring tests are provided free of charge and transportation costs for follow-up appointments are covered to defray patients' out-of-pocket expenses. Patients are given home-based adherence support from a network of health workers who provide psychosocial support and directly observed therapy. In addition, the neediest patients receive nutritional support. Following the description of the program is an approximation of the costs of these interventions and a discussion of their impact. | 2023-10-08T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4628 |
Protein--energy malnutrition, Fe and vitamin A remain some of the most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide^(^[@ref1]^)^, and food aid targeted at improving both food security and foreign agricultural development is necessary to create sustainable and effective programmes to treat undernutrition. Fortified-blended foods (FBF) have traditionally consisted of micronutrient-fortified, partially precooked blends of milled cereals and pulses. The most commonly distributed micronutrient-fortified food aid by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is corn--soya blend (CSB) FBF. Hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of CSB are distributed annually^(^[@ref2]^)^, and the most widely distributed is CSB+, a roasted CSB blend^(^[@ref3]^)^. A recent report cited the importance of formulating new food aid products to improve treatment of malnutrition, which included suggestions to utilise crops that are adapted to climate change, locally available, and utilising processing methods that may destroy anti-nutritional factors thereby improving the nutritional quality of FBF^(^[@ref2]^)^. Despite recommendations calling for new formulations, there is little research assessing nutritional outcomes from these changes compared with previous FBF formulations.
Corn, soya, sorghum and cowpea are all crops suitable for food aid due to their availability and acceptability worldwide. In 2012, The World Food Program invested 62 % of its food aid efforts to support sub-Saharan African nations^(^[@ref4]^)^. Cowpea is a nitrogen-fixing, drought-tolerant legume that can be utilised in intercropping because it is tolerant to shade^(^[@ref5]^--^[@ref8]^)^, and Africa produces 96 % of global cowpea hectares^(^[@ref5]^)^. Sorghum porridge is a widely consumed staple in many areas throughout Africa, and from 1993 to 2013, 36 % of global sorghum production came from African nations^(^[@ref9]^,^[@ref10]^)^. The combination of sorghum with cowpea in FBF has potential to enhance low levels of cysteine and methionine found in cowpeas, and cowpeas' amino acid composition complements traditionally low lysine levels in sorghum^(^[@ref5]^,^[@ref8]^)^. Formulating new blends with sorghum and cowpea may allow for local and regional procurement aimed at improving local agricultural markets and nutritional outcomes in food aid-receiving countries^(^[@ref2]^)^.
When consumed in large quantities, antinutritional factors such as trypsin and haemagglutinins in legumes, and phytates and tannins in cereals, may negatively affect the bioavailability of amino acids and minerals such as Zn and Fe that may contribute to stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies in low-income countries^(^[@ref11]^,^[@ref12]^)^. Extrusion is a processing technique that has been shown to decrease antinutritional factors and improve protein and Fe bioavailability^(^[@ref13]^--^[@ref15]^)^ by an operation that first grinds, then partially cooks, and finally applies pressure to products to promote expansion to a desired density^(^[@ref16]^)^. Additionally, because density of extruded products is controlled, a unique benefit of this processing is its ability to create FBF with enhanced energy and micronutrient density^(^[@ref2]^)^. Extrusion may further benefit food aid consumers because it can create pre-cooked porridges, which take less energy and time to prepare.
In addition to suggestions to use alternative commodities and processing methods, it has been proposed that lack of animal-source protein may be a reason why FBF have not traditionally adequately prevented stunting and wasting^(^[@ref2]^)^, although this has not been supported in a recent review^(^[@ref17]^)^. Limitations to utilising animal protein isolates like whey protein concentrate (WPC) include: they are costly, may not provide the protein quantity to support linear growth in suggested amounts, and may lack beneficial bioactive components reported as important components of supporting growth^(^[@ref18]^)^. A recent field trial comparing CSB+ against a complementary food product containing an animal-source protein found no difference in Fe status, or lean mass between protein-rich complementary foods in children at 6 months of age for 9 months, although there were significant improvements in knee--heel height^(^[@ref19]^)^. Utilisation of soya-based proteins may be a safe, cost-effective and efficacious alternative to WPC^(^[@ref20]^)^, and therefore, whey and soya protein may similarly enhance protein quality of FBF by providing amino acids that are highly bioavailable.
The primary objective in this study was to assess protein, Fe and vitamin A outcomes of newly (according to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) guidelines^(^[@ref2]^)^) formulated extruded sorghum-, cowpea-, corn- and soya-based FBF, compared with a current, non-extruded USAID corn and soya blend FBF, CSB+. Combinations of corn, soya, sorghum and cowpea were chosen as commodities to assess whether sorghum or cowpea consumption, as recommended as alternative to corn or soya in the Food Aid Quality Report, would result in similar or better protein, vitamin A or Fe outcomes. A second aim was to compare the protein quality of a WPC-containing FBF with a soya protein isolate (SPI)-containing FBF^(^[@ref17]^,^[@ref18]^)^.
Methods {#sec1}
=======
Ethical standards {#sec1-1}
-----------------
We chose weanling rats, which are a well-known nutritional model, to allow for assessment of FBF protein quality, and vitamin A and Fe bioavailability during a linear growth period. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Kansas State University approved all animal procedures (protocol 3399). Welfare assessments were carried out prior to and during the experiment.
Diets {#sec1-2}
-----
In order to compare nutritional outcomes related to recommended formulation, six FBF were developed according to USAID food aid recommendations^(^[@ref2]^)^, and were later reformulated to meet viscosity requirements. In reformulation, sugar replaced 15 % grain and legume flours to meet viscosity requirements and enhance acceptable sensory characteristics, and additional WPC or SPI and oil were added to meet protein and fat requirements ([Table 1](#tab01){ref-type="table"}). The content of 15 % sugar was estimated to not exceed daily WHO guidelines, with the recommendation that no more than 50 % of energy intake come from FBF consumption assuming that the remaining energy intake would not exceed 5 % free sugar^(^[@ref2]^)^. Vitamin and mineral premixes were formulated according to recommendations by the Food Aid Quality Report^(^[@ref2]^)^, as 3·2 % of FBF (Research Products Company). Blends were created by extruding grain and legume flours, milling to powder, then adding sugar, vitamin and mineral premix, oil and WPC 80 % (WPC80) (Davisco Foods) or SPI 80 % (Organic Puris 1060; World Food Processing). For comparison of commodity types within FBF formulation, two white (Fontanelle 4575, 738Y), one red (217X Burgundy) sorghum with cowpea (WSC1 + WPC, WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC, respectively), a white sorghum (Fontanelle 4575) soya (WSS + WPC), and corn--soya blend (CSB14 + WPC), all with WPC, along with white sorghum (Fontanelle 4575) cowpea with SPI (WSC1 + SPI) extruded blends, were developed. WSC1 + WPC, WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC, WSS + WPC and CSB14 + WPC were formulated to compare outcomes related to consumption of different commodity types (sorghum--cowpea blends, sorghum--soya, and corn--soya). Further, CSB14 + WPC was developed to compare new formulation and extrusion of blends with a current USAID FBF (CSB+). WSC1 + SPI was formulated to compare soya with whey protein in WSC1 + WPC. CSB+ was purchased from a USDA producer (Bunge Milling), with standard preparation, which includes utilisation of heat-treated corn and soyabeans which are mixed, and micronutrient fortified. American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G, which is a diet formulated to meet the National Research Council (NRC) requirements for growing rats, was included as a control diet group to facilitate assessment of adequacy of the FBF. Of note, Fe forms and concentrations, as well as vitamin A concentrations, were different between the CSB+, extruded FBF and AIN-93G. AIN-93G contained ferric citrate (6·6/100 g), while extruded FBF and CSB+ contained sodium ferric EDTA/ferrous fumarate, although at different concentrations; vitamin A concentrations in CSB+ were nearly twice those in newly formulated FBF ([Table 2](#tab02){ref-type="table"}), and more than forty times the levels in AIN-93G. Sodium ferric EDTA was chosen to reduce mineral--antinutrient interactions found in ionised Fe forms, to improve bioavailability^(^[@ref2]^)^. Therefore, Fe availability of FBF was expected to surpass AIN-93G (ferric citrate alone). Table 1.Newly formulated extruded fortified-blended foods, corn--soya blend plus (CSB+) and American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G formulations (%)[\*](#tfn1_2){ref-type="table-fn"}Sorghum flourCowpea flourSoya flourCorn flourSugarWhey proteinSoya proteinVegetable oilMicronutrient premixWSC1 + WPC, WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC24·738·600159·509·03·2WSS + WPC47·6015·70159·509·03·2WSC1 + SPI24·738·6001509·59·03·2CSB14 + WPC0015·248·1159·509·03·2[^1][^2] Table 2.Newly formulated extruded fortified-blended foods (FBF) and corn--soya blend plus (CSB+) vitamin and mineral forticant levels (mg per 100 g)^(^[@ref2]^)^Newly formulated extruded FBFCSB+Vitamin A palmitate0·488Vitamin A retinyl ester1·04Thiamin mononitrate (B~1~)0·652Thiamin mononitrate (B~1~)0·2Riboflavin (B~2~)0·933Riboflavin (B~2~)1·4Niacinamide (B~3~)9·07Niacinamide (B~3~)8Calcium [d]{.smallcaps}-pantothenate (B~5~)3·646Calcium [d]{.smallcaps}-pantothenate (B~5~)1·6Pyridoxine hydrochloride (B~6~)0·752Pyridoxine hydrochloride1Folic acid (B~9~)0·087Folic acid (B~9~)0·11Vitamin B~12~0·0015Vitamin B~12~0·002Vitamin D~3~0·0292Vitamin D~3~0·011Vitamin E13·224Vitamin E8·3Vitamin K0·033Vitamin K0·03Coated ascorbic acid40·0Coated ascorbic acid90Ca (tricalcium phosphate)279·08Ca (tricalcium phosphate)452Fe13·0[\*](#tfn2_1){ref-type="table-fn"}Fe6·5[\*](#tfn2_1){ref-type="table-fn"}Sodium ferric EDTA2·0Sodium ferric EDTA2·5Ferrous fumarate11·0Ferrous fumarate4·0Iodine (potassium iodide)0·23Iodine (potassium iodide)0·04Magnesium oxide9·47P (tricalcium phosphate)290·97P (tricalcium phosphate)290K (potassium monophosphate)163·19K (potassium chloride)140Sodium chloride225·67Sodium chloride326Zinc sulfate5·50Zinc sulfate monohydrate5[^3]
Fortified blended food production {#sec1-3}
---------------------------------
Sorghum--cowpea, sorghum--soya and corn--soya flours were extruded on a single screw extruder (X-20; Wenger Manufacturing Co.). The dry feed rate was 200 kg/h for formulations made from commercially sourced flours and 166 kg/h for formulations that were obtained from flours produced from pilot milling (cowpea flour-containing FBF).
Steam and water were added in the preconditioner, where discharge temperature was maintained above 85°C, and screw speed ranged from 500 to 550 rpm. In-barrel moisture content ranged between 18 and 20 %, the die had a single circular opening of 4·1 mm. After cutting, extrudates were dried using a double-pass dryer/cooler (series 4800; Wenger Manufacturing Co.) operating at 104°C, where they were retained for 10 min, before being cooled for 5 min at room temperature. Vitamins and minerals were mixed in with other dry ingredients in steps to ensure mixing uniformity. Once dry ingredients were mixed and combined through this process, oil was added and mixed.
Diet, macronutrient and antinutrient analysis {#sec1-4}
---------------------------------------------
FBF were analysed by AOAC official methods by the University of Missouri Agricultural Chemical Laboratories. Methods included measurement for total energy (by calculation: protein = 4, carbohydrate = 4, fat = 9 kcal/g; protein = 16·7, carbohydrate = 16·7, fat = 37·7 kJ/g), protein (LECO; AOAC 990.03, 2006), fat (acid hydrolysis, 954.02, 2006), carbohydrates (by calculation: 100 % -- (% crude protein + ash + crude fat + moisture)), and amino acids including available lysine (HPLC and spectrophotometry AOAC 982.30E; 975.44). Phytate and tannin contents of blends were analysed as described by Joseph^(^[@ref21]^)^. Briefly, phytates and tannins were assessed using a Megazyme kit (Megazyme International) and methods described previously^(^[@ref22]^)^, respectively.
Study design {#sec1-5}
------------
Weanling, 21- to 23-d-old male Sprague--Dawley rats (Charles River) were randomised into eight diet groups (*n* 10 per group, *n* 80 total). Animals were housed individually in wire-bottomed cages (to prevent coprophagy) with a resting board beneath food and water feeders, in a temperature-controlled facility with 12-h light and dark cycles. Rats were provided food and water *ad libitum*, fed every other day when food intake was measured, and weighed weekly for 4 weeks. Study length and size were based on the preventative prophylactic^(^[@ref23]^)^, and protein efficiency ratio^(^[@ref24]^)^ methods, respectively.
Data and sample collection {#sec1-6}
--------------------------
At study end, rats were anaesthetised by CO~2~ inhalation, weights and lengths were recorded, and euthanised by exsanguination. Length from nose to base of tail was measured as a comparison of overall linear growth. Blood collected from cardiac puncture was divided into 2 ml EDTA-K2 vacuum tubes (Fisher) and 2 ml microcentrifuge tubes for Hb and serum, respectively. EDTA tubes were immediately placed on ice and subsequently stored at 4°C for 48 h before analysis. Blood samples in microcentrifuge tubes collected for serum analysis were allowed to rest at room temperature under Al foil to protect them from light. They were then centrifuged at 3000 ***g*** for 15 m, supernatant fraction was pipetted into microcentrifuge tubes, flash frozen in liquid N~2~, and stored at −80°C. Following blood collection, liver tissue was collected, weighed, flash frozen in liquid N~2~, and stored at −80°C. After hepatic samples were collected, bone density and total body fat mass were measured via a PIXIMUS densitometer (Lunar) following manufacturer instructions. Prior to the study, it was verified that hepatic removal had a consistent, and minimal, effect on fat mass and bone density measured.
Iron quantification {#sec1-7}
-------------------
### Hepatic and diet iron {#sec1-7-1}
Hepatic Fe analysis was determined by wet ashing before quantification by flamed atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) (Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 100). Briefly, 1 g of hepatic tissue was placed into a 50 ml acid-washed beaker, 10 ml of full-strength nitric acid was slowly added and left for 1 h for chemical decomposition. Samples were then brought to the boil, reduced to 1 ml over 2--3 h, titrated to 10 ml with deionised-distilled water, and quantified in duplicate (*n* 10) by AAS. Fe content of blends was analysed in duplicate (*n* 1) by atomic absorption spectrometry (Great Plains Analytical Laboratory AACC method 40-70.01).
### Hb {#sec1-7-2}
Hb samples were prepared in triplicate (*n* 10) using Drabkin\'s reagent for cyanmethaemoglobin measurement (Sigma Aldrich). Samples were compared with a standard Hb curve prepared with lyophilised bovine Hb and measured by spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 540 nm according to the manufacturer\'s instructions.
Retinol quantification {#sec1-8}
----------------------
### Hepatic retinol {#sec1-8-1}
Hepatic retinol concentrations were analysed in duplicate (*n* 10) using an adapted protocol^(^[@ref25]^,^[@ref26]^)^. In initial samples analysed, butylated hydroxytoluene did not protect retinol from oxidation, and was not included in the protocol. A liver sample (0·1 g) was weighed and homogenised by vortexing well with 0·25 g ascorbic acid in 5 ml ethanol^(^[@ref26]^,^[@ref27]^)^. Samples were placed on ice, and 1 ml of supersaturated KOH was added. After vortexing, samples were heated for 30 min in a waterbath (70°C), vortexing every 10 min for 30 s. After ensuring that tissue was totally dissolved, samples were cooled on ice for 10 min. After cooling, 6 ml of hexane were added, the sample was vortexed, the supernatant fraction was removed, and samples were dried down in a Vacufuge (Eppendorf) at 20°C. This process was repeated twice more. When approximately 1 ml of sample remained, it was vortexed for 30 s, pipetted into Eppendorf tubes, dried under N~2~, and stored at −20°C overnight (\<24 h). Samples were reconstituted into 400 µl of mobile phase, vortexed well, and 20 µl were injected into the HPLC.
### Serum retinol {#sec1-8-2}
Serum for all rats was pooled and prepared in duplicate (*n* 1), because of low volumes of CSB+ serum due to small body size. Pooling has been shown to be highly representative of individual serum samples *in vivo*^(^[@ref28]^)^. Serum was extracted using a modified protocol^(^[@ref26]^,^[@ref29]^)^. Serum samples (150 µl) were added to an equal volume of ethanol with ascorbic acid (0·25 g/5 ml), vortexed, and extracted three times with 1 ml of hexane, with the supernatant fraction removed after each extraction. Supernatant samples were dried down under N~2~, and stored at −20°C overnight (\<24 h). Samples were reconstituted into 40 µl of mobile phase, vortexed well, and 30 µl were injected into the HPLC.
### Diet retinol {#sec1-8-3}
Vitamin A content of blends was analysed as described previously in duplicate^(^[@ref30]^)^. A sample of 0·25 g of blend was weighed, transferred into a 50 ml glass centrifuge tube, then 3·5 ml of ethanol and 1·5 ml deionised-distilled water were added to the sample with 0·25 g ascorbic acid, followed by 1 ml of supersaturated KOH. FBF samples were vortexed, then placed in a 60°C waterbath for 30 min, vortexing every 10 min, then 2 ml of deionised-distilled water were added, and FBF samples were cooled on ice. Hexane (7 ml) was added, the entire sample was vortexed, the supernatant fraction was removed, and the supernatant fraction was dried down in a Vacufuge (Eppendorf) at 20°C. This process was repeated twice more. When approximately 0·5 ml of sample remained, it was vortexed for 30 s, pipetted into Eppendorf tubes, dried under N~2~, and stored at −32°C overnight (\<24 h). AIN93-G, extruded FBF and CSB+ were reconstituted in 40, 80 and 160 µl, respectively, with 20 µl injected into the HPLC. Different reconstitution volumes were utilised to obtain similar retinol values, across blends with a wide range of vitamin A content.
### Sample analysis {#sec1-8-4}
Samples were run on an Agilent Eclipse XDB 5 µ[m]{.smallcaps} C~18~ (250 × 4·6 mm) analytical column at a flow rate of 1 ml/min for 20 min at 23·4°C with an autosampler (Shimadzu SIL) on an HPLC containing a LC20AB pump (Shimadzu), and a Shimadzu SPD-M20A PDA. Mobile phase consisted of 47:47:6 methanol, acetonitrile and chloroform. Samples were analysed against an external standard curve prepared using retinyl acetate (US Pharmacopeia); standards were prepared in duplicate daily from stock solutions after analysis on a spectrophotometer at 325 nm to quantify absorbance. Concentration was calculated using a molar extinction coefficient of 0·155 for retinyl acetate in ethanol^(^[@ref31]^)^.
Calculations {#sec1-9}
------------
Due to differences in protein, fat, carbohydrate and total energy content between blends, as well as evidence suggesting that protein intake may not directly relate to linear growth as protein reaches a certain concentration in the diet^(^[@ref32]^)^, energy efficiency was calculated along with protein efficiency as an indicator of protein quality:
Lean mass was calculated to monitor for weight gain related to adiposity rather than linear or lean mass:
Blends were compared with digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) recommendations for protein quality assessment. DIAAS was utilised to analyse protein quality because of limitations of the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) as an estimate of crude protein digestibility, and the recent recommendation of the FAO that DIAAS replace PDCAAS^(^[@ref20]^)^.
Statistical analysis {#sec1-10}
--------------------
Group differences were assessed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey\'s test after satisfying Levene\'s test for homogeneity. Significance was set at *P* \< 0·05; statistics were performed using SAS version 9.3 (SAS Institute, Inc.).
Results {#sec2}
=======
Composition of fortified-blended foods {#sec2-1}
--------------------------------------
CSB+ contained 8·3 % less energy, 6·9 % more carbohydrate, 23·9 % less protein (16·4 % of composition) and 41·5 % less fat (12·1 % of composition) compared with newly formulated extruded FBF ([Table 3](#tab03){ref-type="table"}). Lysine- and sulfur-containing amino acids did not meet DIAAS requirements for children aged 6 months to 4 years^(^[@ref20]^)^ in CSB+ and WSC1 + SPI diets, respectively. CSB+ and AIN-93G (6·6 mg/100 g) contained 48 and 58 % less Fe than the newly formulated extruded FBF, respectively. Vitamin A content of blends was higher and lower in CSB+ and AIN-93G, respectively, compared with newly formulated extruded FBF. WPC-containing FBF groups had comparable macronutrient and micronutrient compositions ([Table 3](#tab03){ref-type="table"}). CSB+ mean phytate content was more than three times greater than newly formulated extruded FBF ([Table 3](#tab03){ref-type="table"})^(^[@ref21]^)^. There was no detectible tannin content in any of the FBF blends. Phytate content of WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC and WSS + WPC were similar, and more than 1·5 times greater than CSB14 + WPC; WSC1 + WPC mean phytate content was 1·2--2·5 times greater than other newly formulated blends^(^[@ref21]^)^. Table 3.Analysed macronutrient, micronutrient, and antinutrient content of fortified blended foods[\*](#tfn3_2){ref-type="table-fn"}WSC1 + WPCWSC2 + WPCRSC + WPCWSC1 + SPIWSS + WPCCSB14 + WPCCSB+Total energykcal/100 g394·6396·5397·1395·1392·19392·4361·64kJ/100 g1651·01659·01661·51653·11640·91641·81513·1Carbohydrateg/100 g60·859·660·759·960·761·164·7% energy content61·660·161·160·661·962·371·6Proteing/100 g19·019·719·519·219·419·314·7% energy content19·219·919·619·419·819·716·3Fatg/100 g8·48·88·58·78·07·74·9% energy content19·220·019·220·018·318·012·1Ash (g/100 g)3·73·63·63·83·73·23·9Crude fibre (g/100 g)1·31·81·31·91·31·52·8Moisture (g/100 g)6·86·56·56·56·96·99·0Lysine (mg/g)74·170·972·260·569·568·352·9[†](#tfn3_3){ref-type="table-fn"}Cysteine + methionine (mg/g)33·130·932·224·5[†](#tfn3_3){ref-type="table-fn"}35·035·735·3Available lysine (mg/g)[‡](#tfn3_4){ref-type="table-fn"}72·067·968·658·967·466·252·2Fe (mg/100 g)15·215·915·216·315·615·68·2Vitamin A (μg/100 g)598·9496·9527·7488·4553·7462·6846·0Phytates (mg/100 g)[§](#tfn3_5){ref-type="table-fn"}832·0561·0689·0ND557·0318·01885·0Tannins (mg/100 g)[§](#tfn3_5){ref-type="table-fn"}0·000·000·00ND0·000·000·00[^4][^5][^6][^7][^8]
Food intake, anthropomorphic and micronutrient outcomes {#sec2-2}
-------------------------------------------------------
Food intake, weight gain, final body weights, energy efficiency, protein efficiency and linear growth changes were not significantly different between the five WPC-containing FBF groups (WSC1 + WPC, WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC, WSS + WPC, and CSB14 + WPC; [Table 4](#tab04){ref-type="table"}, [Figs 1](#fig01){ref-type="fig"} and [2](#fig02){ref-type="fig"}). The CSB+ group\'s total intake was significantly reduced by 30 %, final body weight, protein efficiency were significantly decreased by greater than 50 %, energy efficiency was significantly decreased by \>50 %, and length was significantly reduced by greater than 20 % compared with all groups ([Table 4](#tab04){ref-type="table"}). During week 1, all groups consumed the same amount of FBF, while weight gain was significantly decreased (\>50 %) in the CSB+-consuming group. In subsequent weeks, CSB+ consumption and growth were significantly decreased ([Figs 1](#fig01){ref-type="fig"} and [2](#fig02){ref-type="fig"}). Compared with the AIN-93G group, the WSC1 + SPI group gained significantly less total weight ([Fig. 2](#fig02){ref-type="fig"}). Compared with the WSC1 + WPC and AIN-93G groups, the WSC1 + SPI group had significantly lower energy and protein efficiency ([Table 4](#tab04){ref-type="table"}). Fig. 1.Average weekly food intake. The corn--soya plus (CSB+) group\'s average weekly food intake was significantly decreased during weeks 2--4 compared with extruded fortified blended food (FBF) groups and American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G (*n* 10; \* *P* \< 0·05). Fig. 2.Weekly average body weights. The corn--soya plus (CSB+) group\'s average body weight was significantly reduced compared with extruded fortified blended food groups; the sorghum--cowpea 1 with soya protein isolate (WSC1 + SPI) group\'s body weight was reduced compared with American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G and WSC1 with whey protein concentrate (WSC1 + WPC) (*n* 10; \* *P* \< 0·05 CSB+ *v*. comparison with all groups, † *P* \< 0·05 WSC1 + SPI *v*. WSC1 + WPC and AIN-93G). Table 4.Food intake, food efficiencies and length (*n* 10)(Mean values with their standard errors)AIN-93GWSC1 + WPCWSC2 + WPCRSC + WPCWSC1 + SPIWSS + WPCCSB14 + WPCCSB+Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Total food intake (g)[\*](#tfn4_3){ref-type="table-fn"}432·6[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}15·7414·3[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}15·3414·4[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}11·4429·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}12·5415·6[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}14·8414·3[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}8·9412·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}9·2293·0[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}10·0Total weight gained (g)[†](#tfn4_4){ref-type="table-fn"}195·9[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}6·7188·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}6·9184·3[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}6·7188·5[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}6·9168·9[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}7·5194·4[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}3·2189·0[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}4·254·1[^c^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·6Final body weight (g)238·1[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}8·0228·5[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}8·4225·8[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}7·3230·6[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}8·0208·6[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}9·1236·3[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}4·2228·9[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}4·796·3[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}3·4Energy efficiency (g/kcal x 1000)[‡](#tfn4_5){ref-type="table-fn"}113·2[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}4·0111·8[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·9109·1[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·9107·6[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·5101·3[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·8114·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·4113·3[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·649·0[^c^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·2Energy efficiency (g/kJ x 1000)[‡](#tfn4_5){ref-type="table-fn"}27·1[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·026·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·526·1[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·725·7[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·624·2[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·427·4[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·327·1[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·411·7[^c^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·5Protein efficiency (g/g)[§](#tfn4_6){ref-type="table-fn"}2·40[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·082·40[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·042·22[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·062·19[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·052·14[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·042·35[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·282·29[^a,b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·031·16[^c^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·17Length (cm)21·8[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·321·6[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·321·4[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·321·5[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}3·220·7[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}3·121·8[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·221·9[^a^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·316·8[^b^](#tfn4_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·4[^9][^10][^11][^12][^13][^14]
There were no significant differences in lean mass, bone mineral density, Hb, hepatic Fe, serum retinol or hepatic Fe in newly formulated extruded FBF groups. Bone mineral density was significantly lower in the CSB+ group compared with the AIN-93G group. Liver weight as a percentage of body mass was significantly lower in the CSB+ group compared with all groups ([Table 5](#tab05){ref-type="table"}). The AIN-93G group had significantly, and WSS+WPC non-significantly, lower hepatic Fe levels compared with the remaining groups ([Table 6](#tab06){ref-type="table"}). WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC and WSC1 + SPI groups had significantly lower Hb levels than the CSB+ group ([Table 6](#tab06){ref-type="table"}). Serum retinol levels were not significantly different between groups, while CSB+ and AIN-93G had significantly higher and lower hepatic retinol concentrations than all groups, respectively ([Table 6](#tab06){ref-type="table"}). Table 5.Anthropometric outcomes(Mean values with their standard errors)AIN-93GWSC1 + WPCWSC2 + WPCRSC + WPCWSC1 + SPIWSS + WPCCSB14 + WPCCSB+Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Lean mass (%)[\*](#tfn5_3){ref-type="table-fn"}89·9[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·590·0[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·489·6[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·389·7[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·488·1[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·690·3[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·389·5[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·590·4[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·5Bone mineral density (g/cm^2^) × 100087·4[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}3·180·4[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·278·3[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·782·0[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}2·577·3[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·079·0[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·380·7[^a,b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}4·673·7[^b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}1·6Liver weight/body weight (%)[†](#tfn5_4){ref-type="table-fn"}5·63[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·25·46[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·15·50[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·25·47[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·24·90[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·25·58[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·25·73[^a^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·24·00[^b^](#tfn5_2){ref-type="table-fn"}0·1[^15][^16][^17][^18] Table 6.Circulating and hepatic iron and vitamin A levels(Mean values with their standard errors)AIN-93GWSC1 + WPCWSC2 + WPCRSC + WPCWSC1 + SPIWSS + WPCCSB14 + WPCCSB+Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Mean[sem]{.smallcaps}Hb (g/l)186[^a,b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}6179[^a,b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}5177[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}9179[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}6173[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}5183[^a,b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}4187[^a,b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}9202[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}4Hepatic Fe (μmol/g) × 1014·2[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}1·729·3[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·927·2[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}3·030·0[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·727·8[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·820·7[^a,b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·927·2[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}3·231·0[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·5Serum retinol (ng/μl)89·6[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}3·573·9[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}11·274·5[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·277·9[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}2·782·6[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}1·871·3[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}1·267·4[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}10·155·7[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}5·3Hepatic retinol (ng/mg)78·1[^a^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}5·0479·4[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}17·8473·8[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}27·8482·5[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}20·4585·5[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}28·6423·8[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}19·4460·9[^b^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}28·91478·8[^c^](#tfn6_1){ref-type="table-fn"}95·2[^19][^20]
Comparing fortified-blended foods with National Research Council recommendations {#sec2-3}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to significantly different anthropometric outcomes, WSC1 + SPI and CSB+ macronutrient and micronutrient contents were compared with NRC recommendations for growing rodents^(^[@ref33]^)^. WSC1 + WPC content is also included as a representative WPC-containing FBF given its similarity in formulation to WSC1 + SPI. Comparing WSC1 + WPC composition with the NRC recommendations assisted in identifying composition differences that may have contributed to significant outcomes observed in the CSB+ and WSC1 + SPI groups. Micronutrient content of CSB+ and WSC1 + SPI met or exceeded recommended requirements for weaning rodents with the exception of vitamin B~12~, folic acid and vitamin K, which were not different from WSC-1 + WPC, whose growth was not suppressed compared with control ([Table 7](#tab07){ref-type="table"}). CSB+ thiamine content did not compare to WSC1 + WPC or meet NRC requirements. CSB+ and WSC1 + SPI levels were below requirements for sulfur-containing amino acids (53 and 48 % of recommendation, respectively), and CSB+ lysine concentration was 15·2 % less than requirement. WSC1 + WPC met all NRC recommendations^(^[@ref33]^)^. Table 7.Comparison of National Research Council (NRC)^(^[@ref33]^)^ growing rodent dietary needs *v*. formulation per 100 g of corn--soya blend plus (CSB+), white sorghum--cowpea 1 with soya protein isolate (WSC1 + SPI) and white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate (WSC1+WPC)NRCCSB+WSC1 + SPIWSC1 + WPCNRCCSB+WSC1 + SPIWSC1 + WPCVitamin A (μg)701038488488Total fat (g)54·888·748·37Vitamin D~3~ (μg)2·511·0429·229·2Protein (g)1514·7418·5319·02Vitamin E (mg)1·88·313·213·2Arginine (g)0·430·931·330·99Vitamin K (μg)100303333Aromatic amino acids (g)[\*](#tfn7_1){ref-type="table-fn"}1·021·171·211·42Thiamin (mg)0·40·20·6520·652Histidine (g)0·280·410·530·49Riboflavin (mg)0·31·40·9330·933Isoleucine (g)0·620·610·870·98Vitamin B~6~ (mg)0·610·7520·752Leucine (g)1·071·341·591·82Pantothenic acid (mg)11·63·6463·646Lysine (g)0·920·781·161·41Folic acid (μg)1001108787Methionine + cysteine (g)0·980·520·470·63Niacin (mg)1·589·079·07Threonine (g)0·620·540·680·94Vitamin B~12~ (μg)521·51·5Tryptophan (g)0·20·180·250·28Iodine (μg)15402323Valine (g)0·740·740·981·04Total Fe (mg)3·56·51313Zn (mg)1·255·55·5[^21]
Discussion {#sec3}
==========
In this study, consumption of newly formulated, protein quality-enhanced blends resulted in improved protein efficiency, and vitamin A and Fe availability outcomes compared with a current FBF (CSB+) and a control diet formulated for growing rats regardless of cereal or legume combination. Further, there were no differences in protein efficiency, vitamin A and Fe outcomes among newly formulated extruded FBF. This suggests that cowpea- and sorghum-based FBF support protein, vitamin A and Fe outcomes as effectively as corn and soya in developed blends.
CSB+ consumption resulted in poor growth outcomes, suggesting poor protein quality in the blend. The CSB+ group consumed less FBF, had weight and length suppression, and lower energy and protein efficiency compared with all groups. The SPI-containing FBF-consuming group also had significantly lower energy efficiency, protein efficiency and weight gain compared with a similar FBF group with WPC. Adiposity did not differ between FBF groups, micronutrient outcomes were similar among extruded FBF; however, the CSB+ group\'s vitamin A and Fe hepatic levels were significantly greater than other groups.
Several factors probably led to changes in growth observed in the CSB+ group, and to a lesser extent, the SPI-consuming group. Certainly, significant reduction in CSB+ consumption contributed to growth suppression, but growth was inhibited with similar food intake to other groups from week 1. Although reductions in growth were seen in the first week of feeding, when intake was consistent with other groups, CSB+ intake in subsequent weeks was significantly less than all other groups. Given growth issues despite similar food intake in the first week of feeding, food quality issues should be considered. Blends met requirements of total protein and fat intake when compared with NRC recommendations for rodents^(^[@ref33]^)^; however, selected amino acids were lower than recommendations, including methionine + cysteine (WSC1 + SPI and CSB+) and lysine (CSB+, [Table 7](#tab07){ref-type="table"}). While severe limitations in lysine may reduce rodent growth, it was probably not the only cause of growth restriction in the CSB+-consuming group. For example, up to 50 % of lysine recommendations in feed did not reduce growth in 6-week-old Sprague--Dawley rats^(^[@ref34]^)^. Relative deficiency of methionine is a well-known growth inhibitor in weanling rats^(^[@ref35]^)^, but given that the methionine content was lower in WSC1 + SPI than CSB+, it is unlikely that lack of methionine was the cause of observed growth suppression. These findings may, however, explain the small but significant decreases in weight gain and energy efficiency in the WSC1 + SPI group compared with the WSC1 + WPC group. Some of the growth impairment in the CSB+ group may have been due to several limiting amino acids (methionine, cysteine, lysine, leucine and tryptophan) or, more likely, reduction in protein and starch digestibility. The NRC recommends that protein sources be 'high quality'^(^[@ref33]^)^, and while protein content may have been adequate, protein digestibility may have been poor in the CSB+ group compared with the newly formulated extruded FBF. One noteworthy consideration is that CSB+ is partially cooked, but its preparation requires boiling to complete cooking, while extruded blends are considered completely cooked. Complete cooking improves starch and protein digestibility, supported by multiple observations that extrusion improves cereal and legume amino acid digestibility^(^[@ref36]^--^[@ref38]^)^. It is important to note that lack of extrusion, and reduced digestibility in CSB+ may have caused reductions in overall feeding by rats during the study duration. Perhaps more importantly, phytate content of blends was greatly reduced in newly formulated extruded blends, potentially due to extrusion, and reformulation of extruded FBF with less grain and legume by volume. CSB+ phytate content was more than three times the levels found in newly formulated extruded blends^(^[@ref21]^)^, and inhibition of growth may be attributed in part to reductions in amino acid bioavailability and enzyme activity of dietary and mucosal proteins, found *in vivo* with consumption of phytate-containing foods^(^[@ref39]^)^.
In the SPI-consuming group, it is possible that reduced protein digestibility when compared with WPC may have accounted for the small decrease (10 %) in weight gain. Whether outcomes in this study would result in differences in children consuming a varied diet remains to be seen. For example, no differences in growth were found in 6- to 12-month-old infants consuming soya, casein or rice formula along with complementary feeding^(^[@ref40]^)^. In infant studies, plant protein sources have been as efficacious as other ready-to-use foods for growth^(^[@ref41]^,^[@ref42]^)^, despite possibly poor protein quality identified in our study. Dietary variety beyond food aid may contribute to these findings as well. A 2014 review found that FBF containing isoenergetic, isonitrogenous sources of animal-source proteins did not enhance linear growth compared with plant proteins, suggesting that animal protein itself may not be needed to be included in FBF^(^[@ref17]^)^. While total weight gained is used as a surrogate for protein efficiency, studies have also supported that weight gain is not an accurate surrogate for prevention of stunting, more accurately depicted by linear growth. Despite reduced protein efficiency and weight gain, our study supports that a WPC-containing FBF did not significantly enhance linear growth compared with an SPI-containing FBF in rats. Given the higher cost of WPC when compared with SPI, it may be prudent to further explore the use of SPI, or other high-quality plant protein sources within FBF.
It is possible that animal feeding behaviours had an effect on growth in the CSB+ group. One possibility is that the CSB+ group did not consume CSB+ as well as other FBF groups because they contained sugar. Given that lean mass and food intake were unchanged in newly formulated extruded FBF groups compared with the AIN-93G group, which also did not contain sugar, it is unlikely that sugar led to overeating of blends. It is possible that sugar enhanced taste, or masked unappealing flavours of the extruded FBF. For example, some studies have cited an improved taste of corn and soya blended foods with enhanced sweetness^(^[@ref43]^)^.
Similarities in the micronutrient outcomes make it unlikely that micronutrient differences were responsible for the observed growth suppression. While extrusion has been demonstrated to enhance micronutrient bioavailability^(^[@ref44]^,^[@ref45]^)^, the combination of higher levels of vitamin A in CSB+ and subsequently less demand for micronutrients due to slower growth rates probably resulted in the elevated hepatic Fe and retinol levels observed. Additionally, animals in the CSB+ group did not show overt signs of other micronutrient deficiencies, and their livers were not enlarged compared with other groups. Given that circulating retinol and Hb differences were not observed among groups, vitamin A toxicity or Fe toxicity were also unlikely causes for growth suppression.
One interesting outcome was the decrease in the WSS + WPC group\'s hepatic Fe levels. Compared with other sorghum-containing groups, WSS + WPC contained 23 % more sorghum, and, despite no differences in tannin or phytic acid content among blends, higher sorghum composition may explain this downward trend in hepatic Fe levels. One study found that in mice fed rice, wheat, millet or sorghum, Fe was most poorly absorbed from sorghum compared with all other grain types^(^[@ref46]^)^. Despite these findings, given the non-significant relationship between hepatic Fe and grain types, it may be most important to consider availability, cost and preference of consumers of these products rather than small changes in biochemical markers when selecting commodities for FBF.
Interestingly, our findings do not support further differences in protein quality or in biochemical markers with the consumption of newly formulated blends containing varying levels of antinutritional factors regardless of grain type. For example, WSC1 + WPC contained more phytates than the other sorghum--cowpea formulations, but had similar energy and protein efficiency, and micronutrient outcomes. Our results may suggest that differences in digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients in sorghum and cowpea may be negated by reductions in antinutritional factors. Further, lack of differences in outcomes between groups consuming newly formulated extruded blends regardless of phytate level may suggest possible threshold, or dose-mediated adaptation, suggested previously^(^[@ref47]^--^[@ref49]^)^. Long-term studies exploring protein and micronutrient adaptation in humans may enhance understanding of FBF quality and efficacy during different lifecycle stages.
Limitations {#sec3-1}
-----------
Given consumption level and composition differences, it is not possible to specifically identify factors that contributed to the inhibition of CSB+ growth outcomes compared with other groups. FBF were consumed as dry powders rather than cooked porridges. Sorghum protein digestibility has been reported to decrease after cooking in water^(^[@ref50]^)^, although our blends are cooked during extrusion, and it is possible that protein digestibility would not be decreased with addition of hot water during their preparation. Lack of cooking may have contributed to poor protein and starch digestibility of CSB+. Further, lack of cooking limits generalisability of this study to human consumption, where blends would be consumed as porridge. We did not obtain antinutritional information for WSC1 + SPI, so our interpretation of findings in this group is limited. Newly formulated extruded FBF prepared porridges contain increased solids when compared with CSB+ (20 and 13·79 %, respectively), which is not a difference we were able to assess in this study. This study was limited to a rapid growth period, but did not follow animals through transitions into later life. This limits the ability to ascertain whether newly formulated extruded FBF support long-term growth. Additionally, the study was limited to FBF consumption only, rather than 'complementary' consumption along with other food items.
Conclusions {#sec3-2}
-----------
These results suggest that a variety of commodities can be used in extruded FBF newly formulated with high-quality protein, sugar and oil, which are of better nutritional quality than CSB+. Further studies that compare prepared FBF porridges to gain a better understanding of poor growth outcomes in the CSB+ group are warranted. Given the potential cost savings of using plant protein sources, further research comparing soya, or other plant proteins, *v*. whey protein in FBF is warranted. A field trial is currently assessing the efficacy of these newly formulated extruded porridges in combating micronutrient deficiencies and supporting linear growth in children.
The study was funded by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service under the Micronutrient Fortified Food Aid Products Pilot (MFFAPP) program, contract number \#FFE-621-2012/033-00. Funding from this project enabled authors to publish open access.
B. L. L. and S. A. conceived the experiments, B. L. L. and N. M. D. designed experiments, performed experiments, and analysed data, N. M. F. and A. B. O.-A. performed experiments, M. V. J. produced blends, contributed extrusion processing information, performed antinutrient analysis, and wrote related sections, Q. G. performed antinutrient analysis, and N. M. D. wrote the paper.
There are no conflicts of interest.
[^1]: WSC1 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate; WSC2 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 2 + WPC; RSC + WPC, red sorghum--cowpea + WPC; WSS + WPC, white sorghum--soya + WPC; WSC1 + SPI, WSC1 + soya protein isolate; CSB14 + WPC, corn--soya blend 14 + WPC.
[^2]: CSB+ (%): whole corn (78·4), whole roasted soya (20), vitamin mineral (0·2), tricalcium phosphate (1·16), potassium chloride (0·17). AIN-93G (%): corn starch (39·7), casein (20), maltodextrin (13·2), sucrose (10), soyabean oil (7), powdered cellulose (5), AIN-93 vitamin and mineral mix (4·5), [l]{.smallcaps}-cystine (0·3), choline bitartrate (0·25), *t*-butylhydroquinone (0·001).
[^3]: Amount of Fe the forticant is providing.
[^4]: WSC1 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate; WSC2 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 2 + WPC; RSC + WPC, red sorghum--cowpea + WPC; WSC1 + SPI, WSC1 + soya protein isolate; WSS + WPC, white sorghum--soya + WPC; CSB14 + WPC, corn--soya blend 14 + WPC; CSB+, corn--soya blend plus; ND, not determined; AIN, American Institute of Nutrition.
[^5]: AIN-93G is formulated to contain 6·6 mg/100 g Fe; 23·1 µg/100 g vitamin A; macronutrient and micronutrient contents analysed in duplicate.
[^6]: Does not meet recommended mg/g amino acid content for children aged 6 months to 3 years^(^[@ref20]^)^.
[^7]: By HPLC.
[^8]: From Joseph^(^[@ref21]^)^.
[^9]: AIN, American Institute of Nutrition; WSC1 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate; WSC2 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 2 + WPC; RSC + WPC, red sorghum--cowpea + WPC; WSC1 + SPI, WSC1 + soya protein isolate; WSS + WPC, white sorghum--soya + WPC; CSB14 + WPC, corn--soya blend 14 + WPC; CSB+, corn--soya blend plus.
[^10]: Mean values with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (*P* \< 0·05).
[^11]: Food intake: measured every other day by subtracting food remaining from food given (g).
[^12]: Total weight gained: cumulative weight gain from weeks 1 to 4 (g).
[^13]: Energy efficiency: total weight gain (g) divided by total energy (kcal or kJ) consumed.
[^14]: Protein efficiency: total weight gained (g) divided by total protein consumed (g).
[^15]: AIN, American Institute of Nutrition; WSC1 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate; WSC2 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 2 + WPC; RSC + WPC, red sorghum--cowpea + WPC; WSC1 + SPI, WSC1 + soya protein isolate; WSS + WPC, white sorghum--soya + WPC; CSB14 + WPC, corn--soya blend 14 + WPC; CSB+, corn--soya blend plus.
[^16]: Mean values with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (*P* \< 0·05).
[^17]: Lean mass: total weight minus fat mass and divided by total weight × 100.
[^18]: Liver weight/body weight %: liver weight divided by body weight × 100.
[^19]: AIN, American Institute of Nutrition; WSC1 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 1 with whey protein concentrate; WSC2 + WPC, white sorghum--cowpea 2 + WPC; RSC + WPC, red sorghum--cowpea + WPC; WSC1 + SPI, WSC1 + soya protein isolate; WSS + WPC, white sorghum--soya + WPC; CSB14 + WPC, corn--soya blend 14 + WPC; CSB+, corn--soya blend plus.
[^20]: Mean values with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (*P* \< 0·05).
[^21]: Aromatic amino acids: phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan.
| 2024-02-26T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8620 |
Comparison of the amount of pectin in the human terminal ileum with the amount of orally administered pectin.
Dietary fiber by definition is resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine, and it should naturally reach the large intestine. To date, there have been several reports that have examined in vivo how much dietary fiber actually reaches the terminal ileum in human subjects using glucose, with large differences in results. We compared the amount of pectin in the human terminal ileum with that of orally administered pectin. Seven healthy male volunteers ages 20 to 27 y were given a test meal containing 4.05 g of pectin. A double-lumen tube was placed in the terminal ileum by using the endoscopic retrograde bowel insertion method, and the ileal contents were aspirated through the tube. Amounts of pectin orally administered and collected from the terminal ileum were estimated as galacturonic acid concentrations (Englyst's method) and were compared with each other. The mean +/- standard deviation amount of pectin collected in the terminal ileum was 3.58 +/- 0.43 g, or 88.4 +/- 10.5% of pectin administered. Further, there were large individual differences in recovery, ranging from 76.8% to 105.1%. Approximately 90% of ingested pectin was recovered in the terminal ileum in this study. Ten percent may have been degraded by bacteria within the digestive tract, especially the terminal ileum. | 2023-10-08T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5815 |
March on Stress News
TRAUMA DETECTION 'CRUCIAL'
Added on the 19th September 2013
It is crucial to both an organisation and an individual’s needs to identify even low levels of post-traumatic symptoms, according to ex-Royal Marine and March on Stress crisis and trauma expert Gavin Rogers.
He said: “There is considerable science and research which now shows that while only a minority of individuals who are exposed to traumatic incidents are likely to develop mental health problems, including but not limited to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the effects of trauma can have wide reaching implications.
“Traumatic incidents often put pressure on an organisation’s welfare services and can affect an organisation’s overall morale.
“Just because someone doesn’t become clinically ‘ill’, evidence suggests that many people do suffer with post-incident mental health symptoms and their ability to function in the workplace is substantially impaired as a result.”
The UK military are one of the biggest supporters of such programmes and Gavin – who now delivers trauma risk management training for March on Stress - spoke from his own extensive experience as a Royal Marine with more than 30 years’ service.
He continued: “In times of trauma, people are more likely to seek support or talk frankly to their peers, rather than a medical professional. This is the key to a peer-support approach. It trains people to identify signs of trauma and ensure that the person is supported and signposted to medical help if needed.
“By having such a system in place, organisations are equipping themselves to provide psychological first-aid. This has clear business benefits and morally, shows that an organisation is taking care of its people and their health needs in every respect.” | 2023-09-04T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2382 |
Officers of the Puncak Jaya Police arrested Lanus Murib, 24, an alleged member of the armed civilian group Militer Murib from Gome, in a kiosk in Ilaga district, Puncak Jaya, on Tuesday.
“At around 7:10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the police arrested an alleged member of the Gome armed criminal group led by Militer Murib on the terrace of the HH Kiosk in Kampung Kago, Ilaga district, Puncak Jaya regency,” Puncak Jaya Police chief Adj.Sr.Comr.Marselis told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He said a Papua Police special team led by Adj.Sr.Comr Budi Basra had been closely watching the suspect before the arrest.
“Earlier, the special police team had received reports about the suspect and his weapons. They later conducted an espionage operation and arrested him in a raid,” he said.
Marselis added that during the raid, the police had confiscated an FN pistol containing 10 bullets from Lanus.
“We are still investigating to see whether the criminal group confiscated the weapon from police or military personnel,” he said.
Lanus is currently being questioned at the Ilaga Police in Puncak Jaya regency, Papua.
Separately, as many as 23 members of the armed criminal group Goliat Tabuni were reported to have left their hiding place in a mountainous area of Papua and expressed their willingness to give up the fight.
“The 23 armed criminal group members said they wanted to join with the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and requested us to build ‘honai’ as places for them to live,” the command’s spokesperson Lt.Col.Teguh Pudji said.
Tatang went on that he would convey their wish to the Puncak Jaya administration. He also agreed to develop a military post in Tingginambut, as further requested by the 23 Goliat Tabuni group members. (ebf)
2) Papua Police Chief Proposes Disbanding of KNPB
Jayapura, Jubi – Papua Police Chief Inspector General Yotje Mende proposed to local parliament that the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) be disbanded for its links to separatist rebels.
“KNPB have been brutal recently. I propose it be disbanded because it is an illegal organization. I consider it an underground organization that drives the Free Papua Movement. I asked the Central Government’s support to state the KNPB’s dissolution although it is not officially been authorized,” Chief Mende said on Monday (23/3/2015).
He said KNPB was seeking to gain public sympathy for its goal of independence. “I took action twice against them. At first, it was happened in last February in Nabire. We had sufficient evidence. There was a document asking for support from overseas, including from Benny Wenda who currently abroad. I have reported it to the Indonesian Parliament’s Commission I to disband him go abroad. Because he’s the main actor to obtain the overseas support,” he said.
Meanwhile the KNPB Spokesperson Bazoka Loga said the police do not just talk. They must have a reason to disband his organization. The Papua Police must explain their reason. He said so far the criminal actor was always the police not KNPB. “They have no evidence that KNPB was the organization that threated the country or organization of crime,” he told Jubi by phone. (Arjuna Pademme/Arnold Belau/rom)
3) Number of Native Papuans Drop to 40 Percent in Merauke
Merauke, Jubi – Merauke Regent Romanus Mbaraka said non-native Papuans now account for 60 percent of the regency’s population, while indigenous people make up the rest.
The majority of native Papuans live in the villages and some of them are on the Kimaam island, he said.“We must not allow Papuans to live as it is. We need to motivate and encourage them continuously,” Merauke regent said on Saturday (03/21/2015).
Therefore, One of the programs to improve Papuans’ live is by distributing hundreds of millions rupiah to the villages.“I also want to thank the people of Tanimbar who have entered in this area and have provide guidance and ongoing motivation to Papuans, “he said.
Chairman of Tanimbar fellowship, Soleman Jambormias added, in any event, it has always built good communication with all the Tanimbar here in order to motivate Papuans to work and to encourage their children to pursue education to a higher level. (Frans L Kobun/ Tina)
4) Number of Villages in Papua Increase Sharply
Jayapura, Jubi – The number of villages in Papua has increased significatly.
According to the new Home Affairs Ministry data, there are 524 districts, 107 sub-districts and 5,118 villages in Papua.
The Earlier data from the ministry indicated there were 467 districts, 90 sub-districts and 4,766 villages.“Some of new villages are in Lanny Jaya and in Keerom,” the head of Governance of Papua province, Sendius Wonda told reporters in Jayapura, Papua on Monday (03/23/2015).
According to him, the number of villages increased to the lack of coordination between regency and province that the regent directly applied and submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs without reporting to the provincial government.“This division is not through the governor and it is unethic. Yesterday I went to Jakarta and I said if you really want to keep the authority of the central government, the mechanism should be implemented”he said.
Although the village regulation No. 6 of 2014 provided authority to the regents in the area, the regents must first seek an approval and the views of the governor. Once it is approved than it can be proposed to the Ministry.“The process will take more or less 20 days, after receiving the draft local regulations. So you should coordinate first, “Sendius Wonda added.
Previously. Papua governor Lukas Enembe said Papua should have had data that was not far different to the Home Ministry regulation No 18 of 2013.
Because the synchronization of the data obtained from the results of the evaluation, will be used as the regulation of Papua governor No. 22 of 2010 on Guidelines for Determination of the name and code as well as data administrative area and villages in Papua.“I hope Papua province may have valid data in accordance with the Home Ministry Regulation No. 18 of 2013,” Enembe hoped. (Alexander Loen/ Tina)
5) Bridges that Cost 300 Billion Rupiah to Build Are Wasted
Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan councilors have found a number of problems related to infrastructure construction in Jayapura Regency.
The Papua Legislative Council’s Commission IV member Orgenes Kaway said construction on five bridges located in Nimbokrang Sub-district was not yet completed while other bridges are rarely used because they cannot be accessed by the public.“It means it was inappropriate. I don’t know which agency is building these bridges. But we asked for it to be reviewed because it is useless to build a bridge while road access is not being repaired,” Kaway said on Monday (23/3/2015).
He said any government’s project must be efficient and benefited to the public. If not, it would be a wasting of budget.“Not only the bridges, the road and bridge construction at Doyo and Sentani surrounding areas are also not finished yet though the budget was already installed,” he said.
He hope the construction of bridges in Nimbokrang Sub-district as well as the road and bridge construction in Doyo could be finished within Additional Budget 2015.
Meanwhile on one occasion, another Commission IV member Thomas Sondegau said the infrastructure development at regions, must meet the target. “Do not build something (infrastructure) which couldn’t be access by public. It was wasting of budget. Useless,” said Sondegau at that time. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)
6) Papua Mobile Brigade Beat Students for Wrongly Accused
Jayapura, Jubi – Police have been accused of torturing four Papuan youths, a human rights group said .
The victims of abuse allegedly by members of the police Mobile Brigade last week were identified as Timotius Tabuni (18), Lesman Jigibalom (23), Eldi Abimael (18) and Mies Tabo (15) at Cigombong, Kotaraja.
“Yesterday (Sunday, 22/3/2015), KontraS (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) reported this case to Papua Police Provost Department. It is said the case couldn’t be processed unless we could have the perpetrators. At the same day, based on their family’s request, we accompanied them to Papua Police Office to meet the Police Chief in order to report this incident,” KontraS Papua Coordinator Olga Hamadi told reporters at Padang Bulan on Monday (23/3/2015).
She explained this incident had no connection with a conflict involved Mobile Brigade officers and highland-origin residents at Abepura Mall on Wednesday night at 21:00 on 18 March 2015. “These boys intended returning home at Kotaraja Dalam but interrupted by officers who then torture them in front of Cigombong Market,” Hamadi said.
She further said several attorneys have signed a statement letter to provide a legal assistance to the victims and their family. “This can not be tolerated because it was inhuman act,” she said.
Meanwhile, Timotius’ sister Lis Tabuni said the boys had no idea when the officers interrupted and bullied them. Then a witness came by to our house telling his brother with his friends were beaten.“So, my uncle went to the Mobile Brigade Headquarter at Kotaraja that night. But the officers told him the boys were under their custody and fine. They will be send home tomorrow after their parents come and give them advice. So my uncle just went home because he thought they were just fine,” she said.
In fact, she added, his brother and his friends needed emergency treatment because they were seriously injured as the result of beating. The torture committed by Mobile Brigade officers was occurred two hours after a clash involved Mobile Brigade officers and highland-origin resident at Abepura Mall while the four boys were wrongly accused. Because they are also highland-origin, the officers thought they were also involved into the clash.
As a result of beating, Edi Kogoya (18) got fractured ribs and bruises on the back and scuffed knees as a result of being dragged on the asphalt path, while Timotius Tabuni lost his lost front teeth, had injured head and mouth, scratched back for being stabbed, bruises face and scuffed knees.
Further Lesman Jigibalom (23) was stabbed with a bayonet on the right shoulder to the lungs and bruises on the entire body. He is now still in critical condition after lungs surgery and hospitalized at Bhayangkara Hospital. While Mies Tabo (15) got bruises on the front and back head as well as shoulders as result of being dragged on the asphalt path. His forehead and knees are also scratched.
The Papua Mobile Brigade Deputy Chief Adjunct Commissionaire Tono Budiarto denied his officers committed to the action. He said it was his officers who came to save the boys from the raging mass at Cigombong Market.“And now my officers who actually saved them were being accused. That night at 21:00 we were still concentrated at the Abepura Police Office reconciling people who involved in the dispute in front of Abepura Mall. And at 23:00 my officers was reported there was a clash and amok against these four students and they secured them to the office and brought them to the Bhayangkara Hospital,” he revealed as reported by a daily news in Jayapura. (Arnold Belau/rom) | 2024-03-07T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3038 |
Karin Prokop
Karin Maria Ilona Prokop (born 11 February 1966) is an Austrian handball player.
She was born in Tulln an der Donau, a daughter of Liese Sykora-Prokop. She competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where Austria placed 5th. She also participated at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
References
Category:1966 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Tulln an der Donau
Category:Austrian female handball players
Category:Olympic handball players of Austria
Category:Handball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Category:Handball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics | 2024-05-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4072 |
Exomphalos (also known as omphalocele) is a defect in the development of the muscles of the abdominal wall, which results in the intestines, and in giant omphalocele the liver or spleen, remaining outside of the abdomen enclosed within a sac[@b1]. Exomphalos is associated with a substantial risk of infant morbidity and mortality[@b2]. Although early surgical repair can improve the prognosis of this disease, the economic burden in the first year of life can be considerable[@b3]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States reported that the mean length of hospital stay for newborns undergoing surgical repair of exomphalos was 32.5 days with an estimated mean hospital charge of \$141,724 for services rendered[@b3][@b4].
The birth prevalence of exomphalos has been reported as being between 0.9 and 3.8 per 10,000 births in various countries. For example, researchers from the USA estimated that the prevalence was 1.9 to 2.8 per 10,000 live births[@b3][@b5][@b6][@b7][@b8][@b9]. In contrast, the studies in Europe demonstrated that the prevalence was 0.9 to 3.8 per 10,000 live births[@b1][@b10][@b11][@b12][@b13][@b14]. Additionally, Tan *et al.*[@b15] and Byron-Scott *et al.*[@b16] suggested that the prevalence was 2.17 per 10,000 in Singapore and 2.9 per 10,000 births in Australia, respectively. Although the discrepancy of prevalence was observed among these countries, most of these studies found no statistically significant change over their respective time periods[@b1][@b3][@b5][@b7][@b8][@b10][@b11][@b12][@b13][@b14][@b15][@b16].
Compared to these countries, the studies describing the time trend and prevalence of exomphalos have been limited in China. Zhou *et al.*[@b17] utilized the national monitoring database which consisted of 460 hospitals at county level or above county level to report epidemiological data on exomphalos from 1996 to 2000. Additionally, a recent report from Li *et al.*[@b18] observed the prevalence of exomphalos was 1.50 per 10,000 live births and no long-term trends found for occurrence of omphalocele in China between 1996 and 2010. While, these aforementioned databases were almost years ago. Notably, to the best of knowledge, no study has demonstrated the time trends and prevalence of exomphalos in China by the data of the past decade. Whether prevalence of this disease has continued to be constant has been still unknown. Notably, there have been no study formally assess the time trend of exomphalos prevalence in Liaoning province which encompasses an area of 145,900 square kilometers and has a population of almost 42 million. Therefore, to address these aforementioned research questions, we examine exomphalos prevalence among infants as well as describe the epidemiological characteristics of this malformation in Liaoning province for the 10-year period from 2006--2015.
Results
=======
[Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"} presents the number of live births of each city in Liaoning province during the 10-year observational period. During this period, the overall number of live births was highest in 2014 (364,400) but lowest in 2015 (298,437). Additionally, when compared with cities, Shenyang, the capital city of this province, had the largest number of live births in each year. In contrast, Benxi had the smallest number of live births.
The prevalence of exomphalos in each city in Liaoning province was demonstrated in [Table 2](#t2){ref-type="table"}. During 2006--2015, 516 exomphalos cases were detected among 3,248,954 live births (prevalence rate = 1.59 per 10,000 live births). Shenyang (2.49 per 10,000 live births), Dandong (2.18 per 10,000 live births), and Fushun (2.16 per 10,000 live births) were the top three leading cities in Liaoning province. In contrast, Panjing (0.64 per 10,000 live births), Anshan (0.71 per 10,000 live births), and Yingkou (0.76 per 10,000 live births) were the three cities with lowest exomphalos prevalence.
[Figure 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"} depicts the time trend of exomphalos prevalence in each city of Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2015. Although the overall prevalence decreased from 1.47 to 1.17 per 10,000 live births, the result of APC model did not show statistical significance (APC = 1.19; 95% CI: −4.99 to 2.76) ([Table 3](#t3){ref-type="table"}). However, among these 14 cities, we observed significant decreasing trends in three cities, Fushun (APC = −9.15%; 95% CI: −16.78 to −0.83), Benxi (APC = −11.49%; 95% CI: −21.12 to −0.67), and Yingkou (APC = −16.47%; 95% CI: −28.92 to −1.84). Notably, these aforementioned cities were the three major ones which contributed almost 62.77% of the decreasing trend of exomphalos prevalence in Liaoning province ([Table 4](#t4){ref-type="table"}).
Detailed epidemiological characteristics of mothers and infants with exomphalos are presented in [Table 5](#t5){ref-type="table"}. The majority of these cases (79.8%) were diagnosed during the pregnancy. Maternal age over 30 years accounted for 38.8% of the all exomphalos cases. Han was the major maternal race of these mother (89.0%). Among these infants, the mean gestational ages and birth weight were 25.6 weeks (standard deviation \[SD\], 8.6 weeks) and 1236.2 g (SD, 1164.4 g), respectively. In these exomphalos infants, 49.2% of the infants were male and 42.8% were female.
Discussion
==========
To our knowledge, this report is one of the few reports from China, the biggest developing countries, evaluating the time trend of exomphalos prevalence as well as identifying the epidemiological characteristics. Although non-significant long-term trends were observed for the 10-year period from 2006 through 2015 in Liaoning province, we observed significant decreasing trends in three cities (Fushun, Benxi, and Yingkou). Additionally, analyses of epidemiological characteristics of all exomphalos cases presented that 79.8% cases were diagnosed during pregnancy and only 20.7% cases were given live birth. Notably, maternal age over 25 years accounted for 74.6% of the all exomphalos cases.
The overall prevalence of exomphalos for Liaoning Province in our study from 2006 to 2015 was 1.59 cases per 10,000 live births. This result was similar to two previous studies in China (1.50 per 10,000 live births between 1996 and 2010 and 1.52 per 10,000 live births between 1996 and 2000)[@b17][@b18]. Similar prevalence were also observed in several countries. For example, on the basis of 12 state population-based birth defects registries in the United States, Marshall *et al.*[@b3] reported that the overall prevalence of exomphalos was 1.92 per 10,000 live births during 1995 to 2005 (decreasing from 1.90 to 1.71 per 10,000 births in 2005). In addition, Stoll *et al.*[@b19] found the overall exomphalos prevalence was 2.18 per 10,000 live births during 1979 to 1988 in France. However, on the basis of data from the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers from 2005 to 2011, the exomphalos prevalence was 3.8 per 10,000 live births which was relatively higher than that of our study. Notably, Springett *et al.*[@b1] observed significantly higher birth prevalence of exomphalos than their previous report using the data from 1987 to 1995[@b20]. Furthermore, an increasing trend was observed in Austria (from 1.10 cases per 10,000 births in 1974--1979 to 4.20 cases per 10,000 births in 2005--2009) and North America (from 1.88 cases per 10,000 births in 1980--1984 to 4.00 cases per 10,000 births in 2005--2009).
Although non-significant trend was observed in Liaoning province during 2006 to 2015, significant results were observed in three cities, Fushun (APC = −9.15%, P = 0.03), Benxi (APC = −11.49%, P = 0.05), and Yingkou (APC = −16.47%, P = 0.04), which contributed 62.77% of the decreasing trend of overall exomphalos prevalence ([Table 4](#t4){ref-type="table"}). Additionally, we observed significant geographical variation in prevalence within Liaoning. For example, Shenyang had four-fold prevalence than that of Panjing. This difference could not be attributed to the ascertainment of exomphalos since all the cases were reviewed and confirmed through a group of state-level experts in medical genetics and pediatrics. Previous findings demonstrated a higher risk of omphalocele in residents of rural New York than those living in urban areas of the state[@b6], and another study showed large geographic variations in Europe[@b10]. Furthermore, development of a region may be associated with many environmental exposures including maternal age at delivery[@b21][@b22][@b23], socio-economic status[@b23][@b24], maternal diet and drug use during pregnancy[@b23][@b25][@b26] which were potential risk factors for exomphalos. Therefore, different development of these cities could possibly explain the differences. However, since the access on the data, we could not investigate these hypotheses. Future studies are warranted to provide more evidence of development of area (income level) and further focus on these issues.
The strength of this report include the use of population-based data collected through the province. This was a relatively large time period of data (10 years) as well as accurate results that provided a more recent report on the status of exomphalos prevalence in 14 cities of Liaoning province, with data up to 2015. Compared with previous reports, our study described the prevalence and time trend of exomphalos in all 14 cities instead of pooling them which provided the possibility of comparison between cities. Notably, this report described the time trend of exomphalos prevalence on the basis of the data from one of the most important Provinces in China, which provided the valuable evidence from developing countries. Our findings need to be interpreted with caution in the context of their limitations. First, we had no access to the demographic factors for all live births in Liaoning Province (e.g., maternal age, race/ethnicity), which hindered our ability to investigate the potential causes of the trends. Although we described the epidemiological characteristics for exomphalos infants and their mother from 2006 to 2015 ([Table 5](#t5){ref-type="table"}), we could hardly confirm the phenomenon that the prevalence of exomphalos was especially higher in specific subgroups (e.g., younger mothers). Additionally, we could not get the prevalence of Liaoning province as far back as 2006 since the access to the data. However, our report provided the trend of exomphalos prevalence in Liaoning province on the basis of the recent decade which has been very limited in developing countries. Second, the maximum time to diagnosis for exomphalos was the seventh day after birth[@b27]. We did not include exomphalos confirmed after the seventh day, which might have led to slightly lower prevalence in our study than in studies that include longer periods for confirmed diagnoses.
In conclusion, a non-significant trend of exomphalos prevalence was found in Liaoning Province over the past decade which was important for policy makers to understand the recent dynamics of exomphalos prevalence. Future studies, especially cooperating with the public health departments, should identify and focus on lifestyle factors and explore their relationship with exomphalos prevalence over time. Monitoring the populations exposed to these risk factors and taking preventive interventions should be a high national priority in public health in China.
Material and Methods
====================
Study population and data source
--------------------------------
Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital is one of the sole obstetrical and gynecological hospitals for the province of Liaoning. It has also been a comprehensive care institution, responsible for women's and children's health care guidance. Data from 2006 to 2015 were retrieved from the maternal and child health certificate registry of Liaoning Province, which was maintained by this hospital. Hospital-delivered live-born and stillborn infants are included in this registry as the monitored subjects. This registry covers all 14 cities of the province (Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Benxi, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Fuxin, Liaoyang, Panjing, Tieling, Chaoyang, Huludao), with approximately 42 million inhabitants. Liaoning Province is one of the 31 provinces providing data to the national birth defects surveillance database maintained by the Chinese Birth Defects Monitoring Network. All congenital malformation data are regularly uploaded to the online reporting system for maternal and child health surveillance by specialized staff in Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital. The maximum time to provide a diagnosis of a congenital malformation is the seventh day after birth[@b27].
The details procedures of data collection were described in previous report[@b27]. Briefly, a 'Birth Defects Register Form' was used to collect the related information on the infants with exomphalos. A 'Birth Defects Register Form' is used for collecting the information including demographic characteristics, clinical features, and obstetric items. Each neonate (or terminated fetus) was examined immediately after birth by trained health-care professionals, to screen for congenital malformations. For suspected cases that were diagnosed through prenatal ultrasound scans, case ascertainment after termination or examination after the birth was requested. Once an exomphalos case was identified and confirmed at the monitored hospital by experts in the departments of pediatrics or obstetrics or ultrasound, the mother of the infant was interviewed by the staff in order to complete the aforementioned register form. Subsequently, the 'Birth Defects Register Form' was first submitted to the local maternal and child health facility and then to the provincial maternal and child health hospital, which is Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital. The data of these cases were reviewed and confirmed by a group of state-level experts in medical genetics and pediatrics[@b27].
Exomphalos was defined as a midline abdominal wall defect, which was limited to an open umbilical cord, according to the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision^2^. All isolated, multiple cases of omphalocele were included in our analysis. The birth prevalence of omphalocele was expressed per 10,000 live births. The denominator was based exclusively on the total number of live births and data were obtained primarily from the Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital. For suspected exomphalos cases that were diagnosed through prenatal ultrasound scans, case ascertainment after termination or examination after the birth were requested. Therefore, five hundred and sixteen cases were identified. Additionally, the total number of live births in the study window was 3,248,954.
The data quality control was described in detail in previous literature[@b27]. In brief, according to the program manual to ensure high quality data, the disease diagnosis, data collection, data checking, and medical records were verified by the expert group at each level. In addition, an independent retrospective survey was organized by the experts to find deficiencies and inaccuracies in the data[@b27]. This study was conducted in compliance with local and national regulations and it was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital.
Statistical analysis
--------------------
Exomphalos prevalence were calculated for nine 1-year time intervals from 2006 to 2015. The annual percentage change for exomphalos prevalence was used to quantify the time trends[@b28][@b29][@b30][@b31]. In order to look specifically at time trends, A regression line was fitted to the natural logarithm of the rates, weighted by the number of cases, i.e. y = α + βx + ε, where y = ln (rate) and x = calendar year, and then the APC was calculated as 100×(e^*β*^−1). The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the annual percentage change was calculated by the methods for population-based cancer statistics recommended by the National Cancer Institute (<http://seer.cancer.gov/seerstat/WebHelp/seerstat.htm#Trend_Algorithms.htm>)[@b32]. We also calculated the relative contributions for rate changes which provide us for determining the contributions from individual city made to the overall trend[@b29][@b30][@b32]. Additionally, we described the individual charts of index cases for clinical course (time of diagnosis) and more detailed demographic characteristics of mother (maternal age, number of pregnancy and birth, race, income level, and education level) and infant (gestational age, birth weight, sex, and multiple birth). All analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows (version 22, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). All statistical tests were two-sided, and *P*-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Additional Information
======================
**How to cite this article**: Gong, T.-T. *et al.* Evaluating the time trends in prevalence of exomphalos in 14 cities of Liaoning province, 2006 to 2015. *Sci. Rep.* **6**, 32901; doi: 10.1038/srep32901 (2016).
This study was supported by the Liaoning Providence science and technology project (2015225025 for Yan-Hong Huang) and Shenyang science and technology project (F15-139-9-09 for Yan-Hong Huang). This study was supported by grants from the China National Health and Family Planning Commission (No. 201402006 to C-XL), the funding of the Obstetric Diseases Translational Medicine Research Center Project of Liaoning Province (No. 2014225007 to C-XL), the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81602918 for Qi-Jun Wu and No. 81402130 for Da Li), the Doctoral Start-up Foundation of Liaoning Province (No. 201501007 for Qi-Jun Wu and No. 20141045 for Da Li), the Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation (No. 151039 for Da Li), and the fund project of Public welfare scientific research of Science and Technology Department of Liaoning Province (No. 201500100 for Cheng-Zhi Jiang) Qi-Jun Wu was supported by the Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars and Fellows Support Center at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, funded by the Fogarty International Center, NIH, through an R24 Training Grant (D43 TW008313 to Xiao-Ou Shu).
**Author Contributions** T.-T.G., Q.-J.W., J.L., L.-L.L. and Y.-H.H. designed research; T.-T.G., Q.-J.W., J.L., L.-L.L. and Y.-H.H. conducted research; T.-T.G., Q.-J.W., C.-Z.J. and C.-X.L. and analyzed data; T.-T.G., Q.-J.W., Y.-L.C., D.L., C.Z. and Y.-H.H. wrote the draft; All authors read, reviewed and approved the final manuscript. Q.-J.W. and Y.-H.H. had primary responsibility for final content.
{#f1}
###### The number of live births in each city in Liaoning province, 2006 to 2015.
City Year Overall
------------------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----------
Liaoning Province 306,734 341,432 330,414 321,353 307,826 304,079 353,108 321,171 364,400 298,437 3,248,954
Shenyang 52,256 61,108 59,196 59,200 57,521 58,335 69,721 67,854 80,997 65,118 631,306
Dalian 38,744 46,652 48,309 47,900 48,774 50,490 62,324 58,722 71,178 57,641 530,734
Anshan 29,270 31,305 29,647 27,721 25,184 25,603 28,790 25,855 36,171 20,798 280,344
Fushun 11,661 12,997 12,314 12,337 11,638 11,556 12,942 12,016 12,845 10,138 120,444
Benxi 8,620 9,435 8,759 8,842 8,696 8,261 9,440 8,700 9,857 7,627 88,237
Dandong 15,710 15,725 14,836 14,274 13,894 14,038 15,895 15,111 17,718 14,278 151,479
Jinzhou 24,293 24,261 23,149 22,342 21,255 20,098 22,559 20,860 16,137 16,985 211,939
Yingkou 16,987 18,924 19,667 19,070 17,947 18,484 21,309 14,224 21,684 16,515 184,811
Fuxin 14,158 14,142 13,353 13,322 12,370 11,800 13,050 9,662 9,121 11,752 122,730
Liaoyang 12,888 15,039 13,754 13,200 12,331 11,386 13,296 11,702 12,747 9,251 125,594
Panjing 9,887 9,669 10,134 9,009 8,800 8,867 10,362 9,644 8,276 9,197 93,845
Tieling 21,263 20,298 21,456 19,854 18,421 16,945 18,938 14,960 17,389 15,269 184,793
Chaoyang 28,669 30,980 31,168 30,574 27,837 27,207 31236 29,919 30,646 26,083 294,319
Huludao 22,328 30,897 24,672 23,708 23,158 21,009 23246 21,942 19,634 17,785 228,379
###### The prevalence of exomphalos in each city in Liaoning province, 2006 to 2015 (per 10,000 births).
City Year Overall
------------------- ------ --------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Liaoning Province 1.47 1.76 1.36 1.96 1.56 1.81 1.53 1.71 1.54 1.17 1.59
Shenyang 1.91 3.11 1.69 4.39 2.09 3.60 2.44 1.77 2.84 1.07 2.49
Dalian 0.77 1.93 2.90 0.84 0.62 2.18 1.60 2.21 1.55 1.39 1.62
Anshan 1.37 0.64 0.00 1.08 0.40 0.78 0.35 1.16 0.83 0.48 0.71
Fushun 3.43 3.08 2.44 2.43 0.86 3.46 1.55 1.66 1.56 0.99 2.16
Benxi 5.80 0.00 0.00 1.13 3.45 2.42 2.12 1.15 3.04 1.31 2.04
Dandong 0.64 1.27 4.04 3.50 2.16 1.42 1.89 1.32 2.26 3.50 2.18
Jinzhou 1.23 0.82 0.43 1.79 0.94 1.49 1.33 2.40 0.62 0.59 1.18
Yingkou 0.00 2.11 0.51 1.57 0.56 0.54 0.94 0.70 0.46 0.00 0.76
Fuxin 2.83 0.71 0.00 0.00 1.62 0.85 0.00 3.10 0.00 1.70 1.06
Liaoyang 0.78 1.99 0.73 2.27 1.62 2.63 0.00 2.56 1.57 1.08 1.51
Panjing 1.01 1.03 0.00 0.00 2.27 0.00 1.93 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.64
Tieling 2.35 4.93 0.47 0.50 1.09 1.77 3.17 0.67 0.00 0.65 1.62
Chaoyang 0.70 0.65 0.96 1.31 2.51 0.37 1.28 2.01 0.98 1.53 1.22
Huludao 0.90 0.32 2.03 2.53 3.02 0.48 0.86 1.37 1.53 1.69 1.44
###### Trends in exomphalos prevalence in each city of Liaoning during 2006--2015.
Exomphalos 2006 2015 PC[†](#t3-fn3){ref-type="fn"} (%) APC[†](#t3-fn3){ref-type="fn"} (%) *P* value 95% CI
------------ ------ ------ ----------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ----------- -------- ------ ---------------
Overall 45 1.47 35 1.17 −20.06 −1.19 0.48 −4.99, 2.76
Shenyang 10 1.91 7 1.07 −43.83 −3.34 0.50 −13.27, 7.72
Dalian 3 0.77 8 1.39 79.24 −1.49 0.77 −12.22, 10.55
Anshan 4 1.37 1 0.48 −64.82 −4.59 0.34 −14.19, 6.09
Fushun 4 3.43 1 0.99 −71.24 −9.15 0.03 −16.78, −0.83
Benxi 5 5.80 1 1.31 −77.40 −11.49 0.05 −21.12, −0.67
Dandong 1 0.64 5 3.50 450.15 −1.00 0.87 −13.39, 13.17
Jinzhou 3 1.23 1 0.59 −52.32 4.08 0.53 −9.58, 19.80
Yingkou 0 0.00 0 0.00 N/A −16.47 0.04 −28.92, −1.84
Fuxin 4 2.83 2 1.70 −39.76 −0.70 0.93 −15.69, 16.97
Liaoyang 1 0.78 1 1.08 39.31 3.05 0.59 −9.02, 16.71
Panjing 1 1.01 0 0.00 −100.00 13.54 0.16 −0.44, 29.49
Tieling 5 2.35 1 0.65 −72.15 −10.86 0.26 −28.23, 10.71
Chaoyang 2 0.70 4 1.53 119.83 6.29 0.34 −7.23, 21.78
Huludao 2 0.90 3 1.69 88.32 −0.80 0.91 −16.36, 17.66
APC, annual percent change; CI, confidence interval; N/A, not available; PC, percent change.
^\*^Gastroschisis prevalence were expressed as per 10,000 live births.
^†^Percent change and annual percent change between 2006 and 2015 was calculated by the gastroschisis prevalence.
###### The relative contributions of decreasing trend of exomphalos prevalence of each city in Liaoning Province during 2006--2015.
City Decreasing trend Increasing trend
---------- ------------------ ------------------ ------ -------
Shenyang −0.03 5.36 --- ---
Dalian −0.02 2.37 --- ---
Anshan −0.05 7.41 --- ---
Fushun −0.10 15.14 --- ---
Benxi −0.12 19.24 --- ---
Dandong −0.01 1.58 --- ---
Jinzhou --- --- 0.04 15.50
Yingkou −0.18 28.39 --- ---
Fuxin −0.01 1.10 --- ---
Liaoyang --- --- 0.03 11.63
Panjing --- --- 0.13 49.22
Tieling −0.12 18.14 --- ---
Chaoyang --- --- 0.06 23.64
Huludao −0.01 1.26 --- ---
###### Demographic characteristics for exomphalos infants and their mother during 2006--2015.
Characteristics Exomphalos
--------------------------------------------- -----------------
No. of cases 516
Time of diagnosis (%)
During pregnancy 412 (79.8)
Within 7 days after delivery 104 (20.2)
Mother
Maternal age (%)
\<25 131 (25.4)
25--30 185 (35.8)
≥30 200 (38.8)
No. of pregnancy (SD) 1.8 (1.2)
No. of live births (SD) 0.7 (0.7)
Race (%)
Han 459 (89.0)
Others 57 (11.0)
Income level[†](#t5-fn2){ref-type="fn"} (%)
\< 600 yuan 28 (5.4)
600--1200 yuan 69 (13.4)
1200--2400 yuan 110 (21.3)
≥ 2400 yuan 309 (59.9)
Education level (%)
Elementary school or less 30 (5.8)
Middle school 239 (46.3)
High school 114 (22.1)
College or above 133 (25.8)
Infant
Gestational age, week (SD) 25.6 (8.6)
Birth weight, gram (SD) 1236.2 (1164.4)
Sex (%)
Male 254 (49.2)
Female 221 (42.8)
Unknown 41 (8.0)
Multiple births (%)
Yes 20 (3.9)
No 496 (96.1)
SD, standard deviation.
^†^Income level was presented as per person per year.
| 2023-08-20T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2768 |
/***************************************************************************
qgs3d.cpp
----------
begin : July 2020
copyright : (C) 2020 by Nyall Dawson
email : nyall dot dawson at gmail dot com
***************************************************************************/
/***************************************************************************
* *
* 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 of the License, or *
* (at your option) any later version. *
* *
***************************************************************************/
#include "qgs3d.h"
#include "qgsapplication.h"
#include "qgs3drendererregistry.h"
#include "qgsabstract3drenderer.h"
#include "qgs3drendererregistry.h"
#include "qgsrulebased3drenderer.h"
#include "qgsvectorlayer3drenderer.h"
#include "qgsmeshlayer3drenderer.h"
#include "qgs3dsymbolregistry.h"
#include "qgspoint3dsymbol.h"
#include "qgsline3dsymbol.h"
#include "qgspolygon3dsymbol.h"
#include "qgsmaterialregistry.h"
#include "qgspolygon3dsymbol_p.h"
#include "qgspoint3dsymbol_p.h"
#include "qgsline3dsymbol_p.h"
#include "qgsgoochmaterialsettings.h"
#include "qgssimplelinematerialsettings.h"
#include "qgsphongtexturedmaterialsettings.h"
#include "qgsstyle.h"
Qgs3D *Qgs3D::instance()
{
static Qgs3D *sInstance( new Qgs3D() );
return sInstance;
}
Qgs3D::~Qgs3D()
{
}
void Qgs3D::initialize()
{
if ( instance()->mInitialized )
return;
instance()->mInitialized = true;
QgsApplication::renderer3DRegistry()->addRenderer( new QgsVectorLayer3DRendererMetadata );
QgsApplication::renderer3DRegistry()->addRenderer( new QgsRuleBased3DRendererMetadata );
QgsApplication::renderer3DRegistry()->addRenderer( new QgsMeshLayer3DRendererMetadata );
QgsApplication::symbol3DRegistry()->addSymbolType( new Qgs3DSymbolMetadata( QStringLiteral( "point" ), QObject::tr( "Point" ),
&QgsPoint3DSymbol::create, nullptr, Qgs3DSymbolImpl::handlerForPoint3DSymbol ) );
QgsApplication::symbol3DRegistry()->addSymbolType( new Qgs3DSymbolMetadata( QStringLiteral( "line" ), QObject::tr( "Line" ),
&QgsLine3DSymbol::create, nullptr, Qgs3DSymbolImpl::handlerForLine3DSymbol ) );
QgsApplication::symbol3DRegistry()->addSymbolType( new Qgs3DSymbolMetadata( QStringLiteral( "polygon" ), QObject::tr( "Polygon" ),
&QgsPolygon3DSymbol::create, nullptr, Qgs3DSymbolImpl::handlerForPolygon3DSymbol ) );
instance()->materialRegistry()->addMaterialSettingsType( new QgsMaterialSettingsMetadata( QStringLiteral( "phong" ), QObject::tr( "Realistic (Phong)" ),
QgsPhongMaterialSettings::create, QgsPhongMaterialSettings::supportsTechnique, nullptr, QgsApplication::getThemeIcon( QStringLiteral( "/mIconPhongMaterial.svg" ) ) ) );
instance()->materialRegistry()->addMaterialSettingsType( new QgsMaterialSettingsMetadata( QStringLiteral( "phongtextured" ), QObject::tr( "Realistic Textured (Phong)" ),
QgsPhongTexturedMaterialSettings::create, QgsPhongTexturedMaterialSettings::supportsTechnique, nullptr, QgsApplication::getThemeIcon( QStringLiteral( "/mIconPhongTexturedMaterial.svg" ) ) ) );
instance()->materialRegistry()->addMaterialSettingsType( new QgsMaterialSettingsMetadata( QStringLiteral( "simpleline" ), QObject::tr( "Single Color (Unlit)" ),
QgsSimpleLineMaterialSettings::create, QgsSimpleLineMaterialSettings::supportsTechnique, nullptr, QgsApplication::getThemeIcon( QStringLiteral( "/mIconSimpleLineMaterial.svg" ) ) ) );
instance()->materialRegistry()->addMaterialSettingsType( new QgsMaterialSettingsMetadata( QStringLiteral( "gooch" ), QObject::tr( "CAD (Gooch)" ),
QgsGoochMaterialSettings::create, QgsGoochMaterialSettings::supportsTechnique, nullptr, QgsApplication::getThemeIcon( QStringLiteral( "/mIconGoochMaterial.svg" ) ) ) );
// because we are usually populating the 3d registry AFTER QgsApplication initialization, we need to defer creation
// of 3d symbols in the default style until now
QgsStyle::defaultStyle()->handleDeferred3DSymbolCreation();
}
QgsMaterialRegistry *Qgs3D::materialRegistry()
{
return instance()->mMaterialRegistry;
}
Qgs3D::Qgs3D()
{
mMaterialRegistry = new QgsMaterialRegistry();
}
| 2023-10-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6675 |
Wipe-Clean™ Weighted Lap Pad
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Sommerfly's NEW Wipe-Clean™ Weighted Lap Pad is Hospital-Grade! Made with our high-tech, ultra-durable fabric it is a perfect fit for hospitals, schools, or any setting where machine washing is unavailable or inconvenient.
Contoured at the waist to fit the body without bunching up, our NEW Wipe-Clean™ Weighed Lap Pad rests on the lap to help calm. Available in 3 sizes for children and adults. | 2024-02-29T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8630 |
Q:
Window innerWidth size change
I'm using the $watch listener function to check changes on the window inner width with the following code:
$scope.$watch(function(){
return $window.innerWidth;
}, function(value) {
if(value <= 768){
$scope.mobileSize = "mobile";
}else{
$scope.mobileSize = "screen";
}
console.log(value);
});
it should then act on the DOM with some ng-show conditions like this one for example :
<div ng-show="mobileSize == 'screen'">
...
</div>
But it only seems to affect the page when I reload it after resizing it. The console.log(value) also only changes when I refresh the page.
Is there any way to make this code work while the window is being resized ?
A:
Personally, I'm not a fan of using $watch because of its inefficiency. That said, if you're already using jQuery (or you're willing to use it) together with Angular, you can try this in your controller:
function setMobileSize(value) {
console.log(value);
if(value <= 350){
$scope.mobileSize = "mobile";
}else{
$scope.mobileSize = "screen";
}
};
setMobileSize($window.innerWidth);
$(window).resize(function(){
$scope.$apply(function(){
setMobileSize($window.innerWidth);
});
});
EDIT:
If you do not wish to use jQuery, you may bind to the resize event directly.
angular.element($window).bind('resize',function(){
$scope.$apply(function(){
setMobileSize($window.innerWidth);
});
});
| 2024-07-26T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1339 |
Speed of recovery from major depressive episodes in a community sample of married men and women.
A discrete-time survival analysis of recovery from major depressive episodes for a sample of married subjects (N = 119) identified several significant predictors of recovery including comorbidity for anxiety disorders or substance abuse, social support, age, and education. Furthermore, the analysis distinguished between different sources and types of social support, documenting that spouses' positive responses to the depression predict rapid recovery whereas the perception that friendships are conflictual predicts slow recovery. Finally, the analysis documented changes in the importance of predictor variables over the course of the episode. Specifically, spouse's negative reactions to the depression and subject's education level became more important predictors of recovery as the episode became longer, and the recovery advantage experienced by younger respondents lessened over time. | 2024-07-13T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6182 |
PESTO CHEESECAKE
Follow homemade pesto instructions or use purchased pesto in this appetizer cheesecake. This recipe makes one large cheesecake, but can be easily cut in half and baked in a 7 inch springform pan or two 4 inch spring form pans. Unbaked cheesecakes also freeze really well.
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You can rate this recipe by giving it a score of one, two, three, or four forks, which will be averaged out with other cooks' ratings. If you like, you can also share your specific comments, positive or negative - as well as any tips or substitutions - in the written review space. | 2024-06-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4352 |
Q:
Prove that $x^{n-1}=x^{-1}$ (Groups)
Suppose $G$ is a group, $x\in G$ and order$(x)=n$.
I have to show that $x^{-1}=x^{n-1}$
Is it sufficient to just say $x^{n-1}=x^nx^{-1}=1_Gx^{-1}=x^{-1}$?
This is a homework question and I'm not sure whether it needs to be done without assuming you can use index laws with regards to elements of a group.
Any other ways or is this okay?
A:
Yes, that would be correct, assuming that you can use the fact that$$(\forall m,m\in\mathbb Z):x^{m+n}=x^mx^n.$$Or you can say that$$1_G=x^n=x^{n-1}.x$$and that therefore $x^{n-1}=x^{-1}$.
| 2024-01-02T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9489 |
Q:
Inversing an interpolation of rotation
For a project, I have a matrix<float> which is rotated few degrees. I have no control over this process (assume it is using nearest neighbour), I want to reverse this rotation operation and obtain the initial matrix (or a matrix very close to it).
My initial assumption was if I rotate the rotated matrix with -angle and crop the middle part, I'd have the original matrix but the results indicate the quality drops dramatically.
Consider my original matrix (the first image in the figure) is 10x10 matrix from 1 to 100. I rotate it +10 degrees, then -10 degrees. The second image in the figure is my resulting matrix. Then I crop from the middle of the second matrix and correlate it with the initial matrix.
I tested this with 1000 random matrix of 1000*1000; when I rotate -10 degrees with bicubic or bilinear interpolation, the average correlation result is around 0.37 whereas nearest neighbor is 0.25.
If both interpolations are bilinear or bicubic, then the correlation result is around 0.45-0.5.
I'm wondering if there is a way to minimize the loss caused by interpolation. Note that in the real experiment I don't have the original image, I'm just estimating rotation angle, so there is another performance drop caused by the precision of the rotation angle estimation. I searched online but couldn't find anything about it.
Here is my simple test code in matlab,
res = 0;
for i = 0:1000
a = uint8(rand(1000,1000)*255);
arr = imrotate(imrotate(a,10, 'bicubic'), -10, 'bicubic');
[r1,c1] = size(a);
[r2,c2] = size(arr);
rd = ceil((c2-c1)/2);
cd = ceil((r2-r1)/2);
c_arr = arr(cd:end-cd, rd:end-rd);
res = res+corr2(a, c_arr);
end
res/1000
A:
I did small test in C++ on your P1.csv 750x1000 matrix. I rotated it by +10deg then back by -10deg with bilinear interpolation around matrix center.
Resulting correlation (on the 749x749 mid square of result) is 0.8275936 So either you are not correlating the same data (perhaps some offset between matrices) or you are truncating the result somehow. For example I make this from my integer matrix rotation code and while forget to remove integer truncating the correlation was around 0.3 which is similar to your claims.
As I do not use Matlab here my C++ source you can try to port or check with your implementations:
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
const float deg=M_PI/180.0;
const float rad=180.0/M_PI;
int x0,y0,r0;
matrix A,B,C;
float c=0.0,ang=10.0*deg;
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
void rotcw(matrix &B,matrix &A,int x0,int y0,float ang) // rotate A -> B by angle ang around (x0,y0) CW if ang>0
{
int x,y,ix0,iy0,ix1,iy1;
float xx,yy,fx,fy,c,s,q;
B.resize(A.xs,A.ys);
// circle kernel
c=cos(-ang); s=sin(-ang);
// rotate
for (y=0;y<A.ys;y++)
for (x=0;x<A.xs;x++)
{
// offset so (0,0) is center of rotation
xx=x-x0;
yy=y-y0;
// rotate (fx,fy) by ang
fx=float((xx*c)-(yy*s));
fy=float((xx*s)+(yy*c));
// offset back and convert to ints and weights
fx+=x0; ix0=floor(fx); fx-=ix0; ix1=ix0+1; if (ix1>=A.xs) ix1=ix0;
fy+=y0; iy0=floor(fy); fy-=iy0; iy1=iy0+1; if (iy1>=A.ys) iy1=iy0;
// bilinear interpolation A[fx][fy] -> B[x][y]
if ((ix0>=0)&&(ix0<A.xs)&&(iy0>=0)&&(iy0<A.ys))
{
xx=float(A[ix0][iy0])+(float(A[ix1][iy0]-A[ix0][iy0])*fx);
yy=float(A[ix0][iy1])+(float(A[ix1][iy1]-A[ix0][iy1])*fx);
xx=xx+((yy-xx)*fy); q=xx;
} else q=0;
B[x][y]=q;
}
}
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
float correl(matrix &A,matrix &B,int x0,int y0,int x1,int y1)
{
int x,y;
float sxy=0.0,sx=0.0,sy=0.0,sxx=0.0,syy=0.0,n=(x1-x0+1)*(y1-y0+1),a,b;
for (x=x0;x<=x1;x++)
for (y=y0;y<=y1;y++)
{
a=A[x][y];
b=B[x][y];
sx+=a; sxx+=a*a;
sy+=b; syy+=b*b;
sxy+=a*b;
}
a=(n*sxy)-(sx*sy);
b=sqrt((n*sxx)-(sx*sx))*sqrt((n*syy)-(sy*sy));
if (fabs(b)<1e-10) return 0.0;
return a/b;
}
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
matrix A is just dynamic 2D array (I busted for this) like float A[A.xs][A.ys]; where xs,ys is the size. A.resize(xs,ys) will resize matrix A to new size. Here source:
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
class matrix
{
public:
int xs,ys;
float **a; // float a[xs][ys]
matrix() { a=NULL; xs=0; ys=0; }
matrix(matrix& q) { *this=q; }
~matrix() { free(); }
matrix* operator = (const matrix *q) { *this=*q; return this; }
matrix* operator = (const matrix &q) { resize(q.xs,q.ys); for (int x=0;x<xs;x++) for (int y=0;y<ys;y++) a[x][y]=q.a[x][y]; return this; }
float* operator[] (int x) { return a[x]; };
void free() { if (a) { if (a[0]) delete[] a[0]; delete[] a; } a=NULL; xs=0; ys=0; }
void resize(int _xs,int _ys)
{
free();
if (_xs<=0) return;
if (_ys<=0) return;
a=new float*[_xs]; if (a==NULL) return;
float *aa=new float[_xs*_ys]; if (aa==NULL) return;
xs=_xs; ys=_ys;
for (int x=0;x<xs;x++,aa+=ys) a[x]=aa;
}
};
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The test looks like this:
x0=A.xs>>1; // center for rotation
y0=A.ys>>1;
if (x0<y0) r0=x0-1; else r0=y0-1; // mid square size for correltaion
rotcw(B,A,x0,y0,+ang);
rotcw(C,B,x0,y0,-ang);
c=correl(A,C,x0-r0,y0-r0,x0+r0,y0+r0);
Due to bilinear interpolation the rotated cells are bleeding to neighboring cells so if you need to rotate many times (for example to find out the unknown angle) then you should always rotate the original matrix instead of applying rotation multiple times on sub-result matrix.
Here preview for your P1
on the left original matrix A in the middle rotated matrix B by +10deg CW and on right matrix C rotated back by -10deg CW. Blue pixels are positive and red pixels are negative values. The green rectangle is correlated area (sqrt of square overlapped area)
[Edit1] I play with the coloring a bit
let a0=-13.487; a1=9.3039; be the min and max values from your A matrix. Then to compute RGB color from any value from A,B or C I used this:
DWORD col(float x)
{
DWORD c; int sh;
if (x>=0) { sh= 0; x/=a1; } // positive values in Blue
else { sh=16; x/=a0; } // negative values in Red
x*=255.0*50.0; // 50.0x saturated to emphasize used values
c=x; if (c>255) c=255; // clamp to 8bit per channel
return c<<sh;
}
And here the recolored result:
As you can see there are Features that could be used to detect booth the rotation angle and center of rotation ... Just locate/cross match the holes in A and B and then compute the difference angle. After rotation compute offset and you should get all you need ...
| 2024-06-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5976 |
Archives: 30before30
It’s May 28th… approximately 141 days since my very first OnRamp class at Fundy CrossFit and 148 days since going cold turkey on spaghetti for every meal, cutting out “bagels as lunch” and omitting “extra cheese” from everything I consume.
My goal in January was to lose 30 pounds before my 30th birthday. Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m happy to report….
*looks up HTML for blinking, scrolling, flashing text*
I did it everybody! I’m 30 pounds lighter and 100x happier!
Eating Well
From years of experience, It’s very clear to me that going to the gym and being active is only 40% of the battle toward looking and feeling better. The remaining 60% is fuelling your body with what it needs and avoiding and cutting down on what it doesn’t.
I tried my best to count points for the first few months of the year. Once I got the hang of it, I found I didn’t really need all of the crap that I did before. I snacked on a lot of Special K crackers, salsa and apple sauce.
Being Active
I was reminded last night that my original plan for #30before30 was to try a bunch of activities. I would spend a month doing yoga, try my hand at boxing, take up running or cycling or skating…
The only activity I managed to do (other than CF) was a few extra walks here and there! I didn’t expect to become as addicted as I did (and am) to CrossFit.
CrossFit
I’m SO GLAD I stuck it out.
When people ask me “oh my goodness how do you do CrossFit? – It’s so hard!”, I try to get across to them – it WAS hard. Now I want it to be harder. I can’t wait for it to be harder. When a workout isn’t that bad, I’m bummed I didn’t add on 5 more pounds. Or when I’m not panting and sweating and wanting a good nap on the gym floor, I think “yeah, I could have pushed harder in the last 2 minutes”.
CrossFit isn’t about beating the person beside you (believe me, I’ve done too many WODs beside Rob Pearson), it’s about beating yourself and the last time you did it.
Since January – I can successfully do a string of real pushups, dead-lift over 110 pounds and jerk 65 pounds over my head. My clean is up to 75 pounds and my box jump is just shy of 16 inches. I feel like I’m winning.
Don’t get me wrong, there were absolutely times when I was losing.
I went 8 weeks straight without improving at all on my back squat. I actually asked if it was possible that “squats just weren’t for me”.
There was also a workout that I still have nightmares over – 150 wall balls for time. I finished that WOD a good 6 minutes after everyone else. A good time for this benchmark workout is around 6 minutes if you do the wall balls unbroken. I was 15 minutes. I actually cried. During the workout. Not a joke. Gillian Goldie finished the workout with me by doing 20 ADDITIONAL wall balls beside me to cheer me on.
I’m so thankful for her and the entire CrossFit community. I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have made it to my goal without their encouragement.
GAH. Sorry. I’m a sap.
THANK YOU
Thanks Adam Kierstead (for buying healthy groceries & also cooking them all for me), Gillian Goldie (for doing extra wall balls and cheering me on all the time), Greg Pattman (for believing I COULD actually do a squat and then high-fiving me when I (14 weeks later) finally nailed it), Cory Brown (for telling me try on a pair of jeans that didn’t fit me and then following up when he knew they would) and Jen Constantine (who I overheard saying I was faster at burpees. Thanks. That put me on cloud nine for weeks).
Here’s to 30 more pounds! (and a lot less CrossFit talk on barbbarbbarb.com!)
Getting fit is tough if you’re not fuelling your body with the right things. Veggies, fruits, protein and fibre are really important when you’re mapping out your workouts throughout the week.
Do you plan your menus ahead of time?
I’m so thankful for Bridget at Crosby’s Molasses. Not only does she have a great blog where she posts recipes (not all healthy, haha) but she also contributes recipes and commentary to KV Style biweekly.
Note: One of my favourite soup recipes EVER came from Bridget. Last I heard it was being made for a great aunt in Pennsylvania!
When Bridget heard I was committing to showing my face at the gym during the week – she offered up a 30th birthday (yes… that’s coming up quite soon) celebration meal plan! Thanks, Bridget!
Now, who will volunteer to cook it for me?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If I was to make you a special dinner in honour of your twin milestones — 30th birthday and 30 under 30 challenge success — this is what I’d prepare:
As a side I’d make you a wild rice and barley pilaf. It’s full of fibre and flavour. I make it with hulled barley from Speerville Flour Mill. It’s way more flavourful and nutritious than pot or pearl barley. The dressing is full of aromatic spices so it’s a little exotic. You could substitute brown rice for the barley.
I’m all about loading up on fresh veggie sides this time of year after a winter of roasted vegetables. If you’re game for a beet version (my favourite) I bet you’d love my beet and carrot slaw with tart apple.
So for dessert it’s a bit of a toss up. Would you want to be restrained but still have a delicious treat?
(The answer is yes!)
Apple spice muffin cake. This is a lovely cake that’s not too sweet, includes applesauce and has a beautiful crumb (texture). If you have it I’d use half whole wheat pastry flour from Speerville Flour Mill. It adds so much flavour. Serve the cake with lightly sweetened Greek yogurt.
So there you have it, a celebration meal for someone who has great reason to celebrate.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thank you so much, Bridget!
I honestly can’t wait to eat that beet salad. YUM.
Bridget and the folks at Crosby’s Molasses are offering up four tickets to Chansongs with Mary Stewart and Les Hay Babies this Sunday at the Imperial Theatre (but 4 vouchers for a beverage!)
When I spoke with Cory Brown over the Christmas holidays about joining CrossFit – I told him the goal that I had. He was like “OK, but let me warn you. You’re not going to lose weight going to CrossFit”.
Me: OK.
He assured me I’d be happier with how I looked – muscle weighs more than fat blah blah but takes up less space blah blah. He said I’d lose inches, but not pounds.
When I started OnRamp, the coaches suggested that I bring along a notebook. At the time I wasn’t really sure what I would write in it? I knew it would be hard but I didn’t think I’d need to record my feelings about it in a diary.
Dear Diary,
Today I did 100 wall balls and I didn’t even cry.
It actually looks like this:
Having the weights I used during OnRamp recorded will be particularly helpful in a few months when I look back on my progress.
During week 1 and 2 I held steady on my back squat, push press and snatch. I increased to 35 lbs on my press, 30 lbs on my clean and 60 lbs on my deadlift.
At the bottom of each page I’ve been recording the workouts (WODs) that I’ve done each day as well as the weight I’ve done them at and the time it took me to complete them. I’m noticing now that I’m reading them again – my handwriting is terrible and I’m not sure I’ll understand whatever cryptic language I’ve written the details in.
But for now I’ll just keep it as proof that I did something pretty hard and I actually finished it.
I am obsessed with knowing everything about… everyone. When I started CrossFit a few weeks ago, it was a no-brainer that I would approach the 7 CrossFit coaches and assistant coaches about their “why” as it relates to CrossFit.
I hope you enjoy the features over the next few weeks!
Hi Jon! Tell me about yourself and what you do!
Jonathan Ross, 35 years, born in Saint John, NB.
I work at JD Irving Ltd./Part-Owner at Fundy CrossFit. My education was in Forestry at UNB Fredericton. I ended up specializing in Geographic Information Systems (mapping, GPS kind of stuff) and started with the JD Irving Woodlands department about 10 years ago. I work for their IT division now.
I don’t have a lot of hobbies these days! It’s just a lot of CrossFit. I spend a lot of time with my family outside of work and the gym. Jen and I are lucky that we have a lot of great friends so we love socializing on the weekend when we get time. Growing up and through high school I was just sports sports sports. Mostly basketball but I also played volleyball, football and soccer. I got in to basketball refereeing after university and was a nationally rated official. I refereed a lot of the high school ball around SJ. I did a national tournament and was getting in to much more university level games when I got out of it. I got out of it shortly after we had kids, it took up a lot of time….which is a bit hypocritical now because I dedicate even more of my time to the gym but I love it more, it’s a much more rewarding venture and my family is involved. I love the idea of my kids growing up in a gym surrounded by healthy people! I’ve got two kids, Georgia (5) and Elliott(3) who pretty much rule my world. They’re on my mind at all times for one reason or the other.
When did you join CrossFit?
I started on my own just in my yard and at the UNBSJ track in 2007. I joined the YMCA in 2008 because I wanted to start lifting weights instead of just doing bodyweight exercises. In 2010 I joined the local CrossFit affiliate. Late 2010 I got certified to coach and in 2011 I started coaching.
Appropriately titled “Vacation WOD”
What were your goals when joining?
When I first started I was just looking for a different and unique way to train. I heard of this archaic looking website that had a bunch of crazy workouts on it so I checked it out and wasn’t even sure it was the right website. I couldn’t do much of them because of the weights involved so I found a website with a bunch of bodyweight workouts that you could do while travelling or at home so I just started doing them. My goals were just to be really fit, nothing specific. I wanted to look good and feel good because I really got away from that in university. I gained a lot of weight and felt sluggish and slow. I wanted to get back to that “high school” form! It didn’t take that long, I made a pretty drastic change and went all in with nutrition and CrossFit. If you eat and sleep well and do CrossFit, it doesn’t take long!
What are your goals now?
My goals are much different now. Day to day my goal is to be the best coach I can be. It’s been very rewarding seeing people make incredible physical transformations! I respect the process very much and I don’t ever want people to look at me and see that I’m a “slack” coach or that I can be doing more or that I’m not being as attentive to people as I should be. People pay us a lot of money and put their trust in us to give them the environment, motivation and instruction to succeed. I try to relay this to the assistant coaches as well.
In terms of my physical goals, I’m so busy working about 60 hours a week and trying my best to be a good Dad that I’m just trying to eat well, get as much sleep as I can and get a work out in here and there…but I’m ok with that! It’s been way more rewarding to assist all these wonderful people on a day to day basis, the energy I get from it makes it all worth it.
Jon lifting at the Atlantic Hopper
What piece of advice would you give to new CrossFitters?
Mechanics are paramount for a couple reasons. For one, Injuries are real and we shouldn’t just get away with saying “Oh CrossFit is awesome you don’t get hurt at all!” At Fundy CrossFit our perspective is a little different. We highly respect human movement and understand that if you put yourself in a position that the body isn’t supposed to be in then it’s inevitable: you will get hurt. It might not be today, next week or maybe even a year from now but WE’RE NOT IN THIS FOR THE SHORT TERM, we’re trying to set people up for life! We do our best to take people slow when they need to go slow, understand their restrictions and introduce some corrective exercises so that they can be consistent and eventually move faster and faster.
The second reason is that without efficient proper mechanics, we end up cannibalizing our potential peak athleticism (Kelly Starrett, mobilitywod.com). It’s one of the very core principles we believe in at FCF. Exercising what we refer to as virtuosity in movement will eventually help you to move more efficiently. Moving more efficiently will get you better at everything in the gym: WODs get easier, the bar starts moving up quicker, all of a sudden you’re doing pullups or handstands and other things you never thought you’d be doing!
What is the most underrated workout?
Ha! They’re all pretty underrated…a 500m row scares the blazes out of me and gives me butterflies…whoa…even now typing this to you I noticed that my brow just furrowed and I got a bit of a chill. I’ve got to mention Fran though (21-15-9 Thrusters/pullups), I know it’s the one that everyone will mention cause it’s the most popular, but seriously, it’s completely effin savage.
What is your favourite lift?
I like cleans. Probably because I do them well and can move a lot of weight with them. It’s a perfect example of putting it all together. Strength, power, speed, coordination, and balance all come in to play. It’s also one that you don’t get better at unless you master the mechanics, it’s a constant pursuit of trying to hit the right positions, move quicker, pull properly, stabilize at the right time…it helps to be strong but the technique is much more important.
photo: Mark Hemmings
What are some misconceptions that people might have about CrossFit…
and why aren’t they true?
The biggest one I hear is that people say they need to get in shape first, then I’ll join a CrossFit gym. I understand this, because people see the things we do and without understanding that everyone basically starts from ground zero, it can be intimidating. I just wish I could convince people that it’s not like that with us, we truly respect the beginners and the reasons for intimidation and try to harbor a culture of encouragement and positivity.
The other one that I touched on above is that it’s dangerous. This one actually excites me because I believe that what we’re doing is ahead of the curve to some degree. We don’t shy away from injuries, we try to understand the reasons that one might get hurt by looking at the person’s history and daily habits and address them face on and up front and get people moving in a way that’s safe. We don’t just load people up with weight and tell them to go for it, we hold people back from some movements if we feel they’re not ready but give them things they can do to so that they can eventually get there. We’re very proud of this. So it’s not really a misconception if you don’t train in the right gym and don’t respect mechanics. It’s kind of the same with a lot of sports. Do you go down a black diamond hill if it’s your first day skiing downhill? No, you go down the lazy trails and practice until you feel your ready. Even still when it’s that first time down you probably snow plow, maybe just stop and sit down but you take it easy. It’s kind of the same thing with CrossFit. Eventually after putting in a lot of work you brave the bigger hills.
How can I get the most out of CrossFit?
Eating good food is like taking PEDs for CrossFit, you’ll be amazed at the increased productivity you get from filling your body with the fuel that it is expecting to get. I’m a big believer of natural intake. We should do our best to eat what our body expects us to eat based on the species that we’ve evolved into over the last 10s of thousands of years. We evolved in to this species BECAUSE of this food so I struggle to understand the reasoning behind miracle drugs, magic formula foods, or really anything that comes in a box. Meat, vegetables, healthy fats, fruit and nuts…easy.
Sleep well. We do the work in the gym but when we work out we sort of intentionally break ourselves. The workout is kind of all for naught unless we recover from that work. We do our best recovering when we sleep. Eight hours a night would be optimal.
Those are two obvious ones but the least obvious recommendation I would give you is to try to enjoy the people around you. The owners, myself included, have come to realize that the definition of CrossFit is much more broad than what it was in the beginning. It was originally a prescription, just a method of working out: constantly varied functional movement performed at high intensity. A more modern definition would be: a community of dedicated people who are passionate about the idea of constant self improvement who reach their goals using constantly varied functional movement performed at high intensity. Kind of a mouthful…I just say we’re community of people trying to get fit. The gains that people see are often facilitated not only by just the workout but also because of the support and commitment of the community around them. These folks all got “stuff” going on outside of the gym but once a day we all get together, grind it out, push our boundaries, slap each other a high five and go back out there a little bit better then when they came in. Togetherness can be very powerful.
After the 5 OnRamp sessions (normally 6, but they squeezed the last 2 sessions into 1 Saturday session), the only thing missing from the experience is a certificate! (Seriously, I feel like I need a certificate of completion to proudly display on my fridge.)
I know the lifts that we’ll do going forward during CrossFit classes as well as the other power related moves (like knee ups, box jumps, skipping, burpees, etc). I also have a benchmark weight for each lift to start at during the regular classes.
I’m not going to lie: I was a nervous WRECK going into my first regular class. Would people be nice? Would I freeze and forget how do to a squat? Could I handle the WOD? Would I take 10 minutes longer than everyone else?
During OnRamp I found that there was always a coach to answer my questions, tell me to stop looking around (I have a weird habit where I want to watch everyone else lift weights while I’m lifting weights), shrug my shoulders, straighten my back, widen my legs, dip deeper into my squat… I was really nervous that this would be different going from 3 newbies to 14 CrossFit pros.
You know what?
It wasn’t.
People were SO welcoming. I got high-fived A LOT. I remembered how to squat. I handled the WOD and I finished in about the same time as everyone else (burpees and all!). Greg, the coach, was present and was paying attention to everyone.
It’s important to note that all 14 people aren’t lifting at the same time. You do 5 reps every 3 minutes, so you and up to 2 others rotate based on how much you’re lifting at the time. It’s a good system.
The WOD on Monday was 3 rounds for time (i.e. as fast as you can):
5 Push Presses
10 Front Squats
15 Burpees
Nailed it*.
*See below.
That definitely reads “7:08”
In true Barb fashion, I’ve harassed the 7 coaches with a Q&A about their own personal CrossFit experience. I’ll be posting them over the next few weeks.
Looking back at my 3rd CrossFit class (Tuesday night, for those keeping track)… I’m regretting not getting a photo of my 45 lb deadlift. Or my ring-row form. Or my cheater lunges (Thanks, Jon, for telling me that I was cheating). Or my 16″ BOX JUMP!
I did, however, get a sweaty post-workout selfie in …
thanks to Instagram for having filters that will hide the sweat-glare from my forehead
The 3rd session focused on lunge form, box jumping, kettle bell swinging and dead lifts. My thighs and elbows are the muscle groups recovering from the last session.
I found that the challenge this week was the “easiest” to date, in that I didn’t feel like death had taken me after the workout was done. 7 kettle bell swings, 7 ring rows and 10 lunges … AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 7 minutes.
It took me the better part of a week (OK, only 4 days) – but I’m finally back to my old self. Tuesday’s CrossFit workout woke my muscles from a 2 year coma. I hobbled around Wednesday and Thursday, wincing while going up and (especially) down stairs and was barely able to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear in my car.
Thursday’s workout, which I thought would be what actual death felt like, did just the trick I needed it to!
It either warmed up and stretched the right muscles, or made everything else hurt MORE. Either way, no complaints.
Reenactment of my burpee clap …
Thursday, OnRamp Class #2 was GOOD. We had another introduction to weight lifting -this time to the over head press and the push press.
I shocked myself and was able to press a lot more weight that I thought I could. I think I was up to 40 lbs!
Our challenge this week was excruciating. Looking back, I feel like a champ for following through and actually finishing it. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Note: I’ve had a pretty easy life.
As fast as we could, we needed to complete 3 sets of wall balls (tossing a medicine ball in the air & catching it in a squat, repeat) and burpees (drop to the ground, push-up or plank, back to standing, jump + clap, repeat). First set was 12 reps, second was 9 reps and the third set was 6 reps. When I finished the challenge at 4:44, the coach wondered if I had planned it that way… blogging at barbbarbbarb.com and all. I would have laughed at his joke but I was unable to speak, breath, talk or react.
Lung capacity aside, I am LOVINGFundy CrossFit. 4 more OnRamp sessions and I’ll be thrown to the wolves. CAN’T WAIT*!
*Although, let’s wait and see how well I can walk up and down stairs after this Tuesday’s class.
I am, probably, the worst cook in Saint John. Onion, garlic, vegetables, oil… I have no idea how to combine them together to make a delicious meal.
I really won the jackpot when I started dating Adam. Not only is he a good boyfriend, but he can take random ingredients from our pantry and fridge and make a delicious meal – from items I would never think of using! And he cooks for me all the time! #Winning
Since I’m on this 30before30 health kick, I thought I’d share some recipes straight from our kitchen courtesy of Adam & a pen and paper on the counter.
Mild Vegan Chili
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 bulbs roasted garlic, minced
2 cups chopped veggies (1 cup carrots, 1 cup peppers)
4 cans tomatoes (diced, no salt)
2 cans PC Blue Menu black beans drained/rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained/rinsed
3 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 to 1 veg. bouillon cube, diluted in 1 tbsp hot water (to taste)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Crosby’s molasses
1 tsp chipotle powder
1 can corn kernels
juice of 1 lime
Directions:
Add in about that order. Brown onions a bit. Add the lime near the end. Simmer 5 hours or so.
This will yield about 10 – 375 mL servings (which is a PERFECT amount for a bigger lunch!). Each serving is less than 300 calories and about 5 Weight Watchers points. (Not the new pts plus system, but the old Calories/Fat/Fibre system).
I’ve adopted the Weight Watchers platform – point values for all of the food I eat, a suggested number of points per day – and, I think, I have succeeded so far. I’m finding it REALLY hard to balance my points throughout the day. Specifically, I’m finding that after supper I still have a lunch worth of points left…. what gives?
I’m sure I’ll find ways to sneak in an extra banana or a piece of bread at some point. Or maybe I’ll treat myself to a cup of froyo. #YOLO.
Thumbs up after a successful CrossFit visit
Tuesday night was my first OnRamp session at Fundy CrossFit. After a year of listening to friends and relatives talking (non-stop) about it and after a successful #30in30 giveaway/blog post/gym visit – I was intrigued.
OnRamp is a 6 session intro to CrossFit that gives almost one on one coaching through the movements and activities involved in the program. Tonight we went through the stretches done at the beginning of each class, proper squat form and set a benchmark for squatting going forward. I am a weak baby, so I wasn’t shocked to see that my squat weight was well below what I thought I could handle. I think that my “form” (for lack of a better word) needs a little work.
The hardest part of the into CrossFit class was the workout – as many sets of 10 squats and 5 pushups as possible in a 5 minute period. Oh my word. What a challenge. My upper body is lacking and that was painfully and hilariouslyobvious while trying to do the pushups.
I have 5 OnRamp classes left and then I’ve signed on for a month (!!!!) of ACTUAL CrossFit. | 2023-11-02T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8257 |
{
"images": [
{
"filename": "ic_restore_white.png",
"idiom": "universal",
"scale": "1x"
},
{
"filename": "ic_restore_white_2x.png",
"idiom": "universal",
"scale": "2x"
},
{
"filename": "ic_restore_white_3x.png",
"idiom": "universal",
"scale": "3x"
}
],
"info": {
"author": "xcode",
"version": 1
}
}
| 2024-06-08T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5681 |
Xherdan Shaqiri has a similar style to Lionel Messi, says Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher has drawn parallels between new Stoke team-mate Xherdan Shaqiri and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
Out-of-contract Fletcher became Mark Hughes' first summer signing and has been impressed by his fellow Stoke player.
The Scotland international believes Shaqiri's physical attributes give opposition defenders a problem, similar to that of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Fletcher, who made 91 appearances over a 29-month spell at West Brom, has enjoyed training alongside the stocky 5ft 5in - the same height as Messi - 25-year-old.
"I'm not saying he's Messi but he's got that same low centre of gravity and he can get past you so he really is hard to get a handle on," Fletcher told The Sentinel.
Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri (right) has been compared to Lionel Messi
"He's a fantastic footballer. You can talk about his strength and his size but the biggest thing is that his first touch is fantastic: that moves the ball and eliminates strong players, then he relies on his strength when he has to."
The Switzerland international has been the star of the Potters' pre-season and is looking to get his fitness right for the campaign ahead after injury restricted him to 22 appearances last year.
Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri (right) has been compared to Lionel Messi Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri (right) has been compared to Lionel Messi
"Most of the time his first touch is that good that it's probably the difference," Fletcher added. "He's a top quality player, you can see that. He has great strength, when he receives the ball, he is sharp.
"Things happen when he gets the ball, which is important. You need your match winners, you need your mavericks, and he's definitely one of those."
Shaqiri has previously played for Basel and Bayern Munich - where he won the 2012/13 Champions League - before moving to the bet365 Stadium in 2015.
The winger has also represented Switzerland on 62 occasions, scoring 20 goals. A particularly memorable goal from Euro 2016 was his a bicycle kick from the edge of the area against Poland in the round of 16. | 2024-02-25T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4020 |
Molecular events underlying maggot extract promoted rat in vivo and human in vitro skin wound healing.
Maggot extracts promote wound healing, but their bioactive part(s) and molecular effects on the regenerating tissues/cells remain largely unclear. These issues are addressed here by treating rat skin wounds, human keratinocyte line/HaCat and fibroblasts with maggot secretion/excretion, and the extracts of maggots without and with secretion/excretion. The wound closure rates, cell proliferation activities, and statuses of wound healing-related signaling pathways (STAT3, Notch1, Wnt2, NF-κB, and TGF-beta/Smad3) and their downstream gene expression (c-Myc, cyclin D1, and VEGF) are evaluated by multiple approaches. The results reveal that the maggot extracts, especially the one from the maggots without secretion/excretion, show the best wound healing-promoting effects in terms of quicker wound closure rates and more rapid growth of keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Of the five signaling pathways checked, the ones mediated by TGF-beta/Smad3, and STAT3 are activated in the untreated wounds and become further enhanced by the maggot extracts, accompanied with c-Myc, VEGF, and cyclin D1 up-regulation. Our results thus show (1) that both body extract and secretion/excretion of maggots contain favorable wound healing elements and (2) that the enhancement of TGF-beta/Smad3 and STAT3 signaling activities may be the main molecular effects of maggot extracts on the wound tissues. | 2024-04-20T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7552 |
The analysis of human papillomavirus type 6 (HPV-6) in squamous papilloma of the larynx and respiratory tract will be continued to investigate the molecular biology and mechanism of cellular transformation of these viruses. Analysis of the viral DNA in biopsy specimens has shown an association of one subtype with a more severe disease. These studies will be extended to a larger population of patients to clarify the role of viral subtypes in establishing disease. The structural characterization of the four subtypes of HPV-6 genomes that have been molecularly cloned from laryngeal papillomata will be pursued by comparing the DNA sequence of diverged regions identified among the subtypes. Examination of DNA sequences will reveal if base substitutions alter predicted amino acid sequences, open reading frames, or potential splice sites that would alter protein products and account for behavioral differences among these viruses. To isolate and characterize HPV-6 transcripts that have been identified by Northern analysis and to detect low abundance mRNAs, cDNA libraries will be constructed from RNA isolated from respiratory tract lesions. The size, structure and location on the viral genome of the cDNA inserts will be determined by fine structure mapping and hybridization analyses. Characterized cDNA clones will be inserted into appropriate vectors for expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to produce the protein products of HPV-6 genomes, since understanding the mechanism of transformation requires the identification of the protein(s) involved. Monoclonal antibodies will be produced to nuclear proteins of laryngeal papillomata to develop immunological probes to identify viral capsid and non-structural proteins. These antibodies will also be used to analyze proteins produced by recombinants in the cDNA expression library to establish structural/functional maps of the HPV-6 genome. Constructs will be made with dominant selectable markers and transfected into human primary epithelial cells and other recipient cells to establish an in vitro model system to investigate the oncogenic potential and biological activity of HPV-6 DNA. Selected cells will be assayed for expression of viral sequences and parameters of transformation to investigate the virus-cell interactions that are important in the replication of these human tumor viruses. | 2023-09-07T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1826 |
Gradius Collection
Five Gradiuses. One PSP. Time to rip it up.
As far back as the gaming revolution began again in the mid-80's, Konami's Gradius series was there. It originally launched on the NES system during its hey-day of 8-bit glory, and hasn't looked back since. We've seen a number of chapters arrive in the series since that time, culminating on the release of the stellar Gradius V for the PlayStation 2 a year and a half back. Now, we're getting another taste of Gradius goodness, this time focusing on the series' history and giving us hours of shooting mayhem.
Gradius Collection is the first Gradius game for the PSP, and looks to be a lot stronger in terms of portable shooting goodness than the previous Game Boy Advance release Gradius Galaxies. In the game, you get to choose from five different Gradius games, as well as view trailers and listen to music in the Gallery mode. It truly is a utopia for classic gamers.
It contains the following five games...
Gradius- As stated, this is the game that debuted the series and originally appeared on the NES. It features pretty simplistic action and a power-up system that includes speeding up your craft, powering up with lasers, double shots, and missiles; and activating a force field and "options", accompanying icons that shoot the same ammunition as your ship.
Gradius II- Not seen in the US (although it was quite a hit in Japan), this Famicom release improved upon the original with better boss designs, more intricate level layout (scrolling!), and a couple of additional power-ups.
Gradius III- This title originally arrived when the SNES was launched in 1991, although some felt it suffered slightly with its slowdown. However, later versions would bring out its sheen with higher-quality visuals and the same great gameplay we got so used to.
Gradius IV- Another title that avoided US shelves for some god forsaken reason, IV introduced even more shooting madness with a better power-up system. This eventually did see the light of day in a collection for the PS2 in 2001, Gradius III & IV.
Gradius Gaiden- A game never released before in the US, not even in terms of a collection release, Gradius features a number of new challenges to tackle in the series, such as smarter enemies and more submersive level designs.
So, as you can see, this is pretty big news for Gradius fans. The Gallery mode should also be worth a look, as the game will contain a number of trailers that can be viewed, as well as a music player that allows you to blare favorite selections from your game soundtrack of choice, be it the 8-bit beats of Gradius or the new music in Gradius IV. To top off the presentation, the game will allow you to work between different screen displays, including the original arcade aspect ratio and the widescreen mode, built specifically for the PSP.
Gradius Collection is set to arrive this summer, and looks to be nothing short of incredibly intuitive shooting bliss. Look for us to come right back at ya with a full review. | 2023-12-03T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6156 |
/*
* Copyright (c) 2017-2019, Intel Corporation
*
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
* copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
* to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
* the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
* and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
* Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
*
* The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
* in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
*
* THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
* OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
* THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
* OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
* ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
* OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
*/
//!
//! \file codechal_kernel_header_g11.h
//! \brief Gen11 kernel header definitions.
//!
#ifndef __CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER_G11_H__
#define __CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER_G11_H__
#include "codechal_encoder_base.h"
struct HmeDsScoreboardKernelHeaderG11 {
int nKernelCount;
union
{
struct
{
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeDownscaleGenX0;
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeDownscaleGenX1;
#endif
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeDownscaleGenX2;
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeDownscaleGenX3;
#endif
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeP;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeB;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeVdenc;
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeHevcVdenc;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER hmeDetectionGenX0;
#endif
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER dsConvertGenX0;
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER initSwScoreboard;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER intraDistortion;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER dynamicScaling;
CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER weightedPrediction;
#endif
};
};
};
enum HmeDsScoreboardKernelIdxG11
{
// HME + Scoreboard Kernel Surface
CODECHAL_HME_DOWNSCALE_GENX_0_KRNIDX = 0,
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_HME_DOWNSCALE_GENX_1_KRNIDX,
#endif
CODECHAL_HME_DOWNSCALE_GENX_2_KRNIDX,
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_HME_DOWNSCALE_GENX_3_KRNIDX,
#endif
CODECHAL_HME_GENX_0_KRNIDX,
CODECHAL_HME_GENX_1_KRNIDX,
CODECHAL_HME_GENX_2_KRNIDX,
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_HME_HEVC_VDENC_KRNIDX,
CODECHAL_HMEDetection_GENX_0_KRNIDX,
#endif
CODECHAL_DS_CONVERT_GENX_0_KRNIDX,
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
CODECHAL_SW_SCOREBOARD_G11_KRNIDX,
CODECHAL_INTRA_DISTORTION_G11_KRNIDX,
CODECHAL_DYNAMIC_SCALING_G11_KRNIDX,
#endif
CODECHAL_HmeDsSwScoreboardInit_NUM_KRN_G11
};
//!
//! \brief Get common kernel header and size
//!
//! \param [in] binary
//! Kernel binary
//!
//! \param [in] operation
//! Encode operation
//!
//! \param [in] krnStateIdx
//! Kernel state index
//!
//! \param [in] krnHeader
//! Kernel header
//!
//! \param [in] krnSize
//! Kernel size
//!
//! \return MOS_STATUS
//! MOS_STATUS_SUCCESS if success, else fail reason
//!
static MOS_STATUS GetCommonKernelHeaderAndSizeG11(
void *binary,
EncOperation operation,
uint32_t krnStateIdx,
void *krnHeader,
uint32_t *krnSize)
{
MOS_STATUS eStatus = MOS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
CODECHAL_ENCODE_FUNCTION_ENTER;
CODECHAL_ENCODE_CHK_NULL_RETURN(binary);
CODECHAL_ENCODE_CHK_NULL_RETURN(krnHeader);
CODECHAL_ENCODE_CHK_NULL_RETURN(krnSize);
HmeDsScoreboardKernelHeaderG11 *kernelHeaderTable;
kernelHeaderTable = (HmeDsScoreboardKernelHeaderG11*)binary;
PCODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER currKrnHeader;
switch (operation)
{
case ENC_SCALING4X:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeDownscaleGenX0;
break;
case ENC_SCALING2X:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeDownscaleGenX2;
break;
case ENC_ME:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeP;
break;
case VDENC_ME_B:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeB;
break;
case VDENC_ME:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeVdenc;
break;
case ENC_SCALING_CONVERSION:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->dsConvertGenX0;
break;
#if defined(ENABLE_KERNELS) && !defined(_FULL_OPEN_SOURCE)
case VDENC_STREAMIN_HEVC:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeHevcVdenc;
break;
case ENC_SFD:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->hmeDetectionGenX0;
break;
case ENC_SCOREBOARD:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->initSwScoreboard;
break;
case ENC_INTRA_DISTORTION:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->intraDistortion;
break;
case ENC_DYS:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->dynamicScaling;
break;
case ENC_WP:
currKrnHeader = &kernelHeaderTable->weightedPrediction;
break;
#endif
default:
CODECHAL_ENCODE_ASSERTMESSAGE("Unsupported ENC mode requested");
eStatus = MOS_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER;
return eStatus;
}
currKrnHeader += krnStateIdx;
*((PCODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER)krnHeader) = *currKrnHeader;
PCODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER invalidEntry;
invalidEntry = &(kernelHeaderTable->hmeDownscaleGenX0) + CODECHAL_HmeDsSwScoreboardInit_NUM_KRN_G11;
PCODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER nextKrnHeader;
nextKrnHeader = (currKrnHeader + 1);
uint32_t nextKrnOffset;
nextKrnOffset = *krnSize;
if (nextKrnHeader < invalidEntry)
{
nextKrnOffset = nextKrnHeader->KernelStartPointer << MHW_KERNEL_OFFSET_SHIFT;
}
*krnSize = nextKrnOffset - (currKrnHeader->KernelStartPointer << MHW_KERNEL_OFFSET_SHIFT);
return eStatus;
}
#endif // __CODECHAL_KERNEL_HEADER_G11_H__
| 2024-05-11T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5912 |
Q:
Why default argument constructor is called as default constructor
Class A {
public:
A(int i = 0, int k = 0) {} // default constructor WHY ??
~A() {}
};
int main()
{
A a; // This creates object using defined default
// constructor but the constructor still has two arguments
A b(1,2); // Called as parametrized one
}
Why this default argument constructor is default constructor. Why it is not called Parametrized constructor or default parametrized constructor because even if this constructor is called with no arguments it does contain two arguments ?? Is there any specific reason or its just because the standard says so.
A:
C++11 §12.1 Constructors
A default constructor for a class X is a constructor of class X that can be called without an argument.
This is the definition of default constructor. A constructor that supplies default arguments for all its parameters can be called without argument, thus fits the definition.
A:
By definition, a default constructor is one that can be called without arguments. Yours cleary fits that definition, since both parameters have default value.
The asnwer to "why" is, I'd say, simply because C++ standard says so. The choice of constructor to be called is done by overload resolution based on number and types of parameters, just like with other functions.
| 2024-05-11T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5108 |
Manon Capelle
Manon Capelle is a Belgian actress. She made her film debut in All Cats Are Grey (2014), in which starred alongside Bouli Lanners and Anne Coesens. The film received nine nominations at the 6th Magritte Awards, including Most Promising Actress for Capelle.
Filmography
2014 All Cats Are Grey - Dorothy.
2018 L'ecole est finie
2018 Through the Fire - Lili et Maya Bebe's.
2019 Never Grow Old - Emily Crabtree.
References
External links
Category:Living people
Category:Belgian film actresses
Category:Year of birth missing (living people) | 2023-10-05T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8981 |
The present invention relates generally to a heat absorbing device and, more particularly, to a heat absorbing element or plate useful in solar collectors.
This invention is especially concerned with heat absorbing elements of the tube-and-fin type where solar radiation incident on the fins is converted into heat energy and conducted by the fins to a tube or tubes containing a suitable heat transfer fluid. To withstand operating fluid pressure and temperature conditions, and to meet various code requirements, the wall thickness of the tube(s) must be rather generous (e.g., 0.020"). The thickness of the fins, on the other hand, need not be as great (e.g., 0.005").
Heretofore, heat absorbing elements of the tube-and-fin type have been produced in many ways, such as by extrusion. In this process, however, the fins and tubes are typically extruded to the same thickness, that is, to the thickness required for the tube walls. Thus the fins are excessively thick and an unnecessary amount of material (e.g., aluminum) is consumed which results in higher manufacturing costs. Absorbers have also been made by bonding tubes (e.g., copper or aluminum tubes) directly to metal sheets (e.g., aluminum sheets). In this process, the thicknesses of the tube walls and fins can be controlled, but bonding the tubes to the sheets raises other problems.
Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,237,971, 4,227,511 and 4,011,856 for a description of various solar heating devices generally in the field of this invention. | 2023-11-02T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6060 |
A cat missing from Denver since last June turned up at a construction site in Dallas this week.
It's been a long journey for Harvey the cat. A total of 794 miles, to be exact.
Construction workers found Harvey stuck in a 25-foot hole at their site in Highland Park, according to a post from the city of Dallas.
It took Dallas Animal Services about six hours to free the cat. He was caked in mud, but otherwise in good shape.
After being cleaned up, Animal Services found his microchip and located the owners in Denver.
No one knows how Harvey managed to travel so far, but his family is relieved to be reunited with him.
The owners are flying to Dallas this weekend to bring Harvey home. | 2024-03-06T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9502 |
165 F.3d 40
U.S.v.Humphreys*
NO. 98-8183
United States Court of Appeals,Eleventh Circuit.
November 25, 1998
1
Appeal From: N.D.Ga. , No.97-00313-1-CR-JEC
2
Affirmed.
*
Fed.R.App.P. 34(a); 11th Cir.R. 34-3
| 2023-09-10T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5831 |
Q:
Update procedure
I'm working on a procedure in SQL server:
I'm new on SQL server & I get this error:
Must declare the scalar variable "@Course_Name"
My procedure is:
USE [Hyaline management System]
GO
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[GetUpdateCourseID]
@CourseID int
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
Update Course SET
Course_Name = @Course_Name,
Course_Duration = @Course_Duration
where CourseID = @CourseID;
END
Can someone please point me where I'm going wrong? and the solution?
A:
It appears, you are missing a few parameters. Since you are doing an UPDATE of the Course_Name and Course_Duration, you might need to pass them into the stored procedure:
USE [Hyaline management System]
GO
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[GetUpdateCourseID]
@CourseID int,
@Course_Name varchar(50), -- change to the proper datatype
@Course_Duration varchar(100) -- change to the proper datatype
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
UPDATE Course
SET Course_Name = @Course_Name,
Course_Duration = @Course_Duration
WHERE CourseID = @CourseID;
END
| 2024-05-12T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5455 |
Standardising Responsibility? The Significance of Interstitial Spaces.
Modern society is characterised by rapid technological development that is often socially controversial and plagued by extensive scientific uncertainty concerning its socio-ecological impacts. Within this context, the concept of 'responsible research and innovation' (RRI) is currently rising to prominence in international discourse concerning science and technology governance. As this emerging concept of RRI begins to be enacted through instruments, approaches, and initiatives, it is valuable to explore what it is coming to mean for and in practice. In this paper we draw attention to a realm that is often backgrounded in the current discussions of RRI but which has a highly significant impact on scientific research, innovation and policy-namely, the interstitial space of international standardization. Drawing on the case of nanoscale sciences and technologies to make our argument, we present examples of how international standards are already entangled in the development of RRI and yet, how the process of international standardization itself largely fails to embody the norms proposed as characterizing RRI. We suggest that although current models for RRI provide a promising attempt to make research and innovation more responsive to societal needs, ethical values and environmental challenges, such approaches will need to encompass and address a greater diversity of innovation system agents and spaces if they are to prove successful in their aims. | 2024-02-28T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5716 |
Q:
Is this a logarithmic spiral?
I'm trying to draw a logarithmic spiral by hand (actually I need to use a plotter to cut a spiral on wood, but that is another story) and I saw this method:
http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-A-Perfect-Spiral
it seems to me like a log spiral, because, if precisely done, the distance to the center is shortened geometrically.
Let me know if I'm correct!.
Thanks!.
A:
I believe that that is an Archimedian Spiral. Each time it goes around, its shortens by the circumference of the pencil. This arithmetic decreasing is not logarithmic at all.
For more info about drawing and recognizing spirals, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral
| 2024-04-20T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1687 |
Q:
Integer programming : linearize product of constants given conditions
I have some constant values $c_i$ in $(0.5, 2)$.
I also have binary variables $x_i$. For my integer program, for a particular constraint, I need to multiply only those $c_i$ when $x_i$ takes the value 1.
So basically, $\Pi_i \big[(c_i - 1)x_i + 1\big]$. I'm trying to linearize this. I can put a continuous variable $\gamma_i = (c_i - 1)x_i + 1$ and try to use piecewise linear functions, but since $(c_i - 1)x_i + 1$ can only take two values, i.e., $c_i$ and $1$, is there any way to use this property to have a more efficient linearization?
A:
Depending on how you want to use the resulting product, you might be able to use a log transformation, which yields the linear function $\sum_i \log(c_i)x_i$.
| 2023-08-29T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9853 |
News
News
Poor dental health may lead to Alzheimer’s, study suggests
People with poor oral hygiene or gum disease may be at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study led by The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests.
The research, which has received international collaboration, and led by Professor Stjohn Crean and Dr Sim Singhrao from UCLan, examined brain samples donated by ten patients without dementia and ten patients suffering from dementia.
The research demonstrated the presence of products from Porphyromonas gingivalis in brains from patients suffering from dementia. This bacterium is commonly associated with chronic periodontal (gum) disease. These bacteria enter the bloodstream through daily activities such as eating, chewing, tooth brushing but especially following invasive dental treatment, and from there, potentially enter the brain on a regular basis.
The researchers propose that every time they reach the brain, the bacteria may trigger immune system responses by already primed brains cells, causing them to release more chemicals that kill neurons. This could be one mechanism that leads to changes in the brain, which is typical of Alzheimer’s disease, and could be responsible for causing symptoms such as confusion and deteriorating memory.
The research benefited from donated brain samples, provided by Brains for Dementia Research, a brain donation scheme supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society. Finding P. gingivalis in the brains from dementia sufferers compared to those without dementia is significant as its presence in Alzheimer’s diseased brains has not been documented previously and at the same time adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests an association between poor oral health and dementia.
These published research findings from human brain specimens are further supported by recent (as yet unpublished) research from the same group, on periodontal disease, using animal models, which has been carried out in collaboration with the Universityof Florida. This animal work has confirmed that P. gingivalis in the mouth finds its way to the brain once the periodontal disease becomes established.
Professor Stjohn Crean, Dean of School of Medicine & Dentistry said:
“Whereas previous studies have indicated a link between dementia and other bacteria and viruses such as the Herpes simplex virus type I, this new research indicates a possible association between gum disease and individuals who may be susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s disease, if exposed to the appropriate trigger! Research currently underway at UCLan is playing an active role in exploring this link, but it remains to be proven whether poor dental hygiene can lead to dementia in healthy people, which obviously could have significant implications for the population as a whole. It is also likely that these bacteria could make the existing disease condition worse.”
Dr. Sim K. Singhrao, Senior Research Fellow at UCLan said: “We are working on the theory that when the brain is repeatedly exposed to bacteria and/or their debris from our gums, sfrom our gums, subsequent immune responses may lead to nerve cell death and possibly memory loss. Thus, continued visits to dental hygiene professionals throughout one’s life may be more important than currently envisaged with inferences for health outside of the mouth only. To help us prove our hypothesis we are hoping to use the Brains for Dementia Research tissue resource to examine brain tissue from people with both intact and compromised memory who have relevant dental records. The future of the research aims to discover if P. gingivalis can be used as a marker, via a simple blood test, to predict the development of Alzhiemer’s disease in at risk patients”. | 2024-01-19T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2767 |
---
abstract: 'Recently, several groups have reported observations of collective modes of the charge order present in underdoped cuprates. Motivated by these experiments, we study theoretically the oscillations of the order parameters, both in the case of pure charge order, and for charge order coexisting with superconductivity. Using a hot-spot approximation we find in the coexistence regime two Higgs modes arising from hybridization of the amplitude oscillations of the different order parameters. One of them has a minimum frequency that is within the single particle energy gap and which is a non-monotonic function of temperature. The other – high-frequency – mode is smoothly connected to the Higgs mode in the single-order-parameter region, but quickly becomes overdamped in the case of coexistence. We explore an unusual low-energy damping channel for the collective modes, which relies on the band reconstruction caused by the coexistence of the two orders. For completeness, we also consider the damping of the collective modes originating from the nodal quasiparticles. At the end we discuss some experimental consequences of our results.'
author:
- 'Zachary M. Raines'
- 'Valentin G. Stanev'
- 'Victor M. Galitski'
bibliography:
- 'references.bib'
title: 'Hybridization of Higgs modes in a bond-density-wave state in cuprates'
---
=1
Introduction
============
Despite the decades of intense research efforts, superconductivity in cuprates remains a profound mystery. However, recently there has been a lot of progress in clarifying and refining the phase diagram of these materials experimentally. [@Taillefer2010a; @Keimer2014] In particular, there is growing evidence of a charge order existing in the pseudogap state of several cuprate families,[@Ghiringhelli2012; @Chang2012; @Achkar2012; @Coslovich2013; @Fujita2014; @Comin2014; @Forst2014] which also coexists and competes with superconductivity at lower temperatures. Furthermore, it appears that this order has a non-trivial $d$-wave phase factor,[@Fujita2014; @Comin2014] implying that within a one-band model of copper sites it describes ordering entirely on the links. For this reason it has been dubbed “bond-density wave" (BDW). Recently, several groups employed time-domain reflectivity[@Demsar1999] as a tool to study this order,[@HintonPRL; @Hinton2013; @Torchinsky2013] and, in particular, its collective modes. In some cases they were able to extract the amplitude and phase oscillations and to track them as the system became superconducting. These results can provide valuable insights into the physics of both pseudogap and superconducting states, and, thus, it is desirable to have a better theoretical understanding of the possible collective modes of these systems. One particularly interesting point is that the coexistence of charge order and superconductivity makes possible the direct observation of the superconducting Higgs mode, as first pointed out in the pioneering work of Littlewood and Varma. [@Littlewood1981]
In this work we present a theoretical study of the Higgs modes, or oscillations of the amplitude, of the order parameters in underdoped cuprates. We consider both the pure BDW state, as well as the coexistent BDW-superconductivity phase. We use the so-called “hot-spot” model[@Metlitski2010; @Sachdev2013; @Efetov2013; @Sau2013; @Allais2014; @Allais2014a; @Thomson2014; @Raines2015a] of the pseudogap phase, which is based on a picture of a metallic state close to a magnetic instability, and considers the physics of the special points on the Fermi surface connected by the magnetic ordering vector. Although relatively simple, this model has seen extensive use recently, as it naturally leads to coexistence between BDW and superconductivity, and also correctly predicts the $d$-wave phase factor of the charge order. [@Sachdev2013; @Efetov2013; @Sau2013] Our results provide a general framework for identifying and understanding order-parameter collective modes of the system. In the single-order phase (i.e., only BDW or superconductivity) we find, as expected, a single amplitude mode, which is coupled with the quasiparticle continuum and is always damped. However, the coexistence regime is much more interesting – the fluctuations of the different order parameters become intertwined. [@Littlewood1981] As a consequence, in this region we find two Higgs modes, which represent coupled oscillations of the order parameters. One of the modes is slow, with frequency well below the amplitude of the order parameters, but which is, nevertheless, weakly damped. The other mode is pushed inside the high-energy continuum, and quickly becomes overdamped. We follow the slow mode in the entire coexistence phase, and find its frequency to be a non-monotonic function of temperature. This mode is weakly damped through an unusual low-energy decay channel for the antinodal qausiparticles, caused by the coexistence of the two orders and the associated band reconstruction. Even more unusually, this damping initially increases with the decrease of temperature. To account for the damping from the gapless degrees of freedom present at the nodal regions we develop a phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. We demonstrate that, by allowing for significant damping, the in-gap mode is strongly suppressed, while the frequency of the high-energy mode is brought down. Our results provide a characterization of the amplitude modes of the coexistent superconductivity-BDW system which can be compared with the experimental data and used to identify the appropriate Higgs modes of the system.
Microscopic calculation of collective modes frequencies
=======================================================
We will consider here the collective modes in a 2D “hot-spot" model. Such a model can be obtained as a low-energy theory from the 2D t-J-V model,[@Metlitski2010; @Sachdev2013; @Efetov2013; @Sau2013] which contains hoppings $t_{(1/2/3)}$ on a square lattice as well as nearest-neighbor exchange and Coulomb interactions $J$ and $V$. Specifically, one projects the lattice theory onto regions in the vicinity of 8 “hot spots” where the Fermi surface intersects the magnetic Brillouin zone boundary. In the vicinity of these hot spots the nearest-neighbor interactions $J$ and $V$ can be approximated by constants. Time reversal symmetry allows the problem to be reduced to considering fermions near 4 inequivalent hot spots where, in the channels of interest, the interactions take the form $$\begin{gathered}
\mathcal{H}^\Delta_\text{int} = \frac{g_s}{4} \sum_{k,p,q} \Psi^\dagger_{k+q,a} \check V_\Delta \Psi_{k, a} \Psi^\dagger_{p-q,b} \check V_\Delta \Psi_{p,b},\\
\mathcal{H}^\phi_\text{int} = \frac{g_c}{4} \sum_{k,p,q} \Psi^\dagger_{k+q,a} \check V_\phi \Psi_{k, a} \Psi^\dagger_{p-q,b} \check V_\phi \Psi_{p,b},\end{gathered}$$ where $\Psi_{a,b}$ are Nambu spinors in pairs of hot-regions separated by the antiferromagnetic wave-vector $\vec K = (\pi, \pi)$ and $g_s$ and $g_c$ are the non-retarded components of the interaction in the superconducting and bond-density wave (BDW) channels, respectively. $\check{V}_\Delta$ and $\check{V}_\phi$ are the vertices for pairing in the superconducting and bond-density-wave channels. Their explicit forms for the system studied here are shown in Eq. \[eq:modeldef\].
Due to the $d$-wave symmetry of the order parameters one can further restrict attention to $2$ of the $8$ hot regions. [@Sau2013] The interaction terms can be decoupled via a Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation. In the usual manner, the saddle point of the zero-frequency terms of the decoupling fields leads to a mean-field theory, which in this case has mean-field Hamiltonian $$\mathcal{H} = \sum_{\vec k} \Psi^\dagger_{\vec k} \check H_{\text{MF}}(\vec k) \Psi_{\vec k} + \frac{2}{g_s} |\Delta|^2 + \frac{2}{g_c} |\phi|^2,
\label{eq:H0}$$ where now $\Psi$ is a Nambu spinor $(c_{k1\uparrow}, c_{k2,\downarrow}, c_{-k2\downarrow}^\dagger, c_{-k1\uparrow}^\dagger)^T$ describing one pair of hot spots. The mean-field Hamiltonian describes two species (denoted $1$ and $2$) of spinful fermions which pair only with each other. Specifically, $$\begin{gathered}
\check{H}_{\text{MF}} = \check{H}_0 + \Delta \check{V}_\Delta + \phi \check{V}_\phi,\\
\check{H}_0 =
\mathrm{diag}(\xi_1, \xi_2) \otimes \hat \tau_z,\\
\check{V}_\Delta = \hat \rho_1 \otimes \hat \tau_3,\quad
\check{V}_\phi = \hat \rho_0 \otimes \hat \tau_1,
\end{gathered}
\label{eq:modeldef}$$ where $\hat\tau_i$ and $\hat\rho_i$ are Pauli matrices acting in particle-hole space and species space, respectively, and $\Delta$ describes $d$-wave superconductivity while $\phi$ is the BDW order. [@Sau2013] Here, and in what follows, $\check{M}$ denotes a matrix in the $4\times4$ Nambu-hot-spot space, and $\hat M$ a $2\times 2$ matrix. The self-consistency equations associated with Eq. \[eq:modeldef\] are $$\begin{gathered}
\Delta = \frac{g_s}{4} T \sum_k \operatorname{tr}\check{V}_\Delta \check{G}_k,\\
\phi = \frac{g_c}{4} T \sum_k \operatorname{tr}\check{V}_\phi \check{G}_k,
\label{eq:gap}
\end{gathered}$$ where $\check{G}_k$ is the matrix Matsubara Green’s function of the Hamiltonian in Eq. \[eq:H0\], and $k=(i\epsilon_n, \vec k)$, with $\epsilon_n$ being a fermionic Matsubara frequency. Here we have considered $\Delta$ and $\phi$ to be real and non-negative (they can always be brought to this form via a gauge transformation).
In the case of a hot-spot model of cuprates, the two species correspond to fermions within a vicinity of in-equivalent “hot spots" in the Brillouin zone. Close to the hot-spot points the electron dispersion can be modeled as $\xi_1(\vec k) = \xi_2(-\vec k) = v_f k_x + \gamma k_y^2$, where we include the curvature $\gamma$ as it plays an important role in breaking the degeneracy between the two orders and allowing coexistence. [@Sau2013; @Moor2014]
We follow Ref. by choosing units where $v_f=1$, $\gamma=1/\Lambda=\pi$, with $\Lambda$ being the hot spot cutoff, and parametrize $\{g_c, g_s\} = 3J \pm 4V$ with $J=1.2$. Note that $V$ strengthens the interaction in the charge channel, while decreasing the interaction in the superconducting channel, and thus can be used to tune the coexistence (as depicted in Fig. \[fig:phase\]). We consider two qualitatively different cases of coexisting charge order and superconductivity as depicted in Fig. \[fig:phase\]: one where charge order disappears for some finite temperature below the superconducting $T_c$ ($V = 0.2$), and one where charge order survives all the way down to $T=0$ ($V = 0.21$). In both of these cases, the BDW order will onset at a temperature $T_\text{BDW} > T_c$. The competition between the two orders can be readily confirmed by a decrease in $\phi$ below the superconducting $T_c$.
![(Color online) Schematic phase diagram of the hot-spot model, [@Sau2013; @Raines2015a] which illustrates the transition from superconductivity to charge order, tuned by $V$ (nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction). In this work we consider the transition from BDW to BDW-superconducting mixed state along the “trajectories" indicated by the dashed lines. Depending on the exact value of $V$ the $T \rightarrow 0$ limit of the system could be either in a pure superconducting state (indicated by the blue dashed line), or in a mixed state (red dot-dashed line). \[fig:phase\]](phase){width="0.8\linewidth"}
The ordering vector of the BDW is determined by the separation in the Brillouin zone of the hot spots being paired. [@Metlitski2010; @Sau2013; @Sachdev2013; @Allais2014; @Allais2014a; @Thomson2014] It is important to note that we are considering a BDW with ordering vector $(Q, Q)$, which is known to be the leading instability of this simple model. [@Sau2013; @Sachdev2013; @Allais2014; @Allais2014a; @Thomson2014] This is different from the experimentally observed bond-oriented ordering directions $(Q, 0)$ and $(0, Q)$, which correspond to a different choice of hot spots for the BDW pairing to occur between. It is possible to stabilize the $(Q, 0)$ and $(0, Q)$ orders, [@Allais2014; @Chowdhury2014; @Thomson2014] but at the price of significantly complicating the model, and we will not pursue these modifications here. We expect that most of our results and conclusions are applicable to the $(Q, 0)$/$(0, Q)$ orders as well.
Hybridized Higgs modes {#sec:energygap}
----------------------
The collective modes of coexisting charge-density-wave and superconducting states have been studied theoretically previously, [@Littlewood1981; @Littlewood1982; @Browne1983; @Lei1; @Lei2; @Tutto; @Cea] and we apply the methods developed in these earlier works. In general, the collective modes of the system are described by a $5\times 5$ matrix, which includes the amplitude and the phase modes of each order parameter, as well as the density oscillations of the fermions. However, this matrix factorizes into two decoupled sectors, [@Browne1983] with a $2 \times 2$ block describing the interacting amplitude modes, and the other – $3 \times 3$ – block describing the order parameters phases coupled to each other, as well as to the fermionic density.[^1] This being the case, we devote our attention to the amplitude mode sector. In particular, we consider amplitude fluctuations of these order parameters with finite frequency $\omega$, but zero wave-vector. Doing so allows us to calculate the mass of the collective modes: the minimum energy required to excite the collective modes of the ordered state.
Returning to the Hubbard-Stratonovich decoupling of the hot-spot model’s interactions, inclusion of the finite-frequency components of the decoupling fields leads to the action $$\begin{gathered}
S =
S_\text{MF} +
\sum_{k, \vec q, \omega_m} \bar\Psi_{\vec k + \vec q, \epsilon_n + \omega_m} \left(
\Delta_{\vec q,\omega_m} \check{V}_\Delta + \phi_{\vec q, \omega_m} \check{V}_\phi \right)\Psi_{\vec k, \epsilon_n}\\
+ \frac{2}{g_s} \sum_{\vec q, \omega_m} |\Delta_{\vec q, \omega_m}|^2 + \frac{2}{g_c} \sum_{\omega_m, \vec q} |\phi_{\vec q, \omega_m}|^2,\end{gathered}$$ where $S_\text{MF}$ is the action corresponding to Eq. \[eq:H0\] and we are working in imaginary time. We have kept here the fluctuations $\Delta(\tau)$, $\phi(\tau)$ which are along the direction of $\Delta,\phi$ in the complex plane,[^2] corresponding to the amplitude modes.[^3]
Particularly we will be interested in the $2\times 2$ matrix collective mode propagator $$D_{ij}(\omega_m, \vec q) = \langle O_{i,\omega_m, \vec q} O_{j, -\omega_m, - \vec q} \rangle,
\label{eq:D}$$ where $O_{1, \omega_m, \vec q} = \Delta_{\omega_m, \vec q}$ and $O_{2, \omega_m, \vec q} = \phi_{\omega_m, \vec q}$, and the related object $D^R_{ij}(\omega, \vec q) = D_{ij}(i\omega_m \to \omega + i0^+, \vec q)$, which can be obtained via analytic continuation. The off-diagonal elements of this matrix are in general non-zero and this is what leads to the hybridization of collective modes. The poles of the retarded propagator $\hat D^R$ will describe the on-shell collective mode energies.
After integrating out the fermionic degrees of freedom, $\hat D(\omega_m, \vec q)$ can be expressed (at the quadratic level) as $$\hat{D}^{-1}(\omega_m, \vec q) = (\hat D^0)^{-1} - \hat Q(\omega_m, \vec q),
\label{eq:Dinv}$$ where we have defined $$\hat{D}^0 \equiv
\frac{1}{4}
\begin{bmatrix}
g_s& 0\\
0 & g_c
\end{bmatrix}.$$
Here $Q_{ij}$, also a $2\times 2$ matrix, is the self-energy of the collective modes due to the fermionic quasiparticles (this treatment is equivalent to obtaining the generalized susceptibilities of the order parameters within the RPA approximation). Since, $\hat D^0$ is already known, $\hat Q$ is the object of interest.
Specifically, $\hat Q$ is given by $$Q_{ij}(i \omega_m, \vec q) = - T \sum_{\vec k, \epsilon_n}\operatorname{tr}\left[\check{G}(\vec k, \epsilon_n) \check{V}_i \check{G}(\vec k - \vec q, \epsilon_n - \omega_m) \check{V}_j\right],
\label{eq:Q}$$ where $i,j \in \{\Delta, \phi\}$. After performing the fermionic Matsubara sums in Eq. \[eq:Q\] we analytically continue the bosonic frequency to the real axis, in order to obtain the finite-temperature, retarded self-energy $Q^R(\omega, \vec q)$.
The long-wavelength frequencies of the amplitude modes are given by the solutions of $$\det[(\hat D^0)^{-1} - \hat Q^R(\omega_0 - i \Gamma_0, \vec q \to 0)] = 0,
\label{eq:detD}$$ where $$\begin{gathered}
\omega_0 \equiv \mathrm{Re}[\omega(q \to 0)],\\
\Gamma_0 \equiv -\mathrm{Im}[\omega(q \to 0)],\end{gathered}$$ are, respectively, the mass and the decay rate of the Higgs mode in the long wavelength limit. The in-gap collective modes, are those for which $\omega_0 < 2\min(\phi, \Delta)$.
One can explicitly show that the diagonal components of $\hat Q^R$ reproduce the usual $2\phi$/$2\Delta$ amplitude modes[@Littlewood1981] in the limit where one of the order parameters vanishes. However, in our case, we focus our attention on the eigenmodes of the response function, which describe hybridized modes of the system[^4] and which cannot be obtained from purely considering the superconducting and BDW susceptibilities.
Because we are interested in weakly damped oscillations such that it makes sense to describe them as collective modes, we are able to employ a technique to determine the complex frequency of the oscillations from considerations of the response function on the real frequency line. In particular, we obtain the real part of the frequency as the solution to the equation $\mathrm{Re}[\lambda(\omega_0)]=0$ where $\lambda$ is a solution to the eigenvalue problem $$\left[(\hat D^0)^{-1} - \hat Q^R(\omega) - \lambda(\omega) \hat I\right]
\begin{pmatrix}
\Delta_\omega\\
\phi_\omega
\end{pmatrix}
= 0.
\label{eq:eigval}$$ The imaginary part of the frequency can then be calculated by expanding the eigenvalue as a function of complex $\omega$ about the real frequency. [@Kulik; @Littlewood1982] We defer analysis of the imaginary part (shown in Fig. \[fig:damping\]) until Sec. \[sec:antinode\] and focus now on the real part.
In order to track the temperature dependence of the collective modes, we explicitly solve the mean field equations for a range of temperatures and then calculate the collective mode frequencies at each temperature. Below $T_\text{BDW}$, in the pure BDW phase, we find an amplitude mode starting at frequency $2\phi$, as expected. [@Littlewood1981] With the onset of superconductivity, another mode appears inside the gap. Physically, it represents coupled oscillations of the two order parameters, wherein pairs are excited in both the BDW and superconducting channels. The mixing of the two orders arises due to the off-diagonal elements of $\hat Q^R$, proportional to $\phi \Delta$. Intuitively, one might anticipate the presence of such an in-gap mode by arguing that one could convert one type of pairing into the other at a smaller energy than it would take to completely break a pair.
The temperature dependence of the mode’s frequency is non-trivial – initially it grows, but then reaches a maximum and goes down with the decrease of either $\phi$ or $\Delta$. Depending on the shape of the coexistence region, this mode either survives all the way down to $T=0$ or it vanishes at the second transition to a single-order-parameter phase. This behavior can be seen in Fig. \[fig:collective\]. Note that near the phase transitions, this mode approaches the $2\phi/2\Delta$ amplitude mode of the order that vanishes at that temperature, which is the reason for the softening of the mode in the vicinity of these points.
![(Color online) Mass of the in-gap hybrid Higgs mode $\omega_0 = \mathrm{Re}[\omega(q \to 0)]$ as obtained from Eq. \[eq:detD\]. The frequency is plotted as a function of temperature for two different cases of $\phi(T \to 0)$ ($V = 0.2, 0.21$) as depicted by the dashed lines in Fig. \[fig:phase\], using the units of Ref. . A soft mixed mode emerges in both cases below the superconducting $T_c$. For reference, twice the single-particle energy gap, which is determined by $2\min(\Delta, \phi)$, is plotted in the black dashed line. In proximity of a phase transition, the in-gap mode approaches the $2\Delta/2\phi$ Higgs mode of the vanishing order.\[fig:collective\]](collective1 "fig:"){width="\linewidth"}\
![(Color online) Mass of the in-gap hybrid Higgs mode $\omega_0 = \mathrm{Re}[\omega(q \to 0)]$ as obtained from Eq. \[eq:detD\]. The frequency is plotted as a function of temperature for two different cases of $\phi(T \to 0)$ ($V = 0.2, 0.21$) as depicted by the dashed lines in Fig. \[fig:phase\], using the units of Ref. . A soft mixed mode emerges in both cases below the superconducting $T_c$. For reference, twice the single-particle energy gap, which is determined by $2\min(\Delta, \phi)$, is plotted in the black dashed line. In proximity of a phase transition, the in-gap mode approaches the $2\Delta/2\phi$ Higgs mode of the vanishing order.\[fig:collective\]](collective2 "fig:"){width="\linewidth"}
At the onset of the coexistent phase, the other ($2\phi$) mode is pushed to higher energies, enters the quasiparticle continuum, and quickly becomes overdamped. Thus, it is outside the region of validity of our method of finding $\omega$, and so we do not track it.
Damping from antinodal quasiparticles {#sec:antinode}
-------------------------------------
As explained in Sec. \[sec:energygap\], the damping rate $\Gamma_0$, can be obtained by expanding the eigenvalues of Eq. \[eq:eigval\] about the real part of the zero momentum dispersion $\omega_0$. The temperature dependence of this damping rate is shown in Fig. \[fig:damping\]. Although the in-gap mode stays below the $(2 \Delta, 2 \phi)$ threshold, its frequency has a finite damping rate, which, furthermore, initially [*increases*]{} as temperature goes down. This unusual behavior of the damping arises from the BDW bubble $Q^R_{\phi\phi}$; when just charge order is present, the only scattering which could lead to damping requires at least energy $2\phi$ (as can be seen in Fig. \[fig:bands\_bdw\]). All other types of scattering have zero matrix element, and thus there is no damping at $q=0$ for $\omega_0 < 2\phi$. However, as soon as $\Delta$ becomes non-zero the bands are reconstructed due to hybridization of the BDW bands with their corresponding hole bands, and simultaneously scattering matrix elements between all bands become non-zero, allowing transitions between any two bands to contribute (c.f. Fig. \[fig:bands\_sc\]). As a result, there now exist transitions for arbitrarily small frequency (between the two particle/hole bands), giving rise to the damping of collective modes within the gap.
![(Color online) Damping rate $\Gamma_0$ of the in-gap collective mode in the long wavelength limit for two different values of $V$ corresponding to the two different trajectories depicted in Fig. \[fig:phase\]. Damping is an order of magnitude smaller in the case where $\phi(T \to 0) \neq 0$, and is exponentially suppressed at low temperature due a lack of thermally excited quasiparticles. In both cases, the decay rate is strongly suppressed in the vicinity of the superconducting $T_c$. The dashed vertical line indicates the boundary between the coexistent and pure superconductivity phases for the case of the blue curve (c.f. the upper plot of Fig. \[fig:collective\]).[]{data-label="fig:damping"}](damping_relative){width="\linewidth"}
The specific temperature dependence of the damping results from a combination of two effects. Because we are considering energies $\omega_0 < 2\min(\phi, \Delta)$, we see that transitions from a particle to a hole band (or vice versa) cannot contribute as they will always have energy equal or greater than $ 2\Delta$. Thus, damping must be solely due to scattering between the hole or particle bands. As $\phi$ decreases, the two particle (and correspondingly the two hole) bands become more similar (in the limit $\phi\to 0$ they are degenerate), increasing the phase space for low energy transitions and therefore leading to greater damping of the BDW amplitude mode. This in turn leads to an increased damping of the mixed mode, which is visible in Fig. \[fig:damping\]. However, in opposition to this effect, as $\phi \to 0$, the matrix element for scattering between these bands will begin to vanish, as it is proportional to $\phi$. At some point this second effect will overcome the increase due to the larger phase space, leading to a disappearance of the damping as we approach the critical point at which the charge order disappears.
The competition between scattering elements and band structure generically leads to a non-monotonic temperature dependence of the damping, which in turn means that there exists a region of maximal damping away from which the decay rate remains weak (within the gap). In the case with $\phi(T\to0) \neq 0$, the BDW order remains sufficiently large that the system never approaches this region of larger damping and thus the decay rate is noticeably smaller than for $\phi(T\to 0) = 0$. In all cases where the mixed phase exists down to $T=0$, this damping term will be exponentially suppressed at low temperatures as there are no thermally excited quasiparticles available to scatter.
\
Damping from nodal quasiparticles {#secGL}
=================================
The hot-spot model we have used so far is only defined in the antinodal regions, and thus completely ignores the gapless degrees of freedom existing close to the nodes. These can have a particularly strong effect on the damping of the collective modes by providing a low-energy decay channel. However, the contribution of these quasiparticles is different for the different orders. We expect the charge order to couple only weakly to the nodal quasiparticles, due to the mismatch between its wavevector $(Q, Q)$ and the wavevector separating the nodes[@Vojta] \[note that the same argument applies to BDW with $(Q, 0)$ or $(0, Q)$ wavevector\]. There is no such restriction for the superconductivity, however, and its amplitude fluctuations are unavoidably damped by the nodal excitations. To include these effects and to study their consequences for the collective modes, we supplement the calculation from the previous section with a phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. In addition to the more familiar quadratic and quartic in the order parameters terms, this theory contains also first and second derivatives in (real) time. The time-dependent Ginsburg-Landau equations can be written in the following form:[^5] $$\begin{gathered}
-\frac{\partial^2 \Delta}{\partial t^2}- \gamma_{\Delta} \frac{\partial \Delta}{\partial t}=\frac{\partial \mathcal{F}_{GL}}{\partial \Delta^*},\\
-\frac{\partial^2 \phi}{\partial t^2}- \gamma_{\phi} \frac{\partial \phi}{\partial t}=\frac{\partial \mathcal{F}_{GL}}{\partial \phi^*},
\end{gathered}
\label{TDGL}$$ where the Ginsburg-Landau action is given by: $$\begin{gathered}
\mathcal{F}_{GL}= \alpha_{\phi}|\phi|^2 + \alpha_{\Delta}|\Delta|^2 + \beta_{\phi}|\phi|^4 + \beta_{\Delta}|\Delta|^4 + u|\phi|^2 |\Delta|^2. \nonumber\end{gathered}$$ The quadratic coefficients $\alpha$ have the usual linear-in-temperature dependence, whereas $\beta$ and $u$ (which parametrises the competition between the two orders) are temperature-independent.[^6] Note that expressions for the coefficients in $\mathcal{F}_{GL}$ can be straightforwardly derived from the microscopic theory presented in the previous section[@Abrahams] (spatial derivative terms are not included since we are considering only uniform states). Although the Ginzburg-Landau theory is strictly applicable only close to the critical region, it can be used beyond its region of validity as an effective model for the collective modes of the system. [@PekkerVarma] For this reason we keep the second-order time derivative terms, which are usually omitted close to the critical temperature. [@larkin2005theory]
The coefficients $\gamma_{\phi}$ and $\gamma_{\Delta}$ are responsible for the damping of the collective modes. It is important to note that despite the symmetric way these terms enter Eq. \[TDGL\], they encode very different physics. The $\gamma_{\phi}$ term is native to the hot-spot regions. At low energies it is proportional to $\Delta$, since it is only allowed by the band reconstruction (see the discussion in the previous section), whereas above $2\min(\Delta, \phi)$ we can treat it as a constant, originating from the coupling of the fluctuations to the high-energy quasiparticle continuum. In contrast, the main contribution to the $\gamma_{\Delta}$ term originates from the nodal regions (and thus is completely absent in the hot-spot-only approach of the previous section). Close to $T_c$ we can obtain its temperature dependence from the following qualitative considerations. This term is proportional to the number of available states at the oscillation frequency, given by $\sim \rho (\omega) \tanh{(\omega/4 T)}$. [@Sharapov] Linearizing the density of states close to the nodes $\rho(\omega) \sim \omega$, and approximating the frequency as $\omega \approx 2 \Delta$ we finally get for the damping terms of the slow mode $$\gamma_{\Delta} \approx \gamma^0_{\Delta} \Delta^2 = \gamma^0_{\Delta} (T_c - T), \ \gamma_{\phi} \approx \gamma^0_{\phi} \Delta = \gamma^0_{\phi} \sqrt{T_c - T}\nonumber$$ (we have expanded in powers of $\Delta$). Note that we have thus determined the temperature dependence of $\gamma_{\phi}$ and $\gamma_{\Delta}$, but their relative strength at some fixed temperature depends on the parameters of the microscopic models (like $V$), which cannot be estimated within our phenomenological theory. However, given the general temperature dependence of $\gamma_{\phi}$ and $\gamma_{ \Delta}$, we expect the antinodal particles to dominate damping sufficiently close to $T_c$ ($\Delta$ vs. $\Delta^2$), whereas at low temperatures the nodal excitations take over – $\gamma_{\Delta}$ stays finite for $T \rightarrow 0$, while $\gamma_{\phi}$ goes to zero exponentially.
To obtain the frequencies and damping of the mixed modes we expand $\phi(t)$ and $\Delta(t)$ around the mean field values of the order parameters $\phi_0$ and $\Delta_0$: $\phi(t) = \phi_0 + \delta \phi(t)$ and $\Delta(t) = \Delta_0 + \delta \Delta(t)$. Assuming that $\delta \phi(t)$ and $\delta \Delta(t)$ are relatively small we can simplify Eq. \[TDGL\] by keeping only the terms linear in $\delta \phi$ and $\delta \Delta$. Since we are interested in the collective modes we write their time dependence as $ e^{- i \omega t}$. Inserting this ansatz in the linearized equations, we can exclude $\delta \phi$ and $\delta \Delta$ altogether, and finally arrive at the following equation for $\omega$: $$\begin{gathered}
\omega^2 + i \gamma_{\phi} \omega + 2 (\alpha_{\phi} + u \Delta_0^2) - \frac{(2 u \phi_0 \Delta_0)^2}{2(\alpha_{\Delta} + u \phi_0^2) + i \gamma_{\Delta} \omega + \omega^2}=0.\\
\label{GL_freq}\end{gathered}$$ We solve it numerically (with $\phi_0(T)$ and $\Delta_0(T)$ determined by the time-independent mean-field equations), and obtain both complex and purely imaginary solutions for $\omega$. The former solutions are oscillatory (with Re$[\omega]$ giving the frequency of the uniform oscillations around the mean field values), while the latter represent exponential decay. We show the real and the imaginary parts of the two $\omega$ solutions as a function of temperature in Fig. \[fig:glplot\]. There we plot $\omega_0$ and $\Gamma_0$ for two different strengths of $\gamma^0_{\Delta}$, as a comparison between small and large contribution from the nodal quasiparticles, respectively. For small $\gamma^0_{\Delta}$ we can see that both the real and imaginary parts of the frequency of the hybridized modes show behavior similar to that obtained in the previous section. However, when we increase $\gamma^0_{\Delta}$ we see not only enhancement of the damping of both modes, but also decrease of their real frequencies (the top panel of Fig. \[fig:glplot\]). Although the effect is more dramatic for the in-gap mode, which now exists only in a narrow region below $T_c$, it is significant for the fast one as well. This is a consequence of one important feature of Eq. \[GL\_freq\] – the coupling of the two channels mixes their real and imaginary parts. Thus, increase of the damping leads to the gradual suppression of the real part of both mixed modes. Note also that the disappearance of $\omega_0$ of the in-gap mode corresponds to a peak in its $\Gamma_0$.
![(Color online) The evolution of $\omega_0$ (top panel) and $\Gamma_0$ (bottom panel) of the two Higgs modes with temperature. For each mode the cases of weak and strong damping from the nodal regions are shown \[$\gamma_{\Delta} = 0.1 \alpha$ (dashed line) and $\gamma_{\Delta} = 0.7 \alpha$ (solid line), respectively\]. $\gamma_{\phi}$, the damping from antinodal region, is the same on both plots. \[fig:glplot\]](gl_damping_re "fig:"){width="0.95\linewidth"}\
![(Color online) The evolution of $\omega_0$ (top panel) and $\Gamma_0$ (bottom panel) of the two Higgs modes with temperature. For each mode the cases of weak and strong damping from the nodal regions are shown \[$\gamma_{\Delta} = 0.1 \alpha$ (dashed line) and $\gamma_{\Delta} = 0.7 \alpha$ (solid line), respectively\]. $\gamma_{\phi}$, the damping from antinodal region, is the same on both plots. \[fig:glplot\]](gl_damping_im "fig:"){width="0.95\linewidth"}
Discussion and Conclusion
=========================
Note that our calculation is to some extent complementary to those in Refs. . These works studied the dynamics of the system after an external perturbation, and were done in the time domain, thus allowing direct comparison with the experimental data. The temperature dependence of the frequencies extracted in Ref. appears consistent with our calculation, as it shows a low-frequency mode appearing below the superconducting transition.
The experiments have not observed a soft mode close to either charge or superconducting transition temperatures. Instead, the frequency of the identified amplitude mode stays almost constant, with only a small decrease in frequency at the superconducting $T_c$ observed in Ref. , and no clear change seen in Ref. . This appears consistent with the behavior of the high-energy mode in the case of strong damping from the nodal regions (see section \[secGL\]). This damping can effectively “squeeze" the low-frequency mode inside a very narrow region close to $T_c$ (where it would be difficult to observe), and could also lead to the decrease of the frequency of the fast mode, observed in Ref. (note that a different phenomenological explanation for this decrease, based on time-independent Ginzburg-Landau theory, was given in Ref. ). In contrast, the absence of softening close to $T_{BDW}$ appears incompatible with our calculation, and requires alternative explanations (such as optical phonons).[@Hinton2013] In conclusion, we have studied the collective modes for the bond density wave and superconducting order parameters expected to exist in the pseudogap state of cuprates. In the pure BDW phase we observed the conventional amplitude mode with frequency starting at $2 \phi$. In the coexistent phase two collective modes representing the coupled oscillations of the amplitudes of the order parameters are present. One of them is soft at the superconducting critical temperature, and despite having frequency $\omega_0 < 2\min(\phi, \Delta)$ is (weakly) damped, due to band-structure reconstruction caused by superconductivity. The other mixed mode is continuously connected to the pure BDW mode, with frequency pushed up in the coexisting regime. To study the effects of damping originating from the nodal regions, we developed a phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. We demonstrated that strong damping can have significant effect on the real frequency of the modes.
We are grateful to D.H. Torchinsky for enlightening discussion. This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy [BES-DESC0001911]{} and Simons Foundation.
Effect of phonons
=================
Beyond just the non-retarded interaction considered above, one can also consider the effect of phonons on the collective modes. Here we will take this into account by considering the contribution of the frequency dependent phonon-mediated interaction between electrons to the collective mode propagators. In particular, we will project this interaction onto a hot spot model by taking the phonon momentum to be the fixed wavevector $\vec Q$ separating the hot spots which are being paired – this is the same approximation that one uses on the non-retarded interaction in deriving the hot spot model.
A simple $A_{1g}$ symmetry phonon has no effect on the collective modes due to the pure $d$-wave symmetry of the order parameters. However, in reality we expect some direct order parameter-phonon coupling, either because there is a phonon mode with the correct symmetry ($B_{1g}$), or because in real systems the order parameter would not necessarily have a pure $d$-wave symmetry, but could have an $s$-wave component admixed. Regardless of the exact nature of the coupling, it gives rise to a term in the mean field theory which includes the phonon-mediated interaction as $$\begin{gathered}
H_{ph} = f\sum_{k, \epsilon_n, \omega_m} U(\omega_m)\\
\times
\left(\phi(\omega_m) c^\dagger_{1\sigma}(k, \epsilon_n - \omega_m)c_{2\sigma}(k, \epsilon_n) + h.c.\right)\end{gathered}$$ where $$U(\omega_m) = \frac{g^2_\text{ep}}{2} \frac{\Omega_Q}{\omega_m^2 + \Omega_Q^2}$$ is an Einstein phonon type propagator and $f$ is a constant of order one arising from the form factor of the electron-phonon vertex.
If we consider the effect of this term on the charge collective mode, we find that it can be captured by the replacement $g_c \to \tilde g_c(i \omega_m)$. We absorb the $\omega=0$ component into the definition of $g_c$ (as that is what determines the static mean-field solution) and include the remaining frequency dependent part in our calculation of the collective modes. Upon analytic continuation to real frequency, this amounts to the substitution $$g_c \to \tilde g_c(\omega) = g_c - \frac{f g^2_\text{ep}}{\Omega} - f g_\text{ep}^2 \frac{\Omega}{\omega^2 - \Omega^2}$$ in the collective mode equations (the additive constant is chosen so that we recover $\tilde g_c(\omega=0) = g_c$). The previous analysis can now be repeated for a range of electron phonon couplings. As can be seen in Fig. \[fig:phonon\_coupling\], the coupling to phonons tends to push the collective mode gap downward, while leaving the softening at the phase transitions unmodified. Overall, the qualitative behavior of the mode is not markedly different.
![(Color online) The in-gap collective mode mass $\omega_0$ (relative to the minimum pair creation energy) as a function of the electron phonon coupling $g$, for $\Omega_{Q} = 1.$. The $g=0$ line reproduces the behavior shown in Fig. \[fig:collective\].[]{data-label="fig:phonon_coupling"}](phonon_coupling_scaled){width="\linewidth"}
[^1]: The oscillations of the phase of superconductor are usually pushed up to plasma frequencies by coupling with the Coulomb interaction. In contrast, the phase mode of an incommensurate charge order is theoretically a Goldstone mode of the system, but in real materials this degree of freedom is usually pinned by disorder.
[^2]: $\Delta(\tau)$ and $\phi(\tau)$ may be treated, then, as real fields since they may always be brought to lie along the real axis via a gauge transformation.
[^3]: This is a parametrization in terms of longitudinal and transverse modes such as considered in Refs. as opposed to radial and angular modes (c.f. D. Pekker and C.M. Varma, Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 6, 269 (2015)).
[^4]: A similar framework was recently used in Ref. . However, the focus of that work was on the effects of the superconducting gap on the charge order, and the off-diagonal terms of $\hat Q^R$ (and thus the mixing) were assumed to be small.
[^5]: In general, there is no simple time-dependent extension of Ginzburg-Landau theory, precisely due to the presence of damping, which introduces non-analytic terms (see, for example, I. J. R. Aitchison, G. Metikas, and D. J. Lee, Phys. Rev. B 62, 6638 (2000), and references therein). We circumvent this difficulty by considering only the $q=0$ limit.
[^6]: We can also add coupling to the lattice degrees of freedom, by including bi-linear terms like $g_{\text{ep}} \phi b$ and $g_{\Delta } \Delta b$, where $b$ is a phonon mode, and $g_{\text{ep}}$ and $g_{\Delta } $ are coupling constants. [@Schaefer2014] However, the effects of these couplings appear modest (see the appendix), so we will not include them.
| 2024-05-04T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1535 |
Electron microscopic evidence of herpesvirus in association with oesophageal carcinoma.
It is now accepted that the herpesvirus group is an aetiological agent in oesophagitis, and it is known to play a role in various neoplasias. This is the first report of the finding by electron microscopy of herpesvirus in biopsy material from a clinically diagnosed case of oesophageal carcinoma. | 2023-12-26T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9762 |
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You can get faster internet service, the latest in digital TV technology, and the most convenient and clear sounding phone service all for one low monthly rate. When you subscribe to Time Warner Cable’s service bundle, you and your family can enjoy: | 2023-09-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1763 |
/*
* Copyright (c) 2002-2008 LWJGL Project
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
* met:
*
* * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
*
* * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
*
* * Neither the name of 'LWJGL' nor the names of
* its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
* from this software without specific prior written permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
* "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
* TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
* PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
* CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
* EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
* PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
* PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
* LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
* NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
* SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*/
package org.lwjgl.opengl;
public interface APPLE_packed_pixels {
/**
* Accepted by the <type> parameter of DrawPixels, ReadPixels, TexImage1D,
* TexImage2D, GetTexImage, TexImage3D, TexSubImage1D,
* TexSubImage2D, TexSubImage3D, GetHistogram, GetMinmax,
* ConvolutionFilter1D, ConvolutionFilter2D, ConvolutionFilter3D,
* GetConvolutionFilter, SeparableFilter2D, SeparableFilter3D,
* GetSeparableFilter, ColorTable, GetColorTable, TexImage4DSGIS,
* and TexSubImage4DSGIS:
*/
int GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_3_3_2 = 0x8032;
int GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_2_3_3_REV = 0x8362;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5 = 0x8363;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5_REV = 0x8364;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4 = 0x8033;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4_REV = 0x8365;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_5_5_1 = 0x8034;
int GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_1_5_5_5_REV = 0x8366;
int GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8 = 0x8035;
int GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8_REV = 0x8367;
int GL_UNSIGNED_INT_10_10_10_2 = 0x8036;
int GL_UNSIGNED_INT_2_10_10_10_REV = 0x8368;
} | 2023-08-25T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1539 |
Q:
Swift iOS -How to connect method in UIPopoverBackgroundView Class to a PopoverController in a different class?
I'm using a PopoverController and I want to get rid of the background shadow. Apple says to subClass the UIPopoverBackgroundView and return false for override class var wantsDefaultContentAppearance: Bool { get }
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uipopoverbackgroundview/1619357-wantsdefaultcontentappearance
I subclassed it and set the bool to false but the shadow still shows. How do I connect this subclass to the PopoverController that I'm using inside my Actionsheet in my LogoutClass?
UIPopoverBackgroundView subclass:
class PopoverBackgroundView: UIPopoverBackgroundView {
override class var wantsDefaultContentAppearance: Bool {
get {
return false
}
}
}
LogoutController:
class LogoutController:UIViewController{
fileprivate func logOff(){
let actionSheet = UIAlertController(title: nil, message: "Logging out?", preferredStyle: .actionSheet)
let logout = UIAlertAction(title: "Log Out", style: .default){
(action) in
//bla bla bla
}
actionSheet.addAction(logout)
if let popoverController = actionSheet.popoverPresentationController{
popoverController.sourceView = view
guard let window = UIApplication.shared.keyWindow else { return }
window.backgroundColor = .clear
popoverController.sourceRect = CGRect(x:window.bounds.midX, y:window.bounds.midY, width:0, height:0)
popoverController.permittedArrowDirections = []
}
present(actionSheet, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
}
A:
You will have to set popoverBackgroundViewClass property of your UIPopoverPresentationController instance like so :
Objective C :
popoverController.popoverBackgroundViewClass = [PopoverBackgroundView class];
Swift
popoverController?.popoverBackgroundViewClass = PopoverBackgroundView.self
As per Apple docs :
The default value of this property is nil, which causes the presentation controller to use the default popover appearance. Setting this property to a value other than nil causes the presentation controller to use the specified class to draw the popover’s background content. The class you specify must be a subclass of
UIPopoverBackgroundView
.
| 2024-01-04T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7315 |
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – While substitute teacher David Colin was supposed to be watching students in Rutherford County Schools, he was instead posting about his hatred for Donald Trump supporters on Facebook.
“The only good Trump supporter is a dead Trump supporter,” Colin allegedly wrote at 9:29 a.m. Nov. 9.
MORE NEWS: UI prof scrambles to rewrite slavery assignment after student complains on Twitter
The post and others were forwarded this week to school officials, who made sure the disturbed teacher won’t be coming back, WZTV reports.
Another post to the sub’s Facebook account from Jan. 16 implied that violence is the only way for leftist radicals to fight against President Trump.
“I spent a lot of time today thinking about the state of this mess. There are huge numbers of people that are upset, mad, angry, (pretty much every negative word), but what I have not seen is a plan. Everyone is looking for leadership to start this off, but there is no one carrying the banner. Without that we will all settle in to becoming angry hateful people and there will be no solutions. So, where do we go from here? Rallies and demonstrations are pretty much futile, since the lunatics just laugh at us knowing we haven’t the guts to stand up and take the actions needed. Writing and complaining falls on deaf ears. Not until the first shot is fired will the recovery begin,” Colin allegedly wrote.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”NEW-In-Article-Rev-Content-Widget”]
There was also this one, on Tuesday, attached to a Daily Kos article about Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as Education Secretary:
Without federal aid, places like Tennessee will be forced to close most all schools. What will your kids do next year without any school?
MORE NEWS: ASU student group holds ‘charity fundraiser’ for alleged Kenosha killer Klye Rittenhouse
It’s unclear who tipped school officials off to Colin’s lunacy.
“Rutherford County School received several messages after hours on Feb. 8 about a substitute teacher who is accused of making inappropriate, threatening comments on social media during the work day,” district spokesman James Evans told the Daily News Journal.
“Rutherford County Schools contracts with PESG to provide substitute teachers, and the school district has notified the contractor that the substitute teacher, David Colin, will not be permitted to work any longer as a substitute in Rutherford County Schools,” Evans said.
A PESG spokesman told WZTV “information was presented to us by the school district” and the company is “investigating.”
Several folks on Facebook mocked Colin for being an idiot.
“What’s that popular phrase?” Russell Grubb wrote. “Oh yeah, ‘freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.’”
“Not much of a teacher … how stupid can one be?” Mark Beasley posted. “Open your mouth on social network … be prepared for the consequences.”
“No one that dumb should be teaching kids,” Matt Smith added. “Period.”
“Yeeeeaaaahhhh … you can’t do that, genious,” Fred Jones wrote. | 2024-07-05T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/8732 |
Pittenweem witch memorial gains American backing
AN AMERICAN campaigner has pledged to raise £20,000 to commemorate witches tortured and killed by vengeful mobs more than 300 years ago.
Stephanie Creech – herself a descendant of a Scottish cardinal, took action after a local community council decided not to finance the first official witch memorial in Scotland.
The Fife village of Pittenweem, where some of the most savage witch huntings took place, decided not to go forward with the memorial after a local vote saw the community divided in opinion.
This woodcutting shows a Scottish witch-hunt in progress.
At least 26 “witches” were tortured and 18 of them killed in the picturesque fishing village in the early 18th Century.
The council’s decision caused mass disappointment for local campaigners, and Ms Creech decided to help raise the funding.
Ms Creech is a descendant of St Andrew’s Cardinal David Beaton, who was murdered by a baying mob in1546.
The catholic cardinal was murdered by protestants, who stabbed him before dangling his dead corpse from a balcony to the blood-thirsty crowd below.
The American campaigner said it was “poetically just” that she was taking a role in the Pittenweem memorial campaign.
She said: “This campaign is about raising a public awareness and to get finance to back the monument. We have started a Facebook campaign and momentum is really growing. I have spoken to various Caledonian societies in America, as well as the regional press.
“I was very intrigued when I first read Leonard Low’s book the Weem Witch and I have been a great supporter of his memorial.
“I feel it is almost ironic that a descendant of Cardinal Beaton is helping with the campaign and in a way I feel it is poetically just. Of course I have an interest because of who my ancestors were, but it is also a no brainer – I’m very surprised that the people of Fife haven’t supported this memorial.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for the town to commemorate the people that suffered.”
Mr Low, author of the Weem Witch, who has spearheaded the campaign, said his bid to erect the monument was gaining momentum.
Low, whose family have lived for generations in Pittenweem, had proposed the memorial be built at the village’s West Brae, in memory of 26 local victims who was falsely accused of witchcraft.
During the witch trials at Pittenweem, sixteen of the accused were burnt at the stake, and one died during torture.
The most notorious witch killing was that of Janet Cornfoot.
Sir Sean Connery’s ancestors were reportedly among the lynch mob that tortured and killed her in 1705.
After she was accused of witchcraft, Cornfoot was swung from a rope, stoned, and then crushed under a heavy door piled high with boulders.
To make quite certain she was dead, a horse and cart was repeatedly driven over her body and her remains buried in the area called West Braes.
Mr Low said: “It was a disappointment when the community council decided not to go forward with the memorial, but we are feeling positive now and will try to raise £20,000 privately.
“There has been a lot of interest in the memorial from around the world and I have recently started a charity for the Weem Witch, which I hope will help to raise funds.
5 COMMENTS
Make no mistake, Cardinal David Beaton did his own share of lynching and murdering. I would like to believe my interest in this effort has more do with atoning for his horrific actions. I hope that, by raising awareness throughout the US, I might be able to inspire those who are able to help Len with this noble effort. It is only right that those who suffered so horribly be remembered.
There is already a monument in Scotland to a witch-hunt victim. It has been there for a very long time and is very frequently visited. Even Myra Hindly and Ian Brady (the moors murderers) had their photo taken there. Look at the site above or google ‘Maggie Wall’
There are actually 4 memorials in Scotland to the Witch hunt victims, all anonymously donated and built. Nothing exists that has been officially recognized. Maggie Wall herself does not exist in Scottish records!…a relation built the cross and its mysteriously looked after by kind supporters.
What Im trying to achieve is to have an official stamp on a memorial to those who suffered.
Well Done and Thank You Ms Creech ! On behalf of those of us who were aware of the Pittenweem witches before knowing of Leonard Low’s seemingly tireless investigations ; and of many more who have become aware of them since the publication of The Weem Witch… | 2024-03-21T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6699 |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup device for use in an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus which uses a light beam to write and read an information signal into and from an optical information recording medium such as an optical disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical pickup comprises an irradiation optical system including an objective lens and an optical detecting system for focusing a light beam irradiated from a light source on a sequence of pits, a track or the like formed spirally or concentrically on an information recording surface on one side of an optical disc such as CD (Compact disc), CD-ROM and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) to form a spot thereon, and read recorded information such as music and data from return light reflected back from the information recording surface of the optical disc, or for writing recording information on a track or the like.
In the optical pickup, so-called focus servo and tracking servo for an objective lens are essential for securely writing information on an optical disc or securely reading information from the optical disc. The tracking servo control is a position control in a radial direction on an optical disc with respect to a track, over which the objective lens is positioned, for irradiating a light beam to a recorded location (for example, a track) on an information recording surface of the optical disc at all times. The focusing servo control is a position control in the axial direction of the objective lens for minimizing a positional error in the axial direction (focusing direction) of the objective lens with respect to a focused position of the objective lens such that the light beam is converged at the recorded location in the form of spot.
Known focusing servo control methods include, by way of example, a spot size method which divides light into two optical paths in an optical system of return light, focuses one of light beams on a front detector while focuses the other light beam on a rear detector, and compares the sizes of light spots on the front and rear detectors, and an astigmatic method which employs a cylindrical lens, a parallel flat plate and so on positioned in an optical system of return light, receives the return light on a quadrant detector, and detects the shape of a light spot on the detector.
The spot size method requires an optical pick up of a large size as a whole since return light must be divided, whereas the astigmatic method readily calculates a tracking error signal for a tracking servo control in accordance with a DPD (Differential Phase Detection) scheme since a defocused state is detected at a high sensitivity and a quadrant detector is employed for light detection. The astigmatic method is also advantageous in that it is readily applied to a three-beam based optical pickup which uses three light spots since an optical pickup of smaller size can be employed.
An example of conventional optical pickup device using the astigmatic method is illustrated in FIG. 1. A light beam from a semiconductor laser 1 transmits a polarizing beam splitter 3, a collimator lens 4 and a quarter wavelength plate 6, and is focused by an objective lens 7 on an optical disc 5 positioned near the focus of the optical lens 7. The light beam is thus transformed into a light spot SP on a sequence of pits (track) on an information recording surface of the optical disc 5.
Light reflected back from the optical disc 5 is converged by the objective lens 7, transmits the quarter wavelength plate 6 and the collimator lens 4, is redirected by a polarizing beam splitter 3, and passes through a cylindrical lens 8 which applies astigmatism to the light. The resulting light forms a light spot SP near the center of a quadrant photodetector 9 which has a light receiving surface divided into four by two line segments which intersect perpendicularly in a track extending direction and in a disc radial direction.
The cylindrical lens 8, as illustrated in FIG. 2, is positioned on an optical path of the return light such that its central axis extends at an angle of 45° with respect to a direction in which the track of the disc 5 extends, so that the return light forms a line image M, an image plane B (hereinafter called the “minimum scattered circular image plane) on which a light beam becomes circular (minimum scattered circle) in the optical system applied with astigmatism, and a line image S. Therefore, the cylindrical lens 8 irradiates the quadrant photodetector 9 with a circular light spot SP as illustrated in FIG. 3A on the minimum scattered circular image plane B when a light beam converged on the recording surface of the optical disc 5 is focused, and irradiates the quadrant photodetector 9 with an elliptic light spot SP extending in a diagonal direction of the four-divided light receiving surface as illustrated in FIG. 3B or 3C when the light beam is defocused (when the optical disc 5 is too far (b) or too near (c) from the optical disk 5 illustrated in FIG. 1).
The quadrant photodetector 9 opto-electrically transduces a portion of the light spot irradiated to each of the four light receiving surfaces into an electric signal in accordance with its light intensity, and supplies the electric signals to a focus error detector circuit 12. The focus error detector circuit 12 performs a predetermined operation based on the electric signals supplied from the quadrant photodetector 9 to generate a signal (hereinafter called the “focus error signal” or FES) which is supplied to an actuator driving circuit 13. The actuator driving circuit 13 supplies a focusing driving signal to an actuator 15. The actuator 15 moves the objective lens 7 in a focusing direction in response to the focusing driving signal. In this way, the focus error signal is fed back to control the position of the objective lens.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the quadrant photodetector 9 is comprised of four light receiving sections DET1-DET4 in first through fourth quadrants which are divided by two orthogonal division lines L1, L2, positioned adjacent to one another, and independent of one another. The focus error detector circuit 12 is connected to the quadrant detector 9. The quadrant photodetector 9 is positioned such that one of the division lines L1 is in parallel with a map in a direction in which the recording track of the optical disc 5 extends, i.e., in a tangential direction, and the other division line L2 is in parallel with a map in the radial direction. Respective opto-electrically transduced outputs from the light receiving sections DET1, DET3 symmetric about the center of the light receiving surface of the quadrant photodetector 9 are added by an adder 22, while respective opto-electrically transduced outputs from the light receiving sections DET2, DET4 are added by an adder 21. Outputs of the respective adders 21, 22 are supplied to a differential amplifier 23. The amplifier 23 calculates the difference between the supplied signals, and outputs the difference signal as a focus error signal (FES).
In this way, in the conventional focus error detector circuit 12, the outputs of the quadrant photodetector 9 are added by the adders 21, 22, respectively, and the difference between the outputs of the adders 21, 22 is calculated by the differential amplifier 23 to generate a focus error component. Specifically, as the signs of the light receiving sections on the quadrant photodetector 9 are indicated as their outputs, the focus error signal FES is expressed by the following equation (1):FES=(DET1+DET3)−(DET2+DET4) (1)
A so-called sigmoid characteristic of the focus error signal (FES) is shown in FIG. 5. When focused, a light spot intensity distribution is symmetric about the center O of the light receiving surface on the quadrant photodetector 9, i.e., symmetric in the tangential direction and in the radial direction, so that a light spot in the shape of true circle, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, is formed on the quadrant photodetector 9. Therefore, the values derived by adding the opto-electrically transduced outputs from the light receiving sections positioned on the diagonals are equal to each other, resulting in the focus error component equal to “0.” On the other hand, when defocused, an elliptic light spot extending in a diagonal direction of the light receiving sections is formed on the quadrant photodetector 9 as illustrated in FIG. 3B or 3C, so that the values derived by adding the opto-electrically transduced outputs from the light receiving sections positioned on the diagonals differ in polarity from each other. Therefore, the focus error component output from the differential amplifier 23 presents a value in accordance with a focus error.
However, the astigmatic method is disadvantageously affected by noise introduced into the focus error signal (hereinafter called the “track traverse noise”) when a light beam spot traverses a track on an optical disc if an optical pickup has aberration such as astigmatism. In other words, even when focused as shown in FIG. 3A, FES=0 may not be resulted.
Unwanted astigmatism in an optical pickup device may occur when an alignment accuracy is low, for example, when light beam transmitting planes of optics such as a diffraction grating and a half mirror are tilted to and therefore are not perpendicular to the optical axis of an emitted light beam, or when the light beam emitted from a semiconductor laser itself has astigmatism. In addition, astigmatism occurs as well due to birefringence of a disc substrate which relates to irradiation and reflection of the light beam.
While such unwanted astigmatism can be eliminated by slightly canceling it using optics such as a shaping prism, a so-called oblique astigmatism component, which extends, for example, at an angle of 45° with respect to a direction corresponding to a tangential (track) direction or a radial direction to the astigmatism direction, remains in the entire optical system. For example, when a converged light beam is irradiated to a disc substrate made of polycarbonate (PC), astigmatism appears at 45° to the tangential (track) direction or the diagonal direction.
In the irradiation optical system and light detection optical system in the optical pickup device in accordance with the astigmatic method, optical elements (including a semiconductor laser as a light source, LED and so on) are designed to avoid introducing unwanted astigmatism. However, it is difficult to completely remove unwanted astigmatism in practice. With the existence of unwanted astigmatism not used for the focus servo, the track traverse noise is introduced in an attempt of generating a focus error signal from an optical disc having lands and grooves on an information recording surface thereof. This is because the light intensity distribution is uneven in the circular light beam spot on the quadrant photodetector 9.
In conventional optical pickups for CD, since an objective lens has a small numerical aperture NA and the focus depth is large, the noise does not cause problems even if it introduces more or less into the focus error signal. However, when information is read from an optical disc, such as DVD-RAM, which has lands and grooves, the FES noise included in a focus error signal will influence more gravely the focus servo of the objective lens because of a larger numerical aperture of the objective lens and a smaller focus depth. The influence becomes more grave if the depth of the grooves is set such that a push-pull error appears.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional astigmatic method, a sudden response characteristic is provided within a range in which an astigmatism difference occurs between the line image M including the minimum scattered circular image plane B and the line image S, i.e., in an effective range (capture range) of the focus error signal. It is desirable that an essentially ineffective focus error signal out of the capture range suddenly becomes zero. However, in the conventional focus error detection, the elliptic spot gradually becomes large due to defocusing, and extends off the detector, at which time the quadrant light receiving sections start outputting the opto-electrically transduced signals, and moreover, outputs from diagonal components leak in, a sudden characteristic is not achieved. As the objective lens has an increasingly larger numerical aperture corresponding to higher density optical discs in recent years, further limitations are imposed on the range of an operation distance of the objective lens. Therefore, there is a need for correct detection of the capture range in the conventional astigmatic method.
An attempt to correctly detect a capture range of focus servo is disclosed, for example, in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 8-185635 entitled “Astigmatic method.” The disclosed method detects the capture range when a multi-layer disc is reproduced based on outputs of auxiliary detectors disposed outside of a quadrant photodetector. However, in this astigmatic method, an elliptic spot continuously becomes larger due to defocusing, and extends off the quadrant detector, at which time the quadrant detector starts outputting signals, thereby resulting in the inability to achieve a sudden capture range detecting signal characteristic. In addition, this astigmatic method is vulnerable to a shifted optical axis of a light beam spot to the quadrant photodetector. In the conventional focus error detection, the defocused light beam, spreading about the optical axis, will not largely extend off the photodetector. For this reason, for reproducing a multi-layer disc which has a narrow interlayer spacing such as DVD having a plurality of information recording surfaces stacked in the film thickness direction, the influence of interlayer crosstalk cannot be suppressed unless the area of the photodetector is set extremely small. A smaller area of a light receiving element will result in a smaller capture range, causing a deteriorated preability of a system. | 2023-12-11T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4334 |
Category: Personal Effectiveness
Don’t let life and work just happen to you. Get out in front of things by managing your time proactively. Put priority items on your calendar first. Don’t imagine that you’ll “find the time.” You won’t. So, schedule important, “move-us-ahead” work first when you plan your » Read More
“First things first.” Sounds like a great way to start your day. But what exactly does it mean? You want to get your day off to a great start. Here are three ideas about how to figure out what the best “first thing” is for you today. Start with Something That Builds Momentum You can start your day with a » Read More
Don’t plan every moment, especially on the weekend. Allow time for yourself where you don’t have anything particular to do. Creativity lives in those cracks in your schedule. This is only one of 347 tips in my ebook, Become a Better Boss One Tip at a Time. Just promoted from individual contributor? Check out my » Read More
Research confirms what common sense suggests. Knowledge work is real work that uses up real energy. So, just as you save your physical energy for important physical tasks, do the same with your mental energy. Do important work first. That way you use energy for what’s important. Use automatic reminders to keep you on » Read More
Your mental energy is a critical resource. You use it to make wise decisions, weigh alternatives, and avoid temptation. Mental energy is a lot like physical energy. Use it hard and you deplete it. Conserve it and it’s available when needed. Here’s how to get the most from your mental energy. Develop Your Mental » Read More | 2024-01-28T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5597 |
[Long-term venous access "PORT": own experience].
In the study we analyzed the methods and results of implantation of 100 ports. Children age ranged between 0.5 and 16 years. All children received chemotherapy during neoplasm treatment. In conclusion, ultrasound detector, radiological control and subclavian venous access are safe and less traumatic than external jugular vein. | 2024-03-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7613 |
Story highlights Trump said Flynn was simply "doing his job" by discussing issues like sanctions with Russia's ambassador
Trump learned about Flynn's conversation with the ambassador on January 26
Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump said Thursday he didn't direct his former national security adviser Michael Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador -- but said he would have if he thought Flynn wasn't going to.
Trump repeatedly made clear during a news conference that he asked for Flynn's resignation because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about that conversation, not because he took issue with Flynn's discussing sanctions with a Russian ambassador.
That's because Trump said Flynn was simply "doing his job" by discussing issues like sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.
"Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So it certainly would've been OK with me if he did it," Trump said. "I would've directed him to do it if I thought he wasn't doing it."
Trump's comments about Flynn marked the first time the President has explained at length why he asked Flynn for his resignation earlier this week after just 24 days in the position as Trump's top foreign policy adviser.
Read More | 2023-10-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6955 |
Q:
Siamart0516 class and wrong hyperref driver
I'm using the siamart0516 document class and I keep getting errors like:
Package hypdvips Error: Wrong hyperref driver `hxetex.def' selected! [ }]
and
LaTeX Error: Command \hc@orgtable already defined. [\ProcessOptions\relax]
My code is the following:
\documentclass[table]{siamart0516}
\usepackage{amsfonts,amssymb,latexsym,times,tikz}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{array}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{mdframed}
\usepackage{centernot}
\usepackage{textpos}
\usepackage{enumerate}
\usepackage{algpseudocode}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{url}
\usepackage{cite}
Is there some clash between the document class and the packages? How can I fix the errors? Any help is greatly appreciated.
A:
Package hypcap is called with option all in class siamart0516:
\RequirePackage[all]{hypcap} [1.11]
Option all is a shortcut for the option list figure, figure*, table, table*. Also there is a global option table:
\documentclass[table]{siamart0516}
That means, the code for option table is executed twice, as part of option all and as global option table.
I assume the global option table is meant for xcolor, which is loaded in the class file. Then this can be more selectively achieved by:
\PassOptionsToPackage{table}{xcolor}
before \documentclass. Then the global option table can be removed.
The start of the file then looks like:
\PassOptionsToPackage{table}{xcolor}
\documentclass{siamart0516}
(BTW, the class uses a wrong syntax for the optional argument of \RequirePackage after the package name. It is used with a version number, but should be a date in format YYYY/MM/DD.)
Driver error
The error message about hxetex.def is caused by package hypdvips. The package assumes that the file is compiled with latex followed by dvips. But since XeTeX is used, the package must not be loaded, which can be prevented by the class option nohypdvips:
\PassOptionsToPackage{table}{xcolor}
\documentclass[nohypdvips]{siam0516}
| 2024-03-18T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/3564 |
Snapper Sport Fishing in Costa Rica
SNAPPER
Costa Rica is home to all kinds of Snapper species: Cubera, Red, Mullet, Colorado, Dog-Tooth, Silky, Yellow, Rock and many more. Anglers fishing Costa Rica inshore will find these beautiful – delicious! – often wary and cautious fish usually around rocks, reefs, ledges and other structures close to shore.
Snapper can be caught all year round off Costa Rica’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts, but it is the Pacific coast where these fish truly abound. All Snapper species eat crabs and shrimps, smaller fish and minnows, and octopus. And, of course, every species of Snapper caught on Costa Rican sport fishing charters is a delicacy at the dining table.
Cubera is largest Costa Rica Snapper species
The biggest Snapper that anglers who fish Costa Rica will encounter is the Cubera Snapper. This slow-growing and long-living fish is a trophy catch. Cubera Snapper can reach over 100 pounds, and live over 60 years.
Cubera Snapper prefer rocky structures and reefs, with lots of holes and ledges to hide in. Anglers on an inshore Costa Rica fishing charter will catch them live baiting around rocky points and reefs, although on deeper reefs, drifting a small dead tuna with the backbone removed is effective bait, as are live lobsters and crabs. When hooked, Cubera Snapper are tough, determined fighters, and a heavy drag is needed to stop them before they break you off.
Red Snapper a prize of Costa Rica fishing
Mullet Snapper are a longer, sleeker Snapper that often congregate in large schools, and sometimes can be seen boiling bait on the surface. They are strong, energetic fighters, and will often attach baits and poppers cast in their vicinity. The term Pacific Red Snapper encompasses several species (Silky, Colorado, Spotted Rosy…) and average between five and 20 pounds. All of these fish are prize catches on a Costa Rica sportfishing charter, and are delicious.
Another tasty Snapper is the Yellow Snapper, which anglers enjoying a Costa Rica fishing day will encounter near rocks and ledges. Yellow Snapper are usually reddish brown on the front, fading to bright yellow on the rear fins. Rarely will you find one more than 10 lbs.
Snapper of a different color
A more unusual Snapper often encountered when fishing Costa Rica is the Rock Snapper. What distinguishes them is that they are olive green, not the usual variation of red coloring shared by other Snapper species, and have alternating light and dark vertical bands. Rock Snapper also have two ‘feeler’ antenna-like structures protruding from their upper jaw.
Rock Snapper, usually three-15lbs, hang around holes and ledges, and will run to the hole when they feel the hook. They are fairly weak fighters, but truly excellent eating.
A Costa Rican fish to savor
Finally, you will be lucky if the whole fried Snapper you order at a seafood restaurant in Costa Rica is a Spotted Rosy Snapper. Although they can reach five pounds, most Rosy Snapper caught by anglers fishing in Costa Rica are less than a pound. It is absolutely scrumptious! Spotted Rosy Snapper are often caught while bait fishing for Blue Runners. They are aggressive eaters and school, and 10-20 can often be caught in a short time. | 2023-11-24T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4872 |
$def with()
$var title: $_(u'SIP Restarting')
$var page: restart
<script>
function changePage() {
// A small trick in order to be sure that SIP has been restarted and is answering our requests
var interval = setInterval(function () {
jQuery.get('/', function () {
window.location.href = "/";
clearInterval(interval);
});
}, 1000);
}
jQuery(document).ready(function () {
changePage()
});
</script>
<div id="restarting">
<div class="title">$_(u'SIP is restarting')</div>
$_(u'This may take several seconds...')
</div>
| 2023-09-09T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/9112 |
Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.
Taliban ready to deal on captive US soldier?
The captors of an American soldier held for nearly five years in Afghanistan have signaled a willingness to release him but are unclear which U.S. government officials have the authority to make a deal, according to two individuals in the military working for his release. Critics of the release effort blame disorganization and poor communication among the numerous federal agencies involved.
An ever-shrinking U.S. military presence in Afghanistan has refocused attention on efforts to bring home Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by the Taliban since June 30, 2009. About two dozen officials at the State and Defense departments, the military’s U.S. Central Command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command, the CIA and FBI are working the case – most of them doing it alongside their other duties, a defense official said.
Bergdahl’s captors are anxious to release him, according to a defense official and a military officer, who both spoke to The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
“Elements in all echelons – from the top of the Taliban down to the folks holding Bergdahl – are reaching out to make a deal,” the defense official said.
The military officer said the effort was marred by distrust on both sides. Those holding Bergdahl have indicated what they would be willing to do to prove to the U.S. government that they want to deal, but the U.S. has not formally responded to that outreach, the military officer said.
Bergdahl, 28, of Hailey, Idaho, was last seen in a “proof of life” video released in December. He is thought to be held by members of the Haqqani network, which operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and has been one of the deadliest threats to U.S. troops in the war. The Haqqani network, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012, claims allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, yet operates with some degree of autonomy.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., wrote earlier this year to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, saying it was critical that efforts to free Bergdahl are not overcome by bureaucracy.
“Given the significance and necessity for centralized command and control, which I have been informed is little to nonexistent, I urge you to seriously consider the idea of directing an individual to organize, manage and coordinate activity that involves multiple elements of the federal government working toward Bergdahl’s release,” wrote Hunter, a Marine veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Days later, Hagel appointed Michael Lumpkin, assistant defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict, as the point person for the Bergdahl case at the Pentagon. Hunter viewed that as a good step but noted that Lumpkin only has jurisdiction over the Pentagon work, not the other agencies.
A month after Lumpkin’s appointment, Hunter wrote President Barack Obama, asking him to make the Defense Department the lead on all efforts to get Bergdahl back “with the specific aim of achieving a faster resolution than can be provided by the Department of State.” He also asked Obama to name one coordinator to oversee the entire Bergdahl effort.
The State Department is leading the most publicized approach to getting Bergdahl back – a plan to exchange him for five Taliban detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The department declined comment on Hunter’s letters and referred questions to the White House.
“The reason Sgt. Bergdahl remains a captive is because he is being held by a terrorist organization, not because of a lack of effort or coordination by the U.S. government,” said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The defense official and military officer paint a different picture.
When the Hagel’s office and U.S. Central Command separately learned about the Bergdahl video in December, there was confusion about who should tell the family, the defense official said. The secretary’s office ended up informing the family. That angered U.S. Central Command, which believed it was its responsibility to tell the Bergdahls. Neither was communicating with the other about the video notification, the defense official said.
In a statement issued Thursday, U.S. Central Command said the allegations were “completely false and mischaracterize the ongoing close coordination and teamwork between U.S. Central Command, the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies” in seeking Bergdahl’s return.
In August 2012, Obama contacted Bergdahl’s parents weeks after they expressed frustration that the government wasn’t doing enough to secure their son’s freedom. But in May 2013, Bob Bergdahl told a prisoner of war-missing in action gathering in Washington that he was pleased with the government’s efforts to bring his son home.
Navy Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost, a Defense Department spokeswoman, also defended the effort, saying the Pentagon was committed to the safe and immediate release of Bergdahl and saying Lumpkin was spearheading the “comprehensive synchronization” of efforts throughout the department and with other agencies.
The Pentagon is exploring several avenues to get Bergdahl released, including one that seeks to negotiate with the Haqqani network, according to an individual familiar with the government’s efforts. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the Pentagon’s efforts, said some government officials also are looking into ways to seek the simultaneous release of Bergdahl and four civilians, including a woman who was pregnant when she went missing, believed held by militants.
All avenues are fraught with difficulties.
In late February, the Taliban said they had suspended “mediation” with the United States about swapping Bergdahl for the five Taliban detainees, blaming the “current complex political situation” in Afghanistan. There also is some congressional opposition to the prisoner swap. According to military documents, one of the five served as interior minister during the Taliban’s five-year rule of Afghanistan and had direct ties to Osama bin Laden.
“That’s dead,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said when asked about the prison swap idea. “It hasn’t gone anywhere for a couple of years.”
McCain, who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for more than five years, also said Obama administration officials first told Congress that they wanted to release five Taliban detainees at Guantánamo as a confidence-building measure to jump-start talks with the Taliban.
“I said that was insane … to do that,” said McCain, a frequent critic of the Obama administration who believes the government’s approach to getting Bergdahl back is in disarray. “Then it was the swap for Bergdahl. I said, `OK, fine. How are you going to do that?' They never explained anything to anybody about how it would be done. … How can you get him back if you are totally disorganized?”
Join the Discussion
Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts. | 2024-02-27T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4996 |
Language in politics matters. There is a slightly irritating “joke” online at the moment, whereby if you write something that someone doesn’t agree with, they reply: “And if you believe that, I’ve a bus you can write it on.”
It was probably the funny the first time, when someone made an outlandish claim like the one on the Vote Leave bus (”We send the EU £350million every week — let’s fund our NHS instead”). But I had it yesterday for pointing out that Labour had said something before the election (on tuition fees) that it was now rowing back on. “Holding politicians to account for the things they say is not partisan,” I said, getting the response: “And if you believe that, I’ve a bus | 2024-02-15T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2362 |
492 F.2d 1238
Davisv.U. S.
73-1913
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Third Circuit
2/19/74
1
W.D.Pa.
AFFIRMED
| 2023-11-20T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4976 |
Connor Sparrowhawk: Southern Health accepts responsibility for his death
Sanchita Hosali
10 June 2016
Connor Sparrowhawk was, in the words of those who campaigned for an investigation into his preventable death, “a fit and healthy young man, who loved buses, London, Eddie Stobart and speaking his mind. He lived in Oxford and was in the sixth form of a local special school. [He] was diagnosed with autism, learning disabilities and epilepsy.” In tragic cases of preventable deaths such as Connor’s, our Human Rights Act provides an important tool for families and loved ones to seek accountability. Yesterday, following the inquest into Connor’s death, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, who had been entrusted with his care, accepted full responsibility for Connor’s death, admitting it violated both his and his family’s human rights.
What happened to Connor?
In March 2013, following changes in his mood, Connor was admitted to Slade House, a small inpatient unit for people with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire, run by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. The unit stated in Connor’s care plan that he would be checked on every 15 minutes while bathing, but subsequent investigations found no evidence that such checks took place. Connor was found submerged in a bath on 4 July 2013, and died in hospital a short time later. Although the Trust initially suggested that Connor had died of natural causes, both Connor’s family and independent regulators had concerns about care and treatment standards at Slade House.
What did the regulators find?
In September 2013, England’s regulator of health and social care, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the unit Connor had been staying in, and spoke to three of the five people staying there. The inspection report states that “[o]ne person told us they felt unsafe and uncared for, another told us they ‘hated it’ there. The third person said ‘It is okay.’” The report further found that “[o]ver the course of two days, we saw few social or therapeutic nursing interactions with people who stayed there. There appeared to be an impoverished environment with little therapeutic intervention or meaningful activities to do.” The CQC undertook a number of enforcement actions following the September inspection, and visited the unit again in December 2013, and found improvements had been made.
The importance of human rights
Our Human Rights Act pulls down 16 fundamental rights from the European Convention on Human Rights and makes them part of our law here at home, placing duties on public authorities to respect, protect and fulfil these rights. One of these rights is the right to life (Article 2), which means public authorities must take reasonable steps to protect a person’s life when it is known to be at risk. In addition, this human right also means there must be an investigation when a person dies in circumstances in which public officials or authorities may be implicated or involved. Often this means holding an inquest to investigate what has happened.
The inquest
Following his death, Connor’s mother Sara Ryan worked with specialist charity INQUEST, and launched her own campaign, Justice for LB (LB, referring to Connor’s nickname Laughing Boy). Justice for LB has called for, among many other things, “[m]eaningful involvement at the inquest, and any future investigations into LB’s death, so we can see the Trust and staff account for their actions in public.”
The inquest began in October 2015, and the jury found that Connor drowned in the bath following an epileptic seizure. The jury also found that neglect contributed to his death, specifically in relation to a lack of leadership at the unit and risks around Connor’s epilepsy. The latter included failure to take an adequate history of his condition, failure to conduct risk assessments appropriately, and failure to communicate with his family, with whom he had lived until his admission, about how best to manage his epilepsy.
Accepting responsibility for human rights failures
Yesterday, 9 June 2016, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust admitted that it breached Connor Sparrowhawk’s human rights, and that its failures caused his death. More specifically, the Trust accepted that it breached Connor’s right to life (Article 2), as well as the rights of his family, and agreed to pay compensation for its omissions. The Trust’s full statement can be read here. The Human Rights Act was vital in ensuring that Connor’s family was able to find out how and in what circumstances he died, through a process in which they could participate.
The future
The issue in this case is much greater than one young boy’s tragic and preventable drowning. The Justice for LB campaign argues that justice “for all the young dudes” would include critical reflection on regulation of facilities like Slade House, changes to use of the Mental Capacity Act, and, crucially, “proper informed debate about the status of learning disabled adults as full citizens in the UK, involving and led by learning disabled people and their families, and what this means in terms of service provision in the widest sense and the visibility of this group as part of ‘mainstream’ society.” Here at the British Institute of Human Rights we aim to achieve this through our frontline projects in mental health and mental capacity. We work directly with individuals, their advocates and service providers to demonstrate how the Human Rights Act can be used to develop rights-respecting services. Yesterday’s admission by the Southern Health is a further small but significant step in this direction.
After an inquest jury found that those who died at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 were unlawfully killed, Anna Morris, one of the lawyers representing their families, looks back at the longest jury case in English legal history and reflects on the role the Human Rights Act had to play.
Human Rights through the Ages premiered at our Human Rights Tour 2012. It highlights a handful of historical events that have contributed to our modern understanding of human rights, with a bit of tongue in cheek media commentary thrown in. It has proved extremely popular, have a watch and see what you think!
Co-produced with advocacy groups this guide shows how the rights and duties in the Human Rights Act can help strengthen support for people with mental health problems. It uses handy tables, flowcharts, case studies, and worked through examples. | 2024-02-07T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/1722 |
[Osteosarcoma - Clinical, Radiological and Histologic Evaluation of Preoperative Chemotherapy in Correlation with Long-term Survival.].
This paper evaluates the clinical, radiological and histomorphologic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 37 patients with II B osteosarcomas. The results are compared according to the type of surgery, local recurrence and lung metastasis at a minimal follow up of five years in patients who underwent surgery at the orthopedic clinic in Prague Bulovka in 1982 - 1992. All patients continued with adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. Bad clinical response (increase of circumference, decrease in range of motion and increase of pain) correlated with the bad histologic response evaluated according to the COSS criteria. Accurate evaluation of a complete radiological documentation (tumor calcification on plain radiographs and CT scans, decrease of tumor volume on plain radiographs and CT scans or MRI and the disappearance of pathologic vascularisation) can quite precisely estimate a good response to preoperative chemotherapy and indicate limb sparing surgery. The radiological evaluation, especially of an incomplete record, does not always fully correlate with the histomorphologic response. Good prognosis for long term survival was observed in patients with a more then 80% tumor cell necrosis. CT scans or MRI performed immediately before the beginning and at the end of preoperative chemotherapy are necessary for a reliable evaluation of tumor calcification and intramedullar tumor spread. The persistence or disappearance of pathologic vascularisation seems to be the most significant marker to evaluate residual vital tumor cells. A good radiological response enables a safe indication for a limb sparing procedure as an alternative to amputation. The radiological evaluation must be correlated with different histomorphologic osteosarcoma subtypes as well as with possible changes, especially in vascularisation, due to an incorrect biopsy or pathologic fracture. Key words: osteosarcoma, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, long term survival, indication for limb salvage. | 2024-04-10T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4960 |
Conventionally, there are various techniques in which an image of an arbitrary object is captured using a monocular camera, the distance to the object is measured, and a distance image of the object is generated. Technologies using such a distance image include, for example, a user interface that detects that the driving posture is abnormal, using a distance image of a driver who is driving a vehicle, and thus makes an alert and a user interface that detects the curvature of fingers in order to understand sign language and then operates.
As technologies for measuring the distance to an object, an image input device according to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-328657 measures the distance on the basis of the intensity of reflection light that is reflected from an object by using a monocular camera and an illuminating unit that faces the object. Specifically, the image input device according to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-328657 captures a first image while irradiating an object with light. The image input device then captures a second image without irradiating the object with light. On the basis of the difference in the reflection light intensity (distance difference) between the first image and the second image, the image input device then outputs a third image that is an image representing the intensity distribution of the reflection light, which is applied to the object, and that contains information on the depth of the object (distance information).
However, the above-described conventional technologies have a problem in that the distance to an object cannot be measured accurately.
Specifically, a diffuse reflection coefficient is usually necessary to measure the distance to an image. However, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-328657 does not disclose a method for calculating a diffuse reflection coefficient of an object, which means that the diffuse reflection coefficient of the object has to be known. In other words, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-328657 cannot be applied to an object for which the diffuse reflection coefficient is unknown and accordingly the distance to an object that has a shape difference in shape cannot be accurately measured. | 2024-02-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6955 |
US-led coalition raids on Raqqa in northern Syria have killed 29 civilians over the past 24 hours as American-backed forces battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, a monitor said on Tuesday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine women and 14 children had been killed in coalition air raids on Raqqa city since Monday evening.
It said 14 of the dead were members of one family, who had fled to Raqqa from Palmyra.
The death toll could rise because of the number of critically wounded, it added.
READ MORE: UN struggles to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria
A US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance is battling to overthrow ISIL, also known as ISIS, from Raqqa, its main Syrian stronghold, and has taken around 45 percent of the city.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition could not immediately be reached for comment. The coalition has previously said it strenuously tries to avoid civilian casualties and investigates all reports that its attacks have killed civilians.
The coalition said in July that its attacks had killed at least 600 civilians in both Iraq and Syria since it began operations in 2014, a figure that is far lower than those given by independent monitors.
Meanwhile, Syrian activists say pro-government forces have intensified their bombardment of the capital's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta suburbs, one day after rebels frustrated a government attempt to advance.
The opposition-affiliated Ghouta Media Centre said one civilian was killed and several others injured in government shelling and aerial bombardment.
Rebels and other witnesses said shelling and air raids increased on Monday and the bombardment was at its heaviest in a two-month Syrian army campaign.
People had retreated to shelters, one resident said, noting that at least five buildings had collapsed under the shelling in two days.
Many locals have left the area over recent weeks because of the bombardment and, even under military assaults, they will still be able to do so, the resident said.
"This isn't Aleppo, where people were surrounded. Ghouta is a bigger space and the towns are more open to each other. No town is surrounded."
However, there was little movement between Eastern Ghouta towns because of fighting over territory between rival rebel groups who control that area. | 2024-07-15T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/4220 |
{"files"=>["https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/418597"], "description"=>"<div><h3>Background</h3><p><em>Mycobacterium ulcerans</em> disease (Buruli ulcer) is the most widespread mycobacterial disease in the world after leprosy and tuberculosis. How <em>M. ulcerans</em> is introduced into the skin of humans remains unclear, but it appears that individuals living in the same environment may have different susceptibilities.</p><h3>Objectives</h3><p>This study aims to determine whether frequent contacts with natural water sources, family relationship or the practice of consanguineous marriages are associated with the occurrence of Buruli ulcer (BU).</p><h3>Design</h3><p>Case control study.</p><h3>Setting</h3><p>Department of Atlantique, Benin.</p><h3>Subjects</h3><p>BU-confirmed cases that were diagnosed and followed up at the BU detection and treatment center (CDTUB) of Allada (Department of the Atlantique, Benin) during the period from January 1st, 2006, to June 30th, 2008, with three matched controls (persons who had no signs or symptoms of active or inactive BU) for age, gender and village of residence per case.</p><h3>Main Outcomes Measured</h3><p>Contact with natural water sources, BU history in the family and the practice of consanguineous marriages.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 416 participants were included in this study, including 104 cases and 312 controls. BU history in the family (p<0.001), adjusted by daily contact with a natural water source (p = 0.007), was significantly associated with higher odds of having BU (OR; 95% CI = 5.5; 3.0–10.0). The practice of consanguineous marriage was not associated with the occurrence of BU (p = 0.40). Mendelian disorders could explain this finding, which may influence individual susceptibility by impairing immunity.</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>This study suggests that a combination of genetic factors and behavioral risk factors may increase the susceptibility for developing BU.</p></div>", "links"=>[], "tags"=>["occurrence", "buruli", "ulcer", "benin"], "article_id"=>142662, "categories"=>["Biological Sciences", "Cancer"], "users"=>["Ghislain Emmanuel Sopoh", "Yves Thierry Barogui", "Roch Christian Johnson", "Ange Dodji Dossou", "Michel Makoutodé", "Sévérin Y. Anagonou", "Luc Kestens", "Francoise Portaels"], "doi"=>"https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000746", "stats"=>{"downloads"=>7, "page_views"=>13, "likes"=>0}, "figshare_url"=>"https://figshare.com/articles/Family_Relationship_Water_Contact_and_Occurrence_of_Buruli_Ulcer_in_Benin/142662", "title"=>"Family Relationship, Water Contact and Occurrence of Buruli Ulcer in Benin", "pos_in_sequence"=>0, "defined_type"=>3, "published_date"=>"2010-07-13 00:44:22"} | 2024-07-13T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7758 |
818 F.2d 877
dCiba-Geigyv.Quiggs
86-1672
United States Court of Appeals,Federal Circuit.
2/13/87
DCt/E.VA
AFFIRMED
1
---------------
d Denotes patent appeals.
| 2024-04-01T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6029 |
Residential care facilities: a key sector in the spectrum of long-term care providers in the United States.
RCFs in the United States totaled 31,100 in 2010, with 971,900 state-licensed, certified, or registered residential care beds. About one-half of RCFs were small facilities which served one-tenth of all RCF residents. The remaining RCFs were medium-sized facilities (16%) which served about one-tenth of all RCF residents, large facilities (28%) which served about one-half of all RCF residents, and extra large facilities (7%) which housed about three-tenths of all RCF residents. RCFs were predominantly for profit (82%), not part of a chain (62%), and located in an MSA (81%). Small RCFs were more likely to be for profit than larger RCFs. The proportion of chain-affiliated RCFs grew with increasing facility size. Small and extra large RCFs were most likely to be located in an MSA, while medium RCFs were least likely to be in an MSA. RCFs were most commonly located in the West. The mix of facility sizes varied by region. The West had almost twice as many residential care beds per 1,000 persons aged 85 and over as the Northeast (245 to 131). Comparing the supply of RCF beds with nursing home beds (data compiled by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) shows that the supply of RCF beds (245) and nursing home beds (203) per 1,000 persons aged 85 and over was relatively comparable in the West, but nursing home beds far outnumbered RCF beds in all other regions. There were about twice as many nursing home beds as RCF beds per 1,000 persons aged 85 and over in the South (325 to 164), Midwest (390 to 177), and Northeast (303 to 131). More research is needed to identify and examine factors that may explain these regional differences in both the supply of residential care beds, including variations in state regulation and financing of different types of LTC providers, and in consumer preferences for different kinds of long-term services and support. RCFs serve primarily a private-pay adult population (6). However, the use of Medicaid financing for services in residential care settings has gradually increased in recent years (7). About 4 out of 10 RCFs had at least one resident who had some or all of their LTC services paid by Medicaid. The percentage of facilities having residents who received LTC services paid by Medicaid varied by facility size. Although nearly all RCFs provided basic health monitoring (96%) and incontinence care (93%), larger RCFs were more likely than smaller RCFs to offer occupational and physical therapy. Larger RCFs were also more likely than small RCFs to provide social services counseling and case management. The provision of skilled nursing services did not vary by facility size. This report presents national estimates of RCFs using data from the first-ever national probability sample survey of RCFs with four or more beds. Findings on differences in selected characteristics and services offered by facility size and on regional variations in the supply of beds provide useful information to policymakers, LTC providers, and consumer advocates as they plan to meet the needs of an aging population. Moreover, these findings establish baseline national estimates as researchers continue to track growth and changes in the residential care industry. | 2023-10-19T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/2895 |
Ask HN: What can you do in a startup hub that you can't do elsewhere? - matt1
For web startups, what is the advantage of living in a startup hub vs living in a city like Philly or Orlando?<p>It seems like being in a startup hub matters most when your company grows to a certain size and you either need to hire a lot of people or need to raise money. How much does it matter for a company with 1 - 5 people who aren't looking to raise capital and aren't trying to become the next Facebook or Twitter?
======
patio11
I run a software business out of a small town in central Japan which, despite
having a local tech incubator (the original reason why I started living here
-- long story), will not be confused with a startup hub any time soon.
My frustrations with living here:
1) Most events I want to go to are Way The Heck Over There. Going over to
Tokyo for an HN meetup takes a total of six hours of train rides and $200.
Going to the US for a conference takes, ugh, don't get me started.
2) To the limited extent that my life requires that someone who is not my
customer understand what I do for a living, my life is needlessly complicated.
My landlord, my bank manager, and the local tax office/city hall think my
situation is very "exotic" relative to what they are used to. It is nothing
that I haven't been able to finesse, but nuisances are nuisances. Similarly,
the selection of lawyers/accountants/etc who are prepared to deal with me is
more limited than it would be in e.g. San Francisco (or Tokyo or Chicago, for
that matter).
3) There is _one_ programmer in this town I'd consider hiring.
Now, does that matter? Meh, not so much. I launched a multinational telephony
company from here this week. _We are living in the future._ The Internet is
the greatest geographical leveler ever, and the situation keeps getting
better. APIs keep getting better, enabling you to do more and more
sophisticated things with less and less investment. Hosting keeps getting
better: in all probability, I'll never own a server, and that is a viable
option now. Options for extracting money from paying customers keep getting
better. The funding environment is even getting better, although that is
slower (not too relevant for me at present, but nice to have options).
There are some compensating advantages:
1) This town is my home.
2) While Japan is not exact a low-price country, a modest apartment in San
Francisco costs about what I need to live comfortably here.
3) Being ramen profitable here is _delicious_.
| 2023-10-16T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/7090 |
387 A.2d 1382 (1978)
Nicholas A. PALMIGIANO
v.
STATE.
No. 77-175-C.A.
Supreme Court of Rhode Island.
July 3, 1978.
*1383 Robert B. Mann, Providence, for appellant.
Julius C. Michaelson, Atty. Gen., Nancy Marks Rahmes, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
DORIS, Justice.
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court denying an application for post-conviction relief.
On June 30, 1970, Nicholas A. Palmigiano was convicted in the Superior Court of murder and robbery. It is uncontroverted that the members of the jury which reached that verdict were not sequestered during the trial. Palmigiano appealed his conviction to this court. We affirmed. State v. Palmigiano, 112 R.I. 348, 309 A.2d 855 (1973).
Palmigiano then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and a motion for a new trial in the Superior Court, alleging that during the trial the jurors had regularly read newspaper accounts of the proceedings reported in the Providence Journal and had discussed both the proceedings and the articles among themselves. This information was obtained through the affidavit of one Costello, who was an alternate juror during Palmigiano's trial. Both the petition and the motion were denied and Palmigiano appealed. We affirmed. State v. Palmigiano, 115 R.I. 166, 341 A.2d 742 (1975).
Following this decision, Palmigiano filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The District Court, finding *1384 the record to be unclear as to whether this court had considered the precise questions raised by Palmigiano, denied his petition for failure to exhaust state remedies.
Palmigiano then filed this application for post-conviction relief. His application was denied by a Superior Court justice who found that he had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted since his application contained no allegation that the newspaper articles prejudiced him by bringing to the attention of the jurors information which was not presented to them in open court. Palmigiano appeals.
Post-conviction relief in this state is a statutory remedy governed by the provisions of G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) §§ 10-9.1-1 to 10-9.1-9. The remedy is available to persons convicted of crimes who claim, inter alia, that the conviction violated their constitutional rights or that newly discovered facts require vacation of the conviction in the interest of justice. Section 10-9.1-1. Palmigiano alleges that the newly discovered fact of the jurors' exposure to newspaper accounts of his trial is evidence that he was denied his constitutional right to a fair trial. This claim is clearly one encompassed by the statute.
The trial justice's decision to deny Palmigiano's application for post-conviction relief rested upon § 10-9.1-6(b), which permits a trial justice to dismiss an application whenever, based upon the record, the application, and the answer, he finds that no genuine issue of material fact exists and the applicant is therefore not entitled to relief as a matter of law. The standard to be used in making this determination is that relied upon by the court in ruling on motions in civil cases brought pursuant to Super.R. Civ.P. 12(b)(6).[1]
The sole function of a 12(b)(6) motion is to challenge the sufficiency of a complaint. Goldstein v. Rhode Island Hosp. Trust Nat'l Bank, 110 R.I. 580, 585, 296 A.2d 112, 115 (1972). It ought not be granted
"unless it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiff would not be entitled to any relief no matter what state of facts could be proved in support of his claim. In determining whether there is such a doubt as will warrant the termination of litigation in the pleading stage, we are bound to resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor and accept all his allegations as true." Id.
See also Rhode Island Ophthalmological Soc'y v. Cannon, 113 R.I. 16, 317 A.2d 124 (1974); Bragg v. Warwick Shoppers World, 102 R.I. 8, 227 A.2d 582 (1967).
From the record before us, however, it appears that the trial justice, although relying upon § 10-9.1-6(b), went beyond the pleadings in making his decision and took into account both the alternate juror's affidavit and the newspaper articles. We therefore believe that the trial justice reached his decision in actuality pursuant to § 10-9.1-6(c), which closely resembles a decision for summary judgment under Super. R.Civ.P. 56. Section 10-9.1-6(c) permits a trial justice to grant a motion for summary disposition of the application when, based upon the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits introduced, no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
The Rules of Civil Procedure permit 12(b)(6) motions to be treated as motions for summary judgment in the court's discretion when matters outside the pleadings are presented to the court. Super.R.Civ.P. 12(b)-(c). See Menzies v. Sigma Pi Alumni Ass'n of Rhode Island, Inc., 110 R.I. 488, 294 A.2d 193 (1972); DiBello v. St. Jean, 106 R.I. 704, 262 A.2d 824 (1970). In view of the fact that the trial justice relied upon matters outside the pleadings, we shall *1385 treat the state's motion as though it were a motion for summary disposition, cf. Ewing v. Frank, 103 R.I. 96, 234 A.2d 840 (1967), and review this case as if the trial justice had granted the motion under § 10-9.1-6(c).[2]
The standards for granting a § 10-9.1-6(c) motion are identical to those utilized in passing on a summary judgment motion. As he does in considering motions for summary judgment, the trial justice must consider the affidavits and pleadings on a motion for summary disposition in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is made. Cf. Kirby, Inc. v. Weiler, 108 R.I. 423, 276 A.2d 285 (1971). Based upon the affidavits and pleadings, the trial justice must decide whether or not a genuine issue of material fact exists. If not, the moving party is entitled to summary disposition if otherwise entitled as a matter of law. Cf. Givens v. Union Inv. Corp., 116 R.I. 539, 359 A.2d 40 (1976); Kirby, Inc. v. Weiler, supra; Marandola v. Hillcrest Bldrs., Inc., 102 R.I. 46, 227 A.2d 785 (1967).
On appeal, we must review the decision of the trial justice to determine whether, in making such a finding, the trial justice considered the affidavits and pleadings in the light most favorable to the opposing party. We will uphold the trial justice's decision only if the record shows that no genuine issue of material fact exists and the state is entitled to summary disposition as a matter of law. Givens v. Union Inv. Corp.; Marandola v. Hillcrest Bldrs., Inc., both supra.
The law is well settled in this state that the use of affidavits of jurors themselves, or of others, concerning what the jurors may have done either before or during their deliberations is impermissible to impeach the jury verdict. State v. Palmigiano, 115 R.I. 166, 168, 341 A.2d 742, 743 (1975). One exception to this rule, however, occurs when such affidavits are admitted for the sole purpose of demonstrating that matters not in evidence reached the jury through outside communications or media contacts. Id. This exception is also recognized by the federal courts, which permit juror testimony on facts bearing on the question of the existence of any extraneous influence upon the jury, while prohibiting testimony on how that influence operated upon a juror's mind. See Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140, 13 S.Ct. 50, 36 L.Ed. 917 (1892). United States v. Wilson, 175 U.S.App.D.C. 173, 534 F.2d 375 (1976); United States v. Green, 523 F.2d 229 (2d Cir. 1975); Government of Virgin Islands v. Gereau, 523 F.2d 140 (3d Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 917, 96 S.Ct. 1119, 47 L.Ed.2d 323 (1976); United States v. Howard, 506 F.2d 865 (5th Cir. 1975); United States v. Thomas, 463 F.2d 1061 (7th Cir. 1972).
The affidavit of alternate juror Costello is admissible, therefore, for the limited purpose of establishing that newspaper articles relating to the trial reached the jury during the proceedings. It is not enough, however, for an applicant to submit an affidavit alleging that members of the jury received media contacts during the course of the trial. In addition, some showing must be made on the record that the applicant was prejudiced thereby.
"Newspaper and television publicity surrounding a trial represent the most common threats to the integrity of the proceedings. This is not to suggest, however, that juror exposure to any publicity vitiates the fairness of the trial. The severity of the threat depends upon both the nature of the information so publicized and the degree of juror exposure to it." United States v. Thomas, supra at 1063. Unless the nature of the information *1386 was prejudicial to the applicant, he is not denied his right to a fair trial. United States v. Eagle, 539 F.2d 1166 (8th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1110, 97 S.Ct. 1146, 51 L.Ed.2d 563-64 (1977); Government of Virgin Islands v. Gereau, supra; State v. Halko, 56 Del. 480, 193 A.2d 817 (Super.Ct.1963), aff'd, 58 Del. 47, 204 A.2d 628 (1964); People v. Hurley, 10 Ill.App.3d 74, 293 N.E.2d 341 (1973); Harris v. State, 249 Ind. 681, 231 N.E.2d 800 (1967); Roy v. State, 213 Kan. 30, 514 P.2d 832 (1973); State v. Bazinet, 372 A.2d 1036 (Me.1977); Hannah v. State, 336 So.2d 1317 (Miss.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1101, 97 S.Ct. 1125, 51 L.Ed.2d 551 (1977); State v. Bautista, 193 Neb. 476, 227 N.W.2d 835 (1975).
In cases where substantial prejudicial publicity has been found to have reached the jury during trial, the publicity has generally involved "`information about the defendant that would not be admissible before the jury or that was not in fact put before the jury in court.'" United States v. Jones, 542 F.2d 186, 195 (4th Cir. 1976), quoting United States v. Hyde, 448 F.2d 815, 849 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 1058, 92 S.Ct. 736, 30 L.Ed.2d 745 (1972). See also State v. Holmes, 110 Ariz. 494, 520 P.2d 1118 (1974); Quintana v. People, 158 Colo. 189, 405 P.2d 740 (1965). When we examine the record before us in light of this standard, it is evident to us that the decision of the trial justice was correct.
We have reviewed the newspape articles contain no testimony which was unavailable to the jury nor do they include any prejudicial comments. Therefore, as Palmigiano's application for post-conviction relief could not be granted without a showing of prejudice, and the record, viewed in light most favorable to Pal migiano, disclosed no possibility of prejudice, the justice was quite correct in granting a motion for summary disposition on behalf of the state.
Palmigiano's additional argument that it was the responsibility of the trial justice sua sponte to sequester the jury is without merit. Margoles v. United States, 407 F.2d 727, 732-33 (7th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 833, 90 S.Ct. 89, 24 L.Ed.2d 84 (1969).
Palmigiano's appeal is denied and dismissed and the judgment appealed from is affirmed.
NOTES
[1] The Rules of Civil Procedure are applicable to proceedings held on applications for post-conviction relief. G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 10-9.1-7. Palmigiano v. Mullen, R.I., 377 A.2d 242 (1977).
[2] The trial justice, in treating a 12(b)(6) motion as a motion for summary judgment, must give all parties a reasonable opportunity to present all pertinent materials prior to rendering a decision. Super.R.Civ.P. 12(b)-(c). The record clearly indicates, however, that the trial justice offered to give Palmigiano's counsel an opportunity to respond to the dismissal. Palmigiano's counsel declined the offer, indicating that he had set forth everything he cared to in the pleadings and memoranda of law.
| 2024-07-23T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/6464 |
34 So.3d 252 (2010)
Robert CLARK, Laura Clark and Robert Malone, Appellants,
v.
ODV HOLDING CO. f/k/a Robico Shutters, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Shelby Holmes of Heron Bay Seven, Inc., a Florida corporation, Appellees.
No. 4D08-3643.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
May 26, 2010.
*253 Jonathan Streisfeld of The Kopelowitz Ostrow Firm, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellants.
Daniella Friedman, Barry L. Davis and Michelle S. Canero of Thornton, Davis & Fein, P.A., Miami, for Appellee-ODV Holding Co. f/k/a Robico Shutters, Inc. and Ryan Burns and R. David Ravine of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, Fort Lauderdale, for Appellee-Shelby Homes at Heron Bay Seven, Inc.
Prior report: 2008 WL 7019036.
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiffs, Robert Clark, Laura Clark, and Robert Malone, appeal a final summary judgment entered against them on their personal injury claims against the defendants, ODV Holding Co., f/k/a Robico Shutters, Inc. and Shelby Homes at Heron Bay Seven, Inc., for negligent design of hurricane shutters and their storage system, negligent installation of the storage system, and failure to warn regarding the use of the storage system. Because disputed issues of fact existed as to whether the hurricane shutter storage system was negligently designed and installed, we reverse the trial court's summary judgment on these claims and denial of the plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint.
We affirm, however, the trial court's summary judgment on plaintiffs' negligence claims that were based on negligent design of the shutters and negligent failure to provide adequate warnings on the storage system. The trial court correctly concluded that the danger presented by the sharp-edged shutters was open and obvious. The court also properly entered summary judgment for Robico Shutters as to plaintiffs' negligent warning claims, because the undisputed facts show that plaintiffs did not read the safety warning provided and, as such, cannot establish that the alleged failure to warn proximately caused their injuries. See Lopez v. S. Coatings, Inc., 580 So.2d 864, 865 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Ashby Div. of Consol. Aluminum Corp. v. Dobkin, 458 So.2d 335, 337 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984).
Affirmed in part; Reversed in part and Remanded for further proceedings.
TAYLOR, GERBER and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
| 2023-10-24T01:27:15.642919 | https://example.com/article/5591 |
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