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Activists rally for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., committed Tuesday to launching a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Activists rally for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., committed Tuesday to launching a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — From the moment Donald Trump became a national political figure, he has been shadowed by investigations and controversy.
Full Coverage: Donald Trump
They have been layered, lengthy and often inconclusive, leaving many Americans scandal-weary and numb to his behavior. And with each charge against him, Trump has perfected the art of deflection, seemingly gaining strength by bullying and belittling those who have dared to take him on.
Now Trump is facing a high-velocity threat like none he’s confronted before.
It has rapidly evolved from a process fight over a whistleblower complaint to an impeachment inquiry within two weeks. Much of the evidence is already in public view. A rough transcript of a phone call in which Trump asks Ukraine’s president to help investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. The whistleblower’s detailed letter alleging the White House tried to cover up the call, and possibly others.
Unlike special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation, which circled an array of people in Trump’s orbit but not always the president himself, Trump doesn’t have the benefit of distance. His words and his actions are at the center of this investigation.
“The Mueller report , it was always Manafort this and his son that. There was a cascade of players,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, referring to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Donald Trump Jr. “This was just Donald Trump and a disturbing conversation with another world leader.”
So, suddenly, Washington is different and the history of Trump’s presidency has changed. By year’s end, he could become only the third American president impeached by the House of Representatives.
That new reality caught Trump and his advisers off guard, according to people close to the president. If anything, they thought the specter of impeachment had been lifted after the Mueller investigation ended without a clear determination that Trump had committed a crime.
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The contours of that investigation played to Trump’s strengths. Mueller spent two years in silence, allowing the president to fill the vacuum with assertions that the investigation was a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” The details of the investigation that did leak out were often complicated and focused on people in Trump’s sphere. Even Mueller’s pointed statement that he had not exonerated Trump did not seem to stick. There was ultimately plenty of smoke, but no smoking gun.
Numerous other Democratic inquiries appeared likely to meet a similar fate, including House investigation into Trump’s business dealings, his tax returns and a variety of administration scandals. For many Americans, they were one big blur of investigations without any clarity of purpose.
Then the whistleblower gave the Democrats what they needed: a simple, easily explainable charge — that the president sought a foreign government’s help for personal political gain — and his words to back it up.
For House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., and several Democratic moderates who had resisted calls for impeachment, the calculus shifted . It was now more of a risk to recoil from impeachment than charge ahead.
“What we’re seeing right now is a completely different moment in the history of this country,” said Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla.
One thing that didn’t change — at least not immediately — was the clear partisan divide over Trump’s actions, both in Washington and across the country.
According to a one-day NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted Wednesday, 49% of Americans approve of the House formally starting an impeachment inquiry into Trump. Among Democrats, 88% approve of the investigation, while 93% of Republicans disapprove.
Mike Staffieri, a retiree and Republican who lives just outside of Richmond, Virginia, said Democrats were trying to “throw enough poop at the wall and hope something sticks.”
On Capitol Hill, some Trump allies concurred, confidently dismissing the impeachment inquiry as just another partisan effort to take down a president who is despised by many Democrats. That rough transcript of a phone call in which Trump presses Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to work with Attorney General William Barr and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on an investigation into Biden? It’s just Trump being Trump, according to his backers.
“You’ve heard President Trump talk. That’s President Trump,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Mark Updegrove, a presidential historian and president of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas, said it’s that enduring support from Republican lawmakers that currently separates Trump from Richard Nixon, who resigned in the midst of the Watergate impeachment inquiry because his party began to abandon him.
“The big difference between this and Watergate is that you had both Republicans and Democrats being deeply concerned about the president being involved in criminal wrongdoing,” Updegrove said. “It was a bipartisan effort and you certainly don’t have that here.”
But it is early, compared with Watergate. There were small signs that some Republicans were trying to keep some measure of distance from the president. Some GOP lawmakers fled Washington for a fall break claiming they hadn’t yet read the whistleblower’s complaint. Others said they were open to learning more about the situation.
Trump’s hold on the Republican Party makes it nearly impossible to foresee a scenario in which the GOP-controlled Senate convicts Trump if he were impeached by the Democratic-run House.
The president is acutely well aware that it’s his party alone that can protect him. In the midst of the past week’s firestorm, he tweeted to Republicans: “Stick together, play their game and fight hard Republicans.”
He later deleted the tweet.
___
AP polling editor Emily Swanson and Associated Press writers Alan Fram in Washington and Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC | 2024-04-15T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9097 |
TRENTON, N.J. - The holiday season is quickly approaching, and the time of year for sharing joy and happiness with those less fortunate has arrived.
Mercer County Veteran Services is conducting its annual donation drive to help veterans and their families enjoy the comforts of a hot meal on each holiday.
Last year the County raised $6,500 for this worthy cause. Reaching this goal would again allow many of our veterans and their families to purchase items for a holiday meal, and Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said a donation of any amount would be greatly appreciated.
“Last year, we met our donation goal and were able to provide meals to veterans during the holiday season.” Hughes said. “That kind of generosity is what makes Mercer County great. Our veterans have given so much, now let’s show them we care.”
The holiday meal fund drive is an annual county endeavor. Rather than collecting donations of food, Mercer County’s Division of Veteran Services accepts monetary donations that go toward the purchase of Shop-Rite gift cards veterans can use to purchase holiday meals. Veterans will receive those gift cards in time for holiday meal preparations. Mercer County Veteran Services uses every dollar collected during the drive to purchase and distribute the Shop Rite gift cards for food products.
If you wish to donate, make your checks payable to Mercer County Trust Fund. Please mail your donations to the Mercer County Division of Veteran Services, 2280 Hamilton Avenue, Hamilton, NJ 08619. For additional information on making a donation, please call (609) 989-6120. | 2023-08-04T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3812 |
- Bridal -
- Timepieces -
- Custom Designs -
Established in 1918, Churchill Jewelers in Santa Barbara California is your full service jewelry store serving the central coast from San Luis Obispo to Ventura. Churchill Jewelers is proud to offer fine watches from the world's most famous Swiss watchmakers, engagement rings, wedding bands and Montblanc pens.
We also carry a wide selection of fine jewelry featuring diamonds, pearls and precious colored stones. In addition to our extensive inventory, we can custom design the jewelry of your dreams! | 2024-01-14T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1524 |
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
/// Coordinating compiler operations - configuration, loading initial context, reporting errors etc.
module internal FSharp.Compiler.Features
/// LanguageFeature enumeration
[<RequireQualifiedAccess>]
type LanguageFeature =
| SingleUnderscorePattern
| WildCardInForLoop
| RelaxWhitespace
| NameOf
| ImplicitYield
| OpenStaticClasses
| DotlessFloat32Literal
| PackageManagement
| FromEndSlicing
| FixedIndexSlice3d4d
| AndBang
| NullableOptionalInterop
| DefaultInterfaceMemberConsumption
| WitnessPassing
| InterfacesWithMultipleGenericInstantiation
| StringInterpolation
/// LanguageVersion management
type LanguageVersion =
/// Create a LanguageVersion management object
new: string -> LanguageVersion
/// Get the list of valid versions
member ContainsVersion: string -> bool
/// Has preview been explicitly specified
member IsPreviewEnabled: bool
/// Does the selected LanguageVersion support the specified feature
member SupportsFeature: LanguageFeature -> bool
/// Get the list of valid versions
member ValidVersions: string array
/// Get the list of valid options
member ValidOptions: string array
/// Get the specified LanguageVersion
member SpecifiedVersion: decimal
/// Get the specified LanguageVersion as a string
member SpecifiedVersionString: string
/// Get a string name for the given feature.
member GetFeatureString: feature: LanguageFeature -> string
/// Get a version string associated with the given feature.
member GetFeatureVersionString: feature: LanguageFeature -> string
| 2024-07-10T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6700 |
Georg Mayer-Marton
Georg Mayer-Marton (3 June 1897 – 8 August 1960) was a Hungarian Jewish artist who was a significant figure in Viennese art between the First and Second World Wars, working in oil, watercolour and graphics. Following his forced emigration to England in 1938, he continued to paint in watercolour and oil. He pioneered the technique of Byzantine mosaic in the UK.
Biography
Mayer-Marton was born in Győr, Hungary in 1897, and grew up during the final years of Austro-Hungary. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. From 1919 to 1924 he studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. He settled in Vienna, and in 1927 became Secretary, later Vice-President, of the leading progressive society of Viennese artists, the Hagenbund. In 1928 he provided illustrations in the Chinese style for "Der Kreidekreis" ("the Circle of Chalk") by Klabund and submitted paintings to the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal.
In 1938 following the Anschluss of Austria and the enactment of Hitler’s Nuremberg laws, Mayer-Marton and his wife fled to England. In 1940, during the London Blitz, his studio home in St John's Wood was burnt by an incendiary bomb. The majority of his life's work and personal possessions was destroyed. He was not in a position to paint in oil again until 1948. Mayer-Marton's parents had remained in Gyor and were eventually deported and killed. When, in 1945, Mayer-Marton learned of their deaths he painted the work Women with Boulders, showing two figures in a bleak rock-strewn landscape.
In 1952, Mayer-Marton took up the post of Senior Lecturer in the department of painting at the Liverpool College of Art. He executed a number of mosaic commissions from the Roman Catholic Church, decorating schools and churches in the North West of England. The Roman Catholic church of Holy Rosary in Fitton Hill, Oldham, opened in 1955, contains a significant mosaic. A mosaic of the Pentecost was moved from the Church of the Holy Ghost, Netherton, when it was demolished in 1989 and installed in the Chapel of Unity in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.
Mayer-Marton died from leukaemia in Liverpool in August 1960, leaving several of his mosaic designs unfinished.
Exhibitions
(Selected)
Memorial Exhibition, 1960, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 1976
Hagenbund, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, 1978
Die uns verließen, Österreichische Galerie, Vienna, 1980
Retrospective, Österreichische Galerie, Vienna 1986
Art in Exile, Berlin, London, Vienna, 1985/86
Centenary Exhibition, Györ, 1997
"Unspeakable” - Imperial War Museum, London, 2008
Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain c 1933 – 45, Ben Uri Gallery London, 2009
Galerie bei der Oper, Vienna, 2014
Hagenbund, Unteres Belvedere, Vienna, 2014-15
Bibliography
Hagenbund - A European Network of Modernism - Belvedere/Hirmer 2014
Austrian National Gallery - Georg Mayer-Marton Retrospective Catalogue, 1986
“The Hagenbund - The Lost Modernists” Oesterreichische Galerie, 1993
George Mayer-Marton Memorial Exhibition Catalogue, 1997
Georg Mayer-Márton, Galerie bei der Oper, Exhibition Catalogue, Vienna 2014
References
External links
Georg Mayer-Marton homepage
Biographical details on Georg Mayer-Marton
Category:1897 births
Category:1960 deaths
Category:20th-century Austrian painters
Category:Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni
Category:Academics of Liverpool College of Art
Category:Austrian male painters
Category:Hungarian painters
Category:Hungarian Jews
Category:Olympic competitors in art competitions | 2024-03-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8162 |
In today’s learning environment students need to keep pace with the latest developments in their fields of interest. The internet has opened immense opportunities for dissemination and gathering of information and knowledge enabling all the ease convenience. The speed of the internet is a boon to the contemporary student community to augment their classroom education with the latest information about subjects, at the click of button. Hence the Centre | 2024-07-09T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7759 |
Binding of 2-(4'-hydroxyphenylazo)benzoic acid to bovine serum albumin characterized by optical spectroscopy and equilibrium dialysis.
Binding of 2-(4'-hydroxyphenylazo)benzoic acid (HABA) to bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied by equilibrium dialysis, by the spectrophotometric method and by the absorption spectra of bound HABA. Comparison of equilibrium dialysis with the spectrophotometric method clarified the presence of a undisclosed class of binding sites, which do not cause the spectral change at about 480 nm to HABA, on BSA. Two bands observed on the absorption spectra of bound HABA were attributed to differently perturbed two HABA molecules by BSA, the azo and hydrazone forms, and these two forms correspond to HABA molecules bound to non-metachromasy sites and metachromasy sites, respectively. The concentration of each from was calculated by using estimated molar extinction coefficient. | 2024-07-13T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6557 |
Fatty acids in bacterium Dietzia sp. grown on simple and complex hydrocarbons determined as FAME by GC-MS.
The influence of growth substrates on the fatty acids produced by Dietzia sp. A14101 has been studied to investigate how qualitative and semi-quantitative information on fatty acids correlates with the ability of this strain to access and utilize a wide range of water-immiscible HC-substrates by modifying the FA content and thus also the properties of the cellular membrane. After incubation on different substrates and media, the profiles of fatty acids (FA) were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The equivalent chain length (ECL) index calibration system was employed to identify FA. The effect of each substrate on the cell surface charge and on the hydrophobicity of the cellular membrane was also investigated. The results indicate that the variation of the content of saturated fatty acids (SAT-FA) versus mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was found to be the most pronounced while branched FA exhibited much less variation in spite of different substrate regimes. The regulation of the ratio of SAT-FA and MUFA seems to be coupled with the regulation of the charge and hydrophobicity of the outer cellular surface. The exposure to a water immiscible substrate led to the development of the negative cellular surface charge, production of carotenoid-type pigments and increased hydrophobicity of the cellular surface. The specific aspects of the adaptation mechanism could have implications for bioremediation and/or (M)EOR applications. | 2024-07-11T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2198 |
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<div>
<app-toolbar-centered
app
:title="$t('options.export_keys.title')"
:show-back="true"
flat
/>
<v-container fluid class="px-0">
<v-layout row wrap justify-center>
<container padding>
<export-keys-form />
</container>
</v-layout>
</v-container>
</div>
</template>
<script>
import AppToolbarCentered from '@/components/AppToolbarCentered'
import ExportKeysForm from '@/components/ExportKeysForm'
export default {
components: {
AppToolbarCentered,
ExportKeysForm
}
}
</script>
| 2023-12-06T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7388 |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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Copyright 2019 Google LLC.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except
in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License
is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express
or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
the License.
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android:width="24dp"
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| 2023-10-28T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5775 |
ACA Blog
Jun 27, 2014
How To Create An Experience Your Clients Will Talk To Their Friends About
Have you ever had a really awful experience with a business? I know you have. Take a minute to recall that experience. What did it feel like? What did you want to do after it was over? Write a bad review on Yelp? Complain to your best friend? Burst into tears?
On the day of my brother’s wedding, I booked an appointment at a local salon/cosmetology school for my mother and myself. We wanted to do professional styling and makeup for the occasion and I was looking forward to the appointment time with my mom almost as much as the wedding itself.
It may seem like I was crazy to gamble on a student stylist on such an important day, but I had been to this salon several times for haircuts and had fantastic experiences. I also made sure to book appointments with advanced students, who would be on the verge of graduation. It seemed like a really safe bet.
The first sign that I was (oh so) wrong about that was when they told me they had lost my mother’s appointment. The staff at the counter asked me if I had told them it was for two people. (Really?) I confirmed that in fact, I had booked for two people, and I know this because I had to spell my mother’s name for the person on the phone.
They did eventually find someone to take her, but we were directed to separate stations. I was taken to makeup first. The first thing the student stylist told me was that she really didn’t know much about makeup! She pulled in another student to help her, but that opening didn’t fill me with confidence. Why would they set me up with someone who didn’t know about makeup when I booked a makeup appointment?
When I sat down to get my hair done next, I showed the stylist a picture I had of a simple curled style. “Oh,” the stylist said. “If I do anything with a curling iron, it’s considered a thermal treatment and costs another $40.” This is when I started to panic. Not only was everything going wrong, it was taking twice as long as normal and I was going to be massively late.
To make a long story shorter, I left the salon with washed but straight hair, two “black eyes” and a red stripe of blush on each cheek. I literally had some guy staring at me as I walked to the car, and not in a good way! I broke down on the way home and my husband had to put me back together on the way to the church.
By now, you are probably sympathizing with me, especially the ladies, because we’ve all had an awful experience at a salon on an important day. You know how frustrating it is when you have a lot of emotions invested in an event and it turns out to be more difficult than expected – or downright painful.
Yet we as therapists forget that our clients can have just that awful of an experience with our businesses.
Have you ever thought about your counseling services as a customer service experience? Customer service is simply about making sure your client or customer has a good experience so they will want to come back and tell their friends.
This is important to us for two reasons. First, whatever kind of agency or level we work at, I think it’s fair to assume we WANT clients to come back to counseling if that’s what’s best for them! Second, if (like me) you have your own private practice, clients returning to your services and telling their friends about you have a direct impact on your ability to stay in business.
People talk about either really good or really BAD experiences at a business. Unfortunately, the bad ones seem to have the biggest draw, so we’ve already got a handicap to work with.
But the key to turning the odds back to our favor is by seeing the bad experiences as an opportunity and actually looking for ways to please your customer/client from inside the failure. I don’t refer here to the therapy or counseling itself, which might need to be confrontational or unpleasant at times in order to be effective for the client. Instead, I refer here to the rest of the experience the client has with your organization.
For example, do you:
Keep the paperwork and documents they need on hand?
Have a map on your website to show how to get to your office?
Send reminders of appointments the day before?
Follow through with resources you promise to research for them?
Have an easy way for them to let you know they’re in the waiting room?
Have comfortable lighting options available?
None of these are absolute necessities, but they make the experience a little nicer and less stressful for your client. We talked earlier about the frustration of having a negative experience when you’re already emotionally high-strung, like I was on the day of my brother’s wedding. What can be more emotionally taxing than coming into a therapist’s office? This is exactly the kind of scenario that can greatly benefit from a little extra customer care.
When your client is having a struggle, investing an extra dose of ease and support can greatly increase their commitment to counseling, which ultimately influences their eventual outcome of therapy.
The way I see it, the salon in my example had two opportunities to turn around my experience and change a negative into a positive. These were opportunities they didn’t take.
First, when they blamed the call center for losing my mother’s appointment and for giving me wrong information about what I could do when they told me a curled hairstyle was the same price as a basic wash and blow dry. Instead of blaming someone else, though, they could have chosen to make it their problem to fix.
When someone else screws up, like the insurance company representative, or a mapping application, how could you choose to make that your problem to fix?
“I understand you were told there was no co-pay today. I do have to collect the fees today, but why don’t I call the company personally tomorrow and find out where the miscommunication happened?”
“I HATE it when the map doesn’t include alternate directions around toll roads! Tell you what, I have a little extra time after your appointment today – since you couldn’t have seen it coming, why don’t we just make up the ten minutes you were late on that end.”
The second major mistake the salon made was to simply repeat what they couldn’t do. The one stylist couldn’t do makeup, they didn’t have waterproof mascara, they couldn’t do a curled hairstyle. What was available to me? I had no idea, and so I was left without any options.
Do you have another solution ready when you can’t meet your client’s requests? No one can do everything, but you can avoid only saying what you can’t do. For example, when you don’t take insurance, you have a multitude of options available to offer them:
A superbill.
A sliding scale rate.
A discounted rate for prepayment.
Contacting the insurance company about out-of-network benefits, application to a health savings account or against a deductible.
Referring to another counselor you know that accepts insurance.
Steps like these are the little things that your clients talk to their friends about. They’re probably not going to talk about the content of therapy for the most part, because that’s very personal and private. But how you make them feel and how you meet their needs through good customer service? That gets the buzz going.
The result is more loyal, long-term clients who tell their friends and family. That is not only an asset to your agency or private practice, but keeps people who need help in treatment longer.
What’s your best customer service move? How did it impact your relationship with your clients? Share it with me below!
Stephanie Adams invites you to join her and seven other private practice experts at a free teleconference series July 7-28, The Mind Your Own Business Conference Challenge: Clients Unlimited at http://mbainprivatepractice.com/joinmyob2014.
Register today and attend for free!
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4 Comments
4
Evelyn Barton
30 Jun
A blended family came to me for family counseling, in addition to having their teenage girl go to individual counseling with another counselor. When they started their sessions with me, they asked for referrals for someone who was conducting a support group for teens, as well as a psychiatrist for prescribing meds. I researched for a day or two and then provided them with the information they were requesting. Once the bio mother was introduced to the mix, in one of the sessions, I offered her a suggestion for a book to read regarding parenting skills, relating to the position she held or role she was playing in the family system. They are more than pleased with the service, enthusiasm, and willingness to help that they received from me. After five months, they are still coming to me for my counseling services.
3
Kimberly
01 Jul
This is such a great reminder of the importance of providing great service to our clients. I think that if we approach our work from this paradigm it will positively impact our clinical outcomes as well as our business success. My approach is that I try to provide good service from the first phone call.I think that starts with returning phone calls quickly. During that first contact, I try to give people a good experience, even if I have to refer to another therapist. I have had a few people call back after providing a referral to other therapists, who have said "I think I prefer to meet with you".
Thanks for the wonderful reminder!
2
Stephanie
08 Jul
Sounds like a great example of customer service in practice! You were really able to balance service with the professionalism of counseling practice. Thanks for sharing!
1
Ashely Siegel
18 Jul
Because I have been in business for 30 years, I would take it even farther (not fair to you as I haven't taken your workshop and you may incorporate all of the below in your work ).
But I still take notes at the end of sessions where I write down names of pets, parents, dates, doctors, etc. I get signed releases to check with physicians and I send confirming texts during the week. I also use " TED.Talks" as homework assignments. Lots of mileage out of Brene Brown lectures, Positive Psychology lectures and I always defer to Tony Robbins when client needs a kick-in-the-ass.
Anyway, yes, sorry for wedding snafu but look. -- it lead you to a new workshop.... Best, Ashely Siegel | 2023-10-07T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8442 |
Hello. I am a 20y/o theravādin. I have been Buddhist since 17. My practice has gotten progressively more serious over the past year & a half, especially as some major changes have happened in my life. I am now out of school working to pay off the debt I accumulated in 2.5 years of university so that I can ordain. I finally have a stable meditation practice & want to stabilize my ethical conduct to really give myself a solid foundation. A few concerns:
1) I am not sure how well I keep the 4th precept. I do not intentionally deceive anyone. I speak falsehood as jokes semi-frequently out of habit & lack of mindfulness/restraint - I immediately catch myself & feel guilty afterwards, which is admittedly a recent improvement, but I've yet to be able to cut off or intercept the initial tendency to speak in this way. It is never the case, however, that I speak in such a way that my audience will believe the falsehood...I make it clear it is not true...regardless they are really silly & foolish jokes & as the Buddha advised Rāhula, "you should train yourself, 'I will not tell a deliberate lie even in jest'". The degree to which these are deliberate & false is unclear to me due to the lack of deception - I want to abstain regardless, but clarification on where I stand with this precept would be appreciated.
2) I am not sure if this is a good idea while I still have the former problem to deal with, but I have been working towards developing the 8 precepts. I recently started observing uposatha after finding a good app to track moon phases & try to observe atthasila beyond that as well. The current state of this endeavor:
Successes:
-I sleep on the bare floor, have done this for sometime, it is extremely easy.
-No jewelry, music, tv, or movies...again this is very easy for me I have no interest at all.
The problematic precepts:
-Abstaining from sex is easy, I've done it for over a year now & there are deep experiences I've had that make me certain I will not go back to it or to romance in this life. Abstaining from masturbation is hard. I really wish I could stop masturbating, I do not think I do it so much in order to indulge in the (extremely fleeting) pleasure of it but because I get overwhelmed with arousal & can't ignore it yet want it to go away. Obviously that just reinforces it but in the moment I do not yet have the strength to think that way.
-Eating at the right time is hard. I have engaged in fasting for up to 3 days, it is an extremely fruitful practice for me, but I have a long history of struggling with food & self-control. I can go a few days, maybe even a week or more, exercising very firm discipline over how much & when I eat but eventually I break, react very emotionally to that failure, then fall even further to indulging excessively in food. As of now I am doing well, I am on my 2nd day of eating solely between dawn & noon & I did a fast the day before that other than eating some ginger candies. But just before that I was at the opposite end of the spectrum, verging on binge-eating.
So these are my concerns. I lack the discernment & 'self'-awareness to identify what course of action to pursue, what will lead to my success, what is currently leading to my failure...I am not sure if I should focus on one thing at a time & set the others aside or develop them all gradually to the best of my ability & be patient with the difficulty of that. I very much want to develop this discipline & am aware that my lack of restraint with regard to speech, sexual activity, & food is a barrier in my meditative development, but I struggle with focusing on such long-term goals as this & find myself craving here-&-now gratification whether it be in regard to my practice or sensuality.
Sorry if tl;dr, typing it out helps me even if no one responds, but if so it is much appreciated.
I could not have the same determination to help me with self-discipline as you do, to become a monastic in this life. But I had times like this. And so I can relate to some extent.
In my experience, it is good to have someone to look up to. Someone who embodies the virtues that you want to develop. See AN 8.2. I think that is the single most conducive factor to developing virtue oneself.
I think that is about the best little piece of advice that I can come up with now.
Other than that, I can only say that I can totally relate, and I wish you all the strength and confidence necessary to live up to your aspiration.
From my experience, a strong meditative routine helped counter the sexual urges. Quite simply, they fell away. Masturbation is simply a craving. Try to see it as nothing more than that.
Do you have someone to guide your meditative practices? You have stated that you have a stable meditative practice, but are you getting the results that are expected? Perhaps investing more in yourself first via the practice would be beneficial until more stability has been gained.
Progression from the 5 to 8 precepts should be quite natural, I think. Too much force just means that basic sila still needs to be developed/perfected. I'm in the latter category but am happy to know where I need to focus in my practice. Obviously, sometimes it is good to push yourself and experience some discomfort. Again, the middle way. Wishing you all the best.
Hi OP
Sadhu for your aspirations and forgive poor articulation and appearance of the post!
Abstaining from masturbation is hard. I really wish I could stop masturbating
Is it hard or is it practically impossible at this point? Thing is that you have to realize that it is not up to you, if it was up to you then you would not have this problem, there is conditioning and there is volition to the conditioning. Liking is conditioned, craving is conditioned. So i can hardly blame u for this.
Whenever you want to fap just be aware of the wanting, try and notice where wanting turns into a determination, observe the craving, desire, decision making, hestitation, observe feelings. So when you do fap, do it mindfully, note "stroking, stroking", touching, feeling, seeing, hearing, or "liking, liking" or "up, down" as it seems to you int the process, note the orgasm too, also notice the calm that is gained after orgasm, just do the whole thing mindfully, note all Four Satipatthanas. Observe what happens when you forget about it or get carried away, note fantasies and mental images too, liking etc, ill repeat myself again and again here note all Four Satipatthanas:)
By doing this you will gradually recondition and reevaluate your liking of it. Note the guilt when you feel it and disappointment if it comes up. Also be mindful of wanting to abandon.
Another thing is that if you were to ordain it would be easier to deal with because you would not see women much and you would likely be able to stop even if you broke the precept and had to confess a few times, you could train Asubha and all the factors would contribute to rewire you rather quickly.
There is also the "peer pressure" factor for lack of a better word, where when nobody around u faps and are happy it will have an effect on you as well in regards to affecting your behavior.
Eating at the right time is hard.
Same thing basically. Desire is blameworthy but not as much as Anger and takes long time to get rid of, be patient, establish Sati. There is not much else you can do.
Fasting is not the way either, although it can trigger some positive things. There is a Sutta which i cant recall atm but there the Buddha pointed out that it is rather dumb (as i interperet it) to abandon something just to later gain it back as in abstaining from food just to later having to eat alot to make up for it(loss of strength). If you develope Sati that is enough.
what will lead to my success, what is currently leading to my failure
Nava Sutta: The Ship
At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said, "I tell you, monks: It is for one who knows & sees that there is the ending of the effluents. For one who knows what & sees what is there the ending of the effluents? 'Such is form, such its origination, such its passing away. Such is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such is consciousness, such its origination, such its passing away.' It is for one who knows & sees in this way that there is the ending of the effluents.
"Even though this wish may occur to a monk who dwells without devoting himself to development — 'O that my mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!' — still his mind is not released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From lack of developing, it should be said. Lack of developing what? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.
"Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs: If she doesn't cover them rightly, warm them rightly, or incubate them rightly, then even though this wish may occur to her — 'O that my chicks might break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely!' — still it is not possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has not covered them rightly, warmed them rightly, or incubated them rightly. In the same way, even though this wish may occur to a monk who dwells without devoting himself to development — 'O that my mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!' — still his mind is not released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From lack of developing, it should be said. Lack of developing what? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.
"Even though this wish may not occur to a monk who dwells devoting himself to development — 'O that my mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!' — still his mind is released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From developing, it should be said. Developing what? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.
"Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs that she covers rightly, warms rightly, & incubates rightly: Even though this wish may not occur to her — 'O that my chicks might break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely!' — still it is possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has covered them, warmed them, & incubated them rightly. In the same way, even though this wish may not occur to a monk who dwells devoting himself to development — 'O that my mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!' — still his mind is released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From developing, it should be said. Developing what? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.
"Just as when a carpenter or carpenter's apprentice sees the marks of his fingers or thumb on the handle of his adze but does not know, 'Today my adze handle wore down this much, or yesterday it wore down that much, or the day before yesterday it wore down this much,' still he knows it is worn through when it is worn through. In the same way, when a monk dwells devoting himself to development, he does not know, 'Today my effluents wore down this much, or yesterday they wore down that much, or the day before yesterday they wore down this much,' still he knows they are worn through when they are worn through.
"Just as when an ocean-going ship, rigged with masts & stays, after six months on the water, is left on shore for the winter: Its stays, weathered by the heat & wind, moistened by the clouds of the rainy season, easily wither & rot away. In the same way, when a monk dwells devoting himself to development, his fetters easily wither & rot away."
formal meditation practise is most effection for developement of Sati, for this exertion is needed, for exertion contemplating is needed, for contemplating desire is needed, for desire poundering and coming to agreement with the teaching. Listen to the Dhamma, remember, think about it, study and penetrate the meaning. source: MN 95
I think if a person wants to become Ariya in this life and not go to Heavens first, having set his mind on attaining the Deathless, he should strive to keep 8 and more, striving for perfection in Sila no matter what state, Lay or Monastic because to be fair Death may come Tomorrow or today, maybe in 5 minutes one of us will die, some of us may not live to be ordained.
Last edited by R1111 on Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
So wonderful that you try, may all our merits be with you and may you succeed!.
The ability to restrain oneself and be established in any precept requires certain amount of courage, a certain amount of determination. What I found about myself is, at times the courage and determination are so great, at times so weak, however over time, the ability to retrain do have improved.
So,
keep trying, you are bound to be successful! (not my words, it is Goenka G, who used to say so!)
maranadhammomhi wrote:Abstaining from masturbation is hard. I really wish I could stop masturbating, I do not think I do it so much in order to indulge in the (extremely fleeting) pleasure of it but because I get overwhelmed with arousal & can't ignore it yet want it to go away. Obviously that just reinforces it but in the moment I do not yet have the strength to think that way.
Some practical advice is to limit yourself to masturbating once a week, for example. Once you are okay with once a week, increase the timeframe to once a month. After a while, you will be able to stop completely and experience few cravings in the future, if any at all.
May the blessings of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha always be firmly established in your hearts.
this is the direct path for the purification of
beings, for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for
the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the
true way, for the realisation of Nibbāna—namely, the four foun-
dations of mindfulness.
Mindfulness directed to the body, the perception of impermanence, the perception of non-self, the perception of unattractiveness is very helpful for dealing with masturbation.
Impermanent are all formations;
Their nature is to arise and vanish.
Having arisen, they cease:
Their appeasement is blissful. | 2024-03-22T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5497 |
M2-factor of truncated partially coherent beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence.
A method of studying the M2-factor of truncated partially coherent beams both in free space and in turbulence is proposed, i.e., the method of the window function being expanded into a finite sum of complex-valued Gaussian functions. Taking the Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam as a typical example of partially coherent beams, the analytical formula of the M2-factor of truncated GSM beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence is derived. It is shown that the M2-factor decreases as the truncation parameter δ and the coherence parameter α increase. However, the M2-factor in turbulence is more sensitive to δ than that in free space. On the other hand, the M2-factor of truncated partially coherent beams with smaller δ is more affected by turbulence. In addition, the effect of turbulence on the M2-factor of truncated GSM beams is less sensitive to the coherence parameter α than that of nontruncated GSM beams. | 2023-12-05T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2400 |
Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief is the Birthright of all People
Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the WG on Disappearances and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America
UN Human Rights Council – 19th Session
Delivered by Charles O. Blaha
Geneva,March 6, 2012
Working Group on Disappearances
The United States supports the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and encourages all States to engage cooperatively with the Working Group. This is especially important for States that have not replied substantively concerning claims of enforced disappearances.
While we applaud the Working Group’s efforts in fulfilling its mandate of assisting families in determining the fate of missing family members, the number of unresolved cases remains staggering.
The United States also appreciates the Working Group’s effort to assist States in their implementation of the 1992 Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
While general comments are advisory in nature and are not to be construed as either restricting or expanding existing international obligations or rules, or as authoritative interpretations of such obligations or rules, we thank the independent experts who comprise the Working Group for the observations and views expressed in the Working Group’s latest general comment, including the recent interpretation of article 1.2 of the non-binding Declaration as it relates to the right to recognition as a person before the law.
This general comment illustrates particular problems that arise in different legal systems in relation to the right to recognition as a person in the context of enforced disappearances, and may effectively be used for practical or operational purposes to facilitate fulfillment of the Working Group’s mandate, in guiding both its future consideration of specific cases and in its dialogue with States in their implementation of this aspect of the Declaration.
Thank you for your report.
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
The United States [also] thanks Special Rapporteur Bielefeldt for his efforts to promote freedom of religion or belief.
The right to freedom of religion or belief is the birthright of all people, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. It includes the right to profess, practice, and teach one’s beliefs. This right must be respected and protected by all governments. Societies that do are more stable, secure, and prosperous than those that do not. The United States is committed to promoting and protecting this fundamental freedom at home and abroad, and we continue to work with the international community toward that goal.
We would also like to take this opportunity to express our regret for the unintentional mishandling of religious texts at Bagram Airbase. These actions do not represent the views of the United States. We honor and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people.
We will collaborate with Afghan authorities and carefully examine the facts and circumstances of this unfortunate incident. While we understand the deep emotions such an incident can cause, we appreciate the efforts of the Afghan government, including President Karzai, in appealing for calm while allowing peaceful protests to occur. We also note with appreciation the statement by OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu calling for calm and restraint.
We thank the Special Rapporteur for his most recent report, which discusses recognition, registration, and personality status issues. We share the Special Rapporteur’s deep concern that some States make certain rights dependent on affiliation with particular religions and place limitations on access to official documents like identity cards.
Also, cumbersome registration requirements are being used to restrict the freedom of religion of members of various groups, especially minority faith groups. States must relinquish these pernicious practices.
The United States appreciates the Special Rapporteur’s engagement on a number of other issues, including the freedom to profess one’s religion or belief. We thank the Special Rapporteur for his recent participation in the first Istanbul process meeting to implement HRC Resolution 16/18. It is critical that we continue to focus on implementation of positive, action-oriented measures to combat religious discrimination and intolerance rather than legal restrictions that are counter to human rights.
Are there any such concrete, positive steps the Special Rapporteur would like to highlight? | 2024-03-31T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1384 |
World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia, Part 1: acute treatment of schizophrenia.
These guide lines for the biological treatment of schizophrenia were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBO). The goal during the development of these guidelines was to review systematically all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of schizophrenia, and to reach a consensus on a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating people with schizophrenia. The data used for developing these guidelines have been extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines and panels for schizophrenia, as well as from meta-analyses, reviews and randomised clinical trials on the efficacy of pharmacological and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and then categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). This first part of the guidelines covers disease definition, classification, epidemiology and course of schizophrenia, as well as the management of the acute phase treatment. These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antipsychotic medication, other pharmacological treatment options, electroconvulsive therapy, adjunctive and novel therapeutic strategies) of adults suffering from schizophrenia. | 2024-07-19T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6940 |
package logging
import (
"bufio"
"net/http"
"net/http/httptest"
"strings"
"testing"
"github.com/golang/mock/gomock"
"github.com/int128/kubelogin/pkg/testing/logger"
)
type mockTransport struct {
req *http.Request
resp *http.Response
}
func (t *mockTransport) RoundTrip(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
t.req = req
return t.resp, nil
}
func TestLoggingTransport_RoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
ctrl := gomock.NewController(t)
defer ctrl.Finish()
req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "http://example.com/hello", nil)
resp, err := http.ReadResponse(bufio.NewReader(strings.NewReader(`HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Host: example.com
dummy`)), req)
if err != nil {
t.Errorf("could not create a response: %s", err)
}
defer resp.Body.Close()
transport := &Transport{
Base: &mockTransport{resp: resp},
Logger: logger.New(t),
}
gotResp, err := transport.RoundTrip(req)
if err != nil {
t.Errorf("RoundTrip error: %s", err)
}
if gotResp != resp {
t.Errorf("resp wants %v but %v", resp, gotResp)
}
}
| 2023-09-11T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4020 |
Forgotten Kirschner wire passing across the sigmoid colon.
The Kirschner wire (K-wire) is used in the treatment of hip fractures, and migration of a K-wire into the pelvis with resultant colon injury is a very rare complication. We report a case in which a forgotten K-wire passing across the sigmoid colon was accidentally found by screening colonoscopy in a patient with no abdominal symptoms. Surgery was performed to remove the K-wire. Although the migration of a K-wire is extremely rare, it is important for it to be considered in patients with a history of orthopedic surgery. | 2023-10-30T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2862 |
A large number of chromatographic and analytical systems require the use of highly accurate amounts of a number of fluids for optimal operation. Such systems include, for example, fluoresence meters wherein buffers and reagents must be provided in highly controlled amounts. Alternatively, chromatographic systems require controlled pH gradients in order to effectuate proper elution of materials from the column. | 2023-10-14T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3133 |
Self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin in Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes: can coping styles and social support have a buffering role?
Diabetes self-care is a key element in the overall management of diabetes. However, the importance of psychosocial factors for successful disease management is under investigated. This study aimed at exploring the role of coping styles and social support in the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin in patients with type 2 diabetes. One hundred adults (60% female, aged 40-70 years) with type 2 diabetes completed questionnaires assessing self-care activities, coping styles and social support. In addition, a blood test was performed to obtain glycated haemoglobin levels. Result showed significant relationships of glycated haemoglobin with self-care activities, coping styles and social support. Regression analysis indicated that social support had a moderating role on the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin, such that, at very high levels of social support the association, between Self-Care and HbA1c disappears. Findings indicate that health care providers, within the context of the Iranian social and cultural situation, should pay more attention to psychosocial factors when addressing self-care activities. Delineation of the role of coping styles and social support might be useful for identifying patients in need of particular counselling and support for improving self-care activities and HbA1c levels. | 2023-10-25T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7582 |
Horseshoe Kidney Protection with Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate Solution during Surgical Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair.
We report an unusual case of a 65-year-old male patient with horseshoe kidney, who underwent a successful open repair for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The accessory renal arteries were perfused with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution (Custodiol®; Dr. Franz-Kohler Chemie GmbH, Bensheim, Germany) during the vascular reconstruction. There were no creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) modifications in the postoperative time. In the literature, only two cases of Custodiol solution for kidney protection during aortic surgery are reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Custodiol perfusion for horseshoe kidney protection. The concomitant presence of horseshoe kidney and an AAA requires a specific preoperative planning. This is necessary to define the appropriate surgical procedure and strategy. The onset of acute kidney injury is an aspect that must always be taken into consideration during aortic surgery, even more in the case we are reporting. Indeed, despite the complexity of the kidney anatomy, the use of Custodiol solution allowed a proper maintenance of the perioperative renal function, as shown by the postoperative levels of creatinine and eGFR. Preoperative planning and organ preservation are crucial in AAA open repair, especially in the presence of congenital anomalies such as horseshoe kidney. | 2024-06-21T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5013 |
New and Used Electrical Equipment insights
There are 1015 Electrical Equipment for sale in Australia from which to choose. Overall 56% of Electrical Equipment buyers enquire on only used listings, 43% on new and 3.35% on both new and used Electrical Equipment items. Buyers usually enquire on 1.81 different Electrical Equipment classifieds before organising finance for Electrical Equipment.
Electrical Equipment are listed between $525 and $120,000, averaging at $5,451.
The most popular searched Electrical Equipment brands with Australian buyers are currently toshiba, abb, conon motor, siemens and weg. The fastest growing Electrical Equipment brand with buyers in the last 12 months has been heinemann. | 2024-07-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2937 |
There exist commercial endeavors in which a plurality of computer application programs share a set of entities or subjects which are common to the application programs. For example, in the field of medicine, multiple different application programs may be used to store and manage different types of a data about the same patient. One application program may be used to store and manage clinical information about the patient, such as the patient's medical history, another application program may store and manage financial information about the patient, such as billing and insurance coverage information, while another application program may be used to store scheduling information, such as the date and time of the patient's scheduled future visits.
As another example, in the field of law, multiple different application programs may be used to store and manage information about the same client or case. A docketing application program may be used to store and manage information about upcoming deadlines and tasks to be performed with respect to the client or case, a billing application program may be used to store and manage information regarding the amount of attorney time spent on that client or case and the amounts charged to a particular client or for a particular case, and a document management application program may be used to store and manage documents created for a particular client or case.
Although a medical patient or a legal client or case are illustrative examples of entities or subjects that may be common to multiple different application programs, there are many other entities or subjects about which multiple different application programs may store different information. For example, the identity of a user of multiple different application programs is an example of a subject that is common to multiple application programs.
Data which describes a given entity or subject, and which is used commonly by a plurality of applications, is referred to herein as a “context” defined by that subject, and may be shared by two or more applications.
To access information about a particular entity or subject (e.g., a particular patient or legal case) from multiple different application programs, a user typically must individually sign in to each application program, and enter information into each application program that identifies the particular entity in which the user is interested. The desirability of managing context so that a user need not individually sign in to multiple different application programs and repeatedly enter the data describing the subject of interest into each of these application programs has been recognized. Examples of these techniques include single sign on (SSO) systems (i.e., wherein a user logs in to a single network-based resource and is automatically given access to other authorized network-based resources). As another example, a standard for context management, known as the Health Level 7 (HL7) context management specification, was published in 1999 by the Clinical Context Object Workgroup (CCOW). The CCOW standard defines a context management architecture (CMA) and processes for managing information describing a subject across a range of clinical and other healthcare-related applications. Examples of subjects that may define contexts shared by multiple different applications include a patient, a patient encounter, clinical provider, observation, insurer, and other subjects or entities.
Some of the application programs that may share context may be programs that are installed on the user's computer, some of the application programs may be web-based application programs that are hosted on a web server (which may be either inside or outside of the user's corporate network) and are accessed via web browser on the user's computer, and some of the application programs may be application programs hosted on a remote application server (e.g., a Citrix MetaFrame server, a Windows Terminal Server, or the like) that are emulated on the user's computer using an emulation client.
As mentioned above, a number of different techniques have been developed to enable two or more application programs to share context, such that a user need not individually sign in to each application program and/or need not separately enter information into each application program identifying a subject or entity of interest. For example, some of these techniques are designed to enable a user to enter sign on information only one time and, as a result, automatically be signed into multiple different application programs. Other of these techniques are designed to enable a user to enter or change context information in one of multiple different application programs and have each of the other application programs automatically change their context in the same way, without the user having to enter the context in each of those application programs. As an example in the medical field, upon detecting a user bringing up information about a patient in a clinical records application program (e.g., by entering information identifying the patient of interest into the application program), context sharing techniques may automatically change the context of the billing application program and the appointment scheduling application to the context defined by that particular patient.
One of these prior art techniques for context management is referred to herein as the “context-conforming application” technique. As this name implies, each application program is built or modified to conform to a context sharing technique that enables it to communicate with a central context manager, provide its context changes to the central manager, and receive context change updates in other application programs from the context manager.
As mentioned above, the CCOW standard is a known standard for context management. Among other features, the CCOW standard defines interfaces for inter-process communication, including communication between applications and a software-based module which coordinates the modification of data across applications (the “context manager”). One embodiment of a context manager is described in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/545,396, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The interfaces (“technology mappings”) defined by CCOW provide for communication between the context manager and various “styles” of applications, including those which follow the Microsoft Common Object Model (COM) and Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) conventions, among others. For example, for a COM-based application, the CCOW standard specifies COM interfaces which allow the COM-based application to exchange data and parameters with the context manager when using a CCOW compliant context management system. The interfaces may be programmed to process COM-based data and parameters provided by the context manager and context participant applications to support the context management functions.
FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary context management system, in which a context manager 230 manages context for two context participant applications 210 and 220. Applications 210 and 220 may execute on the same or separate computers, and the computer(s) may be the same or separate from a computer on which context manager 230 executes. Communication between the processes may be enabled via any of numerous combinations of protocols and physical communications devices or components. For example, when the applications 210, 220 and/or the context manager 230 execute on the different computers interconnected by a network (e.g., a local area network), the TCP/IP protocol may be employed.
According to the CCOW standard, communication between the applications in a context and the context manager is facilitated through the use of context participant (CP) interfaces for the applications and a set of context manager (CM) interfaces for the context manager. Each of the CP and CM interfaces may comprise any of numerous suitable components for enabling inter-process communication. For example, each of the CP and CM interfaces is integrated in an associated application and provides a “plug” which enables communication with the application (e.g., CP interfaces 217, 227 may be implemented within applications 210, 220 respectively, and CM interface 235 may be implemented in an application program executing on the computer on which the context manager 230 executes). In the illustrative system of FIG. 1, the applications 210, 220 have CP interfaces 217, 227, respectively, associated with them.
Context participant (CP) interfaces 217 and 227, respectively, receive communications from context manager 230 on behalf of applications 210, 220. Applications 210, 220 may receive communications from the context manager 230 in a format and style commensurate with the CCOW standard (e.g., as COM messages or HTTP encoded messages over TCP/IP). In the embodiment shown, the communications pass through code portions 214 and 224 associated with the applications. CP interfaces 217, 227 may alternatively be incorporated directly into applications 210, 220 as described above, and directly pass communications thereto.
Context manager (CM) interface 235 receives communications from applications 210 and 220 and forwards those communications to the context manager 230.
As mentioned above, each of applications 210 and 220 includes a series of programmed routines integrated with the respective application code to perform context management support functions as defined by the CCOW standard. For example, applications 210 and 220 include code portions enabling communication with the context manager. Specifically, within application 210, code portion 212 defines messages sent to the CM interface 235, and code portion 214 implements the CP interface 217. Similarly, application 220 includes code portions 222 and 224 that, respectively, perform the same functions as code portions 212 and 214.
When a user of one of the applications (e.g., application 210) desires to switch the context by changing the data for a subject (e.g., switching from one patient to another), the application sends a request to the context manager 230 (via CM interface 235). The requesting application is referred to as an “instigator” of the requested change in the context.
When the context manager receives a request to change a subject of the context, context manager 230 surveys the other applications in the context (e.g., application 220), to determine whether the switch is acceptable to them. The context manager 230 performs the survey by sending a request to the other applications (e.g., application 220) via their associated CP interfaces. The other applications in the context may determine whether the subject change is acceptable or conditionally acceptable. While rules defining the acceptability of a subject change may be customized for specific applications and contexts, an example of a situation where a requested change may be conditionally acceptable is if data relating to the existing subject has not yet been written to permanent memory on the computer on which the application executes. In this example, the other application may respond to the survey by alerting the instigator that the data could be lost if a change proceeded. The surveyed applications respond to the survey by transmitting messages back to the context manager 230 describing their reactions to the requested change.
According to the CCOW standard, the context manager 230 communicates the results of the survey to the instigator application, and a user thereof examines the results and determines how to proceed. There are a range of options that the user can select, including canceling the requested change, executing the requested change, or removing the instigator application from the shared context. Any of these options can be selected by the user irrespective of the results of the survey. For example, if one or more of the surveyed applications indicates that the requested change is unacceptable to it, the instigator application may nevertheless force the context change, or alternatively, may simply remove itself from the shared context so that the instigator application can implement whatever changes it desires without impacting the other applications in the context. After the user decides how to proceed with the requested change, a call is made by the instigator application to the context manager 230 informing the context manager of the change decision. The context manager then makes one or more calls to publish the change decision by notifying the other applications in the context of the decision.
The above-discussed techniques rely upon context-conforming (also referred to as context-enabled) applications that have the capability to perform the above-described operations to enable their participation in sharing context. A technique referred to as “bridging” has been used for applications that do not conform to the CCOW standard. In this technique, the CM and CP interfaces are custom coded to be able to send data to and receive data from an application that is not context-enabled. Thus, these CM and CP interfaces may serve as a “bridge” that manipulates the application (e.g., by simulating mouse clicks and other user input). The bridging technique relies on software installed on the client machine to manipulate the application to change context or to notify the context manager when a change in an application's context is detected. In many cases, the software that is installed on the client is an interpreter that interprets executes a bridge script. Thus, the bridge may be thought of as a script that is executed by an engine or interpreter that is installed on the client. In some cases, rather than being implemented as a script, a bridge is implemented as hard-coded software that executes on the client. As used herein, “installed software” refers to non-transient executable software code that is stored in non-volatile memory within the client computer. One example of the above-discussed bridging technique is described in detail in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/632,673, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative system in that provides context-sharing among a plurality of different application programs. In the illustrative system of FIG. 2, a desktop 300 (which may be executed on a single computer) executes three basic types of applications i.e., a locally installed and executing application (e.g., a COM-based application) 310, a browser 330 for a web-based application executing on a web server 500, and an emulation client 340 (e.g., a Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) client) emulating an application executing on a remote application server (i.e., a Citrix MetaFrame server) 600. Desktop 300 also includes a COM adapter 320 to facilitate communication between applications that employ different communication protocols (e.g., application 310 which uses COM-based standards for communication and application 530 on web server 500 that uses web-based protocols). In the embodiment shown, COM adapter 320 translates COM-based communication from application 310 to HTTP-based communication, and translates HTTP-based communication to COM-based communication for receipt by application 310.
Browser 330 communicates with a web server 500 via a network 700. Web server 500 executes a web-based context participant application 530. The illustrated desktop 300 also executes a emulation client 340, which is in communication with a remote application server 600 to initiate a session 610 within which one or more context participant applications may execute.
Context server 400 executes multiple context manager sessions 410A-C. In the example depicted in FIG. 2, context manager session 410A manages context for all the applications represented, including COM-based application 310, web-based application 530, and the remote application 615. To communicate with COM-based application 310, context manager session 410A transmits messages to COM adapter 320 via CP interface 375, and receives messages from COM adapter 320 via CM interface 420. To communicate with web application 530, context manager session 410A transmits messages to web server 500 via CP interface 510 and receives messages from web server 500 via CM interface 420. Finally, to communicate with the remote application 615, context manager session 410A transmits messages to COM adapter 617 executing on remote application server 600 via CP interface 640, and receives messages from COM adapter 617 via CM interface 420.
When a web application participates in a context, it is the application (e.g., application 530 in FIG. 2) executing on the web server that is the context participant, rather than the browser. Typically, when a change to the context is executed, the context manager publishes the change decision to the applications in the context. However, in the case of a web application, when the change in context occurs, the change takes place in the application 530 on the web server 500. However, because the web server does not initiate communication with the browser, the browser 330 may not be automatically made aware of the change, such that the representation of the state of the application 530 on the desktop 300 may be inaccurate. Thus, in the example of FIG. 2, a listener 335 is employed to assist in instructing the browser 330 to request updated information from its corresponding web server 500 when a change has been made to the web application 530 executing thereon. Listener 335 provides an interface (e.g., a CCOW interface) that the instigator application (i.e. the application that initiated the change in context) can contact to inform it that a change in the context has been made, so that the listener 335 can instruct the browser 330 to go back to the web server 500 for an update. When the context manager (e.g., session 410A) returns the survey information to the instigator application relating to a requested change, the context manager also provides a list of URLs (corresponding to the listeners for any web-based applications in the context) to the instigator application, instructing the instigator application to contact (or “touch”) those URLs to inform them that the context has been updated. When the instigator application is another application executing on the same desktop 300 as the browser 330 (e.g., the COM-based application 310), the instigator application can directly (e.g., through the COM adapter 320) contact the listener 335, as the URL for the listener 335 will be accessible from within the desktop.
In addition, the desktop 300 also includes a Context Management Registry (CMR) interface that the desktop can query to determine the identity (e.g., find the URL for) of a context manager to manage a context. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the CMR interface 352 is implemented by a locator 350 provided on the desktop 300, with the CMR interface 352 being a plug into the locator 350. The CMR interface 352 can be queried by the COM-based application 310 (via the COM adapter 320) or the browser 330 to request the identity of the appropriate context manager (e.g., one of the context manager sessions 410A-C). When a context is initially being established (such that no context manager has been assigned to it), the locator 350 uses a URL provided in the CMR interface 352 to contact the context management server (e.g., context server 400) to initiate a context session. The communication from the locator 350 to the context server is directed to a location service (LS)(having a plug 421) that forms part of a context system 423 that manages the multiple context manager sessions 410A-C. Thus, this communication goes through a private interface, rather than through the CM interface 420 for any context manager session. When the locator 350 contacts the location service of the context system 423 to request a new context manager session, the context system 423 initiates a new context manager session 410A-C and returns to the locator 350 a URL that uniquely identifies the CM interface 420 for the new context manager session.
In the system of FIG. 2, a number of different software components are installed on the desktop 300. For example, a listener 375 for browser 330 is installed to notify the browser of changes in context, a COM adapter 330 is installed to notify listener 375 of changes in context, and a locator 350 is installed to enable the desktop to locate the context server 400. In addition, a context manager (CM) interface 420 is used to receive notifications of change in context from the web server and a context participant (CP) interface 510 is used to notify the context manager of changes. CM 420 and CP 510, or portions thereof that perform bridging, may also be installed on desktop 300. In addition, the application executing on the web server must be modified to conform to the CCOW standard.
As an alternative, rather than using a web-based application program that conforms to the CCOW standard, a bridging can be used. For example, a bridge may execute on desktop 300 to interact with the browser and communicate with the context manager.
Another known technique for providing single sign-on functionality for web-based application programs is referred to herein as “browser redirection.” While this technique provides SSO functionality, it does not enable ongoing context management/sharing, once a user is logged in. In this technique, when a web browser requests a sign on page from a web server to access a web-based application, the web server determines if the user is logged in. If the user is not logged in, the browser is redirected to a login server. The user provides his or her sign on information to the login server and, upon verifying that the sign on information is correct, provides a token (e.g., in the form of a unique identifier or encrypted data) on a redirect URL that is passed to the user's browser. The user's browser is then redirected to the web server hosting the web-based application that the user is attempting to access and the web server retrieves the token from the URL. The web server then uses the token to verify the user's identity (e.g., by communicating with the login server or a separate policy server), determine if the user is permitted to access the application hosted on the web server, and automatically sign the user into the application. Thus, once the token has been established, the user may access the web-based application or other web-based applications that accept the token without having to enter sign on information. This technique requires that the web-based application program be modified and additional software be installed on the web server to be able to recognize the token, verify the user's identity, and determine whether the user is permitted to access the application program.
Another known technique for providing single sign-on functionality for web-based application programs, without otherwise enabling the sharing of context between these application programs is referred to herein as “proxy sign on.” In this technique, an organization's domain name service (DNS) server is configured to map the domain names of web-based applications to a proxy server. The proxy server forwards requests from the user's browser to the web server hosting the application, receives the requested web page, and determines whether any of the requested web pages are login pages. If a login page is recognized, the proxy server, in a manner that is transparent to the user and the user's browser, determines if the user is already authenticated. If the user has not been authenticated then a separate login page is returned to the user's browser. The user enters his or her credentials in the login page and the proxy server validates the user's identity. Once the user has been authenticated, the proxy server retrieves the user's sign-in information for the original web page from a database or single sign-on server, and submits the sign-in information to the web server. Once the user is logged in, the proxy server simply passes requests from the browser to the web server and returns the responses from the web server to the browser and does not interact with the application.
This technique works with web-based application programs that allow login by simple submission of sign on information, but may be difficult to use with other application programs. That is, for example, some web-based application programs include code (e.g., JavaScript code) in a login page that must be run in the user's browser in order for the user to successfully sign in. Such code may, for example, apply a cryptographic hashing function to the user's password before it is returned to the web server. The proxy server would not be able to successfully sign in to such an application program because it merely provides the user's sign on information to the web server without executing the code that hashes the sign in information before it is submitted. Moreover, this technique presents additional challenges when the session between the web browser and the web server is encrypted (e.g., using transport layer security (TLS), secure sockets layer (SSL), or another encryption protocol). That is, when the web pages sent from the web server to the browser are encrypted, the proxy server may be unable to determine whether a web page is a login page and may be unable to submit the user's login information in encrypted form. | 2023-10-22T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6368 |
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Mahmud A. Asrar, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Travis Lanham, and Esad Ribic
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 20th, 2019
BY CROM – THE BARBARIAN VS. HIS GOD!
As Conan shuffles off this mortal coil, he stands face to face with his God, CROM! But Crom does not care for the fate of some weak mortal… Unless Conan MAKES him! CONAN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE CONAN! Plus: the penultimate chapter in the all-new novella “BLACK STARLIGHT”!
Parental Advisory
Check out the Review for issue 10 HERE
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Check out our Retro Reviews HERE | 2023-11-08T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8371 |
Q:
How to programmatically add a second view in swift 3
Im trying to switch to a second view from a button on the first view, and do this programmatically (not using the traditional way of switching between views using a segue on the storyboard)
My current app delegate:
import UIKit
@UIApplicationMain
public class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
public var window: UIWindow?
public func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
window = UIWindow(frame: UIScreen.main.bounds)
window?.makeKeyAndVisible()
window?.rootViewController = UINavigationController(rootViewController: ViewController())
return true
}
Button function in first view controller that when pressed should just switch to new view:
func signupAction (sender: UIButton!){
}
I already have the new viewcontroller file created:
class Signup: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
view.backgroundColor = UIColor.cyan
}
}
Basically, I'm trying to achieve the button in the first viewcontroller transitions to this signup viewcontroller.
A:
If you are in a UINavigationController you could push the Signup view controller to the navigation stack this way:
let storyboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil)
let signUpViewController = storyboard.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "signUpViewController") as! Signup
navigationController?.pushViewController(signUpViewController, animated: true)
If you are not in UINavigationController and want to present it, you can do it this way:
let storyboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil)
let signUpViewController = storyboard.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "signUpViewController") as! Signup
self.present(signUpViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
Note: Don't forget to set the identifier of your view controller in the storyboard.
| 2024-07-19T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4841 |
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.
Despite fierce opposition from much of the business community, California's grand experiment in taming global warming begins in earnest Wednesday.
State officials are set to auction tens of millions of dollars' worth of carbon-emission allowances to scores of oil refiners, cement manufacturers and other large industrial polluters.
The computerized auction marks the beginning of California's "cap-and-trade" market. The market is the centerpiece of Assembly Bill 32, the state's 2006 law aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, and Wednesday's kickoff is being closely watched.
"A lot of eyes are on us," said Harold Pestana, a senior manager at Pacific Gas and Electric Co., one of the companies affected by the state law.
Cap and trade will force affected companies to scale back their carbon pollution – or purchase allowances to get into compliance.
State officials and environmentalists say the market-based approach gives companies flexibility in how they reduce emissions.
Many affected businesses call it a cleverly disguised tax that will cost them upwards of $1 billion in the first year. The expense will balloon in 2015, when refineries will have to buy more credits to cover greenhouse gases spewed by cars and trucks.
"It's going to be a huge burden," said Shelly Sullivan of the AB 32 Implementation Group, a business coalition. "That turns into a multibillion-dollar energy tax on the state's economy."
Her group, which includes the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, has petitioned Gov. Jerry Brown to abort the auction.
But the auction is expected to proceed.
"Everything is still on schedule; we're moving forward," said spokesman Stanley Young of the California Air Resources Board, the agency running the auction.
Carbon trading isn't new. Polluters in the European Union have been subject to a greenhouse gas market since 2005, and a similar program covers power plants in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.
But until Wednesday, when carbon trading comes to California, it's never been tried on a large scale in America.
More than 62 million allowances – each representing the right to emit a ton of carbon – will be offered for sale in a three-hour window starting at 10 a.m. The minimum bid price is $10 a ton.
The auction will be a low-key affair. It will be run electronically, with a half-dozen staffers monitoring the bidding behind closed doors at agency headquarters in Sacramento.
"This happens in a sealed room with no windows," said David Clegern, another agency spokesman.
The agency says potential buyers aren't allowed to publicly discuss their purchasing plans, out of fear that disclosure could skew the market. Results of the auction, including pricing and volume, won't be revealed until Monday.
Some analysts believe many potential bidders will sit out Wednesday's auction. Another auction is set for February, and there will be regular auctions each year. Besides, companies needing carbon credits will be able to buy them on the open market and don't have to go through the state.
Uncertainty could dampen bidding in the first auction as well. Jon Costantino, head of the Association of Carbon Market Participants, said bidders might be dissuaded by rumors circulating that an industry group could file a last-second lawsuit to block the auction.
Analysts say the uncertainty has caused prices to drop on private futures markets where California carbon credits have been traded for months. The per-ton price, which had been around $20 over the summer, has fallen to around $12, according to Bloomberg business news.
Low prices could undermine the state's goal of curtailing emissions. If carbon is cheap, there's less incentive for industries to reduce their pollution. That's why the Air Resources Board has set a $10 minimum on bidding in the state's auction.
While businesses complain about costs, environmentalists say a strong carbon price will pay dividends for the economy: It will give polluters an incentive to invest in green technologies to clean up their smokestacks.
The market will work like this: California has set an overall ceiling on the amount of carbon that can be emitted. The cap will decline by 2 percent to 3 percent a year. By 2020, emissions are supposed to fall to 1990 levels.
The affected companies include more than 400 of California's industrial heavyweights. They will get 90 percent of their emission allowances free in the first two years, but the percentage of freebies will decline in future years.
Business groups say California could achieve its goals of curtailing carbon without holding an auction. The state, they say, could simply give away all of the emissions allowances for free, and then enforce the cap. As companies move toward compliance, they will buy and sell the allowances among themselves and a price will emerge for carbon.
But state officials reject that argument. The Air Resources Board says an auction is needed to jump-start the market and make sure a competitive price for carbon is established.
California was hoping the market would cover multiple Western states. But only the Canadian province of Quebec is linking its carbon with California's, starting next year.
As a result, businesses in California say this go-it-alone approach leaves them at a cost disadvantage against companies in other states.
"Our California operation is certainly exposed to out-of-state competition that does not have to comply," said Bruce Ray of Johns Manville, which runs a fiberglass insulation plant in Willows.
Bill Klesse, the chief executive of Valero Energy Corp., owner of two California refineries, ripped the upcoming auction during a recent conference call with investors. "They're coming up with regulations that are totally not workable," he said.
The big utilities are being treated differently than most participants. The state has crafted a complicated scheme designed to buffer their customers from major rate shock. How well the buffer works isn't yet known, however.
"We can't really say what the cost impact to our customers is going to be," said Lynsey Paulo, spokeswoman for PG&E, which supports the auction plan. "We know there's going to be one."
Cap and trade should be pain-free for customers of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. SMUD said it has enough hydroelectricity and renewable energy that it won't need to buy any carbon allowances for at least several years, meaning there will be no cost to customers.
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The Modesto Bee 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. | 2023-09-27T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1348 |
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
# This file is part of Shuup.
#
# Copyright (c) 2012-2020, Shoop Commerce Ltd. All rights reserved.
#
# This source code is licensed under the OSL-3.0 license found in the
# LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
import datetime
import json
import requests
from django.test.utils import override_settings
from django.utils.timezone import now
from requests.models import Response
import pytest
from mock import patch
from shuup.admin.modules.system import SystemModule
from shuup.admin.views.dashboard import DashboardView
from shuup.core.models import PersistentCacheEntry
from shuup.core.telemetry import (
get_daily_data, get_daily_data_for_day, get_installation_key,
get_last_submission_time, get_telemetry_data, INSTALLATION_KEY_KWARGS,
is_opt_out, LAST_DATA_KWARGS, set_opt_out,TelemetryNotSent,
try_send_telemetry
)
from shuup.testing.factories import (
create_empty_order, create_order_with_product,
create_product, create_random_company,
get_default_shop, get_default_supplier,
UserFactory)
from shuup.testing.utils import apply_request_middleware
from shuup_tests.utils import SmartClient
class MockResponse(Response):
def __init__(self, content):
self.content = content
super(MockResponse, self).__init__()
def content(self):
return self.content
def _backdate_installation_key(days=24):
get_installation_key()
PersistentCacheEntry.objects.filter(**INSTALLATION_KEY_KWARGS).update(time=now() - datetime.timedelta(days=days))
def _backdate_telemetry_submission(days=24):
PersistentCacheEntry.objects.filter(**LAST_DATA_KWARGS).update(time=now() - datetime.timedelta(days=days))
def _clear_telemetry_submission():
PersistentCacheEntry.objects.filter(**LAST_DATA_KWARGS).delete()
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_get_telemetry_data(rf, admin_user):
data = json.loads(get_telemetry_data(rf.get("/")))
assert data.get("host")
assert data.get("admin_user") == admin_user.email
assert not json.loads(get_telemetry_data(None)).get("host")
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_get_telemetry_data_after_login(rf, admin_user):
get_default_shop()
# create users to ensure correct admin is found
UserFactory()
UserFactory()
data = json.loads(get_telemetry_data(rf.get("/")))
assert data.get("admin_user") == admin_user.email
assert not data.get("last_login")
client = SmartClient()
client.login(username="admin", password="password")
data = json.loads(get_telemetry_data(rf.get("/")))
assert data.get("admin_user") == admin_user.email
last_login = data.get("last_login", None)
assert last_login
last_login_datetime = datetime.datetime.strptime(last_login, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ")
today = datetime.datetime.now()
assert last_login_datetime.year == today.year
assert last_login_datetime.month == today.month
assert last_login_datetime.day == today.day
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_optin_optout(rf, admin_user):
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=True, DEBUG=True):
with patch.object(requests, "post", return_value=MockResponse("test")) as requestor:
_clear_telemetry_submission()
assert not set_opt_out(False) # Not opted out
assert not is_opt_out()
try_send_telemetry()
with pytest.raises(TelemetryNotSent) as ei:
try_send_telemetry(raise_on_error=True) # Still gracey
assert ei.value.code == "grace"
_backdate_installation_key()
try_send_telemetry(max_age_hours=72)
try_send_telemetry(max_age_hours=None) # Forcibly re-send for the hell of it
with pytest.raises(TelemetryNotSent) as ei:
try_send_telemetry(raise_on_error=True) # Don't ignore last-send; shouldn't send anyway
assert ei.value.code == "age"
assert len(requestor.mock_calls) == 2
assert set_opt_out(True)
assert is_opt_out()
with pytest.raises(TelemetryNotSent) as ei:
try_send_telemetry(max_age_hours=0, raise_on_error=True)
assert ei.value.code == "optout"
assert len(requestor.mock_calls) == 2
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_disable(rf, admin_user):
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=False):
_clear_telemetry_submission()
_backdate_installation_key()
set_opt_out(False)
with pytest.raises(TelemetryNotSent) as ei:
try_send_telemetry(raise_on_error=True, max_age_hours=None) # Should re-send (if we weren't disabled)
assert ei.value.code == "disabled"
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_graceful_error(admin_user):
def thrower(*args, **kwargs):
raise ValueError("Error! aaaagh")
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=True):
with patch.object(requests, "post", thrower) as requestor:
_clear_telemetry_submission()
_backdate_installation_key()
set_opt_out(False)
assert try_send_telemetry(raise_on_error=True).get("error")
def test_disabling_telemetry_hides_menu_item(rf):
request = rf.get("/")
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=True):
assert any(me.original_url == "shuup_admin:telemetry" for me in SystemModule().get_menu_entries(request))
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=False):
assert not any(me.original_url == "shuup_admin:telemetry" for me in SystemModule().get_menu_entries(request))
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_telemetry_is_sent_on_login(rf, admin_user):
shop = get_default_shop()
with patch.object(requests, "post", return_value=MockResponse("test")) as requestor:
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=True):
_backdate_installation_key(days=0) # instance was created today
request = apply_request_middleware(rf.get("/"), user=admin_user)
view_func = DashboardView.as_view()
response = view_func(request)
sent = get_last_submission_time()
response = view_func(request)
assert get_last_submission_time() == sent
response = view_func(request)
assert get_last_submission_time() == sent
assert len(requestor.mock_calls) == 1
def _create_order_for_day(shop, day):
order = create_empty_order(shop=shop)
order.order_date = day
order.save()
def _create_product_for_day(shop, day):
product = create_product("test_product")
product.created_on = day
product.save()
def _create_customer_for_day(shop, day):
company = create_random_company()
company.created_on = day
company.save()
def _create_total_sales(shop, day):
product = create_product("test", shop=shop)
supplier = get_default_supplier()
order = create_order_with_product(product, supplier, 1, 10, shop=shop)
order.order_date = day
order.save()
def _create_total_paid_sales(shop, day):
product = create_product("test", shop=shop)
supplier = get_default_supplier()
order = create_order_with_product(product, supplier, 1, 10, shop=shop)
order.order_date = day
order.save()
order.create_payment(order.taxful_total_price)
assert order.is_paid()
@pytest.mark.parametrize("data_key, data_value, create_object", [
("orders", 1, _create_order_for_day),
("products", 1, _create_product_for_day),
("contacts", 1, _create_customer_for_day),
("total_sales", 10, _create_total_sales),
("total_paid_sales", 10, _create_total_paid_sales),
])
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_telemetry_daily_data_components(data_key, data_value, create_object):
shop = get_default_shop()
datetime_now = now()
today = datetime.date(datetime_now.year, datetime_now.month, datetime_now.day)
create_object(shop, today)
assert get_daily_data_for_day(today)[data_key] == data_value
@pytest.mark.django_db
def test_telemetry_multiple_days(rf, admin_user):
with override_settings(SHUUP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=True, DEBUG=True):
with patch.object(requests, "post", return_value=MockResponse("test")) as requestor:
try_send_telemetry()
day = now()
_backdate_telemetry_submission(days=0)
assert not get_daily_data(day)
_backdate_telemetry_submission(days=20)
assert len(get_daily_data(now())) == 19 # Since current day is not added to telemetry
| 2023-11-18T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6862 |
Sam Switkowski feels like he’s finally starting to repay Fremantle’s faith after a frustrating run of injuries.
The mature-aged recruit was restricted to just seven appearances — two in the AFL and five in the WAFL — in his first season at the Dockers.
But after another hamstring setback to finish a strong pre-season, the pressure forward is feeling renewed confidence in his body.
“It was a bit frustrating to start the season off with a little hamstring injury but it’s been really pleasing to play seven in a row now to go with a couple of WAFL games,” Switkowski said.
“It’s the most games I’ve strung together for a number of years now, so it gives me a lot of confidence with my body and a bit of momentum going forward.”
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The 22-year-old signed a two-year contract extension while he was sidelined in March, keeping him at Fremantle until at least the end of 2021.
“I took a lot out of them giving me that two-year extension, they had a lot of faith in me and a lot of confidence in me and my ability,” Switkowski said.
“To be able to be out there playing AFL games and performing, it’s starting to feel like I’m repaying the faith I guess, but there’s obviously a lot of work to go.”
The Box Hill product, who lives with fellow 2017 draftees Bailey Banfield, Stefan Giro, Lloyd Meek and first-year teammate Luke Valente in Attadale, said Perth “felt like home”.
Switkowski will come up against the team he barracked for as a kid, Collingwood, for the second time in his blossoming AFL career at the MCG tomorrow.
In just his second appearance for the Dockers, the goalsneak had 17 possessions, three tackles and a goal against the Pies in a breakout match in round 23 last year.
He is expecting a “really fierce contest” against last season’s grand finalists, coming off seven wins on the trot, but said Freo were up for the challenge.
“We’re really excited, we feel like we can take it to any team this year and we’ve been really competitive in all of our games,” Switkowski said.
“They’re a really seasoned team with a lot of experience and a strong midfield, but we’ll be ready for the contest.
“We’ll be looking to really hit them hard with contested footy and beat them in the middle, that’s where it starts.”
With veteran Hayden Ballantyne on the verge of returning from a hamstring injury, competition is increasing for spots in the forward line.
“The sort of pressure for selection is a good thing,” Switkowski said. “That competition for our list is really healthy.” | 2024-05-18T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9809 |
A survey of snakebite management knowledge amongst select physicians in Hong Kong and the implications for snakebite training.
The objective of the study was to assess the level of knowledge regarding snakebite management in doctors likely to treat such bites in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong in the People's Republic of China. Key concerns were doctor confidence, consistency of approach, use of anti-snake venom (ASV), and ancillary treatments. Hong Kong hospitals are equipped according to developed country standards, and knowledge therefore becomes the key factor in successful management. A predesigned questionnaire consisting of 29 multiple-choice questions was submitted to physicians likely to treat snakebite victims at all Hong Kong hospitals receiving such patients. The key finding identified that only 29% of responding doctors were confident about treating snakebites. In the case of ASV selection between the 2 products available that deal with different species, 66% of doctors either were unsure of which to use or believed the 2 ASVs to be the same. The use of inappropriate clinical endpoints for ASV therapy suggests it is being used unnecessarily. There is clear room for improvement in the knowledge base and confidence level of physicians treating snakebites in Hong Kong. Key components of management, such as ASV choice, indications, dosing, and clinical endpoints for administration, were sources of confusion to the participants in this study. The results demonstrate the need for a locally developed and widely distributed snakebite management protocol. | 2024-06-02T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2959 |
Correlation between grade and prognosis in metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Three-tiered grading systems (low, intermediate, and high grade) have been proposed for neuroendocrine tumors. These classifications have not been rigorously evaluated in neuroendocrine malignancies of the digestive tract. We performed a retrospective chart analysis of 83 patients with metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, correlating tumor grade with overall survival. We also analyzed available biopsy specimens (on 40 patients), examining hematoxylin and eosin stains for mitotic rate and immunostaining for measurement of the Ki-67 index. Tumor grades were assigned based on the mitotic rate and the Ki-67 index, and the prognostic validity of each grading method was assessed. A highly significant correlation existed between the reported tumor grade and overall survival. Five-year survival rates for patients with low-, intermediate-, and high-grade tumors were 87%, 38%, and 0%, respectively. On biopsy specimen analysis, both mitotic rates and Ki-67 indexes correlated strongly with overall survival. We conclude that a 3-tiered grading classification for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors correlates with survival in the metastatic setting. Both mitotic rates and Ki-67 indexes are inversely associated with survival and can be analyzed independently for assignment of grade. | 2023-11-18T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5624 |
[Molecular diagnosis in an Argentinian family with multiple endocrine neoplasia type-1 (MEN-1)].
MEN-1 is a hereditary autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by the involvement of parathyroid glands, pancreatic islet cells and anterior pituitary gland. Today molecular genetics permit gene carrier analysis to compare the data obtained with the clinical biochemical tests. The twenty living members of the first, second and third generation of a family with MEN-1 were studied to determine the presence of genetic markers in MEN-1 loci 11q13, by linkage analysis and in affected individuals by biochemical tests and clinical examination. Two very informative polymorphic markers immediately flanking the MEN-1 gene on chromosome 11 band q13 were detected: PYGM and D11S987, haplotypes segregated by two members of the second generation, inherited from their father and two of the third generation: the affected one and one presymptomatic. The third generation had the affected member with renal stones and elevated PTH, PRL and glucagon. The presymptomatic carrier of MEN-1 allele showed elevated PTH. Among the members who inherited the normal allele we found one with elevated gastrin, one with elevated glucagon and one with elevated PTH, all asymptomatic. Of one Argentine family studied, molecular diagnosis allowed us to detect one presymptomatic carrier in the members at risk. As suggested by the available literature, accuracy of molecular diagnosis seems to make it the test of choice to exclude those members at risk for MEN-1 inheriting the normal allele. | 2024-03-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9706 |
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
When I was growing up, I had years of orthodontia work. Even major jaw surgery. It was horrible and quite painful; however, I have beautiful teeth now. A bright spot during all this, way my mother’s “medicine”. We called it medicine because it helped ease the pain…really, it was her Orange Julius. I have such fond memories of her making this drink for me every couple weeks. It was our little secret!
Unfortunately, my 7 year old daughter inherited my teeth and jaw issues so we have already begun her orthodontia treatments. Poor thing! Until…..I remembered that secret mommy medicine that my mom used to make. I don’t know what all she put in my drink, so I created my own version. It’s fairly simple really and very forgiving.
I surprised Kaylynn with her glass of “medicine” last week and she was really excited for it…after she realized it wasn’t really medicine after all.
Continue to Content Homemade Orange Julius Yield: 4 servings Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes This homemade Orange Julius tastes just like the original, but it's made at home for a fraction of the cost! Print Ingredients 2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup orange juice Instructions Add all ingredients to a blender and process on high until smooth. Top with a little whipped cream and an orange slice. Nutrition Information: Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 166 Total Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 29mg Sodium: 53mg Carbohydrates: 22g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 19g Protein: 3g Did you make this recipe? Share and Tag @MyFamilyTable on Instagram...I'd love to see it. Or leave a comment! | 2024-01-24T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4682 |
Introduction {#Sec1}
============
Executive function is a complex cognitive construct incorporating a number of processes associated with higher-level thought and behaviour which develop across the lifespan (e.g. Diamond and Goldman-Rakic [@CR13]). Thought to be essential to goal oriented behaviour, executive functions are closely related to other cognitive processes such as memory and attention and are also important in affective processing and behaviour. There are several cognitive models of executive function (EF) (e.g. Norman and Shallice [@CR32]; Stuss and Benson [@CR42]; Baddeley [@CR4]; Rolls [@CR35]; Shallice and Burgess [@CR38], [@CR39]). Some suggest that EF can be explained by a unitary 'central executive' (Baddeley [@CR4]) whereas others suggest a range of individual but associated processes which operate in parallel without an overarching control system (Goldman-Rakic [@CR19]). Clinically, these models have been translated into various cognitive assessment tools designed to tap specific processes such as concept formation and cognitive flexibility e.g. the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (Berg [@CR7]), Brixton Test (Burgess and Shallice [@CR8]) whilst others are designed to assess overarching processes such as organisation/planning e.g. Six elements test (Shallice and Burgess [@CR38]). Executive functioning has also been a key area of interest in a variety of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impairments in social communication and a restricted, repetitive and stereotyped pattern of interests and behaviours (APA [@CR2]). Impairments in EF are widely cited in ASD and executive dysfunction has been posited to underlie the core difficulties (e.g. Russell [@CR37]; Ozonoff et al. [@CR34]). For example, Lopez et al. ([@CR27]) found cognitive flexibility, working memory and inhibition, but not fluency and planning, were strongly associated with stereotyped and repetitive behaviours in adults with ASD. Using multiple regression analyses, the authors found that no single EF predicted ASD symptomatology but rather that a model including both relative cognitive strengths (working memory, inhibition) and weaknesses (flexibility, fluency) had the highest predictive power. Hill and Bird ([@CR21]) also found an association between executive dysfunction and ASD symptomatology. Findings from brain imaging studies also lend support to the idea that executive function difficulties can be seen as central to ASD and may relate to neuroimaging findings of structural and functional differences in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) (e.g. Gilbert et al. [@CR15]; Luna et al. [@CR30]; Castelli et al. [@CR9]). There is some evidence that the association between EF and ASD core symptoms may be less than straightforward. A study by Jones et al. ([@CR25]) found that performance on EF tasks was not uniquely associated with social communication or repetitive behaviour measures, but rather was indirectly related through performance on Theory of Mind tasks.
A number of issues regarding investigations into the nature of EF impairments in ASD are relevant. Firstly, executive functioning has been found to be impaired across a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders (e.g. Hosenbocus and Chahal [@CR22]; Goodkind et al. [@CR20]). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is similarly associated with executive function impairments, particularly response inhibition. ADHD is the most commonly reported co-occurring condition in children and adults with ASD, with more than 40% of adults in a recent study also meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD (Joshi et al. [@CR26]). Disentangling the clinical and neuropsychological phenomenology of these 2 distinct but highly related developmental conditions (Gillberg [@CR16]) is less than straightforward. A study of attention in adults, particularly response inhibition, found an ASD group's performance could be characterised as slow and accurate while an ADHD group were consistent with an impulsive style of responding i.e. fast with errors. However, both groups were impaired relative to neurotypical controls (Johnston et al. [@CR23]).
Secondly, impairment in performance on EF tasks may be a consequence of slowed processing speed. Several studies report difficulties in timed tasks of executive function due to difficulties with initiation and psychomotor speed (Hill and Bird [@CR21]) and a subsequently slow and accurate response style in individuals with ASD (Johnston et al. [@CR24]; Hill and Bird [@CR21]). Spek et al. ([@CR40]) report that speed of processing accounted for poor phonemic fluency in a group of adults with HFA rather than difficulties with strategy formation or shifting. There have been findings of greater difficulties on 'open-ended' rather than structured EF tasks for an ASD group in comparison with typically developing controls (e.g. Van Eylen et al. [@CR45]).
Nonetheless, there are consistent findings of EF impairment in ASD across child, adolescent and adult samples but inconsistent findings in respect of the domain of function(s) that is impaired. It is possible that the mixed findings can be accounted for by study design in respect of the heterogeneity of the population studied (e.g. age and IQ), presence of co-occurring mental health and other neurodevelopmental conditions as well as measurement paradigm. Demetriou et al. ([@CR12]) carried out a meta-analysis of 235 studies (comprising 14,081 participants; 6816 with ASD) investigating sub-domains of EF in ASD. They stratified the analysis by age to account for developmental maturation in brain function and considered a number of potential moderators of EF impairment including gender, sample and control group characteristics, IQ differences, and modality of test administration amongst others. No differential pattern of EF impairment was found when studies were combined and moderate effect sizes for all EF sub-domains were observed, which the authors identified as concept formation, mental flexibility, fluency, planning, response inhibition and working memory. Informant and self-report of behavioural and functional facets of EF impairment were found to show the highest amount of heterogeneity, contributing to larger effect sizes than experimental and psychometric tasks. Effects of the proposed moderators were not significant and the authors concluded a broad pattern of EF impairment across the domains identified, with no selective pattern of impairment. Informant based questionnaires had greater clinical utility in terms of distinguishing between Autistic and non-autistic controls and the authors concluded that such questionnaires may have greater ecological validity. Of note, studies included in this review did not exclude participants with comorbid ADHD or other psychiatric diagnoses and so the impact of these upon executive function is unclear.
Behaviours suggestive of executive problems such as perseveration, rigidity and difficulty self-monitoring have been examined using the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX---Wilson et al. [@CR50]) with relative impairments in DEX self- and informant-report scores compared with non-ASD controls and scores in line with data from brain injured samples for an ASD adult group (Hill and Bird [@CR21]; Cederlund et al. [@CR10]). Differences between parent completed DEX of adolescents with Asperger's syndrome and a typically developing control group have also been reported (Channon et al. [@CR11]). The behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF) (Gioia et al. [@CR18]) has been used in several studies of young people with ASD, with a diverse pattern of impairments relative to non-ASD controls reported across the different domains e.g. in metacognitive skills and flexibility (Rosenthal et al. [@CR36]); and planning and flexibility (Van den Bergh et al. [@CR44]). The latter study identified no relationships between BRIEF scores and ASD symptoms. A single study (Wallace et al. [@CR46]) reports adult ASD data from the BRIEF finding impairments in both flexibility and metacognition and these impairments in 'everyday' executive functioning were associated with anxiety and depression respectively. Similar confounds arise when conceptualising the measurement of behavioural aspects of EF impairment in ASD as do with assessment of cognitive facets i.e. co-occurring mental health and/or neurodevelopmental conditions, age, IQ and theory of mind difficulties. For example, the Behavioural Regulation Index of the BRIEF comprises three sub-scales or indices; inhibition, shift and emotional control. The contribution of ADHD symptoms and core ASD characteristics to these dimensions may be significant; Gioia et al. ([@CR18]) found elevated scores on each domain of the BRIEF in children with ADHD and this finding has also been replicated in adolescents with ADHD (Toplak et al. [@CR43]). Similar findings have been reported in adults with ADHD using a self-rated measure of EF difficulties with 'behavioural' EF difficulties being more strongly associated with everyday functioning than standard cognitive EF assessments (Barkley and Murphy [@CR5]).
In summary, it remains unclear whether impairments in EF are truly characteristic of ASD in relation to both cognition and behaviour given that previous studies have not used rigorous diagnostic processes for commonly co-occurring disorders known to affect executive functioning (such as ADHD). This means it is difficult to draw conclusions as to a selective, autism-specific pattern of impairment. In the present study, we aim to investigate performance across several important cognitive domains of executive function; planning, generativity, set shifting and strategy formation and related behaviour in adults with a clinical diagnosis of ASD, homogeneity in respect of ASD diagnostic pathway, intellectual ability in the average range while taking account of co-occurring clinical disorders and processing speed. The study will be restricted to adults to control for the developmental confounds in respect of brain maturation and executive function.
Research question:To investigate the presence and pattern of EF performance, across multiple domains of EF measurement, in adults with ASD without co-occuring ADHD.
Hypotheses:The ASD group will have significantly slower processing speed on cognitive tasks, as measured by the time taken to complete tasks.There will be a significant association between cognitive and behavioural measures of EF.
Method {#Sec2}
======
Participants {#Sec3}
------------
Participants with ASD were recruited from a specialist diagnostic service for adults. This was a clinical sample of consecutive participants meeting inclusion criteria over a period of 3 years, all of whom completed the same neuropsychological and diagnostic battery and consented to take part in the study All participants received a clinical diagnosis of ASD made by a consultant psychiatrist and nurse specialist and met ICD-10 criteria for Autism (Autism; n = 26), Asperger's syndrome (AS; n = 53), atypical autism (n = 21) or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; n = 10). Where a reliable informant-based developmental history was available the autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R; Lord et al. [@CR28]) was completed (n = 78) and in cases where this was not available then participants underwent the autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS; Lord et al. [@CR29]; n = 48). In a small number of cases for clinical soundness, both the ADI-R and the ADOS were completed (n = 19) with both measures showing agreement. In three cases where one or both measures were sub-threshold on one domain, diagnoses of PDD-NOS, Asperger's syndrome and atypical autism were given. All participants received their diagnosis in adulthood. Mean ASD group scores on the ADI-R were as follows \[ADI-R Communication Domain Mean Score 10.08 (SD = 5.11); ADI-R reciprocal social interaction domain mean score = 12.47 (SD = 6.01); ADI-R repetitive behaviour domain mean score = 3.58 (SD = 2.03)\]. Of the ASD group completing the ADI-R, 25 (32%) of individuals scored below diagnostic threshold on the communication domain, 22 (28%) scored below threshold on the RSI domain and 25 (32%) on the RB domain. Where ADI-R scores were below diagnostic threshold, diagnosis was supplemented with the ADOS-G (n = 5) with above threshold scores for autism spectrum disorder. Twenty-one (19%) of the sample received a diagnosis of atypical autism in keeping with below threshold scores on one domain of the ADI-R. Five individuals scored below diagnostic threshold on \> 1 domain on the ADI-R and ADOS-G scores were not available. Of those completing the ADOS-G (n = 48, 43.6%), mean ADOS communication and social interaction summary score = 11.10 (SD = 4.09).
Psychiatric co-morbidity was assessed via clinical interview and recorded as ICD-10 diagnosis on the case file with the exception of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which was made according to DSM-IV criteria as per National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.
Exclusion criteria were: Verbal IQ \< 80 (given the lack of normative data for EF measures for people with low IQ), any other neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Fragile X syndrome and/or Velocardio facial syndrome, any prior brain injury, diagnosis of psychosis, substance misuse, and/or an eating disorder.
The Control group was recruited from a volunteer database of individuals willing to participate in research, and an opportunity sample. The two groups were matched by age, gender and verbal IQ (see Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}). The study had ethical approval from the local ethics committee. Participants were provided with information about the study and asked to provide written consent to participate if they agreed.Table 1Mean age, Verbal IQ and gender distribution across the ASD and Control groupsGroup (N)Age *M* (SD)RangeSex% (F:M)VIQ *M* (SD)RangeASD (110)33.35 (10.86)4619:81105.13 (13.49)59Control group (31)30.84 (7.3)2426:84102.66 (13.78)45
Sample Size {#Sec4}
-----------
There was no formal sample size calculation. However, as we expected relatively high communality across the sub-domains of EF, a sample size of 100 was considered appropriate as per guidance (MacCallum et al. [@CR31]).
Measures {#Sec5}
--------
The following measures were used to assess intellectual ability and executive functioning. All measures were part of a clinical neuropsychological test battery used as part of a wider autism diagnostic assessment and have been previously used in studies with autistic adults. Tests were chosen to have high ecological validity given that this should allow for the best association with everyday living skills.
### General Ability: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale---Third Edition (WAIS-III; Weschler [@CR47]) {#Sec6}
An empirically derived seven subtest short form of the WAIS-III was used to assess intellectual ability (for more information see Axelrod et al. [@CR3]).
### Planning: The Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (Wilson et al. [@CR50]) {#Sec7}
The BADS is an ecologically valid measure of EF (Norris and Tate [@CR33]) and consists of six subtests in total. The following subtests were used in the present study.
### The Key Search {#Sec8}
This task assesses strategy formation and participants have to indicate how they would search a field (represented by a square box on a piece of paper) to make absolutely certain that they would find their keys if they had misplaced them in the field. The strategies are scored according to their efficiency, effectiveness and time taken to complete the search.
### The Zoo Map {#Sec9}
This task comprises of two subtests, one assessing spontaneous planning and the other assessing planning within a structured context. The former requires participants to plan a route around the zoo visiting predefined locations while adhering to a number of rules. In the latter, participants have to visit locations in the zoo in a predefined order. The initial planning time, total planning time, accuracy and error rates are recorded.
### Inhibition and Cognitive Flexibility: The Hayling and Brixton Test (Burgess and Shallice [@CR8]) {#Sec10}
The Hayling test assesses both verbal initiation and verbal inhibition in the form of correct and incorrect sentence completion, respectively. Timing scores are collected for both and error rates are collected for the inhibition subsection. The Brixton task is a measure of cognitive flexibility (analogous to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task) and involves predicting the sequence of a blue circle moving around ten potential positions. The pattern changes unexpectedly and individuals have to identify the new pattern to predict the blue circles next correct location. The number of errors is scored.
### Generativity/Fluency: Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA; Spreen and Strauss [@CR41]) {#Sec11}
The COWA or FAS was used to measure verbal fluency. This test involves producing as many words beginning with the letter 'F' in 1 min as possible. This is then repeated with the letters 'A' and 'S'. The total number of correct words is scored along with the total number of repetitions and rule-breaks.
### Time {#Sec12}
A variable to account for speed on tasks was calculated by summing time taken in seconds on several EF tasks where time is recorded but specific limits are not enforced (Zoo Map 1 time taken + Zoo Map 2 time taken + Key Search time taken + Hayling total time). This measure of speed/time was chosen after consultation with a statistician who recommended this as an effective way to compare the speed at which groups completed timed but open ended tasks. Rather than processing speed, this was designed simply to assess speed of task completion.
### Behavioural Characteristics: The DEX Questionnaire (Wilson et al. [@CR50]) {#Sec13}
The DEX questionnaire consists of 20 items rated on a 5 point Likert scale pertaining to difficulties associated with dysexecutive syndrome. The self and informant- based versions were used in the present study. Three sub-scales or factors within the DEX have been empirically derived: Behavioural, Cognitive and Emotional difficulties.
### ASD symptoms: The Autism Quotient Questionnaire (Baron-Cohen et al. [@CR6]) {#Sec14}
The AQ is a well-validated screening measure for ASD traits and was used in the Control group. No control participants scored above the suggested ASD cut-off of 32 (Woodberry-Smith et al. [@CR53]) and so none were excluded on this basis.
Procedure {#Sec15}
---------
All participants were tested in a quiet room by an assistant psychologist trained in test administration and working under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist.
Data Analysis Strategy {#Sec16}
----------------------
Data were initially analysed to examine between group differences in mean scores on the main variables. The proportion of individuals meeting criteria for clinical abnormality on each domain of executive function was also compared across groups. To investigate the hypothesised variance in performance across executive function tests, exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the summary test scores of the main 5 EF measures. A single component was extracted which allowed a single variable 'EF function' to be created. This variable was entered into regression equations to examine its contribution to the variance in self-report behavioural measures of executive difficulties and scores on autism measures.
Results {#Sec17}
=======
The groups did not differ in respect of mean age, verbal IQ and were matched in terms of gender distribution (see Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}).
Of the ASD group, 48 (43.6%) did not meet ICD-10 criteria for co-occurring mental health diagnoses. Twenty-one (19%) of participants in the ASD group met diagnostic criteria for OCD, 25 (22%) met ICD-10 criteria for depression, 10 (9%) for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), 17 (15.4%) for social anxiety disorder, 8 (7.2%) for Agoraphobia and 3 (2.7%) met criteria for a personality disorder. Participants were grouped into those with and without a co-occurring psychiatric diagnosis and a between groups analysis conducted across all measures of executive function and IQ. Analysis showed that there were only two significant group differences between individuals with ASD and a co-occurring anxiety, mood or personality disorder and those with ASD alone across all of the variables of interest: Zoo Map 1 raw (t~(105)~ = 2.03, p \< 0.05) and sequence score (t~(106)~ = 2.02, p \< 0.05) but not at reduced α (0.01) to correct for multiple comparisons. Therefore individuals with OCD, anxiety, mood and personality disorder were included in the final analysis.
EF Task Mean Scores {#Sec18}
-------------------
Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"} shows the median and interquartile range for each group across the test battery. Mann--Whitney tests were used to compare group differences due to non-normal data distribution on the main EF measures. T-tests were used to consider group differences on variables that were normally distributed. Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"} shows that there were significant between group differences across a range of EF tasks. Large group differences were particularly seen on measures of verbal generativity (FAS), verbal initiation and inhibition (Hayling) and cognitive flexibility (Brixton).Table 2Scores across each measure of executive function across groupsTestASD sample\
Mdn (IQR)Control sample\
Mdn (IQR)ZBADS Zoo Map Profile Score2 (2)3 (2)− 2.41\* Zoo Map 1 time176 (143)146 (83)NS Zoo Map 1 sequence4 (6)7 (4)− 2.26\* Zoo Map 1 errors1 (3)1 (2)NS Zoo Map 2 time77 (47)48 (37)− 3.40\*\* Zoo Map 2 sequence8 (0)0 (0)NS Zoo Map 2 errors0 (0)0 (0)− 2.08\* Key Search profile score3 (4)4 (1)− 2.05\*FAS Total correct32.5 (17)42 (13)− 3.99\*\*HAYLING (H) H1 Standard Score5 (2)6 (0)− 3.84\*\* H2 Standard Score6 (2)6 (0)− 3.12\*\* H2 Error Standard Score6 (1)7 (1)− 3.51\*\* Total H Standard Score6 (2)6 (1)− 4.78\*\*BRIXTON Standard Score6 (3.75)7 (3)− 3.11\*\*\*\< 0.05, \*\*\< 0.01
Clinically Significant Impairment {#Sec19}
---------------------------------
Scores below the 5th percentile in the majority of neuropsychological tasks are generally taken as indicative of clinically meaningful impairment and have been used in similar studies (e.g. Hill and Bird [@CR21]). Figure [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"} shows the percentage of people falling within the clinically impaired range on each of the EF tasks according to published test norms. Chi squared analysis was used to compare groups; significantly greater numbers of participants in the ASD group scored in the clinically impaired range on the FAS χ~(1,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 11.86 (p \< 0.001) and Hayling 1 χ~(2,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 9.41 (p \< 0.01) tests. The Hayling 2 χ~(2,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 4.73 (p \< 0.05), Hayling Total χ~(2,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 7.35 (p \< 0.05), Zoo Map χ~(1,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 5.96 (p \< 0.05) and Brixton χ~(2,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 7.35 (p \< 0.05) tests were significant but not at reduced α (0.01) to correct for multiple comparisons.Fig. 1Percentage of control and ASD participants falling in the clinically impaired range (\< 5th percentile)
To address the possibility that impairment might be heavily loaded on a few individuals within the ASD group, analyses were conducted to examine whether the groups differed in distribution of clinical impairment (see Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}) (χ~(5,\ N\ =\ 141)~^2^ = 24.32, p \< .0001). Of note, more than one-third of the ASD group were not in the clinically impaired range on any of the EF tasks.Table 3Number of tasks in the impaired range by groupNumber of EF tasksNumber of people scoring in the impaired range in the ASD group (%)Number of people scoring in the impaired range in the Control group (%)52 (1.8)045 (4.6)036 (5.5)0224 (22.0)0133 (30.3)5 (16.1%)039 (35.8%)26 (83.9%)
In order to examine possible timing differences on the measures of executive function between the two groups, a 'time' variable was created by adding the time in seconds taken by each participant to complete all timed tasks. The mean 'time' score for participants with ASD differed significantly from that of the Control group, ASD mean task time = 500.6 s (range 119--1518 s) and Control group mean task time = 365.3 s (range 166--946 s); t~(75.4)~ = − 3.64, p \< .001, 95% confidence interval of the mean difference lower = − 215.7, upper = − 55.27.
Behavioural Characteristics {#Sec20}
---------------------------
Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"} shows the results of self- and informant-report DEX questionnaires. On both self and informant versions, the ASD group was reported to have significantly greater difficulties on all sub-scales of the DEX measure. There is a large amount of missing data for the DEX due to administrative issues unrelated to participants.Table 4Mean self and informant ratings on the DEX questionnaire across the ASD and Control groupsMean self-rating (SD)Mean informant rating (SD)ASD (n = 65)Control (n = 29)t (df)ASD (n = 52)Control (n = 19)T (df)Behaviour13.20 (6.99)8.10 (4.72)− 3.57 (92)\*\*\*17.63 (6.63)5.21 (4.58)− 8.77 (66)\*\*\*Cognition9.22 (3.83)4.48 (2.91)− 5.92 (91)\*\*\*9.83 (4.07)2.21 (2.34)− 9.81 (70)\*\*\*Emotion6.34 (2.64)3.58 (1.97)− 2.76 (91)\*\*\*7.21 (2.59)2.63 (2.06)− 6.93 (69)\*\*\*Total Dex score28.98 (11.48)16.17 (8.46)− 5.36 (89)\*\*\*35.24 (11.97)10.05 (8.23)− 9.74 (63)\*\*\*\*\*\*p \< .001
The standardisation data for the DEX suggested that the informant scale can be taken as a more reliable indicator of difficulties in individuals with reduced insight. Paired samples t-tests suggested that a significant difference between self and informant ratings was evident in both the ASD and the Control group albeit in opposing directions; ASD group mean self-informant discrepancy = − 4.99 (SD = 13.65), t = − 2.45, df = 43, p \< .05; Control group mean self-informant discrepancy = 6.44 (SD = 9.001), t = 3.13, p \< .01.
Normative data for self-report for individuals with brain injury on the DEX is 27.21 (SD = 14.48) and informant-rated 32.85 (SD = 15.98). In the present study, the group with ASD and their informants report levels of characteristics associated with dysexecutive syndrome similar to those reported by people with acquired brain injury.
Further exploration of participants who had completed the DEX questionnaire with co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis information available in the clinic report revealed no significant differences between the mean scores for the ASD group with a co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis (n = 30) and those without a co-morbid diagnosis (n = 31) (ASD co-morbid group mean DEX total self-rating score = 30.37 (SD = 11.15); ASD non co-morbid group mean DEX total self-rating score = 27.22 (SD = 11.70); t = − 1.076, df = 59, p = .286). The same non-significant finding was also present when DEX informant ratings were compared between the co-morbid and non-co-morbid groups.
Factor Analysis {#Sec21}
---------------
All 5 main EF measures (Zoo Map and Key Search total profile scores, total number of correct words on the FAS, Hayling overall total score and Brixton scaled score) were significantly correlated with each other (see Table [5](#Tab5){ref-type="table"}).Table 5Non-parametric correlations (Spearman's rho) between the summary scores on the 5 main executive function measures (n = 141)Measure123451. Zoo Map profile scoreCorrelation coefficient1.000Sig. (2-tailed)--2. Key Search profile scoreCorrelation coefficient.371\*\*1.000Sig. (2-tailed).000--3. FAS total words correctCorrelation coefficient.202\*.207\*1.000Sig. (2-tailed).016.014--4. Hayling overall total scaled scoreCorrelation coefficient.312\*\*.434\*\*.439\*\*1.000Sig. (2-tailed).000.000.000--5. Brixton error scaled scoreCorrelation coefficient.327\*\*.330\*\*.251\*\*.375\*\*1.000Sig. (2-tailed).000.000.003.000--\*p \< 0.05, \*\*p \< 0.01 \*\*\*p \< 0.001
Exploratory factor analysis using principal components analysis was performed to consider factors underlying performance on the 5 domains of EF function for all participants. Initial Eigen values indicated that the 1st component explained 46% of the variance. The remaining 4 components had Eigen values \< 1.0 and thus just 1 factor was extracted from the data and although equamax rotation was specified, the single factor solution could not be rotated. This single factor was used to produce a regression factor score, creating a variable labelled 'EF function'. The single factor underlying the 5 EF tests is consistent with Baddeley's (1974) construct of a single overarching executive function.
The ASD and Control groups differed significantly in terms of mean scores on 'EF function' (see Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). (ASD mean EF score = − .20734 (SD = 0.993), Control group mean EF score = 0.72235 (SD = 0.114); (equal variances not assumed Levine's f = 6.758, p = .01); t = 6.331, df = 78.457, p \< .0001, 95% CI of the difference 0.6373--1.222).Fig. 2'EF function' score by group
To further consider the role ASD symptoms might contribute to executive difficulties, ADI-R scores, number of co-occurring psychiatric conditions, age, Verbal IQ and the 'time' variable were entered into a regression equation. The model was significant (F = 27.12, p \< .0001, R^2^ = .739) with Verbal IQ being a positive predictor of EF and time being a negative predictor of EF. None of the other variables made a significant contribution.
As already noted, a clinical presentation characteristic of executive function difficulties as measured by the DEX rating scales was prevalent in the ASD group. Considering the variables that might contribute to the variance in the behavioural, cognitive and emotional features rated on the DEX, multiple linear regression was used. The 'EF function' score, time score, ADI communication, reciprocal social interaction and repetitive behaviour scores were entered into the equation. The model was non-significant F = .971, p = .458; with R^2^ = .139 suggesting that neither performance on neuropsychological tests of executive function, speed of processing nor ASD symptoms contributed to the DEX self-report total rating score. A non-significant finding was similarly found when the dependent variable was specified as the DEX informant report total score.
Discussion {#Sec22}
==========
The aims of the present study were to investigate the pattern of performance of adults with ASD across a range of cognitive tests of executive function and a questionnaire measure of everyday dysexecutive symptoms and to compare these to age and IQ matched controls and remove the potential confound of co-occurring ADHD. We were interested to understand the pattern of performance in autistic individuals without ADHD given the potential impact of this on EF. We hypothesised that autistic adults would show a slow performance style across timed measures. Finally, we hypothesised that a high level of impairment on cognitive tasks of EF would be accompanied by self- and informant-reports of dysexecutive difficulties impacting upon everyday function.
Patterns of EF Performance in Adults with ASD {#Sec23}
---------------------------------------------
In relation to our broad research question, investigating the presence and pattern of EF performance, across multiple domains of EF measurement we found that adults with ASD had lower scores relative to matched controls across measures of planning (Zoo Map, Key Search), generativity (Hayling test, verbal fluency) and flexibility (Brixton). A significantly greater proportion of the ASD group than controls had scores in the 'clinically abnormal' range on a measure of generativity (35% impaired) and a measure of response initiation (24%). These measures require generation of a verbal response, with the former less scaffolded than the latter. Clinical impairment was widespread in the ASD group, 20--30% had clinically impaired scores on measures of planning, 20% on a measure of flexibility with fewer impaired on a measure of verbal inhibition (15%). The results of a factor analysis across all participants indicated a single factor underlying performance on the neuropsychological domains measured in this study and the ASD group differed significantly from the Control group on this factor.
### Hypothesis 1 {#FPar1}
The ASD group will have significantly slower processing speed on cognitive tasks, as measured by the time taken to complete tasks.
In support of hypothesis 1, adults with ASD took significantly longer to complete EF tasks. Since both groups were matched for IQ and age this slow performance style appears to be consistent with previous reports (e.g. Johnston et al. [@CR24]; Hill and Bird [@CR21]) noting a slow and accurate response style amongst individuals with ASD.
### Hypothesis 2 {#FPar2}
There will be a significant association between cognitive and behavioural measures of EF.
Individuals with ASD reported high levels of dysexecutive difficulties on the DEX questionnaire. However, scores on the behavioural measure of dysexecutive syndrome did not bear close relation to performance on tests of executive function, speed of task performance or to measures of ASD symptoms and thus our hypothesis was not supported.
It is important to note that one-third of the group with ASD were not in the clinically impaired range on any of the EF tasks which is at odds with other similar studies (e.g. Hill and Bird [@CR21]). This may reflect differences in the way that clinical impairment was calculated in our study (using normative data from test manuals) and a larger sample size. The exclusion of participants with co-occurring ADHD may also be relevant to this finding, particularly the relatively low rates of impairment on a test of inhibition.
In order to exclude the possibility that these results are explained by a small number of individuals performing poorly on EF tasks we examined the number of individuals who had scores in the clinical impairment range across 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 EF measures. Results showed that whilst none of the control sample were impaired on more than one measure, a third of participants with ASD were impaired at two or more tests. Interestingly very few individuals with ASD were impaired across all measures suggesting variance within executive functioning as might be expected given such a heterogeneous range of tasks assessed and the variability within the autism spectrum. This is consistent with the results of a recent meta-analysis (Demetriou et al. [@CR12]) where combining findings from a wide range of studies highlighted a broad spectrum of EF impairment in ASD.
Consistent with our hypothesis that adults with ASD would show slow task completion is the finding that the most common EF impairment in the ASD group was on a task of verbal fluency (FAS) which is considered a measure of processing speed as well as a measure of generativity (Spek et al. [@CR40]). Score attainment on this verbal fluency task is time-sensitive. There was also a significant difference between groups on the time taken to complete the Zoo Map 2 task. We calculated an overall timing score on the basis of timed, open-ended tasks i.e. where time taken did not influence performance scores. Taken together, these findings suggest that on both open-ended and time-constrained neuropsychological measures, the ASD group were significantly slower. Our 'Time' variable was significantly negatively associated with the overall 'EF' factor, suggesting that slow and effortful processing was not supportive of more accurate task performance.
In relation to dysexecutive difficulties, informants rated these as being somewhat higher than the individuals themselves in the ASD group. This is consistent with normative data for the measure. However the converse discrepancy between self- and informant-ratings was present in the Control group and thus it is hard to draw conclusions. Self- and informant-rated scores in the ASD group on the behavioural measure of dysexecutive difficulties were very similar to those reported by individuals with acquired brain injury. In the brain injury literature, performance on more traditional tests of neuropsychological function have not always been found to align with functional difficulties (Shallice and Burgess [@CR38], [@CR39]). We used more ecologically valid measures of EF in the present study to try and overcome this methodological issue. Previous studies with children have shown a strong association between the BRIEF and core ASD symptoms (Gilotty et al. [@CR17]) and also failed to find an association between everyday executive function and ASD symptoms in children (van den Bergh et al. [@CR44]). Our findings are consistent with those of Wilson et al. ([@CR52]) who reported a similar lack of association between impaired performance on cognitive assessments of EF and ASD symptoms in adults. Curiously, the timing variable while relevant to EF task performance did not account for variance in dysexecutive behaviour scores. Furthermore, our findings do not appear to reflect a lack of 'insight' into dysexecutive problems on the part of autistic adults as the informant-rated DEX scores also showed no association with ASD symptoms. Further investigation of the items on the DEX questionnaire is warranted to elicit a greater understanding of the phenomenology and potential underpinnings of high scores by adults with ASD. Although not directly related to ASD symptoms as measured in this study, the items potentially are not related to neurocognitive indices either. Whilst these are clinically interesting findings, an important caveat is the large amount of missing data for the DEX this is in part due to administrative processes rather than issues related to participants. These findings should therefore be interpreted with caution as this is not necessarily a representative sample of adults with ASD.
Our findings showed that individuals in the ASD group were impaired across measures with both implicit and explicit expectations. For instance, 20% of our sample fell in the clinical abnormality range on the Brixton task which has clear instructions that are much more explicit than other measures of cognitive flexibility such as the widely used Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Similarly, the Zoo Map test is considered a more 'constrained' measure of planning and is less often impaired in individuals with ASD (White [@CR49]), but our findings indicated that it was on this test that the ASD group showed the second highest level of impairment. On Zoo Map 2 which is a more structured task, participants with ASD made relatively more errors and performed more slowly than control participants although these differences did not reach significance. Interestingly the more open-ended task (Key Search) was the only one where participants with ASD did not show statistically significantly different rates of clinical abnormality as compared to age and IQ matched controls.
Limitations of the Current Study {#Sec24}
--------------------------------
The findings of the present study and conclusions that can be drawn are limited by the relatively narrow and blunt measure of executive functions utilised in our clinical sample. We used well validated and standardised clinical neuropsychological measures of executive function to investigate our hypotheses. Although this brings advantages in respect of ecological validity, the complex and inter-related nature of executive processes means precise conclusions relating to cognitive models of EF cannot be drawn from these broad measures. Moreover, the clinic diagnostic algorithm meant ADI-R and ADOS scores were not available for all participants uniformly, and these analyses are limited in this respect. Relatedly, the use of older assessment tools (ADOS-G and WAIS-III) in the current study reflects the length of time over which this data was collected. Studies comparing these tools with their current counterparts have generally shown high rates of agreement (e.g. correlation coefficients ranging from .83 to .94 for WAIS-III and WAIS-IV; Wechsler [@CR48]) or there have been no significant changes (e.g. ADOS-G to ADOS-2, module 4) meaning that the current findings are relevant to current criteria/practice. Forthcoming changes to the classification of autism in the ICD-11 will be relevant in understanding the nature and pattern of both executive functioning and everyday living skills in autism given the discontinuity in diagnostic criteria. It is suggested that a significant proportion of individuals who currently meet diagnostic thresholds will no longer do so under ICD-11 (or DSM-5) criteria (e.g. Doernberg and Hollander [@CR14]; Wilson et al. [@CR51]). This raises important issues about the generalisability of existing research in this area and access to clinical/educational services.
Future Research and Conclusions {#Sec25}
-------------------------------
The results of the current study do bring some clarity to the literature on EF function in ASD. In studying adults without intellectual disability and with robust diagnostic assessment of both ASD and relevant co-morbidity, particularly excluding ADHD, important and relevant issues are highlighted for people with ASD and clinicians. Individuals with ASD reported high levels of dysexecutive symptoms that were functionally impairing in everyday life across behavioural, cognitive and emotional domains. A considerable proportion of the adults with ASD in this study were impaired across one or more neuropsychological measures of executive function. Generativity and response initiation were most affected in respect of clinical impairment. These data present preliminary evidence that performance on EF measures appears to reflect a single underlying construct. Functional and neurocognitive indices of EF impairment were independent of ASD symptoms and of each other. These findings suggest that EF is an additional important co-occurring condition to consider in ASD. Of equal importance is the finding that one-third of adults were not in the impaired range on any of the neurocognitive measures. Future research seeking to more precisely understand the nature of EF in ASD should seek to delineate assessment paradigms further by reducing the influences of processing speed, theory of mind ability and implicit task demands on task performance. It would also be useful to explore differences in executive functioning between adults with both ASD and ADHD, ASD only and controls to further understand the pattern of EF strengths and difficulties and the relative contribution made by each neurodevelopmental condition. Future investigation into the nature of everyday 'dysexecutive' behaviours is warranted. At a clinical level, it would seem beneficial to ensure that EF assessment is multi-method and that impairments are conceptualised as (a) potentially significant in the formulation of clinical problems and (b) important to scaffold when modifying psychosocial interventions to meet the needs of autistic people.
**Publisher\'s Note**
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
KJ, AR and KM conceived and designed the study. Material preparation, data analysis and collection were performed by KM, DS and KJ. IW led on the statistical analysis and KJ led on drafting the manuscript. All authors commented on previous versions and approved the final manuscript.
All Authors declare no conflict of interest.
All procedures performed in this study which involved human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study had ethical approval from the local ethics committee. Participants were provided with information about the study, given the opportunity to have any questions they had about the study answered, were asked to provide written consent to participate if they agreed and to indicate that they understood their participation was voluntary, and they could withdraw from the study at any time.
| 2023-09-10T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9774 |
Introduction
============
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [@B1], causing for over 600,000 deaths annually [@B2]. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the dominant form of primary liver cancer, accounting for more than 90% of all liver cancer cases [@B3]. The early screening of cancer in China can improve the diagnosis and prognosis, but many patients were already in advanced stages on diagnosis because they have PVTT (the incidence is approximately 10-40%) [@B4]. The prognoses of patients with liver cancer in the presence of PVTT is much poorer due to the comprehensive factors, such as impaired liver function, larger tumor load, reduced intolerance to anti-neoplastic therapy and complications related to portal hypertension, compared to patients without PVTT. It is reported that the overall survival rates have ranged from only 2 to 4 months after palliative care [@B5]. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the mechanism of PVTT formation in liver cancer is helpful to improve the survival.
In recent years, tumor microenvironment (TME) has gained enormous attention. The TME is composed of cancer cells, combined with stromal cells and bioactive molecules they secrete. The hepatic stromal cells include vascular endothelial cells, sinusoidal endothelial cells, stellate cells, adipose cells, liver progenitor cells, immune inflammatory cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts. The crosstalk between liver cancer cells and immune inflammatory cells as well as cancer-associated fibroblasts significantly influences tumor growth and metastasis [@B6]-[@B9]. It has also been documented that higher levels of activated hepatic stellate cells are associated to the increased portal vein invasion by up-regulation of integrins/FAK signaling pathway and MMP levels [@B10]. Cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor associated macrophages and endothelial cells are the main drivers of the ECM remodeling by secretion of a variety of enzymes. Besides, vascular endothelial cells are involved in the induction of EMT in various tumor types [@B11]. During the process of the classical EMT, the epithelial markers including E-cadherin are decreased, but that of mesenchymal markers including N-cadherin are increased. EMT plays a critical role in the tumor progression via enhancing the motile and invasive activities and is significantly concerned with the generation of cancer stem-like cell population. Thus, we speculate that liver cancer cells enter into blood vascular systems following PVTT formation which is closely related to portal vein endothelial cells. However, the exact mechanism is elusive.
We used conditioned medium (CM) of HUVEC to culture liver cancer cells and prostate cancer cells in an attempt to disclose the role and mechanism of tumor-associated vascular endothelial cells in the PVTT formation in liver cancer.
Materials and Methods
=====================
Cell culture
------------
The human prostate cancer cell DU-145 was a generous gift from Dr. Hong, Chen (Zhejiang University, China). HUVEC cell lines and Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines MHCC-LM3, MHCC-97L, Bel-7402 were purchased from Shanghai Cell Bank, Chinese Academy of Sciences. HUVEC cells were maintained in RPMI-1640 (Gibco) containing 10% FBS (fetal bovine serum) (Sigma-Aldrich) and incubated at 37°C in a 5% CO~2~ water-saturated environment. Conditioned medium of HUVEC cells (HUVEC-CM) was collected as previously described [@B12]. RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% FBS severed as the control medium. MHCC-LM3, MHCC-97L, Bel-7402 and DU-145 cells were respectively incubated in the HUVEC-CM for 21 days (n=3). MHCC-LM3 and MHCC-97L were subcultured once a week at a ratio of 1:2. Bel-7402, DU-145 and HUVEC were subcultured once a week at a ratio of 1:3 or 1:5.
Transwell migration and invasion experiment
-------------------------------------------
After 21 days MHCC-LM3, MHCC-97L, Bel-7402 and DU-145 were cultured in HUVEC-CM, the migration and invasion assays were performed using Transwell chambers with 8µm pore filters (Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA) as we previously described [@B12].
Western blot analysis
---------------------
Experimental cancer cells (after culturing in HUVEC-CM for 21 days) and respective control cells were lysed on ice in a lysis buffer (RIPA, Beyotime, Shanghai, China) with a protease inhibitor mixture cocktail (Roche, Switzerland). Western-blot analysis was performed by established protocols [@B12]. Anti-α-catenin, anti-E-cadherin, anti-ZEB-1, ZEB-2, Snail, Slug, anti-ZO-1 and anti-Laminin A1 primary antibodies were purchased from (Abcam); anti-MMP-1, -2, -3, -11, -12, -13, -17 and -21, anti- ITGA6, B1, B3, B4, B7, anti-FAK, P-FAK-Y397, anti-Src, P-Src-Y418, P-Src-Y529, anti-fibronectin, anti-Laminin B3, anti-Wnt-2, anti-Wnt-5B, anti-Wnt-16, anti-TGF-β, anti-β-catenin and anti-N-cadherin primary antibodies were purchased from (Epitomics); anti-Cdc-2, P-Cdc-2-Tyr15, CDK4, CDK6, Cyclin A, Cyclin D1, Cyclin D3, Cyclin E2, P15, P16, P21, P27, P53, Rb, P-Rb-S811, P-Rb-S780; anti-Bcl-xl, Bad, P-Bad-Ser112, Bak, Mcl-1, Puma and anti-β-actin were from (Cell Signaling Technology).
Confocal immunofluorescent analysis and cytoskeletal staining
-------------------------------------------------------------
Confocal immunofluorescent analysis and cytoskeletal staining were performed and analyzed as previous report [@B12], [@B13]. Anti-vimentin and anti-γ-catenin primary antibodies were purchased from (Abcam); anti-Ezrin, anti-paxillin, anti-vitronectin and anti-P120 catenin primary antibodies were purchased from (Epitomics). Filamentous actin was stained with rhodamine-conjugated phalloidin (Sigma-Aldrich) in 1% bovine serum albumin in PBS for 30 minutes at 37°C.
Cell-cycle analysis and cell apoptosis analysis
-----------------------------------------------
Cell-cycle analysis and cell apoptosis were conducted as previously described [@B12].
Si-RNA based ITGB4 and ITGB7 knockdown
--------------------------------------
Si-RNAs directed against human ITGB4 and ITGB7 were purchased from Shanghai GenePharma. The siRNA sequences are shown as follow, Si-NC: Sense 5\'-UUCUCCGAACGUGUCACGUTT-3\', Anti-sense 5\'-ACGUGACACGUUCGGAGAATT-3\'; Si-ITGB4-4204: Sense 5\'-GGUCACCUCCAAGAUGUUCTT-3\'; Anti-sense 3\'-GAACAUCUUGGAGGUGACCTT-5\'; Si-ITGB4-5690: Sense 5\'-GGACUGGGUCCUUUCACAUTT-3\'; Anti-sense 3\'-AUGUGAAAGGACCCAGUCCTT-5\'; Si-ITGB7-5402: Sense 5\'-GCUGAGUAAACUGAUUCCUAATT-3\'; Anti-sense 3\'-UUAGGAAUCAGUUUACUCAGCTT-5\'; Si-ITGB7-5404: Sense 5\'-ACCACCAUCAAUCCUCGCUUUTT-3\'; Anti-sense 3\'-AAAGCGAGGAUUGAUGGUGGUTT-5\'. Transfection of the siRNA in Bel-7402 cells was conducted with Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) following the manufacturer\'s instructions.
CO-IP experiment
----------------
Cells (MHCC-LM3 and Bel-7402) were lysed on ice in a lysis buffer (NP-40, Beyotime, Shanghai, China) with a protease inhibitor PMSF (Beyotime, Shanghai, China). After cell full lysis, 14 000 g centrifugation for 5 minutes. Take 300 ml protein sample and add 40 microliters Protein A+G Agarose. Slowly shake for 2 hours at 4°C. 1000g centrifugation for 5 minutes, extraction of supernatant for subsequent immunoprecipitation. Addition of 2 micrograms of the primary antibody for immunoprecipitation. Slowly shake overnight at 4°C. Then, add 40 microliters Protein A+G Agarose. Slowly shake for 3 hours at 4°C. 1000g centrifugation for 5 minutes. Carefully removed the supernatant. Then washed five times using PBS. Subsequent Western-blot analysis was then performed.
Animal studies
--------------
Animal studies were conducted according to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and with the approval of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Tumor xenografts were generated by injection of 2 × 10^6^ experimental liver cancer cells (Bel-7402 and MHCC-97L cultured in HUVEC-CM cells for 21 days) and 2 × 10^6^ respective control cells into the subcutaneous tissue of the axillary region of nude mices, and mices were dissected 4 wk later (n = 5 mice/group). Tumor volume was calculated with the following formula: volume = π/6 × length × width2.
Statistical analysis
--------------------
Independent Student *t* test was used to analyze the differences between 2 groups. Statistical significance was accepted if *P* \< 0.05. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 16.0 software (SPSS).
Results
=======
Cell morphology and capability of migration and invasion
--------------------------------------------------------
After culturing in HUVEC-CM for 21 days, liver cancer cells became obviously elongated. But, there was no significant change in cell morphology of prostate cancer cell DU-145 (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). The cell motility and invasiveness potentials of MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) were significantly augmented compared with control (*P*\<0.05, Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). However, the cell motility of MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) and DU-145-(HUVEC-CM) were not enhanced (*P\>*0.05, Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}).
Expression of MMPs, EMT-related proteins, integrins/FAK/Src and laminins
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out the mechanism of enhanced invasion and migration of MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), the expression profiles of epithelial markers E-cadherin, α-catenin and ZO-1; mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and β-catenin; EMT-related transcription factors Snail, Slug, ZEB-1, and ZEB-2; MMP-1, -2, -3, -11, -12, -13, -17, -21; integrins (ITGA6, B1, B3, B4, B7), FAK, P-FAK-Y397, Src and Laminin A1 and B3 were evaluated by Western-blot analysis (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). MMP-3, ITGB3, ITGB7, FAK, P-FAK-Y397 and Src were increased obviously in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control (Bel-7402). MMP-1, -2, -11, -12, -13, -17 and -21, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, α-catenin, β-catenin, ZO-1, Snail, Slug, ZEB-2, Laminin A1 and B3, ITGA6, B1 and B4 remained unchanged in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control. Whereas, EMT-related transcription factor ZEB-1 was reduced. MMP-1, -2, -3, -17, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Snail, Slug, ZEB-2, FAK, P-FAK-Y397, Src, Laminin B3, ITGA6, B1, B3 and B4 were increased obviously in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control (MHCC-LM3). ITGB7 was increased moderately. MMP-12, 13 and -21, α-catenin, β-catenin, ZO-1 and Laminin A1 remained unchanged in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control. Whereas, EMT-related transcription factor ZEB-1 and MMP-11 were reduced. MMP-1,-17, ITGB1, B3 and B7 were increased in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control (MHCC-97L). MMP-2, -3, -11, -12,-13, -21, E-cadherin, ZO-1, N-cadherin, α-catenin, β-catenin, FAK, P-FAK-Y397, Laminin A1 and B3, ITGA6 and B4 remained unchanged in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) compared with the control. On the other hand, the expressions of Snail, Slug, ZEB-1, ZEB-2 and Src were reduced. The above mentioned proteins were unchanged in DU-145-(HUVEC-CM) compared to control, except with reduction of MMP-3 and MMP-11 obviously. Collectively, these data indicate that MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) increase in cell motility through elevated expression of MMPs (especially MMP-3), integrins/FAK signaling pathway (The ratio discrepancy was listed in Additional files 1, 2, 3: [Figure S1](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}-3).
Immunofluorescence results of epithelial and mesenchymal markers, cell motility-associated adhesion molecules and F-actin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To further determine the mechanisms of enhanced cell invasion and migration in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), immunofluorescence analysis was performed. The expressions of α-catenin and P120-catenin on cell membrane were significantly reduced in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) relative to the control (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The connection of β-catenin and E-cadherin on cell membrane tends to be unstable. Vimentin and N-cadherin were increased dramatically. ITGB7 and vitronectin tends to cluster inside of cells. However, γ-catenin, ITGB4, Ezrin and paxillin were unchanged. The expression of α-catenin on cell membrane were significantly reduced in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) relative to the control (Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). The connection of β-catenin on cell membrane tends to be unstable, too. Vimentin and ITGB7 were increased dramatically and ITGB7 tends to cluster inside of cells. However, γ-catenin, P120-catenin, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, ITGB4, Ezrin, paxillin and Vitronectin were unchanged. We did not find such significant changes, as mentioned above, in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) compared to controls (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, filamenttous actin (F-actin), which is essential for cell motility, was increased in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), while with no obvious change in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) compared to controls (Figure [7](#F7){ref-type="fig"}). The results suggest that Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) and MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) were induced to undergo non-classical EMT via redistribution of E-cadherin/catenin complex and up-regulation of vimentin and N-cadherin. The results also verified that integrins may play an indispensable role in the enhanced motility of liver cancer cells (The fluorescence intensity comparison was showed in Additional files 4, 5: [Fig. S4](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}, 5).
Effect of HUVEC-CM on cell viability
------------------------------------
To explore the effect HUVEC-CM on cancer cell growth, we used flow cytometry to investigate the change of cell cycle progression and apoptosis. We found that HUVEC-CM caused a decrease of cell population in G1- and S-phase, along with an increase of G2/M cells. HUVEC-CM caused an accumulation of cell population in G1 phase of MHCC-LM3, MHCC 97L and DU145, along with a concomitant decrease of cell population in S-phase (Figure [8](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). HUVEC-CM promotes apoptosis of Bel-7402 and MHCC97L (Figure [9](#F9){ref-type="fig"}).
To have a better understanding of the effect of HUVEC-CM on cell cycle process, we detected the expression of cell cycle-related proteins (Figure [10](#F10){ref-type="fig"}). Cdc-2, which permits the entry of cells from G2 phase into M phase, was decreased in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), but Tyr15-phosphorylated Cdc-2 (results in Cdc-2 inhibition), was increased. CDK-4 which are essential for the transition from G1 to S phase, were reduced in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. CDK-6 was unchanged. Cyclin A (S phase protein), B1 (G2/M phase protein), D3 and E2 (G1 phase protein) was unchanged. Cyclin D1 (G1 phase protein) was increased. P15, P21, P27 and P53, which inhibit cells in G1 phase from entering S phase, remained unchanged in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. However, P16 was down-regulated. Rb which promotes G1-S phase progression, was increased. Phosphorylated Rb (P-Rb-S811 and P-Rb-S780) was unchanged. Cdc-2 was decreased in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), but Tyr15-phosphorylated Cdc-2, was unchanged, compared to control. CDK-4 and CDK-6 were reduced. Cyclin A, B1, D1, D3 and E2 were decreased. P15 and P53 remained unchanged. P16 and P21 were down-regulated. However, P27 was up-regulated. Rb and P-Rb-S811 were unchanged. P-Rb-S780 was increased. Cdc-2 was decreased in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM), but Tyr15-phosphorylated Cdc-2 was unchanged compared to the control. CDK-4 was decreased. CDK-6 remained unchanged. Cyclin A, B1, D1 and E2 were decreased in varying content. Cyclin D3 was unchanged. P15 and P53 remained unchanged. P16, P21 and P27 were down-regulated. Rb and P-Rb-S811 were unchanged. P-Rb-S780 was decreased. Interestingly, we only found Cyclin D1 and p21 were decreased in DU-145-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. We need to further explore the mechanism of HUVEC affecting the cell cycle transition of cancer cells.
The expression profiles of apoptosis-associated proteins were also evaluated (Figure [10](#F10){ref-type="fig"}). The pro-apoptotic Bad gene was decreased in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control, but phosphorylated Bad (P-Bad-Ser112), which inhibited the apoptotic activity of Bad, was increased. Pro-apoptotic gene Puma was unchanged. Anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 gene was reduced. Anti-apoptotic genes Bak and Bcl-xl were unchanged. Bad, P-Bad-Ser112 and Mcl-1 were increased in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. Puma, Bak and Bcl-xl were unchanged. Bad was decreased in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. However, Mcl-1 was increased. P-Bad-Ser112, Puma and Bcl-xl were unchanged. Bak was increased. Bad and P-Bad-Ser112 was down-regulated in DU-145-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. Puma, Mcl-1, Bak and Bcl-xl were unchanged. We need to further explore the specific mechanism of apoptosis of tumor cells induced by HUVEC-CM. (The ratio discrepancy was listed in Additional files 6, 7: [Figure S6](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}, 7).
Effect of HUVEC-CM on tumorigenicity
------------------------------------
To determine the role of HUVEC in tumor development, we conducted nude mouse tumorigenicity experiments (Figure [11](#F11){ref-type="fig"}). Tumor xenograft studies revealed that HUVEC had no obvious effect on the tumorigenic ability of Bel-7402 and MHCC-97L.
The role of ITGB4 and ITGB7 in liver cancer cells
-------------------------------------------------
To determine the exact role of ITGB4 and ITGB7 in development of liver cancer, we used Si-ITGB4-4204 and Si-ITGB4-5690 to knockdown ITGB4, and Si-ITGB7-5402 and Si-ITGB7-5404 to knockdown ITGB7 gene in Bel-7402. The expression of Wnt-2, Wnt-5B, Wnt-16, α-catenin, β-catenin and P-Src-Y529 (inactivate Src) were unchanged in Si-ITGB4-4204, Si-ITGB4-5690, Si-ITGB7-5402 and Si-ITGB7-5404, compared to Si-NC. TGF-β was decreased slightly in Si-ITGB4-4204. The expression of FAK and P-FAK-Y397 (which is correlated to the activation of FAK), were increased slightly in Si-ITGB4-5690, Si-ITGB7-5402 and Si-ITGB7-5404, compared to Si-NC. Src and P-Src-Y418 (activate Src) was down-regulated in Si-ITGB4-5690, compared to control. Interestingly, we found that knockdown of ITGB7 also reduces the expression of ITGB4 (Figure [12](#F12){ref-type="fig"}). The ratio discrepancy was listed in additional file 8: [Fig S8](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Transwell assay results showed that Si-ITGB4-4204 weakened liver cancer cells motility significantly, but Si-ITGB7-5404 enhanced liver cancer cells motility evidently (Figure [13](#F13){ref-type="fig"}, 14). Immunofluorescence results showed that knockdown of ITGB4 and ITGB7 can up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin/catenin complex on membrane of liver cancer cells (Figure [15](#F15){ref-type="fig"}). The fluorescence intensity comparison was showed in additional file 9: [Fig. S9](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. CO-IP results verified that ITGB1, B4 and B7 can bind with β-actin, β-catenin, VEGF, fibronectin and E-cadherin (Figure [16](#F16){ref-type="fig"}).
Discussion
==========
Liver cancer with PVTT is intractable and lethal. Although there are a variety of treatments, including molecular targeted therapy, liver resection, trans-arterial chemoembolization, radiotherapy, hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy or systemic chemotherapy, radiofrequency ablation and combination therapy, the overall survival rate remains unsatisfactory [@B14]. Deeply understanding the biological behavior of liver cancer cells that are prone to invade blood vessels is the key to breakthrough in treatment.
The reciprocal crosstalk between "abnormal" cells and the surrounding microenvironment is a vicious circle leading to tumorigenesis and progress. Nevertheless, the TME is extremely complex and dynamically variable. The further development of tumors seems to be due to the dynamic variability of TME and it makes the treatment of cancer more complex and difficult. Tumor associated vascular endothelial cells is a main component of TME. Basically, proliferation of cancer cells requires blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrition. Into the bargain, long-distance metastasis of tumors requires a passage like blood vessels and circulating tumor cells are the fundamental cause of cancer\'s unkilling and rebirth. In fact, it is evidenced that tumor-derived vascular endothelial cells are different from tumor associated vascular endothelial cells [@B15]. But, apart from the difference between tumor-derived vascular endothelial cells and tumor associated vascular endothelial cells, we cannot ignore the role of tumor-associated vascular endothelial cells in tumors.
During our research, we found that HUVEC-CM caused long spindle-shaped changes in liver cancer cells obviously and enhanced the invasion and migration ability of Bel-7402 and MHCC-LM3. However, HUVEC-CM did not enhance the invasion and migration ability of MHCC-97L and DU-145. We thought it is due to up-regulation of MMP-3, by activation of integrins/FAK signaling pathway, and by inducing non-classical EMT. Western-blot results showed that MMP-1, -2, -3, -17 were up-regulated in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. MMP-3 was up-regulated in Bel-7402-HUVEC-CM, compared to control. It also showed that ITGA6, Β1, B3, B4 and B7 were increased in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. Western-blot results showed that ITGB3 and B7 were increased in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. Immunofluorescence test showed that ITGB7 was increased in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. It has been documented that activated integrin-FAK-Src functions to promote cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, cell migration and invasion [@B16]. Western-blot results showed that FAK and Src were both increased in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) compared to controls. This is an important result, because the expression of these two proteins has not increased in MHCC-97L-(HUVEC-CM) and DU-145-(HUVEC-CM), which can explain why the invasion and migration ability has not increased. Classical EMT decreases the expression of e-cadherin, which is the increase of N-cadherin and β-catenin expression. Western-blot and immunofluorescence test did not show that β-catenin was increased obviously in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) compared to controls. Western-blot and immunofluorescence test showed that N-cadherin was up-regulated in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. However, western-blot results also showed E-cadherin was up-regulated in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. Western-blot and immunofluorescence test did not show that N-cadherin was up-regulated or E-cadherin was down-regulated in Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM) compared to control. Nevertheless, we found that the membrane expression of α-catenin and P-120 catenin was down-regulated in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM), compared to control. The membrane expression of α-catenin in Bel-7402-HUVEC-CM was also down-regulated, compared to control. In contrast, vimentin was up-regulated obviously in MHCC-LM3-(HUVEC-CM) and Bel-7402-(HUVEC-CM), compared to controls. Immunofluorescence test did not find such results in MHCC-97L. Thus, we confirmed that HUVEC-CM induced Bel-7402 and MHCC-LM3 to undergo non-classical EMT. Of course, we need to further explore how the vascular endothelial cells promote the tumor cells to "roll" in a designated route.
Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane glycoproteins composed of α- and β-subunits forming 24 heterodimers. Different integrins are involved in different cellular processes, such as cell attachment to ECM and cell motility [@B17], [@B18]. In this paper, we used siRNA technology to knockdown ITGB4 and B7 to reveal their role in liver cancer. We found that ITGB4 and B7 affect the motility of liver cancer cells. Si-ITGB4-4204 weakened liver cancer cells motility significantly, but Si-ITGB7-5404 enhanced liver cancer cells motility evidently. Surprisingly, it seems like that the more obvious the silencing of ITGB4 is, the less the migration and motility of cancer cells will be impaired, and the more obvious the silencing of ITGB7 is, the stronger the migration and movement ability of cancer cells is. What\'s more, the expression of FAK-Src pathway was not be inhibited obviously. Interestingly, we found that silencing ITGB7 also reduces the expression of ITGB4. Immunofluorescence test showed that silencing ITGB4 and ITGB7 can increase the membrane expression of α-cateninin, β-catenin and E-cadherin in liver cancer cells to some extent. CO-IP results also showed that ITGB1, ITGB4 and ITGB7 can bind to β-actin, β-catenin, VEGF, fibronectin and E-cadherin. We need to further explore the role of integrins in the occurrence and development of liver cancer. This result also gives us an inspiration that the therapeutic effect of antineoplastic drugs seems to depend on a balanced state, like gene silencing, silence is part of it, but it shouldn\'t be completely silent.
Vascular endothelial cells affect the tumor-specific cell cycle and apoptotic process. However, the nude mouse tumorigenic experiment did not find that the HUVEC-CM enhanced the tumorigenic ability of liver cancer cells. Existing cell cycle-related proteins and the Bcl-2 gene family cannot explain our cell cycle and apoptosis experimental results very well. Specific molecular mechanisms need to be further explored.
To conclude, HUVEC influences multiple pathways regulating invasion, migration, proliferation, and apoptosis in liver cancer. Anti-tumor angiogenesis molecular targeted therapy may require additional targets for oncogenic integrins.
Supplementary Material {#SM0}
======================
######
Supplementary figures.
######
Click here for additional data file.
This study was supported by the project of Zhejiang Medical and Health Science Research Fund Program (NO. 2010KYB047). Thanks Dr. Xinhua, Chen for revising the paper.
{#F1}
{#F2}
{#F3}
{#F4}
{#F5}
{#F6}
{#F7}
{#F8}
{#F9}
{#F10}
{#F11}
{#F12}
{#F13}
{#F14}
{#F15}
{#F16}
[^1]: \*Equal contributors
[^2]: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.
| 2023-12-30T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6261 |
---
abstract: 'We prove scattering for a massless wave equation which is critical in two space dimensions. Our method combines conformal inversion with decay estimates from Struwe’s previous work on global existence of a similar equation.'
address: 'Department of Mathematics, ETH Zürich, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland'
author:
- Martin Sack
bibliography:
- 'scattering.bib'
date: '4 June, 2013'
title: Scattering for a massless critical nonlinear wave equation in 2 space dimensions
---
Introduction
============
Scattering for small data {#sec:smalldata}
=========================
Scattering for large data {#sec:largedata}
=========================
Conformal inversion
-------------------
Energy-Flux relation in conformal coordinates
---------------------------------------------
Pointwise estimates for the average on the mantle
-------------------------------------------------
Decay of energy
---------------
Bound inside a hyperboloid
--------------------------
The case of radial data
-----------------------
| 2024-02-20T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2484 |
name: DataRobot
url: http://www.datarobot.com/ | 2024-04-22T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8262 |
Nammatj hill on the left and Skierfe mountain on the right, the famous Rapa river delta, Sarek National Park, Laponia UNESCO World Heritage Site, Greater Laponia rewilding area, Lapland, Norrbotten, Sweden | 2023-10-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1412 |
Q:
Print lines number 2, 4, 8, 16... using awk
I am trying to print every 2,4,8,16 and so on lines of a file with many rows and many columns.
This is what I tried:
awk 'BEGIN {N = 2}
{
{if (NR == N) {print; }}
N = N*2
}' infile > outfile
However, nothing is being written to the outfile.
What am I missing?
Here are the contents of a sample infile:
1 10
2 20
3 30
4 40
5 50
6 60
7 70
8 80
9 90
10 100
The expected output is
2 20
4 40
8 80
A file called outfile is created but with nothing in it.
A:
You're doubling your N for every record, but you only print something if N equals NR – which is never:
Line Value of N
1 2
2 4
3 8
...
To fix it, you have to move the doubling of N so it only happens when NR == N is true:
awk -v n=2 'NR == n { print; n *= 2 }'
I've moved assigning the initial value outside of the program, used a lowercase n because of personal preference, and cleaned up the inside of the program: if the condition NR == n is true, then print the record and double n.
Running on the sample input:
$ awk -v n=2 'NR==n {print; n *= 2}' infile
2 20
4 40
8 80
| 2023-11-06T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4297 |
A high-throughput screening (HTS) immunochemical method for the analysis of stanozolol metabolites in cattle urine samples.
A high-throughput immunosorbent solid-phase extraction (HTS-IS-SPE) procedure coupled to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been established for the analysis of stanozolol (St) and its main metabolite in cattle, 16beta-hydroxy-stanozolol (16betaOH-St), in cow urine samples. The chemical structure of the immunizing hapten 2'H-androst-2-eno[3,2-c]-pyrazol-17-hemiglutarate 5 (hapten A) has been designed to accomplish simultaneous detection of St and 16betaOH-St. The antibodies obtained have been used to establish a microplate ELISA method able to detect these metabolites with IC(50) values of 0.57microgL(-1) and 1.46microgL(-1), respectively in PBST. Immunosorbents prepared by covalently attaching the antibodies to Sepharose, efficiently removed the matrix interferences caused by the cattle urine samples. Moreover, St and 16betaOH-St were efficiently extracted from urine samples as demonstrated by LC-MS/MS analysis. The immunosorbents are filled on small mini-columns arranges on a 96-SPE-setup compatible with the microplate based ELISA methods. Samples and standards can be run in parallel which increment considerably the speed of the screening method. The recovery values of the whole HTS-IS-SPE-ELISA procedure has found to be 112+/-10% and St can be detected in hydrolyzed urine samples with LOD of 1.26+/-0.46microgL(-1) using just 1mL of sample. As proof-of-concept the urinary excretion profile of St treated animals has been investigated by analyzing individual sampling points. Results from pooled urine samples have also been compared with the results obtained by GC-MS analysis demonstrating the StIR equiv. measured with the HTS-IS-SPE-ELISA protocol are in accordance with the St and 16betaOH-St levels found with the chromatographic method. The analytical procedure is rapid, effective and the detectability achieved is below the MPRL (minimum performance required levels) recommended by CRL (Community Reference Laboratory) to the European Community. | 2024-07-09T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1282 |
481 F.2d 1401
*Heatonv.Hornsby
73-1012
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Fifth Circuit
July 13, 1973
1
M.D.Ala.
2
---------------
* Summary Calendar cases; Rule 18, 5 Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Co. of
| 2023-08-04T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3563 |
Drug effects: agonistic and antagonistic processes.
The research presented here has shown that tolerance to drugs can be accelerated by conditioning processes. Placebo effects may be considered the opposite of tolerance, and we have shown that placebo effects may be objectively recorded by physiological measures (electromyography, skin conductance responses, and event-related potentials), as well as by behavioral and subjective methods. The placebo response, or more precisely, the expectation of drug effects, can add to the effect of the drug. Drug antagonistic expectations can also reverse the effect of the drug. There is some evidence that placebo effects are strongest when expectations are reinforced by administration of an active drug. Expectations have graded effects and may affect symptoms to a smaller or larger degree. Although drug effects can be considered stimuli, the investigation of the role of classical conditioning in drug use and drug effects involves special issues that must be carefully considered. | 2023-08-13T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7864 |
Mehedi Haque Rony
Mehedi Haque Rony (born 31 December 1988) is a Bangladeshi Cinematographer. He also worked as Editor. As a Best Editor, he won the National Film Awards in 2015.
Early life
Rony was born on 31 December 1988 in Kawkhali Upazila of Pirojpur District. In 2010, he finished the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from a private university. While studying at the University, he offers short and long-term courses on film from several institutes of Bangladesh and India. He is currently the Publicity Secretary of the Bangladesh Cameraman Association and the full-time member of the Bangladesh Cinematographers Society.
Career
Rony joined the media station as a Video Editor in 2007. Then he worked as the editor of many organizations till 2010. Since 2010, he started cinematography as well as editing. Since 2011, he is still working on Cinematography. He achieved the Best Cinematography Nomination of the Charunirom Khahinichitro Award 2015 for the Telefilm Adarer Hrin. In the same year he achieved the National Film Award (Bangladesh) for Best Editor from Bapjaner Bioscope. Rony has been involved in editing work since 2006. In 2007, he joined a company named Media Station as a professional video editor. After that, he edited the TV dramas, music videos, TV commercials, documentaries, movies. His editing movie Ratan, Shahure Shob Gonga Foring, Bapjaner Bioscope, Talefilm Adharer Hrin, Hothat Dekha and many more are discussed and rewarded work.
Cinematographer
Rony has been working as a freelance Cinematographer since 2010. Till now, he has done more than five hundred TV Fiction as a Cinematographer. He has also worked as a documentary and several music videos and TV commercials.
Film
Bapjaner bioscope
Darpon Bishorjon
Omi o Ice Cream Wala
Raton
Bandhon
Abotar
Fiction
Adharer Hrin (Broadcast On RTV)
Jora Shalik (Broadcast On RTV)
Sentimental (Broadcast On RTV)
Ek Mutho Valobasha (Broadcast On NTV)
Porinoti (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Manush / Omanush (Broadcast On NTV)
Football (Broadcast On NTV)
Mrs. Cook (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Beginning from the End (broadcast on Channel 9 TV)
Sonar manush (broadcast on Channel I TV)
Vangon (broadcast on ATN Bangla TV)
Mama detective (broadcast on Deepto TV)
Anti-clock (broadcast on RTV)
Pacemaker (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Microphone (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Ghuddi (Broadcast On Boishakhi TV)
Ovinondon (Broadcast On Boishakhi TV)
Basonto Megh (Broadcast On Maasranga TV)
Sei Shob Din Gulo (Broadcast on Channel I TV)
Sei Rokom Cha Khor (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Issue (Broadcast on Channel I TV)
Blank Point (Broadcast on Channel I TV)
Test (Broadcast On Maasranga TV)
Raini Raain (Broadcast On Maasranga TV)
Aye Khuku Aye (Broadcast on Channel I TV)
Shopno Jatra (Broadcast On Maasranga TV)
Bashon (Broadcast in Bangladesh TV)
Tare Bina (Broadcast on NTV)
Golap Museum (Broadcast on Channel 9 TV)
Man V/S Wild (Broadcast on Channel 9 TV)
Kanamachi (Broadcast On Maasranga TV)
Tosh (Broadcast on Channel 9 TV)
Niyat Niyoti Nitantoi (Broadcast On Boishakhi TV)
Fashoin (Broadcast on Channel I TV)
Yrss Boss No Boss (Broadcast on N TV)
Bablu Vaiya (Broadcast On Banglavision TV)
Non Fiction
USAID / PRICE - Mango farming awareness video
Save the Children - Documentary on the ECB Project Summary
Practical Action Bangladesh - Documentary on V2R Project Impact
Care Bangladesh - Documentary Health initiative of RMG workers
IFIC Bank - Documentary on the impact of agricultural credit services
Gram Bikas Kendra - Documentary of Dalit community
RDRS Bangladesh - Documentary of the Dialogue Project for Regional Empowerment
BRAC - Female sexual harassment documentary
Islamic Relief Bangladesh - Flood Forecasting and Alert Center Documentary
Islamic Relief Bangladesh - IRB Aila Report Documentary in Satkhira
Awards
National Film Awards (Bangladesh), (2015)
Choruniram Television Kahinichitro Award, 2015
References
External links
Category:1988 births
Category:Living people
Category:Recipients of the National Film Awards (Bangladesh)
Category:Bangladeshi cinematographers
Category:People from Pirojpur District | 2024-02-28T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1175 |
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Anchor Bay Home Entertainment has announced this Michael Douglas film
Further Details:
Anchor Bay Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray ($39.99) releases of Solitary Man for September 7th. Extras will include audio commentary with Writer/Director Brian Koppelman, Director David Levien and Actor Douglas McGrath, a Solitary Man: Alone in a Crowd Behind the Scenes featurette, and the theatrical trailer. We've attached the official artwork below:
Synopsis
Quote: Michael Douglas, as Ben Kalmen, leads a brilliant all-star cast with his "triumphant performance" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) in this smart and sophisticated comedy. Ben had a thriving career, a beautiful family, and a luxury apartment in the heart of Manhattan, but the same irresistible charm that got him to the top is also the cause of his downfall. He desperately attempts to regain his status the only way he knows how: through a woman. But when his wandering eye turns to the wrong woman, he looks to his family, and long time friend (Danny DeVito), to help get him back on his feet again - only this time he's got nothing to lose. | 2023-10-29T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9706 |
<chapter id="trace" xreflabel="Tracing">
<title>Tracing</title>
<sect1 id="trace-introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>
<para>
The AspectJ developers have instrumented the compiler/weaver with
many "trace" messages for their own debugging use. These remain in
the production releases because tracing helps when it is hard to
isolate the problem in a test case. This sections describes how
to enable tracing so you can provide trace information on bug reports.
</para>
<para>
The usual approach to opening a report on Bugzilla is to describe the symptoms of the
problem and attach a simple testcase. This allows the AspectJ team to try and reproduce the problem in
an attempt to fix it as well as improve the test suite. Unfortunately it may not be possible
to produce such a testcase either because your program is too large or is commercially sensitive. Alternatively
the problem may relate to your specific environment where AspectJ is being used and will not be
reproducible by the AspectJ team. In each of these situations you can produce a
trace of the compiler when the problem occurs instead. This can then be attached to the bug report. </para>
<sect2 id="trace-configuration" xreflabel="Configuring Tracing">
<title>Configuring Tracing</title>
<para> When available (Java 5 or later) AspectJ will use the
<ulink url="http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/logging/index.html">
java.util.logging</ulink> infrastructure
configured using a <literal>logging.properties</literal> file. By default only error
and fatal events will be logged but less severe warnings as well as fine-grained
method entry and exit events can be obtained using the appropriate configuration. All
regular compiler messages can also be logged through the infrastructure by setting the
<literal>org.aspectj.weaving.messages</literal> System property. </para>
<para> If you are running the AspectJ compiler/weaver under JDK 1.4 or earlier,
AspectJ will use a simple built-in trace
infrastructure that logs to stderr. This is enabled by setting the
<literal>org.aspectj.weaving.tracing.enabled</literal> System property. You may also override
the default behaviour or provide your own trace implementation using the
<literal>org.aspectj.weaving.tracing.factory</literal> System property. </para>
<para> The table below lists the System properties that can be used to configure tracing. </para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Property</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<literal>org.aspectj.tracing.debug</literal>
</entry>
<entry>
Enable simple debugging of the trace infrastructure itself.
<para> Default: <literal>false</literal>. </para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<literal>org.aspectj.tracing.enabled</literal>
</entry>
<entry>
Enable the built-in AspectJ trace infrastructure.
<para> Default: <literal>false</literal>. </para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<literal>org.aspectj.tracing.factory</literal>
</entry>
<entry>
Select trace infrastructure. Specify the fully qualified class name
of the <literal>org.aspectj.weaver.tools.TraceFactory</literal>
interface to use a custom infrastructure. Specify a value of
<literal>default</literal> to force AspectJ to use it's
built-in infrastructure.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<literal>org.aspectj.tracing.messages</literal>
</entry>
<entry>
Enable tracing of compiler messages. The kind of messages logged
is determined by the selected trace infrastructure not the message
configuration.
<para> Default: <literal>false</literal>. </para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="trace-examples" xreflabel="trace-examples">
<title>Examples</title>
<para> Using <literal>-Dorg.aspectj.tracing.factory=default</literal>
to force AspectJ to use its internal infrastructure,
<literal>-Dorg.aspectj.tracing.enabled=true</literal> to turn it on and
<literal>-Dorg.aspectj.tracing.messages=true</literal> to include messages
running a simple HelloWorld with LTW will generate tracing to stderr. Below
is an extract from that trace with method arguments removed.
You will notice the millisecond time stamp,
thread id and indication of entry/exit/event or message type for each line
of trace.
</para>
<programlisting><![CDATA[
15:44:18.630 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.Aj.<init>
15:44:18.660 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.Aj.<init>
15:44:18.660 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.Aj.preProcess
15:44:18.660 main - org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.Aj.preProcess
15:44:18.730 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.<init>
15:44:18.730 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.<init>
15:44:18.730 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.initialize
15:44:18.821 main I [AppClassLoader@92e78c] info AspectJ Weaver Version DEVELOPMENT ...
15:44:18.821 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.parseDefinitions
15:44:18.821 main I [AppClassLoader@92e78c] info register classloader ...
15:44:18.821 main - org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.parseDefinitions
15:44:18.841 main - org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.parseDefinitions
15:44:18.841 main I [AppClassLoader@92e78c] info using configuration ...
15:44:18.891 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.parseDefinitions
15:44:19.021 main > org.aspectj.weaver.World$TypeMap.<init>
15:44:19.021 main < org.aspectj.weaver.World$TypeMap.<init>
15:44:19.021 main > org.aspectj.weaver.CrosscuttingMembersSet.<init>
15:44:19.021 main < org.aspectj.weaver.CrosscuttingMembersSet.<init>
15:44:19.021 main > org.aspectj.weaver.Lint.<init>
15:44:19.021 main < org.aspectj.weaver.Lint.<init>
15:44:19.021 main > org.aspectj.weaver.World.<init>
15:44:19.111 main < org.aspectj.weaver.World.<init>
15:44:19.201 main > org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.<init>
15:44:19.201 main < org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.<init>
15:44:19.201 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.registerDefinitions
15:44:19.211 main > org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.setReweavableMode
15:44:19.351 main < org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.setReweavableMode
15:44:19.351 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.registerAspects
15:44:19.351 main I [AppClassLoader@92e78c] info register aspect Aspect
15:44:19.351 main > org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.addLibraryAspect
15:44:19.501 main - org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWorld.lookupJavaClass
15:44:19.632 main > org.aspectj.weaver.CrosscuttingMembersSet.addOrReplaceAspect
15:44:19.792 main < org.aspectj.weaver.CrosscuttingMembersSet.addOrReplaceAspect
15:44:19.792 main < org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.addLibraryAspect
15:44:19.792 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.registerAspects
15:44:19.792 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.registerDefinitions
15:44:19.792 main > org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.prepareForWeave
15:44:19.822 main < org.aspectj.weaver.bcel.BcelWeaver.prepareForWeave
15:44:19.822 main > org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.weaveAndDefineConcete...
15:44:19.822 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.weaveAndDefineConcete...
15:44:19.822 main < org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.ClassLoaderWeavingAdaptor.initialize
15:44:19.822 main > org.aspectj.weaver.tools.WeavingAdaptor.weaveClass
...
]]></programlisting>
<para> Alternatively when running under Java 5 the <literal>logging.properties</literal>
file below could be used to configure Java Logging. The resulting
file, just containing trace for the
<literal>org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime</literal> package, will be
written to <literal>java0.log</literal> in your <literal>user.home</literal> directory.
</para>
<programlisting><![CDATA[
handlers= java.util.logging.FileHandler
.level= INFO
java.util.logging.FileHandler.pattern = %h/java%u.log
java.util.logging.FileHandler.count = 1
java.util.logging.FileHandler.formatter = java.util.logging.SimpleFormatter
java.util.logging.FileHandler.level = FINER
org.aspectj.weaver.loadtime.level = FINER
]]></programlisting>
<para>
By setting the System property <literal>-Dorg.aspectj.tracing.debug=true</literal>
you should see a message confirming which trace infrastructure is being used.
</para>
<programlisting><![CDATA[
TraceFactory.instance=org.aspectj.weaver.tools.Jdk14TraceFactory@12dacd1
]]></programlisting>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
| 2023-11-12T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6481 |
Stress, the immune system and vulnerability to degenerative disorders of the central nervous system in transgenic mice expressing glucocorticoid receptor antisense RNA.
Current research evidence suggests that interactions between genetic and environmental factors contribute to modulate the susceptibility to degenerative disorders, including inflammatory and autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). In this context, bidirectional communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems during ontogeny plays a pivotal role in programming the development of neuroendocrine and immune responses in adult life, thereby influencing the predisposition to several disease entities. Glucocorticoids (GCs), the end products of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, gender and signals generated by hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis are major players coordinating the development of immune system function and exerting powerful effects in the susceptibility to autoimmune disorders, including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the experimental model for multiple sclerosis (MS). In particular, GCs exert their beneficial immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects in inflammatory disorders of the CNS, after binding to their cytoplasmic receptors (GRs). Here we review our work using transgenic (Tg) mice with a dysfunctional GR from early embryonic life on programming vulnerability to EAE. The GR-deficiency of these Tg mice confers resistance to active EAE induction. The interplay between GCs, proinflammatory mediators, gender and EAE is summarized. On the basis of our data, it does appear that exposure to a defective GR through development programs major changes in endogenous neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms controlling the vulnerability to EAE. These studies highlight the plasticity of the HPA-immune axis and its pharmacological manipulation in autoimmune diseases of the CNS. | 2023-11-12T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2479 |
Sofia Hurtado, 17, sent text message to friend in Mexico saying she "was not safe and needed help," Tucson police said. | 2024-05-13T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1247 |
(Welcome to Debate of Thrones, where a panel of Citadel-trained experts explain why someone deserves, or doesn’t deserve, to sit on the Iron Throne. In this edition: no one in the Seven Kingdoms is as mentally equipped to lead the nation as Sansa Stark.)
When the people of the Seven Kingdoms think of a perfect monarch, what traits do we look for? Nobility. Dignity. Justice. Mercy. Grace. Strength. Loyalty. Kindness. How often do the gods grant us that boon? Perhaps once in every several centuries. The last few years have seen Westernos ripped apart by lesser kings and queens. Greedy and wrathful and mad, the Targaryen royals and Baratheons that followed them sowed war and death from Dorne to The Wall. And now the choice appears to be between a despotic Targaryen queen raised in foreign lands or an alleged Targaryen king who grew up the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark. But what if there was another choice? A better choice for the realm? Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell.
Over the course of the last seven years — since before the opening salvos of the War of the Five Kings — Sansa has been at the center of every major event. From a terrified child to the steadfast Lady of Winterfell, Sansa Stark has proven time and again that she has the mettle and the temperament to take, and hold, the Iron Throne.
A Lady
The eldest daughter of Lord Ned Stark and his wife, Lady Catelyn, Sansa Stark was born to the highest echelons of noble society. As Warden of the North, Lord Stark ruled over lands equal to at least one-third of the Realm. From childhood, Sansa was educated to be a great Lady; taught both feminine pursuits such as music and embroidery as well as the complex history of the Houses of the Seven Kingdoms. From a young age, Sansa would have learned how to manage a household of meaningful size, including how to keep the smallfolk fed and warm. Without a fine grasp of the day-to-day minutia, a Lady would run the risk of killing her people through neglect.
Unlike Daenerys, who grew up across the Narrow Sea in Essos with no knowledge of her birth nation, Sansa knows how each branch of the Great Houses intertwines with the others. Sansa knows courtesy is a lady’s armor and is well-versed in the political word games necessary when dealing with emissaries and adversaries. An alleged destiny is no match to a lifetime of training in the pit of the vipers.
A Survivor
Sansa Stark’s life is a series of tragedies. What should have been the start of a fairy tale life turned deadly when Sansa’s pet direwolf Lady was put down by order of Queen Cersei. Though Lady had not hurt Prince Joffrey, she was the only direwolf caught, and therefore the only one punished. It would be a sadly prescient lesson for Sansa to absorb.
The next few years would have broken a lesser woman. Forced to watch her father publicly beheaded, alone and held hostage at the whim of a sadistic fiancé, beaten and threatened, Sansa Stark somehow managed to thrive even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Her quick mind kept her alive through the worst of King Joffrey’s impulses. Her quick disappearance from King’s Landing after his death indicated a strong sense of survival. While we will never know if Sansa had a hand in King Joffrey’s death, there isn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that Queen Cersei would have blamed her.
From there, Sansa momentarily disappears from history. We know now that she was under an assumed name in the Vale under the protection of her aunt, Lady Lysa Arryn. During her subterfuge, Sansa learned just how high the ladder of chaos went. Until Littlefinger’s tutelage, Sansa gained the ability to see the greater board in the game of thrones. But the cost was unbearably high. The less spoken about her time with Ramsay Bolton, the better. Suffice to say, Sansa learned how to harden herself as well as how sweet vengeance tastes.
All of these struggles turned Sansa Stark into a political powerhouse. Combining the ruthlessness learned from Cersei and the savviness from surviving Littlefinger makes Sansa by far the most prepared candidate for holding the Iron Throne.
A Leader
But it isn’t simply her sharp mind and a keen sense of how to play a situation to her advantage that makes Sansa Stark the best candidate for the throne. It is also her intense desire to keep her people safe. Even as a hostage in enemy territory during the Battle of the Blackwater, Sansa knew her duty as a leader. After Cersei abandoned her post, Sansa kept the women and children of in Maegor’s Holdfast calm with prayers and song. Much later, putting duty to her people above honor, Sansa made a deal with her adversary Littlefinger in order to bring soldiers from the Vale to save Winterfell. Without Sansa’s strategic mind, the North would still be in the hands of House Bolton and Jon Snow would be dead.
Sansa’s skill set translated into a crucial unsung role in the lead-up to the final battle with the Night King. While other candidates were making terrible military decisions about troop placement and shallow fire ditches, Sansa Stark was saving people. Every day she was out amongst the officers and the supply lines. She knew how much food Winterfell had in storage versus how many smallfolk were sheltering within its walls. She knew how many weapons the soldiers had and how many were injured. Sansa concerned herself with keeping as many Northerners alive through the winter, unlike others with decision-making capabilities. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives, were saved thanks to her efforts.
A Tactician
Perhaps most importantly though, Sansa Stark is savvy. After a steep learning curve living under the eye of Cersei Lannister, Sansa quickly became hyper-vigilant in order to survive. With such a well-honed sense of danger coupled with ruthless pragmatism, Sansa has found herself over and over again warning of impending danger to deaf ears. As Queen, Sansa would not have to filter her common sense against the rigid honor of her family.
Not only has Sansa had to come to the rescue of her cousin Jon Snow after he rebuffed her advice ahead of the Battle of the Bastards, she also predicted the outcome of other events. After the Starks reclaimed Winterfell, Sansa warned Jon to focus his attention on Cersei before the Night King as King’s Landing was the more serious danger. A prediction that turned out to be true. She told the War Council that the troops needed more time to recuperate after defeating the Night King. Based on the destruction of Deanerys’ fleet off the coast of Dragonstone, that prediction appears true. She also warned Jon that Queen Daenerys had a bit too much of her father in her and that the North would never bow the Targaryen queen. Those predictions, too, appear accurate.
At the end of the day, the people of the Seven Kingdoms have a choice. They can put a defacto foreign queen on the Iron Throne. A woman with little knowledge of how Westeros works, less patience for dissent, and a short temper. They could raise up Jon Snow, rename him King Aegon VI, and let a man who bent the knee for the first pretty face ascend to the highest duty in the land. A man whose poor battle tactics have cost the lives of thousands of good men and women who believed in his honorable, guileless fantasy world. Or, they could choose a native daughter of the Seven Kingdoms. A woman who has proven herself a master political schemer tempered with duty, justice, and mercy. A woman like Queen Sansa Stark, first of Her Name. | 2023-12-10T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3368 |
Retinoblastoma binding protein 6 and crystallin lambda 1 are cadmium-responsive genes in zebrafish embryos and adults retinae.
Nonessential metal cadmium is widely used and released in the environment, causing cell toxicity and posing a severe threat to wildlife. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is one of the most commonly used animals in the investigation of environmental cadmium toxicity in vertebrates. In this study, we identified two cadmium-responsive genes, RBBP6 and CRYL1, in the early phases of zebrafish development, at the gastrula stage. The retinoblastoma binding protein 6 is associated with increased protein degradation and cell proliferation; crystallin-lambda 1 is a lens protein with redox activity. In situ hybridization analysis performed on adult zebrafish exposed to 1.5-40 μM cadmium for 30 days confirmed the ability of cadmium to up-regulate the expression of both genes in retinal cells in a dose-dependent manner. The over-expression was transient, being switched off when cadmium was removed. The involvement of RBBP6 and CRYL1 in the onset of cadmium-induced morphological alterations in adult zebrafish retina is discussed. | 2024-04-15T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9630 |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for generating electric power, and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to generating apparatus incorporating an automobile alternator as the power source.
2 Description of the Prior Art
In many parts of the world electric power is not readily available so that persons working in such areas must often take electric power generating apparatus to a job site in order to efficiently carry out such simple tasks as drilling a hole in a piece of metal or welding two pieces of metal together. Such generating apparatus will often be called upon to operate a variety of tools, each having its own power requirements which may, or may not, coincide with the requirements of other tools used at the site. Because of this variety, it is desirable that the generating apparatus be provided with a simple mechanism for adjusting the electrical characteristics of the power generated thereby to match the needs of the various tools at the job site.
It is also desirable that the generating apparatus incorporate parts which are interchangeable with other equipment likely to be found at a remote job site so that, if necessary, the generating apparatus may be maintained in operation by using repair parts provided for such other equipment. Skilled labor is often available at such sites only at a premium so that overseas supply of repair parts is to be avoided where possible. A piece of other equipment which usually accompanies workers to remote areas is a vehicle such as a truck or automobile.
It is known that the alternator found in the electrical system of a vehicle is capable of generating a voltage of sufficient amplitude to operate hand held power tools and that such an alternator is capable of providing power suitable for welding. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,761,727 and 3,845,321, issued to Santilli on Sept. 25, 1973 and Oct. 29, 1974 respectively, illustrate the use of a motor vehicle electrical system as a source of power for electrically driven hand tools. Such a capability is built into the alternator to permit the alternator to charge the vehicle battery at low speed operation of the vehicle engine which drives the alternator. As is well known, the electromotive force generated in an alternator or generator winding depends both upon the strength of a magnetic field relative to which the winding is rotated, either by rotating the winding or the source of the magnetic field, and to the rate of rotation. Thus, if the alternator is to be capable of generating a voltage sufficient to charge the vehicle battery when driven at a low speed, it will be capable of generating a higher voltage when driven at a higher speed. Such higher voltages are not desirable if the alternator is to be used for no purpose other than charging the battery and are prevented from occurring by using an electric current, referred to herein as a field current, to establish the magnetic field relative to which the winding or windings connected to the alternator output are rotated. The field current is supplied by the vehicle battery via a voltage regulator which varies the field current as the engine speed is increased or decreased to offset changes in the speed at which the alternator is driven with opposing changes in the magnetic field. | 2023-11-06T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9945 |
Jose Canseco had some explaining to do on Wednesday when cops discovered two goats wearing diapers in his car.
The ex-baseball player, who enjoyed a fling with the Material Girl in the 1990s, had been on his way home in Nevada with model girlfriend Leila Knight when their vehicle was pulled over by traffic officers.
Unknown to the cops, Canseco had two strange passengers onboard - a pair of farmyard goats wearing diapers to stop them from soiling the back seat.
It turned out Canseco and Knight had collected the beasts from a sanctuary to re-home them at their property.
Uploading a snap of animals with a police cruiser visible through his back windscreen, Canseco wrote, "Just got pulled over with goats in the car. The cop laughed at our poor goats. Awesome. They will join our zoo of 4 dogs and tortoises." | 2023-11-13T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7810 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has thrown out a 2014 jury verdict finding Arab Bank Plc liable for knowingly supporting militant attacks in Israel linked to Hamas, a decision that triggers a settlement agreement with hundreds of plaintiffs.
Friday’s decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ends 13-1/2 years of litigation over Arab Bank’s liability, which the Jordanian lender has disputed, for 24 attacks in and around Israel in the early 2000s.
The appeals court said jurors in Brooklyn were instructed incorrectly by the trial judge that under federal law, Arab Bank committed an “act of international terrorism” by knowingly providing material support to Hamas, which the Department of State designated in 1997 as a foreign terrorist organization.
In August 2015, 11 months after the verdict, Arab Bank had reached a confidential settlement with 597 victims or relatives of victims of 22 of the attacks, pending the bank’s appeal of the verdict, court papers show.
Both sides agreed to forgo a retrial if the verdict were thrown out.
“The plaintiffs will receive meaningful and very substantial compensation for their injuries,” their lawyer, Gary Osen, said in an email. “Today’s decision doesn’t diminish the fact a jury found Arab Bank liable for knowingly supporting Hamas.”
Sarri Singer, injured in a 2003 Hamas-linked bombing of a bus in Jerusalem, said in a statement about Arab Bank: “Families hurt by them are going to get the help they need.”
In a statement, Arab Bank said “the district court’s errors at trial all but dictated an adverse outcome. The bank is pleased to put this case behind it.”
Arab Bank’s settlement averted a trial to determine damages for 16 “bellwether” plaintiffs, concerning three of the attacks. Had the verdict been affirmed, they would have been entitled to at least $100 million, Friday’s decision said.
The verdict had been the first in the United States holding a bank civilly liable for violating the Anti-Terrorism Act (“ATA”), which lets U.S. citizens seek damages from international terrorism.
Arab Bank was accused of handling transactions for Hamas, and routing money to charities that supported the group or families of suicide bombers.
In Friday’s decision, Circuit Judge Reena Raggi said a jury properly instructed on the law might have inferred that Arab Bank had been sufficiently “aware” of Hamas’ activities.
But she said “we cannot conclude that such evidence, as a matter of law,” shows that the bank knew it was “playing a role in violent or life‐endangering acts whose apparent intent was to intimidate or coerce civilians or to affect a government.”
The trial judge, Brian Cogan, dismissed claims concerning two of the 24 attacks in 2015.
Congress’ passage in 2016 of the Justice Against Terrorism Act extended ATA liability to those who aid and abet acts of international terrorism.
The case is Linde v Arab Bank Plc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 16-2098, 16-2119, 16-2134. | 2023-10-29T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6779 |
package com.dianping.cat.build;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import com.dianping.cat.report.ReportModule;
import com.dianping.cat.system.SystemModule;
import org.unidal.lookup.configuration.Component;
import org.unidal.web.configuration.AbstractWebComponentsConfigurator;
class WebComponentConfigurator extends AbstractWebComponentsConfigurator {
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
@Override
public List<Component> defineComponents() {
List<Component> all = new ArrayList<Component>();
defineModuleRegistry(all, ReportModule.class, ReportModule.class, SystemModule.class);
return all;
}
}
| 2024-05-08T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2850 |
OOTP Universe Yankees: Stumbling through the week
Not every week can go as swimmingly as the previous one did, I guess. Just as the virtual Yankees got on track, things took a turn in this week’s catch up with the OOTP universe Yankees.
The draft
Before getting into game action, the virtual league stocked up on amateur ballplayers just like in real life. As you might expect, the draft results were different than in reality. Casey Mize was not the first overall pick and instead fell to number five with the Reds. The Tigers selected Ethan Hankins (right-handed starter) with the first pick, who was taken 35th by the Indians in reality.
The Yankees first selection was not Anthony Seigler. For what it’s worth, Seigler isn’t much of a prospect in OOTP. He only has a 23 future potential (20-80 scale) according to Yankees scouts in the game. Per OOTP’s scouting system, which isn’t linked to any particular team and can vary from each team’s opinions in the game, pegs Seigler as a future 48. Seigler was taken by the Diamondbacks in the seventh round.
So, who did the Yankees take in the first round? High school shortstop Cal Conley, who went undrafted in real life. The virtual Yankees were able to sign Conley away from his commitment to the University of Miami (FL). His future potential sits at 79 per virtual Damon Oppenheimer, though OOTP’s scouting bureau is not nearly as optimistic (41). Time will tell who was right. On to the game action…
A short set in Toronto
With the draft out of the way on Monday, baseball returned to action on Tuesday. An exciting pitching matchup to start the series north of the border – Luis Severino vs. Marcus Stroman – didn’t live up to the billing, as neither pitcher made it past the fifth inning. Severino got the best of Stroman, though, as the Yankees offense took care of business. The biggest highlight was a three-run home run by Miguel Andujar that gave the Yanks a 4-2 lead in the fourth, from which they’d never look back. The final score: 8-3 Bombers.
The Yankees suffered two losses in the second and final game in Toronto. Not only did the Blue Jays come out on top, 3-2, but also Sonny Gray left due to injury. The righty tore his fingernail and left the game after four innings. Whether or not he makes his next start remains to be seen, but he probably will avoid the disabled list for the time being.
A Disappointing Subway Series
Unlike real life, the Mets aren’t doormats in this alternate world. Rather, they entered this series with a respectable 33-28 record. Plus, they’re a bit healthier than in real life, as Noah Syndergaard was ready and able to pitch the first game of the series. He dominated through eight innings, allowing just one run in a 3-1 Mets victory. Masahiro Tanaka was solid for the Yanks, but not good enough to beat Thor.
The second game was something special thanks to CC Sabathia. No, it wasn’t because of his pitching. Rather, CC blasted a three-run homer against Jacob deGrom. Yes, against deGrom! Oh, what I would do to see Sabathia hit a home run in real life, just like he used to about a decade ago. Anyway, the Mets’ ace allowed four home runs as the Yankees obliterated the Mets in game two. Aside from Sabathia’s tater, Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, and Didi Gregorius all went deep in the 12-5 victory.
The rubber game was a bit embarrassing. After crushing Jacob deGrom the night before, the Yankees were shut down by Jason Vargas. Ugh. The southpaw threw six shutout innings before handing it over to the bullpen, which allowed just one hit over the final three frames to seal a 3-0 victory for the Mets.
—
Real Universe Yankees: 42-19 (1st place)
Parallel Universe Yankees: 34-28 (2nd place, 2 GB Rays)
And here’s a snapshot of all things alternate universe Yankees:
TL;DR
Draft day came and went before baseball games were played in Toronto and Queens. The Yankees top pick was shortstop Cal Conley, a high school pick. Once game action began, the Yankees struggled. They split a two-game set north of the border, but also lost Sonny Gray to a torn fingernail in the process. It doesn’t seem like Gray’s injury will be a long-term issue, but he might not make his next start. The Yankees returned to New York to begin the subway series against the Mets in Queens. Aside from a fun middle game of the series in which CC Sabathia hit a three-run jack against Jacob deGrom, there wasn’t much else to write home about. The Mets snagged two of three wins from the Yankees, giving the Bombers a losing week: two wins in five games. | 2023-12-12T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2006 |
Identification of genes with abnormal expression changes in acute myeloid leukemia.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common and deadly forms of hematopoietic malignancies. We hypothesized that microarray studies could identify previously unrecognized expression changes that occur only in AML blasts. We were particularly interested in those genes with increased expression in AML, believing that these genes may be potential therapeutic targets. To test this hypothesis, we compared gene expression profiles between normal hematopoietic cells from 38 healthy donors and leukemic blasts from 26 AML patients. Normal hematopoietic samples included CD34+ selected cells (N = 18), unselected bone marrows (N = 10), and unselected peripheral bloods (N = 10). Twenty genes displayed AML-specific expression changes that were not found in the normal hematopoietic cells. Subsequent analyses using microarray data from 285 additional AML patients confirmed expression changes for 13 of the 20 genes. Seven genes (BIK, CCNA1, FUT4, IL3RA, HOMER3, JAG1, WT1) displayed increased expression in AML, while 6 genes (ALDHA1A, PELO, PLXNC1, PRUNE, SERPINB9, TRIB2) displayed decreased expression. Quantitative RT/PCR studies for the 7 over-expressed genes were performed in an independent set of 9 normal and 21 pediatric AML samples. All 7 over-expressed genes displayed an increased expression in the AML samples compared to normals. Three of the 7 over-expressed genes (WT1, CCNA1, and IL3RA) have already been linked to leukemogenesis and/or AML prognosis, while little is known about the role of the other 4 over-expressed genes in AML. Future studies will determine their potential role in leukemogenesis and their clinical significance. | 2023-12-27T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7515 |
Bernd Kager
Bernd Kager (born 14 July 1987) is an Austrian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for SV Lafnitz.
External links
Category:1987 births
Category:Living people
Category:Austrian footballers
Category:SV Lafnitz players
Category:SK Austria Klagenfurt players
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Association football midfielders | 2023-09-27T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7503 |
/*
* Copyright (C) 2014 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
* 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* 2. 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.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY APPLE INC. ``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 APPLE INC. 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.
*/
#include "config.h"
#include "DFGGraphSafepoint.h"
#if ENABLE(DFG_JIT)
#include "DFGGraph.h"
#include "JSCInlines.h"
namespace JSC { namespace DFG {
GraphSafepoint::GraphSafepoint(Graph& graph, Safepoint::Result& result)
: m_safepoint(graph.m_plan, result)
{
m_safepoint.add(&graph);
m_safepoint.begin();
}
GraphSafepoint::~GraphSafepoint() { }
} } // namespace JSC::DFG
#endif // ENABLE(DFG_JIT)
| 2024-06-10T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7071 |
I wish I could write about every play, movie musical or television show, magazine, novel, comic book, short story, poem or song that have touched my heart, but...
Anyways, my old blog went pfft, but there's no use crying over spilt milk.
So here's to a fresh start. Cheers!
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
#WalangForever (2015)
Everybody has a story. Even the most monstrous person in the world has at least one person who loves him or her. We are all unique, but we all have similarities too. Since we have cable/satellite feeds nowadays you would find out that people do undergo the same thing, one way or another.Mia and Ethan's story is not exactly new, but the way it was(is) told, acted and executed is(was/are/were) very beautiful and almost seamless, if not seamless. I have described other stories as such too.I share Mia and Ethan's joys and pains. I admire their friends and family. Their friends and family truly care for them. I also related to most parts of this story.Like one critic, I thought of comparing this movie to a Nicholas Sparks story, but like that same person, I agree, it's not. The story was weaved well and became a beautiful comforter or duvet in the end.My dad's reaction when Mia's first alter ego was shown on the big screen was, "Don't tell me you are the ghostwriter of this story?"Inasmuch as I would be honored to be given credit as a writer of this beautiful story, I couldn't stomach it, because this story is an original by real life sweethearts, Dan Villegas(who also directed it) and Antoinette Jadaone. It was written for the big screen by Paul Sta. Ana. I don't know any of them personally, so it is really impossible for me to be writing for them. Besides, they don't need a ghostwriter. :-)I can't really blame my dad. My given name is Lara Mia Veronica(My confirmation name is much, much longer). Mia is Jennylyn's character here and the movie, which Mia wrote, with an "umbrella" scene had Lara as Mia's alter ego. LOL. Kulang na lang may Veronica, I said.I know we can't really compare this film to Honor Thy Father, because both films are beautiful, but very disparate, but I love every aspect of this film. The actors were chosen well, everyone did their jobs great and the different kinds of relationships were tackled.If you want more, just click the links of the reviews(above and below).
Supporting cast
Pepe Herrera as Aldus (If he did not go undercover in FPJ's ANG PROBINSIYANO, I would think he is really a dunce...he's a great actor. He could play the role of a simpleton to the most complex character. Here, he is the very best friend of Ethan and it seemed like he wasn't acting at all)
Cai Cortez as Katkat (I've always loved Cai and I don't love her any less here---she's one of the best!)
Kim Molina as Mia's best friend, Luli (and what a great friend she is!---Kim played her really, really well) | 2024-01-08T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4161 |
Q:
MATLAB Delete element in a matrix out of specific parameters
I have a matrix with two colons [x, y]. These are the data of a sampling. I have to remove the data out of range, all the data out of a rectangle from (x1, y1) to (x2, y2).
For me is not a problem remove the data in a vector, I use:
X = X(X > x1);
X = X(X < x2);
Y = Y(Y > y1);
Y = Y(Y < y2);
But this solution do not work, because do not removes all external value, i.e. I can not write X = X(Y > y1).
Now, I know that this problem can be solved with a simple loop for, but I think that in Matlab environment there are more than one solutions like mine (that works only with vector, not with a matrix).
Thankyou and bye,
Giacomo
A:
Simply create a logical mask that encapsulates all of the solutions together, then index into your point array. Assuming that data stores your two columns of data, you can simply do:
X = data(:,1);
Y = data(:,2);
ind = X > x1 & X < x2 & Y > y1 & Y < y2;
points = data(ind,:);
| 2024-05-07T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3619 |
Inflammatory response to hyperoxemic and normoxemic cardiopulmonary bypass in acyanotic pediatric patients.
Hyperoxemic management during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is still common, and there is no consensus about physiologic oxygen tension strategy (normoxemic management) during pediatric CPB. In this study, we compared the postoperative conditions and measures of inflammatory response among patients with acyanotic congenital heart disease subjected to either hyperoxemic or normoxemic management strategy during CPB. We studied 22 patients with a ventricular septal defect and pulmonary artery hypertension. The patients were divided into two groups. Group I (n=9) received normoxemic management (PaO2=100-150 mm Hg) and group II (n=13) received hyperoxemic management (PaO2=200-300 mm Hg) during CPB. There was no difference between groups with regard to age, body weight, duration of CPB, and aorta clamping time or preoperative pulmonary hypertension (pulmonary pressure/systemic pressure [Pp/Ps]). In each group, the blood samples to measure the cytokine levels were collected before and after the CPB. Although we observed no statistically significant differences in postoperative intubation time, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference, creatine kinase MB level, and pulmonary hypertension (Pp/Ps) between group I (10.7±13.4 hours, 197±132 mm Hg, 148±58.6 IU/L, 42.8%±22.1%, respectively) and group II (27.8±36.5 hours, 227±150 mm Hg, 151±72.6 IU/L, 50.4%±16.0%, respectively), levels of median interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α were lower in group I (129.8 and 17.0 pg/mL, respectively) than that in group II (487.8 and 22.5 pg/mL, respectively). During the CPB in acyanotic pediatric patients, normoxemic management can minimize the systemic inflammatory response syndrome associated with CPB. We can apply this physiologic oxygen tension strategy to surgical advantage during heart surgeries in acyanotic pediatric patients. | 2024-03-27T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1756 |
A Low Cost STP that Treats Water Without Chemicals or Electricity is Helping Communities Save Lakhs
This new STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) method treats water without chemicals or electricity. There is no foul smell and the method is low cost. Check out ecoSTP and why your apartment building should get one too!
“We had a good STP, running 24×7 on a 9HP motor for the last few years. But this summer, we are in trouble. Due to power cuts, our STP is running on diesel most of the time. I have no choice, the STP stinks if I don’t keep the motor on, and residents complain. I am tired of burning diesel.”
This is the typical complaint of any STP manager of a residential apartment or layout.
An ex-TERI scientist, Pravinjith, has came up with an interesting solution to these problems. He has designed an STP which runs without the use of power and chemicals and treats water naturally.
Mr.Pravinjith K P, the man behind the idea.
Most STPs in use in India today work with aerobic bacteria. This requires the continuous use of air and hence regular power is required to operate the STP. An ecoSTP, on the other hand, works with anaerobic bacteria, which do not require any oxygen or power to function. Hence, it cleans water in a natural and chemical-free manner.
Promotion
“The problem is that over 99 percent people have been using the aerobic method. They are not open to trying new things. Those STPs require 6 to 7 HP motors just to blow air in them. Our method is modeled on a cow’s stomach, using different chambers to treat the waste,” says Tharun Kumar B, Executive Director, Paradigm Environmental Strategies.
The unique ecoSTP technology does not use chemicals or energy to treat the water. Instead, it mimics the processes of the natural world — using a combination of microorganisms, plants and gravel to clean sewage water and return clean water back to mother earth, completing the ‘cradle to cradle’ sustainable lifecycle.
Since no air is required in the ecoSTP method, there is no foul smell. Low operational and maintenance costs, and no electricity requirement, are some of the other amazing factors that make this STP more efficient and eco-friendly.
The team has already successfully used the STP in Aishwarya Amaze Apartments, Bengaluru. The response from the residents was overwhelmingly positive.
Aishvarya Amaze Apartments are successfully using the STP.
“We have been using the DTS ecoSTP by Ecoparadigm for the last six years and we are very happy. The treated water is run through a plant bed consisting of Canna plants and Colocassia and the final water is used for toilet flushing. The thing we like most is the minimum maintenance involved. We also get a sense of satisfaction from doing our best for society by using a natural process to treat our waste,” says Hari Upadyaya, representing their residents association.
The one-time cost of installing the STP is Rs. 14,00,000 for a 100 apartment community while running cost is just Rs. 25 per family per month. All the water is treated immediately and can be used for various purposes like flushing and gardening.
The area required to construct an ecoSTP is double that of a regular STP. However, since it is built underground, further construction can be done above it.
STP is constructed under the ground. Hence, it does not affect the look of the building.
“While the sludge needs to be cleared on a weekly basis for the conventional STPs, one needs to clear the same for the ecoSTP that runs on a decentralised treatment system only once in two years,” says Kumar.
Another success story for the ecoSTP can be seen at St. Martha’s Hospital, Bengaluru. The hospital had a regular STP earlier and the management would spend lakhs of rupees per year on its maintenance, which eventually became a burden for them. As it is a charitable hospital, they needed to cut down on costs and decided to go for a low cost and effective STP which could treat 300 KLD (1 kld = 1,000 litres) per day.
The hospital decided to go for ecoSTP as it required only Rs. 1 lakh annually for wages, labour and maintenance, as compared to a regular STP which would cost Rs. 20 lakh for a 200 KLD plant.
The STP is maintenance free and just requires a one time cost followed by a minimal monthly running cost.
Today, the hospital’s entire garden gets watered by water treated by the ecoSTP. The hospital has managed to save Rs. 2.5 lakhs per month on water alone.
In the future, Paradigm Environmental Strategies wants to reach out to more apartment complexes and change the mindset of people regarding STPs.
The company wants to install ecoSTPs in at least 5 percent of the apartments in Bengaluru over the next few months.
If apartments install the STP, they can save a lot of money on water bills.
“Even if 5 percent communities agree to do so, there will be a huge impact in power savings and maintenance cost. We are growing gradually and once people see the impact, they will believe in it too. The fact is that today nearly 40% of the monthly maintenance bill of residents is due to power hogging STPs and we believe that either today or tomorrow the buyers will demand the breakup from their builders which will create a push to look at alternative ideas to treat waste water,” says Kumar.
To know more about ecoSTP and Paradigm Environmental Strategies, contact Tharun Kumar at check out their website. | 2024-07-03T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6680 |
A new ad in the Philippines is getting a lot of buzz for what is considered an unusual and brave move for a major telco brand in a conservative and mostly Catholic country.
The 1-minute video from wireless provider Smart Communications tells the story of a man named Kevin receiving a friend request on Facebook from his father. A request he is reluctant to accept because his account is filled with photos of him and his boyfriend.
During a family lunch, the father reminds him, "Kevin, bakit hindi mo pa inaaccept ang friend request ko?" [Kevin, why haven’t you accepted my friend request?]
After much deliberation and worry while browsing his Facebook account, he finally sends a message saying: "Dad, inaccept na kita." [Dad, accepted you.]
His father’s reply: "Anak ako din." [Son, so have I.]
Since being posted on Facebook on July 2, the video has garnered more than 1.26 million views and nearly 28,000 shares.
Comments from netizens have been overwhelmingly positive, with many lauding the brand for its "brave" decision to so openly feature an issue that resonated with the LGBT community.
Earlier this year in Taiwan, a McDonald's ad that features a young man coming out to his father had been viewed more than 1.3 million times by the first week of March.
Campaign credits
Client: Smart Communications
Agency:Dentsu Jayme Syfu
Chief creative officer: Merlee Jayme
Executive creative director/copywriter: Louie Sotto
Creative director: Miko Quiogue
Copywriter: Therese Liboro
Art director: Benci Vidanes
Managing partner & chief client officer: Alex Syfu
Account director: Gabbie Santiago
Strategic planning director: Diday Alcudia
Director: Henry Frejas
Producer: Butch Tayao
Executive producer: Concon Limbo-Deray
Production House: Filmex
Composer: Jasper Perez
Audio production house: Soundesign Manila | 2024-05-26T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8855 |
HALIFAX—The American TV show Sons of Anarchy is pushing Nova Scotians towards a life of crime in outlaw motorcycle gangs, according to a presentation from RCMP in Halifax on Monday.
Det. Const. Mike Carter of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia (CISNS) and Const. Scott Morrison of the Nova Scotia Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) gave a presentation on outlaw motorcycle gangs in the province to the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners.
Their overall message to the board: Outlaw motorcycle gangs are becoming more common in the province, with between 100 and 200 active members across Nova Scotia.
“I can tell you that it’s growing, ever since the phenomenon of Sons of Anarchy,” Morrison told the board, referring to a crime drama that ran for seven seasons from 2008 to 2014.
“Where that television show has seemed to almost socialize outlaw motorcycle gang life, more people want to join that life, think it’s a brotherhood, think the camaraderie is there, based on the television show, and they’re joining up.”
Carter agreed.
“People look at that and they think, ‘Oh that’s an attractive lifestyle. They’re making money, riding their bikes, they’re doing this, they don’t have any problems with anyone,’ ” he said. “But there’s always ... always another side of the coin, with the violence and the home invasions and all that other part of the lifestyle that’s not that attractive.”
Carter and Morrison wouldn’t take questions from reporters after Monday’s presentation, and the Mounties’ spokesperson on outlaw motorcycle gangs wasn’t available till later in the week.
RCMP in Nova Scotia have repeatedly warned, since 2014, that the Hells Angels are making a comeback in the province, bringing with them violence, drugs and prostitution. Police pushed the notorious worldwide gang out of Nova Scotia in 2003 when they arrested most of the members and seized the Halifax clubhouse.
Carter and Morrison said the Hells Angels control the outlaw motorcycle gangs in Nova Scotia, but they don’t have a chapter or clubhouse here and there are no full members, known as “full-patch” members, in the province.
Rather, Carter and Morrison said, a number of what the RCMP calls “support clubs” — like the Darksiders in Dartmouth — raise money for the Hells Angels. “Friend clubs” — such as the Red Devils in Halifax — do the organization’s bidding in the province. Both groups of clubs act as “farm teams” for the Hells Angels, Carter and Morrison said. The members of these clubs can become “prospect members” of the Hells Angels, and then eventually become full-patch members.
“For the Hells Angels to open a chapter in the province, there’s a number of rules and steps that they have to go through, which I think is ironic because this is an outlaw motorcycle gang that doesn’t like to follow rules,” Morrison said.
He said the Hells Angels could move six or more full-patch members of the club to Nova Scotia to start a chapter, but didn’t elaborate on why they haven’t done so.
Read more:
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New Jersey bikers opted out of expanding to Canada, U.S. court hears
Outlaw bikers say they’re loyal to Harley-Davidson, even as Trump’s trade policies push the company to look overseas
The rival Bacchus club does have a clubhouse in the Halifax area, along with a support club in rural Nova Scotia.
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“The Bacchus, they take a back seat to the Hells Angels in Nova Scotia, there’s no doubt about that,” Morrison said. “I’m sure they know that, and they don’t try to push the envelope right now because (the Hells Angels) are the most powerful motorcycle club in the world right now.”
Earlier this year, three Bacchus members — Patrick Michael James, Duayne Jamie Howe, and David John Pearce — were convicted of charges laid in 2012, including commission of an offence for a criminal organization, extortion and uttering threats.
Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service spokesperson Chris Hansen said sentencing for the trio is scheduled for October in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
“That’s a big win for us in the province, speaking to outlaw motorcycle gangs,” Morrison said. “Now the court agrees that the Bacchus itself, who we just said are not as powerful as the Hells Angels, were deemed a criminal organization in that matter.”
Carter and Morrison said a newer club, the Black Pistons in Cape Breton, is also a Hells Angels rival. Courts in Ontario have declared the club not to be a criminal organization.
“Based on the court, they’re not. Our intelligence may suggest otherwise,” Morrison said. (The Black Pistons’ website describes the club as “a group of men united to ride and have fun,” and “a brotherhood and not a criminal organization.”)
Morrison said the biggest challenge for police is gathering intelligence on outlaw motorcycle gangs because people are hesitant to speak out for fear of retribution.
Answering a question from police board member and Councillor Tony Mancini, Morrison said street checks are helpful in investigating outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The controversial practice, also known as carding, involves police stopping people and making a record of their identification.
It has been found to disproportionately target Black people in Halifax and other jurisdictions, and is currently the subject of a review by a Toronto criminologist.
“We can actually track their evolving through the club based on street checks,” Morrison said, referring to monitoring members’ progress in getting their full patch and the accompanying insignia.
“(Street checks) are invaluable to us, and we rely on them, but (don’t) solely rely on them. They’re just an investigative tool that we use to help us with the landscape.”
Read more about: | 2023-11-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1367 |
Gary Kazanjian/Associated Press
Hall of fame coach Jerry Tarkanian has passed away at 84 after being hospitalized on Feb. 10.
Continue for updates.
Tarkanian Passes Away at 84
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Danny Tarkanian, son of former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, confirmed his father's passing on Wednesday:
Taylor Bern of the Las Vegas Sun provided a photo of a patch UNLV will wear this season in honor of Tarkanian:
Tarkanian Hospitalized With Breathing Problems, Infection
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Hall of Fame basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian was hospitalized in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
According to a report from The Associated Press, via Yahoo Sports, the Tarkanian family admitted the 84-year-old after he had problems breathing and an infection:
Son Danny Tarkanian on Tuesday characterized his father's condition as ''minute by minute.'' He says his 84-year-old father was taken by ambulance Monday to Valley Hospital Medical Center after his blood oxygen fell to dangerous levels. He says doctors worked overnight to stabilize his father's condition and identify the infection. Danny Tarkanian says Jerry Tarkanian is heavily medicated.
Prior to Tuesday night's game, UNLV paid tribute to the legendary coach (per Fresno State men's basketball):
Tarkanian coached in college basketball for 30 years with three different programs, posting a record of 761-202 His best run of success came with UNLV from 1973-92, winning a national championship during the 1989-90 season with a 35-5 record. The Rebels went 34-1 the next season, losing to Duke in the Final Four.
The legendary coach appeared in the NCAA Tournament 18 times with four Final Four appearances. After retiring from Fresno State in 2002, he was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2013 class. | 2024-03-01T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4873 |
30 F.Supp.2d 981 (1998)
Ralph R. HANSEL, Plaintiff,
v.
Wayne BISARD, individually and in his official capacity as a deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff's Department; Kevin Stellingworth, individually and in his official capacity as a deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff's Department; and County of Jackson, Jointly and Severally, Defendants.
No. 97-75409.
United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.
December 7, 1998.
*982 William F. Piper, Kalamazoo, Michigan, for plaintiff.
David W. Swan, Jackson, Michigan, for defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
ROSEN, District Judge.
I. INTRODUCTION
This case is presently before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by the parties on August 21, 1998.[1] The Court held a hearing on the parties' motions on November 12, 1998. Having heard the oral arguments of counsel and having reviewed the briefs and supporting documents submitted by the parties, the Court is now prepared to rule on the cross-motions. This Opinion and Order sets forth the Court's ruling.
II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On the night of January 24, 1997, a 1983 Pontiac driven by Plaintiff's then sixteen *983 year old daughter, Brenna Hansel, went off the right side of Kibby Road in Jackson, Michigan and struck a telephone pole.[2] Neighbors apparently heard the accident and reported it to the police, who dispatched Defendant Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Bisard, to the scene.
Upon arriving at the scene, Deputy Bisard found that Brenna Hansel and a passenger from the automobile, later identified as Charlie Van Tuyle, were already in an ambulance. Deputy Bisard asked Ms. Hansel for her license, registration, and proof of insurance, and she informed him that the items were still in the car. Deputy Bisard retrieved the items from the car, but was unable to speak to Ms. Hansel further prior to the ambulance transporting her to Foote Hospital.
After completing his work at the scene, Deputy Bisard proceeded to Foote Hospital in order to speak with Ms. Hansel regarding the accident. By the time he arrived, however, Ms. Hansel had already left the hospital with her father, Plaintiff Ralph Hansel.[3] Deputy Bisard then proceeded to Ms. Hansel's residence.
Upon arriving at the Hansel residence around midnight, Deputy Bisard saw Plaintiff with a wrecker driver who was placing the damaged car in the garage. Deputy Bisard asked to speak with Ms. Hansel about the accident, and Plaintiff informed him that he would have to speak with her later because she was staying at her grandmother's house. In response, Deputy Bisard returned Ms. Hansel's registration and insurance, but told Plaintiff that he was retaining the license until he had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Hansel. [Bisard Dep., p. 45]. The license was subsequently returned after Plaintiff made assurances that Ms. Hansel would contact Deputy Bisard on January 26, 1997.
Ms. Hansel did not contact Deputy Bisard on January 26, and there was no further contact between the parties until January 31, 1997. On that day, Deputy Bisard and Mr. Hansel spoke by telephone regarding whether Mr. Hansel would allow Deputy Bisard to interview Brenna. It is undisputed that Plaintiff informed Deputy Bisard that he had spoken with his attorney who had advised him that neither he or his daughter was under any obligation to speak with the police. In addition, Plaintiff offered to give Deputy Bisard his attorney's name and phone number. Deputy Bisard refused the offer and told Plaintiff that he would be seeking a warrant for obstructing justice. [Bisard Dep, p. 56].[4]
Immediately following the conversation, Deputy Bisard spoke with Defendant Sergeant Kevin Stellingworth regarding the situation. Approximately fifteen minutes later, Sergeant Stellingworth telephoned Plaintiff to ask whether he would allow another deputy to interview his daughter. Plaintiff refused, but indicated that the deputies could submit a list of written questions to his attorney for review.[5] The information was relayed to Deputy Bisard who refused the offer. Sergeant Stellingworth then advised Deputy Bisard to forward a copy of the police report to the prosecutor's office in order to seek a warrant for obstructing justice.[6]
*984 On February 7, 1997, Deputy Bisard met with Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Wade Mutchler, who then signed a warrant request form against Plaintiff for resisting and obstructing.[7] Deputy Bisard then proceeded to request formal charges against Plaintiff at a probable cause hearing before the Honorable Charles J. Falahee, 12th District Court for the County of Jackson. Following the hearing, Judge Falahee issued an arrest warrant, dated February 7, 1997.
Pursuant to the warrant, Plaintiff was arrested at his home on Friday night, February 7, 1997, and incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail until his release from custody on February 10, 1997. On April 1, 1997, Plaintiff and Mr. Mutchler entered into an agreement whereby the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charges against Plaintiff in exchange for Plaintiff agreeing to allow Deputy Bisard to interview Brenna Hansel with an attorney present. Later that same day, Deputy Bisard conducted the interview and the court granted a motion for nolle prosequi and dismissed the case against Plaintiff without prejudice.
III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
On October 24, 1997, Plaintiff filed a five-count Complaint against Deputy Bisard and the County of Jackson, which was subsequently amended on July 16, 1998 to add Sergeant Stellingworth as a Defendant. Pursuant to the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff seeks recovery against Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth for: (1) deprivation of his constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, including the First and Fourth Amendments and the alleged constitutional right to family privacy; and (2) state law tort claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and assault and battery.[8] Plaintiff also seeks recovery under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the County of Jackson for its alleged failure to properly train Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth.
In their August 21, 1998 motion for summary judgment, Defendants assert that Plaintiff was arrested pursuant to a valid warrant and thus he suffered no deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution. Defendants further assert that even if the Court finds a constitutional violation, Plaintiff's federal and state law claims against Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth are barred by the doctrines of qualified immunity and statutory immunity, respectively.
In his own motion for summary judgment filed on August 21, 1998, Plaintiff asserts that he was falsely arrested and incarcerated for exercising his fundamental constitutional right to assert, on behalf of his 16 year old daughter, her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Accordingly, Plaintiff asks that the Court grant summary judgment in his favor on all of the claims against Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth.[9]
IV. ANALYSIS
A. Standards Applicable to Motions for Summary Judgment
Summary judgment is proper "`if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.'" Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
*985 Three 1986 Supreme Court casesMatsushita Electrical Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); and Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ushered in a "new era" in the standards of review for a summary judgment motion. These cases, in the aggregate, lowered the movant's burden on a summary judgment motion.[10] According to the Celotex Court:
In our view, the plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof.
Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
After reviewing the above trilogy, the Sixth Circuit established a series of principles to be applied to motions for summary judgment. They are summarized as follows:
* Cases involving state of mind issues are not necessarily inappropriate for summary judgment.
* The movant must meet the initial burden of showing "the absence of a genuine issue of material fact" as to an essential element of the non-movant's case. This burden may be met by pointing out to the court that the respondent, having had sufficient opportunity for discovery, has no evidence to support an essential element of his or her case.
* The respondent cannot rely on the hope that the trier of fact will disbelieve the movant's denial of a disputed fact, but must "present affirmative evidence in order to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment."
* The trial court no longer has the duty to search the entire record to establish that it is bereft of a genuine issue of material fact.
* The trial court has more discretion than in the "old era" in evaluating the respondent's evidence. The respondent must "do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Further, "[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find" for the respondent, the motion should be granted. The trial court has at least some discretion to determine whether the respondent's claim is plausible.
Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479-80 (6th Cir.1989). See also, Nernberg v. Pearce, 35 F.3d 247, 249 (6th Cir.1994). The Court will apply the foregoing standards in deciding the parties' Motions for Summary Judgment in this case.
B. Plaintiff's Section 1983 Claims Against Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth
"To successfully state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must identify a right secured by the United States Constitution and the deprivation of that right by a person acting under color of law." Adams v. Metiva, 31 F.3d 375, 386 (6th Cir.1994) (citation omitted). In the present case, Plaintiff's predicates his section 1983 claims against Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth on the alleged deprivation of his Fourth Amendment rights and the purported constitutional right to "family privacy."
1. Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Claims
Plaintiff first alleges that the individual Defendants violated his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting, incarcerating, and prosecuting him without probable cause.[11] Section 1983 claims predicated on false arrest, false imprisonment, or malicious prosecution fail if probable cause for an arrest is established. Davey v. Tomlinson, 627 *986 F.Supp. 1458, 1464 (E.D.Mich.1986); See also, Mark v. Furay, 769 F.2d 1266, 1269 (7th Cir.1985) ("The existence of probable cause for an arrest totally precludes any section 1983 claim for unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, or malicious prosecution, regardless of whether the defendants had malicious motives for arresting the plaintiff.").
In the instant case, Plaintiff was arrested for obstructing justice pursuant to section 479 of the Michigan Penal Code, which provides:
Sec. 479. RESISTING, ETC., OFFICER IN DISCHARGE OF DUTY Any person who shall knowingly and wilfully obstruct, resist or oppose any sheriff ... or who shall so obstruct, resist, oppose .. any of the above named officers ... in their lawful acts, attempts, and efforts to maintain, preserve and keep the peace, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 2 years, or by a fine of not more than 1,000 dollars.
M.C.L.A. § 750.479. Defendants assert that Plaintiff violated section 479 by interfering with Deputy Bisard's duty under Michigan law to investigate Ms. Hansel's accident. Plaintiff contests this assertion on the grounds that Ms. Hansel was under no legal obligation to speak with Deputy Bisard regarding the circumstances surrounding the accident. In the absence of such an obligation, Plaintiff argues, his attempts to prevent Deputy Bisard from speaking with his daughter do not constitute obstruction.
In analyzing Plaintiff's argument, the Court first notes that the relevant threshold inquiry with respect to the obstruction statute is not whether Ms. Hansel was obligated to speak with Deputy Bisard, but whether Deputy Bisard's attempts to interview Ms. Hansel were in furtherance of his legal duties as a police officer. Pursuant to the Michigan Vehicle Code, a driver involved in an accident must immediately report the accident to the police, and the officer charged with investigating the accident must fully complete a report of the accident which is forwarded to the state police. Specifically, M.C.L.A. § 257.622 provides:
The driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident that injures or kills any person, or that damages property to an apparent extent totaling $400.00 or more, shall immediately report that accident at the nearest or most convenient police station, or to the nearest or most convenient police officer. The officer receiving the report, or his or her commanding officer, shall immediately forward each report to the director of state police on forms prescribed by the director of state police. The forms shall be completed in full by the investigating officer. The director of state police shall analyze each report relative to the cause of the reported accident and shall prepare information compiled from reports filed under this section for public use.[12]
The express language of M.C.L.A. § 257.622 imposes a clear duty on "investigating officers," such as Deputy Bisard in the present case, to complete a report of car accidents. Thus, by attempting to interview Ms. Hansel, Deputy Bisard was merely trying to fulfill his statutory duty under Michigan law to investigate accidents.
Having determined that Deputy Bisard's attempts to speak with Ms. Hansel were in furtherance of his duty under M.C.L.A. § 257.622 to investigate accidents, the Court next addresses the issue of whether probable cause existed to arrest Plaintiff for obstruction in light of his attempts to prevent Deputy Bisard from speaking with his daughter regarding the accident. The record clearly establishes that Deputy Bisard arrested Plaintiff for obstruction pursuant to an arrest warrant, which was signed by Judge Falahee following a probable cause hearing. Reliance on a judicially secured warrant generally immunizes police officers from § 1983 actions predicated on Fourth Amendment violations:
*987 Police officers are entitled to rely on a judicially secured warrant for immunity from a § 1983 action for illegal search and seizure unless the warrant is so lacking in indicia of probable cause, that official belief in the existence of probable cause is unreasonable.
Yancey v. Carroll County, Ky., 876 F.2d 1238, 1243 (6th Cir.1989) (citing Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 344-46, 106 S.Ct. 1092, 1098, 89 L.Ed.2d 271 (1986)). An officer cannot rely on a judicial determination of probable cause, however, "if that officer knowingly makes false statements and omissions to the judge such that but for these falsities the judge would not have issued the warrant." Yancey, 876 F.2d at 1243.
Returning to the present case, the warrant issued by Judge Falahee, attached to Defendant's Motion as Exhibit 3-B, specifically authorizes Plaintiff's arrest for knowingly and wilfully obstructing Deputy Bisard's investigation of Ms. Hansel's traffic accident in violation of M.C.L.A. § 750.479. Accordingly, the Court finds that the arrest warrant itself is clearly not so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render Deputy Bisard's reliance on the warrant unreasonable.
Having determined that the arrest warrant was facially valid, the Court now turns its attention to whether Deputy Bisard knowingly made false statements and omissions to Judge Falahee at the probable cause hearing such that but for these falsities the judge would not have issued Plaintiff's arrest warrant. An examination of the transcript of the probable cause hearing reveals absolutely no evidence of such falsities. In point of fact, Deputy Bisard expressly informed Judge Falahee of Plaintiff's attempts to involve his attorney at the February 7 hearing, and Judge Falahee nonetheless found probable cause to issue the arrest warrant for obstruction:
THE COURT: This concerns the case of the People of the State of Michigan versus Ralph Roland Hansel. File Number 97 343FY. We're before the court today for the swearing of an officer to obtain information to justify the signing of the complaint and the issuance of a warrant against Mr. Hansel. If you'd raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the information that you give the court concerning this matter will be the truth?
OFF. BISARD: I do.
THE COURT: And if you could state your name and by whom you are employed
OFF. BISARD: My name is Wayne S. Bisard. I'm employed with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
THE COURT: And if you would give me the information that would justify the signing of the paperwork in this case.
OFF BISARD: On 1-24 of 97, Mr. Hansel, Ralph Hansel's daughter was involved in a PI accident at Kibby and Blue Lane. I did not get a chance to speak with her at the scene. I did not get a chance to speak with her at the hospital, she was released prior to my arrival. I went to the address where she lives and spoke with Mr. Hansel, at which point he did not agree to let me speak with her at the time. He stated that he would make an appointment with me the following Sunday. He did not follow through with that. I spoke with him on the 31st of January, 1997, at which point he stated that he had spoken to his lawyer. His lawyer advised him that he did not have to make a report and she did not need to speak to me.
THE COURT: I find there's enough information at this time that would justify the signing of the complaint and the issuance of the warrant and the paper work will be so signed at this time.
[Probable Cause Hearing Transcript, pp. 3-4]. Importantly, the record contains no evidence that Judge Falahee relied on anything besides Deputy Bisard's statement at the hearing in finding probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for obstruction.
Despite the fact that the record contains no evidence of false statements or omissions, Plaintiff's counsel asserted at oral argument that the warrant still cannot insulate Deputy Bisard from liability because Judge Falahee misinterpreted the law in finding probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for obstruction.[13]*988 This argument clearly mischaracterizes the law of the Sixth Circuit. Even assuming that Judge Falahee erred in finding probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for obstruction, a judicial error of this type would not subject Deputy Bisard to individual liability under section 1983. Pursuant to the clear standard set forth in Yancey, supra, Deputy Bisard is entitled to rely on a facially valid warrant absent a finding that he knowingly made false statements and omissions to the judge. Plaintiff has not provided, and record is devoid of, any evidence that would support such a finding. Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of the Defendants on Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Claims.
2. Plaintiff's Right to Family Privacy Claim
Plaintiff next asserts that Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating his clearly established constitutional right as a parent to assert his daughter's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Plaintiff brings this claim under the general rubric of the "right to family privacy."
Although the Constitution does not provide for any specific right of privacy, the Supreme Court has held that more specific constitutional guarantees may create "zones of privacy" and thereby impose limits upon government power. Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 712-713, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 1166, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976); In Paul, the plaintiff alleged that damage to his reputation resulting from an arrest violated an individual's right to privacy guaranteed by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Supreme court rejected the plaintiff's section 1983 claim stating:
Respondent's case, however, comes within none of these [zones of privacy]. He does not seek to suppress evidence seized in the course of an unreasonable search. And our other "right of privacy" cases, while defying categorical description, deal generally with substantive aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Roe the Court pointed out that the personal rights found in this guarantee of personal privacy must be limited to those which are "fundamental" or "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty" as described in Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319, 325, 58 S.Ct. 149, 152, 82 L.Ed. 288, 292 (1937). The activities detailed as being within this definition were ones very different from that for which respondent claims constitutional protection matters relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and education. In these areas it has been held that there are limitations on the States' power to substantively regulate conduct. Respondent's claim is far afield from this line of decisions. He claims constitutional protection against the disclosure of the fact of his arrest on a shoplifting charge. His claim is based, not upon any challenge to the State's ability to restrict his freedom of action in a sphere contended to be "private," but instead on a claim that the State may not publicize a record of an official act such as an arrest. None of our substantive privacy decisions hold this or anything like this, and we decline to enlarge them in this manner.
Paul, 424 U.S. at 712-713, 96 S.Ct. at 1166 (internal citations omitted).
Mr. Hansel's family privacy claim, like the plaintiff's privacy claim in Paul, is similarly far afield from previously recognized zone of privacy cases. Deputy Bisard was not attempting to substantively regulate Plaintiff's relationship with his daughter, but rather simply attempting to interview Ms. Hansel about her car accident. Perhaps if Deputy Bisard had continued to interrogate Ms. Hansel after she asserted her Fifth Amendment rights he would have unconstitutionally interjected himself into a zone of privacy. *989 Similarly, if Deputy Bisard had restricted Plaintiff's ability to communicate with his daughter, he may have unconstitutionally inserted himself into a sphere considered "private" under the constitution. In point of fact, however, Deputy Bisard did nothing of the sort. Mr. Hansel was free at all times to advise his daughter of her rights and to recommend a course of action. While the Court recognizes that Plaintiff has a constitutional right to the custody and management of his children, this constitutional protection does not translate into a derivative right to unilaterally bar a police officer from questioning a sixteen year-old about an automobile accident. None of the cases cited by Plaintiff support such a proposition, and accordingly the Court will not recognize a "new" constitutional right where one does not exist.
Even assuming, arguendo, that Mr. Hansel could derivatively assert his daughter's constitutional rights, it is not clear that Ms. Hansel's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were even implicated in the present case. The Fifth Amendment provides that "No person shall be ... compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." The Supreme Court has interpreted this provision to mean that individuals may refuse to answer police questions that "are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response," judged primarily from the perspective of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 301, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 1689-1690, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980). Thus, in order to assert the Fifth Amendment right, the individual must possess some reasonable belief that a response will result in criminal liability.[14] An examination of the record, reveals absolutely no evidence that Ms. Hansel believed that she was under criminal investigation or that Deputy Bisard considered Plaintiff's daughter a criminal suspect.[15] Thus, even if Plaintiff could derivatively assert his daughter's constitutional rights in this case, the Court finds that Deputy Bisard's attempts to interview Ms. Hansel did not implicate her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Plaintiff also misconstrues the scope of the Sixth Amendment, which provides, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense." In the present case, Ms. Hansel was never charged with a crime, and as noted above the record contains no evidence that she was even the subject of a criminal investigation. Moreover, even assuming Ms. Hansel was the subject of a criminal investigation, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach until the time the government initiates adversary judicial proceedings against an individual. United States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180, 187, 104 S.Ct. 2292, 2297, 81 L.Ed.2d 146 (1984); Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 205, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 1202, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964). In the present case, adversary judicial proceedings were never initiated against Ms. Hansel and thus her Sixth Amendment right to counsel never attached.
In sum, the Court finds that the instant section 1983 claim predicated on accusations that the individual Defendants violated Mr. *990 Hansel's alleged constitutional right to family privacy is wholly without merit. Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of the individual Defendants on Plaintiff's "family privacy" claims.
C. Plaintiff's State Law Tort Claims
Plaintiff further alleges that because he was arrested and jailed without probable cause, the individual Defendants are liable under state law tort claims for false arrest, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.[16] As explained above, Plaintiff's arrest clearly passes constitutional muster under the standards set forth in Yancey, supra. The record firmly establishes that Deputy Bisard arrested Mr. Hansel pursuant to a facially valid arrest warrant issued following a probable cause hearing at which Judge Falahee found probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for obstruction. Accordingly, the individual Defendants are entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff's state law tort claims.
D. Plaintiff's Failure to Train Claim Against the County of Jackson
Finally, Plaintiff asserts that the County of Jackson is liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failing to properly train Deputy Bisard and Sergeant Stellingworth. In City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989), the Supreme Court expressly held that under certain circumstances, a municipality may be held liable under section 1983 for constitutional violations resulting from its failure to train municipal employees. Municipal liability under section 1983 exists, however, only when the municipality itself causes the constitutional violation at issue. Monell v. Dept. of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 694-695, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2037-2038, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978).
In the present case, Plaintiff has failed to establish any deprivation of his constitutional rights. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to reach the merits of Plaintiff's failure to train claim. City of Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 817, 105 S.Ct. 2427, 2432-2433, 85 L.Ed.2d 791 (1985); See also, Mark, 769 F.2d at 1271 ("The question of whether a municipality caused a constitutional deprivation does not even arise absent proof that a deprivation in fact occurred"). Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendant County of Jackson on Plaintiff's failure to train claim.
V. CONCLUSION
For all of the aforementioned reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED in its entirety with prejudice.
NOTES
[1] Defendants actually filed a Motion to Dismiss and for Summary Judgment. Pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b), the Court treats Plaintiff's 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss as a Motion for Summary Judgment for the purposes of this Opinion and Order.
[2] The car was owned and registered in the name of Brenna Hansel.
[3] Apparently, neither Ms. Hansel nor Mr. Van Tuyle suffered serious injuries in the accident.
[4] Each party claims to have made the January 31, 1997 phone call. [Plaintiff Dep., p. 69; Bisard Dep., p. 54]. In addition, the parties offered markedly different accounts of the January 31 conversation at their respective depositions. Mr. Hansel testified that Deputy Bisard first berated him for not calling earlier, and that Deputy Bisard subsequently refused Plaintiff's offer to speak with his daughter as long as their attorney was present. [Plaintiff Dep, p. 70]. In contrast, Deputy Bisard denies that Plaintiff ever offered to allow Deputy Bisard to speak with Ms. Hansel with an attorney present. [Bisard Dep., p. 81].
[5] Once again the parties offer different accounts of the telephone conversation between Sergeant Stellingworth and Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that Sergeant Stellingworth told him that there was no need for an attorney and that the deputies were not going to cooperate with an attorney. [Hansel Dep. p. 79]. Sergeant Stellingworth denies that he told Plaintiff he did not need an attorney, and testified that he did not recall the Plaintiff suggesting anything to the effect that a deputy could speak to his daughter as long as an attorney was present. [Stellingworth Dep. pp. 10-11, 20].
[6] On February 3, 1997, Deputy Bisard issued two civil infraction charges against Brenna Hansel for careless driving and failing to wear a seat belt. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the careless driving charge was subsequently reduced and the seat belt charge dismissed.
[7] Mr. Mutchler had previously prosecuted and obtained a conviction against Plaintiff for failing to obtain a gun permit. The conviction was subsequently reversed on appeal.
[8] Plaintiff's state law assault and battery claim relates to Mr. Hansel's arrest for obstruction itself rather than any claim that Deputy Bisard used excessive force in the course of the arrest.
[9] In the response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff concedes that there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support his Section 1983 claim predicated on a violation of the First Amendment. [Plaintiff's Brief in Opposition, p. 7]. Accordingly the Court grants summary judgment in favor of the individual defendants on this claim.
[10] "Taken together the three cases signal to the lower courts that summary judgment can be relied upon more so than in the past to weed out frivolous lawsuits and avoid wasteful trials." 10A C. Wright, A. Miller, M. Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 2727, at 33 (1993 Supp.).
[11] A section 1983 claim predicated on an allegation of malicious prosecution is properly analyzed under the Fourth Amendment. Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S. 266, 274, 114 S.Ct. 807, 813, 127 L.Ed.2d 114 (1994).
[12] In Michigan, the accident investigation form prescribed by the Director of State Police is commonly referred to as form UD-10. The parties disagree as to whether M.C.L.A. § 257.622 requires a driver involved in an accident to provide the information necessary for the investigating officer to complete UD-10. There is no dispute, however, that Deputy Bisard was under a statutory duty to investigate Ms. Hansel's accident.
[13] Specifically, Plaintiff argues that his reliance upon the advice of his attorney negates the intent requirement of obstruction. Regardless of its merits, this argument has no bearing on Deputy Bisard's potential liability under section 1983 for arresting Plaintiff for obstruction. Sixth Circuit case law clearly establishes that an officer can rely on a facially valid arrest warrant absent a finding that the officer knowingly made false statements and omissions to the judge. Yancey, 876 F.2d at 1243.
[14] Plaintiff wrongly cites City of Pontiac v. Baldwin, 163 Mich.App. 147, 413 N.W.2d 689 (1987), for the proposition that the Fifth Amendment provides a unilateral right to refuse to answer questions posed by police officers. In point of fact, Baldwin held that a person cannot be prosecuted for obstruction for failing to answer questions posed by a police officer during a Terry stop. 163 Mich.App. at 152, 413 N.W.2d at 692.
Even when the subject of a criminal investigation, an individual does not possess an absolute right to refuse questioning by the police. For example, the Supreme Court has held that the police can ask routine booking questions without violating an individual's Fifth Amendment rights. See, Pennsylvania v. Muniz, 496 U.S. 582, 110 S.Ct. 2638, 110 L.Ed.2d 528 (1990).
[15] At oral argument, Plaintiff's counsel posited that Ms. Hansel may have declined to speak with Deputy Bisard to avoid implicating herself in the crime of failing to report an accident. Failing to report an accident as required by M.C.L.A. § 257.622 is a misdemeanor. See, M.C.L.A. § 257.901. The record is devoid of any evidence, however, that Ms. Hansel actually feared prosecution for failure to report. Indeed, Plaintiff actually argues that Ms. Hansel's reporting requirement under § 257.622 was satisfied by proxy when neighbors reported the accident to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. [Plaintiff's Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 15].
[16] Plaintiff does not allege, and the record contains no evidence, that Deputy Bisard used excessive force during the course of Plaintiff's arrest.
| 2023-11-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/4927 |
Vitallium Luhr systems for reconstructive surgery of the facial skeleton.
The author describes three systems for (1) the treatment of mandibular fractures; (2) the treatment of midface fractures, for reconstructive surgery of the facial skeleton and the skull, and for orthognathic surgery; and (3) the reconstruction of mandibular defects including condyle replacement. | 2024-06-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3193 |
Single- and double-acting cylinders
Reciprocating engine cylinders are often classified by whether they are single- or double-acting, depending on how the working fluid acts on the piston.
Single-acting
A single-acting cylinder in a reciprocating engine is a cylinder in which the working fluid acts on one side of the piston only. A single-acting cylinder relies on the load, springs, other cylinders, or the momentum of a flywheel, to push the piston back in the other direction. Single-acting cylinders are found in most kinds of reciprocating engine. They are almost universal in internal combustion engines (e.g. petrol and diesel engines) and are also used in many external combustion engines such as Stirling engines and some steam engines. They are also found in pumps and hydraulic rams.
Double-acting
A double-acting cylinder is a cylinder in which the working fluid acts alternately on both sides of the piston. In order to connect the piston in a double-acting cylinder to an external mechanism, such as a crank shaft, a hole must be provided in one end of the cylinder for the piston rod, and this is fitted with a gland or "stuffing box" to prevent escape of the working fluid. Double-acting cylinders are common in steam engines but unusual in other engine types. Many hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders use them where it is needed to produce a force in both directions. A double-acting hydraulic cylinder has a port at each end, supplied with hydraulic fluid for both the retraction and extension of the piston. A double-acting cylinder is used where an external force is not available to retract the piston or it can be used where high force is required in both directions of travel.
Steam engines
Steam engines normally use double-acting cylinders. However, early steam engines, such as atmospheric engines and some beam engines were single-acting. These often transmitted their force through the beam by means of chains and an "arch head", as only a tension in one direction was needed.
Where these were used for pumping mine shafts and only had to act against a load in one direction, single-acting designs remained in use for many years. The main impetus towards double-acting cylinders came when James Watt was trying to develop a rotative beam engine, that could be used to drive machinery via an output shaft. With a single-cylinder engine, a double-acting cylinder gave a smoother power output. The high-pressure engine, as developed by Richard Trevithick, used double-acting pistons and became the model for most steam engines afterwards.
Some of the later steam engines, the high-speed steam engines, used single-acting pistons of a new design. The crosshead became part of the piston, and there was no longer any piston rod. This was for similar reasons to the internal combustion engine, as avoiding the piston rod and its seals allowed a more effective crankcase lubrication system.
Small models and toys often use single-acting cylinders for the above reason but also to reduce manufacturing costs.
Internal combustion engines
In contrast to steam engines, nearly all internal combustion engines have used single-acting cylinders.
Their pistons are usually trunk pistons, where the gudgeon pin joint of the connecting rod is within the piston itself. This avoids the crosshead, piston rod and its sealing gland, but it also makes a single-acting piston almost essential. This, in turn, has the advantage of allowing easy access to the bottom of the piston for lubricating oil, which also has an important cooling function. This avoids local overheating of the piston and rings.
Crankcase compression two-stroke engines
Small petrol two-stroke engines, such as for motorcycles, use crankcase compression rather than a separate supercharger or scavenge blower. This uses both sides of the piston as working faces, the lower side of the piston acting as a piston compressor to compress the inlet charge ready for the next stroke. The piston is still considered as single-acting, as only one of these faces produces power.
Double-acting internal combustion engines
Some early gas engines, such as Lenoir's original engines, from around 1860, were double-acting and followed steam engines in their design.
Internal combustion engines soon switched to single-acting cylinders. This was for two reasons: as for the high-speed steam engine, the high force on each piston and its connecting rod was so great that it placed large demands upon the bearings. A single-acting piston, where the direction of the forces was consistently compressive along the connecting rod, allowed for tighter bearing clearances. Secondly the need for large valve areas to provide good gas flow, whilst requiring a small volume for the combustion chamber so as to provide good compression, monopolised the space available in the cylinder head. Lenoir's steam engine-derived cylinder was inadequate for the petrol engine and so a new design, based around poppet valves and a single-acting trunk piston appeared instead.
Extremely large gas engines were also built as blowing engines for blast furnaces, with one or two extremely large cylinders and powered by the burning of furnace gas. These, particularly those built by Körting, used double-acting cylinders. Gas engines require little or no compression of their charge, in comparison to petrol or compression-ignition engines, and so the double-acting cylinder designs were still adequate, despite their narrow, convoluted passageways.
Double-acting cylinders have been infrequently used for internal combustion engines since, although Burmeister & Wain made 2-stroke cycle double-acting (2-SCDA) diesels for marine propulsion before 1930. The first, of 7,000 hp, was fitted in the British MV Amerika (United Baltic Co.) in 1929. The two B&W SCDA engines fitted to the in 1937 produced 24,000 hp each.
USS Pompano
In 1935 the US submarine USS Pompano was ordered as part of the Perch class Six boats were built, with three different diesel engine designs from different makers. Pompano was fitted with H.O.R. (Hooven-Owens-Rentschler) 8-cylinder double-acting engines that were a licence-built version of the MAN auxiliary engines of the cruiser Leipzig. Owing to the limited space available within the submarines, either opposed-piston or, in this case, double-acting engines were favoured for being more compact. Pompanos engines were a complete failure and were wrecked during trials before even leaving the Mare Island Navy Yard. Pompano was laid up for eight months until 1938 while the engines were replaced. Even then the engines were regarded as unsatisfactory and were replaced by Fairbanks-Morse engines in 1942. While Pompano was still being built, the Salmon class submarines were ordered. Three of these were built by Electric Boat, with a 9-cylinder development of the H.O.R. engine. Although not as great a failure as Pompanos engines, this version was still troublesome and the boats were later re-engined with the same single-acting General Motors 16-248 V16 engines as their sister boats. Other Electric Boat constructed submarines of the Sargo and Seadragon classes were also built with these 9-cylinder H.O.R. engines, but later re-engined.
Hydraulic cylinders
See main Hydraulic cylinder article.
Footnotes
References
Category:Piston engines
Category:Steam engines
Category:Hydraulics | 2024-02-07T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8684 |
Putting the pun in punishment
Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, c. 1545-1550
The painting illustrates the biblical passage in which a woman accused of adultery—an offense punishable by death in Mosaic law—is brought before Christ. He responds to her accusers with the words written across the top of the painting: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her"
It does cheapen it, but that's cause it's a retroactive interpretation. If I'm not mistaken, "original sin" as a theological doctrine was put forth first in the 2nd century, and has always been a distinctly christian thing. Jews have a concept of 'sinning' related to the christian understanding, but it's not entirely the same thing. Jesus probably did not mean "you're all sinners by default, because Adam" but the more human implication of "no one here is any less fallible than she is".
He calls them hypocrites, in that section, for not following God's commandment about honoring your father and mother. He's not calling them hypocrites for not killing their children, but for trying to change the meaning of "honor your father and mother" to that which suits them. Also Matthew 5:18 is Jesus telling his people that he is not there to rule them or overrule the prophets, but to fulfill their prophecies. He says that none of the law changes until everything is accomplished, meaning when he dies and resurrects, the law itself doesn't change, but the meaning of guilt changes. In sacrificing himself for our sins, Jesus bears the guilt of your sin on himself, and is subject to the punishment for everyone's sin. So, as he goes on to describe later in the passage, what counts as sin does not change, but who the blame and punishment falls on changes. This also marks the change in the definition of unclean. Right after the section in Matthew 15, Jesus talks about how what goes into the body does not make one unclean, it is what comes out of one's mouth. To be unclean was to be covered in sin, but one cannot be covered in sin if Jesus has died to forgive them. This, along with several other passages (like acts 10), shows how the Old Testament laws regarding clean and unclean food no longer applied to Christians for the Lord said to Peter "Do not call anything I have made unclean".
This isn't about atheism vs belief or something. What you said was wrong and got corrected. There were no "mental gymnastics" and the comment responding to yours wasn't defending the Bible, it was clarifying the content.
I myself am not a Christian. My comment was clarifying your misrepresentation of what the Bible says. Feel free to refute my correction of your position, but please refrain from attempting to trivialize the accepted doctrine of about a billion people by using unwarranted insults. I understand your position, but stop being an asshole.
"The accepted doctrine of a billion people" is still open to criticism, whether or not they like it, at least from where I'm sitting.
These are not unwarranted insults, it's criticism. It's not like I came into a christian subreddit to start insulting people; this was a sneaky way of getting some Jesus into a neutral thread.
Throughout the day, I have to deal with evangelical types, so I do have little patience for it. Christians are used to being politely ignored for the most part, but to say it's wrong to criticize them is wrong.
As a fellow atheist, I think you should let this one drop. The top comment wasn't trying to sneak Jesus into anything as far as I can tell; they simply described the art being presented and its context, as is the norm on this sub. You made a comment criticizing Christianity in response to a comment that took no stance on the matter, and you were promptly corrected by someone else.
To be clear, I'm not saying there's nothing to criticize in the dogma; I'm saying that in this instance you injected your views where it wasn't really warranted, and your criticism was an out-of-context couple of quotes that you used to mock or discredit wrongly.
There's no need for it, though. The sub is about the comical captions, not the translation of the text on the painting. So it went a step too far IMO.
If we had Greek god lobbyists and preachers on every corner, and a bunch of Greek god fanatics in my family, and Greek myths being taught as science in the schools...........yes I'd have a bone to pick with a Greek-god equivalent!
Matthew 22:37 - 40 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So the law may not change, but none of it is valid if you don't have a "love of God" and "love your neighbor as you love yourself" above all else.
Christians just interpret the laws as they see fit anyway. What they're practicing is subjective morality, while pretending it's objective. Other religions do this as well, it's why there are so many variations of sects/ denominations etc.
This question is useless without further clarification. Burden of proof and all that. You're clearly not an open minded person so I'll respond once. Here it goes.
If you're talking about contradictions with Old Testament stuff, then you may as well forget it. Biblically, Jesus represented a revolution in Christianity, and his word went over old testament stuff.
If you're talking about New Testament contradictions, all the chapters were written by multiple people, and have been heavily distorted by translation. This can lead to some minor contradiction, especially when you take historical context into account.
Besides, I get that you're hostile to religion and all that, but I wasn't even making a point about Jesus being perfectly congruent with everything else. I'm not making a Faith based point. Just that If you have a strong religious leader like him, and some extremely devoted followers, and he says something is important above all, those followers would damn well listen.
Come on. Your interpretation of other logia in this thread is so wildly inaccurate that I seriously doubt your ability to identify a legitimate contradiction in the New Testament.
BTW, since you seem to think you're getting "Jezused" here, I'm not a Christian, but I'm also not so blind as to ignore wisdom that comes from Christian scripture just because it doesn't fit my worldview perfectly.
Honestly, look at the serious depictions of people in the middle ages. I note that many of them are of noblemen, and they all seem to be so damn soft, like they haven't done anything for themselves their whole lives.
And then there's the peasants, who I assume didn't exactly get the best eats, nor were they the healthiest.
In historic art pieces depicting multiple humans, there is a law that at least one of those humans will look like they have no clue how or why they got there. It's like Where's Waldo, except instead of looking for Waldo you're looking for the dude that looks like he just dropped acid. | 2024-03-21T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5957 |
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Chinese Chile
Chinese Chile has a bright fruity flavor similar to the Aleppo pepper but with a little more heat. This fine flake form disperses evenly into dishes so you don't have to worry about biting into a whole chile pod! | 2023-10-09T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8805 |
Due to a lack of a key pad or keyboard, there is normally no authentication or security available for digital cameras, other than biometric security systems. This is inconvenient.
Also, files stored in digital cameras are often uploaded to web sites such as, for example, YouTube. With high resolution cameras this is not suitable due to the relatively low resolution required by such web sites. This normally requires the use of a computer to perform the uploading. This is inconvenient. Mobile/cellular telephones are also used to send images they have captured by MMS or other protocols. This takes a considerable time due to the high resolution and formats used. This is inconvenient. | 2024-06-01T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8035 |
Q:
Webform select option list from another submission data
I have a webform (webform 1) to record data. In another webform (webform 2) I would like to use the submitted data from webform 1 in select options (Load a pre-built option list). How can I do this? Is there any module that already available to do this?
A:
You could try the sandbox project Webform Views Select.
| 2024-04-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1447 |
Article content
Memo to all those Ottawa Redblacks defensive linemen celebrating that 10-sack game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday:
There’s still work to do to catch Leroy Blugh.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Hall of Fame kind of day for Redblacks assistant coach Leroy Blugh Back to video
The Redblacks‘ defensive-line coach was featured during a halftime ceremony marking his recent induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, which itself recognized not only a stellar university football career, but also his 15 seasons in the Canadian Football League, mostly with the Edmonton Eskimos.
That team still holds the league record for sacks in a single game with 13 against the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 18, 1993. Blugh had four of them, he let it be known as his current charges and their Redblacks teammates celebrated a 35-13 triumph against the Roughriders.
“I loved that ceremony and everything, but to see those guys go out and put on a performance like that was pretty terrific,” Blugh said. “You don’t see that every day.”
Another thing Blugh hadn’t seen before was his D-linemen all wearing jerseys with the name Blugh and the number 89 — his number as a CFL player — during the pregame warmup.
“It was hush-hush, and Leroy didn’t know about it,” said Keith Shologan, who recorded two of the 10 sacks on Sunday. “Some of us found out yesterday and some of us found out today, and Leroy didn’t know until we ran out there.”
gholder@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/HolderGord | 2024-07-02T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6254 |
Thermoplastics are used in a variety of end-use applications, including storage containers, medical devices, food packages, cast films, blown films, plastic tubes and pipes, shelving units, and the like. Base thermoplastic resin compositions, however, must exhibit certain physical characteristics to facilitate widespread use. To achieve desirable physical properties, certain compounds and compositions provide nucleation sites for polyolefin crystal growth during molding or fabrication. Generally, compositions containing such nucleating compounds crystallize at a much faster rate and crystallize at high temperature than non-nucleated polyolefins, which is desirable. Such crystallization at faster rate results in reduced fabrication cycle times and a variety of improvements in physical properties such as stiffness or warpage control. Furthermore, the clarity or haze characteristics of such fabricated articles is an important consideration. Articles or films with reduced amounts of haze are generally quite desirable.
Metal salts are useful as nucleating additives for thermoplastics. U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,971 discloses metal salts of HHPA for use in thermoplastics. Other published patents that are commonly owned by the owner of the current application and which relate to metal salt compounds and their use as nucleating agents in polymers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,562,890; 6,465,551; 6,642,290; 6,703,434; 6,794,433 and 6,887,963. Other commonly owned patents of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,936,650 and 6,946,507.
Milliken & Company of Spartanburg, S.C., USA (“Milliken”) markets and sells a nucleating agent composition within its HYPERFORM® nucleating agent additive product line under the designation “HPN-20E™”. The additive product HPN-20™ contains Ca HHPA (as shown below) combined with an acid scavenger compound, zinc stearate. This product is designed for addition to polymers, and for dispersion of the additive into polymer. This solid powdered additive material is made and sold in the United States for use by polyolefin producers and polymer compounders as a direct additive in polyolefin article manufacturing operations.
“Ca HHPA” as referred to herein shall refer to the following compound:
Milliken also markets and sells other compounds as nucleating agents. For example, HYPERFORM® HPN-68L is a powdered solid nucleating agent manufactured by Milliken & Company in which the nucleating agent comprises a dicarboxylate Na-based compound known as HPN-68:
| 2023-08-03T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3575 |
Important information
Typology
Certificate
Methodology
Distance learning
Duration
6 Months
Certificate
Distance learning
Duration:6 Months
Description
Course programme
Sujok Therapy is a system of treatment comprising of a variety of techniques to prevent and cure illness and restore health without any drugs. This alternative medicine course is very popular and effective too. | 2024-02-06T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3075 |
PET imaging of thymidine kinase gene expression in the liver of non-human primates following systemic delivery of an adenoviral vector.
Non-invasive in vivo imaging of transgene expression is currently providing very important means to optimize gene therapy regimes. Results in non-human primates are considered the most predictive models for the outcome in patients. In this study, we have documented that tumour and primary cell lines from human and non-human primates are comparably gene-transduced in vitro by serotype 5 adenovirus expressing HSV1-thymidine kinase. Transgene expression can be quantified in human and monkey cultured cells by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging when transduced cells are incubated with a fluoride-18 labelled penciclovir analogue. In our hands, PET images of cell cultures estimate the number of transduced cells rather than intensity of transgene expression once a threshold of TK per cell is reached. Interestingly, in vivo systemic administration of a clinical grade recombinant adenovirus expressing TK into macaques gives rise to an intense retention of the radiotracer in the liver parenchyma, providing an experimental system to visualize transgene expression that ought to be similar in human and macaques. Such imaging methodology might contribute to improve strategies based on adenoviral vectors. | 2023-12-03T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/9120 |
Q:
Having trouble using iframes
I am failing badly when it comes to using iframes and I need some help. I have never used an iframe before, this is my first time.
Here is a doucment on what I am trying to follow to produce an iframe with the galleria slider: http://galleria.io/docs/references/data/
What I have is a jwplayer and I want to access a video(s) using an iframe to retrieve the videos which are in the video.php page. If there is a single video, then simply retrieve the correct video from the video.php page but if there are multiple videos, then retrieve the correct multiple videos and display them in the galleria slider. But my question is how can I get the iframe to work in order to do this?
Below is the video.php page where it displays the jwplayer:
<div id="myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>">Loading the player...
<script type="text/javascript">
jwplayer("myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>").setup({
file: "<?php echo 'VideoFiles/'.$v; ?>",
width: 480,
height: 270
});
<?php $i++; ?>
Below is the code where it checks if the video is a single or multiple, displays the galleria slider if multiple and this is where the iframe is placed:
if(count($arrVideoFile[$key]) == 1){
foreach ($arrVideoFile[$key] as $v) { ?>
var data = [
{
iframe: 'video.php'
}
];
<?php
}
}else if(count($arrVideoFile[$key]) > 1){
?>
<style>
#galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>{ width: 500px; height: 300px; background: #000 }
</style>
<div id="galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>">
<?php
foreach ($arrVideoFile[$key] as $v) { ?>
<script type="text/javascript">
var data = [
{
iframe: 'video.php'
}
];
</script>
</div>
<?php } ?>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
Galleria.loadTheme('jquery/classic/galleria.classic.min.js');
Galleria.run('#galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>');
</script>
<?php
}
}
//end:procedure video
EDIT:
video.php
<?php
$key = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "key", FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$i = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "i", FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT);
$v = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "v", FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
?>
<div id="myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>">Loading the player...
<script type="text/javascript">
jwplayer("myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>").setup({
file: "<?php echo 'VideoFiles/'.$v; ?>",
width: 480,
height: 270
});
</script>
</div>
assessment.php:
if(count($arrVideoFile[$key]) > 1){
?>
<style>
#galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>{ width: 500px; height: 300px; background: #000 }
</style>
<div id="galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>">
<?php
foreach ($arrVideoFile[$key] as $v) { ?>
<a href="video.php?key={$key}&i={$i}&v={$v}"><img class="iframe"></a>
<?php $i++; ?>
<?php } ?>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
Galleria.loadTheme('jquery/classic/galleria.classic.min.js');
Galleria.run('#galleriavideo_<?php echo $key; ?>');
</script>
<?php
}
A:
Here is a short example on how to use Galleria with jwplayer. You can try to adapt it to your code then.
First, there is the video.php file which contains the jwplayer:
<div id="container"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/path/to/jwplayer.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
jwplayer("container").setup({
file: "http://content.bitsontherun.com/videos/3XnJSIm4-kNspJqnJ.mp4",
image: "http://content.bitsontherun.com/thumbs/3XnJSIm4-640.jpg"
});
</script>
Then, there is the gallery.php file, which contains the slider:
<div id="galleria" style="height:350px; width:550px;">
<a href="/path/to/video.php"><img class="iframe"></a>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/path/to/jquery.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/path/to/galleria.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
Galleria.loadTheme('/path/to/galleria.classic.min.js');
Galleria.run('#galleria');
</script>
If you want to display multiple videos in the slider, you can imagine a solution where video.php takes a parameter and loads a video according to it, i.e. video.php?id=xx
Edit: to clarify a bit
Your video.phpfile should take some parameters:
$key = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "key", FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$i = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "i", FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT);
$v = filter_input(INPUT_GET, "v", FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
<div id="myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>">Loading the player...
<script type="text/javascript" src="/path/to/jwplayer.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
jwplayer("myElement-<?php echo $key.'-'.$i; ?>").setup({
file: "<?php echo 'VideoFiles/'.$v; ?>",
width: 480,
height: 270
});
And then in the gallery.php file:
<div id="galleria" style="height:350px; width:550px;">
<a href="/path/to/video.php?key=xxx&i=xxx&v=xxx"><img class="iframe"></a>
<a href="/path/to/video.php?key=xxx&i=xxx&v=xxx"><img class="iframe"></a>
<a href="/path/to/video.php?key=xxx&i=xxx&v=xxx"><img class="iframe"></a>
...
</div>
| 2024-03-14T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5267 |
Thoughts on the Smith trade, as the dust settles
24 hours have passed, I’ve had time to let all the opinions and angles marinate in my mind, I think I’m at peace with the situation now.
Here’s what I think I’ve arrived at as the bottom line: the team made the best of a messy situation – which they created.
Here are my main takeaways:
1) Throw out any Cousins v Smith comparisons, they are completely irrelevant
Whether you think Kirk is better, Smith is better, whether it’s an upgrade or downgrade doesn’t matter one jot. The fact is Kirk was not going to sign. He was not an option. So it’s nonsensical to waste time with this comparison, because the team couldn’t sign Cousins instead of Smith.
2) With that in mind, the team needed a starting QB
They had nobody, and to their credit they acted quickly and addressed the problem without letting the whole thing drag out any further. And that’s key, because this has been dragging on far too long and become a horrible situation that was negatively affecting everybody. They paid the price of a 3rd and Kendall Fuller. I loved Fuller last season, and was very upset about letting him go at the time. I still don’t really like having to deal him, but when you zoom out and get perspective, that’s an adequate price to pay to fill the void of starting QB for the next 3-4 years. We all know all too well what it’s like wandering the QB wilderness and winning 4/5 games a season along they way – it seriously sucks. I’m not saying we’re a lock to avoid that situation, but with Smith the chances seem greatly reduced. He’s competent starter and while he probably won’t get any better, he is playing the best football of his career so far. I’ve settled on this being an acceptable price.
3) The team sent a statement they’re still committed to trying to win
What, really? Signing Alex Smith shows this? Of course it does. Years ago, this would have been the perfect storm of a situation for Snyder and the clownshow of a front office to drop a big old bomb and shake things up unnecessarily. They’d trade ridiculous resources for a flashy player to placate the fanbase, or they’d move right up in the draft to take the next great hope and mortgage the future in doing so. You know they would. By comparison, this is much more reserved and shrewd move. They’re not blowing things up and starting over, things will be very much “as you were”. Smith can operate the offense Jay runs, he has a fairly similar play style to Cousins anyway. I’m not saying he’s going to run it better, though you never know, but I’d be surprised if it turned out to be much of a drop off.
4) The team paid the going rate for this kind of QB
I’ve seen some opinions that say the contract is a ripoff – nonsense. If you want a competent QB, you pay this kind of money. End of story. The AAV will slot him inside the top 10, but within 18 months he will be WELL out of it.
5) However, despite making the best of a shit situation – it’s still a shit situation they are wholly responsible for
Most sensible fans wanted the team the sign Kirk. They had several opportunities to do so, and I will ALWAYS maintain they screwed up royally by not signing him to the $19m deal with $44m guaranteed which he reportedly asked for. That was a horrendous mistake. They botched the entire thing from start to finish, and although they’ve done a decent job of escaping from it with a QB who keeps them competitive, they still f—-d this up six ways from Sunday.
6) Now the front office are on the hook to prove they were right, or heads have to roll
I’ve said all along if the front office don’t want to sign Kirk to a long term deal, fine, that’s their prerogative – but they better be right. They better be vindicated in the end by either finding a better solution or being proven right that Kirk isn’t worth being paid. I am highly, highly sceptical either scenario will come off. I’ve been wondering what a success criteria should be now from this, and I think a Redskins playoff appearance in the next two seasons would do it. Let’s be honest, as much as some of us really wanted Kirk, we did only make the playoffs once in three years with him. Now obviously there is a LOT of nuance behind that, and he’s not all responsible. But it’s not like the team was on the cusp of something special and Kirk was in the elite league of QBs that can carry a team on their back. As I said, it’s very much “as you were”. If Kirk continues to improve and takes a step forward, leading his new team to a Lombardi trophy, then obviously things are different.
However, I do have a feeling the fate of Bruce Allen is now intrinsically linked to this whole debacle. If this backfires spectacularly, which is never out of the question with this organisation, I expect his time will be up. | 2023-10-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3061 |
Development of the breastfeeding quality improvement in hospitals learning collaborative in New York state.
Exclusive breastfeeding is a public health priority. A strong body of evidence links maternity care practices, based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, to increased breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. Despite having written breastfeeding policies, New York (NY) hospitals vary widely in reported maternity care practices and in prevalence rates of breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, during the birth hospitalization. To improve hospital maternity care practices, breastfeeding support, and the percentage of infants exclusively breastfeeding, the NY State Department of Health developed the Breastfeeding Quality Improvement in Hospitals (BQIH) Learning Collaborative. The BQIH Learning Collaborative was the first to use the Institute for Health Care Improvement's Breakthrough Series methodology to specifically focus on increasing hospital breastfeeding support. The evidence-based maternity care practices from the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding provided the basis for the Change Package and Data Measurement Plan. The present article describes the development of the BQIH Learning Collaborative. The engagement of breastfeeding experts, partners, and stakeholders in refining the Learning Collaborative design and content, in defining the strategies and interventions (Change Package) that drive hospital systems change, and in developing the Data Measurement Plan to assess progress in meeting the Learning Collaborative goals and hospital aims is illustrated. The BQIH Learning Collaborative is a model program that was implemented in a group of NY hospitals with plans to spread to additional hospitals in NY and across the country. | 2024-01-15T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1312 |
// RUN: %clang_cc1 -fsyntax-only -verify -std=c++11 \
// RUN: -triple powerpc64le-unknown-linux-gnu -target-cpu pwr9 \
// RUN: -target-feature +float128 %s
// RUN: %clang_cc1 -fsyntax-only -std=c++11 -triple x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu -Wno-unused-value -Wno-parentheses %s
__float128 qf();
long double ldf();
#ifdef __PPC__
// FIXME: once operations between long double and __float128 are implemented for
// targets where the types are different, these next two will change
long double ld{qf()}; // expected-error {{cannot initialize a variable of type 'long double' with an rvalue of type '__float128'}}
__float128 q{ldf()}; // expected-error {{cannot initialize a variable of type '__float128' with an rvalue of type 'long double'}}
auto test1(__float128 q, long double ld) -> decltype(q + ld) { // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
return q + ld; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
}
auto test2(long double a, __float128 b) -> decltype(a + b) { // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
return a + b; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
}
#endif
void test3(bool b) {
long double ld;
__float128 q;
ld + q; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
q + ld; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
ld - q; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
q - ld; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
ld * q; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
q * ld; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
ld / q; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('long double' and '__float128')}}
q / ld; // expected-error {{invalid operands to binary expression ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
ld = q; // expected-error {{assigning to 'long double' from incompatible type '__float128'}}
q = ld; // expected-error {{assigning to '__float128' from incompatible type 'long double'}}
q + b ? q : ld; // expected-error {{incompatible operand types ('__float128' and 'long double')}}
}
| 2024-03-02T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3507 |
Q:
What is the difference between quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation?
Generate two entangled photons, send one to a message sender and the other to the intended receiver. Both the sender and the receiver recover the same piece of quantum information from the photons, then the sender scrambles the message to be sent by some reversible function determined by the quantum information, and send this scrambled data to the receiver who is now capable of unscrambling it thanks to having the quantum information that was used for the scrambling procedure.
This description as far as I can tell would be a valid simplified explanation of both quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation. What exactly is the difference between the two terms?
A:
The main difference between quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation is the following :
quantum teleportation aims at transmitting quantum information (i.e. a quantum state). Because of the no-cloning theorem, if the quality of this transmission is high enough, no-one except the legitimate receiver can reconstruct the quantum state, nor get any information about it.
quantum cryptography aims$^*$ at transmitting classical information privately. One way to do it is to encode the information on a quantum state, and then send this state through teleportation. This method is not very practical theoretically, but as far as I know, the best security proofs we have on the security of quantum cryptography protocols can be decomposed as :
This (technologically doable) set-up can be shown to be equivalent to
a (much more difficult to build but easier to analyse)
teleportation based set-up;
The equivalent teleportation set-up works well enough to guarantee the
privacy of the communication.
So the analogy between quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography is very deep, and not a mere coincidence.
$*$ I know that some quantum cryptography protocols have other aims than privacy. But I don't think it's the subject of this question.
| 2024-03-16T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5449 |
Aggregates, including for example crushed stone, sand and gravel, are one of the most fundamental components used in construction.
Approximately fifty percent of aggregates are shipped for highway construction, either as road base or a primary component of asphalt and concrete. Aggregates are also used in commercial and residential construction as base for foundations, concrete and parking lots. Other uses for aggregates, some of which require a high-quality, chemical-grade limestone, include: riprap for erosion control; railroad ballast; flux stone; filter stone; agricultural limestone; production of cement and lime; desulfurization; acid neutralization; animal feed supplements; and plastic and paint fillers. Regardless of the use, the production requirements of stone aggregates are complex because the material must be crushed to multiple sizes, often washed to remove fines and impurities, and sometimes processed further in order to meet the specification for its intended use. Without the physical and chemical properties provided by aggregates, modem construction materials and methods, as well as a multitude of industrial products, would not be possible.
Product requirements often dictate the percentages of flat particles, elongated particles or flat and elongated particles in coarse aggregates. For example, flat or elongated particles of aggregates for some construction uses may interfere with consolidation and result in harsh, difficult to place materials. Flat particles are defined as those particles that exceed a specified ratio of width to thickness. For example, if the ratio is 3:1, the width cannot exceed three times the thickness. (A specification will give a percentage and then the ratio, such as 20% 3:1, meaning a sample fails the specification if more than 20% of the particles (individual pieces or by mass of the total sample) tested have ratios that exceed 3:1.) Elongated particles are defined as those particles that exceed a specified ratio of length to width. Flat or elongated particles are defined as those particles of aggregate having a ratio of width to thickness or length to width greater than a specified value. Flat and elongated particles of aggregate are defined to be those particles having a ratio of length to thickness (maximum to minimum) greater than a specified value.
Sieve size is the size of an opening that a particle can pass through. The specification may require that the amount of particles passing through the opening be determined (xe2x80x9cpercent passingxe2x80x9d). Alternatively, the specification may require that the percent of the sample that does not pass through a specified opening be determined (xe2x80x9cpercent retainedxe2x80x9d).
Crushers are conventionally used to crush large aggregate particles (e.g., rocks) into smaller particles. One particular type of crusher is known as a cone crusher. A typical cone crusher includes a frame supporting a crusher head and a mantle secured to the head. A bowl and bowl liner are supported by the frame so that an annular space is formed between the bowl liner and the mantle. In operation, large particles are fed into the annular space between the bowl liner and the mantle. The head, and the mantle mounted on the head, rotate eccentrically about an axis, causing the annular space to vary. As the distance between the mantle and the bowl liner varies, the large particles are impacted and compressed between the mantle and the bowl liner. The particles are crushed and reduced to the desired product size, and then drop down from between the mantle and bowl liner.
Aggregate is a description of the product based on how much of the product passes (or could be given as how much is xe2x80x9cretained onxe2x80x9d) a specified number of sieve sizes, or openings. For example, an ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) #57, a typical product used in concrete and asphalt construction, is described by using sieve sizes as follows (sieve sizes are square openings):
Prior apparatus and methods for measuring individual particles of aggregate of specific sieve size to determine the ratio of width to thickness, length to width, or length to thickness include that disclosed in Standard Test Method for Flat Particles, Elongated Particles or Flat and Elongated Particles, in Coarse Aggregate, ASTM Designation D 4791-95, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. This test method uses a proportional caliper device that consists of a base plate with two fixed posts and a swinging arm mounted between them so that the openings between the swinging arm and the two fixed posts maintain a constant ratio. The axis position can be adjusted to provide the desired ratio of opening dimensions. The axis position must be moved to change the ratio being measured. A complete re-measuring of the particle under test each time a new ratio is selected is thus required. This device is therefore capable of measuring only one ratio at a time and is therefore capable of only determining whether a particle is larger or smaller than a single ratio.
Additionally, ASTM D 4791 details how to measure flat and elongated particles using a proportional caliper device that determines pass/fail for one ratio at a time. Specifications are based around using the proportional caliper device and specify the ratio and the maximum percent of the sample that can exceed the given ratio. In the xe2x80x9cSuperpavexe2x80x9d asphalt pavement mix design specification, for example, 10% on a 5:1 ratio means that no more than 10% of the aggregate sample can have a maximum dimension greater than five times the minimum dimension. Most aggregate specifications currently (and historically) use 10% on a 5:1 ratio, which is adequate for controlling excessive flat and elongated particles.
However, describing the flat and elongated particles present in a sample using the percent found at one ratio doesn""t give a true picture of the various ratios found within a sample as described later in this paper. A good analogy would be to describe the gradation of an ASTM #57 stone by giving only the percent passing the xc2xd-inch sieve. Without the information on the 1 inch, xc2xe inch, xe2x85x9c inch and #4 sieve, a complete picture of the gradation of the sample cannot be determined.
Without a complete picture of the various particle shapes in a sample, it is difficult to accurately evaluate performance results as determined by the current research efforts concerning particle shape. Several Departments of Transportation (DOT""s) and universities are developing automated procedures that determine aggregate particle shapes (Button, 2000), however the equipment costs involved (up to $30,000) make these devices far too expensive to be used in the typical aggregate laboratory. In addition, measurements with the automated devices are still aimed at determining the percent found at one specified ratio rather than gathering Multiple Ratio Analysis data.
Accordingly, there is still a need for an inexpensive and readily usable arrangement for determining aggregate particle shapes.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for compiling data permitting evaluation of aggregate particle shapes.
In one aspect, the invention includes a method for performing multiple ratio analysis of aggregate particles. This method includes the steps of measuring a first maximum dimension of a particle, measuring a second maximum dimension of a particle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first maximum dimension, and inputting the first maximum dimension and second maximum dimension into a computer having a processor. Using the computer, a particle ratio of the first maximum dimension to the second maximum dimension for the measured particle is computed and the particle ratio is classified into one of a predetermined plurality of different ratio ranges, each of these plurality of different ratios representative of a different range of particle shapes.
Another aspect of the invention includes an apparatus for multiple ratio analysis. This apparatus includes a measurement device configured to measure a dimension of an aggregate particle along at least one axis at a time, a computer, and a computer-readable medium bearing an instruction set executable by the computer. The instruction set permits the computer to calculate an aggregate particle ratio for an aggregate particle by determining a ratio of a first maximum dimension and a second maximum dimension of the aggregate particle. The instruction set also permits the computer to classify the aggregate particle ratio into one of a predetermined plurality of different aggregate particle ratio ranges, each of the plurality of different aggregate particle ratios representative of a different range of aggregate particle shapes.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by way of illustration of the best modes contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. | 2024-03-12T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6833 |
High-density hydrocarbon fuels, as important components of jet fuels, are one of factors capable of deciding the performances of spacecraft, and the fuels may be mono-component hydrocarbon compound or mixtures comprising a plurality of hydrocarbon compounds. The fuels can be used in engines of turbojets, ramjets and rockets. Developments in the aerospace engineering have put forward high requirements on this kind of high-density fuels: on one hand, the high-density fuels are required to provide more propulsion kinetic energy under the circumstance that the volumes of fuel tanks are given, i.e., the fuels have higher density and higher volume caloric values; on the other hand, the high-density fuels are further required to have good low temperature flow ability.
Naphthalene-derived alkanes have a bicyclic fused-ring structure that is very stable, and thus they can be used as stabilizers in fuels, to inhibit thermal decomposition of the fuels. Naphthalene-derived alkanes are commonly prepared from coal-based compounds. Decalin is one of the naphthalene-derived alkanes, having a density of 0.88 g/mL, an ice point less than −30° C., and a net combustion caloric value higher than 37.4 MJ/L, and thus it, due to the good stability to heat and oxygen, is a predominant component of high-density jet fuels, for example, JP-900. Alkyl-substituted naphthalene-derived alkanes have good low-temperature flow ability and high thermal stability, while keeping high density.
Bicyclic fused-ring alkanes (e.g., naphthalene-derived alkanes) in the art are usually prepared by a two-step process or by a multi-step process. In the first step, selected raw materials, such as cycloalkenes or cyclitols, are used to synthesize unsaturated bicyclic compounds or oxygen-containing bicyclic compounds by the C—C coupling reaction. The corresponding product, after being purified by separations, undergoes the reaction in the second step, that is, under severe conditions, the unsaturated bicyclic compounds or the oxygen-containing bicyclic compounds undergo hydrogenation or deoxygenation to produce bicyclic fused-ring alkanes (such as naphthalene-derived alkanes). The prior art process involves the following defects:
1. The reaction operations are complex, and the yield of the corresponding product is low. For example, Zhang et al. (see ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2016, 4 (11), 6160-6166) prepares the decalin with cyclopentanol as the raw material according to the following steps: the cyclopentanol is first catalytically dehydrated to produce cyclopentene that is purified by separation; then, the cyclopentene is catalytically alkylated to produce a precursor of decalin and other fuels, the precursor being purified by separation; at last, the precursor is hydrogenated under high pressure to produce decalin; the yield of the target product decalin is only 55.3%.
2. A C—C coupling reaction will produce a bicyclic fused-ring product and a linear bicyclic product, and accordingly, the final product obtainable after the hydrogenation also includes a bicyclic fused-ring alkane and a linear bicyclic alkane, wherein the bicyclic fused-ring alkane is the desirable target product. However, the molar ratio of the target product to the linear bicyclic alkane cannot be effectively controlled. Said bicyclic fused-ring product is meant to that the two rings share the same one C—C bond on a ring; said linear bicyclic product is meant to that the two rings are connected by one C—C bond that is not on a ring.
3. The hydrogenation reaction will highly require the catalyst and the associated apparatus used therein. For example, hydrogenating a unsaturated bicyclic compound, such as naphthalene, shall undergo a two-stage high-pressure hydrogenation process: in the first stage, the naphthalene is intermediately hydrogenated to produce tetralin, and a majority of sulfur present in the raw material is removed; in the second stage, the tetralin is deeply hydrogenated to produce decalin; in the process, the deep hydrogenation step of the tetralin is severe, and the temperature as required by the hydrogenation stage is high. In the hydrogenation steps, commonly-used catalysts include nickel catalysts, platinum-molybdenum catalysts, platinum-aluminum catalysts and nickel-aluminum catalysts; while the hydrogen gas pressure in the reaction is different according to different catalysts and reaction conditions as used therein, the pressure as required by the reaction is generally high, usually higher than 6 MPa, and even up to 20 MPa. In general, when the hydrogen gas pressure is lower than 6 MPa, the full hydrogenation will be hardly accomplished.
In the prior art, there are some processes for preparation of naphthalene-derived alkanes by hydrogenating naphthalene or naphthalene substitutes. However, the raw materials for these processes are naphthalene or naphthalene substitutes which are primarily derived from coal tar, a byproduct of coking, and from petroleum distillations, and they have few sources, which limits the scale industrial production of the naphthalene-derived alkanes. In addition, the aforementioned defects in the item 3 are still involved.
The Chinese patent with the application number 2017107835706 discloses a method for the preparation of an alkyl-substituted naphthalene-derived alkane. However, the method involves the following defects: a. catalysts used therein are required to have anacidity-H0 of greater than 12.3, and a working temperature of at most 120° C.; b. in the reaction, coking is severe, which results in rapid decrease of the activity of the catalyst; c. the yield of the product naphthalene-derived alkanes is low, generally 75% or below.
In order to overcome the aforementioned defects, the invention is proposed. | 2023-10-15T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7122 |
Q:
How to know status of process started with Win32::Job
I have the following to start a process with a timeout
use Win32::Job;
my $job = Win32::Job->new;
# Run $command for $max_time
$job->spawn($Config{"C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe"}, $command, new_group);
$job->run($max_time);
$job_stat=$job->status;
print LOG "$command status $job_stat\n";
I read the Win32::Job CPAN guide and added the last two lines because I would like to know whether the process ran to completion or was timed out. Is this the correct way to do this?
A:
According to the documentation, the status method returns a hash with two keys: exitcode and time. So if you want the exit code you should use it like this
my $job_stat = $job->status;
print "Exit code ", $job_stat->{exitcode}, "\n";
If you want the time used by the job you can use any or all of
$job_stat->{time}{user}
$job_stat->{time}{kernel}
$job_stat->{time}{elapsed}
| 2024-07-20T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7749 |
Oregon reports steepest jobless rise in nation
Oregon has recorded the steepest year-over-year rise in unemployment rates among the states and now its jobless rate ranks second among them.
PORTLAND — Oregon has recorded the steepest year-over-year rise in unemployment rates among the states and now its jobless rate ranks second among them.
This week, the state Employment Department said the Oregon unemployment rate jumped to 12.1 percent in March, matching the highest rate of the recession of the early 1980s.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that put the state second to Michigan, whose unemployment rate is 12.6 percent. South Carolina is third at 11.4 percent. The national rate is 8.5 percent.
The federal agency says that Oregon's unemployment rate has risen 6.6 percentage points since March of last year, the largest increase in the nation. South Carolina's rate has increased 5.5 percentage points.
Economists say Oregon's rate is climbing due to both layoffs and an unusually large increase in the labor force from people such as retirees and nonworking spouses who are looking for jobs.
The state reported Monday that 256,404 Oregonians were unemployed last month, more than double the number in March 2008.
Three times as many Oregonians are receiving unemployment benefits now as were this time last year.
State labor economist Art Ayre says that each of the last three months has seen jumps of more than one full percentage point in the jobless rate.
"These are extremely large compared to the historical record," Ayre said.
During the last recession in 2001-03, the largest over-the-month change was 0.4 percentage points, Ayre said.
Ayre said the difference between Oregon's rate and the nation's is now the biggest since modern day records began more than 40 years ago.
He said that normally, employers add jobs this time of year because the weather improves for construction so housing starts pick up while leisure and hospitality businesses begin hiring because people start making summer vacation plans.
But now, instead of hiring, companies are cutting. For example, in the transportation and utilities sector, 1,800 jobs were cut when a gain of 1,800 is typical.
The professional sector cut 700 jobs when a gain of 1,700 would have fit the seasonal pattern.
Ayre says the only sector to add jobs was the government. And it only added 200 jobs when 1200 would have been usual.
At a state job center in Tualatin where dozens of people were sitting in cubicles checking computers for jobs, Meagan Ty-Walker said she was laid off in January from a market research company in Portland.
She's expanded her search nationally and even with foreign firms, and has landed some interviews but has repeatedly been told companies are under a hiring freeze.
"I was unemployed briefly back in 2004 and it is definitely taking longer this time," Ty-Walker said. | 2024-03-01T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8625 |
Lloyds Banking Group was hit by a further £1.4 billion charge for mis-selling payment protection insurance in the first half of this year, taking its total bill for the scandal to more than £13 billion.
Amazon Prime’s deal with former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May for a new car show could give the streaming service an edge against its better-established rivals like Netflix. | 2024-04-23T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8514 |
Diversity of entomopathogenic Hypocreales in soil and phylloplanes of five Mediterranean cropping systems.
The diversity of entomopathogenic Hypocreales from the soil and phylloplanes in five Mediterranean cropping systems with different degrees of management [organic olive orchard conventional olive orchard, holm oak reforestation, holm oak dehesa (a multifunctional agro-sylvo-pastoral system), and sunflower plantation] was studied during four seasons. A total of 697 entomopathogenic fungal isolates were obtained from 272 soil samples, 1608 crop phylloplane samples and 1368 weed phylloplane samples. The following nine species were identified: Beauveria amorpha, B. bassiana, B. pseudobassiana, B. varroae, Metarhizium brunneum, M. guizhoense, M. robertsii, Paecilomyces marquandii and lilacinum using EF-1α gene sequences. All the fungal entomopathogenic species were found in both the soil and phylloplane samples, with the exception of M. robertsii, which was only isolated from the soil. The species richness, diversity (Shannon-Wiener index) and evenness (Pielou index) were calculated for each cropping system, yielding the following species ranking, which was correlated with the crop management intensity: holm oak reforestation>organic olive orchard>conventional olive orchard>holm oak dehesa>sunflower plantation. The number of fungal species isolated was similar in both phylloplane habitats and dissimilar between the soil and the crop phylloplane habitats. The ISSR analysis revealed high genotypic diversity among the B. bassiana isolates on the neighbourhood scale, and the isolates were clustered according to the habitat. These results suggest that the entomopathogenic Hypocreales in the phylloplane could result from the dispersal of fungal propagules from the soil, which might be their habitat of origin; a few isolates, including EABb 09/28-Fil of Beauveria bassiana, inhabit only the phylloplane. | 2024-06-19T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3787 |
Health Care-Associated Infections in a Neurocritical Care Unit of a Developing Country.
Health care-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) specialized for neurocritical care (neurocritical care units [NCCUs]) are serious yet preventable complications that contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, reliable data are scarcely available from the developing world. We aimed to analyze the incidence, epidemiology, microbial etiology, and outcomes of HAIs in an NCCU of a tertiary care teaching hospital in a high-income, developing country. In this 3-year retrospective cohort study, all patients admitted to the NCCU at the Ibn Sina Hospital in Kuwait for ≥ 2 calendar days were included. Patient demographics, hospitalization, and details of ICU-acquired infections were evaluated. Patient-related outcomes included hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS) and in-hospital mortality. Among 913 patients with a total of 4921 ICU days, 79 patients had 109 episodes of HAIs. The overall incidence rate and incidence density of HAIs were 11.9/100 patients and 22.1/1000 ICU days, respectively. Multiple episodes of infection were documented in 29% of patients. The most prevalent infections were urinary tract infections (UTIs; 40/109 [37%]), bloodstream infections (30/109 [28%]), and pneumonia (16/109 [15%]). Seventy-six percent of infections were device-associated infections. A total of 158 pathogens were isolated, of which 109 were Gram-negative bacteria. Of the 40 Gram-positive bacteria, 22 were staphylococci. Seven infections were due to Clostridium difficile. There were 15 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 47% of which were methicillin resistant. Two episodes of UTIs were due to Candida species. There were 84 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 24% of which were extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers. All Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were susceptible to aminoglycosides and carbapenems. Klebsiella species were the most common pathogen (45/158 [28%]), causing pneumonia (11/33 isolates [33%]), bloodstream infections (12/37 isolates [32%]), and UTIs (16/52 isolates [31%]). One episode of bloodstream infection was due to multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumanii which was susceptible only to colistin. Only pneumonia was independently associated with mortality, while all HAIs that occurred were significantly associated with a prolonged ICU LOS. This is the first HAI surveillance study in an NCCU in Kuwait, and our results demonstrate the burden of HAIs on the neurologically injured patient, regardless of the site of infection. The high prevalence and resistant profile of HAIs in an NCCU in a developing country relative to a developed country has important implications for patient safety and emphasizes the need to strengthen collaboration between NCCU teams and infection control teams to prevent serious complications in this setting. | 2023-10-16T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3896 |
George Pyne II
George Francis Pyne, Jr. (October 17, 1909 – June 3, 1974) was an American football tackle who played one season with the Providence Steam Roller of the National Football League. He played college football at the College of the Holy Cross and attended Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts. His son George Pyne III played in the AFL and his grandson Jim Pyne played in the NFL. The Pynes were the first family to have three generations play professional football. His grandson George played football at Brown University and is a businessman.
References
External links
Just Sports Stats
Category:1909 births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Players of American football from Massachusetts
Category:American football tackles
Category:Holy Cross Crusaders football players
Category:Providence Steam Roller players
Category:People from Marlborough, Massachusetts | 2024-02-14T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5612 |
The things that were said about me. … You know what, I wanted to hit a couple of those speakers so hard. I would have hit them — no, no — I was gonna hit them. I was all set. And then I got a call from a highly respected governor. ‘How’s it going, Donald?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s going good, but they’re really saying bad things about me. I’m gonna hit them so hard.’ I was gonna hit one guy in particular, a very little guy.
I was gonna hit this guy so hard, his head would spin. He wouldn’t know what the hell happened. And he came out of nowhere. He came out of nowhere. They made deals with me. ‘Would you help me with this? Would you make this deal and solve this problem?’ I solved the problem. I do a great job. I was going to hit a number of those speakers so hard, their heads would spin, they’d never recover. And that’s what I did with a lot of people — that’s why I still don’t have certain people endorsing me. They still haven’t recovered, okay, you know? | 2024-04-25T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3572 |
While the anime adaptation of Tsuyoshi Yasuda's soccer manga Days is set to run 24 episodes, this fall, it will be joined on stations such as Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS11 by the anime adaptation of Shiori Amase's school rugby manga ALL OUT!! Today, some of the September hypes into ALL OUT!!'s October 6th premiere were previewed, including a Days! crossover visual, to be featured in the new issue of preview pamphlet Ani-An!, out September 6th.
A September 25th Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro preview event/cast talk show was also announced. Shōya Chiba, Yūto Ada, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Ryota Ohsaka, Tiashi Murata and a secret addition are set to appear.
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime. | 2024-07-01T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1356 |
Feedback for Exemptions and Exclusions Under the Employment Standards Act
Pharmacist · Dec. 5, 2017
I believe that pharmacist should be treated the same as everyone else at the work place. I love my job and have always make myself available to any customers. I always get paged when I am in the washroom and I rush back to the pharmacy right away. As far as I understand, there is no other regulated health professionals that do not take breaks. Doctors and nurses take breaks and I don't think patients' care suffer. I think it will reduce the stress level and in the end, improve patient care. Pharmacist can take breaks in multiple shorter increments so that patients do not have to wait longer than 15 minutes, for example. It is up to the employer and pharmacist to work out what is in the best interest of patients and balance it with fair and equitable treatment of the pharmacist. I strongly support that pharmacist should be removed from the exemption. | 2023-09-30T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7872 |
Tom Merton
Options include a kilt, culottes, trousers, shorts or a PE uniform.
Hayward has said that she is perplexed at the media attention that the change has received, telling The Guardian that the reaction from students at the school had been relatively low-key.
"Really there's nothing ground-breaking, we're just saying these are the uniform options, pick what you feel comfortable in," she said.
"I would take offence to being told I had to wear a skirt to work every day because I am female, so this is about being responsive to the kids telling us we are perpetuating gender stereotypes, and what is going on in society at the moment.
"Hopefully the flow-on effect from this is kids at our school questioning their gender or sexuality, hear that message that it is OK and we value diversity and being comfortable in your own skin." | 2024-06-26T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2369 |
Not our home!
When I turned 14 my parents, moved for the 2nd time in 2 years to another century old home. This one was a little different from the first old home as it’s builder was buried next to the driveway. Conveniently no one mentioned this to me.
The expansive white two story home sat on the slope of a hill with a leveled front yard encased in a white picket fence. Surrounding the front porch was a thick grove of trees that’s branches intertwined creating a canopy when it rained. I found out later in the summer nights that they were home to tree frogs and katydids so loud you couldn’t have a conversation outside. The porch overlooked layers of rolling hills that turned purple and blue in the distance.
We kept my dappled gray mare and a few head of cattle in our fenced pasture across the dirt road. At the edge of the back fence our property dropped off sharply into a small stream where the deer drank, the wolves ran and coyotes yelped at night. We lived in BFE. (Bum Fuck Egypt), nowhere, 25 miles from town and 5 miles down a dirt road, deep in the woods with our nearest neighbor 1/2 mile away.
Being that I couldn’t just ride my 10 speed on a dirt road, I hiked the woods exploring hidden openings in the trees and riding my horse which is how I found his grave. We’d just moved in that summer and the trees were still thick with leaves but when fall hit and the leaves collected on the ground you could see from the driveway something grayish white peeking out from the sloped hill.
I trounced up the gravel drive and into the woods, scaling 30 feet up a hill to the above ground tomb. I was freaked out. I knew the previous owners name, Emy, and we called our home Emy’s Place. She was very old women when she moved out and when I questioned my parents I found out this was her Father. When my brother came home from college I showed him. After that I stayed away from the cold stones but the sight of it loomed in the distance from my bedroom window.
My room was on the second floor and being raised all my life in older 2 story homes, I knew how they shifted and creaked but I wasn’t prepared for my nightly visitor.
It began with me hearing footsteps on the lower stairs, and then the door opening that lead to the attic. They were heavy booted and sounded like my Dad. Let me explain briefly. There were about 6 stairs leading to a heavy door, then after you opened that door you were suddenly on a very steep stairwell leading into the attic. The attic had been floored in on the left and to the right was my bedroom door. If you opened my door and stepped in, a few more feet to the left was another door leading to a second adjoining room.
Then it progressed to hearing my bedroom’s old iron doorknob turn and footsteps walk to the end of my bed. I held my breath and I could hear it breathing. It just stood there breathing, not speaking, not moving and this happened almost every night. At the same time I had other occurrences happening which I won’t get into here but suffice it to say I became an insomniac. I’d stay up late watching a little black n white tv that used to be my grandmother’s until the end of programming when it went to white noise, how it looks like when you can’t receive a satellite channel.
I’d crawl into my bed exhausted and try to sleep but eventually I’d hear the tale tell door knob twist, the ascending footsteps with the creak of each stair and the breathing at the end of my bed.
At some point my brother entered the service and moved across seas, met a girl and was living near a graveyard. They had sent me photos of their ghost and so I explained how I was having problems with a haunting. They eventually got married and she became pregnant. So, she moved back to the states and into the adjoining room. Yes, she knew the story but she wasn’t afraid, in fact she wanted to experience it.
The first night she stayed, I heard the footsteps and breathing as usual. She heard nothing. The second night was a repeat of the first. The third night is where things changed. In all the years of living there the footsteps only ever stopped at the end of my bed. The third night of my sister n laws stay the stairs creaked with the heavy footfalls. My door opened. The steps stopped at the end of my bed, and the breathing was loud and raspy as usual, then the footsteps moved toward her door and opened it! I could only hear from my bed what sounded like the footsteps enter her room and close the door.
I don’t remember hearing anything else. I finally went to sleep and the next morning I could hear her and my Mom downstairs making breakfast and talking in the kitchen. As I descended the stairs leading into the dining room she met me at the landing and said, “I heard it last night! I heard it come into my room!!!” I didn’t even have a chance to tell her that I heard her door.
That was proof enough for my a Mom who started praying and anointing all the rooms, doorways and windows. Although after she did her part in cleansing the house, the footsteps stopped I had other visitors that I’ll tell you another time. But, I no longer had to wonder if all of it was in my head, and if I’d have put two and two together I’d have figured out that it was a haunting from the old man who built the house who’s grave loomed in my window. | 2024-02-04T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6751 |
I shoot my bow often and my targets stay outside and take carbon all year long. It does not take long before the vitals need replaced or the target is all but destroyed. With the cost of today’s targets it is much cheaper to repair your archery target several times before you even think about replacing them.
Today I will break down this simple method to repair any 3D archery target for less than ten bucks.
Materials
1 can dense foam sealant
1 can spray paint (optional)
Tools: A sharp knife
Step 1
Fill the holes with the sealant by inserting the nozzle inside the holes in the target and slowly letting it build up. Remember that the foam will expand and there’s no need to overdo it. It’s important to fill in all the little gaps and holes if you want a perfectly smooth target upon completion.
The best insulation foam sealant to use for target repair is the kind made for filling small gaps and cracks. The type designed for large gaps is not dense enough to adequately stop arrows.
Step 2
Once the foam has expanded and dried it is time to cut off the excess foam to the shape of the target. Allow 24 hours to completely dry before shooting the target. If you want, you can paint the target to make it look nice.
Extra Tips
Keep your targets out of the direct sunlight, cover them or put them under a shade tree.
Utilize the entire target area, shoot at different places on the target to not just wear out one area.
Check out the video for a visual demonstration below
x
Let me know what you think or ask any questions in the comments below | 2024-02-22T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/2620 |
/*
* Copyright (c) 2010-2019 Belledonne Communications SARL.
*
* This file is part of Liblinphone.
*
* 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 3 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*/
#ifndef LINPHONE_DAEMON_COMMAND_UNREGISTER_H_
#define LINPHONE_DAEMON_COMMAND_UNREGISTER_H_
#include "daemon.h"
class UnregisterCommand: public DaemonCommand {
public:
UnregisterCommand();
void exec(Daemon *app, const std::string& args) override;
};
#endif // LINPHONE_DAEMON_COMMAND_UNREGISTER_H_
| 2023-11-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/8732 |
Q:
Protect static files with Nginx
I am using nginx for static audio files for my music player mobile app. No dynamic links, no scripts, just static urls. How to close access to files, if query comes not from my app?
I don't have any authentication and i don't want to force users use it.
I read about http://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_request_module.html. Also it would be great to use Laravel for this purpose.
A:
Normally, resource requests from your web page will contain an HTTP referer request header equal to that page's URL. Otherwise, the referer is blank for direct access or will be the URL of another site. Try:
location /static {
if ($http_referer !~ ^http[s]?://example.com) {
return 404;
}
}
| 2024-06-30T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/5765 |
Menu
bhimgh
It's no secret that visiting the dentist is not at the top of the common person's list of favorite things. This experience can occasionally be somewhat painful as the mouth is probably one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Aside from the pains, dental work can have a long-lasting impact on someone's life. Having healthy, straight, and attractive teeth can increase you feel about yourself, maintain overall physical health, and strengthen relationships with others. At our dental office, the staff is dedicated to providing dental services in a relaxing atmosphere at an affordable price. Some of the services that we provide are dental implants, botox dermal therapy, Invisalign, and several general dental procedures. It makes no difference what cosmetic dentistry lacey, wa procedure you need completed, we will make sure you walk out our doors with a beautiful smile. | 2024-05-07T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3206 |
Nowadays, it is commonplace for a computer e-mail user to receive several dozen or more e-mails in any given day. As a result, a user's “inbox” can quickly fill up with numerous e-mails and become difficult to manage.
One attempt at a solution is to have the user organize e-mails into folders. This may work well when the user is receiving a large number of e-mails over a long period of time which are all associated. For example, a user might put all e-mails associated with a given project in the same folder. However, this method presents some drawbacks. One problem is that it is cumbersome to create new folders for each discussion topic, especially when the topic is something that is likely only relevant for a few days. Another problem is that a user can only view e-mails in a single given folder; e-mail programs do not allow a user to view the contents of all folders simultaneously.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for efficiently and effectively associating e-mails under a common discussion topic for organizational purposes in a convenient manner that overcomes the limitations and problems of the prior art. | 2024-06-17T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1988 |
Q:
bash read timeout only for the first character entered by the user
I have searched for a simple solution that will read user input with the following features:
timeout after 10 seconds, if there is no user input at all
the user has infinite time to finish his answer if the first character was typed within the first 10 sec.
I have found a solution to a similar request (timeout after each typed character) on Linux Read - Timeout after x seconds *idle*. Still, this is not exactly the feature, I was looking for, so I have developed a two line solution as follows:
read -N 1 -t 10 -p "What is your name? > " a
[ "$a" != "" ] && read b && echo "Your name is $a$b" || echo "(timeout)"
In case the user waits 10 sec before he enters the first character, the output will be:
What is your name? > (timeout)
If the user types the first character within 10 sec, he has unlimited time to finish this task. The output will look like follows:
What is your name? > Oliver
Your name is Oliver
However, there is following caveat: the first character is not editable, once it was typed, while all other characters can be edited (backspace and re-type).
Do you have any ideas for a resolution of the caveat or do you have another simple solution to the requested behavior?
A:
Enable readline and add $a as the default value for the second read.
# read one letter, but don't show it
read -s -N 1 -t 10 -p "What is your name? > " a
if [ -n "$a" ]; then
# Now supply the first letter and let the user type
# the rest at their leisure.
read -ei "$a" b && echo "Your name is $b"
else
echo "(timeout)"
fi
This still displays a second prompt after the first letter is answered, but I don't think there's a better way to handle this; there's no way to "cancel" a timeout for read. The ideal solution would be to use some command other than read, but you would have to write that yourself (probably as a loadable built-in, in C).
| 2024-04-05T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/6403 |
Trans-kingdom conjugation in vitro by using toluenized cells.
To establish in vitro trans-kingdom conjugation, we developed a novel direct cell PCR by using toluenized cells which permeate enzymes, primers and substrates. The cells was shown to be successful recipients in conjugation. | 2023-12-11T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/1591 |
There are myriad issues underlying each of these tragedies: fear, racism, mistrust, hate. These are critical issues that we, as a country, have an obligation to honestly and forthrightly address. And they’re issues my office is working hard to tackle alongside our partners in the community, in law enforcement, and in government.
Five horrific headlines in five weeks. Each story unique in its circumstances, but bound by a common thread: human lives taken by a gun.
But there’s one issue that can be addressed right now — the proliferation of guns, particularly assault weapons.
Here in Massachusetts, 10,000 assault weapons were sold just in the last year — each one nearly identical to the rifle used to gun down 49 innocent people in Orlando. In the week after the Pulse nightclub massacre, sales of weapons strikingly similar to the Sig Sauer MCX used at Pulse jumped as high as 450 percent over the previous week — just in Massachusetts.
It’s no surprise the Orlando killer chose an AR-15 style assault rifle. It’s a weapon of war, originally created for combat, and designed to kill many people in a short amount of time with incredible accuracy. It’s in the same category as weapons chosen by killers in Newtown, Aurora, and San Bernardino. These are not weapons of self-defense. They are weapons used to commit mass murder. And they have no business being in civilian hands.
How in Massachusetts, then, home to some of the strongest gun laws in the country, do we allow people to buy these guns?
The gun industry has found a way to exploit our laws, a loophole of potentially horrific proportions. And it’s time we act.
The Massachusetts assault weapons ban mirrors the federal ban Congress allowed to expire in 2004. It prohibits the sale of specific weapons like the Colt AR-15 and AK-47 and explicitly bans “copies or duplicates” of those weapons. But gun manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to define what a “copy” or “duplicate” weapon is. They market “state compliant” copycat versions of their assault weapons to Massachusetts buyers. They sell guns without a flash suppressor or folding or telescoping stock, for example, small tweaks that do nothing to limit the lethalness of the weapon.
That will end now. On Wednesday, we are sending a directive to all gun manufacturers and dealers that makes clear that the sale of these copycat assault weapons is illegal in Massachusetts. With this directive, we will ensure we get the full protection intended when lawmakers enacted our assault weapons ban, not the watered-down version of those protections offered by gun manufacturers.
The directive specifically outlines two tests to determine what constitutes a “copy” or “duplicate” of a prohibited weapon. If a gun’s operating system is essentially the same as that of a banned weapon, or if the gun has components that are interchangeable with those of a banned weapon, it’s a “copy” or “duplicate,” and it is illegal. Assault weapons prohibited under our laws cannot be altered in any way to make their sale or possession legal in Massachusetts.
We recognize that most residents who purchased these guns in the past believed they were doing so legally, so this directive will not apply to possession of guns purchased before Wednesday. In the dozen years since the federal assault weapons ban lapsed, only seven states have instituted their own assault weapons ban. Many of those bans have been challenged (unsuccessfully) by the gun industry, and we anticipate our directive may be too. But our job is to enforce state laws and to keep people safe. This directive does both.
In the face of utter inaction by Congress, states have a duty to enact and enforce laws that protect people from gun violence. If Washington won’t use its power to get these guns off our streets, we will. Not only do we have the legal authority to do so, we have a moral obligation to do so.
Maura Healey is the attorney general of Massachusetts. | 2023-08-27T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/3891 |
134 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 174 (1990)
578 A.2d 580
The CITY COUNCIL OF the CITY OF HAZLETON, Pennsylvania et al., Appellants,
v.
The CITY OF HAZLETON, Pennsylvania, et al., Appellees.
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued April 2, 1990.
Decided July 23, 1990.
Reargument Denied September 12, 1990.
*176 Edward D. Reibman, Allentown, for appellants.
Charles P. Gelso, with him, John P. Moses, Moses, Gelso and Prociak, and Carl N. Frank, Farrell, Frank and Mattern, Wilkes Barre, for appellees.
Before CRAIG and PELLEGRINI, JJ., and BARBIERI, Senior Judge.
CRAIG, Judge.
The Hazleton City Council appeals an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County that declared null and void a city ordinance that would have amended the city's Administrative Code to vest in the council, rather than in the mayor, the power to appoint members of municipal authorities.
The sole issue here is one of law: Do the relevant statutes permit the city council, in an Optional Plan B form of third class city government, to be the appointing power with respect to municipal authority members?
The facts are as follows. On November 5, 1985, the voters of Hazleton, a city of the third class, elected to change the city's form of government from a commission type to an Optional Plan: Executive (Mayor) Council Plan B under the Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, Act of April 13, 1972, No. 62, §§ 101-1309, as amended, 53 P.S. §§ 1-101-1-1309 (Optional Plans Law). On January *177 25, 1988, to implement the new government, the council passed Ordinance No. 88-1, known as the Administrative Code of the City of Hazleton.
Section 401 of that code, without the attempted amendment, states:
Article IV Section 401. Appointment of Members to Authorities, Boards and Commissions. Where the appointment of members to authorities, boards, or commissions is vested in the city by statute or ordinance, such member or members shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and approval of Council.
The council adopted Ordinance 88-56 on January 9, 1989, amending Section 401 to read as follows:
Article IV Section 401. Appointments of Members to Authorities, Boards, and Commissions. Where the appointment of members to authorities is so stated in the Municipal Authorities Act (53 P.S., Section 309), said appointment is hereby granted by the Governing Body also known as the Council of the City of Hazleton. Whereby the appointment of boards or commissions is vested in the city by statute or Ordinance such member or members shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and approval of Council.
Be it further resolved that any and all Ordinances or parts of Ordinances inconsistent with this Ordinance be and the same are hereby repealed.
Thus, Ordinance No. 88-56 would amend the original code by vesting in the council the power to appoint members to municipal authorities. The mayor would retain the power conferred under the original text of Section 401 to appoint members of "boards and commissions."
The mayor vetoed the ordinance; however, the council unanimously overrode the veto. The council then appointed Hazleton residents to positions on various municipal authorities.
Section 1221 of the Optional Plans Law, as amended, 53 P.S. § 1-1221, reads as follows:
*178 The appointment power of the chief executive of the municipality under any of the plans authorized by this act shall include the appointment of members of boards and commissions authorized by this act, by general law now or hereafter enacted, or by action of municipal council. All such appointments shall be with the advice and consent of a majority of municipal council. (Emphasis added.)
The relevant provisions of the Municipal Authorities Act of 1945 (Authorities Act), Act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, as amended, §§ 1-19, 53 P.S. §§ 301-322, state:
§ 302. Definitions
The following terms whenever used or referred to in this act shall have the following meanings, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(b) The term "Board" shall mean the governing body of an Authority.
Section 2 of the Authorities Act, as amended, 53 P.S. § 302.
§ 309. Governing body
A. The Powers of each Authority shall be exercised by a governing body (Herein called the "Board") composed as follows:
(a) If the Authority is incorporated by one municipality the board shall consist of such number of members not less than five as shall be set forth in the articles of incorporation or amendment thereto. The governing body of such municipality shall appoint the members of the board,
. . . .
Section 7 of the Authorities Act, as amended, 53 P.S. § 309 A(a). (Emphasis added.)
The Optional Plans Law expressly defines "governing body" as:
. . . . [B]oards of county commissioners, city councils, borough or incorporated town councils, commissioners of townships of the first class, and supervisors of townships *179 of the second class as their successor forms of government. (Emphasis added.)
Section 102 of the Law, 53 P.S. § 1-102.
The mayor contends that this court should interpret section 1221 of the Optional Plans Law as giving the mayor (the "chief executive") power to appoint members of authorities, as being included within the power to appoint members of "boards and commissions" because the Authorities Act refers to the governing body of an authority (the appointed members) as a "Board".
By that reading, the mayor assumes that the words "authorized . . . by general law now . . . enacted", emphasized in our quotation of section 1221 above, refer to laws authorizing "boards and commissions."
The mayor's analysis also assumes that, when the legislature passed the Optional Plans Law, its section 1221 impliedly repealed contrary appointment provisions of acts which the general assembly had earlier adopted, such as the Authorities Act, expressly placing the appointment power in a governing body.
The contrary contention is that the words "authorized . . . by general law now . . . enacted," section 1221, modify the preceding word "appointment," so that the Optional Plans Law would have to be read as confirming a mayoral appointment power only when the other statute already authorizes appointment by the mayor.
Therefore, our decisive analysis here must first determine whether the Optional Plans Law, in defining the mayor's appointment power, extends it to "boards and commissions" authorized by other laws, or extends it only to situations where the other law authorizes a mayoral appointment.
The conclusion must be that an ordinary, unstrained reading of the passage indicates that it refers to "boards and commissions" authorized by other laws, and therefore does not limit the mayor's power to appoint members to boards or commissions only in those situations where the *180 other law expressly names the mayor as the appointing power.
Next, given that the Optional Plans Law extends the mayor's appointive power to all boards and commissions authorized by law, the further question is whether the board or governing body of an authority comes within the concept of "boards and commissions" as used in the Optional Plans Law.
This court's conclusion is that the concept of "boards and commissions" in section 1221 of the Optional Plans Law is limited to boards and commissions within the city government.
The unique nature of municipal authorities created under the Municipal Authorities Act supports the council's position. As the council points out, authorities are "bodies politic and corporate", independent agencies of the Commonwealth and part of the sovereignty of the State, Simon Appeal, 408 Pa. 464, 468-9, 184 A.2d 695 (1962), and are not regarded as entities related to the general administration of a municipality.
The legislature's label for an authority's governing body, as a "board", appears merely to provide a shorthand reference in the Authorities Act to the term "governing body", as used in the Act, and cannot be regarded as an expression of legislative intent to equate the governing body of an authority with the boards and commissions common to the normal administration of a city or municipality.
Furthermore, as the council points out, in accordance with the rules of statutory construction, when the legislature includes specific designations in an act, omissions from the list of items or things mentioned should be regarded as exclusions. Samilo v. Pennsylvania Insurance Department, 98 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 232, 510 A.2d 412 (1986). The legislature's omission of the word "authorities" in section 1221 should be regarded as an exclusion *181 from the list of entities (boards and commissions) included in that section.
The appointing power with respect to members of authorities therefore remains in the governing body, where the Authorities Act expressly puts it, and section 102 of the Optional Plans Law (quoted above) expressly states that the governing body in this third class city is the city council.
The mayor raises comparative arguments by pointing to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and the effect that one interpretation or the other would have upon the powers of municipal executives or councils to define, and appoint the members of, planning commissions and zoning hearing boards. However, undertaking such a collateral interpretation cannot be determinative here, particularly because planning commissions and zoning hearing boards, unlike authorities, are agencies within the framework of municipal government itself, and therefore present distinguishable examples.
The decision of the trial court is reversed.
ORDER
Now, July 23, 1990, the decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, dated August 28, 1989, at No. 18E 1989, is reversed.
PELLEGRINI, Judge, dissenting.
I dissent. By allowing the Hazleton City Council to make appointments to authority boards rather than the mayor, that municipality's chief executive officer, the majority misinterprets the plain language of Section 1221 of the Home Rule and Optional Plans Law. In the process, the majority ignores the rationale behind the General Assembly's provision for Optional Plans and distorts the governmental scheme established by the General Assembly when it provided for Optional Plan forms of government.
*182 To allow local municipalities flexibility in the organization and operation of municipalities, Article 9, Section 3[1] of the Pennsylvania Constitution mandated that the General Assembly provides for the adoption of optional plans of government for all municipalities in the Commonwealth. Carrying out that mandate, as well as the mandate contained in Article 9, Section 2[2] regarding Home Rule, the General Assembly enacted the Home Rule and Optional Plans Law, Act of April 13, 1972, No. 62, §§ 101-1309, as amended, 53 P.S. § 1-101 § 1-1309. A municipality desiring to make a change in its form of government, besides having the right to draft its own Home Rule Charter, had the choice of choosing one of the Optional Plans that the General Assembly provided.[3]
*183 By referendum placed before the voters through the Government Study Commission process, Hazleton chose to change from a commission form, where the council was both an executive and legislative body, to Optional Plan B. Executive (mayor) council form of government. Optional Plan B provides for a strong mayor form of government, as all Optional Plans form a clear demarcation between executive and legislative powers. Under Optional Plan B, the executive power is vested in the Mayor, with council being limited to acting in a legislative capacity only. Section 511 of the Optional Plans Law. The mayor appoints and removes all department heads and has veto power over all legislation subject to override.
Section 1221 of the Optional Plans Law, 53 P.S. § 1-1221[4], consistent with the other provisions of Optional Plans Law to limit the co-mingling between the executive and legislative powers, vests in the chief executive the authority to appoint all members of all boards and commissions. It provides:
The appointment power of the chief executive [mayor] of the municipality under any of the plans authorized by this act shall include the appointment of members of boards and commissions authorized by this act, by general law now or hereafter enacted, or by action of municipal council. All such appointments shall be with the advice and consent of a majority of municipal council. (Emphasis added.)
Hazleton City Council, in a view adopted by the majority, would interpret away the mayor's right to appoint under this provision. Central to the majority's interpretation is its application of the maxim that when the legislature includes specific designations in an act, omissions from the list of items or things mentioned should be regarded as exclusions.[5]*184 The majority holds that by not mentioning authority boards when it held that the mayor shall appoint members of boards and commissions, this omission should be regarded as an exclusion from the mayor's power. This maxim simply does not apply. There are no lists of items or things mentioned that an omission which would even imply an exclusion and resort to this maxim. Section 1221 provides, in the broadest of terms with no exception, that the mayor should appoint all members of boards and commissions.
Not only did the majority err by resorting to application of this maxim, it also erred because it ignored the presumption the General Assembly indicated to be employed when interpreting one of the Home Rule and Optional Plans provisions. Section 403 of the Law, 53 P.S. § 1-403, provides:
The general grant of municipal power contained in this article is intended to confer the greatest power of self government consistent with the Constitution of this Commonwealth and with the provisions of and the limitations prescribed by this act. Any specific enumeration of municipal powers contained in this act or in any other laws will not be construed in any way to limit the general description of power contained in this article, and any such specifically enumerated municipal powers shall be construed as in addition and supplementary to the powers conferred in general terms by this article. All grants of municipal power to municipalities governed by an optional plan under this act, whether in the form of specific enumeration or general terms, shall be liberally construed in favor of the municipality. (Emphasis added.)
*185 The General Assembly mandated an interpretation that would not limit any general description of power. Section 1221 provides that the chief executive appoints all members of all boards and commissions. To interpret it any other way is in direct conflict with this mandate.
A simple analysis of the Home Rule and Optional Plans Law shows that the General Assembly intended that the chief executive officer, in this case the mayor, to appoint members to authority boards. It provides that a chief executive officer shall appoint all members to boards and commissions created by:
1. the Home Rule and Optional Plans Act.
2. general law now or hereafter enacted.
3. action of the municipal council.
The Municipalities Authorities Act of 1945 (Authorities Act), Act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, as amended, §§ 1-19, 53 P.S. §§ 301-322, is a general law. It applies throughout the Commonwealth and is of general application. Department of Labor and Industry v. Altemose Cons. Co., 28 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 277, 288, 368 A.2d 875, 881 (1977). Because it is a "general law" and it establishes the authority board, ergo, the Home Rule and Optional Plans Law in clear and unequivocal language provides that the mayor is empowered to appoint authority board members created under the Municipal Authorities Act. The General Assembly could not have stated it any clearer.[6]
Not only is the language unambiguous, it is in harmony and consistent with both of the other provisions of Optional Plan B and those of other Optional Plans by not mingling traditional executive and legislative powers in the council. The power of appointment is an executive function that the General Assembly desired to vest in the municipalities' chief executive officer. By interpreting away the chief executive's *186 power to appoint authority board members, this executive power is vested in a council, a result that the General Assembly did not intend. We are required to interpret those provisions with reference to the overall legislative scheme and to carry out their purpose. Commonwealth, Insurance Department v. Adrid, 24 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 270, 355 A.2d 597 (1976). The majority's analysis results in an outcome that is simply inconsistent with the scheme set forth by the General Assembly, as well as the voters of the City of Hazleton's intent and desire when they adopted Optional Plan B.
Accordingly, I dissent from the majority holding and would affirm the trial court.
NOTES
[1] Article 9, § 3 provides:
Municipalities shall have the right and power to adopt optional forms of government as provided by law. The General Assembly shall provide optional forms of government for all municipalities. An optional form of government shall be presented to the electors by initiative, by the governing body of the municipality, or by the General Assembly. Adoption or repeal of an optional form of government shall be by referendum.
[2] Article 9, § 2 provides:
Municipalities shall have the right and power to frame and adopt home rule charters. Adoption, amendment or repeal of a home rule charter shall be by referendum. The General Assembly shall provide the procedure by which a home rule charter may be framed and its adoption, amendment or repeal presented to the electors. If the General Assembly does not so provide, a home rule charter or a procedure for framing and presenting a home rule charter may be presented to the electors by initiative or by the governing body of the municipality. A municipality which has a home rule charter may exercise any power or perform any function not denied by this Constitution, by its home rule charter or by the General Assembly at any time.
[3] Sections 2 and 3 of Article 9 were added to the Pennsylvania Constitution to free municipalities from the straight jacket imposed on their forms of government by the various city, township and county codes. Because the codes, for the most part, provided for commission forms of government where the executive and legislative branches were co-mingled, the Optional Plans, in order to provide an "option," split those powers, investing in "chief executive" officers more or less power depending on the Optional Plan adopted.
[4] While the case involves only an Optional Plan B municipality, since Section 1221 applies to all Optional Plans, our ruling affects who appoints to authority boards in all Optional Plan municipalities.
[5] Expressio unius est exclusio alterius. Expression of one thing is the exclusion of another. It is not a rule of statutory construction set forth in the Statutory Construction Act of 1972. 1 Pa.C.S. §§ 1921-1939. See also Sutherland on Statutory Construction, §§ 47.23-47.24. Our Supreme Court has cautioned that to hold automatically that the legislature's intent does not encompass something not specifically set forth in a statute can sometimes thwart that intent. Consumers Education and Protection Ass'n v. Nolan, 470 Pa. 372, 388-389, 368 A.2d 675, 684 (1977).
[6] 1 Pa. C.S. § 1921(a) of the Statutory Construction Act provides that "Every statute shall be construed, if possible, to give effect to all its provisions." The majority, by ignoring the "general laws" language, is not giving that language effect; it is making it surplusage which is disfavored. Matter of Employees of Student Services, Inc., 495 Pa. 42, 432 A.2d 189 (1981).
| 2024-02-05T01:26:59.872264 | https://example.com/article/7395 |
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